May 2012
1 post
13 tags
Savages
Every once in awhile something comes along that absolutely blows you away *. Whether music, art, or film. We’ve all experienced it. That really rather fucking special feeling. The first time I read anything by Hunter S. Thompson; at 15 when my Dad gave me the Pixies’ Surfer Rosa; the moment I finally ‘got’ Trout Mask Replica. You know what I mean. Back in February, on a...
April 2012
1 post
16 tags
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Farewell and Goodnight (part...
Continued from Part One.
One year on, Show Your Bones was quickly followed by another EP in the shape of Is Is, a release that would take the band back to basics with a return to the raw, uncompromising and aggressive approach of early YYYs material. Opening with ‘Rockers to Swallow’ we are instantly hit with Karen O’s rasping yelping vocals playing against Zinner’s own typically abrasive...
March 2012
1 post
20 tags
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Farewell and Goodnight (part...
Once upon a time, I fell for a rather oddly named band called the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. I was completely obsessed with them. I owned all their albums (and EPs), I saw them live anytime I could, I would pick up every single magazine that even mentioned their name, I had their 2002 John Peel Session recorded straight off the radio. And to top it all off, I was madly in love with Karen O (weren’t...
February 2012
1 post
9 tags
Sserpress
Okay, that last piece took a lot out of me. I’ve been seeing a lot of gigs of late too, and all I want to say is long live the 90’s. This next band are probably one of my best kept secrets. Very few seem to know the name, yet once you hear it it’s damn impossible to forget. Sserpress. Say it aloud. S-U-P-P-R-E-S-S. I can’t stop myself. But enough wordplay, let’s get...
January 2012
1 post
14 tags
2012: the sounds to take to the end of the world
It’s 2012, the world is ending and somehow it feels like I’m living in the FUTURE. We got the video calling and 3D movies, but I’m still waiting for my hoverboard. Sigh. Anyway, it’s that time of the year again. Yes, it’s painful to see myself involved in the annual tipping fair, but I just can’t turn down the chance to give you an insight into ...
November 2011
1 post
9 tags
The History of Apple Pie: Single Launch
So…it’s been a year of TATW blogging. In this time I’ve told you about 26 different bands and used the word fuck, fucking or fucked 20 times. Long may it continue. It’s my favourite journalistic word for emphasising. Anyway. I want to come back to a band I last wrote about in January, who I caught live (and filmed) last Wednesday for their single ...
October 2011
1 post
9 tags
Lasers From Atlantis
I’ve been feeling a bit restless today. The fact that my flat is totally trashed and I don’t even want to leave my room probably isn’t helping. Halloween tsk. So I thought I’d put some words to the page. There are always plenty of bands in my mind, and the list just keeps growing. Somehow nothing’s quite satisfying me today though. Maybe my ...
September 2011
1 post
10 tags
Man-flu
It’s time, it’s fucking time. I’ve been holding back on this one for too long. They are the band that are exciting me most right now in London. Impossible to label. I’d gladly use any of the following words to describe them - experimental, DIY, raw, carnivorous, untempered, eccentric, fiery, unhinged, and noisy. They are Man-flu. A bunch of misfits with members...
August 2011
1 post
9 tags
Gross Magic
So, what can I say. It’s been a while. I needed to take a little time off to work a few things out, not to mention getting some holiday time. Even workaholics need a break. But I’m back now, I promise. There’s too much talent out there for me to just put this down. So let’s get on with this. I want to tell you about a band who are fast picking up that dreaded...
July 2011
1 post
10 tags
Pet Scenes: EP Review
I’m almost scared to look at my own blog, because I know I’ve been away from here for far too long now. My life got a little too hectic for a time there, but I could never leave this place forever. I’ve missed these little moments of self-reflection, of fighting to find a way to describe the music I love and of sharing it with the few followers I have. Enough...
May 2011
2 posts
11 tags
Meddicine
More often than not I know exactly who I want to write about, though there are times when I spend days thinking it over, searching for that little spark. This wasn’t one of them. This was very much a sudden ‘fuck me’, a single moment in which I knew I had to put something to (digital) paper. This is Meddicine (yes, two d’s) and I’ve just been hit square in the ...
Pet Scenes
I guess I’ve been a little slack of late. I’ve had a lot on in the last few weeks - some TATW movement a big part of that. Another story for another day though. This evening, I want to talk about a band I only recently stumbled on called Pet Scenes. If there was a queue - which there really should be, given the number of bands that I still want to tell you about - Pet Scenes just...
April 2011
2 posts
8 tags
Warm Brains: Single Review
Despite the blazing sunshine and soaring temperatures, today, I’m sitting at home listening to Warm Brains’ debut single Old Volcanoes. The title track from a full-length which is due for release in June. And the lastest project from Rory Attwell, formerly of Test-Icicles and Kasms, and most recently the go to producer for every fledgling guitar band in London.
Quite...
9 tags
Old Forest: Live Review
Okay, it’s time I got back to this now, it’s been far too long since my last post. I’ve been busy though. I called it a bloggers holiday, but really I’ve been working behind the scenes on all things TATW related. Some big plans afoot. I suppose this is the calm before the storm. Anyway - enough of me - I want to talk about a band that first grabbed me back in November...
March 2011
4 posts
13 tags
Weird Dreams
I’ve been waiting for the right time to come back to this band for a couple of months now. Back in January I included them in my (thinly veiled) list of ‘tips for 2011’ and with a new EP out, entitled ‘Hypnagogic Lullaby’, I have good reason to listen to them all over again. The band in question are Weird Dreams. Did I ever tell you how much I love that ...
7 tags
Tearist
A month or so ago, via a friend whose music taste is always interesting, I came across a video by an unfamiliar band. I liked the name and so I tentatively clicked play, taking a step into the unknown. There, I was instantly hit with Tearist. Say it aloud and it almost sounds like terrorist - surely no accident. They even have that feel to their music - abrasive, noisy and very much on the ...
12 tags
Underground Railroad
A couple of weeks ago, I was at the Hoxton Underbelly to see two talented young London bands that will surely grace these pages in the coming months. But it was a band that I knew little about that would strike me that evening, and see me scouring their back catalogue for another fix. They are Underground Railroad. Yes, I know, I’m pretty late on this one. Already signed to One Little...
8 tags
Danimal Kingdom
A couple of weeks ago I put out two posts on just half of the remnants of Bolt Action Five, on Thursday I caught their former lead singer and his latest project Danimal Kingdom live for a single launch at the Queen of Hoxton. I’ve been aware of his very particular brand of Pop for quite awhile now, ever since we collaborated on a TATW project a year or so ago. And so...
February 2011
3 posts
11 tags
Hold Kiss Kill
I don’t know all that much about Hold Kiss Kill, I only stumbled on them a month or so ago via a friend and I’m yet to catch them live. They have just 3 tracks available for listening ears, one of which is a Nick Drake cover, leaving us very little to work with. But when a band comes through this strong then that may well be all you need. Artrocker Magazine seem to think so,...
Fables: Revisited
I wouldn’t usually go back to a band that I’ve previously written about, much less one from just 4 days ago. But I have this sense of nagging in the back of my mind that says I missed something. For one thing, I probably should’ve mentioned that I count Fables’ members as some of my closest friends. A tricky position perhaps, but I could never offer faint praise....
Fables
Grandiose, epic, fantastical, raw yet elegant, and dark. These are the feelings I have when listening to London 6-piece Fables. Formed from the shards of fallen band Bolt Action Five, they are one of my favourite bands going into 2011 and with a bit of luck this could be the year they finally break through. Their sound is difficult to sum up, and I know well that the band...
January 2011
4 posts
8 tags
Cymbals
It’s time I got to this band. They’ve been on my mind ever since I stumbled on them in September last year, before I even started blogging, and then again in late November when I caught them at the Hobby Horse (now The Victory). Okay, the sound was bloody awful that night, but the talent shone through. This band is Cymbals.
Cymbals’ sound is tricky to sum up. They skip...
10 tags
No Joy
As I keep telling myself, my focus is all on the London music scene, until yet another band comes along that I just can’t help but write something about. And No Joy are just that. Montreal-based dual guitarist/vocalists Laura Lloyd and Jasmine White-Gluz are the driving force behind a band that will very soon be making waves over here. Although still pretty much an unknown in the UK,...
The History Of Apple Pie
That last update took a little bit out of me. The 4 bands in one approach was a real one off for the new year. The one band format is more to my taste, it gives us all room to breathe - the music, the writing, your mind. It’s good for my sanity too. This next band fit my mood well, which is - surprise surprise - guitar fuelled. Enter The History of Apple Pie, a 5 piece from London, who...
Fuck 2010, let's rejoice in the elevens
I was thinking of putting my own views out there on the music that made 2010, but then I realised I didn’t really care. It’s not what I’m about. If I’m honest, there are very few bands out there that I can claim to be a real fan of. I might pick up the odd song here and there, but buying an album is something else for me. It’s a ...
December 2010
4 posts
Moustache of Insanity
For awhile I was considering taking a break from here til the New Year, but I realised how much I’d miss all this. And but for the flu (again) I would’ve been back sooner. Anyway. It’s the holiday season, all happiness and smiles I’m told, so in keeping with that I thought I’d bring you a little more cheer - as I’m probably guilty of approaching music from...
Chelsea Wolfe
Every once in awhile something comes along that absolutely blows you away. Sitting in an empty room, speakers up to the max, Californian based Chelsea Wolfe had me whispering ‘fuck me’ to myself. I can’t even remember how I stumbled on her. I usually steer away from US based artists, as my focus is on London - my city. But something led me to her, I don’t know, maybe...
Not Cool
So I just can’t shake this guitar vibe. It’s not just me though, it’s the way music is moving in London. For now at least, guitars are back. And this next band are one of the very best I’ve stumbled on. They are Not Cool. No, really. Three guys - Matt, Andrew and Will - who play what they like to call ‘Gutter Pop’, and what I’d descibe as fucking...
FOE
It’s good to be back. I’ve missed this. Ilness took me out for the past week, but I’ve been planning this one for awhile now. It’s time I told you all about a talented girl from Fleet (where?) called FOE. According to all the cool blogs, she is the next big thing. The next “pop” star in a long line of Marina’s/La Roux’s/Florence’s....
November 2010
7 posts
Old Forest
Last Sunday, I dragged myself over to the Enterprise in Camden to watch a band I’ve had my eye on for a few months now. London 3 piece Old Forest are young, raw and completely unpolished. And when I say raw, I really mean it. These boys - Tom, Matt and Luke - are all only around 16-17 years old. Making us all feel pretty old. They started out in the bedroom playing Blink 182 covers...
Cold in Berlin
A little later than usual, thanks to a heavy weekend mostly spent with the lovely and newly introduced Dance Magic Dance girls and friends. So, onto a band who I stumbled on a few months ago and instantly fell in love with. They are Cold in Berlin. And next Monday their debut album ‘Give Me Walls’ is released, picking up some much deserved coverage with a 5 star review in...
Live Review: LCMDF
Last night I was at Old Blue Last to see the band formerly known at Le Corps Mince de Françoise, now LCMDF. They’re a band I know well, not only as musicians but as individuals too. Almost 2 years ago, I spent some time with them as part of a release I was working on. Back then, in many ways, they were a different band. Originally a 3 piece, including sisters Emma and Mia along with ...
The Neat
And back to the comfort of guitars. This next band are probably one of my big tips for 2011. The Neat are a proper post punk band. Rawness, speed, simplicity, attitude and a sound that is driving forward not backwards. I get excited everytime I stumble on something calling itself post punk, because what that should mean is that they’re taking the ideas of punk forward somewhere, not...
We are Enfant Terrible
After two guitar bands, we’re going a little electronic today. French trio We are Enfant Terrible play electro infused indie rock with some 8-bit Nintendo (yes) bleeps thrown in. Okay, so there is some guitar here too, but then they mix it into their sound in a very different way to my previous 2 guests. Everything sounds very much digitised here, and while I’d usually hate this,...
Civil Civic
Okay, part two. And before I talk a little about Civil Civic, I’d like to tell you why I’m here. I love music, I mean really love it, it’s such a powerful influence in my life. Ever since the day I asked my father to introduce me to some bands and he handed me Sonic Youth’s Dirty and Pixies’ Surfer Rosa. It changed me forever. I use music in my own work, it...
Screaming Females
First up are New Jersey three-piece Screaming Females, who I was lucky enough to catch live at the Luminaire a couple of weeks back. I remember seeing a diminutive fierce looking girl in the cloak room area selling merchandise, little did I know would I see her (Marissa Paternoster) striding on stage as the headline act’s lead guitarist and singer. The visual impact was jarring, and boy...
