Screaming Maldini Album Launch Party

Screaming Maldini is one hell of a name. Having mooched unwittingly in on their hedonistic 2010 Tramlines set at the Frog and Parrot, I’ve had big expectations for this particular band. Despite this they had fallen off my radar somewhat until their self-titled debut arrived this February, providing a timely punctuation to the monotonous mainstream tosh that continues to excrete itself in my ears.

The multi-instrumental Sheffield sextet have a bustling Harley crowd in full voice on Saturday, who are gathered to celebrate the album launch. The video for Summer Somewhere [below] combines a spine-tinglingly beautiful anthem in the picturesque backdrop of the Peak District. Gina Walters delivers the powerful Adele-like vocals in her charming Adele-like body form. 

 

“Everyone has to have a favourite scientist” Nick Fox, Maldini’s co-lead vocalist, tells the Harley crowd. “Ours is Carl Sagan”. Mine is Charles Darwin Nick, and your band are a fitting example of indie’s descent with modification in recent years.

Mixing vocal harmonies and with flits of trumpet, Maldini boast a style of indie pop perhaps matched only by Los Campesinos! Decide for yourself.

Also listen to Life in Glorious Stereo and their self-titled debut here on Bandcamp:

Read Screaming Maldini’s feature on The Guardian’s Northerner Blog here.

Killers tickets snapped up like hotcakes

Tickets to catch The Killers at some point on their November arena tour of the UK have gone on sale this morning. Word has it that websites were typically jammed soon after 9AM this morning, (the time of their release). The American act fronted by Moorman Brandon Flowers have already announced a second show at Birmingham’s LG arena, to satisfy the unlucky ones.

Mitt Romney, also a publically confirmed Mormon, recently voiced his liking of The Killers. When quizzed about this, bassist Mark Stoermer gave the deadpan response, “he’s, I guess, a guy and he listens to music and happens to like us, that’s fine”. Genius! He was also wise to steer clear of political persuasion, in fact denying any at all. “We’re not really a political band. And we don’t necessarily have all the same views, but none of us are very politically active anyway”.

Killers’ new album Battle Born is released on September 15th. Will it be a fourth straight UK number 1 record for the Nevada band, Flowers’ fifth? Almost certainly. Battle Born is a return following a four year drought for fans. During this time Killers took an 18 month hiatus and Flowers unleashed Flamingo, his solo debut, on the world. Below is Battle Born’s first single Runaways. Pulsing with their familiar throb, the chorus wallops you round the chops with the force of double-decker bus. “Blonde hair blowing in the summer wind, a blue-eyed girl playing in the sand” cooes Flower in a Morrissey-esque opening line.

 

Speaking to the NME about Battle Born, the Olympics & other topics, Killers had this to say:

Flowers: “we’re taking what we’ve acquired from playing all these shows on the road, that experience and that fire… and we’ve applied it to song-writing, I don’t think we’ve ever done that. You never know what you’re gonna get when you get in the [studio] room, we spent more time in the room on this one than we spent on any other one, hopefully it doesn’t sound like it!”

Stoermer: “so far on every record we’ve always gone and tried to make a big sound… I guess we hope to mature”

(On recording) Dave Koening: “it’s got more guitars but not necessarily on every song, it’s a lot more diverse, it’s got some rock songs, some ballads. everyday was different depending on what we were doing, if it was a day of singing I would probably watch basketball”

So, in short, there’s a lot to look forward to. Including the unnamed support acts accompanying them on the arena tour. Hopefully this winter will also bring another killer Christmas tune to add to their stocking. Last year’s Cowboy’s Christmas Ball sure was a festive treat.

Are you human or are you dancer? Me for one, I’m dancer.

The Kings/Queens of Reading 2012?

Another year of the Reading & Leeds festival has passed and it’s another year I’m glad I watched from the comfort of my settee. Any twang of envy felt observing the human pyramids is dismissed with the unwelcome memory of wading in human effluent and resorting to rip-off greasy burgers. Now, let’s talk music: who were the Festival Republic stars of 2012 and who deserves to be detained in the Lock Up, key thrown away?

Endeavouring to steer clear of endorsing the same bands, I must nevertheless give nods to Florence and the Machine & The Black Keys. Flo’ flourished in her main stage slot, prancing about the floor as balletic as ever, the day two deluge failing to dampen her spirits. The rabbit-hearted, ex-art school Welch also entertained when giving her security guard the slip.

Meanwhile, Black Keys’ showcased their 7th sleeve El Camino (“the way”) which has helped pave “their route” to mainstream success. Dan Auerbach ground out the bluesy guitars whilst Patrick Carney pounded the percussions like they were bin lids. Such has been the Keys’ parachuting to stardom, teenage girls were spotted wearing self-decorated t-shirts sporting the messages “I’m Howlin’ for You Dan” and “Dan, I’ll be your Next Girl!” The opening two numbers did not disappoint.

As for the headliners? The Cure were a bore – Robert Smith‘s pallid appearance threatening to actually make boys cry…  Kasabian were also something of a mixed bag. Fire caught on but for the most part Meighan and co looked subdued. Fortunate then that Foo Fighters‘ three hour closing stint was a true lesson in rock & roll brilliance.

Lowlight of the week, perhaps, came from the lips of Fearne ‘amazing’ Cotton when she hailed The Hives set in the NME Tent as “so live”. Sometimes it is just better to say nothing. Quite how “so live” distinguishes The Hives from the 200-or-so other, very much live acts performing over the weekend is a mystery! Maybe miming is secretly more widespread at festivals than we are led to believe… The freeze-frame with which The Hives finished mirrored the astonishment on my chops when ‘Jubilee sickbag‘ Cotton dropped this latest cherry.

My new Angle on The Strokes

Today my new (albeit year-old) Strokes CD arrived in the post, yippee! I gleefully scooped the package from off the floor of my porch in my pyjamas, noting the pair of Alistair Brownlee stamps. I don’t think even Britain’s gold medal-winning triathlete could have beaten me to the door this morning.

Tearing into the parcel I glimpsed an accompanying letter from the sender. ‘Careful – massive crack on cover’. Cheers Amazon Seller DVDs & Games 2008! Quibbles aside, Angles is a more-than decent comeback from King Casablancas and co. Machu Picchu is a brilliant opener, Undercover of Darkness and Taken for a Fool are classic Strokes, whilst the controversial Two Kinds of Happiness adds a melodious new dimension.

My favourite though, Gratisfaction, owes to the ringtone of a good friend whom I recently reacquainted with in Paris. Here it is being performed on… the Ellen show, apparently. I love how the song bursts into life tout de suite with such gusto.

Released in March last year, you may wonder why it’s taken me so long to get my mitts on a copy. Well – I’ll be brutally honest, I’ve been ignorant of The Strokes as a whole until recently. This might seem a shock to (the few) readers of this blog, considering the main genre of my articles is indie rock. And especially given that The Strokes are arguably the greatest ever indie rock band!

My defence is weak, hinging mainly on their blurry sound quality, inaudible lyrics, and even more pathetically – the constant playing of Last Nite in nightclubs. It sickens me! Too much ‘turning round’ perhaps? People go through phases though and mature musically. Thus I am frantically playing catch-up, listening to Is This It, Room on Fire and First Impressions of Earth. Finally folks, I am into The Strokes. Hurrah!

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PS - another close friend would kill me if I didn’t mention that his namesake Julian attended the same school as him in Geneva.

The Hives live & buzzing in The Big Apple

Just unearthed some cracking footage of The Hives firing off songs to a 300-strong crowd crammed into New York City‘s Webster Hall Studio. 

Rocking up in suits and top hats, the smartly-dressed Swedes immediately set the ‘tone’ dial to raucous with Come On, taken from their new (at the time) album Lex Hives.

“I shall be responsible for no broken teeth or property” cries ever-wild front-man Howlin’ Pelle Almqvist, before launching into Try It Again. 

 

Pelle’s stage antics are synonymous with Hives’ live act and he’s on fine form here: trademark high kicks, spouting philosophies about the cause of madness & swinging from the ceiling bars like a primate. Combined with Nicholaus Arson‘s thrillingly raw guitar riffs and chicken-necking, Hives are on fire!

What I love about The Hives is that they don’t take themselves too seriously, beginning with their crazy stage names: Howlin’ Pelle, Arson, Dr Matt Destruction, Vigilante Carlstroem & Chris Dangerous. And, contrary to many bands of their era, Hives just keep getting better, five studio albums and going strong. Surely the five-piece are one of the planet’s most underrated bands?

Below is a video of Hives performing 1000 Answers (also off Lex Hives) on Jools Holland, broadcast back in May this year. 

 

Raw, shouty, stuffed with punch and relentless pace, punk is alive and well ladies and gentlemen.