LIVE: Johnny Flynn and the Sussex Wit

31st Jan 2008
Ruby Lounge, Manchester

This penchant for twinkly guitars and rustic charm has seemed to come about rather suddenly and although Johnny Flynn and the Sussex Wit might on the surface seem to fit in with this genre a closer inspection suggests a greater depth than a new fad.
Firstly the duel vocals of brother and sister provide harmonies and beatific noises as various other members of the band chip in when they feel like it. Their multi-talented front man picks up various instruments (as do the band) and there is no smugness or feeling of trying to impress with the range of their skill.
One of the most superb things about this folk-steeped band is the lyrics; wonderfully angelic voices wrap themselves around the words which evoke different worlds and forgotten people. Beginning the show with “The Box” with its twangy guitar and almost Deep South feel a focus is brought on a homeless man whilst rural fables come to life in the magic “Leftovers”. Their evocative music is deeper than trend or fashion; it extends to the audience, holding them in its grip and literally begging for an encore.
It’s poignant and bluesy with more than enough heart and soul. There is religious imagery mixed with tales of the homeless mixed with tales of love; a rare thing for a set to have so much depth but whilst also holding interest for every song!
A loyal fan base gather on the floor of the Ruby Lounge and a strange feeling occurs, people flop down onto the floor, sitting and nodding adoringly along with every song. Rather than making the whole thing seem lethargic and boring this almost school-like approach to watching the band (legs crossed and eyes turned upwards) seems fitting. Everyone is still moving (one man goes so far as to slap his thigh along with the beat. The look would only have been completed with a piece of hay coming out of his mouth and a floppy straw hat!) And Flynn’s bashful presence is appreciated with applause and cheers.
As the band run through their set it is clear to see they are not only skilful musicians but also destined for success. With their sound reminiscent of Adam Green or even blues/rock’n’roll virtuoso Robert Johnston their lyrics and music intermingle creating poetry alongside sound. A truly great live band with an menagerie of instruments and talent!
Jade xx
(reviewed for High Voltage)

Johnny Flynn and the Sussex Wit - Leftovers
Johnny Flynn and the Sussex Wit- Oh, To Eat An Apple
Johnny Flynn and the Sussex Wit- The Box

Elle S'appelle New Material

QUICK! Hop on over to Elle S'appelle's Myspace to hear fab new material. Hopefully some of it is to be included on their forthcoming EP! And they're on tour with goFASTER>>... ace news.

"Monkeyshine" is all crecendo-ing "woah-oh-ohs" and ska-esque keyboards dancing over harmonising vocals. Beautifully addictive; their songs are near flawless with their own brand of simplistic pop dipped in originiality and talent! As the end nears in sight skipping drums and a change of tempo twist and turn as duel vocals battle over jumping beats. "Reasons Your Reasons Your Reasons" is like Hot Club De Paris taking The Futureheads waltzing; with a distinctive fairground feel. A sort of Victorian English Gentlemans Club sound is set in the band with a similar set up and the same penchant for dizzying musical heights. Crecendo, tempo, lyrics, instruments and voices all get melded into the sublime pop that is Elle S. The effect is an overwhelment of music and ideas. Chouruses melt into a whirlwind of sounds and voices skipping over pure, unadulterated noise. Come on 2008- bigbigbigbigbigbig things must happen for these guys; they're just too good!!

Jade xx

Elle S'appelle- Little Flame (youtube)

just because it is one of the most innotive videos around !

Girl Power !

Driving synth and merry-go-round type noises do place this all female-group slightly in the realms of The Horrors. The lead vocals are haunting and pitch perfect whilst guitars and keyboards and drums cavort around. "Smoke and Mirrors" is eerie and ethereal with music which dips and dives over 60s-esque synth and carnival noises. Disturbing; but in a good way.

"Harmonise" has a darker Long Blondes style feel to it with a strong voice soaring over the slightly discordant music and "Balderdash" is made up of crescendos and flickering guitars; it's pure melodic noise. No mean feat... And to top it off it's all a bit "Phantom of the Opera" (a good thing of course), a bit baroque and very pop-noir. Ghostly noises and Gothic tendencies in a monochrome set!

On the other side of the coin is the technicolor brilliance of The Duloks. Their music has the same synth-y bits but in an uplifting way. They don brightly coloured tracksuits and songs like "Gonna Follow Your Star Trail" are twee-pop-goodness. Their songs aren't prog rock length and although it is a pity ace songs like "Boom Boom" end quickly they say what they need to say and get out. Mainly what they're saying is "If you're an instigator / Or a secret masturbater..." and other such nuggets of comedy. It's "Bad Vegetarian" though which places them in the 'legends' box- hilarious and slightly strange. Not taking themselves too seriously is a most endearing quality!

Jade xx
Harmonise - Ipso Facto

Balderdash- Ipso Facto

Smoke and Mirrors- Ipso Facto

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Gonna Follow Your Star Trail - The Duloks

Boom Boom - The Duloks

Bad Vegetarian - The Duloks

Cheeky Cheeky and the Nosebleeds

Cheeky Cheeky and the Nosebleeds- The new innovators. Yeah there are people doing amazing revivals of folk which is charming without fault but I was starting to get worried guitar based Indie was going to be forever vapid and generic. THANK GOD then for CC&N with their amazing name and nasal vocals. Their refreshing take on music seems almost like a second-cousin-twice-removed to Los Camp!.

"Slow Kids" is lyrically strange but in a quirky way ("I am the girl with no lips / But I can keep a hula going around my hips"); the angular guitars build up the listener and the chorus is a spiky and catchy damn thing. "Before We Sleep" is a more indie-dance floor-friendly number with a good beat and shouty voices and singalong choruses guaranteed to make you move you feet. The lyrics aren't as elusive as "Slow Kids" but it defiantly isn't paint by numbers indie which bands like The Enemy seem to favour.

Their best song though is "Fascinating" which has a 'The Royal We' feel to the guitars and more thrillingly strange lyrics and squeaky vocals. It should annoy, it should grate a little on nerves but it doesn't- it is purely good stuff even with guitar solos thrown in for good measure!

They're supporting Joe Lean and the Jing Jang Jong (big buzz band) so fingers crossed they'll be well recieved...

Jade xx

Cheeky Cheeky & The Nosebleeds - Before We Sleep

Cheeky Cheeky & the Nosebleeds - Slow Kids

Bits'n'Bobs

Rambling On: Firstly Bishop Allen (because they've just come up in Ipods delightful shuffle!). Ever since Hannah & I discovered a member of this band was in Mutual Appreciation we knew we'd be hooked- and prior to that hearing "You Ain't No Picasso" meant lovelovelove! With strained vocals, tinkly guitars and witty refrains it is on first listen ever-so-slightly annoying, but give it time because it transpires this song is one you can't live without! Refreshing every time you listen with guitar slicks and licks subtle enough to sound new with every listen. And there is out of tune, accapella-esque bits towards the end! Excellent...

Also I better say it now so I can look back on this and hopefully feel rather smug. Foals are going to become big aren't they?- annoyingly so. Like when The Wombats became transcendent with many social cliques and slightly mainstream and made us feel no longer niche but part of the masses.

If the mainstream can accept the math-rock, twee and sublime noises of Foals and truly appreciate them though well done I guess. Razorshite have dominated "indie" far too long- let some true musicians in I say...

And! speaking of new fads; thankfully the abomination that was 'neu/new/nu-rave" has gone. The last vestiges of day-glo are now in the January Topshop sales and the re-hash of the 90's Hacienda scene will only be brought up again when Klaxons attempt a second album (and lets face it we all danced along to "Atlantis to Interzone" with gutso) but now its time for a mellower sound to surge. Acoustic guitars, whimpering voices & pretty choruses in the form of Noah & the Whale, Emmy the Great, Lightspeed Champion, Laura Marling, Kid Harpoon, Johnny Flynn and the Sussex Wit, Tom Williams and Florence & The Machine are here at least for a while. Oh & that London scene like frYars, BBC & CDP! So the pretty singer/songwriters are around for a while- a lovelier sight than glow sticks. Nights (in London, poo!) like Young and Lost and Twee as Fuck look appealing and not to mention NEW MYSTERY JETS MATERIAL TO LOOK FORWARD TOO AS WELL AS AN ADAM GREEN TOUR.

Phew. Let 2008 commence!

Jade xx

bishop allen - you aint no picasso (zshare)

noah & the whale- 2 bodies, 1 heart(zshare)

noah & the whale- mary

foals- matheletics (savefile)

Josh Weller

To be perfectly honest, acoustic is a genre I normally detest however I have been recently converted due to the joys of Josh Weller. He is a quirky wonder with a strangely complementary style of both haunting and charming. Myspace has shown only a glimpse of his individuality, found both in his music and style. His innovative style of combining sumptuous and endearing lyrics with a powerful guitar back up may not be original but certainly remains divine. With lyrics such as “Darling sometimes a hate you” it’s hard not to be impressed by this Morrissey-esque irony that his tracks are steeped with. His influences are clearly seen in songs such as “I’m a Christian” heavily reeking of the 20’s blues mastered by Bo Diddley and Robert Johnson. Josh Weller is an artist who due to his inane eccentricity has allowed him the freedom of no genre shackles and is certainly a talent who deserves a break in 2008

Also whilst I’m here I wish the 3 people who read this a very Merry Christmas haha
Hannah
xxx

frYars

frYars. Sort of like Patrick Wolf. Sort of like Bowie. Sort of like all those other on-the-fringes-of-genre folk. Yet like Wolf there is a depth and some lyrical meaning coupled with a talent and penchant for weird instruments and distorted voice.
The collection of songs on his Myspace are addictive with their poppy, tinkling piano and pop-rock synth. Linked, unsuprisingly, with Bombay Bicycle Club and Cajun Dance Party frYars sophisticated take on music is both uplifting and depressing to a point. Marrying darker and more macabre lyrical content with danceable and pop/electro/alternative (according to good ol'Myspace) music this is endearing stuff
indeed.
All in all it is wistful indie at its finest with an unidentifiable something which lets it almost escape genre and with lyrics and poignant musical arrangements. Magical!
(open in new window!)
frYars- Madeline
frYars - happY
Jade xx

Get Dancey x4!

1. Mixing many a “woo-hoo”, hand claps and shouty shouty vocals And What Will Be Left of Them are refreshingly upbeat! They nod to the 60s and have punkish tendencies binding it all together with male/female duel vocals.
They’re songs are familiar from the first listen. “Come with me” wraps the listener up in its recognisable guitars and synth infused chorus whilst “Hi-fi” takes a mellower take on the peppy, up-beat sound. It is “Four Years to be an Artist” though which is distinctively (and instinctively?) good with its charming lyrics and relentless beat.
And What Will Be Left of Them?- 4 Years
And What Will Be Left of Them?- Hi Fi

2. Friendly Fires manage to marry what can only be described as ‘funky’ beats with repetitive lyrics and smooth as you like vocals. A dance act for once not riding on the tail-coats of 90’s rave nostalgia and hopefully not a glow stick in sight. They should remain a credible band for at least 2008! Although it can make you wary when you see a dance infused track remixed Nightmoves remix of “On Board” handles it well adding enough to make it interesting but taking nothing away. And if you don’t end up waving your hands in the air (yes, like you just don’t care) to “Paris” then shame on you!
Friendly Fires (Nightmoves Remix)- On Board
Friendly Fires- Paris

3. I can’t get enough of Crystal Castles at the moment. After dispelling them to the back of my mind for most of this year I had it down as annoying noise that was neither compelling or hard to do. Oh how times change; after seeing them live and also taking the time to listen to gems like “Alice Practice” and “Crimewave” my opinion has changed quite the bit. Jumping from subtle electronic tinges of beeps and bleeps blended over the stylised vocals to the thrash thrash thrash and high pitched yelps they create un-genrefiable dance/ thrash/ hard-core/ rave/ indie/music. End of.
Crystal Castles- Alic Practice

Crystal Castles- Crimewave

4. Finally The Je Ne Sais Quoi have more than a hint of the 1980s in their track "Chameleon. Distinctly danceable beats laden over with harmonising vocals and glittering synth makes their songs a more mellow take on dancing. With multi-faceted songs in which insturments skim and slide over once another like "Chamelon" their harmonise, Swedish twang and smooth execution of the song makes them charming.

The Je Ne Sais Quoi- Chameleon

Jade xx

teenagersintokyo

Teenagersintokyo are actually in their twenties and from Australia. "Twentysomethingsinsydney" doesn't have the same ring to it though; luckily their songs are divine.

Blending simplistic electro and brooding bass notes they create electrifying dance music. "Robocat" evokes a sense of a lighter Bonde Do Role but still with an edge of dark. With Karen O-esque vocals and various screeches and whimpers towards the end the beat carries it through. Sultry and with blinding synth "End It Tonight" is reminiscent of Theoretical Girls darker take on electro; forget NYPC and CSS's candy coated version of new rave- this tenser version of danceable songs combine good nights with the morning after and more.

What with one bloke amidst four females teenagersintokyo sort of escape genre; neither girl group or boy and with the ability to write great lyrics but no concept of grammer (if their name is anything to go by). Either way they are quite addictive and its only a pity they live in Austrailia & I can't see them live yet.

Jade xx

End it Tonight- teenagersintokyo

Robocat - teenagersintokyo