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EVER EVOLVING ORGAN : CONTACT AND SWITCH THE OTHER |
| Speak, Shape, Create, Time..
strip it down... Just news, reviews and whatever we want, whenever we want...
you know what Organ is about, what Organ has always been about... Review,
news, bits, bites going up everyday, bookmark organart.net and check in
every couple of days if you really want to know... music, art, alternatives... |
| TODAY'S
SIGNPOSTS and links and paths and contradictions and things to check
out.. |
ORGANART.NET
is the place to find us now, dot com still should work but the net is where
we want you... grab your fishnets and your fishing nets and things will
work with far more ease and... just reset your bookmarks and don't get
your toes stuck in the holes..
x |
 2nd
Sept '09: Have you seen the rain out there? Do we need raincoats already?
Is the summer over?
NEWS:
THE
RAINCOATS reissued.... We ThRee have announced the reissue of the The
Raincoats, the legendary first album by The Raincoats, originally released
on Rough Trade Records in 1979. Widely acclaimed as one of the musical
highlights of the post punk period and a breakthrough moment for
women in music, 'The Raincoats' has been commercially unavailable for the
past 10 years. We ThRee is The Raincoats' own label and will release the
album on vinyl on 12 October and a special edition digipak enhanced cd
with bonus tracks and live footage from 1979 on 9 November 2009.
Kill Rock Stars will release the album on vinyl simultaneously in the USA.
The album comes with liner notes by Kurt Cobain written in 1993. More from
www.theraincoats.net
"I really don’t know much about The Raincoats except that they recorded
some music that has affected me so much that whenever I hear it I’m
reminded of a particular time in my life when I was (shall we say) extremely
unhappy, lonely and bored. If it weren’t for the luxury of putting
on that scratchy copy of The Raincoats’ first record, I would have had
very few moments of peace." (Kurt Cobain, Nirvana, June 1993)
"It
was The Raincoats I related to most. They seemed like ordinary people playing
extraordinary music. Music that was natural that made room for cohesion
of personalities. They had enough confidence to be vulnerable and to be
themselves without having to take on the mantle of male rock/punk rock
aggression... or the typical female as sex symbol avec irony or sensationalism."
(Kim Gordon, Sonic Youth,1993)
NEWS:
OBLONG
celebrates one year.... The Oblong Gallery celebrates one year of showing
new art and doing the things they do at small galleries with a new show
that runs from 4th Sept through to 20th Sept. See the Organ art page for
previous Oblong features, neat little gallery that’s almost a garage on
the side of a house in front of a stone sculpture workshop in Islington.
Oblong Gallery, 69a Southgate Road. London N1 - www.oblonggallery.com
- Oblong is part of the First Thursdays collaboration – www.firstthursdays.co.uk
DEMO
REVIEW: THE QUIRKY – One track
demos are never that helpful in terms of getting a real angle on anything.
This sounds interesting enough though, sunny folky psychedelia laced with
spoken word soundbites and delicate instrumentation, lots of bright colour,
dare we mention the H word?, These people sound like hippies – not that
that’s a bad thing... A song about LSD and sunny summers of love and...
and well, here you go – www.myspace.com/thequirky
– Oh and they also put on a regular night at the Cross Kings over in Kings
Cross, London. Next one is tomorrow, 3rd September, VIV ALBERTINE
(of the Slits) playing with her new band, more on that from www.myspace.com/gigglinggig
NEWS:
NEBULA
dates... “L.A. power trio Nebula, whose cosmic cocktail of heavy riffs,
electric blues and psychedelic space rock has earned the band international
(and, dare we say, universal) acclaim return to the UK this coming October
to promote their ‘Heavy Psych’ album recently released on Tee Pee Records.
They play the following dates: Oct 13th - Talking Heads, Southampton, Oct
14th - Underworld, London, Oct 15th - Old Angel, Nottingham, Oct 16th -
Sin City, Swansea - www.nebulamusic.com
/ www.teepeerecords.com
x |
1st Sept '09: ORGAN ON THE RADIO AT RESONANCE FM, here's who got
played tonight
1/intro:
TRANSISTOR SIX – Back Yard Rocketship (Blackbean & Placenta)
2:
PRE – Gang Of Wire (Skingraft)
3:
THE LAZE – Falling Up Ladders (demo)
4:
UPSILON ACRUX – In-A-Gadda-DeVito (Cuneiform)
5:
CHICKENHAWK – NASA vs Esa (Brew)
6:
YEARS – Hey Cancer, F*** You (Arts & Crafts)
7:
VLADIMIR BOZAR ‘N’ ZESHERAF ORKRSTAR – Cartus (Imago)
8:
CUTTHROAT CONVENTION – Spinning (demo)
9:
OKIE DOKIE – Motorhead (Aagoo)
10:
MORAL DILEMMA – Embrace The Rage (Pumpkin)
11:
FOOT VILLAGE – National Jamthum (Upset The Rhythm)
12:
LED BIB – Flat Pack Fantasy (Cuneiform)
13:
KAYO DOT – The Awkward Wind Wheel (Hydrahead)
14:
WILLIAM D DRAKE – Fiery Pyre (ORG)
15:
CARDIACS – Insect Hoofs On Lassie (Alphabet)
16:
THE CURSORS – Alien (British Medical Records)
17:
OEN SUJET – Life Given To Quiet Places (Loaf)
Full
listing, links, details and news of the bands played up later
NEWS:
ORGAN
ON YOUR RADIO... Whoops,
hang on, stop press, seems we're back on the radio tonight, last minute
thing, something to do with insects and anarchy and best not to ask how
these things work. After a two week break we have an unexpected extra last
minute straight off the subs bench, quick grabs some records and such Organ
radio show at 8.00pm tonight, on London's finest RESONANCE 104.4FM
- FM dial in London, worldwide on line via www.resonancefm.com
- We'll throw some music at you, some chat, some insects, some of that
Pre album...
ALBUM
REVIEW: MERAUDER – God Is I (Regain)
– Brutal hardcore punk/metal crossover from New York that pretty much does
all you want from a new album delivered by a classic NYC crossover hardcore
band like Merauder. They’ve been a big part of the metalcore scene since
the early 90’s and they’re pretty much sticking to their aggressive guns
here... Keeping it real, true to the scene, just like it says on the tin
and all that kind of stuff – www.myspace.com/merauder
x |
 ALBUM
REVIEW: PRE – Hope Freaks (Skingraft)
- Ah Jezzzzzz, once was enough wasn’t it? Do we really need more of their
headpecking noise and their discordant screaming? Is there really any point
in repeating the exercise, as glorious as that first album was, do we really
need a second? There she goes again with her high-pitched manic ‘singing’
and screaming and yelping and there they go with their frantic new wave
left-field ‘difficult’ scuttling.... You know, there are people, people
who are usually tolerant when it comes to these notions of music and noise
and going off and things, people otherwise reasonable and tolerant, who
come in here and yell “oh no, not bloody Pre again!”. Indeed, people phone
up the radio station and complain when Pre are on air, I love Pre! And
yes, it is very much a case of going off and things - you know what
we mean by that, squalor is alive, things abound... And yes there
is a very big point in this second album, they are extreme with their hard-boiled
noise but this is as relevant as anyone’s second album, maybe even more
so? Could they take it anywhere after that debut? Are they just going to
be a glorious one trick noise-pony? No they’re damn well not! Pre have
expanded their sound, they’ve challenged themselves, they’ve become even
more gloriously awkward, even more difficult, maybe even slightly poppy
(in a deranged way), they’re even more addictive... Try listening to beautifully
bendy pointy pencil-sharp tantrums like Cold or the title track
Hope
Freaks and then dare to come here and tell us you’re not instantly
addicted. Pre are glorious, they’re like Deerhoof thrown in to the deep
end of the Pond, they really are going off and things, kissing big ugly
sharks like early Cardiacs on extra hyper-active orange juice, they are
hope freaks, they are hope, nothing freaky, who knows what she’s yelling
about? Once was never going to be enough, this builds perfectly on the
original attack of Epic Fits, Pre have more than followed their debut up.
Gibber
and Twitch indeed - www.myspace.com/prepreprepre
or www.skingraftrecords.com
NEWS:
Georgia’s
“mind-blowing” (to quote the press release) alt.psych-rock 5-piece DEAD
CONFEDERATE are playing a small Low-key gig at The Legion in Shoreditch
tomorrow night, Wednesday Sept 2nd. Returning to the UK for the first time
since their Spring tour with A Place To Bury Strangers, DEAD CONFEDERATE
have just been supporting Dinosaur Jr on a run of UK / European dates.
They’ll be playing this one off London headline show before jetting back
to the states to embark on a co-headline tour with Meat Puppets.
Dead Confederate?s debut album Wrecking Ball has already been really successful
and critically acclaimed over in the US and is set for release in the UK
on November 2nd through Kartel – grab a taste at www.myspace.com/deadconfederate
NEWS:
GIGGS
– Grab a free download... Grime? UK Rap? Call it what you want, Giggs will
tear you apart (as they like to sing in the best parts of M16), straight
up, dirty, menacing, threatening, here’s the video,
here’s a free download,
don’t ask where it came from, we grab these things so you don’t have to
go there...
NEWS:
PESTIVAL
is a festival celebrating insects in art, and the art of being an insect.
Pestival 2009 runs from 3rd-6th September @ The Southbank Centre, London
and is jam-packed with insect-inspired talks and debates, as well as comedy,
music, walks, workshops, installations, radio and experiments. The radio
element comes from Resonance FM. For further information, please visit
www.pestival.org
SINGLE
REVIEW: PITCHBLEND – Celsius
(Sugarshack) – More from Reading’s Pitchblend and more of their My Vitriol/A
Perfect Circle/Placebo meets Explosions In The Sky melodic/anthemic style
alterno-indie rock... Kind of feels like they’re treading a little water
here after all the early promise. We’ve paid them compliments before, feels
like time to be moving it on a little now maybe? Is it time for Pitchblend
to challenge themselves a little more? www.myspace.com/pitchblend
ALBUM
REVIEW: DAMON & NAOMI – The Sub
Pop Years (20.20.20.10) – A retrospective anthology best-of collection
drawn from one Galaxie 500 duo’s Sub Pop albums and if you’re not already
familiar with their embracing work then this is just what you need. Their
delicate warmth and those glowing melodies that caress the earthly peaks,
their American alt.folk take on the gentle art of shoegazing, an exquisite
swirl of words and rather human honesty that may sometimes lack cheer,
but, to quote Robert Wyatt, is “like real water in a world of soda pop...
www.damonaandnaomu.com
or www.20-20-20.com
x |
 31st
AUG '09: Sun out,.sirens screaming, whistles blowing, even more sirens
screaming, we're in the carnival zone, thankfully there's also death metal
and whoever's kicking up this latest delightful hellstorm that just landed
in the CD cruncher.... We'll tell you about the hellstorm in a minute,
(stop press: there it is now) meanwhile To Arms have a new single out today...
SINGLE
REVIEW: THE CURSORS – Alien /
Hmm Ha (British Medical Records) - New self-released single and more of
the London band’s busy bouncy springy punky new wave thrust that’s starting
to turn heads more and more. We’ve told you about them before... Feisty,
girl-fronted, kind of sinister and a little menacing in an alien aero-spaceage
flying at your mind kind on way... stand up, start up, get set, set
course, lights on, turn green, they’re here. They’re here and
we should have been as well, release dates? An alien took ours, hmm ha,
we only just got it back, fell through a timewhole of a time hole. We like
these Cursors, we like their raw energy, and their punky 1981 are we not
men? No, we are Cursors. That first track sound like something Robert Calvert
would have flown in on during his Captain Lockheed adventures, until it
gets a little Siouxsie in that bouncy springy Yeah yeah Yeahs new wave
way we already mentioned. We like these Cursors. Busy playing lots in London
right now... www.myspace.com/thecursorsmusic
ALBUM
REVIEW: IMPIETY - Terroreign: Apocalyptic
Armageddon Command (Agonia) – They’re from Singapore, took an age to work
out what the name on the front cover was, same old unreadable logo and
yet another hellstorm of pissed-off wasp guitars, growling vocal regurgitation
and more of those million mile an hour speed metal riffs... Like we keep
on saying, we get hundreds of albums like this, piles of them puking out
of our speakers every week, a spewtum of extreme metal projecting at us
from all over the world... Most of the time they’re dealing out the same
old same old, most of it doesn’t impress enough to get even the briefest
of mentions around here, most of it is a conforming waste of everyone’s
time, more about the pose than the substance... Oh, he’s singing goat
father, had to check the lyrics there... Bestial To The Bone...
Black Fu... Impiety are not that different to the hundreds of others,
just they just hit the spot a little more than most do. Classic old school
storming death/black/thrash venom, unrelenting onslaught of noise - a terror
rain of matted hair, bullet belts, growls and riffs, nothing radically
different, just that they’re hitting the extreme metal sweet spot with
their hail of damnation and boiled up blackness, their violent onslaught
and shitrain of black noise, hitting the spot just little more than most
and when this stuff hits the sweet spot then wooooooaaaaaaaaaaagghhhhhhh,
bring it all on. This, for once, is wreckomended extreme metal noise -
www.myspace.com/impietyofficial
SINGLE
REVIEW: TO ARMS ETC. – Misbelieving/Lucky
(Bronzerat) – They have such a distinctive, instantly recognisable, colourfully
rich sound, a slow gliding style all of their own. Charles Campbell-Jones
and his band following up that fine debut album (and his previous solo
work). A little more poppy with these two new songs, that’s no bad thing...
Slightly left-field, slightly oddball (not really oddball in any way really)
art-pop-prog flow and it could only be To Arms Etc. They’re easy, they
gently glow, they’re anthemic, simple, alive, a touch of the baroque with
their sky-touching goodness, a gleam all of their own, another set of treats
that you may need to give a couple of spins before the magic hits you again...www.myspace.com/toarmsetc
or www.bronzerat.com
|
 30th
AUG '09: NEWS: No
radio show this weekend, Resonance is closed for a week in terms of live
shows, while they do some essential maintenance and tweak a few things.
They’re running old shows all week, including this Sunday, so no live Organ
show or Other Rock on Resonance 104.4FM this weekend... And next week we
have the Pestival being broadcast live on Resonance so no Organ show next
week either, we're on our summer holidays...
SINGLE
REVIEW: DEAR READER – Great White Bear
(City Slang) - This is just absolutely gorgeous, one of those singles to
just put on repeat and stand in the middle of a room with and just listen
to... This is just a heartachingly beautiful song alive with emotion, alive
with radiant intricate simplicity... Dear Reader are vocalist and piano
player Cheri MacNeil and musical collaborator Daryl Torr, they’re from
Johannesburg (apparently they have an uneasy relationship with their home
country of South Africa). Left-field tales and places to hide and almost
getting there... and disasters and youthful dreams of escape and however
wrong the day may have been and the running from that bullet in the back,
whatever happened, this is just absolutely gorgeous – www.myspace.com/dearreadermusic.
Oh there’s a great animated video as well., see it here
SINGLE
REVIEW: THE NEW ENEMY – Outsourced
EP (self release) - Rough-voiced throaty commitment from four North American
hardcore punk types... They’re from Toronto actually, that throat sounds
very raw – that familiar chugging punk sound that you know so so well –
www.myspace.com/thenewenemy
SINGLE
REVIEW: STREET SWEEPER SOCIAL CLUB
– 100 Little Curses (Cooking Vinyl) – One of the more obvious cuts from
the recent Street Sweeper album. Tom Morello’s new outfit, but don’t be
thinking this is just Rage revisited, could never be just that when you’ve
Boots Riley fronting thing, to suggest it is is rather disrespectful really
-
www.streetsweepermusic.com
or www.cookingvinyl.com
SINGLE
REVIEW: SOULSAVERS – Death Bells
(V2) – Another single from the rather excellent Soulsavers, second to be
lifted from the Broken album. Mark Laneghan, former Screaming Trees frontman,
with his musical personality stamped all over it. Massive Mogwai re-mix
on the b-side of this advance version we have here - www.myspace.com/soulsavers
SINGLE
REVIEW: SKUNK ANANSIE – Because
Of You (One Little Indian) – They’re back for more, born again, easy to
be cynical about these things, scoff about old bands back for the money...
This second born again single sounds as committed as the previous one was,
got some their early days attitude and biting edge back in there... And
Skin always was impressively powerful when her band got things right.
May not be a fashionable opinion, who cares about who’s cool enough to
namedrop and who isn’t this week. Skunk Anansie are back making more than
decent rock records once again, that’s no bad thing – www.myspace.com/skunkanansiemusic
29th
AUG '09: NEWS:
The
VYNER
STREET FESTIVAL returns today “for the eighth extraordinary year with
an impressive music line-up.... Set in Bethnal Green’s most vibrant and
contemporary gallery district (of London) the festival is a favourite London
summer event that cannot be missed.” Vyner Street Festival is a bank holiday
weekend event and is free to attend....SATURDAY LINE-UP (29th Aug) - 2.00pm
DJ Simon (Blow-Up), 4.00 - Anti-Rhythm
Bandwagon, 4.45 - J.D
Smith, 5.30 - Squirrel
Skin Slippers, 6.15 - Friends
of Luca Brasi, 7.00 - The
Jude, 7.45 - Tits Of Death,
8.30 - The Silvertown
Explosion, 9.15 - Thee
Vicars. SUNDAY LINE-UP (29th Aug) - 2.00pm DJ Wooden Mitch (The 60s),
4.30 - Randall Stevens,
5.15 - Miss Kirstenana,
6.00 - The Supernovas,
6.45 - Anti Rhythm
Bandwagon, 7.30 - Babe
Shadow, 8.15 - The
Special Ks, 9.15 - KOF
- www.myspace.com/vynerstreetfestival
x |
 ALBUM
REVIEW: CRAZY ARM – Born To Ruin
(Xtra Mile) - Darren Johns, front man out of The Once Over Twice with his
latest shot and a debut album that carries on along the same slightly dusty
American sounding alternative (positive) track that Darren and his various
bands have always followed. It isn’t that Crazy Arm are radically different,
just that there’s some rather fine, rather intelligent, rather rewarding
depth here, some serious song writing – a band with a little more -
crafted, a little more to hold on to, a band who sound like really do matter
a little more than most.... committed songs. I don’t know, if Johns
was from California or some other place, rather than Plymouth here in the
UK, then people would be shouting about him and his new band, this man
can write a song! We’re vaguely talking Husker Du, X, Fugazi, maybe a touch
of REM, Springsteen, The Replacements, The Clash, maybe even a hint of
the timeless country warmth of CSNY in there with the hard edge and that
intelligent alternative feel... Crazy Arm, like The Once Over Twice before
them... well to put it bluntly, if Crazy Arm were North Americans then
people would be raving about them (seems the album has been out since the
start of June, only just limped in here this week with a very short hand-written
note from the band themselves - “here’s a copy of the Crazy Arm album for
review if possible, thanks, Darren” – if only you English labels had things
a little more together a bit more when you have treasures like this!).
Eleven quality songs, all good, no hint of anything near filler, timeless
depth, serious alternative, punk-edged, alt.rock intelligent quality -
born to find reason, each building on the last – boring looking front cover
but don’t let that stop you going in – just get out and give this a little
more than just the once over, there’s a seriously good band with some seriously
good sentiment and some very serious songs here. If that start to Kith
And Kingdom don’t grab your heart first time then I fear you’re already
dead to music... Highly recommended - www.myspace.com/crazyarm
or www.xtramilerecordings.com
28th
AUG '09: ALBUM REVIEW: O.M.T
– Anamantium (Rising) - Choppy growly shouty mix of Maiden style melody,
galloping riffs, thrashing metal – brutal bits, melodic tuneful old school
metal bits, apparently it stands for Our Malevolent Tyranny, they’re from
the South coast of England, this is their decent enough well produced debut,
our work is done here, there’s the link – www.myspace.com/omtmusic
ALBUM
REVIEW: LIME HEADED DOG – Kfum &
Kfuk (Volcano Attack) – All kinds of different angles here, isn’t enough
to just be so different, does help though, Lime Headed Dog are as different
as a strangely coloured animal;s head, Lime Head Dog are different and
good – very good. Discordantly melodic, alive with strange tunes that somehow
come out really poppy and yes, there are lots of current reference points
(or at least recent, what ever did happen to The Klaxons?). “Microwaved
and unlike anything that you can instantly put your finger on..” we said
last time... words and beasts and built of love alone... think klaxons,
Streets, and flipping like a fish out of water, chess wars and bishop taking
knight and all kinds of rushes and going off and things, different pop,
awkward, was that a touch of Cardiacs? Just a touch? Different, lime-headed...
curiously good - www.myspace.com/limeheadeddog
ALBUM
REVIEW: TOURNAMENT – Years Old
(Forcefield) – More of what we like, raw aggressive imaginative bleeding
noise, Tournament are from Brooklyn, New York, they deal in raw alternative
metal that’s delivered with blistering style. Oft-kilter driving edge for
those who like their metal with a little bit of thought, with the challenging
edge of bands like Rye Coalition or Drive Like Jehu – www.myspace.com/tournamenttournament
x |
 27th
AUG '09: Focusing on the whole of the doughnut, hole and everything, surely
we should be to attending to the hole as well?
DEMO
REVIEW: THE LAZE – Spacetime Fabric
Conditioner – This isn’t really a demo, this is things in progress and
an early taste of some kind of masterwork and an album almost ready for
release – pay attention serious forward looking cutting edge prog-friendly
labels out there, I think they’re looking for someone to take notice and
put this out - and someone really should, this is seriously good! We’re
talking some kind of instantly attention-demand frontline blend of the
best side of brooding Faith No More fused with the progressive drama and
seriously challenging adventure of classic King Crimson. Radiant keyboards,
moody mountains of imaginative light and shade and stop the boat, the jester,
the lark’s tongue is aspic, all lighthouse keepers and whoever’s helping
young Washington to cut that cherry tree down for one mad-dive prog rock
clock-ticking lawn-mowing minute, stop everything! We have a serious band
here, this just might be the missing link that glues together the classic
English prog of long past days and the forward looking musical adventure
of now. This is cutting edge post-whatever you got for people who understand
the glorious beauty of early Genesis, the dramatic adventure of Van Der
Graaf or classic King Crimson, this is all that kicked in to a slightly
twisted here and now with such gutsy passion, with such understanding of
what this thing we call prog is really about... This is the real deal,
this is proper full-on unashamed cool as f**k cutting edge expertly crafted
dirty-fingered keyboard driven, sax-fuelled twisted English prog rock adventure
and when they get the release details sorted we’ll delve a lot further
in and tell a hell of a lot more about how brilliant it is...
You
can catch The Laze on tour in the UK with Upsilon Acrux and Honey Ride
Me A Goat at the start of October, now that is going to be a serious event
of a tour, those three bands together is almost too much! More from www.myspace.com/thelaze
AN
OPEN LETTER FROM RIP CRUNCHER: Seems Rip caught up with one of those
bands who we encountered during that battle with the demo mountain further
down the page, seems out link took the Crunxh off to their My Space page...
“Can Rip Cruncher seriously believe his ear'oles ? No he f'kg can’t. You
really are full of hot steaming bat shit you people aren't you ? Quote:
“Full Scream Ahead have been quietly preparing for battle and are now ready
to unleash the big guns"...CORRRRRR!!!!! I was thinking "bring on some
Armaggedon!", as I hit the play button on your My Space page. But what's
this then? What's all this pink poodled, jingly-jangly, handbaggy toss
wallop that's raping my lugs?. I thought you were gonna strap it on and
batter me with f**kin' shrapnel? "Screaming guitars and drums like thunder"
you said. So who are these impostors then? Those very pretty boys who look
like bloody dentists receptionists who have their picture on the top of
your page? Nice f**king haircuts though boys, you'll definitely pass mummy's
muster before she lets you out after you've eaten your tea.
Full
Scream Ahead? Do me a favour. With Billy big bollox boasts like yours
I want to get thrown across the room and walloped over the head with a
metal baseball bat, I want ravaging f'kn piranhas eating my guts out from
within. This limp-wristed, apologetic shandy rock is about as dangerous
as dangling your dick in granny's fishbowl. So you're ready for battle
then are ya? Ready to strap it on with the entrail-ripping, heads on spikes,
battery acid drinking monsters of Crunch are ya lads? Trouble is,
with fighting talk like yours I might even turn up at one of your little
gigs to sample some of your demonic, skull crushing rage. I'll be the one
frothing at the mouth with a rusty axe and a hard on. DON'T f**kin well
let me down now. Love n gnashes - Cruncher”.
NEWS:
GAY
FOR JOHNNY DEPP have announced UK tour dates in November and December...Support
will come from Outcry Collective and Blakfish. Tour dates: 13 Nov: Plymouth,
White Rabbit, 14 Nov: Bristol, Louisiana, 15 Nov: Southampton, Talking
Heads, 16 Nov: Birmingham, Flapper, 17 Nov: Nottingham, Seven, 18 Nov:
Brighton, Engine Rooms, 20 Nov: Oxford, Bullingdon Arms, 21 Nov: High Wycombe,
Nag's Head, 22 Nov: Southend, Chinnerys, 23 Nov: Bournemouth, iBar, 24
Nov: Derby, Royal, 25 Nov: Glasgow, Ivory Blacks, 26 Nov: Manchester, Satan's
Hollow, 27 Nov: Luton, Sub Club, 28 Nov: Sheffield, Leadmill, 29 Nov: York,
Fibbers, 30 Nov: Newcastle, Cluny, 1 Dec: Leeds, Cockpit, 2 Dec: Cardiff,
Barfly, 3 Dec: Exeter, Cavern, 4 Dec: London, Borderline – www.myspace.com/gayforjohnnydepp
26th
AUG '09: NEWS: ZACH
HILL JOINS WAVVES - Continuing his efforts to play on every underground
indie release ever, Hella drummer Zach Hill has begun playing with Wavves,
aka Nathan Williams. The duo head out on a US tour next month and have
already begun recording new material together.
NEWS:
MAPS
will headline Adventures In The Bloody Beetroot Field at Cargo in London
on Friday night. Also on the bill are Poni Hoax, Hook & The Twin and
Samuel & The Dragon, and DJ sets come courtesy of Run Hide Survive
and Ben Rymer. Entry is absolutely free. Maps will be previewing material
from their forthcoming second album, 'Turning The Mind', due out via Mute
on 28 Sep. You can also catch them at Offset and Bestival.
x |
 LONDON
STREET ARTIST D*FACE TO LAUNCH SOLO EXHIBITION IN NYC - Ludovico Aversion
Therapy / All Your Dreams Are Owned By Us @ Jonathan LeVine Gallery
September 12th October 10, 2009
Press release here says “New York's Jonathan LeVine Gallery is pleased
to present Ludovico Aversion Therapy / All Your Dreams Are Owned By Us,
a solo exhibition of new original works and multiples by the London-based
street artist known as D*Face returning to the gallery for his debut solo
show in the United States; in conjunction with a site-specific, street-level
installation. The show title Ludovico Aversion Therapy references
a futuristic human behaviour reconditioning treatment from A Clockwork
Orange (the 1972 cult-classic film by Stanley Kubrick), in which the patient’s
eyelids are forced open to watch disturbing footage containing subliminal
messages.
Artist statement: “If you've ever wondered what goes on inside of my mind,
this body
of
work is it. A visual interpretation of lucid dreams - the replaying, disassembly
and reconfiguring of images held in one’s mind... it's as much 'Exquisite
Corpse’ as everyday Ludovico Aversion Therapy”
Re-interpreting the exquisite corpse concept, each piece in Ludovico Aversion
Therapy features a singular composite subject created using an amalgamation
of various branded corporate identity mascots combined with classic superhero
characters, interspersed with typography derived from comic book art and
advertising. Having spliced these elements into thin segments of recognisable
information, the artist scrambles the pieces then stacks them vertically,
re-assigning features to form mismatched conglomerate faces and deliver
a powerfully graphic impact. Paintings and etchings in this exhibition
feature the artist’s signature tongue-in-cheek aesthetic, known for creating
two and three-dimensional work using a variety of mediums and techniques.
Incorporating pop iconography with satirical commentary and anti-establishment
values, D*Face questions the increasing turnover and bombardment of imagery
by the media as well as how much (if any and what parts) we recall, digest
and retain. Extracting elements from the endless stream of visual stimuli
absorbed daily by our conscious and subconscious, the artist re-works and
subverts imagery appropriated from comics, currency, corporate advertising,
and cultural figures - drawing from decades of materialistic consumption
in our media-saturated society".
ABOUT THE ARTIST - "D*Face is a London-based sculptor and street artist.
His artwork has been exhibited in galleries and on the streets of cities
around the world. For over ten years, his wall stencils and three dimensional
urban interventions have tested public awareness and resistance when faced
with visual alternatives to corruptive, persuasive commercial advertising.
Reoccurring themes include: celebrity, fame, and mortality. The artist
uses the term aPOPcalyptic to describe his work, which often features images
of cultural icons as a commentary on conspicuous consumption in popular
culture. D*Face’s early artistic inspirations include pop artists such
as Lichtenstein, Haring and Warhol. Additional influences include: punk
music, graffiti, skateboarding and skate magazines featuring graphic artists
like Jim Philips and Pushead.” Find out more about D*Face at www.dface.co.uk,
the gallery is at www.jonathanlevinegallery.com
NEWS:
CHICKENHAWK,
who's new single is reviewed further down this page, have posted a video
trailer, they say “Thanks for the review, its muchos appreciated, if you
are interested there's a trailer for 'I Hate this, do you like it?' video
is online here”
That
WEASEL
WALTER podcast thing we told you about yesterday is well worth checking
out, the thoughts of Weasel and loaded with good stuff from Deicide, Model
Citizens, Burmese, Psyopus, Heart, Shelton/Berman/Walter, Darkthrone, The
Fast, Quok, Morbid Angel, Bestial Warlust, The Chicago Sound, Toy Killers,
Morbosidad and more... further details down the page....
X |
 25th
AUG '09: Tuesday Tuesday, hot and sticky, and more artistic endeavour and
the continued battle with...Well let us take on the demo mountain... got
to be some good fresh exciting music here to shout about...
THE
DAILY BATTLE WITH DEMO MOUNTAIN...
We’ve been throwing demos in the chewing machine for what seems like hours
now, chewing them up while leaves get twisted, cats bark for fresh food,
the sun burns down and people ask us if we’re going to Reading, (no we’re
not going to bloody Reading!). Demo after demo, hopefully throwing 'em
in, spitting them out again and to quote our good friend Senator Clay Davis,
“sheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeittttttttt!”.
The truth of the matter here is that, however hopeful we are when we throw
these discs in to the player, nearly all of these demos these days are
pretty much, at best, politely alright. politely alright is not good
enough and we could waste several chunks of this fine sunny day writing
half-hearted three-line polite review after half-hearted three-line polite
review that ends with an uncommitted polite comment and a My Space link
you won’t really be inspired enough to bother to hit... We could politely
tell you about polite indie rock demos from Scotland or the same old polite
ska-punk from Manchester or more shouty pink-haired electro girls with
their Hoxton art-school wannabe same old same old that really isn’t that
clever when seventy three others have already done it ahead of them this
year... We could tell you about this slice or remarkably politely average
(very average) Bon Jovi pub-metal from Essex that’s about to be ejected
and violently mangled... or this or that or or or... |
or or or... Or this lot who’ve been sending in the same remarkably average,
politely slick, pop-rock politeness in to us for at least the last five
polite years or so now – every six months, like clockwork, they send in
another demo and always with the same politely-printed press-release claiming
they’re the next big thing ‘cause the bloke who books Tuesday nights at
the Hope And Anchor said so once....
Yeah, sure, we could clutter up our pages with polite review after polite
uncommitted review and tell you how they all politely sound a bit like
this crossed with something a bit like that... Endless reviews that in
reality no one will care two rotten red apples about. It isn’t that most
of these bands or demos are really that bad, just that they’re not very
good either.... Come on you bands, we're not impressed, The Bunk isn't
impressed, no one is impressed.... We want your music to jump out of the
speakers and bite our ears, to stop us in our tracks, we want you new bands
to grab us by the throat and demand our attention, demand our words, our
page space, our airtime, our shouting and frothing and barking - this parade
of politely average half-hearted demos will not do! This one we’ve got
on now is some bloke in his bedroom at an electric piano like we’re on
some late night after hours cheesy cruse ship to somewhere south of politeville..
What on earth makes you people think any of this is going to be wanted
by anyone besides your being-polite-because-they-love-you immediate family
and handful of so-called friends who won't tell you the truth? Jesus, look
at that! There’s twenty four songs on here! “Some of it sounds like Cardiacs”
he says, no it bloody doesn’t! You don’t get around our ears like that.
Miles away from being anywhere near the goalposts... |
...Oh hell, listen to this one! Nearly as bad as the one we had on a minute
ago that came with some shouty hand-written teenage punk rock style manifesto
that might have looked good on the paper in their heads, no good if your
music sounds like it was made in a cardboard box out the back of a Scout
hut before mummy called you in for tea and told you off for using sharp
pens without permission... And here come some more shouty electro look-at-us
Hoxton toss.
Started off here politely telling tales of how everything was politely
average, almost as average as that band who sang about how everything was
average (or that other average average lot who sang about cashpoints and
wanting to be the Clash but never ever were whatever XFM and the bloody
NME tried to tell us, Hard-Fi, that was them, whatever happen Hard Fi?
Weren’t they supposed to be the biggest band in the world by now?). On
and on they go, some of these things really are worse that those damn everything
is average Kaiser Chiefs, at least the demo mountain is getting a little
smaller.
Some (not very) polite heavy metal now, man with bollocks caught in a poodle’s
jaws by the sounds of things, oh dear, this is nowhere near average, where
the hell have this lot come from? Cardiff? Oh dear! Gawd help us, Cruncher
‘d fall down one of his holes if he was to be subjected to this!
Ah, jeszzzzzzzzus, this one is on one of those blank white CDr things,
not even a name written on it, some dreadful emo indie pop band who could
be from anywhere, comes with a press release – if you are going to send
these things in then at least get it together to write your name on the
disc! The damn thing will get feed in to the machine, the phone will ring,
we’ll forget who you are and wallop, blank disc, no name, which cover did
it come out of? Who knows? Who cares? In the bin... Gawd, read this press
release that came with the blank disc, how many giraffes are this lot having?
“Full Scream Ahead serve up a mesmerising blend of thunderous rock, squalls
of guitar and cavernous drums, with shimmering melodic passages, with dizzying
musical layers and a myriad of emotions, they have a sound that could well
grow into the best British thing for years....” – ummmm... no you bloody
don’t, you’re not even politely average! No, can't resist, here's the link
to "the best British thing for years", this is the kind of polite avergeness
that clutters up our day... |
 Next
please... Some band called She Hit Me First... yeah, who can blame her?
Hit them again! And you lot from Glasgow with your Banksy balloon
stickers, we politely told you last time you sent us this very same demo
(and followed it up with a million e.mails) that we weren’t that impressed,
take the polite hint, if you send this in for a forth time then we will
actually review it, you won’t like what we say, we’re being very polite
here... sheeeeeeit! And this singer-songwriter being all moody sitting
on the beach on his cover... we know how bad this is going to be well before
we put it on... No, wrong, far worse then we expected! Do any of you people
even bother checking out what we cover here before you waste your stamps
and jiffy bags? Argghhhh, listen to this one! Are you people deliberately
sending this stuff in just to annoy us!?
Oh sisters of bloody mercy, we got bad bad goths with Pet Shop Boy synths
and comedy Marilyn Manson gravel voices now – “I sing about Ancient
Egypt, outer space, cemeteries and forsaken places of body and mind...”
We need to get out of here.... We really do listen to every demo that comes
in...
x |
 NEWS:
WEASEL
WALTER podcasts and twitters and he’s what he said.... “Weasel Walter
podcast now available for free go to www.ugEXPLODE.com
to check out the first in my regular podcasts where I play lots of weird
music and rant about various things. You can follow it with an rss feed
through the site if you like. I also started a twitter account @ twitter.com/ugEXPLODE,
so check it out.” More from www.myspace.com/weaselwalter... if you don’t
know who Weasel is go explore, you need to know those Flying Luttenbachers...
he’s a grumpy git but he’s involved in some rather tasty boundary pushing
music, almost joining Twitter... almost...
NEWS:
KISS
have signed to Roadrunner Records' Loud & Proud subsidiary for the
UK & Europe release of their new album, 'Sonic Boom' - which features
their first new material for eleven years and the first studio album with
guitarist Tommy Thayer. Speaking about the new album, Gene Simmons said:
"'Sonic Boom' may be the best new record we've done since 'Destroyer'.
It is 'Rock And Roll Over' meets 'Love Gun'".Paul Stanley added: "'Sonic
Boom' is the perfect title for what we're creating - it's earthshaking
and deafening!". The album will be released on 5 Oct. (CMU)
NEWS:
MAJOR
LAZER will play his first headline London show at the Hoxton Bar &
Kitchen on 8 Sep, which will be interesting, given that he's a fictional
80s cartoon character. The men behind the project, Switch and Diplo, will
be on hand to make sure everything runs smoothly though.
x |
| 24th
AUG '09: Monday Monday, hot and sticky, artistic endeavour and the continued
battle with the ever inspiring ever confounding ever plump and ready to
burst demo mountain, there will be something good here, somewhere...
surely? There was Cutthroat Convention earlier, need another hit now though,
the never ending search for new music, fresh art, different marks... We
may have been here doing this much longer than most of you, we're still
a hell of a lot more excited about new music and all that surrounds the
never ending pursuit than most people seem to be.. Join in, get involve,
communicate, contact and switch the other, this thing just won't blow over....
NEWS:
BAD
LIEUTENANT, the new band put together by Salford's finest, New Order’s
Bernard Sumner, have posted a track called Sink or Swim on their My Space
page, sounds like a classic bit Bernard Sumner pop of the more recent New
Order vintage to these ears, the track is officially released next as a
single
Monday, investigate via www.myspace.com/badlieutenantmusic
x |
 SINGLE
REVIEW: CHICKENHAWK – A Or Not (Brew) - Riddle this one as
well, kicking tin cans to the moon and I spy what? New three track single
from the mighty Chickenhawk. We do not user that word mighty with the abandon
of most others around here, this Leeds band are mighty, I made
this, do you like it? Chickenhawk back for more and didn’t we say something
about their debut album being metal album of the year or something like
that here at Organ last year? Before the I Spy book of bulshit kicked in?
Really do hope this band don’t get tangled up in the crap that passes for
some kind of British music industry, they really deserve more than all
that ego infested soup that can tangle a band up and strangle them to death.
This is a serious twist of intelligent forward looking, thinking person’s
creative metal, clearly enough of a band to want to challenge themselves
and push their boundaries and on the evidence of this, a band who thankfully
haven’t used it all up on album number one. Three tracks, all of them strong,
all looking and sounding rather good, all comes down to the music in the
end - www.myspace.com/chickenhawk
or www.brewrecords.net. They’re
at the Reading and Leeds festivals this coming weekend, they’re busy touring
throughout September, the single is out in the first week of September...
There's some free Chickenhawk downloads and such further down this very
page, go I Spy them, they are one of the best matal bands out there and
these three tracks are healthy steps forward ...
DEMO
REVIEW: BAD FOR LAZARUS - Riddle that
one, holy burning toast, lashings for bats, five piece band from Somewhereville
England, something to do with reading lesbian poetry or maybe nothing to
do with reading any poetry, messing with the Cramps and the Stooges and
The Pixies and mostly some kind of eighties b-line matchbox on a course
for disaster and all that To The Bones Icarus Line dcuzzy rawness, adrenaline,
attitude, slashed blues, broken guitars and low slung hell yeah punk rock
n’ roll chaos, old rats on new ships or something like that... early days.
Heavy nasty pop... got some good You Tube action on their MySpace.
They’re at the Comedy Cafe (opposite Cargo), Shoreditch, London on September
4th - www.myspace.com/badforlazarus
DEMO
REVIEW: OMNIVORE – Spandaurandurandaulallet
- we get an Omnivore passing through here every couple of years or so,
this latest Omnivore are from Leeds and appear to be connected to those
other wild noise-makers Death Qunt. Actually it looks like it may just
be Death Qunt with a new name and more of their wild freeform jazz noise
delivered with attitude, drive and raw threat. More of that rushing all
over the place hard-boiled free form jazz honking, not so freeform that
things are out of control mind you, these people are not making mere noise
for art’s sake, they’re in control of their challenging sound. We’re talking
John Zorn, The Thing and heading out towards those Flying Luttenbachers
at times... Seven instrumental jazz-sax driven tracks in a hand made cow-camouflage
cloth cover with a hand painted luminous green band logo on the front...
Just how we likeit... www.myspace.com/omnivoreband
ALBUM
REVIEW: CONQUEST OF STEEL – Storm
Sword, Rise Of The Dread Queen (No Face) - Old school battle metal from
the Northern wastelands of England (Bradford actually), proper old school
metal, Iron Maiden, Angel Witch, Manowar, Dio, Anvil, all swords and galloping
riffs and a touch of English folk/prog for added light and shade, and fighting
for the queen and the promised land and a grandiose unabashed boldly ambitious
concept album. Bombastic. Proper, no messing tyrant-vanquishing old school
proper proper metal – www.myspace.com/conquestofsteel
E.P.
REVIEW: SIXTY WATT BAYONETS – Pounding
Hearts, Fighting Words (Broken Tail) - Feisty spiky shouty busy blustery
girl-fronted indie pop-rock four piece from Reading with a seven track
EP, Don’t know how many of these have turned up in the post now, I guess
someone would like us to say something... Well, feisty spiky shouty busy
blustery girl-fronted indie pop-rock that’s either mildly irritating or
potentially thrilling, depending on your state of mind. Kind of in your
face and screeching and yelping away and Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Beth Ditto
driving away and they think they got it sorted, they think they got your
number... they haven’t got ours yet, their pounding hearts and fighting
words haven’t got us off the fence... – www.myspace.com/sixtywattbayonets
x |
 DEMO
REVIEW: CUTTHROAT CONVENTION
– Denizens Of The Bath House - Cutthroat Convention are a musical law unto
themselves, they’re like no one else, it really should sound alien and
awkward, it really isn’t... Even at this early juncture you know who it
is straight away, a couple of DIY demo releases and they’re already instantly
recognisable, now there aren’t too many bands making their first moves
that you can say that about. Strange lines, twists, things that really
shouldn't be happening or at least shouldn’t be working in terms of conventional
rock music. This is seriously progressive other rock and they really don’t
sound like a single other band out there, or at least any band we can point
a signpost at as some kind of vague dancing about architecture type clue...
They’re London based, via Japan, their packages always stand out, so does
their stencil art and hand made creativity that fanfares each batch of
fresh music. Seven tracks this time, all good and they had us lost for
words last time and they have us even more lost for words this time...
And all their creations are there to cling on to, outbursts of franticness,
strange lengths, twitches, gibbers, darkness, sinister bits, disturbing
bits – strange rather than difficult or awkward or hard-boiled, Cutthroat
Convention are strangely easy to listen to – very very strangely easy and
just so compellingly different - and yes, they do sound Japanese,
very strangely Japanese though, like the strangest Japanese movie full
of animated cat-buses that somehow makes such obvious sense. Cutthroat
Convention are just different, they’re impossible to describe, they’re
rather good, they’re very very good with their strings and their slowly
burning skin and their seeing of the light and the rain and their sinister
undercurrents and different time signatures and strange lengths and...
This time the music turned up in a mysterious hand-painted box along with
loads of good looking artwork and tales of parasites and their paradise
and... and... and ...oh just go find out, hit the link and find out, they
really are worth finding out about, go now... www.myspace.com/cutthroatconvention
23rd
AUG '09: NEWS: No
radio show this weekend, Resonance is closed for a week in terms of live
shows, while they do some essential maintenance and tweak a few things.
They’re running old shows all week, including this Sunday, so no live Organ
show or Other Rock on Resonance 104.4FM this weekend...
x |
 ALBUM
REVIEW: YEARS – Years (Arts & Grafts)
– This is rather special, a lush summer’s day of an album. Bits of delicate
acoustic glow, touches of Arvo Part classical caress, some delicate post-rock
glitch – warm inviting compositional sound-scaping, all green and glowing
- mostly instrumental but that only adds to the delicate understated power
of the vocals when they do occasionally come in in such a soothing window-opening
way. Some of this is lush and rich, pastorally classical in an avant kind
of way, some minimal and simple (clever) acoustic guitar. When the triumphantly
epic 65 Days style prog-glitch does gently kick in, it kicks in a subtle
crafted considered intelligent thoughtful way - everything here is done
with restrained though and an extra touch of class, a beautiful appreciation
of less being so much more. Leaf-green and alive, the work of Ohad Benchetrit,
an immense work and very much a piece of work that’s of now. A wistful,
uplifting beautiful body of work, alive with hope and shimmering steams
of sunny warmth (and maybe just a touch of melancholy). Acoustic guitar
pieces that grow in intensity and flow in to digitally sequenced lush orchestral
arrangements. Ideas knitted together to form one coherent body of flowing
work – flowing emotion, rewarding musical colour, restrained trumpet, whispered
violin, prog adventure, lush plants and seeds flowered, sunny, inviting
– sometimes things are just right, this is just right, this is one of
those times. Just right soothing summer-bright heart-lifting beauty
from Broken Social Scene’s Ohad Benchetrit – www.arts-crafts.ca/years
or www.myspace.com/themusicofyears
22nd
AUG '09: NEWS:
JIM
LINDBERG QUITS PENNYWISE... The members of Pennywise, Fletcher Dragge,
Byron McMackin and Randy Bradbury, have issued the following statement
regarding singer Jim Lindberg’s departure: “After 19 years with Pennywise,
Jim Lindberg has decided to step down as lead singer. Pennywise has
long stood behind the motto that you should always follow your heart and
pursue what makes you happy, and we wish Jim the best of luck in his new
ventures, whatever they may be. Pennywise has become a way of life for
a lot of people, and has definitely become a way of life for us. As the
three remaining members of Pennywise we feel that we are not done delivering
our message to our fans. The band has always been about moving forward
in life no matter what obstacles stand in front of you. We will begin our
search for a new singer immediately. We will continue to tour the world
and we are looking forward to writing new music. We've had a lot of good
times and survived the hard times thanks to the undying support of our
fans. We're looking forward to what the future may bring. Sincerely Fletcher,
Randy, and Byron” - www.myspace.com/pennywise.
x |
 PAUL
NORMANSELL @ Wanted Gallery, Portobello, London – Modern, fresh
looking, fresh feeling pop art, you don’t really get the art of Paul Normansell
in any kind of serious way until you’re stood there in front of it – well
that goes for most art/artists really, stating the bleedin’ obvious or
what! Particularly important that you see the current work of Paul Normansell
in the flesh though, you’re really not going to get the power or the colour
from his CD covers or from photos... You’ll maybe know him from his recent
cover work for The Killers. The work on show here is striking, rather original,
and just different - stylish pop art in the most real of senses. Big pieces,
a fascinating combination of gloss and enamel on aluminium that makes perfect
sense when you stand in front of it and drink in the brightness – you’re
really not going to get it from looking atwebsites, photos or CD covers
(as good as that recent Killers CD artwork is), you really need to
stand in front of Paul Normansell’s rather expansive work and just really
enjoy it. There’s two floors of work in a small shop-sized gallery, about
half a dozen rather big bold colourful pieces. The show ends on 23rd
August, all work already sold so it seems – you’ll find it all, if you’re
quick, at 15b Blenheim Crescent, Notting Hill, W11 – www.agallery.co.uk
- Go look today if you’re in the area, Mick Jones from the Clash is
playing a free gig at his Rock ‘n Roll library, just down the road at 5.00pm.
The Rock & Roll Public Library is open free of charge Wednesday to
Sunday from 11am until 7pm; until August 23rd. 2 Acklam Road, above
272 Portobello Road, London, W10...Ladbroke Grove tube.
x |
 NEWS:
GRAFFIK
is a rather good looking gallery/shop, just opened, and freshly spied yesterday,
on Portobello Road - number 284, top end... Now this is more like it, this
is buzzing street art taken to canvas, flying spray paint, colour, texture,
the art of that do it yourself culture we were talking of yesterday in
that DIY London Seen piece further down the page, taken in to a packed
exciting gallery – it isn’t new of course, that doesn’t matter though,
not when things are this good... Fresh stencil, graffiti, street
art, clothes, zines, books... The walls are alive with inspiring art, bursting
with energetic colour... there’s a quality here, a standard, a refinement
- pieces that excite and inspire. These are early days, they only just
opened, their website isn’t up yet, but the small gallery is packed with
energetic art, creativity, attitude, this is good... More soon... www.graffiklondon.co.uk
x |
 21st
AUG '09:Sun out, DIY London Seen last night, more more more...
NEWS:
DEERHOOF
TO STAR IN ART FILM - US geniuses/weirdos Deerhoof are to star in an
art film called 'BAND'. The film,directed by artist Adam Pendleton, is
based on Jean-Luc Godard's 1968 film about The Rolling Stones, 'Sympathy
For The Devil', intercutting clips of The Stones in the studio from Godard's
film with the footage of Deerhoof recording and rehearsing in their very
much more lo-fi set up. The filming will finish with a free show
by Deerhoof at Yonge-Dundas Square in Toronto, which is one of the Toronto
International Film Festival's 'Future Projects' events, apparently. In
a statement, Pendleton said: "I was really looking for a group that balanced
experimentation with a slightly pop, slightly rock sensibility and had
a dynamic performance presence and style... Deerhoof had it all".
NEWS:
MACHINE
HEAD have announced UK tour dates for next February. So far only four
dates have been revealed, but more are expected in the next week - 16 Feb:
Plymouth, Pavilions, 18 Feb: London, Brixton Academy, 21 Feb: Birmingham,
O2 Academy, 26 Feb: Manchester, Apollo... Don’t know about you but we’re
not done with summer yet, don’t want to be thinking about tour dates next
year quite yet!
NEWS:
VESSELS
have announced new tour dates to ease us into winter. The band will be
previewing some new songs from their second album, which they are currently
in the process of writing. Tour dates: 4 Sep: Fell Foot Sound Festival,
1 Oct: Sheffield, The Harley, 2 Oct: Leeds, Brudenell Social Club, 3 Oct:
Bolton, Dog & Partridge, 7 Oct: York, City Screen Basement Bar, 9 Oct:
Brighton, The Freebutt, 16 Oct: Glasgow, Captain's Rest, 17 Oct: Edinburgh,
Sneaky Pete's 20 Oct: London, Barden’s Boudoir, 1 Nov: Brainwash Festival
x |
 DIY
LONDON SEEN - Covent Garden, 20th Aug - Tonight we’re heading
for yet another closed down shop, another shop taken over, on a temporary
basis, in the name of art... Tonight, right in the middle of Covent Garden,
in the tourist trap of a plaza, and probably not the first place you’d
go looking for DIY street art or the smell of underground alternative culture,
we’re in search of the opening of an exhibition called DIY London Seen.
Work inspired by the artists featured in Aaron Rose’s new film Beautiful
Losers apparently... The film is out on DVD this week and currently
enjoying a run at the ICA, so this is some kind of tie-in semi-launch -
there’s a ‘marketing’ budget, entry by invite, food to eat and bottles
of that pear cider to suck on, while the art is viewed...
The film itself (not being shown tonight) is inspiring, the film is important,
the film is exciting, it should kick off the idea of just doing it yourself
in the heads of many who never before really though they could... The film
is essentially documenting something that’s been going on all over the
world for years (and years) – something that really germinated back there
with the second wave of punk rock. The wave that really was about doing
it yourself and seven inch records in hand made covers, of making your
own zines, putting on your own gigs, taking control and the possibilities,
ideas that extended well beyond just the music... That real DIY street
culture, birthed at the end of the 70’s with the coming together of street
graffiti, skateboard culture and punk rock - that ever expanding thing
that was alive with energy, excitement, cross-pollination and feeding off
each others ideas - something that’s been evolving and regenerating for
years now – and all there, documented in the film, and none of that is
really to be found in this rather polite and starkly white downstairs shop-turned-into-gallery
tonight... |
There is some good art here, couple of really good pieces – this isn’t
really the DIY culture we’ve been familiar with for the last twenty plus
years though, this isn’t the hand-painted zines talked of in the film,
this isn’t skateboard pits or graffiti, or doing it yourself because the
gallery system is an alien concept you never even thought of approaching...
This isn’t primitive art jumping off squat venue walls, warehouse gigs,
this isn’t punk rock inspired do it yourself creativity. This isn’t expansive
canvas alive with spray-painted energy, this is isn’t giant chess sets
in the middle of Claremont Road or the acid junkyard sculpture of Skreech
Rock. No giant pink windmills made of street-scrap, no Cheap Essential
Scenery painted on sails here... None of the craft of those Bristol street
artists like Milk or Dora who were over at Oblong with their Great Birds
show the other week... No hint of Montana Gold, no spray paint allowed
by the looks of things... Nah.
There’s some good art in here, this isn’t really DIY culture though, this
isn’t about ignoring the rules or doing it yourself - but there is good
art in here...
What this is, is a semi-corporate launch for a film that’s kind of missed
the point of the film, an artistically polite show in a far too polite
gallery with polite food and free drink and yes, some rather decent small
pieces of pop art flavoured graphic design, some decent bits of illustration,
photography and some rather good pieces of individual artistic expression.
Some of it kind of feels like the work of half way through term design
students rather than the street artists, punk-driven creators, skate-culture
painters and such that you’ll find in the film... Some of it is genuinely
rather good.
X |
Yes, there is some good art in here, it is important to repeat that, and
the fact that the Watch This Space team have enthusiastically pulled it
together and found an empty shop and gathered it all in one place is to
be celebrated – twenty or so interesting (young, we assume) artists getting
a chance to get some work out there is what this is - and that is enough,
that should be celebrated.
There is some good work here,
well worth a visit, just don’t be expecting the energy or danger that Beautiful
Losers should inspire, don’t be expecting real DIY culture. The fact
that some of the artists have been found via a last minute competition,
(insisted on by the film company so the Watch This Space curators say)
and run on bloody My Space – the ultimate in none-DIY corporate marketing
crapola – kind of tells you some of where we’re at here... The fact that
the most interesting artist tonight, and the nearest thing to some kind
of idea of street culture, Keiron Lee (AKA XXXXXX) and his play on
Frank Shepard Fairey’s Andre The Giant Has A Posse, has come through
that My Space route suggests that no one really went out and connected
with any of the real UK street artists or went out to find the real DIY
art culture that is out there...
Street art? DIY attitudes? Alternatives? It really should be alive with
energy and excitement in here tonight – it is in the film - the joy of
the creativity, alternative communication, the attitudes, the sense of
just getting out there and doing it - joining in, togetherness, defiance,
rule-ignoring unity... Oh I really don’t like sounding like I’m down on
this show, there is some good art – Robin Clare’s mix of 50’s futurist
white goods and pop-art graphics, Harry Malt and his cartoonish Just Don’t
Try To Talk To Jim Morrison piece (good to see GG Allin and John Cooper
Clark there – a bit of punk rock after all then), the giant mirror bear
sculpture of Arran Gregory brings a smile, Best One... A collection
of painters, illustrators, photographers and such, all worthy of the time
and space, but this really isn’t the street culture or DIY or anything
like the energy to be found in the film, this isn’t what we hoped to find,
not what we expected... Go enjoy the show for what it is, twenty
relatively new British artists, photographers, illustrators and such showing
some healthy new work in a closed down shop in the middle of town......
DIY LONDON SCENE runs until
September 5th at 11, The Market Building, Covent Garden, WC2
www.losermovie.co.uk
www.watch-this-space.org
x |
 ALBUM
REVIEW: LE CHAT NOIR – Postcards From
The Dark Highway (Garage Sale) - Gruff, whisky raw, Bonny & Clyde,
lo-fi, highway guitar blues and dust and rough Nick Cave-ish punkish barroom
country rock ‘n roll blues bluster with a side-serving slice of a surf
punk rockabilly driving it on.... They’re from Exeter (rather than Texas),
there’s two of ‘em, Eileen on drums, Teddy on scratchy guitar and vocals.
And I guess we should mention the energy and attitude of those White Stripes
as much as Johnny Cash or being on the run or spilt gin or Valentine’s
Day Massacres or... She’s from California, he’s from London... wish
she’d join in with the vocals a little more, really good when she does.
Really good anyway, her under-used voice just gives it an extra edgy dimension.
Fiery stuff, hellbound whisky-drenched, raw, wild and black cat good, go
investigate – www.lechatnoir.org.uk
ALBUM
REVIEW: GUILT MACHINE – On This Perfect
Day (Mascot) – One of those dark moody Porcupine Tree type melodic neo-prog
bands. This time from Holland, they do it with epic dimension, extremely
melodic, very easy on the ear in that smooth slick long-winded polite modern
clinical neo-prog way that some people appreciate far more than we do,
here’s the link if you want to know more – www.myspace.com/guiltmachine
20th
AUG '09: ALBUM REVIEW: NEW
DEVICE – Takin’ Over (Pwerage) – Real deal Eighties sounding big bold
brash North American sounding slick ‘n nailed hard rock from the South
of England. This debut album came out in late July, impressive stuff, slick
hard rock for you people out there who know the idea of a big stadium power
ballad
jousting with a touch of road-racing, galloping, arm-out-of-the-window
hard rock is a very good thing. Bits of classic rock and vital bands like
Y&T, Sammy Hagar’s Van Halen, early Aerosmith, the harder edge of those
first Bon Jovi albums... see, like we just said, cool as f... turn it
up, turn it up.. Fist in the air, peddle to the metal.... Heavy
Pettin’, first Def Leppard album, Skid Row, Krokus... you know what we’re
talking about... Hands up, do it right... Yep, this
is the real deal, they got it nailed, they clearly love their craft, this
ain’t no Darkness / Steel Panther poseur bolloxium.... Proper big brazen
stadium filling 80’s hard rock goodness... Some of us around here
love it as much as a Steelheart ballad while some of us think it to be
diabolical hard rock poodle-headed turn it off dated 80's radio-metal nonsense...
Highly recommended - www.myspace.com/newdevice
NEWS:
THE
DECKED PROJECT is coming... Decked is "a collection of fine and dandy
illustrators, designers, tattoo artists and street artists", all showcasing
custom designed skate decks. Each deck is hand inked/printed/painted/carved
and will be on display from 25th – 29th August at StolenSpace Gallery,
The Old Truman Brewery 91, Brick Lane. E1. Head to www.thedeckedproject.blogspot.com
for more information and the all important visuals!
x |
 19th
AUG '09: NEWS: Brooklyn,
NY heavy psych rock band NAAM has completed work on their debutalbum.
The fast-rising buzz band will drop the self-titled Naam on October 20,
2009 via NYC’s Tee Pee Records. Point your hungry mice at www.kingdomofnaam.com
or the Tee Pee Records website: www.teepeerecords.com
NEWS:
CHICKENHAWK
free download and such... “Over at Hawk central we are all busy getting
ready for the A. Or Not? EP release due out on the 9th September. In the
meantime why not click the above link for your freedownload of Dude-a-tron
taken from their debut album! Clicky Clicky! The A.Or Not? EP is the first
Chickenhawk release on Brew and a follow up to their self titled (and well
received here at Organ) debut album. These tracks lead the way towards
a new album and plenty of touring. All tracks were recorded, mixed &
mastered by Jason Sanderson (ThePlight, Rolo Tomassi, Mirimar Disaster,
Azriel, The Freezing Fog). We also have hotnew A.Or Not? t-shirt/EP combos
now available to preorder from our online shop. Also....Rick Frier &
Danny North & the team over at Roach Productions are still putting
their magic touches to the zombie themed video for 'I hate this, do you
like it?' Which will be out to support the release!”. Chickenhawk
have just finished a tour with labelmates Kong, they’ll also be doing a
number of dates in September, October and November to support the release
including the Reading/Leeds festival. - www.myspace.com/chickenhawk
FREE
DOWNLOAD OF DUDE-A-TRON HERE
FREE
DOWNLOAD
OF DUDE-A-TRON REMIX BY GAVRON HERE
x |
 NEWS:
SHOWCASE
TONIGHT: The latest in the on-going series of fortnightly one night
Showcase art shows happens tonight at Cafe 1001, Brick Lane, East London.
5.30pm until 11pm – opposite the Rough Trade shop. Go here
for our words on the last one or explore via the Showcase
webpage
NEWS:
TOMMY
LEE GETS HIS FINGERS BURNED - Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee has been
unable to play a number of gigs on the band's Crue Fest 2 tour after burning
his left hand while playing with some sparklers. Tommy Lee is 46 years
old.
NEWS:
EELS
RELEASE FREE LIVE EP - Eels have made five tracks of a six track live
EP available to download for free. The solo performance by main Eel Mark
'E' Everett was recorded as part of the MySpace Transmission Sessions and
can be downloaded from www.myspace.com/transmissions.
The sixth track will only be available of a twelve inch vinyl edition of
the EP, released on 1st Sep.
NEWS:
CONVERGE
ANNOUNCE NEW ALBUM - Metalcore kings Converge have announced
details of their new album, 'Axe To Fall', the follow-up to 2006's 'No
Heroes', which will be released via Epitaph on 20 Oct (with the vinyl version
appearing via Deathwish). Guest appearances on the album come from Steve
Brodsky, JR Connors and Adam McGrath from Cave In, former Entombed man
Uffe Cederlund, John Pettibone of The Vows, Steve Von Till from Neurosis
and Genghis Tron's Mookie Singerman. You can hear the first track from
the album, 'Dark Horse', on the band's MySpace page now - www.myspace.com/converge.
x |
 NICK
VADASZ @ GRACELANDS CAFE, LONDON NW10, 18th Aug - Art in galleries
can be cold, art in cafes can be a far more relaxed and inviting prospect...
Austin’s, for instance, is by far the most inviting vibrantly relaxed place
in Brick Lane... There’s lots of art to be explored and experienced in
the capital city right now, you got to go look for it though, you have
to make the effort, a lot of it is hiding - there’s the latest Showcase
tonight at Cafe 1001, the D.I.Y London Seen launches tomorrow in a closed
down Covent Garden shop (see Organ art archivefor
more). Art is alive...
And so last night it was canvas rather than guitars on our minds as we
took ourselves off to an opening of an art show in Willesden Green, NW10.
A show that turned out to be a little disappointing... but but but, such
is the nature of art and getting out there and just doing it in London
right now, that heading for one show at one gallery will almost inevitably
throw up an accidental encounter with another. And right on our doorstop
as well, if we hadn’t been passing we would have been blissfully unaware...
Back from the disappointment of Willesden we scuttled to the Gracelands
Cafe in Kensal Rise (it may not be as alive as some area of the city but
there are one or two things happening around here – that stuff in the Old
Flower Shop, Hoppy at the Lexi this week... art is starting to break
out, there’s something creative in the North West London air).
The chalk board outside was inviting people to just come in and experience
the work of one NICK VADASZ. The colourful cafe emptied of tables for the
night.... just the wall of work, some comfortable seats, a bar, and some
rather vibrant striking eye-demanding colour. Nick’s work is alive with
atmosphere, attention-catching pieces, acrylic on sizeable pieces of canvas,
contemporary London cityscapes, familiar shapes picked out from the colour,
the light, the atmosphere... We’re not talking any kind of cutting edge
situationist street art punk rock paint throwing look at me attitude here,
we’re simply talking alive vibrant exciting inspiring paint on canvas and
some very fine rewarding rather beautiful work. Nick Vadasz has a clear
love of the East End of the city he captures with such radiant warmth as
well as for the paint he moves around his canvas in such a glowing way.
Inspiring, exciting, vibrantly glowing colours...
Gracelands Cafe is to be found on College Road, Kensal Green, London NW10.
Nearest tube – Kensal Green, or take the overground to Kensal Rise. The
furniture is back in place, food is being served, and Nick’s work is on
the walls waiting there for you... www.gracelandscafe.com
Nick Vadasz's website is over at www.nickvadasz.com,
and as we’ve said before, looking at art on the web is really no kind of
satisfying substitute for experiencing it in the flesh. Nick’s on-line
portfolio (or indeed that piece up there) does him no justice what so ever,
tempted to go have a coffee and sandwich for lunch right now, go enjoy
bathing in it all again in the summer daylight - now the idea of going
back is in my head, the thought of seeing it again is a bit of a buzz,
good exciting art makes you buzz... (S)
18th
AUG '09: NEWS: RADIOHEAD
have officially released their new track, 'These Are My Twisted Words'
as a free download via their W.A.S.T.E website. As previously reported,
the song mysteriously appeared on fansite At East last week. There was
speculation that the band would release a new EP called Wall Of Ice yesterday,
after some people discovered that those three words and "2009-08-17" appeared
in a ASCII test file accompanying the original leaked file. Then someone
set up www.wallofice.com and pointed it at W.A.S.T.E and the internet shat
itself. The site was later updated claiming to be a hoax. Anyway, download
'These Are My Twisted Words' here.
X |
 ALBUM
REVIEW:LITMUS – Aurora (Rise Above)
– What a curious spaceship Litmus is, can’t help but like them and their
oscillating swoosh, their classic timeless space rock keyboard driven locked-on
fizz ‘n swish... The problem here, if indeed it is a problem (and it really
isn't), is that every note, every move, every line, has already been played
out by those masters of the universe Hawkwind. Litmus may have an album
full of their own rather fine compositions here, they are however, pretty
much a Hawkwind tribute band - a very very good Hawkwind tribute band and
more than welcome what with the Hawkship not flying with so much shine
and lustre these daze.... London’s Litmus have a new album then - this
is what you wanted, this is what you get
they sing, and yes, it pretty
much is, it maybe none more Hawk but it is the classic swirling throbbing
on the runway spot on authentic best days sound and they could well just
be the new kings of infinite space... Hey look, we love Hawkwind around
here, they’re still out there in some form, we miss their glory days though
– their Acid Daze and Sonic Attacks, the free festivals, the multi-coloured
all dayers, Stonehenge... Litmus are doing it in style, this is their finest
release yet, it has the right spirit, it has the classic style. Hawkdrive
space rock nailed down and done just right should you want it. Recommended
- www.myspace.com/litmusspacerock
or www.riseaboverecords.com
X |
 18th
AUG '09: ALBUM REVIEW(s):
EXTREME METAL ON METAL BAKED BEAN DIVE IN TO THE WAITING PILE.
Really is a non-stop operation, got this death metal album here, on top
of the ever-growing pile, can’t for the life of any giant black spider
read the logo or find their name anywhere, growling about washing his hands
in the blood of the lamb or something like that, what was going on in the
mind of those that made thisremarkable piece of art...? We’d probably make
more of an effort to find out what the damn logo on the none more black
cover said if it wasn’t such standard issue generic death metal splurg
and same old same old bass drum pounding conformity... Same goes for this
one here, perfectly readable logo this time, well not perfectly readable,
some kind of legible, may as well be the same CD as the first one still
stuck and growling away in the player though... Same with this third one
and this forth - bad black metal meets Iron Maiden effort from Norway...
We get so much of this stuff, every day, more of it arrives from all over
the planet, a never ending spewtum of copycat extreme metal. More coffee,
next CD, throw it in the disc mangler.. What was it that band Blue
Blud said when we interviewed them that time? “Heavy metal is like baked
beans, everyone wants their beans orange and tasting just like the others,
no one wants their baked beans purple of green do they” – something like
that anyway, they were supporting some new band called Faith No More, who,
they were pointing out, would never get anywhere sounding all weird and
different like they were...
Onward with the never ending pile of extreme metal baked beans... Ah, this
one’s a little better, and a just about readable logo as well – SANCTIFICATION
– Black Reign (Pulverised) – Relentlessly heavy, pounding, a brutal onslaught
of riffs, low-end vocals jousting with a never-ending barrage of kick-drums,
regulation bass churning, all in an orange tomato sauce and death metal
from Sweden, they really could be from anywhere, their warring shitstorm
of atmospheric extreme death metal does stand out a little, slightly off-orange
beans in a slightly purple kind of way – www.myspace.com/sanctificationband
or www.pulverised.net – Now were
crunching... extreme metal blow out, next... PLANAR EVIL –
Mankind Way Of Life (MDD) – Old school Italian thrash metal on a German
label, 80’s sounding trashing speed and Slayer and Overkill and Testament
and Anthrax and really not bad at it in their own raw basic dented can,
low budget own brand beans kind of way. Decent old school skate-thrash
metal – www.myspace.com/planaerevil
BRESCHDLENG
– Breschdleng (Prevision) – Tough sounding hardcore metal with a 90’s groove
to it. Serious hardcore noise (and aggression) from Southern Germany and
sung in what were told is an obscure German language called Swabian. No
idea what they’re singing and yelling about, nothing dubious we trust.
Their name apparently means strawberry - monstrous hardcore groove with
a manic sounding German screaming and yelling (get the feeling from checking
websites that those lyrics are nothing bad, their politics appears to be
sound).... Kind of like all the yelling and hardcore punk metal groove
actually, really do hope nothing bad is being shouted about here – mean
looking bunch of crunchers - www.myspace.com/breschdleng
- next please... AZARATH – Praise The Beast (Agonia) – And
on it goes, storm after storn of deathly black extreme metal orange baked
bean wasp-bothering noise and more raving frothing extreme extremities
and hoover-sucking vocals. This lot are actually from the US, they sound
like they’re more likely to be from mainland Europe, they sound like a
thousand bands you already heard, they do it well enough, worth an ear
if you should need more beans on toast - www.myspace.com/azarathtl
– that’s enough metal and orange baked beans for a Tuesday morning... More
coffee, get me out of here... metal on metal... drive you insane, the louder
the better, volume's the game... we love the smell of metal in the morning,
now what's happening in the real world today?
x |
 17th
AUG '09: ALBUM REVIEW: FIREBUG
– Season For Change (Buddha Belt) – Rather lush female-fronted retro alternative
melodic hard rock. Originally from Chicago and now located in Los Angeles,
Firebug have one positive foot in the 70’s, folk rock, restrained touches
of Led Zeppelin, Fleetwood Mac while their other foot is positively planted
in the U.S. radio-friendly alternative rock of the 90’s. Lush, strongly-voiced
classic American alternative hard rock, twelve impressive tracks, no fillers,
just classic melodic hardrock – simple as that, classic song-based guitar
driven beautifully-voiced impressive imaginative classic melodic rock –
www.firebugmusic.com
NEWS:
NODZZZ,
HANDS ON HEADS and PLUG play together on Saturday 29th August
at The Old Blue Last, 39 Great Eastern Street, Shoreditch, London EC2
NEWS:
MARS
VOLTA ADDED TO 10 YEARS OF ATP - The Mars Volta are among the latest
acts to be added to the line-up of the Ten Years Of ATP festival at Butlins
in Minehead in December. Also joining the bill are Beak (featuring Portishead's
Geoff Travis) and Japan's Afrirampo. They join and already good looking
line up, which includes Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Modest Mouse, The Breeders, Explosions
In The Sky, Battles, Melvins, Mudhoney, Sunn O))), múm, F**k Buttons
and more. It all takes place between 11-13 Dec and tickets are available
now from www.atpfestival.com
The Mars Volta, who were excellent at Somerset House here in London earlier
this summer - review on this page - will
also play a London show at the Forum on December 14th...
Organ
OTHER
ROCK SHOW PLAYLIST on Resonance 104.4FM, 9.00PM Sunday 16th August
2009
Here’s
who go played last night...
Intro:
PHANTOMSMASHER - Bishop Hopping (Ipecac)
1:
UPSILON ACRUX - In-A-Gadda-DeVito (Cuneiform)
2:
KAYO DOT - Gemini (excerpt) (download)
3:
NITKOWSKI - The Beveridge Report (Function)
4:
FOOT VILLAGE - Energy Hunters (Upset The Rhythm)
5:
LED BIB - 2:4:1 (Still Equals None) (Cuneiform)
6:
THE FUTURE KINGS OF ENGLAND - Sea Saw (Backwater)
7:
ON HISTORIES OF ROSENBURG - Leave Us Here (Function)
8:
UPSILON ACRUX - The Wack Art Deception (Hactivist)
9:
MAGMA - The Last Seven Minutes (Recall/Snapper)
10:
MIRIODOR - Reveille-matin/Shadow of the Alarm Clock (Cuneiform)
11:
WE INSIST - Deja Vu- (Exile On Mainstream)
Details,
links and more up over here
x |
 16th
AUG 2009: NEWS: COLLISION
2009 - The fourth annual Collision event will be conducting experiments
in the fusion of performance, sound, light, digital interactions and the
just plain weird. Alongside a collection of site specific works, an international
group of artists and performers will facilitate altered versions of familiar
social situations and games in which the audience will be invited to participate
to allow the process to become complete. Expect strange behaviour and interventions
from Clare Quilty, Mick Grierson, Genetic Moo, Emmanuel Spinelli, Brainer,
Cédric Hoareau, Matt Appleby, The Lonesome Cowboys From Hell and
AKAJOEY. August 22nd, 7pm till late, The Bussey Building, 133 Rye Lane,
London SE15. For tickets and details visit www.collision.org.uk
NEWS:
JONJO
FEATHER announce live dates and a new single. The single, Little
Spark, is released on September 7th. The take their dark crafted, rather
romantic, alt.pop to the following venues on the following days: 2nd Sept
- Single Launch @ Queen of Hoxton, London, 3rd Sept - Royal Park Cellars,
Leeds, 10th Sept -The Victoria, London, 17th Sept - The Lexington, London,
1st Oct - Roehampton Uni, London, 15th Oct - The Washington, Sheffield.
Taste their delicate sound, while we untie this black knot on their hand
made CD cover, over at www.myspace.com/jonjofeather
NEWS:
SPIZZENERGI
play
a one off 30th anniversary show, their only UK show of 2009, it happens
at the 100 Club, here in London, the band play (and search for Captain
Kirk and get all Athletico and...) on September 3rd. Spizz, once described
by no less a person than Sir Joe Strummer as “A major post-punk cult figure"
will also take his rather spiky new wave post-punk band to Leuven, Belgium
September 5th for a gig with Absolute Body Control. More from www.spizzenergi.com
SUNDAY IS RADIO DAY –
ORGAN HOUR, 9.00PM UK time on Resonance FM, 104.4FM on the dial in
London, and world wide via
www.resonancefm.com
- this week The Other Rock Show and the further exploration, on proper
radio, of rock music that goes beyond the confines of 4/4. This week we
have some of that new Function Records material we were talking about earlier
this week, we have new material from Upsalon Acrux, we have...
x |
 15th
AUG 2009: NEWS: KAYO
DOT are heading over for some UK dates, lot of people around here are
excited about this, the New York avant-prog band open a UK tour at Cafe
Oto in London on September 11th. Looks like dates are still be confirmed,
more when we have it - www.myspace.com/kayodot
ALBUM
REVIEW: ABRAMIS BRAMA – Smakar Sondag
(Transubstans) - How much more Seventies could it be? None, none more Seventies.
Swedish hard rock, classic Seventies hard rock – Swedish prog-ish hard
retro groove rock - Deep Purple, Uriah Heep, Stone Sold, Bad Company, Led
Zeppelin, Mountain, Cream ... the full on authentic sounding real deal.
Sung in Swedish, no idea what they’re on about, nothing dubious we trust..
They rock, if Seventies hard rock is your thing (and why the hell wouldn't
it be!) then this is good good good... and you just know their flares are
bigger and better than anyone else’s. Cool as f.... –
www.abramisbrama.com
or www.myspace.com/abramisbrama
or www.recordheaven.net
SINGLE
REVIEW: JASON LYTLE – It’s The Weekend
(Anti) – The unmistakable voice of Grandaddy and one of the finer tracks
off his recently rather breezy and easy-on the ear sunny alt.pop solo album
Yours
Truly, The Commuter – www.myspace.com/jasonlytle
or www.anti.com
ALBUM
REVIEW: AHAB – The Divinity Of Dreams
(Napalm) – “Funeral nautic doom metal” says the publicity blurb... well
they’re not that fast! This is seriously slower than slow metal – anthemic,
melodic, treacle thick and monastic. Surprisingly listenable, almost soothing.
Ahab are a German four piece, the cite the sea as their main influence,
if that is the case then their sea is calm, forebodingly dark, at ease,
anre ready to swallow whole sailing ships - they’re in the doldrums...
This is seriously slow metal – superslow, anthemic, serious metallic redemption,
kind of threatens to become some kind endurance test by the fifth seven
and a half minute track Tombstone Carousal although they do keep investing
their positive durge with colourful imagination – seriously good, seriously
slow, serious sea-calm doom metal... www.napalmrecords.com
or www.myspace.com/ahabdoom
x |
 NEWS:
SLITS’
VIV ALBERTINE AT THE ROCK ‘N ROLL LIBRARY TODAY: Viv Albertine plays
an acoustic set and Zoe Howe Street reads from The Story of the Slits ar
Mick Jones’ Rock ‘n Roll Public Library under the Westway today, 5pm This
Saturday August 15th
The Rock n Roll Public Library is Mick Jones’ (The Clash, B.A.D, Carbon
Silicon) direct artistic challenge to the likes of the corporate 02 British
Music Experience. Rather than let his creative legacy atrophy Jones is
’transforming’ his own archive of near 10.000 artefacts into one unique
‘guerrilla-library.’ Set under the Westway motorway in 3000 sq.ft of former
office space, Jones’s five-week civic endeavour will also encourage visitors
to enrol, interact with the archive-exhibition (Jones began collecting
well before he formed The Clash in 1976 to eventual international success,
as such it forms an invaluable guide to the influences that informed Jones
as a pop-artist). Also uniquely by request users will be able to scan (courtesy
Genus, U.K distributor of the Book2net Kiosk) certain objects and via memory
stick carry them away. And of course collectable Rock & Roll Library
Memory Sticks are available at a rockingly reasonable fee – “just ask one
of our resident funky libararians... Please note that visitors to the world’s
first, resolutely alternative, Rock n Roll Public Library shouldn’t expect
peace and quiet; not least because we will also be running a recording
studio next door with Strummerville, The Joe Strummer Foundation for New
Music.
The Rock & Roll Public Library is open free of charge Wednesday to
Sunday from 11am until 7pm; until August 23rd. 2 Acklam Road, above
272 Portobello Road, London, W10...Ladbroke Grove tube.
X |
 14th
AUG 2009: ALBUM REVIEW: TEN
CITY NATION – At The Still Point (Sturm Und Drang) - Whooops, release
dates, tube trains, buses, all easily missed when the sun is out and well...
Ten City Nation’s second album came out last week, released on their own
label on August 3rd and more of their slightly different, rather English,
grungy guitar bluster that once again comes laced with their always passionate
commitment. Old battles lost replaced with new battles found and
a positively lo-fi raw rather personal sound – to call it grunge is wrong,
like My Vitriol before them, the spirit of grunge is where Ten City Nation’s
sound is anchored, there’s other things here though, Manic Street Preachers
are as much of a reference point as Nirvana – nothing too obvious though,
they’re a band influenced, very much a band doing their own thing though,
Ten City Nation have their own sound – a sometimes compelling, sometimes
very dark inward looking sound and a commitment that’s grounded in something
lost on most English indie rock bands these days – www.tencitynation.com
ALBUM
REVIEW: DIE PRETTY – Bitter Sweet
(Unconform) – Girl fronted bratty catchy hi-energy punk pop from Brooklyn,
New York. For some reason she’s reminding us of that singer from No Doubt,
far more attitude and energy though, far more in your face – Rancid, Social
Distortion.... Formed by brother and sister tag team Skip and Sarah back
in 2008, they’re a ball of no messing catch punk-pop energy, you can catch
the catchiness here – www.myspace.com/dieprettynyc
or www.unconform-records.de
RIP
CRUNCHER GOES TO BLOODSTOCK – Part 3: Y'know what, as I sit here
in me khaki shorts, knotted hanky, me scotch egg and my pint of blurgh,
I'm beginning to think the fookin' tide's going out on this f**king generation
don't you? I was only having a lark about Bloodstock with you all earlier,
but now the end of Cruncher's nose is beginning to twitch (always a lethal
sign). This shit ain't just a rip-off, it's a daylight mugging with a diamond
studded kosh & willing punters involved. Don't these daft little cash-on-the-hip
rockbabies realise when Father Christmas is pissing up their tree? Screw
that. The Cruncher tented village pissed off to their £300 squid
'reserved' field about an hour ago the stupid buggers, told 'em to "lay
one for me" (I meant a golden egg, not a....) I'm stayin' here to listen
to the Rams get slaughtered by Scunny instead. Why?. How does it go ? "When
someone comes to eat me alive, I like to see their teeth". Now then, time
to stick The 'heads 'Suckers' on the MotorCruncher.
NEWS:
MADONNA
BRANDED CRYPTO-SATANIST - Madonna has been called a "crypto-Satanist"
after it was announced that she would perform in Poland on a religious
holiday. The show is planned for 15 Aug in Warsaw, which is the day that
Polish Catholics commemorate the Virgin Mary's ascension to heaven. Anyway,
a spokeswoman for the Committee For The Defence Of The Faith And Tradition
Of Poland, Marian Baranski said at a press conference: "Madonna specialises
in offending religious feelings. It is possible to suspect her of being
a crypto-Satanist". Former Polish politician Zygmunt Wrzodak added: "Madonna
sneers at Jesus Christ, the symbol of the cross and all Christians". Madonna
has apparently refused to move the date of the show, despite protestations.
(CMU)
RIP
CRUNCHER GOES TO BLOODSTOCK – Part 2: Well now, what you and a friend
could've done, if only you'd had the nouse, inclination and a spare £939.90
in your wallet. 5th
option
down. Flip me, just how DO BloodSuck make their bloodcurdling profits
eh ? I'm walking there today, can't afford to park again after shelling
out nearly a grand for a gold plated Abramovic f**kin' sherpa tent. FIFTY
QUID is all the parking attendent's asking for. Well so was Charlotte The
Harlot, but at least you got a decent (censored) out of it... Rock On Duuuoood
- Rip 'leave your Mastercard at the front door' Cruncher.
x |
 FUNCTION
RECORDS are one of those little labels who’ve been consistently releasing
interesting things for a good few years now. Based in the South of England
and without really shouting and being all tediously scenester and cooler
than you about it, they’ve been building a rather impressive catalogue
of recordings. A more than decent release record and a more than healthy
attitude when it comes to doing those things that keep the underground
networks flowing, evolving and all together alive with good music, art
and cross pollination – something a few others could take note of in these
spam-the-world and don’t bother thinking zineless times of FaceSpace where
even the smallest of bedroom operators think they need to act like a copy
of the corporate product pushing machine. We really have had enough of
all these ego-breeding rich-kid mummy-funded bedroom labels and their mates
with start-up PR companies who think they’re more important that the music
and the bands they claim to care so much about... Function just get out
there and just quietly do it without all the ego and bulpoop and the look
at us aren’t we cool. A refreshing throwback to the best days of zines
and real undergrounds and John Peel and communication, the sprit of contact
and switch the other... And that’s all reflected in the music. They may
not be up there with the genuinely radical cutting edge leaders like Skin
Graft or Cuneiform or taking the daring musical risks of Loaf but they
are releasing solidly good, rather consistent slices of quietly challenging
always interesting alternative mathy indie punky post-whatever...
We could do with a few more like Function, a genuine badge of something
or other and we’re rather pleased to see a batch of new releases from Shane
and co... Right, enough blowing smoke up people’s holes,
let’s dive in and see what’s new...
x |
| LATEST
FUNCTION RELEASES
ALBUM
REVIEW: NITKOWSKI – Chauffeurs (Function) – From London with
some blustery scratchy, rather busy, spiky, mathy alt.rock (and some rather
intriguingly strange looking artwork). Itchy music, itchy and scratchy
and with a sometimes shouty man adding vocals that never push too much
at you – their pecking at your head is kind of positive. This is good,
there’s a lot of this scratch indie shouty mathy rock complexity around
- you’ve got to have an edge these days, a bit of depth to stand out, something
a little more, Nitkowski do... Tumbling up stairs, cantankerously good,
alive with energy , razor sharp, jagged, slightly worrying, mangled and
knotted and if they do have a Don Cabellero feel then we’re talking Don
Cab with a broken bottle and a menacing look in their collective eyes.
Nitkowski have a sense of light and shade, a genuine need to push at the
edges rather than just follow the pack, something good evolving here –
www.myspace.com/nitkowski
SINGLE
REVIEW: ON HISTORIES OF ROSENBERG – On Histories Of Rosenberg
(Function) – A rather refined four track self-titled EP from the Southern
English band. A five piece with a healthy glow about them, I’m guessing
this is their debut. Progressive post-rock Englishness that has a warm
dew-fresh glisten to it, they’re in to those rather current indie-mathy
areas again, that quietly spiralling epicness, those slightly angsty vocal
lines - they have heir own beauty though, a comfort not questioned,
and they understand the power of understated restraint and that a quiet
less is so often so much more than more noise and aggression. Emotional
English indie-prog that takes you out with the leaves and fields and things
awoken. That throaty vocal style again but On Histories have a refined
bit of class and craft to them and without being dramatically different,
these are Impressively hopeful uplifting and sometimes rather beautiful
first moves - www.myspace.com/ofrosenberg
ALBUM
REVIEW: YOU'RE SMILING NOW BUT WE'LL ALL
TURN INTO DEMONS - Contact High With Da Demons (Function) - The awkwardly
named UK band (Portsmouth actually) are back with their latest album and
their first release on Function since 2003’s split with Escanna. They’re
dealing in a fuzzy heady mix of Sabbath psychedelia for Sonic Youth heads,
an alt-rock song-based psych-drone and this is probably their best release
to-date. A positive forward-moving edgy drone, fuzz-punks and Melvins and
Dead Meadow rolling along in a demonically smiling colourful kind of way...
www.myspace.com/thedemons
As
previously reported, Function take there turn at RoTa this coming Saturday
afternoon (15th August), the bill this Saturday features EX-LIBRAS,
SLY AND THE FAMILY DRONE, MONROE EFFECT
and YOU’RE SMILING NOW BUT
WE’LL ALL TURN INTO DEMONS. First band on at 4.00pm, all well worth
checking out, free to get in, Nottinghill, London town, over by the Barclays
Bank jsut down the road from the tube, big bold wooden doors and crash
barriers outside are the only real give away to where the basement venue
is...
Meanwhile
NITKOWSKI
playLondon's
93 Feet East along side
KNIFEWORLD (the new band put together by
Kavus, he of Cardiacs, Guapo and such), and 85 BEARS on August 18th.
All of the current Function bands are rather busy in terms of live activity
right now, go explore their already linked MySpace pages or head to the
Function Records main site
Go
see, hear, explore, here – www.functionrecords.com
x |
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