Rockness Festival - Saturday 12th June

Saturday seemed the weakest day for Rockness this year, as far as lineup was concerned. With the main stage booked wall to wall with DJs (Laidback Luke, Annie Mac, Magnetic Man and of course headliners The Chemical Brothers) the onus fell on the Goldenvoice Arena (or "the big blue tent") to bring the best of new bands and established rock and indie acts to the festival.

Well and truly situated in the "up and coming" bracket of acts, I kicked my day of band watching off with a wonderful set from Dog Is Dead, whose Maccabees type bouncing guitars and swelling group vocals are the perfect cure for the post-Kasabian hangover. It's hard not to draw comparisons to the likes of Mumford & Sons and Fleet Foxes during a few quieter numbers. However it'd be too easy to play 'spot the influence' with these guys and when it comes down to it Dog Is Dead are soaring, sax infused jazz-indie - and a great live band.

Before taking to the stage for their early evening set, Jack Steadman of Bombay Bicycle Club promised me a new album (called 'A Different Kind Of Fix) by the end of August, and that they were putting the acoustic guitars of 'Flaws' away and plugging in amps once again. Bombay step on stage to find a packed out tent (the fact it was pouring with rain probably helped) and open with 'Magnet' - Jack and the lads doing what appears to be as close to moshing as a group of quite posh London boys can pull off without straining anything. With the crowd effectively acting as backup singers (it seems everyone in the tent knows every word) the four piece blast through most of the tracks from 2009's 'I Had The Blues But I Shook Them Loose' and throw in a couple of new tracks for good measure - 'Lights Out, Words Gone' is the best of three new outings. Album tracks like 'Cancel On Me', 'Dust On The Ground' and 'Evening/Morning' confirm Bombay as one of the best live acts playing their genre of music in the country. Ending on the double header of 'Always Like This' and 'What If' is a stroke of genius. During 'Always Like This' it's almost impossible not to cut some shapes and the crowd do just that while singing along to the guitar riff everyone was whistling and humming all weekend. The intense, driving rythm of 'What If' proves a great climax to a solid set. The end of August can't come soon enough.

A real favourite of mine, Frightened Rabbit could have quite easily closed the Goldenvoice Arena on Saturday night. Drawing an even bigger crowd than Bombay, the Selkirk five piece seem to be the ultimate Scottish festival band. Backstage, singer Scott told me, "It's 9PM and the crowd are probably pretty drunk so I think we're gonna play a pretty up beat set. Scottish people at festivals seem to love singing along to sweary choruses and we've got quite a few of those!" And so they step onstage to a rapturous welcome from a few thousand sozzled Scots and blast into 'The Modern Leper'. In a set which proved to be a "greatest hits" with no new tracks for people to stand and listen awkwardly, FRabbits cement their place in the upper echelons of Scottish live music. Scott Hutchinson's raw emotion shines through in songs which cover all the usual suspects of songwriting subjects (breakups, makeups, God.. the usual). 'The Lonliness And The Scream' is a joy to watch live - the "oh-woah oh woah" chorus is like something from a Coldplay gig. Equally the stomping 'Living In Colour' and 'Nothing Like You' has everyone in the packed tent bouncing up and down. 'Keep Yourself Warm' closes the set, a song as perfectly Scottish as a warm, metallic tasting can of Tennent's at a rainy festival... and it has a sweary sing along!

Closing the tent on Sunday night are straight up guitar rockers The Cribs. One Smiths member down now that Johnny Marr has left the band (one less Smith is always a good thing in my book), the Jarman brothers can return to their traditonal three piece set up. After opening with 'Cheat On Me' - the main single from fourth (and "sensible") album 'Ignore The Ignorant) - a leather jacketed Ryan Jarman jokes in his twangy Wakefield accent, "We're called Cribs. We're not Chemical Brothers, we're Jarman brothers" before launching into 'I'm A Realist'. A second light-hearted side swipe at the main stage headline Brothers, Ryan sings "Hey girls, hey boys, superstar DJs, here we go!" in a cloud of dry ice and feedback until the unmistakeable guitar riff of the band's breakthrough single 'Hey Scenesters' sends the crowd (though more modest in size than when Frightened Rabbit graced the stage) into a frenzy. Though less anarchaic than Cribs gigs of old (Ryan was once kicked out his own gig for crowdsurfing and famously punctured his liver after falling on a table of glass bottles at the NME Awards) the Wakefield trio still hold a sense of mischief onstage - Gary plays bass lying flat on his back for a while and Ryan ends the set with his guitar the worse for wear, while drummer Ross frequently stands on his kit. The set of course includes "the classics" - 'Our Bovine Public' 'Men's Needs' and 'We Were Aborted' go down a storm with those still in the tent and not watching the Chemical Brothers with their electronics and fancy light show. All in all The Cribs prove a highlight of the weekend; their guitar rock is a definite hit with those less inclined to watch a couple of guys play with laptops. And for the rest of the year? Ryan tells me, over a post show drink outside the tour bus, "We've got some stuff for a new album. We're just playing some shows now Johnny [Marr]'s left and we'll go into a studio after that, there's no pressure." After playing a set such as this, there really is no pressure on The Cribs as they look to album number five.

Rockness Festival - Friday 11th June

Rockness is the second biggest music festival in Scotland (apparently some weekend on an airfield in Balado is slightly bigger) and easily lives up to its claim by organizers that it's "the most beautiful festival in the world."

Due to a late arrival on site and a couple of catch-up cans of lager (which were still cool at this point) the first act of my weekend were Nero, or at least the one half of the duo that decided to turn up. The member of the dubstep/drum and bass DJs in attendance dropped tracks from the forthcoming debut album, remixes and reworks created in the past couple of years and ended on a raucous note with System of A Down and Rage Against The Machine before his time on stage ran out and his equipment was swarmed by roadies midway through current single 'Innocence'.

In their parka jackets and John Lennon sunglasses you could mistake Brother for an Oasis tribute band and, although I am a fan of their recorded material, they seemed to have more swagger than skill... Not unlike Oasis!

Two Door Cinema Club prove a highlight of the weekend. Their early evening set made for dramatic views down the Loch and the last blast of the day's sunshine added to their upbeat, perfectly formed, danceable indie-pop. The timid Northern Irish lads look like they've just left school but they seem to be able to work a fairly sizeable crowd like they've been at it for years.

Mark Ronson played a surprisingly good DJ set, proving pop music can indeed still be cool. His mix of ultra famous singles (Valerie, Ooh Wee et al) and lesser known mixes from across genres worked well and his years of experience behind the decks were obvious.

And so onto Friday night headliners Kasabian, the band most made the trip for (whether it be a 20 minute drive from Inverness or 12 hours in a bus from London). Opening with 'Club Foot' from their self titled debut, it was tricky to keep two feet on the ground even from my viewpoint beside the sound desk. A quick look around at the masses of people who had stumbled out of the campsite to see the band shows just how popular they are. The set consisted of classics (L.S.F, Empire and Shoot The Runner stood out as crowd favourites) and only two tracks from the forthcoming new album, Velociraptor!, including first single 'Switchblade Smiles' which was released on the eve of the festival. On stage guitarist/vocalist Serge resembles a modern day Slash and has his trademark Rambo style head scarf completed the ultimate rock band member look. Singer Tom Meighan parades back and forth on stage, occasionally throwing his arms open in a "let's be 'avin ya" style. Closing Friday night's headline set with 'Fire' - arguably the best festival sing along of the modern era - Kasabian seem to be at the height of their fame and it'll take Muse's Reading and Leeds performance to win back the status as ultimate British live rock and roll band. With flares, flags and crowdsurfers, for the first time in the few years I've been coming to Rockness it felt like a proper festival, worthy of challenging T In The Park's grasp on Scottish music festivals.

Twin Atlantic - Inverness Ironworks

Twin Atlantic have experienced a rapid rise to fame most Scottish bands can only dream of, and only a handful have actually achieved. The Glasgow quartet first stormed to my attention after supporting Biffy Clyro at their sold out show at this exact venue three years ago. They must have realised at that point that supporting some of the biggest bands in the world (Blink-182, Angels and Airwaves, My Chemical Romance et al) would no doubt boost their popularity, and this is confirmed no end with the Ironworks packed out to capacity (a later tweet from the band confirmed all tickets kept back on the door had sold).
However it hasn't exactly been an easy road to travel for the band to make such gains. In a recent interview singer Sam Mctrusty (the most trustable name in the business) voiced his frustrations at playing 30 minute sets every night. On the eve of releasing "debut" album 'Free' (apparently 2009's 'Vivarium' was a "mini-album") Twin Atlantic have stepped out from the torture of watching bigger bands from the wings and into the spotlight, playing in front of packed houses most nights and indeed selling out tonight's show.
Taking stage are four far less hairy Scots than on each of the many occasions I have seen Twin previously, it would seem a slightly more approachable look perhaps helps on the road to success. Opening with the double header of new album singles 'Free' and 'Edit Me' it is plain to see the power pop rockers have honed their live show in recent months. Where before they seemed to throw songs together on a setlist before coming on stage in a "we've written 8 or so good songs, here they are" sort of way, there is a feeling of consideration for both new album tracks and older songs which this crowd recognise instantly.
Although the album is not out for another few hours, many at the gig seem guilty of internet misbehaviour (I don't condone any illegal downloading) as they sing along to tracks like 'Time For You To Stand Up' and 'The Ghost of Eddie' - a personal favourite of mine from the album, if Dave Grohl had grown up in Glasgow the Foo Fighters would sound a lot like this track.
Of course "the classics" are received with more enthusiasm than this venue's seen in a long time. 'Lightspeed' 'Audience and Audio' and 'What Is Light, Where Is Laughter' all have great cases to the title of 'Best Live Scottish Song' and the band's unmistakable nationalism is clear when Sam Mctrusty asks for a Scotland flag to be passed to the stage. As a chant of 'Scotland! Scotland!' goes up and it all very nearly becomes extremely cringeworthy Sam exclaims "This is turning into something from a f**king Runrig concert!"
Ending a triumphant night with the anti-American 'You're Turning Into John Wayne' Twin Atlantic exit the stage safe in the thought that a new chapter of the band's life has begun. They have taken the first steps to real stardom with this new air they seem to have about them, a serious approach to making music their full time occupation. And anyway, I'm sure even Biffy Clyro played more than their fair share of support slots.
9/10


'Free' is out now on Red Bull Records

Glasvegas, The Loft, Forres

Remember Glasvegas? I know with the untamable amounts of music available these days it's tricky not to forget bands after one album but Glasvegas seem to have a resonance with me (probably because I have a 6 foot poster of their debut album's artwork on my bedroom wall, but that's besides the point). Back with an almost finished second album entitled 'Euphoric Heartbreak' and new Swedish drummer, Glasvegas have hit the road once again. However rather than playing Wembley, Hampden and the Millenium Stadium like their last U.K tour, this time they're playing off the beaten track with intimate gigs in places like Orkney, Dunoon, Troon and tonight - The Loft, Forres.
James Allan steps onstage all in white, a welcome change from his usual funeralesque 'man in black' image, and immediately the Glasgow (of course) quartet blast into a track from the forthcoming album, 'The World Is Yours' - a frenzy of their classic wall-of-noise guitar effect used so much in the self titled debut but with an additional newfound technicality.
It's impossible not to notice James on stage. He has all the swagger of Liam Gallagher (except not with the same cockiness and a whole lot more talent) and seems lost in the songs as he stoops and bends around the microphone. His new look does not, thankfully, include a new pair of sunglasses as his jet black Ray Bans stay on throughout the set - very rock 'n' roll. As the gig goes on he strips to a white tank top (or "wife-beater" as they're known) to complete the East End of Glasgow look. After he stands on his monitor and stares around the room, as if sizing up the crowd before downing his beer during the opening riff of 'Geraldine' - soundtrack to winter 2008 and BBC's Sportscene. It is, of course, a true man-off-the-street anthem written from the point of view of a Glaswegian social worker. Along with 'Daddy's Gone' and 'It's My Own Cheating Heart That Makes Me Cry' it is Scottish songwriting at it's very best.
So what's different about the new material? The addition of drummer Jonna Löfgren (okay, i copied and pasted her surname, you got me!) is a vast improvement. Don't get me wrong, Caroline McKay's caveman beats helped make some of the aforementioned alternative Scottish national anthems perfectly simple, however a change was needed for album number two. Nowhere is this more clear than mid-way through the show as 'Shine Like Stars' makes it's tentative first steps out of the rehersal/recording studio and onto the stage. Featuring a brilliant, up tempo beat from the Swede (it's easier if i call her 'The Swede', it saves more pasting) it is clear Glasvegas have decided to take their music to a catchier level - keeping from plodding along like 'Glasvegas' - the album - did at times.
The Glaswegians end with a quadruple of first album tracks that sees 'Flowers and Football Tops' join the others in becoming rightful national treasures. The ultimate fighting song 'Go Square Go' is gloriously fiesty and gets a chant along and the heart wrenching 'Daddy's Gone' features the band stop playing for two choruses as the mostly intoxicated crowd sing about how James' Dad left when he was a kid - it can't be good for his self esteem, having 500 people singing "he's gone, he's gone, he's gone" over and over at him. After a couple of minutes of mostly incoherent chat to the crowd (my East End dialect isn't very good) James gets the sound guy to come on for a cameo appearance ("he's aw-weys bin wi' us, right fae the start"). They finish with the debut's closer 'Ice Cream Van' which would usually have been rather a dull last song had it not been for one last burst from all members.
Gallantly leaving the stage to beery cheers and applauds, the band can finish the album knowing it stands the live test in intimate surroundings. I for one am extremely excited for 'Euphoric Heartbreak ' and a second Mercury nomination may be on its way. Now come on, all together now - "A WON'T BE THE LONELAY WAN, SITTIN OAN MA OWN UN SAD"

Kris Drever, John McCusker + Roddy Woomble

The Holy Trinity of modern day traditional Scottish music (Kris Drever, John McCusker and Roddy Woomble) are currently on a mini tour, the last of their performances coming off the back of their debut album together, 2008’s ‘Before The Ruin’. Tonight’s attempt by The Ironworks to change their venue from the cavernous space it is to a moody, dimly lit folk club is well appreciated: tables and candles make a nice addition to the vast venue.
Hailing from the Orkney Isles, Kris Drever is a man whose voice betrays his years. To listen to his gruff, baritone voice would lead you to think he is one of last century’s traditional folk singers; however he is more of a contemporary, with his music branching out with a more Americana and occasionally Bluesy tinge. He opens tonight with ‘Steel and Stone (Black Water)’ from his solo debut ‘Black Water’ with John McCusker accompanying him on fiddle and Roddy Woomble doing what he does best on stage: looking around awkwardly and (probably) regretting he never took up an instrument so he could join in. Drever's intricate guitar work is made to look effortless and he is obviously a man who knows his trade. It’s not until ‘Into The Blue’ from the trio’s album that Roddy Woomble (best known for being the singer in Idlewild, arguably the most consistent Scottish indie band of the last fifteen years) displays his dulcet tones. His songwriting is almost poetic at times, and the one constant within it is his great ability to write the perfect chorus. With Idlewild I am certain there is not one bad chorus written and his transition to Scottish folk is seamless. What follows is a set of songs built up over the last five years or so under various projects and solo albums. ‘My Secret Is My Silence’ and ‘Waverly Steps’ from Roddy Woomble’s first venture into folk music fit in perfectly between a selection of songs from both of Drever’s albums.
Even John McCusker, more suited to backing bands up and guest starring on albums, gets his moment in the spotlight as the Idlewild man makes his way to the side of a stage. Drever and McCusker are left to show off their musical talents and the chemistry between them is evident as they blast their way through a number of “wee tunes” that John has written for various people over the past few years. However before the tables are thrown aside and The Ironworks turns into a full blown ceilidh Roddy comes back on stage to “bring the mood back down”. He is the ultimate shy, composed (some would say awkward) artist. He sits with his legs crossed in the middle of the stage, staring at the ground or playing with his hair. He is renowned for standing side stage when he plays with Idlewild when an instrumental section is in full swing, although there is none of that mid-song wandering tonight.
Ending the expertly chosen set with my personal favourite of the trio’s ‘Moments Last Forever’, Drever’s Pogues inspired ‘Poor Man’s Son’ and the delicate ‘Stuck In Time’, the three slide off stage with the promise of Woomble returning in January with a solo show and a new album. One must hope they return all together in the near future with a new album of their own.
8/10

The Xcerts - Scatterbrain

Sometimes an album is not just a group of people’s musical talent organized into 12 tracks. Sometimes the production process takes over a band’s creative flair and curves it into the producer’s own idea of what makes a good album. The Xcerts’ second full length ‘Scatterbrain’ is one of these albums. Thankfully however the producer in question, Mike Sapone, is one of modern rock music’s greats. From everything Brand New have released to the classic Taking Back Sunday album ‘Where You Want To Be’, via Public Enemy and The Early November, Sapone can be accredited to some of the decade’s finest rock albums. And now for the next decade; who knows what the next ten years will bring to rock music. However with albums like ‘Scatterbrain’ to kick us off it’s evident the next ten will be as good as the last.
The ‘proper’ opening/title track (prior to 'Scatterbrain' there is a minute of warped feedback, loud-hailer vocals and general haphazard noise) can be interpreted in two ways. Firstly it could be that one of Sapone’s last albums - Brand New’s 'Daisy' left behind a couple of demos and a load of equipment especially for the British trio to pick up where they left off… it seems unlikely but the sound is uncanny. Secondly this could be a sign of things to come: The Xcerts have ‘matured’. As singer Murray Macleod says in the press release “The first album was – as for most new bands – something of a 'greatest hits' from the band's early years” – a perfect blend of teenage angst, catchy melodies and most importantly a selection of great choruses whilst still retaining an edgier side. ‘Scatterbrain’ has done well do move on from ‘In The Cold Wind We Smile’. However where ‘In The Cold Wind…’ got the mixture of bassy riffs and melody spot on within each song ‘Scatterbrain’ struggles to hold the two as close together. Tracks like ‘Scatterbrain’, ‘Distant Memory’ and ‘Hurt With Me’ are fast paced, scuzzy and slightly all over the place, whereas ‘He sinks. He Sleeps’ and closer ‘Lament’ are shoe gazingly melodic. Both singles ‘Slackerpop’ and ‘Young (Belane)’ would have fit in well on ‘In The Cold Wind…’. Easily the catchiest and most likely song to get stuck in your head ‘Slackerpop’ will have you singing “I’ll be your man, I’ll be your mannequin” for hours.
Murray sums the album up pretty well: “This is an album lover’s album for the fans of the band. It’s not about a particular track or single and should be listened too as an entire body of work with an open mind. We hope everyone falls in love with it like we have.” I always knew The Xcerts had an album like this in them ever since the first time I saw them in a dingy local venue in front of about 50 people. Their live performances always did have an edge to them, a sort of sinister addition that when recording the band just couldn't seem to capture … until this album. ‘Scatterbrain’ – a brooding album album which patchily combines restless, angsty break downs with melancholic melodies.

Laura Marling - I Speak Because I Can

Laura Marling is part of the indie-folk revolution that has gripped new music for the last couple of years. It started when a small group of friends started helping each other out with their music; giving each other support slots at their gigs and playing various weird and wonderful instruments on their albums. This group of friends from Wimbledon now make up the majority of some of the best albums from the last three or four years. It consists of Laura Marling, Mumford & Sons, Jamie T, Noah and the Whale and Johnny Flynn.

Laura Marling’s second album ‘I Speak Because I Can’ is the deepest, darkest and most mysterious of the lot. Complete with new “take me seriously” hair (her once pixie-like blonde locks have been dyed pitch black) this brooding masterpiece is like taking the darker tracks from Mumford & Sons’ outstanding ‘Sigh No More’ and adding the deepest Joni Mitchell vocals over it. Marling describes it as being based on “responsibility, particularly the responsibility of womanhood.” There are no real light hearted tracks, unlike her outstanding debut ‘Alas, I Cannot Swim’ which was scattered with cheery acoustic folk, although ‘the mature album’ seems too petty a judgement for such a good album, but it does sum it up plainly.

Produced by Ethan Johns (Kings of Leon, Ray LaMontagne, and sadly THAT abomination of a Paolo Nuitini album – it still puts shivers down my spine) and with arguably the best new band of 2009 as her backing band (Mumford & Sons) it was destined to be a hit. If she wrote ‘Alas, I Cannot Swim’ when she was 16 and, for want of a better word, ‘immature’ in her songwriting then this was always going to be ‘the mature album’ and with the added load of a break up with Noah and the Whale singer (the band Marling started out with) it was destined to gloom… however Marling seems to do gloomy better than she does content!

Live ‘I Speak…’ is outstanding. Real hairs on the neck stuff. She is a true modern troubadour and her haunting voice and her solo guitar is fantastic. Highlights include the title track, the downright spooky ‘Devil’s Spoke’, ‘Goodbye England (Covered in Snow)’ which is probably as close to cheery as the album gets, and ‘Rambling Man’

With Mumford & Sons beginning work on their new album, Laura Marling trying to get another album out by September and Jamie T back on the gigging scene, all I can say is viva la indie-folk-revoloution!

'I Speak Because I Can' is out now on Virgin Records.

NME Awards Tour 2010 - Glasgow Barrowlands

The NME has been at the forefront of new music for the last 60 years, but with new music becoming so readily available online, the magazine has kind of taken a back seat in the past decade or so. However the NME Awards Tour has always been an opportunity for NME to prove its worth in taste in new music and this year’s lineup is no different. The tour usually comprises of three of the best new artists around at the moment, and one fairly established band that NME have supported for a while.

New York quartet The Drums get the opening slot, playing tracks from both their outstanding ‘Summertime!’ E.P and their forthcoming album. They’ve been described by most people as “like Joy Division covering The Beach Boys” and this description pretty much sums them up perfectly. Their Cure-esque guitar and synth lines go strangely well with their surf tinged melodies and singer Jonathan Pierce’s Ian Curtis impression is extremely convincing – he’s even got the dance down to a tee. If he was 15 years older he’d be an embarrassing dad at a wedding, however the music makes up for it. Highlights of their set include their super catchy single ‘Let’s Go Surfing’ and the 1950s influenced ‘Don’t Be a Jerk, Johnny’, at which point they’re joined on stage by two members of Glasgow indie pop band Camera Obscura on backing vocals.

The Big Pink are up next, the band I’m least excited to see as I’ve only heard their less than average one hit wonder ‘Dominos’. In an over the top, dry ice and laser show they arrive on stage. They trudge through a six song set filled with dreary, distortion filled tracks, coming to one great anti-climax in the form of ‘Dominos’. Definitely the low point of the evening and the best is definitely yet to come.

Bombay Bicycle Club prove with their 2009 debut that they are one of the most exciting new bands in Britain right now. They won the Road to V Festival in 2006 and, after two E.Ps, their debut album ‘I Had the Blues But I Shook Them Loose’ received critical acclaim from all corners of the music press. As they walk on stage it feels as is if they could easily be the headline act. Opening with the leading track from their album, the instrumental ‘Emergency Contraception Blues’, they work their way through a stellar set, playing the best songs from the album and one new song. The now capacity crowd seem to know all the words to possibly the catchiest song of last year ‘Always Like This’ and they close their set with the anthemic ‘Cancel On Me’.

On release of their second album, ‘Wall of Arms’, The Maccabees turned from relatively unknown composers of fast paced yet romantic indie anthems to a genuinely heavyweight band, acquiring main stage slots at most of the major festivals last summer. They open their set with ‘William Powers’, one of the lesser known but better tracks from ‘Wall of Arms’. The three layered guitars and chanting vocals make for an extremely impressive opener. It’d be extremely hard to play every great song from both their albums… because there really is no filler in either of them. ‘X-Ray’ has probably the catchiest guitar line since most of Arctic Monkeys’ debut album; ‘Precious Time’ is one great big singalong and ‘No Kind Words’ is an eerie track, climaxing with yet another amazing guitar riff. A questionable cover of the 1983 Orange Juice hit ‘Rip It Up’ is really the only low-ish point in the set but they make up for it by playing a one song encore and highlight of the amazing second album, ‘Love You Better’. Definitely one of the best live sets I’ve seen in a long time, and with outstanding support (minus The Big Pink) this was definitely a night to remember.

Bloc Party - Inverness Ironworks

It’s hard to write about a band that I’ve loved so much for so long. Bloc Party have been my favourite band since I unwrapped 2005’s Silent Alarm on my 11th birthday and the impact of that album, 2007’s A Weekend In The City, and 2008’s Intimacy have been huge. To me, Bloc Party are the Beatles of Indie, the Stones of 21st century alternative rock. The impact of their music can be seen in the likes of Foals, Klaxons and The Cribs. They embark on yet another huge U.K tour this October, starting on the 2nd and playing a different town every night until the 31st. In recent interviews, lead singer Kele Okereke has said that this may be the last we see of Bloc Party for a couple of years, however if they play anything like they played last night at the Ironworks, their fans will want them back immediately.
Surprisingly they open with Trojan Horse, an electric song with huge guitars that just seems to get more intense and as it builds into a crescendo, the crowd really got moving and by the end of even the first song they’re already a sweaty mess.
The similarly massive Like Eating Glass makes for a huge sing along of “It’s so cold in this house!” They mix old with less old by merging Song For Clay: Disappear Here with arguably the best guitar fuelled indie song ever written, Banquet. A slightly faster paced version of the glockenspiel lead Signs goes down well, with a cool drum beat added by one of the most technical drummers of this decade. Talons is as powerful as it is recorded, Mercury is fantastic live, even if I did hate it when they released it. Hunting For Witches goes off like a bomb, however Bloc Party are not the sort of band who only play crowd pleasers, for example they play Compliments, an eerie art rock masterpiece which was a hidden classic on Silent Alarm and a treat, which was, as Kele put it, “For anyone who wanted to see us back in 2005.”
Talk about a powerful encore. The quartet come back on stage to play Flux, one of the biggest dance songs of last year and Ares, the hugely violent opener of Intimacy. Kele states “This is a song for fighting to… We hear you Highlanders love a fight, have you got any fight left in you!?” As a bottle is hurled past his head he dives into the crowd as Ares bursts into life and Kele shows off his excellent singing whilst crowdsurfing skills. As Ares sputters out of life he takes a breath and says “wow… if that last song was for fighting then this song is definitely for dancing to.” And after a blast of feedback from languid guitarist Russell Lissack he grins at Kele from behind his triangular block of fringe and blasts into the anthem of 2005, Helicopter, which is up there with Banquet for best indie guitar song of the decade. The drummer, Matt Tong plays an extended solo at the end and the sweaty band take their bows and leave the stage to huge cheers from the crowd, by this point a drenched mess of sticky t-shirts and shower hair.
Hopefully Kele will go against his word about taking a year or two out from Bloc Party and they’ll get straight back into the studio again, I’m looking forward to seeing them live again already.

Paramore - brand new eyes

Paramore haven’t just been milking the huge success of 2007’s Riot! for the past two years, they almost split up due to the pressures of a huge world tour (and the fact that front woman Hayley Williams and guitarist Josh Farro’s secret relationship came to an end but shh… it’s a secret.) brand new eyes is physical proof that whatever doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger. This almost break up seems to have made Paramore even angstier and angrier, if that’s even possible.
From the first few seconds of opening track Careful you can tell that Paramore definitely haven’t changed the old Tennessee quintet’s formula of big drums, fast riffs and fills that make you go, “woah that was cool!”
The first single Ignorance explodes into life with one of those amazing riffs that Paramore have used on almost every track since their 2005 debut All We Know Is Falling. It’s a fast paced, fuming track with various key changes and one wonders if it’s possible for Hayley Williams strain her voice any more. And it ends as suddenly as it starts.
Playing God is their attempt at a Jimmy Eat World style, mid tempo pop rock song with the threat of “Next time you point the finger/I might have to break it off” as the chorus.
The psychological centrepiece of the record, Brick By Boring Brick, gives the huge, angry guitars a rest with a bass fuelled verse but a huge chant along chorus that sees the men of the band getting a shot in the vocal limelight.
Looking Up takes a much less angry approach to the almost break up of the band with the lines “God knows the world doesn’t need another band/can’t believe we almost hung it up/we’re just getting started.” Paramore fans the world over can breathe a collective sigh of relief that their favourite band aren’t going anywhere soon.
They return for one last massive head bang on the closing track All I Wanted which starts as a mellow love song and ends up with a wailing Hayley Williams with some Whitney Huston/Dianna Ross style epic yelps of “All I wanted was you.”
Paramore really have gone from strength to strength, with this third “mature” album adding to the back catalogue of fantastic albums. Hopefully they really are just getting started.

brand new eyes by Paramore is out now on Fuelled By Ramen.
You can listen to the whole album for free at www.paramore.net