Monday night, and an evening of mixed blessings. It seemed too good to be true at first. My Brightest Diamond (one of my highlights of the recent End of the Road Festival) supported by The Young Republic (another) and The Luminaire (one of London’s best small venues, even though it is one of the furthest [...]
Saturday dawned bright and clear, with the prospect of a sunny day ahead for the Baby Growl’s festival debut. The word was that the ‘special guest’ in the Big Top at 12:15 might be Gruff Rhys. We thought we might make it to the festival site in time for this, but with baby and all [...]
Taking a baby to a festival isn’t easy. We had an inkling of this when we decided to head back to the End of the Road Festival, back when it was announced at the start of the year. We thought that since The Baby Growl would be three months, she might be old enough (or [...]
I’m back from the End of the Road Festival! The eagle-eyed among you may spot that I’ve taken my time since the festival actually finished last Sunday, so what kept me? Don’t worry, the festival didn’t turn into a week-long acid trip. It was just that I extended my sojourn in Dorset for a few [...]
There’s been a bit of a flurry of posts today, mainly because I’m getting things out of the way before heading off, so this will be the last post for the best part of two weeks. I’m going on holiday to Dorset, the first part of which will be spent at the second End of [...]
It’s been a long time in coming, but it’s almost with us now. What I’m referring to is an actual official release from Adele. I’ve been a fan of the young London singer-songwriter’s lovely acoustic soul music since being introduced to her by Music Like Dirt almost a year ago now. Her track Daydreamer in [...]
I’m getting a bit tiring in this refrain I know, but here’s another group who have come at me sideways lately, confounding my expectations. Given that Gang Gang Dance had gigs put on by Upset! The Rhythm recently, I was expecting something a bit more leftfield and abstract. But instead, on their new EP Rawwar [...]
Where are all the girl groups these days? Sure, there are plenty of singer-songwriters and girls in bands (particularly lead singers), but all-girl bands? I can’t think of that many. With the mighty Sleater-Kinney gone, it seems to be left to Electrelane to fly the flag for female-only bands that really kick ass. I may [...]
Last week at work I was having a conversation with my colleagues about the Omnichord (that sort of thing happens – it’s fun to work there sometimes), which has led in a roundabout way to this post. For those who don’t know the Omnichord, it’s a hand-held electronic instrument, which has buttons for chords and [...]
I’ve had quite a few pleasant surprises lately listening to albums I wasn’t expecting much from, but no more so than this one. Back in April I saw Devastations play on a quiet Sunday night at The Spitz and was distinctly underwhelmed. I was expecting a hearty dose of the grand melancholic sweep of their [...]
