Audio Addict #19 2014

ELIZA DOOLITTLE LETLIVE. GOGOL BORDELLO MS MR #17 / January 2014 / FREE

LOCAL NATIVES The Next Stride In Indie’s Evolution

CONTENTS A Message From The Editor Finally

the new issue of Audio Addict is here. With a fresh and commited new team we’re beyond happy with it. When we’re not watching wrestling, Breaking Bad or Catfish, you’ll find us trawling the net and damaging our ears trying to find the cream of the musical crop.

Determined to provide coverage of the most awesome bands on both sides of the Atlantic, along with a cheeky pop star or two (we just can’t resist Eliza Doolittle), our huge pool of writers have gone to gig after gig and drunk pint after pint to provide you with the best reviews possible. Trust us.

We managed to see some mental live acts like Skream and got to relive our youth when we saw Jimmy Eat World. Plus you may or may not agree with our review of the new Katy Perry album, but we know you’ve all been singing Roar in front of a mirror for the past month, so don’t whinge.

We caught up with possibly the best live band in punk rock today, letlive. Eliza Doolittle chats about Game of Thrones and we found out how bonkers Eugene Hutz from Gogol Bordello really is. Oh and check out our industry feature with Scuzz guy Terry Bezer, who’s just an all-out dude.

Jason Butler from letlive delves into politics and explains how he manages to stay so mental all the time. p.10

Eliza Doolittle gives us the gossip about her new album ‘In Your Hands’ and has a moan about Game Of Thrones. p.22

Not forgetting our cover boys in skinny jeans Local Natives, who tore Southampton apart and spoke to us about their rise from the indie underworld... and their hair.

This magazine isn’t where it all ends though. For loads more reviews, interviews and the most up to date, unique news stories, take a look at our website: www.Audio-Addict.co.uk. If you’d like to hear us chat even more cynical ramblings, have a listen to our radio show from 2pm ‘til 4pm on Radio Sonar and The Audio Addict Podcast, which is available on iTunes now.

Oh yeah and The Fratellis are in the mag too.

DA NA NA - DA NA NA - DA NANANANANA NA!

Editorial Team Louis Kerry - Editor Leo Troy - Features Editor Sean Lewis- Reviews Editor Ellis Ballard - Multimedia Editor Aidan Ducker - Design Editor Twitter @AudioAddictMag http://www.audio-addict.co.uk To advertise or for press enquiries contact us at: AudioAddictEditors@hotmail.co.uk

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Local Natives harness their distinct plaid-shrouded charm, to enlighten us about bass theft and their musical evolution. p.24

Contributors Andrew Yates // Ben Hindle // Billy Bentley // Connor Cass // Coralie Pilte Dessy Baeva // Eleisha Wightman // Ellie Mitchell // Freya Cochrane // George Peckham George Percival // George Walker // Heather Lewis Jack King // Jodie Copeland // Jodie-Mae Finch Joe Price // Joshua Pauley // Katie Vowles Kenya Scarlett // Kim Wuystwinkel // Kiwii Vincent Laura Tompkins // Liam Rowlands Mackenzie Gordan-Smith // Matthew Bisgrove Megan Smith // Melissa Deeney // Minnie Wright Niamh Moore // Philippa Ghosh // Rebecca Rayner Rob Sayers // Rory Gilbert // Rory Kelly Samantha Fisher // Sammy Jones // Steven Fox Will Ackrill // Zoe Coxon

Audio Addict magazine and blog are produced by students on the BA (Hons) Popular Music Journalism course at Southampton Solent University. The views expressed in the magazine and blog are the students’ and contributors for which the University and its staff can not be held responsible.

Eugene Hutz from Gogol Bordello says a load of stuff that makes us feel like we should be reading more books. p.28

MS MR talk about their dark lyricism and how they are influenced by both the mundane and the bizarre. p.32 3

NEWS

Win Killswitch Engage/Trivium Tickets!!

We at Audio Addict are a generous bunch. We receive a load of gifts in our headquarters, but from time to time, there’s so many that we have to give a few away.

So as an end of year treat, we’ve decided to offer you lucky readers a chance to win two tickets to see the heavy metal titans Killswitch Engage and Trivium at the O2 Southampton Guildhall on February 7th 2014. The show is a co-headliner and support will come from Miss May I and Battlecross.

All you have to do is answer this question:

Watsky Injures Fans With Warped Tour Stunt

R.Kelly To Release Pants With New Album

The Vans Warped Tour at London’s Alexandra Palace was halted briefly when US rapper Watsky jumped off the main stage lighting rig into the audience.

The deluxe edition of R. Kelly’s new album ‘Black Panties’ comes with (you guessed it), a pair of black panties.

After an excruciating seven years apart, Andre 3000 and Big Boi are finally set to reunite as OutKast in 2014.

The R’n’B legend has also recently opened a hotline that enables fans to call and receive messages from the superstar.

It was previously rumoured that the unorthodox rap duo would be playing a one-off date at Coachella music festival, but Revolt TV have confirmed that the group are also set to tour, adding that “the reunion is currently set to exist in the live setting, with no new album plans in sight, for now.”

Roughly a 30ft high fall, the rapper landed on a girl, breaking her arm and injuring another fan.

Reportedly, most of the crowd parted, leaving Watsky to hit the floor. After a short break, he was taken away by an ambulance and the concert carried on.

Afterwards, Watsky apologised on his Facebook page saying “The jump was not awesome, it was not badass, and it was not ballsy.

It turned what should have been a great day for the people who got hurt into a nightmare. It was stupid and wildly irresponsible, plain and simple.”

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After calling the number, an automated recording states: “Yo, what up ya’ll, this ya boy Kells.

Thanks for hitting up the ‘Black Panties’ hotline. Press one to officially tap into Black Panties.”

After commanding the caller to “press one”, they will join a list that receives up to eight automated messages from R. Kelly himself.

Black Panties will be released on December 10th.

Outkast To Reunite In 2014?

The Coachella date was leaked by longtime OutKast collaborator Sleepy Brown, who stated (via instagram) that the duo will be set to headline the prestigious festival next year.

Brown has since removed his post.

What is the name of Killswitch Engage’s current singer?

1. Jesse Pinkman 2. Jesse Leach 3. Jesse James Email us your answers, along with your contact details to audioaddicteditors@hotmail.co.uk.

TRIVIUM’S LATEST ALBUM VENGEANCE FALLS AND KILLSWITCH ENGAGE’S LATEST ALBUM DISARM THE DESCENT ARE BOTH OUT NOW VIA ROADRUNNER RECORDS

With the UK independent music scene at an all time high, PRS For Music have picked the perfect time to host this six day-long series of gigs. From the 28th January to 2nd February, artists, promoters, labels and blogs will work with each venue to curate, play and promote live music.

After winning NME’s title of ‘Britain’s Best Small Venue’, Southampton’s Joiners is one of 18 participating venues that will host a show as their official Independent Venue Week gig, showcasing some the country’s most exciting acts.

With support from BBC Introducing, Drowned in Sound, Moshi Moshi Records, Domino Records and more, Independent Music Week could be the next staple UK event alongside Record Store Day. Punk rock troubadour Frank Turner said: “Without small, independent venues, there’d be no small, independent bands and without them there’d be no big acts either.” Specific dates, line-ups and tickets will be announced over the coming days and weeks. Keep an eye out for updates at independentvenueweek.com.

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S.M.S Social Media Swag

Every popstar seems to have a Twitter page now, but not many of them are actually funny. We made it our mission to find the most gut-busting, hilarious social media posts on the web

Twitter

Short & Unreasonable Reviews Avril Lavigne ft.

Marilyn Manson - Bad Girl Merlin Munson and Alexi Laiho make beautiful love.

Nickelback - The Best of Nickelback Volume 1 The wurst of Nickelback.

Instagram

Eminem - The Marshal Mathers LP 2 What Eminem sounds like to people who don’t like Eminem.

Orange (fruit) Standard fruit.

“B*tch stole my look” - Rihanna instagram.com/badgalriri 6

FESTIVAL MATHS

As winter steadily approaches, we once again begin to reminisce upon what made the summer so great this year. This year was fortunate enough to actually bless us with some real summer weather, making this season’s festival run one of the most memorable in recent times.

Yeah it’s only December, but the rumour mill is already in full swing for who’s speculated to headline these glorious events next year. One festival in particular has already announced their headliners early and it’s not even Christmas yet!

Madness! Here we take a look at the most reliable predictions set to top festival bills next year.

aclaimed indie rockers Arctic Monkeys, britpop legends Blur and veteran heavy metal legends Black Sabbath.

The rumours for what will become the 32nd annual Glastonbury festival have encompassed every artist from the likes of rap kingpin Kanye West and legendary rockers Led Zeppelin. The strongest candidates touted for this edition include legendary funk maestro Prince, British songstress Adele and British-American rock troupe Fleetwood Mac.

It’s not all about these three though.

Lots of fingers are pointing towards appearances for Lady Gaga at next year’s V Festival and a newly reformed Outkast for Wireless festival.

Download Festival were Isle of Wight’s very quick to pull the Bestival has been trigger this year, leaving heavily pegged almost no time to Bestival 2013 to book Dolly speculate upon who Parton to headline may be given their one of their days, chance to top the linewhilst T in the Park have already pencilled in Arctic up. First headliner announced, fresh off a UK number Monkeys to top one of their days and Biffy Clyro 1 record and a sold out arena tour, is Californian are a strong shout for a homecoming headline slot. hard rock heavyweights Avenged Sevenfold.

Joining them will be nu-metal darlings Linkin Park, We can’t say that any of this will ever come to performing the classic record Hybrid Theory in full fruition. We might be right on the money here, but and American rock legends Aerosmith. It won’t be we may be miles away too. Who knows? That’s the worth missing, I’ll tell you that. joys of festival maths. Either way, there’s going to be at least one festival next year you’ll happily part way Reading Festival also decided to get things rolling with your hard-earned money for. early with their first headliner announced as Californian pop punk trio Blink 182. Favourites Aidan Ducker to take space as the other two headliners include

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INSIDE THE INDUSTRY

Cockney, bald and full of valid opinions, Terry Bezer (better known as Beez) has become an integral part of the rock and metal world over the past few years. Not only is he the channel manager of Scuzz TV, but he hosts a show on TeamRock radio, reviews music for Front Magazine and appears on the massive screens at Download Festival.

All in a days work.

We’re all big fans of Scuzz man, so big love on that. How did the job come about?

storytelling in print that isn’t available on TV. When doing interviews on TV you have to remember, the chances are, the people that watch it are gonna be fans of the people (you’re interviewing), so I have to cater to the fanbase. Having said that, I do still throw in a couple of things for people who don’t like the band. It’s a bit like kicking a puppy really (laughs). I mean I’m not a Black Veil Brides fan, but I couldn’t just make it seem like everyone loves them. And actually while I don’t like his band, I’ve got a lot of time for Andy Biersack this summer.

He braved a thunderstorm while everyone else was running into their tour buses at Warped Tour.

He pretty much attracted lightning even though he knows that I don’t really like his band. I’ve got a lot of time for him.

It wouldn’t make much of a change to his hairstyle though, would it? If he had’ve been hit by lightning?

(Laughs) Well, I’d been a music journalist for about ten years prior. I’d worked for Metal Hammer for years, wrote for Kerrang! for a couple of years and I was actually Rock Sound editor at (Laughs) I haven’t got any hair, I the time. I was known for my can’t mock his!

Metal Hammer podcasts and I got asked at Hevy Festival at How proud are you of your 2:30 in the morning by the old work on TeamRock radio? channel manager. We’d just had a few and he asked me. I’d I’m still presenting on Scuzz, only been at Rock Sound for but the main thing I’m doing is about six months and I was TeamRock radio, because to me having a whale of a time with that’s the most exciting thing to the people there. I really loved Terry Bezer - Scuzz Channel happen to rock media whilst I’ve working at Rock Sound, but Manager,TeamRock Radio host, been working in it and I’ve been couldn’t pass an opportunity Front Magazine contributor working in it twelve years now. like that up. Two weeks later, I The thought of actual music fans was channel manager at Scuzz. taking over the industry fills my That’s the industry for you. heart with hope. I’m a guy that cares about things like that, rather than zeros on a cheque book. I How does your work for Scuzz differ from mean it (TeamRock) really is the lightning bolt that your work at Rock Sound, Metal Hammer you want to happen in rock media. Especially if you and Kerrang? look at some of the outlets and what they’re doing with the media. There’s a lack of care and knowlWell in terms of interviews, you get to be more edge, which bums me out on a daily basis. That’s critical and pass judgment on bands.You get to put something that doesn’t exist at TeamRock. That’s your opinion of bands in print and in interviews. why I’m excited about what’s going on there.

You can give bands a bit more of a thorough investigation. There’s room for interpretation and 8

What’s your stance on Spotify?

Do you know what man? I love it. I don’t even know how to put it into words how exciting that must be to be 15 (and have Spotify). When I discovered Rock and Metal, f**k me, if something like Spotify existed it would’ve blown my mind. But I still think the media has a role to play despite all of that, as you need people to sort the wheat and the chaff for you in terms of new bands.

were genuinely having a good time. Honesty is the way. If I believe something, then I’m into it. You can tell when a band is in it for the right reasons and sometimes your opinion can change on a band when you see them live.

What bands do you think we need to watch out for that have caught your eye, either this year or over the last 18 months - two years?

Issues are the main one really. I’m a nu-metal kid and I love bands that have nu-metal guitars. But nu-metal has been going around since Run DMC and Aerosmith. Issues are the first band that have done RnB/Metal and the way they blend the two The thing I’m most proud of together is amazing. Crossis my work for Download faith aswell, but I think the Festival. I’m so proud that I “The thought of actual music band for next year is Lonely get to represent Download Brave. They’re a great fans taking over the industry The in the way that I do and band and the singer has a seeing my massive head on a fills my heart with hope.” voice that could melt butter. screen at Donington Park is This year has been a good insane. But the the most deyear for music. fining moment for me was when I was online editor at Metal Hammer doing the podcast and Bring Me What advice would you give to a journalist The Horizon had just released Suicide Season. They now starting out? Is there anything that were a terrible band before Suicide Season, but I could be done to get ahead or be seen in a now believe they’re the best band in Britain. Suicide more positive light than others?

Season made its way into the Hammer office about a month or two before its release. We got halfway In terms of being a young writer, practice lots and through listening to it and I was like, ‘Right, I’m gonlots - write and write and write. You hear somena go ahead and say it, this is f***ing awesome.’ thing? Get an opinion on it and put it somewhere.

In this day and age you can run your own blog. You So, the most defining moment was when I realised don’t have to blag a promo.You can listen to somethat moving forward, I had the responsibility to thing the day it comes out two or three times and make sure that people didn’t judge with their eyehave a review up (by the evening). Defining you as a balls, but they judged with their ears. All Time Low writer is being able to write about bands you don’t are a rock band. Paramore are a rock band.You Me know about and still being able to have an opinion At Six are a rock band. You don’t have to look like on them. Also, I can’t hammer this home enough Baroness to be a rock band. for new writers. Don’t be afraid to have an opinion, or not stick to it because someone disagrees with Talking of festivals and stuff, are there any you. There’s always gonna be someone that doesn’t bands that have literally blown you away agree with you, or you don’t agree with them - it’ll seeing them live? What do you think makes a happen. And with bands, especially big bands and good live show? new albums, don’t be afraid to not like it if everyone else loves it. That happened with me recently You can’t really define what moves you. Over the with a band I love. I didn’t really get into their new last week, I’ve seen two of the best shows I’ve seen album, but all I could see was rave reviews about it. all year. One was letlive. Incredible band, incredible Publications aren’t doing anyone any favours by just musicians. A very revolutionary feel. Last night I saying that it’s awesome because they’re a popular saw Andrew WK play Ramones songs to a room band. The fans deserve more than that. of people. Songs that I’ve listened to all my life were sung by someone 40 years after they were Matthew Bisgrove written and that same person looked like they What do you think is the most defining moment in your life, that made you either proud or thankful for the career you have?

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letlive.

What were you specifically going for and addressing with the album’s artwork?

and perform and the time I take to just speak to myself through the music.

Censorship, prosaic nature and just sterilisation.

How much value do you place in the connection between the band and your fans?

What do you mean by sterilisation?

THE

NEW NOISE We caught up with letlive’s erratic frontman Jason Butler for a deep conversation.

What is it about your live show in particular that triggers you to go that extra mile when performing?

It’s just the fact that existing in those moments when performing, are some of the only moments that I think it’s more appropriate to let yourself really live.

Is there more apprehension playing a bigger venue, when you’re labelled as a band built for the smaller stages?

As a band we do our best to treat every venue the same. Like any venue we get the chance to play, we just try to play as we would wherever we’re playing that night. It’s just another chance to do what we normally do somewhere else.

What’s the story behind calling your latest record ‘The Blackest Beautiful’?

The Blackest Beautiful is basically my take on how I feel that our imperfections are inherently encoded in us as a species. The imperfections are what make us that special, perfect species that can f*ck up, learn from it and continue to evolve. There’s irony in the contradiction that I definitely haven’t had anything, the erroneous nature of sort of in retrospect, that’s us as human beings is what made me have a look at myself “It’s about the people that makes us special.There’s that and say ‘yeah, maybe I actually bit too, the part really believe in what you’re emotional need to start slowing things that kind of sways us not to down.’ So yeah, nothing serious doing.” riot or makes us do things enough yet to hinder me on that maybe we shouldn’t have the stage. done, or even maybe makes us do great things. They all exist Do you think putting at once, everything is always there and it’s always yourself into your music or putting yourself running concurrently. I think The Blackest Beautiful is into your live shows is more important? noting that we are the one species on this Earth that It’s just more of a case of trying your best to balance is emotionally driven and that can be really good, both as best as you can. I mean, I definitely have or really bad, but it ultimately all works out for the become much more conscious of doing so, as of the better. last year and a half or so.

Have there been any specific incidents while performing that have made you either force yourself to tone down your antics or consider stopping them entirely?

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In the western world cultures, there are many efforts being employed to keep people too safe and we keep them too safe in order to scare them into believing anything that gets thrown at them.

Ultimately, I think that there are a lot of things going on beyond the cloak of government that we can’t see and that becomes our best acknowledgement to what is going on. There is much more than what meets the eye and visually we were trying to captivate people and make people think past the question of ‘what is this and why?’

You always wear your heart on your sleeve at every show you turn up to. Do you ever feel emotionally drained from pouring yourself out to the crowd every night?

It’s the most important thing in the f*cking world.

I think that’s the one element that will allow you to sustain, not only as a band but as a piece of art.

Even if we were to break up tonight the people that we’ve met and the friends and fans that we’ve made through the art is what allows it to live and to exist. It’s far beyond any label or f*cking agent, or promoter, it’s like f*ck all that it’s about the people that really believe in what you’re doing.

What are your plans for the next few months?

I’m gonna do some travelling for a short bit, then return with the guys to do a full US tour with our buddies in Every Time I Die, in a bunch of small venues, which will be incredible. Then we’re hopefully I think it is, but at the same time I think it’s necessary gonna do some alternative performances and some for me, because for so long in my life as a man, as filming to create something a little more visual for a young man, as a boy, I was people to enjoy. The main taught not to do that. So aim is to try and do some “In western world cultures things that are a little more I’ve got a lot of things that I haven’t said and I should while we’re at there are many efforts being grassroots probably say, because there home. We’ll see if we can employed in to keep people film it and put it out. Not were instances and scenarios that were definitely festering for any sort of monetary too safe in order to scare inside me and causing me to gain, just so people can see them into believing anything.” what we’re doing and try be someone that I ultimately don’t wanna be. So it is to give another element to emotionally draining, but I the music we just released. think in order for me to build back up, I kinda have Maybe like a visual element for a new idea and just to drain those things out of me before I perform. continue on. Also, hopefully we can present the Kind of in a therapeutical sort of way. songs alternatively, like maybe acoustic versions, maybe minimalist versions and maybe spoken word.

You’re represented as a man who puts everything he has into his music. Do you ever How would you like letlive. to be have any time away from the music for a bit remembered? of ‘you time’ or do you see the music as your As something more than five people on the stage. ‘you time’?

Something that was an essence, kind of like a I’ve been travelling a lot lately and every time I leave zeitgeist. An essence or a form that a bunch of when I travel, I take my guitar with me. I think that’s people existed within, rather than a band people just a really good way to look at it. It is my ‘you time’. turned up to watch.

There’s a difference between the music that I write Aidan Ducker

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Mallory Knox V S Blitz Kids

Mallory Knox have gone from strength to strength this year. They’ve released their debut album which placed in the UK chart, they opened the main stage at Reading and Leeds, then ended their 2013 with an enormous UK headline tour, supported by Blitz Kids. We caught up with them on the last night of what has been a messy first leg of the tour, putting the guys head-to-head to settle once and for all which band has more balls...

Which band parties harder?

Sam: Can I ask Jono to come in on this? Jono?

Jono’s already answered this.

Sam: He said Blitz. So, I’m gonna go with us, because Jono’s been in bed before I’ve even got back to the bus.

Sam: I’ve turned more northern in the space of two weeks. Because there’s so many northerners on this tour that it’s now become a thing. I don’t say: “Hello” anymore, I say: “Ay-up?”

Has anyone partied too hard, passed out or thrown up?

Someone posted us a link of the cake toppers

Sam: Jono. At one point I found him tied to a lamppost completely naked. That wasn’t good for anyone. Then he went to bed. I’m not lying, that’s a true story.

Have you been to Jono’s house?

Sam: No, I wouldn’t go near it. I reckon he’d have like, a shrine.You know when people have a mantelpiece full of trophies and stuff? It would just be empty beer bottles. ‘I had this in March of 2006’. I reckon it’s like that.

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If you spend a lot of time with someone, you often find yourself acting like them. Have you picked up any Blitz Kids habits on stage?

In your opinion, which band parties harder?

Jono: Us. Have either of you been to any of Mallory Knox’s houses? And if so, was it how you expected it to be?

Joe: Yeah, it was a sh*t-hole.

Jono: (Laughs), I’ve never been.

Joe: I went to (Joe) Savins’ house and he literally lives in his own filth. Swimming in poo.

Often if you spend a lot of time around someone, you pick up on a lot of their mannerisms. Do you find that your performance has changed? Maybe you’re

Q&A with:

feeling a bit more Mallory Knox given that you’ve played with them 15 days in a row?

Joe: Yeah definitely, yeah. I’ve started to imitate Mikey. I can’t get my foot off the monitor. Haven’t worn colours for a long time.

We don’t know if you’ve seen the Mallory Knox cake toppers on Amazon at the minute?

Jono: Cake toppers?

Yeah, you can buy little bits of icing with all of their faces on and put them on cakes. Would you eat Sam off a cake?

Jono: I’d eat Sam anywhere

Sam Douglas (Mallory Knox) ,

Joe James & Jono Yates (Blitz Kids)

Beer or spirits?

Beer

Jono: Spirits

Has anyone brought you a cake with your face on?

Tattoos or piercings?

Tattoos

Jono: Tattoos

Xbox or Playstation?

Xbox

Jono: Xbox

Sam: No. I don’t even understand what it is and I don’t understand why it’s on Amazon. It would’ve been a laugh if it was just on some random website, but its on Amazon.

Best game released this year?

Mikey(singer): Don’t you dare Sam Sam: The new GTA Mikey:Yeah that’s better Sam: Shutup, you is on voice rest

Jono: FIFA 14, no actually GTA Joe: Last of us on Ps3 Jono: I bought a PS3 just for that game, so..

Sam: Oh god.

Have you seen the clock? Someone’s made a clock with all of you on as well.

Sam: Oh really? Like “Mallory Clocks… Mallory Cloxx”. Two ‘x’s because we brutal.

Pizza or Nandos?

All: Nandos

All: Nandos

What’s your order?

Butterfly chicken with lemon and lime sauce, I can’t stand the hot stuff

Joe and Jono: Full chicken Jono: Side of halloumi Both: Extra hot!

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“Oh God, I didn’t ever want to be in a band. People in bands are generally the dullest characters you’ll ever meet.” Many musicians can pinpoint the moment that they decided they wanted to play in a band, but not Jon Fratelli.

“All I ever wanted to do was play music. I desperately didn’t want to be in a band, but I kind of ended up in one! I’m quite happy about it now. It was all about playing music and maybe getting paid for it.”

So what was so special about The Fratellis that they deserved another go? “It just seemed like a good idea. I just woke up one morning and thought: “Hey, why don’t we go out and play to people?” If I hadn’t remembered what I liked about the band, we wouldn’t have bothered and I would be less happy.

If nothing’s changed in seven years, that’d be quite disappointing.”

The band are in a better place now, as Jon reveals his happiness with the new record. “In the past we’ve ended up with songs our record label’s used, as singles that we weren’t too keen on.

If you’ve got songs on your record that you wouldn’t want as a single, then they probably shouldn’t be on your record in the first place.”

“Oh God, I didn’t ever want to be in a band. People in bands are generally the dullest characters you’ll ever meet.”

The Fratellis The architects of everyone’s favourite drunken chant have returned, to prove once and for all that they’re more than just that one band with that one song. We caught up with frontman Jon to pick his brains.

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Glaswegian trio The Fratellis are a “rock n’ roll band. That’s as simple and complicated as it needs to be”.

However, where the name came from is a mystery, as Jon recalls “I’ve never found out where (our bass player) got it from, I must ask him!” The band have been going since 2006 and have released two albums in the form of Costello Music (which was a huge success) and Here We Stand (which was a commercial flop). After this bad luck, The Fratellis disappeared for a while and as far as the public were concerned, they were on an indefinite hiatus, ready to come back at any moment.

However, Jon has a different perspective. “We split up as far as I knew. I didn’t like the fact that whoever’s in charge of our press decided that we had a ‘hiatus’. We got fed up of each other. I think it’s OK to say that.” So how did the band come back together? “When that time of being apart is up, it can become really easy to spend time together. The thing with being in a band, is that you spend more time with those people than anybody. Couples divorce and they spend less time together than bands do. I’m surprised bands don’t divorce each other more.”

Recording may be a large part of Jon’s life, but playing live is something else. “When it comes to a band playing live, it’s really the place we come alive. It’s infectious and addictive. When it’s going well, there’s nothing on Earth that can make you happier.”

So what does the future hold for The Fratellis? “It’d be great if we’re lucky enough in however many years to still connect to an audience, still play to them and make records. It’s not a given, though. I know lots of musicians that desperately want to find an audience and they can’t. So if we can still manage to find an audience, we’d be quite happy.”

Katie Vowles

During their split, Jon was involved with not one, but two side-projects. “I had a lot of fun doing those, but nobody bought them, nobody knew about them. I was just doing what I felt like doing. I tend to just do things, regardless of whether they’re right or wrong.

Most of the time I make the wrong choice but I’m far happier moving than just staying still.”

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PRESENTS

PRESENTS

TRC Blending a British hip-hop spirit with a pummelling metalcore approach,TRC are one of the truly unique bands in the UK hardcore scene. Piling into the back of their tour van, we chatted to guitarist Charlie Wilson about their new album, patriotism and urinating in airports.

totally different to what many of the other bands are doing with their music. But why? “#TEAMUK’ is just a song that we wrote as a nod to UK bands, because a lot of them have blown up and are continuing to blow up. So yeah, it is kind of patriotism because we’re proud of our country.”

But what’s next for TRC? After the release of Nation what does the future hold? Charlie says: “Well going to America is always up in the air. It sucks, but like I said, America is our main goal and I would really like to play Australia and Japan at some point.”

“I think the main difference on our new album Bright Lights, was that It wasn’t rushed completely, but there were elements of it being rushed,” Charlie explains.

“H.A.T.E.R.S was originally just a filler track and it was “He stumbles into the middle only when the producer Being quite a rowdy bunch, of the airport, whips ‘it’ out said, ‘look, all the riffs are they also manage to get really good’ that we had and just starts p*ssing.” into some mischief on to finish it. It was the same tour. Charlie explained with other tracks. We one particular adventure. went in there and Chris “I won’t name any names, (Robson, vocalist) was but we used to have this bassist that always p*ssed writing his lyrics in the studio. himself. We played a show in Germany and went out for a few drinks around town after the show. in With Nation, everything was thought out. When the city. We were getting the very first flight back we went in, we had it all done and it was ready to to England, so we were like ‘yeah, go on let’s just get go. The other big difference is when we did ‘Bright hammered and go and fly straight home.’ So we all Lights’. Me and Chris would always kinda butt heads in the writing process. We’re both into very different got a cab back to the airport at about six o’clock in the morning and Oliver (the bassist) stumbles things. I was just trying to do the band I wanted to into the middle of the airport, whips ‘it’ out and just do and he was trying to do the band he wanted to starts p*ssing in the middle of the airport. We walked do. Like, ‘look, let’s just make a good TRC record’, in and some woman was just screaming at him and and we met in the middle on a lot of stuff. We threatened to not let us fly home.” worked together, as opposed to me sending him a song and him writing lyrics over riffs he doesn’t like.”

NATION IS NOW AVAILABLE FOR DIGITAL DOWNLOAD Being born and bred Brits themselves, TRC wrote a song called ‘#TEAMUK’, which acted as a shout out Rory Kelly for other upcoming UK acts. This was something 16

YOUNG KATO The list of new successful indie bands is endlessly repleting itself with Bastille, The 1975 and Imagine Dragons. We spoke to Young Kato, who are the latest to break through the herd with Radio One airplay and some colourful trendy jumpers.

Tommy: It’s weird ‘cause when we first started about a year and a half ago, people just said - ‘that’s pop!’

We were just like ‘yeah, and?’ It’s great that other people are taking that away with them and those bands like Swim Deep are using elements of pop too.

Are you guys putting off uni to do this?

Tommy: I had all my uni courses booked and I was So most of you guys are from Cheltenham. ready to go, but then I went to Reading Festival and What’s Cheltenham like as a musical place? decided I wanted to be on Joe: It’s quite varied. There’s the stage, not behind it. So no sort of cohesive scene I came back and pulled out. going on, but there’s a This is everything we want “I think because we’re young, couple of exciting acts. we don’t have to put up with to do at the moment.

Recording-wise, it’s only got small little studios, but You guys are quite a some of the bullsh*t.’’ we record demos on a young band. Has that little Zoom (recorder) and been an advantage for took it to a studio. you?

Joe: I think because we’re young, we don’t have to put Where have you recorded? up with some of the bullsh*t.You can just say ‘I don’t Joe: We’ve been all over the place. We went to want to do that, I want to do this’. I think with some Monnow Studio in Wales and we recorded in the local bands in their late twenties and thirties, it feels back of a shed outside Guildford. like their last chance. We’ve come fresh to it and Tommy: We all crammed into this tiny little shed. we’re just like ‘this is what it is, take it how it is’.

Obviously you can’t get the best sound out of the bass and drums in such a small space.

Made In Chelsea... how did your appearance come about?

Is the shed where you recorded your single?

Tommy: Obviously they’ve had Zulu Winter, Peace, Joe: We recorded at Modern World Studio, Tetbury.

Bastille. It’s some of the best music around. When It’s a well renowned studio with lots of heritage. a big show like that asks you to be on it, you don’t It was cool to see the bands on the wall that had say no. They were actually all really down-to-earth recorded there. Nick Rhodes’ (Duran Duran) LED guys that pride themselves on good new music, so it Strat was on the wall. wasn’t a hard decision for us.

Are Duran Duran a band you take any YOUNG KATO’S FIRST EP DRINK DANCE PLAY IS influence from? You often get compared to OUT NOW VIA BMG bands like Bastille. Do you think there’s a reason pop is making a comeback recently?

Sammy Jones 17

PRESENTS

Heart Of A Coward Photo by Ellie Mitchell

Milton Keynes heavyweights Heart Of A Coward are back out on tour after the release of their second full-length album ‘Severance’. During their tour, we sat down with guitarists Carl Ayers and Steve Haycock to have a little chat about the new album and a few of their recent escapades.

“It’s been really overwhelming to be honest.

When we were writing it we didn’t really know what to expect, because when we released ‘Hope and Hindrance’ the reception was good at that point anyway. But this time around, we worked it a lot differently and the songs are quite different compared to the first album,” Carl says. “But the reception has been unbelievable, the reviews we’ve read in magazines have been great.”

Severance definitely still keeps the Djent-y vibe that solidifies the band’s sound, but it also takes on a lot of new influences. The band has definitely taken a big leap, and it’s paid off.

Steve says: “We kept a lot of that sound because obviously that’s a huge influence for us. We all listen to Meshuggah and those sorts of bands, but we wanted to step away from it while still keeping that sound. We wrote the album over about seven months. We were all finishing work throughout last winter and were just sitting in the studio all night, bouncing ideas around. The actual writing process for the album was really quick compared to what we’ve been like before.”

Carl adds: “We’re all very into old school metal like Pantera and we wanted to bring that kind of groove back into what we’re doing.”

Heart Of A Coward are in a great position at the Not just making their mark in the UK, the band have moment, playing sold-out shows all over the country even been to Moscow to play and gaining critical acclaim with few shows. “It was f**king “We’re all into very old ainsane. their new album. Steve goes The kids out there man. on to say: “It’s nice to see that school metal like Pantera I’m not sure if it’s because people have got it too. What and we wanted to bring they don’t get a lot of bands we’ve tried to do and the way regularly out there, but the we’ve tried to take the album, that kind of groove back.” response that we had was just everybody has got where we’re unreal,” Steve says. coming from.”

“Everyone seemed to be Carl explains “We wanted enjoying it, not only for us, but the other bands as to strip out the unnecessary things that were in well and we got to play with some awesome bands the first album and we did that on this album. We that we really look up to.” focused on song structures and our writing process a lot more. We didn’t know whether people would With Severance pounding the ears of metal heads get what we’re going for, but what we’ve heard from all over the UK and abroad, Heart Of A Coward people is that they understand exactly what we’re are definitely one of the promising bands in going for.” modern metal.

Rory Kelly 18

friday

24 january

tuesday

28 january

thursday 30 january friday

31 january

monday

03 february

newcastle O2 academy manchester O2 apollo birmingham O2 academy london hammersmith apollo bournemouth O2 academy

gigsandtours.com I ticketmaster.co.uk I 0844 811 0051 new album “the hurry and the harm” available now cityandcolour.com

an sjm concerts presentation by arrangement with the agency group

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Mon 02 Dec • £20

Sun 12 Jan • £19.50

Fri 28 Mar • £20

Seated Show

Lamb Of God

Show 7.30pm Over 18’s Only

Billy Bragg The Tooth & Nail Tour + Kim Churchill Winner of The Roots Award 2013 @ the BBC Radio2 Folk Awards Tue 03 Dec - Thurs 05 Dec • £8 Doors 6.30pm Start 7pm

SSMA Christmas Carol Concert

Southampton Schools Music Association Annual Christmas concert Tue 10 Dec • £13 / £14 / £15 Concessions Apply Concert 7.30pm

+ Special Guests. This will be the band’s longest visit to the UK since they released latest album ‘Resolution’ in January 2012 Mon 27 Jan • £15 Over 14’s Only

John Newman 2014 UK Tour + Special Guests Fri 07 Feb • £20 U14’s with adult

Killswitch Engage / Trivium + Special Guests

Royal Marines Band Concert

Sat 08 Feb • £2

In Aid Of Seafarers UK. An evening of festive music and fun. The popular Big Band sound will be featured as well as soloists from this talented group of musicians

Vintage fashion & homeware, tea party & beauty salon

Sun 15 Dec • £5 / £8 Doors ½ an hour before 11.30am £5 2pm & 6pm £8 £7 U16’s

Doors 12-5pm - Door sales only

The Vintage Fair Mon 10 Feb • £23 Start 7.30pm

Psychic Sally

Southampton Gymnastics Club annual gala

On The Road. Britain’s best-loved psychic and international star, Sally Morgan returns with her 2014 nationwide tour

Wed 18 Dec • £3 / £2.50 Members

Thurs 20 Feb • £20

Gymnastics Gala

12pm-4pm

Afternoon Tea Dance

Sequence & Ballroom. Christmas themed tea dance with mince pies and wine!

Sat 11 Jan • £9 / £15 / £18 / £20

U14’s with adult

The Kerrang!

Tour 2014 Featuring Limp Bizkit + Crossfaith & Nekrogoblikon

Concert 7.30pm

Wed 19 Mar • £22.50

New Year Johann Strauss Gala

After just releasing new single, Evil Eye, the band tour the UK in 2014

Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra

BOX OFFICE

023 8063 2601

Franz Ferdinand

West Marlands Road Civic Centre, Southampton Hampshire SO14 7LP Doors 7pm unless stated

Roy ‘Chubby’ Brown Roy Chubby Brown returns with his bluest show yet!

Sat 29 Mar • £15

The

Hitlist

Obviously we write about all this musical nonsense, but you might be wondering… what do we ACTUALLY listen to? Well, here’s the top 5 tracks that’ve been blasting through our earphones and from our stereos this month.

Show 7.30pm

Variety Relief Raising the roof for WAVE 105 Cash for Kids Tue 01 Apr • £27.50 £20 Students + O60’s Concert 8pm

The Bootleg Beatles In Concert

1. Katy Perry - Roar Roar is a catchy power-pop jam of stomping drums and winding synth basslines, with Katy in ‘strong female role model’ mode. This really is hankering for a ‘teen inspiration’ gold medal.

Ben Hindle

No Support

2. Biffy Clyro - Sounds Like Balloons

Tues 29 Apr • £26 / £30

Usually, balloons only make that annoying squeaking sound when you rub them on something. Biffy disagrees with this. They think that balloons sound like jittering riffs, perplexing lyrics and completely massive choruses. Listen to it, yeah?

Start 7.30pm

Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson In Concert Following the great success of his current ‘Thick As A Brick’ tour, legendary Prog Rock icon Ian Anderson will be coming to town Sat 17 May • £10 5pm-11pm 18yrs +

Southampton German Beer Fest 2014 German Beers And Foods, The Alpine Stompers Ompha Band, DJ, Mädchens In Traditional Costumes

Sean Lewis

3. Arcade Fire - Reflektor Back with ‘Reflektor’, the Canadian seven piece have taken a whole new funky spin on things, but still maintain that distinctive Arcade Fire sound. Time to slip on your dancing shoes and boogie on down.

George Peckham

4. Palm Reader - Smack Hound

Wed 29 Oct • £27.50 £29.50

Steve Hackett

No it’s not a wrestling event for dogs, it’s the latest assault from Palm Reader. Give it a listen if you like Converge, The Chariot, smashing things up, setting fire to things and then dancing on the ashes of your own destruction.

Genesis Extended + Support.

Following the success of the 2013 Genesis Revisited album and tours, Steve Hackett is bringing the final version of his Genesis show to the UK Box office opening hours: Mon-Fri 9am-6pm Sat 9am-5pm A booking fee applies to online & telephone transactions Closed for Christmas 21st Dec – 6th Jan

Leo Troy

5. Panic! At The Disco - Girls/Girls, Boys With a vaguely pornographic D’Angelo-aping video and equally sexual delivery, Panic! are taking their Vegas roots to the limit with this glitzy half wonky-indie-club-banger, half signature-Panic!-vocal-showcase number.

Jodie-mae Finch

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www.o2guildhallsouthampton.co.uk

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Edition 12 • 2013

It’s been three years since Eliza Doolittle put out her self-titled debut album.

going on, I like to be in control and I’ve had to learn to let go.”

In that time she’s gone from ambitious pop star to mature singer songwriter, it’s been a tough one for Eliza.

One thing Doolittle will never forget about is her fans, who are as grateful for her as she is for them.

“I received this amazing book with all these beautiful messages from probably around 25 to 30 of my fans, It’s amazing.”

Despite time away from the spotlight, it’s been anything but a break for her. “I’m just constantly doing music, especially when I had so much time to write and record after the label got sold. I would write everyday and sometimes every night. I think the only time I did a lot, I would go to the movies for two to three hours just to rest my voice and get some inspiration.”

ELIZA DOOLITTLE Growing Pains

With an extensive musical background, her father (the Honorary Associate Director of the Shakespeare Theatre Company) and her mother (the stage actress Frances Ruffelle), some might think Doolittle’s ascent has been easy. Rest assured, she believes this not to be the root of her success.

Writing music since the age of 12, she landed a publishing deal at 16 and created a foundation for where she is today.

Overall she is a calm character, grateful for what she has. Undertaking the ‘difficult second album’ with new found mature textures and emotions, Eliza Doolittle has fought through all the obstacles to reach a comfortable position at the top of UK pop.

Recording In Your Hands in Los Angeles, Doolittle believes that surroundings play an important role in her songwriting. “It’s always about colours.You know that Californian sun you get in Californian music. Like an ocean blue, with palm tree greens and sunsets.

Crazy colours. I always feel like there’s a colour in Californian music.”

Due to Doolittle’s wide variety of influences, picking one record to be stranded on a desert island with is an impossible decision, tying her favourite albums down to Stevie Wonder’s Songs In The Key Of Life and Destiny Child’s The Writings On The Wall.

These two choices prove that she has both fun and sensitive sides, which really reveal themselves in her latest release. Depicting her evolution from someone who previously had a few boyfriends, but has now experienced love, In Your Hands explores a plethora of intimate emotions. However, when it comes to songwriting, it’s not just her own personal experiences she turns to. “There’s a great website which puts up amazing love letters. It’s so inspirational. The world needs more love letters.”

Although she’s a busy woman, she comes across as a simple character, pinpointing her biggest fear as fear itself. “I fear the unknown. I like to know what’s

22

She may sound like a serious character, as the press constantly dig at her theatre background and her public break up with Good Charlotte guitarist Benji Madden, but she has no hate for the media. It just seems to bring out her humorous side. “If I could shoot anyone it would be that little pr*ck of a prince out of Game Of Thrones, the young king.”

ELIZA DOOLITTLE’S SECOND ALBUM IN YOUR HANDS IS OUT NOW VIA PARLOPHONE

Billy Bentley

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LOCAL NATIVES

Hailing from Silver Lake in LA, Local Natives certainly aren’t local to us in any way. However, their indie charm has transcended borders, as they’re now selling out everywhere they play in the UK. We talked to the band about how the hell that happened so bloody quickly.

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Wandering into the backstage of the venue they’re set to grace this evening, the band look every inch the American indie gang. They personify effortless, unpretentious cool, dressed in the plaid shirts and facial hair that many a skateboard-wielding UK kid tries to work, but to these guys comes naturally.

out how to sample stuff with everyone involved.

I feel like especially now, a year in, the songs have found a different kind of voice live, a different vibe and I think these versions are really fleshed out and realised. Everyone’s really happy with these live versions.”

The UK has always welcomed Local Natives with open arms, but with a more accomplished live show and an equally mature new album, they’re on their way to the top. Mentioning their recent London show, their eyes light up. “We just had our biggest UK show ever there. We played the Brixton Academy, which was insane. I feel like that’s almost become a second home in a way, because we’ve been here so many times and we obviously always play About to play their last UK show of a worldwide London” Ayers clarifies. “We played there for the tour, you can forgive them for looking a bit drained.

XFM Winter Wonderland and After the huge success of first we were first of seven bands or album Gorilla Manor in 2009, they released their second “We’re not trying to force something like that. In my head it was the biggest thing I’d ever record this January, the majestic, anything. We try to let seen and we didn’t know how to darker-sounding Hummingbird. operate on that big of a stage, so everything happen it was interesting to come back, Its dense harmonies and subtle organically” play it on our own and have it effect layers don’t sound like be pretty full. That was definitely they’d be too strenuous to play, a highlight.” Not everything’s been plain sailing but live Local Natives are a different beast comthough.“We left Glasgow minus one bass guitar” pletely; heavy, aggressive and very loud. Compared Matt says looking at Kelcey, still disappointed. “We to the calm of pre-Gorilla Manor shows, we’re dealplayed Arches. The back-alley is really accessible to ing with a band seriously evolving. “We always like the backstage and someone just decided to, well... re-arranging our songs” Ayer acknowledges, “when let’s just say we saw the security footage of the guy we had to make the songs ready for live shows, we spent a few months with [new bassist] Nik last year. walking in with no bass and running away with a bass. Bummer.”

It was really fun actually. There’s a lot of figuring “I think individually we’re all big fans of just fashion in general” bearded singer Kelcey Ayer points out, “we’re not trying to force anything, we try to let everything happen organically. There’s no preconceived ‘you’re wearing this, you’re wearing this’” adds even beardier drummer Matt Frazier. Regardless, they look great. Tired, but great.

Stolen guitars aside, the Hummingbird era has been given a warm welcome. Most importantly, the band themselves seem in a better place, particularly after working with producer and guitarist of The National, Aaron Dessner. Kelcey puts it simply, “He was a fan of us and we were a fan of his.” One would expect such a prolific artist to be influential on the album? Well, “We wrote most of the album in our practice space in LA over the course of 10 months” he continues. “We’d been going through some dark stuff at the time [Kelcey’s mother passed away shortly before, and bassist Andy Hamm parted ways with the band], so it was definitely affecting the record in a darker way. Him coming from a darker band, people say that that’s the reason, but he actually wanted things to be brighter and happier.

So that was an interesting curveball.”

Not only is it darker, but Hummingbird is an aural lagoon, deeper and denser than debut Gorilla Manor. Circumstances apart, Ayers explains this change in sound. “We were interested in expanding our sonic palette, in the way that we wouldn’t just write everything on clean guitars and straight up acoustic instruments. We wanted to do something more synthetic, because we’ve never really delved that deep into guitar effects, fake drums, or synths.

We wanted to explore that a little bit and I think that definitely went with how our musical tastes have grown over time.”

The approach worked and Hummingbird has had a fantastic reception. But with a big album comes a big tour and travelling the world can leave you pretty homesick. “We’re just touring constantly, so it’s hard to pinpoint how LA has changed” says Ayers, slightly ashamed he hasn’t been keeping tabs on his hometown scene. “I mean, I wouldn’t say that

26

it’s changed drastically since we moved there. We’ve lived there for four... no five years at least.”

However, the band had to move up the ranks in such a thriving city. “We live on the east part of town, where there’s a lot of awesome smaller venues. These were really important for us as a young band growing up, as they were willing to take chances on emerging artists or unknown artists. It’s just very music and art-friendly and I think that’s a huge reason as to why we’re here today. That stuff still exists there and there’s still so many amazing bands emerging.”

Heading off on the European stint of their tour, the UK leg has made a strong impression on both band and fans alike. With such a progressive presence both live and on record, their ethos of ‘not forcing anything’ is working splendidly.

LOCAL NATIVES’ SECOND ALBUM HUMMINGBIRD IS OUT NOW VIA INFECTIOUS MUSIC Jodie-mae Finch 27

Favourite festival memory?

Drowning in the mud. It’s happened at quite a few festivals. I remember going down into the crowd and actually starting the circle pit, guiding them and disappearing in the mud.

Best festival tip?

People keep forgetting that festivals are all about that ‘dancing around the fire’ spirit. It always puts me off if a festival is a little too organised. If there’s too many cops and too many banners everywhere, the spirit of ‘dancing around the fire’ goes away and that’s not right.

Your new album ‘Pura Vida Conspiracy’ has an interesting title. Could you elaborate on what it means?

Frontman/lunatic Eugene Hutz explains how Eastern philosophy, kung-fu and punk rock changed his life.

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You’re in Germany right now, what’s it like in Germany?

It’s raining like f**king Glastonbury.

It was great to see the instant connection with the crowd. It was our first show in the UK in a year and we got straight back into the game.

The last time you were in the UK was at Download, how was that?

Everyone was asking me, how do I feel playing that kind of a metal festival, coming from Metallica’s festival in the states? Our band is a rock band, so we can play a metal festival and a psychedelic festival.

How do you warmup before you go on stage?

In the past I had quite a routine, but I think now I’m kind of like ‘just give me the microphone’ and I’m ready to go. Sometimes I’ll do kung-fu warm ups for the show.

Well it’s more of a word play on real life conspiracy, pointing to the fact that the whole universe at all times, at every moment, is already conspiring to help and guide humankind to where it needs to go.

But people themselves are so f**king dumb and blind that they don’t ever see it. They actually see the universe as an enemy. This cynicism has become a main product that everybody’s selling to each other. I was always taught from the time I encountered some basic eastern philosophy when I was a teenager. It came to my life along with some kung-fu and punk rock. Just reading a lot of stuff that was considered to be forbidden in the Soviet Union, was like winning the biggest lottery of your life. I’ve always felt that mentally, I’m departed from western civilisation. It seems to be the age of endarkenment here.

point where they travel to a pattern, because they’re pressured into it by the nature of the band. It’s a very intense environment.

“When you dance around the fire with a crew like that, it’s epic.”

In fact, it’s a task of every human being to learn how to do that, because everybody’s talking about changing the world and evolution:‘evolution my a**’ and so on and so forth. The whole world is just talking. It’s just people spitting stuff out and waiting until the other person finishes talking so they can start talking again. What happens is, you just realise you don’t have to do all this work of keeping with the facade of your supposed identity at all times. So with the musicians in the band, it’s a more separated version of that, but we’re forced to acknowledge this faster. Instead of doing this at 70 years old, we’re doing this at 35.

So that gives you an insight into our band structure.

Typically I will bring in a song that already looks like it’s finished. But by the time everybody’s contributed to it (or listened to each other) it will morph into an actually finished song.

Was this album easier to write and record compared to your previous records?

There’s so many of you in the band. How does the recording process work?

I think this record is different in a sense that it’s more of a composed work. Like a composed work of a band, rather than maybe our previous records with a songwriter behind it. I’m quite excited about that because it’s happened quite naturally. But it’s really amazing, that feeling of ‘now we’ve been in the trenches together for ten years.’

There’s a different kind of camaraderie you know?

Well I think any band that has survived for five years, which is now the average life of the band, have to listen to each other. That is a crucial point for every musician actually. I think musicians come to the

It’s something you can’t fake. It’s something people come to and they’ll look around and say to each other ‘wow’. When you dance around the fire with a crew like that, it’s epic.

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The album feels like a celebration as well. Do you see it like that?

Yeah there are a lot of celebratory feelings. I think that we truly have become a family, which we weren’t before. It takes all the psychodrama to get there.

Who’s your favourite punk rock band?

Oh that’s an impossible question (laughs). Iggy and The Stooges.You can’t f**k with that s**t.

Have you ever met Iggy Pop? Yes I have, it was amazing actually. We cross paths quite regularly and it’s always a great encounter. A great encounter and a great conversation. I always walk away with some kind of badass chip, some serious chip that sticks to the f**king ribs (laughs).

Finally, why should people see you live?

It’s a new era of Gogol Bordello and people are moving into the new era with us. The whole experience on-stage has become so much more elevating somehow. The band didn’t just f**king happen like that. There were ups and downs, upsets & psychodrama, but it’s turned into something that’s really f**king naturally bada*s. Music just evolves in every sense. Instead of sitting there as songwriter with a band behind it, it really has become like a cultural army or something like that. Everything’s becoming a lot bigger.

Louis Kerry Pura Vida Conspiracy IS OUT NOW VIA ATO Records

FACT

Gogol Bordello frontman Eugene Hutz featured on the cover of Vogue Ukraine recently, because he has plans to open his own music venue in Ukraine.

Hutz describes the concept of the venue as bringing all the things he has discovered around the world into Kiev, saying “I’m gonna be creating a musical venue which is more of a laboratory for Balkan and Latin American musicians to co-operate.”

“The venue’s gonna be mine, so there’s nobody to tell me what the f**k to do. I’m super psyched about it, so that’s why I was like “okay Vogue people, let’s do it!” I needed to find a way to let people know the venue was opening.”

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An

Meeting

MS MR

Dream-pop duo MS MR give us some insight into how they feel about their rise to prominence.

Your debut album, Secondhand Rapture, was released in May. How has the reception been towards it?

Pretty amazing! Honestly, while writing the album we never thought it would be heard by so many people. It’s pretty incredible to have songs we wrote and recorded in Max’s apartment being released and played all over the world.

Tell us a little bit about the album. What are the main ideologies behind it?

The record is more unified through it’s production and sound than lyrics.

Since these are the first songs we’ve ever written, we were mostly interested in experimentation, but the things we found ourselves most inspired by were our relationship to the world and each other through media, the weather, and New York City.

Your fan base has grown even further since ‘Bones’ was featured on the Game Of Thrones trailer. How did you feel when they used your track?

We were so excited when they used our song! Game of Thrones is our favourite TV show and we definitely feel like the song was the perfect fit for the series.We’re still waiting on our offer to score the whole season (laughs).

How has an average day changed since you’ve moved into the mainstream?

Touring life is a very different (and exhausting) way to live. It couldn’t be more different from our lives before.

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We spend every day traveling from city to city, sleeping very little and performing for amazing crowds every night. It’s incredibly busy, overwhelming and exciting.

The storylines to your music videos can be subjective to interpretation. What ideas are you trying to convey in ‘Hurricane’ and ‘Fantasy’?

Exactly that! It’s all in the eye of the beholder, almost like a pop music video tarot card.

When talking about videos, we think much more in terms of environment and vibe.

Both Hurricane and Fantasy are essentially reflections on the intersection between the mundane and the bizarre.

You’ve stated before that you did not receive any feedback from a label or even friends until the whole album had been written. Do you think you will do the same with the next album?

It’ll probably be harder to isolate ourselves this time around, but we’ll always try to make music that we love first, which makes it feel uniquely like us. We’re lucky to have friends who are respectful of our need for space and endlessly supportive when we need them to be.

Have you had any thoughts about a second album yet?

So many thoughts but so little time! We’re planning on getting some writing done early next year.

Philippa Ghosh 33

REVIEWS

Katy Perry Prism

Capitol Katy Perry has jumped back on to the music scene with her explosive new album, Prism. It has grabbed the number 1 spot in six countries, and spawned singles such as ‘Unconditionally’, which are still receiving radio play months later. It presents a transition from sugar coated tunes to a more fragile side to the star, including her side of her divorce from Russell Brand. She tackles this in a very introspective way, which makes sense given her recent MTV interview, where she claimed she didn’t want to “point the finger” for the marriage’s failure at Brand.

REVIEWS 34

The opening track, ‘Roar’, for example, shows that she won’t be beaten, with an empowering message of strength that continues throughout the album. Her flirtatious school girl nature is still very much present in ‘This Is How We Do’ and ‘Birthday’. Meanwhile, ‘Dark Horse’ shows Perry taking a different direction with her music by collaborating with hiphop artist Juicy J. It is arguably the worst track on the album, but you have to applaud Perry’s effort in trying to cover every genre aspect you can possibly cram into one album.

The second half of the album is darker, which shows the previous struggle in her life, and mostly consists of ballads. ‘Ghost’ highlights that she still feels haunted by her past, which is a theme that continues in ‘Double Rainbow’. This is perhaps most evident in ‘By the Grace of God’, which is the darkest track, where Perry talk about

taking her own life. This track is stripped down the bare basics, which is perhaps a sign of how personal this song is to her.

Prism shows the full cycle of Perry’s emotions, from heartbroken to fighting back and moving on. This album is more than enough to keep the pop princess sitting firmly on her throne.

LAURA TOMPKINS PRISM IS OUT NOW VIA CAPITOL RECORDS

FACT Australian authorities seized copies of Prism at their custom authorities because the artwork was printed with seedpaper and instructions to plant the seeds and “spread the light”.

The strict Australian customs laws mean that border control have the right to confiscate every CD that comes through as all ecological matieral arriving from outside the country must be thoroughly assessed before entry.

You can read more on this story on our website at: http://www.audio-addict.co.uk 35

Jake Bugg Shangri La

Arcade Fire

It’s been two years since Nottingham youngster Jake Bugg burst onto the stage of Great British music. Now older, and a Gallagher support slot wiser, Bugg is back, and he’s brought global-scale back-up with him, in the form of producer Rick Rubin.

Whilst Arcade Fire’s music has always been enjoyable, there’s been a steady decline to its quality over the years, with each further record defining the meaning of ‘diminishing returns’.

Reflektor is somewhat different to this rule, in that it abides by it whilst also defying it across its two separate discs.

Singles ‘What Doesn’t Kill You’ and ‘Slumville Sunrise’ tear along with a new ‘bigger’ sound but Shangri La demonstrates a sound too far altered from the early sixties vibe of his debut.

The new sense of alt-rock, and the miscalculated amount of country, is largely tear-your-hair-annoying.

Reflektor’s first half presents LCD Soundsystem mastermind James Murphy’s involvement at its most obvious. The tracks on the first disc range from the enjoyable but far too long ‘Here Comes The Night Time’, to the hilariously awkward ‘Normal Person’. There’s even an incredibly bizarre and misplaced Jonathan Ross cameo on ‘You Already Know’.

Reflektor

Sonovox Records

Mercury

The album does, however, come up victorious with ‘Kingpin’: a bluesy belter with quick-witted lyrical content and ‘Messed Up Kids’ displays Kinks-y observations of day-to-day Britain that are always appreciated when they are done right.

Shangri La is a constant struggle between what Bugg is and what he has started to become. Expect a return to his roots and a triumphant upping of the ante with album number three.

It’s not until the second disc that the record truly reaches what Arcade Fire are capable of. Whether it’s the aptly titled ‘Porno’, or the valiant ‘Afterlife’, there’s somewhat of an incredible sea change to bear witness to in reaching the second disc. The quality may just be personified by the disappointing first half, but there’s a brilliant record here if you just pretend the first disc doesn’t exist.

Minnie Wright

Bipolar Sunshine

Polar Bear Club Death Chorus

Drowning Butterflies The Aesthetic Recording

ADA Global Remember when pop-punk rose to prominence a few years ago? And how awesome that was? Bands like Four Year Strong, Set Your Goals and A Day To Remember ruling all the constellations from ear drum to ear drum? Ah, those were the days.

Unfortunately, pop-punk has begun to dig its own grave, which has prompted ‘Defend Pop Punk’ to become a ‘thing’. How can you defend pop-punk? It’s not a puppy.

Death Chorus comes with a new tone of voice from the bands frontman. This left fans bamboozled as to what has happened vocally. His gruff tones were one of the bands defining features, and without them, The band sound like every other pop-punk band out there.

In fairness, there are a few charming moments on the record. Tracks like ‘Blood Balloon’ and ‘Chicago Spring’ echo this prognosis, while ‘Twang (Blister To Burn)’ has a very indie side to it, which is refreshing to hear.

To be fair to PBC, ‘Death Chorus’ does everything it should, and has sing along after sing along, but it begs the question: when will we all be singing along to Pop Punk’s last serenade? Probably very soon.

Matthew Bisgrove

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Joe Price

After Kid British split up in 2012, singer Adio Marchant went solo with Bipolar Sunshine. His first EP, Aesthetics, already had a lot of success. His second one, Drowning Butterflies, won’t be any different.

It starts off with ‘Love More Worry Less’, which is a mix of mellow sounds and beats, which keeps the track interesting. The lyrics match the melody perfectly, and make it the ideal song to listen to when you need to relax. Meanwhile, the second track is more upbeat from the start, keeping the EP from getting boring and monotone. It immediately gets you tapping your feet along with the rhythm, and keeps this up for the whole four minutes. The final track, ‘Trouble’, starts with a bit of a mysterious sound, but quickly becomes the most cheerful song of the three.

Drowning Butterflies makes you relax without getting bored straight away. It’s warm, upbeat and feel-good.

Marchant did a great job with the lyrics as well, which a lot of pop artists seem to forget about these days.

Instead of following the pop music mass, he created his own unique sound. If you haven’t checked Bipolar Sunshine out yet, you should.

Kim Van Wuytswinkel 37

LIVE Mallory Knox

Photo by Ellie Mitchell

Southampton Roxx

25/11/13 Despite their huge touring career, a debut album that hit 33 in the UK charts, and being played regularly on Radio 1, Cambridge based quintet Mallory Knox still manage to be one of the nicest band in rock.

Even though Mikey Chapman had been on vocal rest and unable to talk all day, he leads Mallory Knox out on stage with all guns blazing. Those who have been with Mallory since the start were treated to ‘Oceans’, and they even played the B-side to their single ‘Death Rattle’. This initial momentum carried long into the set, as Mallory Knox played the only new song anyone’s heard since the release of ‘Signals’, which is much punchier than your standard MK song.

During the encore, all of the lights were dropped and Mikey had everyone illuminate the room with phones and lighters, and the crowd shone like daylight. That sums up the relationship Mallory Knox have with their fans; they respect the band, and the band respects them back.

Callum-Jack Cornwell

Southampton University

29/10/13 As silhouettes in a barrage of dry ice and blue lights, Local Natives certainly know how to make an entrance. Known for their harmonies and subtle guitar effects, you wouldn’t expect the five piece to get heavier than a summer breeze. What you get is a hurricane.

Highlight of the evening, ‘You and I’, embodies this, with copious feedback and vocalist Kelcey Ayer singing with so much emotion it seemed almost painful. Classics ‘Who Knows Who Cares’ and ‘Airplanes’ sound mature and accomplished, with the crowd singing louder than the band can play. Encore ‘Sun Hands’ uses the last of the band’s energy, as drummer Matt Frazier leads a heavy rendition of possibly their best song to date.

Although it could be said that all the songs sound pretty much the same, it defeats the point - what you’re seeing is an incredible live band, whose presence has grown from an opening act to having the tools to play arenas. With crowd and band this in sync, hopefully they stay our secret for a little longer.

Jimmy Eat World

Skream Junk

31/10/13 “Post-dubstep”; the term is cropping up more and more often in the modern music press. There is still a huge market for that most wobbing of sub-genres, but when its founders have all seemed to leave it behind, then there is definitely a valid argument for the idea. This appears to be the case for Skream, who, although being considered one of the godfather’s of dubstep, has moved on to greener pastures.

To kick off, Skream brought the dance floor alive with the uplifting sounds of Chicago house and booming techno that shook the very foundations of the club. Highlights of all this was the unbelievably heavy Hrdsion remix of ‘Call Me Maybe’, and Skream’s ‘99 Remix’ of Infinity Ink’s ‘Infinity’, with its garage/old school crossover vibe.

Skream’s prowess behind the decks is nothing short of incredible, with selection that tells of an obsessive love for music. He is a DJ who has achieved the dream, and if that means leaving dubstep in the dust, then so be it.

Ben Hindle

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Local Natives

Jodie-mae Finch

O2 Academy Bournemouth

6/11/13 “Welcome to the jet lag show” mutters singer Jim Adkins in an earnest tone, staring at his shoes like a timid child in the playground. There have been times in Jimmy Eat World’s existence when they’d have much better suited a downtrodden dusty sweatbox and others when they’ve looked most comfy on an open-air stage in the warm summer. But once they slap themselves into action with a blood-pumping ‘I Will Steal You Back’, their surroundings start to make sense.

Throughout a mammoth 24 tracks, every facet of the band’s extensive catalogue is plunged into. There are bouncy singalong moments of pure ecstasy in ‘Big Casino’. There are tear-jerking points of balladry such as ‘Hear You Me’, and even some shouty masculine pomp in ‘Pain’. After closing on ‘The Middle’, the band humbly step off stage, squeezing the room of all its adoration. Their facial expressions don’t look as if they’ve done the rounds since 1993, but instead resemble a band that still loves what they do.

Jimmy Eat World still play like they have something to prove. Its this quality above all else, which makes them perhaps the greatest alt-rock band on God’s green earth.

Leo Troy

39

BESTIVAL Festivals are our favourite way to wind down/get lairy (delete as appropriate) in the summertime. Bestival and Blissfields were our favourites. We lost our voices, jumped around and drank much more beer than should be humanly possible, so its a miracle that we’ve even managed to get these reviews written.

But we did. So there. Here they are.

It was August, and the summer days felt like they were long gone, but Bestival gave us one last chance to enjoy the remaining sunrays before getting back to the work routine.

The first band to impress that weekend was Dog is Dead. They only released their debut album this year, but they obviously had time to practise, as their set was as tight as it could be.

convinced the crowd, and got them dancing alongside the singer.

On Saturday, Franz Ferdinand brought their biggest hits to the main stage, which not only got the crowd to stick around, but also got them dance and sing under the rain. As for Snoop Dogg, well, he played his hits, and had half-naked girls dancing on stage. He did everything that was expected of him, and did it well. He’s “Motherf*ckin’ Snoop Doggy Dog”, do we need to add anything else?

On Sunday, the parade wasn’t one to miss. The more costumes we saw, the crazier they got, and the more the simple stripy shirt and sailor hat combos became ridiculously normal by comparison.

The rest of the afternoon felt like a heritage day, with two music monsters playing: Chic feat.Nile As the night went on, the Rodgers and for his first festival crowd gathered under the appearance, Elton John. Chic Big Top, impatiently waiting played a flawless set, turning the for M.I.A. to come onstage. stage into a disco dance-floor Chloe Howl Photos: Coralie Pilté The sea of people jumping up on their last song, and Elton John and down brought the night turned the festival into a giant to an appropriately exciting climax. friendship circle, as he played his biggest songs.

Friday marked the opening of the main stage, and the birthday celebration, with Fatboy The festival ended on the traditional fireSlim’s Birthday Bash. Before the DJ took over works, followed by a giant candle to celebrate and the illuminated the night, the day had a its 10th anniversary. Rob Da Bank can be couple of surprises up its sleeves, including proud. He lived up to his reputation and made French band Caravan Palace, who brought Bestival even bigger this year. their electro-rockabilly-jazzy tunes to an unsure crowd. Despite a rocky start, the Coralie Pilté rock’n’roll dance-off that happened on stage 40

BLISSFIELDS Picture this; its beginning of July, you’re freshly out of uni, with deadlines and exams behind you, and a heat wave making its way to England, bringing the promise of ice-cold beer whilst listening to music. It couldn’t get better, could it?

As we made our way to the arena, we discovered a small and homely festival: sofas, hammocks, and Touareg tents.

Man Like Me were headlining a tent on the first night, and by the time they hit the stage, people were ready to party.Yes, the band were the highlight of the day, but it’s not that hard when you spent most of your time either in an over-crowded train/ taxi and setting up your tent. Dancing feels good at that point.

abeth’ getting the biggest response from the crowd. Who could restrain themselves from singing along and dancing to these songs?

Of course, DJs are always around on the Blisscoteque Bus to keep you going in between gigs. After all the beers, and cocktails, you don’t really pay attention anymore.

We started the next day with another beer and the dark atmosphere of The Wytches under the tent. What could be better than fuzz, noise, and a blend of garage and surf music to wake you up before going back in the sun? We then saw some more summer-friendly music with The Dub Pistols. After all, everyone loves a good skank.

And then, the Grand Finale.

Bastille. This summer’s “it-band.

They owned the main stage.

The next morning, you can Singer Dan Smith was like a ball see on some people’s faces of energy, jumping from one end that they already had a rough of the stage to the other at the night, but Blissfields is only speed of light, taking the crowd getting started. With a range Public Service Broadcasting with him.

Photos: Coralie Pilté of upcoming acts, Blissfields makes you discover what you Sadly our festival days are now missed this year, especially if you haven’t paid over. Well, for this year at least. However, we enough attention to the bands touring around can still dream of next years days of booze the South coast. It’s a good way to discover and bands, which will keep us going whilst new bands, or relive your wild nights in the working in our offices, or making toast, or light of the day. whatever it is we do with our lives. Its not yet known what next years Blissfields or Bestival Headliners Mystery Jets hit the stage at will bring, but we do know 2 things: we will be 9.30pm, returning to Blissfields a few years there, and it will be incredible. after conquering the festival in 2012. No surprises in the set; its a mix of old and new Coralie Pilté songs, with ‘Flakes’ and ‘Half in Love with Eliz41

What’s on?

In The South Coast Mayday Parade The Old Fire Station Bournemouth 23/1/14 Mayday Parade are a five-piece Rock Band from America who formed in 2005, soon to play Bournemouth’s The Old Fire Station on Thursday 23rd January.

For fans of You Me At Six and All Time Low, this is definitely a gig to go to, as it’s bound to be a great atmosphere and an evening of fun, catchy tracks.

Musings on The Twerk Queen You can always rely on the wacked-up world of pop to spit out a multitude of controversial figures on an annual basis. This year, there’s only one person people have been waggling their fingers (foam or otherwise) at. Ms. Miley Cyrus. Whilst her recent endeavours into molly poppin’ and buttock shakin’ may seem like a lewd display of late teen rebellion on the surface, they’ve also become prime subjects of debate in regards to the age old struggle of female artists fighting to have their voices heard, rather than their figures incessantly ogled and objectified.

Several women in the music industry have expressed their concerns for Miley amidst her degenerate exploits, but none more notably than elder pop icon Sinead O’Connor, whose first open letter (we’ll ignore the deranged, slightly more obsessive chain of open letters that followed) offered sound advice for the twerktacular singer. With sage quips like “you have enough talent that you don’t need to let the music business make a prostitute of you”, her solicitude appears genuine, but does it resonate with those who currently find themselves performing alongside women who’ve seemingly misplaced half their wardrobes?

42

Well, the queen of twerk is visibly comfortable with her crude antics, and even some of pop’s more reserved artists seem less than fazed by her sexual deviancy. “Look at the stuff Rihanna does, it’s pretty much the same.” former X Factor contestant and singer-songwriter Lucy Spraggan spoke of the matter. “People exploit themselves in all different walks of life but I guess that I exploit the fact that I’m the same as everybody else and I’m not into the same things that Miley Cyrus is into.” Sydney Sierota, of indie-pop band Echosmith, mirrored Spraggan’s sentiment by stating “Her path is a bit different from mine and that’s fine”, whilst rapper Kitty Pryde gave Cyrus’ scandalous behaviour this endearing stamp of approval: “Miley Rules.”

The not-so-jarring reality is that Miley’s just the most recent femme to booty pop her way into a horde of female performers who use whatever the lord (or Hollywood’s plastic surgeon) gave them to sell their manufactured pop shtick. Sorry Sinead, but for the time being, she caaaaan’t stop, and she wooooon’t stop.

Joshua Pauley Illustration courtesy of Dessy Baeva (Ultraviolet)

Skindred Mo Club, Southampton 23/1/14 Skindred (pictured above) can only be described as a Reggae/Rock/Punk band with elements of an electronic sound.

Formed in 1998, this unlikely mash-up of genres have since released three albums and an EP, ‘Babylon’, ‘Roots Rock Riot’ (EP)in 2005, ‘Shark Bites And Dog Fights’ in 2009 and their most recent album, released in 2011 and the only one to be recorded in the UK, ‘Union Black’.

Also Showing Max Raptor - Southampton Joiners - 27th Jan The Boxer Rebellion - Southampton Brook - 3rd Feb City and Colour - Bournemouth Academy - 3rd Feb Dan Le Sac Vs Scroobius Pip - Portsmouth Wedgewood Rooms - 6th Feb 43

Sat 30th Nov • £14-£17.50 adv 10pm-5am • over 18s only

Bedlam Presents: Rudimental DJ Set ft. Kidnap Kid, Friend Within, DJ Woz, Dimension Mon 2nd Dec • £25 adv

Ocean Colour Scene

Tues 31st Dec • £20 adv / £25 VIP

8pm • over 18s only

One Nation New Years Eve ft. Midnight set by DJ Hazard + Criss Criss + Harry Shotta Show + Shadow Demon Coalition + Majistrate and Logan D + Sub Zero + MANY MORE Thurs 30th Jan • £35 adv

Tues 3rd Dec • £14.50 adv

+ The O’s

+ Datsik

Thurs 5th Dec • £28 adv

Happy Mondays

“Bummed” 25th Anniversary Tour + The Sunshine Underground + Sulk Fri 6th Dec • £15 adv / £25 VIP 9pm • over 18s only

The Hardcore Awards ft. Darren Styles, Gammar, Joey Riot & Kurt, Whizzkid, Storm, Kutski, Klubfiller + more TBA Sat 7th Dec

Tenacious D

6pm

Toseland

Del Amitri

Weds 11th Dec • £12 adv

Electric Six

Mon 3rd Feb • £25 adv

City and Colour

Scream V.I.P.

The 1975

Room 94

Sat 15th Feb

Sun 16th Mar • £16.50 adv

The Selecter

London Grammar

“35 Years of The Selecter” Fri 21st Mar • £11 adv

+ Bondax

6.30pm

The Smyths

Mon 24th Feb • £17.50 adv

Celebrating 30 years since the release of ‘The Smiths’ - performing ‘The Smiths’ in full

Weds 26th Feb • £19.50 adv

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Rizzle Kicks Newton Faulkner

The Old Fire Station, Students’ Union at Bournemouth University 36 Holdenhurst Road, Bournemouth BH8 8AD NUS tickets available from Talbot Campus SU Shop

Sat 21st Dec • £12 / £17 adv

Mon 14th Apr • £20 adv (seated)

ft. DJ EZ, Artful Dodger, DJ Luck and MC Neat + more TBA

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Tues 8th Apr • £29.50 adv

Manic Street Preachers

Garage Nation

6.30pm

Sun 2nd Mar • £8 adv

+ The Neighbourhood

Under 18s Tour Guest host Joey Essex

10pm • over 18s only

Thurs 23rd Jan • £13.50 adv

Mayday Parade + Man Overboard + Decade + Divided By Friday

Fri 14th Feb

Fri 20th Dec • £10 / £15 adv Under 18s only

6.30pm

Tues 10th Dec • £10 adv

Marchin’ Already Tour

Flux Pavillion

Fri 6th Dec • £11 adv

The Doors Alive

oldfirestation.co.uk

Matt Cardle Thurs 1st May • £15 adv

Wretch 32

570 Christchurch Rd, Bournemouth BH1 4BH • Doors 7pm unless stated Venue box office opening hours: Mon-Sat 12pm-4pm.

No booking fee on cash transactions from venue box office.

Bournemouth ticket outlet: Bournemouth International Centre ticketweb.co.uk • seetickets.com • gigantic.com • ticketmaster.co.uk