It’s approximately 8:30pm. The house lights are wavering and there’s a growing feeling of tense excitement in the venue. Spent in the company of various bands from Britpop’s peak, the Star Shaped Festival has already provided a very enjoyable afternoon, but there’s also been a definite feeling throughout most of the day that a reformed Sleeper are the biggest draw, so perhaps this tense and nervous feeling is more than justified. There’s a lot riding on their return and this next hour.
Tag Archives: indie
LEVELLERS – Hello Pig
Following the release of 1997’s ‘Mouth To Mouth’ – arguably the Levellers’ most commercial album to date – the band found themselves at a career high. That long-player spawned the massive hit single ‘What a Beautiful Day’, which although fell just short of the UK top ten singles chart, became one of their best-known and enduring songs, leading to extensive radio play. As part of the promotion for that single, various TV appearances were also made. The Levellers were arguably at their most visible to the general public. Following a greatest hits package and more touring, Mark, Jeremy and company retreated to concentrate on writing new material. Continue reading
Watch the new video clip from No Vacation
Wistful pop and summer days seem to be at the forefront of No Vacation’s new single. Accompanied by a suitably light video clip (available via the embedded box below), the dream pop act invite you to explore their ‘Mind Fields’…
The track comes from their forthcoming album, to be released in June 2017. Regarding the video clip, in the band’s own words, “It’s about realizing that nothing is ever as good as it seems, yet embracing the freedom of letting it all go.”
ONE DAY, AFTER SCHOOL – The Invisible Anchor
Wakefield’s One Day, After School released their debut EP ‘In Skeletal’ at the very beginning of 2016. Given the timing of the release and it only being a four song affair, it seemed fair to think that a full length album would drop at some point that summer. The summer came and went. Then autumn…then a very cold winter. The band were nowhere to be seen. Fast forward to Easter 2017 and – finally – their triumphant return. To say it was worth the wait would be an understatement, since ‘The Invisible Anchor’ taps into everything that made the EP enjoyable and more besides.
RUM THIEF – Time To Make A Move EP
In the summer of 2015, singer-songwriter Jot Green (aka Rum Thief) released ‘Reach For The Weather Man‘, an EP of hard jangling tunes coupled with social commentary and an unavoidable sense of Englishness. Like a northern Frank Turner, an underground Alex Turner or perhaps a Mike Skinner with actual tunes and talent, he showed a strong ability to couple grass roots messages with a gruff but fairly timeless indie-rock backdrop. A fair while passed and nothing more was heard. Had the Rum Thief been swallowed up by his day job, or even run out of things to tell the world? It would seem so.