THEA GILMORE plus special guest Joan Coffey

Thea Gilmore's rise to success, slow and steady as it was, sounds almost antiquated when measured against the sharp rise and fall that many bands now experience. And in many ways, the quality of an artist is far easier to judge when they've found success without the all-too-familiar hype machine.

Thea Gilmore released her first album at the age of 19, subsequently releasing four albums that won her more and more critical success but, crucially, few sales. At the age of 23 though, she broke through with her Avalanche album, which proved a minor hit and spawned a couple of well-exposed singles. Finally, she scored a deal with major label, Sanctuary, and had a hit with her last album, Harpo's Ghost. The album won her the following accolade from Uncut magazine: “The best British singer-songwriter of the last 10 years...and then some.” Not bad eh?

She returns to The Point on the back of her latest album, Liejacker, the back-story of which is quite something. Prior to making the record, Thea was diagnosed with depression, split with her manager of 10 years, as well as her new major label and gave birth to her first child. Barricading herself in the studio with a host of newly-acquired acoustic instruments such as banjos, harmoniums and dobro guitars, Gilmore recorded some of her most personal work yet. From the harrowing to the redemptive, Liejacker is a thrilling listen that The Independent called “beautiful...loveable”.

Monday 24th November 2008, The Point, Mount Stuart Square, Cardiff Bay
£10 in advance/£12 on the door 7:30pm

Tickets are available through Spillers Records (02920 224905/www.spillersrecords.co.uk), Ticketline (02920 230130/www.ticketline.co.uk) and The Point (02920 460873/www.thepointcardiffbay.com) and are £10 in advance and £12 on the door.

Labels: bristol, cooler, dirty whites, jay reatard, kevin eldon, lovvers

Riot Act! Promotions are back again this Saturday with music from...

Syrinx
The band was formed in the summer of 2006 by Jordan Bool and Matthew Westcott, who decided to create an alternative and progressively-fuelled band, influenced by the likes of Rush, Mars Volta, and wide range of rock genres and styling’s.
Jordan and Matthew were later joined by talented Mike Edwards on drums, Alex Read on Guitar and finally, Eleanor Phillips as Lead Vocalist and frontman; all contributing to the composition process of their material, with most lyrics written with Jack Price, friend of the band.

The Drugs That Killed Kids
The Drug That Killed The Kids are from Crickhowell and were formed on 25th September 2007. The band were formed with after discovering all 4 members had a desire to create music that was different. They wanted to create music that really connected with people and meant something. After 2 line up changes the band now consist of: -
Joe Disson – Guitar/Vocals
Lewis Bray – Guitar/Vocals
Matt Roach – Bass
Andrew Williams – Drums
Earlier in the year the band recorded their Debut EP ‘Methods to Self Destruct’. The EP shows the band creating walls of guitars with soaring and catchy melodies. The EP also got the band their first set of gigs and their first Play on Beth Elfyn’s Radio 1 Show.
Since Then The band have started working on a second EP which will show the band having a more edgy sound. Look out for the first taster track ‘Friends & Enemies’ coming soon.

Dead Fashion
Dead Fashion have recentaly been signed to "Lemonlyte Records" and will be recorden there debut single in jan 09. the band have been 2gether for a year but new members James & Joel have been only been in the band for the last 2 to 4 months.
So look out for our album in stores summer 09.

Toliverant
Toliverant originally formed with five friends in March 2007 but the members decided to go their seperate ways after a conflict of different styles of music. Lewis continued with ToliVeranT and sought out to seek the best lineup he could and went through many firing and hirings of different people. After many more failed tryouts Jordan came along and took hold of bass lewis and Jordan continued to look for a lead guitarist. Fish soon came long and took hold of the lead guitar after a while the old drummer of Toliverant left and was soon replaced by Sam. The band now concentrates on making the heaviest, fastest thrash metal songs they can possibly provide you with whilst also mixing brutality with melody and harmony, with jumpy, brutal, dark riffs of raging metal we hope to see you destroying one another in the moshpits and to get as many bodies flying around as possible.

Doors 8pm. Tickets £3.00Adv Door £5.00

available from wegottickets.com Diverse, Rockaway ,In Exile, and Spillers
For updates go to www.riotactpromotions.com

Labels: dead fashion, le pub, riot act, syrinx, the druds that killed the kids, toliverant

"WE ARE THE PHYSICS" they proclaim.

Acceleration of a particle in an electric field? Amplitude of a driven oscillation? Harmonic wave function? Ohm's Law? Is there really a formula that best unlocks the secrets to WATP's music, malice and motivation?

I first heard about them via the band Untitled Musical Project. They were united in praise of WATP. I must “check them out". I did. That was a while back. I've been a fan ever-since.

A little background. They are from Glasgow. There is four of them. A standard guitar guitar bass and drums. A not so standard coincidence, three of them are called Michael. Their sound has been described as Mutant Science Punk Rock. They dress smartly and seem to have found the formula for x-ray vision and bloody good music (even if they do modestly proclaim "We Are The Physics, Are OK At Music", the title of their debut album).
They list influences as Polysics, The Skids, Gang Of Four, Devo, Cardiacs & Ghostbusters. For me, the Cardiacs serious approach to the not-so-serious is very apparent here. Think "Fiery Gun Hand". Repetitive & driving but when you least expect it, IT, goes all wrong. The right wrong. The wrong that bridges the gap between true alternative and the alternative we have all grown to accept/dismiss. It's not just guitar music folks. Its non-parental pop!

The latest single "You Can Do Athletics, BTW" has instant appeal. This song yells out to be remembered. This is the chorus so repeat after me "You Can Do Athletics, You Can Do Athletics". I now believe I can. After a few listens an influx of energy is still not enough to make me dance but I sure feel like doing so.

You continually get the impression things are vastly getting unhinged here and the whole world in which we live is no more. We now wear shiny bubble suits. We eat from straws and sleep just 23 minutes per day. The government owns all our much beloved music. Except however, for this riotous racket. It continues to lye deep in our concious. The soundtrack for the great escape over Earth's ultra-sonic walls and an everlasting existence between reality and the depths of song.

I am still yet to see them live. Raving reviews have led me to believe, I will witness body part convulsions finely tuned to every single warped note. Is it a cleverly planned dance routine? Is it a live exorcism? Or is this simply, physics!

We Are The Physics
Friday 12th December @ Meze Lounge, Newport
On stage 10.45pm / £3 door (inc. entry to clubnight)
Support band tbc

Tommy's was beseiged by technical problems for this indie-rock evening, it was hard to tell when sound checks ended and sets began, but none of the bands visibly let this get to them, it's just a shame that the audience couldn't experience - especially the first act - in a better technical light.

Opening the evening was Ben Calvert and band, I saw Calvert earlier this year and what grabbed my attention and impressed me - and continued to impress me tonight - is the quality of this man's song-writing; there is clearly a certain Northern bent to his music and similarities to artists like Billy Bragg in the juxtaposition of the up and downbeat. Calvert is a highly talented lyricist and guitarist and it was a pity that a lot of his words became muffled by the microphone and lost in the audience's chatter, but the toe-tapping catchiness of his hooks - buoyed by drummer and bassist - hopefully stood tall over the hisses and pops.

Second act Walker are a four piece who play promising rock songs that always - unfortunately - descend into the same guitar noodling wig-outs. I wasn't sure if they were a local band or not, they seemed to have brought a large fanbase with them, but, for some reason I felt like this was very early days for this band who have got quite a way to go before they find their feet. Each member seemed slightly at odds with the other - influence-wise - and I hope they can temper the mix a little better as there is great promise in a number of the tracks played tonight.

Closing the evening were The Low Lights who, for me, were the low light of the evening (an obvious statement to make, I know). Their tunes were rather unmemorable and lacked even the unfocused, jarring charms that Walker had when they weren't pretending they were 70s rock legends having a jam. All technical problems had seemingly been resolved by this point, but it was a touch too late as there was nothing particularly interesting to hear and even less that has stuck in my memory. They are not a bad band, they just sound a bit too much like an Arctic Monkeys clone to the extent where you're sat wondering how aware they are of it? With one song being about having a dance you cannot help but think of the Arctic Monkeys own 'I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor' and even for someone, like me, who is not an Arctic Monkeys fan The Low Lights come up short in comparison.

Joy of Sex are a new three-piece from Cardiff, two boys and a girl, with a drum machine, stand-up drums and three-way vocals. They agree on several things. Short songs, rhythm, repetition, noise.

Combining menacing cut-up rhythms with triple-barrelled vocal interplay that switches from sinister to playful; a unique concoction that's reminiscent of the taut art-punk dynamics of Wire. They hint at the electro post punk of PiL and share a kinship with fellow Cardiffian's The Victorian English Gentlemen's Club.

It's form meeting function. Newness, not novelty. Equality. Clang, scrape and bang. That is the Joy of Sex.

A german once said:
killerband? bestimmt nicht. und einen hype um die drei briten gibt es auch nicht und wird es in absehbarer zeit auch nicht geben. und wenn ich mir den langen anschaue, dann hat der seine beste zeit auch schon hinter sich. doch die ideen, die joy of sex haben, reichen immerhin für eine ep (erschien am 18.08., gibts auf konzerten oder auf anfrage). das reduzierte, die momente der täuschung sind das besondere an diesem vordergründig punkigen sound. zu dritt singen sie, vereint kloppen sie auf ein echtes und ein elektronisches drumkit ein. die straffe gitarre brauchts für ein paar dringende einspritzer, den bass fürs treiben. wire oder p.i.l. darf man hier schon hören.

local support from Crow Court and New State radio
Saturday 22nd November
Meze Lounge, Newport
£3

COMING SOON (and not so soon)... much more being confirmed as the fine lady types

The Shebeats - Saturday 13th December 2008



We Are The Physics - Friday 12th December 2008



Baddies - Saturday 14th March 2009

Swn was so much of a "blast" it's taken me till Wednesday to gather the right words together.... Ho hum.

So Saturday, stumbled out of bed at 2.30, which means I kind of missed the start of the first band at the Loose all-dayer in Howard Gardens. Ho, hum, ho... If this was a tented festival some idiot shouting Timmy or Bollocks would have woken me up already. After grabbing what can best be described as a Greggs, I eventually turned up in Spillers for the in store.... Gindrinker... can I say he was good? is that allowed? Yes he was good. New stuff for the national museum was particularly sharp. Hope they record it soon. Got from there to Tommy's in time for Connan Mockasin. Wow, autoharp. He sounds mysterious like a shoe-gaze mystery. He has a band but the weird noises that come from his special wooden string machine dazzel my hungover brain as I sip the first cider of the day, like from the deepest middle earth or a mistuned television. It doesn't half carry you off to foreign lands, like Iceland or Barry Island. Maybe not Barry.

Loose is twee, unashamedly twee. Aidan Smith is 19th century twee. On the second cider now, this is just a half... He looks a bit like Archie the Inventor from Balamory. Maybe he really owns a castle that overlooks a city of mentally ill scottish people. I get it, it's like what Belle and Seb would probably have sounded like if a) they were 19th century barbers or b) sang around pub pianos during the wars. Its quite sweet but I don't know if the novelty value would wear off. Then The Boy Least Likely To. Liz Loose goes into full twee mode and chucks balloons into the crowd. Love it! Boy Least Likely To are good pop fun, and I'm getting quite into the frivolity by bombarding the people at the back with Liz's said balloons. Not half a bit like Oh Brother Where Art Thou but sort of circa the M25. But almost as early as they start we leave for... no good reason it seems. Dammit.

Right, dinner. Err, Burger King. Oh dear. Swn needs a food tent, or at least some kind of discount in the Rummer. Enough of poisoning myself. Straight from there to see Zail in Kazbar. Zail are from Wales but I haven't seen them in ages. It's a chap with a guitar and a drummer, a bit like Right Hand Left Hand, with pedals as well. It's quite angry and sinister, a bit middle eastern rhythm wise at times and almost like a two man Mogwai, but metal-y. They are closely followed by Truckers of Husk. They really need to get some strings sorted cus I hear half of Salad Ballad in my head which 'aint there live. Apparently whenever they tried in the past it was always out of tune. Still good though, math-rock is surprisingly danceable considering its said to be the music of pretentious git-bastards. Yes that's a double barrlled swear word. No beer here 'cus there's no chance of reaching the bar - Kazbar is rammed to squeezing.

Right so... from there to... Ectogram. They sucked! I don't understand this band at all. Maybe I'm a bit tired from swn-leg (noun, effect of running between venues 20 minutes walking distance apart while hungover/drunk/hungry) but all I can hear are nails, nails nails hurting me in my ears and WHY WONT THAT DAMN SINGER STOP SHOUTING AND WAILING AND urgh this is like having my brains eaten by a leopard who keeps complaining about how they taste afterwards. I want to go upstairs and, wow I haven't really had that much to drink. That will change. Cats in Paris! Speed Twee! Cheerful indie pop dashed with a heavy dose of keyboards at 300 jangles a minute. Stoned bass player made I laff, as did another moustached drummer. It was a bit like someone had taken a recording of a Loose night at Clwb and accidentally played it too fast. One of my top bands of the festival and would definitely see them again. Wonder over Dempsey's afterwards to see if we can get in to Thomas Truax and lo! we can't cus its one in and one out and people are looking a bit sheepish, so we avoid...

So to Tafod Tafod Tafod. I don't know much about bleeping really. Not serious bleeping; indie bleeping I can form a basic opinion about but the club house beats style I'm a bit lost with really. This comes from being born in the wrong generation (MOTHER, FATHER, I blame your responsible parenting for my missing out on 90s dance trends). Tafod is a really hot venue, and I mean that in the boiling sense of hot. I am sweaty as hell and I've only just come downstairs. It doesn't seem to bother anyone though. I have to be told who people are on when like a lame non-dance person - I assume people absorb these things via osmosis. When I am told that Legowelt is on I realise that I have been dancing like a lunatic at the front and making hand puppets with the projector like an arsehole. I assume this means that I was having a good time. Yes, I was having a good time. I would like some more good time.

Sunday arrives..... And I really don't feel too good. So bad that I only manage two bands, gulp, before needing to go home and sleep like a six year old child after too much cheap lemonade. Oh dear. Tubelord in Barfly was the first and I just didn't get them at all. It didn't help that I was hit by the rhythm guitarist when he jumped into the crowd. They sounded a bit like Hundred Reasons to me, maybe the sound was bad. Maybe my head was bad. I liked Hundred Reasons when I was four, not now I am a mature gentleman. That guitar weilding swine sounds a bit emo on the vocals as well, and I JUST DONT LIKE HIS BLONDE HAIR.

I sit down like grand-dad and read the paper at the back of barfly.... And then Dananananakroyd came along and blew me head off son. Again it's not quite my thing but these Scots have so much energy on stage its impossible not to like them. Six people jumping at the same time... Once the crowd gets going they run through us like knives... dividing us for a wall of cuddles, or bringing half the band into the crowd. If there's a word that describes this band, it's interactive. If there's a word that describes me, it's old. I can't quite mosh, legs hurt. I kind of made it a bit to see Right Hand Left Hand but I couldn't handle my brains. So I left. Like a coward.

And that was it. That was my Swn. Oh when will it return for I love thee?

Labels: aidan smith, cats in paris, connan mockasin, dananananackroyd, gindrinker, right hand left hand, saesneg, speed twee, swn, the boy least likely to, thomas truax, truckers of husk, tubelord, zail

Alright. Two days into a post-Sŵn comedown and I’m listening to Mogwai and old ska records and eating Bramley apple pies and looking at people’s photos of Sŵn and people’s Twitters of Sŵn and it all seems such a long, long time ago. People came from London and everything. Blurry memories follow, but one thing is clear: fun doesn’t organise itself. Kudos to anyone trying this stuff.

Personally I’d rather be fired from a cannon over a mountain than go and watch rugby in the Millennium Stadium, but hey, all these people crowding out Cardiff know better, and so what if all the cashpoints are empty or have a fifteen-person queue attached to them? Anyway, this is Friday, and we arrive late into Clwb Ifor Bach. Thankfully, Clwb is running late itself, and spews out Volcano! to a rammed house, who wrap their heads around the band’s fidgety rock. Bits of USA Is A Monster sit next to vocals from Wild Beasts, and most of it rules. More misfits upstairs: The Big Pink spread out in horizontal single file across the stage and make weirdo shoegaze noise. A nicely abrasive edge buffs up their unexpected fluffy moments. Let’s run to the museum! Or rather walk through a thousand Wales-shirted children going home singing. It’s like a Blue Peter Nuremburg out here. They don’t come and see Young Marble Giants though, the fools: they get watched instead by a very respectful pindrop crowd. The chilly acoustics of a three-quarters full lecture theatre are a pretty good setting for this music: quiet, unsettling, almost sociopathic twitching. Bit of a relief then that this set features lots of between song jokes and family shoutouts. Nice stuff, although they basically only offer variations of the same (very good) song. Clwb calls, and we chat to some very nice British Council people on the way, do a little cry upon missing Rolo Tomassi, before a big yelp after pushing to the front for Clinic. Clinic! Super-loud, super-great, and they DESTROY. Shake head in disbelief, shake hands with Matt and Owain from Joy Collective. Alright! Then to the front of Kaz Bar for the end of Casiokids and their great cowbell hoedown. A precise disco hit. Several JC members will later gravitate towards Dempseys, to dance with varying degrees of style and flamboyance to vinyl experts from Forecast. Several people go blind.

Saturday we discover that the Golden Egg is not a Chinese food place, but a decent caff, and that the only bands on at this ungodly hour (3pm) are at the Loose shindig at Tommy’s Bar. Not really possible to describe The New Tea Party and Little My without using the word ‘twee’, but Tommy’s sells Old Rosie cider (7.3%) so IT’S ALL GOING TO BE OKAY. Both bands have their charms though: The New Tea Party have one cracking song (‘Punctuality Is The Thief Of Love’) and they definitely play it during their set, while Little My have a scary and disquieting happiness about them, happy enough to resemble a Christian cult, as my friend said. Blink and we’re suddenly in Spillers, and SJ Esau is playing an instore with his claw-like hands. Way too fey and pathetic to be on Anticon, it’s a shambles that presses on already full bladders and we miss Gindrinker’s instore. For shame. Dirty Sue’s have taken the settees from the old Europa, but kept the straggly potted plant in the toilet. Joined up thinking. Seindorff come on and do the two-brothers-playing-minimal-laptop-beats-or-are-they-checking-emails thing nicely. Off to chippy heroes the Albany Fish Bar and a few steps further to the Gate where Peggy Sue and what used to be called her Pirates are wailing a good old set in the bar. There’s blues enough here to rival Wildbirds And Peacedrums. High praise. Next door, Cate Le Bon’s brief set is overshadowed slightly by the spacious, beautifully ornate hall; someone book Fucked Up here please. Like a boomerang to Clwb, and more wailing, this time from Ectogram. They’ve got a cramped, prosaic take on caterwauling noise, like the Voices without the effects pedals, and I like it. I remember seeing three songs from Golden Silvers in Kaz Bar; I don’t remember what they sounded like. But Cats In Paris smash it at Clwb: poppy, silly, twiddly, keyboard knots untangling boisterously. There is nothing left but to go to Tafod, crawl to the front, take photos of each other’s shoes in the UV light, marvel at Orcop’s meaty electro, and try not to die. Some people do better than others.

That Sŵn wristband should give you a discount at the Riverside Real Food market. It’s the only way to start a Sunday. Broken brains get stitched together at Nos Da too, courtesy of Scrabble Sŵnday, transplanted from its usual monthly residency at Shot In The Dark. The sight of organisers Paul and Lisa’s kindly faces crushes DTs; we stay far too long, and eat their biscuits. We finally stumble into Clwb, for PeppermintPatti’s usual top-hole selection of special stuff. The Lovely Eggs do that cutesy, faux-naif girly shtick very well, well enough to make you forget Morwenna Banks’s little girl character from Absolutely, and well enough to drill rock shapes into your head. Little Eris’s computer equipment plays an absolute shocker, but her lo-fi pop songs carry her one-woman show through. Liz from Loose is also Liz from The School, and though she sounds a little tired, their classy girl group shimmer always mines the right areas, and in ‘All I Wanna Do’ and ‘Let It Slip’ they have two of the best pop songs you’ll hear this year, so ner. This all leads up to a seven months-pregnant Japanese woman, fronting a Hungarian band, and being comprehensively great. Agaskodo Teliverek are a fine whirl of hot drumming, comedy dancing, and joyous yelping. Their noise is tight and riotous and people dance and smile. Total stars. But there’s always room for one more, so towards the Buffalo to hear obscure psych and soul from the Dig/Heavenly/Dim Sŵn lot, played deafeningly loud and in the company of several wankers. That Buffalo is a bit of a cunt magnet seems as clear as always (“We can’t leave now, all the interesting and important people are coming” is one choice quote overheard by my friend) but hey, those tunes are undeniably tunes.

A two day comedown is a compliment by the way. Sŵn equals fun equals good times. Good work all.

Labels: Bramley apple pies

Purr presents... S.C.U.M / YOU LOVE HER COZ SHES DEAD / POPPY AND THE JEZEBELS plus THE PANTHER GIRLS



S.C.U.M.’s debut single (recorded by Tomathy Furse of The Horrors) ‘Visions Arise’/‘Second Sea’ was released on Loog Records on the 15th of September.
In a few short months they have hammered a wedge into the cracking facade of the UK music scene, splitting it into the factions of old and new, sowing the seeds of what is to come.

“The Birthday Party being played on a ship in heavy fog. Crawling out of the Shoreditch night only months ago, their soupy no wave burns with sinister frustration.” – NME, Top 10 New Bands To See

My Favourite New Band by Faris Rotter of The Horrors…
“They’re all about 16 and sound like Mars (the ‘70s no-wave’ band) with loads of strobes. They’ve only been together a couple of months. I saw them the other night and Rhys (Spider Webb) was playing bass for them. They’re really good. Ones to watch.” - Faris Rotter

“'Visions Arise' is a dark, claustrophobic and desperate noise that sounds like a mix of The Scientists and Christian Death.” - Rough Trade

“A new, darkly-Gothic and threatening soundtrack for London. SCUM are certainly on a mission, and if they are the saviours of a 'new rock'n'roll' that's gone stale, their arrival is timely. Vocals, Moog, Bass and Drums is not the usual collected rock formation, but nor is their bass-heavy groove. Tracks like 'Rituals' and 'Visions Arise' are a contemporary Edgar Allan Poe meets Bauhaus/PiL approach mixed by a psychotic On-U Soundsystem.” – Artrocker

“Mates with the Horrors and named after the manifesto from trigger-happy, radical feminist Valerie Solanas, S.C.U.M are Shoreditch's premier arthouse occult-rockers. "Visions Arise" (Loog) is a tempest of brittle synth and no wave drone, but could do with a few more strobe lights shooting out of the CD case to drum up the same brusiing atmosphere of their live shows." - UNCUT

NME Radar piece... "Go on, hate them - that's exactly what they want"

Artrocker - Single review - Last Month's Artrocker cover stars produce a 'mini-epic' - Single Of The Month. Who's The daddy?. S.C.U.M. are…

“'Visions Arise' begins with the kind of totemic bass riff that could stay in the collective cultural conscience for a very long time. It's swamped in reverb, much like most other elements of the song, giving it a new kind of retro feel. This is a sound not heard in decades.
With associations with The Horrors and the Underage Club scene, some suspect S.C.U.M. to be some manufactured goth-lite troupe, but they'd be wrong - very wrong. S.C.U.M are real innovators. Eschewing the temptation - which they probably never felt - to get up on stage under the guise of the artrock band template (angular hair, skinny jeans, hooded tops, tiny keyboards, five hundered miles per hour tempos), they instead take the speed down, stand around statue-still (except for front man Thomas Cohen's elastic flailings), and wash everything in the aforementioned reverberations.
'Visions Arise' is melodramatic and moodily atmospheric. And there's nothing wrong with any of that. The bass motif continues, virtually uninterrupted, throughout. The vocals - like The Horror's Faris Badwan on valium - punctuate like little punches. A mini-epic.” - Richard Davis, Artrocker



YOU LOVE HER COZ SHES DEAD
YLHCSD write about superheroes, superheroes & superheroes but, mainly just about superheroes.

In early 2008 Kitsuné invited YLHCSD to be a part of one of their highly regarded & popular mix CD compilations. Entitled ‘Gildas & Masaya - 'Paris'’, the CD featured rare & exclusive tracks from Hot Chip, The Chemical Brothers, Digitalism, Autokratz, In Flagranti, Does It Offend You... Yeah? & many more. Besides the Japanese release, the CD was released in June 2008 in the UK on Rough Trade.

YLHCSD also won the Indy Awards for 'Best Electronica Act 2008' this year, which was televised on Sky TV throughout May.

Since then, YLHCSD have embarked on the recording of their debut 12” ‘Inner City Angst’ due for release on Kitsuné on 24th November 2008, & have a track featured on the forthcoming Kitsuné Maison 6, released on 20th October 2008.

“Amazing. Imagine if Digitalism and Crystal Castles were asked to make a few tracks together after going on an MDMA binge for a week whilst playing the entire collection of SuperMario Bros games. It wouldn’t surprise me to see them on the front cover of NME being heralded as pioneers within the next year or so.” – Dying Scenesters Press

“Their arrival signals the end to the sofas and the start of a full blown rave. The dance floor then erupts to this fitness workout meets Super Mario.” - Live Music Scene

“Ridiculous name. Ridiculously-brilliant. The End.” – Popjustice

“Disco-trash duo of superhero punk kids that won ‘Best Electronica’ at this year's Indy Awards.” - Drowned In Sound



POPPY AND THE JEZEBELS
Four girls - all in their last year at the same comprehensive school, 4ever 2gether, a band for two years, and twelve months in all good record shops…

A seven-inch single sold out within weeks of release…

“Like something Rough Trade might have snuck out during its eclectic early days, which is to say it really doesn’t sound like anything else.” – The Guardian

Then, radio sessions, fashion shoots, TV appearances and shows up and down the country. Every adventure captured in their own MySpace magazine and followed, to their delight, by those whose music has been such an influence and inspiration… Sweet & Blondie producer Mike Chapman, The Shangri-Las’ Mary Weiss, Raincoat Gina Birch.

With press attention inevitably focussing upon the girls’ strong links with the emerging ‘underage’ scene, they release a mini-album “Follow Me Down’ on the Reveal label.
Acclaim comes from all sides, from Teen Vogue USA and ID to Diva and The Independent. From Vice to the Daily Mail…

“Follow Me Down is a promising album which will inevitably have these four Brummies dictating to their peers.” - NME

Now to keep that promise…

New songs, including ‘UFO’ are recorded with John Rivers, engineer of ‘Ghost Town’ no less. It recalls, at once, the last clear signal from the New World of Joe Meek AND the sugar-rush fizz and shimmer of New Pop. Yet somehow, of course, STILL doesn’t sound like anyone else.

“They are clever, intriguing, funny and devastatingly cool – and they don’t sound like anyone else.” - The Guardian

“Set an impressive standard for a new generation.” – NME

“The beginnings of a classic indie-pop band.” – The Sunday Times

“Poppy and The Jezebels have an exceptional ability that is beyond their years.” – The Independent On Sunday

“Their quintessentially English pop is delivered with a neat shot of insouciant cool.” – Artrocker

“You’ll be superstars!” - NME



THE PANTHER GIRLS
Purr’s fabulous in-house dance-troupe will be throwing some dance-floor shapes. The Panthergirls dance to punk and glam and 60s girl groups and bang-up-to-date modern music and whatever they want to! They’ve danced with Los Campesinos! Crystal Castles, Tiny Master Of Today, Glam Chops, Friends Of The Bride, The Hot Puppies, Help She Can’t Swim and many more. They’ve appeared in Bath, Bristol, London, Cardiff, Margham Deer Park and on tables in Paris. They are the fabulous Panther Girls and have moves too myriad to put into words. Be warned, they’ve got claws as well as ears!

“Those glamorous, naughty all-dancing Panthergirls.” – The Guardian

"The Panther Girls twirl, shimmy and kick their way through cute ‘n’ kitschy dance routines." - Kitten Painting

“Synchronised moves come from the Panthergirls, the uber-glam in-house dance troupe at Bath's Purr night.” – The Guardian

"A kind of cross between Pan’s People, the Radio City Rockettes and a cheerleading squad entertain us dancing about, cat-ears waving, to cool tunes, including, thanks to Panther girl choreographer and Purrista Delia, a great dancing track from the previously unknown Frank Popp Ensemble." - Charleyspace.com

"I’m convinced Purr is one of the best clubs going! Two words: “Panther Girls” rrrrrooooaaar!" - from Piney Gir’s diary

“They've got tails, they've got attitude - and they've got the moves to make any party go with a swing.” – Bath Chronicle


Thursday 27th November
Purr @ Moles Club, 14, George Street, Bath, BA1 2EN,
Tel: 01225 404445 with themed DJing courtesy of The World-Famous Purr DJs & Dance-floor Shapes Thrown By The Panthergirls.
Doors open 9pm. First band on 10pm. Tickets £5, £4.50 concs, £4 mem, available in advance from www.wegottickets.com.

My Swn started in the Murrenger in Newport. I'd totally forgotten that the rugby was on and that the train station would be a living hell so went to the pub and got drunk. Unfortunately this led to me getting to Cardiff late and missing both Stray Borders and Threatmanics. I'm a bad human being.
So, first band that I saw on Friday night was Rolo Tomassi. Can't say I'm a massive fan of the album but was thinking they'd be a good live band and even included them in my recommended band posts. Maybe I was missing the point but having an attractive girl growling like a wilderbeast with toothache over some interesting signature changes does not a good band make.
A quick dash upstairs got me in to see Clinic whilst other people were left outside unable to gain entry. A slight down point to the festival but I guess you just need to prioritise. Or speak nicely to the people on the door so that they let you back in. Clinic were great in their droney, mask wearing crazy keyboard way so balanced the good/bad festival band scales. Unfortunately their good work was undone by Casiokids in Kaz Bar, I think I may be too old and not have trendy enough hair to like any band with the word 'kids' in their name.
Friday over, 2-1 to the bad bands and room for improvement.

Saturday was much better, after watching Cardiff City make hard work of beating Crystal Palace I headed to Howard Gardens for the Loose all-dayer. I managed to catch Aiden Smith who didn't exactly rock my world world but was charming enough and had a really good last song. Next up were The Boy Least Likely To who were great. Loads of them playing loads of instruments, at least one was playing a banjo shaped like an electric guitar. They'd be the ideal band to be on stage as you crawl out of your tent bleary eyed, hungover to shit at a festival. They put a smile on my face with their folky indie and made the prospect of going outside and legging it to town more bearable. I feel bad about putting Aiden Smith in the bad column but my system is very black and white. 3-2 bad guys.
Clwb for Joy Formidable who were ace. I found out afterwards that they used to be called Sidecar Kisses and had played at Joy. Nice to know. pretty doll like front woman playing loud squalling shoegazey guitar. Very epic and sometimes pretty angry sounding. All very good and was enjoying them immensely until Owain started singing Nancy Boy at me and pointed out she sounded like Brian Molko. She didn't. She fucking didn't. 3-3.
Quick trip across the street to see Truckers Of Husk in Kaz Bar. Very good math rock epic guitar stuff and go into the good column even though I only stayed for about 3 songs. Very good sound in Kaz Bar but if you wanted to actually see the band you had to be on stage with them.
Strolled to Barfly to watch Amazing Baby. I'd previously heard one song and thought it sounded pretty good, this was to be misleading. Their singer came onstage in his own band's t-shirt which is just plain wrong. Their second song was about 'drugs' and as they'd not been to Wales before (they're American) they felt the need to point out that Cardiff had loads of hot chicks. Honestly, they were wank. For the record they sounded like a more hippy Killers without the tunes. 20 minutes of my life I'm never getting back and I wish I'd watched Flashguns instead. 4-4.
Back to Clwb for Cats In Paris who I wasn't sure about going by their myspace but they were lovely. I think Saesneg coined the phrase 'Speed Twee' in his Twitter post. Sort of like a less frenetic Bearsuit. Girl/boy vocals, lots of keyboards, a bit of violin and a bassist that may well have been kidnapped and bundled out of a van straight on to the stage. He looked totally baffled by everything and didn't seem to know where he was. This was incredibly funny after a few beers. 5-4 to the side of good.

Sunday. The day I'd been looking forward to. Sunday was loud day. Barfly was where it began. I got there just in time for Picture Books In Winter who weren't on because it was running 45 minutes late. Instead I had to listen to Friends Electric. I wasn't totally offended by them after the first song which sounded almost identical to the Cooper Temple Clause. After that it was all too samey and I was really willing them to finish. Eventually they did and Picture Books In Winter took to the stage. I really liked their punky/shouty/folk but I have to admit that my fellow JCers weren't taken by them. Fuck them though, it's my review. Evil losing 6-5.
Tubelord. It was the fourth time I've seen them this year, you can probably tell I like them. Jerky guitar, shouty vocals that could change to falsetto choruses in the blink of an eye, rumbling bass and massively chatty drummer make this band rather special. They stormed into a temporary lead in the best band of the festival league table and extended the good band's lead to 7-5. Things could only go downhill, luckily they didn't bother though, instead Dananananakroyd bounced onto stage and tore the place apart. The all singing all dancing Glaswegians orchestrated a crowd cuddle and a mock wedding in between bounding all over the Barfly belting out their infectious brand of spikey punk rock. My housemate thought that at various times they sounded like early Idlewild and Mo-Ho-Bish-O-Pi, as I really like both those bands, I didn't bother arguing. Band of the festival, band of the year.
Quick jog to Clwb to see Right Hand Left Hand (or Mark Wright Hand Left Andy Gray - don't ask). A drummer and a guitarist that sound balls all like The White Stripes and more like The Fucking Champs, Telstar Ponies and occasionally Shellac. Noisey, layered post rock that I enjoyed immensely.
Another visit to Kaz Bar to see Tubelord's label mates Pulled Apart By Horses. I was pretty much on the stage for this one, doing my best to get in the way of photographers. The band are a combination of the post punk load angular guitar of the last two Barfly bands I saw and oddly, Deep Purple. There were definitely flashes of Classic Rock in there. I'm pretty sure I liked them despite this. Would like to have watch more but needed to dash back to Clwb to get back in for Future Of The Left. As it happened we caught a bit of Agaskodo Teliverek, piss only knows what they were all about. The were from Hungary and reduced the bad band deficit to 10-6. The final band of the festival were the jewel in Cardiff's crown, Future Of The Left. Upstairs was heaving and they played Suddenly It's A Folk Song which gets a thumbs up from me. As usual there wasn't a whole lot of heckling in Cardiff, presumably because a lot of the crowd don't want to risk seeing Falco in Tesco and have to hide behind a tower of tinned beans. New song The Hope That House built went down really well and the audience actually seemed more enthusiastic than the one at their own show a few months back. A great end to a great festival. We then all went to Buffalo Bar, realised it was full of bastards and went home instead. Viver's description of it as a 'braying cuntfest' on his Twitter post was one of the funniest things I've read in ages.

A final score then, of Good 11-6 Evil. Congratulations the good guys (copyright Marc Anthony Real). See you all next year.

Labels: clinic, dananananackroyd, future of the left, joy formidable, swn, tubelord

FORECAST PRESENTS... A PLACE TO BURY STRANGERS

There are many reasons to fall in love with A Place To Bury Strangers. But the one most come back to is their sheer volume. Often called “the loudest band in New York”, this three-piece are on their way to Wales. Earplugs at the ready, kids.

With a love for mid-80s Cure, early Ride, My Bloody Valentine and pre-90s Jesus And Mary Chain, APTBS' aural assault is no happy accident. After all, anyone can play loud. But to do so and to create a sound of beauty that inspires awe and adulation like APTBS do is no mean feat.

In the US, their eponymous debut album was released to great fanfare from those in the know. Pitchfork Media got a bit overexcited and went on about their “tension-wracked Joy Division-meets-Ministry backdrop” and, amusingly, Brainwashed said they sound like “a dying Tyrannosaurus”.

Having already toured with Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and Nine Inch Nails, APTBS know what they're doing when it comes to pleasing a crowd hell bent on hearing excessive rock 'n' roll noise. With UK influences and hot tips from the likes of NME and The Fly, their first visit to these shores promises to be interesting, at the very least!

Saturday 6th December 2008, Clwb Ifor Bach, Womanby Street, Cardiff
£6.50 in advance, £8.50 on the door, 7:30pm

I had an email listing the following shows. As far as i can tell its a new promo outfit putting on gigs at Le Pub called Fandango Promotions. I shall hunt them down and find out a little more about their future plans. They've handed me two fine gigs for the guide, heres some brief info they sent me...

NOVEMBER 23rd, LE PUB, DOORS 7PM. £4
BAD FOR LAZARUS
(From Brighton) (ex eightites Matchbox, Nine Inch Nails, UNKLE) first UK tour. Planned E.P release before the end of the year.
SAID MIKE
Toured with kids in glasshouses and the Balckout. Also played give it a name in Cardiff International Arena.
THE DEATH OF HER MONEY
Doom frm Newport (...and a JOY highly recommended)
EXIT INTERNATIONAL
Ex Midasuno - Debut Gig
JOY OF SEX


NOVEMBER 25th, LE PUB, DOORS 8pm, £5
TAKE A WORM FOR A WALK WEEK (Undergroove records)
(From Glasgow) - Recently supported raging speedhron on their last ever UK tour. New album "The Monroe Transfer" released last month to great reviews, including rock sound and kerrang.
THE_NETWORK (Holy Roar records)
(From the USA) - Gallows label mates from New Hampshire, touring in support of their new release "Notes from the turncoat campaign" with is a split with UK band Throats.
WHITE BOYS FOR GAY JESUS
(From Leeds) - Mike Patton infused death metal
BOYS WITH X-RAY EYES
(From Newport) - BWXE were voted 3rd best unsigned band in the United Kingdom - Kerrang! Magazine. BWXE have provided support and shared the stage with a legendary list of bands that include: The Fall of Troy, Johnny Truant, Shaped by Fate, Skindred, The Architects, Glamour of the Kill and Scars of Tomorrow.

I hear Spillers in Cardiff has brought in their badge making machine today, purely for the Swn Festival. So if you pop into the Haynes Ashli will make you a wonderful badge, I assume. There's also instores with Gindrinker and SJ Esau at 5pm. Top!

Well I started safe by popping over the road to the Gate to see Mr Huw... They really should make more use of this place as a music venue. It's slap bang in the middle of Roath and isn't too far from Cathays - surely capturing a significant majority of Cardiff's gig going public in one fell swoop. There was a nice candle lit atmosphere in the bar, Mr Huw was much louder than I expected and his simple guitar-bontempi keyboard set up works well. Sadly I'm not fluent so he could being singing about sleeping with serial killers for all I know but it barely matters.

Stayed with him for 30 mins, then off to see Stray Borders... Pleasent Explosions-style post-rock though a lot quiter and more meloncholy really. Starting to get itchy by this point... Clwb is probably one of the places that will sell out tonight, and I'm desperate to see Rolo Tomassi. If I don't go now will I be able to get in at all? I head over to Womanby Street then and find myself watching Volcano! in a packed downstairs bar. Mr Volcano! wears a pencil thin moustache and looks like a circus wrestler. Nothing wrong with him here, he's a bit cheeky and makes I laff a few times. They're a bit math-rock but more of a shambles than to have their time signatures down to a precise equation. Curious to see if the band has started upstairs I wonder, err, upsatirs...

Oh dear. The Big Pink have started playing already and there's no bugger in here. They are literally playing to a big empty space. That must be like one of those nightmares people in bands must have except actually really happening. I go downstairs where its inexplicably rammed and tell Vivers to drag some people to PAY THEM SOME RESPECT. So eventually there are about 25 people. Its no ones fault really, Big Pink apparently had probs getting into Cardiff and Volcano! started late. It's a festival, shit happens, its all part of the fun.... The band are really quite awesome and for me are the first nice surprise of the evening. I don't think I've really seen a shoegaze band up close before but they were throbbing - more with synths than with guitars. It was the first time that I considered not having ear plugs may be a decision I'll later regret. Hey, we'll find out the next time my smoke alarm goes off... But really, Big Pink were like being hit over the head with a cloud of fuzzy hammers. Lovely.

As quickly as BP finished Rolo Tomassi started. I'm surprised by how divisive this band are. You're either into screamo-prog-small-person-spazzing-and-jumping-around-like-a-contorted-cancer-victim or you're not I suppose. I have had Hysterics on me iPlod for a good couple of weeks now and I feckin' love it, so it surprises me the first 3 sons are almost a perfect facismilie of the album. I don't know what came first, I've not seen them before but by common folklore I imagine the album is a good representation of their live set, rather than the live set being a representation of... you know. Anyway ..... is jumping around and has to stop to take a breath at points. Thank yBREATHou. I haven't seen this kind of bodily commitment since I saw sweat pouring off all of Explosions in the Sky. Wish there was more shuffling at the front, the band seem to be doing all the work....

Rolo finish, head upstairs, Clinic start! Excellent timing. To be honest Clinic are one of those bands who I have criminally ignored over the years. The only song of theirs I'm familiar with is the Evil Bill one, which is awesome, but that was almost ten years ago now when I was a tiddler. Clinic are still around and have produced a great deal of material which I JUST DON'T KNOW. So I'm stood here with my BRAINS in a cup and its pleasent enough, I like the theatrics and the fact they still dress like doctors. Very bluesey, almost relaxing shudder, some chaps in the front are going mental for them, giving unfortunte glances of their stomachs on several occasions. They're fairly middle aged as well, don't they have homes to go to? That's really fucking condescending of me. Evil Bill is part of the encore and it rules and I jump up and down like the moron I couldn't be when I bought it and wasn't old enough or bearded enough to go to live musicals. It's a stomper and sounds as good now as it did then. Faith restored.

Clinic finish, I have it whispered into my ear that Kaz Bar still has bands on and low, Casiokids are on. On their myspace they sound a bit... well lame really but live its different. This is the kind of cow-bell disco punk nuttery that everyone was going mental for five years ago that people forgot about because they confused dance indie with the Klaxons. Cunts. I'm dancing like a moron and I don't care what anyone thinks. The stage show, for a predominantly electronic band, is highly evolved and they don't just stand there. No button pressing for us. Well received I think. My second surprise of the evening.

I'm hooked, and like a heorin addict I need more. Day two, please...

Labels: barfly, cardiff, casiokids, clinic, clwb ifor bach, kaz bar, mr huw, rolo tomassi, saesneg, stray borders, swn, volcano

Just in darls....

Chew Lips are replacing Telegram from the Queen at Buffalo Bar tonight, and Yr Ods are playing at Kaz Bar on Saturday at 6.30pm. I Am Austin will also headline the Kaz Bar bill tonight, playing after James Yuill at 10.45pm. Baby J and friends are replacing Chipmunk at the Point on Saturday, while H Hawkline is now joinging the Buffalo bill on Sunday. Phew.

Heck love each other. This is noted by the fact that, between one songs and in response to a complaint from drummer Steve that they had mucked up a song, Mike turns around and shouts WELL ITS NOT MY FUCKING FAULT, only then to begin a 5 minute tirade against every other member of the band, calling Matt Carter a jizz buffoon and Jemma a slut. Nice. To be honest, Heck are a welcome foil after Saturday's Loose love fest. Someone told me they sound like Shellac... Maybe early Shellac, around My Black Ass. They're certainly quite angular, you could draw perfect squares off those guitars. Jemma's vocals are less indignant and angry than Mr Albini but then she isn't the hulk of bitterness that he is. She's also stolen a red belt for tonight, she admits with glee before telling us the next song is about Witchcraft, which it probably almost certainly wasn't. What a beautiful, nasty spikey hate panto little joy Heck are.

(Wrestling saesneg off the mic, Mr I Monologue continues the review)

The first thing I notice about The French Quarter is that 2 of them look like Liverpool's Champions League winning midfielders, Xabi Alonso and Didi Hamman. Once I got past that I started listening to the music. It began rather unassumingly, post rock in the quiet/quiet/quiet mould until the third song which went a bit prog and sounded like Secret Machines. After that myself and Saesneg played 'spot the influence', at various points we had a Snow Patrol introduction, a jangly Sonic Youth tribute, some Coldplay drumming and most scarily, a Simple Minds guitar riff. The band held these crazy bag of influences together rather well and although they'll never change the world, I can see why they're getting attention from labels and press. Enough lofi to keep the musos happy sprinkled with the right about of commercialism to interest the masses.

(While he isn't looking, Saesneg trips up the intruder and knocks him out. Mr Monologue has not been seen since)

Ahem. Popular Workshop. On their myspace they seem... alright. Actually going by their myspace stuff they could be an interesting band. Reptilians is skin-crawingly infectious. But on stage, last night at least, they just fell apart. Gypsy, which I'm sure isn't his real name, didn't realise only 30 people had shown up for the gig and was swaggering like he was playing to 300 screaming children. He did himself no favours when, at the end of the set, he proclaimed he had been recording in the same studio as the Manics and Albini. That's lovely - so fucking what? We ended up with two grown men jumping around and tub thumbing with no real momentum from the crowd to feed them - like seeing your uncle spazz out to Charlotte Church on his own in the corner of the room. It really didn't help at all that the sound was so atrocious. We couldn't hear the bass at all, which trashed the earlier mentioned new single and made them sound like a guitar mash. In truth, PW probably weren't that bad, but their lack of humility and "we rock the fucking world" attitude wrecked it. What a bunch of tits.

Labels: buffalo bar, cardiff, Heck, Popular Workshop, saesneg, The French Quarter