Über cool London-born singer Anna Calvi has unveiled a new video of her playing some songs and talking about her favourite pieces in the Tate Britain gallery. Have a watch of the rather great video here:
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTPoPsnkYZM&w=560&h=315]
As announced in Frost Anna plays the Summer Series at London’s Somerset House on 12th July and is also playing select festivals across Europe this summer including Luzern’s Blue Balls Festival in Switzerland.
London-born singer Eugene McGuinness has unveiled the video for his splendid cover of Lana Del Rey’s song ‘Blue Jeans’. The video is directed by London-based (via Melbourne and Montréal) filmmaker Tim Kelly and comes ahead of the release of his album ‘The Invitation to the Voyage’, due to be released on 6th August.
Following his tour as special guest to Miles Kane, Eugene McGuinness will be performing live in the UK over the next few months with headline London shows at Koko on 8th June and The Lexington on 3rd July.
Check out the video for ‘Blue Jeans’ below:
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqKhDYIo4fs&w=560&h=315]
Goodnight And I Wish began life as the solo project of Brandon Jacobs, drummer in post-punk band Neil’s Children, and have now spawned into a bona-fide 4 piece band. I must admit I don’t care much for Neil’s Children, I find them vapid. For me they’ve plundered from the worst bits of The Cure’s songbook. Goodnight And I Wish, however, are a more enjoyable affair.
The EP begins with “Witch Doctor” which is a 60’s guitar pop number, “England’s never looked so good” is a lovely breezy pop number with its “sun, sun, sun” refrain and accompanying harmonica. Delicious. This is the kind of record to pop a few sausages on the barbeque on a lovely July day, and sup beer to. “When You Came to Stay” is a relaxed acoustic affair. “I Spy” is the weak link here, sounding like a million rubbish 90’s indie bands. “Oh, What A Day!” replicates “It Must be Love” by Madness.
“Come Home” sees the vocals of Kelly Thomas at the fore for the first time. It’s delicious. The song sees Thomas and Jacobs singing together and it’s where things start to get interesting. It’s where Goodnight And I Wish start to stand out from being just another indie band with a record collection that includes the Kinks to one with an interesting sound. More Kelly and they’re onto a winner!
The Goodnight And I Wish EP is out now on Cool For Cats Records
Before listening to this record I had never heard of Maika Makovski but by the end of it I was in love with her lush voice and swirling tunes. Prior to entering my life she’s been a very busy girl, this being her 5th studio album and 3rd in 3 years. On top of that she managed to tour hard and star in her first film, Desaparecer, directed by Calixto Bieto. The writing of the album began with Maika, in her own words, “sat at the piano and wanting to just have some fun” in order to get away from the “dense and serious music” of previous efforts. If that was her aim then she should reward herself with a biscuit as her aim’s been achieved.
The album begins with “Language” that builds slowly with instruments being added as the song goes along. Beginning with bass, then drums, then vocals then Maika on piano. It’s 232 seconds of brooding pop loveliness. On “Get Along” Makovski sings “You know you’re stuck with me, I know I’m stuck with you” much to my liking. I’d happily listen to these songs all day. It’s a thundering foot-stomper built that, along with “Your Reflection”, show her penchant for big fun choruses with a punch. It sounds a bit like a radio-friendly version of Cat Power.
“When the Dust Clears” is where she falls over on her attempt to keep things “fun” as she dips into the past but it’s lovely so we’ll forgive her (yes, i forgave her on your behalf). With “No News” and “Cool Cat” she’s back to form. It’s got a swinging country feel. You could imagine her singing these on stage stomping around in some musical. I mean that in a good way. I’d go and watch it even though I hate musical theatre.
“Vulnerable” and “A Dream” end the record by slipping back into the old dark ways and it’s beautiful. If it’s reminiscent of the sound of her older records then I, for one, am looking forward to them reaching my eardrums. It pleases them.
In short, this is a great record; it’s clever, it’s exciting, it’s fun. You want her to win (at what I don’t know!). It’s a different and interesting sound and that’s reason enough to like it but listen to it a dozen times and that novelty doesn’t wear off. If this was a gamble for her then it certainly paid off.
“Thank You for the Boots” is out now on Outstanding Records/Warner Music
Maika Makovski plays Breakout @ Proud Camden on May 9th
Es Muss Sein
Tonight’s show was opened by Es Muss Sein, a 16 year old singer-songwriter from Kent. EMS was personally invited to open the show by Rab from Glasvegas who found her via her facebook page. Her debut EP has been earning her rave reviews, including here at Frost, and so we took the opportunity to catch her at her biggest live performance to date.
At four songs short it was a quick set. “Wave Goodbye”, “Sail”, “Seeping” and “Those Eyes” give off little more than the EP did. Hauntingly soulful, achingly beautiful. Nerves showed at the start but she grew in confidence with every strum of her guitar. She told me afterwards that she”doubted she was good enough” and that she was “very scared”. On this performance the only thing you doubt is that she’ll be bottom of the bill for much longer.
Glasvegas
It’s been a few years since I last saw Glasvegas, atop a mountain near Bern, and it’s fair to say a lot’s happened. In those two years the band have released a new album, Europric Heartbreak, lost their original drummer, Caroline McKay, gained a new drummer, Jonna Löfgren (more on her later), but the most striking change in them is they’re no longer fresh faced new kids on the block. They’ve less teeth and more tattoos yet still, after battling the drugs, perils and heartbreak of fame appear to wear the “happy to be here” look.
Frontman James Allen, as usual dressed all in black, looks exactly like Joe Strummer but despite his attire and the fact that he has the look of a man who may bite your neck at any moment, his autobiographical lyrics about his absent father, his social worker and the struggles of growing up in working class Britain gave him an air of vulnerability that had the crowd eating out of the palm of his hand.
They began with songs from Mercury Award nominated debut album Glasvegas. Opening song “Flowers & Football Tops”, or in Scottish “Flowers & Fitba Tops”, was written about the reaction to the racially motivated murder in Glasgow of Kriss Donald, a Celtic fan – the same team the band support. It works equally as well as a eulogy for their arch rivals Rangers Football Club, a club staring into the abyss. “Geraldine” comes next, followed by “It’s my own cheating heart . . . ” and the band are on a roll. Hit after hit with the audience. Anthem after working class anthem. It’s a brilliant talent of Allen’s, much like that of Alex Turner and Jarvis Cocker, to turn the mundane aspects of life into anthemic greatness.
Sounds from “Euphoric Heartbreak” didn’t quite stir the same excitement as songs from their previous record but it was an interesting sound and certainly a bit of a departure. Less straightforward rock n roll and a bit more experimental.
It must be said though that new drummer, Jonna Löfgren, is the star of the show. She’s taken over from James Allen as the band’s sunglasses-wearer and oozes rock ‘n’ roll swagger. No sitting down for her though. She stands. All the way through. What you get is pure energy. Imagine Rage Against the Machine’s Brad Wilk dosed to the max on cocaine and pro plus and you’re only halfway there.
Glasvegas tonight in London felt like they were beginning something again. The audience saw a band testing themselves and their boundaries but also a band looking at the mountain off success that they scaled with their first album and thinking “I’ll climb that”. And so they just might!
In that two years the band have recorded a new album, lost their original drummer – Caroline McKay, gained a new one – Jonna Löfgren, bassistPaul Donoghue has lost some teeth, guitarist Rab Allen got some tattoos and singer James Allen nearly lost his mind.
I’m going to start by saying something totally unpleasant but very necessary. Once I have done this please read on. In fact I assume since you’re still reading this you’re probably in my thrall and that my subtle form of hypnotism has been successful. So please, read on. Ok, here comes the unpleasant bit; Deer Chicago sound exactly like if Biffy Clyro had made their first album using the singer from The Wombats.
Ok I’m glad we got that out-of-the-way. Ignoring that fact, this works. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts. This limited-edition two-track EP was released in November by the Oxford trio and physical copies sold out almost immediately. It’s two tracks of fairly typical post-rock, quiet/loud with Jonathan Payne’s vocals flying excitedly over the top of them. What the band do well are volume spikes, long crescendos, and the cumulative effects of repetition over long periods with subtle changes. At the risk of boxing the band in, though, they sound like nice boys who you’d happily take home to meet your mother. Not the most alluring of things for a rock n roll band – if they can develop a nastier edge then expect to see them disappear like those other Oxford geniuses, Meanwhile, Back In Communist Russia, otherwise catch them while you can!