2011: Albums of the Year

Every year I will speak to at least a handful of people who will say "this year's been pretty poor for music," and each year I have to disagree. Whilst this year has been full of upheaval and uncertainty in politics and world affairs, both at home and abroad, and mainstream music has been dire to say the least, 2011 has smiled kindly on the world of alternative music. Below are thirty albums that I've enjoyed this year, arranged in some form of order. It's not exhaustive (sadly, I can't have heard every record that came out this year) and I'm still debating the order of importance... but what I will say is that these records have helped define and guide me through 2011 in some way. Please drop me a line if you have any comments, or would like to recommend any records you think I would have liked and have missed! - it's always nice to know there's someone out there. Anyway, on with the show...

#1 - Johnny Foreigner – Johnny Foreigner vs Everything (Alcopop)

Although a late contender, I feel that Johnny Foreigner deserve the accolade whole-heartedly. Easily their most comprehensive record to date, their third full-length holds a lot more depth than previous offerings, and as such appears even more personal than normal. Whilst the majority of material doesn't stray too far from the JoFo formula, tracks like ‘200X’ and ‘Supermorning’ show an inventiveness that I don’t think we’ve previously seen. Whilst shunned by the NME, for the fans and the UK underground this record is a triumph, and demonstrates the hard work and dedication of independent thinking. If you haven’t heard this album already, get on it, or at least check out ‘With Who, Who and What I've Got’ and ‘You vs Everything.’ 

#2 - British Sea Power – Valhalla Dancehall (Rough Trade) 

British Sea Power never fail to impress me, and this, their fourth studio album to date, is a prime example of why I love them. Never afraid to be themselves, BSP mix rock, post-punk and post-rock to create a sound which is both distinctive and original. ‘Who’s In Control?” became my soundtrack for the summer riots, but also give ‘Mongk II’ and ‘Observe the Skies’ a spin if you haven’t already. I think they may win the award for best album title of the year too. 

#3 - Mogwai - Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will (Rock Action)

What sets Mogwai apart from other bands that have jumped on the post-rock bandwagon is that they are always one step ahead of the curve, and this record is testament to that. You would think after more than 10 years on the game, Mogwai's pool of ideas would be running dry, or at least thin, but you only need to hear the crunch of 'Rano Pano,' the driving, bassy riff of 'San Pedro' or the squelching electro of ''George Square Thatcher Death Party' to know that the Scots are far from finished. 

#4 - Los Campesinos! - Hello Sadness (Wichita)

On first listen to Los Campesinos! latest offering I was a little underwhelmed. Then, I was going into it expecting it to be Romance is Boring Pt.II. Instead, what I was treated to was a sublime grower of a record. Past the instant gratification (ahem) of 'By Your Hand', LC! have produced their most diverse record to date, and one that will split fans opinions. However, with tracks like the superb 'The Black Bird, The Dark Slope', and the stomping 'Baby I Got The Death Rattle,' Los Campesinos! show there is more to them than the tweexcore tag that they used to be lumped in with. Lyrically, it's a dark album, but when the light shines through it's uplifting, life-affirming, and amazing.

#5 - Rival Schools - Pedals (Photo Finish)
I remember hearing 'Used for Glue' for the first time, back when I was in school. United by Fate became a soundtrack for my last year in school and the transition into college. They were good times, and I waited patiently for Rival Schools to make that second album. 10 years in the making, and a reformed Rival Schools finally release their second full-length. Was it worth the wait? You bet it was. Whilst nowhere near as grand as their début, Pedals sparkles with anthemic rock and riffs that the Foo Fighters would give their left hand to have wrote. I could recommend you pretty much anything off of this album, it's such a solid effort, but I'd say 'Big Waves' and 'Eyes Wide Open' may just take the prize for top cuts. If it takes another 10 years for Rival Schools to make another album that's just half as good as this, well, I'll happily wait it out.

#6 - Metronomy - The English Riviera (Because)

And there was me thinking that 2008's Nights Out would be Joseph Mount's high watermark, and then out of nowhere came The English Riviera. Mount and gang produced a record that balances the line between sounding retro and contemporary. Don't ask me how. From the unsettling pop of 'She Wants,' to the retro-tinged seaside-themed keyboard hook of 'The Look'; from start to finish it's an album that washes over you in wave after wave of analogue synths, syncopated guitars and funk-flavoured bass lines, begging you to get lost in the landscapes it conjures up. Just like a fine wine, I think this is a record that will continue to improve with age. A modern classic in waiting. 

#7 - Death Cab for Cutie - Codes and Keys (Atlantic)
With their last record Death Cab through everyone a curve ball. Instead of delivering another Plans, they went more experimental. Whilst the results may have made for an interesting listen, ultimately it didn't quite hit the spot for me. Codes and Keys on the other hand fills that empty spot in my heart I reserve for Gibbard. 'You Are A Tourist' is a mighty example of DCfC's song writing capabilities, with a soaring lead reminiscent of Big Country's 'In A Big Country', or the title track 'Codes and Keys' with its plodding piano refrain and beautiful string accompaniment. 'Doors Unlocked and Open' reminds me of R.E.M.'s 'I Remember Nothing' which leads me to conclude that perhaps Death Cab are in fact the last great American rock band? Big claim, but I think given time they will transcend their cult status and deserve the mainstream success they deserve.

#8 - &U&I - Light Bearer (On Dry Land)
&U&I: the true champions of the UK underground. After the untimely demise of Blakfish, few of us would have expected the remaining three Brummies to bounce back so successfully. But here we are, less that 2 years later and &U&I have delivered up their début and silenced all that doubted they had it in them. A whole lot more palatable than Blakfish's LP, Light Bearer is both heavy and instantly accessible. Guitars intertwine around rattling bass, before slapping you into place with some meaty, mathy riffage. 'Talk With Steam' screams sing-a-long with its "push your foot into the floor" refrain, or how about the bass-driven previous single 'Stalk this City'? Favourite cut, and fan favourite 'Belly Full of Fire & A Heart Full Of Blood' also sounds incredible, like Reuben at their angriest circa In Nothing We Trust. Essential listening. 

#9 - And So I Watch You From Afar - Gangs (Richter Collective)
For anyone who's been following And So I Watch... over the last few years, you too will probably agree that Gangs is with ease there best material to date. Their self-titled début, while a good album, just didn't quite hit the mark. But Gangs not only hits said mark, it totally obliterates it. It's the album we all knew ASIWYFA had in them. In years to come, we shall look back at Gangs and recognise it as a turning point in post-rock, just as Mogwai's Young Team was back in the late 90s. From the massive opener 'BEAUTIFULUNIVERSEMASTERCHAMPION', to the shred-tastic 'Search:Party:Animal,' the Belfast trio show that it is possible to make immense math rock tunes without the need of a singer to carry the melody. This is exemplified superbly on the beautiful '7 Billion People All Alive At Once,' whose waltz-like quality, builds you up and up before breaking into the most heart-achingly amazing chant-along at 2:16. And if this wasn't enough, you get what can only be described by the aural equivalent of fireworks at 4:10. If you aren't moved after hearing that, well, you probably don't have a heart.

#10 - Limp Bizkit - Gold Cobra (Flip/Interscope)
A controversial choice? Probably. But then, as anyone who knows me will confirm, I've never been one to pretend I don't still have a soft spot for Fred & Co. Finally LB have gone back to basics and realised no-one buys into a quasi-seriousness (see: Results May Vary) or simply aping political funk-rock that's been done before to better result (see: The Unquestionable Truth Pt. 1). What you get with Gold Cobra is what Limp Bizkit do best: big, dumb rap-metal slabs that make you want to jump around like it's 1999. Wes still writes fantastic guitar riffs, and even throws down some solos which is interesting. Fred's lyrics are laughable ("...often called by my alias, polar bear" comes to mind), but what do you expect? Whilst they don't quite match the dizzying heights of Chocolate Starfish..., there's enough on this disc (maybe a little too much... especially if you picked up the extended edition like me) to make an old school soldier happy.

#11 - Funeral for a Friend - Welcome Home Armageddon (Distiller)
I lost faith in Funeral for a Friend. I loved the first record, but everything after that just seemed to get progressively predictable. I thought I knew what I was in for when I pressed play on my CD player to listen to Welcome Home Armageddon... What I didn't know was that FFaF had taken it back to basics, and possibly have made the best record of their career to date, and one of my most enjoyed records of the year. If you'd told me this time last year I'd be typing that, I'd have told you where to go - but honestly, they sound like a band revitalised. Lead single 'Front Row Seats to the End of the World' is as heavy as anything they've done before, some lovely contrasting melodic/screamed vocals, whilst 'Sixteen' beats many of my previous faves from Casually Dressed hands down - just listen to that lead riff! 'Aftertaste' is equally as tasty, not hard to imagine singing along to this at a show. Whilst there are a couple of ballads that slow down the pace of the album, overall it's hard not to be taken-aback by Funeral's transformation. Welcome home boys, welcome home. 

#12 - Thursday - No Devolución (Epitaph)
By now I'm sure you've heard the sad news that Thursday have called it a day. After over 10 years producing some of my favourite records, they decided enough was enough. That's not before leaving us with one final reminder of why Thursday were one of most original and imaginative of the early 2000 emo groups. Whilst many fans seemed to turn up their noses at the direction they took with No Devolución, I see it as the final stage of the band's progressive sound which they have been developing since Full Collapse. Far more ephemeral-sounding, an obvious influence on this record would be The Cure, best exemplified on 'No Answers.' Where Common Existence has seemed an album concerned with the direction of society, this release reads as a much more personal affair, with Rickley's most audible vocals to date. 'Sparks Against the Sun' has a chorus that glimmers with hope, contrasting with the bass-y rumble of the verse. 'Magnets Caught in a Metal Heart' harks back to War All The Time era material, whilst 'A Gun in the First Act' has become one of my favourite Thursday tracks, distinctly Disintegration. 'Stay True' forms a worthy closure to their career: they've come a long way since the naivety of Waiting, and will be sorely missed.

#13 - Young Legionnaire - Crisis Works (Wichita)
This was always going to do well in my list. There are two major facts to consider: the band features Paul Mullen of yourcodenameis:milo, the band features Gordon Moakes of Bloc Party. Whilst heavier than anything Bloc Party, Young Legionnaire are way more accessible than ycni:milo ever were. The result? A formidable debut, crammed full of massive riffs and angsty vocals. Opener 'Twin Victory' is a statement of intent as good as any, whilst 'Numbers' is a huge pop song trying to disguise itself as a angular post-hardcore (or visa-versa, who knows?). I could go through the album track by track and reason why it is such a great record, but that would be redundant. Just listen to lead single 'Chapter, Verse' and you will see why Young Legionnaire are such an exciting prospect for UK rock. They've a new EP out in the new year, and by the sounds of things 2012 will be a big year for Young Legionnaire.

#14 - Dananananaykroyd - There Is A Way (Pizza College)

Another band that called it quits this year, Danan were always a band best enjoyed live, and will be much missed on the UK live circuit. There Is A Way is choc-full of classic Dananananaykroyd. The first side of the LP really demonstrates the bands solid pop appeal, with songs like 'E Numbers,' 'Muscle Memory' and 'Think and Feel.' If anything, it's a much more focused and successful effort that their début, and whilst I'm sad to think that I'll never see them live again, I'm happy in the fact they've left us with two solid albums, a couple of EPs and a smattering of singles.

#15 - Joan of Arc - Life Like (Polyvinyl)
Having only encountered Tim Kinsella in his previous incarnation as Cap'n Jazz, I didn't really know what to expect from Life Like. What I got was reminiscent of his previous project, but far more polished and accomplished. The schizophrenic guitar style still present, however Kinsella's ability to craft a song has come a long way from the somewhat scrappy and childish sounds produced by Cap'n Jazz. Throughout the album, Kinsella's distinctive guitar sound gleams, however highlights for me would be 'Love Life,' whose last 35 seconds are possibly my favourite of the whole record, or the dreamy repetition of 'Night Life Style.' The militaristic drums and call/response vocal of 'After Life' concludes a satisfying album, and one I am sure I will return to again and again in 2012.

#16 - Crash of Rhinos - Distal (Audacious Art Experiment)

#17 - Everyone to the Anderson - The Man Born From Inside Of A Horse (Unlabel) 

#18 - Tubelord - Romance (Pink Mist)

#19 - Battles - Gloss Drop (Warp)

#20 - Tellison - The Wages of Fear (Naim Edge)

#21 - Gang of Four - Content (Gronland)
After seeming like forever for this record to land, Gang of Four's latest offering isn't actually that bad. Of course it was never going to match their output from the late 70s, but there are enough interesting moments on here to justify its existence. The sad irony of Content is that despite being one of the pionneering bands of the post-punk era, many of the tracks on this record, only the seventh of their career, end up sounding like  Franz Ferdinand or Bloc Party - the very bands they inspired. That said, the dubby downbeat 'A Fruit Fly in the Beehive' and angular pop of 'Who Am I?' show there's still life in Go4. So much for growing old gracefully, long live Gang of Four. 

#22 - Taking Back Sunday - Taking Back Sunday (Warner Bros.) 

With the news that TBS had reunited with the original line-up that wrote the now classic 'Tell All Your Friends,' I was very interested to see what they would come up with on this, the bands fifth studio album. After being severely disappointed with 2009s New Again, I was nicely surprised that their self-titled is a strong return to form, albeit strolling into Thirty Seconds to Mars territory. Lead single 'El Paso' is easily the bands heaviest track to date, and probably my favourite cut. 'Money (Let It Go)' could have easily appeared on Louder Now, whilst 'It Doesn't Feel A Thing Like Falling' sounds like a live fan favourite from the first listen. Whilst the band will never quite meet the heights they achieved in the early 2000s, TBS have proved that the are still an important and vital link in American mainstream emo-rock.

#23 - Cold Cave - Cherish the Light Years (Matador)
Far more polished than 2009s much loved Love Comes Close EP, and it's for that reason this record didn't reach higher climes in my list. Described by my girlfriend as sounding like a Killers album, there is a lot to be said for Wesley Eisolds' song writing - he sure knows how to write massive, dark synth-pop - as witnessed in tracks like 'Catacombs' and 'Underworld USA.' Where Love Comes Close had shades of early New Order, ...Light Years is the shiny pop of latter-day New Order a la 'Crystal', albeit loaded with gothic, quasi-religious imagery. Bookended by the machine-like precision of 'The Great Pan is Dead' and closer, the beautiful and fragile 'Villains of the Moon,' it makes for an interesting listen, but not as essential as previous material.

#24 - Three Trapped Tigers - Route One Or Die (Blood and Biscuits)
Three Trapped Tigers' Route One... really is something special. Somehow they manage to blend the key elements of Justice and Battles, with a lashing of Liars for good measure, and in the process successfully create a unique sound of their own. Rhythm plays a major part in the band's sound - as they are essentially a rock outfit, they give many electronic outfits a run for their money in the drumming stakes, and in terms of heaviness. Opener 'Cramm' gives a good indication of the albums overall sound, so start there and I'm sure you'll get hooked. 

#25 - Funeral Party - The Golden Age of Knowhere (RCA)
Funeral Party's major label début doesn't quite cut it for me. It's a good album, but as with Cold Cave above, it's the production that leaves me with a slight distaste in my mouth. Where their earlier 'Bootleg EP' was raw and a little rough around the edges, the recordings revisited on the full-length are just a little too clean. Early similarities drawn to the likes of At the Drive-In are embraced fully, with production being down to Mar Volta producer Lars Stalfors. Omar Rodriguez-Lopez even guests on 'Car Wars,' playing a pretty mental solo. I like this album, I really want to love it, and maybe with time I will, as their blend of post-hardcore and dance funk fills the void left since The Rapture went boring.

#26 - Brigade - Will Be Will Be (Home Spun)

Sadly, since releasing this record Brigade have thrown in the towel and called it a day, which is a shame as it’s only with this album, the bands third, they’ve come to my attention. Strangely they’ve been overlooked whilst many other bands of their ilk were pushed into the limelight. However, that injustice aside, this album is a great Brit-rock album in the vein of Hundred Reasons, Funeral for a Friend et al. Massive hooks, catchy choruses, had not to fall into this record. I recommend 'Eden' and 'Laughter Lines' as worthy places to start. 

#27 - Cut Copy - Zonoscope (Modular)

Standard Cut Copy fare on this, their third full-length. This record sees the Australian group push their sound into far more poppier territory than heard on their last LP, and at more than one point sounding like the 80s distilled. This is probably most explicit on ‘Take Me Over’ which in inarguably influenced by Men at Work’s ‘Land Down Under.’ Just listen, you’ll hear it. These 80s synths and new wave styling aren’t necessarily a bad thing though, if anything Cut Copy have benefited. 

#28 - The Joy Formidable - The Big Roar (Canvasback/Atlantic)

After a series of self-released singles and EPs, TJF got around to releasing their debut proper, and it’s not too shabby. Their album conjures up the likes of Sonic Youth, And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead, and a plethora of post-grunge bands. Full of epic guitars and huge choruses – the fact they could hold their own when they toured with And So I Watch You From Afar earlier this year is testament to their talent. 

#29 - Art Brut - Brilliant! Tragic! (Cooking Vinyl)

You could ask why Art Brut are still plying their trade long after the NME have moved onto pastures new. Well, I’ll tell you the reason – it’s because Argos and Co. still know how to write a great tune – ‘Axl Rose’ and ‘Is Dog Eared’ being my picks of the litter. 

#30 - Algernon Cadwallader - Parrot Flies (Big Scary Monsters)

After how excited I was after hearing last years’ Fun EP, this album had a lot to live up to. Sadly the Philadelphian 3-piece don’t quite match the devil-may-care attitude that the EP had in buckets, and whilst there is no denying some interesting ideas on this here LP, Parrot Flies doesn’t quite do it for me.

&U&I at The Flapper 16/12/2011

With the biting cold outside turning the canal towpath to an icy death-trap, where better to be than deep in the bowels of The Flapper for Off the Cuff’s Xmas Party? Boasting four of the best local acts on one bill for a very festive £4, it was hard not to miss this one. Interestingly, I’ve seen more bands in The Flapper this year than any other venue. I dread to think how many hours I’ve spent stood in that gig room, but I’m trying not to think about it too much for fear I will go and work it out using some form of elaborate spreadsheet...

First up is Birmingham 4-piece Conquistadors, whose blend of angular guitars and chaotic alt rock song structures (which I like to call “The Birmingham Sound”) is the perfect opener to this evening’s show. Having seen Conks a number of times over the past couple of years, I’m impressed at how they keep their sound different and fresh each time. Their set seemed all to brief to me, but they did treat those who turned up early to a very interesting interpretation of Paul McCartney’s Christmas classic ‘Wonderful Christmas Time’, which whilst a little scrappy around the edges was bursting with Christmas cheer and enthusiasm. Here’s wishing the best for Conquistadors for 2012 – they deserve it.

Despite having come across the name countless times before, I’d never actually seen or heard The Cape of Good Hope before. Despite this, I went in with high hopes and I am pleased to report I wasn’t disappointed. Rarely would I say the focal point of a band is their drummer, however this is certainly the case with The Cape The band boasts two drummers, both of whom drive the band along and tease, nay, force you to move your feet. Funky post-hardcore in the vein of Dartz!? Something like that. One blast of 'I Saw Something Dead Floating' or 'I'm A Little Bit Evil' and you'll know what I mean. Highly recommended, and a band I hope to catch live again soon.

Shapes

Next on we have Shapes. One of Birmingham’s more popular exports, I’ve always had trouble getting into them. Considering their pedigree (tours with Glassjaw, releases on Big Scary Monsters), you'd think I'd be totally down with it, but the problem I find with Shapes is that their music lacks real hooks – nothing really pulls me in. I haven’t heard their début LP yet (‘Monotony Chic,’ released earlier this year), but maybe I just haven’t had that eureka moment and until then I won’t get it! In Shapes defence, you can't fault their musicianship – they can play, and can play hard - it's just not for me.

&U&I

&U&I take the crown for being my most seen band of 2011, and also one of my favourite live acts of the year. The band’s impressive work ethic resulted in a cracking debut record – Light Bearer – and tonight, despite a few technical hitches,  the songs from that record really shine. 'Belly Full of Fire...' sounds particularly fine this evening. The band appear in quite a reflective mood, dedicating older material from  last year's EP to fans who have been there from the start, and I can't think of a better time to do so. These three guys have slogged it out since the untimely demise of Blakfish, and have come back far stronger than many would have imagined. A Christmas show wouldn't be a Christmas show without some crazy Crimbo guitar antics, and atop the bassist from Shapes’ shoulders Thom gives Brian May a run for his money by soloing out  'We Wish You A Merry Christmas'. ‘Chancer’s Paradise’ brings the night to a climatic conclusion, but not before seguing into ‘I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day.’ If it means that there are more shows like this then I'll have no choice than to agree.

"It's a wonder that we haven't got broken faces..."

I want to thank everyone involved with last night's show for making it the most incredible and special thing I've ever witnessed at The Haygate. Big love to Fever Fever, God Damn, Lady Fortune, A Pig Called Eggs, Bad Apes, Rich at The Haygate, Dave, Lucy, and my Dad for being a hero on the door. And not to forget all of you who came down to watch, it really means a lot. 

Now, relive the magic, the mayhem, the mosh pit (oh yes!) that was Distorted Tapes presents... Fever Fever in this very special video presentation. Cheers! Graham x

Distorted Tapes Podcast #1

Distorted Tapes is Killing Music podcast:
Quality bands, crappy commentary.
Tracklisting is as follows:
1// Everyone to the Anderson - 'High Brow, Low Brow, No Eyebrow'
2// God Damn - 'God Damn'
3// Bordeauxxx - 'Every Holiday is a Disaster'
4// Lady Fortune - 'I Feel So Slightly Strange'
5// Bad Apes - 'Speedy Recovery'
6// Fever Fever - 'Butcher's Shop'
7// Them Wolves - 'Max Waechter'
8// Crash of Rhinos - 'Lifewood'

Distorted Tapes Podcast #1 by distortedtapes

Distorted Tapes meets... God Damn

God Damn (L-R): Ash, Thom and Dave

Somewhere in deepest, darkest, Wolverhampton,

in a decaying warehouse overlooking a canal, three young men have spent the last year meddling with the dark art of pedal boards and cheap lager, honing their art to brutal perfection. God Damn fuse together metal and the blues to create a sonic assault which not only plays homage to the Black Country’s roots as the spiritual home of metal, but has delivered a much needed shot in the arm for the Midlands music scene.

Formed in summer 2010, the Black Country three-piece, comprised of Thomas Edward and Dave Copson on guitars/vocals and Ash Weaver on drums, have already played with a host of the UK undergrounds such as The JCQ, Kong, The Chapman Family and Gay for Johnny Depp. Distorted Tapes was fortunate enough to be invited into the world of God Damn and ask them a few questions, as well as record an exclusive live video (see bottom of page)…

For those who haven’t heard your music yet, could you describe your sound in three words?

D: Turgid?
T: Loud? No, that’s really crap. Relentless?
D: I don’t know… Octave? Blues…

T: How about Black Country Metal. Black cus it’s gothy, Country because it’s bluesy – we’ve got a harmonica in there…

D: …and you’ve got the double meaning in there too, because we’re from the Black Country.

How did God Damn form?
D: Thom and Ash previously played in a band called Your Biggest Fanclub. I’d known Thom for years anyway from when he used to come and watch one of my old bands, and it just got to a point where YBF weren’t doing much and I hadn’t played seriously for a few years and listening to the sort of bands coming out about a year ago, I thought the rock scene was coming back. It’s like the electro, danceable sort of indie had run its course and people were starting to look for something a bit different, and it seems that big heavy guitar sound was coming back.

A: It was more of a side project to begin with, more experimental.

T: We wanted to be brasher and more like Kong really!

D: We threw some ideas down like playing in masks or wearing ridiculous clothes or whatever, we weren’t sure what it was going to sound like. It could have been one minute long mad screaming, but it wasn’t until we started writing songs we realised we had something going on.

T: There’s a way me and Dave write songs anyway when we work together…

D: I don’t think either of us had played in a band with another guitarist before, I’d always been the sole guitarist and so had Thom.

T: When we got together we both had song ideas – it’s not like this band has a frontman. I know we did a video and it seemed like I was more the frontman because the camera was on me first but Ash drums like he’s a frontman, it’s what I’ve always liked about Ash’s drumming. I’d like to think that there’s not one person in the band you wouldn’t want to watch as they’ve all got a big part to play.

D: Our eventual aim is to have Ash as forward as us – just leave a little room for us to move across the stage!

Was it quite early on you decided to not draft in a bassist?

T: A bass player would have just been a spare part, and if we had a bass in there it would have ruined the sounds that we were creating.

D: We never said straight off we’re not going to have a bassist. I used to do the octave pedal thing in a two-piece band so it was quite natural that we needed some low-end but we left it open – if we need to get one, we’ll get one – but from about the third or fourth practice we were thinking we didn’t really need to.

T: There wasn’t any thinking of it as a gimmick, it’s just the way we write songs. 

D: No, it’s not like we’re all ‘Hey, we haven’t got a bass player’, but then it’s not that much of a unique thing. We are more likely to get in a Hammond organ, more analogue sounding stuff, perhaps some rickety old piano sounds.

T: But I think we’ll only do that when we’ve run out of ideas, and we haven’t run out yet, we’ve kinda got too many ideas and that’s why we decided to get an album’s worth of material down because there will become a point where we stop playing them and we don’t want to forget them.

So what was the plan with the albums worth of tracks you’ve recorded so far?

T: We’re still waiting for some of the songs to be mixed, but we thought about releasing it as an album for free, but we’re not really sure what to do with it at the moment.

D: There’s nothing set in stone…

T: …but we all agree we want as many people to hear it as possible.

D: You probably won’t find it on iTunes, we’d much rather give out a load of CDs with 3 or 4 tracks on at shows than sell it and sell 2 or 3 copies at the very most.

A: It’s cool to gain interest that way.

I suppose because you’re writing new material at quite a pace, by the time you’ll have a product to put out a lot of those recordings are older songs, so this way you are giving fans the opportunity to keep up with you…

T: I don’t think we would hesitate to play any of our older songs in our set, but we do try and keep quite fresh and maybe if we had played those songs all the time we would have tired of them.

D: We’ve tried to intentionally to make each song a little bit different, perhaps poppier or heavier.

You recently posted a track called ‘Half Soaked Shuffle’ and I certainly felt that compared to previous material it was much more poppy, perhaps not in the traditional sense, but in accessibility. What were your aims with that track?

T: I actually think it’s more heavily produced than any of the others, and sounds much heavier but it’s the fact that it is a shuffle and the chords are the same all the way through. I wrote that song and it is like something I could have done in another band, but it works in this one and it’s still a God Damn song – I think it shows a different side to us.

D: We’ve got another recording on the way, a re-recording of ‘Harmonica Song’ from way back, but done entirely acoustic. Ash did some nice percussion and obviously we had the harmonica so hopefully that will sit quite nicely with the rest of the recordings.

It’s interesting that you’ve done that, as I feel that because of that bluesy, rock ‘n’ roll vibe a lot of your songs have you have the freedom to strip them right back and they’ll still work…

T: Live, we are unlikely to pull out the bongos, but y’know what, if we did a big headline set we’d have a fucking choir and stuff like that, chellos and things. It’s a conscious thing and an unconscious thing – we write songs but they all end up being different anyway. Well, it might be conscious that we think maybe we need a particular sounding song in the set but we won’t forcefully write a song.

D: I tend to look at things in the way of what do we need as opposed to throwing a load of random ideas out there. The song ‘Way Down’ was the product of us thinking we needed a song with a straight up, stomping sort of beat, to balance out our more down-tempo songs like ‘Wigger’, it’s more of a kinda way of thinking about it in the context of what we’ve got and what else do we need.

T: We end up having so many ideas that we can pick stuff like that. Me and Dave tend to write pretty quickly and go through spates of each of us writing, the other taking over when the other hits a dry patch, but we have had times when we’ve both had loads of ideas and we mix these ideas for songs together.

One thing that separates God Damn from a lot of other bands out there at the moment is that you are quite creative when it comes to making videos. Why did you decide to take this homemade approach to making your own music videos and do you think it has made your music more accessible to potential fans?

T: It was really just something we decided to do with our spare time. Some people don’t appreciate the DIY vibe, some people really like it. Personally, I’m really into the audio-visual element they bring to our music.

D: It’s nice to have something to look at, even if it’s not the band and just images the band have picked.

T: You kinda get a jist of the band. We want to keep it real – there’s a danger with this band that we could get branded as a sleazey rock ‘n’ roll band but if anything we’re Black Country hillbillies!

D: The surprising thing I’ve noticed from our videos is when Thom did the Bullseye video for ‘Way Down’ the amount of people who said “that new song you’ve got is class,” but that track had been on our SoundCloud for months, and it’s only down to the video that they’ve got around to hearing it.

T: People have such short attention spans, take for example the intro to ‘Half Soaked Shuffle’ – I think some people listening to the first few bars may be completely put off as it’s quite proggy, but then it turns into a pop song – people give it a few seconds and then move on, and we do live in that kind of world where people have a short attention span when it comes to music.

D: It’s because there’s just so much music out there – it’s not that people are less interested there’s just so much music! Gone are the days of reading about a band and it would be months before you actually heard them, trying to listen to a song over a dial-up internet connection, and then going and buying the CD as a result of hearing that one song.

T: And then you would read everything you could about that band. Maybe it’s something about being younger, but I remember I would buy a CD and read all the liner notes, all the credits…

A: …and that’s what has changed – there’s so much accessible music it’s not special anymore.


Considering the short amount of time you’ve been together, in the space of a year you have already managed to rack up an impressive list of bands you have played with. What’s been your favourite show you’ve played to date?

T: We needed that year to find our sound, iron out certain things live. We could have pushed it and really fell on our faces, but we’ve taken the time to sculpt our sound and I feel we are now ready to get out there, but back to the question…

D: I think it might be quite personal to each of us, but I think mine was The Haygate (Telford) gig with Fever Fever , it was so good.

T: We didn’t have any expectations for it, and it was just really good. We hadn’t practiced for 3 weeks.

A: I had been on holiday and I literally got back and played the gig, so it was very raw.

T: I think we had a lot of extra energy too, because when you haven’t practiced you’re a lot more alert.

A: Mine is probably the Slade Rooms in Wolverhampton about 4 or 5 months ago, we were just on it.

D: That Slade Rooms gig was really good because I think that was the point where we realised we should start pushing ourselves. We’d done a few gigs that were good, and one or two that hadn’t gone so well, but I remember after that show saying to Ash that we had hit it on the head that night.

T: I’m going to say the show we did at Wolves Art Gallery as part of the Home of Metal exhibition. There were about 250 people through the door that night, and because of the dynamics of the room we were really loud. I got a bit drunk on the free booze, but we played two sets – one with the poppier, bluesy songs, and then another with the more hardcore ones.

A: We had a good gig in Stoke, and the Firefly in Worcester…

T: Ah, shit yeah! I’m going to change and say the Firefly show, good vibes, and good people. I love it when you can actually see people nodding their heads and really digging it. I always worry that I’m really fucking deluded; is this just music? Am I embarrassing myself? But when you see people enjoying themselves it’s great. They’re enjoying themselves, I’m enjoying myself and you think you’re the dog’s bollocks!


Have you got any recommendations for bands Distorted Tapes readers should be checking out?

T: There’s a Wolverhampton band called Greaseater.

D: They are really bloody good. We put them on a couple of weeks back with A Pig Called Eggs, and they are the best thing I’ve seen from Wolverhampton.

T: I think they’ve just really found their sound, but they’re so fucking crisp. I thought they were going to be sloppy or scuzzy sounding but they were just savage, it was like Jesus Lizard… they were as heavy as Blacklisters but they just didn’t look it! Next one…

All: Blacklisters!

T: The Midnight Lycan Party, they’ve got some really great songs. They’re from Stoke and have a horror punk vibe. Fever Fever are really nice too, can’t not mention them.

D: Bad Apes are getting quite good now. They’re only like 19, and at first they were instrumental, still quite heavy but more post-rock, but they’ve developed this trashy rock sound and put some vocals in there.

T: The nice thing about being in this band that I’ve never experienced before is that people are saying they want to be in band like ours. I think locally we’ve made it okay to play this kind of music.

D: With bands we’ve played with, we’ll play with them again a few months later and they’ll have added a few extra little riffs in there. Lady Fortune have got heavier, as have Façade – considering they were like Fleetwood Mac it seems Sinead (Duffy, vocalist of Façade) has had her way with them and they’re much heavier.

T: Who else?

A: &U&I, but I don’t think they’d ever recommend us…

T: You can put that in the interview, because they won’t read it!

A: And my favourite band of the moment, Brontide, they’re decent lads, and an amazing band.

D: For anyone who’s younger and only got into heavier music recently, I’d recommend bands like Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster, Modey Lemon, Death From Above 1979…

T: …Kyuss, Mclusky, all the bands we started out listening to back in the early noughties.


So what does the rest of 2011 hold for God Damn?

T: We won’t be saying no to any gigs, and I’d like to tour at some point.

D: Just get all our songs out there. I don’t know if we’re going to give the whole lot away, or if we’ll release it as an album, we need to sit down and think on that.

T: It would be nice to get some more good support slots, get some dates together and get to play other parts of the country like Leeds, Manchester, Brighton, just play to more people and hopefully win them over. That’s what any band would want, right?

Watch an exclusive live version of 'Will You Be My Friend' recorded for Distorted Tapes below. For more information, like God Damn on Facebook.

Los Campesinos! hand out By Your Hand

'Palmist'

Everyone's favourite indie pop septet Los Campesinos! are back with a new album, due for release on the 14th November. Hello Sadness has been described by the band as "ten songs of love, loss and heartbreak nail-gunned to a back-drop of broken, tangled bodies, creeping, dead-eyed animals, suffocating, looming shadows and World Cup exits. It is an honest, bare bones documentation of breaking up and trying not to break up in the process." And if that wasn't enough they are offering a free download of the record's lead track By Your Hand, no strings attached.

Unquestionably Los Camp!, By Your Hand certainly whets the appetite for the new album. Perhaps a more understated single than usual, the track is built upon an up-beat keyboard riff which is complemented nicely by Gareth's usual observations on love, loss and longing. Come on, we've all had one of those dates where you've kissed for hours with hands in each other's trousers... Oh, and the last 40 seconds are pretty exciting - you'll know it when you hear it. 

Hello Sadness is currently available to pre-order through the Los Campesinos! website with a bunch of amazing exclusives including a how to play... DVD, an exclusive t-shirt, and most exciting a CD of rare and unreleased demos which date back to around the recording of their first LP. They've stated this offer will only be for a limited time so act fast or forever hold your peace. And of course, those Heat Rash subscribers out there can receive a discount too.

The track-listing for Hello Sadness is as follows:

By Your Hand

Songs About Your Girlfriend

Hello Sadness

Life is a Long Time

Every Defeat a Divorce (Three Lions)

Hate for the Island

The Black Bird, The Dark Slope

To Tundra

Baby I Got the Death Rattle

Light Leaves, Dark Sees Pt. II

Bordeauxxx's Holiday Disasters

Hayfever to tell: Bordeauxx will be found in many a field this summer.

Back in May of this year, Bordeauxxx released their debut single and follow up to last year’s stormer of an EP Mother’s Ruin; the marvellously titled Every Holiday is a Disaster. The Guildford quintet, who all met at university, decided to start a band due to a mutual love of beautifully uncomplicated pop music, glockenspiels, and their guitarist’s haircut (their words, not mine!) They also have a music video which contains loads of balloons and a naked man. So far they’ve been championed by Tom Robinson on BBC6 and have played an impressive number of shows across the south of England – it’s fair to say it’s only a matter of time before they bring their infectious brand of indie-pop to northern climes. We certainly could do with some cheering up considering how damp this holiday season has been, eh?  It could be worse than soggy trainers and a t-shirt tan though, as I found out when I caught up with the band to discuss their own personal holiday disasters....

Jon (drums)
“My worst holiday was definitely a family camping trip to Hastings. I've got nothing against Hastings - it has some of the finest crazy golf courses known to man - but on this occasion it rained. And rained. And rained. I've got nothing against rain either, but when you have to get up at 2am to dig a foot wide trench around your tent and STILL wake up an hour later with an inch of water inside, it's probably time to call it quits and look up the local B&Bs...”

Martin (vocals/keys)

 “I once had a holiday experience that changed my life. If you're under say, twelve years old, everything I'm about to say is a lie. I was eleven at the time, in Spain with my mum and sister having a brilliant time - great weather, great hotel, we even made some friends which became pen pals for years to come. It was the last night, and we were all a bit sad to be leaving, though excitedly planning on doing the same thing the next year. To our surprise, mum agreed, since 'we all know the truth about Father Christmas now'. This of course was a fair plan - less extravagant Christmas, more exciting summer holiday. The twist is that I had absolutely no idea of this truth, and it's a sentence i'll remember for the rest of my life.”

Nat (guitar)

“I don't think I've had actually had a bad holiday experience as such. Probably my least enjoyable holiday was the one where I chose a book about suicide for my pool-side reading, and foolishly kept reading it, which put me in a bit of a mood the whole time. There are also always worst segments of holidays. I always hated being dragged around castle ruins- to quote my nan, once you've seen one you've seen them all! But these were always given a silver lining if my parents bought me a sword from the gift shop.”

Charlie (guitar)

“My worst holiday was probably on a trip to the south of France when I was about 14 and our car broke down 20 miles outside of Calais. This resulted in us being towed to a scrapheap in the middle of nowhere and sitting in the car for many hours whilst we tried to sort out how to get our car back to Calais where there was a garage. We got there late that night and ended up not leaving Calais until the next morning. In fact the following year a different car we were in broke down just before we got on the ferry at Dover, which was quite funny.”

Amy (bass)

“When I was in Year Nine I went on a school trip to Germany. When I arrived I shared a room with one of my friends and we unpacked our stuff. When we got on the beds loads of ants started crawling all over us. It was rank! Also on the same trip the food was horrid, they were feeding us horrid meat and stale bread. Besides all this the trip was fun...”

This summer the band will be braving festival showers at Leefest in Bromley with British Sea Power and Stagecoach, Knee Deep Festival in Cornwall with Tall Ships and Summer Westival in Aldershot with Johnny Foreigner and Dananananaykroyd. Catch ‘em if you can.

Every Holiday is a Disaster, along with last year’s Mother’s Ruin EP, can be downloaded from bordeauxxx.bandcamp.com 

Every Holiday Is A Disaster by bordeauxxx

Distorted Tapes meets... Lady Fortune

Lady Fortune (L-R): Lyndon, Paul and Nick

Telford has never really been seen as a hot-bed of musical talent, however Lady Fortune prove there is more to the New Town than the town park maze and dimly lit shopping centre. Their latest single, I Feel So Slightly Strange, has  already gained support from BBC DJs, being played by Steve Lamacq, Chris Hawkins and Tom Robinson. I caught up with the three-piece to chat about  festivals, running their own label, and their mysterious debut album...

For those who haven’t heard your music before, how would you describe your sound in three words – one word each, no conferring?

Nick Robinson (Vocals, Guitar): Catchy
Paul Pugh (Bass, Vocals): Non-Pop
Lyndon Thompson (Drums, Vocals): DIY

How did you three originally come together?

N: Lyndon served me tea at New College in Telford. I wasn’t at New College, but I went to watch some bands play on the advice of a friend. So I met Lyndon, we had various members playing bass until Paul came along. Paul used to play in a band from Birmingham which I used to follow pretty religiously, and he told me he was looking to play bass so I thought ‘brilliant’, and as I was to find guitarists do make great bassists! That would have been around October 2006, because Paul’s first gig with us was my dad’s 50^th Birthday. Our first proper gig was in Leeds…
P: …and I was drunk.

Over the years you’ve developed a very strong local following – why do you think you have managed to hit such a note in Telford?

N: We’re normally quite friendly, but I was thinking about this the other day. A friend said he didn’t think many people would come and watch his band if they weren’t friends with them and I said ‘to be fair, we wouldn’t have met if you weren’t in an awesome band.’ I suppose you make friends because people regularly come to your shows. I’d say that probably is a factor, but they probably wouldn’t have liked our music otherwise. I think there is some relevance that people like the music in Telford because we mention the word Telford… I saw this group on Facebook that said ‘OMG, Telford is famous – it’s in a song by Lady Fortune.’ It had 63 members,  but I couldn’t quite bring myself to like it.

Would you say living in Telford has been a major influence on your music?

N: Yeah, I guess so. A lot of our friends’ bands have moved – Foreign Hands are in Manchester now, 3 of them used to live in Telford; INTL were all from Telford or Albrighton and now live in London – but we never wanted to do that really. I like living in Telford, it’s not great and we have better nights out in Manchester and London.
L: But it’s our hometown, so it does strike a chord with what we play and the people that come and see us. Plus we wanted to play at the Wrekin* once.
N: Yeah, we wrote to the person who owns the Wrekin to see if we could play. Never got a letter back. Lyndon had a generator, so we thought we could pull that one off.
L: Maybe one day…

It must be weird then that despite being a band writing songs inspired by life in small town England, your debut, 2008’s Manners Darling was only released in Japan. How did that come about?

N: We got an email from a guy called Daichi who runs a little label called Magnetic Records. He said he wanted to release an album, and we said alright. He gave us a bit of money, and we licensed it to him. We got a bit of an advance to pay for the studio time – it was all pretty budget, we literally had pennies. With that we got six days in a studio, including mixing, and we just caned it really. But I have no idea why it was just released in Japan and nowhere else.

Are there  any plans to re-release the record in the UK?

L: I like the fact it’s just in Japan!
N: I think it’s too late because we’re different now.
L: Our sound has changed a lot since Manners Darling.
N: I listened to it not so long ago and really enjoyed it, and we still play a couple of songs from it. I’m very proud of that record, but I like the songs we write now better. I do quite like the fact that if you wanted it there’s effort involved getting it and ridiculous postage costs.
L: I always worry where the stocks are kept, and if they are now floating somewhere in the Pacific…
N: Lyndon, we’re going to hell…
L: Well, I am.

Last year you got to play the holy grail of festivals – Reading and Leeds - on the BBC Introducing stage.  How did it feel having the opportunity to get your music exposed at that level?

All: It was the best couple of days ever.         
N: I smiled for about a week afterwards. We played Leeds first; you walk out and you just see a few hundred people and you think ‘okay… that’s cool’ but then you think ‘I don’t know any of these people!’ and then you see a couple of friendly faces waving at you, which is cool. And then your lead breaks, you start sweating profusely, and start playing a song which isn’t on the setlist! But we ran with it, and it was fine. Leeds was really good fun and a good experience. By the end of the set we probably had about six hundred people watching, and then Reading was just…
L: Reading was the best.
N: At Reading we walked out to about six hundred people and you just think ‘oh shit! This is going to be a good day’ and by the end of the set it was mental, the crowd had probably doubled. It was pretty rad!
L: It was good. Nerve-wracking, but good.

How did the festival experience compare to the more intimate setting of club shows?

P: To be honest I don’t think I noticed much difference. It felt the same - there was just more people and blue sky rather than a grubby club roof!
N: It was weird, I remember at one point looking out and feeling wind on my face and thinking ‘ahh, that’s lovely.’ I could get used to that.
L: We’re usually sweating on a cramped stage.
N: It was awesome. I do like the intimacy of a club show, but on the stage we played at Reading there was only a couple of foot between the stage and the crowd so we were still quite close and didn’t quite lose the vibe of everyone going mental.
P: That’s the only thing I was worried about, the sound, because you don’t get a sound check so I was worried about just going on and the sound being lost in the air, but it was spot on.
N: When you play a normal gig or smaller festival, you go on and put the microphone where you want it, but at Reading everything is done for you ; our manager said they had sent a plan over for where we put our amps, where we wanted the microphones, so when we walked out everything was just there – they know what they’re doing!  

You also are heavily involved with your own club night, Facts of Life, which puts on semi-regular shows at The Haygate in Telford. Why did you decide to start putting on your own gigs?

N: Before Paul was in the band, me and Lyndon used to put on a night called Viva la Fortune and Paul’s old band played there, it was just something we thought well there’s no indie clubs in Telford anymore – Reach Out & Fuck Somebody [legendary Telford indie night] that had gone and they were always good nights – so we thought we would see what we could do, and if anything we just get to listen to the bands we like, book who we feel like and go from there.

Are there any plans afoot for future Facts of Life?

N: We are putting on an all-dayer in August: Thursday Night Facts of Life presents Saturday Night and Day All-Dayer of Life. We’ll be playing, plus Foreign Hands, God Damn, Arcade Parade, Fever Fever and hopefully some more.

You’ve also released you last few singles on your own label, Moorhouse Records. Why did you decide to release your records yourselves rather than through someone else?

N: At first it was just to see if it was feasible and if it was something we could easily do. We researched it, it was me and my housemate at the time Ross, who does all the artwork for Lady Fortune, and we just thought we could try it, and now we are at a point where we are planning to release other bands too, but at first it was to see what happened. The singles got played on the radio, people bought them, and we realised that it was pretty easy! It’s pretty stressful at times, there are a lot of envelopes and emails but it’s fun to have your own thing. I’m just terrified that no-one is going to like the next single, but hopefully we’ll be alright!

Do you have any tips for bands worth checking check out, in the Midlands or beyond?

N: Arcade Parade – a fantastic Telford band, the best Telford band ever? God Damn – they’re heavy, I’ve never really been into heavy music but I’m into them. Cajole Cajole were awesome but I think they’re on hiatus. I like Foreign Hands, but they moved to Manchester so can’t class them as a Midlands band anymore. AMiTY is fantastic too, she’s amazing.

What’s next on the agenda for Lady Fortune?

N: More of the same really, just carry on gigging. We’re working on some new songs, so we’ll work on them and then record, repeat process.

And finally, have you ever considered in how many record collections your record sits next to Lady Gaga?

N: On my iPod we’re next to La Roux which is bad, so Lady Gaga is probably better? You wouldn’t have La Roux on yours would you Paul?
P: No, mine would be The Lambrettas or Lostprophets I think.
N: That’s way cooler than La Roux.
L: I haven’t even got anything that would play anything like that so, no, it’s next to
nothing!

Lady Fortune’s latest single I Feel So Slightly Strange is available now on Moorhouse Records via http://ladyfortuneshop.bigcartel.com

Lady Fortune - I Feel So Slightly Strange by Lady Fortune


*The Wrekin is a hill in east Shropshire (OS 52.769322 -2.450601)