Wearing its Brit pop inspirations on its sleeve while providing a fresh breath to embrace, Stepping Stones is the new single from British quartet Escapade. The title track from their recently released EP, the single also shows the flavoursome essence of psychedelic rock which the Leicester quartet weave into their infectious sound. It makes for an invitation to newcomers easy to get hooked by and confirmation for fans that the band is worthy of the fuss brewing up around them.
Emerging from the creative union of singer/songwriter Sam Wyatt and guitarist/songwriter Adam Bailey, two musicians meeting on Facebook after the latter replied to a message placed by the former and subsequently becoming an acoustic duo playing around Leicester, Escapade stepped forward in the October of 2015. With a line-up completed by bassist Jordan Alleston and drummer Martin Wenham, Escapade soon lit up the local live scene, making their debut at two charity music festivals followed by a slot at the Salford Music Festival. This year has seen the band take their Oasis, The Stone Roses, Nirvana, Green Day, Black Sabbath and Kasabian influenced sound to Liverpool’s Cavern Club among many eagerly welcoming venues and spark rich interest with Stepping Stones, EP and now single.
From an initial guitar lure wrapping its melodic tendrils around ears, the song swings into vibrant action as crisp beats and a sultry guitar jangle align to the darker hues of bass and the catchy tones of Wyatt. The prime hook cast by Bailey throughout the track steals the appetite with ease, its bait spiced by the rousing exploits around it as song takes ears and hips in hand.
There are no major surprises within Stepping Stones yet it is one of the freshest slices of Brit Pop heard in a long time and easy to breed a want for more, which the EP it comes from certainly supplies. Escapade is a band already noticeably going up through the creative gears with the potential of major things within their horizons
Stepping Stones, the single, is released August 5th via Fin Records with the Stepping Stones EP out now.
Formed in 2004, The Conniption Fits create their own ear catching mix of alternative, progressive, and indie pop; rock ‘n’ roll which rouses the senses and imagination and has so across a host of releases. Drawing comparisons to the likes of Jimmy Eat World, Green Day, Foo Fighters, Silversun Pickups, U2, The Police, and David Bowie and having shared stages with artists such as Weezer, Panic at the Disco, Kings Of Leon, Train, 3 Doors Down, Fastball, Mighty Bosstones, 7 Mary Three, Blue Oyster Cult, Mountain, Warrant, and Cinderella among many over time, the New Hampshire hailing trio make a noise which easily sparks the appetite. Grabbing the chance to learn more about the band, we had the pleasure of chatting with member and The Conniption Fits co-founder Stevens.
Hello and thanks for taking time out to talk with us.
Can you first introduce the band and give us some background to how it all started and what brought you all together?
That’s a long story. I’m Stevens Blanchard, lead singer guitar player for The Conniption Fits. The drummer, Shawn Snyder and I met back when we were kids. My current band needed a drummer and he was a friend of a friend, not to mention a fantastic drummer with tons of attitude. When that band broke up, we founded The Conniption Fits. Jamie Hosley, or bass player, came along when we were looking for a new bassist. Again, he had a reputation as being “the man” when it comes to bass, naturally we had to have him.
So The Conniption Fits is not the first band for you? Has previous projects had any impact on what you are doing now, in maybe inspiring a change of style or direction?
I think I just answered that above, but yes. We had a previous band, Motorplant, which did quite well for about 8 years. You can still find all of the music that Motorplant produced all over the web including iTunes and Spotify. When Motorplant disbanded, we wanted to head in a slightly more alternative direction.
What inspired the band name?
If the conniption fits, wear it.
Was there any specific idea behind the forming of the band and what you wanted it and your sound to offer?
Far from it…We just enjoy playing and entertaining. As far as the sound goes, I just want to create ear candy. Songs with depth sonically and lyrically that are accessible and a bit unpredictable at the same time.
Do the same things still drive the band when it was fresh-faced or have they evolved over time?
Always evolving…You can tell album to album. Every record seems to represent where our minds were at musically at that period of time. I’m always hearing new bands that are doing really cool things that we want to incorporate into our own stuff. I’d say we listen as much, or more, than we play.
Since your early days, how would you say your sound has evolved?
We deliberately try new things. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. On our second album, A Heaping Helping of Perspective the guys thought it would be cool if we recorded live without a click track. I hated the idea, being a stickler for tempo. It led to a different album and different songs for sure.
Presumably across the band there is a wide range of inspirations; are there any in particular which have impacted not only on the band’s music but your personal approach and ideas to creating and playing music?
Too many to mention, from Jazz to Metal…Speaking for myself I’d say bands like Nothing But Thieves, The Shins, Bear Hands, Coldplay, Eve6, Green Day, Foo Fighters, Kongos… I love creative rock/pop/alternative songs that still have a hook, but avoid the same four chords and progressions that are so typical.
Is there a particular process to the band’s songwriting?
I am usually the idea man then we flush it out as a group. Sometimes I’ll record the whole song then we will replace the drums and bass later. I’m into results; I don’t care how we get there.
Where do you, more often than not, draw the inspirations to the lyrical side of your songs?
Life; I’ll sing lyric variations to a demo while I’m out for a run. I usually find cool ideas that way. I also hear the parts that suck and need to be changed.
Can you give us some background to your latest release?
I Need You (Ay-O) is an old relate that became new again when it started treating on-line. We’ve always loved the song and are happy to have it finally breaking through the “clutter”.
Give us some insight to its theme.
I need you is about wanting to leave a relationship, but continuing to be drawn back in; then dealing with the fact that needing somebody can be for very different reasons.
Are you a band which goes into the studio with songs pretty much in their final state or prefer to develop them as you record?
I own the studio we record in. It’s an amazing luxury because we are not “on the clock” burning money. So we just show up with nothing and play. Often I’ll have scraps of ideas ready to jump off from.
Tell us about the live side to the band, presumably the favourite aspect of the band?
Yeah, live is where we bring it. We entertain. We always have a great time and that usually transfers to the audience. It’s also the only real way we’ve made any money. So we play live to survive, and we love it.
It is not easy for any band to make an impact regionally let alone nationally and further afield. How have you found it your neck of the woods? Are there the opportunities to make a mark if the drive is there for new bands?
Not easy, but work hard and offer something great. It doesn’t even have to be unique, just great. Make people say “holy shit!”, and you’ll do fine.
How has the internet and social media impacted on the band to date?
The internet grants everyone access, even the garbage. I think we handle it well, but there is that constant drive needed to stand out in all the noise.
Once again a big thanks for sharing time with us; anything you would like to add or reveal for the readers?
Check out our website, http://www.conniptionfits.com/ to listen to all of our songs for free and look for our new EP this summer!
With a clutch of videos and a potent first EP behind them, Pranx is a German outfit beginning to lure potent attention. Their rousing live presence has equally drawn high praise. So to discover more about this upcoming proposition, we seized the chance to talk with the trio about their EP, progress to date, and all things Pranx in general.
Hi guys, many thanks for taking time out to talk with us.
Can you first introduce the band and give us some background to how it all started?
We are PRANX, a Pop Punk band from Mosbach, Germany consisting of Marcel on drums, Rouven on bass and vocals, and Boris on guitar and vocals. We formed in February 2014. Rouven and Boris had played together in a band since 2008 but their drummer quit. Instead of just searching for a new one we decided to make a new start entirely and form a new band with a new name and new songs. We met drummer Marcel on Facebook to start PRANX in early 2014.
Being involved in other bands before, has that had any impact on what you are doing now, in maybe inspiring a change of style or direction?
Like we said, Boris and Rouven had played together since 2008. Marcel was also involved in some bands before including a German hip hop band. I don’t think it affected the style we’re playing now with PRANX but it definitely had an impact on our growth as musicians in general. The good chemistry between our two vocalists regarding singing harmonies together for example has been cultivated while playing together in their former band.
What inspired the band name?
It’s a shorter version of Rouven’s and Boris’ former band Prank FanatiX. We wanted to have a name that’s easier for people to remember as it always was spelled wrong on flyers. The original Prank FanatiX name was inspired by the term ‘faith fanatics’ in Green Day’s song ‘East Jesus Nowhere’.
Was there any specific idea behind the forming of the band and also in what you wanted it and your sound to offer?
As a band we hope to enrich some people’s life by playing music, just like all those bands we look up to did and still do to us. Music of those bands had such a massive impact on our lives over the past few years, so we hope that someday people feel the same thing about our music. That’s what we want to offer the people who listen to our music. Another idea behind starting this band is to create some kind of exit out of this daily routine. We want to achieve more in life than just working normal jobs and get stuck in boring lives like 99% of today’s society.
Do the same things still drive the band time?
Yes, we’re still driven by the same things. I think even more than when we started.
Since your early days, how would you say your sound has evolved?
It hasn’t evolved that much since PRANX started but it definitely has since our first days of making music in general. Our very first songs clearly had a Blink-182/Green Day stamp on them whereas now our sound is much more individual (even though you can clearly still hear the Blink influences of course). Since a few years we’re also influenced by this new wave of pop punk bands that has appeared. Bands like Neck Deep and The Story So Far are also great inspirations.
Has it been more of an organic movement in your sound or more a deliberate wanting to try new things?
A mix of both I would say. A huge part of our sound comes from us wanting to try new stuff but sometimes while writing songs something new comes up and you hadn’t planned it. If it’s not something we had in mind for our sound but still sounds cool we go along with it and try to implement it.
Presumably across the band there is a wide range of inspirations; are there any in particular which have impacted not only on the band’s music but your personal approach and ideas to creating and playing music?
That’s hard to answer. I can’t think of anyone that changed the way we create music but I’m sure it happened subconsciously anytime along the way. All in all we’re still very conservative songwriters. Take a guitar, play some chords and jam some melodies until you find something you like and go from there.
Is there a process to the songwriting which generally guides the writing of songs?
When someone has the idea of a new song he usually likes to write the first version of it all by himself. The process is writing the whole thing, making a demo with all the instruments and arrangements and then showing it to the rest of the band. Then we look at it together and see what we can optimize and change to make it the sound great.
Where are your lyrical inspirations drawn from more often than not?
The inspiration for the lyrics comes from situations of our everyday life. Things you go through in every stage of your life or even things and problems we notice in other peoples’ life around us can make perfect inspiration for song lyrics.
Can you give us some background to your latest release?
It’s a 4 track EP called Things On Your Mind that was released in early 2015. There are two music videos so far and the third is released very soon, but we plan on doing one for the last song as well. All the videos are directed and produced by bassist Rouven. All in all I think the album is a great mixture of catchy sing-along choruses and cool punk riffs, spreading a lot of positive energy.
Give us some insight to the themes and premise behind it and its songs.
Another Year and Standard are more or less love songs about girls from the past. Especially for Standard I tried to write the cheesiest lyrics and make it as cliché as possible. You could see it as a kind of a tribute to all the 90s pop punk love songs. Pogo Romance is a song about failing while promising a glimpse of hope for getting back up again at the end. Nightmare is about social isolation and forgetting to live your life in the ‘real’ world.
Are you a band which goes into the studio with songs pretty much in their final state or prefer to develop them as you record?
Since we’re a band that’s short of money like every other band and studio time is expensive we try to do as much work for the record as we can before we enter the studio. This means we have the final songs all ready to record in their final state and try to make changes in the studio only when really necessary.
Tell us about the live side to the band?
For me playing live is the best part of being in a band. It’s not only having fun and partying on stage with your friends but also the time of the night where you’re not on stage and have the chance to meet new people and other musicians. There are so many cool people we got to know just by playing shows all around Southern Germany. Always nice to connect with and to play shows for awesome people!
It is not easy for any new band to make an impact regionally let alone nationally and further afield. How have you found it in Germany? Are there the opportunities to make a mark if the want is there for new bands?
Where we come from is actually one of the worst places for bands to start. The music scene of our hometown is as good as dead and I think it always has been. We always have to travel a little bit further to play good shows. We have to rely heavily on the internet to reach people because there’s little to no interest in live bands in our region.
How has the internet and social media impacted on the band to date?
I don’t know if PRANX would still exist if there was no internet. We probably [would not have] even found a drummer if [we had not] met Marcel on Facebook. 95% of people got to know us through Facebook or YouTube so without that I don’t think we had a chance to even reach people.
I think you can still use the internet to your advantage even when you’re a big band with greater success. But I also think it can be hard to influence whether it’s working for you or not. What works for one band does not necessarily have to work for another and sometimes the mass of people on social media is hard to predict or analyse. In my opinion, your music is what counts at the end of the day. You can do every single thing right when promoting your music through the internet but if your songs suck people still won’t like you. On the other hand you can get good exposure if your music kicks ass even if you’re not a social media pro.
Once again a big thanks for sharing time with us; anything you would like to add or reveal for the readers?
Thanks for the interview! If you like, you can check us out at https://www.facebook.com/PRANXofficial to watch all our music videos and check regular updates. Watch out for our next music video for the song Pogo Romance that’s going to be released soon!
March sees the release of the Trouble City EP, another rousing and provocative slice of punk infused rock ‘n’ roll from UK band Yorkshire Rats. The successor to last year’s outstanding debut album, Sea of Souls, the new three-track release is further confirmation of a band with anthemic punk ‘n’ roll flowing through their creative veins and a hunger to push themselves and their creative adventure with every song and release. Ahead of the EP’s unveiling; we gratefully took some of band founder Don Mercy’s time to dig into the origins, history, and new phase of the Yorkshire Rats increasing impact on the British rock scene.
Hi Don and thanks for sharing your time to talk with us.
You formed the band back in 2004; what was the spark bringing Yorkshire Rats to life and was there a particular idea for the band?
No problem! Fuck! 12 years ago, I must say I didn’t think we’d be back rolling around, not after we pulled the plug in 2007, I think it was.
Originally it was me and a good friend of mine called Sean Brewin who came up with the idea for the band. We used to hang out together, go skateboarding drink cider, the usual teenage shit. I’d played in various bands before with friends from school but wanted to do something a bit different. I was massively into the punk rock thing but not many of the guys in my school were. Sean was from another school local to me and there were loads of guys who we grew up with that we’re big Fat Wreck, Green Day, Rancid fans. I think we were around 17 when we started the Rats. There was an old pub in our home town of Pontefract called the Counting House. All the local alternative folks used to go in there and they had live bands on every Tuesday night. We’d been drinking in there from the age of 14 and we ended up meeting a few other musicians who were into our idea to start a band. I’d write the songs and we’d kind of share lead vocals. We learnt a few covers and got into a practice room.
I think we wrote our first EP in about a month, recorded it and sold DIY copies to our pals. We played our first shows in the Counting House and they were always great. A lot of people really liked what the band was about, we sang about miners and the working class’ history of struggle in the area.
There wasn’t any big plan involved, we just wanted to have fun and play some music, cliché I know…
Photo by Carl ChalkmanVideo Arnfield
You had previously played in Abrasive Wheels and Billy No Mates; how did those experiences impact on how you wanted Yorkshire Rats to be, sound like, and differ?
I actually only did one tour with Billy No Mates, I wasn’t a permanent member, I just filled in for one of their guitarists. We had the same manager at the time and they had a European tour booked.
I was 18 and had never been to Germany or Italy. I got a call from our manager, then a call from Duncan. I had a week to get a passport and learn 18 songs; we never even had a rehearsal, we just went straight to Berlin and played a show. It was amazing! It was my first real tour and I learnt so much about how it all works. To be honest I don’t think I would have progressed any further without doing that tour, there’s only so many times you can read about it before you have to grab it by the balls and get out there. I seized that chance and will be forever grateful for that opportunity.
I’m not sure how much it influenced my band’s sound…..
I was in Abrasive wheels for a couple of years; this was before I started the rats back up. It was ok; I was playing with some really great musicians in that band so it definitely raised my standards in terms of what kind of musicians I would want to have in the new incarnation of the rats. I wouldn’t be happy with just anyone now. I’ve always been a big fan of the early 80s UK punk thing so playing with them was fun for a while. They just didn’t tour enough for me and they all had 20 plus years on me ha-ha
The members of Yorkshire Rats were all known to each other before the band was formed; before and post break?
This is a completely new line up from the original. Me and our other guitarist Matty went to school together from the very beginning, good Catholic boys, well once upon a time anyways.
We had to get a new drummer and bass player since we released Sea of Souls because the other guys couldn’t commit to serious touring. So we got Chris on drums and then Josh on bass. We found both of those guys just before German tours. I’d suggest that anyone stuck for band members, book a German tour! You’ll find whoever you need…. eventually.
It was a strong couple of years first time around seeing a well-received single and EP released and the supporting of Rancid live amongst numerous successful shows. Then the band went on a hiatus. What primarily brought that about?
I think we all had different agendas; it went from being fun to being a drug fuelled mess. We’d had various line-up changes because people couldn’t commit and it just seemed no matter what I did, we just kept going round in circles. We were young, maybe we thought that because we had management, a label, and had done some higher profile shows that things were just going to fall into place on their own. I now know that’s not how it works, getting higher profile shows means the band is moving forward and that’s precisely the time to put extra pressure on.
And the biggest spark to the return of the band?
Obviously Brewins isn’t here on lead vocals, but the plan was for him to be the singer again when we reformed. He’d joined the Army after the band split and I hadn’t seen him for a while, but we met up at a Bad Religion show in Manchester. It seemed just like the old days so we agreed to give it another shot with a new line up of people we could trust to help us do it right. His Army career was supposed to be winding down so we set to work on new songs and rehearsing but it turned out that it wasn’t going to work out so we agreed that I would take over all the vocal duties.
Was it easier in many ways to return to a keenly waiting and expectant fan base than when starting out originally or vice versa?
I didn’t really give it much thought to be honest. I knew that I wanted to keep some key parts of the old band, anthemic songs, big guitars etc., but I also knew that I wanted to bring everything up to date and move forward. There’s always going to be people that say you’re doing things wrong but I usually don’t pay much attention to those guys.
Would you say that anything specifically changed within you for the band through that period away? In sound, the drive of personal etc.?
I think the sound of the band has definitely progressed. We pulled back on the hi gain guitars and it’s all about the rhythm section. I just try to write good songs. I think a good song will always win. I guess in terms of sound we have a classic rock n roll type sound; I don’t think we’re really that stylised. My songs always start on an acoustic guitar then we beef them up in the rehearsal room.
I never write a song with a particular sound or genre in mind. I don’t know whether that’s a curse right now. It’s almost like if you don’t sound like Nirvana no one cares. But then again when we first started unless you sounded like Arctic Monkeys no one cared ha-ha
Debut album, Sea of Souls marked your return in potent style with its acclaimed release in 2015. Fair to say it poked stronger and broader spotlights your way?
I think it made people take us seriously for sure. I’m not one for doing what everyone else is doing, maybe having a different sound made the album stand out.
It’s still a hard slog and we do as much of the work as we can on our own. Getting the CJ Ramone tour was a big deal for us, and now he’s a fan of ours which is really surreal. I’m a huge Ramones fan so to have someone like that telling us that we’re doing something right is a real boost. We’re hoping to play some more shows together in the near future but nothing is confirmed yet, we’ll have to wait and see.
Now you are poised to uncage its successor in the shape of the Trouble City EP this March. How would you say the two differ in their punk ‘n’ roll sounds and how you approached each in the writing and recording?
I guess both Sea of Souls and Trouble City had the same approach in terms of writing and recording. Sea of Souls has some old revamped songs from back in the day that never came out.
A lot of the songs for the rats seem to write themselves. I dick about with a guitar for a while and sing some nonsense and things seem to come together pretty quickly. That being said I don’t let any old shit through, if a song isn’t working I just throw it away and move on. I think the sound has become more mature since Sea of Souls. It’s the same kind of vibe but it feels and sounds like a band that’s been playing consistently together for a good few tours.
I believe the Trouble City EP was recorded in Berlin late last year whilst you were on tour in Germany? Was that always the aim to record the tracks over there or more making use of opportunities?
That’s right. It wasn’t part of the plan to start with, but we had a couple of shows that fell through on our last German run so had 4 days off in Berlin. A good friend of mine suggested a great studio; it was an old telecom building or something, every wall in the live room was filled with patch bays. You can just imagine loads of German phone operators flying round on their office chairs transferring calls backwards and forwards. A pretty cool vibe and the place sounded great, we plan to finish the second album there. We’ll just add some more studio time onto the back end of a German tour or something.
Give us some idea to the inspiration to the EP’s tracks and character.
We wanted to lay down some balls to the wall, riff driven tracks. I guess you can hear some Social D, Stiff Little Fingers, Ramones, Springsteen. Me, and our other guitarist Matty are really dynamic players so I wanted to enhance that on these recordings. We don’t have super hi gain amps, they’re relatively clean in all honesty, it sounds great but it makes you have to play better and play with a bit more thought into chord voicing etc.. Anything that makes us better is a good idea in my eyes.
What things and situations spark your lyrics more than most?
90% of my lyrics are true to life. Usually come from people I meet, or conversations I overhear. Trouble City is the start of a story about a prostitute called Amy that I met on tour once. We sat and drank some beers and talked shit for a while, you couldn’t make up most of the stuff she was telling me so that seemed like a good place to start with Trouble City.
Tell about the new video for the EP’s title track which you made with one of the UK’s best and brightest film makers, Chalkman Video.
Carl’s a great guy and he did a great job on the new vid. We didn’t have much time with it so we just got into our rehearsal space, he set up some lights and off we went.
Looks pretty cool I think. We spent 4 hours or so filming it then he had it finished 3 days later, he doesn’t mess around.
The EP is going to be the spark for another hectic year, live wise?
I hope so, we’re working on loads of UK dates throughout the year and heading back to Germany in October, there’s a couple of other things in the works that I can’t mention yet but yeah, we’re trying to keep as busy as we can.
Photo by Carl ChalkmanVideo Arnfield
What has the band already got in place as 2016 evolves in other news?
We managed to nail down a show with Snuff which should be fun, I haven’t seen Duncan for a while….
We’ve also confirmed a show with The Dictators.
More releases in the pipeline?
Of course! But probably not this year. Who knows.
Once again many thanks for chatting with us Don. Any last thoughts you would like to share?
No problem, I guess if people could just keep supporting us like they did last year that would be awesome, we really appreciate it.
And finally, give us an insight into the records and artists which could be claimed to have most inspired your own life and creativity.
Ramones – Pleasant Dreams, Stiff Little Fingers – Guitar and Drum, Green Day – Nimrod, Drag the River – You Can’t Live This Way, Ryan Adams – Heartbreaker.
I love all these records; you can probably hear these influences in the rat’s songs. I guess my songs start as simple folk songs then turn into anthems when the band gets hold of ‘em.
Starting out as his latest and the most interactive fan-funded project, new album The Year Of The Fanclub is the outstanding ‘highlights show’ of another highly successful Ginger Wildheart offering for fans and modern rock ‘n’ roll. Always looking to increase and extend “fan connectivity”, Wildheart created G*A*S*S (Ginger Associated Secret Society) in 2014, a digital subscription based fan club platform that saw a new 3 track single released every month for a year, along with demos and previously unreleased material direct from his personal vaults for members to immerse in. Beyond the music it also gave subscribers full access into the world of Ginger Wildheart through podcasts, Q&A’s, personal diary entries, film reviews and exclusive merchandise options. Now for all, comes the irresistible tempting of The Year Of The Fanclub, a collection of Wildheart’s personally favourite tracks from the 36 song session.
The proudly diverse and rousing treat starts off with Down The Dip, a boisterous maelstrom of energy and varied eagerly entangling flavours. Like The Damned meets The Beatles with understandably The Wildhearts in on the act, the song throws its muscles and hooks around with imaginative zeal and virulence. Body and appetite are an easy submission for the track, a success just as powerfully found by Honour straight after. Featuring Courtney Love, the punk ‘n’ roll stroll instantly carries a defiant swagger whilst sharing a passions enslaving hook to get aggressively greedy over, quickly matching then eclipsing its impressive predecessor.
El Mundo (Slow Fatigue) is a carnival in the ears next, swinging into view with thick resonance and a mischievous character as company to a flowing contagion of sound and resourcefulness. There is also a dark side to its lures, an intimidating smog that erupts as the track’s volatility gets a head of steam on in certain moments before relaxing back into warm revelry.
The country rock spiced The Last Day Of Summer has feet and hips swaying with eagerness straight after, the pop rock catchiness already glimpsed in earlier songs now in full vibrancy with matching melodies and backing vocals before the outstanding Only Henry Rollins Can Save Us Now hits even greater heights. Feverish dirty rock ‘n’ roll to have you grinning whilst punching the air in defiance, the track twists and turns from start to finish. It is a roller coaster of snarling riffs and juicy hooks embracing everything from punk metal to ravenous hard rock through to jazz induced festivity and much more.
The Green Day/Flogging Molly like canter of The Pendine Incident has body and soul bouncing next, its Celtic air aural manna whilst Do You? whips up closely matching reactions with its eighties scented pop rock saunter equipped with engaging melodies and harmonic caresses. Each proposition leaves ears busily keen with the feet and imagination tightly involved, though they soon get overshadowed a touch by the inviting yet melancholic romance of If You Find Yourself In London Town where fizzing keys and vocal prowess respectively surround and fill the embrace of acoustic and electric enterprise as evocative as the words from Wildheart’s lips.
The magnetic saunter of Toxins & Tea is an increasingly galvanic slice of folkish pop rock which perpetually surprises with every passing second and turn. Imagine XTC going heavy rock without losing their melodic beauty and imagination and you have a close idea of one glorious encounter.
That eighties air returns openly again in No One Smiled At Me Today, the song bringing bands like The Cars and The Motors to thoughts before Ostracide uncages its punk fuelled rock ‘n’ roll which ears are destined to devour with relish. Both tracks in their individual ways ensnare body and emotions though each has to pass the limelight over to the irrepressible majesty of closer Don’t Lose Your Tail, Girl. That unpredictability is in full force in a song which fluidly evolves from melodic rock to electro pop mania and on to industrial rabidity, alternative rock with techno infestation, and punk ‘n’ roll confrontation, and that is just the first half of its nine minutes. Like a lifetime of musical styles tenaciously rolled up into one skilfully bedlamic and ingeniously sculpted emprise of sound, the track is a kaleidoscope of flavours which could easily have been the soundtrack to one’s personal musical journey over the past five decades.
As musically enjoyable and impressive as The Year Of The Fanclub is, so lyrically Wildheart delivers a potent and lingering punch to eagerly embrace too. The album is simply a gem and Ginger Wildheart showing why for so many, the man is rock ‘n’ roll.
Year Of The Fanclub is available now through most online stores via Round Records.
European trio ‘The Shapers’ set loose their spanking new EP ‘Reckless Youth’, through all digital platforms on Friday 26th February. Look out too as the gritty rockers prepare to tour the UK in 2016
Currently residing in Toulouse, France, Euro punk rockers ‘The Shapers’ delectably embrace the garage rock vibes of ‘The Hives’ and ‘Nirvana’, merged with the early urgent delivery of ‘Green Day’ and ‘A Day To Remember’. Born in 2009 and consisting of Anthony Cauvin (Lead Vocals/Guitar), Raphaël Bouissière (Bass/Backing Vocals), and Benoit Holin (Drums), this power trio have certainly undertaken the punk rock DIY ethos. With a keen zest for touring and adventure, the band headed out to China and Indonesia in 2011 to play a series of highly successful shows, and because of the response and support, the threesome returned the following year and again last year. In 2013, The Shapers won a ‘Best up-and-coming band’ competition, lapping up a prize to tour throughout North America where the alt-punks shared stages with punk rock legends NOFX and Pennywise. Last year, the band again toured, this time in Thailand. The three piece were overwhelmed with responses and will tour South East Asia again next year.
As well as a hearty diet for touring across the far reaches of the world, the band have also extensively played throughout France, and are currently planning their attack on the UK. Blessed with a CV that boosts support shows with The Flatliners, NOFX, Silverstein, Pennywise, Face To Face, and Dream on Dreamer, and critical acclaim for 2012’s debut album ‘Everybody Needs To Have A Dream’, which picked up rampant praise across the board, the band show no signs of letting up.
The Shapers dropped their video single “Can’t Forget”, directed by Mayol (media director of Vans, who has worked with successful bands like the Foo Fighters, among many others) this summer. The single is the opening track from the band’s hotly anticipated new EP ‘Reckless Youth’, which is unleashed this February. With six cuts of scuzzy punk, the record is a true calling to all fans of Punk in its varied forms. Drawing from the early vigour of Blink 182 and the raw power of Nirvana, marinated with a hint of The Subways, this EP is destined to break the band to the UK.
With the Killing Dinosaurs EP still regularly toying with ears, US rockers Bad Mary are poised to release its successor in the tasty shape of We Could Have Saved The World. Providing another half dozen slices of seventies pop punk merged with the broader adventure of alternative rock, the EP is a stirring roar for ears and emotions whilst continuing the band’s emergence as one highly flavoursome rock ‘n’ roll band.
From their early days as a band brought together by Hofstra University’s professor of drama and guitarist David Henderson, Bad Mary has grown into an attention grabbing proposal. In a regular process every semester, Henderson put together a band with students to play a bunch of covers. It was 2010 when vocalist Amanda Mac and bassist/vocalist Mike Staub were those invited to be part, a trio which has stayed together since. Madame X, as it was called then, did see a few changes before Amanda’s father, veteran drummer Bill Mac, linked up to swing sticks. Inspired by bands such as Blondie, The Ramones, Green Day, and No Doubt amongst others, the band then began working on its own material. A name change led to Bad Mary being officially launched in 2012 with debut album Better Days coming two years later to strong acclaim. Its release turned keen local attention into something embracing a broader landscape not only across the US but further afield. Last year’s Killing Dinosaurs EP only cemented and pushed on their breakthrough which We Could Have Saved The World can only ignite further.
The rock ‘n’ roll frenzy starts with Creeper, the track a feisty and energetic burst of punk ‘n’ roll with Amanda’s vocals as direct and alluring as ever. With punchy beats and fiery guitar, the song continues to stomp with attitude loaded feet and a hard rock like aggressiveness; perpetually involving body and appetite whilst setting the listener eagerly up for the excellent roar of Marz Attaqx. Like The Rezillos meets The Objex, it is a contagiously irresistible slab of pop punk, quickly getting full involvement from hips and voice as Amanda again rules the speakers whilst rhythms jab and riffs get under the skin, the track’s hooks digging even deeper to complete the virulent slavery.
The rhythmic coaxing opening up the following Trouble is equally irresistible, its lures leading into the fiery heavy rock throes of winy grooves courted by the melodic caresses of Amanda’s mischievous vocals. As it broadens its lively stroll and magnetic landscape, a rich No Doubt spicing tempts without defusing the Bad Mary character of the song. Again there is a lining of attitude which demands attention whilst the flames of classic rock guitar bring extra flavour before the rapacious rocker makes way for the gentler hug of Cloud 9. Shadow wrapped pulses of bass tempers enticing vocals, whilst firm yet respectful beats align to the sultry glaze of guitar, all uniting for an enjoyable if low key, in comparison to its rowdier companions, proposal.
Meanwhile is back snarling and creating a riotous time with its raw punk air and nature though hooks and rhythms again collude to create the catchiest of times led by the rebellious vocals of Amanda and Mike. Brief and to the point as it continues the bracing potency of the EP, the excellent encounter swaps places with the similarly anthemic and antagonistic When You Think of Me. It is a final punk rock roaring to beat chests and defy the world with, bringing We Could Have Saved The World to a tenacious and galvanic end.
Bad Mary continues to get stronger, bolder, and more essential in the modern realm of punk ‘n’ roll; the evidence is all there within We Could Have Saved The World.
The We Could Have Saved The World EP is released 1st February.
From an initial guitar lure wrapping its melodic tendrils around ears, the song swings into vibrant action as crisp beats and a sultry guitar jangle align to the darker hues of bass and the catchy tones of Wyatt. The prime hook cast by Bailey throughout the track steals the appetite with ease, its bait spiced by the rousing exploits around it as song takes ears and hips in hand.
Since your early days, how would you say your sound has evolved?
Was there any specific idea behind the forming of the band and also in what you wanted it and your sound to offer?
How has the internet and social media impacted on the band to date?
I believe the Trouble City EP was recorded in Berlin late last year whilst you were on tour in Germany? Was that always the aim to record the tracks over there or more making use of opportunities?
The country rock spiced The Last Day Of Summer has feet and hips swaying with eagerness straight after, the pop rock catchiness already glimpsed in earlier songs now in full vibrancy with matching melodies and backing vocals before the outstanding Only Henry Rollins Can Save Us Now hits even greater heights. Feverish dirty rock ‘n’ roll to have you grinning whilst punching the air in defiance, the track twists and turns from start to finish. It is a roller coaster of snarling riffs and juicy hooks embracing everything from punk metal to ravenous hard rock through to jazz induced festivity and much more.
The rock ‘n’ roll frenzy starts with Creeper, the track a feisty and energetic burst of punk ‘n’ roll with Amanda’s vocals as direct and alluring as ever. With punchy beats and fiery guitar, the song continues to stomp with attitude loaded feet and a hard rock like aggressiveness; perpetually involving body and appetite whilst setting the listener eagerly up for the excellent roar of Marz Attaqx. Like The Rezillos meets The Objex, it is a contagiously irresistible slab of pop punk, quickly getting full involvement from hips and voice as Amanda again rules the speakers whilst rhythms jab and riffs get under the skin, the track’s hooks digging even deeper to complete the virulent slavery.