Although compared by others to Mogwai, if Cities’ almost ambient musical approach combined with the use of samples and visuals makes you think of Public Service Broadcasting, you wouldn’t be completely wrong. There are some key differences, of course, but most importantly – unlike the works of Public Service Broadcasting – it’s not at all derivative and boring. Public Service Broadcasting are all about the samples, to the point where they’ve often forgotten to write interesting music; with Cities, their musical arrangements are the heart and soul of everything they do. Yes, you can spot various influences scattered throughout their ‘Manning Alaska’ EP – but there’s rarely a moment passes that where Cities haven’t added their own twist of musical magic.
Tag Archives: prog
THE FIERCE AND THE DEAD – Magnet EP
Post-rock quartet The Fierce And The Dead first captured the attention of listeners the artier end of the rock spectrum with their 2011 full length ‘If It Carries On Like This We Are Moving To Morecambe’. While the intricacy of the album’s music inevitably found the band gaining the “prog” tag, the instrumental wig-outs pulled far more from various alternative rock sources, with elements of noise rock, often making their love of Hüsker Dü/Minutemen et al fairly obvious. The following album, 2013’s ‘Spooky Action’ was potentially even more bonkers, showcasing four very talented musicians working their frenzied guts across a variety of angular rock sounds, with most of the material sharpened by brevity. With no filler, ‘Spooky Action’ is potentially TFATD’s masterwork; in addition to the world of looped guitars and mind bending, gleeful complexities, Kevin Feazey’s bass sound – particularly on ‘I Like It, I’m Into It’ – comes across with a genuine force. It is a record that anyone interested in quirky and thoughtful musicianship should lend an ear.
BIG BIG TRAIN: The Real Gone Big Big Albums Poll
With cult proggers Big Big Train breaking years of live silence this weekend with three quickly sold out London shows, Real Gone thought this would be an optimum time to find out which albums have spent the most time on your stereo systems.
BIG BIG TRAIN: “Bard” – Authorised high quality download
Betweeen 14-16th August 2015, progressive rockers Big Big Train make most of their fanbase’s wishes come true, staging three live gigs in London. This breaks years of silence for the band in the live setting, having not played any live shows for decades. Unsurprisingly, tickets for those shows sold out in record time.
There’s still another piece of the BBT puzzle eluding most fans. Their third proper album ‘Bard’ has been out of print forever. Recorded at a transitional time in the band’s history, they do not feel it is at all representitive of the bulk of their work and are not keen to have it reissued, despite fan demand.
REAL GONE GOES OUT: Marillion, Ramblin’ Man Fair, Maidstone, Kent 26/07/2015
Over the years, Marillion have released some great albums and played some fantastic shows. Their 2004 double album ‘Marbles’ and following tour very much represents a high point in the band’s career and post-80s fortunes – the shows on that tour were arguably some of the best they’ve ever played. Like every band that has ever set foot upon a stage, naturally, they don’t always get it right and some of the shows promoting their ‘Somewhere Else’ album in 2007 were frankly very dull indeed.
On this occasion, Marillion been given the honour of headlining the Prog stage at the very first Ramblin’ Man Fair, a classic rock and prog festival. It’s kind of ironic that a band who spent the whole of the nineties trying to convince everyone they were not a prog band would headline a prog rock stage, but the idea that Marillion have a headline slot at a UK festival is a very appealing one to both the band and their fans.