There’s no point having a blog if you don’t write, so therefore my faithful reader I apologise for my recent tardiness and to make it up to you I’m giving you an extra special version of my reviews and what’s been floating my boat over at Tanner Towers.
First up then it’s Hits to Spare from The Poppermost. An album that wears it’s Beatlemania on its sleeve and makes no apologies for it.
All of the songs created by Joe the one man Beatles are authentically pitched around the Merseybeat sound of 1962-1964 and packed full of melodies n singalong tunes you would expect. However most importantly it’s the love of the era that shines through and never treads into the jokey or pastiche. It owes as much to The Rutles as it does to the Fab Four. Check out Egg n Chips, Park & Ride and the sublimely brilliant Laziest fella in the realm.
Staying in the Mersey now and waking you up with their new single Awake, The Heavy North are back with a fresh cut from their debut album which takes another big step towards global domination.
Musically and lyrically this mid tempo blues rock tune deals with the social injustice many of us feel at the moment and with an excellent video filmed on location at Portmeirion home of the classic The Prisoner, Awake gets its message across with Kenny’s vocals on top form whilst supported expertly from the band and a killer guitar solo from Jose.
“A lie, you get the truth based on a lie”
“All happy to divide, they want to see us cry”
Powerful stuff… They can do no wrong at the minute.
Keeping it rocking and the Welsh Rock band Feverjaw released their debut album All Bets Are Off recently and what an accomplished piece of work it is – Feverjaw have been around for a couple of years now and have been releasing consistently great music that rekindles the great Welsh bands of MSP, Feeder whilst also taking inspiration from the greats of Nirvana and Foo Fighters. Tracks like Brightburn and Bloodwork are classic indie rock but also songs such as Trauma & Grace, When It rains and the briliant Arrowhead show this band are one to keep an eye on. They also added the great vocals of Cait Johansen from Mawpit for additonal backing vocals and overall the album is one that appeals to not just hard rockers but also indie kids and beyond. Turn it up.
If you still want your Rocking Mug filled up, then make sure you also check our the debut from Louis & The Shakes – How badly do you want it? Is chocked full of emphatic fuzz rock that rekindles thoughts of late night bars in Mexico where the tequila is flowing and the band are blowing the roof off. Songs like Snake Hips and Losing my mind are short and sharp with a real punch – just like tequila but with 12 tracks to get into – there is a diversity and strength to their songwriting with a knack for sounding retro but also contemporary at the same time which I think will see them playing higher up the bill over the next 12 months. I’m also pretty sure Tarantino will use one of their songs one day.
The Shop Window are back – and hot on the heals of their debut album and for me one of the best albums of the year, they are about to release their first single from album 2 – Lay of the land.
For fans of The Shoppies, it is exactly what you think it would sound like – but not quite. Yes its a jangly indie uplflifting belter of a tune, but like all great bands it sees them develop their sound further and this track has a heavy 60’s Psychedelic feel to it that at times makes you think of Status Quos great Pictures of Matchstick man. For me its also quite like The Creation and late 80’s great The House of Love. The band seem to of taken a lot of confidence from how warmly their music has been taken to the bossom of the indie fraternity and I hope this track will help bring them to a bigger audience. The single is out 12th November so I can’t link to it directly but its already getting heavy rotoation on all the cool indie radio stations and the lads are also playing some local gigs around this time with the 26th November one to mark in your diary as they play – 02 Islington Academy 2 London – (Supporting Thousand Yard Stare).
Talking of jangly uplifting tune – new kid on the block Stan Buckroyd has just released his new song What you need – a catchy tune that has that 00’s Vampire Weekend feel to it with a great melody and impressive vocals. Whilst the likes of Sam Fender and The Lathums can hit number 1 in the pop parade it should start to shine the light more on a whole host of singer songrwriters that deserve more attention. Check it out.
Clare Pitt Wigmore was also recommended to me recently, as she has just released her new song Words. Coming all the way from the jolly boys outing Margate which is now very trendy. Multi instrumentalist Clare has been in loads of bands and was once the guitarist in Brits N Pieces Alum Squangey Bobbins which is one of my favourite band names ever.
Reaching out on her own – Clare shows great promises with a laid back groove with chilled beats and strong bluesy guitar that will appeal to many. Its great to see so many talented females around at the moment and if you like Jess Kemp, Jen Dixon, Lissy Taylor, Test Card Girl and many many more – please go and check Clare out.
As well as all of this I have been bombarding my ear drums with the likes of EPs from Ashley Stacey, Pastel, Man & Boy, the debut album from Afflecks Palace, new album from Joe Adhemar and 100’s of others.
I hope to be more proactive with my writing and reviews over the next few months but hopefully some of these words, inspire you to check them out and as always I would love to know your thoughts.
Until next time – please read,share,buy,repeat
PNL
Michael
The Rebirth Of Cool 