PREVIEWS
Casual Threats by Austin Tweddle
MUSIC
CASUAL THREATS RELEASE NEW SINGLE, DLR
Words: Jason Jones Seven years is a long time to keep a secret, especially when that secret is as downright bloody electrifying as Casual Threats’ new single DLR. The Newcastle post-punks are back with their first release since 2018, but by no means is this some kind of half-baked homunculus of lockdown tedium – a four-chord banana bread loaf, if you will. No, despite wrestling with themes of boredom and isolation – voguish inklings, granted – DLR has in fact been a glinting spear in the trio’s arsenal since their very first set-list way back in 2014. Finally committed to tape, the track is one of four new releases headed our way this year, and it’s a fraught, writhing, stabbing blast of freneticism; like fighting a rooster in a phone
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box. As always, part of Casual Threats’ endearing charm is their knack for penning canny hooks that boast immediacy without straying towards triteness, and DLR is no exception, careering along on the back of a snarling earworm that chomps and stomps as it goes. With post-punk blooming into something of Indian summer right now, the Geordie three-piece are re-entering the fray of a decidedly sardine-like scene. Keep up this pace, however, and they’ll abso-lutely thrive. Casual Threats release DLR on 2nd April www.soundcloud.com/casualthreatsband
COMEDY
JULIAN LEE RELEASES BOOK, JOKEBOX
Words: Caitlin Disken Newcastle-based comic Julian Lee has been joking around for as long as he can remember. But, following his debut gig in the ‘90s, Lee swapped the stage for an unconventional
career path: working as everything from a data analyst to club promoter. Returning to the creative industry as a performance poet, Lee soon swapped the rhymes for gags, and now, after a 20-year break, is making waves on the stand-up comedy scene. The master of puns and one-liners, Lee has built up his reputation over the years: in 2017 and 2018 he was runner-up in Leicester Comedy Festival’s UK Pun Championships, and has featured on BBC Newcastle’s Jesting About. In 2018 Lee took his first show, Jokebox, to Edinburgh Festival, and now he has written a joke book of the same name: Jokebox will be released – rather aptly – on 1st April. We all need cheering up this year, and Lee’s puns are guaranteed to brighten anyone’s day. If you can’t wait that long, Lee has spent lockdown filming weekly joke videos on his YouTube channel – they’re definitely worth checking out to keep you entertained during lockdown! Julian Lee releases Jokebox on 1st April www.julianleecomedy.com
