The Drink are a three piece band from London – Dearbhla Minogue (Vocals, Guitar), Daniel Fordham (Drums) and David Stewart (Bass) – who are usually put into that indie-folk niche. Having played their album ‘Company’ to death before seeing them I thought I knew what to expect – hints of folk (both English and Irish), a fair spattering of Warpaint, bits of African finger picked guitar, Dearbhla’s voice sometimes veering into Brit-pop territory.

However I was frankly shocked (in a good way) by Dearbhla’s guitar playing. What we got was some fierce blues-tinged finger picking. I really found myself thinking ‘well why isn’t there more of this on the album, it really adds something to the songs?’. When you hear this you really understand the band members’ shared love of Captain Beefheart. I don’t know whether The Drink ever feel the urge to ‘jam’, but if they do I’d love to be there.

The songs themselves are dark and intricate with lyrics that are really worth listening to. Dearbhla’s voice slips effortlessly between different styles – sometimes English folk, sometimes Irish folk and sometimes just her own unique style – but you can always hear the words which is really important for these songs.

Also, I can’t fail to mention Daniel and David’s playing – which was faultless. I loved David’s drumming which weaves it’s way through the complex tracks with ease, while Daniel provides a really solid base.

I was in the difficult position of reviewing the gig and taking photos so I can’t comment on all the tracks in their all-too-short set, but frankly I could have stood and listened for hours. This band simply can play! It felt to me that I was experiencing a group of musicians who just happened to land in a bar, had some songs and just played them in the order they felt was right at the time. The secret of their performance was that there was no performance as such – it was just all so incredibly relaxed.

Set stand outs for me included ‘Demo Love’, with its soaring vocals and a catch beat rhythm section that I really loved and ‘Playground’ which started with African finger picking and went into, what sounds to me, like a real Brit-pop thing – I keep thinking of a hint of Sleeper whenever I heard it.

‘At The Weekend’ – which opens with the line ‘It came to me in a blood transfusion’, (yes really) – has this really nagging bit with the lyrics ‘internally’ ‘externally’ going on, which ought to be really irritating but was actually hypnotic.

Before their final song, Dearbhla announces that her mother came from Halifax, although she’s never been there before. May I suggest a return visit is in order.

If you’re a fan of dark folk-tinged songs with some weird arrangements, I’d recommend buying the album, and then seeing The Drink live for that added extra of the fierceness of their guitar sound.

Playing second on the bill were The Orielles – a scarily young and accomplished band from Halifax. Their garage surf influenced psych is already creating quite a stir.

Esme-Dee Hand-Halford (Bass Vocals) Henry Carlyle Wade (Guitar Vocals) and Sidonie B Hand-Halford (Drums) tick the psych boxes – effects drenched guitar, that sweet sounding female singer – but bring to it something else. I got hints of pscychobilly, punk and post-punk (the bass is really featured on a lot of tracks), plus the surf thing.

I’m going to mention two tracks in particular. The first had a title that was something about a Chinese girl and I’m fairly sure it had the word pink in there somewhere. I do wish I’d written that title down at the time. Anyway, take my word for it that the song title already marked this out as something interesting, and the song didn’t disappoint.

My other favourite was their set closer – a new one – starting with a doomy bass this moved into choppy guitar (an almost Siouxsie and The Banshees sound) and moved into a guitar effects fest with Henry staggering off the stage and into the gap in front of the crowd. Sid’s drumming on this was really utterly fab.

The Orielles are one to catch soon, if you haven’t already.

I also want to mention The Stray, another young band from Halifax, who opened the gig that night. They gave us a solid set of Indie-rock, but included a a stand-in guitarist which may be the reason some of their songs had endings which rather lost their way and fizzled out at the end. I may be going out on limb here, but I’m guessing they may have been influenced by early Jam. I was startled by them covering ‘Psycho Killer’ – a bit risky some might say because it’s an iconic track. It was slightly faster and definitely rockier and fuller than the original, but really worked. The other highlight was ‘Byrons Boots’ (available as a free download) which is bit shouty and punky in a good way. This type of Indie rock isn’t really my thing, but they clearly have a loyal and enthusiastic following.

Links

The Drink

The Drink on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thedrinkthedrink

Buy vinyl, CDs and downloads from The Drink’s record company Melodic: http://www.melodic.co.uk/word/product/the-drink-company/

The Orielles

The Orielles on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theorielles

The Stray

The Stray website: http://www.thestrayband.co.uk

Stop Drop Robot is a band from Sheffield consisting of vocalist Sam Christie, Nathan Bailey – bass, Matt Ross – guitar and Dan Battye on drums. They have been together for three years and are starting to make an impact on the live music scene with their own blend of electronic rock. They are a hugely ambitious, hard-working band with big plans.

They are attacking the gig and festival circuit with a determined ferocity this summer. We caught them at their Long Division appearance at Players Bar whilst on their third tour – The ‘Maps’ tour, in support of their newly released single (of the same name). Stop Drop Robot have more festival appearances coming up this summer, as well as slots supporting Heaven 17 and Alabama 3 in July.

Stop Drop Robot play a seven song set during the half hour scheduled for bands at the festival, combining 90s nu-metal with indie-rock and classic metal strewn with synths to create a futuristic rock sound. The band’s recorded sound is more controlled and is heavier on the electronics, but live, they sound different; the sound is more alive and urgent. Their music has doomy, eerie undertones which make for an exciting atmosphere.

Drummer, Dan plays to a click which makes for a tight rhythm that carries the frequent tempo changes swiftly. The combination of Nathan’s driving bass, Matt’s soaring guitar riffs and Sam’s confident and controlled vocal, creates a powerful sonic experience in a compact venue.

The band delivers their newest single release ‘Maps’ mid-set and, for me, this was the stand-out song. Kicking straight in with heavy drums and bass, it grabs your interest immediately and holds it tightly until it’s over. It’s an anthemic track that would not be out of place on a larger stage.

Before introducing their penultimate song ‘Cerebral Eviction Notice’, Sam asks the audience to give him feedback after the gig. One punter delivers it to them there and then, “Best band so far!” he shouts. This is quite a compliment for these Sheffield boys in view of just how many quality Wakefield bands are on the line-up at Long Division. This belter of a track marries all the band’s individual efforts seamlessly, in particular Nathan’s bassline, and Matt’s singing guitar riffs. They both come to the front of the stage and let rip an electronic tirade.

The band members are very much individuals that come up with their own ideas and then skilfully unite them. The symbiosis between them is evident – both on stage and in conversation with them. They feed off each other’s energy and ideas and work with them fluidly.

The band’s music is very enjoyable live. The only slight criticism I would make is that the songs came across as formulaic but on the flip side, this works to quickly make the crowd feel included….You know when the chorus is about to be dropped in, and when the tempo changes come in – so it is danceable music, despite being complex in terms of rhythm. There are plenty of other well-known bands who know their formula works, and stick to it.

These Sheffield boys are slickly mapping their arrival on the national and international music scene and are well worth seeing live. Click here for their forthcoming tour dates.

Stop Drop Robot’s new single ‘Maps’ was released on the 16th June with a B-side remix from Karl Helibron.

‘Maps’ and Stop Drop Robot’s previous singles can be purchased via iTunes

Thankfully this is not a song by or even about the Spanish actor/director, he has merely lent his name to the blistering new single from Leeds Grunge-pop trio Forever Cult. A two and a half minute blast of catchy hooks and loping Arctic Monkey-style guitar riffs, it’s a joy from start to finish.

Singer/Guitarist Kieran Clarke’s rasping voice goes from a punky snarl on the verse to a scratchy yet soulful croon during the bridge that reminded me of The Afghan Whigs’ Greg Dulli. Drummer Aaron Snowdon and bassist Alex Greaves make up the rest of the band who have been together since 2013. ’Antonio Banderas’ has already received airplay on the Huw Stephens show on Radio One and the band have recently made an appearance in the NME’s Radar section. The single is out on July 6th on Clue records and the track will be free to the first 100 downloaders as well as being available on limited edition CD.

The band have a great reputation as a live act and had a huge crowd for their gig at this year’s Long Division festival in Wakefield which went down very well indeed. You’ll be able to catch Forever Cult live on their tour which brings them to Brudenell Social Club in Leeds on the 17th July, The Castle Hotel in Manchester on the 19th July and includes an appearance at the Tramlines Festival in Sheffield on 25th July.

Tickets: https://www.musicglue.com/forevercult/shows/

Forever Cult on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FOREVERCULT
Forever Cult on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Forever_Cult