Well, the year will soon be over and 2016 will be ushered in no doubt with much regretful imbibing of alcohol in the process. This is a wee baby of a blog though, sadly we hadn’t gotten around to sorting out and fully bringing it into the world until the year was almost done an dusted and it’s been at a time where I’ve had a fair bit on and couldn’t really justify logging many hours on scribbling opinions and articles on bands I like and feel others should like too. So here’s a quick rundown of somethings we wish we’d been up and about in time to cover and of what I think are the best albums of 2015… for what’s its worth.
Firstly we remember Brandon Carlisle drummer with the legendary pop punkers Teenage Bottlerocket who was so suddenly and tragically taken from us at the age of 36 in November. I haven’t been able to listen to them since without nearly shedding a tear and his loss sent a palable shockwave through the relatively small and tightknit community of Pop Punk both in the US and UK.
There’s a tribute and benefit gig for the Carlisle family organised by Fraser of the Murderburgers and it’s scheduled for 23rd January at the venue: 13th Note, Glasgow. 8pm start and £5 on the door, money raised will be going to the Carlisle family to cover the costs of the funeral and medical expenses.
Bands booked to appear are:
Teenage Rammyrocket – a TBR tribute act made up of members of The Murderburgers, Kimberly Steaks and Lemonaids.
Manchester’s – Don Blake catchy stuff played by a great band who go from strength to strength whenever I’ve seen them live.
Glasgow’s: The Lemonaids– Surf Pop Punk inspired by the Queers, Ramones et al.
A great night of great music for a great cause. Check out the facebook page here for more up to date information when posted-
https://www.facebook.com/events/426289124226951/
Farewell of course as well to Lemmy, a man who lived the rock n’ roll lifestyle 24/7 and wonderfully hang up free and with no affectations. He was what he was, and if there are any such things as ‘rock n’ roll clichés’ it’s probably because he invented pretty much all of them. Let’s be honest though and admit we’re all a little bit amazed that he lasted to 70 given his diet, drinking and intake of class As over the years. How Death had the nerve to come for him is anyone’s guess. His finest moment for me will always be the raucous appearance on The Young Ones which sent school boys up and down the nation shaking their heads to ‘Ace of Spades’ … and not a pot noodle in sight.
Also we bid farewell to John Bradbury the late drummer of the Specials and The Specials AKA and his own band the Soul based JB Allstars. Bradbury had joined the Specials shortly prior to their break out year and the founding of 2tone and he subsequently would go on to join the post break up version of the band known as The Specials AKA. In later years he would play again with one of the reformed line ups for the Specials reunion tour.
ALBUMS of 2015:
My own personal choice for four of the best from the crop of albums which graced my stereo this year are (in no particular order)-
Giuda: ‘Speak Evil’ on Burning Heart Records
A rip roaring trawl through some proper Bootboy era Glam Rock reimagined for the 21st century and played by Italians. Slade meets Streetpunk and all carried off with platform booted panache. This is their 3rd and possibly best album yet. For a fuller review check out the earlier post on this blog titled ‘Viva Giuda!’
Teenage Bottlerocket: ‘Tales from Wyoming’ on Rise Records
The sixth and we hope not the last album to be recorded by the band prior to Brandon’s tragic death. TBR have matured well over their existence and it all accumulates in this release which sees a broader, deeper scope of sound whilst still retaining the recognisable TBR formula on the whole Pop Punk thing. As with all the other TBR albums made after Kody joined this one also sees Kody sharing frontman duties with Ray Carlisle and it’s a neat trick as both have very different vocal stylings and bring something entirely different to the songs they’re entrusted to sing.
I loved nearly every minute of it although the ballad-esque ‘For the First Time’ seemed a little out of place tagged on as the final track and had the effect of jarring the listening experience. It’s inclusion is evidence of the band wanting to add a bit more subtlety to their repertoire and it’s no bad thing to have that diversity of tracks rather than wall to wall Pop Punk all the time. This album is evidence enough of why TBR became one of the preeminent bands on the scene.
Desperate Journalist: self-titled on Fierce Panda Records
Ohh! Lovely! Bit of brooding post-punk C86 styled Jangly guitar brilliance. You could almost forgive your ears for making you think this was a period 1980s indie band rather than the young fresh faced 21st century group of talented so n’ so’s which they are. At times the homage to the whole Post Punk/Darkwave thing can become a tad too obvious with song titles such as ‘Control’ and things aren’t helped in that respect by the band also being named after a Peel Session dig by The Cure directed toward formally very important music journalist (and now talking head for hire for all manner of naff retrospective documentaries on BBC4) Paul Morley. But hours of fun could be had by dissecting every minor yet important influence which goes into the melting pot. They’re really very, very good and in an wider indie scene which seemingly can only take its cues from Britpop, the 1960s, New Wave or the more mainstream side of the genre designed for radio playability it’s nice to have something more darker and created of far more earthier substance than the light fluff often tagged as being ‘Indie’ nowadays. Desperate Journalist hark back to the cold dark days after the joyous Punk boon in local bands doing it for themselves, the soundtrack not of the suburbs but of the greying concrete New Town, empty streets and the damp mid-winter of the Thatcher years. Angsty but wonderfully joyous in spirit at the same time and I’ve found them the perfect musical accompaniment to getting ready for a night down at the local ‘Goth Night’ in my home town. They will no doubt draw comparisons to Joy Division, Bauhaus, Echo & The Bunnymen, Siouxie & The Banshees and the early Cure and The Smiths amongst the most obvious on your first few listens but frankly they’ve added a lot more to the equation than just a rehashing the Darkwave sound of old. It’s fresher and far more exciting than being a simple retrospective group. Jo Bevan’s vocals are wonderfully eerie and uplifting cutting through the jangle and excellently crafted music the rest of the band provides. I’m in awe of this band and for once I agree with the plaudits which have been given them by the usually slow on the uptake glossy magazine music press. (a bit of a cheat as this is a 2014 release)
The Spitfires: ‘Response’ on Catch 22 Records
Let’s get it out of the way now, lead singer Billy Sullivan sounds a lot like Paul Weller in full Post-Punk Jam era swing. The comparison is unavoidable as Sullivan clearly wants to sound like the Modfather but the thing is you frankly don’t care. He’s very good at it and he’s got his own set of hard hitting and emotive songs to back him up. This band of Neo-Mods is well honed and tight and clearly influenced by the Jam rather than say fellow Mod 2nd Wavers the Merton Parkas or even the more recent Ocean Colour Scene but they’ve added enough of their own style and the here and now to make sure they don’t fall into the simple ‘era tribute act’ trap which so often befalls other bands who wear their influences on their short sleeved button down oxford shirts. According to the band’s website they’ve had interest from Paul Weller and even The Specials and have supported both (to say nothing of the sponsorship interest from Ben Sherman) thus further cementing their connection to the late 1970s/1980s Mod and Rude Boy revivals. Thankfully The Spitfires are not destined for the ever decreasing circles of playing the retrospective scene circuit such as Scooter Rallies or Punk/Skin festivals. They’re far too good to become just another roster filler for middle aged men who despite their middle aged spread and thinning hairlines still squeeze into the fashions of their youthful years and get misty eyed and nostalgic whilst drinking and dancing to this sort of thing. It’s about time we had a young band who married the best of the Mod revival with an undeniably modern twist and sound and they’ll appeal to the broader music fan base of whatever passes for the Indie market now.