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!…

BBC Sound Of 2012 Longlist revealed.

At the end of every year a list is created telling us who will be big in the next year to come, it’s somewhat forced upon us through the medium of Internet and radio and precedes from January to December in that fashion until repeat. For the first time the list released for 2012 I totally disagree with what has been released.

The BBC Longlist sound of 2012 is as follows :

1. A$ap Rocky
2. Azealia Banks
3. Dot Rotten
4. Dry The River
5. Flux Pavillion
6. Frank Ocean
7. Friends
8. Jamie N Commons
9. Lianne La Havas
10. Michael Kiwanuka
11. Niki & The Dove
12. Ren Havrieu
13. Skrillex
14. Spector
15. Stooshe

The first highlight for me is the severe lack of guitar based music, the closest to come to the genre are Niki & The Dove, Spector and Dry The River, and none of them are new to the music scene but are signed and have industry backing.

Further up the list is NME cool lists number 1 Azealia Banks, an MC based in London VIA Manhattan already pulling in the plaudits and leaving labels scrambling for her signature. The list is top heavy in beat based or rap music with Dot Rotton, A$AP Rocky and Frank Ocean.

A sound firmly leaving a mark on the year just past was Dubstep. In the summer of 2009 Skream released his remix of La Roux’s ‘In For The Kill’ a track that would put the genre on the map, nearly 2 years later Skrillex is riding that wave. Alongside Skrillex is Flux Pavilion, Another producer who has been around since the late winter of 2010 playing numerous shows in support of Skrillex and many others.

Weird pop outfit Friends, a year too late Jamie N Commons guarantee a number 1, Corinne Bailey Rae throw off Lianne La Havas, surprise act Michael Kiwanuku(who could steal the whole list) and Micha B meets Daphne & Celeste pointless girl act Stooshe fill the blank ‘insert pop act here’.

It leaves me scratching my head as a DJ, I am partial to all the genres shared and love myself a good pop hook but a complete disregard for certain genres leaves me in complete disappointment of the 100 or so industry heads that compiled (or moulded) the music that is set to come through your television sets, radios and downloads over the year to come.

EP Review : Niki & The Dove - The Drummer

Niki & The Dove are a musical project from Sweden fronted by lead vocalist Malin Dahlstrom, Most recently seen on the NME Radar Tour. After being tipped in Scandinavians new sounds EP in 2010 the 3 piece jumped the water to break further. Most recent release ‘The Drummer EP’ was strongly pushed on the NME tour and boasts a late 2000’s electro sound which would cross Passion Pit with Little Boots. Other contrasts include tip of being a veiled La Roux. 

The EP starts with intro ’Sundog’ quickly and strongly with title track ‘The Drummer’ it’s fresh and new to the current electro scene though some could concede that there is too much going on, drowning vocals and scattering music to intensely. ‘Last Night’ slows the tempo into a mid album Empire Of The Sun type coma, Dahlstroms vocal are distinctive, endearing, easy on the ear and complimentary to compositions.

‘Mother Protect’ strips everything back to electro basics until a very abrupt vocal onslaught continuing  until the end. Short track ‘The Breath Of The World’ is an intermitted deluge of what sounds like Nintendo and Sega sound bites played through a very driven bass.  ‘Manon’ is reminiscent  of a Kate Bush vocal with foreign twang though once again the track lets itself down by including too much. Final track ‘The Birth Of The Sun’ eases us out of ‘The Drummer EP’ gently with euro synth.

It’s clear ‘The Drummer EP’ wasn’t set to break moulds in the UK but to imbed the name and sound into the mind, single ‘The Drummer’ is available to buy online. It is probably one of the best tracks of 2011 for myself and many are waiting for an endless amount of remixes. The future is bright for the Swedish 3 piece, a support slot for a major band and a headline tour in 2012 will settle them well into the current scene.

The Drummer by Niki & The Dove

DJ Setlist : Wolf Cub Club @ The Edge Of The Wedge

This is my setlist from last night Wolf Cub Club at the edge of the wedge. For anybody that has never witnessed me do a DJ set and such like...This is what you get, and a few little suprises in between too!

22:05 : Bear Cavalry - Dragon's Milk

22:07 : Vampire Weekend - Cousins

22:19 : Beats International - Dub Be Good To Me

22:21 : M.I.A. - Paper Planes

22:38 : MGMT - Time To Pretend

22:39 : Mark Ronson & The Business INTL - Bang Bang Bang

22:42 : Jamie T - 368

22:43 : Gorillaz - Stylo 

22:43 : Jamie T - 368

22:44 : Florence And The Machine - Drumming

22:48 : Beyoncé - Crazy In Love

22:51 : Soul II Soul - Back To Life 

22:55 : The Chemical Brothers - Galvanize

22:58 : Adele - Rolling In the Deep

23:00 : Survivor - Eye of the Tiger 

23:03 : White Lies - Fifty On Our Foreheads

23:06 : Gnarls Barkley - Crazy

23:11 : De La Soul - Me, Myself and I

23:13 : No Doubt - Hella Good

23:16 : Blur - Girls & Boys

23:18 : Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit

23:20 : Friendly Fires - Skeleton Boy

23:23 : Hot Chip - Ready For The Floor

23:24 : Far East Movement Feat The Cataracs & Dev - Like A G6

23:26 : Empire of the Sun - Walking On A Dream (South Central Bootleg)

23:28 : Major Lazer - Pon de Floor feat. Vybz Kartel

23:30 : Beyonce - Run The World (Girls)

23:32 : Rihanna - Only Girl (In The World)

23:36 : Wildchild - Renegade Master (Fatboy Slim Old Skool Edit) 

23:37 : Dizzee Rascal and Armand Van Helden - Bonkers

23:40 : Gossip - In The Way Of Control (Soulwax Nite Version)

23:44 : Jamiroquai - Canned Heat

23:45 : The Black Eyed Peas - My Humps

23:48 : Run Dmc - It's like that

23:50 : Supergrass - Pumping On Your Stereo

23:51 : Rick James - Super Freak

23:53 : Sting & The Police - Roxanne                       

23:57 : Arctic Monkeys - When the Sun Goes Down

00:01 : Bloc Party - Flux

00:01 : Reverend & The Makers - He Said He Loved Me

00:04 : Editors - Munich

00:08 : The Killers - Mr. Brightside

00:09 : Kings Of Leon - Fans

00:13 : Primal Scream - Loaded

00:13 : Happy Mondays - Step On

00:16 : The Mighty Boosh - Cockney Rap

00:18 : Cypress Hill - Insane In The Brain

00:19 : Lost Prophets - Last Train

00:24 : Blur - Country house

00:27 : Oasis - Wonderwall                    

00:28 : Jay-Z - 99 Problems

00:31 : Fugees - Ready Or Not

00:34 : Ace Of Base - All That She Wants 

00:39 : Jamie T - Sticks 'N' Stones

00:42 : The Specials - Too Much Too Young 

00:44 : Madness - Night Boat To Cairo

00:45 : The Prodigy - Out Of Space

00:47 : Fatboy Slim - The Rockafeller Skank

00:50 : SL2 - On A Ragga Tip

00:55 : The Beach Boys - I Get Around

00:56 : The Beatles - Hard Days Night

00:59 : Miles Kane - Inhaler

01:02 : The Clash - I Fought the Law

01:04 : Kings Of Leon - Four Kicks

01:06 : Arctic Monkeys - I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor

01:09 : Feeder - Just A Day                 

01:10 : Foo Fighters - All My Life

01:17 : Queens Of The Stone Age - No One Knows

01:19 : White Stripes - 7 Nation Army

01:24 : Pulp - Disco 2000

01:29 : Fall Out Boy - Sugar, We're Goin' Down

01:33 : Panic At The Disco - I Write Sins Not Tragedies

01:36 :  Papa roach - last resort

01:39 : R.kelly - Bump N Grind

01:41 : Red Hot Chili Peppers - SUcky My Kiss

01:44 : Aerosmith - Going Down & Love In An Elevator

01:48 : Led Zeppelin - Immigrant song

01:49 : The Mighty Boosh - Tundra

01:50 : Two Door Cinema Club - Undercover Martyn

01:53 : Darwin Deez - Radar Detector

01:56 : The Jam - Going Underground

01:59 : The Strokes - Last Nite

02:02 : Kings of Leon - The Bucket

02:05 : Mark Ronson Feat Amy Winehouse - Valerie

02:09 : The Coral - Dreaming Of You

02:11 : Jamie T - If You Got The Money

02:15 : Madness - Baggy Trousers

02:15 : Beastie Boys - Fight For Your Right

02:19 : Jay-Z And Linkin Park - Numb/Encore                   

02:22 : Commodores - Three Times A Lady

02:23 : Basement Jaxx - Where's Your Head At

Live Review : NME Radar Tour at The Wedgewood Rooms

Once again The NME Radar Tour landed in Portsmouth, With an offering of the unknown or known to the just over 100 in attendance. In previous years we have been lucky to see a plethora of talent through The Wedgewood Rooms doors which includes Anna Calvi, Hurts, Darwin Deez, Everything Everything, Friendly Fires, Maximo Park, White Lies, The Cribs and many more. This tour brings us a vast musical collection of bands in the form of Niki & The Dove, S.C.U.M and Wolf Gang.

Niki & The Dove

A cataclasm of noise began the first set of the evening, Niki & The Dove play Passion Pitt meets Ellie Goulding. It’s theoretically a girl and 2 guys with a lot of knobs that make a massive sound, every track that was played made Niki ever more endearing along with the thought that there could be so much more to come from the band themselves.

Stand out track ‘Drum’ was a fresh take with a catchy repetitive vocal lovingly partnered with the innovative dance moves of Niki herself. Personally I would have placed the band further up the line up but it was clear the band themselves were enjoying just purely performing to anybody who would listen.

S.C.U.M

Without introduction S.C.U.M began there set under lights but without hesitation after the first song lead singer Tom Cohen insisted on the view of the band be cut, the constants of the strobe be our only vision of them in shadows. Absent vocals and pretential (I made that word up, like pretentious and potential together) was the downfall of S.C.U.M, the gangly figure of Cohen was like watching a young Geldof pre-’I don’t like Mondays’ a swagger which didn’t score him high with the crowd.

The potential of the band is there, they are outspoken and completely out of the current musical scene. Where would you put them? What and where would they like to go from here? The questions are endless, But it does get very monotonous very quickly. A memorable performance but only for the white outlines that were left in my retina.

Wolf Gang

Anything to follow from the previous performance was a breath of fresh air, the ever humble front man of Wolf Gang Max took to the stage with his band for what seemed like the only performance the crowd were waiting to see. A band made of bands already passed included guitarist Gavin (formerly of Ghosts) and drummer Lasse (formerly of The Rakes) gave the edge on the performance.

I can’t help but wonder if Wolf Gang may have possibly missed the band boat with all the catchy riffs and bouncy pop…It’s all a bit Iglu & Hartley meets The Feeling. ‘Lions In Cages’ has a certain ‘Use Somebody’ vocal but ‘The King and all his men’ has been constantly whirring around my brain since seeing it performed. Shine a light over here, They deserve it.

An enjoyable evening with music very different in scales, I hope for good things of Niki & The Dove over the next year, S.C.U.M will continue below the radar until they feel ready to join us in the real world and Wolf Gang await the spotlight. The only downside of the evening was the lack of audience who I can only say missed out, As they always do.