[email protected] @NightshiftMag NightshiftMag nightshiftmag.co.uk Free every month NIGHTSHIFT Issue 293 December Oxford’s Music Magazine 2019 AA HELLHELL OFOF AA YEARYEAR Inside this issue: Oxford’s tunes of the year! Glass Animals return! So do Undersmile! Introducing Ideal Marriage! plus All your Oxford music news, reviews, previews and gigs for December NIGHTSHIFT: PO Box 312, Kidlington, OX5 1ZU. Phone: 01865 372255 NEWS Nightshift: PO Box 312, Kidlington, OX5 1ZU Phone: 01865 372255 email: [email protected] Online: nightshiftmag.co.uk Parnell, went into hibernation shortly after the EP was released in 2009, releasing a brace of EPs and being one of Nightshift’s Introducing acts the same year. Announcing the digital release, Rebecca told Nightshift: “I guess we’re re-releasing the Greenhorn EP GLASS ANIMALS drummer Joe Seaward has been talking about the photo: Helen Messenger to remind people, possibly band’s return to action last month and his recovery from the horrific UNDERSMILE have reformed. ourselves, that we’re still alive accident that left him with brain injuries and threatened to derail the The local doom-metal favourites and perhaps even to celebrate this. Oxford quartet’s burgeoning career. went on indefinite hiatus in 2016 Hopefully we’ll put together several Glass Animals performed their first gig in almost 18 months on the st1 when singer/guitarist Hel Sterne albums’ worth of accumulated November – a sold-out show at The Bullingdon. began a university course, with material to form a distilled album in “All things considered I’m feeling very well,” Joe told Nightshift as the co-frontwoman Taz Corona-Brown another decade or so. Also, I again band prepared to fly to Australia for a gig. “I can speak and walk now, concentrating on her other band have managed to create a parallel which I couldn’t last summer. We’ve now played our first show since Drore alongside fellow Undersmile backlog of solo material, under the the accident, which was something I was very worried wouldn’t happen bandmates Ollie Corona-Brown guise of Cogwheel, that I’ll start again. It feels nice to have that under my belt. It’s been a pretty crazy and Tom McKibbin. Undersmile’s releasing in Spring or Summer time; the support I’ve had from the band, my family and friends has been second album, ‘Anhedonia’, 2020 in a hopeful bid to eventually amazing but it’s something I’m still working on and getting to grips with; released in 2015, was hailed as catch up with real time and make I don’t know if I’ll ever fully recover from something like that... I’m a a doom masterpiece across the up for lost time. My ultimate aim work in progress.” board. The band reunited briefly is to live in the present, or invent a Joe’s accident happened in July 2018 when he was knocked off his bike in 2018 for a concert to remember time machine. Ideally both. That’s by a lorry in Dublin; all of Glass Animals plans and shows were put on Pier Corona – the renowned gig the album’s title: ‘Time Machine’. hold while he recovered. photographer and Taz’s dad – but Sorted. Whatever it is, it is not “It’s difficult for me to say exactly how it affected the other guys,” now they’re back for good (or evil, intended to be an inadvertent continues Joe; “I know it was a huge shock for them but actually not maybe). No Oxford show has yet metaphor for Brexit.” just them, for everyone we work with. The consequences of my being been announced but the quartet are The EP is available at injured that badly made a big difference to everyone’s lives: our manager due to play at The Dome in London cogwheel.bandcamp.com Amy; the live crew who suddenly didn’t have a functioning band; the on February 29th next year as part record labels: everything changed for those people. We had to cancel of promoters Chaos Theory’s 10th OXFORD HAS A NEW a whole bunch of shows and festivals – but the fans were absolutely anniversary celebrations. RECORD SHOP. Riverman amazing about it. I’m very grateful to all those people. The band went Talking about the reunion Hel told Records opened on Walton Street at into overdrive after the accident; they were amazing. Dave (Bayley – Nightshift: “It’s felt alien not to the beginning of November, selling Glass Animals’ singer and guitarist) dropped everything and flew over to write or play music for so long in mainly second hand vinyl. Andy Dublin and sat next to me in hospital for a week. Ed and Drew then came Undersmile. We’re excited to get Tucker, who has run record stores over and Ed ended up driving us all home in his splitter van – that was together again and see what we can in Henley for the past 10 years, a hilarious journey. That was pretty amazing to to see from the inside: create.” has taken over the site of the old you learn more about people when the chips are down. The accident Taz added: “it felt great playing Threshers off-licence. Talking about definitely brought us all closer together and I feel even more proud top together last year for the the new store he said: “There has be part of this group of people – and I was already immensely proud!” Pieranormal show; we’ve all been been a vinyl revival and it may have Glass Animals returned to action with an intimate hometown show thinking about it for ages and reached a plateau but business has at The Bully, one which sold out in a matter of minutes when it was now feels like the right time to do been quite steady over the past two announced, and the show was a triumph in every respect. Undersmile again.” or three years and it is not going “It was a lot of fun!” says Joe; “the crowd were amazing; someone flew to disappear,” adding “Truck does over from Chicago apparently. Another person I met afterwards came a great job but I’m sure a city the from the Isle of Man – it was her first show ever. They all brought so size of Oxford can support another much energy. There are always nerves before a show – I think that’s record store. I’m hoping record healthy – but maybe more than usual that night. And three new songs collectors and all music fans make too! this place a destination; if they want “Really it just feels great; being back on the road and sharing music with to find it they will.” fans is what it’s all about. And it’s great to be going back to Australia; I mean, apart from anything else, a few days of midsummer in midwinter MUZOAKADEMY has opened is absolutely fine with me. It’s just nice after such a long time to be back a new shop in Cowley in order to doing what we love. 2020 is already looking like an exciting year if all COGWHEEL DOGS re-release raise funds for its ongoing music goes to plan; we’ve been in the kitchen cooking up something... time will their ‘Greenhorn’ EP this month, to education programme. The Witney- reveal all.” celebrate the tenth anniversary of its based charity, run by the 7Cs Glass Animals released their first new material in three years on the original release. Foundation, offers music teaching 13th November, a single, ‘Tokyo Drifting’, with Florida rap star Denzel The “experimental folk-punk” courses with particular emphasis on Curry. The band have also been confirmed for next year’s All Points East band, formed by singer-guitarist young people, people with Festival in Victoria Park on Saturday 23rd May alongside Tame Impala Rebecca Mosley and cellist Tom continued over... and Caribou. space for young women aged 14- local producer and musician Umair 21 to make music together, learn Chaudhry, release ‘Vigilance’ new skills and express themselves. on Blindsight Records on the 9th Among the regular sessions run by December. The album – Abandon’s YWMP are Team Drum, a drum second – features nine tracks, NEWS including recent single ‘Fear of the disabilities and those who couldn’t contributed a signed drum skin troupe that has played at Common otherwise afford music lessons. and signed photos taken by Sam People and Cowley Road Carnival, Future’, inspired by Red House Last year the charity reinvested Neill and Kit Monteith. Everything and the annual Wo-man-ity Painters, Slowdive, Jesu and Swans. £35,000 to fund projects for young, Everything have also donated a festival, which takes place each Get yours at blindsightrecords. underprivileged, vulnerable, , signed pic taken by Monteith, while year to coincide with International bandcamp.com. disabled and elderly people and there are also photos of David Women’s Day. YWMP will be families. It is currently raising Bowie from the Duffy Archive; hosting a calendar launch event at THE AUGUST LIST are the funds to take over and redevelop artist proofs of photos of Björk Truck Store on Cowley Road on first Oxford act to be announced a new home in Witney. The shop, by Jill Furmanovky and a photo Thursday 28th November, which for Are You Listening? festival named MusoAkademy, opens in of Kurt Cobain taken by Charles will allow anyone interested in in Reading next year. The annual Templars Square in Cowley on the Peterson. Other items up for grabs joining or helping the project to one-day event, hosted by Heavy 30th November, selling musical include full-size posts from classic learn more about it.