Gone.

I moved house. And Now I'm moving blogs.

ROCKNROLLY.WORDPRESS.COM

Please update your readers & things.

I'll be posting a lot more now it looks sweeter! x

Films of Colour, Camden Bull & Gate, 20/9/10

Films of Colour have been attracting a lot of attention recently, so it’s no surprise that The Bull & Gate is crammed full of eager onlookers this evening, hopeful to see what all the fuss is about.

After two memorable performances at Beach Break and Isle of Wight Festivals, the band have recently been featured in the Guardian’s ‘New Band of the Day’ section, a promising sign for the Guildford 4-piece.

The band – made up of Andy Clutterbuck (vocals), James Hatcher (bass/synths), Jack Allinson (guitar) and James Rees (drums) - have an electrifying stage presence; plenty of excitement and leaping around from a band who still manage to produce some seriously good rock songs. They have perfected a remarkable density of sound, incorporating layers of synths and emotive guitars (much like prog-rock geniuses, Foals), offering a refreshing change from the mono-chord indie pop bands sweeping the mainstream.

Clutterbuck’s vocals are spacious and irresistible, but it is the band’s wall-of-noise intervals that are the real highlight. Their songs are littered with atmospheric interludes of thrashing guitars and the impressive drumming talents of James Rees; the sort of moments that take your breath away and make you really fall in love with live music.

The band finished their set with debut single ‘Actions’; an anthemic romp that tugged on the heartstrings of everyone watching and left them wanting more. Although in their early stages, Films of Colour boast an intelligent, atmospheric sound that takes some bands years to perfect.

Films of Colour play 93 Feet East (October 1), The Vaults, Derby (October 7), Gatecrasher, Nottingham (October 8), Catch Bar, Shoreditch (October 12) and Moho In The City, Manchester (October 13). ‘Actions’ is released on October 4 via Label Fandango records.

Sleigh Bells, you're my favourite.

TOP 10 ALBUMS OF 2010 SO FAR

1. The Suburbs Arcade Fire
After this album was released, I had to retract so many of my past complaints about what a borefest AF were. This album single handedly made me fall in love with the multi-instrumental swooners, to the point I now have all their records and I danced so ecstatically during their Reading Festival headline set that I nearly broke my ankles (Wellies = hazard).



2. Total Life Forever Foals

This was a very close second. The Oxford 4-piece moved into a house together last year and the result was a story of emotion that can only be told by the best musicians. Putting synths and keyboards to good use, ‘Total Life Forever’ is an intimate yet atmospheric romp of prog rock mastery; a 250% improvement on their disappointing debut.



3. Treats Sleigh Bells

Right now I feel like putting this album at number one. Noisy as fuck with those chilling female vocals scribbled all over the loudest guitars I have ever heard on a recorded album. This is what M.I.A was trying to achieve with /\/\ /\ Y /\; feminine machine gun noise pop, enough to shatter windows and hurricane through dance floors. It takes talented musicians to make hellish noise like this into something catchy and delicious and Sleigh Bells have just done that. Mmmm yummy.



4. Teen Dream Beach House

In contrast, Teen Dream is a mellow, unaffected basket of love songs and tales of growing up. This is the album you listen to before you go to sleep. Victoria LeGrand is queen of the lullabies and with the help of Alex Scally, the Maryland duo have produced an album that basks in melancholy without being depressing. Gorgeous



5. The Family Jewels Marina & The Diamonds

This is an album I loved more for its message than its melodies. Whereas Marina’s poppy ditties have lost their appeal slightly now everyone is a bit bored of the album, I like to think all of her ravings about ‘journos in heat’ and being ‘hollywood infected’ have struck a chord with young girls and might just make a difference. It’s still an amazing album – I just overplayed it – and she’s really great live, so The Family Jewels is still one of my top albums of the year.



6. Man Alive Everything Everything

Everything Everything have been gaining quite a bit of momentum recently, what with their recent album release and some flawless appearances at Reading & Leeds. I have trouble sometimes believing synth pop can be anything but heartless, but Man Alive is really addictive and there’s so much character and emotion in Jonathan’s vocals that it’s hard not to fall in love with them.



7. Crazy For You Best Coast

Am I really including this on my list? Nothing grates me more than lo-fi; making your record sound like it was made in your bedroom when you do actually have the means to make the production pristine. But I have fallen a little bit for Bethany Cosentino. 'Crazy for You’ is like the record equivalent of a chick flick in my opinion; it’s all slushy love songs for people who like to dream about California and guess what? Out of context, I find the Best Coast record pretty impressive and original. Within the context of all the chill wave shit wave NME hype, it irks me but as a standalone record, it’s definitely one of 2010’s best.



8. Gorilla Manor Local Natives

Why aren’t Local Natives bigger? They’ve been cropping up on the smaller festival stages, frequenting the music press but still seem to be waiting for a break, whilst bands like Everything Everything are becoming the talk of the town (god that was a terrible line). For me personally, I have Gorilla Manor but it’s not an album I seem to have time for; I don’t sometimes think to myself, “ooh I feel like listening to Local Natives” because they haven’t quite made a suitable impact yet. But all that’s about to change! People need to realise they’re underrated and go listen to them!



9. /\/\ /\ Y /\ M.I.A

She might not be Sleigh Bells, but she still wrote some epic tracks this year, especially XXXO and Born Free. Do I need to say anything except XXXO XXXO? M.I – M. I – M.I –A! I think she’s incredibly nutso and paranoid and her music’s saturation with politics annoys me but she’s made an amazingly innovative record with Maya so I’ll let her on the list.


10. My Best Friend is You Kate Nash

I LIKED IT OK. Fair enough, it wasn’t as good as her debut, and she went in this weird, riot grrl direction that ended up alienating the majority of her fans but at least she had the guts to make the music that she wanted to instead of sticking to the template that worked before. Kate has strayed away from pop here and hit this darker, heavier side of herself that doesn’t always work (I can’t figure out if ‘Mansion song’ is absolute genius or absolute shit) but like I said, she had the guts to do it and for that I salute her.


Bands I would NEVER consider putting on this list: Gorillaz ‘Plastic Beach’, Mark Ronson & the Business International, DELPHIC (I think that was 2009 but any excuse for some broadcasted hate). Etc.

THOUGHTS! OPINIONS! TELL ME! XXX

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT

Here are some terrible things I've been subjected to recently...

The Drums covering Arcade Fire's We Used to Wait



As if I couldn't hate Lostprophets enough. (I know it's old, but it's still terrifying).



To make yourself feel better, check this out.



PHWOAR. Kanye, Jay Z, Rick Ross, Bon Iver & Nicki Minaj.

IT'S LIKE A MEETING OF MINDS, GENRES, EVERYTHING.

READING FESTIVAL 2010

Many months ago, I said you will never return to Reading once you’ve been to Glastonbury.
Now I have my voice back and scrubbed the permanent marker graffiti from my arms, I have severely changed my tune. Reading is dirty, terrifyingly riotous and full of mostly teenagers but my god. It is still very, very good.

I won’t bore you with the details of Thursday, mainly because this isn’t a personal blog and also, passing out through drunkenness by 10pm wasn’t very rock n’ roll of me. Jesus. I might be older but I am in no way wiser.



Friday started with Two Door Cinema Club, a band whose album I played so many times I got tired of it to be honest. Their tunes are jazzy and worthy of a singalong but I’m not sure their live set gave much to write home/here about. Big Pink followed, with Velvet being as atmospheric and heart-wrenching as ever and Dominos stirring up a riot in the mid-afternoon NME tent. Lead singer Robbie Furze treated us to an intimate, slowed-down version of Velvet towards the end of the set, which in theory should have been brilliant but actually made me realise that all the glory and emotion of the original exists within the intense distortion of the guitars and bass.



My first nice surprise of the weekend came in the form of Beardyman. Not expecting to be a fan, I found the atmosphere amazing and used my time there to dance like a gangster/twat. Caught a bit of Delphic involuntarily, followed by a surprisingly rowdy set from Mumford & Sons. As darkness set over Reading Festival, I kept seeing fights break out; Mumford being the most unusual band for this to happen during?!


I chose Marina & The Diamonds over Guns & Roses and after the onslaught of bad reviews – both from the media and angry drunk festival goers – I’m glad I chose the former. Marina was beautiful of course, quipping “Look! I’m female AND headlining!” and treated us to a beautiful run through of the majority of album showing she has the talent as well as the chat. I sang every single lyric into the left ear of my best friend and we both took great pleasure in yelling, “OH MY GOD SHE LOOKS JUST LIKE SHAKIRA”.

Saturday marked the day of hot men and 12 hours of pure musical nirvana for me. I got up nice and early and shot down to the arena by myself so I could catch as much as possible during what I suspected would be the best day of my life.
I started off with the Walkmen, who were good but I can’t help but think they will never do better than The Rat?



The Crookes were next and they definitely blew the cobwebs away, what with all the hip shaking and the cutesy Vampire Weekend-ness of the Sheffield 4-piece.
Swung by Everything Everything next to see what all the fuss was about and their synth-attack cover of Rihanna’s Rude Boi and general funky-dunk electro rhythms won me over.



No one was going to wow me as much as Band of Skulls however, who provided my first sleazy rock and roll injection of the day. ‘I Know What I Am’ got the crowd jumping in unison and there was a surprising amount of steam coming off the crowd for a 1pm set.

BBC Introducing Stage was my next destination, catching the end of Rotating Leslie while waiting for Lady Fortune. The atmosphere around the Introducing Stage is always warm and loving and the bands are always ecstatic to be there playing so it proves to be an amazing experience even if you don’t know the band. Rotating Leslie were very good, very rowdy and clearly putting 110% into the performance.



Lady Fortune were, as to be expected, freaking amazing. The genius of the lyrics continued to blow me away, as well as the general cheekiness and loveliness of the band themselves. The 3-piece clearly has a very dedicated fan base already, as I watched a group of ten boys beat each other up for the entire duration of the band’s set (with smiles on their faces). Lead singer Nick had to stop at one point and ask for them to calm down because, er, “My mum’s standing just there.”
Modest Mouse brought all their tender intimacy off their records and onto the main stage at Reading with such fervour that they cemented their reputation as one of the most underrated indie rock bands of all time. ‘Float On’ reverberated across the muddy field and caught the hearts of everyone watching.
I wasn’t too enthused about The Maccabees after last time I saw them, but they completely made up for it as the sun came out on Saturday afternoon. ‘First Love’, ‘Toothpaste Kisses’ and the rest of their goodies sound so much better in a festival setting than in a gloomy old gig venue.
Second surprise of the weekend was Darwin Deez, not because of the songs but because of some awe-inspiring dance routines to the likes of Beyonce and Miike Snow. Absolute genius, totally worth seeing him live for.



The Likely Lads were next, Bilo & Biggles, Pete & Carl, the ones I have waited six years to see live. Obviously, it was amazing. The whole set was an absolute screamfest; me making my friends serenade me with What Katie Did and almost having a heart attack right after hearing the first NOTE of Time For Heroes.



My night was completed by the godlike geniuses that Arcade Fire. I spent the whole run up to the festival looking forward to hearing the new record live but it was the old classics like Neighbourhood #3 (Power Out), Rebellion (Lies) and Wake Up that really shook me up into a ecstatic, barefoot dancing, voice-loss frenzy. The whole day was so good that I crashed into my tent as soon as I got back from the bands. Exhausted, happy, life sorted.

Sunday had a lot to live up to. It started with 4.45pm Limp Bizkit because I was too shattered from the night before to get out of my tent and we also get a bit rained in at lunchtime. Fred Durst & Co were ruddy amazing, they’ve always been that fantastic brand of mainstream nu-metal that appeals to almost everyone. Kele was next, playing a brilliant Bloc Party montage, finishing with Flux but still managing to impress old fans with his new solo material.
Weezer were the final nice surprise, a band whose songs I knew but wouldn’t consider myself a fan. Rivers Cuomo is a brilliant front man, donning a furry animal hat and a blonde wig while treating the crowd to an impressive mash up of MGMT’s ‘Kids’ and Lady Gaga’s ‘Poker Face’.
I was very much looking forward to Foals and they didn’t disappoint. ‘Spanish Sahara’ was amazing, but it was Yannis’ stage antics (climbing the pillars, giving the mic to randoms in the crowd) and ender, ‘Electric Bloom’ that really stole the show. Clearly a band who favour their first album over their second.


“You sir, are no Slash.. but you are a Tom Delonge”.

The weekend ended with one of the best sets, Blink 182. Everything about their set was perfect – the song choices, the nostalgia, the on-stage banter between Mark and Tom. It was as if they haven’t aged or even been away in all this time. Tom was incredibly off key for the majority of the time but we didn’t even care because it was still a great performance. Jaws dropped towards the end of the set as the encore started with an amazing, one-of-a-kind drum solo from the one and only Travis Barker, complete with revolving drum platform. There was this really tense moment at the end where I thought ‘Are they going to play it?’ and then that unmistakable riff from Dammit cut in and I had about 10,000 vodka-drenched kittens into the mud. Wow.



I lost count of how many of my favourite songs I heard this weekend but it was an incredible, unforgettable weekend that really changed my mind about the wild, teenage-flavoured 4 day riot that is the irreplaceable Reading Festival. BRING ON 2011.

Reading Festival: 10 Must-See Bands

1. The Libertines



I don't need to tell you how good they are. All you need to do is read all the reports from last night's "live rehearsal" at the HMV forum. My favourite report was this one, written by Jeff Maysh.
They're so British, so romantic and the exciting chaos caused by their reunion has made my heart swell with every tweet I read. I can't imagine a time when they will stop being my favourite band.

2. Arcade Fire

The Suburbs was released at quite a crucial time for AF because there has just been long enough for everyone to fall in love with it and become curious whether the band can produce all the magic and love live onstage. I saw them Reading 2007 as the sun was setting and it was brilliant, so I'm curious how they will fair in an after-dark, headline slot.

3. Lady Fortune (BBC Introducing)

This is the new shit. Seriously. If you like The Libertines, Arctic Monkeys, Razorlight - all that fundamentalist indie music that solely relies on guitar chords and clever vocals then you will love these. There's not a fucking synth in sight which makes me swoon quite a lot. It's gritty and brilliant, every new song I hear astounds me lyrically. Check them out here.

4. Modest Mouse



Still relatively alien to the mainstream, Modest Mouse feel like a special secret band that no one else realises the genius of yet. With quite an early slot on the mainstage on Saturday, I wonder how their soft intimate american indie rock will come across in such a wide open space.

5. Big Pink



Phwoar, these are amazing and I can't wait to see them live again considering I missed them at Glastonbury because of Shakira, or Snoop Dogg or someone else unworthy. They're so gloriously heavy but at the same time manage to channel so much tenderness, so much intimacy, the sort of heart-wrenching emotiveness that makes me want to cry a little bit. They're one of those bands people are going to shrug off because they're not quite heavy metal and they're too noisy to be indie pop, but I hope there are some sensible people in the Reading crowd who will squeeze in that sweaty Radio 1 tent to create some frenzy.

6. Blink 182

How can you not see them? Take Off Your Pants and Jacket was released NINE YEARS AGO. Does this make you feel old? Half the kids at Reading were SEVEN when it was released. SEVEN!!! I'm going to see them for the nostalgia (as are most I assume because they haven't released an album in yonks). Dammit was the first (and last) song I ever learned to play on guitar when I was 14 and dressed like this. Love love love.

7. Band of Skulls

When I saw these babies at Glastonbury I'd just had to sit through fucking Shakira and it was an absolute breath of fresh air. The bass and the sleazy male/female vocals and the bass (have I mentioned the bass?) and the slick guitars. I'm baffled as to why these aren't as big as The White Stripes yet because they're just as good, raucous, sexy. These are a need-to-see.

8. Little Fish (BBC Introducing)


Fresh for supporting Blondie, this male-female duo are the next big thing for all the grungey little teenage girls who need a new rock n roll poster girl to idolise. Lead singer Juju is a firecracker, sliding between screamo guitar thrash into heartfelt rock ballads. It's a shame these clash (I assume) with some other big headliners because people need to see how great these are.

9. Foals



Have I ever told you my Foals story? I bought Antidotes on sale in Woolworths (lol) and I was so repulsed by it when I got it home that I returned it for my £5.99 back. I really did not want that stone-hearted disco shite in my record collection. When I heard they were releasing a second album, I couldn't wait to rip it to shreds all over again.
Sadly for the part of me that loves to hate, I LOVE TOTAL LIFE FOREVER. Those catchy synthy parts of 'Antidotes' were injected with all this emotion, all this human credibility to make an extroadinarily experimental well-produced album.

10. British Sea Power

For the foliage lols!



I'll be there. Probably pulling this face: