It's quite possible that the La's showcased on BBC in Session is the closest to the ideal sound Lee Mavers had in mind when he sweated over the group's debut. The group is so lean and clean in these 17 radio sessions that their pop sparkles. It sounds genuinely out of time, hearkening back to the golden age of British pop and pointing toward the golden age of Brit-pop, especially when stripped of the lightest production flair Steve Lillywhite imposed on the band's debut. This doesn't necessarily make for a revelation -- there's no change on the arrangement, not even on the funky outtake "Come In Come Out," the tunes are just brought down to the bone -- but that doesn't make BBC Sessions any less valuable for die-hard La's fans: this is the group at their purest, arguably at their best, and it's as addictive as the classic studio LP. AMG
Kicking off with an exuberant version of the L.A. power pop-classic-that-almost-wasn't, "Pretty Please Me" -- and unsurprisingly Steve and Jeff McDonald and company rock the bastard to the ground with a smile this time around -- Show World is yet more fun from a band who dedicates themselves to a smart good time. In ways, Redd Kross had found history catching up to them by this time -- any number of bands had stumbled across the loud and brash- '70s pop-punk approach that was the group's raison de etre. But the fact that they hadn't gotten the attention they deserved for it didn't keep them from still going at it with gusto; Bless their hearts. If songs like "You Lied Again" and "Vanity Mirror" didn't introduce any curveballs to the basic sound, they still sounded pretty damn fantastic, singalong energy overdriven up to ten and beyond. Slightly slower tracks like "Girl God," the mega-orchestrated ballad "Secret Life," and the handclap crazy "Follow the Leader" showcase the band's calmer side well enough -- again, no surprises, but none were expected or needed. Best song title of the bunch this time around: "One Chord Progression," which lives up to its name just so. "Teen Competition" lets them cock rock out with the best of them, but doesn't forget the sugar in the chorus even as the distortion completely screws with the mix at one point, while "Get Out of Myself" has one brilliant moment with so much hyper-flange that why the speakers don't melt upon contact is a mystery. Source: [AMG]
This album fell through the letterbox today (well, the in mail) and it is exactly what we expected from Thee Vicars....wall to wall kick arse rock'n''roll..... if you only buy one album this year, buy this one and dance until December!!!!!!
Fall down to your knees because Thee Vicars are about to deliver another chunk of garage punk gospel!
Heralded as the “heirs to The Horrors” only with a better cut of suit, this Bury St Edmunds band won’t think twice about dragging your favourite indie chart toppers down an alley and kicking them “kung fu style” into orbit before setting their hair straighteners alight. Their words, not ours.
Now cut down to a three piece of Mike Whittaker, Chris Langeland and Alex De Renzi, they’ve never sounded better. This, their third album, still retains much of the mod-influenced garage-punk sound of their previous work but gives it a good dunk in the Mississippi until echoes of Memphis legends The Oblivians can be heard.
Upholding the garage-rock tradition of full throttle non stop gigging, Thee Vicars are constantly touring Europe and the UK, as well as having made a jaunt to the USA. They’ve opened for the likes of The Horrors, Black Lips and everyone’s favourite bandage clad punks The Mummies, and it shouldn’t be long before these clergymen are taking centre stage themselves.
The Guardian says “They might dress smartly, all suited and booted, but Thee Vicars create an unholy, unruly row. They are much like the Cribs’ new favourite proponents of back-to- basics rifferama, the Strange Boys... Together they create a decent fuzzy racket, full of energy and heavy on the treble, with a low-end throb that does the job.”
Meanwhile, writing about their second album Clash Magazine said, “Ironically, in displaying barely a drop of originality, Thee Vicars actually sound fabulously fresh when set against the current crop of synth-pop bunnies.”
Indeed, when the next big thing consistently looks and sounds like it was just spawned from Topman HQ, Thee Vicars couldn’t have picked a better time to unleash their rock‘n’roll attack. They may not be holy, but they sure as hell give a reason to be thankful!
The Jags are a fondly remembered one-hit wonder of the late-70s U.K. power pop explosion. The quartet was formed in 1978 by the Yorkshire-based songwriting team of Nick Watkins (vocals) and John "Twink" Adler (guitar), with Steve Prudence (bass) and Alex Baird (drums). In July of 1978, they signed to Island Records and released a promising four-track EP. Their debut LP in 1980, Evening Standards, included the memorable, though highly derivative, "Back of My Hand," which had reached the U.K. Top 40 the previous fall. The follow-up, "Woman's World" barely scraped its way on to the charts. Though Evening Standards featured a really solid set of punchy power pop songs, critics focussed instead on Watkins' Costello-like delivery, writing the band off as merely mimics. As steam ran out of the power pop craze, the band attempted to change their sound a bit. 1981's No Tie Like the Present featured a slightly new direction, but it was generally overlooked. By 1982, the Jags had disbanded for good, though "Back of My Hand" had a revival of sorts in the '90s, appearing on several compilations. AMG
Formed in 2011, England Road are one of the youngest bands currently playing in the south coast. Aged just 14-17 they have musical ability well beyond their years. Playing their own compositions as well as recognised Indie and hard rock classics, they are held in high regard by all bands they have played with.
December the 18th 2011 saw them become the youngest band in history to have their own headline night (at the average age of 15!!) at the legendary venue “The Joiners Arms” in Southampton.
England Road have a strong following in both Southampton and Portsmouth and regularly play big venues across the region. They are fast gaining a reputation in the local area as the 'ones to watch'.
When I first heard "England Road" on the Glory Boy radio show I envisaged a band that had been doing a long apprenticeship on the boards of venues all over the country, so to discover that they were so young and had played a handful of gigs was a complete surprise!
They have, quite obviously, wasted no time in mastering their instruments and honing their stage presence, so much so that they have already been compared to some of the bigger bands that have been plying their trades for 20 years plus, we won't name any names so as not to embarrass anyone.
England Road are a hard working band too with gigs lined up well into the summer, all in the south of England at the moment, but I am sure it won't be long before they spread their wings for ventures across the land.
England Road continued their rise for 2012 in style. They followed up their recent success in the Hampshire Youth Music Services ‘Battle of the Bands’ semi final, in which they stormed into the final on 5th May at The Fernham Hall, Fareham, Hampshire, with a live audition for a major UK competition.
They sailed through to the regional finals of this years Live and Unsigned UK (which is later to be screened on SKY TV). February 25th saw the young band from Southampton (aged 14-17) take on the adults and show them how its done. Belting out a 2 minute rendition of ‘You Chose Your Fate’ taken from their forthcoming first EP, England Road prompted a spontaneous round of applause from the judges and ticked all the right boxes.
England Road are held in high regard by all bands they have played with and are fast gaining a reputation in the local area as 'ones to watch'. They already have a strong following in both Southampton and Portsmouth and are regularly playing big venues throughout the region.
They will return to Highlight, Unit R04, Blvd Buildings, Gunwharf Quays, Portsmouth, PO1 3TW on the 22nd April to compete in the regional final along with 17 other bands from the first auditions. If successful, they will go on to compete in the area final and will be one step away from competing in the UK Final at the O2 in London.
The Sick Rose were arguably the first European garage band to have the impact globally in the same manner as The Chesterfield Kings (from the Timothy Gassen's book Knights of Fuzz 1980-1995).
Lead garage band in the Eighties, The Sick Rose with his fuzz and farfisa attack impressed the audience with full powered gigs, since the first released Faces LP, dated 1986.
The band performed alive with some legends of the genre (The Fuzztones, Dream Syndicate, The Nomads, Stomach Mouths and so on) and produced four full records but disbanded in 1990...
The Band comes back in 2006 with a new work, Blastin' out, produced by DOM MARIANI, the legendary leader of the Stems.
The new album gains a very good critic response and lead the band to several promotion tours.
Between 2006 and 2008 the Sick Rose toured Germany, Greece, Italy and Spain, opening for Jeff Conolly (Lyres).
Our new album NO NEED FOR SPEED is finally out!
This past fall Dom Mariani, from DM3 / Stems, flew from Perth, Australia to produce our 6th studio album. He did an incredible job! The result is a great album of power pop with many unespected undertones. We're very proud of it and we are dying to play the new songs live at our upcoming shows!
This has been a great week for music on the blog and this band along with their new album are the prefect end to the perfect week, after partying Friday and Saturday, I have put on this album and continued the party mode into Sunday! Full of energy, 60's styled garage fuzz and some jangly Rickenbacker fuelled Power Pop, we are gonna be ripping it up until Wednesday....the party isn't over yet, go buy this album!!!
