Everything Everything – and so she thinks

Live At Leeds 2013

admin — Sun, 05 May 2013 19:06:12 +0000

Leeds is a city brimming with musical talent and enthusiasm, every northern street oozing some kind of inspiration and output, and the annual Live At Leeds festival sees a whole host of bands join the homegrown musicians to celebrate and showcase the best in new music. This year, the city slicking festival’s seventh year, saw over 120 artists performing across the city, from native and highly successful Yorkshire lads The Pigeon Detectives to new and emerging Witch Hunt, local legends Sky Larkin to New York newbies MS MR, and straight up swilling rock’n’roll band The Struts to soulful synths courtesy of Lulu James. Determined to see as many bands as possible, without running around the city like a relentless parking attendant on speed, we spent Saturday 4th May discovering some new favourites.
Kicking off at uber cool Nation Of Shopkeepers was young Georgia Thursting. Soulful and skittish, Georgia and her band played a funk and bluesy melange, all short songs about love and heartbreak. For those keen to find out more, the helpful lass has made it easier to hunt her down amongst the devilishly densely populated world wide web, stressing to the titters of captivated gentlemen the doe eyed songstress stressed that her name is not Thrusting but Thursting. Told.
Menace Beach have been something of a buzz band of late, and their short (15 mins max) set revealed why. Pivoting around the boy girl dynamic duo of Ryan and Liza and supplemented with members of Sky Larkin and Hookworms, their scuzzy grunge riffs and furiously grooving melodies have been turning heads.
Live music in a church is always a winner, especially when accompanied by a pint, and today was no different. Leeds’ Holy Trinity Church is one of the county’s most eminent art spaces, and we arrived in time to catch the end of George Ezra‘s set. The shifting strains of this young songsmith resonated through the rafters of the church, his vocals and notes blossoming into inspired and invigorating tunes. After his final notes died away and we were left with chills, we ran to Mill’s, the least practical venue ever imagined, to cTxh the bluesy swing of Liverpool born David Broad, all toe tapping eccentricity.
DH Lawrence’s Sons And Lovers is one of my favourite books of all time, its detailed and delicate dissection of the complexities of relationships and resolutions so striking and powerful, subtle in their sophistication. The band of the same name are more immediately brash and accessible, like a version of White Lies meets Vampire Weekend, or something similar. Soaring choruses and simple melodies, they make good, yet somewhat entry level indie.
Next up was a sprint up to the Uni to see what Post War Glamour Girls had to offer. Straddling pendulum style between glorious soaring strings and harmonies and angst driven roars and rumbles, this home grown band sent shivering and colossal shifts through the crowd as they captivated via their intimidating and heavy ambience. Australian indie rockers Deep Sea Aracde were up me their raucous and furious rock crackling with punishing thrills on the stage.
I can’t remember a time in my life when my aural excitement hasn’t been fuelled by guitar wielding bands, but apparently guitar music has been dead for a while, and Savages are the band to bring it back. The following statement may have me vilified and marginalised by small music press, but, really? Not nearly as tantalising and the reviews and hyperbole would have you believe, the set was frustrating and limited, failing to set me alight. I seemed to be alone however, as the crowd rocked and swayed with adulation. Wolf Alice have been making waves on the airwaves with their stupefyingly youthful melodies and crackling hooks, and today’s gig reassured early fans that their faith was not misplaced. Poppy 90s influenced grunge flecked with thrillingly steadfast riffs, they could well be one of the new waves of bands to last longer than a few months.
By this point the Cockpit was already operating a one in one out system as the queue snaked multiple streets from the venue. The crowd lined up in anticipation of something of a buzz line up, with Peace and their fellow B town buzz band Swim Deep on the bill, punctuated by the gritty and soaring Unknown Mortal Orchestra. The latter are seductively sincere, their grubby tumbling songs instinctive and invigorating. Particularly potent and thrilling onstage, their vivid and resonant melodies were delivered in a somewhat seismic fashion. With both Swim Deep and Peace you know what you are getting, and they rarely disappoint. Sunny grunge, soaring choruses, languid and defiant lyrics and entrancing guitars, both bands banged out tune after tune. Even in the dark and wintry tunnel of the Cockpit Swim Deep’s summer tune King City warmed and welcomed with spirit. Despite Peace lead singer Harry’s best attempt to distract from the musical output of his band, by rocking a sartorial ensemble put together by cutting up his grandmother’s curtains, tablecloth, and carpet, all in one outfit, he was unable to detract from what are some absolute belters of songs, Lovesick and Float Forever being particularly riotous.
As the final notes of played and the crowd descended into indie disco, the overwhelming feeling was one of success. Sore feet, followed by an even sorer head the next morning, hut a whole host of newly discovered bands to further investigate, and even more that I could not fit into the day but have added to the list to find. Another year and yet further proof that this northern city has a lot to offer.

Live At Leeds 2013

admin — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 17:19:26 +0000

It’s important to know (and I say this as someone who lives in London and grew up dreaming of doing so) that the capital is not always where it is at. Cities across the UK are bubbling with creativity and musical delight, and in fact the more succinct style of many cities means that as a genuine hub and collective for musical creativity they function better than the expansive and competitive London. Leeds is one such example, and Live At Leeds, an annual festival since 2007, celebrates the local whilst not being so narrow minded as to presume that the rest of the UK is devoid of talent, uniting the best upcoming local bands alongside more established national acts.
Taking place over May Bank Holiday, this year the weekend kicks off with The Unconference , a schedule of seminars and talks on the music business. Curated by whiskas (¡Forward, Russia!, Dance To The Radio, IMGNTN) and supported by Leeds Metropolitan University, the focus this year will be around networking and the landscape of music consumption in the digital landscape, a pertinent issue for creators, consumers, and everyone in between.
It’s this that I like about Live At Leeds ; it’s not just about stumbling from bar to bar lagered up (although I love that too), but about a genuine love for music and how to make it sustainable and exciting for everyone involved. Oh yeah, and the fact that it is only £22.50 for over a hundred bands, including Little Comets, Tribes, Maybe She Will, Sons & Lovers, Theme Park, Wolf Alice, Darwin Deez, The 1975 and Yorkshire favourites Pigeon Detectives.

White Lies, Everything Everything & I Am Arrows @ Shoreditch Town Hall, 28 Oct 2010

admin — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 19:22:49 +0000

Francesca Baker

In a venue as grand as Shoreditch Town Hall, you don’t expect to be getting your rocks right royally off (in the musical sense) on a Thursday night, but when the line up is as good as this, I guess who would think otherwise.
I Am Arrows kicked off proceedings, and whilst ex Razorlight drummer Andy Burrows is probably used to some more exuberant crowds, the tight delivery and striking guitar work certainly whet the appetite of the polite audience. Combining the rotundity of We Are Scientists (his current band) with the ticking beats of Razorlight, the debut album should be a good’un.
Sprightly strings and bouncing vocals are what we’ve come to expect from Everything Everything, and tonight they were as effervescent as ever, running through the crowd pleasing ‘My Kz Ur Bf’ and ‘Suffragette, Suffragette’ amongst others. Shrill as a tin whistle, lead singer Jonathan Higgs was on sparkling form.
The band to really set things ablaze was White Lies. It’s sometimes dangerous showcasing new material, especially at a gig where the majority of the crowd are competition winners through Spotify and Three’s Now Playing series, but new songs ‘Streetlights’, ‘Is Love’ and ‘Holy Ghost’ were intense and engaging. Although there were mutterings that the new tracks did not really represent any boundary pushing on White Lies’ part, when hearing the dark ‘To Lose My Life’ and pulsating ‘Strangers’ you have to ask why anyone would fix something so clearly not broken. A thrilling ‘Farewell To The Fairground’ ended the night, but with new album ‘Ritual’ on the horizon, it looks like the fun is not over just yet.

Bounce Into The Year

admin — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 19:41:01 +0000

Finally, the flowers are starting to peak through the soft soil to signify the start of Spring after the horribly harsh winter.
Now is the time to give your music collection a spring clean, but you don‟t have to stick rigidly to a „One to watch‟ list, or worry about what‟s hot in 2010.
Just make sure that you take that embarrassing The Bravery album down to the local charity shop/incinerator (we‟ve all made THAT honest mistake) and make sure you revitalise your collection with the following bands.
A mix of old and new, hyped and non, these bands will make the dark nights bearable.
1. Little Comets Much advocated in the past by It’s All Happening, Little Comets are perfect indie pop that will put a bounce in to your stride on a sunny Spring morning. Little Comets are jovial, and they’ll make you happy too.
2. Local Natives From LA, Local Natives released their debut album ‘Gorilla Manor’ in Nov 2009. Gorilla Manor is a fantastically strong album unafraid to mix classic indie rock with a variety of sounds such as strings and percussion. Brilliant.
3. Kasabian The capitulation of Oasis in 2009 left an arrogant rock’n’roll band shaped vacuum in the British music scene. Kasabian are the band to fill that hole and their three brilliant albums Kasabian, Empire and West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum totally justify any arrogance.
4. Minaars Another Leicester band but one with a completely different sound to that of Kasabian. Minaars are about their rhythm and their raw noise. Single ‘Busy Hands’ is a tune, look out for more from them throughout 2010.
5. CHEW LiPS The electro pop three piece, comprised of Tigs, Will and James, released their debut album ‘Unicorn’ at the end of January 2010. The trio combine catchy lyrics with beats that make you boogie until your heart is content.
6. The Drums Ahhh. The Drums are lovely. And happier than the photo suggests. If you put on The Drums you’ll immediately feel like you are on a beach in Miami. Or maybe California. Either way, it’s a much nicer feeling than being able to hear the rain lash down against your window in a freezing cold room in West London.
7. The Temper Trap Three sell out shows in three nights at Shepherds Bush Empire suggest that The Temper Trap aren’t doing too badly for themselves. It’s what the Aussie three piece deserve though. Get your hands on debut album ‘Conditions’ and then pray that they are back in England again soon.
8. The Strokes Not a new band, of course, but The Strokes helped to define the first decade of the new millennium. They are set to play several festivals this summer and will also be back in the studio this year. Ten years on, no music collection is complete without their back catalogue.
9. Everything Everything Everything Everything are set for a big 2010, as all with a musical crystal ball will have been telling you. They are radio friendly, they are fun and they are a worthy addition to your CD shelf and computer hard drive.
10. Male Bonding Male Bonding do the simple things well. Their musical stock is likely to rise throughout 2010, especially as they are on tour with Vivian Girls and then The Soft Pack. Sort out your music collection with a bit of Male Bonding.