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Sheffield

Archie Baker – Casual Happiness: Timelessly Resonant Blues Rock

Posted on 9 December 2019

Archie Baker’s single “Casual Happiness” may be a unique mix of Blues and Rock, but the Soundscape from the Sheffield-based artist contains plenty of timelessly familiar appeal.

The concept of ‘causal happiness’ is beguiling in itself, so, it’s no surprise that we found ourselves incredibly enamoured by the single.

Casual Happiness emits the resonance of a track you’ve had on repeat for the last decade, yet with every seamless evolution in the serenely experimental track, you’ll be left in ardent awe. The extended Blues riffs offer an emotivity which almost allows them to feel anthropomorphic. Just why I felt a lump in my throat listening to the soaring nuanced licks I can’t be sure, but what I can be sure of is that Archie Baker is an artist which is well worth putting on your radar.

You can check out the official music video to Casual Happiness which premiered on November 7th via YouTube. Or you can add it to your Spotify playlists.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Promenade Cinema Live Review: The Ethereally Cinematic Evolution of Synth Pop

Posted on 14 February 2019

Ritual Noise, Lancaster, February 9th, 2019

Synth Pop has taken many forms since the pioneers started to lay down the synth lines, but the under the deft hands of Promenade Cinema their hauntedly striking soundscapes resonate with absolute distinction.

After hearing their debut album “Living Ghosts” and falling in love with the polished sound, there was the slight doubt that a live set would give that same cinematic indulgence which the duo is quickly becoming renowned for. The cynicism slipped away as the raw power of the vocals gelled with the melodies filling the room with their expressively magnetic sound.

With arrestive baritone vocals from Dorian reverberating around Emma’s harmonies the vocal texture allowed the candid lyricism to conjure darkly poignant imagery. Yet, unlike what you’ve grown to be accustomed to with darkwave, there’s a unique warmth with the Sheffield-based artist’s stylistic approach to their sound.

With the influence of 70s & 80s synth and film scores being fed into the undiluted emotion of their music comes with a flood of viscerally danceable euphoria. Promenade Cinema may lean on the inspiration from artists of decades past, but they’re still the safest hands for the evolution of Synth Pop to be in right now.

You can check out Promenade Cinema’s debut album Living Ghosts for yourselves by heading over to Spotify or grab yourself a copy via Bandcamp.

Follow Promenade cinema on Facebook to stay up to date with new releases and tour info.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Phobophobes Live Review: Eerily Magnetic Swampy Psych Rock n’ Roll

Posted on 6 February 2019

Night & Day, Manchester, 31st January 2019

Ever since I first heard Phobophobes’ 2015 single Advertise Your Life I’ve been hooked on the unique energy behind their sound and their stylised approach to their mesmeric snaking rhythms. The music scene isn’t exactly short of swampy psych rock, but the South London 6-piece have the distinction in their sound to bring the genre into a whole new era. And if you haven’t already joined them along for the ride, it’s probably time you got onboard.

Hearing a band that you admire so much on record can always be a daunting experience. But from the moment the concordance of their synergised instrumental arrangement hit the monitors it was evident that not one note was going to fall flat.

From the first track to the last Phobophobes had magnetic command over the crowd, it may have taken the crowd a little while to warm up (quite literally – it was freezing). But mid-way through the set, there were plenty of people fuelled by the energy of their celestially salacious tracks from their debut album “Miniature World”. Starting a mini wall of death in Night & Day isn’t an easy feat for a Rock n Roll band, but the fact that was possible speaks volumes of the visceral energy which breathed through the room.

While many bands falling into the dark Psychedelic Rock n Roll genre may see adopting a brash Rock persona as non-optional, frontman Jamie Bardolph Taylor bowled over the audience with his reserved, demure lack of aggrandized swagger. I’m pretty sure if he wanted to start a cult; many people would follow.

At first, I wasn’t quite sure how Phobophobes would match the energy of their support act FEMUR, but they were the euphonic calm after the storm. The Sheffield-based fourpiece support act created a monster with their reincarnation of Grunge laced with Psychedelia which came alive through enough distortion that the guitars may as well have been buzz saws. The whole world may be raving about IDLES right now with a blind eye to bands such as FEMUR, but the remarkable amount of volatility in their sound almost made IDLES seem comparable to Bon Jovi. But that’s something that you will have to witness for yourselves before you decide if I’m exaggerating.

Phobophobes links: Spotify, Facebook

FEMUR links: Facebook, SoundCloud

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Soapbox Marathon – Big Sad Through the Window: Concordantly Cathartic Indie Rock

Posted on 5 December 2018
When It Rains... by Soapbox Marathon

Don’t let the title to Soapbox Marathon’s latest single “Big Sad Through the Window” fool you, whilst it may seem particularly twee, the Sheffield-based band possess a synergetic energy which feeds plenty of ethereal, mature, sonorous emotion into their sound.

Even though the single may be short and sweet at 2:23-minutes long, I only needed the first verse to tell me that Soapbox Marathon possess the pioneering vision, concordant rhythm and the ability to arrange a song that you’ll want to listen to time and time again.

With haunting elements of Shoegaze, Britpop and Indie mixed with Jazzy undertones, the ethereal power of the Big Sad Through the Window won’t fail to leave you enamoured, and that’s all without mentioning the harmonious dynamics of the vocals which feed into the hypnotic melody.

You can check out Soapbox Marathon’s adorably titled latest single via Bandcamp.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

FEARS. – PDE: Euphorically Anachronistic Post Punk

Posted on 23 July 2018

For any one with a penchant for Post Punk; you’re in for an absolute treat with FEARS. latest single PDE. The Sheffield, UK based Indie Rock collective have created a sound that you will scarcely believe came out of this decade, their anachronistic undertones draw an unholy resonance to bands such as Talking Heads, The Cure, Gang of Four and the Fall. Yet, the band take their inspiration from acts such as Artic Monkeys and Foals to create a sound that is contemporarily fresh yet still containing that blissful resonance of the Post Punk era.

The funk contained in the bassline was the perfect way to introduce the track which seamlessly progresses with the inventive use of spatial effect to provide a popping, rolling, jangly rhythm which won’t fail to instil a euphorically feel-good hype. With their already radio-ready sound, I’d say it won’t be long until FEARS. are a prominent feature on BBC Radio 6, the instrumental powerhouse of musicians carry a synergy that you won’t hear from up and coming artists every day.

You can check out FEARS. latest single PDE out for yourself by heading over to YouTube now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Shy Spell Are Casting Spells

Posted on 9 December 2017

There is something of the old school disco blended with the pop end of the New Romantics at the heart of Shy Spells latest release Between Us. Not in a retro, rose-tinted or plagiaristic way, but it does seem to beat with an older, musically wiser and certainly more fun heart whilst being wrapped in slick and modern indie-dance trappings.

This is a version of the late 70’s/early 80’s that didn’t quite exist but had it done it would have fitted right in, an alternative reality that would have happened if Sheffield had been a suburb of New York and those bored kids rewiring broken synths to their musical wills had actually had a more vibrant scene to exploit and experience.

And for all it’s backward glances it still manages to be moving forward, part of the here and now rather than the rose-tinted retro brigade. For those too young to remember things first time around Shy Spell give you the chance to experience some of the cooler musical aspects of that era and this time around there isn’t a leg warmer or shoulder pad in sight.

A&R Factory Present: FALSE HEADS

Posted on 21 February 2017

Having been hailed by Iggy Pop as one of his favourite bands of the moment, declared “the future of rock n’ roll” by ex-Ramones manager Danny Fields, signed up by The Libertines drummer Gary Powell to his 25 Hour Convenience Store label, given Pete Townsend’s studio to record in, and named as one of their tips for 2017 by both Fred Perry Subculture and This Feeling, it’s fair to say that there’s a hell of a buzz swirling around the young East London trio False Heads right now.

The Independent, NME, Clash Magazine, Q Magazine, Artrocker, Drowned In Sound, BBC 6Music, Radio X, Kerrang Radio (where the band were playlisted), and BBC Radio 1’s Huw Stephens have also all waded in with support and praise for the trio’s delinquent, punk-driven assault, that finds them caught somewhere between the early grunge of Foo Fighters, the infectious songwriting of Pixies, and the snotty punk attitude of The Buzzcocks.

Following their remarkable ‘Thick Skin’ and ‘Weigh In’ single releases in 2016, False Heads went on to perform at The Roundhouse in London for the Punk Weekender event, played an acclaimed set at Camden Rocks festival, live sessions for BBC Introducing and Radio X, and were even interviewed by The New York Times. Meanwhile their avid fanbase continues to grow as the excitement around the trio builds.

False Heads will now return in 2017 with their ‘Gutter Press’ EP, featuring a string of hard-hitting tracks, including Iggy Pop favourite ‘Slew’, and two stellar new tracks ‘Twenty Nothing’ and ‘Comfort Consumption’.

The new EP delivers five tracks that capture False Heads perfect riot of energetic, leering bawdiness, and set a huge marker for a band whose remarkable rise is seemingly unstoppable. With their frenetic live shows taking on a life of their own, False Heads have also announced their first dates of 2017, with select shows across this February and March.
False Heads ‘Gutter Press’ EP will be released through 25 Hour Convenience Store on March 10th 2017. The band have also partnered with Pledge Music on the new release, with exclusive signed pre-orders on vinyl and CD, along with other merchandise, available from HERE now.

LIVE

23 Feb – MANCHESTER – Dive NQ

24 Feb – LEEDS – Milo Bar

25 Feb – SHEFFIELD – The Rocking Chair

11 Mar – LONDON – Nambucca

17 Mar – BRIGHTON – Bleach

WEBSITE / SOCIAL NETWORKS;

www.facebook.com/FalseHeads

www.falseheads.com