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By Jon Milton Links to music/features in blue. How you feeling friend? A few weeks ago, TV Priest (whose Spotify profile features those four words only) released their debut single House of York to much critical acclaim, and have followed it up with a new single ‘Runner Up’ this week. According to the band, the single is about ‘white goods, work ethic, guilt, game shows, not dancing at the Christmas party, 4 car garages, meal deals, spam folders, lotteries, carrots and sticks’ and it is excellent, post punk at its finest, beginning and ending in feedback, staccato guitar, driving rhythm section and furious vocals ‘here’s what you could have won!’. We hope to have an interview with the band sometime this week to explore the subject matter further and find out about more about them, but in the meantime, you can listen for yourself here. Another big tune out this week was the IDLES mix of ‘Switching On’. Big because both bands are of course established music heavyweights, and also because the mix itself is BIG. It’s a beast, bringing industrial 80s 12-inch remix sounds and chugging beats to what was already a great song. Powerful stuff from two bands that we’ve featured on the site in the last month. You can hear the mix here, and read the interviews here and here.  Also bringing the noise this week were SANS, whose new eponymous EP features three bruising missives. We know not much about the band, other than they’re from Bristol and released their debut album Misophonic Songs last year, but on the evidence of this, they will certainly merit further investigation and scrutiny in the future. Listen to Aztec Drips, the lead track on the EP here. Protomartyr let us in on another track from their forthcoming album this week, Michigan Hammers, snarling contemptuous vocals combined with a frantic, scampering backing. Given the three singles out to date, all of which show varied sides of the bands’ repertoire, the album should be very interesting, and certainly one to look forward to hearing.  If all that noise doesn’t float your boat, you might want to check out the new singles by Farfisa, Dream English Kid and Van Houten. We came across Manchester band Farfisa on the excellent Owed Summer charity compilation with their song Simon’s Bridge, and this week they released a new single Out of My Mind. Out of My Mind has a lovely 60’s psychedelic vibe, all jangling guitars and bright vocals reminiscent of ‘Tomorrow Never Knows’ by that old band from Liverpool everyone still goes on about.
Also based in Manchester are Dream English Kid who have released I See Red, a song that starts off like something from an Ibiza chill album from the 90’s but then morphs into brooding psychedelia to great effect. You can listen to and read about the song, and find out more about the band here. Over the other end of the M62 in Leeds Van Houten released their rather engaging lo-fi psychedelic pop single ‘Better than This’ on Friday via Come Play With Me, which you can find out more about here.
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By Mark Glenister As you may know we have been running a series of ‘Bands in Lockdown’ interviews over the past few weeks, a really simple but effective concept, I send them a list of questions and they answer at their leisure, in the case of Brooders they answered in their pyjamas! We’ve always wanted to bring you the best of the new upcoming bands, but I thought we should also remind you or in some cases introduce you to artists you may not have heard of before. I’ve known Ed Harcourt for a long time now, he was one of the first people I approached about some research for a book I was writing, that then sat untouched for years until recently the creative process hit me again, his thoughts are still important as they were 16 years ago. Back then, in the days of My Space, Ed was preparing to release his 4th Album ‘The Beautiful Lie’. His first album ‘Here be Monsters’ was nominated for a Mercury Prize in 2001. In the time since that nomination he has released a further 8 studio albums, worked with artists such as Marianne Faithful, Patti Smith & Sophie Ellis-Bextor, and for a short period had a hard-core metal band ‘Wild Boar’ whose anthemic song ‘Baby wants a Monster Truck’ lives long in my memory! Recently his new side project Loup GarouX supported Supergrass on their UK Tour, the band has Ed lined up alongside members of Gorillaz and the Feeling and is definitely the sleazy rock band he has always wanted to be part of. Due to social distancing, and not wanting Ed to suffer me bumbling along during a Video call, this interview was conducted by the medium of email and messenger chats! It’s a bit different from our normal format, as knowing Ed, I wanted to get a bit more out of him. He didn’t let me down, and the interview is insightful, honest, funny and with a slight dark side. Just like the man himself, please enjoy this interview and either rediscover or discover Ed’s back catalogue, and look out for Loup GarouX when the lockdown finally ends!  Firstly, how are you? How is the family?
Hi Mark. How are YOU?! I’m doing pretty well at the moment thank you, but I think like so many of us, being in the middle of a major pandemic has its’ dark moments. Anxiety rears its’ ugly head every now & then for both of us but is soon quashed by whichever half is less freaked out! Dramatics aside, on the whole we’re all doing fine and getting on with various projects. Some days there’s this manic energy, the artistic wheel is turning & other days there is a lethargy that one just can’t quite break out from. The kids are doing so great, being super creative and putting up with the whole thing probably much better than their parents! Do you have a daily routine, are you learning anything new as everyone else seems to be? Because our children are here the whole time, I think our routines have given way to theirs, what with home schooling etc. To be honest, what has actually given me some focus or discipline has been doing a song a day online, going out for a really long run (we’re out here in the countryside so there’s space and not many people to run into) and catching up on listening to new records whilst I’m out. The new Bob Dylan tracks have been a great soundtrack to that. I downloaded a Learn Spanish app but gave up after a day, my stupid sourdough starter completely failed and the girls in my family dyed my hair jet black, so I’ve been falling into all the predictable lockdown clichés with great ease. Are you seeing this lockdown as a time to be creative? And has it changed the way you view the industry? I’m definitely trying to be and there have been some songs already written which I’m really happy with, have been sending ideas to other artists I work with….I’m viewing parts of the industry a little differently, am certainly worried for all the grassroots venues which is why I’m trying to raise money for the Lexington and soon I’ll start on the Bush Hall. Frank Turner has been doing some incredible fund-raising for a number of venues. I can’t imagine how he feels being stuck at home, touring is his lifeblood! To be honest, I’ve become a bit of a studio hermit so not much has changed. With song writing, I just have to sit around with a fishing rod until a big one takes a bite. As regards to all the streaming services who, when they first started, having struck a devil’s deal with the major labels, well they’ve pretty much screwed songwriters (correct me if I’m wrong, but look at the stats) and artists with their paltry royalty payments; in these drastic times more than ever, we need them to change their policies and change them soon, otherwise the bottom will really fall out of everything. You’ve been doing a lot of Instagram and Facebook stuff, as well as the Lexington Gig you did last night – Have you enjoyed playing songs you may not have played for a while? Has it made you want to do a solo tour and or album? 100 %. It’s been really nice delving back into old records and songs I hadn’t even thought of for years. In a way, it’s given me a newfound desire to play live again & I am writing my next solo record…I think because I now have Loup GarouX, all my dark rock fantasies can be channelled into that project and I can now concentrate on making a good old fashioned solo piano record. Do you enjoy Social Media? Some elements of it are enjoyable & useful. I try to communicate with people, but I’m not always quick enough to the mark and am sometimes distracted to be honest. Every time I open Twitter, it feels like opening a pandora’s box of puerile playground bullying and shoving matches, so I quickly jump off it again. There’s probably an unhealthy ratio of me following the wrong people compared to friends & acquaintances. I’m not a big user of twitter. Social media can be an intermittent beacon for mediocrity, similar to reality television, where quite a few seem to think they are a critic, a singer, a painter, a photographer, a comedian. But who am I to criticise anyone’s creativity! There is so much amazing art out there too & I’ve discovered some diamonds in the rough. But I do feel it ties into the endless desire to be famous for existing. It’s potentially exhausting and nauseating. With no apparent end to the lockdown, how has the impacted the Loup Garoux Project? We’ve had to cancel forthcoming tours, we had some momentum after the Supergrass shows just before the lockdown but that has slowed down; but we’ve been finishing mixing the record via video chat with the excellent Cenzo Townshend who’s in Suffolk and it’s sounding loud, beautiful, dark and epic. We actually have a single and video we luckily made just before the lockdown coming out later this month! The album is nearly done, in fact we’re arguing about the running order as I write.. I’m really excited for people to hear this…we recorded a lot of it in the Wolf Cabin. As a fan I know how much I miss going to gigs, for the music and for the social aspect, is this something that you miss as well? I miss it so much, I totally hear you. I’ve met so many of my friends through going to gigs. I’ve met so many amazing & interesting people touring different countries too, it seems like such a distant memory now. I cannot wait to get back out there. I think this lockdown has made me realise how much I miss touring full stop. I think the lack of human contact is something that finally gets under your skin. I know some people who would say they have been self-isolating their whole lives so this is nothing, but I know deep inside, that lack of any sensory contact with people has got have a subliminal negative effect. We met a long time ago as you helped with research for the book I am finally writing (don’t ask), that day you introduced me to the delights of Tom Waits – is he your musical hero? And what sets him apart from others? He is up there in the hall of fame for me. I first heard his music when I was 18 years old and it changed my life. It made me realise I could be a songwriter. I started chronologically & I devoured his lyrics. He’s the circus ringmaster of the strange and the beautiful, the melancholy and the outlandish and once you jump aboard, you’ll never get off! His world is seen in cracked mirrors and through kaleidoscopes, he’s God and the Devil in equal measure and that to me is perfect. Also, that day you gave me a copy of the Brian Wilson book ‘I just wasn’t made for these times’ which I read countless times, and treasure. How do you view him as a songwriter? Well he’s the godly genius of melody and harmony who descended into a sad & dissonant place for too long. One of my favourite songs by him, which I covered, is called ‘Still I Dream Of It’ a truly heart-breaking piece. It captures the mundanity of his own personal imprisonment and the hell he’s been going through in such a sad & gentle way. I think out of his deep anxiety and madness he was able to create so much beauty for the world which is a difficult concept to grasp & why we must always be grateful for his existence. If you could have written one song by someone else, what would it be and why? Oh man, too many to mention. ‘Christmas Card from a Hooker in Minneapolis’ by Tom Waits is a contender. Probably ‘Wichita Lineman’ by Jimmy Webb, as made famous by the late great Glen Campbell. I wish I had written it because it contains perhaps the best couplet of all time in song, ‘And I need you more than want you & I want you for all time’ - I interviewed him once and he said he wrote the song in 5 minutes. Curses! How do you view your career? I try not to view it. I literally have no idea. It seems to have had it’s peaks and troughs, there’s not much I can do about it, it’s pretty much out of my control…I started quite young and had no idea what I was doing and how to act. I think I may have acted like an idiotic madman. I think I may have burnt a few bridges and built up a ‘reputation’ but that’s all part of life’s rich pageant I guess. Now I guess I’m a fully-fledged ‘responsible adult’…?! You have worked with some great artists, including Marianne Faithful, and you have produced a few artists as well – do you enjoy being involved in different aspects of making music? Absolutely, I love collaborating with other people. It’s always a welcome challenge. When you both finally release you’ve struck gold with a song, it’s a very rewarding feeling. Everyone’s different, there’s no particular method to it. Sometimes you can’t even get any blood from the stone though. I still get nervous at the prospect of collaboration, but it usually passes once it’s in full swing. I built my studio so I could do this very easily and at the drop of a hat, it’s such a godsend to have it at my disposal. Collaboration is unbelievably important, because you learn so much from other people and their influence and presence, it helps create your own catalysts, spawns the big and beautiful ideas, similar to reading your favourite book or hearing a quote from an affecting film or play…the stories you heard from your ancestors growing up, archives, epitaphs, old letters, cut out newspaper snippets, soaking it all up….anything goes…er I’m going off on a tangent here! Despite horrors of this pandemic, the lockdown seems to have a created a lot of really positive community action, and for once social media is being used mainly in a positive manner – Do you want life to return to normal once this is over, or would you like people to be using this time to evaluate their lives and start be part of communities and positive social change? You’re right there, I’ve seen how reliant people have been on social media, the need to reach out and to connect & also re-connect with those they haven’t talked to in months. The doom-laden spectre of the pandemic has given us a lot to reflect on that’s for sure. We’re all desperate for life to return to normal. If I have any more zoom meetings I’m going to set my laptop on fire. It’s interesting to see how the more progressive countries who don’t have toxic nationalistic wannabe strongmen have dealt with the virus. I wonder if the world can change for the good post-Covid 19, the cynic in me thinks my optimism may be misguided idealism. At the moment it feels like confusion has been created in order to deflect from the failures of this government. Back to your question - there have been some incredible online campaigns and stories as a result of these dire circumstances, the Save Our Venues campaign being one fine example, having already raised over £1million for some of these grassroots venues…but they’re far from being out of the woods so we have to keep going. So not only are these online communities crucial to our well-being - especially with the communicative & compassionate aspect being so important for people, who are suffering from mental health issues. By Jon Milton It’s a curious beast, this new single from Dream English Kid. It starts off with a shuffling beat that wouldn’t be out of place on a Café Del Mar compilation, in comes the shoe gaze guitar, then the icy vocal and then, before you know it the tone of the song has completely changed into something altogether more psychedelic and menacing. You need to listen to it all the way through of course to appreciate it fully, but its well worth the listen. The band formed in Preston but now reside in Manchester and consist of Hannah Cobb (Keys & Vocals), Liam Ogburn (Bass) and Maria Toase (Guitar & Vocals). Taking their name from Birkenhead artist Mark Leckey’s Turner prize winning video piece, the group aptly describe their sound as a combination of ‘dirge-y bass, sombre organ, dreamy guitar and melancholic vocals to settle the unsettled’.  Hannah says of the single “I See Red was written a few years ago; a product of growing up in a confusing and weird world. We really tried to capture the feeling of uncertainty and darkness in the lyrics, whilst also generating this weirdly positive energy we get from feeling so lost. The drive to make something good and express a feeling which seems prevalent amongst our generation. We revived it recently and recorded, mixed and made the artwork ourselves, which is important to us as we feel like this has been the best way to capture our collective emotion within the song and keep it as our own.”
The band have been getting some great traction in the North, having shared bills with Art School Girlfriend, Porridge Radio & Stealing Sheep, amongst others, and have some solid connections both ends of the M62, so expect to see them out and about once this awful gig-free period ends. In the meantime, you can enjoy ‘I See Red’ here. By Jon Milton There seems to be a phenomenal amount of musical talent coming from in and around Leeds at the moment, including bands such Treeboy and Arc, Dense, Magick Mountain, Fuzz Lightyear, and Yard Act to name but a few. The city even has its own not for profit 7-inch singles club in Come Play With Me records, which specialises in capturing many of these promising local artists on vinyl. The latest to feature on the label is Van Houten, who release their new single ‘Better than this’ today. Better than this is a lush slice of lo-fi indie pop, pairing reflective vocals with shimmering guitars, reminding us that summer is very much on the way. Think Devendra Banhart at his best and you’ll get the picture.  Photo by Sam Joyce
Van Houten are Louis Sadler (guitars and vocals), Jake Ribton (guitars and vocals), Henry Beaumont (bass), Jake Wrigglesworth (keys) and Niall Summerton (drums). They released their debut album on Clue Records in 2019 and were named as Ones To Watch In 2020 by BBC Introducing Music. Speaking of Better Than This, Louis says “The song is about searching and working for a better life, and is hopeful in this respect. The song addresses how easy it can be for life to pass you by, especially when you're always focusing on the next step, or bigger picture. I believe this to be a relatable and universal idea, as most people have the intention to seek something better, and change their life for the better”. The song is part of a double AA single that also features ‘Into Sunlight’ by In the Morning Light, with the release supported by Arts Council England and Youth Music UK. You can listen to Better than this here. Van Houten also feature on Come Play With Me’s first 12 inch release ‘Come Stay With Me’ alongside Team Picture, Jasmine, English Teacher, Dialect, Tall Talker, Dead Naked Hippies, Magick Mountain, DENSE, Her Tilted Moons, Maya Kally, Talkboy & Household Dogs, with the bands contributing remixes, reworkings, demos and live tracks. You can find out on here. In today's Bands in Lockdown interview, Mark Glenister speaks with Harrison from Talk Show about not yet becoming fluent in French, and why it's so incredibly important that YOU post online via social media about music you like and tag the bands. Firstly, how are you? How are the rest of the band as well? Hiya, yeah good thanks just cracking on with lockdown, trying to stay positive and productive. Do you have a daily routine, are you learning anything new as everyone else seems to be? I’ve been working like it’s a normal working week, to make sure it didn’t feel like this endless Groundhog Day. To try and keep me sane I’ve started running and doing a lot of home exercise, which is definitely helping. No fluent French skills yet haha Are you seeing this lockdown as a time to be creative? And has it changed the way you view the industry? I forced myself from the very start to be productive and to write as much as I could. It was the only way I was gonna get through it- to set myself some goals. This lockdown is an extremely stressful time for so many, so I made sure to bury my head in to writing and just crack on- almost to block out the noise, and remain positive. I’m well aware of how lucky I am that I can do that. At the end of the day, I’m not a key-worker or an NHS nurse, so I’m not gonna sit here and complain about plans being cancelled, My life’s not on the line.  Photo by Matt Wilder
As a band are you doing anything for the fans? A lot of online gigs and Q&As seem to be the norm for a lot of bands, how easy or difficult is that for you as a group? How has this impacted your side projects? In the first few weeks of lockdown we decided to do one isolation session, and then wanted to move on from live streams. I fully respect the work that goes into running live stream blogs, but I get the feeling people are somewhat tired of them now. Quickly we realised we had to find new ways to remain engaged with our fans, so started tongue-in-cheek Sunday classes and an art collaboration project. We wanted to show that we’re still humans, also in lockdown, trying to make the best of it in anyway we can. Not like these idiot celebrities telling you to stay at home, whilst playing tennis in their fucking massive back gardens. With no apparent end to the lockdown, does that effect plans for tours, singles, albums? Well we released our debut EP at the very start of lockdown and had our first ever headline tour cancelled, as well as a huge number of festivals. The lockdown changes everything. Who knows when venues will open again. We’re currently drawing up a few plans to keep our momentum going, we’ve worked so hard to get to this point, I’m not stopping now. In terms of new music you’ll just have to wait and see… As a fan I know how much I miss going to gigs, for the music and for the social aspect, is this something that you miss as well? Damn right it is, for me gigging is the best bit about being in a band. It’s a proper visceral experience which you can’t emulate online. BUT, I only want to gig if it’s in a safe environment, not rushed because we’re all feeling a bit bored. How important are your fans at this time, I know and I speak from experience, a lot of merch is being purchased to help bands, and I know you have a great connection with fans generally so are they an important aspect of getting through this? Fans are unbelievably important to us, It’s why we try and be as vocal and approachable to them on social media. In pre-rona lockdown, where I would try to make sure I chat to people at the bar of the venue I now more so than ever, am trying to reply to as many people as I can online. To make sure they know it’s appreciated and that we’re incredibly grateful for the support. One of my main pieces of advice to any music fan right now, is to post about your favourite bands in anyway shape or form. Buying merch is obviously great, but DMing or tagging your favourite band on social media going “yo this is f*cking sick”, it’s a tiny gesture that really helps a lot. It shows people are out there, that care. Despite horrors of this pandemic, the lockdown seems to have a created a lot of really positive community action, and for once social media is being used mainly I a positive manner – Do you want life to return to normal once this is over, or would you like people to be using this time to evaluate their lives and start be part of communities and positive social change? Obviously, I’d love to go back to seeing my mates at the pub and what not, but the world will never go back to how it was, this pandemic will leave a mark that will last a very very long time. I just hope we realise how co-dependent we are on each other, how we all affect each other, and how we’ve got to act collectively to see real positive change. Who knows though, I’m not running the country, I’m only a singer in a band hahaha |
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