Tag Archives: Music

THE VACANT LOTS: Moth Club, 20th November 2016.

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Ever waited what seemed an eternity to see a band you absolutely adore? Have you tried to see them previously and things get in your way? Was nothing going to stop you this time? I get it, I really do. It happened twice to me this weekend and I’m going to write about both- starting with last night.

I first wrote about The Vacant Lots around 2 years ago. I wrote about them after spending a few months listening to them prior and trying to process what they meant to me, and how the music made me feel. I’ve probably been too quick at times writing about a band without taking the time to understand what’s going on, but I write as a fan and not some person who’s employed to over hype a load of bullshit gullible souls will buy into. Last night I took myself on a 5 minute bus journey to the Moth Club. The perks of being close to decent venues in a city I’ve grown to dislike. Get me out, please. Live music is my escape for the things that weigh me down. The Vacant Lots felt like something else last night. Whatever happened for that hour or so will stay with me. I wasn’t trapped in a place that harms my mind, it was taken elsewhere. But you want to know about the show, right?

Their set opens with Departure. If this wasn’t going to make the crowd pumped, I really don’t know what would. I was internally praying for High And Low to be played but I was also hoping for Paint This City because that’s on the same level. Paint The City made the set and I’m pretty sure I had my eyes closed for that whole song. When you hear the songs that get you out of any jam your brain traps you in, you do your best to zone out. Zone out was exactly what I did. I felt like no one was around me and everything was as alright as can be.

The Vacant Lots are a fascinating band to watch. As Jared shuts his eyes during the songs, you wonder where his mind is going. Brian’s face expresses so much during certain songs- you identify with everything that is happening on stage because these are the songs that have held you together so for some time. The way Jared prowls about on the stage holding his guitar as if it is a weapon, and at the end of the set bashes it up against the ceiling to create even more noise. Exactly 2 years ago I saw The Jesus And Mary Chain for the first time in Manchester, and I left with a comforting ringing in my ear. Go forward 2 years and it is happening again. Nothing really happened last year, mind. The Vacant Lots are part dreamy, part riot. You don’t know what you’re going to get and they leave you on edge. As someone who has really shit anxiety, I, for some reason find this massively comforting. I didn’t know what to expect during every song and I love that. I love when a band takes you right into the belly of the unknown and away from what surrounds you.

Mad Mary Jones sends everyone off into a whirl but I’m standing by Paint This City being the highlight for me. Some bands, as I’ve mentioned many times before, hold this notion of being something sacred. Something that is your escape, and yours to keep. For me, The Vacant Lots capture this so well. I didn’t make their last London show, but I saw photos of Jared’s bloody guitar. Part of me was hoping for blood last night but I got something better- I saw the real heart of The Vacant Lots.

Their Berlin EP comes out this Friday and I’ll put a review up this week as they are selling copies at their shows this week. If you go see them, buy a copy.

As I mentioned at the start, when you wait so long to see a band you absolutely adore- it means the world to you and it stays with you. I can safely say that this was one of the most emotional and intense shows I’ve been to in a long time.

THE CRAMPS: A Date With Elvis.

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“I know a place that’s far from here
Where the squares they won’t come near.”

Last Saturday I turned 30. Nothing feels different, and I still look about 15. Maybe I made a pact with the devil at an early age, and I don’t recall it. Anyway, as someone who isn’t really a fan of birthdays I have someone who wanted me to have a damn good day. She did just that, and more. She got me a record that I had no idea I was getting. A month earlier I ruined a surprise by attempting to buy one she had already got me. I don’t pick up on signals, I need to be told. Even if it involves me potentially ruining a surprise! This one record she got me has blown my mind and I find myself playing it every day. I either play it whilst I get ready for work or when I get home. Sometimes both. My love for The Cramps started in 1996. I was 10 years old and I was going through a cupboard in the house. I was looking for something, not sure what but I found a mixtape. I picked it up and asked my stepdad if I could listen to it- being the cool person he is, he said yes. He told me all about the band before I went upstairs to my room and fell in love with Lux’s voice.

I wish I could remember what song was on the tape, but I’m pretty sure it might have been Human Fly. There was a Sisters Of Mercy live tape that I took also. Along with The Cure. I was being exposed at a young age to the bands that would form something inside of me that is still there. It’s never going to go. Its one thing about me I won’t ever fight off.

The record I was given on my birthday last Saturday was A Date With Elvis. She had gone through their records, listened to them all and found the one she thought I’d love the most. I think this proves just how well she knows me and how bloody great she is. A Date With Elvis is such a great record, and for me to shows everything about The Cramps that I love, and fell in love with 20 years ago. I love the raw and creepy sound that is consistent on all their records but there’s something about A Date With Elvis that heightens all of this.

The record opens with one of the greatest songs by them, How Far Can Too Far Go? Alright so some may say it isn’t their greatest but it’s pretty much my favourite. I love the words and I absolutely adore Lux’s voice on this song. The record came out the year I entered the world and it was produced by the beautiful Poison Ivy. Three is the magic number, kids and The Cramps proved that so easily with this record. Everything about the wonderfully sexualised lyrics and dirty guitar makes it for pleasurable listening. It is the record you should take home with you, to meet the parents. It’s the record you play as loud as you want. It’s the one you play to take you down a road of self-discovery. For some, the lyrics may be too much- but hey, don’t surround yourself with prudes. Let it all out. Let The Cramps drag it out of you.

A Date With Elvis is the kind of record that brings you to your knees because you can’t get over how great it is.  For me it just embodies everything I love about music and everything I look for in music. It’s the right level of creepy, it’s loud and it’s in your face but not in an intrusive manner. It’s so beautifully produced and created. That brilliant Psychobilly mixed with a bit of Punk sound that they were known for comes alive on this record, maybe it is more apparent on this one. Maybe I’m just being biased because I wholeheartedly love this record, with all I have. I don’t have the best record player in the world but it is currently making Aloha From Hell sound like the masterpiece that it truly is.

There are many reasons why I am fascinated with certain bands, but I’ve never really set myself a reason for doing so with The Cramps. It just comes down to a whole bunch of reasons. Mainly that it’s completely fine to live outside of certain “norms” and to just be whoever and whatever the hell you want to be.

LEONARD COHEN: My Hero.

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“Shouldering your loneliness
Like a gun that you will not learn to aim
You stumble into this movie house
Then you climb, you climb into the frame.”

The past few days I have been thinking about turning 30 and all the songs that have played such a vital role in my life. I’ve tried to pin point songs but I draw blanks. I think of certain bands and singers, and I find a home that four walls never could build. I’ve always been obsessed with words from a very young age. I am fascinated by accents, how people choose to word things and how poets/singers take you to another world. Perspective. My world revolves around Nick Cave, Lou Reed, Patti Smith, Morrissey and Leonard Cohen. The latter broke my heart when I woke up this morning.

A few years ago whilst living back home I went to an indoor market. This place became my safety net for some time. I would wander round and pick up records for about £2 each, and hold them tightly on the bus journey home. I remember finally finding a Leonard Cohen record for £3 and I felt like I had won the lottery. I had the same feeling when I found Transformer by Lou Reed for the same price.These are the times where you feel like the luckiest person in the world and nothing can touch you.

At university in either my second or third year, I remember sitting in the film theatre watching the I’m Your Man film. Again, I was in awe. Leonard was…is…was one of those souls that you are constantly in awe of. His majestic and vivid way with words have been engraved upon my heart from a very young age. My mum had a few records she would play when I was younger and I couldn’t sleep. Leonard was one of them. As an adult, he’s been one of the few I have turned to when I just couldn’t cope. I’m constantly stuck in this horrific low mood that bears a burden to me and all around me, and when I play certain songs and I zone out-all is better. Leonard was one of the few who got me to switch off and zone out. What am I meant to do without him? Songs From A Room was the record I bought for £3, and it’s been my secure source of comfort and a friend for when I feel completely and utterly alone. I still have the music, we all have the music. But the physical form of the friend has gone. Oh Leonard. What are we to do without you.

His words and his music taught me more than any teacher could. I didn’t care for long division or the square root of something. I cared about Marianne and Suzanne. I was taught the biggest and most powerful thing of all from Leonard- love. The dark, brutal, raw side of love. The kind that keeps you alive. He taught me how to accept it and give it. I like to think I’ve finally got there. But now what? What do we do without you, Leonard? This morning when I woke up and found out, I clung to my pillow and cried. I cried like a baby. Maybe I am foolish for missing and grieving over someone I never met but I really do not care. This man has been my life, this man has saved my life even when I didn’t want it to be saved. His words healed and now they break me but I know they’ll heal one day when it eases that he is no longer here.

Love Calls You By Your Name has always ALWAYS been the song I went to when I just didn’t know what to do. I don’t know what to do now, so I guess I’ll have to find some form of strength to listen to his music, to this song and somehow get through. I had a few of his poetry books and for so long they lived next to my bed. Over the past few years I’ve had trouble sleeping (or turning my brain off) and I used to wake up in the middle of the night, unsure of what to do. I’d sit up, reach for one of his books and read. Read until all felt okay. Read until I felt like I could shut my eyes and drift off. Now when I close my eyes, I just see Leonard. I just see him with his tilted hat and a smirk. My idol, my king, my world. As he goes into another world, a world safer than the one he has left behind.

Like anyone who idolised him, I feel like I’ve lost a relative. I feel like I’ve lost my guide and my friend. When your hero goes, a part of you goes with them. Which part goes? Which part stays? Right now, I feel like that toddler who cannot sleep who just wishes to be in their mother’s arms with Leonard playing as I slowly fall asleep. Care free, aged three. That’s when it is all okay. Now I’m one day away from 30 and I have no idea what to do. Oh Leonard, what are we to do without you.

Your heroes teach you to be brave, to ask questions, to be yourself and to always do what feels right. But they do not tell you what to do when they go. That’s something we need to figure out on our own. I wish Lou Reed was still here, I wish Leonard was still here. I wish, I wish, I wish. Leonard’s music and his poetry has been with me for as long as I can remember, and that’s what we cling to now. We let go of the physical side and cling to what they have left us with.

Leonard said he was ready to go, but I wasn’t and won’t ever be ready to let him go.

 

VADAAT CHARIGIM.

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As I have slept for most of the day (I went to the gym so I could say I did leave the house) I wanted to write about a band that leave you in a sleepy/dreamy state. Not as relaxed as Beach House but not as loud as My Bloody Valentine. Something in the middle, swaying to either side- depending on which song tugs at your heartstrings and ears the most.

Vadaat Charigim sing in Hebrew. I don’t understand Hebrew but I know I love the music, and it sounds beautiful with the music. It works. It works really, really well. But why wouldn’t it? From what I have read about the band, there is a lot of frustration, truth and questioning in their songs. The desire to escape. Something which I have been feeling for a long time. I’ll get the guts so I can get out of this destructive rut, but right now I have nothing. Which is why I guess I cling onto things like finding some hope and understanding in music- regardless of the language it is sung in. That’s the power and beauty of music- there are no boundaries. That’s how any form of art should be. So long as it is honest- that’s all that matters.

As I don’t understand the lyrics, I find other things to love about Vadaat Charigim. Lyrics are a huge thing for me, but with this band I find it so easy to love every part of their music. The vocals have this gorgeous vulnerability to them and irrespective of not being able to understand the lyrics, you do pick up on where the frustrations within the song lies. You can pick up on moments of despair, loss and joy. The songs are a wealth of emotions and for a band to allow you to feel them with one obvious barrier- that makes them worthy of more respect than your average.

For me Vadaat Charigim capture the early sounds of Slowdive, My Bloody Valentine and Swervedriver. The gentle sounds and the sheer delicate vocals make Vadaat Charigim such an easy band to fall in love with. The soothing tones and the way the guitar has this constant hypnotic groove going on just makes you feel like you’re floating above everything and everyone. You feel like you’ve escaped to this world where everything is gentle and secure- the total opposite of real life. There is nothing wrong with needing this form of escapism, and I really wouldn’t trust anyone who didn’t seek that feeling out from time to time at all. We all need it, regardless of how tough you claim to be. Just like your mind wander off wherever it feels like when you listen. Just go with it.

I think their latest release may have been Sinking As A Stone which came out last year. The songs are comforting but heavy at times. The heaviness hits in all the right places and comes mainly from the drums, with the guitar intertwining with it all. The vocals as mentioned, are gentle. They feel like a peacemaker amongst the riots in the songs.  Vadaat Charigim are the ideal band to listen to through headphones and zone out to. They take you some place truly magical and although the topics in the songs can be quite intense, you find other parts of the songs to ease it all. The band have been quoted stating that some of their songs are about being stuck. I guess by knowing this, I have found the right band at the right time.

The band are playing a free show tomorrow night at the Shacklewell Arms.

OS NOCTÀMBULOS.

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Sometimes I find a band that I spend ages listening to thinking I can write some words about them that I think do them justice. Then I have those times where I don’t even think one semi-decent sentence is enough. That’s how I feel about the band I’m listening to right now. Whatever I write about them will not convey just how incredible they really are, just so you know. So you might as well not bother reading this and just go listen to Os Noctàmbulos right away.

Os Noctàmbulos are one of the finest bands right now roaming the mean streets of Paris. Their sound is dark, intense and like a seductive blow to the brain. It’s like meeting your dream person and falling in love instantly. Over and over. They make the kind of music that’ll make your body gently sway and your mind float away. They don’t sound like anything else you’ve heard in a long time, probably. I first heard of them a while back on my copy of the Vegetarian Meat compilation. I heard them and I was hooked, and delved into all they’ve done. Their sultry and relaxed sound is perfect for those who are content with taking something slightly sinister yet toned down over straight up noise. They sound like a real 60s Garage Rock band. If Paris had a sound, it would be these guys. I wandered round Paris once, a few years ago. Around some graveyards and record stores. I found a copy of Count Five’s Psychotic Reaction and felt like I had won the lottery. Os Noctàmbulos evoke that beautiful atmosphere that Paris conjures up on a damp November day. I also ate too many cheese sandwiches that day.

For me, these guys are one of those band that again, combine everything I love and want from music- and make it their own. Over the summer they released Stranger. Stranger is a group of solid songs that will set you off into a trance. Spin, whirl and fall into a deep trance. Don’t snap out of it, just keep falling into it. Fall into these hypnotic 60s grooves. This is the kind of band my mum would probably dig, and that’s not an insult. Far from it.

Stranger is one of the most underrated records of the year and if I decide to list my favourite records of the year in a few months, I’ll definitely have this in my top 5. Although I am rubbish at making a decision, I am sure of the music I have loved this year and Os Noctàmbulos are one of the bands that have truly blown whatever is left of my mind this year.

I love music that makes you feel like you’re in a certain place, a city. Sometimes a place you’ve never been, sometimes somewhere entirely familiar. Os Noctàmbulos do take you into the unknown but they also have a familiar sound about them. I know my obsession for them will grow and probably spiral out of control, but I don’t care. I’ve never seen them live, but I am fairly sure that their live shows would be nothing short of perfect and inspiring.

Regardless of what you’re into, I’m pretty sure that Os Noctàmbulos will appeal to you. Something in their lyrics and in the music will stir something inside of you, like they did to me. I can only hope they do. Sure they’ll make you want to start a band, any decent band will make you feel that way but if anything, Os Noctàmbulos will make you want to invest all your free time in finding as much music as possible and going to as many shows as possible. Bands like this don’t come around often- treasure them dearly.

The majestic and magnetic sounds of Os Noctàmbulos will send you off where you need to go in no time. Don’t let anyone interrupt or take that feeling from you.

DEAD GHOSTS.

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When you adapt the stance of trying to not give a shit, you need to find some music that fits with this. Music that just helps you stop caring. To stop caring about what doesn’t matter. Easier said than done, and that’s why words can be useless. Enough with the heavy, enough with not taking our own advice. Do whatever you want. Just be kind. Anyway.

Dead Ghosts are pretty damn cool. They have this relaxed sound that makes everything that’s crashing in your head seem trivial. Maybe it will end up being trivial anyway, if you don’t lose your mind in the process. I’ve probably lost mine- so much for trying to fix it. What good comes from that? Probably some. I stared at a blank screen for too long before typing any of this. It shows. Maybe I should have gone to the gym instead. It’s warmer there. Are my bones cold? My nose is. Dead Ghosts make you feel warm and as if you are in the presence of your best friend. They feel safe but still have a sound that is teetering on the edge of something unknown.

They remind me slightly of The Doors (early, early version mind) mixed with Punk. Obviously I love them, then. They are the kind of band that you probably need to see live in order to really “get it.” And if you can’t make it to a show, then you can create the scene in your mind. You can picture it, you can almost smell the stale beer being thrown around and people bashing into you in a friendly way as they let the music take them over. The fuzzy vocals echo in your ears. You’re sure of the set list so you learn the words by heart. You scream along. Sweat falls on you. It’s yours. It’s someone else’s. It doesn’t even matter.

Dead Ghosts are a band so easy to fall in love with. Well, for me they are because they’ve got everything I love about music wrapped up in their sound. There’s that slight Punk sound, some kind of lo-fi kick going on. It’s a mash up of everything I love, and the outcome is their glorious sound. A sound that makes you want to do a whole load of nothing. A sound that makes you want to make your own noise. What’s stopping you? Who is stopping you? Or you can just live vicariously through your band of choice. We’ve all done it. We all do it.

The more I listen to Dead Ghosts the more I feel like they aren’t a band from our time. They easily could have been around when the likes of Shocking Blue and The Pretty Things came out. A sound that a lot do try to emulate now, but not many have a grasp on it. Some take it too far and end up being a copy. Dead Ghosts don’t do that, not even slightly. If a band can take you from where you are, spin you around a couple of times and cast you off into another world- you’ve found a band to treasure for a long, long time. That’s exactly what Dead Ghosts will do to you.

They’ve been around for quite some time, but every listen feels like something new. Like something otherworldly grabbing your soul and pulverising you for your undivided attention as you listen to them. Let them grab you and take them where they want you to be taken with their music. Play it as loud as you can stand and drift off into another world.

CROCODILES: Night And Day Cafe. 14th October 2016

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I feel I use my holiday allowance from work wisely-to go see bands. Sure I could save up and have a proper holiday, but seeing as my passport has just ran out and I don’t have the money to renew it, I go for sensible options such as going to different cities here to see my favourite bands. Friday night was no exception.

It’s not a lot, but Friday was my tenth time seeing Crocodiles. From finding their debut record by accident to this. I can’t think of any other band I could admire and respect as much as this. Easily the hardest working and most dedicated bunch of people I’ve ever met, and it truly comes through in their music, and in their shows.

This Friday (21st) sees the release of their new record, Dreamless. It picks up where Boys left off and takes you into another direction, again. The fact that none of their records sound the same makes them easy to just love and never shy away from having them on repeat. Their live shows are addictive and I think a lot of the time it can be to do with the crowd. I’ve seen them mainly in London but I’ve always found Manchester crowds to be the best. Not just for their shows, but in general. Night And Day is the perfect place to see Crocodiles. It’s just the right size and the atmosphere is how you imagine it should be when you see a band you love. I marked the occasion by, when leaving the venue, taking the poster of the gig from a board outside. I’ll get a frame for it, because I’m that sentimental.

The set is a solid mix of all albums. All of them make you leave the show feeling as if you should pick up an instrument and make your own noise. If you watch Charlie and you leave not wanting to play the guitar, then you missed the point entirely. They’re the band you need to see when everything seems a bit askew. Songs from the new record sound amazing live, and for purely personal reasons my highlight was Telepathic Lover. It’s not only my favourite song of the year but when I first heard it a few months ago, I knew instantly that it was my favourite song by them. The lyrics are ones I hold very close to me and helped with a lot upon hearing it. I owe them for that.

Songs like I Wanna Kill and Neon Jesus are always a pleasure to see live. Mirrors always unleashes a gentle but stirring rage inside.But for me, it’s their cover of Jet Boy Jet Girl that does it. Accompanied with an intro by Charlie, “this is from 1970 fuck you.” 

And just like that, it’s all over. Here’s to another ten shows and beyond. If someone told me to pick just one band to see live for the rest of time, I would easily pick Crocodiles. There’s something about them that makes me feel like I’m not in this lifetime. I love watching each of them on stage because each of them have this magnetic quality about them. They make it all look so easy. So effortlessly cool, it’s like Lou Reed has come back to life with Joey Ramone in tow. They take everything I love about music and make something that I’ve never heard before. As they take us on a journey through each of their records, you can’t help but wonder why they are so underrated? I have no idea why but it’s obvious how hard-working they are, and how loved they are by those at the show.

As mentioned, Dreamless is out this Friday. Buy it, learn the words and I’ll see you at the front.

THE VELVET UNDERGROUND: The Velvet Underground

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“If I could make the world as pure and strange as what I see,
I’d put you in the mirror,
I put in front of me.”

When I first started writing about music, I seemed to have one band on my mind all the time- The Velvet Underground, and it’s pretty obvious. They’ve been a band I have always fallen back on. A band that I listen to pretty much every single day. And if I’m not listening to them, I’m listening to Lou Reed. I think one of the dumbest things I’ve ever done was not go see him when he played back home, on the Isle of Man. Add that to a list of my poor decisions. I’ve made some good ones. I’ve made more good than bad. The Velvet Underground have always felt like a band that I couldn’t believe existed. What I mean by this is, I find it hard to believe a band so great could ever have been around. What on earth did we ever do to deserve such a perfect band?

I like to go through old records and write about them, there’s no reason behind it and sometimes I find it easier to do this than write about a current band. A few years ago I went and wrote about every single record by The Cure. Every single one. It was partly down to me not being able to sleep/scared to go to sleep and having nothing to do, but also because I love The Cure. I’ve covered The Velvet Underground and Lou Reed a lot, but I’ve never written about their 1969 self-titled release. It’s a Saturday night, I have a migraine that’s slowly fading- what else is there to do?

This record is my favourite by them. It always has been and if I ever sat down and listed my favourite records of all time, I am fairly sure that this would be in my top 5, probably top 3. I remember for a long time I was obsessed with playing Pale Blue Eyes. The person that it reminded me of didn’t have pale blue eyes. She’s got beautiful green eyes. But you find meaning wherever you can. It was a song I couldn’t listen to for a time, but then it all fixed and I was back to being obsessed with the song again. If I could sing and I was in a band, I’d cover this at every show. The lyrics are the kind I wish I could write, but nothing I or anyone else does can come close to it. It’s sad. Utterly sad but so beautiful.

Candy Says is another that holds a wealth of sadness, but the sadness it mixed with vulnerability. It’s a song that no matter what, I’ve always been able to relate to.  Regardless of how I am feeling, it’s just been a song that I’ve always gone back to and found a home in. it just says everything I probably don’t have the guts to say. I’ve always had a place reserved for this line, “What do you think I’d see if I could walk away from me?”  Nothing really matters when you listen to this song, or the whole record really.

This is a record that I have always played in order. What I usually do is play something in order the first few times, then after that it’s in whatever order I feel like. With this record I’ve always had to play it in the exact order from start to finish. There’s no reason behind it, but it doesn’t feel right I suppose, to play it any other way. It doesn’t just sum up my ideas of New York, but it sums up how I feel about music and what I look for in a record. I want something that has sort of smutty yet clever lyrics, something that’ll make me think, something that will be some form of escape and encouragement. A record that just takes me up and away. There’s no comedown from this record, and that’s why it is easily one of the greatest records of all time. It’s got this thing about it that I mentioned about The Velvet Underground in general, like you can’t believe something like this actually exists and you can hold this piece of perfection in your hands and have it echoing in your ears whenever you wish.

I don’t think there will ever come a time where Lou’s words aren’t important to me, and with this record I fell more in love with his song writing and his captivating way with words. I have no idea how much thought he ever put into how he put words together, but he always made it seem so effortless. They’re the ones that tower about the rest like Nick Cave, Patti Smith, and Morrissey. They’re the ones I’ve always gone to and will always go to. I don’t know how well this record was received when it came out and I’ve never really paid any attention to what anyone thinks of it now, but I just know that for me, it’s my favourite record by the band. I love how gentle it is and how tender the lyrics are. I’m Set Free is one of those songs you play when everything seems a bit uneasy and you have no idea what you’re supposed to do. It has this instant ethereal build up to it, and you can feel your heart race as it builds and builds. It’s a song that will make everything make more sense. It’s a solution to any problem. I’ll always advocate listening to The Velvet Underground as a solution to all problems.

Some records just stay with you. You may not remember when you first heard it, but the feeling you first got is always there. Every single time you go back to it is like hearing the band for the first time. I’ve always felt that way about The Velvet Underground. It’s a feeling that hits you in the stomach, takes over your mind and owns your heart.

MERCHANDISE: A Corpse Wired For Sound.

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“Now pour your body open,
Tear me apart slowly limb by limb.”

We all have it in our head what makes a band great, what makes a band mean something to us. It can be all down to the singer and the way they are. It can be down the way the drummer makes you wish you could unleash your fury like they do. It can anything, everything- all at once. It hits you like an overnight freight train going a little faster than it normally would. Maybe this band you absolutely adore and idolise bring everything together you love about music and make something of their own. They have parts of bands you love and parts of things you’ve never heard of.

A Corpse Wired For Sound by Merchandise came out today. First listen, it is lust. Not halfway through my second listen, and I would probably marry it if it was a person. Or something similar. It’s easily one of the best records of this year. Hell, it’s one of the best records I’ve heard in a long, long time. When I listen to it, I immediately feel like I am wandering round the streets of Manchester on a rainy and grey day. Utterly bleak- there’s no other place I’d want to be transported to in my mind other than there. Maybe it’s the depths of my conscience telling me it’s time to leave one awfully big city for one my brain can actually handle. I’ve got time, right?

Merchandise take you somewhere really desolate yet sacred with this record. They always do, but there’s something more fragile about this record. As delicate as it is, it’s the kind of records that holds a person together even when the person in question is probably struggling more than they allow their brain to let on. There is so much comfort is the dark and tormenting sound of Merchandise, and A Corpse Wired For Sound is no exception. It’s done differently this time. Every song feels like you need to yell the words out with such urgency. The thing is, when a band means this much to you- you do cling on to every single word.

Nine songs in under 45 minutes. Nine songs to have on a constant loop to help with focusing on whatever you need to do, whatever words you need to get out. They accelerate the motors of your mind with each song, and for me it is Shadow Of The Truth and opener, Flower Of Sex that really do this. I can’t wait for the weather to turn bad so I can wander round listening to this record and truly explore it for what it is. You can only imagine so much within four walls.

For me, I think Shadow Of The Truth is possibly my favourite. Of course I’ll change my mind because I know that this isn’t a record you play a few times and in a few months, you’re done with it. Far from it. Merchandise are not a throwaway band. They’re a band you (collectively) go back to. Each record has something for you to fall back in love with. What you thought was your favourite song slips away, and you fall for another. Maybe it depends on your mood or state of mind but Merchandise, I don’t think, are a background band. They’re not a band you just play and carry on about your business. I’ve had to play A Corpse Wired For Sound a few times before I was ready to concentrate on writing about it. I recommend sitting in the dark and playing Silence a few times. Over and over.

I Will Not Sleep Here is one of the most gorgeous songs I’ve heard in a long time, and only someone like Carson can sing it in this way. It wouldn’t work if someone else did. It really shows his voice in a different way. Again, it’s another highlight and the lyrics are beautiful.

Beginning to end, Merchandise yet again unleash this world upon you that makes you forget how terrible the world can be. The lyrics, the music, everything about this record just sums up everything I love about music and everything I look for in a band. With each record to date, Merchandise have constantly blown my mind and always gone a step further than before.

They’re touring the UK in November. As my birthday is in November, I’ve always claimed it as birthday month and gone to as many gigs as possible. This year is no exception, and I need to block out turning 30 as much as possible even if I still get asked for ID when buying paracetamol.

Play this record as loud as your ears can stand and come out and see them on tour.

NICK CAVE & THE BAD SEEDS: Skeleton Tree.

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“I called out, I called out
Right across the sea
But the echo comes back in, dear
And nothing is for free.”

To write about something knowing the circumstance, even if you are a huge fan, proceeds to give you an unsettling feeling inside. If you’ve listened to Skeleton Tree, you may have felt uneasy and as if you’re experience grief and loss. If anything, this record, teaches you how to feel or how to be aware of how you feel. For me, that’s something I have always taken from Nick Cave’s music. But this time around, something isn’t sitting right. It isn’t sitting right because we know the circumstance. There’s comfort in this record but there’s a wealth of pain that is striking.

I grew up on Nick Cave’s music. Boys Next Door to his sixteenth record with The Bad Seeds, every record has had some impact on me. It’s been there when a person has, and hasn’t been there. It’s a safety net and a handbook for life because I just never seem to know what I’m doing. Writing about Skeleton Tree is tough. I’ve never written about a record I didn’t love. This is a record I love, that’s obvious. I just find it hard to allow myself to have any solid opinion because of the heart of it. The lyrics are gorgeous, and the lyrics justify once more, why Nick Cave is my favourite song-writer of all time. He doesn’t write songs, let’s be honest. They aren’t songs. They go beyond that, they go beyond being bodies of art. Beyond being 4 minute symphonies and 6 minute wonders. Genius. It’s the only word to describe him.

Jesus Alone was the first song we heard from Skeleton Tree. When I heard it, I knew in the pit of my stomach that on 9th September 2016 I would not be listening to a record that sits easy and fits perfectly amongst my collection. This is one that falls into sacred listening. I’ll gladly talk about this record with anyone, but by no means would I want to listen to with anyone around me. It’s a record you need to be alone with. You need to be completely and utterly alone.

Girl In Amber has lines that are just nothing short of painful but absolutely beautiful. It’s not always what Nick says but how he does so. The pain in “Don’t touch me” is so raw. We’ve all felt something so terrible, and the thought of being comforted hurts more. You don’t want any form of physical contact, but you give in to it because sometimes that is all there is. That’s all that can fix it.

I’ve listened to Skeleton Tree enough times now to say that Magneto possess my favourite lyrics.  My heart broke when I heard this, “Oh, the urge to kill somebody was basically overwhelming. I had such hard blues down there in the supermarket queues. And I had a sudden urge to become someone, someone like you.” This song is one of the heaviest on the records and is so gripping and heart-breaking. The more I listen to it, the more I find certain parts to relate to. It does not make for easy listening, and it isn’t a record you play in the background to kill some time. The complete opposite.

I’ve always been drawn to the way Nick writes about love and religion. I’m not a religious person, but I love the way in which he writes about God and what might be above and below us. I love the way he writes about love in a beautiful way that shows its good and ugly side. I Need You shows this exceptionally fragile side of his words that makes it one of the best moments on the record. Take the song however you want. I’ve not made my mind up. The words will break the toughest of hearts, and part of you squirms when you listen to it because of how painful it is. It is nearly 6 minutes of desperation and pleading of the heart. His voice has this different tone to it, a tone I’ve not heard from him before. You can sense the grief, and part of me doesn’t want this to be my favourite off Skeleton Tree because of how open and vulnerable it is. But when your hero can make something like this, you feel less alone. However, I may say it is my favourite but I still can’t listen to the whole song. There’s a part that just ruins me, and I have to move on to the next song.

In a way, Skeleton Tree feels like the stages of grief. Distant Sky gives you hope. Else Torp’s vocals add something quite haunting to the song, and it works so well. Her voice and Nick’s- it is a perfect match that adds comfort and reassurance.

In under 40 minutes, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds take us on a journey through emotions we all wish to never feel. But, it’s inevitable. We will all experience a loss of some kind, and if you are one of the lucky ones who haven’t- this record will easily make you feel as if you have. I think if I had watched the film before listening to the record, maybe I’d say more of worth. I never really wanted to write about Skeleton Tree. It doesn’t feel right in me doing so, but there was something at the back of my mind that needed to get this out at length. I messaged my uncle earlier about the record, and we both agreed that Nick Cave can do no wrong. Irrespective of the circumstance, it’s their sixteenth record and it’s brilliant. It is painful to listen to, but the way Nick does it makes you feel like he is stood next to you as the words fall into your ear.

The title track closes the record, and ends with echoes of “And it’s alright now.” Music is a solid source of security and a way of coping. Both for the person creating it, and the person listening to it. Skeleton Tree evokes this to the very core. I could go on and on about how much I love the record and how much I love him, but every single song reinforces my love for Nick Cave and his words. They’ve got me through hell and back. I can only hope that this record has done