Song of the Day #8

Apologies for the lack of Song of the Day yesterday, but I was away to see the fantastic talent that is Admiral Fallow in Inverness. They put on a brilliant performance to a fair sized crowd who, when asked upon, sang and ooooh'd along to a couple of songs from the new record, but were otherwise too quiet for my liking. They turned out to see Admiral Fallow play live which - in my opinion- is something pretty special but they were speaking throughout the gig which ruined the intimate atmosphere. However, on with Song of the Day!

Today I have for you an Admiral Fallow song in light of last night. It is an amazing song with quite phenomenal singing from the musically gifted Sarah Hayes. The song is called Bomb Through the Town and goes something like this. Enjoy!

Song of the Day #7

Song of the day today come from Three Blind Wolves. The song is called Hotel. I don't need to explain anything if you listen to the song. It's genius.

Song of the Day #6

Today's Song of the Day goes to The Winter Tradition. They released a brand new video for their song San Diego today. It looks great so have a listen for yourself!

Song of the Day #5

Today's song of the day come from Coventry based band The Fallows. The 4 piece play folk-rock music and released their debut album last year called Face The Wolves. You can catch The Fallows at any of their upcoming gigs in their hometown Coventry, Swindon, London and also a couple of festivals in that same area. Here is We are the Hunted from that debut album:

Behold the Old Bear.

So I got an email from a man named Raindeer. When you get someone with a name like that you have to keep reading. It turned out to be the man behind Behold the Old Bear. Funnily enough I was enjoying their cover of the Peter Gabriel classic Solsbury Hill a couple of nights before, so it was a nice surprise to get the email. Raindeer can usually be found playing drums for Mitchell Museum, but while they were on a break, he began to create his own band, utilising the new upcoming talent- as well his brother and co Mitchell Museum member. 
After the gruelling task of putting together the band-Raindeer admits to being 'horribly picky' Behold the Old Bear eventually began to play gigs. So far they have only done three but have another coming up soon as well as being asked to play a Doune the Rabbit Hole Festival as well as the Kelburn Garden Party. You can have a listen to Behold the Old Bear below and check them out at either of the above gigs. 

Song of the Day #4

Today, our choice for Song of the Day is the brand new single from the Icelandic, ambient rock outfit Sigur Ros. Ekki Mukk is the name of the song. It comes straight from Record Store Day single release...Ekki Mukk. I bought this on vinyl yesterday and it's just amazing. So here you go. Expect more in the coming months with the release of their first album since 2008, Valtari.

Song of the Day #3

Song of the Day for today is Bake Yourself Silly by The Leg. They have released the song as a free download and are due to release their album on the 20th of April. It will be titled An Eagle to Saturn. You can pre-order the album here.

Song of the Day #2 Camera Obscura - The Sweetest Thing

Okay, since no one partook in my Twitter quiz, I have just stopped crying at the fact that no one loves me and have decided to post the second Song of the Day. This new feature is going well so far -two in two days!
Anyway today you have the opportunity to listen to Camera Obscura. This band formed in '96 and I recently started re-listening to them and decided that, for those of you who have not heard of them, well...YOU SHOULD HAVE ALREADY! So here it is. This is The Sweetest Thing from their 2009 release My Maudlin Career.

Song of the Day.

As of today we are starting a new feature that will be called 'Song of the Day'. It's pretty self explanatory - everyday we post a video of a song we think should be shared and you listen. If you like it, leave us comments either here or  on Twitter and by the end of the year we might do a Song of the Year.  You can find it in the top bar, underneath the title. It will be as daily as humanly possible though not at a set time so keep checking back. Any updates on the blog can be seen via Twitter. Cheers!!

Frightened Rabbit: The Loft - Forres.

Grant, Myself  and Scott after the gig.

Last night (13/04/12) I had the pleasure of getting to see my all time favourite band Frightened Rabbit in a fairly intimate gig at The Loft just outside of Forres. They are currently on their Highlands and Islands tour, playing smaller venues in the more rural areas of Scotland. I saw Frabbit at Rockness last year; they were amazing then , but this was something else.

I was stood front and centre, two feet away from the band for the gig, probably the best possible position in the venue. Opening with Old Old Fashioned, Frabbit got the crowd on side within the first few strums of the guitar. They went on to play most songs from The Midnight Organ Fight, and a few each from Sing the Greys and The Winter of Mixed Drinks. They also managed to squeeze in two new songs named Oil Slick and then Boxing Day. Scott illustrated the circumstances of why Boxing Day was written. It was 'after a particularly shite Christmasdue to the end of a relationship', and he wrote the song sat in his boxers and drowning his sorrows- classic Scott, eh? The new tracks do sound pretty cool; Oil Slick has some nice guitar from Andy. Scott also revealed that they will be entering the studio very soon to record the new album and they would have done already if it weren't for Paolo Nutini getting in ahead of them.

After the band played crowd favourite Old Old Fashioned, everyone bar Scott went back to the dressing room for a break. In this time, Scott asked the crowd what songs they wanted to hear. The reply was Scottish Winds followed by Be Less Rude and then possibly one of the best songs ever written- Poke. I managed to get a good video of the first too songs but for Poke, Scott ended up playing in the middle of the crowd- creating a proper acoustic experience- so he was too far away to record. The crowd stood silently watching Scott play, only to join in with the 'ooooh's' that echo throughout the song.

After closing the set with 'The Loneliness And The Scream' the crowd were still in full voice and continued to chant the 'oh oh oh oh oooohh's' after the song finished and the band had disappeared back to their dressing room. But to the delight of everyone who attended they emerged back to play the hard hitting and emotive 'Keep Yourself Warm'. Every Frightened Rabbit fan loves this song and the whole experience of this song live improved tenfold with the terrific crowd who got behind the band and belted out every word at the top of their voices.

After the gig Scott and brother Grant were kind enough to come out and sell their merchandise, sign autographs and take photos. I introduced myself and they even recognised who I was which made the night even more special for me. I bought 2 vinyl LP's which Scott signed and I also managed to grab myself 2 picks and the setlist. All in all, it was an excellent night and the Loft was a really great venue for a band like Frabbit. The crowd were also magnificent, so hopefully that will entice Frightened Rabbit to make a swift return to The Loft. I'd love to see them up here again!

Gentlemen Duke.

Gentlemen Duke formed 2 years ago this month (April, 2009) in the South Eastern county of Kent. They perform modern country-folk music, differing from most of today's music. They mix old and new mirroring the sounds of Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan and Sam Cooke whilst maintaining the modern edge of Mumford and Sons.
The band have played all over London, with their fans being treated with the live performances of their new EP titled alliteratively, Mild Mannered Madmen. It was recorded throughout 2011 and was released in January this year. It contains 3 toe-tapping country songs and its release has reached all corners of the world- 240 to be exact.
After a busy year, the band have no signs of slowing down by any reach and perhaps this year we will see an album and  a tour, who knows. The Ep can be downloaded on iTunes for the mere price of £1.79- now that's value for money.

If Gentlemen Duke are playing at a venue near you I would urge you to go and see them, they will not disappoint!

The Dirty South
Sat 7th April 2012
Lewisham
London

WEDDING (Private Gig) (Rock'n'Roll Wedding Magazine)
Sat 21st April 2012
Oxford

Rochester Sweeps Festival
Sun 6th May 2012
Rochester, Kent.

Hops And Harvest Festival
Sat 8th September 2012
Maidstone, Kent

Breakglass Emergency

We are fierce enemies good Twitter friends with Breakglass Emergency and they have begged asked us nicely to do a piece on them, so here it is:
This unsigned Glasgow 3 piece create a mix of blues and Rock n Roll music and have done for the past four years. They proclaim that they aren't unique, and play in the same style as their inspirations/influences, most notably, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and the early years of Black Keys. The guitar playing style of John has drawn comparisons to Clapton and Hendrix, but he has confirmed through email that he himself believes he is twice the legend the two of these men put together (well, he is actually admitting that he shouldn't be shared in the same sentence as them).

The band have grafted hard and have been duly rewarded for their efforts by opening for bands like GUN, The Virgin Mary's and Doll and the Kicks. Breakglass Emergency want to continue this rise to fame through playing high profile gigs, so any promoters, gig organisers or bands out there, get in touch with BGE, they would be more than happy to play.

My musical taste over the years...

So after a busy few weeks I thought I'd share with you my favourite artist and albums that have made an impact on my relatively short life. Music has always been an important feature to me and I try to appreciate the most talented artists;I don't tend to have time for anything 'mainstream' (but don't get me wrong, I'm not a hipster). I dislike many of the 'artists' in the Top 40 who only make their music for the money involved ie Justin Bieber or One Direction who make their money through millions of 'fangirls'-who only like them because of their looks. Anyway I'm going off the subject now...favourite albums:

 1. Arab Strap- The Week Never Starts Round Here. The debut album by Arab Strap was released in 1996. Now, I was only a wee boy then so I didn't get into this album until a good few years ago, but still it's my favourite release from the Scottish duo due to the way it's free from care - Moffat and Middleton were renowned for speaking their mind. The First Big Weekend is probably in my top 10 songs of all time. It is basically an Aidan Moffat monologue about a drink fuel weekend while Malcolm Middleton plays guitar and a drum machine keeps the beat.

2. Belle and Sebastian- Tigermilk. Another debut by another Scottish band, Tigermilk for me was just a perfect album by one of the most influential bands ever to come out of this country. This album was recorded in between the day time jobs the band members had, and it allowed them to turn professional, so it must be something special. It laid the foundations of the legendary band who went on to produce a few amazing albums like If You're Feeling Sinister.

3. Broken Social Scene- You Forgot it in People. This 2002 release from Canadian Indie-rockers first bought the band their breakthrough into international recognition. It sold 200,000 copies globally and featured a very Avant Garde sound which isn't unusual for BSS. This album made it into the 'Albums of the Decade' on 3 different online magazines so people must like the experimental sounds which lead to Broken Social Scene becoming one of the best Candian bands...ever.

4. Frightened Rabbit- The Midnight Organ Fight. 2007 was the year I was first aware of Frightened Rabbit; 2008 subsequently brought the release of their second album on the completely Indie label FatCat Records. My favourite band have never failed to deliver and this was no exception as Scott Hutchison makes every song brutally honest as he pours out his feelings from the very bottom of his heart, sang along to a lot of acoustic guitar alongside electric guitar, piano and of course, drums. The Midnight Organ Fight made it into several different Album of the Year awards - from both the UK and the US - showing just how well recognised this album was, and also how great it was. Seeing FRabbit live was one of the best experiences possible and I've got tickets to see them twice more in the space of a month- it's hard to contain my excitement!

5. Admiral Fallow- Boots Met My Face. After this release in 2010, I made the biggest mistake ever by overlooking this album. I must have been deluded not to give it a proper listen. This album is amazing. Seriously. The orchestral indie folk band have been playing together since 2007 and have released this album and are getting ready for the release of their next album Tree Bursts in Snow (See previous Admiral Fallow post). There is a huge variety of instruments from clarinets to violin and all songs are effortlessly written by Louis Abbott. In many ways he reminds me of Scott from Frightened Rabbit. The way the pair are both able to just write in a way that evoke so many emotions is just incredible.


So that's just a few of my favourite albums. This took me ages to decide because there is so much good music out there by so many good bands- both new and old. If anyone has the same sort of taste or anything different, please feel free to comment with your albums, it would be good to know what my readers are into.