Releases Archives - Page 12 of 18 -

January 15, 2016January 15, 2016

RELEASE: Not to Disappear – Daughter

Words by Ed King / Pics courtesy of 4AD – ‘The World is Spinning Around’ (album artwork) by Sarah Shaw, lead photograph by Francesca Jane Allen

I love my iPhone. Its ‘old’ enough to create nostalgia, pity and scorn, but has been appreciated company on many long journeys. Even though the buttons don’t fully work, I can’t access the Internet anymore and I receive calls on separate handset, I still love my iPhone.

Plus it has all my walking around music on it, so it generally never leaves my side. And as I gleefully upload Daughter’s new album, Not to Disappear, I am itching to stick my earphones back in and take that cabin fever walk-round-the-park that every self employed person relies upon to stay sane.

It’s been three years since Daughter’s debut album was released, the superb If I Leave, creating a triptych soundtrack (along with Lucy Rose and Benjamin Francis Leftwich) that simply owned my life for a while. I am Christmas Day childish about sinking my teeth into their sophomore. And as I march through the opening track, ‘New Ways’, I am immediately on identifiable ground; soft echoes, mournful guitar, and Elena Tonra’s lone cry – firm, distant and lost. Ah, to be home…

Then as ‘Numbers’ rolls in, track No#2, I start to pick out the counterpoints. There is noticeable volume on this album already (think dimensions not sound) with the familiar motifs surrounded by a fallout cloud that only flirted through If I Leave. And honestly, I’m not initially sure. It feels heavy and distracting, but I can imagine its weight effectively crossing the rooms of a more capacious tour circuit.

‘Doing the Right Thing’ gives a gentle hat tip to track three from its predecessor, but doesn’t quite compete. After all, what could. Before a subtle tease into the waves of distorted metal brings the most ball grabbing moment of this album yet; take a pinch of Pixies, a dash of Mogwai, mix it in the same bowl you blended the Drive soundtrack together in, and you have ‘How’ – a formidable introduction to Daughter Round 2.

The rest of Not to Disappear continues its hopscotch between producers past/present and walls/whispers of sound, with the front seat reserved for Torna’s noticeably visceral lyrics – exploring pertinent human stories, from the loss of dementia to sexual isolation.

This is a clear evolution with Not to Disappear, as a seemingly more unguarded pen captures some exquisitely dark explosions; “…how I wanted you to promise we would only make love, but my mouth felt like I was choking on broken glass, so I just slept it off…” In fact the whole of that song; pick a line. And I dare you to watch the video for the album’s lead single, ‘Doing the Right Thing’, without something in your eye.

Overall, there is a little bleeding of one track into another – with the weight behind some of Not to Disappear’s more deserving punches being felt more when landed on their own. There is no ‘Youth’ on this album. But where the prodigal Daughter album arguably waned, in its faster paces such as ‘Human’, Not to Disappear not only excels but sets a formidable precedent for anything left in this band’s arsenal.

‘No Care’ (track No#7 and the home of the cited lyric above) is the finest moment in Daughter’s two album portfolio, in my overplayed opinion. And I say that with equal judgment and love.

But let’s face it; if you’ve heard If I Leave (and you’ve read this review up to here) then you’re going to hear its follow up, regardless. Three years is a long enough time to wait. And despite their claustrophobic and safe starting points, some moments of change can make everything just a little better.

Then by some wonderful combination of serendipity and a manufacturer’s warranty, after a couple of circuits my iPhone gets stuck on ‘All Songs’ – amalgamating both Daughter albums into one sonorous sandwich. So whilst there’s still a break in the clouds I might as well walk round the park once more. I work hard enough; I’ll go back after this track, or maybe the next. Perhaps in half an hour. After all this is research…

I really could get an upgrade, something all singing-all-dancing-bright-shiny-and-new, something that would make the world around me happier; but everything has its time and place. And I still love my iPhone.

‘Doing the Right Thing’ – Daughter

Not to Disappear is released via 4AD from Friday 15^th January. For more on Daughter, including online purchase points, visit http://www.4ad.com/artists/daughter

Daughter playing at the O2 Institute on Wednesday 20^th January – with support from Pixx. For direct gig info, visit http://go.shr.lc/1n3i1xI

Visit the official Daughter website at http://ohdaughter.com/

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For more from 4AD, visit http://www.4ad.com/

For more from the O2 Institute, including full event listings & online tickets sales, visit http://o2institutebirmingham.co.uk/

October 25, 2015November 17, 2015

ALBUM: Freedom – The Black Tambourines

Words by Ed King / Album cover courtesy of Easy Action

Pics lifted from The Black Tambourines’ Facebook page

Honestly, I’d forgotten about Garage Rock. Like the boots of teen angst it had been stacked and shelved; only to be dusted off once a summer, to make feel better about not going out three nights in a row.

I’m older. I listen to classical piano. The Hummingbird shut down a long time ago and I haven’t worn a band t-shirt since Ned’s Atomic Dustbin. Plus I’d spent most of the last decade living in a country where the only Garage Rock was underneath the removed wheels of a car (…sting) so what the hell, I would always have The White Stripes.

Then in 2015 a couple of things came my way. Firstly, a local band called The Hungry Ghosts. This is not their review so I’ll leave the one standing. Secondly, the chance to review The Sonics. The actual Sonics (minus and Andy Parypa and Bob Bennett) who sounded as sharp as they were in the day of Etiquette Records.

Now, and (again) I’ll be honest it’s a surprise, we have The Black Tambourines – brought to my rather lackluster attention by local promoters, Killer Wave. Would I like to review this band, playing at The Sunflower Lounge on 25^th Oct? They have a new album out too – might want to check it out. Fair enough…

So following that extended pre-amble, here’s the world shortest review. Fu*k me.

Freedom, the second album from Falmouth four piece, The Black Tambourines, is a spectacular affair. Raw, honest; it makes me want to smash up the room with a smile on my face.

From the confident and brash, beat, beat, riff of the opening track, ‘I Wanna Stay Away’ – which finishes as unapologetic as it begins, to Starla-esqe meltdown in the album’s final two minutes, this is half an hour (and 47secs) of my life I’ll likely live on repeat. ‘Ride Hard, Crash Hard’. Without pause.

But there’s more to this LP than confidence; Freedom is crafted raw expression, recorded in a DIY honored tradition and served in tempting 2-3minutes slices. This is not a fluke, this is not a fad, this is fu*king awesome. A platitude I can’t imagine the band behind it would bother to care about, but one that will hopefully compel some attention.

Sam Stacpoole’s vocals slide from the distorted scream of ‘No Action’, the first single released, to the laconic drawl of ‘Cool Out’ – knowing when to dominate and when to support. There’s melody throughout too, something pretenders to this crown of raw thorns can too easily forget, with the ferocity Freedom so immediately owns casually stepping back for the spiky storytelling of tracks such as ‘She Don’t Want’, ‘LA’ and ‘Look Down’.

It is at this point I could drown in comparisons, but I’ll settle on 1 ½ to make my point. Think The Velvet Underground (‘I’m Waiting for the/my Man’ not ‘Pale Blue Eyes’) if they got Per Almqvist in to sing a few numbers.

But honestly, for the last time, you don’t have to believe what you read – you can stream the beast for free through BEAT Magazine’s online extension (alongside a sneaky self analysis of each track by TBTs).

But don’t be a twat, if you like it then buy it. And on that unwavering condition here’s the relevant link: http://www.thebeatjuice.com/trax/2015/08/28/11361/get-free-with-our-stream-of-the-black-tambourines-new-album-freedom/

And here’s the one you’ll be looking for after Track #11 has finished: http://easyaction.co.uk/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=368&search=The+Black+Tambourines

GIG INFO: The Black Tambourines will be playing at The Sunflower Lounge on Sunday 25^th October with support from The Red Cords + The Terror Watts – as presented by Killer Wave & PNKSLM. For direct gig details visit https://www.facebook.com/events/427296080793442/

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Freedom by The Black Tambourines was released on 4^th September through Easy Action Records, for online purchasing direct from the label, click here

For more on The Black Tambourines, visit http://theblacktambourines.bandcamp.com/

September 25, 2015September 25, 2015

ALBUM: We Are Warriors – Shatter Effect

Words by Ed King / Pics courtesy of Shatter Effect

There are certain things, like Christmas and puberty, that you wait for with your eyes closed and your fingers crossed.

Since I first saw Shatter Effect belt out their ‘musical marmite’ (as I once described them) I have been itching for an LP. And now, admist the spots and Santa hats in my mind, the day of reckoning is upon us. We Are Warriors is out on digital release. Shatter Effect have an album out.

Opening with ‘Come Again Soon’, the trademark wall of electro synths (think John Capenter meets Fat Boy Slim at CBGBs) and tongue in cheek is clear from the off. Rebecca Davies’ vocals lead from the moment the records starts, with “Don’t you look different with clothes on,” being the first words we hear.

It’s a powerful build, like the 80’s escaping from a vacuum packed early Metallica concert, into the twilight hours of a mid 90’s Manchester warehouse. Rave Vs Rock, basically. I’ll stop with the metaphors.

‘Afraid’ follows in much the same suit of dark armour – Davies’ vocals walking confidently over a brusied pulse and dance beat – before ‘Make Me Hate You’, a prominent representaive, steps up the aggression and gives the pedestrian a chance to run. And roar.

The dark irreverence continues with ‘L.E.E.D.S.’, with what I can only imagine is an on-the-road acronym that after the line “I don’t know what’s left of me. You can fu*k it if you want,” I’m not sure I want explained – before the two track AM of the midday marker, flesh out some real depth in this 12 track debut. ‘Zinna’ is as piano ballad as we’re going to get, still with the strength that the band/title would deserve/denote, before ‘Getting Higher’ marks the zenith and real stride of the album.

The second half of We Are Warriors plays itself out with much the same agenda; strong, melodic, powerful builds and breaks – all the while firmly lead by Rebecca Davies’ vocals. You should hear her live too. A few nuggets unearth themselves, such as the masterfully stripped back ‘Finest Hour’ and the old skool Rock riff in ‘Broken Toys,’ but overall this generous debut is a declaration of a band doing what they do best.

My only gripe, and it’s my journalistic responsibility to find one, would be in the production. We Are Warriors is a record of a band who play live – Shatter Effect have such a strong identity, it would have been exciting to see what would come out of a studio that had one to match.

But this is me reaching for a counterpoint, whilst underpinning the premise that you should go and see Shatter Effect live. And with a tour taking them across the country until November 31^st there’ll be a couple of chance to do just that before Winterval.

The rest can be settled with album No#2 please; with any luck this is just the beginning.

‘Make Me Hate You’ – Shatter Effect

We Are Warriors, the debut studio album from Shatter Effect, is out on digital release from Friday 25th September – with a UK promotional tour starting at 93 Feet East (Fri 25^th) and The Sunflower Lounge (Sat 26^th Sept).

For more on Shatter Effect, including full tour details and online purchase points, visit http://www.shattereffect.com/

June 14, 2015June 14, 2015

RELEASE: An Education EP – Nicky Schrire

Words by Ed King

Nicky Schrire plays at Cherry Reds on John Bright Street, on Sunday 14^th June – as presented by Best Seat Sessions. For direct gig & venue info, visit http://www.cherryreds.com/events.html

When an established artist decides to jump from one genre to another there are usually some questions, trepidation, and a leap or two of faith.

But Nicky Schrire’s move from Jazz to Folk is not as strange as it sounds; her previous release in 2014, the six track To the Spring EP, was as close to Folk as a Jazz record can be – with arguably the solos and accompaniment drawing the clear line of distinction.

And as the woman at the centre of the decision says, “I love the improvisational nature of the music (Jazz) and the sense of community. But it’s difficult, it’s a very politically charged genre; I wanted to experience something different. It’s supposed to be more about how that makes you feel, how would that make a listener feel?”

An Education EP was recorded on home turf, Cape Town, and with Schrire’s childhood friend, Ariella Caira – with the promoting tour’s denouement bringing all familiar facets together, on stage at the Cape Town Folk ‘n Acoustic Festival in August. It’s new(ish) ground, and the approach to writing and recording was “very relaxed” – delivering the five track EP in limited studio time.

The opening track, ‘The Water’, is a cap doff to traditional Folk – further squeezing the words ‘find him’, ‘morning sun’ and ‘gassy bed’ into the first 30secs. But it’s the titular second track that brings Schrire’s new direction firmly into its own; ‘An Education’ delivers a sly description of the move from the ‘looks that tell her how to play’ and ‘Coltrane lips’ of her Manhattan classroom into when ‘life lessons came long after college.’ Honest, witty, simple.

‘Quilt’ returns us to a more traditional approach, with Ariella Caira’s accompaniment beautifully introducing the EP’s mid way marker – and reminding this listener of the later parts of Kristin Hersh’s solo portfolio.

Then ‘Everybody’s Crying’ hits back with a lyrical shake down of those who ‘like to be remarkable’ but, of course, are not – as reminded by the ‘keepers of the gate’ of critical reception. Akin to the title track, this is exciting stuff.

An Education EP closes with the more soft and tempered ‘We Don’t Live Here Anymore’; the final track combining qualities of its predecessors, including a chorus that wouldn’t be a bad shape of songs to come.

As Folk EPs go, An Education certainly holds its own – albeit with some song structure resting too easily on repetition. But the shining moments (outside Ariella Caira’s mournful Vs mellifluous cello) are also in the lyrics; when Nicky Schrire has something to say, she is on superior form. In around three minutes or under, this singing storyteller can make you laugh, wince, and point fingers at your address book.

And after listening to it a few times, especially in context to her previous recordings, it no longer feels like such a chasm between one genre and the other – more the landing in a place Nicky Schrire could always have stood.

I could always be wrong, I’m neither a Jazz pedant nor Folk devotee; time and an album will no doubt tell.

Nicky Schrire releases An Education EP through Wild Sound Recordings on Monday 15^th June. For more on Nicky Schrire, including online purchase points, visit http://www.nickyschrire.com/

For more on Wild Sound Recordings, visit http://www.wildsoundrecordings.com/

Nicky Schrire plays at Cherry Reds on John Bright Street, on Sunday 14^th June – as presented by Best Seat Sessions. For direct gig & venue info, visit http://www.cherryreds.com/events.html

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For more from Cherry Reds, including both the York Road & John Bright Street venues, visit http://www.cherryreds.com/

For more on Best Seat Sessions, visit https://www.facebook.com/bestseatsession

April 27, 2015

RELEASE: Arrive Alone, Leave Alone EP – Girl Friend

Words by Ed King / Pics by Ben Roberts @benrobertsart

27^th April sees Tri-Tone release Arrive Alone, Leave Alone EP – the latest unashamed disco pop proffering from the Manchester four piece, Girl Friend.

Forming in 2014, Girl Friend (as in your friend who’s a girl – not the early 90’s Aussie quintet) are an obvious throwback; an homage to all the teardrops on the dance floor at Club Tropicana, spilled by west end girls and east end boys. But there’s an edge, as with the decade itself; the sometimes sinister side of the 80’s is carefully sewn into the upfront pop production.

Disguised destruction filter the lyrics, hidden behind sore flashbacks of white suits and mirror balls, with the EP’s lead single, ‘You Lead the Way’, being a clandestine statement of sexual self abuse – deftly delivered by the manipulatively sleek vocals of lead singer, Amory. “All I want to do is to give in to what you want to,” well, quite.

‘Style and Substance’ gives more space to Amory’s vocals, as the pretty boy front man describes “waking up in stages” to “another day pretending to be someone I am not,” watching the song’s titular cultural bedrocks disappear into the sea. And no, no one is innocent.

Before the slow disco beat of ‘Stop’, the final track on Arrive Alone, Leave Alone EP, walk us through a whispering lament – building to a rich barrage of synthesised melodies that would have nestled comfortably in between the film soundtracks for Drive and Manhunter.

In fact, the only weak side of this four track EP is the first one you come to, ‘Monte Carlo’ – laced with somewhat teenage declarations such as “in Monte Carlo you’ll never be alone” and “I don’t want to dance with another.” Perhaps I’m not getting it, but if tracks two, three and four are a controlled diet of sex, cocaine & Quaaludes, the opener is a Pontiac Firebird commercial.

Girl Friend have just completed a UK tour, building up some momentum for the release of Arrive Alone, Leave Alone EP – ending with a launch party at the Shacklewell Arms in Dalston. Birmingham Review missed their gig at the Sunflower Lounge on 20^th April, but will be keeping an eye out for when they return.

And with the release of their curiously addictive Arrive Alone, Leave Alone EP (even with the less addictive ‘Monte Carlo’) and a festival bill summer catering for borrowed nostalgia for the unremembered eighties (thank you Mr Murphy) we don’t expect Girl Friend to be strangers for long. If they can pull this off live…

‘You Lead the Way’ – Girl Friend

Arrive Alone, Leave Alone EP by Girl Friend is out on general release from 27^th April 2015 – through Tri-Tone.

For more on Girl Friend, including online purchase points, visit http://www.girlfriendband.com/

For more from Tri-Tone, visit http://www.tri-tone.co.uk/