Baddies
British Sea Power, Blood Red Shoes, Fightstar, Amplifier, Dananananaykroyd, Wild Beasts, The King Blues, Rolo Tomassi, Sucioperro, Napoleon IIIrd, Attack Attack!, and The Chapman Family
Data via last.fm
- Artists:
- Baddies »
- Attack Attack! »
- Napoleon IIIrd »
- Sucioperro »
- Rolo Tomassi »
- The King Blues »
- Wild Beasts »
- Dananananaykroyd »
- Amplifier »
- Fightstar »
- Blood Red Shoes »
- British Sea Power »
- The Chapman Family »
About the venue
About the artists
British Sea Power
British Sea Power are a band like no other. They make spell-binding, angular music and write peerless songs about obscure Czech novelists, nuclear power stations and 'benign nationalism'. Their reference points range from Dostoyevsky to Charles Lindberg.
Live, they wear army fatigues and submarine uniforms. They cover the stage with foliage and plastic animals. Their sets usually end in a riot of sonic and visceral chaos akin more to performance art than rock music.
Where does their inspiration come from? The group's history provides a few clues. Brothers Yan, the singer, and Hamilton, the bassist, are the sons of an unpublished writer and along with Wood, the drummer, they were brought up in the remote wilderness of England's lake district. Yan met guitarist Noble while studying psychology at Reading University. The four teamed up, and British Sea Power were born. The quintet was completed when bass-drummer and keyboard player Eamon later joined the band.
Seeking a more inspirational base with better venues, the group headed south and landed in the cosmopolitan seaside city of Brighton, where they established Club Sea Power, a night at the Lift and Freebutt clubs, where they DJ'ed, played live and provided a platform for other unusual performers, such as the Copper Family, a 200-year-old Sussex folk troupe.
Following the release of their first single, Fear of Drowning, on their own label, Golden Chariot, and some ecstatic reviews of their live shows, the group signed to Rough Trade records. For a while, during 2001 and 2002, the band were continually touted as the 'next big thing' but the delay in releasing their first album meant that the fickle British music press quickly lost interest.
However, a succession of brilliant singles followed - and the band's breathtaking live shows meant they were steadily building a devoted fan base. Their extensive touring schedule has recently taken them around Europe where they have been supporting avant garde New Yorkers Interpol. Their last UK tour took in venues from Aberdeen to the Scilly Isles.
The latter concert was arranged in association with Operation Lighthouse Keeper, an organisation that campaigns for the reinstatement of manned lighthouses. Prior to the start of the tour, the launch gig for their new album, much to the bemusement of the invited guests, was held in a village pub deep in rural Sussex.
All this may seem like mildly eccentric posturing by an up-and-coming band seeking media attention. But BSP's leisure interests are about as far removed from the traditonal rock'n'roll lifestyle as you could get - ornithology, rambling, Ordnance Survey maps, the flora and fauna of the English countryside and forgotten coastal villages all hold an attraction. They would rather be heading off to the woods with rucksacks on their backs than throwing televisions out of hotel windows.
The group's fondness for pastoral pursuits, coupled with a shy off-stage persona, might lead a casual observer to assume their music would be lacking in energy and passion. In fact, they are one of the most exciting live acts in the country.
The shows inevitably end with the band ad-libbing in a manner that is as infectious as it is chaotic. Yan and his cohorts turn their performances into theatres of the absurd. Tree branches are thrown into the audience; Yan shrieks his lyrics while swallowing the microphone; Eamon marches through the audience banging his drum; Noble climbs onto the speakers and plays the guitar with his teeth; Hamilton, wearing a crown of leaves, makes owl impressions and performs some kind of pagan dance ritual...
Such antics could be used to compensate for the quality of the material. But in the three years since BSP formed, they have created an entrancing collection of songs, from emotive ballads such as new single Carrion and The Lonely (written about the band's late friend, musician Geoff Goddard), to the jerky, psychedlic cacophony of tracks like Favours in the Beetroot Fields and Apologies to Insect Life, and searing rift-driven epics such as Remember Me.
There are echoes of Joy Division (who the group acknowledge as an influence), the Fall, Echo and the Bunnymen and even XTC. But in truth they are really not like any of these.
Whether the group's eclectism and 'English ecccentricity' will inhibit their appeal in an era of manufactured bands and bland indie pop, has yet to be seen. But we do not have too long to wait to find out. Their debut album, The Decline of British Sea Power (released on June 2), should establish them in the heart of the masses. And don't be surprised if NME and Q suddenly decide they are flavour of the month. Let's hope that in all the attention the band are about to receive that they continue making the music they want to make in the way they want to make it.
Into the breach, dear friends - grab it with both hands, you deserve it...
Written by Kevo from Brilliantine Mortality website (linked below)»
Blood Red Shoes
The following was adapted from the band's biography which can be found on their website...
Blood Red Shoes are a band from London and Brighton, UK. They are two people: Laura-Mary (wishes she was Spanish) and Steven (wishes he was French). They play guitars and drums and they sing.
»
Fightstar
- Alex Westaway - vocals, guitar
- Charlie Simpson - vocals, guitar
- Dan Haigh - bass
- Omar Abidi - drums
Dananananaykroyd
Dischord-esque post-hardcore band, apparently "formed from spacks of Multiplies, Michael Dracula, Kill Yourself, Acrnym and Simplestorm. Fight-pop anthems that are as 'right-on' as they are 'smellin'"»
Wild Beasts
Hayden - guitar/vocals
Benny - guitar
Tom - bass/vocals
Bert - percussion/vocals
Wild Beasts being of the modern, being of the renaissance, being baggy pantsed, being tight pantsed, being in a scene and being in a place.
So we bent our backs and leaned hard into our chores, like an old slugger working the ring, the furious fist of fate swung his swing and we took the lot - full on the sweet spot.
»The King Blues
Hackney quartet playing slightly-stoned dub in the following way:
Jonny Fox/Itch - vocals/ukulele
Jamie Jazz - vocals/guitar
Fruitbag - vocals/guitar
Johnny Rich - bass
Rolo Tomassi
A veritable smorgasbord of styles, these female-helmed discotech thrashers specialise in adrenaline-soaked, keyboard-laden art-punk that jerks, jolts and jigs with an ultra-camp temperamentality.
The band's debut self-titled EP was released in late 2006 via Holy Roar and subsequently sold out; a re-pressing featuring bonus tracks is available now.
Edward Dutton - drums
Joe Nicholson - guitar
Eva Spence - vocals
James Spence - keyboards
Joseph Thorpe - bass
Sucioperro
Picture this: a gorgeous little town on the West Coast of Scotland. It's got
a beach, lovely parks, cheerful tourist attractions and Scotland's best-loved
poet Robert Burns. This place is Ayrshire. It's not exactly the setting for
chunky riffs, beers, gigs and laughs but this little seaside town has been
quietly making progress on the music front. This is where metal band Sucioperro met,
this is where they make music and for a while now Ayrshire's held it's own and
seems to be producing much music finery as of late.
The band released their debut EP 'Why
Bliss Destroy' in October 2002. Only 200 copies where pressed and they sold
out in no time at all. The EP also featured Simon Neil (also an Ayrshire lad) of Biffy Clyro doing vocals on 3 tracks. Their latest rock offering is
titled 'The Hidden Perils of Dancing'.
Things are looking up and up for the boys from Ayrshire. They play a mean live show, are gaining more and more fans, have begun to tour England and are playing London more regularly as well as Scotland and are growing all the time. »
Napoleon IIIrd
Napoleon IIIrd is a highly original musician from Leeds.
He makes a unique kind of leftfield pop from piles of antique organs and car-boot keyboards, gentle strummed chords and driving glitched beats. His live show also features a reel-to-reel tape player, sometimes through surround-sound speakers, and a strobing acoustic guitar. Following his first national tour with Applicants, Evenings, Bishi and The Open Mouths in late 2005, he has quickly gained a mighty live reputation. He has since played all sorts of support slots with bands such as Hot Chip, Clor, The Mystery Jets, Forward, Russia! and The Research.
Napoleon has released 2 ltd. edition EPs, the first on Leeds label Dance To The Radio, the second with London-based indie Brainlove Records. His brilliant Forward, Russia! remixes have gained him extensive radio play and an army of new admirers. His debut album, "In Debt To:", is available from iTunes or eMusic now, and on CD soon.
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