make do and mend – and so she thinks https://andsoshethinks.co.uk CREATE:COMMUNICATE:CONNECT Tue, 03 Jul 2012 19:37:24 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 https://andsoshethinks.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/cropped-FAVICON-90x90-1-32x32.png make do and mend – and so she thinks https://andsoshethinks.co.uk 32 32 Help Secret Rivals make music https://andsoshethinks.co.uk/help-secret-rivals-make-music/ https://andsoshethinks.co.uk/help-secret-rivals-make-music/#respond Tue, 03 Jul 2012 19:37:24 +0000 http://itsallhappeningmusic.blog.com/?p=1130
Due to the unfair nature of the music industry (nay, life), sometimes the best bands are not the ones awash with the cash to make the music they want to give to the people who want to hear it. To fund some of the recording and production of their debut album, Secret Rivals are going all Blue Peter, and asking fans to donate some cash to the pot, to be all pooled together and put to the project.
Of course, realising that not many people will do something for nothing, or just due to being cool chaps, as well as everyone receiving a copy of the album, they are offering a variety of goodies in exchange for a donation, including handwritten lyric sheets, personalised messages, VIP passes to a show, and the band playing your house party.
Head to their page to be part of this project and let music be made by making your pledge – let’s make this happen!
Don’t forget you can still buy their latest EP, Make Do And Mend Part 2 from a number of good online retailers.

]]> https://andsoshethinks.co.uk/help-secret-rivals-make-music/feed/ 0 Secret Rivals Make Do And Mend Part 2 – nice stuff people are saying… https://andsoshethinks.co.uk/secretrivalspress/ https://andsoshethinks.co.uk/secretrivalspress/#respond Wed, 02 May 2012 19:46:39 +0000 http://itsallhappeningmusic.blog.com/?p=1008 Secret Rivals land in May with Make Do And Mend (part 2), the follow up (as the name suggests) to the 2011 Make Do And Mend, which was picked up, praised and played by ,amongst others, indie taste makers Tom Robinson, Steve Lamacq and Rob Da Bank.
Continuing with their deliciously scuzzy pop sound, nfluenced by the likes of The Cribs, Johnny Foreigner, Los Campesinos, early Idlewild and 80s indie, Make Do And Mend (part 2) is full of arresting indie pop combined with punky razor sharp riffs. Previously unheard tracks The Part That Kills and I Hope She Knows are magnificently immersive explosions of tunes, the chaos of excitement and angst managing to be perfectly and powerfully contained within the song structure. The final, and title, track reveals a softer, more vulnerable side to the band, quivering vocals over a gently mournful melody, and the stripped back production courtesy of fellow Oxfordians Alphabet Backwards allows the track to simmer and soothe to its full capacity.
Released on May 28th, through It’s All Happening! Records, Make Do And Mend (part 2) is available to pre order now.
Once More With Heart is an energetic, upbeat behemoth of a track, spurred by a driving bass line perfectly showcasing theirharsh/melodic dual vocal attack’ – Oxford Music Blog
‘from the first note a musical breath of fresh air…an uplifting package; energetic, open-hearted and pleasingly free of pretension’ –  Nightshift

]]> https://andsoshethinks.co.uk/secretrivalspress/feed/ 0 Secret Rivals – Make Do And Mend https://andsoshethinks.co.uk/secret-rivals-make-do-and-mend/ https://andsoshethinks.co.uk/secret-rivals-make-do-and-mend/#comments Sun, 11 Sep 2011 00:01:53 +0000 http://itsallhappeningmusic.blog.com/?p=424 Out 15th September, on HasLegs Records.

Reviewed by Francesca Baker. 

The mp3 player automatically files Make Do And Mend as indie pop but to file Secret Rivals away as another melodic band with saccharin sweet guitars would be reductionist, not to mention wrong. Comparisons to Los Campesinos will never be removed, the oscillating melodies, conversant rallying vocals and medley of riffs that make Secret Rivals also being the bricks on which the former band have sustained their legacy upon. Make Do And Mend sees Jay, Clouds, Andrew and Reece start to build their own.
Ghosting is a great opener, immediate and direct, combining the best pop sensibilities of debut EP Start Fires with punky razor sharp riffs. Me vs Melodrama sees a softening of voice and some gorgeously smooth fretwork, fingers over the strings like silky yoghurt in a Muller ad, punctuated by  a ferocious rock riff that bundles the listener down.
Blisters is a standout track, the opening vocal of ‘you throw yourself open, arms stretched out, scars showing’ seeming to be what the Secret Rivals would have emblazoned across their chests should they choose to unearth the band’s musical manifesto and print it on t shirts.
Chiming chords delivered as though through a slightly distorted radio guaze kick off Tonight Matthew I’m Going To Be Myself until Clouds enthrallingly enters with ‘ I use lies as a means of escape.’ Don’t we all love. Although  I haven’t ever articulated it with such grungy gravitas. The three minute mark sees the myriad layers that Secret Rivals chuck in with such veracity converge into a fierce cauldron of sonic inspiration.
Indie pop has the somewhat demeaning tag of summery unavoidably interwoven, but Secret Rivals sound is one of English summer days – blustery wind in the face, threatening clouds passing through a baby blue sky, cool content afternoon cider that inflicts one heck of a hangover – life as it is, the sound of gritty reality amongst the soaring melodies.
Although the angst and amour, gravelly emotions and gritty excitement, soft sticking plasters of guitars and wounds inflicted by lacerating vocals that flood the room during their live shows are smoothed down on MDAM, this is still acres above  the category of ‘indie pop’ and its inverted commas.
I recommend you click here and make your purchase.

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