Having written about them more or less since the blog began, and enthusing about them at every possible opportunity, I think by know you're all aware of the total love that this blog has for Wonder Villains and everything Wonder Villains related (fun fact - they're the only band that have their own specific label on this blog). They've been quiet as late, save for a Stiff Little Fingers cover for the soundtrack of Shooting For Socrates, but now half of their members have started a new, interesting project.
The Beauty Sleeptrio are made up of Villains Ryan McGroarty & Cheylene Murphy (who's also spent the last year involved with Go Girl and Blog Sound of 2016 nominees Pleasure Beach), in addition to Aimee Williamson, and eschews more straightforward pop in favour of something a little bit more atmospheric, but just as enjoyable. "The Dark" is an irresistible mixture of dream-pop (quite apt, given their name), Balearic dance and synth-pop, all tied together by luscious interlocking boy/girl vocals. Top marks for the oceanic-sounding guitar solo in the outro too.
"The Dark" is a great introductory single for Beauty Sleep. Does the involvement of 50% of the Wonder Villains mean that that band have been dissolved? We hope not, but if Beauty Sleep can deliver more great songs like this, then we won't be too disappointed.
"The Dark" will be released on February 19th. A launch gig will be held in Bar Sub, Belfast on Friday 26th February.
We've been waiting for this moment for a long time.
After expressing our desire that it would happen for some time, Wonder Villains have finally decided to release the fantastic, exuberant, stupendous, gloryriffic, bloody brilliant "Golden Five" as a single. Or a focus track. Or whatever you call a post-album, non physical release of a tune in the dark, post-CD dominated world that we now live in. But regardless, now everything Wonder Villain-y is now centred around this glorious, Metronomy-meets-"Boys Don't Cry" pop song for the time being, and we for one could not be happier.
And even better, the band have just released a new music video to accompany its release, and it should come as no surprise that it's well worth watching. The 'plot' of the video seems to follow Eimear and Cheylene as they try to find their band mates Ryan and Kieran, but in reality it's just an excuse to watch the gang get up to silly things for 3 1/2 minutes. When they finally get around to giving Wonder Villains their own Miami 7-esque TV show, they might have just found their opening credits.
"Golden Five" is taken from their debut album "Rocky", which we implore you to purchase right now.
I first heard of Wonder Villains all the way back in 2009, after the band won a competition to support Oppenheimer at their final ever gig in the Limelight. When I heard the song that helped them to win the competition, "Oh Peter", I became instantly smitten. This was an uncynical, highly enjoyable pop song at its finest, and the fact that the song referenced one of my favourite TV shows at the time, Heroes, didn't hurt either. From that moment on, I knew that there was something special about these guys, and the singles they released and the dozens of times I saw them live in the intervening period only hammered home that point.
Now nearly five years after first falling for them, Wonder Villains have finally released their debut album "Rocky" (which takes its name from Rocky O'Reilly, who was involved in the production of the album). Having spent the last few years telling all and sundry about how awesome I believe the band to be (and believe me, I have done that a lot on this blog), there's always the worry that when the album is released, I will have set my expectations too high and as a result I will be underwhelmed by it. So, having heard "Rocky", how would I describe the album?
The answer - bloody marvellous.
The album starts as it means to go on with the day-glo pop sound of "TV". This is then followed by the more measured sound of "Blonde" before plunging head first into "Zola", which is one of the highlights of the album. Why its chorus of 'the keeper said to Zola, you're dead when this is over, and you're out until October' hasn't been adopted as a nationwide terrace chant yet is a mystery, but given its recent re-release, there's still hope for it. The band's traditional live opening song "33" comes up next (quite surprising that it's track 4 rather than the opening song), before we get to what is quite possibly my favourite 'new' track recorded for the album.
"Golden Five" is one of the more complex songs on the album with it's many key and tempo changes, but at its heart is a fantastic pop song, one that sits somewhere in between "The Look" by Metronomy and "Boys Don't Cry", complete with irresistible "ba ba ba" hooks that have left it permanently lazered in my brain since I first heard them play it live last year. I've been lobbying for it to be released as a single since then, so even if it doesn't make the jump, it's still great to finally have a studio recording of the track.
The band's penchant for pop-culture referencing remains ever-present on the album. Aside from the aforementioned "Oh Peter", which has been re-recorded to make it more 'band' sounding, there's the Blondie-referencing "Debbie", a tribute to Jason Segal's character in How I Met Your Mother in the form of the hyper-fun "Marshall", "Baby Don't Look So Sad", a song that takes the form of an open letter to Bruce Springsteen, and "Ferrari", a song that contains the band's most memorable lyric - I swapped my brother for a Pokémon card, a shiny Charizard."
Aside from a few minor quibbles (I do feel that "Linklater" sounds better when performed live rather than on record), "Rocky" by Wonder Villains is a fantastic debut album of fun filled, huperactive pop songs of the highest calibre. It is evertyhing I wanted in an album by Wonder Villains, and much, much more. Show me a better pop album released in 2014, and I will show you a liar.
We're less than six weeks away from the long-anticipated début album from Derry's finest pop group, Wonder Villains. To whet our appetite before its release, the band have made a song that didn't make the cut available as a free download. But don't think that this is an off-cut, oh no. This is a very special song indeed.
If you've been a fan of Wonder Villains for as long as I have, then "Space Jam" is a song that you should be very familiar with. It has been part of their live set from as far back as 2010, and to the best of my knowledge, it was their only single that received a CD release (I'm a proud owner of one of them, complete with its hand-made cover). More importantly, it was the song that made be fall in love with the band in the first place. Ostensibly about the cult Michael Jordan meets Bugs Bunny film, "Space Jam" was a manic, invigorating tune full of youthful verve, one which made me realise that these guys had something very special indeed.
I was disappointed when I saw the track listing for their album that "Space Jam" didn't make the cut, but I'm delighted that the band have re-recorded the song. In comparison to the original, this version, which has been produced by Rocky O'Reilly, is slightly more sparkly and guitar-centric. However, it's still as wonderfully poptastic and fun as it's ever been. My appetite has now been well and truly whetted. Their album cannot come soon enough.
"Rocky" will be released on June 23rd. They play several dates at The Great Escape in Brighton.
The Great Escape is an annual new music festival based in Brighton. From 8th-10th May, over 400 bands and artists from all over the world will be playing in over 30 venues to the thousands of people who will be descending on the seaside city.
The Great Escape is a festival that I have been following for many years, and I am absolutely delighted that for the first time, I will be crossing the Irish Sea to attend the festival. After all, it's not often that you get the opportunity to literally drown in sound.
With so many new and emerging artists due to play, it will be a struggle deciding exactly who to go and see. With this in mind, and keeping in mind one of this blog's musical loves, I have put together this quick guide to every single artist from Northern Ireland (or with an NI connection) who will be performing at the festival this year. Many of them will be playing at more than once, so if you're interested in hearing as many of the most exciting emerging artists from here, then you have no excuse not to take them all in. Or you could ignore this entire post and go to see Wild Beasts & Kaiser Chiefs instead. The choice is up to you, which is why TGE is so wonderful.
A Plastic Rose
Venue - (a) Blind Tiger (b) Festival Hub Stage (Spiegelpub) Date/Time - (a) Thursday 8th May - 11:00pm (b) Friday 9th May - 5:30pm Why do I care? Since relocating from NI to Nottingham, the alt-rock band have gone from strength to strength with singles such as "This Side Of Winter" and "Someone's Daughter", both of which have enjoyed extensive play on Radio 1. With album #2 a few months away, it's the perfect time to see the band before they become ubiquitous.
Ballet School
Venue - (a) Brighton Coalition
(b) Green Door Store
(c) Green Door Store
Date/Time - (a) Thursday 8th May - 8:15pm (b) Thursday 8th May 2014 - 12:30pm (c) Friday 9th May 2014 - 3:30pm Why do I care?
The Berlin-based trio are led by Belfast lass Rosie Blair, and their dreamy-pop creations led to them being picked up for release by Bella Union, home of Fleet Foxes and Cashier No.9 amongst others. Their E.P "Boys Again" has some great tracks, and it feels like they are on the verge of becoming alternate favourites.
The Clameens
Venue - Sticky Mike's Frog Bar Date/Time - Saturday 10th May - 12.45am Why do I care? The Derry band have won over many people with their spunky, youthful take on indie-rock, and as they continue to grow in stature and confidence, they are only going to get better.
Go Wolf
Venue - Festival Hub Stage (Spiegelpub) Date/Time - Friday 9th May - 1:15pm Why do I care? The band have started to build up quite a bit of blog love for their dance-friendly indie-rock music, and with them still riding the waves of a prominent feature in a Kitsuné compilation album, expect them to be a pretty popular draw.
Little Matador
Venue - The East Wing Date/Time - Thursday 8th May - 8:30pm Why do I care? This supergroup, led by Nathan Connolly, have just released their fantastic debut album, so expect to see the crowds singing along to every single one of the band's rocking tunes on Thursday evening.
Ryan Vail
Venue - Queen's Hotel Date/Time - Saturday 10th May - 9:15pm Why do I care? This electronic duo (for Ryan Vail is a duo, although confusingly enough 1/2 of the duo is called Ryan Vail) make highly intricate, intelligent dance music, the sort of music that should make your head move just as much as your body. Well, they do say that the brain is a muscle.
Southern
Venue - Blind Tiger Date/Time - Thursday 8th May - 7:15pm Why do I care?
The country-cum-folk rock siblings have taken a real leap forward since the release of "World Don't Shine" and "Where The Wild Are" in the past few months, and with a punchy new sound at their disposal, you would be a fool to miss out on them.
UNKNWN
Venue - Green Door Store Date/Time - Saturday 10th May - 11:30pm Why do I care? Until recently, UNKNWN was known as UNKNWN because he was, indeed, unknown. This has now changed, due of a) UNKNWN revealing his true identity to be Chris Hanna, and b) the addition of Gemma Dunleavy as a member of the project. But that's just superfluous background, what is important is their music, which is dark but melodic dub-based music, which has seen them win worldwide attention.
The Wonder Villains
Venue - Blind Tiger Date/Time - Sunday 11th May - 12:00am Why do I care?
Because they are fun and awesome. Don't think I can elaborate any more than that.
Northern Irish Showcase - In association with Generator NI
Venue - Prince Albert Date - Friday 9th May Artists/Stage Times - The Clameens - 12:30pm Go Wolf - 1:15pm The Wonder Villains - 2:00pm Ryan Vail - 2:45pm UNKNWN - 3:30pm Why do I care? Because you can enjoy five of Northern Ireland's finest musical prospects, one after another, without having to leave the bar. How could you not enjoy that?
The moment that this blog has been waiting for since 2009 is nearly upon us - 2014 is going to be the year when Wonder Villains finally release their long-overdue debut album. This blog has probably written more about these guys than any other artist, local or otherwise, since it started in 2011, so to say that it is our most anticipated release of the year would be something of an understatement.
But as the old saying goes, "if you want to make an omelette, you've got to crack open a few eggs". And in this metaphor, the eggs are represented by the singles which will be released prior to the album's release (the omelette of this incredibly tenuous metaphor), the next one of which is "Marshall". Fans of Wonder Villains will be more than familiar with the track - it's been a key component of their live sets for several years, and was featured as a b-side of an earlier single release. It's been given a new coat of paint for this release, and it's sounded as fresh as ever. Taking its name from a character from How I Met Your Mother, "Marshall" is a fizzy, well constructed banger of a pop tune that doesn't outstay its welcome (141 seconds, which as Elastica demonstrated many moons ago, is more or less the ideal length for a pop song).
If feels as if I think that every song Wonder Villains release is the song that should give them the breakout they deserve. But in the case of "Marshall", it is doubly true - if this song doesn't give them the uber-breakout that they deserve, I will be incredibly sad.
"Marshall" will be released on 24th March. Their debut album, "Rocky", will be released on June 23rd.
(Hey, that means that there could be time for one more pre-album single before it's release. I sincerely hope it's "Golden Five", it's been the highlight of their set for the past few months. Please, make it so - The Captain).
To say that the turnout to see well-regarded Birmingham band Superfood in Voodoo this evening is disappointing would be something of an understatement. Excluding the support band, sound technicians and bar staff, there couldn't have been any more than nine people in attendance, oneself included. This is a great pity, as both bands playing are rather decent indeed.
Firstly, Wonder Villains. Having seen them many times over the past few years in many different venues, the group are as tight musically and stage-wise as they have ever been, performing their trademark brand of excitement-pop. All the songs that they have honed over the years as present and correct, from latest single "33", the Heroes referencing "Oh Peter", the Len influenced "Blonde", through to the Pokémon quoting "Ferrari". There is something new this evening however, with Cheylene switching from keyboards to her newly acquired keytar for the last few songs. It's a great performance from the Wonder Villains. Why they still haven't become uber massive yet remains a mystery.
Having supported Peace in Belfast over the summer, it is now time for Superfood to take to the stage for their first headline gig in the city. Despite the low turnout, the 4-piece put on a great performance with their set of Britpop revivalist tunes. The highlights of the set were latest single "Bubbles", whose Blur-aping energy was amped up to the nth degree at Voodoo, and their closing tune, the self-titled "Superfood", an infectious, slightly psychedelic single with an irresistible vocal hook. It was a great 1st headlining set for the group. It's just a pity there weren't more people to witness it.
So why was there so few people there? Here are a few possible reasons:
1. The gig's location
Since the closure of Auntie Annies a few months ago, the main venues for new/upcoming touring artists to play in Belfast has shifted away from the Queen's University area into Belfast city centre, in places like Voodoo and The Oh Yeah Centre. For artists whose main audiences are likely to be at university, this makes it slightly less convenient a venue to get to, meaning there's less chance of people checking out the gig on an impulse.
2. Confusion about the venue.
A few people arrived after the gig finished having mistakenly thought the gig was in The Limelight, as there appeared to have been some confusion on Twitter about the venue.
3. Perhaps it was too early to be playing in Belfast.
To date, Superfood have three songs recorded on their Soundcloud page, and whilst they have received a lot of hits and attention to date, it might not have been extensive enough to excite music fans in Belfast, many of whom are reluctant to even see local bands who have that amount of songs recorded. Perhaps when the band have an album to their name people in Belfast may be more willing to check them out.
But for whatever reason the turnout was so low, I sincerely hope it doesn't put them off playing in Belfast again in the future. After all, I think they are a great band with heaps of potential and a few killer tracks. With their great Britpop inspired sound, they have the potential to be the new Inspiral Carpets or Dodgy. I sincerely hope they don't end up being the next Catch or Viva Brother instead.
If it's any consolation, here's something that hopefully will bring some solace to Superfood. When The 1975 first played in Belfast in December last year, there was no more than thirty people in attendance, if even that. (I should know. I was there). This week, merely 10 months later, the same band played at the Mandela Hall in the same city, and sold out the 900 capacity venue weeks in advance. In Belfast, a touring band can go from 'also playing' to the hottest gig in town in a short period of time. Let's hope that's what Superfood will enjoy the next time they play here.
With every post that this blog makes about Derry band Wonder Villains (and we've suremade a lot of them since 2011), there's always the worry that we'll run out of superlatives, or exciting Wonder Villains related events to mention. Thankfully, the band sure do like to make things easy for us all. Since the release of their last single, "Blonde", the group has enjoyed quite a lot of airplay on Radio 1, they played a storming set that the final Glasgowbury Festival, and recently held a semi-exclusive 'rock party' at the Sunflower Bar, playing more or less every single one of their songs they had written to date.
And to top things off, the band are now lining up to release their next single. Fans of Wonder Villains will already be familiar with "33" - it was originally released as the b-side of their first official single "Zola", and it is the song that the band normally kick off their set with. The song has since been re-recorded for inclusion on their upcoming debut album "Rocky" (which I have been told on good authority is fully recorded, release date to be confirmed), and is a corkingly fantastic pop song, complete with all the band's trademarks - stonkingly big pop hooks, a slight punk-y style, pop-culture infused lyrics (this time referencing both Jorge Garcia and one of the band's key influences, Weezer), and most crucially, a smile inducing sense of fun that no band could possible match. Not even Katrina & The Waves, and they flipping walked on sunshine.
It's good to see that like their last single, "33" has picked up a bit of support on Radio 1 and a few other stations. Wonder Villains are a band that need to be heard. With so much bad things in the world, it's great to have a group who can make everything sound 100% better.
Last month, I was chuffed to bits to see this very blog profiled in The Guardian as part of its Blog Jam feature. One of the reasons why I started this blog was to cast a light on some of the great music that comes out of the north of Ireland, so I was glad to see some of our artists getting some added recognition as a result of that. However, when they asked me what song I most enjoyed, it was quite a challenge to choose just one, but in the end, I had to go with "TV" by Derry's finest Wonder Villains. As well as being a fantastic song in its own right, they are perhaps the artist that I've written about the most on this blog, so in a roundabout way, they were responsible for me getting featured in The Guardian in the first place. Thanks a lot, guys!
But anyway, what's important now is that Wonder Villains are finally putting the final touches to their upcoming debut album, which is due for release in the early summer. As predicted by yours truly in November, their new single is one that has become a live favourite for the group in recent months, "Blonde". The song is their slowest , and somewhat counter-intuitively, their shorted song to date, it still ranks as one of their most infectious pop songs to date. Not anti, indie or alternative, just pure, unadulterated pop. And I wouldn't want it any other way.
"Blonde" will be released on April 22nd, and will feature on their debut album "Rocky".
It's that time of the year again where it's time to look into the blog's crystal ball to see which artists I am tipping for big things in 2013. As is customary for The Metaphorical Boat, the tips will be split into two different parts - the first five artists will be from my home turf, Northern Ireland, whilst the five in the second part will be from the rest of the world.
And we begin with:
1. Wonder Villains
It does feel like a cheat to include an artist on this list who featured last year, but in the case of Derry group Wonder Villains, I feel that it is richly deserved. Throughout 2012, the group have continued to impress with their incredibly fun, popular culture infused pop music. They have released two wonderful E.Ps this year. "Ferrari" and "TV", which have seen them gain heavy airplay on BBC 6music and Radio 1. They have made several television appearances, including performing on RTE's Late Late Show. On top of this, they have come into their own as a live act. I have had the pleasure of seeing them live four times in the past 12 months, and every time I've seen them I have came away with a massive grin on my face.
Next year will see the release of their long awaiting debut album "Rocky", a release that should establish the group firmly as Europe's most fun pop group, albeit one who are unmistakable from our wee province. After all, how many bands do you know that dress up as the Harland and Wolff Shipyard for Halloween?
2. SOAK
In all my time obsessing over local music, I haven't seen an artist that have been so beloved by Northern Irish broadcasters from all sides of the spectrum than 16-year-old Derry singer/songwriter Bridie Monds-Watson, who records under the name SOAK. Having been unknown at the start of the year, she's received support from Across The Line, Electric Mainline through to Stuart Baillie and even mid-morning legend Gerry Anderson himself in 2012. I don't think I've ever seen such fervor for one artist from our neck of the woods, but in SOAK's case, the attention has been very much deserved.
The music of SOAK is like the echoes of a soul, something both deeply personal and vulnerable yet engaging at the same time, with wonderful songs like "Sea Creatures" and the Radio 1 playlisted "Fingers Crossed" showing off her emotive sound. I think that she's got a lot of room to grow as a songwriter, but in terms of raw talent, there's very few artist of her age who can match her. With continued national radio support, as well as an upcoming support slot for Snow Patrol, 2013 is going to be a glorious year for Bridie.
3. Rainy Boy Sleep
And our final Derry based tip is Stevie Martin, who records under the name Rainy Boy Sleep. 2012 has been a good year for the artist, having been on tour with both James Morrison and Ray Davies. He also released the fantastic "Shopping Centre Song" EP, which combines his earnest singer/songwriter sound with interesting production techniques, to critical acclaim. He even found time to out in a guest appearances with fellow county dwellers Ruairi & The Owls.
With his debut album "Vantage Points" penciled in for release early next year, 2013 looks likely to be just as promising for Rainy Boy Sleep.
4. Eatenbybears
The best way to really make an impact on the local scene is to ensure that you sound nothing like other bands in your city. This is why Belfast based shifty-pop group Eatenbybears have really shone through in 2012. Having already introduced their signature mixture of unusual rhythms, loud guitars, keyboard noodling and occasional fiddle breakdowns in 2011, the band furthered their sound with two solid singles - the summery bounce of "Simple As Hell" and the darker, more introverted "Your Pet Is Dead." If the group can keep up this onslaught of effective material, then 2013 will well and truly be their year.
5. Amateur Historians
And concluding these NI centric tips is Belfast based alt-rock poppers Amateur Historians. The group first grabbed me with the short, sharp "These Cities Are Stealing My Soul", a song that instantly brought up comparisons to Ash. The subsequent release of their debut E.P "New Homes/New Hopes" helped to showcase an added depth to their sound. With a few new tracks in the pipeline for next year, it will be interesting to see if the group can keep up this spiky energy in 2013.
This year's 2nd annual Belfast Music Week doesn't seem to have had the same buzz around it as last year. Perhaps because it didn't have a worldwide event, like the MTV Music Video Awards, to coincide with it as it did last year. Nevertheless, it's great to have a week set aside every year to shine the spotlight on some of the brightest prospects that 'our wee province' has to offer.
The central event to the week is the Belfast Music Week Showcase. The recently redeveloped Limelight Complex has opened all three of its venues to play host to twelve of Northern Ireland's most promising upcoming artists. The purpose of the night is to allow them to play to the 20 or so international music executives who have descended upon Belfast for the purposes of snapping them up. I couldn't recognise any of them during the evening, although that's largely because they all declined to wear a 10 gallon hat with "MUSIC PROFESSIONAL" emblazoned on it. I did see Radio Ulster DJ Stuart Baillie in attendance, but then again, as the old saying goes, "If you are at a gig in Belfast and Stuart Baillie isn't there, then you're not at a gig in Belfast."
Each of the artists has been given 20 minutes to perform, so each performance is rather frantic and crammed solely with each artist's most notable songs. Here are some brief thoughts on all the artists playing: Katharine Phillipa - given that her style is strictly minimal, in that the space in between music is just as important as the music itself, an unappreciative audience can be quite detrimental to her performance (or as one person on Twitter put it, the crowd needs to STFU). Nonetheless, she puts in a decent performance. Notably, she has brought in a new minimal mash-up, combining "Ho Hey" by The Lumineers with "Some Nights" by fun.. Pretty Child Backfire - Some rather decent shifty-pop from the group. David C Clements - My initial thoughts about seeing David C. Clements was that this is the sound of an incredibly polite apocalypse, as brought about by Bruce Springsteen (although on Twitter, I appear to have gotten his band mixed up with More Than Conquerors). A lot more engaging live than on record. Tom McShane - Mr McShane is something of a throwback to the traditional songwriter, given that his live setup consists of a cellist, double bass player and trumpeter in addition to guitar/vocals. Didn't know much about him prior to seeing him, but any artist that writes songs with epic trumpet lines is a keeper in my book.
Wonder Villains - tonight, the band have established themselves as the best, most fun act on the local scene. A few new songs were played this evening, included "Blonde", a song that just screams 'future single'. More Than Conquerors - rather decent. VerseChorusVerse - I hadn't seen ex-ASIWYFA Tony Wright, aka VerseChorusVerse before this evening, but he sure does know how to make a great first impression, playing the first song of his set whilst balanced on the railing of Katy Daly's bar. He's one step above the average Belfast acoustic singer/songwriter, that's for sure.
Lafaro - I wasn't too keen on Lafaro's riff-heavy rock. Thankfully for them, everyone else in attendance disagree, with the band pulling in the biggest crowd of the night. "Tupenny Nudger" is pretty great though.
Runaway Go - Perhaps the best performance I've seen the band given to date. The short set is a great reminder that they've got some really great songs in their arsenal, like "Electric" and recent single "Jump Start". Ryan Vail - all his equipment worked. There was a flute.
A Plastic Rose - win the award for best quip of the night. "This has been the fastest 20 minutes of my life. Although my girlfriend would disagree". It's a reliably strong set from them, with "Boy Racer" and their traditional closer "Kids Don't Behave Like This", being the highlights. Rams' Pocket Radio - it's great to see Shauna Tohill back on bass for Rams' this evening. The performance is rather good.
It's great to have an evening sampling some of the best emerging artists coming out of this region. There were some flaws with the setup of the evening though. As none of the performances overlapped, there was a mad rush to get to the next venue whenever one artist finished. Also, with one artist playing at a time, the venue that they're playing in could become quite cramped, especially in the relatively small Katy Daly's.
Still, it was a great event, and I'm hoping that some of the music people in attendance like what they've heard and help to push our best and brightest into the stratosphere.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with being pop. Sure, what we call pop has included travesties like Daphne & Celeste, Vanilla & Fe-m@il (don't look them up), but the term can be, and has been, applied to a-ha, T-Rex and yes, even The Beatles. What I'm trying to say that just because something is regarded as "pop", it does not automatically mean that it's disposable or frivolous.
This brings me nicely onto the new release by one of my favourite groups coming out of the north at the minute, Derry's Wonder Villains. People have taken to calling them indie-pop, alt-pop or even, God forbid, anti-pop. They are wrong, and they are not. Wonder Villains are a pop band. They make music to make you smile, to make you dance, to make you feel young at heart (and God knows there's times I need to feel that way) and above all, to make you sing along. There is no need to to re-label them in an attempt to get around the dreaded three letter word. Just embrace the exuberant, youthful pop of the colourful "TV", perhaps the most synth-heavy song the band have released in the past year, and just have a good time.
"TV E.P" by Wonder Villains will be released on 29th October on No Dancing Records.
So the Glasgowbury Festival is over for another year. Thousands of music fans, myself included, climbed up the side of a mountain for a wonderful celebration of the great local music on offer in Draperstown. With 50 bands playing over the course of the day from many different genres, there was something for everyone throughout the day. Here are my thoughts on the festival
Highlights
It'll probably come as no surprise that my favourite performance of the evening came from The Wonder Villains. Despite some apparent technical difficulties during the set (during "TV", it seemed that Cheylene's keyboard was not turned on), they put on a wonderfully energetic set. They even debuted a new song, which is about Bruce Springsteen.
Ska-punk group Pocket Billiards put in a great performance on the Small But Massive Stage, which really got the crowd going. Eimear from the aforementioned Villains got on the already crowded stage to sing lead vocals on one song.
Derry singer/songwriter Soak was one of the few artists who played twice during the festival, once before the festival officially began to pre-record a live set for BBC Radio Foyle, and once during her set on the G Spot Stage. Such was the anticipation for her performance that the tent was already crowded five minutes before she took to the stage.
Elsewhere, folk group Sons of Caliber put on a reliably strong performance, the lullaby-folk of The Jeppetos was gorgeous, and Best Boy Grip were also enjoyable.
Although it wasn't musical, seeing a festival goer dressed up as the titular character from Hayao Miyazaki's film My Neighbour Totoro brought a smile to my face.
Surprises
The great thing about the festival is coming across artists that you had never heard of and falling in love with them. Limerick band Fox Jaw Bounty Hunters really blew me away with their riff-heavy melodic rock. Think Queens of the Stone Age covered in daggers and it gives you an idea of their sound. It was a pity that you could count the amount of people in the tent by the end of their set on your digits.
Another band that impressed me were brassy septet Dead Presidents. They've got an upbeat sound that mixes funk, soul and jazz, with lead singer Matthew Wilson sounding like a young Van Morrison. The crowd loved their performance as well, with the crowd carrying Matthew at the end of their set. Also great was Wexford based Ian Doyle, aka The Man Whom, who performed solo with an acoustic guitar and a loop pedal to create live backing tracks on the fly.
Also, it was great to discover that a former classmate of mine is the new viola player for Rams' Pocket Radio, playing his debut gig for them during the festival.
Stuff I Missed.
Due to the nature of clashes of festival times and other factors, there were a few acts that I would have liked to see but missed out on, Including RunawayGo, The 1930s, Droids, The Japanese Popstars, and perhaps most annoyingly of all, the headliners Therapy?. If you managed to catch any of these artists on the day, feel free to let me know how awesome they were/weren't.
Food
I didn't see a single piece of fruit for sale at the festival. Although there were three burger stands, two coffee places and an ice-cream truck.
Photos
SOAK playing just before the festival officially got underway.
Tied to Machines
The cutesy folk of The Jepettos
Limerick's Fox Jaw Bounty Hunters, one of the surprise packages of the festival.
The lovely ladies fromThe Wonder Villains
Matthew Wilson of The Dead Presidents enjoying a surf. He lost his tie in the kerfuffle.
Pocket Billiards with Eimear from The Wonder Villains.
Derry based quartet The Wonder Villains have been going from strength to strength since the last time I mentioned them on the blog. Their last single, "Zola", was playlisted on National Radio 1 (and even entered the iTunes chart for a brief period), they have found themselves championed by Steve Lamacq, and following the release of their latest single "Ferrari", a re-recording of a track they first released for a compilation CD back in 2010, the band have found themselves being featured on such illustrious blogs such as Breaking More Waves and The Von Pip Musical Express.
This evening, the band are gearing up for the biggest local gig to date, playing at The Speakeasy bar to launch theie latest single. Ahead of the gig, they guys came into Queen's Radio to record a stripped back version of "Ferrari", featuring just vocal, guitar and keyboard, which is very much a thing of pop magic. You can hear this fantastic interpretation of the song below:
And here's the single version, which is out to download now:
The Wonder Villains will be launching "Ferrari" in The Speakeasy Bar in The Queen's University Student's Union from 9PM this evening (Thursday 23rd), supported by Pretty Child Backfire & Purile Honey. Admission is free.
After spending the past 2 weeks looking back at the best releases of 2011, it is time for The Metaphorical Boat to look ahead to the bands that hopefully will be making waves in 2012.
The 10 acts that feature in the countdown are ones that have not yet released an album that I hope will make a mark in 2012. The first part will look at artists from Northern Ireland that I have high hopes for in the next 12 months, whilst part 2 will look at bands from the rest of the world.
Amidships
With their stadium-folk sound, Antrim sextet Amidshipsare a band of epic proportions. With a 7 track E.P under their belt ("Friendly Fire"), and an increasingly devoted live following, 2012 could see the group break into the consciousness of the UK music scene.
Lisburn based piano-rock artist Peter McCauley, aka Rams' Pocket Radio, is an artist that has been on my radar for some time, ever since I heard the demo of "Dogs Run In Packs" back in 2009.
2011 has been his best year yet, with the support of 6music's Tom Robinson leading him to playing a storming Glastonbury set over the summer. The momentum has increased with the recent DRIP EP, showcasing the extent of the artist's power-piano style. With a new E.P planned for the new year, hopefully we'll be hearing a lot more of Rams' Pocket Radio in the new year.
Sons of Caliber
Belfast based 5-piece Sons of Caliber ply their trade with their own brand of folk, full of guy/girl harmonies and poetic, heart-on-sleeve lyrics. In the past year they've developed as an intriguing live prospect, and tracks such as "My Way of Thinking" and "Falling For You" have shown their knack for writing memorable, pastoral tunes. With an E.P due in the new year, we should be hearing more from the band in the near future.
Window Seats
Belfast based heavy rock band Window Seatshave been releasing singles for a few years now. But in the past few months their profile has increased after the release of their "Frozen Bones E.P", as well as the IMTV award nominated video for "Local Superhero." With tunes such as "Juliette's Letter" in their arsenal, the next 12 months should be an exciting time for the trio.
As I have mentioned on manyoccasions, I am a massive fan of the Derry four-piece's sugary pop sound. If there was a definition for "fun" in the pop dictionary (if such a dictionary existed), I'm sure you would find a picture of The Wonder Villains staring back at you. I mean, how many other artists do you know that use their Twitter feed to organize games of rounders? Not Radiohead, I can tell you that.
With the impending release of their second single "Ferrari", which features lyrics about swapping a sibling for a Charizard, amongst other things, things are looking rather rosy for the band. Let's just hope that we get a music video from the guys in the near future. If there's ever been a band whose songs are audio-visually friendly, it's The Wonder Villains.
The Wonder Villains are perhaps the greatest pop band that currently ply their trade in on the NI music scene. Having been gigging for over two years now, the band have signed to local label No Dancing, and are gearing up to release their first E.P for them, "Zola," on October 16th.
The three tracks on the E.P showcase what makes the band great: feel good, hook laden, cultural reference infused pop songs that will leave a smile on your face as you hum along to the infectious melodies. The title track of the E.P is dedicated to former Chelsea skipper Gianfranco, and feature, whilst "33" makes reference to lost star Jorge Garcia.
The last track on the album, "Running in Circles", is a bit of an oddity. It originally featured as the b-side of last year's single "SpaceJam", and whilst the version featured here in a re-recorded version, it is still listed as being a demo. It's possible that either the band haven't recorded a version yet that they're truly happy with, or the song is being held back for consideration as a future single, or quite possibly both. Nevertheless, even in this form the track is a fantastic slice of pop-goodness.
If "Zola" is anything to go by, then the future is certainly rosy for The Wonder Villains, as long as they continue to produce such fanastic, feel good material.
If you’re a great fan of great upcoming music from Northern Ireland, then there is no better place to be on a Thursday night than the Speakeasy Bar in the Queens University Student’s Union. During term time, it plays host to Radar, which is a free weekly event that plays host to the best upcoming groups in the region. As a showcase for local talent, it is rarely beaten. The rather hefty crowd, made up largely of nubile freshers still adapting to student life, were in for a treat with three rather different bands.
The first band of the night were Pixel vs Nanobot. Whilst I had heard of the band before the gig, I hadn’t really listened to their music in advance, and wrongly assumed by the name that they were a rave influenced chiptune band. Instead I was treated to a high energy electro-rock trio, fronted by the lovely Shauna Donaghy. Throughout their set, their songs could categorized into two distinct types – half the songs were synth infused tunes, which the other half featured Shauna stepping away from the Korg and into a Karon O-esque ‘Diva Mode,’ for Death From Above 1979-esque bass led tunes. The band seemed to get the crowd on their side, particularly two girls at the front who seemed to go crazy to every beat.
In "Diva Mode"
It’s been over 18 months since I last saw the Derry based four-pieceThe Wonder Villains play live, and the group have had some success since then, having had one of their songs used as the theme tune to a BBC comedy series and supporting General Fiasco on a number of UK dates, and has seen lead singer Eimear switch from predominantly using a synth bass to an electric bass.
Thankfully, one thing that has not changed with the band is their penchant for writing pop-culture infused, feel-good pop songs. The youthful energy flows through the teenage band’s songs, which include upcoming single “Zola” (about Gianfranco), “Oh Peter” (about a character from the now cancelled TV series “Heroes), “Running In Circles” (a song loved so much by the band that it has been the b-side to two of their singles), and my personal favourite, “SpaceJam”, which was my 4th favourite song of 2010. Eimear engaged in ‘banter’ with the rapturous audience between, sharing her joy at being able to drink on stage for the first time (“I feel mental”, she informs us). The music of the Wonder Villainsserves the purpose of making you feel young, energetic and most importantly, happy, and there is nothing more that you would ever want with a band.
The Wonder Villains: fun personified
The final act of the night is Levity Breaks, who are launching their debut single, “The Floor.” One of my friends described their anthemic rock songs as “music for getting four yes votes on the X Factor to,” which I feel is an apt description of the Editors esque rock that they showcase on the night.
