Following the first batch of UK live dates promoting their second album ‘Knowing What You Know Now’, Marmozets headed off to Europe. The shows were extremely well received.
At the point other bands might take a short rest, Marmozets are trucking on with the live work and have just announced another batch of live dates. All confirmed shows can be seen in the poster below.
(Read a review of Marmozets’ London performance here.)
With their new album ‘Autonomy’ just released on February 23rd, indie rockers Table Scraps continue promotion for the new record with a brand new video featuring…sock puppets.
The visuals that accompany ‘I’m a Failure’ – taken from the new LP – come across like a hybrid of MTV’s past with elements of Beavis & Butthead and Liam Lynch’s ‘Sifl & Ollie’ show. Musically, this new offering from Table Scraps is very much in keeping with the visual, since their brand of wantonly fuzzy indie pop retains a very irreverent style.
State Cows are back! The cult Swedish westcoast band will return with a new album ‘Challenges’ in the near future. A Valentines Day update on their official Facebook page claimed it was “still too early to schedule a release date”, but they’re already streaming a couple of new tracks from their Bandcamp page.
You can stream the new tracks ‘I Got The Message’ and ‘Borrowed Time’ below.
If you grew up in the 1970s or 1980s in South East England, you’ll almost certainly have a fond memory of Margate. It probably involves a day trip to the beach, a bag of chips and a visit to the Dreamland Amusement Park. The town fell on hard times in the 90s, but with the opening of the Turner Contemporary art gallery and the arrival of small cafe’s and boutiques in the Old Town, things began to improve. The grand re-opening of Dreamland as a retro theme park was an essential part of the regeneration and has been great for the town. Its recently renovated facade in blue and yellow neon shines out over the sea and the seafront, once again, looks proud of itself. In addition to the theme park, the Dreamland complex includes a retro roller rink, a period restored ballroom and an upstairs area dubbed The Hall By The Sea for hosting live music. It’s almost certainly better than it ever was. Dreamland is brilliant and you shouldn’t let people try and convince you otherwise, especially those who haven’t actually been to Margate since 1996.
The British ska revival of the late 70s was an exciting time. The short-lived 2-Tone label (founded by The Specials’ Jerry Dammers) was home to arguably some of the greatest music to come from the UK. Over the course of three years, with a mix of good-time party music and political messages, The Specials, The Selecter and The Beat became hugely popular, and although they moved away from their ska roots quicker than most, Madness became one of the most popular British pop bands of all time.