BANDS! the JERICHO SUN 17 MAR Deadline for Demos Is the 10Th March, with the Line-Up Announced on the 15Th

Home , Chapman Square, Diamond Hoo Ha, Fidlar, Going to Hell, James Blackshaw, Marmozets

[email protected] nightshift.oxfordmusic.net Free every month NIGHTSHIFT Issue 210 January Oxford’s Music Magazine 2013 photo: Marc West

DEATH OF HI-FI “We want to be a faceless production unit” Oxford’s sci-fi obsessed hip hop warriors beam down.

Also inside Introducing FLOODED HALLWAYS plus all your local music news, reviews, previews and gig guide. NIGHTSHIFT: PO Box 312, Kidlington, OX5 1ZU. Phone: 01865 372255 DHP Concerts Presents

TUE 26 FEB NEWS LINDI ORTEGA Nightshift: PO Box 312, Kidlington, OX5 1ZU £8.50 | 18+ Phone: 01865 372255 email: [email protected] TUE 29 JAN THE JERICHO Online: nightshift.oxfordmusic.net NADEAH THE OXFORD PUNT returns for another musical trip round town in May. The annual £8.50 ADV | 18+ WED 27 FEB showcase of unsigned Oxford talent takes place on Wednesday 8th May, featuring 16 acts at THE JERICHO The Purple Turtle, The Cellar, The Wheatsheaf, The Duke’s Cut and the newly-opened MAMA ROSIN White Rabbit in Friar’s Entry, off Gloucester Green. Bands or solo acts wanting to play at The Punt can submit demos, either by emailing links £10 | 18+ FRI 01 FEB to online music (no sound files, please) [email protected] , or sending CDs to THE JERICHO Nightshift, PO Box 312, Kidlington, OX5 1ZU. In both cases, please clearly mark your JIM LOCKEY & THE SOLEMN SUN demo PUNT and include both phone and email contact details and a brief biog of the band. Only acts from Oxfordshire may apply, you can’t apply if you played The Punt last year and, £7 ADV | 18+ due to the licensing conditions of all the venues, only bands aged over 18 will be eligible. BANDS! THE JERICHO SUN 17 MAR Deadline for demos is the 10th March, with the line-up announced on the 15th. WANT TO PLAY THE PUNT? As ever, a limited number of all-venue Punt passes will be on sale from the end of January. MARTIN HARLEY BAND Running since 1996, The Punt has previously given early exposure to bands such as Young Then why not try including your phone number when you apply, like it quite clearly asks for. £12.50 ADV | 18+ Knives, Stornoway, Fixers and Little Fish, as well as Yannis and Jack from Foals’ first band WED 06 FEB Elizabeth, and Hugo Manuel’s pre-Chad Valley and Jonquil band, The Modern. THE JERICHO It might save us the trouble of having to kick your useless fat arses up the street and back. LEDDRA CHAPMAN A BIG NIGHTSHIFT now be known as Candy Says, reflecting the £7 ADV | 18+ CONGRATULATIONS TO ELIZABETH change in musical style they have undergone THE JERICHO WED 20 MAR PRICE, who won the Turner Prize last in recent months, since the departure of month. Before becoming a renowned artist, original drummer Neil Greenaway. The band THE TRAVELLING BAND Liz was co-vocalist in Talulah Gosh, one of was joined by Californian author Miranda the pivotal bands in Oxford’s music history Ward for both shows, reading extracts from £8 ADV | 18+ WED 13 FEB and a major influence on both subsequent her book, Fuck The Radio, We’ve Got Apple THE JERICHO generations of local bands as well as the Juice, which was written alongside Little Fish riot grrl movement. Liz’s victory brought and deals with their trials and tribulations KODALINE renewed interest in Talulah Gosh, with The with the music industry and on the road, as £8.50 ADV | 18+ Independent running a feature on the band and well as musings on being in a band in the THE JERICHO FRI 22 MAR its high-achieving former members. Oxford modern age. Candy Says are set to release music is just the best, ain’t it? their debut single in late January. Visit www. BASTILLE littlefishmusic.co.uk for more details. £10 ADV | ALL AGES THE PEOPLE’S SUPERMARKET on Cowley Road are looking for local bands and AS EVER, don’t forget to tune into BBC THU 14 & FRI 15 FEB O 2 ACADEMY OXFORD musicians who would like their music played Oxford Introducing every Sunday night STORNOWAY in the store. The community-run shop is between 9-10pm on 95.2fm. The dedicated situated at 124 Cowley Road. You can email local music show plays the best Oxford £15 ADV | ALL AGES SAT 23 MAR links to downloads to [email protected] releases and demos as well as featuring OXFORD TOWN HALL or drop a CD off to the store between 8am and interviews and sessions with local acts. The RUARRI JOSEPH 10pm any day of the week. show is available as a podcast at bbc.co.uk/ oxford. £8.50 ADV | 18+ LITTLE FISH announced a change of band Regularly updated local music news is THU 21 FEB THE JERICHO name at their brace of sold-out shows at the available online at www.musicinoxford. JAKE BUGG Rotunda in Iffley in December. The band will co.uk. SOLD OUT | ALL AGES FRI 12 APR JAMES CULLING 1972-2012 O 2 ACADEMY OXFORD FOSSIL COLLECTIVE Oxford sadly lost another of its musical gifted songwriter, and a very lovely man sons at the end of November when who I will miss greatly.” £7 ADV | 18+ James Culling, guitarist in Veda Park and Nightshift’s condolences go out to James’ FRI 22 FEB THE JERICHO Zim Grady, passed away after battling wife Kirsty and sons Daniel and Luke as leukaemia. He was 39. well as all of his family and friends. DOG IS DEAD James joined Veda Park in 2001 and A memorial fund has been set up in James’ released two albums with them. After name at www.justgiving.com/jamesculling THE OXFORD RECORD £10 | ALL AGES THU 18 APR O 2 ACADEMY2 OXFORD his first recuperation from leukaemia, with money raised going towards leukaemia he formed Zim Grady with Veda Park and lymphoma research. DVD & CD FAIR KING CREOSOTE (DUO) bandmates Peter Madams and John £12 ADV | 18+ McManus and together they recorded an OXFORD TOWN HALL THE JERICHO album, `Balsam For Battered Souls’, which th featured guest appearances from Phil Saturday 5 January Freizinger and future Original Rabbit Foot 10am - 3.30pm Spasm Band member Richard Cotman, followed by a number of singles and EPs. Rock/pop/jazz/soul/reggae/indie/all other genres Talking about his friend and bandmate, Accessories/memoriabillia/books. Peter Madams said, “James was a multi- Brand new and back catalogue/Rare Vinyl W WW.GIGSINOXFORD.CO.UK talented musician, an under-rated and www.usrfairs.co.uk

www.alt-tickets.co.uk / www.facebook.com/alttickets.co.uk / All shows 18+ unless stated otherwise a quiet word with Mention of The Blob of Oxford’s current crop, but the acts that could learn from Zahra.” the locals though. If they want it, it brings us neatly to one of Death presence of American MCs like Ugly Andy: “Zahra is the 5 of Megacity 5, will happen. It’s just a case of taking Of Hi-Fi’s favourite obsessions – Duckling’s Dizzy Dustin feels like a which is the biggest compliment I can that risk of going to see an act they’ve classic science fiction, references real coup for a pair of producers from pay her.” never heard of.” to which are littered throughout Witney. Ànthropocene’, from its central Dan: “Most are friends; Dizzy With so many vocal Coming back to the DEATH OF HI-FI concept to snatches of anything from Dustin, Mark Deez and Copywrite guests, how do Death Of Hi-Fi’s live concept of Ànthropocene’, how did cheesy blockbuster Independence are courtesy of Andy’s badgering. I shows pan out, compared to their the thematic ideas form? Does the Day to lost 1970s cult classic The knew AJ Mayhew from Swindon; recorded stuff? album have a particular narrative, or is Changes. he’d performed a lot with Beatbullyz Dan: “We started as an instrumental it a more nebulous concept that binds Dan: “It’s much of what we grew up and had a drum&bass group called act so our live shows can be done the album together? with. I used to love anything that was Verbal Destruction before that. Stella without vocalists but nowadays Dan: “We tried to imagine how an a bit dark, so Dr Who of course but Walton was the vocalist in a band that we tend to use the guest vocals on alien intelligence would interpret also Blake’s 7 was a great antidote to had come from Sepiatone. We asked backing track unless they’re available the transmissions from earth. the positive messages of Star Trek. her to sing on a track that ended up to come on stage with us. As we Philosophically this was hard, trying One of my favourite kid’s TV shows not making it to the album but when started without vocalists we used to imagine what it’s like to understand was The Tomorrow People and I she was recording she had a listen to projections to make the show visually nothing of earth, but create a picture liked weird things like Sapphire and `Painted Faces’ and she had something interesting, so now I think we can be from just snippets of sound and Steel as well. My dad was probably for it; I love the way that came out. She quite versatile, depending on what a vision. For that reason there’s no firm to blame for getting me into sci-fi; also did backing vocals on `So Over gig needs.” narrative, the listener is like the alien I seem to remember he was always You’. The other artists were already Those of you who have caught observer, free to create their own the one who knew when Star Trek part of BG Records, Half Decent DOHF live will remember the pair narrative. The concept behind `You was on.” had also worked with us and Tiger take to the stage in masks, much Are Here’ is the final transmission Andy: “We bonded immediately Mendoza, so it was right he should be like fellow local electro manglers from the observer on Earth, having over a love of the wobbly set, on the album. And of course he gave Coloureds; is that a defence or a arrived in time to see the end of low-budget BBC sci-fi. As a kid, I us our entry into the Nightshift Top 25 statement about criticisms about the world. It’s both hopeless and used to listen endlessly to the BBC with Ùntil I Stop Breathing’.” electronic music being faceless? optimistic: you’re too late to change Radiophonic workshop records and Andy: “I’ve been a massive fan of Dan: “We both have form for what happened but at least you got marvel at these unearthly sounds they Ugly Duckling for a long time and doing fancy dress on stage and the to see some of it. I don’t think that created. I also really love things like have been pestering Dizzy to do expressionless faces sort of represent comes across in the music without the Akira, Robotech and Ghost in the something. I’m surprised I’ve got this the idea behind the album of robotic accompanying visuals.” Shell for its sheer technicality and far without a restraining order being emotionless observers, taking it all Andy: “It’s also about telling these bizarreness.” put in place.” in but not being effected. I like the tiny little stories of life on Earth and Equally, much of the instrumentation Of the Oxford crowd, you’ve got fact no one can see the faces I pull how we interact with each other and across the album references industrial young guys like N-Zyme and a whenever I make a huge mistake as our environment, either on a grand electronic acts, even touching local veteran like Asher Dust; what well. Another benefit I’ve discovered scale or on an individual basis. It’s base with Throbbing Gristle at its different approaches and influences is that people don’t recognise me akin to channel surfing through the heaviest, which gives the album its did they bring to their songs? after a gig which is great, I can be lives of the storytellers.” dark, gritty core. Dan: “It’s hard to say. Zahra (Tehrani really grumpy when I’m setting up We’re living in the Anthropocene photo: Marc West Andy: I’ve always been a fan of from BG Records) did most of or packing down and don’t like to be era now and humans are shaping the melting pot music generally, so the the vocal production but from my disturbed.” climate and more. Your home town “We hit it off straight Ànthropocene’ is a loose concept to get original beats from,” and wasn’t really that new; I’d heard influence is definitely there. The perspective, the differences come Andy: “We wanted to be a faceless Witney flooded again last month. If away as we shared a common album based on the idea of “aliens enjoying some brief critical acclaim rapping plenty of times before I’d biggest influences from my point of from personalities rather than age or production unit where the music or the it were up to the pair of you, what vision about how we could make creating a musical interpretation back in 2007 with his electro project heard the term `rap music’ in about view are people like Aphex Twin, experience; they’re all telling their collaborator is the star, rather than our would Death Of Hi-Fi do to make the crazy videos for tunes we hadn’t of Earth, made up from hearing The Mysteriou2. 1980 and I was already aware of the KLF, Tangerine Dream and Prefuse own stories.” ugly mugs. We admired the robotic world a better place? even written at the time. Although snatches of radio transmissions” For his part Dan had been playing in culture of hip-hop – the graffiti, the 73, as well as Flying Lotus. Mind Andy: “Dan’s right; they all come at performances of Kraftwerk; throw in Dan: “There’s nothing I could suggest there was nearly beef as I was a ZX and features a revolving cast of bands for about 25 years, including musical experiments with beats and you the earliest memory I have of the same type of thing from a different a measure of Daft Punk and it plays that hasn’t been said by many people Spectrum fan and he was firmly in guest MCs, from local stars like as bassist in local metallers Sweet FA turntables etc. – through American music is listening to my Dad’s copy angle. It’s a bit like giving a script to with the idea that people won’t know far more intelligent than me but in the Oric 1 camp.” Asher Dust, Half Decent and and Swindon-based jazz-funk/trip- TV shows. of `Revolver’ and being blown away different directors and seeing how what to expect from us.” truth, the world can only be a better N-Zyme to international guests hoppers Sepiatone, as well as Captain “Fusing rock with hip-hop though by `Tomorrow Never Knows’. The they interpret it; Quentin Tarantino place from a human perspective. If Andy Hill, one half of like Dizzy Dustin, Mark Deez and Mandate, where he met Stuart was never an original idea. When I production sounded like it was from would give you a very different With Ànthropocene’ a critical mass of humans decide to production team Death Of Hi-Fi is Copywrite. Heavy on the electronics, Anderson (Disco from Beatbullyz) first heard AC/DC’s `Back in Black’ outer space and listening to it today, it rendering of that script compared to Local hip hop has undoubtedly hit make it so. Anything that I suggest recalling how he first met his partner and employing some seriously who became a chief influence on it was clearly rap – and the guitar riff seems so far ahead of its time.” Michael Bay. I’m not for a second a new high. The local hip hop scene that starts with `people will all have in musical exploration, Dan Clear. heavyweight industrial guitar noise his beatmaking, and where he first was later sampled by The Beastie Dan: “The most direct influence comparing any of them to Michael has produced some great talents over to…’ goes against my wishy-washy “We’d already agreed by email to along the way, the album in infused began experimenting with video Boys – and of course `Walk This for me has always been from the Bay by the way; they’re all miles the years but still struggles to attract liberal politics but if I had to, and had meet up and had discussed what we with attitude and fun, atmosphere and projections, which he’s brought to Way’ by Aerosmith was always a musicians or producers I’ve worked more creative.” a big cross-over audience in Oxford, the power, I’d give everyone a ride wanted to do so we already knew we pop hooks, musical adventure and DOHF’s live shows since. rap tune, Run DMC just gave it a with. I’ve definitely been influenced Mention of Zahra Tehrani brings us particularly live, why do Dan and in our space ship, take them back to had similar ideas,” continues Dan. some virtuoso rap displays. harder beat and delivery. Stephen by a lot of artists, but I tend not to to perhaps the defining figure on the Andy think that is, and can Death of the birth of the solar system, let them “Death Of Hi-Fi already existed as Eclectic and masterfully produced, Coming from quite Tyler grew up as a drummer in New notice until it’s pointed out. As a local hip hop scene in recent times. Hi-Fi change things? watch the next 4.5 billion years at Andy’s project; I’d not long moved scattered through with snatches of different musical backgrounds, York; if you listen to the beats and guitarist I remember being compared Through her work with Ark-T and Dan: “I think it’s down to the culture. fast forward, slowing down until the to Witney and wasn’t doing much the duo’s beloved sci-fi themes and how, we wonder, did Andy and Dan funky bass lines of early Aerosmith to Andy Summers. I was never a huge the Oxford Young Women’s Music Where I’ve worked with hip hop present, then take them home and let with my other bands. I had already dialogue, Ànthropocene’ brings manage to hit it off musically and you can see they were coming from Police fan but it seemed to make Project, as well as her own BG label, acts in Swindon getting a crossover them get on with their lives.” started working on ideas for a solo together influences as diverse as MC what did they bring into each other’s the same place as many of the hip- sense when I heard it. Alex Lifeson Zahra has been an incredibly big audience is easy as it’s more of a Andy: “Dan’s summed it up for me album, which was to be called Doom, Nas, Nine Inch nails, Aphex world? hop pioneers. We could go on about from Rush influenced me quite a motivational force for aspiring local clubby town. Oxford is known for its there. I’d like to see more people Ànthropocene’ so the album was Twin and even Future Sound Of Andy: “I’ve mostly worked as a solo new wave crossovers of course, with lot, despite the fact I was trying to musicians and rappers. How important live scene and it may be that people look at the bigger picture and realise underway before we met. I think London, a heady brew that raises the artist so it must be difficult for Dan, Blondie etc, but if you look back at play like Eddie Van Halen or Randy has she been for DOHF? who don’t follow the well known that a take, take, take mentality is we hit it off okay; we went to the bar for local hip hop several notches. as I’m used to making snap decisions the history, almost everything’s been Rhodes. Apart from musicians, I’ve Dan: “Without question. If there are local acts aren’t aware that there are unsustainable in the long run. It’s pub and sat in the garden in the sun, Not bad for two blokes from Witney on a whim. Having said that it’s included in hip-hop already.” been heavily influenced by movies. any artists who want a chance to work other things going on. I don’t think about giving back at the very least the which is always the best way to start with a fair few years of history in brilliant working with someone Andy: “Totally agree; hip hop for I love the dramatic use of orchestras with experienced artists, or get to DOHF can change that ourselves but same as what you take. But it starts any project.” local bands behind them. again, as Dan works as a great me is like the old 50’s b-movie, and choirs so that’s possibly why I’m play on stage with well known acts, BG Records maybe can, and have with all of us. To paraphrase Immortal bullshit meter. He’s not afraid to tell The Blob. It absorbs all it meets and unable to create anything minimalist.” she has done everything to make it had success getting big name acts to Technique, I am not the revolution, The fruits of Andy and Prior to meeting Dan me when I’ve got too self indulgent. grows in size and strength. Hip Hop happen. On top of this she’s provided play Oxford and put local supports on. you are not the revolution, We are the Dan’s meeting were revealed in Andy was, in his own words, “a rent- Which reminds me I need to order has always been and should always Another element that mentoring and workshops with big There’s also Fastest Dog promotions revolution.” December with the release of a-rapper,” badgering his way onstage a 2:1 scale model of Stonehenge for be about youthful rebellion, it’s just keeps Ànthropocene’ so fresh and name artists who are happy to tell and Theoretical Presents, as well as Ànthropocene’, hailed by Nightshift with his mates’ bands, moving into our live shows.” a shame that some rappers these invigorating is the array of vocal them the harsh realities of the industry a few other local promoters actively Ànthropocene’ is out now on as possibly the best local hip hop production because “in the pre Dan: “ When I first discovered days choose to talk incessantly about cameos across the album. The while proving ordinary people can and trying to build up interest in the BG Records. Hear the album at album ever released. internet days I had no idea where rap music as a genre it was clear it nothing but material gain.” local contingent represents the best do make it. I’d say it’s not just hip hop electro scene. Ultimately it’s down to deathofhifi.co.uk Sponsored by CRYSIS SHAKER HEIGHTS WELCOME TO `The Defiant EP’ `Little White Doll’ PEEPWORLD (Own label) (Own label) Producing something genuinely new in metal Shaker Heights seem to have been around the `Charm Offensive’ RELEASED is becoming ever harder (pun intended). local scene for nigh on a decade now without (Big Red Sky) Norway’s Kvelertak were possibly the last band ever making a huge impact. Partly this seems to The cover of this EP features a photo of FLOODED HALLWAYS STEM to conjure a genuinely groundbreaking metal be because no-one’s quite sure if they’re from Welcome To Peepworld that’s clearly intended album. Locally Undersmile’s ghostly doom, Oxford or Aylesbury, but more so because they to echo Grant Wood’s painting Àmerican Òne Variable’ Àtlas’ Desert Storm’s deceptively melodic southern so often seem to be one special ingredient away Gothic’ (whereas Bert Audubert’s resemblance (Own label) (Own label) stoner metal and Agness Pike’s theatrically from producing something great. to a member of Grinderman is probably I’m not much of a lyrics guy, and Flooded “How did you know I was grey” queries Stem’s camp Hammer Horror thrash sound fresh and Take this new single, an epic piece of country- coincidental). Hallways’ album being hip-hop, is made up singer Mike Hill two tracks into his band’s invigorating in contrasting fashions. tinted rock that sometimes sounds like its being It tells you a lot about a duo that has a largely of lyrics. And as such there are messages second album. We just listened to a few of your For the rest, it’s a case of sticking to those weighed down by its own gravitas. The lyrics traditional craftsman’s touch, and an eye on the and stories to be had. However, approaching Òne songs, Mike and it quickly became apparent. golden rules of hard, fast and heavy. In such a sound portentous, almost sinister, hinting at darker, sterner side of songwriting. It’s definitely Variable’ from another angle, one can hear the Life needs filler, we guess, padding to stop the charge, the strongest will survive; weaklings will dark deeds done and deeply regretted. The the latter part of the equation that we enjoy, lyrics rather than listen to them, and from this good stuff getting dented and Stem might be the perish underfoot. Luckily for them, Crysis sound atmosphere borders on claustrophobic, at least and a couple of tracks here, Àll You Need’ and perspective the vocals are a success. They wend musical equivalent of those styrophone nuggets more than capable of making it over the finishing until they wander off into an extended guitar `Fool’, are immaculately performed, and wispy their way through a rather sparse, sample-based you get in the box when you buy something nice line with limbs and armour intact. solo partway through. It’s a well-measured sweet, but a little generic. Things are definitely backdrop, doubling up from time to time and and shiny. They’re not really satisfying enough The four tracks here adhere as close as dammit piece, Neil Young and Tom Petty its most improved when the mood turns blacker and flip-flopping between vocalists to enrich the sonic to be bubble wrap. to Pantera’s hardcore thrash blueprint – shredded obvious antecedents, but having established its when Fi McFall pushes her voice beyond its textures on display over the album’s eleven tracks. They’re not even terrible. Well not at first any guitars; militant blast beats and Kial Churcher’s oppressive ambience, and armed with a neat natural warmth into more ravaged tones. On Flooded Hallways are prolific; Òne Variable’ is road. Album opener `Bridges & Tunnels’ is tonsil-ripping vocals, infused with apocalyptic hook, it struggles to achieve take-off. It’s so `Help Me’ and the title track she rises to a their fourth release of 2012. It seems that – lyrics, It’s on a couple of tracks – ‘Try Me’ and passable grunge-lite, a bit like Idlewild without rage. At times they might tread dangerously nearly there but something, one small piece, yearning corncrake screel that teeters on the far potentially, aside – they’ve been diligent, ensuring especially ‘Theoretical Measure’ – that Flooded their sense of romance or ear for a great tune. close to becoming a Pantera tribute band (there feels like it’s missing. edge of melodicism, and the effect is captivating. a varied sound that joins the dots between Hallways hint at an invention and craft that may Ì Was Grey’ lives up to its name, passing three are worse things to be, believe us), but `We Will Further into this four-song EP the band At its best, this record reminds us of Kristin the delicate and minimal opener ‘Move Like truly set them apart. Both pieces are ostensibly minutes without making impact, positively Rise’ in particular is more its own beast, old reaffirm their Neil Young affections with the Hersh’s early 90s material: simple guitar The Wind’, the rich and disorientating eastern mid-tempo hip-hop with a spooky, moody or negatively, on your heart or mind, and for school guitar runs and an oddly euphoric choral reedy vocals of the lighter `We Are All Floating strumming overlaid by wild-eyed drama and instrumentation backing on ‘Buenas Noches’, selection of samples arranged into a skeletal the most part the album drifts, ambles, cruises backing adding a new dimension to the band’s In Mid Air’, which wafts amiably, while elegantly swelling strings (courtesy of the the Mo-Wax-style fuzzed trip-hop of ‘Memes’ backdrop; not afraid to turn melodic corners in and generally wafts along in a sea of fuzz, onward rampage. Àcting To An Empty House’ picks up the pace, wonderful Barney Morse-Brown); if it can’t and the heavier and more aggressive loping totally unexpected ways. ‘Theoretical Measure’ is half-hearted gusto and hollow bombast. As we Obvious comparisons aside, Crysis are never escaping its initial earnest balladry, and EP always keep up the emotional intensity, it at least beats and chants of ‘Life Pourings (O.V.O.)’. a pivotal point for Òne Variable’: it’s weird and say, it’s passable. But since when did passable less than loud, nasty fun – a single-minded closer `The Dragging Of Carts’ treads a fine never stumbles into open mic self-pity, and it It’s very rare that the quality – in terms of clarity creative, opening with stunted half-heard sounds become something to aspire to? Does anyone wrecking ball of a band. You can stand in their line between hazy psychedelic country hum and does boast the best piece of singalong a capella of sound, sharpness of production or neatness before switching tempo and feel to twist up the ever find the middle ground and think, “this is path and question their originality if you like, worthy soft-rock filler. break-up vitriol you’ll hear this year. Charm of arrangement – dips, and while the range on tension. It then does the same trick twice more to the perfect place to build our dream home”? And but we sure as hell aren’t mopping up the mess At their best a very decent band, but we’re still offensive? Stick to the bitterness, Peepworld, it’s display could begin to repeat itself on a longer create an odd structure that works in ways that it yet it’s hard to listen through Àtlas’ without afterwards. waiting for that magic moment. far more interesting. collection, over this album length it’s just enough really shouldn’t. contemplating such a soulless void. Why have Ian Chesterton Ian Chesterton David Murphy to satisfy. Simon Minter grand vistas and broad brushstrokes when you truck store can have colour-by-numbers mediocrity? Who than many singers of this ilk can ever manage. needs crushing heartache when there’s moon- TREVOR WILLIAMS Still a bit of a conundrum then, but with `Storm’, in-June rhyming couplets and non-committal `Storm’ Mr Williams keeps us guessing, while reminding moaning to be dined upon? By the time Stem us that at his best he’s deserving of that love he reach Èverything Urgently’, a mere four songs (Own label download) craves. in, even they sound bored; `Point To Point’ is We wonder if anyone, even Trevor himself, has Dale Kattack clunky and awkward, a song in search of an quite worked out Trevor Williams yet. He’s been identity, while `Timeless Tree’ is a mournful a fixture on the local scene for a decade or so dirge whose ending is a merciful release. now and we still never know whether his next To question the very point of a local band’s song is going to be a gem or a heap of dung. Two TRAPS existence feels uncomfortable, but sometimes Nightshift Demo of the Months in a row, this you have to wonder if there’s any reason or full EP release features four songs which scatter Ì Won’t Crawl’ / purpose behind the stale noise emanating from themselves between both extremes. your speakers. Naming their album Àtlas’ In the former is `Skeleton’, a dark, slightly bleak `Stop The Machine’ suggests Stem have big ambitions, but searching slice of maudlin self contemplation. “Who are (Own label) for peaks amid the flat musical landscape laid my real friends, and why are they so afraid?” A debut double a-side from Traps, who were before us, we imagine `Road To Nowhere’ might he wonders, perhaps contemplating whether he last year’s MMG Battle of the Bands winners. be a more apt title. himself is some kind of a curse. He certainly has Centred on the powerful, soulful vocals of singer Dale Kattack the ability to dig deep into his own reserves of Lex, and pumped up on stadium-pop steroids, self doubt and loathing, while sometimes poking Ì Won’t Crawl’ is a close cousin of Skunk his head above the parapet to offer a clarion call Anansie, muscular riffage held at bay by the sky- for resilience and doing your own thing. Which searching vocal lead. It feel a bit polished to start is where he can fall flat. `Keep Singing’ is awash with – like an X-Factor-friendly idea of what a with positivity but also horribly twee mixed-up modern rock band should sound like, but finds similes: “Blackbird singing in the dark / Falling a bit of thunder in its belly halfway through and like a star / But singing like a lark.” It’s all very cranks up the heaviometer significantly without well singing your own song, but it helps if it losing its soft, soulful core. makes sense. `Stop The Machine’ is sharper, all serrated Mostly though, Trevor’s cosy mix of warmth and grunge guitars and yelping punked-up backing alienation wins out. `Storm’ reiterates his craving vocals, but again it’s Lex’s voice that steals the for love over sparse acoustic guitar jangle and show. It’s the stronger of the two songs here, neatly unobtrusive synth whooshes, while `Lucky’ daring more to tread in turbulent waters, but you finds his insecurities laid bare as he pleads, “I feel it’s the safer sounds of Ì Won’t Crawl’ that want my lollipop / I want my red balloon / I want are likely to win Traps a wider audience. my teddy bear.” Childish perhaps but more honest Ian Chesterton – Ahead of their night of John Cage’s music at THE BLUEBIRD CLUB: The Oxford Blue the Port, Fixers’ Jack Goldstein and Michael Thompson, along with King Of Cats’ Max Levy, WEDNESDAY 16th perform another Cage piece instore. SUBVERSE PRESENTS: The Cellar – House, FRAGMENT + EYE FOR AN EYE + EYES garage, techno and bass club night with residents OF EVE + STORMBRINGER + MANTRA: Skins, PRVDNT, James Shirley and Harry The Wheatsheaf – Buried In Smoke metal Scholes. GIG GUIDE night, with rising dark lords of local black/death MOSHKA: The Wheatsheaf – Live music with metal Fragment, coming in somewhere between bands to be confirmed. Community Centre (6pm) – Free acoustic session Cannibal Corpse, Gojira and Carcass, plus st Swindon’s southern-fried metallers Eye For An TUESDAY 1 with host Jeremy Hughes and assorted chums. th THE BLUEBIRD CLUB: The Oxford Blue – Eye, local epic thrash-core merchants Eyes Of THURSDAY 17 Wednesday 23rd Weekly open mic club from the Catweazle crew, JANUARY Eve, and Northampton’s classic metal and thrash CATWEAZLE CLUB: East Oxford MONDAY 7th Community Centre showcasing singers, musicians, poets and more, BLUES JAM: The Jack Russell, Marston crew Stormbringer. Proper ‘eavy duty, missus. JD McPHERSON: every Tuesday. PROPAGANDA + TRASHY + FUSION FM PROPAGANDA + TRASHY + FUSION FM OPEN MIC SESSION: The Half Moon DJs: O2 Academy – Classic and contemporary BLUES JAM: The Jack Russell, Marston th DJs: O2 Academy The Bullingdon nd FRIDAY 4 indie at Propaganda every Saturday, plus kitsch THE MIGHTY REDOX: James Street Tavern ROLL ON THURSDAYS: The Cellar While the likes of The Jim Jones Revue and WEDNESDAY 2 KING OF CATS + IDES + BETA BLOCKER pop, glam and 80s at Trashy, and dancefloor faves – Swampy blues, funk and psychedelia from the Jake Bugg have their own updated take on 50s & THE BODYCLOCK: Truck Store (5pm) – from Fusion FM’s guest DJs. local faves. FRIDAY 18th rock’n’roll, Oklahoma’s JD McPherson sounds rd Frenzied oddball rocking akin to Bob Dylan being st THURSDAY 3 WHAT YOU CALL IT GARAGE: The Cellar THE BIG TEN INCH: The Cellar – Another like he’s in no hurry to let the 21 Century consumed by Sonic Youth from King Of Cats, th MASK OF JUDAS + A TRUST UNCLEAN + TUESDAY 8 – UK garage, 2-step, 4x4 and bassline. trip into the heart of classic rock’n’roll, jump impinge on his music. Or even much of the alongside London’s seriously downbeat songstress th ZAOS: The Bell, Bicester – Jambox metal night NON-STOP TANGO: The Old Fire Station blues and rockabilly with Count Skylarkin’s latter half of the 20 Century if we’re being Ides and noisy lo-fi noisemaking from Beta with Chichester’s groove and tech-metallers Mask – Avant-rock, funk, jazz and electronica in the th monthly Big Ten Inch club night. Tonight features honest. We’re talking full-on, unapologetic Blocker & The Body Clock at Truck’s first instore SUNDAY 13 Of Judas alongside local grindcore monsters A vein of Henry Cow and This Heat from Oxford an Oxford debut from sizzling, greasy 60s-style 50s revivalism here in all it’s stripped-down, of the new year. Trust Unclean and uber-thrash merchants Zaos. Improvisers stalwarts Miles Doubleday, Malcolm garage rockers King Salami & The Cumberland denim-clad, Brycreemed glory. A former punk SKYLARKIN SOUNDSYSTEM: The Cellar th CATWEAZLE CLUB: East Oxford Atkins, Pat Thomas, Chris Hills. MONDAY 14 3. Former Clash on-tour DJ Barry `Scratchy’ who discovered Buddy Holly and never looked – Classic ska, reggae and soul party tunes in Community Centre – Oxford’s longest-running INTRUSION: The Cellar – Goth, industrial, ebm VOODOO ROOM: The Jericho Tavern – Myers spins a goodly mix of 50s r’n’b, 60s back, McPherson’s debut album, `Signs & the company of the legendary DJ Derek, Count and best open mic club, showcasing singers, and darkwave club night. Tribute to Hendrix and Cream at the first Famous soul, rock’n’roll, reggae, ska, calypso and more, Signifiers’, given a full major label release Skylarkin and Indecision. musicians, poets, performance artists and more OPEN MIC CLUB: James Street Tavern Monday Blues of the year from new blues-rock alongside veteran local DJ Jason King. last year after originally coming out in 2010 KLUB KAKOFANNEY with OSPREY’S every week. THE BLUEBIRD CLUB: The Oxford Blue power trio. MOTHER CORONA + GOURANGA + and promptly hitting top spot in the Billboard OX4 ALLSTARS + MOON RABBIT + OPEN MIC SESSION: The Half Moon DEATH OF ORION + AGNESS PIKE: The Heatseekers chart in the US, sounds like it PHIL FREIZINGER & CHRIS HILLS: The th th Wheatsheaf – Groove-led stoner rocking from might easily have come from the same time th Wheatsheaf – Klub Kak opens its account for WEDNESDAY 9 TUESDAY 15 Saturday 12 JAZZ CLUB: The Bullingdon – The first Jazz Sabbath-esque heavyweights Mother Corona; and place as Fats Domino, Little Richard or the year with an intimate gathering of chums and Club of the New Year sees regulars Alvin Roy & grunge-core and stoner metal from Gouranga Jerry Lee Lewis, right down to the use of regulars, including local veterans Osprey and th AN EVENING OF THURSDAY 10 Reeds Unlimited playing live. and camply oddball thrash from Agness Pike at period microphones and analogue recording Jeremy Hughes, plus KK host Phil Freizinger. JACKIE OATES: The Unicorn, Abingdon – OPEN MIC CLUB: James Street Tavern tonight’s Buried In Smoke gig. equipment. Tom Waits and Nick Lowe are SNIPE + RECKLESS SLEEPERS + LIGHTS JOHN CAGE: Traditional English folk from former-Winterset MARDRIGRAS SBB: Cornerstone Arts among his avowed fans, and even amid the OVER VEGAS + SOLLIS: The Hollybush, singer and fiddle player Oates, also a former BBC th Centre, Didcot – Latin-American carnival dance growing band of 1950s revivalists, he stands Osney – Free gig, with sets from Bicester’s soul Saturday 19 The Port Mahon Young Folk Awards finalist, now relocated to down in sunny Didcot. out as an authentic custodian of past glories. Anyone lucky enough to have caught Fixers’ rockers Snipe; Phil Garvey’s psychedelic warblers Oxford and touring her new album, `Saturnine’. THE MIGHTY REDOX: The Swan, Wantage experimental set at Oxjam in October will Reckless Sleepers; Newcastle’s semi-acoustic UPSTAIRS with TALL CATWEAZLE CLUB: East Oxford FUNKY FRIDAYS: The Bullingdon st know that Jack Goldstein and Roo Bhasin blues-soul outfit Lights Over Vegas and local Community Centre MONDAY 21 are perfectly placed to curate and perform at singer-songwriter Sollis. SHIPS: O2 Academy KING B: The Jericho Tavern – Electric THE MIGHTY REDOX UNPLUGGED: th an evening of music by and inspired by John MASK OF JUDAS + REIGN UPONUS + I Upstairs continues its remit of bringing on- SATURDAY 19 roadhouse blues-rocking from the local faves at The Wheatsheaf – Acoustic set in the Sheaf’s the-cusp-of-bigger-things bands to town on an Cage. In particular, choosing the composer’s CRIED WOLF + ZAOS: The Wheatsheaf, downstairs bar. UPSTAIRS with TALL SHIPS + LISTING tonight’s Famous Monday Blues. Ìndeterminacy’ reflects their what-goes Banbury – Jambox metal night with Chichester’s extensive bill of local talent with tonight’s visit SHIPS + MY GREY HORSE + ROBOTS ROLL ON THURSDAYS: The Cellar – Floor of Brighton’s Tall Ships, slowly but steadily approach to music making, the piece leaving Mask of Judas sticking around Oxfordshire for a fillers and party tunes every Thursday. WITH SOULS + THE SEA, THE SEA: O2 TUESDAY 22nd much of what is played and heard to chance, sailing across the precarious waters of pop second night, alongside local punk-tinged thrash OPEN MIC SESSION: The Half Moon Academy – Brighton’s oceanic math-pop starlets JAZZ CLUB: The Bullingdon – Free live jazz, dissolving the fixed properties of musical promise. Comfortably fitting in with Foals heavyweights Reign UponUs. BLUES JAM: The Jack Russell, Marston headline the latest Upstairs showcase – see main tonight with regulars The New Jazz Collective. composition and interpretation. Joined by King and Battles’ spacious math-pop sound and FUNKY FRIDAYS: The Bullingdon – Classic preview SOULTRAIN: The Cellar – Motown, funk, soul of Cats’ Max Levy, the pair will also perform Futureheads’ jerky indie-funk, they’ve more IRREGULAR FOLK’S ODE TO THE CELLO funk, soul and r’n’b every Friday. th and r’n’b club night. Cage’s notorious `4.33’, usually misunderstood FRIDAY 11 than enough character and tunes of their own with BETH PORTER & THE AVAILABLES: OPEN MIC CLUB: James Street Tavern as pure silence but intended by Cage to allow BOSSAPHONIC with DUNAJSKA KAPELYE: to stand out; amid the often multi-part songs th The Cellar – Irregular folk hosts a night of cello- THE BLUEBIRD CLUB: The Oxford Blue the listener to absorb environmental sounds SATURDAY 5 The Cellar – Jazz dance, Balkan beats, Afrobeat, and tempo changes, singer Ric Phethean’s based music, with a headline set from Bath’s MATT MIDGELY + JORDAN O’SHEA + for its duration. Ian Staples, part of legendary Latin dance, world breaks and nu-jazz club night, forlorn vocals and poetic, romantic lyricism Beth Porter, who has worked with Eliza Carthy, SIER PIN SKY + CRIES WOLF: The Cellar rd improv band Red Square and a mainstay of tonight with a live set from Polish six-piece stand out, and at their best, the band do sound Newton Faulkner and Jim Moray among a host of WEDNESDAY 23 – Bear On A Bicycle night in aid of the Big Issue Oxford’s improv scene over the past 20 years, Dunajska Kapelye, mixing up a heady mix of pretty oceanic. Appropriate then that they’re acts. In her own right she melds elements of folk, JD McPHERSON BAND: The Bullingdon – Foundation, mixing live music with photography additionally performs `Water Walk’, while all gypsy dance, klezmer, tango and Balkan folk, plus joined tonight by local nautically-obsessed blues, pop and classical, with a tendency toward Classic rootsy rock’n’roll from the Oklahoma and art exhibitions. Alt.folk songsmith Matt four musicians will join together for an original Globoloco DJ Karamel on the decks. post-rockers Listing Ships, with a neat line in improvisation. retrohead – see main preview Midgley plays alongside acoustic popster Jordan piece inspired by Cage’s works and ideals. VON BRAUN + MATT MIDGLEY + alternately pensive and cathartic instrumental PROPAGANDA + TRASHY + FUSION FM BLACK SHAPES + RUMOUR MILL: The O’Shea, and autumnal folk-pop from Sier Pin Sky. A challenging show, then, but intended to TOLIESEL ACOUSTIC: The Port Mahon – ABH, and The Sea The Sea, formed from DJs: O2 Academy Wheatsheaf – 100% Mosh gig with London’s CAT MATADOR + PHIL McMINN + JESS & bring Cage’s works to a new setting – a small Grungy rock in the vein of Nirvana and The Pixies the ashes of Vixens, with their dark, hushed WONKY DISCO: The Cellar – Fresh Out The thunderous velocity hardcore crew Black Shapes, NESS: Fusion Arts Centre – The latest quid-a-go rock gig venue – and maybe puncture some from Von Braun, plus minimalist alt.folk in the dream-pop. Joining them are Warwickshire’s Box presentation with a mix of disco, house and who describe themselves as “heavy, fast and noisy” pop-up show at Fusion, tonight with dark-hewn preconceptions about his music. style of Nick Drake and Bright Eyes from Matt harmony-heavy alt.folkies My Grey Horse breaks. and are pretty much on the button on that score. indie rockers Cat Matador; emotive acoustic Midgley, and an acoustic set from local indie- and one-man loops’n’beats’n’riffs merchant THE CUMBERLAND: Truck Store (3pm) – FREERANGE: The Cellar – Drum&bass, hip troubadour Phil McMinn and folk-pop duo Jess & Americana faves ToLiesel. Robots With Soul. An instrumental set from garage rockers The hop and dubstep club night. Ness. FUNKY FRIDAYS: The Bullingdon Cumberland, without band leader King Salami, NANG TUNES’N’SHIT: The Cellar – Hip hop, THE PETE FRYER BAND: The Baytree, following on from their show at The Big Ten Inch th house and disco club night with Chesslo Junior, THURSDAY 24 Grove last night. Man of Science, Man Of Faith, AAAARRRRFAA SENSIBLE DANCEHALL presents PON DE 90s NIGHT: The Bullingdon FLOOR: The Cellar – Dancehall, soca, reggae, and Sound Control To Major Nang. th THE PETE FRYER BAND: The Red Lion, SATURDAY 12 afrobeat, hip hop, calypso and more at the new th Eynsham – Blues-rocking from the local stalwart. AN EVENING OF JOHN CAGE: The SUNDAY 20 monthly tropical party night. Port Mahon – Interpretations of John Cage LAIMA BITE + LEIGH BEAVERFUEL + CATWEAZLE CLUB: East Oxford compositions with Jack and Roo from th FIREGAZERS: The Wheatsheaf (2.30pm) – Community Centre SUNDAY 6 Fixers, and guests – see main preview Klub Kakofanney’s monthly free acoustic session SARA WATKINS: Cornerstone Arts Centre, BEARD OF DESTINY + DAISY + STEM + JOHN CAGE’S INLETS: Truck Store (5pm) downstairs at the Sheaf. Didcot – Californian singer and fiddle player MOON RABBIT + PETE FRYER: Donnington SATURDAY 26th Jericho Tavern – Sultry jazz and r’n’b from the AETHARA + BLUDGER + CONFRONT Nouvelle Vague chanteuse – see main preview THE CARNAGE + SURRENDER YOUR CEREBRAL BORE + WARPATH + SILENCE + THE REAPER: O2 Academy CEMTEX + ACRANIA: The Wheatsheaf – – Heavy metal carnage on a grand scale at Brutality overload! – see main preview Skeletor’s monthly carnival of noise. Rising local JAZZ CLUB: The Bullingdon – Free live jazz, stars Aethara headline. They’re joined by Leeds’ tonight with singer Alison Bentley. thrashcore warriors Bludger, featuring former- OPEN MIC CLUB: James Street Tavern Sow axe wielder Ansley Prothero, as well as death THE BLUEBIRD CLUB: The Oxford Blue metallers Confront The Carnage and metalcore types Surrender Your Silence. WEDNESDAY 30th th GAPPY TOOTH INDUSTRIES with SUBVERSE PRESENTS: The Cellar Tuesday 29 FLIGHTS OF HELIOS + LAST NIGHT’S VICTORY + AFTER THE THOUGHT: The THURSDAY 31st NADEAH / LE Wheatsheaf – Dubby ambience, shoegazing JOHN MURRY: The Bullingdon – Dark atmospherics, electronica and free-ranging MAISON TELLIER: alt.country balladry, world-weary folk-noir psychedelic pop from Flights of Helios at tonight’s and soulful Americana from the Mississippi GTI. They’re joined by Bristol/Cheltenham rock- The Jericho Tavern songsmith, whose `Graceless Age’ album has Australian-born, Paris-resident singer Nadeah dubstep crossover crew Last Night’s Victory and drawn rave reviews and comparisons to Warren Miranda is hardly a household name but as ambient electronics type After The Thought, better Zevon, Ronnie Van Zandt and American Music part of Nouvelle Vague, she’s probably known known as the lovely Matt from Truck Store. Club. to more folks than they realise. She duetted SLABDRAGGER + DESERT STORM + CATWEAZLE CLUB: East Oxford with Barry Adamson on Nouvelle Vague’s DEAD EXISTENCE: The Cellar – Buried In Community Centre take on Magazine’s `Parade’, and was part of Smoke metal night with Croydon’s sludgy stoner CARTHY, HARDY, FARRELL & YOUNG: the band’s live set up. She’s also played as doom-metallers Slabdragger, alongside local Cornerstone Arts Centre, Didcot – Traditional part of the band Lovegods, but is going out stoner crew Desert Storm. Followed by Extra under her own name now with a solo album, English folk from the all-female supergroup, led Curricular club night. `Venus Gets Even’. It sounds as sultry, sleazy by Eliza Carthy. JAMES BLACKSHAW + HUCK + MY and glamorous as Nadeah looks, and she OPEN MIC SESSION: The Half Moon CROOKED TEETH: Modern Art Oxford looks like a great lost Hollywood icon for – Pindrop Performance show with acoustic the most part. She’s also possessed of a great th old-fashioned soul voice, while her songs are, twelve-string guitarist James Blackshaw, drawing Tuesday 29 unsurprisingly given her NV connection, a comparisons to Bert Jansch, John Fahey and Jack mix of slow-burning jazz, classic r’n’b and Rose for his elaborate finger-picking style. CEREBRAL BORE / old-fashioned rockabilly. You can probably THE MIGHTY REDOX: The James Street expect the odd cover version too, with anyone Tavern WARPATH / CEMTEX from Depeche Mode to Prince in her more than KILL CITY SAINTS: The Bullingdon / ARCANIA: capable sights. She’s joined for tonight’s show SIMPLE: The Bullingdon – House and techno by French band Le Maison Tellier, set in the with resident DJs. The Wheatsheaf American folk and country tradition, adding PROPAGANDA + TRASHY + FUSION FM Never mind “Dude looks like a lady,” in a little Cajun spice to their homely bluegrass, DJs: O2 Academy the case of Cerebral Bore vocalist, Simone and knocking out a cracking cover of Rage Pluijmers, lady sounds like one bad-tempered Against The Machine’s `Killing In The Name’. th Uruk-Hai with a testosterone surplus. Seriously, SUNDAY 27 she makes from Eva Spence from Rolo Tomassi CHURCH OF THE HEAVY with THE Watkins tours her latest album, `Sun Midnight sound like Frankie out of The Saturdays. Sadly Sun’, produced by John Paul Jones; the one-time LILITH PROJECT + REFUGEES OF the lava-voiced lass departed Glasgow’s rising Nicklecreek member having recently toured with CULTURE + I CRIED WOLF: The death-metal/grindcore stars last month, so Tift Merritt. Bullingdon - Metal night. they’ve been carrying on without her, though THE PETE FRYER BAND UNPLUGGED: there’s a chance she may return at some point The Wheatsheaf MONDAY 28th in the future. With debut album `Maniacal STROKE OF LUCK: The Bullingdon SOUTHERN BLUES FIASCO: The Miscreation’, Cerebral Bore brought both OPEN MIC SESSION: The Half Moon Bullingdon – Classic southern blues, southern a melodic accessibility and sharp technical BLUES JAM: The Jack Russell, Marston rock, boogie and country from the Allman prowess to an often impenetrable sub-genre, Brothers-influenced local rockers. touring alongside Dying Fetus and Cannibal FRIDAY 25th ERJA LYTTINEN: The Jericho Tavern - Corpse along the way. They’re still brutal, mind. WILD SWIM + FINE UNION + THE Return to the Famous Monday Blues for Finnish Brutal like a supersonic battle tank driving METHOD + BORDERLINE FIRE: guitarist Erja, who has earned herself an enviable over your twitching corpse. Brutal, guttural and utterly monstrous. Yeah. Sod all that New The Courtyard Youth Centre, Bicester – reputation as a rising blues star in her native Year cheer and positivity. Let Cerebral Bore Atmospheric, highly textured electro-pop mixing country as well as working with British blues consume your soul and destroy your hearing up elements of The Associates, Japan, Wild Beasts star like Ian Parker and Aynsley Lister. and The Blue Nile from last month’s Nightshift for all eternity. Great support from south SCHOLARS + MINIATURE DINOSAURS: Wales’ thrash merchants Warpath, declared best cover stars Wild Swim, playing a special under- Fat Lil’s, Witney – New indie bands night 18s show at the Courtyard. Support from Bicester unsigned band in the UK by Terrorizer back for Fat Lil’s with local electro-tinged rockers in 2009; Glasgow’s death-thrash crew Cemtex youngsters Fine Union and The Method, plus Scholars leanings towards the Editors and Reading’s Borderline Fire. and French prog-thrash heroes Arcania. This is Interpol school of dark indie. Scottish indie- MOSHKA with LATE NIGHT ENVY: The gonna rock. Like a bastard. And afterwards there popsters Miniature Dinosaurs support. Wheatsheaf – Former-Shattered Dreams people will only be silence. For all eternity. return to live action at Moshka th FUNKY FRIDAYS: The Bullingdon TUESDAY 29 HQ: The Cellar – Drum&bass. NADEAH + LE MAISON TELLIER: The Nightshift listings are free. Deadline for inclusion in the gig guide is 6pm on the 20th of each month - no exceptions (not even for you). Call 01865 372255 (10am-6pm), or email listings to [email protected]. All listings are copyright of Nightshift and may not be reproduced without permission photo:Paul Carerra CHIMP SPANNER / PROSPEKT / PHRONESIS CRYSIS/ REIGN UPONUS / ANNERO The North Wall Phronesis are a London based not so restrained, power of Egan’s O2 Academy Anglo-Danish jazz trio who are hotly brushwork. The appealing staccato LIVE Annero open Skeletor’s final metal such as bassist Kyle Quinell’s apparent tipped to make an international jazz sound of wood on metal is one of the gig of 2012 with the words “We attempts to avoid the microphone breakthrough, especially following features of the night as Egan peppers CHAD VALLEY / TROPHY WIFE / are One Direction and I am Captain when singing backing vocals for their latest album ‘Walking Dark.’ So the kit with rim shots. Christmas”, kicking off the night on opener ‘We Will Rise’, and vocalist tonight could be a last chances to catch The band is certainly up a league SOLID GOLD DRAGONS a less than serious note. Far from the Kial Churcher’s subsequent collision them in an intimate setting. from when last in Oxford; as well dire comedy you might expect from with the headstock of a bass guitar, Their technical prowess and as their playing, their compositional The Cellar such a pronouncement, they’re pretty but in general, Crysis deliver a tight, instinctive telepathy are a given; they strength has developed with the band To paraphrase, “The first rule of riffs and the soft-focused vocals good, washing the crowd in a familiar- extremely well received set. have played gigs in a total blackout now performing tunes by all three Blessing Force is, it’s best not to of Trophy Wife reach our ears the feeling flood of old school thrash, with Another familiar local face in the in response to Danish double bassist members, whereas previously it was talk about Blessing Force”. But audience had filled out considerably strong nods to Pantera and Anthrax. shape of Prospekt, tonight minus Jesper Holby’s sister losing her sight. all Holby’s material. So Neme’s with three bands here, who shelter and we’re being squeezed like Frontman Craig Chatfield does err their vocalist and keyboard player, But what is also on show is their knack excellent, meditative ‘Lost Nomads’ under that nebulous umbrella, plus so much toothpaste through the on the cheesy side when it comes to who have to be elsewhere. As of combining rhythmic complexity provides variation from their more a noisy sold-out crowd of converts brick archways on the fringes of crowd interaction though, most of usual, guitarist Lee Luland spins with making their music accessible typical propulsive tunes like Egan’s and curious newcomers, there seems the bar area. Trophy Wife are not which is delivered through a laughably through a series of technical solos, and inviting; every tune has a catchy ‘Economist,’ a standouts of the set. little choice other than to be sucked a band about pop’s flash and burn, fake American accent. and everything is very tight, but the hook and a seductive groove which Phronesis are shot through with the into the various arguments peppering but there’s something quaintly They’re followed by Reign UponUs, presence of a frontman is sorely draws you in. qualities you hope for from a jazz the attendant anticipation; about the revolutionary about them, a who deliver an uncompromising missed, and by the end of the set both The trio are equally adept at keeping group playing with heart, energy and pros and cons of having an over- refinement and continuation of a deathcore set, which even includes, the band and their crowd seem a little their audience on their toes by building tremendous improvisation, though arching name, and whether the room host of possibilities laid down over uncharacteristically for the genre, deflated. tension, often by playing two-on-one always within a structure. This is not elephant, Roland Orzabal, should the last few years: a refinement in some nice, melodic, clean sections. This doesn’t last long once headliners before going through creative twists enough, though, for a heckler who even get a mention. that they’ve marshalled electronica As the venue starts to fill, it’s clear the Chimp Spanner take to the stage, and turns, like Holby and English calls for “something new just made So it was a great relief when Sam and ante-indie into a quiet crowd are anticipating local metalcore demonstrating just how fantastic pianist Ivo Neme combining to drop up”. The heckler, possibly a fan of Scott finally steps from behind the success; a continuation, because giants Crysis’ return to the stage after an instrumental set can be. An the occasional bomb by hitting the free improv bands, which Phronesis Jonquil bass and up to the poster- in dismantling and reassembling a lengthy hiatus. Tonight also marks hour flies by, presented as a single, bassest of bass notes, until arriving at a certainly are not, promptly leaves. boy plate with his band Solid Gold their familiar sources of Ride, Japan their EP launch and the energy and extended piece of music, leaping resolution that’s sometimes optimistic, The band, momentarily shaken, Dragons, and gets a real grip on and Foals et al, they’ve rustled up a gravitas with which they conduct their schizophrenically from moments sometimes intriguingly ambiguous. quickly recover, and the audience, the evening, giving it the shake highly specific vibe, one which I can performance shows that they are just of mesmerizing calm to tumultuous While there’s plenty of virtuosic which up to then has been attentive up it requires, and stymies the only describe as the soundtrack to as in tune to the special nature of this brutality. The raucous metal crowd soloing, it’s all in service of a strong but restrained become much more naysayers with his varied and fully shyness. show as the crowd. New material seem hypnotized, content to quietly group ethic. Neme’s elegantly shaped vocal in their support and at the end engaging, song-smithery. Yes, the Although tonight is the launch party from the EP is well received, as are a sip at their beers and revel in the piano lines hang together with both stamp and cheer an approval which chassis is Tears for Fears, with for Chad Valley’s album ‘Young few well placed old crowd pleasers, impressive musicianship of Paul Ortiz the tremendous articulation and was no less than this sparkling trio China Crisis fenders, but the whole Hunger’, Hugo Manuel, CV’s and they provoke a set-long moshpit. and his fellow performers. impulsion of Holby’s bass playing deserve. SGD ride has been pimped with engine and auteur, is still visibly There’s the odd uncertain moment, Tal Fineman and also the restrained, and at times Colin May a jazz-flecked blue-eyed soul and overwhelmed by the sea of home double trumpets, with the bracing support massed in front of him, ‘From Me To You’ and the up-tempo baying his name, and he reacts Say what you will about how where the album’s featured artists glitz of ‘Serious Lover’ balancing in kind by switching on a battery this transcendental mash-up are absent, and the final hoorah out the slower, ballad-minded songs of computer operated fluorescent originates, but by crikey it works of the none-more-cool Jack like ‘Gone’. The heart-swelling lights prosaically parked against as live entertainment, and the front Goldstein bouncing on stage for standing ovation (by people who his console on a fork lift pallet, rows become like churning sand to his part in `My Girl’ sets the seal were already standing) at the end and suddenly the whole place is the waves of hooks and crescendos on another year where Oxford can of the short, concise set says more white and bouncing to the beats, on from the newer Ì Owe You This’, continue, without contest, to be about Solid Gold Dragons’ future holiday with Chaz Bundick to old faves like `Now That I’m rightly royally proud of their music than anything I can add here. and George Michael, in some resort Real’. Karina Scuteri’s fabulously scene. By the time the far eastern synth whose name ends with del Mar. intuitive vocals match Hugo’s, Paul Carrera

THE EPSTEIN / FLIGHTS OF HELIOS / Wilderness Festival was a perfect blend of spacy electronics, pure, heartfelt singing and SAM LEE / UNTIL THE BIRD… psychedelic influences. While these are all present tonight the context somehow works against them St, John the Evangelist and it all ends up a bit in-yer-face and bombastic. pindrop Performances are well known for that veers off in all sorts of unexpected directions. Maybe they’re best enjoyed in a more horizontal choosing unexpected locations and this church All the hopeless beardy folk-related bands and fuzzy-headed state, though when they hit the on Iffley Road is no exception. Like (I’m currently clogging up the airwaves should be spot they can be truly transcendent. guessing) most of the audience I had never forced to watch them, like Alex in ‘A Clockwork The Epstein are the closest thing to a rock before set foot here, but its lovely acoustics and Orange’, until they give up and buy a sequencer. band to emerge tonight. Hard to pin down, they fine high ceiling make it a worthy addition to North Londoner Sam Lee was a nominee for encompass twisted country, folk and Wilco-style the ever-changing roster of Oxford venues. This this year’s Mercury Prize and tonight performs Americana, clearly benefitting from their six years event is a benefit for The Gatehouse centre for unaccompanied some of the old songs he learnt of touring at home and abroad. Showcasing some homeless people, who have provided some much from befriending gypsies and travellers, some new songs, presumably from the forthcoming appreciated refreshments. living under the Westway in Shepherds Bush. As `Murmurations’ album, they retain a precious After an afternoon of acoustic acts the evening he points out this is music devoid of rhythm that quality that can border on the ponderous, though session kicks off in style with Until The Bird..., stands or falls on the melody, words and phrasing. always based around a decent tune. On occasion a truly heartwarming three-piece, unassuming As bold and impressive a project as it is, with his it can seem like there’s too many people singing to look at but musically nothing less than clear, sonorous delivery, we start to wonder how at once and they could benefit from loosening up inspirational. David Hawkins’ voice is entirely good a job he’s making of his interpretations, but into a bit of a jam, but this is a band with a clear natural and unforced as it swoops and soars, since these are songs familiar to relatively few we idea of where they want to be and Oxford would presiding over the guitar, violin and accordion in can but guess. be a poorer place without them. a perfect take on folk-based English songwriting Flights Of Helios’ Sunday lunchtime set at Art Lagun photo: Johnny Moto round. “We’ve beenawayfora we lovedthemsomuchfirsttime split, it’s aninstantreminderofwhy Oxford showandanacrimonious Thirteen yearsonfromtheirlast condensed intoasingleriff. decades ofstadiumrockbombast it’s withsweeping,epicintent;four tonight’s setwith`Welfare State’ understatement, sowhentheyopen Ultrasound wereneveronesfor The Jericho TavernThe ULTRASOUND Juice, verylooselyareflection ontheperilsand Ward’s bookFuckTheRadio, We’ve Got Apple her introductionto CalifornianauthorMiranda fairylights anddancingkidswitha readingof the convivialfestivespiritofmulled wine, turn inthespotlight.Juliaimmediately punctures family folksessionwhereeveryone getstheir The first setfeelslikeabitofanindulgence, feels entirelyappropriate. peerless voiceaconstant–thatnew identity garage rockingincarnation–onlyJulia-Sophie’s They’ve movedonsofarfromthatoriginal the firstoutingforbandintheirnewguise. just achanceforsomepre-Christmasfun,but This afternoon’s show, splitintotwosets,isnot new selves,castingoff theoldskin. appropriate lyricforLittleFishtobecometheir “Candy says,I’vecometohatemybody.” An CANDY The Rotunda.Iffley SA YS magic withsomestylebutbeneath have beenrediscoveringthatold past animositytorest,Ultrasound Sincereformingin2010andlaying spectacular style. statement beforetheyblewitin hailed asrockmusic’s finalgrand apply tothebandwhowere,briefly, commentary butitcouldequally comes aspartofabarbedpolitical while /Butwewereneverinstyle,” from Frenchmusical hallandchansontowhat and chantstaking songsinmoreexoticdirections, in afour-part machine,four-part vocalharmonies left. NowadaysJuliaismuchmore oneequalcog moved sinceoriginaldrummerNeil Greenaway and ademonstrationofjusthowfar they’ve half ismuchmoreaboutthefuture oftheband, Ghostslaidaside,thenewsbroken, thesecond transformation becomeofficial. The Velvet Underground’s `CandySays’ asthe Miranda herself. The setcloseswithacover of the lead,andanotherreadingfrombookby a chancefornewco-vocalistElizaZoottotake Ben Walker, withaseriesof30-secondvignettes, `Heroin Angel’ –alongsideturnsforkeyboardist a coupleofoldFishfaves–notablystunning Fish. Fromherewegetacousticrenditionsof pitfalls ofbeinginaband,writtenwithLittle members themselves: Tiny has both totheirmusicandtheband together tonight,timehasbeenkind SeeingUltrasoundbackonstage Èverything Picture’. than theiroverlong,overduedebut, a morecohesivestatementofintent anything elsereleasedin2012and album, `PlayFor Today’, isequalto a cryingshamesincetheirnew the musicpressradar, whichis Dale Kattack make sureyousit upandlisten. firmament. Candy Says.Rememberthenameand is completeandOxford hasanewstarinits as musicalreinventiongoes,thetransformation As rebirthsgo,it’s apainless, joyfullabour;asfar boing noisebeforeit’s merrily discarded. Our favouriteisthethingthatsimply makesa cats thatsoundlikeachorusoftiny tinklingbells. make thesoundofdistantthunder, orornamental musical trinketsthatlitterthestage,objects sheer restlessinventionistypifiedbytheclutterof The Night’ isagorgeous hypnoticmantra. The duel betweenJuliaandEliza,Ùnderstand stark contrast`FavouriteFlavour’ isaplayfulvocal Arrival’ carriesanalmostfunerealairaboutit.By mania infavourofatribaltattoo,while`DeadOn `Lord’s Mistake’ findsthebandplaying downthe oblique 60spsychedelia. be slo-moCalypsofreakoutcollidingwithsome could, onaradicallyreworkedÒnly A Game’, Dale Kattack before. we’ve beenwaitingfor. Justlike maybe Ultrasoundarethesaviours contemplate rockmusic’s sorrystate, continues towringitshandsand at themoment,andwhilepress almost anyotherrockbandaround and moregenuineconvictionthan the bandstillhavebettersongs nostalgia, tonight’s gigprovesthat than anexerciseinmisty-eyed it betterfirsttimeround,butrather have beenhadUltrasoundplayed It’s easytoponderwhatmight only halfjoking. have been!”shoutsonefan,andhe’s “You’re theband The Who could stadiums fromheretothemoon. and `SameBand’ thatbegtofill the-top rockpompof`Stay Young’ tender. Butit’s theglorious,over- is sweetandsadbrilliantly Papas atonepoint,while`Nonsense’ breezy optimismof The Mamas& three-part harmoniesthatcarrythe Vanessa indulginginsomegorgeous moments too, Tiny, Richardand There aremoreconsidered its intensegaze. once againwithouteversparingyou a songthatrisesandfalls `Suckle’, avastpsychedelicbeastof grace. It’s equalledbyoldfavourite scope you couldweepat its effortless skyride soateasewithitscinematic magical stand-out,aromantic Ofthenewsongs`Twins’ isa end oftheworld. song feellikethelastsirencallat nature thatmakeeveryUltrasound screams remainthatmagicalforceof while hersoaringwhoopsand aged notadayinoverdecade, Iron Maident-shirtandlookstohave Vanessa Bestisresplendentinan a curtainofhair, whilebassist preposterous rockgodposesbehind Guitarist RichardGreeniscutting wrapped upinahugecoatandscarf. initially it’s hardtotellashe’s imposing 90spresence,though downsized justatadfromhis The OldFire Station JON SEAGROATT &IANSTAPLES JasmineHillhasthesamedegreeof him asong. variation inhisear, whilehanding in theindustryhaswhisperedabout leaving metowonderifsomeone it awayfromhisacousticsound, lower pitchofhisvocals,move the heavydrumsandpiano, saving grace,though.Herethough, towards theendofnight,ishis the subjectmatter. ‘Into The Wild’, cynical abouthisknowledgeon teaching mealgebra,andIendup of feelinglikeathree-year-old is linger onlove,whichhastheeffect about prostitution,Lewisseemsto While EdSheeran’s biggesthitis be linkedtoage. enjoy hissetmightintoomanyways a sensethatmyinabilitytoreally of WKD blueinthepark,there’s song aboutdrinkinghalflitrebottles begins toexplainhow‘Calling’ isa failing toholdmyattention. As he song driftingintothenextoneand looks. Hissetisattimessamey, each is basedonmusicalability, orhis the jury’s outastowhetherthis become thenextEdSheeran.Still, Lewis Watson hasthepotentialto front ofthestage,it’s clearthat With aseaofteensswampingthe O2 Academy / ADAM BARNES / JASMINEHILL LEWIS WATSON not necessary tobeaware ofthisor Adriane’sStill Taut it’s Thread’, Creeping Fear The Meaning Of WithMinotaur Apprehends ‘The for instancethatpiecesixiscalled own andwhileit’s helpfulto know The music, though,standsonits wander intheworld. both beingslainandthelabyrinth to has aremorsefulMinotaurescaping Takes A CigaretteBreak’,which story inhisnovel‘TheMinotaur re-envisaging oftheMinotaur’s original mythbutStevenSherrill’s from Jon’s inspirationbeingnotthe still havinganedge. This stems regretful and,attimes,fearful,while Insteadthemusicisreflective, Theseus, with Adriane’s help. in hislabyrinthprisonbythehero and hisfatebeingthatheisslain tribute of14youngmenandwomen, headed man’s dietbeinganannual (see whatwedidthere);thebull- sounds equallyredintoothandclaw Minotaur myth,youanticipate ‘Deathless’, basedonthebloody a tasteroftheirforthcomingalbum Red Square. With tonight’s music running full-onfreeimprovband best knownastwothirdsoflong- Jon SeagroattandIanStaplesare Colin May almost persuades me. deeds. Buttonight Jon’s bassclarinet with him,somonstrous arehis a victim,it’s difficulttoempathise EventhoughtheMinotaurishimself Poor MinotaurParts1&2’. could havebeensubtitled‘Pity The are themostaffecting, andperhaps beautiful mournfulundertone,that making fulluseoftheinstrument’s bass clarinetpiecesthough,withJon a melodicpatternofnotes.It’s the sax andflute,whichoftenbuildto communicative playingonsoprano laying downthegroundforJon’s Ian showinggreatsensitivityin between thetwoissoalive,with rich becausethemusicaldynamic The livepiecesareespecially instrumentalist Jonimprovises. different drones,overwhichmulti- slide guitarassemblagelayingdown detuned hand-builtdouble-decker and livepieces,withIanonhis with preparedelectronicpassages over adrone.Itthenprogresses wordless songfromBobby Watson vocal piece,aratherbeautiful The sequenceopenswiththeonly myth toenjoyit. anything elseabouttheMinotaur same trapasLewis,and‘Go’,about the setdrawson,shefallsinto It’s powerfulanddynamic.Sadlyas where this17-year-old isheading, with NikKershaw, whichshows well placed,it’s ‘Again’,written Maroon 5’s ‘OneMoreNight’ seems distracting. Though hercoverof line, whichendsupbeingincredibly with araspybreathbetweeneach is outstandingthisinterspersed naivety andthoughhervocalpower maturity andhonestytohissongs. ‘Come Undone’,there’s asenseof notes I’veneverheard”atthestartof sings “Allofthestarsaresinging that Ican’t helpbutfallforit. As he done withsuchpoetryandwisdom follows asimilarthematicvibe,it’s steals theshow, andthoughhe Adam Barnes,ontheotherhand, themes otherthanlove. me longingforsingerswhofocuson a boy“who’s abitofidiot”leaves Modern Art FALLS / AGS CONNOLLY RESERVOIR /REICHENBACH RAVENS AND CHIMES/RAINBOW Falls in particular suggest that there Falls inparticular suggestthat there Departure Lounge’ fromReichenbach folk. Newsongs`Canada’ and `The the moodperfectly fortheiremotive conjured upby Ags Connolly sets the circumstancesandatmosphere a lackofbandmates;ifanything error. Neithersuffers undulyfrom one downthankstoababysitting evening whilstCo-Pilgrimarealso back toasinglememberforthe ReichenbachFallsarestripped few thatgetitasspotonConnolly. Willie Nelsonsound,butthereare create thatauthenticJohnnyCash/ are anynumberofactsthattryand and preservedinmaltliquor. There wrapped inastarspangledbanner been pluckeddirectlyfromtheStates, country songssoundasifthey’ve Witney. Surprisingbecause his pure Connolly, whosurprisinglyhailsfrom performances. Firstupis Ags the qualityofanytonight’s manage itwithoutcompromising nightmare, butsomehowPindrop three hoursmustbealogistical Cramming fivebandsintoamere

Lisa Ward album. for thereleaseofhisforthcoming emotion, whichleavesmelonging heavy keyswithaweightof Meanwhile ‘Apples’ balances adults whofillthebackofroom. the youngstersisn’t matchedbythe set; it’s justashamethehushof also asenseofshowmanshiptohis in thecentreofcrowd,there’s Delivering thisnumberunplugged Sam Shepherd in somestyleatthe endoftheirset. they opttocover`So LongMarianne’ Springsteen. Soit’s perhapsfittingthat by LeonardCohenratherthan might ifthey’dbeeninfluenced sound alittlelike We Are Augustines performance thatisinfectious. They of optimismtotheirsongsand depth, emotionandastrangekind New York indieband,butthere’s be dismissedasyetanothertypical Ravens And Charmscouldeasily who hearhersongs. particular thatislikelytodividethose by Victoria Wood. It’s thisaspectin written byPam Ayres andperformed is essentiallyanurseryrhymeas familiar. `ScaredyCat’ forexample are instantlymemorableandstrangely melodies combinetocreatesongsthat Clever lyricsandearwormpiano infuriate anddelightinequalmeasure. little twee,hersongshavethepowerto direction. Quirky, amusingandnota Space) offers aslightchangein RainbowReservoir(pianist Angela are greatthingsinwaiting.

photo: Jo Cox Jo photo: DR SHOTOVER: The Festering Season Ah, good evening, my twinkly friend, welcome to the East Indies Club INTRODUCING.... bar. We were just discussing the EIC-approved TV treats in store this Nightshift’s monthly guide to the best local music bubbling under Yuletide. Shame about the clash between the Gothford Park and Downer Abbey Christmas Specials. Perhaps I will stack several television sets up on the ancestral sideboard and watch various broadcasts simultaneously, Flooded Hallways while alternating swigs of festive snakebite with handfuls of Quaaludes. A bit like David Bowie in that “look-at-me-I-really-AM-an-alien” film Who are they? Hip hop oufit Flooded Hallways are Darran Ijada (Deeq), Frank Blanco he did… The Mandrax What Fell To Earth, that’s the one. I’ve certainly (Nemrot), and Andy Marshall. Andy and Frank were friends from school, picked a few dodgy pills up off the ground at muddy 1970s festivals before Darran met Frank at college while studying art and design. Nemrot and/or Ladbroke Grove squat floors in my time… you just blow on and Deeq both write and MC, with the former solely handling the production ‘em before popping ‘em down. Never did ME any harm. [Dr S dozes side. Andy is the “honorary third member” of the group, there to solve any off briefly over the bar, only waking when he spills his drink]… What technical problems. They have an enviable catalogue of material worth JANUARY was I saying? Ah yes, my New Year’s resolutions. Apart from the one investigating and have just released their third album, ‘One Variable’. about eating more cheese? Go and see more AC/DC tribute bands. Yes, What do they sound like? Mondays definitely. And more films with Carey Mulligan and Andrea Riseborough Preferring a lo-fi production approach, much of Flooded Hallways’ best in. And drink more Adnams gin… yes, it’s true! They really do make work comes coated in a stoner haze with a trippy edge, loops and electro Their favourite other Oxfordshire act is: gin these days. Did you know that Adnams is an anagram of Sad Man? squiggles mixing with occasional discordant jazz squalls and classic soul, “Terao Hedges; simply because he’s dope! His writtens and music represent Haven Club Presents Funny, that. [Dr S nods off again, while simultaneously lighting and over which Deeq recounts tales of Oxford life in an admirably home-grown true hip hop.” 28th SOUTHERN BLUES FIASCO starting to smoke a large baggy roll-up]. What? What’s that? There’s accent. Nemrot has a penchant for sampling 70s b-movies and twee European If they could only keep one album in the world, it would be: a SMOKING crooners, which, according to Deeq “feels like he’s throwing shit in to test me, “Ice Cube’s `AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted; Mobb Deep’s `The Infamous’, or BAN?!? Leave but he assures me there’s always a formula employed”; they also say, “lyric Shabazz The Disciple’s `The Book Of Shabazz (Hidden Scrollz).” Every Tuesday the premises wise we feel like a blues group trapped in that hip hop conformity, although When is their next gig and what can newcomers expect? your-f***ing-self, we do throw in a couple comedic lines arbitrarily.” “Passionate, poetic, personal wordplay… our songs are generally pretty deep, so you’re likely to find heads taking it all in as opposed to breakin’ or wiling why don’t you? What inspires them? THE OXFORD JAZZ CLUB “We are mostly inspired by life itself, the inner journey, subjects such as death, out. As far as gigs, we expect to perform live again February time. Check our [Draws himself up Free live jazz plus DJs playing r’n’b, funk and soul until 2am God, and love, and how we relate to these things. We’re also into mythology.” Facebook and Twitter for updates. th to his full height 15 ALVIN ROY & REEDS UNLIMITED Career highlight so far: Their favourite and least favourite things about Oxford music are: 22nd NEW JAZZ COLLECTIVE on his barstool]… “A couple gigs: the first at East Oxford Community Centre, and the second “Almost everything, from the bedroom producers of Soundcloud, to the Bedingfield, I say 29th ALISON BENTLEY at Fat Lil’s in Witney. Both times we sensed a special connection with the rawness of the acts who frequent The Cellar. Only negative aspect would BEDINGFIELD! crowd, felt completely at ease, and gave our best performances to date. be those incestuous, self-hyping, phantom poster boys of the scene, who we Throw this man And the lowlight: haven’t seen at any local gigs, on stage or in the crowd. out! Oh, it’s a “We got a gig at The Jericho Tavern. I remember the anticipation of playing You might love them if you love: Wednesdays mirror… such an iconic venue. Literally seconds after we finished checking mic levels, Task Force; The Streets; GZA; Ghostface Killah. rd Next Month: the lights went out! That whole side of the street was down; we couldn’t Hear them here: 23 Empty Room Promotions presents “Here… in my… believe it. They still owe us too…” soundcloud.com/flooded-hallways JD McPHERSON BAND bar” “Gary Who, man?” THIS MONTH IN OXFORD ALL OUR YESTERDAYS MUSIC HISTORY Thursdays th st Friday 4 January 20 YEARS AGO 10 YEARS AGO 5 YEARS AGO 31 Empty Room Promotions presents We do occasionally look back and wonder what A new year and a new sense of optimism as Hey, did we mention Borderville back then? JOHN MURRY we were thinking. January 1993’s Curfew front January 2003’s Nightshift looked forward to the Well whaddya know, here they are, on the cover cover was graced by a band called Churn, so local bands we reckoned everyone should discover of the January 2008 issue of Nightshift. “There OSPREY & THE OX4 ALL STARS + PHIL FREIZINGER & CHRIS HILLS 8pm/£5 named because they “really liked Sevenchurch’s and love over the coming months. Leading the are no proper stars left,” proclaimed singer Joe Saturday 12th January logo and wanted to use it ourselves but the only pack were such young striplings as Elizabeth Swarbrick, before declaring that “there is not a Every Friday words we could make from the letters were crèche, and Gunnbunny, whose members would go on shred of glamour in any famous British musician hunch and churn.” The band, based in Wood Farm, to form Foals and Fixers. A rave review of both currently being hyped by the press. Punk has FUNKY FRIDAY EYE FOR AN EYE + STORMBRINGER + EYES OF EVE + MANTRA 8pm/£5 claimed to be inspired by an enduring loathing bands at the Zodiac found us hailing a 15-year-old left us a damaging legacy – what was at the time th Funk, soul, boogie, house and R&B. 11pm-2.30am; £3 before 12; £4 after. Friday 18 January for each other, particularly their guitarist Martin, Yannis Phillipakis’ “dysfunctional melodies, that a necessary spring clean, a definition of rock whose sole contribution to the interview was to hover and crackle in the air before he crunches music as protest and pure energy, has become a tell his bandmates to “fuck off” when they derided down on the fretboard with easy venom, sounding reductive, fascistic ideology clung to by journalists him for liking Pink Floyd. We never heard from like a teenage Captain Beefheart trapped in Sonic terrified of not seeming cool enough.” Always Friday early shows GOURANGA + DEATH OF ORION + AGNESS PIKE 8pm/£5 rd them again. Probably for the best. Youth’s `Daydream Nation’.” We also marvelled one of our favourite interviewees, Joe set out his th Wednesday 23 January 25 STROKE OF LUCK In a typically quiet January, local gig highlights at Gunnbunny’s frontman Jack Goldstein, “a ideas for the band who were to blossom into one included a return trip to town for the mighty long-haired bruiser with a throat-ripping voice of the most musically and lyrically ambitious acts Faith Healers at the Jericho Tavern, as well as that sounds like hell erupting.” As well as those in Oxford. RUMOUR MILL 8pm/£5 th thrash punk veterans GBH and former Vice Squad two, we also recommended Sexy Breakfast, who Oxford’s big guns were gearing up for action, Saturdays Thursday 24 January screamer Beki Bondage, who was strutting her would later morph into Borderville; Suitable Case with Radiohead releasing `Jigsaw Falling Into

th 10-3am glam-punk stuff over at the Stocks in Crawley. For Treatment; Sextodecimo; Ivy’s Itch; Coma Place’ as the first single from their groundbreaking 19 90s NIGHT 8pm/£10 Heady times. Kai and Sunnyvale Noise Sub-Element. A pretty `In Rainbows, while Supergrass released a 26th SIMPLE – House & techno Saturday 26th January This month also saw the arrival on the local bloody splendid set of names, we’ll sure you’ll limited edition 7” single, `Diamond Hoo Ha Man’ scene of a now semi-legendary character, Dan agree, and proving that Nightshift has bloody great ahead of their `Diamond Hoo Ha’ album. Foals, Eisenhandler, aka Twizz Twangle, but back them taste and knows what’s good for you. meanwhile announced their biggest hometown going under the name Oh Susannah Joanna. Not a great gigging month but there was one bona show to date with a gig at the Academy in March, Sundays LAST NIGHTS VICTORY + AFTER THE THOUGHT 8pm/£4.50 Tuesday 29th January He was Demo of the Month, the review stating fide legend in town in the form of Arthur Lee and and tracklisting for `Antidotes’. 27th CHURCH OF THE HEAVY with the “The cheapest Casio keyboard on the market is an incarnation of Love, up at Brookes Union. Dr Elsewhere this month, Mary’s Garden released tortured beyond belief while Mr Eisenhandler lets Shotover in particular was very excited. Hidden their debut album, `Mind Control’; former Rock lilith project / refugees of the remains of his liquefied brain dribble out of his in the demo reviews was a band called Toshi Of Travolta founder Phill Honey’s Boywithatoy WARPATH + ARCANIA + CEMTEX + BLACK SKIES BURN 7:30pm/£6 mouth and nose in a maddening stream of minced Station, who were compared to The Blow Monkeys project was Demo of the Month, while GTA, the culture / i cried wolf st Thursday 31 January chicken swill. He’s even got his mum playing and Curiosity Killed The Cat, which wasn’t very rap duo featuring Chima Anya, were down in the

trombone. Absolutely appalling if you know what’s promising, but the band did feature younger Dumper, sounding like “being stuck on the last Join us on Facebook: Backroom @ The Bully 8pm/£10 good for you. Great stuff if you’re ill in the head or versions of Tim Bearder and Dave Gilyeat who bus out of town on a Saturday night in front of The Wheatsheaf, 129 High Street, Oxford, OX1 4DF blasted to buggery on drugs.” To his eternal credit, would go on to host BBC Oxford Introducing two juvenile wannabe rap stars whose tolerance of www.facebook.com/wheatsheaf.oxford / Tickets @ www.wegottickets.com Dan never really changed or improved. show. From little acorns and all that. alcohol extends to two cans of cheap cider.” vocalist. Gets us to thinking about a heavier can’t keep this up, though. `Whiling Away’ version of The Runaways. Then we read rumbles tunelessly like a hopelessly flat the letter. It’s three twelve-year-old boys jazz torch song, just about bearable for its from Witney. TWELVE YEARS OLD! stumbling naivety, but soon the pair are DEMOSDemo of the Month wins a free half day at And they sound like fucking Judas Priest wandering hopelessly off-key, culminating Sponsored by Silver Street Studios in Reading, courtesy on a punk rock jolly. This is crazy. Earlier in the fuckawful Ònce Upon A Time’, of Trojan Horse Recordings. Visit www. in the day we were listening to death-core which sounds like it was recorded at the far monsters Cerebral Bore and marvelling side of a different town while hiding under trojanhorserecordings.co.uk at how their female singer sounds like a a thick duvet, grumbling and staggering bad-tempered Uruk-Hai with an excess of to an overdue conclusion like an arthritic Mostly it’s frenetic and furious, but `Sky testosterone, and here we are a couple of old woman attempting to make it to the top Burial’ is slower and more pensive and DEMO OF hours later seriously impressed by a pre- of an icy hill with a burning log manacled nuanced and displays more variety than pubescent lad who might be a young Joan to her ankle. After five minutes of such 01865 240250 the other pieces. Sometimes the pair sound Jett. According to the letter (and backed up laborious misery we’d happily put a bolt like they’re just showing off their chops, THE MONTH with a photo) they played a heavy metal gun to the sweetest old grandmother, if trying to impress fellow musos, when version of `Gold’ with Spandau Ballet’s only to save everyone concerned any more they’re better letting the dynamics escape Tony Hadley a few months back, which suffering. MUSTARD & THE their complexity. And next time, chaps, is cooler than anything we’ve ever done, don’t make us sit through a whole load of MONOCLE ever. Blimey, if this was a bunch of twenty- grainy videos. Not unless they have aliens Former Demo of the Month winners – back something rockers we’d think it was a THE DEMO or kittens in them. It distracts us from our in April 2011 if our increasingly fragile pretty decent. For a trio of twelve-year-olds LOLCats browsing. memory serves us right – Mustard & The it’s little short of staggering. Monocle are now, it appears, a former DUMPER Oxford band, their members having been scattered to the four winds (or moved to GURP MARTIN ASH Nothing complex or muso-ish about Gurp, LIMBO KIDS Bristol, from what we understand of their More than a bit of a change of pace from Martin here is “a self-proclaimed Christian whose name itself suggests mindless over- letter, but it adds up to much the same the previous two demo now with Limbo songwriter”, and tells us he “expects lots indulgence and the resultant flatulence. thing). Our loss it seems as they keep the Kids who have been recording with of gratuitous swearing and religion bashing Instead we get another dose of their frantic quality high on this latest demo, giving Trophy Wife’s Kit Monteith and Andrew in the ritual placing in the dumper”. Sorry, two-chord pop-punk thrash, vocally traditional folk music another subtly punky Halford, and who feature The Old Grinding what was that about “Judge not, that ye harking back to early Green Day or Blink update, nods made to The Oysterband Young’s Ollie Thomas and Rhosyn’s Rose be not judged” (Matthew 7.1)? Godless 182, but thankfully avoiding the brattish and The Men They Couldn’t Hang at Dagul on these songs. You can hear the heathens we might be here at Nightshift whining of the bands that those two TURAN AUDIO.co.uk various points. `Jigcycle’ is fulsome and Trophy Wife influence straight away as but we’re also easy-going types and happy inspired. Instead it’s more beery silliness, Professional, independent CD mastering rocking without dumping on its folk roots, they drift into warm-hearted indie soul to let everyone believe in their particular with lyrics like “I’ll drink until I’m feeling northern pipes giving it some extra vim on `Heartshots’, with an airy sense of deity / prophet / special friend in the sky Artists mastered in the studio last month include; sick / Cos I can’t control that shit / What’s as it stomps merrily along. `Betelgeuse’ is understatement governing its deliberately (we only have Mr Shiraz and Mr Rioja RAMONES, MARCUS CORBETT, THE WALK that pistol doing here / Now I’m going to more romantic but no less hale and hearty, reserved dynamic. `Desire’ takes a similar and sometimes Mr Iggy Pop to lean on in shit myself.” As you can probably tell, it’s UPRIGHTS, NICK COPE, MAVIS, COCK SPARRER, though it’s `Give It Back, Give It Soul’ path but wanders too aimlessly; it’s a bit troubled times and thus envy those of more not exactly Leonard Cohen, but if you’re BLOOD ON THE DANCEFLOOR, MATT MIDGLEY, that’s the demo’s high point, with a tune slender and, it has to be said, a bit dull, but spiritual faith). Ah well, best not disappoint planning on going out drinking and fighting vaguely reminiscent of `To Be A Pilgrim’ thankfully `Wanderlust’ finds them back on the poor lad; if there’s anything religious DEMON, REM, BOB DYLAN, ELO, JEFF LYNNE, on Saturday night, Gurp will probably be and yet again infusing the traditional track in style, a spacious, atmospheric song folks thrive on it’s their own certainty. TRAPS, OWEN TROMANS, NAZARETH, TO BE far better company. sounds with some rock stomp and spirit with Rose’s sad-eyed cello contributing Martin’s professed remit is to revitalise FRANK, PETER MOORE. without imposing. Àntlers’ lacks such plenty to the atmosphere of a song that songs of worship. Our first attempt to hear this is foiled by a failure of Soundcloud impact though manages a strong vocal feels like it’s shrouded in mist. Whether 01865 716466 [email protected] performance, while closer Òutshine The BINARY Limbo Kids, given their associations, to work. And then again by some strange Sun’ sounds like The Pogues’ `Thousands choose to shelter under the Blessing Force internet glitch. Tis Satan’s work, we tell PSYCHOSIS thee! Finally we get it working and we’re Are Sailing’ and manages to pull off that There’s bugger all information about this umbrella, on this evidence they sound like confronted by a shrill, worryingly jaunty THE COURTYARD STUDIO trick of harking back to venerable old lot with the CD except that they come they have enough quality to fit in. piano and fiddle-led pit of musical slurry sounds without being too earnest or worthy. from Abingdon, but even tracking down that might well be a French & Saunders PROTOOLS HD2, MTA 980 CONSOLE 32/24/24, Oxford’s loss is Bristol’s gain, but Mustard their website reveals little other than attempt to parody Steeleye Span. Followed OTARI MTR90 MK2 24 TRACK TAPE MACHINE, & The Monocle are welcome back in town some kind of fantasy about escaping a CLIO & THE by a stultifying succession of slightly 2 TRACKING ROOMS, SUPERB CONTROL ROOM any time. sanatorium in Coventry and moving to folky sub-hymns of the sort you get on Oxfordshire to make music that sounds like PEACOCK WITH GOOD SELECTION OF MICS & OUTBOARD Clio is the singer in this duo, while The religiously-orientated cable TV-advertised “a humongous door slamming in the depths GEAR + MIDI FACILITIES (Inc LOGIC AUDIO, AKAI Peacock is actually called Andy, who Christmas albums. Fucking hell (there’s of Hell”, which turns out to be only a slight S1000, OLD SKOOL ROLAND etc.) plays guitars and stuff but is dressed on your gratuitous swearing, Martin), if we MASIRO exaggeration. `The Method’ is rigid, almost Hey, why bother sending a coherent demo the CD sleeve like a proper old dandy, all wanted to hear insipid mulch like this, we’d robotic metal infused with some post-Crass Residential facilities included. package when you can send us a link to hair and beard and crushed velvet jacket join The Jesus Army or go and watch an punk political attitude, possessed of almost www.courtyardrecordings.com five separate Youtube videos of your band over a paisley shirt. It’s a promising start. Andrew Lloyd Webber musical. Seems the militaristic nihilism. `Chinese Food’ is PHONE PIPPA FOR DETAILS on 01235 845800 playing in a rehearsal room, so we can `The Alphabet Song’ initially sounds like Devil really does have the best tunes. Don’t Black Sabbath – particularly vocally – if wade through five separate adverts for 4G a clever-clever political nursery rhyme go worrying yourselves about Nightshift they’d had a liking for post-punk political phones and broadband deals before we (“B is for bankers, rich because they’re going to hell for this review though, dear posturing, while Ànglican’ samples Mad get to the grainy black and white videos. clever / “P is for pleb” and so on), before reader. We sleep safe in the knowledge Max 2 and might well be Hawkwind on Thanks, Masiro, good job your music’s it morphs into the much more interesting Martin will forgive us. And since he’s got an android rock trip. Oh yes, in a very old up to the job else we’d have had a pre- `No Change’, continuing the political his wish to end up in the Demo Dumper we school kind of way, this damn well rocks. Christmas crucifixion on our hands. Masiro theme but sounding like Crass re-imagined can, to paraphrase The Wicker Man, is the two-man follow-up project that as a 60s psychedelic folk-rock act, sullen bestow upon him a rare honour – a martyr’s came out of Dr Slaggleberry and treads TWISTED STATE OF and messy but pretty cool. A shame they review. a similarly obstinate funked-up, fucked- up instrumental mathcore path. Stripped MIND down to guitar and drums there’s no excess Having made our way halfway through the weight being carried, just lean, abrupt demo pile, we just stick this on without Send demos for review to: Nightshift, PO Box 312, Kidlington, OX5 1ZU, or email links instrumental duelling that takes influences paying any attention to the accompanying to [email protected], clearly marked Demos. IMPORTANT: no review without from the likes of Mr Bungle, the harder letter. It’s good stuff. Punky thrash metal a contact address and phone number; no more than four tracks on a demo please. If you ends of the Chili Peppers and Primus. with an appealingly lava-gargling female can’t handle criticism, please don’t send us your demo. Mon 18th Feb 2013 • £13.50 adv Sat 16th Mar 2013 • £14 adv EVERY SATURDAY NIGHT 7pm - 10pm £5 adv / NUS / members, £4 NHS Delphic 10.30pm - 3am • over 18s only Lawson Chapman Square Tour Thurs 21st Feb 2013 Mon 18th Mar 2013 • £23 adv Jake Bugg + Valerie June The Stranglers Fri 22nd Feb 2013 • £8.50 adv 11pm • over 18s only Tues 19th Mar 2013 • £10 adv Off Ya Rocka Gabrielle Aplin ft. Slipmatt, Brandon Block, Delite, John Bond, Andy Armstrong, Steely Dan Thurs 21st Mar 2013 • £9 adv 7pm - 10pm Fri 22nd Feb 2013 • £10 adv Dizraeli & The Small Gods 7pm - 10pm Dog Is Dead Fri 22nd Mar 2013 • £10 adv 7pm - 10pm Sun 24th Feb 2013 • £20 adv Bastille 7.30pm U.F.O. + 4BITtEN Fri 22nd Mar 2013 • £12.50 adv 7pm - 10pm Tues 26th Feb 2013 • £8 adv David Ford

Fidlar Weds 3rd Apr 2013 • £16.50 adv Fri 1st Mar 2013 Everclear

Of Monsters and Men Fri 5th Apr 2013 • £8.50 adv 7pm - 10pm Sun 3rd Mar 2013 • £14 adv Mon 31st Dec • £10 adv Janet Devlin 10pm - 4am • over 18s only Funeral For A Friend + Marmozets + Stem Fri 12th Apr 2013 • £10 adv Propaganda New Years 7pm - 10pm Eve Party Animal Tues 5th Mar 2013 • £14 adv King Charles with Jack FM & Trashy The Dan Reed Band includes Propaganda Wristband Sun 14th Apr 2013 • £11 adv giving you FREE entry to every Propaganda Thurs 7th Mar 2013 • £15 adv Little Comets across the country in January! The Alarm Weds 17th Apr 2013 • £10 adv Sat 19th Jan 2013 • £6 adv 7pm - 11.30pm Thurs 7th Mar 2013 • £11.50 adv Don Broco Halestorm Upstairs ft. Tall Ships Thurs 18th Apr 2013 • £12.50 adv in association with BBC Introducing Fri 8th Mar 2013 • £15 adv Efterklang + Listing Ships, My Grey Horse, 10pm • over 18s only Robots with Souls, The Sea The Sea Jaguar Skills and Fri 19th Apr 2013 • £22.50 adv 7pm - 10pm Sat 26th Jan 2013 • £7 adv his Amazing Friends Michael Schenker’s Skeletor ft. Aethara Sat 9th Mar 2013 • £18.50 adv Temple Of Rock + Bludger, Confront the Carnage, 7pm - 10pm Surrender Your Silence, The Reaper Thurs 9th May 2013 • £20 adv The Courteeners Seated show • unreserved seating Sun 10th Feb 2013 • £12 adv Sat 9th Mar 2013 • £17.50 adv Colin Hay Modestep 7pm - 10pm • Rescheduled show • original tickets valid Space Fri 24th May 2013 • £15 adv Thurs 14th Feb 2013 • £14 adv 7pm - 10pm • unreserved seating Everything Everything Sun 10th Mar 2013 • £19.50 adv Scott Ian of Anthrax Johnny Marr Spoken Word Tour Fri 15th Feb 2013 • £10 adv Sat 1st June 2013 • £10 adv CASH Mon 11th Mar 2013 • £14 adv 7pm - 10pm Johnny Cash Tribute Jessie Ware Senses Fail + Handguns

Tickets for Saturday night shows INCLUDE FREE ENTRY to Propaganda / Trashy (or £6, £5 NUS / members, £4 NHS on the door)

facebook.com/o2academyoxford 190 Cowley Road, Oxford, OX4 1UE • Doors 7pm unless stated twitter.com/o2academyoxford Venue box office opening hours: Mon-Sat 12pm-4pm youtube.com/o2academytv ticketweb.co.uk • wegottickets.com • seetickets.com • gigantic.com