ISSUE TWENTYSEVEN

BABYSHAMBLES GLASVEGASHOLY FUCK BRITISH SEA POWERYOUNG GALAXY METRONOMY BELLA UNIONKARIMA FRANCIS LOWLINE GOFASTER DENIS JONES

FEB//MAR FREE

two three

EDITOR - Richard Cheetham - rich@highvoltage.org.uk ASSISTANT EDITOR - Alistair Beech - alistair@highvoltage.org.uk

FEATURES EDITOR - Adrian Barrowdale – adrian@highvoltage.org.uk REVIEWS EDITOR – Fran Donnelly – fran@highvoltage.org.uk

NEW BAND EDITOR – Stephen Eddie – stephen@highvoltage.org.uk LISTINGS EDITOR – Mike Caulfield – listings@highvoltage.org.uk

DESIGN - Andy Cake | Soap | www.soapforall.co.uk

CONTRIBUTORS - Alex Barbanneau, Hannah Bayfield, Hannah Clark, Neil Condron, Richard Fox, Jade French, Kelvin Goodson,

Chris Horner, James Morton, Sophie Parkes, Liam Pennington, Andrew Porter, Simon Pursehouse, Gareth Roberts, Alexia Rogers-Wright,

Jamila Scott, Benjamin Thomas, Simon Smallbone, Jack Titley, Megan Vaughan, Will Wright

FEB/MARISSUE TWENTYSEVEN

featuresIntroducing… Karima Francis

& Lowline SIXIntroducing… Gofaster

& Denis Jones SEVENYoung Galaxy & Metronomy NINE

British Sea Power TENHoly Fuck TWELVE

Glasvegas THIRTEENBabyshambles FOURTEEN

Bella Union label profile TWENTYSIX

RegularsManchester news FIVE

Single reviews SIXTEENAlbum reviews EIGHTEEN

Live reviews TWENTYNew Noise TWENTYTHREE

Manchester Listings TWENTYFOUR

For more reviews, interviews,comment and info on all

HighVoltage activities log on tohighvoltage.org.uk

See highvoltagesounds.co.uk forlabel info and new

HighVoltage releases

This issues cover is not only brought to you inamazing technicolor, but is by, none other than themighty Chris Drury, Fingathing’s silent but no lessconspicuous third fiddle. Chris has built up a fresh anddistinctive visual profile for Fingathing that’s as uniqueas the music they produce.

The Fingathing sound is Parker (turntablist supremo)and Sneak (Jazz double bassist). Between them theyproduce, arguably, the most original sound to come outof Manchester, a Jazz/Hip Hop combo that shakes themost solid of foundations.

For more artwork, music, info and an opportunity tobuy a limited edition A2 print by the cave troll himself, check

www.fingathing.comAndy Cake

Cover up!

“Nextissue of

High Voltageis out 1st April

Fool!”

four five

Feb/Mar_News...

That's right. Now you've no excuse for being

uncool on a Saturday night. Down at Night &

Day over the next two months, High Voltage

have a right couple of gems lined up for you.

Expect both dates to boast up-and-coming

surprises in support.

First up, Thieves Like Us bring their shady

dance-pop. Describing themselves as "Half Daft

Punk. Half Factory. All Kitsuné", the

cosmopolitan trio (two Swedes, one American,

met in Berlin, heading for France) represent

their trendsetting label on the 16th February.

Meanwhile, exciting Brooklynites MGMT and

their weird twist of indie magic are making

waves, so it's a good job HV got 'em booked

well in advance for the 1st March. Their aptly-

titled debut album 'Oracular Spectacular' is out

now, but you'll watch to catch them live so you

can say you "was there" this time next year…

Event of the Month

Words: Fran Donnelly

Welcome to the original renaissance city of

Manchester – where everybody is going to

want to be in 2008.

The first to make the trip from London,

gothic girlies Ipso Facto and smart

artrockers XX Teens make Up The Racket's

Retro Bar agenda over February. At Night &

Day, it's worth keeping on eye out for the

most fashionable of indie kids in These New

Puritans (12/02) and Cazals (06/03), whilst

the more subtle, alternative substance of the

Twilight Sad calms things down on 24/03.

If you're missing The Warehouse Project

then miss no more, for they've reopened the

old Factory HQ for some great nights of

dancing. In particular, Australian electro-

behemoths The Presets play 21/03 and it's

gonna be mental. If you prefer your

electronics more "intelligent" however, then

tech-veterans Autechre head for Music Box

29/02. For your ever mind-boggling

indie/dance fusions, console-bothering

Crystal Castles make a strobe-lit dash to

Club Academy (13/02) whilst currently

cresting the hype on all fronts, Foals play

their first Manchester show of the year on

the 11th March. Love odd-ball indie? check

out Misty’s Big Adventure on the 1st March

at Academy 3.

In the record shop, keep an eye out for

singles from the local likes of Lowline, The

Rascals, Modernaire, The Ting Tings, whilst

Orphan Boy's debut album 'Shop Local' isn't

far away. Our very own The Maple State

play the Roadhouse 21/02 in support of their

sharp mini-album 'Say Scientist', released

on HV Sounds in March. It'll keep you happy

until The Whip's hotly anticipated debut

album 'X Marks Destination' arrives

at the end of the month.

six seven

With the kind of traffic-stopping voicethat has earned comparisons withTracy Chapman, Karima Francis’sharrowing tales of romance andalcoholism make for hauntingperformances. Whilst KitchenwareRecords understood her magicwhen they added her to their rosterin mid-2007, just a few years agoKarima was drumming in a band.That was, until she sang LennyKravitz to her partner, booked a gigat The Thirsty Scholar, andeverything changed.

“I always had this craving.Whenever I was in bands I alwaysused to direct anyway. I used to justhear all this melody. You knowwhen you were a kid and everyonesings, and you want to but you’re soshy? It’s one of those things; itnever crossed my mind that I wouldever do it. At my first gig there wasthis Irish guy sat there, all dressed inblack. He was like, ‘Woooah!!’ Hesaid, ‘you know, you’re gonna go far,you’ve really touched me’. Fromthat moment I just couldn’t stopdoing it every night. I could say it’stherapeutic but it’s more like anadrenalin rush. My whole bodyworks in a different way when I’m upthere.”

Having been busy recording herdebut album with Ken Nelson(Gomez, Coldplay, Badly DrawnBoy) in Liverpool’s Parr StreetStudios, there have been fewopportunities for Karima to gig. Ashort support slot with NewtonFaulkner won new fans around thecountry, but extensive touring isplanned to coincide with the album’s

springtime release. It would be anunderstatement to say that Karimais excited.

“Basically, I don’t care if it’s just toone person, or ten thousand people,I just want to be gigging every nightnow. I’m really excited to write mynext finished song too. When I writethat, I’ll relax, because I’ve crampedup. It’s been such a hardexperience.”

The energy expended at Parr Streethas been worthwhile. Sneakpreviews currently available onKarima’s MySpace prove that she isfast becoming one of the UK’sforemost songwriting talents. “Thefirst single is going to be TheAuthor,” she says with a smile, “andthe new version is amazing!There’s a little bit of Hammond inthere and the main guitar line isbacked by electric, but subtly, so it’sthicker, and then when it gets to thebridge it just rushes up your backand everything!”

Words: Megan Vaughan

www.myspace.com/karimafrancis

"I don’t think there's been anything inthe mainstream over the last fiveyears that's turned us on musically,"reckons Lowline drummer Sam. "I'mnot interested in some sweaty 23-year-old telling us what he’s doneday to day."

Tired of mediocrity but driven withself-belief, Lowline are a band to bereckoned with. Having gigged andre-jigged for the past twelve months,these four lads are ready to cause astir in 2008. Their powerful debutsingle 'Monitors' is released in Marchand characteristically taking no half-measures, the band simply wentstraight into the studio with legendaryOasis/Verve producer Owen Morris.

"It's a bang on single but the tuneswe're writing now are better really,"claims bassist Mike. "Previouslywe've all been playing in otherbands, and it's taken a long time toget us where we are, but we'regetting there and we're the completeoutfit now."

And it's really starting to show.Recording the video for 'Monitors',the band played a guerrilla gig inAncoats one Saturday afternoon –joined by one Nick McCabe onguitar. Alienated by the way theirhometown seems headed, Lowlinehave taken things into their ownhands. "Manchester just doesn’thave a sound going for it at themoment," says their bassist.

"You get bands like The Courteenerssounding like The Libertines. There'sno atmosphere. There's no denyingthere's talent about, it's just nobody'swriting the tunes that we wannalisten to right now. So that's whatwe're doing."

What Lowline are doing follows avery particular local lineage.Beginning when Howard Devotostarted Magazine, their sound takesinfluence from the post-punk of TheChameleons and the lush sound ofDoves. It's a wash of guitar forcedthrough five effects pedals overRobbie's cry of euphoric resentment.Scummy social commentary it is not."There's ambiguity there and that'simportant," Mike emphasises. "Theworld will get sick of lyrics like "I gotthe 192 / I went to the post office / Iwent to the Late Shop". No one'sarsed. Music's about touching loadsof people, not about buying a 40p pick ‘n’ mix."

Words: Fran Donnelly

www.myspace.com/thisislowline

Lowline release their debut single‘Monitors’ in March on 1-2-3-4!Records

introducing...

This year is set to be a very big onefor our Scouse neighbours. Thenext 12 months will see Liverpoolwearing the crown of EuropeanCapital of Culture, awarded largelyon the back of its musical heritage.However, as the celebrations kickoff, goFASTER>> have headed outon the road with best mates Elles'Apelle, leading a charge of newbands that together are sayingmore about the city in 2008 than amillion botched Mathew Streetfestivals ever could.

In new single 'FlammableLeisurewear', goFASTER>> haveprobably captured the carefreespirit of a rejuvenated Merseysidescene better than anyone to date.Singer Rich takes up the tale ofhow a sorry spell in Liverpudlianfashion history became a sugarychunk of sherbet punk.

"I remember, as a child, watchingWatchdog, and they were settingfire to shell suits, saying howdangerous they are," says thetousle-haired frontman as Chris(guitars and keyboards) continues."The song's about wearing trackies;it's about growing up in Liverpool,with all your mates going on thesunbeds. But it's also about takingthe piss out of ourselves - I mean, Ihad a skinhead until I was 17!"

The band's satirical, self-deprecating edge has attractedearly comparisons with formertourmates The Wombats and HotClub de Paris, while the bands'hometown gigs with the likes of 28

Costumes, My Amiga, The DeltaFiasco and Arms At Last haveplaced them at the heart ofLiverpool's emerging DIY scene.Does the band foresee a return toform for the city this year?

"Everything's pointing to it, butyou don't like to count yourchickens!" Rich cautiously smiles."The thing is, we're not anythingmadly different from what's comebefore," argues Chris. "Liverpool'salways been a pop city - and weare a pop band. We're just puttingour own spin on things."

In truth, goFASTER>>'s ethic isone that would win them friends inany city - unless that city isLondon and a certain jealouselectro act is on the bill. "Their[band name removed forpunchline-related reasons]dressing room was the size of aschool hall - you could have a clubnight in there!" rues Chris. "Wethought, it must be for all thebands, so we and the NeonPlastics went in and helpedourselves to some drinks. Nextthing, their manager comes over,telling us to leave!'"

Did goFASTER>> offend them?Yeah.

Words: Neil Condron

www.myspace.com/gofasterband

goFASTER>>'s single 'FlammableLeisurewear' is out now onAlcopop!

The music of Denis Jonescombines incredible technologicalwizardry with traditional singer-songwriter sensibilities. Breakingsuch genre boundaries hasattracted admirers across the worldsince the initial release of his debutalbum, Humdrum Virtue, and Denishas been compared to acts asdiverse as CocoRosie and JohnMartyn.

“I’m massively flattered,” he says.“Thinking of the time, a lot of folkmusic of that era was stagnatingbecause it was looking too far back,but he (Martyn) was one of the fewpeople who was looking forwardand I think he was probablyshunned, like Dylan was at thetime, for not doing the traditionalthing. It’s like, ‘come on guys, thisis what’s happening in yourgeneration.’ You either embrace itor ignore it.”

When a fifteen year-old Denisplayed Radiohead’s ‘Street Spirit’ athis school’s Christmas VarietyShow, he took his first tentativesteps towards the unparalleled livereputation that sees him flying tofestivals in Lithuania, supportingbands like Efterklang and regularlyplaying up and down the country.As a live performer, the breadth ofhis experience means each gig istailored to each audience, as Jonesalternates between low-keystrumming and rib-shaking loops.Things have come on since thatinaugural school concert.

“I started doing gigs straight away,but I was doing covers and slowlywriting my own songs. I don’tremember an exact point, buteventually there were more of mysongs than there were covers, Iguess when I was about seventeenor eighteen.” It was while he wasliving in London that Denis began toexplore electronic music. He waslent a sampler by a friend, andbegan to expand his listeninghorizons with ambient elecronica.“There was an album I was listeningto by Fennesz that summer – kindof an ambient crossover betweenelectronica and acoustic music. Ilistened to it non-stop.”

Denis’s distinctive sound soonemerged, and the recording ofHumdrum Virtue followed.

A breathtaking album of loopedsamples and lyrics about “ElvisCostello playing the cello”,enormous demand for the originalhandmade copies has led to alarge-scale pressing and nationwidere-release this coming spring.Following that, a 12” is planned, butyou’ll struggle to find it on Google,as Denis explains. “We’re going togo under the name Menace Dronesfor that!”

Words: Megan Vaughan

www.myspace.com/denisjones

Denis Jones is on tour throughoutFebruary and March

Karima Francis Lowline Go Faster

nine

YoungGalaxy

Metronomy

“I’m just a big music fan” admitsStephen Ramsey, one half ofMontreal duo Young Galaxy. A latedeveloper in song-writing terms(picking up the guitar in his earlytwenties) Stephen says it took timefor a musical career to becomereality; “I always assumed I’d havea group of friends to write songs, agang to form a band with. I hadpeople that talked, but never wentthrough with it.” A couple of yearsago he become a touring guitaristfor Canadian super group Stars.“Stars definitely opened the doorfor me. At first I felt a bit of animpostor, but it was a fast track toYoung Galaxy.”

In between breaks on Stars tours,Stephen worked on songs with hisother half (personally andmusically) Catherine McCandlessat Jace Lasek’s (Besnard Lakes)Montreal studio. Released throughsuper-indie Arts and Crafts (hometo Feist, The Dears, and set up byBroken Social Scene’s KevinDrew) Young Galaxy’s self-titleddebut is a rich, heart-warming LPperfect for winter sulking. Debutsingle and album opener ‘SwingYour Heartache’ is a 4amSpiritualized come down, full ofsparkling melodies, broody versesand an uplifting outro. The album isa collision of Stephen and

Catherine’s rural, earthybeginnings in Vancouver and theirpresent home, the city bustle ofMontreal.

With label bank balances at theirmost precarious, Arts & Craftsartistic model of development isapplauded by their latest protégés.“They (Arts and Crafts) alwaysencouraged us and neverinterfered with the record. Theywere hands off in a way. At themoment there’s a legitimate needfor labels to manage and nurturetheir acts. Just being a label ishard to pull off now.”

Live, Young Galaxy seek aconnection and directness withtheir audience, and despite pickingup the shoe-gaze tag “aren’t thetypes to hide behind our sound, wewant to create an experience”,says Stephen. “Our songs are bornout of a love of music” he beams atthe end of our transatlantic chat.Love music? Then you’ll loveYoung Galaxy.

Words: Alistair Beech

www.myspace.com/younggalaxy

Metronomy, code name for electropop creator Joseph Mount, is makinga return to our ears this year with therelease of a second album. “Thealbum will be called ‘Nights Out’ andit's due out sometime in March. It'sgot more singing and is hopefully abit more concise than the first album,”Mount reveals.

Taking great influence from “sciencefiction, Talking Heads, pictures ofspace, David Bowie and growing upin Devon”, Metronomy make musicthat “sounds like a garage bandplaying electro music”. Since firstalbum, ‘Pip Paine (Pay Back The£5000 You Owe)’ was released in2006 Metronomy has developed into

more of a band than a one manmachine, enjoyed SXSW ’07 greatlyand has been trying to avoid secondalbum syndrome. Not only that, butJoe is a household name for hisremixing abilities. He has put a handto just about everyone fromArchitecture In Helsinki to Kate Nashwith pretty remarkable results acrossthe board.

In a live setting Metronomy does notadhere to the expected route of ‘manon stage with laptop behaving in acompletely uninspiring manner’. Tocompliment the funky, yet eccentric,electro style sounds of Metronomythe live line up (which consists ofJoe, Oscar Cash and Gabriel

Stebbing) is usually accompanied bysome form of dance routine and lightshow.

Recent single ‘Radio Ladio’ has beengetting a fair share of attention fromthe blogging community, yetMetronomy is not concerned aboutthe possibility of getting swept awayamid a flurry of bandwagon fans orsudden mass mainstream industryinterest. “There's been plenty of timefor us to be hyped, no one's takenthe bait yet. I can't imagine it'llhappen,” Mount explained as theidea of a sudden Metronomy boomwas brushed under the carpet.

Not phased by potential hype or

having impossible ambitions,Metronomy are looking forward to theopportunity to write with new peopleon material and also anticipate awhole host of headline shows overthe next twelve months.

Words: Jamila Scott

www.myspace.com/metronomy

Metronomy play The Roadhouse inManchester on March 1st

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eight

ten eleven

Admittedly, I'm not much of amorning person. Or at least, not untilI've got a litre of coffee and hoopson toast down me. However, Rockwaits for no man, and by the timeI've brushed my teeth, British SeaPower have woken up in theirTravelodge, watched TrishaGoddard and made their way downto Night & Day for High Voltage.When a band claims that only "onein ten" interviews they give isremotely enjoyable, HV wakes uptoday expecting a quiet brew.Instead we got a lesson in life and acomprehensive discussion on themerits of a Full English.

"The major priority was not to do itin London again," Scott 'Yan'Wilkinson starts, "so we went to awater tower in Suffolk. It was a bit ofan adventure. Playing guitar inside itwas like standing on top of amountain. We recorded somepigeons."

British Sea Power have been off theradar. They've been over the Atlanticand across the Carpathians. Their2003 debut The Decline Of… madethem critically adored. Follow-upOpen Season proved how melodictheir pastoral rock template couldbe. Third album, Do You Like RockMusic?, began by attempting whatseems like the impossible. "We feltwe've never really captured thesound of us live," explains guitaristMartin Noble. "You can't do it really,but we had a go. The original planwas to record it all live and keep itbasic, but that didn’t seem to haveany magic. So we brought it backfrom Canada to work on…"

"…and find the key place to put thepigeons in. Then we made somepigeon noises ourselves. Just a partof trying to get closer to naturereally."

Stripped of their foliage and animalmotifs these days, it seems thatBSP are getting closer to humannature than anything else on theirlatest long-player. Its arrival wasannounced with a single to beginyour 2008 with in 'Waving Flags' –an epic-rock invite to global unity."Ideally, people would stop moaningabout eastern European immigrantsand stop being nasty about thewhole thing," Noble laments. "It's notdeadly politically serious, but therepeated phrase is 'welcome in', andit applies to any sort of alien."

An honourable sentiment from themost British band of these shores,but the Lake District via Brightonquartet have ventured abroadthemselves. Pledging allegiancewith the drink-friendly fans of SlaviaPrague FC, a foreign affinity wasinspired by the band's decamping torural Czech countryside to mix thealbum last summer. The motive wassimple according to Yan; "It wascheap and it's got smashing beer.We got told we could do two weeksin London or five weeks in theCzech Republic. Seemed prettyobvious really."

"They'll have a few pints at

lunchtime," speaks Noble of theculture, "You'd see this guy off hishead in the forest at one o'clock inthe afternoon doing this," [makesagonised scream to the surprise ofthe quiet bar] "I suppose it's anEastern thing. It's cold there." Notonly that, but it's the world's largestconsumer of beer per capita. Andnot ones to forget their hosts'hospitality, BSP recognised theinfluence last month when theylaunched Do You Like Rock Music?on Czech soil, at their Londonembassy. It followed a history ofunorthodox gigs that most recentlyincluded shows on cliff tops, afloatthe River Mersey, and at Britain'shighest inn above sea level. "Of allthe embassies we approached, theywere the most up for it," recountsYan. "Romania and Poland werehaving none of it, but then we askedthe Czech one and they just wantedsome tickets. They're the kind ofguys who think if it sounds fun, let'sgo with it. I think that's what weidentify with."

Produced by Graham Sutton andArcade Fire's Howard Bilerman, DoYou Like Rock Music? is anenormous achievement in the literalsense. Guitars ring endlessly withwater tower reverberation whilstWoody's drumming marches onwardacross borders. The twin voices of

Yan and brother Hamilton share thesongs as usual, a lyrical collectionencompassing celebrated polarities:cherry wood and Kevlar, keroseneand acetylene, beers light and dark.If this is Rock music, then just whatis Rock?

Yan: Rock is more than loud musicwith guitars. Animate and inanimateobjects can be Rock.

Noble: For example, how was yourbreakfast?

Y: It was a bit meaty really. And itwas about a fiver. Overpricedbreakfasts not Rock. Althoughhaving a cooked breakfast is prettyRock.

HV: How about, say, Radio One?

N: Not Rock. Apart from SteveLamacq.

HV: Fabio Capello?

N: He's Rock. He doesn’t messabout. He doesn’t take any shit fromanybody.

HV: OK, well how about SvenGoran-Eriksson?

N: Difficult one. I'd say not Rock coshe never questioned that corruptThai Prime-Minister. Mark Riley wascontesting this….

Y: He's a bit like Dracula, thatPrime-Minister. Creepy. That's Rock.

N: It's a tie. No pun intended.

Famous football managers and hashbrowns apart, there's a lesson to belearned from all this. Where wouldyou be without the music thatinspires you everyday? Pay heed toBritish Sea Power's timelessphilosophy; a space for heroics inthe home, and where bravery stillexists. As Noble states sagely, "Beas Rock as you can be. It'simportant to make sure you've lotsof good things in your life, but it'sdifficult. There's a lot of Non-Rock inyour face."

"It's how you treat other people,what your values are, how often youtake chances, have genuineexcitement and do something you'llremember," adds Yan. "I'm up to thepoint where I'm doing more thingsthat I want to do. It's a day to daything. You've gotta build up yourRock batteries."

Blood-rushing excitement andmemories is all part of being in thefanatical following that pursue Yan,Hamilton, Woody and Noble to thefar-reaches of the country.Continuing our lesson in Rock, weask Yan to lead by example."Sometimes it's good not to makeyour mind up," he begins, "but it'scatch twenty-two cos then you'vemade your mind up not to makeyour mind up. It's like when Idecided to go to the caff for a friedbreakfast every morning. It wasquite exciting to begin with but then Iwasn’t enjoying it like I used to. Sothen I thought it'd be better to go fora walk by the sea, come homehungry, and cook the breakfast

myself. Avoiding routine."

But every lifestyle has its routines,and even the singer admits that fromtime to time, being in a band hasbanalities that are somewhat like"going to the dentist". So can BritishSea Power just carry on with theband circuit? Exploring new placesand going to strange, exciting newlengths even ten years from now? "Ithink we can yeah," reckons Noble."I already feel like an old rocker nowwho's been on tour forever. I'mLethal Weapon not one, but three orfour. By the seventh album we couldall have long hair and beards and doan epic kraut rock album."

There's a moment of revelationbetween the two bandmates. "That'sactually a great idea. Nobody doesstuff like that anymore," says Yan."But as for this album and sound,I'm hoping people will find out morewhat we're about now."

Words: Fran Donnelly

www.britishseapower.co.uk

‘Do You Like Rock Music?’ and firstsingle ‘Waving Flags’ are both outnow on Rough Trade.

BRITISH_SEA_POWER

We feltwe've neverreallycapturedthe soundof us live.You can't doit really, butwe had ago. Theoriginal planwas torecord it alllive andkeep itbasic

_BRAVERY EXISTS

Who the fuck are Holy Fuck? Don'tworry if you can't answer thatquestion. You're not alone. Theyare Brian Borcherdt, GrahamWalsh, Mike Bigelow, GlennMilchem, and Loel Campbell, a fivepiece band from Toronto, Canadaand a band which made perhapsthe most astounding avant gardealbum of 2007, their subtly untitledUK debut, 'LP'. Its moodswingsveer in mere moments from theplacid bliss of 'Lovely Allen' to thepercussive aggression of 'EchoSam' and the frenzied paranoia of'Royal Gregory'.

These sounds, constrained by theouter limits of our language, canonly be described as electronic. Yetthe simplicity of black words onwhite paper could never expressthe intricacy of this music. So, insearch of a more relevant point ofreference, let's play the word

association game: Electronica.Kraftwerk. Connotations ofanonymous boffins in labcoatsperforming acoustic experiments inunderground bunkers. Hold it rightthere. Holy Fuck are not the robots.Their music is faulty, it is imperfect.It is human after all. “I've beenthinking a lot about the creativeprocess, how to keep a bit oftimeless charm to things”, surmisesBorcherdt, spokesperson and chiefHoly Fucker. “I'd rather make beatson shitty Casios than programmeevery little detail on a laptop. I likethe shittiness of what we make. It'shonest”.

“We've played all kinds of differentmusic outside of this band”, hesays, a claim vindicated by hisimpassioned acoustic folk soloproject, The Remains Of BrianBorcherdt. “But with Holy Fuck wejust wanted to get away from what

we were doing and try somethingdifferent”. Different is anunderstatement. Unique andunprecedented are the most aptadjectives for this band. They existin a state of splendid isolation, ofsuspended animation, immune tooutside influence or culturalcontext. When asked to discusstheir nationality, the response isironic and alkaline: “If you lookback through the subtext of justabout any major historical eventthere is something to do withCanada or Canadians in there. If you dig deep enough you'll find that the First World War was prettymuch provoked by Arcade Firelyrics”.

Whilst 'LP' is Holy Fuck's firsttransatlantic transmission, theyhave previously released an EPand a full length album in theirhomeland, both eponymously titledreleases on the band's own label,Dependant Records. “I startedDependant in my teens as acollective, promoting and helping a handful of bands from the eastcoast of Canada. It has beensuccessful, although it becomeshard to maintain when everyone isbusy”, explains Borchedt. As such,their music has been unleashed onthe UK by Young Turks, thenewborn offspring of XLRecordings. “I feel lucky to havegone from something very DIY tosomething that's starting from theground up. We feel connected tothe drive and spirit”.

Unsurprisingly for a band who wereselected as a highlight of last year'sGlastonbury festival by the NME,their stronghold is not in the studio,but on stage. “We'd love to recordevery show we play. We want ourrecords to be a mix of live stuff,either radio shows or live on stageor live in the studio. It's too funplaying together to just try to do

a conventional album with pre-written songs. We want to capturethe energy of somethingspontaneous”.

So, you're intrigued? And you wantto hear Holy Fuck for yourself? Well don't stay tuned to your FMairwaves, because radio friendlyunit shifting is most certainly nottheir style. “We value success,sure, and we welcome whatever we can get of it. But I don't think we ever expected it or wanted to be burdened with the pursuit of it”.Like notorious New Cross artrockers Selfish Cunt, their veryname is sufficient to banish themfrom Chris Evans' BBC Radio 2drivetime playlist. Yet they remainstubbornly unapologetic. “Why notname our band something like HolyFuck? At least with a name like thiswe can stay focused and not worryabout getting caught up in themediocrity of daytime radio andmainstream mediums”. As for thetopic of controversy and censorshipin music, Holy Fuck are “not reallyinterested.” “It's boring now. Savethat one for 2 Live Crew, TipperGore, and bad Saturday Night Liveskits from the nineties”.

Holy Fuck, quasi-nihilists, rejectand reinvent each and everyunwritten rule of songwriting, oftechnology, of the recordingprocess and of the major labelmusic industry. Like the psychedelicmonochrome of a photographicnegative, light and dark in harmony,they are strange and they arebeautiful. And in 2008 they will riseto power with “Bionic powers. Newoutfits.” and “Cameo appearanceson daytime soaps in foreigncountries”. You heard it here first.

Words: Benjamin Thomas

www.myspace.com/holyfuck

HolyFuck

twelve

Unsigned yet already playing tocrowds of 2000+ (Ian Brownpersonally picked them to open hisrecent headline tour) Glasvegashave become one of the talkedabout new UK bands in 2008. IfThe Twang do docile lad-rock witha Brummie accent, then fileGlasvegas under a shimmeringSpector-meets-Mary Chain Wall ofSound. And then there’s singerJames Allan’s stark Glaswegianvocal tone – you won’t hear a moreaccented singing voice this year.

Glasvegas formed a couple ofyears ago, with James writing withcousin Rab (guitar), “totally learningfrom scratch”. “When I was youngerI was never a massive record guy, Iwas more into football. The firstalbum I really got into was Be HereNow, my sister would make tapesand when I heard ‘Don’t Look BackIn Anger’ things clicked.” Jamessays that his songs have to be“soulful – I have to be able to listenback and not be embarrassed”before being presented to the restof the band (Paul Donoguhe – bassand Caroline McKay - drums makeup the line-up).

Influences have grown from Oasis,with James following his hero’sinspirations right back to thebeginning – Elvis and HankWilliams provide just as much

inspiration as Orange Juice and theReid brothers. Lyrically, Jamesgoes over emotional ground, mainlyconcerning adolescence. “You tendto remember the daftest things fromyour youth – our songs aren’tmeant to be social observations,they’re just what I think about andhave experienced.”

“I write about common stuff – its nobig secret what I’m writing about”(the brutal ‘I’m Gonna Get Stabbed’needs little explanation, while‘Flowers and Football Tops’ detailsa mum’s despair after losing herson to a murder). “These thingsaren’t just about Glasgow, theyhappen everywhere” says James.

The bands moniker might go on toprovoke some cynicism, but Jamesclaims the name isn’t any big deal.“I like Glasvegas, it’s easy to say –simple as that.” Their songs havegone down well from Glasgow toFolkestone, says James. “The IanBrown tour allowed us to play allover the UK to people we wouldn’thave been able to get to. His fanshave been curious to check us out,they seem to get it.”

The quartet are whipping upcuriosity with respected industryfigures and senior musicians too.“Ian’s been really good to us. Wegot a demo to him and he asked us

out on tour. He phoned up askingabout our sound and how werecord the songs. It’s the same withAndy Rourke (Brown’s touringbassist) – he couldn’t believe we’drecorded the songs in our livingroom.” Explaining the groups ‘Wallof Sound’, he drawls parallels withorchestral music and heavy metal.“To me Johnny Cash is heavymetal – we make heavy music.There’s a close connectionbetween Spector and orchestralmusic, but it’s heavy as well. We’resomewhere between the two.”

With second single ‘It's My OwnCheating Heart That Makes MeCry’ landing in February, Jamesdoesn’t see anything further thanhis next song or gig. “I don’t havean album on my mind just yet – wehave enough songs but signingdeals isn’t my job.”

Words: Alistair Beech

www.myspace.com/glasvegas

GLASVEGAS_WE ARE ROCK

Ian’sbeen reallygood to us.We got ademo to himand heasked us outon tour. Hephoned upasking aboutour soundand how werecord thesongs

thirteen

fourteen fifteen

Mick: We’re hoping it’s going to beout this year at about the same timethat Shotter’s Nation was.

Adam: We hope so. That’d begood. One album a year is perfectfor us. We get bored so it keeps uson our toes. We’re always mostexcited about songs that aren’t fullyformed yet. We get to the end of atour and we play by numbers.Sometimes it’s nice to have thosesongs that you can go to and workon for a change.

Does it feel extra special gettinggood feedback when, as you said,critics had started to write you off?

Mick: Well, reviewing music’s adifficult thing. You can talk aboutmusic, and listen to it, but you judgeit for yourself. Like, with the NME; I’dbuy it when I was fourteen but then Istopped buying it cos you know it’ssomeone else’s view. Everyonelistens to different music. Who’s thatjournalist with the stupid hair? Hewas slagging us off, blah blah blah,really put it down, but the next week,in the same magazine, they weresaying the album was brilliant! Thatguy can go and stick his head up hisarse…

Adam: It’s so subjective, isn’t it? Imight play something and hate it,Drew might love it and Mick mightthink it’s great or it’s shit but it’s notfair. That the nature of it really, andit’s hard to do so you can’t blamethem for doing it. It’s worse when itgets personal though. It doesn’t justsay “I don’t like this but I can see themerits in this part and in that part” but

some of them inflict on people’s lives.

Drew: Sometimes there’s a review,where you’ll read a whole page andthey haven’t mentioned the musiconce. They haven’t mentioned thelyrics, they haven’t mentioned howthe guitarist sounds, they haven’tmentioned the music!

Mick: “Bunch of junkie bastardstrying to create a new album evenworse than their last measly effort!”

It must be frustrating.

Drew: I think you have your ownpersonal belief about how goodsomething is and you should keepsteadfast to that because the badreviews, you can’t take themseriously, but at the same time, youcan’t let the good reviews mean anymore.

On ‘The Lost Art Of Murder’, Peteplays with Bert Jansch. Is there

anyone that you would love tocollaborate with in the future?

Adam: Ian Brown would be good.There was an idea to have himinvolved in ‘French Dog Blues’, cossome of those lyrics are accredited tohim. We’re big fans of the Roses.

Drew: Baby Cham, a Jamaican MC.

It is at this point that Mickaccompanies Drew in somedancehall singing, their accentsmoving somewhere betweenBermondsey and Barbados. “Ayremember dose dayyyyyys…” It’strue that Babyshambles’ reggaeinfluences can be clearly heard, andthey’re openly dedicated tocontinuing the ska tradition. The nextname mentioned warrants hand-clapping and hero-worship all round.

Drew: Terry Hall (from The Specials)would be just brilliant.

Mick: Yeah!

Drew, how do you find the switchfrom Babyshambles to playing inFionn Regan’s band?

Drew: Well, this is my band,Babyshambles, but I love Fionn’smusic. He’s an amazing musicianand I really enjoy playing nicemelodies. He’s a great guy whowrites some good songs, so whenI’ve got some free time I’ll join him.Fionn calls Pete ‘Houdini’ and Mick‘Top Gear’.

Mick: It’s because of my niceclothes…

Drew: It’s not just me that doesother stuff though. Adam dee-jaysand Mick… talks to himself.

While they howl with laughter, it’sdifficult to imagine how theBabyshambles dynamic is alteredwith Pete around. High Voltage islater informed that, had theirfrontman been present, the interviewwould have been terminated at thephrase “side project”, yet Adam, Mickand Drew joke around with oneanother like a band bonding over 2-Tone classics in their parents’ garage.

Priorities lie where they should, withhealth, happiness, and chordprogressions.

Words: Megan Vaughan

www.babyshambles.net

Babyshambles play ManchesterApollo on February 17th

With the move to Parlophone forShotter’s Nation, was there a shift inband mentality, moving away fromyour beginnings as a side project?

Adam: We never consideredourselves a side project. It’s neverbeen like that. It’s always been thesame for us. Nothing’s reallychanged from our perspective.

Mick: Pete only started doingBabyshambles because he had somade songs he wanted to releasewhen he was with The Libs but

Rough Trade weren’t able to releasethe amount of songs that he wantedto as quickly. They wanted to do analbum a year. He wanted to releasesongs constantly.

Adam: We’re quite fluid really. Wewant to record something then get itout, the record companies squeezethe stuff as much as they can.They’re business people; that’s whatthey do. Try to get as much money,as much revenue from that single orwhatever, and tour and tour...

What was Stephen Street like towork with in the studio? Was he adisciplinarian?

Drew: He was great. He knew whathe wanted and he had confidence.

Mick: He was an easy-goingdisciplinarian!

Adam: It was a good balancebecause he knew what he wanted

and he wouldn’t take any shit but hewasn’t in your face.

Reading the reviews of Shotter’sNation, the recurring opinion is thatit’s more “polished” than Down InAlbion. Do you think that’s areflection on your own progression orof a major label budget?

Drew: It’s a reflection on the studiosthat we recorded the album in.

Adam: That’s Stephen Street.

Drew: Yeah, we recorded the first

album on a hard disc. It wasn’t evenProtools. It was rubbish studios. Wewanted to go to a better studio butRough Trade wouldn’t pay for it. Sothen, for this album, we went in witha brilliant engineer who knew whereto place expensive, good mics andproper pre-amps and everything. Werecorded in a big room where JimiHendrix and Led Zeppelin hadperformed.

What’s it like arriving for the first dayof recording where such legends

have worked before you?

Drew: It felt like home.

Adam: I was in the toilet and I sawthe ghost of Jimi Hendrix! (He putson an American accent) Groovy pee,man… No, really!

Mick: I felt kinda humbled in a way,cos it was really nice to have thatkind of opportunity. In fact, the ceilingthere was lowered or raised to alterthe sound of the room.

Adam: When you get in there, it

makes you almost… Well, you haveto rise to the occasion.

Did it put pressure on?

Adam: The pressure was alreadyon. We knew we had to do a goodalbum cos people were starting towrite us off.

It has been said that one of the mostexciting things about Shotter’s Nationis that it sounds like there is so muchmore still to come. Are plans alreadybeing made for album number three?

Drew: Mick’s constantly writingsongs. You can’t tell, but right nowhe’s thinking about chordprogressions.

Mick: There’s lots of songs ready,nearly a whole album’s worth.

Is there going to be a quickturnaround for the next one then?

BABYSHAMBLESLife is full of surprises. Michael Jackson didn’t do

it. Jordan and Peter are still together. Keith

Richards has just turned 64, and according to

‘statistics’, is healthier than your average ten year

old. Similarly surprising, to those of you more

interested in the tabloids than your record

collections, is that there are four musicians in

Babyshambles. Drew McConnell (bass), Adam

Ficek (drums) and Mick Whitnall (guitar) have

quietly toiled behind their charismatic band leader

through two studio albums and more gigs than the

arrest warrants would have you believe.

High Voltage sat down with “the other three”

to find out where their heads are at.

One album a year isperfect for us. We getbored so it keeps us on ourtoes. We’re always mostexcited about songs thataren’t fully formed yet

seventeensixteen

Air Cav _ Alliance(Surbia)

It's hard to be in Manchesterand not notice the waves beingmade by Air Cav at themoment, and their debutrelease on fledgling SurbiaRecords is set to continue theindustry "buzz". 'Alliance' haslong been the band's signaturetune, and this polishedrecording does it real justice.

Beginning with urgent, dirtyelectric guitar, things developthe way intelligent rock music

should; regularly twisting intosomething new and taking thelistener on the kind of journeythat would make lessermusicians travel-sick. Withminimal vocals, the song isdriven by 'BittersweetSymphony' strings andunassailable, unforgivingpercussion, along withbeautifully dark post-rockguitar.

Alliance will never be a song tochill out to, if only because itgrabs your attention, flips youupside-down, and then carries

you off as a prisoner ofrock'n'roll. Simply brilliant.

Megan Vaughan

Cut Off Your Hands - Oh Girl (679)

It takes a cynical soul not to award asong like 'Oh Girl' the full five flashesof High Voltage electricity. A choruswrapped in treacly harmonies,tinkling music-box xylophones,guitars that could have been pluckedfrom some 50s high school prom -what's not to like?

Very little actually - New Zealand'sCut Off Your Hands are guidedeffortlessly along by producerBernard Butler, and all appears wellin the land of lovely. The naggingdoubt (that'll be the cynical soul) isthat it's all just a bit too candyflossfor a band last seen here ripping itup with tour mates Foals.

Indeed, those extra two bolts mighthave been all theirs if the track hadnot been so overshadowed by the

monumental power pop of flipside'Turn Cold' - a song that Idlewild maywell have crafted if they knew how todance. And therein lies the moral: ifyou can't melt a cynic's heart, punchhim in the guts instead.

Neil Condron

Kid Harpoon - The Second EP (XL)

On one hand, this is a great EP, full ofloping shanty choruses, quirky lyrics andvocals ranging from Syd Barrett'sheightened Englishness to raw CaptainBeefheart growls. On the other hand, itis forgettable radio-friendly boredom; itssoul castrated by the influence of DavidGray, Razorlight, Billy JoelÅc

This is a genuine shame. When he

shines, Kid Harpoon is a powerfullyricist, who can bring situations to life inone or two lines, and whose 'SuicideGrandad?' is a beautiful Pink Floydoddity: "I won't count the days till I fall,piss my pants / I've got better things todo". Elsewhere, honky tonk piano brings'Her Body Sways' to life, and the chorusof 'Fathers And Sons' is malt whisky inaural form.

So why does it all sound so horriblyweak-ass? The answer is that this

shouldn't be an EP. Kid Harpoon cansay everything he needs to say in threegorgeous songs, and there would be nogreat mourning party for the rest of theMOR nonsense. Moments like 'SuicideGrandad?' are in danger of getting lostamongst asinine Johnny Borrell"ooohs".

Megan Vaughan

singlesSingle of the month

The Ting Tings - GreatDJ (Columbia)

We picked out Salford duo The TingTings as potential stars with lastsummerÅfs debut single ÅeThatÅfsNot My NameÅf and, severalmonths on theyÅfve becomeÅetheÅf band to name checkamong tastemakers. Now withmajor label backing, Jules and Katieare likely to enjoy a fruitful 2008,

with huge tours and a debut albumrelease planned.

This re-recorded version of ÅeGreatDJÅf hasnÅft changed a great dealsince its original b-side status, thesound is bigger and Åethe drumsÅfmore prominent, but it still appearsfresh and is worthy of thesubsequent hype. With so muchgoing on around them, The TingTings seem comfortable enough to

fall back on an old song toannounce their arrival on Columbia.

ItÅfll be interesting to hear what theyhave in their locker on the album,but we reckon they pretty muchhave 2008 sewn up already.

Alistair Beech

Rachael Kichenside - Like The Tides EP

The most important thing in a youngsongstress is not her songs per se butthe potential she packs in her pipes.Rachael Kichenside doesnÅft somuch "pack" her marvellous talent asshe spins it like silk _ indelibly delicatebut tangible enough to wrap yourselfin for hours at a time.

Over this EP, not every song stands

out. But that doesnÅft matter. Where'Frailty' might

freeze you in your tracks, 'Measure OfMe' might pass you by. But for notone second during these four songscan you not tap into the spectral folkhush. 'Something To Say' resonateswith this crystalline simplicity, chimesand all.

Kichenside certainly offers somethingdifferent to the robust emotionality of

Karima Francis. She's a subtlydifferent sweetness to Lucy & The

Caterpillar. Her songs' beauty is moreunderstated than Liam Frost's. Neverhave we been short of songwritingquality round these parts, but I thinkMiss Kichenside is going to fit right in.

Fran Donnelly

Pete And The Pirates -Mr Understanding(Stolen)

Ah, the magic ingredient that is TheChant. Few or no words are needed:just take that killer hook, add cheap offthe back of a gold disc. It made TheFratellis a lot of money, and it may welldo the same for our unlikely heroesPete and the Pirates.

'Mr Understanding', you see, is nigh-onindie perfection. The Reading five-piecehave already been building a reputationamong the purists for understated,chiming folk-pop, but with this latestrelease they've thrown their tatteredhats into the ring with their cheekiest,most boisterous riff to date. And, ofcourse, there's that chant.

Bittersweet enough to charm thedreamers, rough enough to appeal tothe terrace mobs, 'Mr Understanding'

could be to Pete and the Pirates what'22 Grand Job' was to The Rakes. Thedifference being, of course, that you'llbe hearing a lot about one of thosebands in 2008.

Neil Condron

Los Campesinos - DeathTo Los Campesinos!(Witchita)

‘Death to Los Campesinos!’ is the selfreferencing lead single from Cardiffsextet Los Campesinos! forthcomingHold On Now Youngster LP. Forgetthe frankly deluded press release thatproclaims this track ‘resolutely void ofindie pop clich_s’, DTLC! ticks all thegenres stylistic boxes from the

xylophones to the saccharine girl/boyvocals, treading a fine line between lifeaffirming pop for it’s own sake andnausea inducing tweeness.

It’s a close thing but ultimately thesong comes good through the sheershambolic exuberance of its delivery.The exaggeratedly fey vocalaffectations are undeniably irritating butthe sugar rush melodies and singalong chorus are sufficiently catchy toensure patronage by all the more

discerning indie discos from now tillsummer.

Whether this sort of thing will bepalatable over the length of an albumremains to be seen, but for 2 minutes45 seconds Death to LosCampesinos! offers a welcomeinjection of sunshine to these bleakwinter days.

Billy Idle

MGMT - Time To Pretend(Columbia)

MGMT are yet another tip for 2008, butthey aren’t as easy to pigeon hole asthe likes of Adele and Joe Lean, et al.Debut UK single ‘Time To Pretend’(you’ve probably been charmed by italready through 6Music playlisting)sounds like The Flaming Lipsscratching around in a basement studiowith The Incredible String Band.

The duo (Brooklyn based Uni-palsAndrew and Ben) sing about ‘Heroin,the stars, and elegant cars’ on Time ToPretend, whilst demonizing the 9-5office job. ‘Live fast and die young.We’ve got the vision, now let’s havesome fun. Inspired by duos, MGMT’ssound has been hemmed together byDave Fridmann’s (Flaming Lips) studionous, while there’s a wide-eyedoptimism about them that’s difficult notto be seduced by.

An intriguing first installment then, butwhether these boys can carry theirmodern-hippy sermons through a fullalbum remains to be seen.

Alistair Beech

Alphabeat - Fascination(Charisma)

If ever there was a band to take us backto the heady days of 1986, when lip-glossed ladies in towering shoulderpads threw balloons around on Top OfThe Pops, Alphabeat are that band.Hailing from Denmark, where theirdebut album has already gone platinum,Alphabeat have now relocated to UK

shores, and are busy filling dancefloorswith whistles, whoops and handclaps.

'Fascination' is not groundbreaking, noris it even modern, having the misfortuneto sound like both Wham and CyndiLauper at the same time. What it doesoffer, however, is pure and undilutedSaturday night glee. With unashamedEuropop roots, lyrics about "youngdudes in high boots" match super-charged disco cheese that should

sound like a rowdy mess, but thankfullydoesn't. Abrilliant slice of retro popgubbins, you will love 'Fascination' for itssheer brainlessness.

Grab your ra-ra skirt. Let's party.

Megan Vaughan

Clich_d business managementguff has it that if you try toplease everyone, you end uppleasing no one. ConsiderMuscles' debut album to be atwo-fingered salute (withaccompanying raspberry)rebuke to such thinking. For,the young Aussie (aka DJ Flex)has created a dance LP thatappeals to both electro smarty-pants and Ministry of Soundcompilation buyers.

Granted the swelling ravesynths and thumping drumswith layered harmonised,shouty vocals that uniformly fillthese eleven tracks will notchange the world of electronicmusic, but it may well make itdance. Like the album's title,

the lyrics are somewhat inane,("Ice Cream is going to savethe day, again") yet Muscleshas cleverly injected an extraingredient usually overlookedwithin this genre, emotion. Onthe face of it, these are throw-away electro party tracks butMuscles unrefined singing styleand lyrics are so enthusiastic,honest, and above allendearing that the result ishard to resist: "I'm sweaty, but Istill want to touch you if you'lllet me".

The mantra-like repetition of"Peace, Love, Ecstasy, Unity,Respect" on 'Sweaty' illustratesMuscles' clear intention tomake his music as accessibleas possible. The space

between pop and dance musicis a difficult area to navigateseriously, as fellow Modularitesand Antipodeans, The Presets',pretentious debut albumproved. We've little doubt he'llsucceed but don't anticipateKellogg's variety pack-likeeclecticism; Muscles' one trickdoes begin to grate over fortyminutes, but expect it to slowburn through 2008 regardless.

Simon Smallbone

It was only so long before thepeople behind the excellentEnd Of The Road festivalstarted putting out excellentrecords. They might only havetwo artists, Alaskan PortO'Brien and classically trainedBostonian ensemble TheYoung Republic, who are themore than accomplishedauthors of EOTR's first LPrelease.

With eight people who met atcollege and a menagerie ofinstruments (mandolin, viola,flute and, of course, anaccordion), Arcade Fire andMontreal scene comparison areprobably inevitable, but thatwould be to put TYR in a

pigeonhole they a repeatedlybust out of (although 'SheComes And Goes' is probablyrelated to 'Wake Up' in someway or other).

'Excuses To See You', a non-cheesy country ballad, is whatthey call Classic Song Writing,preceded by spiky Pixies surfvibes on 'Modern Plays' _ fittedwith unexpected jazzybreakdowns. For the most part,though, things take on a folkyalt. jangle, occasionallyfrequenting Beirut's Balkanterritories ('Girl In A Tree'). AndJulian Saporiti's voice is almostas idiosyncratic as ZacCondon's, but his songs arefilled with even more romance.

The knock-out 'She's NotWaiting Here This Time' and'Everybody Looks Better InBlack & White' are exactly howboys' songs about girls shouldbe written. They're like audioversions of cool, low-budgetAmerican indie films. But it's'Paper Ships' and 'When I SeeYour EyesÅc' that possess themost magnificent drama.

End of the road? No chance.These are the onlyRepublicans worth voting for in2008.

Stephen Eddie

Beat Pyramid is the debut LP of DiorHomme darlings and forerunners tothe curiously London-centric'Southend Scene' These NewPuritans. Still only 19 years old TNPare a young band with big ideas,drawing inspiration from a gloriouslypretentious gene pool where suchdisparate entities as Steve Reich,chain mail, Einsturzende Neubauten,syntax and the Wu Tang Clan are allreigned in beneath an archly fastenedtop collar button. Yet for all theiraesthetic austerity Beat Pyramid is, asits name might suggest, a recordsteeped in that most primal of musicalelements: rhythm.

Album centrepiece 'En Papier' is grimebleached white, metallic 2 step

rhythms pounding away like industrialmachinery while TNP orator in-chiefJack Barnett fires cryptic missives ofmisheard conversation over the top.Forthcoming single 'Elvis' is a masterclass in instrumental minimalism, onechord bass and guitar riffs etchthemselves onto your consciousnessbefore the self restraint buckles tomake way for a freeform noisefreakout.

This is indie by association only; on analbum featuring a track which appearsto be a field recording of a gentlebreeze and two pieces whichcomprise of no more than two halvesof the same sentence the only realoddity is 'MKK3' which sounds a littlelike The Rakes.

Regardless, Beat Pyramid is a recordof striking coherence, subverting ourexpectations for a 'guitar' record andsetting the bar high not only for theband themselves, but for every otherrelease this year.

Billy Idle

Muscles - Guns,Babes, Lemonade(Modular)

The Young Republic -12 Tales From WinterCity (End Of The Road)

These NewPuritans - BeatPyramid (Angular)

Made in the Dark is full of greatsongs, although perhaps only thefirst single, 'Ready For TheFloor', will be sung badly bygroups of shirtless men at threein the morning in the way that'Over and Over' was. It too is anirresistible call to the dancefloorfor those of us guilty of "carvingup the wall". It sounds like aboutfour different singles in one, eachof them fighting for presidence.Yes, Kylie turned it down, but shechose a pallid Goldfrapp rip-offas her first single so what doesshe know?

The album's title track and'Whistle For Will' are bothminimal, slow burning soulnumbers that give Alexis Taylor'svoice the space it deservers.They also show how far they

have come as songwriters; fromquirky joke tracks about StevieWonder to chord sequences thatwouldn't be out of place on aNick Cave or Rufus Wainwrightsong. 'Out at the Pictures'sounds like the manic openingnumber from a non existantmusical, whereas 'Hold On'sounds like its deranged discofinale. 'Wrestlers' is the recordTimbaland would make if hecame from Putney. And waswhite. And never got laid. 'ShakeA Fist' combines the unlikely lovetriangle of kraftwerk melodies,ravey synth stabs and dancehallrhythms. As the sample says,"you may be surprised".

Like the best of albums, Made inthe Dark is ambitious, fresh andoriginal, yet still built up from a

solid groundwork of fantastic andaccessible songwriting. Despitethe huge range of music, it's stillimmediately recognisable as HotChip, and their best album yet.An instant classic.

Alex Barbanneau

The most un-DC band to haveever recorded in Fugazi's studiohave moved. Upping sticks fromtheir native Washington, DeadMeadow have relocated toCalifornia and recorded their fifthLP in the middle of nowhere inIndiana, places far more suited totheir out there slacker retro.Sometimes it's like they can't bebothered to go all the way backto the 70s. They can be botheredwith plenty of solos and pedals,though, as on 'Ain't Got Nothing'and 'Between Me and TheGround'.

The psych is less psyched thanon previous records (it's a lotmore, erm, -adelic though). As atrio again, DM appear to have

mellowed out to brilliant effect.'I'm Gone' is both angsty ANDdreamy, and the best retrothrowback since who knowswhen (Oasis, take notes). While'Keep On Walking' and 'EitherWay' are homely Americananumbers with hints of JasonPierce at his most tender. Pick ofthe acoustic bunch though, is'Down Here'. It'll make youcomfortably numb, for sure.

Not that the band which prettymuch hold the copyright on'beardy weirdy' have completelyforgotten the art of rocking likeLed Zeppelin's first coming: thegaragey 'The Queen of AllReturns' does a better job of itthan the reformed Plant, Page

and Jones. While 'The GreatDeceiver' is a pub jam with souland 'Seven Seers', with bassistSteve Kille taking up the sitar, isa hypnotic trance out. This isretro American style. Memorylane's never rocked so well.

Stephen Eddie

albums

Hot Chip - Made InThe Dark (EMI)

Dead Meadow -Old Growth(Matador)

Album of the month

eighteen nineteen

gigs

Openers The GhostFrequencyÅfs intense electropunk intercourse is a hard act tofollow, but New York newwavers Holy Hail rise to thechallenge. Like the politico-disco of Le Tigre, their musichas more grrrl power than athousand Spice Girls reuniontours. 'Big Guns', 'Born Of AStar', and 'Cool Town Rock',their recent release onAdventures Close To Home, arehighlights one and all.

And by midnight, Liverpool hasbecome the next town tocapitulate to the Crystal Castles

worldwide invasion. As theToronto duo take to the stage atKorova, an uber-trendyunderground Clockwork Orangethemed venue, the Droogs inthe basement go ultraviolent fortheir synthcore sound.

Alice Glass, an iconicfrontwoman evolved from theboys-wanna-fuck-her-girls-wanna-be-her gene pool,shrieks and yelps in perfectdisharmony with the pixelateddystopic noises of her musicalpartner in crime Ethan Fawn. As'Air War' wreaks shock and awedancefloor destruction, the

Canadians' performance comesto a chaotic close and peacereigns again in this old town.

Benjamin Thomas

The ChemicalBrothers - Apollo6/12/07

Holy Hail / CrystalCastles - Liverpool Korova2/12/07

Just whom could promoters PineappleFolk/Hey Manchester bring in to easean audience into an evening of exoticBalkan folk, a large percentage ofwhich may only be aware of them viaJeremy Barnes' previous drummingduties for mythic-alternative typesNeutral Milk Hotel. With the exceptionof Beirut there are few optionsamongst the alternative crowd,making Montreal's Miracle Fortress asgood a choice as any.

Debuting tracks from their recentlyreleased opening statement 'FiveRoses', the quintet's slow-burning popswept in shoe-gaze atmospherics (asyou'd imagine Belle and Sebastianwould sound if Kevin Shields wascalling the shots) kept to tempo by twopercussionists' frantic rhythmic

interplay draws quite a few impressedmurmurs in the crowd. Whilst it'scertainly not the most startlinglyoriginal racket to be exported fromCanada recently, chief songwriterGraham Van Pelt is one to keep anear open for.

Like gate crashing an easternEuropean party, A Hawk And AHacksaw's exotic back catalogueplays best when soundtracking a wineand port fuelled shuffle on adancefloor, punctuated by drunkenroaring and raucous laughter ratherthan as a spectacle to take in.

Whilst the musicianship on offer isdazzling as times, with wild flurries ofnotes crammed into exotic time-signatures evoking a wide scope of

cinematic moods and emotions viatrumpet, violin and a cimbalom (yepthat's right, a cimbalom!), theatmosphere unfortunately neverapproaches anything closelyresembling a celebratory gatheringthis evening, despite the group's bestefforts.

Mike Caulfield

Miracle Fortress /A Hawk And AHacksaw - Music Box6/12/07

Rocketed from Dry Bar to ManchesterCentral this evening, Paul Ryder'slatest venture sees him surprisinglycomfortable as a frontman. Big Armadmittedly have a handful of songs _'Sunrays' being one _ that haveenough lilted bagginess to be half-catchy. If this was what the Mondayshad made their comeback with thisyear, then it might have even beenlistenable. Does the lesser-known ofthe Ryders not have his right to acomeback? No. Happy Mondayshave a legacy to explore, but Big Armhave been created afresh with not onetrace of interest about them. IfMadchester is the be all and end all ofyour tastes then Big Arm might be foryou, but the sane will avoid.

If anybody cannot be accused ofindulging in their glory days however, itis Ian Brown. Songs as early as 'MyStar' and as recent as 'Keep What YaGot' are heights in his career that areeven capable of overshadowing quitebanally replicated Roses covers. Thissort of consistently challenging drivefrom Brown has meant that in thepast, live shows have been thrillingfrom the quirky to the anthemic.

Tonight however, the preachydrabness of latest album 'The World IsYours' kills any atmosphere that mighthave been. It's shocking how quicklyyou can find yourself turning on thishomegrown hero, but even withbrilliant moments like 'Dolphins WereMonkeys' finding him at his best, it's

when his character gets the better ofhim (as it has done so much this year)that his objectionable side gets thebetter of the show. A shame.

Fran Donnelly

First up, Scot newbies MakeModel confuse and delight inequal measure. The last vocalistto have baffled us with Americanaccented vocals in place ofScottish was Idlewild's RoddyWoomble, and the transatlantictones still make very littlesense. The band relax soonenough though; 'Just AnotherFolk Song' is reminiscent of apoppier Biffy Clyro, whilst newsingle 'The Was' shows thatmajor label backing isn'tquashing their emergingoriginality.

A certain hush is required forMiddleton's opening numberwith just the man himself andJenny Reeve on violin. As the

full band arrive 'Blue PlasticBags' is evidence that Middletonhas a far more believable waywith social commentary thanthose Arctic Monkeys ever will.Recent singles are pulled outearly, including the surprisinglychirpy (and radio friendly) 'ABrighter Beat' and the sublime'Fuck It, I Love You'.

Elsewhere 'Burst Noel' providessolace for anyone who's everspent the festive period alone,possibly depressing onlookersas Middleton taunts "You'reawfully quiet, just cheer up alittle!" before explaining to aheckler who's pointed out thathe's not so chipper himself that"that's where the joke lies". His

sense of humour may not be toeveryone's taste, but his droll,wry wit both conversationallyand lyrically is positively freshlistening for jaded ears.

Hannah Bayfield

Big Arm / Ian Brown- ManchesterCentral7/12/07

Make Model /Malcolm Middleton -Academy 310/12/07

twenty twentyone

Gig of the month

It should perhaps come as no surprisebearing in mind that they've beenplying their trade for nigh-on 15 years,but it seems that even Ed and Tomaren't exempt from using The BigBook of DJ-ing's number one rule.When a series of power failuresthreatens to derail the evening'spounding vibe by plunging the Apollointo an uncomfortable quiet for 10minutes, they mark the return ofnormal service with 1997's (yep, it'sthat old) Block Rockin' Beats _ whenthings go wrong, hit back hard.

Tonight is one of the Brothers' morebackward looking gigs of late,plundering 'Hey Boy, Hey Girl', 'Out of

Control' 'Music: Response' and morefrom Surrender, as well as guestappearances from 'Leave Home' 'ItDoesn't Matter' and theaforementioned chart-topping big-beatbehemoth. That said, they also findtime to indulge in some of the moreanonymous house tracks scatteredacross the last three albums, butmercifully prevent them from draggingin the way we've seen before.

The hits are out in force, with'Galvanise', 'Do It Again' 'Star Guitar'and 'Believe' each received with abarrage of whistles and cheers andthere's very little left for anyone tocomplain about. In fact, when the

electrical gremlins do appear to put thefun-fest in jeopardy, the crowd onlyremain silent so they can catch theirbreath for one last volley; a thrilling,apocalyptic finale.

Adrian Barrowdale

Indica Ritual

From the mutant ambientAfrobeat of ‘Huddersclam’to the frazzled, proto-metalrave of last year’s 7”‘Trade Show’. From earlysongs like ‘Num Lock’s’blip & crunch spazzcore tobastardised Hot Chipnumbers such as ‘TopForty’, Indica Ritual aremusic to scare people whowant to live like they’re in‘Skins’. Not to mentionconfusing and upstagingsome of the hippest indie-dance crossover bands inthe world: Shy Child, Foalsand Prinzhorn DanceSchool have all been leftfor dead.

Their chaotic,multicoloured live showalso means they’ve heldtheir own against some theloudest bands on the road.Seriously, they need to beseen to be completelybelieved. It’s like anexplosion in a WTF?factory.

I’ve said it before and I’llsay it again: they’re thehouse party band of yourwarped dreams. The onefrom ‘About A Boy’ and theone with the beanie won’tknow what’s hit them.

Key track: ‘Trade Show’

Web:www.myspace.com/indicaritual

Words: Stephen Eddie

Send your new band tips tostephen@highvoltage.org.uk to appearin the next New Noise round-up…

NEW NOISEHijak Oscar

In recent years, televisedtalent competitions havebeen responsible for someof the most embarrassingexamples of lobotomy popever to have monopolisedthe near-redundant singleschart. Thankfully, HijakOscar made T4’s ‘MobileAct Unsigned’ competitionworth getting out of bed forin the months running upto Christmas, and areabout to head out on the‘Hellbound’ tour thatshould see their wildharmonica-led blues rock’n’ roll feed hungry earsacross the country.

Forming in York aroundthe vocal duo of Tim Foxand Emma Keaveney-Roys, the cream of thelocal blues and acousticscene from the city swiftlygot on board, and in 2006the band self-released afoot-stampingly greatalbum that has soldhundreds without any labelsupport. High Voltagereckons that will changepretty soon.

Check out Hijak Oscar’sraucous party growls outthe ‘Hellbound’ tour, andsay you were there first.

Key track: ‘Bitter Carnival’

Web:www.hijakoscar.co.uk

Words: Megan Vaughn

Quartershade

Potentially the best thingto come fromLoughborough since, erm,Lawrie

Sanchez, Quartershadeare one of those indiebands that everyone usesthe word 'epic' to describe.And they'd be right in allfairness, but not that"We're trying to sound likethe Editors" kind of epic.Actually decent musicepic.

HV first witnessed themwhen they played a shithole of a venue inLiverpool, bringing withthem gear that was betterthen what the venuealready had. They playeda blinding set and we'dargue they are one of thetop unsigned live acts onthe current scene.

Setting up their own labeland self releasing anumber of tracks over2007, they will self confessthat they didn't make asmuch noise as they wouldhave hoped to. But withsongs as good as theirs,it's only a matter of time.

Oh, also they're also reallytall. All of them. It's quiteweird actually.

Key track: ‘Hide And Seek’

Web:www.myspace.com/quartershade

Words: Simon Pursehouse

Vessels

To be The Next Big Thingin post-rock you have tobe pretty big. Which iswhat makes Vessels allthe more intriguing, ratherthan building up withambient mush for eightminutes before getting togood bit, the five-piecefrom Leeds ONLY do thegood bits (tumbling pianoriffs, haunting harmonies,meditative calm andmagnificent cacophonies).They do everything thatExplosions or Yndi Haldacan do, but all within theconfines of five minute popsongs, with words andbeats and everything.

Formed in 2005, they’veput out two well received7”s (some how not soldout) and a self-titled EP.Just try not to bemesmerised by the sonichighs of ‘Yuki’ or ‘TwoWords & A Gesture’.They’re best song,however, is a B-side thatcan also be found hiddenaway on a Brew Recordscompilation. ‘Forever TheOptimist’ is a moody Curegone post-rock, and it’llknock you out.

Key track: ‘Forever TheOptimist’

Web:www.vesselsband.com

Words: Stephen Eddie

RachaelKichenside

Have you ever known asecret so good that you’vewanted to just shout it outloud from the rooftops?Rachael is that secret.

Fresh from touring lastyear with the magnificentWindmill, Rachael is nowback in Manchestermaking her own beautifullyconstructed folk. Limitededition single ‘Long TimeLater’ was like hiddentreasure; showcasing avoice so warm, so delicatethat it melted even mybitter heart.

New EP ‘Like The Tides’ isa triumph (co-produced bythe remarkable Stickboy)and I urge you to MySpacethis girl quickly, if only tohear ‘Something to Say’;which I promise you will beplaying over and overagain.

With her twinklingpersonality and heartrendering lyrics, RachaelKichenside is an amazingnew talent that deserves tobe more than just anotherwell kept secret…and I’llbe shouting it from therooftops, even if I do looklike a loon!

Key track: ‘Something ToSay’

Web:www.myspace.com/rkichenside

Words: Phill Daker

twentythreetwentytwo

Say, Scientist by The Maple State out on 25th Feb.Featuring We Swear by the Light Life, Say, Scientist, Don't Take Holidays, Temperate Lives,Starts with Dean Moriarty, You and Me and an X-ray Machine

Catch The Maple State on tour throughout February with Tellison and Furthest Drive Home.

18-Jan - MANCHESTER Academy 2 w/ Hundred Reasons29-Jan - BRACKNELL, Cellar Bar13-Feb - BRIGHTON Freebutt14-Feb - EXETER The Cavern15-Feb - NOTTINGHAM Rock City16-Feb - NORTHAMPTON Soundhaus17-Feb - LIVERPOOL Barfly18-Feb - LEEDS The Cockpit19-Feb - GLASGOW King Tuts20-Feb - BIRMINGHAM Barfly21-Feb - MANCHESTER Roadhouse22-Feb - NORWICH Queen Charlotte23-Feb - TUNBRIDGE WELLS The Forum24-Feb - LONDON Dingwalls

www.highvoltage.org.ukwww.myspace.com/highvoltageuk

listings Feb- MarGIG LISTINGS FebruaryFri 1stMeet Me In St Louis @ Night & Day Cafe Kerrang Tour 2008 (feat. Coheed &Cambria) @ Academy 1Angus and Julie Stone @ The RubyLounge Annie Mac In Session @ The Club (akaParadise Factory)Dewa @ The Roadhouse

Sat 2ndThe Sleeves @ Night & Day CafeNME Tour 2008 (feat. The Cribs) @Academy 1The Rocket Summer @ Academy 2Amplifier @ Academy 3Paul Potts @ The Bridgewater Hall

Sun 3rdVictorian Dad @ Night & Day CafeAllerjen @ Satans Hollow Boy George @ The Lowry Spear Of Destiny @ Club Academy Nick Harper @ Academy 3

Mon 4thLaura Veirs @ Night & Day CafeBlessed by a Broken Heart @ Music BoxBullet For My Valentine @ Academy 1Joan Osborne @ Academy 3

Tues 5thDavid Bazan (Pedro The Lion) @ Night &Day CafePete & The Pirates @ The Roadhouse

Wed 6th The Rifles @ Night & Day CafeThe Blackout @ Academy 2American Music Club @ Academy 3Black Acid @ Moho Live The Naughtys @ The Roadhouse

Thurs 7th Young & Lost Tour (feat. Noah & TheWhale) @ Night & Day CafeJustice @ Academy 2Simian Mobile Disco @ Academy 3Earth @ Zion Arts Centre Roni Size- Reprezent @ Club Academy The Deadstring Brothers @ The RubyLoungeProstitutes & Policemen Boy 8-Bit @ TheAttic

Fri 8th Airship @ Night & Day CafeAirbourne @ The RoadhouseChrome Hoof Vs Invest Vs Spandecks VsLamb & Wolf @ Salford Islington Mill Devon Sproule @ Club Academy Richard Hawley @ Academy 1The Other Smiths Vs Transmission @Academy 3

Sat 9th Spektrum @ Night & Day CafeBasement Jaxx (DJ Set) @ The Club (akaParadise Factory)Sons & Daughters @ Club Academy Dropkick Murphys @ Academy 1Michael Schenker Group @ Academy 3Dieter & The Gadabouts @ TheRoadhouse

Sun 10thBabyshambles NME Show @ The Apollo MXPX @ Academy 3Gabrielle @ The Lowry Fuck Buttons @ The Phoenix

Mon 11thPalladium @ Night & Day CafeAsobi Seksu @ Music Box Flamboyant Bella @ Academy 3

Tues 12thThese New Puritans @ Night & Day CafeMirrorview @ Music BoxEamon Hamilton (Brakes) @ The RubyLoungeBlack Francis @ Academy 2Polysics @ Star & Garter Cut The Blue Wire @ The Roadhouse

Wed 13thThe Yashin @ Music Box

Thurs 14th Johnny Bramwell’s Valentine Massacre @Night & Day CafeDillinger Escape Plan @ Academy 3Sub Humans @ Star & Garter

Fri 15thRoyworld @ Night & Day CafeA Killer Fear @ Club Academy Tonight Is Goodbye @ The Ruby LoungeFamily & Friends Live! @ Mint Lounge I Was A Cub Scout @ The RoadhouseSmashing Pumpkins @ The M.E.N ArenaManchester Orchestra @ Academy 3Ipso Facto @ Retro Bar

Sat 16th High Voltage Presents Thieves Like Us(Kitsune) @ Night & Day CafeMark Ronson @ The ApolloHot Chip @ Academy 1Mentallica @ The Ruby LoungeThe Manyanas @ Club Academy

Sun 17thVice Magazine Party @ Night & Day CafeGenius: Arthur Lee & Love @ The RubyLounge Lightspeed Champion @ The RoadhouseJaymay @ Matt & Phreds Late Of The Pier @ Club AcademyDionne Warwick @ The Lowry Andy Parsons @ The LowryReel Big Fish @ Academy 2

Mon 18th Inego @ Night & Day CafeLos Campesinos @ Club Academy

Tues 19th The Von Bondies @ Night & Day CafeThe Ghost Of a Thousand @ Music BoxDizzee Rascal @ Academy 1The Satellite Towns @ The Roadhouse

Wed 20thIslands @ Night & Day CafeJimmy Eat World @ Academy 1Belladonna @ The Roadhouse

Thurs 21stCherry Ghost @ Night & Day CafeThe Maple State @ The Roadhouse Bring On The Dancing Horses presentNapolean IIIrd @ Cafe SakiEternal Lord @ Music BoxGallows @ Academy 2

Fri 22ndThe Futureheads @ Night & Day CafeThe Metros @ The RoadhouseThe Wombats @ Academy 1Duffy @ The Ruby LoungeAmy MacDonald @ Academy 2The Audition @ Academy 3Air Cav (Single Launch Party) @ TheRoadhouse

Sat 23rd The Rascals @ Night & Day CafeThis Is Seb Clarke @ The RoadhouseVersus Cancer 2008 @ The M.E.N ArenaBright Kicks @ Club Academy Megadeth @ Academy 1Joe Bonamassa @ Academy 2Juno Ashes @ Academy 3Ian Hunter @ The Lowry

Sun 24thBand Of Horses @ Academy 3

Mon 25th Sandi Thom @ Night & Day Cafe

Tues 26thStephanie Dosen @ The Ruby LoungeDesigner Magazine presents The CircusElectric @ Night & Day CafeAlicia Keys @ The M.E.N ArenaSum 41 @ Academy 1The Hold Steady @ Academy 2The Bottomfeeders @ The Roadhouse

Wed 27th Curious Generation presents Out FromAnimals @ Night & Day CafeThe Young Knives @ Academy 2Dragons @ Academy 3Eels @ The Bridgewater HallBauer @ The Roadhouse

Thurs 28th Sarabeth Tucek @ Night & Day CafeMayhem In Manchester @ Music BoxYeti @ Dry BarThe Hoosiers @ Academy 1The Nightjars @ The Roadhouse

Fri 29th This City @ The RoadhouseKoffin Kats @ Satans HollowUninformed @ Club Academy Autechre @ Music BoxSiouxsie @ Academy 2Hanoi Rocks @ Academy 3

March Sat 1stHigh Voltage presents MGMT @ Night &Day CafeThe Cult @ Academy 1Tegan & Sara @ Academy 2MistyÅfs Big Adventure @ Academy 3Natasha Bedingfield @ The Apollo The Beat & Neville Staple @ ClubAcademyMetronomy @ The Roadhouse

Sun 2nd Anti-Flag @ Club Academy Newton Faukner @ The Apollo Bill WymanÅfs Rhythm Kings @ TheLowryThe Grandmothers Of Invention @Academy 3

Mon 3rd Kid Harpoon & The Powers That Be @The RoadhouseMike Park @ Music BoxEditors @ The ApolloTina Disco @ Academy 3

Tues 4th Designer Magazine presents Sloganeer@ Night & Day CafeKate Nash @ The ApolloClannad @ The Bridgewater Hall Jack Penate @ Academy 1The Mexicolas @ The Roadhouse

Wed 5th Dead Meadow @ Night & Day Cafe

Thurs 6thCazals @ Night & Day CafeDavid Gray @ The ApolloOne Night Only @ Academy 3Conil @ The Roadhouse

Fri 7th The Levellers @ The ApolloAlec Empire @ Academy 3

Sat 8thFink @ Night & Day CafeBoyz II Men @ The ApolloAkala @ Club AcademyGary Numan @ Academy 1

Sun 9th Yeasayer @ Night & Day CafeGuillemots @ The Ritz Hayseed Dixie @ Academy 2Tom Baxter @ Academy 3

Mon 10th The Matches @ Academy 3Eva @ The Roadhouse

twentyfour

Tues 11th The Vagabons @ Night & Day CafeNeil Young @ The ApolloEktomorf + Stuck Mojo @ Academy 3

Wed 12th Neil Young @ The ApolloInfadels @ The RoadhouseRichard Freeshman @ Academy 3

Thurs 13th The Mars Volta @ The ApolloThe Feeling @ Academy 1Asia @ Academy 2Casiotone For The Painfully Alone @Charlies

Fri 14th The Torrents @ Night & Day CafeKelly Clarkson @ The ApolloInspiral Carpets @ Academy 1

Sat 15th Kelly Clarkson @ The Apollo5th Annual St. PatrickÅfs Week Party @Academy 1

Sun 16th Monsters Of Mosh feat. Breed 77 @ JillysRockworld

Mon 17th Velvet Revolver @ The Apollo

Tues 18th Sophie Ellis Bextor @ Academy 2

Wed 19th The Enemy @ The Apollo

Thurs 20th You Animals (Formerly Komakino) @ TheRoadhouse

Fri 21st The Fall @ Salford Maxwell Hall

Sat 22nd Danse Macabre presents Las Pistolas @Night & Day Caf_101%- Pantera @ Ruby Lounge

Sun 23rd Buck 65 @ The Roadhouse

Mon 24th The Twilight Sad @ Night & Day Cafe

Wed 26th Last Gang @ Night & Day CafeThe Duke Spirit @ Academy 3Chris Rea @ The Apollo

Thurs 27th Young Heart Attack @ The RoadhouseThe Grid @ Academy 3Dodge @ Club Academy Van Der Graaf Generator @ RNCMVan Morrison @ The Bridgewater

Fri 28th Kris Kristofferson @ The ApolloVan Morrison @ The Bridgewater HallThe Sword @ Academy 3

Sat 29th Scouting For Girls @ Academy 1Hawkwind @ Academy 2Dead Men Walking @ Academy 3

Sun 30thGogol Bordello @ Academy 1Medals @ The Lowry

Mon 31st Vast @ The Ruby Lounge

CLUBLISTINGSFeb-MarMondayRevolver @ The Roadhouse 11pm- 2amMonday @ The Ritz 10pm- 2amUp The Racket @ Joshua Brooks 10pm-2am

TuesdaySex With Robots @ The Roadhouse11pm- lateWay Back When @ Po Na Na 9pm- 2amClick Click @ Font Bar 9pm- 1amThe Alternative @ The Venue 11pm- late

WednesdayRetro @ 42nd Street 10pm- lateTramp @ Club North 10pm- 2am

ThursdayFrom Manchester With Love @ 42ndStreet 10pm- 2am Don’t Think Twice @ Font Bar 9pm- 1amRomp @ One Central Street @ 9.30pm-3am In The City @ The Venue 11pm- late

FridayLong Live Rock ‘n’ Roll @ TheRoadhouseFriday Feeling @ 5th Avenue 10pm- 3amKeys, Money, Lipstick @ Star & Garter Glamorous Indie Rock n’ Roll @ 42ndStreetPopscene @ The Brickhouse 10.30pm-2.30am Relief @ Club Alter Ego 11pm- 4am Another Planet @ South 10pm- 3amHomoelectric @ Legends 10pm- 4amTwist and Shout @ The Venue 10pm-3amDon’ft Miss This @ Retro BarGuilty Pleasures @ One Central Street10pm- 3am

Please email your gig and clublistings for February/March 08 tolistings@highvoltage.org.uk

Next deadline is January 18th

Compiled by Mike Caulfield

For all things Graphicwww.soapforall.co.uk

HIGHVOLTAGE PRESSSpecialising in music/band online PR

and web promotion.National & regional PR services available

alistair@highvoltage.org.ukfor more information

twentyfive

Bella Union was createdby Cocteau TwinsSimon Raymonde andRobin Guthrie after theircontract with 4AD cameto an end in 1997.Since then, the labelhas supported close tofifty acts; often musicthat ordinarily would notbe heard outside oflocal scenes and nichemarkets. A decadeafter its conception, HVspoke to co-founderSimon about just howfar they have come.

HV: Hello Simon. Youoriginally conceived BellaUnion as an outlet for yourown music but then your banddissolved. Was there ever amoment where you shruggedyour shoulders and thought‘oh well, it was a nice ideawhile it lasted’?

Simon: ‘Yes, absolutely. Sincethe beginning of Cocteau Twinsthe learning curve was a weirdshape. Not steep, but a bitunusual. We made twocassettes, one after another, sentone to 4AD and one to JohnPeel. Then we got signed by4AD and a week later did ourfirst Peel session. So we had noidea that you don't always getwhat you want! Slowly, thingsstarted to go wrong and by thetime we broke up after drugaddictions, label fall outs, punch-ups, break-ups and kidnappings,

we worked out that things don’talways quite work out. I figuredfor a few days that maybe thiswas one of those situations. Butthen we met Dirty Three, put outtheir album and never lookedback.’

Early releases from Fran_oizBreut, The Czars and DirtyThree were all pretty sad andmoody. Were you ever worriedthat Bella Union would becomeknown for releasing onlymelancholic material?

‘No! But I see what you'resaying. I think I am drawn to thatside of art in general. We didrelease some hip hop but I guesseven they were fairly thoughtful,contemplative records.’

You pride yourselves inallowing your artists todevelop at their own rate. Hasthis philosophy ever bitten youon the arse?

‘Haha! I guess you mean did anyband take nineteen albums to getany good? Not really. I don'treally just sit back and do nothingall the time you know!! Seriously,no one band or release is thesame and I just take the attitudethat trying to push a band intosomething doesn't always work.If they want guidance, they'll askand I'll give it.’

Did you get to the bookieswhen Fionn Regan’s ‘The EndOf History’ was nominated forthe Mercury last year?

‘I put a grand on the Klaxons. Iwish. Yes, I did put some moneyon Fionn but didn't get very goododds. He should have won. Butthen I should have been signedby Spurs when I was fifteen.Åh

How has Regan’s success, aswell as hefty sales of Midlake’s

output, affected the prospectsof Bella Union’s smaller acts?Do you have more freedom totake chances now?

‘No. You cannot for a secondthink you have this gamecracked because no one caresabout your last release or howwell it did, only your next one.You just need to be aware thatyou can't always have an artist atMidlake's level, and keepdeveloping the new bands.’

You celebrated your tenth yearin 2007, but with the futureviability of record companieslooking uncertain, how do youthink Bella Union will changein the next ten years?

‘Unlike everyone else, I don'tthink we'll change the philosophybecause truly that's why we do it.If we just signed things becausewe felt they'd do well, we'dultimately fail because it couldn'tsustain. While we don't sell thenumbers of the bigger, fundedlabels, we can release music thatwouldn't otherwise be heard.’

Bella Union artists come fromall over the world, makingmusic in a huge range ofgenres. How do you findthem, and what qualities doyou look for in the music?

‘They just look me up in theYellow Pages. We're there underHomes for Artists Who Want toMake A Difference’

In all seriousness, I guess we'relooking for a band that doesn'tsound like any other, that we allagree we want to push the boatout for... I don't really care wherethey come from, but maybesubconsciously there issomething more romantic aboutsigning a band from Texas thanCleethorpes. Perhaps there is a

burgeoning scene in Cleethorpesand I will be astounded. That'sthe beauty of this business. Oneminute of the day you know onething and then a minute later youhear a band, a song, and you'renever the same again.

Words: Megan Vaughan

www.bellaunion.com

The Best of Bella Union:

Dirty Three - Ocean Songs

Fran-oiz Breut - Une SaisonVolee

Explosions In The Sky - All Of ASudden I Miss Everyone

Midlake - The Trials Of VanOccupanther

Fionn Regan - The End OfHistory

twentyseventwentysix

ISSUE TWENTYSEVEN

BABYSHAMBLES GLASVEGASHOLY FUCK BRITISH SEA POWERYOUNG GALAXY METRONOMY BELLA UNIONKARIMA FRANCIS LOWLINE GOFASTER DENIS JONES

FEB//MAR FREE

two three

EDITOR - Richard Cheetham - rich@highvoltage.org.uk ASSISTANT EDITOR - Alistair Beech - alistair@highvoltage.org.uk

FEATURES EDITOR - Adrian Barrowdale – adrian@highvoltage.org.uk REVIEWS EDITOR – Fran Donnelly – fran@highvoltage.org.uk

NEW BAND EDITOR – Stephen Eddie – stephen@highvoltage.org.uk LISTINGS EDITOR – Mike Caulfield – listings@highvoltage.org.uk

DESIGN - Andy Cake | Soap | www.soapforall.co.uk

CONTRIBUTORS - Alex Barbanneau, Hannah Bayfield, Hannah Clark, Neil Condron, Richard Fox, Jade French, Kelvin Goodson,

Chris Horner, James Morton, Sophie Parkes, Liam Pennington, Andrew Porter, Simon Pursehouse, Gareth Roberts, Alexia Rogers-Wright,

Jamila Scott, Benjamin Thomas, Simon Smallbone, Jack Titley, Megan Vaughan, Will Wright

FEB/MARISSUE TWENTYSEVEN

featuresIntroducing… Karima Francis

& Lowline SIXIntroducing… Gofaster

& Denis Jones SEVENYoung Galaxy & Metronomy NINE

British Sea Power TENHoly Fuck TWELVE

Glasvegas THIRTEENBabyshambles FOURTEEN

Bella Union label profile TWENTYSIX

RegularsManchester news FIVE

Single reviews SIXTEENAlbum reviews EIGHTEEN

Live reviews TWENTYNew Noise TWENTYTHREE

Manchester Listings TWENTYFOUR

For more reviews, interviews,comment and info on all

HighVoltage activities log on tohighvoltage.org.uk

See highvoltagesounds.co.uk forlabel info and new

HighVoltage releases

This issues cover is not only brought to you inamazing technicolor, but is by, none other than themighty Chris Drury, Fingathing’s silent but no lessconspicuous third fiddle. Chris has built up a fresh anddistinctive visual profile for Fingathing that’s as uniqueas the music they produce.

The Fingathing sound is Parker (turntablist supremo)and Sneak (Jazz double bassist). Between them theyproduce, arguably, the most original sound to come outof Manchester, a Jazz/Hip Hop combo that shakes themost solid of foundations.

For more artwork, music, info and an opportunity tobuy a limited edition A2 print by the cave troll himself, check

www.fingathing.comAndy Cake

Cover up!

“Nextissue of

High Voltageis out 1st April

Fool!”

four five

Feb/Mar_News...

That's right. Now you've no excuse for being

uncool on a Saturday night. Down at Night &

Day over the next two months, High Voltage

have a right couple of gems lined up for you.

Expect both dates to boast up-and-coming

surprises in support.

First up, Thieves Like Us bring their shady

dance-pop. Describing themselves as "Half Daft

Punk. Half Factory. All Kitsuné", the

cosmopolitan trio (two Swedes, one American,

met in Berlin, heading for France) represent

their trendsetting label on the 16th February.

Meanwhile, exciting Brooklynites MGMT and

their weird twist of indie magic are making

waves, so it's a good job HV got 'em booked

well in advance for the 1st March. Their aptly-

titled debut album 'Oracular Spectacular' is out

now, but you'll watch to catch them live so you

can say you "was there" this time next year…

Event of the Month

Words: Fran Donnelly

Welcome to the original renaissance city of

Manchester – where everybody is going to

want to be in 2008.

The first to make the trip from London,

gothic girlies Ipso Facto and smart

artrockers XX Teens make Up The Racket's

Retro Bar agenda over February. At Night &

Day, it's worth keeping on eye out for the

most fashionable of indie kids in These New

Puritans (12/02) and Cazals (06/03), whilst

the more subtle, alternative substance of the

Twilight Sad calms things down on 24/03.

If you're missing The Warehouse Project

then miss no more, for they've reopened the

old Factory HQ for some great nights of

dancing. In particular, Australian electro-

behemoths The Presets play 21/03 and it's

gonna be mental. If you prefer your

electronics more "intelligent" however, then

tech-veterans Autechre head for Music Box

29/02. For your ever mind-boggling

indie/dance fusions, console-bothering

Crystal Castles make a strobe-lit dash to

Club Academy (13/02) whilst currently

cresting the hype on all fronts, Foals play

their first Manchester show of the year on

the 11th March. Love odd-ball indie? check

out Misty’s Big Adventure on the 1st March

at Academy 3.

In the record shop, keep an eye out for

singles from the local likes of Lowline, The

Rascals, Modernaire, The Ting Tings, whilst

Orphan Boy's debut album 'Shop Local' isn't

far away. Our very own The Maple State

play the Roadhouse 21/02 in support of their

sharp mini-album 'Say Scientist', released

on HV Sounds in March. It'll keep you happy

until The Whip's hotly anticipated debut

album 'X Marks Destination' arrives

at the end of the month.

six seven

With the kind of traffic-stopping voicethat has earned comparisons withTracy Chapman, Karima Francis’sharrowing tales of romance andalcoholism make for hauntingperformances. Whilst KitchenwareRecords understood her magicwhen they added her to their rosterin mid-2007, just a few years agoKarima was drumming in a band.That was, until she sang LennyKravitz to her partner, booked a gigat The Thirsty Scholar, andeverything changed.

“I always had this craving.Whenever I was in bands I alwaysused to direct anyway. I used to justhear all this melody. You knowwhen you were a kid and everyonesings, and you want to but you’re soshy? It’s one of those things; itnever crossed my mind that I wouldever do it. At my first gig there wasthis Irish guy sat there, all dressed inblack. He was like, ‘Woooah!!’ Hesaid, ‘you know, you’re gonna go far,you’ve really touched me’. Fromthat moment I just couldn’t stopdoing it every night. I could say it’stherapeutic but it’s more like anadrenalin rush. My whole bodyworks in a different way when I’m upthere.”

Having been busy recording herdebut album with Ken Nelson(Gomez, Coldplay, Badly DrawnBoy) in Liverpool’s Parr StreetStudios, there have been fewopportunities for Karima to gig. Ashort support slot with NewtonFaulkner won new fans around thecountry, but extensive touring isplanned to coincide with the album’s

springtime release. It would be anunderstatement to say that Karimais excited.

“Basically, I don’t care if it’s just toone person, or ten thousand people,I just want to be gigging every nightnow. I’m really excited to write mynext finished song too. When I writethat, I’ll relax, because I’ve crampedup. It’s been such a hardexperience.”

The energy expended at Parr Streethas been worthwhile. Sneakpreviews currently available onKarima’s MySpace prove that she isfast becoming one of the UK’sforemost songwriting talents. “Thefirst single is going to be TheAuthor,” she says with a smile, “andthe new version is amazing!There’s a little bit of Hammond inthere and the main guitar line isbacked by electric, but subtly, so it’sthicker, and then when it gets to thebridge it just rushes up your backand everything!”

Words: Megan Vaughan

www.myspace.com/karimafrancis

"I don’t think there's been anything inthe mainstream over the last fiveyears that's turned us on musically,"reckons Lowline drummer Sam. "I'mnot interested in some sweaty 23-year-old telling us what he’s doneday to day."

Tired of mediocrity but driven withself-belief, Lowline are a band to bereckoned with. Having gigged andre-jigged for the past twelve months,these four lads are ready to cause astir in 2008. Their powerful debutsingle 'Monitors' is released in Marchand characteristically taking no half-measures, the band simply wentstraight into the studio with legendaryOasis/Verve producer Owen Morris.

"It's a bang on single but the tuneswe're writing now are better really,"claims bassist Mike. "Previouslywe've all been playing in otherbands, and it's taken a long time toget us where we are, but we'regetting there and we're the completeoutfit now."

And it's really starting to show.Recording the video for 'Monitors',the band played a guerrilla gig inAncoats one Saturday afternoon –joined by one Nick McCabe onguitar. Alienated by the way theirhometown seems headed, Lowlinehave taken things into their ownhands. "Manchester just doesn’thave a sound going for it at themoment," says their bassist.

"You get bands like The Courteenerssounding like The Libertines. There'sno atmosphere. There's no denyingthere's talent about, it's just nobody'swriting the tunes that we wannalisten to right now. So that's whatwe're doing."

What Lowline are doing follows avery particular local lineage.Beginning when Howard Devotostarted Magazine, their sound takesinfluence from the post-punk of TheChameleons and the lush sound ofDoves. It's a wash of guitar forcedthrough five effects pedals overRobbie's cry of euphoric resentment.Scummy social commentary it is not."There's ambiguity there and that'simportant," Mike emphasises. "Theworld will get sick of lyrics like "I gotthe 192 / I went to the post office / Iwent to the Late Shop". No one'sarsed. Music's about touching loadsof people, not about buying a 40p pick ‘n’ mix."

Words: Fran Donnelly

www.myspace.com/thisislowline

Lowline release their debut single‘Monitors’ in March on 1-2-3-4!Records

introducing...

This year is set to be a very big onefor our Scouse neighbours. Thenext 12 months will see Liverpoolwearing the crown of EuropeanCapital of Culture, awarded largelyon the back of its musical heritage.However, as the celebrations kickoff, goFASTER>> have headed outon the road with best mates Elles'Apelle, leading a charge of newbands that together are sayingmore about the city in 2008 than amillion botched Mathew Streetfestivals ever could.

In new single 'FlammableLeisurewear', goFASTER>> haveprobably captured the carefreespirit of a rejuvenated Merseysidescene better than anyone to date.Singer Rich takes up the tale ofhow a sorry spell in Liverpudlianfashion history became a sugarychunk of sherbet punk.

"I remember, as a child, watchingWatchdog, and they were settingfire to shell suits, saying howdangerous they are," says thetousle-haired frontman as Chris(guitars and keyboards) continues."The song's about wearing trackies;it's about growing up in Liverpool,with all your mates going on thesunbeds. But it's also about takingthe piss out of ourselves - I mean, Ihad a skinhead until I was 17!"

The band's satirical, self-deprecating edge has attractedearly comparisons with formertourmates The Wombats and HotClub de Paris, while the bands'hometown gigs with the likes of 28

Costumes, My Amiga, The DeltaFiasco and Arms At Last haveplaced them at the heart ofLiverpool's emerging DIY scene.Does the band foresee a return toform for the city this year?

"Everything's pointing to it, butyou don't like to count yourchickens!" Rich cautiously smiles."The thing is, we're not anythingmadly different from what's comebefore," argues Chris. "Liverpool'salways been a pop city - and weare a pop band. We're just puttingour own spin on things."

In truth, goFASTER>>'s ethic isone that would win them friends inany city - unless that city isLondon and a certain jealouselectro act is on the bill. "Their[band name removed forpunchline-related reasons]dressing room was the size of aschool hall - you could have a clubnight in there!" rues Chris. "Wethought, it must be for all thebands, so we and the NeonPlastics went in and helpedourselves to some drinks. Nextthing, their manager comes over,telling us to leave!'"

Did goFASTER>> offend them?Yeah.

Words: Neil Condron

www.myspace.com/gofasterband

goFASTER>>'s single 'FlammableLeisurewear' is out now onAlcopop!

The music of Denis Jonescombines incredible technologicalwizardry with traditional singer-songwriter sensibilities. Breakingsuch genre boundaries hasattracted admirers across the worldsince the initial release of his debutalbum, Humdrum Virtue, and Denishas been compared to acts asdiverse as CocoRosie and JohnMartyn.

“I’m massively flattered,” he says.“Thinking of the time, a lot of folkmusic of that era was stagnatingbecause it was looking too far back,but he (Martyn) was one of the fewpeople who was looking forwardand I think he was probablyshunned, like Dylan was at thetime, for not doing the traditionalthing. It’s like, ‘come on guys, thisis what’s happening in yourgeneration.’ You either embrace itor ignore it.”

When a fifteen year-old Denisplayed Radiohead’s ‘Street Spirit’ athis school’s Christmas VarietyShow, he took his first tentativesteps towards the unparalleled livereputation that sees him flying tofestivals in Lithuania, supportingbands like Efterklang and regularlyplaying up and down the country.As a live performer, the breadth ofhis experience means each gig istailored to each audience, as Jonesalternates between low-keystrumming and rib-shaking loops.Things have come on since thatinaugural school concert.

“I started doing gigs straight away,but I was doing covers and slowlywriting my own songs. I don’tremember an exact point, buteventually there were more of mysongs than there were covers, Iguess when I was about seventeenor eighteen.” It was while he wasliving in London that Denis began toexplore electronic music. He waslent a sampler by a friend, andbegan to expand his listeninghorizons with ambient elecronica.“There was an album I was listeningto by Fennesz that summer – kindof an ambient crossover betweenelectronica and acoustic music. Ilistened to it non-stop.”

Denis’s distinctive sound soonemerged, and the recording ofHumdrum Virtue followed.

A breathtaking album of loopedsamples and lyrics about “ElvisCostello playing the cello”,enormous demand for the originalhandmade copies has led to alarge-scale pressing and nationwidere-release this coming spring.Following that, a 12” is planned, butyou’ll struggle to find it on Google,as Denis explains. “We’re going togo under the name Menace Dronesfor that!”

Words: Megan Vaughan

www.myspace.com/denisjones

Denis Jones is on tour throughoutFebruary and March

Karima Francis Lowline Go Faster

nine

YoungGalaxy

Metronomy

“I’m just a big music fan” admitsStephen Ramsey, one half ofMontreal duo Young Galaxy. A latedeveloper in song-writing terms(picking up the guitar in his earlytwenties) Stephen says it took timefor a musical career to becomereality; “I always assumed I’d havea group of friends to write songs, agang to form a band with. I hadpeople that talked, but never wentthrough with it.” A couple of yearsago he become a touring guitaristfor Canadian super group Stars.“Stars definitely opened the doorfor me. At first I felt a bit of animpostor, but it was a fast track toYoung Galaxy.”

In between breaks on Stars tours,Stephen worked on songs with hisother half (personally andmusically) Catherine McCandlessat Jace Lasek’s (Besnard Lakes)Montreal studio. Released throughsuper-indie Arts and Crafts (hometo Feist, The Dears, and set up byBroken Social Scene’s KevinDrew) Young Galaxy’s self-titleddebut is a rich, heart-warming LPperfect for winter sulking. Debutsingle and album opener ‘SwingYour Heartache’ is a 4amSpiritualized come down, full ofsparkling melodies, broody versesand an uplifting outro. The album isa collision of Stephen and

Catherine’s rural, earthybeginnings in Vancouver and theirpresent home, the city bustle ofMontreal.

With label bank balances at theirmost precarious, Arts & Craftsartistic model of development isapplauded by their latest protégés.“They (Arts and Crafts) alwaysencouraged us and neverinterfered with the record. Theywere hands off in a way. At themoment there’s a legitimate needfor labels to manage and nurturetheir acts. Just being a label ishard to pull off now.”

Live, Young Galaxy seek aconnection and directness withtheir audience, and despite pickingup the shoe-gaze tag “aren’t thetypes to hide behind our sound, wewant to create an experience”,says Stephen. “Our songs are bornout of a love of music” he beams atthe end of our transatlantic chat.Love music? Then you’ll loveYoung Galaxy.

Words: Alistair Beech

www.myspace.com/younggalaxy

Metronomy, code name for electropop creator Joseph Mount, is makinga return to our ears this year with therelease of a second album. “Thealbum will be called ‘Nights Out’ andit's due out sometime in March. It'sgot more singing and is hopefully abit more concise than the first album,”Mount reveals.

Taking great influence from “sciencefiction, Talking Heads, pictures ofspace, David Bowie and growing upin Devon”, Metronomy make musicthat “sounds like a garage bandplaying electro music”. Since firstalbum, ‘Pip Paine (Pay Back The£5000 You Owe)’ was released in2006 Metronomy has developed into

more of a band than a one manmachine, enjoyed SXSW ’07 greatlyand has been trying to avoid secondalbum syndrome. Not only that, butJoe is a household name for hisremixing abilities. He has put a handto just about everyone fromArchitecture In Helsinki to Kate Nashwith pretty remarkable results acrossthe board.

In a live setting Metronomy does notadhere to the expected route of ‘manon stage with laptop behaving in acompletely uninspiring manner’. Tocompliment the funky, yet eccentric,electro style sounds of Metronomythe live line up (which consists ofJoe, Oscar Cash and Gabriel

Stebbing) is usually accompanied bysome form of dance routine and lightshow.

Recent single ‘Radio Ladio’ has beengetting a fair share of attention fromthe blogging community, yetMetronomy is not concerned aboutthe possibility of getting swept awayamid a flurry of bandwagon fans orsudden mass mainstream industryinterest. “There's been plenty of timefor us to be hyped, no one's takenthe bait yet. I can't imagine it'llhappen,” Mount explained as theidea of a sudden Metronomy boomwas brushed under the carpet.

Not phased by potential hype or

having impossible ambitions,Metronomy are looking forward to theopportunity to write with new peopleon material and also anticipate awhole host of headline shows overthe next twelve months.

Words: Jamila Scott

www.myspace.com/metronomy

Metronomy play The Roadhouse inManchester on March 1st

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eight

ten eleven

Admittedly, I'm not much of amorning person. Or at least, not untilI've got a litre of coffee and hoopson toast down me. However, Rockwaits for no man, and by the timeI've brushed my teeth, British SeaPower have woken up in theirTravelodge, watched TrishaGoddard and made their way downto Night & Day for High Voltage.When a band claims that only "onein ten" interviews they give isremotely enjoyable, HV wakes uptoday expecting a quiet brew.Instead we got a lesson in life and acomprehensive discussion on themerits of a Full English.

"The major priority was not to do itin London again," Scott 'Yan'Wilkinson starts, "so we went to awater tower in Suffolk. It was a bit ofan adventure. Playing guitar inside itwas like standing on top of amountain. We recorded somepigeons."

British Sea Power have been off theradar. They've been over the Atlanticand across the Carpathians. Their2003 debut The Decline Of… madethem critically adored. Follow-upOpen Season proved how melodictheir pastoral rock template couldbe. Third album, Do You Like RockMusic?, began by attempting whatseems like the impossible. "We feltwe've never really captured thesound of us live," explains guitaristMartin Noble. "You can't do it really,but we had a go. The original planwas to record it all live and keep itbasic, but that didn’t seem to haveany magic. So we brought it backfrom Canada to work on…"

"…and find the key place to put thepigeons in. Then we made somepigeon noises ourselves. Just a partof trying to get closer to naturereally."

Stripped of their foliage and animalmotifs these days, it seems thatBSP are getting closer to humannature than anything else on theirlatest long-player. Its arrival wasannounced with a single to beginyour 2008 with in 'Waving Flags' –an epic-rock invite to global unity."Ideally, people would stop moaningabout eastern European immigrantsand stop being nasty about thewhole thing," Noble laments. "It's notdeadly politically serious, but therepeated phrase is 'welcome in', andit applies to any sort of alien."

An honourable sentiment from themost British band of these shores,but the Lake District via Brightonquartet have ventured abroadthemselves. Pledging allegiancewith the drink-friendly fans of SlaviaPrague FC, a foreign affinity wasinspired by the band's decamping torural Czech countryside to mix thealbum last summer. The motive wassimple according to Yan; "It wascheap and it's got smashing beer.We got told we could do two weeksin London or five weeks in theCzech Republic. Seemed prettyobvious really."

"They'll have a few pints at

lunchtime," speaks Noble of theculture, "You'd see this guy off hishead in the forest at one o'clock inthe afternoon doing this," [makesagonised scream to the surprise ofthe quiet bar] "I suppose it's anEastern thing. It's cold there." Notonly that, but it's the world's largestconsumer of beer per capita. Andnot ones to forget their hosts'hospitality, BSP recognised theinfluence last month when theylaunched Do You Like Rock Music?on Czech soil, at their Londonembassy. It followed a history ofunorthodox gigs that most recentlyincluded shows on cliff tops, afloatthe River Mersey, and at Britain'shighest inn above sea level. "Of allthe embassies we approached, theywere the most up for it," recountsYan. "Romania and Poland werehaving none of it, but then we askedthe Czech one and they just wantedsome tickets. They're the kind ofguys who think if it sounds fun, let'sgo with it. I think that's what weidentify with."

Produced by Graham Sutton andArcade Fire's Howard Bilerman, DoYou Like Rock Music? is anenormous achievement in the literalsense. Guitars ring endlessly withwater tower reverberation whilstWoody's drumming marches onwardacross borders. The twin voices of

Yan and brother Hamilton share thesongs as usual, a lyrical collectionencompassing celebrated polarities:cherry wood and Kevlar, keroseneand acetylene, beers light and dark.If this is Rock music, then just whatis Rock?

Yan: Rock is more than loud musicwith guitars. Animate and inanimateobjects can be Rock.

Noble: For example, how was yourbreakfast?

Y: It was a bit meaty really. And itwas about a fiver. Overpricedbreakfasts not Rock. Althoughhaving a cooked breakfast is prettyRock.

HV: How about, say, Radio One?

N: Not Rock. Apart from SteveLamacq.

HV: Fabio Capello?

N: He's Rock. He doesn’t messabout. He doesn’t take any shit fromanybody.

HV: OK, well how about SvenGoran-Eriksson?

N: Difficult one. I'd say not Rock coshe never questioned that corruptThai Prime-Minister. Mark Riley wascontesting this….

Y: He's a bit like Dracula, thatPrime-Minister. Creepy. That's Rock.

N: It's a tie. No pun intended.

Famous football managers and hashbrowns apart, there's a lesson to belearned from all this. Where wouldyou be without the music thatinspires you everyday? Pay heed toBritish Sea Power's timelessphilosophy; a space for heroics inthe home, and where bravery stillexists. As Noble states sagely, "Beas Rock as you can be. It'simportant to make sure you've lotsof good things in your life, but it'sdifficult. There's a lot of Non-Rock inyour face."

"It's how you treat other people,what your values are, how often youtake chances, have genuineexcitement and do something you'llremember," adds Yan. "I'm up to thepoint where I'm doing more thingsthat I want to do. It's a day to daything. You've gotta build up yourRock batteries."

Blood-rushing excitement andmemories is all part of being in thefanatical following that pursue Yan,Hamilton, Woody and Noble to thefar-reaches of the country.Continuing our lesson in Rock, weask Yan to lead by example."Sometimes it's good not to makeyour mind up," he begins, "but it'scatch twenty-two cos then you'vemade your mind up not to makeyour mind up. It's like when Idecided to go to the caff for a friedbreakfast every morning. It wasquite exciting to begin with but then Iwasn’t enjoying it like I used to. Sothen I thought it'd be better to go fora walk by the sea, come homehungry, and cook the breakfast

myself. Avoiding routine."

But every lifestyle has its routines,and even the singer admits that fromtime to time, being in a band hasbanalities that are somewhat like"going to the dentist". So can BritishSea Power just carry on with theband circuit? Exploring new placesand going to strange, exciting newlengths even ten years from now? "Ithink we can yeah," reckons Noble."I already feel like an old rocker nowwho's been on tour forever. I'mLethal Weapon not one, but three orfour. By the seventh album we couldall have long hair and beards and doan epic kraut rock album."

There's a moment of revelationbetween the two bandmates. "That'sactually a great idea. Nobody doesstuff like that anymore," says Yan."But as for this album and sound,I'm hoping people will find out morewhat we're about now."

Words: Fran Donnelly

www.britishseapower.co.uk

‘Do You Like Rock Music?’ and firstsingle ‘Waving Flags’ are both outnow on Rough Trade.

BRITISH_SEA_POWER

We feltwe've neverreallycapturedthe soundof us live.You can't doit really, butwe had ago. Theoriginal planwas torecord it alllive andkeep itbasic

_BRAVERY EXISTS

Who the fuck are Holy Fuck? Don'tworry if you can't answer thatquestion. You're not alone. Theyare Brian Borcherdt, GrahamWalsh, Mike Bigelow, GlennMilchem, and Loel Campbell, a fivepiece band from Toronto, Canadaand a band which made perhapsthe most astounding avant gardealbum of 2007, their subtly untitledUK debut, 'LP'. Its moodswingsveer in mere moments from theplacid bliss of 'Lovely Allen' to thepercussive aggression of 'EchoSam' and the frenzied paranoia of'Royal Gregory'.

These sounds, constrained by theouter limits of our language, canonly be described as electronic. Yetthe simplicity of black words onwhite paper could never expressthe intricacy of this music. So, insearch of a more relevant point ofreference, let's play the word

association game: Electronica.Kraftwerk. Connotations ofanonymous boffins in labcoatsperforming acoustic experiments inunderground bunkers. Hold it rightthere. Holy Fuck are not the robots.Their music is faulty, it is imperfect.It is human after all. “I've beenthinking a lot about the creativeprocess, how to keep a bit oftimeless charm to things”, surmisesBorcherdt, spokesperson and chiefHoly Fucker. “I'd rather make beatson shitty Casios than programmeevery little detail on a laptop. I likethe shittiness of what we make. It'shonest”.

“We've played all kinds of differentmusic outside of this band”, hesays, a claim vindicated by hisimpassioned acoustic folk soloproject, The Remains Of BrianBorcherdt. “But with Holy Fuck wejust wanted to get away from what

we were doing and try somethingdifferent”. Different is anunderstatement. Unique andunprecedented are the most aptadjectives for this band. They existin a state of splendid isolation, ofsuspended animation, immune tooutside influence or culturalcontext. When asked to discusstheir nationality, the response isironic and alkaline: “If you lookback through the subtext of justabout any major historical eventthere is something to do withCanada or Canadians in there. If you dig deep enough you'll find that the First World War was prettymuch provoked by Arcade Firelyrics”.

Whilst 'LP' is Holy Fuck's firsttransatlantic transmission, theyhave previously released an EPand a full length album in theirhomeland, both eponymously titledreleases on the band's own label,Dependant Records. “I startedDependant in my teens as acollective, promoting and helping a handful of bands from the eastcoast of Canada. It has beensuccessful, although it becomeshard to maintain when everyone isbusy”, explains Borchedt. As such,their music has been unleashed onthe UK by Young Turks, thenewborn offspring of XLRecordings. “I feel lucky to havegone from something very DIY tosomething that's starting from theground up. We feel connected tothe drive and spirit”.

Unsurprisingly for a band who wereselected as a highlight of last year'sGlastonbury festival by the NME,their stronghold is not in the studio,but on stage. “We'd love to recordevery show we play. We want ourrecords to be a mix of live stuff,either radio shows or live on stageor live in the studio. It's too funplaying together to just try to do

a conventional album with pre-written songs. We want to capturethe energy of somethingspontaneous”.

So, you're intrigued? And you wantto hear Holy Fuck for yourself? Well don't stay tuned to your FMairwaves, because radio friendlyunit shifting is most certainly nottheir style. “We value success,sure, and we welcome whatever we can get of it. But I don't think we ever expected it or wanted to be burdened with the pursuit of it”.Like notorious New Cross artrockers Selfish Cunt, their veryname is sufficient to banish themfrom Chris Evans' BBC Radio 2drivetime playlist. Yet they remainstubbornly unapologetic. “Why notname our band something like HolyFuck? At least with a name like thiswe can stay focused and not worryabout getting caught up in themediocrity of daytime radio andmainstream mediums”. As for thetopic of controversy and censorshipin music, Holy Fuck are “not reallyinterested.” “It's boring now. Savethat one for 2 Live Crew, TipperGore, and bad Saturday Night Liveskits from the nineties”.

Holy Fuck, quasi-nihilists, rejectand reinvent each and everyunwritten rule of songwriting, oftechnology, of the recordingprocess and of the major labelmusic industry. Like the psychedelicmonochrome of a photographicnegative, light and dark in harmony,they are strange and they arebeautiful. And in 2008 they will riseto power with “Bionic powers. Newoutfits.” and “Cameo appearanceson daytime soaps in foreigncountries”. You heard it here first.

Words: Benjamin Thomas

www.myspace.com/holyfuck

HolyFuck

twelve

Unsigned yet already playing tocrowds of 2000+ (Ian Brownpersonally picked them to open hisrecent headline tour) Glasvegashave become one of the talkedabout new UK bands in 2008. IfThe Twang do docile lad-rock witha Brummie accent, then fileGlasvegas under a shimmeringSpector-meets-Mary Chain Wall ofSound. And then there’s singerJames Allan’s stark Glaswegianvocal tone – you won’t hear a moreaccented singing voice this year.

Glasvegas formed a couple ofyears ago, with James writing withcousin Rab (guitar), “totally learningfrom scratch”. “When I was youngerI was never a massive record guy, Iwas more into football. The firstalbum I really got into was Be HereNow, my sister would make tapesand when I heard ‘Don’t Look BackIn Anger’ things clicked.” Jamessays that his songs have to be“soulful – I have to be able to listenback and not be embarrassed”before being presented to the restof the band (Paul Donoguhe – bassand Caroline McKay - drums makeup the line-up).

Influences have grown from Oasis,with James following his hero’sinspirations right back to thebeginning – Elvis and HankWilliams provide just as much

inspiration as Orange Juice and theReid brothers. Lyrically, Jamesgoes over emotional ground, mainlyconcerning adolescence. “You tendto remember the daftest things fromyour youth – our songs aren’tmeant to be social observations,they’re just what I think about andhave experienced.”

“I write about common stuff – its nobig secret what I’m writing about”(the brutal ‘I’m Gonna Get Stabbed’needs little explanation, while‘Flowers and Football Tops’ detailsa mum’s despair after losing herson to a murder). “These thingsaren’t just about Glasgow, theyhappen everywhere” says James.

The bands moniker might go on toprovoke some cynicism, but Jamesclaims the name isn’t any big deal.“I like Glasvegas, it’s easy to say –simple as that.” Their songs havegone down well from Glasgow toFolkestone, says James. “The IanBrown tour allowed us to play allover the UK to people we wouldn’thave been able to get to. His fanshave been curious to check us out,they seem to get it.”

The quartet are whipping upcuriosity with respected industryfigures and senior musicians too.“Ian’s been really good to us. Wegot a demo to him and he asked us

out on tour. He phoned up askingabout our sound and how werecord the songs. It’s the same withAndy Rourke (Brown’s touringbassist) – he couldn’t believe we’drecorded the songs in our livingroom.” Explaining the groups ‘Wallof Sound’, he drawls parallels withorchestral music and heavy metal.“To me Johnny Cash is heavymetal – we make heavy music.There’s a close connectionbetween Spector and orchestralmusic, but it’s heavy as well. We’resomewhere between the two.”

With second single ‘It's My OwnCheating Heart That Makes MeCry’ landing in February, Jamesdoesn’t see anything further thanhis next song or gig. “I don’t havean album on my mind just yet – wehave enough songs but signingdeals isn’t my job.”

Words: Alistair Beech

www.myspace.com/glasvegas

GLASVEGAS_WE ARE ROCK

Ian’sbeen reallygood to us.We got ademo to himand heasked us outon tour. Hephoned upasking aboutour soundand how werecord thesongs

thirteen

fourteen fifteen

Mick: We’re hoping it’s going to beout this year at about the same timethat Shotter’s Nation was.

Adam: We hope so. That’d begood. One album a year is perfectfor us. We get bored so it keeps uson our toes. We’re always mostexcited about songs that aren’t fullyformed yet. We get to the end of atour and we play by numbers.Sometimes it’s nice to have thosesongs that you can go to and workon for a change.

Does it feel extra special gettinggood feedback when, as you said,critics had started to write you off?

Mick: Well, reviewing music’s adifficult thing. You can talk aboutmusic, and listen to it, but you judgeit for yourself. Like, with the NME; I’dbuy it when I was fourteen but then Istopped buying it cos you know it’ssomeone else’s view. Everyonelistens to different music. Who’s thatjournalist with the stupid hair? Hewas slagging us off, blah blah blah,really put it down, but the next week,in the same magazine, they weresaying the album was brilliant! Thatguy can go and stick his head up hisarse…

Adam: It’s so subjective, isn’t it? Imight play something and hate it,Drew might love it and Mick mightthink it’s great or it’s shit but it’s notfair. That the nature of it really, andit’s hard to do so you can’t blamethem for doing it. It’s worse when itgets personal though. It doesn’t justsay “I don’t like this but I can see themerits in this part and in that part” but

some of them inflict on people’s lives.

Drew: Sometimes there’s a review,where you’ll read a whole page andthey haven’t mentioned the musiconce. They haven’t mentioned thelyrics, they haven’t mentioned howthe guitarist sounds, they haven’tmentioned the music!

Mick: “Bunch of junkie bastardstrying to create a new album evenworse than their last measly effort!”

It must be frustrating.

Drew: I think you have your ownpersonal belief about how goodsomething is and you should keepsteadfast to that because the badreviews, you can’t take themseriously, but at the same time, youcan’t let the good reviews mean anymore.

On ‘The Lost Art Of Murder’, Peteplays with Bert Jansch. Is there

anyone that you would love tocollaborate with in the future?

Adam: Ian Brown would be good.There was an idea to have himinvolved in ‘French Dog Blues’, cossome of those lyrics are accredited tohim. We’re big fans of the Roses.

Drew: Baby Cham, a Jamaican MC.

It is at this point that Mickaccompanies Drew in somedancehall singing, their accentsmoving somewhere betweenBermondsey and Barbados. “Ayremember dose dayyyyyys…” It’strue that Babyshambles’ reggaeinfluences can be clearly heard, andthey’re openly dedicated tocontinuing the ska tradition. The nextname mentioned warrants hand-clapping and hero-worship all round.

Drew: Terry Hall (from The Specials)would be just brilliant.

Mick: Yeah!

Drew, how do you find the switchfrom Babyshambles to playing inFionn Regan’s band?

Drew: Well, this is my band,Babyshambles, but I love Fionn’smusic. He’s an amazing musicianand I really enjoy playing nicemelodies. He’s a great guy whowrites some good songs, so whenI’ve got some free time I’ll join him.Fionn calls Pete ‘Houdini’ and Mick‘Top Gear’.

Mick: It’s because of my niceclothes…

Drew: It’s not just me that doesother stuff though. Adam dee-jaysand Mick… talks to himself.

While they howl with laughter, it’sdifficult to imagine how theBabyshambles dynamic is alteredwith Pete around. High Voltage islater informed that, had theirfrontman been present, the interviewwould have been terminated at thephrase “side project”, yet Adam, Mickand Drew joke around with oneanother like a band bonding over 2-Tone classics in their parents’ garage.

Priorities lie where they should, withhealth, happiness, and chordprogressions.

Words: Megan Vaughan

www.babyshambles.net

Babyshambles play ManchesterApollo on February 17th

With the move to Parlophone forShotter’s Nation, was there a shift inband mentality, moving away fromyour beginnings as a side project?

Adam: We never consideredourselves a side project. It’s neverbeen like that. It’s always been thesame for us. Nothing’s reallychanged from our perspective.

Mick: Pete only started doingBabyshambles because he had somade songs he wanted to releasewhen he was with The Libs but

Rough Trade weren’t able to releasethe amount of songs that he wantedto as quickly. They wanted to do analbum a year. He wanted to releasesongs constantly.

Adam: We’re quite fluid really. Wewant to record something then get itout, the record companies squeezethe stuff as much as they can.They’re business people; that’s whatthey do. Try to get as much money,as much revenue from that single orwhatever, and tour and tour...

What was Stephen Street like towork with in the studio? Was he adisciplinarian?

Drew: He was great. He knew whathe wanted and he had confidence.

Mick: He was an easy-goingdisciplinarian!

Adam: It was a good balancebecause he knew what he wanted

and he wouldn’t take any shit but hewasn’t in your face.

Reading the reviews of Shotter’sNation, the recurring opinion is thatit’s more “polished” than Down InAlbion. Do you think that’s areflection on your own progression orof a major label budget?

Drew: It’s a reflection on the studiosthat we recorded the album in.

Adam: That’s Stephen Street.

Drew: Yeah, we recorded the first

album on a hard disc. It wasn’t evenProtools. It was rubbish studios. Wewanted to go to a better studio butRough Trade wouldn’t pay for it. Sothen, for this album, we went in witha brilliant engineer who knew whereto place expensive, good mics andproper pre-amps and everything. Werecorded in a big room where JimiHendrix and Led Zeppelin hadperformed.

What’s it like arriving for the first dayof recording where such legends

have worked before you?

Drew: It felt like home.

Adam: I was in the toilet and I sawthe ghost of Jimi Hendrix! (He putson an American accent) Groovy pee,man… No, really!

Mick: I felt kinda humbled in a way,cos it was really nice to have thatkind of opportunity. In fact, the ceilingthere was lowered or raised to alterthe sound of the room.

Adam: When you get in there, it

makes you almost… Well, you haveto rise to the occasion.

Did it put pressure on?

Adam: The pressure was alreadyon. We knew we had to do a goodalbum cos people were starting towrite us off.

It has been said that one of the mostexciting things about Shotter’s Nationis that it sounds like there is so muchmore still to come. Are plans alreadybeing made for album number three?

Drew: Mick’s constantly writingsongs. You can’t tell, but right nowhe’s thinking about chordprogressions.

Mick: There’s lots of songs ready,nearly a whole album’s worth.

Is there going to be a quickturnaround for the next one then?

BABYSHAMBLESLife is full of surprises. Michael Jackson didn’t do

it. Jordan and Peter are still together. Keith

Richards has just turned 64, and according to

‘statistics’, is healthier than your average ten year

old. Similarly surprising, to those of you more

interested in the tabloids than your record

collections, is that there are four musicians in

Babyshambles. Drew McConnell (bass), Adam

Ficek (drums) and Mick Whitnall (guitar) have

quietly toiled behind their charismatic band leader

through two studio albums and more gigs than the

arrest warrants would have you believe.

High Voltage sat down with “the other three”

to find out where their heads are at.

One album a year isperfect for us. We getbored so it keeps us on ourtoes. We’re always mostexcited about songs thataren’t fully formed yet

seventeensixteen

Air Cav _ Alliance(Surbia)

It's hard to be in Manchesterand not notice the waves beingmade by Air Cav at themoment, and their debutrelease on fledgling SurbiaRecords is set to continue theindustry "buzz". 'Alliance' haslong been the band's signaturetune, and this polishedrecording does it real justice.

Beginning with urgent, dirtyelectric guitar, things developthe way intelligent rock music

should; regularly twisting intosomething new and taking thelistener on the kind of journeythat would make lessermusicians travel-sick. Withminimal vocals, the song isdriven by 'BittersweetSymphony' strings andunassailable, unforgivingpercussion, along withbeautifully dark post-rockguitar.

Alliance will never be a song tochill out to, if only because itgrabs your attention, flips youupside-down, and then carries

you off as a prisoner ofrock'n'roll. Simply brilliant.

Megan Vaughan

Cut Off Your Hands - Oh Girl (679)

It takes a cynical soul not to award asong like 'Oh Girl' the full five flashesof High Voltage electricity. A choruswrapped in treacly harmonies,tinkling music-box xylophones,guitars that could have been pluckedfrom some 50s high school prom -what's not to like?

Very little actually - New Zealand'sCut Off Your Hands are guidedeffortlessly along by producerBernard Butler, and all appears wellin the land of lovely. The naggingdoubt (that'll be the cynical soul) isthat it's all just a bit too candyflossfor a band last seen here ripping itup with tour mates Foals.

Indeed, those extra two bolts mighthave been all theirs if the track hadnot been so overshadowed by the

monumental power pop of flipside'Turn Cold' - a song that Idlewild maywell have crafted if they knew how todance. And therein lies the moral: ifyou can't melt a cynic's heart, punchhim in the guts instead.

Neil Condron

Kid Harpoon - The Second EP (XL)

On one hand, this is a great EP, full ofloping shanty choruses, quirky lyrics andvocals ranging from Syd Barrett'sheightened Englishness to raw CaptainBeefheart growls. On the other hand, itis forgettable radio-friendly boredom; itssoul castrated by the influence of DavidGray, Razorlight, Billy JoelÅc

This is a genuine shame. When he

shines, Kid Harpoon is a powerfullyricist, who can bring situations to life inone or two lines, and whose 'SuicideGrandad?' is a beautiful Pink Floydoddity: "I won't count the days till I fall,piss my pants / I've got better things todo". Elsewhere, honky tonk piano brings'Her Body Sways' to life, and the chorusof 'Fathers And Sons' is malt whisky inaural form.

So why does it all sound so horriblyweak-ass? The answer is that this

shouldn't be an EP. Kid Harpoon cansay everything he needs to say in threegorgeous songs, and there would be nogreat mourning party for the rest of theMOR nonsense. Moments like 'SuicideGrandad?' are in danger of getting lostamongst asinine Johnny Borrell"ooohs".

Megan Vaughan

singlesSingle of the month

The Ting Tings - GreatDJ (Columbia)

We picked out Salford duo The TingTings as potential stars with lastsummerÅfs debut single ÅeThatÅfsNot My NameÅf and, severalmonths on theyÅfve becomeÅetheÅf band to name checkamong tastemakers. Now withmajor label backing, Jules and Katieare likely to enjoy a fruitful 2008,

with huge tours and a debut albumrelease planned.

This re-recorded version of ÅeGreatDJÅf hasnÅft changed a great dealsince its original b-side status, thesound is bigger and Åethe drumsÅfmore prominent, but it still appearsfresh and is worthy of thesubsequent hype. With so muchgoing on around them, The TingTings seem comfortable enough to

fall back on an old song toannounce their arrival on Columbia.

ItÅfll be interesting to hear what theyhave in their locker on the album,but we reckon they pretty muchhave 2008 sewn up already.

Alistair Beech

Rachael Kichenside - Like The Tides EP

The most important thing in a youngsongstress is not her songs per se butthe potential she packs in her pipes.Rachael Kichenside doesnÅft somuch "pack" her marvellous talent asshe spins it like silk _ indelibly delicatebut tangible enough to wrap yourselfin for hours at a time.

Over this EP, not every song stands

out. But that doesnÅft matter. Where'Frailty' might

freeze you in your tracks, 'Measure OfMe' might pass you by. But for notone second during these four songscan you not tap into the spectral folkhush. 'Something To Say' resonateswith this crystalline simplicity, chimesand all.

Kichenside certainly offers somethingdifferent to the robust emotionality of

Karima Francis. She's a subtlydifferent sweetness to Lucy & The

Caterpillar. Her songs' beauty is moreunderstated than Liam Frost's. Neverhave we been short of songwritingquality round these parts, but I thinkMiss Kichenside is going to fit right in.

Fran Donnelly

Pete And The Pirates -Mr Understanding(Stolen)

Ah, the magic ingredient that is TheChant. Few or no words are needed:just take that killer hook, add cheap offthe back of a gold disc. It made TheFratellis a lot of money, and it may welldo the same for our unlikely heroesPete and the Pirates.

'Mr Understanding', you see, is nigh-onindie perfection. The Reading five-piecehave already been building a reputationamong the purists for understated,chiming folk-pop, but with this latestrelease they've thrown their tatteredhats into the ring with their cheekiest,most boisterous riff to date. And, ofcourse, there's that chant.

Bittersweet enough to charm thedreamers, rough enough to appeal tothe terrace mobs, 'Mr Understanding'

could be to Pete and the Pirates what'22 Grand Job' was to The Rakes. Thedifference being, of course, that you'llbe hearing a lot about one of thosebands in 2008.

Neil Condron

Los Campesinos - DeathTo Los Campesinos!(Witchita)

‘Death to Los Campesinos!’ is the selfreferencing lead single from Cardiffsextet Los Campesinos! forthcomingHold On Now Youngster LP. Forgetthe frankly deluded press release thatproclaims this track ‘resolutely void ofindie pop clich_s’, DTLC! ticks all thegenres stylistic boxes from the

xylophones to the saccharine girl/boyvocals, treading a fine line between lifeaffirming pop for it’s own sake andnausea inducing tweeness.

It’s a close thing but ultimately thesong comes good through the sheershambolic exuberance of its delivery.The exaggeratedly fey vocalaffectations are undeniably irritating butthe sugar rush melodies and singalong chorus are sufficiently catchy toensure patronage by all the more

discerning indie discos from now tillsummer.

Whether this sort of thing will bepalatable over the length of an albumremains to be seen, but for 2 minutes45 seconds Death to LosCampesinos! offers a welcomeinjection of sunshine to these bleakwinter days.

Billy Idle

MGMT - Time To Pretend(Columbia)

MGMT are yet another tip for 2008, butthey aren’t as easy to pigeon hole asthe likes of Adele and Joe Lean, et al.Debut UK single ‘Time To Pretend’(you’ve probably been charmed by italready through 6Music playlisting)sounds like The Flaming Lipsscratching around in a basement studiowith The Incredible String Band.

The duo (Brooklyn based Uni-palsAndrew and Ben) sing about ‘Heroin,the stars, and elegant cars’ on Time ToPretend, whilst demonizing the 9-5office job. ‘Live fast and die young.We’ve got the vision, now let’s havesome fun. Inspired by duos, MGMT’ssound has been hemmed together byDave Fridmann’s (Flaming Lips) studionous, while there’s a wide-eyedoptimism about them that’s difficult notto be seduced by.

An intriguing first installment then, butwhether these boys can carry theirmodern-hippy sermons through a fullalbum remains to be seen.

Alistair Beech

Alphabeat - Fascination(Charisma)

If ever there was a band to take us backto the heady days of 1986, when lip-glossed ladies in towering shoulderpads threw balloons around on Top OfThe Pops, Alphabeat are that band.Hailing from Denmark, where theirdebut album has already gone platinum,Alphabeat have now relocated to UK

shores, and are busy filling dancefloorswith whistles, whoops and handclaps.

'Fascination' is not groundbreaking, noris it even modern, having the misfortuneto sound like both Wham and CyndiLauper at the same time. What it doesoffer, however, is pure and undilutedSaturday night glee. With unashamedEuropop roots, lyrics about "youngdudes in high boots" match super-charged disco cheese that should

sound like a rowdy mess, but thankfullydoesn't. Abrilliant slice of retro popgubbins, you will love 'Fascination' for itssheer brainlessness.

Grab your ra-ra skirt. Let's party.

Megan Vaughan

Clich_d business managementguff has it that if you try toplease everyone, you end uppleasing no one. ConsiderMuscles' debut album to be atwo-fingered salute (withaccompanying raspberry)rebuke to such thinking. For,the young Aussie (aka DJ Flex)has created a dance LP thatappeals to both electro smarty-pants and Ministry of Soundcompilation buyers.

Granted the swelling ravesynths and thumping drumswith layered harmonised,shouty vocals that uniformly fillthese eleven tracks will notchange the world of electronicmusic, but it may well make itdance. Like the album's title,

the lyrics are somewhat inane,("Ice Cream is going to savethe day, again") yet Muscleshas cleverly injected an extraingredient usually overlookedwithin this genre, emotion. Onthe face of it, these are throw-away electro party tracks butMuscles unrefined singing styleand lyrics are so enthusiastic,honest, and above allendearing that the result ishard to resist: "I'm sweaty, but Istill want to touch you if you'lllet me".

The mantra-like repetition of"Peace, Love, Ecstasy, Unity,Respect" on 'Sweaty' illustratesMuscles' clear intention tomake his music as accessibleas possible. The space

between pop and dance musicis a difficult area to navigateseriously, as fellow Modularitesand Antipodeans, The Presets',pretentious debut albumproved. We've little doubt he'llsucceed but don't anticipateKellogg's variety pack-likeeclecticism; Muscles' one trickdoes begin to grate over fortyminutes, but expect it to slowburn through 2008 regardless.

Simon Smallbone

It was only so long before thepeople behind the excellentEnd Of The Road festivalstarted putting out excellentrecords. They might only havetwo artists, Alaskan PortO'Brien and classically trainedBostonian ensemble TheYoung Republic, who are themore than accomplishedauthors of EOTR's first LPrelease.

With eight people who met atcollege and a menagerie ofinstruments (mandolin, viola,flute and, of course, anaccordion), Arcade Fire andMontreal scene comparison areprobably inevitable, but thatwould be to put TYR in a

pigeonhole they a repeatedlybust out of (although 'SheComes And Goes' is probablyrelated to 'Wake Up' in someway or other).

'Excuses To See You', a non-cheesy country ballad, is whatthey call Classic Song Writing,preceded by spiky Pixies surfvibes on 'Modern Plays' _ fittedwith unexpected jazzybreakdowns. For the most part,though, things take on a folkyalt. jangle, occasionallyfrequenting Beirut's Balkanterritories ('Girl In A Tree'). AndJulian Saporiti's voice is almostas idiosyncratic as ZacCondon's, but his songs arefilled with even more romance.

The knock-out 'She's NotWaiting Here This Time' and'Everybody Looks Better InBlack & White' are exactly howboys' songs about girls shouldbe written. They're like audioversions of cool, low-budgetAmerican indie films. But it's'Paper Ships' and 'When I SeeYour EyesÅc' that possess themost magnificent drama.

End of the road? No chance.These are the onlyRepublicans worth voting for in2008.

Stephen Eddie

Beat Pyramid is the debut LP of DiorHomme darlings and forerunners tothe curiously London-centric'Southend Scene' These NewPuritans. Still only 19 years old TNPare a young band with big ideas,drawing inspiration from a gloriouslypretentious gene pool where suchdisparate entities as Steve Reich,chain mail, Einsturzende Neubauten,syntax and the Wu Tang Clan are allreigned in beneath an archly fastenedtop collar button. Yet for all theiraesthetic austerity Beat Pyramid is, asits name might suggest, a recordsteeped in that most primal of musicalelements: rhythm.

Album centrepiece 'En Papier' is grimebleached white, metallic 2 step

rhythms pounding away like industrialmachinery while TNP orator in-chiefJack Barnett fires cryptic missives ofmisheard conversation over the top.Forthcoming single 'Elvis' is a masterclass in instrumental minimalism, onechord bass and guitar riffs etchthemselves onto your consciousnessbefore the self restraint buckles tomake way for a freeform noisefreakout.

This is indie by association only; on analbum featuring a track which appearsto be a field recording of a gentlebreeze and two pieces whichcomprise of no more than two halvesof the same sentence the only realoddity is 'MKK3' which sounds a littlelike The Rakes.

Regardless, Beat Pyramid is a recordof striking coherence, subverting ourexpectations for a 'guitar' record andsetting the bar high not only for theband themselves, but for every otherrelease this year.

Billy Idle

Muscles - Guns,Babes, Lemonade(Modular)

The Young Republic -12 Tales From WinterCity (End Of The Road)

These NewPuritans - BeatPyramid (Angular)

Made in the Dark is full of greatsongs, although perhaps only thefirst single, 'Ready For TheFloor', will be sung badly bygroups of shirtless men at threein the morning in the way that'Over and Over' was. It too is anirresistible call to the dancefloorfor those of us guilty of "carvingup the wall". It sounds like aboutfour different singles in one, eachof them fighting for presidence.Yes, Kylie turned it down, but shechose a pallid Goldfrapp rip-offas her first single so what doesshe know?

The album's title track and'Whistle For Will' are bothminimal, slow burning soulnumbers that give Alexis Taylor'svoice the space it deservers.They also show how far they

have come as songwriters; fromquirky joke tracks about StevieWonder to chord sequences thatwouldn't be out of place on aNick Cave or Rufus Wainwrightsong. 'Out at the Pictures'sounds like the manic openingnumber from a non existantmusical, whereas 'Hold On'sounds like its deranged discofinale. 'Wrestlers' is the recordTimbaland would make if hecame from Putney. And waswhite. And never got laid. 'ShakeA Fist' combines the unlikely lovetriangle of kraftwerk melodies,ravey synth stabs and dancehallrhythms. As the sample says,"you may be surprised".

Like the best of albums, Made inthe Dark is ambitious, fresh andoriginal, yet still built up from a

solid groundwork of fantastic andaccessible songwriting. Despitethe huge range of music, it's stillimmediately recognisable as HotChip, and their best album yet.An instant classic.

Alex Barbanneau

The most un-DC band to haveever recorded in Fugazi's studiohave moved. Upping sticks fromtheir native Washington, DeadMeadow have relocated toCalifornia and recorded their fifthLP in the middle of nowhere inIndiana, places far more suited totheir out there slacker retro.Sometimes it's like they can't bebothered to go all the way backto the 70s. They can be botheredwith plenty of solos and pedals,though, as on 'Ain't Got Nothing'and 'Between Me and TheGround'.

The psych is less psyched thanon previous records (it's a lotmore, erm, -adelic though). As atrio again, DM appear to have

mellowed out to brilliant effect.'I'm Gone' is both angsty ANDdreamy, and the best retrothrowback since who knowswhen (Oasis, take notes). While'Keep On Walking' and 'EitherWay' are homely Americananumbers with hints of JasonPierce at his most tender. Pick ofthe acoustic bunch though, is'Down Here'. It'll make youcomfortably numb, for sure.

Not that the band which prettymuch hold the copyright on'beardy weirdy' have completelyforgotten the art of rocking likeLed Zeppelin's first coming: thegaragey 'The Queen of AllReturns' does a better job of itthan the reformed Plant, Page

and Jones. While 'The GreatDeceiver' is a pub jam with souland 'Seven Seers', with bassistSteve Kille taking up the sitar, isa hypnotic trance out. This isretro American style. Memorylane's never rocked so well.

Stephen Eddie

albums

Hot Chip - Made InThe Dark (EMI)

Dead Meadow -Old Growth(Matador)

Album of the month

eighteen nineteen

gigs

Openers The GhostFrequencyÅfs intense electropunk intercourse is a hard act tofollow, but New York newwavers Holy Hail rise to thechallenge. Like the politico-disco of Le Tigre, their musichas more grrrl power than athousand Spice Girls reuniontours. 'Big Guns', 'Born Of AStar', and 'Cool Town Rock',their recent release onAdventures Close To Home, arehighlights one and all.

And by midnight, Liverpool hasbecome the next town tocapitulate to the Crystal Castles

worldwide invasion. As theToronto duo take to the stage atKorova, an uber-trendyunderground Clockwork Orangethemed venue, the Droogs inthe basement go ultraviolent fortheir synthcore sound.

Alice Glass, an iconicfrontwoman evolved from theboys-wanna-fuck-her-girls-wanna-be-her gene pool,shrieks and yelps in perfectdisharmony with the pixelateddystopic noises of her musicalpartner in crime Ethan Fawn. As'Air War' wreaks shock and awedancefloor destruction, the

Canadians' performance comesto a chaotic close and peacereigns again in this old town.

Benjamin Thomas

The ChemicalBrothers - Apollo6/12/07

Holy Hail / CrystalCastles - Liverpool Korova2/12/07

Just whom could promoters PineappleFolk/Hey Manchester bring in to easean audience into an evening of exoticBalkan folk, a large percentage ofwhich may only be aware of them viaJeremy Barnes' previous drummingduties for mythic-alternative typesNeutral Milk Hotel. With the exceptionof Beirut there are few optionsamongst the alternative crowd,making Montreal's Miracle Fortress asgood a choice as any.

Debuting tracks from their recentlyreleased opening statement 'FiveRoses', the quintet's slow-burning popswept in shoe-gaze atmospherics (asyou'd imagine Belle and Sebastianwould sound if Kevin Shields wascalling the shots) kept to tempo by twopercussionists' frantic rhythmic

interplay draws quite a few impressedmurmurs in the crowd. Whilst it'scertainly not the most startlinglyoriginal racket to be exported fromCanada recently, chief songwriterGraham Van Pelt is one to keep anear open for.

Like gate crashing an easternEuropean party, A Hawk And AHacksaw's exotic back catalogueplays best when soundtracking a wineand port fuelled shuffle on adancefloor, punctuated by drunkenroaring and raucous laughter ratherthan as a spectacle to take in.

Whilst the musicianship on offer isdazzling as times, with wild flurries ofnotes crammed into exotic time-signatures evoking a wide scope of

cinematic moods and emotions viatrumpet, violin and a cimbalom (yepthat's right, a cimbalom!), theatmosphere unfortunately neverapproaches anything closelyresembling a celebratory gatheringthis evening, despite the group's bestefforts.

Mike Caulfield

Miracle Fortress /A Hawk And AHacksaw - Music Box6/12/07

Rocketed from Dry Bar to ManchesterCentral this evening, Paul Ryder'slatest venture sees him surprisinglycomfortable as a frontman. Big Armadmittedly have a handful of songs _'Sunrays' being one _ that haveenough lilted bagginess to be half-catchy. If this was what the Mondayshad made their comeback with thisyear, then it might have even beenlistenable. Does the lesser-known ofthe Ryders not have his right to acomeback? No. Happy Mondayshave a legacy to explore, but Big Armhave been created afresh with not onetrace of interest about them. IfMadchester is the be all and end all ofyour tastes then Big Arm might be foryou, but the sane will avoid.

If anybody cannot be accused ofindulging in their glory days however, itis Ian Brown. Songs as early as 'MyStar' and as recent as 'Keep What YaGot' are heights in his career that areeven capable of overshadowing quitebanally replicated Roses covers. Thissort of consistently challenging drivefrom Brown has meant that in thepast, live shows have been thrillingfrom the quirky to the anthemic.

Tonight however, the preachydrabness of latest album 'The World IsYours' kills any atmosphere that mighthave been. It's shocking how quicklyyou can find yourself turning on thishomegrown hero, but even withbrilliant moments like 'Dolphins WereMonkeys' finding him at his best, it's

when his character gets the better ofhim (as it has done so much this year)that his objectionable side gets thebetter of the show. A shame.

Fran Donnelly

First up, Scot newbies MakeModel confuse and delight inequal measure. The last vocalistto have baffled us with Americanaccented vocals in place ofScottish was Idlewild's RoddyWoomble, and the transatlantictones still make very littlesense. The band relax soonenough though; 'Just AnotherFolk Song' is reminiscent of apoppier Biffy Clyro, whilst newsingle 'The Was' shows thatmajor label backing isn'tquashing their emergingoriginality.

A certain hush is required forMiddleton's opening numberwith just the man himself andJenny Reeve on violin. As the

full band arrive 'Blue PlasticBags' is evidence that Middletonhas a far more believable waywith social commentary thanthose Arctic Monkeys ever will.Recent singles are pulled outearly, including the surprisinglychirpy (and radio friendly) 'ABrighter Beat' and the sublime'Fuck It, I Love You'.

Elsewhere 'Burst Noel' providessolace for anyone who's everspent the festive period alone,possibly depressing onlookersas Middleton taunts "You'reawfully quiet, just cheer up alittle!" before explaining to aheckler who's pointed out thathe's not so chipper himself that"that's where the joke lies". His

sense of humour may not be toeveryone's taste, but his droll,wry wit both conversationallyand lyrically is positively freshlistening for jaded ears.

Hannah Bayfield

Big Arm / Ian Brown- ManchesterCentral7/12/07

Make Model /Malcolm Middleton -Academy 310/12/07

twenty twentyone

Gig of the month

It should perhaps come as no surprisebearing in mind that they've beenplying their trade for nigh-on 15 years,but it seems that even Ed and Tomaren't exempt from using The BigBook of DJ-ing's number one rule.When a series of power failuresthreatens to derail the evening'spounding vibe by plunging the Apollointo an uncomfortable quiet for 10minutes, they mark the return ofnormal service with 1997's (yep, it'sthat old) Block Rockin' Beats _ whenthings go wrong, hit back hard.

Tonight is one of the Brothers' morebackward looking gigs of late,plundering 'Hey Boy, Hey Girl', 'Out of

Control' 'Music: Response' and morefrom Surrender, as well as guestappearances from 'Leave Home' 'ItDoesn't Matter' and theaforementioned chart-topping big-beatbehemoth. That said, they also findtime to indulge in some of the moreanonymous house tracks scatteredacross the last three albums, butmercifully prevent them from draggingin the way we've seen before.

The hits are out in force, with'Galvanise', 'Do It Again' 'Star Guitar'and 'Believe' each received with abarrage of whistles and cheers andthere's very little left for anyone tocomplain about. In fact, when the

electrical gremlins do appear to put thefun-fest in jeopardy, the crowd onlyremain silent so they can catch theirbreath for one last volley; a thrilling,apocalyptic finale.

Adrian Barrowdale

Indica Ritual

From the mutant ambientAfrobeat of ‘Huddersclam’to the frazzled, proto-metalrave of last year’s 7”‘Trade Show’. From earlysongs like ‘Num Lock’s’blip & crunch spazzcore tobastardised Hot Chipnumbers such as ‘TopForty’, Indica Ritual aremusic to scare people whowant to live like they’re in‘Skins’. Not to mentionconfusing and upstagingsome of the hippest indie-dance crossover bands inthe world: Shy Child, Foalsand Prinzhorn DanceSchool have all been leftfor dead.

Their chaotic,multicoloured live showalso means they’ve heldtheir own against some theloudest bands on the road.Seriously, they need to beseen to be completelybelieved. It’s like anexplosion in a WTF?factory.

I’ve said it before and I’llsay it again: they’re thehouse party band of yourwarped dreams. The onefrom ‘About A Boy’ and theone with the beanie won’tknow what’s hit them.

Key track: ‘Trade Show’

Web:www.myspace.com/indicaritual

Words: Stephen Eddie

Send your new band tips tostephen@highvoltage.org.uk to appearin the next New Noise round-up…

NEW NOISEHijak Oscar

In recent years, televisedtalent competitions havebeen responsible for someof the most embarrassingexamples of lobotomy popever to have monopolisedthe near-redundant singleschart. Thankfully, HijakOscar made T4’s ‘MobileAct Unsigned’ competitionworth getting out of bed forin the months running upto Christmas, and areabout to head out on the‘Hellbound’ tour thatshould see their wildharmonica-led blues rock’n’ roll feed hungry earsacross the country.

Forming in York aroundthe vocal duo of Tim Foxand Emma Keaveney-Roys, the cream of thelocal blues and acousticscene from the city swiftlygot on board, and in 2006the band self-released afoot-stampingly greatalbum that has soldhundreds without any labelsupport. High Voltagereckons that will changepretty soon.

Check out Hijak Oscar’sraucous party growls outthe ‘Hellbound’ tour, andsay you were there first.

Key track: ‘Bitter Carnival’

Web:www.hijakoscar.co.uk

Words: Megan Vaughn

Quartershade

Potentially the best thingto come fromLoughborough since, erm,Lawrie

Sanchez, Quartershadeare one of those indiebands that everyone usesthe word 'epic' to describe.And they'd be right in allfairness, but not that"We're trying to sound likethe Editors" kind of epic.Actually decent musicepic.

HV first witnessed themwhen they played a shithole of a venue inLiverpool, bringing withthem gear that was betterthen what the venuealready had. They playeda blinding set and we'dargue they are one of thetop unsigned live acts onthe current scene.

Setting up their own labeland self releasing anumber of tracks over2007, they will self confessthat they didn't make asmuch noise as they wouldhave hoped to. But withsongs as good as theirs,it's only a matter of time.

Oh, also they're also reallytall. All of them. It's quiteweird actually.

Key track: ‘Hide And Seek’

Web:www.myspace.com/quartershade

Words: Simon Pursehouse

Vessels

To be The Next Big Thingin post-rock you have tobe pretty big. Which iswhat makes Vessels allthe more intriguing, ratherthan building up withambient mush for eightminutes before getting togood bit, the five-piecefrom Leeds ONLY do thegood bits (tumbling pianoriffs, haunting harmonies,meditative calm andmagnificent cacophonies).They do everything thatExplosions or Yndi Haldacan do, but all within theconfines of five minute popsongs, with words andbeats and everything.

Formed in 2005, they’veput out two well received7”s (some how not soldout) and a self-titled EP.Just try not to bemesmerised by the sonichighs of ‘Yuki’ or ‘TwoWords & A Gesture’.They’re best song,however, is a B-side thatcan also be found hiddenaway on a Brew Recordscompilation. ‘Forever TheOptimist’ is a moody Curegone post-rock, and it’llknock you out.

Key track: ‘Forever TheOptimist’

Web:www.vesselsband.com

Words: Stephen Eddie

RachaelKichenside

Have you ever known asecret so good that you’vewanted to just shout it outloud from the rooftops?Rachael is that secret.

Fresh from touring lastyear with the magnificentWindmill, Rachael is nowback in Manchestermaking her own beautifullyconstructed folk. Limitededition single ‘Long TimeLater’ was like hiddentreasure; showcasing avoice so warm, so delicatethat it melted even mybitter heart.

New EP ‘Like The Tides’ isa triumph (co-produced bythe remarkable Stickboy)and I urge you to MySpacethis girl quickly, if only tohear ‘Something to Say’;which I promise you will beplaying over and overagain.

With her twinklingpersonality and heartrendering lyrics, RachaelKichenside is an amazingnew talent that deserves tobe more than just anotherwell kept secret…and I’llbe shouting it from therooftops, even if I do looklike a loon!

Key track: ‘Something ToSay’

Web:www.myspace.com/rkichenside

Words: Phill Daker

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Say, Scientist by The Maple State out on 25th Feb.Featuring We Swear by the Light Life, Say, Scientist, Don't Take Holidays, Temperate Lives,Starts with Dean Moriarty, You and Me and an X-ray Machine

Catch The Maple State on tour throughout February with Tellison and Furthest Drive Home.

18-Jan - MANCHESTER Academy 2 w/ Hundred Reasons29-Jan - BRACKNELL, Cellar Bar13-Feb - BRIGHTON Freebutt14-Feb - EXETER The Cavern15-Feb - NOTTINGHAM Rock City16-Feb - NORTHAMPTON Soundhaus17-Feb - LIVERPOOL Barfly18-Feb - LEEDS The Cockpit19-Feb - GLASGOW King Tuts20-Feb - BIRMINGHAM Barfly21-Feb - MANCHESTER Roadhouse22-Feb - NORWICH Queen Charlotte23-Feb - TUNBRIDGE WELLS The Forum24-Feb - LONDON Dingwalls

www.highvoltage.org.ukwww.myspace.com/highvoltageuk

listings Feb- MarGIG LISTINGS FebruaryFri 1stMeet Me In St Louis @ Night & Day Cafe Kerrang Tour 2008 (feat. Coheed &Cambria) @ Academy 1Angus and Julie Stone @ The RubyLounge Annie Mac In Session @ The Club (akaParadise Factory)Dewa @ The Roadhouse

Sat 2ndThe Sleeves @ Night & Day CafeNME Tour 2008 (feat. The Cribs) @Academy 1The Rocket Summer @ Academy 2Amplifier @ Academy 3Paul Potts @ The Bridgewater Hall

Sun 3rdVictorian Dad @ Night & Day CafeAllerjen @ Satans Hollow Boy George @ The Lowry Spear Of Destiny @ Club Academy Nick Harper @ Academy 3

Mon 4thLaura Veirs @ Night & Day CafeBlessed by a Broken Heart @ Music BoxBullet For My Valentine @ Academy 1Joan Osborne @ Academy 3

Tues 5thDavid Bazan (Pedro The Lion) @ Night &Day CafePete & The Pirates @ The Roadhouse

Wed 6th The Rifles @ Night & Day CafeThe Blackout @ Academy 2American Music Club @ Academy 3Black Acid @ Moho Live The Naughtys @ The Roadhouse

Thurs 7th Young & Lost Tour (feat. Noah & TheWhale) @ Night & Day CafeJustice @ Academy 2Simian Mobile Disco @ Academy 3Earth @ Zion Arts Centre Roni Size- Reprezent @ Club Academy The Deadstring Brothers @ The RubyLoungeProstitutes & Policemen Boy 8-Bit @ TheAttic

Fri 8th Airship @ Night & Day CafeAirbourne @ The RoadhouseChrome Hoof Vs Invest Vs Spandecks VsLamb & Wolf @ Salford Islington Mill Devon Sproule @ Club Academy Richard Hawley @ Academy 1The Other Smiths Vs Transmission @Academy 3

Sat 9th Spektrum @ Night & Day CafeBasement Jaxx (DJ Set) @ The Club (akaParadise Factory)Sons & Daughters @ Club Academy Dropkick Murphys @ Academy 1Michael Schenker Group @ Academy 3Dieter & The Gadabouts @ TheRoadhouse

Sun 10thBabyshambles NME Show @ The Apollo MXPX @ Academy 3Gabrielle @ The Lowry Fuck Buttons @ The Phoenix

Mon 11thPalladium @ Night & Day CafeAsobi Seksu @ Music Box Flamboyant Bella @ Academy 3

Tues 12thThese New Puritans @ Night & Day CafeMirrorview @ Music BoxEamon Hamilton (Brakes) @ The RubyLoungeBlack Francis @ Academy 2Polysics @ Star & Garter Cut The Blue Wire @ The Roadhouse

Wed 13thThe Yashin @ Music Box

Thurs 14th Johnny Bramwell’s Valentine Massacre @Night & Day CafeDillinger Escape Plan @ Academy 3Sub Humans @ Star & Garter

Fri 15thRoyworld @ Night & Day CafeA Killer Fear @ Club Academy Tonight Is Goodbye @ The Ruby LoungeFamily & Friends Live! @ Mint Lounge I Was A Cub Scout @ The RoadhouseSmashing Pumpkins @ The M.E.N ArenaManchester Orchestra @ Academy 3Ipso Facto @ Retro Bar

Sat 16th High Voltage Presents Thieves Like Us(Kitsune) @ Night & Day CafeMark Ronson @ The ApolloHot Chip @ Academy 1Mentallica @ The Ruby LoungeThe Manyanas @ Club Academy

Sun 17thVice Magazine Party @ Night & Day CafeGenius: Arthur Lee & Love @ The RubyLounge Lightspeed Champion @ The RoadhouseJaymay @ Matt & Phreds Late Of The Pier @ Club AcademyDionne Warwick @ The Lowry Andy Parsons @ The LowryReel Big Fish @ Academy 2

Mon 18th Inego @ Night & Day CafeLos Campesinos @ Club Academy

Tues 19th The Von Bondies @ Night & Day CafeThe Ghost Of a Thousand @ Music BoxDizzee Rascal @ Academy 1The Satellite Towns @ The Roadhouse

Wed 20thIslands @ Night & Day CafeJimmy Eat World @ Academy 1Belladonna @ The Roadhouse

Thurs 21stCherry Ghost @ Night & Day CafeThe Maple State @ The Roadhouse Bring On The Dancing Horses presentNapolean IIIrd @ Cafe SakiEternal Lord @ Music BoxGallows @ Academy 2

Fri 22ndThe Futureheads @ Night & Day CafeThe Metros @ The RoadhouseThe Wombats @ Academy 1Duffy @ The Ruby LoungeAmy MacDonald @ Academy 2The Audition @ Academy 3Air Cav (Single Launch Party) @ TheRoadhouse

Sat 23rd The Rascals @ Night & Day CafeThis Is Seb Clarke @ The RoadhouseVersus Cancer 2008 @ The M.E.N ArenaBright Kicks @ Club Academy Megadeth @ Academy 1Joe Bonamassa @ Academy 2Juno Ashes @ Academy 3Ian Hunter @ The Lowry

Sun 24thBand Of Horses @ Academy 3

Mon 25th Sandi Thom @ Night & Day Cafe

Tues 26thStephanie Dosen @ The Ruby LoungeDesigner Magazine presents The CircusElectric @ Night & Day CafeAlicia Keys @ The M.E.N ArenaSum 41 @ Academy 1The Hold Steady @ Academy 2The Bottomfeeders @ The Roadhouse

Wed 27th Curious Generation presents Out FromAnimals @ Night & Day CafeThe Young Knives @ Academy 2Dragons @ Academy 3Eels @ The Bridgewater HallBauer @ The Roadhouse

Thurs 28th Sarabeth Tucek @ Night & Day CafeMayhem In Manchester @ Music BoxYeti @ Dry BarThe Hoosiers @ Academy 1The Nightjars @ The Roadhouse

Fri 29th This City @ The RoadhouseKoffin Kats @ Satans HollowUninformed @ Club Academy Autechre @ Music BoxSiouxsie @ Academy 2Hanoi Rocks @ Academy 3

March Sat 1stHigh Voltage presents MGMT @ Night &Day CafeThe Cult @ Academy 1Tegan & Sara @ Academy 2MistyÅfs Big Adventure @ Academy 3Natasha Bedingfield @ The Apollo The Beat & Neville Staple @ ClubAcademyMetronomy @ The Roadhouse

Sun 2nd Anti-Flag @ Club Academy Newton Faukner @ The Apollo Bill WymanÅfs Rhythm Kings @ TheLowryThe Grandmothers Of Invention @Academy 3

Mon 3rd Kid Harpoon & The Powers That Be @The RoadhouseMike Park @ Music BoxEditors @ The ApolloTina Disco @ Academy 3

Tues 4th Designer Magazine presents Sloganeer@ Night & Day CafeKate Nash @ The ApolloClannad @ The Bridgewater Hall Jack Penate @ Academy 1The Mexicolas @ The Roadhouse

Wed 5th Dead Meadow @ Night & Day Cafe

Thurs 6thCazals @ Night & Day CafeDavid Gray @ The ApolloOne Night Only @ Academy 3Conil @ The Roadhouse

Fri 7th The Levellers @ The ApolloAlec Empire @ Academy 3

Sat 8thFink @ Night & Day CafeBoyz II Men @ The ApolloAkala @ Club AcademyGary Numan @ Academy 1

Sun 9th Yeasayer @ Night & Day CafeGuillemots @ The Ritz Hayseed Dixie @ Academy 2Tom Baxter @ Academy 3

Mon 10th The Matches @ Academy 3Eva @ The Roadhouse

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Tues 11th The Vagabons @ Night & Day CafeNeil Young @ The ApolloEktomorf + Stuck Mojo @ Academy 3

Wed 12th Neil Young @ The ApolloInfadels @ The RoadhouseRichard Freeshman @ Academy 3

Thurs 13th The Mars Volta @ The ApolloThe Feeling @ Academy 1Asia @ Academy 2Casiotone For The Painfully Alone @Charlies

Fri 14th The Torrents @ Night & Day CafeKelly Clarkson @ The ApolloInspiral Carpets @ Academy 1

Sat 15th Kelly Clarkson @ The Apollo5th Annual St. PatrickÅfs Week Party @Academy 1

Sun 16th Monsters Of Mosh feat. Breed 77 @ JillysRockworld

Mon 17th Velvet Revolver @ The Apollo

Tues 18th Sophie Ellis Bextor @ Academy 2

Wed 19th The Enemy @ The Apollo

Thurs 20th You Animals (Formerly Komakino) @ TheRoadhouse

Fri 21st The Fall @ Salford Maxwell Hall

Sat 22nd Danse Macabre presents Las Pistolas @Night & Day Caf_101%- Pantera @ Ruby Lounge

Sun 23rd Buck 65 @ The Roadhouse

Mon 24th The Twilight Sad @ Night & Day Cafe

Wed 26th Last Gang @ Night & Day CafeThe Duke Spirit @ Academy 3Chris Rea @ The Apollo

Thurs 27th Young Heart Attack @ The RoadhouseThe Grid @ Academy 3Dodge @ Club Academy Van Der Graaf Generator @ RNCMVan Morrison @ The Bridgewater

Fri 28th Kris Kristofferson @ The ApolloVan Morrison @ The Bridgewater HallThe Sword @ Academy 3

Sat 29th Scouting For Girls @ Academy 1Hawkwind @ Academy 2Dead Men Walking @ Academy 3

Sun 30thGogol Bordello @ Academy 1Medals @ The Lowry

Mon 31st Vast @ The Ruby Lounge

CLUBLISTINGSFeb-MarMondayRevolver @ The Roadhouse 11pm- 2amMonday @ The Ritz 10pm- 2amUp The Racket @ Joshua Brooks 10pm-2am

TuesdaySex With Robots @ The Roadhouse11pm- lateWay Back When @ Po Na Na 9pm- 2amClick Click @ Font Bar 9pm- 1amThe Alternative @ The Venue 11pm- late

WednesdayRetro @ 42nd Street 10pm- lateTramp @ Club North 10pm- 2am

ThursdayFrom Manchester With Love @ 42ndStreet 10pm- 2am Don’t Think Twice @ Font Bar 9pm- 1amRomp @ One Central Street @ 9.30pm-3am In The City @ The Venue 11pm- late

FridayLong Live Rock ‘n’ Roll @ TheRoadhouseFriday Feeling @ 5th Avenue 10pm- 3amKeys, Money, Lipstick @ Star & Garter Glamorous Indie Rock n’ Roll @ 42ndStreetPopscene @ The Brickhouse 10.30pm-2.30am Relief @ Club Alter Ego 11pm- 4am Another Planet @ South 10pm- 3amHomoelectric @ Legends 10pm- 4amTwist and Shout @ The Venue 10pm-3amDon’ft Miss This @ Retro BarGuilty Pleasures @ One Central Street10pm- 3am

Please email your gig and clublistings for February/March 08 tolistings@highvoltage.org.uk

Next deadline is January 18th

Compiled by Mike Caulfield

For all things Graphicwww.soapforall.co.uk

HIGHVOLTAGE PRESSSpecialising in music/band online PR

and web promotion.National & regional PR services available

alistair@highvoltage.org.ukfor more information

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Bella Union was createdby Cocteau TwinsSimon Raymonde andRobin Guthrie after theircontract with 4AD cameto an end in 1997.Since then, the labelhas supported close tofifty acts; often musicthat ordinarily would notbe heard outside oflocal scenes and nichemarkets. A decadeafter its conception, HVspoke to co-founderSimon about just howfar they have come.

HV: Hello Simon. Youoriginally conceived BellaUnion as an outlet for yourown music but then your banddissolved. Was there ever amoment where you shruggedyour shoulders and thought‘oh well, it was a nice ideawhile it lasted’?

Simon: ‘Yes, absolutely. Sincethe beginning of Cocteau Twinsthe learning curve was a weirdshape. Not steep, but a bitunusual. We made twocassettes, one after another, sentone to 4AD and one to JohnPeel. Then we got signed by4AD and a week later did ourfirst Peel session. So we had noidea that you don't always getwhat you want! Slowly, thingsstarted to go wrong and by thetime we broke up after drugaddictions, label fall outs, punch-ups, break-ups and kidnappings,

we worked out that things don’talways quite work out. I figuredfor a few days that maybe thiswas one of those situations. Butthen we met Dirty Three, put outtheir album and never lookedback.’

Early releases from Fran_oizBreut, The Czars and DirtyThree were all pretty sad andmoody. Were you ever worriedthat Bella Union would becomeknown for releasing onlymelancholic material?

‘No! But I see what you'resaying. I think I am drawn to thatside of art in general. We didrelease some hip hop but I guesseven they were fairly thoughtful,contemplative records.’

You pride yourselves inallowing your artists todevelop at their own rate. Hasthis philosophy ever bitten youon the arse?

‘Haha! I guess you mean did anyband take nineteen albums to getany good? Not really. I don'treally just sit back and do nothingall the time you know!! Seriously,no one band or release is thesame and I just take the attitudethat trying to push a band intosomething doesn't always work.If they want guidance, they'll askand I'll give it.’

Did you get to the bookieswhen Fionn Regan’s ‘The EndOf History’ was nominated forthe Mercury last year?

‘I put a grand on the Klaxons. Iwish. Yes, I did put some moneyon Fionn but didn't get very goododds. He should have won. Butthen I should have been signedby Spurs when I was fifteen.Åh

How has Regan’s success, aswell as hefty sales of Midlake’s

output, affected the prospectsof Bella Union’s smaller acts?Do you have more freedom totake chances now?

‘No. You cannot for a secondthink you have this gamecracked because no one caresabout your last release or howwell it did, only your next one.You just need to be aware thatyou can't always have an artist atMidlake's level, and keepdeveloping the new bands.’

You celebrated your tenth yearin 2007, but with the futureviability of record companieslooking uncertain, how do youthink Bella Union will changein the next ten years?

‘Unlike everyone else, I don'tthink we'll change the philosophybecause truly that's why we do it.If we just signed things becausewe felt they'd do well, we'dultimately fail because it couldn'tsustain. While we don't sell thenumbers of the bigger, fundedlabels, we can release music thatwouldn't otherwise be heard.’

Bella Union artists come fromall over the world, makingmusic in a huge range ofgenres. How do you findthem, and what qualities doyou look for in the music?

‘They just look me up in theYellow Pages. We're there underHomes for Artists Who Want toMake A Difference’

In all seriousness, I guess we'relooking for a band that doesn'tsound like any other, that we allagree we want to push the boatout for... I don't really care wherethey come from, but maybesubconsciously there issomething more romantic aboutsigning a band from Texas thanCleethorpes. Perhaps there is a

burgeoning scene in Cleethorpesand I will be astounded. That'sthe beauty of this business. Oneminute of the day you know onething and then a minute later youhear a band, a song, and you'renever the same again.

Words: Megan Vaughan

www.bellaunion.com

The Best of Bella Union:

Dirty Three - Ocean Songs

Fran-oiz Breut - Une SaisonVolee

Explosions In The Sky - All Of ASudden I Miss Everyone

Midlake - The Trials Of VanOccupanther

Fionn Regan - The End OfHistory

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