REVIEW: Latitude Festival 2011

It was my first time at Latitude Festival this year and my expectations were high for the critically-acclaimed, 'mini Glasto', nestled deep in the heart of the Suffolk countryside at Henham Park. The festival boasted a very eclectic line-up - not only musically - but also within the literature, comedy, poetry, dance, theatre and other artistic strands which comprise the annual event. Music, however, is the focus here.

This year's line-up was all about the smaller, lesser-known bands. While the headline slots gloated with the return of 90's glam-rock inspired Suede, it was unlikely that Saturday's headliner, Paolo Nutini, was going to be the highlight of the festival for me personally, and unfortunately, The National, are more boring than they are talented. BUT, the smaller acts? Simply wonderful. Special mentions must go to the double-trouble of Indie boys, Dog Is Dead, and Math-rockers, Trophy Wife, in the Sunrise Arena with their uplifting, feel-good performances. The intimacy of the venue, shaded by tree canopies and encompassed by fellow festival-goers perched on white bark tree logs, was aesthetically and audiologically my favourite venue (also, incidentally, because I saw the best performances here). Braids too delivered a pitch-perfect, harmonious slice of delicious minimalist/shoe-gaze/pyschadelia in the cosy tent and joined Spanish Disco-Pop/Rock experimentalists Crystal Fighters among my favourite performances of the weekend. Foals gave very strong performance in the Word Arena on the Saturday night, but sadly, Bombay Bicycle Club and other acts such as  The Naked and Famous sounded too distorted and/or messy, which was a huge surprise after being overwhelmed by both acts at previous gigs.

What made the experience extra-special was the unbelievable intimacy and attention to detail that Festival Rebublic paid to the site: multi-coloured sheep, floating water stages, giant glow-in-the-dark flower decorations, contemporary art works hidden in the woods, punting on the river, light/water projections, painted trees, giant bookshelves, fairgrounds, outdoor beds, snugs and tree lanterns! Latitude has pretty much everything on its big brothers, Reading and Leeds, except for reeling in larger international bands.

Here are some awards to sum it all up:

Best Act:  Crystal Fighters (astounding enthusiasm and musical tightness).

Worst Act:  James Blake (as dull as dishwater).

Biggest Surprise:  Villagers (absolutely flawless live, even if the singer's clipped vocals grate).

Biggest Disappointment:  Deerhunter (I was really looking forward to seeing them live, but they gave a poor performance).

Favourite New Act:  Braids (admittedly discovered them a few months back, but now the love is gigantic).

...and a healthy 8/10 for overall festival experience.

REVIEW: Chad Valley - 'Equatorial Ultravox' EP

Back in 2010, Chad Valley (aka: side-project of Hugo Manuel from Oxford-based, Jonquil) impressed many with the lush, tropical chill-wave sounds of his debut self-titled EP and added more to the pot of excitement surrounding local indie-pop 6-piece, Jonquil. The summery, Ibiza come-down feel of his debut has been extended to some degree in his new release, but Mr Manuel has also pushed the beach-worn boat out and experimented with plenty of new themes and sounds in his stunning new record.

We are firstly confronted with the chilling, fairground organ tune ‘Now That I’m Real’, which loops over effect-laden vocals before an acute keyboard melody turns the song into an instant-hit. The steel drums and female vocals nicely transpose us to the tropical recesses of Chad Valley’s first EP, but this is a maturer sound. It is true to say that it is more upfront pop song than the minimalist progression of ‘Up And Down’ (a song that I grew to love last year on his first EP) and some may dislike this more mainstream sound, but credit must be given to Manuel’s sharp deliverance of an immediately-catchy melody.

‘Acker Bilk’ and ‘Reach Lines’ are the breeziest songs on the record, with impossibly relaxed beats; the latter providing the sexiest bass-line and ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ you will hear all summer. Sometimes the vocal sound-effects on ‘Reach Lines’ are a little overdone, but this is presumably to maintain variety and to prevent Manuel’s vocals from fading too much into the background. ‘Acker Bilk’ promotes beautifully wholesome harmonies and Manuel’s falsetto notes soar above mountains like a Celtic warrior’s. This really is a stand-out track for him vocally. What sounds like a Hip-Hop sample kick-starts a firm tune accompanied with star-dusted synths, but like the previous track, ‘Fast Challenges’, it is not as intelligently layered as the other songs.

Manuel adequately bridges the gap between the conspicuous summer sounds of the first tracks, and the more reserved sounds of the later tracks, with ‘Shell Suite’. A charming, brittle guitar riff distinguishes this song from the rest and nestles its head between harmonious synths and warm piano notes. He also carefully constructs the cross-fades, vocal repetitions, crescendos and breakdowns to allow this song to burst open into the most solid and beautiful track on the record.

Hot tribal dance beats finally pulsate throughout the EP’s closer, ‘Shapeless’, to sandwich Chad Valley’s trademark tropical chill-wave over the top of the new sounds found in ‘Shell Suite’ and ‘Acker Bike’. Criminally, it is too short, but leaves the EP on a breathtaking high.


8/10

Published for the Oxford Music Blog on 9th July 2011*

*You can read the original here: http://www.oxfordmusicblog.co.uk/2011/07/chad-valley-equatorial-ultravox-review/

FEATURE: Watch Warpaint's full set @ Glastonbury 2011

We all know that Coldplay and Beyonce completely dominated Glastonbury 2011 (and rightly so!) but here's a more little-known band with a lot of promise...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/festivals/glastonbury/2011/artists/warpaint/#p00hswbh

NEWS: Spanking-new Bombay Bicycle Club song - 'Shuffle'

Bombay have done it again - what a cracker of a new song! The multi-layered piano loop that drives 'Shuffle' and Jack Steadman & co's falsetto echoes are instantly likeable. It is fantastic to hear the boys plugging in their guitars again, which creates a nice divide with their strictly acoustic-only second album, 'Flaws'. Who knows what the rest of their new album 'Another Kind of Fix' holds (released 29th August)...

Here's to the start of summer!

NEWS: Stream the new Bon Iver album

Kick back and give the new Bon Iver album a listen.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/musicblog/2011/jun/09/bon-iver-new-album

REVIEW: Gunning For Tamar, 'Deaf Cow Motel' EP

Oxford-based four piece Gunning For Tamar have made quite a name for themselves over the last year and not just locally. Forming early last year, they have already featured on XFM and BBC Introducing, produced a split EP with fellow Oxfordians Phantom Theory, won NME’s “Breakthrough track of the week” for their debut single ‘The Organs’ and have just begun a relentless tour of the country to promote their debut E.P, Deaf Cow Motel, out 30^th May.

Opener, ‘German Treasure Island’, with its crashing drums and energetic heavily-distorted guitars, immediately conjures an impression of those early-mid 00’s catchy post-hardcore tracks from the likes of Thrice and Funeral For A Friend; bands which often projected heartfelt or emotional ‘emo’ lyrics which guided many bemused teenagers (myself for one) through their formative years. The contrasting time signature that unfolds at the bridge, however, is quite different to the opening riff and verse and it is most certainly the highlight of the track, with Joe Wallis singing a gorgeous melody, “your legs were painted gold and silver” while delayed, intricate guitar riffs weave between the vocals. It is quite refreshing to hear a band like Gunning For Tamar project sounds of the post-hardcore genre while  proudly stamping their own math-rock style on it – bringing their music into the new decade rather than letting it perish along with the thousands of other musical genres that seem to have fallen by the wayside (bubblegum punk, anyone)?

‘Running With Scissors’ sounds slightly different with its opening off-beat snappy snare drum and stocatto guitar progressions, but the dissonant notes still nurture the darker sound that runs through ‘German Treasure Island’ and, interestingly, both songs are in the same key. Thankfully, the distortion is turned down for the verses/closing riffs, which gives the track variation and distinguishes it from the previous song since there is a danger of these tracks merging into one another.

Ben Green’s muscular basslines are finally clearly heard in ‘God Made Colours’, but this is by far the weakest track on the EP with Wallis’ vocals thinly stretching over a fairly forgettable chorus. It seems as if previously-penned lyrics have been forced to fit a chorus which is not really there, and the song becomes a frustrating listen overall.

The final, stand-out track, ‘Bonfires’ allows the drums to take a back-seat while gentle, bluesy riffs and vocals take force. The musicians really permit themselves to breathe in this song and the music nicely ripens, with root notes supporting the poetically-charged chorus as layers upon layers of octaves and alternating vocal melodies build to a beautiful crescendo which concludes the EP.

Deaf Cow Motel is a fairly solid debut EP from a band that formed barely a year ago and their energy, precise musicianship and thunderous rhythms culminate in an impression of a band that certainly have a lot of promise. Catch them on their current tour at The Jericho Tavern and The Cellar on 18^th and 30^th June.

7/10

Published for the Oxford Music Blog, 30th May 2011*

*You can read the original review here: http://www.oxfordmusicblog.co.uk/2011/05/gunning-for-tamar-deaf-cow-motel-review/

NEWS: Givers to release album

Louisiana-based Givers should be added to everyone's summer playlists. Self-described as 'Dance Pop Indie Folk' (Soundcloud) these guys provide listeners with plenty of  innovative, feel-good anthems. Their record is out on 6th July. Check out their wonderful single, 'Up Up Up', below.