Mark.E.Smith of the Fall

Posted on January 24, 2018 by John S

It was announced tonight that Mark.E.Smith, the leader of the Fall, had died, age 60. The person who told me was Marc Riley on BBC 6 Music, who had actually been in the Fall in their early days. He got kicked out by Mark.E – who was a very curmudgeonly person – as did many other band members over the years. It must have been hard for him to talk about it tonight, because they clearly had not been friends for a long time, and yet they had deep roots together. Marc abandoned his Who’s on my T-Shirt? competition, a Wednesday staple, and mainly played Fall records in the last part of his show.

The Fall are a band that I have always been interested in, without being a massive fan of all their music. There are a few tracks I have really loved, and I wrote about them in my book, “I Was There – A Musical Journey“. This is what I said:

The Fall were – still are – an extraordinary band.  Fronted by Mark E Smith, the band otherwise features a revolving cast of characters. But the basic sound remains the same:  jagged guitar riffs, jerky bass lines, and Mark E declaiming over the top.  He’s gone a bit dancey and electronic at times; he had a short spell in the lower reaches of the pop charts in the mid-eighties; but in the end Mark E Smith has ploughed his own furrow, ranting and sometimes raving, ever obscure lyrics, always interesting. I’ve dipped in and out of The Fall’s music over the years. I’ve bought a few albums and usually found them fairly hard work.  But there have always been tracks where I’ve thought, this is brilliant! So I find the compilations have done it for me. When vinyl was still king, I picked a couple of excellent compilations covering different stages of The Fall’s life. “Palace of Swords Reversed” came out in 1987 and covered songs from 1980 to 1983. “458489 A Sides” (1990) did the same for 1984-89, as the title suggests. These and later tracks have been replicated and extended by a couple of great CD compilations: “50,000 Fall Fans Can’t Be Wrong” which covers the earlier years, and “A World Bewitched”, which does the same for the 1990s.

My favourite Fall song is “Totally Wired”, which came out in 1980. It’s a pretty basic bit of rock’n’roll in which Mark E tells us how he comes to be totally wired – drugs and coffee basically. He’s angry and worried. It’s a song on the edge.  And it has one of those magical moments, when something kicks in and takes the song onto a higher level.  In this case, after a few rants the bass switches tack and just does a deep dun-de-dun-de-dun at the end of a line.  Then does it again. It doesn’t sound like much on a page, but it hits me every time.  It’s in keeping with a lot of this music I’m including under post-punk – the bass takes on the role of a lead instrument.  Simple – we’re not talking about intricate bass solos – but singing.

From around the same time, I really liked “How I Wrote Elastic Man”. A crazed, almost rockabilly riff, and lyrics which are full of self-loathing and random connections.  I could not tell you what it all means, but it sounds like it means something.  Elastic sometimes sounds like plastic. The newspapers get a mention. So do lots of other things.  But I can’t tell you what. No matter, Mark E still isn’t happy.

The pop period – well, not exactly pop, but close – yielded some of the most memorable songs. This was second half of the eighties. It was probably because they had a bit more melody and coherence.  Not better than the rest, but easier to relate to. Still left field, quirky, but more rooted in the music of the time.  The biggest hit was “There’s a Ghost in My House”, a fairly straight cover of the R. Dean Taylor original from ‘74, which reached No 30 in 1987.  Yeah, biggest hit No 30. I was a bit surprised when I checked that: I’d have guessed it was something like No 8.  It was certainly on the radio a lot. The next biggest hit, reaching the dizzy heights of No 35, was also a cover: a version of The Kinks’ “Victoria”.  Again pretty faithful.  It was just typical that biggest hits for such a distinctive and challenging band as The Fall should be cover versions. The pop period included a number of other songs which invited you to dance and sing along – in an arsey kind of way, of course. Songs like “Hey Luciani”, “Telephone Thing”, “Mr Pharmacist”, “Hit the North”. The latter had a brilliant B-side called “Australians in Europe”. A fast-paced punky thing.  Didn’t say an awful lot more than Australians in Europe, but aligned to the music it conjured up all sorts of images.  And it just amused me that this might be something that Mark E Smith was agitated about.

That was the essence of The Fall. Agitation. Jerky, aggressive music, sometimes danceable. Angry or bewildered or totally obscure lyrics, delivered in Mark E’s shouty fashion. Always issuing a challenge – this is me, take it or leave it. John Peel loved the band and supported them until the day he died. I can see why, and the tunes I’ve described here are real favourites.

As I said in the book, my favourite tune is “Totally Wired”. There’s no official video that I can see, but this one has the studio recording of the song.

Thinking about it, one of my new favourite bands, Goat Girl, sound like the Fall may have been an influence – certainly “How I Wrote Elastic Man”. Mark.E.Smith’s legacy will live on.

Posted in Music - concerts, lists, reflections | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Dolores O’Riordan of the Cranberries

Posted on January 19, 2018 by John S

I was sad to hear of the death, at such an early age, of Dolores O’Riordan this week. The reports in the Guardian suggested that she had had quite a troubled life. But, in their heyday, the Cranberries, for whom she was the lead singer, made some wonderful records.

I wrote a short piece about the Cranberries in my music book, “I Was There – A Musical Journey” in my chapter on celtic soul. This is what I said at the time:

Another band who had a good spell in the early-to-mid-nineties was The Cranberries. In fact, they sold shed loads of records: first with their 1993 debut, “Everybody Else is doing it, so Why Can’t We?” and then the follow up in 1994, “No Need to Argue”. They had an epic rock sound with catchy choruses and a bit of Irish passion – their singer Dolores O’Riordan sang with a distinctively Irish accent. “Linger” and “Dreams” off the first album were memorable singles, and the second featured the impassioned “Zombie”.  Aimed at the supporters of violence in Ireland, it was knocked by the critics as naive and oversimplified; but O’Riordan sang with a genuine rage and angst which I found impressive.  It was easy to write The Cranberries off as U2-lite, but there was a real depth and passion to their music, as well as a light touch to their melodies which made them deservedly big for a few years in the nineties.  Listen to some of the indie bands with big choruses, made for the stadium, in recent years, like Snow Patrol and Travis, even Coldplay, and you might agree that The Cranberries got to the same place a little earlier.

I still love those three tracks, and listening to “Dreams” this morning, by chance, on my iPod, I thought Alvvays must have been influenced by their sound.

Zombie was mocked at the time it came out, but I always liked it.

And “Linger” completed the trio.

So rest in peace, Dolores. You made some music that really moved people, me included.

Posted in Music - concerts, lists, reflections | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Sportsthoughts (161). Premier League 2017-18 predictions – half time report

Posted on January 6, 2018 by John S

So, the mad Christmas/ New Year fixture pile up is over, managers have had their moan about the strains it puts on the players (they have a point) and attention turns, briefly, to the FA Cup, where most Premier League clubs will field at least half a reserve team against doughty opponents from the lower divisions.

Time to take stock of those Premier League 2017-18 predictions!

We’re 22 games in, so a bit more than halfway through the 38 game season. But with the Christmas fog clearing, there’s a sharper picture.

And we must start with Man City. They were my tip to win the league, and right now, they are looking unstoppable.  They are playing football that is on a different level to everyone else. After an awkward first season, Pep Guardiola has adapted his Barcelona template to the Premier League, and has his team playing in the style to which he is accustomed – the blaugrana way.  And it is a joy to watch, especially when de Bruyne and Silva weave their magic in midfield, ably assisted by perhaps the surprise success in the City team, Raheem Sterling. Pep has done something for his confidence in front of goal, and he just can’t stop scoring. Aguero, Sane and Jesus – the three on rotation – have weighed in with their fair share of goals too, often tap-ins, after the aforementioned three have carved up the opposition defence with their incisive passing and movement. Yes, Manchester City are a pleasure to behold at the moment.

It’s not just the attack though. Guardiola bought well in defence too. Kyle Walker is a good asset bombing forward (as Mendy was until he got injured) but the key signing was the Brazilian goalkeeper, Ederson. He has been outstanding, and brave, when called upon. And that gives the whole defence confidence, even though Vincent Kompany has missed most of the season, and may be reaching the point when his time is up.

So, City are 15 points clear at this stage, have scored 64 goals in 22 games and have a goal difference of 51. They have not yet lost a game, and until they drew 0-0 with Palace, had won 18 games in a row. Remarkable statistics – so are they invincible? Can any team hope to catch them? I’d say the answers to both those questions is no. Someone will beat them – Palace almost did. But, unless injuries ravage the team, I can’t see any of their rivals wiping out that 15 point gap. And I daresay Pep will strengthen the squad further this month, starting with a new centre back – money is no object.

Second, in both my predictions and the current table, are City’s grumpy neighbours, Man Utd. Manager Jose Mourinho seems especially tetchy. He knows his mega-spending, and his management, have not been good enough to keep pace with the blue side of Manchester. His tactics look very out-of-date. The Guardian had an interesting article recently, suggesting that Mourinho’s notorious “third season syndrome”, when he falls out with the players and the club after initial success, has come a season early. His first season was satisfactory for starters, winning the League Cup and Europa Cup, the latter of which gave United a place in the Champions League, which they couldn’t command with their league position. But this was meant to be the season when it all fell into place. It hasn’t. They have been unlucky that Pogba has been out for long periods with injury – he has looked very good when fit, a real all-round midfield powerhouse. Lukaku has looked strong at times up front, but clueless at others. He needs more support up front. Overall, there still seems to be a lack of creativity and, at times, ambition in the team. Classic Mourinho traits when under pressure. May it stay that way.

The rest of the top six is in line with my predictions (no great insight from me there!) although only Spurs are in the place I expected – 5th. Arsenal have underachieved for all the usual reasons: great going forwards at times but with a tendency to over-elaboration; and comical in defence, especially early on in games. The 3-1 home defeat to Man Utd summed up the season. An amazing game, which they should have won about 7-1. De Gea played a blinder in goal for United, and Arsenal dropped some dreadful clangers in defence. Will it ever change? Not under Wenger, I suspect. Will they finish better than the current 6th? They can, but I don’t say that with any conviction. One silver lining in the cloud is the return to fitness and form of Jack Wilshere. He has been outstanding in recent games, bossing midfield in a way we haven’t seen for 2-3 years.  Could be good for England’s World Cup prospects, too, if he can stay in one piece. Good on ya, Jack!

Chelsea have been unspectacular, but a bit better than I expected. Morata has been a success up front, though he fluffed a lot of chances in recent games, including the mighty Hammers’ 1-0 victory over them. Cesc Fabregas has been elegant in midfield when he starts – he could add to any team in the league, except perhaps, City, who expect even their artists to defend from the front, Barca style. And Liverpool are good to watch going forward – a real Klopp team now. They are second highest scorers with 50 goals, and Salah has been sensational. I’m not sure even Klopp realised he was buying such a prolific goalscorer. Some of Liverpool’s defending has been Arsenal quality, which is why Klopp has spent an unbelievable £75m on Dutch defender, Virgil van Dijk. Previous clubs: Groningen, Celtic, Southampton. He’s got some stepping up to do, but if he tightens that Liverpool defence, I can see them challenging seriously for third or even second place. The cloud on the horizon is the likely loss of Coutinho to Barcelona, so they will need to spend big on a good replacement, both to keep the fans happy and to sustain their promise. Spurs have looked very good at times, but had a bit of a wobble before Christmas, and lost a bit of ground. They seem to have overcome the Wembley nerves now, but I wonder whether they have enough depth in the squad, especially in attacking positions. They are still highly dependent on Harry Kane for goals. He’s doing the business for sure, but he does get injured from time-to-time. I think 5th feels about right for this season.

Perhaps the biggest flop of the season has been Everton. They spent a lot of money in the summer, and I thought they’d bought well. I had them 7th. Some people thought they could break into the top six. Manager Ronald Koeman was highly rated, and viewed by some as Wenger’s natural successor at Arsenal.  The fly in the ointment was that they didn’t really replace Lukaku effectively. Rooney has scored a few, but not enough to compensate for the loss of their main striker. And it all went belly up; so badly in fact, that Koeman was sacked, and Big Sam, speciality avoiding relegation, was brought in. He’s doing the job and they are now 9th, though still only 7 points off the bottom three. So they can’t afford to relax.

Aaah, the best of the rest, I said. The happy Hammers. Settling in to the London stadium, after a difficult first season there. Some decent summer purchases. All was looking rosy. Wrong! They got off to a bad start and never looked likely to recover under Slaven Bilic, who looked increasingly forlorn at games. It’s hard to say what the low point was – there were so many. But losing 3-0 at home to Brighton must be in contention. Sadly, Slav’s departure was inevitable. I, and most West Ham fans, liked him. He had a great first season, and last season was bound to be a transition. He was passionate and articulate. But he seemed to lose the ability to give the team shape, both defensively and in attack. Confidence waned and the players didn’t seem to be playing for each other. Record signing Arnautovic was a disaster, and seemingly a red card always waiting to happen. I was readying myself for the prospect of watching a Championship team play in the London Stadium, the home of the 2012 Olympics! The Board’s solution was to hire David Moyes, deemed a failure at Man Utd (unfairly, I thought), Real Sociedad and Sunderland. The fans were mostly negative, but I felt it might be a shrewd appointment. He was a real success at Everton, building a solid, but also quite entertaining team on a pretty low budget. And he had something to prove after recent failures. It was worth the gamble I thought. A point against Leicester in his first match. OK. But then a truly abject performance away to Everton, who were in the depths of despair, and had just been thrashed by Southampton. Nothing like playing West Ham to revive your fortunes! The R-word was uttered again. But then, a transformation. Away to Man City. I feared a bloodbath. I checked the odds on a 6-0 City win. A miserly 18 to 1. City were 9 to 1 on to win! I watched the game with friends in the pub, including two City fans. West Ham started superbly. Defensive discipline, hard pressing, and a well-taken goal. 1-0 up at half time. In the second half City started to weave their Barca magic. West Ham started to tire and eventually conceded two. But they had a great chance to equalise near the end, which they didn’t take. So they lost, but emerged with great credit. And since then it has been mostly good, with that magnificent win against Chelsea, a 3-0 away win at Stoke and creditable draws against Arsenal and Spurs. They now have a run of games against teams in a similar position to them (15th right now, but only five points behind Everton). They must take advantage. Or the drop could still be in prospect.

The surprised success of the season has been Burnley. They currently lie 7th ; I had them down for relegation! Their defence and home form has been the foundation. Sean Dyche has them playing with real discipline. Simple, old style football. Not pretty, but very effective when done well. They have only scored 19 goals (West Ham have 25), but have only conceded 19 too. So a 1-0 or 0-0 is most likely what you get when you watch Burnley. I’m sure their fans are happy. Their biggest challenge might be holding on to their manager, who gets mentioned whenever a Premier League coach gets the boot. I’m not sure they’ll sustain their form at the current level, but a top ten finish looks a reasonable prospect.

Credit too to Huddersfield, who I confidently predicted would finish rock bottom. They have a very good manager. David Wagner, and play with real passion. They’ve been tonked a couple of times, but beat Man Utd for the first time since 1952, and have maintained pretty good home form. I think they could slide as the season wears on, but they keep on getting results. Crunch game next week against West Ham at the John Smith’s stadium. If the Irons win (a big if) they will go above th’ Udders – it’s a dogfight for all the teams in the bottom half. Four points separate Huddersfield in 11th from Stoke in 18th.

Six Premier League managers have lost their jobs this season – a third of the total. A poor start, still wobbling in December: you have to go, so a new manager gets to spend whatever transfer funds are available in the January window. The first sacking was Frank de Boer at Crystal Palace, after four straight defeats in the league. I said in my predictions that “Palace may benefit from the management skills of Frank de Boer – or else they will be so baffled by his Dutch sophistication they’ll be relegated!” It was looking like the latter, so off he went, replaced by underwhelming ex-England manager, Roy Hodgson. He had a poor start – the defeats continued – but he has slowly turned it around, after an intial victory against Chelsea, of all teams. Palace now lie 14th, on the same points, 22, as West Ham. So, well done Roy.

Who will be the seventh casualty? Bookies favourite is Mark Hughes, at Stoke: 5 to 1 on! They are on a terrible run, and he seems at a loss. The fans seem to have turned against him. Stoke have a knack of clawing their way back up the table after a wobble, so will they just do that again? Quite possibly, but if I were a Stoke fan, I’d be very worried right now. Likewise West Brom. New manager Alan Pardew hasn’t been able to turn things round yet, since taking over from Tony Pulis. He could run out of time. I’m a bit surprised about West Brom’s fate. I thought Pulis would keep them solid mid-table. Boring, but effective. But they hit a bad run and couldn’t break out of it. Good news for West Ham, I guess.

So, on the predictions front, I’ll keep my top six, with City to the fore. Liverpool higher than 6th, and Arsenal lower than 3rd. As for relegation, I’ll stick with Swansea and (just about) Huddersfield, but add West Brom, in place of Burnley. And keep my fingers crossed that David Moyes has permanently rediscovered his Evertonian muse…

Team to watch in the second half of the season? How about Leicester? As long as they hold on to Mahrez.

Posted in Sportsthoughts | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Have You Heard? – (86) “Alternative Facts” by Mush

Posted on January 6, 2018 by John S

Mush are a slacker indie band from Leeds. I don’t know a lot about them, except that when I first heard “Alternative Facts” on Marc Riley a few months ago, I was immediately captivated, both by the ridiculously catchy riff and the droll lyrics about what we now lovingly call fake news. I thought they must be American – probably from New York. It had to be a diatribe against Donald Trump. The latter is probably right, but they’re Yorkies rather than New Yorkers.

I didn’t hear the song again for a while, as it only seems to have been available as a limited edition single on the Too Pure Singles Club, which sends you a 7 inch single every month for an annual subscription (I now know). Marc Riley played it a couple of times just before Christmas – I think the band may have done a session for his 6 Music show, and it was one of his highlights of the year. Rightly so. The song also featured in Loud and Quiet’s top tracks of 2017, although it didn’t make it on to their Spotlify playlist (which is very good) as the song isn’t on Spotify! A shame, but you can hear it on Soundcloud – link below. Beware, it is nearly ten minutes long, and could end happily enough at the false ending, about 7.20 minutes in. But do have a listen – it reminds me in different places to the likes of Parquet Courts, The Fall, DUDS and the Velvet Underground. These are good bands to sound like! You could probably chuck in loads of 80s post-punk references too.

Hopefully “Alternative Facts” will get a wider release at some point – I assume there will be an album from Mush in the future. One to watch out for.

Posted in Music - Have You Heard? | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

lovelondonscenes 140 – An Urban Sunset

Posted on January 4, 2018 by John S

I took these photos  on a Sunday in late November in Northfields, where I live. It had been one of those sunny, cold, crisp days, and a decent sunset was nailed on, looking west. This is what I saw.

 

Posted in London, Photos - lovelondonscenes | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Have you Heard? – (85) “Honey” by Pumarosa

Posted on January 2, 2018 by John S

As we move into the new year, this is the tune I’m loving most. Pumarosa are quite a new band. They are great live. I saw them at Village Underground in Shoreditch in 2016 and Latitude before that. Singer Isabel Munoz-Newsome has a real presence, live. This song, “Honey” is my favourite. It’s on their recent album, “The Witch”, which is mostly a bit more stately than “Honey” and rather grandiose. My other favourite Pumarosa song is “Cecile”, which, surprisingly, is not on the album.

“Honey” has some of the grandeur of Savages, but also some awesome solo guitar. I really love the way it builds and then wigs out.  There’s  a bit of U2’s Edge in there – that is definitely OK by me.

The official video below doesn’t really need the lyrics plastered over it – they aren’t that profound. But it’s a good way to hear the song. I’ve included a band performance too.

I do think this band have serious prospects, but we shall see…

Posted in Music - Have You Heard? | Tagged , | Leave a comment

A soundtrack for the New Year!

Posted on January 1, 2018 by John S

A happy New Year to you all. Hope 2018 is a good one for you. And let’s hope some sanity returns to politics.

I rustled this playlist up on Spotify for a bit of the New Year’s Eve celebrations. A no-nonsense, (mostly) upbeat collection of indie, punk and new wave. Each one a classic – even the new ones!  Give it a go.

Posted in Music - concerts, lists, reflections | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

2017 – A Year in Music

Posted on December 24, 2017 by John S

U2 at Twickenham

I say the same about every year – it’s been brilliant. Because every year is briiliant. You read all this stuff about indie, for example, going through a rubbish time. But if you actually listen to it, listen to BBC 6 Music, or go down to Rough Trade records, or just check Spotify, you will know that the negative comments are absolute crap, unless you start with your conclusion and then look for examples that back up your assertion. And the same applies to every other type of music. Things go in and out of fashion. If something is out of fashion, journalists bewail its decline, but all that has happened is that they have decided it’s out of fashion. Everyone else carries on liking it, and, if they are so inclined, seeking out the bands that are always emerging.

So 2017 has been great!

There is something that has happened to me, though. I’ve gone completely out of synch with the publications that have informed me about so much of my music over the years, principally the NME and the Guardian. The NME today is largely just a free publicity sheet, but it still has its finger on the pulse; and the Guardian increasingly seems to be trying to get down with a combination of Shoreditch and Brixton hipsters. In both cases, I’ve only bought 2 of their top 10. It used to be as high as 8 in the past. So, have I changed, or is it them? Both probably. I’m still excited mainly by new music, but I guess most of it has an indie or folk base. The Guardian has joined the dance/pop/ R&B/rap movement in a big way. These things have all merged today, and I still like individual tracks from all those genres. But whole albums don’t often do it for me. I’m not sure they ever did, even when I was most interested in dance and rap, which was in the 80s and 90s.

I spent quite a lot of today listening to playlists on Spotify from various publications, including a Guardian/Observer top 100 tracks of 2017. (I had a nice, easy, minimal commitments day).  Eventually it drove me bonkers. I was ranting (inwardly) – I’ve heard this all before; it’s so boring; yeah, OK, I’ve lost touch.

So then I went back to my own top ten (plus) compilation and said, yes! Love it! Been a great year.

So what has been great for me?

Well, for start, I’ve been to around 35 gigs, and three festivals. And that’s where I really get my inspiration.

View from the main bridge at Latitude. Love those pink sheep!

The festivals are the centrepieces of the year, and they are, for obvious reasons, in the summer. Latitude, End of the Road, and, for the first time this year, Field Day. All with my good friend Jon G, plus some family and friends for Latitude. Field Day, in Victoria park, Hackney,was a one dayer. My highlights were Slowdive, Thee Oh Sees and Julia Jacklin, but there were some great rappers and dance acts, which I caught snippets of.  Sadly, it was also the night that Islamist terrorists attacked London Bridge and Borough Market. End of the Road was fantastic for the Thursday night and Friday and Saturday. I had a back problem, which held me back a bit, but it was a real joy. Highlights included Car Seat Headrest, Jens Lekman, Slowdive (again!), Ryley Walker, Alvvays, Lowtide (an Aussie shoegaze band), Goat Girl and DUDS. We skipped Sunday, as torrential rain was forecast for the whole day.

Slowdive at End of the Road, The Woods (main) Stage

Latitiude, of course, was the best. Partly because it’s where our kids and their friends come along too. I’ll always remember the wonderful moment on Sunday night/Monday morning, about 1.30am, when we sat outside the tents, sipping Jack Daniels, and sharing our experiences of the festival. Musical highlights were almost too many to be highlights. Honeyblood were the best, of course; but others included: Julia Jacklin, Catherine McGrath, Japanese House, Shame, Slotface, Forest Swords, Twin Peaks, Idles, Cabbage, BEAK>, Jack Garratt, Girl Ray, Jesus and Mary Chain and Magic Gang. I mean, really, it’s all fantastic! Takes you to a higher place.

Julia Jacklin at Latitude, BBC Music Stage

Goat Girl at Latitude, Sunrise Arena

Most of the concerts I saw through the year were in London, obviously, but I did venture out to Manchester and Nottingham – twice in both cases. In Manchester, at Gorilla, I saw Car Seat Headrest and Aldlous Harding. In different ways, both were amazing. If it wasn’t for Honeyblood, I might make the Car Seat Headrest gig the best of the year. It was so uplifting! Aldous Harding’s show was all fragile beauty, with a distinct hint of weirdness, and utterly captivating.

Car Seat Headrest at Gorilla, Manchester

In Nottingham, I saw Duke Garwood at Bodega, and then, just recently, Honeyblood at the Rescue Rooms.  Duke is an amazing bluesy, Troweresque guitarist I first saw at Latitude a few years ago. His music just glides and burns. And Honeyblood finished a sequence of four concerts for me this year, for my favourite new band. Koko in Camden, Latitude, supporting White Lies in Shoreditch, and then the Rescue Rooms.  I just love them. That combination of punk, pop, celtic soul, melancholy, anger, beauty, is perfect.

Stina of Honeyblood, at Koko, Camden

A couple of other artists matched Honeyblood for gigs viewed. I saw Julia Jacklin four times: at the Scala, Shepherd’s Bush Empire, Field Day and Latitude. Had Jon and I not skipped the last day of End of the Road because of the rain, it would have been five. I love her music – it’s a folk/Americana/pop mix which really scores for me. And Catherine McGrath, a young country singer from Northern Ireland, caught my attention at Latitude, and I’ve seen her twice more since. She is someone who I think will get bigger. She has a real pop sensibility – Taylor Swift springs to mind. And I think she is getting some backing.

Catherine McGrath at Koko, Camden

Amongst the other concerts I went to, two I have to single out are Wolf Alice and London Grammar. Wolf Alice actually managed to command Alexandra Palace, which is a cavern of a place.  They rock, and make epic, almost prog sounds at times. But they have an ear for a good melody too. Ellie Rowsell is a briiliant front person – singer and guitarist. London Grammar at Brixton Academy were so atmospheric: Hannah Reid must be the best singer anywhere. There is such beauty – and melancholy – in her voice. It is completely entrancing.

Hannah Reid of London Grammar at Brixton O2 Academy

I had some awesome retro moments too. U2, playing the whole of the “Joshua Tree” and many other of the greatest songs, were just incredible, and might even win my vote as concert of the year. Bryan Ferry at Hampton Court Palace was timeless, and played a fantastic set of Roxy Music classics, going right back to the early days. Steely Dan were slick and tuneful, as you would expect, at the O2 Dome. And Steve van Zandt and his Disciples of Soul played a set of rock’n’roll and soul at the Roundhouse that was completely irresistible.

Bryan Ferry at Hampton Court Palace

On a totally different level, I finally got to see one of my favourite artists of recent times, Daisy Vaughan, in a pub in Paddington. She hasn’t followed up her wonderful album, “Light on our Limbs”, and initially seemed very nervous. I spoke to her briefly after the gig, and she doesn’t seem to have any plans for new releases, although she had some lovely new songs.  I hope she does get things together, because she is a real talent.

As is Faye Webster. What a delight to discover her – third on the bill to Julia Jacklin at Shepherd’s Bush. Her album “Faye Webster” is a wonderful concoction of country and 70s west coast pop – from Atlanta. If the music journos in this country were doing their job, rather than just trying to be in with the mainstream cool, they would surely have spotted this one.

Faye Webster at Shepherd’s Bush O2 Empire

I saw two great retrospectives this year in London. Pink Floyd at the Victoria and Albert Museum was really good. Some amazing sets of famous albums, loads of fascinating videos, and musical equipment for the geeks. You had these headphones which changed soundtrack as you walked around. Then Prince at the O2. Wasn’t quite as high-tech as Pink Floyd, but there were even more videos, which just reminded you what a great artist Prince was. A total celebration.

This is it. We can celebrate the past, enjoy the present and look forward to the future – the up and coming bands. Of the ones that I really like, I think the best chances are with Catherine McGrath, who may get some promoters behind her, and Pumarosa, who have a bit of an epic sound, which I think will win increasing numbers over. Honeyblood are the best, but with a traditional punky rock’n’pop sound, I suspect it will be a struggle to get the media to pay a lot of attention. So it will all be down to hard gigging – it can work.  And maybe they’ll have to expand their sound by getting a bassist and even keyboard player in. It’s always going to be hard to cover all the bases with only two people.  “Babes Never Die” is one of the greatest albums of all time for me, but I haven’t yet been able to persuade many other people about its brilliance. I wish Stina and Cat teh best of luck in 2018.

Honeyblood at Latitude, Sunrise Arena

Looking ahead, I’ve already got quite a few concerts lined up. A couple of Catherine McGrath – headlining for the first time in London venues – Alvvays, Palace Winter, Mary Epworth and Aldous Harding. Ghengar are back too, armed with a new album, which I can’t wait to hear. Plus, in the summer, The National and War on Drugs are playing on the same bill at at Points East, which is replacing Field Day in Victoria Park. Seems a shame that Field Day is no more, but it was a competitive tender, apparently.  Do we want economics to trump music? No. But I guess you give the new people the benefit of the doubt. They’ve lined up some decent bands in addition to the national and war on Drugs, including the XX and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds.

Money, money, money. Occasionally I get asked if I want to go to some retro thing which is going to cost in the region of £70-100. Mostly I think, no thanks. (U2 was a lot more than that, but that was special.) So many of the great gigs I go to are in the £10-15 range. Bands making their way. Passionate, maybe not the finished article, but full of everything that is good about rock’n’roll, about music. I’m sure my 2018 will be mostly about them, especially once Latitude and End of the Road point me in some new directions. It’s the best music.

PS. If you’d like to read about my top albums of 2017 and hear my selection of favourite songs from the year,  it’s all  here.

You can read about all the concerts and festivals  I have mentioned in this blog in my Music – concerts, lists, reflections section.

Posted in Music - concerts, lists, reflections | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Honeyblood at the Rescue Rooms, Nottingham, 19 December 2017

Posted on December 20, 2017 by John S

If you’ve read my top ten albums of the year, and any number of other blogs, you’ll know that Honeyblood are my favourite new band. Actually they’ve been going for a while, but their second album, “Babes Never Die” has been a bit of a breakthrough. They’ve been on a mini-tour just before Christmas which didn’t include London, and I felt I should see them one more time before they go to ground for a while: maybe to make a new album, or perhaps tour abroad- most likely the US. So I chose Nottingham, only two hours on the train from London, and a city I’m fond of, after my son Kieran went to University there.

Headlining, Stina and Cat had the chance to play a full set. That’s great, because it meant we got the beautiful trilogy of “Walking at Midnight”, “Hey Stellar” and “Cruel” as well as all the rock’n’rollers. Stina introduced “Cruel” by saying it might be the last time it would be in the set. That’s a shame, as it’s my favourite song; but if it’s a personal tale, I can understand why she might want to move on.

And yeah, it was just brilliant songs all the way. They can do no wrong. The set kicked off with “Justine, Misery Queen” – what I wouldn’t do to slip a truth serum to you – and “Choker”, from the first album, followed. Then “Love is a Disease”. After that it was the aforementioned trilogy, before the rest of the set upped the tempo. “Fall Forever” was anthemic, “All Dragged Up” gloriously shouty, and “Sister Wolf” had its usual slick groove.  (They may not have been quite in that order). After which, it was truly into top gear. The defiant “Sea Hearts” featured Stina greeting Bristol instead of Nottingham, for which she got some friendly stick from Cat. “Killer Bangs” was pure rock’n’roll and the main set finished with the awesome, celebratory “Babes Never Die”.

For the encore, it was “Super Rat” – I will hate you forever – and, what else, but one of the best punky rock’n’roll songs ever, “Ready for the Magic”. There is no song more uplifting right now.

Such are the joys of music that I know I will find a whole new lot of bands to get excited about in 2018. But Honeyblood will remain, I’m certain of that. “Babes Never Die” has unquestionably forced its way into my top ten of all time, and probably top five. Nothing else in recent times has quite managed that. 

And live, they never fail to deliver. I hope 2018 will be when they get the full recognition they deserve.  

But for now, the sound of 2017 , for me, is Honeyblood.

 

Posted in Music - concerts, lists, reflections | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

My Top Ten Albums of 2017

Posted on December 11, 2017 by John S

Another great year of music, but actually quite an easy one in which to pick my top ten. They are just the ones I’ve played most. Just recently I’ve been trying to catch up with albums I’ve missed, either through ignorance or inertia. And some have been good, but none have demanded a place in the ten. And that includes U2. I listened to “Songs of Experience” on Spotify last weekend, and found it dull and formulaic in the extreme. I don’t think I’ve ever thought that about a U2 album before and I will give it a few more goes. Maybe it will reveal itself to me – but not in time for the 2017 top ten.

I’ve cheated just a little this year – there are records in this list which were released in 2016 – but late on, and I didn’t come across them until 2017, so as far as I’m concerned they count! And that applies to the No1, which can only be…

No 1 – “Babes Never Die” by Honeyblood

I love this album so much. Every track. It feels like I’ve listened to it more than all others combined, and I’m still coming back to it. For me it has everything: punk energy  (“Babes Never Die”, “Ready for the Magic”,”Sea Hearts” – what an opening trio), pop melody “Justine, Misery Queen”), haunting beauty (“Walking at Midnight”), social observation (“Gangs”); and then, the two most resonant songs of all – “Hey, Stellar” a truly uplifting break up anthem, poignant and liberating; and “Cruel”, a moving, messed-up love song, full of self-loathing and desire, with a lovely simple guitar motif. It’s those last two in particular where that phrase I use quite a lot, celtic soul, really comes into play. The band are brilliant live, too. Just the two of them: Stina on guitar and vocals and Cat on the drums. In the short festival sets, like the one I saw at Latitude, they concentrate on the rock’n’roll – from this album and their eponymous first, from 2014 (how did I not hear that?) – and it is an absolute, energy-laden joy. I saw a full set at Koko in Camden, and that was one of my best concerts of the year. I’m popping up to Nottingham Rescue Rooms on 19 December to see them play. It will be a fitting last concert for me in a great year of concerts, by the best band of 2017.

No 2 – “Party” by Aldous Harding

Aldous Harding’s music has been described as gothic folk.  I think you could say that about her debut from 2014, but “Party” is a much more varied piece, which conjures up comparisons with Bjork. Tori Amos, Joanna Newsom and any number of jazz torch singers, as well as the darker side of folk music. It’s an extraordinary, intriguing album, as Aldous’s voice ranges from a deep jazzy hue to something closer to a young child. A simple guitar underpins most of the songs, but electronics subtly alter the tempo of some of the tunes. And the lyrics – well, they are never less than interesting and are sometimes downright weird. There are some fascinating thoughts going on inside Aldous Harding’s head. So, it’s an album full of beautiful melodies, but with a fragility, an angst behind them. Live she is captivating. The songs move slowly, tentatively, easily broken. There’s something edgy about the performance – and entrancing. Favourite songs on the album include the wonderfully bizarre “Party”, “Living the Classics”, “Blend” and her best known song, “Horizon”. But the whole piece is a thing of real beauty, which bears many listens.

No 3 – “Visions of a Life” by Wolf Alice

It’s a funny thing with Wolf Alice albums (well, the two of them) – on the first listen, you think, this is OK, nothing special. And then, after two or three listens, all these melodies, big guitars, surging choruses, reveal themselves to you, and you think, this is brilliant. So yeah, this is brilliant. My appreciation was enhanced recently by seeing them live at Alexandra Palace. It’s a cavernous hall and they absolutely filled the space with sound and fury. It was a superb concert – they have really mastered the dynamics of live performance. “Visions of a Life”, in places, has quite a 70s rock style, updated of course. On things like the title track, the dread word, prog, has even entered my musings. The opening four tracks are indicative: “Heavenward” grandly atmospheric, “Yuk Foo” an angry punk thrash, “Beautifully Unconventional” one of those 70s tunes, but very catchy and great live, “Don’t Delete the Kisses” a sugary, electro pop anthem, with a hint of Pet Shop Boys in the verse. They demonstrate the range of music that Wolf Alice cover. This is an album that works in big venues, and, no doubt, has been written with that in mind. The only way for Wolf Alice is up.

No 4 – “One/ Starting from Now/ Talk of This Town” by Catherine McGrath

This is a collection of EPs and singles, the first of which came out in December 2016. Enough to count as an album! Catherine McGrath is a young Northern Irish country singer, with a pop sensibility. You can hear the Taylor Swift in some of her songs. I’d not heard of her until I went to Latitude in July. I was looking for people to check out in the early afternoon, and liked the blurb about her, with comparisons to Kacey Musgraves. There was a good crowd in the Alcove, a venue for new bands. And she went down really well. I loved it. Great songs, beautifully sung. And she told some funny stories in between songs. It’s nice to have an artist who engages with the audience in that way. When I got back from Latitude, I downloaded her first EPs, and couldn’t stop listening to them. Such beautiful, wistful songs, but with that pop edge. They are all about relationships – starting, not sure, ending, defiant, or more than one of those. I guess my two favourites are the lovely, hopeful “Cinderella” and the feisty “Hell Would Have to Freeze Over”. Since Latitude we’ve had “Talk of this Town”, which is all about her aspirations in the face of her doubters back home and “Thought it was Gonna be Me”, which I haven’t listened to properly yet. I’ve seen her live a couple of times since – one a showcase event, where she got to sing her full range of songs, and then one where she was support. Both were excellent, and with the second, she’d gone electric, with a full band. She has a couple of headline shows booked for London, in March and May. The first sold out in 24 hours. People are catching on to Catherine McGrath.

No 5 – “Truth is a Beautiful Thing” by London Grammar

The voice of Hannah Reid, London Grammar’s singer, is a truly wondrous thing. It hardly matters what she is singing – it will always be imbued with a beautiful, captivating melancholy. But the band write good tunes too – growers. Few jump out on first listen, like “Strong” from the first album did; but they work their way into you. It’s night music, music you could happily listen to into the dark, and let the tears well in your eyes with no-one noticing. Live at Brixton Academy they were magnificent. Haunting, atmospheric, reflective, entrancing. Although she is often sitting in the shadows, you can’t take your eyes off Hannah and wonder what she is going through as she sings these songs. Album highlights are “Rooting for You” (which is extraordinary live, as she hits the high notes), “Hell to the Liars”, “Non Believers” and “Truth is a Beautiful Thing”, but this is another album which reveals something new every time. The deluxe version also has a version of the Verve’s “Bittersweet Symphony”, which is rather good.

No 6 – “Slowdive” by Slowdive

Slowdive were one of the leading shoegaze bands of the early 90s. Shoegaze was essentially bands playing dreamy melodies, with surging guitars, at a rather stately pace. While staring at their shoes, allegedly. I wasn’t that into them at the time. Slowdive re-united recently and this album is their returning statement. I love it! The ingredients are similar to before, but bigger and better, I think. I went back to their earlier albums, and I don’t think any of them are a patch on this one. That will be heresy to any true Slowdive fan, but in this case, I’m a late convert. The songs are quite magnificent, and it’s those surges of guitar, rushes of sound that feel quite anguished, emotional, that do it for me. Songs like “Star Roving”, “Don’t Know Why” and my favourite, “No Longer Making Time”. “Sugar for the Pill” has a gentler beauty at first, but the guitar still takes you into the atmosphere. On the Thursday night at End of the Road, on the main stage, under the night stars, they were heavenly.

No 7 – “Faye Webster” by Faye Webster

Back in November, I went to see Julia Jacklin at the Shepherds Bush Empire. There were two support acts, which the Empire’s Facebook page provided links to. I gave them a quick look and that’s when I first heard Faye Webster singing. It was a beautiful, simple, sad song called “Alone Again”. That gave me the incentive to see her perform rather than linger in the pub. She had a band, and came across as more indie than country, but I guess the music is a bit of both, with a large dose of 70s American West Coast pop too, even though she is from Atlanta, Georgia. This album isn’t her first – she made one when she couldn’t have been more than 16. But this one is a step up. It’s full of catchy, delicate, wistful tunes that you might feel you’ve heard before; and if you have, it might be a Fleetwood Mac or Stevie Nicks album. Now, that was never really my kind of music, though, of course, I own “Rumours”, and love it these days. So, if you like that era, you might enjoy it. This is a lovely album. The tunes are insidious. It’s that melodious steel guitar, as well as Faye’s fragile voice. As well as “Alone Again”, “She Won’t Go Away”, “I Know You” and “What’s the Point” are highlights. It’s not a world changer, but just great pop – as we used to know it!

No 8 – “Earl Grey” by Girl Ray

Like so many of the bands that I’ve got into in recent years, I first heard Girl Ray on Marc Riley’s show on BBC 6 Music, which runs from 7 to 9pm, Monday to Thursday. If I have a night at home it is compulsory listening. Girl Ray’s sound is a mixture of the jangling guitars of Velvet Underground and the melodies of what I imagine to be a French jazz-pop band. The Style Council, when they went down by the Seine, would be a model. We saw them at Latitude. My friend Steve thought the singing was a bit off-tune. And it’s not perfect, I’d agree. But that is part of the charm. It works with the music. The album is mostly those chugging riffs, overlaid with wistful melodies, with “Just Like That” and “Stupid Things” the highlights. A couple of times things branch out. “A Few Months” gets into an Isley Brothers soul-funk riff. “Earl Grey (Stuck in a Groove) is 13 minutes of the Velvets groove, and a great vehicle, live, to rock out. A recent session on Marc Riley suggested they will make some harder sounds in future. It augurs well!

No 9 – “A Deeper Understanding” by the War on Drugs

The War on Drugs’ previous album, “Lost in a Dream”, was my No 2 in 2014, and could so easily have been No 1. It was a brilliant mix of deep melancholy, plaintive vocals and awesome guitars. There were strong hints of Springsteen, Dylan and The Waterboys. What was not to like? The band’s appearance at Latitude that year was the highlight, for me. “A Deeper Understanding” takes a similar template, but extends the songs – they are all pretty long. It’s discursive, powerful in places, meandering. So the initial impact isn’t as great. But, if you give it the time, it grows, and grows. And the guitars remain magnificent. My favourites, thus far, are ”Pain” and the truly awesome “Thinking of a Place”. The latter, live at Alexandra Palace recently, was sensational. Adam Granduciel continues to sing and play the guitar like a man with a lot of pain to share. I do wonder where they go to next, but for now, this is an album which I feel still has more to reveal and is already a grand confession.

No 10 – “Antisocialites” (and “Alvvays”) by Alvvays

Alvvays are a Canadian indie band with an ear for a great melody and an engaging riff. Fronted by Molly Rankin, there are inevitable comparisons with Blondie. And my top band of 2016, Amber Arcades, have a distinct resemblance.  I first heard them at End of the Road this year. It started in my tent. I had a sore back at the festival this year, and was having a brief rest on the Saturday, about 5pm. I started to hear these melodies wafting over from the main stage. They were so good, that for a while they just kept me in the tent, wallowing in them. Then, I thought, I have to see this band. There was a huge and lively crowd – Alvvays were really having an impact. There were two albums involved – the new one “Antisocialites”, and the eponymous first, from 2014. When I listened to them later, it was the first, with songs like “Marry Me, Archie” and “Ones Who Love You”, that engaged me most. But “Antisocialites” does the business too, the more you listen to it. It still references punk, but in a tuneful way – songs like “Plimsoll Punk” and “Hey” are examples. The best two songs, for me, are “Dreams Tonite”, which is just a beautiful pop song, and the closer, “Forget About Life”, which is a potential stadium lighters-out anthem.  I’m seeing them at the Roundhouse in February next year. I think it will be a big celebration.

Near misses

As ever there are albums that could have been in the ten, if I’d listened to them a bit more. But then again, there’s a reason I didn’t – the ones I did listen to were in the way! So, top twenty candidates include: “Garden of Ashes” by Duke Garwood, “Moonshine Freeze” by This is the Kit, “Sweet Kind of Blue” by Emily Barker,  “The Witch” by Pumarosa, “Young, Dumb and Full Of…” by Cabbage, “Lotta Sea Lice” by Courtney Barnett and Kurt Vile, “Life Will See You Now” by Jens Lekman. And, of course, I must acknowledge the brilliance of Lorde’s “Melodrama” and Taylor Swift’s “Reputation”. They should probably both be in my top ten really – but who would I leave out?

I must mention Lindi Ortega’s EP “Til the Going Gets Gone”, too.  It’s a brilliant country/folk collection, in which Lindi goes back to her roots. It includes the grim but beautiful cover of a Townes van Zandt song called “Waiting Round to Die”. She’s still the best, and I can’t wait for a new album, and, hopefully, a UK tour.

Pure noisy rock’n’roll 

My top ten, apart from some punky moments from Honeyblood and Wolf Alice, is pretty mellow. But I did get momentarily excited by some great noisy tracks.  They included:

“Dream Come Now” by Honey ( a New York punk band). “White City” from 2016 is also awesome. Heard “Dream Come Now” on Iggy Pop’s 6 music show. It just rocks!

“Dissonance” by Cabbage. They are great live. This is my favourite.

“Country Sleaze” by Goat Girl. Great band, can’t wait to hear their first album, which must be soon.

“Motorbike” and “Goodbye Texas” by Flatworms. Another US band who draw on the punk legacy. A Marc Riley favourite.

Spotify playlist

43 tracks for your delectation. Three from each of the top ten plus some extras, as mentioned.

Posted in Music - Top Tens | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments