iLiKETRAiNS reviews

I was fascinated to read this review of the October iLiKETRAiNS gig in Manchester Whisperin and Hollerin and compare it to my mate Dave's review. Are we just dull, prosaic bastards?

This Et Al Tour Dates

The coruscating (I had to look up the meaning of the word!) This Et Al are doing a short Barfly tour this December.

FRIDAY 2nd DECEMBER 2005 - BARFLY, LONDON
SATURDAY 3rd DECEMBER 2005 - BARFLY, CARDIFF
WEDNESDAY 7th DECEMBER 2005 - BARFLY, BIRMINGHAM
THURSDAY 8th DECEMBER 2005 - BARFLY, LIVERPOOL
SATURDAY 10th DECEMBER 2005 - IDIOTEQUE @ BARFLY, GLASGOW

Also, This Et Al will be featured on a single (split with Adzuki) on January 9th with a song called Pigs Make Children Sick. Looks like next year is going to start really well. I'm a bit worried about getting sent a copy because I will be without an address in the new year (not bad news because I have got a great job down South but it will take a while to find somewhere to live).

Bob Mould Blog

Bob Mould (due in the uk in January - see Cool Noise for dates) is a regular blogger.

You can find his blog here: Boblog

Latest CDs

Demo by Carlis Star
Surprising quality for a bedroom demo in terms of both sound and the quality of the music. The harmonies on the track Bread Making Bees are too much for me (Beach Boys influence) but the second track The Fight Inside adds some nice guitar and more variation in atmosphere than I'm used to on an album. Not 100% to my taste but even I can hear enough to announce a Severe Talent Warning.

Carlis Star website


Pine/I Just Froze EP by Decoration
Some similarities to The Wedding Present (not my favourite band). I will listen more.

Decoration website


Black Girlfriend EP by The Disco Students
I'm not going to pass up the chance to listen to a track called Mark E Smith Is Dead, am i?

Disco Students

The Friday Session 18th November

I missed the live show because by the time I got back from work it was taken over by sport. The good thing is the full show is on the BBC listen again service - check out bbc radio and look through the Rock and Alt selection.

The presenters do say "it's all about the music" a bit too much - but they are proving by what they they play that this really is their credo. I get more impressed every week.

I particularly liked the gig guide, each item in the local accent of the band playing - Irish/German (difficult to tell the difference!).

Nomad sound very good and energetic - a pity that I couldn't rewind to hear the song again (forward is the only option) - but I will listen to the whole show again just to hear them play.

Dead Letter Office sound like The Darkness would if the Darkness vocals weren't so annoying (well, better than that really). They will be live on the Friday Session next week so there will be some very intersting gradiouse music.

theOracleboy

I found a bag full of CDs recently that I had taken away for my travelling - I should perhaps have reviewed some of them. A lot of not reviewing comes down to not having anything interesting to say - says more about me than the CDs.

But one CD in particular, that I have really enjoyed listening to is the Oracleboy single (titled theOracleboy). It's energetic guitar rock from an alternative direction. Three really good songs, tight musicianship, strong melodically and with a 'swing' that makes them stand out from the crowd.

theOracleboy website

The Halloween Party EP by Murkin

Although the music didn't excite me, Murkin do have a very inventive website that I recommend visiting - I particularly like the picture of the dog on the front page.

Murkin

Fear Today, Gone Tomorrow by Moonshot

Moonshot have a deft touch with atmospherics. The first three tracks of this album are very attractive. Sounds like some influence from New Order or at least the singer (on this track) sounds a bit like Bernard. But mainly, the music is based on good songs spiced up with electronica.

From then on I get disappointed because they seem to disappear up their own backsides with what are almost novelty songs. In my 'umble opinion they just lose it for the middle set of songs. And after that they never quite recover.

Moonshot website

No Conditions By The Lights

It starts with what could be strings from a certain Verve record (or Nancy Sinatra's version of You Only Live Twice from the 60s). Then the vocals start and it's a female vocalist with a dreamy voice. Plenty of synth adding atmosphere and a relaxed pace. Its the sort of song you can sway along to. Romantically lush.

Seeca Records

Van Der Graaf Generator again

I've been out of the habit of going to gigs for a few years now since leaving Manchester a few years ago - but even before I was gradually feeling a bit too old to be 'down with the kids'. Now I've been back since April and I've hardly been out at all. But tonight I went to a gig - Van Der Graaf Generator at the Broadwater Hall. I also saw them a few months ago in Liverpool. I loved it - imagine the feelings of seeing a band that meant so much when in your young teens. Four old men playing music on a stage but what music!

Your Horrible Smile

More mainstream than I normally listen to (and I don't know much about US musical taste). Your Horrible Smile some across to me as a band with a mission to be big. They have all the necessary attributes - considerable musicianship, a singer with a good voice, and the ability to mix melody and energy. I suspect that have quite a lot of devotees in Los Angeles at the moment. It's not just the songs - they sent me a couple of videos as well. They mean business. And they are bringing out an album in December 2005.

Friday Session 4th November

Kidderminster's Escape From Alcatraz played a song called Monster recorded live and despite some hesitant vocals at the beginning (this was live) it developed into a great song - full of passion and Indie magic.

Boothill Town were in live session and were magnificent - deep alt-country and with a singer who sounds like Smog's Bill Callaghan. There's a set of demo MP3 downloads on singer/guitarist Oliver Harveys website. Well worth checking out.

Kody and Fickle Public

Kody are a rock band from the Isle of Wight who have just release their first single nineteeneightyone. At first I thought they were a bit old fashioned but despite not being near the alternative bleeding edge the sheer quality of the vocals got under my skin. Gareth Ickes' voice reminds me of the lead singer of the Veils - a similar quality of sandpaper. Coupled with good songs, I was impressed.

Kody

I've been listening to the Fickle Public single Just Like I Got Used To Saying Courtney Cox Arquette I received a week ago. Sounding a bit American punk, with a taste for discord, they are inventive and far from obvious. Angular rhythms and choppy guitars make this an inventive release.

Fickle Public

New CDs

Just a list of CDs received

No Conditions - The Lights
Slippery Slope - Paper Cuts
Just Like I Got Used To Saying Courtney Cox Arquette - Fickle Public
The Last Men In Europe - Initial Prayer
TooSoonMonsoon - Wheatus
Uphill To Purgatory - JJ Appleton
Watching - The Lodger

Planty of good stuff in there