Tag: new-music

Barrelhouse are Open for Business with New Album

Rolling out a Barrelhouse of fun, you can have blues on the run, tomorrow (7th November) when Marlborough’s finest groovy vintage blues virtuosos Barrelhouse release Open for Business, their third studio album indicative of their astounding live show…..

Tim and Stuart’s dramatic guitar riff from the off, Dave Growcott’s drums kick in and Open for Business doesn’t wait around for you to hang your barn jacket on the juke joint’s hall tree. Nick’s growling harmonica strides into the room next, all guns blazing, and we’re like a greyhound out of the traps when Martin grits his teeth and presents his deep encapsulating howl.

If the black cat bone mentioned as the title of the opening tune is a hoodoo lucky charm for protection and luck, it’s unnecessary, expeditiously it magically assures you’re in for a rocky ride to the dusty crossroad, with minimal pitstops and without the need of any such luck.

It doesn’t calm the zest frenzy until the third track either, an absolutely sublimely haunting cover of The Beatles’ Come Together, where Hedi’s backing vocals compliment Martin’s with such unbelievable harmony it smooths out the pace welcomingly.

Things go country for a ballad to Lydia, which I snooped through the interweb searching for an original version only to be informed by Nick Beere, more than just a mouth organ, rather the producer and engineer behind the album via his studio Mooncalf, that guitarist Tim wrote the song. Reason for my research being, it’s magnificence is instant, it simply sounds like a singalong country classic akin to The Band’s The Weight, which is also superbly covered penultimately on the album, btw. Then it’s back to full steam blues workout when they repropel Muddy’s mojo, a second Muddy classic into the melting pot, and belt the living daylights into Canned Heat’s On The Road Again.

Classic Americana come edgy blues rock cover choices, the ambience of Barrelhouse I’m illustrating you might wrongly convey in generalisation as “they’re a serious bunch of hard rock dudes,” but there’s a subtle frivolousness in their delivery which charms a crowd. Their labour of love is reflected joyfully outward to an audience without a pretentious mood, and fondly thrown back at them with an enthralled response, making their shows atmospherically interactive and thrilling. The experience in comparison to your atypical morose blues band is one rather of danceable merriment; a tick from me.

Mantonfest 2023 Image Gail Foster

If a song is original it’s hard to distinguish them from classic covers, Barrelhouse combines them into a seamless show, and makes an irresistible party album. A party appealing to Mantonfest’s youthful fanbase, who’ll invade the dance area when Barrelhouse mount the stage, and impress the matured Devizes blues aficionados with equal measure.

A Bo Diddley beat polishes this album as a grand finale, but if polished ramped serious blues cuts melds with an effervescent delivery is their working formula, its true beauty rests in the simplicity of its production. There’s no technical studio skullduggery here, no manufactured overdubs; what you hear is what happened in real time. Each song is recorded in a single take, making it not just authentic but the perfect representation of their energetic and entertaining live show. Something the band pride themselves in. If you’ve ever seen an amazing band live, only to be disappointed by the CD you brought because it didn’t match the splendour rawness of their performance, this is not the case here. Open for Business is taking the Barrelhouse show home with you. That’s why it’s a keeper.

But don’t take my word for it, next Saturday (15th Nov) sees the album launched at St Peter’s Marlborough, with support from 7pm. It’s free and copies of the album will be available on CD and vinyl. And if you can’t wait for that, this coming Saturday (8th Nov) Barrelhouse will turn the Devizes Southgate into their own juke joint, a legendary occasion blossoming in modern folklore, as Devizes loves the blues and word got out via a toothless milkman.

Failing these options, they’ll be donning Santa hats and bringing out the tinsel at the Bear in Marlborough on 20th December, when you can almost taste the pigs in blankets in the ether.

Jol Rose’s Ragged Stories

There’s albums I’ll go in blind and either be pleasantly surprised, or not. Then there’s ones which I know I’m going to love before the first notes ring out. Quite familiar with Swindon’s beloved Dylanesque singer-songwriter Jol Rose, Ragged Stories is another notch in his sublime discography you simply have to listen to on repeat….

Similarly there’s many attempting Americana, a few leave themselves open for criticisms of cliché or authenticity while others refine it with a certain level of finesse, then there’s Jol Rose. Prolific writer and recording artist, but a perfectionist with that defining quality to paint mind masterpieces through his music. 

Though Jol has no standalone anthem, there never seems to be a magnum opus and fans select a wide range of his songs as their personal favourites. His portfolio is never samey, nor completed. Euro ballad Meet me in Berlin makes an appearance on this new album, and is one of my favourites from last year’s album, Peace, Love & Americana. But this is a stripped back acoustic version, and that’s the thread through a variety of themes and temperaments; this Jol, raw.

There’s other stories of travels; two songs venturing over to the USA it wouldn’t be Americana without, and some Road Boogie to boot. But it’s not without ditties of homebased subjects too. If Springsteen writes romantically of New Jersey gangland warfare, why can’t Jol humbly justify Swindon’s attractiveness with a certain beguiling jollity?! But if Swindon Saturday Night is tongue-in-cheek, Not My Cherie takes cheekiness to a whole other level, as a jokey French rejection from Swindon Conservative Councillor Cherie Adams.

Yet if Not My Cherie doubles-up as his social political observations and Liars & Thieves, makes its political stab humorously, the others on this sixteen songs strong album are far more poignant than satirical. A battle with corruption, Eucalyptus Lullaby opens the album, with the lines, “As I lie on a bed made of ashes, and ponder the wreckage below, I survey all the things brought upon us, by ignoring what we should have known,” which confirmed we’re in for brilliantly constructed anti-establishment prose.  

Perhaps none more than Day & Night Collide, underlining our anger and ignorance hiding our fears in regards to immigration. If you only listen to one song before going to a polling station, make it this one.

Afternoon Nightmares, is relationship bittersweet, the most Dylanesque, and yes, Jol tackles romance themes with equal edge. In its simplicity Beautiful Denial is gracefully wonderful, but my biggest surprise came via Love Story, a simple title which does what it says on the tin, and you might recognise it, but Jol stamps his mark, and makes this Taylor Swift cover his own.

Just man and guitar, the pure essence of sole quality, and in Jol Rose it is exceptional, this album showcases it without pretence or ignorance. He’s a figure of reality in a world gone sour, and he expresses it sublimely.

CD of Ragged Stories is available from Jol Rose’s website HERE.

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Winter Festival/Christmas/Whatever!

This is why I love you, my readers, see?! At the beginning of the week I put out an article highlighting DOCA’s Winter Festival, and…

Devizes Winter Festival This Friday and More!

Who’s ready for walking in the winter wonderland?! Devizes sets to magically transform into a winter wonderland this Friday when The Winter Festival and Lantern…

Snow White Delight: Panto at The Wharf

Treated to a sneaky dress rehearsal of this year’s pantomime at Devizes’ one and only Wharf Theatre last night, if forced to sum it up…

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JP Oldfield & Deadlight Dance Down The Cellar

I mean, Devizes own contemporary blues throwback, JP is getting bookings, and rightly so. He’s off to Trowbridge’s Lamb next Saturday for a double-bill with Joe Burke. Likewise our favourite Goth duo Deadlight Dance too, Tim showing me some fetching snaps from Friday night’s gig at Frome’s Tree House. But sometimes it’s nice to play an intimate home gig you DIY, so we’re down The Bear Hotel’s Cellar Bar, reviving a once beloved venue with alternative options to Devizes’ status quo…..

And it was; Nick Fletcher and Tim Emery were on the cobblestones first, attired marvellously macabre with whitewash faces; All Hallows’ Eve comes early for goths, and they don’t require Haribo! Equally terror-fically tenebrous was their set, sublimely shadowy synths, then their gloomy guitar rhythm fragments darkened by Nick’s howling vocals. When they came for air you could hear a pin drop.

Deadlight Dance found my inner-goth and devoured it some years ago, still their show improves like a fine Dracula’s blood-wine ….with age and nightly kills! They worked precisely through several tunes from their three albums, concentrating particularly on Chapter & Verse, last year’s gothic literary inspired outpouring. They sprinkled the set with covers, a synth-driven Cure’s Just Like Heaven, for example, quite different from the acoustic version on their breathtaking homage album, The Wiltshire Gothic.

They finished on their ghostly reverberating post-punk makeover of Heartbreak Hotel, because if you’re a goth duo planning to cover an Elvis Presley song, one about a lonely man jumping from a hotel window is apt. Then they stripped it back for an acoustic wandering through the crowd encore.

Herein lies the connection which made a double-bill of post-punk goth and rootsy blues work; JP Oldfield duties the plaintive projection of original southern blues, often termed gothic. Therein the expression of rural, economically disadvantaged African-American communities, and through his gorgeous bass vocal range, the metallicity of his resonator and pounding suitcase drum, it’s about as authentic as you’re going to get on our local circuit.

Yet if JP’s writing is foreboding and disquietude, in line with its influences, some of the darkest corners of his debut Bouffon wasn’t inclusive at this live show, and replaced by some outstanding, intricate and rightfully resonate guitar-work; plus there’s always the kazoo and his natural banter to brighten things up.

His latest single polished off an amazing set, No Rest, indeed. It embodies everything progressive about this rising star’s skill and bittersweet panache; a fellow who can hold an audience spellbound despite being, perhaps, an acquired taste. But I challenge anyone critical to stay whilst JP thrusts out House of the Rising Sun, making it his own, as it’s so befitting to his encapsulating style. Yet the broadest evaluation of JP Oldfield is simply that, through his dedication and blossoming experience he continuously improves. It is this then which encourages me to call this gig in, slight in attendees which it unfortunately was as the chills of autumn blast through, the best and most passionate I’ve seen JP play.

Mind you, I groaned about the weather shift to Nick of Deadlight Dance, who replied with positivity. Apparently, he likes Autumn, I joked, “that’s because you’re a goth and I’m a milkman!”

I do hope we can find more gigs down the Cellar Bar, and bring it back to its former glory, a sentiment I believe will be reflected by the live music hunters of Devizes.

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No Rest For JP Oldfield, New Single Out Today

It’s been six months since Devizes-based young blues crooner JP Oldfield released his poignant kazoo-blowing debut EP Bouffon. He’s made numerous appearances across the circuit since and created an impressive following. Today sees him on the next leg of his musical journey, a brand new single aptly titled No Rest…..

If the kazoo created a unique identity for Josh, quirking up otherwise darker themes than the novelty songs you’d except the instrument to be found in, this idiosyncratic move may have caused some criticism from traditionalists who simply didn’t get it. Not me, inherent in the belief rules are made to be broken, I’m of the reckoning JP Oldfield is a contemporary rarity, a misunderstood genius finding his feet. A dedicated axemen with an axe to grind, and a singer-songwriter unafraid to explore and expose every detail of the melancholic mind maze in the encapsulating way blues legends did before him.

With this in tow, I’d argue the jukejoint authentic sound created with his haunting grizzly vocal tones, that steel guitar and beaten up suitcase pedal-drum is Marmite. Love it or hate it, JP forged an imitable style, ranging from Cash to Tom Waits and Nick Cave in comparison. I’d draw any critic’s attention to a track like Last Orders, a heart-wrenchingly honest tune which takes on the drunkard’s misery of a relationship break-up in true mellowed delta blues fashion, without kazoo. But hey, now we’ve got No Rest, a level up certainly in production and indicative of all the greatness he’s already achieved; it rocks.

There’s the sombre spiritual blues theme we’ve come to expect, but it’s a foot-stomping pace with a killer rolling riff, kazoo-less yet a perfect balance of everything else JP throws at his music. It’s deliberately raw, perfectly hard-hitting and undoubtedly JP on the best form we’ve ever seen.

In our interview a month short of a year ago, Josh gave me the impression he was something of a perfectionist. A lot of work has gone into this full bodied five minute marvel, and it shows, in its crisp sound, this composition of elements making said perfect balance, and also a enlightening video accompanying it, by Jamie R Hawkins’ Side Owl Productions. This cones out around 6pm tonight, I’ll add the link to it here, so return after your potato waffles.

The video has a different narrative from the song, rather ‘the story of the song;’ a fascinating showcase of JP’s session at Mooncalf Studios, where Nick Beere engineers the kind of tune which we might suggest JP’s feet have been found. We look forward to hearing the other songs from this session in good time, but for now this is plenty to indicate this Devizes bluesman is heading in the right direction. But Nick brought out the best in musicians while I was still doodling boobs on my school rough book!

He’s JP Oldfield, I’m just old, but I know what I like. I could dance barefoot in a barn grasping a bottle of bourbon to this, and when it gets to that irresistible bridge I’ll procrastinate my repent, letting my sins roam free for a day; though I haven’t drawn a boob on a school book for quite some considerable time! 

Frome based band, Bellwether, to release new single

Formerly known as Judas Goat and the Bellwether, the now renamed band have announced the release of their latest single, “Drill Baby Drill” (coming out on the 27th November). I was given the pleasure of listening to it and you really couldn’t ask for anything better…

The band themselves have gained a loyal fanbase with their psychedelic blues-rock style, drawing inspiration from The Doors, Cream and Jefferson Airplane amongst others. After having most of this year packed with gigs all over Frome and the surrounding areas this new single is taking things up a notch for the band.

“Drill Baby Drill” starts with a heavy acoustic guitar riff, before leading into the smooth vocals of Sara Vian, the lead singer. By the chorus you’ve got pitch perfect harmonies layered with a mellow electric guitar line creating pure harmony. This continues throughout the song after being met with a steady drumbeat flowing with the song. All in all, it’s a delight.

And it’s nice to see that a clear message still shines through, over the song as a whole. It was originally inspired by the so-called ‘diablos musica’ (devil’s tritone). In simple terms a tritone in music is an interval, two notes that are a certain distance apart being played simultaneously and back in the day this was seen as unsettling and spooky – due to its dissonant sound. This was pretty much forgotten about until Black Sabbath came along and released ‘Black Sabbath’.

Sara Vian herself described it as “long branded as forbidden and dissonant, yet I discovered an article which claimed that medieval high clergymen imagined it to be the sound of the Holy Trinity; a paradox which became the perfect foundation to explore what’s going on in America right now!”

“Drill Baby Drill” really is worth a listen – it only takes one to have you hooked and playing it on repeat (I know I have).  Luckily for you readers, its being soft launched today (5th September) on Bandcamp

There’s also an official launch soiree on the 19th September at the Meet at Eight bar in Yeovil, where local heroes Long Sun will also be appearing (here)

And don’t forget to check out the Bellwethers themselves on whatever social medias you use: @bellwetherbanduk

Yesterday’s Tomorrow; Debut Album From Ursa Way and its Launch at the Tuppenny

If the eonian motivation of youths picking up guitars and forming bands has hit Gen Z enough that they’re two to a penny, I’m in the right place to discover one new to us, The Tuppenny…. 

An adept drummer pinched from Bristol, with the remaining homegrown members formed a  youthful and hopeful Swindon indie-rock four-piece called Ursa Way, and they’ve ploughed two years into their debut album Yesterday’s Tomorrow, launched on the night in question. Now was the time to show it off, and they did in an exceptionally accomplished and entertaining way.

If an early start to a Friday evening one weekend before the celebrated Swindon Shuffle was risky, especially being Thursdays are usually the favoured live music nights for The Tuppenny, seems the band are risk-takers, as diving straight in with a twelve track album is ambitious.

Generous to a loyal fanbase when the archetypal EP usually appears first, for the same fiver pricetag, but equally generous are the young punks and an assortment of others who’ve gathered to see them, as they applauded their efforts as if a new wave of hysteria was imminent, which it could well be. Though, this is Old Town, the epicentre of Swindon’s nightlife, where they’ve ingeniously adopted road closure blockades to create Swindon-fashioned alfresco dining areas!

Ursa Way played out their album, but unlike the shameless enterprise of a legend, I predict it was the bulk of their repertoire, and that’s acceptable for an upcoming band. More importantly they did it with bells on; the composition tight, the delivery confident. They seemed most comfortable with a melodic pace rather than thrashing it out, but at perkier tunes they still held it harmoniously.

In a roundabout way they confessed many of their songs were sporadic and spontaneous muses rather than poignantly planned thought processes, which was both amusing and honest, perhaps ironic too I figured after listening to the album. But not as amusing as complimenting Swindon, only to then ironically knock it in a song called Shit Town of Swindon!

While not the poetry of Keats, many of their co-written songs rise above the mocking of their hometown, which if only a standout track for its satirical title, others convey more concentrated narratives. There’s a sense of irony throughout though, if Yesterday’s Tomorrow is surely today, the title track is the penultimate one, and depicts a hungover hope of new horizons of a romantic interlude, in a Britpop style.

The album kicks off with Southbound, an evenly-paced contemporary punk-pop attitude sourced from millennial indie bands like Busted and McFly. Though this album flows brilliantly, it’s onto something decidedly more traditional punk two tracks in, then the aforementioned Shit Town of Swindon continues the style, Britpop influences gradually building. This one has to be anthemic in good time, particularly for their Swindonite fanbase.

Chasing the Sun four tunes in really picks up the pace, again with a comment on their hometown, but with optimism riding the narrative; there’s a clever and simple hook equal to the previous one here, proving these boys know how to construct a pop song with energy and enthusiasm.

A ballad, Just a Game follows, balancing the pace, and again proving something, that Ursa Way are no one trick pony. Noah’s Nosey Neighbour takes an almost prog-rock style to Britpop, creativity abound here too, this rocks with surprising substance, and we’re only halfway through this twelve-tracks-strong brilliant debut album.

With adroit contrasts in riffs, mainstream rock influences, perfectly placed hooks and intelligent lyrics, there’s promise in this album that Ursa Way are destined to create something much more memorable, but right now the potential signs are all encompassed in Yesterday’s Tomorrow. It ends with Another, a monstrously clever drifting Britpop tune seemingly about jealousy, dripping with edge and emotion.

They played this album out at The Tuppenny on Friday, reflecting the feeling we’ll be hearing more of this young band in the future, and the gig felt like a groundbreaking moment for them, in respect of that notion. 

LinkTree to Ursa Way

I love the Tuppenny, a hospitable tavern with universal appeal. Thursdays are the live music nights usually, but as I said, it’s Swindon Shuffle next weekend, see my recommendations here, I’m certain some were at the Tuppenny!

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The Lost Trades Float on New Single

I’ve got some gorgeous vocal harmonies currently floating into my ears, as The Lost Trades release their first single since the replacement of Tamsin Quin…

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I See Orange….And Doll Guts!

There was a time not so long ago when I See Orange was the most exciting new band in Swindon. Their latest offering released at the end of August, a single entitled Doll Guts, truly positions them way above that pedestal and I predict and hope, onto the international market….

Though there’s a nod to the band’s roots in the accompanying picturesque video, in the way of stage show clips from Swindon’s premier venue The Victoria, it’s consolidated with professional storyboard shots of their playfully cute mien, contrasting their macabre component, commonly associated with grunge. It’s an original design identity they’ve manufactured to great success, but never has it been so symbolically recognisable as in this song, and video. The title alone reflects the winsome-dark contrast and their penchant for dolls, and horror, yet that’s only one element which causes me to hail it their greatest song to date, and the next level up.

Doll Guts is perhaps more melodiously memorable than anything I See Orange has put out in the past, the moreish affiliation of pop, without watering down those gorgeous roaring guitar riffs and thumping drums; greater than the chord simplicity of The Cardigans’ Losing My Favourite Game, but equally punchy. Imagine Hole writing the theme of Twin Peaks; this is evocatively fantasised themed, with a singalong chorus, rising and falling like the paragon of classic grunge, yet their own divine spin.

I loved the drive of Mental Rot, the spookiness of Witch, but Doll Guts is the delineation, incorporating all the elements and symbolism of I See Orange’s design and launching them back out there in true colours. You have to love this, everyone in the human race, surely?! You don’t have to be the number one Nirvana fanboy. In fact, while mawkish soft metal turned me away from rock in the late eighties, causing me to miss out on grunge, it has been through local bands like I See Orange, Life in Mono, The Belladonna Treatment and Liddington Hill, which has opened my eyes to its power and worth, so, thanks for that!

I See Orange match with a chemistry every band must envy. Formed in 2022 when frontgirl Giselle, originally a folk-pop singer-songwriter moved here from Mexico, and an impromptu rehearsal session with Cameron and Charlie established potential magic. Inspired by nineties and millennial alt-rock, they add their own unique post-grunge flavour. I have believed it works for sometime now, an accolade burgeoning with pace, seeing them gig in London and beyond, and this song confirms the praise they’re gaining is fully deserved. 

JPU Records Link

Find Digital Streams and Downloads HERE

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Devizes Chamber Choir Christmas Concert

It’s not Christmas until the choir sings, and Devizes Chamber Choir intend to do precisely this by announcing their Christmas Concert, as they have done…

Steatopygous go Septic

If you believe AI, TikTok and the rest of it all suppress Gen Z’s outlets to convey anger and rage, resulting in a generation of…

The Wurzels To Play At FullTone 2026!

If Devizes’ celebrated FullTone Festival is to relocate to Whistley Road’s Park Farm for next summer’s extravaganza, what better way to give it the rustic…

Tidy: Talk in Code at The Vic with Riviera Arcade and Flora Flora

It was only ever supposed to be a single launch gig but it could’ve been for a gold-crested gatefold triple LP, because Talk in Code were larging it last night at their hometown premier venue, Swindon’s Victoria. The crowd was ecstatic and the atmosphere was highly flammable…..strike a light!

If witnessing a great band on their own turf adds a communal elevation to the thrill of seeing them at all, Talk in Code certainly pulled out all the stops, even if the je-ne-sais quoi of these masters of indie-pop perform with sublime quality anywhere they happen to appear.

If this crossing the friend barrier themed quintessential grower, More Than Friends sits perfectly into their eighties vibe discography, we were leaked forthcoming singles might venture somewhere slightly different, but right here, now, at The Vic, Talk in Code was rewarded equal rapturous praise in throwing it out there as they were marching triumphantly through their beloved anthems.

Tunes which, like the best memorable pop, have universal and timeless appeal. At a Talk in Code gig you could mute the sound and still comprehend that the individual takes what they want from their style by observing the diversity of the demographic present. Here, this tight group of musicians evoke memories of everything gorgeous about eighties pop from Ah-Ha to Simple Minds, for me. One generation younger, especially when they backtracked to Oxygen, might wallow in nineties indie, and likewise youth will recognise their own contemporary influences.

If homeliness provides confidence to experiment, we were treated to something I’ve never seen Talk in Code do before; as the band Twix breaked, dynamic Adidas- sponsored frontman Chris Stevens proved he was no one trick pony, and blessed the Vic with an immaculate acoustic number, an original he called We Remain.

If appreciation was a pair of knickers, Talk in Code would have a visible panty line, as devotee “Talkers” in blue sunglasses and merch amassed between Vic regulars, equally relishing their vibrant, danceable and electric hoedown! And all took home a CD embossed goodie bag akin to a toddler’s birthday party, save a slice of squashed sponge cake!

Yet if there’s an honourable family-fashioned ambience surrounding this band, where Talkers would follow them to the four corners of the globe, else create Lego fan-videos or shower them with deserved fondness, the mood for a quality evening was pre-set by two awesome support acts TiC cherrypicked.

Gloucestershire soloist, songwriter and model Flora Flora opened the gig with acoustic splendour. New to me, I’m now keenly following her socials. Not because she took control of my phone from my intoxicated sausage fingers to ensure I did, though she did, but because I’ve since come to realise there’s subsequent levels to her talent than the perfection of her rocking performance last night!

An inspiring Gen Z Swifty wordsmith, crafting evocative songs praised and played by our hero James Threlfall on BBC Introducing. A new one drops on streaming platforms on 29th August but is available now on Bandcamp, Need to Say; it’s far more ethereal than Flora Flora’s edgier performance, and you’ll be foolish not to bookmark it as a favourite; fill your ankle-length boots.

Penultimate act, Bristol-Swindon longstanding five-piece rockers Riviera Arcade, I must confess, I preconceived to be a fair, hard rock band; they certainly came out like one. It only took near to the completion of the first song for me to come to complex reasoning why they’re punching well above that weight. Multi-layered precision with captivating guitar riffs set me contemplating subtle nods to eighties mod or punk, sometimes skanking, but still, it heralded heavier rock. They’ve a 2022 album Gone By Ten on stream, so you can hear what I’m waffling about.

An interesting and certainly unique style which, while I was thinking The Police or Costello, they finalised their set of beguiling originals with an apt and superbly delivered cover of The Stones’ Paint it Black, a perfect summary to their ethos. I returned home as a newfound fan, a bit wobbly on my feet and Notra-Dame bells ringing in my ears fan, but deffo a fan!

Talk in Code was officially on the best form I’ve ever had the pleasure to witness, but it was the combination of acts, venue and atmosphere which famed this fantastic night too; The Vic is renowned for doing so, historically. Owner Darren Simons assured me, though the venue is up for grabs, it’s only going to someone prepared to continue in his shoes, so this flagship to Wiltshire live music should thankfully continue to reign; dodge magic roundabouts and onwards to The Shuffle!

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DOCA’s Young Urban Digitals

In association with PF Events, Devizes Outdoor Celebratory Arts introduces a Young Urban Digitals course in video mapping and projection mapping for sixteen to twenty…

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Jol Rose’s Ragged Stories

There’s albums I’ll go in blind and either be pleasantly surprised, or not. Then there’s ones which I know I’m going to love before the…

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Wither; Debut Single From Butane Skies

Whilst dispersing highly flammable hydrocarbon gases into the atmosphere is not advisory,  Butane Skies is a name increasingly exploding on local circuits. The young and aspiring Frome “a little bit emo, a little bit not” four-piece released a debut single Wither last month (while I was on my jollies.) So, even though this mention of it might be belated, it’s worthy of your attention, as I predict Butane Skies is a name you’ll be hearing a lot more of…..

If the name suggests an all-out fireball of frenzied rock you should note it’s taken from a line in the My Chemical Romance song Skylines & Turnstiles, and akin to their emo influence there’s delicate rising and falling sections of emotive outpouring in Wither. With a dystopian themed desperation, perhaps metaphoric, this is intense yet melodic, as exquisitely composed as Evanescence, and as genius as Frank Turner.

There’s an intricate piano, blessing it with a sense of optimism above the emo melancholy of the subtly placed fuzzbox riff and the powerful vox harmonies of a double-Alanis Morissette. I’m thinking I’ve not heard local emo quite as good as this since Life in Mono, but not to typecast within the emo pigeonhole, there’s something more universally indie about them too, Muse-fashion.

Such high accolades deserved, Wither firmly places them on the first runner of the local recording artist ladder, and while an impressive kick start, it’s moreish and patent they’ve more tricks up their sleeves. Butane Skies established themselves in 2022 after school duo Amaya and Ash collaborated at just 14 years old, and bassist Mia and drummer Alex joined. They’ve notched numerous gigs and festivals since Future Sound of Trowbridge at the Pump, and winning Riverbank’s Take The Stage in 2024 with the prize to perform at Minety Music Festival. 

Other appearances at Festival on the Farm, Figglefest, Bradford Roots, Corrfest, Chippenham Pride and Sounds at the Ground, and at venues such as The Boathouse, The Neeld, Frome’s Tree House and a number of local stages at Glastonbury sees them Bristol-bound for The Louisiana and Komedia Bath’s Electric Bar soon. They are nominated for our Wiltshire Music Awards, and now top of never-ending must-see list!

Here’s a band with a track you must listen to, but the ambience feels something wonderful is blossoming; Butane Skies are yet to hit their magnum-opus, be there when they do.  

LinkTree

Crowned Lightbringer: New EP From Ruby Darbyshire

If I was bowled over backwards by Ruby’s teaser single last week, its title, Crowned Lightbringer, now also belongs to this five-track EP, released today, and as you might guess, you’re in for a treat…..

There’s so much incredible time, effort and adroitness pouring out of this it’s actually scary how talented Ruby Darbyshire is at such a young age, and in pondering the journey her music will take her. You’re left numb to what to listen to next, in awe, and spellbound by its harmonic perfection. There’s also a general theme of journey, often rinsed in ingenious metaphors, which connects you to Ruby’s world and imaginings, the hallmark of a musician who knows what buttons to press to engage an audience and leave them spellbound.

Ruby’s Scottish roots are displayed in a bagpipe instrumental bonus track, The Spirit of Jenny Whittle, the rest relies on her accomplished acoustic mood-setters, and the ambience is as ever, hauntingly choral, layered with dedication, folk emotive and saturninely uplifting soulfully, edifying a matured Ruby, compared to her debut EP. But if Crowned Lightbringer displays a whole new level for her music, what comes next will be anyone’s guess. It is, in my humble opinion, an EP which needs to be in everyone’s life.

Vocally it’s faultless too, profoundly as guiding as Nina Simone, as variable and soulful as Billie Holiday; comparisons of such high accolades, I know, I don’t know where else to go to balance her sublime vocal range. Lady Nade and Mayyadda the only contemporary likenesses I could fairly credit. Opening with Timekeeper, as deeply emotive as Crowned Lightbringer, chilling and as distant as an autumn zephyr. With a rustic vinyl crackle, Calling Hades captures a timeless acoustic goodness of underworldly Greek gods, with a romantically liberating hopefulness as its theme.

Black Dog has a deeper blues feel, yet sprinkled with northern celtic, spiritually-guiding us away from the omen of solitary, the Gytrash. Ruby is folk, primarily rooted and understanding of it. There’s much to unpick from her beautiful music tapestry here, I’ve only had a quick listen, couldn’t wait for a complete analysis before telling you how fantastic this EP is, but I believe, in time, this might be my personal fave! But hey, the title track follows, and we’ve mentioned this last week, it’s a metaphoric shanty which depicts perfectly where Ruby’s music is taking her and all the demons which might lurk on her journey.

All I know is this should put Ruby not a local circuit map, but on an international stage; I don’t flatter, and if you don’t take note more fool yourself. Listen, just, listen! 

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CrownFest is Back!

Yay! You read it right. After a two year break, CrownFest is back at the Crown in Bishop’s Cannings. So put a big tick onto…

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Wendy James Tour Coming to Frome’s Cheese & Grain

Photo credit: David Leigh Dodd

Pioneers of the indie-rock sound which would lead us into the nineties, Transvision Vamp lead singer Wendy James has announced a UK tour in October in support of her recently released tenth solo album The Shape of History, which includes Frome’s Cheese & Grain…..

Wendy will be accompanied on tour by a full band, featuring Transvision Vamp’s bass player Dave Parsons, Jim Sclavunos from Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds on drums and Alex Ward (Thurston Moore Group) on guitar. They will be playing songs from across all of her albums, from TVV Pop, to New Wave Punk to Lo-Fi Racine No.1, through to the big productions of Queen High Straight and The Shape Of History, picking off favourite songs from each. 

For full tour dates see here, but closest to us is Tuesday 14th October at the Cheese and Grain, and The Fleece, Bristol on Tuesday 28th October.

Wendy James

While The Shape of History doesn’t begin with a sound akin to Transvision Vamp, there’s underlying echoes of it as the album builds. Layers of electronica envelope the familiar vocals, so while it’s not what you were expecting, the effect is as The Independent described, “like a patchwork of memories – victories, heartaches, the feeling of racing down a California highway, no destination in mind.” And Classic Rock expressed that 

“The Wendy James of 2024 is an older, wiser and far more intriguing prospect. The Shape of History, never dull, and certainly never predictable.” 

 “My songwriting has always been a wide mix of sounds, which naturally reflect the different music and references I have and love,” Wendy explained, “The Shape Of History was recorded on Scrubs Lane, West London with Alex Ward, Harry Bohay and James Sclavunos. I then went off to NYC and Brooklyn to record the pianos and organs with Dave ‘The Moose’ Sherman. Overdubbing continued with Al Lawson at the engineering helm in his Shepherd’s Bush studio and then I went back to Berkeley, CA to mix with Jesse Nichols before mastering with Fred Kevorkian in Brooklyn NY. I have spent so much time with this music, I know it note-for-note and love it and am so happy for you to make it your own now”.

 “The Shape Of History has a lot about love in it, a lot about appreciation of oneself, one’s life and importantly, of others. It is life’s arc of starting out, blooming into something and in some ways maturing. I don’t think my music has got older, I know I’ve not gone mellow! My attitude can be more ferocious and fearless than ever, but there is an acquired wisdom, which naturally comes after having been alive for a few decades! ‘The Shape Of History’ is a love letter and a Thank you note to life so far. The culmination of my tenth album is the result of co-musicians and engineers who I’ve worked with previously and with whom I share a language. We know each other, we choose to work together. We enjoy each other’s talents and personalities. There is a happiness, a belonging, when we meet up, and an open and determined desire to achieve what we know we have to.”

“From meeting Nick Christian Sayer and forming Transvision Vamp, the two of us walking into EMI Records, and demanding to see the head of Artists and Repertoire, Dave Ambrose. Getting signed and making our hits of the late 80’s and 90’s. From collaborating with Elvis Costello and mixing that album at Sunset Sound in Hollywood where The Stones mixed ‘Exile On Main St’, then moving to NYC to start writing and recording as a solo artist, all the gigs I’ve played and the friends I’ve made around the world, the astounding, incredible, wonderful people whose lives I’ve crossed paths with… I am so grateful for it all.”

Buy Shape of History HERE

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Oh Danny Boy!

Oh Danny Boy, oh, Danny Boy, they loved your boyish Eton looks so, but when ye was voted in, an all democracy wasn’t quite dying,…

REVIEW – The Lost Trades @ The Piggy Bank, Calne – Tuesday 18th June 2025

Five Have An Out-of-town Experience

You can’t always get that live music experience you crave by simply staying within the walls of D-Town.  Sometimes, and especially when there’s a  band playing that you simply have to see, you just need to get the gang together and pile into a motor to visit the wilder Wiltshire provinces.  And so it was last night that we ventured over the hill to Calne.  We found the border post un-guarded, and so we slipped into the town and found our way to The Piggy Bank micro-pub to see The Lost Trades……

The Piggy Bank has been a surprisingly good little venue over the past year or two, featuring some great nights with, among others, The Rob Lear Band, The Black Feathers, Jess Vincent, and Jinder, as well as pop-up dining nights, quiz nights and (a big favourite of mine) Crazy Bird comedy club nights.

Just in case you don’t know them, The Lost Trades are a trio who play folk/ Americana with a cool Laurel Canyon vibe. With a sound that is reminiscent of the California folk scene of the late 60s/early 70s, (we’re thinking here of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young), their three part harmonies have been previously described as “flawless”, “spine tingling” and “magical”.

Formed in late 2019, the global Covid hoo-hah cut short their first tour after just a single sold out gig.  The band shrugged their shoulders, and retreated to their respective song-writing rooms to work on what was to become their debut album, “The Bird, The Book & The Barrel”, released in June 2021. The follow up album, “Petrichor” was released in March 2023. Both are highly recommended – trust me!

Then, just last year, one of their founding members, Tamsin Quinn, decided to leave the trio to pursue other interests.  Bit of a shock.  Was this the end for The Lost Trades, we all wondered?  Not a bit of it!  Tamsin has now been replaced (if replaced is really the right word) by the very talented Jess Vincent, who had recently returned to the UK after a few years away in Bulgaria.  

The result of all that is that The Lost Trades now consist of:

· Phil Cooper (vocals, acoustic guitar, electric bass), a performer not unknown in the local area for many years, both as a solo performer, as well in various bands, and a guy who knows his way around a recording studio and the producer’s job;

· Jamie R Hawkins (vocals, acoustic guitar, electric bass, ukulele), also massively well-known locally, especially in venues around D-Town, for his wonderful solo performances and some great songs. Indeed a bunch of us had slipped over to The Pulpit (ex The Little Hop) in Old Town, Swindon only last week to witness a really excellent solo performance at that new musical venue;

· Jess Vincent (vocals, guitar, percussion, shruti box).  Jess first came to notice singing with Penny Red, before branching out into a solo career that produced several albums (Time Frame, Seesaw Dreams, Shine, and last year’s Lions Den)  

Between us five we’d seen The Lost Trades in their old formation many times before, but this was to be the first time with new band-member Jess.  How would this all work out?  Would the sound and the dynamic have changed?  And if so, for better or worse?  Well, in sum, we need not have worried.  Despite a massive learning curve for Jess to pick up the band’s performing repertoire in just a few short months, to say nothing of having to re-blend all of their trade-mark close harmonies, the end result was spectacularly good.  It was neither better, nor worse, just slightly different and more developed and mature.  Right from the first number we knew that the magic had remained intact.

All the old stuff was still there – the constant and easy interchanging of instruments (including guitar, ukulele, bass and percussion), the close three-part harmonies, the well-worked song material, and the light-hearted intimacy, with the group engaging in comfortable repartee with each other and the audience like a group of old friends. And there were a lot of old friends in the audience to help them along.  And, of course, the many familiar songs.

But there was some great new stuff too – new songs, a different female vocal line, new instruments, and (obviously) a new personal dynamic between the three performers.  All of them had played The Piggy Bank before, and all to packed houses, so there were no nerves about any of that.  And last night, in front of yet another packed house, they managed to produce a truly spell-binding performance once again.

My only (very slight) reservations about the evening were that I needed slightly less chat (some of the introductions were as long as the songs!) and I would have liked slightly more of Jess (the two boys tended to dominate proceedings at times).  But, hey, these are very simple things to be fixed and developed, and didn’t in any way detract from all the superb quality of the music they delivered in their three sets (or “spasms” as Phil nicely put it).

There were no lashings of ginger beer, but the music flowed, the craft beer certainly flowed, and a jolly good time was had by all.  Then, under cover of darkness, we fled through the night back to the safety of D-Town, our out-of-town mission successfully accomplished.

Hopefully there’ll be more music dates to come at The Piggy Bank in the autumn.  But, meanwhile, if you want to see The Lost Trades live in concert (and I strongly recommend that you do!), they’ll be appearing locally as below:

Future dates for The Lost Trades:

Wednesday 23rd July 2025 @ The White Bear, Devizes

Friday 25th July 2025 @ Trowbridge Festival  

Friday 26th September 2025 @ The Pump, Trowbridge

Saturday 27th September @ The Hop, Old Town, Swindon  

For more information go to thelosttrades.com/ 

REVIEW – Devizes Arts Festival– Kiki Dee & Carmelo Luggeri – Corn Exchange – Friday 30th May 2025

Still Got The Music In Her

By Andy Fawthrop

It’s been a while coming a-round but at long last Devizes’ very own Arts Festival finally kicked off last night for its two-week run.  And we started off, as is usual now, with a real belter of a concert in the Corn Exchange, this time featuring veteran performers Kiki Dee and Carmelo Luggeri…..

If you were after star quality, Kiki Dee has it in spades.  Recently celebrating her 60th year in the music industry, she has now released a whopping 40 singles, three EPs and 22 albums. She is one of the UK’s finest and most revered vocalists, and she’s sung with and for just about anybody who is anybody in this industry.

Pauline Matthews (as was) was born in Bradford, West Riding of Yorkshire in 1947.  At the age of 10 she won a local talent contest, and at 16 she had her first paid job as Kiki Dee in show business. She worked briefly as an apprentice hairdresser (she did my mother’s hair once – my feeble claim to fame!) and at Boots in Bradford during the day, while in the evenings she sang songs with a dance band in Leeds.  Initially with Fontana Records, known for her blue-eyed soul vocals, she was the first female singer from the UK to sign with Motown’s Tamla Records. She’s best known for the hit singles “Amoureuse” (1973), “I’ve Got the Music in Me” (1974) and “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart”, her 1976 duet with old Reg Dwight (Elton John), which reached Number One on the UK Singles Chart and the US Billboard Hot 100 chart.  Her 1981 single “Star” became the theme song for the talent show Opportunity Knocks when it was revived by the BBC in 1987.  

During her career she’s sung backing vocals for Dusty Springfield, was one of the backing vocalists on Love Affair’s 1968 UK number one single Everlasting Love, sang backing vocals on various Elton John recordings, such as “All the Girls Love Alice” from Goodbye Yellow Brick Road and various tracks on Rock of the Westies, played as support act to Queen at their Hyde Park concert in front of a crowd of 150,000 people, and performed at Live Aid in 1985, reprising “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” with John, and performing backing vocals on the other songs in his set. On top of that she’s won awards for her Musical Theatre roles in Willy Russell’s Blood Brothers, in which she took on the role originally played by Barbara Dickson for the 1988 production and recording, and received an Olivier Award nomination in 1989 in the Best Actress in a Musical category.  

But all of that is history!  Nowadays, or at least for the last twenty years or so, she’s continued to move forward with the music that she creates with Carmelo Luggeri. Kiki says Carmelo is her favourite guitarist and he co-writes and produces all their songs.  

Dee released the live album Almost Naked, a joint effort with Carmelo in 1995, followed by the studio albums Where Rivers Meet (1998) and The Walk Of Faith (2005). In September 2013, Dee and Luggeri released their third studio album, A Place Where I Can Go, on Spellbound Records. They have been touring together ever since and have played alongside such musical luminaries as Roger Taylor, Jack Bruce, Fish, Paul Young, Tom Robinson, Graham Gouldman and Madeline Bell.  

Carmelo Luggeri’s abilities as a guitarist, composer and producer have taken him on a rich and interesting musical path over his career. Born in England of Italian parents, Carmelo was mainly self-taught with some classical training.  Working with comedian and television personality Billy Connolly he created the “Watzin’ Matilda” re-work used for the hugely successful 1995 “World Tour Of Australia” TV series. In 1998 Carmelo produced the track “Stealin” for the film “Still Crazy” starring Jimmy Nail.  Carmelo has also worked with US singer Andy Williams, Paul Rodgers (Free, Bad Company), Ray Cooper (Elton John band), Gus Dudgeon, Stuart Epps, Romy Haag and singer songwriter Ralph McTell.

Carmelo and Kiki’s paths first crossed when he produced a collection of bonus tracks for “The Very Best of Kiki Dee” album, and, under the guidance of their manager Steve Brown they took on a new musical direction together, playing acoustic concerts, starting with an appearance at The Royal

Albert Hall for World AIDS Day in 1994. It was quite a departure for Carmelo at this point as he was essentially an electric player but this marked the beginning of their now 25 year collaboration where acoustic guitar is at the foundation of their sound.

Sorry for the long introductory pre-amble, but just wanted to reprise the careers of these two wonderful musicians.  And I guess you’d have to say that represents as good a musical pedigree as you’re ever going to get, so the expectations for the large crowd were, to say the least, pretty high.

And we weren’t to be disappointed one bit. Kicking off with “Get What You Wish For” and the first of several musical career anecdotes, we were suddenly there at “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart”!  Like most people I thought this would be the wrap-up song or the encore, but Kiki clearly wanted to get the song on the table early.  Using, not unexpectedly, a completely different acoustic arrangement, with a rather slower tempo, her rendition allowed the lyrics to really shine through, and to deliver some really pathos.

Cracking on with anecdotes about meeting David Hockney in Malibu, and working with Dusty Springfield, we had the self-penned “Small Mercies”. She then mined a rich vein of beautifully-arranged covers – Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill”, Robert Palmer’s “Every Kinda People”, and Neil Young’s “Harvest Moon”.

Following “a nice glass of red” and a costume change, the second half continued in much the same vein, with Kiki interspersing the songs with more anecdotes.  Early up we had her big hit “Amoureuse”, partly sung in the original French, a jazzy cover of Leonard Cohen’s “Dance Me To The End Of Love” (featuring a touching cameo when she danced with a member of the audience whilst Carmelo commanded the stage with some fabulous guitar work).  We then had a run of the pair’s own compositions – “Amen and Goodbye”, “She’s Smiling Now”, “You Can’t Fix The Maybe” and “Until We Meet Again” – before finishing with an upbeat and rousing version of “I’ve Got The Music In Me”.  Getting an encore was a mere formality by this stage, but their choice was a strange one – a very quiet number entitled “If You Ever Need Someone”, and a harmonised version of The Beatles’ “Blackbird”.  Cue lots of cheering and a great ovation.

Kiki showed us that, at 78, she’s definitely still got it.  Her voice is, expectedly, not as strong and pure as in her youth, but it’s still bloody good, hitting all the notes perfectly, and still delivering plenty of soulfulness and meaning.  Carmelo demonstrated throughout to be no mere prop or accompaniment to the big star on his left, but a real guitar craftsman in his own right.  His subtle and effective use of loops and pedals to add depth and colour to every number, coupled with several changes of guitars and tunings, proved a real revelation.  His introductions and solos were beautifully crafted, drawing much applause, and plenty of genuine praise from Kiki.

As a duo they harmonised well, and were very clearly extremely comfortable in each other’s company on stage.  Their rapport with each other, and with the audience, added considerably to the quality and the professionalism of the show.

This was the third or fourth time I’d seen these guys, and I’d have to say that they only get better and better.  A really solid two and a half hour show, filled with great songs, hilarious anecdotes and superb guitar work – what more could you possibly want?  I absolutely loved and, it seemed, so did the packed audience.  

A cracker of a concert to kick off this year’s Devizes Arts Festival!

Learn more at www.kikiandcarmelo.com/carmelo-luggeri/  

The Devizes Arts Festival continues until Sunday 15th June at various venues around the town.  Tickets can be booked at Devizes Books or online at  www.devizesartsfestival.org.uk  

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A Quick Shuffle to Swindon

Milkman hours with grandkids visiting it was inevitable a five hour day shift was all I was physically able to put into this year’s Swindon…

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Clock Radio Turf Out The Maniacs

The first full album by Wiltshire’s finest purveyors of psychedelic indie shenanigans, Clock Radio, was knocked out to an unsuspecting world last week. It’s called Turfin’ Out The Maniacs, which perhaps should be fact-checked as it sounds to me like they’re letting them all in, as they arrive on yellow submarines and check into Frank Zappa’s 200 five-rhombus rated motels…..

Self-described as “easily triggered, dishonest, cryptic yet flirty deluded jangle rockers,” Clock Radio have produced a string of catchy slacker pop wonders here, as they continuously reach inside the box, like they’re four elfish Rowan Atkinsons all cast as Paul Atreides. But one thing is for certain, Chris Genner, Oliver Daltrey, Gary Martin and Fraser Wilson will entertain you.

Turfin’ Out The Maniacs sound like the results of the Coral offering The Divine Comedy a hashpipe in a moulded teenage boy’s bedroom; that’s a compliment by the way.

The opening tune Blood on Chrome certainly reeks of that breezy retrospection of Merseyside garage bands or sixties surf-rock, with an added preliminary Quo guitar riffs. Stoned at the Dojo, which follows emphasises the mock lounge style of The Divine Comedy. It’s vaudeville throughout, all Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band’s twirling circus, and an accordion welcomes in the next song, yet the tempo is upbeat indie rock. Handsome Weeping Man might leave you questioning if it’s necessary to connote the narrative, but it will leave you amused.

Clock Radio knows precisely what buttons to press to evoke a mood, and press them with free will. To say it’s a tad bonkers, it’s only a tad, and Mountains Beyond the Sun kindles a gentle side, drifting surf-rock, sunny side of the street vibe.

There’s ten three minute heroes on this impressive debut album, recorded, mixed and mastered by Dominic Bailey-Clay at Nine Volt Leap Studios, with Fender Rhodes piano, percussion by Dominic and a triangle by Shoshi B. If we’re content with getting halfway through and assuming they’ve calmed slightly, No Death takes us back onto the weird and wonderfully expressed if questionable muses of the opening.

Turfin’ Out The Maniacs is a comfy yet nippy prank, like being stung in the bottom but launching away from it to splash into a chocolate lake. Not so unlike Noël Coward playing a Bond villain, with Bowie as Bond; something you couldn’t imagine happening, but being Marie-Georges Méliès directed it and it’s on FilmFour at 3am, you might as well grab a bag of cheesy puffs and thirty grams of Amber Leaf, stay up watch it in your pants. “Cactus is cooler, I’m no Ferris Bueller, I do as I’m told,” is just one line I’m cherry picking to illustrate my point, you’ll be amused and rocked in plentiful equal measure.

It has an acoustic ending called Complex 5 which will leave you incarcerated in the meandering yet meticulous peculiarly pulp portrayals of Clock Radio, as if you melted into a bubble sofa. It is available now on the streaming platforms, or buy the digital album from Bandcamp.

Thieves Debut EP

Adam Woodhouse, Rory Coleman-Smith, Jo Deacon and Matt Hughes, aka Thieves, the wonderful local folk vocal harmony quartet of uplifting bluegrass into country-blues has a four track debut EP; who knew?!

I only found out through talking with Adam about a merch table at our forthcoming RowdeFest, where you can, incidentally, find Thieves playing, but at any gig you’re lucky enough to catch them at, I suggest you pick up a copy of this little showcase disc; they’re our very own resident Carter Family….

Opening with Calne’s Jo Deacon on lead vocals, who also sings solo and with soul function band the Midnight Hour, Coming Back For Me is beguiling and uptempo, refreshing bluegrass fashion. Yet Working Man, which follows, slides the divine ambience into mellowed country-rock. With Adam on lead vocals, I’m thinking Neil Young, the Byrds, and all those irresistible Americana classics, which imagines you’re heading west through Oklahoma on a Harley with Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda.

Probably the highlight of this EP is the penultimate, Now You’re Around. Five minutes of total bliss, with Jo back on vocals and some seriously intricate melodies, combining the talents of Rory’s resonator, Adam’s mandolin, and Matt’s upright bass, you can sense Jo’s soul experience, as it rings out as authentically Americana as Janis Joplin playing Woodstock with Crosby, Stills & Nash. And still I hear something decidedly UK folk here too, of Fairport Convention, perhaps. I’m no connoisseur, just know what my ears like; it’s all a melting pot, and Thieves stir it with delicate precision.

And in that, I’m unsure about the name Thieves. Certainly the genuine sound of America is pinched if not more agreeably heavily influenced by, but it might suggest there’s something edgy going on, when this is dinkum, universally appealing sunny side of the street melodies; the kind of folk the eldest in the crowd will tap their toes to while children will merrily twirl barefoot on the grass.

It was a series of coincidences when I first saw them at Bradford Roots Festival a few years ago. From a distance I thought ‘that guy looks just like Adam Woodhouse,’ (and maybe a smidgen like MacGyver too!) but upon hearing them perform I thought of The Lost Trades, turned to tell the person standing next to me, who just happened to be Phil Cooper of the Lost Trades, who nodded his trilby in approval; a fine accolade indeed. “It is Adam,” Phil replied! Oh, yeah, so it is; I didn’t need to go to Specsavers, because their wonderful sound pulled me closer.

We finish the EP with a ballad called Lately, which Adam and Jo duet, and it’s so beautiful and moreish, leaving you suspended on what’s to come from Thieves, but rest assured, here’s a wonderful quartet which can hold a crowd spellbound.

Find where Thieves are playing on our local circuits by following socials Facebook Insta for gigs, and hopefully catch them at Rowdefest on Saturday 31st May? It’s free, bring me a haslett and cucumber sandwich, I’ve arranged the acts, I won’t let you down.

iTunes Link

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Talk in Code Down The Gate!

What, again?! Another article about Talk in Code?! Haven’t they had enough Devizine-styled publicity?! Are their heads swelling?!  Didn’t that crazy toothless editor catch them…

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Progress Made for the Wiltshire Music Awards

A week into the voting process for the Wiltshire Music Awards and things have been moving forward fast. We’ve had the best part of 500 voting forms already submitted and we’re busy spreading the news about these new awards…

The voting process for the Wiltshire Music Awards went live on the 1st May, and if it was overshadowed by some other voting thing going on that day too, this far more important election is gradually gathering pace. And unlike the other elections, no one is jumping on anyone’s back, making up stories to derail other candidates!

Cast Your Votes HERE

Eddie Prestidge of Wiltshire Music Events UK and I have been busy promoting the concept, and we’re delighted and extremely grateful to everyone who has helped us with this. From visiting Castledown FM to meet Kev Lawrence and waffle on his drive-time show, and future such gigs like Peggy-Sue’s Don’t Stop the Music Show on Swindon 105.5, to features in Swindon Link and Salisbury Radio’s blog, and everyone who has shared our news on social media, word is getting around thanks to you all. 

Of course individual musicians, bands and studios have taken to their social media platforms begging for their fans to vote for them, and, don’t worry, this is encouraged! It’s also our most treasured venues such as The Wiltshire Music Centre in Bradford-on-Avon who are sharing our news. I believe this is all vital, to ensure we’re making it comprehensive and spanning across the entire county. If you can help us with this, please do get in touch.

Nominations will close on 10th June 2025, so we need your picks by then! It’s not easy, I know; Eddie messaged me a few hours into the voting process to say he hadn’t seen my submission yet, and I had to tell him I was still making my mind up!

There’s so many talented musicians around here, it is difficult to decide who’s name to put in those boxes. But, in this I feel is a point worth making about the Wiltshire Music Awards; we are doing this to promote, encourage and celebrate everyone creating music locally, from DJ and cover band to original artists and sound engineers. This isn’t intended to make our circuits competitive in any way, as we all enjoy the communal and friendly ethos of our local circuits, and vow to maintain this. The hard work they all do to entertain us is recognised and appreciated; while some of our many friends on the music scenes in Wiltshire might not pick up an award, it doesn’t mean we’ve forgotten them!

Eddie says, “these awards recognise the individuals and groups whose efforts make a real difference. If you know someone who deserves recognition, or want to showcase your group, now is your chance to give them the spotlight they deserve.”

We’ve just opened a Facebook group for the Awards you can join HERE. People have joined and are making connections there already, which is great and exactly what we want to achieve with this venture; it’s not the Oscars!

There’s loads of questions which have been fired at us over the week about how the awards work, despite many of them being answered on the FAQs page of the website! Some others have come up, and we thank you for raising some valid points. One good one I had by Rich of Minety Music Festival, who asked if we could have a category for festivals. We pondered how we could do this as the categories have already been set, there’s 17 of them already, and feeding it into the venues category might not be fair on the smaller grassroots venues. So, we decided to add festivals as a category for next year, and make a list of festivals in Wiltshire for the judges’ perusal. I mention this to say, hey, we’re open to ideas and things we might have overlooked.

The most frequent question I’ve been asked is “can I vote for myself?!” To which the simple answer is a big fat YES! Why not? Show off your ego, you’ve earned it, go for it! The less frequent but similar question I’ve had is, surprisingly, “can I vote for you?!” The answer is, yeah (blush,) if you must!

We’ve been browsing trophies and medals from a catalogue by Avon Trophies like we’re kids drooling over the lingerie section! And over the next couple of weeks we will be sending invites for people to be judges. Choosing experienced people with dedication to promoting music in the county and trying to set one in each area, we have a list of possibles, but if you’re interested in this let me know this coming week. It is also vital that this event receives sponsorship in order for it to work as well as what’s in our minds. Please contact us if you would like to sponsor an individual award or the whole shebang!

The award ceremony will take place in Devizes at the Corn Exchange, on Saturday 25th October 2025, tickets are here. We hope it will continue annually, this all depends upon your input and support, which has so far been so encouraging I might even be moved wear a dickie-bow at the event, and that’s worth the ticket price alone! Please vote and share our news, thank you!

Bits of Elation; Chatting with The Belladonna Treatment

One of Swindon’s premier grunge pop-punkers, The Belladonna Treatment released their debut single, Bits of Elation, with London-based SODEH Records earlier this month. I spoke about the single, the band and local circuits with the bassist in the band, Ian James, as he was the most punctual at a recent gig at the Vic!

Bits of Elation is fifteen seconds under a three-minute-hero which doesn’t come up for air, compensates for those missing seconds with a dynamic and retrospective Ramones-fashioned riff and the feelgood vibe of pop-punk this side of the millennium.

It is far from the Belladonna Treatment’s first outing to a recording studio, there was a single last year The Torture Garden, and a three-track EP called Pleasure from 2023, which cherry-picks the best elements of many punk subgenres and moulds them into an imitable and infectious house style. Though Ian expressed working with SODEH has opened doors for the band popular in Swindon, evidently blossoming elsewhere. “It’s being played on radio stations in Belgium, Brazil, USA and Canada,” he told me with delight.

The Belladonna Treatment I witnessed live once, in awe at how they rammed the Castle with adoring fans at Swindon Shuffle. Tonight they play a double-header with I See Orange, who alongside Liddington Hill and a number of others usually on this burgeoning Swindon grunge scene, have turned my head toward the subgenre which passed me by at its inception, save Smells Like Teen Spirit. The Belladonna Treatment are ahead of this game, their appeal is universal and seemingly not confined to aficionados of the grunge subgenre. That was clearly evident at the Castle gig, but other than playing Minety last year, I rarely see their name pop up on local circuits other than Old Town’s lively route of The Vic, Castle and Beehive.

Understanding there’s a number of local grassroots venues where The Belladonna Treatment would fit like a glove, I was surprised to note they hadn’t yet ventured to Trowbridge’s Pump, Bradford-on-Avon’s Three Horseshoes or even Chippenham’s Old Road Tavern. I pondered on bands which seem to get stuck in certain fanbase circuits, despite being fully deserved to be showcased across the county and beyond. “It all depends on what everyone wants to do,” Ian began, “things like this pop up and it’s nice to do them, but we do want to expand and do other gigs.”

“It is very easy to get stuck into that circuit, of doing the Castle, and those,” he expanded, “but it’s nice to get out too. I mean, we played a gig in London at the end of January; a cracking venue, which James put together. There were other bands there, all different, but it was a brilliant show, packed out. We were two or three under the bill, so there were loads of other band’s fans watching us and we can get more followers this way.”

Guitarist James has recently moved to London, hence the opportunities for gigs there, but originally the band were all from Stratton, and knew of each other prior to forming The Belladonna Treatment just over two years ago. “Lee and James accidentally got together about five years ago, wrote some songs and went around as an acoustic duo, but we’ve all known each other our whole lives. Then they decided they wanted to get a band together. I hadn’t seen either of them for about twenty years, but I was getting back into playing. Stu, our drummer has been around in lots of other bands, played Glastonbury and stuff like that, and again, we’ve known him, and for the last two and a half years we’ve been playing as a full band.”

The Belladonna Treatment have been honing their sound since, and Ian felt Bits of Elation is a milestone. Pigeonholing their style he cited Nirvana and The Manic Street Preachers as influences they grew up on, and also mentioned Bowie, “but if you listen to the songs they’re melodic, it’s not just head down thrash punk, it’s more melody-orientated, grunge too. That’s why we like playing with I See Orange, there’s a whole nineties feel about us, similar to them.”

We rapped over the idea of levelling off the thrashed out element for a more melodic preference might once have been considered as “selling out,” in punk’s heyday, rather now it’s more of a natural progression and causing the sound to become viable to a wider audience. “It can do,” Ian agreed, “it’s also a case of, you want to sell more records and if you want to be popular, you have to do this.” Such progression is kingpin to crowds turning up at the Vic tonight and ramming the Castle at The Shuffle, knowing there’s a motivated band which rocks!

So I threw in the labour of love concept, and we talked cheerfully about while they’re sharpening their style to suit wider appeal, they’re also determined to strive for individuality, create their own methodology and not clone existing successful bands. Ian spoke of three new songs ready for release, the snowballing of radio plays and their determination to accomplish wider appeal, “that’s what we’re going for.” 

It was great to meet Ian, and the rest of the band briefly, when they turned up! Dad’s taxi was on duty and I could only remain until the end of the Wildcats game, unfortunately missing the gig. A valid reason for highlighting bands seemingly confined locally to our larger towns and encouraging venues to book them around here, because you only need to stream some of their infectious tunes to see what I mean, and why The Belladonna Treatment should be popping up at grassroots venues across the UK, at the very least; fingers and toes crossed.  

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A Busy Week For Lunch Box Buddy!

It was great to bump into Lunch Box Buddy in Devizes today. Last week was hectic for him; first BBC Wiltshire stopped by his stand…

Wither; Debut Single From Butane Skies

Whilst dispersing highly flammable hydrocarbon gases into the atmosphere is not advisory,  Butane Skies is a name increasingly exploding on local circuits. The young and…

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Electric Dream Comes True; Cephid’s Sparks in the Darkness at The Rondo

A sublime evening of electronic elegance was had at Bath’s humble Rondo Theatre last night, where Cephid’s album, Sparks in The Darkness, was played out exclusively to a packed house. It was, in a word, breathtaking….

The type of genius who built a laser-harp at seventeen years old, Cephid‘s composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist Moray McDonald is bound by modesty, and appeared, prior to the show, understandingly nervous about the prospect of performing. He hadn’t contemplated ever reproducing this masterwork on stage, for the project began as a collection of demos he created “for fun.” “With all my focus being on creating an album that would live up to the grand ideas in my head,” he explained, “I didn’t stop to think about whether this music could be performed in a live environment.”

Seems he shies from being centre of attention, his comfort zone on stage favouring the many occasions he hides as a keyboardist in prog rock bands. Moray, currently residing in Lavington, cut his teeth touring with progressive rock and metal artists such as That Joe Payne, Godsticks, Kim Seviour and Ghost Community, more recently he remixed for OMD.

Moray was adamant this was a totally exclusive show which wouldn’t be taken on the road, although it has the magnitude of doing so. The show was produced and promoted by his partner Charlotte, who’s theatrical flamboyance encourages Moray to overcome his reservedness. Therefore a communal air bloomed in the audience, that this was a one-off treat, and we were the lucky few; because we were.

Being I was there to review, it probably didn’t help his anxiety any telling him I’d seen Kraftwerk at a Tribal Gathering of yore, where from every tent of every subgenre ravers descended to observe the roots of it all. “Kraftwerk was the beginning of everything,” he agreed.

While it’s an accurate summary of the origins of electronic pop music, Sparks in The Darkness delves beyond this for inspiration. It’s orchestral on a Jean-Michel Jarre level; even if the show wasn’t to the same scale it was in spirit. It nodded to the trial phase of electronic music, prog-rock’s psychedelic swirls found in Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin et al, and continues to the ambient house pioneers like The KLF and Orb. It rests on the heyday of electronica, the quirky experiments of new wave post-punk like New Order, and early US electro outfits, like Newcleus. Yet it incorporates contemporary technological advances, the variety of modern subgenres stemming from it, and it evoked in me a fascination with the history of electronic sound.

To contemplate futurist Luigi Russolo’s 1913 The Art of Noises theories, that music would change due to the ear becoming accustomed to mechanical, industrial and urban noises, and the dadaists flouting this, is to consider the eighties clunkiness of the engine sampling of the aptly named Art of Noise, or Yello, or the piercing hubbub of acid house’s 303s, for the sake of artistic expressionism rather than melodious music. Sparks in The Darkness doesn’t go there, it doesn’t tumultuously provoke, rather it’s polyphonically beautiful, sampleless, and tonally complimentary on the ear. In this, the decades of electronic music progression has become an epoch, therefore a “folk” music, effectively turning music full circle; Cephid is on that cusp, and proved it last night.

But not before That Joe Payne, who later returned to the stage to provide vocals for Cephid, supported with an astounding original set. With just keyboard and voice he acoustically gifted us with a one-man rock opera, the like I’d never seen before. Combining camp comedy with tragedy, reminiscent of Elton John’s heyday and expressed divinely with the vast vocal range of Freddie Mercury, this was delicious vaudeville. Though I cite these clear influences, they broke the mould when they made That Joe Payne, and that is the only shame about this highly entertaining character.

If That Joe Payne was something which bucked my norm in the nicest of methods, the whole evening was equally different for me, who these days is used to traditional rock, folk, or blues bands, and even with a history of dance music under my belt, this wasn’t a rave anymore than it was a gig in the tradition of, even if the effect was similar. This was a showcase of modernism, an electronica fantasy in fruition. If at any point I likened it to something visually, it was Howard Jones meets Orbital, and that’s a high compliment.

The Rondo ignited with laser lights after the interval, colouring the subtle smoke machine output, and doused with a building ambient drone. Moray appeared onstage with electric percussionist Graham Brown, both dressed in white bodysuits with scarlet tie-belts. Layers developed and the album was played out sublimely, stretched to fit the show. The skill of the pair, to unite in sound and highlight exactly how these tunes were accomplished was insightful, and amazing. The only analogue instrument being a snare, the rest was digital technology caressed to evolve the most refined musical topography, an audio landscape masterpiece.

The grand finale was the usage of the triangular centrepiece, the laser harp Moray created at seventeen but had never used publicaly. Even if many in the crowd were connected in some way to Moray or the team, akin to a family party, everyone was held spellbound when the laser harp strings lit up, and Moray took position behind it.

If the perfect composition of this groundbreaking sound, with the laser show and theatrical performance wasn’t enough to convince anyone in the crowd to the monumental importance to the artist, and the rare and wonderful occasion this was, it was Moray’s expression of sheer joy, at the audience’s standing ovation. It was confirmation that this project, so immensely well received, is surely the testament, plus an ego boost, to the diffidence of a creative genius!

You might have missed this show, but you can (and should) buy the album HERE.

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New Album from Illingworth; Man Made of Glass

Four years of hard work in the making, and it sure shows, Man Made of Glass, the third album from John and Jolyon, aka Illingworth, is released across streaming platforms this week. If you’ve seen this Salisbury duo performing on the circuit, the unyielding passion they inject into the obligatory classic rock covers set isn’t half of what they put into their own compositions…..

Pardon me if you came here for a respite from the onslaught of inflammatory international headlines and to read a nice music review, Man Made of Glass contains much prose on the tyranny of contemporary politics. As the idiom is defined, this narcissistic disorder of egotistical figureheads is fragile and therefore likely to shatter manifests abstractly, particularly in the title track and single Gaslight, but hey, I think it’s safe to say we know the people it is directed towards.

It’s a floating opening, building in layers, this title track, richly written even if poignantly critical of power corrupting. As ever with Illingworth there’s this breezy air of feelgood rock too, of Foreigner or The Cars, which enriches the sound naturally. Soulless might be the subject, but soulful is the expression; it’s a contrast.

Superior single Gaslight does similar theme-wise, but as powerful as an indie rock anthem, and rolling on a tougher riff than the title track, throughout, it takes the manipulation of its title’s term to the worldly encouragement of avoidance; this “don’t be convinced by propaganda” concept.

Bittersweet is the general ambience Illingworth delivers with here, and that’s no new thing in rock, but they do so with such passion and expertise it polishes the delivery and leaves you feeling alive and stimulated, with nothing bad you could possibly say about their songs. They are rich with honesty over vanity, reflecting on the theme. Gaslight may be the kingpin to the album, the running motif becoming less prominent in the other tracks. Every tune is a beauty though, embracing all stimulating elements of being uplifting, inspiring and catchy, just subtly with differing moods and tempos.

We Don’t Have to Try is a country-rock ballad on an eternal love subject, whereas, Heart To Rule Your Head, is an inspiring “you can get it if you really want” upbeat track. 

Another Passion is upbeat too, of if, buts and maybes, whereas New Year is arousingly paced, reflecting on the unification and love perpetrated by the annual occasion. Love conquering over evil becomes the inclusive factor as the album drifts archetypically. This conquering notion to avoid the brainwashing of those seeking power lessens somewhat in favour of identifying affections, yet never fully expires. The finale is not to let it worry you, as the matter will shatter like glass.

While great, if previous Illingworth albums can feel fragmented, like randomly placed collections of their memorable songs you rarely hear enough of when they’re gigging, Man Made of Glass is more rounded, it has an overall concept. Like a classic rock album, the tracks’ narratives combine and flow wonderfully. It’s not a “concept album,” per say, but in the same classic fashion, and that’s a welcomed rare find these days of media overload and the average attention span of a goldfish!

Man Made of Glass is more suited to a vinyl, CD or cassette format, of a time when album composition contained an all-inclusive message, and you sat in the dark listening to it. Just like those albums of yore it feels like something to cherish, a testament to a bleeding heart of sentiment you identify with and get emotionally involved with, rather than simply hearing it while you wash the dishes. But hey, streaming is the mainstay these days, and that’s where you’ll find this treasure buried.

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Devizes Dilemma: FullTone or Scooter Rally?!

Contemplated headlining this “Clash of the Titans,” but that evokes the idea of a dramatic power struggle with fierce consequences rather than proof Devizes can…

Ex-Kaiser Chief Nick Hodgson’s Everyone Says Hi Coming to Marlborough

Featured Image Credit: Stewart Baxter

Riot predictor Nick Hodgson formerly of the Kaiser Chiefs has a new band, the charmingly named Everyone Says Hi, and they’re playing an instore at Marlborough’s Sound Knowledge, on Sunday 2nd February….

Everyone Says Hi will play a number of live dates across the UK to celebrate the release of their upcoming self-titled debut album, set for release on 31st January 2025 via Chrysalis Records. The latest single from the record, Lucky Stars, is out now. 

The band will embark on a run of UK in-store dates, in cities like London, Lancaster, Hull, Bristol, Nottingham, Leeds and Liverpool. The fact Marlborough appears on this and many other major industry player’s giglists is a testament to the reputation and hard work of Sound Knowledge.

Prior to this, they will perform two newly announced headline shows in support of Independent Venue Week. Frontman Nick Hodgson said of the importance of indie venues, “we’ve just finished a tour of small independent venues in the UK and it really brought into focus for me how precious they are. There are people all over the country working so hard to bring live music to their area and when people turn up and love the gig it really feels like the beginning of something.”

“It’s a cliche to say that without the small venues there would be no arena bands and festival headliners but it’s definitely my experience with Kaiser Chiefs and I’m sure for the other guys in the band that independent venues aren’t just a cute little step along the path, they are the path.” 

Nick has long been a songwriter in high demand. Since leaving his teenage band back in 2012, he has co-written for the likes of Dua Lipa, You Me At Six, Duran Duran, George Ezra, and Holly Humberstone, and collaborated on tracks alongside Mark Ronson, Kygo, and Shirley Bassey. Having racked up over 5 million cumulative album sales globally, Nick now focuses on a new challenge. You wouldn’t bet against him.

It’s a floaty album of universal indie; instant like from me! Everyone Says Hi sees Nick adopt the role of lead singer-guitarist, and brings together musicians Pete Denton on bass, Glenn Moule on drums, keyboard player Ben Gordon (ex-members of The Kooks, The Howling Bells, and Liverpool’s The Dead 60s respectively), alongside Leeds based guitarist Tom Dawson. The band’s name is lifted from a David Bowie song of the same title. What you hear across its ten tracks is high-calibre, beautifully sculpted songcraft performed by high-calibre, experienced players. Not so much showing ‘promise’ here, but instantly delivering bonafide ‘big songs’ that belie the band’s status as relative newcomers. The record was produced by Nick at London’s Snap Studios and at his home studio. Pre-order the album here.

Everyone Says Hi is the fruit of a multi-platinum musician deciding to draw a line and start afresh. Back to the same bedroom floor where the first tentative notes were played, holding the same guitar that was played way back when, back to forming a band with trusted friends, and back to booking the sticky basement stages where teeth were first cut. But whilst you can metaphorically wipe the slate clean on most things, you cannot unlearn what you already know. If emotionally driven, arena-ready songs come almost second-nature, you’d be foolish to ignore the gift you’ve been given.

Sound Knowledge said, “we’re delighted to say that Everyone Says Hi will be joining us for one of our first in-stores of 2025. They’ll be playing a stripped back set in the shop itself from 3pm on Sunday 2nd February. Stick a note in with your pre-order to guarantee your place.” Which you can do HERE.

Tickets for all shows are on sale here.

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Goodbye to The Beanery but Hollychocs Lives On

Popular award-winning artisan chocolate business Hollychocs has announced that its Beanery Café will close on Saturday 23rd August, marking exactly two years since its opening…

Park Farm; Mantonfest Came to Devizes!

The first Park Farm Festival happened Saturday, it was fabulouso, and in some way Mantonfest came to Devizes; conveniently for me as I had to…

Ann Liu Cannon’s Clever Rabbits

Ann Liu Cannon is the Marlborough success story I hadn’t heard of until yesterday; thanks to local promoter and frontman of the Vooz, Lee Mathews…

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Burn the Midnight Oil; New Devizes-Based Band You’ll Be Hearing a Lot About….

Far from burning the midnight oil, it’s a weekday afternoon and I’m with a cuppa, at a rehearsal for a blossoming Devizes-based trio, Burn the Midnight Oil. If you’ve ever thought nothing great comes from open mics, this might be the thing to change your mind….

It’s early days, forming in September, they’ve created a corporate identity, recorded a three-track demo they’re planning to launch, are busy writing more songs, and sound as if they’ve been on the local circuit forever. I wanted to catch up with Burn the Midnight Oil to find out how they’ve come so far so quickly, dig a little deeper into their backgrounds and generally poke my nose into their business.

First clue, they’ve varying areas and degrees of experience in music, but have found common ground through their medical issues. Front girl Chrissy, aka Steen, spoke of her PMDD, GAD and ADHD, and coming to faith during Covid at Devizes’ St James. “There was a day I was like, really, really sobbing my heart out, and praying,” she expressed, claiming she heard the “biggest, boomiest voice ever say ‘sing,’ and two weeks later I was having videocall with a huge hip hop artist who was part of Foreign Beggars, which were massive during the 90s and early noughties.” Landing a deal working for a record label Chrissy liaised with drum and bass producers, who asked her to “jump in on the tracks,” and she supplied vocals on tunes from artists like Beskar.

“It feels a bit serendipitous,” she said, “because I had no experience working as a social media manager, I had no business connecting with somebody who’s quite prestigious and I had no right to just jump on some tracks and with my first EP release going straight onto one of the biggest drum & bass labels in the UK.” To which she compared the unforeseen development to meeting the band members, Andy ‘Big Bird’ Jacobs and bassist Chris Lane.

Chrissy explained Chris has Marfan syndrome, “I’ve known Chris for a while, but he’s very introverted,” she elucidated, progressing onto finding a mutual neurodivergent connection and being a support system for each other. Chrissy formed a duo with a bassist called One Trick Pony, performed at a few open mics and organised charity fundraisers at the Southgate over the past two Christmases. When the bassist was unavailable due to other band commitments Chris stepped in, and they spawned the idea to reform the duo under a new name. Though not present at the beginning of our chat, Chris did turn up toward the end, either shy or forgetful as to just how many bands he’s currently engaged in!

Present and vocal throughout, lead guitarist Andy, told of a car accident which affected his nerves, and most of the dexterity in his fingers. Prior to this, Andy spoke of being a “very successful professional guitarist in London,” a session and theatrical guitar player, citing Shirley Bassey as an artist he had worked with.

“I could still play a bit,” he explained, “but my career was over, which was a bit of a downer.” Playing his part in an amateur blues band, Andy went into social care management, “but Covid triggered an illness in me called Barry Syndrome,” he told me, “Which completely paralysed me from my neck down overnight. I was in hospital for six months. My wife was told I probably wouldn’t last the night. On the two occasions I didn’t see her for six months because there was no access, I was told I’d never walk again.”

Andy put his recovery down to the bicycle in the gym, and though he didn’t imagine he would play guitar again, he expressed, “it was all a bit tragic and horrible, but slowly I got a little bit back and I started picking the guitar up again. After about six months, I came out of hospital. I just started playing again, just acoustic, and I that’s when I went up to The Crown [open mic at The Crown, Bishops Cannings] and I played a couple of pieces there.” Within those pieces, he asked Chrissy to sing them.

They trialled a drummer, “but he wasn’t the right fit and he knew he wasn’t,” Chrissy said. “So he very graciously said I’m going to walk away from this because I’m not the right drummer for you, which is a really nice thing to say. But I think we’re percussive enough with how we play.” Considering their medical tribulations they joked about getting the legendary one-armed drummer from Def Leppard. “You know, like one arm, one leg, not as long as they’re opposite sides of one another, one each side, that would be silly!”

Now, if music is therapeutic, I wanted to gage if that was their reasoning for the band, but burning the midnight oil isn’t best medically advised over a strong cup of coco and an early night! Chrissy explained the band name derived from her staying awake all night drafting the songwriting, rather than the notion they were rock, rolling, and burning the candle at both ends.

Chrissy passionately talked of being a survivor of domestic abuse. “If you’re a woman with ADHD, you’re more likely to attract people with narcissistic tendencies,” she explained, justifying her “horrible cycle” she’s trying to break, “of quite abusive relationships,” and how this is reflected in her songwriting. “There’s a lot of resilience and hope that comes from the songs. I’m on a journey of healing. I think we’re all on a journey of healing, and I’ve always used the music as a form of therapy. If I can get my experiences onto paper, it’s like I’m not affected by it.”

Andy agreed, spoke of his consistent neurological pain, “but when I’m playing it just goes. I don’t think about it. I’m just so intense in the music. I mean, it’s just my passion.” He began reminiscing of his instant attraction to guitar when, on his first day at secondary school, the music teacher putting a guitar in his hand, and that was his calling.  “I wanted to be a professional guitar player, and nothing would stop me.”

If this is all beginning to feel like I’m in a support group here, the proof is the pudding, and the three tracks they’ve put down so far suggests otherwise. With harmonica and wavering strings opening, Lock Up has a rootsy blues feel, Chrissy’s vocals poignantly express the theme of the arrival of mysterious and dubious fellow, expertly, and the whole vibe is nonchalant and smooth.

Scapegoat ushers in a more upbeat bluegrass air, with a deadpan subject, and Werewolf posing similar tenet, yet tips back into blues, and probably contains the most beguiling hook. Throughout though, there’s an intelligent balance between Americana and UK folk-rock, bags of potential, and the stylised promise of a blossoming band heading for something far greater.

In trying to think of a suitable female-fronted comparison, I changed to consider The Doors in the end, for the composition of three individuals with varying influences combining to create a timeless sound is how I’d pitch them both. On songwriting Chrissy connoted a song she was working on called Devil You Know, “because statistically you’re more likely, as a woman, to be raped by somebody you know,” she said. “It’s not about being dragged into the bushes, and that’s been my experience I’m really trying to connect with, those darker sides of life experiences, because life’s hard, it’s not any an easy ride for anyone.” Using a metaphor comparing a paper cut to a broken leg, Chrissy conveyed an expression she said she was fond of, that “pain is pain. I really want to connect with people of over-shared experiences like this, in the hopes that music could be healing.”

It’s the most common conviction of dedicated singer-songwriters to want your audience to identify with your outpourings, otherwise your voice is just an instrument, and you are just a pop singer. Though within the masses of potential for Burn the Midnight Oil I hear scope for commercial viability, it’s through their personal reflections and devotion to support one another which I feel will strengthen their ability to convey the image they desire. After a successful first gig last weekend at The Kings Arms in Amesbury, arranged by Wiltshire Music Events, Burn the Midnight Oil are looking forward to a fundraiser at the Devizes Southgate on Sunday 22nd December. See the poster below, there’s raffle prizes et al.

Chrissy has a solo set at the Lamb in Urchfont this afternoon (15th Dec) supporting Vince Bell, the most modest of Devizes acoustic legends, who Chrissy cited as assisting her in developing her songwriting talent. Promising things are afoot here, and you’ll be chuffed with yourself to witness it blossoming, I believe.

“Seeing us as a brand and my understanding of working in the industry,” Chrissy figured, “is like, actually the music isn’t the product, we’re the product and I really want to share that journey, make it personal for everybody.”

With folk songs drafted about the origins of tiramisu, odes to Morticia and Gomez Addams, Steen justified her thought processes and random muses, the latter being an “epitome of a really healthy, loving relationship,” in a tenacious yet optimistic manner to direct her developing subjects didn’t all focus on “the bad things that happened to me.” Though I find it’s the ability to use such as metaphoric examples and include them into a combination which will really make the hairs on the back of our necks stand up, and they’ve the greatest potential to do this.

 I’m hoping one day I can write a happy song,” she mused, “but the style is, well, you know, you don’t choose the songs, the songs choose you.” And so ensued a conversation about the differences between the melancholy of Dylan and wild romantic images Springsteen tended to paint, for there’s always exceptions to the rule, they both broke their own style at times, but pictures, I think you’ve got this one now; Burn the Midnight Oil is a name we will be hearing a lot of over next year.

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IDLES’ at Block Party

With their only UK shows of the year quickly approaching, the 1st and 2nd August will see IDLES’ and music festival Block Party take over…

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Salisbury’s Rosie Jay Releases Debut EP

Salisbury acoustic singer-songwriter Rosie Jay released her debut EP today, taking its title from her first single from June this year, I Don’t Give a Damn. Thing being, I do, I give much more than a damn about Rosie’s musical outpourings, because this doesn’t sound like a debut EP from a nervous teenager warbling immature ruminations. This sounds like an accomplished artist who’s been with an agent, producer and mainstream record label for eons, and established a name for themselves by acquiring the skill to balance a hook and identifiable narrative, and compose them into a beautifully stylised sound….

Rosie’s been working with producer Joylon Dixon on these four tunes, and it shows. Likely a perfect match, for this is faultlessly fresh, like Kirsty MacColl in her prime; a comparison I’ve used before for Rosie, and though a high accolade, it’s fully deserved. For there is nothing to dislike here, the mood is breezy, the prose is thoughtful, both reaching out to her generation, while maintaining the classic template for acoustic folk rock for all to appreciate.

Beginning with her heartfelt breakup song, I Don’t Give a Damn, the opening has this easy to sing along to chorus, but defines the potent melancholic and ironic thought pattern of the victim of a relationship breakdown in its verses. Akin to Sinead O’Connor’s Nothing Compares 2U, and just as expressly delivered.

For Rosie’s voice is magnetism, flowing gracefully and earnestly, but the whole composition suits this, perhaps with no better example than the second tune, also the second single released, Sing Another Love Song. As it sounds this is a flowing, more positive angle yet while there’s still a clever hook, in so much as McCartney’s ironic Silly Love Songs conveys the opposite effect.

If I preferred this song from the debut at the time, the next two, so far unreleased tracks, proves Rosie though beginning with a firm base, her songs will improve each time. Mind Fuckery is her magnum opus, but only to date. Isolation and affliction brought about by addiction is spelt out in the imperfections Rosie compares within herself and her generation. Again, we’re sneaking through an open door into Rosie’s mindscape, and it’s a poignant landscape of intense pensive and evocative prose.

The measure of a good singer-songwriter is when a listener feels like they bring a little subconscious of the artist back with them, the notion they identified and made a friend through their performance, as if they knew this person all along. I had been reviewing Rosie’s singles for a few months before finally meeting her. When I did, it was exactly like this, it felt as if I had known her for ages, because even at this young age she projects herself, her thought processes and emotions so utterly exquisitely through this beautiful music. The final tune, well, despite all that’s been before, Carry Me, is the most graceful yet.

The final song is angelic, and steeped in astute metaphors Rosie faces her “personal battle,” it is, just as the other three songs, an emotive treasure wrapped in sublimity. There’s something standalone in the simplicity of person with guitar; the stripped back diploma for a musician, the final exam, and Rosie passed with flying colours. She should be setting the exam rather than taking it! What an amazing start.

Just as I’ve seen the careers of profoundly talented local artists like George Wilding, Tamsin Quin, Kirsty Clinch and Jamie R Hawkins progress from first reporting on them, I have high hopes for many of our aspiring newcomers, from Ruby Darbyshire to Meg and Harmony. Rosie Jay is high among these others, and based on the excellence of this EP I see no reason not to compare her to the likes of Elkie Brooks, The Beautiful South or Cerys Matthews. You simply have to allow yourself a quarter of an hour to take this in, released on all streaming platforms and as a CD. Follow Rosie on Insta. TikTok. YouTube. There’s an EP launch party at the Winchester Gate in Salisbury, tonight.

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Riot Grrl in Devizes? Steatopygous Release Demo

Featured Image: Kiesha Films

In times of pain or stress cats mimic the cry of a human baby to best attract attention. You may not like it, but if you don’t address the situation and aid the pet, you are unfortunately part of the problem. Riot Grrrl is a subcultural movement of anti-punk feminism deriving from the USA’s northwest in the nineties, which, like it or not, has found a new resting place in Devizes thanks to rising teen band Steatopygous…and with a debut demo, they’re rightfully attracting attention too.

Not Devizes you may whimper, our affluent yet insular market town steeped in tradition, where the most commonly reported crime during October this year was violence and sexual offences, more than double the second on the list, this anti-social behaviour we’ve got a bee in our bonnets about? Seems a rather apt location for youth’s screams of anger and frustration at the inequality of patriarchy to me.

Dealing with issues facing youth, our town’s newcomers, riot front-grrrl Poppy Hillier, bassist Eliza Brindle and drummer Ewan Middleton may well have facetiously named their band after an accumulation of fat on the thighs and/or bum, but their musical subjects are far from ironic or amusing. Neither are they the female answer to NRWO, with their blithe and amicable indie-pop style. This is artistically righteous, a freedom of expression, and just like the cat’s meow, you’d better take heed.

Stalwart support act at Trowbridge’s Pump, a venue dedicated to hosting the upcoming, whereby I saw them first, in June, despite our much younger reporter Flo singing their praises prior, when headlining Devizes Youth Action Group gigs. Steatopygous delivered varying themes there, such as one song on the crisis in Gaza. But the two tracks released on this demo, recorded by Kieran Moore at Komedia, concentrate on matters closer to home and traditional to the ethos of Riot Grrrl; boys taking advantage of a male-dominated world.

Cassowary, a bird with unusual reproduction behaviour which sees the male tend the egg while the female seeks other mates, is the metaphoric name for perhaps the most composed tune of the two. With archetypal driving drums and laden guitar it’s short, fiery and in your face, but perhaps not so aggressive as the other tune, Little Boy, which is a style-defining peach. Angry and unabashed, it takes no prisoners.

Image: Kiesha Films

It is the screech of utmost exasperation, the deliverance of cries typically bottled or only released alone. And therein lies the brilliance and reason of Steatopygous, this erudite anti-sensitive artistic licence opens a matured eye to the vexations and anguish of youth, particularly identifying the uneven game of love and all its sordid undertones. Or if you fall into the category subjected and victimised by the behaviour expressed so poignantly by Steatopygous, theoretically there’s the emotive response of identifying with it and not feeling alone with your troubles.

This is thunderously original and raw, daring samaritan punk, released on Trowbridge’s cassette label Sketch Book Records, which if it honours anything, it’s this wholly DIY ethos of Riot Grrrl, and though will remain niche, is something you cannot ignore; phew, I might need a little lie down now!!

Merch at Bandcamp. Instagram. Spotify.

They support Perennial at the Pump on 7th December.

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Ian Siegal at Long Street Blues Club

Devizes is often spoiled for choice when it comes to live music. Swindon folk ensemble SGO at the Gate would’ve been an excellent decision for this Saturday night, and I considered dropping by at some point during the proceedings at Long Street Blues Club prior to the proceedings at Long Street Blues Club, but during the proceedings at Long Street Blues Club I concluded I’d have to be criminally insane to leave now…..

I might be insane, but not criminally, yet! To a packed house, award-winning, and not one to shy away from jesting about it, UK blues legend Ian Siegal came, saw, and revisited his two debut albums as requested by Long Street Blues Club organiser and Devizes mayor Ian Hopkins, enthralling the crowd; including me.

Ian Siegal is a national treasure, his 2009 album Broadside made MOJO magazine’s blues album of the year, but the theme tonight focussed on his debut album from four years previous, Meat & Potatoes, which received four stars in the Penguin Book of Blues Recordings and paved the way for Ian’s sound, and its follow on, 2007’s Swagger. With the original organist from Meat & Potatoes, Jonny Henderson, and drummer Tom Gilkes, he drove sublime Detroit, Chicago and Memphis blues fusions, authentic and raw, to the forefront of a deservedly ostentatious show. That’s how you play it.

I’m not up on these albums, detected a chorus mentioning Swagger, but for the most part, I was simply soaking up the sublime moment joyfully and without overanalysing; too easy to go with the flow of Ian’s sound. There were nods to his influences in splices of covers, flamboyant banter, and skilled compositions. It was, in summary, divine blues. Devizes own, Jon Amor joined him for a couple, and Ian spun blues riffs like they were childsplay.

None of this before the support act, young Ruby Darbyshire, who for the first and last time she played here I called it to be the best support I’ve seen at the club; it’s a double-whammy line-up tonight. Multi-intrumnetalist, Ruby was blowing her bagpipes for Remembrance in the Brittox earlier. Arriving a tad late due to a bus delay, I noted she was already underway, unusually behind a keyboard. Explaining she hadn’t played piano live before, she made a grand job of it, and returned to her guitar where we know and love her best.

A few originals including her timeless Insomnia, and covers from Ella Fitzgerald and Nina Simone to Rag & Bone Man’s Human, she puts her wonderful stamp on them all, rapturously expressive and soulful. To hear Ruby is a magic I’ll never tire of, she’s improved her confidence, which is tricky in this appreciation society, where there’s the silence of a library while performers do their thing. It may be respectful, but a smidgen daunting for anyone on the stage used to more clamorous venues. But hey, anyone who can make Queen’s Is This The World We Created their own fully deserves the upstanding applause she received, from a matured audience who have witnessed many talented people come and go.

Blues stalwarts at the club may have been in the know much longer than me, but Devizine was a learning curve, and when I began it I had no clue how deep the rabbit hole went, this, what I dub “Mel Bush effect,” the town’s association with UK blues. When blues supergroup lockdown project Birdmen became a live show at Long Street a couple of years ago, Dave Doherty invited me and it was my epiphany into how the club was continuing Devizes folk’s affection for the blues. This fantastic eye-opening gig was so due to the stellar lineup, in particular frontman Ian Siegal. 

In its review I summarised him as “the very definition of cool,” but knew I’d have to expand on that next time, which was when he was a guest at the Jon Amor Trio monthly residency at the Southgate in March. So, the extended version was as “cool on a barefoot Bruce Willis pounding through the glass of the Nakatomi Plaza level, he is the Steve McQueen leaping anti-tank obstacles on a stolen Triumph of UK blues!” 

As a quote I was kinda chuffed with, I thought I’d attempt to recite it when I met him after the gig, but intoxication levels took control, and accepting I’d probably stumble out the word Nakatomi, I only mumbled I compared him to Bruce Willis. He didn’t seem impressed, assuming I was referring to the dire commercial album Willis launched in the eighties, trashing soul classics like Under the Boardwalk! Apologies to the man, for I’d archived that album to the back of my mind and wasn’t referring to it at all!

I hope he reads this so I can correct the tit I made of myself! Because last night’s gig was sublime; I never had any doubts, and my concept Ian Siegal is cool, however I express it, sticks! Plus, of course, there will be plenty of other opportunities to make a tit out of myself, I’m sure!

As for Ian, he seems to be on a permanent tour, find dates on his website, and news of an new album, Stone by Stone, due in April, HERE.

For Long Street, John Otway & The Big Band arrives next Saturday, 16th November, promising to be something different, and with Billy in the Lowground in support. Then, Thomas Atlas Band plays with Two Smiles, A Bang, and a Legend in support, for a Christmas Party on Saturday 21st December.

The Soul Sessions from Bristol’s Kaya Street

In 1985 Tenor Saw toasted the lyric, “another sound is dying,” in Ring the Alarm. It implied his sound was the contemporary champion, yet while it’s true reggae is competitively progressive, this particular tune’s dubplate derived from the Stalag riddim created by Ansel Collins twelve years earlier, as did Sister Nancy’s Bam Bam and numerous others. I appreciate the ethos of dubplates, for a musician to lay down a track and various singers to interpret it, but favour, if you want a true contemporary champion sound, it’s not to regurgitate existing riddims, but to use past influences to create original composition; the more the merrier! I may have opened a Pandora’s box upon receiving The Soul Sessions EP from Bristol’s Kaya Street, but it’s certainly a refreshing and interesting original sound…..

In a promotional shot advertising their latest single Wild Child, getting spun on Daniel Pascoe’s BBC Introducing show, Kaya Street’s main man, Kaya, is shown wearing a Trojan Records logo on his T-shirt, it connotes awareness of their roots. I beg to differ from their accompanying quote, “like nothing we’ve heard before,” while perhaps not recently, the fusions Kaya Street experimented with here, reggae, soul, and afrobeat, have indeed been tried before, in abundance.

I could cite bands from Misty in Roots to the Clash, and even Bristol’s own Massive Attack. I could point to the logo on the shirt and suggest many discs sought for distribution by Trojan in the sixties experimented in such a manner; take Lord Brynner’s 1966 single Congo War as one of many examples, or even predate this with the notion mento is rooted from African rhythms. Yet, it’s not the ingredients in Kaya Street’s melting pot which makes it prominently interesting and beguiling, rather the way they stir it, the method in the composition and production. Either that, or I’m an ageing trainspotter beyond the years of all at BBC Introducing!!

The single Wild Child is an enchanting one-drop steppers march, steeped in conscious vocals akin to Marley’s Get Up Stand Up, denouncing the violent crime epidemic in the UK.

It’s bravely brassy too. In an electric modern world taken for granted, it will wake you up to the roots of reggae, when brass sections ruled the day, something which trends throughout the EP. I’m more than happy for the EP to flow throughout like this, but, imagine, a pleasant surprise when the second tune, Alfie proves Kaya Street are no one trick pony.

This is positively alive in an uplifting, paced soukous-inspired sound, while the last song Sway sounds more south than east African; funky township jive, reminding me somewhat of Thomas Mapfumo, with such a saxophone solo to rival Hugh Masekela’s trumpet, least as near as dammit! The penultimate song Be Mine is more commercially western, the offbeat is slight, the theme is romance, the overall vibe is soul, with its silky backing vocals, and again with this consistent concentration of saxophone.

But the best example to highlight my opening point is Low. Low certainly wasn’t my favourite on the EP, to begin with. It starts very lounge jazz, again with the prominent sax and silky vocals, but then subtly and unexpectedly twists into a dubby rockers riddim, so smoothly I had to rewind just to identify when and how this occurred. This alone caused my first impression to alter from, “yeah, this is good,” to “actually, this is a stroke of genius,” and for me to take it back to the beginning and reassess it.

Kaya Street’s sound, like anything progressive and experimental, is a grower, it creeps up on you. There’s narratives to each song I’ve yet to analyse fully, but the more you listen, the more you detect an element from this vast melting pot of cherry-picked influences, and comprehend the story behind each, and I love it for this!

Being I was digging into the archives to find examples of similar past fusions, a subject I could chew your ears off about, if Brynner’s Congo War is a specimen to ska’s African roots prior to the commercial blossoming of Rasta, as opposed to the more commonly cited jump blues influence, derived from US troops leaving radio masts in Jamaica after the second world war, try The Paragons’ lesser-known If I Were You for soul train size. It’s so funky it could be in the Stax catalogue, and is something Be Mine reminded me of; there’s so much going on here.

Yet as many examples of where and how the melting pot has been stirred, none are apogees; it takes Jamaican born Bronx DJ Kool Herc to reach that climax, when he maintained the procedures of King Tubby and applied it to funk and soul to appease the multiculturalism of New York, and created hip hop. Bristol in the nineties was a kingpin to pioneering a UK hip hop formula, which returned influences full circle and incorporated reggae again. Kaya Street continues this Bristol epoch, reviving it freshly. The Soul Sessions is a revisit, recorded in three sessions in 2012 at Exeter’s Valvetastic Studios, with prolific award-winning producer and musician Jolyon Holroyd.

If I am to find some niggly, it’s a lack of intro; the songs tend to jerk right in, but I guess it’s because I have the single edits here, and Kaya Street’s impressive lineup is plentiful to convince me they know the formula to extend and polish. It consists of Revelation Roots drummer Dan Salter, bassist Mark Lee from Hot Dub and Kolo, and that gorgeous sax is provided by Ray Beavis of The Clash, Suzy Quatro, and Katrina and the Waves. Kaya himself has previously worked with dub producers The Vibronics and Dubmatix. Herein is an insight to how the influences meld so professionally, so absolutely sublime.

And sublime is a word I’ll happily use to sum this up, save me waffling further! The initial project was a limited run of CDs for gigs, now for the first time, they are being remastered and released online. Wild Child was released 1st of November, the rest, I believe, will follow, and you need to be there to hear them when they do; Don Letts is raving about this, so here’s the socials to follow.

LinkTree . Facebook . Insta .

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Rachel Sinnetta & Rosie Jay at the Crown, Bishops Cannings

Must confess it felt somewhat odd to return to The Crown in Bishops Cannings for my weekly ration of live music. The only pub in the village has been closed a short while, since verbal pitchforks and torches from a crotchety minority who wanted the tavern to be little more than a museum artefact drove the previous landlords out…..

Prior it was a bustling community hub run immaculately with gusto and enthusiasm, hosting a variety of events and raising funds for charities. Seemed crabby witches and even a lord of a manor were prepared to gang-up, lie to police, and misquote Devizine when we failed to appeal to their better nature. It backfired, they didn’t own one, but let’s not dwell.

New landlords are in, pleasant and keen to maintain the pub’s reputation amidst the prying Karens. Sarah, the new landlady praised her new chefs, and the pub hosts an open mic every first Thursday of the month, Tuesday evening quizzes, and intends to begin a men’s mental health group and possibly a football team.

Tonight, however, will be the new owners first live music night, and they’ve wisely hoisted in promoters Wiltshire Music Events to organise it. Though without much advertising unfortunately the crowd was slight. Never the simple accomplishment it may seem when established venues have the monopoly through a regularity of gigs, to sporadically host will require endless bashing about it on social media. It is, however, easier with the increased 49 bus service, that a night bus will drop into villages enroute, of which you should take note.

I’m in attendance not only to support and encourage the importance of entertainment in villages, save the thought of losing your local watering hole. Rather it is because Wiltshire Music Events is hosting two new acts on their roster, one who’ve yet to explore outside of their Salisbury circuit. A wise choice being the neighbouring church is a mini replica of the cathedral to make the bishop feel at home in the Cannings, or at least so the myth goes!

Firstly, in support, young singer-songwriter Rosie Jay, one I’ve been dying to meet and see live since fondly reviewing her first two singles. Rosie didn’t disappoint despite the pedestal I’ve put her on. Her self-penned songs are rippled with the poignancy of the classic template acoustic wordsmiths who made it big will follow; concentration on the hook, something even more essential with the attention span of the Tik-Tok generation.

Her voice is rich, affectionate, and she delivers songs with passion and blossoming stage presence. An interesting choice of covers from a young artist, often, she explained to the audience, inspired by their usage in films. Okay, Elvis’ Can’t Help Falling in Love is timeless romantic, and The Cranberries’ Zombie is most formulaic, but Dylan’s It Ain’t Me Babe, is a cynical rare choice to pull from her magician’s hat. Though it relates in theme to Rosie’s first song, I Don’t Give a Damn, and her general subjects. Rosie nailed them all, beautifully, with particular evocative expressions in the reclusive and heartfelt jaundiced emotions of Dylan, and likewise her own intelligent compositions.

Currently pursuing a Level 3 Diploma in Music at Wiltshire College and University Centre, Rosie told me of her work on local radio, and was enthusiastic about her forthcoming EP. Part of the growing Wiltshire Music Events family now, as Joylon Dixon has worked with her to produce it. And Joylon accompanies the next performer, the incredible Rachel Sinnetta.

Renowned for a two-year stint supporting Gerry & The Pacemakers, singing to Prince William and recording with Pete Townshend, Rachel intended to tour a  “Wuthering Heights: The Music of Kate Bush,” project which unfortunately fell through.

Music teacher Rachel  set to tour this tribute extensively throughout the UK; that’s what the blurb told me. All I know is Kate Bush is the vocal epitome of singularity, the individuality debatably overlooked in today’s pop industry, as the penchant to sound akin to Whitney Houston seems paramount.

Just like Dolly, Cher, Tina Turner, Stevie Nicks, Tom Jones, Alanis Morissette, even KT Tunstall et al, you need a seriously powerful vocal range to convincingly take on a Kate Bush cover. And Rachel did, sublimely delivering Running Up That Hill, and popular hits of all the aforementioned. Seemingly having her own deal with god, Rachel naturally reaches the notes with ease, her husky yet divine rock voice is the eloquence and faculty able to adapt to take those powerhouse ballads on with such precision and poignancy, particularly with the female giants. She even rinsed Arthea Franklin’s Natural Women, and left me tingling, Chaka Khan’s Ain’t Nobody too simply wowed. Proud Mary in the key of Tina Turner; who would dare attempt them in an intimate gig such as this?! Rachel Sinnetta made them look childsplay.

Sassy with Tom Jones’ Kiss, joyful with Erasure’s A Little Respect, covers came thick and fast, coupled with the secret legendary Jolyon Dixon without rehearsal was a match from heaven, and the whole shebang was utterly blissful; shame only us, a few regulars and their dogs were there to witness it. Such is the uphill struggle for new landlords to plant their establishment into a local music circuit, partially my reasoning for doing this blog.

So, take heed now, especially everyone in Pewsey; this wonderful formula, Rosie Jay followed by Rachel Sinnetta with Jolyon Dixon will be continued at the Royal Oak, in Pewsey, with a free gig from 8pm, next Saturday, the 19th October; they are in for a treat.

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Billy in the Lowground are Halfway Up The T-Shirt

It’s been on my to-do list far too long, overdue to tick it off. Foot-tappin’ West Country folk ensemble, Billy in the Lowground released this album at the end of August, apologies for not mentioning it sooner, but it is worth mentioning, very worth mentioning….

Rather than baked bean stains halfway up most of my T-shirts, this seven track release Halfway Up the T-Shirt, refers to festival billing. “Whenever we play a festival,” they explained, “we always look for our name on the official merch, and after thirty-odd years, we’re finally working our way up, away from the bottom line.. Hooray!” 

To be frank, we don’t care where any festival organiser places them on the T-shirt, with an appealing brew of weighty Scrumpy & Western barefoot fiddles and banjo shenanigans, they’ll lift any T-shirt to expose a rotund hairy belly of upbeat Irish folk, and we love them for that here at Devizine Towers!

Ambiguous is the name, a phrase in a poem about William of Orange defeating the Irish Catholic forces at the Battle of the Boyne, knee-deep in a river, most likely, but other suggestions, like the poem being a parody of Hamlet’s soliloquy, a folk song about William the Conqueror, even “Billy” being slang for a Yankee soldier in the US Civil War, have been passed about, but you didn’t need to know that! You only need to know Billy in the Lowground have been musically ploughing their field since 1991, and have consequently become hugely proficient at it.

Halfway up the T-Shirt is seven strong tracks of goodness, not quite an album length but longer than an EP, a novelette if it was work of literature. “Fact is, we could only afford to get seven tracks finished before we ran out of cash,” they said, so buy this if only to get them more studio time, because it’s a worthy seven tracks to leave you yearning for more.

Follow My Road is a ripping opening, with guest guitarist Rob Fawcett. It’s a hard rock groove, a blues theme, with the uplifting riff of The Levellers at their finest. All Hail the Clown follows suit, it rolls heavy with a healthy dollop of sublime fiddle. So the Story Grows, three tracks in, takes us in an irresistible, rootin’-tootin’ bluegrass melody. With Be It Good, Be It Bad the fiddles and twangy guitars of bluegrass continues, but this one really brings out the Dylan-esque rawness of Chris Hibberd’s gritty vocals, uptempo and reminding me somewhat of Subterranean Homesick Blues, if it was recorded live at County Louth’s Ti Chairbre. Unsure why, as the whole album has that raw energy; it’s a Billy in the Lowground trademark, and it’s beguiling.

The album is stylised and flows on a lofty level, given this, Billy should be at the collar of the shirt. Fallen Queen is a monster to hail along to, fire you up akin to The Pogues’ Transmetropolitan, but paced. The penultimate Part of The Show builds in layers unlike the others, and for this it’s the most epic. Already released as a single, the finale, No Chance for a Slow Dance does what it says on the tin. Billy in the Lowground at their finest, it bears all the hallmarks of a magnum opus. It’s rinsed with upbeat fiddle and banjo, it takes you on a journey similar to The Dropkick Murphy’s, and impossible to stay still to; yet the whole album is gold, sprinkled perhaps with some mud kicked up from the field you’re dancing to it in.

I saw them at the Bradford Roots Festival, in that purpose-built breezeblock beauty. The acoustics in there are incredible, but next time I see Billy in the Lowground I’d favour it being in an ancient west country boozer where the carpet smells of wet dog hair and the odour of campfires drifts through the windows. Where the cider is passed around a packed crowd of steaming boaters, the band play stacked on top of each other in an alcove, knocking brass plates off the wall behind them! That said, they are at The Three Horseshoes in Bradford-on-Avon on 11th October, not that I’m calling anyone names!


REVIEW – Devizes Arts Festival – Martin Simpson @ Corn Exchange 12th June 2024

Masterclass

by Andy Fawthrop

Devizes Arts Festival’s programme continued last night, and it was the turn of another big name to grace the stage of the Corn Exchange.

Martin Simpson is, in the contemporary folk world at least, the equivalent of Royalty, or a National Treasure.  He’s been performing and recording for over forty years, and I’ve personally had the pleasure of seeing him live in concert and at music festivals several times over the years, so I was very much looking forward to this one.

Martin is the consummate singer/ songwriter. His performances are always filled with remarkable intimate solo guitar playing in the finger-picking style, and each gig is a masterclass.  One of the hardest-working people on the folk/ roots circuit, he travels the length and breadth of the UK and beyond, giving audiences passion, sorrow, love, beauty, tragedy and majesty through his playing. Equally at home playing English traditional folk, American folk and blues, or his own compositions, he is consistently named as one of the very finest fingerstyle guitar players in the world.

Nor is he an artist who sits still for very long, averaging a brand new studio album almost every two years.  His latest offering “Skydancers” is his 12th full length solo record since 1992.  Recorded in his home town of Sheffield, the album collects new, self-penned originals alongside 18th century broadside ballads and reverent re-workings from the songbooks of (amongst) others, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Woody Guthrie, Nancy Kerr, June Tabor and Craig Johnson.

Last night “Skydancers” featured heavily, as might have been expected, with several tracks to the fore, narrated laconically with the story behind each one.  The early numbers were laid-back, contemplative and without introduction, but then Martin took the audience into his confidence, and talked us through his thinking. There were a couple of political jibes at the state of the current Government, but largely he stuck to the song-writing and the music-making.  And with hardly any noticeable shift, we switched from the traditional across to the modern, to Bob Dylan’s “Buckets of Rain”.

His singing was strong, with the familiar nasal twang, but it was the guitar-playing that really caught the imagination.  Even his tuning-up trills, and introductions were little classics.  His fondness for tuning and re-tuning (by ear) is legendary in the folk world, but last night it was more disguised as he regaled us with stories relating to the genesis and/ or the content of each song.  There were birds such as the hen-harrier (the “skydancer”), kites, swallows, and buzzards.  There were trees and hills.  There was the Wessex Ridgeway and Slapton Sands. There were real and legendary historical characters.  There were name-drops.  It was all fascinating stuff.  And then, after what had only seemed to be twenty minutes, more than twice that time had actually passed, and we were into the interval, where The Mighty Simpson Marketing Machine swung into action.  (This just meant Martin himself selling CDs in the foyer and chatting to fans, but it sounds good).

The second half brought more of the same, but with perhaps more of an Appalachian, Americana feel to several numbers.  We had covers from Jackson C. Frank and Leon Rosselson, Anne Briggs.  We had re-worked traditional songs, including an Easter carol, and we had more self-penned material.  Again, the audience was rapt, and there was never any doubt that there would be huge applause and an encore.

Another absolutely sparkling night of world-class entertainment.  Another hit for the Arts Festival.

You can find out more about Martin at www.martinsimpson.com  

The Devizes Arts Festival continues until Sunday 16th June at various venues around the town. 

Tickets can be booked at Devizes Books or online at www.devizesartsfestival.org.uk 

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All Cat’s Eyes for Nothing Rhymes With Orange’s New Single

Firstly, to clear up any confusion, as I know I was, a little, and I also accept it doesn’t take much these days, Devizes’ finest musical export since The Hoax, Nothing Rhymes With Orange will play a homecoming gig at The Three Crowns on the Friday 24th June, and not as previously advertised on the Saturday….

Reason being is symbolic of the monumental progress this young band is making nationally; on the Saturday they’re at the third heat of this year’s Pilton Stage party in Glastonbury, the winners of which will go on to share the stage with a major headliner in front of 8,000 people on Worthy Farm in September, that’s all!

Here at Devizine Towers we’ve got all fingers and toes crossed for the guys, it’s a tough cookie, but we look forward to catching up with them on Friday. If you need confirmation of my claims of their blossoming progress, check out the latest single, Cats Eyes, which they launched today, and you will realise I’m not making this up; shits got real.

If eyes are a window to the soul, and cats are sly, this bountifully bodacious banger is the wild romantic ride of Born to Run, with an nonchalant and stylised ring of youth. The narrative is elementary though noteworthy, the post-festival blues of confusing mental bedlam over a fleeting romance, and coming to terms with it all when homebound; it’s convincing, I get the inkling they’ve been there.

Yet it’s the professionalism of a lively style defined here which impresses, having watched these Devizes lads progress from the levels of fun yet amateur punky knockouts like Chow For Now. And it’s all contained within a relatively short space of time whereby each single is a moonwalk to initiating a universal style.

If the early singles like Chow and Manipulation fuelled a local fanbase of peers, Cats Eyes will play the same part in enthusing the big kahunas of the music industry, and if not, I want an inquiry as to why not. These songs they’ll undoubtedly look back on as stepping stones, yet while there’s a modification to a growing professional trend which sounds to me retrospective eighties indie-pop, the like I hail bands like Talk in Code for reverbating, their rawer punker influences aren’t completely saturated here. It doesn’t feel like selling out, it feels like a natural progression to a permeating and accomplished sound, which will equally not disappoint fans but amass newer ones too.

If we’ve always been impressed with Nothing Rhymes With Orange’s insatiable ability to energetically harmonise, it’s evident here in abundance too. They’ve mastered the hook, and taking it to a bridge, they detonate the pop formula with indie goodness, something which only gets better each time; Cat’s Eyes makes another positive leap forward.

The band have been consistently gigging across the South West at festivals and niche music venues since they met in a secondary school, and have been championed by many local radio stations including BBC Introducing who have featured two of their tracks. With a summer tour announced they’ll be playing a range of headline and support gigs right across Wiltshire and on to Hampshire, Bristol, Reading and London. 

But while it’s great to see them heading out, you know when they arrive back in Devizes, the party is on, and fans will be chanting their lyrics back to them; the highest accolade aside a blinding review from me, naturally!!

LinkTree HERE

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Poppy Rose, Ready Now….

Not being able to hold a note myself, I tip my hat to any musician in a band. Yet there’s something so much more valiant, rudimentary, and intrinsically honest about the solo singer-songwriter, the personal touch of an acoustic performer; as the title of her debut album suggests, Poppy Rose has this…..

The key to a good singer-songwriter lies in the proximity of thoughts between the artist and their audience, and how they relate. If done well, the listener feels they know a little something about the singer. I’ve never met Poppy. I came across her music via a Facebook chat. But I’ve come away after one sitting of her new album, I’m Ready Now, thinking that I know her, and that’s the goal rather than the benchmark of an amazing acoustic singer-songwriter….. 

The album opens with No In Between, elucidating Poppy doesn’t do moderation, she is an all-or-nothing girl, and we’re off, getting to know the innermost thoughts of this twenty-five-year-old creative soul from Bath. 

It’s thoughtfully played out prose, with intelligent metaphors which build throughout the ten tracks, but more importantly, it’s dreamily unique and divinely expressed. The metaphors of the intimacy in the second tune are rinsed in personal observations, the third tune, more dejected in romantic theme; Fool is her first single released from the album. If these are characters in her narrative they appear to bear her own crosses and devotions equally, either this or Poppy can write classic fiction akin to Jane Austen!

Similar to what Chippenham’s Meg is putting out in both content and delivery, it’s first-hand folk, idiosyncratic reflection, and we love what Meg is putting out, it’s impossible not too, in my honest opinion. The confusion, trickery and learning of it within the game of love never wanes with age, but there’s something coming of age in Poppy’s subjects, perhaps none more so than The Wrong One, which even states her naivety in the words. If you’re not young (like me!) you still relate, because you lived it, and survived to tell the tale, though, Poppy tells it expressively in haunting songs, and it’s something to behold.

Poppy poses in Resolution Records in Bath, looking deservedly chuffed! You can find limited edition gold glitter cassettes of “I’m Ready Now” in there!

Five tunes in and we’ve swapped guitar for piano, complimenting her heart-clenching and soulful vocals better may be debatable, either instrument works, but piano always rewards it a more europic ambience, as the songs tend to sit in the more dejected moods of Poppy. Seven songs in now, Fragile suggests this honesty, the title track following this lifts the pessimism.…slightly, but whatever the mood, Poppy sets it sublimely and evocatively.

If ‘body shaming’ is a Gen Z construct, it is so only by modern terminology. If you think mocking people for their body shape or size is a new thing you’ll be sadly mistaken. But it is something highlighted as harassment far less abstract and taboo nowadays, and dealing with such bullying inspires Poppy’s penultimate song on I’m Ready Now. I Love my Body is a poignant reflection of wellbeing, a calling to anyone suffering misgivings about themselves physically. Whilst still a solitary deliberation, this track is perhaps the standout as it contains a universal message.

What surprises me most is Spotify has this tune, I Love my Body, listed as a previous single, dated 2019. I know I’m not so good at maths, but if this places Poppy aged twenty when she wrote this, she is truly a prodigy. As I said at the beginning, I don’t know Poppy, but to express such a sentiment and deliver it so profoundly as a message to others at any young age, is nothing short of magical.

So to not leave us downhearted, Poppy’s final tune, Joy, is brimful of romantic optimism, including a geographical reference akin to Springsteen’s The River. This album is homemade lemonade, moreish, yet in recording one’s thoughts so young I believe, and hope we’re only skimming the surface of what is to come from this skilled wordsmith and performer. Have a listen, see what you think, because I’m blown away!

Find Poppy’s Music on Facebook or Instagram

LinkTree HERE

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Soupchick in the Park

And there was me thinking nothing good comes out of a Monday! Today local bistro Soupchick, popular in the Devizes’ Shambles opened their second branch,…

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Family Easter Holiday Events

Devizine isn’t only about music and gigs for grownups, y’know? It’s about events for everyone. This Easter we’ve lots of things to do over the…

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Shox & Steatopygous; Devizes Bands Support Menthol Lungs at The Pump’s Future Sound of Trowbridge

By Florence Lee

Images by Kiesha Films

‘They promised hardcore shenanigans which never fall below 180 bpm’

SHOX:

After seeing Shox in February I was expecting to have a great time, and for them to expand on their ideas which they showcased at the Devizes youth night; however, they managed to smash my expectations once again….

Their set list included ‘Back To School’ by the Deftones, ‘Florescent Adolescent’ by the Arctic Monkeys and ‘Drown’ by Bring Me The Horizon and included some insanely smooth add-in’s using the DJ set. The transition between playing ‘Happy Song’ by Bring Me The Horizon and ‘Killing in The Name’ by Rage Against the Machine had a syren playing and what I can only describe as ‘The music and voice that speaks to you before you go onto a terrifying roller coaster.’ I am not quite sure how to describe it, but I have never heard anything like it before. It was pretty incredible – it drew the audience in and it was a really interesting experience. Their set was very much a journey rather than just some music. SHOX have come on leaps and bounds since the youth night and with some more gigs under their belt, I can only imagine their sound will continue to develop.

Image: Kiesha Films

I wanted to know some more about them, so after getting in contact, I asked them a few questions. Jamie (drummer) and Ed (singer/rhythm guitarist) played together in primary school and wanted to get into a band in secondary school. So, when they joined they went out and looked for a band. Zac (guitarist) and Dylan (bassist) came along around two years later when they got paired to do an academic music project together. Once they had played a few times, they realised they had ‘great chemistry’ and formed SHOX. They are looking to start the rollout of their debut album called ‘To Be Honest, I Couldn’t Be Bothered’ and are hoping for a release in November. They also have a ‘Big announcement in the middle of June,’ which I am sure many are looking forward to. If you haven’t seen them live, I would really take the next opportunity!

Image: Kiesha Films

Steatopygous:

If you haven’t read my interview with Steatopygous, I would recommend reading it as you get the ‘inside scoop’ on what Steatopygous really means.

Image: Kiesha Films

In a nutshell, Steatopygous is a riot girl (and boy) band, which truly could not get any better. With front girl Poppy Hillier, playing guitar and singing, the memorising Eliza on bass and drummer Ewan. They played three originals: ‘Marie’s Wedding Song’, ‘Female CD’ and the new ‘Little Boy’. It is safe to say that since hearing Little Boy, it has not left my mind since. You can tell the song came from somewhere close to their hearts, and is now embedded within the audience’s. Both Female CD and Maire’s Wedding Song are also well written songs, that I cannot wait to be able to listen to online.

Image: Kiesha Films

With three admirably well executed Bikini Kill songs – Carnival, Feels Blind and Star Bellied Boy, they enticed the audience so much, we were demanding “one more song”. And wow, they performed Deception by le Tigre, which truly exploded the mosh pit, not that we had stopped dancing since Steatopygous had entered the stage. I just want to say an incredibly well done to Eliza, Poppy and Ewan, as during their set, they had to stop for a tech issue, but carried on, dare I say, better than before. As a performer myself, I can understand how gut wrenchingly scary it can be to play on stage, let alone have to stop and start again, and they dealt with it like the pros they are becoming. I have been told they are working towards an EP and I, like many others, am beyond excited to hear how it comes out. So, like SHOX, if your ears haven’t been blessed by the music of these beautiful people, then I would really take your opportunity.

Image: Kiesha Films

Menthol Lungs:

While I heard both Steatopygous and Shox before, I was pumped to be able to listen to Menthol Lungs as I hadn’t heard of them and all I can say now is that I was missing out. As soon as they started to play, I was transported into the world of Subhumans and Minor Threat and felt the immediate need to find my skateboard and go stagedive off a speaker stack! Their heavy punk rock music was awesome, and I was even more blown away when I realised that eight of their ten songs were originals!

Image: Kiesha Films

Menthol Lungs are anarchistic hardcore, which was appreciated by me and the crowd. The deeper meanings to what could have been simple lyrics, elevated their performance as they spoke for what they truly believe in. If I thought their performance couldn’t get any better, they then performed ‘The Combine Harvester’ by The Wurzels, which had the audience in stitches and singing along in true Devizes harvest-core fashion :-). I was lucky enough to be able to speak to the amazing Ava, who sings and ask a few questions about their band:

Image: Kiesha Films

Can you introduce your band?

‘We have Corey, who is on rhythm guitar. Sam, who couldn’t make it today, is on lead guitar – he is great.  Zeth right here is on drums, Fergus on bass and I am Ava. I do vocals.’

How did the band form?

‘So, about two years ago, I got kicked out of a sh**** pop, punk band, called Corner Shop Liquor. I then turned around to my mate James, an artist as well, and said “I want to start a new band, can you help me out?” and he introduced me to Corey who could play guitar. Then my fiancé Ash joined us as bassist, but then replacing Ash was Fergus; Fergus and Zeph kind of came as a package deal.’

‘We met Corey at a gig about a year and a half ago and so he vaguely knew us.’

‘Yeah, so about a year and a half ago, we got Zeph and Fergus in a band and we record some stuff and start rehearsing on Zeph’s farm, in some stables. We got our first gig last December.’

Special mention to their six-string bass, which I had to ask questions about:

‘May I just say your six string bass is insane. Looks sick’ – me!

‘There is actually a funny story about that. Fergus left one band rehearsal with a five string bass and he left it at the rehearsal space. When he came back, he had a six string bass with him. It’s brilliant.’

How do you write your songs?

‘So, usually Cory will sit down and write some riffs and upload them onto Songster. He will add some drums and lead guitar and a bit of bass. Then, I usually have some lyrics lying around in my notes app and write them up into a full song, or Corey will write lyrics as well. Then at rehearsals we see what works and it usually ends up in a song.’

How do you think tonight went?

‘Do you know what, it was killer. Best vocals I think I have ever managed, to be honest.’

 What’s your next step?

‘Next step … We have an album coming out hopefully later this year. We are hoping for August, but aiming for the end of the year. We have a gig coming up with Disorder in July. We love Disorder. July 25th – go buy your tickets!’

Thank you Ava for spending some time speaking to me; you and your band are great and I am thoroughly looking forward to seeing how you guys progress in the future!

Image: Kiesha Films

So, in conclusion, the audience and I had a brilliant time, dancing, sweating, slamming, singing and getting to know these sick bands. If these bands are not on your radar, please go give them a follow and see how they progress as the gifts they have for your ears are extensive and they have years beyond them of only getting better.

Finally, I just want to say a massive thank you to Kieran and everyone at the Pump. It is an incredibly special, intimate place, which holds thousands of memories for us kids. I wouldn’t be able to recommend going more. If you haven’t been, you are not just missing out on amazing music, but also an experience that you won’t be able to forget for years. Thank you for letting bands be able to share their music with everyone. What you are doing with ‘The Future Sound of Trowbridge’ is unbelievably special and loved by so many people.

P.S. the drummer from SHOX, Jamie, has a DJ set at the Pump on Trowbridge on the 10th of May. Go get your tickets!

The Future Sound of Trowbridge #9

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Situationships With Chloe Hepburn

A second single from Swindon Diva Chloe Hepburn, Situationships was released this week. With a deep rolling bassline, finger-click rhythm and silky soulful vocals, this…

The Wiltshire Gothic; Deadlight Dance

With howling, coarse baritones Nick Fletcher, the main vocalist of Marlborough’s gothic duo, Deadlight Dance chants, “here comes the rain, and I love the rain, here she comes again,” proving two things: one; he’s never been a milkman, and two; they’ve covered the Cult classic Rain on their upcoming second album, The Wiltshire Gothic, released tomorrow, 29th March 20224. I’m one step ahead, you are advised to catch up….

If the time of the Black Death brought about radical advances in music and arts, we’re 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 John’s 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 Fear’s Mad World in 2003, add some lutes, you’re close enough to the picture. It was Tim’s idea to record them, and Nick’s wish to do so in an Anglo-Saxon church. Tim said, “we 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.”

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?! “My initial idea was to involve Nick Beere of Mooncalf Studios,” Tim furthered, “and record them live there, with a view to perhaps releasing them.” Tomorrow you can hearken the result, essentially join them in that church.

The Wiltshire Gothic is a love letter to the songs of Deadlight Dance’s 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, OMD’s Enola Gay. But hey, this is so encapsulating it’s 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 Nick’s evocative and mood-fluctuating vocal range, I’m 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 might’ve taken for granted, off the beaten track. I’m there again, sharing a bottle of red wine, perched atop West Kennet Long Barrow or the Devil’s Den, gazing into the sunrise. And Robert Plant resonates “oh, dance in the dark of night, sing to the morning light,” 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 Marlborough’s Priory Gardens during school lunchbreak, then they are, in essence, your folk. They may’ve broken the mould, and that’s good, isn’t it, that’s 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!

“Because of the unique instrumentation,” Nick explained, “we didn’t 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. It’s not a radical shift in direction for us; this has always been part of our sound. I would imagine we’ll follow this up with another dramatic musical tangent.”

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.

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Devizes to Host New County-Wide Music Awards

I’m delighted to announce Devizine will be actively assisting to organise a new county-wide music awards administration, in conjunction with Wiltshire Music Events UK. The…

Ruby, Sunday at the Gate

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Cracked Machine at The Southgate

If many space-rock acts have more band member changes than most other musicians change their socks, Hawkwind are the exemplar of the tendency. There might…

The Drum n Bass Huntr/s of Old Devizes Town

In true Royston Vasey style, unfortunately due to time and resources we don’t review international music as we did during lockdown, choosing to focus more on the original concept of local issues and talent, unless of course, we can find any vague link to someone around these parts; there’s a tenacious one with Beskar’s latest album of uplifting drum n bass…..

Proving the irony in Devizes singer Chrissy Chapman’s nom-de-plume, One Trick Pony, her stunning vocals feature on two tracks on the album, Liquid with Friends, released at the beginning of the month, and on a number of previous singles produced by Beskar. One of them is an astounding cover of Ella Fitzgerald’s Fever.

A chance opportunity for Chrissy, working as social media manager for 4NC¥ //DarkMode’s London headquarters during the pandemic, unveiled a hidden talent producing some spoken words for a Dust tune, which in turn led her to be introduced to Beskar, who since has enhanced many of his tracks with her prowess as a singer-songwriter. Now, under the pseudonym Huntr/s, Chrissy has fast climbed to recognition and popularity in drum and bass circles, though this doesn’t mean you’ll no longer see her acoustically perform on our local circuit too, I hope!

See? As the codger who was there for breakbeats slipping into acid house and creating a UK rave scene inspired equally from dub reggae as the less soulful German tekno, who danced through this progression, when hardcore fragmented into happy and dark, and celebrated what blew from it’s exhaust pipe, the “jungle” of drum n bass, and still coming up dancing, I find it slightly confuddling differentiating between the many subgenres drum n bass has separated into more recently. 

Take it as a senior moment, but I’m dubious about breakcore or dubstep, feel they’re heading in a direction I’m not looking to journey down. For me the split came at the end of the rave honeymoon, 1993. Andy C’s Origin Unknown caused heated debate, it was dark, directed away from the cheese on toast, carefree vibe of hi-hats and crashing piano breaks we were accustomed to. In just a few subsequent years I was waving A Guy Called Gerald’s Black Secret Technology CD around, but most of my mates waited for Goldie’s Timeless before accepting this new force, “intelligent” drum n bass.

It peaked at LTJ Bukem’s Logical Progression in 96, drum n bass no longer the jungle tumult you heard at raves, rather as the title suggested, here’s a style for the chill-out, for the after-party. And that’s where I left it, trundling off to the big beat sound of Jon Carter, The Chemical Brothers and Norman largin’ it. While what Beskar is laying down here is fresh and original, it makes no secret in nodding to its influences, to this peak of drum n bass, and for me, that works a treat.

The opening to Liquid with Friends is much like this, there’s the sparse drum n bass riffs of Photek, Hype et al, spacey ambient sounds of the Orb, KLF, and some uplifting vocals and piano breaks. There’s casual rap like Divine Bashim’s for William Orbit, there’s a spanning package offered here, flowing sweetly. The result is euphoric and enchanting throughout, but it’s the Huntr/s featured tracks, Home and Running which are the standouts, and I’m not just saying that, I’m backing it up with reasoning; because from cheesy hardcore to contemporary house, when any dance music genre breaks for some beautiful female vocals the soul is elevated.

Donna Summer proved that for Giorgio Moroder, Caron Wheeler did it for Soul II Soul in the late eighties, Rozalla took it to the rave, Heather Small did it for Mike Pickering, and a lounge style of house brought to the masses; dance music wouldn’t be what it is totally instrumental. Mickey Finn knew this with Urban Shakedown, and we did, we lived as one family, the vocal only enforced it into us! We were like, “damn that’s some powerful shit, we’d better live as one family now, or else!” I never did get any pocket money out of Mickey!

Beskar manages to amalgamate the lot without it becoming overcrowded there. Just as DJ Cam with the trip hop trend, funky jazz loops are allowed in. There’s a lot more going on with this album than breaks and beats, but it does this too with bells on. Silent River is one example to this experimental goodness, Inner City Life, the opening to Timeless meets Massive Attack, soulful vocals with layers of chill, and even subtle wailing guitars, akin Quincy Jones adding Slash to Micheal Jackson tunes, Beskar went there too; you magician! 

I’m taken back and in awe, our own Huntr/s’ contributions here embeds her voice to a history of female vocalists who uplifted the crowd, from Summer to Small, and that’s a high but deserved accolade for our Devizes girl!  

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Gecko’s Big Picture

In 1998 a pair of pigs escaped while being unloaded off a lorry at an abattoir in Malmesbury and were on the run for a…

Park Farm; New Music Festival in Devizes

A new music festival is coming to Devizes this July. Organisers of the long-running Marlborough based festival MantonFest are shifting west across the downs and…

Results of Salisbury Music Awards

All images: ©️ JS Terry Photography An awards ceremony to celebrate the outstanding musical talent within the city, aptly titled The 2024 Salisbury Music Awards,…

Something Of Nothing; New Single From Talk in Code

Swindon indie popsters Talk in Code return tomorrow (1st March) with a new single, Something Of Nothing …..hold tight to your Deely-Boppers, things are about to get eighties around here….

Every time Talk in Code releases a single I find myself pondering deeper into what makes good pop, and if the word pop is a suitable term to use to describe a song at all. Wikipedia defines ‘pop’ as a “genre of popular music,” a rather incontrovertible statement, being it defines ‘genre’ as “a conventional category that identifies pieces of music as belonging to a shared tradition or set of conventions.” Find me ‘shared conventions’ between Elvis’s Heartbreak Hotel and Doja Cat’s Agora Hills, other than both were commercially produced? If they weren’t ‘pop’ they would hardly fall into the same category. They’re styles apart, separated by time and influences, ergo ‘popular,’ at the time, and that’s an epoch, not a genre.

I’d argue pop is only a genre when thinking outside its own sphere, ie; classical, jazz, folk. Ergo, everything else is pop, making pop a blanket term. Not all pop songs are popular, even if the intention was; singles flop, or, era depending, they become timeworn. Ah, but we were discussing ‘good pop’ and for that there’s two distinct categories.

Category one is throwaway, only encapsulating briefly, fitting with a current trend. Think of those songs you bought back when, but you’re now horrified you liked them, compared with those songs you consider classics, and will still drag you down to the dancefloor today. I bet you thought of more classics than the once trendy ones, because the latter you block from your mind, until some radio DJ spins it and you think, did I really like that shite?! Therefore, good pop breaks the very rule of pop, it’s not trending, rather it’s timeless. Ask yourself why tribute acts are big business, or a current act feels the need to sample an eighties electronica riff, it’s nostalgia.

Talk in Code often cite The Killers and The 1975 as influences, and certainly their root lies in another ambiguous genre, indie. Indie to me implies nineties dance-indie or Britpop, but whenever I hear a new TIC single I’m contemplating eighties electronica pop, more with every release.

Something Of Nothing is no exception, it accentuates the euphoria of an eighties dancefloor filler, and wouldn’t sound out of place on a chart hits compilation of 1986. By the opening bars I thought Ah-Ha were making a comeback, I thought Roxette might sing. The fact that when I addressed this eighties influence with the band they were agreeable, despite citing nineties influences themselves; it’s what you want to hear, meaning one thing, that their sound is timelessly classic, ergo, good pop.

If it was so, that this tune was on a mid eighties hits album, I’m assured it would be a smash and Bruno Brookes would be introducing them on Top of the Pops. Equally with a nineties one. Talk in Code cherrypicks from era-spanning memorable and timeless pop songs, garnishing them with contemporary freshness.   

Subject is equally perennial for any good pop, they blurb this one as, “taking things at face value, over analysing and the scene of one person wanting more than the other from a relationship.” Woody Guthire wrote this lyric, “and it’s hard and it’s hard, ain’t it hard, To love one that never did love you?” in 1941, again, recurring themes are so because they’re eternally popular subject matter, ergo good pop!

The song will be available via Regent Street Records on all streaming platforms from tomorrow, 1st March. Recorded with Sam Winfield at Studio 91, Newbury. Talk in Code take their dynamic show on the road,  7th July – Minety Festival, 20th July – Southgate Inn, Devizes, 27th July – Fulltone Festival, Devizes, 2nd August – The Three Horseshoes, Bradford On Avon, 3rd August – The Castle Inn, Swindon and 26th August – Box Rocks, Box. The act which can neatly slip into these diverse events, can equally thrill an audience at say, FullTone, or the Three Horseshoes, proves my waffling point, I think!

Pre-save it HERE!

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Static Moves at The Three Crowns Devizes

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Mental Rot; New I See Orange Single

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Peace, Love, Americana and Jol Rose

I trouble procrastinating upon being gifted a previously released CD from an artist for review, unfortunately they land on the backburner, prioritising upcoming news items. I swear to myself, “I must get on and review that,” especially when it’s as brilliant as Jol Rose’s 2023 album, Peace, Love, Americana. So, that’s my box to tick today…..

A surprising brilliance, for while I’m aware of his popularity on the Americana scene, and particularly in his hometown of Swindon, it was only a brief encounter at Bradford Roots Festival in January, where he handed me this beauty. He was on early, see? I could still taste the toothpaste, had to locate the room in the lovely labyrinth of the Wiltshire Music Centre, and once done the room was full and I couldn’t get in until someone left; few did, now I know why.

Ergo, I caught his last few songs, recalling the upbeat, happy-go-lucky and amusingly fruity Make Some Hay, which though on the album, I realise after gorging myself on it’s sublime observations, portrayals and wonderful Dylan-esque folk-rock, happy-go-lucky and amusingly fruity songs is only the tip of the iceberg.

First impressions were, while Bob Dylan-like vocally, even the most troubled of Jol’s characters have escape plans. They aren’t totally dejected and beyond hope like many of Dylan’s. This gives a much more sprightly and sanguineness vibe, and I’m leaning more in nature to the likes of the wild romanticisms or optimism in the face of misfortunes of Springsteen’s storytelling. Either way, despite Jol’s prolificness at an album annually since 2019’s My Nebraska, there’s clearly a lot of time, effort, and thought put into his songwriting. Surely the key to any amazing acoustic folk artist.

Being on the gatefold is a call to “free Julian Assange,” a subject Jol blogs about on his website, rallying his local MP, I realise I must dive deeper into the meanings of his songs, as he has proficiency in weaving poignant narratives, far from simply “making hay!” Still, only subtle political nods in his themes, I detect, are unlike the bluntness of Guthrie. The only exception to this rule I noted, is a closing tune When the Day and Night Collide, for this is truly blowin’ in the wind.

There’s defeatism yet hope, over Dylan’s usual bitter and derisive foreboding, yet romantic interludes are not often forthcoming, as in the opening tune, All Alone Again. It hankers the pit of your soul, an honesty pleading she takes him back home, even if he has trudged all over her flowerbed! Metaphorical or not, Jol, you need to get yourself to Homebase and replenish those Rhododendrons pronto!

Then comes the aforementioned light-hearted upbeat tune, Make Some Hay, followed by an absolute marvel. Meet me in Berlin, tormented touring dreams of it all coming together again, Romeo a personification of his hopes it’ll freshen up, it’s homecoming, delivered with amazing passion; thus the album persists this way, and it’s stunning.

Featuring Rachael Birkin on fiddle, award-winning pedal steel player Holly Carter, keyboardist Jon Buckett and Lewis Lord-Jenkins on drums, Drew Di Fiore on bass and Jason Serious on harmony vocals, this is twelve tunes strong, which does exactly what it says on the tin. There’s authentic Americana throughout, country folk, country blues, and if tunes weave in and out of pace, it flows like a fresh Red River valley song. The Carter Family would save him a space at their dinner table.

Tracks like Let it Roll aren’t the complex riddles of cliché Americana, rather facile sing-a-along, rolling into folk-rock. Other, more cleverly intertwined tunes require thought, often I’m deciding if Jol is subtly reflecting metaphorically, or more simply this romantic longing in the face of doubt. This open-ended prose is the key to the magic, as you interpret it as you will, hopefully bearing relevance to your own affairs, and that’s when the music takes you away. It’s a skill only the best singer-songwriters can muster, if Jol’s music doesn’t take you there, none of the others will. Come on Home, nine tracks in, is the perfect example. Though there’s a running theme of wishing to return home, it’s sublime and as congenial as home itself. It’s a painting on a wall, a permanent fixture hung with love.

I thought Jol was good, I didn’t dream he was this good;  Peace, Love, Americana is a keeper alright! Bag yourself a copy HERE.

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RowdeFest 2025!

Okay, I can’t keep the secret any longer or I’ll pop! While all the hard work is being organised by a lovely committee, because they…

Gaz Brookfield’s Village Hall Tour Came to Lavington

West-side in the Lavingtons last night, tumbleweeds could’ve blown along the High Street as an army of highway operatives rode into the village with heavy resurfacing artillery. Yet, behind blockades at the village hall, a pocket of gig resistance stood their ground, guided by their temporary sheriff of entertainment, Gaz Brookfield. They were going out-out, even if it meant marching from Littleton Pannell or Rickbarton!

No one’s fault, just unfortunate timing, but I gladly report any clashes between parties was reduced to the mere possibility of some reveller tripping on a traffic cone in the dark – what else can I say of the incident? My mum always told me to watch where I was going!

In this wonderful village hall, though, everyone was made to feel welcome. Warmed with chilli, rice and choice of drinks, curious villagers and local Gaz fans melded for a memorable evening. Armed with just a guitar this all-round entertainer of the singer-songwriter variety fulfilled a promise to book himself into willing village halls as an initial part of a wider annual tour. Who am I to argue town and city venues get all the fun, and this genius idea breathes life into otherwise often quotidian or redundant halls? But the true genius of Gaz Brookfield isn’t only present in marketing concepts. 

Your typical singer-songwriter can be categorised thus; wonderfully creative yet timorous, bold but perhaps not so accomplished, or a pick of both positive qualities, as Gaz clearly falls into, an expert in confidently delivering self-penned marvels. It would seem nothing is off limits as a subject, as life takes its course Gaz reflects on any occurrence or newfound knowledge and views them equally as worthy of writing about. The result is variety. Habitual vow of playing a fun song after a melancholic one, Gaz explains this, as is he summarises the thought process behind each song with a balance of serenity and good humour.

You know what I mean, though? Some singer-songwriters, while talented, stand tense and only address an audience with “this next song is called,” whereas someone like Springsteen will drag a backstory out to epic proportions. Gaz finds the middle ground, a perfect balance. Yeah he gave a locally themed backstory related in his first gigs in a band playing his own village hall, but all intros were a brief synopsis, and on with the associated song.

Everything he plays is original, fans chant them back to him, but every layer of his personality, thoughts and observations are exposed on the stage he commands, that’s his honest beauty. Also worth noting, parallel to Springsteen or folk singers like Seeger, there’s sunny-side of the street, hometown themes, but Gaz confines himself to nada; there’s historic or apocalyptic stories, thoughts of symbolic tree carvings, blues about diabetes, and quite often, frank insights to being a musician. Through the quips and ditties to the sombre or reflective moments, if I’m making this sound as if Gaz is a jack of all trades, he’s not, he’s a king of them, an all round entertainer.

Weaving an audience under his spell, he relates, he engages an audience, makes them feel a part of the show rather than observers. Relaying an anecdote about an ukulele fashioned guitar, he drops off the stage and sings a shanty unplugged. A communal moment of sublimity alongside archetypal latest album plugs, and ending with a selection of previous known and loved works. Gaz is a tricky one to pin down, given the variety and proficiency he plays with, but he certainly ticks every box with a gold star.

A national gemstone from down our way. Expressing a love for the West Country just one tangent he focussed on, an ode to a friend amusing titled “nuggets,” and too many other ingenious prose to mention. Though this was not before a Tilshead support. Mischa of Mischa and his Merry Men arrived without said merry men, calling an opportunity to play some songs he wouldn’t usually do with his accompanying band. Singing of desperation, eco-anarchy though with a mildly blasé approach, and citing seventies electric blues influences in song, Mischa was apologetic about swearing, thrilled to be performing with Gaz, and made an apt and superb support act which would’ve been perfect with his collective as a headliner.

Being I reviewed Gaz’s 2016 album, I Know My Place pre-Devizine for a now redundant newsite, alongside Richie Triangle, Tamsin Quin and Phil Cooper he was fundamental to this voyage of discovery in local talent, I’m glad to finally tick him off the top of my must-see list, but wouldn’t mind at all making his gigs as something of a devotee. Aware of his music before last night, even in reviewing a live album, is a solid base but his ability to deliver a live performance in person borders on legendary.

The village hall tour continues until March, the closet being Hook near Swindon on the 23rd, further dates for his new album Morning Walking Club from April takes in Salisbury’s Winchester Gate on April 6th, and includes full-band festivals such as the My Dad’s Bigger Than Your Dad Festival at Swindon’s Old Town Bowl on July 20th. Find more details HERE, and do, you’ll be glad you did!

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Gaz Brookfield to Release More Tickets For Sold Out Show in West Lavington

Breaking news, and it’s not often I get to say that here! As part of Gaz Brookfield’s Almost All Village Hall Tour, which kicked off last night in Kidderminster, he arrives at West Lavington Village Hall this coming Friday, the 16th Feb. It is likely that you know this already, hence why it’s sold out. But, be quick, Gaz plans to release a further twenty tickets for the gig…..

Quick-fingered Gaz fans keep your beady eyes fixated on this here ticket link, as while it might say it’s sold out at the moment, after returning home from a show in Devon tonight, tomorrow he will add twenty more tickets, and they could be yours!

West country based Gaz Brookfield is predominantly an independent solo musician. Although, on occasion you will find him on stage with his band, The Company of Thieves.

Gaz Brookfield photo

Since winning Acoustic Magazine’s singer/songwriter of the year back in 2010 he has spent his time on the road, building a strong and loyal following all over the UK and beyond. He was the first independent musician to sell out Bristol’s, The Fleece, (450 cap), and The Bierkeller, (750 cap), and SWX, (1000 cap).

Gaz has an impressive back catalogue of nine studio albums. The latest of which, Morning Walking Club, went straight in at #1 in the Official UK Folk Album Charts, #3 in the Official UK Indie Breaker Charts, #6 in the Official UK Download Charts, #10 in the Official UK Indie Album Charts, and even #37 in the Official UK Album Sales Charts.

He’s one artist I picked up on BD (before Devzine!) when the precursor rant column ran out of negatives and I begun hunting for more positive stories, finding myself on a voyage of discovery into a local music scene I had no idea existed. It was Devizes gigs for Richie Triangle and Tamsin Quin which got the ball rolling, and before long I was penning album reviews for the likes of Gaz and Phil Copper. I believe I splashed some fond words about the 2016 album, I Know My Place, but the website finished and all traces of it have bitten the dust.

While Gaz has sporadically featured here, I regret to say our paths haven’t yet crossed, so after seven years since reviewing the album I’m looking forward to being able to knock up a live review. Here’s hoping The Tale Of Gunner Haines is on his setlist, if he has one, prolific and quite the master of improv I believe he is!

The Almost All Village Hall Tour takes in twelve rural UK locations in a bid to get his music out beyond towns and cities, and begun with a Facebook post asking for village halls to stand up and be counted. West Lavington’s Community Hall on Sandfield makes the perfect space, a hall with so much potential, and I for one, am glad to see it on the shortlist. Ever a grand idea, getting gigs out to the villages, Gaz, and we wish you all the best with it.

Now, readers, stop reading this and keep one eye on the ticket link!

Trending……

Discovering Swindon Story Shed

With Dad’s taxi on call in Swindon and a few hours to kill whilst her majesty is at the flicks, it was fortunate local…

The Rise of Winter Festivals

Once upon a time it seemed to me, that folk would grin and bear the winter weather for the sake of a Christmas lights…

Devizes Youth Action Group’s First Club Night

by Florence Lee. Images by Gail Foster.

On Friday, I was lucky enough to have seen the four local bands at the youth gig set up by Devizes Youth Action Group to give under-18 bands the opportunity to perform and show off their talent at the Devizes Corn Exchange.….

Bella Donna were the first band on stage. The first song I saw them perform was Livin’ on a Prayer by Bon Jovi and the audience loved it. They had a great set list which consisted of songs such as Drain You by Nirvana and We Will Rock You by Queen. It is safe to say that their stage presence and enthusiasm in these performances spread throughout the audience, who didn’t stop singing or dancing. The band consists of Emmie on drums, Roxie, bass, Bea, guitar with both Bea and Roxie singing. For a band so young, I was impressed by their ability to interact with the audience. I will be following their progress and I am looking forward to seeing how they develop.

The second band was called Shox. As soon as they started to get ready, the audience was shouting their name, eagerly anticipating their performance. My interest was piqued as soon as I saw they were using both a DJ set and live music to perform. They opened their set with using the DJ set and then went into a cover of the Arctic Monkeys ‘Fluorescent adolescent,’ which was an instant hit with the crowd. Throughout their set, the drum and bass held the groove nicely, which paired up with Zach on guitar, who played some creative and well-polished solos. He nailed the solo in ‘Can’t Stop’ by the Red Hot Chilli Peppers, which blew me away as I am an avid fan. The lead singer, who was very solid as a rhythm guitarist, let the others be technical and explore their parts whilst holding a beat and singing, which exceeded all of my expectations.

They covered songs such as R U Mine?, in which the drums created the heartbeat of the band, and Buddy Holly by Weezer, to which everyone was dancing. The DJ set really just levitated their performance and meshed really well with the live playing, but gave it an electronic feel, which I haven’t heard or seen in any other gigs. On top of this electric feel, the drummer used electric drums, and this helped the pre-recorded tracks on the mixer fuse smoothly with the instruments. Also, a shoutout to the bassist, who despite standing at the back of the stage held the backbeat of every song humbly, but it didn’t go unnoticed. Altogether, these guys have some awesome ideas, which makes them stand out and make a unique sound that I would love to hear some original songs with. Well done.

Talking to some of the band players whilst Bella Donna and Shox took the stage, all of them downplayed and reacted humbly while I told them how excited I was to hear them play, saying things such as ‘Don’t be too excited’ and ‘We aren’t that good, don’t expect too much.’ However, to say that my expectations were not just met, but exceeded so much that I think I am Enguun’s and Steatopygous’ biggest fan.

When Enguun went onto the stage, I was simply blown away. They are insane. My ears were in euphoria as soon as Ewan Middleton and Joshua Allen started to bless the audience with their music. As a musician, their ability to capture audience attention and put everyone in a trance-like state of freaking out was out of this world. They used techniques such as detuning whilst playing and just purely encapturing everyone with their performance, breaking their promises of ‘not that good.’ Using, or should I say blessing, a Tama Kit (the best type IMO), Ewan played with his whole body, putting his all into creating a beat that the audience could move their bodies too. The mass of sweaty teenagers loved the way that both musicians let each other explore the feel of music that they wanted to create.

It wasn’t just good music either, it was a performance. As you can tell these boys could just play and transport those around them into a different world.  I am not quite sure how to describe to you just how much talent these boys have. Even without a Bassist (although they are looking for one) they still managed to keep the groove and attention of everyone looking at them. I was sure that the two boys must have known each other for years, but I was wrong.  In the same year at school, and aware of each others presence, they didn’t get along too well at first, as Ewan ‘used to sit next to (Joshua) in Year 8 and it annoyed the s*** out of him.’ That was until over time gained respect and one day Ewan asked Joshua if he could play bass, to which he lied and said yes, but with some luck, the guitarist left, leaving the two boys to play ever since. I hope that I have written this to show the admiration I have for these guys. I will be following them and going to see them again as they were just insane, and you should too.

Last, but definitely not least, the act of which I was the most excited for, Steatopygous took the stage. With their adoring fans, of which I am one, hyping them up around me, my anticipation for their act had only grown. The band consists of talented Poppy Hillier on guitar and singing, Ewan Middleton (again) on drums and enticing Eliza Brindle on bass. The first thing I noticed about this band was how friendly they are. I had contacted them before to ask about doing an interview and they instantly replied being extremely kind; this was reflected to the incredible audience of enthusiastic and happy people who welcomed everyone to dance with each other and enjoy the music. The previous bands, school mates and strangers came together to enjoy their music. The fact that they have only done four gigs was insane for the way that they have an ability to perform; the queue after the gig for buying posters and signing them really just reflects how much the audience loved them.

Now, I was lucky enough to be able to talk to them myself, so if you read on, meet Poppy, Eliza and Ewan: When did you become a band?

‘May last year maybe? First, it was me and Eliza. We had Steatopygous and it was just. I had been playing bass, for like three days!’

‘We started a band and I literally didn’t know how to play guitar. We were just like “let’s start a band”’

‘We went to this Young Women’s Music Project in Oxford and afterwards we were like, yeah we are gonna start a band. Ewan joined a bit later.’

What are your musical inspirations?

‘Definitely Bikini Kill’

‘Yeah. I think it would be a sin to answer this and not say Bikini kill. X-Ray Spex. Amyl and The Sniffers.’

‘Sonic Youth, as well.’

‘And Rat Mobile.’

When you were writing your single, how did you go about it?

‘We had never written a song before, so it was very much like let’s just try and do it.’

‘We had no idea what we were talking about, but we were very angry with some boys, so we thought we would channel it.’

Would you like to explain what the songs about?

‘I think our main inspiration is what it is like to be a women in music and how it feels to not be taken seriously in the industry. There was this one time we were in band practise, and this builder next door, whilst we were playing a Pixies song. He goes to Ewan, our male drummer, “Oh, you guys are really good, do you like the pixies?” and completely ignored us. He did not acknowledge us and talked to Ewan the whole time.’

‘I think from there, it just became about all the annoying experiences we have had with men.’

Why the fish?

‘Poppy is really into fish; she wants to be a Marine Biologist and I do a lot of art. I spray painted a fish once and then wrote Steatopygous over it, and it just stuck.’

Why Steatopygous?

‘Steatopygous means excess fattiness on the thighs and ass of a woman, but it sounds like a dinosaur, which is a plus. My Mum was telling me about the poems she studied in her GCSE and there was one called fat, women’s thoughts in a bath… or something. It was a poem about Steatopygous and I thought it was a sick word.’

How does your female punk ‘riot girl’ look fit into having a male band member?

‘I think that ‘riot girl’ definitely isn’t exclusive just to women. I think that one of the problems to ‘riot girl’ in the 90’s was that it was very exclusive, which let to some ethical issues with transphobia and racism within the riot girl movement, so I think it’s important for us to show that anyone can be a ‘riot girl’ and that comes across with having Ewan as our drummer.’

Any upcoming gigs?

‘No, don’t have anything in the calendar at the moment, but always looking guys!’

In conclusion, these are some people, who are truly talented and you they should be on your radar.

Editor’s Note: Trust me to have to add my tuppence into this great review, but I would just like to say a few things, if I may?! Thanks to everyone at Devizes Youth Action Group for hosting this event, it means so much to the youth that there is something for them to do, and let’s hope there’s more to come. Thanks to all the bands who played, I wish you the best of luck for the future and hope we get the opportunity to write about you all again. To all parents, we have as much as possible attempted to gain permission from you for featuring the bands, and while many responded, if there is an issue please do not hesitate to contact me.

I’ve linked in the band’s Instagram pages, please give them a follow and support them with their journeys; the future of Devizes live music scene depends on it!

But most of all, thanks to Flo for all her hard work. It’s one thing for me to report on youth events such as these, but it is far better that youth are the ones reporting on them. Thank you all!!

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In Retrospect With Gary Martian

So yeah, not only has Cracked Machine and Clock Radio drummer Gary Martin added a letter A to his name to make it sound more…

Christmas Greetings From Devizine!

Here’s our Christmas video Greeting, ho-ho-ho! Filmed on location at DOCA Winter Festival, Devizes, 2024 by Jess Worrow. Merry Christmas everyone!

The Turnaround; New Album from The Jon Amor Trio

Devizes is a blues town, fact. I’ve dubbed its origins as “The Mel Bush Effect,” in the past; via Long Street Blues Club and down to The Southgate, the tradition continues and the label sticks. Music promoter Mel Bush would later go onto be a prominent organiser of some of the country’s most memorable concerts, but he cut his teeth here in the early seventies, bringing top acts to the Corn Exchange, at a time the town only had a population of approximately ten thousand…..

Knock on effect, while upcoming nineties bands modelled themselves on Madchester or grunge, from a local village five footballing teenagers formed a band inspired by Dire Straits, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Dr Feelgood, the latter playing a particularly significant gig at the venue, which we need not recount now; if you know, you know! Concentrating on The Hoax, those youngsters, the Davey brothers Jesse and Robin, Hugh Coltman, finalised drummer Dave Raeburn, and of course, Jon Amor, raised the bar on the UK blues scene with the vigour of youth in an otherwise largely considered matured genre.

Pushing new boundaries post-Hoax, Jon has explored many guises, from Amor, with Wayne Proctor and Matt Beable, to the Jon Amor Blues Group and King Street Turnaround, solo, and collaborating projects like Birdmens, with Ian Siegal, Joel Fisk, and Dave Doherty,  prolifically producing albums throughout. Here, he’s our lovable living legend, never failing to turn up at the Southgate for a monthly Sunday residency, set in concrete in December 2021, and with renowned guests to boot. Such splendour of the recurring occasion, many of whom return in their own right.

Jon’s backing for said residency and various other venues on the circuit comprises of astounding bassist Jerry Soffe and celestially-sited drummer Tom Gilkes, dubbed aptly as The Jon Amor Trio, and they’ve been into Swindon’s Crescent Records studio. While a Jon Amor album is no new thing, The Turnaround is the first for the trio, and being as it’s such a high pedestal I’m popping them onto, I take a listen to it with a tinsey hint of scepticism they can recreate the magic of their live gigs. Because it’s the improv moments, the atmosphere, warts and all of a pub gig which grasps the magic, see? I found myself wondering if they could’ve released a live album instead, but who am I to kid, I should’ve known better!

Eleven original tracks strong opening with the title track, it wastes no time in recreating said magic. Regardless of any particular setup, this is another Jon Amor gold album, enhancing their live performances and creating a little piece of it you can take home with you. The electric blues held in esteem here is not cut short, there is no wild tangents of experimentation, The Jon Amor Trio never try to be something they’re not; just wild and highly accomplished archetypal blues riffs wavering in tempo, exciting and invigorating.

It’s when I arrived at Rideau Street any doubts melted. With a subtle hint of rockabilly, it rides to the bridge as any good Jon Amor tune does, and you know, you’re in capable hands. Mrs James adopts a firmer delta blues riff, and from there I’m immersed in its gorgeous and thick layers of sublime blues. A downtempo number, I Know What You’re Using sounds direct from the Hoax songbook, and onwards we journey through an album which has definitely got Jon Amor all over it, enveloping the brilliance of this new Trio’s live shows, with bells on. Fans will not be disappointed, and so the shows must go on. Find them at the Beehive in Swindon tomorrow, Thursday 8th Feb, and Sunday sees this month’s residency at The Southgate, Devizes, with Nat Martin as guest, guitar tutor at The Academy Of Contemporary Music in Guildford.

The album is only available at gigs and on Bandcamp; streaming isn’t good enough for this beauty, and rightly so!

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Chapters, New Single From Kirsty Clinch

Okay, so, I’m a  little behind, recently opting to perfect my couch potato posture and consider hibernation, meaning I’ve not yet mentioned Kirsty Clinch’s new…

Wormwood; Cracked Machine’s New Album

A third instalment of space rock swirls and cosmic heavy duty guitar riffs was unleashed in January from our homegrown purveyors of psychedelia, Cracked Machine. Plug in and prepare for takeoff, Wormwood continues on their already stunning discography of celestial shenanigans….

Pretty much where we left off with the Gates of Keras, Wormwood offers that prog-rock gorgeousness, as beefy as Bovril on the boil, heavy-laden guitar riffs beguiling the stoner or non-stoner alike; you need not skin up to be immersed in this. Pink Floyd’s moments of drifting ambience, meets contemporary likes of the Ozric Tentacles here, it’s a trip more than an album, flowing from track to track and taking you along for a ride of euphoria and headbanging moments, in equal measure. Someone, pass me a lava lamp, pronto.

All instrumental, and mentally metal, gorge yourself stupid, encased in its epic journeys. By its very flowing nature, it makes it tricky to say much more as a way of review, I found the summit track, Eigenstate particularly ‘aving it, and when it falls into eight minutes of Return to Anatres, you’re drifting back through clouds of guitar riffs as solid as tungsten. Yet, if space-rock as a subgenre has welded into the likes of Spiritized or Spaceman 3, Cracked Machine are more likeable to Hawkwind, which in my most humblest of opinions is no bad thing. Wormwood doesn’t go on whim of experimentation or try to slide anything unexpected into it, it just ripples along a course like a stream. Although intros like that of Desert Haze can cause you to assume things are going to get all trancy-techno, it doesn’t stop at that riverbank.

You may have caught them down the Gate for their album release show, I was gutted to have had to miss it. You may have seen them before, such as the year Vinyl Realm hosted a stage at Devizes Street Festival and all took flight from the Market Place to erect deckchairs at St John’s and lie in mega bliss. Such is the accomplished Cracked Machine, forging space-rock into a new era, yet not forgetting its rich history. Put this on and be submerged. 

Here’s their LinkTree, fill your boots, open your third eye…..

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Devizes Writers Group Win Silver Award

Congratulations to Rosalind Ambler and Paul Snook from Devizes Writers Group… At the National Community Radio Awards held in Cardiff on 16th November Together!,…

Hansel & Gretel: Panto at the Wharf!

Images: Chris Watkins Media It was lovely to spend Sunday afternoon at Devizes’ Wharf Theatre, to see how this year’s pantomime Hansel & Gretel,…

Ian Siegal at Long Street Blues Club

Devizes is often spoiled for choice when it comes to live music. Swindon folk ensemble SGO at the Gate would’ve been an excellent decision…

The Worried Men Take the Pump

And Morpheus said unto Neo, “unfortunately, no one can be told what the Matrix is. You have to see it for yourself.” Funny cos, I kinda feel similar about The Worried Men! So much so, it’s worth forgoing my weekend cider ration to drive down to the Pump to catch them…

Fast becoming our flagship grass roots music venue, enough for Wiltshire Council’s area board to reward them with a grant, Kieran and his team have transformed The Pump in Trowbridge from its origins as a folk club, through offering a diverse programme, and we love it here at Devizine Towers. It’s quirky, quaint, and most importantly, it’s impressively welcoming.

The grant was used to purchase some new equipment for The Pump that will enhance the artist and customer experience. There is no need to up their game with the programme of events though, in my honest opinion. Every show is a gig in heaven already, if heaven has an antique pitcher pump as a feature! Kieran said, “we’re really trying to contribute to our community and thank you for joining us along the way!” The pleasure is all ours, thank you Mr M.

Their worthy Future Sound of Trowbridge project to promote youthful upcoming bands at the Pump may well be in full momentum, but was put on hold for this Saturday night to make way for experienced, marginally older musicians! One thing you could be certain of, Worried frontman Jamie Thyler handles his guitar like Michelangelo handled his paintbrush. Cruising that well-oiled machine through a medley of every known Renaissance blues and rock guitar riff, with the ladders of his highly accomplished bassist and drummer, moulds them into one beautiful Sistine Chapel ceiling.

The Worried Men show consists of a few originals from their extensive discography, which sound like rock classics anyway, meddled with this cascade of known riffs and only pauses to allow some time for Jamie’s quick-witted, Gilbert Shelton humoured quips. They’re not wholly covers, per say, more improv homages and nods to his influences, the guitar heroes of yore, the blues master axemen from Muddy to Howlin Wolf and Hendrix to prog-rock’s Deep Purple or Zeppelin. Enthusiastic trainspotters will pick out Mungo Jerry, Spencer Davis, The Stones, but never will Jamie simply re-enact, it’s simply acknowledged in a beautiful mesh.

Opening with a decidedly Muddy Water’s version of Just Make Love to Me, and ending with a Jumpin’ Jack Flash encore, it truly was a breathtaking barrelhouse of delta to electric blues, with enough psychedelic swirls to overspill a sugarcube at Woodstock, but more importantly, it was delivered with sublime passion and exceptional skill.

First time I caught the Worried Men was at our trusty Southgate in Devizes last April, I made an odd but fitting oral hygiene comparison, “Jamie holds an expression of concentration, occasionally looking up at you through these spellbinding Hendrix fashioned excursions, as if to ask “is that alright for you?” Like a dentist with his tools stuck in your gum, you feel like responding, “yes, fine, thank you doctor.”

But none of this magic occurred until after newly-formed indie-punkers Future Plan gave us a grand support. With an attention to the heady dawn of punk, Future Plan attacked an indie set with ferocity and fire, making for a wild ride of originals. It was confident, rocking, and having it. Particularly entrapping was a track they called Rinky Dink, Future Plan might just be the most bookable pub punk band, if the landlord wants drinks to fly off the bar. With a debut EP in the pipeline, and some singles pre-released from it, find them on Faceache here, and I look forward to catching them again on the local circuit.

Another, what might be usually fantastic night at The Pump, and a most agreeable double thumbs-up from me. Though, I’m still none the wiser as to what worries the Worried Men to call themselves such, if anything I’d say if it’s not ironic, it should be.

Trending…..

Wiltshire Music Centre Announces New Joint Leadership

Wiltshire Music Centre is delighted to announce the new appointments of Daniel Clark as Artistic Director, and Sarah Robertson as Executive Director. Daniel and Sarah join Wiltshire Music Centre in a new co-leadership…

Devizes’ First Palooza DJ House Event at Exchange Nightclub

Feeel the melody that’s in the (Devizes) air! If the nineties house clubbing revival is what’s happening elsewhere around the nation, we have to admit, sadly it’s been a smidgen scarce in Devizes. That’s set to change, Greg Spencer from Palooza gladly informs us Devizes is on the verge of a groundbreaking shift in its nightlife scene. About time too, I might add, there’s still a bit of life in this rapidly ageing raver yet, y’know!

The inaugural Palooza DJ House Event is set to make waves at the Exchange Nightclub on Friday 8th March, offering deep house to soulful grooves, tech melodies to uplifting beats, and promising an extraordinary night of music, rhythm, and unparalleled community spirit….well, there’s a thing, that’s what it was always about.

Greg, who has previously owned a record shop and music venue, has been involved with festivals, and written dance music, signed to labels and remixed for other artists, tells me how he took a break from it all whilst raising a family, but like many of us feeling there’s something missing from middle-age, he’s aching to zip up his boots and go back to his roots, “for the fun,” he expressed. Yeah, I’ll go along with that!

This inaugural Palooza DJ House Event promises to redefine Devizes’ nightlife, creating a space to celebrate music, forge connections, and craft unforgettable memories. Palooza urges Devizes to “get ready for an introduction to a new world of rhythm, and become a part of it. Join us at Palooza, and let’s create memories, dance, and celebrate the beauty of music.”

They promise the event will have its share of surprises and special moments, making Palooza a truly unique experience each and every time. Palooza’s inception arises from a shared passion for the dynamic beats of house music. The event’s creators are dedicated to bringing this unique experience to the heart of Devizes, sharing their love for music with the local community.

The team has carefully selected a thrilling lineup that combines the infectious beats of our local DJs, known for setting the dance floor ablaze, with globally recognized music from the house music scene. Each performer will infuse the night with their distinctive style and boundless energy, creating an unforgettable musical experience.

“Palooza isn’t just an event,” they continue, “it’s an immersive journey into a world of rhythm and connection. The energy is palpable from the moment you arrive, drawing you in and making it impossible to resist the allure of the music. This event offers the freedom to dance without inhibition, lose yourself in the music, and connect with fellow party-goers who share the same passion for house beats. Whether you’re a seasoned clubber or a first-timer, Palooza invites you to a night of boundless energy and camaraderie.”

In a unique initiative, Palooza invites partygoers to suggest their favourite house music track before the event for the opening DJ set. Visit the Palooza Facebook page to contribute to the music poll selection and shape the unique atmosphere of the night.

Just one? Tricky, but, twist my arm, if I had to pick just one it would be Sunscreem’s Perfect Motion. Remember it? Oh, I do, vaguely! In a cloud of strawberry scented smoke, the dancefloor like an air hockey pitch, my feet gliding like two pucks, and, if you’ll pardon the puck pun, not giving a puck either, about any inhibitions, or cares, just you, and a fluffy crowd of smiling faces; If rhythm’s a drug, I’m hooked on you, So show me every move, We’ve got perfect motion…. Noooo, someone stop me, I double dare you!! I better sit down, have a cuppa and a bourbon biscuit, calm myself down a bit…. until March 8th, coincidently my birthday! 

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YEA Devizes: DOCA New Youth Project

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N’Faly Kouyaté (Afro-Celt Sound System) Tour Includes Wiltshire Music Centre

Perhaps best known as the frontman of Afro Celt Sound System, the Belgium-based artist N’Faly Kouyaté will be hitting the road for nine intimate shows with his new solo project.  Beginning at Southampton’s Turner Sims on 8th February, the tour will include Bradford-on-Avon’s Wiltshire Music Centre on the 11th February….

N’Faly Kouyaté’s UK tour will be preceded by the release of a brand new single, “Premiers Pas”, a powerful, political track that finds the artist echoing Africa’s call for total autonomy. Offering a poignant reflection on Africa’s tumultuous history, the single will shine a light on the suffering, terror, and an unquenchable thirst for freedom the continent has endured. Merging French and Malinké languages, the lyrics reflect Africa’s fervent call for complete control, with N’Faly Kouyaté requesting the world recognise Africa’s right to shape its own destiny. It will be streaming on all services on 3 February 2024. 

The release of “Premiers Pas” will be accompanied by a striking official music video co-directed by N’Faly Kouyaté, his manager Sandra Werner, and their team. The metaphorical visuals will depict Africa’s journey to freedom, celebrating cultural diversity and the inner strength of its people. Filmed in South Africa, the choice of Nelson Mandela’s homeland as the filming location underscores continental solidarity in the pursuit of autonomy. In tandem, the artist sheds light on similar phenomena in daily life, such as workplace abuse of power, domestic violence, and many others. 

Speaking about the new single N’Faly Kouyaté says: “I am raising a cry with ‘Premiers Pas’ to demand total autonomy for Africa. This song is the expression of the determination of an entire continent to finally take control of its destiny.”

More than a song, “Premiers Pas” is the resounding cry of a continent seeking to reclaim its voice and place on the global stage, sung by one of its most passionate musical advocates. 

Originally hailing from Guinea, N’Faly Kouyate is a world-renowned Griot master musician and multi-instrumentalist. Moving to Belgium in 1994, he formed the ensemble Dunyakan (The Voice of the World), before joining Afro Celt Sound System in 1996. Frequently performing at WOMAD, the latter have released many albums through Real World Records and performed with stars including Peter Gabriel, Robert Plant, and Sinéad O’Connor. Owning an innovative sound that blends electronica with music from Ireland and West African countries, Kouyate prominently provides vocals, kora and balafon for the group.

Famed for his irrepressible energy and virtuoso performances on stage, N’Faly Kouyaté’s latest solo project will promise a spellbinding mixture of polyphony and electronic music in symbiosis with traditional instruments, called Afrotronix.

On his upcoming ‘Ré-Génération Tour’, N’Faly will be joined each night by his extraordinary ensemble, promising a unique opportunity for British audiences to experience this visionary artist like never before. He comes to Wiltshire Music Centre in Bradford-on-Avon on 11th Feb, Tickets here.

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