I would love to say that we had a stream of the new British Sea Power album on Brighton Music Blog. The bad news is that we don’t have that much clout. The good news is that The Guardian do. Click on this link to hear the new album in full before it’s released next Monday!
Today Curxes release their new single Further Still, a free download currently available via soundcloud. Further Still is more delicate and complex than their previous releases, kicking off with an warped operatic vinyl sample which fades away to what initially appears to be a heartfelt ballad but reveals itself to be a thumping disco number by the end:
The announcement of the track was made on the 405 earlier today, and they promised some remixes. No sign of them yet, but we’ll update you when they surface. In the meantime, here’s the Curxes remix of Chvrches single Recover, which gets a digital release today. As mentioned a few posts ago, Recover is getting a vinyl release for Record Store Day on 20th April.
It’s been a while since we’ve done a round up of some of the latest videos we’ve spotted, so here’s a few to watch on this chilly Sunday night.
First up is Nimmo and the Gauntletts new single Change. The video was directed by Agyness Deyn, more well known for being in front of the camera than behind it. Agyness played the track on 6Music, and the band tweeted her asking her to appear their next video. She went one better and directed the video for them!
Then we have The Beautiful Word, who’ve just headed out on tour. They’re playing Brighton on Thursday night at The Hope. This is the animated video for their track May Not Be Love, which will be on their album Particles which is coming out later this year.
Here’s the video for Debbie Does Drugs by The Bobby McGees. This is one of the tracks from their upcoming album Je Vien Rechcher Mes, and is an opportunity to see Jimmy McGee without his trademark beard!
Next up Monsters Build Mean Robots with the video for their new track A Town Called Tourettes:
Professor Elemental‘s new single is called This is My Horse (show me yours). You can buy it over on his bandcamp page, and watch the video here:
British Sea Power‘s new album Machineries of Joy is out a week tomorrow (1st April). Before that they’re playing a sold out show at the Old Market, and have released a video for the title track:
Finally, here’s a video from the Nordic Giants gig at the Pavilion Theatre last month. This is Glass Skinned Girl, which is the b-side to the band’s new single Speed The Crow’s nest. Nordic Giants are playing up in London next month, and there’s still one or two tickets for the early show (which you can buy here).
Records Store Day is less than a month away, and this week the list of exclusive records available was announced. There are six shops taking part in Record Store Day on April 20th – Resident, Borderline, Rarekind, Cult Hero, One Stop Records and RK Bass – each of whom will be getting a selection of this year’s releases in. The bigger shops will have more stock, but they’ll also have bigger queues.
We’ve spotted a few Brighton bands amongst the exclusives. So far we’ve seen from Bat For Lashes (a 7″ with different versions of Laura an Marilyn), British Sea Power (The Facts are Right on 7″), and Curxes (who remix Chvrches ‘Recover’), but the list isn’t final yet – There’ll be even more bands added over the next three weeks.
Over the past couple of months, our weekend gigs picks posts have got bigger and bigger, as I do my best to give the local bands playing each weekend a bit of a mention. This weekend I’m reigning it in a bit and just putting forward one gig, whose headliners also have some other news to tell too.
The Bobby McGee’s will be topping the bill at Sunday night’s Blazing Saddles Cabaret at The Brunswick. Other musical and non-musical treats on the bill include Team MUD, Cherry Bella, Zaz and Bambi Beats. The night is a fundraiser for Brighton Naked Bike Ride, but organisers have made it very clear that this is a no nudity event. I’d say it was still a bit cold out there for that kind of behaviour, but some people involved with the naked bike ride are a little bit keen.
On now to the Bobby McGee’s news – their next album has been finished. After a year of hard toil being written and recorded in the cellar underneath the Horse & Groom, Bon Bons (Je Vien Rechcher Mes) is finished. It won’t be out in the shops just yet though – it’s pencilled in for physical release in October. In the meantime the band will be releasing two download only tracks per month between now and then. The first two tracks – Biggest Smile and I Don’t Know Why – see the band developing their own “tweecore” style into something they call “Indie-Pop-Lindy-Hop”. It’s like the old Bobby McGee’s, but with a new swing direction. Most bands out there couldn’t pull off a new swing direction, but then most bands out there aren’t the Bobby McGee’s. If you really, really can’t wait until October for the album apparently “taster editions” will be available on Record Store Day (April 20th, if it’s not already in your diary). We’ll keep you updated with any more news we hear.
Normally when we see people on social media seeking out bands to fill support slots, we give them a mention or a retweet, but when we heard about this opportunity we thought we’d write a separate blog post, because it’s rather special.
Rizzle Kicks (copyright Jim Stephenson)
Audio Active are a local charity who work with children and young people providing them with musical and creative experiences. They’re putting on a fund raiser at the Dome on 27th March headlined by Rizzle Kicks and are offering a local band the opportunity to support them which, considering how big Rizzle Kicks are, is a bit of a big deal. Obviously this might attract a fair bit of attention, so there’s a few criteria they’d like people making an application to follow:
Deadline for applications is Monday 18th of March, so get your skates on. There’s full details of how to apply in the Audio Active website. Alternatively, you could just buy a ticket for the gig, see one of of the biggest Brighton bands, and support a local charity too!
Time for our weekly round of up our local picks for the upcoming weekend. This week, one of our picks is not quite so local but we’re willing to make an exception for Shrag’s final gig. We’ll be escaping Brighton on Friday to head up to The Lexington in Islington where Helen, Bob and the rest of the group will play for the very last time. If the prospect of travelling to another town for a gig fills you with dread, then we suggest you get down to the Green Door Store where Hundredth Anniversary are holding a party for the launch of their debut single The Jump. The single comes out on Monday (March 18th) but the band should have some copies with them for sale.
Our top tip for Saturday is a matinee performance where Brighton Music Blog favourite Catherine Ireton is supporting Roddy Woomble. I wouldn’t expect to hear the likes of Idlewild in the Unitarian Church, but we’ve been assured that his solo material gets filed under “folk”.Finally, our other weekend tip is to head to the Green Door Store on Saturday and Sunday, where Tatty Seaside Town are celebrating 10 years of promoting gigs in Brighton. Bands playing include Demons, Disinfo, Epideme, Hamilton yarns, Hey colossus, I’m being good and Sealings. There’s full details over on the Facebook event.
We mentioned Radiate back in January before it was released. Now it’s been out, it’s also popped up in a few other forms. Here’s a remix by legendary producer Youth, and video that’s popped up on Youtube of an acoustic version from last year when they were recording their album in Spain:
You can buy Radiate on iTunes here.
We included Dog In The Snow in our Weekend Gig Picks post, on the bill supporting Hidden Orchestra alongside Calico at the Blind Tiger on Sunday. That was our first mention of the band though, so now’s a good time to introduce to you some of their music. Here’s their latest video for a track called Fear, which was produced by Steve Hillier of Dubstar fame:
SXSW
3/12 – 2.45pm – Red7 (Terrorbird SXSW day party)
3/13 – 1pm – Hype Hotel 301 Brazos (Gorilla vs Bear x Yours Truly)
3/14 – 1.15pm – Hotel Vegas (Austin Psych Fest)
3/14 – 3pm – Flat Top Burger Shop (Music for Listeners)
3/14 – 9pm – Valhalla (Kanine/Fat Cat Records showcase)
3/15 – 3.30pm – End of an Ear (Instore)
3/16 – 1.30pm – Fader Fort (Fader)
3/16 – 3.15pm – inside House of Vans @ The Mohawk (AV Club/Flower)
3/16 – 4.40pm- Latitude 30 (British Music Embassy)
New York
3/19 – 8.30pm – Glasslands Gallery, Brooklyn (Headline show)
3/20 – 8pm – Pianos, New York (w/Field Mouse)
And if you didn’t make it to the gig last weekend, and aren’t in America, then here’s a new video for Seer, which was the previously unreleased track from Early Fragments:
