BPreviews Archives - Page 30 of 69 -

July 17, 2017July 27, 2017

BPREVIEW: The Hungry Ghosts – ‘Amerika/Lazaro’ single launch @ Centrala 22.07.17

Words by Ed King / Pic by Rob Hadley (Indie Images)

On Saturday 22^nd July, The Hungry Ghosts will be celebrating the upcoming release of their ‘Amerika/Lazaro’ double a-side with a single showcase gig at Centrala (Minerva Works). Support comes from You Dirty Blue, Charlie Boyer (The Voyers), Average Sex, The Lizards.

Doors open at 7pm with tickets prices at £6.50 + booking fee. For direct gig info, including venue details and online ticket sales, click here.

Set for release on 4^th August through Setting Son Records, ‘Amerika/Lazaro’ is the first release for The Hungry Ghosts with their new line up. Adding two new bodies and three new faces, the Redditch born purveyors of slaughterhouse blues are enjoying (we hope) a promising evolution this year – with height, grace, automaton time keeping and the occasional Manchester moshpit brawl now packed into The Mothership (The Hungry Ghosts’ trusty touring steed). Don’t mess with Emily Doyle I think is the message here.

So, any good..? The last time Birmingham Review saw The Hungry Ghosts was at Counteract’s 7^th birthday in April, where the now five piece were supporting The Mother’s Earth Experiment and the world’s worst kept secret. And there was certainly something going on. The new material – still spearheaded by Billy Ollis and Joe Joseph – is a continuation of this curve; fresh yet confidently identifiable, the two snippets we’ve been privy to so far are promising to say the least.

‘Amerika’ opens with swagger, low steel twangs and a guitar riff so addictive it would out twitch a crack baby, before Joe Joseph’s serrated drawl comes to drag us a little further through the grit. Think ‘Super King King’ after the longest sex of its life. Smeared with all the imagery, prophecy and the subtle flavour of gold rush fever you’d expect from a Hungry Ghosts track titled ‘Amerika’, this is a little lighter than their usual brand of twisted metal yet still immediately identifiable. Blood Red Songs is an awesome EP but this is the balance we’ve been waiting two years to hear.

Following the narrative is ‘Lazaro’, a more garage rock affair that introduces the ‘naked as a stranger’ protagonist who will be our resurrected guide through this double a-side. Punched out from the off, this side of the single is more raw and raucous – a hark back to the ‘Hares on the Mountain’ that hooked our cheeks in the first place. Awesome. Again. Double A.

And here’s a sneaky peak into the story of ‘Amerika’ and the dark tendrils that pulled it out from the collective subconscious. Or Joe, for short. The rest you’ll get to figure out on repeat from 4^th August.

‘Amerika’ – The Hungry Ghosts

The Hungry Ghosts are launching their ‘Amerika/Lazaro’ double a-side at Centrala (Minerva Works) on Saturday 22^nd July, with support from You Dirty Blue, Charlie Boyer, Average Sex, The Lizards. For direct event info, including venue details and online ticket sales, click here.

For more on The Hungry Ghosts, visit www.thehungryghosts.co.uk

For more from Setting Son Records, visit www.facebook.com/settingsonrecords

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For more on You Dirty Blue, visit www.facebook.com/youdirtyblue

For more on Charlie Boyer/The Voyers, visit www.soundcloud.com/TheVoyeurs

For more on Average Sex, visit www.facebook.com/averagesex

For more on The Lizards, visit www.soundcloud.com/allyourfriendsarelizards

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For more from Centrala, visit www.centrala-space.org.uk

July 13, 2017July 27, 2017

BPREVIEW: Brothers of the Moment @ The Flapper 15.07.17

Words by Damien Russell

**This gig has been moved from the Actress & Bishop (14^th July) to The Flapper (15^th July) – original tickets are still valid**

On Saturday 15^th July, Brothers of the Moment are bring their brand of alternative rock to The Flapper – with support from post-hardcore rock band Now We Run, plus Wolverhampton’s punk rockers Mistrusted.

Doors open at 19:30 with tickets priced at £6.00 plus booking fee – as presented by Birmingham Promoters. For direct gig info, including online tickets sales, click here.

Brothers of the Moment are a band I struggle to categorise; they have a timeless guitar driven sound that seems to mix grunge, classic rock, classic metal and more modern alternative rock/metal sounds. Their listed influences include Linkin’ Park, Black Stone Cherry, Pearl Jam, Metallica, Nirvana and Mastodon and I can hear elements of all of these bands in the melting pot, with a side order of Rise Against and Alice in Chains to boot.

Formed of two brothers (Adam/Ryan Liggins) and two friends (Ryan Merrett/Jordan Allen) in 2014, Brothers of the Moment are still making their mark on the music scene but it’s fair to say they haven’t exactly hung around waiting. Under their original name, The Divine, their first Facebook post back in July 2015 was to promote the release of their first single, appropriately named ‘We’re Here’. A quick name change followed and along with it their debut at the Star and Garter’s Garterfest in Stafford

Following this swift start 2016 saw the band perform their first headline show in April at the O2 Academy 3, make it to the semi-finals of the Unreal Festival battle of the bands, and appear on Wolverhampton’s WCR FM in June – returning to the station in July, that time for an interview.

But Brothers of the Moment didn’t stop there and at the start of 2017 the band were featured on Made in Birmingham TV with a live performance and interview. They released their next major music video ‘Forever from Heaven’ shortly after, and now, after dutifully filling their time with more live performances, Brothers of the Moment are bringing their energy to The Flapper.

Musically, Brothers of the Moment are an accessible brand of hard rock/metal, bringing a heavy sound that isn’t too aggressive or overbearing. Their songs have a solid structure and the guitar work is the stuff earworms are made of.

Listening to their recordings I find myself satisfied by the catchy, upbeat nature of the songs but also curious to know what their live performance brings. While the recordings are good (and I have found myself humming bits of ‘Forever from Heaven’ throughout the day) I get the feeling Brothers of the Moment are holding something back; not quite giving us their all. Not uncommon under the pressures of recording and the sterile studio environment; I’m hoping they save that little bit extra for their live shows. I guess Birmingham will find out at The Flapper on Saturday.

‘Forever from Heaven’ – Brothers of the Moment

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwI0VpyK5cM&feature=youtu.be

Brothers of the Moment play at the Actress & Bishop on Saturday 15^th July, with support from Now We Run + Mistrusted – as presented by Birmingham Promoters. For direct event info, including venue details and online ticket sales, click here.

For more on Brothers of the Moment, click here.

For more on Now We Run, click here.

For more on Mistrusted, click here.

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For more from Birmingham Promoters, including full event listings and online ticket sales, visit www.birminghampromoters.com

For more from The Flapper, visit www.theflapper.co.uk

June 26, 2017July 27, 2017

BPREVIEW: Miranda Lee Richards @ Ort Café 28.06.17

Words by Ed King

On Wednesday 28^th June, Miranda Lee Richards performs an ‘acoustic trio’ set at Ort Café, with support from My Autumn Empire + Ryan Sparrow.

Doors open at 7:30pm, with tickets priced at £6 (advance) – as presented by Birmingham Promoters. For direct gig info, including venue details and online ticket sales, click here.

‘Richards sang in school choir, but didn’t consider playing music professionally until a chance meeting with Kirk Hammett of Metallica, who taught her how to play Mazzy Star songs on guitar.’

OK, so I’ll just stop there. And the award for Best Line in a Press Release goes to….

But a hybrid of ruthless American rock and the opiate haze of Hope Sandoval is not a bad summary, albeit somewhat esoteric. The more tangible outcomes of this encounter (queue lazy writer Beauty and the Beast references) are four studio albums and a bunch of EPs, with Miranda Lee Richards’ latest long player, Existential Beast, released via Invisible Hands Music in June this year.

Initially signing to Virgin Records, Miranda Lee Richards released her debut album, The Hearafter, in 2001. Having been a vocalist with The Brian Jonestown Massacre, a model in Paris, and reached the Top 5 in Japan with her single ‘The Long Goodbye’, you’d think this would be an A&R wet dream. But the partnership with the major was not to last and ‘following a non self-imposed hiatus after parting ways with Virgin’ (Best Supporting Line in a Press Release goes to…) Richards signed with the Terry McBride brainchild, Nettwerk – releasing her Early November EP in 2008. Delivering a darker sound to the lighter Americana of her debut, Richards would stay with Nettwerk to further release her sophomore LP, Light of X, in 2009.

We’d have to wait over six years for more new material, but in January 2016 Miranda Lee Richards released her eight track Echoes of the Dreamtime through Invisible Hands Music. Her first release on the UK based independent, this was followed up just over a year later with Richards’ fourth studio album – Existential Beast.

“It is a political album to the core,” explains Richards, “examining the issues of our time, but with an intent of tackling these difficult and sometimes taboo subjects in a poetic and heartfelt manner. The title is also a mash-up of terms, referencing the existential crisis that has in turn arisen. In essence, we are all still working with animal urges of fear, competition, survival, sexuality, which are deep-seated and manifesting in varying ways and degrees for different individuals, depending on where one is at.”

“A more endearing outlook may be to see this as an assignment working with the inner child, who at times can behave like a wild beast. But like it or not, these tendencies have been revealed, within our leaders, our countries, and ourselves; it is indeed a pivotal and transformational time and there is much work to be done.”

‘Lucid I Would Dream’ – Miranda Lee Richards

Miranda Lee Richards performs at Ort Café on Wednesday 28^th June, with support from My Autumn Empire + Ryan Sparrow – as presented by Birmingham Promoters. For direct event info, click here.

For more on Miranda Lee Richards, visit www.mirandaleerichards.com

For more from My Autumn Empire, visit www.myautumnempire.co.uk

For mroe from Ryan Sparrow, visit www.ryansparrowmusic.co.uk

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For more from Ort Cafe, including a full events programme and online ticket sales, visit www.ortcafe.co.uk

For more for Birmingham Promoters, visit www.birminghampromoters.com

June 26, 2017July 27, 2017

BPREVIEW: Cabbage @ O2 Institute 30.06.17

Words by Lucy Mounfield

On Friday 30^th June, Cabbage will take over the main stage at the 02 institute Digbeth, with support from The Blinders and Strange Bones. Doors open at 6pm with tickets priced at £11.50 (advance). For direct gig info and online ticket sales, click here.

This summer the Manchester five-piece are taking to venues across the UK in their biggest headline tour to date, following their recent stint with fellow Manchester band, Blossoms. Coming from the Scala in London (June 29th) to the 02 Institute in Birmingham (June 30^th) and then onwards North to the Ritz Manchester (July 1^st), expect to see Cabbage to pitch up at some major venues. For full tour details from SJM/Gigs and Tours, click here.

Cabbage have recently announced their new The Extended Play of Cruelty EP – set for a digital release on July 21^st, with a physical release on August 25^th via Skeleton Key records. Cabbage have previously released their new single, ‘Celebration of A Disease’, which is out now and the opening track from the EP. The Extended Play of Cruelty EP comes after a short recording session with producers James Skelly and Richard Turvey at Liverpool’s Parr Street Studios. According to a post Cabbage’s Facebook page, “The Extended Play of Cruelty is our revisited conquest to our pop psychological platitudes. The deceit of man tests all in a moment of clarity and we deliver our position in a long search for Utopia. Our blend of fervent disdain is focused on local frustrations, whilst celebrating those who shall rise through the ashes.”

What looks like Cabbage’s thoughts on their The Extended Play of Cruelty EP does in fact read like a cultural and musical manifesto. Certainly, their new single is a seething comment on society’s unnatural fixation with social media that spreads like a ‘disease’ with ‘the corruption of technology’ breaking our ‘dreams’. Deep stuff, but not unexpected from a band who are known for their politically and socially charged lyrics, and during the run up to the 2017 general election had the words ‘Vote Jeremy Corbyn’ on their drum kit.

The Extended Play Of Cruelty comes hot on the heels of their collection of early EP’s, called Young, Dumb and Full of… in January 2017; twelve songs of hard-hitting post-punk that bubble away with an energy that is not so far removed from The Sex Pistols. However, the darker, more punkier sound is somewhat lacking in their new single, ‘Celebration Of A Disease’ which still retains the heavy throng of the drums but lacks the slicing guitar that made some of their classic songs like ‘Uber Capitalist Death Trade’, ‘Necroflat in the Palace’, ‘Indispensable Pencil’ and ‘Terrorist Synthesiser’. But Cabbage are proving they have a lot more material to give and are by no means a flash in the pan. It will be interesting to see how their new song fares when played live, especially as Cabbage can deliver a ferociously intense set on stage.

(Lucy Mounfield last saw Cabbage playing at the O2 Academy in March, as part of the NME Awards Tour with Blossoms and Rory Wynne. Read her BREVIEW here)

Support band The Blinders are a three-piece alternative group from Doncaster who are now based in Manchester. Combining political punk-rock with ‘psychedelic poetry and tones’ to create visceral ‘punkedelic’ sound, the band seem an equal match for Cabbage’s raw yet thought provoking punk. Equally so, Blackpool rockers Strange Bones are putting a modern twist to punk with their stand out tune ‘God Save the Teen’ – a nod and a wink to The Sex Pistols’ punk anthem.

‘Celebration of a Disease’ – Cabbage

Cabbage play the O2 Institute on Friday 30th June, with support from The Blinders + Strange Bones. For direct gig info, including venue details and online ticket sales, click here.

For more on Cabbage, visit www.ahcabbage.bandcamp.com

For more on The Blinders, visit www.soundcloud.com/the-blinders

For more on Strange Bones, visit www.soundcloud.com/strangebones

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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 SJM Concerts/Gigs and Tours, visit www.gigsandtours.com

June 23, 2017July 27, 2017

BPREVIEW: An Evening with Jackson Browne @ Symphony Hall 27.06.17

Words by Ed King

On Tuesday 27^th June, An Evening with Jackson Browne comes to the Symphony Hall.

Doors open at 7:30pm, with tickets priced between £42.50 – £49 plus booking fee. For direct gig info, including full venue details and online ticket sales, click here.

N.B. At the time of writing this event was near to being SOLD OUT – please check availability directly with the Symphony Hall or reputable ticket outlets.

“They sell us the president the same way; they sell us our clothes and our cars. They sell us everything from youth to religion the same time they sell us our wars.”

Jackson Browne released his eponymous debut album back 1972, following a pretty revered string of songs written for other artists – including Nico, Joni Mitchell, Eagles and The Byrds. Signing to Asylum Records in 1971 Browne’s five albums would build a steady commercial success story, consolidating his place in the spotlight and making him a lauded contributor to the American country and folk music scenes.

But to a child of the 80’s, growing up with Marty McFly and the Reagan administration, it was Jackson Browne’s 1986 album, Lives in the Balance, that would leave its mark above all else. As the de facto soundtrack to any long distance car journey with my mum, Lives in the Balance would be the first album I learned to sing along too – embracing the questions, accusations and declarations that Browne threw at America’s aggressive foreign policy, even if only initially by proxy. I was eight.

As my understanding of the world grew, and my frightening realisation that the game is indeed rigged, the track ‘Lives in the Balance’ itself would become the painful reference point and retort of so many frustrated discussions. I owe a lot of my perspective, political and otherwise, to the words that run though this album.

What is happening today happened yesterday, and was carved from the foundations of every day before that. We are ruled not governed.

Lives in the Balance was also Jackson Browne’s last release though Asylum – the label launched by his then manager David Geffen – with Browne signing to Electra for his subsequent four LPs. Jackson Browne would go on to form Inside Recordings in 1999, releasing his last two studio albums on the imprint – Time the Conqueror (2008) and Standing in the Breach (2014).

An Evening with… denotes music, stories and on stage anecdotes with the suffix – so considering the relentless tour schedules, rock, roll and public domain relationships that Jackson Browne has accrued in his fifty professional years, this could be more colourful than most. No offence Neil. Joining Jackson Browne on stage at the Symphony Hall will be Val McCallum (guitar), Mauricio Lewak (drums), Jeff Young (keyboards), Bob Glaub (bass), Alethea Mills (vocals) and Greg Leisz (lap steel, pedal steel).

Tickets from this Jackson Browne tour are also being sold to in aid of the Guacamole Fund, a ‘tax exempt, public charity’ that has been ‘supporting grass roots activities, with education, outreach, networking and funding, in the areas of the environment and wildlife, social change, peace with justice, energy and a non nuclear future’. To learn more about the Guacamole Fund, click here.

‘Lives in the Balance’ – Jackson Browne

An Evening with Jackson Browne is coming to the Symphony Hall on 27^th June. For direct event info, including venue details and online ticket sales, click here.