Fanzine 29 doc - soapforall.co.uk

ISSUE TWENTYNINE 

JUNE/JULY FREE 

LOS CAMPESINOS LADYTRON 

BE YOUR OWN PET FLEET FOXES THE RASCALS 

TOKYO POLICE CLUB CATS IN PARIS LAYMAR 

MAGIC ARM MOON WINDOW THE LIONHEART BROTHERS CREAMFIELDS

ISSUE TWENTYNINE 

JUNE/JULY 

features 

This issue is dedicated to Alistair Beech who has 

stepped down from his position as assistant editor 

in order to build his career in music PR in London. 

We hope Ali will still contribute reviews, though 

everyone at HV would like to thank him for his 

hard work over the past 3 years. 

Introducing… The Lionheart Brothers & 

Laymar SIX 

Introducing… Cats in Paris & 

Magic Arm Moon Window SEVEN 

The Rascals NINE 

Tokyo Police Club TEN 

Be_Your_Own_Pet ELEVEN 

Fleet Foxes TWELVE 

Los_Campesinos THIRTEEN 

Ladytron FOURTEEN 

Creamfields 10yrs TWENTYSIX 

Regulars 

Manchester news FIVE 

Single reviews SIXTEEN 

Album reviews EIGHTEEN 

Futuresonic reviews TWENTY 

New Noise TWENTYTHREE 

Manchester Listings TWENTYFOUR 

For more reviews, interviews, 

comment and info on all 

HighVoltage activities log on to 

highvoltage.org.uk 

See highvoltagesounds.co.uk for 

label info and new 

HighVoltage releases 

EDITOR - Richard Cheetham - rich@highvoltage.org.uk ASSISTANT EDITOR - Alistair Beech - alistair@highvoltage.org.uk 

FEATURES EDITOR - Adrian Barrowdale - adrian@highvoltage.org.uk REVIEWS EDITOR - Fran Donnelly - fran@highvoltage.org.uk 

NEW BAND EDITOR - Stephen Eddie - stephen@highvoltage.org.uk LISTINGS EDITOR - Mike Caulfield - listings@highvoltage.org.uk 

DESIGN - Andy Cake | Soap | www.soapforall.co.uk 

CONTRIBUTORS - Alex Barbanneau, Hannah Bayfield, Sarah Boardman, Hannah Clark, Neil Condron, Phil Daker, Richard Fox, 

Jade French, Lauren Holden, Chris Horner, Billy Idle, James Morton, Sophie Parkes, Liam Pennington, Andy Porter, Simon Pursehouse, 

Michael Roberts, Gareth Roberts, Alexia Rogers-Wright, Jamila Scott, Benjamin Thomas, Simon Smallbone, Jack Titley, Megan Vaughan 

two three

four 

June/July 

_News... 

As DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh 

Prince remind us, summertime is 

a time to sit back and unwind. 

Unless you're in Manchester, in 

which case it's time for all-night 

BBQs, house parties and doing 

anything but sitting back. 

Of course the gigs cut back for the next few 

months as we lay waste to pastures greener over 

festival season, but there's a treat or two back 

home. Modern dance icon Matthew Dear is 

unbelievably coming to Night n Day on 13/06, 

bringing his downbeat tech-pop for a rare 

Event of 

the Month... 

Alright, so it's not til August, but with it now 

being a weekend affair it's a good time to get 

these things planned ahead. Loathe to slum it 

with smelly moshers at Leeds this summer, HV 

will itching for festival action and for its 10th 

Anniversary, local megafestival Creamfields is 

our bet. It might be a Liverpool institution, but 

it's actually like, less than half an hour on the 

train to Warrington an then you're laughing all 

the way to Daresbury, Cheshire. 

Words: Fran Donnelly 

appearance whilst equally rare right now, 

The Longcut make their looong overdue return 

with old friends Akoustik Anarkhy, at new 

favourite The Deaf Institute on June 20th. 

Keith and former Snowfighters Delphic take over 

The Aftershow on 27/06 and then there's that 

24hr Tony Wilson Experience at Cathedral 

Gardens on June 21st, promising to be an 

explosion of general creativity as legends talk 

music. 

If you're not festivalling just yet, then Radiohead 

have their own big day at Lancashire CC (29/06) 

whilst The Music (and their great new album) 

follow about ten sold out Manchester dates this 

year at Academy 1 on July 1st. Naturally you 

won't miss The Maple State consolidating a great 

first half of the year at Night n Day, 06/07, and 

just as unmissable is Twisted Wheel's Oldham 

homecoming on July 26th. 

So are you coming to Glasto? Be sure to check 

out Manchester's (well, Concrete Recordings') 

own Late N Live stage at some point, where 

going into the night you can catch Orphan Boy, 

Travelling Band, Keith and Rachael Kichenside. 

It's just like a night in town, but with added 

festival goodness. 

With added camping over 22nd/23rd August 

there's twice the lineup of previous years; the 

obviously highlight being the Prophet of 

Longsight, Ian Brown sharing a stage with The 

Whip. Kasabian have their only UK festival date 

and Underworld are set for a stormer along with 

scores of mint DJs. And then there's Soulwax, 

The Presets and Simian Mobile Disco. Head to 

the back page for boss-head James Barton's 

reckonings… 

five

INTRODUCING 

The Lionheart Brothers LAYMAR 

Magic Arm Moon Window 

THE Lionheart Brothers have just 

played their most bizarre gig yet. It's 

April 4 and Norway's finest exports 

are the latest act to join Lancaster 

Library's endless list of top acts to 

perform in the city. Watched by a 

crowd mostly made up of 

tweenagers, The Lionheart Brothers' 

show follows previous library sets by 

The Thrills, Adele, Bat for Lashes and 

The Long Blondes. Speaking to High 

Voltage backstage after the show, the 

five-piece are enjoying a rare rest. 

"The library show was great. It was 

different, you know" says guitarist and 

vocalist Marcus Forsgren. “We've 

never played in a library before, it was 

really cool. A lot of people showed 

up!" 

They had better get used to it. Over 

the last few months, the boys are 

gradually making a firm mark on the 

British scene, what with their album 

'Dizzy Kiss' finally being released in 

the UK. So how've they gone down 

over here? 

"British fans are very similar to 

Norwegian fans actually," says 

Morten "No, maybe they're a bit more 

open. Norwegian crowds are quite 

sceptic, they analyse you a bit. 

"The British reaction has been great 

though, very positive." 

With Marcus Forsgren and Morten 

Oby on guitar and vocals, the band is 

comprised of Peter Rudolfsen on 

drums, Audun Storset on organ and 

Frantz Andreasson on bass. 

six 

Influenced by Beach Boys and Miles 

Davis amongst others, theirs is a 

transcendental, dreamy mix of 

mystic pop rock. 

Despite success in their hometown, 

the band's biggest highlight to date 

has been breaking out of little ole 

Trondheim and playing to crowds in 

England and New York. “We're 

coming back to England this 

summer," continues Marcus, "We'll 

be doing loads of festivals, Summer 

Sundae and Great Escape. Oh and 

a Drowned in Sound tour." 

But they might not be spending too 

much time hanging out with English 

bands. "I think every English band 

sounds the same." says Marcus 

"There's nothing new happening.” 

But with that, he adds: "We're really 

looking forward to coming over. The 

people are nice and the fans are 

great." 

Words: Lauren Holden 

www.myspace.com/lionheartbrothers 

'Dizzy Kiss' is out now on 

ShellShock 

“We take a lot of influence from 

Manchester as a city and believe it to 

be intrinsic to our sound, more so 

than a lot of the other bands that we 

know of who are based here.” 

So explain Manchester’s psychedelic 

post-rockers Laymar, on the eve of 

the release of their debut LP. The 

intense layers of noise created on In 

Strange Lines and Distances (check 

review towards the back of the ‘zine) 

belies their numbers, as Laymar are 

actually three gentlemen in their early 

twenties - David Paul (drums / 

programming), Ciaran Cullen (bass / 

synthesizer) and Colin Williams 

(guitar, piano / synthesizer. 

Putting the LP Together can’t have 

been an easy experience? 

“The LP is a mix of three people’s 

lives over the last eight years; an 

attempt at throwing their feeling and 

thoughts into their instruments, no 

matter how dark or euphoric, then 

creating pieces of music out of them. 

It should be listened to as a whole 

from beginning to end.” 

It was recorded in late 2007 with the 

help of Tom Knotts at Airtight Studios 

on an industrial estate in Chorlton, 

and Laymar seem to hold him in 

pretty high regard: “we now believe 

Tom Knotts to be a genius.” Clearly 

‘Genius’ Knotts has captured 

something unique. 

Not ones to standstill, Laymar 

recently retreated to Cornwall to work 

on LP number two. Ciaran explains 

that: “The new material, although still 

in its infancy, is more rhythmically 

orientated. Still vocal-less (apart from 

the odd sample), thought provoking 

and moving. 

“Writing new material in Cornwall 

allowed us access to a purer way of 

thinking and helped us to 

concentrate solely on our music, 

outside of the distractions of our 

lives. This was productive but on a 

permanent basis we thought it would 

alter our sound to a point of no 

longer being relevant to ourselves 

and our home.” Serious words 

indeed. 

Taking the time to regroup merely 

exasperates HVs feeling that Laymar 

are laying off right at the start of a 

wonderful musical quest, and we just 

hope they get around to filling our 

ears with aural delights for a long 

time to come. 

Words: Richard Cheetham 

www.myspace.com/laymarmusic 

In Strange Lines and Distances 

released on TV Records on 23rd 

June 

It seems that 2008 is the year that 

eyes are turning back to 

Manchester, but the experience 

would be so much richer if those 

eyes peer towards Cats in Paris. 

There’s no chance of Mancswagger 

pigeonholing here; not 

only do they claim to have found 

their name in a dream (of a 30ft 

kitten wrapped around the Eiffel 

Tower like King Kong), but from a 

starting point of “awesome plinky 

plonky macrosongs with 

glockenspiels and toy drums”, they 

have ended up “a bit ‘I'm at the top 

of a mountain’ prog-epic”. Whatever 

that means, it sounds like nothing 

else right now. 

A bit prog, a bit post-rock and a lot 

of fun, the band “purposefully try to 

keep people guessing”, and even 

suggest that a Venn diagram may 

be the best way to show the 

overlap in their varied tastes. Their 

live shows are mesmerising, wholly 

frenetic with numerous shifts in 

genre and have won them support 

slots with Islands and a triumphant 

Sounds from the Other City show 

where “the room was crammed full 

of people and sweat and good 

vibes. In fact it was the sweatiest 

we've ever been, officially” and they 

“had a serious dance off with the 

incredible band Gentle Friendly. We 

totally won.” 

Looking to the future they’re off to 

this summer’s Green Man Festival, 

a slot they landed through local 

label Akoustik Anarkhy, where they 

admit they may be out on a limb 

despite the traditionally folk-based 

festival diversifying. “We've done a 

few folk nights before” they say, 

“where we're totally out of place. 

It's actually quite good being a 

sore thumb once in a while.” 

And last, but hopefully not least, if 

Cats in Paris were actually cats, 

which part of Paris would they 

hang out in? After suggesting our 

own preference we get the 

response “If you're on the 

Montmartre steps, then we'll go 

there, and maybe we could go for 

a coffee, or a beer, maybe a show, 

and maybe, just maybe, back to 

yours?” Miaow. 

Words: Hannah Bayfield 

www.myspace.com/catsinparis 

Foxes/Terrapins is out now on 

Akoustik Anarkhy 

If to the undiscerning outsider the 

sight of another scruffy, backwardslooking 

Manchester troupe on the 

cover of music weeklies suggests 

the musical tide up here changes 

as often as the weather clears, 

they’d be wrong. 

One of many artists to break from 

swaggering traditions is Magic Arm 

(elsewhere known as Marc 

Rigelsford), whose upbeat 

electronica and off-kilter melodies 

adorning debut EP ‘Outdoor 

Games’ have been drawing giddy 

approval from fans and critics alikewith 

Ed Droste of Grizzly Bear 

going so far as to say “I dare you to 

tell me it sucks.” 

High Voltage caught up with Marc 

as he and co-producer Robin 

Housman (previously working with 

HV favourites The Answering 

Machine and Polytechnic) add the 

final few tweaks to his upcoming 

debut LP ‘Widths and Heights’. 

“It’s been about five months since 

we started, from the original demos. 

It’s a very meticulous process, cos 

I’d been working on some tracks for 

a year previously, I didn’t want to 

lose the feel on the drums, 

atmosphere and sounds. So whilst 

Robin might usually be working with 

thirty tracks on a band’s recording, 

with us it’s been with nearly a 

hundred. So it’s pretty painstaking; 

we’ve kinda been experiencing a bit 

of cabin fever…” 

Whilst previously stripped down to 

essential loops and acoustic 

strumming, early indications point to 

something sonically more 

technicolor, “I’ve been listening to a 

lot of hip hop and pop-R&B 

production, people like Rihanna and 

Kanye West. That kind of overlyproduced, 

really good pop, and just 

pushing the electronic thing further 

too. ” 

Past live shows have been strictly 

solitary affairs, although this also 

looks to be changing for upcoming 

jaunts. “ I’m gonna be working with 

a band called My Side Of The 

Mountain; it’s gonna be great to 

actually play the songs as you first 

envisioned them rather than just 

sticking to loops – which I do enjoy 

– but I think for this record it’ll be 

more relevant, and more fun too.” 

The outcome is sure to be some of 

the most joyous and infectious 

sounds heard all summer. 

Words: Mike Caulfield 

www.myspace.com/magicarm 

Magic Arm play at The Night and 

Day Café on 11th June. 

seven

eight 

The morning after The 

Whip's Manchester 

homecoming and HV is 

washing down Alka- 

Selzer with five spoons 

of instant coffee (with 

like, water obviously). 

It's barely dinnertime 

and it feels far too early 

to talk rock ‘n’ roll. The 

equally groggy Scouse 

croak down the phone 

agrees, and speaking 

only in lowest tones of 

voice we caught up 

with Greg Mighall of 

The Rascals - three top 

chaps from Hoylake on 

the Wirral. It's been a 

year since they formed 

and he's going to 

quietly tell us about the 

album they've got in the 

can. 

"We did it in like four weeks," 

he hazily recalls, "so it was pretty 

quick to record. It's literally the first 

batch of songs we did together and 

was all done as live takes. 

Everyone sounds the same these 

days but the way we've done it, 

you've got to play it right and it's 

more honest I think. Some people 

use Pro Tools an’ it works, but for 

us we don't need it really." 

Nevertheless the drummer's 

surprisingly coy about how well he 

thinks the album will be received. 

With songs like the kooky, effectsstuttering 

'Freakbeat Phantom' he 

could be pretty confident, but 

instead he just wants to get these 

songs out on the road with their 

biggest tour yet, starting this Friday. 

"That's what it's all about for me. 

We love it on tour. What's not to 

like? Playing your songs to different 

people in a different place every 

night, know what I mean?" And 

when Greg's on tour, is it a 

perennial hangover or a chance 

to soak up some culture? "Oh 

yeah, I'm there taking pictures of 

cathedrals an’ that." 

Well, Greg will have plenty of time 

to take in Manchester's sights next 

week when they get down to Club 

Academy. Following their sold out 

appearance at Night & Day last 

November, it should be a cracker. 

Live, The Rascals are psychedelic 

and boisterous, brought to life by 

Miles' distinctive drawl. Together 

they're a tight unit that batters out 

fraught rock before spinning off in a 

wash of guitars and effects. "Every 

gig we give a hundred percent," 

says their drummer. "It's never like 

we can't be arsed. We make sure 

there's like a dynamic in the set 

with ups and downs to keep people 

interested. Every night, even if we 

are nursing hangovers." 

When past tours have involved 

onstage japes with mates Arctic 

Monkeys, there'll no doubt some 

giggles and mischief? "Well we 

know each other better than 

anyone else," Greg agrees. 

"There's never any tension or any 

of that, we just have a laugh." 

"I knew Miles when I was seven but 

then didn’t see him for awhile. 

We'd all go to the same gigs – me 

an Joe used would go to see 

The Libertines or The Cooper 

Temple Clause and Joe would 

be like, "there's that lad again". 

It turned out to be Miles who I'd 

known years ago." 

Now 21, the three mates play 

Glastonbury's Thursday, on a 

Liverpool Leftfield stage that puts 

them alongside other Merseysiders 

like Elle S'Appelle and The Seal 

Cub Clubbing Club. What does 

Greg make of the activity round 

their way over the last year? 

"There's loads of good stuff coming 

out at the moment. It's not even 

necessarily stuff that we're into but 

you can appreciate that it's a good 

thing. We're not really part of any 

scene – there're four or five bands 

that are sort of linked, but we've 

always done our own thing." 

The decision to do their own is 

what brings them to us today after 

amicably moving on from cult 

heroes The Little Flames. Despite 

some success, the boys felt they 

had to leave and take a chance. 

"We joined The Little Flames but it 

was always like, ‘one day we'll do 

something’. Even before then we 

were gonna get a band together 

but it never happened. It's been a 

big circle to get where we are but 

it's been better that why cos we 

know what we're doing now." 

Backed by their experiences, the 

trio were quickly resigned by 

Deltasonic, a label synonymous 

with top music in Liverpool. But 

being a band who dabble with a 

60s style and a cheeky lads lack of 

pretension, are they worried about 

being written off as just another 

Coral? "I don't think we are like 

other Deltasonic bands that much 

really, but you're always gonna get 

people making the comparisons. 

It's not a concern though; we're not 

worried about it." 

Fair enough mate. Either way, HV 

won't be missing The Rascals 

psyche-rock explosion next week. 

Provided we've recovered by then. 


The Rascals play Club Academy 

on June 3rd. Album Rascalize 

is out June 23rd on Deltasonic. 

www.myspace.com/rascalmusic 

nine

TOKYO_ 

POLICE_ 

CLUB 

It’s two years since Tokyo Police 

Club’s mini album, A Lesson In 

Crime, was released in North 

America and gradually slipped into 

the British Isles' consciousness. 

Showcasing a heady mix of postpunk, 

indiepop and emo, the 

Canadian teens' EPs and last 

summer's single, 'Your English Is 

Good', trimmed alternative rock's 

indulgent flab, delivering brief and 

catchy songs tailor-made for the 

live arena. The pressures of 

extensive touring and no little 

procrastination over how their first 

proper album should sound 

delayed the release of their début 

album, Elephant Shell, until last 

month. 

Ahead of their UK tour in June, we 

spoke with lead singer and bassist, 

Dave Monks, the day after their 

biggest headlining show to date, 

the Metro in Chicago. 

HV: How was last night? 

DM: “There was a bit of 

nervousness going into the show, 

which can be a good thing, but it 

was amazing!” 

You seem to have quite a punishing 

schedule at the moment with not 

too many days off – how do you 

stay sane on tour? 

“I don't know that we do, but we 

manage. We've all known each 

other for so long that getting along 

comes naturally and we all have 

some sense of giving each other 

space because otherwise touring is 

like a month of non-stop socialising 

which is strange. Boredom and 

short attention spans are generally 

our main foibles. It’s imperative 

that we keep ourselves excited by 

what we're doing, and we'll do 

whatever is necessary to achieve 

that.” 

Do you feel that the wait for your 

proper full-length début LP has 

been beneficial? 

“I feel that throughout 

touring the EP, we were 

building a solid fan 

base from our live 

shows. Not on publicity 

or anything. And those 

are the kind of fans that 

will stick by you even if 

it takes a long time to 

make your next record. 

And we didn't want to 

let people down with a 

rushed effort. And now 

that it's out, the 

response has been 

great and we're 

continuing to play 

shows that we're really 

proud of.” 

What ideas did you have for the 

album prior to recording, and were 

these fully realised? 

“Because we were touring so 

much, we didn't really have time to 

stop and really think about our 

record before we first started 

recording. We spent a few weeks 

in the studio during September 

2007 of last year and came out with 

a record that wasn't going where 

we wanted it to.” 

How did you progress from there? 

“The day after we came out of the 

studio we played two big shows 

with Bloc Party. And I think it 

occurred to us right there and then 

that we wanted to make a record 

that represented us as an energetic 

live band. We wanted to make a 

record without a filler-track and 

where every song could potentially 

be someone's favourite Tokyo 

Police Club song. So after we 

spent October 2007 touring, we 

halted the gears and went into a 

rehearsal space in Toronto and all 

of sudden had a burst of creativity 

and wrote eight songs in two 

weeks. And then in December last 

year we recorded it in Toronto. And 

we couldn't be happier with our 

record.” 

How have the new tracks translated 

into the live set? 

“The songs from this record seem 

to fit in really well with the old 

songs we have. When we were 

writing the new stuff we were aware 

of our live strengths and I think it 

comes across. Plus we have lights 

now! We've been considering 

covering 'First We Take Manhattan' 

by Leonard Cohen. Because he is 

great, Canadian, and I would get to 

say, "first we take Manhattan" and 

then Graham would play that epic 

string thing and then maybe we'd 

all shout, "then we take Berlin!". But 

we then we realised how long that 

song is and how weird the 

arrangements are and we're 

thinking we might try something 

else first…” 

And finally Graham, [keyboardist] I 

hear you're reviewing the 

bathrooms you frequent during the 

tour via a blog, what do you 

consider the essentials to an 

enjoyable bathroom visit? 

“I'm not picky about bathrooms, I'm 

really not. All I ask for is a 

moderately clean room where the 

pipes are attached and the door 

closes most of the way. This is 

surprisingly hard to find in America, 

but perhaps I can make a 

difference in my own small way. 

You might say that I'm a real life 

hero.” 

Words: Simon Smallbone 

www.tokyopoliceclub.com 

Tokyo Police Club tour the UK now. 

be your 

_own pet 

Having listened to the second Be 

Your Own PET album, the following 

feelings may occur: your ears will 

hurt, like someone has tried to ram 

a telescope through one to see out 

the other side, and failed. Second, 

pure aggression will course through 

your nervous system, willing you to 

act upon it and cause serious 

damage to anything and anyone 

within reach. Finally, it will be 

infinitely clear that the band in 

question have absolutely no 

intention of following the unwritten 

musical rule of 'moving on'. Equally 

irreverent, equally loud, and equally 

as brilliant as their debut, the band 

appear set on distilling punk rock 

back to its base, and in doing so, 

ruffling industry feathers along the 

way. 

For the US release of 'Get 

Awkward' three tracks were 

censored by Universal, including 

the outstanding 'Becky' and 'Black 

Hole', which contain tongue-incheek 

lyrics about violence and 

killing, and being pretty damn 

amused by the whole thing. What 

does front-woman Jemina Pearl 

make of that? 

"IT FUCKING BLOWS!" 

she says. "I've no idea 

why it's all happened 

either ‘cos I'm not an 

old rich white dude with 

a huge pole up his 

ass." 

Thankfully, XL are without said 

poles, meaning we get the 

complete uncut version. Get 

Awkward-gate has not dampened 

the band's patriotic spirit however. 

"America! Fuck yeah! America is 

home, and as you all know, home 

is always better and more 

comfortable. We play house parties 

and small venues all the time back 

home in Nashville, mostly with our 

friends watching and have a great 

time. The US is huge so it takes a 

long time to tour and spread our 

music, but there are definitely 

certain parts of America that show 

us a great time every time we're 

there." 

It seems American heritage 

remains at the dark heart of Be 

Your Own PET. Despite the album's 

pulsating anger and disgust for 

some aspects of American life, 

underground US cinema has 

proved a major influence on the 

band. Russ Meyer flicks, the classic 

zombie films of George A. Romero, 

and even the techno-epic Robocop 

were raided for musical inspiration 

says Nathan Vasquez. 

"I love films, and I like to take my 

favourite movies and relate lines or 

scenes from them to things that 

have happened in my life". 

This is evident in the band’s recent 

dalliance with homemade cinema. 

Three video blogs featuring the 

band before, during and after a 

show at a roller-derby in a variety 

of spoof comi-violent sketches can 

be seen on their Myspace, with 

drummer John in a star turn as a 

lovelorn teen in episode two. While 

getting beaten by roller-derby girls 

and getting high on “’shrooms“, it’s 

clear these four punk kids are, in 

their own words, “chombo-ing as 

hard as (they) can”. This is 

perhaps why the cover art for ‘Get 

Awkward’ features the four band 

members clutching items from their 

childhood; a personal touch from a 

band doing things on their own 

terms. 

“Yeah, they’re things we’ve had for 

a long time. The telephone was the 

phone I had as a kid that my 

parents almost threw away. I had to 

save it from the trash! I wanted to 

make the album look like some of 

my favourite punk album covers. 

Real set-up shots like ‘The 

Incredible Shrinking Dickies’ and X- 

Ray Spex’s ‘Germ Free 

Adolescents’.” says Jemina. 

As if they weren’t busy enough 

offending everyone in sight with 

their current band, the three male 

members have two side projects 

between them; Turbo Fruits who 

are working on the follow up to their 

debut, due out early next year once 

BYOP have completed their 

extensive and not doubt destructive 

world tour, while Nathan’s Deluxin 

So much 

good stuff, 

but you get 

these 

rooms full 

of suits 

and...I don’t 

mission statement? 

know. It’s a 

bit sad 

Words: Andy Porter 

what they 

don’t get to 

hear 

project sells “a ridiculous amount of 

records on the BYOP tour”. So 

does Jemina have any plans for a 

‘side project’ of her own? 

“I had a band with my ex-boyfriend, 

but I quit when we broke up. It was 

called Cheap Time and we had one 

7 inch together. I would love to 

have an all girl band one day, but 

it’s hard to find a girl drummer.” 

So there you go. The advert’s 

there; any female or perhaps 

particularly effeminate male 

drummers interested in lie-ins, late 

nights and making outstanding DIY 

punk records while sharing a tour 

bus with Jemina, email your details 

and we’ll pass them on. The 

“To shove a wad of 

fireworks up their ass 

and light them on fire!” 

www.beyourownpet.net 

‘Get Awkward’ is out now on XL. Be 

Your Own PET play Reading and 

Leeds festivals in August. 

ten eleven

fleet foxes 

Seattle, WA, a boom-and-bust city 

built on lumber and ship building 

and technology companies. It’s the 

birth place of Jimi Hendrix. In World 

War II it was a key port of 

departure for troops heading to the 

Pacific and in the 1990s became 

the coffee capital of the world. 

Come 1991, Seattle was rock 

Valhalla, apparently something to 

do with the success of Sub Pop 

and a certain scruffy three-piece 

called Nirvana. Kurt and Co. shared 

a roster with Earth, Mudhoney and 

Screaming Tress and in 2008, Sub 

Pop’s line-up is arguably even 

stronger than it was in its heyday. 

Just look at this list: No Age, Pissed 

Jeans, Foals, The Go! Team, The 

Shins and the absolute stars of this 

year’s SXSW, Fleet Foxes. Signed 

in the US to their hometown’s most 

famous label, and part of the 

exquisite Bella Union in Europe, 

they fit in perfectly alongside the 

likes of Stephanie Dosen, Midlake 

and The Kissaway Trail. 

Why the history lesson? Well, 

because Fleet Foxes are timeless. 

The only thing that could stop them 

from existing at any point in 

Seattle’s history is the electricity 

needed for their recording 

equipment, mics and some of their 

guitars. So universal is their sound 

that it seems like it’s destiny, 

coincidence or some other force 

placing them at the forefront of the 

city’s current renaissance alongside 

the Tillman brothers, Zach and J, 

Tiny Vipers and The Cave Singers. 

Seattle has mellowed since the 

plaid clad chaos of the grunge 

explosion. Less mud, more honey. 

It’s unsurprising really, when you 

take a look at the five-piece’s 

influences, says singer Robin 

Pecknold. 

“We grew up listening 

to the music of our 

parents,” Robin notes. 

“The Beach Boys, 

Simon & Garfunkel, 

The Zombies, Joni 

Mitchell, Fairport 

Convention, Love, 

Marvin Gaye, Crosby 

Stills & Nash, Bob 

Dylan, Buffalo 

Springfield, and every 

other perennial ‘60s 

band you’d expect to 

find in the record 

collections of baby 

boomers. One of us is 

named after a Steely 

Dan record, for Christ’s 

sake.” We’ll leave it for 

you to spot which one 

of Nicholas Peterson, 

Skyler Skjelset, 

Christian Wargo and 

Casey Wescott it is. 

The sun-kissed Californian pop 

touches and the nods to Dylan and 

‘60s folk music stand out, but then 

there’s also the undeniable 

influence of gospel and hymns 

(‘White Winter Hymnal’), the blues 

of the 1930s (‘Sun It Rises’, ‘Tiger 

Mountain Peasant Song’) and the 

type of gorgeous harmonies last 

heard on Yeasayer’s ‘All Hour 

Cymbals’. Their music even feels 

like it comes from before the 

Renaissance on some songs, such 

as ‘Meadowlarks’ and ‘English 

House’ or ‘Mykonos’ on their ‘Sun 

Giant’ EP. The art work of ‘Fleet 

Foxes’ –depicting a chaotic 

European village in the 1500s with 

its monks, manure and madmen – 

is hardly Daft Punk either. 

It’s a record that appeals to the 

simplest emotions but is in fact a 

very complex composition, with a 

small orchestra’s worth of 

instruments on each song. “We’ve 

succeeded for ourselves if we’ve 

made a song where every 

instrument is doing something 

interesting and melodic”, says 

Pecknold. “We try to draw from the 

traditions of folk music, pop, 

baroque psychedelic, sacred harp 

singing, West Coast music, 

traditional music from Ireland to 

Japan, and are inspired by the 

music of our friends and 

contemporaries in the Seattle 

music family.” 

When all of Fleet Foxes sing 

together it’s even more staggering 

than Pecknold on his own. 

“We aim to be 

adventurous and true to 

ourselves and to enjoy 

our time together. The 

music we make is a 

reflection of our 

instincts. To me, the 

most enjoyable thing in 

the world is to sing 

harmony with people, 

so we do that a bunch” 

, he says. 

The first five songs on their 

wonderful self-titled debut, as well 

as those on the ‘Sun Giant’ EP, are 

the sort of songs you can live in for 

weeks. There are so many 

subtleties; arrangements that you 

don’t pick up first time, melodies 

and harmonies that slip past 

undetected until you become used 

to its dream like state. Pecknold 

hears something else in it too: “This 

record is like our first steps and, 

like any newborn, we made 

mistakes and discoveries and in the 

process better found out who we 

are. That is what the record 

represents to me when I hear it 

now – the process we went through 

to find ourselves the first time.” 

Any time, any place; Fleet Foxes 

are bliss. 

Words: Stephen Eddie 

www.myspace.com/fleetfoxes 

The album ‘Fleet Foxes’ is out now 

on Bella Union. 

LOS 

_CAMPESINOS 

Los Campesinos got 

together at Cardiff 

University, bonding 

over alternative nightlife 

and obscure rock’n’roll. 

Within months of 

forming, they were 

supporting Broken 

Social Scene and were 

the subject of a webfuelled 

bidding war. 

Intent on finishing their 

degrees before 

succumbing to rock 

excess, the Los 

Campesinos locomotive 

is now gathering speed 

across America. HV 

spoke to frontman 

Gareth to find out if 

plans for a theme park 

have been drawn up 

yet. 

HV: Have things slowed down 

since the release of ‘Hold On Now, 

Youngster’? 

GC: “Well, the tour schedule that 

we’ve got lined up at the moment is 

going to be hard. The album only 

just came out in America so we’ve 

got a month-long tour all over the 

United States and Canada and All 

Tomorrow’s Parties festival. If 

anything, I think things are going 

better in North America than they 

are here. The bands that we draw 

influence from and get compared to 

are generally American, and we’ve 

already played sold out New York 

shows so things are very exciting.” 

There’s a song on the album about 

being a punter at ATP. Does life 

imitate art or is it the other way 

round? 

“It’s probably life imitating art 

imitating life. We’ve been to the All 

Tomorrows Parties festivals for a 

couple of years and that song is a 

65% true story about when we 

went for the first time, so it’s really 

surreal to be playing there. When 

we formed the band we got carried 

away with ourselves, and said that 

one day we’d get to play... “ 

It used to be the case that Top Of 

The Pops or Glastonbury were the 

signs of true success. 

“Yeah, but ATP has that exciting 

element to it in that they don’t just 

get the same bands that are 

playing everywhere. Across the 

summer there’ll be a festival every 

weekend and they all have a 

similar line-up.” 

If you were curating, who would 

you have on the bill? 

“Personally, I’d have…(pauses) 

See, I’m pretending I have to think 

about it but it’s pretty much the only 

thing I do think about. Xiu Xiu 

would be up there, and lots of Riot 

Grrrl things. I wish I’d been around 

and been old enough to appreciate 

the Riot Grrrl movement as it 

happened. I’d also like to get 

bands to reform. We’d go for a Life 

Without Buildings reformation, a 

Prolapse reformation… We’d 

submit huge long lists to ATP and 

they’d just tell us “no way”.” 

Why Riot Grrrl? 

“It was a really positive, exciting 

movement which sought to take 

away from the whole 1993 grunge 

scene where bands like Nirvana 

and Alice In Chains made boring, 

dreary, male music. Bikini Kill, 

Huggy Bear and bands of that ilk 

proved that women were just as 

capable of making music and that 

didn’t sit very comfortably with a lot 

of people. There’s a compilation 

called ‘Singles’ from Bikini Kill 

which is pretty accessible. It’s 

more polished, and was produced 

by the guy who mixed our album, 

John Goodmanson.” 

Los Campesinos is Spanish for “the 

peasants”. Are you a politicallymotivated 

band? 

“We want to be more than just a 

band that records music; we want 

to interact with fans, letting them 

know what we like and doing 

covers of things that we hope will 

inspire our fans to seek out music 

that they may not normally get to 

hear.” 

Tell me about the covers on ‘My 

Year In Lists’. 

“The new single is one minute and 

forty nine seconds long, and the 

three B-sides add up to one 

minute, forty nine seconds; a Bikini 

Kill song, a Casiotone song and a 

Deerhoof song. It’s really self 

indulgent, covering songs that we 

love by bands that we love, but a 

lot of people who like our band 

have found us through the NME or 

something, so hopefully it’s exciting 

for them if they haven’t heard Bikini 

Kill before. We’ve covered 

Pavement and we’ve covered 

Heavenly and if people hear our 

versions and like them, hopefully 

they’ll listen to those bands and 

realise how much better they are!” 

So, if I wasn’t listening to ‘My Year 

In Lists’, what would be the second 

best thing to do with one minute 

and forty nine seconds? 

“Brush you teeth. Oral hygiene is a 

must, and you’ll feel a lot more 

comfortable if you’ve freshened up. 

In fact, why not brush your teeth 

while you listen to ‘My Year In 

Lists’? It’s a motivational teethcleaning 

soundtrack.” 

Words: Megan Vaughan 

www.loscampesinos.com 

Los Campesinos play Glastonbury, 

T in the Park, Oxegen and at 

Manchester’s ‘A Day at the Races’ 

this summer. 

twelve thirteen

LADYTRON_ 

SPEEDING_ 

UP 

"We still feel like we're a new 

band…looking back and listening to 

our first records, it takes a while to 

realise that it's been eight years since 

we did that. It feels like we've been 

around a lot less than we have 

been." 

As though in a waking dream where 

Larry T is influential and Freezepop 

are credible, Reuben Wu is getting 

all nostalgic on us. This time next 

year he and his bandmates Danny 

Hunt, Helen Marnie and Mira Aroyo 

will have been testing the dynamic of 

electronic pop for a decade. Ladytron 

were there at the start of the 00s 

fascination with the synthetic style, 

and they're here now having endured 

its highs and lows. By the time you're 

reading this they'll be half way 

through a thirty date trek across 

fourteen 

America on an international tour that 

won't stop until October. Could they 

have imagined this back in 1999? 

"No, we never had any expectations 

at all," Reuben admits. "I'm happy 

with where we are though; we get to 

play all these amazing places that 

other bands don’t like China, 

Columbia and Brazil. And yet we've 

retained quite an underground 

following." 

Strangely enough it's true and no 

more so than here in the UK. Every 

visit from Ladytron to Manchester is a 

sold out but modestly-sized date – 

a fact emphasising our enthusiasm 

for their cold New Wave but also 

underlying the scale of their success; 

"It's only in the UK that we're playing 

small venues; everywhere else we're 

in three thousand capacity arenas. 

We're much bigger outside of the UK, 

especially in the States where people 

really have a connection with us. It's 

a great place to play gigs, being so 

big that people will travel for days to 

get to venues. We sold out this huge 

place in Mexico City and we don't 

even have any kind of distribution 

there whatsoever." 

Exactly what Mexicans identify with in 

Ladytron is unclear, but they've 

always been right up our street with 

the industrialised, brutal confidence 

of their records, streamlined by their 

twin ice maiden frontline. In the 

beginning they shaped the minimal 

electropop sound of 2000 before 

recently moving to veteran Canadian 

imprint Nettwerk, home to such 

electronic innovators like Skinny 

Puppy and BT. Given their 

transatlantic base, the move made 

sense marked by best-yet third 

album, Witching Hour. "It was a bit 

of a milestone record for us," says 

Reuben, "like a converging point 

between our touring career and our 

studio career. Now we've used that 

as a bit of a foundation, like a 

springboard for the new album 

and I think there's a considerable 

improvement in its production." 

So much is the change that you'd 

hardly recognise them from their 

pre-2003 carnation, and not only 

in sound. Since their early days as 

robotic-mannequins on the forefront 

of electroclash fashion (albeit 

indirectly), the look of Ladytron has 

significantly darkened. The music has 

followed suit, songs moving from the 

subject of playgirls and blue jeans to 

ghosts and nervous tension. 

"As people we've always been into 

dark music," explains Wu. "There's a 

lot more soul in sad songs than 

happy songs. This album is definitely 

more aggressive and that’s part of us 

pushing the sound, wanting it to be 

punchier and more immediate than 

the last one." 

The result is a proactive, hyperstylised 

shadiness cooler than 

The Matrix Trilogy. But steady 

development has been the course 

of things, something owing to an 

insatiable drive for this "more" of 

everything that Reuben constantly 

goes on about; "We realised that 

we've starting seeing and hearing 

our music in a different way, thinking 

about it in terms of how it will be 

played live, so we started writing 

music in that dimension. Witching 

Hour was a lot more powerful, richer 

and more wide-ranging in sounds 

and we've only made it stronger 

for Velocifero." 

Velocifero is the title of Ladytron's 

fourth long-player, definable as 'the 

bringer of speed'. "Literally," Reuben 

interrupts, "although it's nothing to do 

with drugs. I'm not a Speed kind of 

guy. It's just a nice word – it's also the 

name of an Italian scooter and a 

really primitive version of the bicycle." 

Life in this globetrotting group must 

be turbulent to say the least. Last 

year, for instance, was mostly spent 

touring Europe with the 

aforementioned Nine Inch Nails, 

before having a single day off and 

jetting out to Paris to start on the new 

LP. Why the hip-capital of crossover 

dance? To rendezvous with one of 

the Ed Banger label's best; "We met 

Vicarious Bliss after he submitted 

remixes of our stuff which we were 

really into, so we went to work with 

him in Paris whilst Alessandro Cortini 

was working on stuff we sent to him 

in LA. This is actually the first album 

we've produced ourselves though. 

Instead of working with a producer, 

we've asked for musicians to come 

up with pieces to add to the tracks. 

We're very hands on and we've been 

more the architect of our own album 

really." 

Big and boastful in its militaristic 

sound, you're never quite sure 

whether what they've made is a rock 

album or an electronic one. Either 

way the pull of a robust song 

beneath it has only got stronger, and 

as impressive as the volume of 'I'm 

Not Scared' or the boldness of 

'Predict The Day' is, there's no 

undermining of substance. "It fits 

together more as an album," agrees 

Reuben. "The writing for this record 

was quite straightforward this time 

around. We'd write apart in our spare 

time and when it came to production 

we'd work on each other's tracks. 

I mean, we've always liked albums in 

the truest sense, but here each track 

has its own identity and there's no 

repetition in attitude. There're no 

missing pieces and not too many." 

Out this month, the time has come 

to take the Velocifero to the world. 

Starting in the town where it all 

began, Reuben's been making the 

most of home's comforts; "I've been 

at home all the time lately," he 

laughs, "sat on the sofa for days on 

end, watching The Hits TV and 

relaxing." The break is a welldeserved 

but rare one. When not 

touring or writing with the band, 

Reuben and Danny are nurturing 

their local scene, having co-founded 

essential clubnight Evol in 2003. The 

amount that Ladytron have done for 

their music community is not to be 

understated. "At the time there was 

definitely a hole which needed filling 

in Liverpool," recounts Wu. "There 

were clubs and bars playing indie 

music, but it was just Stone Roses, 

Chemical Brothers, typical stuff. 

We wanted a particular type of band 

– more new wave, gothier, grittier 

stuff that people might not expect in 

a club. We got in some great DJs 

who hadn’t played Liverpool before, 

and obviously we put on Arctic 

Monkeys before they were big." 

Not before High Voltage booked 

them we might note, but nevertheless 

Evol has become one of the finest 

new music institutions in the UK, 

and is pretty much synonymous with 

a good night out in Liverpool at 

Korova, the bar part-owned by the 

Ladytron men. Reuben might not 

have much to do with business when 

on the road with the band, but what 

he helped start now brings the most 

exciting indie/electro to a home for 

the city's most discerning drinkers. 

Having hosted giants like Vitalic and 

CSS in the last year, what's been the 

key to a successful clubnight? 

"It really is down to a good 

combination of good programming, 

good music when you're DJing and 

how cool the venue is. If one of those 

factors is missing then you don’t get 

the chemistry happening." 

The Toxteth lad remains Liverpoolbased, 

but nine years ago when the 

Glaswegian Helen and Sofian Mira 

joined the local boys, they were 

hardly a Liverpudlian band in the 

most common sense. Did the four 

feel up against to begin with? "Not 

really, no," shrugs the synths-man. 

"When we started there was no real 

scene for our kind of music, but over 

the years it grew to be more 

acceptable. Using keyboards and 

electronic music in bands just 

became more and more common. 

Now it's just another part of any indie 

band. People don’t see you playing 

a synthesiser and assume you like 

Kraftwerk or The Human League." 

Given the saturation of bands taking 

in these influences, is that 

necessarily a good thing? "Yeah 

definitely, because when we started 

off people were obsessing about the 

instruments we were using and 

compared us to bands that really 

didn’t have much of an affiliation with 

us. We might like Kraftwerk and The 

Human League, but we weren't a 

tribute band." He laughs, "I think 

we've passed that stage now." 

Yeah, just a bit. But even if in another 

ten years time the four are still 

playing Academy 3, you can bet their 

tenth album will still be pushing limits. 

And who knows? Maybe the rest of 

the country will have caught on by 

then. 


www.ladytron.co.uk 

Album Velocifero is out June 2nd on 

Nettwerk 

fifteen

singles 

Single of the month 

sixteen 

Hercules & Love Affair – 

You Belong (DFA) 

Queer New York hipsters 

Hercules & Love Affair soup-up 

their disco with an almost bynumbers 

homage to Inner 

City's era-defining party house 

anthems. The band's Nomi 

takes on main vocal duties for 

this one with a warm, laidback 

and soulful performance 

backed by Antony Hegarty's 

warble, sounding bizarrely 

appropriate in this upbeat 

guise. 

The overall effect of 'You 

Belong' is that of the slice of 

The Starfighter Pilot – 

Kingdom Hearts EP 

(14 Sandwiches) 

Full of the kind of Casio-driven, 

electro-pop shuffles and subversive 

word play that has drawn plenty of 

Beck-of-the-north comparisons, 

'Kingdom Hearts' following last year's 

'Alkaline Maisonette' (earning the full 

five HV marks) contains more of the 

same sounds that have made Martin 

The Brightlights - 3 

(Distiller) 

Grimsby. Not a place that immediately 

strikes you as a hotbed of musical 

talent. Or a hotbed of anything recently. 

Legend claims that Grimsby was 

founded by a Danish fisherman called 

'Grim'. Bernie Taupin thought enough of 

the town to write a song about it for 

Elton John's 1974 album 'Caribou'. And 

that was pretty much it for Grimsby. Until 

Barringtone – Snake In 

The Grass 

(This Is Music) 

This enchantingly vaudevillian 

Alphabeat-esque pop track is 

magnificently oddball, not really 

making much sense but lighting a 

hook that fascinates in the same way 

diva relief between every three 

acid jacks at a Chicago gay 

club in 1987. Not a pastiche 

but a lovely, slick mix of 

cowbells and 909 claps in the 

tradition of Todd Terry, Crystal 

Waters and Joe Smooth's 

'Promised Land'. I've a mind to 

go and buy a flat in The 

Hacienda just so this gets its 

rightful play within its walls. 

For me the best thing to come 

from DFA's latest discerning 

acquisition reaches old skool 

perfection, but I know there are 

enough favourites on the album 

to cause disagreement. Either 

way, Hercules & Love Affair's 

Bryant, The Star Fighter Pilot, a 

regular face on Manchester stages. 

Opening with the vaguely sinister 

sounding 'My Little Test Case', its 

ringtone production, whined dark 

verses and twisted melody will find a 

place in the hearts of some, 

elsewhere the comparatively lighter in 

mood - though no-less lyrically jaded 

with its "I don't want to write a song 

about love 'cause I'm sure it's all been 

done before" - recalls the deft touch of 

now. Ladies and Gentlemen, The 

Brightlights. 

The Brightlights are produced by Steve 

Power, once of Robbie Williams fame, 

and have supported The Hoosiers, but 

try not to hold any of that too tightly 

against them. Pounding drums and 

trad-indie riffs are offset by the 

compelling voice of frontman Leon 

Blanchard who growls like an unholy 

union between Caleb Followhill, Kelly 

Jones and Rod Stewart. 

Young Knives do, though solitarily 

more leftfield. 

It's reminiscent of a madcap stage 

version of a Tom and Jerry cartoon, 

brilliantly slumping around a basic and 

catchy verse that wafts apart before a 

considerable choral elation. It's a 

dizzying song that in the best of ways 

doesn't really fit into archetypal song 

eagerly anticipated eight-piece 

live show is going to be some 

party. 

Fran Donnelly 

80s synth-pop producers. 

Though blessed with the cut-andpaste 

home studio skills to make any 

of his peers envious, Bryant's retreading 

of the same cynical lyrical 

couplets soon becomes a little 

monotonous. 

Mike Caulfield 

In a world where Liam Fray is lauded as 

some sort of musical visionary, The 

Brightlights have a bright future indeed. 

They are all the things the Courteeners 

should be; charming, blessed with a 

tune and just rough enough around the 

edges for a little credibility as well. 

Chris Horner 

formulae, instead being an eccentric 

salute to the none-song, the antichorus 

and the fantastic; done with 

awesome talent. 

Alex Lee Thomson 

Mirror Mirror – Wolfgang 

Bang (Holy Roar) 

Slightly nauseating and absent of any 

imagination, this pastiche of Hadouken, 

Foals and everybody else with a 

synthesiser has tried to show some 

maturity, though lacking any kind of 

Liam Finn – Second 

Chance (Transgressive) 

When you hear the words scruffylooking, 

bearded New Zealander what 

immediately springs to mind? That's 

right, it's that overbearing, unhealthily 

hyperactive tool from Radio 1. 

Thankfully he hasn't released another 

record. Though with any luck he'll be 

dedicating some hardcore airplay to 

Liam Finn. 

The Kills – The Last 

Days of Magic (Domino) 

It's getting harder and harder to buy into 

the on-stage tempestuous sexual 

tension painted by Jamie Hince and 

cohort Alison Mosshart with each 

passing redtop column inch connecting 

the leather-clad six-stringed frontman 

with Britain's premier pouter. 

And yet despite the duo's scuzzy lo-fi 

Jaymay - Ill Willed 

Person (Blue Note) 

This new Jaymay single draws 

another shufti at our stunning poet's 

house of brightness, and though this 

isn't her most arresting melody it's 

nevertheless a brilliant service to 

nostalgia and grassroots Americana 

Pin Me Down – Cryptic 

(Kitsuné) 

Pin Me Down is the dancy venture 

that is that Bloc Party pansy Russell 

Lissack teamed up with the stunning 

Milena Mepris. Never mind that 

though, cos there's no ignoring the 

fact that 'Cryptic' is just a top, 

turbulent pop song with the ultra 

slick production of a 1995-1998 

chart obscurity being performed on 

TOTP. 

melody they have only given us 

grounds to hate the 80s revival. 

There are short-lived moments of 

hygienic experimentation, but it's all 

been done before, and better, leaving 

this a senseless song that looks at 

others for inspiration without actually 

Like the Zipper, Finn has been resident 

in London town for many years 

stealthily gaining a reputation on the 

capital's circuit. He swears by his DIY 

ethic, overseeing everything from 

writing to publicity photos and seems 

determined to be anything but 'another 

guy with a guitar'. 

And the hard work has certainly paid 

off. His debut single falls somewhere 

nicely between label-mates Iron and 

Wine and The Shins. It's a gentle yet 

Royal Trux affected noise evolving very 

little since their debut EP 'Black Rooster' 

some six years ago, the pair's dark 

chemistry and unparalleled (though 

aging fast) cool still keep them 

interesting as recent album 'Midnight 

Boom' proved. 

But 'Last Days of Magic' in all fairness 

could have been derived from any of 

one their three long players, Hince's 

measured staccato sparks and blues- 

folk, perverse with a willowy anger. 

Fractionally Regina Spektor, partly a 

Soko salute to Joan Biaz, Jaymay's wit 

in lyric and simplicity in instrumentation 

makes this a song which feels 

sincerely timeless and rewarding. It's 

always an ordeal not to fall in love with 

her voice and that's never as true an 

This is the sound of the oomphplodding, 

guitar winding style of 

Lissack's other band being spruced 

up to become the indie-schmindie, 

Kitsuné-fied Girls Aloud. It's as 

unoriginal and fucking brilliant as 

that sounds too, like coming across 

'She's Hearing Voices' or 'Biology' 

for the first time. It's also ace by 

virtue that it's not Kele Okereke 

marding it up. 

committing to a sound of its own. 

Banging guitars aside, there's so little to 

get your teeth into on this you'll really not 

want to give it more than one spin out of 

pure, morbid, curiosity 


urgent record that creeps up on you 

before clattering into the kind of killer 

chorus that the summer yearns for. On 

this evidence Liam Finn won't be 

needing a second chance (groan). 

Chris Horner 

fuzz riffs when coupled with Alison's 

snarled vocals are still the soundtrack to 

the decadent party you'd never be 

invited too. 

Though as with any good OTT party, 

you'll struggle to remember it not long 

after it's ended. 


avowal as on this remarkable rocket of 

a single which justly lives up to her 

character. 


A typically massive remix from 

Phones ups the indie-disco cred 

whilst it's an enduring credit to the 

original that you can sit through five 

versions of it and still be bobbing 

around to its irresistibility. "A little 

bit… cryyyyptic…" 

Fran Donnelly 

seventeen

albums 

Album of the month 

Spiritualized – 

Songs In A&E 

(Universal / 

Spaceman) 

Hot Club De Paris 

– Live At Deadlake 

(Moshi Moshi) 

eighteen 

A musical enigma, Spiritualized's 

Jason Pierce crafted the majority 

of Songs in A&E before suffering 

double pneumonia and lying 

unconscious in hospital for two 

weeks, at one point weighing just 

six stone. It's a touching, 

outstanding record, detailing 

Pierce's fragile state before and 

after his illness, with remarkable 

results. Songs in A&E is the best 

Spiritualized record for a decade. 

The gorgeous 'Sweet Talk' opens 

with Spiritualized mainstays; 

delicate brass, gospel vocals, 

cute bass and piano. Pierce's 

vocals are typically doe-eyed and 

frail, but it's a soaring opening. 

The ominously titled 'Death Take 

Your Fiddle' features breathing 

samples from Pierce's hospital 

Irrepressible and yet often 

overlooked, Hot Club De Paris 

spend the first half of their 

second record sounding as 

though the trio are hard-wired 

into one another's instinct for 

skinny, rhythmic romping as they 

move across songs seamlessly. 

Their original punk-pop cluster 

bomb hasn't changed so much 

as it has scattered, the band 

swaying from track-to-track with 

games of tension and elastic 

potential. It's all kept in line by 

utmost simplicity – there's 

nothing more than three lads in a 

room here working out ditties 

with tight precision, but where 

single 'Hey Housebrick!' sounds 

breezier and more youthful than 

respiratory unit, and the lyrics "I'll 

take every way out I can find" 

reference not only himself but the 

loss of close friend Richie Lee 

from Californian droners Acetone 

in 2001. 'Soul on Fire' is an 

instant, classic Spiritualized 

single; its majestic strings and 

delicate acoustic strums 

brimming with melody and 

sunshine. 

'Sitting On Fire' is perhaps A&E's 

masterpiece, Pierce's voice 

weary and childlike. When he 

sings "I can't even hold what I 

own" it's impossible not to be 

moved by such stark fragility. 

Elsewhere, Pierce's love of the 

Velvets is revisited with the 

jangly 'Baby I'm Just A Fool' and 

the recurring 'Harmony' pieces 

ever, 'Boy Awaits Return Of The 

Runaway Girl' has a maturer 

restraint. Similarly, 'The Anchor's 

pummelling crescendos present 

something new entirely, whilst 

album backender 'This Thing Is 

Forever' is a simple sure-fire live 

anthem. 

At the time of 2006 debut Drop It 

Til It Pops, Hot Club De Paris 

were the stripped down and 

altogether more fun equivalent of 

Larrikin Love, Mystery Jets or 

even Los Campesinos!. Now 

alongside fledgling Liverpool acts 

like goFASTER>>, they're the old 

heads of a new and upbeat 

angular sound in the city. They're 

really finding themselves here, 

and with The Futureheads 

show a band just as in tune with 

Brian Eno as they are The 

Stooges. 

Musically, there's much to 

admire. The jazz/garage fusions 

of previous album Amazing 

Grace are much more fully 

formed here and like Pierce's 

current body state, a lot stronger. 

There's also a liveliness and 

directness present, where 

previous records were prone to 

drift and over stretch themselves. 

Great to have you back, 

Spiritualized. 

Alistair Beech 

making a comeback, this should 

be a summer of experimental, 

back-to-basics pop. 

Hot Club are still their contagious 

selves though and they've still 

got a penchant for long winded 

titles for devastatingly snappy 

songs. But instead of an inhibited 

backward step, Live At Deadlake 

is a confident consolidation that 

loses none of the boys' cheeky 

charm. 

Fran Donnelly 

The Presets – 

Apocalypso 

(Modular) 

Black Devil Disco Club 

– Eight Oh Eight (Lo) 

Laymar – In 

Strange Lines And 

Distances (TV) 

While the cream of Australia's 

current crop of electro pop acts 

seem to be condensing the 

country's sunshine onto vinyl, 

The Presets are alchemists of 

a darker sound. Not for them 

the big summertime choruses 

of Cut Copy, or the exuberant 

funk of Bumblebeez and 

Midnight Juggernauts. While 

their countrymen (and women) 

have been bringing the party 

from down under to the rest of 

the world, Julian Hamilton and 

K.I.M. have been locked away 

in their lair creating 

Apocalypso, melding the dark 

pop of Nine Inch Nails, 

Depeche Mode and Joy 

Division with the sort of drums 

and 303 bass lines that make 

By day, Bernard Fevre and 

Jacky Giordano are average 

jobbers, making music for 

production libraries. Who'd 

suspect the duo are secretly a 

mystical, cosmic disco force? 

At only six tracks and just over 

half an hour, there are some 

busy busy sounds making this 

every bit the intergalactic 

journey it should be. From 

'With Honey Cream's 

hysterical, wibble-wobble italo 

assault, it's a claustrophobic 

but never particularly 

foreboding sound at a quick 

pace. 'Free For The Girls' and 

'Never No Dollars' are the 

genuinely 80s highlights, 

touching Moroder, Art Of Noise 

and Arthur Baker. 

A band truly tied-up in their own 

symbiotic music, Manchester noise 

architects Laymar have all the 

consistency of quicksand. One night 

they'll triumph with careful vacillation of 

post-rock majesty whilst on others 

they'll self-combust in ten minutes, 

instruments laid to waste. This live 

volatility need not apply here however 

because given the chance to craft a 

whole document of flux, the trio take to 

the task impressively. There's no need 

to be afraid, but don't get too 

comfortable now. 

Seamlessly drifting from the lonely 

piano of 'Rec #4' into the meandering 

restlessness of 'Circles And Squares', 

'In Straight Lines…' begins with the 

disturbed tenacity of Animal Collective 

your teeth rattle. At 4 in the 

morning. In Berlin. 

The album's first single 'My 

People' sets the precedent for 

the whole album; drums like 

bullets, industrial chainsaw 

synths and anthemic, nagging 

choruses. 'This Boy's In Love' 

is another early highlight, with 

its falsetto vocals and gentle 

piano melody a welcome 

respite from all the relentless 

macho beats. Ok, the beats 

still pump away underneath it 

all, but at least they loosened 

up for a minute or two. 

'Yippiyo-Ay' also veers away 

from the dark pounding 

template into a strutting electro 

funk jam, managing to sound 

The brevity of Eight Oh Eight 

however also means that it 

doesn’t have much room to 

manoeuvre in and despite the 

range of sounds in BDDC's 

vintage synth collection, there's 

not a lot to engage you after 

three or four tracks of it. You 

suspect parts of these collages 

have been reverberating 

around their heads for the past 

three decades, and this is the 

overdue discharge of an 

impulse still spinning around a 

forgotten leftfield club. 

The quirk of a band that 

releases this, its third album in 

thirty years doesn’t really need 

to be stated. Too obscure in 

1978 to count as influential, 

their debut Disco Club album 

and gets reduced to the industrial bits 

and pieces of early Cabaret Voltaire. 

'Nu1's ringing over its motorik beat 

provides a shot of the band at their 

most Dionysian, passive-aggressively 

immediate. 

Using samples, layering and colossal 

guitars, it's like merging shades of 

iLiKETRAiNS with some imaginary 

remix album from the other side of 

Radiohead's Amnesiac. It's a 

monochrome psychedelia that 

identifies as much with Battleship 

Potemkin or Heart Of Darkness as it 

does with Throbbing Gristle. 

Veering from the beautiful intensity of 

'Juvenile Whole Life' to the preapocalyptic 

brooding of 'Swords', this 

more like Calvin Harris than 

quite a lot of Calvin Harris 

songs do. Then it's straight 

back to the omnipotent kick 

drum. 

A sprawling, multi-genre epic 

this isn't, but if it's heavy, dark 

techno-pop you're after, then 

prepare to have this album on 

repeat all summer. 

Alex Barbanneau 

was more clairvoyant in its 

electronic anticipation and with 

the 00s resurgence in disco 

fascination the timing seems 

perfect. But like 2006's 

comeback 28 After, this is a 

consummate retrospection that 

just doesn’t have much pull. 

With DFA, Prins Thomas and 

Italians Do It Better around 

today, this can't compare to 

contemporary innovators. 

Fran Donnelly 

is a vastly impressive effort. Why preapocalyptic? 

Because listening to 

Laymar feels as though the worst is 

still to happen yet and in the meantime 

you're teetering on the brink of 

uncertainty. Wisely they don't outstay 

their welcome, and a powerful alt.rock 

album that's only forty-five minutes is 

one reluctant to indulge. Mesmerising. 

Fran Donnelly 

nineteen

Wire - Academy 2 

The RZA as Bobby 

Digita - 

Academy 2 

Felix Kubin + 

Zombie Zombie - 

The Deaf Institute 

twenty 

Legendary post-punk innovators Wire 

are an excellent choice as one of the 

headliners of Futuresonic. Few bands 

have such a strong claim on having 

significantly influenced the path of 

popular music in this country over the 

three decades. 

It's difficult to imagine how the band 

will sound now, over thirty years since 

their seminal Pink Flag LP. When the 

band takes to the stage frontman 

Colin Newman looks a tad 

embarrassed, smartly decked out in a 

suit, expensive looking spectacles and 

holding the now ubiquitous gleaming 

white Macbook. 

The first songs start off slowly; nihilistic 

dirges that seem to have lost their 

intensity. Newman doesn't even seem 

to want to face the crowd, seemingly 

The term living legend is often 

(mis)used with reckless 

abandon, but when it comes to 

the founding father of New York 

rap legends the Wu Tang Clan, 

it's justified. RZA, aka Bobby 

Digital, is regarded as one of 

the all time great producers, and 

rightly so. 

He waltzes onstage traditionally 

late clutching a bottle of fine red 

wine, a sight not usually 

associated with Hip Hop gigs. 

After some initial technical 

difficulties, during which the 

reputation of the soundman's 

mother is called into question by 

The RZA, he causes the room 

to explode by ripping into to 

some of the Wu's anthems. 

Despite some stellar headliners, 

Futuresonic Festival in its thirteenth 

year struggled from a lack of cohesion 

and most disappointingly, anything 

Mancunian. 

Audience numbers for Thursday 

night's gig at the new Trof were paltry; 

the lack of interest was symptomatic 

of the festival's failure to catch the 

imagination of Manchester and I was 

left with the feeling that this was the 

festival which celebrated itself. 

"Do you like nightclubbing? Do you 

like Iggy Pop? This is a cover of Iggy 

Pop's 'Nightclubbing'". This 

unforgettably bad intro to Zombie 

Zombie's final track tonight is about as 

exciting as it gets. The duo's krautrock 

sounded rather like Dan Deacon's 

aware of the lacklustre sound. Things 

pick up as the tempo gradually 

increases through the set and at times 

their incessant groove builds into a 

thrilling cascade of white sound that 

fills the room, but it's hard to escape 

the feeling afterwards that the bleak, 

atmospheric intensity they pioneered 

doesn't ring true coming from a 

middle-aged man with a laptop. 

(AB) 

He may not be the strongest MC 

in the world, but his beats speak 

for themselves. As the opening 

synth wail of '4th Chamber' 

blares out across the Academy, 

hundreds of hands raise the Wu 

sign into the air. Tributes are 

paid to deceased legend Ol' 

Dirty Bastard and unintelligible 

Shaolin slang is distributed, lots 

of wine is consumed, and then 

all too quickly it's over, The RZA 

and crew disappearing in a haze 

of weed smoke. 

(AB) 

superb 'Crystal Cat', but with all the 

fun and invention sucked out of it. 

Thank god for Hamburg's electronic 

muse Felix Kubin, who, flitting 

excitably between keyboard and 

sequencer, introduces some muchneeded 

energy, melodies and good 

humour. As he ripped into a song 

about eliminating Donald Duck from 

one of his dreams with a backdrop of 

loopy electronica, you wonder what 

the stone-faced skinhead bouncer at 

the side of the bar made of this 

fantastic Kraftwerk-like buffoonery. 

(SS) 

2008 

HEALTH + Yacht - 

Academy 2 

Iron & Wine - 

The Ritz 

The Futureheads - 

Academy 2 

The gig-going life of the person who 

saw this show passed away the 

moment HEALTH kicked into their 

thrilling drone-rock set. In fact it was 

enough to erase all my misgivings 

about Futuresonic Festival were it not 

that we actually had promoters, Hey, 

Manchester!, to thank for the capitals 

on show tonight and festival 

wristband-holders had to pay for entry 

into Chinatown's kitsch-est karaoke 

bar. 

Jona Bechtolt project, YACHT serve 

up some electronic-pop fun and revel 

in less than subtly taking the piss out 

of the nerdy and less co-ordinated 

elements of the crowd and generally 

deliver good value. But the night 

belonged to HEALTH's melancholic 

noise rock. Set to a backdrop of 

Though ushered into the public's heart 

just as all things acoustic - preferably 

attached to some excessive facial hair 

- were being tarred with the 

freak/nu/whatever folk tag, Sam 

Beam's slowly expanding collective 

Iron & Wine's delicate picking and 

softy softy approach has always had 

more in common with the denim-clad 

70s California crowd. 

Just as the classic singer/songwriter 

vanguard were more than happy to 

stretch much loved songs out to 

tedious levels of inspired jamming - 

sometimes of the 'cosmic' variety - it 

would seem Beam's also arrived at 

this point in his career too, though 

luckily it's his mastery of the lost art of 

subtlety that keeps boredom from 

setting in. 

Having earlier celebrated the 

release of album number three 

This Is Not The World with a 

riotous HMV performance, any 

signs of fatigue from the 

Sunderland four-piece would be 

hard to detect from the way they 

strike into songs old and new. 

Opening with the familiar rush of 

'Decent Days and Nights', the 

quartet's frantic bursts of chords 

and barbershop vocal 

harmonies - though copied 

many times over by groups with 

half their skill - are still as 

intoxicating as you first 

remember them to be. Fears 

that they may have peaked too 

soon are happily dismissed as 

runs of 'Skip To The End', 

incessant and rare drumming skills, 

HEALTH's other members, sparking 

off one another's energy; chaotically 

and brilliantly flail around the stage 

between drum pad, guitar pedal and 

sequencer. 

Thanks to No Age's well-received new 

album and HEALTH's stunning 

liveshows, the 'Smell' scene, wafting 

out of LA, is finally beginning to get the 

plaudits it deserves. See this band 

post-haste. 

(SS) 

Alex Barbanneau & Simon Smallbone 

First appearing with the stripped down, 

aching epic 'The Trapeze Swinger' 

accompanied by sister Sarah, the 

quiet command and reverence held 

by the Ritz audience is spoilt only by 

the buzz of an overworked extractor 

fan. 

Soon accompanied by his sprawling 

band, they quickly set upon reimagining 

the tracks from his back 

catalogue, 'Boy With a Coin', 'Peace 

Beneath The City', 'Wolves (Song of 

the Shepard's Dog)' and 'Our Endless 

Numbered Days' all given the laidback 

Cali-sound make over, as 

accents are shifted (beats that is), 

drenched in reverb, and stretched 

almost beyond recognition. 

'Meantime', 'Carnival Kids', and 

'Area', as well as newer material 

'Radio Heart', 'The Beginning Of 

The End', and 'Broke Up The 

Time' confidently proves. 

But it's the group's down-toearth, 

good humoured charms 

and distinctive shared 

harmonies that place them 

beyond all late-coming copyists, 

as witnessing a full room oh oh 

oh-ing along instinctively to 

each song shows. Though 

despite the many jewels in their 

post-punk crown, it's still the 

festival 4am drunken chanting of 

Kate Bush's 'Hounds Of Love' 

that gets the loudest reception 

tonight (as it likely will for the 

rest of the band's career), 

Whilst some attendees' attention 

spans soon give up and slip off to the 

bar, the wilfully indulgent Crazy Horseesque 

guitar passage and heartstring 

tugging stacked vocal harmonies 

clearly suit Beam's sepia-tinted view. 


played with an urgency and 

dynamism that suggests even 

they are yet to tire of it. 

With a tight Bank Holiday curfew 

to adhere to their barely past 

the hour-mark set finishes a 

little prematurely for some, 

though any group would 

struggle to keep at such pace 

for much longer. 


twentyone

twentytwo 

Say, Scientist 

by The Maple State 

OUT NOW 

"faultless" - NME 

"energetic, refreshing" 8/10 - 

Drowned in Sound 

“Album of the week” - 9/10 

Manchestermusic.co.uk 

'For The Temperate Lives' released on 

28th April via digital download 

'Say Scientist' mini-LP out now 

from all good record stores. 

myspace.com/themaplestate 

www.highvoltage.org.uk 

www.myspace.com/highvoltageuk 

NEW NOISE 

Send your new band tips to 

GIG of the month 

stephen@highvoltage.org.uk to appear 

in the next New Noise round-up… 

Cheap Hotel 

Few bands would dare tread 

the tightrope of 

pretentiousness that comes 

with naming the likes of 

German Expressionist flick 

The Cabinet of Dr. Calligari 

and transsexual rock 

musical Hedwig and the 

Angry Inch as influences, 

but London-based trio 

Cheap Hotel are not like 

other bands. 

Forming in 2005 after 

sticksman Gregg Braden, 

once described as playing 

like “a manic octopus on 

speed”, answered an advert 

in the back of the ‘NME’ 

placed by fretless bassist Ulli 

Mattsson and singer and 

guitar virtuoso Anna Calvi. 

They have spent the last 

year gigging with the likes of 

Pigeon Detectives, Acoustic 

Ladyland and Mr Hudson & 

The Library, culminating with 

two sold-out support shows 

at Hammersmith Apollo with 

30 Seconds to Mars. 

During this time they refined 

the raw beauty of a sound 

they describe as `classical 

punk’ and released a very 

limited edition debut single 

at the beginning of March - 

the thumping, Zeppelinsized, 

riff-raging ‘New York’. 

Key track: ‘New York’ 

Web: 

www.cheaphotelmusic.com 

Words: Kelvin Goodson 

Rochelle 

Although this new 

electronic assembly are 

darker than the star gazing 

indie poppers, it’s by being 

less in the shade than 

heavier bands such as 

FlyKKiller that permit them 

to render themselves so 

fluidly onto mainstream 

dancefloors. 

Like a more severe, 

though wonderfully gallant, 

New Young Pony Club 

they have approachability 

in melody that confronts a 

wall of judicious beats with 

tenderness in vocal that 

bounds it slightly into the 

territory of a remoulded 

Madonna. It’s no wonder 

this band have been roped 

in to front a remix of a 

Britney Spears track as 

their record-jabbing 

dissolve of dance and 

fusing melancholy beats is 

as joyously teasing as it is 

charmingly ominous, and 

almost punk by ethos. 

Though occasionally 

lunging into the tawdry, 

maybe even cliché, it’s that 

early ‘80s, circa ‘Holiday’ 

gleam that allows them to 

push hard against being 

modular without it popping. 

Key track: ‘Fer de Lance’ 

Web: 

www.myspace.com/rochell 

ebanduk 

Words: Alex Thomson 

Photo: Stewart Ruffles 

Tubelord 

Last summer, Kingston trio 

Tubelord sounded like The 

Blood Brothers fighting 

angry bees in a small tin 

can. Which was obviously 

brilliant for a time, but Foalsgone-emo 

of ‘Propeller’ and 

‘ArmsWatchesFingers’ 

(three choruses in search of 

a verse) where noting 

compared to what was to 

come on March’s debut 

seven inch, ‘Feed Me A Box 

Of Words’ (Big Scary 

Monsters). 

With Meet Me In St. Louis 

dearly departed and the 

aforementioned Foals 

needling their way into the 

mainstream (a good thing), 

it’s fallen upon Tubelord to 

keep the home fires of 

underground, fiddly whatwas-that-core 

burning. But if 

‘Feed Me…’ is anything to 

go by, they shouldn’t be 

staying there for too long 

either. The tight, crashing 

beats and scrappy yelps 

soon give way to something 

a lot, lot bigger. Over the 

last year they’ve gotten the 

hang of writing the kind of 

brilliant choruses that allow 

Biffy Clyro to play main 

stages. 

Tubelord’s tour reaches 

Manchester in August. 

Key track: ‘Feed Me A Box 

Of Words’ 

Web: 

www.myspace.com/tubelord 

Words: Stephen Eddie 

Photo: Stacey Hatfield 

Beat The 

Radar 

This Lancastrian trio are still 

looking for a drummer and 

yet they've already played 

this year's Hide & Seek 

festival as well as student 

romp Pangaea. They're 

starting up on the rounds 

with intent and if they can 

deliver on their melodic 

promise then we've 

something interesting here. 

Beat The Radar's two track 

demo was recorded at the 

local favourite Blueprint 

Studios and it's a tidy 

introduction to their yearning 

rush of guitars. 

'Misunderstood What You 

Said' rings like Interpol back 

when they were good but 

despite all their earnest 

chasing, Beat The Radar 

don't aspire to gloom-rock's 

gravity, instead adopting a 

humdrum melancholy in 

their blustery anthems. 'By 

The Sea' is the pretty 

culmination of this escalating 

power-sound, taking in 

Idlewild and Bloc Party's 

brittle but defiant 

emotiveness. 

We've been missing 

something like this – 

desolate yet hopeful New 

Wave with an immense 

grasp on stadium rock 

dynamics – and this is what 

we want. 

Key track: ‘By The Sea’ 

Web: 

www.myspace.com/beatthe 

radar 


This Is 

MyLawnmower 

When I first heard This Is 

My Lawnmower’s demo 

last year I made a cheap 

jibe about how their name 

was rubbish. But also, that 

bands with silly names 

(Arctic Monkeys, Jimmy 

Eat World, QOTSA) tend 

to make good records; 

their priorities are 

obviously in the right place: 

on the tunes not the name, 

the hair and being gobby 

about bands that sound 

exactly the same as you. 

The good news is that 

TIML make even better 

songs now than they did 

last May. Back then the 

songs (such as ‘Imagine 

How She Felt’) were synth 

heavy and riding the 

electro-rock wave being 

surfed by Enter Shikari. 

Now their use of 

electronics is more subtle, 

such as on ¡Forward, 

Russia!-esque ‘Quagmire’ 

or ‘No Consequence’s’ 

pop-rock brilliance. Just 

don’t confuse them with 

the handy online 

lawnmower guide of a 

similar name. 

This Is My Lawnmower 

play the Dry Bar on 

June 7th. 

Key track: ‘Quagmire’Web: 

www.thisismylawnmower 

.com 

Words: Stephen Eddie

listings June- July 

GIG LISTINGS 

June 

Sunday 1st 

Tokyo Police Club @ Night & Day Café 

Vampire Weekend @ Academy 2 

Kinky Friedman @ Academy 3 

Tapes n Tapes @ Club Academy 

Blind Atlas @ The Attic 

Carjack Mallone @ The Ruby Lounge 

Glad Eyes @ Tiger Lounge 

Liam 1987 @ The Bay Horse 

Physic Psurgeons @ Moho Live 

The Drake Equation @ Jabez Clegg 

The Spires @ One Central Street 

Monday 2nd 

Lykke Li @ Night & Day Café 

Foo Fighters @ City Of Manchester 

Stadium 

Army Of Freshmen @ Music Box 

Tuesday 3rd 

Metronomy @ Night & Day Café 

The Maybes @ The Roadhouse 

Flogging Molly @ Academy 2 

The Weakerthans @ Academy 3 

The Rascals @ Club Academy 

Wednesday 4th 

Eaton + Signals @ Night & Day Café 

Ladyhawke @ The Roadhouse 

Your Demise + Azriel @ Music Box 

Palace Fires @ Ruby Lounge 

Vetiver @ Dulcimer 

Thursday 5th 

Those Dancing Days @ Night & Day Café 

Mary J Blige @ M.E.N Arena 

The Beep Seals (Album Launch) @ Deaf 

Institute 

Friday 6th 

Pete and The Pirates @ Night & Day Café 

Why? @ The Roadhouse 

Black Kids @ Academy 3 

Whiskycays @ The Ritz 

Boys Noize @ The Club 

Solas @ Waterside Arts Centre 

Saturday 7th 

Divided Attention + The Brightsparks @ 

Night & Day Café 

Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks @ 

Academy 2 

Say Anything @ Academy 3 

Thea Gilmore @ Club Academy 

Neil Diamond @ M.E.N Arena 

Yazoo @ The Apollo 

Sunday 8th 

The Night Marchers @ Night & Day Café 

Natty @ The Roadhouse 

I Was a Cub Scout @ Academy 3 

Morcheeba @ Club Academy 

Estelle @ The Ritz 

Cara Dillon @ The Lowry 

Neil Diamond @ M.E.N Arena 

Monday 9th 

Ox. Eagle. Lion. Man @ Night & Day Café 

None The Less @ Music Box 

Cartel @ Club Academy 

twentyfour 

Tuesday 10th 

Heads We Dance + Modernaire @ Night 

& Day Café 

Die! Die! Die! @ The Roadhouse 

Robyn @ Academy 2 

The Road To Download @ Academy 3 

Alphabeat @ Club Academy 

Laura Marling @ St Phillips Church 

Ali Campbell @ The Apollo 

Wednesday 11th 

The Dodos + Magic Arm @ Night & Day 

Café 

Cage The Elephant @ The Roadhouse 

Cat Power @ Academy 1 

Darren Hayman & Jack Hayter Play 

Hefner Songs @ Ruby Lounge 

Thursday 12th 

The Ambush + Little Fields @ Night & Day 

Café 

Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan @ 

Academy 2 

Diane Cluck + Emmy The Great @ Deaf 

Institute 

Friday 13th 

Matthew Dear @ Night & Day Café 

Jay Scott Project @ The Roadhouse 

The Nouvelles @ Academy 3 

The Lancashire Hotpots @ Club Academy 

Britain’s Got Talent @ The Apollo 

Boyzone @ M.E.N Arena 

Out From Animals @ Dry Bar 

White Williams @ Ruby Lounge 

Saturday 14th 

The Sugars @ Night & Day Café 

Glasvegas @ Ruby Lounge 

The Automatic @ Academy 2 

Karma @ Academy 3 

The Phonophobics @ Club Academy 

Boyzone @ M.E.N Arena 

Sunday 15th 

Joseph Arthur @ Night & Day Café 

Blue Oyster Cult @ Academy 2 

Monday 16th 

The Twilight Sad @ Night & Day Café 

Sergeant @ The Roadhouse 

Craig David @ The Lowry 

Rival Schools @ Academy 3 

Paulasville @ Zion Arts Centre 

Tuesday 17th 

Red Vinyl Fur (Single launch party) @ 


Fleet Foxes & Beach House @ The 

Roadhouse 

Queensryche @ Academy 1 

Toots & The Maytals @ Academy 2 

The Aliens @ Academy 3 


Bashphelt @ Night & Day Café 

Innocent Gun @ Jilly’s Rockworld 

The Police @ M.E.N Arena 

Paulasville @ Zion Arts Centre 

Thursday 19th 

The Genes + Open Origin @ Night & Day 

Café 

The Naughtys @ Academy 3 

Liars + Deerhunter @ Club Academy 

Journey @ The Apollo 

Friday 20th 

The Reign + The Reveres @ Night & Day 

Café 

The Tides & Juno Ashes @ Academy 3 

Def Leppard + Whitesnake @ M.E.N 

Arena 

Saturday 21st 

The Last Loft + Vinyl Youth @ Night & 

Day Café 

Uniformed @ Academy 3 

Elivation @ Club Academy 

Broken Records @ Ruby Lounge 

Santana @ M.E.N Arena 

Mark Morriss @ Dry Bar 

Michael McDonald @ The Apollo 

Sunday 22nd 

John Fogerty @ The Apollo 

Bon Jovi @ City Of Manchester Stadium 

Saving Aimee @ Jabez Clegg 

Monday 23rd 

LAB Records Tour @ Music Box 

Tuesday 24th 

Rolo Tomassi @ The Roadhouse 

Dave Arcari @ Ruby Lounge 


Fake Kings @ Night & Day Café 

Infadels @ The Roadhouse 

John Mayer @ Academy 1 

Kathleen Edwards @ Academy 3 

Buddy Guy @ Bridgewater Hall 

Sole & Skyrider @ Music Box 

Thursday 26th 

Dying Fetus @ Music Box 

Negative Appoach @ Star & Garter 

Friday 27th 

Hayley Faye + All The Kings Men @ Night 

& Day Café 

My Morning Jacket @ Academy 2 

Stone Gods @ Academy 3 

Matt Schofield @ Club Academy 

Acousticfest- Alternative Glastonbury 

Weekend @ M19 Bar 

George Benson @ M.E.N Arena 

Kunt & The Gang @ Dry Bar 

The Aftershow @ Moho Live 

Saturday 28th 

The Romes + Up To The Rafters @ Night 

& Day Café 

My Bloody Valentine @ The Apollo 

Guns 2 Roses @ Ruby Lounge 

The Fall @ Academy 2 

Richard Fleeshman @ Club Academy 

Shels + Latitudes @ Music Box 

Sunday 29th 

My Bloody Valentine @ The Apollo 

Radiohead @ L.C.C.C 

MC4 Life @ Contact Theatre 

Monday 30th 

Funeral For a Friend @ Academy 3 

Cut Copy @ Night & Day Café 

July 

Tuesday 1st 

The Cave Singers @ Night & Day Café 

The Whigs @ The Roadhouse 

The Music @ Academy 1 

Brian Jonestown Massacre @ Academy 2 

Jason Mraz @ The Ritz 

Wednesday 2nd 

The Galvatrons @ The Roadhouse 

Beck @ The Apollo 

The Rotted (aka Gorerotted) @ Music 

Box 

Thursday 3rd 

Manifesto + Grand Architects @ Night & 

Day Café 

Mick Hucknall- Tribute To Bobby @ The 

Apollo 

Friday 4th 

Mutineers + Charlie & The Ghosts @ 


Spocks Beard @ Academy 3 

You Me At Six @ Club Academy 

Carjack Mallone @ The Ritz 

Saturday 5th 

White Light Parade + The Jannocks @ 


Tift Merritt @ Academy 3 

Arnocorps @ Satans Hollow 

Sunday 6th 

The Maple State @ Night & Day Café 

Scottfest @ Satans Hollow 

Monday 7th 

Jack Johnson @ M.E.N Arena 

Consort With Romeo + WeHaveAGetway 

@ Music Box 

Tuesday 8th 

Interpol @ The Apollo 

Hayseed Dixie @ Waterside Arts Centre 

Profane @ The Roadhouse 

Wednesday 9th 

The School + Amida @ Night & Day Café 

Eddy Grant @ Academy 2 

Comeback Kid @ Academy 3 

Alicia Keys @ M.E.N Arena 

An Evening With Pentangle @ Palace 

Theatre 

Thursday 10th 

Transgressive Hot Summer Tour feat. 

Jeremy Warmsley @ Night & Day Café 

Jaguar Love @ The Roadhouse 

Furthest Drive Home @ Music Box 

Friday 11th 

The Merge + Ashanay @ Night & Day 

Café 

The Rocket Summer @ Academy 2 

Reemer @ Academy 3 

The Rocket Summer @ Club Academy 

Kylie @ M.E.N Arena 

Saturday 12th 

Yngwie Malmsteen @ Academy 2 

Summer In The Park @ Platt Fields Park 

Giselle @ The Lowry 

Parts and Labor @ Salford Islington Mill 

Sunday 13th 

Summer In The Park @ Platt Fields Park 

Monday 14th 

Murder By Death @ Night & Day Café 

Oxbow + Harvey Milk @ Ruby Lounge 

Tuesday 15th 



Curious Generation presents…TBC @ 


Watermelon Slim @ Academy 3 

Dan Le Sac Vs Scroobius Pip @ Club 

Academy 

Death Cab For Cutie @ The Apollo 

Smudge @ Music Box 

Thursday 17th 


Friday 18th 

Heathseeds + Would Be Emperors @ 


An Evening With The Punch Brothers @ 

Academy 2 


Saturday 19th 

The Firebrand + The Chartists @ Night & 

Day Café 

Jay-Z @ M.E.N Arena 

Butthole Surfers @ Academy 2 

Mike Borgia @ Dry Bar 

Tuesday 22nd 

Designer Magazine present…TBC @ 


The B52’S @ Academy 1 

Bane @ Music Box 

Wednesday 23rd 

Chaka Khan @ The Bridgewater Hall 

Thursday 24th 

An Evening With Daniel Johnston & 

Friends @ New Century Hall 

Friday 25th 

The Aftershow @ Moho Live 

Saturday 26th 

The Orchids + My Captive Audience @ 


Monday 28th 

Johnny Truant @ Music Box 

Tuesday 29th 

The Acacia Strain @ Music Box 

KD Lang @ Bridgewater Hall 


Billy Idol @ The Apollo 

Mirrorview @ Jilly’s Rockworld 

CLUBLISTINGS 

June-July 

Monday 

Revolver @ The Roadhouse 11pm- 2am 

Monday @ The Ritz 10pm- 2am 

Up The Racket @ Joshua Brooks 10pm- 

2am 

Tuesday 

Sex With Robots @ The Roadhouse 

11pm- late 

Way Back When @ Po Na Na 9pm- 2am 

Click Click @ Font Bar 9pm- 1am 

The Alternative @ The Venue 11pm- late 

Wednesday 

Retro @ 42nd Street 10pm- late 

Klub Knowhere (3rd p/m) @ Joshua 

Brooks 10pm-2.30am 

Tramp @ Club North 10pm- 2am 

Thursday 

From Manchester With Love @ 42nd 

Street 10pm- 2am 

Don’t Think Twice… @ Font Bar 9pm- 

1am 

Romp @ One Central Street @ 9.30pm- 

3am 

In The City @ The Venue 11pm- late 

Risky Business @ Joshua Brooks 

Friday 

Long Live Rock ‘n’ Roll @ The 

Roadhouse 

Friday Feeling @ 5th Avenue 10pm- 3am 

Keys, Money, Lipstick @ Star & Garter 

Glamorous Indie Rock n’ Roll @ 42nd 

Street 

Popscene @ The Brickhouse 10.30pm- 

2.30am 

Relief @ Club Alter Ego 11pm- 4am 

Another Planet @ South 10pm- 3am 

Homoelectric @ Legends 10pm- 4am 

Twist and Shout @ The Venue 10pm- 

3am 

Don’t Miss This @ Retro Bar 

Guilty Pleasures @ One Central Street 

10pm- 3am 

Club Clique @ Mint Lounge 

Dirty Tourism presents Bigger Than Jesus 

(last Fri p/m) @ Joshua Brooks 

Locked (2nd fri p/m) @ Joshua Brooks 

Audio Salad (3rd fri p/m) @ Joshua 

Brooks 

Please email your gig and club 

listings for June/July 08 to 

listings@highvoltage.org.uk 

Next deadline is May 16th 

Compiled by Mike Caulfield 

twentyfive

Creamfields - 10 years and counting 

This August, 

Creamfields returns 

for what will be a 

landmark tenth time in 

the UK. Boasting one 

of its strongest ever 

DJ line-ups - as well 

as live acts such as 

Kasabian, Ian Brown 

and Pendulum - the 

party has switched to 

a two-day format and 

looks posed to be one 

of the few genuinely 

fresh weekenders in a 

year of festival 

overkill. HV caught up 

with organiser James 

Barton to look back at 

a decade in which 

Creamfields became 

a worldwide 

phenomenon and to 

see what the future 

holds for dance 

music's premier 

summer shindig. 

HV: Firstly James, 

congratulations on reaching 

ten years with Creamfields. As 

you prepare for this summer's 

event, what has changed since 

the first? 

twentysix 

James: “It doesn't feel like ten 

years at all, especially when you 

compare it to running Cream - 

which did feel like ten years! The 

first one took place in 

Winchester, but other than that 

the format hasn't really changed. 

We've added the second day and 

a few bands who wouldn't 

ordinarily be associated with 

Creamfields, but we never felt we 

had to be dramatically different. 

“With this being the tenth 

anniversary, it might have been 

tempting to pat ourselves on the 

back and take a trip down 

memory lane. But we wanted to 

reposition it for the next ten years 

- it's still got places to go.” 

HV: Would you say that it is no 

longer the case that you are 

competing with other dance 

festivals such as Global 

Gathering and Gatecrasher's 

Summer Soundsystem - you 

are now looking to take on the 

more traditional events like 

Reading etc? 

“No, those guys are still our 

competitors - the heartbeat of 

Creamfields is and always will be 

dance music. I get pissed off 

when dance music is dismissed 

as irrelevant, when it is still the 

most exciting form of music 

around today. You can see the 

influence it has had on pop and 

rock, and you can see the 

influence of Creamfields on other 

festivals. Why should Reading 

and Leeds be the first port of call 

for 16 to 17-year-olds? And if 

those festivals can put on people 

like The Chemical Brothers, why 

shouldn't we take their headliners 

too?” 

HV: Creamfields is now in 

Halton, having been in Speke 

and Winchester. Will the 

festival be staying there 

permanently? 

“We really hope so. We were 

forced to move from Speke 

because of redevelopment, but it 

was a good time to move as it 

allowed us to change the format. 

Plus I thought the festival 

deserved a better site - a lot of 

events were taking place in 

beautiful places, so why couldn't 

we have that for Creamfields?” 

HV: Is there anything on this 

year's line-up that you're 

especially excited about? 

“I'm curious to see 

how Kasabian will 

work, as this is my 

fourth attempt at 

booking them! If we 

can get 30,000- 

35,000 people in front 

of that stage, they will 

blow the roof off.” 

HV: With all the work that goes 

into making Creamfields a 

success, how much are you 

able to enjoy the festival? 

“I'll get to see as many of the 

bands and DJs as possible, but 

I'll always be on tenterhooks! I 

don't get drunk, it's too important 

that I can't switch off. My buzz 

comes from seeing others having 

a good time, from bands and DJs 

telling me that they loved their 

gig. Once it's all out of the way, 

me and all the team will go out 

and get absolutely pissed!” 

HV: Looking back over the ten 

years, what has been your 

proudest achievement for 

Creamfields? 

“Bringing it back to Liverpool, 

Creamfield's spiritual home. We 

had a falling out with our partners 

in Winchester and lost the site. 

We found ourselves organising a 

festival in Liverpool for 30,000+ 

people, and we had no idea of 

how it'd go. But when we got the 

gates open, we knew we'd done 

it. The tiredness and the 

occasion got to me and I did find 

the tears rolling down the 

cheeks!” 

HV: As the party enters its 

second decade, what do you 

think it can still achieve? 

“I want us to be a festival that 

people want to play - modern, 

groundbreaking and different. 

The place where people play just 

before they become huge, which 

is when I think they're at their 

most exciting. We're about youth, 

noise and hedonism. Justice, 

New Young Pony Club and 

Ladytron are all acts still on their 

way up - and they've all played at 

Creamfields. That's exactly what 

I want us to be about - modern, 

exciting music.” 

Words: Neil Condron 

www.creamfields.com 

Creamfields, 23rd – 24th August, 

Daresbury, Cheshire 

www.creamfields.com Creamfields, 23rd – 24th August, Daresbury, Cheshire 

twentyseven

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