Dirty Rev: July tour dates
Posted by jamie on Jun 30, 2011
Our friends in Dirty Revolution have sent us a little reminder about their tour dates for July. A stunning array of support acts includes Random Hand, Tyrannosaurus Alan, Anti-Vigilante, Broken Nose and the Have Nots.
JULY 2011
2nd LONDON UNDERWORLD w Random Hand, Have Nots, Broken Nose, Tyrannosaurus Alan
4th LONDON VIBE BAR
9th CAMARTHEN PARROT MUSIC BAR w Broken Nose, Tyrannosaurus Alan
10th CARDIFF UNDERTONE w Broken Nose, Tyrannosaurus Alan
16th ASHTON UNDER LYME WITCHWOOD w Anti Vigilante, Broken Nose, Tyrannosaurus Alan
Skints / Gym Class Heroes: October tour
Posted by jamie on Jun 30, 2011
Ok, so we said we wouldn’t do this until they hit 125% on their pledgemusic page. So now that it’s got to 126% while we skived off drinking and you’ve probably seen this anyway:
The Skints are supporting Gym Class Heroes. Still massive news. Get tickets from us here.
Dates in full:
29 Sept. - Birmingham, UK @ The Library at HMV Institute
01Oct. - Leeds, UK @ The Cockpit
02 Oct. - Manchester, UK @ Sound Control
04 Oct. - Glasgow, UK @ Arches
07 Oct. - London, UK @ Electric Ballroom
This will damage my nerd-factor, but I had no idea GCH were on Fuelled by Ramen.
Beat the Red Light: Salt the Lands
Posted by jamie on Jun 28, 2011
Beat the Red Light
Salt the Lands – TNS, 2011
27th June 2011
Jamie
Sitting down to witness Salt the Lands for the first time, I thought I was prepared. I mean, I’d heard it through the grapevine that this was pretty brutal. In hindsight, though, brutal scarcely comes close. Salt the Lands is an absolute monster: it’s enormous, angry and ridiculously powerful. Imagine the damage a bad-tempered Tyrannosaurus Rex could do to some cushions that had made fun of its mother and then somehow stomped on its smallest dino-toe and you’re somewhere near what this record can do to your ears. The hairs on my neck are all standing up right now.
High Wycombe’s Beat the Red Light come with a burden of expectation these days: if an ear-splitting self-titled debut EP and countless incendiary live performances weren’t enough, that image of a skull and spinal cord forcibly impaired on a trombone sums up what these guys are about fairly neatly. It should be too much: a bit of an overstatement that leads to a disappointing anticlimax, but, in fact, it’s anything but: it’s a metaphor, of course, they’re not actually going to do that to your skull (who’d pay for that?) but these tunes really blow your mind. If anything, saying that doesn’t do it justice. But it does sound better than “rock your socks off”.
This time they’ve gone for the relatively discreet, understated image of a wolf, dressed as a Bishop, machine-gunning some doves. If anything, though, the songs here are bigger, scarier and angrier than ever before. A four-piece horn section (two trumpets, a trombone and a sax) and two guitars join vocals, bass and drums to create a gigantic and exhilaratingly intimidating wall of monstrous sound that almost lifts you up and throws you across the room. It’s not ska, as they’re fond of pointing out: most of this lot have been in various ska, ska-punk and skacore bands for a while, and wanted to do something else. Still, though, it’s more than just scary metal with horns. It’s too interesting and has too much depth for that: there are ska horn lines, and there are more than enough places to do dance and skank. There are the giant, scary riffs and that vocal that comes from the very back of a singer’s throat. And then there are upstrokes on the guitar, embellished by staccato (short and sharp) blasts on the horns before it all suddenly explodes in to an enormous crescendo of all of that together with screams that make your belly move and riffs bigger than you can imagine. The song Rut is probably the best example, but there’s so many places where the visceral anger from the a metal vocal melds perfectly with the immediate and candid emotional urgency that comes from the frustration behind so many of the great punk songs. Add a four-piece horn section playing darkly melodic harmonies, giant fanfares and good, no-nonsense swing-core ska and you’re on to a surefire winner. If that was the recipe, though, you’d probably want to add a couple of hand grenades.
The sheer size and power of these songs is what makes the record really stand out, and in that it’s unlike anything I’ve seen before. It’s also got the tunes, though, even if I’m not really a metal fan. Even at its growliest, there’s enough depth to the songs that the tunes carry through nicely. Thoroughly enjoyable throughout. Approach with extreme caution, though.
Stand-out Tracks:
Rut
Saviours
Permanently Impaired
Mash Attack / Capdown: Southampton show
Posted by jamie on Jun 27, 2011
Southampton ska-punk nutters Mash Attack are playing with Capdown at Southampton’s Talking Heads.
See it on facebook here. Remember that Mouthwash have now split, though, so don’t go there expecting to see them. But still go, because it looks ace.
Ian Britt: “Box” now up for pre-order
Posted by jamie on Jun 27, 2011
Ian Britt’s new album Box is now available for pre-order. You can get it here.
Chapter Eleven: July UK tour
Posted by jamie on Jun 27, 2011
Bananatown main men Chapter Eleven are off on tour again.
You can see the whole tour on Facebook here, where each of the dates has its own individual event and they’re all neatly linked.
They’ve also told us:
The info for the last few dates will be added over the next couple of days, and the possibility of a few more dates.
We’ll be at a few of these, but I don’t know which ones yet. Still, see you there.
Beat The Red Light: be in the video
Posted by jamie on Jun 24, 2011
Beat The Red Light are making a video.
They want to know:
a) what song do you want it for?
b) if you want to be in it, you best come and see us soon!
There’s always a catch, eh? Hit them up on facebook for more info.
SB6: new single / remix competition
Posted by jamie on Jun 24, 2011
Lots of exciting news from the Sonic Boom Six, although nothing definite to report on that fourth studio album. What we do know is that it’s about to spawn its second single, the Van Morrison-inspired Sunny Side of the Street. This tune was the highlight of a hit-packed live set the last time we saw them, and it’ll be perfect for summer. The new video will be out “some time next week”.
You can get your remix on the single as a B-side. Find out more here.
There are Boom live shows in the offing too:
Our summer continues to get bigger and better as the days go by with additional appearences at some great festivals! We’re pleased to be playing the Big Cheese stage at Guilfest (just under Skindred!), the Y Not festival and headlining the Rock Sound / MacBeth stage at Hevy on the Friday. Warm-up gigs have been added at Bournemouth and Hull. All dates and links are here.
Barney’s had a chat with the Sonisphere website. They’re talking festivals here.
Drewvis: Disposable Pleasures & Meaningful Pursuits
Posted by jamie on Jun 23, 2011
Drewvis
Disposable Pleasures & Meaningful Pursuits – Do the Dog, 2011
23rd June 2011
Jamie
If you’ve read a lot of our reviews, you’ll most likely have guessed by now that I’m not a musician. Alright, I pay attention to detail and am lucky enough to get to hear a lot of great new music, so I know good songs when I hear them. Occasionally, though, I get stuck for the odd word, and this is one of those occasions.
The thing is, though, that this thing that I can’t describe is pretty crucial to what makes Drewvis’s excellent new record so exciting, and so different to so much of the other, also excellent, acoustic ska that’s coming out at the moment.
These days more and more people are getting in to the acoustic thing, and there are lots of other folk out there making excellent solo acoustic music, ska or otherwise. But there’s something about it that still makes Drewvis’s stuff sound more acoustic, if that were possible. It’s not down to any lack of production: Disposable Pleasures and Meaningful Pursuits is a polished recording and really nicely put together. And it’s not because it’s more stripped down or lo-fi. Instead, since For the Win Drew’s added a bassist (his mate Paul from old band Second Time Lucky) and drummer/percussionist Seb. There’s backing vocals, including a female backing singer (Amanda) and even keys on some tracks. Do the Dog are referring to Drewvis as a “ska & reggae outfit”. There’s much more going on here than on the last record, and it’s effectively an album recorded by a full band.Why, then, does it feel so much more acoustic? I’ll have to leave that to the musicians among you.
What we de know, and I’ve already hinted at this already, is a smooth and polished record of acoustic reggae and ska. Drewvis has returned with a clutch of guest musicians and made a record more suited to a full band. There’s more in the arrangements here, and the sound, while remaining the most acoustic of all the acoustic ska, has become bigger than it was on For the Win.
The finished effect is absolutely stunning: Disposable Pleasures and Meaningful Pursuits is wonderful from start to finish: Drewvis has an incredible gift for writing instantly charming and uplifting ska and pop songs, and performing them in a way that’s so uplifting it feels like your heart is literally climbing up inside your chest. The refrains are deliciously catchy, the vocals, all of them, so effortlessly engaging, and the melodies so beautiful in their simplicity and infectious in their foot-tapping happiness that it’s impossible not to instantly fall in love with this record.
It’s not just that it’s so cheery: it is ridiculously, cheesily cheerful, but there’s so much to enjoy in the music itself as well as in the way it’s performed. The harmonies, backing vocals, percussion, basslines, and key parts all take their respective turns to entertain and sprinkles a little more joy on the record. There are so many catchy little moments that raise a smile and make you want to listen out for them when, if you’re like me, the album comes around again and again on repeat. It’s like the really excellent episodes of Blackadder or the Simpsons that you can watch over and over and keep finding little bits that you love and wish you’d noticed last time. It’s been really tough to pick my favourite tracks from this record, because it really needs to be listened to as a whole and because all of the songs are so excellently deserving and so lovely, but I’ve picked five. Estoy Esperando deserves to be singled out because it works really nicely as a duet, with both parts fitting together so nicely; I Want makes it for the keyboard part, and Compass gets special praise for being (probably) the best example of an instantly addictive, charmingly beautiful acoustic pop song. They could all have deserved that prize, but Compass
just takes it. It’s sung a tiny bit higher, which, I’ll guess, wasn’t easy (listen carefully at the end). It’s just that little bit breezier even than the rest. With a treat of a keyboard part, and the loveliest of a whole bunch of lovely melodies and more harmonies than the rest. It’s wonderful. All the songs are.
Stand-out Tracks:
Short Measures
Estoy Esperando
I Want
Compass
These 3 Words
Mash Attack: UK tour July 2011
Posted by jamie on Jun 23, 2011
Bonkers Southampton ska-punkers Mash Attack hit the road in July.
Full UK dates:
JULY 2011
9 - The Birds Nest - LONDON
10 - Drift Bar - SOUTHSEA
11 - The Office - SWANSEA
12 - The Beer Cart - CANTERBURY
13 - West Coast Bar - MARGATE
14 - The Hobgoblin - STAINES
15 - The Cellar Bar - CARDIGAN
16 - Guava Bar - SOTON
17 - The Maze - NOTTINGHAM
30 - Onion Festival - PETERSFIELD
