GuilFest 2009

Guildford’s family friendly festival; choc full of nostalgia and breaking talent. Friday Ginger has never been so strangely out of place. A mid-afternoon slot in a festival shrouded with nostalgia should have been the perfect setting for the ex-Wildhearts front-man. Sadly, much to his bemusement Ginger’s good time rock n’ roll garnered little response from   →

Ten Years of ATP

All Tomorrow’s Parties announce a special 10th birthday festival. ATP will commence their birthday celebrations with a second festival in December.  Taking place from the 11th-13th December at Butlins Resort in Minehead, the event features a plethora of ATP favourites as well as past curators. So far confirmed to play are: Explosions in the Sky   →

MySpace to cut jobs

Growing concern over revenue streams leads to cull. It is being widely reported that MySpace are to cut its workforce by 30%.  This could mean in the region of 500 redundancies for the company. The news comes amidst growing competition from the likes of Facebook and Twitter, the former of which surpassed MySpace in number   →

Gossip – Music For Men (Sony)

What do Beth Ditto and Susan Boyle have in common?  Welcome to Gossip’s ‘tricky’ fourth album. Beth Ditto is fat.  And a lesbian.  When Gossip burst into the mainstream with Soulwax re-mixed ‘Standing In The Way Of Control’ she found herself to be something of a new media-darling.  Journalists delighted in highlighting her obvious and   →

Without Thought – Get Down And Give Me Infinity (Regretamine Records)

Guilford’s Without Thought peddles that all-too familiar brand of post-hardcore, the style that’s seemingly serving as the model for contemporary rock.  They feature low, heavy riffage adorned by vocals that swerve from screams into more melodic passages, providing the listener with both metallic brutality and a soaring pop-sensibility. In essence the group bridges the gap   →

White Noise Summer

Last weekend’s White Noise Festival at Leicester’s Firebug venue highlighted an overlooked music scene.  In recent years the city has been known for Kasabian and little else.  Perhaps only My Awesome Compilation and Maybeshewill have garnered a small buzz since something like 2003.  Its other bands have generally stayed under the radar of the mainstream.    →

The Toniks – Limited Edition EP 2009 (Unsigned)

Identikit pop fun from Guilford. The ice-cream cone melting on the beach that adorns the cover fits neatly with The Toniks’ sun-kissed pop-rock, a sound that sits somewhere between The Feeling and Snow Patrol. Only whilst the group has an admirable sheen and an undeniable knack for melody, the songs lack the panache of their   →

Sonic Boom Six – City of Thieves (Rebel Alliance)

One of the hardest touring bands in the UK, Sonic Boom Six is back with its unique blend of reggae, punk, ska and hip-hop. The group’s eclectic sound is far removed from fashion or sophistication yet they are undoubtedly one of the most important bands in Britain. With catchy songs, squeaky rapped vocals and left-leaning   →

Jeniferever – Monto Water Rats, London (29/04/2009)

Swedes in skinny jeans created a stunning aural landscape. There was an element of romance attached to the evening as skinny Swedes headed to a rough part of town to a venue best described as ‘antiqued’.  They were even late on; the whole thing smacked of bohemian cool. Before that we had the pleasure of   →

Casiotone for the Painfully Alone – The Luminaire, London (27/04/2009)

Owen Ashworth infused synthetic sounds with rarely found warmth. Aussie openers Crayon Fields were twee.  With agreeable melodies that doffed a cap to The Beach Boys and The Shins, their hand claps and falsetto vocals were coupled with a feigned shyness [apologies if misconstrued]. Concern on the other hand was an entirely different proposition.  Gordon   →