Shakespears Sister have announced their official reunion as a band, twenty-six years after they originally disbanded.
Shakespears Sister released a Singles Collection, Singles Party back in July. The album features two new tracks ‘All The Queen’s Horses’ and ‘C U Next Tuesday’, as well as classic hits from the duo’s back catalogue. They embark on the Shakespears Sister Ride Again tour this October and November playing an extensive run of UK shows, including a night at The London Palladium. Full tour dates are listed below. Tickets available at https://www.aegpresents.co.uk/events/detail/shakespears-sister.
UK tour dates:
31/10/19 – Royal Concert Hall – Nottingham
01/11/19 – New Theatre – Oxford
02/11/19 – Empire – Liverpool
04/11/19 – City Hall – Sheffield
05/11/19 – Palladium – London
08/11/19 – Royal Concert Hall – Glasgow
09/11/19 – The Sage – Gateshead
11/11/19 – Bridgewater Hall – Manchester
13/11/19 – Pavilion Theatre – Bournemouth
14/11/19 – The Forum – Bath
15/11/19 – Regent Theatre – Ipswich
17/11/19 – Cliffs Pavilion – Southend
19/11/19 – Symphony Hall – Birmingham
20/11/19 – Dome Concert Hall – Brighton
Speaking about the reunion, Siobhan and Marcy said:
Siobhan: “Neither of us wanted to go into it if there was anything apart from friendship and unity. We did not want a repeat of 1992. Life’s too short. So I think we just explored it slowly. I realised what a perfect writing partner she is for me…there’s some sort of weird fusion of energies that feels fated. It’s like this third entity exists that is neither me nor her, it’s the two of us”
Marcy: “There was no stopping this. It was like this snowball that just kept on gathering more and more speed. I think we’ve come to a point where we respect and understand each other more than we ever could have back then. That’s the simplest way to put it. We’ve come to a mutual understanding of and respect for who each other are. It’s just about acceptance – acceptance of who we both are, for each other and to each other”
As well as the new tracks ‘All The Queen’s Horses’ and ‘C U Next Tuesday’, Singles Party is made up of classic Shakespears Sister singles, including ‘Stay’, ‘You’re History’, ‘Hello (Turn Your Radio On)’, and ‘I Don’t Care’. The deluxe version of the album features another unreleased track ‘Cat Worship’ and remixes of ‘You’re History’ and ‘You Made Me Come To This’ remixed by Catz ‘n Dogz and HMD Pulsatron respectively.
Shakespears Sister’s debut album, 1989’s Sacred Heart was a top ten record and spawned the band’s first hit single, ‘You’re History’, which also went top ten. Even greater success followed with a second album, Hormonally Yours, in 1992; amongst its hit singles ‘I Don’t Care’, ‘Hello (Turn Your Radio On)’ and ‘Stay’, which remained at number one for eight weeks. The triumphs and accolades piled up: over a million albums sold, a Brit award for best video for ‘Stay’ and an Ivor Novello award for Outstanding Collection of Songs for the band’s second album, 1992’s Hormonally Yours. The pair went onto headline the Pyramid stage at Glastonbury in 1992 and supported Prince at Celtic Park at Prince’s personal request.
The Futureheads, who have just finished a successful tour of the UK, are thrilled to confirm a December UK tour that will kick off at the Electric Ballroom, London on the 6th. The tour celebrates 15 years of The Futureheads and will see the band playing their debut album in full alongside new and old favourites.
The Futureheads released their sixth studio album and their first electric guitar release in almost a decade, ‘Powers’ on 30th August. Recorded and self-produced at Newcastle’s First Avenue Studio, ‘Powers’ is a record that looks “at the balance of power in a personal, political and relational sense” and puts it to some of the most vital, invigorated material the band have made since their first steps.
Lead single ‘Jekyll’ received its first radio play on 1st May from 6Music’s Steve Lamacq and has since been supported by Marc Riley, who has also had them in session this month, and Shaun Keaveny, who made it his single of the week. It has been played by Radio X’s John Kennedy who made it his X-Posure show’s ‘Hot One’, and when Felix White sat in for him, he interviewed the band.
Having first emerged at the start of the ’00s amidst a burgeoning swarm of guitar bands, the Sunderland quartet, with their proud regional accents and spiky, playful sensibilities, stuck out from the off. Over the following decade The Futureheads – comprised of vocalists and guitarists Barry Hyde and Ross Millard, vocalist and bassist David ‘Jaff’ Craig and vocalist and drummer Dave Hyde – amassed five critically-acclaimed albums, headlined countless tours and earned an NME Single of the Year accolade for their iconic cover of Kate Bush’s ‘Hounds of Love’.
Returning with ‘Powers’, the band’s aim is one of forward motion not nostalgia; though the quartet could probably rely on the successes of old to push them through the next couple of festival seasons, that isn’t – and hasn’t ever – been the point. “Obviously it’s an absolute privilege to come back and still have fans and that’s something to cherish,” Ross says, “but I also think we’ve got a bit of a job to do about letting people know that there’s more to this band than you might have thought.”
It’s a risky statement, but one that’s confirmed immediately once you press play. Across the album, the band push further, melodically and lyrically, than ever before; there’s no safety net here, but a band putting everything out there and driving it to the wire again. “I love the thing Bowie said about how an artist should be slightly out of their depth because that’s when you get the good stuff,” Barry affirms. “Or as David Lynch says, ‘If you want to catch the big fish, you’ve got to go deep.’”
The frantic rattle of ‘Headcase’ and its emotional flipside ‘Animus’ – one rooted in mania, the other depression – find the singer dredging down to the problems that put a stopper on the band in the first place. “My main thing was about accepting how my mind works and then trying to love that. The danger of mental illness is becoming trapped in something like depression; you can’t stay manic for too long, you end up sectioned or probably dead because you become so uncaring about your own safety,” he explains. “I’m not a victim of my own mind anymore; I take responsibility for my mind and my actions, and those two songs speak to that.” Conversely, the elegiac ‘7 Hours, 4 Minutes’ is a love song to his partner and young daughter that’s more literal and sentimental than anything they’ve ever penned: “We had a home birth, she had a paracetamol and that was it. At midnight her waters broke, and then Nico my daughter came at four minutes past seven. That song’s a little monument to my first born.”
The album’s propulsive, scattershot lead single ‘Jekyll’ comes laden with a self-professed “monstrous riff for monstrous, preposterous times”, but it’s perhaps the stream-of-consciousness, spoken word diatribe of ‘Across the Border’ that lands the biggest hammer-blow in terms of unapologetic, outraged social commentary. “As a band, we were always interested in personal politics and behaviour, but we never spoke about the state of the nation or big picture politics,” Ross begins, “but in the meantime the world’s changed so much and there are things to really kick against. We live in a region that’s somehow or other been tagged as the poster boy for Brexit, and the misinformation and aggression that this referendum has brought out in people has become a really terrifying thing that I haven’t seen in my lifetime. It’s a defining moment in British politics that’s impossible to ignore if you’re making art.”
Elsewhere across the record, the quartet veer from the wonky stomp of ‘Listen Little Man’ – named after a book by controversial therapist Wilhelm Reich – to the hedonistic white flag of ‘Good Night Out’ via countless other, typically atypical topics. Cumulatively, it’s a record that kicks harder and more intensely than you might have ever understandably predicted. “The record we’ve made is a little off kilter and maybe a little more out of step than you might expect from four lads in their 30s. I think it might surprise people,” smiles Ross.
But if you were ever a fan of The Futureheads, or – just as importantly – if you were never a fan of The Futureheads, you should get the same thing from ‘Powers’: a record that sounds invigorated, with something important to say and an idiosyncratic, exciting way of saying it, made by four people here for all the right reasons. “There’s power and sophistication and simplicity, and it’s bloody hard to play, which I think will keep the shows interesting because we’re on the edge of our abilities with this,” grins Barry. “It’s musical audacity: that’s what this album’s about.”
DECEMBER UK TOUR
6th Dec – Electric Ballroom – London
7th Dec – O2 Institute – Birmingham
8th Dec – Beckett University – Leeds
13th Dec – Northumbria Uni – Newcastle
14th Dec – QMU – Glasgow
15th Dec – O2 Ritz – Manchester
London-based label DIRTY HIT have announced their second UK tour, showcasing some of the label’s best and brightest talents for twenty dates across the UK. Kicking off in Cambridge in November, the tour will feature BEABADOOBEE, NO ROME and OSCAR LANG. Tickets are on sale now from: www.dirtyhit.co.uk
BEABADOOBEE
BEABADOOBEE recently released the video for her latest single, I WISH I WAS STEPHEN MALKMUS, whilst on a 30-date USA tour with Clairo. She also recently played her first ever international headline show, a sold-out night at the Chelsea Music Hall in New York in September.
Born in the Philippines and raised in London, Bea Kristi began recording music as BEABADOOBEE in 2017. At just 19 years old, she has built a huge, dedicated Gen-Z fan base with her flawless output of confessional bedroom pop songs and DIY aesthetic. Her first track, COFFEE, gathered hundreds of thousands of streams in a matter of days through a fan-loaded video. Since then, her songs have amassed millions of streams between her own self-released recordings and her first two full EPs, PATCHED UP and LOVEWORM, both released by Dirty Hit, whilst receiving press support from Vogue, Dazed, The Fader, i-D, Time Out, New Yorker and The Guardian amongst others.
NO ROME
NO ROME recently released the video for his latest single, TALK NICE, the follow up to his critically acclaimed CRYING IN THE PRETTIEST PLACES EP, which saw him amass a staggering 100 million streams globally.
The immaculately self-produced TALK NICE is a firm statement of intent from the 22-year-old Filipino artist. NO ROME confidently manages to distil a hugely eclectic range of influences, from production genius J Dilla to shoegaze bands such as My Bloody Valentine and Slowdive to irresistible pop melodies – cleverly juxtaposing high end, contemporary pop production with a raw guitar sound. Having recently played to several thousand people in his hometown of Manila and support flooding in from the likes of The Guardian, NME and The Fader to name just a few, NO ROME is firmly establishing himself as one of the most exciting, talented new breed of pop stars.
OSCAR LANG
18-year-old Londoner OSCAR LANG recently released his self-produced BOPS ETC EP, his first music of 2019 and his debut release with Dirty Hit.
Having already worked on a string of acclaimed releases from friends and fellow up-and-comers including label mate Beabadoobee and Norway’s talented Girl in Red, OSCAR LANG is carving out a reputation as the songwriter and producer pushing bedroom pop to exciting new heights: a budding Brian Wilson for Gen-Z. His self-released 2018 records TEENAGE HURT and SILK set the tone for his solo work – spanning lilting psych hooks to dreamy washes of guitar to punchy millennial lyricism; drawing in hundreds of thousands of listeners in the process.
Sun 01 EXETER Cavern
Mon 02 PLYMOUTH Junction
Tue 03 BOURNEMOUTH Anvil
Thu 05 CARDIFF Globe
Fri 06 BRISTOL Louisiana
Sat 07 BIRMINGHAM Castle and Falcon
Mon 09 OXFORD Bullingdon
Tue 10 NOTTINGHAM Bodega Social Club
Wed 11 STOKE Sugarmill
Thu 12 LIVERPOOL Arts Club
Sat 14 SHEFFIELD Leadmill
Sun 15 LEEDS Key Club
Mon 16 NEWCASTLE Think Tank
Tue 17 GLASGOW King Tuts
Wed 18 MANCHESTER Deaf Institute
Fri 20 LONDON Dome
Indie-pop trio Flawes announce their debut album ‘Highlights’ – out on January 31. The announcement comes as the band release their new single, ‘Ghost Town’ featuring the critically acclaimed singer ROZES, on October 14, followed by their headline London show on October 15. The band will also play in their hometown of Huddersfield on October 18, before embarking on a European tour with US pop high-flyers AJR.
It’s been an exciting 3 years for the London based band, having bolted before there was even a block to do so from, they were picked up by Radio 1 before ever having performed live. After the two years of incessant touring that followed (including shows with Ella Eyre, Maximo Park Francis and the lights, Chloe Howl and Safia), the band took a step back, re calibrated, and crafted the sound that would go on to define them.
Their debut album ‘Highlights’ is the musical embodiment of this; the band’s sonic evolution over the years. The result is a collection of the very best of their bolder, sleeker and defiantly uplifting sound, tailor-made for both dancefloors and festival fields.
Speaking of the album, the band said: “Highlights’ represents the journey we’ve taken as a band over the last three years. Our sound has naturally evolved, and we couldn’t be happier with where it has ended up. These 12 songs are quite literally the highlights from the writing process.”
On the themes of the album, JC says: “the album features a series of open letters to myself as well as a few songs about love and heartbreak. I like to let the listener attach their own sentiment to the music, so a lot of the lyrics are fairly ambiguous.”
A prime example of this sentiment is Flawes’ brand new single ‘Ghost Town’, which has just been revealed.
“Ghost Town is about being stuck in a relationship where convenience has been put ahead of love in terms of importance. All the excitement, passion and friendship has expired and the relationship itself left resembling a Ghost Town.” says JC.
A duet with American singer/songwriter ROZES, ‘Ghost Town’ features a plethora of upbeat layers and textures that contradict yet compliment the lyrics’ somber theme, giving the track a great energy whilst still retaining its sincerity.
On working with ROZES the band said: “We finished the song originally with no feature on it and then felt it needed the other person’s perspective on the relationship too. As soon as we heard ROZES sing the second verse it made so much more sense and the song came alive! It was great working with her and on the music video shoot out in Philadelphia too. We can’t wait to perform it live with her one day!”
On working with Flawes, ROZES said: “Ghost town is such a haunting and emotional song. I’m so excited to be collaborating with Flawes on this because it is the perfect mix of raw & real with vulnerable & energetic. I had so much fun working with and hanging out with Flawes during the creation of this song and music video. They have so much talent and passion going into their work, and I can’t wait for the world to hear it”
‘Ghost Town’ will be released on 14th October, the day before Flawes are due to headline London’s The Grace as part of their hometown headline shows. The trio will also headline The Parish, Huddersfield on 18th October.
Flawes’ debut album ‘Highlights’ will release via Red Bull Records on 31st January 2020.
Headline Shows
15th October – Thousand Island, London
18th October – The Parish, Huddersfield
Live Dates supporting AJR:
03/12/19 – Warsaw, PO
04/12/19 – Berlin, DE
06/12/19 – Antwerp, BE
07/12/19 Paris, FR
08/12/19 – Amsterdam, NL
10/12/19 – London, UK
12/12/19 – Glasgow, UK
13/12/19 – Dublin, IE
14/12/19 – Manchester, UK
Another Friday night and another great line-up from 360 Club. I realise I’ve said that before, and will probably say it again, but they really do have some great line-ups. And it was a special night, Fudge. were launching their latest single – ‘Hugger-Mugger’ (read our review) – so the night came with that special Fudge. thing in the air.
Floodhounds
Opening the night Floodhounds played a blinder of a set. I am, to say the least, rather fond of the band but it’s been a while since the first time I saw them live. The first thing I notice is that the band’s music is way more bluesy and garage-y, that indie element of their music seems to be taking more of a backseat (this may just be me, given it’s over a year since I saw them play but that’s what’s happening to their recorded material as well).
The second is that, and while this isn’t really news to me, but I really noticed it this time, all three of the band individually are really fantastic musicians – Jack’s guitar playing is great, Lauren’s drumming is both powerful and clever, and Joel’s bass swings like hell. The thing is that while individually what they do is hugely impressive, together what they play is way more than the sum of their parts. It’s the sound of a band who really mesh together.
What they don’t do, and that blues element of what they do might allow them to do, is long solos (there’s a part of me that wishes Jack would, he really is a great guitarist) but this makes their songs short and exciting, and way danceable. There’s an energy in their songs which just makes you want to move.
I’m not going to pick favourites. I might say this but I am going to highlight a couple of tracks – ‘Going Home’ and the song they played after that one. These seemed much more alt-rock but still with that bluesy thing going on. This was very much a lovely thing.
Floodhounds play great music with a whole of influences in there, it’s really hard to shove them into a niche. It’s music that is really brilliantly played that if you’re so inclined you could just stand and listen to, or music that you may just want to throw yourself around to. They rock big time, go see them.
Havanas
Next up was the first of two bands that were new to me – Havanas. So what they do is kinda garage-y, punky rock. At the time I thought that the band might describe what they do as alternative rock. They do, I checked on their Facebook Page, although they say ‘combining elements of indie, punk and rock music to create their own alternative sound with raw vocals, hard hitting riffs’ and I can’t disagree with that. It’s all dirty dirty guitar and big big drums. It’s loud, bloody loud, and right in your face.
But as their set went on I started to notice things, things I really started to like – like clever drumming and intricate guitar lines – that really made me take notice. And further into their set the songs get more complex, and have tunes in that lovely lovely wonderful noise.
HavanasHavanasHavanasHavanasHavanas
It’s hard to do an-depth review on a band you’re seeing and hearing for the first time, you just get an overall impression, but Havanas are a band I want to see again, I was really impressed by their set. I suggest you do too.
Ghostwriters
Ghostwriters were new to me. Right here, right now, I’m going to say that at first I wasn’t all that sure about them but as their set went on I began to find them rather compelling. What they do kinda combines rap, punk, hints of metal and hints of post-punk. In fact my first impressions notes say ‘it is strangely almost Gothy doomy start to their set’.
If Ghostwriters are new to you, and you’re asking ‘so who do they sound like Frank?’ I have not the slightest idea how to answer that question. There’s nobody I can say ‘well they kinda sound like XXX crossed with YYY’, all I can do is refer you to my opening paragraph and say ‘it’s nothing like the unholy mess it might sound like it is, it’s actually rather brilliant’. The thing that links it all together, at least for me, is the lead guitar. This makes all those sonic elements hang together. Oh, that and the fact that’s a lovely noisy thing that Ghostwriters do.
This is a band that I want to see again. Having got past that first seeing of the band, and getting what they do, I want to see them again so that I can focus in on what they do in detail.
Fudge.
And so to Fudge. During the proceeding bands Fudge. fans had started to gather over by the merch stall. There was a lot of hugging and friendly greetings. Having seen Fudge. A couple of times, I saw a lot of people I’d seen before. The band hung out over by that stall and chatted to people. There was an atmosphere of community building as the night went on. But there was also an increasing air of anticipation in the room, a building excitement, an excitement you could feel.
By the time the band started to get their stuff sorted, that anticipation, that buzz was at a peak. Their set started with the band minus Cam – it starts almost unexpectedly – and then Cam made his way to the stage from the back of the room (there had been a conversation between me and some people I know who were at the gig as to where Cam would appear from and how).
And then that lovely chaos of a Fudge. gig started. There is moshing right from the start, the crowd go from nothing to full on instantly. The music the band are playing is at full throttle right from the start, as is usual they hold nothing back. Cam plunges into the crowd, his crowd, a crowd he is part of, and moshs like crazy. He is embraced and embraces various people in the crowd from the stage. People stage dive, with Cam acting as a kind of safety marshal, he seems to spot when it’s safe to dive and tells the person to ‘go now’ with a push.
The new single is greeted by what I can only describe as fucking frenzy – I thought it would be like this when I reviewed it, and I was right.
There is wildness, there are people on other people’s shoulders. But as I’ve said before, it feels safe. I was even able to venture into the crowd right at the front to take pictures knowing that Fudge. fans take care of each other and other people at the gig.
You might be saying ‘But what of the music Frank, you’ve just concentrated on what the gig was like to experience?’ And I have because that’s important, it’s part of going to see Fudge. play. Fudge. live play brilliantly. The chaos of a gig might give them an excuse to be looser but they don’t. Otto’s guitar is great, Angus’s drumming is the thing that makes it all hang together and Josh’s bass provides that foundation. They are tight, way tight. Their songs are wonderfully put together and have great words.. Without that great playing the gigs wouldn’t be as intense, as compelling as they are.
They end with ‘Not A Threat, Just A Warning’ to frenzy in the crowd again, and that is it. They leave us, they leave us sated, having had our fix of Fudge. We can go away happy, having done that thing that a Fudge. gig provokes, people just talk to each other, that sense of community doesn’t end the moment the band’s set ends.
Look, and I’ve said this before, if you haven’t seen Fudge. you need to. The music is fucking fantastic and the experience, that shared experience is addictive.
As part of The Civic’s #OurNorth, a season long programme of exhibitions, pop-up events and community action celebrating the culture and creativity of the North, four Northern songwriters, each at different stages of their career perform a collection of contemporary folk songs, inspired by life, love, loss and laughs in the North.
In the style of the traditional songwriters’ circle, each performer will take turns to introduce their songs and explain the story behind each.
Song for the North will feature performances from Louise Distras, Scott Doonican, Serious Sam Barrett and introducing Tom Jackson.
Tickets for Song for the North are £10 and can be booked via www.barnsleycivic.co.uk or by calling 01226 327000.
Louise Distras is an alternative singer/songwriter from Wakefield. Tipped as the voice of punk’s new generation, Louise plays a socially conscious and insightful brand of punk descended from The Clash bloodline. Having already performed at Glastonbury and supporting the likes of Billy Bragg, Rancid and Buzzcocks, The Guardian said that Louise is “Putting punk and protest back into the mainstream”.
Scott Doonican
Scott Doonican’s band The Bar-Steward Sons of Val Doonican have gained a reputation of being a music festival highlight. By the time this show comes around, the self-proclaimed ‘hardest working comedy-folk band in the UK’ will have already performed their 1000th show. They play parodies of famous songs, with lyrics about their beloved home-town, a world of life’s frustrations, pasty shops, over privileged pop stars, and everything else in-between. The band have collaborated with the likes of Eliza Carthy, Saxon’s Graham Oliver and The Levellers and were invited by Folk legends Fairport Convention, to perform last year at their annual Cropredy Convention festival in front of 20,000 people. Other festival appearances have included Glastonbury, Rebellion and Beautiful Days.
Serious Sam Barrett
Serious Sam Barrett spent his childhood in Barnsley and grew up on a diet of Barnsley Folk Club regulars, such as Dave Burland. Now based in Leeds, the skateboarding, banjo wielding musician’s songs rattle with the ghosts of Appalachian folk, southern blues, traditional English folk and Yorkshire DIY Punk. While reinterpreting traditional songs, Sam also writes confessional contemporary folk songs inspired by life in and around the skate-parks of Leeds.
Tom Jackson
Tom Jackson is a young Barnsley based singer songwriter, whose roots lay in his former punk band Taxi For Bob. Tom’s songs talk of politics and love of his home town and in their raw unplugged state, have a fine balance of cynicism and hope. South of March described his music as Billy Bragg infused with Green Day.
Fudge., you fucking beauties. This is a riot, a joyous riot. A riot that just makes you want to lose your shit in all sorts of inappropriate ways.
Look before I go on, some of you may be wondering what in the hell the title of Fudge.’s third single means, if indeed it means anything you may be asking. It does, it means confused or disorderly. Interestingly it also means in secret or in a clandestine manner. Fudge. very definitely mean us to take this as the former of these meanings. It’s up to you if decide to read the song in any other way taking the second of these meanings.
OK so we’re up to speed here? Lesson over, back to the music. It’s kinda punky, even kinda metally in places but it’s Cam’s vocals, with their usual swagger, that make it bloody dangerous. It has attitude, huge amounts of attitude. It explodes into yours ears and doesn’t let up. It encourages bad behaviour in a glorious way.
So let’s hear what the band have to say about this song:
CAM – vocals: “I wrote this song about Otto because he was pissing me off at the time.”
OTTO – guitar: “Our last tune, Not A Threat Just a Warning, was serious and it served a purpose. This tune is a tune to drive to and get hyped to; it serves no further purpose than to get you going.”
JOSH – bass: “It’s a soundtrack to mosh to and escape from your mundane real world the next time you come see us live, if you’ve got the minerals.”
ANGUS – drums: “Search the definition of hugger-mugger on Google; that’s pretty much it.”
You get that.
The chaos this song is going to bring live, I can only imagine. Utter chaos and frenzy. Messy to the extreme. Beautiful madness. I can’t wait for that.
Fudge.’s releases just get better and better. This single is just a part of their unstoppable journey to wherever they want to get. It’s a statement of the band’s ability to produce music that is just so good, so compelling, music that goes straight to your soul. This song is going to get you up and fucking moshing in seconds.
If you’re not on the Fudge. kick, now is the time to get on it. Listen to this, and then go and see the experience that is Fudge. live. You won’t regret it.
It’s a while since I reviewed a release from The Seamonsters, much too long to be honest. With each release the band seem to be better and better. This is no exception.
It’s a punky/New Wave-y thing but there’s a twist – there’s always a twist with The Seamonsters – it has heaping spoonfuls of 60s’ pop. This is in the rather wonderful organ that runs through the track, and the fact that at times it goes all sort of psychedelic-pop. But it drives, it drive when it takes off into some harder.
It actually does that quiet/loud thing – although this, just in case you may have been thinking it, no alt-rock song. It’s all light and sultry one moment and the next it gets way punky. But what makes it hang together all so well, is the drumming – you’d expect that with The Seamonsters, the drums on their releases always impress me.
The other thing that makes it work so well is Naomi’s vocals, always a highlight, which change – one moment she’s kinda quiet and whispery, the next 60s’ pop and then she uses something that reminds me of Clare of Altered Images in the driving sections – you’ll have to listen hard there’s layers and layers of vocals but it’s there..
So that’s the musical side of the track, what of the words? The song explores digital culture, specifically social media, and the damage it causes. The words are well worth listening to. But even if you don’t take that time to hear the words this track is one huge joy.
Tempting as it is to say ‘damn The Seamonsters do it again, this is brilliant’ I feel I shouldn’t, that’s way too easy. This is music for the feet, it’s way danceable and I challenge you not to feel an irresistible urge to throw shapes to this, and it music for the ears – you can quite easily just sit and listen to it. Sorry can’t resist. Damn The Seamonsters do it again, this is brilliant, simply brilliant.
WHY?, the creative moniker for consummate wordsmith and beloved songwriter Yoni Wolf, have shared a cover of Silver Jews’ “We Are Real” in tribute to the late David Berman and World Mental Health Day.
Speaking about the cover, Yoni says, “I always looked up to David Berman. His songs and his poetry book had a huge impact on me in my early career. His death was a staggering blow. We were only distant acquaintances but he somehow felt like a long lost half big brother or estranged uncle. I was a wreck for several days after I heard the news, listening to and reading all his work. Then I decided to learn “We Are Real” as a way to console myself. It was quite an emotional experience but sure enough it helped a lot to just sing his words out loud.”
All proceeds from the cover will be going to AFSP (American Foundation for Suicide Prevention) and MusiCares- buy HERE
WHY? released their visual album AOKOHIO earlier this year via Joyful Noise Recordings. The album’s entire visual element stars Emmy-winning actress Tatiana Maslany (Orphan Black) and was directed by Sundance Dramatic Special Jury Award-winner Miles Joris-Peyrafitte and James Siewert. Stream or embed the video HERE.
Following the release of their new ablbum, and their Autumn US tour, WHY? will also begin a run of UK/EU headline tour dates this month, beginning on October 23 in Glasgow at Stereo and concluding on Nov 6 in Copenhagen, Denmark at Vega. Full dates are below…
Oct 23 – Stereo – Glasgow
Oct 24 – Band on the Wall – Manchester
Oct 25 – Belgrave Music Hall – Leeds
Oct 26 – Islington Assembly Hall – London
Oct 28 – Exchange – Bristol
Oct 30 – Patterns – Brighton
AOKOHIO’s themes of familial anxieties and nostalgia will be familiar to many, but few have attempted as clear-eyed and sincere a portrayal as Wolf has succeeded with here. Collaborators like Lala Lala’s Lillie West and both members of Sylvan Esso will no doubt come as welcome additions, both serving to bolster the unmistakable sound and vision on which WHY? has grown its legions of fans.
Coinciding with World Mental Health Day, The Association For Electronic Music (AFEM) has launched a mental health guide for people working in the electronic music industry. The guide aims to educate, provide practical support, and further destigmatise the subject of mental health.
“The Electronic Music Industry Guide To Mental Health” updates the 2016 Music Managers Forum Guide to Mental Health and has been produced alongside Help Musicians UK and Music Support. The guide covers key mental health issues that impact those working in the electronic music industry; anxiety, depression, alcohol, substance abuse / dependency, through to work/life imbalance and the importance of sleep.
The guide also contains a directory listing key contacts for those needing help, which AFEM will expand to cover all 25 countries in which it has members.
Those working in the electronic music industry at every level are often more susceptible to feelings of isolation and loneliness resulting from a high frequency of, travelling alone and performing throughout the night with little time to recover. In his IMS 2018 keynote Pete Tong highlighted the importance of the new guide; “In my 40 years of being around this world, I can’t think of a single person who has achieved success who hasn’t paid a personal price via health, relationships, divorce, broken homes, addiction, depression, and anxiety.”
The guide is published with mental health continuing to receive significant attention at music conferences worldwide. This year alone, Brighton Music Conference, International Music Summit in Ibiza, ILMC, Paris Electronic Week, and Amsterdam Dance Event dedicated discussion to the challenges faced and solutions available.
At this year’s International Music Summit & ARETÉ event in May, which featured Avicii’s father Klas Bergling, AFEM’s Tristan Hunt stated “the problem of mental health is complex and nuanced, and it is an issue to which those working in dance music are especially susceptible. It needs our undivided attention. At every level we all need to keep talking, acting and caring in order to further destigmatise the subject, save lives and create lives worth living. Always remember, regardless of whatever you do, however you feel, you are not alone.”
Tom Middleton Co-Chair AFEM Health Group / Mental Health Ambassador / Sleep Coach states “This guide represents a clear shift towards responsibility, accountability and duty of care within the industry, with expertly curated top-line actionable prevention and self-care advice, and signposting to professional mental health support”.
Tamsin Embleton, new AFEM Health Working Group co-chair and psychotherapist adds further “Working in the electronic music industry can be deeply rewarding but it is also competitive, fast-paced, unpredictable and hedonistic. Job insecurity, shame and demanding work schedules can act as barriers to individuals realising that they need help. I hope that this guide can support those working in the industry by helping them to identify signs and symptoms of when someone is struggling, so that they can better support themselves and those around them.”
“Everyone has mental health, and anyone can be affected by a mental health challenge. Hopefully this guide will show people that, whatever area of electronic music they work in, it’s okay to talk, information and help are available and there is a community to listen and support them.” Christine Brown Consultant – Communications, Health & Wellbeing
The guide can be viewed online and downloaded here. For mental health support in the UK call Help Musicians UK’s free Helpline on 0808 802 8008
