Hard rock from the Stone Gods

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RISEN pheonix-like from the ashes of The Darkness, Stone Gods really know how to rock.
In true Spinal Tap style, the East Anglians play with a fist in the air and a tongue in the cheek.
And at points this LP, Silver Spoons And Broken Bones, is laugh-out-loud funny - particularly on Burn The Witch and Start Of Something.
And like fellow mock rockers such as Three Inches Of Blood the group can clearly also play.
The problem is that although a funny one at first, the joke soon wears thin, and I have my doubts if, like The Darkness before them, Stone Gods will be the rock of ages.

Hot Sauce

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G LOVE And Special Sauce’s latest album Superhero Brother is a case of if it ain’t broke...
For following 2006’s fizzing Lemonade LP, the trio of G Love, Jimi Jazz and Houseman are back with more of their trademark super smooth grooves.
And why not? It is the summertime after all.
The LP is another slab of their inimitable brand of blues, hip hop and surf rock, while opening combo Communication and City Life, as well as band manifesto Who's Got The Weed, show a funkier streak to this album.
In fact, Superhero Brother is something of a marvel.

Catch The Subways

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WELWYN Garden City's most rockingest band The Subways first album Young For Eternity was produced by former Lightning Seed Ian Broudie.

All Or Nothing sees former Nirvana and Smashing Pumpkins producer Butch Vig take the controls.

No surprise then that on this LP, the trio is a heavier proposition than before - and riproaring tracks like Girls And Boys and Alright show The Subways are on track, heading along the right lines.

And if their invigorating new producer decides to stay on board, The Subway's next stop will likely be a truly great album.

It's just a shame that the band didn't literally go All Or Nothing when putting the LP together, as in fact, it's the slower numbers such as Move To Newlyn that are holding this album back.

Dirty Pretty average

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NOT only does The Libertines hang round Dirty Pretty Things' frontman Carl Barat's neck like a lead weight on Romance At Short Notice, but the former Pete Doherty right hand man is also charged with trying to outdo debut effort Waterloo Or Anywhere's success.

And although this effort fails to scale the peaks of his previous outfit, it's a surprise to this reviewer that he has even made it to base camp 'Listenable', let only penned a few sizzlers.

After a stuttering start in Buzzards & Crows the album picks up momentum, and although single Tired Of England is a bit lame, the ska-tinged Clash-style indie exhibited on tracks like Chinese Dogs, Best Face and Kicks Or Consumption is some of Dirty Pretty Things best yet.

Romance it ain't, but I still like you Carl.

Carpet flawed?

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KID Carpet is a very apt name for this keyboard-wielding singer-songwriter.
No, not the Carpet bit, the Kid moniker.
For Casio Royale, the Bristol-based Kid Carpet’s second LP, is clearly product of a man having a lot of innocent, wide-eyed fun with his computer-beeps and beats art.
The overall sound may be a little one man fiddling with his organ for his own pleasure at times, but funtime tracks like Can’t Stop The Pop and Solitaire make the likes of Mika look like an old grumpy boots.
That said, other’s like So Much Fun and Hitting The Wall show a heavier edge, making an interesting if contradictory switch from subject matter like kiss chases to packets of fags.
Perhaps he’s just going through an awkward phase...

LOTP album named

CASTLE Donington goofball indie dance act Late Of The Pier's forthcoming album has been named Fantasy Black Channel.
The Erol Alkan-produced album, out on August 11, will feature 11 tracks including Hot Tent Blues, Space And The Woods, The Bears Are Coming, Focker and Bathroom Gurgle.

Feeder on the menu

TOP rock band Feeder have announced a Loughborough date in their first full UK tour in nearly three years.
The Welsh rockers, known for their hits Shatter, Buck Rogers and Lost And Found, will be kicking off the tour on October 20 in Stoke On Trent, before heading to Loughborough University on November 1 via gigs including Manchester, Newcastle, Glasgow, Liverpool, Birmingham, Llandudno, Bristol, and London.
Tickets go on sale from today for the tour, which has been announcined following the release of Feeder’s sixth studio album Silent Cry, which reached number eight in the UK album charts.

Seth bomb

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THE folkin' hot Seth Lakeman is not only the posterboy of folk music - probably by default by being the only person in the folk music scene without a bushy beard, a tankard of Goblins Twaddle and jingly little bells on his shoes - but he is also a damn fine songwriter too.

Okay, I concede Eliza Carthy doesn't have a bushy beard, but she can down a pint of Twaddle with the best of them, so I've heard.

Poor Man's Heaven, Lakeman's fourth solo LP, is more of the same rhythmic folk demonstrated on debut The Punch Bowl, the Mercury-nominated Kitty Jay and the top-40 charting Freedom Fields.

Here Seth's sound is punchier, slightly rockier than before, and throughout the album more consistent than Freedom Fields, though it perhaps lacks the emotional peaks of its predecessor.

Nevertheless, if Poor Man's Heaven is this enjoyable, thank God I'm on a crap wage.

Day job

IN CASE you weren't aware, blogging about music is not my full-time job - I in fact spend most of the time between 9am and 5pm writing for the Loughborough Echo.
Part of that daily grind is spent compiling The Guide, the entertainments section of the paper, and now you can see some of the fruits of that labour at the Echo's spanking new website.
That's right, I said spanking new.
To cynically get more hits on Google.
Anyhoo, click here for the website's entertainments section for examples of my work - that should be enough to tide you Isaac Ashe-aholics over until I get back from holiday next week.
It can't always be all work and no play for us hacks y'know.

The Rascals are cheeky Monkeys

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MILES Kane, ertswhile Arctic Monkeys colloborator, is back to his day job The Rascals.

And listening to the Wirral group's debut effort, it seems that working with the Sheffield prodigies has rubbed off on the group.

A lot.

The album, Rascalize, sounds like the product of a fumbling one night stand between Arctic Monkeys and The Coral.

But although it is a raw sounding effort, this is not a shambles by any stretch, and fans of the aforementioned groups will find a lot of merit here.

However Rascalize is nothing new, and what there is rarely raises above average.

Basically, if are the sort of person that is likely to buy an Arctic Monkeys b-sides compilation, then go ape.

With A Buzz In Their Ears They Play Endlessly

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SIGUR Ros's fifth studio album Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust is exactly what you expect from Sigur Ros.

It's an acheingly beautiful melange of ambient, classical, indie and folk influenced post-rock and a worthy addition to their back catalogue.

However, although the album is, as the artwork suggests, a slightly stripped down version, this is nothing desperately new from the Icelandic four-piece, despite Nine Inch Nails producer Flood on board.

Ultimately Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust - which translates as "With a Buzz in Our Ears We Play Endlessly" - pushes as many envelopes as an unemployed postman, which is disappointing for a group which were so fresh and inventive five undeniably spectacular yet spectacularly-similar albums ago.

Isaac is Pleased

I WOULD like to say a quick "thank you" to Pat Ashe for donating a cassette tape to the Isaac Ashe's Sound Advice Ashemobile Soundsystem Appeal.
That brings the grand total of tapes received to one tape.
Pat kindly donated At Your Table, a tape by Southampton's Please Will, an electro acoustic artist with a real DIY ethic not unlike Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly or Jamie-T.
Copies of the tape, which I highly recommend, are available to buy from Please Will's Myspace page at the link above.
If anyone else has any cassette tapes they no longer want, they can donate them to the Isaac Ashe's Sound Advice Ashemobile Soundsystem Appeal by either dropping them off at the Loughborough Echo offices or posting them to -
Isaac Ashe's Sound Advice Ashemobile Soundsystem Appeal,
Isaac Ashe,
Loughborough Echo,
Princes' Court,
Royal Way,
Loughborough,
Leicestershire,
England.
LE11 5XR.

Kaki King rules

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"THERE are some guitar players that are good and there are some guitar players that are really good.

"And then there's Kaki King."

That is the view of Dave Grohl - you may have heard of him - on Atlantan guitarist and songwriter Kaki King, whose fourth album Dreaming Of Revenge is a real confirmation of a major talent.

Kaki King packs each track with more layers than an onion, creating a rich tapestry of fret tapping, string slapping, picking, strumming and even drumming her guitar.

With a more accessible sound and her vocals more evident than on previous outings, and less of the ponderous virtuoso tracks which although impressive were sometimes a chore to sit through, Dreaming Of Revenge is sweet.

Cage The Elephant are heavyweights

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WITH thier eponymous debut, Cage The Elephant deserve to be the musical mammoths their name would suggest.

With this raucous rabble-rousing party album, the Kentucky band sound like a cross between G Love And Special Sauce and Arctic Monkeys.

No seriously - imagine that Liam and Noel Gallagher had formed a band in sunny LA instead of drizzly Manchester, and you're somewhere close to Cage The Elephant's sound.

Their mix of Kings Of Leon-style rock with Beck-style hip hop comes out of the speakers like a stampede on tracks like In One Ear and then struts around like it rightfully owns the place, as on current single Ain't No Rest For The Wicked.

Quite frankly, if you haven't heard this summertime classic yet, then 'tusk, tusk' to you.

Cassette in my ways

WHAT with my high-flying journalism job at the Loughborough Echo and my evident love of music, you would probably guess that I drive around in a flashy car with an even flashier stereo.

Sadly this is not true - I in fact am driving a car that would have been mediocre in the 1990s that is equipped with a soundsystem that would have been even more mediocre in the 1980s.

That's right, I still rock cassette tapes in the Ashemobile.

Now you can't just stroll into Zavvi and pick up the latest sensation's new chart-busting album on cassette.

Instead I am forced to mostly tape my own stuff, or beg, borrow and buy cassette tapes from every available source - Matt Jarram, that includes that big bag of tapes you promised me...

For the best part that means charity shops, car boots and table top sales, and the stuff you pick up is either brilliant or just plain ridiculous.

For example, recent acquisitions include Rollins Band - Weight, Alanis Morrisette - Jagged Little Pill, Reef - Glow and The Simpsons - Sing The Blues.

I'll leave you to decide what is what...

However it's not all bad - this strange black market of music has fulfilled one of my longest-standing musical ambitions, one that as a small child I never thought I would achieve.

That's right, I am now the proud owner a copy of the soundtrack to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie.

Herbaliser is mint

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HAVING been around for some time, since 1995 in fact, English hip hop duo Herbaliser are grand old sages of the scene.

So it's no surprise that the former Ninja Tune outfit's sixth studio album Same As It Never Was is a slick affair.

Mixing their trademark abstract hip hop and breaks with good time funk, sassy soul and a splash of contemporary jazz, Same As It Never Was is for the best part a Mark Ronson-style party album.

The album, amazingly for a group so long in the tooth, sounds fresh and is, quite simply, mint.

Big Mac

RADIO One DJ Annie Mac will be having a One Night Stand at Loughborough Students' Union on June 17.
Organised by Shivoo and Just Insane Music, the BBC DJ will be playing a very rare two set show of house followed by drum and bass.
Playing alongside Annie Mac will be The Count & Sinden, DJ Fu vs Jungle Drummer, Sigma & MC Master X, The Qemists & MC ID, Transit Mafia and Samiad.
Edd Kiggins of Just Insane Music said: "Dance music has never been so exciting in Loughborough, and this is the last showcase at the Loughborough Students' Union until the new term starts.
"So book Wednesday off work and put on your dancing shoes."
Tickets available from here or here, as well as Zavvi in The Rushes and the Custard Bar in Ward's End in Loughborough.

Wavey Davey

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SINGER songwriter Cathy Davey could be Ireland's answer to PJ Harvey.

However, at other points on this, her sophomore album, the follow-up to 2004's Something Ilk, the Dublin songstress sounds like Ireland's answer to Katie Melua.

Blessed with a voice equal parts cutesy and sultry, Tales Of Silversleeve soars on tracks like Collector and Reuben, and you can see at these highs how Davey picked up the Meteor Award - Ireland's answer to the Mercury Music Prize - and a nominee for an Irish Choice Award - Ireland's answer to the Brits.

However whether or not the album's patchiness ruins the LP overall is the question...

Cutting edge TV

FOLLOWING on from the ferocious fingerbiting incident involving Castle Donington's Late Of The Pier on The Nokia Green Room on Channel 4, Belton boys The Young Knives made an appearance this weekend.
You can find out more at superblogger Chris Neadham's site here or by looking for a repeat of the show in your copy of the Loughborough Echo, which does have a TV section you know.

Fratelli show

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HEY you guys! The Fratellis are back.
The Scot rock outfit have compiled another LP of their trademark indie with more hooks than a Peter Pan convention with Here We Stand, the follow-up to 2006's fantastic Costello Music.

But sadly the chart-troublers have suffered from the dreaded second album syndrome.

Although tracks like Lupe Brown and Stragglers Moon have hit all over them, the overall album suffers from too much forgettable filler.

As a result Here We Stand sees The Fratellis literally at a standstill.

Ash you like it

SMOKIN' rock band Ash will be hotting up the area with a headline gig at Loughborough Students' Union and a spot at Download Festival this weekend.
The Northern Irish group, known for hits such as Burn Baby Burn, Goldfinger and Girl From Mars, are playing the second stage at Download in Castle Donington on Saturday, June 14, just before headliners HIM.
And the following day the band, named after the first word they liked in the dictionary, are playing at Loughborough Students' Union alongside Krish and Penfold Gate.
Nikki Shipley, Loughborough Students' Union spokeswoman, said: "The band Ash, made up of vocalist Tim Wheeler, Mark Hamilton on bass and Rick McMurray on drums, formed in Northern Ireland back in 1992, having all attended the same school.
"Ash have just released their latest album Twilight Of The Innocents, which they have planned as their last album.
"Denying rumours that they intend on splitting, they have started a new tour including the Download Festival 2008, this sounds like it could be one of your last chances to see Ash as we now know them.
"Whether you're a fan of the original '90s sound, or the newer retro vibe, Loughborough Students' Union promises to deliver a night to remember."
Tickets to see Ash at Loughborough University are available here and here and cost £12.50 with an NUS card and £13.50 without.
To see the band at Download, log on here.

Rock and roll call

FOR the thousands of metallers converging on Castle Donington on June 13 for Download 2008, here is Isaac Ashe's Sound Advice's top five must-sees this year –

• Biffy Clyro
Main stage, Saturday
Scottish rockers Biffy Clyro's last album, Puzzle, was a career-best that launched them from unknowns to one of the brightest lights on the metal scene, and are one of the best live acts I've ever seen. Mon the Biff!
• Dillinger Escape Plan
Third stage headliners, Friday
For pure primordial metal mayhem, escape the crowds and catch this brutal band's headine set, before nipping across to catch the end of Kiss's show, just so you can say you saw them.
• Coheed And Cambria
Main stage, Sunday
Forget music with a message, Coheed And Cambria's entire back catalogue is based on a novel penned by the group. This concept band's expert musicianship is without a doubt Sunday's highlight.
• The Subways
Second stage, Friday
The Hertfordshire band's sophomore album, All Or Nothing, is released later this year, so expect a taster of the album in their Download set. I have had a cheeky sneak listen to tracks from the new LP, and if they're half as good live as they are on record this will be a blinder.
• Pendulum
Second stage, Saturday
Drum and bass act Pendulum – whose latest album In Silico is a scorcher – will surely be worth going along to, whether you're into drum and bass or not, just to see people's reactions.

Goldie looking plain

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NEVER one to be shy, drum and bass legend and part-time Bond villain Goldie - real name Clifford Joseph Price - has joined the likes of Groove Armada's Tom Findlay and The Scratch Perverts to put together his own Watch The Ride mix.

And the results, although ground-shaking, are not ground-breaking.

An enjoyable yet forgettable hour-plus of furious drum and bass for ardent drum and bass traditionalists, it is just a little disappointing that a mix entitled Watch the Ride ultimately doesn't go anywhere in particular.

Do not Disturbed

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HARD rockers Disturbed are back with a fourth effort, Indestructable.

Demonstrating the Chigaco group's trademark pummelling riffs and throbbing bass-heavy beats as well as a frontman as powerful vocally as ever in David Dreiman, on paper Indestructable is hard to beat.

Indeed, fans of the band will lap up tracks like the brutal Inside The Fire and the incendiary Perfect Insanity like a baby on a teat.

However for me the group, who are appearing at this year's Download in Castle Donington this month, despite the riffing and postering and scary artwork, remain too safe.

The same way that being strapped down on a rollercoaster dulls the excitement, Disturbed are so polished you can see your face in them, where they need to retain a rawness and a sense of danger.

Sweet Dreams

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WELLER, Weller, Weller, huh? Tell me more...

The Modfather and all-round Britpop father figure Paul Weller is back with some of his favoured familiars - Oasis' Noel Gallagher, Little Barrie, Ocean Colour Scene's Steve Cradock and ex-Blur guitarist Graham Coxon - for a lengthy excursion, his first in three years.

And 22 Dreams has rightfully been hailed as the Jam man's best work since the '90s' Wild Wood and Stanley Road.

Tracks such as Echoes Round The Sun and Have You Made Up Your Mind demonstrate a reinvogorated Weller back at the top of his game.

That said, you an have too much of a good thing, and 22 Dreams could still have benefitted from being trimmed down to a refreshing snooze rather than an entire duvet day.

Shake your rump to the Plump

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LONDON'S Plump DJs just got even plumper - thanks to the release of their fourth album, Headthrash.

The duo of Les Rous and Andy Gardner have always been among the greatest creators of breakbeats around, but sometimes they lacked the accompanying tune for their club-thumping 'choons'.

However on Headthrash, out June 2 on the brilliant Finger Lickin' Records label, there is some real meat on these always exquisitely crafted bones.

On System Addict they bake emotive swells and hip hop vocal samples into their already-tasty nu skool breaks pie, Shifting Gears sees funky, soulful string samples come into play and SNAFU sees the group's trademark beeps and squelches go into skittering overdrive.

Quite simply, Plump DJs are the phattest around.

Ladytron electronica a tonic

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VELOCIFERO, Liverpool-based Ladytron's fourth album, is the sound of a computer that's turned on.

Here the electro poppers have crossed sultry, sleazy vocals with mechanical drones and dark, industrial beats, while retaining adding an aloof air of mystery - for example on Kletva, which is sung entirely in Bulgarian.

The group have clearly picked up the baton of edgy, sexy, dancey, indie-y pop from Goldfrapp - who decided this year with Seventh Tree to go sunbathing instead.

In contrast Ladytron's Velocifero is music for the nighttime - and a dark night at that.

Wombat ball

STREWTH! The Wombats are coming to Loughborough.
Liverpool three-piece breakthrough indie band The Wombats will be bringing their chart-busting sound to Loughborough Students' Union on June 10.
Admission to see the band, best known for hits such as Moving To New York, Let's Dance To Joy Division and Backfire At The Disco, costs £15 for non-students, or £14 with an NUS card.
Nikki Shipley, Students' Union spokeswoman, said: "With the UK tours selling out fast, here at Loughborough Students Union we promise not to disappoint.
"In our 1,600 capicity room we fully intend to have a fully packed venue all adding to an amazing, one off experience that is not to be missed.
"It is certainly going to be an awesome start to the summer months and promises to be a highlight of the year!"
Tickets are available online here, or from Loughborough Students' Union reception.

Royworld out of this world

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ECCENTRIC indie poppers Royworld, who take their name from a Welsh bowling alley, are ready to strike with their debut album Man In The Machine.

For this Buggles-esque release of 80s inspired melodrama is top of the pomps - epic, dynamic and full of more hooks than the classified section of the Angling Times.

Singles like Elasticity and Dust are both radio-friendly and challengingly complex, and completely different from their contemporaries.

Even the band's structure is a little off-the-wall, with their poignant songs co-written by singer Rod Futrille and his brother Crispin, who is not even in the band.

Ultimately these songs are big compositions, and it would be an injustice if by the end of the year, Royworld are not playing the arenas they would be so at home in.

In the meantime, you can catch them near Loughborough in Nottingham's Rock City on June 3, and Leicester's Summer Sundae festival on August 8.

Salutations

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CUT loose and lay back this summer with Loose Salute, music's answer to the lobotomy.

For the band's goodtime surf indie is like sunshine encapsulated, but like The Shortwave Set's album earlier this Spring, the result is just a bit gormless.

For some people sitting on a sandy backside jobless and grinning in a VW campervan is an idyll.

For me this image is not as nice as Loose Salute would have it.

Sure, it's nice for a break, but not all the time.

The Lab ab fab

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THE Lab's One, a 10-track sampler from the Manchester-based label, is a successful experiment.
Compiled under the "naive notion that good music will prevail," the selection is a mixed bag, from the driving rock of North Dakota's The Wooden Sky to the acoustic tinkering of Vandaveer's Crooked Mast.
Some of it is forgettable, for instance The Panda Band's effort which just doesn't gel for me, but with the likes of the We Are Scientists-esque Secret Broadcast, Snow Patrol-style Soft, the simply awesome Snowden and the star in waiting that is Rod Thomas, The Lab may well have lined up several of my new favourite bands in one fell swoop.
The CD is available from June 2, or you can listen to it here!

Hold a candle for Wax Tailor

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FRENCHMAN Wax Tailor's blend of trip hop and hip hop, thrip hop if you will, that is Hope And Sorrow finally gets a UK release next month.

The Tailor-made sophomore album from Wax, whose real name is the decidedly Gallic Jean-Christophe Le Saoût, sees a select group of carefully-selected collaborators - such as funk vocalist Sharon Jones and rappers The Others - join the DJ for a slick, cinematic outing.

The result is a mixture of rich, textured, string drenched beats and head-nodding hip hop that proves there's life for trip hop beyond the city limits of Bristol.

Kraak & Smaak traaks laaking

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DUTCH dance collective Kraak And Smaak's breakthrough album Plastic People has plastic bagged them some attention in this country since its release earlier this month.

And deservedly so, as their unmistakably European brand of souped-up house with a funky slant in the vein of Etienne de Crecy or Cassius is made for the dancefloor.

Tracks like Squeeze Me and Man Of Constant Sorrow show a group clearly having fun plying their trade.

However not all the tracks have such an appeal, and when the melodies or vocals are less demanding of attention, such as on California Roll or Thinking Back, the drumbeats need to step into the fray more.

Unfortunately they don't meaning that by the end of the LP, attention can stray - but don't just listen to a haak like me.

Plastic People is still a craaking album, and one of the best dance albums to land on my desk so far this year, so why not go Dutch.

Yoav to check him out

THE star of last night's Later... With Jools Holland was undoubtedly Yoav, the Israel-born South African one man band.
I've had a quick listen now of his 2008 album Charmed And Strange, as he only got to perform one track on the show, and the Kaki King meets Timbaland meets Incubus sound, all done on one guitar and attached pedals, is definitely one to check out.

Just Radiohead

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AT LEAST the compilers of this remarkable band's Best Of had the sense to produce it over two CDs.

For Radiohead, since 1992's Creep, have forged a name for themselves as one of the greatest, most innovative and creative and yet consistent makers of music since The Beatles laid down their instruments.

There is nothing I could write here about individual songs that you don't know already, suffice to say all the band's big hitters are here - Just, Street Spirit, Paranoid Android, Pyramid Song, etc. etc. - minus the latest LP In Rainbows' tracks, as EMI didn't hold the rights.

So as a companion to In Rainbows for anyone who doesn't know the band's back catalogue intimately yet, this would be as good a place to start discovering the Oxford five-piece's songbook as any.

36 Crazyfists' album lacks kick

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CONSIDERING The Tide And Its Takers is Alaskan metalcore outfit 36 Crazyfists' fourth LP, you would think the band would be able to go with the flow a bit more.

Because all of the elements of a great album are here, they're just not put together quite right, as if the Anchorage rockers are trying a little too hard.

With the band's over zealous guitar shredding, bludgeoning bass and frontman Brock Lindow's savage, primal growls almost ever-present throughout the album, the band's obvious knack for a sly hook here and there is almost always lost.

It's this balance that lets the band down - there's too much going on, too many skipped or added beats scattered throughout preventing the listener from grabbing hold.

And it's a shame, as during the moments on The Tide And Its Takers it comes together, 36 Crazyfists pack a real punch.

Spiritualized in good health

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AFTER the disappointing new release from The Charlatans comes another Britpop also-ran from out of nowhere.

Yes, sorry to say it, Spiritualized fans - and Charlatans fans for that matter - but they were never colussusses like Blur, Pulp or Oasis in their heyday.

Who next - Spacehog again bringing home the bacon? Menswear back in fashion? A Sleeper awakening? Please, anything but a new Space odyssey.

The reason behind the absence, of course, is frontman Jason Pierce's near death at the hands of a severe bout of pneumonia.

And new LP, the aptly-medical Songs In A&E, shows a band that has never been in better health.

Songs In A&E is an epic, warm, human and rich yet at the same time harrowing, eerie and intense.

Floaty compositions such as new single Soul On Fire and Death Take Your Fiddle are linked together brilliantly with string and piano 'harmonies' to create an opus that should prove to be a real shot in the arm for the band.

Later Of The Pier

Just in - Isaac Ashe's Sound Advice has learnt Castle Donington-based indie rock-electronica crossover outfit Late Of The Pier have postponed their gig at Loughborough's Rapture Nightclub from May 30 to sometime in October this year.

Pendulum swing into town

PENDULUM will be headlining a double drum and bass extravaganza at Loughborough University on May 27.
As part of their promotion for sensational new album In Silico, the group are playing alongside MC Verse and local DJs to an expected crowd of 1,000 under-18s at the Students' Union from 5.30pm, and then again to an adult audience later that evening.
Tickets are on sale at £10 for the under-18s gig and £5 NUS, £7 or £10 VIP for over-18s at the Students' Union Reception and Zavvi at The Rushes.
For more information about the event or ticket sales, please Edd Kiggins on 07729 932993.

Son Of Dave top of list

JUST a quick pointer for anyone dashing down the A6 to the inaugral Leicester City Blues Festival 2008 later this month.
Sitting on Saturday, May 31's line-up alongside more well-known acts such as Gary Moore is the absolute must-see Son Of Dave.
One bluesman band Son Of Dave, real name Benjamin Darvill, has to be seen to be believed - creating rich, hip-hop influenced blues completely on his tod onstage - you can see an example of this, a performance of Hellhound from his latest album 03, here.

Classic seven - Maggot Brain pretty fly

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FOR 1971's seminal Maggot Brain, funk legends Funkadelic decided on a stark departure from their previously groove-orientated sound.

As a young pup I can only imagine what die-hard fans of the band made of it when they whacked the album on for the first time to hear 10-minute long opener Maggot Brain, where the group wander around spaced out in the realms of psychedelia.

However with George Clinton at the helm, Maggot Brain was always going to be funky - and from track two, Can You Get To That, onwards, the mould for the funk rock genre was set.

On Hit It And Quit It, the guitars roar, and You And Your Folks, Me And My Folks sees a soulful gospel side added to the mix.

Fans of any modern rock band that every slapped a bass string in anger should not hesitate to add this blistering collection of formative funk rock to their collection.

Sparkling gig for Young Knives

VETERAN pop rock act Sparks have enlisted local band The Young Knives as support for one gig of their 21-night stand at the London Astoria.
Belton brothers Henry Dartnall and The House Of Lords and Ashbien Oliver Askew will perform on Saturday, May 17, before Sparks perform, in its entirity, their 1972 album A Woofer In Tweeter's Clothing.
The gig forms part of the group's back-to-back performances of their entire studio album back catalogue in order, including 1982's Angst In My Pants and 1995's Gratuitous Sax And Senseless Violins, ending with the group's 2008 LP Exotic Creatures Of The Deep.
Ah well, it can't be the Venture Theatre, Ashby-de-la-Zouch, every week.

Foxboro Hot Tubs are lukewarm

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IMAGINE Green Day dressed as Austin Powers and you've got Foxboro Hot Tubs, the pop punk pioneers' latest side-project.

A swinging '60s inspired take on the band's distinctive sound, Foxboro Hot Tubs' Stop Drop And Roll album is a refreshing outing from the once-goofy band, especially after the decidedly serious American Idiot.

However, were it not for The Reverend Strychnine Twitch AKA Billie Joe Armstrong's unmistakable vocals and the mojo-growing drumming and bass work, song wise this would be a pretty forgettable affair.

Stop Drop And Roll is a pretty groovy collection of '60s-inspired rock, but I'd still prefer to see Green Day doing what Green Day clearly do best, not doing what McFly do better.

Hello Holloways

CELEBRATE the music that makes you feel better this Saturday when top 40 band The Holloways come to Loughborough.
The band, best known for their smash hit feelgood summer song Generator, will be playing at Room 1, Loughborough Students' Union, alongside town act The Voom Blooms.
Bryn Tremayne Fowler, bassist for The Holloways, told Isaac Ashe's Sound Advice: "When we started playing live we decided to try to get around a many places as possible, especially where people don't get to see as many top bands, although I think this will be the first time in Loughborough.
"I'm sure people are going to be up for it.
"We heard one or two songs by The Voom Blooms before we gave them the thumbs-up – they sounded good and we're looking forward to seeing them live."
Tickets to the gig, open to anyone, both students and non-students, as long as they're aged 14 years or over, cost £10 and are available online here and here or from the Students' Union Reception.

Keeping Múm

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MY MOTHER told me to steer clear of strange folk - how wrong she was.

As although experimental electronic folk music makers Múm's output is definitely unconventional, it is sweeter than an illicitly-offered double dip.

Rerelease Yesterday Was Dramatic Today Is OK, first issued as the Icelandic band's debut in 2000, is a gorgeous soundscape of ambient electronic twitters and rich yet sparse instrumentation.

The ponderous yet enthralling tracks stretch into one another, equally at home with melody as silence, and the result is a journey you'll want to take over and over again.

Obviously Múm do - next Monday is the album's third release date, and in 2005 they even toured the album in its entirity as a live set!

Oceansize should make waves

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THE mere words "prog rock" are enough to make toe-curling images of grown men in fancy dress fiddling about with their organs spring to most people's minds.

Well, it does to mine...

However Oceansize, whose third album, Frames, is set for a rerelease next monday, are the bright future of this much-maligned genre.

Mixing the heavy metal prowess and technical wizardry of Tool with the emotion and sheer Manc-ness of Elbow, Oceansize's critically applauded Frames was pretty much ignored first time out last year.

True, the band aren't exactly radio-friendly, with the album clocking in at over an hour and the average track length around the eight minute mark, but tracks like the slow-burning Trail Of Fire and Savant are pure genius.

So if you're a fan of 65 Days Of Static, Biffy Clyro, Tool, Elbow or Mogwai, why not take a dip?

Opposites attract

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ODD couple Isobel Campbell and Mark Lanegan return on Monday with Sunday At Devil Dirt, the pair's second collaboration.

And it's no surprise the duo of Belle & Sebastian singer and cellist Campbell and former Screaming Trees singer Lanegan are back - Mark Lanegan has proven to be one of the hardest working men in music over the past 12 months.

However here the grizzled singer is not as firey as on electronica outing Soulsavers or the rockier The Gutter Twins - instead on Sunday At Devil Dirt Lanegan has a wistful Leonard Cohen quality to his voice.

And backed up by Isobel Campbell's irresistably sweet vocals, tracks like Salvation and Back Burner are like walking through the set of a spaghetti Western movie.

This outing is ultimately more of the same from the unlikely pairing, but as the Mercury-nominated Ballad Of The Broken Seas was such a resounding success, why not?

Date with Destiny for Late Of The Pier

CASTLE Donington rockers Late Of The Pier will be appearing on The Nokia Green Room on Channel 4 at 1.40pm on May 11.
The show, which features diverse acts mingling backstage between exclusive performances, will see the local lads hobnobbing with indie group Guillemots and former Destiny's Child Kelly Rowland.

Pendulum swing high

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WHEN drum and bass group Pendulum were announced for Download Festival I imagine more eyebrows were raised than tradional devil horns.

However after listening to the group's second LP In Silico, the Australian outfit have clearly developed the kind of crossover appeal not heard since The Prodigy's Fat Of The Land was released.

Where on debut release Hold Your Colour the focus was straight down the line Andy C style drum and bass, with the emphasis on bass, Pendulum have now added detail to their song structures.

Tracks such as Visions and new single Propane Nightmares demonstrate there's real talent hiding underneath the traditional junglist beats and pulsating buzz basses.

While the group are still a little rough around the edges, this could well unite the two disparate genres, if only for the duration of their half-hour onstage at Donington Park this Summer.

Fair Maiden

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RUN to the hills - Iron Maiden are back!

Sort of.

Somwhere Back In Time is the latest "best of" from the band, who have racked up double figures of compilation albums, let alone studio efforts, since their inception in 1975.

So I won't bore you with the details - surely you've heard the group by now.

For some they will live up to their name as sheer torture, for other's the Leyton band are thoroughbred rock gods, and for the rest of you they're pure comedy genius.

This outing, covering 1980-1989, has nearly all the household hits - Run To The Hills, The Evil That Men Do, Number Of The Beast, Can I Play With Madness - although I would still say Edward The Great is a better "best of" bet.

However if the album increases interest in Iron Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson's new movie Chemical Wedding, which has my brother Jared Ashe in it, then rock on.

Young Knives Live

ASHBY-de-la-Zouch was the town where local band The Young Knives first plyed their trade – and a secret homecoming gig was held at the Venture Theatre on May 6.

The three-piece band, made up of Belton brothers Henry Dartnall and Thomas "The House Of Lords" Dartnall alongside Ashby's Oliver Askew, admitted onstage: "We never thought we would do this."

However after a riotous set the band, who have just released their second album Superabundance to critical acclaim, were making suggestions that it become a regular slot – if the venue invested in air conditioning "for the fat boys on stage".

The opening salvo of the night, organised by Gaymers cider for a select crowd of competition winners who had travelled to Ashby, press, TV and the band's family and friends, was the blistering She's Attracted To.

And with the splendid Counters and recent single Terra Firma following on, the small theatre was shaking as the crowd began to move.

Also standing out from the Young Knives' songbook of quirky, angular rock were Fit 4 U, the thumping Up All Night and the always-exceptional Weekends And Bleakdays.

The band also excelled with their new single Turn Tail – in the shops now, kids – where they were joined onstage by four "string people" for a passionate rendition of the song.

"Grim" Loughborough Suicide got an outing, before the sweaty set concluded with the anthemic The Decision.

The Young Knives may not be back to their old haunt for a while – on this form stadiums and TV studios may will be the next step.

Young Knives' old haunt

TONIGHT The Young Knives performed their socks off at a secret gig at the Venture Theatre in Ashby-de-la-Zouch - and very exciting for the good folk of Ashby it was too.
Here are some pictures from the evening - look out for a full review here, in the Loughborough Echo and in the mighty Ashby Trader And Echo paper too.

Queue the audience...

Failing to prepare...

Cam on, cam on.

Rock and or roll

The super Dartnall brothers

Henry Dartnall

The House Of Lords and Oliver Askew

With some "string people"

Classic six - Need Naveed

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INTERNATIONAL readers of Isaac Ashe's Sound Advice - yeah right - may be more familiar with Our Lady Peace than Brits.

For example Naveed, the band's 1994 debut album, was sadly only a minor hit in their native Canada.

This alternative rock album, which spawned five singles, did provide the springboard for the group to go on to write five more studio albums and do good work in the US and Canadian album and single charts - yet it is unlikely many of you will be familiar.

Time to correct that, I say.

For Naveed is a grungey and full bodied affair, showcasing the band's proficient Pearl Jam style musicianship and a singer, Raine Maida, blessed with a gift of a rock voice, equally at home growling down low or soaring up high.

To this day the group still open and close their live shows with Naveed and Starseed, which demonstrates the lasting quality of this album.

Vine and dandy

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IN A strange sequence of events, Australian garage rockers The Vines are releasing their The Best Of... compilation ahead of a new album, Brain Dead, this summer.

Compiled by the band for release by their recently-dispensed with label Capitol Records, it is a testament to the group that a greatest hits of this quality can be made with just three albums of material to pluck from.

Showcasing the groups' trademark mix of Beatles-style '60s pop and Nirvana-style '90s grunge, fans of the group will be able to predict the obvious album highlights in the likes of Outtathaway, Get Free and Ride.

And if you're not yet a Vines fan, what better place to start before their fourth album is released, on a new record label, later this year.

Up, up and away...

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MATMOS really is a labour of love for San Francisco duo Martin Schmidt and Drew Daniel - as not only are the pair a romantic couple, they go to extreme lengths together to get the sounds they need for their experimental electronica.
In the course of their work, Matmos have - among many, many things, some too lewd to be listed here - sampled amplified crayfish nerve tissue, the pages of bibles turning, slowed down whistles and kisses, chin implant surgery, rat cages, tanks of helium, human skulls, cards shuffling, field recordings of conversations in hot tubs, frequency response tests for defective hearing aids, a steel guitar recorded in a sewer, Polish trains, aspirin tablets hitting a drum kit from across the room, life support machines, solid gold coins spinning on bars of solid silver and the sound of a frozen stream thawing in the sun.
It really is "all" in a days work for Matmos.
So for Supreme Balloon to be a studio album, albeit entirely composed on synthesizers, is daring for the group, whose work normally straddles the grey area between pop music and conceptual art.
This time out the songs are more instantly accessible and sound like extracts from a 1970s Tomorrow's World special on the music of the future.
The results are still, as you'd expect, more chin stroking than foot tapping, but Supreme Balloon is more of a pleasure trip than previous outings.

Classic five - General brilliance

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BEING Fatboy Slim's boss, Skint supremo Damian Harris - AKA Midfield General - knew his 2000 release Generalisation had to set a good example.

Perhaps that's why Generalisation was five years in the making...

Either way, it's no surprise that the album, which seamlessly shifts from big beat and breaks with housey soul samples and old school hip-hop, is sheer dancefloor brilliance from start to finish.

However a few tracks really stand out on the album - Reach Out, the album's biggest single, is a dreamy, soulful slice of blissed out house, Devil In Sports Casual is a scowling breaks classic, and Stigs Inn Love is a drum and bass track with more unexpected twists than a pole dancer with no bones.

However the track you'll be telling literally everyone you know to listen to - just like I'm doing now - is Midfielding, featuring The Mighty Boosh's Noel Fielding.

A second album, General Disarray, is out this month, and with it being eight years in the pipeline surely the best is yet to come.

Album falls Short

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THE Shortwave Set's second offering of what they term "victorian punk" is the musical equivolent of lying in a field in the sun with a gormless expression.

With Dj Dangermouse at the mixing desk you would expect an album chirpier than a cricket that's just found a £20 note on the floor while walking back from making sweet crickety love to a rather gorgeous lady cricket.

However the Londoner's sun-kissed album Replica Sun Machine is like listening to The Magic Numbers, but with chronic fatugue syndrome.

Like Goldfrapp's similar laid back psychedelia experiment Seventh Tree earlier this year the album has a summery, good-time vibe that never really gets going throughout the course of the LP - why have a Replica Sun Machine when we'll very soon have the real thing out for the summer, albeit with a bit more oomph.