email: [email protected] website: nightshift.oxfordmusic.net Free every month. NIGHTSHIFT Issue 198 January Oxford’s Music Magazine 2012 CHECK THIS OUT!

Local promoters tell us who they think you should see in 2012 Photo: Johnny Moto

NIGHTSHIFT: PO Box 312, Kidlington, OX5 1ZU. Phone: 01865 372255

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Nightshift: PO Box 312, Kidlington, OX5 1ZU Phone: 01865 372255 email: [email protected] Online: nightshift.oxfordmusic.net

THE OXFORD PUNT is set to return in 2012. The annual showcase of new local music talent has been running since 1996 but was forced to take a year off in 2011 due to a lack of suitable venues in Oxford city centre. This year’s Oxford Punt will take place on Wednesday 16th May, featuring 20 acts playing across five venues. Participating venues are The Cellar, The Purple Turtle, The Wheatsheaf, The Duke’s Cut and The Junction, the latter two venues situated across the road from each other in Park End Street. The Punt has previously given early exposure to bands such as Knives, Stornoway, Fixers, Little Fish and Elizabeth, the band formed by Yannis and Jack before Foals. Bands or solo acts wanting to play at the Punt can submit demos, either by emailing links to online music to [email protected], or sending CDs to Nightshift, PO Box 312, Kidlington, OX5 1ZU. In both cases please clearly mark your 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’ve played the Punt before and, due to licensing conditions of the venues, only acts aged over 18 will be 876084 eligible. Deadline for demos is the 10th of March, with the line-up announced on the 15th. As ever a limited number of all-venue Punt Passes will be on sale from the end of January. THE OXFORD RECORD THERE’S A WHOLE SLEW of new NOVEMBER’S AUDIOSCOPE mini- DVD & CD FAIR Oxford releases due in the next couple of festival raised over £1,000 for homeless months. As reported in last month’s charity Shelter. The all-day event at the OXFORD TOWN HALL Nightshift, Jonquil release their new Jericho Tavern, headlined by Karma To , ‘Point Of Go’, on Blessing Force Burn, took the total amount raised by SATURDAY JAN 21st on 5th March. In the same month fast- Audioscope in its eleven years, to £23,000. rising local starlets Spring Offensive On another charitable note, The Cellar 10am- 3:30pm release a new single to coincide with a UK Family and We Aeronauts play the 12 Rock/pop/jazz/soul/reggae/indie, all other genres. and European tour, while Gunning For Bar in on Wednesday 18th January Accessories/memoriabillia/books. Tamar, having recently signed to Alcopop! in aid of MacMillan Cancer Research. Brand new and back catalogue/Rare Vinyl. Records, release an EP, ‘Time Stallholders from all over UK. Trophies’.The Long Insiders, meanwhile, OXFORD MUSIC ROOMS are offering are set to release their debut album. local bands the chance to win a free day’s Richard Walters has a new five-song EP, recording when they book a three-hour VENUE PHONE NUMBERS ‘Young Trees’, out this month, produced rehearsal slot. The newly-opened studio in by A Silent Film’s Rob Stevenson. It’s Chalgrove features four rehearsal rooms, O2Academy: 0844 477 2000 (ticketweb) available online now at soundcloud.com/ each with PA, drumkit, and guitar and bass The Bullingdon: 01865 244516 rswalters as well as iTunes and amps and with the four rooms linked by The Wheatsheaf: 01865 790380 Bandcamp. February sees a new EP from audio and video feeds for recording The Cellar: 01865 244761 Charly Coombes & The New Breed, purposes. To find out more about the The New Theatre: 0844 847 1585 entitled ‘Noise Control’, which follows offer, visit The Jericho Tavern: 01865 311775 the band’s Brazilian tour. Finally electro- www.oxfordshiremusicrooms.co.uk. Fat Lil’s: 01993 703385 pop duo Space Heroes Of The People East Oxford Community Centre: have a new video on Youtube for their AS EVER, don’t forget to tune into BBC 01865 792168 song ‘Kosmocerotops’. Oxford Introducing every Sunday night The Port Mahon 01865 790970 between 9-10pm on 95.2fm. The dedicated VIXENS are the latest local band to local music show plays the best Oxford announce a split. The gothic indie rockers releases and demos every week as well as announced their demise on the Nightshift featuring interviews and live sessions from forum in December, saying “There have Oxfordshire acts, gig reviews and a gig been no big fall outs or drama, we just feel guide. The show is available to download we’ve reached the end of this particular as a podcast at bbc.co.uk/oxford. ADVERTISE road as a band. We’ve had some great Regularly updated local music news is times, put out an EP and done gigs available online at everywhere from Inverness to Brighton www.musicinoxford.co.uk. The site also HERE and no doubt some of us will resurface in features interactive reviews, interviews, future musical projects, so keep your eyes podcasts, photo galleries and occasional peeled for that.” live sessions. Nightshift’s online forum, Do it As a parting gesture, the band have put a meanwhile, features local music news as number of their recordings up online for well as the perfect place for a good row free download at soundcloud.com/vixens. with fellow local music fans. Tipping Points

WHEN THE LEGENDARY POINT VENUE CLOSED DOWN in 2001 promoter Mac challenged everyone has something special worthy of sharing – it is not a everyone to “go and see at least one band you’ve never heard of before Christmas”. It’s exactly competition and in naming a few I this sort of attitude that keeps the local live scene alive. am forced to leave out all the others Here at Nightshift we’re forever ranting and raving about the new acts we love (or occasionally - but among the very many different loathe) and hope folks will follow our advice and go and hear them for themselves. musicians currently steaming up my January of course is a great time to start thinking about new acts and who is worthy of your time, radar, the ones that today spring to money and effort. But, for a change, we thought we’d challenge those real champions of new mind might be: Luke Keegan: great classic songwriting in the vein of music, the promoters, to pick the acts they reckon you should check out in 2012. Not necessarily Paul Simon, Tom Waits and Leonard acts they think are going to be household names come 2013, just bands, singers, MCs, producers Cohen; Matt Chanarin: a properly or DJs they like and hope you will too. We asked a host of Oxford’s finest gig and club promoters to deep and soulful singer and tip their favourites and below are the eye- and ear-opening results. who when I first saw him So off you toddle – go and see at least one of these before next Christmas. You’ll be glad you did. reminded me of Labi Siffre; Laura Theis: delicate, delightful songs from the ; Rory Evans: a freakishly talented 15-year old guitar Kill Murray decks and a hot young prospect on the electronic scene under his guise player who is not just technically of Graphics.” astounding, but has depth of feeling www.facebook.com/wildswim in his playing that is unusual in itself; www.myspace.com/ Faceometer: breakneck eccentric glassanimalsband philosophical meanderer, and Diite www.facebook.com/ Goard: Wheatley raised, now thisisgraphics studying in Sunderland, she has that rare ability of stopping you from SIMON MINTER breathing while she is singing, just so you don’t miss anything. Dangerous, (Musicinoxford.com / but worth it.” Audioscope) www.myspace.com/ “Listing Ships will hopefully come lukekeeganmusic into their own in 2012. After www.faceometer.tk meandering around a slightly clichéd post-rock path in their early days, ELLIOT & RYAN COLE photo: Johnny Moto they’ve now collectively grown a (Buried In Smoke) pair and have started putting JOAL SHEARING EDD LEWINGTON “Bands we’d recommend are together strident, Krautrock- Blasted – featuring members of (The Wheatsheaf) (Bassmentality / Out To Graze) flavoured rock songs. The Cellar “Dial-F for me were one of the best Winnebago Deal – if you like your “If you’re a fan of that slow- Family seem fractious enough to Black Flag and Winnebago Deal, bands I had seen come out of Oxford building, epic-styled deep house à la either do great things or fall apart in recent years. I’m thrilled that Gus make sure you check these guys out! Pional and John Talabot, you might completely: they’re utterly, Also Black Sunrise (Ex-Death and Scott from Dial-F have now just like Casino Times (a new compellingly weird, mixing up Sonic joined forces with Aaron (Phantom Valley Riders): these fellas have music project between Joe Spencer Youth with the Pixies to create an moved away from the stoner rock Theory) & Chris (50ft Panda) to and Nick Church of Get Your Geek unnerving and confident new thing. form Kill Murray. I have huge sound a bit these days. They have On). The comparison may seem a Nairobi, on one level, seem taken more of a grunge approach on expectations for the band and little strained: Casino Times’ beholden to their influences - cannot wait to see how they grow in things now. Refugees Of Culture, productions distinctively owe a lot generally centred around the who have a trippy, progressive, 2012.” to old school house. And here it’s Oxfordian Afro-tinged soundcloud.com/kill-murray stoner sound that reminds me of deep, soulful house, achingly wistful post-rock-pop of Foals etc - but Pink Floyd in places. They are with those much-sampled Chaka they keep producing songs that are SEBASTIAN REYNOLDS currently instrumental, however Khan vocal snippets, but the light- so memorably catchy to suggest they are seeking a vocalist. And (Pindrop Performances) footed beats and gently fluttering hidden talents which are soon to Overlord, a young stoner/doom/ “One of my hot tips are The Yarns: hats bring a modern, beautifully flower.” metal band from Oxford. melodic acoustica at its very best. understated edge.” www.facebook.com/listingships Buried In Smoke also dig our hip They’re literate, charming and Soundcloud.com/casino-times www.cellarfamily.co.uk hop, so we’d recommend Ol-e Mac: maddeningly catchy. Their live show www.myspace.com/nairobiband he’s only just come on to the local is going from strength to strength MARC WEST (Yoof!) scene, but he’s already got a good and I can’t see why they won’t do “Wild Swim supported Trophy MATT SAGE (Catweazle Club) following after the release of his LP really well in 2012. Wife at Yoof! on Bonfire Night and “Over the past 17 years, it has been Also, born of the ashes of Winchell there were certainly fireworks. Their my privilege to witness so many Riots, Grudle Bay Riots also Cubiq DJ alter-ego are also making artists take their first faltering steps Document One deserve a mention as a great new serious waves in the dance world, so in front of an audience, and go on to band. Their unique brand of slick, watch this space. blossom into often extraordinary spaced-out ambient drone-pop with I’d also recommend Glass talents. Stornoway, who played their some fantastic hooks is great on Animals, who are currently holed first gig here, and Yannis from Foals record and they put on an up in the Beggars Group studios who used to break our hearts with his impressively large scale live writing and recording and just biding poetry while still at school. We get show.” their time. Grudle Bay Riots are around 20 different performers www.myspace.com/theyarnsuk getting better as their ideas expand, every week, so that really is a huge www.myspace.com/ while DJ/producer Alfie MacGibbon amount of players passing through. grudlebayriots is one of Yoof!’s favourites on the The ethos of Catweazle is that guitarist. This lot have imbibed a hop (not that other local Stem that Shattered Dreams crateful of Red Bull and enough Nightshift reviewed earlier this speed to kill a horse and are year).” energised and bouncing off the www.myspace.com/ ceiling. All of them, all the time. mustardandthemonocle Shattered Dreams have got soundcloud.com/gertlassitude infinitely more enthusiasm and soundcloud.com/tigerline photo: Johnny Moto ambition than any other band I’ve met this year, and their sound has ZAHRA TEHRANI / ASHER evolved from fizzy, yappy guitat to DUST (Ark-T / BG Records) a much more rounded solid onslaught N-zyme, a member of Blackbird of noise. Well done them for Leys-based hip hop crew G Block, realising that sound quality matters! brings a quirky sense of humour to The Crushing: they get it! They the crowded hip hop scene. His are probably the only Oxford metal forthcoming single on BG Records band that actually get it - metal is ‘Crow’, along with a madcap video, pantomime. It is to be ridiculed, sent displays this to the fullest. Dropping up and hyped beyond measure, a flow that has tinges of Lil Wayne because every metal guitarist ever and UK hip hop stalwart Roots wanted to grow up to be an Orc. Manuva, 2012 will be the year that ‘Shits & Giggles’. He also has a video fresh new sound, and Real Fur: afro, Couple that with the fact that N-zyme fulfils his potential.” on Youtube entitled `Saddlebag of indie pop tunes that just make me they’re tighter than a shark’s arse at www.myspace.com/n-zyme Piss’. The man has some serious wanna dance! A couple of new 50 fathoms and it makes for a skills, impressive lyrics and a good Oxfordshire bands I’m excited about compulsive stage show.” PHIL FREIZINGER and hope to check out in 2012 k-lacura.co.uk flow. He is set to release his LP (Klub Kakofanney) entitled ‘Corridors’ in 2012. Also include Pixel Fix, Dance a la www.myspace.com/ “Look out for The New Moon – Elliot Fresh and Illgotitrecords; Plage, My Other Life, Yellow shattereddreams18 revitalised by Toby their new Elliot has been on the scene slightly Fever and Jessie Hall and one www.myspace.com/ drummer, they are hitting new longer than Ol-e Mac, performing request for 2012 is that Limbo Kids thecrushingband levels; Mini Ginge & The Dark with Livestock and running things at do more tracks please!” Mops - good vocals and simple fun; Phat Sessions. He also features on www.deerchicago.co.uk AUTUMN NEAGLE The Beard of Destiny – a quality the ‘Shit’s & Giggles’ LP with Ol-e www.facebook.com/ (Coo Promotions) solo act- and his Youtube vids are Mac.” GoRomanoMusic “Ex-Ute singer Olly Thomas is very entertaining; Fuzzy Logic – www.facebook.com/blastedband playing under the name The Old the ultimate party band; Country www.myspace.com/ JOHN DANIEL Grinding Young and has a For Old Men – good old hoe-down refugeesofculture (Skeletor Promotions) remarkably unique voice and is a music and rocks out too. The reborn soundcloud.com/ol-e-mac “Save The Saviour are a metalcore little star in the making. Jess Hall Mary’s Garden were so good at soundcloud.com/elliotfresh band who seem like a nice young has a gorgeous voice and should be Klub Kak recently it was ridiculous.” bunch; they have a good recording checked out for half an hour of www.myspace.com/ AIDAN LARKIN on their Facebook page. They’ve loveliness. Matt Winkworth is one country4oldmen (Skylarkin Soundsystem / The got the right attitude and could go of my most favourite entertainment www.myspace.com/ Big Ten Inch) far. Empire Divided are a death factor acts on the circuit: tongue in beardofdestiny cheek intensity and comic musical “Debian Blak: they’re calling it metal band, extremely heavy! Again, www.myspace.com/ timing. The Yarns and Mustard post-dubstep. Older readers will note they’ve got the right attitude, are thenewmoonnews and The Monocle both have great similarities with Autechre and Four competent musicians and seem very www.myspace.com/marysgarden potential and promise and work the Tet. Either way, Oxford-based professional. Eyes of Eve are a room well, like bands such as drummer, percussionist and producer groove metal band featuring ex- CHERYL STRATTON Stornoway and The Epstein used to Rowan Perkins has put together Crysis guitarist Josh O’Brien, when they were starting out. With (Jambox) some eerie and engaging electronic although I am yet to hear them some more gigs and some fine-tuning “Sky Sanctuary is an instrumental soundscapes here. Debut EP `A Hint properly. Overlord are another they could get really good. That solo project that collaborates Of Menace’ is out now on First Word band that could go really far, they’re Lewis Watson seems to be creating progressive metal and 8-Bit/ Recordings and Rowan is currently stoner metal and seem really keen to get to know all the bands and are a tidal wave for a very young man! electronica, founded by multi- touring Australia. Also, Document instrumentalist Joey Cohen. He One: they make that bonkers sort networking like crazy. I’ve not heard Robots With Souls – the project them properly yet, only a shabby of Phantom Theory drummer Steve combines powerful grooves, melodic of dubstep that pushes everything up progressions and electronic to 111, thumps you soundly in the video recording on Youtube, but their – is a sound mentalist, and I like a bit vocalist/guitarist seems like he could of that!” undertones to create a unique chest and makes your hair stand on atmosphere with a hint of nostalgia end. While the rest of the scene become an important figure in the www.myspace.com/ Oxford music scene: he’s mustardandthemonocle to bring people back to the days of heavyweights look towards America Sonic The Hedgehog and Super and the Top 40, this Oxford enthusiastic, articulate and soundcloud.com/mattwinkworth eloquent.” levvis.tumblr.com Mario.” production duo are making www.skysanctuary.co.uk uncompromising bangers to www.facebook.com/overlordband www.robotswithsouls.com annihilate the dancefloors of sweaty www.myspace.com/theyarnsuk basement clubs. A slew of releases are ISLA MISKELLY The Yarns planned for 2012 on Buygore.” (DHP Concerts) RICHARD CATHERALL soundcloud.com/debian-blak “I vote Lewis Watson: over one (Gappy Tooth Industries) soundcloud.com/ million Youtube views and counting, “I’d say Mustard & The Monocle. documentone_dubstep and Kill Murray who are generally Gert Lassitude does some nice

just very excellent.” laptop singer songwriter stuff, and photo: Johnny Moto KEVIN (Daisy Rodgers Music) levvis.tumblr.com Tigerline are a young band who “I could quite happily recommend soundcloud.com/kill-murray manage to get away with merging everyone that has played at one of post-rock instrumentals with widdly our nights. However, if forced to JAMES SERJEANT (Moshka) wanky prog jamming and emerge pick my fav new discoveries I’d say “K-Lacura will never fit into the unpunched. And Stem are a very old Deer Chicago: great and epic live Oxford metal scene since they don’t band who have just re-emerged better sound; Go Romano: every track a have the obligatory static lead than before, with some quality trip RELEASED Sponsored by surly mood. VARIOUS ARTISTS If there is a major disappointment it’s Unknown Flow’s ten-minute epic, the band ‘City Of Screaming Spires attempting some kind of pastoral prog epic and failing in a mess of bland, vaguely electro-tinged Vol 1’ soft-rock ponderousness and you wish their (Skeletor) lengthy slot could have been filled by In the year or so since Nightshift’s dedicated Undersmile, particularly given the token female presence here is the Paramore-like Ways metal special, the local heavy scene has Across. Unknown Flow’s lack of musical bite is developed a more cohesive focal point for its thrown into starker contrast by preceding the multitude of bands, with Buried In Smoke and fantastic A Trust Unclean, whose venomous Skeletor providing regular opportunities for death metal-cum-grindcore could power the local metal acts to play together or support national grid while simultaneously bringing bigger name bands. This compilation of about the end of days. They, along with Oxford’s up and coming metal bands is the next Dedlok’s Killing Joke-meets-Boltthrower logical stage to bringing the scene into sharper thrashcore and Prospekt’s extravagant, focus, fourteen bands of varying degrees of elegantly busy prog, provide the chief high ability and heaviosity brought together, stately pace, and with an attention to texture that points of the album, although Mutagenocide’s hopefully engaging with fans of other acts. constantly marks them above most of the local pummelling prog rides them close and Elysium For the most part the quality is high and while competition, although Mat Ryan’s lava-throated Waits close proceedings in hellish new wave of there’s a tendency towards the metalcore side of rasp is a thing of wonder all on its own. thrash style. things, it’s varied enough to avoid becoming a While K-Lacura and Crysis put in solid Local band compilations these days generally mush of noise. performances, it’s the bands that stray furthest only serve a purpose if they have a distinct angle to them and ‘COSS’ definitely has that, Album openers Aethara are among the from the standard thrash’n’growl formula who tend to leave the longest impression. Mother concentrating purely on metal. Whether it will brightest of the bands on show, with their do anything to expand local metal’s appeal to belligerent, belching, wave-riding riffage, blast Corona produce a bass-heavy groove over which the singer’s oddly adenoidal vocals stand other audiences is debatable; so often it feels beats and almost operatic interjections, while like a separate musical party. But if it opens the apart from the typical Uru-kai massive, while the late departed Taste My Eyes are similarly sizeable existing crowd up to some of the lesser ferocious, Ben Hollyer’s vein-popping rage Sky Sanctuary’s instrumental is like a metal known new acts around, while raising the bar to dominating the band’s hardcore chug. take on some old end of the pier sideshow as which bands aspire, then its success is assured. Desert Storm take things down to a more performed by Mike Oldfield in a particularly Ian Chesterton

perfectly offset by a twinkling musical box. It’s ‘Once More With Feeling’ is the livelier of the dour and ominous but oddly playful. pair, singers Jamie and Clouds pitching their If ‘Human Basics’ adds little to the duo’s contrasting voices (she wide-eyed and sugar- musical palette, a simple synth riff repeated too sweet; he almost spitting the words out through long, ‘Lucha’ is a frenetic electro-beat-heavy gritted teeth at times) while beneath their antidote to ambient soundscaping. But it’s the sparring is synth-infused fuzz’n’chug that team up with Asher Dust for ‘Lovesick Vandal’ wouldn’t sound out of place hanging out with that reveals Tiger Mendoza’s variety and The Cure circa-‘In Between Days’. ambition the most, a relentless thrum of old- ‘I Know Something’ is more circumspect, a school synths and tumultuous beats where downbeat electro-jangle with Clouds taking the Asher’s abrasively soulful hectoring rubs up lead for the most part, apart from the odd brilliantly against the harsh electronics, yelped interjection from Jamie. While it’s less everything carried unstoppably onwards by a of an instant fix than ‘Once More…’ it turns monster hook. out to be the stronger song in the end, building Victoria Waterfield to a deceptively powerful conclusion, with that big old heart worn proudly on its sleeve. Dale Kattack TIGER MENDOZA SECRET RIVALS ‘LIBRE’ ‘Once More With Heart’ / (Own label) `I Know Something’ With singer Helena Markou off travelling, Ian De Quadros and Dan O’Driscoll have taken Tiger (It’s All Happening) Mendoza down an even darker path with this Secret Rivals sound more polished with every mostly-instrumental new EP. Like Portishead new set of songs. Happily what lies beneath the and Salem, Tiger Mendoza embrace both surface remains pure and unvarnished. This new electronica and rock fully but forever leave you double a-side (ah, such a quaint concept in this unsure quite which side of the fence they fall. digital day and age, but this is timeless indie pop ‘Intro’, for example, pits restless, scattershot we’re talking about here, old-fashioned electronic beats and serrated synths against terminology still means something) strips away wired shards of guitar, the piece forever some of the giddiness of the best bits of the collapsing and coalescing again into a band’s recent debut album but it’s still big- threatening fog of doomy hip hop that’s hearted pop with one eye already on next spring minus the hairy vocalist, but Great Medical Disaster’s best moments come when tracks are stretched and textural effects are liberally slathered: ‘Man United Killed Rod Hull’ is Mogwai with sickly synth washes, taking us to a cluttered office in which an 80s detective fingers blinds to watch a steamy neon night (warning: individual hallucinations may differ). ‘The Beatification Of Cardinal Newman’ reminds us of Oxford favourites Flies Are Spies From Hell with its tumbling piano climax, and it’s only when the tunes don’t seem to earn their dynamic flurries that things are unsatisfying – ‘Jesus Loved The Nun-Chucks’ has lovely glistening guitars, but the bursts of noise are safe and unthreatening. Think log flume, not rollercoaster. Sometimes Great GREAT MEDICAL Medical Disaster are too happy within the COUNT SKYLARKIN & DISASTER confines of their genre, then, but when a HARVEY K-TEL Badalamenti eeriness is injected, and the ‘Die You Bitch, Cried evocative atmospheres come together, this is a ‘Dub Of A Preacherman’ great little record. Hell, the track titles have Architect’ more imagination than some bands’ entire (Resense / Music For The People) A great, fun mash-up from genre-hopping (Pronoia Records) careers. David Murphy producer K-Tel and local DJ and promoter Instrumental rock certainly splits opinion, so Skyarkin here, reworking an old Trojan 7” by whilst some might not fancy ‘Die, You Bitch, The Gaylettes – a 60s Jamaican vocal trio led by Cried Architect’, we’re all for its widescreen, Next month future Bob Marley backing singer Judy Mowatt. menacing music that we feel increasingly Adding a giddy, playful mix of dancehall, uncomfortable calling post-rock with every Richard Walters drum&bass and acid house to the original and passing year in which rock itself fails to Charly Coombes & setting it to an animation that looks like a 60s dematerialise (we suppose we’re stuck with it, The New Breed acid trip prototype for Spongebob Squarepants, at least until Hanna Barbera re-brands The All it’s both clever and sublimely simple. And, most New Popeye Hour as Some Increasingly Shaker Heights... important, great fun. In fact, in a parallel, better, Outmoded Sub-Standard Animation). ...and more universe, this was the Christmas Number 1. ‘Lambs’ may be a delightfully greasy rock track Dale Kattack gig guide

st Preacherman’, opens his 2012 account in the SUNDAY 1 company of legendary Bristolian DJ Derek, OPEN MIC SESSION: The Old JANUARY together playing a party-friendly mix of ska, Bookbinders funk, hip hop and soul. FUNKY FRIDAYS: The Bullingdon – Classic funk, soul and r’n’b every week. nd MONDAY 2 TUESDAY 3rd OPEN MIC SESSION: The Port Mahon SATURDAY 7th th SPARKY’S FLYING CIRCUS: James Thursday 19 Street Tavern – Weekly open mic club with PROSPEKT + BELLIGERENCE + EYE Sparky, Hugh McManners and guests. FOR AN EYE + ANNERO: The Wheatsheaf : – Elaborate prog-metal from local starlets O2 Academy Prospekt at tonight’s Buried In Smoke show. KATHERINE JENKINS: The New Theatre After the postponement of ther show here th WEDNESDAY 4 – Pop-opera crossover joy from the multi- in October, when lost his EXIST MORTAL + SHAKE WELL BEFORE million-selling, BRIT-winning Welsh mezzo- voice, The Horrors hopefully make it back + AETHARA + A TRUST UNCLEAN: The soprano. for good this time. Originally seeming to be Bullingdon – Buried In Smoke blow the New PROPAGANDA + TRASHY + ROOM 101: little more than NME-hyped clothes horses Year cobwebs clean away with a four-band O2 Academy – Classic and new indie sounds kicking out a frenzied brand of garage-rock, metal bill that includes raging hardcore at Propaganda every Saturday, plus kitsch The Horrors’ second album, ‘Primary warriors Aethara and ferocious death-grind pop, glam, 80s and guilty pleasures at Trashy Colours’ saw them artistically and critically crew A Trust Unclean. and metal, hardcore and alt.rock at Room 101 reborn. Updating classic 70s and 80s BANDS NIGHT: The Bullingdon – Local DAEDALUS’ RIGHT EYE + ILLUSION + alt.rock in style and produced by acts tbc. THE STEREOS: The Wheatsheaf, Banbury Portishead’s Geoff Barrow, the album fused WEDNESDAY BLUES: James Street – Jambox rock night. the likes of Joy Division, The Chameleons, Tavern – Weekly open blues jam. THE JUNCTION LIVE: The Junction – Psychedelic Furs and Sisters Of Mercy with Live bands and DJs every Saturday night at Can’s krautrock and PiL’s post-punk , Oxford’s newest live music venue. coated it all in pitch black clothing, drenched th THE PETE FRYER BAND: The Dolphin, it in reverb and, hey presto, instant classic – THURSDAY 5 Wallingford – Eccentric electric blues from one that was predictably robbed of a CATWEAZLE CLUB: East Oxford the local stalwart. deserved Mercury Prize. Two years on and Community Centre – The oldest and best The Horrors’ third opus, ‘’, was open mic club in town, showcasing singers, musicians, poets and storytellers every greeted by critics and fans alike with almost th religious anticipation. A difficult task to Thursday. SUNDAY 8 fulfil such expectation but while the new DAEDALU’S RIGHT EYE + CIRCUIT JACK LITTLE + MAPS & THE METHOD: album was more restrained than its CHASE + DIGGING FOR PEDRO: The The Hobgoblin, Bicester – Jambox acoustic predecessor, it’s an album that repays Hobgoblin, Bicester – Jambox rock night and open mic session. repeated listening, switching its gaze with Bristol’s epic, emotive rockers Daedalu’s MOON LEOPARD + BEARD OF DESTINY towards Simple Minds’ early Right Eye. + PENNY & PHIL + STEM: Donnington electro-heavy pop as well as early-90s JAMBOX ACOUSTIC & OPEN MIC Community Centre (6pm) – An evening of . Live they’re as self-consciously SESSION: The Wheatsheaf, Banbury acoustic music with Jeremy Hughes’ Moon enigmatic as you’d hope for, Badwan’s OPEN MIC SESSION: The Half Moon Leopard and chums. wonderfully glowering baritone cutting OPEN MIC SESSION: The Old through the storm of heavily treated guitars Bookbinders and scouring synths, a perfect blend of FRIDAY 6th period cool performed with enthusiastic KLUB KAKOFANNEY with SPACE panache. HEROES OF THE PEOPLE + BLIN’ MONDAY 9th JONNIE + MOON LEOPARD + KING B: The Bullingdon – The veteran FREIZINGER & CHRIS HILLS: The electric blues-rockers open the Famous Wheatsheaf – Characteristically mixed bag of Monday Blues’ account for 2012. sounds and styles at the first Klub Kak of the year. Electro-pop duo Space Heroes Of The People mix up Kraftwerk and Numan-inspired th synth sounds with 90s rave with highly TUESDAY 10 entertaining results, utilising everything from JAZZ CLUB: The Bullingdon – Free live electric upright bass to Wii remote control. jazz every Tuesday, this week featuring funk- There’s blues from Blin’ Jonnie in support tinged local singer and pianist Alison Bentley alongside Jeremy Hughes’ Moon Leopard and performing jazz standards and original Klub Kak host Phil Freizinger. compositions. SKYLARKIN SOUNDSYSTEM: The OPEN MIC SESSION: The Port Mahon Cellar – Count Skylarkin, currently riding SPARKY’S FLYING CIRCUS: James high on the back of his single ‘Dub Of A Street Tavern WEDNESDAY 11th FRIDAY 13th WEDNESDAY BLUES: James Street SECRET RIVALS + HOT HOOVES + Tavern JUNKIE BRUSH + MARY BENDYTOY: The Wheatsheaf – Moshka club night with ebullient electro-indie tigers Secret Rivals, THURSDAY 12th launching their new single ‘Once More With Heart. A strong supporting cast features RKC + BLACK HATS: Fat Lil’s, Witney – fuzzed-up power-pop in the vein of Husker Former-Babyshambles drummer Adam Ficek Du and Guided By Voices from Hot Hooves; brings his solo project to Witney, having just virulent old-school punk from Junkie Brush released a new album, ‘British Plastic’, and and industrial rocking from Mary Bendy Toy. shortened his band’s name from its former LIVEO + AMONG HONOUR + LEST WE Roses King Castles. The new opus is an FORGET: The Wheatsheaf, Banbury – oddball mix of Nirvana-ish riffage and Depeche Jambox rock night. Mode-style electroncis which surround Ficek’s THE MIGHTY REDOX: The James Street plaintive voice but it’s a pleasingly wonky Tavern – Swamp blues, funk and psychedelia strain of urban blues-pop. Support from local from the local veterans. Tuesday 24th power-pop trio Black Hats. FUNKY FRIDAYS: The Bullingdon CATWEAZLE CLUB: East Oxford M83: O2 Academy Community Centre Full of epic intent, Anthony Gonzalez, the ACTIONS + LIVEO: The Hobgoblin, th French-born, LA-resident producer, multi- Bicester – Jambox rock night. SATURDAY 14 instrumentalist and singer who is, to all OPEN MIC SESSION: The Half Moon PROPAGANDA + TRASHY + ROOM 101: intents and purposes, M83, is one of those O2 Academy musicians seemingly driven to create the COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN: Cornerstone biggest music in the world, and if anyone st Saturday 21 Arts Centre, Didcot – Classic country-folk scoffs at the bombast that comes out the and rootsy Americana. other end, to hell with them. To this end DOPEFIGHT / THE JUNCTION LIVE: The Junction M83’s new album ‘Hurry Up, We’re DESERT STORM / Dreaming’ – their sixth – was apparently inspired by Gonzalez’s love for Smashing SEDULUS / XII BOAR: SUNDAY 15th Pumpkins, although the expansive double album sounds more like an ambitiously sleek ANT WHITEHEAD + MAEVE BAYTON & The Cellar collision of Air, Sigur Ros, Pink Floyd and IAN + MARK ATHERTON + PHIL & JOE + Any residual post-festive torpor should be Peter Gabriel as it swoons from epic 80s SCOTT GORDON + HEADINGTON well and truly blasted out of existence by synth-pop, through shoegaze and into HILLBILLIES: The Wheatsheaf (2.30pm) – tonight’s Buried In Smoke bill. Topping it chillwave, via a whole lotta stadium pop An afternoon of free acoustic music courtesy are Brighton’s sludge-stoner-doom trio flag-waving. It’s probably not quite up to of Klub Kakofanney, featuring a selection of Dopefight, whose name pretty much gives the standard of its predecessor, ‘Saturdays = local troubadours. the game away. Inspired by the likes of Youth’, the high water mark in M83’s OPEN MIC SESSION: The Old Electric Wizard and Bongzilla, they worship decade-long career, an album that often felt Bookbinders the bong with extreme prejudice, monstrous like the soundtrack to as-yet unmade Sabbath-style riffs riding triumphantly over American teenage melodrama from about oceanic grooves, mostly instrumental but 1983, but at its best, like the richly ambient th happy to accommodate screams and growls MONDAY 16 single ‘Midnight City’, or the cutely when duty calls. What makes them stand out BIG BOYS BLUES BAND + euphoric ‘Raconte-Mo Une Histoire’ it feels from the pack is their inventive melodic FLEXAMUSCLE: The Bullingdon – Electric like Gonzalez is always trying to lift himself edge, singer and guitarist Owen Karti never blues-rocking from The Big Boys Blues Band, and his music above pop mundanity and live holding back with a catchy riff. Add this to a plus good-time rock’n’roll and funky soul he, and a band that features live drums and sense of brevity that’s rare in this genre and from Flexamuscle at tonight’s Famous guitars alongside the elaborate electronics, odd reminders of their punk past, and Monday Blues session. pout on a show worthy of the biggest you’ve got a band who, for the time being, FRACTOFUSUS: St Michael’s @ The arenas. are a cult, underground concern, but should Northgate (1pm) – A lunchtime performance hopefully break bigger this year or next. For by experimental, improvisational quartet now they’ve definitely got the chops to hold Fractofusus, made up of vocalist Anne L their own against the American giants of the Ryan, trombonist and pianist Camilla Cantata, genre. Great supporting cast from Oxford’s fiddle player Jill Elliott and saxophonist Trish own sludge champs Desert Storm, plus Elphinstone, playing together and individually. weighty stoner grooves and Mogwai-style noise from Harrow’s Sedulus and southern stoner rock from Hampshire’s XII Boar. TUESDAY 17th JAZZ CLUB: The Bullingdon – Live jazz from The New Jazz Collective. OPEN MIC SESSION: The Port Mahon SPARKY’S FLYING CIRCUS: James Street Tavern

WEDNESDAY 18th HENRY ROLLINS: 02 Academy – Strange that our ‘Enry is now better known as a self- effacing, gently humorous raconteur than the THURSDAY 19th while Listing Ships provide heavyweight electro- infused post-rock. THE HORRORS: 02 Academy – Re-arranged THE JUNCTION LIVE: The Junction show from the nouveau-gothic skinny-ribs – see PROPAGANDA + TRASHY + ROOM 101: main preview O2 Academy RAFAEL & FRIENDS: Oxford Playhouse – THE PETE FRYER BAND: The King & The popular flamenco guitarist returns to the Queen, Wheatley Playhouse with his Andalusian backing band, playing traditional and contemporary flamenco styles. nd CATWEAZLE CLUB: East Oxford SUNDAY 22 Community Centre OPEN MIC SESSION: The Old OPEN MIC SESSION: The Half Moon Bookbinders

FRIDAY 20th MONDAY 23rd THE BIG TEN INCH: The Cellar – Classic THE MIGHTY REDOX: The Bullingdon – jump blues, swing and rockabilly from Count Swampy blues rocking, festival funk and witchy Skylarkin and Van Mule, tonight featuring a live th psychedelia from the perennial local faves at the Friday 27 set from The Severed Limb, fast-rising young Famous Monday Blues. MARIA & THE rock’n’rollers who recently supported Imelda May. MIRRORS + LISTING NOVANA: 02 Academy – Nirvana tribute th band. TUESDAY 24 SHIPS + MANACLES THE SCARS REMAIN + HEADSTONE M83: 02 Academy – Anthony Gonzales returns DAWN + HURTSEASON: The Wheatsheaf, to town for the first time in bloody yonks – see OF ACID + TIM Banbury – Jambox metal night with local main preview melodic thrash merchants The Scars Remain. JAZZ CLUB: The Bullingdon – Free live jazz FAIRPLAY: Modern Art FUNKY FRIDAYS: The Bullingdon from The Hugh Turner Band. The reliably challenging Basement Sessions at Modern Art kick off in style this year th with a debut Oxford show from London’s st Saturday 28 Maria & The Mirrors. On paper they could SATURDAY 21 be excruciating hipsters – a trio of THE CELLAR FAMILY + AGNESS PIKE: LINDI ORTEGA: fashionistas (two girls, one boy) turning The Bullingdon – Last month’s Nightshift The Jericho Tavern their hand to confrontational electro-dance, cover stars officially launch their ‘Flab’ EP Despite hailing from Toronto (where she with as much attention paid to their release, having proved to be one of the most was once dubbed Toronto’s Best Kept sartorial side as to the music – but a quick exciting and invigorating new bands on the local Secret and Indie Lindi, due to her DIY ethic), listen to their music reveals a fantastic scene over the past year, their fractious, angular Lindi Ortega has Nashville written all over collision of tribal rhythms, harsh sheet-metal mix of punk, hardcore and her. Often compared to Emmylou Harris and electronics and primal chants. Two of the something nasty from under the floorboards even Johnny Cash, she’s possessed of a three are drummers and often the vocals recalls McLusky and Fugazi at times. Oddball voice you might mistake for a young Dolly sound like the possessed gabbling in thrash merchants Agness Pike are main support, Parton at times – homely, playful and tongues. They take their name from an old coming on like a decidedly camp Christopher slightly brassy but capable of switching to Andy Warhol quote and pay great attention Lee fronting Metallica or Machine Head. More ghostly and haunted at will. Having self- to their garish visuals. Inspiration is taken bands to be added, plus future drum&bass into released a brace of early on – debut from Yoko Ono, Factory Floor and Gang the wee small hours. offering ‘The taste Of Forbidden Fruit’ came Gang Dance amongst others and at the DOPEFIGHT + DESERT STORM + out back in 2001 – Lindi was briefly requisite volume you feel it might just SEDULUS + XII BOARD: The Cellar – labelmates with Lady Gaga on Cherrytree convert listeners to dangerous fringe Sludge’n’stoner metal grooving from Brighton’s before moving on to her new home at Last religions. Excellent heavyweight post-rock Dopefight at tonight’s Buried In Smoke show – Gang Records who put out her latest opus, and electronica from Listing Ships and see main preview ‘Little Red Boots’ back in the summer. In period acid house squelches from Manacles KILL MURRAY + MAYORS OF MIYAZAKI between, she’s toured with Keane and Noah of Acid, plus post-punk, coldwave and 80s + SONIC RISING: The Wheatsheaf – & The Whale, as well as backing singer to synth-pop from DJ Tim Fairweather. Widely tipped to be one of the new local bands to watch in 2012, Kill Murray mix up some of The Killers’ Brandon Flowers on his solo their members’ previous bands’ sounds – Dial F tour. Now, though, she’s coming to Europe furious, self-loathing hardcore firebrand he For Frankenstein, 50ft Panda and Phantom in her own right, hoping to make a mark in a made his name as. Still, spoken word he may Theory – but tempered by a poppier, harmony- crowded market for rootsy female singer- be, he’s still more punk rock than most would heavy sound. London’s scrappy, spasmodic lo- , but with enough of a solid, be rock and roll revolutionaries, even while fi hardcore types Mayors of Miyazaki long-term cult status to carry her through. he’s recounting stories of going to football support. parties round at William Shatner’s house. Such GUNNING FOR TAMAR + APOLLO’S autobiographical anecdotes get mixed up with ARROWS + THE OLD GRINDING YOUNG political observations and an amiable stream- + LISTING SHIPS: The Port Mahon – of-consciousness with a man you once Having recently signed to Alcopop! Records, wouldn’t have considered the height of good Gunning For Tamar are set for an action-packed company. Tonight’s show has moved venues year, their angular, riff-heavy take on math-rock from the Regal. drawing admiring comparisons to Biffy Clyro, NOBLEMEN: The Wheatsheaf – Moshka Youthmovies and Billy Mahonie. There’s tightly- club night. wound fight-pop riffage from Apollo’s Arrows in WEDNESDAY BLUES: James Street support; former-Ute frontman Olly Thomas re- Tavern emerges with his new Old Grinding Young band, OPEN MIC SESSION: The Port Mahon lyricism and production skills. His best solo SPARKY’S FLYING CIRCUS: James work was undoubtedly ‘Liquid Swords’, Street Tavern although a sequel is planned for later this year. ALIASES + AETHARA + WAYS ACROSS + CRYSIS + SAVE THE SAVIOUR: O2 WEDNESDAY 25th Academy – The first Skeletor / Room 101 team-up of the year finds Manchester’s THE GRACEFUL SLICKS + SHATTERED Aliases coming to town, featuring ex-Sikth DREAMS + BEN PHILLIPS: The guitarist Pin and exploring metal’s prog edges. Wheatsheaf – Moshka club night with A strong local supporting cast includes molten psychedelic garage rockers The Graceful Slicks metalcore types Aethara; melodic pop- conjuring an authentic 60s sound that recalls metallers Ways Across; thrash crew Crysis and The Sonics, Electric Prunes and Velvet new young metalcore outfit Save The Saviour. Underground. Grungy pop-metallers Shattered GAPPY TOOTH INDUSTRIES with Dreams support, leaning towards the L7 side ABANDON + THE JON COHEN of things, while SD guitarist Ben Phillips also th EXPERIMENTAL + MUSTARD & THE Sunday 29 plays a solo set. MONOCLE: The Wheatsheaf – Former- WEDNESDAY BLUES: James Street : Xmas Lights electro mangler Umair Chaudhry Tavern makes his live debut in his Abandon guise at O2 Academy tonight’s opening GTI of 2012. Mixing dense seems set to live his musical guitar textures with industrial ambience, he th life under the shadow of ‘You’re Gorgeous’, THURSDAY 26 evokes elements of Joy Division, Michael his 1996 global hit that’s come to define the CATWEAZLE CLUB: East Oxford Gira, Jesu and Red House Painters. Joining name Babybird but was never a great Community Centre Umair is former-Dears chap Jon Cohen over representation of Jones’ often caustic and OPEN MIC SESSION: The Half Moon from Canada for a series of live dates with his abrasive songwriting style. Having recorded new loop-based solo material. Punky local a slew of demos in his native Sheffield in the folksters Mustard & The Monocle provide a early-90s ‘You’re Gorgeous’, and its FRIDAY 27th feisty trad opening set. attendant album, ‘Ugly Beautiful’, fitted in THE REAPER + SHATTERED DREAMS + well with Britpop and acts like The Divine MOTHER CORONA + CARAVAN OF NUCLEAR SKYLINE: The Wheatsheaf, Comedy and Space – carrying a dishevelled WHORES + REFUGEES OF CULTURE: Banbury – Jambox rock night with young sense of elegance, with wry, literate lyrics The Cellar – Sludgy psychedelic metal in the teenage metallers The Reaper kicking out some and a definite air of Englishness – but listen vein of Sabbath, Hawkwind and Blue Cheer enthusiastic thrash and classic metal alongside back to the likes of ‘Bad Shave’ and you’ll from Mother Corona at tonight’s Buried In effusive melodic pop-metal and grunge rockers discover a far more off-kilter pop mind at Smoke show. Support from blues-tinged Shattered Dreams. psych-metal heavyweights Refugees Of work, one more in tune with Beck or Eels. FISHWIFE’S BROADSIDE: The Chester Still, having had his big hit, and a few more Culture and stoner-thrash crew Caravan of Arms – Punky folk from the Milton Keynes Whores. minor successes in its wake, Babybird ensemble. slipped back into cult concern territory until BASEMENT SESSIONS with MARIA & PROPAGANDA + TRASHY + ROOM 101: THE MIRRORS + LISTING SHIPS + Jones split the band in 2000 to concentrate O2 Academy MANACLES OF ACID + TIM FAIRPLAY: on his writing. He returned in 2006 with new UNHINGED: The Bullingdon – Drum&bass Modern Art Oxford – Headspinning tribal backing musicians and the patronage of long- club night. electro-pop from Maria & The Mirrors at term fan Johnny Depp, who graced one of COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN: The Talbot tonight’s Basement Session – see main the new songs with his presence as well as Inn, Eynsham preview directing the video. Following on from THE JUNCTION LIVE: The Junction MIXTAPE: The Wheatsheaf – Pick’n’mix 2010’s ‘Ex Maniac’, comes new album ‘The music policy from DJs Matt Paradise and Pleasure Of Self-Destruction’, Jones still Ashley Edana. playing the sometimes curmudgeonly th FUNKY FRIDAYS: The Bullingdon SUNDAY 29 romantic and poet. It shouldn’t alienate fans BABYBIRD: 02 Academy – Caustic, romantic of that hit too much, although the likes of pop from the ‘You’re Gorgeous’ hitmaker – ‘The Jesus Stag Night Club’ and ‘I’m Not A SATURDAY 28th see main preview Killer’ are reminders that he’s far from the OPEN MIC SESSION: The Old comfortable crooner of popular image. LINDI ORTEGA: The Jericho Tavern – Bookbinders Rootsy country rocking from the Toronto st indie queen – see main preview TUESDAY 31 GZA: O2 Academy – Wu Tang Clan’s lyrical th JAZZ CLUB: The Bullingdon – Live jazz maestro, born Gary Grice, comes to town as MONDAY 30 from The New Jazz Collective. part of a European tour, regularly rated ahead PETE BOSS & THE BLUEHEARTS: The OPEN MIC SESSION: The Port Mahon of his more high-profile Clan associates Bullingdon – Clapton-esque blues from SPARKY’S FLYING CIRCUS: James Ghostface Killah, ODB and RZA, both for his Oxford’s veteran guitarist. Street Tavern

Nightshift listings are free. Deadline for inclusion in the gig guide is the 20th of each month - no exceptions. Call 01865 372255 (10am-6pm) or email listings to [email protected]. All listings are copyright of Nightshift and may not be reproduced without permission LIVE photo: Johnny Moto

An aggressive, spasming electro-heavy number, GAZ COOMBES / LITTLE FISH / THE YARNS with hints of Bowie’s ‘Hunky Dory’, leads into The Rotunda a softer piece, discordant piano and murmured vocals closer to Radiohead’s most recent work. Gaz Coombes could have picked any venue in arid warmth of the room, her voice dries up ‘Simulator’ finds Gaz building up a full head of town to play his first post-Supergrass show. slightly but it barely impacts on the steam, highly-strung, bolshy and decidedly That he chose such an intimate arena makes performance, the duo’s tour de force ‘Only A dirty in sound, voice and guitar distorted like tonight’s gig that much more special. Game’ and almost honky tonk blues piece ‘The something unearthed from grunge’s fiery early Before his revelatory performance, though, The Umbilical Cord’ chief highlights alongside Juju’s days. Yarns display a set of warm, semi-acoustic pop sweet, rambling anecdotes. ‘Hot Fruit’ is dense and urgent at first, jangle that, replete with a trumpeter who swells Anyone hoping for Supergrass Mk.II from Gaz billowing into a turbulent storm of chattering the band’s sound, reminds us a little of 80s indie Coombes’ new solo career would be beats, looming electronics and snarled vocals, heroes The June Brides, as well as Hefner at disappointed tonight. Everyone else, waiting to but it’s ‘Sleeping Giant’ that is tonight’s real times. Occasionally they’re one step removed see what one of the most unassumingly highlight, throbbing and twinkling ominously from college revue pastiche, but mostly their engaging rock stars of the past 20 years would behind Gaz’s airy croon. songs are pretty and awash with delicate texture. do next, would have come away enthused by a In keeping with the spirit of the evening, Gaz After a tumultuous year in which they lost performance completely at odds with his old invites Little Fish to join him for an autumnal their record deal and drummer Nez, Little Fish band as he debuts songs from next year’s ‘Here cover of The Velvet Underground’s ‘Candy could be forgiven for lacking a little magic in Come The Bombs’ album, co-written and Says’, one of those unique moments that no- their set. Nothing could be further from the recorded with ‘I Should Coco’ producer Sam one here tonight will forget in a hurry. But the truth. As Ben coaxes a gentle hum from his Williams. overriding impression we’re left with is of a keyboard, Juju wander around the Rotunda’s Aside from opening number ‘White Noise’, musician seemingly reborn. Like Scott Walker mezzanine and ground floor room intoning where the voice at least is unmistakably Gaz, and Alex Chilton before him, Gaz sounds like ‘Heroin Dance’ unamplified. It is simply tonight’s set reveals a completely new side to he’s willing and able to leave his pop past fully stunning. Even for seasoned Little Fish fans the him, the swaggering old school rock frontman behind him and seek out pastures fresher and power and emotion in her voice is just replaced with a sometimes feverishly busy wilder. Risky perhaps, but infinitely more staggering, putting to shame the legion of knob twiddler and button pusher, myriad rewarding and a step forward that will, without wannabe singing starlets cluttering up weekend effects pedals and electronic drum pads played doubt, prove to be the remaking of the man. TV. Later in the set, either due to nerves or the wholly live alongside a battered acoustic guitar. Dale Kattack RICHARD WALTERS / HOT HOOVES / NINE STONE MESSAGE TO BEARS / COWBOY / SPINNER FALL THE OLD GRINDING YOUNG The Cellar The Rotunda Dubbing this gig ‘Veterans’ Night’ empty, it’s drained to the dregs and does a disservice to the freshness some bastard’s stubbed a fag out in The Rotunda, a former dolls house combining to create seductively and vitality of the bands involved it. It does, though, makes for some museum nestled behind an eco hypnotic lullabies and reveries. but there’s no denying every act wonderfully sobering pop poetry. house in Iffley Village, is possibly The living embodiment of the maxim comes with some serious history. If NSC are staring into the abyss, the venue Richard Walters has been less is more, Richard Walters is Openers Spinner Fall feature Hot Hooves are raging against the waiting for his entire career. As tonight at his stripped-down best, former members of local hardcore dying of the light. Their pedigree is intimate as a small pub venue but backed by A Silent Film’s Rob pioneers Skydrive and Callous as well documented – Jericho Tavern with the stately ambience of a Stephenson on piano and cellist well as post-rockers From Light To and Point promoter Mac and classical concert hall, here, before a Martin. It’s all his voice needs to Sound but bear only a passing Talulah Gosh and Heavenly rapt and respectful audience, his weave its magic. Even songs from his resemblance to any of those, opting guitarist Peter Momtchiloff sharing songs, so fragile and delicate, can last album ‘Pacing’ are tonight instead for an intensely turbulent lead roles; The Hulas’ Welsh Mike emerge without being drowned out stripped back down to basics, noise that somehow marries on bass and Les Clochards’ Gary by chatter or lost amid expansive allowed to breathe, revealing them to shoegaze glissando with a post- Neville on drums. ‘This Is It, This surroundings. Strings of fairy lights be as every bit as strong as the likes punk brittleness and a throat- Is The Scene’ sets, well, the scene: and the aroma of mulled wine add a of ‘Elephant In The Room’, which shreddingly hectoring vocal raucous but deceptively refined wintry warmth to the whole opens the set in devastatingly delivery that can variously remind power pop cut through with a evening, adding a gently magical emotive style. you of Ride, Husker Du and The punky vim and lyrics that would pre-Christmas air to proceedings. Songs from Richard’s forthcoming Fall, all at the same time. One floor you with a pithy put down as Before Richard’s set, we catch a EP, recorded with Rob, reveal equally slower, almost robotic number soon as look at you. From the glimpse of former-Ute frontman rich treasures: ‘Young Trees’ in skirts close to Comsat Angels’ glitterstomping ‘Ladies Of Our Ollie Thomas’ new project, The particular and the comparatively full- ‘Independence Day’ but it’s when Species’, a lyrical descendant of Old Grinding Young, thus far only bodied ‘Tomorrow Begins Today’, they stamp on their myriad pedals Ivor Cutler’s ‘Women Of The a two-piece and set to expand, but with its sombre piano lead. and just let the guitar soar that they World’, to the frenetic buzzsaw who display, on the two songs we Far from being a precious prima really envelope you. pop of debut album highlight ‘The hear, a stormy form of acoustic donna, Richard is possessed of an Nine Stone Cowboy are, of course, Sparks Up Agenda’, they wage a rock, Ollie’s rich, tautly-strung understated, earthy sense of led by ex-Candyskins guitarist scathing war against the world and voice possessed of a tightly-reined humour, but jokes about back Mark Cope, but the rest of the its wife – Knights of Sardonica, if in intensity that reminds us of The doors suddenly make way for a band have served serious time on you will. Veils. Two gigs old they’re already song like ‘The Animal’, which the local scene, notably Easy Tiger Anyone who’s watched cult ones to watch. drags beauty and grace from frontman Ady Davey, and the tone Korean revenge flick Oldboy will Message To Bears similarly horrific subject matter. of the songs reflects a sardonic, remember the scene where the aging benefit from tonight’s Just as Stornoway did at the world-weariness that suits Mark’s protagonist takes on and defeats an surroundings, Jerome Alexander’s Sheldonian two years ago, Richard cynical lyricism, particularly when army of thugs with sheer chamber pop quintet matching Walters almost merges with the he gently croons, “Jesus H Christ, pathological determination. intimate composition with venue to perform a show that I fucked up my life” at one point. Tonight, you’re reminded why sometimes epic intent, sea air folk transcends the normal gig `Lack Of Hope & Glory’ is anyone who’d write a band off washing against the lush textures of experience. For a singer who seems simultaneously a sweet, doe-eyed based on their age is a fool and pastoral classical music, picked relentlessly cast adrift on a sea of pop gem, a wistfully romantic deserves the beating each of these guitar, minimalist percussion and turbulent emotions, he has never desire for an older England and a acts is more than capable of dishing wavering violin backing hushed, sounded more at home. bitter rumination on life. Nine out. mostly wordless vocal harmonies, Dale Kattack Stone Cowboy’s glass isn’t half Ian Chesterton

YOUNG KNIVES / CAT MATADOR / songs, even if they are often packaged up as comedic and light-hearted confections. Even THE FAMILY MACHINE though they, as is usual, joke around with self- deprecating humour between songs, the touching The Rotunda and personal core to much of their work - tonight Intimate is a word often used to describe a gig, but Cat Matador present an almost equally polished a showcase of tracks from ‘Voices Of Animals it really fits here: The Rotunda is small, and the set, with their combination of delicate lead vocal, And Men’ onwards - is especially marked in this atmosphere friendly, warm and respectful, and subtle violin melodies and hushed guitar tones stripped-down performance. It’s easy to forget, there’s a seasonal whiff of mulled wine in the air. sitting comfortably within the environment. until the workings of their songwriting is On this, the first of the Rotunda events, three They tell us that they’re normally much noisier, exposed, that this band really do write excellent, bands strike a good balance between fun and but this apparently stripped-back musical memorable music. It takes a poppy indie rock emotion. Family Machine, up first, reaffirm their approach is seductive and enjoyable. The songs, core and turns it into something slightly leftfield place as heroes of Oxford music. Jamie Hyatt’s which recall a combination of Fleet Foxes and and unique. Their ability to switch from joking strong voice blends well with that of the other perhaps Jonquil, seem a little exposed by the around into an effortless, tight performance band members, who all contribute to some great clarity of such simple instrumentation. Whilst shouldn’t be underestimated, and even when harmonies over a set of songs that are country- it’s a relaxed and confident performance, a certain they’re at their most absurd - straining on high tinged, but in a non-mawkish, slyly inventive way. amount of repetition steps in from song to song, vocals during a cover of Kraftwerk’s ‘The Their songs, a combination of traditional and sees them duplicating not so much melodies Model’, for example - they’re utterly charming structures, touches of odd synthesised sounds and or patterns as the ‘feel’ of their work, which and engaging. side-roads of experiment, are sad at their core, but tends perhaps too much towards a surprise- and So there you have it - three courses of delectable delivered in a positive, bracing fashion. It’s clear challenge-free state of (admittedly often lovely) fare, showcasing not only the strong tradition of that this is a band who have honed their craft; pleasantness. quality songwriting from Oxford, but a tendency they offer up catchy, memorable songs with a Similarly to Family Machine, Young Knives toward experiment that’s difficult not to warm to. relaxed performance that’s almost flawless. have a tendency towards the melancholic in their Simon Minter quite beautiful. On his own Chanarin sounds not unlike a particularly maudlin Paulo Nutini or even Jack Johnson, but with Clarke’s delicate vocals interweaving with his own, there’s a similarity to the wonderful harmonies of Trevor Moss and Hannah Lou. Tonight is doubling up as a single launch for Jess Hall, and it’s clear to see why the majority

photo by Sam Shepherd of the audience is here to see her tonight. Even in their most stripped back and naked form, her songs are positively bulging with emotion. Initially she injects an off-kilter kookiness into her performance, calling to mind a young Kate Bush, but as she goes on (with Barney Morse- Brown providing immaculate cello accompaniment) things settle down and she focuses on pulling at the heart strings. Her “old people” songs tread the line between the utterly beautiful and the calculatingly emotional. There’s a melody steal from Abba’s `I Have A Dream’ in their somewhere, but she injects enough pathos into the main hook of `Let’s Dance The Waltz’ that it’s easy to imagine a bunch of teary-eyed coffin dodgers slow- dancing to the melancholic chimes of a music box. Her last tune, `Red Jumper’, is easily her best moment, with the cello twisting around her vocals beautifully, encouraging her to push her impressive vocal range, which she does with some style. An encore of `In The Bleak Midwinter’ is as impressive as it is gloomy, but Jess Hall has impressed enough with her own material to make this little more than a nod to the festive season. Barney Morse-Brown rounds things off in his own singular style. Using an array of pedals, he builds up layers of guitar and cello creating a BARNEY MORSE-BROWN / JESS HALL / full band sound. Initially it’s mightily impressive, but the time it takes to build the MATT CHANARIN structures and the fact that he’s very much tied to a single idea mean that his songs suffer The Bullingdon somewhat and are at times in need of serious A little bit of effort makes all the difference. assortment of candles gracing the stage. Even pruning. Nevertheless, he’s an incredibly The customary Bullingdon backdrop has been before anyone’s played a note, the set dressing talented musician and delivers an impassioned covered with a fine choice of wallpaper, there’s makes for a comfortable festive atmosphere. set that culminates in some rather heavy-handed a dummy window providing a view of snowfall Local singer Matt Chanarin is joined tonight by cello abuse, which is always a fine way to end (we might have imagined that) and there’s a Jo Clarke and together they make their way an evening. finely decorated Christmas Tree and an through a series of acoustic ballads that are Sam Shepherd

KVELERTAK / TOXIC HOLOCAUST / THE

SECRET / WOLVES LIKE US Ensemble’ is referenced in their riffs at least three times in their short set but they stop just O2 Academy short of being an outright parody. Did they just Metal will never die. Occasionally it seems like drone, which is what you’d expect from a band say “Hail Satan”? Yes, they did. it’s about to flatline (the early 90s or the signed to Greg Anderson of SunnO)))’s label. Kvelertak are probably the most exciting metal emergence of nu-metal for example), and then, From there they launch into a set that is a band on the planet at the moment. Their debut energised by a thunderous punch to the heart, it blitzkrieg of lightning riffing and gargled vocals. album is far and away the best thing we’ve kicks back into life and becomes relevant and Equal parts grind, hardcore and death metal heard from any metal band in the last five years, exciting again. Tonight’s bill of relentless metal make for an unforgiving half an hour, which is and live they don’t disappoint. Ramming black shows that this is a genre currently in impressive in its brutality but which is, for the metal full of Motorhead’s supercharged rock particularly rude health. most part, somewhat uninspired. and roll they rip the roof off from start to Wolves Like Us are, on record at least, the What with the Big Four playing for at finish. Vocalist Erlend Hjelvik (a part troll, part most lightweight of tonight’s bands, as they flit Sonisphere this year, it’s hardly unsurprising Viking blob of a man) wastes no time in around the edges of emo. In a live setting there’s that thrash is being revisited by a number of whipping the crowd into a vicious, beer-soaked a lot more muscle to their sound and somehow bands at the moment. Toxic Holocaust have the moshpit. Flanked by three guitarists Kvelertak they sound less like Samiam and more like Tad look of early Slayer (when they toyed with are as much a visual spectacle as a sonic one and fisting Mastodon. make up and Motley Crue hair) and have the with an impossibly strong set of songs It’s a thrilling start, and one which The Secret sound of any number of thrash bands from containing the likes of ‘Mjød’ and ‘Fossegrim’ struggle to top. The Italian Southern Lord 1986 but most specifically they borrow heavily it’s clear they’re the real, life-affirming deal. signings start their set with a bone-rattling from Nuclear Assault and Kreator. Slayer’s ‘War Sam Shepherd HAROLD BUDD / THE NECKS Holywell Music Room An Oxford event of this stature quieter. The single 34-minute piece could only happen here in the is neither a second too long or oldest custom-built concert hall in short. Europe and, as luck would have it, The Necks are an Australian three- home to a rather fine grand piano. piece band with roots in jazz and Harold Budd may well be tired of improvisation, but keen to escape seeing his name inevitably the orbit of such labels, their long mentioned next to Brian Eno’s, as list of collaborators also including they only ever made two albums Eno, on ‘This Is Pure Scenius’, his together. Less well known are his 2010 series of musical events. collaborations with U2, The Tonight bassist Lloyd Swanton JANUARY Cocteau Twins, Andy Partridge and begins proceedings with a short John Foxx, not that you’ll find theme played then repeated after a these recordings in many shops. long pause. Drummer Tony Buck Every Monday The 75-year-old improviser, joins in with waves of metallic THE FAMOUS MONDAY composer and pianist is not chiming and pianist Chris renowned for touring so Abrahams plays low, rhythmic NIGHT BLUES expectations are high for this sold- patterns as they set off on a 35- The best in UK, European and US blues. 8-12. out show, with the added bonus of minute journey into territory 9th KING B (UK) visuals specially created by Russell unknown even to themselves. 16th BIG BOYS BLUES BAND / Mills. There’s something filmic here, and Accompanist Werner Dafeldecker maybe allusions to storms at sea, FLEXAMUSCLE (UK) rd contributes some low-end but each listener is ultimately left 23 THE MIGHTY REDOX (UK) electronic soundscapes as Budd to make their own sense of it. As 30th PETE BOSS & THE BLUEHEARTS (UK) picks out gentle motifs on the with Budd a cynic could carelessly piano, recurring but never repeating dismiss this as self-indulgent in a style as complex as it is meandering but to the careful unmistakable: If anyone can lay listener the raw talent is plain to Every Tuesday claim to be the master of see and richly rewarding. Both of THE OXFORD JAZZ CLUB understatement this is surely the these performances are master Free live jazz plus DJs playing r’n’b, funk and soul until 2am prime candidate, the term ambient classes in the use of texture and th ultimately a misnomer as music like subtlety, in a world too much in 10 ALISON BENTLEY this is impossible to ignore; it’s as debt to the obvious. 17th NEW JAZZ COLLECTIVE insistent as Slayer, just a whole lot Art Lagun 24th THE HUGH TURNER BAND 31st NEW JAZZ COLLECTIVE MARCUS BONFANTI Wednesdays The Bullingdon 4th BANDS NIGHT – acts TBC What drew me to the stage this gargantuan blues baritone voice, evening were the pre-gig blurbs pitched neatly between the shale suggesting that Marcus Bonfanti is and grit of Joe Cocker and the spearheading a British blues revival. polite, honeyed tones of Chris Rea. Every Friday With Seasick Steve kicking down the In short, Marcus Bonfanti has it FUNKY FRIDAY doors between clubs and Bestival- all. Tick those boxes and you have sized gigs, bringing the whole genre someone who can turn a maestro Funk, soul, boogie and R&B. 11pm-2.30am; £3. to a more youthful consciousness, hand to all the myriad facets of the there’s certainly a new platform for blues, while penning what must be someone like Marcus, who had his a full range of instantly classic Saturdays Crossroads moment while attending songs: the Delta blues of ‘Going 21st THE CELLAR FAMILY / AGNESS PIKE / the Liverpool Institute of Performing Down’; the rocktastic, driving Arts. blues of ‘My Baby Don’t Dance’, Future drum’n’bass DJs til 3am th Tonight, in his two forty-five right on to the slow-hand of ‘Devil 28 UNHINGED – Drum’n’bass club night minutes sets, Marcus, along with Girl’. Scott Wiber on bass and Alex It might be argued that with his Reeves on drums, wrong foots us ballsy gruff voice, Marcus isn’t Coming up in February about any preconceptions we exactly moving the stereo-typical rd might have, from the way his blues sound on into the 21st Friday 3 TOTALLY ENORMOUS EXTINCT pretty and tame-looking Dean Century. Possibly not, but what he DINOSAURS Electric Resonator becomes a does do is bring it all alive again and Friday 10th DANNY & THE CHAMPIONS OF screeling rock axe on the Red shows that root blues is not all THE WORLD House-like ‘(Is Your Life Better ) about being downbeat and dreams Sunday 12th OUTFIT Now That I’m Gone’, to finding crushed, but about wry humour, rd out the smouldering leonine posters about surviving the obstacles life Thursday 23 TO KILL A THING of him mask a cheery, affable Essex throws in your way, and most of Sunday 26th DODGY boy demeanour, which in turn all, that it’s no longer just a country hides – in recession-defining songs for old men. Join us on Facebook: Backroom @ The Bully like ‘Hard Times’ – a simply Paul Carrera DR SHOTOVER Seasonal Jollies Avast there, me hearties! Line up some tots of rum, Bedingfield! The early 80s are back at the O2 Laughing Academy, with an appearance by the reformed BOW WOW WOW scheduled for the New Year. (Cue some general nonce-ing about in pirate costumes and a brief return to “Cassette Chic”). Personally I cannot wait for the arrival of the French Bow Wow Wow tribute act known as OUAH OUAH OUAH, (still with me, Tintin fans?)… Their lovely singer Annabelle Louis-Quatorze (pictured below) will doubtless set pulses racing on both sides of the Channel, as will their reading of the notorious home-taping anthem C-30, C-60, C-90 Allez! Oh what larks. As you may have noticed, I am back on tip-top form after the trials and depredations of the build-up to the festive season… Christmas decorations going up in shops before Halloween, carol- singers ducking bucket-loads of piss outside Shotover Towers, the usual parade of no- hopers wheeled out for the Downright Shabby Christmas Special. How do I get through it? Why, nasty 70s drugs of course. Happy Mandrax-mas! Now, let’s give that port and stilton hamper a thoroughly seasonal Jolly- Rogering, shipmates!

Next month: East Mandies “Bonjour, Docteur Chateau Vert! I have your Club Christmas stockings here!” Oxford Punt 2012 Wednesday 16th May

Twenty acts - five venues - one night The year’s best showcase of new Oxford music

Want to play?

email music links to [email protected] or send us a CD, to Nightshift, PO Box 312, Kidlington, OX5 1ZU. Please clearly mark all emails and demos PUNT and include full contact details Introducing….

Nightshift’s monthly guide to the best local bands bubbling under Tiger Mendoza

Who are they? Electro rock-dance crossover act Tiger Mendoza are Ian De Quadros (buttons, breaks, beats, stuff); Dan O’Driscoll (guitars) and Helena Markou (vocals and sparkly outfits). Originally Tiger Mendoza started out as Ian’s one man band. He would record bits and pieces, do and after spending lots of time making music, never play it to anyone. After hearing Helena sing at a party Ian thought it would be a good idea to make music together. In the end they recorded their first bunch of songs and ‘The Hope Sick EP’ was released. After their band Toy #1 Their career highlight so far is: dissolved, Ian played Dan some demos for songs to go on the next release “Supporting DJ Shadow at the O2 and him chatting to us afterwards.” and he was sold the idea of joining Tiger Mendoza as guitarist, making And the lowlight: everything louder. An album , ‘Aim For The Head’, was released last “The last gig we played at The Jericho. Disappointing for all involved.” year. When Helena went travelling, Ian and Dan recorded some darker, Their favourite other Oxfordshire act is: more electronic tracks, released this month as the `LIBRE’ EP and “The Half Rabbits. Good mates, great music.” featuring Asher Dust on guest vocals. With the return of Helena they If they could only keep one album in the world, it would be: recently supported DJ Shadow at the O2. “UNKLE – `Psyence Fiction’. What do they sound like? When is their next gig and what can newcomers expect? A neat balancing act between electronica and guitar-based songwriting, “Currently looking into gigs for the new year. There will be more new Tiger Mendoza’s strength lies in their willingness to take detours from music, better masks and less Top Gun light-up t-shirts.” their base camp of hip hop rhythms, fuzzed-up guitars, gothic tribal Their favourite and least favourite things about Oxford music are: ambience, scattershot drum&bass, punked-up electroclash and “Good: The fact it has a music scene and the sheer amount of variation subterranean blues. Helena and Ian’s alternating vocal leads, plus guest within it. None of us were born in Oxford, but no Oxford, no Tiger appearances from the likes of Lee Smilex and Asher Dust augment the Mendoza. Bad: The lack of live electronic nights (although that could be stylistic flits, so it’s pleasingly hard to pin the band down too firmly. slowly changing...).” They are, in their own words, “dark industrial-ish breakbeat synth pop. People might love them if you love: With vocals. And guitars.” Tricky; Nine Inch Nails; Portishead; 65daysofstatic; DJ Shadow; Salem. What inspires them? Hear them here: “Hearing good music and striving to make better music.” soundcloud.com/tigermendoza

This month in Oxford All Our Yesterdays music history 20 YEARS AGO 10 YEARS AGO 5 YEARS AGO The cover of January 1992’s issue of Curfew “Dig the new breed!” proclaimed the cover piece “Part dog’s dinner, part the dog’s bollocks, a sound magazine was graced by the enigmatic L.O.A.F. of Nightshift’s January 2002 issue, heralding a engineer’s nightmare,” was how Nightshift which stood of Loins Of Arthur Fowler, look at some of the local acts to look out for that described this month’s cover stars Baby Gravy, a Eastenders’ relentlessly put-upon staple character year. Amongst the acts tipped by Nightshift’s own band still in the mid-teens but set to release their of the time. The band were obsessed by the writers were Winnebago Deal; Southsea Company first single, `I Hate Your Girlfriend’ and having drudgery and cruelty of life, claiming to hate Prospectus; Marconi’s Voodoo; Mindsurfer and wowed us with their “wobbly-headed, lopsided everything “except cats, curry and chocolate,” Smilex as well as a band called Ponyclub, who brilliance,” which sounded a bit like “X-Ray Spex blaming their misanthropy on the moment “they were soon to change their name to Young Knives. jamming with Hawkwind or Here & Now”. The killed off Kerry Bishop in Neighbours” and Other local acts and promoters also picked their band who were later to cohere into a feisty electro- believing “all music is crap, with the exception of favourites with The Club That Cannot Be punk quartet were here six-strong and determined the Dr Who theme.” The band’s drummer and Named’s Alan Day stating that “Shouting Myke that music should be “more gangsta rap and samplist claimed his samples were deliberately will rule the world!” His opinion was echoed by and less emo”. pitched to make listeners soil themselves. Hal Stokes from Vade Mecum. Southsea Company Since this was January we were doing our normal Elsewhere this month a tribute album to local singer Prospectus were a popular choice, picking up tipping thing with Jonquil, Borderville and Space and promoter Sandi Connell-Hinks was released, endorsements from Mac at the Point, Joal Heroes Of The People standing out from a dozen- featuring contributions from Frank Fish & The Fins, Shearing at the Wheatsheaf, Mark Sergeant at the strong list that also featured The Delta Frequency, Ed Alleyne-Johnson and Johnny Connell-Hinks. Kooler Club and Ollie Cluet from Meanwhile, Mondo Cada, Mary’s Garden and Brickwork Ride played a semi-secret show at the Jericho Back In Communist Russia. Lizards. Tavern to celebrate promoter Mac’s 1,000th gig at Coming to town this month were hotly-tipped In local music news Dive Dive announced the the venue, while over in the demo pages a young BMG signings The Cooper Temple Claus at the release of their second album, ‘Revenge Of The band called On A Friday followed up their previous Zodiac as well as ska-punk faves King Prawn. Mechanical Dog’, while the future of music at the month’s front cover feature with an enthusiastic Local bands gracing the local venue circuit were Wheatsheaf was seemingly in safe hands with the four-star review, pipped only by a five-star offering Sexy Breakfast (supported by Reuben); Dustball; purchase of the pub by Admiral Taverns that from the legendary Anyways. Caliber: The Four Storeys and Suriki. On the month. Sadly Cowley Road lost Polar Bear Gig highlights for the traditionally quiet month demo pages sleaze-rockers Die Pretty were hailed Records, which meant their was no dedicated included shows at the Tavern from Chelsea Drug for their “seedy and downright dirty fusion of record store on the road until the Truck Store Store and Sun Carriage; To Hell With Burgundy at New York Dolls, Jesus & Mary Chain and Sisters arrived last year. the Oxford Venue and Death By Crimpers Of Mercy,” while at the other end of the pile Coming to town this month were Imogen Heap at supported by Human Torches at The Dolly, as well Trashboy were dismissed as “Apocalyptically the New Theatre and ex-Velvet Underground as about a dozen local shows by blues rockers awful pub rock of the type that made you wish all legend John Cale at the Zodiac, while Nightshift’s Pickitupandkickit. pubs would be closed down.” lead live review was of the mighty Melvins. DEMOSDEMOS Sponsored by Demo of the Month wins a free half day at Silver Street Studios in Reading, courtesy of Trojan Horse Recordings. Visit www.trojanhorserecordings.co.uk

wonder. Better still is Lullaby’, which recalls DEMO OF The Jesus & Mary Chain’s most sleepily pensive moments, mellow with just the THE MONTH merest hint of a darker underbelly, while ‘It’s A Business’ shows off the singer’s powerfully plaintive voice with its air of cynical ASHER DUST melancholy, touching on, in those moments Dressed in garish green and red garb, holding when it momentarily cracks slightly, Ian a rainbow-coloured lollipop while sat in McCulloch’s 40-a-day croon. To their credit front of racks of old-fashioned sweetie jars, The Trophy Cabinet never elect to explode Asher Dust looks like some psychedelic re- in some imagined celestial fireball of guitar imagining of The Childcatcher from Chitty noise, always keeping a tight rein on the Chitty Bang Bang in his publicity shot. The sweetly glowering mood of the songs. Fine, image suits these new recording, by some fine stuff then, but we must insist that from distance Asher’s strongest set of songs in a now on they rename themselves The Toffee musical career stretching back almost two Cabinet. A far more appetising prospect, decades. From ‘Politricks”s thumping we’re sure you’ll agree. bashment with its grating, dirty production pitched up against Asher’s conscious rapping, through the more soulful ‘Monster Love’, FACEOMETER which sounds like the musical equivalent of We haven’t heard from Faceometer, the trying to walk across a strobe-lit dancefloor singing and strumming nom de plume of Will while tripping, to the dark, dense drifting fog Tattersdill, for a while, probably because he of sound that marks out the suitably-titled never seems to settle anywhere for long ‘Wasteland’, with its grimly determined before he’s hitting the road once again like a beats, Asher – wonderfully produced here by proper troubadour. This new five-song demo Baby Gravy’s Zahra Tehrani – magpie picks suggests he might have spent at least some of from dubstep to grime to breakbeat, that time in Spain or eastern Europe, soaking eventually lifting the mood with the lighter- up a bit of local folk culture. ‘The Haunting toned ‘Space In Your Heart’ and the Of El Miedo’ has a bit of Flamenco flair positively funky electro buzz of ‘Dream about it, a frantic, adenoidal rant that Fabulous’. Best of the bunch though is ‘You confirms those old comparisons to that other Can’t Stop Me’, with its inventive use of wordy, not-really-folk songsmith Jeffrey electronics, recalling Ryuichi Sakamoto at Lewis. ‘The Gallop Of The Monkey Horse’, times, Asher showing off a voice that’s meanwhile is infused with a gypsy dance feel, COLDROOMS capable of equalling Seal or Terence Trent a similarly hectic barrel through finger- D’Arby in its rich soulfulness. On his myriad picking polka, verging on Jello Biafra-like previous offerings, Asher has sometimes punk cabaret. ‘The Witches’ Lament’, is far

RECORDING AND REHEARSAL STUDIOS missed a trick on the production front, or more autumnal and emotionally intense, an simply gone too far down some mad almost baroque slice of acoustic pop that FULLY EQUIPPED RECORDING experimental path, but this EP, entitled doesn’t suit Will’s wordy style so well. Such * AND PRODUCTION STUDIO ‘Maverick Trick’, pumps up the former, wordiness hits its peak with the title of reins in the latter just enough and allows ‘Sentiments Expressed By Dr Klaus Diemler, * LARGE LIVE ROOM everything to revolve around that great Mad Scientist’, Upon Seeing His Hideous New voice of his. Creation’, which in itself contains more * 3 FULLY EQUIPPED REHEARSAL ROOMS words than the typical pop verse. It’s a love TEL: 07823770079 or 01865 863044 song from said mad scientist to his monster as a mob of pitchfork-wielding villagers THE TROPHY gathers at the castle gates. Not something your average Little Mix song tends to deal CABINET with. More’s the pity. Like they have in soaps, shouldn’t there be a rule that you can’t have two local bands with similar names? When we first opened this up MIND THE WHITE we got all confused and a bit excited, thinking it was a new offering from Trophy LINES Wife. Not a good start. Any disappointment Last month’s Nightshift feature on The is short lived, however, as Abingdon’s The Cellar Family made mention of how few Trophy Cabinet reveal themselves to be a supposed punk bands seem to have anything band of no little class and gently understated other than a passing acquaintance with the grandeur. Opener ‘Cutting Tree’ is a loping, idea of punk. Here’s a case in point. Mind almost folksy indie jangle, pitched The White Lines might be young and wild somewhere between The Go-Betweens and and angry but instead of sounding like they’re Lloyd Cole in its wilted, wide-eyed sense of about to tear the front door off their nearest Barclays bank, while simultaneously destroy Spiderman using some devious shitting down Simon Cowell’s severed neck, mathematical trickery. Or maybe teaching merely give you the impression they didn’t 3D Design in a shiny new academy school. get quite what they’d hoped for for Anything, really, than reading his Year 10 Christmas. Initially they seem to adhere to creative writing essays over a handful of The Adverts’ one-chord-wonders manifesto, preset beats and generic electro squiggles that all rudimentary fuzz, determinedly rumbling the aforementioned Berlin Blondes might bass and shouting, but while the fuzzing and have cast aside for being a bit dated back in rumbling is passable, the shouting is too 1980. While Asher Dust above is mixing and sullen to pass muster. Come on boys, where’s matching – or even deliberately mismatching the sneering and snarling? Where’s the rage? – styles with soulful ease, Dan here – or Gusto levels are set to medium when should we call him Mr Octagon like his mum switching to maximum might have carried probably has to – is stuck in a rut so deep and them at least partway through: ‘Romance & so dull, the sun no longer penetrates and he’s Comedy’ and ‘Just Because It’s Over’ are grown a film of moss on his head. “On days passably punky, but ‘Blacklist’ features a like these the sun don’t shine / Guess I’m genuinely godawful gravelly drone of a voice never gonna make her mine,” he mutter and sounds what we imagine a Hale & Pace darkly, and while we feel for the poor lad in skit on Devo might have sounded like. his unrequited love trip, we’re a tad busy ‘Ghosts’ features probably the band’s calling Jay-Z to let him know his career is strongest tune but feels like a clumsy exercise safe for now to extend any genuine in home counties angst, a post-rugby match sympathy. Still, Dan Octagon. Great name. bray-along that ends up on the verge of Wonder if he could get a part in Spongebob tears, and by the time they hit ‘Let’s Go Squarepants, maybe as a piece of depressed Home’, the formula sounds tired and we too coral or something. feel like heading back home to bed. GROVER THE DEMO One day, hopefully before the sun explodes and turns planet earth into a cinder, someone DUMPER will take Young People aside and gently mention that perhaps it’s time to stop believing Green Day and the vast legion of SKY BY BULL generic, whiny dronebot overpriced t-shirt Sky By Bull describe themselves as vendors that came after them, were in any “instrumental / concept”, which might seem way, shape or form, a progressive step for profound but actually makes no sense. What that wee beast we call punk rock. Not that sort of concept? Perhaps a clue can emerge we particularly dislike Green Day. On the from the music? Ah yes, `Your World’, the contrary, they knocked out the odd corker or opening track. The concept here is to five, but, y’know, Blink 182, Good explore what might happen if an orphaned Charlotte, 30 Seconds to Mars… shall we go snare drum were to be trapped inside an old on? And bleedin’ on? Like this lot do? biscuit tin for all eternity with only a Pretending they’re from Orange County moody jazz bass line for company, the pair when really they’re from Chipping Norton circling round each other with no sense of and probably live next door to Jeremy where they’ve come from or where they’re Clarkson and… hmm, hang on, that’s a going, until five minutes later they simply distinct possibility. In which case they give up. It’s a fascinating musical THE COURTYARD STUDIO deserve our eternal sympathy, not more exploration of the nature of being, an critical brickbats. Then again, if you live existential journey into the unknown. Or PROTOOLS HD2, MTA 980 CONSOLE 32/24/ next door to Jeremy Clarkson and haven’t maybe just a pointless heap of frustrated jazz 24, OTARI MTR90 MK2 24 TRACK TAPE emigrated, pausing only to fire an industrial muso onanism. It doesn’t get much better MACHINE, 2 TRACKING ROOMS, SUPERB flame thrower at his face while his entire from here, though at least the track titles CONTROL ROOM WITH GOOD SELECTION family – conveniently roped to the nearest give us some idea of the evolving concepts: OF MICS & OUTBOARD GEAR, + MIDI tree – look on, then you deserve everything `Not Like It Used To Be’ (damn right, used FACILITIES (INC LOGIC AUDIO, AKAI that’s coming to you. So, anyway, where to be musicians wrote fucking tunes); `What S1000, OLD SKOOL ROLAND ETC.) were we? Oh yes. Grover. From Chipping Happened’ (not much, bordering on fuck all); Norton. Sound like every other fucking `Dreams’ (we can but dream this aural tossage Residential facilities included. whiny Californian pop-punk band you have will one day stop and leave us in peace to www.courtyardrecordingstudio.com ever heard ever. Not sure there’s much else stuff our stupid fat faces with chocolate and PHONE PIPPA FOR DETAILS we can add to that really. Safe to say we’re brandy and dance idiotically round the room ON 01235 845800 not overly keen. to Jessie J or The Saturdays or…) oh God, what are we saying? Not the fucking Saturdays, please. Now do you see what DAN OCTAGON you’ve done to us Sky By Bull? You’ve That’s a bloody great name that. Dan lowered our standards to critical levels. Is Octagon. Sounds like he should be playing that the concept you had in mind? Yeah, well in an obscure early-80s band like you can stick it where the sun don’t shine, The Berlin Blondes. Or possibly plotting to and we don’t mean inside an old biscuit tin.

Send demos for review to: Nightshift, PO Box 312, Kidlington, Oxford, OX5 1ZU. Or email song links to [email protected], clearly marked Demo for review. IMPORTANT: no review without a contact address and phone number. No more than four tracks on a demo. If you can’t handle criticism, please don’t send us your demo.