Album Review: Grimes - 'Art Angels'

Words originally for Outline Magazine

Release Date: November 6th, 2015

Label: 4AD

Once in a generation comes an artist as inspired and unique as Grimes (a.k.a. Vancouver’s Claire Boucher) whose fourth studio album Art Angels sees her mix a more structured, pop sound into her already eclectic cauldron of electronic delights with fantastic results. The record opens with an ethereal mix of classical instrumentals before falling head first down a musical rabbit hole into California, one of the record (and indeed, Grimes’) most commercial sounding songs, but equally one of the most charming. Next SCREAM leapfrogs back to the bizarre, recruiting Taiwanese rapper Aristophanes for an explosive barrage of noise lasting less than three minutes. Flesh without Blood highlights Boucher’s lyrical skills as she details “your voice, it had the perfect glow/it got lost when you gave it up though”, masking depth and intricacy under a veil of catchy beats and infectious melodies. REALiTi, previously released as a demo, is the most abstract song on the record, produced like a dream with a pounding bassline holding up Boucher’s signature celestial vocals. Janelle Monáe guests on the dramatic and audacious Venus Fly before Butterfly closes a stunning album with a climax of lo-fi electro pleasure, tied together with sublime vocals and exquisite synthesizer mastery.

9/10

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Interview: The Maccabees

Words originally for Outline Magazine

L-R: Orlando Weeks, Hugo White, Felix White, Sam Doyle, Rupert Jarvis

Named after a ‘random word from the Bible’, the Maccabees are one of those indie bands that are always quietly plugging away, making music that beguiles and energises. With across-the-board positive reactions to their latest album Marks To Prove It, and a sold out gig at the LCR to look forward to, guitarist Felix is on cloud nine. The band can’t wait to get out on the road to play us some of their best tracks and I asked him about collaborating with Jamie T, choosing set lists and creative decision making within the band.

One of the last times you visited Norwich, you played the Arts Centre to celebrate its crowning as Britain’s best small venue by NME/Jack Daniels. What was that show like?

It was straight off the back of a Kasabian support tour just before we added the finishing touches to Marks to Prove It. So it was actually the first Maccabees show for a long time. There were plenty of people that couldn't get in so we’re hoping the UEA offers a bit more opportunity for everyone to come to the show!

Photo: Jordan Hughes/NME

You’ve played some of the venues on your upcoming tour before, including the UEA. Is it frustrating having to work your way back into the mainstream with each new album?

I think the key is to not feel like you are repeating yourself. If we were playing the same songs in the same venues to the same people it could start to feel like Groundhog Day pretty fast. As it goes, the new songs feel like both the best and most challenging songs to play and shed good perspective on what's gone before, so it feels like there are still things to achieve.

Why have you chosen Drenge to join you on these dates?

Because they are very good. They are some of my friends’ favourite band too so it's been a popular decision at home.

I’m a big fan of the new album and I’m very excited to hear it live. Are you excited to perform it properly?

We've been playing six tracks so far on the American tour that has preceded this. Marks to Prove It, Kamaura and Spit it Out already feel like the biggest collective moments at the shows. The next step is working out how to get some of the softer, more vulnerable moments translating live. We'd love to get album closers Pioneering Systems and Dawn Chorus into the show as that’s new ground for us.

At Glastonbury you performed Marks to Prove It with Jamie T, easily a contender for collaboration of the year. How did that come about?

We have known Jamie for a long time, since our very early days of playing gigs nearly ten years back. His music means a lot to us, it was just something we had talked about for a while that we could finally put together.

Now on your fourth album, do you find it difficult to generate new ideas and not get stuck doing the same thing again and again?

Sometimes you have to think a bit in order to stop noticing your own 'tricks' and make music that is new to you. But I think we have more ideas now than we ever have to be honest, it's just finding a place and having the discipline to put them somewhere concise which is harder.

With four records to choose from, is it difficult putting together set lists?

The best thing about Marks to Prove It live is that somehow the songs shed positive light and perspective on everything that's gone before, which we had found hard touring Given To The Wild. It makes the balance much easier actually and has given new life to very old songs like Precious Time. 

As a five-piece, is it difficult to all be happy when creative decisions have to be made?

It is usually the hardest part and a constantly evolving thing. Over time we've learnt that having a band that has shared ownership doesn't always mean sharing every decision, especially creatively, as you go backwards or nowhere often. So the last few years have been an exercise in allowing each other the space to see ideas through as much as possible. It doesn't always work, but when it does it’s magic.

The recording of the new album was described as ‘tricky’ and ‘traumatic’, have there ever been any times you’ve been close to packing it all in?

There were moments during the record that felt like we just weren't going to get out of it with anything. But I guess sometimes you need to go there to really re-assess and work out what you are trying to achieve. I think it all was very worthwhile now, because we've made an album that I think will last. There were moments during it when I'm not sure any of us were sure we were going to get there! 

You’ve spoken a lot about your residency around London’s Elephant & Castle, and put out a documentary film recently about life there. The film focuses less on the band and more on other people in that community. Why did you choose to do that?

That was the main thing about commissioning a film that excited us. It became a subtle document of lots of different types of people trying to achieve something for themselves in the same area, at the same time but in their own way. It's healthy perspective and in turn, a celebration of the diversity within the area.

A lot of your music is huge and atmospheric but a lot is also delicate and downbeat. How much consideration do you put into the tone of a record when you’re making it?

The detail is what often takes the longest time. This time the hardest thing to pull off was allowing the music to be exposed and honest and vulnerable where it needed to be. Our knee jerk on Given To The Wild was to make soundscapes that could mask things. So we were trying to keep some of those atmospheres but put them across in more detailed and focused ways. That can be a tricky thing to pull off. But as a result, the songs really translate in their intended form from record to stage and that was an early goal.

Something Like Happiness is a one of my favourite songs from the new record. What’s the story behind it?

It was one of the first songs for the record, which came about through the usual collision of different things we had over time. The film actually documents some of the writing of it. Lyrically it concerns being happy for someone when they've found something good.

Currently you have three nights lined up at Brixton’s O2 Academy. Do you still get nervous despite how long you’ve been playing big shows?

It quite often depends on the moment. Sometimes you are just nervous and you are not sure why. Or you can he playing a huge show and just not feel it at all. Brixton is of huge significance to us so I'm sure it will feel special.

We’re very much looking forward to your show at Norwich UEA; what can you tell us about the show you’ll be performing?

It's going to be music from across all four records. We are touring with Rebekah Raa who is playing piano and singing and Memby Jago who is an extremely talented percussionist and brass. You are always a bit in the lap of the gods buts it's our best set of songs and best we've ever been so I hope it'll be a really memorable thing.

The Maccabees play the UEA LCR on November 20th.
Their new record Marks to Prove It is out now.

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Interview: Kagoule

Words originally for Outline Magazine

L-R: Cai Burns, Lucy Hatter, Lawrence English

Now a cagoule is a kind of an anorak. What does that conjure up in your mind, musically? Limp folk? Some sort of twee indie? Well, you surely have it wrong with this band, who spell their name with a kickin’ K. Kagoule make intriguing rock with twinges of Jane’s Addiction thrown in with some sweet ass feedback and scratchy guitars. They play Norwich Arts Centre this month, so I chatted with guitarist Cai Burns about supporting Johnny Marr and the Nottingham music scene.

How come you’re called Kagoule?

Your guess is as good as mine. Sometimes I ask myself that same question.

You’re quite a new band in the grand scheme of things.  How did Kagoule begin?

Kagoule is the first band any of us have been in. We met in school at 14. I'd hit broken instruments with Lawrence until it sounded kinda like music. Soon we needed a bassist to do a school show. I asked Lucy; she had cool hair and shoes.

What’s the music scene like in Nottingham where you hail from?

Either there is no scene or the scene is so big that everyone in Nottingham is somehow involved in it. I can't tell. It's a big family where everybody knows and helps each other out. There isn't this sense of competition like you can get in other cities. Because of that it’s a good place to grow as a band but also can trap you in a bubble, kind of like a zoo for music.

Where do you get the best reception to your music? Is there anywhere you consistently have great shows?

People move the most in Nottingham and Edinburgh. We just did our first European tour and Prague was loads of fun. Belgium too. Argh, there're too many!

Your debut album Urth came out in August. What were the main influences for it?

That album was written over quite a long period of time. It started when we were about 15 and we recorded at 19. Each song was never intended to be on an album or even be recorded. The latest single Made Of Concrete was the second song we wrote as a band, whereas Mike was pretty much written in the studio. Each track has its own time in our teenage lives and its own influences. Urth is more of a compilation of all the stages Kagoule has been through since its beginning. Fugazi forever though, right?

You worked with Arctic Monkeys & MIA producer Ross Orton on the record. What was it like to collaborate with such a big name?

Ross is an absolute dude. He’s so easy to work with. He broke the ice by zipping us around Sheffield in his new car. It definitely warmed up our blood. He knows what he's doing and knows it's good so you can just leave him to it while you drink loads of coffee and make GoPro videos. 

You’ve toured with Johnny Marr; what was it like playing with such a legendary a musician?

It was such an honour! You soon realise your idols are just people and they are all loads smaller in real life then they are made out to be. There was a moment when talking to Johnny where I started going on about computer voices that talk in the melody of the funeral song, and had a panic because he was clearly just smiling and nodding at me. I exited swiftly and no harm was done. By the end of the few shows we could've chatted for days. “Back in my day when I was in The Smiths....”. Also when someone that has seen so many bands in their life tells you what songs of yours they like the most, it feels quite special.

If you could support anyone, dead or alive, who would it be?

C’mon now. Nirvana of course!

You’ve had trouble doing what you do, e.g. your van breaking down on tour. Is it difficult being in a band at such a young age and dealing with these issues?

Yes, we are so nervous and young and have no skills and we die very easily. Ha! Nah it’s alright really. People are more willing to help out the young'uns and we can look after ourselves just fine. Also we’ve never made a single penny from this thing, and after a while it can really get to you. But we've stuck with it so far and plan to do it for much longer.

When you’re touring a lot is there ever friction between the three of you?

Put three people in a van for three weeks and of course there is going to be friction. Friction is okay as long as you all know when to stop; just take a breather from each other one morning and then get back to it. There's no time to be arguing.

Do you write songs together or do you have different responsibilities when coming up with material?

I write the songs at home at 3am with an acoustic guitar. I’ll make a demo and bring it to practise. We have a bash at it for a while and you can tell pretty quickly if it's a goer or not; the best ones happen the fastest. Lawrence writes all the drums and we'll all try and work out an arrangement, possibly the hardest part, together.

Glue is one of my favourite songs from the record. What’s the story behind it?

Glue was written on New Year’s Eve 2014 and I have very little memory of writing it. When I picture it I see a blonde man with long, dangling lips holding a frog. The song is about anxiety and what not to do when you feel that way. Which at the time is exactly what I was doing.

As a band you have a very signature look in terms of style. Do you think image is an important part of being a band?

It just happened accidentally. We needed art, and Lawrence could draw so we made the most of it. It grew alongside the music and has evolved together. I think image is very important, yes, but too many bands try to do it with what hair they have or clothes they wear. Base yourself on image before there were photos.

Are you looking forward to your show at Norwich Arts Centre?

Hell yes. Last time we played Norwich we ended up heading over there to watch The Wytches. Inside, we wished we were playing this venue, and now we are!

Are you working on any new material?

All the time. We've got loads of new songs that we can't wait to record and we’re working on the second album now. I’m very excited for it all. I can hear it in my head and boy does it sound good.

Kagoule play Norwich Arts Centre on 24^th November. Their debut album Urth is out now.

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Interview: Blossoms

L-R: Myles Kellock, Joe Donovan, Tom Ogden, Charlie Salt, Josh Dewhurst

I had a quick chat with Blossoms before their show at Norwich Arts Centre about festivals, their upcoming album and ABBA. Here’s what they had to say.

How did you guys get together?

Tom Ogden: Me and Joe have been close mates for about ten years from school, Josh was four years below us at the same school and Myles and Charlie went to the same school, so there’s two schools between us. We were all born within a two mile radius of each other so it’s proper old school.
Charlie Salt: We were all born in the same hospital, except not at the same time obviously.
TO: We all like music so we thought we’d start a band. We were all in other bands which we weren’t satisfied with so we decided to utilise the free time we had. We rehearsed a lot and it went really well.

What kinds of music do you all listen to?

CS: A lot of the same stuff but a vast array.
Josh Dewhurst: It goes from ABBA to Oasis and everything in between.
TO: It’s nothing fancy really just like what all our parents are into, you know there’s lots of… Beatles, ABBA like Josh said, the Smiths, Oasis, Arctic Monkeys, just catchy tunes you know?

You supported the Courteeners at Heaton Park, how did that happen and what was it like?

CS: We share the same management so we went on tour with them last November which is how we know them. That went really, really well and they invited us up to Heaton Park which was phenomenal, a really good gig.

What’s the music scene like in Stockport, where you’re from?

Joe Donovan: There isn’t one!
TO: The thing is it’s that close to Manchester that you just go to Manchester.
CS: Really there’s a few bands knocking about in college and that but there’s no one that’s really big there… and it’s 8 minutes on the train to Manchester. Years and years ago there used to be a big scene - all the groups used to pass through Stockport, it was a touring town.
TO: It’s not really like a scene necessarily. Like Charlie said, it’s 8 minutes on a train so you just play Manchester cuz it’s that close.
CS: You have got a few other bands from Stockport like Dutch Uncles, Delphic, but you don’t really hear much of them anymore.
TO: There’s no venues in Stockport unless you want to play a pub and bring your own gear and move all the tables and chairs to do an acoustic set you know what I mean?

I saw you on the Lake Stage at Latitude Festival this year, what did you think of it?

CS: It’s a good festival – when the grass turns to hay you know it’s a good festival.

Currently you’re supporting the Charlemagne EP, what comes after that?

TO: We’ve started recording an album but we’ll probably do a couple more EPs and singles just to keep things going. You just have to take it as it comes because those things can start to happen really quickly. We’ll be recording and be like ‘right, we’re doing an EP’ and within two weeks it’s out.
CS: The reason why Charlemagne’s come out so soon after Blown Rose is just because we live in a world where everything just moves so fast and people get bored really easily, so that’s the secret.
TO: I think it’s a massive move doing that because it’s given the tour that little extra bit of buzz and the gigs have suddenly been selling out – last night [The Village Underground, London] sold out, the Ritz in Manchester’s sold out, and I think if we didn’t release Charlemagne it might not have.
CS: It’s all like a big game, you’ve got to move at the right point and I think we’re well on the ball with stuff like that.
TO: Up until now we’ve been quite sparse with our releases but when you’re in the band you don’t realise because you’re rehearsing maybe four nights a week and you’re playing the tunes so you’re that used to them, but then before Charlemagne we’d released 2 tunes, and if I was a fan of the band I’d be like ‘fuckin’ hell I want more’ do you know what I mean? It’s like… Blow, Cut Me and I’ll Bleed and the Blown Rose EP, that was all in the space of a year and that’s like six tunes, it’s really not a lot. The album’s about half and half new stuff and stuff from the EPs… or it’s like 60/40.
CS: We’re gonna be playing a track that no one’s heard that’s gonna be on the album tonight called At Most A Kiss which should be good.

Blossoms are touring the UK throughout February and March.

Their new EP ‘At Most A Kiss’ is out on Feb 19th.

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Album Review: The Hoosiers - 'The Secret Service'

Words originally for Outline Magazine.

Label: Crab Race Ltd
Release Date: October 9th, 2015

You remember the blissful world of 2007 – a world where Harry Potter was ending, iPhones were beginning and somewhere in the middle The Hoosiers were topping the charts with their strain of quirky, nerdy, pop rock. Eight years down the line and they may not be hitting those number ones like they used to but the Hoosiers are alive and kicking, latest record The Secret Service capturing this eccentric energy beautifully.

Dazzling from the very beginning, opener Pristine sets the tone of the album perfectly. Coupling creamy vocals with tangy guitar licks, it may seem sophisticated to an untrained eye but maintains subtle hints of the Hoosiers’ devilish charm underneath. Lead single The Wheels Fell Off follows, laden with punchy hooks and jazzy solos. Later, The Most Peculiar Day of Your Life entices and enthrals like a mysterious woman in the corner of a smoky bar, and Runs in the Family sees frontman Irwin Sparkes croon and call in angsty uncertainty. (Don’t Make) Eye Contact is a beautiful acoustic track, echoing the stripped-back, low budget nature of the album and closer (My) Secret Service is similar, ending the record on a soft spoken but considered note.

It’s no Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows but The Secret Service is a definite sign that the Hoosiers are still in the game.

7/10

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Album Review: Eagles of Death Metal - 'Zipper Down'

Words originally for Outline Magazine.

Label: Universal

Release Date: October 2nd, 2015

There comes a time in every rock star’s career when two things can happen; either they continue crafting fantastic, glamorous guitar music, planting their flag in a generation’s pop culture lunar surface, or they stagnate, cheesing and sleazing their way through album after album about girls and fast cars but with less passion than they used to. It’s at this difficult crossroad we find Josh Homme (of Queens of the Stone Age fame) rekindling the EODM fire with long-time collaborator Jesse Hughes for their first LP in seven years. As the title may suggest, Zipper Down is a pretty half-arsed attempt by two grown men to recapture the spirit of their youths, and in all the wrong ways. The churning guitars and hook-driven choruses are energetic and catchy and Homme’s dreary vocals bring substance to the record, like on Skin Tight Boogie, but the lyrics and even the song titles let the side down. Got A Woman is slapdash and careless, “I got a woman who likes to shake her ass… come on baby get movin’” and The Deuce is disappointingly old fashioned. Not even a Duran Duran cover, 1982’s Save A Prayer, can save Zipper Down, a mid-life crisis of an album which comes across creepy and vulgar more than a balls-out retrospective of two aging rockers’ golden eras. No pun intended.

4/10

Album Review: CHVRCHES - 'Every Open Eye'

Words originally for Outline Magazine

Label: Virgin EMI

Release Date: September 25th, 2015

Following an album as acclaimed as Chvrches’ debut, 2013’s The Bones of What You Believe, was never going to be an easy feat, but without a doubt the Scottish three piece have bested themselves a thousand times over on their new effort. Every Open Eye fuses pop with delicate electronica as its predecessor did, but with heightened strength, lyrically, thematically and musically. A sense of aggression can be felt in tracks like Empty Threat and Leave A Trace, front woman Lauren Mayberry channelling the emotion of constantly tackling Twitter trolls and online misogynists, which she’s been in the news for regularly over recent months. Leave A Trace, the album’s lead single, is an energetic dance anthem on the surface but lyrically it’s raw and emotive. Mayberry sings “I will show restraint/Just like we said we should… You think I’ll apologise for things I left behind but you got it wrong”. Elsewhere the tone is lowered but the depth remains, like on closing track Afterglow, a simple but beautiful piece that highlights Mayberry’s phenomenal vocal capabilities. To summarise, Chvrches are real mad about stuff, and they’ve refined and exploited that anger to craft an intricately divine new record. You’d be stupid not to buy it. 

9/10

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Album Review: Foals - 'What Went Down'

Words originally for Outline Magazine

Release Date: August 28th, 2015

Label: Transgressive

I’ve never been a fan of Oxford quintet Foals’ brash style of rock so I was surprised to find myself hooked on their comeback single What Went Down last month. Safe to say the album lives up to the hype of its phenomenal title track, simultaneously throwing up a whole range of surprises from its arsenal of alt-pop ballistics. Mountain at My Gates and Birch Tree are calm openers, similar to 2010’s Total Life Forever but exchanging keyboards and synths for guitars that, despite sounding dangerously Coldplay B-side-y, fit in comfortably. The dramatic Albatross raises the tempo like a call to arms for live music fans; no doubt one hell of a show will come from this album. Snake Oil is angsty and confrontational – somewhere between the Black Keys and Drenge – whilst the chirpy Night Swimmers dances on the fine line between timeless indie anthem and Radio 1 A-list wannabe. London Thunder is a pensive reflection beautifully crafted in Yannis Philippakis’ introspective lyrics, “Lost my mind in San Francisco / A worn out disco, my temper’s cool”. The penultimate Lonely Hunter is cool and refreshing with its fleeting melody and jangly percussion, leading effortlessly into the album’s epic closer A Knife in the Ocean, 7 minutes of crashing cymbals and twinkling synthesizers, closing a dramatic record with powerful finesse. What Went Down may not be what Foals dedicatees have been expecting but it’s a bold step forward for a band quickly claiming their rightful spot in this generation’s musical landscape.

9/10

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