Review: Muse – The 2nd Law

By Tom Groom

Intergalactic gets a little bit brought down-to-earth

Album info

• Release date: October 1, 2012

• Producer: Muse

• Label: Helium 3, Warner

• Fact: The album is based around the 2^nd law of thermodynamics which states that no system can exist while maintaining endless growth.

 8/10

Not many artists describe their latest work as a ‘christian gangsta rap odyssey, with some ambient rebellious dubstep and face-melting metal flamenco cowboy psychadelia’, but then again not many artists are Matt Bellamy. Though Bellamy’s obsession with corruption and anti-politics may not be healthy, it sure makes for some heavily ambitious music, demonstrated on the band’s sixth meteoric album. ‘The 2^nd Law’ begins with the Devon-born frontman quoting that ‘policies have risen up and overcome the brave’, which pretty much sums up the political angle of the album: they don’t like politics. The head-banging, bombastic, overdriven riff of ‘Supremacy’ has a rising effect reminiscent of the band’s famous ‘Knights of Cydonia’ breakdown, and also the more politically-driven ‘Uprising’ from 2009’s ‘The Resistance’. Despite claiming this album was going to be ‘more personal’ and that there would be ‘a few love songs’, I don’t think Bellamy could resist the temptation to try and start a mass overhaul of government with the first song on an album. Political slamming first – love songs after. Electrically driven ‘Madness’ is the first example of the latter; a smooth, almost hypnotic tune (the “ambient rebellious dubstep” discussed earlier), with a bassy background and a crescendo-like finale, as more elements of the song come together, culminating in an earth-shattering note capable of melting insides to goo in no time at all. Some fans may not enjoy this side of the album, and indeed it does seem that the superstars have gone soft in one or two of the new songs. However, I am sceptical you will find more emotion in a song than is present in ‘Follow Me’, a collaboration of sorts with electric artists Nero. Matt uses his newborn baby ‘Bing’s’ heartbeat as the intro for crying out loud, and the song itself is a powerful message to his son, one that he need never be afraid as long as Dad’s around. While the beat to this tune may not feel out of place in a nightclub, Muse make the sound their own in a typically Muse way, as Bellamy produces more of his outstanding vocals to fill the song to the brim with raw emotion.

A highlight of the album is the groovy ‘Panic Station’, which draws inspiration from funk artists such as Stevie Wonder and Chaka Demus. Chris Wolstenholme starts to ‘slap de bass’ for the first time in Muse’s grand history, and the distortion usually found on Muse’s electric guitars is toned down to create a funky clean sound, reminiscent of that found in Wonder’s ‘Superstition’. Again, this is like nothing we have heard from Muse before, but it is this new direction and these new sounds that make this album great. Back to the emotional, passionate side of the album and soft-rock ballad ‘Explorers’, during which Bellamy states his worries about the planet being ‘overrun’. The song is slow and peaceful, so fans of the hardcore first albums may be feeling a little disappointed, or even angry, at Muse for ‘softening up’ on this album, but altogether each song contributes to a greater aim and a more complete album.

One thing many Muse fans will have been anticipating is the emergence of bassist Chris Wolstenholme as a lead singer for the first time in the bands’ history. The Devonian takes the main stage on ‘Save Me’ and ‘Liquid State’ – both of which are also written by Wolstenholme – and while he may not have the powerful range of Bellamy, the songs he offers up are full of emotion. ‘Save Me’ documents a little about his battle with alcoholism and Muse fans will be pleased to know the bassist nails the vocals and makes this song one of the best on the album.

The 2^nd Law comes to a crashing end with a two-parter – ‘The 2^nd Law – Unsustainable’ and ‘The 2^nd Law – Isolated System’. The former is a further example of Muse’s ambition and willingness to reach an audience previously untapped by their brand of prog-rock, as the other-worldly group attempt to make their very own ‘dubstep’. The track begins, however, with an orchestral build-up similar to that in the ‘Exogenesis Symphony’ trilogy of the previous album. Then Matt crashes in on a heavily distorted guitar, sliding up and down the fretboard to produce the back-and-forth bassline commonly found in dubstep tracks, all the while belting out another spine-tingling note guaranteed to make anyone go weak at the knees. It is a fitting finale to perhaps their most far-fetched, aspiring album yet.

Interview: The Little Shocks

By Tom Groom

The Little Shocks are a teenage band incarnated in the heart of Chichester, the outcome of shifting line-ups in an already-existent band. A bombastic, guitar-driven, post-alternative indie sound gives this band it’s edge, and reminds you in part of a young Arctic Monkeys, with a little bit of Fratelli’s thrown in. The band consists of frontman Tom Herrington, Lead Guitarist Rob Brown, Bassist and backup vocalist Harry Caiger and manic drummer Elliot Jones, who I caught up with to interview about his band’s promising rise of success.

TG: What made you initially decide you wanted to be a musician?

EJ: I used to go to gigs all the time from the age of 11 after playing football from an early age. I picked up a bass first, but I was no good, so I got a cheap drum kit instead. It was all a bit random really.

TG: Who are your idols as drum players?

EJ: Chad Smith, Dave Weckl, Mike Portnoy, Dave Grohl and a bit of Travis Barker, people compare my style to him sometimes.

TG: How long have you known your fellow band members? And how did you meet them?

EJ: I’ve known Rob since I was about 5 years old and I was in a band with him a few years ago, we gig’d around Bognor. I met Tom and Harry in November last year on a music course at college.

TG: How did you guys decide you wanted to be in a band?

EJ: They (Rob and Tom) were already in a band for around a year, but the line-up always changed, and they never wrote much music. They asked me in November last year and Harry joined us in February after a couple more changes.

TG: So how long have Rob and Tom been doing it?

EJ: Since about February last year together

TG: Where do you see yourself and the band in 6 months/ a year?

EJ: Hopefully if everything pulls through we are looking to play some reputable Brighton venues over the next six months or so. We are looking to book a tour for the summer next year, but we’ve got lots planned in between the two, but that’s secret!

TG: That sounds awesome. Your Facebook page, facebook.com/TheLittleShocks, tells me you’re unsigned, have you had any offers yet?

EJ: We haven’t as of yet, but playing at Coalition turned some heads in the right direction. We have things to work on and get better at, it’s something to look forward to as and when it happens. We need to show everyone what we’ve got over the next year.

TG: I, regrettably, couldn’t make it to your Coalition performance, but I saw it on YouTube, you were ace. When’s the next gig?

EJ: It was nuts man, we are doing a minibus every time we go for a fiver each. We are at the Exchange in Hove on the 17^th of November and we are waiting for dates from the Prince Albert and the Hope in Brighton.

TG: Who, in your opinion, are the main influences on the band?

EJ: It’s hard to say really, but others say Arctic Monkeys, The Libertines, The Strokes; these are the main ones people compare our sound to. People say a lot of different artists, we all like different stuff so the music and songs are influenced by lots of music.

TG: It’s good that way because you can get the best of everything. What would be your dream gig?

EJ: Yeah man we’ve got some hard-hitting tunes, some have grooves and funky melodies, it’s a nice mixture. Our dream gig would be without a doubt supporting the Arctic Monkeys! Realistically, if we work hard we want to try and get on one of the big festivals next year.

TG: Either of those would be awesome. What’s the best gig you’ve played to date?

EJ: Coalition without a doubt, we blew the roof off and got a good reaction from the judges and other Brighton venues afterwards. Looking back on it, that’s one gig we will remember forever, no matter what happens.

TG: It looked pretty manic from what I saw! You hear a lot of crazy stories about rock and roll guys doing stupid stuff, what’s the craziest time you’ve had personally or with the band in the time you’ve been playing?

EJ: (chuckles) The most rock and roll moment of my life was playing in a mankini with a former band for our last gig. I think as a band, the funniest one was Rob’s birthday, we had a gig that night and he was trollied. We need to have a big night out together when my passport arrives.

TG: I saw pictures of that gig. How difficult has it been to get gigs and attention in a music scene dominated by pop groups?

EJ: Round here we have done well because there’s not much music that’s like ours. At Coalition we were the only band of our kind, so we just have to keep writing massive tunes like we have been, still lots to come over the next few months.

TG: In my opinion, you should keep doing what you’re doing. You have nearly 500 fans on Facebook now, that’s quite a landmark! How useful has the internet been in promoting what you’re doing?

EJ: The main thing is going to bigger places and writing bigger and better songs, it’s all in the name of fun. Facebook especially helps massively – we are looking into other methods including a website in the new year.

TG: I guess half of it is not losing sight of who you are as a band. Do you have any pre-gig rituals?

EJ: The boys are fat fuckers, they get as many kebabs as possible, I just chain smoke! Other than that we just get as pumped as possible.

TG: One more thing, if you could meet any one of your musical heroes, who would it be?

EJ: I want to meet Chad Smith, then my life would be complete. From the band’s perspective, it would be the Arctic Monkeys or Alex Turner for sure.

Profile: Muse’s Matt Bellamy

Bellamy playing his signature custom ‘Glitterati’ Manson electric guitar

By Tom Groom

For a man like Matthew Bellamy, abnormal is normal. The Devon-born Muse frontman started out his musical life by figuring out the Dallas theme tune and playing it on the piano for his brothers’ friends’ amusement. He then decided, at 11, he wanted to buy a guitar after seeing a recording of Jimi Hendrix’s famous fiery jam at the Monterey Pop Festival. The rest, as they say, is history. He and fellow Devonians Chris Wolstenholme and Dom Howard have gone on to produce 7 studio albums and sold over 10 million albums worldwide.

Bellamy, who never ‘had a dream of becoming a rock star’ didn’t have a normal upbringing – his mother and older brother used a Ouija Board to contact the dead and his mother also cursed him for breaking a mirror which led to his parents’ break-up. He says of the incident, “It was ok at home, middle class, we had money – until the age of 13. Then, everything changed, parents got divorced, and I went to live with my grand mother”. His father was George Bellamy, member of a band called the Tornadoes who were the first UK band to get a number one in America. Bellamy however, is normally not one for the spotlight, especially when out in public with wife and mother of his child, Bing, Kate Hudson. This prompted a bizarre stunt in which Bellamy wore a Tesco carrier bag over his head.

Matt is known for his extravagant vocals and guitar manipulation, and is probably the main reason for Muse’s success in the category for Live awards. What other people may see as incessant wailing, fans hear as g#5 in all it’s glory. What others see as guitar wankery fans hear as beautiful rock melodies. Muse aren’t everyone’s cup of tea, and neither is Matt Bellamy. His capability of reaching such extremely high notes with relatively little practice can be attributed to the fact that a doctor once told him he had unnaturally small vocal chords according to bandmate Dom Howard, speaking at Route du Rock 2001. His beliefs in the supernatural and conspiracy theories lead many to believe he’s just a nutter with an axe, but there is an intelligence to the man, who holds an honorary doctorate in music from the University of Plymouth.

The 5ft 7in frontman (named Sexiest Man in the NME Awards 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013) tied himself down in 2011 to actress Kate Hudson, with whom he had his first child Bingham Bellamy, whose heartbeat was recorded and used on a track from The 2^nd Law, ‘Follow Me’. Despite his experiences with shrooms and alcohol in his younger years (and the latter during an interview with NME in 2011) the rocker has settled down, but still continues to play with Muse. Speaking about his experience with drugs Bellamy said, “I’m not afraid of seeing something horrible. It’s a way of connecting with yourself in a way that you can’t normally do”. However he always avoided ‘hard drugs’, and described a flat he moved into with a drug dealer aged 18 as a ‘scene from Trainspotting, white powders and mirrors and tin foil everywhere”. Matt holds the world record for most amount of guitars smashed on a single tour (140 during Absolution Tour) and can also say the alphabet backwards. He is one of rock’s most celebrated and strange celebrities, who continues to be able to sell out a 75,000 capacity Wembley Stadium.

So while Bellamy may not be the stereotypical rock star, there is something different about him, a kind of odd charm that doesn’t really coincide with the style of music he plays. Behind the brash, falsetto-belting dancing-around-the-stage exterior, there is a complex and intelligence to Matt Bellamy rarely viewed from the outside. Often though, shades of this bizarre brilliance filter into songs, such as the self-composed 13-minute three-part ‘Exogenesis Symphony’ featured on Muse’s 5^th album, ‘The Resistance’. The Symphony is composed by Bellamy, and according to him, “It is a story of humanity coming to an end and everyone pinning their hopes on a group of astronauts who go out to explore space and spread humanity to another planet”.

 

Not many people can predict what Bellamy is going to do next in his life as he continues to rise higher and higher with Muse. He once said he would like to ‘play a gig in space’ and also ‘in the constellation of Pleiades’ – a star system that (according to one of his favourite conspiracy theories) aligns with the Eygyptian and Cydonian pyramid systems, so be on the lookout for tickets to those gigs. For now though, him and Muse are beginning the second leg of their world tour in the UK, playing a host of stadium shows over the summer. Grab tickets if you want to experience being in the presence of one of the most fascinating men in rock.

Brighton’s music stores in the digital age

By Matt Berryman

Ever since the sixties, Brighton has been the alternative music hub of England. With the counter culture movement, many more people felt fully able to express themselves artistically, and Brighton provided the freedom necessary for many creative types to spread their wings in a city free of prejudice and intolerance.

But with the emergence of the digital age, clubs and electronic music seem to be the new rock and roll. Does this mean the death of the guitar era? And, if so, what will become of the instrument outlets of central Brighton?

Reading and Leeds 2013: What’s new?

By Lydia Clayton

As Britain’s biggest rock festival returns to end the summer with a bang, some of you may have noticed a slight change. Reading and Leeds has been one of the most anticipated festivals every year since 1971, hosting some of the biggest names in music over the last 30 years, from old favourites like Nirvana, Guns N’ Roses and Oasis; to newer acts such as The Arctic Monkeys, Linkin Park and The Killers.

The Best European Festivals You Won’t Have Heard Of

By David Hillier

It might not feel like it, but summer is on its way. Honest.

As our limbs thaw out, the festival-minded among us turn our minds to what fields we are going to be rolling around in come the warmer months. Whether you want to see some great music, crack open a chemical suitcase or talk to strangers at dawn, there are loads of events across Europe that mean you don’t just have to go to Benicassim or Rock Werchter. Here’s some of the best.

Shakespeare’s Head acoustic night review: Stark, Kendall Sant, & Kate Williams

By Matt Berryman

Kate Williams

Every first Monday of the month, the Shakespeare’s Head Pub on Chatham Place holds a showcase of acoustic acts. One might expect an evening of repetitive singer-songwriters blearily throwing out half-arsed renditions of ‘Hallelujah’.

So I found myself holding my breath when the opening act last Monday uttered the words ‘This next song is a Leonard Cohen cover.’ Oh, how wrong I was.

Tiny Singer, Big Voice – Alice Russell at Resident

By Sarah Jackson

Acoustic gigs are often intimate affairs, but rarely are they as intimate as Alice Russell’s acoustic set at Resident, an independent record shop in the heart of the North Laine. To celebrate and promote the release of her new album, ‘To Dust’, Alice performed four acoustic songs, including her 2012 single, ‘Heartbreaker’.

Resident seems an unlikely choice for a live music set; it’s a typical small record shop, bisected down the centre by racks of CDs and vinyl. Alice, who can’t be much taller than 5’3”, could barely be seen over the top of the racks at the back of the crowd, but boy could you hear her. She has been compared to the late Amy Winehouse whose voice she certainly matches in both power and style.

Originally from Suffolk, she moved to Brighton to study art and music in 1994. “I just liked the vibe,” she told me afterwards, so she stayed after finishing her studies and choosing to pursue a musical career. She began to make a name for herself with her contributions to recordings with Bah Samba, Quantic and others, before releasing a debut album in 2005. Her records have been consistently critically acclaimed.

She and her band will be leaving Brighton for a few days in order to do some promotional work in Paris, but for now at least, Alice seems happy to stay here. “It’s a lovely place to come back to,” she says, “it’s nice and small”.
Small city, small venue, small singer; but a big voice. I can’t help but hope one day her popularity will be such that she will be unable to perform in record shops.

Alice Russell’s album ‘To Dust’ is available now from all good record shops.

From the Land to the Sea – Furrow and Ancient Times

By Cassie Galpin

TODAY saw the release of Costal Wizards Records split E.P From the Land to the Sea, which features Brighton based Ancient Times and Furrow, a two-piece from a village in North Shropshire.

The pea-green cassette, which comes with a specially crafted zine, showcases Furrow’s just-over-two-minutes long, energetic and loud lo-fi masterpiece Rites of Spring, along with Stumble and Great Outdoors.

Ancient Times bring us heart-felt tracks with his trademark Morrissey-esque vocals in Night School and Darkest Dreams.

Stream the full release here.

You can catch both bands supporting North American War on the Brighton leg of their forth coming tour at the Prince Albert on April 10^th.

I Am Kloot

In church for the adoration of I am Kloot

By Mary Stevens

A congregation of 400 filled a draughty St Bartholomew’s on a freezing Thursday, to witness a group of Mancunians renowned for songs of drink and disaster.  An intriguing prospect for audience and band alike.  Softly lit by candles, against the backdrop of a huge golden crucifix, singer John Bramwell apologized in advance for any listening challenges the enormous echo box of the building might present.

However, the sepulchral acoustics of a 135ft roof space proved a fine fit for majestic music that references heaven, skies, stones and seas (as well as alcohol fuelled emotional turmoil). A particular highlight was ‘On The Brink’, which saw Bramwell writhing with his demons before the altar, as chords  bounced off the bricks.

The self-deprecating kitchen sink directness with which the band present themselves belies the depth of the music. An alcohol free audience in a church (albeit taunted by the band with cans of Fosters) were perhaps compelled to listen more closely to what are profoundly soulful songs. Bramwell declared the night possibly their most difficult gig ever. He needn’t have worried – the conquering of the echo chamber contributed to what was an earthily spiritual experience.

Brighton Boys feature in new pop video

Cover for single Brighton Boy by Maria McAteer

Brighton boys of all ages co-star with singer-songwriter Maria McAteer in a pop video released yesterday.

The new video promotes her single, Brighton Boy, which was released for download as a sneak peek of the long-awaited debut album Her Night At Noon.

Maria directed the video, shot by co-songwriter Bjorn Dahlberg, on Hove seafront on Sunday 25 March, after putting out the call through social media.

“We were determined to get every single person we shot in”, she says, “because they’d all given time for us. And absolutely everyone’s really good.”

The video is a direct descendant of her viral hit Baby, in which diverse Brighton characters mime the familiar Justin Bieber lyrics over Maria’s vocal.

Music website Cover Me listed Baby’s salt-air visuals among it’s top 10 cover videos of 2010 for its cheeky comment on the ubiquity of the song.

The Brighton Boy video is more sophisticated in conception and execution, but retains Baby’s home-made charm and Maria’s obvious affection for this haven for individuals.

The sunniest of her own compositions, Brighton Boy has a simple, romantic hook, and Maria’s warm, wistful vocal quickly worms its way into the psyche.

Not every shot for the video was planned. “Like the guys on rollerblades; that was something in the moment. And it’s the best sequence”.

Sign up at mariamcateer.com for a free Brighton Boy mp3. The video can be viewed on YouTube

The Great Escape Festival – Preview

                  

By Ian Walker

Picture the euphoria surrounding the classic British music festival, minus the obligatory sight of scores of people bathing in endless fields of mud. Since 2006, Brighton has been home to a very unique and exclusive exhibit. A cornucopia of emerging and successful British and international acts unveiled in 30 different venues across Brighton and Hove. From stunning beach sets, to intricate coffee shop acoustic sessions, right back to empowering performances in the city’s top venues, The Great Escape has appropriately been slapped with the tag of “Europe’s leading Festival for new music”.

The festival takes a distinctive and incredibly ‘Brighton’ approach to the festival layout, with acts taking to all corners of the city to showcase an assortment of talent. Award winning artists on the musical spectrum have made their name over the years in our little corner of England such as: The Drums; Bon Iver; Kasabian; and Mumford & Sons. Oh, how could one forget the multi-award winning Adele playing a prolific set in a minute Kemp town coffee shop back in 2007?

With 2012’s full infectious line-up to be announced imminently, it’s sure to be quite the phenomenon. Over the weekend, you can expect to see a plethora of independent musical ability; including Africa Express Sound System, who are often described as a “beautiful cacophony” with their extraordinary mix of contemporary dance, soulful reggae vocals and staccato bass lines all conveyed by absurd aesthetics.

You can also expect to see the recently announced indie-heroes Maximo Park, who return to showcase their quirky take on alternative ‘Brit-pop’ to the Brighton crowds at The Dome.

Finally, former Festival conquerors The Mystery Jets are also Brighton bound to parade their wall of synth, superseded by that unique quivering voice of lead singer, Blaine Harrison.

This year sees scores of talent descending into Brighton to make up the 300 strong bill; Alabama Shakes, Spector, Grimes, Porcelain Raft, Howler and Dry the River all complementing a host of impromptu performances and eagerly anticipated returns.

Tickets can be purchased at an early bird price of just £45; whether you’re celebrating the abundance of talent on display, or attending the infamous educational seminars on contemporary music, which appear all over town over the duration of the weekend. The Great Escape really is a great way to access this year’s hottest new acts, get a taste of the fantastic venues we are lucky enough to have on our doorstep, or simply revel in the joys of audio while you enjoy a well earned drink at the various ‘pop up’ bars all over town!

The Great Escape – 10th May – 12st May 2012

www.escapegreat.com

Review: Joe Pug

The Borderline, London, Feb 23 2012

by DAMIEN MURPHY

Credit: Damien Murphy

Why Chicago’s Joe Pug didn’t feel the need to return Kemptown’s Brighton Ballroom is his business. If the growing success that has taken him off the back roads and into the bright lights has gone to his head, you’d never guess it from his easy, genial demeanour on Borderline’s stage. In any case, the Borderline is off a backroad, down an alley, in a basement, so it’s all relative.

Relativity is key with Joe’s songs, in that they can become different beasts in different settings. On his unadorned debut EP, Nation of Heat, he delivers songs such as “I Do My Father’s Drugs” and “Nobody’s Man” with a fierce desperation. Live, however, they become pleading and fragile, taking on the greater restraint found on follow-up EP In the Meantime. On the title song of that latter collection (available for free on his website), he strips the mournful confessional down even further. He sings the aching “Unsophisticated Heart”, from his current album Messenger, as though no one were in the room but himself and whatever sad, imagined face he seems to see on the back wall of the club.

He wears his influences openly. Cryptic couplets trip from his tongue like a freewheelin’ Bob Dylan (“I am the brush, I am the strokes / I’m sickness come to the best of folks”). His plaintive harmonica wails recall Nebraska-era Springsteen. Dylan comparisons are inevitable, yet Pug effortlessly avoids sounding derivative. The parallels are there, in the lyrics and the delivery, but he is unmistakably his own man, and his songs bear his own idiosyncrasies. He strays from his own material just once to offer us “Deep, Dark Wells” by an obscure folk singer named Harvey Thomas Young, which he reverently tells us “should be a part of the American songbook”. That this cover – while a fine song – is the set’s weakest moment says quite something about the quality Pug’s own songs.

Between songs, he shows himself to be a thoroughly affable gent, accepting offers of whiskey as if he was down the pub with mates, and inviting the crowd to come and see him after the show.  “You don’t even have to buy the record,” he says. “Just come over for a chat. We don’t have any other friends in London”. He is clearly moved in complimenting his accompanying guirtarist and support acts (Christof, and Bhi Bhiman – both fine songwriters in their own right). When a woman howls out for “Hymn 52!” his response is perfectly pitched to save her blushes. “I haven’t written that one yet,” he hints gently. “But when I do, you’ll be the first to hear it”, before playing the gorgeous “Hymn #35”.

In the end, he reverts to the raging delivery of old, pounding out “Nation of Heat”, a disgusted indictment of the misplaced pride of his homeland, where “it ain’t rare to hear the streetlights call themselves stars”, and rounding out the set with a wild, stomping singalong on “Speak Plainly, Diana”, the only song from the EPs to be revisited on Messenger. It is a tremendous finish to a powerful celebration of the art of songwriting.

Before taking his leave, Joe returns to play us a new song, in which he says “If you remember one thing, then you remember this/ when the lights came up, there was nothing left that I could give.” He speaks the truth, and though you may not always know what he’s singing about, you damn sure believe it as fervently as he does.

Joe Pug’s second full length album, The Great Despiser, is released on April 24. A live album, Live at Lincoln Hall, is available for download for $5 (around £3.20), through his website.

Setlist

Nobody’s Man / Lock the Door, Christina / Messenger / I Do My Father’s Drugs / Unsophisticated Heart / How Good You Are / In the Meantime / Disguised as Someone Else / Hymn #35 / Deep, Dark Wells (by Harvey Thomas Young) / Hymn #101 / Call It What You Will / Nation of Heat / Speak Plainly, Diana / [encore] New Song

Review: S.C.U.M Live

By Nick Pierce

Photo: S I D N E Y

It might be lazy to compare South London’s S.C.U.M to The Horrors, but often cliché originates in certain home truths. With their brand of synthy neo-psychedelia, the quintet’s sound draws clear parallels with the current darlings of the British indie music scene. Unfortunately, it sounded better the first time around. Hearing them headline at Tuesday night’s gig at The Green Door Store, and trying in vain to distinguish one impossibly overblown anthem from the next, it quickly became apparent that S.C.U.M are as of yet lacking the killer tunes any such act requires to make it big.

  Perhaps more worryingly, they seem to share the lacklustre stage presence often levelled as a criticism at their aforementioned peers. Although the musicians seemed well-rehearsed, their performance felt mechanical. If one thinks of the acts from the past who’ve had success at mixing emotion with post-punk sounds, most notably Joy Division, they’ve always sought to invest their live shows with a dimension of self-revelation bordering on performance art. S.C.U.M, on the other hand, felt detached throughout from the music they were making, as if covering another artist’s songs.

 Thomas Cohen, lead singer and fiancé of socialite Peaches Geldof, also comes across as overly mannered live. Gesturing regally and gazing off into the distance like a poor man’s hybrid of Jim Morrison and Nick Cave, he presumably meant to hammer home the music’s ethereal quality. Sadly, hammering the ethereal is somewhat of a contradiction in terms.

  By comparison, the warm-up act Bo Ningen were something close to remarkable. Hailing from Japan and based in London, they melded the unholy racket of punk rock with 70s avant-garde acts like Can. Culminating their set with an extended jam, guitars and drums crashing against one another in a maelstrom somewhere between funk and white noise, they laid down a formidable gauntlet for S.C.U.M and ultimately stole the gig out from under their noses. Score that as a victory for the underdogs.

Harvey’s Brass Ensemble heads to local school for fun day

By Kayleigh Rose Lewis

Harveys Brass Ensemble are heading to Bexhill High School to take part in their Bold As Brass fun day this Saturday (4 Feb).

Protests as council plans cuts to music and arts service

By Kayleigh Rose Lewis

Thousands of children are expected to be affected by the council’s proposal to cut funding to the Music and Arts Service by 100 percent over the next two years.