Ones to watch for 2006 part 8

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The Bridge Gang are another band from, no not Leeds, its the other one, London who are building up a reputation built on a fierce live show. As I've said before, a pretty girl is always a help and throw in a member who looks straight out of the Mars Volta and you've got the image nailed already. The name apparenlty comes from nowhere in particular and they come across friendly and sincere in interviews. The sound lies somewhere between Blondie and Nirvana, raw but with a distinct pop edge. Of the contemporary bands I'm hearing a Paddingtons sound and a little of the fun of the Cribs, especially in the sing-a-long of this particular track. Other tracks such as Pangs of Guilt have a stronger girl pop feel to them but this is a nice track to break you in.

The Bridge Gang - London Sky Tonight

Excellent myspace site as usual

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But now for an artist who gave me, easily, one of my top 10 tracks of 2005 and I hope excels in the coming year, Jamie T. This track has been on constant rotation since I finally got a copy a last month. It can be found on the excellent Selfish Sons 7" which has been put out and is superb. The sound is something around stripped down Libertines and a distinct flavour of reggae in the intonation of his voice. His myspace and all on it is testament to his growing support which I think will flourish in the new year. I have no idea why Radio 1 didn't put this onto a higher playlist as whenever Zane Lowe played it the audience loved it. If you only download one track from my page ever, although I think you'd be foolish to do so!, please make it this, you won't regret it and the tune won't leave your head for days to come.

Jamie T - Back in the Game (***I recommend this more than any other song in this page***)

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Ones to watch for 2006 part 7

Firstly, i'm glad to see that some of the tunes are getting a high number of download. I don't know if someone else has linked to them or not but its cool, if you are looking at the blog at all, please please leave a comment as they mean a lot.

Todays bands indulge in a sound that takes its influence a little differently than most of the bands I have posted. In particular VV and the Rumble Strips seem to take influence from Dexy's Midnight Runners, but don't let that put you off as I am no doubt way off the mark.

The Victorian English Gentlemen's Club may have a name that makes you want to turn away and run but give them a listen and you'll be glad. Interestingly, the three piece are two thirds not gentlemen but are indeed of the fairer sex and make distinctly un-victorian music (pretty girls in the band is always a nice bonus). The band have toured with other blog favourites, Guillemots and British Sea Power and the latter's excentricity is a good idea of what TVEGC are all about. They are signed to Fantastic Plasic and have a short support tour with the Roger Sisters coming up.

The Victorian English Gentlemen's Club - My Son Spells Backwards

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Don't know too much about Vincent Vincent and the Villains except that friends have said they were good live, have been going a little while, and this song remind me a lot Dexy's and Adam Ant stuff, different I know but give it a listen and see if you hear it. They are a London band, make a good sound and people are beginning to talk about them. Get in their early.

Vincent Vincent and the Villains - On My Own

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The Rumble Strips have recently signed to Transgressive Records, have just toured with the highly recommended Young Knives and have put out a few records including recent single Motorcycle which was very good. Although I missed their recent support slot in Edinburgh, this live recording makes me a like them a lot and people must surely agree with me that there is a strong influence of Dexy's Geno here? Give a listen and shoot me down.

The Rumble Strips - Hate Me (Live)

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Ones to watch for 2006 part 6

Two very different bands for you tonight. Another from Leeds and one from Scotland. Sadly this is the first Scottish band I have posted for you but I would like to put up many more, I just have to see some more good ones first, the Edinburgh scene in particular being highly uneventful at the moment.

My Latest Novel are our Scottish band. The recommended track below is the first thing I heard of this band and if it is the first thing you are hearing then you are in for treat. The band come under that unfortunate term of "twee" so often applied to Scottish indie (see also Belle and Sebastian, Aberfeldy, Camera Obscura) but this song is so beautiful it doesn't matter what label you give it. Having seen this band at both T in the Park and supporting the Pixies this summer I can whole heartedly recommend this band too. Live they come across a lot like Sons and Daughters with the girl/boy thing going on but on record they are an entirely more gentle affair.

My Latest Novel - Sister Sneaker Sister Soul (wma)

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The Sunshine Underground are our "Leeds band of the day" and are currently making quite an impression with Zane Lowe making them his hottest record in the world the other week. The band have a sound which, on this track, sounds a little like The Music or Kasabian which makes it all the more odd I like this track as I like neither of those bands much. New single Commercial Breakdown is also particularly good but this track is the one which got my attention and I think it may do the same with you.

The Sunshine Underground - Put You in Your Place

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Ones to watch for 2006 part 5

My Sad Captains are todays first band. They are unsigned and have played very few gigs but if Steve Lamacq can pick them out of all the demos he receives in a week, they must be something special. I first heard them discussed on Steve's music exchange with Nic Harcourt, get the Podcast on iTunes, its very useful for new bands. The band are from London but are far from the current scene, citing Sparkelhorse and Yo La Tengo as key influences. In this song you can clearly hear these but they have taken them and make them something quite special. They have a load more tunes over at their myspace, I highly recommend a visit.

My Sad Captains - All Hat and No Plans

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Secondly we have Duels (yes, ANOTHER Leeds band) who, similarly to White Rose Movement (see previous post) should really have done better this year and are being given a good chance by,along with WRM, going on tour on The Rakes now extended UK tour. Duels have been kicking around the Leeds scene for as long as anyone and I last saw them supporting the Cribs during the Summer. They came across well, better than other support act Black Wire, and certainly had the tunes and an engaging front man, who reminded me a lot of Dominic Masters from The Others. This tune is certainly my favourite of what they have put out there so far and I think has a distinctly Kaiser-esque sound to it - see what you think.

Duels - Potential Futures

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Ones to watch for 2006 part 4

Nothing surprising about having another band from Leeds in here again but there isn't much you can do to avoid the output of that city at the moment.

Firstly is iLiKETRAiNS(not sure what the story with the "i" is but its fine with me), our Leeds band of the day. Saw them supporting fellow Leeds band iForward, Russia! a fortnight ago and whilst I wasn't completley blown away by them there was a lot to like. On stage they play wearing military uniform and play in front a projector screen. The projector plays fairly irrelevant images, all antiquated and sepia tainted, until the last song, for the featured song, which features a game of chess. The song has a story but you'll have to go find it yourself. The sound is essentially a cross between Hope of the States and Interpol and this song in particular seems to owe a lot to both of them. They have a record deal and appear to be putting out an album early next year.

iLiKETRAiNS - A Rook House for Bobby

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Next is The Early Years (horrific to Google and search for music from) who I know very little about except they have signed to Beggars Banquet in the UK and are getting a little airplay from Radio 1 and XFM. They have a sound which has an epic quality to it and I'm definitly hearing Secret Machines in this song. Only born in 2004, this band is still in its infancy and it may be a while before they "make it" but here's hoping we hear lot more from them. The single is out January 16th, try make it a (probably small) hit.

The Early Years - All Ones and Zeros

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Ones to watch for 2006 Part 3

Just the one band tonight but a rather good, and very new one

Captain, no website at the moment I'm afraid but the band have just made a big impact with new single Frontline which has just been released on the At Large label which is an offshoot of EMI. The sound is undeniably epic in a kind of Ultrasound meets Doves way but the vocals are more in line with a lot of the more contemporary indie. They made a big impact at the "In the City" festival earlier this year in Manchester. The band, as all current bands seem to, have relocated to London and have the male/female vocal sound that I've been loving lately (Magic Numbers, Stars). Good things all round though and this song is quite a lovely little number.

Captain - Frontline

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Ones to watch for 2006 Part 2

This blogging lark is a bit addictive when you find out someone is actually reading what you're doing. If anyone else happens to stumble across this blog then please please please leave a comment as it would be really appreciated and makes me want to put more up.

My next two bands are two that I was really surprised that they didn't make more of a mark this year but I can't see them being ignored much longer.

First up are Kill the Young, three brothers making music influenced by a darker theme than most of the bands making any impression at the moment. Citing Smashing Pumpkins and Placebo as influences, it is the single that I am posting that has really impressed me. Great fast tune with simple lyrics and a killer chorus. The band hail from Manchester, have the tunes to make it and have a small tour planned for January; I recommend you go see.

Kill the Young - Origin of Illness

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Next up we have White Rose Movement, a band that should really have been grabbing the headlines all year but for some reason didn't get the airplay they deserved. The name, I believe, comes from a group in 1930's germany who opposed the Nazi regime, but I think it also makes for a good band name. They are from Norfolk, base themselves in London, and have hosted some cool underground parties. The band have so far put out two brilliant singles; Alsation, the video for which can be seen on their website and Love is a Number, the most played song on my i-pod. This may be because, like most of the bands I have loved over the past year, Bloc Party, Maximo PArk, Paul Epworth aka Phones, is the producer. If this man is a stranger to you then think of him as the rock equivalent of what the Neptunes were to Hip Hop over the past few years; yes, that good (check the remixes he has done for various bands including Futureheads, Dreams of Horses has posted several of them overtime). Love is a Number captures everything that the public have loved about bands such as the Killers and the Bravery, cool looks, cool synths and poppy chorus', but yet no love for this band yet. Strange. I shall be seeing them in February supporting the equally excellent The Rakes, and this shall be my first time, very excited to say the least. I trust others will be showing them the love they deserve by then.

White Rose Movement - Love is a Number

More soon

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Ones to watch for 2006 Part 1

Here's the first part of what I'm planning to do for the next couple of weeks. I'm not pretending to be ahead of the game or anything, but just bringing some new bands to the attention of people who may not have yet heard them.

First up is Blackbud who are getting quite a lot of airplay, both Radio 1 and Radio 2 here, and getting quite a fan base as a result. The track has been a favourite on mix CDs I've been doing for friends and that is usually a good sign. The band come from the West Country, are very young, have toured with the likes of the Kaiser Chiefs and Elbow and have just released a very good CD, the Heartbeat EP. Here is the title track which reminds me slightly of Pablo Honey-era Radiohead or Muses quieter moments, but that may just be me.

Blackbud - Heartbeat

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Second up we have, Guillemots, a band who many of you may already be familiar with after getting Jo Whiley's stamp of approval here in the UK which tends to be quite a good thing for getting both sales and credibility (she used to do the Evening Session with Steve Lamaq which remains the basis for putting the best new music on the radio here in the UK). The band have the advantage of having money behind them and a very strong debut EP, the I Saw Such Things in My Sleep EP. This doesn't take anything away from them being a brilliant new band who make very nice music which I think will appeal to a wide variety of people. Although I don't see much of a similarity, they could "do a Keane" as they make music which similarly doesn't rock to hard and thus is easy to the ear. New single Trains to Brazil is an absolute treat and I really hope it does as well as it deserves to. (again, sorry for the format)

Guillemots - Trains to Brazil

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Third and lastly for this post are Larrikin Love, who this week have a 2 page spread in the NME. No bad thing for any up and coming band. Although a brief listen may tell you this band owe a thing or 2 to the Libs, this is a band who infuse a range of influences including a bit of ska and of up beat Irish folk. From London but trying to distance themselves from any scene, the band have managed to round up quite a following which has seen Warners sign them up. With that sort of backing I think we can safely say that we will se more of this band, and thats not a bad thing at all. This song, from what they have called the Bunker Sessions shows everything there is to love about this band, strong lyrics, good riffs and an obvious idea of fun.



Larrikin Love - Downing Street Kindling

see their myspace for more streaming songs.

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I had time for more...

There was indeed, more gigs whilst I was absent from Blogging. I managed to squeeze in Arab Strap at Cabaret Voltaire which, due to the intimacy of the venue if nothing, was infinitly better than the last time I saw them at the cavernous Queens Hall. The crowd were as expected, fans, presumably for a long time, Arab Strap not being a band who are suddenly about to convert any previous haters. They did rock harder than I had guessed they would however and also did a beautiful version of personal favourite, Piglet. They did not, as they never do I hear, play First Big Weekend however. Personally I don't like when bands think they are above their biggest songs and don't do them in a sort of "look what else we do" type way ( such as Oasis after Wonderwall, which they have now reintroduced into their set, doing Ryan Adams version of it may I add). If you are unfamiliar with First Big Weekend I suggest you seek it out, shouldn't be too hard, as it is without doubt one of the greatest songs of the 1990s and it is a shame the public don't know it better and more of a shame that the band disregard it. Nevertheless, they were very good and I have since got myself a copy of The Weekend Never Starts Round Here.

My last gig was the upcoming Leeds favourites iForward, Russia! who I have previously written on. The band do stand out from the current "Everything's brilliant in Leeds!" scene as they rock harder and have an almost emo flavour to their sound. They rocked Cabaret Voltaire needless to say and converted some non-fans in the crowd. Starting off with last single Thirteen the band went through a set, of song all with numbers as names, barely taking a breath which suits the half hour set just fine. The band look the part in their uniform t-shirts, have an attractive drummer and now just need to be signed. This should not take too much longer on tonights performance and I hope the best for them. (Big shout to the support band iLiKETRAiNS who were brilliant in a miserable-Interpol type way - more on them soon)
This was the song they started the set with, and arguably their best so far. Had members of the audience asking them to repeat it at the, very rare, moments when the band were silent.

Forward, Russia! - Thirteen

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Missed the Best One

Cannot believe I missed the best gig I'd been to in that time but hey, mistakes happen.

The gig was Clap Your Hands Say Yeah at the ABC2 in Glasgow, yes another trip across country. The gig was put to the bigger venue of the ABC2 as the demand for tickets was greater than the original venue, Stereo, could cope with. The venue was still small enough though and there was a great atmosphere, the band wandering around at the beginning but this being there first time in Scotland, nobody really realised it was them.
Opening band Hockey Night were surprisingly brilliant. Not the support band I had expected from the most hyped band in the world right now, Hockey Night are a mix of Pavement with the fun of Ben Kweller mixed in. The crowd loved them and I highly recommend you head over to their site, show some love and download some tracks, particularly, for Guys Eyes Only which is a great fun track from their album Keep Guessin'.

The main act came out to a great crowd mainly complied of Scenesters with angular haircuts and bloggers who had had to wait too long to see this band. The band did not disappoint which was a huge relief after reading that Alec Ounsworth, singer, has a tendency to not put on a great show. This was not one of those however. The album tracks went by effortlessly and the crowd seemed to love everything. Is this love? and The Skin of My Yellow Country Teeth were perhaps my favourites but it was a track which was new to me which I came away remembering. Satan Said Dance is quite different to anything on the album, but if this is the way the band are going then we have nothing to worry that they are going to be a one trick pony.
Awesome band, lived up to the hype and I've already got my tickets to see them in February (here in Edinburgh!! no travelling needed!)



CYHSY - Satan Said Dance (Live)

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Been a while

Through a mix of the internet in our flat playing up constantly and laziness the blog has been left for a while which I'm sure hasn't had too much of an effect on the world but I'm back and planning on doing something with it.

First of all, a little recap of the gigs that I've been to.

First of all, the other week I went to see the White Stripes at the Carling Academy in Glasgow (support band the Greenhornes were excellent, apparently they have a track on Bill Murray's latest Broken Flowers). It was the last night of their residency their and they were brilliant. The set looked fantastic and the songs were amazing. In partiuclar I enjoyed a, sadly short, version of Apple Blossom from De Stijl, my favourite of their 5 albums.

Although not a track they did that night, or one they are likely to do very often, this is the last song I came across of theirs which I fell in love with straight away. It is a cover, of Tegan and Sara, but like all good covers, is arguably better than the original

The White Stripes - Walking With a Ghost

Thanks to Stereogum for bringing it to my attention

The next gig, I think, was Antony and the Johnsons, again at the Carling. I was unsure what I would think of this gig and was going to be in a particularly critical mood as I had had to give up the opportunity to see Stellastarr* in Edinburgh(friends of mine went though and said they were as per usual, awesome).
Antony didn't disappoint at all however. He is a strangely endearing guy who despite being, or seeming, incredibly shy, comes across very well. His voice seems to come from nowhere and is, as said by every review of him ever, haunting. I was particularly happy that he did my favourite song, from his aponymous debut album, Cripple and the Starfish. The best of the night was Fistful of Love in which the rest of the band came alive. Getting the crowd to sing along with him was great fun and filled the huge space of the Academy. Great guy, great gig, further confirmed that he deserved to win the Mercury this year.


Most of you, presumably, have an opinion on Antony and even if you haven't liked what you've heard, I highly recommend this track. (Sorry for the m4a format)

Antony and the Johnsons - The Cripple and the Starfish