Sir Curse are a big band – literally, when I saw them live at The Lending Room the stage was packed – who make big music. They’re one of those bands who don’t fit into an easy niche; call them rock with a dance pop sensibility, call them classic pop with more than a hint of rock. This, sadly for me, makes them hard to pin down for the reader. I’m going to have a go here, so let’s dive in.
‘Glad I Woke Up’ is like a big synth pop track but harder and with guitars. Or even a pop/alt-rock mix-up. You see, already I’m finding this difficult. It has a big earwormy tune; that’s the pop-rock thing in the mix but it also has revved up guitars. You could, if you’re that way inclined and I am, throw some dance shapes and then rock out as the music takes you.
But, and this is important as I mentioned classic pop, it also has a sound that harks back to way back when. With my somewhat older ears I get hints of artists like Judie Tzuke and Kate Bush; makers of those big ballads with a rock edge. Obviously Sir Curse are taking that rock thing a lot further.
So I hope you get the idea here, this song is a wonderful mix of melody and hard rock, the dreamy and the raging. A song that mesmerises you with smooth smooth sounds and then batters your ears with joyous noise.
But wait, there is more. This is a song that tells a story with great words. The playing is faultless. And I have fallen under the spell of the vocals. That voice goes from gently caressing your ears to full on rock vocal and back again.
Sir Curse are an amazingly good band who you need to hear, who you need to see. ‘Glad I Woke Up’ is an utterly incredible song that’s going to rock your world. This is all kinds of wonderful. Get to it.
BEFORE BREAKFAST have announced they will be touring their debut album ‘I Could Be Asleep If It Weren’t For You’, which came out in January. The Sheffield duo and two new live band members will be joining Mercury-nominated Scottish composer and musician C Duncan for five UK dates, which includes London’s Powerhaus on 19th May, and headlining six of their own dates throughout May and June.
“The last tour we had booked was supposed to be happening just as the first lockdown was announced in 2020 so we absolutely cannot wait to get back out there, it’s been too long. Our album has been waiting to be released for years, so finally getting the chance to show it off around the country feels like a relief, I think we might just just regress to giddy children tbh. The 2019 tour with C Duncan was so incredibly special, we are thrilled to be joining them again on their 2022 tour alongside our own shows. How many bands get asked to support on tour twice?! Lucky us!” – Before Breakfast
Gina Walters and Lucy Revis fuse their classical knowledge and rich arrangements with raw expression and layer this with personal storytelling that explores feminist themes. The result is a spell-binding collection of songs knitting together Lucy’s intricate cello with Gina’s expressively haunting vocals.
Last summer the band returned to the stage to play Latitude, Tramlines and Deer Shed Festival, and they will be announcing more live dates soon.
TOUR DATES
7th May Huddersfield – Northern Quarter
8th May Stockton – The Waiting Room
11th May Edinburgh – The Caves (supporting C Duncan)
12th May Manchester – Deaf Institute (supporting C Duncan)
13th May Liverpool – Leaf (supporting C Duncan)
14th May Glasgow – King Tuts (supporting C Duncan)
19th May London – Powerhaus (supporting C Duncan)
20th May Margate – Tom Thum Theatre
21st May Scunthorpe – Café Indiependent
22nd May Hull – New Adelphi Club
4th June Howden – Shire Hall
5th June Newcastle – Cluny 2
Debut album ‘I Could Be Asleep If It Weren’t For You’ is out now on After Dinner Records
THE TOWN HALL SESSION EP is almost here and ready to bless your ear holes courtesy of FUDGE. It sees the fusion of three previously released singles and two additional ‘wobblers’ – as singer Cam eloquently puts it – ‘Jekyll & Hide’ and ‘Pepsi Noggins’, to create one phat record. Recorded and mixed by Leeds’ very own Kane Whitelam and captured on camera by the great Hugh Roberts and Tim Wheeler, the EP is the culmination of talented people each making their mark on the Leeds scene in one way or another.
The EP goes out to all those who have helped and supported FUDGE. through their short and chaotic life so far and serves to bring more people together to experience the lifeblood that this band bring every time they play live. The record marks the end of an era. A time where things were simpler but, in retrospect, were in fact just as turbulent and impetuous as they are now. But it also marks the beginning of many things: a new age of FUDGE. which will see even phatter gigs across the country and new wobblers to boot; a new era of live music for everyone and an inevitable time of rejoicing as we move away from the shit-show that has ensued for the past two years; and the beginning of some semblance of normality, where we can be as abnormal as possible once again. The EP, therefore, should be a little – or big – celebration each time you listen to it; something to get you hyped for the future, and to say a big “fuck you” to anything that might taint that.
The band pride themselves on their live performance which, repeatedly, is eulogised by those who find themselves caught within the chaos of a FUDGE. gig. Their epic live performance has now met head on with the majestic and iconic venue in which they recorded THE TOWN HALL SESSION EP. Unfazed by the eminence of the building, the boys and the team captured their hectic performance in stark polarity to the splendour of the venue. You wouldn’t think to pair the two, but it works.
THE TOWN HALL SESSION EP TRACK LISTING:
Jekyll & Hide (new release)
Money To Be Made
Your Fall From Grace
Pepsi Noggings (new release)
9/10
THE BAND’S RELECTIONS ON JEKYLL & HIDE:
CAM | vocals: “I was hesitant about writing and releasing this because of the subject matter it relates to, but it needs more attention, and the boys agreed so we kicked the EP off with it. Jekyll & Hide was written about drinks being spiked by dick head little low lives in clubs, pubs, and bars. Whatever sick satisfaction there is to be gained, potentially ruining a person’s life by taking advantage of them or leaving them vulnerable, makes my blood boil. The song is fictional but influenced by many events I’ve experienced, been witness to or heard about. It happens so often. The tipping point was when a friend of mine was working behind a bar and spotted a lad put something into a girl’s Hooch bottle which she was totally unaware of. Fortunately, my mate was quick to react, and the police got involved. Big up my G. Angus came up with the song title. The idea being that someone could be nice in the general face of the public but quickly changes after a drink and another side to them comes out.”
OTTO | guitar: “Indulgence. Angus and I basically decided that we didn’t care for structure when we wrote it. As a rule, I’ll usually write to cater to a good live performance or to piss off a listener – which isn’t working despite my best efforts – so that explains all the twists and turns. But it wasn’t until Cam gave the song its subject matter that it properly worked. I think the juxtaposition of quiet and loud and big indie chords vs hard hitting riffs worked well to audibly represent the meaning of the song. PS We know we spelled ‘Hyde’ wrong … it’s called artistic license.”
ANGUS | drums: “This tune kind of snuck up on us and turned out to be a bit of banger. It was one of those nice ones where each section fell into the other as we were writing it. Cam is almost always the last one to put his stamp on a track within our writing process and his vocals and lyrics in this one really makes it what it is. The undulating power and erratic structure are accentuated with the message he’s putting across, simultaneously telling the story both lyrically and musically. To all those guys who think it is at all acceptable to treat anyone, particularly women, with anything less than the utmost respect and compassion, this one is almost certainly for you. Please take it and shove it right up your arse.”
THE BAND’S RELECTIONS ON PEPSI NOGGINS:
CAM | vocals: “A Pepsi-Noggin is a term we have derived for someone that gets a bit too mangled on a night out and makes themselves look like a bit of a silly sausage. Again, inspired by nights out in various places, the song follows a lad who gets up to antics on a night out. This could be trying to pull a girl and failing miserably, causing fights or being an arrogant knob. Then comes the anxiety over the next few days / weeks / months as people were there to witness this, and people like talking. We’ve all been on the giving and receiving end of this.”
OTTO | guitar: “The O fucking G mate. With a name like Pepsi Noggins, it was always destined to be a banger. I favour this one as my playing style differs slightly to what I usually play, requiring a nice old loosey goosey right hand and I love it for that. I’ve heard that this is a fan favourite at gigs because it’s just three and half minutes of being continuously punched in the head, and I’m not talking mosh pits.”
ANGUS | drums: “This one gets us all revved up and gets a crowd bouncing if they weren’t already. Unlike MTBM I feel like you sort of know what’s coming, but that’s OK, just make sure you’re ready. This could be the soundtrack for anyone’s night out, but … Please. Just. Don’t. Be. A. Pepsi Noggin. It’s not big or clever. Moderation is key.”
The EP coincides with the band’s biggest headline show to date at the NOTHING BUT NOISE one day festival at LEEDS BELGRAVE MUSIC HALL on 21 MAY 2022, which also includes – in alphabetical order: Allora, Dim Imagery, Flat Moon, Helle, Household Dogs and Infinite Corners.
Sat 21 LEEDS Nothing But Noise Festival @ Belgrave Music Hall
Tue 24 LIVERPOOL Jacaranda
Sat 28 NEWCASTLE Little Buildings
JUNE
Mon 06 NOTTINGHAM Bodega
Thu 09 MANCHESTER 33 Oldham Street
Thu 16 LONDON Off The Cuff
Prior to the onset of Covid-19, FUDGE. had geared up for a busy 2020 by gigging with the likes of Strange Bones and Kid Kapichi, alongside countless sold-out headline shows. Their 2019 festival schedule, which saw them play Leeds and Reading and Bingley Weekender, was set to be enhanced with further festival appearances at Live at Leeds and The Great Escape, while their previous releases received huge critical acclaim and were showcased on BBC Introducing, BBC 6 Music and many more. Post-Covid, FUDGE. have again supported Kid Kapichi as well as up-and-coming animals Snayx and, with further dates and festivals to be announced, 2022 is set to be a killer comeback year for the band.
This is the second release from Su, I Think – the first being ‘pipedream’ (read our review) – and, boy, is this something wonderful.
Putting this song into some sort of niche is, to say the least, difficult. On the one hand it’s sort of a pop electronica ballad, but on the other it has echoes of early 70s’ West Coast, and on the other it’s rather pastoral in an English sense. I hope you can sense my difficulty here.
Perhaps, or not, it may help if I list the things it reminds of me – in passing, if you see what I mean. Firstly it has something of an early electro-pop feel. Then there’s this nagging Pink Floyd thing that keeps floating across my mind; it’s the guitar, it’s a bit ‘Echoes’ like. And there are, heavily abstracted, hints of the blues. It also, for reasons I can’t quite put my finger on, whispers art-rock at me.
So you see it’s not niche-able music. But I love music that can’t be put into a niche, that isn’t jumping onto a bandwagon, that brings together things you wouldn’t expect.
The whole, and this is the important thing, is evocative and emotional. It’s beautifully and unexpectedly put together. Sounds float in the mix. The drums and guitar take centre stage, the vocals sit behind them but without losing impact. It’s a pared down and sparse sound.
Su explains what the song is about “‘Time’ is a track written about realising your worth in a relationship and knowing that no matter how hard you try, the other party will just not change. It is about confronting your own worst fears and accepting you have to move on. It’s about being bitter and putting yourself first in order to feel content. It’s endless self love; with a bratty twist.
‘I wanted to write about this situation from a different perspective, focusing in on the
desperate side of wanting more for yourself; yet not knowing how to leave and move on to better things’.
Reflecting this the song spirals around itself, the vocals are, let’s say, bitterly introspective. There’s a sense of pain and, yes, desperation.
This is something timeless, something beautiful and precious, something to be treasured.
The info
Su says ‘The music video is a co-directed project with film-maker Charles Maddocks, who worked closely with me to enforce a vision that we both saw was fitting for this track. The video is a picturesque dance video with smooth movements throughout the edit. We shot the video in a canal in Essex and just went nuts. Charles has such an eye for cinematography and it was a blessing to work with him. We wanted a humorous take on the feeling of being one with something but completely apart at the same time. This is what happens when you don’t take charge of your own wellness. You ignore your self worth and eventually fall in on yourself; thus eventually find yourself bitter and loathing. Co-directing the visual was so essential for me as it allowed another narrative to sit amongst the track itself’.
The second release from the mysterious Dojo Explosjo is a dose of groovy electro-indie that is built for dancing.
The feel here is loose and bouncy with pulsing synths and choppy guitar. Bonus points from me on the spacy sci-fi feel and a tune that bores its way into your head and sticks. This is already all kinds of good but there’s more. It also comes with a retro feel – hints of Marc Bolan float somewhere in the mix. Not to mention the touch of reggae. The result is something that you’d hear on the soundtrack of a late 60s’ groovy sci-fi movie. It’s far out.
The band say ‘this song came about from a sense of the world emerging from the shitstorm of COVID-19, only to be thrown into the jaws of conflict. Combining imagery of strategic reconnaissance aircraft (“four and 20 blackbirds”) with the emotional detachment of drone warfare (“the view it looks a little more seducing from a UAV”), this song is a lament to a general loss of global cohesion’.
You know that sometimes good comes from the bad, well in this case something fab has come from the awful. Fuck it, let’s get down and groove.
The info
Dojo Explosjo are:
Nugsy – vocals and guitars
Pol – keyboards and samples
T-Man – drums and grooves
I have a thing about songs that are kind of gentle, lyrically rambling although they tell a story, wry and witty. ‘Party’ is one of those. It tells the story of DIY indie gigs in Wakefield; although it’s obviously applicable to the same sort of scene anywhere else, or even any time period.
Musically it’s this most fabulous mix of DIY and sophistication; with kind of retro sounding synths and these string bits that pop up now again. Over this Emily sings in a conversational way. There are references that place it in Wakefield; mentions of The Cribs and Georgia (from The State of Georgia/The Research).
And like all the best songs it has a personal slant mentioning Jamie’s (of mi mye) brother and his sister-in-law Judith who were at one of those ridiculously quiet gigs that somehow everyone talks about for years after, and a party where Jamie was trying to convince Emily (of mi mye) to go out with him.
It may sound simple but it has an emotional strength that comes from the truth of the stories that is unexpected. In this way – and forgive me for reminiscing here – that reminds me of a certain period of the Peel Show; when people were making intensely personal songs that were, and please forgive me for this, sweet and endearing.
But on another level you could describe this as modern folk; it puts history – both of a place at a certain time and the personal – into a musical form. It’s a way of passing that down to forthcoming generations; it’s oral history.
This is going to charm you, it’ll make you smile and it may remind you of times in your life or places you’ve lived in. It’s simply a musical joy, a lovely lovely thing.
The music on this EP by audio visual artist and performer Ruby Tingle is inspired by Warrington Museum and Art Gallery‘s collection of amphibians and reptiles after 3 years of working closely with them on Lagoons the exhibition. The exhibition opens to the public on 7th April.
Opening track ‘Flood’ explores the romance of dancing alone at night in an imagined wetlands, whilst desiring connection with someone else. The sound is ethereal, intricate and complex. Layers of sounds and vocals that weave around each other. Yet at the same time, and fitting the topic of the song, it has a dance feel; a dance feel that’s timeless, evoking both now and the past. It’s compelling and loaded with emotions.
‘Glasshouse’ is dreamy. The sounds of frogs dart in and out of the mix. The vocals drift from whispers to strident in a seemingly, but hugely effective, way. It’s totally mesmerising. It’s a track to submerge yourself in.
The next song – ‘Coil’ – snakes sinuously and seductively. The sound is seemingly more straight forward but listen closer for the sound is deeper and more layered. ‘Subkingdom’ starts sounding spiky. But this is a track that keeps changing mood. The vocal has a theatrical feel. Indeed you can imagine this as the soundtrack to a performance piece.
Closing track ‘Lagoons’ starts with the most striking vocals, layered vocals. It’s dark, moody and faintly sinister. Off-kilter sounds jar you while Ruby’s vocals are disconcertingly smooth. It’s unsettling.
Listening to the songs as a whole I get hints of later period Kate Bush both musically and vocally. But, and this is important, Ruby has both a musical approach and sound, and vocal sound that is very much her own. There is very much a ‘performance feel’ to her sound.
Summing up this music is hard. On the one hand you could describe this as electronica, complex electronica with carefully layered sounds; that’s ethereal, dreamy, atmospheric and highly evocative. And on the other you could describe it as visual music; music that paints a picture. This wouldn’t be surprising as it’s music that is inspired by objects, and accompanies an exhibition. The fuller answer, to be honest, is that it’s both. I suspect that you might get more from these tracks seeing the exhibition it accompanies. However it stands alone because it’s so visual in nature – and obviously that’s how I’m approaching my review.
This is beautifully complex music that takes you into each track’s world. It draws you in, sets a mood and evokes an emotional response. It’s electronica with soul. The songs on this EP have gently crept into my head and soul, and now I can’t go without them.
The info
Ruby Tingle is an award-winning multidisciplinary artist working with progressive electronica in Manchester, represented by No Such Thing Records and PAPER Gallery Manchester. She exhibits and performs regularly across the UK and Europe, including Saatchi Gallery, Manchester Art Gallery, 48 Hours Neukolln, Axel Orbinger Berlin, Art Basel, HOME, sluice___ and Chethams Library. She is also one half of cinematic bass act Dirty Freud with whom she performed and headlined stages at Glastonbury 2019, and recently released EP ‘Love in the Backwater’ with Modern Sky.
Recent commissions include new compositional work for Lancashire Encounter and upcoming collaborative performances for British Art Show 2022. She has been awarded 2022’s Manchester Jazz Festival Originals Commission and will also exhibit at the Whitaker Gallery in 2023.
Tramlines, Sheffield’s biggest music festival, has announced the opening of this year’s ‘Apply to Play’. The scheme offers a number of paid performance slots to emerging and undiscovered bands and artists from across the UK. Those wishing to play at the 2022 edition of Tramlines can apply via the website at. https://tramlines.org.uk/apply-to-play-now-live/
Taking place at Hillsborough Park from Friday 22nd – Sunday 24th July, Apply To Play is an annual call out. With slots available to play across a variety of stages, Tramlines Festival continues year on year to support and create opportunities for grass root music talent.
With no genre or set-up out of the question, Apply To Play is open to anyone who believes they have what it takes to entertain the music-loving crowd at Tramlines.
Tramlines Operations Director Timm Cleasby said “Discovering new artists has always been at the heart of Tramlines. Walking round the festival and hearing a new sound that just grabs you like when I first heard the angelic voices, Before Breakfast in 2019 is fantastic. It’s great to see August Charles who played through Apply To Play in 2021, booked for this year. We love championing new bands and I can’t wait to find my new favourite artist for 2022.”
Winners are selected by a panel of industry experts, tastemakers and the Tramlines team, and successful applicants will also receive a performance fee.
Winners this year will join a line up including Sam Fender, Kasabian, Madness, The Wombats, James, Declan McKenna, The Vaccines, Sigrid, Becky Hill, Kelis, Alfie Templeman, Jade Bird, Self Esteem and many more.
The deadline for applications is 14th April (direct link to application form, here) and the winners will be notified by 27th May. With the scheme receiving so many amazing entries, unfortunately organisers are unable to respond to each applicant individually.
Notable bands discovered via Apply To Play in past years include Blossoms who later were nominated for a Mercury Music Prize in 2017, showing what an important, career-launching platform this can be.
More recently, 2021 Apply To Play winners included August Charles who this year has gone on to receive an official booking by Tramlines to play the T’Other Stage (Stage 2).
And singer-songwriter Rumbi Tauro – also the winner of the ‘Pattern & Push’ vocalist competition endorsed and supported by Toddla T and rapper Coco – who got to meet MOBO Award winner, Mahalia. On the experience, Rumbi said “Being a part of Tramlines was honestly an incredible experience. I got a chance to network with other artists/bands throughout the day, a BBC Radio Sheffield Live interview and a chance to see the logistics of what it’s like performing at a festival. Meeting Mahalia after her set was incredible. She took the time to share some words of wisdom and encouragement that truly inspired me. I really recommend applying because opportunities like ‘Apply to Play’ can open so many doors and give you a real chance to build relationships with industry people.”
Before I get into the review, I’ve had one particular question about Matilda Shakes and that’s their name. I wonder who Matilda is and why is she shaking? Perhaps she’s shaking to the band because that’s what their music is for. Anyway, just a thing I had on my mind.
Matilda Shakes make heavy weight music; this is unashamedly rock. Rock made for getting loose and wild. They are also not afraid of dipping into the past; into the time when foot stomping rock was the thing.
This song has the feel of that heavy glam; the crossover point of 70s’ heavy rock and glam. We have muscular guitars, organ, a slightly blues feel, dramatic drop-outs to lead vocals. But weirdly it also reminds me of Hanoi Rocks, just a tiny bit.
I really didn’t want to detain you any longer, because the thing is this is something you need to hear. Hear it once and you’ll be hooked.
‘Up All Night’ is party music, it’s the soundtrack to you and your gang of mates out for a good time. A time when things may happen that are never spoken of again, a time when the lines of good behaviour are crossed. Get down and get loose people.
It’s been ages since I last reviewed a Green Gardens track. In fact it was back in 2018; a fact I find rather shocking, time does fly. You’d expect a band to progress over time, and in fact so different to the Green Gardens I last reviewed is ‘Chosen For More’ that I had to actually check it was the same band – I like to be accurate about these things. So I was expecting some rather wonderfully perfect pop.
But my expectations were shattered – in a really really good way – this wasn’t the Green Gardens of 2018. What hasn’t changed is that I’d expect a Green Gardens song to be classy and, well, just simply wonderful and I’ve not been let down. This is both classy and wonderful.
The sound is electrically shimmery; and I mean shimmery not dreamy. It’s built on off-kilter rhythms and a delicious piano. And yes, it’s pop in a way, but pop with that extra bit extra. That extra is bursts of fuzzy and some frankly way out there, guitar. If you wanted to describe it as a rock song I wouldn’t argue, but for me it’s infused with what I can only call pop sensibility – it has a gorgeous tune. It kind of reminds me of a cross between Bowie, The Associates and Radiohead.
The playing, the arrangement, the vocals and the words are just simply glorious. But more importantly the vocal, the music, are there to convey emotion. This is the sound of a tortured soul. It is, and I don’t apologise for this, a big tortured emotional ballad. Look, every note of this song is going to tear at your heart and soul. You may cry a little; I did, and I’m not ashamed to admit it.
This is perfect, there’s not a thing I’d criticise or change. This is achingly beautiful.
The single is being released by Come Play With Me/Elephant Arch Records and the other A side is Oh Papa’s ‘That So’. Get it on some lovely colourful eco-mix vinyl.here: https://cpwm.awesomedistro.com/products/721192-cpwm020-green-gardens-oh-papa
