Tag Archives: Liverpool

04.17.21
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TIËRNY – Lonely Are The Brave

I made no post yesterday. I feel a sense of personal disappointment when this happens. There was good reason though. I woke and after a call to 111, Sarah quite rapidly took me into the local accident and emergency department of the nearest hospital. My leg had locked overnight at a 90 degree angle. I couldn’t straighten it at the knee. I wasn’t in pain, save for if I tried to make it straight. Then, the agony was excruciating.

I heard yesterday that Helen McCrory has passed away. I’m not one for TV series; my attention span isn’t up to much but would count Peaky Blinders as one of my all-time favourites. You can’t help but adore the family of rogues (lovable) that it observes. Polly, the part that Helen plays, is a strong matriarch that you grow to respect. Helen’s passing at the tender age of 52 reminds us all of our mortality. 

And when I was holed up, leg outstretched in a splint, only able to hobble slowly on crutches from room to room, the grief for somebody I only know on the screen was compounded. 

I was planning to feature TIĒRNY’s ‘Lonely Are The Brave’ yesterday. I had it all planned out in my head before the necessary diversion took over. But in so many ways, it fits better today. TIËRNY is from Liverpool and describes her genre as gothic alt-pop. On ‘Lonely Are The Brave’ we find her exploring themes of love, loss and isolation. When I watched the video (and in advance of hearing about the news about Polly), I couldn’t help but think about the religious menace, the adverse humanity, on offer in Peaky Blinders. 

It would appear that I’m going to be forced into watching more TV series in the coming weeks as I find ways to rest my left leg. 

04.03.21
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SheBeat – Believe

There are songs that are open to misinterpretation; it’s always a bit gutting when I publish a piece on Sonic Breakfast and the artist comes back to me saying something like ‘that’s an interesting way to the think about the tune’. I worry that it’s a polite way of saying that I’ve completely missed the point. I guess for some songs in which meaning is deliberately hazy and the songwriter is specialising in the opaque this is no bad thing. But I tend to shy away from those pieces. Say what you feel innit. 

There can be little doubt what SheBeat is looking to convey in recent release, Believe. Jodie Schofield, aka SheBeat, moved to Edinburgh from Liverpool in October 2020 and is grabbing the bull by the horns as best she can in her new home city. Believe is a jaunty, less than two minute, fabulous twee-folk shuffle about “taking life by the love handles and making your best (lockdown) life happen.” Jodie credits her Dad as the inspiration behind the tune. “He always tells me to believe in myself and it’s a really empowering simple message I want to share… and remind myself of!“, she says. 

So relevant is Believe for these strange Covid times that you could be forgiven for thinking that Jodie wrote it in recent months. And yet it’s been part of her repertoire since 2014. Jodie tells me that she can’t wait to play it live in Edinburgh, something that she’s not yet been able to do because of lockdown life. But before that, Jodie has some more pressing delights to attend to. 

“I’m believing in my brand new niece Lottie who arrived in the world this very week“, says Jodie. “I’m so excited to be an Aunt and can’t wait to meet her once lockdown worries are over!”

Sonic Breakfast thinks this is all undeniably positive. Have a truly uplifting Easter Saturday. 

 
03.19.21
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Thom Morecroft – The Beast (Live)

They’re getting closer; “those heady days of socially un-distanced live performances“, as the press release for Thom Morecroft’s latest single so eloquently puts it, are surely on the horizon? For now, we can all just about recall what intimate and raw gigs were like. And, should we need an immediate reminder, you need look no further than today’s Sonic Breakfast track. 

The Beast (live) has been part of Thom’s live repertoire for a little while and was released as a single last month. Written when he was just 17 in response to growing up with an alcoholic Dad, it’s a song that contains an almost-uneasy vulnerability. You sense that there’s therapy in the making every time that Thom plays this tune. And don’t doubt that those growing up in similar situations will identify with the desperation and wasted optimism within. Here, on the stage of Studio 2 in Liverpool, with just an acoustic guitar and a powerful, soaring voice, Thom belts it all out. 

He’s in perky and positive mood when we briefly exchange E-mails. “I’ll probably be getting a haircut as soon as restrictions are lifted.“, says Thom. “Definitely missing live gigs. It’s been a bit of a funny year so far, but it’ll get better.” 

Yep, it’s getting better all the time and should you find yourself with a little time on your hands this weekend, don’t hesitate to check out some of the many Beatles’ covers that Thom has recorded and added to YouTube during lockdowns. There’s some neat collaborations and some sterling work in reaching the high notes of ‘Can’t Buy Me Love’ on offer there. It all rather flies in the face of my observations about cover versions made just yesterday (here).

But The Beast (Live) is a total original. Let’s revel in the rawness of intimate art this Friday. 

02.07.21
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Ali Horn – End Credits

The day has arrived. I was up early this morning to draw the blinds on the villa and to make my way to the airport. Goodness knows when I’ll get back. I might have shed a tear or two on the terrace last night but today I’m going to be defiantly happy. We only live once and let’s make it count, right?

Ali Horn gets me. In his nihilistic yet optimistic single from last year, End Credits, he’s making a ‘hopeless plea for temporary happiness’. He enhances his thinking later in the press release. 

“The only thing we know for sure is that we can’t stay here for long.“, Ali says. “We’re a speck of light reflecting off a fractured fragment of smashing glass in slow motion. There for a second and then gone. But let’s have fun while it lasts. You can’t hide for the inevitable.”

Spot on I say. I saw Ali play a live set in London (at the Old Blue Last I seem to recall). It was October 2019 and I was between guardianships, staying in an odd and quirky Airbnb house in Islington surrounded by books as I slept on a rickety sofa. I fully intended to write about Ali’s live set but the ‘delights’ of the accommodation got the better of me. 

My notes from the night still exist but they’re pretty indecipherable. I do remember enjoying Ali’s set though I also noted that Ali could do with smiling more. He had a four piece band with him and shades pinned to his chest. A fuzzy Neil Young, Ali commented that this crowd was ‘better than Brighton’. Fez and Jouis were also on the bill that night. 

So, I’m happy to be able to feature ‘End Credits’ as I get on this plane to leave Spain. A happy song as the trudge towards the end continues. 

01.21.21
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The Banshees – You’re Wrong

Whenever I’ve visited Liverpool (which was with some frequency pre-Covid), I’ve spied the ‘Yellow Submarine’ sitting proudly on the Royal Albert Docks. A reconfigured narrow boat, it’s now used as accommodation for those desperate to get an overnight psychedelic Beatles fix on the Mersey. I’d always wondered what it was like inside the boat.

I now have to wonder no more. For The Banshees, an indie duo from up that way, have filmed the video for one of their latest releases, You’re Wrong, from the boat. In the opening stills, we see Vinny and Paul clamber aboard before then giving us a self-produced, guided and somewhat magical tour of the mystery space. It looks much bigger than I ever imagined; Liverpool’s very own tardis.

 

The Banshees duo come with impressive CVs. They’ve years of experience playing bit parts in other prominent Scouse acts but you suspect that they’ve really now found their mojo with their own indie scribbles. In ‘You’re Wrong’, Paul’s effortless guitar riffing acts as a perfect counter for Vinny’s deliberately underplayed vocal.

They’ve got something to say as well. ‘You’re Wrong’ is about being aware of your own insecurities, realising that opinions are only words and you can’t please everybody. It’s a sentiment that’s massively bought to the fore towards the end of the track when Vinny sings, “You only got one life to live so you better get together and you better give some time, It’s time, Fall in love with yourself, Take care of your health and don’t you know that you’ll be fine. Just fine.”

When I ask The Banshees about the last thing they did that was wrong, they’re defensively yet jokingly adamant. “The last thing we did wrong was nothing,” says Vinny. “We’re always right…listen to the song…it’s everyone else that is wrong hahaha.”

Listening to this tune and taking ‘on board’ its message does seems like an ideal Thursday thing to do. 

02.05.18
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Ladies – Trigger For Love

Cast your mind back to the distant past of 2016. I declared a love for Ladies back then (here), so much so that the trio from Liverpool prominently featured in my top ten of the year (here).

I’ve exchanged messages with lead singer, Chas, a fair bit since. When I’ve been up in Liverpool visiting my parents or heading out to a festival, we’ve made every effort to catch up over a beer or two. It’s always been interesting to hear about the plans for Ladies. Getting yourself heard when in a young band is fraught with challenges and frustrations but Chas’s determination that they’re going to ‘make it’ shines on through. You get a sense that the lucky break is coming; that their music is going to imminently be heard by a mover or shaker with the influence to help them realise their dreams.

They’ve just released a new video for their most recent single ‘Trigger For Love’. A word of warning – searching the Internet for ‘Ladies Trigger For Love video’ brings back all sorts of inappropriate oddness that a band with their healthy political outlook would be sure not to approve of. But it’s OK because you can link to the actual video from here.

The song itself is riddled with melody, completely characteristic of the band’s style. The Liverpool influence is pushed to the fore; it’s a tune that wouldn’t be out of place on The La’s classic album which is the highest of praise. 

Mersey-beat is alive and well and the scene is set for another iteration. Ladies are doing what they can to place themselves at the fore of that movement.

 

 

 

 

 

12.27.16
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The Sonic Breakfast Top Ten – 2016

It’s that time of year again. We come to the end of another one and decide upon the things that have made us happiest (and in the case of the shit-fest that has often been 2016, the unhappiest).

 

 Sonic Breakfast will again get in on the act – with my list of the top ten posts from 2016 that have for a variety of reasons given me the most joy. There’ll be surprises and certainties, posts I’d forgotten about and posts that I wish I’d never published! I think you’ll enjoy.

 Without further ado.. Click on the next page number for number 10…

 

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01.08.16
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Ladies – Pretty In My Heart

Something changed for me last year. 

Ever since I moved to Leicester a dozen or more years ago, I’d spend three or four nights each week being a consumer of local music. I’d go to cold, flea bitten holes (all of which have now closed down of course) on Tuesday evenings to watch bands who were just starting out and often not very good. Sometimes, I’d watch these bands grow in confidence as they developed their stagecraft. Often, bands would split up after their opening gig. 

I can’t put my finger on a time when the magic went. But it did last year. I’m now enjoying staying in and only venturing out to gigs where there’s a purpose; typically, this means going to larger venues to produce ‘fucking shit’ reviews of touring bands. 

Who knows if I’ll get my love of the local fleapit back?

On one of my rare forays out in 2015, I came across Ladies (that’s not as crude as it sounds). Here was a band who were clearly still finding their feet and developing their stagecraft. But already I could tell that this three-piece had the seed of something special. More than anything, I could tell they had songs. They were both derivative and utterly modern at the same time. They had a slightly shambolic swagger and yet were captivating to watch. I got to know their lead singer and songwriter, Chas, who impressed with his general approach and attitude.

A couple of months ago, I received an E-mail from ‘Ladies’. They’ve relocated to Liverpool. In many ways, this is a move that makes entire sense. From the Beatles to the La’s (and beyond), Liverpool strikes me as the sort of city that appreciates jangle and melody. That’s the space that Ladies sit within and I’m not at all surprised that, a few months after moving, their gig calendar seems to be full and bursting. 

Ladies are a band to keep an eye on. How knock-out is the chorus in this tune ‘Pretty In My Heart’? 

 

 

 

01.07.16
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Louis Berry and a scathing Saint Raymond gig review

“If someone tells me I have to go out there and impress some people because they’re important to my career, I’d rather go out there and really piss them off. Because this should be about the songs and a belief that everything else is bollocks. I walk around thinking ‘people in Liverpool, can’t you see what they are doing to you?’. There’s so much to say and no one is saying it. I’m going to be the lad who does.” – Louis Berry

In a couple of weeks time, I’m lining up a chat with Louis Berry. He’s playing at Nottingham’s Bodega on the 19th January as part of a short headline tour. It wasn’t long ago that I saw Louis play in Leicester when he supported Saint Raymond. I reviewed the show for the Leicester Mercury but I’m not sure if my words ever got published. In truth, I was quite scathing about the headliner and I can understand why an editor might have opted for an easy life.

Anyway, waste not want not (and all that) – I’ll publish my uncensored review here…

 

I look at my watch and despair. Saint Raymond have only been playing for forty minutes in the second room at Leicester’s O2 academy but it already feels like a lifetime. It’s not simply because he’s from Nottingham that I take such a dim view. One song, with bland,subtle variation, is played over and over again. Repeat until it’s really not funny.

He’s the master of monosyllable is Callum Burrows, the man behind the moniker, Saint Raymond. ‘I want you to know that, I want you, you know that’, he sings in yet another jaunty, catchy, raise your hands in the air, singalong pop by numbers blow-out.

Yet it would be churlish not to admit that this man with very little to say does seem to say a great deal to his fans. Young female students have graduated from Ed Sheeran, Olly Murs and One Direction. They now have a new poster boy for their university bedsit and Burrows is it. Surrounded by a faultless band, the crowd sing, clap, dance and wave their phones to the innocuous, choppy pop on offer. “Let’s carry on dancing, I want to tire you out”, smiles Burrows. I yawn.

Callum plays a cover. I only know it’s a cover because he tells us so. The crowd cheer wildly after every dull syllable he states. He tells a story about making a video in a taxi in Manchester with Thomas Turgoose, a potentially interesting tale in the hands of a somebody less boring. He plays two songs without a band that fail to resonate.

More impressive is Louis Berry, the scouse support act with jug ears, a cheeky grin and a charming swagger. Sometimes he veers a bit too close to Jake Bugg for comfort but when on form, you can see the Johnny Cash crossed with Arctic Monkey influence. Plagued throughout with sound problems, it seems to distract Berry from his full game. “We can’t hear what we’re playing”, moans Berry. It has rebel attitude, bite and enough skiffle based melody to suggest that, on a good day, Louis will be one to watch.

Ever one to consider the positives of a situation, as I leave the venue I think it could be worse. A poster of forthcoming gigs is thrust into my hand and I notice that it’s two days away from a Scouting For Girls gig. I thank God for small mercies.

 

I was a grumpy bastard towards the end of 2015 wasn’t I? I’m more than confident that Louis will continue to impress throughout 2016 and he’ll have a great deal more to say than Saint Raymond.

 

11.18.14
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Sheepy – Don’t Know Much

I wish that I was in London this coming Thursday. If I was then I’d be delaying my trip home and heading to the Tamesis Dock, a boat moored on the Albert Embankment, somewhere between Vauxhall and Westminster.

For that’s where Blang Records are hosting a free split single launch party. Two new(ish) bands to me, Sheepy and Lucy’s Diary share the release. I’m keen on both sides of the single but it’s the charming Mod(ish) Britpop bleat of Sheepy’s ‘Don’t Know Much’ that’s mostly grabbed my attention. Just for avoidance of any doubt, Sheepy are not to be confused with the Shepee’s found on festival sites, most commonly at Glastonbury. 

It’s evident within the cheeky, chirpy video for ‘Don’t Know Much’ that Sheepy are a three piece. If you’re the sort who recognises cathedrals and churches whilst looking out from the cockpit of a paper aeroplane you might also pick up on the fact that Sheepy are from Liverpool. 

Clocking in at a little under two minutes, Sheepy confirm what we’ve always known that length isn’t important (right?) – for, in this short burst of a song, Sheepy prove that their seven inch offers infinitely more than can often be heard in tracks twice as long. This has energy, immediacy and pzazz by the bucketload. It’s very difficult not to fall for its charms.

I mightn’t know much but I reckon they’ll be dancing on the dock and rocking in the rigging come Thursday night.