Showing posts with label battleships. Show all posts
Showing posts with label battleships. Show all posts
Sunday, 21 August 2011
Thursday, 4 August 2011
Monday, 30 May 2011
Thursday, 26 May 2011
The Prog Nouveau Revolution
Something is happening in Manchester, and it has nothing whatsoever to do with Egyptian fucking Hip Hop, The Courteeners, Beady fucking Eye or Oasis. In the dilapidated mills of Ancoats and the attics of Northern Quarter, something is happening; sounds scarce heard since Oceansize first took up amps are once again spilling out into the streets. A short distance away in Liverpool, the kids are turning out in their hundreds to see bands that are playing something familiar; whilst the sounds may be different, the attitude is the same as their Manchester comrades.
Let’s set the scene. In 1997, Radiohead released Ok Computer. Steven Wilson has been saying in interview for years that this album was the game-changer so far as modern progressive is concerned, and there’s certainly some truth in this. From my own experience, completely independently of one another, Mike Vennart and Sel Belamir have said exactly the same thing, and the second generation of post-Ok Computer progressive bands that are now springing up are usually just as quick to recognise this connexion.
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| Cyril Snear |
In the wake of Ok Computer, a progressive rock record, becoming a worldwide phenomenon, a number of eclectic, but truly ‘progressive’ bands followed in Radiohead’s wake. The Cooper Temple Clause, Vex Red, Oceansize, My Vitriol, Amplifier, Biffy Clyro and Yourcodenameis:milo to name but a few took the alternative rock template and took it further, blending in trip-hop, electronica, post-rock, shoegaze, and, of course, classic progressive rock. These bands all emerged at around the same time, touring together and ripping each other off. There are echoes of Vex Red in Oceansize’s ‘Amputee’, just as much as early Biffy and Yourcodenameis:milo material can at times differ sonically only by the vocalist and number of guitarists.
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| Black Market Serotonin |
Though it’s not immediately relevant, it’s worth pointing out at this juncture that two of the bands loosely associated with this ‘scene’, Muse and Biffy Clyro- the only two in fact still active besides Amplifier- are now two of the biggest bands in the world right now. Funny how things work out, isn’t it?
So what does this have to do with the music scene in the North-West right now? A lot, as it turns out. Though there are no direct parallels with the bands I’ve just mentioned, it’s impossible to say, separate out the Oceansize from the Yes when listening to a band like Trojan Horse, currently making waves in Manchester. Similarly, the post-grunge of Vex Red looms just as large in Liverpool’s Always the Quiet Ones’ sound as does Porcupine Tree. These are bands taking both old and new sounds, of any genre, and creating something as original as they can in the resulting racket.
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| Always the Quiet Ones |
In Manchester labels have even sprung up- the Mind on Fire Collective, Akoustik Anarkhy, as well as my own, Superstar Destroyer, and besides the great bands represented by these (the motorik-riding waltzing melodies of Plank!, or Nine Inch Nails meets King Crimson tones of Black Market Serotonin, to name but two), there are still more bands that are fiercely DIY; the aforementioned Trojan Horse, as well as math-progsters Cyril Snear come to mind. Recently these two gained coverage in the national music press when they packed out an speakeasy-style back alley art gallery for an album launch gig.
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| The 'Snear live |
A brief look down the Trojan Horse-curated ‘Japanchester’ fundraising shows is a who’s who on the leftfield right now; the dream-pop Patterns, Goddamn Electric, Day for Airstrikes and incredible From the Kites of San Quentin are all there, with a few bands (Go Lebanon, Nasdaq, Gnod) slightly conspicuous for their absence. From Huddersfield, there’s Charlie Barnes, who frequently travels to the city to peddle his own brand of bizarre prog-pop. As a one man show, he’s looping in the vein of Imogen Heap, albeit with spectacular vocals and an ear for the cinematic; with his band (‘the Geekks’), he’s like the love-child of Heap and Thom Yorke playing Oceansize covers. His debut album, Geekk, was as strong in my opinion as anything released by Kscope or any other label in the world last year.
Barely out of their mid-twenties, Trojan Horse are a band that are as established as any on the current scene. Their roots lie originally in hardcore, and sometimes this shows; for the most part though, their bearded frontman Nicholas Duke is content to associate with the scene that he named- appropriately- ‘Prog Nouveau’. He explains:
“Prog Nouveau is an umbrella term for what we see going on in the left field of the Manchester music scene right now. There are so many musicians bringing stuff out that is experimental, and challenging the status quo that is the bog standard crap in Manchester at the moment. It holds the reigns because of this nostalgic rose-tinted view of Manchester from 1977-’98 “the glory days” and there are plenty of bands flogging that dead horse, so it's become a mush now. Prog Nouveau is all those people who are willing to stick their necks out and push themselves and the music they are making to mean something more than just a 2-3 minute single that is about going out on the pull. Great bands and producers creating great music that isn’t restricted to a specific genre; the key is being forward thinking [enough] just to do it for themselves.”
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| Second from right: Nick Duke, in slightly less beardy times |
In Liverpool there’s also a thriving scene, based both around musicians in the city and those studying at LIPA; what’s most interesting is that many of the most prolific bands on the scene have one or more members in common. As near as I can tell, Battleships, Pteropilot, Always the Quiet Ones, and In Casino Out all share one or more member in common; bassists moonlight as singers or guitarists and vice-versa, depending on which band is playing that night. Loosely speaking, the bands all mix and match from a broad palette of atmospherics beholden to early post-rock like Slint, as well as the obvious space rock of Pink Floyd et al, and then blend in one or more of the early 2000s bands mentioned earlier.
For Battleships, it’s Biffy Clyro; for Always the Quiet Ones, Vex Red, The Butterfly Effect, Oceansize and perhaps even a pinch of Failure or The God Machine (if we briefly dip back into 1990s space rock); In Casino Out wear their At the Drive-In pedigree on their sleeve and add early Cooper Temple Clause, Yourcodenameis:milo as well as Porcupine Tree’s more heavy turns. Pteropilot stand out as markedly more atmospheric in approach; I want to make the Hawkwind connection, but I fear that might be presumptuous; they are not lacking in riff-writing skills, however, and can pack a punch easily as hard as their louder cousins, despite often wandering off into Hammock or Sigur Ròs territory.
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| In Casino Out live at Hub Festival, May 2011 |
As Nick summed up the day Oceansize announced their split, “it’s up to us to wear the shit trainers now.” We’re ready; are you?
P.S. As you may have noticed, there are at least three free downloads available via the links above- you literally have nothing to lose by checking out these bands!
Monday, 14 February 2011
This Home EP
Dirty Sick Records
Rating: 4/5
I'll start with a quick confession; anybody who knows fucking anything about this band already will call me up on the fact that this EP is a demo EP, it doesn't have a name, and it certainly isn't called This Home, but sue me. I format reviews in a certain way and given that this far superior to a fucken demo I wasn't going to go err, "demo EP" and make it sound all shit and lower your expectations before you'd even heard a single note. Jesus. Anyway, the best track, the most obvious single and the video are all the opener, 'This Home', hence my not-entirely-unreasonable arbitrary naming of this three-track collection.
Onto the songs then. 'This Home', above all reminds one of what might happen if Muse (or perhaps Jonny Greenwood in 1997) decided to play guest guitar on a Biffy Clyro record. In terms of what Biffy I'm referencing, I'm not really sure; the guitars are pretty angular, but I'd be a fucking dirty rat liar if I said this didn't have a certain pop sensibility about it. Those melodies be damn catchy, fool.
Anyway, track two, 'Lights On, Lights Off', is a more straightforward alt-rock affair. The band use their two guitars well, building an appropriate atmosphere and adding layers below the vocals, which though strong in their own right, might not be everyone's cup of tea. Breaking down into a couple of slower sections, the band definitely prove themselves up to a festival stage moment or two, and though again the contrarian in me goes 'AGARRAARRRRRGGHHH' at anything that might conceivably be played on the radio, I can't deny that it's great stuff. That, and the contrarian me is a total dick. Seriously.
The weakest of the three is closer 'Everything You Break'; it's the most ballad-y of the set, and I think I've very much planted my flag at the rockier end of Battleships' oeuvre, so that's probably why I'm like "maaarrrgh, turn it back up to 11", but nevermind. I'm (I think) smart enough to spot that for many people this slow burner will be a favourite, and that (whisper now), I'm not always right.
Either way, this band have been playing together for something fucking tiny like ten months, and yet this is what they step up to the plate with first time at bat. JEEEESUS. This band are fucking rad, and (shakes fist) they'd better get radder!
Friday, 11 February 2011
You're not in Manchester any more....
with Battleships
Always The Quiet Ones
This Is Two
Zanzibar, Liverpool
10/2/2011
Rating: 4/5
There was a kind of pleasing symmetry about tonight; my first (and last, unless you count the fiasco that was collecting an eBay-purchased drum kit last year) trip to Liverpool was nearly two years ago, and in a roundabout way that's exactly why I'm back. That night, supporting My Vitriol were a cracking band called Connectingflight doing that whole Oceansize/Biffy thing. I bought an EP, liked it and so occasionally checked back in to see what they were doing. That band was soon toast, but out of its ashes came In Casino Out, and through them I discovered Battleships, hence the trip over tonight (though I should add that Metamusic Phil also introduced me to Axis Of recently, which was basically "cashback", as Partridge would say).
The problem was that I didn't see Battleships. Through nobody's fault that I can tell, the gig started pretty late (which was just as well really, as it gave the venue time to fill up), so I only had a chance to see This Is Two and ATQO, whose EP I bought and will review later (incidentally also my second pay-it-forward moment; the first was ripping up and binning a bank mini statement somebody had accidentally left in an ATM).
Anyway, enough bullshit. First up were This Is Two. Honestly, I don't know how old these dudes are, and I think I'm probably underestimating, but they've got a pretty solid sound for their years. Yes, they need to drop that faux-Biffy intro, because everybody in the room has heard 'Living is a Problem...', but apart from that I actually rather liked what they were doing- at the end of the day, it's always very welcome with me to see any band having the balls to play real guitar rock these days. At first their singer's voice really did not click, with alternate howls and overdramatic wails being a bit much, but once they found their groove I couldn't fault it any longer. In general (my nitpicking aside), their set was killer, they had swagger (but not in the cuntish Oasis way) and I'd happily part with cold hard cash for an EP.... except it's not out yet, so I guess I'll have to wait. In the meantime google them and decide for yourself; it's 1:30am and I cannot be fucked to find a link.
Second up were Always the Quiet Ones, who I'd heard briefly before and thought "hmmm yes, a little bit Soundgardeny, this is alright...." Live though, they are fucking ace. Like fucktacklarly brilliant. Like, they just made all the ladies in the front row pregnant. Fucking A, motherfucker. At the risk of hitting a critical mass of swearwords, I'm gonna assure you here that they really are that good; turned down is the post-2000 arbitrarily jagged style one might attribute to the Biff or the 'Size (or, equally I spose ATD-I or YCNI:M), turned up is the rock, and it's like fucking 1992 again. Except it's not, because there's lots of textures, atmospherics, math turns, post-rock turns and just really interesting shit thrown into the song structures to show you that it's a throughly contemporary sound. Besides that, the songs are all fucking long, and who ever heard of prog grunge (outside of my practice space, I mean)? The venue's also filled up, and it's been possibly four years since I've seen a room this full to see an unsigned rock band. Conclusion: I need to move to Liverpool. Anyway, like you give a fuck, their best song was 'Freak Show' which, by a cruel twist of fate, is not on the EP I bought before I had to bail back to the train station. I got there with a minute to spare, so fucking go me.
If I were you, I'd check out every band I've mentioned here, including the ones I didn't see (and I've included a player below so you can hear the ATQO Headcase EP; if I were me, I'd fucking go to bed. Which reminds me....
Monday, 7 February 2011
If you are...
...desperate to read my incoherent writings then head over to HV (check the link on t'right) where about eight or so things went live in the last couple of days. I've got a to-do list for el blog in the next few days, but it's mostly back to classic albums. If you've got any new ideas, hit me up. Otherwise, I'd suggest listening to me and Anderson shoot the shit and play some records (on wax, naturally)...
Tuesday, 4 January 2011
Freebies from Battleships...
It seems at the moment that there's a slew of bands coming out of Liverpool doing that At the Drive-In/Biffy/'Size thing, and it's just so fucking cool. Why can't they be in this city instead? Hmph. Anyway, I was distracted from revision by this offering from Battleships, a band I discovered through the simply exceptional In Casino Out. Up on their site now is their new video for track 'This Home', as well as a link to get an mp3 of the song. How about that?
If you want the mp3, I'd suggest that you follow this link.
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