Four years after the release of “What Went Down”, the Britons Foals return not with one but with two albums. What delight fans of their hypnotic pop and morning math rock. We find Yannis Philippakis and his clique on the stage of Gaîté Lyrique, on the occasion of the fourth edition of the ARTE Concert Festival.
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The Membranes – A Strange Perfume
With sixteen epic, powerful and darkly romantic songs on offer, this is The Membranes’ eighth studio album overall and the second since they reformed in 2010 when former support band My Bloody Valentine convinced them to return to the stage for the ATP festival. This album is a game changer in the tradition of Manchester bands like Joy Division.
This album features appearances from vocalist Kirk Brandon (Theatre of Hate, Spear of Destiny) and 84-year-old folk singer Shirley Collins, one of England’s premier folk singers of the ’60s revival. Renowned nature TV presenter Chris Packham also contributes, as does the legendary Jordan, who practically invented the punk look in 1975. Half the tracks also feature the 20-piece BIMM Choir, offsetting a sound laden with dark drones and an atmosphere of melancholic epic power.
The album was recorded at 6DB Studio in Manchester with Ding Archer, a former band member with PJ Harvey, The Pixies and producer of the last nine albums by The Fall. John Robb wrote all the parts for the choir. This release follows up their acclaimed album ‘Dark Matter/Dark Energy’, the band’s best selling release, which received rave reviews and ample radio play on BBC 6 Music and internationally.
‘What Nature Gives… Nature Takes Away’ is about the beauty and violence of nature. This is a very diverse work with dark, brooding cinematic choir-driven songs. Imagine the sound of Hieronymus Bosch paintings to discordant wild songs about crows, demon flowers, strange perfumes, voluptuous petals, voluminous oceans, treacherous seasons and the poetry of life and death set to spooked pulsing musical pieces, ranging from epic choir-driven postpunk songs to dark dub workouts, from throbbing dirty disco dark wave pulses to grinding heavy bass-driven pieces, from apocalyptic visions to choir-driven epic swirls.
“This is the pinnacle of our long and strange journey. This album is steeped in the powerful forces of nature and an underlying emotional undertow that is dark and brooding bass driven postpunk with the epic swirl of the choir and diversity of sounds that takes you on a trip. I put my life into this album musically, lyrically and emotionally,” says John Robb.
“The Membranes was born of postpunk in the late 1970s – a time when a generation inspired by punk rock created music on their own terms. We were immersed in that scene and that world and when we reformed we picked up on those themes and ideas and the diverse fellow travelers that we were contemporaries of like Joy Division, Bauhaus, Einsturzende Neubauten, Nick Cave, PiL, Big Black, and newer bands like Godspeed You Black Emperor, Mogwai, Ulver, and Wardruna – bands who fuck with the template to create an atmosphere and mood.”
Formed in 1978 in Blackpool, The Membranes played classic bass-driven northern post-punk and were part of the same world as bands like The Fall, Sisters Of Mercy, Echo and The Bunnymen and Cabaret Voltaire, all inspired by 1977 to launch their own idiosyncratic journeys. The band released a remarkable series of records that combined their small town frustration with a love of heavy bass and distortion. This ultimately became a prime influence and the precursors to such American noiseniks as Steve Albini, Swans and Sonic Youth.
John Peel and music press favourites, a continual frenzy of releases, public acclaim and touring worldwide with national TV appearances, the band went on hiatus in 1990 until finally reforming in 2010.
The Membranes are Peter Byrchmore (guitar), Nick Brown guitar), Rob Haynes (drums), and John Robb (vocals and bass), a renowned TV and radio pundit, editor of Louder Than War, a key UK music site and national magazine, and curator of the Louder Than Words festival. In autumn, John Robb will also release ‘The Art Of Darkness’, a book on the darker side of post-punk, adding to his collection of best-selling books on punk rock.
As of June 7, ‘What Nature Gives … Nature Takes Away’ will be available on vinyl and CD, and digitally from stores such as iTunes and streaming platforms like Spotify. There is also a deluxe double vinyl ultra limited edition of 150 copies. This summer, cosmetics company Lush will release a Membranes perfume called ‘A Strange Perfume’ after the album’s opening track. In the meantime, the band will tour the UK in support of their new LP.
LINKS:
http://www.themembranes.co.uk
https://www.facebook.com/themembranes
https://www.twitter.com/membranes1
https://www.instagram/themembranes
https://membranes.bandcamp.com -
The Swagger – Chin Up Boy
The Swagger returns with a vengeance in the form of their new video titled ‘Chin Up Boy’. The new single drops on October 18th. In the meantime, we get this slick and wonderful video that tells the story of a young boy taking that journey into manhood and dealing with the trials of life. The video is produced with the looks of a million dollars and perfectly encapsulates the meaning of the lyrics while keeping to the beat.
The song is one of those late summer slow anthems with a powerful hook and chord progression that defines the swagger of The Swagger and shows the world that they are here to stay. Brilliant music for the masses.
ABOUT THE SWAGGER
We are The Swagger – an original 4 piece British rock band from Hornsey, North London UK formed in March 2011. The band consists of two brothers Lee Stevens (Lead Vocals, Rhythm Guitar), Paul Stevens (Lead Guitar, Backing Vocals), originally playing small London pubs and clubs as The Mad Hatters UK, The Swagger was born in 2011.
With influences including The Beatles, The Kinks, The Who, Oasis, Ocean Colour Scene, and Stereophonics, The Swagger’s music is modern acoustic pop-rock with a catchy yet gritty aesthetic, combining melodic 60’s style harmonies and classic 90’s Britpop indie-alternative.
The band recently took a year out to re-group and are now back with a bang with their brand new single ‘Chin Up Boy’ released on the 18th October 2019 recorded at Ghost Town studios in North London with Producer Oliver McKiernan of (Echobelly) also The Swagger filming a very eye-catching video about bullying for the single Directed by Mat Green of MHG Music Videos which has got people talking.
The Swagger also recently toured with Cromm Fallon & The P200 around the West Coast of America playing shows in Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Long Beach California, San Diego & Oceanside California which was a real success who gained a following in the States and received positive acclaim.
Previous single ‘Heart ‘N’ Soul’ which was released as a FREE Digital Download via Bandcamp in 2016 received rave reviews/press from around the globe – Ahead of this the band previewed their new video which features a surprising storyline and unexpected ending, cloaked in dark humor – a clever road trip with a twist, showing they have a true sense of irony. The Swagger recently played a SOLD OUT show in London @ The 02 Academy Islington for their single launch and have also given away a FREE download of brand new demo penned “Want It All” which has already got people talking.
Both singles recorded at Far Heath Studios in Northamptonshire UK, produced by The Swagger & Mike Bennett (Ian Brown, Neville Staple, Doctor & The Medics) and engineered, mixed & mastered by Angus Wallace (Wishbone Ash, Spiritualized, The Fall).
The Swagger debut EP was made up of four original tracks penned ‘She Gonna Blow My Mind’, ‘Stoned’, ‘Keep On Fighting’ & ‘Ride’ which caused quite a stir during their live performances and have captured peoples attention. Their eponymous debut EP self-released via Bandcamp limited edition of 100 CD each hand-numbered on July 22nd (2016), , recorded at the famous Konk studios owned by Ray & Dave Davies of The Kinks in North London and was produced by Graham Bonnar (Swervedriver / The Brian Jonestown Massacre), engineered by Josh Green (Madness, Robbie Williams, Franz Ferdinand) and was mixed & mastered by Pat Collier (The Vibrators) at Perry Vale Studios, South London.
The band originally recorded their first demos at Tigersonic Studios (Holloway, North London) in late 2015 with co-producer Felix Macintosh, and pretty soon found their way to Konk Studios in Hornsey, North London with Producer Graham Bonnar and guitar tech Brendan Quinn (Divisionists) who also helped shape their sound.
“I saw The Swagger in a local bar near Turnpike Lane. They came on and blew my head off. Live they have the same energy as the early punk bands,” explains Graham Bonnar. “Lee has written over a hundred songs and they all could be singles, so I offered to produce their debut EP. We got Pat Collier from The Vibrator’s fame to mix. Pat did a stellar job. We go way back as he also did Swervedriver’s first single “Son of Mustang Ford. I also brought in Brendan Quinn of Divisionist, who I played some shows with last year in Europe with Rosco and Pete Bassman from Spacemen 3”.
The band has supported Creation Records’ Hurricane #1, arranged through supporter Alan McGee, as well as Slydigs and Trampolene in addition to headlining The Cavern Club in Liverpool for the IPO Festival 2017, also headlining Bannerman’s Bar in Edinburgh and receiving positive acclaim by John Power (Cast/The La’s) at Brixton Jamm, London in 2014.
LINKS:
https://theswagger.bandcamp.com
https://facebook.com/theswaggerofficial
https://facebook.com/groups/theswaggermusic
https://twitter.com/theswaggermusic
https://instagram.com/theswaggermusic
https://musicglue.com/theswaggermusic -
Kids on Bridges – Weapon Of Choice
Fresh from a support slot with Grammy Award Winner Beck and shows with The Hot 8 Brass Band, Soulwax and Calvin Harris, the Liverpool trio are just about to complete album 3.
The bands versatility has seen them described as somewhere between Phoenix, Foster the People & Mutemath with a hint of Daft Punk & Depeche Mode thrown in, and this has seen radio support from BBC 6 music, X Radio, and Radio 2 and two hype machine number 1 Kids on Bridges are currently heading back over to America where they are going to finish work on a brand new album and have drafted in Eagles of Death Metal bass player Jennie Vee to join them on a number of tracks, along with New Orleans poet Chuck Perkins. Having previously worked with The Chemical Brothers producer Steve Dub, the new album promises to be a sonic assault! Recently The Band has been on remixing duties for Grammy Nominee Ledisi and Beating Nile Rodgers to the remix of calling all nations for INXS’s Kick 30.
Although the guys are certainly no strangers to having great guest performances on their releases, the last single ‘Say Ok’ featured New Orleans drumming legend Zigaboo Modeliste of the Meters. The band also found themselves nominated for best Alt video at the Paramount Awards in Hollywood for the single ‘Something in the Water’ a song that has recently been featured as the Footlocker advert and is set to also be featured in a new American TV show as the show’s Theme song.
The Bands Track ‘Walls’ was used in many Anti trump marches across America and they were also honoured to be the UK representatives at last year’s Special Olympics in LA performing alongside Stevie Wonder.
With excellent performances at Creamfeilds, Wickerman, Bestival and Ibiza Rocks, the future couldn’t be looking brighter for the Liverpool Band.
LINKS:
https://www.facebook.com/KidsOnBridgesMusic
https://twitter.com/Kidsonbridges
https://www.instagram.com/kids_on_bridges/
https://soundcloud.com/kidsonbridges
https://www.youtube.com/user/kidsonbridges