#296: Parquet Courts - Sunbathing Animal

When you think of punk, Brooklyn’s Parquet Courts might not be the first band to spring to mind. And indeed, why should they? They certainly don’t adhere to the leather, bristles studs and acne uniform that typical punk conforms to. Their sound isn’t inherently punk either, at least not in the British sense of the genre. Parquet Courts are in fact rooted far more deeply in the art-punk of their hometown in the ’70s and ’80s, more Black Francis than Black Flag. And with Sunbathing Animal, their third full-length, the band look set to further their already impressive reputation.

This review was originally written for Far Out Magazine. Click here to read in full.

#289: Alkaine Trio - The Ritz, Manchester (22/4/14)

Gig review: Alkaline Trio - The Ritz, Manchester (22/4/14)

This review was originally written for Muso's Guide. Click the link above to read in full.

#278: Doe - Sooner (EP review)

Doe

Sooner

March 28 2014 (Keroleen Records)

9/10

For a band who have only been together little over a year, London three-piece Doe have recorded and released an impressive amount of material. Bringing in the New Year off the back of a handful of well-received releases, the trio's blend of stripped-back punk and lite-twee has quickly gathered momentum, the overall package tied off neatly by a sugary female vocal. Sweet as it is, however, it is not without a certain degree of bite, furthering the band's DIY approach, and giving extra weight to their punk credentials.

This review was originally written for Little Indie Blogs. Click here to read in full.

#271: Catching Up With...Itch

After the dissolution of The King Blues in 2012, front-man Johnny Fox, aka ITCH, struck out on his own. With a handful of EPs already under his belt, and his debut album out today, Louder Than War’s Dave Beech caught up with him for a Q&A. (This interview was done before today so any references to the “forthcoming” album are to the one released today!)

Having recently been on tour with Dan le sac Vs Scroobius Pip, it seems that ex-King Blues frontman Itch has barely had time to catch his breath over the last 12 months. Following a string of festival appearances over Summer, Itch immediately embarked on a run of smaller UK shows just prior to Christmas, before setting off once again for his current support slot.

With all that touring it hardly seems possible that he would have been able to find time to record his forthcoming album, The Deep End, let alone take a break from everything to catch up with us. Find time he did though, all the while musing on politics, Tim Armstrong and errr, Russel Brand.

This interview was originally conducted for Louder Than War. Click here to read the complete thing.

#262: Catching Up With...The Minx (U&I Music Magazine - March Issue)

Though they've been around for a couple of years now, The Minx, a two-tone/punk hybrid from Wythenshawe, are finally seeing the fruits of their labour reaped. Their last few home-town shows have been sold-out energetic affairs, increasing in size every step along the way and it's easy to see why. Their music doesn't lend itself to the rainy city in the way that it other bands do. Indeed, the inclusion of an organ injects their repertoire with a definite dose of sunshine more akin to the West Indies than Wythenshawe. As a band, they're so atypical of both their surroundings and their era, that it's hard to put a finger on what makes The Minx so special; and therein lies their appeal.

Tracks such as 'Forest Bank' exhibit this brilliantly. Drawing from a wealth of influences such as ...And Out Come the Wolves-era Rancid and The Clash, it's immediately obvious that the band refuse to bay to the generic expectations laid out by Manchester as a city. And while it can certainly be argued that 'Manc Music' doesn't have the same clichéd restrictions it did twenty years ago, it's still a music scene dominated predominantly by an indie majority. The Minx, however, have other plans.

Their most recent release 'Corporation Pop' was recorded in one live session, and though the production quality wavers slightly in the face of it, the punk authenticity of the session reigns supreme, giving fans another reason to fly The Minx flag high. A tumultuous, anarchic track, the sheer energy that bursts forth is untapped and unadulterated, much like the track itself. An explosive chorus of gang-chant style vocals isn't quite the icing on the cake as much as it's the safety-pin through the nose, and if any of the four remaining tracks taken from this studio session muster even half the energy this does, we're in for something truly special.

Though it's taken a while for the ball to get rolling, now it has it shows no sign of slowly down, the momentum behind it building with every gig, every release. A host of fairly high-profile support slots across Manchester also, has done nothing to hamper the inevitable ascent to the top of the game. Loud and brash, anarchic though not without melody, The Minx are one of Manchester's most exciting young acts at the moment. You can almost bet that 2014 is going to see them follow in the footsteps of the city's most recent exports. Expect big things. Expect them soon.

U&I: Hi guys, thanks for taking the time out to answer our questions. To start with, your sound isn't inherently 'Manchester', at least in comparison to the generic indie of some acts out there at the moment, but how would you describe yourselves personally as a band?

To be honest, I don’t think we fit in with the whole “Manchester” tag, and what comes with it. The Minx aren’t “trendy”, but I think that’s why it works. Don’t get me wrong, we love Manchester music, and the likes of The Stone Roses, The Smiths, Inspiral Carpets etc are big influences on us but I don’t think it necessarily shows in the music we make. Now the Buzzcocks on the other hand..

U&I: You've been a band for a while now, but it seems over the last 12 months that things have really started moving in your direction, with some decent support slots for the likes of Inspiral Carpets and a string of sold out headline shows in Manchester already under your belt. Was there a pivotal point in which you started noticing stuff happening?

I think last year (2013) was the real start for us. That’s when we started (properly) releasing our tunes and getting real radio play. We had a solid plan from January 2013 to get the “Hey! Mr Warden” EP out, followed by the (Can You Find) My Head? Single, with gigs around both, and we just stuck to it and it worked..

U&I: There's obviously a lot of two-tone and reggae influences mixing with the punk vibes in your music, do you think this is a cultural thing that stems from growing up in a city like Manchester, or is that just the kind of music you grew up listening to?

Both! We’re all really in to reggae, and have been since growing up. We’re lucky to be based in multicultural Manchester, I’m positive that’s had a spin on how our music has formed.

U&I: Similarly, what do you think it is about the city that allows such a multitude of bands to flourish the way they do in Manchester? And do you think the sheer amount of music on offer creates a competition between bands?

Manchester’s always buzzing, with some great live venues so there’s always good shows on. I wouldn’t say there’s competition, in all honesty I wouldn’t mind hearing/seeing more.

U&I: Your latest single '(Can You Find) My Head' came out last year and it summaries The Minx as a band brilliantly. How well has it been going down with fans and critics?

(Can You Find) My Head? has gone down a storm. With the track being picked to soundtrack Dr Martens global AW13 campaign, it put us on a whole new level and opened our fan base globally. Everyone seems to really dig it, which is cool.

U&I: You announced on Facebook the other week that you had been in the studio laying down some new tracks. When can we hear them and are they another EP or part of something longer?

We popped to a little studio in Rochdale, set up live and laid down 5 new tunes in a day. We filmed it all and will be uploading each track as a series over the coming months. The first track has just gone live “Corporation Pop” (see above)

U&I: You had a crazy year in 2013, and must've had some brilliant experiences. What's been some of the most memorable? Any tour stories you want to entertain our readers with?

The best experiences of 2013 were definitely our 3 consecutive sold out Manchester shows at Soup Kitchen, Deaf Institute and Sound Control. Each one was just brilliant and bigger than the last. As for tour stories.. We’d rather forget.

U&I: Manchester's full of eclectic venues, they're as much a part of the city's musical heritage as the bands which play them, arguably more so in the cases of some. With that in mind what do you think about the current noise complaints befalling some venues in the Northern Quarter?

I think it’s all a load of bollocks. If you move next door to a music venue, then it’s expected you are going to hear noise. If you don’t want to hear noise, move to rural Wales or something.

U&I: You're gigging with Darlia at SoundControl late next month, and you must've gigged with a fair few bands in a similar position to yourselves over the years. Anyone you'd like to plug or give it of exposure to?

There’s some great bands knocking about. The great thing about putting on our own headline Manchester shows is we get to hand pick the support acts. So far we’ve had Guy Connor, Bourbon Street Beat, The Velveteen Saints, No Hot Ashes, Dirty North and soon to be James Munro at our next sold out Eagle show on the 28^th March. They’re all great.

U&I: With 2013 proving to be the year for you that it was, 2014 is going to have be pretty special to top it. What are the band's plans for the year ahead? Headline tours? Prospective albums? Festivals?

Onwards and upwards. Our debut single “No Friends” is set to be re released around April time. We’ll be looking to do our next big headline Manchester show around the same time (venue TBC). Small tour, and as many festivals that will have us?

U&I: Finally, any parting words or exclusives you'd like to leave our readers with?

Snapback crackpipe snakebelt.

U&I: Cheers guys.

All live image credits go to Trust A Fox

This interview was originally conducted for U&I Music Magazine. Click here to check out their new website and read this months issue in full.

#246: Less Than Jake/Reel Big Fish, Academy 1, Manchester - 3/02/14

Gig review: Less Than Jake/Reel Big Fish, Academy 1, Manchester - 3/02/14

This review was originally written for Muso's Guide. Click the link above to read in full.

#206: Friday Club - Friday Club (EP review)

Friday Club

Friday Club

October 31 2013 (self-release)

8.5/10

Birmingham three-piece Friday Club have come a huge way since they were first brought to my attention earlier in the year.With a seeming inability to create anything but positive vibes, they have already conquered the B-Town scene with an almost raucous disregard for convention that sets them apart from many of their city's other successes. Now, with a new self-titled EP under their belt, the band look set to build on their already solid foundations in a brilliant way.

This review was originally written for Little Indie Blogs. Click here to read in full.

#190: Burning Condors - Last Train Home (single review)

Burning Condors

Last Train Home

October 28 2013 (Snakehead Records)

7/10

London quartet Burning Condors are a band who are about as close to punk as one can get without jabbing a safety pin through their nose and spitting on people. Hailed as “The four-headed lovechild of the Sex Pistols and the Strokes”, the band are bridging a transatlantic gap, fusing together nostalgic rockabilly with a garage rock aesthetic all the while maintaining a high degree of 'don't give a fuck' swagger that permeates each and every one of their tracks.

This review was originally witten for Little Indie Blogs. Click here to read in full.

#189: Lay It On The Line - Vigilance (EP review)

London’s hardcore punks Lay It On The Line are a band with an impressive amount of releases under their belt given their short time as a band; undoubtedly something that can be attributed to the DIY aesthetic that goes hand in hand with hardcore, and the energy and work ethic it brings with it; ‘Vigilance’, the forth release from the band, is a perfect example of how hardcore should be: intense, brutal, militant and emphatic.

This review was originally written for Punktastic. Click here to read in full.

#173: Hello Frisco - Ain't No Devil, Only God When He's Drunk

Formed from the ashes of the ill-fated yet ultimately well-received pop-punk band Not Katies, Hello Frisco are a no-nonsense genre-warping amalgamation of punk, country and rock 'n' roll that manipulates generic conventions, contorting them to suit their atypical needs. On paper, it's a weird concept and one that might seem somewhat forced or as being different for different's sake. The reality of it though, is a very different story. Punk and country sensibilities are fused together seamlessly and instead of the mish-mash it could have been, Hello Frisco's début album Aint No Devil, Only God When He's Drunk comes across as cheeky and charming and acts as a reminder that you don't have to take yourself too seriously in order to make good music.

This article was originally written for Punktastic. Click here to read the full review.

#164: Balance and Composure - The Things We Think We're Missing

Album review: Balance and Composure - The Things We Think We're Missing (2013)

This article was originally written for Muso's Guide. To read the full review, click the link above.

#151: Honorable Mention - Coalescence (EP review)

Since 2003, many bands have tried to encapsulate, channel or recreate the spirit left behind by the ill-fated yet ultimately seminal Long Island pop-punk outfit The Movielife. Few, if any, have managed, something which could conclusively be attributed to the zeitgeist of their particular scene having passed in a blur of bleeding hearts and contrived clichés from those who just missed the bandwagon. That is, until now.

This review was originally written for Punktastic. Click here to read the full review.