The Feeling Live in Liverpool
Liverpool Academy, 23 March 2014.
Dan Gillespie-Sells (lead vocals, guitar), Richard Jones (bass), Kevin Jeremiah (guitar), Ciaran Jeremiah (keyboards), Paul Stewart (Drums)
I last witnessed a Feeling live show back in around 2006/7 at a music festival. I was struck by the band’s musicianship, songwriting and especially the passionate, animated performance of leadman Dan Gillespie-Sells who I reckoned to be one of the best frontmen around. But a lot of music has gone under the bridge since then and I never, ever secured a Feeling album. The result was that I really forgot all about them until a few weeks ago when amongst the hundreds of emails I receive each day was one that provided information about a Feeling show in Liverpool. Talk about a sign!!!
So, after receiving their highly acclaimed latest album I travelled to Liverpool’s Academy to catch up with this distinctive pop/rock band. The O2 Academy’s second theatre at a guess holds around 500 people and it was jammed so much so that it took some time and effort to struggle through to the photo pit where I would spend the rest of the evening.
First up was a band from Derby called The Gentlemen who it seemed had brought most of their fans with them…As a electro-rock warm-up act they filled the slot although I couldn’t make much sense of what they played - neither one thing nor another. However, they received rapturous acclaim and really did connect with their audience. At 9pm The Feeling wandered onto the stage with Gillespie taking up position at stage-centre sharply profiled by shafts of brilliant white light in the blackness - very dramatic. He launched into the first song of the night, ‘Blue Murder’ - what an opening! In fact, the ideal opening which provided us with a strong reminder of the band’s performance quality and songwriting skill. It’s an anthemic, epic song with crashing crescendos and choruses that should by right be on permanent play over radio airwaves. A brilliant start to what was to be one very memorable show.
Next, ‘Fill My Little World’ from the band’s debut album TWELVE STOPS AND HOME released in 2006. And it’s a song that could easily have been released yesterday as played on the night. Then another from this highly regarded debut in ‘Helicopter’ and I heard strong influences from this record on the band’s latest release. The audience loved to hear these songs and raised the roof with a deafening roar. The band played beautifully with Ciaran Jeremiah on piano and Paul Stewart on drums providing some of the finest moments. Gillespie shed his jacket which signalled a further ratchetting up of the show with the very beautiful ‘Fall Like Rain’ from the new album. This exemplified the band’s ability to excel at playing songs of diverse pace and mood from moving slow ballads to upbeat rockers. The guitar passages from Kevin Jeremiah and Gillespie were magical and a highlight of the song.
During the show Gillespie proudly showed a vinyl copy of the new album and being a vinyl fan I made a mental note to see if I could acquire a promo copy…
Then it was back to 2006 again with major hit ‘Rosé’ and substantial audience help before one of the show’s very special moments. ‘Anchor’ stands out as one of the finest pop/rockers released in the last couple of years and its performance was stunning. Mid-show Gillespie retreats behind the piano for a beautiful solo rendition of new song ‘You’ll See’ before another strong album highlight is revealed in ‘The Gloves Are Off’ which opens gently enough until the rousing chorus arrives leaving one just a little bit breathless. Old favourite ‘Sewn’ with more audience participation before another of the nights landmark moments. ‘Rescue’ is full of hope and its performance is pure pop inspiration.
The band leave the stage and return for a medley of old favourites and ‘Love It When You Call’. The final curtain call arrives after a fabulous rendition of the album’s last track, ‘I Just Do’, a love song destined to accompany couples down the aisle…
This was a very fine show with just one criticism - it should have been on a larger stage in front of many more people. Along with The Editors and Elbow, The Feeling has cemented its position as one of the UK’s finest, international quality acts, and Gillespie the uncrowned, most passionate and animated king of frontmen. I just wanted to do it all over again…
SETLIST
Blue Murder/Boy Cried Wolf, Fill My Little World, Helicopter, Fall Like Rain, Rosé, Anchor, Thought It Was Over, Never Be Lonely, You’ll See, The Gloves Are Off, Sewn, Rescue.
Medley, Love It When You Call
I Just Do
John Butler Trio Album Review
John Butler Trio. FLESH + BLOOD. Jarrah/Because
John Butler’s Trio has provided me with some of my favourite recorded and live performances in recent years. So when I heard about this new album my expectations were high. I was not disappointed!
The opening track ‘ Spring To Come’ is a country-tinged, acoustic-dominated beautiful, moving song of lost love. The lyrics are like well-aimed arrows (”Lost my love, lost my light…”) ably supported by a wonderful melody and one of the most expressive vocals on the record. This alone is a bloody good reason for buying this album. But there’s a lot more…
‘Livin’ In The City’ ramps up the tempo big style. There’s a thumping drum rhythm and winding guitar passages that encourage the most vicious toe-tapping. Butler’s vocal is magical and it seems to me that it’s got even better effectively putting him at the leading edge of rock frontmen. As the song progresses the country vibe turns to a very rocky vibe to complete great song number two.
‘Cold Wind’ is next up and once again the most vivacious instrumental sounds welcome me in. Then Butler’s voice enters in much darker, more contemplative mode. Now this isn’t one of my favourite tracks on teh record but it’s still capable of beating the hell out of most other releases in 2014… Byron Luiters on bass, synths and vocals along with Nicky Bomba on drums are far from being bit players here - what a band!
‘Bullet Girl’ is another love and loss song which sways gently along with suitably subtle instrumental arrangement underpinned by the most memorable of melodies and heavenly vocal harmonies. It’s another moving heartnreaker. ‘Devil Woman’ opens at breakneck speed and with the most compelling blues-rock vibe. If this doesn’t get you moving your hips you must dead! The drum work here is wonderful while Butler’s spitting vocals spell out the sentiments as clear as hell. Favourite track? ‘Wings Are Wide’ and ‘How You Sleep At Night’ are vying for that right at the moment, but hell it’s so difficult to choose - they are mostly all stunning.
And so it goes on, with a diverse range of tempos, terrific instrumental performances and peerless production that makes every lyric and note sonically shine. There’s eleven great songs here performed by a band that by rights should be ruling the world right now. Essential.
5/5
Metronomy Live 2014
Liverpool Academy, 13 March 2014
A minimalist stage set with bright pink higlights, and in the midst of a triangle of camouflaged keyboards encircling a drum set lurking threateningly in dark shadows. After a less than inspiring set from a band called The Proper Ornaments this was a more than welcome sight.
Joseph Mount, who started this combo back in 1999 in his Deveon bedroom, leads from stage centre sat behind keyboards with his guitar resting by his side. To his right the handsome figure of Gbenga Adelekan on bass guitar and behind him Oscar cash and Gabriel Stebbing on keyboards, with Anna Prior on drums. By the time all players were on stage the audience had swelled to capacity and the welcoming cheers enough to lift the roof. Metronomy has proved with previous and current work that they have career legs capable of generating fans acros the globe but in a quintessentially quirky English electro pop way. It was with the release of the band’s last album,THE ENGLISH RIVIERA,in 2011 that I began to take notice (as did others when it was eventually short-listed for the UK’s major Mercury Music Prize). Then in recent days came the release of the far more adventurous and diverse album called LOVE LETTERS which got this show off to a distinctive and interesting start.
Mount opened with ‘Monstrous’, one of the new album’s highlights, with rhythmic percussive pounding dominating the instrumental backdrop, Mount’s falsetto vocal and powerful melody creating one of the night’s most entertaining segments. More new songs arrived including the highly original ‘Month Of Sundays’ with its retro echoes and ‘Love Letters’ with its slow, mournful brass moments before opening out into a ELO-style instrumental and vocal harmony burst to keep us all on out toes (another album highlight). So, an adventurous setlist start from the combo which went down so well followed by a master stroke with the familiar Hammond tones of ‘The Look’ which absolutely cemented the emotional connection between band and audience. And it sounded great!” This was followed by another RIVIERA song albeit one of its less spectacular moments.
I couldn’t fault this show. The performances were excellent, the setlist masterful; with something for everyone but bravely including no less than nine brand new songs. The band’s older albums were also replayed on stage in a setlist containing 19 songs including 3 in the inevitable encore. I’ve waiting patiently a long time to see this band perform. On the night I was rewarded with a show to remember.
SETLIST
Monstrous
Month Of Sundays
Love Letters
The Look
She Wants
Boy Racers
Call Me
I’m Aquarius
Reservoir
Holiday
Radio Ladio
Everything Goes My Way
Side 2
Corinne
The Upsetter
The Bay
Some Written
Heartbreaker
The Most Immaculate Haircut
2014 Tour Schedule
21st - United Kingdom, Birmingham HMV Institute
23rd - United Kingdom, Portsmouth Pyramids Centre
24th - United Kingdom, Bristol Academy
25th - United Kingdom, Oxford Academy
26th - United Kingdom, Norwich UEA
28th - United Kingdom, London Brixton Academy
31st - Luxembourg, Luxembourg - Rockhal
April 2014
1st - Holland, Amsterdam - Melkweg Old Room
2nd - Belgium, Brussells - AB Club
4th - Germany, Frankfurt - Batschkapp
5th - Germany, Munich - Muffathalle
6th - Germany, Berlin - Astra Kulturhaus
7th - Germany, Hamburg - Grosse Freiheit
9th - Denmark, Copenhagen - Loppen
10th - Sweden, Stockholm - Strand
11th - Norway, Oslo - Rockerfeller
14th - Switzerland. Zurich - Kaufleuten
15th - Switzerland - Lausanne D Club
16th - Italy, Milan - Magazzini Generali
18th - Austria, Vienna - WUK
24th - France, Bourges - Printemps de Bourges
25th - France, Toulouse - Zenith
26th - France, Nantes - Zenith
28th - France, Paris - Zenith
29th - France, Lille - Aeronef
30th - France, Lyon - Radiant
June 2014
7th - United Kingdom, London - Field Day
New Albums
Beth Nielsen Chapman. UNCOVERED. BNC/Proper
Like your country mild-mannered with strong pop sensibility,loving sentiments and maximum performance. Think no further than Beth Nielsen Chapman who came to my attention way-back-when with the release of an album devoted to her deceased and much loved husband. Her voice and songs moved beyond words but with a tone that was more optimistic than maudlin. This latest album features songs written by BNC but recorded by other major USA artists. UNCOVERED therefore features not only these previously personal unrecorded songs but some of the artists whom she has written for.
And it’s an album that endears from track 1, ‘Simple Things’ performed with Kim Carnes (rememeber her?). It’s a cracking song with powerful melody, characteristically strong lyrics and the most sincere, quality vocals. This is followed by a song of driving pace called ‘Here We Are’ this time with Vince Gill adding his magical vocal touch. Wonderful! Next up ‘Sweet Love Shine’ with the unmistakable guitar of Duane Eddy making itself strongly felt. It’s a rhythmic humdinger with a hint of darkness in BNC’s voice with some great vocal harmonies performed by BNC and Jessie Colter Jennings.
The pace and feelings of songs are diverse. Take ‘Pray’ performed with passion and high emotion with Amy Grant lending her voices to some hair-raising harmonies. Muriel Anderson’s instrumental passages are stunning on a song with a distinct Celt folk flavour. Together with its beautiful melody could easily be released as a single. In sumamry, this is one of BNC’s best albums where her songs have come home to roost and I suspect sound better performed by her than anyone else. There’s more than a few number one songs here for artists such as Willie Nelson, Faith Hill, Tanya Tucker, Jim Brickman, Pam Tillis and otehrs. Highly recommended.
4.5/5
Tin Soldiers. THE PROTESTER. Broken Star Media
“We wanted to write and play music that meant something,” singer-guitarist Rich Crossingham says of his creative motivations. “We wanted to write something that was a little bit different to another song about boy loves girl - something that was right for the time and that was passionate about a theme. I wouldn’t say we’re a political band. Then agin ‘Ohio’ is a pretty political song, so maybe on some level we are.”
From the opening drum roll and military vibe followed by the ebb and flow of powerful guitar passages this album signals its intention to rock us out of our complacency. For me, it’s one of the most powerful and dark openings to any album I’ve heard in recent years, and is stunning. The title track, ‘The Protester’, explodes out of my speakers with Crossingham sounding as genuine and as passionate as ever. The melody is powerful, the instrumental performances powerful and the overall sonic vibe is one of a live performance rather than a highly over-polished studio recording. The sound is distinctive and if there’s any justice this should be played widely over the airwaves. Terrific! ‘Fight The Fever’ is another radio-friendly guitar rocker while ‘Take Back The Streets’ with its mixed pace and rhythmic underbelly could become the anthem of a lost generation - think Ukrain, think People Power!
‘Talk’ rumbles uncomfortably along at deathly pace with vocal harmonies to-die-for. It’s a reflective song with a wonderfully expressive vocal from Crossingham. ‘Alarms’ goes snare-drum-military with some distinctive guitar chords before the crashing instrumental choruses enter to create a memorable and stupendous close. This is a rock instrumental track par excellence… Then ‘Falling’ thunders in - an epic rock song with melody at its heart and passion in its soul. Track after track delivers rock thrills and I believe has fulfilled the band’s aims and objectives. It’s distinctive and deserves teh support of radio, the media and fans of the genre. Favourite tracks? I love most of them but ‘Forced To Fight’ is a complex song which somehow manages to mix pace and vibe like few other songs I’ve heard. ‘Not Everything Is Lost’is also a compelling listen, while ‘The Butterfly Effect’ is a slow-moving, emotional heatrbreaker. Hell, in truth, there’s thirteen tracks here of top quality and enocurage me to want to see the band performing them live. I reckon that’s job done.
4/5
David J. Roch New Album
David J. Roch New album, ‘A Cynic, A Realist, An Undertaker’ coming May 26th 2014
Roch released our album of the year in 2011 so it’s exciting to report that album number two is soon to be with us…
Loud and brash may buy easy headlines and fleeting fame, but in the music world a more subtle approach often leads to winning dedicated fans and lifelong followers.
This is definitely the case for David J. Roch, whose delicate melodies and melancholy words can paint an introspective picture in the way of a Simon and Garfunkel classic, yet sometimes explode into a finale that is a cathartic, life-affirming emotional release. David’s handling of subject matters encompassing loss, love, religion, death and relationships sets him apart from most other current singer-songwriters, possibly informed by his previous career as an undertaker.
The release of David’s new album ‘A Cynic, A Realist, An Undertaker’ is likely to have the same effect on many new listeners as he had on The Independent on Sunday recently: “There are times when the only response to raw talent is to drop your jaw and go ‘Wow!”
David’s music is far from having a narrow niche appeal, as viewers of TV shows ranging from ‘Private Practice’, ‘Being Human’ and even ‘So You Think You Can Dance’ will already know. Each of these massively popular programmes have featured songs from 2012 debut album ‘Skin and Bones’ and led to an explosion of interest.
Produced in part by Jim Sclavunos, a man used to working with dark and powerful themes in Grinderman and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, with additional production by David’s long term collaborator Dave Sanderson, the new album fully realizes David’s songwriting and revels in the unexpected, utilizing not just his backing band of multi-instrumentalists, but also a male voice choir on the forbidding ‘Hell To Pay’.
Whether on record or playing live, David effortlessly conveys emotional intensity using a voice which The Guardian says “can soar to ethereal heights as effortlessly as it plumbs red-raw depths” and in doing so he finds the perfect vehicle to expresses his deeply moving lyrics and stunning melodies.
With his second set of North American dates and support slots for Grinderman. Andy Burrows, Ethan Johns and Josh T Pearson already under his belt, an upcoming tour of the UK later this year will feature a mix of solo dates and full-band sets.
The Pretty Reckless New Album!
The Pretty Reckless – Going To Hell
Release date: 17 March 2014
Label: Cooking Vinyl
Initial orders of the CD will be available in a Limited Edition. Softpack design, pull out poster, and will include two bonus tracks. Fans will have the opportunity to purchase any of the below bundle packages when they pre-order GOING TO HELL, HERE:
•Limited Edition CD (features 2 bonus tracks)
•Deluxe Bundle: Featuring Limited Edition CD, T-shirt, Wristband
and Totebag
•12″ Vinyl (features a download card with 2 bonus tracks)
•Vinyl Bundle: Featuring 12″ Vinyl, T-shirt, Wristband and Totebag
Hell remains a source of inspiration for all kinds of art. It’s impossible to even catalog how many books, movies, plays, and records have been written on the subject. However, the world’s fascination with the big ole inferno never dwindles or dissipates.
The Pretty Reckless’ second full-length album Going to Hell flirts with those themes, most notably on the raucous and roaring title track. Over a twisting and turning riff and bombastic rhythm, frontwoman Taylor Momsen confidently announces, “I’m going to Hell.”
“We had so many insane things happening in our lives, we wanted to sum everything up in one phrase,” she recalls. “Going to Hell felt really appropriate. I grew up Catholic and did the whole Catholic school thing, so it’s in my vernacular. We used religion as a metaphor, but the track relates to problems everyone faces. I think this is the perfect time for us to be doing what we’re
doing.”
Even if the making of Going to Hell often felt like some kind of divine prank, one senses this is their moment. After two years on the road The Pretty Reckless-Momsen, Ben Phillips [guitar], Mark Damon [bass], and Jamie Perkins [drums]-had risen through rock ‘n’ roll’s ranks to become a profound, and often polarizing, presence.
The quartet sold over 350,000 albums and over 1 million digital tracks performing as headliners all around the globe and supporting acts such as Guns N’ Roses and Marilyn Manson.
Finally in September 2012, the band returned to Water Music Studios in New Jersey to begin recording what would become their sophomore set with producer Kato Khandwala. They had recorded much of their album when tragedy struck as Hurricane Sandy ravaged the East Coast.
“The record was really coming together, and then this fucking hurricane takes out the studio and everything we had,” said Phillips. “Six feet of water destroyed our room, and half-a-million dollars of gear was sitting in a pile of sewage and sludge. Almost everything we had was wiped out in one fell swoop.”
Momsen continues, “We were devastated… and then seeing New York City completely black was pretty crazy. For streets and streets, there was nothing but darkness. That’s when we wrote the title track… it was all pretty intense.”
Equally intense is the upcoming single “Heaven Knows”. A big arena-size beat resounds as Momsen’s seductive snarl echoes, while she simultaneously conducts a choir of school kids. On another track, the acoustic strum of “Burn” singes with raw power, while “Sweet Things” nods to Stanley Kubrick with its Lolita-style tale and Momsen’s haunting croon. She reveals, “It’s a dark, turned-around, and twisted story.”
Ultimately GOING TO HELL is rock ‘n’ roll in its purest form. The Pretty Reckless holds nothing back. “We did this album with the mindset of having no boundaries,” Momsen concludes. “We didn’t follow any formulas or trends. We said anything we wanted to say. This is us.”
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