Sunday 26 April 2015

Nelson Expects 'Addison's Uncle' to Do Their Duty





It is always a pleasure to wander around Norwich Cathedral, and as the Spring brings the bulbs into bloom and the trees into blossom, the grounds positively bask in the April sunshine. Nelson looks down (with his good eye) and is surely very proud of this, his county, and Norwich, our Fine City.

And there is such a lot of which to be proud, not least our thriving and vibrant music scene. One of the most popular of our local acts is fronted by a songwriter that made Norfolk his home after spending childhood holidays here with his family. Philip Pearson now fronts 'Addison's Uncle', a stampy English folk band that has gradually grown in line-up, and acquired a loyal following along the way. Their debut album, 'I'd Like to Tell a Story' was released earlier this year.

On Thursday the Cathedral Refectory, a part of the 21st century redevelopment of the site of the original Benedictine Hostry, played host to 'Addison's Uncle', whilst Lord Nelson remained outside, surveying the scene from the adjacent lawns.

Whilst the band are more usually to be found playing in venues such as the Norwich Arts Centre, or appearing in pubs and festivals where their energetic brand of folk music can be appreciated and enjoyed with full abandon, the Cathedral provided a more refined setting for an extended showcase of songs. This included favourites from the album, plus a selection of covers (songs by The Waterboys and Charlie Daniels and Jack Johnson were slipped into the setlist). There were also new songs, including California Nightmare, which is not a gothic parody of  the Mamas and Papas' 'California Dreaming', but instead a lament to the loss of homes through tidal erosion of Norfolk's coastline.

The sold-out evening was enthusiastically received by the well-behaved audience at the Refectory tables. Perhaps as a setting for a folk gig this would be viewed by some as slightly left-field, although credit is due to the organisers for seeking ways to broaden the appeal of the their evening Refectory concerts. The acoustics of the room are superb, and certainly not marred by the business of the catering staff, who admirably keep working noise levels to an absolute minimum - something some other venues could certainly learn from.

So whilst decorum was maintained, and the majority remained in their seats, even during 'The Devil Went Down to Georgia', and the inevitably rumbustious rendition of 'B1159', a few familiar faces threw caution to the wind and danced a jig between the tables. As Nelson himself would have put it, Addison's Uncle would have expected them to do their duty.




Monday 20 April 2015

Super Luxury at The Owl Sanctuary


Saturday April 18th - UK Record Store Day! A chance for all the vinyl junkies to snap up exclusive product released only through independent retailers. Here in Norfolk we still have the classical specialist Prelude Records as well as SoundClash on St Benedicts Street representing Norwich, as well as Lewks in Downham Market. Out of these, it was only Lewks that had organised any live bands to play throughout the day, so it was left to The Owl Sanctuary in Norwich to lay on an evening gig for Norwich audiophiles.

Two local favourites, Maria Uzor performing with a full band as 'Girl in a Thunderbolt', and guitar and drum duo 'BK and Dad', were supporting Leeds noisy boys 'Super Luxury'. A whole evening's entertainment for the princely sum of £4 seemed like an offer too good to miss.

Now I have to admit that this was my first visit to the Owl Sanctuary, even though it has now been open for just over twelve months. Situated in Cattle Market Street, next door to the fancy glass-fronted furniture and wallpaper emporium that is Warings, some of you will still remember it as the Marquee. It is now managed by Dan Hawcroft, who certainly knows his music, and likes it loud. He was a roadie for sixteen years with the likes of Biffy Clyro, The Subways and Motorhead. There is a friendly welcome even if you just pop in for a quick drink, and on the Saturday night that I called in it was already busy with a wide selection of weekend revellers. The live music takes place in the back room, so after grabbing myself a pint of Lacons bitter, I made my way through.

Following on from the preview at Norwich Arts Centre supporting Trash Kit earlier this month, 'Girl in a Thunderbolt' is back, and the band is shaping up well with the addition of  guitarist, Gemma, to consolidate support for Maria on guitar and vocals. Having first seen her play solo at the Joan as Police Woman gig and having been mesmerised by her vocal style and post-psychedelia folk songwriting, it is intriguing to now experience the recently enriched sound, matured with the addition of keyboards, drums and vocal harmonies.

Girl in a Thunderbolt

'BK and Dad' are another local act with a growing reputation. I last saw them deliver a blistering set at a Gravy night at Norwich Arts Centre, where they were largely silhouetted against a mind-blowing display of projected visuals. Tonight at the Owl Sanctuary would be a chance to see what they actually look like, and see the whites of their eyes.

Originally from Aberystwyth, and with a name allegedly purloined via a local firm of scrap merchants, Pip (drums) and Leo (guitar) claim Black Sabbath as an inspiration, although Led Zeppelin chimes with an old timer like myself. Either way, their enduring association and evolution certainly pre-dates the current spate of Royal Blood / Drenge band-waggoneers that have emerged of late.

Once again, their set is mesmerising, with Pip hunched over his kit whilst Leo's use of the loop pedals defies belief whilst still continuing to drive the momentum like a steam train. If you likes your ears bleeding by the end of a set, BK and Dad are your men.

Pip (of BK and Dad)

And so to our headliners from the land of the white rose, 'Super Luxury', and nothing defines the cultural divide between Yorkshire and Norfolk more than a drummer who chooses to perform the entire set in his pants. These are definitely the cheeky boys of the class, defiantly mixing their noise rock sound with phrenetic activity that includes confetti cannons (probably one of those big party poppers from Clinton Cards, but hey, that's show business!), and an ADHD inability to stay on the stage for more than two minutes by front man Adam Nodwell. His frequent departures from the stage take him to virtually every corner of the room, including a scaling of the walls and a visit to behind the sound-desk. Yet there is something quite endearing about a bunch of reprobates that have erected a shrine to Daryl Hall and John Oates atop their Marshall amp, and draped a Stars and Stripes flag across another. This is Northern irony at its best.

Super Luxury

So, quite an impressive, yet intimate, venue, The Owl Sanctuary. Lovingly conceived, and a real asset to the Norwich live music scene, I will certainly return. They may fly by night, but they certainly know how to rock.



Check out information on future events at The Owl Sanctuary HERE



Sunday 19 April 2015

Bavaria, Brass and Beer with 'LaBrassBanda' in Norwich


'A night of brass and beer' is how the Norwich Arts Centre programme described Friday night's musical event, with two of my favourite local bands, Feral Mouth and Killamonjambo, heating up the stage in preparation for special guests LaBrassBanda. 

Now I have to proffer an apology for being woefully unfamiliar with LaBrassBanda before turning up on Friday night, although that has never previously stopped me from having a good time. Sometimes it is the band of whom I know least that ends up impressing me the most. But the more I found out about LaBrassBanda, the more I felt that I should have been more aware of them.

Originally formed by five friends in Bavaria in 2007, LaBrassBanda has evolved into a 'Volksmusik' phenomenon that has played to tens of thousands of music lovers at festivals all over Europe. They have released five albums, the last two, 'Europa' and 'Kiah Royal', both making the top four in the German album charts. Although two of the founder members have since moved on, the band has now swelled to eight, creating an impressive wall of brass on a festival stage in front of thousands. Tonight they are squeezing themselves onto the more modest stage of the Norwich Arts Centre.

But before the excitement of witnessing genuine Lederhosen on a Norfolk stage, we have the pleasure of 'Feral Mouth', a legend of more local proportion.

Feral Mouth

Formed in Norwich five years ago, Feral Mouth bring together a group of six musicians with a knack of adding a contemporary edge to the traditions of old time country and bluegrass. Using banjo and steel guitar alongside cello, drum and double bass, they never fail to impress with their commitment to keeping the 'folk' in 'Norfolk'. A 'band's band', they seem to know everyone on the local music scene, and were last seen at NAC bringing the Addison's Uncle album launch to a stomping climax back in January. 

Killamonjambo need no introduction to anyone 'au fait' with the Norwich music scene. Seven lively characters with a love of reggae and ska that exude endless energy on stage, as well as a knack of losing their shirts before the end of the opening number. Real showmen as well as displaying an authentic love for the music, it was great to hear news of their new recording deal that now links them to a major label. In the meantime, their album debut 'Fiesta Moon Landin' remains available for recreating that sweaty ska-funk atmosphere within your own sitting room.

Killamonjambo

In fact, it is partly as a result of the Killamonjambo boys that LaBrassBanda are here tonight, the two bands having bonded over a few steins at a previous reggae festival across the water, and the Bavarians are already on stage for the KJ's final number, swelling the number of musicians onstage to Barclay-busting proportions.

But it's time to change into those Lederhosen and T-shirts for the climax of the evening as Stefan Dettl, looking uncannily like a Bavarian Keith Lemon, leads his band onstage for an hour of unrivalled fun, oom-pah, techno, reggae, funk, folk and punk, and any other genre of music that it is humanly possible to play with brass band instruments accompanied by bass guitar and two percussionists.

Dettl is quick to ingratiate himself to his Norfolk audience, initially claiming to speak only Bavarian, but soon having the whole floor choreographed into an eight-step 'Soul Train' dance move, re-creating his childhood wish to be the 'white kid' from KC and The Sunshine Band. The reggae number 'I Love The Batty Man' is the LBB secret weapon against homophobia with the wonderful hook-line, 'Batter my banana' A tongue-in-cheek brass medley of German Top 40 hits spins from 'Rock Me Amadeus' to '99 Red Balloons', but has the audience joining in and giving it large.

A final treat for the Norwich Arts Centre crowd is a mingled finale with all eight members of the band down on the floor performing as one with the audience. A wonderful end to a wonderful evening, and grateful thanks to the promoter Paul Wilson from WRR for pulling off such a coup for Norfolk music lovers.

That's 'V for Volksmusic' from LaBrassBanda's Stefan Dettl

Batter My Banana! - LaBrassBanda loves the Batty Man




Friday 17 April 2015

Let's Nubiyan Twist, Like We Did Last Weekend



I'm not normally tempted out for a dance on a Saturday night like I used to be many moons ago. Not only that, but since The Son challenged me to enter the Brighton Half Marathon next March, and I have actually purchased a pair of running shoes and commenced running round Whitlingham Broad three times a week, my knees would probably not even be up for it. The sight of a 57 year old ex-pharmacist's legs buckling from under him under the influence of a pounding beat and six pints of Stella is not a pretty one, and certainly not one I am prepared to inflict on the clubbers of Norwich.

However, Hubs Records' night at the Norwich Arts Centre last Saturday had a line-up that was just too good to let pass. Featuring a genre-defying (although placed under 'World' in the NAC programme) twelve piece originally formed at the Leeds College of Music three years ago, Nubiyan Twist have already created quite a stir and have supported De La Soul and Bonobo on tour, as well as touring to promote their own eponymous album.

Hubs always put on a great evening, and this was to be no exception with local favourites Solko supporting. But first, to draw the audience through from the bar into the auditorium was 'Stuck in 2nd' a reggae-infused four piece from Nottingham fronted by dreadlocked Sam McKenzie and surf-tousled Ben Smith on vocals.

Whilst their repertoire of reggae/surf/dub numbers may have sounded a little idiosyncratic to a Norfolk audience when introduced with an East Midlands lilt, the rhythm and enthusiasm of the band had soon mustered a respectable audience, proving once again that pumping bass beats pumping bitter any time.

Stuck in 2nd

Solko are always guaranteed to draw a crowd whenever they play Norwich Arts Centre, and have a loyal following that will turn up and throw a few moves on the dancefloor too. With two EP's already released, but with a new single just recorded, some of their set is inevitably revisiting those Solko songs that we know and love, and these are self-indulgently stretched and twisted into something new with every live performance. There is no denying the energy and passion of these guys - catch them again at Symmetry Festival at Sennowe Park, Guist in June.


Solko

By the time the rest of Nubiyan Twist have taken their places on stage, lead singer Nubiyan Brandon has little room to pick her way through a mass of bodies, mikes and equipment and take her position. Looking elegant in black and with a floral arrangement perched on her head she certainly looks exotic, and when the band launches into their first number we are left in no doubt that tonight's show is going to be a belter. With drums, keyboards, decks, guitars and a comprehensive brass section, these guys have brought everything but the kitchen sink onto stage, yet full credit to the sound engineers, every note is crystal clear and perfectly balanced. It's so hard to pin down a single influence to their music, probably because their isn't one. Sometimes sounding slow and soulful like eighties Sade, then next moment dropping a groove that slaps you in the face like a South American beach party, this is a band that defies categorisation. Dance? You bet!





Nubiyan Twist


Thursday 16 April 2015

Maddy Prior at Norwich Arts Centre - 3 For Joy


It is just over forty years since I last saw Maddy Prior perform live in Norwich. I was in the sixth form at high school in Lowestoft. It was a time when teenage credibility depended on one of three things - sporting prowess, success with girls, or an eclectic and encyclopaedic knowledge of popular music. Fortunately, I was only able to claim any success with the third.

There was a great deal of musical snobbery around at the time, largely fuelled by the polarisation of acts into either album-bands or singles-bands. Very few performers (Bowie was one) managed to transcend the two formats and top both sets of charts. My record collection was one of those that included anything and everything, from 'Mouldy Old Dough' by Lieutenant Pigeon to 'Houses of the Holy' by Led Zeppelin, and quite a few oddities in between. Not only did I avidly read New Musical Express, Melody Maker and Sounds, but I also dipped into the pop magazine market and would buy Record Mirror, and a marvelous rag called Disco 45 which printed lyrics of  top twenty songs of the time.

My other two interests at the time were darts and real ale, which could cunningly be pursued simultaneously, thanks to the relaxed and understanding policy of the licensed trade at the time. As long as you could hit a triple top and end on a double with reliable regularity you were signed up for the local league, and served ale without having to produce ID.

And so it was, with a group of  pipe-smoking, dart-playing, real ale supping friends that I travelled from Lowestoft to my first UEA folk gig - Steeleye Span, supported oddly enough by Richard Digance, who plays Norwich Arts Centre next week.

 But tonight was a chance to fast forward the clock and re-acquaint myself with the singer from Steeleye Span and voice of English folk music, Maddy Prior. Performing with Hannah James and Giles Lewin, this was to be a totally acoustic evening of two sets with an interval in between.

Using material from the album that the trio released in 2012, "3 for Joy", as well as songs from Maddy's solo repertoire, it was a delight to hear that unmistakable voice still cutting the mustard here in Norwich. It also gave a chance to enjoy the two other musicians whose contributions surely added to the magic, not only through the beautiful vocal harmonies but through their instrumental talent. Giles Lewin was a founder member of Bellowhead, and plays violin, bagpipes and recorders. Hannah James has been familiar to folk enthusiasts through her appearances in the band Kerfuffle, and plays accordian as well as being one mean Lancashire clog dancer. She uses the clog as a percussion backing for at least one of the songs tonight, as well as treating us to a demonstration of her dancing skills.

Whilst it was lovely to see and hear Maddy Prior once again after such a long time, it was the tightness and cameraderie of the trio that made the evening so enjoyable.

And, as for Hannah James, she surely has a successful solo career ahead of her as she prepares to tour as 'Jigdoll', a project designed to showcase her three disciplines of singing, accordian playing and dancing. Whilst she had to admit that there is, as yet, no Norfolk date arranged for her upcoming tour in November, several of us here would be delighted to see her return.

Maddy Prior has a website HERE

Giles Lewin is currently a member of The Carnival Band, whose website is HERE

Hannah James has a website HERE





Saturday 11 April 2015

No More Chocolate, Lots More Gravy - Trash Kit at Norwich Arts Centre


It's exactly one week on from Good Friday, the chocolate has been eaten, the hot cross buns have been buttered and digested, and spring is well and truly in the air. There is a palpable buzz in the air following the ticket allocation for the forthcoming BBC Radio One  Big Weekend in Earlham Park (soured slightly by the news that the family run café on the park has been instructed by Norwich City Council to close over the two day event - no doubt making way for the £3.50 cup of coffee from one of the 'approved' mobile traders), and the top topical question round these parts is 'Did you manage to get tickets for Swifty?'

Meanwhile, back in the real world, and those who really know their way round a Soundcloud page are gathered at Norwich Arts Centre for another evening laid on by the lovely Gravy peeps. Five acts for a fiver, three on the main stage and two in the Café/Bar - you wouldn't get a better deal at Poundland. Headlining tonight were London based trio 'Trash Kit', but before that there's Rory Hill and 'Woodland Creatures' in the bar, and 'Rad Frü' followed by 'Girl in a Thunderbolt' in the Auditorium.

It's 'Rad Frü' that kick things off with a decibel-bursting set of blues-infused numbers, the by-now familiar combination of guitar and drums giving an alternative twist on the 'Royal Blood' / 'Drenge' / 'Blood Red Shoes' formula. There are moments of Zeppelin in their delivery, and echoes of Robert Plant's vocal style to boot.

'Rad Frü'

Rory Hill does his thing in the bar whilst the stage is cleared. Lots of us still remember Rory from 'The Kabeedies'. He still has his own band 'Keep Up', but tonight it's an acoustic solo set that helps to calm things back down after the energy of the previous band.

Maria Uzor is battling the worst cough I have heard in a long time, but still puts in a gallant set as singer-songwriter 'Girl in a Thunderbolt', performing tonight with a full band to give depth and a new dimension to the songs from her recent EP 'Own Your Bones'. With nothing stronger than a glass of water on stage to lubricate the throat, the voice holds out for us to savour tracks like 'Turn It Back' and 'Sayonara My Love'.

'Girl in a Thunderbolt'

Back into the bar for a bluegrass tinged set from local duo 'Woodland Creatures' - Christina and Lizzy on guitar and banjo, and lovely harmonised vocals. I saw these two at Bedford's Crypt during the Oxjam weekend organised by Robbie Powell and team last October, and they again cast their spell over a rapt audience during the interlude between the noisier things next door.

'Woodland Creatures'

And so finally to the headliners tonight - 'Trash Kit', the post-punk trio from London town comprising Rachel Aggs (from 'Shopping') on guitar, Ros Murray ('Electrelane') on bass, and Rachel Horwood on drums. The debut album was unleashed four years ago but, with other projects occupying individual members, it took until last year for the follow-up, 'Confidence' to be released. With Aggs' distinctive guitar style - drawing from West African Highlife music (but ending up not unlike 'Foals' at times), and Horwood's drum kit that appears to include a Nigerian Ashiko, their quickfire songs covering subjects as diverse as break-ups and losing your teeth spin from one rhythm to another in the space of a few seconds. The single 'Medicine' is given an energetic showcasing, but tracks like 'Boredom' and 'Shyness' also highlight the elements of self-doubt that can plague all creative artists. As Blur so chirpily announced in the nineties, 'Confidence is a preference for the habitual voyeur'. Trash Kit's enthusiastic fanbase need to spread the word that 'Confidence' is also a great collection of songs.

Rachel Aggs - 'Trash Kit'

'Trash Kit'


Thursday 9 April 2015

Courtney Barnett at The Waterfront, Norwich



The Norwich Waterfront has never been my all-time favourite venue, yet I have been to some cracking gigs here over the years, everything from Anna Calvi to Scissor Sisters, The Klaxons to Cerys Matthews. Despite its wide stage and intimate feel, it is always a difficult decision where to stand for the best. The low ceiling means that the stage cannot be raised more than a couple of feet. Stand more than a few rows back and it becomes a 'head and shoulders only' view of the band - any further back and you are also busy avoiding the two dominating steel columns that threaten to position themselves just where you don't want them to be. And finally you run the risk of the tallest kid in the venue casually strolling in and taking up a position directly in front of you. Yes, a gig at The Waterfront can sometimes seem like watching a band through the slats of a picket fence.

Tonight's stage for Melbourne-based singer songwriter Courtney Barnett has been canopied by a huge white parachute-gazebo affair, reducing the playing headroom even further, and looking dangerously close to the heat of the spotlights, although I suppose they are mostly LED these days.

Fraser A. Gorman

Fraser A Gorman, also from Melbourne, is first on stage, and even he comments on how much he looks like Bob Dylan, with his acoustic guitar, tousled hair and pointy features. When he slips on the neck-braced harmonica the illusion is complete, although his laconic Aussie banter is a million miles from the Frewheelin' Minnesotan. Dylan would never have likened a girlfriend to a late night kebab. His amiable nature and pleasant enough songs go down well enough with the Norwich audience - and I don't think his laddish comments have alienated too many punters.

Spring King

Next up are 'Spring King', a four piece from Manchester fronted by drummer and songwriter Tarek Musa. Probably as a direct result of Fraser's previous kebab comment, I have already morphed them from Spring Roll and Burger King into 'Spring Chicken', and the new name has stuck itself into my head. It doesn't help that I also find the stage dynamics scrambled when the drummer takes lead vocals, leaving three guitarists up front to posture and merely contribute choruses and refrains. The net effect is a garage-punk performance worthy of a Wayne's World sequel, or at best The Hives dressing down via a thrift shop.

No such disappointment when Courtney Barnett and The Courtney Barnetts (greatest name ever for a backing band) taking stage with no fashion pretensions or delusions of grandeur, looking every bit like they have just strolled off the Melbourne sidewalk. I need to remind myself  that the album 'Sometimes I Just Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit' has already made top twenty both sides of the Atlantic, as well as top four in her native Australia.

Backed only by regulars Dave Mundie on drums and the charismatic Bones Sloane on bass, it is Courtney's left-handed Telecaster that has to do all the guitar work without frequent fourth member Dan Luscombe being present to add extra depth. Even in the opener 'Elevator Operator', the Sheryl Crow infused anthem to drudgery and dead end jobs, it becomes clear that this live set is going to be a bass-driven grunge-fest rather than a display of country-garage, although the sound is great and the vocals are still clear enough not to obscure the wry cynicism of Barnett's lyrics.



And this is what makes Courtney Barnett so much more interesting than other recent entrants into the new wave of 'slightly kooky' female songwriting, which saw the likes of Ida Maria and Sandi Thom come and go. Even our own KT Tunstall struggled to keep the momentum going. Courtney has the lyrical turn and observation of a Kate Tempest, or even a Neko Case, raising the everyday and mundane to an artform that makes you want to cut and paste every one of her lines. They are way too precious to lose through a poorly mixed desk. To the sound engineers' credit, this does not happen.

A couple of numbers in and Barnett has relaxed into her surroundings, Sloane's revelations of being denied the go-carts at Wild Trax, and eating 'great thai' on the floating restaurant helps to initiate a dialogue of bonhomie with the audience. We are asked if we 'had a g'day' and if we are going out later for Jager Bombs. It is only towards the end of the set where the old chestnut of Norwich audiences is raised, that of us all being a bit too quiet and well-behaved. It takes a plaintive call of 'Dance you fuckers!" before launching into 'Avant Gardner', and the floor finally responds by feeding back some physical appreciation.



Then, after one of those excruciating delays where the band has left the stage at the end of the set, the applause has died down and we are still not sure whether we are getting an encore or not (even the venue seems confused) the band return for a finale that concludes in a cover of The Easybeats' 'I'll Make You Happy', at the end of which Courtney launches herself at the drumkit, ends up on the floor and her guitar strewn across a snare. It's only rock and roll, but I loves it.

Courtney Barnett website HERE

Buy the album 'Sometimes I Just Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit' on Amazon HERE


Thursday 2 April 2015

Errors - It's a Spectro Night at Norwich Arts Centre


In keeping with its brief to provide a platform in Norwich for innovative electronic music, Norwich Arts Centre recently hosted three-piece 'post-electro' rockers from Glasgow, 'Errors', supported by fellow Scots 'Ubre Blanca' and local heroes 'collider'.

It was a welcome chance to hear local experimenters 'collider' again at Norwich Arts Centre, even if I was not able to actually get inside the auditorium. Regulars will have recognised vocalist Bill Vine from his role with the Arts Centre's sound team, but may not have seen him in this incarnation with fellow band members Jake Graham and Simon Grimbley. At times reminiscent of the moodier elements of Mogwai, Vines' haunting vocals create a brooding lamentation over guitars, drums and synths as they ran through a set that includes the singles 'Treehouse' and 'Dinosaur'. Watch out for future shows in the Norwich area.

'Ubre Blanca' was a new name to me, although they emerged from the ashes of new-rave pioneers Shitdisco and art-punks Divorce. Joel Stone and Andy Brown have together come up with a cinematic landscape of synths part inspired by the early use of electronic music in films and television series of the late 1970's and early 1980's, but expanded with a freshness and urgency that is very much 2015. Whilst the drums and guitar work are entirely stage driven, some of the programmed synthesiser work is able to run itself at times, which is at risk of creating a visual void for the audience. Other than that, a worthy soundtrack to an on-demand generation.

Ubre Blanca

The three regular members of 'Errors' keep left of stage clear for guest vocalist Cecilia Stamp and launch into their set that confirms their credentials as electronic-based veterans of almost eleven years, yet also signals a progression to, dare I say, a more melodic and even pastoral phase with the introduction of female vocals. 

Touring to promote the new album, 'Lease of Life', recorded on the remote Scottish Isle of Jura, the new songs will appeal to a wider audience, but may be questioned by those who have followed the band since their inception in 2004. Personally, I am becoming genuinely corybantic with the fusion of electronica with the driving guitar and drum combination so current through the likes of Drenge and Royal Blood. The synthesisers conspire to flesh out and expand the sound with a richness and variety of texture, yet it is  the instinctive rhythms of a real drum kit that allows for a 'live' experience that pads and loops can only hope to mimic. As a relatively recent convert to 'Errors', I really liked what I heard, and hope my avidity will be widely shared now that 'Lease of Life' is released for all to hear.

Cecilia Stamp on vocals for 'Errors'

'Errors' at Norwich Arts Centre



Check out the 'collider' Facebook page HERE

Likewise, 'Ubre Blanca' are on Facebook  HERE

'Errors' have their own website HERE