Shame, Sorry, Fontaines D.C. Live at the Institute Birmingham review (28/11/18)

FONTAINES D.C are a band who are much like Shame in their post-punk sound, and overtly political lyrics. At least i think their singer's lyrics are political. It's kind of hard to tell what he's saying with his thick Irish accent. With his thrift shop clothes and punch drunk swagger he evokes the spirit of Mark E Smith. I was impressed by Fontaines D.C. as much for their great tunes as their attitude. 'Liberty Bell' and 'Hurricane Laughter' are some of the best punk rock songs to come out of Ireland since The Undertones Penned 'Teenage Kicks'. Overall Fontaines D.C seem like they've come out of some sort of wormhole. Their contemporaries seem more likely to be Stiff Little Fingers or Boomtown Rats than IDLES or Shame. Yet seeing such a young band with great songs, a great sound and attitude is uplifting in whatever decade you're in. I have no doubt that big things are coming this bands way. (8.4/10)
SORRY hail from the same tight knit London scene as Shame. They're one of the most intriguing and unique bands to emerge from that scene in the past year. They lack any clear influences and in the current pantheon of indie rock bands there is no-one to compare them too. Their downbeat lyrics, keyboard flourishes, jangly guitars and hints of shoegaze are all familiar yet add up to a sound that is totally their own. However their live show wasn't as engaging as the bands before and after them. I enjoyed their set but I didn't love it. (7.6)

Shame have been on stage for a little over two minutes and their newly blonde singer, Charlie Steen is already crowd-surfing on a bed of frenzied fans. Shame are riding high at the end of a triumphant year. Their début album 'Songs of Praise' was released back in January. This album marked them out as being one of the best of a new wave of post-punk bands to crawl out of the UK's underbelly. Almost a year later and the record is topping end of year lists, Shame have become a tabloid target in the sun and played one of the most memorable 'later...' sets of the year. For this Birmingham show the lucky crowd was to hear three brand new songs. 'Human for a minute', 'Cowboy' and 'Exhaler' are not just new but possibly three of the best songs Shame have written yet. It seems that Charlie Steen is taking a bit of a break from tory baiting to write songs that are more introspective. 'Human for a minute' is quite openly about the feeling not being a functional human. 'Cowboy' seemed to feature the line 'sometimes I want someone to sit by me and tell me every-thing's fine'. When the next album comes around Shame may be tacking mental health as well as the state of things. If this sounds like Shame have gone a bit emo then don't worry. Despite being more in touch with their feelings they sound more punk than ever. Charlie proudly announced that 'One Rizla' was a pop song and the first song they wrote together. The crowd at this show was a mix of teens, old school punks and 20 somethings, yet the crowd was still happily bouncing around for the band who can unite these tribes together. On stage Shame are unable to stand still for a minute, moving and jumping around with the energy that only such a young band can. 'Angie' was a rare calm moment, before the raucous punk rock of 'Lampoon'. An encore was brief and unnecessary as Shame returned after a minute or so to play 'Gold Hole'. Once again Charlie was crowd surfing and standing on the palms of Shame's adoring fans. Proof if any were needed that Shame are one of the most vital young bands in the UK. A band to be treasured.  (9.2)

FRIGS, Mutes, Odmansbox. Live at the Hare and Hounds review (7/11/18)

Odmansbox (7.6/10) were an odd addition to the bill supporting FRIGS but no less enjoyable. A three piece prog-pop group that fit in somewhere between Mat Berry's Prog rock revivalism and Jermaine Clement's various Bowie pastiches. Odmansbox have a dry sense of humour that shines through in their songs and stage presence, from their tributes/laments of hippie culture and the Sparks-ish 'Who the fuck are you', Odmansbox manage to write music that is both very clever and very catchy. Mutes (7.6) have changed a lot since their inception as a bedroom post-rock project. Their singer James has brought some of the charged rock n' roll sound of his other band God Damn and has turned Mutes into his own rock trio. Mutes are now much more Cribs than Mogwai yet the shoegazy sound of their earlier releases still occasionally pops through into their live performances. Best of all was the krautrock style closer for their set that seemed to last forever, mixing motorik drums with a mess of distorted guitar noise made for a thrilling end to their set.
FRIGS (8) have been compared to legends such as Sonic Youth and PJ Harvey, yet while well intentioned these comparisons seem rather lazy. The band that FRIGS most closely resemble is their fellow Canadians and friends Preoccupations. I feel that they also should draw comparison to other post-punk revivalists such as Protomartyr or Savages. Whatever the case FRIGS make the kind of dark, claustrophobic post-punk that I'm a sucker for. Any mix of growled vocals, propulsive drums, rumbling bass and wiry guitar leads is likely to win me over and FRIGS are one of the best bands I've come across who are likely doing this. A big part of what makes their live shows so thrilling is their singer Bria. Bria is a confrontational singer, who was eager to get right into peoples faces. Here raspy vocals were distorted past being understandable, which only added to the sinister edge of the music. She did little to engage the audience despite the occasional shout of 'Birmingham!' but the slight detachment between crowd and band worked to their favour. Overall this was a pretty fantastic show from a band who deserve to stand out amongst their peers.

IDLES, live at the Birmingham Institute review (26/10/2018)

You don't need to see IDLES live to realise that they're one of if not the most important bands of the decade. Everything that makes them special is already on display on their two albums so far. Everything about Idles just seems to epitomise the mood and feel of the troubled times were living in. From the smart, funny and endlessly quotable lyrics of front-man Joe Talbot and the empowered post-punk noise that the rest of the band give him to shout it over, it's obvious that Idles haven't just captured the Zeitgeist so much as they have wrestled it to the ground.
Idles already have the perfect support act with them on this tour. Heavy Lungs (7.2) are a similarly gritty band in the post punk vein. Notable for having Joe Talbot's 'blood brother' Danny Nedelko as their singer. However the Latvian born Danny is more than just a catchy song. From the moment he gets on stage it's impossible to take your eyes off him. Heavy lungs may lack the instant catchiness of Idles' songs but they have a gloomy aesthetic of their own, which makes them an intriguing and beguiling new band to watch out for. (7.2/10)

When IDLES hit the stage they were silhouettes shrouded in dry ice and flashing white lights. This made for a menacing backdrop for the opener 'Colossus'. For all his focus on positivity Joe Talbot is still a formidable presence on stage, leering at the crowd and delivering the lyrics on his typical dry tone. For most bands a slow burner such as Colossus would be an odd way to start the show yet IDLES had the audience in the palm of their hands from the moment they walked on stage. Following the song's incendiary finish and launching right into the brilliant 'Never fight a man with a perm' had the crowd in a frenzy. The crowd instinctively knowing every word to this darkly funny take of losing a fight to 'A heathen from Eaton, on a bag of Micheal Keaton'. 'Mother' and 'I'm scum' also made for great examples of what makes IDLES special but it was 'Danny Nedelko' that really shows what the band are all about. An embrace of unity and immigration as Joe embraced his 'blood brother' Danny on stage. Joe Talbot is as quotable between songs as he is during them, giving shout-outs to the AF gang, local heroes UB40 and Table Scraps, before declaring that 'our country is run by psychopaths'. He may be preaching to the choir but it's still a sermon worth hearing. It was around this point that things started to get a little bit out of hand, with both IDLES guitarists deciding to have a go at crowd surfing. This prompted a plucky fan to try and get on the stage. Joe growled at the security to let him on stage. The fan ran over to help out bashing drums and next thing the stage was swarmed with lucky fans playing IDLES instruments and generally making as much noise as possible. It's this close relationship with their fans that has allowed IDLES to make their massive dent in the UK scene. Joe was quick to clear out the suddenly rather empty stage for their cover of 'cry to me'. IDLES don't do encores because they think it's weird, but after delivering more anthems with 'Well done' and Rottweiler, they'd delivered more than enough. The last 10 minutes of the show was a cacophony of guitar feedback and flashing lights, leaving The Institute with a show it would never forget.

9.2 

(love IDLES as much as I do? join the AF Gang! https://www.facebook.com/groups/231316577380254/)

Lunar Festival 2018 review (part 2)

Saturday

Hookworms

Another Brummie Psychedelic rock trio opened the stage on Saturday, this time the much darker krautrock inspired Matters (6), who are clearly one of the most promising bands of the Birmingham scene. As are The Mothers Earth Experiment (7.2) who celebrated their return to the lunar stage with free tote bags and flyers for everyone. Yet accomplished as they psych-jazz rock/environmental protest music is it's not really for me. I wondered off to catch the live Reasons to be Cheerful Podcast. Featuring Geoff Lloyd and a surprisingly funny Ed Milliband. Who spent the majority of his talk with a flower crown on his head that someone threw at him. I listened politely as their guest talked at length about her plans to improve public services, and laughed as the comic Bethany Black livened things up wuith her own reasons to be cheerful. As the heavens opened and gave way to torrential rain Hookworms (8) valiantly played on through the rain. I caught the bits where the downpour wasn't too bad and they were so good that it was almost getting soaked to watch them play. An hour or so of wondering through vintage stands to keep dry I caught some of the set from the access to music student Lucy Shaw whose sweet acoustic songs made for some distraction from the drizzle. Once the rain finally cleared it was for the mediocre grunge trio Particle Kid (6) and the funky yet also kinda underwhelming dance act Crazy P (6). The grey skies seemed to suit Blackash (8.4) perfectly. The mysterious Midlands act who somehow mix stoner rock and techno together. They looked and sounded fantastic and are a whole lot more fun live than their doomy first single 'Black Witch' led me to believe. the 10 minute epic of Black Sabbath style riffing came with it's own black witch dance troupe, and later cheerleaders for the songs finale. Blackash wre easily one of the best acts of the festival.

Goldfrapp

Goldfrapp (8.8) may have been suffering with a bit of a cold, and overall not as fantastic  as some previous Lunar head-liners but she still put on a solid show of industrial tinged electro-pop with tonnes of dry ice and a retina blasting light show. Mostly sticking to the best tracks off 'Silver eye' and savings hits 'ooh la la' and strict machine for the end. Goldfrapp's Lunar set was the sound of an artist finally comfortable in her own skin. Her idle chatting to audience members may have seemed a bit add odds with the image of her shadow dancing around the dry ice but it didn't matter too much. I was a little disappointed by the lack of early material but it's chard to see where any of it would have fit in.

Next I was off to the Comedy Carousel where a predictably surreal Paul Foot spent most of his set taking the piss out of the patrons talking over him at the bar and then analysing his jokes to annoy them further. while the other two comedians were brilliant my highlight of the comedy and actually the festival itself was the brilliant Bethany Black who in contrast to her earlier appearance was rude, sweary and at times absolutely filthy, discussing drugs, porn, relationships and lesbian sex.

Sunday

Dorcha + Damo suzuki

Kicking things off was Dorcha (8). A young Birmingham quintet who continue to defy explanation. Their experimental gothic sound seems to stem from no obvious influences other than their willingness to jam and create new sounds. This made them unlikely kindred spirits with Damo Suzuki. At first glance a rather ordinary Japanese man, but known to many for his demonic improvised singing as part of the iconic krautrockers CAN. Dorcha may be a very different band to can but with their improvised jamming they created the perfect backdrop for Damo's bizzare vocal style, switching instruments whenever they felt like it and recreating the unsettling, uneasiness that characterised CAN's output, without in anyway imitating it. I spent the rest of the day hoping that the rain would go awawy and packing all my stuff but the sky eventually cleared for Songhoy Blues (9.2), Who were every bit as fantastic as I hoped they would be. Not typically 'world' so much as just a shit hot, funky rock 'n roll band who know how to start a party. This is partly down to Aliou Touré being a fantastic front-man, who could liven up any event with his mad eyed dancing and Garba Toure's   effortless, constant stream of guitar licks. Not only do Songhoy Blues put a lot of western bands to shame, they make it look easy.

Songhoy Blues

After 40 years in the game it's worth thinking about how strange The Stranglers (8.4) still are. Still probably the only band who can unite the punks and the hippies. The Stranglers are full of contradictions, far more complex musically than your average punk band yet far too rough to be considered new wave. Despite having been at it for so long they seem far to popular to be simply considered a nostalgia act, especially when their music seems as gloriously out of place in 2018 as it did in 1977. Singer Baz Warne said they were glad about the rain and to see us all huddled together rather than playing another show to people standing around in the sunshine. Baz was happy to banter with the crowd, many of which seemed to have come out just for them. The Stranglers did a great of finishing Lunar playing plenty of hits, 'Golden Brown', 'Always The Sun', 'Peaches', 'All day and all of the night', and finishing off with a fantastic 'No More Heroes'. Easily one of the best ever punk rock songs and a stellar finish for Lunar 2018.

Lunar Festival 2018 review (part 1)

 Thursday 26th. 

Things were quiet as the early birds set up their tents and got to know each other in the blistering summer heat. It may have been a little bit boring, but it was nice to be back. It was all worth it for The Pretty Things (8.8/10) returning to Lunar for one of their last ever shows, retiring this year after making music for over 50 years. They may have came on an hour late and played for double their set time but many would have been happy for them to keep playing all night. This show found them in a reflective mood mixing early R&B highlights with blues covers and cuts from their masterpiece S.F. Sorrow. An album which like the band who made it should be ranked alongside releases from The Who, Stones and Beatles and acclaimed as one of the strongest, strangest and most ambitious albums of the 60's. Despite a few 1000 yard stares 'The Things were on top form, sounding energised as any young band and showing off their music skill with acoustic cuts and giving the Moonshine barn a real cavern club feel.
It would take one hell of an act to follow such a show and Henge (9.2) were that act. Basically a group of 4 aliens playing a silly revamped take on space rock. Mixing elements of surf rock, progressive rock and techno together. Few things match the joy of seeing a Roy Wood lookalike with a glowing orb on his head who claims to be a 1000 year old alien wearing a fleshy human clone suit shredding his guitar. For all the silliness Henge have a serious environmental message at heart. On Keyboards is Henge's Brother Juul. The last descendant of Venus, warning us in his own language (a sort of freaky scat singing) not to destroy our own planet like his race did theirs. The message did little to bum out the freaks who had only just woken up and come out to dance.
Snooker legend Steve Davis finished the night off the night with a DJ set mixing post punk rhythms with psychedelic sounds with typically cold precision.

Friday 27th

One of the best changes to Lunar in 2018 was the addition of The Half Moon stage. A smaller stage directly opposite the main stage. This works well because it means that not only do lesser known bands get to play alongside big hitters but also that there is a constant stream of music without having to move from your spot in the field. Opening this stage on Friday was the brummie psychedelic rock  trio The Good Water (6), followed by a lovely set from 77:78 (8), bringing warm summer vibes to the hot Friday morning. While John J Pressley (6.8) played some heavy Tom Wait-ish blues rock  I was hugely looking forward to Boy Azooga (8.4) and wasn't disappointed. The Cardiff band have rightly broken through in 2018 as one of the most fun, unique and talented young rock bands of the moment. Throughout the set they were constantly smiling and cracking jokes, Frontman Davey couldn't be happier to be spending his 27th birthday in this field with us. BA covered other Cardiff bands, as well as an odd medley featuring their takes on Black Sabbath and Kelis. Yet their own songs shone brightest, including not surprisingly 'face behind her cigarette' and loner boogie' yet many great unrecorded B.A. songs prove that the future is looking even better for this young band.

Nabihah Iqbal (6) was a tad disappointing. Her slightly amateurish vocals and heavy reliance on keyboards not quite cutting the mustard on this Lunar bill, although a cover of The Cure's A Forest was definitely a highlight. The Go! Team (8.8) bought a spaceman and all the colourful exuberance that they're known for, despite having been in the game for over a decade they have endless energy on-stage and all the naive fun of a primary school music class. Singer Angela 'Maki' said she felt like Beyonce and invited all the ladies in the crowd to booty shake with her.  Basement Jaxx gathered crowds to dance in the sun, but I instead decided to become indoctrinated to Nutopian society in an utterly bizarre yet brilliant experience. If you know, you know. 

Amadou and Mariam (8.4) killed their set with a load of funky African blues and strangely enough a fire breather who despite some great tricks seemed a bit out of place. What made Amadou and Mariam stand out was Amadou's fantastic guitar shredding and Mariam's clear love for him after their many years together. 

After a short walk through the pitch black woods we came to a clearing and listened to Nick Drake's  own copy of his seminal 3rd LP 'Pink Moon' by a roaring campfire on his family's own turntable. It is an album that deserves to be listened to in full with silent reverence. This is one of many special experiences that only Lunar can provide.

The best albums of May 2018

Kali Uchis - Isolation
2018 may have seen several female pop stars break into the mainstream yet none of them are as cool, smart or as effortlessly sexy as Kali Uchis. With her début record 'Isolation' Kali brings together artists as diverse as Steve Lacy, Tyler the Creator, Boostsy Collins and Thundercat. The result is a gorgeous ride through the best bits of vintage funk and soul, 60's girl groups and even Kali's take on the Latin trend. Yet it's her modern take on classic funk and soul where Isolation is at it's best.
Check out - Flight 22


Playboi Carti - Die Lit 
Die Lit is where Playboi Carti takes trap to its logical conclusion. While the subversive cover looks more like the sleeve of a hardcore punk record, Die Lit can be judged by its cover. Carti embraces a minimalist punk aesthetic using psychedelic tinged yet minimalist backing tracks. Carti's bizzare style of rapping could almost be seen as anti-rapping, constantly ad-libbing, changing his flow and his voice. Die lit comes across as being completely improvised and off the cuff, much like the punk bands proved you didn't need to be a virtuoso to play rock, Carti proves that you don't even need to rap to be a rapper. Check out - Poke it up


Parliament - Medicaid Fraud Dogg
Parliament's first new album in over 30 years can be a daunting prospect, clocking in at 1 hour 46 minutes and 23 songs, it's hard to take in one listen. Instead of simply trolling for streams, MFD, sounds more like the work of a band with too many ideas to fit into a single 40 minute record. Sounding both retro and cutting edge at the same time, MFD may be the album that brings Patliament a new generation of fans, mixing the classic P-Funk sound with trap bangers and a running commentary on the ethics of the pharmaceutical industry.
Check out - Mama Told Me

Parquet Courts - Wide Awake!
After many years Parquet Courts have delivered what may be their definitive album. Wide Awake is the NYC punks at their smartest, catchiest and most diverse. The title track bursts with funky energy, while 'Back to earth' is the sound of the punks gone Prog. Best of all is the saloon bar Ballard 'Tenderness'. A Savage lyrically focusses on the era we live in with his usual sharp, funny wit, and his observations are backed by the best songs PC have written yet.
Check out - Tenderness

Arctic Monkeys - Tranquillity Base Hotel & Casino
Some fans may disagree but Arctic Monkeys have always been at their best when at their strangest. Tranquillity base... is by far the strangest that Arctic Monkeys have ever sounded and therefore probably their best. While AM smoothed out their quirks until they had little personality left, TB mixes Alex Turner's surreal ramblings and piano into an odd mix that has been compared to Robbie Williams and David Bowie alike. The rambling off beat nature of the songs here only makes them more lovable and memorable. The best Arctic Monkeys album to date is their biggest reinvention yet.
Check out - She looks like fun

Peace - Kindness is the new rock n' roll

The title track of this album is an example of what Peace have always done best, taking a simple idea and ramping it up until it's as epic as possible. Mixing all the charisma that people miss from Oasis with a beating heart and soul that makes it far more endearing than one of Noel Gallagher's surreal platitudes. The songs here sound more like a Harry Koisser solo album than a new Peace record. Writing honestly about depression, and 'lying in my empty room on my broken bed...left alone with my big fucking mental head. While early albums found Peace naive and in love with the idea of love itself. ‘Kindness’ finds Harry maturing as both a songwriter and a person. For all the heartbreak that Peace have been through, they conclude that not only is 'Kindness the new rock 'n roll, love is also the salvation that we sometimes need.

Check out - You don't walk away from love 

I also liked...
Jon Hopkins - Singularity
Beach House - 7
Courtney Barnett - Tell me how you really feel

Milk Teeth, Fangclub, Nervus. Live at Mama Rouxs (20/3/18)

Nervus are not your typical run of the mill pop punk band. For example, the Watford four piece sell own brand coffee on their merch stand. While their singer Em is one of the few openly trans rock vocalists. Yet really sets them apart is the quality of their tunes. Nervus mix Em's introspective and biographical lyrics with instantly memorable guitar hooks and piano melodies. Nervus' opening slot was a fun show with a party atmosphere.  Em shouted out the other bands comparing the tour to a school trip where all the bands were naughty school children getting each together into trouble. Nervus’ keyboardist also entertained with his extravagant dad dancing. Em gave a shout out to all the trans kids in the audience. All three of them danced alongside the band to the finale song of the set ‘it follows’ and had the last word of the set ‘protect trans kids’. (8/10)

While Nervus’ were light hearted and fun Fangclub were relatively dour by comparison. Fangclub take Nirvana style grunge-pop to new levels of noise and heaviness. Keeping their heads down and delivering huge heavy riffs much like my faves God Damn. The Dublin trio’s singer plonked his mic stand into the audience twice and gave the Birmingham crowd a master-class in no frills rock n’ roll. (7.2)

I will always remember a Beckyless Milk Teeth headlining an almost empty Sunflower Lounge many years ago. In the years since then I have watched with pride as Milk Teeth have deservedly become one of the UK’s hottest and best rock bands. Milk Teeth’s show at Mama Roux's went down much like their last show in Birmingham where they turned The Flapper into a sweaty chaotic mess. Burly dudes and skinny emo teenagers alike came together in a violent mix of crowd surfing, moshing and circle pitting. Milk Teeth themselves weren’t safe either as (unknown to me at the time) guitarist Webby somehow broke his ankle during the first song and fought opn through the pain till the end. Fresh from supporting Enter Shikari on an epic US tour, Milk Teeth were in a reflective mood, playing ‘Bagels’ for the final time, having instructed everybody present to learn the words beforehand. Presumably to give Webby a chance to rest his ankle Becky and Billy gave the crowd an acoustic version of crooked spoons, ‘Kabuki’ and a surprise cover of Foo Fighters ‘Everlong’. Business was soon resumed as the rest of the band joined for some heavier songs. When he wasn’t encouraging the crowd to jump around Billy asked everyone to get their phones out and shine a light at the stage. Mama Roux’s was soon ablaze in bright white light. Milk Teeth saved the best for last with ‘Owning your okayness’ now officially their signature song. Becky announced that there would be no encores giving the crowd once last chance to sing the words out loud. A few people chanted for an encore but it didn’t matter. Milk Teeth had already delivered more than enough. 

9.2/10

 

Note: I forgot my camera batteries so I had to use my phone to take these crappy photos. My gig photography is usually a lot better than this.