Kasabian Announce Reading and Leeds Warm-Up Gig

Kasabian announced today they will play London's excellent Brixton Academy on the 20th of August, as a warm-up for the Reading and Leeds festival 5 days later. Tickets go on sale this Friday at 9am. No word on the support band yet but sounds like a great night regardless.

Tune Of The Day #5: The Attack - Neville Thumbcatch

The Attack were a fairly short lived Freakbeat band formed in London in 1966, however they recorded enough to put together the an excellent 19-track compilation called 'About Time!'. This is an excellent, often hilarious and evidently English psychedelic track that is one of their strongest efforts for me. A guy called Peter Wyngarde recorded a pretty weird cover in 1970 which is also worth checking out if you like this. About Time! is very much worth a download, one of the most underrated bands of the 60s in my opinion.

For Fans Of: Freakbeat, Mod, The Creation
Available On: About Time (compilation)

Tune Of The Day #4: Detroit Social Club - Northern Man

Detroit Social Club were a band from the Newcastle area who split up last year. They released one album, Existence, which came out in 2009 and is for my money one of the best albums of the last 10 years. Hoping one day they'll reform as not sure I can get through the rest of my life with just 15-odd songs by them on my iPod! This is a great Verve-esque song and is my favourite of theirs, with Sunshine People a close second. I recommend you all listen to their album ASAP if you haven't already.

For Fans Of: The Verve, Embrace, Oasis
Available On: Existence (album)

Noel Gallagher Announces Acoustic Gig with Jake Bugg

From Noel's website:

"Xfm and War Child are proud to announce that Noel Gallagher will be playing an intimate and exclusive acoustic show at Camden's Dingwalls on Tuesday August 14th.

Part of the Xfm Legends series to celebrate 20 years of Xfm, the show is in aid of War Child and the only way to gain access to this special one-off event is via Xfm, xfm.co.uk and noelgallagher.com

Support on the night will come from Jake Bugg.

Listen to Xfm and check xfm.co.uk and noelgallagher.com for further details on how to win tickets for this unmissable acoustic performance from a true Xfm Legend"

Sound like it'll be a great night! On a side note I saw Jake Bugg live at T in the Park last weekend, young kid with some great tunes. Latest single "Taste It" came out on Monday I believe, with an album and UK tour to follow in October. Check him out if you haven't already!

Beady Eye In Warrington

Not exactly news this but came across this video of Beady Eye in Warrington on the 28th of June. Makes me shiver thinking about how long it must've taken Noasabian to put this together, however lucky for us he did as this is a very watchable document of Beady Eye's first gig this year and the first time they've done Oasis songs live. Will be more than adequate until we (hopefully) get some pro footage of Beady Eye at Fuji Rocks. The audio can be downloaded here , many thanks to stzeross for posting. Not sure if the files are split or named as not downloaded myself.

Tune of the Day #3: Crashland - New Perfume

Don't know an awful lot about this band at all or how I first came across them, in fact I found out most of what I know from the description on this video! From what I gather they were from Bristol and were around from the late 90s to the early 00s. They released only one (very decent) album, Glued, which I own. The band play a more punky kind Britpop (surprise surprise) that is probably best compared to Supergrass, although there is a bit of variety in their songs. New Perfume is probably my favourite song of theirs, if you like it you'd do well to check out the album.

For Fans Of: Supergrass
Available On: Glued (album)

Tune Of The Day #2: The Dandys - You Make Me Wanna Scream

York's The Dandys were unfortunately caught in the herd of post-Oasis Britpop bands that exploded onto the scene in the late 90's, which I reckon is pretty unlucky as they were one of the better bands of the 90s, for me anyway. Although not really heard in this song, the band's lyrics are often quite funny in the vein of Blur (Dirty Weekend is a good example) although the singer's voice can probably best be compared to Tim Burgess of The Charlatans. Anyway, great anthemic and cruelly overlooked song that deserves a listen. The band recorded one album, Symphonic Screams, which is pretty hard to track down, but if you do manage it I would highly recommend a download.

For Fans Of: Oasis-y Britpop, The Charlatans, Blur
Available On: Symphonic Screams (album)

Tune of the Day #1 : The Mock Turtles - And Then She Smiles

Great single from Manchester's Mock Turtles, these days best (in fact almost exclusively) remembered for the excellent 'Can You Dig It?'. However I reckon this is equally as good, lovely little baggy-era song. I also want to get the fact that singer Martin Coogan is the brother of comedian Steve in here somewhere, so here will have to do!

For fans of: The Madchester/Baggy scene, The Lightning Seeds
Available On: Both the band's studio albums (Turtle Soup and Two Sides) as well as the band's Best Of

Hello, Hello, Said It's Good To Be Back...

As you may have gathered, I'm back (what from, I'm not entirely sure) and will be attempting to continue running the blog. However as some of you may have noticed by now, I'm not the best at sticking with things! Gonna try and keep up the news coverage as well as putting more emphasis on myself and my tastes; think I'll start a "Tune of the Day" and "Album of the Week" series which should be fun, at least for myself if no one else. So yeah, enjoy...

Inspiral Carpets Play Radio 5 Session

Inspiral Carpets did a radio session on the Tony Livesey show on BBC 5 Live last night; apparently they were the first band ever to be featured on his show. They did three songs and an interview, links below go to the time the track begins on BBC iPlayer. A guy called Andy Heath posted them on the band's Facebook page so credit to him for that.

Saturn 5 - http://goo.gl/adFJk
You’re So Good For Me - http://goo.gl/zPMuT
This Is How It Feels - http://goo.gl/IkBcM
Interview - http://goo.gl/xRT4R

Album Leak - Sonik Kicks by Paul Weller

This leaked online today or yesterday, I think originally from a torrent site although I found it easily on Soulseek. Not going to up a link of my own but it shouldn't be too hard to find by now. Listened to this once earlier today and it sounds like quite a mixed bag like his last album, however there are some very good songs on here too, including That Dangerous Age, Paper Chase and particularly When Your Garden's Overgrown. Bit early to tell but on first listen I prefer this to Wake Up The Nation for sure.

New Album Release - Troubled Times by Cast

Cast's fifth studio album, Troubled Times, was released to the general public today. The album was available to people (of whom I happen to be one) who pledged money towards the making of the album last November, but has finally got a full release. I don't remember being blown away by it the first time round although it was an enjoyable listen, will need to listen to it again and re-evaluate it.

Inspiral Carpets Play First Gig in Nine Years Tonight!

Inspiral Carpets played their first gig in nine years tonight, and their first in a staggering 24 years with original singer Steven Holt, at the Sheffield Leadmill. Hopefully some new songs will have been aired (excluding You're So Good For Me which is basically a given), have to wait and see!

Viva Brother Complete Work On Second Album

Less than a year after their debut, Famous First Words, was released, Viva Brother have completed work on the follow up.  The above picture was posted on their Facebook page earlier with the caption "We just finished recording our second album so we threw a party."  The band has also been teasing something (my money's on a new song) on their Twitter account recently: sample tweet "SO FUCKING CLOSE YOU DONT EVEN REALISE!"

Recent Albums I've Enjoyed - March 2012

For no real reason other than it's a slow news day, I've decided to post a list of albums released this year that I've enjoyed. Quite taken to the idea so might do this every couple of months. Anyway:


Bad Liquor Pond - Blue Smoke Orange Sky

I know next to nothing about this band other than they're from Baltimore and are very good. Psychedelic-y, garage-y, very enjoyable listen. Discovered this on a a blog called Trip Inside This House which is excellent, check it out if you like this kind of music.


The Spyrals - The Spyrals

Another psychedelic rock album discovered on Trip Inside This House, although this one reminds me of The Brian Jonestown Massacre a bit too. Only 9 tracks here but the standard is very high, consistently good album.

The Bevis Frond - The Leaving of London

Yet another psych flavoured album, however this one is by a British band and was dicovered by me in the reviews section in Q magazine. The band has been around for ages and has released almost 20 albums since the mid-80s, although they had completely escaped my radar until I heard this. 18 tracks here and it's quite a long haul, however everyone should be able to find something to their taste.

Mark Lanegan Band - Blues Funeral

This is a solo album from Queens of the Stone Age man Mark Lanegan, and really the title gives a pretty good idea of what to expect. Great bluesy rock album with Lanegan's gravelly voice at the centre.

Nick Ward - Cadenza

To be honest no clue who this guy is, singer-songwriter is as far as my knowledge goes. Discovered him through The Cornershop blog and must say I really enjoyed this album, simple singer-songwriter stuff at its finest.

See also:
The Foxes - Last of Many
The Minutes - Marcata
The Law - Trigger
Tribes - Baby
The Sunshine Factory - Sugar

New EP Release - Love Will Save Us I Hope by The Sand Band

The Sand Band posted their new EP (contrary to what I posted the other day it is in fact made up of 10 tracks so more of an album!) online earlier today; all the tracks are now uploaded although it took a few hours to get them all up. Not listened yet but eagerly anticipating hearing this. Plus it's only £1.99 for 10 songs, with the money going to charity, so there's no excuse not to give it a download! Get it here.

Beady Eye Announced for Fuji Rock Festival

Beady Eye have seem to have been confirmed for their first and to date only scheduled gig for 2012, despite Liam telling Zane Lowe there would be no gigs this year. The lineup has appeared online and although not officially confirmed yet, seems likely to be true. Will be interesting to hear if Beady Eye play any new material in their set.

Noel Gallagher Plays D'yer Wanna Be A Spaceman Live at Intimate Glasgow Show

Noel Gallagher performed the classic Oasis B-side D'yer Wanna Be A Spaceman for the first time in over 10 years last night in Glasgow, the performance of which can be viewed above. Hopefully this means some impending changes to his setlist, which has remained largely identical for all his full-scale gigs so far. The full setlist was as follows:

(It's Good) To Be Free
Talk Tonight
If I Had A Gun...
Supersonic
Wonderwall
AKA...What a Life!
D'yer Wanna Be A Spaceman
Half the World Away
Don't Look Back in Anger

Apparently the gig is being broadcast on the radio in 10 days or so, unfortunately don't know any more than that.

The Sand Band Finally Announce Release Date For New EP

After teasing and delaying this EP for 3 months, Liverpool's The Sand Band have finally decided to give us a release date for their Love Will Save Us I Hope EP; namely the second of March. The 8-track EP (seem to remember reading it was 8 anyway but don't hold me to it) is in support of the Cystic Fibrosis Trust and will be available from the band's Bandcamp page here, with all proceeds going to the charity. Eagerly anticipating this as the band's debut album, All Through The Night, was one of the best things I heard all last year: if you haven't heard it, check it out before this drops!

Echo Raptors Post New Songs

Echo Raptors have posted two new songs online, with a third to come tonight. There's a new one called Idle Dream (not at all similar to the Oasis song Idler's Dream in case you were wondering), which has a great catchy chorus, and an electric version of Stepping Stone which was previously heard as a Kitchen Session in acoustic form. It reminds me slightly of an early Oasis song, which is high praise indeed. Both songs can be listened to at the band's Soundcloud page here and keep an eye out for a third new song at midnight tonight.

Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds Post New Song, Shoot A Hole Into The Sun

This is the first thing to be released from Noel's much-anticipated collaboration with psychedelic duo Amorphous Androgynous. It's been played before gigs but the studio version was only uploaded today. It's an elongated and almost unrecognisable remix of If I Had A Gun, and although I was cautious about what the collaboration would bring I am now eagerly anticipating the album, due out late this year or early next. The video doesn't want to embed but can be watched here.

Gimme The Sign - New Single by The Enemy

The video for the  new single from The Enemy was put online earlier today. Must say I'm not too impressed, sounds pretty average to me. The singer, Tom Clarke, has made some pretty bold statements about the state of music lately, which I largely agree with, but this doesn't really help his case.

R U Mine? - New Single by Arctic Monkeys

Arctic Monkeys released this standalone single earlier today, before they start a US tour supporting the Black Keys. Great song and video.

Paul Weller says Sonik Kicks will be his last album with Simon Dine

My copy of Mojo came through the door a couple of days ago (the issue shown above) and as you may have guessed contained an interview with Paul Weller. One thing that caught my eye was Paul Weller saying that he and Simon Dine had fallen out recently over how much Dine was paid for his work on Weller's records, meaning Sonik Kicks will likely be the last thing they collaborate on. In my opinion this is great news; Dine seems to have been largely responsible for (in my opinion) the decline in quality of Weller's last couple of albums. He seems to have been responsible for a lot of the experimental stuff on these records; his contribution consisted mainly of sending Weller electronic loops to work with. I'm hoping that his departure will mean Weller's next few albums will go back to more traditional guitar-bass-drum stuff that he did so well in the 90s.

Reverend And The Makers Announce October UK Tour

Reverend and the Makers announced a full UK tour earlier today, due to take place in October. The dates are as follows:

Newcastle Academy (11th Oct)

Edinburgh Liquid Rooms (12th Oct)

Liverpool Academy 2 (13th Oct)

Manchester Ritz (14th Oct)

Nottingham Rescue Rooms (17th Oct)

Leeds Stylus (18th)

Norwich Open (19th Oct)

Sheffield Academy (20th Oct)

Birmingham Academy (21st Oct)

Brighton Concorde 2 (23rd Oct)

Portsmouth Wedgewood Rooms (24th Oct)

Bristol Academy (25th Oct)

London Shepherds Bush Empire (26th Oct)

Tickets can be pre-ordered from the band's online store here.