Myself and Mr Scott decided that book launches are boring.  It would be a lot more fun to create a night called Balloon which involves bands, DJs, readings and poetry and have it in a place with a bar.

So, Monday 16th November sees the unveiling of Balloon #1.  Matt will open proceedings, reading an extract from the short story that gave the night it’s name.  After that we’ll have some poetry from Mao Jones.

All very book launch so far, fear not.  Jimi Alexander & The Satellites then take the stage with their cello led alt.country.  Apparently Jack Bauer is a fan.  I was told not to write that though so pretend you didn’t read it.

By now everyone will’ve had a few beers and will be in the mood to listen to Rachel Trezise read.  We’ve told Rachel that she can read whatever she likes so don’t be massively surprised if it’s Jordan’s autobiography or something.  Matt then steps up to read from his new book.  Then the party starts in earnest.

Ex Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci man Richard James will perform a set of his psych-y, folk-y sunshine pop.  This will be excellent and I so, so happy he agreed to play.

“a sultry charming collection…carefully distilled influences: John Fahey, snatches of Dylan, Simon & Garfunkel and the atmospheric folk of the late 60s” (Uncut)

This takes us nicely into Mr Carl ‘Forecast’ Rylatt playing his trademark crazy psychedelic tunes up until 1am.

That’s a lot of entertainment to cram into one evening.  Did I mention that’s it’s free entry?  Maybe I should.  It’s free entry.  Yeah, you heard right.  Doors are at 8pm, Matt will be short storytelling at 8.30.  There will also be free badges.  This will be explained at a later date, just make sure you leave your email address with us.

You may recognise the name Simone Felice in amongst that rather nice but quaintly romantic blurb.  He’s the bonkers drummer in The Felice Brothers and has now turned his hand to a bit of soulful country songwriting.  For the second week running I’m writing a preview about a band that I’m putting out on the label I co-own, Diverse Records.  I’m literally putting my money where my mouth is.  If you don’t believe my recommendation then here’s some more:

“Exquisite – already one of my favourite albums of the year” – Uncut (Allan Jones)

“Songs so perfectly formed they might have been around forever”
The Daily Telegraph (Neil McCormick)

“A wondrous album” CD Of The Week – The Sunday Times (Mark Edwards)

“The kind of record that cults are made of” – The Word (James Medd)

“They have pulled off a quite remarkable feat on Nothing Gold Can Stay – one of my favourite albums of the year. Each song somehow sounding like a classic, each live performance suggesting we are in the presence of a rare, fiery brilliance.”
The Guardian (Laura Barton)

“Nothing Gold Can Stay already has hovering not so very far above it the status of a classic” The Sunday Times (Dan Cairns)

“Haunted but rapturous. Treasure it.” – The Mirror (Gavin Martin)

“Simply has to be the must-have album of the year so far.” – Maverick Magazine

“In a word, superb” 9/10 – Americana UK

“A beautiful sound. I’ve had some great live music on the show over the years but I dont think we’ve had any better this, that was just beautiful, so so good!” Robert Elms / BBC Radio London

“Shows the power of music to lift your spirits and make your heart full – absolutely fantastic.” Johnnie Walker / BBC Radio 2

Enough?  Good.  The support act is class too.  Cardiff’s Jimi Alexander & The Satellites.  Read a review of their new album HERE.  I’ve banged on about their Heartbreakeresque tunes often enough.  You can wait for the review for me to do it some more.

Tickets may well have sold out for this as The Chattery is tiny but it’s always worth checking for cancellations.

Maybe I should’ve left that until the end.

There’s not a dull moment on this album, opener Baby Don’t sets the mood, continued with New York City Never Came.  Third track, Queen Of Denmark cranks the album up a notch.  The song charts a long distance relationship, ‘every time I see you, my heart skips a beat’, and the feeling you get when meeting up with someone you can’t have.  It has a Felice Brothers feel to it and that Dylan like shuffling beat driving it along.  The chorus almost makes me believe that love isn’t something mythical, only written about in 19th century literature.  Almost.

Last Chance Saloon takes the pace back down, with only Jimi’s mournful vocals and acoustic guitar present until cellist Lucy Burke joins the maudlin party with her vocals.  Held In My Arms continues in this vein until the arrival of slide guitar.  Now slide guitar makes everything sound brilliant but this particular number sounds like it’s being sung while slumped over a bar after one too many at the end of a night out.  Your mates have gone home but you’re not quite ready to, it’s just you, the barman and one last beer.  Maybe I’ll put a treatment for a video together.  The song builds on it’s sparse beginnings with cello, piano and harmonica added to the melting pot and ends with Jimi heading out of the tavern into the night air, with jacket slung over shoulder, home to his true love.  It would in the video anyway.

Wayward Soul revs the engine a little and actually sounds something like a country Oasis.  This is a good thing.  Sort of  ‘The Girl In The Dirty Shirt ‘with Victoria Williams on backing vocals.  The title track should also appeal to a crossover crowd.  The term alt.country tends to scare people off but Burn A Little Brighter, with it’s ‘I’m so in love with you’ refrain, could easily be the song to slow dance to at the school disco or could replace Snow Patrol’s more ‘lighter in the air’ moments on mother’s car stereos everywhere.  All this without it sounding any less like it was made by whiskey soaked Steve Earle fans.

One Long Winter and Celtic Legend are good songs in their own right (indeed, Jimi sounds like he’s going to burst into tears on the latter), they just suffer the misfortune of being sandwiched in between the aforementioned potential festival closing anthem and the epic album closer, Hallelujah I’m Alive.

Hallelujah is a beautiful song, an ode to life, which begins with the sound of waves breaking on a shore.  Maybe I’m just really open to suggestion but when the vocals recede seven minutes in (I did say it was epic), and you can hear the waves re-emerge beneath the cello, violin and guitar outro, I wanted to venture outside and appreciate the natural world that surrounds us.  Unfortunately it was pissing down and my garden is made of concrete.

This album is a lesson in restraint, there maybe six members in the band but they’re only used if they’re needed.  There’s no ‘we’ve got a fuzzbox and we’re going to use it’ attitude here.  Many of the songs don’t have bass or drums and three of the tracks were recorded live with just Jimi, Lucy and Mat on guitar.  There’s a slightly gothic feel to some of the album, not sinister, just that Sun Kil Moon type darkness, there’s always light at the end of the tunnel though.  It feels like there’s quest to get somewhere, to return to your roots, to your love, or just to the place you call home.

I should start writing “Whiskeytown-esque” on those posters as Ryan Adams hasn’t written anything this good since his mates ran off (OK, maybe Heartbreaker but that would ruin my point).  Buy this album and check the band out live where the shackles come off and they rock like Neil Young at an air guitar contest.

Willy will be performing songs from the new Richmond Fontaine record as well as tracks from his past four albums. Anyone who’s seen him before knows what a gifted story teller this man is, be it through his songs or his novels, the gig promises to be a special one.

Support comes from:….

Jimi Alexander And The Satellites
Their current iteration sees The Satellites as a six-piece alt.country folk band, whose sound, in transposing the pastoral Americana of their influences onto the bleak but beautiful cityscapes of their native South Wales, is at once melancholy and affirming. Jimi Alexander’s songwriting identity, however, can be traced back to a childhood spent in expatriation – themes of searching and rootlessness emerge strongly in his lyrics, and Lucy’s mournful cello echo these sentiments strongly in songs that betray a saddening vulnerability, even whilst the explosive combination of percussion and bass that Tim and Robert produce drive their sound towards aggressive excursions in rock n roll. The band will be playing as a stripped down 3-piece for the gig.

Matthew David Scott
In keeping with the slightly literary theme of the night, we have a local (sort of) author contributing a short story between support bands.
Matthew David Scott was born in 1978 in Middleton, north Manchester. He left Manchester
in 1997 to read English Literature and Philosophy at Sheffield University and after graduating has lived in Edinburgh, and Cardiff, before settling in Newport. Matthew’s debut novel ‘Playing Mercy’ was published in May 2005. Matthew also contributes to a number of magazines including book and restaurant reviews for Welsh men’s magazine ‘RedHanded’, and has contributed to upcoming anthologies of short fiction inspired by the music of The Fall ‘Perverted by Language’ and The Smiths ‘Paint A Vulgar Picture’ – both published by Serpent’s Tail – as well as The Big Issue Cymru’s Summer Shorts.
Matt is also appearing at the Laugharne Weekend.

The Spirit Level
Ellie Harwood was born in the west of Ireland. Eventually her family relocated to Somerset, where she spent her teenage years living in a caravan in a hedgerow. Aged 18 she packed up her guitar and headed over the Severn to Cardiff. Nowadays she keeps the books tidy in the local library and spends a lot of time evangelising about the joys of country music. After earning her stripes in Silver Spurs, Cardiff’s slowest bluegrass band, she decided to rope in Rhodri Viney to realise some of her sadder, secreter musings. Bridging the gap between Mazzy Star and The Cowboy junkies, Ellie will make her Newport debut at the gig without Mr Viney, playing a set of solo acoustic numbers.

There’s a facebook event group here to keep you updated.

Tickets are available from Diverse Music, Newport, Spiller’s Records, Cardiff,
Derricks, Swansea and www.wegottickets.com and are £8 in advance and £10 on the night

See you there folks!