album review – Ferocious Blog

The Highs and Lows of Being Normal..

I never cease to be mesmerised by Warren Ireland.

Given that I have the privilege of spending a few hours rehearsing with him each week that might sound surprising. Despite having been privy to some of his writing process with Darwin’s Rejects, how he can conceive of, and perform, such a myriad of musical layers as one person is – frankly – mind-blowing. Even to do it in a studio, then consider the fact he can do it live with the pressure of an onlooking crowd. It’s just wow.

Here’s me generally feeling very pleased with myself for being able to lay down some very simplistic bass on our tracks, haha!

Normally an 80-odd mile round trip to the Black Market Venue in Warsop would feel like a bit of a bind on a Sunday evening but we weren’t going to miss an opportunity to see him showcase the release of his latest album, The Highs and Lows of Being Normal. Regrettably weekend faffing around meant we missed the support acts, which was sad but also necessary as we’d had a busy Saturday already. The curtains were across the room and side stage being utilised for an intimate crowd eagerly anticipating the main act.

If you get hold of a CD from Warren of the album (which you should do), then you’re treated to a book-ends and intermingled skit tracks that aren’t present on the online streaming sites – plus you can’t get it beautifully signed and dedicated on Spotify or Apple Music. So buy a CD even if like me you’ve got no means of playing them probably beyond a computer somewhere, then stream it as well! I’m not going to describe these, you’ll have to get a copy and find them out for yourself!

Paddy Said opens, such a powerful track built around an irresistibly catchy little guitar riff – but layered with chords, beatbox and of course the vocals it comes to life. Lyrically it charts sage bedside advice presumably from Paddy about acceptance and how straightforward it really ought to be to make the world a nicer and friendlier place with a bit more tolerance. Layers of backing vocals backdrop a lovely intricate instrumental picked on guitar, before into another soaring round of choruses then an outro. A strong start.

Happy in my Skin carries on the bouncy start – a long initial opening verse which, if you take a moment to think about it, as well as remembering the myriad of instrumental layers, there’s a ridiculous amount of lyrical content to remember too. More use of reverb and backing vocals on choruses than we’ve typically seen before from Warren works really well, the lyrics are an introspective examination of how we’re all flawed and have perhaps regrettable elements of our past – but ultimately we can only work from now to be the best version of ourselves!

Something So Right starts with spooky backing vocals before the gentler instrumentation kicks in, we’re onto a more chilled out section you can get lost in the lovely little picked guitar bits over a ponderous rhythm – whilst the charming lyrics are a heartfelt tribute to the challenges of developing a relationship – but ultimately the refrain of ‘I don’t want to let you walk away’ shows the underlying desire to make things work. It’s a mostly lovely sentimental track.

Make It Out takes us down a different path – acoustic guitar tricks you with gentle melodies before a full on drum and bass assault of beatbox is unleashed. You might question if he can deliver that live – he can! The impassioned singing and guitar is actually not as pacey as the beats would suggest. Backing vocal melodies are brought in with some singalongable ‘la la’s’ – who knew drum and bass with a singalong bit could be a thing? The picked guitar solo in the bridge sounds almost Spanish guitary. There’s such a lot going on here, but despite what sounds like a description of disparate things that don’t belong together blend into a beautiful absorbing creation. Writing duties here credited also to Jordan Phatboy White.

Heroes pulls us back to acoustic driven chords before gentler percussion and picking is overlaid before semi-rapped-semi-sung lyrics kick in. The over-riding feel is lighthearted but underpinned with the troubled state of the world, and a need for some kind of hero to save the day. We get more lovely finger picking for the bridge, and of course the chorus of ‘Superman or Iron Man‘ gives a nice nod to the fairly frequent appearance of Warren’s Superman dressing gown on stage!

Home is a punchy lament to something I’m sure we can all relate to at times, that overwhelming desire to go home whether it be from a workplace or another place. It’s an anthem for the disaffected, which I’m sure most of us are at least some of the time – but I can imagine when you’re a full on creative the daily grind of a typical workplace must be absolutely intolerable. This is a multi-layered foot-stomper, a steady beat and chord pattern overlaid by more intricate instrumentation and lyrics. Highly relatable but by creating something you can have a dance to it’s made a positive out of frustration.

Woke Snowflake is gentle musically with some vitriol in the lyrics, which I like. Woke is a really interesting slur, my understanding of the term is somebody with empathy for others. That sounds like a virtue not an insult to me! Backing vocals start us off, then guitars and beats before the lyrics, there’s some clever wordplay in here which appeals to me – playing back the kind of vitriolic bile you see increasingly on platforms like Twitter under the auspices of Elon Musk, it’s a creative way of addressing something that is really quite damaging.

Scrolling By is ludicrously catchy – strums back way for beats, strums and picking before the lyrics kick in. It’s a pandemic that affects all of us in the Smart Phone era – I’m definitely guilty of it, questioning the need for the latest and greatest phone – and of course, how much time we spend staring glazed face at banal crap whilst real life passes you by. This is – even by Warren’s standards – an absolute word-fest, he gives himself a nice break before the final chorus kicks in, again another that gives you an irresistible urge to tap your foot at the very least whilst it’s playing.

Letter to Heaven is a change in mood and pace, beautiful acoustic guitar work gives a simple backdrop for really heartfelt vocals. Backing vocals on the chorus heighten the emotion, there’s almost a full cycle of grief here – loss, pain, fondness and gratitude for having known them. It’s so powerful in its relative simplicity, stripped back raw and brave and allowing the narrative to take centre-stage. It was mesmerising to hear this live at the weekend too, although perhaps not one he’ll include often in shorter festival sets. Truly beautiful.

Dear Me arrives just as you’re recovering your sensibilities and threatens to tip you over the emotional edge again. Again, acoustic guitar provides the platform, this time the vocals are more impassioned, a combination of singing and rapping, interspersed with some finger-picking instrumentals. It’s Warren having a harsh word with himself, a reflection of self-worth (or lack thereof at times), reflecting on achievements he’s reached and to remember he’s his own worst critic. The vocal delivery brings Scroobius Pip to mind for me, which is a high compliment as I absolutely adore his lyrical writing and delivery. As the song builds so do the power of the vocals. It’s lovely. I hope he listens to himself!

Man Among the Damned is a beautiful arrangement with Martin Borrett providing piano along with Warren’s guitar, again we have powerful and less pacey vocals. More self-reflection, the struggle for a sense of purposes or to have a plan – but there’s metaphorical light at the end of the tunnel as the narrative builds (or maybe light through the clouds?). Backing vocals lift the choruses and I suppose it’s a neat reminder that somebody as objectively full of talent as Warren could be wracked with insecurity, it’s a relief to hear some kind of progression.

We end with a reprise of Paddy Said, but slowed and with accompaniment both from Martin Borrett on piano and also Jared Harding with some rousing trumpet as the track ends. This is slowed down and contemplative, it’s such a perfect way to close out the album – almost as it began, at least in subject if not in tone – that catchy riff slowed down becomes a beautiful melody and you’re eased back either to the beginning or the end. It’s a clever way to close out it leaves you feeling relaxed but uplifted after quite the rollercoaster of pace and sentiment.

Highs and Lows you might say, but exceptional – not mere normal.

The Highs and Lows of Being Normal is available on all the usual streaming platforms, and I strongly urge you to get yourself to one of Warren‘s gigs or contact him for a CD too.

Freeborn Al / 19th November 2024 / Gigs, Music, Other Bands, Photos, Videos

On the road to Nottamun Town

So I’ve found the key to the old blog, swept a few cobwebs aside and managed to get rid of a few errant spiders. And installed about twenty million updates!

Why? You might well ask!

A message popped into my messages the other day, from none other than Al Rate from Lawrence County inviting me to have a sneak peak of their forthcoming album. Well that’s rather a tempting proposition if ever I saw one!

“Are you still doing music reviews?” he asked “not really, it’s on a bit of an indefinite hiatus, but I could be lured into making an exception” – here is that exception.

The last thing I wrote about on here was Warren‘s (excellent) last album back in 2022! And he’s well on the way to release a new one soon.. I’m sure I’ll be making an exception for exceptional Mr Ireland too. The original purpose of this space was to find a creative outlet for me whilst I crammed all my free time with gallivanting off to festivals and gigs, and also give a bit of independent coverage initially to Ferocious Dog of course, and other grassroots artists that had become all-pervading in my life!

Post-Covid I must admit I’ve struggled to get my social-engine re-tuned, so frankly I don’t partake in nearly as much live music as I used to. Coupled with that, more recently I’ve taken up the bass and am performing with Darwin’s Rejects – which has both plugged that creative need gap, and also means I tend to be doing a lot more playing music than watching it – whether it be learning new songs (hey, even writing some!) and practising as well as gigging of course.

I should plug us really – if I do say so myself I think we’re creating some really cool stuff!

So yes, anyway, that’s my excuses and shameless plugs out of the way! It is a genuine pleasure to pop my head over the blog parapet for this review.

Lawrence County are the formerly wonderfully named (but possibly a nightmare for poster writers) DH Lawerence and the Vaudeville Skiffle Show and they are releasing their latest album Nottamun Town on 29th June. If you’re not familiar with them, think Americana-infused traditional English folk music with a twist, nay, several twists. Their last album came out just as we went into lockdown, I remember forlornly wandering my permitted lonely daily walks with it in my earphones, it’s melancholic vibes fitting perfectly with the general mood (I love a bit of bleak melancholy!).

This album is a selection of traditional folk songs given the Lawrence County treatment – the opening and title track Nottamun Town has an interesting backstory – there’s more detail in the sleeve notes to delve into but it earned initial prominence thanks to Jean Ritchie in Appalachia, USA. Could this be something of older English origin that somehow migrated across the Atlantic, perhaps almost certainly involving LC (and my!) home town of Nottingham? It doesn’t feel beyond the realms of possibility does it?

It’s often linked with another traditional song Nottingham Fair – surely a nod to Goose Fair which traces its origins beyond reliable recorded history.

A great opening track – guitars start, and it layers up into a rambling tale with rasping lyrics – whether or not my obsession with Viking-related things plays into this but it wouldn’t sound out of place as the soundtrack to a Ragnar Lodbrok or Ivar the Boneless preparing to blood-eagle somebody. It wouldn’t be that out of place, really, Nottingham was of course central to the Danelaw in the tenth century after all! Surely that Scandinavian influence could well have pervaded into our folk music traditions? If indeed the soundtrack creators on shows like Vikings have any mind to what Scandinavian folk music might sound like!

But anyway, music – we’re treated to percussion breaks, bass solos, haunting violin. It sets an atmospheric tone for this reclamation, bringing a lost folk song back home.

I don’t propose to go song by song, but there’s a delightful mixture of pace and sentiment here – I’m a sucker for a good murder-ballad and there’s certainly a couple in here, Molly Bawn is a particular highlight for me with the atmospheric backing vocals adding some atmosphere to a sad and haunting tale – and an example where the band have got their own back on the Irish tendency of pilfering our folk songs and making them more famous! Although Molly Bawn sounds like how we all seem to pronounce Marylebone!

For those of you who like tracing origins and influences the Roud numbers are included for all but one of the tracks in the sleeve notes. The Roud Folk Song Index was a new discovery for me – an extensive catalogue of folk songs in the English language to track the origins, reimaginings and migrations. A veritable treasure trove of trivia and discovery that I’ve yet to delve too fully into, and a proper lifetime labour of love for its creator Steve Roud.

So, if you’re in the market for a charming collection of traditional English Language folk songs with a new lease of life breathed into them – and frankly, why wouldn’t you be? This is the album for you.

And whilst in their curation of these songs, Lawrence County have pilfered from other English speaking territories, for the last track they do put an eerie but compelling spin on perhaps the most famous folk song of English origin made more famous by our Irish friends. There’s no controversy in that statement as it’s not old enough to get a Roud number. It’s very different to what you’ll have undoubtedly heard courtesy of The Dubliners or The Pogues (I’m sure you’ve guessed by now!)

I think that Ewan MacColl would most definitely approve though.

This is a delightful selection of folk songs treated reverently and creatively with cajon, bass, fiddle, accordion, mandolin, guitars, banjo and of course voices – the layers and dynamics in the mix is incredibly pleasing. Hats off to Bob, Pete, Martin, Bill and Al with backing vocals provided by Andy and Lynn. It’s been brilliantly recorded, mixed and mastered – and packaged with evocative and atmospheric photography of Nottingham.

Nottamun Town is available to pre-order on Bandcamp, and you’ll get two tracks to enjoy right away!

Freeborn Al / 1st May 2024 / Music, Other Bands, Photos

No man is an Ireland..

Or are they? We finally got our hands on Warren Ireland‘s long awaited album this week. It’s been quite a week – we’ve been to gigs! Both featuring the aforementioned Mr Ireland, first up was Funke and the Two Tone Baby at The Hairy Dog in Derby on Wednesday. Funke is on fire at the moment. You should absolutely go see him. Then last night, having enjoyed ourselves so much we got ourselves some tickets to head up to the Black Market Venue last night where The Sweetchunks Band hosted a splendid evening with Warren and Sam Tucker? in support. I don’t think either of us had realised quite how much we’d missed going to gigs, and how lockdown-conditioned we’d become.

It still feels weird going out and socialising, but increasingly it’s a good weird! It was lovely to see folk we’ve not seen in years, to have a dance, to get lost in music again. More on that later.

The drive up gave us the opportunity to get Warren’s freshly ripped CD acquired on Wednesday playing in the car, so here’s some reflections. Warren is a difficult to define enigma – one man loop factory one minute, fusing guitar layers with beatbox, bass effects and vocals one minute, or perhaps playing in Darwin’s Rejects (sorry Russ, I can’t bear to leave out the apostrophe!) in a more conventional sense, he is at once folksy, bluesy, rock and roll with a dose of prog thrown in along with dancy overtones. One of the reflections I had whilst driving up is that his musical maturity and influences betrays his relatively young years – in a good way. You can tell this collection of songs is carefully distilled from what I imagine to be an overwhelming cacophony of ideas whirling around his mind.

In a strange departure from my normally haphazard attempts to describe genres or styles, the first two tracks Age Old and Don’t Look Back prompted an immediate thought and discussion in the car with Ella. Age Old evoked strongly a Sons of Anarchy soundtrack score – we were imagining the Sons preparing for some kind of raid or attack on a rival Gang, shots of leather clad bikers arming themselves from assorted stashes, securing their MC (where Piney in his denim cut stayed behind with a shotgun to defend the family members), as you reach the climax of the song the episode would end on a cliffhanger with Jax, Tig et al preparing their assault. The second track would open the next episode, the attack would be swift and not exactly what was planned, with a police ambush and chase ensuing, Rat would be caught along the way, the track probably ends with Jax and other key members in a jail cell probably about to be let out without much hassle by Sheriff Unser.

So yeah, that tells you very little about the intricate guitar picking work overlaid with beatbox and bluesy vocals for Old Age and the backing-vocal enriched sections, the lovely rolling rhythmic lyrical play sharing prominence with the punchy little guitar riffs, or the more rock-infused urgency of Don’t Look Back – but you know what? I’m not sorry – you should listen to it, see what imagery it evokes for you. It’s engaging, it’s clever, and just two tracks in you’ve already had a nice showcase of some of the facets Warren is exhibiting here. Spaceman is a different prospect – an interesting take on Sam Ryder’s Eurovision hit… no, I’m joking, it’s not that at all. Lilting gentle guitar and distant sounding vocals / backing vocals at times is a real shift in pace and style. You’ll be glad to know I’m going to stop trying to be a half-arsed TV screen-writer, although I could imagine some kind of Jemma-based introspective lament type scene backed by this – looking through some old paperwork and photos, then probably burning them. I promise, that’s the end of this, I’ve not even watched Sons of Anarchy in ages!

Warren at the Black Market Venue last night

Lost in Music is up next, it’s almost indugent with prog-rock stylee guitar then some beatbox kicks in and dreamy vocals again – it’s a nice follow-on from the previous track, I wonder if it’s a little window into what composition must be like for someone like Warren, with loops and the ability to effectively fill all the roles within a more traditional band set up the options really must feel limitless at times. This feels like something that started as an experiment in layering riffs, chords, beats, harmonics, vocals into something cohesive that’s developed into this absorbing track you truly can get lost in. Explode picks up the urgency, there’s Gomez vibes in the strumming for a while, spat-out vocals evoking frustrations around lockdown and the subsequent desire to make the most of the opportunity we now have to get out there, Warren certainly lives by that – on Saturday we saw him play his second gig of the day at 9pm before hotfooting it up to Sheffield to play his third. I love this track, it’s an irresistible foot-tapper, and frankly an amazing feat of breath-control in being able to perform it!

Title-track Grown Up is another footstomping vocally-challenging charting of the challenge in how to get on in life in a more conventional sense, which being a full-time musician certainly isn’t – it comes with so many challenges, and the theme is picked up with Millennial – chugging dirty guitar and beatbox, he played this last night and described it as him imbibing and subsequently vomiting a dictionary into a song, again there’s a display of impressive ability (a) remember so many words and (b) get them all into a song whilst retaining the ability to breathe! If you listened to the album blind without knowing much about Warren’s live performances this is probably the one that hints most strongly at his looping credentials. I think that’s a good thing recorded too, the joy in a performer who uses looping is watching them do it, that’s a difficult thing to be able to do in a recording! Not that everything on here sounds like it’s built up of loops.

The next track Drinking definitely isn’t, and puts us back firmly into rock and roll territory, electric guitars chugs and riffs, it’s so catchy with crashing drums and empassioned vocals interspersed with awesome guitar riffs and strings. It might be favourite to be honest, and it has that timeless sound that drives my assertion that Warren is a musician with conceptions and influences that betray his tender years. Wanderlust part 2 brings the pace right down into whimsy and folk, it’s lovely – a kind of reprise of his already well established track called (unsurprisingly) Wanderlust – it takes cues from the original but is it’s own song and I suspect inspired by our mutual friends Tony and Trudi semi-retiring onto a canal boat they named Wanderlust in honour of Warren’s song, this is a lovely little tribute to a tribute. I love seeing Tony and Trudi’s travel updates on Facebook!

Which brings us round to the end – Save me a Seat is another rambling prog-influenced almost dirge. I don’t mean dirge negatively, to return briefly to what things evoke, the repeating simple riffs and distant vocals make me think of the closing track of a documentary. If Warren did a ‘making of’ video this one would definitely be playing whilst the credits rolled at the end, speaking of credits, the CD doesn’t offer much hint to who else might have been involved in the production, the chances are it would either be a very short credit list or it would feature one name covering many many roles. I’m sure there’s been a few helping hands along the way as well, though.

An excellently varied yet balanced album from the troubadour, I don’t think anyone would regret a purchase – and I would urge anyone who hasn’t to augment that purchase by making an effort to see Warren perform live too, which really does bring a different dimension to everything, he’s an exciting talent who’s got so much more to offer in the future. The temptation to compare him with Funke is difficult to resist but I think they both come at the insane art of looping quite differently, they complimented each other brilliantly in Derby on Wednesday, similar enough to appeal to each other’s fans but with enough differences to not make you think you’re just watching two sets that are too similar. And his rendering of Pink Floyd’s Another Brick in the Wall is quite frankly sublime.

You can find Grown Up on Spotify, Apple Music and I’m sure other platforms, or get in touch with Warren via his page if you’d prefer a physical CD!

Freeborn Al / 20th November 2022 / Music, Other Bands, Photos

B-Sydes myself with excitement..

The latest of my installments of procrastinating like a professional procrastinator! It was back on 13th December that Ella and I headed to the excellent Portland Arms in Cambridge for B-Sydes‘ album launch gig, which is where I first picked up said album – Self-Sabotage – along with a bonus EP. It was an awesome night, and a great first chance to see Ben in as a frontman to a band rather than a solo acoustic guy.

It’s funny really – Ben is part of a pantheon of solo-acoustic performers wot have bands, Gaz Brookfield, Nick Parker, and Jake Martin – all artists I encountered on their own but translate rather brilliantly to a full band setting (although bastard-timing has so far prevented me seeing Jake in this guise). After the gig I grabbed an envelope from Ben before hitting the road, as ever frustrated modern cars don’t have CD players any more – but eventually getting to rip it to my phone, and get stuck in.

That said, there’s a few songs here that have been on his set list for a while so felt like familar friends, and of course fresh in the mind was the launch gig which showcased a number of the songs here. It’s a proper triumph – the kind of clever lyrics and catchy melodies you’d expect from Ben, drenched in personal meaning much of which might go over my head – but moments of brutal exposure that really does encapsulate the most honest of art.

It opens with Witching Hour, with an atmospheric introduction the title demands – guitar and fiddle interweave without lyrics, giving a haunting lead in to bouncy guitar and drums of Crutches backed by some singalong-ready Whoa ohs – the lyrics are self-depreciatingly autobiographical, instruments fade out with percussion remaining, then back in again – it’s a pacey start after the ethereal introduction.

Good Times starts with palm-muted guitar and vocals before the rest of the band kicks in. It’s a bit pessimistic sounding until the chorus kicks in – it’s a great message, sure – things might be a bit grim (bear in mind the first time I heard this song was the day after the election!), but there’s always good times if you care to look for them, and they usually involve taking in a bit of live music! Another singalong (over a banjo track) opportunity presents itself here too!

This Was My City Once has become a staple of live sets for a while so it was almost a surprise to realise it hadn’t already made it onto a recording! Fleshed out with violin and band backing doesn’t mask any of its potency, it’s a proper anthem. It might seem odd documenting a relationship ending and reclaiming a place after that, but I can kind of understand that – and if you’ve seen it live you’ll know there’s a Whoa-oh-oh singalong opportunity which shouldn’t be passed up. It translates bloody well to a full band track.

All at Sea has a heavy start, all electric guitars and empassioned vocals. There’s some tricksy pace-changes in here too to flummox the singer-alonger in the car I’ve found (doesn’t take much in my case!). I really like the bass-chugging middle-eight (maybe that’s what it is) repeating the line “I tried my best but I can see that you were never really listening to me” before it eventually builds to a tumultuous climax before dropping out into a gentle guitar-picked end.

Safe and Sound is back to acoustic guitar-led and husky vocals – ruminating on our tendencies to play down pitfalls we encounter, large or small. Violins joins and the vocals dance around some of the cleverest lyrics on the album – a really sad song, it makes you sad for the person singing it but also for yourself a little as you recognise the behaviours it paints through its melody and words. Really moving.

Epiphanies changes the mood with some chugging electric guitar, bass and drums with drawn out vocals laid over. A proper rock number, I’m trying to do that dangerous thing of thinking of what it reminds me of because it definitely evokes something – maybe a hint of Placebo in there somewhere, but there’s something else that’s evading me. I really like it, despite it painting quite a bleak picture in my head at least (I am a grumpy sod at heart).

Propaganda is similarly electric driven by more upbeat immediately – guitar solo work over chugging chords, drums and bass leads into the vocals. The subject probably isn’t as upbeat as the music – it speaks of the isolation probably with modern politics, with smears, with lies, with the futility in trying to rail against it, of the rush to the kind of horrible ‘I’m all right, Jack’ individualism we seem to be seeing. Ultimately rather than war, going to the pub probably is the more viable solution. There’s a drum solo in here (is it a solo if there’s still vocals? Drum duet? Either way – it rocks!).

The acoustic guitar is back for 5 Minutes. Once the vocals kick in the percussion kicks in with a basic beat then the bass kicks in before the chorus unleashes into a full on assault followed with a guitar solo. Lyrically this track gives the album its title, it’s a combination of a lament and celebration of a seeming inability to make sensible life-decisions I think (or maybe what are perceived sensible life-decisions). Sometimes you do have to trade-off what the world sees as sensible and what’s good for your soul.

Hobbies starts with acoustic guitar work and gentle vocals – this is a proper heart-wrencher. Having seen a dear friend go through a loved one going missing, the thought processes documented here are all too familiar and incredibly poignant – only picked out more with the sorrowful guitar and guitar harmonics during a brief instrumental section. I don’t know the back story behind this, but it makes me just want to give Ben a big hug. I will next time I see him.

Quicksand brings the album to a close – staccatoed percussion (if that’s a thing) with typical B-Sydes cleverness going a long way up the fret board. It’s almost like Ben’s duetting with himself with the two different vocal styles – eventually the rest of the band kicks in building the song into quite a wall of sound. As the track builds and builds it drops down to a chant of “I’m stood here waiting. Wait, is this quicksand? Hoping that you’ll pull me out” before the instrumentation drops out to a clap-track and the odd guitar pluck. An epic finale to cap off a superb album.

Variety of pace and musical layers – and all underpinned with personal heartfelt and clever lyrics. Then there’s the matter of the cheeky bonus EP that I wasn’t expecting but might’ve been a perk for pre-ordering the album (I should really pay more attention to these things!).

It’s called City, Sea and Mountains which makes a lot of sense – as we’ve three tracks on here – all acoustic renderings, two of which feature in the previous verbal diarrhoea I’ve blurted out above – This was my City once gets the more familiar treatment for anyone who’s seen Ben live over the last couple of years, and All at Sea makes for an interesting translation into just a stripped back acoustic track – it works really well.

Which leaves – to complete the title – Mountains – which is an excellent cover of Jake Martin’s Mountains. This works really well with a bit of accompanying banjo. Jake’s a really clever song-writer too, and the fusion of this and B-Sydes’ interpretation is quite intoxicating (not to mention the surprise ending which I won’t spoil, but it’s awesome!). All in all, I’m very happy with my musical haul from nearly a month ago.

If you’d like to avail yourself of this musical feast then you can do so here. You really oughta. It’s only £7 for a digital download or a tenner for a CD!

Freeborn Al / 4th January 2020 / Gigs, Music, Other Bands, Photos

Fake News and Propaganda..

The final artwork is still in progress so have a gig flyer instead!

I never ask to get sneaky peaks of recordings Ferocious Dog are working on – when people ask I truthfully say there’s an appeal to waiting for the big reveal when the CD arrives in the post.

Funnily enough the latest person to ask was Ken – Ella and I had popped to see him a few weeks ago for some tattoos – he was surprised, and once he’d navigated the labyrinthine band and crew WhatsApp group admittedly we did hear a few songs through a tinny phone speaker whilst he kept tabs on Mansfield Town surprisingly failing to beat local rivals Notts County.

Fast-forward a couple of weeks and a Facebook message pops up from Dan with a link to a Google Drive with ten mp3 files. The only accompanying explanation was ‘nearly mixed’ – no matter how much part of me might want to wait for the big reveal, it’s not like anyone is going to resist that opportunity, now is it? So of course I fired up the laptop and got downloading, eager as a kid on Christmas Eve to get stuck in.

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Freeborn Al / 3rd March 2019 / Band, Hell Hounds, Music, Other Bands, Photos, Videos

Kept in the dark..

Ooh, hello – amazingly I actually remembered the login details for the blog!

The new album from Headsticks landed on my doormat this week, and whilst I’ve deliberately reined back on writing it has inspired me to try to remember how all this internet stuff works. Because it’s just shy of an hours worth of excellence.

What struck me above anything is there’s some real diversity in stylings and tone from what I expected, and a progression from their previous two excellent albums (I wrote about Feather and Flame just here). The Stoke on Trent band present here a collection of songs that showcases a band really comfortable in their own skin – and perhaps most stark that I’ve not really associated with them before is a sense of playfulness and fun.

Which probably isn’t surprising for anyone who’s spent any time with Andrew (and I dare say the rest of the band, who I don’t know so well!), but where before social-consciousness and politics have been central pillars, in here we have that enhanced with a proper cheekiness – not least with Mushrooms which, whilst underpinned with a serious message delivered over a bouncy skank overlaid with sinister pixie laughs. It sounds silly written like that, it’s so catchy though!

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Freeborn Al / 2nd March 2019 / Music, Other Bands, Photos, Videos

Master of plenty! Brian Stone album is OUT NOW!

Brian Stone releasing his debut album is definitely a good reason to dust the cobwebs off the blog again – I was really chuffed when he got in touch to ask if I was still reviewing stuff. Admittedly I’m doing so much less fervently these days – so getting a download link and getting everything synced across to my phone felt quite exciting – I could get a few listens in before getting to grips with writing up a review. Also that residual nervousness, it’s a mate’s blood sweat and tears you’re being expected to somehow do justice to in words. Well, I’ll give it a go!

I was reflecting when I first got to know Brian, I think it was at a Gaz Brookfield gig in Oakham, Rutland when we first got talking a good few years ago now – about three and half years ago he and Karen kindly provided me a bed for the night after Ferocious Dog played Cambridge. After that gig he casually picked up his guitar apologetically before playing through some FD, Gaz Brookfield and Leatherat songs – always one to play down his talents – which quickly became a fixture around campfires and then of course stages over quite a short timespan really if you think about it!

What I particularly love about this album is the assemblage of lots of friends to add their instrumentation to the songs – it’s a risky prospect, we’re used to Brian in solo acoustic guise – but this is done really well, some songs have a full band sound, which don’t detract from the underlying tune, some remain stripped back – it’s all done very well (I was terrified to see Maty Tustian listed on backing vocals, for example!). The combination of Brian’s songwriting, the artists’ interpretations of that and the predictably awesome production Joel Howe lends to proceedings gives a polished but authentic collection of songs.

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Freeborn Al / 12th October 2018 / Music, Other Bands

Fishing for Owls..

I’ve been sitting on Paul Henshaw and the Scientific Simpletons‘ latest album for a while so I do apologise profusely for the delay in finally jotting down my musings. Fishing For Owls has been on my regular playlist for a little over a month now, and it’s a mixed paced collection of folk-punk goodness – one moment irreverent, one moment deeply moving and at times funny. There’s full band big sound, acoustic moments and all manner of paces.

Middle Finger Thank You is a ballsy opener – drumsticks click a count in to a wall of guitar and percussion before it slows up for the vocals to kick in. Defiant in sound and message – Paul describes it as a ‘bit of an internal battle and ‘fuck you’ to myself, which fits nicely with the sound here – uncompromising, relentless and aggressive instrumentals overlaid with measured and considered vocals for the most part. Don’t let life get you down and deal with your problems is the message here.

A folksier feel with stomping feet and acoustic strumming heralds Wild Turkey – a song telling the tale of a trip to London to play a gig involving perhaps a little bit too much of the titled whiskey for the narrator. Slightly self-sorry in tone, but quite philosophical about it too – I’m sure we’ve all had one of those moments when you feel like there’s nobody on your side and you’ve only got yourself to rely on.

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Freeborn Al / 14th June 2017 / Music

Who put the crown on the head of the clown?

I do bloody love 3 Daft Monkeys, there’s no denying it. They’re playful yet poignant, irreverent but relevant, mischievous and mystical – they weave and fuse their modern folk sound with celtic and balkan type influences – they bring smiles, they bring tears. It was a real honour to be sent a preview copy of their new album – The Year of the Clown. I’m always touched to be asked to review something somebody has created, it’s a personal thing and I’m only too eager to make sure that I treat it with the respect it deserves.

The CD arrived whilst I was galavanting at Rockstock and Barrel – I excitedly put it in the car when going to take Ella back to Stevenage only to be greeted with the dreaded ‘disc error’ message – oh well, I’ll rip it when I get home, I thought. And I did – but only nine of the twelve tracks copied successfully… modern technology is great though, a quick email and Tim kindly furnished me with digital copies of the remaining tracks which I’ve spent the last few days getting to know whilst commuting, doing chores and well, basically any time I’ve been listening to music.

Accompanying the disc is a press release – Year of the Clown is a deliberate reference to the frankly terrifying global political stage – it positions the album as being very personal, 3 Daft Monkeys exposing their bare bones and their souls. It shows in the sound too – in typical style there are powerful observations masked by catchy melodies, mischievous rhyming devices and swirling soaring fiddle journeys. It’s unmistakably 3 Daft Monkeys, but with a degree of themeatic reinvention we’ve seen in their last few albums – and going another step toward trying to capture their raw live energy on a recording.

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Freeborn Al / 6th April 2017 / Gigs, Music, Other Bands, Photos

Outlining their credentials..

The Outlines are really going from strength to strength this year so far, and have released their second album Bones Bones Bones to underline this quite emphatically. Whenever I try to write about how they sound it seems to somehow do them a disservice, a three piece grungy punk band, packed with power chords, chugging bass and drums, never-quite-gratuitous feedback and guitar solo work – they’re getting really rather comfortable in their own skin after a pretty solid start with their first album.

Much like their first self-titled release, this is a frenetic and mostly breakneck-paced affair – it’s done and dusted in half an hour and ten tracks. It kicks in with Waiting, a guitar riff is quickly joined by drums and bass and then Kyle’s distinctive sneering-yet-tuneful vocals – there’s clever pace changes and moments where the instrumentation drops out completely to let the vocals hold sway before coming back with a vengeance – the middle-eight does sound like they’re shouting ‘Pazazz!’ though which makes me chuckle. A strong start, fading out with feedback and leading straight into…

… Static, rapid drums and chugging guitar and bass kick into a proper headbangable track – it reminds me of my mate’s band Red Jester (who really ought to get back on the gigging circuit!). A proper whirlwind tour, it’s over in a smidge over two minutes of mayhem. She Don’t Know has a more ponderous guitar intro with percussion and bass more gently added – before the song kicks in properly, some intricate lyric work before the backing vocals of the song title hypnotically take over before the verse kicks in again, it’s a catchy bugger – I was merrily singing along to the chorus of this the first time I heard it live!

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Freeborn Al / 17th March 2017 / Music, Other Bands, Photos