Into the Pit: 058: The Dillinger Escape Plan – Live at Corporation Sheffield – 12-February 2008
Note: An edited version of this review appeared in Alternative Magazine Issue 09
/Tuesday Ten/031/Gig Venues
A different TT this week, in that it is not exactly about the bands themselves (although they do come into this). Instead, it is my favourite live venues to go and see bands at. I’ve been going to see live bands for over thirteen years now, and I’ve lost count of how many I’ve actually […]
Tuesday Ten: 030: Tracks of the Month (January 2008)
So, the first monthly roundup of 2008 – and with there not having been an equivalent for December, this is perhaps covering a longer period than normal, meaning that tracks I would have liked to include have not made the cut to keep it at ten.
Into the Pit: 057: Die Krupps – Live at Corporation Sheffield – 02-February 2008
Due to all kinds of issues with getting across the pennines (both Snake and Woodhead were shut on Saturday afternoon), friends staying with us weren’t at ours ’til six, and with food to eat and then the need to get ready before heading out, we almost totally missed Uberbyte.
But Listen: 066: ESA – How Pure Would Your Utopia Be?
It’s time, perhaps, to address the cliche of the “difficult second album”. Well, here is the perfect chance, really – the debut by ESA was so good that it is difficult not to be having memories of that in the back of one’s mind when reviewing the new one. One similarity becomes immediately obvious – […]
/Tuesday Ten/029/All You Need Is Hate
A little bit of a change this week, with a slightly more abstract theme. It was probably the hardest list I have compiled yet, too: and other interpretations on the theme are welcome. So what is the theme? Hate. Hate comes in many different forms, and surprisingly it was a little harder than I was […]
Tuesday Ten: 028: “Overdue” New Albums
There seems to be a lot of artists at the moment where I seem to have been awaiting new albums from them for an age. So this week's TT is based around the idea of bands we'd like to return with a new album, or "overdue" new albums…
Into the Pit: 056: Autoclav 1.1 – Live at The Chapel Huddersfield – 18-January 2008
It was really bloody strange seeing prot0type live in my home town.
Tuesday Ten: 027: Crossing Boundaries
For this week's Tuesday Ten, I'm looking at the idea of bands who have successfully brought together disparate genres into their sound. There are likely many more bands that have done this other than the ones I have come up with (it was a difficult list to create, frankly), and other suggestions are welcome.
Tuesday Ten: 026: Top Played Artists of 2007
A slightly different Tuesday Ten this week – and it will be the last 2007 retrospective. So what is this one? Well, it needs some explanation.
/Countdown/2007/Gigs
OK, it’s Wednesday, but still…it’s time for the last of my TT’s on the round-up of 2007’s music. This week it is the best gigs of 2007, in my view. Feel free to disagree, offer opinions, alternatives, etc.
Into the Pit: 055: Gogol Bordello – Live at the Leadmill Sheffield – 18-December 2007
I’m still not sure how much I like the Leadmill as a gig venue. While the layout is great – a wide stage, and a good sound system that allows for just about everyone to see the gig – it never feels quite right. So it was a good thing that in the main, the […]
Into the Pit: 054: VNV Nation – Live at Corporation Sheffield – 15-December 2007
Getting in a little late, I missed the beginning of Kloq, but got to see the majority of a set I had been looking forward to seeing.
Into the Pit: 053: theSTART – Live at Casbah Sheffield – 12-December 2007
Yet another band that I have been waiting years to see, first we had to endure two local bands that were really not good. The first were very-much Blondie influenced (to the point of playing a cover of Call Me), while the second were scratchy punk-pop where the silence between each song was probably longer […]
/Countdown/2007/Albums
Part three of my round-up of the year, and this week it is my albums of the year. Despite my reservations recently that there hadn’t been an awful lot to recommend for 2007, it turns out that there are actually quite a lot.
Into the Pit: 052: The Young Gods – Live at Roadhouse Manchester – 06-December 2007
First, I should mention the support band. A band from the south-west called Undercut, who were really rather good. Not at all the type of band I would expect to see supporting a band like TYG, but maybe that was half the fun. A five-piece alternative rock band, with passing nods in the music to […]
/Countdown/2007/Tracks
So, part one of my review of the year, and this week it is the tracks of the year. This as usual spans a number of different genres, and I don't doubt that there will be some disagreement with my choices: so to that end, let me know what you think the best of the […]
Tuesday Ten: 025: The Most Disappointing Albums of 2007
This week's TT is the first of four "end of the year" lists that will come between now and Christmas, one each Tuesday, detailing my best – and worst – of the year.
But Listen: 065: mindFluxFuneral – teatro de Revelación
Let’s get the comparisons out of the way first, shall we? This sounds very much like a Skinny Puppy creation. Not the post-millenium incarnation, but the prime-80s/90s version, where layer upon layer of sound is added to the mix, with unsettling samples, barely coherant vocals and a grimy, darkened feel to proceedings. Add to the […]
Tuesday Ten: 024: Changing Direction
Many bands change their output over time, often as a concious decision to evolve their sound. Sometimes it is an incremental process, and is often welcomed. Playlists: Spotify Then again, there are then times when a more drastic move in style is greeting with heresy by the fans. I’ve seen some of my favourite bands […]