I'm the mother flippin...

For the love of...

2009-10-29T13:42:00.005Z

It has been a long time since I blogged, mainly due to time issues, but now I'm back, and there is one overriding reason for my return to the blogosphere...I am absolutely livid. Literally (not...literally, but you know) spitting feathers here. The reason?

HELPERS - Genesis
Uploaded by HELPERS. - Sitcom, sketch, and standup comedy videos.

A charming, EU subsidised, propaganda campaign against smokers that seems to specifically target children (the age for signing up to updates is 10, and it looks like something you'd see on Nickelodeon).

Now I'm not a fan of smoking personally. I understand the health risks, and so it's not something I'm keen on. I'm also happy with cutting smoking down in public places wherever possible, as no-one should inflict their vices on others. I can even understand the concept of educating children that smoking is bad - hey, it's a drain on all of our wallets when the NHS has to treat smoking-related illnesses, but THIS?

This is the first in a series of what promises to be 12 episodes about smoking. The next episode depicts a smoker as a hocky mask-wearing, chainsaw-weilding, blood-spattered character called 'serkill'. The tagline? 'How to get an evil smoker to quit'. I mean HONESTLY! Quite apart from the ridiculously OTT and offensive characterisation of a smoker (hey puffers, you're all serial killers dontchaknow), the EU is now taking it upon itself to tell us smoking is EVIL?! I wonder what the church thinks about that - no need for the New Testament; no need to trot up Mount Sinai for the Ten Commandments, oh no. From now on, we can just wait for a pronouncement from the literal geographic opposite of the lowlands of Brussels to inform on our morality. What's next? A 10-part series from the EU on how, y'know kids, you shouldn't covet your neighbour's ass and all?

HERE's an idea EU. No, seriously, I've got a good one for you! If you REALLY want to stop our children from smoking, or even cut down on adults smoking too, how about cutting some of the THREE HUNDRED MILLION EUROS* you set aside to subsidise tobacco and tobacco manufacturers in 2008. How about that eh? Rather than bombarding our youth with your offensive, nannying and over-expensive media campaigns?

Eh?

EH?!

(*figures from The TaxPayer's Alliance...)

Sorting my CDs - Rage Against the Machine, Switch, Apples, and SebastiAn

2009-03-20T14:54:00.002Z

“one from the vaults” on offer today for your listening pleasure, as well a couple that are a little more recent.

I’ve been getting more and more irked by the weight of my record bag when I DJ these days. I thought moving onto CDs was meant to make everything lighter, but it would seem not! As such, I’ve recently been trying to compile a small(ish!) selection of CDs that will cover most of the bases should I need to do a guest set, or a shorter than normal night. Basically, it’s all the biggest club tracks I have in about 12 CDs, rather than the 300 I normally have to carry around.

Of course, the process has led to much soul searching, but also happily it’s led to me rediscovering some cracking tunes that I’d all but forgotten about, specifically remixes/covers of Rage Against The Machine’s ‘Killing in the Name’ by SebastiAn and The Apples, and an awesome Switch remix of Hot Chip’s ‘Hold On’

Many many people have covered ‘Killing in the Name’ over the years – I used to have a funky house version by some outfit called Metal Fusion – and the trend doesn’t seem to show any sign of slowing down. Even Pendulum keep promising a version, and we all wait with bated breath for that, but in the meantime two of my favourite versions are by Ed Banger’s SebastiAn and crazy Israeli-American jazzsters The Apples.

SebastiAn’s mix is as you would expect. Loud, electronic, and very dirty. It oddly reverts to the original track about half-way through, and the ending is a bit hit and miss, but you can’t beat the look on people’s faces when the overdrive synth kicks in for the first time at the start.

SebastiAn - Killing in the Name of SebastiAn

And now for something completely different! The Apples are a jazz outfit from New York. Their track ‘Killin’ was added as a bonus to their excellent 2007 album ‘Buzzin’ About’. Basically it’s a Ronson-esque horn reworking of RATM’s song, with scratching, trumpets, bass and skiffle taking the place of any singing/shouting. It also happens to be possibly my favourite cover of any song, ever. I have never played this in a set without at least one person running up, inane grin on their face, to ask what it is. Funky, fun, and great to dance to!

The Apples - Killing

Finally, a track that I was humming and hah-ing about sticking into my ‘best of’ CD wallet, Switch’s LA mix of Hot Chip’s ‘Hold On’. It was the big bass drum and the live crowd noises that swayed me. You have to have some live crowd noises, dontchaknow…

Hot Chip - Hold On (Switch LA Mix)

Enjoy!

Beyond The Wizard's Sleeve - Re-animations, Volume 1

2009-03-18T15:47:00.002Z

Beyond the Wizard’s Sleeve will be known to many by their alter egos Erol Alkan and Richard Norris. Erol is one of the darlings of the underground electro scene, and the man behind legendary London club nights Trash and Durrr (both at the now sadly defunct End nightclub). Richard will be best known as one half of The Grid (the other half was Soft Cell’s Dave Ball), who had a string of dance hits in the 90s, including the unforgettable Swamp Thing:

As with many other DJs, Alkan slips into a different moniker every time he wants to explore a different musical direction. Unlike the pseudo-funk of Mustapha 3000, Beyond the Wizard’s Sleeve sees him and Norris in full-on psychedelia mode. Original tracks are split into their musical components, and then stretched, flipped, smoked, and put back together into something resembling much more the soundtrack to a lazy summer’s day than a simple reworking of the original. Witness the reanimation of Late of the Pier’s ‘Here Come the Bears’, its running time extended by twice as much, and the original track almost lost amongst live elements that turn it into a trippy stomp around the campfire. Going one step further, any trace of Franz Ferdinand on recent single ‘Ulysses’ is practically entirely removed, a single line from the track all that is left to remind people that Alex Kapranos existed at all, like a footprint stubbornly resisting being swept away by the incoming tide.

It was actually the first track on the album, a dark, deep reimagining of the Chemical Brothers’ ‘Battle Scars’, that really got me into the duo, and this is the one I’m offering up today. The straight bassline of the original is jettisoned in favour of a minor synth line, bongos and drawn-out cymbal splashes. Whereas the original sounded introverted and personal, this is something else all together. Portentous, the mood perfectly suited to the ominous lyrics ‘it’s the final charge, here come battle scars’.

Chemical Brothers - Battle Scars (Beyond the Wizard's Sleeve Re-Animation)

Highly, highly recommended. You can grab the album at HMV (other music outlets are available), or head over to the podcast page on Erol’s website to download a fantastic live mix from the duo at The Zodiac in Oxford. It features several of the mixes from the album, and is the mix that got me into them in the first place.

Enjoy!

La Roux - In for the Kill (Twelves Remix)

2009-03-13T12:15:00.002Z

A combination of two kinds of goodness on today's track. Pretty much everyone will have heard of La Roux by now. In the mix amongst most critics top 10 picks for 2009, Elly Jackson and Ben Langmaid's 80s-themed synth has been making hipsters throw (very angular) shapes across indie dancefloors for the past few months.

Today's track is a remix of their new single 'In for the Kill' by Brasilian boys The Twelves. The Twelves might be slightly less well-known, but they have a remix back catalogue that reads like a great and the good of hyped indie/electro crossover bands - Black Kids, New Young Pony Club, M.I.A, Asobi Seksu to name but a few - and they've played live with the likes of Justice, LCD Soundsystem, Diplo, and Van She. They are currently on tour across the US and Australia, but a trip to UK shores can't be far away.

The track is a corker. Slowing down the track slightly, and taking the bass out at the start, it's a touch hard on the ears (all that treble) - but once the beat comes in, it's absolutely ravetastic in a 'Last Days of Disco' kinda way. If the club has a discoball, it needs to be on for this...

La Roux - In For the Kill (Twelves mix)

Enjoy!

Korgis - Everybody's Got to Learn Sometimes (Laidback Luke boot)

2009-03-12T16:33:00.005Z

So I have been trawling the musical blogosphere in an attempt to find some tunes to wrap my ears around for this afternoon's efforts at work. As ever, the Young Punx's fantastic music blog Your Music is Killing Me does not disappoint, offering up this beauty!

For those that aren't in the know, The Young Punx are a collective of live musicians, DJs, producers, singers, anyone else talented, that make absolutely insane mash-up music. House, electro, pop, DnB, the shipping report (yes, really) - it all gets stuck into a big musical blender, and pumped back out at high volume. Checkkit...

As well as putting on a storming live set, Hal and Cameron - the producers and writers for the group - are also stonking DJs in a His Majesty Andre/Basement Jaxx/Laidback Luke kinda way (big filtered tracks, party beats, and lots of odd squelches!). They often record their mixes to broadcast on their blog and, midway through a podcast of their recent set at Ministry of Sound, I was treated to a tasty Laidback Luke boot of Korgis' 'Everybody's Got to Learn Sometimes'. It's one of my all-time favourite tracks, and this is a belter of a mix...

Korgis - Everybody's Got To Learn Sometimes (Laidback Luke boot)

All together now...'change your hearrrrrt, look arounnnnnd you'.

Enjoy!

Review: The Welcome Wagon - Welcome to the Welcome Wagon

2009-03-07T20:54:00.000Z

The Welcome Wagon are husband and wife duo The Rev. Vito Aiuto and Mrs. Monique Aiuto…that’s right, a pastor and his wife….wait….no wait….come back! It has to be said that when I have been recommending this album around – and I have been, to practically everyone I meet – the fact that it is an American album of religious and quasi-religious folk tracks sung by a pastor and his wife has not been an easy sell. However, see past such fripperies, and there is a fantastic album to be enjoyed.

WTTWW is produced by Sufjan Stevens, who also adds many of the instrumental elements to the album, and released it on his Asthmatic Kitty imprint. Stevens will be a name well known to anyone with half an interest in the US independent music scene, a veritable folk titan who, amongst writing albums that deal with the Chinese Zodiac and his Christianity, has often spoken of his desire to write an album about every state in the US (so far, only the superb ‘Greetings from Michigan, the Great Lake State’ and ‘Come on Feel the Illinoise’ are extant).

Stevens’ albums are full of lush orchestration hung around songs and lyrics which feel at the same time both intensely personal and utterly universal. It is easy to see why SS band member Vito would have jumped at the chance to have such expertise available on production duties. With Stevens’ presence, however, there is a danger that this album will come across as just another of his many musical side-projects. Happily, this is not the case. Whilst some songs could indeed come straight from his Illionoise off-cuts album ‘The Avalanche’ (notably ‘Sold! To The Rich Man’) he sensibly allows Vito’s songwriting skills more than enough room to speak for themselves.

Highlights include delicate covers of the Smiths’ ‘Half a Person’ and ‘Jesus’ by the Velvet Underground, as well as the beautiful album-opener, ‘Up on a Mountain’. Sung by Monique, it gently lulls you into the right frame of mind to enjoy the rest of what is a wonderful album.

It would be churlish, however, to try and split tracks from one another. This cd works best approached as a whole; imagine yourself amongst the youthful population of Vito’s church on a Sunday afternoon, alternately clapping along and listening as the Pastor offers up the fruits of his faith. Or imagine yourself sat round a campfire in the summer - marshmallows, beer and a guitar. Any way you imagine it, it's escapism par excellence...

Review: Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes

2009-03-06T20:34:00.024Z

Fleet Foxes will probably be a name that rings a few bells, three-sheeted, as they have been, all over poster boards and TV/Radio of late. Winning a place in most critics’ ‘Albums of 2008’ lists, and selling more than 100,000 cds in the UK whilst doing it, you don't seem to be able to get away from these Seattle boys...

Why the delay in writing about them then? Sadly, they are a band I have always ‘not quite got round to’. Thankfully, iTunes’ albums for under £5 sale was the remedy to this and, in the midst of a whole wealth of soundtrack purchases (‘Batman’, ‘American Beauty’, ‘Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait’, and ‘Blade Runner’), there was the album - just waiting to be bought...and am I ever glad I did!

First, a bit of background. Hailing from Seattle, the Foxes are a five-piece outfit that create, in their own words 'baroque harmonic pop jams'. Originally going under the forgettable moniker of 'Pineapple', they switched to their more evocative current handle after a name clash with another local band (thank God...Pineapple?!) The band were formed in 2006 and, building on positive word of mouth reviews as well as strong reactions from the Seattle music press, they released a number of well-received EPs in 06-07, before releasing their eponimous album in June of '08.

The album itself has echoes of Brian Wilson’s magnum opus ‘Smile’. However, where Wilson’s work had its heart in the surf of California and Hawaii, Fleet Foxes evoke a feel far to the East of their Seattle home; the bluegrass and soft country of Appalachians. ‘Sun Rises’, the first track on the album, could quite easily be straight out of the soundtrack to ‘O Brother Where Art Thou’, and there are nods to the likes of Old Crow Medicine Show and Chatham County Line. It would be a mistake, however, to simply file this under 'country' or 'bluegrass'. There is a country feel, certainly, but there is also folk, baroque, pop, and even shades of the irregular time signatures and sea-shanty guitar lines that indie math kids Hot Club de Paris have made their own.

Although uniformly superb, when the album is at its best is in its transitions between the delicate and the expansive. At one second, lead singer Robin Pecknold’s hushed tones interplay with a single guitar; the next, a full orchestra comes crashing in and the chord progression just soars. Nowhere is this better seen than in the album's standout track 'Blue Ridge Mountains' - a piece which fights it out with Elbow’s ‘Loneliness of a Tower Crane Driver’ as the most evocative, achingly beautiful piece of music this reviewer heard last year or this.

At only 39 minutes, the album should feel short, but in fact the minimal playing time only serves to accentuate how perfectly formed the collection is. Besides, you'll want to skip straight back to the start and play it all over again anyway, so we're really talking about 1hr20, and I honestly can't think of many better ways to spend an hour and a half. Stunning.

London City Love Affair tomorrow!

2009-02-20T09:47:00.005Z

Yeah! London City Love Affair returns to the Lexington on Pentonville Road tomorrow night for more band and club shenanigans. We have music from the splendid:

EZRA BANG & HOT MACHINE
Insane electro/hip-hop crossover antics from one of London's best live acts. If you haven't caught the Hot Machine show yet, don't miss out!
"If Public Enemy had swamped their raps with buzzing synths, they'd sound like Ezra Bang & Hot Machine" (Loud and Quiet)

THEM:YOUTH
MGMT-esque beats and glossy electro from one of London’s hottest new bands. They're really new on the live circuit, but they make absolutely INCREDIBLE music, and they're getting everyone across the industry very excited indeed. This is only their second gig, so we've got them whilst they're still fresh!

SILHOUETTE
Delicate, swirling soundscapes from NME-championed Silhouette, who combine art with music to create a quite incredible show.
"Silhouette...bowled us over with her powerfully rich and soulful voice backed by dark blues and dirty riffs." (Artrocker)

Not only that, but we've got some awesome guests DJs lined up for the night, including LR ROCKETS, the SIEGFRIED SASSOON SOUNDSYSTEM, Wes Simpson and Bryn and I playing our usual brand of indie and alternative nonsense.

It's from 8-4am, with the bands on until 11, and is normally £6 on the door. Because I am lovely, however, if you print off this blog entry (along with the flyer below), you can get a big fat £2 off the door price!

See you there!

Lovebox 2009 - chuffing hell!

2009-02-18T08:47:00.003Z

I had forgotten all about the return of Lovebox to our fair city this summer until I saw some teaser ads in the Metro today. I followed them through to their conclusion, a quarter-page advert, and promptly amused/shocked/worried the entire train carriage by letting out what can only be described as a squeal of excitement (NB, this might be a slight exaggeration, I am British after all, so probably only managed one raised eyebrow...). Why you ask?...

THIS IS WHY!!

DURAN DURAN are headlining Lovebox! Not only that, but there's support from a whole host of the musical great and the good:

N*E*R*D

Groove Armada (obviously)

Friendly Fires

Florence and the Machine

Simian Mobile Disco

Fat Freddy's Drop (who are awesome, by the way)

...and these are only the first acts they've announced!

I am so fully excited about this, not least due to the fact that I bought super-early bird tickets in November on spec, so I'm getting all this musical goodness for the princely sum of £59 +BF. Beezer!

First blog of '09

2009-02-16T17:12:00.002Z

...and it's in February. Shocking, I grant you, but there it is. To paraphrase Wilde, 'I have nothing to declare but my laziness'...that, and a large wodge of work coming in during January which, let's face it, no-one ever expects!

Still, I'm still standing, and still just about blogging. More will undoubtedly follow. For the time being, I'm beefing up my Web 2.0 credentials with the likes of:

Twitter

Facebook Group - for the night I run, London City Love Affair

London City Love Affair myspace

London City Love Affair last.fm

Follow, join, visit, listen.

Flight of the Conchords - Bus Driver's Song

2008-12-12T15:38:00.006Z

Office Christmas party last night, killer headache this morning. For those not in the know, in true credit crunch stylee we cancelled our planned Christmas bash at London Bridge, and decided to have it in the office. Many alcoholic high jinks followed, and sadly there is video footage of pretty much all of it. Whoever thought it was a good idea to start packaging mobile phones with video cameras?!

Still feeling a little under the weather (ahem), so not much blogging being done. The only thing that's keeping my head above water at work are the ever-wonderful Flight of the Conchords. I'm so excited about the new series, which should be hitting the Beeb in January '09.

Anyway - I'm sure fans of the show will know all the songs from the episodes, but I'm posting one that comes from their pre-TV days. It's one of my all-time favourites of theirs - a look at life in New Zealand through the eyes of Coachline driver Tony. Very funny, of course, but sweet and quite affecting at the same time.

Enjoy

Alex Roots Alex Roots Alex Roots!

2008-12-09T09:38:00.004Z

What were you doing at 16? If you were anything like me, you were panicking about which A-levels to take, sneaking into under-age pubs (of which Cambridge had a wide array), and listening to Pulp. What you possibly weren't doing was surrounding yourself by a media-savvy array of agents, managers, label folk and songwriters, and making a determined assault on London's live scene; but then again, neither of us are Alex Roots...

Now I've been meaning to blog about this little lady for a while now, ever since we booked her to open for us at dancetillyoudie's 1st birthday party in Kilburn a couple of months ago and she attracted a hysteria akin to the start of 'A Hard Day's Night' (well....almost...) to be exact. Why do I bring her to your attention, you ask? Because she's a chuffing pop marvel, that's why!

Ploughing a furrow described by the Guardian as mid-way between Cyndi Lauper, Blondie, Katy Perry and Avril Lavigne, Alex and her co-writer (pop/RnB stalwart Ryan Laubscher) have crafted a selection of musical gems that seem sure to grace the Radio 1 playlist in the not too distant, from the faux thrash of 'Fake', to the Lauper-inspired 'Put Your Hands up' to the quite wonderful 'Dizzy from the Ride' (mother flippin's favourite), they are all belters.

Megamix - Alex Roots

(hat-tip to Sheena Beaston for the link to this megamix - you can also hear a couple of the tracks in full on her Good Groove artist page...)

Her debut album looks set to drop in the early part of 2009, released on the Good Groove imprint that brought Corinne Bailey Rae to the music-buying public. It sounds like they have another hit on their hands...

Bring Your Parents Records - Sunday 7th December

2008-12-08T18:45:00.000Z

So this Sunday I was invited along to the latest venture from the kids from Broccoli Music, Bring Your Parents' Records. A co-promotion with Jonny Awsum - PR guru and all-round lovely lovely man - who they found running the night in his front room, the night normally has its home in Bar Vinyl, Camden. For their Xmas bash, however, they had upped sticks all of 10 yards to nextdoor's Zen Sai bar.

The night is a great idea. You bring a load of dusty old vinyl along (mine had the benefit of a bit of scratching for that 'true' record sound), hopefully half-inched from your loving mother and father, and stick it on the bar's one - yes, count it, one - record deck, one track at a time. The set-up flatters all levels of DJing proficiency, though the gaps between tracks does tend to get longer as the 4-hour happy hour (don't tell Gordon) takes hold of the crowd, and the random nature of most parental LP collections allows for some...interesting setlists.

I have to say one of the best things about the night, though, is that it genuinely rewards the fun rather than the obscure - play Postman Pat and you get cheered, play ELO and you'll be lauded to the rafters, play anything too hip and you'll be laughed off the decks, as one girl found within two minutes of sticking some pounding dance nonsense on at the start of her set. There WAS a little too much Bob Marley on display, but it WAS a Sunday...

I had the privilige of kicking proceedings off at 3pm, being a Sunday the bar was already undulating gently if not jumping, and I treated them to (as far as the Coronas will let me remember):

J Walk - Another Lover

Jummy Ruffin - What Becomes of the Broken Hearted
Grandmaster Melle Mel and the Furious Five - Pump me Up

Rufus Thomas - Walking the Dog
Sparks - Thank God it's Not Christmas

Led Zeppelin - Good Times Bad Times

Duran Duran - Planet Earth

Jesus Christ Superstar (1974) - Overture

ripper!

Bo Pepper - I Haven't Got You Anything (This Christmas)

2008-12-08T17:17:00.003Z

So Christmas rolls around, along with all the usual traditions. You know what I'm talking about; Turkey for dinner, Shrek on the TV, The Queen's Speech, Mince pies and mulled wine, and the X Factor winner getting to Christmas Number 1.....

...but wait! What light from yonder musical window breaks? It can't actually be...no....a....half-decent Christmas song?! Hallelujah!

They go by the name of Bo Pepper, and Mother Flippin is a BIG fan having encountered them a number of times over the past year. Fronted by the charming Dolly Pepper, they sound like the Strokes and look a lot better. I mean they've even got idential twins in the band for God's sake, that's got to give them one up on El Tel in the Chrimberley music stakes, surely?! So, I know where MY festive 79p iTunes purchase will be heading, and it won't be to Terry Wogan or Alexandra Burke*...Plus, if they get to the top spot, it might make Simon Cowell look like this...

and THAT's worth the money!

*of course I don't KNOW that she's going to win, but it would be a travesty if she didn't...

Lily Allen - The Fear

2008-12-05T15:10:00.002Z

Ahhhh, Lily Allen. Good to see that she's back to making music rather than mouthing off. Mother Flippin is a big fan, and her new single 'The Fear', from the forthcoming album 'It's not me, it's you' is a winner - as is the video. She's lookin' goooood...

Kid Cudi - Day 'n' Night

2008-12-02T15:41:00.003Z

Yeah! One of my favourite club tracks of the year is finally getting a proper commercial release.

The Crookers' remix of Kid Cudi's 'Day 'n' Night' obviously impressed the danceratti across the globe enough for the track to be picked up by Data Records, given a new 'Club Mix' title (the artist is now Kid Cudi vs. Crookers), remixed a couple of times, and stuck out for the chart to chomp on. Not sure as to the release date as yet, but I'm sure there'll be some kind of girls in bikinis video along soon enough...

Kid Cudi vs. Crookers - Day 'n' Nite (RCDLBL)

I have to say, most of the new mixes can't hold a candle to the Crookers' original mix, but one that tries damned hard is the spiffy 'Jokers of the Scene' mix - haven't heard of them before, but this is lovely and squelchy!

Kid Cudi vs. Crookers - Day 'n' Nite (Jokers of the Scene Remix)

(hat-tip to Stoney Roads for the link)

Enjoy!

The Hours - See the Light (Calvin Harris Remix)

2008-11-28T15:07:00.005Z

Track of the day today comes in the form of a Calvin Harris remix. Now, I've always felt that Calvin sometimes puts a little more effort into the one-off remixes he does compared with his own output - 'Acceptable in the 80s' was all well and good, but 'Girls' anyone?! Really?!

You can't fault him when he's given a ready-made track to deal with, though, and his remix for returning Sheffield indie-kids The Hours (check out their 2007 album 'Narcissus Road', which is pretty belting) is typically excellent. A little more down-tempo than previous efforts, this is a storming piece of bump'n'funk electro that is going straight to the front of my box. Enjoy!

See The Light (Calvin Harris Remix) - The Hours

UPDATE: I read from my helpful promotional blurb that there is a pretty intense video for the original of this doing the rounds. It features Sienna Miller as...well...see for yourselves:

Little Boots - Stuck on Repeat. Oh my good GOD!

2008-11-24T14:41:00.007Z

So I've been away for a looooong time - blame the pressures of work, some play, an 8-month old baby, and bands who keep dropping out of gigs I've arranged (damn them!) I am, however, back on the blog...and back with an absolute corker for y'all.

Little Boots is one of my favourite artists at the moment. Originally from Blackpool (a fact that sometimes comes out in endearing little Northern word pronunciations in her recordings), she's now firmly ensconced in London, and making some great music. She does this little series called Funtimes on YouTube where she covers a track every week or so (check out her Tenori-On cover of 'Ready for the Floor' by Hot Chip here) and it's highly recommended. However, the track I'm posting is her single 'Stuck on Repeat' from earlier in the year (February I think?) - It's produced by Hot Chip's own Joe Goddard, and...well...would you listen to that bassline?! There's a Fake Blood (DJ Touche) mix too which is nice, but I just love the original. Like Madonna stepping out to disco with the Soulwax boys, this really is a belter.

Mother Flippin' loves you Little Boots!

Track of the Week - Barefoot Confessor, He Doesn't Love You

2008-10-27T10:11:00.006Z

Last week's track of the week was a Beatle's remix; this week's is one that riffs splendidly on the Fab Four's track 'I Wanna Hold your Hand', Barefoot Confessor's brilliant 'He Doesn't Love You'.

The band are from West London, and have been raising high levels of industry interest since their conception a few months ago, being likened to everyone from The Smiths, Bruce Springsteen, McFly (?!) and The Libertines. Recently tipped by both Glasswerk and Red Stripe, and appearing on any number of Google searches for new London acts, they're looking good success-wise, which is helped by the fact that they are absolutely belting. Don't take my word for it, check this out...

Barefoot Confessor - He Doesn't Love You

Weekend Manoeuvres 24.10

2008-10-24T11:59:00.003+01:00

As Michael Gray once had it, as his office girl writhed becomingly on the photocopier, ‘I can’t waaaaaait for the weekend to begin, begin, begin, begin (ad infinitum)'. He had a point. Personally, I can’t wait for the weekend to begin – particularly when it’s chock-full of these goodies…

Tonight:

The quite splendid Duke Dumont headlines Voodo @ The Last Days of Decadence in Shoreditch. If you’ve heard more than ten seconds of his remix of the Mystery Jets’ ‘Two Doors Down’, then you will want to be there. He’s an awesome DJ, and plays some really interesting music. Support from Photonz, Skull Juice’s Benedict, and a whole host of others
Doors 9pm, £6, Old Street

DFA’s The Juan Maclean hit Matter for a night hosted by the label. Expect shenanigans a-plenty, with live sets from Yacht, Planningtorock, and the splendid Prinzhorn Dance School. Also appearing will be DFA chief and LCD Soundsystem svengali James Murphy, who will be putting in some serious time behind the decks. Should be a corker!
Doors 10pm, £17.50, North Grenwich/Canary Wharf

If you are feeling flush, and fancy something before hitting Matter, why not head down to the Indigo2 to see one of my favourite American artistes, Aimee Mann. If you’re not familiar, Aimee writes superb, bitter-sweet tracks which generally deal with failure in some way – it’s not exactly Noah and the Whale, but it does have the benefit of being about 100 times better. Following film collaborations with fellow misery-peddling film director Paul T Anderson (Magnolia), she’s now touring to promote new album ‘@#%&*! Smilers’
Doors 7pm, £25, North Grenwich

Tomorrow:

Mother Flippin’ fave VV Brown plays Ban*Jam @ St. Moritz on Wardour Street. Scroll down the blog to check out the video to lead single ‘Crying Blood’ if you want a taster. Upbeat 60s pop-soul with a punky edge, she’s a belter. Support from Ellie Goulding, who I’ve never heard of, but seems to play some pretty hardball folk.
Doors 10pm, £7, Tottenham Court Road

Excess All Areas are at The Buffalo Bar in Highbury. Amidst the line-up, The New Devices stand out. They sound like a pretty tasty mix of Soulwax, The Presets, and everything else that is hip at the moment, and put on an awesome live show. Signed to RCA on the basis of their demo alone, I’d highly recommend catching them now, so you can look smug in a few months when asked if you’ve heard their latest single…
Doors 7pm, £4, Highbury and Islington

Finally, we have Fox Cubs, who support at the BBC Electric Proms at the Camden Barfly. They sound a bit like Interpol, but more fun, and write some really cracking melodies. They’re supporting ‘frazzled indie’ (Time Out) peddlers Red Light Company. Highly recommended
Doors 7.30pm, £10, Chalk Farm

Enjoy!

Track of the Week 2 - A Skillz, Strawberry Jam Forever

2008-10-24T11:17:00.004+01:00

Have been meaning to post this track for a while now, and what better time to do it than Friday morning, when you guys are looking for something to soothe you into the weekend.

Heard this up in Coventry at Warwick's hip-hop and breaks night Renegade. It made me lose physical control of my body. The Beatles get remixed quite a bit, officially and unofficially. Most are not particularly good - this is. Ladies and Gentlemen, 'Strawberry Jam Forever' by A Skillz

Strawberry Jam Forever

Now tell me that ain't niiiiice.

Song of the Week - Long Blondes, Giddy Stratospheres

2008-10-20T15:49:00.002+01:00

The Long Blondes have split up!

Although this year has seen the release of the follow up to their debut effort 'Once and Never Again', the Erol Alkan-produced 'Couples', it has also seen their guitarist Dorian Cox suffer a stroke which led to a number of dates having to be cancelled over the summer. In a statement on their myspace today, Dorian states that, given he doesn't know when/if he will be able to play the guitar again, the band have decided to call things to a halt.

Personally I loved The Long Blondes. Their songs occasionally meandered a bit, but they could write a killer chorus! As my friend Chris had it "just when you're starting to think 'oh, god, it's another lame Long Blondes track', the chorus comes along and you're grinning and jigging about like a total wazz"...In memory of...well that mental image if not the band themselves, this week's 'Song of the Week' is the song that introduced me to them, Giddy Stratospheres:

17th October

2008-10-17T21:35:00.002+01:00

It's the 17th October. Today I heard 'All I Want for Christmas is You' by Maria Carey on an advert for the first time this year. I say again, it's the 17th October.

It made me sad inside...

Weekend manoeuvres 17.10

2008-10-17T10:53:00.003+01:00

Club NME @ Koko are generally worth a shot for a decent Friday night, and the truism holds…er…true tonight as they host the brilliant Audio Bullys. If you’ve ever heard anything these boys have put out, you’ll know what to expect. A high-energy jump up mix of dub, house, and rock. Support from the steamy dreamy Magic Wands. Nice.
Doors 9.30pm, £5, Mornington Crescent

Moving Eastwards, So Cow support Die!Die!Die! for White Light at The Lexington. We had Jonny and the guys down for dancetillyoudie last night, and they kicked some serious Kilburn ass. Basically imagine if Graham Coxon came from Tuam in Ireland, and you have them down – really really good garage indie/pop.
Doors 8.00pm, £6, Angel

Finally, it’s back to Camden. Eschewing Proud, who wants to see the Pipettes again anyway?, it’s off to the Roundhouse for one of Mother Flippin’s all time faves – British Sea Power. One of the first gigs I ever promoted was a show with British Sea Power. I got trollied on their rider, had a great laugh, and then had some kind of quasi-religious experience to their first track Heavenly Waters. Expect lots of foliage and stuffed animals on stage, some striking visuals, and just the best best BEST music you will here in a long time. So recommended.
Doors 7pm, £16. Chalk Farm

Over to Saturday, and The Maddisons play The Dry Bar. The Maddisons are a bunch of indie scamps from Southampton. If you imagine the Arctic Monkeys, but a little less bitter with the world in general, you’ll get the idea. Their music is waaay ahead of their tender years (most of them are just finishing GCSEs), and they hit London as part of a national tour to promote their highly recommended single The Witch.
Doors 8pm, £4, Barbican

Over in North Grenwich Moshi Moshi are holding a big 10^th birthday bash at Matter. It’s a fairly stellar line-up for the price, so if you fancy getting down to James Yuill, Florence and the Machine, Tilly and the Wall, Kate Nash, and Hot Chip, then you know where to go! It’s also an all-nighter, so have a nap first!
Doors 10pm, £17.50, North Grenwich/Canary Wharf

“Well Well Well”, it’s Roots Manuva at the Shepherd’s Bush Empire. If you feel like witnessing the fitness (and, let’s face it, who wouldn’t – he’s fecking beezer), then get yourself Westward Ho and get involved.
Doors 7pm, £16, Shepherd’s Bush

Finally – Saturday is so chocked with goodies that I have to list four this week – we have Rosie Oddie and the Odd Squad at the Rhythm Factory for Bored Youth on Prozac. It’s Lily Allen-esque estuary pop, and very very good. Lead single Cola Coka is a banger, and Rosie herself is lovely to boot.
Doors 7.30pm, £6, Aldgate East

dancetillyoudie tomorrow night

2008-10-15T16:05:00.004+01:00

it would be a foolish man indeed who didn't post the odd blog about the night he runs, so here we go!

My night, dancetillyoudie, returns to the Good Ship in Kilburn tomorrow night for some fearsome alternative loving. Playing live on the night are:

Walk.DontWalk

Finalists in this year's Road to V competition, Slice the Pie album winners, and one of Birmingham's finest exports. Having been hand-picked to support the likes of the Young Knives, The Paddingtons, and Vincent Vincent and the Villians, Walk.DontWalk head to dtyd for what promises to be an absolutely barnstorming headline set.

"the find of the night - and perhaps the entire contest...a girl-flinging, dress-removing, mate-piggybacking, TV camera-grabbing frenzy. A turbo-charged Coral anyone?" (Mark Beaumont, NME)

So Cow

Vaults
Stick Man Army

afterwards my good friend Bryn and I entertain on the decks until 2am. It's generally a great night's entertainment, and all the bands playing tomorrow are corking, so hope to see you down there! If you want a cheeky gander at walk.dontwalk beforehand though, check this out...

Tickets are £5 on the door, or £4 if you let us know you're coming in advance - do that here, or wing me a message here

Advertorial ends!

Live Review - Indiesexual @ Catch, 08.10.08

2008-10-13T14:05:00.006+01:00

Catch is an odd venue to be honest. Downstairs has a bar, background music, pool table and seating booths – think faded Americana and you won’t go far wrong. Up the narrow spiral staircase, though, and you find yourself in the kind of spit-and-sawdust gig space that is so typical to London – narrow room, low ceiling. You get the feeling that they could make much better use of the space, but why bother as things are rolling along pretty well as is. I was there to catch (ahem) Indiesexual, another successful night from the ubiquitous Broccoli Music clan – brother and sister team Mikee and Katie Corcoran (or ‘Broccoli’ as they have, perhaps unfairly, become known).

The night has been running for more than three years now, and is another step in their plans for global domination of the ‘up-and-coming but not signed yet’ bands market. Going on the evidence of their website, booking policy tends towards the eclectic, with previous acts including the likes of The Krak, Joanna and the Wolf, Hatcham Social, Popular Workshop, and the now sadly defunct Mescalitas. Tonight’s entertainment came from The Cavaliers, The Supernovas, The Broadcasts, and Miss Davina Lee (‘The’ Miss Davina Lees were obviously not available, or they couldn’t get her to change her name…). DJing support came from the Broccoli kids themselves, debuting on the one’s and two’s in fine style.

There is something endearingly British about Miss Davina Lee. She may come on stage dressed like Lovefoxx, all pink leopard prints and gold lame leggings, but she races through her set more like Lovesquirrel – all hopping from one foot to another and self-conscious chatter interspersing the tracks as if Hugh Grant was fronting an indie band. It’s a winning formula that puts you on-side almost instantly. There is something particularly wonderful about watching a performer who gets so into the music that she forgets to sing into the microphone. The music itself was fun – all electro beats underpinned with some nice acoustic guitar work. Next time give the girl a higher stand for her keyboard though…

Next up were The Broadcasts, peddling poppy, upbeat glam-indie that was hard to resist, and few did. All driven guitars and witty vocal lines, you can really see why these boys are a firm favourite with the radio powers that be. Their sound isn’t fully formed as yet, with different songs bringing in occasionally disparate elements, but once they find their balance, perhaps during the album-writing process they are currently going through, they’re going to be a fine prospect.

The Supernovas had brought quite the crowd with them – always a plus as it will endear you to the promoter if nothing else – and proceeded to entertain in the well-worn style of mildly punk indie, sounding like an amalgam of fellow Nambucca-ites The Holloways, Elle Milano (their track ‘City of Smoke’ could just as easily have been ‘Sexy in Latin’), and the Buzzcocks. Just because it was of a type, though, didn’t mean it wasn’t enjoyable. The band were obviously into, and true to, what they were doing, and the songs were carried off with a panache that lifts them above the average, and could well ensure that Holy Grail of all acts on the London circuit, label interest.

Finally, we had The Cavaliers to wrap things up. The Supernovas have previously supported Pete Doherty, The Cavaliers seem to enjoy fearsomely channelling him, if you believe previous press reports on their activities. I guess the Babyshambles influences were there to be seen, but The Cavaliers have much more in the locker in terms of how to create an interesting chord structure than Doherty et al have ever had. To this reviewer the style of the songs was rather more reminiscent of a slightly more louche Strokes, but with sweeter melodic lines a la Boy Kill Boy. Honestly? It was bloody ripper! Some excellent music on display, twinned with a bit of a, deserved, swagger.

Verdict:
Strong band line-ups, DJs who are obviously enjoying themselves, and pleasant door staff. It’s an aptly named venue for this Catch-y night. You should ‘Catch’ it very soon (that’s enough catch gags…)

Where Next:
Miss Davina Lee - no gig listed
The Broadcasts - @ The Bull & Gate on 28th October
The Supernovas - Abstract Noun all-dayer @ The Ramshackle on 26th October
The Cavaliers - @ 93 Feet East on 15th October
Indiesexual - Indiesexual returns to Catch on 12th November with It's a Trap!, The Hateful, and Burning Pilot

Song of the week - Crying Blood, V V Brown

2008-10-13T12:06:00.003+01:00

I'm not going to lie, it's a pretty crappy day in London town this Monday am. So for those bemoaning the end of the sun we had over the weekend, here's something to put a smile on your face. Miss V V Brown with her debut single 'Crying Blood'. It's been around for a while now, but it's a belter that never fails to do the business when I'm out DJing, and I've just found the video, so I'm posting it.

Lindi-hop-tastic! There's also a killer remix of the track by Hannah Holland. Check it out...

Weekend Manoeuvres 10.10

2008-10-10T14:22:00.003+01:00

So, the weekend rolls around once again, and the great and the good descend from the satellite towns to sample London’s particular brand of nightlife…but where to go?! Well…

New club night Us and Them Club launch at the Barfly tonight. Music comes from My Tiger My Timing, who are always worth a look-in, and then a whole host of DJ sets from the likes of Broader than Broadway, Gigwise, Us and Them, and the ubiquitous Bloody Awful Poetry boys…
Doors 9pm, £5, Chalk Farm

Just over the road, Ninja Tunes project The Cinematic Orchestra entertain at The Roundhouse. A dizzying display of jazz, soundtracks, film images, breaks, beats, and pretty much everything else under the sun, it’s looking like it should be a superb night.
Doors 7pm, £25, Chalk Farm

Completing the Camden trio (sorry – it seems to be the only area with anything of interest tonight, unless you fancied Ting Tings at The Forum? No – thought not) are Mothlite, who support These New Puritans at The Monarch. TNP are all well and good, but Mothlite are awesome and well worth getting down early for. Ambient folk-tronica a-go-go!
Doors 8pm, £10, Chalk Farm

Let’s see if we can’t get out of Camden for Saturday though…

The Purple Gang Reunion at the Half Moon in Herne Hill has to be a hot ticket. The Purple Gang, for those not in the know, were a jug/skiffle band back in the 60s whose single ‘Granny Takes a Trip’ was banned by the BBC due to it’s alleged drug-taking undertones. Silly really, as it’s an absolutely storming track, and one of Mother Flippin’s favourites…well…pretty much ever, as well as being beloved of the late great John Peel, and the happily still-with-us Erol Alkan. This will be a good one…
Doors 8pm, £10, Herne Hill

Keeping down South, we have the splendid Geno Washington at the Half Moon in Putney (what is it with Half Moons?!) Geno Washington provided the inspiration for Dexy’s Midnight Runners’ track ‘Geno’, and produces top-notch blues, R&B and soul. Again, definitely worth a look in.
Doors 8pm, £10, Putney Bridge

Finally, there is a veritable who’s who of indie/pop/whatever taking the stage at Matter. Literally, check this line-up – Mark Ronson, Supergrass, Mystery Jets, New Young Pony Club, Lethal Bizzle, The View, Friendly Fires…the list is endless. Not bad for a fiver…
Doors 8pm, £5, North Greenwich

…of course if you are in Camden tomorrow as well, I would recommend sitting outside the Roundhouse begging, stealing, or borrowing (yeah right) a ticket for Elbow. I know I will be…

Weekend manoeuvres 03.10

2008-10-03T10:26:00.004+01:00

So Friday rolls around, and the love affair with the weekend blossoms once more. It's not for nothing that Andrew O'Neal started his week on a Sunday, so by the end of it he was ready for some 'Saturday Love' (though that might be rather more down to the strictures of line scansion, who knows...). Anyway, there's plenty going on in our fair capital this weekend, including:

Tonight:

Carlotti headline at the Hope & Anchor. I was very impressed with the set these guys put together at Pull up the Roots recently, so this should be a cracker. Support from The Candy Twins, Zenyth, and Karl & King.

Doors 8.30pm, £6/£5, Islington

The frankly totally awesome Young Punx hit up Shoreditch reet nice at The Last Days of Decadence tonight for Twisted Licks. Think crazy electro, big beat, pop, punk, funk, drum'n'bass, and breakbeat all thrown into a wonderful musical mix, and you'll get the idea. Really, really recommended. Support from The XX and Modernaire.

Doors 8pm, £10/£8, Shoreditch

'Estuary rapper' MissOddKid entertains alongside electro collaborator Dekker at The Monarch. With support from perennial Mother Flippin faves Bearsuit and Gentle Friendly. Oddball pop and electro-grime? Sounds good to me...

Doors 8pm, £6, Chalk Farm

Tomorrow:

Goodies are thinner on the ground for Saturday, but you could always hang around King's Place to see if you can grab a return for the superb cellist and composer Jocelyn Pook. There are three performances throughout the afternoon, so if you camp out chances are good...

Doors 2.45pm, 4pm, 5.15pm, £returns only, King's Cross

Rounding things out are The Thirst, who support Red Roots at The Ramshackle in Fulham. These Brixton indie boys are always worth a look in - their track 'She's So Cool' was one of Mother Flippin's tracks of the year - like The Subways covering Pharell.

Doors 8pm, £5, Putney Bridge

Enjoy!

Somojo - The future for radio?

2008-10-02T15:40:00.003+01:00

I was sent a link today to a new online radio service called Somojo (hat-tip to Mikee @ Broccoli Music – many thanks sir), and it looks quite interesting.

Basically it is a site in the mould of last.fm, where bands can sign themselves up and upload tracks to be listened to from their page – either through streaming, downloading, or even purchasing. Once the service is fully up and running, and there are enough tracks online, Somojo will create playlists just like any online radio station as well as putting together specific programmes to cater for particular crowds.

So far, so same. The main differentiator to other similar sites, though, seems to be in the sales section of the site. Not only can bands put their tracks up for sale, but can also sell merchandise, photos, and even gig tickets through the service (for which the site takes a split on sales). This ‘one-stop-shop’ idea is an attractive one, and should especially appeal to those bands at the lower end of the touring scale.

The site itself is laid out in a cheery shade of orange, and seems very much a work in progress. The layout will have to be worked on if it aims to be attractive to look at and functional to use – at the moment it looks too scrappy, and the fact that any new news items posted by bands go straight onto the front page in full doesn’t lend itself to easy scanning for news items. Sticking to a set style guide, and putting the news items in brief would certainly make it look better. As would changing the rather alarming font…

Overall, the launch of Somojo marks another venture in a market that is growing but not yet saturated. It remains to be seen whether the take-up from the band community will be strong enough to drive interest, but I would recommend it regardless. It's a good concept, and anywhere where bands can post music and people can access it is always a positive place to be...

Live Review - The Chapman Family @ The Enterprise, Monday 29th September

2008-10-01T14:32:00.007+01:00

On record, The Chapman Family produce a sound akin to North-Eastern counterparts Maximo Park or The Futureheads (though coming from Stockton, TCF hail from slightly lower down the country), all jittering guitars, and repetitive, yelped choruses. Live, however, it would appear they take on a rather different tone – not exactly ‘Hounds of Love’, rather more ‘Hounds of Hell’. The four band members slunk onto the red-lit stage of The Enterprise on Monday night with posture that can only be described as sinister, ominous…I don’t even think ‘boding’ would be going too far. Boding of what? 30 minutes of brutal, utterly glorious noise, that’s what.

It was absolutely relentless. Eschewing chatter between tracks wherever they could (an approach that has lead to quite some comment on their myspace, but which I totally agreed with), ‘The Family’ created a veritable wall of visceral, feedback-imbued noise that battered the four walls of the tiny upstairs room into all kinds of musical submission. Coming on like the very best bits of The Cooper Temple Clause, yourcodenameis:milo and Sonic Youth, it was post-punk/hardcore/rock/call-it-what-you-will par excellence. Yes, they really were so good that I need to use italics.

Picking highlights in a set-list as crammed with goodies as they put on display is difficult, but I would definitely say that ‘Something I Can’t Get Out’, ‘Million Dollars’, and ‘Lies Plus Lies’ lingered longer in the memory. It was all absolutely beezer though.

Verdict:
The band’s publicity may well scream that ‘The Chapman Family is not a cult’, but that’s certainly not going to stop them creating a large following of hardcore fans who will follow them anywhere and do anything they desire. Methinks they doth protest too much...

Where Next:
Catch The Chapman Family on tour at the Freebutt in Brighton tomorrow (Thursday 2^nd October), or back in London @ Nambucca on Saturday 4^th.

Full Setlist (from paper on floor, so apologies for any typos):
Hear Them Marching
Lies
Something I Can’t Get Out
Sound of the Radio
You Are Not Me
Kids
Million Dollars

Weekend manoeuvres

2008-09-26T12:47:00.006+01:00

So the weekend rolls around once again, with the weather looking up for once! There's sport a-plenty; Liverpool vs. Everton and the Singapore Grand Prix are set to feature heavily on my calendar. However, there is also musical gold to be found in our fair city with the likes of:

The 'endearlingly bizarre' (TimeOut) Tubelord, who play the Macbeth tonight on the Levi's 'Ones to Watch' tour. They're supporting Metronomy, but are well worth getting there early for.

Doors 7pm, £6, Shoreditch

Also tonight, Club NME has Outside Royalty at Koko, but again it's the support that holds the interest coming as it does from James Yuill, who is bloody brilliant. Totally recommended.

Doors 9.30pm, £5, Camden

Finally, Slam champion Maxwell Golden headlines Jammin' at the Paradise Bar with a heady mix of spoken word, MCing, music and beat poetry. It should be a belting night.

Doors 8pm, £3, Kensal Green

For tomorrow, This Ain't no Picnic at King's College SU is an all-dayer with highlights including Future of the Left, the brilliantly-named This Town Needs Guns, and one of my favourite bands - Bearsuit.

Doors 1pm, £15, Temple

...and later on, to round things off and if you're feeling flush, catch the brilliant Snowboy & the Latin Section at Ronnie Scott's. It seems pricey, but these guys craft jazz par excellence and are totally worth the expenditure.

Doors 6pm, £20, Soho

Enjoy people,

Barack Obama on the London Underground - the secret is out!

2008-09-26T10:09:00.000+01:00

So this since Monday I have been constantly intrigued by the mystery black adverts appearing all over London, and reading with interest the numerous blogs popping up with news and views on their presence – thank God that I’m not alone in wondering what they might be – Rick Lamb, Going Underground and Current have all been in a positive tizz of excitement. There was even a link to a Telegraph story, but it has since been deleted, hmm...

The images – Barack Obama outside 10 Downing Street, David Cameron walking past Winston Churchill, the CERN Large Hadron Collider, a ginger kid in swimming trunks (from Corbis’ photo library apparently), a golden football, and a woman stretching in what I can only assume is some kind of yogic position – have taken pride of place on the Underground, and mainline train stations all week.

...and now the secret is out! Opening up the copy of The Times that is sent to our office today, what did I see?

I guess The Times are to be congratulated for getting everyone so het up, but personally, I was expecting something a little more ground-breaking...Then again, no wonder the Telegraph decided to delete their story about it!

UPDATE: There's a story on the campaign here, courtesy of Brand Republic.

Live music review - Pull up the Roots @ The Old Queen's Head 24.09.08

2008-09-25T13:41:00.001+01:00

Once again, Broccoli Music took over the upstairs room at The Old Queen's Head for their successful 'Pull up the Roots' night. The concept is to break new bands in the capital in slightly more comfortable surroundings than is the norm (naming no names Camden Barfly...). Entry is free, and punters more often than not find themselves lounging in one of the venue's comfy chairs veiwing the stage, adding a certain living room vibe to the whole affair. On Wednesday, music came courtesy of The Black Lies, Carlotti, Rock City Sixteen and De Shamonix, with the gaps plugged ably by the excellent Coathanger DJs who entertained with dancefloor indie a-go-go.

Indie-punk foursome Black Lies swaggered onto the stage to the strains of their track 'My House is Your House'. So far, so Arctic Monkeys, and it was this sound that they stuck to resolutely throughout their set, assisted by a small cabal of hardcore fans leaping about at the front of the room. It's being done plenty elsewhere, but these boys give it a sense of fun at the very least.

Carlotti offered something a little more fulsome - there was even a mandolin at one point! Melodic rock with a fine country/blues edge, they were my pick of the crop for the night. Grabbing debut single 'Your Guess Ain't as Good as Mine' on iTunes is a highly-recommended move.

Of all the acts performing, it was Rock City Sixteen that wore their references the most proudly on their chests. Their myspace is the epitome of self-conscious 50s cool, and their music owes much to the work of Blondie and, though they don't admit to it in their list of influences, The Strokes. Their set was all angular guitars, overdrive, and some very very large shades indeed. The crowd lapped it up.

Last but by no means least were De Shamonix, who blasted through an excellent set to the appreciation of a sizeable audience. I had been told beforehand that they knew how to own a stage, and own it they did - stagecraft is often the big differentiator between a band making it or not, and De Shamonix offered it up in spadefuls to round out a fine night's entertainment.

Verdict: You may not be a fan of broccoli as a vegetable, but you can't fault it as a clubnight...

Where next:

Black Lies: @ Monto Water Rats, Fri. 31st October

Carlotti: @ the Hope & Anchor Fri. 3rd October

Rock City Sixteen: @ the Ryhthm Factory Tues. 7th October

De Shamonix: @ Monto Water Rats, Sat. 29th November

Pull up the Roots Thurs. 20th October @ The Old Queen's Head