We Like Danger

Just a brief article here in praise of local record label We Like Danger. As well as issuing limited releases from artists around the Midlands, the label also put on very successful live concerts at a number of local venues, featuring bands who they've released and other acts who they support. With a mission statement aiming to only release high quality music from artists who they've developed trusting and loyal relationships with, the label has put out some exceptional releases from the likes of Ox Scapula, Andy Robbins and Herzoga to narrowly-spread but triumphant reviews. They released the sensational Here's To The Atom Bomb EP, feauturing rousing indie classic 'Something's Got To Give', which recieved some great reviews, particularly this article in Room Thirteen. The label also released the melancholic beauty of M S Thomason's debut album 'I Am Your Son', a heartbreaking record of great maturity. Feautring releases from Centrifuge and Herzoga, this is a label that is truly representing the vast wealth of talent in the underground music scene, not just in the immediate area, but in the country as a whole. We Like Danger a great deal and hope that you will help support them and check out their releases, in the future they may be looked back on as a vault containing the hidden gems of our local musical heritage.

Keep in touch with new and old releases here: We Like Danger.com or on We Like Danger's Myspace

The Trent Vale Poet

Perhaps confusingly The Trent Vale Poet was born in Burslem, a mainstay of Potteries pubs and rock venues, delivering thought provoking and humorous poems regularly at Open Mic nights and warming up (and occasionally pissing off) crowds for local bands. Typically clad in a long black trenchcoat, at times coming off as a slower paced, neater version of John Cooper Clark, The Trent Vale Poet is an act likely to divide audiences, as performance poetry is some what of a love it or loathe it of an art. Casually picking up musicians to improvise music for him to read his poetry over like a modern day beat-poet, those lucky enough to have seen The Trent Vale Poet live will experience his warm-hearted, amusing and at times ascerbic musings on life in the six-towns. A rare breed, and a worthy addition to the scene, characters like The TVP are a lot less common in this day and age than they were in the 70's and 80's, and whilst it may not be to everyone's liking, there is equal charm in his content and, albeit very loud and at times mildy offensive delivery. A must see, if just to experience it. 

Listen to more here: Trent Vale Poet

 

Friends Of Ken - Il Tempo Gigante

Perhaps one of Stoke-on-Trent's longest serving young bands, Friends Of Ken have been around for over 10 years now, delivering their own light-hearted brand of punk/pop and entertaining audiences locally, with trademark party atmospheres at many Halloween and Christmas extravaganzas down the years, FOK have now released their first full length LP - 'Il Tempo Gigante'. The album combines sheer thrasing punk energy with some seriously catchy melodies. The stand-out single 'Backwards' starts off reminiscent of My Vitriol but displaces their indie roots in favour of an explosive chorus reminscent of 'Bleed American' era Jimmy Eat World. The album is full of musical ebbs and flows, stop/start structures puncuate the record, without loosing its sense of flow. Playful back and forth vocal parts are present throughout and a mark of a band with an ear for radio and a smart attitude and some poptastic structuring, with their other single 'Pockets' and the previously unreleased 'Dance Like No One's Watching' and 'Wilhelm Scream' being stand out highlights. With the likes of the extremely influential and credible Steve Lamacq championing the band (in particularly the lead single 'Backwards') there is a feeling that perhaps after all this time and effort Friends Of Ken might finally be creeping their heads above the Stoke-on-Trent parapet and expanding out into the British punk scene and beyond. For fans of Lagwagon, Weezer and Three Colours Red this album is a must have, listeners less interested in pop-punk may not find many reasons to be converted, but there are moments here for fans of all styles of rock music, a powerful, assertive effort from a band who have had time to really hone and master their sound.

The album is available on Amazon here: Il Tempo Gigante on Amazon 

Listen to single 'Backwards' here: 

Love Music Hate Racism

 
This years Love Music Hate Racism festival was held at Stoke's own Britannia Stadium, and would be the largest anti-racism event in the UK, aswell as one of the biggest concerts that the city has seen. It is well documented throughout history that in times of economic and social depression, nationalism is prone to rise particularly amongst predominantely working class areas. Perhaps unsurpisingly as Britain is in the midst of a heavy recession the British National Party are on the rise, and unfortunately Stoke is one of their main constituencies. With the European elections pending, the time and setting for an event like this could hardly be better. In the build up to the event, there were murmerings around the town that there may be serious trouble at the Brit, with fears that racists and nationalists may hijack proceedings and create chaos. So you'll be relieved to know that the day went by without such incidents, and was all in all a great success.

A beautiful, sweltering day greated the thousands of people who came out to show their support for a noble campagin and simply to enjoy themselves and watch some real stars play in the Potteries. A more diverse crowd you could hardly imagine, and a peaceful, friendly, almost carnival atmosphere prevailed throughout, with the outskirts of the stadium taken over with fair-ground rides and hippy stalls.

The show in the stadium itself was compered by the multi award winning Eddie Izzard, delivering his own inimitable brand of surrealist humour with heavy underlying political references throughout, working the crowd well, who were primed to appreciate his liberal sentiments. The concert was started by two of Stoke's own bands in succession, The Fear and The Sport, both playing relatively short sets and working the crowd up well, with a degree of professionalism shown from both bands, giving an excellent representation of the local scene. The Beat's snarling ska-punk rang around the stadium, before the 'New' Beautiful South came on, minus one of its chief writers/singers Paul Heaton leaving Alison Wheeler to take the lead roll, and she was in excellent form particularly on crowdpleasers 'Rotterdam' and 'Don't Marry Her'. Soul diva Beverley Knight gave an impressive performance, with a truly powerful vocal working her way through a series of covers. The Rotten Hill Gang were a little dry, not that I was expecting them to have the energy of The Clash, but Mick Jones' new project, clad in top hats and waistcoats like a gang from a Dickens novel, played fairy forgettable old fashioned 70's style rock and roll.

 Former Destiny's Child Kelly Rowlands had a beautiful live voice, often singing acapella, showing the extent and warmth of her range. Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly. was sensational as always. with The Chronicles of a Bohemian Teenager going down especially well in a set that was extremely well recieved all round. Although he just about held it together and managed to charm the crowd, Pete Doherty's short set was a little shambolic, with his vocals sounding quite strung-out, and often not very well timed or pitched for that matter, closing the set with Libertines' classic 'Time For Heroes' was a definite crowd pleaser however. Sheffield's Reverend and the Makers headlined the event, featuring Jerry Dammers of The Specials, they went over well with the crowd, delivering a rousing rendition of 'Heavyweight Champion Of The World'. Perhaps not the natural choice to headline such an event, they managed to win the crowd over quickly with a powerful set dispersed with witty banter and more left-wing anti-racist, pro-cultural diversity rhetorric.

The crowd played the biggest part in this event and they really did the area proud by turning out in such numbers to support an incredibly important campaign, at a time when people need to be reminded more than ever that we really are all the same and there's no logical basis for prejudice and racism, and what better tool for bringing people together than music.

New Education

Continuing in a similar vein to the Dooley brothers' previous outfit '5th Action Shelter', the boys return with New Education, creating grandiose Indie anthems for the late-noughties. The band have recently released the single 'Today' (which sold out of its limited number of copies) on Kids records and are set to follow it up with the equally anthemic 'Another Miracle' (due to be released on May 18th) and they look set to really take on the music scene, garnering positive reviews left, right and centre and recently recieving a write up in indie kids bible NME. The article itself is perhaps a little dramatic, overly focusing on trying to make New Education sound like the next Oasis, not only musically but in terms of their off stage antics. In both cases this is a little exaggerated, the band are not as rowdy or violent as the article suggests, neither do they sound as much like, or truthfully are they quite as good as, the early Oasis records. All the same they are certainly developing a loyal and growing fanbase in the area, and are looking to expand it beyond the region, bolstered by UK tour support slots with The Rifles, The Twang and The Holloways. As for the music itself, at times it borders on the majestic, soaring, anthemic rock songs, with lyrics looking to escape the drudgery of small-town life, without condeming it. As the band themself proclaim, this is 'the sound of the Midlands calling', at times it borders on the predicatable. But when listening to the power of 'Arcane' it is hard to argue. This could well be the biggest band to come out of Stoke for a long, long time with a recent write up in TeenFirst describing them as 'one of Britain’s most promising new rock bands'.  We can't help but wish they'd write more songs like the upcoming B-side to Another Miracle, however, the track 'Bedroom Song #19', a charming, intimate acoustic number, that lets the bravado drop a shade and reveals a more interesting sound. Still, we're sure they can go far and will be waiting eagerly for the album to be released for full review on this site.


You can check out the NME article here:  www.nme.com....

Or listen to the band more here: www.myspace.com/neweducation

Aciddrops versus...

Aciddrops has recently sparked a wave of controversy regarding his blog on 'how to get big in stoke', a tongue-in-cheek Acidtongued attack on the numerous Kasabian and Oasis wannabes of the area, (I say a wave, given that Myspace is all but defunct it was more of a ripple, but it certainly seemed to rub the guys from Skinny Pigs and The Blue Collars up the wrong way, but frankly that's no bad thing as there turgid brand of unoriginal lad-rock is polluting an interesting scene). You can check out the whole blog here: http://www.myspace.com/aciddrops85/blog/473061595

Obviously all this is largely irrelevant, but the points he makes are valid if a little vitriolic and sarcastic, and after all this is a Stoke music blog, and he is directing comments on the music scene in Stoke. But back to the music. Aciddrops is a fitting name for a suitably hallucenagenic, ambient set of tracks. 'Remember' is a calm and soothing highlight, whilst 'Ecstasy' has the warm glow that you would expect from the title. It's obvious even at a glance that Aciddrops has been heavily influenced by narcotics, from the warped and colourful photography to the tropical-house stylings of the music itself, let alone the track titles and even down the artist's name. Now this is a gift and a curse, at times the music feels a little too spacey and ultimately leaves the lsitener feeling truly monged out, but at times it replicates the warm floaty buzz that can be derived from certain legal and illegal substances...or so we're told. All in all some interesting ideas are knocking around here, and hopefully there'll be more tunes, and more controversial discussions sparked about the scene, from the as yet, somewhat mysterious and anonymous creator. One to watch out for.

You can find out more here:  www.myspace.com/aciddrops85

[We Play]

Just a quick plug and shout out to the guys of [We Play] who have been hosting one of the best local music nights to grace the town in recent times over at the Old Brown Jug in Newcastle-under-Lyme, helping to transform it into one of the town's favourite venues. The intimate surroundings often creating a packed-out environment with an electric atmosphere, a charming pub with some great tunes from behind the decks aswell as on the stage. The ridiculously talented Paddy Considine even showed up recently with his lo-fi rock band 'Riding The Low', who cite Guided By Voices as a major influence, which can clearly be heard in their live set. The night has become a mainstay of the Staffordshire music scene and has created a new home for great bands, so much so that the night is regularly packed out, regardless of who is playing, as people now attend whenever it's on as they associate the We Play events with a great evening, rather than focusing on that week's particular entertainers. Having said that there is a particularly tantilising all day line-up coming up, headlined by the exceptional Andy Gower that will be a must for local music fans, with the proceeds going to charity. What else could you want.

Be sure to head in to The Old Brown Jug on Wednesday nights to truly experience the vibe.

In the meantime you can head over to their mypsace page to find out about who's coming up next: We Play on Myspace

Welcome

Hello and welcome to Curtain Call Reviews. We are based in Staffordshire and will be publishing reviews and other articles on bands and artists from the area and nearby and bands from further afield playing in the area, including live reviews and demo or LP reviews. If you want your band to be reviewed on the blog just get in touch and have material that we can download or stream online.