Being a singer in a tribute or covers band is nerve-wracking. Though tributes can hide behind a mask, a cover band frontperson can be reassured only by the notion that friends are backing them; blame the drummer! But a soloist, singing their mind acoustically is in another ballpark. Stripped back, alone, exposing your innermost thoughts, desires or even personal issues to an audience takes some bottle. It’s a test of courage for the most egotistical, the mental equivalent of standing naked. Yet a majority of those who do, I find, are actually modest and reserved.
In an interview with Peggy-Sue Ford last year, Aberystwyth born now Devizes-based singer-songwriter, Sammi Evans, expressed both her excitement and terror at playing live on the show, opened up about her troubled childhood, ADHD, and being a self-certified โscatter-brain,โ and in doing so created one of the most interesting and touching of Peggy’s Don’t Stop The Music shows on Swindon 105.5.ย
The last time I met Sammi she was showing me the artwork of her upcoming debut single, explaining how the purple background and gothic font gave it a sense of corporate identity, as well, holding her phone with a subtle tremble, telling me how anxious she was about releasing it. That single, TheShadow, came out a couple of days ago, and thus, Sammi has traversed the local open mic nights, jams at the Southgate, and pub gig circuit, to a recording artist; that thought alone would goosebump the least nervous!
The song’s subject reflects this anxiety, it drags you into a dark closet, and hauntingly honest, questions the listener if they experience similar ghostly fears. Sammiโs vocals are academia aesthetic, rich with a focused ethereal and melancholic soundscape. But it is through an impressive arrangement by Martin Spencer of Potterne’s Badger Set studio, which adds to the other-worldly ambience, with a tinkering piano breathing a touch of gothic horror film score, even subtle classical crossover about the otherwise poignant acoustic guitar marvel.ย
Hey look, Iโve been to art college and know about light and shadow. If the shadow depicted in this song is metaphorically actualising foreboding as shadows and monsters lurking within them, the quality of the song contravenes its subject, upon its release. It might have felt that way in Sammiโs mind at the time of writing it, but releasing it mightโve been that face your fear moment of diving off the top board into the pool. And now itโs out there, perhaps more art for artโs sake and prosperity than fame and fortune, she should consider it an exhilaration of accomplishment, because it’s really rather wonderful.
It should then act as the opposite to shadow. This debut single is a light source, beaming directly above Sammi Evans, which casts only a minimal shadow at her footprint, if at all, and, I hope, reduces any seeds of doubt that she can write thought-provoking lyrics and compose them into songs with illuminating results. I look forward to hearing more, Sammi! x
You go cover yourself in hormone messing phthalates, toxic formaldehyde, or even I Can’t Believe It’s Not Body Butter, if you wish, but it’s all the same soap but in a different bottle to me. Lab mice with slap and economical slaves in sweatshops, so unethical multinational bastards can prey on your vanity, when unless you can photoshop yourself for real you’re never going to look like the girl in the magazine; the actual girl in the magazine doesn’t even look like the girl in the bloody magazine! Ah, our dynamic gothic duo Deadlight Dance are onto them, with a brand new single out todayโฆ.
Edgy and with synths heavy enough to make New Order blush, Gloss attacks the beauty industry, its harmful lies and unrealistic standards, in an era most pop stars are encouraging it; good on them…. Deadlight Dance that is, not the pop star!
Punk enough to meet the Stooges, yet the dark electronica of Joy Division mostly, it comes in laden for its three and a half minutes entirety. Nick and Tim state it’s not strictly typical of the forthcoming album that the band is releasing in 2026, yet they always apply a unique and innovative narrative, so we look forward to whatever direction it takes.
For now, though, Gloss is a storming dark sound, with Nick’s howling vocals somewhere in the distance, sighing the same thought-provoking lyrical content we’ve come to love Deadlight Dance’s for. It’s a monster in Dior.
The duo have held our attention only last week with a great gig at Devizesโ Cellar Bar with JP Oldfield. But if the live show is blossoming, Gloss does likewise for recordings. Ah, top production again from that purple-bearded legend Nick Beere at Mooncalf Studio.
Out on Ray Records and streaming worldwide across all platforms from Friday 17th October 2024. Gloss is accompanied by a video on the bandโs YouTube page, another collaboration with Haunting the Atom.
Deadlight Dance suggests it’s a new chapter for the self-styled Wiltshire Gothic; I welcome it, and as I’ve said before, whilst I was a mere window-shopper to gothic rock in its heyday, Deadlight Dance caused me to realise what I missed.
Right, review done, I’ve got to go shave my eyebrows off, and draw them back on with a Sharpieโฆ..
There’s a trick and a treat for Halloween from Swindon’s finest alt-rock trio I See Orange; new single, La Bruja, or The Witch translated from Spanish, and it’s certainly cast a spell on meโฆ.
If you’re still unaware of I See Orange, it should be considered folklore cunning craft to overlook them after this; you’ll find yourself sinking in a river! Reviewing them at the Pump at the beginning of the year, I made a beeline to catch them again at Minety during warmer climates. In retrospect I should’ve reviewed their debut four-track EP Lonesome Joyreleased around the same time as the Pump gig, but missing that window I figured I’d await something new. And here it is, creeping up on us!
Lonesome Joy and a separate song from the same session are generally formulated like all good hefty grunge; rising and falling mood layers, and the single Simply, tended to take a commercial blues angle, as if a metal Cranberries. While these are all positives, with promising roots and truckloads of potential, La Bruja is a constant, progressive, and it doesn’t wait for you to attach yourself to the ambience; it’s a beautiful monster, stomping through a dark forest, chasing you, from beginning to end.
Yards ahead of their previous outpourings, I’d say, its theme perfectly captures the unique identity of the band; a grunge-riot grrrl-garage punk fusion. Charlie Hart and Cameron Hill proficiently drive a hard rock drum and lead guitar arrangement, respectively, behind bassist Giselle Medina, who plays out an ironic kawaii character, a kind of post-goth shลjo kogal, akin to Mieruko-Chan, or Ling Xiaoyu for the Tekken players!
It’s a spookily seductive look, therefore so is this song. It’s as if it’s a direct response to Kip Tyler’s She’s My Witch, with a contemporary edge; lots of haunting, rocking edge. Giselle’s divine, evocative vocals are like a non-stigma emo Greek siren, crying out either an enticement or warning, depending on your fixation for paraphilic disorders; scratch beneath her innocent superficie to discover how deep her โweird shit,โ delves, only at your own risk!
And it rocks sublimely, is risquรฉ and unearthly; nothing Monster Mash about it! Here’s their Linktree, and Bandcamp page, Spotify too. If you pop it on your pumpkin playlist, you’ll be grateful I told you and hopefullyfill my bucket with Haribo!
Featured Image:@jenimeadephotography Just another rainy Saturday afternoon in Devizes, whereby I watched a profound fellow dramatically sacrifice himself to the devil, then popped to Morrisonsโฆ
Stone Circle Music Events announced today that all proceeds of CrownFest will be donated to Wiltshire Hope & Harmonyโs Dementia Choir. CrownFest is an all-dayโฆ
If Devizes Scooter Rally has already established its base at Whistley Roadโs Park Farm and Full-Tone are moving to these new pastures, last year theโฆ
Dubiously biased and ruled with an iron fist, the mighty admin of the once popular Devizes Facebook group, Devizes Issues, is using the iconic Greatโฆ
Marlborough gothic duo Deadlight Dance are due to release an EP of new material. Itโs called Chapter & Verse and itโll be out on Ray Records on 13th September 2024โฆโฆ
Nick Fletcher and Tim Emery, aka, Deadlight Dance, stripped back a collection of their favourite new wave-goth classics and recorded them at the 12th century All Saints Church in Alton Priors last November, releasing them as an album, The Wiltshire Gothic, in March. If the Wiltshire Gothic excelled in uniqueness for acoustically recreating the sounds which inspired them, Deadlight Dance prove theyโre no one trick pony with this new EP, as while it equals to the eminence of The Wiltshire Gothic, it does so for entirely the opposite reasoning.
After this acoustic beauty of echoing mandolins the effect is immediate, Deadlight Dance pull out heavy synths on this EP, a stark difference you may also find in their live gigs, swapping from acoustic to synths at the halfway house. Itโs electronica punchy and as positively eighties as the original new wave and gothic songs they covered for The Wiltshire Gothic, of Joy Division, Sisters of Mercy, Fields of the Nephilim, et al, but all five tracks are their own work, completely original.
The only similarities with the last album is that thereโs a theme, this time within the subject matter rather than the production, and naturally, itโs as proficiently entertaining. The concept here is something to appease their old English Lit teachers at the Sixth Form where they met, as each track is inspired by a book character, in one word titles. So, the tracks are Montag, Rosemary, Charrington, Judas and Monster, leading me to rustle my mindโs archives as to the books they represent; I got four out of five without Google, honest, sir, do I get a merit mark or something like that?!
Opening sonic, like OMD in their prime, book-burning firefighter Guy Montag of Fahrenheit 451 is the first subject and this is the only tune here which uses a sample, from the 1966 film adaptation Iโd imagine, but Iโve not seen it, only read the book like a good boy! Obviously, futurism fears, flames and the controversial connotations of Ray Bradburyโs magnum opus is ideal for a gothic related song, and we are off to an engagingly good start.
The second song is the one I guessed incorrectly, itโs the girlfriend of the neurotic Gordon Comstock in Orwellโs Keep the Aspidistra Flying, Rosemary Waterlow. Concentrating on her relationship frustrations, the song is a haunting echo in plodding synths, again, an ideal candidate for Nickโs howlingly vocals.
Sticking with George Orwell, though this one remains instrumental, the antique dealer come undercover Thought Police agent in Nineteen-Eighty-Four, Mr. Charrington is the next subject. Again, itโs a haunting sound enough, it needs no vocals, it twists in metallic scraping undertone, dark and mysterious futurism, it would evoke the perfect mood for the score to any possible remake, or in turn the soundtrack to the previous UK government who seemed to view Orwellโs masterpiece a self-help guide; apologies, couldnโt resist adding that!
Fourth tune in, is called Judas, no prizes for citing the book it comes from, but after the gloom of Charrington, the sound is surprisingly uplifting, capturing the pop side to classic goth rock, like The Cure. Iโm undecided if the song is sympathetic to the actions of Jesusโ grass Judas Iscariot, if it furthers to question the integrity of the bible more generally, or both. But itโs an interesting atheistic angle, and an astutely written song.
Thereโs a bass stomp verging on techno intro to the final song, Monster, reminding me of a fast coming of Jaws, then the synths swirl and Nickโs off thirty seconds into the melodic narrative of Mary Shellyโs Frankenstein, or the The Modern Prometheus, a gothic novel indeed. It caused me to consider Frank Millerโs reinvention of Batman, a character whoโs mysteriously shadowy edge was lost through the passage of commercialisation, particularly via TV, and how he gifted us The Dark Knight version.
Frankenstein portrayals are so commonplace, and often comical, it obscures the harrowing nature of the original story. As they do with all the book characters here, Deadlight Dance captures the mood, the intensity and torment of Mary Shellyโs monster, through music, as by Sergei Prokofiev captured the characterisations of Peter, the Wolf and other animal side characters. Itโs an absorbing prose, excellently manufactured, and brings gothic rock of yore back into the forefront. Not forgoing, when contrasted with the Wiltshire Gothic, it shows diversity in Deadlight Dance, both are returns to โconceptโ in albums, something dearly overlooked in todayโs one track Spotify world. It leaves me wondering where theyโll go next, but feeling confident each new progression will contain cognitive connotations amidst this hail of gothic rock, and these are the elements which makes each release a treasure.
Chapter & Verse will be released on Ray Records on 13th September 2024, across streaming platforms and available to buy on Bandcamp. Follow Deadlight Dance socials to keep in the know.
Find Deadlight Dance supporting Canute’s Plastic Army at the Tuppenny, Swindon on 19th September.ย
Christmas has come early for foxes and normal humans with any slither of compassion remaining, as the government announced the righteous move to banโฆ
Chippenham folk singer-songwriter, M3G (because she likes a backward โEโ) has a new single out tomorrow, Friday 19th December. Put your jingly bell cheesyโฆ
Wiltshire Music Centre Unveils Star-Studded New Season with BBC Big Band, Ute Lemper, Sir Willard White and comedians Chris Addison and Alistair McGowan revealingโฆ
New single out today from Swindon-based gothic-folk duo, Canuteโs Plastic Army, and itโs three yeses from meโฆCan one person give three yeses? Iโm way past caringโฆ.
If youโve loved the previous single Wild, like me, or caught them gigging, usually in Swindon (but they did grace us with their presence at the Southgate in the spring,) Hollow Children of Men is a seven-minute chronicle from Anish Harrison & Neil Mercer, chock full of enchanting wisps and ethereal acoustic moods. It rises and falls, itโs epic, and if itโs not a magnum opus, I want to be there when they release such a song.
Itโs the kind of song which takes you on a journey, through darkened woods, in mist, and leaves you spellbound, unable to leave the forest it drifted you intoโฆ. And if that all sounds like whimsical wordplay for the sake of flattery, take a listen for yourself why don’t you?!
Buses, huh? Last time I strolled to the dual carriageway to catch one it was four minutes early and didnโt hang around for listless fogies with an appetite for entertainment. I glumly watched it blur past from fifty yards down the lane. This time I hotfooted it, my ageing heart pushed to its limits, and the delayed bus left me standing there for fifteen minutes! Once in Devizes, although far from Broadway, options for quality music and drink still overpowers those of neighbouring market towns; something we should be proud ofโฆ.ย ย
Post vegan market and a craft fair at the Corn Exchange, as evening sets in The Pelican prepares for its beloved karaoke, a couple of hobos strum a ditty by the fountain, and the amazingly talented Adam Woodhouse arrives at The Three Crowns. Yet I must bypass such significant options, itโs over to Long Street Blues Club, because when Ruby Darbyshire is in town, thereโs no compromise from me.
I give a nod to Joe Hicks, likely the best support act Iโve witnessed at Long Street to date, yet at seventeen-years old, Ruby Darbyshire, I believe mayโve topped it. Her first time at the legendary club, she practised two blues songs to play them, one by Beth Orton, another more classic, although by subject her own composition Insomnia could be perceived as blues, and her overwhelming vocals blessed the club with these and a sprinkling of popular covers.
Thereโs a double-whammy of congratulations to organisers of Long Street, councillor Ian Hopkins who this week became Mayor, and his now wife, Liz, for their marriage in the same week. We wish them many happy years together. But dilemma dawns for me; though keen to hear a group composed of legends Horace Panter, Steve Walwyn and Ted Duggan, by name alone itโs fair to suggest accolades as standard, whereas itโs the first time Swindonโs gypsy-folk Canuteโs Plastic Army are in town. Theyโre down our trusty Southgate, and since hearing a handful of their most impressive singles, and our ethos of supporting local acts, I must depart the club with haste.
Much as I would love to pretend this was all part of careful planning, it wasnโt! Believing our fantastic regular reviewer and part of the furniture at Long Street, Andy Fawthrop was still on his holibobs, I endeavoured to stay as long as possible in order to give fair praise to The Dirt Road Band, when all the time he was hiding behind me! So, it gives us an opportunity to merge our words and be comprehensive about a typically great Saturday night in Devizes.
After Ruby did her thing, which never fails to leave me suspended in awe, I stayed for two songs from The Dirt Road Band. Ruby rinsed beautiful versions of Joni Mitchellโs Big Yellow Taxi, and Princeโs Nothing Compares 2U, as regulars in her set, yet again, itโs in jazz renditions such as Erroll Garnerโs Misty and Nina Simoneโs Feeling Good, where her sublime vocal range is let loose, is something to behold, and the very reason Iโm here at the club. Crowds flock this shy prodigy during the interval with congratulations, clearly itโs not just me who thinks this.ย
The Dirt Road Band came on all guns blazing, in an impressive electric blues-rock fashion. I favour my blues rootsy, though tip my hat for their aptness to the Clubโs favoured mode. Here below, is Andyโs take on them; I salute plus thank him for his expert thoughts, as ever.ย
A recently-formed modern (super-)group, consisting of gig stalwarts Horace Panter (The Specials) on guitar and vocals, Steve Walwyn (DR. Feelgood) on bass, and Ted Duggan (Badfinger) on drums, these guys had all been around the block a few times. They knew how to play, how to drive a set-list and how to work the audience.
They took a couple of numbers to really get going, but once they hit their groove there was nothing stopping them. Playing a single ninety-minute set they ripped through both original material and a few great covers. It was rock, it was blues, it was boogie-woogie, and they shifted these styles around with seemingly no effort.
Keeping the audience to a chit-chat to a minimum, they frequently segued from one number to another. There were some great riffs on the new songs, and there was a definite Feelgood vibe going on at times. It was no-nonsense, professional stuff, highly enjoyable. A cheering, standing ovation was rewarded with Get Your Kicks on Route 66. By comparison to Beaux Gris Grisโ near three-hour performance the other week, ninety minutes felt very short, but it was quality not quantity that was on offer here. Good gig, good value. Definitely a band worth checking out.
Eyes back on me, then; thanks Andy! Without cloning technology I missed this, hot footing it again, this time to the Southgate. Dirt Road Band originally asked to play here, landlady Deborah thought theyโd be better suited to Long Street, and so we are blessed with the presence of Canuteโs Plastic Army, I understand itโs their inaugural visit tour trusty answer to a Devizesโ O2, though the guitarist plays also with welcomed regulars SโGO.
Based upon both the Army part of their name, and the strength of a few singles Iโve heard from them, such as the incredible Wild, I was first surprised to see they were but a duo! Nevertheless, through Anish Harrisonโs intense and consuming vocals and the intricate guitarwork of Neil Mercer, they build layers through loop pedals and sheer expertise, to produce the euphoric gothic folk one would expect a full band to have produced.
There were a few technical hiccups with the PA, yet through warts and all, the duo gifted us with an inspiring, beautifully accomplished and unique sound. Whimsically gliding like fairies in mist, ringing out choral from just one voice, or bittersweet, they were reciting influences in subject from folklore and mythical prehistory in breathtaking splendour. I changed my mind, they are indeed an army, armed with allegory and an elated passion to deliver it.
Itโs Anglo-Saxon, or Celtic Pagan, reverberations of times of yore, wrapped punk and pirate-like. At times I likened them to Strange Folk, at others The Horses of the Gods, but mostly it was individual expression, and thatโs the icing on their cake worthy of our perusal.
And thatโs a wrap with dirty roads, a plastic army, and a gemstone. Through unforgettable acoustic goodness to an exclusive gothic folk duo, via a legendary supergroup of blues, you have to award Devizes, weโre still punching above our weight when it comes to valid options for a great night of live music, and, sadly, I didnโt even get the opportunity to head over to The Three Crowns for Adam; cloning technology, see? Get to it scientists, now!
Daphneโs Family & Childhood Connection to Devizes Celebrations of Daphne Oram have been building in London since the beginning of December, for those in theโฆ
Part 1: An Introduction March 1936: newlywed French telecommunications engineer Pierre Schaeffer relocates to Paris from Strasbourg and finds work in radio broadcasting. He embarksโฆ
Yesterday Wiltshire Council published an โupdateโ on the lane closure on Northgate Street in Devizes as the fire which caused it reaches its first anniversary.โฆ
Join the St Johnโs Choir and talented soloists for a heart-warming evening of festive favourites, carols, and candlelit Christmas atmosphere this Friday 12 th Decemberโฆ
This afternoon I find myself contemplating what the future holds for historical discovery and learning for all ages, fun and educational exhibits and events inโฆ
Featured Image: Barbora Mrazkova My apologies, for Marlboroughโs singer-songwriter Gus Whiteโs debut album For Now, Anyway has been sitting on the backburner, and itโs moreโฆ
Having to unfortunately miss Devizesโ blues extravaganza on Friday, I crossed the borderline on Saturday to get my prescribed dosage of Talk in Codeโฆwith aโฆ
No, I didnโt imagine for a second they would, but upcoming Take the Stage winners, alt-rock emo four-piece, Butane Skies have released their second song,โฆ
With howling, coarse baritones Nick Fletcher, the main vocalist of Marlboroughโs gothic duo, Deadlight Dance chants, โhere comes the rain, and I love the rain, here she comes again,โ proving two things: one; heโs never been a milkman, and two; theyโve covered the Cult classic Rain on their upcoming second album, The Wiltshire Gothic, released tomorrow, 29th March 20224. Iโm one step ahead, you are advised to catch upโฆ.
If the time of the Black Death brought about radical advances in music and arts, weโre engulfed in a similar epoch post-lockdown; lone contemplation and plotting is paying off with overwhelming creative output, and Deadlight Dance is a perfect example. Messages exchanged between two members of an ex-St Johnโs Sixth Form late eighties gothic band, Nick, and multi-instrumentalist Tim Emery, was the root, a retrospective passion to return and pay homage to their influences. The result, a reunited touring duet finding a new-wave-gothic gap in the market, and the recording of an astounding debut album, Beyond Reverence last year.
The debut was superb original material top-heavy, nodding to their influences through substantial synths and drum machines; to suggest the Wiltshire Gothic is an addition to the concept is wildly off mark. Live, the pair appeased audiences through covers, with a strengthening acoustic take; think how Gary Jules stripped back Tears for Fearโs Mad World in 2003, add some lutes, youโre close enough to the picture. It was Timโs idea to record them, and Nickโs wish to do so in an Anglo-Saxon church. Tim said, โwe wanted to capture that side of the band. We were moving forward with the sound from the first album, but this was no more or no less valid.โ
On 28th November 2023 Deadlight Dance played some of their favourite covers acoustically at the 12th century All Saints Church in Alton Priors and with help from filmmaker Haunting the Atom, shot a promotional video. They felt it vital to clarify the church had no heating and averaged 3o; but hey, you are goths, I thought you liked coldness?! โMy initial idea was to involve Nick Beere of Mooncalf Studios,โ Tim furthered, โand record them live there, with a view to perhaps releasing them.โ Tomorrow you can hearken the result, essentially join them in that church.
The Wiltshire Gothic is a love letter to the songs of Deadlight Danceโs early days playing music, discovering bands, and then ultimately discovering themselves, through music. A love letter you can copy and paste because the effect is a thing of beauty. Three songs each from The Cure and The Cult, two of Joy Division, one being Love Will Tear Us Apart, naturally. Others from Bauhaus, Fields of the Nephilim, The Mission, The Weeknd, Sisters of Mercy, and lastly, the one alongside love tearing us apart which you need not have been a goth to appreciate, OMDโs Enola Gay. But hey, this is so encapsulating itโs enough to turn Roy Chubby Brown into a goth!!
If I award points for doing what it says on the tin, The Wiltshire Gothic is off the scale. For me, with mandolin, mandocello and bouzouki blessing these covers, subtle bass, and Nickโs evocative and mood-fluctuating vocal range, Iโm taken back to my innocence of youth, and its drive, born of frustration and anxiety for the mysterious direction life might take me. New to the Marlborough area, as a teenager, friends took me exploring the sights they mightโve taken for granted, off the beaten track. Iโm there again, sharing a bottle of red wine, perched atop West Kennet Long Barrow or the Devilโs Den, gazing into the sunrise. And Robert Plant resonates โoh, dance in the dark of night, sing to the morning light,โ from a busted-up cassette recorder. The Wiltshire Gothic is this enchanting, the selection of lutes, the pure acoustics ringing out simplicity, breathes the fire of a dragon into authentic, timeless folk.
And there it is, yeah, Deadlight Dance are recapturing the gothic classics of their youth sublimely. In the video Nick stresses the flexibility of goth-rock compared to the confines of archetypal folk, but if these are the songs you took out with you, on your Walkman, even if just to Marlboroughโs Priory Gardens during school lunchbreak, then they are, in essence, your folk. They mayโve broken the mould, and thatโs good, isnโt it, thatโs what post-punk was all about? And that is what The Wiltshire Gothic not only recaptures, but reimages, divinely. It’s as if Robert Smith sang his songs in an 18th century Wiltshire field, whilst uprooting turnips!
โBecause of the unique instrumentation,โ Nick explained, โwe didnโt worry too much about staying too close to the original versions and felt we could be respectful to the original artists in how we interpreted their music. Itโs not a radical shift in direction for us; this has always been part of our sound. I would imagine weโll follow this up with another dramatic musical tangent.โ
The Wiltshire Gothic is released via Ray Records on Friday 29th March 2024, streaming everywhere worldwide. Available on Bandcamp. A limited run of physical copies is available from the band. The album is accompanied by a short film of the day that is released on YouTube on release day, we will add the link tomorrow. Deadlight Dance have an album launch on Sunday 14th April at The Blue Boar in Aldbourne from 6pm.
Featured Image by Giulia Spadafora Ooo, a handclap uncomplicated chorus is the hook in Lady Ladeโs latest offering of soulful pop. Itโs timelessly cool andโฆ
Words by Ollie MacKenzie. Featured Image by Barbora Mrazkova.ย The creative process can be a winding, long, and often confusing journey. Seeing a project comeโฆ
Whoโs ready for walking in the winter wonderland?! Devizes sets to magically transform into a winter wonderland this Friday when The Winter Festival and Lanternโฆ
One part of Swindon was in perfect harmony last night, and I donโt mean the traffic circumnavigating the Magic Roundabout. Rather The Lost Trades wereโฆ
I do believe I got a taste of this new single when I saw Bristolโs premier symphonic grunge collective, Life in Mono at Bradford Roots, and was held spellboundโฆ..
And Iโm not usually in for Seattle Sound, but Life in Mono are the kind of layer-building specialists who could turn Bjรถrn, Benny, Agnetha and Anni-Frid into ripped jeans and flannel shirt-wearing grunge kid crowd surfers! In an Evanescence fashion theyโll take three minutes to build the ambience then bring the guitars crashing, and the result is sublimely encapsulating.
Filled to the brim with brooding noir drama and sensually immersive grunge, the secret is out, Life in Mono is gorgeously intertwined enchantment, and this is one finely-produced tune which expands to fill the room, as choranaptyxic as the Occamy, for want of a less Pottermaniac analogy!ย
Raging expressions of angered feminist teenage anguish this month, perfectly delivered by Steatopygous via their mindblowing debut album Songs of Salome, I hail as theโฆ
Itโs nice to hear when our features attract attention. Salisburyโs Radio Odstock ย picked up on our interview with Devizes band Burn the Midnight Oil andโฆ
In thanking everyone who supported this year’s Wiltshire Music Awards, Eddie Prestidge of Stone Circle Music Events revealed his intentions of continuing with the awardsโฆ
Featured Image: Lillie Eiger Frome Festival is launching itsย โ25 for 25โย fundraising campaign with a very special concert featuring three locally based acts:ย Tom Mothย โ best knownโฆ
Every weekend is a dilemma, with so much going on. Invitations to see The Beat at the big Cheese, Sorrel’s book launch in Lockeridge, but sometimes I just wanna go where…. .. cue the theme from Cheersโฆ..
And they’re always glad you came, at the Southgate in Devizes, a truly landmark tavern for bringing the town a steadfast, free and happy music venue. With a spectacular month’s line-up, incredible yet forever modest hometown singer-songwriter Vince Bell today at 5pm, those flip, flop flying Junkyard Dogs next Saturday, outstanding virtuoso Ruzz Guitar the following Saturday, grungy Cobalt Fire nestled between them and the legendary Jon Amor Trioโs monthly residency shifted from the usual Sunday to Thursday 7th to allow a convenient opportunity for the incredibly cool Ian Siegal, yeah it caters for the town’s historic penchant for the blues and prog-rock, but the Southgate never stands on convention; last night proved this.
What Devizes anchors in blues, each local town has its own niche, Chippenham, folk, Trowbridge, indie, but eastwards, Marlborough way, the tendency leans towards post-punk and gothic. It was something intriguing, if a smidgen eerie to me, drafted there at a tender age from suburban Essex, only knowing black eyelined boys with wicker necklaces and stormtrooper boots from vampire movies. Accepting gothic was a necessity if I wanted to fit in, get off with โposhโ girls, and avoid being bitten by the head vampire down Figgins Lane; none of which actually happened!
Something to look back on and laugh with Tim Emery, one half of duo Deadlight Dance, who was one of those goths in my school year. The other half, Nick Fletcher, arrived at St Johns for the sixth form but I was outta there by then. Together they formed teen bands, nowadays they’ve reunited to form Deadlight, playing here tonight after making a morning in-store appearance at Vinyl Realm, which I missed; could still taste the toothpaste.
In fondly reviewing their wares and gigs they’ve made me realise what I missed by only calling a meagre compromise of liking Robert Smith and teetering on the edge of full blown gothic; hence my reasoning for making a beeline to the Gate.
When the cumulation of the gig came to pass and Tim and Nick paid homage to their influences, I confess I’m in the dark about Sisters of Mercy or Fields of the Nephilim covers, but being in the dark for goths is a good thing, I thought?! I can, though, appreciate the more commercial or pioneering quarters, as they covered The Velvet Underground’s Waiting for my Man, or electronica classics from OMD and Joy Division; you know the ones.
Covers were sprinkled to begin with, as Deadlight Dance delivered their originals superbly, from a forthcoming album and their debut one, Beyond Reverence. With acoustic beginnings they built in layers from emotional melancholic expressions, on subjects like loving rain (despite wearing shades throughout the gig!), revolution, burning like fire in Cairo, and even a gothic sea shanty, to backing tracked beauties to enhance the second half of this poignant show with the new wave electronica and ethereal wave, and roused the crowd.
With a sorrowing rendition of Heartbreak Hotel, as found on their album, and these breathtaking impressions of gothic rock and electronica of yore, Deadlight Dance put the breath back into a genre often overshadowed these days by shoegazing pop or grunge; indie subgenres surely derivatives of post-punk but not as memorable for me.
If anyone’s going to bring out my inner-goth, it’s Deadlight Danceโฆpass my blood rose lined black corset and skull and cross pendant, pronto, because last night was another great night at the Southgate, again offering diversity to our town’s entertainment program. Bringing a touch of Marlborough to Devizes is a welcomed rarity imho, it often feels as if there’s anย ocean between Avebury and Beckhampton rather than just a flooded roundabout!
Thanks to the Gate for parting the sea, and thanks to Nick and Tim for a splendid evening. Even got the opportunity to briefly chat with two other bands on our ever-growing must-see list, The Radio Makersand Static Moves; watch this space!
Iโve got some gorgeous vocal harmonies currently floating into my ears, as The Lost Trades release their first single since the replacement of Tamsinโฆ
Rolling out a Barrelhouse of fun, you can have blues on the run, tomorrow (7th November) when Marlborough’s finest groovy vintage blues virtuosos Barrelhouseโฆ
by Ian Diddamsimages by Ben Swann and Ian Diddams Self-appointed โMoroseโ Mark Harrison was once again on totally top form at Komedia last Sundayโฆ
Wiltshire Council confirmed Blue Badge holders can park freely in council-operated car parks again, following a vote at the Full Council meeting on Tuesdayโฆ
Featured Image Credit: Jamie Carter Special guests Lightning Seeds to Support Forest Live, Forestry Englandโs summer concert series presented with Cuffe & Taylor, hasโฆ
Wiltshire country singer-songwriter Kirsty Clinch released a Christmas song only yesterday, raising funds for the Caenhill Countryside Centre near Devizes, and itโs already racingโฆ
It was never just the fervent ambience created which made me go tingly with excitement about Melkshamโs young indie band Between The Linesโ demoโฆ
A second track from local anonymous songwriter Joyrobber has mysteriously appeared online, and heโs bitter about not getting his dream jobโฆ.. If this mysteriousโฆ
Itโs not Christmas until the choir sings, and Devizes Chamber Choir intend to do precisely this by announcing their Christmas Concert, as they haveโฆ
If Devizes was a woman, my patient and understanding wife would be livid because I’m smitten, and I’m about to explain my reasoning. Please humour me best you canโฆ..
Starter for ten, ignore the sensationalising of a few roadworks by the local press, it’s having no negative effect on congestion, and ignore political sway, for the corruption is nationwide. I’m about entertainment in our humble market town, of which comparatively we’re punching well above our weight, on any atypical evening such as this.
Such causes me the dilemma of what pub to pick and what live music to enjoy. A problem I sought to solve by attempting to trundle between all three, though with questionable repercussions; I don’t get to witness and report on an entire set for any of them. A personal niggly I’m willing to shoulder, for the average punter either choice saw a great night of talented musicians doing their thing. Devizes is open for business, and is highly flammable!
Yes, I’d have loved to have dropped into the Pump in Trowvegas, Wiltshire Music Centre, and the Crown in Bishops Cannings, where they hosted a free all-dayer with Talk in Code and Purple Fish, but this takes driving, and occasionally, I want a cider, or four! There’s a thing, doing this is a hobby, you wouldn’t deprive me of sticking around the Vizes and enjoying a jar, would you?!
There is no grand public event in town tonight, as often there is, just three honest and wonderful pubs putting on free live music. My starter was the Southgate, where, after guesting at a particularly memorable Jon Amor Trio residency, Philadelphia-born axeman LeBurn Maddox made a welcome return. Justified as my top choice, because while I’ve witnessed the other two more local acts in The Lamb and Three Crowns before, the chance to catch this bluesman doing his thing is far rarer. And boy, can he play the electric blues with passion and plentiful saucy banter; a sublime performance in our lively juke joint, a longstanding blessing to Devizes.
Another outstanding night at the trusty Southgate, which despite having the most varied and regular music programme in town by a country mile, predominantlyย remains favourable to the Mel Bush effect of Devizes being a blues town, appreciated by the regulars and reverberating this afternoon when Jon Amor makes his regular residency.
But though I coulda-shoulda stayed for the duration, I gotta dust my broom and make haste for The Lamb. Once the go-to pub in town, the birthplace of Sheer Music in the Fold, and historically simply a functioning and aesthetic tavern, it’s recently waned in popularity, but while it’s certainly true tonight, they’ve attempted to bounce back and have the breathtaking gothic-folk-rock four-piece Strange Folk to assist. Hailing from Hampshire, this proficient band we’ve seen playing these backwaters at the Gate, and on the Vinyl Realm stage at a DOCA street festival of yore, still, they’re not widely known here, ergo attracting wider appeal to a pub rarely providing music was never going to be a simple task.
Strange Folk are tight in performance, unified in sound. With the hauntingly impassioned vocals of Annie, a kind of PJ Harvey or Kate Bush, they polish covers with uniqueness, such as the apt Stones’ Gimmie Shelter, and have a repertoire of epic, mind blowingly emotive original pieces. Think Fairport Convention doing a Siouxsie and the Banshees tribute in the vein of Pink Floyd with Evanescence, if your imagination stretches that far!
Bottom line, Strange Folk deserved a bigger audience. Getting a foot on the first runner of live music in a small town with two other venues renowned and currently trending for it is no easy task. I suggest The Lamb books acts popular locally to attract a returning crowd before an outside chance such as Strange Folk, wonderful as they are.
Leaving the Lamb with reservations, if we don’t use this iconic tavern do we risk losing it to another antique shop?! I’m not willing to let it happen, not the Lamb, it’s legendary.
With the night coming to its cumulation, I hotfooted it across the carpark to the rear of the Three Crowns, echoes of Illingworth covering Pink Floyd’s Wish You Were Here growing as I approached, upset this is usually the outro to their set, but too steadfast to check the time!
It unfortunately was, my consolation being I’ve seen the Illingworth duo play a number of times, and you can guarantee the creme de la creme of acoustic era-spanning covers, the kind of setlist to appease the broad demographic of the Three Crowns. Here’s a town pub currently winning the race, deservedly. Food served late, efficient cashless bar, its spacious, comfortable, covered, and heated yard has an epoch of supporting wider-appealing local live music acts. The benchmark for booked bands is literal here; blast nostalgic Britpop covers to attain tabletop dancing!
It was as rammed as expected there, my only reservation being I only caught the finale of Jon and Joylen, a duo you cannot fault. Still, I downed a Thatchers haze, got a cuddle and good chat with them both, and blagged a haven for eating the best chicken sandwich in town, from the most excellent Kebab House, in Jon’s van, which he gratefully dropped me home in; what an utter legend!
In conclusion, even if there’s no grand ticketed event at the Corn Exchange, Devizes is happening, and is the perfect town for a great night out, thanks to wonderful pubs like the Southgate, the Three Crowns, encompassing other lively options such as karaoke in the Pelican,ย and I sincerely hope and pray, The Lamb rejoins the list too, we simply have to support it. Please keep an eye on our event calendar and weekly roundup articles .The next music night there will be advertised, and I hope to catch you there then.
According to the confines of youth cultures of yore, I shouldnโt like Marlborough-based duo Deadlight Danceโs debut album, Beyond Reverence, as while attempts to fit into my new surroundings of Marlborough meant my teenage musical tastes meandered in a rock direction, I drew the line at โgoth,โ but on matured and eclectic reflection, still donโt like this, I love itโฆโฆ
Released on Friday (15th September 2023) the sublime Beyond Reverence will be digitally available via Ray Records. You can download it via Bandcamp, stream from all platforms, and a special small run of limited-edition CDs will be available through the band; I suggest you take one of these options, it goes way beyond my expectations.
The two-and-a-half-minute sombre bassline peregrination overture to the opening track, Nice Things sets mood and pace, and Iโm knee-deep in retrospective melancholy, the desired effect Iโd imagine. Contemplating growing up in suburban Essex, a friend of my elder brother, so cool attired in the look of the new romantic, all frilly shirt sleeves, black eyeliner, all Adam Ant, whereas I? Standard hand-me-downs! He gave my brother a new wave electronica mix tape I adored. Echoing the pop of the era, ergo, I was unaware though already accustomed, to a degree, just later washed away with the carefree and whimsical hip hop and electro fashion, pre-acts jumping the incensed bandwagon post Grandmaster Melle Melโs The Message.
To reaccept the dejected goth element of new wave electronica would take puberty, frustration at the bling and gun direction hip hop was heading and attempts to acclimatise to the west country rural village I found myself dumped in. Solace in the wild romantic fantasy of soft metal and general rock like Springsteen I discovered, but those โgothโ pupils of St Johns would require a radical shift to modify myself to. One of those St Johnโs pupils was Tim Emery, one half of the Deadlight Dance duo, something we can laugh about now, but then, I wasnโt ready for the plunge, no matter how newfound schoolfriends supplied me with Sisters of Mercy and The Fields of the Nephilim tapes. I ventured as far as the Cure, but only to improve my chances of getting off with girls; it failed miserably, but thatโs another story for another time!
The origins of Deadlight Dance stem back to 1989, the year I left St Johns, when Tim formed a short-lived Sixth Form goth band with Nick Fletcher. Friends for the best part of thirty-five years, the two periodically worked on music together. Born from lockdown, Deadlight Dance is a project to merge their favoured retrospective bands, The Cult and The Mission, with contemporary acts like Bragolin, Actors, Twin Tribes and Molchat Doma.
Story goes, during an initial jam Tim โfinally convinced Nick to sing,โ a turnaround from the original collective idea to source guest singers. But itโs in Nickโs deep growling vocals and the elegant synths of the second tune, Innocent Beginnings, and up-tempo haunting Infectious where I get these reflections of the roots of gothic, the ominous, Bowie-esque component of new wave electronica, particularly of Joy Division, and herein lies my reasoning for taking to Beyond Reverence, even if Iโm not about to dye whatโs left of my hair black anytime soon!
At eleven tracks strong the album is epic, evolved from an original intention to record an EP, another crisp and proficient achievement for Nick Beereโs Mooncalf Studios. While the sound is retrospective themes are of contemporary social conscience, Innocent Beginnings comments on the environment, the following, Dark Circles about autism. Though the single Missives from the Sisters sticks to true goth prose, a classic tale of misogyny set in the time of witchcraft, and being โgothโ it levels on this topic appropriately, and duly sullen. Though thereโs a lot here which suggests you need not be in the niche, it has wider appeal than I imagined it might.
Thereโs an interesting instrumental interlude, Samuri Sunrise, which reprises a Sunset at the finale, with four tunes between them, two unorthodox cover choices. A quirky interpretation of Lou Reedโs Iโm Waiting for my Man I get, but the latter I was far from suspecting, a sorrowing rendition of Heartbreak Hotel you must hear for yourself!
Deadlight Dance are picking up radio play, and while usually they go out with pre-recorded synths and drum tracks, they equally operate acoustically on mandocellos and mandolins. If you came to my birthday bash early enough to find me semi-sober, youโll have seen them, theyโre opening the Saturday shift at the Beehive at Swindon Shuffle this weekend, alongside Concrete Prairie, the Lonely Road Band, Atari Pilot and Liddington Hill. Thursday 21st sees them at Nick Beereโs open mic at the Mildenhall Horseshoe, and Saturday 23rd they support Ghost Dance at Bathโs coolest record shop Chapter 22. They are delighted to be included on the bill of the legendary All that is Divine VI Festival in London in 2024, and with big plans Iโm left with no doubt this album will push this the maximum.
Beyond Reverence is up for pre-order on Bandcamp, released tomorrow 15th September 2023. Find Deadlight Danceโs Website HERE, and on Facebook & Instagram. Find your inner goth and cheer them up a bit with this nice present, I enjoyed it so much Iโm going to see if my lace trim gothic corset still fits and try it with this spikey rivet leather neck collar; somebody draw me a pentagram pronto! ย
If Devizesโ celebrated FullTone Festival is to relocate to Whistley Roadโs Park Farm for next summerโs extravaganza, what better way to give it the rusticโฆ
This afternoon sees the inaugural grand ceremony of Stone Circle Music Eventsโ Wiltshire Music Awards taking place at the Devizes Corn Exchange. Itโs a selloutโฆ
In association with PF Events, Devizes Outdoor Celebratory Arts introduces a Young Urban Digitals course in video mapping and projection mapping for sixteen to twentyโฆ
by Ian Diddamsimages by Penny Clegg and Shakespeare Live โAntony & Cleopatraโ is one of Shakespeareโs four โRoman Playsโ, and chronologically is set after โJuliusโฆ
Unlike Buck Rogers, who made it to the 25th century six hundred years early, Devizesโ most modest acoustic virtuoso arrives at the 21st just shortโฆ
Marlborough’s darkwave-goth duo, Deadlight Dance push their boundaries to new limits with their second single, Innocent Beginnings this week, and itโs a corker of goth perilous poignancyโฆ..
Echoes of Human League synth prowess rain from this sombre tune, with foreboding warning vocals of Joy Division, yet the theme is environmental, something though historically consistent in pop, generally, surprisingly overlooked by the alternative subgenre of post-punk gothic of the eighties. Youโd have thought with the stereotypical gloomy disposition of the genre, climate change was a missed opportunity for electronica, and/or post-punk goth subject matter; though maybe you know different, Iโm no expert.
While it has been done, eighties misconceptions of the subject often obscure the severity of the topic, and place them subtly irreverent by todayโs standards. Best I can conjure from memory is The Pixiesโ track Monkey Gone to Heaven, of which the context of pollution and the depleting ozone layer is missed amidst the screeching vocals of Black Francis, A Forest by the Cure, which always felt more Little Red Riding Hood than eco-warrior, Talking Headsโ (Nothing but) The Flowers which is all too satirical art-pop, experimentally awash with soukous, for some bizarre reason, and even to endure ten minutes of Giorio Moroderโs less-inspiring disco synth moment in Cerroneโs Supernature only to discover elements of environmental concerns conclude with humankind obliterated by some kind of โcreature from below!โ
It makes this single of an interesting composition, sounding so retrospective; precision with environmental subject matter came much later than this track imitates, therefore musical trends had changed by the time itโs more astutely covered. Ethereal nineties and noughties alternative rock certainly made full use of the topic, from Mors Syphilitica to All About Eve, but Innocent Beginnings, asis Deadlightโs design, it seems, is to recreate the sound of alternative eighties, leaving you pondering if Joy Division were at their peak now, climate change would have been the theme of Atmosphere, and might have come out sounding akin to this. Not forgoing, environmental groups would clasp hold of it, rather than just the creators of Stranger Things!ย ย
Though, having said all of the gloomy irreversible theme of Innocent Beginnings which basically suggests itโs all too late to do something about it now, the video is contradictorily recorded in the setting of the pretty village of Aldbourne; hardly the dystopian landscape of a post-apocalyptic earth wrecked by our own hand! And in turn, makes me come over all Greta Thunberg and contemplate at least if we try, we can say we tried; put that in your pipe and smoke it, Nick Fletcher and Tim Emery of Deadlight Dance! Damn good track though, guys, and produced by Nick Beere at Mooncalf Studios, we look forward to hearing more from these guys.
by Ian Diddamsimages by Chris Watkins Media and Ian Diddams Whilst probably best known for his editorship of โPrivate Eyeโ magazine and thirty-five years asโฆ
I mean, Devizes own contemporary blues throwback, JP is getting bookings, and rightly so. He’s off to Trowbridgeโs Lamb next Saturday for a double-bill withโฆ
As the excitement continues to detonate to an exploding point for our very first Stone Circle Music Events Wiltshire Music Awards on 25th October, weโฆ
Well, what can I say? They might lose a couple of brownie points for the singer continuously referring to me as โBarry,โ but Somerset-Hampshire psych-folk rock four-piece, Strange Folk, who graced Devizesโ Southgateโs little magic box last night can afford to!
Aside an acoustic set in Crewkerne, it was their first electric gig post-lockdown, and the first time theyโd played at Devizes answer to the O2, though some may cast their minds back to a brighter sunny day when they showed us what theyโre made of at Pete & Jackie of Vinyl Realmโs alternative stage at DOCAโs street festival. It was on the grounds of this outstanding performance which summon me to the Gate, not forgoing the awe-inspiring tune they sent us for the Juliaโs House compilation. Which, in turn wouldโve substituted any lost gold stars for the Barry banter!
A small price to pay to ensure they played Glitter the very song they kindly contributed, a request which took them by surprise, being recorded during lockdown, they were unprepared, and hadnโt yet played it live. Still, as was the entire gig, they made a grand job of it, and Iโm about explain why.
Itโs David Setterfieldโs sublime electric and acoustic guitarwork coupled with the awe-inspiring power of Annaliseโs voice, which bounds their sound beyond the confounds of the usual gothic-folk rock genre. So soulfully captivating is this voice, and is the gifted guitar, at times thereโs a natural nod to electric blues, particularly of the late psychedelic sixties sort. In fact, I was praising them to someone, Bran Kerdhynen, I believe, one half of the Celtic Roots Collective, by suggesting they remind me of โWhite Rabbit,โ which they indeed later covered, along with the other Jefferson Airplane anthem โSomebody to Love.โ
If I could think of no other cover so apt for their particular and inimitable sound, covers of T-Rexโs 20th Century Boy, Gold Dust Woman by Fleetwood Mac, and the Stones at their most enchanting with Gimmie Shelter, also fit the bill perfectly. Tainted Love being perhaps the outside chance, but very much based on Soft Cellโs version, Iโll give them that too, for the goth perspective.
Similarly, though, as I said about Freyโs Beerโs Beast album a few days ago, the professional finish and hauntingly alluring female voice, rather than the gritty vocals common with said genre, despite not being the black hair dyed and leather friendship bands type, I devoured, because Strange Folk sweep the arena of All About Eve, into System of a Down and Blind Melon, to blend Fairport Convention with Jethro Tull and Hendrix. And I was born out of time, loving to have hitchhiked to San Francisco with a flower in my hair.
Yet at times covers at the Gate last night felt pushed, as to appease a perceived audience, compared to their own original compositions; they were the icing on the cake and truly ushered you away on a petite mind-trip. The coupling of David and Annalise would be bare without the proficient bassist, Ian and drummer, Steve tucked in the back of the skittle ally, and they rocked through their own songs more so. For future reference, unlike many a pub gig, originals are encouraged here.
Talking of here, it was lovely to be back at the Southgate after gallivanting somewhat to bring news of other venues in our rural precinct, for while they do exist, for me, just like Norm Peterson and Cliff Clavin, sometimes you wanna go where everybody knows your name, except, it seems for the lead singer on this occasion! I mean, Barry, for crying out loud; do I really look like a Barry to you?! Rhetorical, you donโt have to answer that.
The canopies over the beer garden have become locally legendary, a testament in our town, to upholding live music throughout this era, and Deborah and Dave have created this haven, where youโll see no drunken squabbles and feel no bad vibes.
Nice to hear their communal acoustic jams have respawned on Wednesday evenings, and next Saturday is the time for The Blind Lemon Experience, Billy and the Low Ground following on the 23rd October.
Meanwhile Strange Folk have three singles, an EP from 2014 called Hollow Part 1, and a debut promo EP from 2004, which are very worthy of your attention. Around our way again at B-O-Aโs Three Horseshoes for Halloween, their sound is a gorgeous gothic-folk crossover professional enough to captivate even those with a passing interest in the genre.
Thereโs something indefinitely old school punk about Salem, with nods to pop-punk, goth and rockabilly, hoisting them to the absolute top of their scene. No one in the UK are delivering this genre better right now.
This side project of Will Gould from Creepers and Matt Reynolds of Howards Alias is loud, proud and spitting; dripping with Siouxsie and the Banshees, laddered fishnet stockings and Robert Smith influences. Quite honestly, Kieran’s right, again; itโs knocking deafeningly at my front door!
They described their self-titled debut 2020 EP as โspooky, silly, romantic punk rock songs.โ Yeah, figures.
Today they announce their October UK tour, with Oxfordโs Bullingdon, Fromeโs Cheese & Grain, and Bristolโs Exchange included, and nestled between them, on October 16th, Sheer Music & Bandit present them at Swindonโs grandstand music venue, The Victoria.
Support for the Salemโs tour comes from a new solo project from Welsh former Holding Absence bassist, James Joseph; James and the Cold Gun. A playful twist on his name, James and the Cold Gun is named after a Kath Bush song. They promise to be something of a rock nโ roll blues revue, akin to former British rock nโ roll heroes The Computers. They signed to Gallows label Venn Records for the release of their debut album.
by Mick Brianimages from Lauren Arena-McCann The playwright Tom Stoppard is probably best known for his work โRosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Deadโ, his absurdist comedyโฆ
You might think it’s a laryngologist’s dream come true, this Lewis Capaldi-led decade’s penchant for the blue-eyed soul singersโ melismatic strain to cause Mick Hucknallโฆ
Nothing cruel about our George Wilding; with his perfect match and another local legend of local music, Jolyon Dixon, they’re knocking out great singles likeโฆ
Thereโs a new single from Bristol-based Nothing Rhymes With Orange out tomorrow (Saturday 20th September) which takes the band to a whole new level, andโฆ
See, I like an ordinary cuppa like the next Englishman, but thereโs lots of varieties of tea, some Iโm impartial about, others I outright donโt like. To say it โisnโt my cup of teaโ doesnโt mean it definitely tastes like shit, to others it might be the best thing theyโve drunk.
Itโs far harder to review something โnot my cup of tea,โ then something which is. If you think my reviews have been flattery recently, youโve strayed from the ethos; thereโs been lots of timelessly brilliant music released, most agrees with me. Yet, what if it doesnโt?
The evaluation is simple; on my opinion anyone producing original music outside the safety-zone of the commercial industry deserves a medal of bravery, I make a point not to outright slag something off, rather not review it at all and provide constructive criticism directly to the creator.
First impression of the newly released debut album independent Cheltenham-based record label, Screamlite kindly sent, Typhoidmaryโs โDeath Trans,โ was borderline. Pragmatic about the name choice; throughout her life, Mary Mallon fiercely denied she was the cause of infection, and consequently hated her nickname. Who, in their right mind, would deliberately label themselves Typhoid Mary? Perhaps thatโs the point, thereโs an unparalleled clandestinely dark, clinically insane tenet to this album.
This, coupled with my initial revulsion to the substantial thrashing guitars and accomplished but screeching yells which explodes within six seconds on this album, I predicted drafting a reply explaining why I wouldnโt review it. The fact I didnโt, and the review is here, means something changed my mind.
To confine my eclectic tastes to particular genres, see, gets kicked in the teeth when something defined under my few detested pigeonholes impresses me. Metal and grunge are a couple of my off-putting genres, yet when Motรถrhead blast the Ace Of Spades, or I catch Nirvanaโs Smells Like Teen Spirit I understand their worth, and while I might draw the line at stagediving a mosh pit, I rock the fuck out! If it does what it says on the tin, points are bestowed.
Given director Chris Bowen stated, โitโs one of the best albums Iโve heard this year,โ I decided to throw caution to the wind; it deserves a really closer listen. For its production is quality, with eminence in the delivery. What I discovered was an emotive outpouring of tension and anguish like no other, the very reason why Iโm reviewing it after all.
It drifts between ambiance to these thrashing guitar executions of temper, expelling strains of interrogative quandaries, discharging a bruised wreck of an authentic character, angry and confused at their sexuality and orientation, and the relationships which develop, or fail to, from it.
While gothic outcries of depression and anxiety are not my thing, this is accomplished in a manner fiercer and more emotional than anything I could contemplate to compare it to. Be it the post-punk of Siouxsie And The Banshees, commercialised gothic of Fields of Nephilim or Bauhaus, the battering metal of Slayer of thrashing hardcore skater sound of The Dead Kennedys and Black Flag, they all pale in compassion to the appetite and antagonism displayed by Typhoidmary, and Death Trans takes anguish to a whole other level. It spat in my tea, then smashed my cup; spilt boiling fucking tea on my lap! And for that alone, I award it full credit.
With distant soundscapes separating these ten tracks of haunting annotations, resonating desperate pleas and cynical cries over driven, hard-edged gothic-come-thrash metal riffs, Death Trans is not for the fainthearted. Itโs a musical equivalent of Nabokovโs Lolita or Spielbergโs Schindler’s List, in so much as it takes you to a place youโd rather not be, but intrigue suspends you there.
Typhoidmary has released this spellbinding album for streaming and on her Bandcamp page, Screamlite aims to distribute it to all major digital stores on 16th of October. Fans of such goth and grunge will be bowled over with its exquisitely dark portrayals, yet if, like me, youโre a window shopper of such shadowy and adversative genres, this might be the album which drags you inside with your purse open.
Myself, I confess, I pretended to like Robert Smith in order to get off with pale, sorrow-filled rich chicks with black hair-dye and a chip on their shoulder, which, I might add, rarely paid off! Perhaps then, the younger me is the archetypal predator this album wedges a knife into, but it drove even me on an emotional roller-coaster ride, caused me to regret, and changed my preconceived ideas about the genre. Sod it, Iโm off to get my nose pierced!
Introducing Shrewsburyโs five-piece rock band, Cosmic Rays. With a new album proving they’re Hard to Destroy….
As my daughter shoves her phone to my ear with her home-made eightiesโ music quiz playlist, memories she will never know of blissfully return. โIf I could be like Doc Emmett Brown and whizz you back to my era,โ I think aloud, but maybe not such a good idea, sheโd never survive; no Wi-Fi. What is apparent with the classic pop from my time she has picked is that it spans genres unconditionally, because she hasnโt lived it to confine her to one viewpoint, to guide through that era, where the categorical conflict for top of the pops changed overnight; what side did you fight for?
Pigeonholing divided the early-to-mid-eighties into alienated youth cultures, unique from one another and only alike for being experimental and innovative. While there may be nothing particularly ground-breaking about Shrewsburyโs five-piece rock band Cosmic Rays, what they do have is a dexterous ability to weave these genres back together in an original and affable way. I have their March released album Hard to Destroy to snoop upon, and I like it; pass my black hair dye and metallic leather high boots.
Initial reaction was thus, partially gothic with nu-metal wailing guitar and archetypical dejected romance as a running theme, and while itโs not my cuppa, itโs produced lo-fi and agreeably subtle. So elusive indeed you donโt pre-empt the changes, though may yearn for it. Post-punk and new romantic are lobbed into the melting pot by the second tune, tickling my personal taste buds better.
With the sensation of jaggedly Velvet Underground, in parts, its retrospective nods soon confine to aforementioned eighties genres. Iโm now left contemplating everything from The Cult to Depeche Mode, and The Dammed to Blancmange. For which they are, just nods, as the all-encompassing sound is something original and exclusive, in so much as the combination of influences fuse so unexpectedly well. Perhaps no more adroitly composed than a central track called Lost Paradise, as while it mirrors synth-pop electronica, it also explodes midway with a wailing guitar solo akin to Slashโs contribution to Jacksonโs Beat It.
The Bandcamp blurb explains new guitarist Rob McFall is a major factor to this album being a whole new direction, though while I ponder what the old direction was being Iโm new to the band, I have to tip my hat to the guitar sections, but like I say, itโs the placement of them too, unpredictably located. That, I think, makes it more exciting than a band simply replicating a particular sound from a bygone era.
Just when Iโm expecting it to rest there, a tune called Me & Jimmy bursts out upbeat joyful vibes. Unquestionably the most pop-tastic track on the album, it smiles House Martins or even the Fine Young Cannibals at me. Though the last two tunes finish by reminding you this is indie, Seeing Green with a winding goth ease and Walk on Water, where a sombre electronica beat rises again. If youโve heard such a fusion tried before, youโll be forgiven for thinking this could be encumbered and muddled, yet I feel you need to listen, for the juxtaposition works on all levels, making Cosmic Rays interesting and defiantly one to watch. By the way, my daughterโs eighties pop quiz, I nail it every time!
Hard to Destroy by Cosmic Rays is available to sample and buy from BandCamp here.
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