Fear of Men / Spectrum at The Dome

Posted on 11/03/2014 by brightonmusicblog

We’ve got two Fear of Men related things to write about today, so we thought we’d wrap them up in one handy blog post.

First is more info on their new single Luna, which we first posted about a fortnight ago. Art is Hard records, who are putting out the release on April 7th, describe the format as a Flexizine: a 20 page A5 fanzine – Fear of Men Quarterly – and a 7″ flexidisc. We put up the audio of A-side Luna with our earlier post on the single, and yesterday the b-side Outrun Me was premiered in the Guardian’s music section, which we can share with you now. The Luna Flexizine can be pre-ordered from the Art is Hard website.

The single Luna precedes Fear of Men’s debut album Loom by a fortnight. The Brighton launch takes place on 15th April at the Dome Studio Theatre (formerly the Pavilion Theatre) at a new night being held called Spectrum (formerly Source New Music).

With Source Magazine sadly retiring from it’s physical form, Brighton Dome have taken the opportunity to revitalise their new music project. As well as the new name, they’ve got a new partner in Resident record shop, and they’re also expanding the scope of what they do. Spectrum Live replaces the monthly music nights that they put on, which always had great line ups. On top of that there’s also Spectrum Seminars, which will give local musicians to learn more about the industry, Spectrum Site & Sound which will offer the opportunity for musicians to collaborate with film makers to create something within the Dome complex, and Spectrum Residencies which sees the Dome working with individual artists to develop their live act. We look forward to seeing how these develop over the coming months – no doubt there’ll be plenty of blog from us along the way.

Dog in the Snow at the Prince Albert / The New Union at Bermuda Triangle gallery

Posted on 10/03/2014 by brightonmusicblog

Last Monday, Dog in the Snow released their new single Factory and next Monday The New Union release their new single Now. Last weekend both bands played live, so we went along with our camera (as usual click to view large):

New Music – Fujiya & Miyagi, Moulettes, New Union, A Lily, Black Rooster, Black Shag, The Hundredth Anniversary, Catherine Ireton

Posted on 09/03/2014 by brightonmusicblog

It feels like weeks since we put up a new music blog post, possibly because it has been weeks, but also because we’ve got so many things to share this time around.

First up is another new track from the upcoming Fujiya & Miyagi album Artificial Sweeteners. Album opener Flaws confirms the more electronic direction of the band that we heard on Tetrahydrofolic Acid, and is available as an early download if you pre-order the album on iTunes.

Moulettes gave us the first listen of the title track of their new album this week. Constellations is out on 2nd June on Navigator records, but I reckon that you’ll be able to plenty of tracks from the new record when the band play at The Haunt on 24th April.

We already posted up the audio for the new New Union single Now, but the video went live last week, so here it is again. We were at the Now launch gig at Bermuda Traingle on Friday night and will be posting up our pics soon.

Every monday for a month, A Lily are uploading a free cover version to bandcamp which together will make up an EP called Augury. The first of these is a cover of Julia Holter’s Goddess Eyes. Keep an eye on A Lily’s facebook page for news of the next upload.

Black Rooster Black Shag‘s Run Baby Run was one of our favourite tracks of last year, so our ears pricked up when they told us they had a new track coming out. Borderline is taken from the band’s upcoming album As Far As My Lead Will Take Me.

The Hundredth Anniversary have shared a track from their upcoming release. A Daze is the second track from the Wreckers EP, which is being released on Odd Box records on 17th March.

Catherine Ireton has released an EP which takes in two of her Treasure Tracks songs (which she performed in intimate venues around Brighton in 2012) as well as a track with Belle & Sebastian offshoot God Help The Girl and two tracks with other bands she’s played with over the years. The EP is entitled Pieces of Me and can be bought from iTunes and Amazon.

Coming up : Nordic Giants supporting God is an Astronaut / new music from Esben & The Witch

Posted on 09/03/2014 by brightonmusicblog

This week Nordic Giants head out on tour with Irish post rock band God is an Astronaut, where they play their first Brighton gig since the launch of their awesome Build Seas / Dismantle Suns double EP last October. The tour takes in Glasgow, Leeds, Nottingham and Birmingham before arriving in Brighton next Sunday 16th March, where they play The Haunt.

A few weeks later the band are heading up to London to play one of their most important gigs yet headlining Cargo on 1st May.

Next month, Esben & The Witch release a split 12″ with Thought Forms on Invada records. It was premiered a couple of weeks ago on Stereogum, but now the stream is available for us to share too. The release of No Dog on 7th April comes in advance of the band heading into the studio in the summer with the legendary Steve Albini for an album pencilled in for autumn this year. More news on that as we hear of it, but in the meantime, here’s the audio of No Dog:

Coming up – Moulettes at The Haunt / new Us Baby Bear Bones EP teaser

Posted on 04/03/2014 by brightonmusicblog

Gearing up for their third album Constellations due this spring, Moulettes are hitting the road for their first tour of 2014, playing at The Haunt on 24th April courtesy of Love Thy Neighbour. We were fans of the bands unique take on folk music for years before we even started the blog, and it’s always a joy to see them live. Their new album promises to be rather star studded, with contributions from members of the Unthanks and the Mystery Jets, as well as Herbie Flowers (famous for the legendary bassline on Walk on the Wild Side, as well as playing on countless other records) and Arthur ‘God of Hellfire’ Brown who both live locally. Arthur Brown has joined the band many times on stage, and is also playing at the Haunt two nights later, so who knows what treats we have to expect.

There’s also more news from Love Thy Neighbour, this time from the record company side of their activities rather than their promotions. Us Baby Bear Bones, whose What Starts With a U Ends With an I came out on the label last summer, have been in the studio working on their new EP. Details are scant at the moment but a YouTube video of what they’ve been up to has been posted on their Facebook page:

Two gigs tonight – Time for T/Common Tongues and Stark/Müde

Posted on 04/03/2014 by brightonmusicblog

There are two great gigs to choose from tonight (Tuesday 4th March)

Time for T and the Common Tongues join forces at the Green Door Store,

Check out Tornado from the last Time for T EP here

…and at the Albert, Stark have taken a support slot with Brighton rockers Müde to launch their new EP

Really enjoying this new track from this young dynamic and bluesy band

Coming up : Laish supporting Simone Felice / new Anneka single

Posted on 03/03/2014 by brightonmusicblog

On the 9th of April at the Komedia, Brighton’s Laish plays support as Melting Vinyl bring Simone Felice to town as part of his current UK tour promoting his new album Strangers.

Simone is known for his unique folk music, and Laish should be the perfect complement to the main act. Tickets are on sale now for £12 + bf.

Also coming up is a new single from electronica act Anneka. So far, Big Bad Change is only out there as a live video on YouTube, but it’s getting a proper release later in the month, which we’ll give you more details about as we hear about them:

Blood Red Shoes / Blood Red Shoes

Posted on 03/03/2014 by brightonmusicblog

Today Blood Red Shoes release their fourth album Blood Red Shoes on Jazz Life records. Recorded in Berlin by the band themselves without outside help from producers or any other musicians, and the sound they create is incredible for just two people. Deliberately moving back to a rougher sound after the more produced In Time To Voices, Blood Red Shoes is an album that revels in the unadulterated joy of rock. You can stream the album over on the band’s website, where you can also read details of their mammoth upcoming tour. The hometown date is at the Concorde 2 on 25th April.

February Top Ten

Posted on 02/03/2014 by brightonmusicblog

February might be the shortest month, but there was no shortage of good music. Here’s our pick of the crop from the last month:

1 – Momotaro / Warm Step

We could have put any track from Momotaro’s Second Side album at number one this month. It’s barely left the stereo since we first heard it

2 – GAPS / I Know It’s You (Foreign Skin remix)

The original version of I Know It’s You made an appearance in our January top ten, but right at the end of the month, Foreign Skin’s remix was post up, which made the track even more lush.

3 – Blood Red Shoes / An Animal

The brand new Blood Red Shoes album is out tomorrow, but if you pre-ordered it you got an early download of An Animal, which is also the single coming out on 7″ alongside the album. If you want a physical copy and tomorrow’s too long to wait I did spot that they already had it on the racks at Resident yesterday.

4 – Yumi & The Weather / Love

Yumi & The Weather gave us their Love as a Valentine’s present. We didn’t get around to posting about it (but we did retweet their link) and since then the link has gone. If you managed to grab the track – all jittery rhythms and slick vocals – then you’ll know why we’re such a fan of this.

UPDATE : Yumi & The Weather have just posted that the track is available as part of a Camels & Lions compilation which you can download for free here.

5 – Electric Soft Parade / One of Those Days

One Of Those Days was one of our favourite tracks on Idiots when it came out last year, so we’re pleased that they’ve put the track out as a single, and that we’ve got an excuse to post it up here

6 – The Wytches / Gravedweller

It’s been a great month for Brighton’s finest psychedelic rock’n’rollers. Not only have they signed to the mighty Heavenly Records, putting them on a roster alongside Toy and Charlie Boyer and the Voyeurs, but they also released their first single with the label, available on their current tour, or as a free download.

7 – Physics House Band / Titan (Ital Tek remix)

This month also saw Physics House Band put out an album of remixes of last month’s Horizons / Rapture Ep. Our pick is Ital Tek’s remix of Titan, which wrestles the original into something altogether more dancefloor friendly.

8 – Fujiya & Miyagi / Tetrahydrofolic Acid

Tetrahydrofolic Acid is the first new track released by the band since 2011’s Ventriloquizzing, and shows them heading in a much more electronic direction. To these ears it sounds like To Rococo Rot on a night out with Underworld.

9 – Milk & Biscuits / Hairstyles

Yes, we wrote about Hairstyles before, but that was when it was released as an mp3 download, and this month it’s the lead track on the first cassette released by newly founded Lick Music, who wanted a distraction from making frozen yoghurt.

10 – Michael A Grammar / The Day I Come Alive

It feels like ages since we first wrote about Michael A Grammar’s Random Vision EP, but it finally came out this month. Lead track The Day I Come Alive sounds like dreamy early period Blur.

Exclusive – Bentcousin with LL & the D’s / You Make Me Feel So Young

Posted on 02/03/2014 by brightonmusicblog

Here’s a first for Brighton Music Blog – our first Soundcloud Exclusive. Bentcousin have sent over their brand new track You Make Me Feel So Young – a collaboration with LL & The D’s from America who met the band through the social side of Soundcloud. It’s classic Bentcousin – vocals which on first listen might seem a bit innocent but are actually a bit cheeky. Bentcousin’s next Brighton gig is on the 11th April at The Hope.