If you were at the last fiN single launch party at Bush Hall, you have already seen this video!
But I am sure you won’t mind to watch it once again! Or twice… 
And if you weren’t lucky to be there, then have a look below. It’s pretty cool!
#EverybodyDiesAlone
via fiN twitter
We just drive… in search for sense of life… to feel alive
I’ve discovered The Chevin last year while attending a White Lies gig at Wembley arena and I was stunned by their sensational melodies, incredible vocal and powerful lyrics. Somehow it was hard to believe this band was just a support act as they surely have the right potential to headline sold out arenas.
Their debut album is coming out this summer and all the music lovers out there should be ready for it. It’s going to be epic!
Get ‘Drive’ on iTunes!
Glasgow based band Mummy Short Arms have formed just over a year ago and they’ve already managed to record a full length debut album called Old Jack’s Windowless Playhouse, which has been released on Monday 21st May.
I’ve been looking forward to this album since hearing their released singles Change, Cigarette Smuggling and Silicone Dream (watch videos below), which are nothing but original, crazy and fun – just totally different from anything else you come across these days. I could not wait to hear what else has this band in store. And what an experience it has been listening to this record!
I am a big fan of unique vocals and here I definitely discovered a voice that’s not easy to compare. Singer James Allan is surely going for it with his howling-like voice that might surprise you at first but after listening to the full album, you cannot imagine the songs without it. It’s something that makes Mummy Short Arms who they are.
There should always be that special thing which makes any band stand out – in this case it’s James’ voice and his brilliant way of expressing it. No wonder their sound has been compared to the likes of Tom Waits.
There is a strong dose of freedom and energy coming out of this record and the tracks are very well mastered musically with a great combination of guitars and synths. I fell in love with it after the first listen and maybe even more after the second.
Put the album on at any time of the day and let its feel-good powers lift your spirits right up.
Favourite tracks: Cigarette Smuggling, Where’s the Mortuary?, Rusty Jose, Whisky Avalanche, Change, Silicone Dream
(Click on the image to go to iTunes)
Links: Facebook, Flowers in the Dustbin
After finding out that The October Game was playing at this year’s Great Escape meant one thing – don’t miss it!
Discovering the quality of their sound through a friend a few months back and really liking their truly amazing so far released albums, I’ve become a great supporter of this alt rock band based now in Hertfordshire.
They kicked off their 7-track set at The Latest Music Bar with their recent sound cracking hit Answers and Keys. I stood in front as I wanted to experience the full effect of their music and I as I expected, they sounded just too good! Seeing these pretty relaxed guys taking over the stage and blow the audience away with their sound made me so glad I came to support them.
Luke’s vocal was spot on and powerful, and the guitars were striking. Nick, playing the viola and keys was putting a special vibe and energy to the whole performance. Playing some new tracks including their latest one Rise and Fall, a song packed with outstanding vocal and guitar riffs, or a couple of songs from their previous albums - Gatherers Hands and Concrete, it was such an exciting and unique experience musically.
These guys totally deserved the packed room ovations they were getting through the whole set and with the new songs sounding exceptional, with no doubt, The October Game is here to stay and keep rocking.
On top of it all, they are one of the nicest guys I came across! Worth the support.
The Lost Souls Club brought their fuzzy rock’n'roll sound to the Great Escape in Brighton this year. The Southampton based group played a 9-track afternoon set at the Queens Hotel on Saturday (12th May).
For those who haven’t heard of this band before – be aware. If your musical soul loves to take a dose of a dark, thrilling noise with explosive guitar riffs and well written lyrics, then The Lost Souls Club is for you.
Jon Tufnell (vocal, guitar), Simon Jackson (guitar), James Freemantle (bass) and Jon Lamont (drums) have a true passion and the right kind of charisma on stage. Their strong musicianship brings a very special effect to their performance and they create a powerful atmosphere in the room. While adding some great instruments like harmonica to their sound, their incredible musical talent shows off beautifully on stage.
The set included songs like Compassion Fatigue, where Jon was amazingly rocking the harmonica to the full; or the slower and dreamy I know I Spoke Too Soon and one of the highlights of the set for me was a powerful track called Heathen, which has a great western feel to it and nice meaningful lyrics. Their top track Romeo was the perfect finishing song, and if you haven’t heard it yet, watch the video below and enjoy the smashing opening riff that makes you connect to it within seconds.
The band has officially released two singles so far – Romeo and Leave the Light On, which are both available on iTunes and you can also hear some other great tracks on their YouTube Page.
But from what I’ve heard on Saturday, clearly the band has a lot more in store and I assure you it’s something to look forward to!
The Lost Souls Club have the ability to write and create music that strikes right through you, somehow makes you feel at home and for that reason, you’ll find yourself joining the club without even noticing.
Check out more pictures over here => The Lost Souls Club at the Great Escape
Links - Website, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, No Wave Production
iTunes – Romeo, Leave the Light On
A few months ago, I was lucky enough to come across a band that completely blew me away with their live performance.
Since then, I have waited for the right moment to feature them on my blog while I’ve been digging their music and following the updates including the exciting news about their new EP.
So after having the pleasure of attending the EP launch on Tuesday night (May the 8th) at The Hope in Brighton, now my dear music lovers, let me properly introduce you The Witches – a Brighton/Peterborough based band to which this saying applies without a doubt: ‘Once seen, never forgotten.’
You might think The Witches are just another band swinging through the underground music scene and playing some loud grunge rock, that will make your ears ache.
Well, they might be, but not many of those bands, especially after you see them live, leave you with such an impression that literally screams out the words ‘Holy Shit’.
Kristian Bell (vocal and lead guitar), Gianni Honey (drums) and Dan Rumsey (bass) have a special gift to give the crowd something unique and original. And it’s not easy to describe to those who haven’t seen them play, how incredible and powerful the atmosphere they provide while on stage is.
It’s their charisma, realness and a simple ‘Don’t give a fuck’ attitude while playing and singing as loud as they can (sometimes even throwing things around) that makes you just shake your head in disbelief and go ‘Wow’.
That’s the power of The Witches. Trust me. This is a band you want to see live.
Their new EP called Beehive Queen consist of three brilliant tracks:
Beehive Queen (free download below), Wireframe Mattress and Darker (will be available to download very soon).
Their Tuesday EP launch was full of great music from the start thanks to the supporting bands Kid Capola, Sky Harbour and Rising Tide! All three bands rocked and it was so good to discover some new music!
Some very close fans came to support The Witches on this important night and enjoy the great set of all their tracks. It was an insane, sound cracking and a brilliant experience once again!
The lead singer Kristian is an incredible singer/guitarist and both Dan – playing the bass and Gianni the drums, have totally smashed it through the whole thing. Simply ‘kick ass’.
I was glad that my friend really enjoyed their performance, so the band has gained a new fan. All the guests had a chance to get their hands on one of the awesome limited hand drawn EP’s from the band!
The whole night was just a really good fun filled with friendly people and a quality music!
I’ll be definitely seeing the guys soon again!
Here, you can also listen and download their first EP below!
Links – Facebook, Twitter, No Wave Production
Check out the whole picture gallery over here as well => The Witches EP Launch 8/5/12.
The Vaccines played their last seaside tour in Brighton on Monday night with the amazing support acts including Savages and S.C.U.M.
The Vaccines have become everyone’s favourite band since their debut album What Did You Expect From The Vaccines? and their infectious sound and catchy lyrics have won the hearts of thousands of people around the world.
They brought the party to Brighton Centre and had chosen some brilliant support acts for their tour.
I haven’t come across the London based group Savages before but I must say I was pretty impressed by this all-female powerful band playing an amazing pop noir with pretty loud guitars! (Facebook Page)
I was looking forward to seeing S.C.U.M. so much and I was not disappointed! I am a huge fan of their unique, beautiful, out of this world like sound and they have even more power and charisma on stage. Their sound might not be everyone’s cup of tea but for those who get their music, it’s incredible to experience it live (Facebook Page).
And here came The Vaccines! Brighton Centre was full of their dedicated fans that came to sing and dance along to their music that has the power to get you in a great mood no matter what. And it’s safe to say that the Vaccines live are truly fun and enjoyable!
Along some new tracks, they played all the favourite tunes from their album including Wrecking Bar (Ra Ra Ra), Wetsuit, Blow It Up, All in White and absolute highlights of the night were Post Break-up Sex, If You Wanna and the final track of the night Norgaard.
The whole place was dancing and singing along, showing the band that Brighton crowd knows how to party! But of course who would not sing along to the Vaccines! That’s one reason why it’s so easy to love this band. They simply know how to make insanely catchy music.
It was impossible to leave the place disappointed.
The Vaccines delivered.
To kick off the month with something great and special, let me introduce you The Voyage Andromeda – Brighton based alt rock band whose first EP ‘They Thought The World Was Round’ will be released on May 26th.
Now having had the pleasure to review this EP and interview the lead singer Dan Rumsey, I am happy to discover a band that has so much potential for their diversity of songs and instruments, great melodies and a quality vocal.
The EP consists of 6 tracks, starting off with Don’t Drown Yourself (watch video below) which is the best track to kick off the album for it’s epic guitar intro, catchy melody and lyrics. As Dan says below in the interview, Nirvana was a big influence on this song. You can’t help but be highly impressed with the guitar riffs through the whole track. Simply rocking.
Next track Years and Years is a very laid back but powerful piece with heartfelt lyrics, featuring piano and a guitar which builds up amazingly through the song and gives it a special wow factor.
One of my favorite songs on the EP is called Waves, for it’s dark appeal and striking sound. Plus Dan’s vocal in it is absolutely amazing. It’s a song you can get completely lost in. Mesmerizing.
One of the band’s influences and also one of my favorite bands is Interpol. And I bring that up because of the next track called I will never sleep which reminds me a bit of their sound and it’s truly fantastic. This shows that The Voyage Andromeda can pull off any sound.
In If My Heart Stops Beating, Dan is really pouring his heart out as well as in the last track on the EP - Heart To Follow, Shore to Find; a heartwarming acoustic guitar track that gives it the perfect finish with a statement that this band won’t go unnoticed for much longer.
Just because you’ve might not heard of them, doesn’t mean they don’t make some cracking music .
So give it a go and let The Voyage Andromeda take you on a very special musical journey. It’s worth getting on board!
Here, the lead singer Dan Rumsey answers some of my questions about his band, EP, etc.
Could you describe the meaning/purpose behind both, your band’s and EP’s title?
How long have you been writing and recording songs and what’s the best part of making music?
I’ve been writing and playing for about 10 years in various different bands, some good, some great and some plain awful! A great part of making it is hearing something you’ve just jammed in your room by yourself be transformed into a finished song, all ready for people to hear. But the best part is when people tell you how a song affects them, because everyone has a different way of interpreting your songs. Someone told me once that one of my songs made them cry and I was shocked at first and couldn’t understand how that could happen, but it’s knowing that someone can connect that deeply with your work that really is the best part.
I’ve shared your track ‘Don’t Drown Yourself’ with some other fellow music critics and a few of us agreed that it has a bit of Nirvana feel to it, which is a good thing. Do you take any inspiration from them or any other bands/artists?
Thank you, I’m glad you said Nirvana because they were a big influence on that song, in fact I remember seeing a video or clip of the recording of the guitar on “Smells like teen spirit” where the guitar feedback decays through an entire verse. In verse 3 of this song I tried to do a similar thing, it’s obviously no teen spirit but hey! Other artists I love and take constant inspiration from are Alkaline trio, Modest Mouse, Interpol, Tom Waits, The Cure, The Smiths…. the list could go on.
Do you have any special/memorable experiences from live shows so far?
We are a fairly new band at the moment so haven’t done many gigs as this line up but gigs I played when I was gigging the band as Dan Rumsey and the Bitter End were all great and I’ll always remember them as special, mainly because I was onstage each night with two really awesome friends, that’s what it’s about. If you hate each other it’s not worth it. Some people say there needs to be friction and I agree with that to a certain extent but you it can’t work if you dislike who you are playing with.
The EP release show is happening on May 26th at the Prince Albert in Brighton. What do you have in store for people?
It’s going to be a good one, rehearsals for it are going great, it sounds really big and epic. We have lots in store… but beware as there may be a storm… and whales. Also on offer are two other incredible bands, Spit Shake Sisters and Emperor the Stag, it’s basically going to be a great party with three really great bands making a load of noise!
The EP will be available to purchase from the 26th of May on iTunes, Amazon and Bandcamp.
Ladies and gentlemen, today my blog got its first award! And I could not be more excited and honored about this. Seeing that people read my blog and like what they see is beyond amazing. I love what I do and things like this make it all worth while. Best feeling ever!
There are some terms of the acceptance for this award so let’s go:
1. Thank the person who nominated you and link back to them.
2. Copy and paste the award logo.
3. Nominate five other bloggers you would like to pass the award on to.
4. Tell your readers ten random facts about you.
So let’s start with a HUGE THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart to one of the greatest music bloggers around here => Olga Polomoshnova who awarded me and who runs a truly rocktastic blog Rock Britain. There she shares her great passion for British rock music and her blog offers you stuff by some amazing British rock bands, inspirational qoutes by artists, album and gig reviews and much more. She’s an exceptional writer so go and follow/check her blog and keep rocking!
Now five blogs I’d like to pass my award on to:
Andy is one of my music buddies on twitter who’s music recommendations hardly ever fail. He’s also a contributor to Mudkiss. His blog is very versatile and offers different kinds of music you’ve might not ever heard before but you surely won’t be disappointed with the stuff you find there.
Worth checking out: Folk Is The New Prog
2. Anomnom
A blog run by Kaja that I have stumbled upon after we went to the same White Lies gig in Wembley last December. Her blog kinda gave me an idea to start blogging about music myself. She has a great open minded views on music and writes great album and gig reviews.
Worth checking out: Lost Prophets Bring ‘Em All Down
It’s owner Jonathan says: ”Writing (or in this case blogging) has that magical power to just let you escape from what’s around you and delve deep into your mind.” and as another passionate music lover, he shares some beautiful and powerful tunes.
Worth checkin out: Pick Me Up Song #2
Bethany is a student from Brighton who loves music and writing and here she shares her amazing gig experiences. The quote by Frank Turner under her blog title says it all: ”I still believe that everyone can find a song for every time they’ve lost and every time they’ve won”
Worth checking out: Miles Kane – 28/04/12 – HMV Forum London
Another great blog offering loads of great gig reviews that are very honest, funny and enjoyable written by Stef who really seems to belong in the front row .
Worth checking out: Frank Turner, Wembley Arena, 13/04/12
Now. I am supposed to reveal 10 facts about me (well except loving music of course) . Let’s see…
1. My first proper music crash was band HIM when I was about 13/14.
2. I always wanted to be a script writer. I love films but was never really good at creating stories. (Could easily get the idea and start it off but developing it was another thing haha)
3. I love Jeff Buckley. It’s quite personal and hard to explain why his music, lyrics and quotes have had such an impact on me over the years. But the fact is that he’ll always be on the very top of my list.
4. I love animals. My favorites are gorillas and turtles. I am a member of Gorilla Organisation and I’m proud of it.
5. I hate spiders. Although I try not to kill them, just catch them and take them outside (90 percent of the time ).
6. I always wanted to play a guitar and piano. Still didn’t get a chance.
7. I love country music and that’s why one of my dreams is to visit Nashville.
8. I am stubborn. I take advice and opinions on board but always do my own thing anyway :p.
9. Don’t know if it’s a fact but people tell me sometimes that I’m nice to people that don’t deserve it. But don’t they really?
10. I’m passionate about way too many things. I wish I had more time for all of them.
I knew that seeing Ryan Adams live at the gorgeous London Palladium is going to be a very special moment. Ryan’s music has been there through the years for those with broken hearts, rejected by love or simply the ones in love. And hundreds of those people came to experience all the beautiful and heartfelt emotions live last night.
London Palladium is a place where you can enjoy every little sound very clearly so it was a perfect place to enjoy Ryan’s music and voice to the full.
The place was filling up really quick with people of all different kinds of age, friends, couples or the ones who came on their own, myself included.
They all had their own reasons for being there, all ready for Mr Adams to appear on stage as two of his beautiful guitars were waiting for him.
As he came on the stage with the audience cheering loudly with excitement, he sat down, took his guitar and started playing Oh My Sweet Carolina. My eyes started to water as I was sitting there in the audience with my ears glued to the sound and listening to one of the most beautiful live voices I’ve ever heard. Clearly others in the audience got quite emotional, wiping off their tears or couples putting their arms around each other.
Ryan was incredible while singing and playing both of his guitars, harmonica or a piano through the night. He played a set of amazing tracks. To name a few, we heard If I am Stranger, Everybody Knows, Why Do They Leave, The Rescue Blues, Lucky, English Girls Approximately or Come Pick Me Up.
He made the audience laugh between each song with his witty humor. As he performed a set of slow tracks he joked ‘I’m trying to get through the fast ones so I can get to the ballads’ or something like ‘Thank you Wizard of Oz for not happening tonight and sorry to its fans who came and are fucking confused now. By the way, Dorothy dies in the end. Alone.’
Highlight of the night was Ryan playing a song on the piano called Mr Cat. Absolutely lovely, brilliant and funny song dedicated to his cat.
I was laughing so hard as Ryan was describing his relationship with Mr Cat and his love for him. Him going ’purrrrrr, purrrrrr, purrrrrr’ was something I’d never expect to hear during the set but on the other hand we all know how much Ryan loves those animals.
And that’s another reason to love Ryan Adams. He’s down to earth, funny, humble, and most of all one of the best and real musicians this world has.
It’s hard to put down all the feelings from the night. I feel really lucky to have seen one of my all time favourite artists playing live and experience the wonderful music and emotions for real. Unforgettable.
