Constellations Festival 2011, Leeds

Constellations 2011

By Russell Warfield

November 12, 2011

This year’s Constellations Festival was a double-decker treat for me. Not only was it a second straight year of excellent music at Leeds University Union (and only the second year in total, to boot), but it was also the first time that I managed to get back oop n’rth after graduating from the university earlier this year. Gorgeously decorated stages aside, it was a joy to roam around the place, enjoying performances, supping on pints which didn’t require me to sell a kidney to purchase. (Note to self: don’t just turn this into a review of how much you love Leeds) … Continue Reading

Constellations Festival 2011: Clashbusting

Constellations 2011

By Russell Warfield

Single-day festivals are a real pleasure of mine: lots of great bands, all in one place, without guy-ropes. And my favourite incarnation of forefather event Dot to Dot was the Manchester version, where pretty much the whole affair was homed within the confines of the Student Union building, minimising both drinks prices and walking distances. How fabulous, then, to have Constellations Festival fall into my life in Leeds last year, fully formed, seemingly from nowhere, operating almost identically, but better. For a debut appearance, its line up was staggering, with the likes of Four Tet, Broken Social Scene, Les Savy Fav fronting the bill – and this year is looking just as sexy. But, alas, the inevitable other side of the coin rears its ugly head: clashes. The schedule is out, so let’s talk this through together… … Continue Reading

Fucked Up – The Well, Leeds

9 May, 2011

There are certain things which you come to expect from a hardcore punk show. Distortion, sheer volume, slam dancing/moshing (delete as appropriate to your decade of birth) and a relentless sense of visceral abrasion. And whilst Fucked Up subvert conventional notions of what punkrock ‘is’ or ‘does’ in some ticklish ways, they by no means prove the exception to these rules. Fucked Up are a hardcore punkrock band, and their live shows unambiguously evidence this fact. Playing through punishingly loud amps and broken microphones, Fucked Up lead the charge of flailing bodies, flying beer, and half-abortive crowd surfing attempts. It’s punkrock, exactly as we know it, exactly as we want it.

… Continue Reading

Live At Leeds 2011

The Tallest Man On Earth, Brudenell Social Club, Leeds

The Tallest Man On Earth

November 25, 2010

The difficulty with writing about a live performance from a one-man-and-his-guitar act like The Tallest Man On Earth is that these sort of shows don’t necessarily afford the writer a great sense of spectacle throw a couple of paragraphs at.  No flashing strobes, no kooky dancers, no onstage catfights between bassist and keyboard player: just a person and their guitar doing their best to convince an audience that trudging out on a freezing November evening somehow trumps listening to the record on headphones in a nice warm bed. … Continue Reading

The Diamond Sea – Second Move

The Diamond Sea - Second Move

Seldom can I recall hearing lyrics so trite as on the opening song of The Diamond Sea‘s album, Second Move. “We’ll fly away to Spain and steal a Jaguar/We’ll sit on a beach, drink champagne and eat caviar” they whine before equating France with cheese and Beaujolais. At least when Crass stated the world owed them a living you could imagine them going out and grabbing what they felt they were due. The Diamond Sea sound as if they’ll never open their bedroom door to take the first step in a life of bold brigandry. … Continue Reading

Download The Horn Hunt – Raptor (Aztec Remix) for free

The Horn Hunt

Leeds-based duo The Horn Hunt are gearing up to release their second full length album, Depressur Jolie, in February on White Label Music, but before that we’ve got a taster for you – you can download the Axtec remix of the album’s lead single ‘Raptor’ for free right now. … Continue Reading

Constellations Festival, Leeds

Constellations Festival

November 14, 2010

It’s a nice enough idea to hold these Dot To Dot-style all day, indoor festivals during the winter. First of all, it makes for a welcome little care package helping one through the eight month long festival-deficient portion of the year. Second of all, the fact that it’s winter means that four o’clock can pour you a guiltless beer, as well as provide that intangible sense of ‘atmosphere’ afforded by the simple knowledge that it’s dark outside. … Continue Reading

No Age and Male Bonding, Brudenell Social Club, Leeds

No Age

October 12, 2010

In advance of tonight’s show, I’m not entirely sure what to make of the prospect of a joint headline venture between No Age and Male Bonding. On the one hand, it could be an exciting and harmonious marriage between two bands who share a similar appeal. On the other hand, it could turn out to be a long evening of increasingly samey, regressive punk sludge. In reality, neither scenario is quite the case, as the bands aren’t actually as close cousins as one might imagine them to be.

… Continue Reading

Dinosaur Pile-Up – Growing Pains

Dinosaur Pile-Up - Growing Pains

It’s fair to say that Leeds has seen its fair share of great bands come and go in recent years. But thankfully, the city’s abundance of talent is rarely put to waste for long, as every band that goes the way of the dodo seems to spawn at least one new act. Mother Vulpine are a prime example – not only do their ex-members include Tom Hudson (now of Pulled Apart By Horses) but also one Matt Bigland, the creative mind behind Dinosaur Pile-Up. It’s fair to say that Bigland is very much a fan of Dave Grohl – so much so that he was inspired to follow in the footsteps of his hero and write and play every song on the band’s debut record. Growing Pains is the end result, constructed with producer James Kenosha (Grammatics, Pulled Apart By Horses) over a two-month period. … Continue Reading