A Night I Don't Remember Happening

Some of my favourite people and I hanging out in Shoreditch <3>

Festival Season

(source: tfs)

It's getting closer, I can smell it.

Kids In Glass Houses, Dirt

The first time I saw Kids In Glass Houses was back in 2007 when they played with Lostprophets and Enter Shikari at the Astoria as part of the NME awards tour. Although I was familiar with their music, it wasn’t until this gig that I began to really pay attention. One more support slot for Lostprophets, appearances at Reading Festival and two headline tours later, the rest is history. I am completely hooked. This is not surprising when you consider how likeable they are; great live sound, enthusiastic stage presence, catchy music and they’re not too shabby on the eye either...As far as debut albums go, ‘Smart Casual’ was a pretty good effort. But I always felt from the beginning that this band had the potential to be a lot better that good, and new record ‘Dirt’ has proven me right. Now it may have a dirty mind, but this album drips of class at every angle.

In a similar fashion to ‘Smart Casual’, the album is opened with the fastest and heaviest song. ‘Artbreaker I’ and ‘Artbreaker II’ work well split up and placed as the introductory and conclusive tracks; they certainly ensure the album starts and ends with a bang. The beginning of the song slightly reminds me of ‘Everyday Combat’ by Lostprophets. By no means could that ever be a bad thing, the fact that they are starting to make songs at the same level as their fellow Welsh predecessors is a compliment in itself. ‘The Best Is Yet To Come’ is the first indication of the DIRTiness that is to follow. ‘Youngblood (Let It Out)’, a song about “getting it on” as vocalist Aled puts it, is probably the strongest song on the album, with its powerful chorus, loud lyrics and that distinguished guitar riff. ‘Matters At All’ and ‘Sunshine’ follow suit, proving to be a really decent rock songs. ‘Lilli Rose’ is most reminiscent of songs from their debut. It has a much poppier edge than all the others and reassures fans that fell in love with their original sound. ‘Giving Up’, a self-explanatory song covering themes of small-town attitudes where lacking ambition is prevalent, “you lie in the grief, you lie in the depression”. It’s a subject that a lot of people can relate to; it’s so spot on that it could even be written about the tiny town I am from. ‘For Better Or Hearse’ is the big party song...a real toe-tapping, sharp, swing number if you can overlook the pun.

I first heard ‘Undercover Lover’ on Radio 1 before I had heard the new album. I recognised Aled’s vocals so I knew it was them but because it’s a lot poppier than anything they’ve done before, I was secretly hoping it wasn’t. It’s a big song but I’m not convinced at just how well it works as a duet with Frankie from The Saturdays. However, there’s no doubt that this will give the song some extra attention and open up a whole new fan base. ‘Maybe Tomorrow’ also features guest vocals, this time from American punk rockers New Found Glory. This one is slightly more convincing. ‘Hunt The Haunted’ returns to familiar KIGH territory. Just like ‘Matters At All’ and ‘Youngblood’, it’s full of up-tempo, pop punk greatness. If it wasn’t for ‘The Morning Afterlife’, it would probably be my favourite. ‘Smart Casual’ didn’t feature any power ballads so I’m really glad they decided to breach into the unfamiliar and do one for this record. ‘The Morning Afterlife’ is a beautifully mastered tale about not taking moments for granted. I love how the acoustic and piano accompanied introduction gradually develops into a compelling ending, lead by Iain’s mighty guitar riff. It’s also refreshing to be able to hear a song that shows off Aled’s voice more and it soon becomes apparent that he is a much better vocalist than he perhaps gets credited for. He also pretty much sums up everything that is wrong with society in one line “When we're full we want to be empty”. In honesty, the first time I heard it I was quite stunned. It’s definitely the song that confirms every member of the band have improved as musicians. The youthful lyrical content apparent on Smart Casual has significantly matured; instead of singing about ‘Dancing All Night’ with ‘Girls’, Dirt approaches a more deep and meaningful tone, covering sombre topics such as depressing small-town attitudes and struggling with the problems that life throws at you.

Dirt may be a huge improvement on their first album, but what they have managed to keep constant is the amount of memorable songs that really stand out on their own. It’s what made their debut such a hit in the first place and it’s going to do even bigger things for this record. It’s obvious that they are in fact aiming for bigger things this time round, it looks like they’ve been taking notes from Lostprophets, Fall Out Boy, Paramore and any other big bands they’ve been on the road with. Their new sound is notably heavier with stadium sized choruses achieved by more dominant guitars, drums and vocals and as a result they have produced a record worthy of selling out big venues. This band were already on their way to becoming one of the biggest breakthrough bands in the U.K, but this record just put them well ahead of any competition.

Nasty Gal Vintage

Just bought these from Nasty Gal, a really cool vintage online store. I wanted to buy all the things below as well but had to draw the line somewhere...Check it out here: http://www.shopnastygal.com

(source: nastygal.com)

Reading & Leeds Festival 2010

(source:readingfestival.com)

What a line-up! I can't believe that most of my predictions were right. This year is going to be truly amazing.

Kids In Glass Houses New Album Released

Kids In Glass Houses' new album is finally released today. I've heard very good things about this record, can't wait to get my hands on it! In other exciting news, Reading & Leeds Festival tickets go on sale tonight at 6:45pm and some of line-up is released around the same time.

Predictions of who will be playing: Blink 182, Arcade Fire, Guns n' Roses/Libertines, My Chemical Romance, Lostprophets, Paramore, Pendulum, Julian Casablancas, MGMT, Ellie Goulding, Mumford & Sons, Tinie Tempah, Plan B, Yeasayer, 30 Seconds To Mars, Them Crooked Vultures (maybe), Laura Marling, The Maccabees, Foals, Biffy Clyro.

Who I wish would be there: Blink 182, Greenday, The Strokes, Muse, Lostprophets, Kids In Glass Houses, White Lies, General Fiasco, Vampire Weekend, Lykke Li, Florence, Pendulum, Deaf Havana, Gallows, The Big Pink, The Subways, The Gaslight Anthem.

MGMT, London 18/03/10

The last time I saw MGMT was at Reading Festival 2008. Their debut album ‘Oracular Spectacular’ had been released a year prior and was taking the music scene by storm. It’s undoubtedly an electrifying record and NME even named it the best of the year. At the festival, there were so many people eager to see this band that I could barely make it into the tent. Due to the hype surrounding them, I had very high expectations. However, the only thing that I seemed to have come away remembering was Andrew’s amazing technicolor dreamcoat outfit. Don't get me wrong, it was an entertaining show good show and the crowd loved every out of tune second, but they were either so off their faces or nervous (or both) they could hardly construct a song. However, instead of thinking they are a over-hyped piece of psychedelic poop, I decided not to let this performance affect my opinion of them and just put it down to alcohol/unnamed substances consumption and being overwhelmed at playing such a big show.

After almost two years of being away from the spotlight, the duo are finally back with a brand new album entitled ‘Congratulations’. Fortunately for me, they chose to show it off to the U.K at London’s Heaven Nightclub. It was weird going from seeing them two years ago within a crowd of 10,000 to standing in a tiny venue amongst only a few hundred people, but I wasn’t complaining. I was eager to see them up close and personal without any fancy props to hide behind. This time I can proudly say that they definitely proved their worth. Even though their set was mostly made up of new songs such as ‘Flash Delirium’ and album titled track ‘Congratulations’, the crowd were very encouraging and received the new material with enthusiasm. I was pleasantly surprised at just how good vocalist Andrew VanWyngarden’s voice sounded live. The new songs definitely seem to show it off a lot better. Amongst the set was a 12 minute track called ‘Siberian Breaks’ which Andrew describes as “an epic folk song’. It wasn’t really that folky, but it was still good all the same. All of the new songs come across as equally good, none of them seem to majorly stand out on their own (unlike the first album which featured a lot of radio friendly’ songs such as 'Kids', 'Time To Pretend' and 'Electric Feel'. I understand now why they confirmed that they’re not releasing any singles from this one.

Their onstage presence has noticeably matured over the last few years. There’s no awkwardness anymore, instead they seem comfortable, something that is portrayed through them constantly smiling at each other and the crowd. ‘Hmm I think we should have played that one last!’ was Andrew’s gratifying reply to the wild reception they received from playing ‘Time to Pretend’. Shortly after, they concluded their set with another new song (not ‘Kids’ like everyone in the room assumed), thanked the crowd and left the stage to a deserving ovation. As a result of not playing one of their biggest hits, the night ended with everyone simultaneously shouting ‘Kids’ in desperate hope for an unlikely second encore. There was slight chaos for a moment, but soon people got the hint, booed for a bit and then finally accepted it. Overall, a satisfying performance that perhaps would have been made better if they had played more of the familiar stuff, but then I guess if they had, that would have defeated the whole point of the gig.

New Band On The Block: General Fiasco

I haven't been this excited about a 'new' band in a very long time. I'm in love with their new single 'Ever So Shy'; the chorus is so damn infectious. I first heard about them when they supported One Night Only and The Enemy around two years ago. It has taken a lot of touring and patience, but it looks like they are finally getting the recognition they deserve. Can't wait to see them supporting Kids In Glass Houses at Koko next month.

Lostprophets, O2 Academy Brixton 11/02/10

Having already witnessed many impressive shows from Welsh rock stars Lostprophets in the past; I was intrigued to see if they would out-do themselves on this tour. They have all the desirable foundations to do it: fresh material, a new image and much bigger objectives. On 11th February 2010, they bought their spectacle to London and showed Brixton Academy how to party, proving that they were well up for the challenge.

As I predicted, they broke the ice with ‘If It Wasn’t For Hate We’d Be Dead By Now’, setting the mood fittingly for what was about to proceed. Excluding an early offering of regular concluder ‘Burn Burn’, the first part of the set is made up of songs from new album ‘The Betrayed’. This doesn’t seem to bother the crowd as they sing each song with great enthusiasm; as if they’d known them for years. ‘Darkest Blue’ and ‘A Better Nothing’ are received almost as well as the old classics.

It is obvious that the band have focused on the production element of this tour with raised platforms behind the drum-kit, dramatic intermissions between songs and striking, gloomy lights that suit the deliberately dark atmosphere. I usually prefer the band when they avoid the fancy props and just play to the crowd but it was refreshing to see something different to accompany the new album.

The surprise of the night was an electrifying rendition of The Prodigy’s ‘Omen’, which sent everyone into complete hysteria. It was shortly followed by two brutal performances of ‘Dstryr Dstryr’ and ‘Next Stop Atrocity’, notably the heaviest songs on ‘The Betrayed’. Up until this point, vocalist Ian Watkins had been uncharacteristically quiet, but as Liberation Transmission made an entrance with ‘Can’t Catch Tomorrow’, the band seemed to relax and soon began their usual banter with the crowd. The second half of the set sees the band become a lot more dynamic, especially expressed by keyboardist Jamie Oliver, who treats us to a rather splendid running man during new single ‘For He’s A Jolly Good Felon’.

By this time, chants of ‘Godzilla!’ had been echoing from the crowd for a good 15 minutes. After educating us of the soon to be renowned ‘Godzilla claw sign’, we were spoiled with an untidy but glorious ‘We Are Godzilla, You Are Japan’. The result was a very happy but somewhat flattened mob of fans. The next part of the show sent everyone into a mass sing-along as the catchy hooks and colossal choruses of ‘Where We Belong’ and ‘Rooftops’, shook our eardrums. Energy levels are kept constant as everyone shouts “1, 2, 3, GO!” and jumps in unison to ‘Last Train Home’. Just as I think the gig cannot possibly get any better, the band tear the room apart with the ever faithful crowd pleaser, ‘Shinobi Vs. Dragon Ninja’.

The show concludes with ‘The Light That Shines Twice As Bright’, a song that slightly loses the concentration of the crowd as it is the only slow tempo track on the set list. However, this is soon redeemed with a piercing, compelling ending. As the last verse commences, the stage is paraded into darkness, lit only by a blue glow as Ian Watkins stands alone singing a cappella into an epically eerie finish. The crowd hold their breath as he screeches his last words and throws his microphone to the ground before disappearing into the shadows. If that’s not a perfect ending to an incredible show, I don’t know what is.

Check out Clink Magazine: clinkmusicmagazine.com

Photographs by Marcus Maschwitz, check out more of his wicked stuff here: londonbandphotography.co.uk

Lykke Li & Kings of Leon

One of my all time favourite collaborations. For a moment I forgot just how beautiful this song really is.

Band Tees

(source: tfs, 10th muse, honey I stole your jumper, viktor vauthier, thecobrsnake, amplified)

Lostprophets added to Camden Crawl

Lostprophets and The Blackout will be headling Camden Roundhouse on 2nd May as part of Camden Crawl. The gig will be recorded by mtv and broadcast later that month. I'm so happy that Lostprophets are playing London again so soon. There really is a God!