Monthly Archives: December 2011

In 1996 Ocean Colour Scene, the four-piece band from Birmingham, would release “Moseley Shoals” one of British rock’s greatest records.  In February The Riverboat Song exploded across the airways courtesy of Chris Evans, host to the biggest programme in the UK, the Radio One Breakfast Show.  The impact was immense.  The opening track on Moseley Shoals originated from one of Steve Cradock’s conquering riffs and was an apt introduction to one of THE albums of that year.

Moseley Shoals pays homage to the album art form.  Connected.  Thematic. Visionary.  The music was explosive.  Ballads sit beside rockers.  A blended marriage; something old, something new, sometimes borrowed, the truth of the Blues.  The title: a tribute to the Muscle Shoals Sound Studio, 3614 Jackson Highway. The front cover: four faces looking out from under the Victorian monument shot in Jesphson Gardens, Leamington Spa.

Sonic Youth could be considered as one of the most influential bands to have emerged from the alt rock Seattle scene.
Hits Are For Squares is collection of songs from Sonic Youth’s career curated by a diverse group of artists, actors, directors and musicians whose own progressive and unconventional style is akin to the freestyle expression of Sonic Youth’s music.

The artisans handpicked by Sonic Youth include Catherine Keener, Beck, Mike D, Radiohead, Portia De Rossi, Diablo Cody, Allison Anders, Dave Eggers and Mike Watt, Eddie Vedder, Michelle Williams, Flea, Gus Van Sant, David Cross, Chloe Sevigny, and The Flaming Lips.

The album also includes track “Slow Revolution” written and recorded for the original release.  Hits Are For Squares includes a wide range of songs spanning the majority of Sonic Youth’s recorded works showing the diverse impact and influence they continue to have on the arts community.

Battle For Seattle is a collection of 10 songs recorded by Nirvana covered by the legendary Little Roy in a reggae style. A man with the ‘right credentials’ Little Roy cut his first single at the legendary Studio One in 1965 and grew up in Kingston surrounded by many of Jamaican music’s biggest hitters – Prince Buster, Lee Perry, Bunny Wailer & Peter Tosh.

Later a growing interest in the emerging rasta religion saw him release some early roots classics such as ‘Prophesy’, ‘Christopher Columbus’, and ‘Tribal War’ and most recently he has worked with Adrian Sherwood releasing an album on On-U Sound Records.

It’s obvious from the appearance that Lindi Ortega, with her ruby red lip and Mexican/Irish background, is the kind of girl that would stand out in a crowd, but she prefers to be standing in front of one. This Canadian based charismatic alt-country artist has drawn comparisons to the greats, from Emmy Lou Harris, Jonny Cash to even Devendra Banhart with her arresting distinctive vocals.

She’s no stranger to the stage, having toured with Keane, Kevin Costner’s band and most recently Brandon Flowers, where she sang lead vocals. Be sure to keep an ear out for her sweet vibrato and an eye out for her token Little Red Boots.

‘Ambitious space-rock-with-soul’ – NME

Indie luminaries Born Blonde are a West London outfit tipped for great thing for 2012. Already NME endorsed with a Radar piece and The Guardian Band Of The Day, this a band with much promise. Their hypnotic guitars and keys intertwine create a lush, widescreen palette of swooning psychedelia, which has won critics over at such an early stage.

With reference points from The Doors to Cluster to the Verve, this is a band that is not interested in the mundane. Its heady, spellbinding stuff that is ambitious in scope and indicates the emergence of perhaps the next great modern British rock n roll band.