Betweenplanets was lucky enough to send Ryan, our roving reporter, to cover this years Great Escape Festival, here is what he found out for you….

THURSDAY 17TH MAY AT THE AUDIO

FEAR OF FLYING

Fear Of Flying are a three piece from London. They are made up of three young upstarts. They were playing downstairs at Brighton’s Audio. I was a bit sceptical about these young lads, although as soon as they entered the stage they proper got into it. They were just banging through their top classy tunes that were amazingly catchy. I was surprised that they were unsigned - they should be! They completely nailed their set - Got the crowd jumping to proper alternative new wave pop. These lads were well worth seeing they deserve their chance.

THE KISSAWAY TRAIL

Well this Danish band are a 5 piece and a 5 piece too many. Trying to imitate Arcade Fire but going severely wrong somewhere! It was always going to be hard to follow such an amazing set after Fear Of Flying but this was truly shocking. The crowd were split 50/50 but the severe heckling from some of the audience must have had an affect on their performance. Altogether it was a poor set and largely disappointing.

THE 1990’S

A fantastic three piece from Glasgow. I had heard a lot of good stuff about this band and I’m pleased I stayed to watch them - they were awesome! For me the best tune they played was the brand new single “see you at the lights”. They had the crowd singing back their tunes and any new band that can make that happen deserves total respect. Well worth seeing and I would encourage anyone to go get their album “Cookies” released on Rough Trade.

THURSDAY 17TH MAY AT THE PAVILLION THEATRE

THE ARCHIE BRONSON OUTFIT

So bad you barely noticed they were playing. Didn’t seem to get much appreciation from the crowd. They had no stage presence or crowd interaction. The only thing that stood out from this band was a beast of a hairy beard on the singer.

THURSDAY 17TH MAY AT KOMEDIA UPSTAIRS (1 AM GIG)

GALLOWS

I had been hearing good things about Gallows and after seeing the massive queue outside I knew they would live up to my expectations. Not the best of starts for the band as Frank Carter’s brother Steph split his head open after getting smashed round the head with his guitar during the first song. Steph disappeared to get his head sorted and for the next five minutes the band barracked with the crowd – highly amusing! Once Steph returned the band completely kicked arse - this gig was going to be intense. The highlight was the single “abandon ship”. To me this was an immense brutal gig. Gallows went down a storm.

FRIDAY THE 18TH MAY ON THE PIER (SECRET GIG)

FOALS

This was a secret gig in a pub on the pier. I had heard one song by Foals and loved it. The sound was a bit on the dodgy side but considering the venue I think you can let that issue go. They certainly got a crowd through the door. The likes of Preston from the Ordinary Boys and the Maccabees were hanging out watching the band. Poor ‘ole Preston thought he was going to get a fair bit of attention instead of Foals ……but no one cared about his presence, people were fixated on this banging live set from Foals.

FRIDAY 18TH MAY AT THE CORN EXCHANGE

THE HEIGHTS

From Wales via London. If you like you classic 1990s Indie bands, such as Embrace, then these are pretty good. However, boring to watch and slightly tame for me. They just didn’t really stand out enough. The crowd seemed to like them ….just not for me.

ART BRUT

THE best gig I have ever been to!! It was Bang Bang Rock & Roll’. Young Eddy Argos came on stage in a very retro 70’s shirt, trousers and socks. A band that begin every song by saying, “Art Brut… GO” and just oozing confidence. They played loads of songs - old and new. He jumped into the crowd who all worshipped this icon. This was not just a gig….. this was a lesson in life! Absolute amazing !! Makes you want to form a band…… Art Brut did just that.

SATURDAY 18TH MAY AT THE BEACH

REVERAND AND THE MAKERS

Really catchy little tunes. The beach crowd were loving ‘The Reverend’. He came across as slightly arrogant and I was unsure if this was part of the act! Respect though, he was meeting people after and giving them the time of day, unlike one other solo artist playing at this venue a bit later that evening!

THE NOISETTES

The LOUDEST band I have ever seen - I thought my eardrums were going to bleed. Starting out at the very front I quickly retreated to the back of the venue where I could then fully appreciate these awesome performers - sporting amazing haircuts and dishing out catchy heavy tunes. People go on about Beth from the Gossip’s powerful voice….. but sorry, Shingai Shoniwa voice is a truly powerful voice with soul AND body. An ace gig.

JACK PENATE

This Young shy bloke from London left me disappointed. His sound is possibly more radio friendly but as a live performer he appeared lifeless! His repertoire for me was far too weak and all sounded the same. Hit or miss…..miss!

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Kristin Hersh live with support from The McCarricks at the Glee Club in Birmingham on Sunday 4th March 2007.

The McCarricks

Kimberley and Martin McCarrick on violin and cello respectively create a wonderful melange of strings set to differing backing tracks, sounds and beats as well as an eclectic selection of film clips. Originally conceived as a project to accompany old black and white films, changes in legislation led them down a different path of using contemporary clips and collaborating with a wide range of artists, the most recent of which is Kristin Hersh. A pulsating and mesmerizing sound. www.houseofmccarrick.com

Kristin Hersh

Kristin Hersh was always the more distinctive sound in the Throwing Muses (in my opinion of course…). Whilst Tanya Donnelly’s post-Muses efforts were more swiftly apparent with the poppy and infectious Belly and then her more acoustic solo offerings, for me it was the wailing Hersh and the driving rhythms and guitars that set them apart. This evening she is accompanied by the McCarricks as on her new album “Learn to sing like a star” and thanks to some very good mixing, initially at least, it is a perfect complement. Rhythm section was courtesy of the guys from 50 Foot Wave, Hersh’s more “rawk” project. No wonder it all sounded so tight.

I first saw this extraordinary performer as part of the Throwing Muses on a double bill with the Pixies at a club in Birmingham in 1988 and appearance-wise not much has changed. She has ditched the A-line skirt for combats and T-shirt but is still slight, blonde and…also demure; proving that you really don’t need to leap around and go in for competition-level gurning for the music to be gut-wrenching, wild and totally unique, the intensity only belied by the focussed gaze once the song gets underway, vanishing during the light banter between tracks.

Many tracks came from her new album, “Learn to sing like a star” but given the live treatment they travelled right back to the Throwing Muses sounds. Hersh’s albums have received lukewarm response, barring perhaps the 1994 “Hips and Makers” which tonight yielded the hypnotic “Your Ghost”, the tortured, cathartic “The Letter” and as an encore “Me and my charms”. There really is a gulf of dynamism between the album sound and live sound; Hersh’s albums take a while to grow on you whereas the intensity of the live act is immediate – maybe a live album should be released because this concert was superb.
www.throwingmusic.com

Submitted by Helen Ryba

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Well, these guys truly rock. If you want a piece of original music with influences like Alice In Chains, Pearl Jam, Metallica, Crowbar…etc… go and see them! I think they formed in late 2003 and have been doing the Camden thing. Great 5-piece band and worth queing up for.

http://www.aortamusic.com/

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An alternative rock female singer-songwriter with a refreshingly deep lyrical sense (surprising for someone who just turned 20), Claire Moss writes original songs with addictive melodies set to classic guitar-based rock with influences from The Who to The Pretenders to U2. Yet it sounds quite modern. Her voice is dramatic and powerful, reminiscent of Amy Lee of Evanescence, Sheryl Crow, Tori Amos, and Alanis Morissette. The guitar work is excellent and subtle. And her rhythm section is first class: Gregg Bissonette (Santana, Ringo’s All Starr Band) on drums and Jimmy Johnson (James Taylor, Uncle Kracker) on bass.

This is a really well thought-out EP. There’s a lot going on in each of the songs, and over several listenings I’ve continued to discover new subtleties. And the mix is quite good for an indie release. One warning: these songs will get stuck in your head when you first hear them, but it’s later in traffic or in the dark of night or sitting in class when their meaning really comes to you and you’ll shiver. I did.

All of Ms. Moss’ songs tell some sort of story. Not the “Oh baby, I miss you, I need you, when are you coming back?” submissive stuff that most of the other girls whimper about. (She’s promised to someday to record her infamous “I’m Not a Blonde”. And name names.) Time is short in this EP, so there’s a lot more serious stuff. Forget the guy-crazy junk. You won’t find it here.

Some standout songs:

Time. The Who with a chick singer address existential angst, somehow in a positive (though ironic) way. It asks the question: are you running late for everything? Wondering when you’re ever going to get a moment to breathe, or if it’s even worth wondering about?

Fan. Some Nirvana echoes here. You’re planning on having his baby, growing old with him. You’ve even picked out the wallpaper. Now if they’d only let you past security so you could meet him for the first time. “Fan” shows you what happens when you build a fantasy life only to find out you don’t know anything.

Meant It. A female Ramones song? Could be. If you’ve been really pissed off and broken up with your boyfriend, girlfriend, dog, what have you, then listen to “Meant It” first. Done in one vocal take, it sucks in and spits out all of that furious bad-breakup energy and takes it to final meltdown. It’s rumored to make most guys turn pale and act really uncomfortable. Um, that’s the point. So, listen to it and then send a copy to your ex.

Still. This song reminds me of “The Lord of The Rings”. Maybe it’s that line in the bridge, “Fight the thirst says the guard, as we walk up the hill and down, chained together, but my mind breaks free and I wander wherever I want to go…” Makes you long for the Shire. The music and her voice get you caught up in the emotion of moving on, triumphantly. A happy-ending story at last. I wonder if we can get her to promise that it’s not the only one?

All things considered, a great first effort. As she’s quite young, she’s going to be around for some time. I expect great things, with perhaps a bit more vocal depth that will only come with age. I especially look forward to hearing a full CD’s worth of songs, as I was left wanting more.

Sara Chambers

http://www.clairemoss.com/ 

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aPAtT ‘aPAtT’ EP (aPehAt).

Those preferring their sounds a little more irregular, viscerally challenging and against the flow may feel obliged to check out the debut release from Liverpool’s aPAtT. Described to me in passing as ‘a release that the band thought I’d be doing everyone a favour by hearing’ with the added proviso ‘sounds like nothing from Liverpool’, (or for that matter a several plays), like nothing in the world. APAtT it seems forego the usual subtleties of trying to woo the listener and win them over, instead they arguably provide more questions than answers with their awkwardly channelled fusion of out there art rock, drone montages, film samples, hip hop (as evidenced on the streetwise sample menace of ‘My nuns door theme’), mallowy electronics and bleached psyche folk (though I’d hastily add not all at the same time).

This particular EP is the bands debut with a new batch of songs eagerly waiting in the wings for a release date. Occupying the shadowy sub divide that vaguely links the curious netherworlds of Volcano the Bear and the new age travelling doom drone friction folk of the Sunburned Hand of the Man with the oddball melodic anarchy of Zappa especially on the hauntingly numb ‘Loneley’ and the parting shot ‘a passing’ and yet shows their willingness to lead the viewer into a guessing game, their sounds bounce erratically from the odd to the eerie to the devastating without no heed or attention to form or principle, at times its reminiscent of a freeform jam, maybe a tuning up session whatever you may call it there’s no denying that there is an explosion of ideas at large within which ultimately means that just when you think you have the measure of them they spice up the mix to throw you off the scent.

The dreamy ‘Nice II’ prickles softly like some kind of drunken space symphony, equally ethereal and warped, either that or Satie having chemically assisted flashbacks, and if you get over the monastic moment, probably the most together cut here. Elsewhere the aforementioned ‘Loneley’ belies a subtle film noir cast that invites you to check, not only under the bed but also under the stairs, behind the door, in the closet and is perhaps best resolved by listening to it in the hours of daylight outside preferably somewhere where there are plenty of people about.

‘Idi’ is strangely up tempo and jiggly with it while grindcore meets thrash meets Melt Banana surfaces on ‘broken elbow’ only to be laced with all manner of menacing head melting psychotic overtones. Consider yourselves well and truly warned. Deeply deranged and cleverly obtuse to be filed under strange species pop.

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Only Human is FLEDfive’s most mature work to date, darker and more ferocious than their earlier releases, 2000’s “Highest Hill” and 2002’s “Part of Me”. However, vocalist/guitarist Brian Grooms’ melodies are full of hooks, and his lyrics are more meaningful and thought provoking. From the crushing guitar of “Our Blood” to the ballady “Where Are You Now,” this band proves it has the guts to play it fast and heavy, lay back and let the melody steer the song, or do anything in between. Fans of Nickleback, Sevendust, Staind and Creed will love this CD.

Reviewer: Dan Banker

http://www.fledfive.com/ 

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brody & quint serve up an intriguing alt.country folk-pop mix, which they’ve been taking to audiences in London and beyond this year.

The engaging vocals of Rosemary Harrison, with harmony and occasional lead from Mark Barlow, are supported by delicate guitar picking and the cello of Jess Cox. From the soaring chorus of Roses to the wistful meandering of The Frozen Frame, the band keep it deceptively simple, at times sparce and always intimate and moving, a formula which has seen them gain airplay on SBN and Sound Radio and a spot on Nomad AM Records’ compilation One.

The 20 Feet Beneath the Sea taster cd has garnered many positive reviews which can be found on the brody & quint web site

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Brand Violet have been kicking around the London indie scene for several years now, leaving some of us wondering how it is possible for this band to have remained such a well-kept secret for so long.

It seems that the word is starting to spread, and the release of the Voodoo single ahead of the band’s debut album Retrovision Coma USA confirm that this is a band to watch.

Having seen them live, it’s hard to imagine how anyone could capture the slow-burning energy, power and pure sexual tension of vocalist Sally-Anne Marsh and the band’s impossibly self-contained atom-bomb-in-a-biscuit-tin sound. Voodoo, like Alien Hive Theme before it, comes close.

Making comparisons is a poor and lazy journalist’s way out of doing any work, but I’d file Brand Violet somewhere amongst Man Or Astro Man, Blondie, The Pixies and possibly the Cardigans at their naughtiest and most interesting. Suffice it to say Voodoo would fill the floors of clubs and BDSM clubs alike, with both audiences equally confused and equally enthralled.

LOGO Magazine seems intent on tipping Brand Violet for future success and a bright light in the vanilla-flavoured UK musical soundscape of 2004, and I’m pleased to join them.

Brand Violet / Voodoo’s appeal, and brilliance, lies in the easy reference points that make the band accessible — great for lazy journalists — contrasted against a sound, when those reference points are melted together, that is simply unmistakable.

Do Voodoo!

– JdP

Reviewer: Juan dos Passos

Related Link: Official Band site

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Yet again Falling Sars has delivered a sucessful multi-genre cd in which anyone can listen to and not feel like they are “out of their league” when trying a different specific genre. They chose to put an intro on this second album, a very silly (as are the band members) little skit. Than after a scratch of the record the bang right into a funny leric, up beat “Sugar Daddy”, a swing tune. “Synthetic Boyfriend” is a light hearted way of saying my ex was “a lying, filthy cheater” and offers a cool switch between driving rock and old school doowop. “Beneath the Veil” offers insane saxiphone and clarinett rock parts, along with a screaming guitar solo at the end and a haunting guitar riff in the beginning, almost as if water is dripping and the guitar is crying. “Could” is a sweet pop rock ballad that lists reasons why you fall in love and how love can be intoxicating. “Slip” is a powerful up tempo pop rock piece, many have said it’s their favorite track off the album. “Internal War” is a very personal track about relationships and has some nice harmonica and guitar work in it. “The Story Untold” is just that, a unique piece, the only solo piece lead singer Caryn Feder has recorded on a Falling Stars album. The punk song “Duck” is extremely catchy and will be stuck in your head for days (a rare thing, there’s actually a curse word in this one). “Half You’re Age” is a well put together track, heavy on keyboard and guitar, and is about an old guy following a girl around. Funny stuff. If you like good music and a sence of humor, Falling Stars is your ticket to nirvana.

Caryn Feder

http://hometown.aol.com/bradfan15/fallingstars.html

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