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

Alfa 9

It's been quite a while now since we've heard anything from Newcastle-under-Lyme's finest Alfa 9. This truly is a shame as their epic. sprawling pyschedelic sound was not only unique in this part of the country, but was as refreshing as anything we'd listened to for a long time. Having honed their craft with relentless gigging and UK tours. Alfa 9 were rewarded for their hard-work with support slots for The Coral, Sunshine Underground and The Charlatans to name a few. Their impressive confident debut full-length 'Then We Begin' was recorded in The Charlatans' Big Mushroom studio, and was released on Blow Up Records to some rave reviews in the national press, combining the melody of Echo and The Bunnymen and The Smiths with the far-out stoner rock of Pink Floyd, their debut is unconventional by some standards as it is a meandering, expansive wall of sound, with tracks flowing in and out of one another like a series of rapid-fire dreams. Lashings of vocal harmonies and some breathtaking 70's guitar parts. 'For Your Bones' features layer upon layer upon layer of guitars that wash in and out underpinning a beautiful spaced out rock monster, described by The Sun newspaper as recalling 'The Who at their best'. At times the record exposes the bands niavity and there are some predictable moments as the record draws on its pyschedelic influences but in the wonderous 'Deadman' the Floyd-esque verse parts give way to a startlingly harmonious chorus reminscent of The Byrds. A band that are as powerful, if not more, live as they are on record we can only hope there is a follow up to their incredible debut, and to be able to hear and watch much more of them in years to come.

  You can purchase the phenomenal debut album here:

  Then We Begin on Amazon

  Or check out the bands' website here:

  Alfa 9.co.uk

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