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Sailing Sound proudly presents Kate Ross, a great new talent in the world of music journalism. Check out Kate's Top 20 for February 2010, for Sailing Sound. Every month Sailing Sound chooses 20 up-and-coming artists, currently working the live circuit for its Top 20. " For me, going to gigs is by far the best thing about music, so it gives me great pleasure to be able to recognise their tenacity and talent through the features below and to encourage as many people as possible to go and hear them play live" Kate Ross. If you want to know more what these artists are up to, just hit MORE.
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I’m inclined to agree with a Guardian review made of pop outfit Tough Love, citing them ‘the Afrobeat Scissor Sisters’, since both bands produce stylised yet radio-friendly pop. However, Tough Love’s tribal drumming, chanting and Eastern-inspired rhythms, evident on tracks like ‘Stress’ and ‘Film of My Life’, as well as the wonderful glam-Victorian costumes set it apart as something different altogether. This theatrical self-presentation doesn’t exactly compliment Tough Love’s music so much exaggerate its eclecticism, since whilst the tribal influence is clearly a dominant force, the subjectivity is very much within the realms of pop, making it a compelling listen.
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One of the most bona fide garage bands you’re likely to hear this side of the twenty-first century, Thee Vicars is a four-piece nostalgia trip for any enthusiast of the likes of The Sonics or the 13th Floor Elevators. Even their records sound as though they’re analogue-recorded. The tight guitar sounds at times can reflect a mod-type clarity, but then the pace suddenly picks up and the bawling vocals rush in to dispel any notions of Thee Vicars as simply a tribute to late 1960s beat rock n roll. The album, ‘Psychotic Beat’ is out now on Dirty Water Records.
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I first glimpsed Bubblegum Screw skulking around the basement of the Royal George pub off Charing Cross Road. Tarted up to the nines in snakeskin jeans and glittery scarves, they oozed a charisma that was perfectly reflected in their set of decadent and dirty rock n roll. The Stooges, New York Dolls, Dead Boys and Ramones are all clear influences, dragged by the heels into the twentieth-century and executed with style and swagger. Their trademark song might be called ‘Rock N Roll Loser’, but there’s no way it can possibly be about them. A fine live band with boots, blouses and balls of steel.
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It is difficult to identify a suitable band to which you can justifiably compare Altercation. Though their set-up is clearly influenced by grunge standards like Nirvana and Hole, at times it is also possible to get the slightest hint of Blondie and, at times, the dreamy quality of Nina Courson’s gorgeous vocals almost sound like The Primitives’ vocalist, Tracy Tracy or maybe even Stevie Nicks. The band’s latest EP release, ‘Dress Up’ unites these contrasting elements, and the title track in particular is a rather beautiful rock ballad that leaves a lasting impression.
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Duo Kat Atlas is comprised of Andy Marr and Emily Hardwicke, two hard-working and talented musicians who write thoughtful and sincere acoustic-driven pop. What is perhaps most striking about Kat Atlas is the brightness and clarity of the songs, which is demonstrated particularly well on newest tracks ‘Last One Home’, ‘Family Secret’ and ‘Always on My Mind’, all produced by Sailing Sound’s Andrew Neelands. The compositions are tight, the songs brimming with catchy melodies and lyrical hooks. The vocals are earnest and articulate which lends the lyrics a sweetness that is matched by their content, especially on ‘Family Secret’.
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The Dead Roads are a rhythm and blues rock quartet based in London whose earnest lyrics and slow rock n roll shuffles make for an assured and melodic pop rock sound. One of the most noticeable features of The Dead Roads is the prominent bass-line that races through tracks like ‘Don’t Look Too Far’ and ‘Luck’, allowing the songs to develop and crescendo and then wind down without upsetting the pace of the songs. Crisp and clean guitars along with the smooth and effortless vocals of lead singer, Dan Clark lend the band a mellow and laid-back charm.
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Hiroshamour is just as compelling as their name makes out, producing darkly psychedelic rock harnessing all the self-awareness of goth with a supreme understanding of industrial metal. The outcome is a hybrid of the ambient guitar-craft associated with bands like Pink Floyd with the apocalyptic onslaught of heavy metal. The guitar spirals skittishly in tracks like ‘Fever’, a relentless debacle with the sound effects used, which amplify the swirling layers of gothic noise. Phil Honey Jones’ banshee vocals arguably operate as another instrument in this set-up, adding to the ambient mystique which lies at the heart of Hiroshamour. This, and the explosive, staccato drumming teamed with a powerhouse of a bass player manage to execute a surprisingly elegant result.
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Literally meaning ‘rearing stallion’ in Hungarian, Agaskodo Teliverek refer to their unique brand of Screamo-Electro surf-rock as ‘Psycho goulash’ (which is also the title of the most recent album of 2008). Incorporating kaleidoscopic, itsy-bitsy keys with shamanic vocals, the hyperactive guitars skip over metallic, tin-can beats to create a totally original wall of sound. Live, this is maximised ten-fold. One of the band’s killer singles, The Gay Hussar is joyous dance-party of a tune that you just can’t stand still to. Unlike anything you’ve ever heard before, Agaskodo Teliverek is achingly cool.
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Bo Ningen is responsible for producing some of the most mesmerising and theatrical music I’ve ever heard, but it is also amongst the most difficult to describe. The band has referred to the psychedelic quality of its music, and this is certainly true of the serrating and twirling guitars which both filter through and also add to the built-up layers of beautiful acid-rock noise. It sounds futuristic and highly experimental yet it is undeniably drenched in the influences of the past. Whilst Bon Ningen is obviously best experienced live, the band’s four-track EP, ‘Koroshitai Kimochi’ (2009) captures their sound admirably.
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Tan Hauser Gate are a great example of modern and, at times, starkly electronic indie with prog-rock undertones, articulate vocals and oscillating melodies that rise and fall with the narrative in the lyrics. Stand-out track, ‘A Little Piece of You’ is accompanied by a stylish film-noir type video which is well worth a watch. ‘School’, however, sounds like a track by the Kaiser Chiefs of Blur, and uses its ‘Learn your lessons well’ refrain very effectively to create an interesting and catchy observation on the 9 to 5 day. A tight and accomplished live act .
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Industrial metal outfit XES_1 mix heavy guitars and aggressive vocals with 80s-esque electronic sampling to produce a sound which is pretty unconventional for what on the surface would seem to be just another metal band. However, XES_1 resist the temptation to overindulge with their sampling so when it is used it’s executed well, and the forceful drumming of Kelvis anchors the sound and she sets the pace for their music rather than just keeping time. Their debut album, ‘Insane Voice’, released in March last year, received some very positive feedback from publications like Kerrang, and includes an interesting version of Duran Duran’s ‘Wild Boys’ which is certainly worth a listen.
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S.C.U.M is without a doubt one of the most hypnotic bands I’ve ever had the pleasure of seeing live. Taking their name from would-be Warhol assassin Valerie Solanas’ 1968 manifesto, Society for Cutting Up Men, S.C.U.M is suitably androgynous, mysterious and wildly feral. The fact that Industrial pioneers Throbbing Gristle is looking to collaborate with S.C.U.M should tell you something about how intense and dystopian this band is. Though associations have been made with the recent Dark Rock scene centred around East London, mere seconds into ‘Visions Arise’ or one of their ‘Signals’ as the band calls them (‘Warsaw’ and ‘Berlin’) it becomes clear that S.C.U.M is looking to confuse easy classification rather than fit into it.
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If you want to see a band that truly embodies the immediacy and vitality of live music, look no further than the total sensory onslaught that is garage punk rockers The MooN. At times, the guitar sounds like it’s chuckling, the perfect counterpart to the incendiary behaviour of Man in The MooN, Joe Moon, whose role in the band is ‘Vocals and floor cleaning, audience biting’, a fairly accurate description of his feral stage-play, a strangely mesmerising collision of Nick Cave and Iggy Pop with Raw Power and gritty vocals to match. The buzz-saw rhythms and swinging bass-lines on ‘Something’s Name Is Joe’ propel everything towards a riotous self-destruction that luckily leaves every band member in tact. Highly flammable material!
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We Are Tokyo is an exciting Bristol-based band indie-electro outfit whose blend of energetic electro and accomplished song-writing yields some highly sophisticated results. The band’s use of synthesizers gives the songs a dance quality which is anchored down by catchy riffs, a true testament to the current 80s revival. The vocals too are especially memorable, the lyrics speaking of lost love and romance, and though comparisons can be made with the likes of Foals and Bloc Party, We Are Tokyo sounds far more elegant than either. ‘The newest single release from this impressive young band is called ‘Bullets’ and is available now as a free download.’
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Once dubbed ‘Scotland’s answer to the New York Dolls’ by NME, it’s no exaggeration to say that The Vivians are one of the best live bands in London right now. Combining influences that hail both the heyday of the New York punk scene and the melodic guitar pop of the likes of Duran Duran, The Vivians certainly know how to write exciting, memorable and yet by no means predictable rock songs and their live shows are quite rightly starting to gain them some notoriety. Twin guitars spiral amongst one another over razor-sharp drumming and juicy bass-lines, all held together by enigmatic vocals delivering playful and interesting lyrics. Good luck getting these tracks out of your head after hearing them.
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Producing fun electro-pop with cool Human League-style female backing vocals and soaring synths, Rescue Cat is a stylish and interesting project. Commenting on anything from social networking (‘Tom is My Only Friend’) to drug addiction (‘£10 Bag’), the combination of elements brought together by Rescue Cat is best experienced live. The backing-vocals are sultry and soulful and ‘Rescue Cat’ himself, frontman Robin, is charismatic and likeable. What’s more, the driving 80s synthesizers and keyboards propel the songs and give them great momentum, making Rescue Cat a pretty unique feline indeed. Catch the Cat at The Water Rats on 29th April.
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One of the most guttural and unashamedly raucous rock bands I’ve seen in recent months, The Hyenas make a hell of a lot of noise for a three-piece. Their most recent single, ‘Dirty Little Love Song’, is sleazy and sordid, and perfectly showcases frontman Paul Marks’ snarling vocals and Johnny Karto’s shredding guitar, which practically sets the air on fire with every chord, and is at the heart of the band’s sound. Whilst The Hyenas aren’t tapping into any new territory musically, they sound fantastic and always deliver live.
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Such is the post-punk appeal of O. Children that it would be easy to place their music with all the other virtual Joy Division tribute bands around at the moment. Luckily however, O Children are clearly aiming for something different, and succeed in bringing together a compelling marriage of chiming riffs, understated synthesizers and rich, intense vocals that is perfectly summed up in the band’s most recent single, ‘Dead Disco Dancer’. O. Children make you want to dance without inhibition but at the same time, it sounds so wonderfully atmospheric and laced with insouciance. It’s like Bauhaus stopping off at the local discotheque on the way to a church crypt.
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The Furbelows seem to occupy the grey area between serious song-writing and unashamed melodrama and with song titles like ‘Chill Out, Baby (It’s Only the End of the World)’ and ‘Freak Tornado Blues’, you can’t help but be curious. Luckily this translates brilliantly live and the whole outfit oozes a British silliness which is actually both confident but incredibly competent. Imagine what Monty Python might sound like crossed with Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and add a pinch of Talking Heads and you might be on the right lines. ‘Pleasure Machine’ is a wonderful song and one of the best things I’ve heard all year.
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Currently recording their debut album in London’s Air Edel studios, Katalina Kicks create slick alt-rock with stadium rock guitar riffs and power chords aplenty. Katalina Kicks are clearly a hard-working bunch and it shows. The songs sound so polished even when listening to demo versions, demonstrating clean and clear song compositions and structure. ‘Killer’ is a searing The Killers’ ‘Hot Fuss’ style anthem that soars through the speakers with precision and prowess. ‘Supernatural’ is darker in tone but still maintains the aura of understated yet effective rock that make Katalina Kicks so impressive.
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