Monthly Archives: May 2014

05.16.14
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Sticky Fingers – The Cookie

Australia – I’m 100% convinced that one day when I decide to properly travel you’ll be high on my list.

I knew this before we had the British Invasion. It’s a slow burner of an invasion. Tokes get in the way. But, it’s no coincidence that my first ever blog post on Sonic Breakfast, when I was learning how to do this, was about Jagwar Ma.

And since then, I’ve effused about Courtney Barnett and Australian BBQ’s.

Tonight, I was invited to one venue in Leicester that might convince me to stay here longer than I probably should. Tinny, the venue owner at The Cookie is developing a place that Leicester should love. In the last couple of years, this venue has morphed, expanded and changed. It once specialised in stand up comedy and whilst that’s still a money maker for this enterprise, it now has space and ambition for the jokes to be a supporting actor.

A new 300 capacity venue opens soon next door to the current establishment under the Cookie’s management. This is exciting beyond belief and should further cement Leicester’s growing reputation on the touring map.

It was a free show tonight. I wish people were charged. A free gig hardens people. You know how fucking great the band are but you’re reticent to cheer, dance or unfold your arms because you’ve invested no dosh in it. Sticky Fingers were the band. Hailing from Sydney, they put on a show that was worth a fiver of anybody’s money. I suspect that in Australia, they could charge a whole lot more again.

Sticky Fingers specialise in a sort of laddish rock reggae. It’s a sound that’s probably born out of smoking a bit too much weed whilst listening to Hendrix and Marley. Amidst a stage of guitars (and keys & drums), shaggy hair and moustaches so dated that they’re incredibly cool, Sticky Fingers gave us 45 minutes of laidback, slacker swagger. To call it slacker isn’t to say that there wasn’t energy and effort on display here though because there was in abundance. No, this is a band that could give you three part harmonies without labouring the fact that this is what they were doing. This is a band that could sweat loads on stage but still look chilled. This is a band that should never be confused with the Rolling Stones tribute act that go by the same name. 

Uncomplicated cool. Music with confidence but without arsey, artistic pretense. When should I book my flight to Oz? 

 

 

 

05.15.14
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Stereoshock – The Letter

Dear Joanne, 

It’s been some time since I sent you a letter. But I wanted you to know that I’m doing just fine. It’s a shame that The Wave Machines haven’t toured recently. I hope that things are still going well between yourself and Simon.

I heard a fantastic tune today when I was consuming new music – you remember how I used to lock myself away in a room to listen to new tracks on the radio? I still do that but modern technology makes it much easier now.

Anyway Joanne – this tune I heard reminded me of us. It’s by a 21 year old composer from New York called Josh Cohen who goes by the stage name of Stereoshock. He describes himself as ‘blending indie-alternative music, with heavily inspired orchestral and cinematic elements.‘ Clearly, he’s someone to watch out for and I felt an overwhelming desire to tell you about it. It really is amazing and I’m sure, given your love of story lyrics, it’s right up your street.

 I’m sure you need no reminding of the day when I walked out on us; I could bear the intensity of what we had no more. I know that I left you in the lurch and I know it took you months to understand why I had to leave. But, now I marvel at the strength you’ve found. I guess that having Simon around helps? 

I wish that I could tell you that my life has turned out for the better – but I don’t think the grass has been any greener. I thought I needed to explore the world but perhaps, in reality, I just needed to explore my head.

We had something beautiful Joanne. I hope you’re well.

Pete.

Xx

 

05.14.14
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Young Rising Sons – High

In a few minutes time, it is entirely possible that you’ll hate me.

In a few months time, it is entirely possible that I will hate myself.

For this tune, I am sharing today is so catchy, so cheery, so summery and so much of an earworm that it’s likely to glue itself  into your brain and not get out. 

And we all know how thoroughly frustrating those head wrigglers can become. Even if we love them on first listen, it’s hard to explain away why we’re whistling inappropriately when at supermarkets, urinals and funerals. 

Young Rising Sons, from New Jersey, America, appear to have exploded out of nowhere today with this song ‘High’. There’s a co-ordinated, precise marketing campaign behind this which makes the cynic in me want to hate it. This band’s social media presence doesn’t indicate any strife or struggle to get where they are today. Indeed, it almost looks like, three months ago, this band didn’t exist.  But this can’t be true can it? Because, they have a fan base that suggests graft, toil and touring has played a part.

The lead singer, Andy, suggests that this is a song about letting go and enjoying the good things in life. 

I find myself wondering. Why does it matter so much to me ‘how authentic’ a band are? Why does it matter to me that I’m not being manipulated by marketing? Why can’t I just let go and let myself get ‘high’ alongside the Young Rising Sons. This is a bloody addictive drug after all.

Deal done in my head… Time to sit back, relax and whistle a happy tune.

 

 

05.13.14
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Elder Island – What It’s Worth

According to Wikipedia, ‘Elder Island is an irregularly shaped island located at the eastern opening of the Fury and Hecla Strait. Situated in Nunavut’s Qikiqtaaluk Region within the northern Canadian Arctic, the island is north of the Melville Peninsula and Ormonde Island. It is approximately 1 km (0.62 mi) south of Baffin Island, while the Foxe Basin is to the east.’

I am still none the wiser where it is if I’m honest. But, it sounds cold there and it’s uninhabited by all accounts – apart from polar bears. There are, arguably, better places to go on holiday.

Elder Island are also a soulful, three piece from Bristol. They’ve got an EP coming out in June/July and in advance of that, they’ve elected to release ‘What It’s Worth’ to the world – or at least to Soundcloud.

They’ve played slots at the ace Shambala festival and, I believe, are listed to play this year. For what it’s worth, I’ll look to check them out. I’m sure they put on quite a show.

For the first couple of minutes of this tune, the handclaps and bass drum beats create icy spikes and troughs in the Soundcloud player view that might well replicate the angular, jagged, irregularly shaped landscape of the Canadian Island. But, as the song progresses, a flurry of snowflakes fall and we are drawn to the question of the day, ‘What’s it all worth?’.

No conclusive answer is drawn but the polar bears are moving their feet tonight. 

 

05.11.14
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Claudia Kane – Hungry

I had a fantastic roast dinner today – and this was after three croissants for breakfast. Suffice to say, I’m not particularly hungry. 

And, even though that’s the title of this track from London based, Claudia Kane, I very much doubt that she’s singing about a lack of food either.  

Instead, what we have here is a tune in which Ms.Kane is hungry for revenge. I sense that somebody’s hurt her and played with her feelings once too often and now she’s going to make that somebody pay. 

Over the top of a smoky lush, lounge based orchestration, CK evokes memories of 1960’s scandals that we’re all too young to remember. It’s surely pure accident that the initials are shared. 

‘I will haunt you in the night’, sings Claudia. Her Del-Ray voice, seductive and sexy draws you in to her schemes for getting even. ‘You’ll be happy, I’ll be rich‘, she adds and you realise that the food she wants is financial.

I love the decadent beauty that’s bubble and squeaking under the surface on this platter. I hope you do to…

 

 

And just in case you’re feeling starved and want an extra portion of Claudia Kane (I sense you might) here’s a video to a track, Residents Of Darkness. There’s much that delights. 

 

05.10.14
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Horse Party – Shut The Fuck Up!

Yesterday morning, a fanzine that I’d requested dropped through my doorbox. I love a good fanzine and mourn the fact that in this internet laden age where bloggers can bare their souls every minute about things they don’t REALLY like, the art of the fanzine is dying a slow death.

I’m also aware, as a blogger, of the inherent contradiction in that sadness. 

Shut The Fuck Up! Is a fanzine that’s produced out of an angry, young and growing Bury St. Edmunds scene. The fine band, Horse Party, are the main protagonists behind it and you’ll be able to get your own free copy of the fanzine through the charming Seymour at the band’s website. Anybody wearing a Shonen Knife T-shirt in publicity shots has to be charming right? 

I won’t spoil the surprise of what’s contained within. Suffice to say, it’s an angry, humorous, Riot Grrrr! inspired attack on the sexism, racism and homophobia that exists across the media. It’s a manifesto for how Horse Party are going to do things differently. 

“You don’t have to ‘like’ everything; you don’t have to ‘follow’ everyone. And do you really want EVERYONE to ‘like’ and ‘follow’ you? In the scrabble for internet popularity, dignity has become an increasingly rare commodity.” – they say and I say in reply that such wisdom should be taught at blogging schools and social media colleges across the world. 

Horse Party’s  debut album, ‘Cover Your Eyes’, is out on Monday, although I think you’ve been able to get a digital format for a little longer than that. It’s described as ‘a harmony of raw, lo-fi expression and liberating rock-your-cares-away hooks.’ There’s certainly enough going on in the tracks I’ve heard from the album to suggest that Suffolk is spawning something special here. I like it but you don’t have to.

 

 

05.08.14
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SG Lewis ft Josh Barry – Silence

What’s this? The second Sonic Breakfast post in less than 24 hours? Breaking rules again about not posting more than once a day? Quiet days between posts when you were getting fried and fired in Liverpool at Sound City and now a gluttony of posts to break the silence? 

Errrr.. Yes… Kind of…

 

 

SG Lewis is a bedroom producer, originally from Reading but now living in Liverpool. I guess that’s where he met Josh Barry who features on this exquisite track that’s generating a fairly noisy response on Soundcloud.

For me, this is about the ‘silence’ that occurs post-relationship argument. Both of you know that, given time, it’ll probably be ok but it’s late at night and all you want to do is sleep. But, you can’t sleep because your mind is playing tricks. And so, over a chilled out bass thud, you replay the crap that’s just occurred. 

The perils of being in a relationship that’s not working… The advantages of sleeping alone…. The joys of making up….

 

 

05.08.14
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James – Moving On

Sometimes, you see something and it just has to be posted – even if that something doesn’t necessarily fit in with the ‘style’ of your blog…

Sonic Breakfast is largely about new, under the radar, acts. James have a pedigree, a history and a fan base. But rules are made to be broken. 

 

I recall those days when we used to ‘sit down’ in the student disco. We’d ‘come home’ and play James records. ‘Sometimes’ we’d sing choruses of songs in the streets, drunk, playful and waiting for our ‘proper’ adult lives to begin. 

Years have passed. Yet still we sing those choruses waiting for our old age to begin.

 

 

The new James single is called ‘Moving On’. According to Tim Booth, this lead single from their new album is inspired by the death of two people in his life; his Mum and a friend of his, Gabrielle. And whilst that’s a sad thing to deal with, Booth also sees death as a birth of sorts. He conveyed this to BAFTA winning animator, Ainslie Henderson.

Henderson notes, “It is 2014, I’m on the phone to Tim and he is describing how they came to write this song, and what the words mean to him. The story he tells me is deeply moving; one thing that stayed with me is his describing death as a birth. Some days later this conversation echoes around my mind while I’m listening to ‘moving on’ I walk past a typical Scottish woollen knitwear shop. My eyes flit over a ball of wool in the window while the word ‘unwinding’ is sung. Pretty quickly I’m leaving a garbled, over excited message on Tim’s phone about the music video I have in my head.”

 
 The new James video is a work of art. It might well move you to tears. It’s a beautifully animated piece of film. It demands to be seen.
 
  

 

05.07.14
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Liverpool Sound City – Raleigh Ritchie

I continue to write up my review of Liverpool Sound City for eFestivals. I’ve made a great dent into the review this evening whilst watching the first semi final of the Eurovision. I am gutted that the Latvian entry about baking cakes didn’t proceed. 

There were 26 venues at Sound City and I tried to get to most of them over the few days of the festival.. I’m trying hard for my review not to simply be a long and drawn out list of the things I did…

And then I went here…

And then I went here….

 

I interviewed Raleigh Ritchie this weekend and a full transcript of that will appear in good time on eFestivals. But, I’m happy to say that he was a charming man. He openly admits that he’s something of a contradiction; that his album might well be difficult to pin down because it will cross styles. He’s a perfectionist spending hours getting a bass to sound exactly as he wants. I’m left wondering if his album will ever come out. 

We talked about Wireless as he’s been announced to perform alongside Kanye and the like – but he also said that there’s more festivals coming that he can’t announce as yet. My money’s on Glastonbury as one of them. Surprisingly, Raleigh/Jacob also revealed that his first ever mosh pit experience was at a Kasabian gig. 

He thinks – and I’m inclined to agree – that he’s only compared to the Trip Hop sound of Massive Attack, Tricky and all because of his Bristolian roots.

We touched on the distinction between acting and music. Raleigh’s focus for the foreseeable is on music though he wouldn’t be averse to another Game Of Thrones series if offered. I deduce from that that he doesn’t lose his head in series 3. I steered away from questions about genitals and lack of them (in Game of Thrones)… 

I wanted to post the tune ‘Bloodsport’ in full from Soundcloud but it’s been removed and replaced with a clip. Oh well, never mind – here’s clips from all of the tracks on Raleigh’s Black and Blue EP.