NARC. #196 July 2023

ME LOST ME

NARC. FEST

SONIC ARTS WEEK

BRASS FESTIVAL

THE UNIT AMA

200 acts across stages 9

the ultimate end of summer party

STEREO MC’S GENTLEMAN’S DUB CLUB

31st august - 3rd september 2023

The Unthanks

THE CUBAN BROTHERS DUTTY MOONSHINE BIG BAND

Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs

FEROCIOUS DOG

HENGE

THE BOOTLEG BEATLES DUB PISTOLS (DJ SET)

Showhawk Duo

MICKY FINN ALTERN-8 BRANDON BLOCK THE LANCASHIRE HOTPOTS

KATHRYN TICKELL & the darkening LET THERE BE HOUSE

THE BAR-STEWARD SONS OF VAL DOONICAN THE UNDERCOVER HIPPY

OLD TIME SAILORS

KLONK

Shades of rhythm Elisa

Blistered Molly Diddley Squat

Seas of Mirth She : The Show

2 BAD MICE AMY TRUE LazyRave BECCI WALLACE

GIROBABIES DILUTEY JUICE IMOGEN the SMOKING JEFFRey’s FAITH I BRANKo

Raw Vibe

FEET OF CLAY

Vince’s Anthems The Whippet Beans Sir Funk

MARTY CRAGGS’ LITTLE BAND JAM

INDIA ARKIN

ELLIS DEE

SHANNON PEARL

comedy | spoken word | street food | workshops | festival stalls

worldbeaters drummers | glamping | music until 4am | yoga | meditation

fire dancers inc fiery little t & pyroceltica | crazy walkabouts | bars | holistic therapies

vikings and rainbows | fancy dress

32

ME LOST ME

Me Lost Me shows strong signs of ‘doing a Dawson’ on her latest album. Lee Fisher caught up with Jayne Dent to talk creativity, collaboration and car alarms

Full disclosure: I have zero craic this month. This is always the last bit of the magazine I write, and I’ve got to admit that I’m fresh out of interesting things to say – quite probably because at the moment I barely lift my head away from my screen to do anything worthy of reporting to you. Let’s give it a go though (this space won’t fill itself, eh?)… In June I went camping in the Scottish Highlands, during a week of absolutely glorious weather, and when every midge in the area decided to feast upon me; I checked out some burial cairns and other cheerful monuments on my birthday (nothing like confronting your mortality!); and by the month’s end I’ll have watched at least a couple of bands, as long as work doesn’t drive me back to my desk. However, July is an exciting time, and will hopefully warrant a bit more conversation from me next month. There’s a whole glut of festivals on the horizon, and loads of interesting events that’ll see me actually converse with other humans, many of which can be found within these pages (Tall Ships! Sonic Arts Week!). Also of note is the return of NARC. Fest, which takes over six venues in the Ouseburn Valley on Saturday 15th July. You’ll find loads more details on page 34!

Well that wasn’t too hard...if you’ve managed to make it this far, congrats. I promise to be more interesting next month (gulp).

Editor Claire Dupree

info@narcmedia.com

Website

David Saunders narcmagazineonline@gmail.com

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Cover Image

Amelia Read

Live Photography

Rhiannon Banks / Iam Burn / Thomas Jackson / Victoria Wai

Contributors

Jake Anderson / Tom Astley / Caleb Carter / Laura Doyle / Lee Fisher / Amanda Gallagher / Trev Gibb / Lee Hammond / Françoise Harvey / James Hattersley / Tracy Hyman / Emily Ingram / Jason Jones / Zeinab Lenton / Ben Lowes-Smith / Amy McGarahan / Amelia Neri / Robert Nichols / Michael O’Neill / Ikenna Offor / Damian Robinson / Elodie A Roy / Joseph Spence / Steve Spithray / Adelle Sutheran / Andrew Thompson / Leigh Venus / Ruby Watson / Robin Webb / Ali Welford / Cameron Wright / Matt Young

PREVIEWS

4 HIGHLIGHTS

Some of the best events in July, plus find out what’s online at narcmagazine.com

6 JULY PREVIEWS

Live shows from Scott Matthews, BCUC, Martha Ffion, Moonwalks, Jack Ladder, Breanna Barbara, Imogen Bose-Ward, Pictish Trail, BBC Proms, Kate Clover, plus festivals galore including SoundWave, Make A Scene, Jumpin’ Hot Club Country Cantina, Durham Fringe, Our Pride Festival, Summer Streets and more; catch Edinburgh Fringe shows before they head North, with special events at The Witham, The Stand, Georgian Theatre and Laurel’s; check out exhibitions at MIMA, BALTIC, Durham Cathedral, NewBridge Project, Vane, Pineapple Black and much more!

The

52

Reports from the front row of Billie Marten, A Place To Bury Strangers, girli, Blur, Comfort, Melvins, Rituals, Placebo, Arab Strap, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Kurt Vile and more

56 TRACKS

Reviews of local singles and EPs from William Denton Wilde, Blame Yourself, Church Honey, Citizens of YEAH!, Wolfred, Lost Lot, Belle Skies, Charts & Graphs, Park View, Michael Curran’s Deaf Fiction, Frankie Jobling and Patrick Gosling

58 DEMOS

Featuring Moss, Diago, Moon Glider, Jenny Saw Kwa! and Midnight Jazz Club

59 ALBUMS

Featuring PJ Harvey, Strange Ranger, The Clientele, Sam Burton, Wren Hinds, Blur, Damon Locks & Rob Mazurek, Little Dragon, Current Affairs, The Holy Family, Jack Aaron Greensmith and more

62 MIXTAPE

Chantal Herbert from Sister Shack reveals some of her favourite songs

Next Issue Out 26th July

PREVIEWS

ENJOY INTRICATE ARTISTIC THEMES, A CELEBRATION OF LGBTQ+ CULTURE, HAUNTING LIVE MUSIC, AN IMMERSIVE FILM SCREENING AND MUCH MORE

MUSIC

ART & LIT UNTIL 6 JULY 7XSEVEN

The Auxiliary have teamed up with local galleries and artists to present a series of one night exhibition openings in their garden gallery pod. Running every night from Friday 30th June until Thursday 6th July, expect to see collabs with the likes of Navigator North, Platform A Gallery, Wild Vision Collective, Pink Collar Gallery, The Spaghetti Factory, Pineapple Black and more. The Auxiliary, Middlesbrough www.theauxiliary.co.uk

ART & LIT

SAT 1 CURIOUS BALL

Produced by Newcastle-based charity Curious Arts and launching a summer of Curious activities, the return of the Curious Ball promises to be an unforgettable celebration of the North East’s LGBTQ+ culture with incredible fashions, fierce and inventive performances, and all-round queer excellence.

Dance City, Newcastle www.dancecity.co.uk

UNTIL 5 AUG STILL MOVING

C-Type print

MUSIC

SUN 2

Workplace Gallery presents Still Moving, an exhibition of new works by North East artists Phyllis Christopher, Kuba Ryniewicz and Jade Sweeting. The exhibition delves into the intricate themes of relationships, portraiture and the body, whilst exploring the diversity and intrigue of subcultures.

Workplace Gallery, Newcastle www.workplacegallery.co.uk

ELECTRIC SIX

With over 30 million streams on Spotify, Electric Six are one of a long line of Detroit legends, from Diana Ross and Iggy Pop to Eminem and Kid Rock. Since 1996 the genre bashing rock, disco and glam party-starters have released 14 studio albums headed up by charismatic frontman Dick Valentine. KU, Stockton www.electricsix.com

THUR 6

THE CIDERHOUSE REBELLION

Award-winning folk improvisers The Ciderhouse Rebellion and poet Jessie Summerhayes present a haunting reflection of the landscape with music and spoken word inspired by the industrial history of Rosedale Valley. Spun from the wind and weather, drawn from the whispers of history, as if created from the very stones of the valley itself.

Land of Iron, Skinningrove www.landofiron.org.uk

MUSIC

SAT 8

CLUB PARADISE

With supports from Wild Spelks and Diago, Club Paradise celebrate the release of their latest EP, The Night Carnival, with a night to remember for the four-piece indie sob-rockers. The band have already garnered support from BBC Introducing, Radio X and Radio 1’s Jack Saunders.

The Cluny, Newcastle www.thisisclubparadise.com

Kuba Ryniewicz, Joel’s Hand, 2021,

Image by Steve Muscutt

MUSIC

COMEDY SAT 15

DEAGE PAXTON

NARC. E-ZINE

SUN 9 FREDA D’SOUZA

The experimental folk, voice and violin artist comes to North Shields in support of new EP, Windowledge. The EP’s five songs reveal a moment of clarity in the aftermath of a co-dependent relationship. Drawing from classic and contemporary folk and experimental reference points, Windowledge is a spacious and shimmering introduction to a singular emerging talent.

The Engine Room, North Shields www.terns.co.uk

STAGE WED 12 A MANIFESTO FOR A NEW CITY

Theatre company Project A revive Julia Darling’s A Manifesto For A New City, in which a friendly revolution snatches power from the city’s leaders and delivers it to artists and makers. They also co-create, with writer Laura Lindow a contemporary epilogue, The Language of We, which considers the themes of the original production. Runs until Saturday 15th July.

Theatre Royal, Newcastle www.theatreroyal.co.uk

FILM

SAT 15

LATE STORIES: MIDSOMMAR

Seven Stories will be bringing Ari Aster’s world to life through an interactive journey across the seven-storey building culminating in a screening of the A24 cult classic celebrating the crowning of the May Queen in association with Tyneside Cinema, with friends food and drink.

Seven Stories, Newcastle www.sevenstories.org.uk

Deage Paxton’s acerbic wit, use of non-sequitur jokes and unique brand of dark humour has resulted in a show compiled of jokes not for the faint-hearted. Deage’s debut show, Impersonable, is a culmination of honing his craft over ten years on the UK comedy circuit. Award winning comedian Rahul Kohli will be opening the show. The Stand, Newcastle www.thestand.co.uk

EVENTS SUN 16 MAKE & MEND

Make & Mend Festival is a day full of colour, creativity, positivity and wellbeing; a chance to learn something new, fuel creativity and take some time away from the day-to-day. Featuring craft demonstrations, yoga and a maker marketplace offering a range of products from local makers and creatives. Ormesby Hall, Middlesbrough www.makemendfestival.co.uk

ARTS & LIT WED 26 AN EVENING WITH DAVE HASLAM

Former Hacienda DJ Dave Haslam, the author of several full-length and short format books, will be discussing music, life, art and more with special guest Paul Smith from Maximo Park. So, expect inspiration, ideas and some exclusive career spanning anecdotes from Manchester, Berlin, New York and more.

Biscuit Factory, Newcastle www.thebiscuitfactory.com

MUSIC SAT 29

CURRENT AFFAIRS

Glasgow’s Current Affairs bring their new album, Off The Tongue, to town. A project designed to promote queer and femalefronted music, Current Affairs’ song-writing process is collaborative and straddles new-wave pop and gothic post-punk with grit and panache, a rallying diversion from hopelessness and fear.

The Lubber Fiend, Newcastle www.thelubberfiend.com

The place to be for multimedia diversions, the 10th edition of our E-ZINE is online now, featuring exclusive videos, playlists, mini-documentaries, sound clips and much more

NARC. TV

Our magazine-style programme features performances and interviews with North East artists, filmed in venues across the region

MY WRITING LIFE WITH FRAN HARVEY: ELIZA CLARK

In our exclusive podcast series My Writing Life, Fran Harvey talks with Newcastle-based author, and recent winner of Granta’s Best Young British Novelist award, Eliza Clark, about her new novel Penance and her writing process

BRASSED ON! Q&A INTERVIEWS

We chat with some of the artists taking part in Durham’s BRASSED ON! project, which pairs North East artists Luke Royalty and Sisi with contemporary brass bands to add new dimensions to their sound

KEEP

MUSIC LIZZIE ESAU RELEASES DEBUT EP, DEEPEST BLUE

Words: Claire Dupree

North East artist Lizzie Esau has been on quite the whirlwind since emerging as a fresh-faced songwriter in 2021. Having garnered early acclaim from the likes of BBC Introducing, particularly for debut single What If I Just Keep Driving and follow-up Caffeine, Lizzie became

known for her ability to change up her sound, from whimsical piano-based balladry and indie rock bangers to injecting rap and spoken word elements into songs to create an edgy and contemporary vibe.

It’s clear from her output thus far that Lizzie is enjoying finding her feet as an artist, and the release of her debut EP, Deepest Blue, this month sets out her stall from the off. Produced by Catherine Marks (Foals, Wolf Alice, The Killers), the EP announces itself with intent on new single Lazy Brain, in which Lizzie’s incredible vocal soars over dreamy guitars; the brooding Roadkill is a driving rally cry; while Jellyfish’s playful vocal style and pop rock chorus shows another side to the songwriter’s

versatility.

When it comes to subject matter, Lizzie’s unafraid to explore intimate themes, and the new EP touches on introspection and inner battles, from the self-doubt fuelled emotions of Lazy Brain through to the thoughtful political commentary of The Enemy.

Lizzie Esau releases Deepest Blue EP on 21st July via LAB Records. She plays several shows in the North East over the coming months, including Hardwick Festival in Durham on 20th August and Generator Live on 16th September. www.facebook.com/lizzieesau.music

MUSIC SUMMER STREETS @ CLIFFE PARK

Words: Steve Spithray

Summer Streets returns with its usual mix of eclectic genres and plenty of activities and workshops for families to enjoy, now over two days on Saturday 15th and Sunday 16th July at Sunderland’s Cliffe Park. Headline acts for this year include North East folk favourites The Young’Uns and incredible all-female brass band The Original Pinettes from New Orleans, who

are performing thanks to a partnership with Durham BRASS. Other headline acts include Afro fusion collective Hannabiell & The Midnight Blue Collective and Sunderland rock band SLUG. Elsewhere on the line-up, there’s attitude-ridden poppy punk from bigfatbig, guitar rock from Cortney Dixon, the folk-driven sounds of Holy Moly & The Crackers, the Balkan melodies of the Baghdaddies and the event will serve as the debut for Blowdry Colossus, a new musical venture of Field Music’s Peter Brewis.

The BBC Music Introducing North East stage will feature performances from Roxy Girls, Headcage, Reali-T, Frankie Jobling, Just B and Sarah Johnstone, while the event also features an array of outdoor arts including Levantes

Dance who present their work High Tea With A Twist, and 2Faced Dance performing Last Orders, which explores the vulnerability behind male bravado.

Elsewhere, Sunderland Music Hub will be delivering workshops while Curious Arts, Chalk and Tiny Tweeties will provide fun and entertainment for younger members of the audience.

The festival also features a range of food and drink stalls, including some favourites from around the city.

Summer Streets takes place at Cliffe Park in Roker, Sunderland from Saturday 15th July–Sunday 16th July.

www.summerstreetsfestival.com

BBC Proms at Sage Gateshead: Yazz Ahmed & Arun Ghosh

Friday 21 July 2023 | 10pm | Sage Two

BBC

at

Sage Gateshead:

A musical journey through the African American spiritual

Reginald Mobley & Baptiste Trotignon

Sunday 23 July 2023 | 2pm | Sage Two

For more information, and to book tickets go to sagegateshead.com

Hannabiell & Midnight Blue

ART & LIT ELIZA CLARK BOOK LAUNCH @ BISCUIT FACTORY

Words: Françoise Harvey

Novelist and self-titled Fellow of the Royal Society of Bitchrature, Eliza Clark returns to Newcastle on Thursday 6th July to launch her new book Penance at the Biscuit Factory. Newcastle-born Clark has just been anointed one of Granta’s Best Young British Novelists and her cult-hit debut novel Boy Parts has been dramatised for stage in London. Her new novel Penance more than promises to keep her star rising.

The Biscuit Factory organisers describe Penance as “already one of our favourite books of the year… an utterly chilling, compulsive story”. And it is a cracker – an intricate untrue crime narrative of murder, murky websites and teenage girls.

Clark is in conversation with Matt Wesolowski, the mentor she found through New Writing North’s Young Writers programme, which she credits with opening the doors to her writing career. “I’m really excited,” she told told me. “[Because of lockdown] I didn’t get to do a Newcastle event for Boy Parts; I’m looking forward to doing a home gig. It’ll be really nice to talk to Matt, that’ll be a lovely full-circle moment.”

Find out more about Penance as well as Eliza Clark’s writing process in our My Writing Life with Fran Harvey podcast, available on Spotify. Eliza Clark launches Penance at The Biscuit Factory, Newcastle on Thursday 6th July. www.elizaclarkauthor.com

MUSIC SUMMER SHOWCASE @ GEORGIAN THEATRE

Words: Steve Spithray

Local purveyors of all things new and creative musically, Nrthrn Baby and BBC Introducing Tees have teamed up to announce their Summer Showcase event on Saturday 22nd July at The Georgian Theatre, a night that celebrates the very best in local emerging talent from the Tees Valley and the wider North East area. The inaugural line-up boasts Stockton-based Brit-pop outfit The Collectors, young singer-songwriter Sisi who is making something of a name for herself since debuting at Reading & Leeds Festival in 2022, and Rame Kari’s new-age bluesy hip-hop.

Other artists on the eclectic bill include neo-soul and R&B singer Frankie Jobling from Newcastle, BBC Tees’ own Shakk with his archetypal socially aware rhymes, Durham grime artist Merczz who has already totted up millions of streams online, the ever-iconic Eyeconic, and DJ Melo.

With everything from Brit-pop to Afropop and UK rap, and every act already having the backing of BBC Introducing Tees, the Summer Showcase already feels like a community in the making, while the diverse programming brings the best in North East talent that might not normally share the same stage and may still be a little under the radar, all under one roof. A showcase for summer indeed.

Summer Showcase takes place at Georgian Theatre, Stockton on Saturday 22nd July. www.georgiantheatre.co.uk

MUSIC BCUC @ THE FIRE STATION

Words: Cameron Wright

Looking for something rhythmic, energised and engaging? Look no further than BCUC at The Fire Station in Sunderland on Wednesday 12th July.

The seven-piece group are arguably the freshest band out of the South African music scene and are frankly absolutely phenomenal. Bantu Continua Uhuru Consciousness, to give them their full moniker, have become a voice for the voiceless as their undeniable political streak bleeds from the heart of their music, which is also full of love, fun, acceptance and euphoria. The result is a sound that pulses with excitement and fury.

Oozing with stage presence, the funk collective seize the attention of global audiences due to their authentic, rootsy sound which melds homegrown grooves and traditions with the funk finesse of the 70s. BCUC play, write and perform from and for the soul, creating something bound to ignite and communicate with any audience.

Spanning genres which encompass Afrobeat and rock, BCUC have created a psychedelic sound that is wholly their own, and which yearns to be heard live and loud!

BCUC play The Fire Station, Sunderland on Wednesday 12th July.

www.bcuc.bandcamp.com

Eliza Clark by Robin Silas Christian

MUSIC MAKE A SCENE FESTIVAL @ TEESSIDE UNIVERSITY

Words: Laura Doyle

There’s something comforting about the fact that it’s Make A Scene time once again. The event has become a mainstay in the North East music scene, where grassroots talent and emerging acts from across the nation come

together in a space nurtured specifically for them.

For those of us without access to big name rock festivals taking place up and down the country every summer, this yearly pilgrimage to Teesside University for a full day of up-andcoming faves is a true blessing. And on the off chance that this is the first you’re hearing of Make A Scene, it’s maybe time to crawl out from under that rock! (No pun intended).

On Saturday 15th July, three stages feature a broad church of styles and influences. The headliners are sure to pull your attention, with rising rock icons As December Falls, hardcore/ punks Trash Boat, and sludgy metalheads

Heriot at the top of many people’s must-sees. But cast your eyes a little way down the lineup, and you’ll see the likes of Welsh rockers Dream State (for those poignant but earcatching riffs), local legends Tired of Fighting, and US pop punk outfit Telltale over for their first ever UK shows. Go to Make A Scene, and you can be there from the start of the next generation’s rock all stars.

Make A Scene festival takes place at Teesside University, Middlesbrough on Saturday 15th July.

www.makeascene.uk

Suede by Dean Chalkley

As December Falls

EVENTS OUR PRIDE FESTIVAL @ VARIOUS VENUES

Words: Steve Spithray

Our Pride Festival is a five-day LGBTQIA+ programme curated by Sister Shack CIC. In 2019, the organisers noticed a need for an alternative Pride offering built on an ethos and shared desire for a calmer, safer alternative to official Pride month, and hastily arranged and hosted their first all-day Pride event in Newcastle. Due to the pandemic the programming was forced to move online, but in 2022 returned for an event at The Old Coal Yard which remains a focal point in an expanded programme this year.

This year Sister Shack will host five days of events in various venues across Newcastle in a programme which is partly funded by an Arts Council National Lottery Project Grant. Events will include Decksercise, fun exercise classes along with DJs at World Headquarters (Tuesday 18th); a film screening of John Waters’ Hairspray at Star & Shadow Cinema (Wednesday 19th); Beccy Owen’s Hush Club, a sound healing exercise at Magic Hat Cafe (Thursday 20th); an Our Pride Takeover of the Cumberland Arms terrace with a live performance by Ladies of Midnight Blue (Friday 21st); and the final day of the event on Saturday 22nd which includes the Our Pride Social in the afternoon at The Old Coal Yard with crafts, workshops and a panel discussion which looks at topics of Queer joy and performative activism, as well as performance from indie folk artist Melanie Baker before a Bend & Shake club night rounds off the event in typically fun and inclusive style.

Sister Shack’s Our Pride Festival takes place at various venues across Newcastle from Tuesday 18th July–Saturday 22nd July. www.ourpridefestival.com

MUSIC SOUNDWAVE FESTIVAL @ SEATON REACH

Words: Amy McGarahan SoundWave Festival is a brand new event which takes place at Seaton Reach, Hartlepool on Sunday 30th July. The day is set to be jam-packed with big names, local talent and rib-tickling comedy.

The inaugural festival will include three stages across the coastline site. The Main Stage will play host to headliners Bastille, whose indie pop sound has seen them garner serious critical acclaim. Also joining them will be local heroes The Futureheads; rock band The Subways; Hartlepool native Michael Gallagher, who performs his anthemic indie rock; Teesside’s own Finn Forster, whose bluesy pop vibes are infectious; Stockton-based alt. rock four-piece We Tibetans; brat-pop duo ZELA and the UK’s 2019 Eurovision representative Michael Rice. The Hideaway Stage champions even more local talent, featuring music from X-Factor contestant and R&B singer Kerianne Covell; Stockton’s alternative indie folk singer-songwriter Frazer Lambert; and Billingham’s Cally Billie Gatley who will perform a chilled-out acoustic set. The Comedy Tent will be full of laughs all day, with sets from James Kilvington, Matty Oxley, Cal Herbert and Fran Garrity.

SoundWave festival goers can also expect food vendors, bespoke bars, a VIP area, funfair rides for both adults and children, photobooths, fire-breathers and kid’s entertainers, meaning it’ll be a fun-filled day with great music on the beautiful North East coastline, perfect for all the family.

SoundWave Festival takes place at Seaton Reach, Hartlepool on Sunday 30th July.

www.soundwavelive.co.uk

STAGE EVENTS @ LAUREL’S

Words: Ruby Watson

Since opening in 2021, Whitley Bay’s fringe theatre and nightspot Laurel’s has swiftly become a magnet for artists and audiences looking for something a little different, with the venue playing host to off-the-wall comedy, quirky theatre productions and decidedly outside the mainstream productions. This month Laurel’s has plenty to sink your teeth into, starting with Fesshole on Wednesday 12th, in which Rob Manuel promises to bring “the internet’s naughtiest, funniest, cringiest confessions to the Bay”. The Club will be a long-running highlight throughout July (Tuesday 4th-Saturday 22nd), offering an immersive trip back to 1975 that vows to recreate the lively atmosphere of Club life. Comedian Stanley Brookes is at the venue on Wednesday 26th to teach you how to be rich; whereas on Thursday 27th-Friday 28th The Merry Wives is a modern telling of the Bard’s play. Also on Thursday 27th, Creepy Boys is described as “Oh Hello meets those twins from The Shining, meets My Super Sweet 16”, which is likely as bonkers as it sounds. Saturday 29th sees another double bill of shows including A Slice Of Elvis, comedian Mike McAlpine’s hilarious escapades as an Elvis tribute artist, and comedian Phil Green’s midlife crisis influenced Four Weddings And A Breakdown. Finally, on Sunday 30th, How To Survive And Thrive In An Impossible World – With A Piano is an interactive show with award-winning psychologist and songwriter Steve Bonham and composer and musician Chris ‘The Bishop’ Lydon.

www.laurelswhitley.co.uk

Melanie Baker, who performs as part of Our Pride Festival

MUSIC IMOGEN BOSE-WARD @ BOBIKS

Words: Amy McGarahan

Bobiks hosts the soulful singer-songwriter

Imogen Bose-Ward on Friday 28th July, with support from North East artists Jenny Lascelles and Maius Mollis. Bose-Ward released her debut single Just Fine back in 2022 and has had a run of support ever since, particularly from BBC Introducing. Growing up in Lanarkshire, Scotland, Imogen has roots in Scottish traditional music but has shifted her sound towards a hybrid of folk, jazz and Americana, as heard in single Red Bricks. Latest single Elton shows off her introspective and candid lyricism, through its mellow, harmony-filled Americana sound. Her gig at Bobiks will be her full band debut, where she will share the stage with Will Hammond (Ceitidh Mac, Martha Hill), Ian Peterson (The Slowlight Quarter, HAV) and Tom Fletcher (Hyde and Beast, The Lake Poets).

In support, Newcastle-based singersongwriter and pianist Jenny Lascelles’ sound ranges from folk pop to a dark indie vibe. Latest single Strange Weather, released in June, is a beautiful piano ballad with layered vocal harmonies. Also in attendance will be multi-instrumentalist singer-songwriter Maius Mollis, who has trained in classical performance at Leeds Conservatoire, and in folk and traditional music at Newcastle University. Her knowledge of the two contrasting genres can be heard in debut single, The Tide Turned, with newest release Feel It Hard displaying a self-reflective and emotional yet upbeat indie pop sound. Imogen Bose-Ward, Jenny Lascelles and Maius Mollis play Bobiks, Newcastle on Friday 28thJuly.

www.facebook.com/imogenbosewardmusic

MUSIC BBC PROMS @ SAGE GATESHEAD

Words: Jason Jones

Sage Gateshead welcomes a stunning and diverse festival of concerts as part of the BBC Proms from Friday 21st-Sunday 23rd July. Kicking things off on the Friday night is a collaborative performance between pop icon Self Esteem and the Royal Northern Sinfonia conducted by Robert Ames, who has previously worked alongside the likes of Radiohead and Frank Ocean.

Later in the evening, two of the British jazz scene’s leading lights come together, with trumpet player Yazz Ahmed and clarinetist, composer and bandleader Arun Ghosh joining forces for a show that promises to be as enchanting as it is gorgeously varied.

On Saturday, the Royal Northern Sinfonia, helmed by Principal Conductor Dinis Sousa and featuring Kristian Bezuidenhout on piano, will embark on a tempestuous journey through darkness and light as they perform Missy Mazzoli’s Sinfonia (For Orbiting Spheres), Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, and Brahms’ melancholically serene Symphony No. 2. Shortly afterwards, the Chorus of the Royal Northern Sinfonia will host a separate concert their own.

Finally, on Sunday afternoon, American counter-tenor Reginald Mobley is joined by celebrated French jazz pianist Baptiste Trotignon for a musical journey through the African American spiritual.

BBC Proms takes place at Sage Gateshead from Friday 21st-Sunday 23rd July. www.sagegateshead.com

ART & LIT INTERNATIONAL ZINE MONTH @ BALTIC

Words: Steve Spithray

BALTIC invite us to explore their growing zine collection and to uncover a range of topics to inspire and inform our own zines with a trio of events at the gallery in July.

Tangled, Overgrown and Inky: Risograph Printing with Foundation Press will share the basics of risograph printing, exploring the colour palette and image quality of this popular zine-making tool. Through collaging images from Foundation Press’ archive of scanned plants and natural elements, participants will make experimental two-colour prints (Saturday 15th). Grow Your Own: Zine-Making with Mani Kambo, features Hinterlands artist Mani Kambo, and explores the relationship between animals, humans and plants through zine-making using collage, photocopying and drawing (Saturday 22nd).

Finally, The Multiverse and Me: Zine-Making with Mel Sproates is a case study in gender, race and class identity using zines, collage and pop culture imagery (Saturday 29th). The gallery’s zine collection celebrates independent publishing and DIY culture and is sourced from artists and zine-makers across the country with a focus on self-publishers working in the North of England. The gallery over 350 zines in the online catalogue and many more waiting to be added and many of these will be on display throughout the month. International Zine Month runs at BALTIC, Gateshead from Saturday 1st–Sunday 30th July.

www.baltic.art

Imogen Bose-Ward

MUSIC TRACKS IN TOWN @ DARLINGTON MARKET SQUARE

Words: Cameron Wright

There’s nothing better than outdoor live music than during the beating heart of summer. On Saturday 29th July Darlington music

11–13 August

promoters Tracks bring you a dazzling afternoon of live music in the town’s market square; the seven hour extravaganza will feature some of the area’s most exciting live acts, and best of all – it’s free! With a passion for introducing audiences to new artists and promoting the exciting and colourful North East music scene, Tracks are confident there’s something to please everyone in their Tracks In Town line-up. Maybe it’s the summertime funk of Teesside’s Moon Wax, the jangle pop stylings of Hartlepool’s James Leonard Hewitson, India

Arkin’s indie pop ballads or Darlington’s own soulful urban pop songwriter Luke Royalty. Headliners Avalanche Party will round out the event, currently flying high with festival appearances at Reading & Leeds, and SXSW in Texas, anyone who hasn’t had the pleasure of their raucous and thrilling live show is in for a real treat.

Tracks In Town takes place in Darlington’s Market Square on Saturday 29th July.

www.tracksdarlington.co.uk

Lady Maisery • Kathryn Williams

Ceitidh Mac • Katie Doherty and the Navigators • Assembly Lane

Amelia Coburn • Jon Doran and the Northern Assembly • Anna Hughes and Jessie Howard • Catch The Sparrow

The Canny Band • Tom McConville and Michael Biggins • The Wilson Family

Queer Folk Showcase: Amy Thatcher

Malin Makes Music • Alex Etchart

DIY Ceilidh and many more!

Tickets from £40 half price under 16’s

Avalanche Party

Gaia at Durham Cathedral

10 July – 10 September

This summer experience giant artwork, Gaia at Durham Cathedral. See the earth as you would from space and discover a host of out-of-thisworld events including:

• Dining under the earth with a sustainable twist

• Practise yoga as the artwork illuminates above you

• Sunset silent discos with the whole family

• Plus special late night openings featuring live entertainment, street food and craft workshops

ART & LIT MATILDA SUTTON: DISSOLUTION @ VANE GALLERY

Words: Michael O’Neill

Dissolution marks the debut solo exhibition for Newcastle-based visual artist Matilda Sutton at Gateshead’s renowned Vane Gallery, where she has previously contributed works to numerous group exhibitions. Her works fuse painting, drawing, sculpture and textiles with posthumanist and feminist philosophies, myth, literary and historical narratives to deeply explore how we categorise our world and ourselves.

Vane consider Dissolution to be a bold body of work that “turns to the boundaries of ‘body’ and ‘self’, asking how we conceive of our wholeness, or lack thereof, and negotiate our edges. The work considers the gap between the concept of the human and its body as a whole – singular and discrete, with the reality of it as a shifting, unbounded and porous organism.”

The works in the exhibition explore many aspects of human culture, such as washing, grooming and hygiene practices, clothing and textile production, to further dissect societal ideals of cleanliness, purity, ritual and their relationship to physicality, religion, gender and sexuality. The exhibition is a poignant milestone in Matilda’s evolution as an artist, having previously been awarded awarded a Newcastle University Final Year Student Prize in 2019, an a-n Artist Bursary in 2021 and was selected for the solo Newcastle Arcus Pride Art Show in 2023

Sutton: Dissolution is at Vane Gallery, Gateshead from Thursday 13th July-Saturday 5th August. www.matildasutton.com

MUSIC BLUE LASS @ THE GLOBE

Words: Michael O’Neill

Despite being a genre steeped in tradition, bluegrass music, much like the wider pantheon of roots and Americana music, is a broad church of song that is far from running out of life. One needn’t look far throughout the region to see just how much life is left in it; from Jumpin’ Hot Club’s regular forays into the genre through to this brilliant offering from The Globe on Friday 14th July, it is clear that the powerful songbooks crafted throughout such pivotal eras in the development of modern song still have so much wonder and fascination to offer.

Blue Lass are a magnificent addition to the broad array of musicians keeping the genre’s spirit alive. Comprised of five musicians, on acoustic guitar, fiddle, mandolin, double bass and clawhammer banjo, Blue Lass formed through meeting and jamming together on the festival circuit. When they all discovered a mutual passion for the great bluegrass songbook of the fifties, they sought to bring about a unique approach to the form, bringing contemporary reinterpretations of classic arrangements into the fold, whilst still staying true to the acoustic sound of the genre. The result is a refreshing but still compelling faithful rendering of some of the most pivotal works in the history of song.

Blue Lass play The Globe, Newcastle on Friday 14th July.

www.instagram.com/bluelassmusic

MUSIC

SUNLUN CALLING @ SUNNISIDE GARDENS

Words: Jake Anderson

Glastonbury? Snoozefest! Reading & Leeds? Don’t even bother! Sunderland has the answer for your festival needs this summer with Sunlun Calling!

Sunniside Gardens will be taken over for the weekend, with Friday 7th July’s Block Party event featuring the likes of Craig Charles, Fat Tony, Greg Wilson and more, while Sunday 9th July will feature a stunning line up of some of Sunderland’s best live bands, who’ll take over the stage from midday until late.

The line-up is a who’s who of Sunderland acts including legendary North East rock stars The Futureheads; Tom A. Smith, one of the most passionate songwriters in the UK indie scene right now, who is currently receiving high praise for his performances; and beloved soul band Smoove & Turrell, whose signature Northern funk sound will keep the party going. Audiences can also enjoy the Mackem ballads of The Lake Poets, powerful songwriter This Little Bird, the electronic swagger of Vandebilt, catchy anthems courtesy of The Voyd, and the immaculate energy of Docksuns. It’s a line up perfect for your local music nerd, and guarantees good vibes in the sun.

SunLun Calling takes place at Sunniside Gardens, Sunderland on Friday 7th and Sunday 9th July.

www.facebook.com/sunluncalling

Matilda Sutton, Spitting Pips, 2023, acrylic on collaged paper substrate, 95x85cm

Matilda

MUSIC TYNE & QUEER: PRIDE POWER @ ANARCHY BREWERY

Words: Laura Doyle

Pride is for life, not just for June! Newcastle continues the LGBTQ+ celebrations well into July (as regulars to the Pride parade know fine well) – and leading the charge is emerging LGBTQ+ arts and culture collective, Tyne & Queer. Their day-long live music and

community shindig, Pride Power, is the next in a long line of successful safe spaces and exciting events for Queer-identifying people in the North East. Tyne and Queer pride themselves on accessible, supportive programming for everyone from every walk of life, and this is no exception. Just a small step from Walkergate Metro, Anarchy Brewery plays host to the event on Saturday 8th July, which features a roster of local talent throughout the day, including dreamy alt. rock outfit Labyrinthine Oceans, new(ish) kids on the riot grrrl block Sorority Grrrls, and headliners Teesside melodic metalheads m o t i o n s. Tyne & Queer’s market will be running

Friday 7 July, 8pm

Tickets: £12 03000 266 600

Motions

alongside, where Queer vendors can gather to showcase and sell their work to an audience of like minded individuals. Rounding off the day’s activities is a special appearance by local LGBTQ+ club night Queer Love, who will make the most of the long summer nights with a DJ set to take you all the way to curfew. Food, arts, culture, music and Queer joy – what more do you need?

Tyne & Queer present Pride Power at Anarchy Brewery, Newcastle on Saturday 8th July. www.linktr.ee/tyneandqueercollective www.mima.art

galadurham.co.uk

STAGE DURHAM FRINGE FESTIVAL @ VARIOUS VENUES

Words: Emily Ingram

Say what you want about Durham, but there’s almost always something weird and wonderful going on if you know where to look for it. This month is no different, as the always-eclectic Durham Fringe Festival is set to hit a range of venues across the city from Wednesday 26th-Sunday 30th July. For the uninitiated, the Durham Fringe is a grassroots community-led festival that aims to celebrate the best and brightest performing and visual arts that the city has to offer. It’s also the #1 event for making tourists stop on Cathedral green and proclaim, very loudly, “ooo, I wonder what’s going on in that big tent!”.

What ISN’T going on in that big tent? It’s a jam-packed one this year, with performers flocking from near and far to bring the goods. There’s set to be plenty of laughs from Amarpal Singh, Becky Heaviside and Metroland Comedy (among plenty of others); a huge host of Shakespeare and bard-inspired theatrical productions courtesy of Elysium Theatre among others; more magic than you can shake a comically long hanky at and even the odd family-friendly, space-pirates-hurtling-througha-trash-vortex extravaganza.

There’s also a ton of ticket deals, including three shows for 20 quid, which definitely shouldn’t be sniffed at. Be sure to check out the Durham Fringe website for the full programme of events, as planning your fringe experience ahead of time is your best bet for

making the most out of this brilliant festival. Durham Fringe Festival takes place at various venues in Durham from Wednesday 26th-Sunday 30th July. www.durhamfringe.co.uk

MUSIC

PICTISH TRAIL @ POP RECS LTD.

Words: Ben Lowes-Smith

Johnny Flynn, aka Pictish Trail, has been ploughing a unique, untidy and unconventional furrow for twenty years, empowering others through his Lost Map Records and gigs on the Isle of Eigg, and has given a platform to the likes of Rozi Plain, Bas Jan, Seamus Fogarty and Free Love, among many others.

Flynn’s own music is special and idiosyncratic, and 2020 saw the release of Pictish Trail’s new album, Thumb World. Bold, weird, wild, wired, sonically luxurious yet never losing touch with its DIY-‘til-I-die roots, Thumb World is a voyage to the outer rings of Pictish Trail’s mind at its darkest, funniest and most inventive – a “plugged-in, fuzzed-out, fucked-up contemplation” on, as he puts it, “life repeating and gradually degrading, the inevitable cyclical nature of things, and the sense of there ultimately being no escape.” Pictish Trail’s performance at Pop Recs on Friday 21st July will also feature Guto Price of Super Furry Animals on the ones and twos, and he’s sure to provide deep cuts from an erudite record collection. Not one to be missed!

Pictish Trail plays Pop Recs Ltd., Sunderland on Friday 21st July.

www.pictishtrail.co.uk

ART & LIT PEOPLE POWERED: STORIES FROM THE RIVER TEES @ MIMA

Words: Emily Ingram

There’s something undeniably vital about the Tees. For the people of Middlesbrough, the existence of the river – along with all its sights, sounds and smells – has proved to be the one reliable constant throughout two centuries of rapid change and uncertainty. It flowed when the town was nothing but a cluster of farmhouses at the turn of the 19th Century; when the golden age of iron and steel production prompted William Gladstone to declare Middlesbrough an ‘Infant Hercules’; and continues to flow now the old giants of industry have been flattened for redevelopment. As such, it seems that there’s no time like the present for the good folks at MIMA to launch a hefty exhibition inspired by the River Tees. Formulated in partnership with the National Portrait Gallery, this collection of stories, poetry and portraits will delve into histories and folk tales exploring, in their words, “how the magnificent River Tees has shaped the region”. Whether you’re a curious ‘Boro native or just keen to learn more about this mighty river, the exhibition promises to be revealing and intriguing.

People Powered: Stories from the River Tees is at MIMA, Middlesbrough from Saturday 22nd July-Sunday 7th January 2024. www.mima.art

Pictish Trail by Sarah Boden

FREE ENTRY · NO TICKET REQUIRED

s h e drew t h e g u n

AMELIA COBURN // ELAINE PALMER // MICHAEL GALLAGHER // DYLAN CARTLIDGE

JAMES LEONARD HEWITSON // PLAZA // WE TIBETANS // MT. MISERY

HECTOR GANNET // MAX BIANCO // THE WOVEN PROJECT // CORTNEY DIXON // MACHINER

Little Hands // DAWKS // CHARLOTTE GRAYSON // HARRIET BRADSHAW // DILETTANTE

COSIAL // MARKETPLACE // POCKET JAZZ ORCHESTRA // MANCHESTER ANTHEMS

AARMS // JAY MOUSSA-MANN // BURN THE VALLEY // CIGAR CIGAR // PEK & WANLEY

NORTHERN HOSPITALITY // LOST STATE OF DAN // THE D'ARCY DANIELS BLUES EXPRESS

BUBAMARA // HARTLEPOOL COMMUNITY SINGERS // HARTLEPOOL LADIES CHOIR

HARTLEPOOL MALE VOICE CHOIR // ANDY PALMER // JAMES ROBSON // Sarah Johnsone

MUSIC KATE CLOVER @ ZEROX

Words: Michael O’Neill

Following in the rich lineage of X, Germs and The Gun Club, Kate Clover has long established a strong reputation as one of the foremost flag-bearers of the wonderful, defiantly anything-goes spirit of LA punk; a timeless and wonderfully chameleonic pantheon of bold and boundary pushing wonder. 2022’s Bleed Your Heart Out is a phenomenal testament to her talents; never boring and staying true to the spirit of classic LA punk without ever veering into sounding like an over-earnest pastiche of a sacred sound. As anyone who found an epiphany in Fire Of Love and Wild Gift will tell you: that’s not an easy thing to pull off. Exploring the intricacies of self-discovery, self-creation, and self-preservation in the place where dreams are born to die.

Kate performs at the perfectly suited Zerox on Sunday 16th July, a venue whose Quayside location has evolved into a wonderful embodiment of the zany, vivid atmosphere conjured up in Kate’s brilliant music. There’s also an eclectic support line-up, with Leeds-based art rock quintet Mother Said, Durham’s finest purveyors of mullet rock Tin Ribs, and Ousecore’s finest power couple Bullion Train rounding off a phenomenal line-up of refreshing and enthralling banger-merchants.

Kate Clover, Mother Said, Tin Ribs and Bullion Train play Zerox, Newcastle on Sunday 16th July. www.kateclover.com

ART & LIT RICHARD MILWARD @ PINEAPPLE BLACK

Words: Claire Dupree Teesside author Richard Milward is highly revered around these parts, mostly due to his unique writing style which led the likes of Dazed & Confused to name him “one of the country’s most important and celebrated young authors”. Also a talented illustrator, Milward’s accolades come from far and wide, and his work is widely celebrated for its wit and gleeful abandon. His new novel Man-Eating Typewriter, published in March by White Rabbit, is yet another feather in the author’s cap, and described as a “hallucinogenic cocktail of A Clockwork Orange, Pale Fire and Jean Genet’s jailbird fantasies”. A surreal odyssey which flits from occupied Paris to lawless Tangier and London in the swinging 60s, Man-Eating Typewriter is an homage to the avant-garde counterculture of the 20th Century.

Milward pulls together a group of similarly talented Teesside pals for a special event at Pineapple Black on Saturday 15th July entitled Lubricate Reality With Dreams, which will include readings from Milward himself alongside David Keenan and a Q&A hosted by White Rabbit’s Lee Brackstone. There’s also a screening of Maxy Bianco’s Brother Nature, pop-up art and fashion courtesy of The Word & Happy Birthday, music from The Danny Kebabs, plus a special guest band to be announced. Richard Milward celebrates Man-Eating Typewriter at Pineapple Black, Middlesbrough on Saturday 15th July. www.richardmilward.com

MUSIC MUSIC AT THE MARINA @ NEWCASTLE QUAYSIDE

Words: Lee Fisher

There’s a new summertime all-dayer to put in the calendar, thanks to the team at NE1 in conjunction with Generator. Music At The Marina takes place on Saturday 29th July at the Urban Garden down on Newcastle’s Quayside, just in front of the law court and boasts a strong line-up of local talent. Running from 10am to 6pm, the line-up at this free event includes national hero Nev Clay, diffident exponent of confessional heartbreakers and tangential chat (in roughly equal amounts), upcoming teen outfit Idle Hands (with a sold-out Cluny 2 gig recently behind them), a mash-up of British and Pakistani influences from Haaji Ka Halva, a contemporary choir in the form of Voice Of The Town and the always on fire John Pope Quintet bringing fiery bass-driven jazz. All this and the Spin City DJs including the magnificent DJ Awkward Black Girl completing the line-up.

Music at the Marina takes place on Newcastle’s Quayside on Saturday 29th July. www.getintonewcastle.co.uk

Kate Clover by Allan Wan

17 TH - 23 RD JULY 2023

A mix and blend of the finest South Asian arts and culture

ROSHNI: SONIA SABRI COMPANY

Mon 17th July | 7.30pm

Dance City, Newcastle £15.00 / £12.50 concession dancecity.co.uk

MICHAEL MESSER’S MITRA

Wed 19th July | 8pm

The Cluny 2, Newcastle £15 / £17 ticketweb.uk

BBC Proms at Sage Gateshead: Yazz Ahmed and Arun GhosH Fri 21st July | 10pm-11.45pm

Sage Gateshead £8.00-£18.00 sagegateshead.com

Topographies: Places and Faces - South Asian Film

Shorts

Sat 22nd July | 3.30pm

BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead £5 gemarts.org

For full programme visit www.gemarts.org

The North East’s New Music Festival

Little Comets

Boiler Shop Newcastle

Tickets from £15 FREE tickets for NHS workers via Tickets For Good

Hannabiell & Midnight Blue

Benefits

Dylan Cartlidge Avalanche Party

Lizzie Esau

Ernie Venus Grrrls

Merczz + Sisi Me Lost Me

WHQ Electronic Stage Fringe Gigs & Conference +

Djs Azula Bandit & Alannah Lamb

MUSIC JUMPIN’ HOT CLUB’S COUNTRY CANTINA @ EASINGTON THORPE EAST FARM

Words: Lee Fisher

The Country Cantina is a really special event, clearly run for people not profit, just for the love of great music in green wondrousness.

Small and friendly – the Jumpin’ Hot crowd are a lovely bunch – it takes place in an accessible but fully rural barn and fields on the coast near Easington on Friday 14th and Saturday 15th July and offers a packed bill of roots music – Americana, Cajun, rockabilly and the rest – in an idyllic setting. This year you can catch local and national acts like Our Man In The Field, John Miller’s Country Casuals, The Veejay Cajun Band, national hero Nev Clay and the gentle Geordie swing of Shipcote & Friends, essentially the house band. There will also be campfire sessions, fine food and drink, a 78rpm record party and all sorts of other low-key shenanigans. The campsite is full

but there’s a big parking area and plans for a minibus from Newcastle (check the website). Jumpin’ Hot Club’s Country Cantina takes place at Easington Thorpe East Farm on Friday 14th and Saturday 15th July. www.jumpinhot.com

ART & LIT

MICHAEL RAKOWITZ: THE WAITING GARDENS OF THE NORTH @ BALTIC

Words: Matt Young

Iraqi-American artist Michael Rakowitz’s new project at BALTIC re-imagines the Hanging Garden, referencing the one in Babylon, considered among the Seven Ancient Wonders of the World. Rakowitz’s garden with be inhabited by new structures and sculptures reflecting the destroyed and looted cultural heritage of Iraq and Syria.

Using often highly charged political discourse as a personal jumping off point, Rakowitz expands his universe into memories, dreams and facsimiles, delving into complex social and cultural narratives. Rakowitz meticulously

recreates lost cultural treasures using everyday objects and materials, such as newspapers, food packaging and discarded cans, detritus reclaimed from the streets. He conjures sculptural totems in his wider storytelling and his art acts as a catalyst for social engagement, prompting viewers to confront uncomfortable truths and engage with pressing contemporary issues

BALTIC have invited Michael Rakowitz, in partnership with Imperial War Museums and 14-18 NOW, to develop a major new commission in response to the idea of conflict. The artist’s proposal is to create a sprawling, immersive interior forest of trees, hedges, herbs and medicinal plants, conceived and tended to in collaboration with local organisations. The garden, at the end of the exhibition, will sprawl into the city in small parts to a network of community and school gardens, expanding its footprint beyond the gallery.

Michael Rakowitz: The Waiting Gardens of the North is at BALTIC, Gateshead from Saturday 15th July–Sunday 26th May 2024.

www.michaelrakowitz.com

Siemon Dallas Hammond

MUSIC NORTH EAST HARDCORE @ ANARCHY BREWERY

Words: Cameron Wright

Any fan of hardcore knows that at its purest, it’s best live. The sweat, the heat, the emotion and the community all together in a loud, proud mess. Ferocious vocals collide and fire off as dirty beats and mammoth riffs are churned out to rabid fans. It’s an experience that brings people together; a kinship that’s made through a love of the genre, a mutual understanding as everyone arrives for the same thrill.

Local promoters Neversleep are raising the sirens and releasing a rally cry for any likeminded fan of local hardcore music. Marketed as “the hardest show that’ll happen in Newcastle all year” the upcoming North East Hardcore gig at Anarchy Brewery on Friday 7th July is set to be a night of chaos and big beats.

Artists including Bloodfury, Wise Up!, Nothing

But Enemies, Cruelty and headliners Bulldoze will blow the roof off, and the night promises to be both a celebration of local talent, but also a safe haven for all fans of hardcore. North East Hardcore takes place at Anarchy Brewery, Newcastle on Friday 7th July. www.neversleepncl.com

MUSIC BREANNA BARBARA @ BOBIKS

Words: Jason Jones

Describing herself as a “southern occultist juxtaposed in the middle of the city”, Breanna Barbara brings her mesmeric, arrestingly luscious slant on indie nomadism to Bobiks on Tuesday 11th July. The Minnesota native –raised in Florida and now a resident of New York – released her sophomore album Nothin’ But Time late last year to blanket adoration, and has steadily garnered global attention for her pensive, Americana-tinged meditations ever since 2016 debut effort Mirage Dreams.

Introspective, spirited and ceaselessly entrancing, Barbara leans on a musical palette that is as indebted to psychedelia and classic rock tropes as it is to the old school country and Delta blues that first captured her heart as a teenager.

In more recent times, Barbara has served as touring vocalist for trip-hop legend Tricky, a collaboration that has allowed her to travel the globe ever more broadly and that culminated in her prominent inclusion on his 2021 LP, Lonely Guest.

Support is provided by local favourites Pink Poison, themselves wranglers and purveyors of all kinds of scuzzy, bluesy elements that combine to concoct a swirling, swaggering vortex of wonderful weirdness. If you needed any further convincing as to where you should be on the evening of Tuesday 11th, consider them to be it.

Breanna Barbara and Pink Poison play Bobiks, Newcastle on Tuesday 11th July. www.breannabarbara.com

Bulldoze by Jon Freed

STAGE BARELY VISIBLE @ DANCE CITY

Words: Laura Doyle

Unless you’re a lesbian, or deeply invested in Queer culture in our society, you probably haven’t given lesbian representation much thought. Ain’t that just the problem, though? Lesbianism is often relegated to gross, over-sexualised risqué subplots, malicious deviations, or college ‘phases’ to grow out of.

Shouldn’t we be past this?

Rowena Gander has had enough – and I don’t blame her. In her show Barely Visible, which comes to Dance City on Thursday 13th July, Rowena uses her undoubtedly impressive physical skills in pole and contemporary dance to explore gay identity and objectification with playfulness and authenticity that is as captivating as it is thought-provoking. Even her mode of entertainment has strong “it’s 2023, can we please get over this?” vibes: pole dancing is only ever associated with the sleaziest of acts in our media, but have you ever tried to swing your entire body weight around a slippery pole with your knee joints as

the only point of contact? Anyone capable of just an act should be treated with the appropriate level of fear and reverence – and that’s precisely what Rowena Gander’s performance commands. (Maybe not the fear part, I’m sure she’s quite lovely IRL.)

Maybe you’ll laugh, maybe you’ll cry, maybe you’ll come away frantically googling “pole fitness classes near me” – all are as valid a response as lesbianism is an identity.

Barely Visible is performed at Dance City, Newcastle on Thursday 13th July.

www.rowenagander.com

Image by Andrew Ness

MUSIC MOONWALKS @ THE CUMBERLAND ARMS

Words: Ben Lowes-Smith

Promoters Wandering Oak provide Newcastle with consistent doozies, their gigs feature bands that may have otherwise slipped under your radar and, thanks to Walter’s magnificent taste and commitment to the cause, make you feel like you are in on a really great secret. Their show at The Cumberland Arms on Wednesday 26th July is no different, as Moonwalks lean into Wandering Oak’s refined taste for psychedelic music. Based between Detroit and Brooklyn, the band have toured extensively across the United States and Europe with the likes of Julian Casablancas, Metric and The Oh Sees. Their third studio LP, Western Mystery Tradition, which was released in May, was produced by Jonah Swilley (Mattiel, ATO Records) and recorded by Bill Skibbe (The Kills, Jack White) at Detroit’s (reputedly haunted) Masonic Temple, the famed Key Club Recording Studios, and Detroit’s Third Man Records. The album has been hailed as somewhat of a departure from

their usual psych rock sound, featuring a more polished vibe that contributes to the maturity of their sound. Apparently inspired by “the isolation of the polar vortex in the northern US in 2019 that basically made outdoor life impossible”, it’s filled with suitably heavy atmospherics. Support comes from local garage rockers TV Death, and the re-emerging, much loved fuzz rockers Cheap Lunch.

Moonwalks, TV Death and Cheap Lunch play The Cumberland Arms, Newcastle on Wednesday 26th July. www.moonwalks.bandcamp.com

MUSIC JACK LADDER @ THE GREEN ROOM

Words: Jason Jones

The Green Room in Stockton welcomes cult icon Jack Ladder for an unmissable, intimate performance on Thursday 6th July. The singer-songwriter is a towering presence in the Australian indie scene, and has worked alongside some of the biggest names in the music industry, including Bill Callahan, Angel

Olsen, John Cale, Sharon Van Etten, Father John Misty and Weyes Blood, as well as recently touring with Alex Cameron and stadium rock titans The Killers. Often compared to compatriot Nick Cave, Ladder is renowned for his soaring, tender baritone, as well as his mastery of musical narrative, conjuring tales of beauty, love, hope and redemption that celebrate the human condition in his signature sardonically sentimental style.

From largely acoustic debut album Not Worth Waiting For to the lilting, brooding electronica of 2011’s Hurtsville, Ladder is an artist who has refuted categorisation and embraced reinvention at every stride in his polymathic career.

Diversely thrilling and thrillingly diverse, his live show draws on influences ranging from Leonard Cohen and Grant Lee Buffalo to Lambchop, and promises to deliver something that will linger long in the memory. Support on the evening comes from Ryder The Eagle and his distinctive brand of melancholic penmanship.

Jack Ladder and Ryder The Eagle play The Green Room, Stockton on Thursday 6th July. www.jackladderandthedreamlanders.com

Moonwalks by Mckenzie Pearce

COMEDY

THE LAST

STOP TO EDINBURGH COMEDY FESTIVAL @ THE GEORGIAN THEATRE

Words: Ben Lowes-Smith

Shoe Cake Comedy’s Last Stop To Edinburgh Comedy Festival is back for its third year at The Georgian Theatre in Stockton on Friday 14th and Saturday 15th July.

Over the years the festival has attracted performances from top comedians such as Troy Hawke, Brennan Reece, Justin Moorhouse and Patrick Monahan, so they really have their fingers on the pulse when it comes to top comics. This year, another seven superb acts bring their work in progress 60 minute shows to the stage before touring them or taking them up to the Edinburgh Fringe. Acts this year include Jonny Pelham (who has gone from the top room in the Dog & Parrot to Live At The Apollo), Mock The Week’s Mark Simmons, Bethany Black, Lou Conran, Matt Bragg, Aidan Goatley, all of whom have supported major

touring acts to critical acclaim, plus The Halls Of Ridiculousness, an improvised sketch show from Chris Lumb and Phil Allan-Smith. Tickets are £12 a show, with an attractive pricing structure for those wanting to attend multiple shows.

For those that don’t want to expel the time, effort and money it takes to venture north of the border, these gigs are a great way to see highly rated acts in one venue.

The Last Stop To Edinburgh Comedy Festival takes place at The Georgian Theatre, Stockton on Friday 14th and Saturday 15th July. www.shoecakecomedy.co.uk

Jonny Pelham

COMEDY FUNNY WAY TO BE EDINBURGH FRINGE PREVIEWS @ THE WITHAM

Words: Jake Anderson

Every year I give Edinburgh Fringe Festival a call, this year I said, “you need my hilarious wit and charm for the festival”. The response I got was “is this a bit? It’s not that funny”. It’s over, Jake the Comedian (Trademarked) is no

more.

But if you want to see some actual funny people, then you have the opportunity to see four comics debut their Fringe Festival acts for comedy promoters Funny Way To Be at The Witham in Barnard Castle on Saturday 29th July.

Louise Young’s opening act will be titled Feral, and will see the Geordie comic explore the chaos derived from her own life, spanning subject matter which includes themes of class and coming out. It’ll be a hilarious opening, setting the mood for the rest of the evening. Following on, Matt Bragg has supported some of Britain’s most high-profile comedians, and been heavily praised for his observational

comedy, his set is titled Matt Bragg Has Nothing Wrong With Him – a bold statement! Dan Tiernan’s set is labelled as a work in progress, which is either incredibly meta or there isn’t a name for it a yet, which either way I respect. The Mancunian with dyspraxia explores the insanity of his own personal life through a gag-heavy set. Ending the night will be Anth Young, detailing his life as a single man living with his parents to being a parent himself.

Funny Way To Be Edinburgh Fringe Previews are performed at The Witham, Barnard Castle on Saturday 29th July.

www.funnywaytobe.weebly.com

July Programme July Programme

Matt Bragg

MUSIC

MARTHA FFION @ THE CUMBERLAND ARMS

Words: Jake Anderson

Born in Northern Ireland, but moving to Scotland when she was 18, talented songwriter Martha Ffion brings her selection of heartfelt tunes to Newcastle’s Cumberland Arms on Monday 31st July.

The past year has seen the artist incorporate a live band into her performance, bringing a punchier element to the ballads that placed her on the map, and seeing her described as reminiscent of Sharon Van Etten or Angel Olsen.

This Newcastle show is one of a select few for the artist, and audiences can expect to hear songs from the her brand new third album, The Wringer, released in June. The album’s namesake, and recent lead single, sees Ffion’s vocals weightlessly glide over a dynamic indie rock soundscape, which slowly builds in intensity and features a beautiful mixture of

keys, drums and guitars. It’s a sound that stays with you, and Martha’s vocals are liquid gold to the ears. Fusing a vintage pop vibe with stunning songwriting prowess, this will be a special show indeed.

Martha Ffion plays The Cumberland Arms, Newcastle on Monday 31st July. www.marthaffion.com

MUSIC SCOTT MATTHEWS @ MIDDLESBOROUGH TOWN HALL

Words: Michael O’Neill

Drawing from a rich lineage of boundarypushing songwriters such as Jeff Buckley and Nick Drake, John Martyn and Paul Simon, Scott Matthews has long blazed a trail as one of the country’s most unique and gifted singer-songwriters. 2007’s debut album Passing Stranger yielded Scott a prestigious Ivor Novello award for lead single Elusive,

which also led to him supporting Foo Fighters on their more acoustically minded Skin And Bones tour.

His recent ninth LP, entitled Restless Lullabies, finds Scott offering a sparse, intricate and acoustic reinterpretation of 2021’s bold New Skin, trading the latter’s harsh and cold electronic sound with a rich and pastoral sound more akin to his earlier, more acoustic-leaning albums. In almost every instance, the harmony-soaked reinterpretations are almost unrecognisable from their synth-propelled counterparts, further testifying to Scott’s versatility and ambition as a songwriter, and a wonderful reminder of the infinite malleability of a well-crafted song. It’ll lend itself brilliantly to a live environment, with a tour stop at Middlesbrough Town Hall on Friday 21st July likely to be a testament to the power within this bold and compelling addition to a brilliant body of work.

Scott Matthews plays Middlesbrough Town Hall on Friday 21st July.

www.scottmatthews.uk

Martha Ffion by Laura Meek

EVENTS

BYKER ARTS FESTIVAL @ BRINKBURN ST BREWERY

Words: Cameron Wright Brinkburn St Brewery, in the heart of the Ouseburn, welcomes two weekends of entertainment courtesy of the inaugural Byker Arts Festival.

Taking place on Friday 28th-Sunday 30th July and Thursday 3rd-Sunday 6th August, Brinkburn St Brewery, as well as Ballast Hills

and Hadrian’s Square, will become a social hub for artists and entertainers, as a rich programme crammed full of workshops, crafts, stalls, talks and performances takes over the area. This thrilling new experiment aims to celebrate the rich heritage of independent art that is deep in the heart of Byker. Highlights include the debut of Séayoncé: Res-erection by Dan Wye, in which a ghoul haunts Byker Arts; a performance from PRNCSS, who brings heavy bass music with gorgeous African rhythms showcasing the next steps of Afrofuturism; witness CIRKO NORDA’s youth circus throw themselves into stunning acrobatics; Toi Guy and Adele Clifford’s Spinsters is a collaborative and multidisciplinary catwalk show exhibiting clothing

made by the local independent designers; Many Hands Circus present their spectacular Light Work circus theatre show; audiences can relax with Swannek’s jazzy neo-soul stylings or enjoy a programme of music curated by Tyne & Queer; or perhaps you want to try your hand at pottery, puppet making, block printing or Yoga, or countless other fun things – the festival caters to an array of different art and performance disciplines beautifully!

Byker Arts Festival takes place at Brinkburn St Brewery and pop-up locations on Friday

28th-Sunday 30th July and Thursday

3rd-Sunday 6th August.

www.bykerartsfestival.co.uk

Princess

MUSIC THE PLATFORM @ THE

FORUM MUSIC CENTRE

Words: Cameron Wright

Darlington music collective Tracks, the minds behind the fantastically successful Last Train Home festival, unveil their next ambitious event. The Platform is a fresh series of gigs which aim to provide new and exciting talent with a platform to showcase their new sounds, with the debut event taking place on Thursday 13th July at The Forum Music Centre.

Kicking off the night is the fantastic Eve Cole. Hailing from Sunderland, Cole won the Alan Hull Award for songwriting in 2022, and her swaggering pop rock tracks are as charming as they are infectious. The headline act is the unmistakable Viia, whose riding a wave of success thanks to her recently released Am I Ready Yet EP. Viia’s sound is fuelled by stirring rock riffs and remarkable, vocals which carry

an emotional punch. Not only is Viia shaking up the Northern rock scene, it won’t be long until her sharp image, classic grooves and captivating voice grips the nation’s ears; with full throttle sounds, which bristle with volume and with attitude, the artist’s rock stylings showcase her penchant for attention grabbing sounds that centre around her amazing, snarling voice and hard rocking band. With this debut event it’s pretty clear that The Platform is the best new place to catch emerging and exciting live talent. The Platform featuring Viia and Eve Cole takes place at The Forum Music Centre, Darlington on Thursday 13th July. www.tracksdarlington.co.uk

MUSIC GIGS @ LIVE THEATRE

Words: Cameron Wright Newcastle’s Live Theatre open up their stage to offer a series of gorgeous live music shows

this month.

Cath & Phil Tyler take to the stage on Thursday 13th July to demonstrate their Anglo-American folk sound that is essential for any fan of the genre. With their delicate and beautiful sound, the duo will guide you through a night of banjos, fiddles, storytelling and tradition, in an event that couldn’t be better suited to the intimacy of the theatre. The following night, Ruth Lyon takes to the stage. Crafting her own niche in the baroque pop soundscape, Lyon’s sound is often as surreal as she is grounded, creating a compelling contrast in her songwriting as she mixes self examination with whimsy and intelligence. Accompanied by Ceitidh Mac on cello and Tommy Evans on guitar, the trio will perform what promises to be a beautiful night of songs and songwriting.

Live Theatre, Newcastle welcomes performances from Cath & Phil Tyler on Thursday 13th and Ruth Lyon on Friday 14th July.

www.live.org.uk

Viia

ART & LIT GAIA @ DURHAM CATHEDRAL

Words: Joseph Spence

An illuminated globe installation by the multidisciplinary artist Luke Jerram is to be shown at Durham Cathedral this summer. Gaia is a seven metre diameter globe which will allow visitors to experience Planet Earth from a different perspective, comparable to the view astronauts on the Apollo 17 mission had seen

in 1972. This perspective is often described as the ‘Overview Effect’. Jerram’s work features 120dpi detailed NASA imagery of the Earth’s surface accompanied by a sound composition by BAFTA award winning Composer Dan Jones. The name of the work comes from the personification of the Earth in Greek mythology, and when viewing the installation the viewer can contemplate their own experience on Earth. Nature and environmental concerns such as global warming are some of the other themes that can be explored.

Gaia has toured extensively since 2018 in the

UK and internationally, including an appearance at Newcastle’s Life Science Centre, and each time it is shown the interpretation of the globe is different depending on location, so it’s always worth seeing again. Durham Cathedral will offer a viewing experience comparable to the Museum of the Moon installation by Luke Jerram displayed at the venue in 2021, and a programme of events will coincide with the display throughout its appearance.

Gaia will be on display at Durham Cathedral from Monday 10th July-Sunday 10th September.

www.durhamcathedral.co.uk

ART & LIT

THE AMAZONIAN RUBBER BOOM @ NEWBRIDGE PROJECT

Words: Michael O’Neil

Curated by Giuliana Borea and Erna von der Walde, in partnership with Newcastle University’s Centre of Latin American and Caribbean Studies (CLACS), The Amazonian Rubber Boom: Industrialisation, Extractivism and Violence is a profound, thought-provoking and vivid exploration of the many links between rubber exploitation in the Amazon and its circulation in Europe.

The exhibition, which comes to NewBridge Project from Friday 30th June-Saturday 12th August, focuses on the tragic consequences of the surge in demand for rubber from the Amazon, exasperated by the boom in industrialisation throughout Europe and the US, which not only fueled mass displacement for many indigenous people from their original lands, but also their enslavement. The exhibition will host art created by visual artists Brus Rabio, a Selva Invisible Gallery director who belongs to the Bora and Murui peoples in Peru’s northern Amazon; Santiago

Yahuarcani, an indigenous leader of the Uitoto peoples; and Sarah March, a multimedia artist whose practice often focuses on uncovering obscure histories through a research-based approach. Alongside historical maps, photography and documents, literature on the rubber exploitation such as José Eustasio Rivera’s La Voragine (The Vortex) and the film El Canto de la Mariposa (The Song of the Butterflies) directed by filmmaker Nuria Martínez about the Yahuarcani´s family, their art and memory of this tragic episode. The Amazonian Rubber Boom is at NewBridge Project, Newcastle from Friday 30th June-Saturday 12th August.

www.thenewbridgeproject.com

COMEDY

WORK IN PROGRESS SHOWS @ THE STAND COMEDY CLUB

Words: Cameron Wright

The nirvana of alternative art, comedy and performance that is the Edinburgh Fringe Festival is on the horizon, which means before they venture North of the border, many comics

are looking to try out their routines and hone their craft.

As Newcastle’s dedicated comedy venue, The Stand will welcome many local and nationally-renowned acts performing warm-up and work in progress shows. Throughout the month, you can find a vast array of talent including Icelandic comedian Bee Babylon, who discusses her cancer survival (Sunday 2nd); Scottish powerhouse Gareth Mutch, whose show tears into tattoos, fat shaming and vaping (Sunday 9th); Scottish Comedian of the Year winner Marc Jennings delivers his new Fringe set the same night as BBC New Comedy winner Stephen Buchanan (Tuesday 11th); and the dark, macabre lines of Deage Paxton’s new show, Impersonable, gets an early airing (Saturday 15th). There are new acts like Milo Edwards and Krystal Evans to discover (Sunday 16th); or you can snag bargain tickets for established acts like Susie McCabe (Thursday 27th).

July is certainly the time to have your eyes glued to The Stand’s show listings!

www.thestand.co.uk

Brus Rubio, Cultural Resistance and the rubber exploitation, 2013

INTERVIEWS

ME LOST ME

ME LOST ME SHOWS STRONG SIGNS OF ‘DOING A DAWSON’ ON HER LATEST ALBUM. LEE FISHER CAUGHT UP WITH JAYNE DENT TO TALK CREATIVITY, COLLABORATION AND CAR ALARMS

IMAGE BY AMELIA READ

Spending time with Jayne Dent will make even the most energetic person feel like a slob: Dent is a whirlwind of restless creativity, always on to the next project while you’re still digesting the one before. Which explains why since finishing her fourth, genuinely remarkable album RPG, she’s formed new projects, developed new artistic practices and generally created! For Dent, it’s all one thing.

“I find it hard to totally distinguish stuff sometimes, I guess it depends on the context people experience it in,” she explains. “I just make stuff. I’ve been doing a lot of textiles stuff recently, a lot of printmaking and drawing, and a lot of that doesn’t leave my room, but it might inform the music in other ways. Like I might have an idea and think, ‘well I could explore this in a

drawing and maybe I’ll make a song inspired by the drawing’.” As RPG’s closer Science & Art makes clear, the creativity is the whole point. “It just feels like a natural compulsion to make stuff. That’s what it’s about for me, just making stuff. It’s just the joy that comes from it.”

Dent didn’t set out to make an album rooted in ideas about digitally generated landscapes and adopting roles but it soon shaped the songwriting. “I wrote a couple of songs that were more game-focused because I went through a phase of being like really, really games obsessed and I thought this might be fun and interesting… all of the songs on the previous album were inspired by real landscapes, and now I’ve written some that are inspired by digital landscapes, so that might be an

MUSIC

interesting rabbit hole to follow.”

One of the many ways in which RPG represents a real step forward in Dent’s work is in the collaborations with Faye McCalman and John Pope (unofficially the Me Lost Three) and it’s obvious that working with a pair of accomplished and simpatico musicians has opened up a whole world of possibilities for her songs. Dent is typically diffident about how the collaboration works. “There are some songs where I’d be like, ‘could you just sound like a car alarm?’ or – on In Gardens – ‘could you both sound like flowers that are growing, independently of the main song, kind of ignore what I’m doing – you’re just doing it, you’re just growing? You’re flowers in a garden and you’re just growing’ and they can do that because they’re just really great! It would to be nice to work with them again. I’ve got an album’s worth of demos but they’re all in weird tunings, so whether I can have any real instruments on them I don’t know!”

The album was produced by Sam Grant at Blank – “every single musician on the album who hadn’t recorded with Sam before was like, ‘I need Sam to record me forever, for the rest of my life!’” and is being released by the excellent Upset The Rhythm! label, which came about through her work with Scottish weird-pop outfit Buffet Lunch. “UTR were just really enthusiastic immediately and it just seemed to work really well – we seemed to have a lot of priorities and approaches in common.“

It’s almost become a running gag with Dent that her music is ‘folk-adjacent’, but while in many ways RPG sees her move

further away from the music that first inspired her, it does also include a 13th Century a capella song. So how does she relate to folk now? “I think there’s something about the melodies that I find really appealing, that draws me in still. And that way of storytelling is my natural go to, I guess. I play around with it obviously but it draws me back, and even the way I sing – the drawing out of consonants and stuff – it all just comes out like that, I just can’t help that in some ways. I do really love, mainly, the approach, and the idea that it’s supposed to be for everyone, people making stuff with what they have at hand. The music that I’m drawn to is music that’s about people wanting to communicate something of their story or experience, whether it be joyful or sad. That’s what music is to me!”

Another key influence from her youth is growing up in Chesterfield. “I think one of the things about it– and why I’m also drawn to Newcastle – is that it’s near cities, but it’s also really close to the Peak District. I think being really drawn to landscapes, and place being a really important thing, kind of comes from growing up like that. And Chesterfield is where I started making folk music and decided to do art. I guess everything is really informed by that.”

Dent is incredibly enthusiastic about her adopted city and the current rude health of the music scene. “I think it’s really exciting at the moment, we’ve got some really great venues which makes a massive difference, venues that are equally invested in bringing in really interesting artists from outside as well as having local artists, because then they mix and meet, the local artists can get gigs in other cities… I had friends visiting to play a gig here recently and I just remember feeling so proud, they were like, ‘this is so brilliant’ and I was like ‘IT IS!’. It’s a lovely feeling, I do feel really proud of the Newcastle scene.” She’s quick to praise its supportiveness, the sense of everyone being invested in each other’s success. “And not just Newcastle but the whole North East... it’s like anyone is proud of anything from the region. Everyone’s just so chuffed that someone from up here is getting something.”

As well as promoting RPG, the next few months seem as busy and creative as ever – theatre and sound art commissions, her other bands (Buffet Lunch, but also Worm Saliva and Bitchfinder General – “we’re novelty punk with tin whistle solos. I do a lot of screaming and shouting and things”) and probably a dozen other things besides. But while Dent is off creating like a demon, you need to spend some time with RPG – it’s a very special thing indeed.

Me Lost Me releases RPG via Upset The Rhythm on 7th July, there’s a launch party at The Lubber Fiend, Newcastle on Saturday 15th July with Bulbils and Clementine March. www.melostme.com

THE MUSIC THAT I’M DRAWN TO IS MUSIC THAT’S ABOUT PEOPLE WANTING TO COMMUNICATE SOMETHING OF THEIR STORY OR EXPERIENCE, WHETHER IT BE JOYFUL OR SAD. THAT’S WHAT MUSIC IS TO ME

NARC. FEST

WE’VE NOT DONE THIS FOR A WHILE…ALI WELFORD DIVES INTO DELIGHTS ON OFFER AT OUR MULTI-VENUE FESTIVAL

Some five years since our last Ouseburn takeover, Saturday 15th July sees the long-awaited return of NARC. Fest; a free feast of musical delights spread across the Valley, showcasing some of the brightest and best the North East scene has to offer. A collaboration between NARC. and the community-run Ouseburn Festival (see sidebar for more details), this long in-the-works event offers an eclectic smorgasbord of acts across six stages, programmed by a clutch of our most plugged-in local promoters.

Proceedings get underway at 2pm, with a pair of the valley’s smaller yet most beloved venues leading the charge. Presented by local DIY label Flat Four Records, Little Buildings kicks off with wildly entertaining instrumentalists The Milk Lizards, whose twang ‘n’ bang surf riffage promises to bring beams of summer sun whatever the weather outside. Considering they’ve no recordings yet, we’re obliged to mention that Irked feature members of Blöm, Shy Talk, Cave Suns and more – yet with a succession of thrilling performances, this surging punk outfit are already outgrowing that initial ‘supergroup’ tag. Fashion Tips are a self-dubbed “neurodivergent clown posse” whose synthy noise-rock squall has rapidly established them as an electrifying, must-see live act. Swine Tax, by contrast, have had an unusually quiet 2023, with this their first outing since the release of latest single Annual Leave in April. A rollicking indie rock machine with tunes coming out of their eyeballs, expect a swift reminder as to why they’ve become such a popular draw. If that sounds like a little too much bang and clatter, compelling alternatives await at the ever-dependable Cumberland Arms, who have laid on an afternoon line-up led by Taliraw – a multitalented Newcastle-based Czech whose spoken word storytelling, cello and electronic flourishes present an

intriguing, authentic and genre-blurring experience rife with surprises. Next up, abstract duo Black Moss share vivid and intimate stories through Jimmy Campbell’s unadorned acoustic guitar and Mollie Birmingham’s dramatic, soul-stirring vocal, proving that simplicity – when done right – can remain the most captivating presentation. Finally, the collision of Anna Hughes & Jessie Howard coalesces two of the region’s most prodigious songwriting talents, combining the former’s illuminating folk with the latter’s dreamy melodies in heartfelt slow-burns featuring fiddle, harmonium, electric guitar and wondrous harmonies.

From 6pm onwards, we’ll stretch the party into the night with four concurrent stages. At The Cluny, promoter Wandering Oak kickstarts with relocated Cumbrian singer-songwriter Melanie Baker, whose honest and direct lyrics touch on themes such as anxiety, self-reflection and queer identity. A perennial NARC. favourite, Faithful Johannes’ charming barely-rap vignettes make him a regular warmly-received fixture at such events, while the thumping electro of Glasgow visitors Free Love is guaranteed to incite raptures. Topping the bill are our region’s current psych kings Smote, hot off the back of their second Rocket Recordings album Genog, and set to extend their repetitive transcendence at their biggest hometown show to date. The Tyne Bar’s outdoor stage has been the busiest of the lot in several previous years, and with promoter (and NARC. scribe) Confusion Is Next handling proceedings, this edition promises to be no different. Swiftly garnering an enthusiastic following with their spirited riot grrrl-inspired punk, Sorority Grrrls prove age is no barrier to making ripples; featuring members of favourites such as Cauls, Canyons and Idle Hands, Weekend Faithful supply stirring whole-hearted rock anthems sure to

T-B, L-R: Free Love by Marilena Vlachopoulou, Kkett, John Dole by Johnny Haynes

strike a chord with fans of The Hold Steady; riotous Teesside noise-makers Onlooker bring garage rock riffs aplenty; while multi-instrumentalist songwriter Jonny Sabiston (aka Wild Spelks) conjures scuzzy anthems from a potent mix of post-punk, pop rock and alt. rock ingredients, before ‘joycore’ pioneers Kkett make the step-up to headliners, bringing their noisy, idiosyncratic and fiercely upbeat brand of chaos to one of the event’s most prestigious slots.

Another regular NARC. contributor, Endless Window, is running things over at The Old Coal Yard, offering audiences their usual mix of eclectic, envelope-pushing sounds. Formed amidst the pandemic whilst members resided in two different countries, Iris Brickfield’s bright, buoyant synth pop sets the scene for John Dole, who shuns rap’s cliches with an alternative hip-hop sound and seamless exchange between melodic croons and straight-up bars. Later, cult collective Swannek bring their delectable blend of jazz and neo-soul to the party; cyberelectro-rap-punks SQUARMS blend the sublime with the ridiculous – always innovative, occasionally baffling, never, ever boring; while the irrepressible force of nature that is Straight Girl ups the ante further still with their unique, explosive brand of electro catharsis. If you’re there, you’d best be prepared to join a conga...

Last but not least, new venue The Grove have put together a bill sure to entice many of us into a maiden visit. Kicking off at 4pm with neo-soul songwriter Rivkala and blues maestro Memphis Gerald, they’re joined later by Taang who put their own characteristic spin on the dancefloor-friendly indie of the ‘00s, before Georgia May’s neo-soul channels R&B, trip-hop and Afrobeat influences into bewitching tales of lust and heartache. The brainchild of composer Benjamin Fitzgerald, Sømnus effortlessly fuses the lush melodies and strings of classical with the rhythm and electronic pulse of dance music, while IMOGEN showcases a huge voice and a dynamic departure from her singer-songwriter roots, closing us out with a set that’s bound to confirm her long-vaunted star quality. Whether you’ve been priced out of other festivals, or have money to spare for scran, bevs and band merch, this is one all-dayer you’ll not want to miss!

NARC. Fest takes place at venues across the Ouseburn Valley on Saturday 15th July.

www.facebook.com/narcfest

OUSEBURN FESTIVAL

The wider Ouseburn Festival programme includes a vast range of entertainment on Saturday 15th and Sunday 16th July.

Of particular note is a collab between World Headquarters (who celebrate their 30th anniversary) and Miso Newcastle, in which their event Get Together Newcastle take over the Ballast Hills site for a weekend of music, food and art which starts on the Friday night (the only ticketed part, the rest is free). Lime Street will be the focus for stalls and performances across the weekend, with the Ouseburn Market packed with 60 stalls from local artists and makers behind Northern Print. There’s plenty to amuse families, with free boat trips which will run between Spiller’s Quay and the Swing Bridge; there’s immersive outdoor music, art, dance, circus performance and workshops at the Ouseburn Woodland Takeover courtesy of Skimstone Arts and the Ouseburn Trust; youngsters will love Seven Stories’ Storytimes in the Wild Roots Community Garden; and Toffee Factory welcomes arts organisation CHALK for a weekend of family-friendly workshops.

www.ouseburnfestival.org.uk

A FREE FEAST OF MUSICAL DELIGHTS SPREAD ACROSS THE VALLEY, SHOWCASING SOME OF THE BRIGHTEST AND BEST THE NORTH EAST SCENE HAS TO OFFER

T-B, L-R: Swine Tax, Black Moss, IMOGEN

TALL SHIPS FESTIVAL

From Thursday 6th July and across the weekend, the world-famous Tall Ships will be berthing in Hartlepool Marina as they race across the North Sea. The celebrations will include four days of live music across two stages, all with free entry. Seasoned music promoter Andy Kelly has spent the last 10 months curating an eclectic music programme that promises to showcase some of the finest emerging and established regional bands and exciting national acts.

Andy’s passion for the event is evident: “I’m incredibly happy to have landed huge headliners for Friday in Maximo Park, who have earned the title North East legends, with a fantastic back catalogue and brilliant performance, plus The Wailers for Saturday, who are iconic – and many of the current members have links to the original band.”

Andy is also thrilled to land The Mysterines, fresh from supporting Arctic Monkeys on their recent tour. “They’re one of the hottest bands in the country right now and they have a real ‘edge’ to them, I’m so looking forward to catching them on Saturday night.”

Further artists on the line-up include The Magic Numbers, with their sunshine pop songs and beautiful West Coast harmonies; I Am Kloot front man John Bramwell; Newcastle’s finest soul and funk band Smoove & Turrell; high-octane folk rockers Holy Moly & The Crackers; psych pop act She Drew The Gun; swing, honky-tonk and rockabilly band Rob Heron & The Tea Pad Orchestra; indie rockers The Sherlocks; BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards winners The Young’Uns and many more. Performances not to be missed from Hartlepool’s homegrown pool of talent

will include James Leonard Hewitson, Burn The Valley, The Woven Project, Michael Gallagher and many more acts. The event will feature two main stages located at Navigation Point and Victoria Quay, plus a smaller stage will focus on local community music performers. The whole four days promises to be full of fun and celebration, with the programme on Friday closing with the fantastic Tower of Light, which will include a dazzling display of pyrotechnics, performance and music. As well as the music, there’s a spectacular array of dance performances, market stalls, giant puppets, as well as the iconic Tall Ships themselves.

Discussing how he planned out such a varied line-up, Andy explains the thought that went into it, from considering the demographics of who would normally go to a Tall Ships event, to what goes down well in the town. “You’ve got to look at those peaks and falls throughout the day. From having something on that’s beautiful, stripped back and ethereal to something with a bit of punch.”

Having been involved in Hartlepool’s music scene for over 20 years, and Hartlepool-born himself, Andy is emphatic that it’s an exciting place to be right now: “There’s so many emerging young artists and bands and established talent in Hartlepool now. I’ve never seen as many accomplished musicians who are great at what they do, and are all working hard and developing fan bases, our town is awash with talent!” The event will provide a real profile-raising platform for local bands to play alongside household names. “Musically and creatively, Hartlepool really seems to have magic in the air right now, the local scene is thriving.”

Festivities for The Tall Ships Hartlepool take place from Thursday 6th–Sunday 9th July.

www.tallshipshartlepool2023.co.uk

T-B, L-R: Maximo Park, The Magic Numbers, Cortney Dixon

AMANDA GALLAGHER TALKS TO MUSIC PROMOTER ANDY KELLY ABOUT EMERGING TALENT IN THE REGION AND HIS CURATION OF THE TALL SHIPS MUSIC PROGRAMME

MUSICALLY AND CREATIVELY, HARTLEPOOL REALLY SEEMS TO HAVE MAGIC IN THE AIR RIGHT NOW, THE LOCAL SCENE IS THRIVING

THE UNIT AMA

ALI WELFORD TALKS TO THE CULT ROCK TRIO ABOUT THEIR SOPHOMORE ALBUM RELEASE, WHICH COMES 20 YEARS AFTER THEIR DEBUT

Trends have come and gone, newborns have reached adulthood, and each of us has travelled almost 12 billion miles around the sun since The Unit Ama released their eponymous debut album. During that period, the trio of Steve Malley (vocals/ guitar), Jason Etherington (bass) and Christian Alderson (drums) have never disbanded and always envisaged a follow-up, yet it’s only now, 20 whole years later, that this cult outfit have felt compelled to deliver a successor.

“I know a lot of people make albums then tour them and so on – because that’s what bands do – but we’ve never really worked that way,” Jason muses. “We’ve always written lots of new music. There’s loads that’s never seen the light of day, hasn’t been finished and that we’ve played live but never released, but we always felt like we wanted to record more.”

“We’ve always worked in chunks of time,” explains Christian. “We’ve probably only been active for about seven of those years. Life gets in the way and you do other things – but we’ve slowly managed to get a body of work together.”

Considering the inescapable timelapse, perhaps Toward’s most remarkable achievement is the apparent ease with which it reasserts The Unit Ama’s case. Beautifully rendered, repetitive in all the right places and awash with glorious pulsing bass, resourceful, innovative percussion and droning, feedback-laden guitar, the new record presents eight deconstructed rock songs which feel neither overwrought nor half-baked; imbued equally with an inspired sense of urgency and instinctive, unrushed spontaneity. In short, it sounds solely, unmistakably like The Unit Ama.

While two songs, Sycamore and Collector, date back some time and appeared on the band’s 2013 live release The Mason’s Mallet, the bulk of Toward came together following a rare tour of Spain in early 2020. “We came back fired-up with a ton of energy, then… obviously… yeah…” Christian rues. Undeterred,

the trio reconvened the following year in a new rehearsal space. “That had a rejuvenating effect. Steve in particular had been writing a lot, and although we had no finished songs, we’d had the time to construct things a little more. We’ve played together for so long that we often have a pretty good idea of what the others will bring to the table, but even now the beauty of it is that we can surprise one another when we get together in a room.”

“When you reach a certain age, you spend a lot of time looking back and considering what the life you’ve lived means,” says Jason, on the reflective allusions of the album’s title. “Obviously some of us have been through far more than others, but we all think about the mistakes we’ve made, what’s informed us in good ways, what’s informed us in bad ways, and about the best ways in which to move forward.”

As for the band itself, things by and large remain as they always have been: “We’re as happy as ever getting together and chatting, cooking and hanging out. Occasionally we’ll meet with the same aim in mind, but with instruments!” Christian jokes. “The relationship between us is the most important thing,” Jason concludes. “The music is just one element of that, and we’re really lucky that’s been the case for this long.”

The Unit Ama release Toward on 18th August via Gringo Records. The band perform at Star & Shadow Cinema, Newcastle on Saturday 22nd July.

www.theunitama.bandcamp.com

WHEN YOU REACH A CERTAIN AGE, YOU SPEND A LOT OF TIME LOOKING BACK AND CONSIDERING WHAT THE LIFE YOU’VE LIVED MEANS

JAMIE FARRELL

MUSIC

In discussing North East songwriter Jamie Farrell’s latest EP, Remember Me, our conversation turns to a euphoric series of anecdotes as we exchange stories of our recent live adventures, with Farrell adding Kiss, The Darkness and Alter Bridge to his most recent roster of live concerts. To those who are familiar with the singer’s projects, which include post-grunge band Coral Snake, then this love of theatrical glam rock, driving hooks and infectious choruses will be no surprise, yet if you were introduced to the songwriter through his latest EP, you may well be shocked.

Although Remember Me maintains his love of catchy songwriting, it steps away from the snarling guitars, opting instead for some introspective indie pop. “It’s certainly more marketable,” chuckles the singer when pressed on his recent change in direction, before conceding: “Rock is the default setting for me, growing up listening to Nickelback and Linkin Park, but it’s very comfortable. I found it very easy to pretend with rock, as I can hide behind that wall of ego and bravado. Writing songs about things in my life is different, saying things I really mean.”

The subjects addressed on the EP are somewhat ambiguous, with universal themes being sent out ready for the audience to reinterpret, and Jamie is keen for his listeners to insert their

Image by Inkonspicuousuk

own experiences into each song. “I don’t want to give away my definition, it’s open for everyone to have their meaning. It’s THAT person or THAT place or THAT group. Home, for example, is about finding whatever you define as home, and everyone has something that makes them feel safe and happy.” From the bouncing title track to the stripped back, stunningly raw Breathless, the EP is constantly wrestling with emotions, toying back and forth between ego and humility. “Breathless may be my favourite song I’ve ever written, it’s a ballad at its core. With each release, I like building a new soundscape and doing something different.”

Rounding out the EP is Time Is Now, a song that sees Farrell back to flexing his rock muscles. The track is a triumphant rally cry to his peers as the writer explains: “As much as I love to take the mickey, I will always champion my friends. I will always be your biggest cheerleader – that’s what Time Is Now is all about, it’s giving people that push to grab what they need to grab!”

Bringing the EP full circle, it’s a brilliant and rousing conclusion. As Jamie welcomes this new era of his songwriting, he offers listeners what may be his most human and exposing project to date, and it’s a direction that’s more than paid off.

Jamie Farrell releases Remember Me EP on 14th July. He performs at HMV Darlington on Saturday 22nd July and NE Volume Music Bar, Stockton on Saturday 26th August. www.jamiefarrellmusic.com

CAMERON WRIGHT TALKS TO THE NORTH EAST SONGWRITER ABOUT HIS REFRESHING CHANGE IN MUSICAL DIRECTION

WITH EACH RELEASE, I LIKE BUILDING A NEW SOUNDSCAPE AND DOING SOMETHING DIFFERENT

SONIC ARTS WEEK

MATT YOUNG FINDS OUT WHAT’S IN STORE AT THE CELEBRATION OF

Sonic Arts Week is back again in Middlesbrough. The team behind the Auxiliary Project Space and Middlesbrough Art Week bring this free festival to the city to celebrate Middlesbrough’s open spaces, waterways and the creative people who live there.

The jam-packed programme takes place from Saturday 15th–Saturday 22nd July, with a range of site specific and roaming installations, gigs and performances. Festival Director Liam Slevin explains: “We’re delighted to be bringing back Sonic Arts Week again and this year we are bringing the artist to you, with loads of weird and wonderful activities happening in Captain Cook Square and Hillstreet Shopping Centre. My personal highlight this year is Project Lono, a local Teesside collective of musicians, poets and artists.”

The Project Lono event is definitely one of the standouts, as the collective of poets and musicians from Teesside collaborate on a live immersive soundscape. On Tuesday 19th they’re performing The Shrouded Republic, an epic event guiding the audience into the realms of the Faery!

Neil Catchpole was one of the artists performing at the event in 2021 and now finds himself co-creating. “I was there every day for a week in 2021. I loved meeting all the different passers-by who stopped to listen, chat and have a go at playing the massive gong. I heard so many great stories and it was brilliant how everyone got involved in their own way: this has inspired Liam and me to develop the ‘Encounters’ programme which will bring a fun and eclectic range of musicians and sound-makers to the streets of Middlesbrough for everyone to enjoy for free. SAW is an amazing project, mixing new sounds into the ‘Boro soundscape in fresh and exciting ways and I’m really looking forward to seeing what people think!”

SONIC DELIGHTS IN MIDDLESBROUGH

SAW IS AN AMAZING PROJECT, MIXING NEW SOUNDS INTO THE ‘BORO SOUNDSCAPE IN FRESH AND EXCITING WAYS

Also of note is a project from artist Tim Shaw, as part of the Sonic Cruise in collaboration with boat operators Rivershack. This special cruise lets audiences relax and listen to Shaw’s floating and underwater speakers, and throughout the week Centre Square will be playing ambient music as a special sound installation.

There are workshops from Thursday 20th–Saturday 22nd under the Summat For The Bairns banner to encourage youngsters to get creative making their own listening devices and masks. Another real highlight for gig goers comes from Teesside-born and cred Industrial Coast, as they put on a series of shows at various venues during the week, featuring world renowned sonic artists like Torn Relics, Sam Kerridge, Nick Klein and Russell Haswell all with additional, often regional support. There’s performance, dance and sound installations to find, watch and interact with too, with Katie Anderson, Jayne Dent (Me Lost Me), Oceanallover and Belfast’s Cameron Clarke (aka Calm C) in Central Square all week.

In fact, there’s so much happening it’s worth checking out the website and grabbing your copy of the Sound Workbook Activity, available from MIMA, Pineapple Black and Off The Ground.

Sonic Arts Week takes place at venues across Middlesbrough from Saturday 15th-Saturday 22nd July. www.sonicartsweek.com

T-B, L-R: Exchange Square dubvan, Industrial Coast, Sonic Arts Week Rivercruise all by Rachel Deakin

CHAT

JAKE ANDERSON TALKS TO JORDAN MILLER AND BECCY YOUNG ABOUT

POP BLOSSOMED INTO AN EXCITING COLLABORATIVE PROJECT

In what perhaps seems at first an unlikely combination, retro pop songwriter Beccy Young, aka This Little Bird, has teamed up with Vandebilt multi-instrumentalist and producer Jordan Miller, using their shared love of 80s synth pop as the ground for a collaborative project named Chat. The pair have previously worked together, but it wasn’t until a few months ago that the idea to join forces to make some tunes was planted.

“We both love 80s pop, especially British 80s pop,” they explain, and the result so far has been Sugar And Sleep, a fantastic throwback to that lively and smooth pop music of the era, built upon a catchy hook and blaring synth melodies – to say it was inspired by the 80s would be an understatement. Influenced by “Stuff produced by Stock/Aitken/Waterman and Trevor Horn in particular, then duos like Tears for Fears, Pet Shop Boys, Eurythmics and Yazoo”, the duo sees it as more than a homage. Beccy explained: “We’ve tried to bring the 80s sound to the modern day, as well as taking inspiration from the visuals of that era too.”

It’s provided an opportunity for each artist to push their boundaries and experiment while still sounding distinctly them, Beccy added: “I have absolutely used it as a chance to experiment! I’ve been writing pop tunes at home for years but didn’t know how to begin performing those songs. As This Little Bird, I’ve been the folky singer-songwriter for like a decade now, working with Jord is class as he’s from a more electronic music background, and the writing process has been really fun and super relaxed. I’ve learnt a lot from him about music production too… and synthesisers.”

Despite the opportunities provided to each artist to experiment, it’s also established a framework that they had to work within to

HOW THEIR MUTUAL LOVE OF 80S SYNTH

help capture the spark that makes pop music from that era shine. Describing the creation of the Sugar And Sleep, Jordan said: “In the past, I’ve usually never had limitations. In Vandebilt, I’ve thrown the kitchen sink at it with both modern and old school record techniques. With Chat, we try to stick to a specific framework more suited to 80s production. We’ll use a Yamaha DX7, Linndrum samples, the EMU and a Fairlight and some old Casiotones…not to mention the infamous VL-Tone. This really shapes the sound of the band!”

Capturing the energy of the bangers of the 80s isn’t just limited to the production or instruments, it’s about the composition. Most of the songs have a simple structure, but as Jordan explains, sometimes it’s quite complicated. “A lot of songs from that era had a very basic subject matter. With the use of major and minor 7th chords, key changes and jazzy modulations played on synths, it’s sometimes relatively complex in comparison to most pop songs.”

After an exciting DJ set at Mexico70 in which the two musicians spun physical discs and blasted the tunes that inspired them, and a planned debut gig at Sunderland’s Independent on Saturday 15th July, the duo are excited for what they have in store next. “We’ve got a load more tunes to get out into the world, so you’ll have to keep your ears peeled. On the back of Sugar And Sleep, we’ve had some interesting conversations, making a music video, and continuing to write more bangers. We can’t wait to play live, there’s going to be some top dance moves!”

Chat play Independent, Sunderland on Saturday 15th July. www.linktr.ee/letschatmusic

WE TRY TO STICK TO A SPECIFIC FRAMEWORK MORE SUITED TO 80S PRODUCTION. THIS REALLY SHAPES THE SOUND OF THE BAND

Image by Georgia Claire Tyrie

THE BETHS

AHEAD OF A SHOW IN NEWCASTLE, MATT YOUNG CHATS WITH THE NEW ZEALAND POP ROCK DARLINGS ABOUT THEIR HECTIC TOUR SCHEDULE

Catching up with a touring band is no easy feat, and so it proves with New Zealand pop rock darlings The Beths. Fortunately, during a well-earned night off in Germany I’m grateful lead vocalist Elizabeth ‘Liz’ Stokes graces me some of her free time for tour-based questioning.

The band’s live schedule is pretty punishing; they began playing their own US headline dates back in February following some festival appearances down under, and they’ve been hopping the Atlantic from Europe to the US, ever since. So, genuinely concerned, I ask Liz how things are going?

“Things are going great! It’s been a busy tour, zooming around in the van alternating between headline shows and festivals. Busy is a good thing though!” I need more reassurance asking whether the switching back and forth across continents is actually enjoyable or just a ‘part of the job’? “It feels a bit like a marathon (not that I know what a marathon feels like) but I imagine it’s about careful management of energy. I feel very lucky that we are a group where everybody is kind and helpful even when operating on very little sleep. Though lack of sleep along with extreme hunger can be a challenging combo that we try to avoid.”

The camaraderie and sincerity of the band, and their music, is something audiences have a huge appetite for too. The Beths’ crisp melodies, intricate harmonies and upbeat indie rock tunes infuse smiling crowds everywhere, even when the lyrics bite harder, and onstage they’re an absolute riot of fun.

So following more US gigs the band will return to the UK playing festivals and a Newcastle show at the Boiler Shop on Wednesday 19th July. “Our schedule is quite dense, and for us playing a show well is the best and most satisfying part of touring.” Is downtime even a thing then? “This tour there hasn’t been very much time to fill to be honest. I’ll bring my Nintendo Switch. I didn’t this time, instead I have been doing crosswords

THE BETHS’ CRISP MELODIES, INTRICATE HARMONIES AND UPBEAT INDIE ROCK TUNES INFUSE SMILING CROWDS EVERYWHERE, EVEN WHEN THE LYRICS BITE HARDER

on the NYT games app, watching Bouldering finals on YouTube, and I brought a little Hercules Starlight mini DJ controller. I am learning how to DJ, though I am still very bad.” The strains of touring mean that writing new material can be tricky. “I don’t really write ‘songs’ on tour, my brain kind of melts. But I do get lyrical ideas or song ideas, usually just phrases I think are funny, or imagery or wordplay. I’ll jot them down.”

In August the foursome are US bound again supporting The National, finishing up in October with future dates planned for the Southern Hemisphere including Jakarta, where Liz was born.

As fans of the band know, they’ve blessed us with three albums to date, released at two-year intervals, the most recent being Expert In A Dying Field, so I tentatively enquire if 2024 might promise another. Sadly, it’s unlikely. “We’re much busier now with touring than we were in 2020/21, so we’ll need to give ourselves a bit of time. So maybe... 2025?”

You heard it heard first. Officially, kind of. Before then you can undoubtedly see one of the hardest working bands live somewhere in the world, right now.

The Beths play the Boiler Shop, Newcastle on Wednesday 19th July.

www.thebeths.com

Image by Frances Carter

T-B: Mr Wilson’s Second Liners, Fat Freddy’s Drop by DUNCOGRAPHIC, Back Chat Brass

BRASS FESTIVAL

STEVE SPITHRAY DELVES INTO THE DELIGHTS OF DURHAM’S WEEK-LONG CELEBRATION OF BRASS

Durham BRASS Festival returns in July, promising a week of spectacular performances, new commissions, free concerts, community activities and lively street bands for all the family. Among the highlights of the festivities this year will be a performance from Fat Freddy’s Drop, a New Zealand-based band inspired by reggae, soul, disco and house, who will be playing at Gala Durham on Monday 10th, after a string of headline festival shows throughout Europe last year, including a sold-out performance at Alexandra Palace in London. The rest of the programme includes a special performance from one of the most prestigious brass bands to come out of County Durham, The Reg Vardy Band will present For Your Eyes Only: 70 Years of Bond at the Fire Station in Sunderland, the first ever fringe event to be incorporated into the Durham BRASS programme (Sunday 9th). Back at Gala Durham, Michael Lamb’s Strictly Smokin’ Big Band will perform two nights of Big Band on Broadway (Thursday 13th-Friday 14th); Consett Empire Theatre will welcome The Fairey Band for an evening of traditional brass followed by some of the most iconic scores from stage and screen (Saturday 15th). This, in turn, will follow a performance at Gala Durham where the band will perform the score to a showing of Wallace & Gromit: The Wrong Trousers, teaming up with animators Aardman for a unique visual experience. A co-commission from No Dots and Durham BRASS, the Brighouse & Rastrick Brass Band will perform Echoes of the North, a new silent film where audiences can take a journey through all aspects of northern life. The 60-minute film is accompanied by a score written by acclaimed

DURHAM BRASS FESTIVAL RETURNS IN

JULY, PROMISING A WEEK OF SPECTACULAR PERFORMANCES, NEW COMMISSIONS, FREE CONCERTS, COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES AND LIVELY STREET BANDS FOR ALL THE FAMILY

composer and broadcaster Neil Brand and is the first ever all-brass soundtrack for a silent film (Sunday 16th).

The perennial highlight of the festival comes on Saturday 15th and Sunday 16th when a host of multicultural musicians take to the city’s streets in Streets of Brass. Performers will include Spain’s Artistas del Gremio; the New Orleans-inspired eight-piece from Yorkshire, Back Chat Brass; all-female Italian street band Girlesque, whose electrifying combination of sounds give a nod to burlesque culture; Badcore Horns, a futuristic trio who have created their own ‘drum and brass’ sound through ‘cyber’ saxophones and ‘techno’ trumpets; London-based DAT Brass, whose sound combines bass energy, turntables and a detailed horn section; and the genre-bashing New Orleans meets 90s club anthems, Mr Wilson’s Second Liners among many more.

BRASS Festival takes place in various locations in Durham from Sunday 9th–Sunday 16th July. www.brassfestival.co.uk

BRASSED ON!

Also of interest to fans of alternative sounds, in partnership with us here at NARC. Magazine, and taking place at Durham Town Hall on Friday 14th July, Brassed On! provides a unique showcase event which will see two of the region’s most exciting up and coming artists, Darlington’s Luke Royalty and Teesside’s Sisi, partnering with professional brass players to give their music a whole new dimension.

Alt. rapper Luke is continuing his journey still fresh from a national tour with Jake Bugg at the end of 2022 after selling out his first headline gigs in Leeds and Darlington, and has been championed by BBC Radio 1 and 6Music, as well as being featured in NME and Clash Magazine. Luke will be performing his set with accompaniment from Loud Noises, a high-energy brass band from Leeds, whose music combines contemporary brass with dance. Middlesbrough singer-songwriter Sisi, whose versatile musical style covers genres from Afropop to garage, has also received airplay on BBC Radio 1 while she also made the cut for Reading and Leeds Festival in 2022. Sisi’s set will be accompanied by The Original Pinettes, an all-female-led brass band from New Orleans. Brassed On! will conclude with a set from female vinyl DJ duo Noble & Heath, committed vinyl collectors who have played all over London and bring a fresh energy to the dancefloor, spinning the very best in soul and disco, no doubt with a brassy theme.

L-R: Sisi, Luke Royalty, Loud Noises, The Original Pinettes

MASALA FESTIVAL

Returning for its eighth event, the incredibly popular and award-winning GemArts Masala Festival returns to a variety of venues to celebrate South Asian creativity and cultural goodness.

Continuing to expand on its original premises of bringing impactful art and culture to venues and spaces in the North East, this year’s event sees even more packed into the festival’s six-day duration, which runs from Monday 17th-Sunday 23rd July.

“This year we’ve tried to go even bigger and better than previous years,” confirms Vikas Kumar, chief of GemArts and curator of the Masala Festival. “In the first instance that means being really clear with some of the themes we want to explore, such as celebrating and exploring contemporary experiences of migration, identity, existence and place. Then after that it’s really been about trying to work with international artists from across the South Asian diaspora, as well as local artists, to create really impactful events and art that have a real potential to positively influence people and connect them to each other.”

Built around a variety of art-based events, including music,

dance, literature, poetry, films, exhibitions, workshops, events for children and families, and food, this year’s Masala Festival aims to push the festival’s artistic boundaries into new places. Vikas confirms the intent by offering an insight into the diversity of the events: “We want to use different types of art so that we can impact a diverse collection of people with diverse interests – some people may have a preference to see shows or films, others might want to read stories or poetry, and no matter which type of art people enjoy I’m sure the festival has something for everyone.”

Opening with dance and live music production Roshni by Sonia Sabri Company at Dance City on Monday 17th, the festival also hosts a number of unique events including a collaboration with the BBC Proms programme at Sage Gateshead featuring two leading lights of the British jazz scene, Yazz Ahmed and Arun Ghosh (Friday 21st); Michael Messer’s Mitra offer up a unique fusion of blues and Hindustani slide guitar and tabla rhythms at The Cluny 2 (Wednesday 19th); there’s the launch of Out Of Sri Lanka, a ground-breaking anthology of Sri Lankan and diasporic poetry published by Bloodaxe Books at Culture Lab

L-R, T-B: Roshni by Sonia Sabri Company, Michael Messer’s Mitra, Rehana Maryam Noor

DAMIAN ROBINSON TALKS TO GEMARTS’ VIKAS KUMAR ABOUT THE INCLUSIVE AND INSPIRATIONAL FESTIVAL WHICH BRINGS SOUTH ASIAN ART TO THE FORE

(Thursday 20th); and You And Me, a dance performance event which is choreographed from a South Asian feminist perspective by Amina Khayyam Dance Company at Monument Metro (Friday 21st). Also worth noting will be the work of artist Sajil Kaleem, whose paintings consider colonial remnants of buildings using the visual language of ornate South Asian tradition of beautification, which will be exhibited at The Newbridge Project from Thursday 20th-Saturday 22nd; and some fascinating film showcases including Rehana Maryam Noor, a gripping and unsettling tale following a medical school lecturer who witnesses the sexual assault of one of her students, screening at Tyneside Cinema (Tuesday 18th), and Topographies: Places And Faces, a programme of short films at BALTIC which explore urban and rural landscapes across South Asia exploring contemporary youth experience, identity, existence and place (Saturday 22nd). The festival culminates with the Mini Mela at Bensham Grove Community Centre, which encourages families to get involved in colourful and vibrant arts, crafts and music from across the Indian sub-continent (Sunday 23rd).

“More than anything, we want the Masala festival to be somewhere that offers accessible places which enable people to be inspired in some way and then to feel safe to have conversations about their own interests and enjoyments.” Vikas explains. “We are all, regardless of our heritage, incredibly different as individuals and we all have our own tastes and preferences which give us unique and interesting personalities. The more that we can share those with others, the more

comfortable people can be to share their own stories and their own art with others. Sometimes all we need is a little nudge and a little inspiration and it can bring out huge changes to how we feel and how connected we are.”

Regardless of artistic interest, Vikas is keen to point out that the heart of the Masala festival has been, and always will be, the people who attend. “It’s great to have shows and events but more importantly this is a chance to connect and learn with others; the Masala festival is for everyone regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, background and interests.”

GemArts Masala Festival takes place at various venues from Monday 17th-Sunday 23rd July. For the full programme, visit their website.

www.gemarts.org

ONLINE EXCLUSIVE

TO READ EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEWS

AND FEATURES WITH A VARIETY OF ARTISTS TAKING PART IN THIS YEAR’S MASALA FESTIVAL, INCLUDING YAZZ AHMED, ARUN

GHOSH AND MICHAEL MESSER, VISIT

OUR WEBSITE OR SCAN THE QR CODE

WWW.BIT.LY/MASALAFESTINTERVIEWS

L-R: Arun Ghosh by Emile Holba, You And Me

SOMETIMES ALL WE NEED IS A LITTLE NUDGE AND A LITTLE INSPIRATION AND IT CAN BRING OUT HUGE CHANGES TO HOW WE FEEL AND HOW CONNECTED WE ARE

LN

MUSIC

Newcastle-based pagan Viking metal band LN are set to release the final stage of their epic musical trilogy this month in advance of their debut EP, The Hangman’s Tales. The Slaughter reveals more of the character of LN, a demonic witch, who melds Nordic folk with intense metal.

“It’s a bit of an odd one,” chuckles Ellen, the singer behind the character and the band’s brooding frontwoman. “I’ve always been this way, I’ve always had that obsession for crystals and signs and all those oddities. I’m a bit of a spiritual satanist, which I promise isn’t as evil as it sounds, it’s more an outlook to life!” With band members donning chainmail for historical re-enactments and longsword fighting, the same penchant for theatrics and the aesthetic which consume the band have been there from the beginning.

“When we discussed making a band, there was no doubt it would be metal. But when we started looking at the songs we had each written, this melding of folklore was creeping in. I’ve always loved metal that is textured with those quieter traditions, it leant itself perfectly to the pagan folklore of witches and ghouls. It all came together for our weird little marriage of loveliness and chaos!”

Where The Slaughter begins with a Nordic-inspired melody, clean and pure, these lilting vocals grow until they are engulfed in a wave of intense sound. With growled vocals beating against grappling guitars and pounding drums, the dissonant changes in tonality make LN a captivating live experience and make The Slaughter a frightening show opener!

“There’s nothing worse than a boring show,” confess the band, who make it extremely clear that their gigs will be anything but boring. “The live experience is always something special, undergoing that transformation each night, getting into character, applying the makeup and turning into something new; it’s a ritual that brings us closer together. Going out on stage and no longer being the blonde woman who works her boring nine to five; we go out and do what we want. It’s so freeing, you never know what to expect!”

The liberation and expressionism that metal allows is utilised beautifully within LN’s sound. “Most people are outcasts, angry and confused. Metal gives people an opportunity to express it safely. It’s an outlet.”

The tale the band weave on the EP, which follows the journey of pure-hearted soul LN to “a demon witch in love with vengeance and yearning for blood shed” fuses themes of female empowerment with a brutal strength and poetic energy. The band have received widespread praise for their ability to fuse genres while demonstrating a redemptive and positive outlook. Whether it’s unpacking the story of LN the titular witch, or being hit by the force of their live shows, the band are making music for people to resonate with, touching on themes of connection, self-love and rebuilding power.

LN release The Hangman’s Tales on 24th July, they play Anarchy Brewery, Newcastle Sunday 23rd July. www.officiallnmusic.com

CAMERON WRIGHT TALKS SPIRITUAL SATANISM, NORSE FOLKLORE AND UNEXPECTED ONSTAGE PERSONAS WITH THE PAGAN VIKING METAL BAND

MOST PEOPLE ARE OUTCASTS, ANGRY AND CONFUSED. METAL GIVES PEOPLE AN OPPORTUNITY TO EXPRESS IT SAFELY

Image by Shaun Donkin Photography

MUSIC

TIN RIBS

Tin Ribs are Newcastle’s most exciting new punk rock prospect, on the precipice of releasing their debut EP, Council Pop. A breathless, rumbustious affair, Tin Ribs take humour and astute observations to make relatable, well-crafted tunes. How well developed their sound is in such infancy speaks to how well they know each other: “We’ve known each other since we were kids, really,” muses frontman Jason. “The first band I was ever in was with Rob and Luke, and we’ve always kind of flitted about together musically, on and off, hither and thither. Towards the end of 2019 I moved back to the North East from Manchester. When lockdown hit, I was given a week of leave while everybody figured out what the fuck was happening, so I built a makeshift studio in my bathroom and wrote and recorded an album’s worth of shitty punk songs in about five days, start to finish, mainly as a bit of a joke. I showed the demos to Luke, he liked them, we sat on them for a while, and then one day we decided to do something with them. Thusly, Tin Ribs was born.” Tin Ribs do something quite rare in incorporating humour well into their music, and deal with the macro on a micro level impeccably, which Jason says is “like a self-preservation instinct: the big picture is a daunting, scary thing, and the best way to handle it sometimes is to focus on the world in our immediate vicinity. It’s why Eastenders can have Ian Beale go through eight engagements to seven different women and nobody bats an eyelid – we’re all just stumbling along trying to make sense of our own shit while everything else kind of floats around in the background. And then in doing so, we begin to make sense of the broader, louder things in our own way.”

The band’s songs may initially seem absurd, but tightly reigned in musicianship and an inherent honesty keeps them vibrant. Jason says of the subject matter: “When we’re singing about a vigilante pest controller who keeps getting into bother with social services, we’re sort of singing about everything that’s going on beneath the surface of that story too – the implied

THE BIG PICTURE IS A DAUNTING, SCARY THING, AND THE BEST WAY TO HANDLE IT SOMETIMES IS TO FOCUS ON THE WORLD IN OUR IMMEDIATE VICINITY

lunacy and tragedy. When I write a song about the council estate I grew up on, I’m kind of writing about every council estate. The experience might be personal to me, but the feeling has a universality to it. I think just because something isn’t overt or explicit, it doesn’t mean it’s not there.”

When it comes to the humour in their music, Jason explains simply: “the songs are funny because life is funny. It’s not absurdity for the sake of absurdity or anything like that – we just reflect and amplify the things around us. Everything is true, especially the stupid bits. I really did meet the Ratman, our mate really did get stalked on Instagram by Dennis Rodman for a bit. I’ve never really understood why music isn’t funnier. Television is funny, books are funny, films are funny, but it’s like we instantly disregard songs that have a touch of humour as being novel or daft. Not everything is black and white – sometimes sad things are funny and sometimes funny things are sad, or unsettling. By that logic, why can’t you write a song like Eggs Benny, that deals with the crushing weight of late stage capitalism through the prism of brunch addiction? Just because the subject matter isn’t that serious, it doesn’t automatically mean the message isn’t either.”

Tin Ribs release Council Pop on 28th July. The band support Kate Clover at Zerox, Newcastle on Sunday 16th July. www.tinribs.bandcamp.com

Image by Nostalgia Kid

BEN LOWES-SMITH TALKS TO THE NORTH EAST PUNK QUARTET ABOUT THEIR VITAL AND HUMOROUS DEBUT EP

SLOBO & AZERE

MUSICAL THEMES ON SLOBO &

DEBUT EP

MUSIC

We’ve just begun a short heatwave in the UK when I manage to put faces to names and connect with Slobo & Azere via Zoom. They look suitably fresh and summery, Owen (Slobo) in a baking attic room in Leeds and Rowan (Azere) in Kenya, which turns out isn’t as hot as England today.

The conversation flows easily as Owen expounds on his eagerness to see their seven song Open & Endless EP released, finally. “The focus has been on just getting it out. We recorded it last year. I was meant to go to a party in January but then I got Covid and that coincided with Rowan sending over a load of beats, ideas for me to play around with. So, I was stuck on my own writing to those tracks for a week and then in February we got to write and record together.”

As independent songwriters I wonder how working as a duo transpired and Rowan continues, saying: “I’ve always loved Owen’s songwriting,” – it’s apt to mention here that the pair met in high school music class and stayed friends over the years despite moves to the likes of Japan and Cardiff – “I write instrumentals, I don’t have a mind for lyrics all the time and I had a few pieces of music and I thought Owen would be open to combining our efforts.” Guitarist Owen found the idea of being given some music upfront freeing compared to his usual process, a chance to experiment and “sing weird or focus on anything other than my hands playing guitar”.

With their internet collabs in the bag the pair grabbed a few days at Planet Telex, a smartly refurbished old telephone

exchange building out in the Northumbrian wilderness. Given the location’s history as a communication hub, Owen highlights the irony of the EP having “a communication theme”. “We got a lot of things off our chest that we hadn’t had a chance to express and we both wrote lyrics. It felt really natural,” Rowan elaborates. The songs on the EP bear this out, they are having conversations with each other, lyrically and musically, but also “talking with our past selves or to other people in their lives” says Owen.

The lead track Wild Things, Wild Places has an expressive honesty, its light tone and swaying lyrics about opening up to beauty, even the darkest parts of yourself. It immediately feels safe and sets a very high bar. Followed by For Tris, a heart-breaking ode to loss, it’s obvious the pair are digging deep emotionally. Moonbeams includes conversational studio excerpts that also litter some other tracks, and these ground the music in a definite physical space. Speak In Colour, with a gentle acoustic riff begins: “Please shut the fuck up, I’m talking. And I don’t do that much”, expresses everything at the heart of the EP. Vulnerability in emotions, perhaps specific to young men, the song then unfolds, widening out into a rainbow of progress.

Open & Endless feels very much like a labour of love; crafted and cared for, it comes replete with beautifully evocative artwork by Sophie Forster illustrating its lyrical content. Rowan casually mentions other half written musical pieces currently in the ether and personally I can’t wait to hear what comes of these too, because I’m left wanting more.

Slobo & Azere release Open & Endless EP on 21st July. www.instagram.com/__slobo www.instagram.com/rowanlees

MATT YOUNG DISCOVERS HONEST SONGWRITING AND WIDE-RANGING

AZERE’S

L-R: Owen Sanger (aka Slobo), Rowan Lees (aka Azere)

WE GOT A LOT OF THINGS OFF OUR CHEST THAT WE HADN’T HAD A CHANCE TO EXPRESS AND WE BOTH WROTE LYRICS. IT FELT REALLY NATURAL

NEWCASTLE FRINGE FESTIVAL

For those of us who simply cannot wait for Edinburgh in August, Newcastle Fringe pips its bigger Scottish cousin to the post by a month to give the North East a more direct fix across its two-week programme, which runs at various venues in the city from Tuesday 18th-Saturday 29th July.

“Newcastle Fringe Festival is trying to bring the best of UK touring, performing arts to the city. We’ve got music, comedy, cabaret, family shows; there really is something for everyone,” explains Festival producer Chloe Stott, one of the minds behind bringing back Newcastle Fringe for its second year, since its successful maiden voyage in 2021.

“The festival ran for a week in 2021 at the Alphabetti Theatre, and that was amazing. We sold out shows, there was a real appetite for it. We’ve been working over the last year or so to bring it back in a bigger format, across more venues. We’ve still got the high quality theatre and mixed programme that we had in 2021, just expanded in response to the demand.”

Why hasn’t someone established a Newcastle Fringe sooner?

The North East is rife with culture (as we all know well), and a pit stop for those journeying further North is a prime opportunity. That’s before we think about the rising costs of travel, accommodation and production that affects attendees and performers alike. “We did recognise that there is a bit of a gap in the market in Newcastle and the North East, or even the North to be honest, for fringe festivals. We all know Edinburgh and there are other well-known local fringes, Brighton Fringe, Buxton Fringe etc., but nothing for our artists.” While future Fringes may well become another beloved event

ONLINE EXCLUSIVE

TO READ EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEWS AND FEATURES WITH A VARIETY OF ARTISTS TAKING PART IN NEWCASTLE FRINGE FESTIVAL, VISIT OUR WEBSITE OR SCAN THE QR CODE

WWW.BIT.LY/NEWCASTLEFRINGEINTERVIEWS

WARM UP FOR EDINBURGH OR SAVE YOURSELF A TRAIN TICKET – THE NEWCASTLE FRINGE COULD BE A MAINSTAY OF OUR CULTURAL SCENE FOR MANY YEARS TO COME

on the national circuit, this year’s programme champions local talent across its venues, from theatre at Alphabetti, stand-up, music and more at Prohibition, The Old Coal Yard and the Cumberland Arms, to family friendly educa-fun-al events at Seven Stories. With 42+ acts to choose from, picking highlights is no easy task – but a few events may tantalise enough for you to examine the rest of the line-up.

Writer and comedian Catherine Scott’s WIP show MAM UP unpicks the pressures of parenting at a bring-your-baby-tocomedy morning matinee – perfect for any new mams seeking something different to do during maternity leave, although non-parents are obviously also welcome. From mams to dads, Aspiring DILF sees comedian Sam Lake attempting to work out his own masculinity by becoming the last respectable form of man, a daddy. With perfect comedic timing, Hannah Walker resurrects her beloved one-woman show An Evening With Savvy B to re-examine our relationship with alcohol – in particular, her beloved Sauvignon Blanc – and may or may not be willing to share a drink with her audience. There’s another chance to catch feminist theatre company Menstrual Rage’s retelling of Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew. New Writing North initiative Brown Girls Write pays homage to South Asian Heritage Month with Our Stories, a spoken word recital featuring selected works from their poetry anthology Sanctuary. Plus there’s much more besides.

Warm up for Edinburgh or save yourself a train ticket – the Newcastle Fringe could be a mainstay of our cultural scene for many years to come.

Newcastle Fringe Festival takes place at various venues in Newcastle from Tuesday 18th-Saturday 29th July.

www.newcastlefringe.co.uk

LAURA DOYLE TALKS TO FRINGE FESTIVAL PRODUCER CHLOE STOTT ABOUT THEIR TALENT-PACKED PROGRAMME

L-R: Sam Lake, Catherine Scott by Macauley Cullen

LISTINGS

THE BEST OF THE REST… EVEN MORE ALTERNATIVE MUSIC, THEATRE, COMEDY, ART AND FILM TAKING PLACE THROUGHOUT THE NORTH EAST THIS MONTH

SATURDAY 1ST JULY

ELECTRIC SIX

The Detroit legends play two gigs in the region, mixing garage rock, disco, punk, new wave and metal into cleverly dumb, in-your-face songs // Pop Recs Ltd., Sunderland (1st) / KU, Stockton (2nd)

ELEVATOR FESTIVAL: SCRATCH NIGHT

An evening of work in development by Live Associate artists and writers who have engaged with Live Theatre’s Talent Development programme including This Flag by Kemi-Bo Jacobs, I Dream Of Theresa May by Vivek Nityananda, Brain Training by Henry Lawrence and Shards by Pauline Trotry // Live Theatre, Newcastle

FEATURED // Eppie Brilliant

The musical comedian brings their new show to Stockton, taking audiences on an odyssey through popular music – no genre or band are safe from their hilarious attack! Expect expert singalongs, audience requests and laughter aplenty // ARC, Stockton

HILARITY BITES COMEDY CLUB

Featuring Nick Doody, John Scott and Hayley Ellis // The Forum Music Centre, Darlington

GINGER WILDHEART

A solo outing for the Wildhearts frontman // The Cluny, Newcastle

L DEVINE

Pop songwriter // The Grove, Newcastle

LOST VOICE GUY COMEDY SHOWCASE

The talented comedian welcomes some of his funny friends to the stage, featuring performances from Brennan Reece, Zoe and Simon Lomas // Northern Stage, Newcastle

SUNDAY 2ND JULY

WREST

Scottish emotive indie pop // NE Volume Music Bar, Stockton

MONDAY 3RD JULY

CAN’T SWIM

Post-hardcore rockers, plus support from Microwave // The Cluny, Newcastle

TUESDAY 4TH JULY

TOWN HALL TAKEOVER

Featuring a host of local young artists including Undivine Telephoneline, Wingz of the Monkey, Honeywater, Kebab Spiders, Harry McVay, Ellcavell and DJ Fitz // Middlesbrough Town Hall

WEDNESDAY 5TH JULY

BELLE & SEBASTIAN

The rescheduled show from the Scottish indie pop band // O2 City Hall, Newcastle

MOTHERHOOD

New Brunswick’s Motherhood create contemporary and charm filled rock // Bobiks, Newcastle

THURSDAY 6TH JULY

ALEXX MUNRO

The Scottish punk musician joins forces with Northumberland joycore band Kkett and Gaydar for a queer-safe fundraiser show // Little Buildings, Newcastle

GHOSTS OF METROLAND

Reece Connolly’s weird and wacky adventure based in the long-gone Metrocentre theme park, part of Elevator Festival. Runs until Saturday 8th // Live Theatre, Newcastle

JAMES LEONARD HEWITSON

Full band performance from the thoughtprovoking slacker pop lyricist, support from Kevin Heartbreak // The Engine Room, North Shields

LADYBIRD

Greta Gerwig’s directorial debut follows Lady Bird’s (Saoirse Ronan) coming-of-age journey as she navigates life post high school graduation // Star & Shadow Cinema, Newcastle

NEW PAGANS

Catchy indie rock band, with support from Sarah Johnsone // Bobiks, Newcastle

ROB HERON & THE TEA PAD ORCHESTRA

Remarkable blues, country and rock ‘n’ roll – bring your dancing shoes! // The Witham, Barnard Castle

FRIDAY 7TH JULY

CONFETTI

An unashamedly queer one-man rom-com from Will Jackson, celebrating the gay best friend // Gala Theatre, Durham

DIY CEILIDH

This monthly ceilidh event is ‘pay as you feel’ and uses gender neutral dance calling. The band is open to all to join and musicians and dancers are volunteers. Expect guest folk performers and traditional ceilidh games // The Lubber Fiend, Newcastle

KIERAN BOWE

The Gateshead-born artist’s songs are revealing and heartfelt. Support comes from Bear Park and Cane Rouge // Bobiks, Newcastle

OPEN NIGHT STORYROUND

Storytelling from A Bit Crack // The Chillingham Arms, Newcastle

THE ENEMY

Indie rock band. Plus support from local favourites We Tibetans and Finn Forster // Middlesbrough Empire

SATURDAY 8TH JULY

JASON COOK’S COMEDY CLUB

Huge TV names, daft guests and incredible surprises // The Customs House, South Shields

THE BREATHING METHOD

Heavy riffing alt. rock band from Scotland, with local support courtesy of Ruled by Raptors // Head of Steam, Newcastle

THREADS

The notorious post-apocalyptic cult telly classic, a horrific account of nuclear-war from the perspective of two families from Sheffield, an unforgettable lesson in true horror // Star & Shadow Cinema, Newcastle

WARM DIGITS

The motorik space-disco duo perform a rare live show, featuring support from Brad Field and Faye MacCalman // The Old Coal Yard, Newcastle

WINGZ OF THE MONKEY

Teesside alt. rockers, plus Serial Chiller and Borderline // NE Volume Music Bar, Stockton

SUNDAY 9TH JULY

EXIST IMMORTAL

London-based metal band. Plus support from Anima Tempo and Collapse of Colour // Independent, Sunderland

LIVE BURIAL

The final performance from the Newcastlebased death metal band, plus support from Coffin Mulch and Eye Teeth // The Cluny, Newcastle

SPACES UNFOLDING

The trio investigate percussion, violin and flute compositions, supported by Alex Ward and Dominic Lash // The Globe, Newcastle

MONDAY 10TH JULY

THE DARTS

American all-girl garage rock noise makers, supported by TV Death // The Engine Room, North Shields

THURSDAY 13TH JULY

FEATURED // The Dark Side of the Moon Planetarium Show

Celebrating Pink Floyd’s iconic album, The Dark Side of the Moon, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, experience the music and stunning visuals in Life’s planetarium in this unique show which combines footage of the solar system soundtracked by the album // Life Science Centre, Newcastle

FRIDAY 14TH JULY

CALLUM PITT

Indie folk artist whose sound infuses orchestral, chamber pop sensibilities with an alt. rock edge. Support from Elizabeth Liddle // The Ship Isis, Sunderland

EAT LIGHTS BECOME LIGHTS

Alt. rock band present an evening of dance, trance and motorik grooves // The Engine Room, North Shields

ELLEROSE THE UNICORN

An emotive talent, whose songs tackle big themes of mental health with grace and versatility // The Cluny 2, Newcastle

REVEREND & THE MAKERS

A special acoustic show from Jon McClure and Ed Cosens // KU, Stockton

THE PASSING SAGES

Expect memorable melodies, funky rhythms and rich harmonies from this six-piece pop outfit from Fife. Support from The Larches, Ryan Petitjean and Isabel Maria // NE

Volume Music Bar, Stockton

THE REVEREND PEYTON’S BIG DAMN BAND

Front porch blues band // The Cluny, Newcastle

THE TALK OF THE TOWN PRESENTS CYCLE

The Tour de France inspires the third Talk of the Town summer show. Elaine Cusack, Steve Drayton and Rob Walton perform at an evening dedicated to their favourite mode of transport.There’ll be poems, prose, memoir, songs and daft films, and their special guest star is BMX Bandit Steve Urwin // Cycle Hub, Newcastle

SATURDAY 15TH JULY

CAR BOOT ART FAIR

Bringing together artists and makers from the North East and beyond // BALTIC, Gateshead

NINE BANKS

A celebration of pop and alt. punk, with Sunderland band Nine Banks, four-piece alt. punk rockers Last Case Scenario and newcomers Failed To Ignite // The Forum Music Centre, Darlington

PRIDE DOUBLE FEATURE: LA CAGE AU FOLLES & THE BIRDCAGE

Drag movie double; the original French classic to begin and the Hollywood remake afterwards with some extra treats sandwiched in between! // Star & Shadow Cinema, Newcastle

STEVE IGNORANT’S SLICE OF LIFE

Punk legend, support from Carol Hodge // The Cumberland Arms, Newcastle

SUNDAY 16TH JULY

LEWIS MCLAUGHLIN

The 2022 Glastonbury Emerging Talent Winner’s alt. folk sound is highly acclaimed // Bobiks, Newcastle

WEDNESDAY 19TH JULY

A KIND OF KIDNAPPING + Q&A

This locally shot, deliciously dark comedy thriller follows the kidnapping of a sleazy politician by a struggling young couple. Followed by Q&A with director and writer Dan Clark and lead actress Kelly Wenham // Tyneside Cinema, NewcastleDAY 20TH JULY

PARACETAMØL

Powerful noise punk project from Arnhem. Support from Nervous Twitch and Continental Quilts // The Cluny 2, Newcastle

FEATURED //

The K’s One of the UK’s biggest underground success stories, The K’s perform an intimate show at KU fresh from a sold out tour // KU, Stockton

THE SUGGESTIBLES IMPROV COMEDY JOYRIDE

An edge of your seat comedy joyride from Newcastle’s hot-fast hilarians // The Stand, Newcastle

UTAMA

A visually jaw dropping film following an elderly Qechua couple in the Bolivian highlands, forced to make a difficult decision when an uncommonly long drought threatens their way of life // Star & Shadow Cinema, Newcastle

FRIDAY 21ST JULY

HILARITY BITES COMEDY CLUB

Featuring stand-up comedy performances from Karen Bayley, David Eagle, Dominic Hatton-Woods and MC Lee Kyle // Bishop Auckland Town Hall

HOLLY REES

The indie rock act premiere their brand new video and single, Careless // Bobiks, Newcastle

POWERPLANT

Hardcore punk, plus support from Gonzo Dog // The Cluny, Newcastle

THE DICKIES

American punk rockers // Newcastle University Students’ Union

SATURDAY 22ND JULY

CRYSTALLINE

Welsh rock quintet, with support from Slowmove // Little Buildings, Newcastle

SCOTT BENNETT

The Customs House comedy favourite brings his new show to the stage (also at The Witham, Barnard Castle on Wednesday 26th) // The Customs House, South Shields

MONDAY 24TH JULY

RAUL KOHLI: FULL INGLISH

In this brand new hour of stand-up, Raul considers what it means to be British // The Stand, NewcastleTUESDAY 25TH JULY

FELT NOWT’S FEELING SKETCHY

Alternative comedy with sketches and characters, hosted by Seymour Mace // The Cumberland Arms, Newcastle

JOHN HEGLEY’S THE EARLY WORD

An exclusive preview of comedian John Hegley’s new show // Live Theatre, Newcastle

THURSDAY 27TH JULY

NEW AGE VINYL

A rescheduled show featuring alt. pop band New Age Vinyl plus support from Mascara’s Lies // The Forum Music Centre, Darlington

FRIDAY 28TH JULY

CATCH 22 COMEDY CLUB

Featuring Roger Monkhouse, Jack Gleadow, Frances Keyton and MC Matt Reed // ARC, Stockton

SATURDAY 29TH JULY

HOT POTATO COMEDY CLUB

Featuring up and coming comedy talent alongside local stars // Hartlepool Town Hall Theatre

LABYRINTHINE OCEANS

Experimental alt. rockers, with support from Guilty Pleasure, Burn the Valley and India Arkin // The Cluny, Newcastle

NADEDJA

Pop textures, catchy hooks and a sublime voice // Bobiks, Newcastle

PARK VIEW

Newcastle indie rock band, supported by Sheds and The Revolution One // The Globe, Newcastle

VICE KILLER

Alt. indie four-piece from Durham, supported by Citrus & Circus // Zerox, Newcastle

SUNDAY 30TH JULY

CUBAN FILM SELECTION

A day of Cuban cinema exploring society post triumph of the revolution, for the 70th Moncada anniversary // Star & Shadow Cinema, Newcastle

MONDAY 31ST JULY

BILLY NOMATES

Rescheduled date for the alt. indie artist // Boiler Shop, Newcastle

REVIEWS

KURT VILE & THE VIOLATORS, KING HANNAH @ BOILER SHOP, NEWCASTLE (20.06.23)

Words: Lee Hammond

Tonight is Kurt Vile’s first time in Newcastle and with a fantastic new album in Watch My Moves, it’s set to be a brilliant night. King Hannah open the show with their dark brand of indie rock that sets a rather bluesy tone to start proceedings. It fails to really light the touch paper in terms of excitement though.

Fortunately, the same cannot be said for Kurt Vile, who bumbles onto the stage, maybe a little worse for wear, and sets about thrilling this crowd with some sensational slacker rock. His effortless style shines through as he treats us to a set which focuses on the highlights from Watch My Moves, with the likes of Palace Of OKV In Reverse, Hey Like A Child and Flying (Like A Fast Train) sounding exceptional this evening. His set is peppered with old favourites too though, especially Bassackwards and Hunchback, the latter closing the main set in raucous style, a shift away from an otherwise melodic evening. Vile was in particularly high spirits — even though he thought he was in Nottingham and not Newcastle — returning to the stage to finish his set with more from his latest album, before closing on an incredible cover of Silver Jews’ Punks In The Beerlight. A long-awaited first show in Newcastle and certainly one to remember!

PLACEBO @ O2 CITY HALL, NEWCASTLE (07.06.23)

Words: Ali Welford

It’s easy to admire Placebo’s refusal to join the nostalgia circuit – yet since diminishing returns descended into a nosedive sometime around the mid-‘00s, it’s been equally pertinent to wonder whether they’d be better served ditching those morals and dusting off Nancy Boy after all. Fortunately, Brian Molko and Stefan Olsdal’s latest outing, last year’s Never Let Me Go, is their first record since 2006’s Meds worthy of propping up a show devoted to the present. It’s solid rather than

inspired, though with an extensive live band inflating things to an extent that’d make Billy Corgan proud, its material does offer genuine thrills. Hugz, for instance, mines a familiar angsty seam, but with a vim and beefy post-grunge buzz which feels refreshed as opposed to reheated, while Surrounded By Spies is the group’s first number in some time whose authority merits being a future staple.

A marked improvement, then – but it wouldn’t be a Placebo show without some decidedly odd decision making. As such, when the hits do arrive, they’re not outsider anthems from the ‘90s, but rather ‘80s pop classics by the likes of Tears For Fears and Kate Bush. It makes for a fun encore, but after an hour-and-a-half steadfastly declining to put their own best foot forward, it isn’t half baffling.

UNKNOWN MORTAL ORCHESTRA @ BOILER SHOP, NEWCASTLE (19.06.23)

Words: Caleb Carter

In the open, brassy mouth of Boiler Shop, UMO’s James Nielson crooned against fuzz. The intoxication of the Auckland frontman’s vocals has always been rooted in its gloss, in an easy, moisturised surface that eschews smoke in tacit acknowledgement of the rooms it will probably jive through. Here, however, against walls that feel as if they talk in creaking bolts and rusting beams, and playing the teasingly dark-natured V, the air got drunk less on butter and more on contrast. It’s one thing to skip along with Nielson over the popular glass-beaded Hunnybee but another to be subsumed. Where in the album, Nadja’s electric inflexions groove, in an open space they hem and break, rumbling against new corners, and the vocals are pulled beneath their indigo. Touring V, which is very much about this juxtaposed dance against the night, the effect couldn’t have been more apt. And when, finally, fan favourites were played and the sometimes hesitant crowd were less reluctant to move in unison, the catharsis of an album played in celebration of dancing despite the downpour of lockdown felt all the more palpable.

Kurt Vile by Rhiannon Banks

ARAB STRAP, NEV CLAY @ SAGE GATESHEAD (16.06.23)

Words: Ben Lowes-Smith

Nev Clay needs no real instruction as a 24-carat songwriter, and conducts himself with a Zen-like air of someone with little to prove. He only manages to shoehorn three songs into tonight’s set by virtue of his hilarious and endearing tendency to tell stories, all of which embody the warmth, humour and wisdom of his song writing. A touching tribute to Blackie Onassis is followed by a gorgeous version of Nine Dart Finish, and when Nev isn’t talking about his time working at the Sage, he gets in Cuddy’s Cave and a minor chord version of You Are My Sunshine. I am between welling up and laughing on more than one occasion. Tonight Arab Strap are celebrating the 25th anniversary of their album Philiophobia, a humorous and bleak set of songs with diary-entry levels of intimacy. Aidan Moffat caveats the juvenility of these songs, but the band – comprised exclusively of Aidan and Malcolm tonight – serve the record faithfully and respectfully. They really get into their groove in the encore, with rousing versions of The Fable Of The Urban Fox and The Shy Retirer. A special night, commemorating a special record by a special band.

BLUR @ O2 CITY HALL, NEWCASTLE (28.05.23)

Words: Zeinab Lenton

From the second Blur took the stage, it was clear that this was a band delighted to be playing together again, re-energised by making their first new music since 2015’s The Magic Whip. Opening with a new track is a baller move, but the crowd greeted St Charles Square with the same enthusiasm that would meet every song in the glorious pick-and-mix of a setlist.

And what a setlist! A selection of fan favourites, big hitters and lesser-known gems; Parklife, Song 2 and Beetlebum had the crowd singing along with unbridled enthusiasm, while deeper cuts like Young & Lovely and This Is A Low showcased the band’s versatility. There’s No Other Way, Tracy Jacks, Chemical World, Villa Rosie, Out of Time – the list goes on. Given the timing of the gig, the band even perform Bank Holiday, last played live in 1997! The temperature in the City Hall hits inferno levels and the crowd is in a frenzy.

Damon Albarn knows his audience and delights in entertaining, striking

coquettish poses and goading the crowd. Bassist Alex James reminds us of his skill, cigarette dangling insouciantly from his lips throughout, while Dave Rowntree’s drumming provides a propulsive bedrock. Taking the lead on Coffee And TV, Graham Coxon is on great form, turning in a blistering solo and generally being a guitar legend all night. The band ended with an encore almost as mighty as the set that preceded it: Girls And Boys, recent single The Narcissist (to which the crowd knew every single syllable), Tender, For Tomorrow and The Universal.

We still hear a lot about Britpop – chart battles, romantic entanglements, rivalries – what these fail to capture was the world-beating brilliance Blur had, their almost preternatural ability to capture the mood of Britain. Tonight, pouring out of the venue, breathless and steaming in the evening chill, Newcastle was in no doubt that Blur still have every bit of the fire and magic that make them one of Britain’s best bands.

COME, THE EXES @ THE CLUNY 2, NEWCASTLE (24.05.23)

Words: Lee Fisher

Somehow I’d never seen The Exes properly before, which feels negligent, because they were a treat. They condense all that’s best out of wiry, angular guitar music of the last fifty years – from The Sonics to Wire to Sauna Youth to Billy Childish – into a set of short, snappy, witty songs. The rhythm section are taut, the shared vocals and on point harmonies work well, and Richard’s guitar work is a lot more intricate and inventive than is immediately apparent. A diffident guitar hero –who’d have thunk it?

I’ll never stop feeling personally embarrassed when brilliant bands cross oceans to play to a handful of people, so I was mentally blushing throughout tonight’s Come set. How so few people turned out to see one of the foundational nineties guitar bands is a mystery but Come didn’t seem to care – they were fantastically good. I’d enjoyed them live back in 199-whatever, but they were monumental tonight. I think I understood what they were doing better now too – a cursed blues crawl, equal parts Sonic Youth, Birthday Party and what PJ Harvey was then just becoming. They didn’t say much, just blasted through a set high on chiming, interlocking guitars and heavy rhythms, and Thalia Zadek still sounds like a harbinger of something dreadful.

Arab Strap by Iam Burn

GIRLI, NIMMO, BIGFATBIG, THE TIMEWASTERS @ POP RECS LTD., SUNDERLAND (27.05.23)

Words: Damian Robinson

Kicking off a seriously strong line-up, indie rock trio The Timewasters start with a flurry of blazing, spiky guitars and heavy bass lines. Latest single Heartbreaker from their recent EP steals an impressive set full of messages about the importance of both self-love and the need to be politically aware. A quick handover to local stars bigfatbig maintains the evening’s momentum; the band have absolutely mastered their blend of art rock and punky-fuelled funk which is evident on tonight’s performance of Wrong Place, Wrong Time and Shut Up!, which both blend brash guitars with bouncing, funky bass lines. New song, and the set’s standout, Fine, is even further evidence of a serious band with serious potential.

Electronic duo Nimmo offer the most alternative elements of the night – combing Eurthymics styled dance floor electronics with the most lovely complimentary vocals you’re likely to hear. Standout track, You Better Mean It, is the centrepiece in a set full of pulsing electronic beats, gorgeous layered vocals and narratives about love on the dance floor.

An impressive evening is rounded off by headliner girli, whose upbeat take on poppy electro, mixed with rollocking breakbeat breakdowns, is fierce from the word go. Though perhaps not hitting the vocal highs of their recorded work, girli’s forceful delivery and intense performance combine to produce a set that perfectly blends hard beats with raw emotional insight into societal pressures accelerated by social media. girli’s set provides the perfect end to a roster of artists who all deliver intensely personal messages about personal identity, the importance of acceptance and the value of personal relationships.

COMFORT, FASHION TIPS, M-G DYSFUNCTION, SORORITY GRRRLS @ THE CUMBERLAND ARMS, NEWCASTLE (28.05.23)

Words: Lee Fisher

An inspired co-pro from some of the best Tyneside promoters about, this stacked bill was pure queer delight. Sorority Grrrls were impossibly young, gloriously fierce and really not fucking about. Maybe they’ve not quite broken free of their influences yet, but when those influences are a roll-call of all the best feminist punk bands, that’s not so bad. M-G Dysfunction was absolutely intriguing, his mirror shades and cap projecting strong early Coil/Whitehouse energy and his short, chaotic

(but probably not really) set was a collision of backing tracks, spoken word, crooning and simultaneous deconstruction. One minute he’s dedicating a breakbeat tune to all the junglists, the next dismissively pointing out that jungle is a dead genre. I was too busy laughing (At him? With him? Fuck knows) to take many notes.

My first time seeing Fashion Tips and they were a blast. I expected the high-energy synth-driven disco punk but it was much radgier than I anticipated, their avowedly anxiety-driven sound mixing New York 1980, Olympia 1990 and – absolutely – Newcastle right now into a slashing, crashing, screaming delight! Esme is turning into one of the most watchable performers in the city and Fashion Tips will run and run. Finally, Comfort, who came freighted with a fair amount of critical acclaim and deserve it all. Nathalie is an unstoppable force, delivering blistering queer politics and unashamed fierce sexuality in a strong Aberdeen accent over electro punk backing tapes and brother Sean’s surprisingly jazz-inflected drums. Comfort were musically smart and abrasive, Nathalie is utterly compelling upfront, the whole set was a thrill.

RITUALS @ THE GROVE, NEWCASTLE (04.06.23)

Words: Leigh Venus

Delivering serious riffs and songwriting since 2018, Rituals were snapped up by Marshall Records recently for new single Living Blind. Yet, as serious as they are about the art of Heavy Fucking Metal, their live shows are self-deprecating riots. The night saw the band arrive to Mark Knopfler’s Why Aye Man, a crunchingly lairy music video get filmed for upcoming tune Cataclysm, and devil banger frontman Lewis MacRae setting new world records for both headbanging and calling the audience daft cunts, in that endearing way only Geordies can manage. Kicking off with the title track from debut EP Awake, the four lads brought a Saturday night crowd to a sold-out Sunday night show on their home turf, blowing the place up with Turn Away From The Sun, In Devastation and Blinding To Me, before a naughty Rage Against The Machine detour with Bulls On Parade, before Oceans Subside and Snake’s Head closed the whole thing out.

A week later, the band performed to their biggest crowd yet at Download Festival, beating hundreds of other groups in a massive public vote through Kerrang! Radio. Essential, unputdownable, boasting killer graphic design and their own beer (new collab Riff Juice 5% pale ale was bev of choice at the Grove gig), if you’re even mildly metal-adjacent it’s time you got Rituals on your radar.

girli by Victoria Wai

MELVINS @ BOILER SHOP, NEWCASTLE (02.06.23)

Words: Lee Fisher

Some line-up jiggery-pokery meant that instead of arriving too late to see Lars Ulrich’s nepo-babies, I arrived too late to see Nathalie Stern, which is a damn shame, although I’m assured she was reliably excellent, even in a slightly strange slot. Melvins – as all the older folk in the crowd were keen to point out (excitedly, and probably drunkenly) – hadn’t played Tyneside in almost three decades and there was an expectant buzz (no pun intended). And Melvins did exactly what Melvins do – a solid 70-odd minutes of bubblegum sludge, switching from the lysergic cough mixture crawl of the early material to the Cheap Trick/ Kiss-fuelled FM radio later style. This was a 40th anniversary tour so we got tracks from Bullhead (including a phenomenal encore of Boris) right through to the recent Bad Mood Rising. They rocked hard, looked great (well, Buzz looked like Miriam Margolyes, but she’s a magazine cover star now right?), and Dale Crover is still an absolute beast behind the kit. Despite all this, it left me a little cold – it felt over-rehearsed, a bit shiny, lacking the down-tuned horror of their best stuff – and nobody should be doing Beatles covers this fair into the 21st Century. But I’m prepared to accept I’m on my own with this – the crowd loved it and I’m a grumpy bastard.

BILLIE MARTEN @ THE CLUNY, NEWCASTLE (23.05.23)

Words: Andrew Thompson

It’s been nine years since the first time I saw Billie Marten, back when she still used her real surname and her guitars were almost the same size as she was. If some artists’ rise to notoriety is meteoric then hers has been more tectonic, glacial even. But to maintain steady, near constant progress over nearly a decade is remarkable. You cant help but feel Marten is aware of this career arc. Having played at Cluny 2 a year or so ago she jokes as she tunes up for the first song “we made it upstairs, look at us eh!”; along with her distinctive timbre, self deprecation and affable charm have long been her hallmarks. Marten is touring her fourth full-length studio album Drop Cherries which, somewhat fittingly, is a steady evolution from her last. More developed, less predictable chord progressions and ever-so-slightly sinister string arrangements on opener Just Us are case in point. You’d

be forgiven for forgetting the depth of her back catalogue given Marten’s still so young, but a mini all-request solo set containing a song from each of her last three albums (Milk And Honey, She Dances and Aquarium) are sharp reminder.

Marten’s band rejoin her on stage for Garden of Eden, before a crowd participation rendition of Liquid Love draws the night to a close. On a night where the crowd never warmed to the same extent the weather did, as is sadly so often the case for Newcastle gigs in the week, I took comfort knowing Marten will be back around. In a slightly bigger room, to a slightly bigger crowd, with a slightly better catalogue of songs to take requests from.

A PLACE TO BURY STRANGERS, CAMILLA SPARKSSS @ STAR AND SHADOW CINEMA, NEWCASTLE (26.05.23)

Words: Lee Hammond

The Star and Shadow is littered with posters advertising just how loud and how spectacular tonight’s show is anticipated to be. As support artist Camilla Sparksss takes to the stage, this is a full-on aural assault from the off, thumping beats from her vinyl backing tracks peppered with the odd keyboard riff. As her lyrics pierce through, it’s the perfect way to warm up for tonight’s headliners.

A Place To Bury Strangers immediately kick into action, making abundantly clear that the posters were far from hyperbole. The energy oozes from the stage as guitars are swung, drums hammered and basslines delivered that feel like a punch in the chest. Ripping through a searing set that includes Ego Death, Deadbeat and You Are The One, it’s their time spent improvising in the crowd which proves to be the most exciting element of the night.

All three band members stay tight together as the crowd clamber over them, continuing to produce the most enthralling jam, undeterred. Retreating back to the stage for the latter part of their set, drummer Sandra Fedowitz moves to the front as the band explode into Have You Ever Been In Love to close out their set. This intense track closes off an incredible show that leaves ears ringing and minds melted!

Melvins by Thomas Jackson

TRACKS

REVIEWS OF SINGLES AND EPS BY NORTH EAST ARTISTS. WANT YOUR MUSIC FEATURED? EMAIL NARCMEDIA@GMAIL.COM

(PLEASE TRY TO GET IN TOUCH 8-6 WEEKS AHEAD OF THE MONTH OF RELEASE)

FRANKIE JOBLING CHANGES

Words: Claire Dupree

Frankie Jobling’s sultry vocals are a welcome pairing with the almost jazzy, minimal drums and subby bass that opens the track. Changes is a well-structured song which straddles the fine line between neo-soul and R&B, pared back in places to let the artist’s warm tones shine through, and nicely rounded with well-placed backing vocals, smooth piano lines and soulful guitar grooves which ebb and flow.

Declaring “I’ve got to get away, from all these expectations on me now”, the track speaks of both the angst and empowerment of the artist’s journey into womanhood. Frankie’s output to date has been highly praised, and considering the clear trajectory she’s on, that’s unlikely to change (if you’ll excuse the pun) with this masterful track.

Released: 07.07.23

www.linktr.ee/frankiejobling

BLAME YOURSELF REST

Words: Steve Spithray

The first wave of emo, namely the more accessible and melodic one coming at the glossier tail-end of post-hardcore, was where clean and distort were joined in a holy matrimony that was, presumably, not something the hardcore progenitors had envisaged. Blame Yourself describe themselves as Midwest emo from the North East which apparently means easily digested and, paradoxically for the genre, pretty good fun. Rest follows the well tested path of quiet/loud ruminations on life, death and everything else therein. A plethora of crunching riffs, melodic soloing and agreeable lyrical discourse will be just enough for the purists, while a false ending leaves enough time for a final emotionally crushing wig-out and enough crossover potential for indie and rock nights both.

Released: 07.07.23

www.facebook.com/weareblameyourself

BELLE SKIES ST. ROSE SINGS/MOMENT

Words: Michael O’Neill

A brilliantly captivating double dose of dextrous and cerebral wonder; this cracking double A-side from Gosforth-based quartet Belle Skies is extraordinary. St. Rose Sings is packed full of glorious sonic details that weave around the vivid and engaging lyrics. The way the lead guitar lines dance over the steady pulse of bass synth and cello create a rich atmosphere which acts as the ideal foundation for vocalist/guitarist Tom’s dextrous vocal runs, which expertly serve the fantastic lyrics. Moment, which is about “having a shit time on New Year’s Day”, is a dark and foreboding narrative replete with unorthodox drumming, deep cello drones and dynamic shifts which embody the anxiety and uncertainty of the lyrics.

Released: 04.07.23

www.belleskies.bandcamp.com

CHURCH, HONEY FALL IN

Words: Steve Spithray

As much a beautiful, fleeting moment as a song, Church, Honey’s latest release, Fall In, starts out as a lilting ode to cyclical romance (a kind of Groundhog Day for the seasons) where our protagonist is constantly falling in love. A play in three distinct parts; the extended intro lulls and gently tempers under light squalls of synth that segue seamlessly into an astral indie pre-chorus, itself serving only to burst uncontrollably into a modern power ballad where the “I fall in love with you every summer” refrain means everything. Structurally the track shouldn’t work and its trad indie rock leanings are hardly ground-breaking, but overall Church, Honey deliver one of the North East tracks of the year so far.

Released: 06.07.23

www.facebook.com/churchhoneymusic

LOST LOT COFFEE

Words: Michael O’Neill

A buoyant sea of thrashing acoustic guitar signals a breezy and vivid slice of alt. country wonder from Lost Lot, who consider the song “an ode to long distance friendships and the difficulty of saying goodbye every time you part ways, but a celebration of the fact that everything will still be okay in the end.”

The heart-on-sleeve lyricism and the broad, widescreen-ready instrumentation immediately recalls the splendour of Wilco and Jason Isbell, with Matt Dunbar’s powerful and evocative voice cutting perfectly through an immaculate mix which serves the optimistic and profoundly emotional undertone that is shot through the song. It makes for a gloriously moving experience, universal in its sentiment but full of character.

Released: 07.07.23

www.facebook.com/lostlotband

CHARTS AND GRAPHS AIMING AT YOU

Words: Tom Astley

A beautifully angular and sparse track, Aiming At You is slightly slower, less fractious perhaps, than many of its post-punk, art rock influences. Bass and guitar riffs that leave space that feels spluttering and staccato, akin to Devo (not to mention the repeated lyrics “whip it”, but the influence is way more subtle, more integrated than that). The chorus-laden guitar tone has a Talking Heads inflection to it, and the vocals have an understated venom to them that stalk their way through the track. The breakdown section, with backing vocals stacking on top of one another on each repetition, subtly brings the song to its peak. An excellent oddity of a track.

Released: 07.07.23

www.chartsandgraphs.bandcamp.com

PARK VIEW RED & BLUE

Words: Tom Astley

Park View are a band named for the Newcastle Uni halls, aiming to “bring anthemic tunes back to indie rock”, citing Arctic Monkeys and Catfish & The Bottlemen as influences. If that sounds a little too laddish for you, then you’ll be pleasantly delighted by the actual track, which is unabashedly melodic guitar pop.

Lyrics that are nostalgic, firmly rooted in the familial, sincere and supported by a track that gradually builds into the celebratory (synth?) brass climactic ending, so the lyrics “only shy bairns get nowt” feels earned and genuinely anthemic. It’s probably easier to hear Sam Fender as an influence, then. This track is a more introspective reflection than boozy sing-along. It’s Park View, not Ricky Road.

Released: 07.07.23

www.linktr.ee/parkvi3w

CITIZENS OF YEAH! CHARM QUARK

Words: Matt Young

Summer and its hazy, hayfever free meadows are evoked in this latest single from Citizens of YEAH! It’s a tale of winsome longing, wishing and attraction. Rather than the febrile, hot-blooded thrills of first love, it skirts the edges, almost looking on from a distance. What results is almost definitely an unintended flirtation with voyeurism. That said, musically, the gentle mood and laid-back tone of the song offsets any potential for stalker-ness!

The Citizens in question are in fact a sole occupant, and the musical dynamic and pacing of the song isn’t as cohesive as one might find from a practised band. But besides this, the evocative mood and tender sound rides its own wave just enough to have some of the charm its title claims.

Released: 06.07.23

www.citizensofyeah.bandcamp.com

WOLFRED DROWNING

Words: Matt Young

Accompanied by suitably atmospheric brooding synth pads that build up to an explosive sounding chorus, Wilf Stone (Wolfred) takes on the themes of mental health, self-destructive tendencies and the internal battling of personal struggle.

It’s sensitively done though, without either overblown bombast or self-pity, and the track benefits greatly for having this rather straightforward approach. At various points Stones’ rap-sung vocals rasp more deeply and give the piano-led track more heft. The splashy drumbeats and fuller chorus arrangements draw much more focus from the listener, especially following a very gentle interlude two thirds into the song. With lyrics detailing the issues that are both personal and universal there’s a lot to recognise and sympathise with, whether this is the singer’s own experience or used as a narrative device.

Released: 14.07.23

www.linktr.ee/wolfredofficial

PATRICK GOSLING THE WATER

Words: Amelia Neri

South Shields-based soloist Patrick Gosling invites us on a deep-dive down memory lane with new single, The Water.

Overflowing with seaside motifs, the track opens with the gentle laughter of gulls before Gosling’s bittersweet guitar takes centre stage. The singer-songwriter’s vocals float over the instrumentation as he recalls the challenges faced during his youth. Then, seamlessly, they merge with Rachael Small’s backing vocals during the chorus to create a hazy, multi-tiered harmony. As the song grows into the bridge, a cascade of spritely and melodious lead guitar bubbles over the rest of the track. Having established himself within Newcastle’s vibrant music scene as frontman of four-piece indie band Far Pacific, Gosling now writes under his own name.

Released: 07.07.23

www.facebook.com/patrickgoslingmusic

WILLIAM DENTON WILDE FRIENDS ARE FICKLE/DARK LONELY HIGHWAY

Words: Steve Spithray

Like the metaphorical cockroach that refuses to die, goth music never really goes away no matter how much we might try to deprive it of oxygen. So, the dark synthwave of William Denton Wilde’s double A-side may grate, as much as it might delight those of a blacker disposition. Dark Lonely Highway is the kind of motorik, bass-heavy modular version of the genre that was only ever really welcome for a brief few weeks back in the second half of 1987. However, Friends Are Fickle redeems this split with more of an atmospheric drone that would perhaps serve better as an instrumental if it were not for the oddly profound lyrics that will lay musical eggs in your ear like a gothic croton bug.

Released: 07.07.23

www.williamdentonwilde.bandcamp.com

MICHAEL CURRAN’S DEAF FICTION BOOTS ON THE GROUND

Words: Adelle Sutheran

It’s certainly a seamless track, containing a bit of electric guitar, an AAAA rhyming scheme, and generally a lyrically sound approach, although it lacked punch. The artist explains that the song is based around the principles of ‘team work making the dream work’ in a literal work place scenario, but the lyrics could lend themselves to relationships too. It’s a perfectly solid track, but perhaps not quite hitting the spot for this reviewer.

Released: 28.07.23

www.facebook.com/mykel.curran

DEMOS

WE WANT YOUR MUSIC!

IF YOU’RE AN UP AND COMING BAND OR MUSICIAN, AND WOULD LIKE YOUR MUSIC REVIEWED IN OUR DEMO SECTION, EMAIL A TRACK TO NARCMEDIA@GMAIL.COM AND TELL US MORE ABOUT YOURSELF!

WORDS: MATT YOUNG

DEMO OF THE MONTH

Diago – Wild

Diago’s recent single Wild immediately shows the undeniable zeal the Newcastle-based band have, the type that only bouncy pop music can deliver when it’s embraced properly. The opening a capella vocal bars and the happy bassline do a huge amount of scene setting for what is, at heart, a tale of mutual romance/horny attraction.

There’s a great mix of exuberance here; think about the melodies of the early noughties when bands like 1975 or Bombay Bicycle Club pinned their colours onto compact hook-driven songs that earworm indefinitely. This is easily the pick of the demos this month, and I’m mightily curious to hear what else the band have up their sleeves.

www.linktr.ee/officialdiagoband

Moss – True

Put the needle on the record. This brooding trip-hop ode is the work of two friends –electronic artist and producer Moss and vocalist Oui Bee. The darkly lit foundation, soaring, grand vocals and everything about the songs production leans into the 90’s Bristol area sounds with a slightly more rock flavour than their forbears, but as the beats and howling lyrics ask “How am I supposed to love you now?” the yearning and tormented vocals sound desperate. There’s an abrupt finish, which smacks you around the ears too soon, as this has scope to wander into some other interesting places if it wants to. www.facebook.com/mossmusicpage

Moon Glider – Shelter

There’s a guitar part in this song around one minute and twenty seconds in that’s reminiscent of the Arctic Monkeys Do I Wanna Know?. It’s close, distractingly so for a little while, and then I’m over it, my attention is drawn instead to the strange sounding mouse

clicks dotted throughout the remainder of the track. That is to say, Shelter grooves along at a comfortably gentle and woozy pace, as softly hushed vocals breathe over the piano and bass licks. It’s a nice tune and feels good, but it’s the anomalies that stand out more to me, which is a real shame.

www.instagram.com/moongliderband

Jenny Say Kwa! – Really Don’t Think Ur Right 4 Me

There’s a German word: ‘Sprechstimme’, literally ‘spoken voice’ that whilst not acutely applicable to rock and pop music is perhaps the closest you may get to describing things like Phil Daniels’ vocal cameo in Blur’s Parklife, or the laconic tones of Fiona Shaw from Dry Cleaning on their Stumpwork album, and let’s not forget Wet Leg here who are the talk-singing Grande dames. Well, I’m really not a big fan of that stuff. If it also comes wrapped up in a Cockernee accent direct from Only Fools ‘n’ Horses and with a lyric that seems hugely underwritten and repetitive, then

unfortunately it’s an uphill battle I have little inclination to engage with.

www.facebook.com/jennysaykwa1

Midnight Jazz Club – Stand

The slow build of Stand, prowling around with meandering bass and guitar riffs is right up my street. The post-rock vibes are strong and the quiet/loud dynamic is duly present too when the wandering turns to a fully-fledged rock out, in what could be described as ‘chorus -like’ moments. Heads down, pedals on full, drum kit thrashed like a prison riot. Then there’s a shift halfway, a split off into an entirely different tone and song almost. It’s not unwelcome but is a little jarring, however it’s not long before the initial melodies reappear and we’re back in sync again, this time with some enormous chugging metal riffs. No jazz then, but a beast of a track.

www.midnightjazzclub.bandcamp.com

ALBUMS

JACK AARON GREENSMITH

A NEVER-ENDING SEA (SELF-RELEASE)

Words: Robert Nichols

4.5 / 5

PJ HARVEY I INSIDE THE OLD YEAR DYING (PARTISAN)

Words: Lee Fisher

Some records take time to reveal their wonders and these are the ones that stay with you. I Inside The Old Year Dying – Harvey’s first new material in a decade – is definitely, defiantly one such. It’s a unique and brilliant record but it’s going to be tough to explain exactly why. First off, it sounds unlike anything she’s done before. There are nods to previous releases – the riff on Seem An I (probably the most typically Harvey track here) could be a ragged take on the one from Good Fortune, for example – but this album goes to some very new, strange places. Take opener Prayer At The Gate: it starts with a Spacemen 3 shimmer that builds to a buzzing, menacing wall of feedback as the song goes on, and there’s a claustrophobic intensity to it. Her vocals are barely recognisable – higher, for sure, but with some entirely fresh quality. At times it’s near impossible to distinguish between her voice and that of John Parish. That doubling and blending of vocals is even more pronounced on the following Autumn Term, their voices entwining over looping drums and samples of kids playing. The effect is deeply disquieting. On All Souls, it’s like the tape has decayed, Disintegration Loops-style. A Child’s Question, July is a demented folk jig, Harvey intoning lines like “tell me who has licked the twoad?” in her most Dorset voice as drums circle and a frantic riff repeats. And closer A Noiseless Noise assaults you with abrasive guitars over an insistent Wipe Out drum pattern. None of this sounds much like anything else in her catalogue. Lyrically, Harvey is still in Orlam territory – scraps of Dorset dialect, passages that mix the prosaic (school buses and packed lunches) with the rural wyrd (like Max Porter’s Lanny). There’s certainly none of the direct commentary of the last couple of albums.

Everything about this album is intimate – almost too intimate, like you’re watching something you shouldn’t be privy to through a keyhole – and it’s often simply, even sparsely, arranged. There’s an incredible attention to tiny details throughout: you have to be supremely confident to do so little. It’s a brave, possibly alienating release for someone in Harvey’s position, but it’s a deeply personal, deeply inspired work of mystery and wonder.

Released: 07.07.23

www.pjharvey.net

ALSO OUT THIS MONTH

Dexys – The Feminine Divine (100% Records, 28.07) // Local Natives – Time Will Wait For No One (Loma Vista, 07.07) // Treeboy & Arc – Natural Habitat (Clue Records, 07.07) // Mahalia – IRL (Atlantic Records, 14.07)

// MADMADMAD – Behavioural Sink Delirium (Bad Vibrations, 21.07) // Claud – Supermodels (Saddest Factory Records, 14.07) // Ten Tonnes – Dancing Alone (Absolute, 28.07) // Georgia – Euphoric (Domino, 28.07)

// PWNT – Play What’s Not There (Acrophase Records, 28.07) // Darlingside – Everything Is Alive (Thirty Tigers, 28.07) // Oxbow – Love’s Holiday (Ipecac Recordings, 21.07) // Alaska Reid – Disenchanter (Luminelle Recordings, 14.07) // Oscar Lang – Look Now (Dirty Hit, 21.07) // Penguin Cafe – Rain Before Seven (Erased Tapes, 07.07) // Upper Wilds – Jupiter (Thrill Jockey, 21.07) // Jaye Jayle – Don’t Let Your Love Life Get You Down (Pelegic Records, 14.07) // James And The Cold Gun – S/T (Loosegroove Records, 21.07) // Julie Byrne –The Greater Wings (Ghostly International, 07.07) // Susanna – Baudelaire & Orchestra (SusannaSonata, 28.07)

North East artist Jack Aaron Greensmith stands at a crossroads, contemplating, acoustic in hand. His album is full of inner battles, outer landscapes, and time and tide ebbing away. It’s a lonely journey from the bedroom where the album has been recorded as a stripped-back return to his acoustic roots. Will he break out from the comfort, safety and security of those four walls? Will the never ending sea that surrounds be a sea of opportunity or restraint, the open water of foreboding and anxiety?

Deploying a deliberately restricted palette, Jack Aaron Greensmith’s broad bush strokes are applied through rhythmic strumming and dark, tremulous vocals. The songs have simple construction and restricted lyrics, meaning a sudden up or down turn in mood possesses real potency. A memorable album of naïve charms.

Released: 01.07.23

www.linktr.ee/barberjack2695

4 / 5

DAMON LOCKS & ROB MAZUREK NEW FUTURE CITY RADIO (INTERNATIONAL ANTHEM)

Words: Ikenna Offor

On their debut collaborative LP, Damon Locks and Rob Mazurek rekindle an endearing chemistry honed over years of creative collusion. Armed with both Locks’ idiosyncratic penchant for collagic interpolation and Mazurek’s bewitching electro-kissed grooves, the Chicago duo deliver a bombastic set that boasts an undeniably vibey aural experience. Brimming with supple soundbeds, head-spinning flourishes, and some serious knock for your buck, New Future City Radio – which, with its indelibly stunning sonic malleability, deftly subverts genre expectations rather than treating them as immovable formulae – aces both the headphone and stereo test with flying colours. Sure, the more experimental moments might not be for all tastes, but there’s more than enough to keep true heads dipping back in time and again. Get familiar!

Released: 28.07.23

www.facebook.com/intlanthem

Image by Steve Gullick

BLUR THE BALLAD OF DARREN (PARLOPHONE)

Words: Tracy Hyman

Hauntingly beautiful and melancholic at times, Blur’s new album is best consumed whole to fully enjoy its contemplative story of retrospection. A chartered history from the early days, the first track, The Ballad, lives up to its title with soaring strings and a heartfelt poignancy, before Coxon’s spiky discordant guitars punch forward in St. Charles Square, leaning towards the quirky punk-infused Blur of old.

The highlight, The Narcissist, is beautiful and uplifting, carefully crafted with messages of hope: “I won’t fall this time”. Strings and brass throughout highlight the slower tracks; Avalon has highlights of magic in the chorus, and the gentle waltz of Far Away Island is moving and wistful before The Heights brings the album to a gentle close.

Released: 21.07.23

www.blur.co.uk

LUKAS NELSON & PROMISE OF THE REAL STICKS AND STONES (6ACE RECORDS/THIRTY TIGERS)

Words: Lee Hammond

Yet another excellent album from Lukas Nelson & Promise of The Real, Sticks And Stones is a record with a bit of everything, from the swaggering Americana of the title track, through to songs like Ladder Of Love that wouldn’t be out of place in a honky-tonk. Lukas’ songwriting ability shows through in abundance on this record.

Every track has a brilliant hook that will stay with you for days after, particularly Alcohollelujah. Sticks And Stones covers all your typical country bases; drugs, alcohol, love and loss. Wrong House and Icarus are by far the standout tracks for very different reasons – one about love, the other the hilarities of mushrooms. By far Lukas Nelson’s best work to date.

Released: 14.07.23

www.lukasnelson.com

THE HOLY FAMILY GO ZERO (ROCKET RECORDINGS)

Words: Robin Webb

Pagan rituals drift upon us...unassuming, sinister, awash in mysticism, an intense maelstrom of unnerving gut wrench, and that’s just the first track, Crawling Out! Veering on the dark side of psych folk as a whole, revelling in its own ritual, brazenly sacrificing everything within chanting distance. And then The Watcher seduces you into a mental haze, while the Hell Born Babe cavorts, snaking into your lug-holes, deceptively funky. The album largely takes its inspiration from cult author Brian Catling’s Vorrh, where the dense forest full of everything past and present reverberates in a verdant psychedelic miasma, obscuring, barely discernible and yet gloriously bathed in noise. It took a few goes but now I’m totally lost in the undergrowth.

Released: 21.07.23

www.theholyfamilyuk.bandcamp.com

SNÕÕPER SUPER SNÕÕPER (THIRD MAN RECORDS)

Words: Lee Hammond

Nashville collective Snõõper provide a tirade of short, sharp tracks on debut record Super Snõõper. Only one track surpasses the two-minute mark, with many coming in under one.

Early on, Fitness provides an aggressive punk sound, whereas Music For Spies has more of a garage edge. Blasts of synths appear throughout, alongside huge riffs and pounding drums underpinning ferocious vocals. With Microbe and Inventory edging towards the hardcore side of things, there is lots of variety here.

It’s closing track Running that really provides something completely at odds with the rest of Super Snõõper; a dance punk track that wouldn’t be out of place on an LCD Soundsystem record, it’s a fitting end to a bonkers debut album!

Released: 14.07.23

www.snooper7.bandcamp.com

THE CLIENTELE I AM NOT THERE ANYMORE (MERGE)

Words: Trev Gibb

I remember where I was when I first heard We Could Walk Together and Reflections After Jane, laying on the grass in The Meadows in Edinburgh, lost in their meanders through perfect images of love, loneliness, alienation and the city. I Am Not There Anymore by The Clientele weaves a similar silken thread of reflective, gentle and elegiac ballads, echoes of familiar refrains and beautiful chord changes punctuated with chamber pop, cello and beats broken by jazz, classical inflections and spoken word. Highlights include Fables Of The Silverlink, Garden Eye Mantra, Lady Grey and the Lennon-esque Dying In May.

Released: 28.07.23

www.theclientele.co.uk

LITTLE DRAGON SLUGS OF LOVE (NINJA TUNE)

Words: Robin Webb

An album of highly produced, earnestly sophisticated indie dance grooves that jiggle in drum ‘n’ bass, nods briefly to techno, dips into disco and then hops to the pop. An appearance from JID on Stay also lends a distinct RnB vibe. Stand out tunes include Kenneth, and its funky bassline which has a positive ‘it will pass vibe’; the blissed out Glow, featuring previous high value collaborator Damon Albarn; and the album closer Easy Falling, which floats in an easy Ibizan pool.

It’s the Swedish band’s seventh album with designs firmly set on a pop universality that, though doesn’t have the gravitas of some electro dance acts cited as Little Dragon’s influences, it is nonetheless an accomplished slab of wax that sets for a satisfactory summer soundtrack.

Released: 07.07.23

www.little-dragon.net

CURRENT AFFAIRS OFF THE TONGUE (TOUGH LOVE RECORDS)

Words: Robin Webb

An efficient and distinct debut album by the Glasgow/Berlin band borne of many in the ever-burgeoning UK post-punk/indie scene. My immediate thoughts were of early career Siouxsie as a direct comparison, most evident in the opener No Fuss; indeed vocalist Joan Sweeney only differs in outlook, where positivity can be an interesting personal guide to modern living.

Musically, songs like Right Time & Riled are certainly goth-tinged yet jangly enough to avoid the heaviest of eyeliner and back-combed hair of my youth. Don’t expect a clone Banshees act either, they are rather uniquely reviving a much loved genre with an angular edginess that will be on display in Newcastle at Lubber Fiend on 29th July. Gannon, get gannin’!

Released: 14.07.23

www.currentaffairs.bandcamp.com

ME LOST ME RPG (UPSET THE RHYTHM)

Words: James Hattersley

Sometimes haunting, sometimes devastating; always brilliant. The atmospheric electronicscape of Me Lost Me’s new album RPG oozes with a dystopian folk that perpetually displaces you throughout time.

Insatiably cinematic, Jayne Dent, the composer behind this project, threads together an eclectic collection of ambient noise and art pop to a transcendent marvel. Rambunctious rhythm drops in Heat!, a cacophony of horns on Collide and Festive Days’ sinisterly playful strings, all lay foundation to Dent’s meandering and soaring vocals, stunningly shown on Mirie It Is While Summer I Last.

Inspired by unreal worlds of paintings and video games, RPG succeeds in concurrently existing as the real and imaginary world, full of tradition, wonder and curiosity. Mesmerising neo-synth storytelling from an omnipotent oracle.

Released: 07.07.23

www.melostme.com

PALEHOUND EYE ON THE BAT (POLYVINYL RECORD CO)

Words: Amelia Neri

Palehound’s latest album is an unvarnished, no-frills and frightfully relatable ode to relationships. Driven by El Kempner’s raw and emotive songwriting, Eye On The Bat is a cathartic tour de force that expresses both the danger of fantasy, and the pain of growth beyond a heartbreak.

Threaded within sinewy and off-kilter guitar riffs, the record captures the immediate and pays attention to the details that can build or break a relationship. From the desperation that is Good Sex, to the chaos of Independence Day and the guilt in My Evil, Eye On The Bat sees Kempner fearlessly bear their soul to the listener. It is an aching and heartfelt note on vulnerability and, for that reason, arguably Palehound’s best album to date.

Released: 14.07.23

www.palehound.com

3.5 / 5

STRANGE RANGER PURE MUSIC (FIRE TALK)

Words: Matt Young

Having spent considerable time deep-diving into electronic production since their 2019 release Remembering The Rockets, New York’s Strange Ranger flex these new techniques from the outset on Pure Music.

The album is a self-admitted indulgence and obsession with My Bloody Valentine’s Loveless, meaning there’s a heady barrage of guitar squall, but this is carefully pierced with disco and house beats. The prevailing sound is one of clubby haze and myoclonic jerk, a startled mix of cinematic familiarity. Blue Shade takes skittering dance rock and Issac Eiger’s baritone into Violator-era Depeche Mode, while both Rain So Hard and She’s On Fire reflect back melancholic dancefloor euphoria, breakups and the solitary journey home. Dazed In The Shallows’ rapturous groove closes the album exhilarated, however temporary that high might be.

Released: 21.07.23

www.strangeranger.bandcamp.com

WREN HINDS DON’T DIE IN THE BUNDU (BELLA UNION)

Words: Amelia Neri

Sincere, inquisitive and softly existential, Wren Hinds’ fourth studio LP marks a fresh chapter for the Cape Town native as he navigates fatherhood and contemplates what it truly means to be human. Driven by the Hinds’ illustrative songwriting, Don’t Die In The Bundu is a sublime anthology of gently flowing, dappled and poetic notes on fatherhood and fortitude.

Throughout the record, the singer-songwriter’s mellifluous vocals dance over each track and mingle with dreamy, acoustic-led instrumentals, creating a vibe that is both otherworldly and grounded.

Effortless and flawlessly executed, with each track being a treat to the ear, I’m convinced that Hinds has mastered the rare art of creating albums that are simultaneously full-bodied and subtle; an effect that few are able to achieve.

Released: 21.07.23

www.wrenhinds.bandcamp.com

SAM BURTON DEAR DEPARTED (PARTISAN RECORDS)

Words: Elodie A. Roy

The cover of Sam Burton’s second album seems an homage to Bob Lind’s Since There Were Circles (1971). Like the elusive Lind, Burton has remained a misfit and a wanderer. He’s not found his home yet, although still hopes to get there some day.

The Californian songwriter, also a member of retro folk rock band Sylvie (alongside Marina Allen), clearly is a revivalist. But there is no cynicism, no self-knowing irony to it. He inhabits the past naturally, as if he truly belonged to the age of Roy Orbison and Buddy Holly. He magically croons away, singing about love and death in sweet, sincere tones. I could never quite place him – and maybe that’s why his music has come to intrigue me so much.

Released: 14.07.23

www.samburtonmusic.com

MIXTAPE

WORDS: CHANTAL HERBERT

I’m Chantal Herbert, the founder of feminist Black and Queer-led CIC Sister Shack. I am also a DJ and Audio Producer, and this is my Mixtape to celebrate Our Pride 2023. Our Pride Festival is a five-day LGBTQIA+ events programmed by Sister Shack CIC, taking place at various venues in Newcastle from Tuesday 18th-Saturday 22nd July. In 2019, we saw a need for an alternative Pride offering, and we have since hosted all-day Pride events and online events. After a successful application, we received a National Lottery Project Grant to bring Our Pride Festival to life. www.ourpridefestival.com www.sister-shack.com

EN VOGUE FREE YOUR MIND

I heard this song as a child, and my mind was blown. The four Black women on my screen were mind-blowing, and the video was equally so. I did not realise until years later that it resonated with me because it is about people’s prejudices and is a plea for respecting everyone equally. It is an underrated song that advocates for social justice and change. En Vogue are a very underrated group, and so is this song. As the song states at the start, “Prejudice, wrote a song about it, like to hear it here it go.”

JANELLE MONAE LIPSTICK LOVER

Where do you start with the non-binary force that is Janelle Monae? Although this song only came out in June, it is already a staple Black LGBTQIA+ anthem for all to enjoy.

BAKAR HELL N BACK

A really catchy song about what it is to be in love. It’s a great song to start a DJ set with; it sets the tone well. Major head bopper.

CYNDI LAUPER SHE BOP

This masterpiece is simply about masturbation. It’s a radical song written and performed by a woman. To me, this is a feminist song, and Cyndi Lauper is a true feminist icon. So many of her songs are about women being in control and being in control of their own narrative, and She Bop is no different. The video is also fun to watch.

MARIAH CAREY HEARTBREAKER

An absolute summer, winter, spring and autumn jam and the vocal layering on this is magic.

THE INTERNET FT. KAYTRANADA GIRL

This is a seriously cool and sexy song about love and desire. I feel like The Internet are massively underrated, which is a real shame, especially as they are fronted by a lesbian Black woman.

BIKINI KILL REBEL GIRL

“The power of Rebel Girl is that it’s about being a feminist pirate, being an adventurer,” says Bikini Kill singer Kathleen Hanna. “It’s not about standing at the back and not participating. It’s

about loving and defending your friends and the confusion between friendship and sexuality.” What else do I need to say after that?

SKUNK ANANSIE WEAK

Skunk Anansie’s lead singer Skin was one the first Black women I had ever seen singing rock music. She was the first Black woman to ever headline at Glastonbury, which was forgotten for a long time. She is totally unapologetic about every aspect of herself, and she is so talented. This song absolutely wails.

SUGABABES STRONGER

The original line-up of the Sugababes is still the best (in my opinion). Still, this song is my favourite by the second line-up. I find it uplifting as fuck.

SHAMIR ON THE REGULAR

It’s a majorly catchy tune that makes me want to strut around being extra.

BRITNEY SPEARS TOXIC

I mean, why not. This song is pure cheese, and I am here for all of it.

Level up your summer with Baltic’s Gaming Room

Open until 29 October

Supported by Arts Council England, Gateshead Council and Northumbria University

Hop on a beanbag, grab a console and get your game on. Part of Larry Achiampong’s exhibition, Wayfinder.

Larry Achiampong: Wayfinder (installation view), Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead.

Photo: Reece Straw © 2023 Baltic

presents

at SALT MARKET SOCIAL

FRIDAY 15th SEPTEMBER 2023

saturday 16th september 2023

at TYNEMOUTH WATCH HOUSE

SATURDAY 23RD SEPTEMBER 2023