Late November and I’m freezing by nads off outside the cockpit in Leeds, whilst some bone headed doorman revels the true extent to his illiteracy. I’m on the guest list for one of my favourite bands, The National, but our friendly bouncer is having difficulty relating the sound of my name with what’s actually printed in front of him. I am aware of a not too unpleasant muffled sound coming from within the venue, it’s the support band and I’m missing them.

20 minutes later and an exasperated tour manager sorts out this debacle and I’m in to witness the act I had strained to hear leave the stage. I’m later to learn they were San Francisco’s ‘ Film School’ and now I actually own a copy of their debut album I’m even more gutted for missing them.

To say his is an amazing collection of songs of draw dropping proportions would be an understatement. Film School may well have made my year. This is mainly due to the influences that have clearly guided them. A heady concoction of early 90’s indie that has never been given the recognition it deserves. They take the fuzzy epic guitar riffs of Swervedriver and ethereal progressive melodics of ride and pepper them with emotionally breaking vocals of Robert Smith. In fact Film School play a fascinating generation game as they ply us with brief glimpses of many shades of new and old. This is a band who rejoice in the technical aspects of guitar noise. A band who enter guitar shops and snatch a fender from the resident Dire Straits geek and fill the room with a My Bloody Valentine riff, that is left ringing in the ears for days to come.

Film School’s debut is a wall of beautiful noise. They deliberately meander around with little direction hitting us with every effects peddle known to man before breaking into melodic genius. The initial opener, ‘On And On’, explodes into a chorus that wrenches your very soul, and 11:11 uses many intertwined guitars to build to a crescendo of waved feedback and thundering drums.

Film School have made the perfect indie rock album, it’s what guitars were made for. They have taken some of the most important elements of the last 15 years and produced something of outstanding originality and excitement. I don’t just recommend this album. YOU NEED IT.

9/10

James Heward

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Every now and again something comes along so good it’s actually too exciting to listen to. And as Arcade Fire swept away the nation last year and unusually brought people who are musically polls apart together, I genuinely thought this would do the same

Even only seconds into the gloriously heartbreaking opener Lost In Time I knew I would fall in love with Stellastarr’s second album completely and wasn’t to be disappointed. Its epic grandiose melodic gestures, emotionally nervy vocals and slicker than slick guitar riffs had classic written all over them…..

……And so I turned to other companions in the music press, scoured some nationals to see if Stellastarr fever had gripped the industry as it had me, only to be horrified by the reaction. One Broadsheet even had the audacity to award Harmonies for The Haunted 1/5 another 4/10, what were people Fucking listing to? It certainly wasn’t Stellastar and so I went back to try and understand where these people were coming from only to be more confused. Yes vocalist Shawn Christensen does occasionally sound like a cross between Cud’s Carl Putnam and Max Bygraves and Amanda Tannen’s backing vocals can sometimes be a little overpowering but oddly this all adds to the deliberate pomp.

Harmonies For he Haunted, Stellastarr’s second album in an ideal world would have been praised from all corners but clearly reaching out with booming dramatic sentiments smudges the eyeliner and ruffles the angular haircuts of the Talking Heads rip of culture that seems firmly secreted within the industry. The truth is there isn’t a single dud track to this masterpiece. Yes it’s bold and shamelessly theatrical but the tracks ‘The Diver’, Love And Longing’ and the fore mentioned ‘Lost In Time’ are amongst some of the finest crafted songs you will ever hear in 2006.

 I challenge The Arctic Monkeys to produce something with as much spirit and musical diversity. To think this album could disappear without even a footnote in the musical hall of fame is nothing short of a crime.

 10/10 

 James Heward

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1. Morrissey - You Have Killed Me
2. Stellastarr* - Lost In Time
3. The Delays - This Towns Religion
4. Film School - P.S
5. Sing-Sing - Why I Was Made
6. The Shortwave Set - Yr Room
7. The Like - June Gloom
8. Lorraine  I Feel It
9. The Cinematics - Break
10. Humanzi - Long Time Coming

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Sing-Sing: Sing Sing And I (Aerial Records)

After the tragic death of Lush’s drummer Chris Ackland at the height of their powers in 96, it was obvious that a band who were so close couldn’t survive something so devastating. For me it spelt the end of an era. Lush’s ethereal vocals and spine tingling melodies lit the way throughout the Shoegazing early nineties and the drab post Brit pop era later that decade. This was only to end so suddenly at a point of virtual world domination.

Emma Anderson, arguably the creative force behind Lush, subsequently spent a couple of years with her head down penning songs with Lisa O’Neill. Together they produced the splendid retro pop affair in 2001, ‘The Joy Of Sing-Sing’, but as infectiously catchy as it was, the shelf life of such a style was always going to be limited and they new that the follow up would have to be decidedly edgier.

Five years on and Sing-Sing are ready to face the world once more with what has proved to be an extraordinary set of songs. The pure unbridled pop undertones are sill firmly in place and as jaunty as ever, but they don’t just leave it there. Taking a leaf out of the books of  Dear Eskimo and The Shortwave Set, the duo have multi layered Moog and decks to produce disjointed production contrasting those fluid pop moments. This is more noticeable on the tracks ‘Mr Kadali’, about an African sex therapist and the sliding 60’s inspired violin sampled, ‘Come Sing Me A Song’. There are clear coming of age delicate moments too, ‘A Kind Of Love’ documents the confusion of a relationship that has lost its way, and The choral back drop to the beautifully reflective, ‘The Time Has Come’ that straddles Arcade Fire with The Polyphonic Spree as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

‘Sing-Sing and I’ is more than a triumph, it’s an affirmation of talent for a music industry to witness and marvel at. For although criminally, Sing-Sing won’t become NME stars or repeatedly break new records for obscene amounts of shifted units as certain young upstarts can boast, they are the real hero’s in this ever fickle fame game. There is more truth, soul bared aching and innovation in this band than anything currently available on ‘Myspace’. But before I continue on my soap box, do us all a favour and buy a copy.

9/10

James Heward   

(more…)

Sing-Sing: Sing Sing And I (Aerial Records)

After the tragic death of Lush’s drummer Chris Ackland at the height of their powers in 96, it was obvious that a band who were so close couldn’t survive something so devastating. For me it spelt the end of an era. Lush’s ethereal vocals and spine tingling melodies lit the way throughout the Shoegazing early nineties and the drab post Brit pop era later that decade. This was only to end so suddenly at a point of virtual world domination.

Emma Anderson, arguably the creative force behind Lush, subsequently spent a couple of years with her head down penning songs with Lisa O’Neill. Together they produced the splendid retro pop affair in 2001, ‘The Joy Of Sing-Sing’, but as infectiously catchy as it was, the shelf life of such a style was always going to be limited and they new that the follow up would have to be decidedly edgier.

Five years on and Sing-Sing are ready to face the world once more with what has proved to be an extraordinary set of songs. The pure unbridled pop undertones are sill firmly in place and as jaunty as ever, but they don’t just leave it there. Taking a leaf out of the books of  Dear Eskimo and The Shortwave Set, the duo have multi layered Moog and decks to produce disjointed production contrasting those fluid pop moments. This is more noticeable on the tracks ‘Mr Kadali’, about an African sex therapist and the sliding 60’s inspired violin sampled, ‘Come Sing Me A Song’. There are clear coming of age delicate moments too, ‘A Kind Of Love’ documents the confusion of a relationship that has lost its way, and The choral back drop to the beautifully reflective, ‘The Time Has Come’ that straddles Arcade Fire with The Polyphonic Spree as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

‘Sing-Sing and I’ is more than a triumph, it’s an affirmation of talent for a music industry to witness and marvel at. For although criminally, Sing-Sing won’t become NME stars or repeatedly break new records for obscene amounts of shifted units as certain young upstarts can boast, they are the real hero’s in this ever fickle fame game. There is more truth, soul bared aching and innovation in this band than anything currently available on ‘Myspace’. But before I continue on my soap box, do us all a favour and buy a copy.

9/10

James Heward   

(more…)

At what point does a band arrive? The release of their first single? Their first album? Or with the fully realised version of a track that transcends all of their influences and goes on to become that rare thing - a true anthem.

Sure, many people claim (often in press-releases) anthemic status for, less than spectacular tracks, but from the accordion-like strings, the searing guitar foils and lyrics that ironically define a generation of aimless youths in near Salinger-esque tones, ‘Tendency’ is sure to change lives.

‘I know I dance like a drunken arse, every weekend it’s my only vice, let me drink myself to death to forget about the rent…’

A line better suited to a more experienced generational satirist/spokesperson such as Morrissey than the 24-year-old vocalist Jason Bavanandan.

‘Tendency’ is the second release for Battle on Transgressive Records, following the single ‘Demons’, which sold out its 1,500-only limited pressing in half a day, and the first fruits from sessions for their Debut Album of the Year contender, recorded with Gareth Jones (Wire, The Futureheads, Nick Cave, Interpol and Einsturzende Neubauten) who has seamlessly managed to accommodate the epic scope of Battle’s songwriting with their edgy and experimental tendencies, creating a track that you feel you’ve known your whole life, yet feel compelled to listen to repeatedly.

Following on from a series of high-profile supports with the likes of The Subways, Bloc Party, New Order and The Rakes last year, as well as slots at Reading / Leeds and T in the Park, the band are striking out on a headline tour of the country in February and March before a debut jaunt to the United States for the South by South West event, plus short stops in New York and Los Angeles. Before their tour begins, Battle play an NME Shockwaves show at Koko in London supporting Clap Your Hands Say Yeah.

The tour runs as follows:

February

10 - London Koko (support to Clap Your Hands Say Yeah)
20 - Liverpool Academy 2
21 - Doncaster Leopard
22 - Leeds Joseph’s Well
23 - Glasgow King Tuts
25 - Aberdeen Moshulu
26 - Sunderland Voodoo Lounge
28 - Portsmouth Wedgewood Room

March

1 - London Dingwalls
2 - Nottingham Stealth
4 - Oxford Zodiac
5 - Manchester Night & Day
6 - Bristol Louisiana
7 - Birmingham Barfly

With such a fresh and different outlook to their contemporaries, Battle cannot fail to seduce a generation out of its inward looking melancholia and pretentious posturing, creating a legacy for the future infused with the poetry of past decadents. About time.

www.thisisbattle.com            www.myspace.com/thisisbattle

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Mystery Jets release their first single of 2006, The Boy Who Ran Away
through 679 Recordings on 27th Feb 2006. The band have are also set to
release their debut album Making Dens on 6th March 2006. Both
single and album have been recorded with James Ford on Eel Pie Island.
The single will be released on Cd and two 7”.

CD 7” 7”
The Boy Who Ran Away The Boy Who Ran Away The Boy Who Ran Away
Yellow Springs Sandy Drake (Riton Remix)
The Boy Who Ran Away
(Noisettes Cover)

Mystery Jets will be touring in January on the NME Awards Tour; they
take the much-esteemed opening slot, which in previous years has hosted
the likes of Franz Ferdinand and The Kaiser Chiefs. They have also
announced their very own headline tour for March. Those dates are as
follows.

March
Sun 5th Manchester Jabez Clegg 0161 832 1111 (£9.00)
Mon 6th Glasgow Garage 0870 169 0100 (£8.50
Tues 7th Sheffield Leadmill 0870 060 3777 (£8.50)
Thurs 9th London Mean Fiddler 0115 958 8484 (£11.00)
Fri 10th Leeds Cockpit 0113 245 5570 (£8.50)

The Mystery Jets are Blaine Harrison – Vocals, Keyboards & Percussion,
Will Rees - Guitar, Keyboard & Backing Vocals, Henry Harrison – Guitar,
Keyboards, Mellotron, Backing Vocals, Kai Fish – Bass, Backing Vocals,
Kapil Trivedi – Drum

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The Flaming Lips have completed work on their upcoming album ‘At War With The Mystics’ and the album has been scheduled for an April 3rd release date.

A tantalising teaser of the new material, the track ‘The W.A.N.D.’ is currently available as a download single from all major digital retailers. The first physical single to be taken from ‘At War From The Mystics’ will be the elaborate vocal harmonies of ‘The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song’ that follows the album on April 24th,

Set to be hailed as one of 2006’s most vital records, ‘At War With The Mystics’ was recorded at Tarbox Road Studios with producer David Fridmann (Mercury Rev, Mogwai).

The full tracklisting is: ‘Yeah Yeah Yeah Song’, ‘Free Radicals’, ‘The Sound Of Failure / It’s Dark… Is It Always This Dark?’, ‘My Cosmic Rebellion’, ‘Vein Of Stars’, ‘The Wizard Turns On…’, ‘It Overtakes Me / The Stars Are So Big, I Am So Small… Do I Stand A Chance?’, ‘Mr. Ambulance Driver’, ‘Haven’t Got A Clue’, ‘The W.A.N.D.’, ‘Pompeii Am Götterdämmerung’ and ‘Goin’ On’.

The band - Wayne Coyne, Steven Drozd and Michael Ivins - were inspired to pursue a more vehement sound after covering the Black Sabbath classic ‘War Pigs’.

"There are some tracks we’ve delved into production-wise, where we’re trying to get some of that heavy rock’n'roll with heavy guitar riffs, but not just to be aggressive," says Coyne. "On the last couple of records, we’ve tried to be more expressive in beautiful ways. But sometimes, volume and intensity are great too."

And in further exciting news, frontman Wayne Coyne has been confirmed to present an award at this year’s Brits on February 15th. The band will return to these shores to tour in April, with a prestigious show at the Royal Albert Hall already sold-out. The dates are:

April

19th - Edinburgh Usher Hall
22nd - London Royal Albert Hall
24th - Birmingham Academy
25th - Manchester Apollo

The last Flaming Lips album, ‘Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots’, was their most successful to date selling 200,000 copies in the UK as part of a total of 1-million sales worldwide. ‘Yoshimi…’ earned the band a Grammy award for Best Instrumental Performance for the album track ‘Approaching Pavonis Mons By Balloon (Utopia Planitia)’ as well as leading a plethora of album of the year polls.

www.theflaminglips.com

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Red Hot Chili Peppers are poised to release the double album ‘Stadium Arcadium’ on May 8th as the long awaited successor to 2002’s 8-million selling ‘By The Way’.

Originally conceived as a trilogy with 38 songs in contention, ‘Stadium Arcadium’ will be a 24 tracks double album with titles including the first single ‘Dani California’ as well as other songs such as ‘Snow’, ‘Animal Bar’, ‘Wet Sand’, ‘Charlie’, ‘Desecration Smile’ and ‘Hard To Concentrate’.

The band - Anthony Kiedis, Flea, John Frusciante and Chad Smith - entered the studio last March with producer Rick Rubin (Beastie Boys, System Of A Down) to commence work upon the album and all contributed equally to the new material.

Having played three gargantuan shows at Hyde Park eighteen months ago to a total of 300,000 people, plans are afoot to the band to return to the UK live arena later this year.

www.redhotchilipeppers.com

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The new album from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs is locked and loaded, packed and tracked, signed sealed delivered. Titled Show Your Bones, the new LP is set to bang your bones March 27th, 2006.

Show Your Bones is what happens when you put your finger in a light socket,” says singer Karen O. “Maybe there is some of that electric current flowing through the tracks of our album illuminating us from the inside out for you to laugh at and cry to or fry to. Or not.”
 
Karen O, drummer Brian Chase and guitarist Nick Zinner recorded the album with producer Squeak E Clean and mixed with Alan Moulder. The follow-up to 2003’s Fever To Tell, Chase says “in the early stages the music was STRETCHED WIDE and then  tightened up.”
 
In the meantime, Fever To Tell was nominated for a Grammy for Best Alternative Music Album; Karen fell off a stage in Sydney and nearly broke her neck; Fever To Tell was certified Gold on both sides of the Atlantic; Brian played in many bands (including Seconds) and tried many hair cuts; YYY released the DVD Tell me What Rockers to Swallow and were forced to add a disclaimer due to the content of violence; Nick released a book of his photographs I Hope You Are All Happy Now and later had his camera stolen; the video for “Maps” was nominated at MTV’s Video Music Awards for Best Art Direction/Best Cinematography/Mtv2 Award; Karen and Nick collaborated with Har Mar Superstar for separate sleazy songs on  his The Handler album; The New York Times chose Fever To Tell as the best album of the year; MTV.com reports the new album is a concept album about a metaphysical journey with cat Coco Beware and titled Coco Beware and some believe what they read; Brian learned to cook Indian food and divine fine wine while studying tabla; Nick went on tour with Bright Eyes and gave up coffee; the band played with Devo in Central Park; oh - and Karen, Nick and Brian laughed and thought and fought with each other lots. And lots.
 
Whether it is a challenge or an invitation to be vulnerable, Show Your Bones it is. The first single Gold Lion will be released a week before the album on 20th March on Dress Up/Fiction.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs curate and headline a day at All Tomorrow’s Parties festival in the UK on Saturday 13th May.

http://www.yeahyeahyeahs.com

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