AUGUST 2015 ISSUE 29 // FREE
HEALTH TITUS ANDRONICUS ADVANCE BASE | GEORGIA | YAK DESTROYER | VISIONS FESTIVAL
METROPOLIS MUSIC PRESENTS
HEARTLESS BASTARDS
METROPOLIS MUSIC PRESENTS
THURSDAY 13 AUGUST
THE ISLINGTON
GIGSANDTOURS.COM / STARGREEN.COM f/manandtheecho manandtheecho.com
LUSTS PLUS GUESTS
TUESDAY 01 SEPTEMBER
THE BORDERLINE
GIGSANDTOURS.COM TICKETWEB.CO.UK TICKETMASTER.CO.UK THEHEARTLESSBASTARDS.COM A METROPOLIS MUSIC PRESENTATION
PROM
THURSDAY 3RD SEPTEMBER
SEBRIGHT ARMS GIGSANDTOURS.COM SONGKICK.COM STARGREEN.COM C/LUSTSMUSIC
A METROPOLIS MUSIC PRESENTATION BY ARRANGEMENT WITH X-RAY
TUE 22 SEPTEMBER | OSLO
GIGSANDTOURS.COM | ALT-TICKETS | STARGREEN.COM
t/GWENNO t/H-HAWKLINE A METROPOLIS MUSIC PRESENTATION BY ARRANGEMENT WITH ITB
PLUS GUESTS
THURSDAY 29 OCTOBER
TUE 29 SEPTEMBER ) OSLO
ELECTRIC BRIXTON GIGSANDTOURS.COM | TICKETMASTER.CO.UK
A METROPOLIS MUSIC PRESENTATION BY ARRANGEMENT WITH PITCH & SMITH
A METROPOLIS MUSIC PRESENTATION BY ARRANGEMENT WITH CAA
GIGSANDTOURS.COM ALT-TICKETS.CO.UK STARGREEN.COM DENGUEFEVERMUSIC.COM
NEW ALBUM ‘CALIFORNIA NIGHTS’ OUT NOW BESTCOAST.NET
P R I O R I T Y B O O K I N GS
WELCOME
preview and stage times: pages 6-9
So, traditionally August is a bit of a quieter month for music; everyone packing up for festivals and holidays, but this year? This year August is huge, from a plethora of amazing releases, to tons of exciting events, there’s loads to dig into. You might have noticed but we’re a little over-excited for Visions this year, and you can get planning your day in Hackney as we’ve got the times and venues for all the acts. See you there.
This month we have a new column, too (Into The Night, pg 67). With venues in London, and across the country, closing down in droves, we’re letting the newly formed NTIA take over a page of the magazine to help us rally together. We want to help protect the clubs, venues and bars that we love and make it easier to raise awareness of at-risk spaces, so pay attention, join in and let us know what you think.
STAFF ON REPEAT the tracks we can’t stop listening to this month JESS: CHRISTIAN FITNESS - THE HARDER IT HITS DAVE: DIET CIG - SLEEP TALK LOKI: MAJOR LEAGUES - SOMEONE SOMETIME DANNY: JULIA HOLTER - FEEL YOU GEMMA: OUGHT - BEAUTIFUL BLUE SKY DIET CIG
JACK: CARLY RAE JEPSEN - RUN AWAY WITH ME LiS 03
Goldenvoice Presents
13.08.15 NOTTING HILL ARTS CLUB 14.08.15 BRIXTON JAMM
ROSEAU
02.10.15 FORUM
THE STRYPES 02.10.15 KOKO
MEADOWLARK 06.10.15 THE LEXINGTON
19.08.15 SERVANT JAZZ QUARTERS
GENGAHR
PIXX
EDITORS
25.08.15 SERVANT JAZZ QUARTERS
WAND 09.09.15 ELECTROWERKZ
SHURA
+ CLEAN CUT KID & ROSEAU 17.09.15 BRIXTON ELECTRIC
FLORENCE + THE MACHINE + THE STAVES
21.09.15 ALEXANDRA PALACE 22.09.15 ALEXANDRA PALACE 24.09.15 ALEXANDRA PALACE 25.09.15 ALEXANDRA PALACE
WOLF ALICE
+ DRENGE & MADE VIOLENT 26.09.15 BRIXTON 02 ACADEMY
08.10.15 SCALA 13.10.15 EVENTIM APOLLO
ALL WE ARE 14.10.15 SCALA
JP COOPER 15.10.15 KOKO
ANNE-MARIE 21.10.15 SOLD OUT OSLO HACKNEY
SPEEDY ORTIZ 21.10.15 DOME TUFNELL PARK
SWIM DEEP
+ THE MAGIC GANG 22.10.15 ROUNDHOUSE
MARIBOU STATE 2 7.1 0.1 5 VILLAGE UNDERGROUND
YEARS & YEARS + SHAMIR
27.10.15 SOLD OUT BRIXTON O2 ACADEMY 28.10.15 BRIXTON O2 ACADEMY
HEALTH 28.10.15 HEAVEN
METZ
+ PROTOMARTYR & SPRING KING 01.11.15 SCALA
BROKEN HANDS 03.11.15 OSLO HACKNEY
VAULTS 11.11.15 KOKO
LUCY ROSE 18.11.15 FORUM
ALABAMA SHAKES
18.11.15 SOLD OUT BRIXTON O2 ACADEMY 19.11.15 BRIXTON O2 ACADEMY
PUBLIC SERVICE BROADCASTING 29.11.15 BRIXTON 02 ACADEMY
JASON ISBELL
+ JOHN MORELAND 22.01.16 O2 SHEPHERD’S BUSH EMPIRE
goldenvoiceuk
DORNIK
SLEAFORD MODS
goldenvoice.co.uk
10.08.15 SOLD OUT ELECTROWERKZ
JUL – JAN
HUNTAR
CONTENTS 06. VISIONS FESTIVAL PREVIEW
LONDON IN STEREO IS:
12. ON THE STEREO
Editor: Jess Partridge jess@londoninstereo.co.uk
17. NEW SOUNDS
Deputy Editor: Dave Rowlinson dave@londoninstereo.co.uk
19. TALES FROM THE CITY 22. TITUS ANDRONICUS
Sub-Editor/Sales: Loki Lillistone loki@londoninstereo.co.uk Staff Writers: Danny Wright Gemma Samways Jack Urwin
26. HEALTH 32. ALBUM REVIEWS 40. EVENTS
Photography: HEALTH cover story: Tim Boddy (timboddy.com)
45. GIGS OF THE MONTH 50. LIVE LISTINGS 67. INTO THE NIGHT 69. IN LONDON 70. LIVE REVIEWS 73. PENNY FOR YOUR THOUGHTS
Contributors: Thomas Hannan, Hayley Scott, Tim Hakki, Geoff Cowart, Lee Wakefield, Lucie Grace, Amy Gravelle, Tom Walters, Francesca Baker, Nick Mee, Henry Wilkinson, Grant Bailey, Woodrow Whyte, Alan D Miller.
HEALTH
londoninstereo.com
@LondonInStereo
/londoninstereo
/london-in-stereo
londoninstereo LiS 05
FESTIVAL PREVIEW LOYLE CARNER (Brewhouse 5pm)
We’ve been taken with 20-year-old London MC Loyle Carner since he released his debut EP A Little Late. His smoky, croaky vocal taking the lead against a backdrop of stripped-back beats, he pulls at heartstrings with stories of sadness, loss and family. Having worked with the likes of Kate Tempest and Maverick Sabre, we reckon he’ll be quite the Visions highlight, especially after honing his talent on the road with Joey Bada$$, Atmosphere and more. Jess Partridge
JENS LEKMAN (St John Church 6.15pm)
There’s a bit, during Jens Lekman shows, where ‘The Opposite of Hallelujah’ suddenly halts and Chairman Of The Board’s ‘Give Me Just A Little More Time’ (from which ‘...Hallelujah’ borrows) blasts out, and Jens does the happiest dance and for a minute the world is the most joyful place imaginable. Then he’ll play another song and all that joy is still there because a Jens Lekman live show is, without fail, the most life-affirming experience us humans can get. Dave Rowlinson
HINDS (Oval Space 6.00pm)
Though once I’d have deemed such a statement blasphemous, The Antlers are not the most exciting band on this billing named for the Cervidae family. Enter: Madrid’s finest export since the Iglesias dynasty, Hinds, fka Deers, aka the most gloriously loose ‘n’ lo-fi garage rock outfit we’ve heard in forever. Summertime day-drinking with your friends is the indisputable modus operandi of Visions Festival, and god dammit if Hinds don’t epitomise this most simple of pleasures completely. Jack Urwin
photo: Lucy Johnston
ANDY STOTT
(Brewhouse 10.30pm)
Screw sunshine and optimism: top of my Visions to-do list is having my auditory cortex pummelled by the singed, snarling productions of Modern Love label boss Andy Stott. If you’ve heard last year’s full-length Faith In Strangers, you’ll doubtless be doing the same. An ominous, monochrome masterpiece – drawing on techno, grime, ambient and bass music – it cemented Stott’s reputation once and for all as one of the UK’s most inventive and uncompromising producers. Gemma Samways
We guess someone heard a voice; standing in London Fields (of dreams); “If you build it, they will come...” boomed out, and they did exactly that, they built Visions. And we go. We always go, everyone does. And every year we all leave saying “Best.day.ever.” Here we take a look at a handful of the acts we’re most excited about seeing, and speak to probably the most important people there; the providers of pizza and beer.
GIRL BAND
(Laundry 4.30pm)
You thought you couldn’t get any more excited about seeing Girl Band. The 657th listen to ‘Lawman’ had already torn down your insides. Their snarling, abrasive and exhilarating as hell songs had blasted a special place in your brain. But now things are about to go stratospheric. Their debut album is nearly with us, it contains nine completely new songs ready to rip you apart in a brand new way. And one of those songs is, fantastically, called ‘Fucking Butter’. Danny Wright
photo: Sebastian Nevols
YARD SALE PIZZA
THE FIVE POINTS BREWING COMPANY
LiS: Have you been to Visions before? Strangely we haven’t, but always heard good things and very much looking forward to this year...expecting hoards of pizza-hungry, music-savvy hipsters, punks, shoegazers & sports goths wobbling around Hackney sipping on gin’n’juice. It’s going to be a hoot! LiS: What’s the Yard Sale plan for the day? Well... unlike most of our peers we have yet to go mobile so we’ve picked up a beautiful wood-fired oven from the south coast, hauled it to London and will be firing out a few Yard Sale favourites including the ‘Holy Pepperoni’, ‘TSB’ and our Margherita in a 10" grab-and-go size so you don’t miss that next show. It’s going to be fun as we haven’t cooked outdoors like this since we started throwing pizza parties in Homerton. LiS: HO99O9 are an explosion of stage-diving, pandemonium and energy. What pizza toppings might suit them? They tore it up at Patterns in Brighton for TGE a little while back, not seen anything like that for a while. We have some of the Rib Man’s famous ‘HOLY FUCK’ hot sauce for dipping your Holy Pepperoni - that should do the trick!
LiS: What are Five Points up to at Visions? The Five Points Brewing Company is teaming up with the fantastic pub The Adam & Eve to bring great beer and food to Visions at The Craft Beer & Food Festival. You’ll find beer from us as well as other great London brewers on draught, plus an amazing assembly of street food traders. LiS: Which acts are you looking forward to? It would be a shorter list if we listed who we *wouldn’t* want to see at Visions this year! Going to try and catch Camera Obscura, The Antlers, Ceremony, Peaking Lights, Hinds and Jens Lekman for sure. We would also really recommend seeing Torn Hawk, he is awesome! LiS: Can you please match a beer to: a) A ’Nduja covered Yard Sale pizza. b) The coruscating din of Girl Band. For ’Nduja covered Yard Sale pizzas, go for the Hook Island Red. It’s ace with sausage, so it should be a no-brainer with ’Nduja. For Girl Band; the Five Points Pale would be a great pick. The beer’s resinous and zippy flavour can cut through the guttural guitar work of "De Bom Bom" and it’s got a similar bite.
@YardSalePizza // yardsalepizza.com
@FivePointsBrew // fivepointsbrewing.co.uk
Visions takes place in various Hackney venues, August 8th. visionsfestival.com // @VisionsFestival
17:00—17:30 LOYLE CARNER
16:00—16:30 PIX
BREWHOUSE
ST JOHN CHURCH
17:30—18:15 MERCHANDISE
16:30—17:00 GIRL BAND
15:30—16:00 OSCAR
LAUNDRY
16:30—17:15 JJ
15:00—15:30 JONES
OVAL SPACE
FROM 1PM: VISIONS CRAFT BEER AND FOOD FESTIVAL, VISIONS MARKET, NETIL HOUSE ROOFTOP ATTRACTIONS & MORE!
SATURDAY 8TH AUGUST
17:45—18:15 THEO VERNEY
16:45—17:15 THE BIG MOON
15:45—16:15 CLAW MARKS
MOTH CLUB
22:30—23:30 ANDY STOTT
21:00—21:45 PEAKING LIGHTS
19:30—20:15 LUKE ABBOTT
18:00—18:45 TORN HAWK
22:00—23:00 FAT WHITE FAMILY
20:30—21:15 TOY
19:00—19:45 CEREMONY
www.visionsfestival.com
21:45—23:00 CAMERA OBSCURA
20:00—21:00 THE ANTLERS
18:15—19:15 JENS LEKMAN
22:30—23:30 HOLY FUCK
21:00—21:45 SHAMIR
19:30—20:15 SON LUX
18:00—18:45 HINDS
21:45—22:30 HO99O9
20:15—21:00 BLANCK MASS
18:45—19:30 GAZELLE TWIN
— T HU 0 6 AU G —
— T H U 0 8 O CT —
THE AVENGERS
WILL & THE PEOPLE
— SAT 0 8 AU G —
— MO N 1 2 O CT —
SPECIAL GUESTS
MORE LIKE TREES
HERMITAGE GREEN
PIERCE BROTHERS
CC SMUGGLERS
— SAT 1 5 AU G
[18+]
DELUXE
SPECIAL GUESTS
—
— MO N 0 2 NOV —
SPECIAL GUESTS
— F RI 2 1 AU G —
HOT 8 BRASS BAND
SPECIAL GUESTS
HYPOCHRISTMUTREEFUZZ
YOUNGBLOOD BRASS BAND — S U N 30 AU G
— T H U 0 5 NOV —
HIGH HI + MELTING TIME
—
[18+]
— W ED 1 8 NOV —
SHOREBITCH: NOTTING HILL CARNIVAL AFTER PARTY
LEGENDARY SHACK SHAKERS
— SAT 1 9 S E P —
RACHAEL Y AMAGATA
— EVERY FI RST SATURDAY —
SPECIAL GUESTS
A MONTHLY BRITPOP PARTY
— WED 23 SEP —
FIGHT LIKE APES BRAWLERS + YR FRIENDS
— F RI 25 S E P
CUD
[18+]
—
SPECIAL GUESTS + CLUB.THE.MAMMOTH. DJS
— EVERY LAST SATURDAY —
— T U E 0 6 O CT —
60S SOUL & ROCK N ROLL
BALL PARK MUSIC FO LLOW US THEGARAGEHIGHBURY
THEGARAGEHQ
THEGARAGELONDON
THEGARAGEHIGHBURY.COM 20-22 Highbury Corner, London, N5 1RD, United Kingdom. Tickets available from ticketweb.co.uk or 0844 847 2424 (24hr)
RYN WEAVER THE DOME MON 17 AUG
MIKKY EKKO
BOB MOSES
WILL JOSEPH COOK
AURORA
TOVE STYRKE
THE LEXINGTON THU 20 AUG
OSLO THU 17 SEP
HOXTON BAR & KITCHEN FRI 18 SEP
GOD DAMN
ODESZA
SUNDARA KARMA
RADKEY
JOHN GRANT
SAINT RAYMOND
OSLO THU 29 OCT
O 2 SHEPHERD’S BUSH EMPIRE TUE 20 OCT
ARKELLS
THE DOME THU 05 NOV
ELECTROWERKZ WED 11 NOV
SCALA TUE 01 DEC SCALA WED 02 DEC SCALA THU 03 DEC
EVENTIM APOLLO THU 12 NOV
@LNSource
SCALA WED 30 SEP
YO LA TENGO
KOKO WED 14 OCT
BOSTON MUSIC ROOMS WED 07 OCT
THE LEXINGTON MON 14 SEP
LIANNE LA HAVAS BRIXTON O 2 ACADEMY MON 14 DEC
Tic ke t s | E xc lu sive s | Win | live n ati on.co. uk
GALLANT
MAS YSA
R&B’s new sound is everywhere, but few acts bring the kind of vocal prowess that Gallant does. On ‘Weight in Gold’, the L.A. crooner swings between swoon-inducing and jaw-dropping with ease. What starts out as a smooth, soulful piece simply bursts into a chorus of cascading synths that dazzle more and more with each reiteration. It’s unknown when his Mind of a Genius debut will drop, but after hearing this radiant track, we can’t wait.
As soon as Thomas Arsenault opens his pipes on the chorus of ‘Margarita’, you’ll see why we think Mas Ysa is one of the most exciting electro-pop acts in recent memory. It’s like it’s impossible for him to sing without the utmost emotional yield, and it’s absolutely gripping. Combine that with this song’s warm Afrobeat as it toys with buoyant synths, empty spaces, and a few surprises, and you get one truly stirring, explosive track.
WEIGHT IN GOLD
MARGARITA
GALLANT
WHITE REAPER PILLS Modern rock brings to mind snarls and fuzz, and while White Reaper has their share of those, what really stands out is their ear for pop. Their tracks are loaded with hooks, and the beachy vibes rolling through ‘Pills’ are just a taste of the freshness these Kentucky boys bring – every song on their new LP is equally fun.
PALEHOUND MOLLY Boston's long housed some of indie rock's brightest, and Palehound is poised to be the city's next breakout. ‘Molly’ is the lead single from Ellen Kempner's debut LP under the moniker, a great entry into her knotty, guitar-centric sound. Just listen to all the ways she handles those strings, and you'll obey when she sings, "You better stick with me".
WHITE REAPER PALEHOUND
THE WALTERS Every now and then, something pops up in your inbox and actually stays in heavy rotation in your down time, like Chicago's The Walters. If the Beach Boys were an indie band with a sense of humor, you'd have these guys. ‘Hunk Beach’ is a summer jam of blue-skied harmonies and surf riffs, all wrapped in a chilled-out party mentality. all words: Ben Kaye consequenceofsound.net @coslive // facebook.com/coslive
Photo: Chad Kamenshine
HUNK BEACH
LiS 13
D SOLUT O
MORE INFO & ADVANCE TICKETS WWW.BIRDONTHEWIRE.NET
COMMUNION PRESENTS WED 5 AUGUST THE ISLINGTON
WED 14 OCTOBER SERVANT JAZZ QUARTERS
THU 13 AUGUST ST GILES-IN-THE-FIELDS
MON 19 OCTOBER VILLAGE UNDERGROUND
THE MYNABIRDS PETER BRODERICK
FRANCES
THU 20 AUGUST SECRET LOCATION, W10
NATHANIEL RATELIFF & THE NIGHT SWEATS
WED 2 SEPTEMBER THE LEXINGTON
CIARAN LAVERY
SUN 6 SEPTEMBER NOTTING HILL ARTS CLUB
HALF MOON RUN
HAUS
AERO FLYNN
COMMUNION CLUBNIGHT
TUE 15 SEPTEMBER ELECTROWERKZ
TORA
MON 21 SEPTEMBER OSLO
WED 21 OCTOBER THE ISLINGTON MON 26 OCTOBER KOKO
TUE 27 OCTOBER ROUNDHOUSE
BEAR’S DEN TUE 27 OCTOBER KOKO
SUSANNE SUNDFØR TUE 27 OCTOBER OSLO
HALF MOON RUN
ALEX VARGAS
WED 23 SEPTEMBER SLAUGHTERED LAMB
WED 28 OCTOBER THE ISLINGTON
MON 28 & TUE 29 SEP O2 SHEPHERD’S BUSH EMPIRE
WED 28 OCTOBER HOXTON BAR & KITCHEN
DAN OWEN
LIAM FROST
LEON BRIDGES
NEW DESERT BLUES
WED 30 SEP, THU 1 & FRI 2 OCT BRIXTON O2 ACADEMY
THU 29 OCTOBER SERVANT JAZZ QUARTERS
THU 1 OCTOBER UNION CHAPEL
MON 2 NOVEMBER KOKO
JAMES BAY
STARLING
NADINE SHAH
AMBER RUN
THU 1 OCTOBER THE ISLINGTON
WED 4 NOVEMBER O2 SHEPHERD’S BUSH EMPIRE
TUE 6 & THU 8 OCTOBER BARFLY
MON 9 NOVEMBER ROUNDHOUSE
THU 8 OCTOBER O2 SHEPHERD’S BUSH EMPIRE
WED 11 NOVEMBER ISLINGTON ASSEMBLY HALL
FRI 9 OCTOBER KOKO
FRI 13 NOVEMBER ST PANCRAS OLD CHURCH
AIDAN KNIGHT KIMBERLY ANNE RAE MORRIS RHODES
WED 14 OCTOBER OSLO
FYFE
JACK GARRATT THE STAVES
PATRICK WATSON
JUNIUS MEYVANT TUE 1 DECEMBER BUSH HALL
CHATHAM COUNTY LINE
T IC KETS FR O M W W W.C O M M U N I O N M U S I C .C O.U K
Upcoming London Shows UPCOMING LONDON SHOWS
Upcoming London Shows www.rockfeedbackconcerts.com www.rockfeedbackconcerts.com www.rockfeedbackconcerts.com
Presents COSMO
ARTHUR JACCO VISIONS PISSED RESTORATIONS SHELDRAKE LE1F COSMO RUSSELL Lexington XOYO The Nest GARDENER FESTIVAL JEANS RESTORATIONS INSTRUMENTALS LE1F SHELDRAKE Shoreditch
Thursday 2nd July
XOYO Shoreditch London Fields
VISIONS
Thursday 2nd July Saturday 8 Aug FESTIVAL Venues across London Fields Saturday 8th Sep
Dalston
Wednesday 8th July
Islington
Thursday 18th July
The Nest Dalston 100 Club LexingtonDingwalls Islington Oval Space Camden ARTHURWednesday RUSSELL PISSED 8th July Thursday July 3 Sep Monday 10 Aug JEANS Tues 18 & Wed 19 Aug 18th Thursday INSTRUMENTALS Oval Space
1OO Club Soho
Monday 10th September
Thu 18 & Fri 19 Aug
UNKNOWN VISIONS ARTHUR RUSSELL PISSED MORTAL JACCO FESTIVAL INSTRUMENTALS JEANS ALV VAYS CAYUCAS GIRLPOOL ORCHESTRA ALVVAYS CAYUCAS GARDNER
Venues across Oval Space Camden London Shepherds Bush Empire Arms Bethnal Green 1OO Club Soho 02 Shepherds Bush 02Dingwalls Shepherds Bush O2 Sebright Arms Sebright Scala Kings Cross Friday 11th September Thursday 3rd September Monday 14th September Monday 10th September Thu 18 & FriEmpire 19 Aug Wed 23 Sep Fields Saturday 8th Sep Empire Fri 11 Sep Monday 14 Sep Tuesday 15 Sep
GIRLPOOL JACCO
UNKNOWN MORTAL ORCHESTRA
CHASTITY BELT
S OL
BORN THE SOF T FATHER O U TD Scala The Victoria ALVVAYS GARDNER JOHN MIST Y BOXED IN RUFFIANS MOON CAYUCAS Kings Cross
Tuesday 15th September
O2 Shepherds Bush Empire Dalston Wednesday 23rd Sep Thursday 15th October
Dingwalls Camden O2 Shepherds Bush Empire Sebright Arms Bethnal Green FATHER SONGHOY TITUS 100 Club3rd Soho XOYO Shoreditch 02September Shepherds Bush Electrowerkz September Thursday September Monday 14th JOHN MISTY BLUESFriday 11th ANDRONICUS Wednesday 7 Oct
Thursday 15 Oct
O2 Shepherds Bush Empire Koko Camden Wed 28th & Thur 29th Oct Wednesday 4th November
Weds 21 Oct
Village Underground
Empire 28 & 29 Oct
Thursday 5th November UNKNOWN CHASTITY THREE TRAPPED MORTAL WAXAHOLLY MARIKA NATALIE TIGERS + GIRLPOOL ORCHESTRA BELT SONGHOY THE ORB HACKMAN PRASS
HATCHEE Union Chapel Scala Kings Cross
LITURGY
HERNDON
BLUES
Islington Oval SpaceO2 Hackney KokoBush Camden Empire Shepherds The Victoria Dalston Friday 6th November Friday 13th November Monday 30th November Wednesday 23rd Oval Sep SpaceThursday Tuesday September October Tufnell Park Hackney 15th The Dome KOKO Camden Islington15th Assembly Get tickets and full info at: www.rockfeedbackconcerts.com Hall Thurs 29 Oct Friday 30 Oct Wednesday 4 Nov Wednesday 4 Nov
FATHER SONGHOY TITUS ZOL A MICACHU & TITUS A JOHN MISTY BLUES MARIK ANDRONICUS ANDRONICUS JESUS THE SHAPES HACKMAN Village Underground O2 Shepherds Bush Empire Koko Camden
Wed 28th & Thur 29th Oct Wednesday 4th November Thursday 5th November Islington Assembly Oval Space Hackney Village Underground Union Chapel Hall Sat 7 Nov Thursday 5 Nov Thursday 5 Nov Friday 6 Nov
MARIKA
LOSTHE ORB ALEL A MEAT HACKMAN Union Chapel IslingtonCAMPESINOS Oval Space Hackney DIANE WAVE
NATALIE NATALIE PRASS Koko Camden PRASS
Friday 6th November Friday 13th November Monday 30th November KOKO Camden Bush Hall Scala Kings Cross The Victoria Monday 30 Nov Wednesday 11 Nov Sunday 22 Nov Thursday 26 Nov Get tickets and full info at: www.rockfeedbackconcerts.com
Get tickets and full info at www.rockfeedbackconcer ts.com
NEW SOUNDS by Gemma Samways
YAK When Oliver Burslem first moved to London from Wolverhampton, he made his living hawking unconventional antiques, ranging from German maps and model ships to vintage dildos. Thanks to the encouragement of Jason Pierce and Thurston Moore, he’s now pedalling his own range of macabre musical curios with Yak. Take the band’s debut single: recorded in the basement of a furniture shop in East London, produced by Spiritualized’s John Coxon, and released in February by Fat Possum, ‘Hungry Heart’ begins with distorted cackling, which is then immediately steamrollered by the ferocity of rhythm section Andy Jones and Elliot Rawson. Squalling guitar cuts through the speeding bassline, and over the thick fog of feedback comes Burslem’s ominous drawl, intoning, “This hungry heart never really knows when to stop”. It sounds like The Sufaris and Toy jamming with The Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster.
The trio’s debut EP, Plastic People, followed in May, proffering swaggering, garage-rock on the title-track and sprawling psychedelia on ‘Distortion’. Best of all was ‘Smile’, its smudged textures of Cramps-style tremolo guitar providing an eerie bed for Burslem’s charismatic vocal, which begins as a doomy, Nick Cave-esque baritone before mutating into a strangulated bellow. Like all the best rock‘n’roll bands, Yak straddle the boundary between complete control and utter chaos, and plunder a set of irreproachable influences while simultaneously breaking new ground. Seriously, who wouldn’t want to listen to that? LISTEN TO: Smile ONLINE: @yak_band // facebook.com/yakyakyak LIVE: Yak support Peace at O2 Academy Brixton, October 9th. LiS 17
TALES FROM THE CITY
by Advance Base By the very definition of what I do for a living, I’m a tourist, forever arriving in and leaving any city with enough lonely young people with an acquired taste for dour, home-recorded, electronic pop music to justify a venue booking. London, being an exceptionally difficult city to enter or exit, had always left me with a sense of dread. It’s an exhausting and complicated city for a jetlagged foreigner travelling alone with heavy flight cases full of electronic musical instruments. My travel anxiety would surface in my live performances, turning me into a quieter and more jittery version of myself. I’d done two or three solo tours of the UK before I could afford to bring a full band over. It was a thrill to be able to travel and make music with my friends. I didn’t have my usual travel anxiety, and our live shows had a looseness and confidence that felt great to me. Our London show fell at the end of the tour, and it felt like a party.
We all had friends in the audience who we were excited to perform for. I drank a beer onstage and told jokes. I took off my shoes and danced to the fast songs. It was a lot of fun. After the show, the promoter told me that halfway through our set, someone in the audience had gone to the box office and demanded their money back, insisting that I was too drunk too perform. Mind you, I’d only had the one beer, but I’m guessing that the angry audience member wasn’t used to seeing me enjoy myself onstage. Or, maybe we sounded terrible that night and I just hadn’t noticed. The accusation of drunkenness made me feel terribly unprofessional, though, and I haven’t taken a beer onstage since. Owen Ashworth Advance Base release Nephew in the Wild August 21st via Tomlab. @AdvanceBase // advancebasemusic.com
LiS 19
HOXTON SQUARE BAR AND KITCHEN GIG LISTINGS
FRI 07 AUG 7PM 18+ £17.50
SAT 29 AUG 7PM 18+ £10
DON BROCO SPECIAL GUESTS
THU 13 AUG 8PM 18+ FREE ENTRY
CROOX CLAUDIA KANE
ARRIVAL FEAT. BOOGIE WED 02 SEP 8PM 18+ £9.50
RYLEY WALKER SPECIAL GUESTS
SUN 16 AUG 2PM 18+ £5
FRI 04 SEP 7PM 18+ £10
CLIT ROCK 7 ALL DAYER C.A.R. + DREAM WIFE
THE DEAR HUNTER SPECIAL GUESTS
+ KRISTA PAPISTA + ECHO BOOM GENERATION + GHOST CAR THU 20 AUG 8PM 18+ £8
SOLA ROSA SOUNDSYSTEM SPECIAL GUESTS
SAT 05 SEP 7PM 18+ £9
JULIA MARCELL SPECIAL GUESTS TUE 08 SEP 8PM 18+ £14
ANDREW COMBS SPECIAL GUESTS THU 10 SEP 8PM 18+ £15
THU 27 AUG 8PM 18+ £11
DAVE McCABE SPECIAL GUESTS
BROKEN BRASS ENSEMBLE SPECIAL GUESTS
FRI 11 SEP 7PM 18+ £12.50
FRI 28 AUG 7:30PM 18+ £14
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T ITUS AN D RONICUS words - jack urwin
“I’m gonna tell fucking everybody in the fucking world, and if 99 out of a hundred people laugh at me, whoopty-fucking-doo, y’know?”
“You’re opening up a big can of worms with me right now and I’ve got it, I’ve got a monologue ready to go.” At 30 years old, Patrick Stickles is a man of many words, few of them kind about the music press. The frontman, lyricist and de facto manager for Titus Andronicus has watched the group’s decade-long evolution from Pitchfork buzz-band to, in his own words, “a fucking punchline”, but now, four albums in, Stickles is done with playing games. “I have a big problem with expectations, they poison the fucking audience against the artist, invariably. I see everything [online] and everybody says the new CD is great, but, y’know, two to three out of five of these people still want to sneak in some kind of backhanded compliment that says ‘this isn’t as good as the 22-year-old version of this band, it kind of sucks compared to that but it’s still better than every other band’. They think that they’re giving us props and I find that’s just so fucking condescending. What difference does it make if it’s better than the other thing or not, it’s a different thing. There’s more than one fucking thing and it doesn’t matter if everything’s not in a list.” The title of new record The Most Lamentable Tragedy is a satisfying nod to the play from which Titus Andronicus take their name, but in reality the words serve as little more than convenient placeholders. TMLT, when spoken aloud in its acronymised form, sounds like ‘tumult’: an apt description for that contained within. The rock opera, while fictional, touches heavily upon the singer’s own experiences with bipolar disorder: the stigma of mental illness led to Stickles’ parents sending him “to every fucking doctor they could find” because “nobody wanted to say ‘oh well, he’s insane, and he probably won’t contribute in any meaningful way to society’.” “Every one of them said ’I’ve got the fucking cure, it’s this drug!’ and they give it to a tiny little fucking baby and the
little baby stops breaking its toys, everybody thinks it’s great. They broke my big toy, you feel me? They broke my fucking brain, and then they couldn’t even be straight with me about it for fucking 22 more years, and I ran around like a chicken with my fucking head cut off and nobody wanted to talk about it cos there ain’t no cure, this is terminal shit. I’m gonna be like this until I’m dead. “Nobody wanted to tell me that cos that sucks, y’know what I’m saying? But that’s real life and god dammit, why didn’t you just say something? Why didn’t we just figure this out instead of hiding from it, and treating him like some crazy monster? Not to mention filling me with all kinds of fucking secret shame. What the fuck is wrong with me? Why am I such a freak? Why am I the only person in the entire fucking world that feels this way? I never was, you understand, I just never knew where to look cos they told me ‘oh you’re okay, you just need fucking Paxil, you need Ritalin, you need Lexapro, you need this and this, you need to see this doctor, that doctor. You’re just fine, there’s plenty of cures for whatever’s ailing you.’ There’s fucking not, you know what I mean? They hid that from me.” The sprawling nature of TMLT (29 tracks, 90 minutes long) and its somewhat discomfiting subject matter may well alienate critics. This is quite evidently not something Stickles is worried about, and it’s not long before the motivation behind this creation emerges.
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“I love my parents and everything, and they did their best, but, like, god dammit, this shit shoulda never been a secret and it ain’t gonna be a secret ever again. So I’m just gonna go out, I’m gonna tell fucking everybody in the fucking world, and if 99 out of a hundred people laugh at me, whoopty-fucking-doo, y’know? It sounds like such a fucking cliché but if there’s one fucking kid out of a hundred who puts on the CD and finds out that we’re telling their story, then fuck the 99, they can all go to hell. Let ’em go jackoff onto a fucking, y’know, I don’t even know who’s out there, let ’em go jerk off to PC Music or something, let ’em jerk off to fucking somebody else, I don’t give a shit.
“They broke my big toy, you feel me? They broke my fucking brain...” “Don’t stand between me and the one out of the hundred, y’know what I’m saying? Nobody ever found me, I was lost, they never came and got me, they pushed me into weird shit and I’m not over it. I haven’t been fucking sober since I was four fucking years old, and, like, it was some big fucking secret and then some big joke and not any fucking more, not while I have the microphone. It’s in my most self-aggrandizing moment I permit myself to fantasise that there’s somebody out there that can be spared some of what I went through by my whole fucking nature being kept a big secret from me, being a purposefully maintained mystery. If I could liberate one little tortured soul from that, even a little bit, that would mean a fuck lot more to me than being number one on Rich Dork Media or whatever piece of shit website thinks they know better than the fucking artist. Those are the stakes I’m playing at, fuck that internet shit.”
It’s possible, I suppose, that some will interpret these words as derivative, punk-by-numbers. They will be wrong. There’s a raw, restless passion and honesty in everything Stickles says. So when he tells me TMLT "is the real deal", it’s difficult to deny. They may not please the critics, or anyone looking for a repeat of The Monitor, but for a handful of people it’s certain that, right now, Titus Andronicus are the most important band in the world. The Most Lamentable Tragedy is released August 7th via Merge. Titus Andronicus play Village Underground November 5th @TitusAndronicus titusandronicus.net To read the full version of this interview, visit londoninstereo.com
HEALTH words: danny wright photography: tim boddy
“I did not want to put that out first. That would be like, ‘You haven’t heard from HEALTH in a long time, HERE YOU GO’.” HEALTH’s bassist/noisemaker, John Famiglietti, is talking about the song ‘Life’ on their new album, Death Magic. It’s been six years since the band’s last record Get Color and not many people were expecting a pounding synth anthem with a skyscraping chorus about “How life is strange” that’s big enough to fill the O2. It’s a stone-cold hit. It’s brilliant – but it’s probably not what you’d expect from HEALTH.
For those who have followed the band’s career it may seem at odds with the abrasive brand of noise rock that made up their first two albums. But listen to the whole of Death Magic and it makes perfect sense. “I think the big point coming back was that people were like ‘HEALTH please continue the narrative’. Cos we never intended it to be six years. Putting that out first would’ve seemed like a big jump – but actually ‘Life’ was one of the first things we wrote after Get Color”. Death Magic is an album which feels big – for the first time it’s the melodies which dominate and the vocals are audible. It doesn’t compromise on anything they’ve done before – there are still moments of bulldozing, ear-tearing percussion, but here it’s been weaved together with earworm melodies and beats. It will be interesting to
see fans come on the journey with the band – and which new fans will join. I mention the horrible term ‘crossover album’. “We’re aware of the fact that there’s a kind of anthemic quality to that song (‘Life’),” says the band’s lead singer Jake Duzsik. “But I'm not about to make any predictions about how people are going to react. That is beyond my control. It was fun to write so I hope people have fun listening to it. If not, fuck it.” John concurs: “I don’t want to count on that. The biggest thing to me that feels like a success is that it’s been six years and our fans are still around and a lot of them are the same fans – I guess cos no one’s getting married.” One thing’s for certain - all this sonic shapeshifting is making it harder to articulate HEALTH’s sound. You couldn’t
call them noise rock anymore, though that’s still a part of it. This isn’t hardcore. On their Facebook page they refer to it as ‘Racket Music’. Whatever it is, Death Magic is certainly more accessible. “Accessible is definitely the right word,” agrees John. “It’s a lot more melodic. We’d been going there – not that we want to change anything but if you see the way the music’s going, we’ve always been adding more melody and electronic elements.” “It was very natural progression for us,” Jake adds. The truth, as John puts it, is “what makes it more abrupt is that it’s been six years and this should probably be our fourth album.” This talk of progression makes sense: HEALTH, their debut record, was a discordant, harsh noise record, while Get Color, saw something close to a verse-chorus structure amid all the industrial din. I mention that I see Death Magic as somewhere in between the cacophonous noise of those first two records and the electronic DISCO remix records they’ve put out. “I remember with the DISCO albums people really liked them - a little singing and there are some beats there,” says John “So, yeah maybe, but the big reason this is so much more electronic is that we wanted to have a heavier production sound.” “Stuff coming out at the start of this decade really got a lot louder and a lot more powerful. We were like ‘We’ve really got to load up’, you know what I mean? We need to be on that level – with bass and beats hitting that hard.” “A large part of why it took so long was because we were very aware of the fact that we wanted to make progress as a band - to make a record that we felt was sonically relevant, both from a writing stand point but in terms of production as well,” says Jake. LiS 27
This meticulous obsession with getting the sound right has always been key to HEALTH’s approach. And, after having their fingers burnt on Get Color, this time around the band worked neurotically on getting the songs to sound exactly how they wanted them to on this record – a fact that helps to explain the six year wait. “We were not going to put out an album that didn't sound good to us,” says Jake. “That took a lot of work. I wish there was better story behind the delay, like I was in jail in Patagonia, or John circumnavigated the globe in a rowboat, but there isn't. We just had to work to get it right.” Getting that sound right took longer than any of the band expected. “It didn’t need to take that long,” explains John.
who makes experimental noise but in this very modern, software-based way that sounds really fresh and really heavy. He only worked on the first song. We were hoping to do more songs with him but, you know, Bjork gave him a call.” The fact that the band have been writing songs for six years – “a big chunk of them are from 2011” – means the band have had chance to roadtest and hone them on tour for the maximum amount of ecstasy for the audience. “There were a lot of songs where we’d play them live and they’d kill but then they’d kind of peter out,” says John. “So we were like ‘Right, this song needs to go to somewhere else’.” “One of the songs – ‘Dark Enough’ – that we’ve had since 2011/12 had been getting a pretty good reaction.
“I wish there was better story behind the delay, like I was in jail in Patagonia, or John circumnavigated the globe in a rowboat...” JAKE duzsik “In retrospect it’s a simple thing, but if it’s not right, it’s not right. “After we figured out who we were making it with and defined the sound of the album everything clicked into place, but that took awhile,” says Jake. “When we made our first record we had little to no resources, no label, nothing. We had to do it ourselves. We weren't happy with the production on our second record but we were green and had never worked with anyone before. This time around we were very inflexible when it came to production quality. If we worked on something and it didn't feel right we just ditched it and tried something else.” The record was eventually made with Mars Volta producer Lars Stalfors and longtime Kanye West engineer Andrew Dawson. They also went into the studio with Bobby Krlic, aka The Haxan Cloak. “We were really big fans,” says John. “Here’s a guy from a similar background
But then we played the new version at Primavera this year and that was the highlight of the set. I don’t know if it’s because all the girls were on molly or something – there were a lot of extenuating circumstances – but in that moment we were like ‘Hey, this is amazing, they haven’t even heard it yet’.” One thing you will definitely notice is that you can actually hear Jake’s lyrics on this album. “Because the album is much more vocally melodic it would have just been frustrating for people if we’d buried that element of the record. In the past we’ve used vocals more like an ambient instrument, but there’s also a tendency for young bands to bury vocals and drench them in reverb because, aside from sounding cool as fuck, it provides you with a buffer, you don't have to expose yourself fully. This time we just wanted to commit and be confident in the songs.”
And, in a strange turn, having Jake’s Neil Tennant-like vocals higher in the mix, together with the more melodic structure, means some of the songs are reminiscent of non-other-than the Pet Shop Boys (obviously a great thing). “I wouldn't have made that connection but I've heard it from a number of people so there must be something there. It certainly wasn't a conscious stylistic choice but I love The Pet Shop Boys, so I'll take the compliment.” But should we be surprised? The DIY ethos that has defined the band from the start permeates everything they do, from their go-anywhere-that-feels-right sound to their infamous Twitter account (sample tweet: ‘I wish I could detach my ballsack…just to check the temperature of things, I'd dip it in a bowl of soup and say “Too hot my good sir!”’). It also means they maintain control of every element of the band – John designs all the artwork and t-shirts and you’ll see him at every show stood behind the merch stand.
“We have a set aesthetic and an idea of how the band is, we want it all to match. It’s like a brand thing.” Yet DIY doesn’t mean not setting their sights higher. We return to the idea of success and where this more melodic sound could take them. I ask if they’d want to play larger venues – venues that can accommodate this new huge sound. “Oh fuck yeah, dude. I wanna do the O2, or whatever the hell it’s called. I don’t think that’s very realistic but fuck yeah. We would love to play the enormodome.” We both laugh. I’ll see you there, I say. “Yeah, man, you’ll see me sweeping up – I’ll be working the concession stand.”
Death Magic is released August 7th via Fiction. HEALTH play Heaven, October 28th. youwillloveeachother.com // @_HEALTH_ To read the full version of this interview, visit londoninstereo.com
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August 2015
ALBUMS
RECORD OF THE MONTH DESTROYER POISON SEASON Dan Bejar took longer making this Destroyer album than he has any other for a couple of reasons. One, he didn’t want it to sound like the preceding Kaputt, an album of gorgeous synth swathes and pop melodies that brought his band more attention than they’d ever received in his two-decade long career. Bejar was fed up of the attention, and of Kaputt. Indeed, the second reason a follow up has taken so long is that he wanted people to have enough time to forget about Kaputt completely. Poison Season isn’t Kaputt. Instead, it’s a long, slow, wilfully difficult and brilliant record that once again will force followers of Destroyer to reassess what they think this remarkable band is all about. Despite Bejar remaining the driving force, ‘band’ is the apposite term for Destroyer now more than ever, with the expansive sound here coming from Kaputt’s touring troupe being kept on for writing and Dead Oceans recording sessions for its successor. It means that though August 28th the synths of that record are largely absent, saxophones remain in full force, along with more strings than have ever Stand Out Tracks: appeared on all previous Destroyer LPs put together. It’s so Archer on the Beach luscious all you can do at times is marvel at it. Dream Lover Times Square II Though it’s not made easy for you, the three drastically different versions of the song ‘Times Square’ that begin, call Bangkok half time on and eventually close the record are key to Live: October 30th Islington Assembly Hall finding a way in to Poison Season. Ranging from downtrodden to breezy to dramatically sparse respectively, these themes are explored to their logical extremes across the rest of the album’s generous 52 minutes. The brilliant Springsteenism of ‘Dream Lover’ represents the only immediate moment, with the likes of the abject sadness of ‘Girl In A Sling’, unhinged jazz travelogue ‘Bangkok’ and introverted samba of ‘Forces From Above’ each presenting challenges on first listen, but untold riches on the second, third, fiftieth and beyond. Bejar is not aiming for world domination on Poison Season – he’s refining his audience. If you’re the kind of person who judges a record on one listen, it’s likely he’s not interested in you having that one listen to begin with. But you’re missing out, not only on a slinky, sensual, and slowly unfolding ‘Archer on the Beach’ (which may be his best ever composition), but on the deep treasures of Poison Season as a whole – Bejar’s second consecutive, radically different masterpiece. Thomas Hannan
THE PHOENIX FOUNDATION GIVE UP YOUR DREAMS Memphis Industries // August 7th A half-dozen albums in and the New Zealand sextet are dabbling in dominant synths, wide-eyed AOR and eighties production values du jour. But Give Up Your Dreams is too smart, experimental and rhythmic to be wholly tamed by processed sheen. Opener ‘Mountain’ finds layered cosmic prog grafted to muscular percussion, while jerky Joe Jackson-alike ‘Bob Lennon John Dylan’ has a chorus that would have drawn fingers to record-buttons during its source decade’s Top 40 countdown. The clear smash, though, is the title track, a pulsing disco-pop nugget that insists happiness arrives shorn of aspiration, while wryly asking: “How does one transition to a mortal from a God?”. As with much here, it’s a remarkably upbeat spin. Nick Mee
DRINKS
HERMITS ON HOLIDAY Heavenly Recordings // August 21st “They both like to drink, coffee mostly and sometimes each other”: the press release for DRINKS’ debut LP doesn’t make a lot of sense, and on paper, neither does the pairing of Cate Le Bon and White Fence’s Tim Presley. With disparate musical upbringings – one grew up on American hardcore, the other cultivated by her parent’s music in rural Wales – the pair’s respective sound shares a propensity for psych, and however subtle the likeness is, combined they’re an unfailingly surreal unity. The frantic ‘Focus On The Street’ is essentially a warped punk jam, while ‘Laying Down Rock’ shares the same jaunty guitar lines of Cate Le Bon’s ineffable Mug Museum LP. Wonderfully skewed, DRINKS forgo the drones and organ chants of White Fence in favour of something more akin to a Krautrock Arthur Lee and Nico, while never negating their renowned weirdness in the process. Hayley Scott
MAC DEMARCO
ANOTHER ONE Captured Tracks // August 7th So much is being made of his languorous onstage persona these days that it’s easy to forget Mac DeMarco crafts some pretty irresistible songs too. Regardless of this record’s slightness, a mere eight tracks, fans will find plenty to swoon over, whether it be the bittersweet swagger of ‘No Other Heart’ or the old school nostalgia that swamps ‘A Heart Like Hers’. There’s even an invite to his house if you hang around long enough. This isn’t DeMarco simply rehashing 2’s effortless charm; you get the sense he’s fashioning something far more ambitious and, as proved with the patchy Salad Days, it’s going to take a bit of fine tuning before he gets it right. In Another One, however, Mac’s getting bloody close. Lee Wakefield LiS 33
BEACH HOUSE DEPRESSION CHERRY Bella Union // August 28th
Victoria Legrand and Alex Scally have perfected a dreamy psychedelic pop that rules with an iron fist, buried deep within a velvet glove. It’s cherry red velvet, if you’re wondering, and the fabric that covers their fifth long player, as the Baltimore duo return with nine new tracks. Recorded during a Louisiana winter the album reveals crystalline drum machines and an icier edge to their heady rock sound. Most noticeable is the pace. The band describes it as ‘simplicity’ – but it’s really about creeping tempos and languid, expansive flourishes as they learn to do much more with less across the songs. And if this is what winter is like in Bogalusa, LA, beware: “They take the simple things inside you and put nightmares in your hands.” It’s the creepiest line from the already creepy ‘Beyond Love’, which Legrand delivers in her own sweet time veering from devastatingly romantic to vaguely threatening. The time signatures only get more glacial on the stripped-down ‘1037’ consisting of just Legrand’s voice, a sparse drum pattern and a glowing church-like organ. “The larger stages and bigger rooms naturally drove us towards a louder, more aggressive place; a place farther from our natural tendencies. Here, we continue to let ourselves evolve,” explained the dreamy pair. But that evolution requires patience. So slap a bow on this one and save it for beneath the Christmas tree, because summer is the wrong time for this forbidden fruit. Geoff Cowart
ULTIMATE PAINTING GREEN LANES Trouble In Mind // August 7th
If it’s innovation you’re after, Ultimate Painting probably aren’t the band for you. A collaboration between self-confessed Beatles-obsessives Jack Cooper and James Hoare (of Mazes and Veronica Falls, respectively) the pair deal in comfortingly minimalist indie-pop, subtly imbued with the warm glow of 60s nostalgia. It now transpires that it’s not just the jangly guitar sounds and analogue recording methods of their forebears that the duo have inherited, it’s their tireless work ethic too. Arriving just under ten months on from their debut, Green Lanes might be more swift a sequel than anyone expected, but its August release actually feels ideally-timed. The autumnal palette of that first record has been replaced by more summery textures, from the lilting, Lennon & McCartney-style piano chords in the latter half of ‘Break The Chain’ to the gambolling, sun-dappled guitar line of hazy album-opener ‘Kodiak’. Songs like these feel purpose-built for idling entire afternoons away to. Neutralising the potentially-cloying melodic sweetness, is a niggling sense of dissatisfaction and, often, melancholy. ‘The Ocean’ laments the fleeting nature of youth, ‘(I’ve Got) The Sanctioned Blues’ attacks the Tory government (albeit, in a manner that won’t cause our PM any lost sleep), and ‘Woken By Noises’ is a ‘Subterranean Homesick Blues’-style jaunt, examining the claustrophobia of London-living. It’s difficult to discern how much of a progression this is from their debut, but if you enjoyed that record’s balmy melodies, you shouldn’t leave this one disappointed. If anything, Green Lanes is proof that life’s simple pleasures are often the most satisfying. Gemma Samways
GARDENS & VILLA
MUSIC FOR DOGS Secretly Canadian // August 21st Gardens & Villa’s third album Music For Dogs is consistent enough to suggest there’s still never a bad moment in their oeuvre, but it altogether lacks the kind of unforgettable songwriting and performing that yielded beatific cuts like ‘Orange Blossom’ and ‘Black Hills’ from their eponymous 2011 debut. ‘General Research’ is an uninspired attempt to affect British new wave’s cerebral pop eccentricity, and it’s exactly that vibe that the album’s second side often aims at. On ‘Express’ they’re a hair’s breadth away. Its jaunty weirdness and undeniably catchy hooks align it nicely with Talking Heads, yet there’s always a certain sense that they’re trying too hard. Still, with the smart pulsating Beatles-style psychedelia of ‘Paradise’ one thing’s clear: this ain’t a bad record. Tim Hakki
RADKEY
FTSE
Little Man Records // August 21st
Lucky Number // August 28th
Born out of boredom and jams in a lower-class neighbourhood of Missouri, three home-schooled siblings are now on the verge of greatness, with their debut album Dark Black Makeup signifying a wake up call of Americanised punk-rock clamour. It’s true that on first inspection their sound is reminiscent of the Danzig-Misfits-era, yet Radkey hold far more promise than becoming just another fail-safe noise cartel to make a quick buck. For a trio only just veering into their twenties the album holds overarching themes of leaving adolescence behind, with tracks such as ‘Feed My Pain’ inhabiting a world of student and teacher affairs. Then with snarly attitude and striking brotherly camaraderie they kickstart a small-scale rebellion; ‘Romance Dawn’ is the standout hit of an album that will re-ignite a new-breed of diehard punk fans. Amy Gravelle
Given the recent spate of think-pieces bemoaning the lack of “political music” (the sole product of lazy journalism rather than an actual absence) one must give credit to FTSE, aka producer Sam Manville, for at least making an effort to redress this false disparity. But that's as far as our generosity is willing to go. For all it's acerbic political critiques, Joyless has all the depth and focus of a GCSE Politics class run by Just Jack. It's not the lengthy list of topics (celebrity culture, consumerism, speciesism, it goes on...) that make this such a weary listen but the way it's told. Most crucially, and unintentionally, it comes across as humourless and patronising. It's a shame as the blazing and punchy production here are actually pretty banging. A missed opportunity, really. Woodrow Whyte
DARK BLACK MAKEUP
JOYLESS
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INFINITY GIRL HARM
Topshelf Records // August 28th Brooklyn band Infinity Girl love a bit of shoegaze, but thankfully Nolan Ely and the band never spend so much time staring down that they forget to look up and craft a killer hook. And on new album Harm those hooks are there in abundance. From the thunderous cacophony that welcomes us in on opener ‘Hesse’, through writhing melodies on latest single ‘Firehead’, the extended reverb that leads out ‘Hold’ and blurs into disco synths on ‘Not Man’, the apt bounce of ‘Young’ and ‘Heavy’ – which sounds not unlike an eighties video game going through a blender – there’s plenty going on. With clattering fuzz and distortion throughout, grazed and anxiety-wrought shapes, and an expansive and propulsive air, it’s an intense and emotive piece of work. Francesca Baker
DERADOORIAN
THE EXPANDING FLOWER PLANET Anticon // August 21st What is The Expanding Flower Planet? It’s the latest solo offering from Dirty Projector/Slasher Flick member Angel Deradoorian and an album of somnambulistic grooves. It’s a land of discordant musical influences brought together in polymorphic style, like a weird blend of 70s Italian horror soundtracks (‘Violet Mind’ and ‘Komodo’) and pagan folklore (‘Your Creator’). It’s a parallel universe where Can’s ‘Mushroom’ has been given a sci-fi makeover and re-named ‘The Invisible Man’ while Broadcast perform live scores to puppet theatre enactments of David Lynch films (‘Ouneya’). It’s a jungle that pulses to Middle Eastern and African rhythms and rings with her distinctive vocal acrobatics. It’s all these things together but also none of them. Henry Wilkinson
KAGOULE URTH
Earache Records // August 21st In the late 80s it was Aerosmith and Motley Crue taking a firm kick in the gut from the dirty boot of grunge. Now the nu wave of grunge revival has rolled in, bringing subculture substance to puncture mainstream’s glittering ego. The UK scene is in rude health with bands like Milk Teeth, Nai Harvest and now Kagoule filling basement venues across the country with their acerbic, murky punk. Kagoule’s debut, Urth, is lean, biting shoegaze to make you sway. Their sound is economical in every sense, stripped back to the raw elements. ‘Adjust The Way’ and ‘Glue’ bring the hooks, ‘Empty Mug’ and ‘It Knows It’ bring the guts and ‘Centralwing’ and ‘Open Mouth’ bring the vibes. This is sincere and deceptively direct alt; as charming as it is odd. Grant Bailey
EVENTS
a selection of new stuff we’re excited about:
LONDON LITERATURE FESTIVAL The dizzying array of events (talks, readings, poetry, films, comedy, music etc) at this, the ninth London Literature Festival, means we can barely scratch the surface here in highlighting the pick of them. But from a four-day public reading of Moby Dick – or The Whale as it was called when originally published in London – in which the public can partake, and where Melville’s great, great, great granddaughter is reading, to a world premiere of the collaborative book The Hollow of the Hand by PJ Harvey and Seamus Murphy (including new songs and a short film), you’re sure to find something new to engage that grey matter. And that’s the magic of this event, there’s so much to discover and learn at this celebration of literary endeavour and creativity. September 28th – October 12th Southbank Centre, SE1 8XX // @litsouthbank southbankcentre.co.uk/londonlitfest
SAFARI FESTIVAL: NEW WAVES IN CONTEMPORARY COMICS AND ART Safari Festival is brought to us by Breakdown Press, and is intended to celebrate the burgeoning new wave of alternative and art comics from the UK, and round the world. Taking place at Studio 2 (Protein’s gallery in Shoreditch) it will champion some of the more ground-breaking, innovative cartoonists and publishers around, who’ll be exhibiting and selling their work. The day will also raise funds for DIY SPACE FOR LONDON (@diyspace4london), so get along and spend some £. On top of all that, there’s not only a launch party at Gosh Comics in Soho on Friday the 21st, but there’s also an after-party, on the Saturday, at The Shacklewell Arms with Phil Serfaty (Keel Her), Mat Colegate (The Quietus, Teeth of the Sea), Alexander Shields (A Grave With No Name) and many more on DJ duties. August 22nd, 11am-6pm, FREE. Protein Gallery, EC2A 3EY. safari-festival.com // @safarifestival LiS 40
TRANSGENDER FILM FESTIVAL 2015 From major network TV shows, to the attention and support Caitlyn Jenner has received, 2015 seems to have been – on the surface at least – something of a landmark year for public discussion and understanding of trans issues. This event sees the Transgender Film Festival return to the Cinema Museum. Made up of a collection of short films, including Being Barbara, and Carl(a) – which features Orange Is The New Black’s Laverne Cox – this event will both celebrate trans lives and provide insight, too. August 15th // 5pm. £5 The Cinema Museum, 2 Dugard Way, SE11 4TH. cinemamuseum.org.uk // @CinemaMuseum
Being Barbara. (Photo: Eva Brunner)
LONDON BEER CITY Ten days of beer events sprawling all over London is ten days we want to be part of. With hubs at the Shepherd’s Bush Brewdog, and the beautiful Mother Kelly’s in Bethnal Green, this second London Beer City will see countless talks, tours, tastings and, well, beer galore take over our capital. There’s a beer’n’cheese tasting championship, coffee vs. beer events, and the wonderful Hop Burns & Black are addressing the woes of people who can’t drink beer, due to gluten issues, by putting on a gluten-free beer and food event. You see, beer can be for everyone. August 7-16th. Various locations, London wide. londonbeercity.com // @LondonBeerCity
@hopburnsblack
FOUND: CEREMONY Well, this sounds like one of the most party events the ever-reliable Found have put on in a while. Billed as a ‘360º celebration of dance music’ this will see club culture glory in the past, present and future of all things dance. A glance through the line-up reveals an absolute richness of names, but, c’mon, Armand Van Helden playing a classic 90s set? That’ll be so much fun. Throw in a festival exclusive from The Martinez Brothers plus Todd Terry, Santé, Mike Skinner and more? Let's put on our classics and we'll have a little dance, shall we? September 12th // Finsbury Park ceremonyfestival.com // @foundseries LiS 41
GEORGIA THURS 9 JULY ELECTROWERKZ
GRACE LIGHTMAN THURS 3 SEPT THE WAITING ROOM
GIRL BAND TUES 6 OCT 100 CLUB
OKAY KAYA MON 13 JULY THE WAITING ROOM
NIMMO THURS 15 SEPT OSLO HACKNEY
LONELADY WED 7 OCT HEAVEN
ANNA MEREDITH WED 15 JULY DALSTON VICTORIA
HOLLYSIZ WED 16 SEPT HOXTON SQUARE BAR & KITCHEN
ROZI PLAIN WED 7 OCT ST JOHN ON BETHNAL GREEN
WYLES & SIMPSON WED 23 SEPT THE WAITING ROOM
BARLI THURS 8 OCT ST PANCRAS OLD CHURCH
BEST FRIENDS THURS 16 JULY SEBRIGHT ARMS FINE PRINT MON 20 JULY SEBRIGHT ARMS KELLY LEE OWENS WED 22 JULY THE WAITING ROOM ROYCE WOOD JUNIOR MON 27 JULY WED 5 & 12 AUG THE WAITING ROOM RALEGH LONG WED 2 SEPT ST PANCRAS OLD CHURCH
LAIL ARAD THURS 24 SEPT ST PANCRAS OLD CHURCH SURFER BLOOD WED 30 SEPT TUFNELL PARK DOME PLASTIC MERMAIDS THURS 1 OCT OSLO HACKNEY RAKETKANON THURS 1 OCT THE LEXINGTON
CURTIS HARDING WED 28 OCT VILLAGE UNDERGROUND ROSIE LOWE WED 28 OCT OSLO HACKNEY LORD HURON WED 11 NOV O2 SHEPHERD’S BUSH EMPIRE ASTRONAUTALIS WED 18 NOV SCALA
BEACH BABY MERCURY REV THURS 8 OCT TUES 24 NOV BOSTON MUSIC ROOM OVAL SPACE EZRA FURMAN THURS 22 OCT O2 SHEPHERD’S BUSH EMPIRE PALACE THURS 22 OCT SCALA
LA FEMME TUES 24 NOV KOKO THIS IS THE KIT WED 25 NOV SCALA
PARALLELLINESPROMOTIONS.COM
GIGS OF THE MONTH
OUR PICK OF THE BEST SHOWS HAPPENING IN AUGUST
THE SOCIAL
GULF // CHELOU // LOOM // MIAMIGO
11/08/15 FREE @thesociallondon OXFORD CIRCUS
Huw Stephens brings another great line-up to The Social with psychedelia-tinged Gulf headlining.
THE LEXINGTON
BUSH HALL
Stark and beautiful, Sophie Jamieson makes catchy, stripped back music with an intensely dark edge.
Self-reflective and influenced by a music from around the world.
SOPHIE JAMIESON
04/08/15 £7adv @thelexington
ANGEL
NAHKO AND MEDICINE FOR THE PEOPLE 19+20/08/15 £15adv @Bushhallmusic
SHEPHERD’S BUSH
BRIXTON WINDMILL
TERMINAL CHEESECAKE // ZOLLE // KHUNNT // BRITNEY + MORE Smash It Out take over the Windmill for the day with a ridiculous line-up of noise, fun and madness. 15/08/15 £12adv @windmillbrixton
BRIXTON
SHACKLEWELL ARMS TRUST FUND
One of Bristol's finest songwriters, Trust Fund return with their witty lyrics and insanely catchy hooks. TRUST FUND
28/08/15 FREE @Shacklewell Arms
DALSTON JUNCTION / KINGSLAND
THE GARAGE
JADED // D'SILVA // IC3 // KING YOOF + MORE Reach London launches at the Garage this week celebrating all things D&B, jungle, house, UKG and Trap.
10/08/15 £10adv @TheGarageHQ HIGHBURY AND ISLINGTON LiS 45
SERVANT JAZZ QUARTERS
OSLO
The moniker of the extraordinarily talented Kerry Leatham, expect heartfelt songs pulled and twisted into something unique.
Over the years Woods' sound has evolved and changed, but never lost their essence of energy and experimentation.
19/08/15 £7adv @ServantJazz
20/08/15 £11.50adv @OsloHackney
ROSEAU
DALSTON JUNCTION / KINGSLAND
WOODS
HACKNEY CENTRAL
HOXTON BAR AND KITCHEN
THE GOOD SHIP
Anglo-Scandinavian dream-pop from London, full of drama, glamour and joy
Catchy folk sounds with a worldbeat edge.
WHITE FEVER
06/08/15 FREE @HoxtonHQ
OLD STREET
BORDERLINE
14/08/15 £5adv @thegoodshipNW6
KILBURN
O2 ISLINGTON ACADEMY
BEN MILLER BAND A frenetic amalgamation of rock, blues, gospel, bluegrass, mountain music and country. 01/08/15 £12adv @theborderline
BLANK BIBLES // THE NEXT DE NIRO // EEMIA
TOTTENHAM COURT ROAD
D12
The Detroit hip-hop super group are back! Expect the most crazy, energetic show ever. 03/08/15 £17.50adv @O2Islington
ANGEL
NEW CROSS INN
WITCHING WAVES // ICE BATHS // FOUR QUARTERS Post-punk influenced fun with three brilliant new acts worth paying attention to. 20/08/15 £3 @NewCrossInn
NEW CROSS / NEW CROSS GATE
THE DOME
RYN WEAVER Huge pop sounds fronted by Weaver's confident vocals. Shimmering and euphoric there's no way this won't be a party. RYN WEAVER LiS 46
17/08/15 £10adv @DomeTufnellPark
TUFNELL PARK
CARDIKNOX
FABRIC
EROL ALKAN B2B DANIEL AVERY // VOISKI // VOLTE-FACE + MORE Daniel Avery returns to Fabric for Divided Love, bringing with him a host of brilliant acts, and a 4 hour b2b with non-other than Erol Alkan. 14/08/15 £19adv @fabriclondon
FARRINGDON
BIRTHDAYS CARDIKNOX
Ok, so we might class a great deal of things as pop, but Cardiknox are the real deal, soaring pop songs you can't not dance to. 26/08/15 FREE @_Birthdays
THE FINSBURY
BITCH'N'MONK // BELLA Wayward soprano and screaming flute, from London and Colombia.
DALSTON JUNCTION/ KINGSLAND
20/08/15 FREE @TheFinPub MANOR HOUSE
THE LOCK TAVERN
WAITING ROOM
Moonshiner Records take over The Lock Tavern once again, this time bringing the unusual alt-pop fun of Brunch with them.
Pink Moon party at The Waiting Room bringing self-described intergalactic crusaders Lupo with them.
BRUNCH // EMIL BRYNGE
08/08/15 FREE @thelocktavern
CHALK FARM / CAMDEN TOWN
LUPO
06/08/15 FREE @WaitingRoomN16
DALSTON JUNCTION/ KINGSLAND
100 CLUB
STRONGROOM
HNTR // BROOKFIELD
PISSED JEANS
Summer infused folk and indie, hailing from London.
Two nights of Pennsylvania's Pissed Jeans and their knock-your-socks-off fierce sounds.
12/08/15 FREE @StrongroomBar
18+19/08/15 £14adv @100clubLondon
LIVERPOOL STREET
TOTTENHAM COURT ROAD LiS 47
SATURDAY 1ST AUGUST
SUNDAY 2ND AUGUST
VISIONS FESTIVAL
TUESDAY 11TH AUGUST
MONDAY 10TH AUGUST
WEDNESDAY 12TH AUGUST
FRIDAY 14TH AUGUST
THURSDAY 13TH AUGUST
SATURDAY 15TH AUGUST
SUNDAY 16TH AUGUST
MONDAY 17TH AUGUST
TUESDAY 18TH AUGUST
WEDNESDAY 19TH AUGUST
THURSDAY 20TH AUGUST
FRIDAY 21ST AUGUST
SATURDAY 22ND AUGUST
SUNDAY 23RD AUGUST
TUESDAY 25TH AUGUST
MONDAY 24TH AUGUST
WEDNESDAY 26TH JULY
THURSDAY 27TH AUGUST
FRIDAY 28TH AUGUST
SATURDAY 29TH AUGUST
TUESDAY 1ST SEPTEMBER
SUNDAY 30TH AUGUST
WEDNESDAY 2ND SEPTEMBER
MONDAY 31ST AUGUST
FOR THE LATEST LISTINGS, AND TO SIGN UP TO OUR GIGS OF THE WEEK EMAIL, VISIT LONDONINSTEREO.COM
Orange Yard, off Manette St, London W1D 4JB Follow us @theborderline and facebook.com/theborderline Tickets from theborderlinelondon.com or 0844 847 2465 (24hr) THU 06 AUG 7PM 14+ £12 ADV
SAT 12 SEP 7PM 14+ £20 ADV
BET ME I’M LYING + HUNTER KILL HUNTER
4TH ANNUAL EVENING WITH KIP WINGER
SAT 15 AUG 6PM 14+ £13.50 ADV
PLUS VOODOO VEGAS
TUE 15 SEP 7PM 14+ £10 ADV
RED JUMPSUIT APPARATUS
THE CREEPSHOW THE DOPPELGÄNGERS
LISA RONSON
TUE 25 AUG 7PM 14+ £10 ADV
BROS LANDRETH
THU 16 SEP 7PM 14+ £10 ADV
SAT 29 AUG 7PM 14+ £10 ADV
FUNKE AND THE TWO TOWN BABY
SARABETH & GLEN MITCHELL UK TOUR WED 02 SEP 7PM 14+ £7 ADV
CARAVAN OF THIEVES THE SHARP THINGS
THU 03 SEP 7PM 14+ £15 ADV
LUCIFER
GALLEY BEGGAR
FRI 4 SEP 7PM 14+ 13.50 ADV
CRIME IN STEREO HINDSIGHTS + CASEY
WED 09 SEP 7PM 14+ £12 ADV
VERY HOPKIN - AN EVENING WITHOUT MARY HOPKIN CRAIG & WILLOUGHBY
THU 10 SEP 7PM 14+ £12 ADV
WARNER E. HODGES SPECIAL GUESTS
VITA AND THE VICIOUS
COCO LOVERS
THU 17 SEP 7PM 14+ £11.50 ADV
YOUNG KATO PLUS GUESTS
FRI 18 SEP 7PM 14+ £11 ADV
OPM
SPECIAL GUESTS
SAT 19 SEP 7PM 14+ £9.50 ADV
NEW TOWN KINGS
PLUS THE JELLYCATS AND ADAM K TUE 22 SEP 7PM 14+ £10 ADV
MIRIAM JONES
WED 23 SEP 7PM 14+ £7 ADV
THIRD LUNG ALBUM LAUNCH PARTY MICHAEL KILBEY + KARMILLA
FRI 25 SEP 7PM 14+ £13.50 ADV
ATTILA THE STOCKBROKER LAUNCH + BARNSTORMER STEVE LAMACQ
EVERY FRIDAY FROM 31ST JULY 11pm – 4am The biggest, best and longest running 90s party in London
11pm – 4am Classic Indie, Rock & Brit Pop
– We, at London In Stereo, have been so concerned about the spate of recent venue closures, and attitude towards London’s nightlife, that we felt we had to do something to raise more awareness of the issues. Therefore we’ve invited Alan Miller of the The Night Time Industries Association (NTIA) to contribute a monthly column, celebrating London’s nightlife and highlighting the struggles it faces –
INTO THE NIGHT In the past two years ten major clubs in London have closed down alone – that is around 2.5 million visitors a year with fewer places to go! That, among a number of other reasons, is why we launched NTIA. The NTIA lobbies nationally and locally for all the bars, night clubs, pop-up festivals and live music events as well as restaurants and the entire ecosystem that is part of the enormously important Night Time Economy. London is such a vibrant city – however the enormous impositions that are taking their toll on operators and owners are having a terrible impact on our cultural landscape. The Night Time Economy accounts for 66 Billion UKP per annum in revenue and 8% of UK employment. It attracts visitors from across the globe as well as entertaining Brits with increasing creativity, experimentation and innovation. Too often authorities and police seem to want to fall back on an old script in new clothes, quoting "antisocial behaviour" and "crime stats" to challenge our highly professional and world famous night clubs, bars and restaurants. As our recent Report by Professor Furedi illustrated, crime has decreased in the past decade alongside widening licensing, as well as A & E levels stabilising and young people enjoying going out often with many of them not even drinking*. The great news, then, is that things are better than ever before! We aim to ensure that message is continuously heard at the most senior levels of decision makers in the UK and at the GLA. We are working with the Mayor's Office and a number of other organisations to ensure we continue to change the narrative. For those readers that love London, you will be especially surprised by what Hackney Council is trying to do. Astonishingly, after more than a decade of incredibly buoyant and creative transformation – from a run-down borough facing so many social problems to one that the world has
recognised as a phenomenally culturally rich and economically dynamic sector – Hackney Council, who once proudly declared "Destination Dalston" have now declared that any new clubs are "Not Considered Appropriate". When challenged by some residents and businesses on this language, Hackney Council changed the tag line, but their underlying assumptions remain. Declaring the desire for a borough-wide curfew, of 11pm Sun-Thurs and midnight on Fridays and Saturdays and preventing new businesses from starting would suck the life out of the borough. Claiming "saturation" yet with no evidence whatsoever of what that means, Hackney Council seems to assume it can simply declare these things as part of a "consultation". Hackney Council has an enormous opportunity to seize the moment and work with the innovators and trend setters that bring so much employment, creativity and revenue to the borough and to accompany TFL and London's broader initiative of being a 24-hour international city. After all, if bookshops can open at midnight to sell Harper Lee's book and museums can do all-nighters, why should London and the UK not be able to do what Parisians and those in Barcelona and elsewhere can? Why does Hackney want to take us all back to the 1980s or 1950s? We at the NTIA are supporting the We Love Hackney campaign which you can find out more about at welovehackney.org and @welovehackney. Please do tweet, share on Facebook and other social media and tell all your friends about it. After all, what happens in Hackney will affect all of London and the entire UK. See you next month! Happy clubbing and living! Alan D Miller To join the NTIA, visit ntia.co.uk @wearethentia // facebook.com/wearethentia *See Report: ntia.co.uk/forward-into-the-night 67 LiS 19
ASBO
East India East India East India East India Youth Youth Youth + Ghost Culture Youth + Ghost Culture + Ghost Culture Friday 2nd October
+ Ghost Friday 2ndHouse. October FridayHeadrow 2ndCulture October Leeds Headrow House.House. LeedsLeeds FridayHeadrow 2nd October Headrow House. Leeds Doors 9pm / FREE ENTRY / 18+
Doors 9pm/ 18+ / FREE ENTRY / 18+ Doors 9pm / FREE ENTRY
Tickets — BEACONSMETRO.COM
Tickets — BEACONSMETRO.COM Tickets — BEACONSMETRO.COM
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...IN LONDON with GEORGIA
Why do you live in London? Cos it’s the best, scariest and funnest city. London is not for everyone though, if you’re not for the fast life then it is perhaps too overwhelming and overbearing. But there is so much variety here, I am born and bred and have never left and probably never will. You’re in London, it’s sunny out, where do you go? When it’s sunny I run to the nearest local lido, one of the public swimming pools. They are all over London and a bit of a secret (not anymore). I’ll call me mates and have a day of it by the swimming pool and pretend we’re in a paradise somewhere exotic. What’s your favourite gig venue? My favourite venue would be the Hammersmith Apollo, or Eventim as it’s now called. I could have said some cool new trendy East London gaf but I love the old historic venues in London, the ones being pulled down. I love watching and listening to music there. And not only has it got a great sound, and so much history to it, the architecture inside is really stunning, unique and classic. I hope it lives for another decade. Does London influence the music you write? London plays a massive part in my music. When you listen to my music you can hear different musical influences from different parts of the world and this reflects my life/ areas that I’ve grown up in and lived in London.
What’s the perfect way to spend the day? I really love it on the hottest day of the year. Everyone goes mental and tries to adapt to the heat of the city. London sort of turns into another world, and for one night only you feel like you can go and do anything in London. How would you advise someone to get the most out of London? That is a hard one to answer because each area of London caters for different things. My advice would be to get lost and order an Uber / any old cab and see London through the eyes of a cab driver. I really like those nights when you’ve had a late one and you’re lucky enough to get in a cab and the driver drives through areas you’ve never been or seen before, and maybe you’ll never go again but you see them from a distance, it opens your eyes to new things and maybe new future experiences. Georgia’s eponymous debut album is released August 7th via Domino. @GEoRGiA_HB // facebook.com/GeorgiaHBMusic LiS 69
LIVE BLISSFIELDS Woodmancott, Hampshire July 2nd-4th Set in the heart of Hampshire’s scenic fields, Blissfields is a small-festivals veteran that has been setting the standard for boutique events for the last fourteen years. It’s a bit like Latitude if it’d been shrunk in the wash, sporting the same family-friendly vibe, similarly excellent activities for all, and a great selection of must-see acts to round everything off, too. Beautifully boosted by some of the best sunshine of the year, Flo Morrissey opened things up on the Friday with her timeless, Tim Buckley-esque folk, followed by similarly lackadaisical sounds from Palace, whose hazy indie pop recalls the brilliance of Real Estate. Summer fun is on the agenda here, and both acts deliver a soundtrack that couldn’t be more fitting. Spring King and Gengahr later play back-to-back on the tiny Now and Den stage, demonstrating why both are rapidly gaining momentum in the indie rock circuit. Whilst Spring King dazzle and stun with ferocious takes of the Zane Lowe-approved ’City’ and ‘Mumma’, Gengahr fan the flames and show that their debut album A Dream Outside is a joyous sing-along from start to finish. Ghostpoet and The Horrors round-off the main stage later, but their moody, brooding atmospherics aren’t any match for Novelist, who proves why
he’s one of the most exciting grime emcees right now with an electrifying set on a stage made out of a doubledecker bus! The next day and one cracking breakfast muffin from Original Fry Up Material later (seriously, check those guys out if you can), Beans on Toast and Cosmo Sheldrake get things going again, with the latter delivering a set of wildly original electronic music and leaving everyone with an appetite for an album. Kassassin Street later show they’ve got the chops for bigger things with a show on the Now and Den stage that’s two-parts Everything Everything and one part Wild Beasts, whilst a few technical difficulties don’t stop Grandmaster Flash from pulling the largest crowd of the weekend - he rapturously delivers heavy hit after heavy hit. Throughout the weekend, there’s a palpable feeling that you’re experiencing something very intimate at Blissfields, a festival that purposefully aims to under-sell capacity in order to deliver something truly special. That goal was achieved with the arrival of John Grant, whose beaming face and ridiculously tight Icelandic backing-band stole the festival with a touching and humble performance. With an uncanny ability to flip-flop brilliantly between the electronic prowess of ‘Black Belt’ to the grandiose and euphoric ‘Gmf’, Grant’s in superb form as his voice practically beckons in a gorgeous sunset. It’s sets like this that make Blissfields worth the trip wherever you are, and cements it as one of the best kept secrets in the country, let alone Hampshire. Tom Walters
LIGHTNING BOLT The Roundhouse // June 28th As eagerly awaited as their 2015 album Fantasy Empire, Lightning Bolt’s return to the stage was utterly triumphant. On a packed bill alongside Tortoise, Loop and GZA, the two-piece proved that time has not tamed them, as only the brave dared to stand anywhere near the front by the intimidatingly large amp stacks that framed the band. To be close to the stage is to witness the extraordinary skills of drummer Brian Chippendale and bassist Brian Gibson, at the complete sacrifice of your ear drums. As serious, ground-shaking and life-affirming as their music is, the address to the crowd (by Chippendale, always from Chippendale) is all humour and charm, insisting that the audience call Tortoise, ‘Tortellini’ - “Make sure you chant that at them when they come out.” Opening with the thunderous recent single ‘The Metal East’ and pummelling through ‘Horsepower and Snow White (& The 7 Dwarves Fans)’ from this year’s album, the die-hards were not forgotten, leaving us with the almighty ‘Dracula Mountain’ from the cult favourite Wonderful Rainbow. A punter yelling requests received an amiable retort from the muffled mouthpiece of Chippendale “This guy knows one of our songs, let's take him out the back and give him the treatment.” Lord knows, it’s a treatment we all need after tonight. Lucie Grace LiS 71
PRESENTS
TICKETS AVAILABLE AT MYTICKET.CO.UK
by Alma’s Pete Lambrou Scouring many of last week's photos of the post-Glastonbury clean up reminded me of something that I thought I'd managed to suppress this time last year. I’ve been to Glastonbury only once, and found it to be the most friendly, greenest thing I’d ever been to. Certainly nothing like Hyde Park that’s for sure... It was early July last year. It was, surprisingly, mostly good weather. A month prior to this we’d been some of those lucky few who’d managed to cheat our way into getting £2.50 tickets for British Summer Time Festival. Being that we are all over the age of ten, we realised of course that this was a big marketing ploy but, like everyone else, thought why the hell not? I was there for two separate days, and both times felt like as soon as we got through the security gates we’d entered some creepy, filthy parallel dimension filled with so much litter and plastic, with no remorse or even any acknowledgement of it all. It wasn’t just the litter. What really got me was some presumably dark rite of passage for the festival (it really was so commonplace that I still can’t believe it), whereby as soon as you had finished your pint you had to instantly throw your empty plastic cup high over your shoulder as if it would magically turn into salt the second it left your hand. I am certainly not the greenest person you’ll meet, but I grew up in a generation that has had ‘being green’, recycling, and generally notfuckinguptheenvironmentforeveryoneelse hammered into our psyche since birth (much like it was our fault in the first place). We don’t know any differently. Do we? We always recycle at home right? I’m sure I don’t know anyone who doesn’t. But then again, I did guess the election outcome all wrong. Because apparently chucking all my crap six feet into the air is absolutely fine because I am at a festival. I’m on holiday! Why should I walk ten metres to the nearest conveniently placed bin when they have people in high-vis jackets standing idle. I've paid £2.50 to be here (and going on for £6 for a pint, mind). I’m keeping the country in employment. You know what? While I'm at it I think on my next holiday I’ll just rob all the guests and help myself to anything and anyone I want. I’ve earnt it. This is my holiday. Alma’s self-titled mini-album is released August 14th, they play St Pancras Old Church the same night. LiS 73
PRESENTS
TICKETS AVAILABLE AT MYTICKET.CO.UK
PRESENTS
FRIDAY 18 DECEMBER UNDERWORLD f /Gnarwolves w olves.com f/Gnar w olves gnar wolves.com
TICKETS AVAILABLE AT MYTICKET.CO.UK