Lists

Eight Killer Placebo Moments

Posted on by edwardlayland

Placebo were formed in 1994 after a chance meeting on a London tube platform between Brian Molko and Stefan Olsdal, who had both previously attended the American International School in Luxembourg. Their first album was released in 1996 and in celebration of its twentieth anniversary the boys are doing a number of retrospective projects including the recent MTV Unplugged set of primarily early material. As such, it seems like as good a time as any to celebrate the work of one of my favourite alternative rock bands.

Born in the midst of Britpop and inaccurately labelled as such, Placebo have always trodden their own path, often in the face of senseless criticism, and have succeeded in amassing a consistently high quality body of work. Placebo albums are a bit like Denzil Washington‘s films, never bad.

Although ostensibly a British band, Brian was born in Belgium to an itinerant Scottish Mother and American Father, while Stefan, despite being born to Swedish parents in Sweden, also moved around a fair bit before settling in London. For me, this is one of the principal reasons for Placebo never quite fitting in, they have a multi-cultural background and a kind of rootlessness that enables them to play by their own rules.

Their sound is very much their own, not only down to Brian’s distinctive vocal, but also instrumentally; their hard edged alt rock sound, owing as much to Wedding Present as to Marc Bolan, never plays it safe and they are also not afraid to explore more atmospheric airs, regularly incorporating piano and strings. I’ve had the privilege of seeing them live just the once, at Reading in 2000, and although they put in a great performance, I had the distinct impression that headliners, the Stereophonics, were worried and made sure their volume was turned down.

Anyway, here’s a handful of songs celebrating the awesomeness of this criminally underrated band of outsiders who despite bucking trends and media hostility have managed to sell in excess of eleven million records – count em!

‘Nancy Boy’ was the first Placebo song I ever heard and in the post grunge comfort zone of overblown Britpop it was refreshingly loud and crunchy, yet had just enough pop sensibility to nag its way into my unconscious. Love the guitar sound on this version from Later with Jools.

Placebo were unaffected by “difficult second album” syndrome; following up the top 5 success of their debut with a dark brooding slab of hard edged intensity. The title track of ‘Without You I’m Nothing’ (see below), ‘Pure Morning’ and ‘Every You, Every Me’ are the obvious killer cuts from the album, but ‘Brick Shithouse’ is as hard as it’s title and ‘Scared of Girls’ has a groove vaguely reminiscent of early Cult. Check out this badass version of ‘Scared of Girls’ from their debut headline show at Brixton Academy back in 98. The action starts at about 3’50.

‘Without You I’m Nothing’ is an epically dark ballad that is superbly intense in it’s own right, but as a duet with David Bowie could not have had a better compliment paid to it.

‘Plasticine’ – love it. Rocks hard from start to finish. “Don’t forget to be the way you are.”

‘Protect me/Protege Moi’ finds Brian at his wonderfully pretentious best.

‘Battle for the Sun’ is one of the more unusual Placebo tracks, but the building intensity and insistent vocal give it a defiant urgency.

Back in December of 2008 Placebo played a unique semi acoustic set at the Angkor Wat temple in Cambodia at the beginning of the ‘Battle for the Sun’ tour. The 40m showcase is really something special with its atmospheric vibe; check out this mesmerizing version of Meds with a superb performance from the new boy on drums at the time, Steve Forrest.

Placebo has never shied away from doing a cover and ‘Sleeping with Ghosts’ saw them bring an album’s worth of B-sides and one offs together for a bonus disc that included songs by artists as diverse as Kate Bush and Darts. Their version of Where Is My Mind by the Pixies is so damn good that even Black Francis (A.K.A Frank Black) came out at the legendary Paris show to play on it. I actually get goosebumps from head to toe when I watch this.

Check out the trailer for the MTV Unplugged show here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVGrqoOxT4o

He For She

Posted on by edwardlayland

While thinking back over the music I’ve enjoyed during the past year, I came to the realisation that a very large portion of it came from female artists or female fronted bands. This really shouldn’t be noteworthy in this day and age, but if you think about it, with the exception of the pop market, most musical styles are still pretty much male dominated. I mean, think of your all time favourite metal/rock/indie/rap acts and basically only indie really has a high chance of including a girl and she’s almost certainly gonna be called Kim.

As such, Indie continues to lead the way with a much higher percentage of female fronted bands; maybe it’s down to being a less image oriented genre, where who or what you are is far less important than your art, who knows? Even so, with the exception of Florence’s last minute headline slot at Glastonbury, the UK festivals were still shamelessly male dominated, indicating that there remains an undercurrent of male bias in the industry. This is highlighted by the fact that when you consider that based on merit alone, rather than the questionable practice of positive discrimination; that is, using record sales and critical acclaim as a guide, the main stage at Reading, Glastonbury, Leeds or IoW could easily have lined up Bjork, Florence, Sleater-Kinney, Wolf Alice, Courtney Barnett and Soak on the main stage; wouldn’t exactly have been torture now, would it?

So, whether the powers at be choose to recognize it or not, there has been a lot of damn fine records released this year by women across all genres, even Rap. Therefore, in my best Emma Watson-esque spirit, I think it only fair and right to give a shout out to some of the supremely talented ladies that have contributed so much to my listening pleasure of late.

Although the overriding misogyny of the Rap/Hip-hop scene continues to be a difficult hurdle for female talent, the likes of Kate Tempest, the classy Dej Loaf and Little Simz represent a new generation of talented girl rappers. In addition, 2015 also saw the return of some old school talent; with the unique Missy Elliott coming back with a stylish new single after stealing the half time show at the Superbowl from under Katy Perry’s nose. However, it’s Tairrie B., one of the most pioneering performers in the game, that has most surprised and challenged me this year with her return to the genre for the accomplished ‘Vintage Curses’ project (https://hardpresseded.wordpress.com/2015/08/18/tairrie-b-vintage-curses/). It showed that she still has a flow comparable with any major rap artist around right now, as well as being as empowering as ever. Check out this badass remix of ‘Wicked Witch of the West Coast’ by Mediatrix – another upcoming female talent.

Hard Rock / Heavy Metal is another complicated area for women, but the likes of Pvris and Marmozets are breaking down old fashioned sexism with the sheer quality of their material. Speaking of quality, I can’t put down the smoking ‘Into the Wild Life’ by Halestorm; Lzzy Hale has a superb hard rock vocal and on ‘I Am The Fire’ she is, well, on fire.

As I said before though, it’s the world of indie/alternative where women are really holding their own. I cannot get enough of Wolf Alice’s ‘My Love is Cool’, especially killer tracks like ‘Bros’, ‘Your Love’s Whore’ and ‘You’re a Germ’. Lead vocalist, Ellie Rowsell, has a superb voice, drifting easily from a breathy hush to a full blooded scream on WA’s classy songs – album of the year?

I discovered the old school indie sludge punk of Haybaby a couple of months back and believe they too are set for bigger things. Leslie Hong has a very strong voice and is equally good whether understated or raging; I love her screaming “I don’t give a fuck if you love me anyhow” in the middle of the chorus to ‘Old Friends’, badass.

Laura Hancock of The Echo and The Always, is another vocalist that has seriously impressed me this year. She has a little more bite to her voice, which glides easily amongst the multiple facets of their intriguing record; she can deliver a pop hook with ease, hold her own on rockier numbers but also has the smoothness of a folk singer. This band will be massive.

To be honest, there is so much amazing female talent around right now, whether it’s a tiny upcoming band like False Advertising (Jen Hingley), hot new singer-songwriter like Soak or a legend like Björk, I could go on and on giving examples. Suffice to say that with so much good music on offer I find it staggering that the issue of equality still needs to be addressed in the music business.

10 Reasons The Cult Are Awesome

Posted on by edwardlayland

I blame my brother, he went through a Goth phase at school in about 1987; I was just entering a hard rock/heavy metal phase and the one common ground we developed was The Cult. After resisting the jangly goth lite of ‘Love’, which I now, er, love, I gave in to ‘Electric’ with it’s array of classic rock riffs and soon became a mega fan/collector of all things Cult. I was overjoyed when ‘Sonic Temple’ achieved mega success whilst sounding like only The Cult can sound. They were the first band I ever saw live, well the second if you count their support band Claytown Troupe, at Wembley Arena on the Sonic Temple tour, and I went on to see them another 16 times (I think!) – the only reason I went to Guns n Roses at Milton Keynes Bowl was because The Cult were supporting. Every time I saw them they were fucking awesome; working the stage as hard as hell whatever the crowd; even the lukewarm half sized crowd the last time I caught them in Brazil (2006?) were treated to a relentless performance. IMHO Ian Astbury is the best rock vocalist of a generation – nobody but nobody sounds like him, he has a uniquely rich voice of superb depth that adds a real emotional edge, while Billy Duffy is a cruelly underrated guitarist that can play pretty much anything from badass rock to the ethereal. The Cult are a unique band that never really conformed and could never be pigeon holed and here’s ten reasons why you gotta love em.

Horse Nation
One of the first songs to really show the band’s potential, from the atmospheric intro to the scuttering riffs, it offers a glimpse of what Billy Duffy can do as a guitar player, what the band can do as songwriters and primarily how even with some very familiar elements they manage to sound unique.

Love
The most obvious rocker from the album of the same name, it’s got groove, it’s got feeling and is a showcase for some smoking guitar from Billy as he plays multiple breaks of ever increasing intensity behind Aster’s slow boiling vocal. “Gonna drive away in a big fast car….”

She Sells Sanctuary
This is the song that made them and stands up as a classic until today. I can’t really pinpoint one thing that makes it so good, maybe it’s that it sounds like no one else, maybe it’s the instantly familiar opening chords or the riff structure, or maybe its the multiple hooks; whatever, it works and is a master class in song writing, the 7 minute Long Version from the 12″, with the vaguely ironic clapping at the end, being nothing short of superb.

Love Trooper/Zap City
The Cult had a turbulent time making their third album, Electric; infamously scrapping the Manor Sessions with Steve Brown in favour of a stripped down, rocked up sound with Rick Rubin. The final result worked and both versions are very listenable (despite the god awful ‘Bad Fun’), but two tracks left off the final version of Electric, and rightly so because they don’t really fit, though subsequently used as b-sides, are two little gems from those initial sessions, Love Trooper and Zap City. They are pretty straight forward rockers but there was enough of Love in them to bridge the gap to Electric, and here’s the thing, they stand up as highly listenable until today.


Wolf Child’s Blues
Recorded live in the studio New Year’s Eve 1987 – I fuckin love this song – there’s just something so raw about it. Killer.

Fire Woman
On Sonic Temple Bob Rock helped them marry up their Led Zeppelin aspirations and the atmosphere that Rick Rubin had stripped away to come up with an enormous sounding record the Americans went mad for, and Fire Woman was the perfect lead off; it rocked, had a big ass chorus, some great riffs, the instantly recognisable intro and was just enormous. Winner!

Gone/Real Grrl
The Cult’s eponymous album failed miserably but further listening reveals it to be seriously underrated. The album came out at a difficult time for rock bands, if you weren’t Grunge or Britpop you were going nowhere, as this record did, but in a different context listening to it today, which I have done frequently, there are some great tracks – ‘Gone’ is angry as shit with some seriously hard guitaring from BD while ‘Real Grrrl’ is a superbly structured song brimming with power, energy and emotion.


Love Removal Machine
Although L.R.M is by no means the Cult’s greatest song, it is the best show closer in their armoury; partly because it’s got some groove from the tambourine shakes and the rumbling bass but mainly because you know what’s coming in the frantic closing section; the song rocks back and forth, Billy teases with a cool solo, the Stones-esque riff ebbs and flows, then…bam “Look out here she comes” – “Shake it don’t break it baby” and it’s swirling mosh pit chaos – I should know, I was in it every time.

When I started writing this I didn’t realise The Cult had new material about to drop, lets call it a happy coincidence! Check out killer new track ‘Dark Energy’ right here:https://youtu.be/pSDnqJB3Wc8

Five More British Rock Bands That Could Use a Break

Posted on by edwardlayland

Since staring to write for http://www.alreadyheard.com and subsequently on my own blog I have become more and more involved with bands at the hard end of the music industry.

Earlier in the year I wrote a piece on some upcoming British bands and went on to interview three of them about the difficulties of the industry. (https://hardpresseded.wordpress.com/2015/08/06/five-british-rock-bands-that-could-use-a-break/) The picture they painted was, to be quite frank, fucking depressing and totally awesome in equal measure. Depressing because it is just so damn hard to get anywhere when so little money filters down to this level of the industry, especially given that major labels are now far less likely to take a risk, indie labels live eternally cash strapped and a large amount of so-called music lovers seem to believe that music should be free. Throw in the fact that every five minutes another venue closes and you’ve gotta feel for the bands; not much chance of giving up the day jobs just yet, all the more so when you consider the competitiveness of the scene. Which brings me to the awesome part; the music scene is bubbling with superb new bands! The internet has made life so much easier in many respects; they are able to market themselves, get financing and even sell their product more easily – bandcamp is a veritable hotbed of vibrant new material.

Nevertheless, there is still this disconnection between industry savvy professionals and the pool of talent, so not only do bands have to finance themselves and juggle rehearsals, shows and writing around their day jobs, they then lack top draw professional input in terms of production and or A&R advice, even if they are lucky enough to have a deal, as with one or two of the bands here. Moreover, studio time itself is also expensive, before you throw in a producer, and even if the band have a manager it is rare to find one that really knows about artistic development. So the odds are stacked against new bands, but they keep appearing and here are a handful that I have come across recently that could all use a break, whether in terms of a record deal, quality A&R input or just expanding their fan bases; check them out.

False Advertising
Manchester based trio False Advertising are “twisted power grunge” indie rockers with a serious weight to their riffs and some interestingly quirky touches to their songwriting. They have just the right amount of pop sensibility to write a decent hook and are particularly good vocally, whether it’s Jen Hingley or Chris Warr taking the lead. They are such a DIY band that they also share guitar and drum duties, while Chris does production and Jen takes responsibility for artwork and videos. The addition of Josh Sellars on bass added depth to their songwriting/sound and their totally DIY debut album is pretty damn good. With a bit of polish to their rough edges they could really go places.
(Full review: http://alreadyheard.com/post/128182956195/album-review-false-advertising-false (not my words))

The Endeavour
Peterborough based five piece are on the radio friendly side of alternative rock and certainly know how to write a hook. They showed plenty of potential on their debut EP released earlier this year and have been working hard on the live circuit to build a following. They are strong instrumentally and flirt a little with a number of styles, though they’re at their best when exploring their guitar interplay. They have definite hit-making potential and with a steadying hand could well sail onto bigger things.
(Full review:http://alreadyheard.com/post/124570358619/album-review-the-endeavour-voyage-ep)

Deepshade
Hailing from Wigan, this three piece band have a distinctly seventies feel to their straight ahead hard rocking sound. They do have a slight touch of the psychedelics coming through now and again though, and IMHO their sound has more depth when they mix it up a little and include a few twists and turns. However, lyrically speaking they are socially aware, especially on the highly critical “Out of Hand”, and instrumentally they are seriously talented – there are plenty of top draw riffs and musical interludes that really nail it; throw in the occasional smoking solo and it’s hot rocking heaven. As I said in my review, if they leave their comfort zone a little more when composing they could be set for bigger things.
(Full review: http://alreadyheard.com/post/130061922814/album-review-deepshade-everything-popular-is)

Aurora
Maybe it’s down to the fact that life for a certain section of society always gets a bit shitter under a Conservative government or that the youth of today really are the “Lost Generation”, who knows? But either way the UK metalcore scene is boiling over with top quality bands expressing their disquiet in emphatic style and close to the top of that pile is the hard as nails sound of Aurora. They are a bit less screamy than some bands, which helps add even more weight to their sound, and they are not afraid to mix things up, putting plenty of stops and tempo changes into their songs. When they go on the attack they are badass heavy but when they slow it down they also know how to work a melody to good effect, it’s a good example of where metal is at right now.
(Full review: http://alreadyheard.com/post/132473530378/album-review-aurora-faithbreaker)

Saint (the) Sinner
Spectacular blend of melodic hardcore and alternative rock, Saint (the) Sinner have a theatrical quality á la Panic! At the Disco combined with a seriously hard edge that is really something special. They employ two different vocal styles, one a guttural scream, the other more melodic, which combine to good effect on their catchy as hell songs. The new EP, ‘Masquerades’, was released to coincide with Halloween in a stroke of marketing genius and these guys really look set for bigger things. Their post hardcore side may limit their appeal in the long run but right now they are an interesting proposition – ones to watch.
(Full review: http://alreadyheard.com/post/131955145513/album-review-saint-the-sinner-masquerades-ep)

10 Songs that Never Fail. Ever.

Posted on by edwardlayland

There are certain tracks in the history of music that are like honey to the eardrums; they hit the spot every time and quite simply cannot fall flat. However, what is a classic for one, is not necessarily a classic for all; but here are a handful of tracks that as far as I’m concerned never fail – they are always welcome, whatever the weather.

Elvis Presley – Heartbreak Hotel
Probably the song that changed everything, it’s the perfect showcase for Elvis’ voice and it doesn’t get much better than on the 68 comeback.

The Doors – Roadhouse Blues
“Ladies and Gentlemen, from Los Angeles California, The Doors” enough said.

The Clash – Should I Stay or Should I Go
Great riff, great hook, great tempo change. Winner. Every fuckin time.

AC/DC – You Shook Me All Night Long
Even if you are not a fan of the band, this song is impossible not to like; I guess it’s one of the least AC/DCish tracks of all – the easy intro instantly familiar, the riff understated and the chorus as hooky as hell.

Stevie Wonder – Superstition
I mean, come on it’s got like the funkiest riff ever.

The Undertones – Teenage Kicks
John Peel: “Maybe once a fortnight, after a few days of listening to sizzling new releases and worrying that the music is merging into angst but otherwise characterless soup, I play Teenage Kicks to remind myself exactly how a great record should sound.”

Van Morrison – Brown Eyed Girl
This is a lesson in song writing – how to capture love and nostalgia in three minutes of faultless pop. Listen to it without thinking about someone you love or smiling to yourself.

Dinosaur Jr. – Freak Scene
As far as indie/grunge/alternative rock goes this song is just about unbeatable. It is probably one of the most underrated songs by one of the most underrated bands in rock history. Kurt Cobain once asked J.Mascis to join Nirvana for a reason ya know.

Al Green – Lets Stay Together
Silky smooth. As love songs go, it don`t get no better than this.

Frankie Vallie – Can’t Take My Eyes Off You
Covered over 200 times – quite simply the greatest song ever. Unbeatable.

Eight times Madonna Totally Nailed Being Madonna

Posted on by edwardlayland

Love her or hate her, there’s no denying that Madonna’s constant presence in the industry over the last thirty plus years has generated some memorable moments that only she could’ve pulled off. Along the way she’s entertained people, let her ego and imagination run beyond wild and managed to rub more than one section of society up the wrong way. Ever controversial, ever changing, ever pushing boundaries; when it comes to popular music, will we ever see her like again? Ok, there are better singers, better performers, better everything really, but lets face it, Madonna is the last of the greats – when I was young a new Madonna song was an event; there aren’t many artists around today that could make the front pages with a new song/video/live show – and do you know what? Every now and then she actually came up with a killer tune.

Like a Prayer
She’d already played the sex card on Like a Virgin and she’d already had number one singles, but Like a Prayer was THE defining moment that would shape the years to come. The madcap, pseudo arty video with its sexual and religious imagery and the black Jesus masterstroke upset conservatives across the board, throw in the gospel choir and the superbly executed tempo changes in the mid section and you’ve got perfect Madonnaness.

Vogue
The whole concept was vaguely ridiculous with the cone shaped bras and the silly poses but, somehow, god knows how, she actually got away with it and came up with one of the most enduring pop songs of the time. It looked as though it could have come from a Saturday Night Live skit poking fun at the star but at the time she could do no wrong, amazing how far a little confidence can go.

Justify My Love
Actually written by Lenny Kravitz, who also provides the moany na na nas of the backing vocal, this one made the front pages for its excessive sexual content. Strangely though the most memorable image is the theatrical giggle from Madge as she rushes down the corridor at the end. Perfect Madonna marketing.

Music
After all kinds of reinventions to keep herself in the public eye throughout the nineties; being controversial and then enlisting top producers to stay one step ahead, what does she do? Reinvent herself as herself. It was pretty much back to basics just singing songs and in Music she totally nailed it, it was fresh, had groove and was instantly catchy – perfect pop song….”Is you Madonna?”

American Life
The Ray of Light/Music/ American Life trilogy was arguably the most creative of Madonna’s career and on the title track of the latter she was way out on a limb being Madonna. Live, it had war theatrics, gun shots and helicopters, metal guitars and that rap about drinking Soy Latte and doing Yoga, I mean, what the actual fuck? It’s as mad as a box of frogs but totally kills it; this multi-faceted track chops and changes and goes places where no other pop star would dare to go – she had Michael Moore gushing and upset the entire Republican establishment of George W. Bush’s Iraq invading America.

Into the Groove (American Life tour)
So you’re a forty something pop star with a string of number ones behind you, how do you breathe new life into a classic? A five minute bagpipe intro with your dancers kilted up as a marching band plus Missy Elliott, all executed with a supreme sense of timing of course.

Hung Up
Just when we thought there would be no more reinventions, back she comes as a marauding disco queen with a hook so sharp and a sample so genius that she inadvertently came up with one of the best pop songs of recent years.

Bitch I’m Madonna
She may be pushing sixty, she may be playing catch up rather than setting trends, there may well be just the vaguest air of desperation about her latest guise (the outrageous “S.E.X” totally lacking the cool of Justify my Love) but is it catchy? Yep. Is it current? Yep. Has she still got one butt cheek on the throne of queen of pop? Not really. She’s given up that fight but I think she’s showing that she can still slug it out when she wants to and would maybe be a strong note to finish on.

Maybe now it’s time for Madge to call it a day, not that she is too old to make music, I don’t believe in the ‘too old’ ethic, but maybe it’s time for something different before she becomes a parody of herself. After years of shaking things up how about a break, one last bad ass tour then an MTV unplugged before mentoring the next big thing?

Free Downloads

Posted on by edwardlayland

The more I have explored music outside of the mainstream the more acutely aware I have become of the difficulties of upcoming artists and recently came to the conclusion that I was no longer comfortable with illegal downloading. People can make a case for it, I’m sure there are valid and compelling arguments, but what it basically amounts to is stealing a musicians hard graft – would you steal a table from a carpenter or a painting by an artist?
Even so, many artists do, for whatever reason, actually make their music available for you to download freely and legally, si as a result of bands that I have featured offering stuff and then stumbling around on bandcamp, I’ve put together a list here, which will be updated occasionally in future, but in the meantime here’s a whole bunch of stuff worth checking out.

Already Heard Compilation
http://alreadyheard.bandcamp.com/album/already-heard-recommends-volume-3

Of Allies
http://email.superflymarketing.co.uk/h/j/116548E6A9F3EC26

Tairrie B.
http://tairrieb.bandcamp.com/album/vintage-curses

Wolf Alice
http://marianomundo.bandcamp.com/track/she Wolf Alice

Honeyblood
http://honeyblood.bandcamp.com/album/thrift-shop

Smoker
https://smoker.bandcamp.com/album/monchu-i

Lux Lisbon
http://luxlisbon.com/free

Heyrocco
http://heyrocco.bandcamp.com/album/greatest-hits-of-the-90s

Endeavour
https://endeavourofficial.bandcamp.com/album/the-advancement-in-atrophy

Five Grand Stereo
http://www.fivegrandstereo.com/download-david-bowie-mobile

Honeybear
http://honeybear.bandcamp.com/releases

Haybaby
http://haybabyband.com/album/nightmare-man
http://haybabyband.com/album/its-okay

DFH
http://www.pureliquidmetal.com/

Age of Atlas
http://ageofatlas.us4.list-manage1.com/subscribe?u=d7b943afbb70868a5ce1847b0&id=be1988e275

4 Dead in 5 Seconds
https://4deadin5seconds.bandcamp.com/album/curses-free-download

Noam Bleen EP
https://noambleen.bandcamp.com/album/noam-bleen

Forever Still Scars EP
https://foreverstill.bandcamp.com/album/scars-ep-name-your-price

I Talk To Strangers
https://ittsmusic.bandcamp.com/album/i-talk-to-strangers

Why Britpop Was Actually The Business

Posted on by edwardlayland

Recently, it was the twentieth anniversary of the Blur vs Oasis battle for number one at the grotesque height of Britpop. It was a defining moment in a divisive period of British music which is as maligned as it is celebrated.
Largely born as a reaction to Nirvana sweeping all the plates off the dinner table with one deft movement, the somewhat ridiculously dubbed Britpop movement was characterized by a necessity for British rock/pop/indie to take back a bit of cultural identity (including the flag from the fascists) and sing about British things to British people. It was actually something of a watershed in the music industry, forcing Indie as a genre to cheer up, take a shower and usurp the mainstream. Indie pop has gone on to become a dominant force in the UK music industry, allowing the likes of Coldplay and Mumford and Sons to become global megastars (oh.), but also providing a platform for bands like Arctic Monkeys and the Foals etc (phew). Ok, so much of what went on in Britpop was forgettable and actually quite embarrassing; but there were a few occasions when it really was something special….

Suede at the Brits
The Brit awards, the British Music industry’s annual pat on the back, were nothing short of awful at the turn of the nineties so it was quite a shock to all and sundry when Suede were invited to play – the disquiet amongst the audience is palpable, but the teenagers around the country glued to their TV sets hoping to be drip fed something they could get hold of were finally rewarded. Killer.

This is a Low
Blur’s Parklife album was the real game changer, they’d built on the confidence gained on Modern Life Is Rubbish and had crashed into the top five with the trashy Girls and Boys, but outside of the big hits there was what some consider to be Blur’s most accomplished track – the gorgeous ‘This is a Low”, inspired by a handkerchief showing the shipping lanes around the UK given to him by Alex James, Damon and co. crafted a quite beautiful, extremely British, slice of melancholy. Superb.

Live Forever
While Nirvana were singing about hating themselves and wanting to die, Oasis were uniting the masses in mutual dissatisfaction and lovin it.

Common People
No description necessary; genuine classic that helped make Jarvis a national treasure. Still awesome.

Connection
Hardly the most original song of the period but the wonderfully angular riff is instantly recognisable and still widely used in TV soundtracks. It stands up as a wonderful pop song and Justine Frischmann’s finest moment, without whom none of this would ever have happened.

Aquiesce
Once upon a time Noel Gallagher was the most prolific songwriter in Britain, although he was never shy in recycling an idea or two, he was actually overflowing with top drawer tracks and chucking them out on b-sides when he coulda/shoulda saved them for the third LP. Still, pretty much sums up the times – livin it large like it would never end – money and tunes to burn.

Road Rage
One of the endearing qualities of the Britpop era was the number of strong females involved; while the Spice Girls “Girl Power” brand was running concurrently, Britpop had its own version with Justine, Shirley Manson’s Garbage, Lauren Laverne and Kenickie, Louise Wener’s Sleeper and the Cerys Matthews fronted Catatonia. Cerys’ voice was nothing short of fantastic and her band were responsible for two of the finest pop tunes of the era; the X-files inspired Mulder and Scully and the hook filled ‘Road Rage’.

This is just a glimpse of the occasions when Britpop nailed it; Blur had many a good tune, Oasis’ first album was nothing short of superb and many other bands such as Supergrass, The Bluetones and The Verve had their moments; check out a comprehensive playlist here http://www.deezer.com/playlist/1350918077?utm_source=deezer&utm_content=playlist-1350918077&utm_term=140164493_1440430600&utm_medium=web

14 Reasons Why 2015 is Totally Retro:

Posted on by edwardlayland

This year is so old school I could be 16 again – punk influences are everywhere, comebacks are in, you can hear the seventies and eighties references all around and the over 40s (and 50s) are releasing killer tunes across the board; check it…

Blur are back, sounding fresh and vibrant on their superb new album, but as always the vaguest air of 90s nostalgia is  lurking beneath the surface, which in their case is no bad thing.

Iceland’s very own queen of (Brit)pop is also back and better than ever on deep dark cuts of emotional torture.

Old school rappers Public Enemy are sounding bang up-to-date whilst using all their old tricks; stacked with samples, Chuck D’s rich baritone flow kills it, nobody else could rap about being 55 and pull it off.

Kendrick’s smokey voice flows like liquid honey on this seventies fueled slice of badass rapping – there’s more than a hint of James Brown about it – precisely why Kendrick is The Negus right now. 

Courtney Barnett sounds a little like a punky Sheryl Crow recycling some familiar sounding riffs punctuated with barbed wire lyrics: “I want to wash out my head with turpentine cyanide I dislike this internal diatribe when I try to catch your eye”.

Slightly clunky guitar riff and bubbly bass dance awkwardly like mismatched partners at a school disco on this deliciously hook ridden punky pop from the original Riot Girls. 

Quite frankly this is rather a disturbing journey through the anger and frustration of recovering from a brutal beating – fodder for the 80s influenced dark synth pop tones lurking beneath the surface on this accomplished work from the Icelanders. 

Back from a 13 year hiatus, Conor Oberst and his punk buddies are rocking; angular riffing, up-tempo punky climaxes, anti-capitalism – sounds like 1983 got dusted off and brought back to life.

Full Review: http://alreadyheard.com/post/122343000330/album-review-desaparecidos-payola

Speaking of which, this 29 strong supergroup are doing their best to actually go back to 1983. 

Full Review: http://alreadyheard.com/post/126338235594/album-review-teenage-time-killers-greatest-hits

Father John Misty’s ultra sincere dark humour sounds like it was pulled straight out of the seventies, blending classic folk and country rhythms with barbed wire on Bored in the U.S.A. 

Chemical Brothers, The Prodigy and Leftfield are all back and it’s like they never went away. 

Failure are (also) back from a god knows how long hiatus and have picked up right where they left off – Tool, Queens of the Stone Age and Interpol are all soooo jealous. 

Full Review: http://alreadyheard.com/post/123977117304/album-review-failure-the-heart-is-a-monster

That Leon Bridges dude flew straight in from 1961 – described as “Authentic Retro”. 

Dammit, even Madonna has a new record. 

Five British Rock Bands that Could Use a Break.

Posted on by edwardlayland

In my capacity as a contributing writer for www.alreadyheard.com, an alternative rock website in the UK, I’ve been lucky enough to review some really interesting stuff, as well as some pathetically indulgent musically limited shit. Among the non-shit are a whole bunch of upcoming British bands suffering at the hard end of the music business, where lack of money and/or record company support means that a DIY philosophy is prerequisite. Not only are these bands writing their own songs, but they are often using crowdfunding (pledgemusic), producing themselves and in some cases doing their own marketing and booking their own gigs, which is all very admirable but is obviously not a sustainable model. Without significant record sales, top drawer live opportunities or some real financial backing from a record label, bands like these are living on borrowed time and their talents will be confined to an eternity on the pub circuit. Ok, I’m the first to admit that none of these guys are the finished article and the artistic direction of their videos leaves more than a little to be desired, but each one them has talent and all have potential to develop given the right support. Check them out below – with links 🙂

Romans – upbeat hard rock; very succinctly summed up on the “About” of their facebook page – “We like riffs”.

https://m.facebook.com/romansonline?refsrc=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fromansonline

Blind Wives – indie rock crossover with a punky edge recently released their second EP showing off mature song writing skills.


http://blindwives.bandcamp.com/

An Elegy – midlands metalcore band with an immense heaviness and interesting song structures born of hard studio time.

https://anelegy.bandcamp.com/

Quiet Lions – Brighton based melodic rock band creating expansive sound scapes.


http://www.quietlions.com/

Of Allies – these guys are ready – hard edged alternative rock with strong songs and plenty of appeal.

http://ofallies.com/ (free download available)

All the bands featured here, which is just the tip of the iceberg of the underground/independent scene, are available for streaming on Deezer (and probably Spotify but I couldn’t be arsed to troll their user unfriendly interface to see), where I also have an ever growing playlist of upcoming bands from around the world:
http://www.deezer.com/playlist/1328065347