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

The Lion & The Wolf – ‘Symptoms’ [Review]

the lion and the wolfAn elegantly understated and wistfully melancholic collection of prime-cut songs in the singer-songwriter vein, Symptoms managed to halt my search for something dense and heavy, and keep me blissfully entranced by something delicate instead. On the day after the Charlie Hebdo murders, angry aftershocks are rippling around the world – but albums like this are fully capable of reminding us all that peaceful action is a more effective response to conflict than blind rage. Read more…

Posted on 08 January 2015

People On Vacation – ‘The Chronicles Of Tim Powers’ [Review]

POV Tim Powers CoverA message for punk-loving guys suffering from the January (and/or pre-Valentine’s-Day) blues: If Bowling For Soup’s upcoming greatest hits package doesn’t entirely cure your affliction, this album will. Read more…

Posted on 08 January 2015

Rose Coloured Records – ‘Doorstep – Volume 2’ [Review]

rose coloured doorstep volume 2Dropped right before Christmas last year, Rose Coloured’s Doorstep Volume 2 compilation doubtless made great stocking filler for a number of Surrey and Hampshire’s resident music fans. It also offers plenty of great reasons to get excited about the Guildford- and Aldershot-centred music scenes in 2015. Read more…

Posted on 05 January 2015

TMMP’s Top Albums Of 2014

The “death of the album” has been declared many times in recent years – but nonetheless, musicians keep making them and are showing no signs of stopping (and thank God for that!). Almost a decade and a half into the twenty-first century, there still exist bands and artists capable of composing immersive, engaging, and fully satisfying collections of songs that stand up to repeated, unshuffled listens. Here are fifteen of them. Read more…

Posted on 29 December 2014

Half Crown / Hatton Manor / Jack Williams [Live Review – Sofar Sounds, Brighton, 26/11/14]

sofar soundsSofar Sounds are the most fascinating live music promoters you’ve never heard of. A global collective of music fans, Sofar tap into humanity’s need for community, connection, and intimacy by hosting secret small-scale shows showcasing the talents of a diverse range of artists. This evening’s event took place in an endearingly arty Brighton basement – an appropriate location for what was to come. Read more…

Posted on 29 November 2014

Beardyman – ‘Distractions’ [Review]

beardyman distractions

In an age of instant gratification, where everyone wants everything yesterday, dropping a sophomore album over three and a half years after your debut can be an anxiety-provoking event. It can be argued that music fans are more fickle than ever, easily susceptible as we all are to distraction and immediate amnesia – and under such conditions, almost any musician could reasonably expect the world to have moved on over the course of 42 minutes, let alone months. However, Beardyman is no standard-issue artist. Read more…

Posted on 08 November 2014

Into Color – ‘White Lies’ [Review]

into color press 1What do you get if you cross Brandon Boyd’s lyricism, an idiosyncratic yet familiarly contemporary male pop vocal, a touch of Biffy Clyro’s more commercially-oriented song structures, and a little Jon Gomm-esque acoustic work? Well…this. Into Color manage to take so many disparate parts and fuse them into something appealing in a pop sense, yet sufficiently inventive to attract the praise of the most hard-bitten muso. Once again, they deserve massive respect for another solid step in the right – and a fresh and exciting – new direction. Read more…

Posted on 30 October 2014

Bare Jams [Live Review – The Boileroom, Guildford, 12/10/14]

bare jams logoAlthough Guildford’s alternative music venue is called the Boileroom for a reason, few bands heat it up as quickly as Bare Jams do. For band and crowd alike, this show was very sweaty. Read more…

Posted on 14 October 2014

Ezio / Cardboard Carousel [Live Review – The Boileroom, Guildford, 11/10/14]

ezioAlthough I was gutted at missing most of Cardboard Carousel‘s earlier-than-planned set, what I did catch was as wonderful as I’d anticipated. Cardboard Carousel are an incredibly talented husband-and-wife team whose precisely attuned vocals give their carefully-worded tunes the depth they deserve.

I was probably the only audience member who was completely new to Ezio (whose name my spellchecker wants to change to ‘Wazoo’), and it was cool to see a pair of artists receive so much enthusiastic appreciation. Whether bouncing between acoustic-based genres – taking in rock, folk, blues, country, flamenco, and gypsy jazz – or prefacing an encore with an in-depth discussion of the walk of shame, Ezio were consummate showmen and instrumentalists. Along the way were laughs, melancholic moments, and more than enough lilting serenity to ease my post-Marmozets bangover. Read more…

Posted on 13 October 2014

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