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December 7, 2016December 7, 2016

INTERVIEW: She Makes War

Words by Ed King / Pics by Claire Leach

It’s not often you see the word ‘polymath’. It’s even less often you see it in an artist’s biography, but I guess when you sing, write, produce, promote and play the ukulele, autoharp, melodica, piano, violin, saxophone and recorder… plus it’s a nice change from ‘multi instrumentalist’. Or even ‘doyenne of gloom pop’, if anyone from the Spotify marketing department is reading.

She Makes War, aka Laura Kidd, is currently based in Bristol (and not born there, as my research – or possibly assumptions – led me to believe). No stranger to travel, Kidd was raised “all over the place, and then London” before settling in the South West four years for “a boy, then not a boy, and now a boy.”

Despite adding playwright and video editor to her list of portable virtuosities (as well as slamming exes at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival) it’s music that now drives Laura Kidd round the country. And there’s a fair amount to play with. “I started with the recorder,” tells Kidd, “then the violin – but terribly, I don’t play that anymore but I used to. Then I just start picking up stuff.” To a man who’s been pretending to play the piano for years, this sounds impressive. And time consuming. Is it daunting to keep such an arsenal in check?

“Once you’re not afraid of instruments you can play anything in a rudimentary fashion. I play the tiniest amount of piano; I can write on piano but I would get someone else to play the nice parts. I can play the drums a little bit; I can play the autoharp, the omnichord… a thing I like to call the ‘blow piano’.” Kidd takes a sneaky look at the list of instruments I’m checking off from my research. “…I can’t play the Harp. If that’s on Wikipedia that’s because there’s harp in my music and someone wrote a thing up saying my music’s characterized by blah, blah, blah.” That’s two for two; I begin to question my monthly donation.

“I’m not saying I’m amazing at any of those instruments,” continues Kidd, “it’s just I’m not afraid. When I start writing songs I hear the arrangements in my brain. So I just know how I want things to go and I can write them out or I can demo them myself on keyboards or whatever it is, then get brilliant violinists or cellists in to play the parts. It’s not about me doing all of it, it’s just I can hear the parts and I know how the songs go. I can hear it in arrangements.”

So you’re composing, even beyond your own immediate talents? “Yeah, and I never want to be restricted by the fact mostly I would perform solo. I wouldn’t not put a string section in a song because I can’t bring them on tour. That’s insane.” My mind jumps back to the word polymath.

“Most people who hear my music will never see me play live because they live in other countries,” continues Kidd – who does have an impressively expansive fan base, “or they can’t come out or whatever. So I want my music to be able to go beyond what I can replicate on stage. Then when I do gigs, I think it’s more interesting to perform the songs in a different way to how they are on the record. You can listen to a record anytime you like. You can listen to that version of it, or you can listen to someone perform it to you in a room… and there’s something so moving about live music. People who are really into live music get that.”

It’s a valid point, and probably keeps the She Makes War diehards comfortably on their toes (many of whom I will see later – suitably t-shirt clad, lip syncing and close to the stage). But people are also sticklers for what they know; even Bob Dylan has been booed out the fire exit. Have the solo shows ever been… underappreciated?

“In over seven years performing as She Makes War, maybe three or four people have said ‘oh, I’d love to see that with the band’,” tells Kidd, “and they only meant it nicely, they weren’t saying ‘that was shit, where’s your band?’ They were just saying I’d like to see it with a band. Which is like, ‘cool, but that’s expensive and may never happen.’ When I do rare band shows like this I do try and make sure everybody knows about them because they don’t happen very often.”

I hope Birmingham is as polite; not to worry though, we’re getting both the solo show and the full band tonight. Plus support from Luckless, a solo artist from New Zealand (now Berlin) who could give PJ Harvey a run for her money. Not that we’re complaining but why such a full show?

“Because when you hire a van, you can fit loads of extra stuff in it,” laughs Kidd, “so that’s what I’ve done. I mostly play solo and I play lots of different instruments, so tonight I’m indulging that a bit more than usual. It’s a way to celebrate a really exciting year of gigging, festivals and putting a new album out. So these are the party gigs at the end really.”

It is a bit of a coup for Birmingham too. I’d have expected to see ‘Evening with She Makes War’ in London or Bristol, where the subsequent shows will be held, but for The Sunflower Lounge to snag the only other date generates a certain sense of civic pride. Plus in the last twelve months Ms War has played an ‘intimate show’ at Ort Café and supported Carina Round at the Hare & Hounds; not a bad litany of yam venues there bab. What keeps bringing Laura Kidd back to our city?

“I freakin’ love Birmingham,” declares Kidd. “I have played here numerous times with other bands; I supported The Levellers here at the O2 Academy a few years ago,” Mark Chadwick appears on She Makes War’s latest LP, “and I played in Erica Nockalls’ band, as her bassist and backing vocalist. We played in the Hare & Hounds’ main room with Miles Hunt, and then they let me play a set of my own stuff at the end. They were very generous to give me that platform and since then people in Birmingham have come to my shows.” You can’t get much more of a Midlands endorsement than Miles Hunt. How’s the wider tour been going?

“It’s great, but it’s confusing,” explains Kidd, “because (the tour) is not in a block of dates. I did six gigs supporting The Wave Pictures. I did two tiny, tiny gigs in a cinema screening room in Bristol – unplugged gigs – then these three with band and solo as well. It’s all been leading up to these shows. But the previous tour also went great. It just feels like a really long time ago.” So far my research has confidently failed me; when was your last tour..? “That was last week. My mind moves really quite quickly.”

I can forget what day of the week it is when I’m working from home, and put me in a moving vehicle for more than 24 hours… But it’s clear there’s a lot to do when She Makes War hits the road, with Laura Kidd clasping most (if not all) of the reins – on stage and off. How is life as a peripatetic polymath, any highs, lows or fisticuffs on the road so far? “I drive myself around, so when I do my solo shows I’m all alone in the car – there can’t be any shenanigans of the alcoholic variety,” explains Kidd. “I just think it’s a bit too clichéd anyway really, I did all that stuff when I was playing I other people’s bands – now that I actually care about the music I’m playing I’m not really bothered about ruining it with a hangover.”

I think about the backlog of writing I have at home and the half drunk Guinness I have on the table, the latter getting noticed too. “But I want everyone else to have a good time,” smiles Kidd. “I have a good time in different ways, i.e. playing, talking to people, enjoying performing… I love to share my music with people and I don’t need to be drunk for any of that stuff.” …I’d like to thank the Greeks, the feudal system, the good people at Diageo and Pernod Ricard…

But Laura Kidd is carrying more precious cargo; her third studio album, Direction of Travel, came out in April this year and it’s a serious step up. A solid handful of corkers crumbled over a supremely proficient album. And I’m a cynic.

“It’s the first one that I’ve recorded in Bristol,” tells Kidd, “I worked with an engineer called TJ Allen whose works on some really great and amazing things, in a really cool studio called J & J which is owned by Jim Barr from Portishead. Who kept popping in for cups of tea. But this is the first album I’ve produced on my own, so the engineer was incredibly important and he (TJ Allen) did a beautiful job.” The album does feel richer, more rounded. Was it difficult with so much creative control/culpability?

“I’m very proud that it’s the first one I did on my own,” continues Kidd, “in terms of the overview and all the creative choices. All of it. I feel the third one (album – Direction of Travel) does all the things I wanted the first two albums to do. It’s very satisfying to get that feeling… of a job well done, you know?” A personal and professional victory then?

“I recorded a lot of it at home; the ukulele, the keyboards and all the weird little instruments were recorded in my house. Which makes it really meaningful. Everything’s of a high quality but I didn’t want it to be about perfection – I wanted it to feel like something happened. So the fact that I recorded a lot of it in my house means something, to me. So when I listen to it I think of it fondly. The songs are super personal so it made sense to record them at home.” Direction of Travel does feel like a deeply personal endevour, from the caustic chants of ‘Cold Shoulder’ to the dark motivation of ‘Turning to You’. And if we were breaking up I’d probably wait until you finished writing an album. Is there anything on there that’s especially poignant?

“’Please Don’t’ is a song that’s going to make me cry a lot one day, because it’s about my dad,” admits Kidd. “He was quite ill and I was terrified about that. He’s better now. But it’s one of those things – I’ve written a song that’s going to devastate me one day. When the inevitable happens that will be off the set list. But that’s something that other people find meaningful so I like that we can share that feeling.”

“‘Paper Thin’ as well because if I’m feeling blue, and I do feel blue quite a lot, then that does help me to perk myself up a bit.” A beautiful acoustic track in the centre of the album, with guest vocals from Tanya Donelly. “It’s a song about drawing a line under a very bad time and just moving on. Getting personal strength together; saying I can do this, I can get up in the morning, do some exercise, drink some water, have a shower, feel good, feel happy. Eventually. That’s a song that I think resonates with people too. There was a woman who came to one of my tiny cinema shows at the weekend and just burst into tears at the end of that song.”

And how did Tanya Donelly get involved, always good to see her name on an album sleeve? “…Especially mine,” laughs Kidd. “That was very exciting, is very exciting. I heard about Tanya’s Swan Song Series online and began gushing about it on Twitter. Then she replied and followed me, and listened to my stuff. Then she came over to Bristol and invited me to sing backing vocals on two of her songs, which was terrifying and exciting and I practiced for a week. Every day. Then I just emailed her asking if she’d be interested in singing on my next record, and she said yes.”

The powers that sound check are circling and we’re being given the subtle nod; there’s a lot to get ready. Someone comes in and asks Laura Kidd the promoter if she’s got a float. Time for us to leave the building bustle of The Sunflower Lounge’s live room – where She Makes War will soon be stamping hands before opening for her own support act, then joining her full band for the headline set.

Plus she’s working on the merchandise stall. Polymath indeed.

‘Paper Thin’ – She Makes War with Tanya Donelly

Direction to Travel by She Makes War is out now, released though The state 51 Conspiracy. For more on She Makes War, including online purchase points for Direction of Travel and Laura Kidd’s wider back catalogue, visit www.shemakeswar.com

For more on Luckless, visit www.luckless.co.nz

For more from The Sunflower Lounge, visit www.thesunflowerlounge.com

December 6, 2016December 6, 2016

BREVIEW: Primal Scream @ O2 Institute 04.12.16

Words by Ed King / Pics by Rob Hadley

Not everyone will get this, but it feels like I’m back in The Hummingbird.

It’s a cold, cold, COLD November night. It’s a Sunday. I’m standing in the O2 Institute, on the same dance floor where I’ve dropped a Bez sized batch of pills at Club Andromeda in the mid 90’s, watching Bo Ningen ROCK THE FUCK OUT. As support act for Primal Scream you’re always going to be singing from the shadows, but this Japanese ‘four piece noise rockers’ are throwing themselves into the room. Literally, at one point.

It’s all a little stadium for my liking, and the solos seem to be an extended masturbation without any real input to the songs, but after about four unflinchingly high energy tracks I am probably the only one not transfixed. Although that could be the silver flares. But if you want to see something outrageous and committed, check out Bo Ningen.

The room fills out and starts clapping the sound technician, as the poor bastard flits on and off stage with an air of addled urgency. Primal Scream have been on tour since the end of the festival season – with dates in each month, before the main crunch came in November. They’ve been to Japan, they’ve been to Canada. They’ve been to North and South America. Now they’re in Birmingham, just over half way through a nineteen date UK tour. And it’s a Sunday.

But the crowd wants blood, some of whom perhaps literally; the four middle aged, fat skin heads behind me start throwing plastic glasses at the tall, scarf waving glam rocker at the front. The mum-dad-daughter to my right start twitching into their beer and orange juice, whilst the people sat down on the balcony start to lean over and stare precariously around the stage. Tension, builds.

Then, to the soundtrack of a more confident cheer, Primal Scream take the stage; the room foot stamps so hard I wander if the Kate Tempest gig downstairs can hear it. Without any need of introduction, the guitar riff and keys from ‘Movin’ On Up’ sweep across the hall. Bobby Gillespie grabs the mic, perches one foot one the wall of monitors at the front of the stage and croons out into the crowd. Suited and booted a pink polka dot shirt.

Beat, beat, beat goes the backing track, and we move from ghost of LPs past to the lead single from Primal Scream’s latest album – the fast paced, techno pop rock ‘Where the Light Gets In’. As far as I can see (there was a big speaker stack making me both blind and deaf) Gillespie is the only vocalist, with no Sky Ferreira stand in on stage.

Without pause we go back to the back catalogue, as the bluesy drawl and strut of ‘Jailbird’ swaggers around the room, giving the crowd a chance to play along. ‘I’m Yours, Your Mine’ echos through the O2 Institute in a rare show of Birmingham crowd participation. Reminiscent to the sampled beginning of a popular Primal Scream track, people are clearly here to ‘have a good time’; by the time the first guitar solo of ‘Accelerator’ kicks in, most of the beer is now on the floor.

The set jumps across Primal Scream’s significant portfolio, Gillespie jumps across the stage – bouncing from Innes to Butler and back over the monitors. And apart from a small shout out to the founding members of Jackbites, all that comes off stage is music.

The band look fueled, but tired; it’s been months on the road, across many far flung territories. Bobby Gillespie looks like… well, Bobby Gillespie. On a Sunday. His vocals painfully weak at points – especially in the down tempo blues ballad ‘Cry Myself Blind’, which sounds more like a 3am wedding reception karaoke attempt. As a child of Screamadelica I keep my fingers crossed they don’t play ‘Damaged’.

But the energy is ferocious; the whole room, from balcony to bar, is alive and focused. Even the fat skinheads are dancing – elbow jostling in a circle, like a race hate hen party on Broad Street. And I still can’t work out which side of the mum-dad-daughter triptych is the reason they’re here, and whose been dragged along because ‘I bet you’ll enjoy it’. But it’s not often you get to see a family dance it out at a rock concert so who the fuck cares. Even the much older couple at the back of the balcony are now dancing arm in arm, wrapped around each other in metronome unison with broad grins on their faces. I think the pills have kicked in.

Standout moments come from ‘100% Or Nothing’ – the last single from Chaosmosis – and the bass slapping relentless mess fest (and government health warning) ‘Shoot Speed Kill Light’, as Butler points her axe to the sky and leads a demonic grin charge into the crowd. Eventually the continued (and somewhat obvious) heckles to ‘PLAY LOADED’ are finally answered, and by the time Peter Fonda stammers out his call to arms the room is already lost; Gillespie left to do nothing more than watch over his flock and shake those maracas.

‘Country Girl’ brings the main set to a close, with a somewhat messy start – that “shows we’re not true professionals” – and the most enthusiastic moment of audience participation Birmingham has probably seen in a while. The house lights stay down so we know there’s an encore, but for much longer than it takes to wring out a shirt and rack up.

I begin to wonder if this really is it and edge my way to the back of the room – not to get out early, but in case there’s a mini riot. Mercifully the slow sample start and electro riffs of ‘Kill All Hippies’ comes rolling off stage, before the pillar shaking finále of ‘Rocks’ throw this Sunday service crashing into the walls of fuck you.

Then it hits me. I remember standing in this and other venues as a drug rinsed, precocious teenager asking ‘you reckon on day we’ll all be old but still coming and raving, like they do at tea dances and stuff?’

The answer is yes.

It’s tonight.

We still party hard.

And if Gillespie wants it, and can smooth out them Sunday vocals, there’s still a place for a front man.

For more on Primal Scream, visit www.primalscream.net

For more on Bo Ningen, visit www.boningen.info

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For more from the O2 Institute, including full event listing and online ticket sales, visit www.academymusicgroup.com/o2institutebirmingham

For more from Gigs and Tours, including full event listing and online ticket sales, visit www.gigsandtours.com

December 5, 2016

BPREVIEW: Bullet for My Valentine @ O2 Academy 07.12.16

Words by Ed King

On Wednesday 7^th December, Bullet for My Valentine come to the O2 Academy Birmingham – performing their debut album, The Poison. Support comes from Killswitch Engage + Cane Hill.

Doors open at 7pm with an 11pm curfew. Tickets are priced at £30 (+booking fee) as presented by Live Nation. For direct gig info and online tickets sales, click here.

Formed in back in 1998, under their original name Jeff Killed John, it would be their 2005 The Poison album (and shift in musical direction) that would stamp Bullet for My Valentine into the metalcore scene in the UK, Europe and the US.

Produced by Colin Richardson (Cradle of Filth, Napalm Death, Slipknot), The Poison was something of a powerhouse debut – with the BBC’s Joe Gooden describing the ‘54 minutes of twisted, dark, uncompromising metal’ as ‘an ugly, bloody mess of dense, relentless melodic metalcore, duelling vocal harmonies and chugging guitars, perfect for tinnitus-risking kids everywhere.’ Not sure I’ve seen that section on HMV’s shelves, but when the opening line of an album track makes your singer pass out (“LETS GO” – on ‘Tears Don’t Fall’) then I guess you’re a bit above or beyond.

The Poison charted at No21 on the UK Album Charts, and led to Bullet for My Valentine playing the Download and Kerrang! Festivals, alongside a North American tour supporting Rob Zombie. The band released four singles from their debut album, with the singer flooring ‘Tears Don’t Fall’ winning the 2006 Kerrang! Award for Best Single. And apparently, if you listen closely, you can hear him drop.

‘Tears Don’t Fall’ – Bullet for My Valentine

Bullet for My Valentine come to the O2 Academy (B’ham) on Wednesday 7^th December – performing their 2005 debut album, The Poison. Support comes from Killswitch Engage + Cane Hill. For direct gig info and online tickets sales, click here.

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For more on Bullet for My Valentine, visit www.bulletformyvalentine.com

For more from the O2 Academy (B’ham), including full event listing and online ticket sales, visit www.academymusicgroup.com/o2academybirmingham

For more form Live Nation, visit www.livenation.co.uk

December 3, 2016

BREVIEW: Treasure Island @ REP – running until 07.01.17

Words by Helen Knott / Pics by Pete Le May

Robert Louis Stevenson described his book Treasure Island as, ‘a story for boys; no need of psychology or fine writing’. It’s an outlook typical of its time, and the resulting story is a lively and charming Victorian coming-of-age adventure.

So how then, to create a production that captures the spirit of the original while appealing to a modern Birmingham REP family audience? This particular adaptation is written by the highly respected playwright Bryony Lavery. Lavery has taken a feminist slant on Treasure Island, with the protagonist Jim and a number of other main characters played by women.

Jim being played by a girl rather than a boy makes less difference than you might think. You just immediately accept it; in fact, the play mentions it more times that it really needs to. As Jim says when continually asked about her gender in the first act: “That be my business”.

Apart from its use of gender, Lavery’s stage adaptation doesn’t stray too far from Stevenson’s book. This isn’t always a good thing. For example, on a number of occasions Jim steps out of a scene to take on the role of narrator, describing the action as if the character is still in the novel. These narrative passages are never insightful or necessary; the audience, even with children in it, should be trusted to understand what’s happening on stage.

Another issue is the pacing. This is a long play – three hours including the interval. Too much time is spent on exposition in the first act, which takes place at Jim’s inn and features a succession of mumbling characters having dull exchanges. Unfortunately it’s symptomatic of the rest of the production; it lacks drama and tension. There are some loud bangs that make you jump and some gruesome injuries that make you recoil, but there are no real moments of wonder.

Directed by Philip Breen, this production of Treasure Island works best when it’s concentrating on being fun – utilising the cast’s musical talents in the songs or using the REP’s floor for some neat visual tricks.

There are some nice comic performances too: Dave Fishley, who plays the sailor Gray, steals all of the scenes he’s in. Gray’s running joke is that he is so dull that he’s continually forgotten by his crewmates, though of course it works to his advantage in the end. And Thomas Pickles’ off-kilter, Gollum-inspired performance as Ben Gunn is the highlight of the second half.

Sometimes, however, the more serious elements of the show, such as the numerous, sometimes quite unpleasant deaths, are played too much for laughs. I’m not expecting a Tarantino-style dark atmosphere to a family Christmas show, but there needs to be some feeling of jeopardy. The parrot, Captain Flint, is probably the scariest character in the production and he’s a puppet.

Emotions too are downplayed and oversimplified. Jim and ‘Long John’ Silver’s ambiguous relationship should be at the heart of the play, but it isn’t given the stage time to develop. Consequently, the inevitable betrayal lacks emotional punch.

Perhaps I’m just not invested enough because I didn’t read the book as a child. The lady sitting next to me did and we discuss the differences between the play and the book in the interval. “I would have liked this new version when I was a girl”, she says.

So if the girls in the audience watch this Treasure Island and feel inspired by an adventurous, outgoing role model then I’ll happily forgive what is a fun, but ultimately unsatisfying, production.

Treasure Island runs at the Birmingham REP from 25^th November 2016 to 7^th January 2017. For direct event information, including performance times and online tickets sales, click here.

For more from the Birmingham REP, including full event listings and online ticket sales, visit www.birmingham-rep.co.uk

December 2, 2016December 2, 2016

BPREVIEW: Lissie @ O2 Institute 03.12.16

Words by Ed King

On Saturday 3^rd December, Lissie Maurus (aka Lissie) performs at the O2 Institute – with support from Teddy Thompson.

Being held in the Institute2 room, doors open at 7pm. Tickets are priced at £22.50 (+booking fee) as presented by Live Nation and SJM Concerts. For direct gig info and online ticket sales, click here.

Bouncing onto the UK music scene in 2010, Lissie’s debut album – Catching a Tiger – reached No12 on the UK Album Charts. Eventually catching the A Playlist on Radio 2, the debut’s third single, ‘Cuckoo’, would introduce Lissie’s gritty kaleidoscope of blues, rock, folk and country across the UK airways. With two (arguably stronger) singles already in circulation – ‘In Sleep’ and ‘When I’m Alone’ – 2010 seemed to be the Year of Maurus. The press loved it, the public bought it, Columbia Records seemed loudly proud that they’d released it… and low, all was bountiful.

But the fickle nature of humans, music and industry brought the rising balloon to an early standstill. Back to Forever, that always fun ‘difficult second album’, came out in October 2013 – full of ‘fist pumping’ tempos, anthemic chord structures and power ballads laments.

Despite being a hugely engaging record for anyone born the wrong side of 1980, the mass appeal didn’t seem to be there; Back to Forever was a significant shift from the gritty Jewel-with-balls approach of Lissie’s debut LP. The skies darkened and the phone stopped; the holy trinity weren’t so supportive of Lissie’s sophomore album… and low, all was bare.

But deities, doors, and metaphors aside, this is the pivotal point that makes Ms Maurus such and interesting prospect once again. Lissie left Columbia to release her third album, My Wild West, via her own Lionboy imprint in early 2016 (with Cooking Vinyl and Thirty Tigers) – a superb 12 track LP, mixing jangly guitar walls of sound with stripped back piano, rolling thunder production with honest vocal leads.

An absolute step up, My Wild West gained the critical acclaim it so deserved – positioning the now autonomous artist as someone to watch. Again. Plus Lissie still has the major UK tour operators on her side, so, you know. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

In November 2016, Lissie would further release Live at Union Chapel – a 12 track foray across the singer/songwriter’s portfolio, with one in homage to Joni Mitchell. And why not indeed. To read the Birmingham Review of Live at Union Chapel by Lissie, click here.

‘My Wild West’ – Lissie

Lissie performs at the O2 Institute on Saturday 3^rd December, as presented Live Nation and SJM Concerts. For direct gig info and online tickets sales, click here.

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For more on Lissie, visit www.lissie.com

For more on Teddy Thompson, visit www.teddythompson.net

For more from the O2 Institute, including full event listing and online ticket sales, visit www.academymusicgroup.com/o2institutebirmingham