Interview - Mattiel
Having spent over half a decade winning audiences over with her unique and powerful vocal style, the release of single ‘Jeff Goldblum’ late last year found fans of Mattiel checking their phones to ensure it was still the band they loved. The Atlantan’s fearless vocal acrobatics were nowhere to be heard, instead a smoother, subtler (but no less engaging) delivery filled their ears. Few could deny that the comparatively restrained style was required to suit a more sedate song.
"When Jonah sent me the ‘Jeff Goldblum’ structure, in my head I couldn't really see it any other way," Mattiel Brown explains to Gigwise. "I wanted to use those sharp syllables and the two-part harmony. That was immediate. I didn't even think about using my ‘normal’ voice, however you describe that. My full voice, I guess.
"Since then, we've played it for Stephen Colbert on his show. In that live version, I use my full voice and I think it sounds really cool both ways." And what of the subject matter? "That was just because I have a crush on Jeff Goldblum. That was really it! No deep philosophical meaning there really! It's really just about somebody who looks like Jeff Goldblum." Ask a silly question…
Peter Doherty and Frédéric Lo - The Fantasy Life Of Poetry and Crime
Question: When did we stop worrying about Peter Doherty? Answer: 2014.
Since their permanent reformation eight years ago, we have been led to believe that The Libertines have arrived at the happy ending their soap opera demanded.
The narrative suggests that they’ve sailed on the Good Ship Albion to Margate, where they joyfully fill the days in their hotel with antics and capers, generally having a Jolly Old Time.
Or so we must presume, as we haven’t had a crotchet of new music in seven years. The tours are all well and good lads, but we did not have you down as a nostalgia act.
Yet it seems we’ve taken our eye off the bigger problems: Doherty’s disarming honesty was always one his redeeming features, and time has not weathered it as he reveals frankly (in the PR for this album) that he has been clean for just over two years.
Great news to be sure, and we wish him all the best in his continued quest, but that’s still relatively recent and merely serves to highlight the very nature of addiction: it’s an ever-present thing.
‘You Can’t Keep It From Me Forever’, the best song on this new album, is Doherty distilled; one of the best things he’s put his name to (and there’s been many; his prolificity is another strength), it’s an incredibly catchy, upbeat indie pop song…about drugs.
https://www.live4ever.uk.com/2022/03/review-peter-doherty-and-frederic-lo/
Melt Yourself Down - Live at The JamJar, Bristol
With the release of their latest album Pray For Me I Don’t Fit In, Melt Yourself Down have stumbled across an inadvertent irony.
Their statement of declaring themselves as outsiders has been a rallying call for those who feel out of step with society, following a furrow that the likes of David Bowie and Pulp (among others) have ploughed: We Are Not Them.
The welcoming community spirit can be felt in the room tonight (March 15th), which the collective leave shaking throughout a succinct set.
Frontman Kushal Gaya wastes no time in closing the gap between band and audience; in amongst the crowd from the second song, he offers his microphone to punters or encourages them onstage towards the end. It may be Tuesday night, but Melt Yourself Down are here for a party.
Which is just as well because, although the music press struggle to pigeonhole them, it’s ultimately cathartic riot music with a bit of everything, albeit defined by the two saxophones played expertly by founder Pete Wareham, matched in every way by George Crowley.
https://www.live4ever.uk.com/2022/03/live-review-melt-yourself-down/
20 Years of 6Music
It was 20 years ago today….when Will Young sat atop the pop charts with ‘Anything Is Possible’, while those pop titans Shakira, Enrique Iglesias, Westlife and Nickelback brought up the metaphorical rear of the Top 5. UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, his US counterpart George W Bush and the rest of the world were still reeling from the tragic events of 9/11, Arsenal were top of the football pyramids and the George Clooney-led caper Ocean’s Eleven was drawing in the crowds and the pounds in the cinema.
Meanwhile, on DAB radio, comedian and presenter Phill Jupitus cut the ribbon to unveil the BBC’s first new national music radio station in 32 years. A high-pitched guitar lick gave way to a frenetic explosion of drums, bass and power chords, as Ash’s ‘Burn Baby Burn’ heralded the arrival of BBC Radio 6 Music: a new, alternative, digital-only radio station.
You may not listen to 6 Music, but you know what it represents. The station is a refuge for those who sit outside the mainstream and a tonic for those who, frankly, can’t stand wasting their lives with perpetual adverts. A place for the mis-shapes to seek solace and shut out the outside world. The chances are that if you like any form of alternative music, be that folk, electronica, indie (or post-punk, as it’s now been rebranded), hip-hop, soul, dub or any of the innumerable genres that are represented outside pop, the first radio station to have played it will have been 6 Music. Like much of the BBC, it’s often taken for granted but is never dismissed and is widely recognised as the home of new music.
https://www.gigwise.com/features/3416385/20-years-on-air--happy-birthday-bbc-radio-6-music-
Interview - Pete Wareham, Melt Yourself Down
Where do I fit in?
It’s a profound question that everyone at some point in their lives asks themselves. We are tribal creatures, and society has always dictated that we must be part of something bigger, even if that’s just one side of an opinion.
It’s not a healthy attitude, and only now do we see that the recent deliberate attempts to set us against one another have been a distraction technique for more malevolent, despotic aims.
However, Vladimir Putin cannot claim credit for the original musing, which is a fundamental human question. As many of us did, Pete Wareham – founding member of Melt Yourself Down – asked it of himself in 2020:
“I think a lot of people had this thing in lockdown of sitting back and having a chance to reflect,” he says during an interview with Live4ever. “I was able to reconnect with all this sort of stuff and things that I had when I was a teenager that I’d lost touch with. Stuff that I was into that, I felt, was more authentically me than the other stuff I’ve been into. I was able to see the wood from the trees a little bit.”
As you may be aware (and if not, where have you been?), Melt Yourself Down released their fourth studio album Pray For Me I Don’t Fit In last week. Continuing their fusion of punk, jazz and,well, any genre you can name really, it feels like a watershed moment for the London-based outfit.
“The previous album took so long,” Wareham tells us. “It took us quite a few years to put it together, but this time round I wanted to just smash on. I was working a lot through lockdown as I’ve got a studio at home which I didn’t have for the previous album so I was able to work in a very focused way.”
https://www.live4ever.uk.com/2022/03/l4e-interview-melt-yourself-down/
Johnny Marr - Fever Dreams Pts. 1-4
To get this out of the way; Johnny Fuckin Marr is one of the all-time greats.
This is without question; he’s lauded by his peers (of generations above and below), adored by his devoted fanbase and respected by the media.
He manages to straddle all three with equal grace and poise while also being one of the good guys. The Mancunian legend has even helped make James Bond songs cool again after a decade (admittedly, a timespan that only covered two songs) of cloying, overwrought hogwash.
So he’s a legend. We know this. Yet there has always been a nagging feeling that his solo career over the last decade (not counting 2003’s Boomslang album, under the moniker Johnny Marr + The Healers) has been indulged rather than revered in order to justify his live shows, peppered as they are with numbers by The Smiths and Electronic..
Fever Dreams Pts. 1-4 (released in two formats, one double album and four EPs – it’s all very confusing) should put that attitude to bed.
https://www.live4ever.uk.com/2022/02/review-johnny-marr-fever-1-4/
Interview - Crows
Given the perilous situation of the music industry since the pandemic began it would have been no surprise to see a deluge of acts throw in the towel and retire from the industry.
As is now common knowledge, musicians primarily make their money from touring and, seeing as that wasn’t an option for 18 months, the compulsion to concede against such overwhelming odds must have been nearly overwhelming. Hearteningly, it’s largely been the opposite, artists’ love for making music overcoming the insurmountable odds.
Four-piece rock band Crows are no exception. The band all have full-time jobs which offset their musical careers, a situation which obviously has its difficulties.
“We just make it work really,” he tells Live4ever. “The only money we make is when we tour. You don’t make much for records, you earn a bit back. We’re a self-funded band, we’ve never been signed to a label so we’ve never had an advance.”
“It’s a labour of love and when we’re able to we pay ourselves a little bit of money, but it’s quite rare that happens to most bands unless you tour 10 months out of the year.”
Yet during the pandemic Crows had one advantage. Their forthcoming album, Beware Believers, was near completion in early 2020, as Cox explains:
https://www.live4ever.uk.com/2022/02/live4ever-interview-crows/
Echo & The Bunnymen - Live at the o2 Academy, Bristol - 20th February 2022
Never ones to undersell their legacy, Echo And The Bunnymen’s current tour is billed as, ‘celebrating 40 years of magical songs,’ which seems harsh on early singles ‘The Pictures On My Wall’ and ‘Rescue’ (released in 1979 and 1980 respectively).
Of course, this is pedantry in the extreme, not least because the UK tour was originally scheduled for last summer, and more obviously because ’43 years’ doesn’t have the same ring to it.
Either way, it’s not an invalid claim. Eschewing a support band (instead giving the legendary Alan McGee the opportunity to show off his musical taste, playing everything from David Bowie to his new proteges The Gulps in a DJ set), it soon becomes apparent as to why: it’s a big setup that takes up the entire stage, with six players in total.
Although ostensibly now only made up of two full-time members (Ian McCulloch and Will Sergeant), there is only so much the pair can do and so the live players ably provide the scale that the songs require.
Looking resplendent in a trademark black overcoat, McCulloch rarely moves from his position at front and centre of stage, and asks for some help from the audience early on in the set.
https://www.live4ever.uk.com/2022/02/echo-and-the-bunnymen-live-bristol/
Stone - Live at The Louisiana, Bristol - 13th February
It’s a popular opinion doing the rounds that traditional bands are fast becoming a thing of the past.
The argument goes that, because of the advances in technology, it’s far easier for one person to make music in their bedroom which covers all the requirements of a band – the current ubiquity of Sam Fender suggests that is the case.
As Noel Gallagher recently said, being in a rock band is hard work. From the outset, the members have to share a vision as well as costs (the expense of rehearsal time and touring should not be underestimated), as well as the time required to hone their sound.
That’s to say nothing of the democratic strains that will be placed on a band throughout their career. Given all this, the longevity of U2, Radiohead and Coldplay (all made up of the original members, with everything split equally) are virtually miraculous.
Furthermore, do the kids care about ‘rock’ music anymore? Not judging by the looks of the Top 40.
All bobbins, of course. Young rock bands are alive and well, thanks for asking. While many are unchallengingly predictable ‘lad’ bands (The Snuts, The Reytons, The Sherlocks…The Courteeners have a lot to answer for) they do have passionate fanbases, for better or for worse. And there are now signs that the influence of Idles, Slaves and Shame is starting to filter down the years.
Enter four-piece ‘post-apocalyptic scally rockers’ (their words) Stone.
https://www.live4ever.uk.com/2022/02/review-stone-live-bristol-louisiana/
Glasvegas - Live at The Thekla, Bristol - 12th February 2022
Glasvegas have always consciously been out of step.
Cast your minds back, if you can dear reader, to 2008. Pre-COVID, pre-Brexit, pre-Trump, they were simpler times (although the financial crash was kicking off so they weren’t exactly halcyon days).
The indie world, when genres were still a thing, was grooving to the innocent sounds of Vampire Weekend, Friendly Fires and MGMT (and The Ting Tings, but the less said about that the better).
Meanwhile, a black-clad group of Glaswegians were forging their own path. After much hype in the preceding years, including acclaim from the NME, Glasvegas’ self-titled debut album was the sound of adolescence, broken homes and crime set against a backdrop of expansive, echoing and shimmer sounds which rightly earned them further platitudes, featuring as it did on most End Of Year lists.
Fourteen years on, they’re still doing things their own way. Despite his omnipotence, the influence of Elvis Presley is rarely apparent in contemporary music, but Glasvegas wear it proudly.
https://www.live4ever.uk.com/2022/02/glasvegas-live-bristol-thekla/
She Drew The Gun - Live at The Fleece, Bristol, 10th February 2022
‘Speaking truth to power’ is a noble idea in principle.
A non-violent political tactic to correct propaganda from authoritarianism, it’s in vogue in the UK right now because of the behaviour of the government.
Yet, it’s also an over-used phrase that is starting to lose meaning by virtue of its ubiquity. Given the current state of the world, countless musical artists are attempting to channel its sentiment in their lyrics, but many are so oblique as to render the exercise pointless.
Not so for She Drew The Gun. Fiercely outspoken, there’s a directness to their lyrics that leave no room for interpretation. Frankly, they don’t mess about, as demonstrated by this performance; while there is plenty going on with the band’s musicianship, Louisa Roach delivers her lyrics with a razor-sharp focus, even as keyboardist Lucy Styles gamely does her best to divide the attention.
Clad in a body suit in contrast to Roach’s (comparatively) understated leopard print parka, Styles is physical manifestation of every note and beat, expressive when playing keys and dancing when not required.
A whirling dervish and the yin to Roach’s yang, Styles is a delight to watch and the two women complement each other beautifully, while Jimmy Moon and Jack Turner (on guitar and bass respectively) stoically go about their business quietly, seemingly knowing there is little point trying to compete.
https://www.live4ever.uk.com/2022/02/review-she-drew-the-gun-bristol/
Andy Bell - Flicker
It’s high time Andy Bell received the recognition he deserves.
With his career in music spanning over 30 years – firstly with one of the most prominent bands of the shoegaze movement (Ride), and then one of the biggest bands of all time (Oasis) – he should by rights already have near-legendary status.
Over the last five years, his output has been astonishing. Inspired (if that’s the right word) by the death of David Bowie and his relentless prolificity, Bell has overseen two Ride albums, two albums and a glut of EPs under the GLOK pseudonym, and one ‘traditional’ solo album.
And now, with a tour to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Ride’s debut album already on the 2022 slate, Bell has somehow found the time to unleash his biggest project to date: a double album of 18 songs as his second solo album. And a hefty undertaking it is.
The tracks date from 2016 (with some from even further back) when Bell and his former Oasis/Beady Eye bandmate Gem Archer laid them down, Bell adding meat to their bones during lockdown.
The 18 compositions cover a wide variety of sounds and feels; from his trademark wistful, dream fuzz to baroque pop and even country, while finessing a classic songwriting approach which finds Bell in a contemplative mood.
https://www.live4ever.uk.com/2022/02/album-review-andy-bell-flicker/
Interview - Britt Daniel, Spoon
As you’ll no doubt be aware, the pandemic has pushed a lot of things back. Some movies are still to hit the screens after all this time, live shows of all kinds are perpetually postponed or rescheduled, and the issues with vinyl manufacturers (albeit not entirely related to COVID) are causing huge delays in album releases.
Yet some artists used the delay to their advantage. One of America’s most well-regarded rock bands, Spoon hit the studio shortly after frontman and founder Britt Daniel had spent longer than anticipated working on their Greatest Hits collection, 2019’s Everything Hits At Once: "I thought; ‘compiling a record? How much time could that involve?’ Well, it ended up involving a bit more time that I thought! We recorded some songs for it and just the promotion of it took a really long time," he tells Gigwise. "I did go listen to all the records straight through. I don’t know if I’ve ever done that. It was revealing!"
"We were hopefully all set to complete the [new] record in 2019. We’d just come off this massive tour with Beck. We spent the whole summer doing that and then once we really got started, COVID happened." So the delay was down to the pandemic? "It was a few things at once. We were working on it for a long time. We toured a lot on [previous album] Hot Thoughts and there were a number of things that made this one drag out; one was that we ended up doing this Greatest Hits project. We thought we were probably almost done, then COVID hit and I wrote a lot more songs because I was alone. I knew that some of those songs had to replace some of the songs we had recorded because they were just better. But we couldn’t get together for another six months so I just kept writing."
alt-j - The Dream
As befitting their out-of-step status, alt-J’s career up to now has been one of dichotomy.
For every ‘cool’ accolade (Mercury Prize) there is an equally ‘uncool’ barb (working with Miley Cyrus), and the ubiquity of ‘Left Hand Free’ on both acclaimed Netflix content and Marvel movies best exemplifies this.
It’s an approach that has served them well over the last decade, and indeed applies to their work itself. Fourth album The Dream covers, in no particular order, the insights of a serial killer, heart-rendering recollections of a life partner and the joys of capitalism. Whatever else you can say about them, predictable alt-J are not.
Opening with the latter, ‘Bane’ is – as drummer Thom Sonny Green attests – the sonic palate of the album in microcosm. Delicate electric finger-plucked guitar, shimmering vocals, trip-hop…it’s all here. A familiar trope of the band’s, obtuse lyrics as metaphor, is once again prominent amid the thoughtful chaos which is essentially an ode to Coca-Cola.
As righteous music fans we should perhaps balk at this, but ultimately who doesn’t enjoy a glass or two? Singer Joe Newman is well aware of this, as the opening lyrics (‘I sold my soul’) prove. The song itself is a treat, unfurling surprises at every turn which suggest that even the band don’t know where it’s going, but it’s worth following regardless.
https://www.live4ever.uk.com/2022/02/album-review-alt-j-the-dream/
The KVB - Live at the Thekla, Bristol - 30th January 2022
Being regarded, either by themselves or by the music press, as an ‘audio-visual musical duo’ means that to fully comprehend The KVB, one has to experience them live.
It’s not the only reason to attend one of their shows (describing them as ‘gigs’ is probably doing them a disservice) – the main is that they are very, very good.
Musically it’s an eclectic set which, understandably, focuses on last year’s fine sixth album, Unity. The twinkling, scene setting ‘Sunrise Over Concrete’ opens both album and set, blinking the gig into life akin to drawing a huge breath before stuttering into the driving motorik pop of ‘World On Fire’, as both Nicholas Wood and Kat Day harmonise as expertly as an act with ten years’ experience should.
The 808 State/Madchester electro stomp of ‘Blind’ reverberates around the venue, while sky-splitting guitar breaks the gathering cloud of a song that is ‘Unbound’.
https://www.live4ever.uk.com/2022/02/the-kvb-live-bristol-thekla/
Brian Wilson: Long Promised Road
Brian Wilson has long been regarded as the mastermind behind one of the world’s most influential bands: the Beach Boys (although some would take umbrage at the claim). He is also one of the most mysterious, primarily down to the schizoaffective disorder from which he suffers. His recollections are emphasised in new film Brian Wilson: Long Promised Road, which is succinct and brief, with the curtain left drawn from prying eyes.
There have been many films and documentaries covering the great man over the years, but director Brent Wilson (no relation) has opted for a different approach; something akin to a road movie. The concept is pretty simple; presumably attempting to make Wilson as comfortable as possible, he and Rolling Stone journalist Jason Fine drive through Southern California, taking in as many memories from the singer’s legendary life as they can. The dashboard-mounted camera conveys the intimacy between Wilson and Fine well, if at points feeling like an episode of Carpool Karaoke (sadly largely without singing) or Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee (the likely inspiration).
The Blinders - The Electric Kool-Aid (Part 1)
Now this is more like it.
After a hugely promising start to their career with the astute, righteous and literary Columbia, The Blinders lost some momentum through a combination of the pandemic and an inferior (but by no means bad) second album in Fantasies Of A Stay At Home Psychopath.
With a fresh new line-up (moving from a three-piece to a five), the Doncaster band have renewed vigour.
The Blinders have thus far operated in their own world, and this EP starts in the same vein; a fading hiss opens the title-track, as if the listener has already missed something.
The band don’t care though, and launch into a succinct piece of clattering garage-psychedelia, and a mantra-esque delivery of the title (as verse) reassures that Tom Hayward is still observing human behaviour from afar, with cynicism. The Kool-Aid is seemingly addictive as the political and societal chaos continues unabated, even after more than half a decade.
https://www.live4ever.uk.com/2022/01/review-the-blinders-electric-kool-ep/
Orlando Weeks - Hop Up
‘There is no more sombre enemy of good art than a pram in the hall.’
So said the legendary English writer (and, significantly, critic) Cyril Connolly. As with all sweeping statements, it’s largely untrue given that parenthood is one of the defining features of humanity, but there is obviously something in it.
Marking ten years since the peak of his former band’s career (The Maccabees’ masterpiece, Given To The Wild), Orlando Weeks returns with his second solo album.
His debut, 2020’s A Quickening, was a necessary change of pace which saw him document the lesser-articulated anxieties and challenges of fatherhood against a soundtrack of sparse, minimal electronica.
It seems things have improved in Weeks’ world, and on the other side of the coin Hop Up offers an alternative perspective on the experience of nurturing a human being.
https://www.live4ever.uk.com/2022/01/review-orlando-weeks-hop-up/
Live4Ever - Singles of the Year 2021
The last 12 months have been, if nothing else, a year of extremes.
Although the first three felt like a year – the usual January blues maximised and extended to an intolerable degree with lockdown for a whole season – as the spring arrived, society began to slowly re-awaken.
But it wasn’t until late July that music fans could finally get to a full-blooded, cheek-to-jowl sweaty gig. Sadly, some real heavyweights didn’t live to see them, with the sad passing of Charlie Watts, Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry and Don Everly amongst the fallen.
Since the summer it’s been about making up for lost time as venues have struggled to accommodate a backlog which includes the cancelled tours from 2020 and shows from acts with albums released during the pandemic. While the venues were surely happy just to make some money again, there is a real risk that some burgeoning creatives have been stifled.
Yet, compared to where we were a year ago, it’s a nice problem to have, albeit less so for the artists themselves who struggle to make a living without playing live.
The Broken Record campaign has made some real inroads in 2021, with parliamentary debates and actions following a report into the allocation of profits, which is nothing less than excellent news. (Note to Tom Gray: if you could get a ban on Spotify Unwrapped while you’re at it, that would be ace.)
Sadly, the other main revenue for artists (merchandise) is also suffering because of a backlog, with delays at vinyl manufacturers of approximately six months as the format’s revival stutters.
Which makes it all the more frustrating when there is so much great new music around, as our Best Tracks list is once again testament to: The Lounge Society picked up the accolade of our song of 2020 with ‘Generation Game’ and feature highly once again with the marauding glam-rock of ‘Cain’s Heresy’. Their debut album, when it arrives, should be something special indeed.
https://www.live4ever.uk.com/2021/12/live4ever-tracks-2021-dry-cleaning/
Sleaford Mods - Live at Bristol o2 Academy - 1st December 2021
Fifteen years ago, the very notion of a Sleaford Mods gig would have been dismissed.
Two middle-aged men – one who simply presses play on his laptop as the other shouts tirades into his mic, railing against the issues of the world that irk and enrage him – is a tough sell. Even writing it down, the concept seems laughable (and it also makes them incredibly difficult to review, so please bear that in mind as you read on).
A decade on, you either get it or you don’t, but increasingly more people are getting it. Their latest and eleventh album, Spare Ribs, cracked the Top 5 of the UK chart this year, and the duo arrive in Bristol a few days after an arena gig in their native Nottingham.
Of course, we operate in a very different society than that of 2007 (the year in which Sleaford Mods released their debut album). This was pre-financial crash, pre-Brexit, pre-COVID, and there was (seemingly) much less to rail against.
Which poses a question: we now have the evidence that the duo were unquestionably ahead of their time (with their fundamental approach having changed little), but does genius lie beneath the angry, knowingly-difficult-yet-carefree veneer? It can’t be dismissed as something for the youth, with the average age of those in attendance being the wrong side of 40, many probably feeling that Jason Williamson speaks on their behalf.
https://www.live4ever.uk.com/2021/12/sleaford-mods-live-bristol/