Francesqa live

Sunday night. Catching up with my best friend, as we clutch a can of fosters and a boyfriend each, we walk downtown to Clwb Ifor Bach to see Francesqa. An ex acoustic band with bundles of potential, I am excited to finally experience them live. Tom Delonge picked them to play on Slam Dunks introducing stage earlier last year. So these guys aren’t just rising stars, their shooting through the skies of the industry.

Radiohead review

They are an important band of our time. Their eighth album, The King of Limbs has been making everyone’s patience itch recently, anxious with expectations for the unexpected. Radiohead have prevailed most ordeals, from big company campaigns to twitter torment. Wise about the consumers of their music, the band carry an admired status and reputation. They are in control of their destiny, with no commercial pressure, holding the hands of a dedicated fanbase. The wait is over and the verdicts are getting scribbled, typed and published. 

Radioheads raw talent still exists and their creativity flows, producing experimentation that cleverly whispers a garden variety of their initial sound. Between each track there is contrast, mood change and individual groove, with a combo of bells, drumming, guitars, trumpets, falsetto vocals and lots of echo. "Little by Little" featuring hypnotics and psychedelics, "Codex" a spacey piano/violin/cello ballad with romantic deep throated echoes then there’s "Give up the Ghost" a natural, acoustic with an essence of folk simplicity. The album may be a disorientating production for some listeners, but really it’s just the bands sugar-coated middle finger rejecting typical album grammar.  A fusion of what Radiohead’s discography stands for, humanly mechanic with pearls of soul.  

Bastille track

I found this video through a facebook link and copious youtube suggestion tabs.

Its a hidden gem.

Indie and uplifting. I have been playing it on repeat today.

James Blake review

Who the fuck is James Blake? The hype addicts are going crazy over him. I’ve heard whispers of a new dub ninja and headmaster of clever modernist pop. His self titled debut album was released 7 February 2011, and Well.. after an 18-month rise to fame, this 21 year old producer is an enigmatic mystery. Move over xx, this chap is the new tranquil minimalist of electronics.

The music has a particular speed and shape consisting of fizzing, soul-tingly sounds and dubstep templates. An effect that leaves you in front of a bonfire on a freezing November evening, a shallow glow of warmth which gives you goose-bumps and shivers. Nothing alike the dubstep wobble brothers, Caspa and Rusko, (and that’s a warning, in strict comparison this would be an anaemic record of dance music for queer fairies) Blakes songs are bent and melted by technology with a different consequence. Rather than singer-songwriter simplicity, Blake has manufactured forms of Blues, Folk and gospel through a modern conveyor belt of synths, sequencers, vocoders and drum machines. The final products are stripped and isolated sounds of frigidity consisting of single bass thumps, echoing pings and single distorted synth. His Bon Iver-esque singing often conveys an emotional turmoil, a mesmerizing, rhythmic heartbreak that builds out of stark simplicity in a discordant crescendo of skittering basslines and reverberating synthetics. The occasional distorted vocals blend beyond intelligible to become part of the instrumentation.

This could all be perceived as gimmick production but his bare scrubby lyrics join perfectly with his production. James Blake’s album is one to engulf in, in a sea of cotton and smoke. In other words, to appreciate his music, it’s best to envelope yourself with comfort, imaginings and a pair of fantastic speakers.

Blake doesn’t necessarily paint a picture with his music, he holds up a shattered broken mirror for the listener to look into

Bright Eyes news

Yesterday on Conor Oberst’s birthday, The Nebraskan lo-fi band Bright Eyes, released The People’s Key. A gradual serene introduction to spring, this album covers rich and reminiscent imagery and sonic venture, a synthetic perfection perhaps. An empty sky/I fill it up with everything that’s missing from my life. In the June 2009 issue of Rolling Stone,Oberst announced that he intended to retire theBright Eyes signature "It does feel like it needs to stop at some point. I'd like to clean it up, lock the door, say goodbye” 

We Are The Ocean review

--> Since overplaying (and still enjoying) their first studio album ‘Cutting Our Teeth’ I have been anticipating for new material from these lads. This week, We Are The Ocean released a new video for ‘What it Feels Like’ taken from the second forthcoming album ‘Go Now and Live’. They will be embarking on a headline tour in April after its release. The single track was made available to download from their website in January. Oh and they haven’t let me down in the slightest and to say I’m creaming for their gig would be an underestimation. Still an undercurrent post-hardcore band, the 5 piece from Essex swoon their fan base once again. Mixing a hardcore verse with a melodic chorus has been done before, right? But these chaps have a slight enchantment and style of delivery that packs a punch into your trunk. The bands climax comes down to the recipe of rhythm, Liam Crombys oily thick vocals and Dan Browns rasping screams, which I can imagine is a particular taste that does not necessarily suit all. Having said that, when they released their debut EP ‘we are the ocean’ in 2008, all 1000 copies sold in one day. We Are The Ocean auto-tune the introduction of ‘What it Feels Like’. The lyrics are coincidentally appropriate for the single pringles on Valentines Day tomorrow. In true fashion, they blast a coherent roaring verse then subsequently strip back to stunning vocals, a simple drum beat and rhythmic guitar. Like me, the fans are biting at the video like mosquitoes, blood thirsty for the melody again and again. 

Modestep review/live

This dub act has recently received frenzied attention from the copious hits on the internet, word of mouth and rumours about their insane live shoes, but do Modestep really rise to the overhype? or are they just going to sink into the wobbing mud of mediocrity that dubstep is swamped in these days. Punters on YouTube would agree with the latter.

Kerrang! Relentless Tour live

The Wonder Years and Framing Hanley, both considerably unheard of by me, play straight characterised sets, which sell a few of their songs to my ears. Including Framing Hanleys ghostly core-cover of 'Lollipop' originally by Lil Wayne. I might actually bother to purchase a few of their tracks when I get home, win.

The most favourable band of the night is Four Year Strong. Each armed with mic and instrument, the five men belt out a satisfyingly gritty gig. In this setting, with young GC fans, disco lights and serious lack of alcohol consumption, the band somewhat resemble your older brother and his senior friends, trying out a live gig in the school gymnasium (a fucking dazzling live gig at that) Penchant for their hooligan-chanting lyrics which crack with power and grip, they churn up the crowd into various mosh pits and hand-clapping mobs. Their albums are driven by double bass drums and the screaming guitars add the extra emphasis. Our chests definitely felt the impressive thudding beats, but sadly, the accent riffs were hard to perceive, perhaps due to the confined venue. Even so, whether recorded or right in front of your eyes, they successfully manage to blend pop punk with happy hardcore into some sort of metallic rainbow.

Cuddled up to my boyfriend at the back of the venue as aha! Keep your hands off my girl, Good Charlotte parade the stage. I feel nostalgic; I’m reminded of high school days with old friends who I’m currently missing a lot. We were noticeably veterans to this teen-pop-punk scene as we dodged gangs of inconsiderate jumping kids, the ones who feel a bit too emotionally involved and the little bastards who insist on flailing their sweaty limbs in every direction. Oh well, one would be a hypocritical fool to deny ever experiencing a fair wad of teenage angst. So enough babble about the crèche/crowd, the band onstage started 15 years ago, if anyone has old hand authority, its these boys. Not many 90’s award winning pop rockers can still entertain on mass, let alone maintain a first-rate set list which bubbles with radio hits and newly released tracks. I can congratulate and applaud Good Charlotte for that credit. They play some good routines, including one of my fav’s, ‘The River’. I haven’t got much to say about their music or vocals as such, its experienced, over played and laminated with rehearsal. You can hear it on your IPod. Whether that is a positive remark or not, that opinion swings. You’re so predictable I knew something would go wrong. So as for their performance, the Madden brothers make my face crease, no unfortunately not with joy, with cringe-worthy traded banter. The embarrassing sketches would introduce the following song, [insert chitchat about how cool Cardiff is] “you know what you guys look like, sex on the radio”... just guess what song they played after that gag. Very American (no offence) It was a plastic cliché overall.

PTV, Bayside & ADTR live

Three, two, one, and the Manchester O2 doors open to a queue that wraps around the backstreets of the academy “Du du du de du du du Du du du de du du duLet's go!” The foyer of the venue is jammed with the head liners devoted fans, counting out their pocket money for some merchandise, which admittedly is pretty fuckin’ cool. On stage, Pierce the Veil screech and strum to an impatient audience. Instrumentally they play with ease. Vocally, Vic Feuntes keeps his glass shattering singing up to standard. Their cover of Ke$ha’s ‘Fly like a G6’ is entertaining (YouTube it, if you want.) Unfortunately, their most famous track ‘Caraphernelia’ doesn't feature the original screamer, but it still satisfies the crowd for a few minutes. They leave the stage to boo’s and claps of relief. Evidently this crowd are too mature to stomach their acidic pop-core. The second support act, Bayside are like the colour magnolia (simple, easy, creamy-smooth and mediocre.) There are no faults in their music but live it lacks any amusement or emotion, so all their efforts just blow over everyone’s heads like an irritating chilly breeze. They finish their set to middle fingers and desperate cheers, a reaction more thrilling than their instrumentals. Diving into the depths of the audience, I already start the occasional routine of holding my face up to the ceiling for a decent breath of fresh air. Then, when guessing the amount of bruises I’ll escape with, ironically, punch bags are set up on the stage. A tide starts up in the crowd (synchronised pushing between the desperate back stabbers and front railing-ers) the house lights lower and the headliners present themselves, cue- cavernous breakdowns, attractive riffs, melodic vocals and memorable lyrics (Guessed who they are yet?) A circle pit swells up like a whirlpool, destroying the previous suffocating tides of pushes and shoves, allowing the kids to release their energy which is constantly being overcharged by the band. The set list surprisingly lacks content from their new album but surely enough, unlike their support, they blow us away. Engaging their devoted spectators with their most popular and favourable tracks. They even feature a calm ballad that involves two acoustic guitars and backings from the band to give it a powerful finale, this really impresses me and critically these boys tick all the right boxes. Fight. Rumour has it, that these boys cease to disappoint and all the shows sold out like hot cakes. These boys are unforgettable; these boys are A Day to Remember.

Spectrum live

crawling around the back streets of south London in a taxi
"where am I dropping ya' giwls?"
"that carpark..."
"bloody hell where you going?!"
"SPECTRUM mate"