Agnostic Mountain Gospel Choir Bring Bluegrass To Blighty
Everyone’s favourite hobo bluesman Seasick Steve’s favourite band Agnostic Mountain Gospel Choir are back in the UK to play a series of dates.
In 2008 they wowed audiences from the main-stages at the Big Chill, Green Man and Summer Sundae festivals. This time round the Calgary outfit will be working their foot-stomping bluegrass in more intimate club venues.
September 2009
Thurs 24 Open House Festival, Belfast
Fri 25 The Cluny, Newcastle
Sat 26 The Brudenell Social Club, Leeds
Sun 27 Georgian Theatre, Stockton-on-Tees
Tues 29 NTSOBC @ The Luminaire London, 311 Kilburn High Road, NW6 7JR www.theluminaire.co.uk
In London the excellent folk-gypsy-jazz-punk combo The Moulettes will be supporting and Joe Cushley, who first introduced Seasick Steve to the UK, will be DJ-ing. Listen at their myspace page
October
Thurs 1 The Engine Room, Brighton
Fri 2 The Farm House, Canterbury
Sat 3 Taylor Johns, Coventry
Sun 4 The Musician, Leicester
Popularity: 14% [?]
Hockey – 3am Spanish (mp3)
Following up on stellar sets at Glasto and T-in The Park Portland outfit Hockey are airing another track from their debut album Mind Chaos
online.
3am Spanish is an infectious disco charged slice of indie-funk that bears a slight resemblance to Blondies ‘Rapture’. That’s a goodthing… I think, is it? Oh what the hell I’ll let you decide.
Popularity: 13% [?]
Paper Planes – Doris Day (Video)
When New Jersey girl Jennifer Paley landed in Glasgow to partake in a study term at the cities School of Art she almost did a U-turn, but Paley soon grew to enjoy the cities vibrant nightlife and culture and boarded a different craft, a vessel named ‘Paper Planes’. Craig O’ Brien (drums), Fraser McFadzean (bass), and Christopher Haddow (guitar) make up the rest of the band. Their sound is decidedly American like their singer, citing The Velvet Underground and The Modern Lovers amongst their influences.
Jennifer has struggled to maintain her UK residency but after one year together Paper Planes are due to release their first single next month. The 7″ titled Doris Day is an ice cool mix of surf rock riffs and beats riding on the crest of a deeply sinister bassline. I hear an edge not unlike Kim Gordon and Alison Mosshart in Jennifer’s vocals, with a melodic pinch of Jenny Lewis. This band are going places I’m sure of that.
Popularity: 16% [?]
Three from Massive Attack’ Splitting The Atom
Massive Attack’s long awaited EP Splitting The Atom releases October 5th (UK) on Virgin Records, and I can’t wait to sample it in its entirety. For now here are three of the four tracks for your listening pleasure courtesy of Hypem, Pitchfork and Guardian Music + my very own thoughts. Man I’m hyped for this release.
Splitting The Atom (Hypem)
*Reviewed by me (Jon) earlier in the week for IKRS Zine ‘Crazy Radio Sunday’ column. Check out what the other contributors thought here)
Extremely moody and menacing. It sits somewhere between The Specials ‘Ghost Town’ and an Angelo Badalamenti film score. The kind of track I’d expect to hear playing over a crime scene in HBO’s ‘The Wire’. It’s been a long time coming and this is not what I expected Del Naja and Daddy G to come up with, but this track just grows with every play. Judging by the titles of other tracks to come I’d hazard a guess that Massive Attack are attempting to piece together their very own Bristolian crime epic! To quote Stringer Bell’s final words in The Wire… Well get on with it motherfu…
Pray For Rain (Pitchfork)
The Sci-fi to Splitting The Atom’s crime epic, it paints a vivid picture of a society trapped by it’s own mistakes. As dark and dusty as the title suggests. It’ll have you running for the tap. Massive Attack + Tunde = Genius!
Bulletproof Love (Guardian Music)
Guy Garvey’s demented vocals attach to a heartbeat that push the slightest paranoia to the limit. This is Massive Attack splitting the atom bare nekid, down to the bone!
Listen to Bulletproof Love in a darkened room… I dare you!
Popularity: 20% [?]
iTunes “Meet The Author” Features Nick Cave’s ‘The Death of Bunny Munro’.
“I am Damned” thinks Bunny Munro in a sudden moment of self awareness reserved for those who are soon to die.
This weeks instalment of iTunes “Meet The Author” podcast focuses on the multi-talented Nick Cave’s new novel The Death Of Bunny Munro. Listen to the podcast here recorded live at iTunes Live Festival 2009.
Cave will be hosting a series of readings and live music in support of the publication of The Death of Bunny Munro. The tour will take-in some of Europe’s most characterful theatres. Supporting him on the tour are Australian mulit-instrumentalist/composer Warren Ellis and Bad Seeds/Grinderman bassist Martyn Casey.
Tour Dates:
* 11th October: Palace Theatre, London, UK. Tickets on sale 7th September.
* 12th October: Vicar Street, Dublin, Ireland. Tickets on sale 10th September.
* 13th October: Picture House, Edinburgh, UK. Tickets on sale 7th September.
* 15th October: Arenbergschouwburg, Antwerp, Belgium. Tickets on sale 19th September.
* 19th October: Theatre Marigny, Paris, France. Tickets on sale 10th September.
* 20th October: China Theatre, Stockholm, Sweden. Tickets on sale 10th September.
* 22nd October: Teatro Dal Verme, Milan, Italy. Tickets on sale 7th September.
* 24th October: Casino Alianca Poble Nou, Barcelona, Spain. Tickets on sale 15th September.
* 25th October: Palace Theatre, London, UK. Tickets on sale 7th September.
Popularity: 16% [?]
Ever Get The Feeling You’ve Been Cheated?
17 years after going on hiatus John Lydon has announced that PiL are to play a series of UK dates to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the ‘metal box’ album.
The Dates:
Birmingham, O2 Academy – December 15
Leeds, O2 Academy – 16
Glasgow, O2 Academy – 18
Manchester, Academy – 19
London, Brixton O2 Academy – 21
KERRCHING!!
The New Line Up
John Lydon (Vocals)
Lu Edmonds (Guitar, The Damned)
Scott Firth (Bass)
Bruce Smith (Drums, The Slits)
Known for their innovative experimental sound Public Image Ltd were not just about Lydon rising from the ashes of the Sex Pistols pushing a new challenging sound. Bassist Jah Wobble and guitarist Keith Levene were the engine that propelled John’s lyrics. At their experimental heights Jah’s bass was PiL. It saddens me that Lydon thinks he can pull this off without him. It’s like New Order without Hooky. What’s the point?
“EVER GET THE FEELING YOU’VE BEEN CHEATED?”
I’ll Keep spinning the Metal Box and ignore the money grabbing comebacks. Run out of Country Life butter and reality show invites did you, John?
Popularity: 16% [?]
Jon Fratelli’s Codeine Velvet Club News + Video
Just thought I’d share the Fratellis newsletter I received with you all.
Calling all Fratellis fans.
The band is now officially on it’s holidays, but will reconvene when the rain comes, ready to take on the world.
In the meantime, welcome to the Codeine Velvet Club.
The elusive and talented Miss Lou Hickey and I got together earlier this year, to record an album of what we like to call “Kitchen sink music”.
The album now finished, we’re busy rehearsing with the rest of the band; Ross “The Boss” MacFarlane on drums, Will “Blisters” Foster on keys and guitar, Lewis “P” Gordon on bass guitar and an assortment of well meaning lunatics on brass.
We’ve planned some shows for September and are sounding pretty great at the moment, so they should be memorable nights. Hopefully we’ll see some of you there and over at the Codeine Velvet Club website, there should be some songs and videos up there soon and a promise by the band to drop in for tea!
All the best,
Jon
See Codeine Velvet Club Live!
15 September 2009
Classic Grand, Glasgow.
Tickets
17 September 2009
Bush Hall, London.
Tickets
Until then here’s the video for Vanity Kills…
Popularity: 18% [?]
Hitler Mourns Oasis Split
If you were saddened by the news of Noel Gallagher’s split with Oasis you’re not alone. I personally couldn’t care less, but for this man it’s the end of the world as he knows it!
Popularity: 18% [?]
Lou Barlow Bares His Soul In Video Journal
As the release of Lou Barlow’s ‘Goodnight Unknown’ grows closer Mr Lo-Fi has graced us with this up-close and personal video journal. It’s an interesting insight into how the artists mind ticks during the recording of his latest musical sojourn. Lou really opens up his soul here, it’s well worth setting aside 30 minutes of your day to view this mini-doc.
Goodnight Unknown gets a UK release on Oct 5th.
Goodnight Unknown Track List:
1. “Sharing”
2. “Goodnight Unknown”
3. “Too Much Freedom”
4. “Faith in Your Heartbeat”
5. “The One I Call”
6. “The Right”
7. “Gravitate”
8. “I’m Thinking…”
9. “One Machine, One Long Fight”
10. “Praise”
11. “Take Advantage”
12. “Modesty”
13. “Don’t Apologize”
14. “One Note Tone”
Read more about Lou Barlow at his official website Loobiecore
Popularity: 15% [?]
Review:Modest Mouse – No One’s First, And You’re Next EP
Every so often Modest Mouse clean house and sweep another bunch of outtakes and B-sides out in to the public arena. Some critics have trashed this trend, branding it a stop-gap serving only to plug the hole between albums. Well viva la stop gap!
‘No One’s First and You’re Next
This is Isaac Brock and crew just doing what the hell they want and doing it with an edge and style lesser bands would beg to capture on any session, EP or LP.
Satellite Skin eases the listener in with finger drumming, scratchy geetar and Brock spitting attitude, pulling butterfly knives from the ceiling whilst the rest of the mouse roll confidently along.
If the vocals weren’t crazed enough in the opener then Guilty Cocker Spaniels up’s the pyschosis, a neat mix of bayou tinged rap, thunder rolling bass and a smidgeon of what I think was a ukelele to soothe.
We emerge from the madness into the EP’s slowest and probably my favourite track… Autumn Beds conjures up an image of Richard Farnsworth in David Lynch’ Straight Story chugging along those back roads on his John Deere lawn tractor. The chorus may be a touch repetitive but I never tired. The banjo fits this song like a glove, creating a spookily autumnal feel.
Next up The Whale Song; an instrumental number in the most, which sounds pretty much like the title suggests. Isaac and Johnny providing the whale song with screeching guitar as the bands wall of sound spirals and soars into a majestical crescendo which is trully a treat to the ears that I could revel in for hours on end.
The Mouse’ creative juices don’t sap… Perpetual Motion Machine is the most imaginative ditty of the eight. A Dixieland fused oddity with hornplay that backs up Brock’s storytelling with a prowess that harkens me back to The Small Faces classic Ogdens’ Nut Gone Flake
So where’s the filler? If anywhere it comes in the form of History Sticks To Your Feet. The songs most interesting feature being Jeremiah Green’s skillful drumming. The vocals oddly remind me of Lloyd Cole’s ‘Forest Fire‘, a track I haven’t heard in a long while.
King Rat ushers the band back to form with a fabulous intro, musically richened by banjo, a quick jerk of bass, and an elephantile blast of horn before Brock swaggers nonchalantly into the swamp to get fed like a fish full of smiles.
King Rat definitely wouldn’t of been out of place on the last album, and if the EP had ended here I would’ve been more than satisfied. The funky guitar riffs of I’ve Got It All (Most) fail to move me at all. It’s far too middle of the road compared to what’s already been served.
If there’s truth in the old saying “Variety is the spice of life” then Modest Mouse are the musical equivalent of Chicken Vindaloo. No One’s First And You’re Next is brimming with color and variety. I just can’t get enough of it.
I leave you with the video for King Rat, directed by the late Heath Ledger no less.
Popularity: 18% [?]
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