GIG PREVIEW: Boston Manor get ready for Slam Dunk in Swindon

Sheer Music have been teasing a big announcement for the folks of Swindon over the last couple of weeks, and the identity of their exciting booking was revealed earlier today: they're bringing Pure Noise Records darlings Boston Manor to our town, three days before the first of their Slam Dunk sets.
The entire line-up is very exciting, so I wanted to take the time to shine a light on each of the acts individually. It's obvious that this show is going to sell out - who wouldn't want to see Boston Manor in a venue of this size?! - but you should definitely get down early to see the other three artists on the bill.

If you haven't heard of opening act Heartwork, you can't be a regular reader of my blog! I've expressed my adoration for him many times in the past couple of years, and I always love seeing him play live.
I haven't seen Dan since he opened for Jonah Matranga back in October, and this set is going to be a special one because it's the launch show for his debut album. 'Things I Wish I'd Said' is being released on the 19th of May, and it'll be perfect for anyone who likes acoustic music stuffed full of feels.
Click here to check out the older material on the 'Five' and 'Coloured Out' EPs: both are worth a listen. He's coming all the way from Swansea, so make the trip worth it and give him a warm welcome!

Next up, it's a hometown show for A Way With Words, who've recently supported Fort Hope and are participating in the Pogues Irish Whiskey 'A Shot At Discovery' show in Oxford tomorrow night (pop down if you're in the area!).
Reviving nu metal with a pop-punk twist, you won't have heard many bands that sound like A Way With Words, but it's impossible not to be impressed by them. They're the kings of catchy riffs, and their singalongs aren't bad either. Check out their second EP, 'Reflections', to see if you agree with me.

The penultimate band on the bill are Casey, who are supporting Boston Manor at their other small shows across the country. Certainly the heaviest band of the evening, Casey will be warming up for this tour by playing dates throughout Europe next month: they're appearing at some of the Impericon Festival dates, and are on the Heaven and Hell tour with Miss May I, Being As An Ocean and Thy Art Is Murder.
Following this tour up with a performance at Download festival, Casey are going to be huge before you know it. Since the release of their debut album, 'Love Is Not Enough', back in September, there's been a palpable buzz surrounding this band, and it's going to keep snowballing throughout 2017.

Headliners Boston Manor have had a big year so far. After supporting Four Year Strong on their European tour they flew across the pond to join fellow Brits Moose Blood, and are currently trekking across North America with them. It's about time they returned to the UK to play some headline shows!
We're very lucky that they're playing Swindon, as the tour only comprises of five shows: as well as playing our little town, they're hitting up venues in Liverpool, Newcastle, Bournemouth and Cardiff.
When they played Slam Dunk last year, their room was filled to capacity and hundreds of fans were turned away disappointed, so it's no surprise that they've been invited back for the second year running. They're sure to attract an even bigger crowd this year, so even if you have tickets to the festival don't rest on your laurels: grab tickets to this show to guarantee that you'll be able to see them. This band shouldn't be missed, especially not in a venue of this size.
Haven't listened to Boston Manor before? Check out 'Burn You Up' - it's the song I listen to over and over, and it never gets old.

If you're like me and you can't wait for this show, you can get tickets here. £8 for four bands is a steal, so don't rely on waiting to get tickets on the door on the night of the show: I don't think there'll be any left!

GIG PREVIEW: Jonah Matranga's Swindon return

In case you haven't heard yet, this morning there was a very exciting Swindon show announced, and I'm here to tell you a little bit more about all of the musicians on the bill. On October 30th you're going to want to get yourselves down to Level III, to see these three very special performances...

Heartwork:

If you haven't encountered my love for Heartwork (aka Dan O'Dell) I don't know what rock you've been living under. He's performed a lot in Swindon over the last year, but hasn't been back since he supported Kristopher Roe from The Ataris last December.
Heartwork recently released an EP titled 'The Bootleg Sessions' (my review of which will be up soon) and his debut album 'Things I Wish I'd Said' is going to be released fairly soon. This show will be a great opportunity for him to showcase his new material and launch the album, and revisit old favourites 'To Water on Mars' and 'I Went To Parts'.
A half an hour slot is not going to be long enough, so you need to make sure you get down early. You don't want to miss a second of what's sure to be a brilliant opening set.
Check out Heartwork on Facebook, or download his EP at the link above.

Helen Chambers:
I hadn't heard of Helen until I saw her name on this line-up, but after checking her out I'm very excited to see her. With her beautiful acoustic songs laced with a refreshing country feel, it's always nice to find a new female singer-songwriter, particularly one with a voice this great. Having toured with Brian Fallon and Chuck Ragan (and performed on stage with the latter multiple times), if you're fans of either of those artists it's definitely worth you giving Helen a chance.
She hasn't been very active over the last year or so - well, at least not on social media - but with the announcement that she's playing the Specialist Subject Records all-dayer this weekend (Saturday 20th) she's certainly got some exciting performances coming up.
Visit Helen at her website, or find her on Twitter and Facebook.

Jonah Matranga:
The main event, Jonah Matranga actually came to Swindon last year and I missed him (I'd already purchased tickets to see Deaf Havana's 2000 Trees warm-up show!) so when I was told this show was happening, I was ecstatic.
If you haven't heard of Jonah, you'll definitely have heard of his band Far. They released four albums back in the 90's including the critically acclaimed 'Water & Solutions', which made a huge impact on the scene. Following a brief reunion between 2008 and 2010, during which they released their fifth - and currently final - album, 'At Night We Live', Jonah has been focusing on his solo material.
Working with a huge mix of artists (from Matt Nathanson to Deftones, Lupe Fiasco to Fort Minor) Jonah has certainly worked hard throughout his career. If you appreciate dedication to the scene, it's only right that you come out to this show to support a veritable legend.

Tickets for the show are available here (at a special advanced price of £8) or you'll be able to buy them on the door for £10. What better way to spend the night before Halloween?

Emp!re - The Vic Swindon, 27/07/16

On Wednesday evening, I managed to drag myself away from Pokemon hunting for a few hours, and with that time I decided to head down to The Vic to see local band All Ears Avow supporting Emp!re. I've never been disappointed by one of their sets, but I hadn't seen them since their headline show at The Vic over a year ago - it had been far too long.
I hadn't actually heard about their new EP, 'Reach (Side A)', so half of their set was new to me. Both 'Getaway Car' and 'Reach' can be found on the aforementioned EP, and I enjoyed both songs so much that I bought it at the show; I'll definitely need to give it a proper listen (and keep a closer eye on the band!). 'Weight of the World' is also a new song - one that the band have been playing on their recent tours - and while I liked the All Ears Avow that I've been seeing over the last year, this is an entirety new beast. There's been a noticeable shift towards the rock side of their pop-rock category, and while there are still tracks that you can dance and sing along to, it makes the set more emotionally involving and a whole lot more effective.

Setlist:
Waiting Games
Weight of the World
Better Now
Home
Getaway Car
Reach

I hadn't heard of In Dynamics before the show, but their set ended up being my favourite of the evening. With a cleaner sound than All Ears Avow, their sound definitely leans towards pop-punk - the easy to dance to beats and catchy lyrics make it impossible not to enjoy them when you're listening to them.
Physical copies of their debut album, 'Everything I See', arrived on the morning of the show following its release two weeks ago, so I had to snap one up, and I've been listening to it constantly since. There's something very special about these guys, and when vocalist Beau Boulden thanked the crowd and said "we've never even been to Swindon before, so it's amazing that some of you guys know the words" and it's testament to the fact that this band are making waves.
I want to say more about In Dynamics, because I'm so excited about them, but other than saying that their set was pretty much perfect there's nothing else to say. I'm going to be keeping track of these guys, though.

Setlist: 
A String of Losses
Another Minute
We Are Liars
The Weight of Wait
-
Existence Precedes Essence
Waking Life

(I couldn't find the title of In Dynamic's fifth song, please contact me if you were at the show!)

The first time I saw Emp!re they were supporting Tonight Alive and they had to fight with everything they had to stand out: they were opening, while second up were the captivating Zoax, and it meant they were completely forgotten by the end of the evening. I was excited to see them again, but I don't know if I would have bothered if All Ears Avow hadn't been on the bill.
I was pleasantly surprised by their set and they ended up really impressing me. It seems as though the last two years have done very good things for the band. Whereas before I complained that all of their songs sounded the same, now the subtle nuances of the songs are brought to the forefront, and Joe Green's stunningly high vocal is the cherry on top of a musically delightful cake.
However, I did still find myself getting a little bored. I hate to say that, because it was a brilliantly performed set, but I could feel my attention drifting. It might have been my desire to return to the Pokemon hunting, it might have been the fact that I'd had a long day at work as was looking forward to going to bed, but I just didn't enjoy the last half of their set as much as I did the first half, or the two other bands who performed in the evening.
I do have to congratulate the crowd on their reaction, though. Midweek gigs are never as successful as weekend shows, so to have such a notable turn out at a show on a Wednesday night? It was rather impressive. I've been to Wednesday shows in Swindon before that have had a mere handful of people in the room. It helped that All Ears Avow were on the bill - they can always draw a crowd, and are quite a success in our little town - but the crowd swelled again for Emp!re's headline set: not many people went home after seeing the band that they liked, so it gave the others a chance to perform to new faces.  
It was exciting when Emp!re decided to perform an encore - not many bands who come to Swindon have enough material to be able to come back after that "one more song!" chant, but the chanting was so raucous that it would have been rude not to reappear! However, it just didn't seem necessary at this stage. I'm holding out hope that the band will keep writing and releasing more varied music - they're missing that something special that will elevate them to bigger venues on their next tour.

I couldn't get Emp!re's setlist, because while Joe's voice is very impressive it can also be quite indecipherable. If you were at the show and know which songs were played, please comment down below!

Recreations. - The Vic Swindon, 13/05/16

It's been a little under sixth months since Sam Duckworth last came to Swindon, so when it was announced that he was already returning for a headline show as Recreations., I jumped at the chance to get tickets.

Opening the show was Rob Lynch, who I'd seen once before (supporting All Time Low in Kingston). I was a couple of minutes late, so I'm not sure how many songs he played before 'Selfish Bones', but I arrived to the news that his second record is coming out in late July - certainly an exciting revelation!
I heard two brand new songs in the evening: the aforementioned 'Selfish Bones' ("a song about how I'm a selfish piece of shit and how I'm trying to get more interested in other people") and an untitled new song (which I'm referring to as 'Not Worlds Apart' based on the chorus) which Rob called a love song to the one mate he's stayed in touch with from school; the friend who got expelled after finding a prefect's nude photos online, printing them out and distributing them around the student body. Out of the two, I definitely preferred the latter: it's still stuck in my head today, and I can't wait for it to be released so that I can listen to it on repeat until I explode.
I'd actually forgotten how brilliant Rob was until I saw him again. I listened to his debut, 'All These Nights In Bars Will Somehow Save My Soul', so much just after I purchased it, but I haven't listened to it for a while - I have no idea why, because the songs are all ace. I particularly still enjoy 'Hawking', with its catchy "oh, no, it's not the end of the world" singalong. In the attempt to get the crowd involved Rob said he was bringing the "super Friday vibes", before joking about the fact that he really liked spending time in Swindon because he was catcalled for the first ever time earlier in the evening - "turned 30 last week - still got it!".
If you haven't given Rob a listen yet, I'm definitely suggest starting with that debut, and starting fairly soon. I was talking to him after his set and he said that his new single should be released within the next two weeks, so that's something to look out for. He's also performing on the acoustic stage at Slam Dunk Festival: it looks like I'll be able to make that set, and I'm already looking forward to seeing Rob again. This was his first time ever playing Swindon, and he said he was hopeful to return when the new album's been released: fingers crossed!

Setlist:
-
Selfish Bones
Whiskey
Hawking
Not Worlds Apart
My Friends and I

I'd been expecting Rob to steal the show for me, but there was no question that Sean McGowan was my highlight of the evening. When 'Place Your Bets' started I was a little undecided: his thick Cockney accent and his blunt lyrics ("wind your neck in, your doin' my head in") just didn't appeal to me in the slightest.
However, then 'Patchwork' started. Calling it a song about his "patchy beard", I hadn't been expecting too much, and I could feel myself getting a little bit restless. However, it ended up being so much more than that: a bittersweet love story, telling the tale of a boy and a girl going back to his place after a night out, and him desperately hoping she wouldn't think less of him in the morning when she noticed his patchy beard. It wasn't the most complex song lyrically or musically, but the way that Sean chose to phrase the lines - splitting them in unique and interesting places that really captured the attention of everyone in the room - and his look of utter vulnerability up on the stage: it was goosebump-inducing. The room was deathly silent, but in a respectful and interested way; even the people at the bar who had been drinking throughout Rob's entire set were rapt, and you genuinely could have heard a pin drop in the room. I've never experienced anything like it.
The rest of the set didn't surpass that moment, but it was almost like I was under a trance: I couldn't take my eyes off Sean even for a second. New song 'Come Unstuck' (which usually features Sam Duckworth, but they hadn't rehearsed enough) was very catchy, and that - combined with his cover of 'Wild Mountain Thyme' - proved that he could sing beautifully (the rest of his set was more spoken than sung, but he really hit the high notes and held the notes out during those two songs).
I couldn't find the names of the last two songs that he performed, but I really enjoyed them both. The penultimate song was about Sean returning to the pub that he got barred from to clean their toilets ("I showed them, didn't I? You're laughing, but this is my fucking life!") and it was tongue-in-cheek, the perfect lad anthem for a night out, particularly when Sean used the word 'swell' in the song and took a moment to pause, laughing about the fact that he used it in a lyric.
The last song in his set was by far the most intriguing: it was a spoken word piece, completely acapella, as a way for Sean to reintroduce himself ("I'm 23 years old and I'm normally pissed up") to wrap up his set and bid the crowd farewell. I've never seen a closer like it: it was entirely stripped back and unaccompanied, which made it one of the ballsiest moves I've seen in a very long time.
Sean McGowan is one of the most exciting acoustic acts I've heard in a very long time. The last time I found myself this pumped about an artist was when I discovered Heartwork (and we all know that my love affair with Dan O'Dell will continue eternally). I bought Sean's CD at the show, and I can't wait to listen to it on repeat over the coming weeks.

Setlist:
Place Your Bets
Patchwork
Come Unstuck
Wild Mountain Thyme cover
-
-

I had to miss the end of Recreations. set, because I live a little way outside of Swindon and our bus timetables are not the best. I left at 11pm, 45 minutes after Sam started his set, and he'd already managed to squeeze in nine songs: he doesn't mess around, and you can tell he's been touring extensively for a large period of his life because of how smoothly everything runs.
This tour is to support 'Baby Boomers 2', the first full-length Recreations. release that came out at the end of last month. I didn't realise it had already been released, so when I arrived at the venue and saw it for sale I had to buy it. Luckily the majority of the set was songs I was already familiar with - whether because he performed them when I saw him in December, or because they were reworked versions of Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly songs.
The thing about Recreations. is that it's very solidly grounded in dance music. Compared to the toned down, relaxing guitar sets of both Rob and Sean, Sam's funky beats got the crowd moving a bit more, and I loved the way he'd updated some of his older songs to fit into the new style.
Similarly to last time, the singalong to 'Red Spex' was the most crowd involved of the evening, with the chant of "with your red spex on, all the red flags just look like flags" being easily carried by a large portion of the crowd.
Because I didn't get to see the full set, I can't comment on what happened in the rest of the evening, but I really enjoyed the songs that I managed to see. I will admit that some of the dance sections were a bit too long (particularly the intro to 'Pipe Down', which seemed endless) but that's just down to personal preference - I much prefer singalongs to dance-centric tracks. However, I thought the breaks between the songs were very cleverly done: Sam had recorded sections from news broadcasts to fill the breaks, something that worked particularly well in the build up to 'Built To Last', a song in support of the junior doctor's strike.
Compared to last time I saw him, Sam was much less interactive with the crowd, but he was fitting so much into his set that he didn't really have enough time to stop and talk. He did speak for a little bit before he jumped into 'Out To Lunch' - it might be something that happened towards the end of his set. Hopefully I'll be able to see Sam performing as Recreations. again in the future.

Setlist:
Pipe Down
War of the Worlds
Lifestyle Concept Store
Zones Nine and Ten
Red Spex
In Two Minds
Built To Last
Chronicles of a Bohemian Teenager (Part One)
Out To Lunch
-

Just before I go, I need to give a huge shout out to Kieran from Sheer Music: he had to sell and check tickets AND man the sound desk all evening, which is a huge accomplishment. If I had that many responsibilities...

Promoting Swindon shows!

You might have noticed that there was no New Music Monday this week. That's because I decided to treat myself to a day off for the bank holiday. Instead, I've decided to feature a rather exciting post shining a light on some upcoming shows in my local area.

I live in Swindon, and we've had some brilliant live bands perform in our town over the last twelve months (such as Moose Blood, Decade and Kristopher Roe from The Ataris) and the promoters at Sheer Music have brought my attention to a couple more really exciting shows that are rapidly approaching. If you're in the Swindon area, you need to go along to at least one of these!

Despite Everything - Level 3, 12/05/16

Coming to Swindon NEXT WEEK, we have Greek rockers Despite Everything. Performing at Level 3 (previously The Furnace), their brand of punk rock will definitely get you moving - most of their songs are under 3 minutes! If you're looking for a fun Thursday night out, and a way to bring the weekend that little bit earlier, Level 3 is the place to do it. If you haven't heard of them, what are you waiting for? You can hear their new album in full here.

Despite Everything's support, Bruce Willis, is not the Bruce Willis that you'll be thinking of - instead, they're a punk band from Brighton. You can hear some of their releases on their Bandcamp, and I think their grunge sound will definitely translate well into a live environment. 

Recreations. - The Vic, 13/05/16

Also next week, Sam Duckworth will be bringing his newest musical project, Recreations., to Swindon for the second time in a matter of months. Last time he opened for himself, but this time he's bringing along some friends for the ride, namely Sean McGowan and Rob Lynch. 

As soon as the show was announced I grabbed tickets: come on, it's Sam Duckworth, he's a brilliant musician and his live shows are legendary. I wasn't going to turn down the opportunity to see him again. However, having Rob Lynch on the bill is a massive bonus -I saw him supporting All Time Low last March, and I've been wanting to see him again since. 

I hadn't actually heard of Sean McGowan before, but he's a 22 year old singer/songwriter from Southampton who's been touring solidly for the past 5 years. I'm sure he must put on a great show with that much experience under his belt.

You can purchase tickets for this show here: don't hang about! What better way to spend a Friday night?

Gnarwolves - Level 3, 17/06/16

Last, but most certainly not least, I'm giving you a bit more notice on this one, because Gnarwolves are returning to Swindon next month. They've been to our town a handful of times over the last year or so, and I've sadly missed all of their visits: I live a busy life, okay!

While I'm excited to see Gnarwolves, I'm probably most pumped about the appearance of Rain on this line-up. A hometown success story, they're making waves following the release of their recent EP, 'Symphony Pains', being announced at festivals such as Fieldview and Dot To Dot. If shoegaze is your kind of thing, you're missing out if you haven't given Rain a listen. 

Broadbay have released a couple of EPs - most recently 'Living Room', which you can hear here - but I really like the sound of their first release, 'Demo(n)s', from back in 2014. Just looking at their Facebook page, you can see that they've already got themselves a pretty solid fanbase due to their live performances. I bet they'll make a few new fans in Swindon, too.

The third and final support, Crows-an-Wra, describe themselves as a progressive punk band, but with the shouting spoken word they have a heavier vibe to their sound. Their most recent release, 'Kakotopia', was only put out in January, but they've been uploading music to their band camp for over three years at this point. I particularly appreciate their psychedelic EP artwork. 

This show is the week after Download, so attending is reliant on me surviving my first proper rock festival... Fingers crossed I'll see you there. You can purchase tickets for this show here: £10 for 4 bands is an absolute bargain!

Elasea - The Vic Swindon, 14/01/16

Being from Swindon, when I saw the announcement that Elasea were playing a headline set, there was no doubt in my mind that I would be there. Having fallen in love with them when I saw them support Funeral For A Friend way back in June, I'd been keeping an eye out for any local shows that they played - the fact that this one had two other local bands on the bill and was free entry was just an extra added bonus.

If I had to choose one word to describe opening band Sea Mammal, it would be introspective. 

If you pushed me to choose a second, it would be boring.

I'm going to say this straight off: musically, the band are very talented. The extended instrumentals that they were performing were executed to near perfection, and I could definitely appreciate the skill level that they were exhibiting. However, the main reason I attend show is to have fun, join in with a singalong or two and leave with songs stuck in my head. That's just not something that can happen with Sea Mammal.
Two of the three songs with lyrics that they performed were very simplistic - painfully so - repeating a handful of words and lines over and over with no variation, giving the very surreal feeling of being stuck on a loop. This, combined with the majority of songs in their set just being glorified jam sessions, meant that I found my attention drifting and my patience slipping rapidly away.
Add in the fact that there was no interaction with the crowd (okay, I lie. Their bassist thanked the crowd, and introduced the band, just before walking off stage after finishing their final song)... What could have been a really special set just didn't work out.
There was a song in the middle that had much more promise, with a furiously fast vocal and a much more uptempo style, but it was over far too quickly. It was the one song in which the band seemed to let go and take themselves less seriously, because the rest of the set was highly self involved.
It takes a certain calibre of band to be able to pull off this style of music in a live environment, and I don't think Sea Mammal are quite there yet. I can understand why their style of music appeals to people, with the grunge undertones and the thrashing guitars, but this set just wasn't to my taste.

However, Misfires were completely up my street. Imagine, for a moment, if you will, that The 1975, Little Comets and Arctic Monkeys all had a baby together. That baby would be Misfires.
In fact, I'd challenge you to find a more indie-sounding band than this one. With their almost pop sensibilities and their upbeat tunes, I found myself enjoying the evening and starting to have a lot more fun throughout their twenty minute set.
The set was far from perfect, with guitar strings breaking and amps being disconnected willy-nilly, but the camaraderie between the band members made that completely acceptable. In fact, I think it made the show better - you could tell how much fun the members were having, and they weren't letting anything ruin their night.
I don't have anything too specific to say about Misfires, because I enjoyed the entirety of their too short set. They're a band from Swindon, so the next time they play a show in the local area I'm definitely going to be attending. I wouldn't be too surprised if they were snapped up by festivals soon, though, because their summery sound would perfectly fit in an outdoor environment.

It's been a while since the last time I saw Elasea, and while I've been listening to their EP and other releases regularly, these songs take on a life of their own in a live environment. As soon as the opening strains of 'Shallow Waters' began, I was sucked into their set, and I enjoyed every moment.
Sine the last time I saw the band they've gone through a line-up change, so this was my first time seeing their new drummer, Ash, perform with them. I'd expected the dynamic to shift, thought there might be a palpable change in their chemistry, but he seems to fit in perfectly with the other members - if this was your first Elasea show, you definitely wouldn't pick up on the recent change. The majority of songs in their set were songs that I already knew, and I could hear anything drastically different in the way that Ash played them. When I saw them previously I commented on how talented their drummer was, but his replacement is more than filling his shoes, and that's even more apparent on the new material.
Elasea played two new songs at the show: 'Walls' and 'On My Own'. I've always lauded Elasea for their lyrics, because I think for a fairly small band they're brilliant at writing lyrics that are easy to relate to but also great for singalongs. With 'Walls', they've finally upped their game musically, with an atmospheric opening that sent chills down my spine. Guitarist Calum Radmore really stood out on the track, playing his guitar perfectly, and while it seemed like a departure from the band's usual sound, it also felt utterly them.
The second of the two new songs, 'On My Own', was definitely a chance to show off their new drummer. I don't often find myself focusing on drummers live - I don't know why, it's just one of the things I'm least likely to comment upon - but I was enthralled by the drum line throughout the first half of the song. 'On My Own' builds to a very beautiful climax, with vocalist Andy Bradford verging on screaming the lyric "when it rains it pours, can't remember what I'm looking for", and I loved the difference in style. While their EP is very much one to sing along to, veering more towards their pop punk sensibilities, the sheer unbridled angst bubbling over made for a fabulous energy and I couldn't tear my eyes away.
I don't love the new songs yet, but my interest was held by them. They feel like album tracks when you compare them to songs like 'Lost In The Dark' and 'Time Is Against Us', which definitely would be the singles: those two just have that something special, making them instantly stand out. All bands need to have the bread and butter songs, a bit plainer compared to the extravagant desserts. I'm not saying that in a bad way - average is necessary, because not every song released can be a number one hit! - but when their first half a dozen releases were as strong and absorbing as they were, there had to come a time when they plateaued and found a level on which to build.
Overall, I think this was the most impressed I've been with an Elasea show. The band seem to have a fire in their veins and a determination that wasn't there before, and they're definitely not going to let anything stand in their way. I'm already looking forward to hearing more material, and hopefully seeing them again soon. I still think there's something very special about these four.

Setlist:
Shallow Waters
Glory For The Sinner
Glass Heart
Walls
On My Own
Lost In The Dark
Time Is Against Us

Kristopher Roe - The Vic Swindon, 16/12/15

Opening the show was Si Hall, the lead singer of Raze*Rebuild, a local Swindon band. He performed eight songs in total, including three songs from Raze*Rebuild's recent EP, 'Sting Like A Butterfly'.
In some ways his style reminded me of Neil Morris - who I saw live back in September - but I don't know if it was a real similarity, or just the fact that he was sharing a bill with Heartwork.
I didn't know any of Si's material, but I ended up really enjoying a good few of his songs. Of course, playing a show with Heartwork and The Ataris, his music was a tad on the depressing side, a couple of his songs really did make me laugh. His take on the 'a girl broke my heart so I wrote a song about it' trope was rather tongue in cheek, and the song he performed about the struggle of independent bands (he dedicated the song to "people who're in bands that don't get anywhere", to which his band mate in the crowd shouted "yeah, mostly with you!") was brilliantly written and highly astute. I couldn't find the names of either of the songs, but if you were at the show and happen to know I'd highly appreciate the information!
Si's set did flag a little bit at times, as his songs started sounding fairly similar, but that can often happen when you're a solo opening act. The thing that really mattered was that he performed his heart out, pushing his vocal to the limits and even performing a high jump after the thrashy outro that closed his set. To close his set he shared the fact that when he was in another band, fifteen years ago, leaflets for their shows posted around Swindon claimed that they were "The Ataris on a poor and uninspired day", which got a very big laugh.

My highlight of the evening was definitely Heartwork. When I got my tickets to the show he wasn't on the line-up, but when he was added to the bill last week he definitely became my main reason for attending.
This was my third time seeing him (Heartwork is the stage name of Dan O'Dell) live this year, and it was miles above the other two shows that I witnessed. The main reason for this is the addition of new song 'Dashboard Confrontational' - a tour de force that puts your emotions through the wringer and dumps you on the other side feeling distraught but strangely fulfilled.
Now, for some context: I write notes while I'm watching shows. I jot down things that the artists say, lyrics from songs that I find particularly inspiring, and descriptions of the music, all to assist me in writing my reviews. This should be the part where I look back on my notes and find some unique viewpoint or comment that I can share with you about how brilliant the song was, or how utterly captivating it was. However, because of how damn absorbing the song was, the only coherent thought I managed to get from it was: fuck me.
I think Heartwork is a guy who could really achieve something, if he keeps touring consistently and puts as much heart and soul into his writing as he has been thus far. But during 'Dashboard Confrontational' something clicked for me, and Heartwork became more than just a young guy with an acoustic guitar: it became an entity, an artist, a force to be reckoned with.
The rest of the set was brilliant: performing 'Butterfly', an older song that I hadn't experienced before, 'Achilles Friend' (the renamed 'The Things I Wish I'd Said') and 'I Went To Parts', but I think the set peaked with that jaw-dropping, powerful moment. Before he started the song, Dan shared the fact that he hadn't played the song live before and he didn't know if it would make it onto the album, because it relied too strongly on the drums, but that's completely wrong. No offence, Dan.
Seriously, though, if it doesn't make it onto the album I am going to kill somebody.

Setlist:

-

Midnight Calls

She

Dashboard Confrontational

Butterfly

Achilles Friend

I Went To Parts

I never really listened to The Ataris - not for a specific reason, it's just something that I never got around to doing, so - apart from 'In This Diary' - I didn't know any of the songs that Kristopher Roe played for us. It didn't stop me from enjoying the set, because his vocal is brilliant and the lyrical content of the songs is easy to connect to, but this wasn't a very memorable set for me.
I know, right, I must be crazy. Someone as legendary as Kris Roe comes to Swindon and I'm nonplussed by the entire event. But that's why it's taken me so long to write this review: I was trying to think of better observations to make, the aspects of this set that made it exciting and enjoyable for me, but in all honesty I felt rather bored and kind of just wanted to go home for an early night in bed.
It might have been something to do with the fact that Kris had to retune his guitar before every single song. Seriously, there was that much tuning and fiddling that if he hadn't done it he could have fitted another three songs into his set - no exaggeration. I was enjoying the music, but the time taken between songs left the set feeling stilted and disconnected. If I'd gone to see The Ataris as a band, I don't think I would have seen this, so it felt rather disappointing.
I don't really have anything else to say, I'm afraid. I always try to write in depth reviews, but there wasn't really any depth in this set for me to dive into. There's only so many times you can hear similar chords in a similar order with similar lyrical themes. I did enjoy 'San Dimas High School Football Rules' - as it was about going to Disneyland, it really stood out from the rest of the songs - and 'Your Boyfriend Sucks' (I think I know where Neck Deep got the inspiration for 'A Part of Me'!).
If anything, the interaction with the crowd was actually the selling point for me. Kris made a lot of witty quips while incessantly tuning, striking up debates about the potential plot line of the new Star Wars film ("I'm going to Star Wars tonight, but don't tell my girlfriend [...] I'm meant to be waiting until she gets here!") and discussing attitudes towards war ("If you fight war with war [...] It's the most stupid analogy in the world") and politics in general ("All politicians are fucking idiots, probably. [...] Someone had his moat cleaned for £3000. Moat? That's fucking awesome."). It was also extremely funny when Kris played his encore, warning the crowd that 'The Saddest Song' was his "pretend last song, which means I'll probably play some more after it, probably meaning definitely. I won't walk off, we'll just continue", ending the song by shouting "You've been excellent Swindon!", leaning slightly away from the mic and then leaning forward again, saying "Okay, I'm back!". Moments like this made the show more enjoyable, but overall it was a lukewarm headline set, which was a huge shame. 

Setlist:

In This Diary

The Hero Dies In This One

Unopened Letter To The World

San Dimas High School Football Rules

Better Way

I.O.U. One Galaxy

Summer '79

1-15-96

Your Boyfriend Sucks

Eight Of Nine

Summer Wind Was Always Our Song

Losing Streak

The Saddest Song

-

Skulls (The Misfits cover) 

My Hotel Year
-

I couldn't work out what the last song on the setlist was (sorry!) so if you were in attendance at the show please let me know in the comments down below.

Sam Duckworth - The Vic Swindon, 07/12/15

Swindon have had a lot of good concerts this year (Decade, Moose Blood, The 1975 - to name but a few) so I'm happy that out of the last three concerts I'm attending this year, two out of three are in my hometown. With Kristopher Roe from The Ataris playing in a couple of weeks time I'm expecting great things from him, but I'd also been extremely excited about Sam Duckworth's show. I never got to see Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly, so it was nice to finally experience the songs in a live environment.

Sam opened for himself under the name Recreations., his newest project (seriously, this guy just does not stop!), and it was vastly different from the set he played later in the evening. With his Macbook set up on a table, playing the backing tracks to accompany his guitar, it was impressive to hear something performed in such a DIY manner but sounding so polished and professional.
Because of the many years of experience under his belt, Sam is a brilliantly talented songwriter. It's exemplified beautifully in the new material: 'Out To Lunch' is quick, with a dance backing and a raucous singalong chorus; 'What's Left?' is melancholy and slow for the first half of the song, then kicks in; 'Lifestyle Concept Store' is a brilliant piece of social commentary about the closure of legendary venues ("Whatever happened to the places where we had our first embraces, where did all the decent venues go?"). As this was his first time playing Swindon he dedicated the song to The Vic, saying "I haven't been here before, which is odd for someone who's played over 1,500 shows" - it really drove home how special it was for us to have a musician of his calibre playing for us.
Splicing the set with some Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly songs, I actually ended up enjoying the Recreations. material much more. 'Zones 9 & 10' discussed the housing market, "all your hopes and dreams sold for a postcode", while 'Red Specs' had a lovely round with the crowd at the end and a great amount of participation. It almost felt like sitting around a campfire singing, which made for a beautiful atmosphere and an extremely memorable set.
Sam was selling bootlegs of the Recreations. recordings at the show, because he "started writing and pretty much finished an album in the space of a couple of weeks" so he certainly has the material for it. I'm looking forward to hearing more from this project, because what I've heard so far is extremely promising.

Setlist: 
Out To Lunch
What's Left?
An Oak Tree
I Spy
Lifestyle Concept Store
Zones 9 and 10
Red Specs

I didn't know what to expect from She Makes War. When Laura stepped out on stage with crazy eye make-up and a little ukelele, I thought it was going to be as simple as that - a bit quirky, a tad kooky, but very bright and happy songs.
Of course, I was completely wrong. 'Scared To Capsize' starts off on the ukelele, giving Laura a chance to show off her loop pedal skills (I've never before seen a loop pedal used with a ukelele, but it makes the instrument even more beautiful), before it builds to a crescendo: multiple vocals layered in the background; multiple ukelele lines complementing each other. This allowed Laura to swap her ukelele out for an electric guitar in the middle of the song, and from that moment, I was impressed. The end of the song is, to put it simply, grunge. The guitar was slightly discordant, with a flat and guttural sound, and the juxtaposition of the grit at the  end of the song to the floating beauty of the beginning was something I hadn't experienced before.
This schizophrenic fluctuation continued throughout the set. 'In Cold Blood' was one of the heavier songs, but if you played that next to 'The Best' - a ukelele-driven rock song about Laura's pyromaniac ex-boyfriend ("I wrote this song and I performed it when we were still together, but I pretended it was about someone else") - you'd never guess that they were by the same artist. Laura's voice worked perfectly with both styles of music, and where most musicians box themselves in you can tell that she's not afraid to explore multiple creative avenues. She joked "for the most part my songs are about massive wankers I've met - I'm doing the research so you don't have to" before the vastly different 'Please Don't', written about her father - another example of how she continually changes it up and tries out different things. A few of her songs were rather bleak and heart-rending, and when telling the crowd that she had CDs for sale she quipped "if you'd like to continue your misery at home at your own leisure": she might write serious songs, but she has a lovely personality, being self-deprecating and extremely funny.
The song that stood out the most was definitely 'Delete'. Laura joked beforehand that she had to try to convince her parents that the song wasn't about suicide, and with the repetitive "I want to delete myself" layered throughout you can see why they might have jumped to that conclusion. The monotonous repetition was looped in the background, almost hypnotic in its consistency, and when Laura walked out into the crowd and started singing through a megaphone it certainly hooked everyone's attention. Weaving her way through the audience, the megaphone siren echoing shrilly in the darkened room, I felt both confused and completely in awe - it wasn't something I'd expected to see in a little pub in Swindon, but it was electrically intense. Climbing back up on to the stage, still singing into the megaphone with the intricate looping vocals soaring in the background, it was a brilliant moment when Laura cut all of the recordings out and sang the very last word solely through the megaphone - it really pared it back, making it feel intimate, special... Spectacular. I love it when artists take risks and do something very simple but make it seem mind-blowing, and that was one of those moments for me.
At the end of the set I still felt confused, because it was not what I'd been expecting in the slightest. But I'm pretty sure I loved it, because there was no doubt in my mind when I went and bought the albums and had a lovely little chat with Laura at the end of the show. I just might be able to write an early review of her upcoming album, 'Direction of Travel', which releases in March (Laura was selling a few after the show, stating "I'm DIY so I can do what the fuck I like!" which is a very rock-n-roll attitude) - keep an eye out for that post coming in mid-February.

Setlist: 
Scared To Capsize
In Cold Blood
Please Don't
Delete
The Best
ghostsandshadows
Slow Puncture
Paper Thin

This was definitely the classiest show I'd attended in Swindon: the standing area had been converted, with tables and chairs set up complete with candlelight. It might sound stupid, with this venue being the back of a pub, but it did look beautiful, and I thought it was a really nice touch.
For a Monday night, the amount of people that turned out was rather impressive. There were people wearing Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly shirts, showing that they were obviously fans of his previous venture - it was heartwarming to see people supporting Sam Duckworth so strongly when he hasn't been performing and releasing songs under his own name for the longest amount of time.
In all honesty, it's been a long time since I've listened to Get Cape. avidly - I don't know why, but at some point in the last couple of years I've just stopped. This meant that I recognised a few of the songs, but I didn't completely remember them: it was a chance for me to rediscover exactly what I'd loved about Get Cape., and to kick myself for not listening to him more.
The thing is... I don't really have a lot of things to say about the music. I've been attempting to think of the aspects that sold one song for me over another, but the truth of the matter is that I enjoyed every single song that he played - with it being an eighteen song set, that's pretty damn impressive. It felt as though the show was bigger than it was: Sam's stage presence is absorbing, and the hour and a half set flew past. Sometimes when the artist is acoustic and has no-one else on stage with them, I can find myself getting restless and a little bit distracted (I mean, come on, it happened when I saw Ed Sheeran at Wembley Stadium, it's more likely to happen at a small venue in Swindon) but I genuinely paid attention to every word that Sam was singing. With his politically minded lyrics and his desire to live in an equal, welcoming world, it felt like he was preaching (which was appropriate, when he joked that "On the internet it kept popping up that I had a message from 'Songs of Praise', and I thought 'Yes, finally!', but no, that's the name of the promoters"). His set made me think, and it really inspired me.
Really, that's the one word that I can use to sum up this evening: inspiring. Both through Sam's career (becoming an established solo artist under a stage name, then retiring that stage name and striking out on his own, following the path that he wanted to take) and through Sam's belief that the world can become a better place, if we all just open our eyes.
Discussing his song 'Angels In The Snow', Sam shared the fact that he visited Pripyat, the setting of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. He focused upon the monument of two cranes that resides in the centre of the town, one crane pointing towards Hiroshima, the other towards Nagasaki. Talking about the statues, he made a beautiful speech about the destructiveness of nuclear weaponry and how completely unnecessary it is - the fact that the people who suffered in Pripyat still showed support for their brothers and sisters who had suffered the same thing as them just proves that we need to listen to the people who have experienced these things, rather than trying to disregard their opinions.
He also took time to talk about racism in the UK and, while he must have been talking for around about ten minutes, the entire audience was riveted. He could easily make a career for himself in political speaking, if he wasn't such a damn fine musician. He speaks honestly and openly and, most importantly of all, his views make sense. He doesn't use rhetoric and rhyme to avoid questions, he faces things head on and he knows exactly what he thinks - he's not letting anyone change his opinions just to fit in, he's strong-minded. He's impressive:

"I don't really understand what the fuck's going on, to be honest with you [...] The first issue is a fundamental lack of understanding of what's going on in the Syria conflict. The Syrian people that are trying to fight for democracy have said that [air strikes are] the wrong thing to do. [...] The whole thing this terrorist organisation is trying to start is a race war and a religious war, and they're trying to do it from outside their own country - it's playing straight into their hands. 

"It's getting harder to have an opinion that says these people are in our community. [...] Within the environments that you're in, if you start to hear this stuff it's simple: Muslims want peace. These people are hi-jacking something for their own gain." 

There wasn't a mutter or murmur from anyone in the crowd, apart from the addition of information regarding the fact that "Donald Trump called for all Muslims to be banned", which occurred during Sam's stage time, to which Sam stated: "Nobody wants to piss off the rich man".
Touching upon David Cameron's "terrorist sympathizer" comments, and the fact that the debate in the House of Commons did not give enough time for everyone who wanted to speak to get a chance, Sam definitely opened my eyes to a few things that I hadn't heard about. When so much of the media is skewed through one political lens or another, it's hard to know what to believe and what is completely fabricated - looking it up since the show, I've got much more of an understanding of what went on, and I'm feeling more interesting and incensed than ever.
Wrapping up his spiel to play 'Once More With Feeling', Sam closed with the statement:

"No matter what happens, truth will always win. [...] If you want peace, peace comes with truth." 

When introducing closing song 'Glass Houses', you could tell that the earlier conversation was still playing on his mind, as he shared the fact "I like playing the songs because they're fun to play, but I'd rather they be relics than relevant, especially when it comes to songs about racism". When you look at the construction of the setlist and note just how many songs he played from his debut album, all songs that still felt relevant and appropriately hard-hitting today, it does make you wonder about the state of the world - nothing has really changed within the past ten years, and that's terrifying.
Finishing the set, Sam announced "it's going to be a tough time if you actively want to be part of an equal society. [...] Hope begins at home", and it was the perfect way to close the show - despite the fact that things are dire, despite the fact that Sam had been talking about all of these harrowing and dreadful events, it's still worth having hope.

Setlist: 
Find The Time
The Chronicles of a Bohemian Teenager pt. 2
Gluten Free
War of the Worlds
Collapsing Cities
The Plot
1986
Lighthouse Keeper
Call Me Ishmael
Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly
3rd Generation
Geldermalsen Cargo
Angels in the Snow
18 to 1
Whitewash is Brainwash
Once More With Feeling
Hiding Place
Glass Houses

Finally, I'd like to give a big shout out to Sheer Music for organising this show! He's doing a great job of keeping the music scene in Swindon alive, as are Songs of Praise, and I'm very grateful for what they're doing. 

The 1975 - Swindon Oasis, 27/11/15

I'm going to be honest: I was only attending this concert because it was near to my house. I didn't expect it to sell out as insanely quickly as it did, and I felt a little bit guilty about getting tickets. I only knew 'Chocolate' and 'Sex'. What about all the hardcore fans of the band who were now missing out? Would everyone hate me for getting tickets because of the convenient location?!

But over the last couple of weeks I've listened to The 1975 a lot more, and I've ended up really liking them, and getting excited about seeing them.

First up was Rat Boy, who we accidentally missed at this year's Reading festival. We'd been intending on seeing them (him? I'm not sure. It's a solo project, with three people in the live band), but there were too many bands to keep track of! It totally wasn't our fault.
After seeing them at the Oasis... I'm almost glad that we missed them. I'm not sure if it was their attitude or the venue, but it gave me flashbacks to the many school talent shows I've experienced over the years and I was not impressed.
'Wasteman' and 'Sign On' were both extremely catchy and well-performed, and while I dislike constant rhyming couplets in pop songs it made a lot of sense and was fun. Sadly, the first half of the set all blurred in together for me, and I found myself getting very bored. There was no interaction with the crowd (apart from a half-hearted request for a circle pit before 'Left For Dead') and it was very introspective, so it didn't win me over.
The second half of the set did pick up speed, the band seeming as though they'd gained confidence, but it seemed as though it was over as soon as it had really started. Rat Boy work well as a supporting band, but I can't see them headlining large venues any time soon.

Setlist:
Sportswear
Carry On
-
-
Wasteman
Hanging Round
Left For Dead
Sign On
Fake ID

(I couldn't get a full setlist as I didn't know any of his songs before this evening, sorry!)


I was rather anticipating The 1975, and while I only knew four of the songs that they played I ended up having an amazing evening.
This was all down to the amount of new music in their set. After 'Love Me' I was still enjoying the show, but I felt a little bit restless - the guitar was overpowering and vocalist Matt Healy was indecipherable with his slightly whiny vocal, these problems specifically bad on 'The City' and 'You' (except for the climactic outro of 'You', which feels like a set closer to me: it has that epic sound that sends shivers down your spine and really stays with you). The crowd were still going wild, treating the band with a godlike reverence, and there was lots of screaming and singing along but I didn't get it. It didn't sound great to me, and I'm not quite sure why.
But the band went off stage for a brief interlude, and when they returned and started playing more of their new material... It completely transformed my opinion. When talking about the new songs, Matt said that they wanted to "play it to our proper fans first", and you can see why - it's unbelievably different.
'Change of Heart' is as eighties sounding as 'Love Me', while 'She's American' was an instant song to sing along to with its catchy chorus and repetitions. Fast forward two songs to 'Somebody Else' and 'The Sound', and I was absolutely hooked. 'Somebody Else' was very easy to relate to and will quickly be incorporated into lots of lyric edits on tumblr., while 'The Sound' was fun, upbeat and easy to dance to. As Matt himself announced, "We're not a very jumpy band, but now we are!", and it's brilliant that the band themselves can acknowledge the crazy direction that they've gone in, but seem so excited about the possibilities.
While I don't understand the appeal of The 1975's earlier music, I absolutely adore the way that their sound is changing, and I think the new direction they're heading in is extremely exciting and could do revolutionary things to the UK music scene.
Of course I enjoyed the main set closer of 'Girls', and the encore of 'Chocolate' and 'Sex', but nothing could beat the new music for me. I found 'Me' to be very interesting, and it definitely showed the respect and awe that the crowd have for the band. Matt said "I just wanna do one song where there's no phone, so I can just look at your faces. I don't wanna be grumpy, but I really want to connect with you. [...] Let's look at each other and have a lovely three minutes of being alive", and at other shows where this has been requested fans haven't paid much attention, but you could see that the focus was solely on the band for the entirety of the song. For such a connected generation to actually put their technology down and live in the moment... It feels like Matt really could be a god, for managing to make his fans do something that difficult. While the new material was what really stood out for me, I can definitely accept the fact that The 1975 are talented musicians, and they're very comfortable up on that stage doing what they do best.
I'm very, very glad that I went to this show. I didn't have high expectations, but coming out of the show I'm so hyped about the new album and I respect The 1975 much more than I did before. They got famous very quickly with not a lot of graft, so I wasn't too convinced by them - with the new material they've proved that they have a talent for writing and are not scared to take big risks, and I definitely appreciate that bravery.
The 1975's new album, 'I Like It When You Sleep, For You Are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware Of It', is released in February, and I for one can't wait to hear it in full. Matt shared that the band were "a bit nervous about it", but they have nothing to be worried about. It's going to be huge.  

Setlist: 

Love Me
Heart Out
Settle Down
So Far (It's Alright)
The City
You
Menswear
Change of Heart
She's American
Me
fallingforyou
Somebody Else
The Sound
Robbers
Girls
-
Medicine
Chocolate
Sex

Union J - Christmas Lights switch-on, Swindon

I wasn't planning on reviewing Union J (well, 3/4 of Union J, with George Shelley being out in the jungle for 'I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here!'), but I thought I'd write a little bit about them because I enjoyed their performance and they ended up performing five songs, which was more than I'd anticipated.

Christmas isn't in the air. It's not me being a Scrooge, it's just true - yes, the weather has gotten colder in the past week, but it's not December and it's not snowing, so it's not Christmas for me yet. I wasn't really in a festive mood; not wearing a goofy Christmas jumper or reindeer antlers, I certainly wasn't dressed up for the occasion. While Swindon's Christmas lights are quite mediocre (visit the town centre, you'll see what I mean), it was actually nice to get involved in a community event and have a nice night out like this.

In true Swindon style, of course there had to be technical issues, so after the band came out on stage to perform 'Tonight (We Live Forever)' their microphones ending up stopping on the second line, so they had to leave the stage again and re-enter. The dramatic build-up was not as impressive second time around, but in all honesty it added fun to the event. It was obvious that things couldn't be that perfectly polished in a town like Swindon!

Performing three of their most well-known songs (as well as their opening song, they performed 'Carry You' and 'You've Got It All') and two covers (including a Christmas song - of course!), it was a nice variety for a set, and it was definitely worth standing out in the chilly night for a little while. 

I found myself impressed by the vocal performance that they'd put on, because with pop artists you can't really tell which way things are going to go: they're either really skilled or obviously lip-syncing, so I was glad that Union J fell in the former category. With missing a member you'd definitely expect them to be lacking something, but it wasn't obvious at all, which is the sign of a very well-connected group, and it's quite obvious that these three were comfortable performing together and were individually talented long before George joined their ranks. 

For a band that were officially formed on 'The X Factor' (originally entering the competition as Triple J, with George Shelley as solo male act) Union J have done extremely well for themselves. With two top ten albums, a collection of well-performing singles, and a couple of sold out tours, this was a very impressive booking for Swindon - think about the fact that they turned the Christmas lights on at Regent's Street last year, and that makes it even more surprising. The group shared the fact that they've taken this year off to work on new music that will be coming very soon, so I'm sure that they'll have another top ten album by this time next year. 

Thank you to Union J, for coming to our little town, and to inSwindon for organising the event - now I just need a few more hot chocolates before the Christmas spirit comes to me! 

Setlist:

Tonight (We Live Forever)

Carry You

I Can't Make You Love Me cover

You've Got It All

It's Beginning To Look a Lot Like Christmas cover

Neil Morris and Heartwork - The Roaring Donkey Swindon, 09/09/15

On Tuesday night, I saw Dan O'Dell (a.k.a. Heartwork) post on Facebook that he was going to be visiting Swindon again, and despite the fact that it was extremely short notice I knew I had to try and be there. I'd never heard of The Roaring Donkey before, but walking in I was impressed by the atmosphere - it feels like a small country pub, despite the fact that geographically it is just behind The Vic in Swindon, which is quite a busy area. It's made even better because, in keeping with its name, The Roaring Donkey has donkey memorabilia everywhere: postcards covering the ceiling, donkeys hanging behind the bar - such a quirky, unique idea. 

Because it's hidden away, it feels like a real gem - I was having a great evening before the music even started! Sadly, the crowd wasn't as large as I'd anticipated (only just managing to breach double figures) but with karaoke at The Vic drawing everyone like a magnet, it wasn't too surprising that the venue wasn't filled to bursting. However, it definitely made it feel more special - we've all heard stories of majorly successful acts who performed to small crowds for years before their big break, and it really does feel like these two artists are on their way to something bigger. 

Heartwork performed first, and I was so excited for his set - when I saw him last time, he was utterly brilliant, and that hasn't changed a bit. He still ridicules himself as much as before (exemplified brilliantly when he stepped up to the microphone and introduced himself, explaining "I go by the name of Heartwork because I'm a 24 year old pretentious twat") and his jokes are still shockingly bad (stood next to the dartboard pictured above, Dan joked "tonight, I'm going under the name of Dartwork!") but the jokes and humorous comments came so naturally that I couldn't help laughing out loud through almost the entirety of his set - even if some of them were a bit cheesy. 

The relationship between Dan and Neil Morris made it even funnier. Dan shared the fact that they'd met at 2000 Trees festival a few years back, and you could really tell how close their friendship was - the jokes between them made the set feel more intimate, as though you were amongst close friends. With the homely atmosphere of the pub, it made for one of the nicest live environments I'd ever experienced - it was lovely to just relax and chill out, listening to some beautiful acoustic music and having a laugh. 

And that's the thing: the music was brilliant. I recognised all of the songs but one, despite the fact that I only listened to them that one time back in April - they just really stick in your mind. My favourite was still 'I Went To Parts', which is a song I strongly relate to, but I also loved his newest song 'The Things I Wish I Said', dedicated to a friend that he lost contact with due to issues with a woman. As Dan shared, "the theme of the evening is I am a terrible person and these are my songs to redeem myself", so a lot of the lyrical content was confessional in nature. It makes it impossible not to care, because it's all so easy to relate to. 

The most interesting aspect of his set had to be the fact that half of it was broadcast on Periscope! Neil decided to film him performing 'The Things I Wish I Said' (hilarious choice, because in the middle of the song Dan paused to shout "uh oh, it's happened! I've forgotten the words!") - certainly the only show I've been to where there are more people watching at home than there are in room. 

Sometimes, bands have a lot of on-stage banter because their music just isn't up to scratch and the need to give the audience their money's worth in some way, but that's not the case with Heartwork - he jokes around on stage despite the fact that his songs are amazing. You can tell that he's not as confident as he should be (shown most obviously in the fact that he always performs with his eyes closed) but he has such a talent for song-writing, you'd expect him to be a lot less humble. 

Dan shared the fact that he's going to be coming back to Swindon next month, and despite the fact that I already have a gig booked for each week of October (eek!) I'm going to have to go along! If you're in the Swindon area, you'd be wise to go as well - I can assure you that you will definitely not have a boring evening. 

Setlist:

Midnight Calls

She

To Water On Mars

The Things I Wish I Said

I Went To Parts

Fear and Clothing

I hadn't heard of Neil Morris until this show was announced, but I'm glad I stuck around to see his set anyway. His voice has a real country tone, which means this was one of the more unusual acts I've seen live: I love country music, but it's not often that I get to see it performed. As well as this, his lyrical content was pure folk, so it was such a nice change for me. 

The joking between Neil and Dan was still hilarious through Neil's set - you could tell they'd both consumed a few two many beers, but because of the great environment it didn't deplete the enjoyment of the evening in the slightest. It did mean that Neil had a few moments where he forgot his own lyrics and needed to restart - most hilariously during 'This Life', when the line "his future's filled with dread" kept tripping Neil up (as he told us, every time he sang it it sounded like "his fuchsia's filled with dread" like "he has a load of flowers filled with dread", and he refused to move on until he pronounced it correctly). But when you've been writing and performing for as long as Neil has (a massive nineteen years, from what he was saying last night!) it's completely understandable - I mean, even Dave fuckin' Grohl is forgets lyrics from the songs he plays less frequently. 

The most beautiful song Neil performed was definitely 'Daisy's Song' - an ode to a dead girlfriend. Dan suggested playing it, so Neil agreed - midway through the set, he did step back from the microphone to ask "what's the fucking chorus, Dan?" to which Dan responded "I don't know, I've only heard it once!". Despite this little interlude, it was still such a poignant tribute, and it's definitely one I'm going to listen to more.

Some of the songs in the set sounded rather similar to me - when you're playing a fifteen song set, that's going to be the only issue - so the ones that really stood out were 'Blood Diamonds'/'Don't Know If I Should Drive', two songs that tell the story of a disastrous dinner with a girlfriend's family, and 'Bristol Doesn't Have a Coastline' which was an utterly hilarious closer. To be able to laugh along at songs, I normally need to be listening to them at home - it takes a very skilled vocalist to be able to have the clarity and diction to communicate the lyrics properly. Neil obviously had this, because I was rapt by the funny stories that he was telling: I couldn't help laughing along, and the imagery that he was conveying was so evocative it was so much like reading a book. 'Bristol Doesn't Have a Coastline' was so wittily written - it's the story of a night out that ends with Neil waking up, expecting to be in Bristol, and finding that he's actually looking out at Clevedon (or, as he put it "best not tell anyone about this stupid thing I've done, so I wrote a song about it!"). 

Neil's songs might have been more humorous than Heartwork's, but their origin stories are both very similar - Heartwork shared the fact that when his relationship ended he had to leave the cat with his ex-girlfriend, and Neil had actually been through the same situation. Neil shared the fact that his coping mechanism was to go out on tour, which was "basically two and a half weeks of a mild fucking breakdown", but going by how good the songs are that focus on these experiences, it was a wise decision. 

I've bought Neil's albums, so I'm going to be listening to them a bit more over the weeks to come - I really do appreciate his unique vocal style. If I can see him again in the future, I certainly will: I'm going to be keeping a close eye out to see if he returns to Swindon!

Setlist:

Malt Reflections

Give Me Tuesday

It's Hard To Open Doors

Don't Walk Away

Fairytales

Blood Diamonds

Don't Know If I Should Drive

Son of Wednesbury

A Little Polish (The Blanks cover)

On My Own

-

This Life

Daisy's Song

Santeria (Sublime cover)

Bristol Doesn't Have a Coastline

Sadly, I can't workout what the eleventh song Neil played was - sorry about that! I can tell you that it mentioned "last night wasn't supposed to be the kind of night I ended on the floor", so if you're a fan of Neil's and recognise the lyric - let me know!

'Endings EP' by With Ghosts

After seeing With Ghosts supporting All Ears Avow at the end of June, I lamented once again about the fact that these guys didn't have an EP - so I need to say a huge thank you to the band for sending me 'Endings', which is being released pretty soon.

'Endings' is four songs of completely unadulterated, perfectly produced, pop-punk. It's an obvious fact from the first line of 'Bury Me'. Nathan Gregory's crystal clear vocal rings out over a beautifully played intro, hooking you into the song with a merciless grip, and it just gets catchier from there. This is a chorus that will stick in your mind for hours, or even days, on end; it's already driving me crazy, but I love it so damn much. 

'Just A Ghost' is my favourite song on the album, because it just struck a chord with me so powerfully hearing it live. One of the things I really appreciate about With Ghosts is that their lyrics get extremely dark in places, but the music is still upbeat and enlightening (in a similar vein to twenty one pilots), and even with the lyric "you were the noose around my neck, you were the chair I'll kick right out from under me" I still can't stop smiling through this entire song; the music is just so uplifting and fun!

Third track, 'Sorry, I'm Not Sorry', actually had a video released last night through Discovered Magazine - so first things first, go and check it out! Too often with upcoming bands their videos are cheesy and terribly shot, so it was brilliant that With Ghosts had such a fab production team behind them; I really enjoyed the video. 'Sorry, I'm Not Sorry' feels to me like the heaviest song on the album, and it definitely stands out; you can feel the confidence from the band, as they obviously know what they're doing and aren't afraid to take risks.
Last, but definitely not least, 'Strangers' cements once again how brilliant With Ghosts are lyrically. There isn't a dull moment on this EP, and all of the songs are as great as each other - there isn't a weak link to dull the overall effect of the collection, and fans are not going to be disappointed. After seeing them live multiple times, and already having my favourite songs, the band picked the best ones for this EP - the tracks complement each other brilliantly, each song standing out on its own but also helping to show the audience exactly who With Ghosts are.
If you're a fan of pop-punk, you're going to love this EP. It's been difficult to find a stand-out pop-punk band recently; You Me At Six have developed from their earlier sound, and after Canterbury and Kids In Glass Houses both split it was looking quite dire for the UK pop-punk scene for a while. However, if With Ghosts play their cards right and keep releasing songs like this, they could be filling those vacancies pretty soon. Any band that can write songs that get stuck in your head this early in their career have a huge amount of talent, and I am so excited to see where this band can go. 

Tracklist: 

Bury Me 

Just A Ghost

Sorry, I'm Not Sorry

Strangers

If you want to get 'Endings', please pre-order it on their Pledge Music to help the boys out! 

Decade - The Vic Swindon, 27/04/15

A mere six months have passed since the last time Decade played Swindon, so I was ecstatic when they announced that they were coming back, and though last night was an eclectic mix (to say the least) it also ended up being one of the most fun shows I'd been to in a very long while.

The opening act, Heartwork, was definitely my highlight out of the three support bands. Playing acoustic music straight from the heart, Dan O'Dell poured everything he had into his half an hour set, and I was impressed by every moment. I'm a real sucker for emo acoustic music (Front Porch Step, Rob Lynch, This Wild Life) but it's not something we've ever had much experience of here in the UK, so it was brilliant to encounter such a fabulous lyricist performing on my home turf. 'I Went To Parts' is one of the most revealingly honest songs I've heard in a very long time, and I think this is going to be a song that I'm listening to for a long time to come. 

None of the songs were disappointing and every single one brought something different to the show - even though Dan was fighting with sound problems for a good chunk of his stage time. And as well as being a brilliant performer, Dan is a hilarious guy, and some of the comments he was coming out with between songs were the funniest things I'd heard in a very long time ("If you're here with a loved one... It's not gonna last!") making him seem like a blend of Aaron West and the Roaring Twenties with comedic American singer Bo Burnham. If you have a couple of quid, I'd sincerely recommend you download one of the Heartwork EPs - I'm sure you won't be disappointed. 

Second up were All Ears Avow, a local band who've gained a pretty big hometown following since the release of their EP, 'Home'. I'd seen them before, a couple of years ago, but I couldn't really remember what they were like, so I was absolutely blown away by their set. Recently all female-fronted bands seem to make pop-punk or pop-rock music, so it was refreshing to hear an alternative rock band with frontwoman Claire Sutton's vocals making them seem more similar to Halestorm than to We Are The In Crowd - it definitely gives them something different to push them ahead in this game.

Starting off with 'Better Now', a track reminiscent of a heavier version of Don Broco's 'You Wanna Know', they grabbed the crowd's attention immediately and did not let go of it for the entirety of their set. New song 'I Can Help You To Bend' was probably the catchiest song of the evening (not only because it employed my favourite instrument, the percussive egg, but because the hook was just so well written), followed closely by 'Waiting Games' and 'Tongue Tied', showing that their new songs are definitely their best songs. 

This band are definitely one who know who they are and where they want to go; the songs from their upcoming debut album 'Get In The Game' definitely demonstrated that their music is developing in a natural way that's likely to expand their fanbase dramatically following its release. I've already pre-ordered my copy, so I'd suggest you do so as well, because this band are definitely going to be one to watch - even more so if newest single 'Waiting Games' is an idea of things to come from the rest of the album. 

Setlist:

Better Now

Wings On Butterflies

Waiting Games

I Can Help You To Bend

Home

Tongue Tied

The heaviest band of the bill tonight were, by far, Big Nothing, a new band from Liverpool (well... new in this incarnation, they used to be known as Scouts). Seeming like a mixture between Bullet For My Valentine and Nirvana (so much like Nirvana, in fact, that they were verging on a tribute band), it all got a bit too heavy for me, and I didn't really enjoy their set. Musically, they were rather good, but most of their songs just seemed to blend in to each other, meaning that for the entire half an hour it just felt as though I was surrounded by discordant noise. Their banter was also lacking, with some of their jokes falling completely flat on the crowd, which was a shame - I hope they settle down and become more comfortable throughout the rest of the tour with Decade, because they just seemed much too nervous to make a real impact on anyone.

Decade's stage time was a bit later than anticipated, following a couple of microphone lead changes and some sound issues, meaning that they interacted with the crowd a lot more at the beginning of their set than they'd ever had a need to before, and I think it definitely made them more comfortable. Sometimes, especially when playing bigger venues, Decade seem as though they've gone a bit deer in the headlights and are incapable of talking to people, meaning that they music is brilliant but the atmosphere is a bit lacking, but that was not a problem tonight. With guitarist and backing vocalist Connor Fathers taking to the mic, he had the crowd laughing almost instantly, and you could tell that no one was too irritated with the delay taking place, because it just made the show that much more individual. Talking of the crowd, I was impressed with the turn out that this show saw - for a Monday night the venue was absolutely buzzing, and everyone got so involved with the show which was highly commendable.

When the music eventually did get started, it was a brilliantly constructed set featuring all of Decade's best songs, and two new ones. Playing the entirety of the 'Good Luck' album, as well as two older songs and the two new releases, it struck me how flawless their performance was (even with some technical issues making Alex's vocal seem a bit too quiet a points) and I was not disappointed to be seeing them again so soon after Takedown Festival. If you haven't seen Decade live yet, you're definitely missing something great, and I highly recommend you change that now. 

'Daisy May' was definitely my favourite song that they performed - the first of the two new ones - which sounded like a perfect blend between Kids In Glass Houses and Lower Than Atlantis. With so many great UK pop-rock bands calling it a day in the last year (Save Your Breath, Canterbury and Me Vs Hero to name but a few) there's definitely a big gap to be filled, and I'm certain that Decade are going to step up and fill it. 'Brand New Again' also sounded great, and the two new songs stood out from the set in such a way that it displayed how much Decade have grown since their first album release - they're a more mature band now, they know more about what they're doing and they're not afraid to take some risks and shake things up a bit.

The rest of the set was a standard Decade show, and while that is not a negative thing it also didn't surpass either of the new songs. I can't wait for album two to be released, because it's going to kick down some doors and really open up some new possibilities for Decade, and they definitely deserve it. A self-confessed support band who rarely play headline shows, it's time for them to start selling out some rooms of their own, and that day can't come soon enough. 

Setlist: 

Good Luck

Callous

Fool's Gold

Daisy May

Brand New Again

Brainfreeze

I Don't Care

Never Enough

Coffin 

Homebound

Low 

Fake Teeth

Woke

British Weather