Carl Barât solo @ Scala - London Kings X (Oct. 27, 2010)

I very excitedly attended my first solo Carl Barât gig on Wednesday night at the Scala in Kings Cross.  I thought I might pull the old blog out of it's sleepy summer slumber, just for this occasion.  I have to say, I was blown away... and I don't think I was alone.  I'm always unsure when Carl starts a new project how the collective masses and myself will feel about it... But his solo venture is pretty ace, as demonstrated by last night's performance. 

The show saw Carl pull out a few Dirty Pretty Things songs, such as Bang Bang, Deadwood, and Truth Begins as well as old Libertines numbers, such as Man Who Would Be King, Up The Bracket, Death On The Stairs, Time For Heroes, and closed with a rousing rendition of Don't Look Back Into The Sun, which saw the show's first crowd surfers crop up onstage.  More musical brilliance could be found in the songs from his new solo album.  I've been waiting to hear The Magus and The Fall live since I got my grimy fingers on the album (which was not easy, considering the bloody box set I ordered STILL hasn't been delivered to myself or anyone else!!!).  The Magus is something special, part circus, part pop, part punk, and so incredibly dancable.  I couldn't stop videoing the show, as I am fully aware of scores of people who could not attend and all demanded footage of different songs.  But it is quite difficult to dance and video, let me tell you.  The Fall is different than most things Carl has done.  The song is just the darkest of the dark, as he snarls the words into the mic and out towards the audience.  SHIVERS.  

The set was substantial, but left me quite sad at it's conclusion.  Always wanting more! 

VIDEOS (Geesus, I've never taken so many vids at once gig before!!!)  (Scroll down for pics)

Man Who Would Be King

Carve My Name

She’s Something
The Magus
Up The Bracket
Death Fires Come At Night (Still not totally clear on this song's title?)
9 Lives
The Fall
Truth Begins
Don’t Look Back Into The Sun

 

~Jules

Interpol's new music video for 'Lights'

Interpol have a new music video for their song 'Lights' from their upcoming album

You can watch it here for now, until it makes its way to youtube.  It is also available for HD download.

It is quite visually pleasing.  I really really enjoy art films, etc.  But, to be honest, I'm not quite sure what the director of this video was going for, message-wise.  It seems completely independent of Interpol's song, but I suppose that is subjective!

The Juliets- The Juliets Album Review

   

Ok, so we've been gone for a while, but we were busy graduating from uni and such.  Now that we are back in the states for the summer and working, our concert schedule has become blank.  That certainly doesn't mean that I've taken a break from the music scene.  I tend to spend my summer researching new bands, so I have something different to listen to.  One of the bands that I have come across this summer is The Juliets.

The Juliets is a classical indie pop band from Detroit who remind me of the growing baroque chamber pop scene in London. Their self-titled debut features a wide variety of styles and sounds and really showcases the band's various abilities.   The album starts out strong with the happy and up-tempo track, 'Sweetheart,' which makes good use of their string section, in a rather surprising way.  The song is wonderfully layered and it took me a few listens to separate each of the individual instruments.    Next up is 'The Letter,' which begins slow, but quickly picks up to a catchy pop beat.  The song is a bit too repetitive for my liking, but to be fair, it is an indie pop song.

The third track and the band's first single is 'This Just In,' whose violin intro makes my heart flutter.  It reminds me a bit of an Irish folk song, especially when it slows down  mid-song for a bit of crooning.   The next song, 'Sunday Song,' is in fact a perfect song for a Sunday, with its slow and sombre sound.  However, about a minute and twenty seconds in the song has a brief screamo interlude, which caught me off guard, and not in a good way.  As a whole I really like the song, but it could really do without the screaming outburst. 

One of my favourite tracks on the album is 'Rimbaud and Verlaine,' though I am a bit biased as I've been on a Rimbaud kick as of late. The song is driven by the perfect combination of drums and violin and manages to be sentimental and cynical at the same time.  The album concludes with 'Drive You Hope,' which is indie pop perfection as it is cute and makes me want to dance, perhaps even waltz.

Check out The Juliets Here

~Casey Shea

Carlos D leaves Interpol

We're back!  (Although still probably a bit sparse this week...)

We have returned with a good news/bad news situation for you... or at least for fans of Interpol.  Good news?  Interpol have finished recording their new album.  Bad news?  Carlos D it seems, has left the band following the record's completion. 

From Interpol's website:

Dear fans,

As some of you have surely heard, Interpol has completed it's new album.
It was recorded at Electric Lady Studios, New York, and mixed with Alan Moulder at Assault and Battery, London.
The four of us poured our collective heart into this music and we are very proud and excited to share it.
It's a heavy record. But we're feeling limber; and we're going to carry it all around the world for you.
Touring begins this summer, so check here soon for announcements and show dates.

There is more:
Sadly, Carlos will not be joining us.
After the completion of the album, Carlos informed the rest of us that he would be leaving the band. He has decided to follow another path, and to pursue new goals. This separation is amicable, and we whole-heartedly wish him great happiness and success. We will remain, as always, deeply respectful fans of this blazingly talented individual.

We can tell you that we have some very exciting new recruits joining us on the road. So stay tuned - we will promptly be revealing the identities of these illustrious players.
We eagerly await the opportunity to reconvene with you all
- the greatest fans known to Rock.

Thank you.
Interpol

Weekly music news!

From The Guardian

Malcolm McLaren's funeral procession (April 22nd) paraded through a packed Camden High St. and was attended by 'punk royalty', including members of the Sex Pistols, Adam Ant, Bobby Gillespie and Bob Geldof.

The Fratellis have pretty much hinted they are splitting up.

Hole have announced a small string of US tour dates!  Their new album, Nobody's Daughter, is out today (26th) in the UK!  (And tomorrow, 27th in the US).

Mystery Jets' new album, Serotonin, will be released July 5th!  NME has the tracklisting here!

This past Friday The Rime of the Modern Mariner film (narrated by Carl Barat and scored by Anthony Rossomando) premiered as part of the East End Film Festival.  Music from the film was performed live by members of Babyshambles (Drew McConnell) and Klaxons (Jamie Reynolds and Steffan Halperin) with Anthony in charge. There are some lovely photos here!  Carl Barat was also in attendence and was apparently up for a few live songs.  He sang the old Libertines song, 'Anything But Love', and rumour has it that 'We'll Meet Again' was performed no fewer than three times! haha

On a Libertines note... a video of baby-Libs has appeared on youtube.  The band play an old Libertines song, 'Love On The Dole'.

In support of their new single, 'Wake Up' Dee Plume and Sue Denim of Robots In Disguise took to the streets busking:

Rory leaves Kasms...

Photo from Kasms MySpace

Sorry this is a bit late, but, according to Kasms blog, Rory is leaving the band, stating:

"...I have decided to leave Kasms, bands are complicated, dynamics and relationships change over the years you spend together in a band, sometimes for better, sometimes for worse. I've had a lot of good times in Kasms, it has been great spending time and making music with some of my oldest and dearest friends but the dynamic has changed heavily over the last year and I no longer feel comfortable in my surroundings and have decided to concentrate on my other creative persuits, such as recording bands. I may start making more music at some point but have no idea in what capacity at the moment.


Lot's of love to the rest of the band, I hope Kasms continue to make great music and play great shows. Also, without being too corny, thanks to anyone who came to see us play and bought our records, it was a nice surpise when it turned out people liked the music we were making!"

It does not, however, appear as though this is the end of Kasms.  The band lineup remains with Rachel Mary Callaghan, Gemma Fleet, and Scott R Walker.  Victoria Smith is to play drums, at least at their Camden Crawl gig.  And apparently, she is "shit hot."  We look forward to that then!

Babyshambles confusion!

Sorry, but this pic seemed oddly appropriate...

Confusion reigns as Pete Doherty randomly changes Babyshambles line-up.

Various sources and fans have mentioned the absence of Drew McConnell and Adam Ficek from the 'Babyshambles' gig last night (20th).  There is currently a running thread on the FDW forum RE what the hell is going on.

Though I would stress that this is all quite speculative as to how permenant this new line-up is, as Pete was billed for a solo show.  However, Babyshambles' guitarist, Mick Whitnall was present while the other two members were not.

Earlier today, Adam posted on his twitter hinting that he was just as confused as Babyshambles fans.  So no news there.  NME has a report as well, but with very little conclusion except to confirm that fans, and seemingly the rest of the band, are confused as well.

With the annoucement of the future Libertines reunion it had been both reported and then denied that Babyshambles had broken up.  However, at present there is no confirmation on whether:
A) Babyshambles has broken up
B) Babyshambles has a new line-up
C) Babyshambles remains unchanged in the long run.

Apologies for posting nothing but other peoples' confusion.

~Jules

Weekly music news!

Blur have released their first material in seven years!  The single, 'Fool's Day', was put out on limited release as part of Record Store Day.  But you can download it for FREE from Blur's website!

Carl Barat has been interviewed by The Observer regarding The Libertines reunion, amongst many other things!
Barat has also recorded a song called 'Let's Get Fucked' for Russell Brand's new film, Get Him To The Greek.  Jarvis Cocker has also contributed three songs!

Supposedly Pete Doherty's currently incarcerated manager is trying to get The Libertines as a whole to participate in Soccer Six, the charity football game featuring celebrities playing to raise money for Samaritans.

Kate Jackson, former frontwoman of The Long Blondes, has appeared on MySpace with a new song!

NME is reporting that several UK bands have been missing performances abroad, most notably The Cribs missing their slot at Coachella.

The Paddingtons and Adam Green collaboration song, 'Lady Boy', was released this week.  The song was co-written with Anthony Rossomando and is inspired by Adam Green's encounter with a Paddingtons' fan in Hull.  The Lady Boy Tapes EP has been released on vinyl, but can also be purchased digitally.

Adam Green is to host his first art exhibition in New York on April 22nd-24th at Morrison Hotel Gallery (formerly CBGBs).  The exhibition, entitled Teen Tech, will display his 'caricatures of cartoons'-style.  Teen Tech will run concurrent with his NY tour dates, on the 23rd and 24th.

You Say Party! We Say Die!'s drummer has passed away...

You Say Party! We Say Die! live in Nottingham, 2007

You Say Party! We Say Die!'s drummer, Devon Clifford, has passed away this morning after suffering a brain hemmorage while onstage in Vancouver.

There's not much more to say, but there are a few more details here.  It is currently unknown how this will affect their current tour supporting their new album, XXXX.  Assuming it is postponed or cancelled, I will post any updates.

Weekly music update to follow tomorrow, as YSP! WSD! is one of my favorite bands and thought this sad news deserved its own post out of respect.

~Jules

The Paddingtons @ O2 Academy (2) - April 11th, 2010

Photos from my flickr, Horrorshow!

For some reason I thought it'd be a good idea to run over to Islington to see The Paddingtons on a Sunday night.  I'm now exhausted, but of course it was a good idea! 

The Paddingtons seemed a bit sleepy at first, with guitarist (Josh Hubbard) questioning, "This is London, right?" or something to that effect.  It seemed as though the excitable crowd managed to quickly bring about the  band's change from indifference to their usual intensity. The Paddingtons played new songs, such as 'Walking In The Rain', 'Wrong Un', 'Pretty Pity' and 'Consequence' off of their new release, The Lady Boy Tapes E.P.  Which is, incidently, OUT TODAY.  I was a little disappointed that they didn't play 'Lady Boy', but what're you gonna do without Adam Green  being present, I suppose.  I did, however, spot ex-Dirty Pretty Things member, Didz Hammond, in the audience on my way out.  You too can spot Didz here, in The Paddingtons video for the song 'Lady Boy'.

The band also played old favorites, such as 'Panic Attack', '50 to a £', and 'Tommy's Disease'.  'Punk R.I.P.' sounded particularly good live, although I maintain '21' is the Paddingtons song to hear live, as it has an unbeatable shambolic all-in quality.  By the time they got to 'Sorry' the feisty crowd had created a moshpit and invaded the stage, only to be pulled off in time for an encore.  Tom was shouting the lyrics with his eyes squeezed shut and Josh was pulling the best faces as the overwhelmingly-male moshpit scrambled onstage.  The band are great at interacting with their audience, and all but invite the punters onstage at every Paddingtons show I've ever been to!  Anyways, the show was genius, as usual.  And I need some sleep.

~Jules

Watch videos (or scroll down for pics):

50 to a £

Stand Down
Worse For Wear
Punk R.I.P.