http://www.godisinthetvzine.co.uk The Online Cultural Smorgasbord Tue, 30 May 2006 13:49:59 +0000 Tim hulio en http://www.godisinthetvzine.co.uk/site_images/logo.gif http://www.godisinthetvzine.co.uk http://godisinthetvzine.co.uk/content/content_detail.php?id=2437&type=Interviews http://godisinthetvzine.co.uk/content/content_detail.php?id=2437&type=Interviews Wed, 14 May 2008 16:47:35 +0100 Will Metcalfe Interviews http://godisinthetvzine.co.uk/content/content_detail.php?id=2437&type=Interviews Dorian Cox is a tall man, gangly almost and as you might expect his handshake isn't exactly a bone cruncher. You've probably heard his bands last effort Someone to Drive You Home, or more likely the gleeful indie racket ‘Once & Never Again' in one ... read more! - “Couples” and it's not quite what some people might have expected, gone is the window for Pulp comparisons, though shots at Blondie still remain. “I see it as more a progression, I don't wanna disown what we did on the first record but it's very much of it's time, we don't really write songs like that anymore. Or certainly not musically.”

When you listen to “Couples” there is certainly a sense of a band indulging, a band at play and whilst it may lack the immediacy of their debut, endurance proves it t obe a thoroughly rewarding listen. But despite the fact they've chose krautrock over Britpop this time round, the major talking point in the media is undoubtedly the accompanying press release claiming to be inspired by the great couples of the 20th century; Sonny and Cher, Richard & Judy, the Two Ronnies…“it was a bit tongue in cheek, I wrote it ‘cos we basically realised that that's what people do and we thought if they're gonna do that we may as well make it interesting.”

I must say at this stage I was surprised by the fact Dorian seemed quite grounded, as a chap with a penchant for cynicism I was in awe of the matter of fact way in which the Long Blondes seemed to regard the music business. “I always wanted to be a music writer before I even thought of being in a band” he tells me, after studying Media at Sheffield's Hallam university things didn't really head that way contrary to what people may have read. The band got together through the inevitable, a small city with a smaller music scene, not through Fresher's Boutique and certainly not through Sheffield University's world beating Offbeat club night- “We did all go to Offbeat and stuff and Kate did work in a clothes shop but I think us meeting there was just kind of a white lie really.” At this point Dorian exerts something between a snigger and a laugh, something that punctuates the interview, he's enjoying it-or at least that's what I assume.

White lies it seems are another way the band entertain themselves on the road, in interviews, in between running the website, My Space and Facebook pages of course. In the early days of the band you could phone Dorian, or in my case text him to find out about new releases and ask for cheeky email interviews. This, he says, is something he misses; especially in the run of the mill world of the mainstream music press. “It's usually smaller things like yourselves and fanzines where you get the more interesting questions. When you do the bigger publications you get the same things”. Flattery works wonders you know, finally by this point my fears of it going all Black Kids were vanquished.

The laziness of journalists is something legendary misanthrope Mark E Smith has been rambling about in the extracts from his forthcoming autobiography, ‘Renegade' his description ringing surprisingly true of the editorial or at the least the part about not being able to handle your drink, thankfully not so much the ‘asking the same questions year in year out', or at least I'd hope not. This amuses Mr. Cox no end, and he tells me about one of his mates who interviewed Mark E in Amsterdam of all places, initially guarded but a nice guy after a few beers by all accounts. “I think he is quite a cantankerous person anyway, the amount of time he's been in the industry I can see it, each time you do a new record you do get new interviewers coming through and asking the same stuff all the time” sentiments echoed by Cox himself there I think.

There is without doubt a quality to the band that seems outdated, the fashion, the music and the sentiments that they embellish themselves with, they all seem long abandoned by wider society yet this romantic element to their image is one that is often outshone by the perceived fashion element of the band. Talking about the artwork of the latest artwork Kate Jackson, the band seductive front woman follows the band line in being inspired by the likes of the Two Ronnies but also Abba videos and the ‘concrete austerity of the Barbican'. This, Dorian assures me is not tongue in cheek. “No, it wasn't tongue in cheek. One of the things you do, and I'm sure most people do this, youtube is probably the best website in the world ever and we always pick a band for a day and just look at all the videos. There's something really innocent about Abba videos… really kinda funny, futuristic but old fashioned at the same time and that's how we see our music on this album.”

This description is acute, when you hear tracks like ‘Round the Hairpin' for the first time the driving bass, and whirring synths genuinely do conjure up a sense of false nostalgia, inspired by the likes of Saint Etienne. The dialogue that starts the tracks was almost an exact rip from early heroes like Saint Etienne and Manic Street Preachers, both bands who managed to perfect the art of sampling obscure audio clips, only rather than lines from Orwell and the voices of pimps the Long Blondes are offering Terry Wogan and once again the Two Ronnies. “I've got this old 60s tape player and me and Kate were recording an acoustic b-side and I wound the tape back to see what was on it before and I pressed play. The first thing that came up was this really kinda weird sixties orchestral music then Terry Wogan talking. We even got a mention on his show the other day.”

This comes with a bizarre sense of pride, granted it's not everyday you get mentioned on the cheeky old Irish man's flagship breakfast show but the joy is perhaps a little odd but at the same time not unexpected. The Long Blondes seem to epitomise what is great about the particularly British brand of song writing, I would say kitchen sink but that's a little over used and not as extensive as one may hope. Talk turns away from Wogan and towards the stigma that surrounds a second album, something I'm told that didn't really affect the band, the pressure was around the first record.

Yet despite the somewhat depreciative view the band take towards the first record (“immediately satisfying but it hasn't got much longevity”) it seems that for some "Someone to Drive You Home" meant a lot. “We met this fan in Liverpool the other day; he'd got some of the lyrics tattooed on his arm. I didn't know what to do, I was so happy; it really meant a lot ‘cos essentially I'd designed his tattoo. The only other ones I'd seen had been Joy Division or Smiths lyrics, something quite profound.” This probably says something quite profound about Dorian's ability as a songwriter, though the lyrics may seem somewhat female centric the Long Blondes affect both men and women, girls and boys…you get the picture.

Time by this point was running short, leaving me a few quick questions. So, what kinds of question get on the collective nerves of the Long Blondes? “You've stayed away from the old ‘are clothes important' question; we still get that, it pisses me off. I don't mind, part of pop is dressing up and stuff and we did milk it a bit to start with but now we dress down, we don't do anything like we used to. Bands like CSS, the Gossip, the Horrors lots of times we just go one wearing jeans and a t-shirt… I also get a bit bored with the classic, for want of a better term whacky student kinda thing ‘if you had to be a piece of cheese what would you be' them questions are good for bands like busted but we're too cynical to get involved with people like that.” At this point I tell Dorian he's just discovered my next question, he laughs. I laugh. Wonderful.

Oh, and in case anyone wondered his favourite Smiths song, or his song of the day at least was ‘Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now', a fine choice. ]]> http://godisinthetvzine.co.uk/content/content_detail.php?id=2437&type=Interviews http://godisinthetvzine.co.uk/content/content_detail.php?id=2436&type=Features http://godisinthetvzine.co.uk/content/content_detail.php?id=2436&type=Features Tue, 13 May 2008 20:33:19 +0100 Paul Cook Features http://godisinthetvzine.co.uk/content/content_detail.php?id=2436&type=Features The second series of Channel 4's groundbreaking youth drama Skins is out now and with 8 fully loaded episodes and an entourage of special features it's well worth those hard-earned pennies. Series 2 sees Tony, the tragic victim of a bus accident try to get ... read more! -
Series 2 sees Tony, the tragic victim of a bus accident try to get his life back on track whilst his friends Sid, Michelle and Maxxie try to get on with theirs. Sister Effie, the likely-lead for series 3 which will see a new cast implemented as the original moves on into adulthood also features more prominently. It's end of school and time for exams but the group still put love, loss and the continuing party of teenage life first.

Series 2 of Skins elaborates on the representation of modern teen culture and society and goes about it with style and poignancy whilst keeping a serious core rooting the show in reality first and foremost.

Musically, Skins is an eclectic goodie bag of treats. Asobi Seksu, Foals, LCD Soundsystem, Pendulum, Chemical Brothers and Crystal Castles feature amongst interspersed classics from Johnny Cash, The Stranglers and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. Also GIITTV favourites Sigur Ros, Animal Collective and Battles pepper the soundtrack making for an ultimately fantastic musical ensemble to accompany a fantastically well-made drama.

Each episode of Skins series 2 is based on one or two particular characters and portrays everything from drug overdose to teenage pregnancy to the loss of a loved one. Dealt with poignantly and respectfully, Skins offers an alternative, sometimes more realistic way to deal with the trials and tribulations of teenage life. One thing that many will be glad to see is that the consequences of drug abuse and under-age alcoholism are dealt with more seriously in series 2, contrasting the controversial portrayal the subject was given in the first series.

Effie along with an entirely new cast will feature in series 3 of Skins and fans of the show are pleased and upset in equal numbers. The show's makers want to portray a particular section of teen society without lingering on the original cast, whom, by the end of this series are to be divided anyway as they follow paths to University and College. One can only be excited at the prospect of another series of such a fantastically addictive drama. ]]> http://godisinthetvzine.co.uk/content/content_detail.php?id=2436&type=Features http://godisinthetvzine.co.uk/content/content_detail.php?id=2435&type=Features http://godisinthetvzine.co.uk/content/content_detail.php?id=2435&type=Features Mon, 12 May 2008 17:04:46 +0100 Bill Cummings Features http://godisinthetvzine.co.uk/content/content_detail.php?id=2435&type=Features www.godisinthetvzine.co.uk and local promoters www.myspace.com/onlyalternative team up to present: VESSELS, STRAY, BORDERS SCREAMING EAGLE ,JOY OF SEX@TEN FEET TALL, 11a-12 Church Street Cardiff CF10 1BG -28/05/08. Entry : £4 Doors: 7.30pm The world famous Twisted by design indie disco in the basement. VESSELS Vessels are ... read more! - www.godisinthetvzine.co.uk and local promoters www.myspace.com/onlyalternative team up to present:
VESSELS,
STRAY, BORDERS
SCREAMING EAGLE
,JOY OF SEX@TEN FEET TALL, 11a-12 Church Street Cardiff CF10 1BG -28/05/08.
Entry : £4
Doors: 7.30pm

The world famous Twisted by design indie disco in the basement.

VESSELS

Vessels are an experimental rock band (Martin Teff, Tim Mitchell, Tom Evans, Lee J. Malcolm, Peter Wright) from Leeds, who formed in 2005, and have since played at the Leeds and Latitude festivals, released two singles and recorded a full length album due for release in the spring through Cuckundoo records. They manage to show that you CAN have a variety of songs and still maintain your own identity as a band, and you CAN have post-rock with vocals, and you CAN be mellow and ambient one moment, and rocking out with planet sized riffs the next. With a string of dates lined up across the UK, catch them now before things explode and they vanish off around the world to show that the UK still has some life left in it yet.

''Dynamic post rock which stalks around your room before launching itself through a window.''
Steve Lamacq, BBC Radio 1


STRAY BORDERS

In support are Stray Borders. The Cardiff based four awoke in 2006 as Stray Borders and over the last six months have; appeared on Cardiff Compliation "This Town Ain't Big Enough For The 22 Of Us", been voted demo of the week by Organ magazine, enjoyed air play on BBC Radio One, BBC Radio Wales, and other radio stations. They create beautiful, slow burning, epic, sounscapes. The borders "recall the best elements of Godspeed, The Pixies, Sonic Youth Slint and the Liars whilst maintaining an individual and intelligent sound."

Purveyors of slow-burning, mathematically precise alt-rock experiments that strongly recall the shrill distortion barrages of Sonic Youth...and we await further news from their dark camp with bated breath." BBC EXPOSURE


SCREAMING EAGLE

Artistic guitar work, raging bass lines, forceful beats and powerful lyrics unite Screaming Eagle into an epic power-trio. Forcing themselves vehemently into the awaiting ears of an ever-expanding and eager public and armed with one of the most exciting debuts to come out of South Wales for a long time, they prepare to take their sound to the people.

Emerging in autumn 2005 and comprising of Nikolai Ribnikov, Thomas Jones and Jason Young, Screaming Eagle recently completed their first full-length album at the renowned Mighty Atom Studios. Already garnering critical acclaim before its release, 'Wake Up The Dawn' delivers melodic intensity with an aggressive edge.

"This Welsh trio offers a tasty blend of jazz rhythms and swaggering stoner riffs."
ROCKSOUND


JOY OF SEX

Opening the show are new Cardiff three piece Joy Of Sex, their taught, angular songs are influenced by Wire, PiL and the Swans. They agree on several things. Short songs, rhythm, repetition, noise, form meeting function, newness not novelty, equality, clang, scrape and bang. That is the Joy of Sex.

]]> http://godisinthetvzine.co.uk/content/content_detail.php?id=2435&type=Features http://godisinthetvzine.co.uk/content/content_detail.php?id=2434&type=Live http://godisinthetvzine.co.uk/content/content_detail.php?id=2434&type=Live Sun, 11 May 2008 21:04:27 +0100 Stephen Bray Live http://godisinthetvzine.co.uk/content/content_detail.php?id=2434&type=Live Like most kids weaned on the heady days of Britpop, I had long been aware of Wire's influence on my musical idols of the day. Blur were supposed to sound like them, Menswe@r were supposed to have pretty much ripped them off, and Elastica had ... read more! -
It took a few years before I finally heard the band themselves, though. In those days, having no internet for sampling the music of mysterious bands such as this, and loathe to part with limited teenage finances on albums of which we knew nothing, I mentally placed ‘Wire' to the back of the ‘to be investigated queue'.

Eventually, the time came when the investigation duly happened. And, finally, at the Academy, I got to see them play live.

When I first started seeing bands play live, I found myself more interested in what song would be played next, rather than what song was currently playing. It took me a while to realise that this was simply because I was watching sub-par bands and, finally, I began to see bands that truly captivated me. Bands that dragged me into their music, with both my body and my soul captivated by the sounds, lyrics and assorted sensory delights, bands that had me swaying around in crowds feeling entirely under the influence of some wonderful drug.

Not all bands were like that, however. And I've seen very few in recent years who have been like that. But Wire were one of those.

I can't pretend to have known more than a handful of songs in the set (but then again, there were some yet to be released ones), but seeing Wire live absolutely blew my mind. The sheer passion of the music made me want to sway, to dance, to punch the air. The effect was as severe as tinfoil on fillings, as a tiny clawed creature scratching away at my bones, as a hearty dose of absinthe slowly filtering through my body…

Wire got into my blood in a way that the very finest Spiritualized gigs did, but they had the energy, vitality and wonderful trebly-gratingness of the shouty punk of the Thermals, or the shoegazing power of the Jesus and Mary Chain, or the primal addictive beat of the Fall at their best. But even this doesn't really do justice to Wire's performing power. Simplistic and rigid drum beats drive the sound that the two guitars then stamp their identity all over. I think the key to the wonder of Wire is in the guitar playing. Incisive, inventive, invasive and incomparable it really did cut right through me and take me to a whole new level of gig enjoyment.

I heard Blur, I heard the Jesus and Mary Chain, I heard Elastica, Menswe@r and all of my fallen idols. I heard Mission of Burma, I heard The Fall. So many bands that I held (and hold) dear seemed to take some reference point from this lot. I feel privileged to have seen them. And in such good health, too!

And that, dear reader, is the best that I can come to describing it, really. For this gig, words simply could not do it justice (although I have tried!). All I can do is urge you to see them. They're touring Europe at the moment, but there's talk of a UK tour later this year. You won't regret it.
]]> http://godisinthetvzine.co.uk/content/content_detail.php?id=2434&type=Live http://godisinthetvzine.co.uk/content/content_detail.php?id=2433&type=Live http://godisinthetvzine.co.uk/content/content_detail.php?id=2433&type=Live Sun, 11 May 2008 20:57:24 +0100 Edmund Townend Live http://godisinthetvzine.co.uk/content/content_detail.php?id=2433&type=Live Under threat of closure, The Point inhaled a last gasp of Welsh music before it (like the wonderful Cardiff Coal Exchange which now has heartbreakingly been converted into luxury flats – for people with far too much money to have a soul…) undergoes a horrible ... read more! -
After visiting an American studio to record their debut album last year (much like Leeds band Vessels who are playing a GIITTV night this month – yes blatant plug, they are completely dissimilar), the band aim to build up a riotous fan base by supporting such a big Welsh name and touring later this year. With help from Lostprophets and including vocals from their frontman Ian Watkins, their style has been well structured combining complex musical structure with incredibly catchy pop songs. However, they carry no faux pop sound in the way of synthesizers and rip out a new texture of style with excellent thumping drums and powerful bass. The two vocalists of the band mirror and contrast at will, creating a brilliant dynamic that didn't quite work with The Automatic's original line-up. Their songwriting skill strays nowhere near the abstract concepts of The Automatic (writing about monsters, what are you, 6?) and the ever so popular emo style commonly found in similar Welsh bands. ‘Honesty' is a brutally - uh – honest representation of realisation and astonishment where as ‘Lights Out' portrays wistfulness and nostalgia. Both of these concepts seem intellectual, but that's just the way I interpret them. Their lyrics are accented by brilliant instrumentals from all members and their live presence is full of vigour. Attack Attack are another excellent example of brilliant music attempting to escape the Cardiff music scene.

Viva Machine, Swansea locals, however seem slightly more manufactured. They appear to have made a seamless transition from the dying pop group set up to the screaming-fan-drawing emo rock scene. Unlike the ‘butts' and characteristic Valleys' accents of Attack Attack, Viva Machine appear to be quintessentially non-Welsh. However, manufactured as they might be (I'm not saying they are necessarily pieced together – they just seem it) they still put on a good show and their music spikes through a cynic's first impression. The charismatic falsetto-leaning lead singer bounds around the stage from mic to synths, his brilliant voice is enough to make the screaming audience tolerable. They create a strange sound for the Ziggy Stardust inspired ‘Death Star Trucker', an epic sound derived from similar inspirations it seems; their MySpace declares that they are “LIGHT DARK SLOW FAST HAPPY SAD GLO SPACE ROCK”. See what I mean? With each drumbeat, they pound an omniscient sense of control over the baying crowd. Their strange sound began to play on my mind, however. Each song builds up to a seemingly explosive chorus, yet, it is subdued somewhat. Despite their MySpace proclaiming that they're only inspired by “light, sound, Coors and space” (very Ziggy Stardust) their subdued style makes the At the Drive-In fan in me restless. If only they would break free and go all out, but no, every chorus in every song holds back. Even if their instrumental breaks hold me on the edge of insane dance frenzy, it's still too controlled and restricted. If or when they rip out of these confines, they could or will be brilliant. Await with baited breath, like they seem to be doing.

And so, it seems with so many gigs nowadays, the support acts display more interest than the headliners. The Automatic, thankfully, aren't still the soulless indie band that left reviewers in 2006 screaming for release. Their new stuff is mildly interesting in its lack of mainstream restraint. They even seem to regret their past – looking strained whilst playing their oh-so popular hit ‘Monster' and flashing annoyance when their mics are cut for the audience to yell the repetitive tagline at the top of their lungs. Still, besides this strange event, they do enjoy themselves playing through their new material. Their new addition (replacing the old ‘screaming retard', as colloquially put by a music appreciating friend of mine) seems to have an even more psychotic, but growing enigmatic quality which is interesting to watch over the mind-numbing boredom of album-tracks no one but die-hard fans know the words to. Despite what many people believe The Automatic to be – boring mainstream drivel – their new album shows potential and triumph. Is this the dawning of a new interest in Welsh music? Well, it'd be nice… let's see what album number two holds.

(Photo by Stellar Spontaneous Photography) ]]> http://godisinthetvzine.co.uk/content/content_detail.php?id=2433&type=Live http://godisinthetvzine.co.uk/content/content_detail.php?id=2432&type=Albums http://godisinthetvzine.co.uk/content/content_detail.php?id=2432&type=Albums Sat, 10 May 2008 08:40:08 +0100 George Bass Albums http://godisinthetvzine.co.uk/content/content_detail.php?id=2432&type=Albums Play this album forty times before judgement - it's only fair; it took seventeen hundred times that long to conceive it. Bringing down the zeroes and carrying the four shows you the score right there: six years is a long time in music, longer than ... read more! - Neon Golden - the 2002 sleeper hit that raised the bar on electronic indie like a Colour Sergeant with a very high paystick. Having trailed material on tour as well as recording under a posse of side-projects (13 & God, Tied & Tickled Trio, Rod Jane & Freddy [needs verification]), the band now return to compete in the genre they helped fuel eighty months ago, poised rock-steady on a grid that's been filling in the meanwhile with bitey imitators. Can they convince a nation still smarting from the last Ulrich Schnauss LP that it's time to uncork the bolly? Well, The Devil... has certainly been in tinkering for a long time, and plenty of Chinese whispers have done the rounds on the relevant websites - the electrics have gone/they've taken up busking/the drummer's chained up in the basement. The writing on the wall claims that Team Notwist have chucked away their winning formula of bonding bedsit twee with hard disk epiphanies, and have now chosen other furrows to plough. That's not wholly accurate, but you should definitely tread carefully if you're one of those people whose first action upon playing Grand Theft Auto IV was to repeatedly exclaim “How come they binned the jetpack?”

Regardless of its jink in direction, it's certainly a prudent decision that the band use the subdued Good Lies as the opening flag for their eleven-piece set, acting as a crystal ball for the shape of the LP and confirming the rumours that The Notwist have slid one percent back to their metal origins. No hoarse roars or flailing leather here, though - just a gentle emphasis of the guitars and bass over their android accompaniments to form a strangely superb song about regret versus resolve. Markus Acher's voice is as blue and Germanic as ever, scooting round the melodies like a hoverfly as he explores a more diverse range of chords than he attempted on the band's last record. Gravity is a song crying out to be used in the upcoming WipeOut rehash, blending Snare-era Looper with Underworld's Glam Bucket, and the fey but forlorn Alphabet is three minutes of UFO poetry; all glitchy strumming and collapsed pylons sparking. The ease with which the band fuse these far flung corners of ideas is still smooth to to the point of invisible, and their selection of which glitch or twang to use when decorating Acher's introverted vocal revelations hints at a Mensa-ready brainpower. Chances are they've been eating fish since before they were teething.

There's no doubt that the continent has been producing alt-acoustic albums in droves over the year or so, and at times The Devil...'s folky absorption of live instruments feels like a reaction to their national indie palette, as if they've swallowed the Morr Music label with a drop of phal and are now sweating it back to the fans. That distinct Notwist signature is what marks every track as their own, though, and the time here is spent largely in analysis rather than mimicry. White Town's A Week Next June gets reshot in drowsy rapeseed sepia for Gloomy Planets, the dust cleared away by shimmering pop combines, and Sleep fidgets its way through some angsty bedridden chill, tossing and turning from the electric Rorschach skulking in the half-light. The record's arguable headturner crops up much earlier in the pecking order, however, chattering through your speakers on first single Where In This World, where brass anxiety and running-to-the-hospital strings add a silvery zest to the vocals (apparently, the band have already revealed they wrote a lot of their friends' bad-luck stories into the album's wordplay). Luckily every frown has its foil, and Gone Gone Gone sees them signing off in sluggish mischief, Acher's plea of 'I will never let you go' offset with the gentle chant of 'Gone/Gone/Gone'. It's like a leprechaun deprived of his pot of gold who's started speaking In Rainbows. To be sure.

It's easy to be impatient with any album that braves a change in direction, especially in the face of such a lengthy hibernation and lauded last submission as is the case here. You're only as good as your last job etc., etc., and perhaps opinions on The Devil, You + Me would be less polarised if it were released amidst icy October leaves instead of the prehistoric heatwave currently baking the landscape. Seasonal anomalies aside, though, there's no denying the hidden alchemy in the roots of The Notwist's songwriting - they bring ideas to the table, ideas turn to ingots. According to the die-hards who've already snaffled the leak, to liken this record to its predecessor is to compare Blu-Ray Casino Royale to vintage GoldenEye. They're right, of course, but bear in mind what they really mean is GoldenEye for the N64. And that's a tough one for most people to get over. ]]> http://godisinthetvzine.co.uk/content/content_detail.php?id=2432&type=Albums http://godisinthetvzine.co.uk/content/content_detail.php?id=2431&type=Albums http://godisinthetvzine.co.uk/content/content_detail.php?id=2431&type=Albums Thu, 08 May 2008 18:54:09 +0100 Helen Newbery Albums http://godisinthetvzine.co.uk/content/content_detail.php?id=2431&type=Albums ‘Haven't You Heard…' is the debut mini-album from Guildford quintet The Getaway Team. Opener ‘I Regret' is a bit disappointingly indie-by-numbers, with its standard-issue choppy guitar work. Follower ‘Not What I Signed Up For' is little better; if anything, it's a bit plodding and pedestrian. ... read more! - http://godisinthetvzine.co.uk/content/content_detail.php?id=2431&type=Albums http://godisinthetvzine.co.uk/content/content_detail.php?id=2430&type=Singles http://godisinthetvzine.co.uk/content/content_detail.php?id=2430&type=Singles Thu, 08 May 2008 15:25:16 +0100 Sel Bulut Singles http://godisinthetvzine.co.uk/content/content_detail.php?id=2430&type=Singles It's probably a good job that Simian split up. Although they had a neat few tunes, their mixtapes were far superior to their albums, and it's saying a lot that their best song was when Justice remixed them. So dance music seemed to be in ... read more! -
Hearing Simon Lord's infectious vocals on a dance track outside of We Are Your Friends and his small part on Simian Mobile Disco's album is refreshing in a world of electro dominated nowadays by uninspiring MCs or similarly uninspiring robot-voices. An explosive opening beats are soon layered by demonic synths, with the track eventually building up to a majestic if slightly underwhelming release.

Some great remixes by the ever excellent Sinden and Vincent Markowski overshadow the other remixes that come with this package and add an extra layer of enjoyment to I Want Nothing. A solid effort that will be more enjoyable in clubs than at home, The Black Ghosts are certainly invigorating in the majority of soundalike electro around right now, but they still have a while before they catch up to Simian Mobile Disco's monolithic presence.

out now – released 24th April ]]> http://godisinthetvzine.co.uk/content/content_detail.php?id=2430&type=Singles http://godisinthetvzine.co.uk/content/content_detail.php?id=2429&type=Albums http://godisinthetvzine.co.uk/content/content_detail.php?id=2429&type=Albums Thu, 08 May 2008 11:20:36 +0100 Edmund Townend Albums http://godisinthetvzine.co.uk/content/content_detail.php?id=2429&type=Albums Seriously, if anyone else calls releasing music for free online ‘doing a Radiohead' in my presence I will… well, I won't do anything besides tell them they're stupidly ignorant… but bands have been releasing free music since broadband internet became available, and anyone to say ... read more! - Radiohead for the second time. Part one of Ghosts I-IV was released for free and the rest available to buy, whilst hardcore (and wealthy fans) forked out $300 for the limited edition copies (all hand-signed by Trent Reznor - who has been Nine Inch Nails since his debut Pretty Hate Machine). The Slip however, is ten free complete tracks for your listening pleasure straight from the NIN.com website.

The Slip opens with 999,999 the introduction of the album, a pulsing crescendo of ambient industrial sound commonly heard in Trent Reznor's last release Ghosts I-IV. Reznor has finally seemed to be able to balance the clean cut computer noises of With Teeth and Year Zero with the synthesized sound of ‘The Downward Spiral'. The track ends with Reznor talking – ‘When did I slip into…”

And so begins 1,000,000… It opens with a common Josh Freese (current NIN drummer and session drummer for over 100 different bands) smash-the-drums-as-hard-as-you-can intro. Synthed guitar kicks in and any hardcore fan would immediately spout up ‘That's Robin Finck!' – Guns ‘n' Roses' ex-guitarist (who previously toured with Reznor and returned to replace ex-Icarus Line lead Aaron North - yes, I'm going to continue with the multiple connections, so keep up).

After snide critics welcomed the chance not to hear Reznor “whining” on ‘Ghosts' it seems he's held his muscular exterior through vocals, and aggressively chants the opening lines “kind of hard to see/when you crawl/on your hands and your knees”. The lyrics echo Year Zero's snubbing of oppression in a fictional future and soon the song descends into chaos. The distortion provided by the synth keys of Allesandro Cortini mingles with Finck's repetitive chords and the bassline to give aural confusion. From the virtual sleeve notes it seems that this is the first Nine Inch Nails to be recorded by the majority of the live band, excluding the new addition of ex-80's Matchbox… lead guitarist Rich Fownes. The vocals are lost in the mesh of dirty sound and soon the track loses control into a wailing synth solo. The structure of the songs disappointingly for fans of pre-00's NIN isn't as messy as ‘Downward Spiral' and still echoes of the glorified mainstream of ‘With Teeth'. Reznor has taken full advantage of new computer technology as soon as it appears (as is the case with *sigh* ‘doing a Radiohead') and works tirelessly at a laptop to create new music whilst on tour.

So, for the rest of ‘The Slip' – ‘Letting You' is a haunting and aggressive attack on the government and the public simultaneously with Reznor declaring “we are letting you get away with it!”. Track four and the first preview track that Reznor released for free download – Discipline sounds like ‘Only' from ‘With Teeth' and has invoked a fan-created parody of the YMCA video based on lyrics such as “I see you left a mark/up and down my skin/I need your discipline”. Quite, but then if you know Nine Inch Nails, you know ‘Closer' which is slightly less subtle than Discipline. Echoplex was the second track released by Reznor on the global networking site Facebook to baying fans eager for more from the impending album.

Echoplex is named after both an early musical delay processor and a Los Angeles music venue, however it seems the former is the one that Reznor is referring to as he harmonizes “my voice just echoes of these walls/I don't need anything at all”. Head Down opens with more of Nine Inch Nails' favoured style – distortion and it's ambiguous lyrics are either open to intense interpretation or the realisation that they're completely random. Reznor has found a balance in The Slip between ambience and noise that for an artist with seven successful studio albums couldn't come sooner. Head Down is the epitome of Reznor's struggle to release himself from his label and gain complete creative control with a song that encapsulates perfection and chaos simultaneously.

With most of Nine Inch Nails' albums, some songs flow into each other smoothly and perfectly and Head Down, which is quite an aggressive track ambiences itself into the chilling and beautiful Lights in the Sky, which features Reznor accompanying his barely audible vocals on piano. Despite Reznor's success as a producer, it is clear that Atticus Ross (long time colleague of Reznor) and other engineers have helped Reznor with this stray away from the norm and created a perfect mix of simple and moving song. For fans this is a crucial song, as it is Reznor's first sincere non-sexualised love song possibly since With Teeth or even before.

The quiet calming song in comparison to the rest of the noisy album (bar the introduction) changes into a throbbing ambience which brings the listener into the ‘Ghosts' conceptual ideas. The 7 and a half minute song is a strain on your skip finger but the ambience is well controlled by Reznor who shifts through melodies throughout and at four minutes delves into dark synthesized percussion and back into melodies, gloomier than before. This is Corona Radiata, and it shows fans of ‘Ghosts' that this type of music is not a one off for NIN. The whole song is an intense exploration and test of the listener. The next track The Four of Us Are Dying is also instrumental, but not completely computer based. Guitar is surprisingly undistorted to create weaving melodies over a mechanical drum loop and ambience. Robin Finck's influence dips in and out with scraping distorted guitar and three minutes in more distorted synth echoes the ‘Year Zero' sound. The song climaxes into military form and leads into the finale – ‘Demon Seed'. It opens just as the album started, with harsh drums and distortion and continues much in the same fashion with repeated lyrics in four parts. Different distortion frequents in bursts and silence is used with colossal influxes of sound. Reznor is toying with music experimenters everywhere, using sounds from the start of synthesized music up to the edges of musical capability from the time of release. He's also realised the correct balance between instrumental and vocals to please both critics and his fan base. After the ten free tracks are up, it is easy to see that Nine Inch Nails have created industrial musical perfection – and all with no label behind them.Download ‘The Slip' at theslip.nin.com or buy it when it is released this July. ]]> http://godisinthetvzine.co.uk/content/content_detail.php?id=2429&type=Albums http://godisinthetvzine.co.uk/content/content_detail.php?id=2428&type=Live http://godisinthetvzine.co.uk/content/content_detail.php?id=2428&type=Live Wed, 07 May 2008 14:04:07 +0100 Paul Cook Live http://godisinthetvzine.co.uk/content/content_detail.php?id=2428&type=Live Firstly, the four bands comprising this year's NME new bands ensemble tour are in a completely different class to those of last year. Where fans endured a sickly saturation of indie-pop from Pull Tiger Tail, The Little Ones and The Rumblestrips last year, this year ... read more! - White Lies, Team Waterpolo, Friendly Fires and Crystal Castles.

White Lies were first on the bill with their euphoric 80's tinged sound and matching haircuts. Sounding much like Killers come Interpol, the band certainly have a recongisable and likeable sound and live they manage to pull it off nicely. Erring a little too close to Editors-style vocals however does grow tiresome and eventually you are craving for something different.

Luckily, Team Waterpolo offer exactly that, well, sometimes. Hit and miss is the best way to describe the Grimsby four-piece with there alternative mix of DJ-ed beats and pop-punk riffs. The opening Beastie Boys style track and ending Klaxons/Pendulum rave tune were the best of the night with everything in the middle seeming rather unoriginal in the middle. Even flavours of McFly, The Hoosiers and Abba crept into certain tracks making for an entirely disappointing mid-section of their set. They should be advised to stick to the more alternative, experimental sounds of their opening and ending numbers if they're to please future fans.

Sub-80's techno pop outfit Friendly Fires followed and with a modernised Duran Duran styling to their music they proved popular. Great vocals and precise instrumentals made for a fantastic set and brilliant warm up for the headline act of the night Crystal Castles. Probably best known for their tracks Alice Practice (used in the popular Channel 4 series Skins) and Untrust Us, Crystal Castles came on stage to a hugely excited crowd and they didn't disappoint. Just seeing the band was a visceral experience, backlit with strobes right in the audience's face for the first half an hour, the music only adding to the mesmerising experience. Energy in abundance and a euphoric crowd to match made it a fantastic finale to the gig. Crystal Castles deserve to be seen live.
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