Another single launch gig at The Oporto, but it was so much more than that. I’d been looking forward to seeing Cat Una ever since I first heard her beautiful current single ‘Wait It Out’ – read our review – but what I didn’t know that it was going to be a perfect Sunday night gig. Three wonderful singers singing wonderful songs – different but all wonderful in their own way.

Opening the night was Will Killen – backed by a drummer and guitarist. He’s somebody I’ve heard of but never heard anything by him before. His songs immediately impressed. Will does that rich sounding singer/songwriter thing – lush sounding arrangements, sparse drums. Songs that musically build towards their end.

And the words in these songs are important and well written, as they need to be when they are so upfront and central. And he delivers these words simply, the songs might allow for a more ‘flashy’ vocal style but his vocals are restrained, he lets the words do the talking.

And even though the songs musically swell at times there is an overwhelming sense of gentleness and calm in the songs, and in his voice.

The current single – ‘Overthinking’ – is a more strident sounding song, although perhaps strident is too strong a word, a better way of putting it would be that it has ‘more’ in the arrangement. The music is more upfront. The song that follows is more ‘beaty’ and then at the end it goes all free jazz guitar. Well, he did say it was ‘weird’ when he introduced the song. But it’s incredible.

Looking back at his set, it builds like his songs do. There’s a musical story or journey in the way he put the songs together. Will is somebody I’m keen to see again.

Sandwiched – so to speak – between two artists who had ‘bands’ was somebody who delivered songs with voice and acoustic – Kate Stapley. Her songs are kinda folky, that’s there but it’s only there in the feel. I was reminded at times of Joni Mitchell in her delivery.

Kate is hugely engaging, she introduces her songs, she talks to us. She’s incredibly relaxed and makes you part of her set. Her songs range from ‘serious’ to funny and quirky, but they come with a personal thing, they’re very clearly based on her life.

There were two highlights for me. One a song called, I think, ‘Work’, a song about working – obviously! And second a song I loved because of the way it was introduced. It was s song about a pigeon being knocked over by a cyclist. The introduction involved tangents into the artisan shops selling ‘posh cheese and coffee’ in her home town of Bristol. And yes, the song lyrics mentioned those. The song itself was called ‘Cycle Killer’ and was strangely moving, and sadly funny.

Her music and songs are not the usual kind of thing I like but I found myself drawn to it. She’s a hugely entertaining performer.

Since I first heard Cat Una’s current single – ‘Wait It Out’ – seeing her live had become something of a compulsion. That song is beautiful and has become lodged on my list of favourite ever songs – an ever lengthening list to be honest, try as I might to keep it manageable.

She is accompanied on stage by a horde of people – playing guitar, keyboards, double bass and percussion (is four people a horde? On the Oporto stage it is).

Her first song is called ‘Wasted’ and it is lovely. The voice that captivated me is there, and it’s as well written as ‘Wait It Out’. Her second is somewhat torch song like and comes with a lilting melody. These two songs left me with relief. Because you see I had this anxiety, an anxiety that I wouldn’t like her other songs as much as the one I’ve fallen in love with.

Before I go on I want to say that Cat’s songs are timeless, they seem to be influenced by all sorts of music, music from the past and now. There is a root of something folky there but sometimes they’re not, sometimes they are almost jazzy. They would clearly work just as well with just her voice and guitar, they don’t need the extra musicians to work but those extra musicians don’t overwhelm the songs they add to them.

I did, I have to be honest, just get drawn into her music, I was mesmerised and captivated by it. Because I was listening to the words, her words are amazing, the way she sings those words is compelling. Those songs deserve your complete attention.

She performed two new songs – so new that she said she hadn’t had time to teach her band them – on her own. One a beautiful song about Sardinia (where her mother is from) called ‘The Valley’ and a song called ‘Santa Fe’. I really loved hearing her music that stripped back.

The single strangely benefits from being live, or perhaps not so strangely. I felt a connection with the song hearing it in its recorded form but more so live.

At the end of her set I was left somewhat speechless and reeling. Somebody asked me what I thought of her and about all I could say was that ‘she is incredible’. That performance has stayed with me, I can still see and hear it in my head. This happens very infrequently, I see so much live music that seldom does that happen.

If you get the chance to see Cat perform, do that, whether she’s singing solo or with her band. You won’t be disappointed.

All photos on this page © Frank Roper Photography – see more on his Facebook Page

At last I got to see DENSE play live, and as a bonus at their single launch gig – ‘Fever Dream’ (read our review). I’ve loved the music the band have released for ages but never quite managed to get see them live. Seeing them live answered some questions I had lurking in random places in my head.

First band on – King Orange – were new to me. They’re also one of those hard to pin down style wise bands. They describe themselves as post-punk, and I won’t argue with that. Except it’s all kinds of post-punk – there are vocals that sometimes reminded me of The Associates, sometimes that are vaguely, very vaguely, goth. And yep there’s that strident post-punk bass and guitar. And it’s loud, joyfully wonderfully loud. But, and it’s a big but, their songs have tunes, surprising catchy tunes in places. Somebody I spoke to said they sounded post-punk but kinda crossed with indie, I get what they were saying.

‘But enough of this you trying to work out quite what King Orange play, tell us whether they were any good’ I hear you say. The simple answer is that they were good, very good. This is yet another band I have marked out as one I’d like to see again. It’s that mix of stuff going on in their songs you see, I love bands who mix it up. This might come as a relief to their drummer who I told I was a reviewer and he thought I was joking, when there were only about two people in room before they started, and he said it was like an assessment.

Magick Mountain gave us a set of all kinds of garage – they edged at times towards space-rock, acid-rock and weird out there 60s psychy pop. Not all at the same time of course. There are two things I really loved about the band. Firstly their songs have tunes, as well as being loud and raucous, and secondly, I loved the dual voices they sometimes use.

So much did I enjoy Magick Mountain that I’m afraid the ‘I just got engrossed and didn’t take many notes’ excuse is going to be employed. I did, of course, take notice of the fact that this is a band who know their stuff musically – there was some really nice guitar going on, the bass was cool, and their drummer is fab.

You like loud raucous garage rock, go see Magick Mountain.

And so to DENSE. You may remember I said seeing them answered some questions. The main question was whether three people playing live could reproduce what they sound like on their releases. The answer to this is yes, very much so, they can.

DENSE, under dim red lights, played with barely a pause, one song bled into another. That tsunami of sound was overwhelming. There were brief respites from the dense multi-layered sound during songs but these only provide an all too short respite before that wonderful noise falls down and down on you. At the end of the set I, and a couple of people I spoke too, were battered. I actually felt drained. But the thing is that it’s incredible, that wave upon wave of noise and sound is amazing.

Look, if DENSE are new to you there Facebook Page describes them as Psychedelic Garage Rock, but this is insufficient, it doesn’t tell you that their music is huge and loud and multi-layered, that the different sounds merge and make new sounds.

But seeing them live, and tearing my head away from the sonic depths for moments during the set, I saw how each member of the band contributes. Charlie produces these wonderful guitar sounds in this really calm way over on one side of the stage, and singing in a way which I couldn’t tell if it’s purely him, or he uses vocal fx, those vocals are demented at times, actually most of the time. Dylan throws himself all over the stage, bass flying, quite how he manages to play the bass and do that is difficult to work out at times. And Sam, now I might be especially keen on drumming, but his drumming while loud and fast is incredibly precise, and DENSE’s songs have some really complicated drumming, it’s not all trash away at the rums as fast and as hard as you can. This combined is the DENSE live experience.

And it’s thrilling. The music has a physical presence. The music takes over your head and takes you to another place, you are drawn into it, deeper and deeper as the set goes on. So yes, that sound batters you, it does strange things to your ears, but it’s wonderful, gloriously wonderful. Everyone should see DENSE live at least once. Me, I’ll be there the next time, that sound is addictive.

All photos on this page © Frank Roper Photography – see more on his Facebook Page

Before Oh Papa contacted us with an invitation to review this release I hadn’t heard of them at all. One listen and I was wondering why, and feeling that I’d missed out on something rather special.

‘Magnetic’ has a timeless feel to it, while you get hints of 70s’ American singer/songwriters, and even vague hints of music from way way way before that, it’s not at all retro. The problem is that I just don’t know quite how to describe it in a way that’ll let you say ‘Ah, so that’s what they sound like’. In a way Oh Papa remind me of The Azenas – whose EP ‘Darjeeling’ I reviewed recently – not in the way they sound, but in that, if the evidence of this track is anything to go on, they just take whatever they want and mix it up into something of all of their own. They just don’t fit into an easy niche. But I like bands who don’t fit into an easy niche.

It’s one of those simple but complex songs – at it’s heart it’s a simple song with a simple, but wonderfully lovely, tune. But there’s loads going on – lovely backing vocals, sparse drums, beautiful playing. The female voices that take the lead vocals at the mid-point of the track (Before Breakfast).

Look, this a beautiful song that’s put together wonderfully. It’s that simple.

The info

Oh Papa are Jack, Ric, Philippe and Felix. They write a blend of soft rock, Americana and subtle surf, which has drawn comparisons with ‘70s troubadours Harry Nilsson and Lou Reed, and contemporary indie artists Whitney and Andy Shauf. Oh Papa have been refining their songwriting at a time when many bands are still recreating the indie-rock sounds of the ‘00s. Although they keep one eye on the past they have no intention of rehashing it.

The band started in earnest when they self-released their debut EP Papa Les in November 2018. The record garnered substantial support from various stations, achieving dozens of plays across the BBC by Huw Stephens, Tom Robinson and Christian Carlisle.

Oh Papa have secured support slots with a variety of respected artists, including Japanese punk legends Shonen Knife, Boy Azooga and Still Corners, as well as Billie Marten, who hand-picked the band for her album launch exhibition and tour dates in 2018. They count among their friends other like-minded bands striving to change the perception of what it sounds like to be a band from Yorkshire: Van Houten, Dead Slow Hoot and Before Breakfast to name a few. Together these bands are actively trying to dispel the image of the toxic masculinity still prevalent in indie-rock.

In 2019 the band have been working on a follow up to Papa Les at Tesla Studios with David Glover, known for his work with Charles Watson and Self Esteem.

Oh Papa say:

“‘Magnetic’ is an intentionally simple song about the nature of attraction. It explores themes of urgency and desire that can emerge when we become fascinated or enthralled by someone, and how otherworldly these feelings seem as they develop.

We returned to our beloved Tesla Studios to work with producer David Glover (Slow Club, Self Esteem), where we recorded some as yet unreleased material earlier this year (keep an eye out in 2020). Magnetic has always been a fan favourite, drawing the attention of Gina Walters of Before Breakfast, who we invited to feature on the studio recording with bandmate Lucy Revis. We’re so proud to present a song which means so much to us in collaboration with one of our favourite bands.“

Before I dive into the review I want you to imagine something. I got an email from Sam, the drummer from DENSE, (yes those purveyors of noisey noisey sound) saying he was in another band, and would I like to review their first single. He then told me it was a nine piece jazz/funk/soul group. What I want you to imagine is the look of utter surprise on my face, the look of mind-blown confusion.

That feeling of surprise and confusion was wiped away in the opening seconds of ‘Wondering How’ as it oozed seductively from the speakers, and started to weave it’s magical sound around my ears and head. This song does all of the jazz, funk and soul things. It does it in the smoothest way. With the sweetest vocals. With a lovely sax solo that is joined by flute (yes, flute people). It even has what we might describe as a slightly psychedelic souly jazzy section that somehow has me in mind of Pigbag or the smoother material from Rip, Rig & Panic (now there’s a blast from the past).

Sounds dart at you, there’s a sax there, drums that are cool, inventive and sparse, and it grooves to die for. The problem with this single is that there’s nothing I can point to that might have been better. I can’t even complaint that it ends way too soon, it lasts a fantastically long 4 1/2 minutes. It’s clear that these are nine people who know their stuff musically, you can’t fault the playing. And the feel of this thing, the way it makes you feel, is great, although it grooves hard it’s smooth, it’s soothing.

Yes, you could fit Mondo Bizarre into that Neo-Soul niche but you’d have to shove hard to get it to fit, it’s soul and funk but the jazz element is to the fore. With that flute going it reminds me of jazz my dad used to play to me when I was around five or six. This makes it sound retro and in some ways it is, but in others not, it’s very much of now.

For a debut single this is incredibly impressive stuff. It’s beautiful, really beautiful and about as close to perfect as I’ve heard in a long time. I’m completely blown away by this. This thing is cool, way way cool. It deserves that you listen to it, you must listen to it.

The info

Only 12 months have passed since Leeds group Mondo Bizarre first started performing their otherworldly, danceably –infectious neo-soul/jazz-funk fusion music to an eager audience at the Brudenell Social Club. However, since being asked back to headline the very same venue just 2 months later as well as other prestigious Leeds venues such as a headline set at ‘Belgrave Music Hall’ and performances at ‘The Wardrobe’ and ‘Hyde Park Book Club’, it feels like a lifetime to have waited so long to hear the band on record.

Speaking about the inspiration behind the track’s lyrics, Bella says: “jealousy isn’t an emotion I often revel in. However if I was to envy anyone, it would be that person we are all familiar with; that person who no matter what life might throw at them, seems consistently unaffected and optimistic.  This song is about them, asking them to share some of the light they carry with the rest of us.”

Mondo Bizarre is made up of the following members: Freya Thompson (Vocals/Flute), Bella Quirin (Vocals), George Bloomfield (Electric Guitar), Jemima Edwards (Keyboard/Synth), Alex Harrod (Saxophone), Elena Platt (Trumpet), Kyle Ellerbeck (Bass Guitar), Sam Heffer (Drum Kit) and Ben Lee (Auxiliary Percussion).

Having met at University through a mutual love of all types of music whilst coming from all different walks of life, the very cornerstone of Mondo Bizarre is to provide danceable and inclusive music for everyone to enjoy. Everybody is welcome to the Mondo Bizarre party.

With this in mind, the band have decided to throw their very own single launch party in collaboration with Not Quite Ripe Records and 0800 DISCO, at Blueberry Hill Studios on 11th December (details below). The band promise this to be the party of the year and given the hype ‘Mondo Bizarre’ have made for themselves over the last 12 months, it has a very good chance of being just that.

‘WONDERING HOW’ – SINGLE LAUNCH

In collaboration with Not Quite Ripe Records + 0800 DISCO

Venue: Blueberry Hill Studios, LS4 2AZ
Date: 11th December 2019
Time: 20:00-03:00
Tickets (£7 ADV): http://bit.ly/MBWHSingleLaunch

Tensheds is one of those people I’ve heard of but never, until I heard this album, heard or seen before. I even passed up an opportunity to see him perform not 5 minutes walk away from the house I previously lived in. This is clearly ‘not good enough’, I have failed badly in my lifetime quest for new and good music, and my own self-image as somebody with a finger on the musical pulse.

What I kind of expected was what I’d heard from James Leg (who I saw supporting Tav Falco’s Panther Burns back in 2016), who does that organ and drums thing – a kind of dirty swampy southern blues. This isn’t exactly what I got, yep it’s blues, yep it’s garagey but it’s not the same. And this is a album of huge and wonderful variety.

Album opener ‘Youngbloods’ sounds, how can I put this, like Tom Waits singing a Whitesnake song done in the way that Queen might interpret it. It’s full of classical influenced organ sounds. And it doesn’t sound just like organ and drums, you’d swear blind there was a bass there.

‘Gold Tooth’ is pure garagey swampy blues. The organ is used with effects to sound uncannily like a fuzzy guitar. It even does short guitar like runs. And over this there’s that pure organ sound, that takes off into tangents of squealing noise. Utterly fantastic.

And suddenly it all gets faster and fuzzier with ‘Stag’. It sounds a bit early Motorhead like, whether Tensheds would thank me for that I have no idea but that’s what it sounds like to me. But gradually Tensheds brings in piano, and it gets wild, wild and strange. Until it drops out to just piano, light tinkling piano with a gentle vocal, and then it gets all operatic and gritty. Oh my word it’s a trip, a journey through sound.

‘The Letting Go’ is a gentler thing with a lovely tune, an almost country/Americana thing. Although my friend said it sounded a bit Squeeze like, I kind of agree but at the same time disagree. What it does have in common with that is a fine ear for a tune.

And then we back in slightly fuzzy garage territory with ‘Black Blood’ which sounds a bit Springsteen like, it’s like a big stadium rock thing done with that drum and organ. It even does that dropout to a slow section at the end. This is very much an album standout for me, I love Tensheds’ vocals on this.

‘Troubleshooter’ is that country music bluesy sound. It even has something of a jazzy thing going on. The vocals take centre stage with a mellow organ break a close second.

And oh my word Tensheds does ZZ Top, ‘Sharp Threads’ is a stomping blues rock song in that ‘Sharp Dressed Man’ vein. It’s a gas people.

Massed vocals start ‘Secrets’. It’s a mellow bluesy gospel ballad that kinda sounds like something I can’t quite put my finger on – to be honest a lot of this album does that to me. There’s only one word for this, beautiful.

Beautiful is also the way I’d describe ‘The Picture Book’ a huge piano led ballad that soars and soars. And yet as I listen the words start to come through and they are so so good. The effect is heart wrenching.

Album closer ‘Forever In Dreams’ is a mellow slow song that is just so good I don’t have the words to describe how good it is.

Look it almost goes without saying that the playing on this album is incredible. And while you may think you’d miss those things with strings you don’t, the sounds that Tensheds makes with keyboards more than makes up for those. And the songs are brilliantly put together and written. And his vocals are utterly wonderful, that raw voice is deceptive, it’s capable of so much emotion.

This album is completely fantastically fucking brilliant, the songs on it take you on a musical journey that is emotionally satisfying, and takes you off in unexpected directions. If you’re already hip to Tensheds it’s a must have, and if, like me, Tensheds is new to you, listen to this and be captivated.

Order

The info

More about the album

Tensheds new album, “Deathrow Disco” sees the award-winning artist explore a whole new instrument – the Rhodes organ. Apart from his beloved 1835 Collard & Collard grand piano, the entire record was recorded on Rhodes organ. No guitars, Basses, or any of the traditional tools used to make gritty garage blues music were used in making this record. Instead Tensheds masterfully explores the use of pedals and prepared piano technique to create these hard hitting sounds.

And hard hitting is what it is. Recorded in just 3 days at Free House Studios with long standing drummer and collaborator Ed Wells, along with engineer Sam Dyson. Tensheds set out to make a fun and danceable record. Something not often associated with piano music. Explaining that “the music had to be upbeat and fun, because the lyrics were not”.

As the title suggests, the album does touch on the subject of incarceration, but more than that, Tensheds wanted to explore the idea that we are in fact all prisoners; whether we are prisoners stuck on a planet we are slowly destroying or prisoners of love and loss. “We are prisoners to our minds, to our feelings and thoughts. There is no such thing as freedom, or if there is it is very difficult to find”.

Talking about the album Tensheds said: “I had the album title a year before I even started writing this record. So the acorn was planted, and the concept was born. The two words sum up the album perfectly. It does what it says on the tin!”

“After spending a year trying to achieve the impossible with my last record – making a alternative rock album using only a near 200 year old grand piano, I wanted this experience to be totally different. So with this in mind, me and my drummer Ed Wells moved into a cottage in the depths of Wales – so far from away from anything we could play full volume all night. Basically we locked ourselves away to write a record and gave ourselves a week to do so. We were done in 3 days! It then seemed like a natural progression to limit studio time to 3 days also. Obviously!”

“I like limitations. Having only two instruments means everything has to be specifically designed and have a place. I don’t have to accommodate for a bands worth of instruments, plus I kinda like how modern music does away with instrumental egos. I had a simple plan: I wanted big riffs and fat beats. And my instrument of choice for Deathrow Disco was Rhodes organ. No guitars, basses or synths were used. It’s all Rhodes going through various pedals. My beloved Collard & Collard grand piano makes an appearance, but it’s 99% Rhodes. However I did make one over indulgence. The cover! As this would be my album available on vinyl, I wanted a stunning piece of art. So with the help of Finnish shaman (actually a shaman) Enni Topiankki we sculpted my face with 24 carat gold leaf. I am immensely proud of this record. Just because we are trapped, it doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy ourself.

More about Tensheds

Tensheds has been captivating audiences since the release of his debut studio album Crazy Beautiful back in 2010. His unmistakable unique style and rare ability to blend gritty alternative blues with soft tender ballads has won him fans far and wide as well as numerous awards, critical acclaim and even an invitation to open the Isle Of Wight Festival.

A true innovator and a relentless pusher of boundaries, the multi-instrumentalists absolute refusal to pigeonhole his music sees him constantly evolving. Producing all his records himself and forever exploring ways to bring the piano into the 21st Century, while blending his gritty punk blues with elements of his classical heritage – having trained as a classical pianist at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music.

Tensheds real magic lies in his live performances. His audacious showmanship and Rachmaninoff style piano skills, deftly delivers his brand of gritty, edgy alternative blues. Honing his craft in the time-honoured tradition, hoboing the road. A true road dog, so much so that when the legendary Hazel O’Connor offered him 5 full UK tours supporting her, he actually moved into a camper-van for the next 2 years to make it happen. He has since gone on to supports artists such as: John Mayall, Mick Taylor, Jeffrey Lewis, Blockheads, Spear Of Destiny,

Paul Kelly, Manfred Mann, as not forgetting a recent tour with Bad Seeds drummer Jim Sclavunos and his up-coming 27 date winter tour supporting cult folk hero Beans On Toast.

When he’s not wowing audiences as Tensheds he is also full-time keyboard player with Beans On Toast and garage rockers Jim Jones And The Righteous Mind. This year alone has seen him play nearly 200 shows as well as making his Glastonbury debut, fittingly performing 10 shows. The highlight of which was his performance on the Greenpeace Stage to a packed out field, with Frank Turner watching in the wings, declaring this is “Fucking Incredible”.

Over the year Tensheds has picked up numerous awards, including the PRS UK Unsigned Artists of the Year and Celtic Connections festival Award. He also holds the World Record for Most Gigs Performed in 24 Hours – playing 8 cities in 24 hours to raising money for the Railway Children charity.

It’s no wonder Tensheds has been labelled ‘Jerry Lee Lewis and Tom Waits love child’.

Tensheds will also be embarking on a mammoth 25 date tour across the nation
supporting Beans On Toast throughout the winter, followed in the Spring with
headline tour with drummer Ed Wells.

Live dates

06 – PLYMOUTH Junction
07 – SWANSEA Garage
08 – STROUD Prince Albert – SOLD OUT
10 – GUILDFORD Boileroom
11 – CAMBRIDGE Portland Arms
12 – DERBY Venue
13 – NORWICH Arts Centre
14 – BEDFORD Esquires
18 – SHEFFIELD Leadmill
19 – STOKE Sugarmill
20 – LIVERPOOL Phase One
21 – COLCHESTER Three Wise Monkeys

JANUARY 2020
31 – BRIGHTON Chalk

FEBRUARY 2020
01 – BRISTOL Trinity
05 – SOUTHAMPTON The Loft
06 – CARDIFF The Globe
07 – LEEDS Brudenell Social Club
08 – BIRMINGHAM Castle & Falcon
09 – NOTTINGHAM Bodega
12 – NEWCASTLE Tyne Bank Brewery
13 – EDINBURGH Old Dr Bells Baths
14 – MANCHESTER Gorilla
15 – LONDON Dome

It’s a raucous thing this new FloodHounds’ release, a gloriously raucous thing. It comes on like an indie rock song that has gone batshit crazy, that has been crossed with some blues rock thing to make something wonderful.

And yes, you heard me right, this song is more indie rock than FloodHounds’ recent stuff. Sure it’s indie rock sprinkled with that blues thing that the band do but it’s recognisably indie. If you’ve been keeping up I’ve been rather loving the last releases which have been more bluesy, more RnB-ish, but this isn’t a disappointment, far from it, FloodHounds always did do this indie thing their way, and this is very much their way.

It’s heavy on the guitar, Jack lays down some great guitar on this. It has a beat guaranteed to get you moving. It pounds along at a rate of knots, this isn’t a song that hangs around.

In short it’s fab, it’s yet another banger from FloodHounds. Word to the wise, this is best experienced as loud as you dare.