Re-Issues : The Crimea - Lottery Winners On Acid EP

Last week a band that I got hooked on at the tender age of 16 hit the 10 year mark, the other band I saw that night are in their 20th year. The Crimea supported Ash way back coinciding with the release of ‘Meltdown’. 2 amazing bands reaching major milestones in their musical careers.

This re-issue comes in the form of ‘Lottery Winners On Acid’, An EP I brought second hand from Amazon at the age of 16, one of my first pay packs funded the buy, a buy that I listened to so much that it no longer plays.

Fronted by Davey MacManus (brother of Radio 1 DJ Annie Mac, who supplies backing vocals on some tracks) The Crimea have released 2 other albums after this EP. ‘Tragedy Rocks’ with major label Warner and free release ‘Secrets Of The Witching Hour’.

‘Lottery Winners On Acid’ includes the titled track alongside opener ’White Russian Galaxy’, a extravagant venerate of desperation composed to music. As you can imagine at 16-17 playing this to anybody I would get awkward looks, The Crimea were certainly out of the ordinary which attracted them to the likes of the late great John Peel.

Other tracks on the EP are psychedelic observant ’Baby Boom’, the aptly named ’Bombay Sapphire Coma’ of which I had no clue about what gin was and finale ’Opposite Ends’ abrogating a break up or begging for the old flame to be re-lit, you choose.

At 16 parts of me could relate, parts of me did not have a clue. The knowing of what Bombay sapphire was left me clearly naïve to the world around me and of what was to come, but 10 years on the songs sound so fresh and I can listen to the EP from start to finish over and over.

(Honourable mention goes to the ever so addictive ‘Girl Just Died’ which is available on ‘Tragedy Rocks')

Album Review : The Enemy - Streets In The Sky

The indie blogroll of bands from the noughties is particularly full of now folklore legends,  bands like The Fratellis who are now defunct but can continually be heard on every indie dance floor across the land,  The View who have endlessly teetered on the edge of separation and now totally new band Razorlight of whom the lead singer self-imploded and sacked the backline.

But a indie band to survive the noughties is leading the renascence, 2 top 10 albums under their belts, numerous festival appearances and a whole list of critical acclaim is left in their wake. The Enemy.

Back in 2007 they released storming first album ‘We’ll Live And Die In These Towns’, it was a bovine, valiant and confident debut written on the bog standard level of the average male/female who wanted more, a call to arms. The album went straight in at number 1 in the UK charts alongside tracks ‘Away From Here’(#8) and ‘Had Enough’(#4) standing up in the top10. This lead to the band receiving awards from NME, Q Magazine and XFM that same year.

After the storm died down The Enemy took to the studio to write second album ‘Music  For The People’, which charted at number 2 in the UK album charts. An album heavily influenced and sounding like every big indie band of the decades past. Think The Clash, Pulp, Blur, Queen…And you get the picture. It seemed like The Enemy had been plucked up and were heading to the indie scrap yard, casualties of ‘the second album curse’.

Around 4 years of silence followed, Tom Clarke planning world domination once more VIA ’boring’ Coventry with band mates in toe. It was then out of nothing an announcement was made by Clarke that the release of ‘Streets In The Sky’ was to hit shelves in the spring of 2012.

What to expect from ‘Streets In The Sky’ after such a disappointing second return is quickly diminished, opening track and album teaser ‘Gimme The Sign’ is brash and full of promise. The lairy vocals of first album Clarke, guitar firmly in hand and more than certainly meaning business.  No time to think between tracks ‘Bigger Cages (Longer Chains)’ boasts a Subways like guitar lead, lyrically once again Clarke is levelled going from what felt plaint in ’Music For The People’ to something so much more indurate for ‘Streets In The Sky’.

Sing-a-long third track ‘Saturday’ is built for football stands and Saturday afternoons, a song made to play on iPods across the world to then imbed in the brain and drive you until you repeat. Only 4 tracks in ‘1-2-3-4’ teases and prods in a modern life in rubbish type manner, pointing the finger at the 9 to 5. Seamlessly asking ‘Why settle for second best?’. ‘Like A Dancer’ settles the heart rate but not the beat becoming the ‘Technodanceaphobic’ of the album.

‘Come Into My World’ furnishes the gap between start and finish of the 12 track release followed by album anthem ‘This Is Real’, another stand on the soapbox for The Enemy. Narrate the feeling of waking up on Sunday morning after painting a town all the colours you can think of, ploughing through the working week with every conscious thought aiming towards the clock out on Friday evening, ‘This Is Real’ is that track.

Sentimental feelings emerge through ‘2 Kids’, a acoustic laden 4 minutes depicting the story of best friends through school and work, how they will never grow up but know the times had will never return. ‘Turn It On’ growls in the aftermath of ‘2 Kids’, taking the adult approach to first album hit ‘Away From Here’ listen really hard and you can hear the same bass riff. A clear two fingers to everything ‘It’s A Race’ is crossed between punk and pop with added catchy chorus.

Penultimate track ‘Get Up And Dance’ has a feel about the 90s to it, Birmingham’s very own Ocean Colour Scene can be proud of the guitar work beside a Queen type drum beat. Think ‘Under Pressure’ meeting ‘Hundred Mile High City’. Ending track ‘Make A Man’ takes us back to track number 1, with the pace of ‘Gimme The Sign’ the sing-a-long chorus of ‘Saturday’ and catchy lyrics of ‘Like A Dancer’.

The Enemy have returned to what we once knew, and personally I cannot be more thankful. Social commentary, sentimental feeling and a fuck load of attitude. ’Streets In The Sky’ is one album I think will happily repeat itself a fair few times from start to finish.

Re-Issues : Eminem - The Marshall Mathers LP

Re-Issue number 2, coming to you all in the form of Eminem with ‘The Marshall Mathers LP’.

I remember quite clearly that this was another copied CD that I was given, I also remember having a 2ft poster of the cover art right in front of you in my then bedroom. I wouldn't say I was ever over exposed to hip-hop or rap, I would say that Madness was probably the closest it came. This album becoming my first ever foray into hip-hop.

Everybody remembers hearing ‘The Real Slim Shady’ and the video that came with it, the controversy that it caused and the outrage of parents worldwide. I wouldn’t say it was the track that hooked me on the album, ‘Stan’ which features a vocal sample from Dido was. The relationship between artist and fan clearly written in word and music, the deep bond that music can create is highlighted from start to finish in separate verse. The complete darkness of the whole track which feels exactly the same even now.

For me the album was an escape, an angst ridden album which understood how I felt even if I was completely wrong. It was more about Eminem and his escape, how he felt and how he felt he wasn’t understood. This album launched him to exactly where he wanted to be. Probably his best album to date.

Other highlights for me are ‘Kim’, a song that scared me so much after I heard it the first time I had to skip for a few weeks after, but now I clearly understand why it was written. The obvious ‘The Real Slim Shady’ which is hilarious but equally serious and ‘The Kidz’ a laugh out loud approach to everything that is bad for you.

ClubNME Portsmouth with The Sheepdogs & Kassassin Street

I started Saturday 12th May on a train from London Waterloo to Portsmouth, I’d just played Propaganda London with Russ from Bloc Party and DJ Dan. It was a spectacular night.

On my journey south I was blissfully made aware that an impromptu guerrilla gig was to take place in local Southsea shop Dresscode, where ClubNME headliners The Sheepdogs and locals Huw Olesker & The Barebackers were to play.

Fair to say anything impromptu takes a bit of work and effort, pulling numerous strings and a hell of a lot of patience the ClubNME Portsmouth team brought it together and packed out the tiny shop, all of whom attended then taking to social networks to praise and urge all to The Wedgewood Rooms for The Sheepdogs performance that very evening.

Previous ClubNME Portsmouth shows have seen Australian beach pop Bleeding Knees Club, NME lauded Cerebral Ballzy, album chart topping King Charles and indie upstarts TOWNS take to The Wedgewood rooms stage alongside a multitude of local talent to boot which has included Melodramas, Clayton Strange, The Planes and Curxes. With DJ’s poised, doors opened and we began to fill.

First act on the nights bill are indie-electro outfit Kassassin Street, with a recent EP release in motion they plough into their set headfirst. EP opener ‘Finger On The Pulse’ is a build hit, vocal harmonies ensue around a smattering of electronic vibes and some of the best guitar work I’ve seen locally for a long while. Kassassin Street bring 90’s indie to the modern day with their own edge, a set which is both pleasing to the eye and ear.

The nights headlines were Saskatoon, Saskachewans (That’s in Canada) The Sheepdogs. A band heavily praised by Kings Of Leon front man Caleb Followill, A band who are in history the only unsigned band to grace the front cover of Rolling Stone magazine and a band who in the previous few days had played at a venue called Sticky Mikes, which in fact lived up to it’s name.

Draped in late 60s vintage attire, beards a plenty and a handlebar moustache The Sheepdogs eased us all into their set. Closing you’re eyes for a second would instantly transport you from the moody red light of the stage, back into what you could mistake The Wedgewood Rooms to feel like in the 60s.

With a vocal that is clearly from the soul, front man Ewan Currie holds a guitar like a plastic toy (I’m unsure if he is a distant relative to WWF wrestler Big John Studd). Alongside Leot Hanson on guitar, Ryan Gullen on bass and Sam Corbett on drums they play The Beatles meets The Doors in the deep south with influences of Lynyrd Skynyrd, Creedance Clearwater Revival and The Jimi Hendrix Experience.

Throughout the whole set The Sheepdogs entice their audience deeper, while at intervals exchanging banter and anecdotes of back home. Tracks ‘Please Don’t Lead Me On’ and ‘Learn & Burn’ go down well though the odd shout for Lynyrd Skynyrd’s ‘Free Bird’ could be heard on occasions.
Ending their set wasn’t enough for the ClubNME audience though who chanted for more, The Sheepdogs then returned to play well known hit ‘I Don’t Know’ ending with monstrous applause.

It’s clear to see that the sounds that The Sheepdogs are making are seeping into the current musical climate, with bands like Alabama Shakes, Howler and Jack White taking it to the psychedelic euphoric vibe.
For those who attended The Sheepdogs at ClubNME Portsmouth will be well aware they have seen something special and it’s only a matter of time before we see them playing bigger shows and festivals in the United Kingdom.

Album Review : The Cribs - In The Belly Of The Brazen Bull

The brothers Jarman are Wakefields best export, alongside Claire Cooper (Jackie McQueen in Hollyoaks), Jane McDonald (You know, the one off loose women?) and party music legends Black Lace (Agadoo do do and all that). For a temporary time a member of The Smiths played in their band and they were championed by Steve Lamacq from the word go.

Tipped in the early years as ‘the UK’s answer to The Strokes’ The Cribs attracted attention from numerous major record labels, with warehouse parties and a number of split 7‘ with other bands. They eventually decided to sign with Wichita Recordings.
 In 2004 they headed to London to record first album ‘The Cribs’ which included fan favourite ‘Another Number’ ‘You Were Always The One’ (#66) and ‘What About Me’(#75) with NME dubbing  “These songs will soundtrack every festival, every drunken snog and every intoxicated shimmy“ together with an 8/10 rating.

The summer season of festivals approached and left subsequently leading the band back into the studio, though The Cribs aren’t just any band. Deciding against shutting up shop to record next album ‘The New Fellas’ and they took themselves on the road posting online to play shows for beer and fuel. This approach has been lauded in helping make the band who they are today. ‘The New Fellas’ was recorded with singer-songwriter Edwyn Collins, who said whilst recording that “they were proper indie; everything done on a shoe-string. they were tremendous!”.

‘Hey Scenesters!’ lead as the first release from ‘The New Fellas’ paving the way for the album the go on and sell silver (250,000 records) and becoming an ‘Album of the decade’ as voted by Q magazine readers. In the aftermath of the release of ‘The New Fellas’ The Cribs went on to sign with Warner Bros but continued their affiliation with Wichita Recordings in the UK.

Pushing lo-fi to the side ‘Men’s Needs, Women’s Needs…Whatever’ took The Cribs to Canada for recording with Franz Ferdinand front man Alex Kapranos, whom they met and hit off with while touring with Death Cab For Cutie in the US. First release from the album ‘Men’s Needs’ reached #17 in the UK and was the bands biggest hit to date with the album coinciding entering at #13. Other released from the album were ‘Moving Pictures’ (#38) and double A side album opener ‘Our Bovine Public/Don’t you wanna be relevant?’. ‘I’m A Realist’ was also released on vinyl.

Joined by Johnny Marr after a long extensive summer of festival performances, the band took to LA and to recording ‘Ignore The Ignorant’. Widely regarded as the bands most successful album to date it  peaked at #8 in the UK album charts with single ‘Cheat On Me’ reaching #80. The band then appeared at Reading & Leeds festivals respectively where Johnny Marr was to play his last shows with the band and commit himself to solo work once again. Along with the departure of Marr, The Cribs announced in that they were aiming to release their next album in May 2012.

Feedback ensues throughout the first few bars of ‘In The Belly Of The Brazen Bull’ and first track ‘Glitters Like Gold’, which has a boorish lyrical approach ‘It's a straight/like a friend/then you can be what you want/good’ monotone vocal with clattering guitars. Single release ‘Come On, Be A No-One’ then takes full control from what felt like a spiralling opener, the ever present Cribs charm turns to 11 and you fall into the indie abyss.

‘Jaded Youth’ feels post-’New Fellas’, lo-fi and rough. What feels the actions of  a drunken Friday night. a courageous, fist throwing anthem spewing out past tense. A desperate romance follows with ‘Anna’ it’s heart felt and open, it’s feeling every string that females pull unknowingly on young men across the country and beyond, it’s everything that The Cribs are, Sinister and explicit yet sentient and acquaint.

We go deeper with ’Confident Men’, a self indulgent 3 minutes of a lonesome view through the pint glass, mirrored by an empty bar. Everything that whirls through you’re mind while you are alone, or surrounded and hopeless. We tread indulgence once more through ’Uptight’ which could attach itself to the story of earlier track ’Anna’. What is most notable on the album is lyrically, The Cribs seem to have found heart. Romanticism is ripe yet drowned destitution.

Hype track ‘Chi-Town’ brings us back to the brink of The Cribs, the obvious attitude surrounded by the right amount of boisterousness. A track that was played 3 times by Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe which had the band and track name trending worldwide. Levelling out the playing field once again ’Pure O’ feels like a filler, the 2 cans you drink between the house you leave and the house you arrive at before a big night out. That big night out comes in the form of ’Back To The Bolthole’, the obvious swan song of ’In The Belly Of The Brazen Bull’. Imagine instead of initially smashing up the china shop, we browse and discuss our surroundings before the inevitable implosion and ‘Back To The Bolthole’ is just that. A clear 5 minutes of build and destroy.

Back to falling down the rabbit hole with acoustic ‘I should have helped’, a Jarman shaped confession, fathomed and misplaced among the more Indie-Punk driven tracks. ‘Stalagmites’ follows on from ‘Back To The Bolthole’ and it’s brazen assault adding the lo-fi of ‘Jaded Youth’ with a sprinkle of radio feedback. The emotional rollercoaster rolls on with ‘Butterflies’ which has a similar sound to The Cure, a ‘Boys don’t cry’ type acoustic guitar accompanies a gentle synth and Jarman vocal with xylophone breakdown. ‘Arena Rock Encore With Full Cast’ breaks out of the end of ‘butterflies’ with a choir of the Jarman brothers, what seems like apologising.

Most bands don’t reach the recording of 5 consecutive albums, most bands don’t manage to crack the American music charts, most bands aren’t The Cribs. ‘In The Belly Of The Brazen Bull’ is animalistic, strong and mature, a musical force to be reckoned with.

The brothers Jarman are Wakefield’s best export…

News Shot : Passion Pit return!

Passion Pit have returned with a follow up to the ever successful album ‘Manners’ which was released in 2009, after a long absence.

Late last night news broke with track ‘Take A Walk’ confirmed as the track to move them forward. The pedestal is strong and sturdy with ‘The Reeling’ and ‘Sleepyhead’ putting the electro-indie outfit in good stead, which could become an unfortunate burden.

‘Take A Walk’ is strongly backed by a brutal drumbeat, partnered beside the twinkling Passion Pit we remember ever so fondly. Marred by a repetitive chorus yet still sounding fresh, the foundations are still holding strong.

We can all hold on tight for album 'Gossamer' due for release in the early summer, and UK tour to follow.

On The Sonar : Imagine Dragons

Desert born contemporaries Imagine Dragons hail from Provo, Utah.
With a sound which fits perfectly between stadium rock and pop-folk, continued exposure in the states has led to numerous uses of their music in adverts, multiple performance at this years SXSW and most recently become MTV’s PUSH artist of the week.

Radar track ‘It’s Time’ has a sprinkling of  every radio friendly hit, grainy vocals accompanied by pounding drums and piano licks. A sound smack in between Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros and late Killers. Billboard Magazine rate them as “Alternative up and comers ready to go pop” and for me it’s only a short matter of time before the band make a jump across the pond and onto our airwaves.

EP 'Continued Silence' is available on Itunes and featured 6 tracks.

Re-Issues : Sum41 - All Killer, No Filler.

Re-issues is a little blog post I’m going to be throwing out every now and again, by re-issues I mean albums that influenced me from as long as I remember. This could literally be anything, to give you an open insight into the shaping of musical influences and taste. 

People say that sharing music is a bad thing, I can’t help but disagree. The first album that was ever shared with me was Sum41’s ‘All Killer, No Filler’ and to this day I can’t thank the person enough for introducing me.

At a ripe teenage age where I wasn’t sure of anything, where girls were something undiscovered and being clean wasn’t a necessity (was it?!) Sum41 brought something reassuring, that there was more to music than boy bands, Whitney Houston and Chas & Dave. Discovering pop-punk would shape the next few musical years in my teenage life.

When you think of Sum41 you instantly think ‘Fat Lip’ or ‘In Too Deep’ and you can’t be blamed but the album goes much deeper, tracks like ‘Summer’ ‘Crazy Amanda Bunkface’ and ‘Motivation’ are the backbone of the bands strongest and still biggest selling album. It became the first album that I could listen to from start to finish and then start again, which eventually lead to a scratched up CD and a replacement of the original instead of the copy.

So there it is, my first re-issue which isn’t too much in depth. 14 tracks lining up at just over 32 minutes, full of teenage angst, a two fingers to society and complete disregard for any rules.

ClubNME : The Sheepdogs preview

You could probably count on you’re hands the amount of bands who have played The Wedgewood Rooms AND graced the front cover of Rolling Stone Magazine, Now we can add The Sheepdogs to the list.

The Canadian 4-piece headline the ClubNME stage Saturday (12th May) sounding of what can only be  likened Psychedelic-Boogie-Rock. Described by Kings Of Leon front man Caleb Followill as ‘timeless from song to song’  alongside being mentored by every bodies favourite rocker Kid Rock, an endless line of plaudits transpires on.

It’s not always been plain sailing for The Sheepdogs, 6 long tough years has nurtured a flawless sound which has now paid off and led to tours with Kings Of Leon, appearances at numerous festivals (Coachella, The Great Escape, Bonnaroo) and gain television exposure across the America and worldwide.

Album ‘Learn and Burn’ has won Juno awards for ‘Single Of The Year’ ‘Best Rock Album Of The Year’ and ‘Best New Artist’ and have also just toured Australia.

If you are looking to be able to say ‘I saw them before…’ then this is certainly that band.



Support comes from local Portsmouth rockers Kassassin Street, a 5 piece band formed in 2010 who have supported the like of 2.54, Art Brut and The Big Pink. Exposure comes nationally from BBC Introducing and Amazing radio and they are currently recording a new EP ‘In a barn in the middle of nowhere’.

ClubNME DJ’s play between and after bands, tickets are available from The Wedgewood Rooms box office(Or click to website) at the bargain price of £4 and doors are at 10pm.

Reviewed : Mystery Jets - Radlands

Eel Pie Island has never quite been the same since the Mystery Jets upwards thrust into Indie, and they’ve come a long way since the famous island parties also.

Back in 2006 the band released ‘Making Dens’ on the brink of the NME awards tour alongside the established Maximo Park, (winning their first Brit award) Arctic Monkeys and the always audacious We Are Scientists. They hit a modest #32 in the UK album charts but gathered a loyal following from TV exposure as well as the release of ‘The Boy Who Ran Away’ and  re-release of ‘You Can’t Fool Me Dennis’. The band then parted company with Henry Harrison and began to tour the U.S.

They returned with ‘Twenty One’ in 2008, produced by DJ Erol Alkan and featuring Laura Marling on ‘Young Love’ the album had a new romantic 80’s feel and reached #42 in the album charts. Regardless of chart positions the band went on to release ‘Young Love’ and massive indie hit ‘Two Doors Down’ which led to performances at RockNess and the Reading & Leeds festivals that same year.

Suffering from the second album curse the band then parted company with record label 679 and signed with Rough  Trade records to then announce third album ‘Serotonin’, still firmly on a pop vibe ‘Flash A Hungry Smile’ was released as a free download before the releases of  ‘Dreaming Of Another World’ ‘Show Me The Light’ and title track of the album ‘Serotonin’. The album again reached #42 in the UK album charts leading them back into the studio to the now released ‘Radlands’.

The album starts gently sombre, speaking of ‘shit shaped holes in the sky’ Blaine obviously touching the subject of heaven and delving deeper lyrically. Significantly the first track on the album is titled ‘Radlands’ which has a Californian type intonation that influences the whole album. ‘You Had Me At Hello’ is a deep based love song committing to then letting go instantly, something most 18-30 year old are conscious of continuously in life. It feels that in only two tracks the Mystery Jets found their hearts and began to feel the music that they are creating, Blaine and William intense throughout.

‘The Ballad Of Emerson Lonestar’ has a desert feel, telling a story astronomically speaking. Questions of love once again arise slow and steady but left open ended with the lines ‘This time I want to show how it feels/This time love is real’. ‘Greatest Hits’ has a 70s Stealers Wheel sound, telling the same story…Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right ‘Greatest Hits’ is a greatest hit.

I’ve never been to church to praise but I imagine ‘The Hale Bop’ is what it would sound like, choir like vocals backed catchy chorus with Christian rock based guitar brought slamming to the ground by ‘The Nothing’ a track still within the four walls of church. Repent sin and acceptance of everyone around us, the album is said to be influenced by a meeting with a missionary named ‘Sister Everett’ who is mentioned further on through the album in the medium of music.

‘Take Me Where The Roses Grow’ is haunted by a current unknown female vocal, fathomed in lust but composed within each other with both vocals entwining beautifully. As previously mentioned ‘Sister Everett’ is dedicated to a missionary, organ based again accompanied by unknown female vocals. William was said to be on the edge of converting religiously which would answer why so much is asked of her. Towards the end of the track a choir joins leading into ‘Lost In Austin’.

Heaviest of the 11 tracked album ’Lost In Austin’ eases in but promptly bursts into a cataclysm of vocals, drums and a very prominent guitar. It’s what feels like a premature finish, 6 minutes and 20 seconds of build and drop, of guitar solos and screaming vocals which I feel would end ‘Radlands’ superbly alas ‘Luminescence’ follows. To the end again, stripped back to band and guitars leaving me with a glowing feeling inside and ignorant to suggest the earlier finish.

Mystery Jets came through with ‘Radlands’, a different direction hugely influenced by religion and the deep south. An album I feel on the right journey would be the perfect partner. No matter where ‘Radlands’ charts the boys can be happy as I am. A welcome addition to an ever growing collection.

Services resume...

It’s been a good few months since I posted blogs continuously, let’s just say life got a bit busy and I neglected bringing music to ears for a while (minus being a DJ)…Agreed?…

Business as usual will proceed from here, general articles on opinions and such, new bands and breaking news. We have a lot to catch up on. I do want to start bringing  in what I get up to in day to day life too, from what I’m listening to on my iPod to nights I’ve just played and setlists from those nights.

Hello from me again, I’m Rob Troubadour. 24 from Portsmouth, Hampshire, United Kingdom. I’m a DJ, I occasionally dabble in radio and travel A LOT!…