Tag Archives: Friday Five

She Makes War – Little Battles | Music Review

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It’s all about War these days. Good Old War, The War on Drugs, She Makes War. Terribly aggressive this life, ain’t it? Except it’s not really. Not when you listen to Laura Kidd’s She Make War, previously a Friday Five tip. No – she’s had her heart trampled on it but manages to sound lovely about it all. As someone who shouts at inanimate objects on a regular basis I can’t begin to empathise with her relative calmness.

There are two things to know about Ms Kidd – she’s incredibly beautiful and makes incredibly beautiful music. Ah yes and she does things all by herself. DIY. Oh go on then, she’s played bass for Tricky, A-ha and former Fame Academy winner Alex Parks. But don’t let that put you off though.

‘Little Battles’ is unmistakably a record documenting the end of a relationship that one wished hadn’t actually ended. Sadly it’s the war of art that means such great stuff is produced in these periods. There’s an edge of unpredictability in SMR’s sound – you never really know where the song’s going to lead. I’m not certain Kidd does either, mostly building around a guitar and taking us wherever the emotion blows us. Not in a whimsical way though.

The closest we get to a title track is ‘Exit Strategy’, which is the stand-out track on the album built around a rock beat, with haunting vocals and a ramblingly beautiful melody stitched over the top.

Mostly on this record we get down-beat confessional tales of woes though. ‘Butterflies’ is built around a ukulele with Kidd singing ‘butterflies, leave me with your lovely lies” and being built around a cheery ukulele should be a bright and breezy sunshine pop number but is as black as midnight on a moonless night given its lyrical content. It’s not all Kidd though, she’s joined by recent touring partner Chris TT on piano for goth-pop number ‘In This Boat’.

A couple of the songs on this record fail to deliver on the drama they are building towards but in all it’s a splendid album, striking a balance between polished pop songstress and a murky goth-rock sound. On ‘Delete’ Kidd goes all a capella on us adding a bit of beatbox in there then dives straight into ‘May Our Daughters Return Home’, a song about female abduction and murder in Mexcio.

All told, this album is splendid. A masterpiece given the background. With no label support, it was made entirely using Pledgemusic. It’s a record where the artistic statement are equally as admirable and given that it’s a break up record it doesn’t stray into petty cliches – it’s an emotionally mature record made by a very accomplished musician. It’s a fine alt-rock record and one that gives us hope. Hope that She Makes War will continue to make music for a long time to come.

Little Battles is out now via Bandcamp for the wonderful price of £3.

 

Links:
http://shemakeswar.com/
http://www.twitter.com/warriorgrrl
http://www.facebook.com/shemakeswar

 

 

Something Personal release free single as download | Music News

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Today’s Friday Five tip Something Personal have released a free 3 song EP to download via their website. Click here to have a listen and download the songs. The Welsh band take their inspiration from the likes of Ac/Dc, Nirvana, The Beatles and The Rolling Stones and have been described by John Robb as “Oasis’ish with a psych edge!”

Catch the band on tour throughout the summer.

 

Photo by Marc Griggs

Male & British | Friday Five

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Yes, you should be working but you can’t be bothered. This is the bit where Frost will introduce you to five brilliant acts that if you’re not listening to already, then you ought to be. Following on from last week’s Female & British piece, we thought we’d showcase some of the great male-fronted British bands out there.

This week the brief is British and Female.

Alto45 are a great Suffolk-based indie band whose influences probably include The Delgados, The Postal Service and Graham Coxon. Stunning!
Tom Williams & The Boat – listen to them loud and enjoy. Indie-folk-rock etc. Thinking man’s music.
The Sea are a rather stunning rock band, comprised of brothers Peter and Alex Chisolm. A novelty that they’re from Cornwall, too.
Something Personal are a bunch of Welsh-based ruffians. They look ugly as sin but don’t let that put you off listening as they make music that is beautiful. Something for the weekend!
The Great Park is splendid. It’s the nom de plume of Berlin-based “problem folk” singer Stephen Burch. Check out a lot more of stuff here, including a lot of his work available to download free.

Female & British | Friday Five

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A new feature and a simple one. It’s Friday. You should be working but you can’t be bothered. Frost will introduce you to five brilliant acts that if you’re not listening to already, then you ought to be. This week the brief is British and Female.

 

Es Muss Sein – a young female singer from Kent., first seen supporting Glasvegas at their recent London show. This track is a live version of ‘Sail’ from her recent ‘Es Muss Sein’ EP.

 

 

She Makes War – in her own words she’s a “London-dwelling gloom-pop solo artist” and one who recently covered Madonna in collaboration with Hope and Social. Below is ‘Exit Strategy, the lead track from her recent ‘Little Battles’ LP. If you’re quick you can catch her on tour now.

 

 

Evans The Death – a slice of Babes in Toyland-esque speed-pop from a great new London band:

 

 

Eliza Newman – ok so she wasn’t born here, or indeed born Newman. When I first saw her live, with previous outfit Bellatrix, she was under the name Eliza Geirsdóttir but let’s not split hairs over a voice this good. Originally from Iceland, now resident in London she writes beautifully complex pop songs. ‘Pie In The Sky’ is the title track to her 2nd solo album, released last year.

 

 

Scout Niblett – originally from Nottingham, now resident in Portland, Oregon, Ms Niblett has been rocking her minimalist sound for over a decade to critical acclaim. This track, ‘Your Beat Kicks Back Like Death’, is a superb mix of drums and vocals. Splendid!