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

THE GALLERY: The Hungry Ghosts @ Centrala 22.07.17 / Rob Hadley – Birmingham Review

 

 

 

Words by Ed King / Original pics by Rob Hadley

On Saturday 22nd July, those slaughter house siblings let another one of their scaly offspring slither out unguarded across the plains… or if you’ve not read me write about them before, The Hungry Ghosts released a new single – their double a-side of ‘Amerika/Lazaro’.

Celebrating their latest twisted blues debauchery, The Hungry Ghosts had themselves a fine little single release shindig at Centrala – taking over the upstairs room (which we never knew existed until this event) for a smoke filled DIY affair on the banks of the Birmingham canal network. There was laughter, tears, mother’s ruin drunk straight from the bottle, probably a lost shoe or fractured corpse floating somewhere in the waters, plus a feast of friends coming from all across Albion for some superlative support. ‘Aint alliteration ace, anyway…

THE GALLERY: The Hungry Ghosts @ Centrala 22.07.17 / August tour posterThe acts that came to play at The Hungry Ghosts‘ ‘Amerika/Lazaro’ single launch are (almost) all represented in glorious Technicolor below, but if you need a chronological roll call: You Dirty Blue, Charlie Boyer, Average Sex, The Lizards.

But honestly, I was having too much fun to seriously comment. Or commit. Or converse, rationally, at points. Although I’ll tell you this for nowt – The Hungry Ghosts have been embedding a new line up this year and the results are blisteringly promising, both on stage and off. I saw the five piece first at The Sunflower Lounge for Counteract’s 7th Birthday bash in April, with a fresh edge that had been somewhat needed. The fire was back. And their Centrala single launch was another notch above, so as trajectories go there’s something of a second attempt Icarus happening here.

Joe Joseph is fast becoming the front man of legends, whilst Billy Ollis seems to have tapped a little further into that dark spring that wells so wonderfully within him. Flanking the founders now are Jay Dyer and Emily Doyle, who feel like they have always been there, with Rich Burman proving that you can actually keep hold of a percussionist. He’s a keeper; they’re all keepers. This is the band The Hungry Ghosts should be.

So, blah blah blah. Adulation/opinion. Told you… having too much fun. But ‘Amerika’ rocks in every sense of the description so it’s all quite simple really:

1) Read my BPREVIEW here
2) Watch the official ‘Amerika’ trailer video via the link below
3) Buy a copy here – out on August 4th. This band needs to eat

‘Amerika’ – The Hungry Ghosts

Outside of all that, Rob Hadley had a more professional hat on at Centrala and there’s some smokey sex shots for you to skewer you’re way through – a few cherry picked below, or (heartily recommended) for the Full Flickr of Pics click here or on the relevant links.

And if you still need a guiding voice in your ear, you crazed bastard child of Bateman, then simply grab your leather bound Roget, flick those fingers to the words ‘sinister’, ‘gold’ and ‘vociferous’, then start to fill in the blanks. ‘Awesome’ might be worth a look too.

N.B. The Hungry Ghosts are back out on the road in August (tour poster above) so you’ll be able to see this for yourself. Diaries at the ready… Crofters Right (Bristol) 12th August, Shambala Festival (Northamptonshire) 26th August, Hare & Hounds (Kings Heath, B’ham) 27th August.

The Hungry Ghosts @ Centrala 22.07.17 / Rob Hadley – Birmingham Review

THE GALLERY: The Hungry Ghosts @ Centrala 22.07.17 / Rob Hadley – Birmingham Review

THE GALLERY: The Hungry Ghosts @ Centrala 22.07.17 / Rob Hadley – Birmingham Review

THE GALLERY: The Hungry Ghosts @ Centrala 22.07.17 / Rob Hadley – Birmingham Review

THE GALLERY: The Hungry Ghosts @ Centrala 22.07.17 / Rob Hadley – Birmingham Review

THE GALLERY: The Hungry Ghosts @ Centrala 22.07.17 / Rob Hadley – Birmingham Review

THE GALLERY: The Hungry Ghosts @ Centrala 22.07.17 / Rob Hadley – Birmingham Review

THE GALLERY: The Hungry Ghosts @ Centrala 22.07.17 / Rob Hadley – Birmingham Review

THE GALLERY: The Hungry Ghosts @ Centrala 22.07.17 / Rob Hadley – Birmingham Review

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

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You Dirty Blue – supporting The Hungry Ghosts @ Centrala 22.07.17 / Rob Hadley – Birmingham Review

THE GALLERY: You Dirty Blue – supporting The Hungry Ghosts @ Centrala 22.07.17 / Rob Hadley – Birmingham Review

THE GALLERY: You Dirty Blue – supporting The Hungry Ghosts @ Centrala 22.07.17 / Rob Hadley – Birmingham Review

THE GALLERY: You Dirty Blue – supporting The Hungry Ghosts @ Centrala 22.07.17 / Rob Hadley – Birmingham Review

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

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Charlie Boyer – supporting The Hungry Ghosts @ Centrala 22.07.17 / Rob Hadley – Birmingham Review

THE GALLERY: Charlie Boyer – supporting The Hungry Ghosts @ Centrala 22.07.17 / Rob Hadley – Birmingham Review

THE GALLERY: Charlie Boyer – supporting The Hungry Ghosts @ Centrala 22.07.17 / Rob Hadley – Birmingham Review

THE GALLERY: Charlie Boyer – supporting The Hungry Ghosts @ Centrala 22.07.17 / Rob Hadley – Birmingham Review

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

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Average Sex – supporting The Hungry Ghosts @ Centrala 22.07.17 / Rob Hadley – Birmingham Review

THE GALLERY: Average Sex – supporting The Hungry Ghosts @ Centrala 22.07.17 / Rob Hadley – Birmingham Review

THE GALLERY: Average Sex – supporting The Hungry Ghosts @ Centrala 22.07.17 / Rob Hadley – Birmingham Review

THE GALLERY: Average Sex – supporting The Hungry Ghosts @ Centrala 22.07.17 / Rob Hadley – Birmingham Review

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

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The Lizards – supporting The Hungry Ghosts @ Centrala 22.07.17 / Rob Hadley – Birmingham Review

THE GALLERY: The Lizards – supporting The Hungry Ghosts @ Centrala 22.07.17 / Rob Hadley – Birmingham Review

THE GALLERY: The Lizards – supporting The Hungry Ghosts @ Centrala 22.07.17 / Rob Hadley – Birmingham Review

THE GALLERY: The Lizards – supporting The Hungry Ghosts @ Centrala 22.07.17 / Rob Hadley – Birmingham Review

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

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

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

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

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

On Saturday 22nd 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 4th 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 7th 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. BPREVIEW: The Hungry Ghosts - ‘Amerika/Lazaro’ single launch @ Centrala 22.07.17The 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 4th August.

‘Amerika’ – The Hungry Ghosts

The Hungry Ghosts are launching their ‘Amerika/Lazaro’ double a-side at Centrala (Minerva Works) on Saturday 22nd 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

INTERVIEW: Richard Franks – Counteract

INTERVIEW: Richard Franks - Counteract @ The Sunflower Lounge / Rob Hadley - Birmingham Review

Words by Ed King / Pics Rob Hadley

Interview conducted at The Sunflower Lounge on Saturday 22nd April.

Richard Franks started Counteract seven years ago. Seven years ago today in fact, on his birthday. Which along with World Earth Day, Record Store Day, and what seems to be the warm up for Pride marching past The Sunflower Lounge, makes April 22nd a pretty red letter date.

Having “kind of” studied journalism at Birmingham Metropolitan College and then again at University in London for “only a couple of months”, Richard Franks took his career into his own hands and out of the classroom. After scaling/banging heads against the brick wall of being an unknown freelancer, Franks picked up his ego, accepted his fate and did what all honourable men do in the face of professional adversity. He set up on his own.

Seven years later and Counteract is the leading online music magazine in Birmingham, with a monthly readership and reach that can impress and intimidate the publications around them. A regional reality I know only too well.

“I didn’t really do my A Levels,” admits Richard Franks, “and I started writing about music online pretty much straight away, as I left school at sixteen. So all I have are GCSEs and AS Levels; I’ve done all the things that I’ve done without the need for a degree. I made a lot of things up in terms of the way I do things; a lot of guess work. Like learning to make a website. It was never built on ‘I want to copy them’, I just thought right I want to make a website, Googled ‘how do you make a website’, then did it.”

INTERVIEW: Richard Franks - Counteract @ The Sunflower Lounge / Rob Hadley - Birmingham ReviewWorld’s largest library at our finger tips. But some publishing houses, especially those behind the mainstream broadsheets, still ask for a degree at interview – do you ever regret not having that piece of paper? “Not so much, because through the things I have done that’s how I’ve got other jobs. My employers always found it interesting that I’d started the website; it shows a self starting attitude, it shows you’re quite positive.”

“You’ve only got to look at what I’ve done to see that it is possible to do what you want to do,” continues Franks, as I ask the ‘any advice’ question no self respecting interviewer should ask, “to follow a path you know you want to follow. I’m very much an advocate that you don’t necessarily need education to do what you want to do. There are a lot of people I know – in bands or who write – where it’s gone from a hobby to their full time job. That in itself makes it clear you don’t need an education.” I’d argue this with some professions, but the national curriculum has never impinged on my working world. “Obviously there are pressures from all types of angles, from parents, from friends and from the general working life. But I think you’ve got to follow what you think is right and if you’re happy with what you’re doing then so be it.”

Are you happy with what you’re doing? “Yep, sure. I am. There was a time when perhaps I wasn’t, jumping from job to job, thinking how the hell do I make a career out of this? But over the past six months I feel firmly settled. I’m not saying that had I got a degree and then went and got a job I’d be any better or worse off, you don’t know do you. But I felt this way would develop; for different people it’s different things, isn’t it.”

INTERVIEW: Richard Franks - Counteract @ The Sunflower Lounge / Rob Hadley - Birmingham Review“I don’t think qualifications are so important anymore,” Franks continues, as the afternoon bubble of tired shoppers begins to burst at the bar. “Especially the way online journalism and copywriting and those areas are developing. I think you’d be more likely to get a job now, in an online sector, probably if you have more experience than if you have a degree.” So imagine the scenario, two candidates walk into Counteract HQ for the same salaried position…

“It’s a bit of a double edged sword; how do you get experience if you’re not offered experience in the first place? That’s the kind of thing I struggled with so early on. I was sending reviews and my CV off to places like the NME and The Guardian, but I was either getting knocked back or I wasn’t getting a reply whatsoever. That hurt me, and because of that, I think, I’d be more inclined to give something to someone who didn’t have experience.”

At points, I couldn’t agree more (excluding surgeons, airline pilots…). There was a time whilst recruiting for an entry level position at a PR agency that I stopped interviewing graduates: a blanket ban on university brats. I ended up employing a woman who had worked in a clothes shop since she was sixteen, a few years later she became regional MD.

But I’m not here to pay lip service to the old guard approach of garrulous opinion (think Hunter S Thompson meets a Raymond Chandler character) it’s Counteract’s seventh birthday and the line up to their self promoted party is too strong to ignore, with The Mother’s Earth Jaws (special guests) @ Counteract’s 7th Birthday 22.04.17 / Rob Hadley - Birmingham ReviewExperiment, The Hungry Ghosts and newcomers The Dream Collective all on the bill. There’s even a special guest: a bastard child of the B-Town “baby boom” who have been teased out with the Spielberg adage, ‘we’re going to need a bigger boat’.

Speaking of B Town…

Certain coattails are more fashionable than others and the toilet walls of this venue plot point various rising B Town balloons. But Counteract was one publication, one regional publication, one readable publication, which was there before any widespread interest. How did the national media land grab make you feel as a regional editor?

“I was glad at the time that they were getting the kind of publicity they were getting,” explains Richard Franks. “I know all of the bands that were in that circuit, one of them are playing tonight; Harry Koisser used to message me on Facebook asking, ‘we’ve got this new song, can you put it on Counteract?’ This was in 2011/2012, something like that. We always had that little personal relationship with the bands. But I think…” So often does this subject create an uncomfortable pause.

“The term itself, B Town, while it was good at the start it just became a bit of a joke. I don’t think people here, the people that were involved in the music scene here, liked it after a while. It became a parody of itself. And all the bands moved to London. So you’re talking about B Town, you’re talking about Birmingham, but Peace, Swim INTERVIEW: Richard Franks - Counteract @ The Sunflower Lounge / Rob Hadley - Birmingham ReviewDeep, Superfood all moved to London.” How does that make you feel, again as a regional editor – one who championed these artists when there was no NME in sight? “It annoys me but you know why they do, because there’s more there.”

What about the promoters and labels who are still in the city. Should they have picked the up mantle with a firmer grip? “It’s money isn’t it; it’s London. How do you compete with London? But the B Town thing I could talk about that for days. I’m happy it happened; I’m disappointed they all moved – because it killed it. But in the same way it spawned so many new bands that wouldn’t have ever thought about coming in to Birmingham. The shows were busier. It was like a baby boom, just in music.”

It is both ironic and encouraging that the seemingly impenetrable wall that once compelled Richard Franks to build Counteract, is now a less of an obstacle. Here we sit, discussing national interest subjects that were once kids reaching out through the Counteract Facebook page.

So now you’re captain of your own ship, with some significant landmarks behind you, what sends you out across the waters? “Seven years ago there wasn’t such an impetus on online content,” explains Franks, “places like Buzzfeed weren’t so prominent. Whereas now it’s a little bit different because I’ve got in my mind that I’m creating the content to try and reach as far as it can, that I have to write it for an online audience.”

The Dream Collective @ Counteract’s 7th Birthday 22.04.17 / Rob Hadley - Birmingham ReviewExtrapolate that? “What I mean by ‘online audience’ is ‘user friendly’,” Franks continues, as The Sunflower Lounge moves into the DEFCON 3 of a Saturday afternoon. “So all the buzzwords you need to use to try and hit the search engines, all the techniques you need to use to improve your website’s visibility online. All these things are in my mind now. I guess for me there’s been a big change, because of the way the online market has developed.”

“In kind of a roundabout way of saying things, and this may sound a bit bad or naive of me, but it’s now less important for the journalistic quality of the writing as opposed to the way it’s presented on the website for search engine optimisation. In those seven years it’s developed quite a lot, to the point where I like publishing the posts more than I did seven years ago. One, I know they’re going to a good audience because we’ve built up this following on Facebook, Twitter, the mailing list and all those kind of things. And two, I know that when I’m publishing the posts more work has gone into it because you’re making sure it’s set up well for an online audience. It’s more technical now than it was seven years ago.”

I didn’t expect that. There are dangers, in my mind, with being over concerned about clicks, hits and page views; I think writer first, journalist second. An embarrassing attempt at designer third. But marketing comes with a paycheck. And I’ve been running PR campaigns for over tweThe Hungry Ghosts @ Counteract’s 7th Birthday 22.04.17 / Rob Hadley - Birmingham Reviewnty years. I start to stumble around a question I would want someone to ask with more confidence.

So… in your priority list, where does the quality of a… maybe that’s the wrong word, what about the story’s… “Integrity?” offers Richard Franks. That’s the word. Where does integrity come in? “Probably not as much as I’d like. But that’s down to two things, one me not having enough time, and two, that it takes more time to publish them – because of the SEO elements of the world. In terms of the integrity of the written content itself, it still ranks pretty high.”

As both an editor and a consumer I have my issues with overzealous content, I don’t believe it. And I’ve known writers jump from one ship to another over precisely this debate. But Richard Franks is in a different place, professionally speaking, and Counteract has its own approaches and agendas. As all publications should. What about straight out bad copy – have you ever not been able to publish someone’s work at Counteract?

“I’ve had to say to people (contributors) but sorry, this is not what we expect. And I never want to do that, I hate doing that, because I want to give everyone a chance. But if they’re rubbish writers, in a roundabout way, we have to be honest. So it’s not me saying the quality of the content, the written work, is not important. It’s just me saying when we publish it the quality of the written content, while it’s just a bit more important than SEO and making sure it’s set up right it’s still not miles ahead.”

The Mother’s Earth Experiment @ Counteract’s 7th Birthday 22.04.17 / Rob Hadley - Birmingham ReviewThe upstairs at The Sunflower Lounge is starting to fill up; we’re pushing ‘high readiness’. And the background noise is putting a strain on my frighteningly fickle voice recorder. Plus the bands are staring to arrive now, DEFCON 4, and whilst The Mothers Earth Experiment have been wrestling with lights (and possibly lava lamps) for a few hours, there’s still some left to sound check.

As we end our interview, me putting down my pen to play ‘punter’ and Richard Franks dusting down the responsibilities of ‘promoter’, I wonder if it’s all worth it. I like Richard Franks. I wasn’t sure if we’d get on (I wasn’t even sure he’d agree to an interview) and God knows not every publication makes it to seven candles. Plus he’s given me some serious food for thought.

But the man is open, honest, and certainly knows his way around a search engine. Digital marketeers of the city beware. And whilst I disagree on some of his style sheet and publishing policies, I respect what he has achieved with Countertact. Seldom has any single person, any music journalist or publisher, done more to celebrate the music in this city; Richard Franks is to be applauded. But probably without him noticing to save an awkward moment for both of you; even whilst celebrating his publication’s seventh birthday, the biggest ego at this table is still most likely mine.

But will we be sitting here in three years time facing double figures? “The gigs are very time consuming,” Franks replies, “and I don’t like to say ‘never’… but for now it’s more important for my energy to go into the website.” Never indeed, Counteract is bringing Alex Ohm to The Victoria on 20th May – for all intents and purposes, the last in the publication’s recent flurry of live gigs.

“I’d like to get back to the place where I can give everyone a chance,” surmises Richard Franks. “The website is more important and I’m just too busy to reply to everyone right now. But never say never. Once you stop enjoying something, then stop doing it.”

I’ll make us both a note then, April 22nd 2020. Remember to buy a card, candles, a balloon in the shape of the number 10…

For more on Counteract, visit www.counteract.co

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

THE GALLERY: Counteract’s 7th Birthday @ The Sunflower Lounge 22.04.17

THE GALLERY: Counteract’s 7th Birthday @ The Sunflower Lounge 22.04.17

 

 

 

Words by Ed King / Pics by Rob Hadley

‘We’re going to need a bigger boat…’

You got that right. On Saturday 22nd, Counteract celebrated its seven years around the sun with a smorgasbord of bands at The Sunflower Lounge, playing to a packed out room with no extra wiggle in sight.

Stacking the bill were The Mother’s Earth Experiment, The Hungry Ghosts, The Dream Collective and special guests, Jaws – sneaking in as a surprise headline appearance. Rob Hadley was there to shoot an extended photo feature for THE GALLERY, whilst Ed King caught up with Counteract founder, editor-in-chief and overall Captain Ahab, Richard Franks, earlier in the day. See a selection of Rob’s shots below and watch out for Ed’s interview with Richard Franks, online in May.

A celebration of The Midland’s music scene, Counteract’s 7th birthday was an homage to the great, good, long, short and curlies of today’s regional live circuit. Coming back to blow out the candles with a publication that backed them from the beginning, Jaws were on ferocious form – sending a sea of bodies bouncing ever closer to The Sunflower’s ceiling. Some crowd surfers may have even made it.

The Mother’s Earth Experiment gave a blistering set of multi-percussion-precision-psych-rock (‘dem boys play tight) bathed in what can only be described as ‘death by lava lamp’, whilst The Hungry Ghosts played their first Birmingham gig with their new line up (and a few new songs) – cramming two extra bags of blood and bone onto The Sunflower’s already relatively cozy stage. The Dream Collective were fixed at the bow though – opening the birthday shenanigans with a pretty inter‘stellar’ live set. Right, now where’s that life preserver…

Check out a cherry picked buffet of Rob Hadley’s pics below, or click on the relevant links to see the Full Flickr of Pics. There’s some on our Instagram page too. Enjoy. We did. Happy birthday Counteract; rock on to a cake with eight candles.

Jaws (special guests) @ Counteract’s 7th Birthday 22.04.17 / Rob Hadley – Birmingham Review

Jaws (special guests) @ Counteract’s 7th Birthday 22.04.17 / Rob Hadley - Birmingham Review

Jaws (special guests) @ Counteract’s 7th Birthday 22.04.17 / Rob Hadley - Birmingham Review

Jaws (special guests) @ Counteract’s 7th Birthday 22.04.17 / Rob Hadley - Birmingham Review

For more on Jaws, visit www.jawsjawsjaws.co.uk

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The Mother’s Earth Experiment @ Counteract’s 7th Birthday 22.04.17 / Rob Hadley – Birmingham Review

The Mother’s Earth Experiment @ Counteract’s 7th Birthday 22.04.17 / Rob Hadley - Birmingham Review

The Mother’s Earth Experiment @ Counteract’s 7th Birthday 22.04.17 / Rob Hadley - Birmingham Review

The Mother’s Earth Experiment @ Counteract’s 7th Birthday 22.04.17 / Rob Hadley - Birmingham Review

The Mother’s Earth Experiment @ Counteract’s 7th Birthday 22.04.17 / Rob Hadley - Birmingham Review

For more on The Mother’s Earth Experiment, visit www.themothersearthexperiment.bandcamp.com

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The Hungry Ghosts @ Counteract’s 7th Birthday 22.04.17 / Rob Hadley – Birmingham Review

The Hungry Ghosts @ Counteract’s 7th Birthday 22.04.17 / Rob Hadley - Birmingham Review

The Hungry Ghosts @ Counteract’s 7th Birthday 22.04.17 / Rob Hadley - Birmingham Review

The Hungry Ghosts @ Counteract’s 7th Birthday 22.04.17 / Rob Hadley - Birmingham Review

For more on The Hungry Ghosts, visit www.the-hungry-ghosts.bandcamp.com

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The Dream Collective @ Counteract’s 7th Birthday 22.04.17 / Rob Hadley – Birmingham Review

The Dream Collective @ Counteract’s 7th Birthday 22.04.17 / Rob Hadley - Birmingham Review

The Dream Collective @ Counteract’s 7th Birthday 22.04.17 / Rob Hadley - Birmingham Review

For more on The Dream Collective, visit www.soundcloud.com/the_dream_collective

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For more on Counteract, visit www.counteract.co

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

 

BREVIEW: The Hungry Ghosts + Goat Girl @ The Victoria 25.10.16

The Hungry Ghosts @ The Victoria 25.10.16 / By Claire Leach © Birmingham Review

for-the-full-flickr-of-pics-click-here

Words by Jay Dyer / Pics by Claire Leach

I have long been an admirer of The Victoria. It’s a quaint, traditional pub, at the heart of this vastly changing city – one which has not been hit quite as hard by the wide gentrification across the road, in the new (sterile) Grand Terror Watts – supporting The Hungry Ghosts @ The Victoria 25.10.16 / By Claire Leach © Birmingham ReviewCentral/New Street station. Plus The Victoria has a wonderful stage room upstairs, which is sadly not utilised enough. It is the perfect venue for the city; it’s neither too large nor too small, and I am joyed (and somewhat surprised) to see The Hungry Ghosts on their bill – blowing away the establishment’s Tuesday night cobwebs.

I arrive early, embark up the stairs and into the gig room. I take another look at the date on my phone to make sure I have the right night, as I find myself all alone. The date is right. I grab a beer and waste a bit of time downstairs so I look less weird. As I swig from my glass of unpronounceable lager, finally people arrive so I head back upstairs to find Terror Watts setting up their equipment.

Terror Watts are a band that I enjoy live and tonight is no different. They hit you with bursts of energy, married with fine-tuned garage rock songs. In other words everything I love to see live. Their set is tight as can be too, something I imagine has taken some time in the practice room to get right. However I am getting a strong sense of déjà vu; it takes 2 or 3 songs for it to dawn on me that Terror Watts have not altered their set in the slightest Goat Girl – supporting The Hungry Ghosts @ The Victoria 25.10.16 / By Claire Leach © Birmingham Reviewsince I last saw them. With such a condensed music scene in Birmingham, being original and taking pride in variety is key to making a name for yourself. Terror Watts ignite with a flash to some delight, but after a while I long for something bigger.

The next band on stage are Goat Girl, a 4-piece garage rock outfit from London. Goat Girl have recently signed to Rough Trade so I feel a bit of buzz and anticipation for what’s to come. On paper, they are everything I love in a band; raw garage rock, forged through simple chord structure and dancing harmonic melodies, is what I absolutely yearn for. I’ve listened to some of Goat Girl’s music online and I love it, it really engages with me with its energy and production.

However, after they finally get pulled away from their cocktails downstairs (where Goat Girl have been residing all night) they embark on a set which neither inspires or encapsulates my eager mind. Tonight Goat Girl come across as overly self-absorbent, looking as if they’re only thinking about what next to order from the cocktail menu.The Hungry Ghosts @ The Victoria 25.10.16 / By Claire Leach © Birmingham Review

The music I loved so much on record is diluted by a lack of live dynamic range; the set is void of energy. I want to shout, “hey, it’s a Tuesday, it’s not a big crowd, but show some energy to those who came out to see you”. Somewhere buried deep down I can hear some wonderful hooks and rhythms, but played with such reluctance they lose the audience in large parts. Goat Girl do play well, I just don’t ‘get’ what they are trying to do live. But somehow they bagged themselves a Rough Trade deal.

The Hungry Ghosts are next up, bringing their self-titled ‘slaughterhouse blues’ to the stage. The four piece have been making quite a name for themselves over the past few months; The Hungry Ghosts have recently released their debut Blood Red Songs EP and played a barrage of shows around the country.

The Victoria‘s upstairs venue has now filled to about half capacity, which is alright for a Tuesday night, and The Hungry Ghosts’ set is an unforgiving and brutal display – marrying gloomy bass with screaming highs. Each song is played with such The Hungry Ghosts @ The Victoria 25.10.16 / By Claire Leach © Birmingham Reviewprecision and energy it makes them perfect to watch; effortlessly playing their way through a destructive set.

Front man, Joe Joseph, becomes a focal point of the performance as he looms over the microphone with one eye darting behind his cascading hair. It really is the eyes; they unnerve me slightly. They remind me of an overly exuberant actor I watched portraying the blind old man in a performance of ‘Antigone’ a few years back.

Joe Joseph seems to react to every single movement of the music, his body jolting with the beat. This is peaked when he ends up laying in the foetal position in the middle of the audience, screaming into the microphone.

There’s nothing ‘quaint’ or ‘traditional’ about The Hungry Ghosts, but they can fill up a room no matter how many people are in there with them. When you go to watch The Hungry Ghosts you are watching a band perfectly navigate the line between destruction and control; I absolutely love it.

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

For more on Goat Girl, visit www.facebook.com/goatgirlofficial

For more on Terror Watts, visit www.facebook.com/terrorwatts

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For more from The Victoria, visit www.thevictoriabirmingham.co.uk

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