The Jesus And Mary Chain - Glasgow Eyes
A big year lies ahead for The Jesus And Mary Chain. To commemorate their 40th anniversary, the Reid brothers (William and Jim) are releasing a documentary, a book and are (at the time of writing) about to embark on a celebratory tour.
However, nostalgia sits ill with the East Kilbride duo, and so eighth album Glasgow Eyes seems a more fitting acknowledgement of four decades in music, taking the best elements of their catalogue while also adding a frisson of new ideas.
That said, in Jim’s own words, don’t expect ‘The Jesus And Mary Chain go jazz’ (even if the spectre of Miles Davis can be felt); opener ‘Venal Joy’ is sweaty, motorik electro, still raucous but with a touch of femininity as provided by Rezillos’ Fay Fife on backing duties. Elsewhere, ‘Silver Strings’ is built around a simple but smacked-out, full-of-dread motif that would be befit a David Lynch movie.
https://www.clashmusic.com/reviews/the-jesus-and-mary-chain-glasgow-eyes/
Bill Ryder-Jones, Thekla, Bristol - 17th March 2024
Bill Ryder-Jones in Brighton - Credit Unknown
Unusually for an artist about to enthrall an audience for ninety minutes, Bill Ryder-Jones gets the niceties out of the way early on.
As he and his six-strong band take to the stage, he immediately thanks those who purchased recent album Iechyd Da before getting down to business, acknowledging that they have a lot of songs to get through.
With a steadily burgeoning back catalogue to choose from that’s no surprise, even if tonight’s set consists of tracks from three of his six studio albums (albeit Yawn & Yawny Yawn covering the same ground), yet there is no shred of arrogance or even confidence, as he has to jokingly (one assumes) reassure himself, muttering, ‘This is a totally normal thing to be doing on a Sunday night, it’s fine’.
In contrast to support act Brooke Bentham, whose soaring vocals filled the venue (even with a depressingly chatty crowd), Ryder-Jones’ hushed tones add to the intimate and reverent vibes, even with a packed stage.
https://www.live4ever.uk.com/bill-ryder-jones-thekla-review/
Interview - Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard
Image by Charlie Harris
Unlike other guitar bands of their generation, Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard are neither post-punk nor that Oasis-influenced, lads band, tales-of-the-streets thing (thank goodness). Their references are more varied, their attitude is more tongue-in-cheek and they have a sense of humour: shortly after the release of recent single ‘National Rust,’ the band tweeted: ‘David Byrne hasn’t called yet so I think we’re in the clear.’
Yet the Welsh quartet take their work very seriously and are far from frivolous. Forthcoming album Skinwalker tackles singer and songwriter Tom Rees’s mental health struggles and is based – loosely – around a concept of tackling them, as he explains to CLASH: “The whole idea for the record was I had this idea: imagine if you were walking through a fairground and there was a guy who was like, ‘Come on this ride, take a trip through your own mind,’ and you’d be like, ‘Yeah! That sounds class.’ Then as you go into the elevator, each door opens on each floor and everything becomes more horrific as you go down.”
“You have the realisation that you’re not as chill as you thought you were and everything is a mess. It focussed the record on self-exploration. I was suffering a lot from depression and anxiety before writing the record, and I went into therapy and got through. The process of doing that was great but I thought the guy was going to fucking slap me on the arse; ‘You did it kid, you’re all cured,’ at the end. But it’s not that, it keeps going.”
https://www.clashmusic.com/features/on-returning-buzzard-buzzard-buzzard-take-their-next-step/
Interview - Master Peace
Image by Toast Press
“I genuinely believe this album is the most honest and authentic piece of work from anyone in my pay grade at the moment, in terms of sonics, songwriting and hooks. I don’t think anything else comes close. But the way the game works, people get praise for minimal stuff but then you get people like me who are the underdog. If you guys actually paid attention, you’d realise I’m on to something here. You can’t reference me an album that sounds like it.”
So says Peace Okezie (better known as Master Peace), the brains behind How To Make A Master Peace. Stacked with anthems-in-waiting, his debut album sees the young man putting the best elements of indie sleaze, electro-pop, and rock music into a blender, garnishing it with his own force of personality to create an eclectic body of work that stands apart from the crowd
It’s been a long time coming, as Peace tells Clash in our exclusive chat, with debut single ‘Night Time’ now half a decade old: “We’ve definitely seen a lot! There’s been a lot of moments; highs, lows, super-highs, and super-lows! It’s definitely a relief because a lot of artists don’t get the chance to drop their debut album. I’ve managed to make music consistently since ‘Night Time’, so I’m very grateful, for sure.”
The time has been used effectively, allowing Peace the time to diversify both his sound and the lyrical content. “I feel like the early stuff was definitely based on one scenario and on one relationship and one vibe,” he explains. “It was the only thing I knew, because when you’re at that age (18/19) that’s all you ever know, really. You can only write about what’s currently going on in your life.”
https://www.clashmusic.com/features/how-to-make-a-debut-album-master-peace-interviewed/
Yard Act - Where’s My Utopia?
Remember post-punk?
It was the sound of the second half of the last decade, and during the pandemic you couldn’t move for heavy guitars and shouted lyrics.
Yet, as is proper, its main proponents have moved on: Fontaines D.C. (whom the title never sat comfortably with) accepted being defined by post-punk until it stopped being useful (namely album two), while recent collaborators LCD Soundsystem and Nigel Godrich influenced IDLES’ current output, both of who operate in different stratospheres to metallic riffage.
Yard Act were latecomers to the game but were savvy enough to realise the genre’s uses (cheaper, easy to understand) while simultaneously cocking a snook at it.
Like the scene’s other key players, the Leeds band have moved on and broadened their sound and influences, with second album Where’s My Utopia? throwing numerous other influences into the mix while still sounding inimitably like themselves.
Simple Things Festival 2024, Bristol
SCALER by Sandra Ebert
After a long break, the Simple Things Festival returns to Bristol in a new slot.
Where previously the festival took place in October, due to the city’s now bulging music schedule (Ritual Union, Outer Town and Dot2Dot are slated for the preceding months) it’s now found a new home in February.
It’s a shame the event has had to make way, for its rich heritage alone deserves better: the last iteration included sets from A Certain Ratio, Squid, Big Joanie and a certain Andrew Weatherall.
Taking place across six distinct locations, the 2024 version spans the genres. Local band Spectres fill the SWX with their incessant, brooding doom rock; all feedback and delays, like a grizzled version of The Jesus And Mary Chain. Abstract music full of nihilistic despair, it’s a gloomy but vital way to start proceedings.
Over in the main room of the recently reopened (and renamed) Bristol Beacon, Wu-Lu’s offerings are more frenetic, if equally as punk.
https://www.live4ever.uk.com/review-simple-things-festival-24/
Interview - Dhani Harrison
Photo by Josh Giroux
The digital age has, as everyone knows, revolutionised music.
Fans can hear records before they get radio play. The power lies with the creator, they can release their music whenever they choose.
Click a button and you’re away. Yet the demand for physical product offsets that, and as such it’s a balancing act for record labels to release albums on all formats on the same date.
Or at least, that’s the understood methodology. Dhani Harrison, as both a musician and head of a label, can see from both perspectives, but also has his own:
“In running record labels and stuff and doing film scores, I don’t really believe in release dates anymore. The cycle is so short. If you’re coming out with a traditional album release then it lasts a week, then it goes away.”
Last October, Dhani Harrison released his second solo album Innerstanding, a brooding odyssey of ambience and electronica which gets a physical release this month.
Not instrumental, but not short on melodies, the record is uniquely beguiling, if not especially accessible, a fact its creator is acutely aware of.
“I’m not expecting it to be charting,” Harrison states with refreshing honesty, from a beach in Australia. “What I like is the longevity and that people can live with a record. Also, geo-politically, it was more important for me to get it out before more things happened!”
https://www.live4ever.uk.com/dhani-harrison-live4ever-interview/
Liam Gallagher + John Squire - Liam Gallagher + John Squire
Guffaws of derision were audible upon the release of ‘Just Another Rainbow’ in early January, the first offering from the former Oasis frontman and legendary Stone Roses guitarist. Those cynics are likely to find more targets of mirth across the album, not without some cause; for all his strengths as a musician and songwriter, Squire’s lyrics (he wrote the entire album) would have benefitted from another polish. But few can sell nonsensical lyrics with more conviction than Liam Gallagher who – obviously impressed – is in sky-scraping form throughout.
After an astonishing run of success in his solo career, kudos to Gallagher for shaking things up, even if the price was achieving his dream of (nearly) being part of The Stone Roses. Liam infamously claimed the album was “better than Revolver” but was about eight months out; with its carefree vibrancy and energy, it’s closer in spirit to Rubber Soul.
Exposure will dilute the impact of those lyrical faults (it’s not difficult to imagine a compliant audience reciting the colours of the rainbow with gusto) and Squire remains an astonishing musician, filling every nook and cranny with licks or riffs. The freewheeling, honky-tonk ‘You’re Not The Only One’ finds him holding nothing back, a slice of Imperial Era Exile On Main Street Stones for the 21st century.
https://www.clashmusic.com/reviews/liam-gallagher-john-squire-liam-gallagher-john-squire/
Wings Of Desire - Rough Trade, Bristol, 21st February 2024
Photo by Holly Whitaker
‘Dream pop’ is a malleable concept really. When reviewers or writers attach the moniker to a band, the listener knows broadly what to expect: fuzzy, ethereal, hazy songs where the arrangement is second to the sonics, and it can feel – in truth – a bit rudderless.
Not so for Stroud duo Wings Of Desire who, it’s fair to say, do drench their music in reverb and echo, but singer James Taylor is possessed with a demonstrable sense of purpose that cuts right through. Tonight’s (February 21st) show, the first of the tour (and their longest to date, as Chloe Little – on keys and the other half of the band – informs us) feels very much like a marker being laid down.
Opener ‘Runnin’’ lulls the crowd into believing otherwise with a slow build-up before waves of cleansing synths and guitar envelope the venue, Taylor’s incandescent cry of, ‘Come on baby, give me a hand’, adding to the sense of catharsis.
Excellent early single ‘Choose A Life’ (‘choose a life, find a job, get a wife, fuck it all’) follows, the sound of teenage dreams told from an adult’s perspective with Taylor and Little winding around the catchy chorus in conjunction.
https://www.live4ever.uk.com/review-wings-of-desire-bristol/
Nadine Shah - Filthy Underneath
Thank God Nadine Shah is back, not least because she’s one of the more likeable and interesting characters in music but also because, in the years since 2020’s Kitchen Sink, the singer has been through challenging times.
With characteristic bravery and honesty, many of them are documented on this fifth album Filthy Underneath, on which she turns tragedy into triumph.
One can hope that everything has been laid bare, for the subjects covered are done so with ruthless honesty. Closing track ‘French Exit’, which evolved into a song from entries in Nadine Shah’s journal, outlines the thought process before a suicide attempt.
Impassive, morse code synths are the backing music to a seemingly inane monologue (‘Pizza box lid when I couldn’t find paper, wine was fancy) before the road becomes clear: ‘A quiet little way out, nothing explicit’.
Gently haunting without being oppressive, the understated nature of the text is quietly devastating, the pulsing bass signifying anxiety while the synths invoke desperation.
Blog - IDLES’ Best Songs
‘Progress’
Arguably the most exciting song in IDLES’ canon – as it points to limitless possibilities –‘Progress’ is also unlike anything else in it. Spindly, scratching guitars and tones and interspersed only briefly by a tantalising drum fill which temporary breaks the ennui. More of a mantra than a song, its about self-destruction and carrying an unspecified burden (‘heavy as my bones were’). As such, it’s the sound of walking (staggering) home alone, drunk, at 4am. Compelling, hypnotic and honest.
Full article: https://www.clashmusic.com/features/idles-their-15-best-songs/
Interview - Shambolics
Photo by Liam Maxwell
Much has been reported recently about the disparity in the music industry; with a grassroots venue seemingly shutting down every week, the hope for smaller bands to make an impression gets smaller, with other avenues for exposure (such as touring Europe) also being closed off.
The industry itself is buoyant, but mainly at stadium and arena level – artists down the food chain are being left to feed off scraps and fend for themselves.
However, for some bands such a way of living is second nature. The following interview with Darren Forbes – vocalist, guitarist and songwriter for Shambolics – took place during the gruelling days before a (virtually) DIY album release, Dreams, Schemes & Young Teams, which is unleashed on the world this week.
As he explains, to follow the dream from the ground up in 2024 requires much more than just writing songs and letting the rest take care of itself. Depressingly, real-life worries have to be considered.
https://www.live4ever.uk.com/live4ever-interview-shambolics/
Cast - Love Is The Call
We truly live in circular times.
2023 was (apparently) defined by the media-dubbed ‘Summer Of Britpop’ with two of its main antagonists (Blur and Pulp) filling stadiums and arenas, evoking the more innocent and exciting memories of three decades ago.
But in truth the movement never really went away thanks to previous – if infrequent – reunions by said acts, adding to activity from the likes of Suede and Supergrass to name but a few.
Yet it’s hard to deny there does seem to be something in the air. 2024 has already delivered new albums from bands who – while not changing the culture – did provide some classic anthems. A (fully) reunited Kula Shakur have been earning plaudits with their latest effort and, remarkably, Shed Seven hit the top spot at the sixth attempt. Can Cast, proponents of timeless songs and cosmic spirits, follow suit?
In a just world, they will. In his recent interview with Live4Ever, John Power – singer, songwriter and guitarist – declared he had considered what made debut records so exciting; namely the galvanizing energy from what could be the only chance to make an impression. Mission accomplished: there have been other moments in the past (such as 2017’s Do That) but on Love Is The Call, Cast appear to have more intent than at any other point this century.
https://www.live4ever.uk.com/2024/02/review-cast-love-is-the-call/
Interview - John Power, Cast
Debut albums are both a curse and a blessing for musicians.
The adage about having all your life to write your debut is true (to a certain extent), but it runs deeper than that. To capture the energy, enthusiasm and passion that can only come from the first attempt is a thankless, if not impossible task.
Think then how it feels to be John Power. With not one, but two iconic debut albums (The La’s and All Change) under his belt before his 29th birthday, the Cast frontman knows a thing or two about what it takes to make a first impression. So, when he says his band’s new album captures that elusive magic, you’d better pay attention.
“I wanted to capture the energy of a debut, not in a novel way but in the sense that I was thinking about why they were so exciting,” says the Liverpudlian of new album Love Is The Call. “If I was going write a debut record for the band, how would it sound? It would be this record.”
“It’s got that energy but it’s also got an understanding and a wistfulness about living a life. It’s not like, ‘Hey, we’re here! We’ve got it all ahead of us’. I had to dig deeper for the fundamental ideas, and so – as I was thinking like that – I found this little niche of where I was between the two seminal records. There was a space between those two moments in my life where I hadn’t expressed the merging of them whilst not parodying either of them.”
https://www.live4ever.uk.com/2024/02/live4ever-interview-john-power-cast/
Interview - Gruff Rhys
Despite over 40 years of experience in the music game, Gruff Rhys’ prolificity remains undiminished. Released last week, Sadness Sets Me Free is the Welshman’s eighth solo album and the twenty fifth album on which he is listed as a contributor.
Much has been of the achievement, but when speaking with Clash, Rhys admits that such details mean little to him: “(The number of albums) didn’t occur to me at all. I was sure I’d done more than 20 but I didn’t know the number. I don’t claim them all as my own. They are the works of bands and a lot of collaboration, but I’ve had a part in all those records.”
“I feel incredibly lucky to be allowed to make records and I really appreciate every moment of getting to document music. But when it comes to recording an album, I’m still learning and I feel I’m on a journey to somewhere to try and find a unique place. Ultimately, I’m happy to release the residue until then!”
His latest album is the latest step in a storied career that has taken in bands, soundtracks, and, as stated, collaborations spanning multiple genres (often on the same song). Yet Sadness Sets Me Free is arguably his most unified collection, which Rhys acknowledges took a concerted effort to achieve. “I’m trying to make coherent albums because I’m a bit of a magpie, musically,” he admits. “I tend to get drawn into different production styles, sometimes on the same records, so I’m trying to keep that in check and make coherent albums from start to finish.”
https://www.clashmusic.com/features/im-still-learning-gruff-rhys-interviewed/
U2 - Live at The Sphere, Las Vegas - 26th January 2024
Photo by Rich Fury
U2 do not shy away from big.
The four-piece are the one of the biggest stadium acts of all time, second only to The Rolling Stones, but – unlike Mick and co – have pushed the boundaries of what can be achieved within the format.
From the pioneering Zoo TV tour in the early 90s, the overly extravagant PopMart shows in 97/98, the ‘Claw’ shows of 2009 through to 2018’s Innocence + Experience shows (which included the band walking through a 96-feet long screen), their M.O has always been about making each night An Event.
But. This time ¾ of the band (Larry Mullen Jnr absent because of a back injury) are competing with the venue: the brand new Sphere is a technological marvel, 516ft wide, 366ft tall and comprising of an LED screen of over 268 million pixels. Even as you enter, with only a DJ and a (purposefully) uninspiring backdrop of brickwork (perhaps a nod to the Berlin Wall, see below) the sheer scale of the venue is breathtaking. It will be in place long after U2 have completed their residency, each artist who follows undoubtedly putting their own stamp on the place.
That said, U2 get first crack and – no fools – have brought their A-game in the form of one of their best albums, Achtung Baby, their ‘chopping down of The Joshua Tree’.
They take to the stark stage (the sound comes directly through the screens) and, after a hymnal opening, Bono pointedly applies his famous ‘Fly’ sunglasses, the booming drums of ‘Zoo Station’ soundtracking the ‘wall’ crumbling before it splits open into a huge, venue-filling cross.
https://www.live4ever.uk.com/2024/01/review-u2-live-at-the-sphere-vegas/
The Smile - Wall Of Eyes
Review: The Smile – Wall Of Eyes
Live4ever 24 January, 2024
8/10
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A CHANGE IN PRODUCER HASN’T RESULTED IN THE ABANDONMENT OF THE SMILE’S RAGE AND FUNK.
For Radiohead fans, the announcements of side-projects/solo albums are a mixed blessing.
On the one hand, new music from whichever member of the band is exciting, but tempered by the knowledge that the next Radiohead album gets that little bit further away (eight years and counting).
But out of all those projects, The Smile comes closest, not least because of the presence of two members. The first album from the trio (Thom Yorke, Jonny Greenwood and Sons Of Kemet’s Tom Skinner) was a welcome treat two years ago, with A Light For Attracting Attention topping many End Of Year lists, and the rapid release of its successor Wall Of Eyes comes with high expectations.
A change in producer (long-time collaborator Nigel Godrich has stepped aside, replaced by Sam Petts-Davis, Yorke’s Suspiria co-producer) hasn’t resulted in the abandonment of the rage and the funk, but added more textures to the sonics. The title-track is bossa nova fused with Yorke’s trademark isolationism and despair (‘Let’s raise our glasses to what we don’t deserve’), all pleading strings and tumbling percussion which collide hypnotically. ‘Teleharmonic’ follows suit while adding fluttering flutes and unearthly synths, the type of restlessly dark beauty which Yorke specialises in yet never utilises carelessly.
His lyrics are as generally oblique as ever, hiding an obvious line amidst puzzling ones. ‘This goes where it wants to be’, he spikily proffers on the salty ‘Read The Room’, aptly for a song on which Skinner interrupts his laid-back beat with a series of staggeringly complex fills, pushing the rhythm to its natural limits. The drummer’s playing is so loose it borders on casual, yet he’s perennially in control while Greenwood’s fractured arpeggios complement his old friend’s brattish tones.
https://www.live4ever.uk.com/2024/01/review-the-smile-wall-of-eyes/
Secrets I Can’t Keep: The Best Songs Of James
One of the UK’s longest-serving and – more importantly – one of its most consistent bands, James announced their return this week via new single ‘Is This Love,’ with 18th studio album Yummy to follow later in 2024.
After celebrating their 40th anniversary in 2022 and reworking their songs orchestrally on last year’s Be Opened By The Wonderful, Tim Booth and his colleagues are once again looking forward. But, as we must wait for what’s next, what better time for us to look back through their fearsome catalogue?
The list below is made up of the top 10 singles(ish) as chosen by this writer, but in truth it was a formidable task. Classics such as ‘Say Something,’ ‘Sit Down’ and ‘Laid’ fail to make the cut but sit just outside. In the case of the latter pair, overfamiliarity has perhaps dulled their impact, or it may simply be the adage that their best songs aren’t the best known.
In alphabetical order (for a breakdown would just be too difficult) here are their strongest singles at the time of writing.
https://www.clashmusic.com/features/secrets-i-cant-keep-james-their-10-best-songs/
Def.fo - Eternity
It’s all a bit much this time of year, isn’t it? Whether it’s the hangover from the pre-Christmas partying/stress, the lingering indulgence or loneliness of the holiday season itself or the desolate, bleak comedown which we’re now enduring (otherwise known as ‘January’).
Come then and let Tom Powell (AKA def.fo) take you away from it all. His debut album Eternity comes dripping in heritage (produced alongside his father Steve, who can list John Power and The Strands amongst his credits) with guest appearances from the legendary Michael Head (Shack, The Pale Fountains) and keys by Chris Geddes from Belle & Sebastian. Throw in Roy Marchant (M.I.A.) on mixing and Howie Weinberg (Gorillaz, Ian Brown, Super Furry Animals) on mastering and you’ve got a mixing pot to delve into.
And delving is a must, for Powell has created a psychedelic trip from sun-kissed, windswept beaches to the inner reaches of the mind. We are dropped in mid-song on opener ‘Free’, a swirling whirlpool of a track (think early Tame Impala) which has a sweet chorus but with guitars playing a different song in a different dimension, yet it works.
Then a stylistic volte-face (the first of many) on the bluesy, swaggering Circles, which glistens and sparkles and Richard Hawley-esque strings and guitar. ‘Play It Cool’ follows, all clanging cymbals and rolling riffs, a successful fusion of garage rock and dream pop.
https://www.live4ever.uk.com/2024/01/review-def-fo-eternity/
Sprints - Letter To Self
Tired are we? January blues already? Feeling a bit hungover from the festive period?
Tough. Snap out of it. And if you don’t do it yourself, then Sprints will do it for you.
Slowly but surely over the last couple of years, the Dublin-four piece have been accumulating songs and honing their craft while supporting the likes of Yard Act and Suede, alongside two well-received EPs and a sold-out show at the 800-capacity Scala. And now, for the album. Wrestling the ‘big indie hope’ mantle for themselves at the first opportunity 2024 provides is testament to both the confidence of the group and of the debut album.
For on Letter To Self, singer, guitarist and lead-songwriter Karla Chubb confronts inner turmoil head-on, one consequence of a childhood spent in Germany (after being born in Dublin), perpetually feeling out-of-step with the world. Inspired by the anger which fuelled Savages – and Jehnny Beth in particular – the album is primarily a gnarly scream at the world.
And what a scream. Chubb possesses a titanic voice and a larynx-wrecking range which is deployed sparingly but effectively across the 11 tracks, including current single ‘Shadow Of A Doubt’. More controlled and measured than much else that surrounds it (albeit no less motoring), Chubb comes to terms with suicidal thoughts emanating from past trauma – begging, ‘Can you help me stop the screams?’. Heart-breaking in sentiment yet powerful in delivery, the ethereal guitar licks give way to one of many big choruses and the song points to a healthy future.
https://www.live4ever.uk.com/2024/01/review-sprints-letter-to-self/