Skip to main content

Day: 23 May 2012

Live: The Heartbreaks @ Ruby Lounge

Written by Shauna Botrel on . Posted in Music.

The Heartbreaks
The Ruby Lounge
6th May
3 and a half stars

The Heartbreaks took to the small stage of the Ruby Lounge on Sunday the 6th May; for what also doubled as their debut album, Funtimes launch party. The energy of the four young males certainly overwhelmed the intimate venue. The rowdy crowd threw their arms and alcohol in order to praise this quirky quartet, as if they were their lifelong idols. In fact, this band is fairly new and the ensemble of their members relatively young. Too young to be considered anyone’s idol, but give it time. Their fan base is established and rapidly growing; and looking at what they have already achieved, the possibilities of their success are endless.

The set was noticeably short and lasted roughly 45 minutes. For exams, quality not quantity is emphasized and I would like to think that it applies here. The quality of the performance would get them a first class degree (from The University of Manchester, not Manchester Metropolitan).

It is difficult to listen to their music without recognising the influence of Morrissey. ‘Liar, My Dear’ is reminiscent of ‘The Last of the International Playboys’ and the opening riffs of ‘Delay, Delay’ play homage to ‘First of the Gang to Die’. That said, Morrissey must have recognised the potential within these young boys; and, last year they embarked on a prestigious support slot with him.

As an attractive, charismatic lead singer, Matthew Whitehouse must struggle to receive attention from fans, especially females. Kindly, his band mates left the stage to allow him some limelight, boosting his ego a little. He sang an acoustic version of ‘Jealous, Don’t You Know’ in which his emotion poured out though the raw vocals.

Concisely named ‘I Didn’t Think It Would Hurt to Think of You’ was the energetic finale, and proved a crowd favourite, leaving the audience singing along and the tune whirling on repeat in our heads for the remainder of the evening.

The Heartbreaks – Liar, My Dear

Live: Sounds From The Other City

Written by Thomas Short on . Posted in Music.

Sounds From the Other City
Chapel Street
6th May
4 Stars

Returning for the seventh year in a row, Salford’s Bank holiday bash has improved immeasurably from its humble beginnings while still retaining the quirkiness that made it such an intriguing prospect in the first place. The day began at Islington Mill, where early birds were presented with the bewildering sight of a dance troupe in costumes that Noel Fielding would probably like to borrow, while on stage a mustachioed woman played recorder over Casio beats. It was all getting a bit Nathan Barley, so we made a a quick sortie to the Old Pint Pot for a few tinnies by the (surprisingly clean) canal before returning to see Fear of Men. Despite being dogged by sound issues, the group valiantly performed a charming blend of Doo-wop vocals and Dinosaur jr. style riffage to a sympathetic audience.

The day then seemed to disappear as we rushed between Chapel Street’s pubs and churches, taking in the visceral, bluesy thrills of Stalking Horse, Lazer Dream Eyes’ mid 60s garage racket and a very trippy soundtrack set from experimental rockers Islet. However the real highlights came later on, with a mesmerizing hour of downbeat, jazzy electronica from Greek duo Keep Shelly in Athens, who expanded their line up with Drums, Double Bass and Guitar to great effect.

Back at the Old Pint Pot, Brooklyn glitch-hop producer Shigeto impressed his audience of beat-freaks with a set that mixed dextrous MPC manipulations with some mind-boggling live drumming, culminating with a bowel-quaking Hudson Mohawke remix that rattled the foundations of this usually quiet local boozer. We rounded off the evening in the Mill, where a room was converted into a Hacienda-style disco playing the greatest in early 90s house and rave tunes to a delighted crowd who weren’t quite ready to go home yet.

Live: A Place to Bury Strangers

Written by Joe Goggins on . Posted in Music.

10th May 2012

Sound Control

7/10

It’s not unusual for the name of a record to reflect its sound; The Beatles’ Revolver sowed the seeds of the psychedelic rock revolution, Nirvana’s Bleach is as sonically caustic as the substance it describes, and The Vaccines’ debut What Did You Expect from a Bunch of Privately-Educated Careerists Other Than An Insipid Collection of Piss-Weak Rip-offs? pretty much speaks for itself. On the same tack, the last full-length effort from A Place to Bury Strangers, Exploding Head, is a startlingly accurate summation of the live experience they offer.

A three-piece from Brooklyn, New York, the band’s live shows are often spoken of in the same breath as other such decibel-mongerers as My Bloody Valentine and Mogwai – the Washington Post called them “the most ear-shatteringly loud garage/shoegaze band you’ll ever hear”. Tonight’s their first Manchester date in nearly 2 years and with only the EP Onwards to the Wall released since, on which the band opted to smooth over some of the rougher edges and generally played it disappointingly safe, the set looks likely to be dominated by older material.

There’s certainly plenty of it – Exploding Head‘s ‘It Is Nothing’ is a particularly blistering highlight – but in addition to tracks from Wall, the band incorporate a generous preview of forthcoming LP Worship. Unfortunately, the fact that the EP material sounds much more abrasive played live means it’s difficult to know whether Worship really will turn out sounding as epic as it does tonight, with extended instrumental sections, but it certainly inspires hope for long-term followers.

What isn’t in doubt is that the band remain on rare live form – tonight they play in Sound Control’s surprisingly intimate ground floor bar, and there’s no skimping on the volume, dry ice or stage antics, particularly from bassist Dion Lunadon, who moves from playing atop a speaker stack to closing out the set amidst the crowd. Musically, they rarely deviate from their own tried-and-true formula, but when the live performances are this exhilarating, it’s difficult to care.

A Place To Bury Strangers – So Far Away

Live: Bombay Bicycle Club @ The Empress Ballroom, Blackpool

Written by Nick Stopard on . Posted in Music.

Bombay Bicycle Club
Empress Ballroom, Blackpool
27 April
3 and a half stars

A Brit-pop bubble blew its way to Lancashire’s premier seaside resort on Friday evening. The grand setting of The Empress Ballroom became the home to BBC’s somewhat cultish following – a crowd which seemed largely unsuited to Blackpool’s encircling amusement arcades. E-numbered youngsters and middle-aged Merlot suppers alike were offered the potential for euphoric renditions of the bouncy Bombay tunes by the grand, high-ceilinged setting.

The main feature of this performance was reliability. The assembled audience was treated to a fine mix of Bombay. In a practiced set comprising of songs from all three of their albums, the band wound up the gears in a stable and pleasing manner. The folky charm of catchy classics like ‘Ivy & Gold’ were suitably infused with a younger batch, including the stand-out ‘Lights Out, Words Gone’. The audience left warm, waltzing into the streets of Blackpool with the funky piano riff and clever harmonies of vocalist Lucy Rose in the encored ‘Shuffle’ resonating amongst them.

However, there was a certain lack of sapphire on show in this Bombay performance. Unlike the chandeliers that hung from the high ceiling, the band themselves still required that sparkle to connect them with the whole audience. It was only once or twice that the group broke between songs to attempt to nullify what can be a cold barrier between stage and dance floor. Bombay Bicycle Club are certainly a talented band at the forefront of the Brit-pop music scene. However, there was a soft and rehearsed nature to this performance that perhaps left people a bit too satisfied. Musically this was a confident and clean performance. Yet, you wished at times for a bit of Blackpool tack to infect this airbrushed North London quartet to see what the assembled crowd could gain from a roughed up, improvised, and ultimately more engaging, BBC.

Bombay Bicycle Club – How Can You Swallow So Much Sleep