2014 ROUNDUP

2013 was a year of some pretty hard-to-top releases: Peace’s In Love; Splashh’s Comfort and of course there is no escaping AM. 2014 has had a lot to live up to, but I definitely think it’s caught up with the successes of its predecessor. And, with that, here is my recount of a couple of things music-related in 2014, as well as a bit of what I’m looking forward to for next year.

Gigs

I’m torn between two for my favourite gig of 2014 – it’s either Drenge at the 100 Club, or The Orwells at Electric Ballroom.

I should be somewhere underneath him
Photocredits - www.tumblr.com

Drenge’s self-titled album is easily one of the most-played in my music library, it would be hard not to compare them with Royal Blood (especially seeing as they’re both two-man’s), but I actually think they’re better. The brothers played a relatively small show in May, attracting a youthful crowd that did not pause throughout the whole set, after being vamped up by Sheffield support, Avida Dollars. I am now reminiscing the moment when Eoin kicked me in the head mid-crowdsurf as a wonderful way to end a great set.

American rock five-way, The Orwells, were equally insane in November. I way prefer Electric Ballroom to the 100 Club, but I don’t think they sold out the place. Even so, this was easily one of my favourite gigs; the crowd were so excitable and supportive and I can’t remember a moment where I wasn’t both sweaty and crushed, or knocked on the floor. Lead singer, Mario Cuomo, even set off a fire hydrant on stage. They’re back in the States now, but I would 100% see The Orwells again if I can.

Albums

The Balcony, Catfish and the Bottlemen 

For listeners of: Circa Waves, Peace, Tokyo Police Club

Meeting Vann McCann after the small show in September
Also appreciate my dungarees they only cost £1 

I always seem to hear mixed things about Catfish. For a while they were relatively underrated and not a lot was ever said about their single releases in early 2014, but all of a sudden (post release of The Balcony) they dominated attention and have been one of the most talked about new bands of 2014. That’s all good, but it’s got to be said that they’re at risk of being ruined by radio – that is, overplayed. But there’s reason behind the hype: the chaotic layers of drums and shouty vocals in some of their most popular releases (Kathleen and Cocoon spring to mind) create music that’s made to be played loud. The baselines can get a bit masked by all the noise, but I don’t think that really matters for a band where the lyrics prove that they are meant to be enjoyed, not connected with emotionally.

The Balcony is a great release; the best song on it has to be Homesick – it’s one of the tracks that proves Catfish have the potential to be big.

Plowing Into the Field of Love, Iceage

For listeners of: Metz, The Wytches, Gnarwolves (although they might be a bit heavy)

Danish punk band, Iceage, made a great release in October with Plowing Into the Field of Love. They’re pretty grungy but the album isn’t at all depressing; if you’re only going to listen to one song, make it The Lord’s Favourite.

Royal Blood, Royal Blood

For listeners of: Drenge, Arctic Monkeys’ old stuff (WPSIATWIN)

It’s not hard to guess they would have to feature somewhere in a 2014 roundup. Royal Blood’s much anticipated, self-titled album lead to them selling out Electric Ballroom in under a minute (I was one of the unlucky ones, refreshing unsuccessfully at 9am), and since that they’ve announced o2 Academy Brixton, and now Wembley. Ten Tonne Skeleton is my favourite on the album, but the whole track list is consistently well-written, it’s not hard to see why they are the biggest British rock band of the moment.

Other Stuff

MOST PLAYED TRACKS OF 2014:

·         Happy song – Cameron, JAWS

·         Dancey song – Benediction, Hot Natured

·         Old(ish) song – Muscle Museum, Muse

·         Old song – Lithium, Nirvana

·         Sad song – Summer Again, the Wytches

YOUNG BAND: Jungle Doctors

London-based band Jungle Doctors supported JAWS when I saw them for the first time at The Garage, Upstairs. I hadn’t heard of them before but I soon searched them up on Spotify, and they’re really impressive. Their EP, Open Up, is well worth a listen: honest acoustics and a memorable chorus have made Dry something I now know all the lyrics to. Their new single, Can You See It, is also available on their soundcloud and gives a different vibe from some of their older singles. I missed their show at Barfly recently but I’m definitely hoping to catch them live in the New Year.

Other bits I’m looking forward to in 2015…

MY RECORD PLAYER! I now have a decent record player, with speakers, however so far I’ve only got the random selection of 45’s and LP’s my Granddad managed to find in charity shops (that’s everything from Solstace of the Planets to Gabriel’s Message), and my first purchase… AM. So I'm looking forward to now listening to my music on vinyl when I can (and when I can afford it).

THE WOMBATS RETURN… After getting over the One Direction obsessive phase, a friend introduced my year-nine self to the Wombats, which now I can say was the point where things took a turn for the better in terms of the music in my life. They were the first good band I listened to; three years on and I am still as big a fan, I’m ecstatic to be seeing them at the o2 Brixton in April. Since the release of Your Body is a Weapon, my hopes are set high for their new album Glitterbug, which is no doubt likely to be one of my most-played albums of 2015.

Glitterbug album artwork (or what has been released so far...)
Photocredits - www.thewombats.co.uk

Also I think here is the moment where I can show off that I won the Christmas contest for free tickets to any gig of my choice at o2 Shepherd’s Bush next year! I have never won anything in my life so was pretty excited to find them DM’ing me on Twitter to say that I’d been picked as their winner, and now I can add Wolf Alice to my list of lined up gigs for next year (for free!)

TOP TEN ROCK/INDIE CHRISTMAS SONGS

The Maccabees – Walking in the Air

This song brings back many memories of powering my way through the tears involved in an annual watching of The Snowman, and I always found the unbroken choral voice on the original slightly irritating, so the Maccabees cover is my preferred option. 

Peace – Last Christmas

I first heard this cover at Peace’s gig at Shepherd’s Bush last December; the combination of one of my favourite bands and one of my favourite Christmas songs is perfect, Harrison Koisser puts his unique flavour on any song he covers.

The Kinks – Father Christmas

An alternative contrast to the typical Christmas song, this doesn’t romanticise the holiday or even Father Christmas himself. I only found this song recently, but I like it. 

Guns N’ Roses – White Christmas

You can’t get any further from the original recording of this song before going into another language, so naturally Guns N’ Roses’ take on the classic White Christmas isn’t going to be for everyone…it’s heavy and not exactly very festive. Saying that, I think completely swaying from an old song’s original direction isn’t necessarily a bad thing, and this cover definitely proves that.

Coldplay – Have yourself a merry little Christmas

Everyone knows Christmas Lights so I didn’t think I really would have much to say about it. However, when I looked it up I found this - it’s simple and I always like Chris Martin’s vocals, even if I don’t really listen to that much Coldplay.

Noel Gallagher – Merry Christmas Everybody

A toned down version of the 1973 hit by Slade, this is another example of a great song being re-directed completely differently to its original mood and still being equally good, even if it is significantly less well-known.

The Killers - Don't Shoot Me Santa

This is probably one of the less well known songs by The Killers, it doesn't feature on any of their albums. I hadn't heard it until this year but it was a 2007 release and it is available on Spotify; it's really not a bad song so I'm surprised not a lot has been said about it. 

The XX – Last Christmas

Usually I’m not the biggest fan of The XX, but this song works so perfectly for the band that I had to include it on my list. I don’t like it as much as I like Peace’s version, but they're so different that it wouldn't really be fair to compare them.

Peace – All I want for Christmas is you

Peace have a couple of great Christmas covers, this one is laidback and takes the pop out of the Mariah Carey original. I’m not really sure what it has to do with Radiohead’s Creep.

The Wombats – Is this Christmas?

This is easily my favourite song on my list; listening to it makes it quite difficult to come to terms with the fact that I have to wait a whole four months to see the Wombats (although I highly doubt they will play a Christmas song in April). This is the only Christmas song that I can actually listen to throughout the year, I'm expecting the Wombats to have a very happy 2015.

THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME

A witty and clever novel turned wonderfully unique play, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time is strikingly original. I read the book a number of years ago and enjoyed it, so was naturally eager to see its National Theatre interpretation by director Marianne Elliott. I also had to write a review on it for my drama coursework, but my finished review is long, technical and probably quite boring, so seeing as I enjoyed the play so much I thought I should write something brief here.

 

Sarah Woodward as Christopher's teacher, who was also the narrator of the production
Photocredits - http://www.thetimes.co.uk/

The plot is simplistic: 15 year old Christopher Boone, who suffers from Asperger Syndrome, or what he calls ‘Behavioural Problems’, finds his next door neighbour’s dog dead in the garden, impaled with a garden fork. Disobeying the advice from his father, he investigates the case and ends up finding out a lot more than just who the murderer was – I won’t spoil anything else.

 

Graham Butler as Christopher Boone
Photocredits - http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/

The topic of mental disability is a tricky one to present convincingly in a production without misrepresenting it, but the unique image of Christopher’s Asperger Syndrome was shown with a cubic, graph-like set. The stage was interactive, lighting up with sketchy diagrams showing Christopher’s thought processes and the odd flurry of numbers; it was almost like looking into his brain. It was mesmerising and modern, a great piece of work for set designer Bunny Christie.

My favorite scene - Christopher 'flying' in space
Photocredits - http://www.whatsonstage.com/

The lead was played by Graham Butler, who did a fantastic job at representing a difficult character to master. He met the dancer-demands of the complex physical theatre in the production, there was one scene where he was held horizontally against the left wall of the stage by only two other actors: he made this look effortless. However, I thought the characterisation of Christopher in the production was slightly less rigid than in the book. In the book he’s quite awkward – you want to like him but there’s the ever-prominent side to him that’s pretty difficult and annoying; in the play he was much more likeable. Saying this, although Butler managed to capture the hearts of the majority of the audience, I think he was too old for the role, which reduced the believability of the show.

The show wasn’t quite touching enough to be tear-jerking, but it was directed with such creativity that I would have to recommend it. A couple of moments could be worked on to increase the performance’s emotional impact on an audience, but I’m really picking at the details. Whether or not you’ve read the book, the play is highly entertaining and inventive; I would definitely recommend a visit. 8.5/10

L'Oyin and Josephine popping out from backstage...... Not a very good photo

SMASHING PUMPKINS, MONUMENTS TO AN ELEGY

The Smashing Pumpkins have been in my music library for a couple of years, they’re a band where I know a selection of songs inside-out but I feel as though I’ve jumped on the bandwagon too late to call myself a dedicated listener, especially seeing as the majority of their best material was released before I was even born. It’s a sad truth that they’ve only deteriorated since re-forming in 2007. Saying that, they’ve been hugely successful in previous years and when listening to the likes of Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, it isn’t a challenge to see why they were once described as ‘the next Nirvana’. Nineteen years later, Monuments to an Elegy is released and, though it doesn’t live up to the high-set standards of some of their former works, it could be a lot worse.

Marilyn Manson surprises the audience when appearing in the encore of Pumpkins' gig in Koko, Camden last week
Photocreds - http://www.standard.co.uk/

Tiberius gives a promising opening track to the album, with a typical Pumpkins soft opening before bursting into heavy rock, not dissimilarly to Today; it seems to be one of the small minority of songs on the album which would blend into their old palette of rock. Being Beige is arguably the best track of the nine, with toned-down acoustics and a touch of piano. However, if I am being honest, those two tracks are the only ones that really give the album a leg to stand on. The synthetic, tin-like introduction of Monuments is almost painful to listen to, and this robotic sound has been carried on through Dorian and Run2Me. Disappointingly, the vast majority of tracks on the album make me wonder if Corgan ran out of ideas after his first two clever crafts.

Photocreds - http://www.theyoungfolks.com/

Monuments to an Elegy is an album that starts good and eventually disappoints, this track list has left me questioning whether the band should be removed of their ‘Smashing’ status. It’s not tragic, but it really could be better, it’s a shame to see two really well-written songs go to waste on a highly unimpressive album. Their hay day is clearly complete; perhaps the Pumpkins should be put away until next Halloween.

My favourite Smashing Pumpkins songs: Today, Ugly, 1979
For listeners of: Nirvana, Foo Fighters

THE WYTCHES AT SCALA

This week, The Wytches played to a sold-out crowd at Scala, King’s Cross. I first listened to the band in early 2014, but after not paying much attention to them I thought they were ‘too screamy’... the kind of band you only really listen to when you’re in the bath and your hands are too wet to skip on Spotify. They’re actually far from scream, and their catchy pre-album release Gravedweller was the song that changed my view on the band. I had anticipated a good crowd after booking tickets to see them almost six months before the actual event (which for me feels like quite a long time for a gig of this size); turns out they actually sold out the venue, since releasing their hit album Annabel Dream Reader. I hadn’t seen anything at Scala before, but after seeing it for the first time on Wednesday it depresses me that I’ve missed so many gigs here; the sound is great and it has a good level of intimacy for a heavier band like The Wytches.

The Wytches
Photocreds - http://diymag.com/

Blonde Bunny 

Doors opened at seven, but we arrived about eight – mid way through the first support act, Blonde Bunny, which I have to say were slightly odd. The lead singer floated around the stage in a pair of tight-wasted black bell bottom trousers and a cream silky shirt, with what sounded almost like animal noises echoing in the background. I can find no faults in the second support, Telegram, who did their job at vamping up the crowd fantastically, and I liked that there wasn't a massive wait between all the acts.

The Wytches easily lived up to expectations. They sent the predominantly-male crowd into a frenzied

An awful photo - apologies

crush straight away; being towards the right side I got the end-slam of every chain of shoves, but I managed to make my way to the front during Burn Out The Bruise, another one of my favourites. Slammed against the barrier, I succeeded to snap a few pictures but it was great to finally go to an event where there were no audience members whose sole purpose was to film the whole set. Long-locked lead singer Kristian Bell didn’t run out of energy, and even on the more heartfelt numbers he had a sound that was almost exactly the same as on the album. But my favourite moment of the night was the build-up in Summer Again, where the song transforms from an almost delicate tune to a heartfelt rant of break-up trauma, although I may be biased to my old Wytches favourites.


The set felt quite short, but it was actually an hour. My only complaint was the lack of encore and that they didn’t play Wire Frame Mattress, but apart from that the Brighton trio (who seem a bit solitary in their surf-psych genre) have certainly proved that they can put on a show. They sold out Scala, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see them sell out much larger venues.

My favourite Wytches songs: Digsaw, Burn Out the Bruise, Summer Again
For listeners of: Slaves, Gnarwolves