BLACKCOUNTRYCOMMUNIONBlackCountryCommunion2

SONS&DAUGHTERSMirrorMirror

HERMANDUNEStrangeMoosic

DESTROYERKaputt

THIS second album is aclassy rocker that will cementBCC’s reputation as the natu-ral heirs to Led Zeppelin.A band with guitar virtuoso

Joe Bonamassa, one-timeDeep Purple frontman GlennHughes, drummer JasonBonham and Dream Theat-er’s Derek Sherinian on key-boards is never going to beshort on musical talent.BCC2’s song quality

shines, ranging from thebreakneck riffery of The Out-sider to the funk-influencedCrossfire. Standout is epic SaveMe. Probablythe best rockalbum you’llhear this year.

NR

SWIFTLY moving on from thepoppy sparkle of 2008’s ThisGift, the four-piece return witha bassy, bluesy stab at indulg-ing their dark side.Adele Bethel’s punky vocal

strides passionately throughthe ten-song track list, takingthe listener by storm.Placing their sound some-

where between Seventiesgarage rock and jangling,sparsely paced post-punk,this record harks back to theGlasgow outfit’s buzz-creating debut and assertsthey’ve got their mojo back.Highlights include Ink Free

– which ingeniously samplesthe sound of atypewriter – andthe primal, eeriechaos of Break-ing Fun. PC

SWEDISH group HermanDune have been around for along time.Now a duo consisting of

David Ivar Herman Dune(vocals, guitar, song-writing)and Néman Herman Dune(backing, vocals, drums),Strange Moosic is their tenthand poppiest album so far.This is possibly the influenceof producer Adam Selzer.Although it sees them

ploughing their usual mixtureof quirky, innocent, sweetIndie songs, with a warm-hearted feel, tales of everydaylife from the JonathanRichmond school of Rock,Strange Moosic has a morepolished andbrighter feelthan usual.Good stuff.

SFO

WITH an ephemeral line-upand a sound that defiespigeon-holing, one could beforgiven for only having avague idea of what thisVancouver band really are.Wispy-voiced frontman and

founding member DanielBejar is, however, a reliableconstant and remains theheart of the outfit 16 years on.Their ninth album is a mysti-

fying experience – soundingat one point like jazz-infusedNineties lounge (Chinatown)before indulging in a momentof Bowie-esque grandeur(Poor In Love). The lack ofstylistic follow-through andthe o f t enopaque natureof Bejar’s lyrics,mean Destroyerremain anenigma. PC

3.5

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4.5

FLEET FOXES, EXPLOSIONS IN THE SKY, IRONAND WINE – August 19, 20 and 21, Green ManFestival, Brecon Beacons, Wales, 0871 424 4444.BRITNEY SPEARS – October 27, The 02, London,0844 856 0202.

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ROCK gods Bon Jovi aregoing full throttle on theirOpen Air World Tour rightnow — stopping in 30different countries acrossthe globe.They take over Edinburgh’sMurrayfield Stadium on June 22,where they’ll send 50,000 fansbonkers.And YOU could be the part ofthe legendary American band’steam of roadies.They’ll transform the desertedstadium into a rock ’n’ roll arenafit for the 125million-sellingsuperstars led by frontman JonBon Jovi.That means plugging in 9,200amps, laying out 11,000 feet ofcable, connecting the booming8,000-watt sound system and rig-ging up 9,000 feet of aluminiumto build the stage.

TalentedOn top of that, there’s 150 high-strength magnets to be put inplace, hoisting up the 115ft-widejumbo screen and getting axelord Richie Sambora’s 15 guitarstuned up.Crew chief Mike Rew said: “It’snot easy putting on the biggestrock show on the planet — wehave one of the most talentedteams in the world all workingtogether to pull it off and wehave a great time doing it.“It takes a range of expertise, alot of talented people and plentyof hard work to bring togethersuch a huge concert.“But at the end of the dayknowing that you’ve been part ofa show that tens of thousands ofpeople are watching is an unbeat-

able feeling.” Now ANYONE canenter for the chance to join thecrew — and they’ll also get toenjoy the big gig afterwards.Not only that, Bon Jovi aregoing to let you join the officialphotographers and take picturesof them on stage, the only condi-tion being you can’t sell them asthey’re for your personal collec-tion only. You also can’t use aflash — so bring a decent camera.Entrants must be over 18, ableto be at Murrayfield for 10am onthe day of the gig, dress in allblack and wear closed-toe shoes.PLUS we’ve also got four pairsof tickets to the mega show asrunners-up prizes.To be in with the chance ofwinning this once-in-a-lifetimeopportunity, simply tell us: Inwhat year did Bon Jovi form?Then text ROCK plus yourname, address and answer to61192.Q Entrants must be aged 18 and over.Texts cost £1 plus standard network rates.Competition closes at midnight tonight(June 10, 2011). If you text after the closingdate/time of this competition you will notbe entered but you may still be charged.One winner and four runners-up will beselected at random after the closing datefrom all correct entries received. Traveland accommodation is not included. UsualScottish Sun rules apply.

TEXT ‘ROCK’

BYJIM

GELLATLY

WIN A PLACE ON ROCK LEGENDS’CREW FOR EDINBURGH SHOW

CRAYONSWHO: Sean Defrancesco (vocals/guitar), GregRobins (guitar/keyboard/vocals), Andrew Carty(bass/vocals) Nick Hernandez (drums/vocals)WHERE: DunfermlineFOR FANS OF: The Clash, Foals, The WombatsJIM SAYS: Wonderfully fresh indie rock from theseFife teenagers, whose brilliant new double A-sidesingle shows two different sides of the band.Howling At The Moon is more of a traditional

blues-rock inspired romp, while the blistering TheFuture Is Deaf shows they’re just as comfortablebelting out electro-pop anthems.The guys have some exciting projects on the

horizon. One of the 16 bands I helped select to playthe T Break tent at next month’s T In The Park, theyalso have an appointment with the Queen!Well, sort of. Along with Glasgow bands French

Wives and The Imagineers, and Edinburgh-basedbands Maydays and White Heath, Crayons are set toappear at the opening of the Fourth Session of theScottish Parliament on July 1, following the morning’sceremonial opening by the Queen.Presiding Officer Tricia Marwick MSP said:

“Scotland has a long history of nurturing new musicalacts and it’s wonderful to be welcoming suchmusically diverse bands from across the country.”

Crayons refer to their sound as “pop music that fallsapart”, but there’s enough glue in place to hold it alltogether.Nothing worse than perfection and it’s the cracks

that make them stand out.I can’t wait to hear their next musical offering, an

EP set for release after T In The Park.MORE: myspace.com/crayyyonsQ Jim presents In:Demand Uncut live fromRockness, Sunday 7-10pm on Clyde 1, Forth One,Northsound 1, Radio Borders, Tay FM, West FM &West Sound FM. Also at jimgellatly.com

TO 61192

By JACQUI SWIFT

SICK of hearing their ownsongs on the radio, TheFeeling gave the world abreak from their musicafter second album JoinWith Us topped the chartsin 2008.It had been a whirlwind coupleof years for the Seventies softrock-influenced band whoemerged in 2006 looking a bitnaff but whose catchy tunessecured a string of hits.Debut album Twelve Stops AndHome spawned five Top 40singles plus the Ivor NovelloAward for Songwriters Of TheYear in 2007.A hungover Dan Gillespie Sellsexplains: “We had to go away. Wewere being played on the radio somuch it was the right thing to do.“Otherwise it wouldhave seemed wewere trying topush things all thetime. We didn’twant that. Wewanted a gap.”The night beforeour interview, theband had played aspecial gig for JoWhiley’s Radio 2 showand Dan reckons hemight have enjoyed ita little too much.He says: “It was agreat show but we wentout for a few drinksafterwards so I’msuffering now.“I’ve become used tonot being in the spotlight a f t e ra couple of years away and I’veenjoyed keeping my head downbut last night was special andneeded celebrating.” During

their time away, Dan and the restof the band — bassist RichardJones, guitarist Kevin Jeremiah,keyboard player Ciaran Jeremiahand drummer Paul Stewart —have been busy.Faced with the prospect ofspending months in a windowlessstudio recording new albumTogether We Were Made wishingthey were in the pub, The Feelingfell on the ideal solution. Buy apub and turn it into a studio.Dan says: “I was looking for aspace big enough to record andlive in with all my mates.“I love living with a bunch ofpeople and I also wanted a studioat home and to have all theequipment in one place.“Most studios are awful placesbut the pub has lovely highceilings and nice big windowsa n d lots of light coming in.

It’s still got the old pubsigns outside. It’s reallygreat. We love it.“There’s still a dart-board and old honky-tonk in the corner.Instead of going to thepub after we finished atrack, we were therealready. It’s the best ofboth worlds.”Dan says music washis escape from bully-ing at school, whichwas fuelled by hisunconventional familylife. His parentsseparated when hewas a baby and helived between hisdad’s north London

home and his lesbian motherand her partner’snearby house.Dan says:“ M u s i cbr ings

people together whatever colouror sex you are. All the bigotryand bulls*** I grew up withpushes people apart but a greattune brings people together.“I’m not a happy-clappy personso I rely on music to lift me upand keep me sane and sober.“It is a screwy world and with-out pop music and genuinejoy being expressed bysomeone, the world is aneven darker place.”Dan has always had theknack of writing instantlylikeable melodies. On thenew album, the bandhave pushed the boatout even further, experi-menting with dancebeats on Dance ForThe Lights and new singleSet My World On Fire.Dan says: “That track starts offwith a calypso beat — it’s goingto surprise fans though we’vealways had a spirit of experimen-tation in the band.“And with this record we hadmore time to experiment. Therewere less studio pressures becausewe had the pub.“When you’re renting a studioyou’re always thinking what everyhour is costing you.“Our first album was made in ashed at our own pace and wewanted that feeling again —back-to-basics — and for it to befun. We recorded 40 songs forthis record and whittled it downbut we’re going to put out adeluxe double album as well withextra tracks.”Together We Were Made seesthe band — who learnt their craftworking in the French Alps for aski season as a covers band — attheir most collaborative.Róisín Murphy lends her vocalsto Dance For The Lights while

Leave Me Out Of It sees Danduetting with Sophie Ellis-Bextor,who is married to Richard Jonesin the band.Dan says: “We got to work withsome really cool people andfinally got a chance to do a songwith Sophie. I’ve always wantedto but only if the song was right.“This time it was and that’s areally strong track on the album.“I’m a massive fan of Róisín’sand on the special edition

album’s bonus disc wedid a track with BettyBoo called VirtuallyArt.”The band also teamed

up with dance duoFreemasons — JamesWiltshire and RussellSmall — and while Dandescribes himself as ahuge dance music fan,their input doesn’t alter

the distinctive sound of TheFeeling.He says: “I’m a big fan of theirs— they do that four-to-the-floorrhythm stuff amazingly well.“A Feeling record is alwaysgoing to be a Feeling recordbecause of the voices and theideas. I think of production aspackaging — but the Freemasonsadd some bawdiness.”Like their last two albums,Together We Were Made has theglossy, catchy melodies that willprobably be played to death byradio.Dan says: “I’m aware we walk afine line between what’s cool andwhat’s cheesy and I quite likebeing on that line.“It’s actually quite safe to beavant garde or arty becauseyou’re beyond reproach. We’rein a more dangerous place withpop music —that’s whatmakes itexciting.”

plus your name,address & answer

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4 SFTW Friday, June 10, 2011