Saturday 15 February 2014

The Power of 3: This Week's Reviews


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


Katie Coleman at Barfly

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


New Video: Sisteray 'She Likes The Drama'

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




The Cornerstones - Stand in Line

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


























Sunday 2 February 2014

When We Are Apart: Magistrates Talk of Their Comeback


Press the rewind button back to 2009 and  Magistrates were everywhere you turned. Their fun, contagious tracks such as 'Colour Coordination' and 'Goldlover' secured them a vast, loyal fan base and the accolade of the music press.Having been featured on the Samsung NME Radar Tour and supporting Blur twice on their historical comeback, the future seemed limitless for the Essex quartet.




Despite their position, Magistrates removed themselves from the public eye for four years. As 2013 drew to a close however, fans were treated with the news of a mini-gig to debut the release of two new singles 'When We Are Apart', which was recently awarded NME's 'Track Of The Week' and 'B.T.P.A'. They were back again! So what had happened between then and now? 'I don’t like to say 'back' as to be honest we never really went away.' Paul Usher tells me. 'In terms of shows and releases, yes we disappeared from the light, but Magistrates has always been constant and making music. It is just right now we feel we have something that we want to share. Always new ideas to the very large table we own however, it has always been like that, natural progression.'  One of the new ideas they have shared with us so far has been the hilarious video to 'When We Are Apart'.  making use of retro footage from 1980s  'Lonely Hearts' ads and clever lip syncing. So is the tongue-in-cheek video a sign of the direction they'll be heading in? 'It is a great video that was created by VH/YES. I don’t really see it as tongue in cheek, it is just a colour that represent a colour of the record. Nothing can stay the same colour all the time and it is important always see things through a spectrum. The album has many colours and I know that the videos will represent those.' 

With this comeback there seems to be much anticipation, will there be an album? What about a tour? 'I couldn't give you a date to be honest just yet.' In regards to album ' It is in the almost finished stage, expect a lot of hours and love and honesty put onto a record.' As for a tour 'I hope so. We are currently sorting all of that business out at the moment. Very keen to get back over to our European neighbours. To be honest we have always been a band that have a motto of, if you’ll have us, we’ll be there.'

Finally, did musical legend Damon Albarn share any of his wisdom for the band when they had toured together? 'I can’t say he did on those shows. We spent time in his studio a few months before those shows and learnt a lot about space in music and melody. It was a great to play with Blur as they are such a talented iconic band'




You can follow the magistrates on Twitter and Facebook. Catch them play at The Lexington, London on the 28th Feb Get your tickets here