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2月27日

Hot new band I dig - run, WALK!

Interviewing bands does get a bit tiresome after a while, and writing questions can get boring, so for this interview I just asked them whatever came into my head as I wrote them down and didn't even bother to put them in any logical order.

So apologies for the randomness.

run, WALK! are a two-piece from Hampshire who sound far, far run, WALK! photo by Steven Quinnmaturer than their age; both members are only 17 years old. They're a bass/drums noise-rock duo who make a racket that's both angular and discordant but at times melodic and even dancey at times. They should go on to do great things, and I asked them some questions:

 

1) Two-pieces seem to be back in fashion. Firstly, what band is your favourite two-piece? And also, how do you think it affects your dynamic as a band?

Matt- Yeah i know what you mean, they're popping up all over the place. As people'd expect what all started it for me was DFA 1979- they made me realise that two pieces could work. I currently don't have a favourite two piece but someone to mention would be our mates Castrovalva and this band I discovered the other night called Friendship. I'm constantly worried about how being a two piece can affect the sound of the band as i really don't want to end up as a band that always sounds the same, my only answer is pedals.

Tom- Me and matt try to compensate for a lack of members with cool sh*t. We cant afford it yet, but once we get some cash it's gonna be pirotechnicmania. Oh yeh, The TingTings really do it for me...

2) You're both under 18  - do a lot of people pick up on your age/comment on it? Is it even an issue?

Matt- well not for long! My birthday is coming up next week (March 2nd). It'll be sad to be see that novelty of being a band that's under 18 that gigs out of town and stuff go, when we're both 18 we'll turn into every other band.

Tom- I'm only 5 foot 4", so when it comes to getting asked my age I get really uptight. So don't get me started...

3) You seem to have had a really busy year so far already - what's the plan with your 7"/touring etc?

Matt- haha, i wouldn't say busy, we've only played two gigs. But yes we have been busy sorting out stuff for our release. in terms of touring we have no idea, but hopefully a humungous one in the summer.

Tom- Well I wouldn't say we've been that busy this year, I think when it gets to summer and we finally leave college it'll hopefully get mental in terms of gigging. Like Matt said, we've been more preoccupied getting the release sorted, we've started working with our new manager Peter from Fear And Records, which we are stoked about, cos he is AWESOME.

4) You seem to be very pro-active and busy doing things for yourselves and making things happen  - is this part of your work ethic?

Matt- Definitely we try to do as much for this band as possible, every night i'm on my bloody laptop trying to get gigs and other stuff for the band. Last year i somehow managed to ween my way out of being kicked out of college after successfully booking two (though very short) tours. Once we're out of college though it's gonna be non stop.

Tom- I don't really have a work ethic about anything, Matt does all the bookings and contacting people, but as soon as I pass my driving test, all the driving and stuff is gonna be down to me.

5) In the past you've played with some ace bands and got a gig with PABH coming up - do you think there's a good scene in the UK right now? Who have been your favourite band to play with so far?

Matt- I think the UK scene is definitely thriving at the moment, even when bands break up those people get in other bands and come up with something even better! Personally my favourite band to play with has been Blakfish. They were awesome to watch when they're playing and they're really nice guys and didn't treat us in a patronising manor which we tend to get from older/bigger bands.

Tom- yeah, s'alright i guess. Did I mention the Ting Tings?

6) As two 17 year olds from Hampshire, is there any element of being 'disaffected youth from a small town' in your music? How has your environment/surroundings affected you guys as a band?

Matt- On that subject, I just did a dissertation for media about The Enemy. Doing that has really made me despise them and all bands like them. However i think Hampshire does have an affect on our songs to an extent, i have a serious problem with some types of people that inhabit Hampshire, these are the people we sing about.

Tom- 90% of people from Winchester/Andover are c**ts.

7) When I was 17 I was too busy listening to Deftones and Smashing Pumpkins to start a noise rock duo - how did you guys get into the good music you're into?

Matt- When i was about 15 I started following local underground bands like Second Monday and Caesura, they were the big shots in Winchester I then remember seeing the Meet Me In St. Louis video for "Why, thank you Suzie" on the Sitcom Soldiers website when looking for the Second Monday video, then I got into Big Scary Monsters, then it all went downhill from there...

Tom- I still listen to what music I was bought up on, stuff like the Beatles and the who. Anything new and exciting generally comes from Matt over MSN.

8) What's been your favourite album of 2009 so far?

Matt- So far, Data Select Party, but its only a mini album. I'm looking forward to loads though, there are some amazing albums coming out this year!

Tom- Well its only February but I just got hold of the Friendly Fires album, which was released last year but its new to me. Its a good album too.

9) When did you start Run, WALK? Can you tell me how the band came together?

Matt- The original line up (old drummer and a girl singer) started back in the summer of year 10 (2006) playing LCD Soundsystem and RATM covers, soon after that we quickly decided that we wanted to be a mix of Be Your Own Pet and Whirlwind Heat. It all came together quite naturally really, I'd been playing with James (old drummer) since yr 7 so we felt we should give something a go. The original singer Tash kinda grew away from the band very quickly as she realised it wasn't for her, so I took up "vocals". Things didn't actually properly start until the beginning of 2008 though.

Tom- I joined in September last year after some drunken talk with Matt at my friends birthday and Reading festival. Then all I had to do was assassinate James...

10) Tell me a secret about the band.

We mime... everything.

 

Playlist: Smashing Pumpkins, Deftones

2月26日

The best albums of 2009

..so far.

Slightly premature to be thinking about this, I know, but the new Trail of Dead album keeps making me think how I'm not quite psyched about any of the new albums that are out. Well, not overly. PS I've made a Spotify playlist which includes some of these and more which you can open here.

...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead - The

The Century Of Self [Limited Edition: CD+DVD]

Century Of Self

Like all of their albums, I take a few listens to get hooked (if I do at all, see their last one). This has perhaps taken longer and I'm persevering with it partly out of my own indignant opinion that I simply should like them. Now I do quite like it, but it's a 7/10 for me, 7.5 at a push. My favourite moment is probably the galloping guitar riff at the beginning of 'Isis Unveiled' which makes me imagine Conrad et all charging on horseback into battle clutching their guitars like weapons. Maybe the cover concept for their next album? 'Cos this one definitely sucks.

 

Alight of NightCrystal Stilts - Alight Of Night

I agree that the last thing the world needs right now is another band called "Crystal _________", but if I want to listen to a band who sound like they're from Manchester circa 1981 and have piled on the jangly guitars and reverb, this does the job quite well. Pretty excited about seeing them at Primavera now.

 

Antony & The Johnsons - The Crying Light The Crying Light

I've got in the habit of listening to this at work, and I've noticed a 65% decrease in my productivity. There aren't many new singers who can stir up something quite so harrowing with what always seems like the simplest of song structures, but our Antony does the job well.

 

 

Dance MotherTelepathe - Dance Mother

I don't know if there's a genre of popular music which elicits such a bad taste in my mouth as 'electro', but it's kind of the easy way to describe Telepathe as 'experimental noise' seems way off. They're hip, from Brooklyn, and make some banging tunes on this album, which was of course produced by Dave Sitek of TV On The Radio/Foals ditching him fame.

 

Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavillion Merriweather Post Pavilion

Why didn't they just make an album with 'My Girls' on it 11 times instead of this?

 

 

 

New Appleseed Cast has just come out so I'm gonna get that and hopefully my attitude to this year's new offerings will improve.

 

Playlist: All of the above.

2月25日

For lent I have given up.....

Music forums. I'm not going anywhere near them for 40 days, hopefully longer.

 

Playlist: Phosphorescent, Yo La Tengo

2月18日

Primavera Sound 2009 line-up (60%) announced!

I can't have been the only person refreshing the Primavera Twitter at midday today:

image

Announcing the line-up this way was actually much more exciting than I thought it could've been and I think I audibly gasped when I read this:

image

 

Here's a few of the acts I'm mega excited about, so far:

A Certain Ratio - They were already announced, but their UK gig with ESG has been cancelled so this better be good!

Aphex Twin - Could potentially be out of this world.

Bloc Party - Some people seemed to be annoyed at this choice but I can't wait to see them as it'll be my first time.

Crystal Stilts - I've been listening to Alight of Night a bit and it's good.

Gang Gang Dance - But will they actually make it now they are sans equipment?!

Mahjongg - Only just got into these but could be amazing live!

Sonic Youth - YES

The Bug - I'm still getting over the disappointment of their album launch show last year.

The New Year - Will provide some much needed rest times.

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - This is more out of some mild hype than anything really.

For the full line-up (so far) go here.

 

Playlist: The bands I haven't heard before who are playing Primavera
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2月16日

Hot new band I dig - Narrows, aka hardcore all-stars

We may already have Minus The Bear, These Arms Are Snakes Narrowsand Roy (no, I haven't actually listened to Roy either) but when it comes to ex-Botch bands, I've been waiting for the one where Dave Verellen is actually allowed to let rip again.

And so we have Narrows. Unless I've missed something massive here Narrows don't really seem to have entered onto many people's radars which is surprising when you consider the hardcore hiperati line-up which includes ex-members of such bands as Some Girls, These Arms Are Snakes, Unbroken, and, obviously, Botch. Interestingly, it also features Brit Jodie Cox who was in the amazing Bullet Union and currently in Tropics. Dedication.

Narrows still have Verellen raging again but they're less metal and more experimental post-hardcore than Botch were. There's already an EP out on Deathwish and an album is following 'soon'. ACE!

Narrows "Chambered" Live
  

 

Playlist: Yo La Tengo
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2月13日

Sonic Youth - The Eternal

This is partly to report news of their new album and part a Sonic Youth the eternal packshot artworkpublic plea to the people of Primavera festival to PLEASE GET THEM TO PLAY OK!

Anyway, news is their 16th album The Eternal isn't out until June so we've still got a bit of a wait. Here is the tracklisting:

1. Sacred Trickster
2. Anti-Orgasm
3. Leaky Lifeboat (for Gregory Corso)
4. Antenna
5. What We Know
6. Calming The Snake
7. Poison Arrow
8. Malibu Gas Station
9. Thunderclap For Bobby Pyn
10. No Way
11. Walkin' Blue
12. Massage The History

If you're not much of a fan of the music you'll be happy to know Kim's clothing line for Urban Outfitters is out on Monday. Oh wow.

 

Playlist: M Ward, Fever Ray

2月11日

There was a time when Twitter was about more than following musicians...

...but right I like it for this:

image

New Album Leaf album in the works. YES.

Playlist: Atlas Sound

2月6日

People from old amazing bands form new amazing bands

Don't you hate it when people talk about a band but just say 'yeah it's so-and-so who used to be in XYZ'?? As if that's enough to tell you about them? Yeah, me too, it's annoying. Here are 2 new bands I dig, formed from old bands who I really love.

image So Mi Ami includes 2 ex-members of Black Eyes and I suppose that's a good place to start with their sound. It evolves beyond percussive/bass heavy post-punk though to include as many made-up genres as you care to get confused by, including disco tribal beats, noise jazz and more.

Mi Ami - New Guitar (From RCRDLBL)

 

Frontier(s) features Chris Higdon from one of my all time Frontier(s) favourite bands, Elliott, and that's basically enough to get me all worked up about them. A quick glance at their Myspace tells me they have supported Taking Back Sunday and have annoying punctuation, but who cares, IT'S THE DUDE FROM ELLIOTT.

 

 

Playlist: John Fahey, The Cramps
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2月4日

Bands everyone likes apart from you

Maybe it's something to do with that Christian Bale remix doing the rounds but today I am so full of hate.

Here are my top 3 bands I'm just not that into:

1) Pavement

Soz guys, love 'Stereo' and all whenever I hear it out and Pavementeverything but 99% of the time you bore me to death. I saw this band when I was 12 (V96) and have to say, I was only at that festival to see the Longpigs, Pulp and Cast so the fact they played had no interest for me then and probably even less now. (Side note - how amazing were the Longpigs?)

2) Animal Collective

Listened to Merriweather Post Pavillion on Spotify this morning and have to say, when did Animal Collective become the self-conscious yet slightly watered down version of themselves? I find every other song so-so but on the whole I'm not interested, and did not get the hype at Primavera last year.

3) Fu*ked Up

I don't hate this band by any stretch, I just do not get how or when they suddenly became the reference point for new hardcore bands and who made them sign a contract stating they had to play the Old Blue Last 7 times a year. Yeah something to do with the Vice connection blah blah blah, and live I admit I did enjoy them at Supersonic, but mid-paced hardcore with songs which last longer than 6 minutes tends to get boring fast.

 

Playlist: Jay Reatard
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