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THE SUMMER 2015 REVIEW
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TAYL OR SWIFT
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THE POP PRINCESS WOWS GLASGOW WITH CHART HITS AND SEQUINS... LOTS AND LOTS OF SEQUINS. 10/10
THE ‘1989 World Tour’ needs no introductions. With more than a million tickets sold, and exceeding the million-dollar mark in revenue this is arguably the tour of the year. The woman leading it doesn’t need any introductions either. She is, in short, the most influential pop star of the 21st century. Her latest record sold more than 1.2 million copies in its first week alone (the highest first week sales of any album since 2002); she is widely known for jer influence over big businesses such as Apple and Spotify; she is an advocate of feminism; she is constantly surrounded by a posse of model girlfriends and her stage shows are like no other...or so we’re told. So naturally, we had to be there at Taylor Swift’s first ever show in Scotland - just to see what all the hype is about. The first thing to hit us arriving at the venue on this sunny June day is the dedication of Swift’s fans. Droves of them lined the streets from the wee hours to gain a much-coveted spot in one of the exlusive general admission areas. Some of these ‘Swifties’ had even gone to the effort of crafting light-up signs, or donning costumes of characters from Swift’s songs, all in the hope of their idol noticing them. From the off, it was clear that tonight would be special. Kicking things off with the twinkling, synth driven ‘Welcome to New York,’ Swift is simply awe inspiring. Everything is note-perfect and choreographed. But what is even more impressive is her stage production, which resembles a busy New York street. Bustling with dancers and complete with colossal ‘Broadway’ signs, it’s visually striking. Visuals are everything tonight. ‘Blank Space’ is displayed in stunning monochrome, closely re-
sembling her performance at this year’s Brit Awards; while ‘Out of the Woods,’ becomes something of a spectacle against a backdrop of flying airplanes and an almost enchanted forest. Swift’s girlish charm shines through on tracks such as ‘How You Get the Girl’ as she’s swept off her feet by her troupe of dancers; equally so, she brings heaps of attitude with a leather catsuitclad performance of ‘Bad Blood,’ proving the she’s just as effective an actress as she is a musician. Throughout the course of the evening, Swift bookends tracks with speeches about her experiences in love, which are lapped up by the young crowd. Indeed, she almost takes on the role of an older sister to the 11,000 strong crowd. In fact, it only takes one look on Tumblr to find that these speeches have garnered a fame of their own. One particular speech resonated particularly with the audience: her ‘Clean Speech’, made before her beautifully delicate performance of ‘Clean’. There isn’t a dry eye in the arena. One of the most impressive aspects of tonight’s show is the gigantic runway which splits the audience in half. Swift and her dancers utilise this to a tee during the likes of ‘Style’ and ‘I Know Places’ as Swift emulates some of her best friends and catwalk queens. But perhaps what is most impressive is when ‘Love Story’ comes around. The singer perches herself at the end of the runway, to deliver her breakthrough hit. Only the real surprise is that she finds herself elevated several feet about the audience, rotating over them. It’s equally jaw-dropping as it is shocking. Needless to say, our fingers were crossed, for our sakes, that nothing went wrong with this gobsmacking propelling runway.
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“You are not somebody else’s opinion of you. You are not damaged goods if you’ve made a few mistakes in your life. You are not going nowhere just because you haven’t gotten where you want to go yet. Alright, now I want to talk about what you are, you are your own definition of beautiful and worthwhile and no one else’s definition. You are smarter, wiser, and stronger because you took the risks you took to make mistakes in your life. And last but not least, you are a person who is probably going through a lot at this very moment, but instead of wallowing in it, you got up, got dressed, and went to a concert and we’re all having the best time ever on a Tuesday night. That’s what you are.” - Taylor ’s ‘Clean Speech’.
In keeping with Swift’s new, infectious pop sound, this one gets a total makeover, as do the likes of ‘I Knew You Were Trouble’ (which is slowed-down and sensual) and ‘We are Never Ever Getting Back Together’ (which sees Swift don an guitar and channel a little bit of Joan Jett rock chick flair). It’s evident that every effort has been put into this being as seamless as possible. As impressive as this evening is, nothing could prepare us - or the audience - for arguably the definitive moment of the night, as Swift delivers a soaring mashup of ‘Enchanted’ and ‘Wildest Dreams’. She’s reminiscent of every Disney princess as she flips her blonde locks at her space-age piano in her gem-studded flesh-toned dress. She could almost win strictly with that outfit alone! Topping the night off, the pop princess once again risks life and limb atop the propelling death trap in the middle of the room. Unphased, she ‘Shakes it Off,’ performing the track with her team of dancers. And as confetti rains down on the Glaswegian crowd and the night draws to a close, it’s easy to understand the hype now. We come away from two hours of flawless artistry with smiles on our faces, with a newfound love of Taylor Swift, taking her much more seriously as not only a performer, but a role model, a songwriter and a true artist. She is living breathing proof that pop stars are not talentless hacks. Swift stands alone.
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THE GASLIG
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N E W J E R S E Y ’ S F I N E S T S AY “ S E E
TURN OVER FOR THE
GHT ANTHEM TASSUMMER2015.qxp_Issue 2 26/09/2015 16:12 Page 9
E E Y O U L AT E R ” I N L O N D O N - 9 / 1 0 H E F U L L R E V I E W. > >
SEE YOU ON
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TH E FL IP SID E
WE’RE not the kind of people to dole out big statements but The Gaslight Anthem are one of the finest live acts around right now. Nothing fancy, nothing funny. No gimmicks, nothing to hide behind. Just great, big rock and roll songs. So, when they announced that they were going on an ‘indefinite hiatus’, we had to be there at their final UK headline show to bid a fond farewell… For now! Hopes are high from the off as the band open with what feels like a sucker punch with ‘Handwritten’ before launching straight into ‘Rollin and Tumblin’. Truth be told, they don’t mess around and they never did. Countless old favourites are put on parade one last time; the crowd lapping up
every line of the likes of ‘The Patient Ferris Wheel,’ ‘Old Haunts’ and ‘American Slang’ to name but a few. And for these, The Gaslight Anthem seem almost carefree, with the final hurdle in sight before some precious time off. Indeed, vocalist, Brian Fallon, seems jovial as he jokes about birthdays and dance moves between tracks. But tonight is not without its lacklustre moments. Unexpectedly, ‘I Coulda Been a Contender,’ comes off a little stale; almost like a note-perfect dissection of a song that no longer resonates with the band playing it, despite the crowd’s heightened reaction. ‘Underneath the Ground,’ feels ploddy, and ‘Sweet Morphine,’ in short, fails to captivate. It’s here that the cracks are evident; all of a sudden, this “see you later” feels necessary.
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However, Gaslight find themselves well placed tonight, fluctuating between soulful with ‘The Diamond Church Street Choir’ and ‘Blue Jeans and White T-Shirts;’ and what can only be described as simply cathartic during ‘Howl’ and ‘Boomboxes and Dictionaries’. ‘45’ and ‘The 59 Sound’ take on new roles tonight, with lines such as, “see you on the flip side,” and, “did you hear your favourite song one last time,” ringing out like the most rock and roll goodbye known to man. This serves as the night’s inevitable lump-in-the-throat moment. Not to mention that cheeky ‘Left of the Dial’ tag at the end of ‘Blue Dahlia’ which was very much in keeping with tonight’s theme. Remember how we mentioned that we had high hopes for the evening? Well, all of these were realised when ‘Great Expectations’ rolled around, complete with folk punk troubadour, Frank Turner, joining the band on stage. Together, Frank and the band performed a stripped back version of this gem and, truth be told, at times it felt like the roof was about to rip free during this one! Topping the evening off with that high octane juggernaut, ‘We’re Getting a Divorce, You Keep the Diner,’ The Gaslight Anthem leave the London crowd on more of a cliffhanger than a definite end – a sign of things to come, hopefully. The verdict? In essence, tonight’s trip down memory lane bore the mark of a band running on empty, deserving of rest. It was as entertaining as it was emotional and, in all honesty, a fitting “see you later” to possibly one of the most musically flawless and interesting live acts around right now. Don’t believe us? 2,500 Gaslight fans, from all over the world, blowing the roof off of Shepherd’s Bush Empire can’t be wrong. We’ll see you on the flip side
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R YA N A D A M S R E I N V E N T S 2 0 1 4 ’ S B I G A N E W, M E L A N C H
IT’S TAYLOR SWIFT AS YOU’VE
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BIGGEST SELLING ALBUM, GIVING IT
C H O LY F E E L - 9 / 1 0
Take Taylor Swift‘s greatest work to date, and give it to one of today’s finest producers who then completely reinvents it, turning it inside out and on its head. Well that’s exactly what Ryan Adams has done with Swift‘s 2014 smash, ‘1989‘. And the results are nothing short of stunning. There are a few tracks on this release that, quite frankly make us want to head out road tripping for days. The jangly, synth steeped anthem, ‘Welcome to New York‘, is almost unrecognisable in its new, supercool indie guise; while ‘All You Had to do Was Stay‘, is, quite literally made for driving fast down an open road (or into university, whichever takes your pick, you know…) On the flip side, Adams strips back tracks such as ‘How You Get the Girl‘ and ‘Blank Space‘ to their bare bones; re-working these into simple but sumptuously melancholy creations. None more so than ‘This Love‘ which, with Adams’ flair for understated presentation, showcases Swift (and her writing team)’s ability to write the most gorgeous lyrics.
The release is not without its weak points, however. This slowed-down version of ‘Out of the Woods‘ really outstays its welcome, dragging on for what feels like an eternal six minutes (no really… WHEN ARE WE GETTING OUT OF THE WOODS, RYAN?!) And Adams‘ take on ‘Clean‘ feels too robust musically, jarring with its delicate lyrical content. Though, for the most part, this version of ‘1989‘ takes on what can only be described as a cinematic sound. Indeed, ‘Wildest Dreams‘ and ‘Style‘ wouldn’t sound out of place on the soundtrack of a Hollywood blockbuster, and are arguably two of the strongest tracks on this record. But the track that really shines the most is ‘Shake it Off‘. This one gets a sensual, Springsteen-esque makeover (think ‘I’m on Fire‘). Who knew Swifty could be this sexy? The verdict? It’s bold, wholly unrecognisable and definitely makes us want to give our right arms for a full-on collaboration between Adams and Swift. We’d even go as far as to say that this is the highlight of our year.
VE NEVER HEARD HER BEFORE
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+
OUR Frank’s a bit of a tortured soul isn’t he? This time around, he’s banging on about heartbreak with references to knitwear, Napoleon and tennis, to name but a few things. However, with all of that aside, ‘Positive Songs for Negative People’ is arguably Turner’s strongest work to date. The record flits between the vulnerable and the brutally honest with ease and convication. Not only that, but Frank demonstrates how to write passionately, fuelled by negativity in the most elegant manner, that few songwriters can muster. The release follows 2013’s ‘Tape Deck Heart’ which received widespread critical acclaim and set the bar higher than ever for future releases. Here are our picks from his new record... - 8/10
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‘Get Better’
This track almost sounds like a howling statement of intent. Drawing from Frank’s punk
roots, this one is all about overcoming adversity. Bold and defiant in nature, we challenge
you to listen to this and not feel like you could
take on the entire the world... and win.
‘PSFNP’ is off to a flying start.
‘Glorious You’
It’s hard not to be sucked into this track; from its rock and roll opening riff, right down to its
empowering chorus. It’s punchy, powerful and laden with off-the-cuff quips. This is going to
be a sure-fire winner at live shows and is a
strong contender for the album’s best track.
‘Mittens’
This track could easily pass for a pop ballad if you gave it a little re-work. It’s a cutesy tale of
an almost unrequited love, explained using reference to knitwear (mittens, if you hadn’t al-
ready guessed). In its current melody-driven guise, it begins understated, yet ends overdone. It’s a beautifully simple that unfortu-
nately winds up missing the mark.
‘Out of Breath’
This one gives yet another hat-tip to where
Frank came from, musically at least. It comes in at just over the two minute mark and is as
sharp and to-the-point as it is plain. It sums up Frank’s sound perfectly, treading the line between folk and punk perfectly.
‘Josephine’
This song comes off sounding far too much
like the Killers, but, the historical analogies are
rather impressive as Frank laments who he
could’ve been (would you really want to be
Napoleon, Frank? Seriously?) with the help of
this illusive Josephine. It’s anthemic, hooky
and has obvious airplay potential.
‘Song for Josh’
This is the album’s track by a mile. Recorded live and backed by an acoustic guitar, Frank
discusses the loss of his dear friend Josh Burdette. It’s gut-wrenching to hear, especially if you have lost someone under similar circum
stances and befits the subject matter perfectly with this frank lyrical approach.
YOUNG GUNS
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YOUNG Guns have only gone all space age on us with their hotly anticipated third record, ‘Ones and Zeros’, which sees them completely overhaul their sound. Those heavier nuances from their first two albums are gone, replaced by complex and fascinating sonic landscapes and polished production. But is it any good? Well yes, yes it is more often than not. Plenty of things are still the same: ‘Ones and Zeros’ boasts profound lyrics and unrelenting energy in places – traits Young Guns are famed for. ‘Daylight’ and ‘Speaking in Tongues’ showcase both spectacularly (the album version of ‘Speaking in Tongues‘ is reason alone to buy this record). However, there are areas that do fall short, unfortunately. While infectious, ‘I Want Out’, almost seems syrupy and repetitive; the track pales in comparison to the aforementioned. The biggest disappointment of this record is perhaps how it seems to trail ofF. Ending an album with what feels like a lifetime of slow burning tracks (‘Gravity’, ‘Die on Time’, and ‘Ones and Zeros’) lacks that gear change one would expect from an album’s closing tracks. But the last thing you ought to know about this record is how awe inspiring its imagery is. We’re not even talking about lyrics; the music beneath them is enough to transport you elsewhere (probably to space if you ask us). All in all? ‘Ones and Zeros’ represents a gutsy venture into new territory for Young Guns. And while it is a huge curveball for fans of their grittier material, there are still some glimmers of that thrown in there with this collection of tracks being sure fire hits during the band’s high octane live shows. This is what true artistry sounds like. It sounds fantastic - 7/10