Man Without Country / Princess Slayer / Tusks [Live Review – The Boileroom, Guildford, 1/3/2015]

man without countryThis show may have been a hard sell for a Sunday, but a sizeable portion of local music fans still made it down to the Boileroom for this show. Earlycomers were treated to Tusks (aka Emily Underhill), a recent discovery who is fast becoming Read more…

Posted on 03 March 2015

Live Review: Cavalier / Bridges / Red House Glory [Live Review – The Boileroom, Guildford, 25/2/2015]

Although I enjoyed Red House Glory‘s Foo Fighters-esque radio-friendly rock songs and decent vocal harmonies, and Bridges deserve recognition for their frontman’s emotive vocals and their unorthodox harmony guitars, I have a few things to get off my chest not only about Cavalier, but bands who come from a music-school background in general.

First off, I should say that I come from that background too – I did four years at ACM, and although when I put it that way it sounds like a prison sentence, it really Read more…

Posted on 01 March 2015

Naomi Scott / Fifi Rong / Geovarn / Princess Slayer / Jungle Doctors / Bella Figura [Live Review – Under The Bridge, London, 26/2/2015]

music week radarAs a music venue embedded into Stamford Bridge (the stadium called home by Chelsea F.C.), Under the Bridge was an appropriately unique venue for this unique show. An industry showcase set up by trade paper Music Week, networking hub MusicConnex, promoters ILUVLIVE, and south coast music school BIMM, it goes without saying that the high-profile nature of this show inevitably brought its own special set of performance pressures. A quality showcase set has the potential to push an act to the next level, while a duff performance can see a band crossed off “Ones To Watch” lists in the blink of an eye.

On top of the potential for mind-freezing attacks of performance anxiety, this was not Read more…

Posted on 27 February 2015

Beardyman [Interview]

beardyman press

Imagine you’re a beatboxer. You’re pretty good, so you enter the UK Beatbox Championships. You win. You eat, breathe, sleep and sweat beatboxing for a solid year before returning. You win again. Things get a bit crazy. A comedy video you made in a kitchen gets uploaded to YouTube (as freshly purchased by Google). In time, it will attract over 5 million views.

Over the next several years, you take solo beatboxing as far as it can possibly be taken. You play underground comedy clubs, TV shows, festivals. Your YouTube presence grows. You begin experimenting with live looping technology, battling not rival MCs but inefficient circuitry and user interfaces in the name of getting the ideas in your head into other people’s earholes. You find yourself in a studio, recording an eclectic collection of tracks that takes in everything from dubstep and hip-hop to almost every international folk music style recorded by history. Your debut album gets released; it sells nicely.

Finally, you hit on a pair of serious problems.  Read more…

Posted on 26 February 2015

Following Foxes – ‘Following Foxes EP’ [Review]

following foxes ep coverClean, pristine, and polished so much it shines, Following Foxes’ debut EP is a prime cut of pro-grade acoustic-driven folk rock. Although the airtight production does eat into the earthy and organic vibes common to most releases in their chosen genre, Following Foxes’ songs are Read more…

Posted on 02 February 2015

Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds – ‘Ballad Of The Mighty I’ [Review]

noel gallagherNoel Gallagher scarcely needs an introduction – but given that some people out there are unaware of Paul McCartney’s existence, maybe he will soon. Gallagher has a well-deserved and hard-earned reputation as one of the best songwriters of an entire generation – a phenomenon who emerged as a Read more…

Posted on 31 January 2015

You Me At Six / Glass City Vice / Twin Wild [Live Review – The Boileroom, Guildford, 30/1/15]

boileroom you me at sixSome experiences come along just once in a lifetime – and the capacity crowd jammed sardine-like into the Boileroom were keenly aware of that fact. The tickets held by the lucky three hundred had been coveted by thousands of others, with five figures’ worth of rabid rock fans flooding ticket sites and ensuring Read more…

Posted on 31 January 2015

Almeida / Atiptoe / Parachute For Gordo / Throatpunch City [Live Review – The Boileroom, Guildford, 27/1/15]

boileroom label shocase almeidaFuck Suzuki. Their cars are crap. My formerly faithful four-wheeler failed at completing a function even more basic than going forwards, and refused to even start. While Throatpunch City were getting through their set, I was pretty much doing this:

One train journey later, and Parachute For Gordo were, as always, goddamn incredible. Few instrumental post-rock bands infuse their music with Read more…

Posted on 28 January 2015

Our Lost Infantry / Annabel Allum / itoldyouiwouldeatyou / Selectric [Live Review – The Boileroom, Guildford, 11/1/15]

our lost infantry press shotOne of my favourite things about the Boileroom is the sheer diversity of musical styles that are welcomed within its walls. For this year’s DengFest, Selectric set up an appropriate air of unpredictability via Read more…

Posted on 14 January 2015

Eliza Doolittle & THOS / Bat and Ball / Tweed & Hyenas / Tusks [Live Review – The Boileroom, Guildford, 9/1/15]

smile for hattiThe fact that this show even happened is a true testament to the strength and indomitable passion of its organisers. Few life experiences are as devastating as losing a friend or family member to cancer; when that happens, most of us would become too overwhelmed to function, and with good reason. Nobody would have blamed Tom Morley and the team behind Smile For Hatti (a campaign set up to support the courageous and inspiring Hatti Sandall, who sadly passed away only three days before this gig) had they rescheduled or cancelled this fundraiser – but they didn’t. For that, they deserve all the respect in the world – not to mention the sheer success of this awesome event, which raised over £2000 for Smile For Hatti (which is in the process of becoming a new charity, to which future donations will be directed) and Sarcoma UK.

As far as opening acts go, Read more…

Posted on 10 January 2015

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