Lucky Soul, The School and The Lodger to play Hoxton Square Bar & Kitchen!

My offshoot Pic ‘n’ Mixx is putting on its biggest show to date!

Tuesday 10 August, Hoxton Square Bar & Kitchen
Pic ‘n’ Mixx presents… Lucky Soul + The School + The Lodger with How Does It Feel To Be Loved + Pocketbooks DJs
Tickets (£9): http://www.wegottickets.com/event/86890

After a storming DJ set at Indietracks Festival over the weekend (review coming soon), it’s now time to formally announce this amazing show – I’ve been trying to put on Lucky Soul for ages! It’s a welcome return to the Pic ‘n’ Mixx stage for The School, and a new ‘n’ shiny ‘yo’ for The Lodger. And I’ve got Ian from How Does It Feel To Be Loved (one of the best nights in London, I’ll have you know) playing tunes between the bands, and Dan from Pocketbooks spinning some stuff after the headliners. Woo yeah!

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The Tender Trap – Dansette Dansette

The Tender Trap - Dansette Dansette

Despite it sharing little with the similarly-named Antipodean one-trick ponies, those of a sweet disposition could do worse than to check out this summery, sixties girl group-tinged comeback album from the newly reformed and expanded Tender Trap, led by much-travelled jangly mainstay Amelia Fletcher. Dansette Dansette is the third album from Fletcher’s fourth project (following Talulah Gosh, Heavenly and Marine Research), with her long-term partner Rob Pursey still in tow. … Continue Reading

Pocketbooks, Cola Jet Set, Foxes! and The Cavalcade play London’s Pic ‘n’ Mixx

Pic 'n' Mixx - May 29 at the Buffalo Bar

In a two-part news special coming from hubs directly related to moi, I am pleased to confirm – and remind you? – that indiepop and mix CD spectacular Pic ‘n’ Mixx is returning to London’s Buffalo Bar on May 29 with a stonking line-up of Pocketbooks, Cola Jet Set, Foxes! and The Cavalcade.

Here is where you subscribe (buy tickets), for a grand total of just £6: http://www.wegottickets.com/event/75482 … Continue Reading

She & Him – Volume Two

She & Him - Volume Two

Much has been made of the unlikeliness of the pairing of Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward. Around the release of She & Him’s debut effort two years ago, references to the improbable juxtaposition between the fantasy object of choice for indie boys the world over and the folk troubadour became pretty tiresome in the end. Thankfully, Volume One became one of those depressingly rare records where the music spoke louder than the backstory which accompanied it, and it was received well on its own merits as a record of charming, sun-kissed pop. … Continue Reading

The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart to headline Indietracks 2010

Indietracks

The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart have been announced as the headliners of this year’s Indietracks festival, taking place on 23-25 July 2010 in the grounds of a picturesque 1950s steam railway in Derbyshire.

Weekend tickets are now available at an early bird discount price of £55, and day tickets are available for £30. This price is available until Friday 7 May. After this date, weekend tickets will be £60 and day tickets £32.50. … Continue Reading

Our next gig is announced: Bodebrixen, The Grave Architects and Our Lost Infantry to play The Lexington on January 31st

Bodebrixen

How much good news can a person take in just a few small hours? Might as well push the boundaries a little bit, or at least that’s our outlook. We’ve got Bodebrixen, The Grave Architects and Our Lost Infantry on the bill for this night and you’d be a mega-idiot to miss it.

It’s happening at The Lexington on Sunday January 31st, and tickets are available from this link: http://www.wegottickets.com/event/68997 … Continue Reading

The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart – Newcastle Academy 2

TPOBPAH

December 2nd 2009

It’s been a hell of a year for New Yorkers The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart. They’ve triumphantly ridden a wave of blog-driven hype for the whole of 2009, picking up a legion of plaudits for their effortlessly wonderful debut album which has culminated in a top 10 place in our very own albums of the year poll. I had them far higher than 8th in my own personal list, but hey, such is democracy…

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Allo, Darlin’ – The Polaroid Song

'Allo Darlin'

There’s a special place in every girl’s heart for twee pop. The Cardigans doing ‘Carnival’, Belle and Sebastian doing, well, any of their songs – it’s enough to make any red-blooded chick wear Hello Kitty slides in their fringe, get a uke and wear their boyfriend’s ratty brown cardigan.

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The Lovely Eggs, The School, MJ Hibbett set to play London’s Buffalo Bar on October 30

Pic 'n' Mixx

Confession, confession: this night is something of a Muso’s Guide offshoot. But hey ho, what better excuse than that to shout about it and tell you a little bit more?

Pic ‘n’ Mixx is launching at the Buffalo Bar on Upper Street, London (nearest tube: Highbury and Islington) on Friday 30 October at 8pm. There’re five bands playing and there’s DJing after all that’s done ’til 4am. There’ll be stuff like Heavenly, Pavement, The Smiths, Los Campesinos! to keep you on your toes.

And what’s more, you can win CDs made by Frightened Rabbit, Internet Forever, Lucky Soul, Amelia Fletcher, The Clientele, Pocketbooks, Xfm’s John Kennedy, Everett True, Luis from Elefant Records and a selection of other taste-making know-it-alls if you contribute one of your own on the way in. … Continue Reading

Girls, Leeds Cockpit

Girls

October 15th 2009

Tonight’s opening act Swanton Bombs are a highly impressive two piece who, in an alternate reality, would be enjoying the success of fun-but-essentially-talentless acts like Wavves. The room may have been pretty desolate so early in the evening, but the Bombs remained engaging with the perfect blend of ferocious drums, impressively proficient guitar chops and big vocal hooks. Song structures were interesting and the two band members had enough technical musical ability to enable themselves to rock out harder than lots of bands with fuller instrumentation. The riffs and beats pounded hard right up until the final song (presumably entitled ‘Get Your Tanks Off My Lawn’) which took an impressive and welcome slide to the almost soulful allowing the band to flex its impressive musical muscle a little more.

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