Matthew And The Atlas - Kingdom of Your Own EP Launch

Fresh from supporting Mumford and Sons on tour Matthew And The Atlas are one of the hottest rising folk bands in the UK, or at least the Southwest! Midas Mumford, sorry I mean Marcus Mumford and his sons have already set Johnny Flynn on fire, and the new folk revolution is truly in full stride. It’s exciting to be part of this newly exposed genre, but sad to see commercialisation tainting what started off organic and good. The earthy raw talent of bands such as Matthew And The Atlas amongst the Communion team is something to behold, now. We don’t need another radio worthy Mumford and Sons, but let them just be a reminder and a hook into the innocent folk scene. To go and buy records you only hear on vinyl not the internet, it’s a lost culture that this niche genre has managed to preserve. Mumford and Sons haven’t sold out (not yet I hope), and their success isn’t bad either as exposure for all smaller folk fish is just what they want. Mumford and the team know this, as they kindle the Communion label as a hub of up and coming talent, just like Matthew Hegarty. The EP launch at The Borderline in London celebrated with Communion’s finest with support from exciting newcomer Rachel Sermanni, Stokes William and the mysterious ‘Daughter’ to make this one hoedown to remember.

Matthew delivered his oak-barrelled odes in a classic quality, full of heartbreak and deliverance. Along with the inevitable contrasts to Mumford and Sons, Matthew’s lumberjack voice is reminiscent of Ray LaMontagne’s and harmonies resemble those of Bon Iver. Ironically the pastoral natures of his lyrics are genuinely heart felt as the singer’s also a landscape gardener. So he really is familiar with the dead leaves and withering roses. From brass duets (and incredible moustaches) the instrumentation is unadulterated new folk – acoustic guitars, accordion, banjo, trumpets, trombone, percussion; peaceful in the slow songs and powerful in the fast. Highlights include, “Within The Rose” and “Come Out Of The Woods”. The EP is avialble now on Ben Lovett‘s (the keyboard/accordion player in Mumford and Sons) Communion records.

In more ways than one, they have Ben Lovett and Mumford and Sons to thank for their success so far. Hopefully, however, Hegarty and his band can escape from their predecessors' shadow, to really come into a kingdom of their own.

The Middle East @ Bush Hall 13th July 2010

A balmy and relatively muggy English summer evening welcomed The Middle East into Shepherds Bush’s own Bush Hall. It wasn’t only the weather that was reminiscent of their homeland, immediately antipodean murmurs filled the hall (like many of the gigs I attend these days – the enlightenment of having an Aussie GF). Murmurs turned to pandemonium as the five plus strong band took to the stage, fortifying that tonight was very much a home from home gig.

The Townsville rockers have been assembled for five years only to oddly sport one album “The Recordings Of The Middle East” amongst various EPs and compilation releases. Like many folk bands I have witnessed, the EPs songs are mythical and lush complimented with pensive picks of guitars and blissful harmonies; juxtaposed by onslaughts of noise and thrashing banjos.  The live Middle East flirt between a barndance ho-down to a pin-drop silencing of the crowd. The later reminiscent of young Laura Marling’s musical authority. Marling herself attended the gig as the B&B host to Bree Tranter (female vocalist). In one moment the stage is buckling under the pressure of the foot stomping fun. To the next where the audience has been commanded into musical silence with only the hum of the air conditioning as interruption coupled with the thought that the sweat coating your body would deny had ever been installed.

A lead vocalist could not be pinpointed, with vocals being harmoniously shared between three members: Jordan Ireland, Rohin Jones and Bree Tranter, which doubtlessly derived in a phenomenal sound texture. Add these foundations to the ever-changing amalgamation of instruments and instrumentalists (the list is truly as long as your arm) with the cherry on top being that the band are infatuated with their performance. With this kind of enthusiasum galvanised with their material it seems the band are sifting through copious albums for 75 minutes, what more could you ask?

The Aussies closed with the singalong favorite “Blood” and it was evident that The Middle East you hear through your headphones aren’t the Middle East witnessed on stage. Country roots infect their vigour live, with more power and passion. A crescendo becomes a deafendo, it begs whether amplification is needed at all in such a venue. However, when they wind down to the quiet sections over half the band are satisfied to leave the stage (minus the mentalist from the support band who begged to play then tambourine for every song of their set – he got dragged off...).  Very much a home gig on foreign soil but was one hell of an away win.

Flight of the Conchords @ Wembley Arena 25th May 2010

A far cry from the miniscule venues of New Zealand, New York and even New Zealand Town, a Kiwi duo wait to humour 12,000 fans at Wembley arena. The last in a string of sold out shows across Europe; tickets were hot property for this elusive gig.  But how will this understated double team translate to venue of such stature and enormity? Can they still be funny? Or are they destined to be watched by one possessed fan for the rest of their career?

The translation wasn’t completely lost, however with massive screens and the odd decision to seat the entire venue didn’t make life easy for the pair. It wasn’t such a distance from the X Factor-esque productions, which take place under the same roof.  Blame cannot be blasted just on the duo, just sort your production company out.

The opener ”Two Many Dicks” mimics Daft Punk’s act in their very own lo-fi FOTC style equipped with cardboard boxes instead of flashy cyber helmets. Much of the humour is provided through the pairs awkward chemistry, and unscripted cock-ups – reminiscent of their TV performances.  From anecdotes about the band’s rock and roll muffin eating to Jermaine forgetting how to play “Prince of Parties”, laughs were abundant. Possibly from a virgin FOTC viewers perspective this must have seemed like the most chaotic and surreal show ever.

The band’s attempts at audience participation fell flat (due to the ridiculous decision to seat everyone!) – with Bret getting ticked off by an impromptu sing-along to “Albi the Racist Dragon”. All was rescued with great versions of “Bowie”, “Robots” and “Business Time”, the later was extended among new less familiar tracks like “Jenny” which all worked great.

The downfall came, as mentioned, through restricted the audience to their seats. Like with any gig, musicians feed off reactions from the crowd, but Wembley Arena sees no dancing, or other immediate reaction above laughter. Regrettably the connection you have when you watch FOTC was effectively negated by this segregation. It wasn’t actually until the final song, where both Bret and Jermaine get offstage and into the audience for a storming version of “Sugar Lumps” which rekindled this eluded crowd connection.

Maybe it’s my fault for failing to track them down live sooner. But maybe it would be nice one day to see them in a small dive in New Zealand Town, even if I have to sit next to Meg foaming uncontrollably at the mouth.

The Temper Trap @ Shepherds Bush 29th April 2010

The first of Temper Trap’s string of three sell out shows hit Shepherds Bush last night. The Australian quartet known for their distinctive epic pop tones, could only conjure up a 3-star show. Opening with a not so epic 4-minute instrumental, the crowd lay confused as if they had accidentally strolled into the adjacent Walkabout, but this thought was banished as soon as the familiar synths of Rest hit. But it was this miss-match in arrangement and tempo that had the crowd swaying to the bar whilst the slow-burning first half played out juxtaposed with running back as you got half way there to bop along to tracks such as Down River, Love lost and Fader. No doubt the Aussie rockers soon shall have a sizeable back catalogue to choose from to deliver a more coherent listen next time. Though the entity of Conditions was delivered with precision and energy it just seemed to lack a live element.

With an extensive touring schedule lined up for coming months, one has to wonder when their next material shall be written. Fear not TT fans, as they delivered a rather sombre new addition in their encore, maybe this is a turn for a maturing and Temper Trap trying to cultivate debut success into a career as epic as guitarist Lorenzo’s riffs. However, it seems just as Lorenzo faded into the furniture of the set so did the charisma and presence of front man Dougie. No chat and as lost as his hands were without a guitar it seems for once the outlandish Aussie stereotype had been canned. He tried to rescue this by launching into the crowd at the end of the set, maybe a little too late. Bassist Jonathon provided the most entertainment with his windmill bass playing technique, whilst using thumb-plectrum to add to his truly unique performance.

There were no hard feelings as everybody got what they wanted by the end in the form of an anthemic delivery of Sweet Disposition to finish off the set listed show. Shortly followed by new material and new single Science of Fear left reverberating around in heads until morning. Let’s hope the onslaught of festivals perks these Aussies back into the tit-pullers we all know to deliver a confident and entertaining live show.

Laura Marling @ London Palladium 25th April 2010

London Palladium? Yes that's right! Somewhat of an odd venue for a gig but what a venue it is, a truly regal venue for a royal performance. Support came from Boy and Bear, a wicked Sydney-based fivesome who fuse the likes of  Fleet Foxes and The Middle East delivering an uplifting, carefree vibe. They chucked in a cover of Bon Iver too, while not as being as mighty as the original it was a fair effort. I highly recommend these guys, so if they are playing near you soon get your behind down there! I love it when you get to a gig early, crossing your fingers that the support isn't going to be crap, and the Boy and Bear lads did just that.

With artwork like this, surely they can do nothing wrong!

Next on the bill was Alessi’s Ark - a timid duo from Hammersmith. Hell, the stage presence was floundering backstage with Boy and Bear, there was no audience interaction or engagement whatsoever! Yes she may have an interesting/good voice but charisma surely makes up for at least 15% of a performance. You could listen to the CD and it would be just as good, personally I think you need that extra dimension, giving the audience something more than just doing a live version of a current long player. The only cool thing about the act was their knitted CD cover.

OK so rant over... Right? Well I'm going to have to say, Laura Marling was astonishing. What a voice, what a band and what a venue, surely nothing could spoil this idyllic situation? But yet again a case of 'no-charisma' syndrome hit the stage. Brief shy exchanges were made with the crowd, but nothing worth writing home about. I suppose coming from a background in up tempo music may make me seem a bit raw. However, why should everyone flounder at her feet 'because she's such a great singer'? Maybe, these youngsters are just humble and want to play their music, maybe they are just overwhelmed to be so successful so young, but surely after being on the circuit for a few years, confidence surely would have prevailed?

Aside from her small talk - she brought an awesome show to her hometown. A packed palladium sat in silence taking in every blissful note. Indeed her voice was phenomenal, delivering her peaceful but meaning-felt melodies. She performed the first half of the gig with her band and the second solo, acoustically. Controversially she doesn't believe in encores. So she signposted two tracks from the end that it was her metaphorical 'encore' now as she ended on 'I Speak Because I Can'.

Overall it was a fantastic evening, where I discovered a little gem in Boy and Bear, they in some senses were the highlight for me, giving good banter and energy along with a powerful performance. Laura was excellent, I look forward to seeing her at Glastonbury this year, but I hope she manages to escape from the 'speechless' bubble she is engulfed in. I appreciate it's daunting, but its just a chat, come on love! Some sort of Gareth Gates reversal? Take a leaf out of  your boyf's book (Marcus Mumford off of Mumford & Sons, FYI)!

Here's the set list for those interested -

Set List

w/ Band

Devil’s Spoke

Hope In The Air

Rambling Man

Ghosts

Blackberry Stone

Acoustic

New One

The Needle And The Damage Done (Neil Young Cover)

Failure

Night Terror

Rest In The Bed

Made A Maid

Goodbye England (Covered In Snow)

w/ Band

What He Wrote

Alpha Shallows

Alas I Cannot Swim

ENCORE (well they didn't go off!)

My Manic & I

I Speak Because I Can

Angus & Julia Stone Live at Shepherd's Bush Academy - 22nd April 2010

What a big night! Big in multiple senses! Last day of uni for me FOREVER and topping the celebration off in style I headed to Shepherd’s Bush Academy to see Angus & Julia Stone. The dreamy duo, hail from Australia and are siblings (however Julia’s interactions with her brother seem a little incestuous from time to time – it must be how the Aussies get down…) and not only share a second name but a host of musical talent.

After getting over the miss matching of tickets (I booked circle instead of stalls – doh!) – we assumed a decent vantage point side stage. The stage peppered with instruments, which were decorated like Christmas trees soon became the focal point of interest as the lights dimmed.  The band shimmied onto the stage, all men dressed as they were going to some outback farmers market and Angus hid behind impressive amounts of facial hair (I have seen them a couple of times now and that was a record amount of beardage), but Julia stole the fashion show in her gracious flowing turquoise dress. 

The enchanting duo opened with ‘And The Boys’ luring Shepherd’s Bush into a carefree 80 minutes. The epic ‘Yellow Brick Road’ followed, my favourite off the new long player ‘Down The Way’, with swirling pads and triumphant chords, as far as I was concerned A & J were already onto a winner.

‘Hold On’ was another dreamy highlight, typical of their updated sound.

Throughout Julia pranced around the stage like butterfly using the trail of her dress as wings as she fluttered bare foot around the stage.  Contrary was Angus’ prominence as he timidly hid behind a cap left of stage while girl’s screamed their love for him at any given silence. Angus unveiled a new track ‘Mercedes Benz’ shyly recounting a story of how he hitched a lift two hot girls in a white Mercedes, not the only song he has written about longing after a random female meeting. Nostalgia came from classics including crowd pleasers ‘Mango Tree’ and a cover of ‘You’re The One That I Want’ from Grease. This wasn’t the only cover; Julia nailed her twist of ‘Private Lawns’, which included an impressive one-handed trumpet solo!

The audiences trance ended on a perfect slow burner ‘Santa Monica Dream’, reminiscent of mellowing out on a beautiful isolated Australian beach somewhere. A beaming audience left that night from the charming indie folk duo. The new album ‘Down The Way’ is out now, though it takes a few listens, I defy any folk fan not to fall in love with it. Let’s keep these guys our little secret. 

Teenage Cancer Trust: Arctic Monkeys Rock The Royal Albert Hall

The Arctics rocked it for The Teenage Cancer Trust on Saturday Night at the Royal Albert Hall! Sorry guys I'm proper busy with my dissertation, yes I know who cares - so the review for this one is pending at the moment, but I have a nice little video for your visual pleasure whilst you wait! Check us out, getting all exclusive in the box! I did get red wine poured all over me whilst videoing this too (from the balcony above)- that's commitment!



Review to follow - check out the rest of my YouTube channel videos!

Miike Snow @ Digital Brighton

Day trip? Why not? So we did, and what a mint day it was too, bloody freezing mind - but well worth wrapping up to see the mighty Miike Snow entourage!  First jokes happened as we got to London Bridge, where I forgot to bring the ticket reference code, so had to queue up in the human queue - long. After al that we had literally 60 seconds on the train until it left, good start. The journey however was usually entertaining, we had some footy fans next to us larking about with a 6 pack of lager each - 10am breakfast beers, legends. Some of the girls they were with made some gold comments about how "Wii Fit don't actually make you fit, is it?" and "Why aren't we stopping for people at every station on these trains?" bless them. After an hour of biting our lips, we go there - the lads went off to the local and we hit the pier. Donut time - yes please!

After all of our frolicking on the arcades (I was both the air hockey and Saga Turbo GT champion, thank you!) lunch, catch up with old friends drinking champagne, (well Cava) on the beach etc. we hit dinner up. Real big veggie style! Check out Food For Friends in Brighton, if you around there soon, it is amazing, whether your vego or not, trust me on this one!  After wolfing that lot down, it was straight to Digital, where we were surprised to see a queue outside. We weren't early, so I went down to investigate. Turns out the good old sound engineers had kindly stuffed the soundsystem up so the show was delayed over an hour - and the support wasn't being dropped. That's good if you want to stay in Brighton all night, or pretty bad if you want to catch the 11.30pm train. Ah! So off the the Walkie it was, and a couple of drinks we headed back to the venue. Actually got in this time, tiny little club, but with an immense Funktion One soundsystem, and it sounded big - will let the engineers off this time!

Ali Love was first up, slightly wasted but nevertheless got the crowd going in the Brighton's own little sweatbox! Time was ticking for our last train, but the soundboys didn't care as they allowed at least 45 minutes for the Swedish-American hybrid formation to grace the stage, why cant everywhere have revolving stages?  Finally the lights dropped and white masks assumed their positions as they went into a an extended sort of skit/interlude of Cult Logic, simple stuff but looked awesome.

Extended and instrumental madness surrounded each track delivered by the Miike Snow boys, stretching their relatively short album out into a 75 minute long mix. And there we were right in the thick of it, I captured the biggest tune of the night - check Miike Snow performing Silvia live...

Wicked stuff, wicked album (though I'm quite annoyed iTunes are hailing it to be the "Best pop album of the year" - I don't like pop do I? Ahhh) and wicked live, Digital in Both Brighton and Newcastle are mint venues, so if anyone you like are playing at either go and check them, its guaranteed to sound fat on that system! Remember to keep your eyes on my YouTube channel too!

Check out one of my favorite pics from the night...