SCOTLAND ON BANDCAMP

The first in a series of visits to Bandcamp in search of music you may not yet have heard. To kick things off I picked out 8 albums from Scotland. Enjoy!

BALLBOY

'I WORKED ON THE SHIPS'

CLICK TO PLAY ALBUM

TAKING CHASE

'TOO MANY STORIES'

CLICK TO PLAY ALBUM

VARIOUS ARTISTS

'BOOK YER ANE FEST VI'

CLICK TO PLAY ALBUM

THE BROTHEL CORPSE TRIO

'DEATH SHOP PIT STOP'

CLICK TO PLAY ALBUM

4 PAST MIDNIGHT

'GUILTY AS CHARGED'

CLICK TO PLAY ALBUM

DAWN OF THE REPLICANTS

'BUST THE TRUNK'

CLICK TO PLAY ALBUM

CRITIKILL

'BRICK WALL'

CLICK TO PLAY ALBUM

THE STARK PALACE

'THE STARK PALACE'

CLICK TO PLAY ALBUM

If you enjoyed any of the music then please purchase the album. Your cash (minus a Bandcamp revenue share on sales) goes directly to the bands own paypal account which hopefully will eventually cover their expenses and finance their next recording. Thank you.

For details on how Bandcamp works click HERE

Album Review: Morrissey

Another pulled from my bottomless pit of archived material is this review from October 2009.

Morrissey

'Swords'

Polydor Records

Ending his most productive year since going solo, with an album of b-sides. Of course it’s Morrissey, nobody else could get away with it

The quality of Morrissey’s song writing is such that even something he considers worthy of nothing more than flipside fodder is usually better than what many other artists would be hard pushed to write as an A-side. Superfluous? Never! This is actually a better album than his Greatest Hits collection because it consists of lesser heard material, almost as good as an album of new songs really. Pulled from the back of the 13 hit singles his last 3 albums (You Are The Quarry, Ringleader Of The Tormentors, Years Of Refusal) generated, Swords is, all things considered, a fruitful offering.There is brilliance (Munich Air Disaster 1958, Teenage Dad On His Estate, The Never Played Symphonies) and there is the inspired ( Children In Pieces, Because Of My Poor Education, Don’t Make Fun Of Daddy’s Voice, My Life Is A Succession Of People Saying Goodbye) A congregation of B-sides that could outstrip the best shots of the opposition with luxurious ease.Early copies of the album also include a bonus live disc of 8 songs recorded at one of his gigs in Warsaw last year.

*Published In Subba Cultcha*

MORRISSEY HOMEPAGE

Album Review: Billy Liar

Billy Liar

The Ghosts Of Punk Rock

(Make That A Take Records)

The achingly sharp and self aware alt/folk/punk one man band

Cultural geography recounted with uncluttered realism and a hand on heart narrative in chapters and lines from the debris of devout emotional sincerity, Billy Liar has an incredible sense of dynamics upon which his bottomless pit of frustrations can be unfurled. It’s his natural aesthetic this folky/punk/country doom method of lyrical expressionism that captures  every lurching mood swing within the simplistic frame of a man and his guitar. He can move from melancholic to jubilant as seamlessly as human nature does, and though the instrumentation he employs is sparse it heaves with a sturdy uppercut of sound when merged with the words he writes. Opening track ‘Change’ is possibly his greatest summing up of exasperation so far, a seriously melodic creation, beginning with the volleying echo of the chorus thundering out of the silence it opens up into catchy greatness with the added enhancement of skilled jack of all trades - Ed Ache (I.C.H, The Domestics) punk’s virtuous layman and personification of versatility -   whose background contribution seeps through to the foreground and brings added depth to every corner this song stretches to. The finger pointing swipe aimed in the general direction of blandness and those who saunter in jaded comfort zones offering up nothing but tired re-runs of former glories pours from him in floods of vitriolic rhyme as he furiously muses  ‘I want to see your blood spilt on the stage, I want to hear your heart beat through the PA, I want to hear true adolescent rage, I want to be inspired, I want to see something change!’  The title track pays homage to The Exploited, a personal tribute to the band who inspired him most, he name-checks former members Gary ’Savage’ McCormack and John ‘Big John’ Duncan from amid the cheerless squalor of a ‘windowless kitchen of a Tolcross flat’ and the equally drab ‘basement tenement flat’ before moving onto a ‘crowded bar’ where he philosophises with Wattie Buchan and finishes by reminding us, with endearingly fierce fan loyalty that ‘it was him that wrote Army Life, not you!’

Profound reflection unearths the romance in grime through a series of poetic bursts and a cantering acoustic soundtrack on ‘The Difference’ with its utopian flow through city streets where ‘beggars sleep’ and there is ‘romance in the rooftops, beauty in the billboards’, the simple, everyday things that sit below the radar of today’s peace and quiet merchants who scramble to the countryside because they ‘long for the trees, the hills and the mountaintop’ is, he casually declares; ‘the difference between you and me’. Last track ‘Leaving Town’ is a wistful ballad for the lonely hearts and languishes somewhere between a sorrowful Johnny Cash malady and the self inflicted crown of thorns lament of the lost public bar serenader who croons about leaving town and ‘never coming back’. A poignant tale that carries enough emotional ammunition to leave its mark long after the last chord has been played. Billy Liar earns his stripes in the real places among the real emotions, the tough graft and long hours of empty gigs and loneliest nights where self doubt snaps the backbone of self belief and pulls every last twitching sinew of self worth from your shattered remains before holding up what’s left in front of the people, and the people laugh and the people cheer and the people forget you ever existed. But living in that misanthropic wilderness of society is where he flourishes best - so fuck mainstream acceptance anyway, eh!

*Published In Subba Cultcha*

BILLY LIAR HOMEPAGE

Interview: Nephu Huzzband

Back in 2008 I interviewed Nottingham band Nephu Huzzband for Subba Cultcha. They were the current kings of indie rock and they'd only released one EP! Here is the interview again, pulled from my archives and  polished on the arm of my jumper until the dust falls to reveal their shiny faces once more.

When Nephu Huzzband released their debut EP ‘Papers’ late last year sections of the press, and indeed the nation, fell instantly in love with their ‘noisy sonic indie using two vocals/guitars, bass and drums’ sound. The catchy melodies of their songs did procreate a certain heartspark among the masses. New single ‘Nurse! Nurse!’, due for release on 5th June is expected to implant them further into our psyche.

How long has the band been together and what brought you together? 

We all met at school and came together through all listening to and wanting to make a similar style of music. Innocent enthusiasm to be honest, with Tom and Rob jamming together in the school practice rooms. There were quite a few people who had already formed bands, but weren’t particularly great. So Tom and Rob would hijack their practices, using their gear to jam. Tom then asked Jamie if he fancied a go at playing bass. We practised as a three piece for a while, before Adam, who was in the year below the other three, was asked to join

Your 2nd single ‘Nurse! Nurse!’ is due for release early June. Is it in the vein of debut ‘Papers’ musically?

Nurse! Nurse! could be described as being in a similar vein to Papers. They’re both fast moving songs, though Nurse! Nurse! is even shorter at 87 seconds (1:27), there is an extended version at a full 2:37 mins. However the b-side, Lions and Tigers and Bears, is quite different to anything we’ve recorded before. It’s a fair bit slower than some of our other material and quite melodic.

You’re planning to launch it at The Dublin Castle, London on 5th June, is that still the plan?

Yes, that’s the plan. We’re going to be giving away 250 free CDs of the new single and door entry is free (thanks to Bugbear Promotions), it is also being recorded live (for release) by Fleetwood mobiles, plus there’s three other bands playing, so anyone in London should come down, as it’s going to be an awesome night…and you all get on the record as the live audience!

 What inspires you, as a collective, to make the music you do and do you find it evolving in tandem with the increasing exposure your material now seems to be attracting?

We all have loads of individual influences, which you can probably hear in the riffs and hooks each of us contribute to our songs, but collectively we listen to a core of bands that include …And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead, Sonic Youth, At The Drive-in, Q and not U and others of a similar style. There’s definitely been an evolution in the music we’re trying to write, partly due to the great feedback we had with our debut EP ‘Papers’ . We do tend to think about song structures and lengths more than we did when we first started writing. However we do try not to let the ideas flow when writing new material, otherwise it can sound forced, and loses the music’s energy, intrigue and honesty.

You have a fan base that is growing daily. This must make you quite proud that your body of work has stirred someone enough for them to say they are a fan of Nephu Huzzband?

We are very proud of what we’ve achieved, a year ago I don’t think any of us would ever have thought we’d be shouted for an encore in London or have performed live on the BBC or XFM. Honestly though, it still seems strange to think people would declare themselves a fan. At a gig recently we had people coming up to us asking about the next single, and what would be happening after that-all our vinyl remixes were picked up at the show. And just people paying a genuine interest still surprises us, as we have so much going on in the band itself.

Where did the bands name originate from? And if that isn’t the question you’re sick of being asked then what is?

 We’ve probably been asked that question in every single interview we’ve ever done, but I guess with a name like ours we’re going to have to get used to it. The spelling originally came from an unpublished poem we came across, but since then we’ve started coming up with different meanings for it, as the whole story needs a large whisky to get through and hear it out.

Do you think social networking sites like Myspace and Facebook are now a vital marketing tool in today’s music industry? Or a lazy opening for bands that are no longer prepared to place faith in their material and sing for their supper the proper way?

They’ve definitely changed the way the industry seems to be working, and it’s a good thing for both bands and fans. We had a number of our first gigs through people having heard us on myspace, and our producer, marc rose, first heard us via this platform. It’s a really easy and effective way to communicate with listeners at short notice. As a fan it’s also a great way to find and hear new bands as well as seeing what your favourite bands are currently up to and keep an eye on gigs/dates etc etc.
However the internet phenomenon thing is probably not quite what people are making it out to be. Bands don’t just get deals and sell records through putting a song on the net, they still have to get out there and play to the people and still make records with professionals.

With the exception of any natural disaster wiping out the world, in what position might we find the band 5 years from today?

Hopefully we’ll still be writing and playing credible music to credible people who want to hear it. I don’t think we aim to be playing worldwide arena tours or anything. But to be able to tour the country and play music to people who want to hear us, and be selling enough records so that we don’t need other incomes, would be the collective Nephu Huzzband dream. We enjoy the creative independence we currently have, and are looking forward to more adventures and exposure once college is finished this year.

So, apart from the imminent release of ‘Nurse! Nurse!’ what’s the next step on the agenda?

We’re just trying to concentrate on writing new songs, then over the summer to go back into the studio and record another session single. Apart from that we just want to be getting around the country playing as many gigs as possible to as many people as possible.

 Finally chaps, where can people find your music online?

You can hear it at myspace.com/nephuhuzzband and it can be bought from indiestore.com/nephuhuzzband and iTunes as well as most other digital online sites

Thanks to Tony at Manilla PR

Playlist For January 2013

30 TRACKS FROM 30 ALBUMS RELEASED THROUGHOUT  JANUARY 2013

1:Villagers…The Bell 

(from the album Awayland)

2:Camper Van Beethoven: Come Down The Coast

(from the album La Costa Perdida)

3: Hilly Eye: Almanac

(from the album Reasons To Live)

4: Dawn Richard: Return Of A Queen

(from the album Goldenheart)

5: The Ruby Suns: Kingfisher Call Me

(from the album Christopher)

6: The Joy Formidable…This Ladder Is Ours

(from the album Wolf’s Law)

7: Wimps – Nap

(from the album Repeat)

8: Pillowfight – In The Afternoon

(from the album Pillowfight)

9: Local Natives – Colombia

(from the album Hummingbird)

10: Happy Jawbone Family Band – Martian Santa

(from the album Tastes The Broom)

11: Indians – Lips Lips Lips

(from the album Somewhere Else)

12: Radar Brothers – Couch

(from the album Eight)

13 – Bad Religion – Fuck You

(from the album True North)

14: Lord Huron – Time To Run

(from the album Lonesome Dreams)

15: Bleeding Rainbow – Shades Of Eternal Night

(from the album Yeah Right)

16: Mathew E White – Big Love

(from the album Big Inner)

17: Delphic – Freedom Found

(from the album Collections)

18: Ethan Johns – The Turning

(from the album If Not Now Then When)

19: The History Of Apple Pie – Glitch

(from the album Out Of View)

20: Biffy Clyro – Little Hospitals

(from the album Opposites)

21: Aline – Teen Whistle

(from the album Regarde Le Ciel

22: Pere Ubu – Mandy

(from the album Lady From Shanghai)

23: Serafina Steer – Skinny Dipping

(from the album The Moths Are Real)

24: Tomahawk – White Hats/ Black Hats

(from the album Oddfellows)

25: New Order – I’ll Stay With You

(from the album Lost Sirens)

26: Dropkick Murphys – Don’t Tear Us Apart

(from the album Signed And Sealed In Blood)

27: The Night Marchers – Loud Dumb And Mean

(from the album Allez Allez)

28: Blood Red Shoes – Red River

(from the album Water)

29: Dutch Uncles – Godboy

(from the album Out Of Touch In The Wild)

30: California X – Lemmys World

(from the album California X)

*Published In Subba Cultcha*

CLICK TO PLAY TRACKS AT SPOTIFY

Live Review: Sad Society (From My Archives)

Sad Society

Bannermans, Edinburgh

23rd Jan 2009

Sad Society, third band of the evening, have been a perpetual inclusion on the punk circuit since their formation in the early 80’s. Their catchy old-school anthems and chant-along chorus-lines bring an incendiary rapture to the Bannermans crowd, as opener ‘Novocaine’ quite quickly demonstrated. It’s a ferocious, unswerving set with Deek Wilson (possibly the second most-recognised front-man in Edinburgh?) guiding each song with typical sarcasm and derision. Through ‘Presidents Of Fear’, ‘Slaughterhouse’ and the melancholic observations of the atmospheric ‘Suicide Party’ they donate an atmosphere relished by a crowd who are so fond of this band they know every song word-for-word. Many old favourites, including ‘No More U.S Laws’ inculcate a camaraderie throughout the room, never more apparent than on ‘Religion’, possibly the most perfect song ever written for the genre of punk rock. Deek’s sneering ‘and I’m not fucking satisfied’ lyric is a master of incensed articulation. Sad Society could quite easily have slotted into tonight’s headline position without effort, but the noteworthy thing about them, and the majority of bands involved in the healthy scene Edinburgh has, is that they have no elitist snobbery; they’re just happy doing what they came together to do: play the music they believe in for the people who share that belief."

*Published In Music News Scotland*

Photography: Michael Laing

http://www.flickr.com/photos/punkrocksuperstar63/

Sad Society Page

Alex Harvey: Last Of The Teenage Idols

The captivating master of ceremonies, a million contradictions within a million contradictions and gloriously unpredictable for it. The unorthodox mindset and flamboyant theatrical performance style shall forever live on in the back catalogue that survives him. His intuitiveness for creating music was as flawless as the insight it must first begin from. He was Glasgow’s first real rock & roll legend, a verbal wit with philosophical depth, novelistic charisma and a rough edged working class honesty.

His music career began when he joined a skiffle band in 1955 later evolving into the Alex Harvey Big Soul Band. He recorded his first album ‘Alex Harvey And His Soul Band‘ in Hamburg in 1963 followed by second release ‘The Blues‘ in 1964. Alex Harvey left the Big Soul Band to concentrate on building a solo career, but it failed to develop into anything substantial and achieved very little success. Failure was only his temporary companion and in 1967 he joined the band of musicians of the London stage production of ‘Hair’ where he remained for 5 years during which the band recorded live album ‘Hair Rave Up‘ which contained songs written by Alex.

In 1972 along with guitarist Zal Cleminson, bassist Chris Glen. keyboard player Hugh McKenna and drummer Ted McKenna he formed The Sensational Alex Harvey Band. Merging heavy rock with a blues/garage/glam hybrid unravelled a perfectly formed soundscape for Alex Harvey’s eccentricities to roam freely across the breadth of its surface building his helter skelter symphonies of anguished wailing, frenzied spoken recitals or some juiced-up reworking of someone else’s song. Debut album ‘Framed‘ was a driving rock and blues juggernaut packed with skilled musicianship and depth. Standout tracks are the epic ‘Isobel Goudie‘ the rock fuelled ‘Midnight Moses‘ self explanatory ‘Buff’s Bar Blues‘ and a cover of ‘I Just Wanna Make Love To You‘. Follow up album ‘Next‘ with it’s big sound and glam rock vibe is a much better record than debut ‘Framed‘ and brims with so many great things..like ‘Swampsnake‘ with it’s boogie woogie piano and backyard harmonica…or catchy foot-tapping orgy anthem ‘Gang Bang‘….or the Jaques Brel cover delivered with menacing Glaswegian eloquence…..or throbbing groove pulsing atmospheric masterpiece ‘Faith Healer‘……and ‘Vambo Marble Eye‘ …as examples

Further releases like ‘The Impossible Dream‘ with layers of operatic sawdust rock is a rollicking album of pretentious idealism that manages to remain unceromoniously vulgar, musically, with it’s garage fused indifference. The band also scored top 40 chart

hits with a stunning re-worked cover of the Tom Jones song ‘Delilah‘ and 1976 single ‘Boston Tea Party‘ Alex Harvey left the band later that year re-joining them for 1978 album ‘Rock Drill‘ before quitting again.

On Feb 4th 1982 Alex Harvey suffered a massive heart attack while waiting on a ferry in Zeebrugge, Belgium. On the way to hospital by ambulance he had another heart attack and sadly died. It was the day before his 47th birthday. An ending that came far too soon, too unexpectedly soon, too sudden for goodbye, too immediate for understanding and too unforeseen to prepare for.

*Published In Subba Cultcha*

Mixtape

The Saints- a minor aversion

The Apartments- help

The Buzzcocks- love is lies

Johnny Thunders- its not enough

The Stranglers- strange little girl

Wire- feeling called love

 Iggy Pop- fall in love with me

The Zeros- she's just a girl on the block

 The Gun Club- fire of love

 Ramones- I wanna be your boyfriend

Modern Lovers- someone I care about

 The Neon Boys- love comes in spurts

 The Nerves- gimme some time

 X- when our love passed out on the couch

 Misfits- come back

The Wipers- nothing left to lose

 Alex Chilton- can't seem to make you mine

Suicide- girl

The Boys Next Door- shivers

*Published In Spin Utopia*

LINK TO PLAYLIST

Album Review: HUG

HUG

'CLAY'

(REVENGE WESTERN)

the first release in almost 19 years for Tyneside band HUG

Be it the rapid hairtrigger transcience that breeds among the revenue chasing record company moguls graceless marketing methods, or maybe they were just too plugged in to their collective abilities and felt they had accomplished everything they were capable off achieving and without impulse or momentum things become a jaded, uninspired version of the thing you once were - and you betray your art when you churn out second rate fodder for cash., Or maybe it was something else entirely that influenced their decision to call it a day back in 1994 when they seemed to be on the very brink of widespread success. HUG appeared on the Tyneside scene in 1990 with a flurry of other bands who quickly built up a strong local following. As their popularity grew it attracted the interest of the A&R men who actively track and pursue the scent of new blood with committed enthusiasm and drive. In 1991 HUG released debut ep 'Kaleid' before going on to release another 2 ep's and an album for Kitchenware Records. NME rated them in a top ten predictions list, Melody Maker proclaimed them 'state of the art sounding', Spiral Scratch awarded them a 'single of the month' status, Radio 1 sessions were given and tour slots supporting Fatima Mansions and Echo and the Bunnymen were earned. It all seemed to be slotting into place smoothly - but in 1994 they split up. It's now almost 19 years since HUG walked away....and they're back, like Nomads returning to civilisation after a lengthy ambitious clamber across the desolate surface of the world. With them is new release 'Clay' an 8 song album of which three are brand new reworked recordings and the others are live recordings from last year.

Opening song 'Clay' kicks off brilliantly with a slice of jangling guitar for a few seconds before the drums crash into place reinforcing the entire sound with a steadying blend of clashing cymbals and probing drumbeat that collectively builds into a catchy, lush tinted retro tune pulled straight from the 90's. Vocalist Gemma Wilson unfurls a tremendous voice that almost spits parts of the vitriol at you - and the 'la la la la' she launches herself into after delivering the line 'I've given up missing sex' is sheer poetic majesty. The slow starting 'Kingdom Come', a B-side from their 1994 EP 'Firebrands' expands as it multiplies and picks up a pacier guitar/drums dynamic as Gemma Wilson Pitt's vocal soars above the probing guitars, and cracks into something between grunge and Sinead O Connor, as the sound of each instrument mesh together in fevered resonance, she volleys the vocal 'lead us not into temptation, kingdoms come and kingdoms die' with the fervour of a revolutionist before leading the song flawlessly to it's end. The indie/pop skip of 'This Dark Eden' merely jaunts a distraction around the voracious angst that casually drips from the mouth of Gemma Wilson.....'there are shards to cut me open' she lightly tells us, before moving on to announce ' you twist you shake and when it comes apart you break' as the music rarely shifts from the happy exterior created. HUG are riddled with darkness underneath all that exuberance, it seeps through the songs and lies in thick pools at their feet, perfectly fitting the hollowed out shapes of their internal backbiting torments.

.'Kaleid' from their 1991 EP of the same name, is a fired up, alt-dance tune anthem somewhere between The Charlatans and Primal Scream's expressive guitar driven drug anthems with Gemma Wilson sounding remarkable among the funk-oozed indie mashed hybrid. The searing raw edged 'Meltdown' from the 'Firebrands' single is followed by another perfectly weighted vocal delivery by Gemma Wilson on the funk-laden 'Insatiable' a song which owes everything to fine guitar playing and canny vocal nouse. She forgets the title of next song 'Walk On Fire' dismissing it with a 'oh I can never remember it's name, but it was a hit single actually' ....before the band tear into it.....and finish off with the brilliant 'Clay'.

I missed out on HUG first time around - the early 90's for me dissapeared under a cloud of detached puzzlement and spiralling bouts of god knows with a cast of unnamed bullshit conversationalists. But hearing them now I can fully appreciate the 90's critical worshipping. Hug are/were an inventive, forward thinking group of people who wrote great songs and played them even better. Their short life is tall history and if they ever decide to give HUG another run around the music scene they'd be effortless achievers once more.

*Published In Subba Cultcha*

http://www.revengewestern.com/index.shtml

Peter & The Test Tube Babies

I went to see Peter And The Test Tube Babies playing at The Citrus Club in Edinburgh last night. I didn't review the gig so don't mistake this posting for being such. Although they wouldn't make it into my Top 10 punk bands they are very good at what they do. Energetic, loud and industriously cramming as much as they can into their set. Their booze fuelled humour quite often skims the line between joking and offensive, firing up the audience before launching into another flurry of tongue in cheek punk anthems - and they have written their fair share of them over the years  - with particular favourites 'Banned From The Pubs' 'Run Like Hell' 'Intensive Care' and 'Maniac' the ones guaranteed to lift the roof off every time. Their career has lasted a phenomenal 33 years which deserves nothing but the greatest respect in this day of ever changing attitudes, fashions and fickle tastes. I remember buying their debut album 'Pissed And Proud' which, in my opinion, remains their greatest work. I still rate that album enough to play it from time to time. They continue touring both in the UK and Europe and are a regular presence on the festival circuit. As I said, not one of my favourite bands, but they do put on a cracking show and deserve to be seen. So make sure you catch them live when you can. They're a good, fun night out.

OFFICIAL SITE

DVD Review: Beatles Stories

BEATLES STORIES

(SETH SWIRSKY)

PUBLISHED AND DISTRIBUTED IN THE UK BY WIENERWORLD

Every second of The Beatles history has been printed, recorded, filmed, photographed, painted and mass produced in so many different mediums and formats it’s impossible to ever imagine there might be a method not yet utilised - unless you want to attempt superimposing every song lyric on a rain-cloud which is then manacled to the Liverpool skyline and programmed by a purpose built hi tech control tower to rain a different song upon the city every day at 4pm which is contained within an orchestra of raindrops that release lyrics, vocals and music upon hitting the ground. Possibly not yet an option so we make do with duplicates of duplicates engulfing other yawn products with no more else to offer than a rephrased helping of the same trivia we gorged on years ago. You’re not so much bored with it just occupied by it Re-issued, re-packaged, reviled. Until, from the starkest of concepts, came a captivatingly radical production of sheer genius. Songwriter/musician Seth Swirsky, himself a lifetime Beatles fan, came up with the simplest of ideas, to track down people who had met either an individual band member or the entire band and get them to relate their experience to him as he filmed it. The more people he spoke to and the more stories he got generated a tapestry of momentous information and personal history that quite possibly had never been documented anywhere until now. Listening to each personal story unfold is a fascinating insight into The Beatles and how down to earth, everyday human beings they were despite the whole world constantly watching their every move. This prosaic, informal side to them is rarely touched upon in any other Beatles documentary, but here it becomes the only side of them on view. The 85 minute production features 53 stories from celebrities and insiders including Art Garfunkel, Brian Wilson, Sir George Martin, Ben Kingsley, Ray Manzarek and Davy Jones ranging from the poignant to the utterly hilarious. It’s a candid and informal atmosphere that reveals such historic moments with such simple diversity. A labour of love for director Seth Swirsky. Made by a fan for the fans.

http://beatlesstories.com/

http://www.wienerworld.com/

Goodbye Mister Mackenzie

Today is the 18th anniversary of the death of talented Scottish singer Billy Mackenzie who committed suicide on 22nd January 1997 following ongoing periods of clinical depression. The unique vocalist, best known as front-man with inventive pop band The Associates enjoyed real moments of glittering success after bursting upon the scene from virtually nowhere with innovative debut album ‘The Affectionate Punch’ a high-energy pop album swathed in rich cinematics, swirling build-ups and even a finely crafted ballad. Their continuing diversity - outrageous vocal depth and inventive instrumentalism earned plaudits such as ‘the most modern band of the decade’ and when the majestic ‘Party Fears Two’ arrived upon the world it brought The Associates wider success and instant recognition. The single reveals just how magnificent Billy Mackenzie’s vocal depths are - swooping glides and dizzying dips of mesmerising vocal seem to manifest with the guitars and oscillating piano tinkling as everything seems to loop together like smoke.

A tour being planned, another album, two hit singles in a row when ‘Club Country’ is eagerly received then, with no clues or warning, the band split up.  Billy Mackenzie began a solo career and became everything at once - cool obsessive, hopeless romantic, hedonist, pin up boy and surely a man in control of the complete fucking world. Various albums and singles arrived as the years crept onwards, nothing ever stood up to the work of The Associates, and a two year battle between Billy Mackenzie and WEA as he struggled defiantly out of a binding contract didn’t help bridge gaps between either legacy. A long time of silences seemed to shout out that Billy Mackenzie would not contribute any more music, he seemed to have crawled off and called it a day, until the club scene picked up on an old cover of Blondie’s ‘Heart Of Glass’ that Billy recorded way back - it kicked up enough interest to allow Billy a HI-NRG released version of it.

When his mother died it slowly began to suck the soul from a distraught and grief stricken Billy Mackenzie. Her death was a devastation he couldn’t get on top of. During Christmas 1996 Billy went to his fathers house near Dundee to rest and relax away from the cloying presence of London. On January 22nd Billy’s father discovered him in the garden shed, wrapped in a duvet and clutching a photo album. His father said at the time ‘when I felt his brow I panicked and started crying’. The arrival of an ambulance crew found an empty Paracetamol bottle next to Billy which had been mixed in with the prescribed anti-depressant Amitriptyline…and a note which simply said ‘sorry’

Fuck Monday Mixtape

This Monday, next Monday, any fucking Monday Our hatred for it is seated in deep rooted primal instincts. Monday should be ripped from our weekly calendars and burned in a public display of unity. Objectors should be beaten with weapons. Here's a mixtape to help forget its existence.

Tracklist

1: The Rolling Stones…Start Me Up
2: The Libertines…Don’t Look Back Into The Sun
3: Beastie Boys…Sabotage
4: The Supernaturals…. Smile
5: The Beach Boys… Good Vibrations
6: The Jesus And Mary Chain…April Skies
7: Aztec Camera… Good Morning Britain
8: The Futureheads… Decent Days And Nights
9: Violent Femmes… Do You Really Want To Hurt Me?
10: Spin Doctors… Little Miss Can’t Be Wrong
11: REM… The One I Love
12: New Model Army… No Rest
13: The Ramones… I Wanna Be Sedated
14: The Smiths… Sweet And Tender Hooligan
15: XTC… Sgt Rock
16: Big Audio Dynamite…. E=MC2
17: Kate Bush… Hounds Of Love
18: The Jam… Running On The Spot
19: The White Stripes… Dead Leaves On The Dirty Ground
20: Hole… Violet

Click link below to play mixtape on Spotify

FUCK MONDAY MIXTAPE

Album Review: Threats

THREATS

'GOD IS NOT WITH US TODAY'

(DR STRANGE RECORDS)

When lyrics of barbed political cynicism and acerbic opinion are launched with fierce proclamation from a hard edged wall of raw, vicious punk rock guitar, solidly dictated by the strong, confident leadership of capable drumming, it can only be the triumphant war cry of the Threats!

On new album ‘God Is Not With Us Today’ Scottish punk band Threats still sound, quite remarkably, as original and dedicated than ever before. With a debut release over half a century ago, it’s a stunning testament to their musical ability and unwavering  belief in themselves that this new record is probably a stronger, more concise collection than anything they’ve done before. Admittedly, they had many long periods of inactivity down the years, but in the last 8 they’ve rarely, if at all, strayed from their path. A commitment that’s surely never been rewarded as gloriously as right now, because Threats have just made the perfect punk album!

Album opener ‘Live Fast, Die By Mistake’ is inspired! It’s got everything you’d expect from classic old school punk. I don’t think there’s anyone doing it better than this right now!  Second track ‘Rotten’ is all catchy guitar hooks and precise punchy drumming, with a chorus that truly justifies the fact that front man Jim has a powerful singing voice. Yes, the man can sing, and sing well! There’s no fluke to the first 2 songs because everything continues in the same way. It’s accomplished, unpretentious and honest. From ‘Bastards and Bitches’ through ‘Greedy’ to ‘No Time For It’ there’s nothing you can pick fault with. Then, next up, and my personal stand out track, the brilliant ‘Armchair Anarchist’. The guitar intro that leads into this song is unmatched, absolutely unmatched by anything! It’s simple but it’s never been given a more effective role. Again, it’s classic punk, but so very tight and disciplined. This song is the ‘hairs on the neck’ one! Fourteen songs that deserve their position on any album. For sure there are many people who find nothing worth listening to in punk music…but can they argue with perfection? It’s respect where respect is due. 

THREATS ON FACEBOOK

Listen to the album in it's entirety from the playlist below.

Album Review: Shriekback

SHRIEKBACK

'LIFE IN THE LOADING BAY'

(MALICIOUS DAMAGE RECORDS)

Formed in 1981 by Barry Andrews (XTC) and Dave Allen ( Gang Of Four) Shriekback amassed a reasonably successful string of hits in the indie music charts before splitting in 1988. They re-formed in 92’ with single ‘The Bastard Sons Of Enoch’ and album ‘Sacred City’ before disappearing from the radar completely for the next 8 years before returning again in 2000 with new album ‘Naked Apes & Pond Life’, and they’ve remained, in one form or another, since then and today ‘Life In The Loading Bay’ becomes their fourth release since their return from exile - and their 12th studio album to date. Always a difficult band to categorize, they’ve borrowed heavily from several genres of music including funk, pop, rock, dub and electronica and have employed a multitude of instruments in the process. Such versatility remains the apparatus they skilfully craft songs from today. Gentle and almost ghostlike ‘In The Dreamlife Of Dogs’  the gospel edged ‘Loving Up The Thing’, hardy rock and roll driven ‘Now I Wanna Go Home’ and even the meandering blues gets a turn on ‘Nowherenothingever’. The variety this album throws up is endless, possibly spiralling into that glorious realm of intelligence considered Avant Garde. There’s a mad kinda magic about all of it, a genuine ability to create such high-browed musical dynamics that, when brought together collectively, is astoundingly majestic. Such artistic nous will always create impressive, forward thinking works of art - and Shriekback bolster that opinion quite superbly right here. With the added harmonising of Wendy Partridge and the violin work of Kat Evans (on Pointless Rivers) Life In The Loading bay is a riot of inspired cleverness with nothing to declare but its voguish genius. Probably not something for the simple-hearted music fan but for those with a yearning for the scholarly then this one is right up your alleyway.

www.shriekback.com