DIY, February 2013 by DIY Magazine

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EDITOR’S LETTER

GOODVSEVIL

There are few bands as consistently brilliant as Biffy Clyro. From their mind-bendingly awesome earlier records to their stadium-baiting more recent efforts, they’re the ultimate good guys done great. Anyone begrudging them their success is just plain nasty. They’re about to get everything they deserve, too. Their new album ‘Opposites’ will kick the doors in on that last big marker for any truly huge rock band. If, by the end of the summer, they’ve not blown the roof off the headline slot of a major UK festival I’ll buy a hat, then eat it.

GOOD: Yeah Yeah Yeahs are back, and with some properly weird album art in tow. Missed you, Karen O.

EVIL: As we go to

print, news reaches us of HMV’s worsening troubles. Music on the high street is important.

WHAT'S ON THE DIY TEAM'S RADAR

Simone Scott Warren Features Editor GOOD: The return of Bowie. Please please, let him play live again. EVIL: CHVRCHES’ London date selling out in 4 minutes while I was on a train. Jack Clothier Marketing & Events GOOD: Norway. A wonderful country who are not only responsible for TrollHunter and Turbonegro, but also sending me to Trondheim Calling Festival. Rad. EVIL: The nagging thought that at any time Viva Brother might reform to release ‘The Darling Buds Of Jake May’.

Victoria Sinden Deputy Editor GOOD: Neu’s recent series of gigs with the Old Blue Last was top notch. EVIL: Musicians who: a. Have a countdown to a countdown; and b. Release new music at 5am UK time.

Jamie Milton Neu Editor GOOD: Spending the Christmas break drowning in music books, including Mark from Eels’ astonishing autobiography. EVIL: Getting scammed by Australian calling companies when trying to ring up Harley Streten aka. Flume.

THIS ISSUE HAS BEEN BROUGHT TO YOU BY...

TWICE NATHAN FROM WAVVES DIDN’T ANSWER OUR CALLS THIS MONTH. TSK.

CDS IN THE BLUR PARKLIVE BOOK THAT DIY TOWERS’ CLEANER THREW AWAY. THREW AWAY.

NIPPLES ON DISPLAY IN THIS ISSUE. NOT MANY, GIVEN OUR COVER STARS.

NEU AND OLD BLUE LASTCURATED HELLO 2013 GIGS. MORE ON THAT NEXT MONTH.

OUT OF DATE CANS OF BEER FISHED OUT OF OUR NEWS EDITOR’S DESK CUPBOARD.

7.5 DON’T ASK.

CO N T E N TS

STAFF LIST

CHRISTOPHER OWENS

BLOOD RED SHOES

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DAV I D B OW I E

YEAH YEAH YEAHS

FOXYGEN

B I F F Y C LY R O

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42 T H E B R O N X

50 E E L S

56 E V E R Y T H I N G E V E R Y T H I N G 60 V E R O N I C A F A L L S

82 B A C K

R E V I E W S 60 A L B U M S 72 L I V E

75 T E C H

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Cam Lindsay, Mike Massaro, Sam Bond, Sarah Louise Bennett, Shiona Walker For DIY editorial info@thisisfakediy.co.uk tel: +44 (0)20 76137248

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R EG UL ARS

Editor Stephen Ackroyd Deputy / Online Editor Victoria Sinden Features Editor Simone Scott Warren Reviews Editor Emma Swann Art Director Louise Mason News Editor Sarah Jamieson Neu Editor Jamie Milton Film Editor Becky Reed Games Editor Michael J Fax TV Editor Christa Ktorides Staff Writers: El Hunt, Jake May Head Of Marketing & Events Jack Clothier

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rupert@sonicdigital.co.uk tel: +44 (0)20 76130555 For DIY online sales lawrence@sonicdigital.co.uk tel: +44 (0)20 76130555 DIY is published by Sonic Media Group. All material copyright (c). All rights reserved. This publication may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form, in whole or in part, without the express written permission of DIY. 25p where sold. Disclaimer: While every effort is made to ensure the information in this magazine is correct, changes can occur which affect the accuracy of copy, for which Sonic Media Group holds no responsibility. The opinions of the contributors do not necessarily bear a relation to those of DIY or its staff and we disclaim liability for those impressions. Distributed nationally.

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NEWS CHRISTOPHER OWENS

CHRISTOPHER OWENS RELEASES SOLO DEBUT: “IT’S BEEN A LONG TIME COMING”

f you were looking for a single word to describe Christopher Owens’ 2012, ‘unexpected’ would be a pretty good choice. Last July, and less than a year since the sublime ‘Father, Son, Holy Ghost’ record, the former Girls frontman suddenly announced that he was quitting the band. The reaction to his departure was general shock, but it also caused a ripple of anger amongst some of the band’s fans. “I was surprised by that,” Owens confesses over our transatlantic phone call. “It can be frustrating, you’re not going to be able to explain everything to everybody. I think one of the things I’ve found over time, using things like Twitter and online music sites and stuff; you really can’t talk to everybody on a personal level, although people think they can because they’re writing to you. There’s just no way to explain things to people. So when people write me, saying things like, ‘I was a big fan of Girls, I want another Girls album!’ I just have to say ‘Okay…’ I can’t really get into explaining things to people one on one.” ‘Lysandre’ is a very different beast from his former scuzz-fuelled output, but the essence of Owens’ songwriting remains in place. The folk element has been dialled up a few notches 6 thisisfakediy.co.uk

with an abundance of flute, and the indie-Americana audibly tuned down. But thematically, it’s every bit as autobiographical as you would expect from Owens – sure, he’s not dipping into his backstory of growing up in a Christian cult or anything, but it does detail a very specific period in his life. As Owens tells us; “there’s a few songs about a girl, but it’s about a tour, really.”

“I KNOW VERY CLEARLY WHAT I WANT.” The tour in question; the first time Girls hit the road. The girl; Lysandre, who Owens met in France, whilst playing a festival. It’s “a coming of age story, a road trip story, a love story.” A story told in a series of vignettes, “held together, with a musical theme that runs throughout.” When it came to recording as a solo artist for the first time, while you’d expect the experience to feel different without a bandmate to accommodate, Owens considers that little has really changed. “The recording of this album was, in a way, a lot easier, but I’ve always had a lot of freedom,” he says.

“It’s always been pretty much the same process. There’s less compromise, and a little bit less wasting time, discussing how things should sound, because I know, very clearly, what I want.” For now though, he confirms that he’s currently engrossed in focusing on his live dates. Having confessed in the past that one of his main frustrations with Girls was the revolving door of musicians that would make up the band beyond the core duo, there’s a sense of relief when he tells us that the same musicians who played on ‘Lysandre’ are accompanying him on tour. As for what happens next in the Christopher Owens story, it’s anyone’s guess. Although, he does admit that he has a body of unrecorded work already written. ‘Lysandre’ itself was once part of that; written around three years ago, and remaining dormant until now. “You can’t work on everything right away,” he confesses. “In a way it’s been a long time coming, but in another way, I didn’t do any work on it until I was going in to record it. It feels very fresh to me, still.” Christopher Owens’ new album ‘Lysandre’ is out now via Turnstile.

“THERE’S JUST NO WAY TO EXPLAIN THINGS TO PEOPLE.”

NEWS BLOOD RED SHOES

BLOOD RED SHOES RETURN WITH NEW EP

aving only released third album, ‘In Time To Voices’, in spring of last year, it came as a bit of a surprise when Blood Red Shoes announced they would be releasing yet more new material in the form of EP ‘Water’ early this year. “It was a total reaction against it,” begins Steven Ansell, when we ask how the three-track offering moves on from their latest full-length. “That’s what we do. We’re always sabotaging the last thing we did. ‘In Time To Voices’ was a reaction against the previous record, which was very live-sounding. We decided to make a record that was much more considered; it was really about songwriting and vocals.

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“But then immediately after that, we felt like we wanted to make a record that was really fucking aggressive. Much more about the guitar riffs. We wanted it to sound really spontaneous and really fucking heavy. Kinda nasty. We wanted the guitars to sound as though something was broken; to make you think your speakers were fucked up.” Taking to the studio during their recent US tour, the duo got to work with John Congleton in Dallas, TX, who seemed to understand just what the band were after. “We went in there with a specific game plan and we had talked to him for quite a long time. What was cool about John was that, when we thought, ‘Yeah, that’s pretty fucked up and cool’, he wanted to go even further. That was exciting. He’s

not scared of taking risks.” ‘Water’ really has allowed for the duo to take on a new challenge and, in turn, inject a whole new energy into their back catalogue. But – if everything they do reacts against their previous work – will they have already moved on from the EP just as it hits the shelves? Ansell laughs. “We’ve already started working on a few ideas for the next record and they’re absolutely nothing like the EP. So, fuck knows what will happen! But, to be fair, this EP is my favourite sounding thing we’ve ever recorded. I’m sure of that.” Blood Red Shoes’ new EP ‘Water’ is out now via V2.

NEWS TEAM GHOST

FROM PARIS WITH LOVE

EMMA SWANN HEADS TO FRANCE TO VISIT TEAM GHOST ON THEIR HOME TURF.

“L

ike Joy Division!” Team Ghost’s Nicolas Fromageau reacts a little too excitedly to the suggestion that the photos we’re taking of the band - in a quiet sidestreet of Paris - might be made black and white. Yes, we’re in the French capital, but the dark, gloomy skies above have been bringing the pouring rain all afternoon: it might as well be Manchester, 1979. The band are shortly to make perhaps the oddest live appearance we’ve born witness to. In a few hours they’ll play to a small crowd at Silencio, the private members’ club designed by David Lynch. They’ll find their expansive, electronic rock confined to a miniature theatre stage, sandwiched between €10 bottles of Heineken, snooty cloakroom staff and a DJ mixing

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together 90s R&B staples in a way that makes iTunes’ crossfade look like a future Grammy winner.

“WHEN WE PLAY LIVE IT’S A BIT MORE ROCK.”

Debut album ‘Rituals’, which has already spawned single ‘Dead Film Star’, is set for a UK release this spring. It was, they tell us, recorded partly here in Paris, where Nicolas, along with guitarist and keyboardist Benoît de Villeneuve worked on vocals and synths, and partly in Carpentras, in the south of France. There, at the Vega studio, the guitars, bass and

drums were recorded ‘as live’, on tape. It was also, explains Nicolas, “a lot of fun... We were playing ping-pong, having barbecues...”. As well as touring Europe in their own right - they were, just two days previous, less than a mile from DIY HQ at east London hotspot the Sebright Arms - they’ve also braved the potentially terrifying task of opening for cult Canadian noise duo Crystal Castles. “That was great,” assures Nicolas, “the crowds were full of people expecting techno music. Their

audience is very young, and when we arrived with three or four guitars they were like [pulls face], what’s that instrument? What is it!” From tonight’s performance, a set which we’re told will be “only new songs from the album” and “maybe a bit more rough, because when we play live it’s a bit more rock,” it’s both easy to see why the Crystal Castles fans were confused - and why the band were asked to support. There’s one foot firmly in the rock camp; Nicolas’ on-stage poses are straight from an

80s hair metal video at times, even climbing off stage at one point to bash in to members of the front row. They quickly cite Sonic Youth, My Bloody Valentine, Tangerine Dream as influences. But, that electronic element can’t be ignored, and as soon as they begin, Nicolas’ time in M83 is immediately evident with a wall of thick synth noise underpinning everything. There’s a dark eeriness to Team Ghost’s sound, as their name quite rightly suggests. There’s a dark eeriness to Paris. Nicolas doesn’t know if the city’s had much effect on the band’s style. They certainly don’t choose to live there. “When you want to play music in France, you need to live in Paris, it’s not like in England where there’s a scene in Manchester, in France there’s only Paris. Maybe you can feel a dark vibe because it’s a city. Maybe if you were in the countryside it would be different. Our music is very urban, but it’s not a goal.” Team Ghost’s new album ‘Rituals’ will be released on 18th March via Wsphere.

NEWS CLASS OF 2013

CLASS OF 2013 WATCH

Earlier this year we brought you DIY’s Class Of 2013. Gracing our covers - for there were three - were the bands that will be making their mark as they produce some of the most exciting music we’ve heard in ages. And the best part of bringing you our new favourite bands? When they air their debut albums and prove us completely right. Just to make double sure you don’t miss out, here’s a quick round-up of what they’re up to.

BASTILLE ‘BAD BLOOD’ 4th March

They may well already be headlining sold out venues across the country, but Bastille still haven’t released their first full-length. In March, that all changes. A collection of songs written in his bedroom, Dan Smith and his band couldn’t be further from there now; a mentality reflected perfectly as their album explores all manner of intimate stories through the grandest pop sensibilities.

PALMA VIOLETS ‘180’ 25th February

ALL ABOARD THE CHVRCHES TOUR

CHVRCHES are exciting. They must be. Even the cold, cynical husks you find on the internet are bouncing off the ceiling. They’ve not been out on the road too much though. A support slot with Passion Pit, a handful of shows elsewhere and a London showcase at Electrowerkz last year is about the sum of it. That means the four dates they’ve announced for this February and March could well be one of your first chances to see what all the hype is about. The band - Iain Cook, Martin Doherty and Lauren Mayberry - will play shows in Manchester, Bristol, London and their home city, Glasgow. 12 thisisfakediy.co.uk

See CHVRCHES at:

FEBRUARY

25: Ruby Lounge Manchester 26: Thelka Bristol 27: ICA London

MARCH

02: Arches Glasgow

Tickets are on sale now.

The most rebellious members of our Class Of 2013, having already caused quite a ruckus, the Rough Trade darlings will release their debut later this month. Aptly named after the studio where they’ve thrown all manner of infamous parties, ‘180’ is set to build upon the noisy, boisterous attitude to music they’ve already demonstrated perfectly with lead single ‘Best Of Friends’.

ALUNAGEORGE ‘BODY MUSIC’ June

Okay, okay, so we don’t yet know the exact release date for AlunaGeorge’s first full-length, but we’re already anticipating that it’ll be perfect for chilling out during those early summer evenings. Having admitted that they relocated to a forest to write some of its tracks, we also know that the album feels to be in two halves and is in no means just a collection of slow jams. If their latest track ‘Diver’ is anything to go by, we can’t wait until June.

LINE-UP INCLUDES:

NEON NEON * LITTLE SIMZ * FAYE * MOULETTES RIA RITCHIE * SWEET BABOO * GAZELLE TWIN ROXXXAN * ELECTRIC JALABA * JACOB BANKS FIMBER BRAVO * PINS * RASITES * DROP OUT VENUS LABEL COLLABORATIONS WITH:

MOSHI MOSHI * LEX RECORDS FENCE RECORDS * ANTI GHOST MOON RAY FULL LINE-UP & BOOK TICKETS: ROUNDHOUSE.ORG.UK/RISING

THE MAN WHO SHOCKED THE WORLD WELCOME BACK, MR BOWIE. WE’VE NOT BEEN EXPECTING YOU.

e live in an age when, musically, little actually surprises us anymore. New albums are carefully PR’ed to within an inch of their lives. Details are eked out over social networks; a tantalising tweet here, a carefully chosen Instagram there. If an album doesn’t leak, a week or so prior to release the official stream will turn up. Before that shiny disc even hits the record shops, we’ve heard it, blogged it, moved on to the next one. But David Bowie always played by a different set of rules. A master of his own PR. Back in the 70s, he and his then manager, Tony DeFries, applied

the theory that in order to be a star, you must act like one. To convince America that the weird looking kid from London with the funny eye was already famous, he would ride around in limos, surrounded by an entourage of New York’s most avant-garde artists. At one point, DeFries even attempted to pay Andy Warhol to travel across the States with him on tour. The shock release of ‘Where Are We Now?’, his first single in a decade, quietly made available on his 66th birthday, along with the announcement of a forthcoming album ‘The Next Day’, was another shrewd publicity move. Create the maximum clamour for information, simply by releasing none yourself. By keeping schtum, Bowie is still creating a myth; or in this case, letting the myth create itself. If you’re that famous, and have fans desperate for your return, how the hell do you spend two years recording an album, without anyone noticing? His secret; the personnel that he surrounds himself with. The album’s credits are awash with longtime

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collaborators, he has no official manager these days, and his PA is the same person he hired in the mid 70s. There are no outsiders, no guests. The liberal use of non-disclosure agreements probably helped, too. Now that they’re legally allowed to talk about the album, information is far more forthcoming. The delicate introspection that carries ‘Where Are We Now’ apparently isn’t representative of the record; “It’s got five really blistering rock tracks,” producer Tony Visconti has said, “The rest is really mid-tempo, mysterious and evocative.” The person we have yet to hear from – at least, at the time of writing - the man himself. Which leaves certain questions unanswered. Will there be a tour? Guitarist Earl Slick has confessed that the band would all love to, but Visconti was quoted as saying that Bowie stipulated that they wouldn’t perform the album live. That said, those hoping for a Glastonbury headline slot – given his history with the festival – have not their dreams entirely dashed. After initial articles quoted him as saying that the musical icon would never tour again, Visconti headed to Twitter to clarify the claims, saying; “I never said Bowie would never perform live again[...] He won’t tour for this album -- that’s all I said.” That doesn’t mean he won’t set foot on a stage, right? Of course, we could just be reading too much into things for fear of missing the clues again. Because with hindsight, signs of Bowie’s stirring have been there for a while. The guitarist from King Crimson, Robert Fripp, had even blogged back in 2011 that they’d met up for lunch, and that “David had some remarkable new ideas in process, not yet public.” And for one so in control of his image, that paparazzo shot of him ‘nipping out for a sandwich’, in itself, was a pointer. Bowie is on the move. Letting us have a brief glimpse of him, a reminder that, however small a detail of his life it might be, we’re still captivated. He’s always a star (man). David Bowie’s new album ‘The Next Day’ will be released on 11th March via Sony.

10YEARS:

WHERE WERE WE THEN? He might not have been musically active over the last decade, but Mr Jones has been slightly less elusive than you might think. Here’s a quick look back at what David’s been up to.

2004: GETS A SWEETIE STUCK IN HIS EYE

Next time you’re lobbing stuff at musicians when they’re on stage – knickers, bottles of piss, whatever – make sure it’s nothing that can get rammed in their eye. Not long after someone threw a lollipop in Bowie’s, he stopped performing altogether.

2005: STEALS SNOOP DOGG’S NECKLACE

Films an American ad for a radio, reveals his kleptomania by stealing Snoop Dogg’s favourite bit of bling.

2006: APPEARS ON ‘EXTRAS’ Meets Ricky Gervais in the pub, who asks him for advice, prompting Bowie to write a song suggesting he kills himself.

2007: SPONGE-BOWIE SQUAREPANTS

Before you judge, he had a little daughter to entertain. “My dad’s in the Spongebob movie.” That’s got to impress at kindergarten.

2009: SIGNS RUBBISH BAND IN ‘BANDSLAM’

Idea for a film: Vanessa Hudgens is, like, a bit of a loner and no one realises she’s totally cute until she does a spontaneous ska version of ‘Everything I Own” and gets signed by Bowie. What, someone made that already?

2012: POPS OUT FOR LUNCH

“He usually buys a sandwich or some pasta,” said the owner of the New York deli that Bowie was snapped getting his sanger from. No word on whether the man who once survived on “red peppers, cocaine and milk” is now more of a fan of ham and cheese, mind.

YEAH YEAH YEAHS ARE BACK BACK BACK

n news guaranteed to brighten your average wintry afternoon: The Yeah Yeah Yeahs are back back back. Throwing their hats into the returning ring, the trio have announced the follow up to 2009’s ‘It’s Blitz’. ‘Mosquito’, the band’s fourth studio

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album, will be released on 15th April in the UK. While one track was recorded with James Murphy, the rest of the album has been produced by TV On The Radio’s Dave Sitek and Nick Launay (Arcade Fire, Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds), both of whom worked with the band on their last album. “We would love for this music to make our fans feeeeel something, for it to stir some shit up inside of them;, whatever that may be,” singer Karen O has said in a statement, “SO much feeling went into this record, it was the rope ladder thrown down into the ditch for us to climb up and dust ourselves off. I hope others can climb up it too; we’re excited to share the good vibes.” “We took a more playful, lo-fi approach to songwriting. Much of the music was demoed in our little basement studio in Manhattan with

drum machines, a shitty sample keyboard and tons of delay - which we called the soup. I think this record has more moodier and tripped-out songs than you’ve ever heard from us. You might catch some roots reggae and minimalist psychedelia influences in there.” The New Yorkers have also revealed the artwork for the album, which was designed by South Korean artist, Beomsik Shimbe Shim. It features an actual mosquito stinging a baby doll (as you do). Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ new album ‘Mosquito’ will be released on 15th April via Polydor.

BACK FOR GOOD JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE

Never mind sexy, the man himself is back! After a flurry of mysterious tweets and a trailer video that had the superstar claiming he was finally “ready”, our wait for album number three seems to be over. Revealing the brand new ‘Suit & Tie’, a collaboration with Jay-Z, in the early hours of a Monday morning, JT looks to be back on fine form. With a whole host of other guests likely to appear on the follow-up to 2006’s ‘FutureSex/LoveSounds’, we can only dare to imagine what wonders lie in store. Justin Timberlake’s new album ‘The 20/20 Experience’ will be released later this year.

DESTINY’S CHILD

Just when we were sure that no one else could possibly come out of the woodwork to surprise us, pop felt the need to give breaking the internet one last go. As the world waited for the heavily hinted return of Timberlake, Destiny’s Child announced they were back too! Granted, it’s not on quite the same scale; the trio are releasing a love songs compilation. The most interesting part though is ‘Nuclear’- the first song that the girls have released as a band since 2004. And whilst, yes, it’s not quite ‘Bootylicious’, with an appearance during Beyoncé’s upcoming Super Bowl slot... well, you never do know. Destiny’s Child’s new album ‘Love Songs’ is out now.

THE KNIFE

WHO’S TO COME? QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE

We’re still waiting on an Actual Real Album Announcement, but so far QOTSA’s next record is shaping up to be a good ‘un. What with Trent Reznor, Dave Grohl, Nick Oliveri and Scissor Sister’s Jake Shears all involved, how could it not be?

The Knife have always walked on the edge of mystery, so that their return should cause a bit of a fuss is no surprise. Having released ‘Silent Shout’, their last album proper, all the way back in 2006, you can only imagine the joy when a cryptic video clip from the pair appeared online announcing their brand new album. That’s right; they’re back, and they’re doing it with the help of their nearest and dearest: “Music can be so meaningless. We had to find lust. We asked our friends and lovers to help us.” The Knife’s new album ‘Shaking The Habitual’ will be released on 8th April.

FRANZ FERDINAND

We’re not quite sure what exactly the boys are up to right now, but we’re crossing all of our fingers that we’ll find out soon. Plus, they spent a good chunk of last summer performing new material, so that surely means an album is on the cards. Right? Right?

BECK

Hurray! The man who was starting to seem unlikely to ever release a regular format album again may well do so! In fact, he might release two, if his recent comments to media are anything to go by. Well, it’s not like we’ve not been patient enough, is it? 17

NEWS DIY LIVE

L I DIY V E

IN PHOTOS...

ARCANE ROOTS

AT THE OLD BLUE LAST, LONDON LATE LAST YEAR ARCANE ROOTS STORMED THE OLD BLUE LAST FOR A FREE DIY PRESENTS SHOW. HERE’S WHAT WENT DOWN. photos: sarah louise bennett

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L I DIY V E

THE ALBUM REALLY SEEMS TO CAPTURE THE FEEL OF YOUR LIVE SHOWS.

Absolutely. We realised that a bit of the spark was missing from our earlier demos, and so eventually we managed to find a really good balance. The main thing was to keep the energy and rawness of the demos as much as possible, because that’s what everyone enjoys.

60 SECONDS WITH...

THE HISTORY OF APPLE PIE

IN ANTICIPATION OF THEIR DIY-HOSTED GIG AT THE OLD BLUE LAST ON 19TH FEBRUARY, VOLUBLE VOCALIST STEPH DEBRIEFS US ON HOW THEY WENT ABOUT CREATING THEIR DEBUT FULLLENGTH ‘OUT OF VIEW’. WORDS: HUW OLIVER

WHY ‘OUT OF VIEW’?

BEEN FOCUSING ON IT?

We went through a bunch of names which we didn’t like, and then we decided to go with the name of the first song me and Jerome ever wrote together. It seemed significant.

A long time. Since Jerome and I met the rest of the band, we’ve always been gearing things towards this.

HOW LONG HAVE YOU

Yeah, it’s mainly us two

SO, IS IT YOU AND JEROME WHO WRITE MOST OF THE SONGS?

writing it. I think we tried to get the band to write before but they seem really happy with just playing what we write, which is great. WHO TACKLES THE LYRICS?

I have to tackle the lyrics. It’s just me; I don’t think Jerome has come up with anything. He mainly does the guitars and the instrumental side of things. I READ THAT YOU WRITE ABOUT “MEDICATED TEENAGE HEARTACHE”. WHAT ELSE?

I don’t know, really. There’s nothing specific that I write about. I just like real feelgood songs, and also really heartbreaking ones.

THE ALBUM IS SELFPRODUCED. WOULD YOU EVER HAVE CONSIDERED DOING IT ANY OTHER WAY?

I think it was more because we were sort of forced into doing it ourselves because we didn’t really know anyone else who would do it. It was just the situation we were in. FOLLOWING THE ALBUM RELEASE AND TOUR, WHAT HAVE YOU GOT PLANNED?

I really want to do some festivals. We all do. The main thing is that we’re just going to keep on writing. We’ve already started looking into a sound for a new record. The History Of Apple Pie’s debut album ‘Out Of View’ is out now via Marshall Teller.

COMINGUP... FEBRUARY

MARCH

09 Esben And The Witch, The Bunker, Manchester

02 Clinic, Deaf Institute, Manchester

19 The History Of Apple Pie, Old Blue Last, London

28 Bo Ningen, The Haunt, Brighton

NEU FOXYGEN

NEW MUSIC

NEu

NEW BANDS

FAKE STAGE FIGHTS AND THE ART OF BECOMING A BAND

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oxygen are a band defying the current age. By definition they’re a new being, a couple of fresh faces releasing their debut album, but they’ve existed as a group for ten solid years. Not a single head-turning mp3 or mysterious batch of songs has accompanied their work. They’ve ignored the internet, shunned hype - they’ve even shied away from playing live. They’re two guys who got together in high school, making album after album, and all of a sudden, this glut of music broke out and led to a deal with US label Jagjaguwar. Foxygen are a band now, not just two friends messing around. “We never even showed these records to anybody beyond our friends,” says Jonathan Rado, one half of the duo. We’re talking over a transatlantic Skype call. In the background you can see flags, memorabilia and in the centre of Rado’s room, the drumkit that was used for all the childhood practice sessions. “When we started it was just fun,” he asserts. “We were just trying to make music that sounded like the music we liked and it just sort of evolved into something else.” The childhood pipe dream is coming into reality for Jonathan and bandmate Sam France. What was once a distraction and a means of messing around is now being played out in a public arena. “It’s sort of intense because we were never really a live band. We just made a lot of records in my room. And it’s strange because we sort of got thrown into this situation.” It must feel conflicting to be referred to as a new band, sitting alongside peers who only have a couple of tracks to their name. “We’ve been in a band since we were 13-years-old. We’re not new but I get it,” says Jonathan.

“IT JUST SORT OF EVOLVED INTO SOMETHING ELSE.”

When we’re talking about Foxygen, it boils down to a couple of guys who love all kinds of music, who project this into their records and do so at an astounding rate. Following on from ‘We Are The 21st Century Ambassadors Of Peace & Magic’, Jonathan says they have “forty songs” prepped for recording. But a record label and a budget and a reputation: all these things will change how Foxygen lives and breathes. “There’s obviously pressure from record labels to tour more and we try to keep everyone happy, but we’re trying to do all that while still doing things on our own terms.” We’re asking all these questions because it seems appropriate. Prior to the interview several posts on the

band’s Facebook page set the agenda. Statements like “it only seems like we’re ‘making it’ or ‘going places’ on the internet” give the impression of a band trying to keep their feet on the ground. There’s no doubt that they are ‘going places’, whatever that means. This isn’t restricted to some bubble of online acclaim. Jonathan acknowledges as much: “Six months ago we played a show to maybe five people a night, and now it’s 300. It feels really good.” Lurking behind this mix of emotions is an evidently huge urge to get this god damn record out there. ‘21st Century...’’s songs have existed for a year and a half. A sudden offer from producer Richard Swift back in 2011 helped start this perpetual process. Swift liked what he heard and asked if they wanted to record in his studio. “We wrote [the songs] in like a week,” says Jonathan. “We were really inspired about the fact that [Swift] wanted to make a record with us and we wrote everything to be recorded with him, for that specific purpose. It’s definitely the most inspired I’ve ever felt. And it’s definitely our best batch of songs.” These songs: They’re more than a good batch. The debut album proper is a stunning collection of instant, strangely uplifting tracks. Unlike previous EP ‘Take The Kids Off Broadway’, which by Jonathan’s admission, was “very meticulous” and “intimidating to the

listener,” these songs are heavy on ideas, but not to an overwhelming degree. Defining these meticulous constructions is an undeniable nod to the past. Some culture freaks might call it detrimental to music, to make songs so referential and steeped in history, but fans don’t seem to mind. These listeners aren’t seeking nostalgia trips, they’re just being confronted with music that, at times, sounds a lot like David Bowie, or channels the production of a Velvet Underground record. And they like what they hear. Jonathan’s cautious to signal his annoyance at all the comparisons, because it ultimately means the band are doing something right. “You could be compared to worse things,” he says. Influences come from all sides but ultimately Jonathan and Sam are two guys who love rock ‘n roll and its legacy. A big part of them yearns to be a rockstar. “In 2012 [it was] hard to be a rock band. The ‘60s and ‘70s had so much money. You could wreck whatever you wanted, be mean to whoever because you’re a rock star.” But emerging from a process of hitting cymbals in his bedroom to playing to crowds of thousands, Jonathan’s closer to being a rockstar than he thinks. ( Jamie Milton) Foxygen’s debut album ‘We Are The 21st Century Ambassadors Of Peace & Magic’ is out now via Jagjaguwar.

NEU RECOMMENDED

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Try locking yourself up in a studio and emerging with a series of introductory tracks as good as GEMS’ initial efforts. You can read all the studio manuals you want, raid the library for every production trick in the book. That doesn’t mean you’ll write songs as fully realised as ‘Void Moon’, ‘Heavy Lines’ or ‘Golden Years’. The remarkable thing about GEMS is that this Washington DC duo are labelling the latter two pieces as ‘demos’. They spent time this past summer in a beach house on the Outer Banks. Cutting off all ties can often bring clarity, but a whole month in isolation can drive you insane. Fortunately for GEMS they returned with not only an acceptable level of sanity, but also a divine collection of songs; eye-opening and wondrous. ( Jamie Milton)

What’s in the Australian waters at the moment, aside from sharks, crocs and blueys? Tame Impala made their mark on every end of year list going and wave after wave of new bands are emerging in equal measure - even our adopted Londoners Splashh are from down under. The latest import to come from these shores is San Cisco - tried, tested and pretty famous in their own country - a band who perfectly channel the bright Australian sunshine into their dazzling music. San Cisco’s recent ‘Beach’ EP is an addictive listen, gluttonously lined with sweet choruses and hook after hook after hook. A debut album is planned for May this year; a potentially perfect complement to a ‘99’ flake ice cream at the beach: the UK’s classiest companion to the band’s aura of cool. (Samuel Cornforth)

3FREELOVE

FENNER

Brevity is an undervalued concept in popular music: Montreal based trio Freelove Fenner understand exactly that. If the songs are tightly honed, they can say all they need to in the shortest possible time. The trio - singer Caitlin, guitarist Peter and Michael on drums - formed over 5 years ago and released a very limited edition album in their homeland in 2009. They’ve made little impact outside of North America. This is completely baffling. Recent EP ‘Pineapple Hair’ is a staggeringly proficient and assured collection. Self-produced by Caitlin and Peter in the recording studio that they also run, its six songs, each no more than two minutes in length, are spellbinding examples of minimal guitar music. It is rare that you come across music that is so focused, precise and captivating. (Martyn Young) 22 thisisfakediy.co.uk

4 C L E A N

B A N D I T

Beneath London’s cool, nonchalant exterior is a hotbed of creativity. Few groups embody this as openly as fourpiece Clean Bandit. We say four-piece, but these guys specialise in welcoming in a number of guests, from steel drum players to string quartets. It all amounts to a flurry of activity circuiting their debut ‘A&E’ EP, a crafty fusion of Rinse FM-bred pop and genre-expanding experimentalism. One track in particular, ‘Nightingale’, is as promising as it gets: one second it’s the sound of the capital at 4am on a Saturday night; all bright lights and heady escapism. Moments later it’s classical, lined with strings and focused on its bare elements. Childish and playful, not a second goes by without a surprising addition emerging from the cracks. If Clean Bandit maintain anything like this level of output, we’ve something special in store. ( Jamie Milton)

5 E M P R E S S

O F

At first Lorely Rodriguez, aka Empress Of ’s, debut single proper ‘Champagne’’s overlapping textures sound not too dissimilar to an exasperating YouTube advertisement playing discordantly above an original track. It’s disorientating, almost intentionally so. But after a couple of listens the swooning instrumental layers lend an artistic ambience, with a real sense of depth and Metronomy-style smoothness. Her first online offering – ‘Don’t Tell Me’ – is similarly impressive; a gripping, dream-like ballad, encompassing a vastly minimal soundscape. From the scarce amount of available information we’ve gathered from her bizarre, Craigslist-inspired website and a selection of video teasers, Rodriguez is gradually revealing more about her identity and in turn, her potential. ( Jonathan Hatchman)

6 C H L Ö E

H O W L

Chlöe Howl’s debut track ‘No Strings’ is up there with the very best opening gambits for a prospective pop star. In fact it’s so good Howl essentially rips up the rulebook and announces herself as a name to keep an eye on in three and a half frank, expletive-filled minutes. Being 17 years old and signed to Columbia is bound to give your average newcomer a false sense of grandeur. But Howl is sharp and cutting, to the point with a portrayal of a relationship that’s essentially devoid of meaning. She doesn’t mince her words, with the final chorus’ line of “Fuck your no strings, I hope I have twins” all but cementing Howl’s name in the pop (and diaeresis) hall of fame. ( Jamie Milton)

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NEU ROSES GABOR

he career progression of West Londoner Roses Gabor is an intriguing tale. It’s a story that encompasses the monotony of working for major banks in the distinctly un-musical world of the City, touring the world with Gorillaz, and making standout contributions to a number of landmark club tracks. All of this before she had even released her debut solo single. Speaking to Roses, you get a real sense of enthusiasm and her love for music; the conversation rattles along. As well as a breathless ebullience there is an assuredness that her time is very much now. Recent single ‘Stars’ is a beguilingly soulful yet inventive piece of bass-led electronica; it has a depth that marks it out as far more than a blandly formulaic club banger: Roses takes her influences from a wide sonic palette. She speaks adoringly of her love for Björk and singers who push boundaries. Her first experience of pop success came back in 2005 with her vocal on ‘Dare’ by Gorillaz. “I’m really fussy with what I do,” she admits, when asked what took her so long to branch out on her own. “I’m quite particular. I left work about 3 years ago and from that time, I decided I was going to start doing music professionally. I just wanted to get the sound right. I wanted to be sure that this was the sound I wanted to go with and it is.”

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Of course, in the intervening years she performed as part of Gorillaz’ touring band. There is a wondrous tone to her voice as she regales us with tales of time on the road. “I was on a tour bus around America with Bobby Womack and Little Dragon.” The timbre in her voice rises. “It was an amazing experience. With Bobby, sometimes we would get back after the show and he would have a little chat with me about his time spent with Sam Cooke; how things used to be with Aretha Franklin.” The past few years have seen both Katy B and Jessie Ware make significant leaps to mainstream success, two artists Roses is oft likened to. “It’s wonderful to be compared to people who I think are making alternative, trailblazing stuff. ”

ROSES GABOR: DARING TO DREAM “I’M REALLY FUSSY WITH WHAT I DO.”

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With her debut album still in its early stages of recording Roses gives little away, but states that it will be “futuristic and electronic.” She does drop a tantalising hint of what may eventually emerge. “There’s quite a lot of amazing producers that I’d like to get in with. It’s slowly happening, I don’t want to say too much but things are good. It will be an exciting album. Not just for me but for everybody who listens.” When the album does arrive later this year it should finally see Roses Gabor established as music’s next superstar. (Martyn Young)

NEu news

olf Alice are gearing up to play to some big crowds: their new tour kicks off in London on 11th February. Visit thisisfakediy.co.uk for the full list of dates.

FLUME: SIGNED TEES AND GOLD DISCS

arley Streten is telling “Flume was just the project where I us about his first ever wrote random tunes without any real signing session as Flume. boundaries,” explains Harley. “I didn’t The kind you usually see really know if people would take well a V-necked Peter Andre to it or not.” Beyond the obvious excitedly arriving at, camera crew in ambition, this is a project that reflects tow. “There was a group of girls and Harley’s habits and state of mind. He they were all wearing Flume shirts. started out of boredom, and similarly, I’m stoked that kids are getting into the album’s all-encompassing sound this sort of music. I always thought reflects the producer’s desire to look they got into weird shit, the Biebers elsewhere for inspiration. “I couldn’t and One Directions.” have made an album from just [debut single] ‘Sleepless’. I need At 21, Harley cuts a fresh ideas.” He cites obscure “I WANT determined figure. He’s sample packs and Flying THIS THING Lotus’ experimentalism as entirely honest in stating TO GO AS primary influences. But at its “I want this thing to go as big as possible.” What heart, Flume’s debut LP is a BIG AS once began as a small party record: it simply aims POSSIBLE.” side-project for a trained to soundtrack as many parties saxophonist, making as possible. damningly tagged “standard dance music” for a hobby, Flume has gone Flume might have broken big, to the “gradually crazy”. The debut album hit extent that a once bedroom-ridden Gold in Australia and Streten’s taken producer is touring for five successive things further by signing international months, all while signing t-shirts deals. Any greater success will be for teenagers, but Harley’s far from anything but pure accident. finished. Flume’s only heading for greater things. ( Jamie Milton)

tagecoach have previewed their debut album, due in May of this year. Their track ‘Threequel’ was produced by Rory Attwell, and is available for free download now check it out on thisisfakediy.co.uk.

eeds’ HOOKWORMS have announced their debut album: ‘Pearl Mystic’ will come out through Gringo Records on 4th March.

olden Grrrls begin their new UK tour in Brighton on 15th February, before heading across the country and finishing in Manchester on 23rd February.

ibling trio Haim have today released a Dan Lissvik remix of their track ‘Send Me Down’. Listen now on thisisfakediy.co.uk.

ew Zealand born, London resident Willy Moon has added an extra London date to his debut headline UK tour for 2013. He’ll play London’s Electric Ballroom on 8th May.

lunaGeorge are to play their biggest London show to date on 20th June at Electric Brixton, to mark the release of their debut album. 25

NEU MIXTAPE

GEORGE MAPLE UPHILL

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A Flume collaborator on ‘Bring You Down’, George Maple’s debut solo outing is effortlessly smooth. From the Jessie Ware school of soulful, genrebending pop, Maple’s voice skitters the surface of sweet, minimal synth patterns. It might be understated, but it’s completely breathtaking.

POPSTRANGERS HEAVEN

New Zealand’s Popstrangers are award winners on their own shores, but up to their debut full-length ‘Antipodes’ (released 25th February through Carpark Records), they’ve had little impact over here. ‘Heaven’ is the centrepiece of a movement that’ll change all this. It’s escapist rock music at its most immediate.

BIRDSKULLS GHOST WORLD

‘Ghost World’ was initially released through label beloved Art Is Hard Records’ Pizza Club. Current stalwarts of vibrant pop-punk, Splashh, made their name through the same delectable scheme, and Birdskulls’ head-banging style will appeal to a similar, adoring crowd.

NOT CONTENT WITH GIVING YOU A FREE MAGAZINE, WE’VE PUT TOGETHER A FREE MIXTAPE FULL OF OUR FAVOURITE NEW BANDS; DOWNLOAD FROM THISISFAKEDIY.CO.UK/MIXTAPE

TROUMACA LADY COLOUR

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Birmingham’s Troumaca have been cited by their buddies Peace as ones to watch, and debut single ‘Lady Colour cements this claim. It blends a tropical style, central to the band’s ethos (they were named after a Caribbean island, after all), with sharp percussion and house patterns.

MUST THE DEVIL LIVES

For all of nostalgia’s perks, it’s a special occasion when a band can take a sound of old and spin in it on its head. ‘The Devil Lives’ is MUST at their most romantic, snatching the 90s grunge sound from Seattle’s fingertips and giving it a triumphant lease of life.

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BARE PALE SHAME Waves of distortion surround the scene, but while all the harsh production fizzes away, a strangely beautiful melody remains faultless and awake. Bare Pale aren’t just another bunch of London fuzzpedal collectors.

RANVIR BASSI OF MOONS

‘Of Moons’ is the sound of a passer-by, childish and eager, picking apart Jamie xx’s ‘Far Nearer’. Ranvir Bassi has a strange way of working, but everything he stamps his trade on ends up thriving in life and experimentalism.

GAMBLES TRUST

Matthew Siskin must have downed half a litre of whiskey and smoked a dozen rollies before recording ‘Trust’. By the sounds of it, he also had to go through a torrid experience or two to find the inspiration. Bleak and cutting, his words are piercing, his message true and faultless. Quite the talent.

THUMPERS DANCING’S DONE

Members of the now distant Pull Tiger Tail combine to dramatic effect in Thumpers, a project that’s been snapped up by Transgressive imprint paradYse. And no wonder. The dreamy pop on display throughout ‘Dancing’s Done’ is the sound of the sun’s soul being extracted and purified.

CHROMESPARKS SEND THE PAIN ON

Jeremy Malvin surrounds himself with gadgets and wires; entangled in cables and electric shock hazards. But the songs he projects are teeming with an energy that you’d usually associate with organic, heartfelt pop. Elements of dance and chill combine; ‘Send The Pain On’ being Malvin’s most vibrant work to date.

COVER BIFFY CLYRO

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Why Not Aim High?! BEST RO CK ALBUM OF THE DECADE! Words: Sarah Jamieson. Photos: Sam Bond

“I

think we were tired,” begins Ben Johnston, the percussion backbone of Biffy Clyro. “We were starting to drift apart a little bit as friends, probably through spending too much time together.”

Those are not the words you’d usually expect to hear when sitting down with one of Britain’s biggest bands on the cusp of releasing their most ambitious project to date. Having spent almost their entire lives in each other’s company, the Scottish trio’s current position in the musical landscape has been in a large part thanks to relentless touring and hard work. Heralded in their early days as a cult experimental rock band, they were a little strange, and rough around the edges, but that was their charm. Their genre was neither here nor there; heavy enough to keep people on their toes, but not without catchy idiosyncrasies buried deep beneath the weirdness. Fast forward to the present day and they’ve won over all manner of audiences, as much shaping the mainstream to fit them as changing their sound to fit in. A real life case of slow and steady winning the race.

COVER BIFFY CLYRO

The Biff are a band who wanted to challenge their listeners from the start - they even admit that’s why they chose their name – and that ethos has remained. Yet, as touring on their last album drew to a close, things took an unexpected turn.

People react in different ways to any chemicals, and so there came this point where it seemed I had written songs that were reflecting on all the bad points. We really hit a low point, just before the album, where we had to say to Ben, ‘Look, we can’t see this. It doesn’t work with you and you’re a much nicer person without it.’ We want to enjoy each other’s company; we’re not just workmates in a band. It’s about trying to protect a member of your family.”

In 2009 the band released their fifth album ‘Only Revolutions’ and, just as their previous full-length ‘Puzzle’, it was heralded a success. What followed was a blur of world widetour dates, TV appearances, high-profile festival slots and press run after press “It built up over a couple of years,” run. By the time a year had he continues. “We were drifting passed, they were playing further apart. I felt that,” he to a sold out Wembley pauses, “I was taking on “IT WOULD Arena and shooting a more responsibility, BE NICE TO live DVD; a long way because I write all THINK THAT WE from the childhood the songs. I started ARE ON THE CUSP friends who started to resent the fact that OF BUILDING A to play together in their while I’m writing all LEGACY.” early teens. Like so many these songs, he can’t even before them, the cracks began bother to turn up. So, the to show. first album [of ‘Opposites’] is reflecting on how we got into that “I think for the first time as a band situation.” we drifted apart,” frontman Simon Neil confides. Despite his reflective tone, he’s The concept of their latest opus all amicable smiles. becomes more evident. An ambitious idea in itself, ‘Opposites’ is a double “We worked that album really hard. We album, the first disc of which reflects on hadn’t been used to an album campaign past hardships and struggles, some of lasting that long,” Ben tells us. “Two which posed a genuine threat to the life years seems like a long time.” of the band itself. “Ben was drinking a lot and he wasn’t devoting himself to the band in the same way,” explains Simon. “Me and James were worried about him a lot.

“It certainly wasn’t written with that [concept] in mind,” Ben assures us. “We came home and had a really short break, and Simon panicked, thinking he might

30 thisisfakediy.co.uk

have writer’s block because nothing was really coming. Then he went ‘boom’ and before you know it, we had 45 songs. I guess that happened during a certain period of time, and throughout that time, me and Simon went through some negative and positive emotions, and that’s what you hear on the record.” It’s alongside their more personal breakdowns that the band – Simon, especially - began to look back on past regrets. Living a life constantly on the road inevitably means you miss key events in your family lives, and there is undoubtedly always going to be the question of, ‘What if ?’

E “I STARTED TO RESENT THE FACT THAT WHILE I’M WRITING ALL THESE SONGS, HE CAN’T EVEN BOTHER TO TURN UP.”

E “It’s a weird existence. You have to sacrifice things no matter what you do, I guess,” Simon reflects. “But you begin to neglect certain things in your life; friendships and relationships. That’s very easy to let happen, especially because we’ve never really stopped. We’re all looking in our early 30s now. I think once you hit 30, you’re kind of like, ‘Hey, wait a minute, we’ve spent 15 years doing this, but what’s real life?’ Music is everything to us but you need to have a life away from that. “It seems ridiculous but it’s almost easier when you are just floating constantly. You just take it as it comes. Then, when you go home, you’re sitting in your place, with your wife or something, and you don’t know how to relate to a real life situation. How do you relate to music not being the be all and end all, because it is to all of us? It’s not going to get you help if you can’t afford to pay a bill. No one gives a fuck if you sing a few songs at that point.” It was after a break from the band that the trio found a way to overcome their problems. With Simon’s new found inspiration and Ben heeding the advice of those closest to him, their hardships eased and they began to remember just how lucky they were. “I think after we’d had the difficult time at the start,” offers Simon, “after the first couple of weeks of Ben stopping drinking, we did great. I mean, Ben’s the healthiest and best he’s ever been. It really galvanised us. Making the record was actually a thrill.” “That was really quite a crazy time for the band,” adds

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.... ..

............................................................ ............................................................ ............................................................ bassist James Johnston, Ben’s more reserved twin brother. “You’ve got to go through these difficult times in order to move forward. Those difficult times brought us back together and made us feel like a gang; like us against the world, again. You have to feel like that. It was nice to rekindle that flame.”

The second disc of their album does just that: reunites the band and plants them firmly facing forward, the exact opposite direction from which they had come. “The second disc is about trying to grab hold of life again and take control,” says Simon. “To take the reins and not allow things that you’ve spent your entire life working for to fall apart. That’s true in any facet of life. For us, it was primarily the band at that point: are we that clichéd that we could actually let that happen here? “I think those songs are about leaping out there and about being a team again. I hope at the end of the double album there’s a positive feeling. It’s got some sad songs but hopefully really uplifting ones as well.”

E “WE FEEL IT’S THE BEST RECORD WE’VE MADE.”

E Needless to say, the lyrical side of ‘Opposites’ is more than fully realised, but with any double album there’s always going to be the question of excess. Whilst they’ve spent their entire career challenging what’s acceptable within music, and they may have a great story to pin it on, the thoughts in everyone’s mind will remain the same: was a second disc not a step too far? “Things just started to slot in place,” states Ben. “Certain songs worked together and then, they started to tell the story.” “Like any other band, we want our latest record to be the best. With ‘Opposites’ we couldn’t go any further,” replies James, explaining their choice. “We’re not afraid to try something out and if it doesn’t work, get rid of it.” As a band who are renowned for pushing the boundaries of

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COVER BIFFY CLYRO

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their own sound, there’s enough reason to wonder how far they’ve gone this time. It seems that whilst they’ve explored new territory, Biffy Clyro remain true to their core.

“Well,” interjects Ben, cutting a little more to the chase. “We feel it’s the best record we’ve made.”

your head.’ But we’re getting there; we’re really close, and I think it would be a little slice of magic if we could achieve that.”

“I believe it’s one of the better So, if the three-piece really rock records, hopefully...” have just produced the best “It’s fucking out there but, at Simon starts, reluctantly, rock album of the decade, the same time, it’s massively before trailing off into there’s only one place accessible,” offers Ben, before laughter. “Why not to celebrate - surely James joins in. “I think that’s aim high?! Best Reading & Leeds “WE’RE important. You’ve got to rock album of will finally have NOT JUST maintain your sound as a band the decade! to give in WORKMATES IN but be able to develop and Let’s go at and offer move forward.” that.” up a long A BAND. IT’S ABOUT awaited TRYING TO PROTECT A “Music should never be a They’re not headline slot? MEMBER OF YOUR struggle to get through,” adds far off. Yet to FAMILY.” Simon. “Over the years we’ve put a foot wrong “That would be realised with each record that in terms of both a fucking pinch something doesn’t need to be niche and mainstream yourselves moment,” impenetrable to be worthy. I support, and with their Ben answers instantly. “In don’t think it’s going to be this legions of fans – old and fact, Simon has a jotter from marathon that people have to new - already awaiting their school that he was pointing out strain to get through it.” return, ‘Opposites’ is a genuine to me. On the back of it he’d contender for the title. written a fake Reading line-up And, in true Biffy fashion, for the year 2000, which at this they’re anything but “It would be nice to think point, seemed like the fucking arrogant when it comes that we are on the cusp mad future. It had Biffy Clyro to their answer of of building a legacy.” headlining, with Nirvana and what they think Ben muses. “It Pearl Jam and all of these this record would be nice to bands. That’s how much it “US AGAINST could continue to would blow our minds if we did become. the point that something like that.” THE WORLD, our name AGAIN.” “We’re will remain We know who our money’s obviously really forever. I don’t on for 2013, schoolbook proud of what we’ve know if that sounds scribblings and all. done,” James offers. over-ambitious or not. If “We’re not going to see someone said to me years Biffy Clyro’s new album this as the best record that ago that Biffy Clyro might ‘Opposites’ is out now via 14th anyone’s ever going to hear. become a household name Floor Records. Although obviously, inside us, in Britain – two words that we all feel it’s the best record.” don’t even exist in the English language – I’d say, ‘You’re off

INTERVIEW VILLAGERS

IN A LAND, NOT SO FAR AWAY...

THINGS WE NEVER EXPECTED TO HEAR: VILLAGERS’ NEW ALBUM, ‘{AWAYLAND}’; HEAVILY INFLUENCED BY TECHNO. WORDS: SIMONE SCOTT WARREN

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hen Villagers unveiled the first track from their second album, ‘{Awayland}’, it was quickly apparent that some fans were a little surprised by the change in musical direction. “I remember, I got a text from our keyboard player the day ‘The Waves’ video came out, saying, ‘Have you seen YouTube?’” Conor J. O’Brien, the band’s frontman, tells us as we hide out in a back room of his label’s offices, “The first forty, fifty comments were people being negative; what is this, what are they doing? But then it slowly got more positive, I don’t know what happened. They got used to it.” Which is rather fortuitous, because despite their 2010 debut, ‘Becoming A Jackal’, being a fairly restrained affair, the follow up is another kettle of fish. Sure, there’s still Conor’s lilting vocals, immediately identifying it as a Villagers record, but beyond that, ‘{Awayland}’ is rocking a very different set of influences. “The process was influenced by techno,” he chuckles, “I got into it quite heavily for a couple of months, and started making really bad techno music. No one’s ever going to hear it, it’s not leaving my demo room. But some of the sounds from those tracks made it on to the album. One of the demos of ‘Nothing Arrived’ had a drum and bass breakdown, almost; it sounded like Asian Dub Foundation or something.” With much of the writing having taken place on the road, the band settled in their co-producer (and live guitarist) Tommy McLaughlin’s Donegal studio, and Conor scoffs at the idea that they might have tried and live out their rock star fantasies a little further from home. “Tommy had

recorded the first album and he’d just finished building his studio, it would have been awkward if we’d decided to go somewhere else,” he laughs, “I don’t feel like we write songs that would pay for that lifestyle anyway, we’re not Mumford & Sons. My only aim is to try and stretch my imagination as far as possible.”

“FOR A WHILE IT WAS GOING TO BE AN INSTRUMENTAL ALBUM.” He’s not kidding, either. Despite initial reservations about how to marry the minimalist techno influenced tracks to the lyrics, explaining that he “thought for a while it was going to be an instrumental album,” O’Brien doesn’t appear to have let it dampen his storytelling. There’s one song, ‘Earthly Pleasure’, that tells the tale of a man having a nervous breakdown on the toilet (as you do), as well as another told from the perspective of last year’s failed American presidential bidmaker, Mitt Romney.

“I WANTED TO MAKE SOMETHING FUN; LIKE A BOUNCY CASTLE.” “‘Judgement Call’ was a project; I’m going to get inside someone’s head, and do a character study, I’m going to do it in the first person. I tried to go into it like a child, really open-minded. So I started Wikipedia-ing mormonism, all the things he believes in, interviews with him, read about his despicable policies and ideas. The first lyrics were about his spiritual beliefs; ‘All the dirt and the worry left me when I realised that I knew it all, how it started,

and how it’s going to end, it’s a judgement call, I don’t need no proof, it’s a judgement call, the writing’s on my wall.’ But as it goes on, I discovered what I thought of him, because at the end he’s saying; ‘I’ll make your world a living hell.’ That was cool, because I’d learnt something about myself writing that song. And also, about Mitt Romney.” Conor bursts into laughter again, before jokingly taking credit for Obama’s victory, despite the song being unreleased at the time; “I definitely think I had something to do with that, because it went into the ether.” It’s not just that Villagers have plugged into their computers and taken some insane lyrical flights of fancy; there’s a different vibe here than there was on ‘Jackal’. Where once they were defined by their gloomy, melancholic themes, ‘{Awayland}’ is the product of a simultaneously more mature and immature perspective. “It’s a bit less morose, I think. I mean, there’s still darkness in there, but I feel like I grew up a bit, I didn’t use the songs to wallow. I used them to almost uplift you out of that. I wanted to make something fun; like a bouncy castle. To be open ended and open minded, and to give you a sense of humanistic love for everything. In a Michael Jackson ‘Earth Song’ kind of way,” he laughs heartily, pausing briefly to point out the sarcasm, before continuing. “It’s got this childishness to it, that I’m really proud of. I had this idea that if I’m going to tackle an issue, I wanted to not be tainted by experience or bitterness; I want it to feel a sense of curiosity about the universe and the world. To be from the perspective of a child. Or when your pineal gland releases... ah, I don’t know what it’s called, but the moment you die, you totally trip, it’s amazing; it softens the blow. That’s what the album’s like, basically; life and death, through the eyes of a newborn baby.” Villagers’ new album ‘{Awayland}’ is out now via Domino. 37

INTERVIEW THE JOY FORMIDABLE

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WORDS: SIMONE SCOTT WARREN PHOTOS: EMMA SWANN

LAW’, ACCORDING TO THE JOY FORMIDABLE.

WALK WITH THE ANIMALS FROM TALKING TO LOCAL WILDLIFE TO PLAYING ARENAS, ‘WOLF’S

here’s something a little discomforting about rattling around Brixton Academy in daylight. Certainly, it starts out normally, as we weave through the safe back rooms with The Joy Formidable, pausing only to point at the massive photos of The Ting Tings adorning the walls. But as we venture into the main auditorium, noting properly for the first time the proscenium arch and Shakespearian balcony that adorns the venue, it feels a little off kilter to see it so... clean. The Joy Formidable have never actually trod the boards in front of us, although they have been here before as audience members of course; to see Biffy Clyro and Manchester Orchestra, they excitedly tell us. The stage, currently bereft of any musical equipment whatsoever, appears huge, like it would swallow the three piece up whole, despite the evidence that we’ve previously seen with our own eyes; for this is one band that can really hold their own on massive stages.

Which is lucky, because recently they’ve had to master the art of playing far bigger venues than this. Having spent the backend of last year out on tour with Muse, the Welsh trio themselves tearing up enormodomes like the O2. “When artists are good at what they do, they can make huge venues seem really intimate,” Rhydian Dafydd tells us, as we settle down on the flight cases that have been converted into tables and chairs near the currently deserted cloakroom. “Although it depends on the particular venue, I guess. The character of somewhere like this...”

“WE’RE NOT SCARED OF DIPPING IN BETWEEN GENRES.” As he looks around the deserted Academy, guitarist and vocalist Ritzy Bryan interjects, musing, “I think sometimes some of the arenas can have quite a sterile vibe to them, unlike some of the old theatres and venues... But we’ve had the best of both, when we do arena tours, because we’ve had experience of the big

INTERVIEW THE JOY FORMIDABLE

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stages. And we’ve recently been doing some of the smallest dates we’ve done for a long time, so we’ve really enjoyed the two contrasts. They’re both exciting.” It was after one of those massive arena jaunts that they settled on the location to record sophomore album, ‘Wolf ’s Law’. Having trekked across the States with the Foo Fighters, the band stopped for a while in Portland, Maine, and decided to head back there for the bulk of the recording. “It kind of reminded us of home in North Wales,” Rhydian muses, “Just having the country, beautiful...” “We did the drums and the orchestras, and the choirs in London,” Ritzy tells us, “But while we were out there doing most of the vocals and guitars, it was very very isolated. We didn’t see another human being for three weeks. “I did speak to quite a lot of the animals though...” The image of Ritzy, singing out the window as cartoon birds surround her is now firmly lodged in our heads. “You always do!” laughs Rhydian. “We had a regular visiting opossum, he came at seven o’clock every night for milk and honey.” Ritzy continues, “And we had plenty of squirrels, moose; it was idyllic. It was a great place to lose yourself. Night and day

In parts of the record, and without those strings, it’s hard to see how the threesome will translate the album into a live show, but apparently that’s half the fun. “That’s the challenge,” Ritzy considers, “because we never restrict ourselves when we come to the recording process, it’s always just about what the track needs, we don’t think about being only three people live. Finding the ‘live life’ of a song, they can become very different animals. And that’s really interesting in terms of the deconstruction and the reconstruction, and the way in which they work with the other tracks; we’re really enjoying introducing them into the sets. There’s some really exciting moments. There definitely comes that moment when you find where they interweave, what each song needs live. And it pushes to you think about what each of you is doing, ultimately. There’s certainly no laziness in a three piece.” We point out that even Nirvana bought in Pat Smear to help out with the live sets; are they never tempted to hide someone behind a curtain and give themselves a bit of a break? “If you really can’t, physically, do justice to the song, I’d have no problem with getting someone in to do bits and bobs.” Rhydian chuckles, “But this band ultimately feels like it’s us three, so we try not to do that. That would be an

“WE DIDN’T SEE ANOTHER HUMAN BEING FOR THREE WEEKS.”

blurred into one, and it was a good thing, because we had an awful lot that we wanted to track. We’d written such a lot on the road, it certainly wasn’t a difficult second album; quite the opposite really, we had too much material.” “Until then,” Rhydian continues, “everything had been in a melting pot; the touring and recording, we’ve always done it on the road. Which is fine, because we do like writing all the time anyway, but you do need that time to get your ideas focused.” It’s fair to suggest that they used that time wisely, with ‘Wolf ’s Law’ simultaneously shredding up the house with noisy guitars, and laden with exquisitely beautiful, gentle, strings. The band are already trying to work out how they can drag a string quartet out on tour, having failed to do so whilst touring their debut, much to their own chagrin. “We will find a way!” Ritzy says, adamantly. “It was a real dream of ours to do it for ‘The Big Roar’ and we couldn’t manage to fit it together, so we’ll absolutely do the two together.” “‘The Big Law’?” drummer Matt suggests, before they all burst into laughter. “‘The Wolf ’s Roar’!” Ritzy suggests, “It sort of works, we’ll have to think about that...”

absolute last resort.” Given their past live forays though, we suspect that last resort will never happen – after all, theoretically they can rest during the quieter bits, anyway. It’s that range that’s perplexed us occasionally when it comes to the trio; with ‘Wolf ’s Law’, we’re really no closer to working out where The Joy Formidable actually sit on the musical spectrum; in itself no bad thing. “I feel like we’ve had so many different references. Is it rock? Is it indie? It’s a three piece with a girl fronting it, it must be more punky?” Ritzy laughs, “We’re not scared of dipping in between genres when we write a song. All my favourite artists, they’ve been brave enough to turn their hands to pretty much anything, but you still know it’s that artist or band. The fact that it does create a little bit of confusion and ambiguity, that’s more of a sign that it’s original.” The Joy Formidable’s new album ‘Wolf ’s Law’ is out now via Atlantic.

INTERVIEW THE BRONX

IT MAY HAVE TAKEN HALF A DECADE, BUT ON THEIR RETURN THE BRONX ARE AS VOLATILE AS EVER. WORDS: SARAH JAMIESON

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B O N ES 43

INTERVIEW THE BRONX

“I

t doesn’t feel like five years, no way!” Matt Caughthran exclaims, his accent staunchly American. We’re sitting in the back of a rather infamous Kingston venue and it’s cold inside as well as out; a far cry from his native homeland of Los Angeles. Later on this evening, his band are going to turn the room upstairs into a living, breathing sweatbox, in true Bronx style, but it’ll be with an array of new songs half a decade in the making. Whilst it’s true that The Bronx as an entity haven’t released an album since 2008, that doesn’t mean they stopped work altogether. In fact, they went into overdrive. As their roles in the hardcore punk band took a backseat, they switched things up and saw their rather ambitious mariachi side project (Mariachi El Bronx) release not one, but two records. “You know, the Mariachi thing took on a life of its own and it was a really shocking and beautiful thing,” Caughthran ponders, “but that being said, five years is a really long time, and that’s why we’re so excited. Everyone’s really stoked on the record and it feels really good to be The Bronx again.” Granted, it wasn’t as though they ever really stopped being that band; countless worldwide tours over the past few years saw them play under both guises, but it wasn’t until March 2011 that they really felt ready to go back to their heavier roots and produce album number four; they just hadn’t been inspired. “Before the mariachi band, we felt like we’d hit a wall and you’re not supposed to hit walls. It was like, ‘Where

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do we go from here?’ So, we thought, ‘Let’s just go somewhere fucking else’. It was such a shock to the senses, a real shock to the brain. It was a reawakening. It was such a sweet feeling to be able to go back into that place of originality and creation and see something through from beginning to end. That breathed new life into The Bronx. It breathed new life into us.”

“THE BRONX IS OUR AGGRESSION, AND THAT’S SOMETHING THAT DOESN’T DIE.” After playing a different part for so long though, it’s not unreasonable to wonder if it ever felt like walking on unsteady ground when returning to the band which was originally so celebrated. As an integral part of the modern punk scene, what if they had spent just a little too much time away from it? “Everyone was just chomping at the bit, everyone was so excited. There was never any moment of hesitation, or moments of like, ‘I wonder if we can still be The Bronx.’ That’s just who we are. Music is an amazing thing that lets you act out on every emotion. The Bronx is our aggression, and that’s something that doesn’t die. Sometimes, it takes different shapes and forms but it’s something that’s inside all of us.

“This is one of the first records where we all went in feeling really excited. We had our worlds around us in order, so this was the first record that allowed us to completely focus on the record itself, and not things from the outside world; personal things, family things, money things, music fucking industry things. All of these other outside elements that can seep their way into your art. “We had those ducks in a row before going into this record, so it was a time for us to simply make music. That was a great feeling because you’re rarely afforded that. Life is hectic and life is hard and you’re very rarely allowed a chance to simply focus on one thing you’re creating, and it was shocking that it happened, but it was a blessing.” At the core of ‘IV’ burns the same fire that pushed these five Californians to become one of the few universally respected heavy talents, but, this time around, it feels a little more refined. Their anger is just as evident and exciting, but their stance is a little more considered. Most importantly though, it’s still as honest as ever. “It still feels connected, it still feels true and it still feels creative. It still feels like self-expression and it still fills a hole, which is what it should always be.” The Bronx’ new album ‘The Bronx (IV)’ will be released on 4th February via ATO Records.

INTERVIEW FRIGHTENED RABBIT

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GROWINGPAINS

AN UPBEAT FOURTH ALBUM FOR FRIGHTENED RABBIT? NOT QUITE... WORDS: HUGH MORRIS

s the crowds filter out the Roundhouse in Camden, London, where Frightened Rabbit have just supported Biffy Clyro at the iTunes Festival, a teenager clad in black, his fringe plastered to his forehead with sweat, turns

to his friend and says, “That Frightened Rabbit were good, eh?” His mate grunts in approval as he grimaces from an elbow to the ribs courtesy of the scrum of satisfied fans. As the band await the release of their fourth album, introspective

concern pervades the air as much as much as eager anticipation. ‘Pedestrian Verse’ is not a continuation of a fairly uplifting back catalogue. It is a deeply, sombre album borne of personal experience and filled with self doubt, morbid apathy and commentary on a desperate society on the brink of collapse. “A lot of bitter drunkenness is in there,” explains singer and songwriter Scott Hutchison, “I think a lot of people might have been expecting a large, positive pop record, but we’ve gone in the opposite direction – and I think it’s a better place for us.”

INTERVIEW FRIGHTENED RABBIT

‘Pedestrian Verse’ is the band’s first album on Atlantic, after moving from indie label FatCat, and it would be easy to assume their music be simplified for the mainstream. But instead is a thoughtful and complex album showing maturity and confidence by the bucketload. Where their previous work, solely written by Hutchison, had emotional weight, it seemed to be carried solely by Hutchison’s dulcet tones – here we see gravitas with the band’s backing. “We decided at the end of the last record we had reached a wall – I had reached a wall with my own writing, so we knew from the outset we wanted to involve the whole band,” says Hutchison, whose brother Grant is also 48 thisisfakediy.co.uk

in the band. The band involvement makes this Frightened Rabbit’s most together record, but it is Hutchison’s personal outpourings which give them their own identity. Hutchison is a friendly, softly spoken frontman. Humble and genuine, he speaks with an introverted passion about the “unashamedly big choruses” he writes and with a slightly nervous discomfort when quizzed on his lyrical style. “There’s definitely points in the past year and a half which have personally been a bit dark for me and that’s reflected in the material – it wasn’t something we set out to do, it’s just about my frame of mind,” he says. “I set out to write in a more dense manner than before – I wanted to

spend more time with lyrics and get back a bit more of the poetry from before.” And he has achieved this. The lyrics are as literary as they are dark, laced with imagery, analogy and metaphor, many filled with tinges of

like all the rest of them, sorry, selfish, trying to improve,” Hutchison sings. He says he toyed with the idea of an album made up entirely of social commentary – and then with the idea of a concept album where

“I DIDN’T REALISE I WAS QUITE SO OBSESSED WITH DEATH.” social commentary and anthropological criticism. Take opener ‘Acts Of Man’ – a sarcastic and cynical ode to the pseudo-misogynist male agenda. “I have never wanted more to be a man and build a house around you / I am just

the protagonist in ‘Acts Of Man’ is the same man the woman in ‘State Hospital’ goes home with: “I was fed up about writing about myself / But then my personal life took over.” And take over it does. ‘Holy’ is full of contempt

for those holier-thanthou people who were telling Hutchison, ‘Fuck, you’ve gone off the rails’ when he was going through a lessthan-pure few months. Religion is tackled again in ‘Late March, Death March’ when Hutchison curses the stubborn, self-righteous as they stride towards the cold, hard ground. And then ‘Nitrous Gas’, Hutchison’s favourite song on the album, sees him praying for noxious gas in place of an unattainable happiness. “I didn’t really realise until I had compiled all the material that I was quite so obsessed with the notion of death,” he says. “It’s not just the death of a person, it’s the death of relationship and also a certain desire

to be dead. It’s always there. I think it’s nice to have that outlet but at the same time it’s always sort of taken with a pinch of salt rather than like actually wanting to kill ourselves.” The songs flicker with three ingredients: social commentary, character stories and his own life times. And yet with all this doom and gloom, the writing has not lost its Scottish, self-deprecating, dark humour. Nor has Hutchison. “I like the idea of a setting a scene and having songs tied in to each other. Maybe we could do a musical – it could be the first indie musical and take on the Spice Girls,” he ponders. “Nah.” He goes on to explain how

when the band toured the Scottish Highlands and documented it with a short film, ‘Here’, it was an opportunity to create something more than music and connect with fans and country in a different way. While albums might be the primary product of bands, with Frightened Rabbit, it is about so much more. It is about creating a sense of belonging and comfort with the music and the musicians behind it. This is why they now stand apart from their contemporaries; they’ve forged their own path. Frightened Rabbit have been deconstructed then rebuilt – their music, their lyrics, their sound. It marks a watershed in their growth. “We

haven’t changed the way we write, we haven’t changed the way we produce records – it’s the circumstances around us that have changed. If this record takes us to that point [meteoric fame etc.], then it would be the external factors that changed around us. I’ve always liked writing big songs people can sing along to. This album has that. But it’s different as well. Where’s it going to take us? I don’t know.” But deep down, with an album as complete and thoughtful as ‘Pedestrian Verse’, I don’t think he cares. Frightened Rabbit’s new album ‘Pedestrian Verse’ will be released on 4th February via Atlantic.

INTERVIEW EELS

THINGS THE GRANDCHILDREN SHOULD HEAR EELS ARE THROWING AWAY THE RULE BOOK. WORDS: EMMA SWANN PHOTOS: MIKE MASSARO

here’s something reassuring about Eels. Ten albums in, they’re a steadfast constant; a musical comfort blanket to hide away with. Life probably does suck – but so what? If you’ve gone anywhere near his autobiography, ‘Things The Grandchildren Should Know’, you’ll be aware that if anyone has reason wallow in self pity, it’s bandleader E. Instead, he musically greets you with an air of melancholic contentment, like an old friend. The record we’re here to talk about, ‘Wonderful, Glorious’ has that same instant familiarity. And E, sitting in this west London hotel room, looks just as your mind’s eye might picture him; beardy, but not overgrown, his iconic thick-rimmed glasses masking the rest of his face. The album is quintessentially Eels. From the sweet ‘A True Original’ to the ballsy ‘Bombs Away’, via the slightly funky title track and darker ‘New Alphabet’; the songs follow no sonic pattern other than those set before by the band. Lyrically, however,

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That wasn’t the only shift; Eels finally moved out of the basement studio they’d been using for twelve years. “Money,” E laughs, on being pressed as to why it took so long. “I just felt like ‘it’s not broken, don’t fix it’. Then we finally got to a point where it just ‘Wonderful, Glorious’ is the band’s got so crowded in our studio, the first album since 2005 that didn’t instruments were just piled on top begin with a pre-ordained theme; of each other, seating was at such a their last three records, ‘Hombre premium. There were a lot of ugly Lobo’, ‘End Times’ and ‘Tomorrow altercations over couch space, Morning’ were a concept trilogy. you know, between Koool G And, though he didn’t know Murder and my dog. The it at the time, the freedom dog usually won. It just proved a little daunting. got to the point “I was feeling “I WAS where it was time artistically lost,” FEELING to trade up.” he says, “because ARTISTICALLY after doing the LOST.” Trading up means trilogy, and writing a fully-equipped a book about my life home studio. That is, an and all that other stuff, entire house, with each room I suddenly got to this point designated as a different recording where after the dust settled, I was space. “The attic is the control room, ‘now what do I do?’. And I didn’t and right below it, the living room is really know. I wasn’t conscious that a live performance room, then one of that’s what it was about when I was the bedrooms is the isolation booth. writing them, but I look back on it It’s great. now and I see that’s what it was, that’s what was going on”. “The one thing that we can do now, there is a common theme. “There are a lot of lyrics about trying to fight my way out of a corner,” E muses, “feeling lost but not willing to go down without a fight.”

INTERVIEW EELS

E explains, “and no plan. We didn’t that we couldn’t before, is all five of us know what we were going to do. set up together and play as a live band, and do something in one take if we “I was much more open to every want to. Whereas in the basement, idea. Whereas in the past, if an maybe three of us at best could idea sounded terrible, I’d say do that. You get an energy ‘that sounds terrible, let’s from doing that, that you not try it’, this time, can’t get elsewhere, so “WRITING no matter how it’s a nice option BY YOURSELF terrible it sounded, that we have now.” IS LONELY.” I’d say ‘OK, let’s try it’. And a couple of It’s impossible to times it turned out not to know if the change of be terrible.” surroundings had a great impact on the album. Yes, it ‘Wonderful, Glorious’ is also a more sounds more expansive, but that collaborative effort than any Eels could be because of the studio, or record previously. “It’s more fun,” alternatively, the huge change in how he considers, “Writing by yourself is the record was written. lonely. Sometimes it’s the right thing to do, but you know, this is more fun. “We went in to it with nothing,”

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It’s actually the funnest way, because the most awkward way to collaborate is when it’s two people and acoustic guitars, and you’re nose-to-nose and you have to shoot each others’ ideas down. When it’s a group of five of us and we’re all just trying every idea, it just becomes fun. “It’s a new thing. With the exception of Koool G Murder, who I’ve written a lot of songs with in the past, I hadn’t written anything with any of these guys. Even Knuckles, the drummer, is writing stuff now. And I don’t mean just banging on drums, that doesn’t count! He’s playing real instruments!” Eels’ new album ‘Wonderful, Glorious’ will be released on 4th February via E Works / Vagrant Records.

INTERVIEW LOCAL NATIVES

LOCAL

HEROES

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definitely wanted to make time for this album, not the second album is worry too much. When we’re happy with it, that’s considered fraught when we’ll release it. To get to that point takes a lot.” enough, then losing a founding member in After an animated discussion about whether it’s more the midst of getting difficult to get to a point of agreement, given that there’s down to the nitty gritty no longer an odd number of band members to allow constitutes a bit more for majority rules (they’re evenly split, and attempt of a headache. Having to foist the decision on to me; which almost certainly been together since high school, as they settled in to means it’s harder), Guitarist Ryan Hahn confesses that record second album ‘Hummingbird’, Local Natives they’re still very much adjusting to life as a found themselves in just that predicament foursome. “We’re still in five piece mode,” when bassist Andy Hamm departed the band. “I COULDN’T he says, “The thing that was hard is that we were just used to playing as a five piece, and “It just wasn’t really working on a SLEEP FOR being together. So, we just focussed more personal level,” Taylor Rice, Local Natives’ A MONTH on recording, and that really benefitted moustachioed guitarist confirms. “It was STRAIGHT.” the album, opened some new doors for us.” definitely a bummer, and difficult, for everybody, but it was the right thing.” There is a point of quick agreement, though; There’s an air of sadness as they talk about it, as far as the band are concerned, ‘Hummingbird’ is a stretched out on sofas above a Soho jazz club, nursing far more personal album than debut, ‘Gorilla Manor’. coffees in a bid to beat off jetlag; they’ve literally just And the title itself is designed to be reflective of that landed in London, via Paris, and are surrounded by place the band are at now; “There’s a dichotomy to suitcases. “There’s been difficult times, and personal the fragility of the hummingbird,” Kelcey intones, things. In the last two years, we’ve been through a lot.

LOCAL NATIVES DEFINE THE TERM ‘DIFFICULT SECOND ALBUM’ WORDS: SIMONE SCOTT WARREN. PHOTOS: EMMA SWANN

But we’ve got to be our crazy idea of being musicians, “It has such a beauty to it, but also a resiliency where and playing all over the world, which is really amazing.” they have to beat their wings so fast, and if they don’t, they die. And it felt like these two things It was on one of their many worldwide jaunts just melded together and represented the record.” that the band met up with the future producer of ‘Hummingbird’. After a stint supporting The National, When considered, it’s a pretty apt description for what started life as a flippant tour gag turned out to ‘Hummingbird’; an album that sounds so effortless, it dictate not only the ‘man at the helm’ of the album, but belies all the tensions that the band went through in also the location for recording. “We talked about it as order to get there. “We’d be ripping our heads off and a joke,” Taylor chuckles over the contracting beating ourselves into the wall...” Kelcey of Aaron Dessner. “And then we went recalls. “It was really difficult, I remember home, and as much as we were recording it being at Aaron’s house and I couldn’t “IT WAS ourselves, we knew that we needed someone sleep for a month straight or something,” DEFINITELY A else there. So, we emailed Aaron, with a Taylor interjects, “When we made ‘Gorilla BUMMER.” ‘remember that joke on tour?’, and he wrote Manor’, every part was written before back and was super enthusiastic about it.” we went in the studio. This time, the songs were there, but there was this air of But before they could decamp from sunny LA to spontaneity, of hitting record and saying ‘okay, go’ and Dessner’s Brooklyn abode to record, there was the not knowing what you were going to do. And that small matter of actually writing the songs. Having was definitely stretching for us. It’s a really personal converted a bungalow near their homes into a “rehearsal album, it’s very direct and we wanted it to be...” He space slash low grade studio,” the band spent almost pauses, as Ryan finishes the sentence for him. “Honest.” a full year writing and recording the ‘Hummingbird’ demos. “Our writing process is extremely arduous Local Natives’ new album ‘Hummingbird’ is out now via and democratic,” Taylor tells us. “And we said, we Infectious. 55

INTERVIEW EVERYTHING EVERYTHING

TALES FROM THE ARC SIDE WITH THEIR NEW ALBUM, EVERYTHING

EVERYTHING ARE GETTING EMOTIONAL. WORDS: SIMONE SCOTT WARREN

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t’s not every day that you discover And it seems that was a deliberate move by the that a bone fide Top 40 hit was, in band. “I could write a million words in exactly the part, written on the lavatory. But same vein as ‘Man Alive’, and never get any closer to when Jonathan Higgs, Everything anyone,” Jonathan considers, “Everyone just thinking Everything’s lead singer and lyricist, ‘what the hell is going on here? I like it, but I don’t got a tickle in his throat whilst in the know why.’ I thought, I can keep doing that forever, bathroom, the result turned out to be and no one will ever know me. I want to make a the chart bothering ‘Cough Cough’. connection. ‘Man Alive’ was easier to write, lyrically, because it’s just straight out my brain, lots of cryptic “I was actually in the toilet at stuff that’s personal to me, in jokes and puns, which home,” he chuckles over coffee in a there’s still a lot of on ‘Arc’, but there’s also more that swish London hotel, “and my girlfriend said, ‘do you everyone can understand.” want...’ something, and I went ‘cough cough yeah’, and thought, hey, there’s actually a bit of a beat to that. Whether that’s an attempt to shrug off the ‘intellectual And just got my phone out and started riffing.” band’ tag that Everything Everything have found themselves landed with, it’s hard to say. They will Despite providing them with admit that it’s not something their biggest hit to date, it’s that they set out to be labelled fair to say that not everyone in as, though. “It’s not that we “A TINY LITTLE GIG IN the band was convinced that want that to be our calling card, AN UPSTAIRS ROOM, the fruits of his latrine lyricism necessarily... at all.” Jonathan were the ideal way to introduce tells us, “An emotional FIFTY PEOPLE AND second record, ‘Arc’. “We came connection is the most valuable; HOWARD DONALD.” back with that song thinking not a soppy made up one, but a it was ridiculous.” guitarist true one. I think the first time Alex Robertshaw confesses, “I around, I think I was too afraid remember driving around Manchester with Michael to do that, for fear of it not working, or looking stupid, [Spearman, the band’s drummer], saying, is it a good lots of things really.” idea to release this first? We weren’t sure.” Jonathan starts laughing, “It must have been a slow week.” It’d be safe to suggest that ‘Arc’ is born out of a spurt of confidence, then. “It’s all the experience we’ve Their self-deprecation is, of course, nonsense, but had, doing a record, touring it, seeing the reaction,” with ‘Arc’ representing a bit of an about turn for the Jonathan agrees. “Two, three years is a long time, foursome, it’s easy to see why they might not have been especially when you’re going on stage every night. You anticipating the reaction. Despite widespread critical change, your confidence changes. It’d be sad if it went acclaim for their debut, ‘Man Alive’, nominations for down.” the Mercury and Ivor Novello awards, that was a slow burner; it took a while to sink in and to love. Whereas Perhaps some of that new found confidence comes ‘Arc’, is far more, for want of a better word, accessible. from having fans who are proper celebrities, too. Rumour has it that when Julian Casablancas was

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INTERVIEW EVERYTHING EVERYTHING

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swapping mixtapes with a producer to show what he are making no secret of the fact that ‘Arc’ is intended was in to, his tape was just the entirety of ‘Man Alive’. to be an easier listen. As Jonathan describes it himself, And the band readily confess to having an unlikely it’s “less skittish, distracted, and skatterbrained.” There champion, in the form of one Take That-er, Mr are more obvious themes, it doesn’t take much in the Howard Donald. way of delving to realise that the recession and riots of 2011 are a clear reference point. “It comes out in “He came when we played at The Garage in London. the lyrics,’ Jonathan agrees, “That feeling of bubbling A tiny little gig in an upstairs room, fifty people and tension, discontent, malcontent, everybody not really Howard Donald,” Alex laughs. “He had to leave before knowing what to do. And there’s going to be another the lights came on, in case seven years of it, and the he got mobbed. Or people sweet portion of my life is started beating him up.” going to be during a kind “JON WROTE BETTER Jonathan continues, “He of shit time, during the LYRICS THIS TIME.” didn’t want to take the recession. I think everyone’s spotlight from us, is what a bit angry about that.” he said, which is very nice.” “Every now and then he sends us an email out of There’s no worry, then, that in their haste to lose the the blue,” Alex interjects, excitedly, “Just saying, still highbrow reputation, they’re dumbing down. The main listening. Can’t wait for the new album.” Which, they difference, as Alex points out, is that they’ve allowed confess, they’ve yet to send him. Poor Howard. each song the room to be itself, rather than try to cover too much ground with each track. “We realised that Considering the patronage of a member of our last record can be quite confusing,” he admits, “We Manchester’s most famous boyband, we ask whether were lucky that some people got it, slowly but surely, they feel they’ve benefitted from the association but we knew what the best points were of the last with the city, despite none of them actually hailing record. And we like to think we elaborated on those.” from there. “It’s a massive boost,” Jonathan considers, “Coming up as a band He looks at his bandmate from there, immediately and laughs. “Jon wrote the press’ ears pick up better lyrics this time. “WE’LL GET WEIRD AGAIN.” because of the word Less cryptic, less entirely ‘Manchester’.” Whether revolving around him.” If their adopted hometown Jonathan is insulted, he’s can take some of the credit for the attention that ‘Man not showing it, as he interjects. “The melodies of each Alive’ received is debatable, but it’s not something song are really strong, the structures are strong; the that particularly bothers the band anyway. “We look songs should be able to translate into other mediums, at the critical acclaim that we got, and just ignore it.” not just rely on those particular sounds, or my voice, Jonathan tells us, “Because if we made the same record they should be able to be passed around as songs, again, we’d bore the hell out of our fans, and ourselves, rather than one tiny thing, with a ‘don’t know how we and probably the critics. We’d like to revert to our did that’. Strong,” he pauses momentarily. “That’s the eccentricities later on, after people have made more of keyword.” a connection to us. That’s when we’ll get weird again.” Everything Everything’s new album ‘Arc’ is out now via It’s back to that accessibility chestnut again; the band RCA.

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BACKSTORY VERONICA FALLS

KCAB s to ry VERONICA FALLS

Waiting For Something To Happen

photo: emma swann

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IT’S BEEN A LITTLE OVER A YEAR SINCE VERONICA FALLS RELEASED THEIR DEBUT LONG PLAYER, AND DESPITE THEIR PACKED SCHEDULE OVER THE LAST TWELVE MONTHS, THEY’VE SOMEHOW ALREADY FOUND THE TIME TO RECORD THE FOLLOW UP. Let’s start with the basics. Where was the album recorded? Roxanne: Our friend [exTest Icicle Rory Atwell] has got a recording studio on a lightship boat. James: It’s like a converted boat, that they put a light on the top, to warn other boats. And now it’s docked permanently on the Thames, and just completely kitted it out into one massive studio. Patrick: Halfway through the day, you can feel the rocking start. But then most of the time it’s just on mud. You had to re-record your debut after you didn’t like the original version and wanted to record it live instead. Did you stick to that method this time around? P: This time, we did it all live from the start. R: We’ve worked out that works the best way for us, musically. Because it’s quite primal, and we need to have the energy together. Did you have a producer this time, then? R: No, we just produced ourselves again. I think the

thing is, we didn’t need a producer, because we have a really strong idea of what we want.

The record itself, in terms of the sonics, sounded a bit lighter than your debut. Would you say that’s fair? R: I think that too. Maybe it’s because we weren’t as used to playing them, we weren’t as hard with the songs. It’s not as tough as the first record. J: You don’t want to make the same record twice. R: We also got really tired of being pigeonholed. When you start a band, you don’t really think about those things, you’re just seeing what comes out, it’s quite lighthearted. P: But when people are saying things to you, like, “are you depressed?” and once you’ve heard that same thing a million times, it’s like, no, no, we’re really not... R: Even if it’s subconscious, you’re still thinking, let’s make a point of not doing that again. P: Let’s not hear that “goth” thing again. I’m presuming that having ex-Cocteau Twin Simon Raymonde as your label boss must mean that you get a lot of freedom and understanding from Bella Union? P: I think it’s nice to have someone who’s been in a band looking after your record, because he’s been on the other side. R: I can’t imagine what it’d be like if that wasn’t how it worked. If you couldn’t do whatever you wanted, that’d

defeat the purpose. If you’ve been given the freedom to make the album exactly as you want it, it seems stupid to ask whether you’re happy with it... R: It’s really hard to be objective at this point. It’s quite an ordeal, recording an album. I don’t know yet! P: It’s hard to listen to music subjectively, especially your own. And

especially this soon. J: Ask us again in a year. R: We don’t hate it... J: Even if we’d recorded a record that we thought was amazing, we still wouldn’t say that. Veronica Falls’ new album ‘Waiting For Something To Happen’ will be released on 4th February via Bella Union.

VERONICA FALLS

Waiting For Something To Happen

(Bella Union) With their innate pop sensibility, raucous guitars, galloping drums and seemingly surgically attached sunspecs, Veronica Falls and their self-titled debut came across as a spiritual successor to early Jesus And Mary Chain minus the feedback back in 2011. Tracks such as ‘Beachy Head’ and ‘Come On Over’ felt like descendants of the Reid brothers’ brilliant ‘Upside Down’. So far, so good. But come second full-length ‘Waiting For Something To Happen’, gone are the knowing references to love in graveyards and notorious suicide spots, to be replaced instead by an attempt to ‘distil the essence of an aimless twentysomething existence into perfectly wrought pop songs’. The production is purposeful yet airy enough to showcase the band’s vocal harmonies and songwriting nous. Those of the view that, from The Primitives’ ‘Crash’ through to ‘Call Me Maybe’, the best pop is characterised by its immediacy will be well-served too, with the likes of ‘Broken Toy’, lead single ‘My Heart Beats’, the title track and ‘Buried Alive’ all providing an instant, espresso-like hammer blow of near-euphoric, uptempo melodicism. Even for a band that have traditionally proved themselves better suited to the faster-paced elements of their arsenal, their more stately work on the new record – such as ‘Daniel’ – possesses a newfound elegance and maturity, without compromising their sense of character. Assured, confident, and infectious, ‘Wait For Something To Happen’ sees a band developing while still retaining what made them great in the first place. (Gareth Ware) 61

REVIEWS ALBUMS

COMING >>>> UP >>>>

BIFFY CLYRO

25/02

CAITLIN ROSE:STAND IN DOLDRUMS:LESSER EVIL JOHNNY MARR: THE MESSENGER PALMA VIOLETS:180 THEME PARK:THEME PARK

04/03

BASTILLE:BAD BLOOD CAVE SINGERS:NAOMI FICTION:BIG OTHER HOOKWORMS: PEARL MYSTIC LAURA MVULA: SING TO THE MOON NIGHT WORKS:URBAN HEAT ISLAND RHYE:WOMAN THE MEN:NEW MOON

Opposites

(14th Floor) Double albums aren’t always a good thing; twice as much isn’t always twice as good. Then again, few other bands are consistently as exciting as Biffy Clyro. Unable to write a song that doesn’t raise the pulse, ‘Opposites’ is a tour de force of modern rock. Angular, interesting and delivered in that trademark Scottish drawl, it doesn’t let up for a second. ‘Sounds Like Balloons’ mixes awkward math rock with harp breaks and a chorus the size of a double decker bus, while ‘Pocket’ sits comfortably in the lineage of great 80s power rock. When they do slow it down, Biffy show their ear for a pop song better than ever. Enlisting Band Of Horses’ Ben Bridwell on the album’s title track provides a moment as spellbinding as ‘Many Of Horror’ ever was. Come in Earth; Biffy Clyro are taking over. (Stephen Ackroyd)

11/03

HURTS:EXILE STEVE MASON:MONKEY MINDS IN THE DEVIL’S TIME

18/03

AND SO I WATCH YOU FROM AFAR:ALL HAIL BRIGHT FUTURES BLACK REBEL MOTORCYCLE CLUB: SPECTER AT THE FEAST DEPTFORD GOTH:LIFE AFTER DEFO LOW: THE INVISIBLE WAY MARNIE STERN:THE CHRONICLES OF MARNIA RA RA RIOT:BETA LOVE WILD BELLE:ISLES

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L. PIERRE

The Island Come True

(Melodic) Over the course of his 15-plus year career, Aidan Moffat’s work has been characterised by a certain degree of quality. ‘The Island Come True’ is his fourth under the more experimental L. Pierre moniker, and is deeply beguiling. As well as being hugely emotionally heart-wrenching at times, it is also steeped in the surreal and slightly disturbing: the ice cream van tune of ‘Now Listen!’ and ‘Dumbum’’s crackly voice humming an obscure tune are slight but important pieces in conveying the general atmosphere and tone of the collection, and the primitive hiss, crackle and drone of old tapes is a constant theme throughout. An utterly bewitching listen. (Martyn Young)

DUTCH UNCLES Out Of Touch In The Wild (Memphis Industries)

“There’s one song called ‘XO’...and we were like, ‘that sounds like pop’. So we mowed it all together and Duncan piled some lyrics on top of it”, Dutch Uncles’ drummer, Andy Proudfoot, told us when we spoke to him about the band’s first/second album (depending on who you ask), ‘Cadenza’. They take a similar approach on their second/third album (ditto) – they might start simple, sure, but when they’re finished, you’ve got something very, very different, and complicated, and more than a little odd. Also: brilliant. If you’re feeling a little out of touch with music, or the world, Dutch Uncles can show you the way back – if you’re feeling adventurous. (Tom Baker)

AS MAZES CUE UP SECOND LONG-PLAYER ‘ORES & MINERALS’, JAKE MAY FINDS OUT MORE FROM THE BAND’S JACK COOPER. WAS IT AN EASY RECORD TO PUT TOGETHER?

I figured out ‘Bodies’ and the idea behind that recording - the kind of samples and the loops - and I thought ‘this could be quite interesting’, so as soon as I started doing that they all came really quickly. I tend to work like that, I can go a month without a song but once a seed is sown it comes really quickly.

WHY THE CHANGE IN DIRECTION?

I don’t see us as just a ‘pop band’ - I think we’re a little bit more interesting than that. I like pop music but I think as a band we’re interested in lots of weird stuff and it seemed slightly disingenuous and that we wouldn’t have been being true to ourselves if we didn’t pursue that.

THE JOY FORMIDABLE Wolf ’s Law (Atlantic)

On this second album The Joy Formidable have focused on what needs doing and shrugged off what’s beyond their control - and what a blessed relief that is. Self-producing again, ‘Wolf ’s Law’ is a predatory leap forward from the impressive but vaguely messy promise of ‘The Big Roar’. It’s a tighter, tidier, and tauter proposition revealing the streamlining of Ritzy and co.’s craft into a sleeker form that keeps their dynamic soundscapes on a leash whilst embracing a wilderness of themes. If ‘The Big Roar’ was the blueprint for their stadium-ready sound, then this is the big fuck-off stadium they’ve built for us all. (Shefali Srivastava)

7 MAZES

Ores & Minerals (FatCat)

‘Ores & Minerals’ sees London band Mazes switch from a four-piece to three, and with that tweak in lineup follows a big change in musical direction. As hinted by cassette single ‘Bodies’, the band’s second full-length sees them jump from the catchy and distorted Pavement-esque guitar-pop ditties of 2011 debut ‘A Thousand Heys’ towards a Krautrock-influenced, more mature, ambitious, and experimental sound. Tracks like ‘Bite’, ‘Skulking’, and ‘Ores & Minerals’ hear Mazes at their repetitive best, where simple looping guitar and bass lines are intelligently built upon and expertly complemented by deft drum patterns. Though the delight of ‘Ores & Minerals’ can take its time to fully show, it’s an impressive record with some truly excellent songs. ( Jake May) 63

REVIEWS ALBUMS

EVERYTHING EVERYTHING Arc (RCA)

Everything Everything’s adventurous debut, ‘Man Alive’, delighted and confused with its Beyoncé-meets-barbershop singing of mondegreen lyrics about sitting on the fence (or was that face?). But this time, things are different. ‘Arc’ sees a stripped-back, ‘more accessible’ band. First single ‘Cough Cough’ and its nod to the 2011 riots led the charge, and was the most dynamic we’d seen the Manchesterbased quartet. And yet here are twelve songs that are even better. ‘Arc’ holds a middlefinger up to the ‘difficult second album’ myth, showing the band to have mastered control over when to throw everything at the canvas (‘Kemosabe’, ‘Torso Of The Week’) and when to rein it all in. ‘Arc’ will enchant for many years to come. (Andrew Backhouse)

VILLAGERS

FIMBER BRAVO

{Awayland} (Domino) Forget everything you know about Villagers, then remember most of it again. Talk of a complete reinvention for Conor J. O’Brien’s lauded musical endeavor is a bit overstated, but ‘{Awayland}’ certainly shows ambition. Adding an electronic edge does wonders for an already impressively realised sound, exemplified best on standout ‘The Waves’. Rewarding those who immerse themselves fully, the layers of beeps enhance the warm, organic heart of Villagers to bewitching effect. By the time it reaches its climax there are enough ideas within one track to sustain other bands for a lifetime. (Stephen Ackroyd)

FRIGHTENED RABBIT Pedestrian Verse (Atlantic)

Frightened Rabbit sit on the cusp of greatness. Their ability to blend infectious hooks and soaring, sing-a-long choruses with an introverted appeal has been at the foundation to their previous three albums and has them at the doorstep of the lesserknown musical dilemma of the difficult fourth album. Their response is ‘Pedestrian Verse’, a bold, complex dissection of the band’s melancholy strengths which leaves their back catalogue looking like a long prologue. It breaks from previous work by indulging fully in the morose gloom their work has always been tinged with. This is not to say they have altogether abandoned their ability to create uplifting music - it retains the band’s foot-stomping aura of instant attraction - but the atmosphere is certainly more sombre. And it works. (Hugh Morris)

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Confusion (Moshi Moshi)

How many albums by steel drum aficionados do you own? Is it a gap you’re acively looking to fill in your record collection? For most, that’s probably a negative, but for anyone with a penchant for things that straw slightly wide of the norm there’s a lot to pique your interest on Fimber Bravo’s solo debut. One of the most influential steel pan players on the planet, it’s when the Hot Chip collaborator brings in said group’s main man Alexis Taylor that ‘Confusion’ becomes its most accessible. ‘The Way We Live Today’ perfectly plays off the chiming percussion against Taylor’s warm vocal. It may not be a chart bothering monster, but there’s a lot to love. (Stephen Ackroyd)

AS YO LA TENGO GEAR UP TO RELEASE THIRTEENTH ALBUM ‘FADE’, IRA KAPLAN TELLS COLM MCAULIFFE ABOUT ITS RECORDING. ‘FADE’ IS COMPARATIVELY SHORTER AND MORE COHESIVE THAN THE MAJORITY OF ITS PREDECESSORS. WAS THERE A DELIBERATE DECISION BY THE BAND TO CUT BACK?

I’d say yeah. I think it’s been our desire for a long time to make a shorter record and I think having tried and failed the last few times, we tried harder this time! MINUTEMEN’S MIKE WATT ONCE SAID ‘A GOOD SONG TITLE IS WORTH A MILLION LYRICS’ AND YO LA TENGO HAVE ALWAYS SEEMED TO FOLLOW THIS. BUT ‘FADE’ SEEMS MORE DIRECT.

This time around, we actually did want every title to directly reference the song. Some of the [older] titles were finding a nice sounding title to go with the song. This time we tried not to do that.

9 THE CRIBS

Payola (Wichita) The Cribs have always occupied a slightly awkward and singular position in the UK indie rock firmament, and the catalogue they have amassed so far is considerable, a mini-history of 21st century UK indie rock. ‘Payola’ is a staggeringly good collection. The songs here are well known but have lost none of their power or ability to enthral. Early tracks like ‘Another Number’ and ‘You Were Always The One’ brim with youthful naivety. ‘Men’s Needs’ and ‘I’m A Realist’ still sound thrilling, while the towering ‘Be Safe’ has grown in stature in the intervening five years to become a contemporary classic. Listening in one sitting, you increasingly appreciate just how important The Cribs are. (Martyn Young)

YO LA TENGO

Fade (Matador) Thirty years, and thirteen albums later, you’d expect a tangible dip in quality, but Yo La Tengo are back again to prove that doesn’t have to be the case. ‘Fade’ marks a return to the same form that left our hearts yearning after ‘And Nothing Turned Itself Inside Out’; dreamy and melodic, full of heartbreak and love. It’s more concise, more direct than some of their previous outings, but doesn’t suffer as a consequence. It’s as if they’re proving a point. Opener ‘Ohm’ is brilliantly shambolic, ‘Stupid Things’ finds YLT drenched in the VU circa ‘Loaded’, and ‘Paddle Forward’ contains all the scuzzy Americana you’ll need to fulfil this month’s quota. Gorgeous. Perhaps it was never better to burn out than fade away, after all. (Simone Scott Warren) 65

REVIEWS ALBUMS

FIDLAR

FIDLAR (Wichita)

FIDLAR recorded this, their self-titled debut, at home: a converted studio in Los Angeles’ Highland Park. A venue that’s hosted parties so raucous the band have apparently been forced to cover the walls with newspaper to prevent further graffiti incidents. FIDLAR are the ultimate house party band. Even better, this rambunctiousness has bled right through to the sounds captured on the four-piece’s first full effort. Those who fell head-over-heels for the band’s middlefinger-throwing slacker anthem ‘Cheap Beer’ in mid-2012 will find everything to love. Imagine if Nickelodeon had made Skins: baseball caps, skateboards, ripped stonewash jeans. Girls and boys both looking like Clarissa Darling in her mismatched heyday – or at least resembling the ambiguous one from Hanson. Drugs, alcohol and sexual references everywhere. With its Ramones-via-The Golden State garage punk, it’s brilliantly noisy in all the best places. Never has the putrid stench of house parties – stale lager, weed, sweat – smelled so exciting. (Emma Swann)

EELS Wonderful, Glorious (Vagrant)

”Nobody listens to a whispering fool,” growls E, ”I’ve had enough of being complacent / I’ve had enough of being a mouse / I’m no longer keeping my mouth shut / Bombs away!”. Now there’s a statement of intent if we’ve ever heard one. After 2010’s double bill of ‘End Times’ and ‘Tomorrow Morning’, which saw the Eels frontman in a reflective mood - ‘Wonderful, Glorious’ is a return to the distorted guitars-andvocals primal garage rock of ‘Hombre Lobo’. Like that record, Eels’ tenth is no less inward-facing. Any breathing space between songs is shrouded in feedback, or the metallic buzz of a stylophone, or some discordant electronic noises. Which is pretty wonderful, and - yeah - glorious. (Tom Baker)

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DELPHIC

Collections (Polydor)

Delphic’s debut was a fine collection of New Order influenced electro pop, but their second long player sees the trio claiming inspiration from further afield, notably R&B and hip hop heavyweights such as Jay Z and Frank Ocean. The result is an altogether more slinky record but, at times it veers surprisingly close to pure pop territory: more Britney than Blue Monday. Delphic made it clear they did not simply want to release ‘Acolyte Part 2’, and for this they should be applauded. However, having been dogged with comparisons to Friendly Fires, it is ironic that this record sounds like the kind of misstep the St. Albans band made themselves with ‘Pala’. Less pop, more style, perhaps? (Richard Skilbeck)

GREEN & BINKI SHAPIRO 6 ADAM Adam Green & Binki Shapiro (Decca/Rounder)

Let’s not start by comparing this album to the output of Adam Green’s previous pairing, The Moldy Peaches. Not only is this duo completely different - but let’s also not ignore Binki Shapiro. Because it’s the Little Joy singer who’s the real star of the show, her voice sharing the tone and depth of Karen O at her more subdued. And the songs she leads, Green accompanying with this increasingly oldschool baritone, are less the profane sort of the ‘Peaches, less Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin, more She & Him - only, well, better. Fondly remembered, warm but that’s about it. (Tom Baker)

THE HISTORY OF APPLE PIE Out Of View

(Marshall Teller) Nobody took much notice of the Mayans when they declared that the world would end on 21st December, and likewise, London-based newcomers The History Of Apple Pie are entirely unperturbed by cretins harping on about The Death Of Guitar Music. Drenched in a flannel-hued fuzz, the five-piece’s debut effort ‘Out Of View’ is rooted within a tangle of influences. You can hear a back-catalogue of Dinosaur Jr. peeping through the cracks; a jangly guitar sound that brings Guided By Voices to mind, but the contrast within ‘Out Of View’ ensures it is able to stand up alone. This is a debut to be proud of; sherbet-coated scuzz at its most delicious. (El Hunt)

THE BRONX The Bronx (IV )

(ATO Records) If you’ve seen The Bronx live in the past five years, you’ve probably also seen their mariachi selves. Along with added brass section and suitably fancy costumes, the LA punks have toured consistently as both outfits concurrently since the release of 2009’s ‘Mariachi El Bronx’ debut. ‘IV’ is a wondrous beast. From the balls-out punk of ‘Too Many Devils’ and ‘Valley Heat’ to the Weezer-esque relative slowie ‘Torches’, it’s an instant classic. From the moment opener ‘The Unholy Hand’ fully kicks in, with its blue-collar vitriol, it’s evident The Bronx aren’t likely to chill out in their sombreros any time soon: most of the record is as relentless as anyone would expect. And yet the finest moment on ‘IV’ is in fact its most sedate. ‘Life Less Ordinary’ is a stunner. Like a country crooner making full use of his whisky-weathered tones, frontman Matt Caughthran’s damaged vocals are treated with delicate precision. With ‘IV’, in 2013 it looks like it’s him and chums so far leading the charge. (Emma Swann)

NICK CAVE AND THE BAD SEEDS Push The Sky Away

(Bad Seed Ltd) The thing they never tell you about growing old disgracefully is the crippling feeling of overpowering guilt that immediately follows the disgracefulness. For Nick Cave, Grinderman and the last Bad Seeds album were the equivalent of turning up to a young relation’s wedding heroically pissed. This is different. It’s the morning after the party before. Dark. Moody. Contemplative. Trying very hard not to vomit into the flowers. There is a subtlety and a restraint to it, a sense of cinematic expansiveness. It’s an album which says the party is over. Go home people. Go home and deal with your feelings of overpowering guilt. (Tim Lee)

7 JIM JAMES

Regions Of Light And Sound Of God (V2)

When you remember that My Morning Jacket’s epic Bonnaroo set featured covers of tracks by such luminaries as James Brown, Funkadelic and Bobby Womack, Jim James’ debut comes as less of a surprise. ‘Regions...’ eases you in gently with the soft piano riffs of ‘State Of The Art (A.E.I.O.U)’ before the luscious ‘I Didn’t Know Till Now’ grabs your full attention placing dreamy reverbed vocals over a funky minimalist beat. The script flips once more with the exquisite vintage pop of ‘A New Life’. When you put out an album containing just nine tracks there’s no place to hide, and everything here has its rightful place. (Greg Inglis)

8 FOXYGEN

Duo Sam France and Jonathan Rado are characters steeped in rock ‘n roll’s long-standing tradition; there is a classicism to their sound that brings to mind any number of late 60s acts. There’s a wonderful transportive quality to the best moments here, from opener ‘In The Darkness’’s piano vamps and Pink Floyd-ish psychedelic swooshes to the slowly evolving strange instrumental patters of single ‘Shuggie’, morphing effortlessly from a reggae-tinged lope to a freewheeling glammy stomp. ‘We Are The 21st Century Ambassadors Of Peace And Magic’ is a great full-length debut that is far more than a nostalgia trip. (Martyn Young)

We The Common (Ribbon Music) From the first tentative steps into adulthood chronicled in ‘We Brave Bee Stings And All’, to the stumbles and scraped knees that informed ‘Know Better Learn Faster’, Thao Nguyen has shown no fear or hesitation in letting listeners know all her doubts as she fumbles to make a place for herself in the world. It’s a sensation that even the most well-adjusted among us can relate to and her jaunty, folk-pop anthems have won her no shortage of friends or admirers - including some considerable talents. Andrew Bird turns up for a guest spot on ‘Know Better...’s title track and ‘We The Common’ boasts Joanna Newsom. ( Johnny Owen)

We Are The 21st Century Ambassadors Of Peace And Magic ( Jagjaguwar)

THAO AND THE GET DOWN STAY DOWN

REVIEWS ALBUMS

AS ESBEN AND THE WITCH RETURN, SIMONE SCOTT WARREN SPEAKS TO THE BAND’S THOMAS FISHER. THE NEW ALBUM IS BRILLIANTLY EXPANSIVE. IT DOESN’T SOUND LIKE IT’S A DIFFICULT SECOND ALBUM...

It was really pleasant to write actually. We were more prepared to go away after we’d finished touring the first record and write all of the songs together, so they all kind of linked in to the sonic palette that we were using.

THIS IS THE FIRST TIME THAT YOU’VE WORKED WITH A PRODUCER?

It’s the first time we’ve let someone else in to that stage of the process, and it did work really well I think. It’s useful to have someone who wasn’t involved in actually writing the songs put their opinion forward.

7 7 INC.

No World (4AD)

The duo formerly known as Teen Inc. may have shortened their name but they have expanded on their sound. Andrew Aged’s delicate vocals have found a whole new galaxy of sensual whispers and cathartic outpourings, while his nuanced guitar lines have begun to veer towards chilled-out Ronny Jordan-style acid jazz. Hiding in the background, meanwhile, Daniel once again brings the animated funk bass, subtle yet inventive beats and closelystitched, voluminous production. This bare, sparse, calm set-up could easily have become cold and mechanical, but here it allows their songs to develop and build. It gives their lyrics a sense of poetry, and the whole album a creepy, angelic, almost extraterrestrial quality. (Huw Oliver)

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OWENS 8 CHRISTOPHER

Lysandre (Turnstile) Girls’ break-up was something of a surprise back in the summer - they’d never been more popular. ‘Father, Son, Holy Ghost’ was a stunning, critically acclaimed record. And anyone looking for a Girls album in all but name, or a document of their break-up in ‘Lysandre’ will be severely disappointed. It’s an intensely beguiling and, at times brave collection of songs that rejects any notion of treading over recently-covered ground. Where organ was a dominant sound on that last Girls album, here it’s replaced by a fluttering flute. It frequently charms, yet is a primarily low-key statement that does enough to suggest that Owens’ future post-Girls may be promising yet. (Martyn Young)

ESBEN AND THE WITCH Wash The Sins Not Only The Face (Matador)

Esben And The Witch is a Danish fairy tale, and as with all Scandinavian kids’ stories it’s dark, violent, and totally unsuitable for its target audience. And the band evoke the same sort of otherworldly, spooky feel as said tales, but through the medium of ethereal, noisy rock music. Their first album, ‘Violet Cries’, was mostly mentioned in the same breath as eighties hairspray enthusiasts such as The Cure and Sisters Of Mercy but the follow-up is a lot less concerned with Goth grave robbing. Opening with the ear-splitting, dripping-in-distortion ‘Iceland Spar’, ‘Wash The Sins Not Only The Face’ strikes out on its own to conjure up the similarly haunted ruins, shower of bats capital-G Gothic that the old small-g goths did with theatrics and black-andwhite horror film organs – but does it differently, and does it better. Esben And The Witch’s second LP is a thrilling, goosebump-raising collection of songs that will be in heavy rotation for the rest of the year (and beyond). (Tom Baker)

TORO Y MOI

Anything In Return

(Carpark) Toro Y Moi has taken the well-driven road of bedroom hobbyist to studio artist. And he’s not embarrassed, in fact Chaz Bundick is flaunting it. This isn’t contrived reinvention, but natural progression; it’s Toro does pop, not pop does Toro. And despite being more immediate than previous work, ‘Anything In Return’ maintains his longevity and craftsmanship. The typically dense soundscapes are still intact, with each additional listen unlocking a deft synth-lick or subtle sample. There are simple affairs like ‘Rose Quartz’, a song with “I feel weak” as its prominent lyric, but which interestingly, contradicts the track’s dominant strobe-sounding, swampy synth line. The most redeeming quality here is how absolutely natural it feels - he has always been sweet, sensual, and personal. An album applicable to plenty of palettes. (Kyle Forward)

BEACH FOSSILS Clash The Truth

(Captured Tracks) The Brooklyn-based band that is ostensibly the solo project of Dustin Payseur have become synonymous with a kind of aqueous, blurred indie rock that owes more to spidery guitar lines that it does to high production values. This second record, though, is something of a welcome reaction against that. ‘Clash The Truth’ is very much an album performed by a clearly-defined band. It sees them attempting to capture the visceral thrill of the punk music that first inspired them, and makes for an invigorating listen. This is Beach Fossils taken to a new level, and ‘Clash The Truth’ is an accomplished album that should see them leave behind lo-fi slacker pop’s balmy evenings. (Martyn Young)

GIRLS NAMES

The New Life (Tough Love)

This second album from Girls Names is one you urge to be excellent. Although it’s a record that starts promisingly – the echoing synth of intro track ‘Portrait’ leads into the rumbling bass-line and jangly guitar of ‘Pittura Infamante’ hinting at a pleasing Bauhaus-ish gothy post-punk meets woozy shoegaze sound – the idea of ‘The New Life’ is more appealing than the 10 songs that make it up. The follow-up to 2011’s ‘Dead To Me’ brings little ingenuity to the table; resultantly washing over you and failing to grab your attention. While it’d be unfair to label this a terrible album (tracks ‘Hypnotic Regression’, ‘A Second Skin’, and ‘Notion’ are all strong), it is often dull and uninspiring. ( Jake May)

7 MOUNTAINS

Centralia (Thrill Jockey) Three-dimensional electricacoustic duo Mountains aren’t ones to race their way through compositions. That’s made quite clear on ‘Centralia’. With songs stretching up to an impressive 20 minutes long, building synths are slowly introduced to textured electronics to create an aural panorama. And the result is pretty bloody lovely. It’s almost like a game of pass the parcel: each layer is eagerly unwrapped until you’re left with a final shimmering prize. In this case, said prize is better than a lousy box of crayons – more the colourful scene you could use those crayons to create. It’s beautifully crafted, as initial melodies gradually evolve until it flowers into a precise whole. (Hannah Phillips)

ICEAGE You’re Nothing (Matador)

It was the frenzied imperfections on ‘New Brigade’ that made Iceage one of the more unexpected success stories of 2011, tracks imploding at breakneck speed in to havoc until Elias Bender Rønnenfelt and co. guided the listeners to furious climaxes. The progression they have made in such a short space of time is remarkable. Instead of conveying their tension and anger with sudden bursts of noise, they have successfully channelled it in to penetrating and energetic songs fuelled by thick walls of noise. Over the course of twelve tracks there’s a greater diversity. ‘You’re Nothing’ is the magnificent transition from teens powered by punk angst to men mastering aggressive rock songs. (Samuel Cornforth) 69

REVIEWS ALBUMS

7 TEAM GHOST Rituals (wSphere)

It may not be a total departure from what came before, but on their first full-length release Team Ghost certainly appear to be wearing the trappings of a more straightforward alternative rock band. There’s some pure indie pop indulgence too – namely ‘Curtains’, ‘Dead Film Star’ and ‘Montreuil’, with the latter so saccharine-sweet it wouldn’t have been out of place on the first Ladyhawke record. ‘Pleasures That Hurt’ on the other hand pulses with sub bass and once again expands the group’s sonic palette in unexpected directions. If you were expecting a post-rock album, you’ve come to the wrong place; this is something sharper, more accessible, sure, but no less clever. (Alex Lynham)

TOWN NEEDS GUNS 6 THIS

13.0.0.0.0 (Sargent House)

Sadly, a change in band line up is always going to be at the centre of a review of This Town Needs Guns’ second album, especially as the dearly departed is the lead singer. So Stuart Smith left to spend time with his family. Yeah, deal with it. Enter Henry Tremain. Oh, and bassist Jamie Cooper left too. It was a revolution – not of the town-needing-guns type, I hope. The tracks are less punchy than before, though this is the sort of music that needs to be immersed in and often takes time to truly appreciate. This is not about catchy hooks and memorable vocals, but more a labour of love. The marked originality of ‘Animals’ has dissipated and in its place there is a more settled approach. (Hugh Morris)

8 LOCAL NATIVES 7 AMATEUR BEST Hummingbird (Infectious)

A founding member down and heading into a second album doesn’t seem like the best situation for a band to find themselves in. A bit of turmoil seems to have been the making of Local Natives, though; even the title of ‘Hummingbird’ - as they put it themselves - perfectly represents what’s going on here. Flapping its wings into a blur just to stay alive, the four piece have flourished under the pressure. That’s not to say the record feels in any way forced. The almost-sort-of-falsetto of ‘Three Months’ provides a fragile delicacy, while there’s a woozy beauty alongside the immediacy of ‘Heavy Feet’. As it turn out, adversity suits them. (Stephen Ackroyd) 70 thisisfakediy.co.uk

No Thrills (Double Denim)

As a name for an album, ‘No Thrills’ is both pretty good, so far as pun-titles go, and sharply invites likeminded souls to quip along the lines of “the cover boasts ‘No Thrills’, but listen to the music inside and you’ll know nothing can be further from the truth.” And they’d be cheesy as ‘owt, but they’d be right. From the off, single ‘Too Much’ sets up the record as a more off-kilter listen than you may have been expecting - or perhaps not. The usual suspects line up against the wall: big, ephemeral swathes of synth, a steady metronome of a programmed drumbeat, fragile guitars and the bass down low. And throughout, it’s Flory’s mournful, soulful vocals taking centre stage. (Tom Baker)

7 DUCKTAILS The Flower Lane

(Domino) On Real Estate’s ‘Days’, Matthew Mondanile quietly worked magic with melody, conjuring nonchalantly relaxed riffs into sprawling, expansive nostalgiatrips. That same understated magic runs in currents through ‘The Flower Lane’. This is not an attention-seeking album. It will not tug at your sleeve whining like a small child, rather it will sit happily in your pocket keeping you toasty like one of those camping hand warmers. This is the soundtrack to crunching home through the winter leaves. Swiping away the layers of reverb has given Ducktails a newfound clarity, and ‘The Flower Lane’ is their most confident offering to date. (El Hunt)

DARWIN DEEZ Songs For Imaginative People (Lucky Number)

Sometimes a change in environment is just the inspiration a songwriter needs. For Darwin Smith, leaving the hustle of New York for Asheville in his home state of North Carolina was the catalyst. The result, ‘Songs For Imaginative People’, is a follow up album that expands on the promise shown on his self-titled debut: a lucid collection of stories and themes with perceptible depth. A number of the songs here are characterised by off-kilter jerky rhythms and vocal melodies that spiral off on all sorts of curious tangents. The hook-filled efforts are even more hook-filled and insidious, as on the tender ‘Alice’ and the funky licks of ‘Moonlit’. A triumph. (Martyn Young)

THE BEST OF

TRACKS

CHLÖE HOWL NO STRINGS

SWIM DEEP THE SEA

THE MEN ELECTRIC

ALUNAGEORGE DIVER

PULP AFTER YOU

PALMA VIOLETS STEP UP FOR THE COOL CATS

Chlöe Howl - two dots and a personality as big as a pop battleship - is sure to set a few pulses raising. With Calvin-esque disco synths and a swagger on the rocks, ‘No Strings’ is the kind of ‘I’m a bit pissed but fuck you anyway’ anthem the charts have been crying out for since Lily Allen hung up her microphone. That Howl shows her face at a point where the triumphant return of our greatest character is on the horizon is beyond exciting. (Stephen Ackroyd)

AlunaGeorge are already having a Very Good Year. They’ve come second in the BBC Sound Of 2013 poll, to go with their Brits Critics choice nomination. Though the most important thing remains, as ever, the music and they’ve delivered once again with new track ‘Diver’. An insidiously addictive slow jam, full of jittery beats and off-kilter rhythms that never quite follow the pattern you expect them to. Aluna Francis’ fluttering vocals give the whole thing a quite lovely soulful lilt. Electronic pop at its finest. (Martyn Young)

Christmas has gone, the New Year celebrations are over and it’s time to take the decorations down. So right on cue and in typical style, Swim Deep are here to cheer you up. Anyone with lingering doubts that our Class Of 2013 kids weren’t quite up to the job would find them immediately washed away by ‘The Sea’. You won’t find a warmer, more perfectly constructed pop song to rid you of those winter blues. I bet you can get a great deal on sunglasses in the postChristmas sales... (Ian Paterson)

Not since the time someone paired fish and potato has something seemed quite so brilliantly obvious. Pulp, with their knack of evoking the grubby, faux-fur underbelly of British nightlife and command of 90s dancefloors. And James Murphy, who with LCD Soundsystem was as dominant ten years later, all postpunk-funk and Brooklyn warehouse cool. The latter’s production work on a track originally demoed back in 2000 during the ‘We Love Life’ sessions creates a little of the gloriously dark final days of Studio 54. Via, um, Safeway. (Emma Swann)

Months of road testing their last LP seemed to have paid off for the Men in serious melodic dividends. ‘Electric’ is the first sample of their new record ‘New Moon’, which they recorded in a rural house with limited technology and a special connection to the cosmos. Despite the celestial intervention and the cosmic album title, don’t expect a psychedelic romp from “Electric.” You’ll be happy to know the Men are still very much a punk band. (Matthew Putrino)

Like all potentially important bands, there’s an extra edge to most things Palma Violets do. An effortless shrug that with many of their peers would appear all too deliberate, ‘Step Up For The Cool Cats’ exemplifies just why they’re getting a new generation hot under the collar. It’s something The Libertines would do infuriatingly well, but here it seems even purer. It’s almost impossible to hate on Palma Violets. With a drawling vocal, stomping beat and fuzzy organ, this is rock and roll. (Stephen Ackroyd) 71

REVIEWS LIVE

photos: simone scott warren

ATP FESTIVAL CAMBER SANDS

You sometimes need to take a few steps back to realise what strange and wonderful things ATP Festivals are. A place where you can play 5-aside football with Local Natives in the morning and then watch a Music For Heart and Breath Chamber Music set standing next to one of The Antlers. The National have put together a line up that in many ways is representative of their sound, with a few curveballs such as Tim Hecker and Boris added in. And the band are in full view for the entire weekend – you can see them watching each show and there are plenty of collaborations; Aaron Dessner joins Sharon Van Etten and Local Natives on stage. Like The National as a band, the weekend is awash with tender moments, intricate ideas, swirling, rich orchestral touches and wry self-deprecation. The highlights? Deerhoof, playing their final show of a long European tour, seem determined to go out with a bang. Satomi Matsuzaki is a beguiling frontwoman and the band offer a reminder of just how many superbly wonky rock songs they’ve created. Sharon Van Etten gets over sound problems to deliver an utterly enchanting set and honourable mentions must also go to Perfume Genius, Wild Beasts, Menonema and My Brightest Diamond. Yet the pinnacle is the curator’s late Sunday night set. They’re joined by Richard Reed Parry and composer Nico Muhly to play for a spellbinding two hours. It’s a spine tingling climax, and the perfect close to a fantastic festival. (Danny Wright)

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LIVE

YOU ME AT SIX WEMBLEY ARENA, LONDON This was something that no one expected to actually happen. Fourteen months after releasing their third album, You Me At Six are headlining a sold out Wembley Arena. Proving just how strong the UK rock scene really is, the Surrey five-piece decided to go against the grain, and choose to invite their friends to join them onstage; support this evening comes from We Are The Ocean and Deaf Havana, the latter of which incite a surprisingly large reaction, as at least half the crowd sing the band’s words back at them. However, tonight was undoubtedly always going to be about You Me At Six. Appearing amidst a flurry of pyro, their opening is nothing short of epic, as ‘The Swarm’ fills the room and feels massive. Marking the start of their two-hour set, the five boys embark upon a twenty-song marathon that sees them perform tracks from their full career, reminding the 10,000 strong crowd just how far they have come in the past five years. In fact, this evening is everything you could possibly hope for; lights, fireworks and bucket loads of confetti. So, as the lights come up and the huge hall empties, the only question left to ask is, how on earth do they top that? (Sarah Jamieson)

photo: shiona walker

PEACE

KO KO, LO N D O N

New Year’s Eve is often a disappointment due to high expectations. Peace, however, tonight prove that they’re more than a match for it, providing a memorable night for the lucky crowd at Koko. They emerge shortly after midnight, bursting straight in to new single ‘Wraith’, with its filthy groove and slick hooks executed perfectly. They go on to deliver a relentless set, including a huge sing-a-long during ‘Califonia Daze’, the crowd returning every word sung by frontman Harrison Koisser with added vigour. One hour in to 2013, the Birmingham boys have triumphantly played their biggest show to date. (Samuel Cornforth)

JAPANDROIDS &DIIV

PHOENIX CONCERT THEATRE, TORONTO

Japandroids and DIIV are two of the most celebrated rock bands of 2012, so the decision to end the year with a brief joint tour across eastern North America is a treat. Japandroids are seemingly the louder of the two bands, as DIIV’s wistful indie pop has more of a graceful, soaring feel to it. But in a hazy cloud of smoke, the Brooklynites present cuts from their self-titled debut with a much rawer, noisedriven abandon. Frontman Zachary Cole Smith bounces around like a superball as he contributes to the sonic blast, which more than anything has the intensity of shoegaze noiseniks like My Bloody Valentine and Swervedriver. Japandroids’ stock has risen considerably in their ‘second hometown’ of late, and the band open up to a stage-diving free for all. The animated environment, which features airborne jackets and lost shoes, feels customized for their celebratory, sweat-drenched rock show. They’ve been sweating across the world, spreading their nostalgic virus. You’d have to be dead inside not to want this infection. (Cam Lindsay) 73

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REVIEWS TECH

MAKEY MAKEY EVERYDAY INVENTION KIT £39.99

Launched originally via Kickstarter, this is possibly the most imaginative – and crazy – thing we’ve seen all year. In short, you can control your computer using just about anything. Play piano using bananas? Super Mario with PlayDoh? These are both examples that have been tried and tested. Connect wires between the USB control pad and whatever you want – then click and go!

TECH THE GIZMOS AND GADGETS WORTH GETTING EXCITED ABOUT THIS MONTH

HI-CALL BLUETOOTH GLOVES £49.99

FIRST EDITION IPAD / KINDLE COVERS £34.99-39.99 First there was the book. Then there was the iPad (and others) trying to replace the book. Now there’s making your chosen ‘e-reader’ look like a book. Covers of classics such as A Clockwork Orange and The Great Gatsby can be used to house your piece of new technology. That said, a first edition of Pride And Prejudice (one of the titles on offer) recently fetched £140,000 at auction. That’s just a bit more than even the newest iPad.

Talk to the hand! Because, if you’re wearing these, it really will be listening. Keep your mitts warm, and your smartphone in your pocket as you perfect your ‘vote for me’ X Factor impressions all the while catching up with Mum. An integrated microphone and speaker in the tips of the thumb and little finger work with a control pad, and – of course – bluetooth technology in these otherwise nondescript-looking gloves.

KLIPSCH S3 & IMAGE X7I £39.99 / £169.99

In-ear headphones are tricky business, they’re either awkward and painful, or falling out at any given opportunity. Which is where, quite possibly, these two efforts from Klipsch come in. They’ve worked out that making their in-ear parts oval, not circular, means they’re likely to fit better. And, in our limited experience, they do. Both pairs come with carry case – and, usefully the more expensive of the two here boasts a few extras: a remote control and noise isolation. 75

LACE YOKE PLAIN TEE £28 MISSSELFRIDGE.COM

REVIEWS FASHION

DRESS £19.99 HM.COM

MIX FL OCKE D SKA TER D RESS £42

AMPLIFIED VINTAGE CHARCOAL CLASSIC RAMONES LOGO T-SHIRT £24.99 SUGARBULLETS.CO.UK

T £185 ALEXANDER ELE MC AC QU BR EE F AR

UK O. .C N

BLACK/IVORY W RA PS C

MISSS ELFRID GE.CO M

COLOUR STRIPE T-SHIRT, BLACK/WHITE £22 OASIS-STORES.COM CURRENT/ELLIOTT BLACK VELVET FLORAL SKINNY JEANS £265 MY-WARDROBE.COM

KNITTED FITTED ANIMAL JUMPER £34 TOPSHOP.COM

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VANS AUTHENTIC LO PRO TRAINERS £40 OFFICE.CO.UK

LIFE M N N C C R R M M LIFE IN M

ADIDAS ORIGINALS GAZELLE OG £65 SCOTTSMENSWEAR.COM

SERIE NOIRE WHITE NOISE TEE £35 TOPMAN.COM

M £45 FLY53.CO ER MP JU AX 3D Y5 FL

ELEMENT SLOUCH CREW T-SHIRT £40 ALLSAINTS.COM

JACK & JONES SHORT SLEEVED CRACKED STAR GRAPHIC T-SHIRT £15 HOUSEOFFRASER.CO.UK

BLACK SPLASH T-SHIRT £16 BURTON.CO.UK

LEVI’S 511 RIGID BLACK SLIM JEANS £80 LEVI.COM

BLACK SATCHEL £20 ASOS.COM

CONVERSE GORILLAZ HI TRAINERS £53 SCH UH.C O.UK

GREY TO THE BLACK LA PRINT SWEATSHIRT £32 RIVERISLAND.COM

REVIEWS FILM

FILM

JUNOTEMPLE

e barely recognise one of our favourite young actresses in the throng of the nominee launch for BAFTA’s EE Rising Star Awards, the only BAFTA voted for by members of the public and one created in memory of legendary casting director Mary Selway. The likes of Benedict Cumberbatch and Kevin Macdonald voted for the shortlist up for a prize previously awarded to James McAvoy, Tom Hardy and Kristen Stewart. One for the more discerning film fan this year, Elizabeth Olsen, Andrea Riseborough, Suraj Sharma, Juno Temple and Alicia Vikander go to the public vote at explore.ee.co.uk/bafta ahead of the BAFTAs on 10th February. At BAFTA HQ in London, we chat to London-born actress Temple, and almost miss her while looking for that familiar blonde mop of curls; Temple is resplendent with flame-red hair, left over from the recently wrapped fantasy drama Horns with Daniel Radcliffe (“It’s going to be quirky”). The 23-year-old daughter of director Julien Temple and producer Amanda 78 thisisfakediy.co.uk

Pirie may have movies in her blood, but her film choices have been bold, challenging and provocative, playing younger than her years in Notes On A Scandal and Atonement. Her most memorable role in a year of balancing indies with The Dark Knight Rises was easily William Friedkin’s blistering and uncomfortable Killer Joe, where she played the sweet and simple Texas teenager used as downpayment for the services of Matthew McConaughey’s psychotic hitman. Temple admits it was the highlight of the last couple of years, calling it an “amazing experience,” and adding: “It was definitely a whirlwind, and I was surrounded by such amazing people. I learnt every day - it was like being at drama school. I’ve been so lucky with the people I’ve gotten to work with... They want to give and give and give in a scene, and you’re on fire.” With Gregg Araki’s trippy Kaboom and the forthcoming lesbian werewolf romance Jack & Diane under her belt, can she clarify what she looks for in a script? “It’s really about an instant reaction, and I’m really quick to know when I’m reading a script if it’s not me. Also meeting the director

is a big thing for me. I’ve played a lot of characters that people would call risque and I think I’ve been able to do that because of the directors I’ve worked with; they’re people that I really trust.” Temple goes on to cite an actress she especially likes to watch: “Michelle Williams, who’s so brave and so raw, and I want to be like that. I want to be challenged.” She laughs, pointing out her next film - Disney’s Maleficent - is “the one movie my little brother can go and see!” Playing the fairy Thistletwit, it’s her first experience of blue screen and motion capture: “Most of my action is with styrofoam versions of Angelina Jolie.” Desperate to catch up with the films of her fellow nominees, including Life Of Pi, Temple reveals a guilty love for Pitch Perfect, and is visibly excited at the news of a sequel. Revealing she can hold a note, she ponders another challenge: “I want to do a musical at some point - it’d have to be the right one.” Chuckling about her role in Jill Soloway’s indie drama Afternoon Delight, she admits to one new skill: “I just played a stripper so I can give a good lapdance!” (Becky Reed)

8 I GIVE IT A YEAR

RELEASED: 08/02/13

After the halcyon days of Notting Hill and Bridget Jones’ Diary, Britain lost its way with rom-coms and let the US take over. However, Working Title pictures are back with this wickedly funny effort, the directorial debut of Ali G and Borat writer Dan Mazer. That should be enough to convince you of a naughty edge within the standard plot: mismatched couple struggle with first year of married life when temptation - in the form of cute Anna Faris and confident Simon Baker - comes their way. Bridesmaids’ magnificent Rose Byrne has exquisite and subtle comic timing, with screen hubby Rafe Spall emerging as a thoroughly adorable, exuberant everyman. Scenes are stolen by a bitchy Minnie Driver and put-upon Jason Flemyng, while embarrassing moments with the in-laws and Stephen Merchant’s vulgar best mate manage to feel fresh. (Becky Reed)

6 FLIGHT

RELEASED: 01/02/13

After a decade in a performance-capture wilderness, Forrest Gump director Robert Zemeckis returns in family-unfriendly style, opening with cocaine and nudity to tell the story of Denzel Washington’s hedonistic airline captain, who miraculously saves passengers during a plane crash. Conversely earnest about substance abuse, Kelly Reilly’s addict love interest slows down the gripping investigative drama, lacking chemistry with the unsympathetic Washington. (Becky Reed)

TO THE HEAD 4 BULLET 8 SIDE BY SIDE RELEASED: 15/02/13

RELEASED: 01/02/13

Sylvester Stallone stars as a hitman out for revenge in director Walter Hill’s buddy action movie, co-starring Sung Kang. The pair share a couple of spiky dialogue exchanges that briefly entertain, and Jason Momoa’s muscular presence makes for some meaty fight scenes, but there is little we haven’t seen before. Every character is a crude caricature, and as the potentially striking New Orleans backdrop is ignored, you really are left wondering what went wrong. (Sam Faulkner)

Everybody loves Keanu Reeves, don’t they? It explains why the genial actor gets such candid responses from A-list directors in this fascinating documentary that argues whether film can survive in the age of digital cameras. George Lucas, Martin Scorsese, Steven Soderbergh and James Cameron discuss their relationship with both formats, but it’s Reeves’ exchanges with a snarky pro-digital David Fincher and a snooty Christopher Nolan that make this history lesson for film lovers hugely entertaining. (Becky Reed) 79

REVIEWS GAMES

GAMES

RETRO

GAME OF THE MONTH

OUT NOW AND COMING SOON ALIENS: COLONIAL MARINES (SEGA) PC, PS3, Xbox 360, Wii U

February’s all about dripping, alien scumbags, but this is likely to be as close to the intense atmosphere of James Cameron’s Aliens as you’ll get from a game. Gauntlet runs, last stands, no HUD, and multiplayer marine versus xenomorph modes.

SNIPER: GHOST WARRIOR 2

(NAMCO BANDAI) Xbox 360, PS3, PC

It’s a welcome return for tense jungle sneaking in City Interactive’s FPS focusing on the accurate artistry of sniping people like a cheap bastard. It may not make any grabs at CoD’s crown, but it’s an on-edge delight.

DEAD SPACE 3 (EA) Xbox 360, PS3, PC

In space, nobody can hear you ask a pal to join you in co-op gameplay. Following last year’s third-person scifi shooter, EA up the ante yet again as insurance-salesman-alike Isaac Clarke teams up with Sergeant John Carver to stop the necromorph scourge once and for all until Dead Space 4.

ANARCHY REIGNS (SEGA) Xbox 360, PS3

Say hello to SEGA’s beat-em-rightthrough-the-face-and-then-some brawler which was released back in July 2012 in Japan. It’s finally hit our shores and features as much brainsquelching violence as possible and impressive cross-over battling from the likes of Bayonetta. 80 thisisfakediy.co.uk

ZORRO

(Datasoft, 1985) – Commodore 64

We all know the story of the masked, dashing, sword-swinging outlaw Zorro, so prepare yourself to not play the game of those heroic tales. Instead, welcome to the most yellow game of all time that turns repetition into an art. The art of finding yourself wishing you were dead. This irritating platform puzzler sees Zorro’s lady-friend kidnapped prompting you to stage a rescue. Not before, of course, bouncing. You’ll spend the majority of the game bouncing. Bouncing on floating balls, bouncing on the rotund stomachs of drunken men and bouncing on an anachronistic sofa over and over again. If there’s one thing we know about Zorro it’s that he loves a good bounce. Repetition is Zorro’s main game mechanic though. Most of the puzzles rely on items picked up from the same room, so you’ll end up going back, traversing the same hazardous and frustrating obstacles to get there. So, it’s action-packed with swashbuckling swordplay, right? Well, dipping Zorro’s toes into violence is a bit of a hit and miss affair that sees the enemies hitting you, with you missing. The randomness of each quick swordfight means you’re likely to just avoid enemies altogether. Needless to say, it wasn’t favoured by critics because, well, it’s painfully bad. Fortunately, it’s so bad that it verges on ridiculous and, as we’ve come to realise, makes a lasting impression. Zorro’s memorable maniacal moments like climbing a human pyramid of slain enemies will stick with you.

NI NO KUNI: WRATH OF THE WHITE WITCH

What do you get when you throw the RPG mastery of Japanese developers LEVEL-5 at the beautiful aesthetics of a Studio Ghibli movie? Ni No Kuni: Wrath Of The White Witch, of course. Didn’t you see that coming? Taking us through the heartwarming tale of a young boy named Oliver who, at the insistence of a male fairy named Drippy, enters a magical world to become a wizard in the hope of resurrecting his deceased mother, Ni No Kuni combines the hallmarks of classic JRPG battling with a stirring narrative. Those unfamiliar with JRPGs need not cower in fear; its battle systems are accessible despite their complexity. And then there’s always Ni No Kuni’s real strength – that sublime Ghibli artwork, taking on a whole new level when put in a 3D context within the game. Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch is available to buy exclusively on PlayStation 3 from 1st February

WIN So, we’re delighted to team up with publishers Namco Bandai to give readers the chance to win one very limited Wizard’s Edition of the game, which contains the game itself, exclusive DLC, a Drippy Plush Doll and a 300+ page hard-cover Wizard’s Companion book. 10 runners-up will receive a copy of the Wizard’s Companion book alone! All you have to do is visit this page on DIY and answer a simple question: thisisfakediy.co.uk/ninokuni Competition closes on 1st March 2013, winners will be notified by e-mail.

BE SURE TO DOWNLOAD GRAND THEFT AUTO: VICE CITY 10TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION (Rockstar) – iOS, Android

Soaring through those, admittedly, fairly quiet streets in your sports car and pumping out analogue synth jams from the 80s on the radio – it all takes you back to a time pre-GTA IV when Rockstar’s iconic series was less about brooding reality and more about ultraviolence in Hawaiian shirts. Sure, we’ve all grown up since Vice City’s arrival in 2002, but the comic anti-Miami Vice subtext and flashes of humour remind us that it had its tongue firmly in its very tasteless cheek. Some minor control issues, particularly in the driving, are all that mar a glorious return for Vice City on your smartphone and tablet, where you bazooka a man’s face off while on the bus to work. What’s next? San Andreas to play in your own eyeballs? Yes, please. 81

BACK PAGE DON’T CALL IT A COMEBACK

BACKPAGE

DON’T CALL IT A COMEBACK… DEREK ROBERTSON IS LOOKING FORWARD THE RETURN OF MUSIC’S BIG HITTERS. 2013 is, even at this early stage, shaping up to be a great year for music. ‘Ones To Watch’ lists were chock full of talented and interesting acts. Commentators as diverse as Paul Weller, BBC Radio 1 boss George Ergatoudis, and Rough Trade co-founder Jeannette Lee have predicted big things for guitar music. The world of mainstream pop seems ready to shake off the stupor and spirit-crushing lack of originality that has plagued it for the last few years. Glastonbury returns too, providing a focal point for summer festivities. But there’s something else to get excited about, something that brings joy and expectation for the twelve months ahead – news of which often gets lost in the cacophony. I’m talking, of course, about the anticipated return of great bands, artists who in many ways helped define the last decade and, for some of us, were the reason

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we fell in love with music in the first place. Already confirmed are new releases from Queens Of The Stone Age, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Bowie and Arctic Monkeys. Even that most mythical of albums, My Bloody Valentine’s follow up to ‘Loveless’, is scheduled to see the light of day according to Kevin Shields’ latest communications. That Josh Homme, Karen O, and Alex Turner will be bothering our speakers is undoubtedly exciting, but it’s interesting to consider why. Psychologists would argue that in times of trouble or strife, familiar faces – and sounds – are reassuring; a sonic comfort blanket if you will, helping to ease the passage through grey days and stormy waters. Others might claim they represent a chance to recall,

and relive, former glories, a rose-tinted past. All valid points, I’m sure, but there’s a far simpler explanation as to why their return is a Very Good Thing indeed. Basically, they’re just great bands, with great back catalogues, and there’s no reason to think they’re not about to add to them. These are artists who transcend genres and eras, who inspire, delight, and connect; the thought of once again witnessing Homme attack his guitar with menace, or Karen O coyly prowling the stage has me grinning from ear to ear with unfettered glee. And those three bands are just the beginning; The Knife, Nick Cave, Beck, Daft Punk... Suffice to say, there’s something for everybody. Of course, it’s not all good news; Beady Eye are also slated to return with something “majestic” and “out there”, but nothing’s ever perfect, right?

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