Spice up your life...

A tremendous double set at the weekend from the boys of Bombay Bicycle Club. Two very different giggles from the sublime to the superb and both with very different deliveries. The first coming from the talented Jack and the boys in The Royal Festival Hall, Waterloo. Some incredible soft sounds and some songs that I didn't think they would ever played live especially the cover of Wainwright III's Motel Blues. A concert more than a gig if you will, seated and truly inspiring. A particular highlight being the addition of the Crouch End ladies choir and Lucy Rose. Sunday displayed the true talent of the boys and what range they bring to the arena. In the deliciously set up and grand feeling Troxy, East London the band bought back their normal style and perfectly executed the plugged set. The crowd seemed to absorb every drop, beat and riff with great aplomb. All kicking off for my favourite Cancel On Me.

These lads continue to grow and gel as they mature. Breath is held with huge excitement for part three! Bring it on boys and keep doing what you are doing because it is really works and is just spot on.

Skyrocket in flight, afternoon delight

Just delicious

http://www.rockfeedback.com/feature/1381/jflypreview/

The Hurts - Spotify Trail!

http://www.myspace.com/ithurts

Well overdue I know, but just a quick note to highlight The Hurts advertising for their highly anticipated and hyped album 'Happiness'. You are the consumer, you are the character in their online story. A mysterious story where you choose the ending. A final fantasy book online? After each sound bite you are given your options of two codes which you then have to search Spotify for. You choose your destiny.

From my "trail" I ended up hearing one of the songs from the album - Devotion. A lovely taste of what is to come I hope. This is a unique and addictive approach to promoting the potential record of the year.... watch. this. space and be ready to be happy.

So when you find yourself staring out the window in your dead end job wondering where it all went wrong, thinking you have blown it, just you remember to breath, remain creative and go at it all again.

Keep It In

The year is 2010

So that was the noughties... Now what? What is that going to stop? Certainly not me or this little venture. What will it bring and more importantly who will it bring to the ever spinning wheel of musical greatness and quirkiness. I have been trying to whittle this list down for a fair few days now and have found some amazingly fresh and hugely talented wonders. The act of 'whittling' things down takes me back to when I was a wee lad and not a lanky streak of wee that I am now. It takes me back to when I used to pick up a fallen branch and try to strip it of all its bark and sharpened the end then run around the woods playing cowboys and indians! I guess the female equivalent of this type of frustration would be if you were making daisy chains when you were slightly too young to have nails that could cut through the stems or then again maybe it was cutting off your Barbie/Troll/My Little Ponies hair and waiting for it to grow back? So, I have tried to whittle down my predictions and place them into two categories. Bands I think will hit the front of the pack and bands that will make the pack for the latter part of the year and into next.

Now to the hard part and the bit that I will need your input on. My shouts for the cream of the year include:

Cream of the crop...

Frightened Rabbit

Phoenix

The Drums

Stornoway

Park Bench Poet

Officer Kicks

Swanton Bombs

I Blame Coco

Alan Pownall

Sons of Noel and Adrian

What, If, Maybes...

The Leisure Society - Already big guns fingers crossed there is more

The Finest Hour - Bringing raw rock n roll to the table

Betty Steeles - fresh, fun and tidy beats - Nash/Allen/Skye Edwards

Jose Vanders - self claimed stories to music. Truly amazing voice

Dry the River - beautiful folk lullabies

ART vs SCIENCE - party time trickery, big beat electro tangytastic

Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros - refreshingly chilled

The Lieutenant's Mistress - Beautiful, British brilliantness. Boom

Frightened Rabbit - The boys from the motherland are to deliver their third album early this year which is super exciting news and they also tour again with a big focus for me around the KoKo on the 16th of March. Read my previous blog on the boys who will ensure another big hitting album with some top tunes to roll to this summer. http://ctrlaltthebeat.blogspot.com/2009/11/im-working-on-my-backwards-walk.html

After a very successful fourth album and use on the BBC's radio TV advert, Phoenix are finally hitting the headlines and I expect them to be over subscribed for this years festival season. The boys are back in the picture and hitting the, excuse the pun, right notes at the right time. An uplifting album from an ever changing, boundary pushing band.

On to The Drums. Exactly what is needed for the dark winter months and a perfect tonic for any of you kids who suffer from S.A.D. This is uplifting happy music that will make you want to pull up your socks and bound down the street, across the kitchen or spin round the front room. They have a calmer side too with the track "Down by the Water". I hear pranges of The Jam with a spoonful of The Rifles here especially within the track " Submarine". Then again the tune " Instruct Me" draws me to comparisons with The XX. These boys will be drumming their way onto many an iPod this year for sure.

Next stop brings me to a band who have named themselves after a place I thought as a kid didn't exist. Stornoway was the furthest place you could travel to on a board game my mother bought me called The Great Game of Britain Steam Trains. I had such a blessed childhood. I couldn't and wouldnt make it up, and yes it is still being produced and sold to all the other lovely mothers who want their sons to grow up full of learnings. Look here - (Amazon).

This choir boy sounding outfit are incredibly mellow and thoughtful. The music is gracious and has an almost holy feel to it hence the choir boy connection. Now these are not songs to bounce on your bed to but will certainly have you lying down on your bed with you mind being stimulated and will provoke deep whirring of one's brain.

Off to a Park Bench Poet near you now. These boys have been kicking around for a little while now on the unsigned scene and are gaining in confidence and coverage. I have seen these guys a few times and they truly make the Secret Garden Party for me. The soulful beats, heavily strum basslines and cleverly moulded words that wrap around the melodies like a sock hugging my cheesy foot are truly soothing and deep. The big beat, reggae and riffs make you want to gently rock your body and nod your head, especially in a tent full of festivalities, and you will see the movement is like a huge infection. Perfect camp fire, sunset, beach picnic magic.

Oi, feckin oi. Oi oi. Oi oi. Officer Kicks next and these wonderus fellas are the epitome of modern day rock 'n' roll and after all there is nothing conceptually better than rock 'n' roll. These boys are top and they are producing tip top tracks and they will continue to make huge strides through 2010. Get yourself in front of these men as soon as you can as they will only be playing the pokey venues for a while more before they are propelled to status. http://ctrlaltthebeat.blogspot.com/2008/09/officer-kicks-will-kick-your-back-doors.html

Keeping with the army theme and from officers throwing kicks to swans dropping bombs. The Swanton Bombs will be exploding onto the scene this year and will bringing with them an artillery which is full of big hitting bangers. Their first single Viktoria is out now and draws likeness to early Strokes, Dirty Pretty Things and The Finest Hour (one for the future) brashness. They are hotly tipped for stardom this year so stick this on your wishlist and show the boys some love.

I Blame CoCo is a London based reggae loving beauty. The offspring of Trudie Styler and none other than Sting, this girl has some serious backing and support. This young songstress will certainly have the musical know-how to enter the brimming music industry. She has a fantastic voice which brings a sublime moodiness to her music. It has a reggae underlying with a modern electronic overlay. HOT, in every sense of the word, TIP for this year this one. Keep your ferguson pies (eyes) out for her debut album 'Island' released at some point this year.

Alan Pow Pow Pownall - sorry that wasn't a stammer it was my shear excitement for this boy and this year combo. Alan Pownall has been slowly cooking in the background on the festival scene and the anti folk styled arena for a fair number of months/years now which has seen and made his music. Big tracks to listen out for include Heart of Hearts, Clara (released single) and Take Me. The boy is likened in looks to David Bowie but this upper class Londonite will make you feel at ease with his soothing melodies and woody, rustle and organic sounding guitar. Lovely jubbly.

My final big bang crash wallop for this wee piece is a band that I am simply adoring at the moment - Sons of Noel and Adrian - safety in numbers? Ploy to avoid small venues? 12-a-crowd? This ensemble, is the only way to describe this collection of talent, similar to that of a footballer's garage or model's walk-in-wardrobe has some extremely talented marksmen within its ranks. The 12 piece experimental folk themed orchestra deployed mainly in Brighton but not entirely include Nick Hemming of The Leisure Society, Lightspeed Champion and Mike Siddell of Hope of the States. These kids aren't to be sniffed at and with their immense depth, thought and structure running through their music these guys could conquer any musical task and inspire all you darling buds of May. Some pieces of this wonderful music will whisk you away to enchanting woods and make you feel like Lucy Pevensie stepping through Narnias wardrobe or like the little boy taken to the skies by The Snowman. The epic arrangement of sound during 'Damien' will make you concur with my thoughts and make you to appreciate this army. Touring soon with Alessi's Ark and returning to London again in late Feb. Pull your hay-bail out, bring your best whistling voice and trumpet and be there.

Post Decade Analysis - Part II

The final words of the last post leads me swimmingly into part 2! Just to recap The Twang remind me very much of the way Pete/Peter Doherty writes his material and words. So to the whole Peter Doherty saga. What an outstanding wordsmith this man is even if he is totally unhinged, full of illegals and rubbished by the world media. The immense work that the junkie produces is utterly unbelievable. Being part, and some might say the biggest part, of two of the most successful bands of the noughties is no mean feat! The Libertines surpassed any predetermined goals that anyone could have set them. A true inspiration to many a fresh faced band that may need a focal point. Then to the Babyshambles who evolved from the unfortunate split of The Libertines. Pete really knows how to adapt things and pull all the chips to his side of the table. The boy continues to learn and then teach everyone else about everything and anything especially the limits of modern day poetry. I strongly believe that we are witnessing one of the best musicians to come to the front of the queue since Lennon. I will leave my comparison there for now.

I have definitely missed some bands and will probably re-write this ten times over the coming months although I would like to clarify some of the obvious ones that I have missed. I have purposely missed the likes of Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Bloc Party and Muse because,unfortunately, they don’t float my boat at the present moment but I was late to the party with Maximo Park and I love these boys now, so never say never.

Then to a band that seem to have made there own rules since emerging and this band be The XX. The album has an experimental feel to it with some tap along beats and singalongability. They draw me to making comparisons such as early Leftfield anthems, Aphex Twin moody deepth and the calmness of Morcheeba. Serious music and a grand album. Get hold of this I promise you will love it.

I have also not let you in on all the new stuff that has come to my ears recently but if I did that where would I be and more importantly where would this blog be!

Unread.

Simples.

Post decade analysis - Part I

Now, my mind isn't what it was when I entered the noughties that is for sure. This is obviously due to the sheer amount of amazing beats and soothing samples I have been blessed with over the last ten years but I will try my best to remind myself of the pearls that were uncovered. THE BIGGEST find of the decade has to be The Strokes who I am pleased to inform you, if you haven't been slammed in the face with this info, will be reforming this year to headline all the latest and greatest festivals that will get the Topshop birds and Burton lads raving, bopping and jiving to for definite.

I think I may well have to whittle this post down as I go along because the more I think about the last ten years the more my small mind fills with bands, gigs and festivals that I have been lucky enough to attend. So shooting from the hip for the second smashing ensemble has to be Kasabian. Oh my goodness what an amazing collection of eclectic, hard hitting, emotionally charged bangers. This year’s album - West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum - is by far and away my favourite album since N*sync - Celebrity, I jest, since Oasis - Definitely Maybe, David Gray - White Ladder or Blur - Parklife. I don't seem to get bored even on the 5th play back. Vlad the impaler, which is about to drop as their next single, is like the best cut crystal that your mumma only busts out for Christmas. A true master piece that has it all. If you haven't bought, stolen or spotified this album you are missing the last piece of the jigsaw puzzle on an amazing decade of music.

Then I must commend the Arctic Monkeys on their stupendous rise to stardom and indie domination. What an entrance from a newbie band bustling onto the scene with great aplomb. Too many lines and riffs to scream about here but "which came first the chicken or the d*ckhead" is definitely up there! Other acts to slam their stamps and marks on the last year include Twisted Wheel - the Manchester three piece who have laid down some stormy stone rose oasis esque tracks on their debut album - self titled. Cracking live and well worth your investment.

Onwards, The Maccabees brought their second album, The Wall of Arms, to the table after a hugely successful debut with Colour it In. The boys really are maturing into what we/I had hoped. The latest album is a moody, dark but highly charged affair that really connects. From the first album the winning line has to be ... I'll win your heart with the wit woo. Won my heart there and then.

As I continue to fall down the list of what has hit me over the last ten years I am finding myself reflecting on where I was when I first listened to the likes of Elliot Gleave, aka Example, The Streets, Kate Nash, Queen of The Stone Age (I remember this one, I was one of those little upstarts at Reading Festival 2000), Lily Allen, Pull Tiger Tail (RIP), Dartz! (RIP), Officer Kicks, Cajun Dance Party, Jack Penate, Loose Caboose, Pete and the Pirates, The Kooks and on and on. Most take me back to the early MySpace days, cramming myself into my father’s dressing room among the ironed shirts, Corby trouser press, the lead window with its one pane missing and the constant supply of brewed home tea. Good bloody times. I digress and as I do Roots Manuva comes smashing into my mind, one of my all time favourite albums and one that I found under my Christmas tree one year in the form of Run Come Save Me. Truly magnifique! An absolute banger which has really made me appreciate UK Rap/Hip Hop and Dub for the first time.

The Gorillaz and Damon Albarn must gain a mention because where would we be without the master that is Mr Albarn. Kids this is one person to learn the art of revival, reincarnation and reinvention. Without him we wouldn’t have enjoyed the Blur era, Blur revival and the Blur blur. Nor would we have been blessed with The Gorillaz or The Good, the Bad and the Queen. Albarn, simply put, living legend.

For me, the noughties was about finding my musical feet and finding genres that made me think deeply about my life and escapism from the daily grind. I have particularly enjoyed annoying the world with my tinny headphones on many a commute to the big smoke.

I have loved being at gigs with each and every one of my friends that shares my passion for these arrangement of bass, breaks and beats. All the genres I have floated through from the sublime to the ridiculous. As the millennium dropped, the UK Garage seen was huge and hearing the old skool bangers still gets me up and bouncing. I went through the early zeros thinking that I was part of the So Solid Crew and being Oxide & Neutrino – it was a messy matter for a while with me spinning round in my rat and bass powered motor that was the Seat Ibiza and ending most sentences with blud. Enough. And now I am a far calmer individual who is more likely to be found listening to Indie Folk melodies than hard hitting samples and huge basslines.

Away from London and my naff car, Frightened Rabbit it has to be said are one of my best finds. Some big sets played over the last two years and an intimate tour in the latter part of 2009 to give some love back to the loyal fans was exceptionally well received. I seem to have turned into a big lover of the motherlands music over the past 12 months. We Were Promised Jetpacks are another band that have grabbed my attention. Big things to come from both I feel. Anyone of you who like Maximo Park, Feeder, Ocean Colour Scene will enjoy both of these.

Then come back to my homeland and Jamie T has made me appreciate and feel a new and true love for panic attack kids and modern day troubadours. The Wimbledon boy will hopefully continue to produce these beats for a few more years as long as his mind stays in one piece.

I am not going to detail all of the bands that I know I need and should do but one that I really should, although reviews on her are rife, is Florence + the Machine who I saw at Secret Garden Party in 2007. She truly deserves all the praise that she has received. One amazing voice! Others I feel I would like to mention include the vastly experienced Elbow who have managed to gain the press they deserved eventually. Their early albums, Asleep in the Back & Leaders of the Free World really show how good an outfit they are. Cheap as chips now so get this into your download wishlist and fill your mind with some eclectic beats and chill out toons.

Oasis, again, where would we be without the best band to walk the planet since the Beatles. 12^th July at Wembley, on the barrier with the boys, simply the best day of my life. An absolute pleasure to have seen them so many times and lucky to have seen them in 2009 just before the big bang split.

The Twang should also be shouted about as they lie low in the music scene. They have produced two unstoppable and well written albums. If you ever want a slice of real life and/or need waking up to what is really going on around you when you are out getting leathered or high as a kite then you need these guys in your ears.