Ed King Archives - Page 30 of 34 -

November 3, 2017November 14, 2017

BREVIEW: Black Rebel Motorcycle Club @ O2 Academy 28.10.17

Words by Molly Forsyth / Pics Phil Drury

Beaten leather jackets, faded skinny jeans, slightly greying hair and classic rock band tees… a seasoned crowd of music fans are with me at the O2 Academy to see Black Rebel Motorcycle Club (BMRC).

Formed in 1998, the San Francisco trio have anchored themselves as one of the Noughties’ most memorable rock bands, with a die-hard fanbase to boot. Traversing classic hard rock, blues, post punk and anything else from the grimier underbelly of rock, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club are a band who are proud to stick to their guns. While their contemporaries favoured disco beats and New Romantic candour back in 2005, they couldn’t cut through BRMC’s distortion and bluster. This is probably why the band are still going strong and touring in support of their upcoming eighth studio album, Wrong Creatures.

With their history in mind, it makes perfect sense for the opening act to be Restavrant, a rare breed of a band borne from the Los Angeles scene by two blues fanatics hailing from the Deep South. Restavrant come to Birmingham trucker capped, plaid clad and ready to bring the Texan heat to the stage. From the first song, the energy borders on dangerous when drummer Tyler Whiteside’s makeshift cymbals splinter from his strikes. What follows is an intoxicating blend of DIY punk and old school blues, but far more earnest than you would come to expect from an LA scene of poseur rock.

The creativity of Restavrant shines brightest for their half hour in the spotlight. Self-taught and unrestricted by traditional rock band set-ups, neither band member sticks to the beaten path in their playing techniques. Guitarist, Troy Murrah, is incapable of playing in a traditional style for more than two minutes, attacking the fretboard from almost every angle physically possible and showing the diversity of 16-bar blues with every song. Whiteside’s unorthodox kit, complete with an electronic pad, a suitcase for a kick drum and various other scraps of metal as percussion, is a perfect example of how this band infuse their Southern roots into their craft.

There isn’t much room for any respite or reflection in this stormer of a set, but Restavrant aren’t pretending to strive for anything beyond purely guttural rock, nor would you want them to. In a genre currently suffering under the rise of hip-hop and a trend towards minimalism and softness, Restavrant show determination to bring rock n’ roll back to its former glory, even if only for half an hour.

What follows from the main act of the evening doesn’t really match the pace or excitement that Restavrant incite within the crowd. I’m not expecting Black Rebel Motorcycle Club to have a full-throttle set for 90-plus minutes, but the 24-song set starts to drag from ‘Beat The Devil’s Tattoo’ onwards. I don’t want to suggest an experienced live band could sound amateurish, but it wouldn’t be unfair to suspect that tonight Black Rebel Motorcycle Club are suffering from sound engineering problems. There’s no emphasis on any harsh or soft moments, or indeed barely any change in dynamic at all from song to song. The guitars start to bleed into a drone that is hard to distinguish, save a few recognisable riffs; the issue is so prevalent that I didn’t realise they were covering Tom Petty’s ‘It’s Good to Be King’ until around a minute into the track.

Sound issues aside, I get the feeling that BRMC are aware of their longevity and find comfort in it rather than a challenge. There is definite fan service being paid, with the hardcore faction of the crowd clearly enjoying every second. For anyone else with a slightly more casual appreciation however, it’s a tough set to sink into. As a band famed for their live abilities, tonight Black Rebel Motorcycle Club aren’t quite delivering what they are known for during a live show. They remain mostly static, crowd interaction is minimal, and any playfulness with songs they’ve been entertaining with for years is hard to come by.

Drummer, Leah Shapiro, holds the fort perfectly as the rhythmic core of the group but seems almost bored of her role, rarely breaking away from the studio versions even though she definitely has scope and ability to. The stark, primary-colour lighting and moody smoke effects are reminiscent of early Interpol shows done as a gimmick. All in all, the set is unfortunately nondescript.

Their two biggest singles to date – ‘Spread Your Love’ and ‘Whatever Happened to My Rock and Roll’ – are unsurprisingly left till last. Frustratingly, it’s only now that the band come alive; a few plastic pint cups start to bounce off the crowd’s increasing undulation. Levon Been shows a little rowdiness and whips up the front row into a frenzy. After an hour of sleepwalking through their hits, all of a sudden it starts to resemble a rock show, albeit too late for me.

But there are brief moments of magic from Black Rebel Motorcycle Club tonight. ‘Ain’t No Easy Way’, ‘Stop’ and ‘666 Conducer’ are able to break through the onset ennui. Peter Heyes’ solo take on ‘Devil’s Waitin’’ is also impressive.

I leave the O2 Academy with no less respect for Black Rebel Motorcycle Club but a little deflated, having been pumped up with high expectations. I will make sure I give Wrong Creatures a listen upon its release, and my lingering hope is that the next time BRMC make a live outing the quality of the performance matches the undeniable quality of their back-catalogue.

Restavrant – supporting Black Rebel Motorcycle Club @ O2 Academy 28.10.17 / Phil Drury – Birmingham Review

For more on Restavrant, visit www.restavrant.bandcamp.com

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Black Rebel Motorcycle Club @ O2 Academy 28.10.17 / Phil Drury – Birmingham Review

For more on Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, visit www.blackrebelmotorcycleclub.com

For more from the O2 Academy Birmingham, including full event listings and online ticket sales, visit www.academymusicgroup.com/o2academybirmingham

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

November 3, 2017November 3, 2017

ALBUM: Pyro – Rews 03.11.17

Words by Ed King / Pics by Paul Reynolds

Big day today. A red-letter day, as Rews release their debut album, Pyro, to a legitimately eagerly awaiting world.

Well, this little corner is perched on its seat at least. And I suspect I’m not alone. Half of Glastonbury, for one. Marc Radcliffe for another. No doubt some friends and family. The Hawley Arms. The Railway Inn. The list continues…

Birmingham Review first saw Rews back in February this year, when the ferocious twosome came to The Flapper & Firkin – headlining a somewhat smug support band and nailing every second of it. Fun and furious in all the right ways, Rews were a clear win. So much so, in fact, that along with a couple of other acts that we love more than is probably good for us we’ve invited them to play our Christmas bash at the Actress & Bishop (…Sat Nov 25^th, 8 quid, for more of this shameless plug click here).

Signing to Marshall Records pretty much around the time we saw them at The Flapper, Rews have been busy building momentum and recording an album over the past year. A busy festival season, some hand-picked showcase gigs and a pretty healthy portfolio of radio plays took care of the first bit, whilst Shauna (Tohill) and Collette (Williams), aka Rews, locked themselves into a studio to deliver the second bit. And the result is Pyro – released on Friday 3^rd November, through the amp wielding rock monster that is Marshall Records.

Live, Rews are unassailable. So, then… is Pyro any good?

As I’m listening to Pyro, courtesy of sneaky stream from their management, I’ve got the other ear on Radio One – not a station I usually listen to, but Rews are dropping a triptych of teasers from their debut album during the Huw Stephens Show. I’m steadily working up to my own opinion, but I also want to hear what it sounds like in the middle of Playlist A.

Kicking off (a deliberate metaphor) with ‘Let It Roll’, it’s pretty clear from the start that Rews have come to play – Pyro is not pulling punches, as the album’s opener unleashes an unashamed barrage of grab you by the balls rock. ‘Rip Up My Heart’ continues in the same vein, and I can’t help but think of the heavier end of Seattle in the late 90’s and the first time Mike Patton turned up for rehearsal – but that might just be me.

Tohill has those gifted vocals that can range from an almost conversational calm to a high pitched TEAR YOU FACE OFF ROAR, then duck back under the covers as if nothing ever happened. ‘Violins’, track three as we march through this debut, is a near perfect example of this, backed to the hilt by the animalesque thunderclap machine that is Collette Williams. And trust me, this combo is something quite phenomenal live. Then ‘Shine’, the first taste of this here album, comes out with its slightly darker claws; there’s something unflinching about this track and I want it to push, push, push… but how the hell am I going to throw myself down the abyss in under three and a half minutes?

Then back to the back catalogue, before signatures and deadlines, with two of the pop-rock-fingers-up-slapped-face anthems that dragged us into this chaos in the first place, as ‘Death Yawn’ and ‘Miss You in the Dark’ run over you in quick succession. Rews have an unnerving knack of penning easy to catch earworms, a phrase I’m borrowing for this review, and are absurdly fun with it in the process. ‘Death Yawn’ is perhaps my favourite example of this here (especially when you paint the picture what, and whom, it was inspired by) although both these tracks have been stuck in my head since I first heard them over eight months ago.

Speaking of which, I am a tad dismayed not to see ‘Can You Feel It?’ on the track listing for Pyro. Despite appropriating one of the world’s most tired clichés (and using another for the title) it’s a crazy fun track – one that is not only backed by a great melody, but that explodes with the raw versatility of what two talented people can do if you just let them run. Anyway, not my album. And if I’m being supercilious with my lexicon, plonk me in front of an upright piano and get your own back. Drunk spiders…

Then perhaps the cream of this particular crop, or at least the bright forward face of Rews to come, as the album’s second single, ‘Your Tears’, jumps out like Fonzi over shark infested water (Google it). A simple message of self empowerment, a rough edged beginning, that pause… then a chorus that will napalm itself to your brain. Awesome. The danger for Rews, as with every rising balloon, is how firm is their grip. But if giving them a ticking clock, an advance that one day needs to balance out, and enough public pressure to make any normal human want to curl into the foetal position, brings out tracks like ‘Your Tears’ then the plan seems to be working.

Not, however, for ‘We Explode’. I am always asking Birmingham Review contributors to balance their reviews, what I call ‘the velvet glove punch’, and this is where I rein in my adulation. Not a fan of this track; from the staccato start, across the store bought chorus, and through the Pumpkins appropriated spiral into discord, this is Pyro’s weak link. To me. But go out and buy the album then you can argue me down, I just know Rews can deliver better and I have nine other tracks at hand to prove it.

‘Shake Shake’ quickly remedies this dip, with a restrained verse leading up into the kind of chorus that makes you… well, the title maps the landscape out quite clearly. A cracking song, again awesome live, and one I suspect may have been lined up with ‘Can You Feel it?’ in the track listing lotto.

And to kiss the whole thing goodbye, another wonderfully promising glimpse of Rews to come – as ‘Running Against the Wall’ builds a glorious intro of percussion and keys, into a joint vocal message of fuck you adversity. Then it just rocks. Something Rews do with an unashamed and infectious success rate.

There you have it – one man’s opinion. We laughed, we cried, we drove recklessly and punched a hole in the wall… but I’m backing this band. Rews have proven themselves time and time again in a live setting and now they’ve nailed an album. I sense greenfields, bloodshed and glory. Plus, Pyro kicked the front teeth out of everything that got played around it on the Huw Stephen’s Show, so job done on that front too.

Mark it on a calendar, carve it on a wall; Friday 3^rd November, in the year of our Lord 2017. Pyro came to pass. And if anything deserves ornate calligraphy in bull’s blood…

‘Your Tears’ – Rews

Pyro, the debut album from Rews, is released via Marshall Records on Friday 3^rd November, For more onRews, including online sales of Pyro and live gig listings, visit www.rewsmusic.com

Rews play at the Birmingham Review Christmas Party (Winter Showcase) on Saturday 25^th November at the Actress & Bishop, 36 Ludgate Hill, Birmingham B3 1EH. For more event info, including links to online tickets sales, click here.

October 18, 2017October 17, 2017

BPREVIEW: Black Rebel Motorcycle Club @ O2 Academy 28.10.17

Words by Ed King / Pic by Tessa Angus

On Saturday 28^th October, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club ride through Birmingham – coming to the O2 Academy as part of their nine date UK tour (plus one in Dublin).

Doors open at 7pm, with tickets priced at £28.65 (including booking fee) – as presented by SJM Concerts/Gigs and Tours. For direct gig info, including venue details and online tickets sales, click here.

Responsible for one of the best debut albums ever… yep, I went there… Black Rebel Motorcycle Club have been tearing up the asphalt on both sides of the pond (and beyond) since 1998. Some call them ‘shoegaze’, some all them ‘grunge’, some call them ‘garage rock’, but Black Rebel Motorcycle Club have a distinctive twisted metal sound that they can comfortable call their own. ‘Fucking awesome’ is where I personally land, but with well over 200,000 words in the English language I’m sure you can come up with a more erudite description. Or you could just listen.

Globetrotting with a new album in the wings, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club are coming to Birmingham to push their impending new album – Wrong Creatures, which will, apparently, possibly, be with us just after Christmas.

But having waited half a decade since their last LP, the 12 track monster that is Specter at the Feast, a few months here or there won’t bite down too hard. At least I’ll have something to spend those iTunes vouchers on, that will no doubt appear in some relative’s Hallmark hug this December (…other online music downloads are available).

Having recorded and released on their own imprint since 2008 (starting with the download only The Effects of 333) Black Rebel Motorcycle Club have been able to reinvent and reiterate all the cogs in their machine, drifting from the Native American rhythms of ‘Beat the Devil’s Tattoo’, passing through the dark rock heart of ‘War Machine’ and ‘Teenage Disease’, to stand still at the morbid curiosity of ‘Fire Walker’. Awesome. Relentless. Lots of other words; 24rs spent ploughing through this band’s back catalogue would not be a day wasted. Even if you’re wasted.

Now there’s another album in the offing too, and whilst we don’t know much about Wrong Creatures here’s a little taste of what’s to come… and yeah, that’ll do. The rest we’ll get to see/hear coming off stage at the O2 Academy on Say 28th October.

‘Little Thing Gone Wild’ – Black Rebel Motorcycle Club

For more on Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, visit www.blackrebelmotorcycleclub.com

For more from the O2 Academy Birmingham, including full event listings and online ticket sales, visit www.academymusicgroup.com/o2academybirmingham

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

September 23, 2017September 23, 2017

BPREVIEW: The Black Angels @ O2 Institute 26.09.17

Words by Ed King

On Tuesday 26^th September, The Black Angels land in Birmingham at the 02 Institute – performing live, with support from A Place to Bury Strangers + Mass Datura.

Doors open at 7pm with tickets priced at £19.50, as presented by Kilimanjaro Live and This Is Tmrw. For direct gig info, including venue details and online ticket sales, click here.

Out on the road with their fifth studio album, Death Song, The Black Angels are in Birmingham as part of only a handful of UK dates on their Death March Tour. Sandwiched in-between a gig in Glasgow and another in Bristol, the O2 Institute in Birmingham is the second date the Texan psych-rockers will be playing in Blighty. Although The Black Angels did play at the Liverpool International Festival of Psychedelia 2017, but who’s going to prove any of that actually happened. Or maybe it never stopped…

Four years since their last LP, Death Song came out on Partisan Records in April this year, with an extensive North American tour introducing the album stateside. A clear hat tip to the Velvet Underground – as in ‘The Black Angel’s Death Song’, from that record they made with that blonde lass – the new album from The Black Angels has been described by Phil Mongredien in The Guardian as a ‘menacing return to form’, further stating the 11 track LP harks back to ‘the threatening drones that made their first two so powerful’.

With a line up that makes the bill sound like a blueprint for Jonestown II, The Black Angels are supported by New York noise-rockers, A Place to Bury Strangers – alongside London’s self described ‘sunshine doom’ four piece, Mass Datura. So a nice quiet night in then… pass the shrooms and absinthe, Franz.

Having munched enough blotter acid to stop a heard of migrating springbok, Google it, I’m not sure another dark spiral is what this piece of psychedelic driftwood needs on a Tuesday.

But with only three dates in the UK, if you want a sneaky quarter of The Black Angels then you’d better get your game face on. Bit of a coup that they’re coming to Birmingham. In the meantime here’s a tiny taste of their new album:

‘Currency’ – The Black Angels

The Black Angels comes to the O2 Institute on 26^th September, with support from A Place to Bury Strangers + Mass Datura – as presented by Kilimanjaro Live and This Is Tmrw. For direct gig info, including venue details and online ticket sales, click here.

For more on The Black Angels, visit www.theblackangels.com

For more on A Place to Bury Strangers, visit www.aplacetoburystrangers.com

For more on Mass Datura, visit www.soundcloud.com/mass-datura

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

For more from Kilimanjaro Live, visit www.kilimanjarolive.co.uk

For more from This Is Tmrw, visit www.thisistmrw.co.uk

September 12, 2017September 12, 2017

BREVIEW: Semantics – Acid Test EP launch @ Actress & Bishop 09.09.17

Words by Ed King / Pics Paul Reynolds

Due to a late cancellation at The Sunflower Lounge, we have two extra names on the bill tonight – with North Parade and My-Hi joining Hankks, Quinn and Semantics at the Actress & Bishop. Not bad for a fiver (neither is the new Semantic EP, Acid Test… but more on that later).

But time, tide and the Number 45 bus wait for no man, and with an excellent track record of poor time keeping I rock up to the A&B just in time to catch the last song from My-Hi. Nothing like a bit of head banging at 8:30pm on a Saturday; I even have the hair for it nowadays… where’s my snakebite?

Next up is Quinn, the curious three piece fronted by the legendary Sam Lambeth. Quinn look like a fresher’s party at five in the morning, but sound like Mega City Four – for those of you who will get the somewhat archaic reference – with languid melodies disguised by fast paced distortion and an unashamed rock outlook on life. But Lambeth is a superstar in the making, with absurd confidence, deft solos and the kind of charisma that you would sign in blood to possess.

He’s a great writer too (one I tried to bring onto these pages but was trounced by the perennial lure of London) and even as a front man with sparkles from head to toe, kind to his audience – dedicating a track to “super fan Zach Aston, I heard you lost your virginity last night so this one’s for you”. But sadly, truthfully, and with the softest of kit gloves, the rest of the band fall a tad short; practice, a metronome and possibly some solo material might not be a bad idea for a while. I hear London’s quite up and coming so Lambeth should be in luck. For everything else there’s always Amazon.

A case of mistaken identity later and I’m wrestling my cider back from Hankks’ drummer, before the polka dot fronted four piece take to the stage. An honest mistake, but I can be a shallow man when it comes to alcohol. Mercifully Hankks are solid as a rock, with a tight (albeit slightly detached) set of bouncing grunge rock with little to let it down. Little to really remember too, and once my more learned friend noticed “they sound like an early Green Day” that’s all I could hold in my head. But keep on trucking lads; you got mustard in there.

Then the lights go down, the mood shifts, and the most well dressed (and amongst the loveliest) band in Birmingham take their place centre stage. With a new EP on the table, literally, Semantics kick off their headline set.

DISCLAIMER: Birmingham Review is lucky enough to get a fair number of bands and musicians reach out to us, but the one’s that do it with kindness and candor (and enough advance notice) stand a much better chance of getting covered. Take note – this probably applies beyond our pages too. But that doesn’t mean we will them write a good review. An honest review, yes, but you have to earn your gold stars.

Josh RB, Semantics‘ bass player, has been a joy to get to know – even bouncing over to give me a big hug and introduce their front man, Rob Lilley, whom I had not yet met (please don’t hug all our reviewers). So I’m nervous now. What if they’re shit. I am ruthless about honesty from the Birmingham Review contributors so should probably lead by example. A few minutes pass and I’m more nervous… seriously, what if they’re really shit.

Opening with an instrumental, Semantics sound is immediate; a brooding backdrop pierced by clear and dominating riffs (SECOND DISCLAIMER: I am not a musician). Then it’s the title track from the reason we’re here, as ‘Acid Test’ introduces the mournful lament of Rob Liley’s vocals – albeit somewhat let down by the sound desk – and the dark but beautiful box he wants our kisses wrapped up in.

‘A cut above’ is what I tap into Samsung Notes, before adding some nonsense about ‘sense and sensibility’ and spending the next 5 minutes looking for a glockenspiel.

But Semantics clearly know what they’re doing, as the set builds into a quite ferocious wall of sound (sorry, but the cliché is too appropriate not to use) adding layer upon glorious goth layer and dragging the audience into the stage with invisible fish hooks. I think, by now, I’m dancing, or an approximation of this. But the floor has to make room some as first Josh RB, then Bridie Green, step out into the crowd for a well controlled showcase.

This is when I stop writing (or an approximation of this) – Semantics, here tonight, are just too fucking good. Its a show; a proper gig. And aside from the vocals being squashed into a cotton wool pancake (seriously sound desk…?) the audio is awesome, the delivery is near perfect, and the look is… well, working.

I wasn’t sure if the stylised nature of this band would stand up in a live setting, and I was worried that the spectre of Ian Curtis would be too much of a distraction, but Semantics own every inch of their set with confidence and grace.

And because I also ask our contributors to try and find a counterpoint – what I call the ‘velvet glove punch’ – I shall end an overwhelmingly positive review with a word of warning. In fact I’ll end with three: Joy, Division, careful.

For more on Semantics, visit www.soundcloud.com/semanticsuk

For more on Hankks, visit https://soundcloud.com/hankks

For more on Quinn, visit www.soundcloud.com/quinn-580556457

For more from Actress & Bishop, including full event listings and online ticket sales, visit www.facebook.com/Actressandbishop

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