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REVIEW: blur - The Ballad Of Darren

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Whilst fires of discord continue to rage from certain quarters of Manchester’s Oasis, Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon, Alex James and Dave Rowntree aka blur unexpectedly returned with a new album The Ballad Of Darren released via Parlophone Records on 21 st July. The word ballad fits the bill quite well, apart from a couple of charged numbers the majority of the music found here could easily share glitterballs and dance hall spaces whilst couples held hands and foxtrotted aiming for straight 10’s. Opening with the track Ballad we dive straight into a Bowie-esque serenade, atmospheric harmonies enhanced these days by Rowntree, there are slights hints of Gorillaz To Binge, ‘I fell in love with you ‘, charms Albarn, there appears to be plenty of affection on the album. The straight to the point message of St. Charles Square however shifts away from the charm for a moment ‘I f*cked up’ is followed by razor-edged guitars, the sort of thing Magic Whip had plenty of. Barbaric has Clover Ove
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The Stone Roses Leeds Arena review 22.6.17

 With rumours (and we repeat it’s rumours) swirling yet again that these could be their last gigs legendary Manchester band The Stone Roses returned to Leeds for the first time as the the classic 4 piece line up since 1989. Could they rekindle the magic? Matt Mead attended to find out. Having last seen The Stone Roses at Heaton Park in 2012 I was looking forward seeing some more of the magic that brought them back together and that was witnessed on Shane Meadows famed Made Of Stone film. Having Phil Beckett as the warm up DJ certainly got the crowd in the mood with a mix of Punk, Northern Soul and Reggae including The Clash, Robert Knight & Dave and Ansell Collins and all was set for lift of when Stoned Love echoed all around the arena, whipping the crowd into a frenzy as the band entered the stage. With Mani thumping the classic bass chord, John Squire’s stone cold riff’s and the mesmerising drums of Reni the classic I Wanna Be Adored had the crowd up and about the place, ev
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Asia Fields interview 7.7.17

  Manchester, UK indie rock and pop group Asia Fields who incorporate elements of funk and dance with layered percussion have just released ‘Goodbye Frank’ featuring much loved tunes such as Dazed, Save Me, Ain’t That Just What Love Is, Friction, and many more unheard demos from ’88 onwards available on vinyl and CD. I interview lead singer Graham Maley about his days in the band and what he’s up to now! Louder Than War: Can you give us a bit of background of your upbringing?   I was born and grew up in Harpurhey Manchester 9 in the 1960’s.  I attended St Thomas’s county primary in Crumpsall and then the, ‘famous for all the wrong reasons’ Plant Hill high school in Blackley in the mid 1970’s. A more Northern, working class background would have been hard to find. Both schools developed and finely tuned my survival instincts; academia would have been a bonus if at all possible. Having said that sport was high on the agenda and I spent most of my youth playing football and listening
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Vinyl Revival 20th anniversary bash - live review 9.10.17

  Vinyl Revival  celebrated 20 years of trading in 2017 with a celebratory gig held at Manchester’s Ruby Lounge with the legendary One Summer headlining, playing a special one-off gig. Matt Mead was there to witness the special night and witnessed the last waltz by one of Manchester’s great underrated bands.  On a wet and windy night in Manchester The Ruby Lounge was the perfect dry retreat away from the crazy October weather in Manchester. Tonight promised to be a special night,  celebrating the 20 years service to the Manchester music scene of Colin White but to also see a wealth of Manchester’s homegrown talent. Kicking off proceedings were the raw young punk of Dirty Laces. With the drummer shirtless, aka Topper Headen Style, and the lead singer having a young Liam Gallagher swagger, this started the night’s proceedings off to a 1,000mph level. The Brains behind Vinyl Revival and tonight’s festivities Colin White was up next with his band High Society. Playing their first g
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Colin Gibbins - Factory Records expert - 12.10.17

  Manchester would not be the same City if it wasn’t for Factory Records and Tony Wilson. Spawning bands such as Joy Division, Happy Mondays and The Wendys, Colin Gibbins has been trying to get an exhibition space in Manchester to show the full Factory Discography in 2019 for the 40th anniversary of the birth of Factory Records, but has had the door slammed in his face at every venue. Here Matt Mead tells the story of Colin’s journey and current frustrations. In January 1979 a new record label launched their first ever record in the vinyl medium. It was called the fac sampler discography code fac 2, which featured two 7″ singles with the band Joy Division among others adorning it. Colin Gibbins was 12 years old at the time and little did he know he would go on to be the first person in the world to collect every item number in the factory records music medium. Colin grew up in Blackley in the Manchester postcode of M9 and he loved his music. By 1980 Colin had started to listen to mor
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The Waterfront - Record Store Day exclusive interview - 5.3.18

  1983. The Smiths released their debut single Hand In Glove, Star Wars Return Of  The Jedi was released in the Cinema and Liverpool FC were the toast of the football world. How things have changed. In this same year in Manchester came the birth of a true gem in the ears of those in the northern quarters. The Waterfront. Now 30 years on it has been  announced  that they are to get their debut release for Record Store Day 2018. The Waterfront featured some of the music heavyweights that would light up the Manchester music scene in the years to come and were at this time not fully aware what would come to fruition. Lead singer Kaiser takes up the story: “I was brought up in north Manchester New Moston going to the local schools North Manchester boys but ended up at South Chadderston. I was never into music as a kid but one day I got listening to Anarchy In The UK and they blew my world right open.” Drummer Chris Goodwin further explains: “I was living in Oldham and Mani (bass playe
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Swing Out Sister interview - 29.5.18

  Corinne Drewery is the well recognised singer of Swing Out Sister. After a 10 year break from recording material the band are due to release a stunning pop, ballad new album entitled Almost Persuaded released via Absolute Distribution June 22nd. Matt Mead caught up with Corinne for this exclusive interview. Can you please let me know some of your childhood, where you grew up and what your first musical memories were? I grew up in Nottingham. My dad played bass in a band and my mum sang in a jazz band in their spare time so I was always surrounded by music. I remember going to the local record shop where you could listen to the latest release on headphones in a booth. I also remember going into a coffee bar with my mum & her friends and being mesmerised by the neon coming from the jukebox, the sound of pin ball machines and the aroma of espresso coffee. Paint it Black by the Rolling Stones was playing. I was intrigued by the fact they wanted to paint everything black. I was pr
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China Crisis interview - 14.6.18

 Amongst all of the music that was released in the 1980’s China Crisis released some of the most perfect pop you will ever hear. Immaculate production, lyrically intriguing, engaging instrumentation, you get all this and much more with the back catalogue of China Crisis. It is with this charge that they have decided to go on tour later this year to play in its entirety their stand out album Flaunt The Imperfection. Matt Mead catches up with lead singer Gary Daly in this exclusive interview to discuss all things from the bands creation to what their plans are for the future. Please tell me some of your background and where you both grew up? Ed (guitarist Eddie Lundon) and myself grew up in Kirkby, a small new town just outside Liverpool. Our parents would have been relocated here from Liverpool sometime during the 60’s. We both attended Roman Catholic Schools meeting in St Kevins School for boys Europe’s largest Roman Catholic school for boys at the time. This would have been circa
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The Essex Green Hardly Electronic - album review and interview 4.7.18

  The Essex Green are about to release their brilliant new summery pop album Hardly Electronic on Merge Records after a break of over more than 10 years away from recording. Matt Mead chats exclusively to the band and reviews the album. By chance I bumped into The Essex Green after a tweet from Carl Hunter, bassist from Liverpool indie legends The Farm, who was proclaiming his love for the band. Intrigued by the 60/70’s hippy type sleeve of the album I delved into the back catalogue of the band and was kindly sent the band’s new album  Hardly Electronic. The album title aptly describes the album, being a full-on merry go round of organ, catchy choruses and all the fun of the fair song arrangements. Singles, Sloane Ranger and The 710, kick things off in great fashion. Punchy instrumentation, hypnotic organ and tight rhythm section, matched with sultry vocals from Chris Ziter and Sasha Bell bring the listener up close and personal as the album joyfully gallops forward into song after s
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Splendour festival review - 21.7.18

 Nottingham. Home to Robin Hood, Nottingham Castle, Nottingham Forest, Notts County, The Panthers, the River Trent, Shane Meadows, Sue Pollard, Alvin Lee, Torvill and Dean, Jake Bugg, Little Barrie, Sleaford Mods and, of course, Batman’s residence, Wollaton Hall. It was the latter that the 10 th  anniversary of The Splendour Festival was held at for the 10 th  successive year. With acts such as Madness, Pet Shop Boys, The Specials and James having all played the festival in previous years, this year was no different in pulling in the stellar acts such as The Charlatans, The Stranglers and main stage headliner Paloma Faith. Matt Mead attended the festival to check out the birthday celebrations. The Splendour festival is the biggest summer music festival in the Midlands. As previously mentioned, the big names have been the main draw for fans, and as I arrived on the site the organisation and the family friendly felicities on site were of the highest order. Fairground rides, Little Sple
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Dermo interview - Northside / Time For Action - 5.9.18

  Formed in Manchester in late 2017 taking musical influences including The Damned, Slaughter And The Dogs, The Clash and Public Enemy, Time For Action have recently released their debut album Turn It Up on Strawberry Moon Recordings. The album sees Dermo fronting a much heavier song base compared to his indie pop blissed out band Northside. Nonetheless, the distinctive Dermo Manc-tinged tones are still there with the additional of a Johnny Rotten type growl. Matt Mead interviews Dermo. LTW: Can you please let me know your first musical memory? Dermo: My first musical memory is hearing the opening riff to ‘Alternative Ulster’ by Stiff little Fingers. It blew my mind then, still does and always will. What was the first serious music you got into? Punk. I loved the energy, imagery and attitude. I still do. When did you first start singing and writing music? I first started singing at my first Northside practice in 1988. Never sang before that. First music I wrote was around t
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Paul Weller True Meanings album review – 9.9.18

  Paul Weller. Modfather, spokesperson for a generation, fashion icon or one of England’s best ever singer/songwriters. Call him what you will but Paul has reinvented himself musically and visually more times than Mr Benn. His new album True Meanings sees him take a break from the full band normality, this time branching out with a set of acoustic guitar led songs, harking to those all-time classic artists that championed the 6 and 12 string: Nick Drake, John Martyn and Neil Young. My first experiences of listening to Paul’s music would’ve been when I was a mere toddler, literally. My older brothers Nicholas and Steven (9 and 14 gap respectively between me and them) were The Jam obsessed in the late 70’s/early 80’s, travelling from Skegness to Wembley to see the fab 3. So you might say I’ve had an education in Weller from a young age, and would be correct. Back to the current day. After being sent the link to the new album, I settled down over lunch at work, plugged in my earphones
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