SINGLE: DESERT SHIPS - CONTROL

Listen Up for the new single 'Control' from London based 3-piece Desert Ships who describe their music as "A swirling mass of sound, light and heavy rhythm. Trip-tonic space rock." - the single (and album) was recorded in an Oxford farmhouse and was produced by Mark Gardiner, formerly of the band Ride, who described working with Desert Ships as "a total pleasure, a total trip". Check out the video (below) - the single is released for a digital download on 5th of November. If you enjoy what you hear then head on over to www.desertships.com for more info on the band and get on board with Desert Ships!

ONLINE: SONGS IN THE KEY OF JAY

Listen Up Manchester sometimes keeps its ears open for good music coming from outside of Manchester too..... yes even if it is from Leeds, so you should all go and check out the lo-fi folk & fuzzy pop tunes of 'Songs in the Key of Jay'. Check out the video below or listen to the album 'Not Much of a Statement' online at Soundcloud here: http://t.co/IM4mddW0 Enjoy!

PHOTO EXCLUSIVE: DJANGO DJANO - HMV RITZ 23.10.12

On Tuesday the 23rd October Django Django played to a packed out audience at the HMV Ritz in Manchester. We sent our photographer John Cooper along to capture the band live in action. For the full set of Django Django photos head over to our facebook page here: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.284797431637143.63863.280480832068803&type=1

GIG: THE GASLIGHT ANTHEM

Review by Jon Birch
Photos by John Cooper

The Gaslight Anthem live at the Manchester Apollo - 18.10.2012

I have to start this piece with a confession. I'm an absolute Gaslight nut. Even so, I’ll try and give an unbiased account of an evening with one of the best bands in the world right now (ok, unbiased from the next paragraph!).

I was lucky enough to see the band last time around at The Apollo on the American Slang tour and this set was bigger and bolder. With a larger array of songs at their disposal, the band hammered straight into it and proceeded to play a track from each of their four albums to open the show. These included the fan favourites ’59 Sound and Diamond Church Street Choir which built the atmosphere up nicely and got everyone jumping from the off.

Much has been made of the comparison to Bruce Springsteen but these guys have carved their own sound now, albeit one that owes a debt to the likes of The Boss and Tom Petty. Brian Fallon was on great form and his voice is better than ever live, but its often Alex Rosamilia’s infectious guitar licks that hook you into a song in the first place. The highlight of the set for me was a cover of Bon Iver’s Blood Bank with a Gaslight twist.

A great performance from a band who are just maybe on the brink of something huge.

ALBUM REVIEW: JAKE BUG (self titled)

Listen Up Manchester Album Rating: 7/10

Seems Jake Bugg is the latest "new sensation" - everyone claiming he's the new Dylan - a fair comparison as his sound is very similar to early Dylan (although somtimes like on "Trouble Town" we would liken him more to Woodie Guthrie), I even read someone comparing him to Lee Mathers (frontman with the La's), but whoever he may sound like and be influenced by, Jake Bugg's debut album is a very good collection of songs that should be seen in its own light. Its a good mix of up tempo rockabilly folk with some great balads in there too. Despite being labeled as having a retro sound - Jake Bugg also has a very fresh new feel to it - all in all a very good debut album from a young artist on the up!

ALBUM REVIEW: THE VACCINES - COME OF AGE

Listen Up Manchester Album Rating: 8/10

Last year the Vaccines released their debut album "what did you expect from the Vaccines" and swiftly became one of the big new indie sensations.  Just over a year later they release the eagerly awaited follow up album "come of age", and it doesnt dissapoint delivering a set of much more developed indie pop songs. The first album was a short sharp burst of electric punky/indie adolesent pop - but "come of age" does exactly what its title implies - giving us much more considered songwriting and a wider range of sounds & styles. Check out the Telstar style guitars on "I always knew" or the darker sounds and lyrics of "Wierdo" & "Ghost Town".
There are some instant stand out tracks - "No Hope" & "Teenage Icon" being our particular favourites and showing the Vaccines going from strength to strength. All in all its a cracking second album that keeps us listening and relistening - a triumphant return from the Vaccines and they seem to have tackled the "difficult second album" without breaking their stride!

IN CONVERSATION WITH: NEWTON FAULKNER

Interview & photography by John Cooper

10th October 2012 - Manchester Apollo

Listen Up Manchester was granted an interview with Newton Faulkner prior to his Manchester show to talk about his new album and tour, music & cheese!


Listen Up Manchester:  Hello Newton, welcome back to Manchester, your new tour started 10 days ago, how has it been going so far?

Newton Faulkner:  REALLY good..... the new songs work so well live, they're instantly translatable & are very sing along. I'd really like to get the crowd harmonising somehow. This is the first all seated gig so maybe I'll try to get them harmonising tonight.

LUM:  You're on tour with your new album - how would you say "write it on your skin" differs from your previous 2 albums?

NF:  It's definitely a different animal & writing wise its a big step up, the songs are much bigger. Looking at the whole situation my last album was the most personal album i've done...... most of it was written on tranqualisers, but this album has an overriding positivity, but it's balanced - you cant really have a song saying everything's great, it's not really the time for that, so it has a layer of realism to it.

LUM:  In my research I noticed that you started out playing in a Green Day covers band - are you still a big fan?

NF:  Yeah, I played bass! I still love to see they are still going now. Whenever they have a new album out....... (he grins and lets out a reminisent) Awwww.

LUM:  Who else are your main musical influences & heroes?

NF:  They're massively numerous - there's so many different streams - the singers, writers, players. Eric Roache, Thomas Leeb in terms of playing. Tom Waits, Randy Newman writingwise. And vocally Bobby McFerrin - he just makes everone else look lazy. Recently I've been listening to the Son of Dave album "Shake a Bone" a lot.

LUM:  That leads us on to the next question nicely - are there any new bands you've been listening to lately you would recommend we check out?

NF:  I'm still catching up on the last 400 years of music. For new stuff I saw Metronomy & AltJ play to about 20 people before they took off. Fiest - which is just increadibly recorded. Grinderman. And Keaton Henson who is beautifully depressing - he's on spotify.

LUM:  What would you say are your proudest achievements to date?

NF:  Hmmmm........ (after quite a pause Newton gives a baffled smile and says) no idea! (a bit more thought and another grin he comes up with) I haven't had to get a proper job yet!!!...... Oh and my son, he's just great right now and becoming more and more interesting.

LUM:  So what is next for you after this tour?

NF:  There's a possible Japanese trip and then its Christmas! I'm gonna spend some time at home & writing..... I'm always writing. The lifespan of albums have gone down dramatcally in recent years. You're constantly in demand for new stuff - you can probably survive just on EPs these days, the rules are changing all the time.

LUM:  I have to ask.... I noticed your middle name is Battenburg (the previous interviewer had given him a knitted Battenburg Cake as a gift - to which i pointed). Is your middle name in any way cake related?

NF:  It's actually my mothers maiden name so probably goes back........ years - i dont know how far, maybe I should look into it.

LUM:  Just to finish off with & also on the subject of food, I actually also run a cheese blog, and would love to know, are you a fan of cheese and what is your favourite cheese?

NF:  I'm a big fan of cheese, I tend to go extreeme with cheese like a strong blue - I like Roquefort. And you really cant beat bacon with melted brie - possibly the best flavour combination ever!

LUM:  Thank you very much for your time Newton.

  

LISTEN UP: FINDLAY

Here at Listen Up Manchester - we have just been turned on to Findlay! As her publicity says: "Findlay is a new 20-something artist from Manchester, and Your Sister and You Gave Me Grace are her first offerings - evoking a gritty and raw garage fuelled energy that could easily give her male counterparts a clear run for their money when she hits the stage. There's a limited 7" released on Manchester label Joyeux Anniversaire Records and she's already won the attention of Jake Bugg who's taking Findlay on tour around the UK in November."
We can say that having checked out her music & video online we think she is awesome!!!
You should all get down to the Castle Hotel on Oldham Street on the 12th October and check her out! (www.findlaymusic.com). If you cant make the gig then check out her video and Listen Up Manchester to Findlay:

DOWNLOAD: WE ARE AUGUSTINES iTUNES SESSION

Review by Jon Birch

Following We Are Augustine’s barn-storming set at the Ritz (see Listen Up Manchesters writeup:  http://listenupmanchester.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/gig-we-are-augustines.html), it almost felt like there was something missing on my next listen to their (none the less excellent) studio album, Rise Ye Sunken Ships.

This led me to the web to see if any live recordings of the band were available. After a quick search I was excited to find that the band had recorded an Itunes Session set released in May 2012. Though not recorded in front of a live audience, this reasonably sized EP of 7 tracks does give you a feel for the chemistry of the band and the atmosphere they can create. Billy McCarthy’s voice can be both haunting and powerful, none more so than on the anthemic, Juarez (a song that’s begging for a wider audience). A massive track on the album, this bursts into life on this live set. As a life long Boss fan, it was also great to have the EP finish with a tender cover of Springsteen’s Tougher Than The Rest.

In summary, this is a great introduction to a band very much in the ascendency(at a very reasonable £3.99!) and hearing the songs live gives them an extra edge.

GIG: WE ARE AUGUSTINES

We Are Augustines live at the HMV Ritz - 03.10.2012

One of our favourite live bands We Are Augustines - back in Manchester (3rd time I'd seen them this year) and played at the Ritz. It was very different from the first time I'd seen them back at the Night & Day cafe on Oldham Street earlier on in the year - a very exciting gig in a small venue, they'd gone from that to playing the Ritz in about 6 months (with a stop off at the Academy 3 inbetween) - they had grown, but their live set had also grown - with the addition of an extra member (and a 3 man horn section also!). They were still great up there, I did feel it maybe took them a few songs to fully find thier stride, but none the less they were pretty amazing - they really seemed to be enjoying themselves and were very humble to be playing there. A fun night at the Ritz - We Are Augustines..... you are awesome!