It's new. It's music. It's a round up. It's not at all regular. You can see where I'm going with this...
Okay, so they may sound a little like Jane’s
Addiction but that’s that’s no bad thing right? Sacramento’s Middle Class Rut
hit the UK for four dates in May, releasing their debut single, Aunt Betty, on
May 13th, just to whet your whistle...or any other part of your
anatomy for that matter.
DutchUncles’ Hare and Hounds gig will easily make my top nights of 2013 list (along
with the night I watched 4 episodes of American Pickers back to back...rock ‘n’roll)
and the next single from their frankly essential album Out of Touch In the
Wild, Bellio, is another sophisticated slice of math disco loveliness.
I’ve
been listening to this track by The Traps for a while now but it seems as though it’s only
just getting an official release (on the lovely Speech Fewapy Records). Hurrah.
Classy pop from yet another classy Brum band. Seriously...you should move here.
It’s great. We’ve got buses and everything...
I’ve
posted stuff from Mykki Blanco before and got thousands...nay...millions...of
emails asking what the hell is this dude on? I don’t know but any cross
dressing rapper is fine in my book. OAP readers may remember Ru Paul but we’ll
gloss over that.
When
Grandmaster Gareth passes on to that great recording studio in the sky he’ll
rightly be hailed as a complete and utter genius. There’ll be films,
retrospectives, exhibitions of his woolly hats the V&A and all that schnizzle.
On top of his work with Misty’s Big Adventure he keeps putting out oddball solo
stuff like this little gem...
Loving this track at the moment. It's receiving plenty of play from the lovely 6 Music massive and could well be one of those tunes of the Summer, you know the sort of thing...the one track that just seems to sum up an entire season...the song that always seems to be playing somewhere...festivals, back gardens...probation centres. The dude behind, Bibio, is a local lad too (local to me anyway), all the way from sunny Wolverhampton. It seems that he's been releasing stuff since 2005 so there's another back catalogue to dig into. Oh what a trauma.
In other news I spent another happy afternoon in Swordfish Records last Saturday, national Record Store Day, and caught a set from fellow Bearwoodian David Garside. He played a neat acoustic version of this song but the acid jazz tinged album version's a beaut...
Oh...and because I'm feeling all Summery here's The Undertones. Screw you Winter.
It's always a little sad when bands you love break up before reaching as many people as they deserve. Over the years my own personal list has grown depressingly lonnnnnnnnnnng, so it's nice when one of them come back for a second bite of the cherry. In this case it's not the full band but two out of three ain't bad. Thumpers are formed from the ashes of early noughties indie poppers Pull Tiger Tail who released some great singles and an album before dissolving in the face of overwhelming indifference. Shame. Here's a taster:
As a band they seem to have suffered more than their fair share of misfortune, with their record label holding their debut album hostage even though it had dropped them...all this coming after an iTunes error kept one of their singles out of the Top 40. Anyway, that was then...now two thirds of them are back as Thumpers and they've not lost their alt pop knack. There's more of a synth vibe this time but I'm a bugger for a bit of synth. Oh yes. It's got a bit of Summertime festival feel too which, after the frankly wrist slitting Winter, is particularly welcome. Enjoy.
This is one of those amazing gigs that suddenly sprang
up in the listings, mushroom like, seemingly less than a week or so before it
was due to take place. Inevitably this had an impact on the turnout, which is a
real shame as Rumba de Bodas are frankly the best thing to have come out of
Italy since Chianti...and that’s a very, very good thing indeed.
First up, and from considerably closer to home,
DAMBA, a new trio featuring three (that’ll be the trio bit then) members (Louis,
Mark and Dave) of The Destroyers, Birmingham’s very own 28
legged-klezmer-jazz-folk-and-any-other-genre-they-decide-to-throw-in-to-the-mix
machine. Existing Destroyers fans will know what to expect – dazzling musicianship
and enough energy to power a small town – but with considerably fewer players
to focus on (most Destroyers’ gigs are a dizzying blur of bodies) DAMBA really gives
you the chance to soak it all up properly. Traditional Eastern European folk tunes might not seem like the most enticing prospect on paper but boy those Eastern Europeans clearly knew how to write a catchy song or two and it’s great to hear this stuff played with such joie de vivre.
Lordy they’re mighty fine,
particularly impressed with Louis’ vocals on some of the songs tonight. Never knew how well the dude could sing. Much is currently (and justifiably) being made of Birmingham’s musical
renaissance (big up B-Town), but I’ve seen little mention of the more, let’s
say, ‘eclectic’ side of things like this stuff which is a shame because it’s,
well, DAMBA good.
My knowledge of Bologna’s musical scene is sadly
lacking (in fact it’s pretty much limited to the rather fine 60s inspired
Jennifer Gentle), but I’m guessing that Rumba de Bodas ain’t your typical
Bolognese band. Quite frankly how could there be anyone else like them? Fusing
ska, jazz, latin, funk, soul, gospel, bluegrass and hip hop Rumba de Bodas is
the ULTIMATE party band. FACT. Regular readers will know that my ‘dancing’
these days generally goes as far as some mild toe tapping but by the end of the
night I found myself attempting the kind of freestyle frugging that makes that
Spike Jonze video for Praise You look like a little tame. Yes...seriously.
At the heart of the whole thing’s Matilda De
Angelis, a phenomenally powerful and versatile vocalist who’s seemingly as at
home spitting rhymes as she is belting out soul and blues. BIG female voices
aren’t unique of course but there’s a refreshing naturalness to Matilda’s
vocals that’s a lot rarer. It was only after the show that I discovered that
she’s still not yet 18. Extraordinary.
Dropping their theme song Rumba de Bodas into the
set so early (it was the second track of the night) might have been a risky
strategy. It’s such a HUGE tune that most bands would struggle to make anything
that came after it seem anywhere near as good...but incredibly the whole night
just built and built as both band and audience hotted up (figuratively and
literally...there was sweat my friends...buckets of the stuff...that’ll teach
me not to wear tweed to a gig again). Delivered at breakneck speed Rumba de
Bodas is one of the most awesome songs you’ll hear this year...or any year for
that matter. In the space of 5 minutes or so they cram in more influences that
you’d think possible and resistance is futile. You just have to dance.
But even the slower numbers like the sultry Night
Swing In a House are just so freakin’ groovy. It’s on stuff like this that you
can really hear Matilda’s talent too. Bringing the kind of raw passion of Winehouse
with all the power of vintage Shapiro (ask your grandma) and more than a little
latin sizzle she oozed that effortless cool that frankly only the Italians have.
Effortless is the word, as she slipped readily from gospel on the joyful hands
in the air Working So Hard to hoedown country on Whiskey & Colombiana.
Being an Italian band many of the songs are, not
unreasonably, in Italian. You don’t need to speak the language to ‘get it’ though.
I’ve never been particularly bothered about whether I could understand all the
lyrics to something, it’s a bonus really, the vibe (vibe...what is this...the
60s?) of the tune’s always been more important and the vibe (yep, it’s the 60s
apparently) here is unmistakeable. In full flow Rumba de Bodas provide the
soundtrack for the sort of party that only exists in the movies. Cool but fun,
a little edgy but without the danger of getting your head caved in by some
knuckle dragger and leading to the kind of blissful muscle aching hangover that
makes the morning after the night before a fuzzy wonderland.
For sheer ‘beaming like a loon’ joy I’m struggling
to remember many gigs as good as this. Sure it might not be one for the chin
strokers or the too cool for school brigade, but frankly life’s sodding well serious
enough these days. Never mind the Bolognas...here’s Rumba de Bodas!
Despite being around since 2004 pumping out some glorious mash ups (imagine The Go Team partying it up with Crystal Castles in a sex dungeon) New York’s HeartsRevolutionhad totally escaped my notice. Happily I just stumbled on this little beauty, a mix
tape of their new album Revolution Rising. Holy poop it's good...
This looks like one of those late booking jobbies, either that or it slipped past my eagle eyes. Yeah I know, what are the chances of that eh? Anyway, Rumba de Bodas quite frankly look and sound like the most fun you could have without getting yourself arrested...tickets just a fiver in advance or £7 on the door.
PS: Support comes from a trio of The Destroyers (trading as DAMBA) too! Bonus.
Way back in 2006 Bromheads (then trading as Bromheads
Jacket) briefly flirted with fame and fortune thanks to a bit of a top 10
single (they provided the B side to The Streets’ When You Wasn’t Famous) and the
odd comparison or two to fellow Sheffielders The Arctic Monkeys. A couple of
albums followed, spawning some great singles of their own but, as is so often
sadly the case, they just didn’t get the recognition or following they deserved. Resisting
the temptation to...ahem...’jacket’ in following the loss of bassist Jono in
2010 the remaining duo, Tim and Dan, hunkered down and cranked out an impressive 12 singles
in as many months, dropping the Jacket bit of their name in
recognition of their new leaner, meaner incarnation. Then things went quiet.
Very quiet. For a good two years in fact the world was a Bromheads free zone.
But, like some garage rock chrysalis, they were locked away somewhere, mutating,
sprouting hair, growing wings...
First up though local boys and rock‘n’roll
revivalists The RebelBeats. Firmly entrenched in the 50s they certainly look
the part, all black leather, curled lips and Brylcreemed hair (all but one of
them any way...maybe his leathers were being rewaxed or something). Despite
being born four decades or so after the birth of rock‘n’roll they manage to
capture some of that fizzing electricity that kicked the whole thing off too.
Of course it can be fiendishly difficult to avoid turning this sort of material
into some kind of musical themepark or karaoke bar crash but, as with most
things in life, conviction’s the key and the band’s lead singer certainly
attacks the songs with real balls, hollering and growling in all the right
places. Impressive lead guitarist too.
Time then for Bromheads' return and just seconds in
to opening track The Money (taken from new album Choro) it’s clear that the
years away from touring and playing live haven’t been spent watching Bargain
Hunt or reorganising their sock drawer. In fact rather than seeming rusty and
outta shape...which would be entirely forgivable, after all it’s 5 years since
their last major tour...they’re like a pair of wild alley cats suddenly
released from a plastic Spar carrier bag (biodegradable, naturally). Dan
attacks the drums with such pent up energy that bits fly off them whilst Tim
cranks out dirrrrrrttty primal garage rock, spitting lyrics and howling like a
macaque monkey on heat. It’s fucking glorious. Any lingering doubts that this
is perhaps the last throw of the dice for one of indie’s also rans are
instantly dismissed as they go on to breathe new life into old favourite
Woolley Bridge, again rabidly attacking the thing with a passion. New single
Gonna Let Them Melt slows the pace a little but not the energy. It’s a
firecracker, fizzing gently at first as the fuse burns before exploding
violently into life. Boom! Garage rock at its very best, raw and gutsy but with
that unique British edge that the band bought to the table back in the day.
There’s plenty of between song banter and chat from
Tim (now resembling a 70’s rocker rather than the more indie kid look of old) as
the night progresses and his self deprecating sense of humour’s worth the price
of a ticket alone. Ask him the story of his Gibson ’76 guitar if you get the
chance. Sure, this isn’t the biggest venue they’ve played and it’s not a sell
out, but screw that, the people that were here were loving every single second
of it and that, ultimately, is what makes a great night.
The more reflective Poppy Bird (from 2006’s fine debut
album Dits From The Commuter Belt) is lyrically worthy of Sir Billy Bragg
whilst the urban meltdown of Trip To The Golden Arches (from the same vintage) is
every bit as addictive 7 years on from its first outing. Ending with arguably
their biggest track to date, a turbo charged blast through What If’s and Maybe’s,
Tim uses the base drum to launch himself dangerously close to The Rainbow’s
ceiling, a fitting final act perhaps for a band that – if there’s any justice
in this big, bad old world – finally look set to reach the heights they truly deserve.
You can’t keep a good pun down eh? Yep, El Ghost
Fest is back for a fourth night of musical mayhem, appropriately enough on May
4th too. Genius. Missing a trick there are actually five bands
playing but hell, we can’t hold that against them. I’m particularly attracted
to Female Smell (rather excitingly they feature at least one ex member of the legendary Bee Stung Lips)...not sure which female smell that is, er...I guess that
depends on the kind of females you hang around with. We’ll leave that there. Anyway,
Them Wolves are playing too, always a pleasure, along with redoubtable Fest organisers,
Ghosts Of Dead Aeroplanes, Youth Man and Inches From The Ground. Tickets are
just a fiver in advance or £6 on the door and if you’re in by 8pm (or buy your
tickets in advance) you get a free sampler CD and colonic irrigation too (I may have made one of those up). Mad, generous fools. Go
forth and spread the word...
Part Hole, part Yeah Yeah Yeah's, part retro Riot Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrllllllllll, Noo Yoik's Sharkmuffin make a gloriously unholy racket. This track's from their shiny new EP, She-Gods of Champagne Valley (out April 27th). There don't appear to be any proper vids on You Tube yet and they're self releasing their stuff for now...so screw da man, down with corporations etc etc. Anyway it's perfect for pogoing around the office/bedroom/cell block (I know my demographic) this weekend. Enjoy.
What's this? Goodnight Lenin at The Old Rep? Fear not dear readers, they've not jacked in the music for a career as thesps (although anyone who saw that nice Mr Fell on telly the other day might not be surprised if Hollywood came a calling...Die Hard 6 anyone?), nope, instead they're playing an exclusive pre-Glasto show in a venue that's pretty much the direct opposite of a muddy field in Somerset. You know the drill by now, Lenin shows sell out and this one's an all seater affair so they'll be no sneaking in under Sam's hair. Support comes from Howie Payne (ex-The Stands man) too. Get in.
Here's a neat vid of the Lenin at Moseley Folk last year...in the sunshine...remember that? Ahhh happy days.
Any press release that opens with the words “One-man
mechanical alt-blues band...” gets me interested. Add in the intriguing promise
of “loop-pedal technology” and, that old favourite, “beatboxing” and I’m hooked.
Impressively for a one man band Funke and the Two Tone Baby seem to have scared
up (scared being the operative word here) a cast of hundreds (well, okay,
dozens) for the video to his rather fine new single Battles, a neat modern
twist on older bluesy stuff...Nu-Blues anyone? Think I’ve just invented a new
genre there. Go me. Whoop (oh, hang on...no I haven't...balls). Anyway, have a listen, great stuff. Wouldn’t be at all surprised if he ends up on
Jack White’s super duper cool Third Man Records...
Funke’s off on tour in May (dates below) and the
singles out in June.
May 2, 2013
– Earls, Maidstone Fringe Festival, Maidstone
May 3, 2013
– Woodnestock, Nr. Canterbury
May 4, 2013
– Man of Kent, Sweeps Festival, Rochester
May 5, 2013
– Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury (with Coco & the Butterfields)
May 6, 2013
– The Crown, Sweeps Festival, Rochester
Some years ago I had high hopes for a band called
Bromheads Jacket. As so often tends to happen to bands I have high hopes for
they sort of split up soon afterwards...well, one of the band left anyway.
Musical differences no doubt. You can’t keep a good band down however and they
soon mutated into Bromheads, dropping the Jacket bit for some reason. Much of their recent output has passed me by (I was probably watching videos of break dancing kittens or something) but now they’re off on tour again and it seems like the perfect opportunity to catch up with 'em. Musically they were a little
like a rawer, southern version of the Arctic Monkeys back in the day, cop a load of this and you’ll
see what I mean:
In the intervening years (judging by recent photos and videos) they’ve got a little
hairier (haven’t we all my dears?) but, as recent single Gonna Let You Melt shows, they’ve not lost their knack for slamming together a catchy tune with a riotous noise. I do love a good riotous noise don’t you? Oh yes. See
you there...no what if’s and maybe’s...
Bromheads play The Rainbow, Digbeth on Monday 15th
April. It's the first night of their UK tour and the day their new album comes out too. Lashing of ginger beer all round then eh? Tickets from our good chums at Birmingham Promoters.
PS: Apologies for the dreadful Phil Collins related pun in post title. I'm a sick puppy.
27...that mystical age when so many musicians decide to 'leave the building' for one last time...is the name of the bostin' debut novel from Birmingham writer Ryan Davis, who's set the whole thing in the seedier pre-millennium streets of Brum. Ahhhhh happy days...when you really could "Eat Like a King for a £1" at Mr Egg..albeit a King with clogged arteries and adult acne...but still. It's a suitably gritty tale of Jimmy Tyrant, singer of a band who had one hit then went down the dumper. Jimmy decides to end it all but gets that wrong as well and spins off into a world of drugs, gangs and crazy people. For any native Brummies it's littered with familiar names and places (which makes a nice change), for 'outsiders' it's a grimy portrait of a City's seedy underbelly, sticky with vomit, blood and pretty much every other bodily fluid. It takes something to get me reading a novel these days (I blame the internet), but it gripped me like that weird bloke on the Hagley Road who keeps shaking my hand and won't let go. Well worth a read.
If you've not been over to Kids Interview Bands recently, pour yourself a brewski, crack open a bag of salty snacks and settle down for an hour or two. They've been on an interview frenzy recently with their latest scoop being Garbage (featuring Nirvana's Nevermind producer Butch Vig!)....I can heartily recommend it...plus their suitably trippy catch up with Tame Impala's Kevin Parker (who reveals a particularly impressive knowledge of the Spice Girls...who'da thunk it eh?). Awesome.
Purveyors of top notch Americana and Country Blues, Wooden Horse, saddle up and hit the road this month with three Midlands gigs starting this Friday April 12th at The Tower Of Song (Pershore Road). The duo, Jamie Knight and Ben Church, play an authentic blend of older material and self penned stuff which, amazingly enough, is every bit as strong. Unlike my Grand National selections (8 horses backed, 6 of which are possibly still 'running' / grazing the course) it's odds on to be a great gig. Hell yeahhhhhhhhhhhhh!
These are heady...Bulls Heady in fact...ahem...times
for the Birmingham music scene. In fact in 25 years or so of gig going in the
second city I can’t recall a time when there was as much good shit going on
than right here, right now. We’ve got the bands, the venues and, as tonight
underlines, the publications (online and ‘real’) in the shape of Brum Notes (an
honourable mention must go the marvellous Counteract Magazine too who’ve also
pimped this show).
‘Scenes’, for want of a better word, can be tricky
blighters of course, icy cool one second then ultra naff the next (see exhibit
A, Brit Pop...RIP). Given this the whole ‘B-Town’ thing needs to be approached
with a little caution. Unlike most other ‘scenes’ the only thing B-Town bands
have in common is geography, musically they’re often radically different, as
anyone who’s seen both Troumaca and God Damn for instance will testify. On the
positive side it’s undoubtedly changing the opinion of many outsiders that
Birmingham’s a drab industrial wasteland inhabited by thick knuckle draggers
who can’t talk proper loike and who live off pot noodles, faggots and lard. Although
to be fair they often seem to be the only people that get on TV. How the whole
thing pans out remains to be seen...or scene in fact...but for now, hell, screw
it, let’s just enjoy the ride.
First up, and clearly enjoying the ride themselves, These Kings, who neatly combine pleasant ambiently atmospheric noodly bits with full
on...grrrrrr...rock outs. Pleasingly their lead vocalist has a deep, ominous
tone that’s vaguely reminiscent of that dude from Sisters of Mercy (Andrew
Eldritch you mean – Goth Ed) and
there’s just a little cool indie 80s feel to some of their stuff. Pick of the
set was one where Mr Deep Voice repeated some simple lyrics over and over,
mantra stylee (no idea what it was called...these bands are box fresh, maybe it
didn’t even have a title) and another called Y Means Yes, which is probably
some clever Math rock / sexual politics reference. Woody - “It’s about Whales
and shit” informed Mr Deep Voice (I’m assuming it’s about the mammal and not
the country...) also hit the spot, with its gently lulling intro building up,
wave like, to a pounding crescendo.
Next up...IT’S A GIRL! IN A BAND! BLIMEY. Yep, sadly
the appearance of a female in any band is still a cause for celebration given
the distinct lack of ‘em. No idea why that’s the case, perhaps it’s just
teenage boys that like locking themselves in their bedrooms and cracking off a
few. Chords that is. Anyway, Laced is the band, and with 3 guitarists, a
bassist (the GIRL! IT’S A GIRL etc etc) and a drummer they produced a darn fine
set of grungegaze (part shoegaze, part grunge...oh you got that
already...okay). Again song titles are a little sketchy but there was one,
possibly called Everything Is Fine, which was pretty EPIC, great sludgy slabs
of grunge mutating off into a vaguely spacerock direction.
The Grafham Water Sailing Club’s menacing new single
Kappa Kappa is the sound of an escaped mental patient whispering in your ear...just
before he eats it. It’s a bloody good way to start their set too.
With a more
unusual setup – dark stage, a variety of electronic gizmos on a tabletop at the
front illuminated by a big white ball and drums and guitar shoved at the back –
GWSC look, as well as sound, a little different and this goes down particularly
well with the crowd of hip young things. As Kappa Kappa burns itself out, the
slowing drums at the end echoing some of Stephen Morris’ most hauntingly atmospheric work
with Joy Division (several tracks are inhabited by the ghosts of Curtis and
chums in fact), the band goes on to spin off in all sorts of different
directions, sounding like Fujiya & Miyagi jamming with Being Boiled era
Human League on one track then going all cowbell-tastic on a House Of Jealous
Lovers-ish (it’s a track by The Rapture...that’s bound to be worth a point at a
pop quiz one day...you’re welcome) number. Ominous, brooding set closer The Butcher Of
Barcelona gothed it up nicely and, on the day that Goths were named an
endangered species (or something like that), it would make a pretty awesome anthem
for them. Krautrock, goth, electronica... GWSC are pleasingly impossible to
pigeonhole though. Definitely ones to watch.
At times Heavy Waves’ scuzzed up lo fi garage sounds
more like it sprang from the streets of Noo Yoik than Brum, buzzing with the
same kind of gum chewing cool that made The Strokes such a big deal back in the
day. Listen to the online demo of their track Edward to hear what I mean.
See?
Cool. If there’s one common thread (albeit a loose one) linking all of tonight’s
bands it’s a touch of the old math rock and Heavy Waves inject it with a rawer
energy than most. Of all tonight’s bands theirs is the simplest set up, the
unholy trinity of bass, drums and guitar, so perhaps that’s not a surprise. Instrumental
track Tits, cue the inevitable heckle “Release the tits!”, is a fine example of
this but you’ll have to go and see them to hear it as, also in common with most
of tonight’s bands, there’s very little of this stuff online at the moment.
That’s what’s so ball tinglingly exciting about any new ‘scene’...the early days, before the
bitchin’, drugs and addiction to Lush Bath Bombs kicks in. And, on the
strengths of tonight’s showing, any one of these bands has the potential to be
plucked, PEACE-like from the backstreets. Another A+ effort from B-Town.
Okay, this is getting silly now. Who decided that Birmingham should be the new centre of the musical universe eh? Here's the latest band that's getting the old juices flowing (and boy, it takes something to get my old juices flowing these days), ladies and gentlemen....drum roll please...Superfood. Take a little Brit Pop era Blur, add a dash of The Rolling Stones (whooo whooo) and just a sprinkle of punk/grunge attitude et voila...indie heaven. There's not a huge amount of info available on the band yet, I'm guessing that there's some kind of hit making machine hidden behind the Custard Factory, but they seem destined to follow (baby) PEACE into the world of mainstream success, unreasonable riders and velvet lined limos...
PS: There's a great article on other up and coming Birmingham bands right here. What's gratifying is that plenty of other names that you could easily add to the list...Miss Halliwell, This Is Sinister, Greg Bird and Flamingo Flame all spring instantly to mind. Brum-believable...
