Spring Offensive have always been skilled at creating innovative music videos (see Worry Fill My Heart) and their newest offering is no different. Created by mounting 12 iPhones to 12 dancers, the video shows a choreographed dance filmed from 12 different angles, and is the perfect visual to accompany the haunting harmonies of the song.
Spring Offensive will be supporting Gaz Coombes on tour in April.
3 years after the roaring success of their debut album, Beachcomber's Windowsill, Stornoway have returned with a sumptuous follow-up in Tales From Terra Firma, and during that period the band have certainly achieved a lot. Main stage appearances at both Glastonbury and the Isle of Wight Festival; a separate Zulu side-project comprised of Oli and Rob Steadman (bassist and drummer) and friends; and even being an answer to a question on University Challenge, have ensured that the band has picked up a large following since the release of their first album.
With a name like Tales From Terra Firma, you'd think the band would have moved away from the maritime exploits that feature so heavily on Beachcomber's Windowsill, however it's clear that the seasickness hasn't set in for them quite yet. Based on Samuel Taylor Coleridge's poem, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Knock Me On The Head, shows the Stornoboys as delirious lost explorers. The lyric, 'I saw a feathered silhouette on the crest of unforgiving waves, it hovered over salty air and I couldn't tear my eyes away' shows a certain amount of romanticism in keeping with the 19th century poets who seemed to have so heavily influenced the songwriting.
In fact, Tales From Terra Firma sees a deeper lyricism causing Briggs to describe it as '"an album of stories about rites of passage". Writing about birth, marriage and death, Stornoway have grown older and wiser since their debut. As an opener, You Take Me As I Am, is a delightfully upbeat, but nonetheless moving account of a wedding day, and in true Stornoway fashion, demonstrates Briggs' ability to make even the simplest of moments sound like Shakespearean love sonnets.
With an opening reminiscent of Wild Beasts' Loop The Loop, Farewell, Appalachia is a stunning ode to the mountainous American landscape. The haunting vocals and lyrics of 'I dreamed of rising up beside you among the galaxy and stars' adds to the "sense of escapism" on the album that Briggs is so keen to refer to. He has a point though - from the Appalachian mountains to the almost Japanese feel to the start of Knock Me On The Head, the band seem intent on exploring faraway lands, so foreign to their hometown of Oxford.
The more reflective, The Ones We Hurt The Most, is stunning in its simplicity, whilst on November Song Briggs' voice rings out with a real sense of sincerity as he sings 'I won't be afraid of the darkness a coming while I know a love that is as sure as the morning'.
Hook, Line, Sinker is definitely the most psychedelic Stornoway have ever been, and it's probably not often 'Stornoway' and 'psychedelic' appear in the same sentence. With an almost alien, electronic sound, it's an interesting new departure for the band whose first album so firmly rooted them in the folk genre.
The overriding sense of the album is one of a band who have stuck to the basis of doing exactly what they want with little interference from the record label. For many bands, the second album can be a tad contrived, especially when their debut has had success. However, for Stornoway, this hasn't been the case. Recorded in churches, and the garage of the Steadman brothers, it's very much a home-grown affair.Their attention to detail, as always, is astounding, with multi-instrumentalist, Jon Ouin, bringing new and exotic instruments to the songs, which gives the album such a personal and vibrant feel, and makes it such a joy to listen to. With a Spring tour taking them around the UK, Europe and North America, the release of Tales From Terra Firma marks a new stage in the band's musical voyage.
Leeds band, Just Handshakes, have released the video for their first single taken from their debut album, Say It, which is due to be released later this year on California-based record label, Bleeding Gold. Shot on film stock from the year that they were born, the vivid colours of the video perfectly match the indie-pop vibes of the song. You can download the single for free here.
The concept behind Sofar Sounds is a simple and yet surprisingly rare one. Hosted in living rooms around the world, audience members are asked not to talk throughout the set, and to remain until the end. It's always hard for support bands to play when half the audience are preoccupied at the bar, and so the idea of appreciating all the bands in a line-up is a much needed one. For my first Sofar Sounds, the dreaming spires of Oxford seemed like the perfect setting, with its rich music scene currently producing so many successes from rockers Foals, to folk-poppers, Stornoway.
The evening got off to a swinging start with self-proclaimed Freakadelics, Bambino dell'Oro. After 30 seconds of what seemed like complete improvisation with no apparent link between piano and drums, I was pleasantly surprised when the beat began to pick up, and a melody appeared. With no vocalist, it was a chilled start to the evening with a soprano saxophone melting into the piano and drums - refined and elegant jazz which set the mood perfectly.
Where Bambino dell'Oro soothed, King of Cats, on the other hand, displayed an intensity which occasionally verged on the unnerving. His quiet, unassuming demeanour was in sharp contrast to the uncompromising tone of his songs and disturbing lyrics. However, the musical expertise behind the songs was impressive with catchy melodies, and accomplished guitar playing.
After such a forceful set, the dulcet tones of The Melodic relieved the tension, and despite their soft voices and gentle melodies, they never lost the attention of the audience. Melodicas appeared for the second time in the evening (having already been used by Bambino dell'Oro), prompting an anecdote about how they once forgot to take said instrument to a gig - ironic considering they were called Melodica, Melody and Me at the time. With their debut album in the works, their charmingly folky set ensured that this is a band to watch.
An intimate atmosphere was guaranteed with such a small audience and it was wonderful to feel so close to the artists, not only physically, but emotionally - the rawness of the unplugged music seemed a lot more personal and natural than in larger venues. The evening as a whole showed exactly what a gig should be like with a respectful and attentive audience, and for that, Sofar Sounds, I salute you.
For more information on how you can apply for tickets to Sofar Sounds, visit: www.sofarsounds.com
Today brought the release of the music video for the first single from Stornoway's sophomore album 'Tales From Terra Firma'. Based on Samuel Taylor Coleridge's poem, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, the video for Knock Me On The Head perfectly encompasses the maritime theme of the song, and the ominous opening visuals set the scene for the epic song to follow.
Oxford-based producer and musician, Sebastian Reynolds, has embarked
on a new initiative to release a remix each month of 2013, raising money
for different charities over the course of the year. This month's remix is of fellow Oxford musicians, Spring Offensive's Worry Fill My Heart, with proceeds going to the National Deaf Children's Society. Although its only just over two minutes long, it's a wonderful remix, and a sure sign that the debut album Reynolds is currently working on, will be a great one.
You can also listen to January's remix (Dearly Distracted - Meursault) below.
2012 was a great year for Kyla La Grange. Not only did it bring about the release of her stunning debut album, 'Ashes' (which featured on NotAnotherRainySunday's top 10 albums of the year) but she was also one of the musicians to take part in the musical project Africa Express. I got in touch with the songstress to find out exactly what this year has been like, and what's in store for 2013.
With your South African and Zimbabwean heritage, do you think their
musical traditions ever translate into your own songwriting?
Unfortunately
my parents didn't listen to much African music when I was growing up -
they liked a wide range of things (Rock, Blues, Folk, Classical) but I
wouldn't say I was very well schooled in music from Southern Africa
itself, which is a shame, as I think it would've been great to have had
some non-Western influences too.
What were your musical influences growing up?
At
home my parents listened to The Beatles, The Stones, Bob Dylan, Joni
Mitchell, JJ Cale, Muddy Waters, Donovan, Simon & Garfunkel....I
could go on and on. My mum also loved opera and always had Classic FM
playing, and I had classical singing lessons for years before I started
singing rock and pop music. When I was about 12 I got massively into
80s power ballads - I bought T'Pau 'China in Your Hands' and Bonnie
Tyler 'Total Eclipse of The Heart' on vinyl and I used to stick them on
our record player and sing along over and over and over again. I was
always in choirs and I wrote (bad) little songs at home on my own.
You've often been compared to Florence & The Machine in reviews -
do you think this type of comparison is useful for new artists, or can
it be a bit of a hindrance?
I
don't mind at all - it's just a way people have of placing you. Unless
you really despised the artist you were being compared to I don't get
why people would get annoyed about it - it's flattering if anything.
What's your songwriting process like? Does it take a lot of concentration, or is it something that comes easily to you?
It
is completely different from week to week. Sometimes I sit down and I
just write for hours and hours and I don't even notice it getting dark
outside and I have to eventually tear myself away from the song, but
sometimes I really struggle to even get started. I can never force a
song; if it doesn't want to come then it won't, I just have to leave it
and come back another time. I think songs should come along of their own
accord - I don't like the idea of deciding that I'm going to write a
song, I like the song to decide that it's going to be written.
Your music video for Been Better is a visual treat with mystical wolves and peacocks - what was the inspiration behind it?
Well,
I like hanging out with animals so any excuse to do that and I will.
Those weren't real wolves though - they were called 'Timber Dogs' and
they liked eating biscuits, so not quite as mystical in real life. I
don't know, I'm a big fan of fantasy and fairy stories so I like adding
that element into videos and the live shows - it makes me feel more at
home.
In 2012, you took part in the project 'Africa Express'. What was it
like working with such a range of artists with very different styles to
you? And what has been the legacy of that journey?
Africa
Express was one of the most amazing things I've ever had the
opportunity to be involved with. I was exposed to so many musical styles
and instruments I'd never heard before, and everyone was so lovely,
there were no egos or arguments. It truly was such a beautiful thing;
everyone collaborated and made friends with people they might not
otherwise have had the chance to meet.
Which bands or artists do you think we should be looking out for this year?
Daughter,
who are incredible (and I think they are going to quietly take over the
world), Dog is Dead, whose live shows are some of the best shows I've
seen, and Bastille, whose song 'Bad Blood' I am unhealthily addicted to.
With your debut album now under your belt, what's in store for you in 2013?
At
the moment I'm just completely obsessed with writing the new album. I
get up and write and record all day; I don't want to go out or see
anyone, it's great. I think I will have finished writing all the songs
for the second album by March, so I'd love to have it recorded by the
end of the year, though that is probably wishful thinking. These things
always take longer than you expect.
Just found these photos from Lana Del Rey's gig (part of the iTunes festival) in September 2012, supported by Benjamin Francis Leftwich. Although I never wrote a review of the actual night, I hope you enjoy the photos below. Additional photos are up on the NotAnotherRainySunday facebook page.
