Silver Rocket

Silver Rocket at London Buffalo Bar, Fri 16 Feb

Review by Daniel Ross

In the intensely crimson Buffalo Bar, some bands play. They are uniformly shit until Mittens arrive. Mittens, who play the kind of pop favoured by a naked Jason Lytle slathering cream all over The Mountain Goats. This is bracing, utterly fresh and stripped-down popular music, devoid of any garish over-indulgence. Whizz-bang and that's a song...»

Buffalo Bar

Train: Highbury (3 mins)

Tube: Highbury & Islington (3 mins)

Outside Highbury and Islington tube station, and underneath the Famous Cock pub,»

The Madeleines

London four piece, who you might've seen playing at White Heat, Notting Hill Arts Club or the Truck Festival. Debut single Trouble/Safety Net was released in January 2006.»

Finlay

Band members names - role in the band:

Adam - guitars/vocals
Anamik - drums
Chris - guitars
Giles - bass
Lorna - keyboards/vocals

Finlay was born in the summer of 1997 when three childhood friends (Adam, Anamik & Chris) inspired by the scratchy recordings of Drag City and Eric's Trip, produced a cassette only album recorded on a broken 4-track recorder. No harm was intended and any idea of a 'band' was quietly ignored as they left the east end of London to go to other places (Berlin, New Cross and Sheffield respectively). However, a chance encounter a few years later let to the reformation of what was now named 'Finlay' and three became five including one time girlfriend Lorna who played 'keys'.

An initially meteoric rise including a headline gig at the Highbury Garage (2nd show) followed by a hyperbolic review in the Melody Maker and phone calls from major labels, was countered by another sabbatical, as the indifferent band took time out to not rehearse and install new bassist and shot in the arm Giles. Months later and Finlay began to play again live whilst setting up their own record label Growl Wow Records which released Finlay's first 7" single 'Little Dancing Solos' and a track on the 12" Growl Wow EP*.

As word quietly spread throughout the underground about their blistering, unpredictable live sets and their particular brand of skewed noise pop, Finlay began to gather more excited press reaction from the NME, The Times and Careless Talk Costs Lives and earned radio plays from John Peel, Steve Lamacq, Mary Anne Hobbes and John Kennedy. And in 2003, Finlay decided to let someone else do the work for them and entered into an agreement with cult indie Fortuna Pop! who released the debut album proper I Dreams and Visions in the summer of 2003.

Finlay disbanded early on in 2007.

Mittens

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