Interview: Beans on Toast

Liam ‘Maccers’ McNeilly┬áhas a little chinwag with self-proclaimed “Drunk Folk Singer” Beans On Toast at Clwb Ifor Bach. You spend a lot of time on tour. How has this one been and have there been any highlights for you? This tourÔÇÖs been a bit of a game changer. ItÔÇÖs flown really well and itÔÇÖs been banginÔÇÖ every night. In terms of highlights, I really like … Continue reading Interview: Beans on Toast

Interview: letlive.

Heading over the Atlantic for their first UK headline tour, Los Angeles’ self-confessed ‘soul punx’ letlive.┬ácaught up with Tom Connick ahead of their sold out show at Clwb Ifor Bach. How does it feel to be playing a headline show ÔÇô to be able to come over completely off your own back? Jason Aalon Butler (vocals): Dude, we talk about it like every day. ItÔÇÖs … Continue reading Interview: letlive.

Review: I’m With The Band, WMC

Reviewed by Sum Sze Tam Sitting down at the stage of IÔÇÖm With The Band, youÔÇÖd think it was the set of a somewhat bland music gig. The actors come out and start playing their first song ÔÇÿWeÔÇÖre All In This TogetherÔÇÖ (not the finale from High School Musical), and though the show is premised as an allegory for the political state of the UK, … Continue reading Review: I’m With The Band, WMC

The Apologetic Generation

ADVICE TO WATCH YOUR DIGITAL FOOTPRINT IS HEGEMONY IN ACTION – from Quench Issue 138 IÔÇÖd like to begin with two stories. The first is that of Josef K., protagonist of KafkaÔÇÖs magnum opus, The Trial. The other is that of Paris Brown, the ill-fated youth crime commissioner for the Kent Police. In The Trial, Josef K. is arrested on his thirtieth birthday. Neither the … Continue reading The Apologetic Generation

Album Review: Pearl Jam – Lightning Bolt

┬á9/10 With contemporaries Alice in Chains, Soundgarden and Nirvana (if we count that Paul McCartney collaboration) making music again, Seattle rock icons Pearl Jam have quite some competition releasing Lightning Bolt that they didnÔÇÖt have releasing their previous album Backspacer four years ago. As the only one of these bands to have remained active since formation, the band rocketed to fame with one of the … Continue reading Album Review: Pearl Jam – Lightning Bolt

Live Review: Devil Sold His Soul – The Moon Club

ÔÇÿWe play loud. We play heavy. We play hard. We play fast.ÔÇÖ claims Woking-based hardcore band Palm Reader. The crowd gathered at CardiffÔÇÖs intimate The Moon Club venue on Womanby Street this Tuesday 15 October were not left disappointed by a band that more than live up to these comments. Despite some technical difficulties (including guitar string breakages), the British five-piece got the evening off … Continue reading Live Review: Devil Sold His Soul – The Moon Club

Live Review: Kate Nash – The Globe

You’d think that so many females in one room would cause a problem but Kate Nash and her ‘girl gang’ were the complete opposite. Support acts The Tuts Band and Vulcano opened the show with a hint of what was to follow: an onslaught of punk-fuelled girl power reminiscent of the likes of Hole and Joan Jett. Even the pre-show playlist was packed full of … Continue reading Live Review: Kate Nash – The Globe

Interview: The Oxfam Boutique

Last week the Morgan Quarter hosted an alternative Student Lock-In, with the mix of independent and high street stores offering a chance to snap up some great discounts. The Oxfam Boutique located in the heart of the Morgan Quarter showcased their sustainable fashion, shaking up traditional notions of charity shops. I caught up with the BoutiqueÔÇÖs manager Catherine Lye to find out more about the … Continue reading Interview: The Oxfam Boutique

Live Review: The Twang & Jaws, Solus, 6.10.13

It was difficult to know what to expect as Birmingham 5-piece, The Twang, arrived in Cardiff for the penultimate date of their UK tour. Their previous two albums fail to provide much in terms of innovation and originality and the venue had been downgraded from Solus following poor ticket sales. Yet this tour precedes the release of a third record and the band have developed … Continue reading Live Review: The Twang & Jaws, Solus, 6.10.13

Single Review: Hugh Laurie – ‘Junco Partner’

ThereÔÇÖs always a degree of cynicism when someone best known for their acting career tries to reinvent themselves as a musician. Hugh Laurie, the English actor nowadays best known for his role as Dr Gregory House on the US Fox Network series House is here giving his rendition of the traditional American blues song ÔÇÿJunco PartnerÔÇÖ taken from the bonus disc of his second album … Continue reading Single Review: Hugh Laurie – ‘Junco Partner’

Review: Boeing Boeing, RWCMD

Reviewed by Esther Strange The tour of Boeing Boeing is the fourth musical collaborative piece between Black Rat Productions and Blackwood MinersÔÇÖ Institute. The tour takes off in Blackwood and travels across the whole of Wales before touching down in CardiffÔÇÖs Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. Boeing Boeing takes polygamy to a whole new level. Architect Bernard (Richard Corgan) is engaged to three … Continue reading Review: Boeing Boeing, RWCMD

Preview: The Twang & Jaws, Solus, 06.10.13

Birmingham was once the home of heavy metal, with Judas Priest and Black Sabbath both calling the midlandsÔÇÖ heart their home back in the 80s. But now, bubbling away amongst the River Rea, a new scene is staking claim to the third most populated urban area in the United Kingdom (seriously, Google it). Dubbed ÔÇÿB-TownÔÇÖ by the musical press, Birmingham is now the home of … Continue reading Preview: The Twang & Jaws, Solus, 06.10.13

Interview: Kids In Glass Houses

ÔÇ£I donÔÇÖt think thereÔÇÖs any crowd like a Welsh crowd.ÔÇØ With a successful fourth album out and a gig on home turf as part of their headline tour, Hannah Embleton-Smith spoke to CardiffÔÇÖs own Kids In Glass Houses guitarist, Iain Mahanty, ahead of the performance at Cardiff Student UnionÔÇÖs Solus.   This is your first headline tour in two years. How does it feel to … Continue reading Interview: Kids In Glass Houses

Interview: Oddarrang

If youÔÇÖre looking for something a bit different from CardiffÔÇÖs live music, Chapter Arts Centre is your first port of call. Recently, Finnish band Oddarrang played at the Canton venue to promote new album In Cinema. Met by seamless atmospheric instrumentals and ritualistic chanting, their performance was inimitable. Three songs in (though ÔÇÿmusical experiencesÔÇÖ might be a better term), it was revealed that the album … Continue reading Interview: Oddarrang