Celestial Wolves: ‘Wood For Wood’ [Review]
Opinion
Instrumental rock can be a mixed bag – and this album by Belgian post-rockers Celestial Wolves is a case in point. Track-by-track commentary below: Read more…
EaglePrawn: ‘EP’ [Review]
Opinion
I fucking love this! Guildfordian trio EaglePrawn are fiercely original – both a dream and a nightmare for a music reviewer, providing a unique satisfaction that lies, frustratingly, beyond the grasp of mere words. However, I’m happy to abandon the need to analyse and describe in microscopic detail when the world needs more music like this. Read more…
Outpatients [Live Review – The Boileroom, Guildford, 21/10/13]
Opinion
Outpatients’ most obvious selling point is the presence of ex-SikTh vocalist Mikee Goodman, but this was much more than a one-man show. Read more…
Dials / Yearbook / Insurgents / Red Kites [Live Review – The Boileroom, Guildford, 18/10/13]
Opinion
I love the Guildford alt-rock scene’s current direction. There are so many fantastic bands strutting their stuff in the South East right now – and with this show, local promoters Genrebomb presented a sizeable crowd with no less than four up-and-coming new talents: Read more…
The First / Thousand Autumns / Jamie Lenman [Live Review – The Boileroom, Guildford, 11/10/13]
Opinion
Jamie Lenman (AKA Radu The Handsome)
If you had been scanning the Internet for a decent gig to head down to last night, come across the listing for this show, and then Googled the name of opening band Radu The Handsome, you wouldn’t have found anything to do with music (apart from the listing for this gig). You would, however, have found a ton of references to Vlad the Impaler’s allegedly homosexual brother, and perhaps his appearance in an obscure Doctor Who audio story. From this information you might have deduced that this band are a bit into Doctor Who, and might even suspect – rightly – that Radu the Handsome are not a real band at all, but Doctor Who illustrator and ex-Reuben frontman Jamie Lenman and his new band performing under a pseudonym.
But let’s be honest, that’s pretty unlikely. Read more…
Jamie Lenman: ‘Fizzy Blood / Pretty Please’ [Review]
Fiction
The first time I saw her, I was stunned. She is very angular, especially her face. A perfectly diagonal fringe, razor sharp forty-five-degree edge over diamonds of stark white eye shadow. Precisely defined cheekbones flanking thin, horizontal lips. Black lipstick. A mathematically immaculate kind of beauty – the type that in more primitive times might have been hailed as proof of the existence of some deity or other. Read more…
Trails / Honningbarna [Live Review – The Boileroom, Guildford, 25/9/13]
Opinion
The Boileroom has, for a long time, been my favourite Guildfordian venue. The atmosphere always wins, the staff are awesome, and the bands (this time picked by in-house booker Lydia) form the cream of the crop of the local/national scene. Tonight, of course, was no exception. Read more…
Dorje: ‘Primordial Audio Chronicle’ [Review]
Fiction
It came without warning. The first telltale signs were almost blissful – a stately, charming set of beautiful and beatific tones that rippled serenely through the air. A false sense of security was erected, and promptly torn away. The first cracks showed in a shady and eclectic side alley, part of an only slightly larger cultural microcosm where esoteric individuals gathered to drink, be merry, and share countercultural views. Read more…
Falsense: ‘Death of a Hidden Influence’ [Review]
Fiction
All it took was a simple slip of the tongue, and vast armies instantly materialised, prepared and poised, ready for war. Breath became artillery; words, ammunition. The ground shook and shuddered with each perfectly synchronised step as hundred-foot-tall soldiers stomped determinedly across a kaleidoscopic, constantly shifting landscape. Read more…
Signals: ‘Facial Furniture EP’ [Review]
Fiction
An unbreachable azure haze drifted between them for a moment, and all was lost. The night came. Long, dull, dark, and pitiful. Chilled breezes and aching, empty discomfort. Read more…