marieann has written the following articles:
2012 was going to be a make or break year for Richard Hawley as he released his most divisive album to date, Standing At The Sky’s Edge. We spoke to Richard just back from a dog walk in his hometown of Sheffield, in good spirits and full of expletives about the phenomenal success of the record, the current state of English culture and politics and why he has no time for ‘Strictly Comef*ckwit’»
Water is both Blood Red Shoes getting back to the core elements of what makes them a band and at the same time making an exciting leap forward. »
With the corpse of last years’ astounding Tao Of The Dead barely cold, And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead are already back with their latest album, Lost Songs. Before the album’s release we skyped one-half of the band’s core nucleus, guitarist Jason Reece. In loud Austin drawl that pleasantly reverberates around your skull, Jason talked us through the place of politics in music today, what recording in Germany was like and why eight albums and 13 years down the line Trail Of Dead are not even close to splitting up.»
In the two years since that Two Suns, Bat For Lashes moved back from NYC to Brighton and spent some time getting to know herself away from life on the road. She spent hours recording on her own in her flat in-between visiting her old tutor at the university of Sussex and taking classes in life drawing, pottery and children’s book writing. She also worked with the most collaborators in her entire career including David Sitek, Beck and Justin Parker. The result, The Haunted Man, peels back the layers to reveal the artist at the centre of Bat For Lashes’ previous colourful carnival. »
Liars have never been a band to conform or be defined. Since the reactive title of their debut, We Threw Them All In A Trench And Stuck A Monument On Top, they have consistently challenged expectations of the type of band they should be at every step of their career. From exploring percussion through the use of fictional characters on the fan-dividing Drum's Not Dead to creating a whole story album about their hometown of LA on 2010’s Sisterworld, Liars have never been anyone else’s band other than their own. »
Following the release their sophomore album,Reign Of Terror, an album that picked-up the baton from where their debut Treats left off and turned the dial up to 11 with glossier production, slicker melodies and the beats that did a one finger salute to standardized BPM, Sleigh Bells are on fine form. The record, the first to be written by both members of the band is one that has solidified their relationship as a band and seen them propelled out of shoe-box venues onto a much bigger stage. »
Blood Red Shoes' Steve Ansell talks in-depth about the place of politics in music, class rivalry, how the music industry is doomed, why You Me At Six fans want him to die of AIDS and getting ripped by Pulled Apart By Horses for stripping naked. »
In Part One of our interview with Blood Red Shoes, Laura Mary Carter and Steve Ansell talk about how their overwhelming desire to break-out of their comfort-zone and push the boundaries led to the creation of their third album, In Time To Voices. »
At a time when pop music is a production line, we could really use a friend. Leave your prejudices behind, shut your eyes and just enjoy.»
Two years ago, Claudia Deheza (vocalist/keyboardist) abruptly left SVIIB in the middle of a US tour due to 'personal reasons' leaving her sister Alejandra Deheza along with Benjamin Curtis to continue alone. This could and should have broken most bands, but it proved to strengthened Alejandra and Ben bond and galvanise their ambition. A profound sense of release coupled with the band for the first time being in the same head-space, School Of Seven Bells embarked on unified goal of making the record they'd always wanted to make: Ghostory. »
Fresh from Metronomy taking the number 10 spot in the DiS Albums Of The Year, we called-up a buoyant Joseph to break the big news to him and to unearth more about one of the most celebrated albums of last year... »
Lots of things slip you mind: your keys, a friend’s birthday and on certain less than decadent nights, your own name. For me, last year I forgot that I’d interviewed The Horrors’ Faris Badwan. I know, it’s not something that’s easily forgotten especially »
Last Days Of Summer marks the point where White Denim left behind their schizophrenia and started speaking in one voice. »
Rory Attwell’s debut perfectly demonstrates the art of loud, quiet, loud music that clutches onto pop sensibilities in one hand and a distortion pedal in the other.»
So, with a ‘kick me’ sign firmly attached to their backs and the release of their debut album Famous First Words just around the corner, it was time to blow off the dust of DiSband: a feature that in the past has given bands more or less universally hated on the site a chance to answer back. Hadouken, The Hives and most notably The Horrors all had their say, so why not let Brother (now Viva Brother) give us their side of the story? »
…And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead are a rarity in an increasingly disposable age of music: childhood friends Conrad Keely and Jason Reece have been making a career out of the band for the past seventeen years. They survived being dropped by a major label and bounced back with their own imprint, and they made a DiS recommended with Tao Of The Dead, an album that included a mind-bendingly epic 16 minute long track.»
It looks like we’ll probably be hearing a lot more from Tribes, whether we like it or not. »
Unlike the off-roading experience of The Wave Pictures' previous albums, Beer In The Brakers is an often much smoother ride. »
The Kills are back - still covered in dirt, sleaze and reverb, but with a cleaner, softer centre. »
When meeting Gruff Rhys it’s hard not to break out in a face-achingly large smile – this is, of course, a man responsible for some of the warmest melodies this side of the 21st century under a multitude of guises: Super Furry Animals, Neon Neon and his own solo career. »
Tao Of The Dead is And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead taking the strengths and hallmarks of their 17 year career into one beautifully orchestrated concept and returning back to form.»
Surfer Blood aren’t nostalgically re-imagining the awkwardness of growing-up, they’re still very deep in it. »
Just because you can write a song every other day it doesn’t mean that each one is worthy of being unleashed on the public.»
It’s What I’m Thinking Part One: Photographing Snowflakes marks a new chapter in Badly Drawn Boy’s career that hopefully this time will see him finally weather out that Mercury storm. »
If you consider Mark Ronson as less of an artist and more of a collective like The Raconteurs, Gorillaz, or Monsters Of Folk- he did want to just be called the Business International before his record company intervened – it’s all much less offensive. »
Release Me is a perfectly produced pop gem with all substance and a lot of style. »
“Respect the wristbands”, says Teeth’s Veronica and that’s what tonight is all about. A highly publicised free show for Sleigh Bel»
The I Am Arrows project clearly has potential, but at 14 tracks, Sun Comes Up Again can feel like a trudge through the outback of mediocrity rather than an exciting exploration into new territory.»
Nightlife is a pastiche of Scissors Sisters’ former glories that sees the band desperately sewing together the leftover scraps of their idols in a vain attempt to recapture the pertinence of their debut. »
Although Avi retreads familiar ground, he still adds his very own unique footprint to his band’s debut. »
