Sundays…. The day of rest… A day for the British ladies to sit back with a slim glass of Pimms topped to the brim with chunks of bloated fruits while the men play a well earned game of Cricket.. Or for two of us at keep it fast, a day to invent a Noise Band!

Our mission is to combined all the components of a budget Noise band recording session and make a set of tracks in a afternoon!

The equipment:

~ Vantage (CHEAP) guitar, with 4 functioning out of tune strings
~ Yamaha 4 pad electric drums brought 5 years ago with a chunk of student loan (a worthy buy!)
~ Mono Dictaphone for that rich quality
~ 2 (yes 2) stylophones!
~ 2 laptops, just for the fine tuning heh heh

So, we sat to think “how does Lightning Bolt come up with complex, distorted whip-lash tracks… Do they just say 1,2,3 and start bashing? Naaaah there is more thought put into it”

So with that thought in mind we pressed the record button and bashed away! 2 hours passed as we both moved from instrument to shouting and managed to have about 12 tracks!!! ranging from 20 seconds to 5 minutes… Some sounding bad.. Some not even listenable!

Now it was just a matter of mashing the tracks into some simple editing software and between us we edited 3 ready for you to listen! Plus we may of added a couple of effects…. Ok a lot!

So below is our band created in a Sunday afternoon - Hyperdrive Lizard - Enjoy!

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Band - The Night Marchers, duhh!
Support - The Kits
Venue - 100 Club
Beer - ouch.
Verdict - Whhhoooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

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Ahh Speedo, is there nothing he can’t do? The man’s a tour-de-force of pure rock, there’s no denying that. His CV boasts the very cream of rock music, from his time in the mathy pioneers Drive Like Jehu, rock ‘n’ rollers Rocket From The Crypt, surf punks the Sultans and the barbed frenzy of Hot Snakes. Now he returns with The Night Marchers and boy are they something.

Before the main event, there’s the supports to get through. I’d arrived late at the venue, which I wasn’t to bothered about. However, what did tick me off was the only support band of the night decided they’d be late as well - thanks. Once The Kits finally started, I began to wish they hadn’t even bothered. I’d have much preferred to listen to the DJ spinning dad-era rock ‘n’ roll all night. Imagine the most un-offensive, watered down garage rock imaginable. Got that? Right, now add a hideously high bass tone and drown out all the guitars so only the piss-weak solos can be half heard, and add in vocals that sound like they’re being shouted at you in another room through a wasps nest. Yeah, I pretty much thought it sucked. Big time. Even Speedo seemed to agree with me: he left during the second track.

After some more ‘best of the 60’s volume 2‘ and several more pints of wallet-raping beer, The Night Marchers blasted their way on stage. Tommy Kitsos’s driving bass heralded the first song of the night in the form of the hip-shaking rock ‘n’ roll of ‘Bad Bloods.’ Just hearing Speedo’s “HUH!” as the song picked up was music to my ears. It’s a brilliant opening tune, with a terrific driving chorus and melody. Superb. From this outset, I already knew tonight was going to be a memorable musical treat. No disrespect to the other band members, but Speedo has the kind of stage presence that leaves you mesmorised. You’re drawn to his every word, laughing at his sarcastic and scathing humour, loving the quiff…if you were to look up the words ‘rock n’ roll’ in the dictionary, they’d be a picture of him giving you the thumbs up.

Faster than Speedy Gonzalez on Redbull, they launch into a raucous rendition of the first track from ‘See You In Magic’; the ever pleasing and chugging riffage of ‘Closed For Inventory.’ The Night Marchers might just well be the perfect band of Speedo’s that you can enjoy without being battered to death in a windmill of flailing limbs. Those of the glasses wearing nature like myself, had nothing to fear in terms of losing their precious eyes to a misplaced fist then to several misplaced feet as their only source of seeing power is ground into a fine powder. Despite this, everyone and I mean everyone was having the time of his or her lives. ‘In Dead Sleep’ ploughed it’s noisy furrow through everyone’s ears; it’s dark, menacing tones enveloping the 100 Club, whilst the joyous pop-rock gem of ‘I Wanna Deadbeat You’ brought on the first biggest sing-along of the evening (and perhaps my closest chance to hearing what a Rocket From The Crypt track would sound like live.)

The jaunty strut of ‘Who’s Lady R U?’ confirmed just how brilliant The Night Marchers are live. The gloriously riff-heavy bass work that slides into the hook-laden chorus is a joy to hear, as is a rousing rendition of the summery guitar-driven pop of ‘Jump In The Fire.’ At one point, Gar Wood started using his guitar as a ‘rifle’ to shoot members of the audience, wearing a smile that was so big it looked as if his head was about to fall off.

The highlight of the set though was the ridiculously brilliant 1-2 punch of ‘Scene Report‘ and ‘Fisting The Fanbase‘ two tracks that did not feature on ‘See You In Magic’ but should have. ‘Scene Report‘ throws itself around like as Tasmanian devil on fire; the energetic guitar work being put through its paces with real gusto - terrific slice of punk rock. Unfortunately my brain was knackered by beer and my only memory of the last track, was that it rocked. HARD. Possibly one of the best songs I’ve heard this year, seriously. With no encore (and rightly so, the only way they were going to top ‘Fisting The Fanbase’ was by playing it again, possibly faster) The Night Marchers left the stage like the sweaty gods they are.

My only regret is not seeing them on the other 2 London dates before, but then I’d have less money than Northern Rock and be visiting this website everyday. Goodbye.

Sounds

If you fancy hearing what The Night Marchers sound like, click below to listen to ‘Closed For Inventory.’

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Links

The Night Marchers
Vagrant Records

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Words - Me
Pictures - Marc Jeeves

Band: Down I Go
Album: Tyrant
Label: Undergroove
Release: Now!
Sounds Like: George W. Bush sneaking into the White House, Ceaucscu demolishing buildings, Pol Pot filling mass graves, Idi Amin dismembering his wife, Ivan the Terrible killing indescriminately.

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What’s bugging me at the moment is the fact that this album and this band will no doubt be overlooked, which is a crying shame. Since their inception, the London-based 4 piece known as Down I Go have been on a wild ride, from self-releasing a concept album about Dinosaurs; to their first proper release ‘This is Disastercore’ (also, a concept record about 13 of the most horrific accidents in the world.) They then self-released the mini CD-EP ‘This is Robotcore’ – 5 minutes of frantic, juddering noise-rock, before collecting themselves for their next album, 2008’s ‘Tyrant.’

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In many respects, ‘Tyrant’ is the iceberg that will sink any other band’s quest to make my ‘top album spot’ at the end of the year; simple as that. What we have here is 12 tightly packed bottles of potent rage, ready and waiting to explode with the force of several thousand history books fitted with several tons of gelignite. ‘Tomas de Torquemada’ (the first Inquisitor General of Spain) already raises the bar way into the stratosphere with its volcanic energy. The meandering riffs and sporadic beats bring to mind the work of Botch, but even more relentless and guttural, whilst the string section adds a new dynamic to their sound, strengthening the melodic parts (the very few that exist!) like the wheels on a torture rack.

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Grain-quaffing, land confiscating, murdering, Russian nutjob ‘Joseph Stalin’ is next. Sounding more like a distorted space invader theme, this track morphs into one dangerous blast of metal, complete with the wondrous chant of “GLORY TO STALIN THE GREAT!” which I find myself shouting at passers-by nowadays. No wonder people cross the street. Possibly one of the slowest, but sludgiest sounding tracks, ‘Stalin’ pulverises the listener with its starving hands, drowning the listener in feedback like rivers of blood.

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Not even the Romanian leader, Nicolas Ceaucesu is safe; and quite rightly so, the bread-stealing, house-demolishing shithead. On ‘Ceasucesu’, drummer Ben Standage adds his melodic, but gravely tone to the vocal proceedings, which compliment vocalist Pete Fraser’s staccato range. Possibly the most catchy song about bread-shortages ever and some lovely gnarly feedback courtesy of guitarist Alan Booth.

The finest moment however, appears in the form of ‘Saparmurat Niyazov’, and ode to the leader of Turkmenistan; a man who had an ice palace constructed near the capital, banned dogs/beards/ballet and had a huge gold rotating statue of himself created that always faces the sun. Bonkers? Just a bit. A well known fan favourite, it truly shows Down I Go’s potential as one of the best heavy rock/metal bands the UK has ever produced. The steady, rumbling build up that eventually erupts in the gang-chant climax of “TURKMENBASHI! FATHER OF THE TURKMEN!” is unsinkable.

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The sinister tones of Marek Bereza’s bass, herald the start of ‘King Leopold II,’ possibly one of the darkest, and sinister sounding tracks on ‘Tyrant.’ Pete and Ben’s vocals overlap to create a sinister droning monotone, backed by a throat-burning roar. In addition, the harmonies involved in the lyrics, ‘brutal torture, not your fault’ seem somewhat unsettling.
Those looking for more riffs than they can handle, would do well to listen to ‘Henry VIII’ (he was a shit) at full blast. It’s a track that lurches around just like the wife hording, excommunicating, arm-flailing, fat bastard. The use of trumpets on the breakdown is a nice touch, adding even more body to the track as the lyrics ‘birth burdens your rule!’ are shouted like a drunken football chant, despite them actually referring to Henry’s failure to acquire a suitable male heir.

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‘Idi Amin’ sees Down I Go rattle through 2 odd minutes of ‘difference of opinion’ style wordplay, by celebrating Amin as a glorious president, before slamming him for his irrational, brutal, racial and diabolical behaviour, backed up by some extremely techincal, glitch-heavy metal and some lovely ‘ooooaaahhh‘ backing vocals. Possibly the greatest bit about this track is the jam-session style jazz outro, that detracts from the harsh tones of the song in such a way, yet still feels part of the overall concept. Marvellous.

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The closing track ‘Ivan The Terrible‘ uses the subtle but gorgeous string section that has backed most of this album to full effect in the closing 2 minutes. It’s quite an unexpected change, as the crushing heaviness of Down I Go’s sound is suddenly replaced with the soft tones of the violin, viola and cello; only to return at a calmer, but stronger pace, culminating in one of the best closing tracks I’ve ever heard.

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Despite it’s modest running length of just over 30 minutes, Down I Go take you on a long and breathless ride. ‘Tyrant’ is certainly their most accomplished work to date and sets an almost impossible standard for the next wave of British metal and hardcore bands to topple. Lyrically, it’s a crash course in tyranny condensed into 12 rabid slabs of ferocious energy and erratically brutal musicianship. Oh yeah, just so you know - album of the fucking year.

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Sounds

Click here to listen to ‘Saparmurat Niyazov‘ from ‘Tyrant.’ Oh yeah, learn to ice skate!

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Links

Down I Go
Myspace I Go
Remember This Day Forever
Undergroove Records

Words - Ross Macdonald

At the end of March I received the amazing Rocket From The Crypt CD/DVD for my birthday. Of course being a true fan I played the CD at full volume and the watched the DVD so much it is now forever burnt into my eye sockets…. However there is one stupid thing I never did and that was to read the small book that comes with it.

This may be old news for some of you, but John Reis talks about each track and his thoughts about playing them live on that fateful Halloween gig in 2005. Below are my favourite ones: enjoy!

I Put An Intro On You:

“Talk about nervous energy. I could barely get a word out.  Trying to overcome the fear of ruining the moment that would be forever caught on digital tape. There’s a lesson to be learnt kids. If you wanna succeed, don’t try. This whole intro was long, boring and went nowhere. Next time we’ll do something better.”

Jumper K. Balls: 

“OK, here’s where I get clocked real good by a plastic gun. Half way through the song-some butt wipe hurls a toy firearm and tags me in the face. You can even hear it over the blaring wall o’ stacks. I am sure many of you have wanted to do this in the past. It ended up fracturing my labia majora and other small bones in my face. I had to wear a face plate for 3 weeks after the show. But I soldiered on. You know why? Cuz it was in the contract.”

Middle / Born in 69:

“Our best 1-2 punch. Speedo can really sing! Apollo 9 says “I know”. Priceless. Dirty gets up and relives years of backache and shin splints.”

On A Rope:

“The song that will forever be our piss stain on the footnotes of underground 90’s rock lore. Not a bad legacy. I still get checks for $13.92 ever year. In some parts of the world I can buy an ox and fuck it for that price. Speaking of buying things….. I start buying time. I was thirsty and miserable up there. Have I made that clear yet?”

Come See, Come Saw:

“I won 400 clams on a pony at Del Mar Race track with this but but I lost a million brain cells shouting this song at the top of my lungs.”

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Want to read more of these? Well then you will just have to buy the live album set! (Click here to purchase ‘R.I.P.’ from Amazon.)

On Saturday I made the always fun trip to London and attended RoTa at Notting Hill Arts Centre. Despite it being a free gig, I still had to pay the £13.55 for the pleasure of visiting the big smoke, but still, it’s a day out and seems better than sitting on the Internet all day arguing about whether Peep Show has turned shit (it hasn’t) and trying to do Doom 2 speedruns (almost impossible.)

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The first band, An Emergency wasted no time in doing exactly what they said they were going to do at the beginning of their set: “play fast and loud.” An Emergency are a three piece, consisting of 2 guitarists and a drummer who proceeded to thrash out 30 odd minutes of danceable punk rock, interspersed with light comic banter in the form of a short debate about the merits of Marathon bars changing their name to Snickers. They seemed even more jagged and angular than when I last saw them; like 3 hedgehogs filled with starch wearing jumpers made of razor blades. Those looking for the missing link between Dischord’s Q and not U and San Diego’s Hot Snakes would do well to listen to An Emergency. Energetic, packed with boundless enthusiasm and quality punk rock that you don’t see much of nowadays.

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After that spirited performance, Jonquil took to the stage, a band I knew very little about. In comparison to the frantic mess of exuberance I’d just witnessed, this collection of musicians were a concise arrangement of different sounds and styles that complimented each other beautifully. At times their sound ranged from drunken sea shanties (see ‘Lions‘, a jaunty 2 minute romp) to wonderful melodic, layered pop music and of course, gang vocal chants which I love like a fat man loves cake.

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With the afternoon nearly over and much gassy,watered-down beer consumed, This Town Needs Guns took to the stage. It’s easy to see why this oxford quartet is so highly regarded in indie circles. Their tight, tappy emo rock falls into the similar vein as Kinsella types, American Football and Owls. With this type of guitar rock making a considerable dent in the music scene (see Pennines, Tubelord for further examples) This Town Needs Guns are currently ahead of the pack. Despite their dubiously long song titles (‘Want To Come Back To My Room And Listen To Some Belle & Sebastian?’ which prompted the light-hearted heckle of “you emo bastards!” much to the amusement of everyone, including the band.) they were an impressive and elaborate set of musicians, even though I felt both guitarists were trying to play different songs at varying speeds at one point. They ended with a blistering rendition of ’26 Is Dancier Than 4’ a fine performance and a solid end to a great afternoon of music.

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Links

An Emergency
Jonquil
This Town Needs Guns
Big Scary Monsters
Try Harder Records
Faux Disc

She & Him are Portland singer-songwriter M.Ward and actress Zooey Deschanel (her from The Hitch Hikers Guide To The Galaxy, Elf, Almost Famous and many others.) What intrigues me about this project is the fact that I’d not normally be sucked in to listening to such gorgeous sounding indie rock this easily, but after seeing a video of their performance on some American late night talk show, (I forget what it was called, and youtube is being about as helpful as a paper frying pan) I was hooked.

There’s no denying that Miss Deschanel does indeed have a beautiful voice. Compared to the warblings I’ve heard from Scarlett Johansson (yet another movie star attempting to make the transition between actor and recording artist) She & Him have nothing to worry about as regards the superior act - they win hands down. At times, Zooey sounds like she’s auditioning for Grease (no, come back!) - this may well be considered a criticism; far from it - her transition from the 60’s surf/rock ‘n roll swing of both ‘I Was Made For You‘ and ‘Change is Hard’ through to the 90’s indie of ‘This Is Not A Test’ and the velvet tones of ‘Sentimental Heart’ show off her impressive range and wonderful harmonies. Of course, M.Ward should also receive praise for his delicate and intricate composition, especially his impressive guitar work on ‘Why Do Let Me Stay Here?‘ which despite it’s overtly indie tones, reminds me of The Beach Boys and literally drips with a thick summer sheen.

She & Him’s debut album entitled ‘Volume 1′ will be released in the UK on the 14th July via Merge records. For those in America, the duo (featuring a backing band composed of the cream of the indie-rock scene; i.e. I don’t know, so check their Myspace) will be touring from the 23rd of July to the 10th of August.

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Sounds

To listen to ‘Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?‘ from ‘Volume 1′ click below:

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Links

She & Him Official Site
She & Him Myspace
Label Site
M.Ward Myspace