Eden Maine take a break
Great white hopes of UK metal, Eden Maine, have uttered the grim words that music fans have come to dread - the band have announced they are retreating on an "indefinate hiatus"...»
Articles
-gen- has written the following articles:
Sigur Rós at London Brixton Academy, Wed 09 Nov
Tonight Sigur Rós sound like discovery. They're not about awkward, revolutionary, painful invention but the uncovering of organic, harmonious melodies that spring up fully formed, as complete in their design as they are meant to be. They sound like a natural reaction, so obvious that no-one else has thought of it.»
Ninja High School - Young Adults Against Suicide
Coming on like the high-kickin' cheerleaders of the indie-hop world, you're unlikely to hear a cheerier hip-hop record this year. Like The Go! Team, Toronto collective Ninja High School weigh in with brass sections, street party sensibilities and a sense of sonic distance, as though the entire record, save the vocals, were recorded thirty feet from their microphones.»
Mystery Jets at London ICA, Fri 09 Sep
Forget the increasingly weary contrivances of a year of guerilla gigs in trees, subways and zebra crossings; Mystery Jets prove that within the confines of four walls, rock 'n' roll can still be dynamic, hopeful and mercifully cliché-free.»
Oceansize at London Camden Barfly, Mon 15 Aug
Have Oceansize lost their mojo? Their live sets thus far have been utterly spellbinding. What happened? Tonight the time drags, the songs stretch out ahead like eternal tasks that never end; nowhere are the sparkling, intricate melodies that we've seen colouring their powerhouse riffs.»
Span Call it a Day
After three years of smashing crowds in the face with a heady cocktail of blitzkrieg pop and breakneck rock, DiS faves Span are calling it a day.»
Silvery, Touriste, Best Fwends at London Metro, Wed 10 Aug
Best Fwends fearlessly map the murky and uncharted waters between the triple locales of the Beastie Boys, New Kids On The Block and most prominently and disturbingly, the Jamster Ringtone Club. It's gormless, pointless and priceless. Heckling ensues. Laugh if you will, dear readers, but be prepared! Some of you will encounter Best Fwends supporting iForward, Russia!. You have been warned...»
The Raveonettes at London Astoria 2 formerly Mean Fiddler, Sat 16 Jul
The Raveonettes' billing at indie after-hours emporium Frog gives the Scandiwegian fuzzgliders a lucrative opportunity to show a throbbing London club crowd how far they've come in two years...»
Millionaire, Bullet Union at London Buffalo Bar, Tue 19 Jul
The years away from these shores have seen a stark change come over Belgian shapeshifters Millionaire. The arrogance and showmanship that have characterised Millionaire from the start are self-evident but the Prince manoeuvres of old are swept aside to make room for an arsenal of stoner riffs and Jagger swagger.»
Wolf Eyes, Duracell at Barden's Boudoir, Hackney, Sat 11 Jun
Tonight, Barden's hosts an endurance test of ghastly extremes. The experience is at first akin to A Clockwork Orange's famous eyelid-clamping scene - turn where you will, the experience is inescapable. Wolf Eyes sound like biological warfare, nuclear vengeance, divine retribution, whale music transmitted from the proverbial lake of fire...»
Jeremy Warmsley - I Believe In The Way You Move
Already Jeremy Warmsley's solo gigs have marked him out as an unusual talent and caught the beady eye of talent-spotting upstarts Transgressive, while his debut for Exercise1 is an inspired concoction of ideas that sometimes works, sometimes doesn't, but never settles long enough in one place to vegetate.»
White Rose Movement at London Camden Barfly, Tue 21 Jun
White Rose Movement's first single was a near-perfect debut. I guess it was expecting too much to hope that the live show might be quite so compelling. As it is, WRM disappoint heavily.»
Bukandskit Festival
It's the hottest day so far this year, 33º at its most merciless. Shoulders and noses are burning, beer is greedily supped, and on a rubgy field on the outskirts of Reading, the festival season is well and truly under way. As the established summer fests grow ever more gargantuan and pricy, it's invigorating to see smaller festivals like Bukandskit sidestepping the money-grabbing antics of larger events and catering to their audiences as people rather than as a cynically defined demographic.»
Love Ends Disaster!, Settlefish at London Barden's Boudoir, Wed 25 May
When Nottingham's Love Ends Disaster hit their stride, they're bang on. Settlefish aren't short on potential either, but they have a disappointing habit of detonating their songs with fantastic bouts of noise, only for things to settle into a furrow of unremarkability. They can do better than this, but it feels distinctly like they're holding back.»
Since By Man at Brighton The Freebutt, Mon 23 May
Once upon a time, a gang of frantic post-hardcore misfits from Milwaukee with trouble on their minds and fever in their eyes formed a band. Now we're left with a choice: stand back and watch the sparks fly, or throw yourself into the middle of it. Either way, see them while you have the chance - Since By Man are not to be missed. They play Swindon tonight. Roadtrip, anyone?»
M83 at London King's Cross Scala, Tue 17 May
The first time I heard M83, I was thirty thousand feet up in the air, peering at a flood of clouds beneath me, rising on jet engines and M83's turbocelestial sound. On record, it's weightless. It's like sonic Maltesers. Yet tonight they sound like they're trying to drill for oil using a screwdriver.»
Weird War at London Camden Underworld, Tue 03 May
Weird War are - they claim - a band on a mission. Ian F. Svenonius' current gang of rock and roll anarchists plan to change the world through subliminal messaging but his fey, stop-start jive rhetoric seems more integral to the entire performance than 90% of the musical output... and therein lies the problem.»
White Rose Movement - Love Is A Number
The cynical could be forgiven for dismissing WRN's debut single 'Love Is A Number' as an exercise in saleable convenience. One problem - it's irresistible.»
The Rakes at London Nambucca, Thu 21 Apr
Only The Rakes would deliver a blistering, rhythmic and faultless set, then inadvertently blow up all the speakers in the last chord, bowing out amid a cacaphony of drums, cheers and laughter. What timing! The Rakes just might be the most likeable band in London.»
Selfish C*nt at London Brixton The Windmill, Thu 14 Apr
Selfish C*nt are a pure sensory experience, a deadly, transfiguring vampire bite. To the masses they're a joke. To the people here, they're already immortal.»
...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead at The Rescue Rooms, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, Fri 18 Mar
F*ck the unwieldy name, the political, historical and mythological undertones of their songs, and the rustic viola melodies on their recent tour de force, Worlds Apart. Forget the two drumkits. One thing Austin refugees ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead cannot reasonably be accused of is pretentiousness. At the heart of pretension is artifice, and Trail Of Dead are as real as rock and roll gets.»
Redjetson, Amusement Parks On Fire at London Monto Water Rats, Tue 08 Mar
So much emphasis is placed on what music should make you feel like. It's supposed to bludgeon your brain in and make your eyes melt and bleed and suckerpunch you rudely in the gut and make you sh*t yourself. Why? Why is it meant to hurt? Are we really all such masochists?»
Idlewild at London Virgin Flagship Megastore, Tue 08 Mar
Forget for a moment the two most recent 'grown-up' albums - performances like this say far more about how Idlewild have changed.»
Reading tickets onsale now
The first batch of tickets for the Carling Reading Weekend in August have gone on sale.»
Eden Maine - To You The First Star
Eden Maine's music has always been uncompromising. No sooner do you get to grips with what they do, they spit out something ten times as fast and ten times as heavy. And then do it again. And again.»
Stereophonics - Dakota
What on earth has happened here?! Have the Stereophonics, arguably the most objectionable band of recent years, somehow whitened their much demonised souls, cleansed their musical consciences of past sins, and produced a work of shimmering subtlety and peculiar loveliness?»
Ex-Carter Jim Bob to play Tsunami Relief gig
In response to the recent South Asian tsunami disaster, February will see a collection of London gigs organised by Joyzine, the band Rhesus and others. Everyone involved, from the bands to the venues, will donate their services for free, so all proceeds will go straight to the Tsunami Relief DEC Fund.»
Bloc Party sells out in minutes
Tickets for Bloc Party's much-hyped Camden Barfly gig have sold out within three minutes. The gig takes place on 16th February, and will see support from Neils Children and Battle.»
Bloc Party - Silent Alarm
Some bands explode into our consciousness with a flurry of publicity and a barrage of pop missiles. Others creep up on us over a matter of years. And then you get Bloc Party.»
Client - Pornography
A pounding, illusively sexual ode to an obsessive relationship, "Pornography"'s main focus is the vocal chemistry between Sarah Blackwood and guest vocalist Carl Barat. The result is pure electricity, and virulently catchy.»