Night Beats.

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It is hard, at times to feel any connection to music that is made now. Well, for me anyway. I don’t listen to “odd” stuff because I want to have one over you, or because I’m a pretentious tit. Far from it. So far from it- but certain people will call you this if you even dare to listen to something that a commercial station has yet to put its mucky paws all over. I love music that goes beyond. Pushes boundaries, has extreme sounds and is something I can connect to. I cannot relate to anything by Adele. Give me Sex Church, Royal Chant or Warpaint- and I feel at home. I feel like I am part of something. Something that I’ve been waiting for, I got tired of waiting- so I took it. From finding all this, I couldn’t stop. I had to keep on looking for more and more. I have more CDs and records than I do clothes. As a female, society will do its best to make me hate myself for this. I couldn’t be more proud of myself. I know what is important to me, fuck what anyone else may think.

Sticking with the not belonging in this era, I’ve found Night Beats who make me feel like I’m in the 1960s. They’re like a less wild version of Baby Woodrose. The psychedelic vibe is there, oh it is totally there. It’s enough to make you don some tie-dye and a scarf around your head, it is just so divine. It makes you feel like you are in a different world. Surely that’s what music or any form of art should do? Real life is a bore for most isn’t it. You fall into a hellish routine. You begin to loathe yourself and your surroundings. The familiar faces become faces you want to avoid. Everything you know, is everything you hate. This is how I feel about where I am from.

Then, I listen to Night Beats. I listen to them, and I create a different home in my mind. A home that is fuelled by music like this, and people who are gentle and friendly. Who do not judge. No snobbery, no pretentious vibes. When music can cause you to create your own piece of Heaven in your mind, you know you have found something you MUST cling onto.

Sure not every song of theirs may deal with the perils of daily life, but it is enough to make you forget them. The music they create goes beyond experimental. It causes YOU to experiment with different thoughts, and a way of seeing the world. It changes you with every note and lyric. This is more than your crutch. It is your haven.

What I absolutely and passionately adore about Night Beats is that they have everything I look for in a band. I love all genres of music- I can see the good and bad in all. Like most bands that claim a chunk of my heart, Night Beats make me feel like anything is possible. And that the impossible means nothing. They bring over a wave of certainty and reassurance. The reassurance that, everything is going to be okay and all you have to do is just lose yourself in some fucking good music- like this, in order to gain a sense of self again.

I have no idea if I’m projecting it clearly, but I’ve got so much love for Night Beats. The fact that they have covered one of my favorite songs EVER is also a bonus (Psychotic Reaction by Count Five.) This is the kind of band that Rolling Stone and Creem would’ve done ANYTHING to have on the cover for in the 60s. Now? Now we are lumbered with…Rihanna. Fucks sake. Send me into the abyss NOW.

Night Beats are more than just a Garage or psychedelic band. They have one over YOU, don’t turn away from it.

The Smiths-The Smiths.

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“Reel around the fountain. Slap me on the patio, I’ll take it now…”

Manchester, Manchester- you beautiful city. Look at what you have given us. John Cooper Clarke, The Fall and of course The Smiths. On a damp and dreary (I’m going to assume it was, I was born just under 3 years later) an album by one of the world’s most influential bands was released. A debut record is a record critics will thrive off picking about and throwing away. That didn’t happen with The Smiths debut first record. If I have it in me, I’m going to attempt to put my all into writing this. Expect sentences that ooze frustration because I cannot say what I want to say. I’d like to mention I am writing this drinking tea out of a Morrissey mug.

I want to delve right into the very core of the album’s opening track, and one of my favourite songs by the band EVER. I want to go into detail about how gloriously sexually charged the lyrics are. Thing is, Morrissey’s lyrics have always had this wonderfully subtle sexual connotations that click with certain kinds of people. The shy ones, like myself who lack charm and anything to offer another (Moz has the charm, we all know that.) The Smiths made the outsider feel part of something. They made you feel as if you had found a home, a safety haven. All your desires and longing came true in this band. They also voiced them because you couldn’t do it. Can you do it now? I know I can’t. If only it was okay to say to someone you liked, “I like you but I cannot sum it up..so listen to this song by The Smiths.” Reel Around The Fountain has a verse that I just adore. It makes me want to cuddle that young, shy Morrissey and say, “It’s okay lad, you’re better than everyone anyway.”

“I dreamt about you last night. And I fell out of bed twice.  You can pin and mount me like a butterfly.  But “take me to the haven of your bed.” Was something that you never said.”

I, like most fans of the band can relate to nearly EVERY lyric and this is just utterly divine and accurate. Moz says the things I seem to have on the tip of my tongue, no exceptions.

Not a band to shy away from negative criticism from the press and anyone in-between, The Smiths felt the brunt of their open music when Suffer Little Children was placed as the B-Side to Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now. I love The Smiths more than I can put into words, but this one song that I’ve only listened to..not even a handful of times. It is far too painful and to the core. Personally, I don’t find it distasteful so for certain shops to pull the record from the shelves was too much. If anything, it was a tribute to the victims of one of the most horrendous and brutal crimes ever committed. It was also one of the first songs that Morrissey and Johnny Marr wrote together.

You really do not need someone like myself to tell you just how important this record is. From the lyrics to the music to the excellent production that is present on this record. Anything and everything The Smiths ever did was nothing short of perfection. Even the imperfections and glitches were beautiful. Sometimes I am asked “The Smiths or Morrissey?” And, I usually do say Morrissey for many many reasons. I guess I can relate more to his solo work, but this debut record is just one of the greatest records ever made. Of course being released through Rough Trade wasn’t a bad thing either.

The debut record is exquisitely honest and vulnerable. Morrissey just pours out all the frustrations you can possibly handle. 28 years on since its release, and it undoubtedly still is as important and apt as ever.

I cannot write this in a way that reads as something critical. I’m just throwing these words out as a fan, that’s all I can do. The first song I remember hearing by The Smiths was Hand In Glove. I just loved the sounds I was hearing, I was far too young to understand the lyrics but as I hit my teens..I paid full attention to the lyrics. The Smiths and Morrissey didn’t only just put out music that saved my life, they BECAME my life.

It angers me when people say “Oh they HAVE to get back together.” They don’t. They really bloody don’t. When a band splits, that should be it. It’s like getting back with an ex isn’t it? Royally pointless and a dumb thing to do. The Smiths will always be one of the most influential and best bands ever. The music and the memories we have are more than enough. It all started 28 years ago today with this record. I’ve loved them for so long, and I couldn’t imagine my life and record collection without them. It’d be awful and dull (both my life and music.)

Listening to this record again, to write this- there is always one line that has forever stuck out for me. A line that I constantly have flailing around my heads causing me to probably overthink :

“Does the body rule the mind or does the mind rule the body? I dunno…”

It has been many many years since I first heard this record, and I am still trying to work out what rules what. Maybe it is just safer to say that the heart rules everything, but at the same time probably cocks everything up. There is a song on this record for every point in one’s life. Miserable Lie will help you get our something or someone. Hand In Glove will help with acceptance. What Difference Does It Make will help you see that people are sometimes, not worth the hassle. Reel Around The Fountain will make you pine for that person you cannot get out of your head. It described life for so many 28 years ago, and it still does the same now.

It is obvious just how vital this record is, and what it for music. Time may drag and drain us all, but with records like this, it makes the whole process less painful.

Pop.1280

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More noise. Just as noisy and HARD as Sex Church. Possibly louder? I have no idea. My ears are going to hurt after I’ve written this. I’m still not convinced I’m playing this loud enough. I don’t feel like my ears are going to burst and bleed just yet. I’m waiting for that to kick in. I think if I carry on, I’ll have made myself deaf by the time I’m 30. If that happens, I doubt I’d have a point in living would I. Happy Monday to you ALL!

Pop.1280 are on Sacred Bones are affiliated with my favourites Sacred Bones so obviously I feel a lot of love towards them. This is the kind of music that makes you want to start a fight. I don’t condone such behaviour, but there’s always a few bands that give you this feeling. Don’t ever ignore it. Always go with it, but for fucks sake be partially safe? Listening to Thirteen Steps, it is kind of hard to not want to thump a person the chops right now. Maybe it’d be safer to start a Wall Of Death instead.

The band have this angsty feel to their music that can be found in early Nine Inch Nails records, which is probably why I have fallen hard for Pop.1280. I have no idea who or what influences them, so I will not be making assumptions. Just daft comparisons that may or may not make sense. They come from New York City. Home to most things I love and virtually nothing I hate. I guess I should just live there right? Someone help me live the dream. L.A. or New York- I am 100% with either. The name of the band does indeed come from that gritty novel by the awesome Jim Thompson. Dark and heavy stuff, would you want it any other way? No. Of course you wouldn’t because this is where the passionate kind of music resides.

Sure, if you want the whole “I sure love you baby” kind of thing- then you won’t dig this at all. There’d be more chance of you enjoying having the shits than liking Pop.1280 if you cannot handle the heavy stuff. Why take a boring love song over something so ruckus and grand? Maybe it’s because I am a quite person who loves noisy music. I don’t know. I’ll never know, somethings you need to leave unknown.

It is fairly obvious that The Horror is one of the year’s best releases, and so fucking typically industry schmucks are going to overlook it. This pisses me off. It pisses me off more than you or I could imagine. THIS IS INCREDIBLE, and what are you going to do about it? This is too good and loud and bold for you to ignore. It’s like a beautiful girl at a party, except you don’t want to stare at the girl, you want to listen to EVERYTHING she has to say. This record is THAT girl..if we’re going down that route, and I seem to have taken us down there. I should say sorry, right? No. I won’t apologise for this and how Pop.1280 make me feel. That’s like saying sorry for being honest. Never say sorry for that.

I love all that Pop.1280 make me feel. They have the same vibe that made me fall in love with Cold Cave in 2009. The dark, honest and menacing feel that makes you so fucking glad to be alive, and to savour every breath. And every listen. I’m always looking for something that can make me feel like this, always. And I’ve successfully found it in Pop.1280.

Pop.1280 have a sound that makes you want to head to a dark, cramped underground bar where those who think and feel the same as you do. Dressed in black in a worn out leather jacket and boots (this is me on a daily basis.) Losing yourself in the sounds, and finding that part if you that you thought had died. They’ve given you another a chance at life. Go with it.

 

Being Buffalo-Before We Fall Apart.

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I know I just wrote about Sex Church, and how I love how dark their sound is. Well, I’ve just been sent a band that are the polar opposite to that. Sex Church are aggressively perfect. Being Buffalo are calm and soothing. I have no idea where my emotions are heading right now.  One minute I’m listening to music that could tear your face off, the next I’m listening to something that just makes you want to hug someone. I’m enjoying it.

Being Buffalo have been writing and performing together for the past 4 years. It does have a Folky vibe to it- but it is the kind I actually like. I have rage for certain “Folk” artists. The kind that have fans that “only buy vintage” and think drinking tea makes them sophisticated. It doesn’t. It just means you like tea- like most of us. I should probably talk about the record now before I let it all out.

Before We Fall Apart is the band’s debut record. Right now, the track I Don’t Wanna Grow Up makes me want to go to my room, pull my duvet over my head and just shout this song at anyone who wishes to talk to me. I’ve had enough of being an adult. It’s hard-work and I am no longer a fan of attempting to do the right thing (the amount of people I apparently piss off because I do what makes me happy is mental. Fuck ’em!) This song actually helps. I’ll probably yell the lyrics at the next person who has a go. I’m ready. Before We Fall Apart is a gorgeous and hopeful record, and you wouldn’t be wrong for thinking, “How is this only a debut record?!” It sounds like a healing process and at the same time.

I could sum up this band in my own way, but I probably would cock it up mid-way so instead, I’ll just repeat what has been said already, ” Being Buffalo have the ability to lift you from the very low, or simply make your eyeballs wet.” What I love about Being Buffalo, and their debut record is how honest it is. We are told lies on a daily basis from newspapers to those who claim to love us- you can ALWAYS find a glimmer of honesty in music, and you will truly find it here in Being Buffalo’s music. I adore the harmonies on their songs, especially on Let Us Out. It feels like a euphoric realisation. Like you have been waiting for that moment for a long time.

You can catch the band live at the following :

22nd March- The Boileroom, Guilford.

8th April- The Brook, Southampton.

26th April- Half moon, Putney

Sex Church.

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Attempting to find anything out about Sex Church gave me websites I probably never need to know about. But there are some sick fucks out there. You probably knew that already. Don’t worry, this isn’t going to be a Daily Mail kind of entry. I’m not that kind of person. You won’t die if you hold hands with someone of the same gender nor will you go to hell. Hell is a state of mind, Heaven is a place you create in your heart. I have no idea where that came from, but I firmly stand by it. I doubt anyone else would agree.

So, Sex Church. I’m pretty much tempted to write about everyone involved with Sacred Bones because they put out the kind of music that I love. Music that is full of so much…fuck I don’t even know what the word is. All I know is that I love it. I’ll attempt to write something of worth, but Sex Church fucking deserve it.

As I listen to Sex Church I can hear twinges of two bands that have been a lifeline to me for as long as I can remember- The Fall and The Jesus And Mary Chain. The vocals are as clear as Mark E Smith’s and the sound is fuzzy, bold and distorted like The Jesus And Mary Chain. I cannot find any fault in this. I love them. I absolutely and utterly LOVE them. Maybe this is what I have been needing for so long. Maybe I’ve had this horrific gap in my life that can only be filled by a band that sounds like this. Warpaint ease the tension for me- but Sex Cult cause it to build. I love it. They say you cannot fall in love at first sight. I agree, but you can fall in love with first listen.

Growing Over, I’d say is my favourite. The bass is fucking ridiculous. It makes me wish I could play bass. It has that dark, creepy feel like Bauhaus. I know comparing bands is a terrible thing to do, but for a band like Sex Church- it is okay because they are just..mind-blowing. I feel like whatever is left of my mind has been blown by them. I don’t care for much else right now. This is some incredible shit, and I don’t want to listen to anything else for a long time. See, if anyone was to ask me what I was listening to- like, really into at the moment Sex Church would be THE band I’d inform them about. I guess it’s a good job nobody ever asks me for music tips because they’d just get weird stuff like this, and probably stop being my friend. Do I need some new friends? I don’t know. I have a couple close ones, I’m probably the bane of their life for the most part hah. Sorry and all that.

But fuck man. Sex Church do one thing that just causes me to fall into a frenzy. They have LONG songs. Over 5 minutes. If you do this, I will love you with all I have. And love them I bloody well do. They are so good, I just want to swear. It isn’t big nor is it clever but Sex Cult are so motherfucking perfect.

Their site says that they are influenced by: “depression, frustration, disappointment and other such inner turmoils that are the sources of great works of art.” See it really is no surprise that I love them is it. Nothing good came from being deliriously happy in an art sense. I don’t have a miserable disposition, far from it. I may look like it (if you judge someone because they wear black all the time, then you’ll probably think I’m a moody bugger. I’m not.) but I just love music that is dark and is a cry for help at times. If it sounds like it is created out of desperation and feels like life vs death; I will love it, and I will cherish it more than I can think about.

Songs like Waking Up and Dull Light are just so bloody astounding. I’m struggling to comprehend how this band make me feel, so I’m going to have to leave it here. I’m not sorry for this rant. They’re just everything I want, and recently- all I’ve been looking for. I reckon seeing them live would be like an outer body experience. It’d be almost as if you were facing your demons, and telling them to go fuck themselves. There’s no greater feeling than that.

Dum Dum Girls-There Is A Light That Never Goes Out (cover.)

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I hate covers, it’s a known thing. I also HATE it when anyone touches a song by Morrissey or The Smiths. My utter hate for this was fully justified when some person (I’d use bad words, but I’m trying to be good) RUINED Please Please…during Christmas here in the UK. Hey John Lewis- UP YOURS.  That cover was fucking awful. I don’t care, it was utterly dire. The person RUINED the song…she took away EVERYTHING that song was, and all it stood for. I reckon those who enjoyed it probably first heard of The Smiths because of 500 Days Of Summer. Brilliant film, but caused many to claim to be fans of The Smiths..and all they have is a greatest hits album. Again, ARSES.

Rage aside, I am going to mention THAT song from THAT film. I used to have this song sung to me when I was a baby. It explains a lot. It has a lot of meaning to me because, I’ve never ever felt at home anywhere. Never have, and at aged 25- I’ve realised that I never will. It’s cool. Means I don’t have any ties, y’know? Why settle when you can wander.

There Is A Light is as popular as How Soon Is Now? which has also been ruined by various..people. I’ve found an exception.

You know how much I love Dum Dum Girls. I love them, for so many many reasons. From their music to their style to the lyrics. I love everything. I love Dee Dee’s voice. It is so clear and pure. Only In Dreams was one of 2011’s best records- why did you ignore it? I still have the urge to sing Bedroom Eyes to anyone who will listen, but I won’t. Don’t worry.

They covered There Is A Light well over a year ago. I should probably have written about it then, but as per- something else probably had my attention for a split second and I forgot. Better late than never.

EVERYTHING about this cover is perfect. It doesn’t strip away any of the meaning. As much as I love Dum Dum Girls- if this cover was shite, I’d say so. I’d rant to high heaven about how angry it made me. It does the opposite. If anything, it makes me love them even more than I already do. They’ve got the intro on point. Dee Dee’s voice is a haunting and delicate as Morrissey’s. It’s just utterly perfect. Do I love it as much as the original? I want to say no, but I just can’t. I love it. Both versions have a special place in my heart that a person probably couldn’t own. Bring on the challenge if you want (would you bother? No. Didn’t think so.) but it’s a hard task.

When it comes to The Smiths and Morrissey, I’m not laid back at all. However, when a band like Dum Dum Girls can still create the same feelings as the original does, well, it isn’t so bad at all.

The Men.

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Unapologetic brutal, chaotic noise. That’s what I love. That’s what makes me love music and life. I don’t want to hear something without substance and the potential to NOT cause a riot. I want the opposite. The extreme opposite, right now. And I’ve found it..okay, so I found it a year ago, but I am sometimes slow with things/put it off and find something else to do. It’s a shite trait to have, but I have it. And I don’t think I’ll ever part from it.

As you know (maybe, maybe not) I am a HUGE fan of the Sacred Bones label. I have been since around…2009. It all came from Zola Jesus. I have this thing where, when I really love a band or singer- I read up about the label they are on and find other artists I may dig on the same label. For the most part, it really works in my favour. Sacred Bones are proof of that.

So what do you need to know about The Men?

Well, they are from Brooklyn (look, I really can’t help it if most bands I love come from here. There’s evidently something in the water, drink up!) There’s four of them, but their sound is so fucking huge and astounding- it sounds like there is at least 10 of them. It is big, fuzzy, loud and will more than likely make you feel as if your face is being ripped off in the most pleasurable way possible. This is what I get from listening to them, and I love it. If a band can make me feel like my face is melting, I’ll love it.

Leave Home is an incredible album that you really do nee.d However, REAL SOON their new record, Open Your Heart will be released. It is going to be as loud and passionate as before-that won’t ever change. You know when you hear a band and think, “Fuck…They are ALWAYS going to be this loud and brutal.” That’s what The Men make you think.

Enjoy a track from the new record :

Open your Heart is their third record and by rights, will steal your heart and ears.

Michael Davis (MC5) R.I.P

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Don’t trust anyone who never liked the MC5. To ignore the impact they had on music, and everything surrounding it just makes you a fool. An ignorant fool.

You really really don’t need me to write a huge essay on the importance of the band, and how amazing Michael was. The music speaks for itself really.

I have no doubt in my mind that Michael and Fred “Sonic” Smith will be making beautiful music together again, now..wherever they may be.

I’d love to say more, but honestly- it doesn’t need to said. You can find it all in the music.

Rest In Peace Michael xx

Willis Earl Beal.

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From my own point of view, one of the greatest feelings you can experience is finding a singer or band that just leave you utterly stunned. They leave you feeling like you have heard something so rare. It leaves you just frozen in awe.  They have this mysterious quality about them that just makes you want to know what drives them, influences them- everything from an art perspective. You don’t care what they had for dinner- you want to know what book changed their life or what singer made them want to sing. This is what is important. Save the personal details, I want to know what fuels you.

I know NOTHING about Willis. All I know is that he is just a pure, raw talent. Most will label him as “the black Tom Waits.” Oh look at society paying attention to colour before talent again. Idiots. If he was white, would that even be mentioned? No. Not at all. I live in hope that ONE day, we see the person before their colour or any physical form. We aren’t judged on our skin colour, religion, sexuality etc. I have to live in hope otherwise I’ll just give up. Cannot give up…just yet. However, Willis is okay with being “the black Tom Waits.” Ignore colour, anyone who wants to be an artist like Tom Waits is worthy of your time, and devotion. And I firmly believe that Willis will be just as powerful as Tom. In my mind, he already is.

Willis, I think, may end up being my favourite solo artist this year. Anyone who knows me even slightly knows I have a HUGE fucking love for the Blues. The proper Blues. The kind where you can feel all the troubles coming from the singer. You feel all their pain, urges and struggles. You feel it all because it sounds so raw.

http://soundcloud.com/hotcharity/willis-earl-beal-evenings-kiss

Willis’ record, Acousmatic Sorcery is out in the US at the start of April. I have no idea when or even if it will be released in the UK. I’m willing to pay a stupid amount of money for an imported copy. It’s worth going hungry for. The album was recorded between 2007 and 2009. All good things come to those who wait. So if you have been waiting for some honest Bluesy kind of music, then your wait is now over.

He has, at times a dark and tame voice. Then at other times it is gravely and troublesome. Regardless of how he sings, it always sounds so heartfelt. You know he FEELS every single word he is singing. That’s what we need. He is what the music industry need. You can keep your manufactured, overproduced and dull artists. I’m sticking with the ones that are true to their art, and do the unexpected, just like Willis.

He’s just stunning. If I could praise him more than this, I really would. But..well, he’s one of those singers that let the music do it all. You don’t need to know anything about him- all you need to do is listen to his music. It sums it up perfectly.

Royal Chant.

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I love Royal Chant for a few reasons. The main one now being that Mark from the band and I earlier bonded over NWA and Ice Cube’s solo work over Twitter. I reckon it would’ve been more entertaining over some whiskey than a screen. But when they come to the UK, I’ll try make it happen. I’ll see if it possible to just do some kind of interview using NWA lyrics. Too be honest, I’d just yell the chorus to Gangsta Gangsta at anyone who would listen.

They’re from Australia, and I think Australia is now catching up with L.A. on the bands I fucking love right now thing I have going on. I don’t have a list. I’m rubbish with lists. And coffee. I’ve had a fair amount of coffee today, and I still want to go back to sleep. It’s 8.05pm..I’m a one girl riot right now, for sure.

I should probably tell you about their music. ROYAL CHANT ARE SO SHIT.

I jest. I love them. I want to hug their music, and spin around and around. Until I collapse in a dizzy haze and nearly vomit. Have you ever done that? Best feeling ever. Some people turn to drugs for this kind of feeling, idiots!

They are influenced by things I love (this is going by their Facebook page) Bob Dylan, Sonic Youth, Iggy Pop, Oscar Wilde..and also, running away and bad dancing. These are things I love and things that keep me going. Especially the bad dancing part.

Their debut LP is wonderfully titled, Raise Your Glass And Collapse. Its happened to us all hasn’t it. More than it probably should. They have this outrageous cheery garage rock feel to their music. Can garage rock be cheery? OF COURSE. This is the kind of music you drink whiskey to, and think you are the world’s best dancer. It all comes down to that doesn’t it.

Royal Chant are another band that make me think, “Why aren’t they huge” They have songs that will just so something to your soul (unlike most.) There’s a hint of 90s grunge in the music, there’s the tone of Idlewild lying around. It’s basically everything I love. I’d love to be a dickhead and say, “THIS IS SO 2011.” But that’s not my style, I don’t understand that.

My favourite track has to be (right now, and I will change my mind instantly) is Coughing Fits. I adore the lyrics to it. Lyrics are a massive deal to me. If I can’t connect, I won’t enjoy it. And I do connect to Royal Chant’s fuzzy and distorted sounds. Are they the band to pick up where my beloved Silverchair left off? YES. FUCKING YES. They have that same angsty feel to their sound. I just love them a hell of a lot.

When you can discuss NWA with a band, you know you have found something truly special. Royal Chant are my spirit animals. I don’t know what that means, but I like the sound of it.

Oh and lads, you will see this so can you please come to the UK soon? Thanks.

You can listen to their beautiful music right here : http://soundcloud.com/royalchant

Bored Awake is now my favourite. Told you I’d change my mind…

Oh, and to quote the band : “The world is rubbish. Let’s get on with it. “