By Rob Crozier (words) & Laura Mukabba (photographs)

May 24, 2013

Day 2 arrives and we head off, bleary eyed but ready for the fray, to see Dan Croll and his upbeat acoustic set. We know he is playing again tonight but we fear we will miss him.  We plump for Congo Natty’s soothing acoustic reggae hoping he will soothe us as last night’s excesses are still very much with us. Unfortunately, Natty’s appearance has stopped us from entering upstairs at the Komedia with their Dutch bands theme so we miss Jacco Gardner playing to a packed crowd.

Following Natty come is high energy outfit Skip & Die. The amazing female lead has boundless energy and crazy dress sense. Complete with euro mullet hairstyles they manage to banish any sense of a hangover.  Downstairs its carnival time with Heat Wave as they attempt to bring us the atmosphere of Trinidad and Notting Hill. His first job is to hand out hundreds of free whistles and urge us to party. This is just what we need.

Refreshed we’re ready for the evening session at Audio. The stunning Andreya Triana treats us to a set of beautiful melodies.  Her rich, soulful and mellifluous voice together with the accompaniment of jazzy guitar chords and lyrics with a hint of melancholy, leave the crowd in happy awe of this talented and personable performer who has in recent years collaborated with the likes of Bonobo and Flying Lotus.  Next on stage at Audio is the enigmatic cross-dressing rapper and poet from the States, Mykki Blanco, entertaining the crowd with a high energy performance, and rapping amusing staccato lyrics over heavy bass and multi-layered electronic beats.

We squeeze into Coalition on Brighton seafront to catch Unknown Mortal Orchestra.  We catch the instrumental psychedelic guitar outfit indulging in sweeping feedback and straight up rock guitar that feeds the expectant crowd. We loved the exhibitionism of the guitar being played over one shoulder and the crazy inversions being thrown out! They made more noise than a three piece should and the place was packed – the biggest crowd witnessed so far. We notice that local celeb Zoë Ball is also enjoying the proceedings.

We do experience problems with the size of the crowds as we queue and so miss Aussie star Iggy Azalea, despite giving ourselves an hour before she is due on. Undeterred we head for the Brighton Dome theatre to try and catch Mikal Cronin but we are denied due to the huge queues so we head back to Coalition. Here we manage to catch Rainy Milo, a London-based female singer of soul dance backed by just a bass player and drummer. Next on is Clean Bandit, a huge band featuring strings including violin and cello along with rappers and lead female vocals producing blissed out beats ranging from hip hop with soulful harmonies and soaring strings.  They played a great set to an incredible, packed crowd.  The end of the night arrives and we squeeze out on to the Friday night seafront thinking ahead to the treasures of the final day.

By Rob Crozier

May 22, 2013

Tricky is back with a brand new fifteen track album and the admission by the artist that he felt “lost for ages”, because he was “trying to prove something to people, and trying to please others.”

He openly admits that his last two albums were not his best work and this new album represents a return to form after finding himself again. In that respect it draws on his hugely influential early ’90s work which saw him produce the classic Maxinquaye.

‘Somebody’s Sins’ is the first track and it sets a distinct Tricky flavour of moody and sombre atmospherics. Third track ‘Valentine’ deals with a modern day tale of inner city life.  Using haunting loops of Chet Baker‘s version of ‘My Funny Valentine’, Tricky’s spoken rap tells the modern version of a love gone bad.

‘Bonnie & Clyde’ has a more up tempo almost lazy house feel to it, in comparison with the rest of the album. The parallels with Tricky’s earlier work are very evident and his smokey vocals compete with a variety of female vocals that give the album wide ranging style.  The tempo slows and we enter the album’s lead single ‘Parenthesis’ with its pounding rock chords mixed with haunting high pitched vocals from guest Peter Silberman from The Antlers, giving the track a grungy almost gothic style.

The constant mixed tempos of this  album keep you drawn in as they switch from grudge trip hop to the swirling ballad ‘If Only I Knew’.  For some the album’s overall length and large range of styles incorporated into its structrue could be seen as a weakness but this is in fact one of Tricky’s great strengths. He is able to mix up content, style and genres yet still provide an overall central feeling of sombre, dark moodiness whilst fantastic production ensures the album is always offering something new to the listener.

Tracks like ‘It’s Your Life’ and ‘Tribal Drums’ feature more guest female vocals alongside Tricky’s softly spoken words. This continues with the moody and slow moving atmospheric sounds of ‘We Don’t Die’.  These last three or four tracks are just over three minutes in length and you feel Tricky is now scampering through the album. This obviously creates a dilemma of appearing to be using the middle part of the album as an experiment in sounds and styles.  A criticism that could be easily levelled is this is simply the filler part of the album.

The album reaches its peak with the track ‘Does It’.  With a bass loaded at the front of the track Tricky vies with a female backing vocals to grumble over a great moody track. This is followed by ‘I’m  Ready’ which continues in the same vein. The final part of the album sees Tricky employing a more dance/hip hop style with ‘Hey Love’ and final track ‘Passion Of The Christ’ sealing off an excellent return for the Bristol Maestro.

False Idols is released on May 27 and will be available from amazon and via itunes.

By Mitchell Stirling

May 24, 2013.

With Laura Marling, there’s something in the water, it flows through her fourth album Once I Was An Eagle as it has done her previous work. The bodies of water keep getting wider; on her debut she couldn’t cross a river for a boy because “alas, I cannot swim” Here, she’s travelling over oceans.

The album itself is broken into three acts, the first clearly marked by four unbroken songs. Opener ‘Take The Night Off’ is a mellow start, less complex than A Creature I Don’t Know opener ‘The Muse’ but still finding Marling dwelling on the Beast that featured heavily on that 2011 album. The (near) title track explores the roles of eagle and dove in the relationship. Marling, with her family motto “We are no-one’s prey” tattooed on her wrist, sees herself as the eagle. She adds the qualifier “if we ever were” after “when we were in love”. Musically ‘I Was An Eagle’ is sparse like most of the record, mainly voice and guitar, though here a cello from Ruth De Turberville and a smattering of conga drums brings to mind Nick Drake’s ‘Cello Song’. By the end of the quartet of openers, Marling has given her former beau a nicotine and honey soaked kiss off in ‘You Know’ and taken some time out to literally ‘Breathe’ evoking a pause for breath after the torrent of words directed at us for the opening fifteen minutes.

On first single ‘Master Hunter’ she sounds very much like a young Bob Dylan delivering the line about putting a bullet in her brain in such a deliberately forceful manner. She’s full of confidence, spitting venom and like Dylan in the name-checked ‘It Ain’t Me, Babe’ warning off potential suitors. Here the song itself is part of the album’s middle section, in which Marling is searching for answers or coming to terms with the realisation that sometimes there are no answers. It’s an angry song, brought to life by the slamming of pots and pans as percussion. In this third of the album the Devil seems to be a constant presence, especially on ‘Devil’s Resting Place’ a ballad that could feature in The Wicker Man comfortably. Despite the tempestuousness of the record in these two parts, there are quieter moments like the brief two minute instrumental ‘Interlude’ and the near six minutes of flamenco flecked guitar on ‘Little Love Caster’.

Water is prominently mentioned in ‘Master Hunter’ perhaps an evocation of the revelatory visit Marling made to the Shasta Lake in her new home of California and while typically she uses its expanse as a meditation on the vastness of thought, here and on ‘Undine’ it is as a metaphor for purity and reclamation of naivety that Marling dwells on in the sense of the Ancient Greek water nymphs and wanting the scars of love to be washed clean.

Marling wonders ‘what next?’ amid a beautifully bruised Hammond organ trill on ‘Where Can I Go’ and pondering the irrational mind on the bluesy ‘Pray For Me’ one of the most infectious, uplifting melodies on the record.  Sandwiched between though is ‘Once’ a song so simple and beautiful and yet with such a gloomy message that “once is enough to make you think twice / About laying your love out on the line.” It, if anything on here, is likely to be the song that will break America for her and garner the most earnest YouTube cover versions.

As the LP closes, things are moving on for Marling; she castigates herself in ‘When Were You Happy (And How Long Has That Been)’ with one exhausting line fitting 32 syllables in one breath and ending with some guitar licks that would sound at home on some of the tracks The Beatles returned from India with, specifically George Harrison’s ‘Not Guilty’ demo. The 12-string Byrdsian swagger towards the end of ‘Love Be Brave’ is one of the unexpected musical treats here, much slower than the version debuted at The Royal Albert Hall last year and all the better for it. The final denouncement on ‘Little Bird’ is that Marling has been ghosted by a bird throughout the record, there is a chirping of birdsong briefly before ‘I Was An Eagle’ much like that found on her first album. As the bird falls to her feet, accompanied by plaintive, sonorous almost prog-like guitars the process of fixing its wing becomes life-affirming as she sends it onwards. Finally, on ‘Saved These Words’ the cycle is complete, Marling is beginning a new relationship, allowing her naivety to get the better of her again. Her cured skin from ‘Master Hunter’ is now open and she is ready for her next verse.

The album cover features a glimpse of Marling’s naked shoulder, fitting for an album in which she seems less indirect in her subject matter, there are fewer songs where she seems to be acting as a conduit for the stories of characters that may or may not be her. It feels far more confessional than the preceding three albums. While different styles are employed on different songs there is a pastoral atmosphere as found on Led Zeppelin III and a quiet reflection like that of Bill Callahan’s work. As the record starts to spread its wings, more nuanced flourishes are used rather than raging, all-in, crescendos that typified the closing of songs when she has worked with producer Ethan Johns before.

Whilst it is the music of Laurel Canyon, California from forty plus years ago that is summoned when speaking of Marling, even more explicitly now she calls Los Angeles home, it is another singer-songwriter we are reminded of now; PJ Harvey. It’s now no longer reaching to put Laura Marling in such exalted company. It’s worth highlighting that like Marling her first two (eligible) records were nominated for a Mercury Prize and the third wasn’t. The fourth, Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea, won. There’s every chance it could happen again.

Once I Was An Eagle is released on May 27 and available from amazon
and iTunes.

By Stef Siepel

May 24, 2013

The Weekly Froth! A weekly take on six tracks, most of which have recently popped up somewhere in the blogosphere. Bit of a mixed bag with a slight leaning towards house, disco, and remixes, but generally just anything that for some reason tickled the writer’s fancy.

Track of the week: ‘Dumb Disco Ideas’ by Holy Ghost!

Seriously though, this is epic. Has been stuck on repeat here, with that crazy clip by Ben Fries in the background. Holy Ghost! have this lovely mixture of disco fused with (synth) pop elements, which has already led to some amazing tunes (‘I Know, I Hear’ and ‘Jam for Jerry’ specifically, though that track with Michael McDonald was lovely as well). When these boys get it on, they are really awesome. This, is really awesome. Catchy, pacey, and with enough variety to get to the eight minute mark without a hitch. Moments with just drums and bass, moments with haaaa-haaaaa vocal lines, moments where the cowbell comes in: there’s enough hidden in here that will enchant you. In the middle you’ve got this total change-up as well. First you get some big drums, and after that you get this amazing new synth line after which the boys come in singing that you need to Work it off / and wait for another day. Just major tuneage from these guys, who were so kind to answer a view of our questions way back when their first album was hitting the shelves. So hit the archive for that one in wait for their sophomore record, which will come out later this year. They, by the way, also feature in that short doc about the DFA label, which I wrote a little something on a few weeks ago. So if you’re looking for even more to read, there you go.

‘Let’s Kiss’ by Mirage

One of those Italians Do It Better bands by Johnny Jewel. He’ll be touring with Chromatics and Glass Candy in the upcoming months, this is one of his other bands though. Still has got that typical vibe that label has (which makes the After Dark 2 record so cohesive. It’s a sort of sampler). The vocals are not chanteuse like, but instead it is one of those tracks with a heavily distorted male voice. It’s got this nice nighttime feel with the beat and those typical synths to go with it. That the label has such an authentic sound doesn’t mean that all these songs sound like each other though, that synth action after the “Just Like a Record Lady” chorus definitely puts its signature on this tune. I also really like the part before and after around 6:30, the pre part without the beat, which in the post part comes back again. The track is kind of out of the Romantic period, which does fit the vibe of the song. Meeting a girl, hitting it off, having to leave, with the only thing left to do is to say “I told my lady go and keep your man/ cause you ain’t never going to see me again”. If you like this track, definitely check out that After Dark 2 album, it’s jam packed with stuff like this.

‘Sum of Love’ by Jee Day

Jee Day is Dennis McNany, who has worked closely with some people we know from the DFA label. This is a track released on Beats in Space Records though, a name you might know from Tim Sweeney’s awesome radio show. ‘Sum of Love’ starts with kind of a harsh sound, but luckily that second sound that comes in is A) the most prominent one in the song, and B) pretty nifty. It does drown out the dreamy vocals though, which might be intentional as it does make them sound even more dreamy and out of reach. The vocals do seem to get more prominent though as the song goes on. Really one of those jams this that doesn’t really go up and down, but rather rolls and builds on steadily. I like the double vocals around the 3:40 mark, which is a nice touch on a track that does things subtly rather than crazily. As said, the vocals seem to get more up front with the passing of time, and near the end (supported by the secondary vocals) we actually hear them come out of their shell completely, even with some yelping. The synths by now are basically drowning the beat out, which makes the point where the synths are stripped away and where we go back to rhythm and beat only even nicer. Lovely track that subtly builds up to what it is near the end.

‘Waiting’ by Tristesse Contemporaine

I remember really liking some of Tristesse Contemporaine’s previous output, though I can’t quite recall sounding it like this. So either my memory is faulty or this is something new they’re trying. I just don’t quite remember this kind of spooky atmosphere that they’ve put in here, with the male vocals being quite deep in the verses and narrating the tale rather creepily. But maybe that is the intention, as apparently he’s waiting for Your ghost to call to come back and haunt him. So there’s that. In the choruses the vocals seem to go up a bit, which ties in with the synthesizers, which add some lighter and dreamier sounds than the beat, which is the most prominent thing in the verses. So that’s a nice juxtaposition right there. The video, as you might have figured out, is Andy Warhol eating a hamburger, which is taken from ’66 Scenes From America’. And what is more typically American than a complete icon eating a hamburger, as everyone eats those hamburgers/drinks Coca-Cola/etcetera. The song, by the way, is from theWoodwork EP, a new release by this band.

‘Spring Fever’ by The Legendary 1979 Orchestra

This one starts with primarily keys over a pretty big beat that weaves its way in and out at the start, which slightly threw me off a bit. Because that beat is so prominent, its very hard to not notice it starting and stopping. After the minute mark the beat is doubled by bongos (or another one of those percussion elements), which is really nice and kind of softens the hardness of the beat. In the mean time the keys keep going forward and you’re waiting for this thing to go off (and not just add occassional extra sounds in there). The track deliberatly builds up tension though, continuing with the start-stop rhythm of the beat even as it starts introducing the fragmented vocals. At about 3:20 you do get some strong extra sounds that could break this thing open, but even that is just used to double the on-and-off beat. Though this makes for an intriguing listen and for something different, it does kind of makes it too weird for the dancefloor. And I am the kind of guy who likes a smooth ride, so that it so often does that start/stop thing makes it kind of hard for me to really love this track.

‘If You Know Like I Know’ by Teddy Pendergrass (M&M snippet)

This is part of an edit by John Morales, who takes on the greatness of Teddy Pendergrass. Old school start here, after which he passes on the first opportunity to dive into the song or put in a beat, instead going for an organ and female vocals singing the title on repeat. After fifty seconds though, he comes in with the rhythm instruments to provide everyone with a chance to do some dancing. After you’ve put your body in action mister Pendergrass comes in with those strong vocals’ he’s got. Love that moment at 2:07, how smoothly he transitions from one instrumental sound to the next. Just after the third minute mark he puts some of the (rhythm) instruments on the backburner so that we can just enjoy the vocals for a minute, obviously bringing them back before the dancefloor crowd starts getting restless. Just a lovely edit using one of those strong voices that anyone with some interest in musical history knows.

By Rob Crozier (words) & Laura Mukabba (photographs)

May 23, 2013

Welcome to Brighton and The Great Escape. 3 days, 30 venues, 350 artists. Living locally we knew the venues pretty well but still managed to find new ones to explore and others we would not normally venture into that had been transformed by the festival’s presence.

Thursday lunchtime saw the festival kick off in bright sunshine, so what better place to start than a dark almost cellar-like venue known as The Haunt? We popped in to the see The Upskirts, an Aussie four piece that play loud psychedelic rock (always a great way to start any festival).  Long haired, swirling sounds and excellent echoes from the lead guitar with long, rambling solos.

Walking from the venue you are reminded that you are also immersed in two other huge cultural festivals during May in Brighton and we stumble across some rather strange outdoor theatre company performing a version of Alice in Wonderland.

Next we were back indoors at The Blind Tiger, one of Brighton’s most popular venues, to see some Canadian artists that all hail from Ontario. These two bands are vastly different in style and genre with The Young Rivals performing straight up foot stomping punk rock whilst Tribe Called Red are three huge chaps who use Native American samples and scratching over looped dance beats. It sounds strange yet works so well with some amazing DJ skills and some high quality scratching alongside pounded out techno at 4pm. After that we needed a breather. We stopped for a Shakeaway (a Brighton milkshake) and a bagel whilst planning how to approach the evening’s running order. One of the many delights of the festival is sitting and planning, debating if you have long enough to dash between venues and the likelihood of getting in.

On this first night we plumped for local rising star Tom Odell at the wonderfully intimate Warren. Many were disappointed as the queue was huge and we all had to wait to see what all the fuss was about. For me it was one of the most intimate, awesome displays of pure musical talent I have seen in a long time. Odell moved from ballads and piano solos which enchanted the crowd to beating seven bales of you know what out of his stand up piano like a possessed Jerry Lee Lewis. His cover of the Beatles classic ‘Oh Darling’ illustrated this point fully. It felt like we were witnessing the birth of a true star and he left us wanting more after his amazing performance of his big single ‘Another Love’.

We moved to the Komedia bar comedy club, with its very low ceilings, to see Is Tropical, a very loud trio who bashed Anymore’. The Skints, a modern straight up reggae band who possess a great bass and drummer interchange bringing a slick reggae/dub sound came next. They finished with a few jump up ska numbers which sent the venue mental. Around

the same time and at other venues reports came back of good performances from King Krule, Crystal Fighters and

Melody’s Echo Chamber.

out great four minute punk rock and were joined on stage by a female vocalist for their rousing last track ‘Dancing

As we stumbled from the venue dripping in sweat we made the short hop to the Green Door Store under the arches of Brighton station for our final instalment of the night. We witnessed an amazing stage performance by another rising Canadian star, Mac Demarco followed by an equally enlivening set from Sydney hip hop duo Jackie Onassis. This was the end of Day One.

By Joe Watson

May 23, 2013

By Danielle Gibson

May 23, 2013

After a four year wait, 30 Seconds To Mars are back with Love, Lust, Faith + Dreams. After the massive success that was This Is War, does this new album stand a chance at doing an even better job? It is a great album, but it feels like you’ve listened to it before. Maybe because it’s full of power and contemporary rock songs that you can chant along to at festivals. Sound familiar? Many bands are doing this currently and it is not anything new. The same goes for the whole concept album idea. But don’t let that discourage you from the album; all the songs are fantastic, well written and scored. The band have really outdone themselves with twelve hits that could all equally be single releases.

The way to talk about Love, Lust, Faith + Dreams is by just that. Each word represents a set of the songs on the album and the opening tracks come under Love, which is ‘Birth’ and ‘Conquisitor’. ‘Birth’ opens the album very dramatically and changes into a heavy synth instrumental piece but the ending doesn’t really link into the next song. It’s abrupt and for a concept album you would expect there to be more of a thematic link. Despite this ‘Conquisitor’ is a song to remember, it’s a proper anthem belter and you will be head banging and chanting along with it. It’s strong and lead vocalist Jared Leto is gives a screamathon to remember.

Next we have Lust which contains ‘Up In The Air’,  ‘City Of Angels’, ‘The Race’ and ‘End Of All Days’, which makes up the largest segment of the album. ‘Up In The Air’ was released as the lead single in March and starts of Lust perfectly. It’s strong and has some excellent lyrics showing how negative this song is despite how upbeat it is. Phrases like “I will wrap my hands around your neck so tight with love” shows a broken individual as does “This is a portrait of a tortured you and I”. One of the few songs on this album which isn’t as anthem-like as the rest is ‘City Of Angels’ which tells a story about finding home. Lust really brings a downer on the album as these songs are about heartbreak and pain. It finishes with ‘End Of All Days’, which as the title hints is heavily religion focussed. The song ends with a heartbeat monitor stopping, representing death.

We now come to Faith which starts with the funereal ‘Pyres Of Varansi’. This is an instrumental, but serves as the beginning of a lighter section. ‘Bright Lights’ like 90% of the album graces us with the ever chanting ‘oohs’ but this section is more of a happy area of the album. It’s very summer-like, lighter. And you can’t forget it is an anthem with lyrics like “Bright lights, big city, she dreams of love/he lives to run”.

Dream is introduced by ‘Convergence’ and ends the album with ‘Northern Lights’ and ‘Depuis Le Début’. The latter translates as ‘since the beginning’ and ends the album as well as it can. It’s as loud as the opener, dramatic with the use of strings and creepily ends with an eerie music box chime.

All together this is a brilliant album that you can crash and burn away with. It’s full of songs to send your emotions running around your head like you’re on fire. Leto really belts out his voice in all the songs and makes them quite unforgettable. Shannon Leto and Tomo Mili?evi? are as equally great and all band members merge together and have created something that you will remember. The only thing you can say isn’t great about this album is that the concept is overused – power anthems which tell a story. Maybe we’ll see this album on Broadway one day. It’s great but maybe not as great as This is War but will definitely give 30 Seconds To Mars fan something to sink their teeth into.

Love, Lust, Faith + Dreams is available now from amazon and via iTunes.

By Kenny McMurtrie

May 22, 2013

The Wicker Man & Stonehenge – two things you can bet are in most peoples’ top tens of ‘things you associate with folk music’. Cliches though have to begin somewhere but, just because this very enjoyable album starts off with a song that brings the aforementioned film to mind and its release was marked by band leader Stephen Cracknell taking a three day walk to the latter stone feature, that doesn’t mean this has all been done before.Take those looped samples on opening track ‘The Wearing Of The Horns (Weyhill On My Mind)’. Where did they come from? Some bloke grimly intoning that people are going to burn (undermined only slightly by the phrase “that’s what’ll happen” bringing Harry Enfield to mind) amidst doomy chords, countryside noises and more conventional female vocals. Weyhill provided inspiration for The Mayor Of Casterbridge. In more recent times the Hampshire village’s petrol station had its ATM blown up in a robbery. One, both or neither of these things may have inspired parts of this song but what is certainly clear is that we’re dealing with an album that has more in common with such bands as Broadcast and The Focus Group than with either the new or old stereotypical folkies.

‘On Dancing Hill’ has the whiff of jazz about it, being largely piano-led, albeit with a flute part wafting around in the upper reaches. As part of a soundscape tied to geographical area and the traversing of that this instrumental piece evkoes an image of blue skies and sunshine, birds in the air and the simple enjoyment of taking stock of those things whilst ambling about with no great purpose. Hell, you might even take the weight off your feet by the roadside. Who’d care?

This active recording of the interaction of individuals with landscape for leisure purposes is, in a way, the sonic equivalent of the visual works of the artist Hamish Fulton. It certainly deepens the experience beyond just taking a few snapshots. ‘As I Walked Over Salisbury Plain’ has a deliciously melancholic note to it along with samples of a chap talking about hunting rabbits, possibly not something it’s possible to still do on the military training ground any longer. The following song, ‘The Highest Song In The Sky (For Chris Yates)’, maintains that same sweet melancholia and reverence for nostalgia but this is not an album that thumps its chest to mourn the simpler things that have been lost to progress. Rather it takes pleasure in what is still there to be enjoyed and what adaptations can be made to keep traditions alive or make it possible to even resurrect some. Cracks are always possible in the concrete placed over the past.

On The Chalk (Our Navigation Of The Downs) is out now and available from amazon and via iTunes.

By Rob Aldam

May 22, 2013

There has always been a touch of the theatrical about Glasgow’s Sparrow and the Workshop. Their previous outings Crystals Fall and Spitting Daggers mixed playful folk with a sleazier rock side. The Irish/American, Welsh and Scottish trio seem to have grown into their sound since they began back in 2008. Murderopolis sees any tentativeness or uncertainty dissipate to be replaced by a strong sense of direction and focus. They seem to have finally shaken-off the shackles of nostalgic pining and found their own true voice.

Murderopolis is a much darker record that both its predecessors. Jill O’Sullivan’s blues-tinged drawl seems more pronounced and sultry than ever. Their sound is noticeably bigger throughout, mostly eschewing the softer Americana aspects of their music in favour of a more elaborate and sometimes gothic feel. Old fans will not be disappointed though as their signature Roots sound is still in evidence in songs such as ‘Water Won’t Fall’ and the outstanding ‘Avalanche of Lust’.

What makes Sparrow and the Workshop so great is the way they create such beautifully dense and layered music with seemingly consummate ease. It all seems so simple yet utterly perfect. Without resorting to unnecessary flashiness or procrastination they prove themselves to be superb musicians, mixing in bluesy rock with a darker theatrical edge, whilst retaining components of the folk sound which they are known for. Lead single ‘Shock Shock’ is a jagged spiky gem full of emotional intensity and dirty luscious vocals. ‘Valley of Death’ is a swirling dark miasma of torment whilst ‘Darkness’ lives up to its name; gothic chants explode into an almost operatic cacophony-Jill reeling off an impressive vocal range with aplomb.

Muderopolis is characterised by the sheer quality and diversity that runs through every one of the eleven painstakingly assembled songs. They have produced a record that not only fits perfectly into their impressive catalogue but builds on what they’ve done before. Sparrow and the Workshop may go quietly going about their business but they are fast becoming a band who demand attention.

Murderopolis is out on May 27 and is available from amazon
and iTunes.

By Tom Fake

May 22, 2013

The Hot Five – My views on five tracks that have attracted my interest in any given week, usually with an older track thrown in the mix for something a bit different. Tracks usually concentrate on pop/rock releases, but really focusing on anything and everything that comes my way.

Track of the week: Everything Everything – ‘Duet’

Once again this track was released a few months back, but in honesty it’s taken me a while to get into Everything Everything. However, this really has to be one of my favourite tracks at the moment, Everything Everything are fantastically clever musicians who produce a sophisticated pop/rock style with electronic undertones here. There are also strings throughout that are so subtly written into the song and give it that uniqueness from so many other, for want of a better phrase, indie-landfill bands. It also seems that they’ve got the knack for writing catchy melodic lines that will no doubt be bellowed by thousands at their numerous festival appearances this summer.

Cold War Kids – ‘Jailbirds’

I featured Cold War Kid’s ‘Miracle Mile’ in an earlier column, and it is one of my favourite tracks of the year so far. I must admit though that Dear Miss Lonelyhearts, the album from which both of these tracks are taken, is something of a disappointment. However, album track ‘Jailbirds’ is yet another glimpse of what Cold War Kids are capable of. Okay, so maybe it’s not as catchy as ‘Miracle Mile’, but the track has some great lyrics and is a great arrangement. I hope that Cold War Kids fulfil their obvious potential and produce a consistently good album in the future, because there’s something really likeable about their music. It’s just a shame that they don’t consistently deliver.

Ghostpoet – ‘Plastic Bag Brain’

Okay, so have to admit, I know nothing about Ghostpoet. Apparently he is a former Mercury Music Prize nominee and a producer as well as an artist. I normally wouldn’t go for this sort of music, but there’s something about this track that I like. The guitar riff accompanied by the drum creates a fantastic foundation for Ghostpoet to lay down his rap/performance poetry lyrics that help the track to create a feel that is different to a lot of current music.

Steve Jons – ‘Die Dumb’

This track was written and recorded by some friends of mine for a university project, but turned out to be a really great track. The song tells of singer Steve Jons hoping that he doesn’t ‘Die Dumb’, with some rather amusing references to instances of people dying peculiar deaths. Some interesting instrumentation, harmonies and clever production techniques along with Steve’s fantastic vocal make this folk track sort-of irresistible.

Hidden track of the week: Chamberlin – ‘Jealousy’

Typically enough I stumbled across this track by accident, but sometimes the best tracks come to you like that. This track comes from last years Look What I’ve Become EP, and soon came to the attention of Rolling Stone, who gave the track away as a free download (HERE). It is ironic, they admit, that a band writes an EP about jealousy and cheating when founding members Mark Daly and Ethan Westtold their fellow band-mates that they were not needed to record this new EP, at which those members were replaced. The story, which you can read in full on Chamberlin’s website, does have a happy ending though, as all original members are working together on a full length follow-up to Look What I’ve Become. I look forward to it.