The ones that got away

Posted on 29/12/2012 by brightonmusicblog

We wrote about loads of bands earlier this month in an arbitrary personal take on the year, but there’s been lots going on that we couldn’t include for one reason or the other. There were lots of bands who were just bubbling under, we didn’t write about any bands who were from Brighton – obviously – and we kept the list just to bands and didn’t mention venues or events or stuff like that.

We tried to have a bit of balance across our advent calendar, making sure we had big and small bands, so it was always going to be the case that there was going to be some we couldn’t fit in. As well as The Maccabees and Bat for Lashes hitting hard for Brighton, Blood Red Shoes and Orbital were troubling the charts. While we’re talking about big acts, Fatboy Slim‘s most recent Big Beach Boutique was a success not on the beach but at the Amex, where they apparently ran out of beer on the first night. On the subject of local bands in sports venues, hundreds of people braved the rain in July when Rizzle Kicks accompanied the entrance of the Olympic Torch to Hove Cricket Groung Saint Etienne were further down our longlist than the album “Words and Music by Saint Etienne” and their gig at the Concorde warranted, but with only Pete Wiggs living in Brighton, we had to prioritise bands with more local members.

Other bands with albums out in 2012 who we just couldn’t fit in were Tall Ships, Cave Painting, Ital Tek (referred to by one of my mates as possibly his album of the year), Sparrow and Negative Pegasus. When Todd Jordan isn’t being part of Negative Pegasus, he’s also one third of promoters One Inch Badge, who brought us the fantastic Sea Monsters festival at the Prince Albert as well as dozens of other great gigs, and is one of the people responsible for Bizarro World, a monthly covers gig which is so much better than it sounds on paper.

There’s a few bands who’ve caught our eye that we’re expecting big things from in 2013. Crayola Lectern‘s album is recorded and due to arrive in Spring sometime on Bleeding Hearts Recordings. We saw Dead Cars live a few weeks ago and really really liked what they were doing, but it was too late to squeeze them into our list. But if we were to be pushed to name one act whose year it could be then we’d have to say Anneka. We’ve only seen her live once so far (supporting Com Truise at The Haunt), but there was something about what she was doing that sounded so fully formed, that she’s bound to be huge.

Outside of Brighton, here’s our top ten albums and top five tracks of the year:

1. Melody’s Echo Chamber / Melody’s Echo Chamber
2. Beth Orton / Sugaring Season
3. Laetitia Sadier / Silencio
4. Toy / Toy
5. Raveonettes / Observator
6. Clock Opera / Ways to Forget
7. Best Coast / The Only Place
8. Black Reindeer / Real Life is Overrated
9. Scuba / Personality
10. Cornshed Sisters / Tell Tales

1. Mmoths / Heart
2. Blur / Under The Westway
3. Saint Etienne / Tonight
4. Minotaur Shock / Janet
5. Lee Hazlewood / Souls Island

Brighton Music Blog Advent Calendar – The Full Countdown

Posted on 26/12/2012 by brightonmusicblog

So, the presents are opened, Christmas Dinner is eaten, and all that’s left is to watch the Sound of Music with the family for the umpteenth time. But if that’s all a bit too much, here’s a look back at our Advent Calendar, with every day collected together in one handy blog post:

Thomas White

25. Thomas White, Electric Soft Parade, Restlesslist, British Sea Power, Milk & Biscuits, Foxes!, Do You Feel What I Feel Deer?, Fragile Creatures, Clowns

24. Willkommen Records, Sons of Noel and Adrian, The Miserable Rich, Laish , Emma Gatrill, Redwood Red, Hamilton Yarns, etc

23. Fujiya & Miyagi, I Am Ampersand, Omega Male

22. Nordic Giants, Cate Ferris, Dizraeli & The Small Gods

21. Shrag

20. Martin Rossiter

19. Fear of Men

18. Us Baby Bear Bones

17. Speak Galactic

16. Woodpecker Wooliams

15. Catherine Ireton

14. Jennifer Left

13. Bat for Lashes

12. Your Explosion My Mind

11. The New Union

10. Sweet Sweet Lies

9. Kovak

8. Abi Wade

7. Heliopause

6. Munich

5. Moulettes

4. Curxes

3. Birdengine

2. Dark Horses

1. The Maccabees

Brighton Music Blog Advent Calendar / Day 23 / Fujiya & Miyagi – I Am Ampersand – Omega Male

Posted on 23/12/2012 by brightonmusicblog

Our first proper blog post of 2012 was about Fujiya & Miyagi. They had recorded a version of Your Silent Face for a cd of New Order covers given out with the February edition of Mojo magazine. While it might look like we’re spending all our time writing about Brighton music, secretly we’re huge New Order fans on the side, so the chance to slip some New Order into the blog was most welcome.

In February we spotted Matt Hainsby swapping his bass for an acoustic guitar onstage at the Bleeding Hearts Club under the name I Am Ampersand. He was the third member to join the band and “Fujiya” and “Miyagi” had already been grabbed, so he was left with the “&”. A few weeks later the ultra-limited but utterly brilliant 20 Seas 4 Oceans 7″ came out on the legendary Great Pop Supplement label. It came with a hand-made wood print. It’s got lyrics about a mer-man. The intro sounds a bit like an unplugged version of Spirit In The Sky. What more could you possibly want? Another great 7″ followed in the summer and a few weeks ago he rounded off the year with Grave Goods, an album of quirky psychedelic folk songs that you wouldn’t have expected from a member of Fujiya & Miyagi a year ago.

Matt Hainsby isn’t the only member of Fujiya & Miyagi who’s been involved with extra-curricular activities this year. David Best has teamed up with Sammy Rubin from Project Jenny Project Jan to form Omega Male, who also put out their album in November. Where Grave Goods wasn’t immediately recognisable as an album put out by a member of Fujiya & Miyagi, there’s no mistaking Best’s inescapable vocal style on Omega Male. Tucked at the end of the album was one of our favourite tracks this year – the incredibly gorgeous Buildings Like Symphonies, which combined with I Am Ampersand’s 20 Seas 4 Oceans, was the clincher for placing them so high in our list.

Source New Music – Clowns, Evil Son and Wildcat Strike

Posted on 22/12/2012 by brightonmusicblog

Thursday night was the last Source New Music of the year, and the last for a few months until they return in February 2013 – like Source Magazine, the night is taking a well earned break in January.

Wildcat Strike

I arrived midway through Wildcat Strike’s set, which I was quite enjoying – really rather good post / math rock, nice and tight – and then the vocals came in. I say vocals, it was just shouting. Not exclamations of anger or any other emotion, just shouting. It’s a shame because aside from the vocals, Wildcat strike were really tight and made a fantastic sound.

The Evil Son

Next up were Evil Son, who we saw a few weeks ago at their EP launch at the Albert. We got a similar show: tight, spiky alternative guitar pop – let’s use the word grunge, because they do – but louder, and with better lights. There’s nothing to fault musically with Evil Son – the songs are well written and it’s obvious that each member of the band oozes talent – bassist Pepe Le Moko also plays bass for David Gedge’s Wedding Present. They’re the kind of band who you could enjoy even if grunge wasn’t your thing because what they do they do so well.

Clowns

As much as I enjoyed The Evil Son (and the bits of Wildcat Strike when they weren’t shouting), the floor was wiped clean with the night’s headliners Clowns, who provided a masterclass on showmanship. A sharply dressed Miles Heathfield spent the set prowling the stage and the front few rows of the audience, with a taut muscular musical backing from the three other clowns. If you wanted an example of what to look for in a great frontman, Miles was it. No standing still trying to hide behind the microphone stand. No danger of being distracted by anything other than what was going on on stage. The start of the band’s set was deceptively quiet, with things soon turning around to show their true colours – loud, alternative rock. After a full set of their own material they return for an encore of a cover of Ghost Town by The Specials. The level of engagement from Clowns, their intensity, their energy, the volume all contributed to them being worthy headliners. Next year, Clowns will be releasing their album Macho Bimbo on Bleeding Hearts Recordings, and we can’t wait.

Brighton Music Blog Advent Calendar / Day 22 / Nordic Giants – Cate Ferris – Dizraeli & The Small Gods

Posted on 22/12/2012 by brightonmusicblog

Today you might be thinking “How come there’s only a few days left but even more acts who’ve had great write ups on the blog?” or maybe you’re thinking “what’s going on with more than one act being in the description? Surely that’s cheating!”. Both are very good points. We’ll put our hands up and admit that when we were putting together our end of year list there were more than 25 bands we absolutely had to write about, and so for the last few days we’ve combined a few of our favourite acts in order to squeeze a few more people in. It’s also got around our dilemma of what to do about bands who’ve collaborated.

Nordic Giants first put Shine – sung by Cate Ferris – on their A Tree As Old As Me EP back in 2010. It’s such a great track that they re-recorded it this year and put it out as a standalone single. It’s got a fantastic b-side too – the Martin Luther King sampling Together. In theory, their live shows shouldn’t really work – bombastic post rock played just by two people, without the aid of any of their vocalists (they’ve worked with a different singer for each of their tracks). In practise, Nordic Giants are one of the best live bands in Brighton. but they don’t hide behind laptops, instead playing guitar / drums and piano / trumpet, stripped to the waist wearing masks and body paint, illuminated only by strobes during the louder parts of the songs. They play to a backdrop dark short films, and project video of the vocalists for each track into a separate box. If you haven’t seen them live yet, then do whatever you can get to get a ticket for the next time they play. They recorded their album earlier this month in Wales, and we can’t wait until that surfaces at some point next year.

Cate Ferris is someone else you really must see live. There are plenty of people who sing, play guitar and use loop pedals, but no one else who does it all so well and makes it all look so effortless as Cate, nor is there anyone else who’s so down to earth and warm in her performances. Seeing Cate play live is a complete joy, in her songs, her musicianship, and in the wonder she generates in the room. Her “Deep breath ready get set GO!” Ep was great too, proving that her live performance can translate into recorded material.

Cate also lends her vocal talents to folk / hip hop supergroup Dizraeli & The Small Gods, and Dizraeli’s wordplay definitely warrants a mention. The band had a single out in the latter part of the year – Never Mind – and around the time of it’s release we tried to catch up with Dizraeli to talk to him about it, but our diaries never managed to match up. It could end up as Brighton Music Blog’s great missed interview. Or maybe we’ll just have to make sure we catch up next time they’ve got something for us to write about instead.

Brighton Music Blog Advent Calendar / Day 20 / Martin Rossiter

Posted on 20/12/2012 by brightonmusicblog

We first started pulling together our end of year list back in October. By that point in the year, you’ve got a pretty idea about who you feel deserves an extra mention. Our first draft didn’t mention Martin Rossiter though – We’d spotted him playing bass innocuously in Call Me Jolene, and heard some positive second hand reports about his performance at The Wedding Present’s At The Edge Of The Sea all dayer back in August, but we didn’t think that was quite enough for him to make our list. But then a couple of weeks ago, we got hold of his first album in over a decade, and we knew that our list needed changing straight away. The Defenestration of St Martin is tender, emotional and personal. It’s cruel yet majestic, cold yet beautiful.

Brighton Music Blog Advent Calendar / Day 19 / Fear of Men

Posted on 19/12/2012 by brightonmusicblog

There’s something about Fear of Men that makes them feel like stars-in-waiting. There’s their releases, all great songs, which they’ve made sure have all been issued on 7″ or cassette so that they’re all physical artefacts, but given online exclusive streaming on Pitchfork before anyone else. There’s the decision not to play too often in Brighton so that when they do it feels more special. Then there’s the support slot with Best Coast, giving them an audience not just across the UK, but Europe too. Watch this space, because next year we predict big things for Fear of Men.

Thomas White supporting Fragile Creatures at the Prince Albert

Posted on 18/12/2012 by brightonmusicblog

Back in May, Thomas White played a low key set for the Great Escape Festival at a venue called Shipwrights Yard, a hidden courtyard off Middle Street overlooked by Lout and Republic of Music’s offices. One of his backing vocalists for this gig was a certain Mr Adam Kidd, who had recently formed a band which had still yet to have recorded any music, or settled on a final line up. Fast forward seven months, and the tables have been turned, with Thomas White giving Adam’s band Fragile Creatures a leg up by playing a support slot.

Thomas White

Thomas White has spent his last gig of the year playing a fresh set of songs. He’s spent much of the past twelve months playing shows drawn from this year’s album Yalla, but now he’s looking forward. Armed with nothing but his guitar and his voice, White played a short set of covers, taking in a rare Beach Boys track and a stripped down version of Wonderful World, and rounded things off with the Twelve Days of Christmas and Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer.

Fragile Creatures

Fragile Creatures didn’t play any Christmas Songs, but they did alter the titles of their tracks to give them a festive edge. Over the course of 2012 Adam Kidd has been honing his accomplished guitar pop, and last night showed a fine performance of some very polished songs. It was Adam’s backing vocals with Thomas White that first caught our attention and it was the harmonies that really shone last night and made their songs – none too shabby in the first place – really stand out. I look forward to hearing more of what Fragile Creatures have got to offer in 2013.

Brighton Music Blog Advent Calendar / Day 18 / Us Baby Bear Bones

Posted on 18/12/2012 by brightonmusicblog

We’re huge fans of Us Baby Bear Bones here at Brighton Music Blog because they’re everything we think a band ought to be. In short, they’re the antithesis of four young men in check shirts and skinny jeans playing guitars. It’s like nobody told UBBB that most bands have a different member taking on drums, vocals, guitars and so on – musical duties are passed around the band without care for convention. But if it sounds like Us Baby Bear Bones are difficult or inaccessible, think again because all of these ingredients come together to make lush, bold pop tunes. If only they’d get around to releasing their debut single, originally promised for July last year! My sources tell me that it may be arriving in February, so watch this space.

Brighton Music Blog Advent Calendar / Day 17 / Speak Galactic

Posted on 17/12/2012 by brightonmusicblog

The first time we saw Owen Thomas, at the Green Door Store supporting Laetitia Sadier, it was so loud we couldn’t stay in the room. Thankfully we persevered (and bought some ear plugs), because Speak Galactic are one of the most exciting bands in Brighton. Watching them live, ideas come faster than the audience can process them – there’s a guitar there, but it’s not making guitar noises because it’s wired through a box of home made electronics which makes the most amazing sounds. There’s frenetic vocals and drums too making for an incredibly visceral performance. Cupboard Music put out the album Severed – slightly slower paced than the live performances with woozy unsettling electronica and big crunching beats building their widescreen vision. The record finished off with the spectacular Solar Sail – a glorious seventeen minute long post-ambient epic. Amazing.

Speak Galactic