GIG LISTINGS Our recommended listings of gigs in Brighton
LIVE REVIEWS Courtney Barnett, Estrons, Easy Life and John Smith all feature ISSUE 27
ALBUM REVIEWS From Anderson .Paak, The Smashing Pumpkins, Ed Harcourt and more
MUSIC NEWS From Yakul, The Magic Gang, Strange Cages and more
27 NOV - 10 DEC 2018
ARCHITECTS & BLOOD RED SHOES REIGNITE WITH NEW ALBUMS
The enchanting Kate Rusby performs traditional folk songs and emotive originals in a joyful celebration of Christmas, joined by her marvellous band and a sublime brass quintet.
brightondome.org
ISSUE 27
CONTENTS ARCHITECTS Following the tragic passing of Architects’ Tom Searle two years ago, the band are now back and more determined than ever, as Jeff Hemmings found out during his chat to bassist Ali Dean
BRINGING THE ARTISTS CLOSER TO YOU...
8 NEWS LISTINGS
The latest album reviews from the recent releases
PRODUCTION: Adam Kidd, Jonski Mason, Kyle Moon
COVER SHOT: Architects
Our recommended listings and previews of the gigs upcoming gigs
ALBUMS
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LIVE REVIEWS Estrons, Bloxx, John Smith, Courtney Barnett and Easy Life all feature in this week’s reviews
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EDITOR: Daniel White
COMMERCIAL: Lesley Lawrence advertising@brightonsfinest.com
The latest music news from around the city
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CEO: Frank Sansom
CONTRIBUTORS: Jeff Hemmings Anna Claxton Liam McMillen Jamie MacMillan Dan Whitehouse Christian Middleton Paul Hill Rhys Baker Iain Lauder Chloe Hashemi press@brightonsfinest.com Copyright © 2018. All rights reserved.
To read the magazine in full online visit Issuu.com/brightonsfinest
BLOOD RED SHOES
Our favourite upcoming gigs outside of Brighton
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After a sustained separation Blood Red Shoes are back with a new lease of life and a new album, as Jeff Hemmings found out
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NEWS
Read the latest news at Brightonsfinest.com/News
BRIGHTON BAND YAKUL RELEASE THEIR ‘BAD KARMA’
THE MAGIC GANG AND JESSIE WARE TEAM UP FOR COLLAB Brightonsfinest favourites, The Magic Gang, have released a collaboration with MOBO, Mercury Prize and BRIT Award nominee and bonafide pop star Jessie Ware! A collaboration that came through their mutual friend Felix White, of Maccabees fame, it’s a beautiful version of the already beautiful song, ‘Take Care’, that sees Gus Taylor’s Brian Wilsoninspired voice connect with Ware’s hushed tones beautifully.
Brighton four-piece Yakul have followed up their soothing debut track, ‘Realigned’, with a much more uplifting neo-soul-meets-jazz track ‘Bad Karma’. Featuring Tom Misch collaborator Rob Araujo on synths, it’s a track that perfectly fits in with the South London jazz renaissance. A combination of brilliant vocals, and excellent instrumentation, Yakul are in a league of their own when it comes to Brighton soul. Having impressed us at their Patterns headline show, as well as James Berkeley’s solo show supporting Normanton Street, it won’t be long before the band are branching out further and wider and, with rumours of an EP on the horizon early in 2019, we can’t wait to follow them every step of the way. You can hear the new song live when they support Anchorsong at the Green Door Store on 28th November 2018, alongside Hey Buddy.
CAGED TIGERS RELEASE ‘HOME’
BRIGHTON’S GURU RELEASE ‘CONSUMER HELPLINE’ Brighton outfit Guru impressed us recently with a superb support slot for Kagoule at The Prince Albert. Now, they’ve followed up the erratic ‘Medicine Man’ with ‘Consumer Helpline’, an anxiety-riddled, unpredictable and unstable slice of garage rock that sees frontman Tom Cherrill’s vocals impress. In addition to the single, the band will be going on tour to celebrate the release starting with a show at The Richmond 22nd November as part of Strange Cages’ ‘Deadbeat Disco’.
Caged Tigers, the eight-piece band coming out of BIMM, massively impressed us with their debut single ‘Flow’. Thankfully and unsurprisingly, their follow-up, ‘Home’, is just as brilliant. With soothing vocals and a wonderfully developed sound, it ends with an impressive, almost extended jam section, which perfectly captures the mood of the current Brighton neo-soul scene. Speaking of the single, lead vocalist Victoria Scott stated that, “The lyrics are about mental health and trying to find ways to control it. I have another song with a similar meaning as during these writing periods I was going through situations that affected my mental health greatly and when writing with Will, at the time, the lyrics felt right to put on the track”. Technically impressive, and intensely enjoyable, Caged Tigers are certainly a band to watch.
NIGHTLIFE Mumdance Friday 30th November Rialto Theatre 11pm – 4am
Hugo Massien / James Joyce / Blixa Friday 30th November Komedia, 11pm – 3am
Hospitality Brighton Friday 30th November Concorde2 11pm – 4am
The Royal T / DJ Q / Flava D Saturday 1st December The Arch 11pm – 5am
Shanti Celeste, DJ Stingray 313 & Charles Green Saturday 1st December Patterns, 11pm – 5am
The Royal T / DJ Q / Flava D Saturday 1st December The Arch 11pm – 5am
Justin Robertson Saturday 1st December Rialto Theatre 9pm – 5am
Busy Doing Nothing #32 Feat. Thyla + Social Haul Sunday 2nd December Sticky Mike’s Frog Bar, 11pm – 3am
More Fyah Friday 7th December Komedia 11pm – 3am
Noisia Friday 7th December The Arch 11pm – 4am
Mina Friday 7th December Patterns 11pm – 4am
Sonic Switch Saturday 8th December Green Door Store 11pm – 4am
Calibre & DRS Saturday 8th December Concorde2 11pm – 4am
Leon Vynehall & Pearson Sound Saturday 8th December Patterns 11pm – 4am
Martin Ikin / Mark Radford Saturday 8th December Hideout 10.30pm – 5am
OUT OF TOWN Katrina Thursday 29th November Ropetackle Centre, Shoreham (Pop) – 8pm
John Cale Thursday 29th November De La Warr Pavilion, Bexhill (Alternative/Indie) – 7pm
Mudhoney Thursday 29th November Electric Ballroom, London (Alternative Rock) – 7pm
Catrin Finch & Seckou Keita Thursday 29th November St. Paul’s, Worthing (World) – 8pm
Hinds Saturday 1st December Hackney Arts Centre, London (Indie-rock) – 2pm
Jade Bird Sunday 2nd December Notting Hill Arts Club, London (Singer-songwriter) – 6pm
Muse Monday 3rd December Royal Albert Hall, London (Rock) – 7.30pm
Years & Years Wednesday 5th December The O2 Arena, London (Synth-pop) – 6.30pm
The Cardigans Friday 7th December Eventim Apollo, London (Rock) – 7pm
Deaf Havana Friday 7th December O2 Academy Brixton, London (Alternative Rock) – 7pm
James Friday 7th December SSE Arena, Wembley, London (Pop) – 6pm
The Vapors Saturday 8th December Lewes Con Club (New wave) – 8pm
The Human League Saturday 8th December Eventim Apollo, London (Pop) – 6.30pm
Johnny Marr Sunday 9th December Hackney Arts Centre, London (Rock) – 7pm
Gazelle Twin Sunday 9th December Pickle Factory, London (Avant garde) – 6.30pm
Full event listings at Brightonsfinest.com/listings
PREVIEWS
GIG LISTINGS BRIGHTON CENTRE
Hudson Taylor – The Haunt – Thursday 29th November 2018 There was a time, back in 2015 when they released Singing for Strangers, where folk duo Hudson Taylor looked set to be the next big thing. After being dropped by Polydor that didn’t happen but they’re finally back with their follow-up album.They’re also back out on a tour that hits Brighton. Known for their euphoric live shows, this is set to be a very special show that will certainly sell-out.
Lea Michelle & Darren Criss Saturday 1st December Tickets: £22.30 Presented by MJR Live
Esben and the Witch Tuesday 27th November Tickets: £11 Presented by Love Thy Neighbour
Years & Years Tuesday 4th December Tickets: £35 Presented by Goldenvoice UK
Martin Stephenson & The Daintees Wednesday 28th November Tickets: £17.50 Presented by AGMP Concerts
Deacon Blue Wednesday 5th December Tickets: £33
Children Of Zeus Saturday 1st December Tickets: £7 Presented by Clean Cuts
The Hope & Ruin Triptides Tuesday 4th December Tickets: £8.80 Presented by Acid Box Promotions Pizzagirl Wednesday 5th December Tickets: £6 Presented by Hidden Herd
Twilight Driving – The Hope & Ruin – Friday 30th November 2018 Twilight Driving have made a name for themselves with captivating and memorable slices of dream-pop on record (releasing the singles ‘Between the Sheets’ and ‘When Love Goes Wrong’) and their live shows are no different. Euphoric and uplifting, their headline show at The Hope & Ruin is sure to be an incredibly stirring and heartwarming event and, with fellow Brighton quartet Fond of Rudy on the bill, it’s going to be a momentous occasion.
The Dials Friday 7th December Tickets: £6 Presented by Suit Yourself Music Promotions Saint Sister Saturday 8th December Tickets: £9.20 Presented by One Inch Badge Etta Bond Sunday 9th December Tickets: £9.05 Presented by Close Cuts Swoon Tuesday 11th December Tickets: FREE Presented by TH&R The Dunwells Wednesday 12th December Tickets: £9.20 Presented by One Inch Badge
KOMEDIA Zeal & Ardor – The Haunt – Saturday 1st December 2018 Zeal & Ardor, the six-piece Basel by-wayof New York City outfit led by Manuel Gagneux, arrive at The Haunt for a special show in support of their 2018 album, Stranger Fruit. Said album is a masterful blend of the darkest Delta blues, soaring gospel, and ice-storms of blackened metal and has many of the attributes that make them such an exciting live prospect. This has all the makings of something very, very special.
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PATTERNS
Nothing Sunday 2nd December Tickets: £10.35 Presented by One Inch Badge DUDS Tuesday 4th December Tickets: £8.80 Presented by Dictionary Pudding
The old market Ryley Walker Friday 30th November Tickets: £14.30 Presented by Neat Neat Neat The Jalopeno Bop Saturday 1st December Tickets: £12.50 Presented by Jalopeno Records
Sticky Mike’s Frog Bar 808INK Tuesday 27th November Tickets: £9.20 Presented by One Inch Badge Skegss Thursday 29th November Tickets: £11.50 Presented by One Inch Badge Suburban Living Saturday 1st December Tickets: £7.48 Presented by One Inch Badge
Cosmo Sheldrake Wednesday 28th November Tickets: £11 Presented by One Inch Badge
Gently Tender Sunday 2nd December Tickets: £8.63 Presented by One Inch Badge
Molly Burch Sunday 2nd December Tickets: £8.80 Presented by Neat Neat Neat
Blood Red Shoes Tuesday 11th December Tickets: £16.88 Presented by One Inch Badge
Chris Wood Wednesday 5th December Tickets: £16 Presented by Zaza Music
The Slaughter House Band Saturday 21st December Tickets: £6 Presented by One Inch Badge
GIG LISTINGS THE HAUNT
PREVIEWS Concorde 2
Prince Fatty Wednesday 28th November Tickets: £9.48 Presented by Clean Cuts
Raleigh Ritchie Tuesday 27th November Tickets: £16 Presented by Lout Promotions
Hidden Orchestra Sunday 2nd December Tickets: £16.88 Presented by ???
Mudhoney Wednesday 28th November Tickets: £19.50 Presented by Eastside
Great Lake Swimmers Tuesday 4th December Tickets: £14 Presented by One Inch Badge
My Baby Thursday 29th November Tickets: £13 Presented by Family Ents
Sneakbo Friday 7th December Tickets: £9.20 Presented by ???
King 810 Friday 30th November Tickets: £16.50 Presented by The MJR Group
Lucero Saturday 8th December Tickets: £16.88 Presented by One Inch Badge
The Interrupters Monday 3rd December Tickets: £15 Presented by Live Nation
The Prince Albert 999 Thursday 29th November Tickets: £13.50 Holly Golightly & Her Band Friday 30th November Tickets: £14.30 Pussycat And The Dirty Johnsons Saturday 1st December Tickets: £8.80 Presented by Cheating Snake Presents Dan Stuart Sunday 2nd December Tickets: £13.50 Presented by One Inch Badge Fontaines D.C. Thursday 6th December Tickets: £9.20 Presented by One Inch Badge
BRIGHTON DOME Kate Rusby Tuesday 4th December Tickets: £27 Katie Melua Thursday 6th December Tickets: £21.50
the brunswick Dan Millson Tuesday 4th December Tickets: £5.50 Presented by Folklore Sessions
Kamaal Williams – Komedia – Wednesday 5th December 2018 The mighty bandleader Henry Wu is back in Brighton as Kamaal Williams, promoting his fantastic debut LP The Return and newest EP Nights in Paris. Fusing 70s-style jazz fusion, with an assortment of London-centric genres, plus contemporary hip-hop and electronic dance influences; the result is something truly sublime. A standout singular talent in the UK jazz circuit, this broken beat revivalist is not to be missed.
Nadine Shah Wednesday 5th December Tickets: £15 Presented by One Inch Badge Skindred Sunday 9th December Tickets: £21.50 Presented by Lout Promotions CKY Monday 10th December Tickets: £16.88 Presented by One Inch Badge
Green Door Store Anchorsong Wednesday 28th November Tickets: £11 Presented by Small Pond
Ben Ottewell – The Prince Albert – Sunday 9th December 2018 Best known as the husky-voiced one from indie darlings, Gomez, Ben Ottewell playing in The Prince Albert in the run up to Christmas promises to be one of the best presents we could hope for, right? 2017 saw the release of his third solo album, A Man Apart, and, covering themes of love, fame and politics, this show will be soulful, awe-inspiring and sure to make a few hairs stand up on end (in a good way). Support comes from Holiday Oscar.
Arkells Thursday 29th November Tickets: £11 Presented by Live Nation Thomas Truax Saturday 1st December Tickets: £9.90 Presented by One Inch Badge Bruno Major Monday 3rd December Tickets: TBC Presented by Goldenvoice Icarus Falls Tuesday 4th December Tickets: £4 OTD Presented by Hashcroft Promotions Terry & Gerry Saturday 8th December Tickets: £8.80 Presented by Spinning Chilli
K PIC E TH OF EK WE
Husky Loops – Patterns – Friday 7th December 2018 Art-rock trio Husky Loops have been impressing us for a while now. With a style that half sounds like the indie-rock of Jack White, and half like the experimental electronica of Aphex Twin and Brian Eno, they’re one of the more unique rock acts on the circuit at the moment. Now, they’re back with a new EP, Spool, as well as a headline tour that will be hitting Patterns for the rescheduled date of Friday 7th December.
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ARCHITECTS Brighton’s Architects are back. Following the tragic passing of founder Tom Searle, Jeff Hemmings sat down with bassist Ali Dean to find out how the band dealt with the loss as well as their new album Holy Hell and their upcoming show at Concorde 2
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On 20th August, 2016, Tom Searle, founding member of the Brighton-based metalcore band Architects, passed away, aged just 28. Unbeknownst to fans, he had been suffering from skin cancer the previous three years. It was a hugely cruel blow, not only for friends and family, but for a band who had started to make some serious in-roads, their previous two albums, both top 20 affairs, were the result of hard work ever since he and his twin brother Dan formed Architects back in 2004. It made national news, and even for those who had never heard of the band, nor had much interest in metal music, it was a shock. Tom was the lead guitarist, and the main songwriter, and the future for Architects was looking bleak. Dan
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needed to inform the band’s substantial and growing global fanbase, none of whom had any idea Tom had been ill. He took to Facebook, and posted an update. “You have to address it, - you have to say something”, he has said. He and his bandmates had known about Tom’s condition all along. Now it was public, the band had to deal with the inevitable questions, the desire for fans to let their feelings be known, and the future of this exceptionally tight outfit. The band soldiered on at Tom’s behest, while he had been ill, and just last February they headlined the 10,000 capacity Alexandra Palace, in North London. Next February they take it up a notch again, this time headlining the 12,000 capacity Wembley Arena. Their comeback single, ‘Doomsday’, has already been viewed nearly 20 million times on YouTube, since
its release last year. They just released their eighth album and first one post-Tom, Holy Hell, to huge acclaim. It is, with Dan taking over the lyric writing, both a tribute to Tom, and a meditation on grief. Tom’s work is also all over the album, a song here, a riff there. It was a difficult decision at first, whether to carry on, not only gigging, but making new music. The last thing the band wanted was to appear to be “feeding off the scraps of Tom’s demos”. However, Holy Hell rose to the challenge, and proved their ability beyond doubt. “The band was massively derailed at that point,” says Ali Dean, the band’s bassist. “After we lost Tom the only thing we wanted to do was to play some shows. That’s what we had been doing for years, and that is all we knew. We had a new album
(2016’s All Our Gods Have Abandoned Us), and we wanted to go out and play it. It had been written by Tom, and it was very important for us to perform his music. The initial plan was to get out there, play some shows, and see how it feels.” Josh Middleton, of the metal band Sylosis, initially filled in for Tom, and has since become a full-time member. “We had Josh fill in for Tom. Josh was someone who Tom had said, that if he wasn’t able to play any of the shows we had booked, he would be the only person he would consider to step in. We already had the nod that Josh was the guy, he’d been a friend of the band for a long time, and we all got on with him so well. He seemed the perfect person to do it, not to mention he is a phenomenal guitar player. “We did that tour, and we weren’t sure
what was going on, but Josh and Dan started working on some material, and we had a bunch of stuff that Tom had written that was demoed, some ideas, some complete songs. So, we had the starting point for moving forward. And once Dan and Josh came up with their own stuff, there was definitely a dynamic there we could work with, and allow us to move forward.” Holy Hell is the result. A brutal catharsis pervading the album as a whole, beginning with ‘Death Is Not Defeat’, a song that Dan has said is about his brother. “I just wanted to say to my brother, it’s okay that you died. You haven’t let anyone down by dying. That’s just the way it is, and I hope when I die I’ll see you.” ‘Doomsday’ is on there, too, a track that was released last year and which was re-modelled recently, as a piano reprise,
featuring the Parallax Orchestra’s James Beckwith on piano. “Dan arranged the piano for it, and a guy called Will Harvey (who was also a founding member of alt-rock band Dry The River) arranged it. He also did the strings for the album. He heads up The Parallax Orchestra.” What’s different about this record, apart from the fact that Tom isn’t fully a part of it? “There is a lot of Tom on the record. It’s something we have been very open about. We want to tell people people that Tom is still involved on this record. And, a lot of ideas are brought to the table by Josh, and him and Dan have been working together to put the songs together, and Dan has written all the lyrics for the record. Dan has really picked up what Tom was doing. He’s done an incredible job with it.
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“We’re using a lot more electronics, a lot more keys and drum pads than before. And the strings have been a massive part of this record. Which again we have done in the past, but we have explored a lot more on this record. We’ve explored more new instrumentation on this record than ever before. And I think the album is a lot more melodic as well. Again, it’s something we have experimented with a lot in the past. We know that Sam can sing, but I don’t think we have heard him sing quite like this. He’s really pushed himself.” Ali Dean has been an integral part of the band since he joined in 2006, replacing original bassist Tim Lucas. And he was instrumental in bringing vocalist Sam Carter on board in 2007, and who remains the band’s frontman. “I originally knew Architects when they were Counting The Days. I saw them at a show in Shoreham, at the Hall of the Good Shepherd. Sam and I were in a very bad metal band, with a couple of friends from Worthing, before I joined Architects. Our original singer (Matt Johnson) left, and Dan, Tom and I had seen Sam perform with a different band he was the frontman of, and we instantly recognised he had a lot of quality about him. He came to a practice, and
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he’s worked out quite well!” They haven’t done any gigs around the album, but it has just been announced that their first show off the back of the new album will be at Concorde 2, a couple of days before they head off to Russia for some dates. “The Concorde has always been a favourite of ours. We did a record release there a couple of years ago. We grew up seeing shows there, it’s a big part of the band’s history.” Architects are a very close knit band of brothers. Close enough to take the collective decision to become vegans a few years ago (“We were watching some documentaries when we were recording the Daybreaker album, and it struck a chord with all of us.”). Also close enough to survive tragedy, and to soldier on, continuing to deliver their highly melodic, and deeply personal brand of metal. Yet, still, the passing of Tom Searle is a very fresh emotional wound that needs caring for. It has been a very public affair, dealing with the death of a loved one, and close friend. “After a long time of being in a band together, people can experience a bit of distance between the group. Which is only natural - you spend enough time with any group of people, you will start
to think, ‘well, I want a bit of time away’. But, we’re very close, and if any of us is struggling we’ll look after each other. “When it comes to dealing with it publicly, we’re happy to talk about it. It’s good to talk about it, to talk about grief. For me, when I lost my dad years ago, my response to that was to keep it all in. It really wasn’t other people’s business at the time. But, talking about losing Tom is part of dealing with it. People share their stories with us, although sometimes a bit much. It’s difficult to know what to say to people. But just knowing the album, or our music, helps them get through difficult times, is good for us, and encourages us to keep doing it. We feel very grateful that we have landed on our feet, and that people have enabled us to keep going. Everyone is very excited about the new record, and looking forward to getting out there. I feel like people are really rooting for the band. We can definitely sense that.” Architects will be playing a special album launch show at Concorde 2 on Sunday 2nd December 2018. Read the full interview with Ali at Brightonsfinest.com/Architects
LIVE REVIEWS
Full reviews at Brightonsfinest.com/live Estrons – Green Door Store – Friday 16th November
Arriving in Brighton on the last leg of a victory lap around the UK following the critical acclaim for their long-awaited debut, You Say I’m Too Much, I Say You’re Not Enough, Estrons provoked absolute scenes at the Green Door Store. Like all of the best things in life, it is jagged, ragged and wild. Headlining a dream line-up alongside Lucia and Berries, it acts as the perfect gateway into the weekend. If there is any doubt as to what we are in for, the thumping one-two of ‘Lilac’ and ‘Body’ set the template for a riotous Estrons performance. The wall of sound that erupts around her from the other band members is devastating, the entire night feeling like you are barrelling over a waterfall repeatedly - crashing highs, an unending tide of moshers crashing into the stage from first minute to last. The beauty of music is that outsiders quickly find themselves surrounded by like-minded souls, and that is how it has been all tour, and certainly tonight. Clasping hands with the front row, nodding to familiar faces, sending someone to the bar for a cheeky gin and tonic, it’s a celebratory mood for singer Tali Källström and the band. They take no prisoners though, with moments of exceptional power. However, the softer moments resonate too, the beautiful ‘Cameras’ surely destined to ring around festival crowds of increasing sizes throughout 2019. Yet, it is in those moments when the storm hits that Estrons really land too. ‘Aliens’, ‘Make A Man’, ‘Drop’, these are anthems of the future happening right now. With few of their peers able to exist at the same level in the live setting, the outsiders are taking over.
Bloxx – Komedia Studio Bar – Sunday 18th November It has to be said it’s remarkably impressive that Bloxx, without an EP to their name yet, can produce a set littered with so many bangers. As such, the youthful audience were bouncing around with exhilaration and watching on with severe adulation. With an incredible rapport between both all night, there’s no doubt that they’re set for indie stardom. Quite beautifully, they’re building an unwavering fanbase one show at a time.
Courtney Barnett – Brighton Dome – Friday 16th November Barnett’s music is both melodic and muscular, adeptly mixing up the raucous with the contemplative which, while captured well on record, really comes into its own on the live stage. Her big sounding lo-fi aesthetic works on any stage, a testament to this outstanding songwriter, who gives it her all, looks like she’s having a ball, finishing with the self-deprecating ‘Pedestrian at Best’, the sold out crowd smiling and looking satisfied.
Easy Life – Green Door Store – Wednesday 14th November It was with an early showcase of second single ‘Frank’, where the Easy Life appeal became apparent. Each and every member of the thrilling quintet are expert musicians, swiftly switching instruments at ease, and subsequently creating a wholesome, world-building sound. A beautiful fusion of jazz, soul, indie and hip-hop, this was not only a unique performance, but an intensely enjoyable experience.
John Smith – Unitarian Church – Friday 16th November While John Smith’s unfussy presence is beautiful, of course, his charisma seems lacking in spades. Smith wants absolute silence to the point that the intensity to achieve this is faintly unnerving at times. There is no denying that Smith is a gifted musician and passionate about what he does but the magic and romance that he displays so eloquently on recordings doesn’t quite emerge on this occasion.
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Brighton duo Blood Red Shoes have announced the release of their fifth album, Get Tragic, out 25th January. Laura-Mary Carter and Stephen Ansell had been pretty much tied to the hip since they first formed back in 2004. However, by 2014, they were badly in need of a break, from each other, and from the cycle of touring and recording they had committed themselves to over the last decade. With their batteries now recharged, they are raring to go, as Laura-Mary tells Jeff Hemmings... Hi! What are you up to? I’m in a cafe with my dad, in London. I’m from London originally, I only moved to Brighton when Blood Red Shoes were going, and lived there for about four or five years. How did you and Stephen meet? I was the singer with a band called Lady Muck, and he was a guitarist with Cat on Form, who were based in Brighton. We had met at a gig, and said we should jam. Then, when we did hook up, I thought he would be on the guitar, but he got on the drums! ‘Oh, okay’. And he started singing. ‘Oh, okay!” I thought I’ll be the singer. We had never really spoken about it, that’s just the way it happened. It wasn’t the plan to be a band, and it wasn’t the plan to be a two-piece either. It just happened. So, he could play guitar a bit? He could play a bit, yeah. I couldn’t really play guitar. I had never owned a guitar. I only got my first guitar when we were signed. I just borrowed his for rehearsals. I had been borrowing from friends over the years to teach myself. So, after four albums and a decade of recording and touring, you decided to have a bit of a break. For me personally, I had been doing this since I was 19, throughout my entire 20s. It isn’t like normal life, I guess, though I don’t know what normal life is. But Steve and I had been stuck to the hip together, and it’s difficult to have a normal life. It just got to the point where we needed to stop, and try and do other things, to be able to write. It’s the classic thing, we’re just touring, what can I write about? What did you end up doing? I decided to go to California, I went on my own, and shut off everything, and do some other things. I knew some people out there, in LA. I wanted to write some music for other people, and ended up staying there. Steve ended up staying in Brighton. We didn’t talk for a while. I needed to find my own voice. Steve is much more outgoing than me, and so a lot of the time he would be the one talking. People thought his opinions were my opinions. Even now I find it really hard. I have different opinions, and whatever he says is not always what I believe in. I just wanted to figure it out for myself and not have Steve there! So I went to LA, and I still live there.
Did you actually split up for a while? No, we didn’t. But we knew that for us to continue we had to do this, for our personal lives really. So, tell me about the new album, Get Tragic. What’s new? We wanted to do something new with this album. We were discovering and thinking about how can we change the sound, what do we want to do? We did a lot of experimenting. Steve came out to LA, and we had this garage where we wrote most of the album in, just experimenting. Where did you make the album? We made it in LA. One studio in downtown, in Seymour Studios. The rest we made with Chris Thorne from Blind Lemon, who has a cool studio at the back of his house, called Fire Sound. And we did some bits in Brighton, like singing, that we didn’t get to finish, at Brighton Electric, where we have gone since day one. Where did the name of the album, Get Tragic, come from? That name came ages ago. I don’t even know who said it, but we didn’t have any other contenders for the name. I think it’s because we did the classic thing: the band doesn’t talk to each other for a while, one of them goes to America. It became a saying, that we would say all the time. It became an in-joke. It seemed fitting. So, what is different about this album? Most of our albums, we would just jam in a room. Usually, I would write a guitar line. But, we would do a lot of this, and not jamming. We were manipulating stuff via Pro-Tools, cutting things up, changing the structure. It was a learning process. There was a lot more instruments on the album, which we had to learn. And it was like a full band, a totally different thing. I’m so used to having to write a guitar line and fill the sound, and play in a particular way. With this, I didn’t have to do that. It was like, I had to figure out a bassline that would fit in. It was a long process. Sticky Mike’s Frog Bar is closing down, and you’ll be doing a special show there on 11th December... We played there once before, supporting Hot Snakes, who are my favourite band. They were coming over, and we said we would play. I don’t think it was announced. It was really fun. And, I’ve been
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We did the classic thing: the band doesn’t talk to each other for a while, one of them goes to America. (Get Tragic) became an in-joke. It seemed fitting. to some cool shows there. Whenever The Great Escape was on I would go there. It’s a shame to see it go. It is such a good place. It’s going to be a riot. We’ve decided we are going to play just singles we’ve released over our entire career, and playing some of the new singles, too. Singles night! So, what else has Steve been up to recently? He does a lot of recording of bands in Brighton, and doing some sound. He’s really good at producing, that’s his thing. And he plays the more business-y role in Jazz Life Records. I’m like the difficult songwriter, and creative one. He’s also creative, but he’s also business-y. We’re putting our album out on our label. We’re taking a bit of a break finding new artists, we’ve got a lot on at the moment. But, we’ll look for some new people to put some stuff out with. It’s still a learning process. We’re just doing singles, we’re not quite ready to do an album for someone else. It’s been really cool, helping other bands out. When we first started we were releasing seven inch singles on independent labels, and that really helped us. That’s the idea behind our label, giving people a helping hand. We do everything. People don’t realise that. We literally do everything. It’s actually a lot of work. We don’t have any management or anything. We’ve been burnt over the years. To read the full interview with Laura-Mary Carter visit: Brightonsfinest.com/BloodRedShoes
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ALBUM REVIEWS
Full reviews at Brightonsfinest.com/albums
The Good, The Bad & The Queen Merrie Land Out: 16th November 2018 After an incredible 18 months, Damon Albarn has turned his attentions to the UK with a brand-new The Good The Bad & The Queen record. A return after 11 years, the supergroup, made up of Albarn alongside The Clash’s Paul Simonon (bass), The Verve’s Simon Tong (guitar) and afrobeat legend Tony Allen (drums), the band have produced an almost whistle stop tour damning both modern Britain and, of course, Brexit. Despite the star studded backing band, however, this does feel like another solo project from Albarn. Capturing some of the most iconic moments of his career; his witty take on Britain in Parklife, his iconic performance at Banksy’s fairground park ‘Dismaland’, and his drunken rant at this year’s BRIT Awards, Albarn is the man we need right now. With both his anger and love for our Isles steeped in his beautiful lyrics, Merrie Land is up there with Demon Days as Albarn’s finest work of the 21st century.
Anderson .Paak Oxnard Out: 16th November 2018 Since coming to prominence in 2015 with the excellent Venice, and its genius follow-up Malibu, Anderson .Paak has been celebrated as somewhat of a savour of the sun-tinged r&b genre. His latest release, Oxnard, sees the drumming-producing-singing maestro make an almost completely West Coast hip-hop influenced release - and it’s an absolute belter. This isn’t just a throwback record, however, which is made clear towards the end of the record with appearances from Pusha T, J. Cole, Snoop Dogg, Kendrick Lamar and Dr Dre. As far as pacing a 16-track album, this is of the calibre of To Pimp a Butterfly. Yet, Oxnard is not only a celebration of West Coast hip-hop and a nod to some of .Paak’s favourite records, but it’s also a modernist spin on a genre that has, sadly, lost prominence in the mainstream. Luxurious and compelling, it’s a broader scope here for .Paak, but one he ultimately revels in.
The Smashing Pumpkins Shiny and Oh So Bright, Vol. 1 / LP: No Past. No Future. No Sun. Out: 16th November 2018 The Smashing Pumpkins’ have returned with their new release, featuring almost the original line-up, except D’arcy Wretzky. The first thing that hits me as soon as the vocals come in on the first track is this is not the same dreamy mix as the original records. I used to love how Billy’s vocals would hover just above the rest of the music, drifting in and out of being the dominant sound. I miss the droney vocals where it’s more like an instrument, on the new album it’s much more like one of those remastered classics where they take away the dynamics, turn up the vocals and over compress everything. So, is it a classic Pumpkins album? While I’d say it’s maybe not 100% there, it’s only a few percent off, and is the closest they’ve come for years. If you liked the first three quarters of their albums then there’s a good chance you will grow to love this one too and I’m sure they will sound great live alongside the older tracks.
Ed Harcourt Beyond The End Out: 23rd November 2018 Ed Harcourt has always had a continuous output of releases since his Mercury-nominated debut Here Be Monsters, with six studio albums and two EPs to his name this century. None of his back catalogue is quite as adventurous as this new record, however, with Beyond The End a purely instrumental record which adds another string to his vast bow. Completely redundant of vocals, each of the 12 tracks are deeply emotional and piano-led. Perfect in isolation or as a soundtrack to a pivotal moment in the listener’s life, the LP is mesmerising yet repetitive in equal measure, whilst adding to the sonic enigma of Harcourt. Highlights include ‘Wolves Change Rivers’ and the brilliantly named ‘Whiskey Held My Sleep To Ransom’. One criticism would be that it is a little one-paced, but nevertheless, it is still the perfect accompaniment for a meditative moment as it carries the listener through a quiet storm.
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THE DAMNED One of the original quartet of punk bands who set the world of music alight in 1976, The Damned are the great survivors. 42 years after their formation, original members Dave Vanian, Captain Sensible and co, are about to venture out on the road once again. Dave Vanian took some time out to chat with Jeff Hemmings... Why did you decide to make a new album, ten years after the last one? It was a case of taking stock, making a new album, and actually doing something. We were blissfully going around, playing the old numbers for a while, and that only goes in one direction. It was important, to me certainly, to make an album that was the best we could make with what we could do. Hopefully we achieved that. There’s some good stuff on there. I didn’t want the band to fizzle away and not have one last great album. The new album is very DIY, isn’t it? Yeah, it was made possible by working with Pledge, and people put up their money to make our album. It was very fast the reaction. People wanted us to do the album.
I think that’s a very punk-rock way of doing things. You are doing it yourself basically, cutting out everyone in-between and getting the thing made for the people who want it. Who’s coming on tour with you? Monty Oxymoron will be here again. He’s a Brighton resident. Paul Gray will be doing this tour, on bass, and Pinch on drums, who has been with us for 20-odd years. He’s a new boy! How is your tour discipline? I’ve always had the luxury of being fairly disciplined. We’ve all had our moments, but they don’t happen as often! To read the full Q&A visit Brightonsfinest.com/TheDamned
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