Ghost Trains - Sniffing Round L.A.

This is the second full length album since the band's first live performance less than a year ago in April 2010, and sees the Staffordshire three piece blending their acoustic singer-songwriter ballads with classical Spanish guitar parts, rich vocal harmonies, equal parts Americana and Asian infusions, with sweetly melancholic lyrical content. There is a great deal of heart and soul in this record, beneath the layers of regret and heartbreak there is the sense that the sun will rise again and hope can spring from the darkness. The album kicks off with 'Michael Caine' an acoustic lead 70's throwback, with laid back Indian tinged drums, with an empassioned vocal and some powerful guitar parts. 'Deathdance' is a rousing, stand-out single of a track, starting out like 'Out of Time' era Peter Buck guitar parts, meandering through John Bramwell style vocals, with a beautifully memorable chorus that is the sound of a band who are totally comfortable with their sound and how to deliver it. 'Set In Stone' is altogether more ethereal, at once sweet and menacing, with intricate vocal harmonies and gentle pianos plonking along to accentuate the lyrics. 'Liar' is reminiscent of Cast and is certainly flying the Brit-pop (Union) flag proudly, with their own slant, the trade-mark Spanish guitar overtones that punctuate this album. 'Love Is Dead' is a nice enough song, if at times sounding a little close to The Verve, and perhaps if one were to be unkind. could be described as one of the more forgettable tracks on a good record. 'Buonasera's playful lyrics are tinged with sadness, as throughout this album, the lighter notes are often really disguising the darkest ones, 'Gutenaben, gutenaben, bonsoir, buenos noches de mucho, stuff I don't know, here comes stone henge..nothing I do will do'. 'Godfather' starts off a little too familiar and leaves you feeling the album perhaps is starting to run out of steam, but then hits you with a chorus so tender and yet so morose it forces you to re-examine, and the vocal harmonies and lyrics are as good as any on the album. 'Angel Heights' is a more up-tempo number with a flowing Eastern drum beat punctuating a late-1990's singer-songwriter type of ballad, with a lead guitar part that is just shy of Oasis-esque with the inclusion of some auxiliary notes. 'Dark Clover' is perhaps covering old ground again, but the last minute's crescendo and guitar solo offer some of the more interesting musical ideas on the album. The album closer 'Sticking Plasters' is a beautiful song with a rich vocal tone layered over a tender chord pattern, finding Ellis suitably wistful in the song's chorus and coda 'it's the way that it goes, there's no use crying. people will find answers, in the strangest ways...I know that we will survive, locked in a dream and a lullaby'. All in all this is a solid record with some really rich sections, and a few stand out tracks that are exceptional, however at times it is guilty of being a little predictable and samey and there are times when you are waiting for something bigger to kick in that never does. Admittedly this is not the bands style so perhaps that is unfair on my part, but just because the music is predominantly acoustic and quiet doesn't mean there has to be a lack of variety. Having said all this, I would still reccommend this album as it is predominantly great, it's just that it perhaps tails off a little towards the end. But the breathtaking 'Set In Stone', stirring 'Deathdance' and 'Sticking Plasters' are excellent songs that I will be coming back to time and again. In summary this is really quite a good record, with excellent production and certainly a band to watch out for in the future, as this is a vast improvement on the bands earlier efforts and I should imagine their next record could be truly exceptional.

You can download the album on Itunes here: - Sniffing Round LA on Itunes


or check out the bands website for free tracks and loads of other info here: - GhostTrains.net

Old Brown Jug versus The Travelodge

We now bring you news of the developing battle between historical pub The Old Brown Jug and hotel franchise Travelodge, an argument which looks set to run on and could yet see the end of live music in the venue. Within three weeks of opening the Travelodge launched official complaints about The Old Brown Jug complaining about late night noise coming from the pub and beer-garden disturbing its customers from their sleep. The multi million pound hotel chain want the council to launch an investigation into the pub's live music and premises lincense. Local newspaper The Sentinel recently spoke to a representative of the Travelodge who issued the following statements: "The Old Brown Jug creates tremendous noise nuisance for guests staying at the Travelodge and has done since the hotel opened...the quality of our customers' sleep is paramount...We will be seeking to ensure that noise levels are reduced at a reasonable time and times are adhered to...we are working with Newcastle Borough Council to seek a review of the Old Brown Jug's licence."  If live music were to be stopped at The Old Brown Jug, the loss in revenue could be disastrous, and would more than likely seal the pub's fate. The fact that Travelodge have invested over £3 million in their Newcastle branch, would make one assume that they would have thought about things like this before building it. You'd think that they'd take into account the fact that a very popular establishment, a stone's throw away, that regularly hosts live music, might just concievably be heard from their building. Apparently it never crossed their minds, and they're now trying to act like it's The Jug's fault for playing too loud. Frankly this whole argument is ridiculous, and likely to end badly for the Travelodge. A very popular pub, and a staple of live music in the area, it's vastly unlikely that a massive corporation of cheap, tacky, aesthetically challenging franchised hotel will enjoy much sympathy over a long standing and yet still buzzing venue, in a hugely predominantly working-class town. A Facebook campagin has recently been started to express support for the Old Brown Jug and contempt towards the Travelodge's stance over the issue.

The online campaign issued a call for arms stating 'PEOPLE OF NEWCASTLE-UNDER-LYME - MUSIC LOVERS, BEER LOVERS, DJS, MUSICIANS AND PEOPLE WHO JUST WANT TO HAVE A GOOD TIME - UNITE AGAINST THIS WITH US - WE WILL NOT BE BEATEN!'  At the time of writing the facebook group had well over 2000 supporters and the community is clearly taking a stand, hopefully some form of compromise can be reached, as the loss of The Old Brown Jug would be a truly bitter blow for live music and for the development of creativity in this great area.

You can join the Facebook campaign here: Stand Up For The Jug, Stand Up For Newcastle

Oceansize Live at The Sugarmill - 30th September

Blending post-rock with elements of alt-indie and prog, Oceansize are an extremely hard working band who regularly tour the UK and fortunately keep Stoke on their radar, and can often be seen tearing up The Sugarmill in Hanley. This time around the band are promoting material from their release earlier this year 'Self Preserved While the Bodies Float Up', as diverse a record as the rest of the bands' back-catalouge but with the amps well and truly turned up, probably their heaviest work to date. Live the new album sounds as vital as ever, 'Build Us A Rocket Then..' and 'Silent/Transparent' are particular highlights, the latter being introduced as "one of those special track 7's" and it was certainly one of the most special tracks in a rivoting and glorious setlist. Having said that the band were keen to entertain long term fans and dipped into their previous records to great effect, Everyone Into Positons' 'Music For A Nurse' was even more emotionally charged and affecting than it is on record, personally that was quite the feat seeing as it is one of my favourite songs of recent years. As you'd expect from a band aptly called Oceansize, their setlists are often structured in a very rise and fall fashion, one minute drawing you in with the beauty and tenderness of their constructions, the next smacking you in the face with a thick wall of dark sounds. With their style of spacey post-rock their music is perfect for live performances, their tracks swell and swell, becoming even bigger than on record, ocean sized even. The set is closed with the same track that they closed with the last time I went to see them, the phenomenally grandiose 'Ornament/The Last Wrongs' a wonderous way to end such a breathtaking show. Long live Oceansize.

Lovelust - Spaced Out EP

 

Lovelust are a difficult band to describe and are certainly hard to pigeon-hole with genres as they fuse together elements of psychedelica, drone, shoegaze and at times quite dark electronic overtones. The Jesus and Mary Chain and My Bloody Valentine are obvious influences but this record, like their live performances, really is a mixed bag.

As the warped vocals kick in on opening track 'Love' it's easy to see you're in for a trip. But soon warm organs and psychedelic droney guitars begin to wash over you, slowly building, like an ocean slowly taking over a beach. There is undoubtedly beauty behind the smoke. 'Frequency' seems to start off as relatively easy going but soon builds into a dark wall of static that almost seems to test the audiences patience and ability to withstand the din, before calming into ambient waves of synthesizers which gently float and spin, to help recover from the wall of noise moments earlier. 'Sun Don't Reach Your Face' starts off somewhere between a 60's daydream and a 90's hangover, gentle rythm guitar parts give way to metalic electric guitar and warm, reverberating vocals, at once sounding like The Jesus and Mary Chain and The Warlocks, before distant drums enter and really bring the song together, certainly this is my personal favourite track on the record. The first few minutes of  'Trip' give you exactly what it says on the tin, before giving way to Pink Floyd-esque guitar parts and even more reverberating vocal parts and samples of people talking and a crescendo of sound. The self-recorded EP ends with 'Love On The Higher Planes' a groove based piece of psychedelica that, as with the whole record, is pretty difficult to explain. Put simply it's really quite lovely. It temporarily transports you to another plane and if you can slow your brain down long enough to just live between the bars it's a wondefully calming and rewarding end to a charming record.

They're never going to be to everyone's taste, and will certainly never be massively commercial, but you'd imagine both those statements would be pleasing to a band who sounds and plays like this. At times the production is a little confused and as with all music that can loosely be labelled as drone, all the elements are 'in the mix' together so sometimes ideas get a litltle lost. But there is no question that beneath, and within, the samples, the sharp and dark noises, the testing synthesisers and at times incomprehensible lyrics, there is something very beautiful indeed, something unique and something special.




 You can buy the Spaced Out Ep here:

www.piccadillyrecords.com/shop/search.php?search=lovelust

 To hear more tracks or find out more about/get in touch with the band:
  check out their Soundcloud 
  or Myspace 

M S Thomason/Herself Split EP

M S Thomason is one of our most admired local performers, specialising in his own style of darkest depths of despair, fragile and beautiful acoustica, this new EP (split with Herself) features two new tracks from the singer/songwriter. Thankfully the tracks do not depart too radically from Thomason's fantastic debut LP 'I Am Your Son'. 'The Pines' kicks things off, with a sparse and minor acoustic guitar part, and a weeping viola, punctuating the breathy, harmonising vocals before building with a McCartney-esque bass line and reverb laden guitar and piano parts. As tender and broken as Elliot Smith, and equally dark in places, these new offerings cement Thomason's repuatation as one of the most gifted and powerful songwriters in the area. A seemingly unusal collaboration, as Herself is the stage name of Gioele Valenti, an Italian musician from Palermo. Unusual that is geographically, but musically there is much in common here. The Herself offerings are every bit as dark, atmospheric and haunting as Thomason's, at once gothic and romantic. 'Violence Is For Leaders' is one of the stand-out tracks on this record, initially like an unplugged Nirvana, with a softer and sweeter vocal part, weaving its way around the song which ends up sounding more like Idaho. Another strong offering all in all, from two very talented, and to much lesser and greater extents, 'local' artists.

For more info check out M S Thomason on Myspace 
and Herself on Myspace

Vellocet

It's fair to say I started to listen to Vellocet with a certain amount of expectation, having heard very good things about them beforehand, and a general consensus they were a major band to watch out for in the local scene. Call to arms 'Messiah' starts off with a filthy bassline following up with pounding drums and a guitar riff that isn't a million miles away from Rage Against The Machine, not what I'd expected from a band touted as Stoke's answer to Kasabian. Then the vocals kick in, and the comparison make a lot more sense. That said it's not a carbon copy and vocalist Ryan Barker adds his own style to proceedings, drawling his way all over the music which certainly draws a heavy amount of inspiration from Kasabian itself, but with their own funk-based twist and occasional laid back psychedelica. The band has a clear and defined sound, with everyone seeming to know their roles, the bass and drums are the heartbeat of the tracks, the framework for the guitars and vocals to layer over. 'Hallucination' is the most original offering here and it's quite refreshing to hear something that is at once so relaxed and so direct, the vocals and guitars float and weave their way in and out before building to a riproaring chorus. 'Frontline' is a scathing, snake bite of a track, bursting at the seems with energy and a chorus that is destined to get firmly wedged in the brain after only one listen. This is the sound of an incredibly confident and niave rock band who are effortlessly producing modern rock and roll and music and it's sending the teenagers crazy at The Sugarmill that much is certain. The recordings are surprisingly well produced and manage to capture the frenetic energy and inherent swagger displayed at their live performances.

Lost Artists of Stoke-on-Trent (part one)

Agent Blue

Though some of the band's members continue to put out musically as The Sport, there is a large hole left in the scene where Agent Blue once resided. Perhaps the first band in recent time who really seemed likely to propell themselves beyond the local scene and into the UK alternative scene as a whole, Agent Blue signed to the Fierce Panda label in early 2003 and would go on to release six singles and one album with the label. Balancing a blend of post-punk, early 90's Baggy and mid-noughties alt-indie, Agent Blue garnered a large and loyal fanbase locally, and their reputation earned them support slots with The Music, YourCodeNameIs:Milo, The Others and Young Gods. Sending local venues absolutely mental over the years, culminating in sets at Leeds and Reading festival, and a double page spread in the NME, things looked to be on the up for the band. Unfortunately the time taken between the early singles 'Crossbreed' (a Northern indie anthem drawing equally from Zeppelin as much as The Music and Madchester)  and 'Sex, Drugs and Rocks Through Your Window' (the band's most radio friendly single, an energetic sing along track, with storming guitars, a ridiculously catchy hook, and an easily remembered 9 words constituting the lyrics) and the band's album 'A Stolen Honda Vision' totalled nearly three years, and the band lost a great deal of the momentum that had been raised with the release of their singles and some mesmerising live performances. In 2007, after over 5 years of playing together, the band decided to call it a day, releasing this statement on their website:

"After much thought and debate within the band, we've decided that Agent Blue has reached the end of the road! We've had an amazing time over the last 5 years or so, but after calum (bass) left last November, we realised quickily that we couldnt carry on any longer, as Agent Bluewere 5 different people, different influences, different styles etc and would never have worked as Agent Blue with one of those factors missing. we're working on something new and we'll let you in on our plans shorty, but for now we thought we'd lay Agent Blue to rest! Thanks to all the people who stood by us over the years and for the support of all the fans, it really has been a pleasure. Agent Blue"

 

 You can buy 'A Stolen Honda Vision' on Amazon here: Agent Blue on Amazon

 Or check out their website for more info: Agent Blue's Website   or  Agent Blue's Myspace

Here's To The Atom Bomb

Formed from the ashes of the equally well named Fire Kills Children, HTTAB are still one of the best bands to come from this area in recent years. With content seemingly centred around the post-adolescent transition into manhood, set in the confines of a small town, following the aftermath of a 'dirty underground scene', there's something about Jones' lryics that will resonate very deeply with a lot of people. Add those Ian Curtis-esque vocals to rousing guitar anthems and you've got something special on your hands. One of the handful of bands from the area who really deserved a long term record deal and to reach more ears.

Essential Listening:

• This Information

• Raise A Glass

• Untitled # 25

Here's To The Atom Bomb's myspace