Review of Maia's 'Pepper Stars' for Artrocker magazine

“Here at the Olympic Games in London, our attention is presently focused on the 100m hurdles final. And they’re off! And, well, what we’re witnessing here can only be described as quite bizarre; the favourite in Lane 4, Maia, is not bothering with jumping over the hurdles and simply running through them. Unsurprisingly, they are being considerably slowed down as a result.” Not only does this metaphor recall the high spirits provoked by this summer’s Olympics, albeit with the help of a slight twisting of reality, it also handily captures my feelings about Maia’s new album, Pepper Stars. The fact that they are the favourites in my fictitious hurdles final represents the idea that the quartet from Huddersfield have the natural talent. That much is obvious. The finger work in the latter half of opener Alien, for example, could not be tighter. The breakdown in Where Else But Earth uses the combination of guitar and various elements of brass to great effect. Constant Play and Towards The Onion, which help close the album, show that the band have some really strong song writing in them. It is what the imaginary hurdles represent that so peg the band back, though – their inability to take themselves seriously. You’d struggle to find a chorus more plain irritating than that of Zuma Aluma, Dear iO features such nonsensical lyrics as ‘I headbutt your position in the coldest reaches of space’ and More Strangely Than The Moon contains more genres than most bands explore in their whole career. Whilst I’m ready to admit that joke acts aren’t exactly to my taste, I can still nonetheless appreciate that there is appeal – one only has to look at the sales of Tenacious D and The Darkness to see that. The issue with Pepper Stars, and perhaps Maia in general, though, is that it’s not obvious enough whether they’re an act to take seriously or to laugh at. If a band doesn’t know how they want to be interpreted, how can their listeners be expected to know? It’s frustrating as the band clearly have the ability to be a great example of one or the other, but instead try to be both. It is this that ultimately fails them.

2/5

Review of 'Just Music Cafe Vol. 4: The Ambient Zone' for Artrocker magazine

Now, I know what you’re thinking: that a review about an album called The Ambient Zone will send you to sleep just as quickly as the music in question does, that there’s only so much one can say about an LP which is bound to be pretty well entirely comprised of slightly variable noises that all suspiciously sound like they came from a whale. And you’d be right. Lucky, then, that this is no ordinary ambience album. Sure The Ambient Zone makes use of the stereotypical flute-sounding instrument (Digitorial’s Sense) and has cringe-inducing song titles that could only be on an album of this kind (Viragi’s Slowtide), but what relaxation album doesn’t? It is telling that, whilst it might get the job done, Marconi Union’s Weightless (voted by Time Magazine to be the 11^th best invention of 2011), compared to its counterparts, is particularly unexceptional. Whilst it must be admitted that none of these tracks will get the heart pumping like, say, the prices of The Rolling Stones reunion tour will, the number of moments that seize the listener’s attention for musical reasons is unexpectedly high. The combination of piano and guitar on Dan Arborise’s Flicker is particularly effective, for example, Honeyroot makes good use of especially soothing vocals (Radiant) for another, whilst the conveniently named Loner lets a simple piano and nothing else work the magic on Beneath The Ivy. And yet the surprises do not end just there. Sure enough Echaskech’s Little Rays starts off in typical ambient style with its ethereal infused electronica then bam!, half a minute in, a post dubstep-worthy bass line is dropped. Just as you weren’t expecting the use of such exciting punctuation (the exclamation mark) and the word ‘dubstep’ in this review, so too was I not expecting to be so entertained by an album who’s primary purpose is to help people sleep.

4/5

Review of The Sundowners' 'Hummingbird' single for Artrocker magazine

Let’s play a game of true or false: The Sundowners are a current, up-and-coming, Liverpudlian band? Surprisingly, true. ‘Surprising’ in the sense that debut single, Hummingbird – produced by James and Ian Skelly of The Coral fame and released on the band’s own record label, Thin Skin Records – could not be less ‘current’ and ‘Liverpudlian’. To start, the sound is of a real vintage feel (perhaps exaggeratedly so); the guitars are bordering on being more jangly than The Smiths (!), whilst the vocals seemingly adopt the belief that strength comes in numbers, much like, say, The Beach Boys did and still do. Comparisons to bands that aren’t quite so ‘current’, then. Secondly, Hummingbird is 2 minutes 36 seconds of Americana-laced sunshine. Were Americana and sunshine to be our whole nation’s currency, let alone just the city of Liverpool’s, our financial situation would be... Well, our financial situation would be much like it is now but you get the point. What cannot be disputed, though, is the popularity of old school-styled artists and bands, like The Sundowners, at the moment – you could even say they were ‘up-and-coming’. Handy.

4/5

Review of Andy Burrows' 'Company' for Artrocker magazine

The next sentence will not make for pleasant reading. Johnny Borrell. (Told you.) Now imagine if that sentence followed you around wherever you went. Grim, I know. Given that he is only one album deep into his solo career, these unfortunate circumstances is what Andy Burrows has to deal with. Every. Day. Case in point: The words ‘Andy Burrows’ means very little to you. The words ‘the ex-drummer of Razorlight’ mean considerably more. This is by no means to say that Burrows is content with barely having a name for himself, though, far from it. In an attempt to put his name on the musical map, for example, this album around he’s chosen to fly under his own name rather than his previous I Am Arrows moniker. And, if Company is anything to go by, he’s also trying to make his own musically speaking; some songs on the album could not be more different to the Razorlight of old. It’s all very grandiose (strings are a predominant feature, for example), unfortunately too much so at some points – Hometown is sickly-sweet, whilst Maybe You, bizarrely, could well have fitted into Funny Looking Angels, a Christmas album produced in collaboration with Editors’ Tom Smith. Although there is the odd good moment (the razzmatazz towards the latter stages of recent single Because I Know That I Can was a pleasant surprise), it’s all a bit too mopey.


3/5

Introducing #DreamSofar

It's here. #DreamSofar.

It's your chance to tell Twitter which 5 artists/bands would make up your #DreamSofar. It's your chance to find out which 5 artists/bands would make up various people in the industry's #DreamSofar. It's your chance to make your #DreamSofar a reality.

The Twitter names of the 5 artists/bands that would make up your #DreamSofar. @Sofarsounds. The hashtag #DreamSofar. Put all of these in a Tweet and just maybe, with a little luck, your #DreamSofar could happen.

We have but 1 rule when it comes to your 5 artists/bands. You are only allowed 5. That means your 5 can be already famous, any genre, even dead! You get the idea. Have more than 5? Changed your mind after you've sent your Tweet to us? Don't worry, #DreamSofar will be back. When? Well, you'll just have to look out for the clues we leave on our Twitter and Facebook as to who's telling us about their #DreamSofar next.

To give you a little inspiration, we've asked varous people in the industry to tell us who would make up their #DreamSofar, and why. As it's December 1st, and thus officially the start of Christmas, we thought what better excuse than for the artists/bands playing our special Christmas Sofar to start proceedings (you'll find the #DreamSofar of the first on our line-up, Beachwalk Canvas, below).

Strength comes in numbers. Tweet. Retweet. Reply. Favourite. Just remember, the power is in the hashtag #DreamSofar.

Beachwalk Canvas, who made a hugely successful Sofar debut on October 2nd of this year, are a young indie-folk band from West London, comprised out of two brothers and one sister of the same family, with new material out early next year. Their #DreamSofar would be made up of:

Bishop Allen (Becky's choice):

'They have probably been the biggest influence for Beachwalk Canvas. Before we became a band, we used to play their songs together, and still do! As a three piece they have a great mix of lively and relaxed songs.'

The National (Lee's choice):

'Certainly one of my biggest inspirations. They have written so many great songs across so many great albums! Beautiful music with the incredible melancholy vocals of Matt Berninger. They would completely captivate any Sofar Sounds audience.'

Sufjan Stevens (Matt's choice):

'He is probably my favourite artist and has been since I first heard him. The instrumentation varies so much across his songs and they would be great for a sing along. With ten Christmas EP's, he would be perfect for a festive Sofar session.'

Sigur Ros (the band's choice):

'Listening to their songs is a mind, body and soul experience, from hazy weightless relaxation to awe inspiring walls of sound. May cause tears, uncontrollable grinning or throw you into a state of blissful paralysis.'

I'm From Barcelona (the band's choice):

'A twenty-nine piece, insanely happy Swedish band. What more do you need to know? One of the most fun evenings you're likely to experience!'

Interview with singer-songwriter Al Lewis for tmrw magazine

Al Lewis - he's just like you and I; so too does he suffer heartbreak when that seemingly unbreakable relationship falls apart, so too does he feel the ache when the previously clear career path becomes infringed, so too does he ride the rollercoaster that is life with all its ups and all its downs. Why, then, is he - and not you, nor I - featured in this magazine? When life does it's best to make living everything other than plain sailing, chances are you and I like nothing better to have a good old fashioned moan and to be done with it. Whilst listening to us spew our troubles out might be seen as a duty, a nuisance even, listening to Al Lewis do so is seen by many to be a pleasure. This is why he is featured in this magazine, and you and I are not.

Take Lewis's new album, Battles, for example. In reference to the album's somewhat cryptic title, I tell him that as much as I'd like these 'battles' to be epic Lord of the Rings-style, I figured that he'd most likely be talking a little less Tolkien and a little more figuratively. He tells me that the album is about the realisation that "life is hard". He's right on both accounts; the album is indeed about life being hard (on opener The Truth in Growing Old, Lewis tells us 'Life can take it's toll - loved ones come and go', for example) and life is indeed hard - Al tells me he wrote the aforementioned track when a few loved ones sadly passed away during the recording process.

But by no means is it all doom and gloom for the Welsh singer-songwriter, far from it. Although the start of his musical career was a little bleak (but who's isn't?), scouring our country up and down in a quest for the next available open mic night, him and his ability to be a man of the people, and sound 'reminiscent of the classic singer-songwriters of the 70s delivered with a modern twist' has got him going to all the right places and meeting all the right people: it got him sharing the stage with King of Collaborations Mark Ronson (at Welsh festival Wakestock), it got him meeting his musical childhood heroes, such as Manic Street Preachers and Gruff Rhys of Super Furry Animals (at the ceremony of the Welsh Music Prize; Lewis' first English language album, In The Wake, made the shortlist (he also operates in his native Welsh tongue, which tends to have a bit more of a 'band' feel and makes for a more "raucous" set)), you could even say it's what got Battles produced. Regarding the latter, Al tells me he only got in touch with producer Charlie Peacock on a whim having liked the sound of a band Peacock had previously produced (The Civil Wars) as they performed on Later...with Jools Holland. Lewis was expecting nothing of it. Peacock e-mailed back the next day saying he had liked what he had heard of Al's material, and invited him to his recording studio in Nashville. Things went from there.

Somewhat bizarrely, Al has rather made a knack of being swayed by musicians appearing on television shows. Whilst it is almost expected for Al to take inspiration from such 70s greats as Jackson Browne, Neil Young and Cat Stevens, and even their modern day equivalents, such as Damien Rice, Michael Kiwanuka and Ben Howard, what is not expected is for him to be getting ideas from the likes of Cheryl Cole. Yes, you read that correctly. Cheryl. Cole. Whether it be a defence mechanism or whether it be a legitimate excuse, in an attempt to defend his corner Lewis alleges that it was somebody else's idea (his manager's) for him to cover something contemporary. "But why, of all people, Cheryl Cole?" I quite rightly enquire on behalf of all music fans. Well, guess who appeared on The Jonathan Ross Show?

In an attempt to move conversation onto artistry that's a little more, well, credible in the music world, I ask him who his dream collaboration would be with. I breathe a sigh of relief when he comes out with an absolute corker: "It's got to be Bob Dylan." Well, given the way he's going, does dim drwg am gofyn. Which, if you didn’t know, is Welsh for 'there's no harm in asking'.

Sofar, meet Brighton. Brighton, meet Sofar.

Yes, that's right. It's finally happening. You don't need to have been to the city on the coast to know that Brighton has quite the burgeoning music scene. It hasn't spawned such great artists as Bat For Lashes, Blood Red Shoes and The Maccabees and played host to the Brighton Festival and The Great Escape over the years for nothing. And given that we at Sofar are enticed to burgeoning music scenes like flys are to light bulbs, it was a love story waiting to happen. You could even go Sofar as to say it's a modern day Romeo & Juliet. But, of course, we at Sofar like to do things a little differently (who ever thought doing a gig in a living room would be a good idea?), so instead of our Romeo and Juliet coming to a wholly premature poison-fuelled ending, they are to walk hand in hand along the Brighton Pier and live happily ever after (it's what dear old Willy Shakespeare would've wanted). Although with a little help from our friends at The Great Escape festival we've had casual forays into the city before, and in the process brought the luscious tones of such talented musicians as Trophy Wife, We Were Evergreen and even our co-founder David J. Alexander to those who were lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time, the time has come for Brighton to stake a much overdue claim in Sofar history all of its own. Unsurprisingly we've got a great line-up set up, and the magical moment not so indifferent to spacehopper Neil Armstrong's little venture is set to happen towards the end of this very month.

If you're not as excited as we are about this, 1) check your pulse - Sofar is coming to one of the greatest musical cities this world has to offer after all and 2) read this - our recently appointed Head Local Blogger down in Brighton, Adam Wilson, reconfirms for us why the Sofar movement is so significant. Didn't even have to ask him to write the article, or pay him for that matter. I leave you with one of Shakespeare's most famous lines:

To Sofar or not to Sofar? There is no question about it.

Picture: Steve McCallum

If you think your city has a music scene crying out for some Sofar lovin' and we're yet to get to you, give rafe@sofarsounds.com an e-mail. If you like what you see and want to get involved in the editorial side of Sofar, give me an e-mail at nick.beaver@sofarsounds.com. If you think you have what it takes musically to create some Sofar history all of your own, or think you know of an artist or band that have the potential to do so, send your recommendation to sofarsoundsmusic@gmail.com.

Because Monday mornings are just as hard as Sunday evenings

We're all in this together. Sunday evenings: the time seemingly created so the nation can collectively weep at the demise of the fun and freedom that came with the now ending weekend. Believe it or not, but whilst we at Sofar put on brave faces and great secret gigs for you guys, we feel your pain. That's why we - or, more specifically, Tom Lovett of our Sofar Creative arm - teamed up with the lovely lot at Twenty Something London to make it all better. Much like a hug for your heart, the result was TSL's first ever Sunday Music Mix. And whilst it might not be Sunday any longer, it's Monday morning - there is still a battle to be won. Feeling that your multiple cups of coffee (with notably more teaspoons of sugar) just aren't hacking it? Still daydreaming of the times when you didn't get a pang of guilt if you didn't, God forbid, check your e-mail every fifteen minutes? Then check out Sofar's attempt at TSL's Sunday Music Mix or click play on the playlist below and you'll be likening Monday mornings to Friday afternoons in no time.

Love, the ever-helpful Twenty Something London and the ever-sleepy Sofar x