ON the RISE JANUARY IS, of COURSE, a Chantelle Pike Is a Match for Great Time to Look Forward to the Almost Anyone Vocally, Her Recent Laima Bite Year Ahead
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email: [email protected] website: nightshift.oxfordmusic.net Free every month. NIGHTSHIFT Issue 114 January Oxford’s Music Magazine 2005 OnOnOn TheTheThe RiseRiseRise The best new local acts to see in 2005 inside Fell City Girl by Miles Walkden Fell City Girl by Miles NIGHTSHIFT: PO Box 312, Kidlington, OX5 1ZU. Phone: 01865 372255 SEXY BREAKFAST release a QUICKFIX RECORDS release new single later this month, a compilation album of local NEWNEWSS entitled ‘Launch the Missile, teenage bands on the 29th of Nightshift: PO Box 312, Kidlington, OX5 1ZU Conrad!’ on their own label. It is January. ‘Under 18s’ aims to Phone: 01865 372255 the follow-up to 2003’s acclaimed showcase the best up and coming debut, ‘The Grin and Nod EP’. young bands in Oxford and email: [email protected] Long-time live favourite ‘Launch features two tracks each from the Missile, Conrad!’ is backed by Harlette, Mondo Cada, The Walk two new tracks, ‘Sadness Is The Off and 20:20 Vision, plus more supported The Finn Easiest To Choose’ and ‘The to be added. The album will be Brothers on tour, plays World Had Changed’. Talking launched with a gig at the Zodiac, at the Zodiac on about the new single and Sexy in conjunction with The Club th Tuesday 8 February. Breakfast’s future plans, singer That Cannot Be Named, on the The reformed House Joe Swarbrick told Nightshift, 29th, featuring Harlette, Mondo Of Love, featuring Guy “We’ve stripped everything back Cada, The Walk Off and more. Chadwick and Terry a little for this one. ‘Grin and Bickers reunited for Nod’ was great fun and I’m really ALESIACHAIR have split. The the first time in nearly proud of it, but it was guilty of a highly-promising Oxford-based 15 years, are at the few too many 70s prog rock Anglo-French indie rockers, th Zodiac on Saturday 5 excesses. This one feels more whose track, ‘Introduction To A February, while The modern and a lot less Rainy Day’ featured in Wedding Present visit introspective. It captures our live Nightshift’s Top 20 songs for th on Friday 25 sound a lot better than the last 2004, bowed out with a gig at the February. The Dears one. Thematically, it’s a lot less Wheatsheaf just before make a return visit to about relationships and a lot more Christmas, supporting Caretaker. the Zodiac on Friday about the world and its woes - not th 11 February. Big as a direct political statement, just LOCAL MUSIC ZINE OHM names coming to other exploring conflict and its has called it a day, having covered local venues soon repercussions, personally and the Oxford music scene for over a include The Levellers, nationally, and you can dance to it year; financial reasons are who play at Brookes all as well. It’s funny and blamed, as well as the departure University on Tuesday disturbing simultaneously. Over of some of the zine’s main th ACTRESS MINNIE DRIVER as 12 April, and chart toppers Girls the top, but rooted in true contributors. As well as featuring well as 80s indie legends The Aloud who play at the New feelings. Like a disco in the interviews and reviews of local th Wedding Present and The House Theatre on Monday 9 May. For trenches. bands, OHM was notable for its Of Love are amongst the big all Zodiac gigs, plus the Levellers “We’ll all have finished excellent coverage of the local names heading to Oxford later his show, tickets are available from university by next summer, so jazz scene. spring. Minnie Driver, who the box office, on 01865 420042. then we’ll start properly touring, recently writing loads of new stuff and TWO LOCAL BANDS have releasing as much as we can. I changed their names recently. think we’ve always been a band Hardcore grunge merchants The DR SHOTOVER that has shown a lot of potential. Fencott Disaster are now known Happy War, Christmas is over The time has come to start as The Holidays Stabbings, while Bloody hell. Rumours have been circulating about the Nightshift showing everyone that we can post-hardcore / krautrock outfit Xmas knees-up and the acts of seasonal terrorism committed after properly realise that potential, and Cardboard have finally relented Yours Truly and assorted scribes, hacks and wastrels had I hope the new CD will go at least and are now called The Corvids. consumed the hottest curry dishes that the East Oxford sub- some way to proving that.” So now you know. continent has to offer, washed down with several crates of something called “lager”. Suffice it to say, there is no truth in any of it. Messrs Lagun and Carrera, re-directing traffic the wrong way round the Plain in “borrowed” police uniforms? Ms Jerome, singing a bawdy song from the top of Magdalen Tower? Our noble editor, challenging our talented webmeister, Mr Bond, to arm- wrestle over an alleged slight to the hallowed name of Gary Numan? The assembled company, staging a sit-down protest in the billiards room at my gentlemen’s club on being refused further ATHLETE play a secret, free gig downstairs at the Zodiac on alcohol by Wednesday 2nd February at the Zodiac. The gig marks the release of Bedingfield, the the band’s second album, ‘Tourist’, on January 31st and is part of a chief steward? series of low-key ‘thank you’ gigs to fans who made 2004 such a While sporting successful one for the band, with debut album ‘Vehicles and Animals’ Santa Claus hats? shortlisted for The Mercury Prize. Since Athlete’s last Oxford gig, at Oh God. It IS true, the Zodiac’s upstairs venue, was a sell-out, tickets for the gig in isn’t it? Bloody hell. Chief steward Bedingfield: “Sorry, Dr S – the February are bound to be in big demand, and they’ll be available from cat can come in, but you’re barred.” HMV in Oxford and Polar Bear Records on Cowley Road. Pop in and Next month: ask for details. February ON THE RISE JANUARY IS, OF COURSE, A Chantelle Pike is a match for great time to look forward to the almost anyone vocally, her recent Laima Bite year ahead. Being named after shows displaying a young singer Janus, the two-faced character who isn’t afraid to stretch to try from Greek legend, January, and emulate sirens like Lisa meaning looking both ways, is Gerrard or Sinead O’Connor. As also a great time to look well as her own minimalist folk- backwards over the previous year. pop band, she’s got together a You see we know poncy wordy rockier outfit, The Cliffhangers, learning stuff like this at hoping to take her talents in new Nightshift. directions. But, we don’t want to look Zoë Bicat’s voice – part gravely backwards, do we? We did last growl, part ghostly whisper – has issue with our (rather splendid made her a favourite on the local and not open to debate) Top 20 acoustic circuit and her Oxford songs of 2004. No, here melancholic folk songs deserve a we’re looking forward to some of wider audience, while Brookes the new acts you maybe should student Kate Chadwick tends to spare an evening or two checking look on the brighter side of life, out if you want to hear where her infectious warble, closer to local music is heading in 2005. Edie Brickell. THE PAST FEW YEARS HAVE PROBABLY THE MOST witnessed the rise and rise of impressive young rock band to hit metal, punk and hardcore in the Oxford scene last year were Morrison such a spectacle, while epic soundtrack noise promises so Oxford, but 2005’s crop of young Fell City Girl, who seemed to their obstinately out-of-time much in the coming year, and talent seems to be heading in a grow in stature, sound and talent alternative pop thankfully refuses with live shows being planned it’s different direction. with every gig. From their earliest to fit in anywhere comfortably. going to the exciting to see where Nowhere is this more obvious outings, coming on like an Amongst the other indie hopefuls he can take his music from here. than in the rise of a whole wave updated Cure, to more monolithic around town, newcomers Harry Already pounding and of excellent new female singer- recent shows, where they seemed Angel (yes, named after Mickey pummelling local stages are The songwriters on the scene. Rising to be sucking in everything from Rourke’s character in Angel Walk Off, a teenage three-piece up from the plethora of open mic Muse and Radiohead to Queen, Heart) are worth a hearing, who seem intent on nights around town are singers they’ve never failed to impress, distilling their myriad classic pop soundtracking World War III like Laima Bite, Zoë Bicat, managing to inject a pop core into influences into something, if not before it even starts. Laptop Chantelle Pike and Kate their often convoluted guitar wholly new, then more than the carnage collides with Rammstein- Chadwick who are now following workouts, while frontman Phil sum of its parts, while Warhen style beats, hardcore guitar noise in the footsteps of Katy Bennett McInn has some of the nervous now sound much more like the and lots of primal screaming to and Sharron Kraus, giving rock god feel about him, like a finished product after a couple of make for (depending on the traditional acoustic pop and folk a young Matt Bellamy. years of solid gigging, sounding weather) the most thrilling live new lease of life.