dry the river

Today's CMU Approved...

I've been meaning to mention these guys ever since I saw them a few weeks back supporting Johnny Flynn at the Electric Ballroom. I wasn't paying much attention when they first arrived on stage, me and my brother were putting most of our energy into finding a good spot to watch JF.

But once they started playing, their music - full of sweet lyrics and even sweeter melodies - made me stop and listen. Counting Bon Iver, Fleet Foxes and Paul Simon as influences, the melodies are fattened out with a build up of harmonies and delivered conspicuously by frontman Peter Liddle. I remember particularly liking his hand movemements...

The London alt-country quintet have only been together since last year and have already supported Port O'Brien, as well as Johnny Flynn, and released two EPs - 'The Chambers & The Valves' and 'Bible Belt' - both self-released and available to buy via the band's MySpace page. They've got plenty of upcoming gigs over the summer including festival appearances at Standon Calling and Big Chill, so there are lots of chances to check them out.

www.myspace.com/drytherivermusic

Just Because...

Dallas day

Ages ago (last week) my wishes came true and Dallas Green played London. Despite not getting to stalk him afterwards and getting him to sign my ticket and Soph getting an actual real hug,... it was incredible. His voice is so sincere and gentle yet powerful and I love it. The crowd, however, I didn't love, they were so chatty and loud, and younger than me. And, it would have been awesome if he had played a bit of Alexisonfire, Boiled Frogs, but he didn't. It was still rather great though, especially this on the encore...

Flaws

Villagers - Becoming A Jackal

I like the lovely lovely Villagers even more now after reading this...

Q1 How did you start out making music?
My mother took me to the cinema when I was four years old. 'An American Tale' was the name of the film. I'll never forget it. I sang the music from it for at least two years afterwards. "Somewhere out there, beneath the pale moonlight, someone is thinking of you and loving you tonight..." I've been trying to reach this level on enchantment ever since. But things keep getting in the way. So I focus my attention on these 'things' instead.

Villagers' CMU SSQ

Lissie

Having already seen Lissie play less than a week earlier at The Great Escape, my expectations were certainly high; she'd covered a Kid Cudi song and pulled it off amazingly, and was joined on stage by Ellie Goulding for 'Everywhere I Go'. What was going to beat that?! Well, expectations may have been high, but my second jaunt seeing Lissie was, nonetheless, far from disappointing.

Performing to a packed out audience at the Queens Head in Islington, it was somewhat special seeing her in such a small venue, compared to Brighton's large concert hall The Dome. Up close and definitely more personal, with plenty of interaction from the crowd, you could really see her band in action, which was great to watch, especially Lewis Keller who carried out the task of both bass and drums simultaneously.

She struggled slightly, nearly losing her voice here and there, presumably down to lots of recent gigging, but that kind of added to the raw country tones of her vocals; and the delicateness of her voice on the slower more soulful songs still shone through.

Lissie at The Queens Head in London on 18 May

The Ruskins - Old Isleworth

Returning with their second single, indie three-piece The Ruskins continue to deliver their eclectic mix of modern ska-infused, Irish-flavoured, country rock.

Whilst still playing frenetically with an upbeat tempo, 'Old Isleworth' takes on a more earnest tone than debut single 'Slow Down Jessica'; moving from the topic of a slightly too intense love interest, to reminiscing about the good days in their hometown of Isleworth and how it's now changed, presumably for the worse.

To illustrate their tales of "possible threats" and community support officers, The Ruskins worked with young aspiring director Andy Little on the video for the song, filming scenes around the Worton Estate in Isleworth itself, and including cameos from the likes of 'Skins' and 'Shameless' stars Kaya Scodelario and Elliott Titensor, who they now count amongst their fans.

So, not a massive departure from their previous offering, but with, at its heart, catchy sensibilities, an edgy video and support from Xfm's John Kennedy, this is definitely a step in the right direction.

Physical release: 5 May
Press contact: SiZe Records IH

caught up in the stars

♥

Choose Your Own Great Escape

Soo, it was over a whole week ago now that the CMU team headed down to the seaside to the Great Escape, and I think I'm only just recovering. It was muchos fun and I got to see some ace bands, eat yummy cupcakes, go to conferences and meet up with some loverly friendly faces. And, I discovered that I am definitely NOT old and definitely did NOT fall asleep standing up watching bands...

Amongst Hurts, Dam Mantle, Here We Go Magic and Wild Beasts, here are the bands that I watched and loved a little a bit:

Favourite number 1 - WARPAINT



Favourite number 2 - LISSIE



Favourite number 3 - ACTIVE CHILD



and and and some bands I wanted to see but sadly missed due to busyness/lazyness - Throats, Sleigh Bells, Wolf Gang and Car Is On Fire (just cos I like the name).

I Will Remain

Today's CMU Approved...

Matthew & The Atlas, led by Matthew Hegarty, are one of those bands I've only just got round to listening to, despite hearing lovely things about them for a while now, and having been ordered by friends to check them out on more than one occasion. They deliver a spine-tingling take on modern folk, with Matthew's vocals coming across grainy and raw, yet tender, drawing similarities to Ray Lamontagne, and helped along by the delicate backing vocals of Lindsay West.

After support slots with Mumford & Sons at the start of the year, the band have just released their debut EP 'To The North'. Lead track 'I Will Remain' shows off the more upbeat folky side to the band with its hand-claps and banjo, while 'Veins Of Your History' shows a more stripped down, tender side to their music. The band have lots of gigs lined up over the next month, including a performance at The Great Escape, so plenty of opportunities to see them in action.

www.myspace.com/matthewandtheatlas