Warpaint Live Review

Following a series of cancelled shows due to ‘family issues’, tonight’s gig has consequently been much anticipated. As the rich diversity of people swarm into The Institute, huddled fans highlight Warpaint’s immense popularity and the admirable level of success that they’ve achieved over the past five years. And, by the end of a thrilling and completely captivating 14-song set, it isn’t difficult to see why.

From the hair-raising opener Warpaint to the gently intense Love is to Die, the show is an unflinching triumph. A strong setlist seamlessly weaves in and out of their two albums, pleasing the crowd with new and old favourites such as Undertow and Disco//Very. Lengthy eight-minute new single No Way Out proves itself as the pivotal moment of the show, as the ingenious instrumental interplay punches through the air, serving as a reminder of Warpaint’s relationship with the live setting. Layered with Kokal and Wayman’s ghostly vocals, their luring lullabies pierce the hot room with high note heartbreak, Stella Mozgawa’s funk-driven drums all the while injecting both the crowd and band with an energy for dancing, before cooling it down a notch with a stripped-back version of Composure.

The night ends with the dark and lingering Biggy, which tells again that Warpaint are just as bewitching and sensual as they are quirky and erratic, making their multifaceted music as addictive as their naturally mesmerising presence. By the end of the evening, it’s difficult to remember that this band is only two albums deep, making the wait for what is yet to come unquestionably intriguing.

Lucy Rose Live Review

“If you’ve seen my new video, you will have seen different animals eating different kinds of food off my body…not in a weird way… well, actually, no, in a very weird way…” Lucy Rose goofily gushes at her equally-gushing audience before submerging them into punchy new single Our Eyes. Tonight’s sold out show is so intimate, that if it wasn’t for Rose’s witty and silly chit-chat between songs, it would have probably have the feeling of an awkward first date between two strangers. Her quirky humour, modest charm and stunningly soothing voice all have her audience yo-yoing between fits of laughter and open-mouthed mesmerisation, all in a mere few hours.

Showcasing an array of new material from upcoming album Work It Out, she timorously apologises for the set being ‘so long’, unnecessarily so as the crowd listen enthusiastically and devotedly. Tracks such as Cover Up and Köln are infused with instrumental experimentation, driven by pulsating rhythm and sharp guitar chops, giving each of them a less innocent façade when compared to previous work.

Nevertheless, it’s one of her quietest and calmest song that proves itself as the most impressive part of the night. Admitting that she never has trouble deciding to perform this track, the audience are hurled into bittersweet ambience with old favourite Shiver. Rose’s flawless vocals swirl sensually around the room, slowing down the pace completely and leaving the whole room latch onto every word murmured. Never before has a crowd at a gig been so silent; it’s as if a spell has been cast and the audience hypnotised, transfixed onto the huge voice that arises from such a dainty frame. The 25 year old Surrey sweetheart may well be deemed too ‘nice’ or too ‘same-y’ but everyone at the Institute tonight witnesses an artist that really is much more than that.

Jake Bugg Live Review

Whipping up a number one debut album, nominated for British Breakthrough Act of 2013 and having already toured with some of music’s biggest talents 18-year-olds could only ever dream of, Nottingham lad Jake Bugg has become the infectious newcomer at the buzz of everyone’s lips and after tonight’s enthralling performance, it isn’t hard to see why.

Swaggering on stage to Robert Johnsons’ Cross Road Blues hints himself a position in the folk-blues family, besides a certainly impressive musical knowledge. The sold-out crowd consisting of excited teenage girls as well as middle-aged, Paul Weller lookalikes, validates Bugg’s revamped, sixties rock appeal…a cross between Bob Dylan and Alex Turner, an old soul in an extremely young body with an undeniably special gift.

Kentucky and Trouble Town begin the persistently brilliant night combined of acoustic numbers and chart topping singles. Older tracks, 'Someone Told Me', 'Country Song' and 'Some Place' showcase his unique, gritty vocals that channel goose bumps throughout the entire venue.

Imaginably, through lack of experience or intimidation, Bugg barely moves or speaks to his audience; unfortunately indicating a lack of enthusiasm- yet, judging the crowd’s passionate applauds and wholehearted chants, the stripped down performance focusing entirely on talent proves to be more than enough. Bugg is at the beginning of his career and with upward progression- tonight is merely a hint of what he is truly capable of, making the unassuming teen the most exhilarating affair for music so far.

Swim Deep Live Review

Tonight Birmingham’s young and eccentric crowd gather at The Institute to welcome back hometown heartthrobs Swim Deep to their biggest headlining Birmingham show yet. With a highly anticipated album set to release in May and hot new single The Sea under their belt, the sold out show tonight screams potential as the essence of success seems more possible than ever before.

The cheerful and carefree quartet take the stage- Austin appears with a bouquet of flowers that he throws to his beloved B-town bunch. The blend of hazy 90s-pop begins and drowns the venue in a watery sonic, transporting the whole room to that hot California beach they are so particularly fond of, making it truly difficult to believe that the bummed-out seaside lovers are from the cold and damp suburbs of Birmingham.

The combination of shaggy, dreamy vocals mixed with lazy, grunge guitar loops set the gig in a consistently impressive motion as the four friends please their fans with feel-good favourites Honey, Beach Justice and Orange County. A shirtless Zachary treats the audience further with a striking drum solo before an out-of-breath Austin adoringly exclaims: “You mean a lot to me. You mean a lot to us guys.” The night ends with breakthrough track King City, grinning fans and a glistening sense of excitement lingering in the air, intended for the blossoming year this band have ahead of them.

http://www.brumnotes.com/review-swim-deep-the-institute-birmingham-150213/

Crystal Castles Live Review

Crystal Castles at the HMV Institute, Birmingham

Group vocals, souring choruses and head banging guitar solos can all be expected from talented London trio Luls. Favorable singles ‘Young’ and ‘Swing Low’ prove to be hits amongst the approving crowd at the HMV tonight, showing off the bands potential and already existing success.

The audience tonight displays an overwhelming (and slightly manic) excitement towards the Toronto twosome on tour with new album (|||). Demonstrating their admiration with restless chants and giant grins; by the end of the night, it isn’t hard to see why.

Setlist opener ‘Plague’ spells the room with a demonic air as the menacing thumps and shrieking- high vocals cut through the venue by lively front woman Alice Glass. Crawling on all fours cloaked in black, Glass resembles that of an exorcist- yet fans approvingly pump their fists, fixating their glance onto the petite silhouette camouflaged by smoky red flashlights. The effect is utterly thrilling.

The energy remains perfectly unrigged throughout the performance and radiated with higher intensity by band partner Ethan Kath; who coolly plays his keyboard, barely lifting his head to acknowledge the chaotic surrounding. Glass endlessly dives into a sea of arms, drinks and smokes freely onstage clearly stating she enjoys doing exactly as she pleases.

Crystal Castles eminent mixture of goth-dance and spacey electric, lo-fi triggers emotional boundaries that dance music has failed to accomplish in the past. Although the live shows aren’t for everyone, they are undoubtedly hard to forget.

Azealia Banks Live Review

Hip Hop’s ever changing mores were taken a step further last September when fiery Disney princess-like character, Azealia Banks rocketed charts worldwide. Yet her self-given nicknames ‘Yung Rapunzel’ and ‘Bambi’ are a distant fairy-tale truth in comparison to her playfully crude wordplay and aggressive hip-hop spits. Judging the thriving crowd at Birmingham’s HMV tonight- this is exactly why they adore her.

Zebra Kat’z attentive presence teamed with Njena Reddd Foxxx’s sassy swag, breezily vamp up the crowd with a humorous and somewhat raunchy performance. Exotic gymnastic moves, catwalk mimics and mouthfuls of colourful language, the fierce New York rappers successfully finish their set with notable single 'Ima Read’. DJ Cosmo presents a vibrant half-hour set until the Harlem rapper takes to her stage.

Bouncing from track to track sporting her million dollar smile and Swarovski glowing bra, Banks thrust’s herself into a throttling flow that seemingly paces at a hundred miles per hour. The compressed 40-minute show switches from Fantasea mixtape and 1991 EP, highlighting Liquorice, Esta Noche and 1991 itself as crowd favourites.

‘This song may be the reason you all came out tonight’. Sparing no time, the crowd are launched into a sky-high frenzy as breakthrough single ‘212’ begins and fans thrillingly grasp the opportunity to chant the most offensive yet enjoyable lyrics in music so far.

Goodnight Lenin Live Review

The excitement bustling in the crammed room of the Hare and Hounds is hard to snub as Birmingham band, Goodnight Lenin are back in their hometown for an exclusive one night only gig. Gushing fans bearing cheesy grins and cold pints know they’re in for a treat as they gather to the front of the stage for the special evening.

Support act Mellow Peaches bring warmth to the room performing wholesome and hearty acoustic tracks to the brimming audience. They respectfully settle their enthusiasm and display gratitude to the duo’s efforts till their headlining heroes appear.

 A note is yet to be played but the delighted audience cheers regardless as Goodnight Lenin take to the stage with a thriving track list of past EP favourites, as well as introducing latest material from upcoming album with opening track; Laughter from a Younger Age.  The golden five some happily chat to fans with grounded confidence, charming everyone with plenty of between-songs banter and appreciative ‘thank yous’.

A tightly polished and high-spirited performance is dished out, reminding the audience how much the down-to-earth Brummie lads have blossomed since their YouTube kitchen kickback days, surging them head-first into unstoppable folk-fanatic success.

Goodnight Lenin Interview

Goodnight Lenin

Birmingham band GOODNIGHT LENIN make a welcome return in their home city this weekend with a headline show at the Hare & Hounds. With a new single, EP and their debut album in the pipeline, frontman John Fell tells Ivy Photiou why the time has come to show what they are really about.

“We were going out on the road ourselves and it was slowly spreading around the country, but to go on tour with someone like Beth [Jeans Houghton & The Hooves of Destiny] and performing in front of 400 people just after her album release and appearance on the Jools Holland show was an amazing expe- rience,” says frontman John Fell, reflecting on their numerous musical highlights from the past couple of years. “We did Moseley Folk festival in 2010, so going back this year to hopefully play on the main stage is a great pleasure, especially at an event like that.”

Squeezed into their bustling and seemingly never-ending touring schedule is an exclusive, one night only gig at the Hare & Hounds especially for their hometown fans. As Birmingham’s music scene flourishes with national acclaim greeting the likes of Peace, Swim Deep and Troumaca, John insists coming back to perform in Birmingham is more exciting than ever.

“It’s the most enjoyable thing,” he says. “We don’t play so often in Birmingham and we’ve done it on the basis of making sure each show is special, such as playing at the cathedrals and churches at Christmas [Goodnight Lenin performed sell-out shows at St Paul’s Church in 2010 and Birmingham Cathedral in 2011]. It’s great that Birmingham has these bands with different sounds and when you throw us into the mix as well it shows that there’s diversity — which is what this city is all about.”

Even between all the touring and EP releases, John takes great pride in revealing that the long talk of a debut Goodnight Lenin album is finally true, which thankfully seems to be just in the nick of time as he confesses fans were beginning to feel frustrated (“Which is why we chose to do the Hare & Hounds too, before we get shouted at!” he jokes).

“In October we’re releasing another single and video, December we’re releasing a winter type EP and between all that we’ll be recording our album which should be out in March next year. We’ve finally found the way we like to record now, based on a 1970s ‘playing live’ style. It will be a thicker American sound like Garfunkel and not really anything like our EPs. A lot of thought has gone into it so it will be interesting to see the reaction.”

For John, the full length album will also be a chance to carve out a breakaway sound all of their own, hopefully free from the lazy folk comparisons which have inevitably followed them, due in no small part to their emergence at the same time as the rise to stardom of modern folk sweethearts Mumford & Sons. Despite their own insistence on being more closely aligned with the likes of Elvis Perkins and classics such as Bob Dylan, John says their own album will be a chance to show what they are “all about.”

“Yeah, I think when a band is playing live and releasing the odd track, people aren’t going to get the full picture of what they’re all about. We ended up shooting ourselves in the foot by releasing the most Mumford & Sons-type songs. For some unknown reason we’ll listen to our music in the studio, agree on what we sound like and then end up not releasing it! But that’s exactly what the album is going to do. It will be a collection of songs that are exactly all about us and hopefully stop any more misleads.”

Their live shows, dashed with humour and plenty of between-song banter, and down- to-earth manner leave audiences relaxed and engaged and behind their fruitful success so far still lies an honest, earthly manner about Goodnight Lenin as they continue to set their standards high with admirable future goals, ensuring that more harmony-soaked, toe tapping, folk fun goodness can certainly be expected.

“The perception of us is quite strange sometimes; I think people think we’re a lot bigger than what we are,” John says. “Nothing but hard work goes into what we do with 14 to 15 hours a week outside work. We put a lot of effort into what we do. In terms of where we are now, I don’t think we’ve even started yet. We’ll always be trying to change and improve ourselves. Our goals next year are to mainly get the album out and just be happy with it, to play a sell-out show in Birmingham and hopefully push ourselves further into bigger festival slots with the help of the album. Just writing good music too.”

Mac Miller Live Review

Mac Miller Live at HMV Institute, Birmingham

Seven mix tapes deep and a freshly released studio album; Mac Miller has radically blossomed from small town local sensation to internet extraordinaire, pocketing impressive eight figured views on YouTube and an extremely adoring fan base along the way.

Miller explodes onto the stage with opening song ‘Blue Slide Park’. Taken aback by his incredibly energetic stage presence, hysteria is caused amongst the overexcited young crowd as Miller continues cascading them into a high tempo, dumb fun, party frenzy.

Even with a slight sound glitch that unluckily occurs in the middle of hit single ‘Loud’, Miller coolly controls the dislike by playing classic audience games and entertaining them with his zesty wit, until the technical fault is overcome and cleanly forgotten.

Demonstrating his diversity and impressive knowledge of the Hip Hop genre, Miller pays tribute to declared childhood inspiration- late Beastie Boy member MCA, adding a feel of togetherness in the room whilst K.I.D.S. mixtape favourites; ‘Nikes on my Feet’, ‘Kool Aid and Cold Pizza’ and ‘Knock Knock’ contextualizes the astounding success the youthful twenty year old already possessed barr an album.

As the show comes to an end, it isn’t difficult to acknowledge why the clone-like fans are so admirable of the street wearing, tattoo sporting, grin bearing kid. Though his music isn’t for everyone with much room for improvement, his electrical stage presence, love for performance, music and his fans are all unmistakably, first class.

Florence + The Machine Live Review

Florence + The Machine at the LG Arena, Birmingham

First support band, Spector, opens Florence + The Machine’s tour swimmingly well with familiar singles ‘What You Wanted’, ‘Chevy Thunder’ and ‘Never Fade Away’. Handsome, front man’s, Fred Macpherson’s witty banter, teamed with the band’s professional enthusiasm, demonstrates their effort to entertain and satisfy. The full audience participation establishes the bands great stage presence and already impressive fan base, asserting that they undeniably ones to watch out.

Draped in a demonic, black cape, barefooted Florence Welch takes to her very simple stage set and steadily approaches her mic. Her striking presence adds to the already gripping atmosphere- as if a curse was about to strike the venue, casting each individual under a spell that would have them helplessly magnetized under Welch’s control. 

And then it begins. Eruptions of mighty vocals are prodigiously belted out of the singer’s tiny frame, as opening song ‘Only If for a Night’ surmounts the venue. Hair raising goose bumps and spine tingling sensations are swept across the entire arena and sustained into following song, ‘What The Water Gave Me’.

The radiant, red-head finally greets her beloved fans with a gracious smile and a very shy ‘hello’. As she embraces the rapturous reception, her confidence is eventually boosted and the swallowing cape is abandoned in order to do what she does best..

Spinning, swirling and galloping across every inch of the stage, eyes are latched onto her dainty physic as she loses herself in the music like a drugged ballerina.

The crowd jump, sing and cheer to classic favorites, ‘Cosmic Love’, ‘Rabbit Heart’ and ‘Dog Days’- until the tempo slows down for successful, acoustic performances; ‘Heartlines’ and ‘Leave My Body’. Tribal drumming and rich, harp rifting, ‘No Light, No Light’ ends the gig without a glitch, leaving fans dumbstruck and totally blown away, reminding us all just how beautiful and magically moving music can be.

Pulled Apart By Horses Interview & Review

Left to right: Lee, James, Tom and Rob

 

‘Describe yourselves in three words.’ (Pause)...‘nearly, a, band’. Laughter erupts backstage of the HMV Institute as Pulled Apart By Horses take a dig at themselves and provide an answer that was expected the very least. Yet, these three simple words also say a lot about the new poster boys of rock and roll. They are grounded, playful, humble, witty, and entirely unaware of how awesome they truly are.

Over the years, Rock music has had its fair share of highs and lows. Right now, when you think of Rock, there aren’t many bands that fully embrace that authentic, raw, hardcore sound.  Ripping guitar riffs, gravitating, burdening choruses and ear shattering vocals, seem almost, none existent. That is of course, before the release of second album, Tough Love, as Pulled Apart By Horses accidentally found themselves labelled as the latest and coolest rock band to date. Greeted by firm handshakes and beaming smiles, I sit down with Tom, Rob and Lee to find out how they felt about their new tag.

The only thing that we’ve ever called ourselves is a rock band. There aren’t many of them around anymore so it’s almost like a responsibility to keep it going. We have the opportunity to do it so were just trying as hard as we can to keep it going. Edging our way into radio is also a big deal for us because you never hear rock music on stations anymore. For us, its weird that were the only rock band that gets played on Radio 1 at four in the afternoon. Few years ago there used to be loads of rock music playing. It definitely not dead, it just goes in different cycles.

Although Tough Love was the bands second album, it has been self- described as the album that felt most like their first.

I think primarily that came from the writing of it. The first one was never written in the idea that we were ever going to record an album, we just did it to get together in a practice room to play a few shows and enjoy it. This time round it was properly thought about and we figured out what we wanted to do. We put a lot of time and effort it demos so we could figure out what it would sound like before we gave it to a producer. With the first album we were still experimenting with our gear and performing at any gig we could get our hands on. It was a short, snap document of who we were and the second one has given us a benchmark of finding out who we really are.

While the success of Tough Love seems to have given the band a more respected and appreciated status of skilful recording artists, the magic in this band will always lie within their live performances. Blood, sweat, vomiting, severe injuries and apparent fish frying, can be all expected when Pulled Apart By Horses are on tour. Their famous stage behaviour has undeniably created an out of control and reckless reputation that their fans so evidently adore and admire, but how enjoyable can injuries and throwing up really be? Tom quickly protests.

It’s not enjoyable at all! It’s really embarrassing! Before we play I always get really nervous and phsyc myself out and as soon as we start playing, the adrenaline buzz and excitement kicks in. I’ve just pushed it too hard in the past, jumped around too much to the point of no return but the crowd just cheers. We just completely loose ourselves when were playing.

Rob chips in. Whenever he does it though he goes in the corner and starts going- uh I’ve been sick all over the carpet!

So...it’s not on purpose then?

Doing stuff on purpose to get the crowd going doesn’t work. It’s all spontaneous, we don’t think about anything when were up there. We completely loose ourselves in the moment.

And the best part about touring?

We’re all loving the UK tour at the minute but we all love the European touring too. It’s a total adventure. There’s more you can get away with as well. We do go out and party a lot more when were in Europe. You need to seize the moment, it’s like a quest!

The interview breaks into more laughter as Tom babbles on about being on a real life quest and Rob jokes about not taking any clothes on tour, instead, just a suit of armour and a sword. After a few more giggles about whom the biggest prankster is (James likes to run around Hotels hiding his downstairs area with nothing but shaving foam. Tom likes to think of himself of the next Ashton Cutcher) and silly debates of who pulls the most girls, (Lee is a big hit with the slightly larger females), the not so professional interview draws to an end as it’s time for them to take to the stage in order to do what they’re known to do best.

Opening classic and all time favourite ‘I Punched a Lion In Throat’ tears the venue apart as the thrilled and over-excited fans begin to mosh wildly, lapping up the band’s powerful energy, enjoying every beating minute possible.

The energy persists right through to the very end, a very polite Tom exclaiming ‘Cheers!’ after every song and chatting to the audience as if each individual was an old pal. Without a doubt, there lies something very special and profoundly unique about Pulled Apart By Horses. They love what they do and never fail to do it at its very best, whether on a stage or in a recording studio. It pays off- taking into account they’re extremely loyal fan base and ever-growing fame. A band that adores rock music and delivers talented, real, feel-good, rock music the industry was so desperately in need of, and on that note; Pulled Apart By Horses are utterly amazing.

Album single, V.E.N.O.M. Tough Love Out Now