The Power of 3: This Week's Reviews

The cliche of waiting ages for a bus and then three turning up at once seems to be a recurring theme within my blogging journey. Just as my legs began twitching with the restless energy of wanting to discover something new and exciting beginning to set in, new experiences and discoveries suddenly happened all at once. Not being able to decide which one to focus on, I have to decided to condense them all down into one blog post.

Katie Coleman at Barfly

As I had only heard and seen her performances via YouTube, I was looking forward to the opportunity to see Katie Coleman perform live at Barfly on the 10th February. Performing to a substantial crowd who were ready to party meant that Katie was hitting her stride with her daring vocals. Opening her set with the powerful, attitude-fuelled 'Hole in My Head' meant that the audience was ignited from the offset. The set continued in this manner but the tone was  mellowed and softened with the touching ballad 'Enough' which kept the room gripped as almost-impossible notes were hit as it was demonstrated just how a talented vocalist she is.With the energy and passion with which Katie Coleman and her live band perform with, I can only imagine that bigger, sold out venues are on the horizon. 

New Video: Sisteray 'She Likes The Drama'

London based Sisteray  treats us to a new Mod anthem in the form of 'She Likes The Drama'. With its hooking guitar riffs and Nial Rowan's mature vocals, the rhythmic, light- hearted jam bodes well for the release of their first EP. The accompanying video, filmed by Albert Jagger, gives us a voyeuristic insight to a performance of the bouncy single with the sepia tone resembling the sleekness that Sisteray exudes.  Their debut EP will be released on the 17th February which you can pre-order here.

The Cornerstones - Stand in Line

With influences taken from Western Country you could be forgiven for being surprised that The Cornerstones are London based.  'Stand in Line' has riches in its vintage-inspired production. The title track has a fun innocence to it, akin to The Kinks' 'Picture Book' and as it builds momentum, it modernizes as it becomes a rocking, inspirational fist pumper. The album contains outstanding melodies and precision within the composition with strong, powerful tracks that would stand well alone, such as Smack Me in The Face.  Listening to the album is the equivalent of taking a trip through time as it combines all the best bits of 60s Mod, 70's power rock and 90s Britpop to create a truly unique piece.  You can purchase 'Stand In Line' by clicking here

BAMBI at Camden's Barfly

With the recent release of their debut single 'Reap From The Dying Love', BAMBI  hit the Camden scene  on Friday 13th. The night wasn't unlucky for anybody involved as they played one of my favourite intimate venues, Barfly.

The band have already been featured on NME's Radar,BBC Radio One's 'Introducing with Jen and Ally', BBC London and Hollyoaks alongside catching the attention of Tom Robinson, Absolute Radio and XFM. The BAMBI lads managed to deliver these promises without any pretensions. Placing their unrivaled, contagious energy into their stage presence and musical delivery, BAMBI created an electrical atmosphere in the room. My usual taste in music are songs that include just one aggressive guitar line, so when I saw that there were not one, not two, but three guitarists, not including the bassist, I was rather dubious. However the intricate layering worked wonders and created a vibe not dissimilar to The Foals whereas the echoing vocals brought to mind certain elements of Echo and the Bunnymen.

The set was a relatively short one with just six songs, but I found that this was still quite impressive given that they have only just released their debut single and the accompanying video for it. With their casual, down to earth personalities, the only place that BAMBI can go from here is up, up and away. Although I hope the bassist does recover from what I assume is stage fright, as he tucked himself away at the back the whole time.

BAMBI: 'Reap From The Dying Love' Review

With the name BAMBI, many would visualize a wide-eyed Disney character, frolicking with his woodland creature friends. This is not the BAMBI that has recently exploded onto the London scene. Having only formed as little as 7 months ago, their unique and original sound has caught the attention of Tom Odell, Professor Green and Mark Ronson, all of whom they have supported.

'Reap From The Dying Love', their debut single which will be released on the 17th November, grabbed my attention and held me captive. The melancholic, intricate intro combined with James' haunting vocals crafts a gothic feeling, not dissimilar to the sounds of Echo and The Bunnymen. This couples well with the Victorian romanticism in the imagery of the lyrics (She's the Jekyll to my Hyde) which creates overall an ethereal atmosphere with the harmonizing vocals, but the track is still deemed danceable by Jordan's work on the drums.

Give it a listen here https://soundcloud.com/bambihq/reap-from-the-dying-love

If you like what you here you can pre-order the single here: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/reap-from-dying-love-single/id725207921

Still can't get enough? Than make sure that you catch BAMBI at Camden's Barfly on the 13th December.

The Front Bottoms Return to London Town

Greil Marcus wrote in his publication 'Lipstick Traces' in 1989:

'At Winterland people pushed, but not, it seemed with anger or fear, but with delight, almost as a greeting.' 

This is how I greeted, and was greeted by, the punk followers of The Front Bottoms on the night of the 23rd April* at Camden's Barfly. Usually at punk concerts, I have had to nudge, elbow and tut my way into defending my small standing space on the floor, but the camaraderie at this concert was unique with it's imported all-American friendliness in terms of the unwritten rules of moshing. Although I emerged from the venue covered in bruises and feet so frequently jumped on it was painful to walk, I had a massive grin plastered across my flushed face. But the best way to begin any story,  is well, at the beginning! 

I met Matthew Uychich (AKA DJ Pumpkin...bless!) by the merchandise stand as I entered the venue and so I took the opportunity for a little chit-chat until the support act came on. The support came from a male solo artist, whose name eludes me but I will get back to you on that one! Although his music was on par, average it did include many comical elements which created a relaxed atmosphere. As The Front Bottoms opened with The Beers, I was at the back of the crowd but with the soaring, electrical pulse that suddenly filled the room I found myself unwittingly by the front of the stage in under five seconds time! For those of you who have heard the Front Bottom’s self-titled debut album you would know that the appeal is in the unpolished acoustic, scratchiness of the Punk 'record it in your bedroom' vibes. However at the gig, they managed to keep this appeal while performing the songs from their debut at a faster, electrical manic pace. Matthew and Brian were joined on stage by session musicians which gave their songs a more polished and professional edge to when I had seen them previously last year. This was demonstrated in the teasers which they gave from their next album 'Talon Of The Hawk'. I managed to catch a quick interview with the session bassist following the gig and asked him about the new, professional direction which The Front Bottoms were taking, which he replied was due to funding for a better recording studio and the new album would be a lot more refined in it's quality. 

Jumping and moshing by the front of the stage was exhausting but between songs, Brian indulged in a bit of banter with the crowd with jokes that my Grandad would have been proud of (eg: 'I was wondering why that frisbee was getting closer and closer.....and than it hit me' oh dear!) which gave us a minute or two to gasp for air.One thing that you should understand about The Front Bottoms is that their fans don't like them....they LOVE them with every sinew. This manifested itself towards the ends of the set as everyone became a crowd surfer and as they closed, we all stormed the stage and caught up in the manic euphoria, I threw my arms around Brian's neck and gave him a massive kiss on the cheek. Every kiss has a meaning and this one meant 'you are fucking awesome!!' 

Me and DJ Pumpkin 

Although The Front Bottoms are an American band, you should definitely try and catch them when they return to the UK. Their second album to be released in the UK, Talons Of The Hawk is due out next week. 

*The delay in writing this up has been due to a very hectic schedule due to final year exams so apologies