Brain Queen, the first support of the evening, were into their set when we arrived at the freshly spruced up Aaatma (the venue formerly known as Kraak Gallery, but that’s another story.) A pretty decent crowd had already gathered and there was certainly an atmosphere of mounting excitement for the evening ahead. Brain Queen weren’t my cup of tea being a grungy, punky, electric guitar group. Stylised wailing rather than discernible vocals seems to be their raison d’etre, but it was clear that some of the audience were well into them. Their angsty tune ’Guilty’ was rich in emotion, but I would’ve liked to actually hear the lyrics. That said, both Brain Queen and second support act, Seize the Chair were good choices being energy laden bands who built up the momentum to set the crowd fizzing for the main event.

An interlude before the second support gives an opportunity to soak up the atmosphere. Aatma is another brilliantly intimate Northern quarter venue and one of the more polished.  Tonight it was literally sparkling ….from Nile Marr’s ubiquitous sequinned jacket, to the coloured fairy lights strewn around, and a disco ball. I believe gold glitter was available on the way in. Looking around, it felt like a cool crowd who know their musical onions.  Many looked like they could be in a band, but in an original way; it doesn’t feel like a  trotting out of the old Manchester music scene, and this is precisely what I love about the music in Manchester- there’s always someone new and fresh to listen to.

Second support band, ‘Seize the Chair’, were instantaneously likeable, but this waned after a couple of tracks as their tunes started to feel a bit samey.  This was a shame as I feel they have it in them for more variation, but I didn’t hear this enough. Less noisy than Brain Queen, but still pretty noisy, they were bassy and catchy  enough to make me dance a little,  but again, lyrics are important to me and I couldn’t hear them.

After their set, I chatted with the keyboard player, Steven Mullins, about this and he said they wanted to be more about the sound than the lyrics. OK, they sounded great and they had bags of infectious energy, making for a great build up, but they didn’t do it for me. They certainly did it for a lot of the crowd though.  And how great to be in a venue small enough to get up close and personal to chat to the band and meet with a friendly response. Again, another reason I love the smaller venues.

Next up, Man Made – which consists of Scott Strange on bass, Callum Rogers on drums and singer, songwriter, Nile Marr on guitar. I was hooked from the start. This was a homecoming gig and the brimming excitement for both band and crowd was tangible. Man Made oozed style with glittery frontman, Nile Marr, interacting confidently with the crowd from the off, regaling us with tales of starting their day in Norwich and what a schlep it is to get to the gig. This was the last leg of a tour, ahead of the release of their debut album ‘TV Broke My Brain’. One I am keen to buy.

I was eager to hear Marr’s guitar playing and to my relief, I was in no way disappointed. It was mesmerizingly effortless. It’s clearly in the genes. As my friend commented: ‘’how can such a sound come out of the guitar that way!’’

‘Bring Some’ absolutely blows me away – an exquisite indie mix of beautiful melodies with catchy ebbing and flowing changes in tempo making for perfection – lyrically rich with gorgeous guitar sounds. One I will play over and over. Whilst the music got me, I found myself focused on Marr most of the time, as his presence seemed to command the stage. Although musically tight, it’d be nice to see more of a rapport between the trio, and bassist Scott Strange really needs to work on a smile!

‘Slowdance’ is a beautifully haunting tune (reminiscent of Vinny Reilly’s wonderful guitar sound).  ‘TV Broke My Brain’ with its brilliant intro and ‘Raining in My Head’ with its engaging lyrics – both exactly my indie cup of tea.

I had a chat with Nile after the gig – mainly about what a schlep it is to get from Norwich. Lovely, friendly chap.

It was friendly, it was intimate and it was exciting. There was a sense of being one of those gigs that will be talked about in time to come and I’ll get to say, ‘’yeah, I was at that gig…top wasn’t it!’’

I can’t claim to be entirely objective about False Advertising – I’m going to admit to being a fan – but I’m going to do that reviewer thing and at least try and be objective.

False Advertising are Jen Hingley – vocals/guitars/drums, Chris Warr – vocals/guitars/drums and Josh Sellers – bass.

It’s been a while since we’ve had any recorded material from False Advertising – their debut album ‘False Advertising’ came out in September last year (you can read our review here). So we have to ask, is there any change in their recorded sound? Well yes for me there is, the sound is much more organic. It sounds like a band playing together (even though we know that isn’t how music is recorded in most cases).

The EP’s first track ‘Alopecia’ has been released as a single so I can embed it for you, I suggest taking a listen to it now.

On one level this is a rather fabulous raucous grungy rock track – albeit with rather perplexing lyrics. However if you know what alopecia is and what can cause it (if you don’t there is a page on the NHS website that describes the various forms and their causes) it becomes rather unsettling. I’m now going to suggest that you listen to the track again, and I mean really listen. Is it just me or is there a note of desperation in Jen’s vocal especially towards the end of the track? There’s clearly something very personal going on in this song.

You’re going to find that the emotional element in the single is carried through the other four songs on the EP. The ‘Brainless’ EP was written during a tumultuous period for Jen last Autumn, as she explains: “I experienced this thing in my family that was just so cruel. It left me helpless, bitter and frustrated. The bulk of the EP is kinda this weird sarcastic take on that feeling of loss.”

Although we don’t know which of the five songs on the EP she’s referring to. I have my own ideas of which track she means, but I’m keeping that to myself. I may be completely wrong and at risk of constructing a story around what I think. You may come up with something entirely different. Which is all part of the beauty of being individual listeners.

We’re in pop grunge with a psych edge mode for ‘Give It Your Worst’. I say pop grunge but there’s a hint of a post-punk thing going on as well. I’ve spent quite a lot of time trying to work out what this song is about; without much success. It seems to be about somebody changing themselves to get away from a bad situation – “Gotta get away, Gotta get away” and “I’m at end looking back over nothing”. But how the lines (and this may be the world’s worst misheard lyric) “Leave it to soak, Leave it to soak” fit in with that, I have no idea. We do know that “This feeling won’t go away so I change”, so perhaps there’s some hope there.

‘You’re Too Slow’ has that unsettling edge again. It seems to be about a disintegrating love affair or relationship of some kind, according to the lyrics which go:“Yeah you were there but hey I face the facts cos when I fall too slow…”. The chorus features Jen singing “I hope I’m not afraid” but there’s this sinister background vocal under it “You are afraid”. Musically it’s all loud guitars, fuzz and this quite wonderful jerkiness.

Next up on the EP is ‘Piece of My Mind’ but I’m going to be skipping on to the next track and coming back to this.

While the alt-pop of ‘Sigh’ might be lighter musically than some of the other tracks this is no lightweight song lyrically. The lyrics are hugely complex and every time I listen to I get a completely different idea of what it’s about. Whatever the picture it evokes, it’s never a cheerful one, and leaves me feeling quite sad.

If somebody said I had to choose only one track from this EP, it would be ‘Piece of My Mind’ because it’s epic and complex. It’s a grunge ‘ballad’ with Chris and Jen sharing vocals. Chris’ vocal is world-weary and pleading; he’s asking her what she’s thinking. He’s saying she took his soul and left him drained. She says: ‘I’ll let you have a piece of my mind’. Which gives the song an interesting ambiguity, because you’re left unsure as to whether this is the usual unfriendly interpretation of this phrase or, more positively, that she’ll share with him some of her thoughts to put him in the picture.

There’s a hell of a lot of things going on musically, and this track even has time to fit in a sort of sludgy, slightly jazzy break. It feels much longer – and I mean this in a good way – than it actually is. But be certain, this song is going to leave you emotionally wrung out. You don’t need to take my word for this, you can listen to this track here

Overall these are powerfully moving songs that bear repeated listening, and I can pretty well guarantee you’re going to get something new every time you hear them. The song-writing, the arrangements, the vocals and the production are all right up there. If I had a gun pointed at my head and was told to pick one thing that really impressed me, I’d have to choose the song-writing. It’s this element of the EP that had me hitting repeat way beyond the point where it was necessary for the review.

The EP is available for pre-order now and is released on the 22nd April. The band are touring in support of the EP release – if you haven’t seen the band live I’d recommend checking them out.

Pre-order ‘Brainless’: https://falseadvertising.bandcamp.com/
False Advertising website: http://www.falseadvertising.co/
False Adverting on Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/falseadv

Upcoming live dates

15th April: The Ferret, Preston [Co-headlining with Jekyll]

21 April: The Venue, Derby [supporting Mammoths w/ Prizefighter, Prime]

22 April: Hoxton Square Bar & Kitchen, London [w/ Bad Grammar]

23 April: Liquor, Lincoln [w/ Blind Wives and Guts]

24 April: Little Rooms, Newcastle [supporting Ilser]

26 April: The Polar Bear, Hull [supporting Dead Hormones with Serial Chiller]

29 April: The Exchange, Keighley [w/ Loomer, The Crispy Others]

30 April: Smithdown Street Festival, Liverpool

5 May: Santiago’s, Leeds [w/ Chambers, Veins and Long Body]

6 May: AATMA, Manchester [w/ Ilser, Mark of 1000 Evils and Special guests]

7 May: Buyers Club, Liverpool [supporting Elevant/ w/ Bathymetry]

28 May: Liverpool Sound City Festival

29 May: Chorlton Arts Festival [Supporting Pins, w/ Mad Winter]

12 June: Ulltra Festival, Hull

LSF was contacted to preview London Afro-metal-psych rockers, Vōdūn, in the run-up to their appearance at Manchester’s Noiz all-dayer at Rebellion on April 2nd. As a teaser we were sent a link to the video for Mawu, taken from their debut album, Possession, (out today on Riff Rock Records) and after such a striking initiation, I was intrigued to hear what else they had up their sleeves.

Sleeves though, it seems, aren’t high on Vōdūn’s to-do list. Portraying themselves as tribal warriors, with war paint and naked flesh favoured over westernised garb, this is a trio staunchly dedicated to its message.

Why waste words on appearance? Well, for a start, Vōdūn look great – a challenge to the eyes before a note’s been played in anger. But secondly, the aesthetic is central to their music.Stemming from the West African religion of Vodun (pronounced voh-doon) – more familiar in its Lousianan form, Voodoo – each member adopts a Vodun alter ego, symbolic of their role in the band. Performances are treated as a ‘channeling of the spirits’.

The Stones borrowed African tribal rhythms for Sympathy For The Devil, and Wings’ Voodoo-inspired Live and Let Die produced a classic Bond theme, but both seem lightweight beside Vōdūn’s ominously sludgy soul stew.

Possession’s 11 tracks cover a hell of a lot of ground musically, and lovers of rock in its many forms will undoubtedly find one, if not many, tunes to rave about. ‘Mawu’ – my introduction to Vōdūn, and still my favourite – typifies the band at its strongest: grinding low-slung riffs, a beat that taunts you with each impending crash, and a vocal that struts between utter control and untempered soul. It’s killer.

The few points in the album that seem weak by comparison are those that sound ‘less Vōdūn’ – a chord pattern here or a riff there, that could easily be attributed to other bands. I’m not saying it’s possible or even desirable to be unique all the time, but with such peaks for reference, it’s hard to come down!

Lyrics about cosmic forces and priestesses shamelessly honour Vōdūn’s driving force, but might stick in the craw for some. As this Pitchfork review of Swedish psych rockers, Goat, opines, sustaining such a premise could even prove a stumbling block in future. But for now, ignore them. Ignore me! Rock should be different, rebellious and challenging. And Vōdūn are most definitely rock.

I strongly urge you to buy Possession and hear for yourself (I can’t wait to get my hands on the orange vinyl edition!) and don’t miss out on tickets for Vōdūn’s gig at Rebellion, Manchester, April 2nd. I’ll be there with bells on. It wouldn’t surprise me if Vodun are too.

By the time we arrived (train shenanigans) Natalie McCool was three songs in to her set. Arriving mid way through a song though, it was clear she commanded the stage and there was an attentive crowd at the brilliantly intimate Soup Kitchen. Natalie looked and sounded a lot different to solo female artists I’ve seen of late; she definitely had a rock chick vibe about her and west coast America sound as opposed to the largely folky female artists that I’ve been coming across. She confidently belted out two lyrically opposing tunes – one about heartbreak and one, ‘Magnet’, about being attracted to someone for the first time. Lyrically, ‘Magnet’ really got me. Musically, I found Natalie’s sound engaging, but lyrically, I needed something more. For example the chorus of ‘Fortress’ wasn’t detailed enough for me. However I would definitely go to see her again and she’s one to follow, I’d say.

Having listened to Lake Komo on their Soundcloud prior to their intimate Soup Kitchen gig, expectations weren’t huge, if I’m honest. How wrong I was proved! The four piece Lake Komo made me smile from the beginning of their set to the end. It was clear the band themselves were having a great time and this energy was infectious and engaging for the crowd who were well up for them. From the beginning – setting up and sound checking – they were itching to get going and the energy didn’t subside once they did!

They were well rehearsed, moving slickly from one track to the next. They’re not a band to pigeon hole as one genre or another from their poppy, anthem tune ‘Think Tank’ to ‘Ritual, ‘which has an electronic/ synthy vibe to it and ‘Manners’ (I think that’s what it was called; track names weren’t introduced – change that guys!) which was definitely where a comparison could be made to the fabulous Bon Ivor.

Lead singer,Jay has a strong beautiful, adaptable voice. The bassist put down some moves alongside his playing, which added to the band’s showmanship overall. I would’ve liked to have heard more from the female keyboard player, Jess, who also provided vocals on some tracks, but her voice didn’t shine through enough for me.

It’s clear Lake Komo already have a big following who were swept along by the irresistible flow of compelling music as were we. All in all, a great gig in a charmingly shabby venue. Lake Komo needed to win me over and they did!

Hailing from Hemsworth in West Yorkshire, Yawning Dog are a grunge/punk four piece who are well known for their chaotic live shows. Actually, I should say they were a four piece, as sadly, the band announced only days ago that drummer Joe Prochera was leaving the group, albeit on amicable terms. So that leaves Sam Womersley (Vocals/Guitar), Ryan Lewis (Lead Guitar) and Daniel Wearmouth (Bass/Vocals) with an unfortunate void in their line-up. I have no doubt the band will recover soon though and get back to grafting on the live scene once again.

In the meantime, the band have left us with a double A side single to be getting on with while they lick their wounds and find a replacement tub-thumper. ‘Sponge’ is a gloriously scuzzy track with a simple but effective riff that lopes through the song chasing the beat at a steady pace. Womersley’s Yorkshire drawl is soaked in reverb as he warns that: “everybody here just wants to burn you down” and bemoans the fact his shoes smell and he can’t afford to move. It sounds a little like Mark E. Smith fronting ‘Bleach’ era Nirvana – which is a good thing by the way.

The second A-side is ‘Heads’ which is an altogether noisier kettle of fish. Joe Prochera’s drums are a big part of this song, and he proves here that his drum stool will be a tough seat to fill. Womersley’s vocals are unhinged and heavily distorted; like a mad man on your street hollering instructions at you through a toy megaphone. The music is fast and frenzied, with big, pounding drums and menacing, lurching basslines. Then the song reaches its spaced out instrumental, mid-section, and the pace mellows a bit. The guitars pursue the melody through a fog of feedback until the whole song slows to a crawl and seems to come to a rest before they give us one last snare drum death rattle for good measure.

Website: https://www.musicglue.com/yawning-dog/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yawningdogband
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Yawning_Dog