July Top Ten

Posted on 01/08/2013 by brightonmusicblog

Want to know what’s been on the Brighton Music Blog stereo this month? Then read on:

1) Kins – Post Tropical Storm
Our most listened to track was Post Tropical Storm from Kins eponymous debut album. It’s powerful guitar pop, but the power doesn’t come from obvious hooks or direct choruses, but from it’s sonic quality. Tribal drums and layers of shimmering guitars coupled with angelic vocals don’t just elevate Kins’ songs above the rest but take them to a different place altogether.

2) The Electric Soft Parade – One Of Those Days
Our soundtrack to the summer is still Idiots by the Electric Soft Parade. One of Those Days effortlessly breezes out of the speakers with sugary sweet vocals, a light swirling guitar riff and shuffling drums. Here’s a live version from the album launch at the Green Door Store back in June

3) Cate Ferris – Blaze Bright
Another tune which has sounded amazing in the sunshine is Cate Ferris’ new single Blaze Bright. Who doesn’t love a bit of reggae in the summertime?

4) Champione – The View (feat. Lizzie Massey) / Tiny Dragons – Come Alive (PACT Remix)
Yes, Yes. This is two tunes. Well spotted. They’re both dance tunes with Lizzie Massey’s vocals at the forefront, the first in autotuned form on the title track from Champione’s recent EP, and the second as part of her band Tiny Dragons, remixed by PACT who also remixed their track Canvas for a recent mix cd released on Kitsune records. The unmixed PACT remix of Canvas is also on the download package of the Come Alive EP.

5) Crayola Lectern – Trip In ‘D’ (Version)
The past couple of month’s Top Tens have featured tracks from Crayola Lectern’s leftfield The Fall And Rise of … album which came out back in April. Never one to do things the way you’d expect, in July he released a single to go alongside it. Slow Down features in album and alternate versions, alongside a different version of the ten minute long Trip in D, which is the track we’ve selected for our Top Ten. The first eight minutes don’t stray too far from the territory laid down on the album version but just when you’re least suspecting it the track takes a sideways swerve and morphs into a motoric Krautrock monster, awakening the ghost of early period Stereolab.

6) TOY & Natasha Khan – The Bride
The Bride nearly didn’t get to feature in our Top Ten after we picked up the limited-to-250-copies 7” from Resident only to discover on first listen that it was damaged. Speedy Wunderground managed to find another copy from somewhere though and it hasn’t left our record deck since. Despite being a cover of an 70s psychedelic Iranian tune, it’s sounds surprisingly like what you’d expect a collaboration between Bat for Lashes and Toy might sound like – The piano lines and vocal inflections are unmistakably Natasha’s, and the thick chugging guitars match Toy’s trademark sound.

7) GAPS – Keep You
GAPS are probably our favourite discovery of the year so far. The band released their double A side Keep You / Cascade on Sexbeat records two weeks ago at a gig at the Green Door Store, and we put Cascade in our top ten last month. Keep You is the more beat heavy side of the 7”, but still has a beautiful pastoral quality to it:

8) Becky Becky – House Of The Black Madonna
We meant to write about Becky Becky’s album launch gig at the Green Door Store a few weeks ago, but it was a busy weekend for us and we ended up missing the moment. As live shows go, it was much more of a performance than most bands manage. Pulsating synth pop (provided by ex Fence Collective Peter Mason) was accompanied by is-it-real-or-is-it-an-act wine drinking from pint glasses and drunken behaviour from Woodpecker Wooliams. The closest reference point is something like The Knife, but this was more pop and less art. The House of the Black Madonna is from Becky Becky’s forthcoming album of the same name.

9) Us Baby Bear Bones – Sun
The Us Baby Bear Bones EP What Starts With a U Ends With an I is still getting a lot of plays at Brighton Music Blog HQ. As convenient as it may seem, Sun was already coming up as having the most plays of the five tracks last week before the rather chilling video got posted:

10) Limbic System – Distant Lands
Limbic System sent us their Beta Wave EP to listen to a few weeks ago, and the beautiful, fragile Distant Lands was the standout track for us. The band are holding their launch party for the EP at Latest Music Bar on 16th August.

Weekend Gig Picks

Posted on 31/07/2013 by brightonmusicblog

In Brighton, the first weekend in August is associated with being Pride – probably the biggest party in the local calendar. We’re not going to include that in our weekend gig picks because of the lack of local acts on the bill, but we have got a whole load of other gigs to tell you about, including a very special couple of days at the Green Door Store.

Tomorrow night IYES and Yumi & The Weather are supporting MT at the Prince Albert. It doesn’t cost anything to get in, but to get hold of a ticket you’ll need to register online.

There’s quite a few gigs on Friday that have caught our eye. AMiTY and Jacko Hooper are playing at Neighbourhood on St James Street, and The Jargonaughts (featuring ex members of Los Albertos) are on at the Gladstone. Over at The Hope multimedia electronica night The Outer Church hold the launch night for their new compilation with live music from Pye Corner Radio, Kember Norton, Embla Quickbeam and Wrong Signals.

Over Saturday and Sunday Green Door Store are holding an event called TwoThreeFour. There are over twenty bands on the bill, mostly from Brighton, including The New Union, Kill Moon, Faux Flux, Spit Shake Sisters, Dog in the Snow, GAPS, Written in Waters, The Hundredth Anniversary, Tyrannosaurus Dead, Ed Prosek, Tigercub, Foreign Skin, Wildcat Strike and Demob Happy. It’s an amazing line up, and it’s free – You’d be a fool to miss it.

New Music – Martin Rossiter, Us Baby Bear Bones, Gnarwolves, Octopuses

Posted on 24/07/2013 by brightonmusicblog

Here’s a few bits and pieces that we’ve come across this week. Gnarwolves and Octopuses have the launches for their releases this weekend (see our previous post), so if you like what you hear, make sure you catch them live.

First up is the new single from Martin Rossiter. No One Left To Blame, one of the standout tracks from last year’s The Defenestration of St Martin, will be released on September 16th, but the rather chilly video is up now:

Moving from chiller to thriller, the next video is for Sun by Us Baby Bear Bones, which features on their What Starts With a U Ends With An I EP, which is available to buy via the band’s website.

Funemployed is the new EP from Gnarwolves. The band have their launch party at the Green Door Store on saturday night, and the EP sounds like this:

Octopuses launch their new single Sarcastic at the Prince Albert tonight. The track’s up on Soundcloud, and you can listen here:

Weekend Gig Picks

Posted on 24/07/2013 by brightonmusicblog

We’re out of town for the weekend, but that’s not going to stop us telling you about the great music that’s on. In fact, we’re going to bring our normal timings a day earlier and start the post off from bands playing Wednesday night, since there’s some great gigs going on then that we’re gutted we’re going to miss out on.

Octopuses, Becky Becky and Do You Feel What I Feel Deer? are all on the bill at the Prince Albert on Wednesday night for the launch of Octopuses new single Sarcastic. At the Blind Tiger you can see Faux Flux, Luo and Spacenoid, and you can see The Beautiful Word at Northern Lights.

Skipping to Friday Night, Eliza Jaye holds her album launch at the Ranelagh, and at the Blind Tiger there’s this month’s Les Enfants Terribles, featuring Bad for Lazarus, Fox in the City and The Frenzied Anaesthetist. Unfortunately Fear of Men supporting Youth Lagoon has been rescheduled so if you were hoping to see them you’ll have to wait until October.

We’ve already mentioned Saturday night RSPB Fundraiser at Saint Luke’s Church with Mary Hampton and Do You Feel What I Feel Deer? Saturday is also this month’s Source New Music at the Dome Studio Theatre – Flash Bang Band headline, with support from 900 Spaces, Hundredth Anniversary and The Victory Dolls. Meanwhile, at the Green Door Store Gnarwolves host the launch party for their new EP Funemployed.

The Levellers, Electric Soft Parade and McDermott’s Two Hours at the Dome

Posted on 21/07/2013 by brightonmusicblog

On Friday Night The Levellers played a one-off sell out gig at Brighton Dome to celebrate twenty five years as a band. Support came from two other acts who’ve collaborated with The Levellers over the years – Electric Soft Parade, who played a set taken from their new album Idiots, and McDermott’s Two Hours who were originally a band who inspired The Levellers but who the Levellers went on to produce. We took our camera along to capture a permanent record of a timeless night.

Click on the images to view large:

More New Music – Eliza Jaye, The Meow Meows, The Tiny Dragons, Them The Sky, Black Rooster Black Shag, Amongst The Pigeons

Posted on 17/07/2013 by brightonmusicblog

This is our second post of new music this week. Maybe bands are getting their music out their in festival season, or maybe it’s a coincidence, but you certainly won’t hear us complaining about more music.

The Seed is the new album from Eliza Jaye. Australian born Eliza’s debut album starts off a bit folk rock (with violin added by her sister Anna, who’s contributed to records by the likes of Bat for Lashes and Brakes), but quickly you come to realise that anything goes, as long as it’s rock. The album is out on 26th July, with a launch party on the day at the Ranelgh. Here’s the video for her latest single Marmalade:

A few weeks ago we mentioned that the Pact remix of Canvas by Tiny Dragons would be appearing on a new mix released by Kitsune records. The track also appears as part of the band’s new Come Alive EP, available as a six song download on iTunes, or on 7″ through the band’s online shop. Here’s the video for the lead track:

The Meow Meows‘ album Somehow We Met comes out a week on Monday (29th July). Their launch party is this friday, at the Gladstone. Here’s the video for the first single from the album, Siberian Soup, in honour of Pussy Riot:

Them The Sky have put up a video for Echolalia – one of the tracks from their forthcoming EP . Their only show of the summer is going to be at Latest Music Bar next week on the 24th, so if you like the sound of this, get down there:

Black Rooster Black Shag are a brand new band who are making their live debut at Sticky Mike’s Frog Bar on 27th July. Their debut album As Far As My Lead Will Take Me is out this autumn, preceded by the single Amsterdam, which is out now:

Boing is the single from Amongst The Pigeons, and came out on 15th July. The song is more of their Orbital inspired dance music, and the video was filmed on the pier:

Weekend Gig Picks

Posted on 17/07/2013 by brightonmusicblog

The weekend is almost upon us so it’s time for our weekly round up of the best local talent that you can see live this weekend.

We’ve spotted two great gigs on Thursday night – Tiny Dragons are playing at Club Criminal at Latest Music Bar, with support from Fools Knowledge, Dead Whisky and Dress Theque. Round the corner at the Blind Tiger The Resonators headline Dub Organiser.

On Friday there are a crazy number of local bands playing live in Brighton. The biggest show is at the Dome, where the Levellers play Brighton for the first time in ages to celebrate their twenty fifth year as a band. Support comes from Electric Soft Parade. Friday night also has two gigs by Brighton bands at the Blind Tiger. Early doors Standard Lamps and Calico are on the bill, and later on from 10pm The Impellers play their own gig. Meanwhile The Meow Meows are holding a launch party for their album at The Gladstone, and Emberhoney, Mishkin Fitzgerald and Simonne (without her Dark Stars) play at the Komedia. Just a few miles out of town, British Sea Power play at the Gentlemen of the Road Festival in Lewes.

The rest of the weekend we think you should be out enjoying the sun, stopping only at the end of the weekend when Brighton Folk hold their regular night at the Brunswick with Dave Blackwell topping the line up.

GAPS single launch at the Green Door Store

Posted on 16/07/2013 by brightonmusicblog

Last night GAPS rounded off a mini tour to promote their debut 7” with a hometown gig at the Green Door Store.

The first support came from The Hundredth Anniversary, who were more together yet more relaxed than I’ve ever seen them. It’s still shoegaze, of sorts, but the angular drumming and tight rhythm section elevate them above the competition. The second support took things in a completely different direction – Laurie James Ross, better known as Eagles For Hands, played a set of House music using a table full of electronics controlling different channels and vocal samples. Sometimes things went a little bit garage and on some tracks the direction went a little bit deeper, but throughout the whole continuous set the Green Door Store sounded fantastic. Definitely one to watch.

The evening belonged to GAPS though. Their single Keep You / Cascade was released yesterday, and the duo were celebrating with a local gig. Ed was on the left on synths, drum pads and two microphones and Rachel filled the rest of the stage with guitars, more drums and more microphones. Their music has been described as folktronica, which probably fits with what they do on paper but doesn’t truly do justice to their sound. The best known examples of the genre seem to be electronica with a bit of folk added to make things more interesting or vice versa, but what we heard last night was a much more equal union of the two. AA side Cascade, with its long quiet seagull laden intro before the beats kick in, was dropped into the set early on, with flip side Keep You saved until the penultimate track. Discounting the gremlins before the end of the set GAPS played a great gig, making a sound that’s familiar, but unlike anyone else in town.

GAPS single launch gallery (click on the pics to view large):

GAPS

The Hundredth Anniversary

Eagles for Hands

GAPS – Keep You / Cascade 7” is out now on Sexbeat

GAPS next play live at 234 at the Green Door Store on the weekend of 3rd and 4th August.

New Music – Kins, Gazelle Twin, Cate Ferris

Posted on 15/07/2013 by brightonmusicblog

I was going to put up this blog post over the weekend, but I figured with the weather like it was you wouldn’t be in reading the internet, you’d be out in the sun.

Out of nowhere, Kins eponymous debut album appeared last week. Already picked out by many local commentators as an interesting live prospect, their first excursion on full length long player doesn’t disappoint. Sounding something like a more sonically experimental Foals, you can take a listen on the soundcloud below, and buy on iTunes here. We’ll be reporting from the album launch at the Green Door store next monday.

Following on from Gazelle Twin‘s Mammal EP from earlier this year, last week she released a split EP with I Speak Machine of Ultravox / John Foxx covers. The EP is entitled Exponentialism and is out now on Metamatic Records, and is available from the all good music retailers (including Resident). Here’s the video for Gazelle Twin’s version of Never Let Me Go from the EP:

Cate Ferris has a new 7″ out now on local label Roots Garden. Blaze Bright is a gorgeous piece of dub reggae co-written and produced by legendary producer Manasseh, which is ideal listening for these temperate days. You can pick up the 7″ from Roots Garden on eBay here, or you can buy it digitally from Juno here.

We’ve already written about GAPS new single Keep You / Cascade which is out today on Sexbeat. They’re holding the launch tonight at the Green Door Store. Support comes from Eagles for Hands and Hundredth Anniversary.

Weekend Gig Picks

Posted on 10/07/2013 by brightonmusicblog

Do you want to see some live music this weekend? Of course you do. So here’s our picks of the best local bands playing around Brighton over the next few days.

Thursday night is all about the support slots – Soccer 96 are at the Blind Tiger supporting Polaroid 85, and The Impellers are opening for Shuggie Otis’ rescheduled show at the Concorde.

Friday Night is the launch of Le Juki’s new album Capillaries which is taking place at the Unitarian Church.

Finally Saturday afternoon is Patchfest, which takes place at William Clarke Park, better known as The Patch – one of Brighton’s hidden gems tucked away behind Elm Grove and Lewes Road. We don’t know much about the rest of the line up, but we do know that Bentcousin are playing at 3pm, which is good enough for us to recommend it.