THE TOWNE: Exclusive interview with Seattle-based power poppers The Crsuh! Also features a review of their brand new single "The Towne"!

 

Seattle trio The Crush had have a huge year with the release of their debut EP "Future Blimps" and the release of two singles, most recently "The Towne". The band features Kira Wilson on bass, Jacob Thiede on guitar and Daniel Cutting on the drums.

 

We recently caught up with the band to have a chat which you can read below. We have also written up a review of "The Towne".

 

Enjoy!

 

 

PART 1 - THE INTERVIEW

 

Hi guys, thanks for taking the time to chat to us. The first question that we ask every artist is what your first musical memory is and what kind of records were on around the house when you were younger?

 

Daniel: "My dad played a bunch of 60's music around the house, especially the song 'Turn! Turn! Turn!' by the Byrds. I got my grunge fix from older siblings."

  

Jacob: "Mine mainly consists of Wings’ ‘Band On The Run” and ELO’s Greatest Hits albums. My dad was really into The Beatles and had a bunch of memorabilia, books and records about them too, so those were probably my earliest memories of music."

 

Kira: "I heard a mish mash of 80’s/90’s pop, new wave, punk, grunge with notes of 60’s jangle. My first memories of music were passenging in the car on long road trips with my parents, singing along to Talking Heads, Blondie, Lou Reed, Nirvana, and The Monkees, and MANY others."

 

How did The Crush originally come together?

 

Jacob: "Well, Kira and I have been going out for a while, and were in bands as more of supporting roles before we decided to hash some songs out and start The Crush! We met Daniel once we moved to Seattle and he writes songs, drums, and plays guitar as well."

 

Daniel: "I think the cosmos had something to do with it."

 

Kira: "I am the cosmos!" 

 

Where did the band name The Crush come from?

 

Kira: "When I was thinking of band names for this project I wanted to think of something lighthearted, cheezy, and classic all the same… Mostly I just wanted a band name that sounded catchy and this name worked for us!"

 

Jacob: "Definitely not that 90’s Alicia Silverstone movie!"

 

You, as a band, are from Seattle. Musically, Seattle has quite a rich heritage. Mainly from the grunge movement that grew there in the 80s. Is there any pressure as a young Seattle band to follow this and what is the scene like there at the moment?

 

Jacob: "At the moment there are so many amazing bands out there doing a lot of garage, surf, and early-psyc influenced stuff. This is great because you can always go out and see a killer show almost every night of the week here. Given that most of the music has a high-energy, rock 'n’ roll edge I can see how grunge would play some influence on the scene here. As far as Northwest musical heritage goes, I’m much more into The Sonics, The Wailers, The Kingsmen, The Fastbacks, and The Exploding Hearts than grunge though."

 

Daniel: "I think it's expected for at least one band member to wear a flannel, one to have long hair, one to be female, and one to be exceptionally good at an instrument. I got the flannel and long hair, Kira does as well plus she's a she, and Jake is a splendid guitar player. Plus we fit in with the garage rockers, so we stand a good chance. All of these characteristics are natural of course."

 

Kira: "I'm just a girl Daniel! Oh ya, like Gwen Stefani and No Doubt...nobody will remember you guys in three years but I’ll be on MTV 'n’ shit tearin' it up! What was the question again?"

  

Your most recent EP is entitled “Future Blimps”. Why?

 

Jacob: "Umm..."

 

Daniel: "Well blimps are a thing of the past, and I wondered to myself what a blimp would be like in the future if we kept improving on them. And our music is kind of like that. We're influenced primarily by 60's music, but adding our own modern twist to it. But if you want the truth, I really just compiled two random words together and they sounded cool and ubiquitous so we decided to use them!"

 

Kira: "What Daniel said… It’s funny that you ask because this EP felt particularly hard to name. We shared a lot of laughs in the studio trying to weed through all of the joke names we thought of for this album!"

 

For people who haven’t heard the EP yet, how would you describe it?

 

Daniel: "Future blimp-esque."

 

Jacob: "Kind of like a mixture of Creed, Kenny G, Barbra Streisand and GG Allen."

 

Kira: "The recipe for The Crush sound: add The Nerves, The Go Gos, Teenage Fanclub and a dash of Shocking Blue. At least that's what I’m going for (sorry Jake)!"

 

The lead track, “Never Gonna Stop”, is brilliant – jangly pop at its best! What is this track about and what influenced it?

 

Kira: "The song is kinda about Jake and I just being super busy and trying to fit all the fun we could into the summer before we had to go back to school and the weather got cold. Glad ya dig it!"

 

Daniel: "We needed a song that started off with drums."

 

Jacob: "Agreed! For 'Never Gonna Stop', I wrote it in the summer when I was doing a lot of traveling. When you travel around, you feel so busy all the time and like there is so much to do and so much going on. And then when you get home you realize there are still shows, parties, and so many other awesome things to do - kind of like catching-up on your life while you’ve been away!"

 

What’s up next for The Crush?

 

Daniel: "Future Blimps 2 EP?"

 

Jacob: "More shows, Trash-Humpers calendar shoots, stalking Paul Westerberg...another single by the end of the year perhaps? Who knows?"

 

Kira: "Probably the cops that interrogated us after they caught you stalking Paul Westerberg!"

 

Final question – who would be in your future supergroup?

 

Daniel: "Three of myself; one for guitar, bass, and drums. Plus a different singer for every song. The band would be called Blank & The Daniels, or The Daniels feat."

 

Kira: "Chrissie Hynde on guitar and backing vox, Kathleen Hanna on lead vox, myself on bass and backup vox, Moe Tucker on drums."

 

Jacob: "Hmm...tough question. Probably the guitarist from Powder, a resurrected Brian Jones, Paul Weller, Pete Thomas from Elvis Costello and the Attractions on drums, Sam from Foxygen on vocals, and Dave Berkham on bass! I’d just play the triangle or something and drive the tour bus!"

 

 

PART 2 - THE QUICKFIRE ROUND

 

Favourite Beatle?

 

Daniel: "Lennon."

 

Jacob: "Don't ask me that! My head might explode."

 

Kira: "Paul! He's my bass idol, and a total songwriting genius!"

 

Favourite band or singer?

 

Kira: "Ooh, this is a close one! It's a tie between The Beatles, The Pretenders and The Ramones."

 

Jacob: "Rolling Stones, have been for about a decade."

 

Favourite new band or singer?

 

Daniel: "Tame Impala."

 

Jacob: "Temples or Foxygen."

 

Kira: "Tacocat!"

 

Favourite song?

 

Jacob: "At this very moment? The Mod Lang by Big Star. Oh yes."

 

Kira: "Zig Zag Wonderer! Captain Beefheart! Nice bass part!"

 

Favourite album?

 

Jacob: "Revolver."

 

Kira: "Release Me by The Like."

 

Vinyl, CD or download?

 

Kira: "Vinyl! You can't beat that sound. Tapes are rad too!"

 

Daniel: "Vinyl for sure, but they can be expensive. I've been purchasing CD's more lately because they're cheaper."

 

Jacob: "Download for free to get into it; then go see a show and buy the vinyl!"

 

When you press shuffle on your iPod, what is the first track that comes on?

 

Daniel: "Kurt Vile - Breathin' Out."

 

Jacob: "Probably something by The Jam."

 

Kira: "Shelter Song by Temples."

 

Style icon?

 

Jacob: "Paul Weller, Pete Townshend, Miles Kane, Liam Gallagher..."

 

Kira: "Twiggy for throwback style, and the Calvin sisters from Bleached for modern style."

 

Favourite film?

 

Jacob: "Goodfellas."

 

Favourite TV show?

 

Kira: "The early seasons of Weeds are the best!"

 

Daniel: "Hard to choose, but Breaking Bad is up there."

 

Jacob: "Curb Your Enthusiasm and The Mighty Boosh for sure!"

 

Who would play you in a film of your life?

 

Kira: "Anne Hathaway!"

 

Daniel: "Jim Sturgess, Wiley Wiggins in the 90's, Tom Cruise. All based on looks."

 

Jacob: "Young Dustin Hoffman or young Al Pacino."

 

Favourite food?

 

Daniel: "Pizza. My life is pizza."

 

Jacob: "The pizza Daniel makes! Or Pad Thai..."

 

Kira: "Swimming rama noodles. Yum!"

 

Football team?

 

Kira: "I love football! I used to play when I was younger, I do like playing the game more than watching..."

 

Daniel: "None."

 

Jacob: "Well we live in Seattle so go Sounders! Not much of a footballer, but I like watching FC Barcelona and Real Madrid when I am at a bar."

 

 

PART 3 - THE REVIEW

 

The new single by The Crush, entitled "The Towne", is certainly a very strong power pop track. The opening riff, and the riff that purveys through the track, is classic vintage rock and roll. Think "Satisfaction" by The Stones or "The Riverboat Song" by Ocean Colour Scene, if there's any justice that riff should go down in history alongside such songs.

 

Kira's vocals are on form too and could be compared to Blondie's Debbie Harry with a hint of Nico's days with The Velvet Underground. And of course, the drumming is energised and driving.

 

The lyrics too are on the point and aggressive with lines such as 'I don't love you anymore' and 'somebody get me out of this town(e)".

 

All in all, this could be the best song by The Crush yet! Check it out, it's free from their Soundcloud page!

 

 

Hope you enjoyed this feature on The Crush, be sure to check out our previous feature on Crash Club!

 

Check out The Crush here - https://www.facebook.com/thecrushseattle

 

To keep up to date with future blog features you can like our Facebook page here - https://www.facebook.com/aldorabritainrecords

 

AB RECORDS

RECONDITION: We have a chat to Neal from Scottish electro rockers Crash Club and also review their brand new single, "Recondition", featuring Ian MacKinnon of Medicine Men!

 

Crash Club are a Scottish electro rock band that specialise in combining the best elements of the gritty electro world and the old school rock and roll world. They have recently supported Klaxons and have played a couple of exciting Halloween gigs as well.

 

The band have recently released their second single, entitled "Recondition". The track features Medicine Men's very own Ian MacKinnon on vocals and is a fine follow up to their debut single, "Jawbreaker". It is available as a free download via Crash Club's official Soundcloud page.

 

In this feature we catch up with bass player Neal McHarg to have a chat about all things Crash Club and some other stuff too*. We also write up a review of "Recondition".

 

Enjoy!

 

* Interview was done a couple of months back so the gig dates listed are from August/September!

 

 

PART 1 - THE INTERVIEW

 

Hi Neal, thanks for taking the time to chat to us. First question we want to ask is what your first musical memory is and what kind of records were on around the house when you were younger?

 

Neal: "My first musical memory would probably be when I was in Primary 7, I used to copy music I liked from the radio onto a tape, probably really dodgy stuff as well and the challenge was to try do it with the DJ being on the tape. Was always crap at that though! For me and Aran, our Carol (our mum) never really had music on around the house, it would be at the weekends we'd hear our first proper musical influences even if we didn't know it then, my auld boy's misses at the time loved Neil Young, Christy Moore, The Smiths, Oasis, Stone Roses, loads of other stuff too but can't remember."

 

How did Crash Club begin?

 

Neal: "The band began when Aran and myself had just left our first band. Sammy wanted to try remix a track we had done with that band so we popped up to the home studio he had, and before long we'd kinda moved a million miles away from the remix and started writing some beats, that was the beginning for us. Probably took another year before the idea of going live came about though."

 

Where did the band name come from?

 

Neal: "It was Sammy that came up with the name, it was actually between two names, Crash Club or Clash Club."

 

Your debut single was entitled “Jawbreaker” and was a really strong track. What was the tune about and what would you say influenced it?

 

Neal: "See it's funny because when we're writing the actual tunes on the synths and then the live parts, we pretty much just go with the flow. The track names came from what we think the track reminds us of, in this case 'Jawbreaker' reminded us of a kinda swagger towards a fight. 'Recondition' is different though, it's title came right out of the song!"

 

Your upcoming single “Recondition” is a collaboration with Ian MacKinnon of Medicine Men and Selective Service. How did this collaboration come about?

 

Neal: "Like all the songs we collaborate on, it's with our good mates. Ian is a brilliant lad, a good mate of ours, and just so happens we loved the bands he's been in, including his first band Dresden (long before I even knew him). We played a show with the old Selective Service and we kinda suggested the idea, than it was decided one drunk night out this would definitely have to happen. Track was sent over and two days later the vocal demo was done."

 

You recently played King Tut’s. This must have been a dream come true, especially for a Scottish band. How did it feel playing this gig and how did it go down?

 

Neal: "King Tut's was a great night, everything came together perfect on the night, DF couldn't be any more helpful in letting us do what we needed to do to, the lighting show went down great which added to the overall feel of the show, and the fact we had two of the singers joining us on the night (Ian and Tragic) was a good way to say this is what we can do."

 

What does the rest of 2014 hold for Crash Club?

 

Neal: "We've got a late night rave to do in Edinburgh on the 23rd / early hours of the 24th of August. Tenement Trail Festival on the 4th of October and there's a couple of things still to be confirmed for the last two months of the year which will be a great way to write off a productive 2014."

 

Final question – who would be in your dream super group?

 

Neal: "That's hard, my dream super group... Personally, the Primal Scream of 'Xtrmntr' was the dream super group with Shields, Mani, the Throb all still ripping it up."

 

 

PART 2 - THE QUICKFIRE ROUND

 

Favourite Beatle?

 

Neal: "Harrison."

 

Favourite band or singer?

 

Neal: "Black Angels or Oasis."

 

Favourite new band or singer?

 

Neal: "Jagwar Ma."

 

Favourite song?

 

Neal: "Wrote For Luck or Swastika Eyes."

 

Favourite album?

 

Neal: "Xtrmntr."

 

Vinyl, CD or download?

 

Neal: "Vinyl by miles."

 

When you press shuffle on your iPod, what is the first track that comes on?

 

Neal: "Just done it there and got the legend that is Eddy Grant!"

 

Style icon?

 

Neal: "If it's made by Tenten then I'll probably wear it."

 

Favourite film?

 

Neal: "End Of The Century documentary about the Ramones. Proper film wise, Goodfellas."

 

Favourite TV show?

 

Neal: "Sopranos."

 

Who would play you in a film of your life?

 

Neal: "One of the Osmonds!"

 

Favourite food?

 

Neal: "Chicken."

 

Football team?

 

Neal: "Ah, best leave that a wee surprise."

 

 

PART 3 - THE REVIEW

 

Crash Club's second single "Recondition" is out now as a free download via their Soundcloud page.

 

The track is classic Crash Club; a gritty electronic rock number. Sammy's beats are brilliant and tight as always and the McHarg brothers are on form too. The guest vocalist, Ian MacKinnon from Medicine Men, brings plenty to the overall feel of the song as well; sometimes straight out rock 'n' roll in his approach, other times a bit more mysterious.

 

Overall, the track does not disappoint at all and follows on quite nicely from the likes of "Jawbreaker", "Tesla" and the anthem that is "Joy".

 

Keep it coming Crash Club!

 

 

Hope you enjoyed this feature on Crash Club, be sure to check out our previous feature on The Struts and Pariah Soul!

 

Be sure to check out Crash Club at the following link - https://www.facebook.com/crashclubmusic

 

To stay up to date with future features you can like our Facebook page at the following link - https://www.facebook.com/aldorabritainrecords

 

AB RECORDS

ROLL UP: Last Sunday night King Tut's hosted an evening of rock and roll featuring blues rock trio Pariah Soul and the sensational indie glam rockers The Struts! Here's a little review!

 

Last Sunday one of Glasgow's most famous music venues played host to an incredible, raucous, modern rock and roll show! The venue was of course the brilliant and intimate King Tut's Wah Wah Hut and the band was The Struts! Support on the night came from Franklin and blues rock trio Pariah Soul!

 

Unfortunately we showed up after Franklin's set but we have posted a review of the remaining two acts below!

 

Enjoy!

 

 

First up were local boys Pariah Soul. The trio immediately impressed with a future blues rock anthem in the form of "45". The tune and the performance of the band demonstrated a simplicity lifted from punk rock bands such as the Ramones and the Pistols combined with a slightly more complex approach hinting towards great blues rock bands such as Led Zep. The set continued in this vein and reached a climax with the final song to be performed. The track was entitled "Let The Rain Fall" and was a definite highlight in the set.

 

All in all, Pariah Soul are definitely a band to look out for and their tunes will continue to grow and become bigger and better. But for now you can enjoy their debut EP on their Soundcloud page and hopefully front man John McGuigan will be able to invest in a new pair of jeans! For those who were there, you know what I mean!

 

 

Next up were The Struts.

 

For those unfamiliar with them, they are an indie rock group who are influenced heavily by the golden age of glam - bands like T. Rex and Slade. In interviews they have stated their sound and image to combine "the swagger of The Stones" with "the sophistication of Queen".

 

Sure, that's quite a big statement to live up to BUT The Struts do it and more. Everything from their intro music (the epilogue from Guy Ritchie's Rock n Rolla film) to the show they put on is top and incomparable to anything else around at the moment.

 

They opened with "Roll Up" and the shear catchiness of this tune, combined with Luke Spiller's energetic showmanship, certainly got the crowd going. This was followed up by a trio of the biggest, most anthemic singles of 2014 - "Could Have Been Me", "Kiss This" and "Put Your Money On Me".

 

"Could Have Been Me" was simply off the scale and that tune will certainly be filling stadiums one day soon. Anthemic is the only word that you could possibly use to describe it. "Kiss This" demonstrated the brilliance of Adam Slack's guitar licks which add a lot to the overall Struts sound. "Put Your Money On Me" did not fail to impress and the danceability (yes, that's a word!) of the track left no one in the audience stationary.

 

The rhythm section of The Struts (bassist Jed Elliott and drummer Gethin Davies) are world class also and provide the song's with their driving power. After some more crowd interaction from Mr. Spiller, containing some X-rated humour, the band launched into "She Makes Me Feel". The song's melody references "Waterloo Sunset" but a 100 miles an hour faster - so the wordy 'catchy' springs to mind again!

 

More songs from the "Everybody Wants" studio album were played, including a sensational rendition of "My Machine", before the band came to a cover. Which was of course a song from the mighty Tyrannosaurus Rex, from "The Slider" album - "Get It On". This again demonstrates the tightness and expert instrumentation of Adam, Jed and Gethin (not to mention Luke's showmanship which still hadn't let up). The rendition of this song was, quite simply put, perfect and even featured a bit of improvisation when Luke came down and (literally) sat down amongst the crowd.

The main set concluded with the high adrenaline anthem that is "Black Swan", after which Luke immediately collapsed clutching the mic stand! (all part of the theatrics I assume, I hope...) anyway, the mic was lucky to survive the fall!

 

 
 Luke and Adam returned to the stage a short while later to perform an "acoustic" rendition of Kiss This b-side, "Matter Of Time", but on an electric guitar... This was definitely a great sing-along moment though.

For the finale the whole band returned to the stage for the pogo-along, sing-along, dance-along glory that is "Where Did She Go". Which is, yep, you guessed it, catchy as hell! The final chorus seemed to be repeated endlessly and Luke found time to bring the whole venue to their knees before instructing them to "get up and dance" one last time for the final chorus!

urely amazing, most definitely the best live show of the year and my advice would be to catch this band shortly, in a nice intimate space before they take to the stadiums!
 

 

Pariah Soul Setlist

 

45

Bring Me Down

Don't Come Easy

Tears Ain't For Running

Lies

Let The Rain Fall

 

The Struts Setlist

Roll Up
Could Have Been Me
Kiss This
Put Your Money On Me
She Makes Me Feel
My Machine
You & I
Dirty Sexy Money
Get It On
Let's Make This Happen Tonight
Black Swan
-
Matter Of Time
Where Did She Go
 

Hope you enjoyed this feature on Pariah Soul and The Struts, be sure to check out our previous feature on The Empty Hearts!

You can check out The Struts at the following link - http://www.thestruts.com/

You can check out Pariah Soul at the following link - https://www.facebook.com/Pariahsoul

Keep up to date with future interviews and reviews at the following link - https://www.facebook.com/aldorabritainrecords

 

AB RECORDS



I FOUND YOU AGAIN: Exclusive feature on The Empty Hearts, featuring members of Blondie, The Chesterfield Kings, The Cars and The Romantics!

 

The Empty Hearts are a classic rock and roll super group featuring Elliot Easton (of The Cars), Clem Burke (of Blondie), Wally Palmer (of The Romantics) and Andy Babiuk (of The Chesterfield Kings). Now, we all can list a whole variety of super groups that have not lived up to the sum of their parts, most recently perhaps is Mick Jagger's rock/reggae collective SuperHeavy. However, The Empty Hearts have lived up to the sum of their parts and more. They have recorded a storming debut LP and have just embarked on their US tour.

 

In the feature below we caught up with Elliot Easton to discuss the new group, the album and some other musical (and non-musical) stuff! We also have a go at reviewing The Empty Hearts superb debut LP!

 

Enjoy!

 

 

 

PART 1 - THE INTERVIEW

 

Hi Elliot, thanks for taking the time to have a chat with us. First question that we ask to every artist is what your first musical memory is and what kind of records were on around the house when you were younger?

 

Elliot: "First musical memory was Elvis Presley on TV, singing cowboys like Roy Rogers and Gene Autry, Eastern European classical like Khachaturian and Rimsky Korsikov, pop like Judy Garland, calypso records by Harry Belafonte and Oscar Levant playing 'Rhapsody In Blue'. My mom was a Julliard-trained singer so there was lots of music in the house!"

 

You have recently started this incredible new project called The Empty Hearts. The band is quite literally a supergroup, featuring members of The Cars, Blondie, The Chesterfield Kings and The Romantics. How did the band come to be?

 

Elliot: "To my mind it really grew out of an idea Andy Babiuk had. He called us all and asked us what we thought of the idea of forming a group. I like everyone in the band, and I respect their musicality so I said yes. We're spread all over the country and I thought it would be quite challenging to get it together but it worked out really well."

 

Where did the name, The Empty Hearts, come from?

 

Elliot: "The name came from Little Steven Van Zandt. He's a friend of Andy's (The Chesterfield Kings even appear in an episode of The Sopranos) and had a list of band names that he thought were cool. The Empty Hearts was on that list and we all agreed that it was a great name, so we went with it!"

 

The eponymous LP was produced by the legend that is Ed Stasium. How did he get involved and what would you say that he brought to the record?

 

Elliot: "We all go back a ways with Eddie. For example, I played on Peter Wolf's (from the J Geils Band) first solo album 'Lights Out' in the early 80's and the others have worked with him over the years so he was an obvious choice, for his friendship, talent, sense of humor, and personality. I think he brought an unbiased ear to the music, essentially become a 'fifth member' for the duration of the recording process. We knew he'd be getting great sounds in the control room, so we were free to concentrate on the music."

 

For people that haven’t hear the record yet, how would you describe it?

 

Elliot: "I'd probably describe it as a modern rock record that tips it's hat to the golden age of guitar based rock, circa 1969-1971. It has a classic vibe, but we were just being true to the music that inspired us early in our lives and careers, which to me is still the best. However, this is not a retro vibe, the influences are there but I feel that it still sounds fresh and new."

 

There are two particular tracks I want to bring up. Firstly, the first track from the album to be released to the public, “I Don’t Want Your Love (If You Don’t Want Me Anymore)”, a very strong classic rock ‘n’ roll tune. What is this track about and what influenced it?

 

Elliot: "Well I feel qualified to answer this one as I wrote everything except the verse lyrics, which Wally did a fantastic job on. What's it about? It's about I don't want your love if you don't want me anymore! Seriously though, I had a definite Beatles 'White Album' vibe in mind and hopefully that comes through!"

 

Secondly, another highlight of the album for me, “I Found You Again”, which hints at a bit of a country/Americana vibe. What is this track about?

 

Elliot: "I suppose it's about finding that which is right in front of you all along. You should ask Wally. I'm very proud of the guitar on that one. I was playing a regular Fender Telecaster but simulating a pedal steel guitar. I think it came off really well."

 

As well as the four of you Ian McLagan also plays on the album. How did he get involved?

 

Elliot: "We asked him and he said yes!"

 

What is on the cards for the rest of 2014? And will you be touring the UK at all?

 

Elliot: "Yes, at this point, touring is our immediate goal. We want to have a great time playing in front of audiences all over the world, and certainly the UK."

 

Final question – who would be in your dream super group?

 

Elliot: "You're looking at it!"

 

 

PART 2 - THE QUICKFIRE ROUND

 

Favourite Beatle?

 

Elliot: "John, but Paul is a very close second!"

 

Favourite band?

 

Elliot: "The Beatles."

 

Favourite new band?

 

Elliot: "The Strypes."

 

Favourite song?

 

Elliot: "That's a tough one, maybe "Something In The Air" by Thunderclap Newman."

 

Favourite album?

 

Elliot: "Revolver."

 

Vinyl, CD or download?

 

Elliot: "Vinyl just sounds the best but downloads are so convenient that I think they have their place."

When you press shuffle on your iPod, what is the first track that comes on?

 

Elliot: "Usually Billy Strange, The Ventures or Les Baxter exotica."

 

Style icon?

 

Elliot: "Brian Jones."

 

Favourite film?

 

Elliot: "Goldfinger."

 

Favourite TV show?

 

Elliot: "Shindig."

 

Who would play you in a film of your life?

 

Elliot: "Leo."

 

Favourite food?

 

Elliot: "Southern Italian, Kosher Deli."

 

Football team?

 

Elliot: "Liverpool FC, New York Jets."

 

 

 

PART 3 - THE REVIEW

 

The Empty Hearts eponymous debut LP certainly lives up to its credentials. The band themselves have a line up featuring members of Blondie, The Chesterfield Kings, The Cars and The Romantics. On top of this there is a guest appearance by Faces keyboardist Ian McLagan and the record was produced by Ed Stasium who has previously produced records for the Ramones, Talking Heads and Motorhead.  

 

The record certainly kicks off with a blast with the anthemic trio of "90 Miles An Hour Down A Dead End Street", "I Don't Want Your Love (If You Don't Want Me)" and "(I See) No Way Out". These three songs really set the tone for the rest of the record; one of anthemic, classic, vintage rock and roll. However, the record is not all flat out and there are also some slower numbers such as the mysterious-sounding "Fill An Empty Heart" and the country rock gem of "I Found You Again". The Empty Hearts also hint towards a hard rock influence with "Perfect World", "Just A Little Too Hard" and "Soul Deep". The latter of which also has a slightly funk-driven element in the rhythm section. The album goes on to conclude in a similar fashion to which it started with "Meet Me 'Round The Corner".

 

The record on the whole has a very punk feel to it and a very back-to-basics kind of approach and this is no bad thing. In fact, this is exactly what makes this record what it is; a great classic rock and roll album.

 

 

Hope you enjoyed this feature on The Empty Hearts, be sure to check out our previous feature on Gregg Cave!

 

You can check out The Empty Hearts at the following link - http://www.theemptyhearts.com/

 

Keep up to date with future interviews and reviews at the following link - https://www.facebook.com/aldorabritainrecords

 

AB RECORDS

OLD ENGLAND GROWN NEW: A brand new feature on Gregg Cave's latest studio album, "Old England Grown New"! Features exclusive interviews and a review!

 

Gregg Cave is one of the many talented singer-songwriters that are coming out of the UK's underground folk scene. Gregg very effectively combines old traditional tunes with his new contemporary compositions. He has recently released a studio album entitled "Old England Grown New" and continues to tour the UK, both as a solo artist and with a backing band.

 

We caught up with Gregg recently to have a chat about his music and his latest album, it can be read below. Also, be sure to check out our review of the album which is also in this feature.

 

Enjoy!

 

 

PART 1 - THE INTERVIEW

 

Hi Gregg, hope you're well. The first question we always ask acts that are new to the blog is what kind of records were on around the house when you were younger and who are your big influences?

 

Gregg: "I was brought up on a steady flow of folk rock and prog rock. Bands such as Lindisfarne, Jethro Tull, The Strawbs, Tom Petty and Aphrodites Child. One of the biggest influences from my childhood was Alan Hull, the frontman and songwriter for Lindisfarne."

 

As you know, we have only just discovered your music via your new studio album, "Old England Grown New". Can you give is a brief overview of your career to date?

 

Gregg: "I've been writing and singing in public since school days. I've fronted all manner of indie type bands through my teens. I gradually got more into folk rock and enjoying mixing old trad songs with electric instruments and mixing them with my stuff. I put together a band called CAVE and we played all over England and bits of Europe, playing festivals and toilet sized venues, one of our highlights being Sidmouth Folk Festival. I'm now finding that going by my own name as a solo artist is a lot less restrictive but I still enjoy playing and recording with musicians that I've been playing with most my adult life!"

 

Your new LP is a great folk rock album and sure to do very well. It has a very English feel to it. Would you say that is a fair assessment and was this what you were aiming for?

 

Gregg: "Like a lot of writers I didn't set out to make a particular thing but as the songs started being recorded there was definitely a theme that came out and I am quite happy with that. You're not the first person to say that it has an English feel to it so maybe you're right!"

 

The album features three traditional compositions. One thing that has always fascinated me is the vast array of traditional songs that are recorded by folk artists and they all seem to be as good as the last! Where do you discover these beautiful, old songs and how do you choose which traditional songs that you want to perform or record?

 

Gregg: "I read a lot of old books and note down anything interesting that I hear or read. I've picked up songs from my local town library and made the pilgrimage to the famous 'Cecil Sharp house'. My passion is giving the old songs a relevance to where we are now. That can be whether they have a good beat or melody to get a night started or the words still ring true today. The title track of the album I believe is a good example of the latter."

 

One of the traditional songs you recorded, "The Bonny Lass Of Anglesey", features a fine fiddle part from folk legend Dave Swarbrick. How did he get involved and what was it like recording with such a legendary figure?

 

Gregg: "I met Swarb by booking him to play a gig in my local town. I then crossed paths with him a year later when performing at the Cambridge Folk Festival. I mentioned the album and he was up for it. It was a pleasure and an honour to work with him."

 

It has to be said that the original tracks on the album are just as good, if not better, as the traditional ones. One of my favourites is "The Bunny Run". This track does have a very classic folk feel to it but still has a very fresh edge. What influenced the track and what is it about?

 

Gregg: "'The Bunny Run' is the nickname given to a main road that leads into Northampton town centre. These days it's an infamous pub crawl and back in the day young people would wear their best rags and 'court' down this road. My nan told me this so it must be true! That inspired the song and its evolved into a song that talks about landmarks in my hometown, some of which have been torn down and ruined forever by bad council planning but the people will always be linked by the river that flows through the town and our blood itself."

 

You say that you are organising a tour in support of the album. How is this coming and can you release any details to us?

 

Gregg: "Yes, we plan to be on the road throughout the end of this year and into 2015. I'm putting together a new year tour in Germany and we'll be hitting the folk clubs and festivals in England. Gigging is what we do all the time. So my advice is to keep an eye on the website as we are always announcing shows."

 

After finishing the tour what is up next for you? A new album?

 

Gregg: "Like I said the gigging doesn't really stop. I reckon by the tail end of next year I'll be looking at getting some more stuff onto record if not before. I am writing for an exciting project that's a bit secret at the moment so hopefully that'll get me out and about more too, any news will be on the website."

 

Final question, who would be in your dream super group?

 

Gregg: "Drums - Ginger Baker, bass - Dave Pegg, guitar - Jimi Hendrix, spoons - Miley Cyrus and lead vocal - Woody Guthrie."

 

 

PART 2 - THE QUICKFIRE ROUND

 

Favourite Beatle?

 

Gregg: "George."

 

Favourite band or singer?

 

Gregg: "Wilco."

 

Favourite new band or singer?

 

Gregg: "Temples."

 

Favourite song?

 

Gregg: "Over The Hill by John Martyn."

 

Favourite album?

 

Gregg: "First Utterance by Comus."

 

Vinyl, CD or download?

 

Gregg: "CD."

 

When you press shuffle on your iPod, what is the first track that comes on?

 

Gregg: "What's an iPod?"

 

Style icon?

 

Gregg: "Lovejoy."

 

Favourite film?

 

Gregg: "Excalibur, the 80's version."

 

Favourite TV show?

 

Gregg: "In The Night Garden."

 

Who would play you in a film of your life?

 

Gregg: "Ian McShane."

 

Favourite food?

 

Gregg: "Indian."

 

Football team?

 

Gregg: "The Hammers."

 

 

PART 3 - THE REVIEW

 

Gregg Cave's brand new studio album is sure to become a classic English folk album. Entitled "Old England Grown New" it blends contemporary folk sounds with the more traditional approach as well. There is an array of different approaches to the tracks; "Aida's Lullaby" is a solo instrumental, "Last Day" (featuring words taken from a John Clare poem) is just a duet with fiddle and melodeon and tracks such as "The Bunny Run" are brilliant folk rock songs with a full electric band.

 

It certainly starts with a bang with a fine rendition of the traditional ballad "The Bonny Lass Of Anglesey". This track also features some fine fiddle work from none other than Mr Dave Swarbrick who gives the track a very traditional feel. The percussion and thumping bass also adds to this and bring the recording to life, giving it a very live feel.

 

There are a further two traditional tracks featured on the album; the title track and "An Atheist's Grave". Both of which are pure and brilliant, however Gregg Cave also has the talent of being able to write great folk songs in his own right. "Born Of This Land" perhaps demonstrates this best and is a song that Richard Thompson would've been proud of writing. Again, this track features a great fiddle part. "The Bunny Run" and "Ancient Hymn" also provide highlights amongst the original compositions, as does album closer "William Morris-Wat Tyler"; a beautiful ballad.

 

Cave is not however purely limiting himself to the folk genre and the Americana / country and western influence is evident on "Down By The Lake" and "Ancient Hymn", both original compositions from the Northamptonshire singer-songwriter. These tracks are comparable to modern alternative country artists such as Ryan Adams and Eric Church, so there's definitely variety in this album.

 

The lead vocal throughout is also exceptional and deserves a mention. It sounds as if it has been lifted from an early Fairport Convention album, which is no bad thing!

 

Overall, this album is as good as it gets in modern folk rock. It has a solid footing in old, traditional approaches but Cave brings a very nice and fresh original take on the folk music genre.

 

 

Hope you enjoyed this feature on Gregg Cave, be sure to check out previous feature on Crash Club!

 

You can check Gregg Cave out at the following link - http://www.greggcave.com/

 

Keep up to date with future interviews and reviews at the following link - https://www.facebook.com/aldorabritainrecords

 

AB RECORDS

JOY: Scottish electro rockers Crash Club bring Joy to Edinburgh with a late night gig at AMMA!

Crash Club @ AMMA - The Review

Scotland's finest up and coming electro rockers Crash Club played a breathtaking, late night set at one of Edinburgh's finest indie venues last month. The venue was of course AMMA and the band really brought the place to life. The set was fully instrumental which was surprising considering all their releases to date have featured lyrics and vocals; many also have strong, stadium-like choruses, think "Joy", "Jawbreaker", "Recondition". However the instrumental approach at this gig brought the songs to life even more and put an emphasis on the strong dance nature of the tracks. It also made you realise the great melodic hooks, perhaps demonstrated best in the penultimate track in the set, "Joy", which was quite simply sensational to witness live and probably the highlight of the night. The set itself opened with "Good Beat" and was certainly well received as anything and the new tunes ("Outro" and "Go-Kane") were also first class and give you a fine snapshot as to where this band is heading. These were mixed in well with the oldies such as "Tesla" and "Jawbreaker". All in all, the Crash Club live experience is definitely something that you need to catch and catch it soon; you won't be disappointed. 

Setlist

Good Beat

Jawbreaker

Tesla

Recondition

Go-Kane

Joy

Outro 

Aran McHarg - The Quick Fire Round

We also caught up with Crash Club guitarist Aran McHarg to get a glimpse into some of his likes and dislikes, both musical and non-musical. Check it out below. 

AB Records: "Favourite Beatle?"

Aran: "George."

AB Records: "Favourite band?"

  Aran: "LCD Soundsystem."

AB Records: "Favourite new band?"

Aran: "Jagwar Ma."

AB Records: "Favourite song?"

Aran: "LCD Soundsystem - Losing My Edge."

AB Records: "Favourite album?"

Aran: "The National - High Violet."

AB Records: "Vinyl, CD or download?"

Aran: "Vinyl."

AB Records: "When you press shuffle on your iPod, what is the first track that comes on?"

Aran: "The Doors - Peace Frog."

AB Records: "Style icon?"

Aran: "Nick Valensi, The Strokes."

AB Records: "Favourite film?"

Aran: "Eagle Vs Shark."

AB Records: "Favourite TV show?"

Aran: "The Returned."

AB Records: "Who would play you in a film of your life?"  

Aran: "Colin Hunter, Crash Club drummer!"

AB Records: "Favourite food?"

Aran: "Pizza."

AB Records: "Football team?"

Aran: "Glasgow Celtic."

-

Check out Crash Club at the following link - https://www.facebook.com/crashclubmusic

Check out Aldora Britain Records at the following link - https://www.facebook.com/aldorabritainrecords 

-

AB RECORDS