Archive for June, 2009

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Review and Interview with Flatline by Nikki Dutton.

Tuesday, June 30th, 2009

Flatline

Tommy Jones - Vocals

John Gilmartin - Guitars and vocals

Joe Hearnshaw - Guitars and vocals

Marc Wallis - Drums and vocals

Tom George - Bass and vocals

Review at Corporation, Sheffield 06/06/09

Standing at the back of the room, pint in hand and wellies on feet due to a dash from a day in the park, I stood in the black-clad crowd of Corporation and anticipated the appearance of Flatline. As their first song opened with a big riff intro, I was mesmerised. These guys had stage presence. Inching my way forward into the crowd, I stood amongst the fans mouthing the words to the grungy yet catchy songs. The eye is first drawn to the lead singer who introduces himself as Tom Jones (not the welsh one) but with the same level of charisma. This guy owns the stage, having a penchant for lifting his top and scanning the crowd with his black eyes. His vocals are backed up by grungy riffs and a powerful beat. Within minutes, the songs drew the crowd into the middle of the dance floor. The best song of the night was the closing song No hero. It was a fast paced, energetic song which led guitarist John to a serious bout of hair whipping, which fitted the song perfectly. I can see the hair whipping becoming a common occurrence with this song as the infectious sound leaves no room for slouching against the walls. I can honestly say that there wasn’t a weak song in the set, the songs were different from each other, some focused on high energy guitar riffs and others were dominated by powerful vocals and drums. The whole effect was enchanting and I left the gig with a huge smile on my face. There is something incredibly likeable about Flatline’s music. The music is an eclectic mix of grunge and metal with underlying funk beats and soulful vocals and it just works. It was well worth a dash from the park – even if I did have to wear my wellies!

Interview with Flatline

Welcome to the world of Flatline – a 5-piece band from Sheffield who combine the sounds of rock, funk and grunge. Flatline formed four years ago comprising of original band members, Tom George, John Gilmartin and Marc Wallis. Joe Hearnshaw joined the ranks a year ago and the most recent member of the flatline family is Tommy Jones who signed up a month ago.

But considering flatline only formed their final lineup last month, the boys mean business. They burst onto the stage with the confidence of a band which knows they are playing at their best.

Flatline were kind enough to give me an interview the week after their performance headlining at Sheffield’s Corporation and were charming interviewees despite having to talk to me on an empty stomach. After a brief chat including stories involving tornados, a broken dictaphone (mine) and their not-so rock and roll lifestyle, we finally settled down to the interview. After introducing themselves and disclosing their ages and relationships, and bantering like old friends, I was surprised to discover that Flatline have only been in their previous incarnation for a month.

N: Flatline – you’ve only been together in this line up for just over a month. How do you all know each other?

TG: John and I went to school together and myself, John and Mark are original members of flatline. Joe joined us about a year ago and Mark knew Tommy from work. Funny story about how me and Joe know each other actually …..

JH: Yeah, Tom’s getting married to my ex girlfriend but it’s all very amicable – so flatline have loads of ties binding us together.

JG: Yeah, we’re just one big happy family. Although I didn’t used to like Tom at school – hard to believe now!

N: Yeah, you all seem to get on really well, how do you fit together as a band?

M: Really well, we’ve changed our line up a few times because we wanted everyone to have the right kind of energy for the band. When Tommy joined he slotted right in. He’s completely different to our previous vocalist and has the right energy.

TJ: Aw, thanks guys (gives all the boys a mushy smile)

M: Haha we don’t love you in that way….

JH: But seriously when we heard Tommy sing we thought he’d be a really good addition to the band.

TJ: Yeah, I was really happy to join. I was more of a singer song writer but my style fitted into the band really well.

N: And what about your penchant for lifting up your top during the gig?

TJ: Someone told me about that! I didn’t even realise I was doing that, I was caught up in the moment – it’s not the same as John’s hair whipping!

JG: Yeah, when I’m about to whip my hair I warn all of the guys to stand clear as I like to take up most of the stage.

TG: And he likes to take his top off too!

JH: I love it when John does that – it means I can take my top of too and I’m not the only topless one on stage!

N: Ahem, enough about your topless antics for one night …. What influences your music?

M: We all have completely different tastes in music! I tend to like more singer songwriter stuff….

TJ: Yeah me too

JH: I like more grungy music…

TG: We try to compromise on what influences we bring to Flatline

M: That’s why the music isn’t just one style or genre – it’s a mixture of all of our influences.

TJ: We’d really like to do an epic song one day. Make it about 10 minutes long and have a bit of each of our styles in there!

N: So how would you sum up your music in three words?

TJ: Hmmmm

JG: How about: Just listen to it?

TG: That’s four words!

JH: Probably amazing grunge and funk.

JG: Dirty, sleazy pleasy…

JH: Or classic riffs and grungy…

N: And how do you come up with the songs? Is it more one person or a mix of everyone’s input?

M: Tom’s really good at coming up with the bones of the song…

JH: And John and I come up with the guitar riffs together

JG: Well…….

JH: Sorry… I come up with them all haha!

TG: And Mark brings it all together. (To Mark) You’re actually really good at that!

M: Ta very much! We just said to Tommy feel free to put your own mark on all of the song and he did – and he brought his own stuff into the band as well.

N: Well it all comes together really well, enjoyed the gig on Sat, how do you feel it went?

JG: We thought it went really well, we really enjoyed ourselves.

TJ: It was my first proper gig with the band so I was a bit nervous.

JH: We all were as it was quite scary being the headlining act at Corporation as it’s a really big music venue in Sheffield.

N: Do you have pre or after gig rituals?

(Everyone looks blank.)

N: You know …. Like a chant or handshake or something before you go on stage?

TJ: Erm not really … although we do like to have a big sweaty hug after the show……

And on that note I leave Flatline to tuck into their ham and eggs, mixed grill and curry respectively. I even manage to steal a bit of Joe’s popadom before I leave …….

Posted in Nikki Dutton, Rock | No Comments »

BLUR, live at the M.E.N arena

Tuesday, June 30th, 2009

Blur; pretty big band, and now thanks to the process of history they return as an even bigger band, playing venues they were just out of reach of playing back in their hey day. There has been an increasingly popular trend this generation for large scale reunions, Blur however manage to buck the idea of this simply being a Britpop nostalgia trip. Thanks to the return of guitar based pop music and a lack of anything musically significant since the mid-90’s Blur feel surprisingly refreshing and almost relevant: Quite a feat for a band veering into ‘mid-life’.
Opening the evening are NME lovechild Florence and the Machine (this is grammatically correct as the only constant member is Florence) and the Klaxons, who are not too far off their long awaited 2nd album. Florence took advantage of being first on the bill and decorated the stage with various floral arrangements, giving the stage the air of a pagan garden or something similarly ritualistic. Despite my admitted scepticism about her, I was pleasantly surprised by her near possessed dancing, bell jingling, harp plucking and general vocal warbling. It was an act, but for about two fantastic songs there was a bizarre ethereal air cast over the few had actually turned up to see the supports. It was a shame therefore that she broke her own spell with the awkwardly placed performance of first single ‘kiss with a fist.’ From then on it felt like noticing the stage hands interrupting an otherwise good play. It was a shame, it was good but you could see through it.
The Klaxons came on dressed in what a friend described as ‘camp mad max gear;’ a sort of shiny leather futuristic get up. They sped through their set as they gathered people wanted to see blur, and I think I will follow their lead in passing over what was otherwise a fairly average set from the band.
Blur came on with what could almost be described as a hero’s welcome. Aside from Damon Albarn’s hint of a pop belly and the odd receding hairline the band look, and more importantly sound, just as they did. They literally ploughed through nearly every hit and album track you would’ve wanted them too. It was nearly two hours of anthemic bliss without a hint of nostalgia. Blur are the youngest band to have formed and it literally felt like it had been long enough since they broke up to be a major event, but not quite long enough to feel simply like a reunion. It was a comeback. You weren’t reminiscing; these were still songs of importance. Obviously the gig attracted people from two generations; former teeny pop mothers stood side by side with current teeny pop daughters, but it felt very united. There was no ‘Generation Gap’. Mind you, I did experience the quickest mosh pit of my life during the 1st encore (yes, they did two). During the initial ‘woo-hoo’ of their classic track ‘Song 2’ the whole crowd jumped in unison and, perhaps accidentally, into each other. For about 10 seconds a rather weak pit formed which seemed part energetic fizzle, part polite scrabble and resulted in everyone backing away from each other very quickly. All was done in fun though and the night was full of other great surprises: The band performing their earliest singles (which they rarely do thanks to the critical bomb that was their first album), Phil Daniels joining them for ‘Parklife’ (which incidentally was the loudest crowd chorus sing-along I have ever heard), ‘Tender’ with the gospel backing choir, ending on ‘The Universal’… This could be seen simply as a large scale warm up for the Hyde park gigs coming up in the next few days, but if that’s so it was certainly the best warm up I have ever been privy to witness.

written by

James Reith

Posted in Pop, Rock | 2 Comments »

Wave Machines

Monday, June 29th, 2009

Wave Machines
Neapolitan Records

Releasing their critically acclaimed debut album this month ‘Wave if your really there’, Wave Machines are the latest four piece group ready to cause a storm on the music scene. Placed firmly in the ‘alternative’ category of music style, wave machines are best described as electro/arty Indie pop with many critics likening them to the current resurgence of 80’s styling’s artists such as La Roux and Hot Chip.
‘Wave if your really there’ is an excellent debut album with great musical range that suggests promising future material from these Merseyside guys. A few standout singles from the album include the album title single ‘wave if your really there’ a brilliant slow track with Bowie-esque vocals from singer Tim Bruzon, great ballad ‘punk spirit’ and the perfect single ‘I Go I Go I Go’. This is a club tune made specifically to get you dancing and watching the recently released video for ‘I Go I Go I Go’ gives insight into the slightly strange minds of these musical scenesters; avant-garde black white and neon hand-dancing-confused? It must be watched and will be appreciated.
You can catch Wave Machines playing events small and large all over the country this year including festivals like the great Glastonbury (dirty boots stage) and the slightly under appreciated but never dull Bestival, or simply at bars and venues like the London Hoxton bar and Grill in September. Check out their myspace page for full listings and to hear songs from their esteemed debut album.

Written by

Hannah Johnson

Posted in Electro, Hannah Johnson, Indie, Pop | 2 Comments »

RayGun@ 93FeetEast

Sunday, June 28th, 2009

Wow. If this show is anything to go by, call the Chinese because this may just be Year of the RayGun. If you haven’t heard of them yet, surely it won’t be long until you do. The four boys from London have energy, passion and it seems the right amount of charisma (and tight fitting trousers) to take them right to the top. Ray Gun are not just your usual electro/pop band, these guys have substance, and I don’t mean in the Ms Winehouse sense of the word. Their magic lies in an innate ability to construct catchy melodic lines and instrumental hooks, and an energetic performance, keeping the audience captivated from start to finish.

Listening to their synthesised infused set, you can hear influences from some of the great Pop, Rock and Electro bands. Head shaker ‘In the City’ wouldn’t be out of place on a Blondie album. Anthem ‘See You Later’ is a fantastic rock song, reminiscent of The Rolling Stones and for pure entertainment and showmanship, look no further than The Scissor Sisters for a comparative act.

Front man, the aptly named Ray Gun, is a breath of fresh air. Authentic, charismatic and good looking (makes you wanna puke, doesn’t it?) This guy is what he is and the vocal ability to boot. There are obvious comparisons in vocal style to David Bowie, no more evident than in their song ‘Waiting in Line’ but if you think this is just a modern day copy of a rock legend, then STOP. Think again. This guy has been cut from the very same mould. He is a talented singer with bags of ability and from the reaction of the women in the crowd, and a few men it must be said, he is destined to be a popular front man. He humped his way through this gig. The mic stand, the floor, the bass drum, even Adj, RayGun songwriter and lead guitarist was taken in his hump fest. The crowd loved every minute of it.

RayGun have every tool they need to make an impact. This was no average show, they were tight, and their set was constructed to get people moving. There were the crazy chicks at the front of stage manically waving their arms. Even the ‘too cool for school’ crew, who didn’t really want to show that they were having a good time found themselves under the RayGun influence, their feet tapping like uncontrollable metronome’s. Everyone felt the energy. There was something magical happening on stage and as I sipped on my beer, watching RayGun do their thing, I couldn’t help thinking: ‘Heineken don’t do electro/pop bands but if they did..?’

Written by Ezekiel Ojo

Tags:
Posted in Electro, Ezekiel Ojo, Pop | 5 Comments »

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