The Cure : “You carry your love in a trinket, hanging round your throat.”

Posted on by

I was very young when I first heard The Cure. I was terrified but I couldn’t tear my eyes away. I still do that now. If something scares me, I am more likely to keep at it. I don’t know why, I guess I just want to know what happens. That video by Shakespears Sister- Stay. It used to scare me shitless when Marcella Detroit appeared looking all creepy and menacing. But I couldn’t tear my eyes from the tv. I was only 5 years old, but I was drawn in to how dark and eerie it all was. This very feeling came over me when I used to watch the video to Lullaby by The Cure.

I love The Cure, that’s as simple as I can put it. But my love for Robert and the boys goes way deeper than this. If someone asked me what my favourite song by The Cure was, I couldn’t answer straight away. They’d have to sit me down for an hour or so with 3 cups of tea so I could gather my thoughts. Make a list, and try to come up with a firm favourite. Right now, I’d easily say  The Perfect Girl is the one I’d choose. Ask me tomorrow and I may say M is my favourite. One thing that has never (and will never) change is my favourite record by The Cure. Always and forever I will declare Seventeen Seconds as being my ultimate favourite record by The Cure.

Giving yourself over to a band is a better feeling than giving yourself completely to a person. I’m probably only saying this because I’ve never given myself to a person before. A band is easier to do so, but I could be wrong. Straight up, The Cure saved my life. Robert’s lyrics summed up every horrific feeling I ever had go through my head during secondary school. Certain songs summed up how shite I’d feel when I’d hurt someone by being careless and an all round wanker. I’ve improved with age. The Cure taught me how to be careful and gentle. That there is no harm in being sensitive and cautious- but I feel it trying to be changed by some people, sometimes.

I always remember being sat on the floor in the living room going through some old CDs. One of them was a record by The Cure. It had a song on it that changed everything for me. It changed how I viewed music, it changed how I listened to it. It drew me in so intensely, I just couldn’t stop playing it. So, I was looking at these old CDs and I remember my Stepdad telling me, “Listen to A Forest.” I was really young, only 10 years old. So I went up to my room and played it. I had it on repeat for hours and hours. The song is just under 6 minutes long. I didn’t want to do anything but listen to it. The echoes of Robert crying out, “The girl was never there.” It’s always stayed with me. I stand-by the bass in this song to be the best I’ve ever ever heard. I listen to A Forest everyday still, and it still leaves me in awe. I can’t move a muscle when I listen to it. The world stops when I listen to it, it just has all my attention. All of Seventeen Seconds has this grip over me. Like a lover that you cannot shake off, that’s how I regard Seventeen Seconds. It is vital to my life, and nothing in this world can rip its meaning away from me.

I’ve always wanted to write down what The Cure meant to me. I would’ve done this years or months ago- but I guess the words weren’t there. I’m not even sure they are there right now to be honest. Trying to explain my love for them is like me trying to tell you how much I love Morrissey or Metric or No Doubt or Garbage or The Jesus And Mary Chain. Each band has played such an important role in my life. Each band has drawn me closer to certain people. Each band has driven me away from one thing and into another. Each band has played a huge part in saving my life when I was a teenager. For instance, take Return Of Saturn by No Doubt and Version 2.0 by Garbage. Both records got me through secondary school. If I didn’t play these records every day when I was there, I probably would’ve been another statistic. Music gets you through. Every part of you wishes that you could thank the band that saved your life. Yet all you can do it play the music loudly and sing equally loud, if not louder. The songs were written for you. Cling onto them as hard as you can.

Sometimes you find a band, sometimes a band finds you. My relationship with The Cure is a combination of the two. At the time, I was too young to be a lost soul. That hit me later in life. As I listen to them now with older ears, I fully get what they mean to me. I’ve got 6 months left of being 25 and I’ve done nothing of worth with my life. I listen to The Cure, and I think..maybe I have. Maybe I’ve done a couple of things right. There’s always that fucking uncertainty niggling in the back of your head, and it sometimes likes to push its way to the front so you don’t forget its there. You learn to control yourself as you get older. The Cure make all these feelings of self-doubt and uncertainty okay. If it wasn’t for Robert Smith’s words I just don’t know what I would’ve done. You get some people who think being miserable is vital to them. That they have to be sad. Let me tell you now, it really isn’t. There is nothing good about being sad. There is however, something good about knowing you are not the only one.

But you cannot be sad forever.

There was a time where I associated The Cure with a really dark part of my life. I hated myself more than a person should, and all I could do was listen to music that summed up all this despair. I guess it threw me into a darker place quicker than I anticipated. Now? Now I listen to The Cure and I just hear how influential they truly are. The bass in their songs is a signature sound that you can hear in so many bands that are around right now. The bass is so hypnotising and causes you to jolt your body in a way that you didn’t think it could. I get this now from listening to Warpaint. It’s still there, it will always be there. The Cure will always be influencing bands. They just have this legacy that goes beyond saving lives.

I’ve been a fan of The Cure for most of my life. They’ve been there through pretty much everything-good and bad. I guess it is why I get super pissed off when someone says, “I love The Cure. My favourite song is Friday I’m In Love.” Then they say the only record they own is their greatest hits. Man. NO! You need to hear EVERY album they have ever done. You need to hear every single record they have ever done in order to see how influential and important they are. Where do you start? From the start, of course. I recommend playing A Forest through headphones in the dark, alone. It becomes like a ritualistic sort of thing.

The Cure always leave you in a euphoric state when you listen to them. I’ve been listening to them properly since I was 10 years old, I doubt I will ever snap out of this trance they have put me in.

Fun fact: When I wake up in the morning I look like Robert Smith. It’s probably a sign that I need a haircut.

Beach House-Bloom.

Posted on by

My mum bought me a copy of Teen Dream, and I guess that is why that record holds more meaning for me than I can actually wrap my head around. I remember walking home in the cold last February after I found out she was ill, and I had Take Care on repeat. I listen to it, and I immediately think of her. Sometimes I wish I was a Superhero so I could switch it round. It’s like Kate Bush sang, “If I only could I’d make a deal with God and get him to swap our places.” If you ever want to see me bawl like a baby, play that song. I cannot listen to it. Back to Beach House. So, Take Care hold so much for me. Victoria’s voice breaks me heart every single time. If I could sing, I’d want a voice like hers. Instead I sound like Captain Beefheart meets Bob Dylan..if I try hard enough.

Bloom is magical. Bloom is hopeful. Bloom is everything you want from a Beach House record.

Beach House have this stunning way of just making you feel like you are in love, even if you are without. They make you feel like your heart is in the palm of another’s as you listen to their music. They heal you, they break you too- but they provide so much comfort that you do not mind any hurt that comes your way. Beach House are like Warpaint, I cannot listen to them with anyone else. I just can’t. I think it’s because when I listen to them I must have my eyes shut, be utterly still and take it all in. I guess it’d be nice to share this with someone, but I’d worry they wouldn’t feel the same. Then I’d be sad and my faith in humanity would fade away some more.

When they released Myth a month or so ago, it felt like some kind of religious take over. I’m not a religious person. I’m stupidly spiritual but I keep my beliefs to myself. Listening to Myth was so euphoric. I felt like something had clicked in my brain. I always get that when I listen to Beach House. Their music is so beautiful, I fail to find the words to write down. I feel that whatever I write about Beach House just doesn’t do them any justice at all. For me, I think Myth is going to be one of those songs I go to when everything seems wrong. The lyrics are shaped like life advice. I rarely turn to people for advice, I’d rather fuck up on my own accord and be the only person who sinks down with the consequences. I listen to Myth, and it just feels like well, a sense of security. That whatever I do, just makes sure it is the best thing for me I guess. I learnt a lot about growing up by listening to Beach House.

“If you build yourself a myth know just what to give. What comes after this momentary bliss. Consequence of what you do to me.”

“Would you rather go unwilling. The heart is full and now its spilling. Barreling down the steps. Only a moment left.”

This line from On The Sea is one of the most accurate and honest lines from the record. Something so simple that just makes you feel as if you can do anything. And maybe, just maybe- you can. You’ve just got to believe I guess. If you don’t believe, then you’ve only got yourself to blame. But we like to shift the blame don’t we. Beach House, on the other hand, just make you accept everything for what it is and let go. That’s all you can do.

Being a fan of Beach House has taught me something valuable. Something I thought only tough people could do. They taught me how to let something go, and to just carry on. These are things you are supposed to find out the hard way. Maybe I did, but Beach House made the grip less strong and the desire to go forward stronger. I owe them a lot.

Listening to Bloom makes you feel weightless. You feel as if you are letting go. I know I’m banging on about it, but they truly make you feel like everything around you no longer matters. Maybe developing strength in what makes you weak causes this. I have no idea. Beach House give you all these unnamed feelings that no other could ever give you. No other will give you.

Victoria Legrand has THE most distinctive voice around. The way she sings is so delicate; it makes you trust in every single word she sings. The music that she and Alex Scally create cause your lonely feelings to be cut wide open, then they leave you. They leave you as you slowly sink into their music. This is extremely evident in Bloom. I hope with all I have, that people wake up to Beach House. They’ve gone unnoticed for long enough now.

Bloom holds the same amount of beauty as Teen Dream, Devotion and their self-titled record all have. They just create beautiful music that fills your bones with hope and love. There are twinges of fragility in this record, and that alone makes it something you must believe in. Music is extremely powerful. Victoria and Alex create music that you, thankfully, cannot define. The only word that can sum it all up is beautiful, but even that isn’t good enough. Bloom is for the lost, the found, lovers, loveless, lonely, confused, sad, vulnerable it is for everyone. You cannot spot a Beach House fan. Beach House make you gentle and careful. And in a world where being an utter bastard is glorified, they are much-needed. I’ll take being a sensitive soul over being a careless tough person any day.
“You watch the shape these things are taking ’till you cry out in your sleep. Does it become you when you’re under? Your heart is racing. You’re taking everything to heart.”

 

Best Coast-The Only Place.

Posted on by

The second record. The dreaded second record. Make or break a band. Or so they say. Personally, I just think it is some kind of superstition or whatever to shit up a band. Don’t buy into it. Don’t believe what anyone ever tells you. The only place you’ll find truth is in a Spiderman comic. But does that mean you have to believe me? You can if you want.

I’ve been hopelessly and stupidly in love with Best Coast for the past 2 years or so. I heard Boyfriend and I felt like I had heard the song that’d change everything for me. Obviously I substituted Girl for Boy, the song always holds so much for me. The debut record just reminds me of Summer. Every day since I bought it 2 years ago, I’ve played it. I’ve played it to death, and I’m not entirely sure if I am ready to let it go and open myself up to the new record. I mean, can I really love The Only Place as much as I love Crazy For You? Well, as someone who foolishly has a lot of love to give; I can. I can truly love this record with all I have.

Alright so some naughty so and so has uploaded it to YouTube, but I need cheering up so I decided to listen to it. I WILL be buying The Only Place when it comes out, so its okay. I don’t illegally (or legally) download music. It’s pointless. I need to have the record in my hands. The Only Place is so fucking different from Crazy For You. Those who want that same ol’ lo-fi vibe, go back and listen to Crazy For You and refuse to open yourself up to something new (you boring sods!) The Only Place is more 60s girl groups than anything else. Tales of heartbreak with big drums, it’s the perfect merge of topics and sounds. Maybe I am just utterly biased towards Best Coast. I just think Bethany has one of the best voices around. So it isn’t as big/bold as..whoever- that’s why I love her. You can pick up on every tremble, crackle and sense of vulnerability in her voice. You cannot pick up on lonely feelings in something that is overproduced. If you are seeking Crazy For You all over again, then well, I guess the only thing these two records have in common is that Bethany allows you to truly connect with her, and relate to every word she is singing.

There is so much heartbreak on this record, and at times a sense of not feeling good enough. The feelings that we all feel at some point. The feelings that make us human. You should never be ashamed of that. It is totally okay to feel that way, I guess it keeps you going. Sometimes the worst feeling you can possibly imagine keeps you going. This is why I just love Best Coast. The way in which Bethany touches on these topics makes it totally okay for you to be eating cold pizza at 3am in ripped jeans, watching really bad tv shows and crying at animal rescue adverts. The alternative is sleep, but not all of us get to experience that. What I’m trying to get across is that, Best Coast make it okay for you to hit rock bottom. They make it okay for you to feel low and to currently be worthless. They give you hope. Enough hope to get through the Summer. Enough hope to go through Hell and back.

I should probably mention certain songs, right?

How They Want Me To Be is on there. I’m so fucking happy about that, because that song came out at a really vital time for me. Like, it is okay to be who you truly are although others want you to be a certain way. Never ever do that. Never give in to what people want and expect from you. Dreaming My Life Away makes you want to just lie on a bed of water and float away some place without any way of being contacted or bothered. You will find utter peace in this record. I’m pretty sure Dreaming My Life Away could be my favourite, for now.

I adore Better Girl. I think most of us want to improve who we are, and what we are. Songs like this make it easier to accept this. Changing is difficult especially when others call you out on it. Bollocks to it all! Do what makes you happy, and be honest with yourself. I’ve got a lot of love reserved for the song, Last Year. I’ll call that one out as a favourite too.

From listening to this record, I seem to have learnt a lot. Maybe I knew it all along, and I needed Best Coast to drag it out. Sure you can sense some of that lo-fi vibe, but it is NOTHING like Crazy For You and that’s not a bad thing. I say this a lot, but you truly cannot expect a band to keep making the same record over and over. This is why certain bands last because they keep changing with every record. You can find this in the works of The Kills, Placebo, IAMX and of course, Best Coast. To constantly sound the same over and over shows you haven’t grown. We are always changing whether we like to admit it or not. When one of your favourite bands changes their sound on every record, you feel at ease with the concept of changing. It makes it easier.

The Only Place is not just the perfect album for the Summer. It is one of the most perfect records I’ve heard this year, and I spend every day listening to Music. It isn’t easy to make a second record that competes with the first, but Best Coast have done it. I’ll probably end up playing this every single day much like I did with Crazy For You..for 2 years solid. I think that justifies just how brilliant Best Coast are. We need them.

Oh and also, pretty much backs up my theory on duos being the best!

The Rag N Bone Man.

Posted on by

There is something comforting about hearing a loud piece of music tear open your eardrums and makes you feel like your face has melted. Then you also can find this kind of comfort in music that just zones you out; like you cannot be touched. You are so relaxed, nothing in the world can touch you. So what happens when both happen at the same time? It’s happening right now, it’s ALL happening.

Obviously to create such a feeling it’d have to be a band, right? It’d have to be at least three people, correct? Wrong. Entirely wrong.

The Rag N Bone Man is just one chap from the mean and murky depths of Scotland. Do you get that from listening to his music? Nah. I thought I was listening to the offspring of Seasick Steve for a second. The Rag N Bone Man is just fucking incredible. The Rag N Bone Man is also known as Lew Palgrave. Just one person is making this noise. This noise that makes you want to throw glass bottles at wall and affectionately punch your best friend in the arm. Then hug them out of sheer joy, and jump up and down. All these mixed feelings are created through thrashing guitars, dominating drums and highly crude lyrics that are just mind-blowing. It’s dirt, utter dirt but so passionate- you cannot afford to be a prudish soul whilst listening to The Rag N Bone Man.

This is the kind of music that your folks probably tell you to stay away from, that it will corrupt you. Thing is, there’s something really cool about having your brain taken over by musicians. My thoughts are part song lyrics, part desire to be a Superhero. The Rag N Bone Man is like the aggressive Bob Dylan of our time. He’s on a different level to anything else around.

You can check out his sounds at : http://petrolbombrecords.bandcamp.com/album/the-rag-n-bone-man-4-track-demo

He’s a one-man riot that has to be heard. You’ve turned your back on music because there’s no heart or soul? Pretty sure TRNBM can change that filthy mind of yours.

You feel violated and dirty after listening to this. But no part of you wants to change it, it’s a unamed feeling he gives you and to do anything about it would be highly foolish.

Metric-Youth Without Youth (new song.)

Posted on by

Dear Emily Haines, will you marry me?

Alright. I love Metric. I love Metric more than I love cereal. This is a lot of love. I became a fan of Metric when Live It Out came out. I felt like I had heard something truly life changing and inspiring. I was right, I’m rarely right. But sometimes, I get it right. Metric have been a huge part of my life since then. I love them as much as I love Garbage, The Kills, The Cure and Morrissey. That’s how big my love is.

And now? Now we FINALLY have a new song.

Emily Haines’ voice is like a cuddle. It comforts you when you are full of despair and uncertainty. Right now, I need this song. Right now, this band are saving my soul. Once again. I fucking owe Metric BIG TIME. Their lyrics have always made me feel like, “you know what..it’ll be okay.” Maybe it will be, maybe it won’t be. I don’t know. Nobody does. All I know is right now, I have an amazing song on a constant loop. I can’t turn it off. I don’t want to turn it off.

Now, you see what always happens when a band that have been away for a while is that you get some idiots going on about “OH THEY TOTALLY SOLD OUT.” Bitch, please. Metric haven’t sold out at all. It’s called EXPERIMENTING. Would you really want a band to keep making the same record over and over? Hell no. That’s boring. Metric constantly give you something you have never heard before with each record (EPs included too.)

If I could put everything I feel into words, I would. But I truly can’t. Metric leave me speechless. Metric make me proud to have certain traits. Traits I am told I need to get rid off. Fuck it, I won’t. I’m keeping them. Metric voice vulnerability in a way no one else does. Metric voice all those empty feelings that are unclear. They say what you can’t. But make you feel like you can do all the things you thought you couldn’t do.

I’m going to bring back to the band’s quote on the new record :

“SYNTHETICA is about insomnia, fucking up, fashion, all the devices and gadgets attached to our brains, getting wasted, watching people die in other countries, watching people die in your own country, dancing your ass off, questioning the cops, poetic justice, standing up for yourself, sex, the apocalypse, doing some stupid shit and totally regretting it but then telling everyone it made you stronger, leaving town as a solution to unsolvable problems, owning your actions and owning your time.”

Synthetica is the record that you will have as a crutch to carry you through. Much like all their records before.

Miri. Candy Bar, London. 30th April 2012.

Posted on by

Let’s be honest, nothing good ever happens on a Monday night does it? I know you can have a good/bad time any day of the week. I think I have a point to make..but I’m tired and I have no idea. So I’ll just get to the point.

You know when you hear a voice and every part of you just falls hopelessly in love with what you are hearing? It takes a hell of a lot for me to do that, mainly because I’m probably far too cautious for my own good. I’d say I allowed myself to feel like this after seeing Miri last night because I drank a lot of wine beforehand. True I did drink wine, but it played no part. I was fully aware of what I was witnessing.

Lyrics are a big thing for me. If I can’t believe in what I am listening to, I won’t enjoy it. It is always about connecting with a singer on a personal level. When you feel like, “Oh shit..they are telling my life story” that’s when you know you’ve found something truly special. It’s a bit like falling in love really. You feel a bit sick because you feel something quite intense, but at the same time-it is something that makes so much sense. You’re not entirely sure if you can wrap your head around it all.

As I said, lyrics are huge for me. Miri’s lyrics are like someone has torn your heart out and written down all that has been engraved upon it. Some of the things, you wish to forget. Some of the things, just get you through the day. Take her song Blue Skies. Keep in mind that the gig was acoustic. It was heartbreaking. I honestly felt someone had gone into my head and written down everything that was floating around. It is such a beautiful song. If you have a constant feeling of longing and wanting burning inside you- this song will be everything to you. I cannot stop listening to it.

I should probably write about the actual gig, but I’m sure I spent most of it just staring in awe attempting to take it all in. It was a truly beautiful moment. She even made a really shit song by a really shit person good (she covered Cheryl Cole, but it’s okay. She did it really well so you forgot it was a cover.)

You know when you watch a person sing, and you can tell that it means everything to them? We need more artists like that. We need more honesty and passion in music. You think you’ll find the next best thing on a reality show? Hell NO. She was playing in Candy Bar last night, and you missed out if you weren’t there. Candy Bar was the perfect place to see her. An intimate setting that really allowed her to show off just how perfect her voice truly is.

I could honestly write a thousand more words about last night but it’d just seem like some kind of mental rant and I think I need to stop doing that.

http://soundcloud.com/findmiri

Lester Bangs. 30 Years.

Posted on by

30 Years ago today my ultimate literature idol died. Maybe I should be concerned that most people I look up to are dead, but I’m not.

I first became aware of Lester Bangs when I was discussing what I wanted to do with my life with some relatives. My auntie and uncle dropped Lester’s name. They gave me a copy of Psychotic Reactions and Carburetor Dung and it changed my life. It made me realise what I wanted to do, for real. There’s not much I am sure of, but I’ve always been sure of wanting to be a Music Writer. I know I’ll never get paid for it but you cannot put a price on passion, on the thing you love.

Lester’s writing style is one I admire so much. As easily as I can adapt to in-house styles, I much prefer writing from a personal angle. That’s why I fell in love with Lester’s work. He wrote from the heart, was brutally honest and did it because it was all he knew. I can relate to that so much. I always believe that if you cannot do something from the heart, then just don’t bother doing it at all. There’s no point.

If he was still alive now, I’d probably do all I possibly could to meet him and just thank him. Him and John Peel made me realise that it was totally normal to care for nothing else but Music and to build your life around it.

I could write thousands and thousands of words about Lester and why I love him. And how he inspires me on a daily basis, but I’ve said it all before.

If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t be doing this. You can decide if that’s a good or bad thing though.

R.I.P Lester. You’re always missed.

Vermillion Sands.

Posted on by

Found another Italian bands. I clearly mean business with this now. I don’t understand that phrase. I know my love is more than likely reserved for L.A. based bands, possibly in the hopes someone picks up on how vital it is I live there and decides they want to take me under their wing (not a euphemism with this one this time.) Alright, so Italy. What have you gone and done now?

Alright so, Vermillion Sands have a wonderfully weird lo-fi sound. I know a lot of the lo-fi music I listen to has a similar rugged sound. But with Vermillion Sands have a more delicate sound out part of you knows that, behind the vulnerable sound there is something raw just dying to come out. That’s a quality I really dig in music, and people I guess too. When you hear something quite frail but you know there’s a tough tone just dying to come out. Vermillion Sands are, as often as I say it, unlike anything I’ve heard before. They may not take me into a different world but they still put me on a high that I look for in a sound, in a band. Things like that, well, you cannot fault it ever.

I’m just going to throw it out there- I cannot believe music like this is coming from Italy. You have no idea how proud I am to be Italian right now. Sure most of us associate that wonderful country with producing some REALLY bad dance music (Eiffel 65..don’t look it up, you know the song and it’s now probably stuck in your head.) This is the kind of music you’d hear in a dirty, intimate bar. That’s the best kind of music. When a sound sounds quite rough (the good kind, I mean not overproduced you know) with vocals that are so pure and precious, I don’t know. It just makes all the wrong in the world slip away. That’s the power of music right there.

Music should elevate the soul. Make the heart skip a beat Every feeling you are told to feel towards a person you dig. Well, music can give you that too. I’m more likely to find it in music now. Bands like Vermillion Sands make it easy. A lo-fi hillbilly kind of vibe is underrated. Kids, get on board. This is coming back.

Be Forest.

Posted on by

I’m a shite Italian, because the only Italian music I have ever listened to are the likes of Vasco Rossi and LitFiba. They were way before my time, and in all honesty? I wasn’t really a fan. Then I got to about 16 and my ears were turned onto Lacuna Coil. If you don’t think Cristina is one of the world’s most stunning women (I don’t care what your sexuality is) then please go get your eyes tested. All that has now changed. I used to think that the best thing to come from Italy was Campari, how wrong I was. How very wrong I was indeed. So, what is the best thing to have come from Italy? Pesaro to be exact. Well, it is THIS :

Be Forest give me that same feeling some of my favourite bands give me. You don’t have to know me on a personal level (be grateful you don’t) to know that my main obsessions are The Jesus And Mary Chain, Siouxise and The Cure. I know it is oh so typical. But I’m not some 16-year-old trying to be cool so I can have one up on my friends. I’m 25 years old, and I was brought up listening to those bands. The darker a band sound, the more I will love them. I just love anything that musically, fills me with fear. I love music that sends my brain into chaos mode. I think it is because I’m a stupidly calm person who just shrugs most things off. I say most things, but there are a couple that I cannot shake off. So they eat at me, and I turn to music to block it out. This is why I’m utterly grateful for bands like Be Forest. They are dark and eerie.

This is highly intense listening. As someone who hates confrontation and people who are of an intense nature; I love music that is loud, bold and intense. All poor qualities in a person, I look for in music. So, does that make music my girlfriend? Oh go on then.

Be Forest will win the hearts of those who love bands such as Warpaint, The XX, 2:54, Creep. For those who want to go way back in time, if you dig Echo & The Bunnymen, The Cure, My Bloody Valentine- then Be Forest are for you. Well, they’re for anyone really.

If I could put into words what this band mean to me right this very second, I would. But I have no words. That happens at times. Sometimes I have outbursts where I can fully express what is swimming in my head about something or someone. Then sometimes it is too overwhelming for words. Be Forest make me even more proud to be Italian, I want them to be huge. I want them to be as big as The Cure- in my head this will happen. Maybe it will, maybe it won’t. Who knows. If any of us could predict the future we probably wouldn’t do anything. Maybe some of us don’t do a thing because we don’t know and the uncertainty freaks us out. Always do something that terrifies you. I did about 3 things that scared me last week. I’ve learnt my lesson and I probably won’t ever do it again. But, I still want to. Who knows. Be Forest take away all that you fear and become a force of strength. They are courage and they are to be loved. To be adored and treasured. Let’s face it, we all want to be adored. I probably do, but I’m not someone you can adore. It’s cool because I know my limits. Sometimes you have to go beyond them. Challenge everything, question everyone.

Be Forest send me off into a different world with their music. A world that sets you free and there’s not much to be concerned about. Yet everything is covered in darkness. I find comfort in the dark, which is probably why I’ve found a huge blanket of comfort in Be Forest.

So thank YOU Be Forest for being the best thing to come out of the best country in the universe, and the country that I’m part from and owns a large chunk of my heart.

TANTI BACCI!

 

Horrid Red.

Posted on by

If something doesn’t make sense to me, I am drawn to it. I try to figure it out. I rage inside because I’m frustrated that I an’t work something out. I guess I just want to take as much as I can in. Sometimes, you can figure stuff out but you cannot understand it. That’s pretty much how my life has turned out to be. I guess this is why I was up at stupid o’clock this morning watching X-men cartoons. I identified with Wolverine once again. This needs to stop. But I’m not prepared to do anything about it just yet. I guess this is why I suddenly felt some kind of connection to this German/LA synth with Punk twinges band I started listening to.

Horrid Red. Sacred Bones. They done did it AGAIN. I feel as if I should head out to New York, sleep outside their office and beg for a job. I’d brag about being English. Not that it is something to brag about. It’s cool. I won’t do any of this. I’ll just stay here (for now) and write about the bands I love.

Here we go.

Okay, so if you take the heartbreaking and dark sounds of the 80s and mix it with something current, like that whole relaxed vibe- then you get Horrid Red. But do you really GET Horrid Red? They sing in German, and I wish I could understand. It’s a language I’ve always wanted to learn, mainly because I want to live in Berlin for a bit. But hey, got to keep those childish dreams alive somehow.

I’ve got many reasons as to why I love Horrid Red. I think the main thing is that they give me that same feeling I get when I listen to The Cure. I really have no idea what is being said in the songs, but the music long makes you feel like you are in  whirlwind of despair trying to claw your way out of it. I guess for some, that’s what life is to them. Trying to claw your wa out but stay focused. It can be hard, but you do what you have to do. If not, well- choose your outcome.

Horrid Red have that prolific sound that stays with you. It is highly distinctive, and honestly? It is like The Fall went all German on us. It is utterly perfect. I have so much love and respect for The Fall, and Horrid Red have something about them that remind me slightly of The Fall. I suppose you can never go wrong with 80s Manchester based bands, who are still going. Mark E Smith is a leader, and I will always follow. Horrid Red make me feel like I am in some kind of pleasurable nightmare. I guess you have to find some kind of pleasure in anything bad that happens. Please do not ask me how, it just depends I suppose.

Horrid Red make me feel like I am trapped somewhere, and I’m unsure if I have it in my to escape. Is my sub-conscious playing with me again? More than likely. The bastard. Their music, even if you cannot understand German, is powerful because it still creates these wild images in your head. The day a piece of music tames you, seek for something like Horrid Red. They’ll send you crazy in no time.

If you’re looking for something to lose your mind to, but also find a part of yourself- listen to Horrid Red. Their record, Celestial Joy is just divine. If I’m right, it is their debut. Are debut records meant to be this good? I think so, it just proves they’ll be making memorable music for a long time. I’m not one for begging, but please- go listen. Alright, so it may not change your life but maybe you’ll learn some German in the process. That’s always useful. If you loved how The Cure’s record Seventeen Seconds made you feel, and still does; then you will probably get the same feeling again when you listen to Horrid Red. I may be going by personal opinion on this but hey..

Their debut record is released on Terrible Records.