Latest News
Introducing… Marc Burrows!
Comedian and Music Journalist Marc Burrows returns to the Edinburgh Fringe with his brand new show, The Ten Best Songs Of All Time. It serves as an autobiography through music via the ten most important songs of Marc’s life, the songs he genuinely thinks are the best ever written. Through these songs he springboards into stories, silly facts and ridiculous singing.
Marc Burrows is now in his 6th year of stand up. Prior to performing he served a two year apprenticeship behind the scenes in the comedy industry working as a live booker for Avalon & Best Medicine, and commissioning, producing and writing online sketches full time for Comedybox and Funny or Die, jobs he describes as “far more valuable than any comedy course”. He performed his first gig at the 2008 Fringe and hit the circuit hard in January 2009, gigging consistently ever since.
At the 2009 Fringe he put together & compered the near sell-out, five star-rated The Big Comedy Breakfast, also featuring Diane Spencer, Sarah Pearce and Robert Auton, which returned in 2010, and made his solo debut in 2011 with The 90s In Half an Hour, appearing again the following year with his second fringe solo show, An Indie Boy’s Guide To Sex & Girls.
Away from stand up Marc writes about music for The Guardian, The Quietus and Drowned In Sound, among others, and also plays bass in the critically acclaimed Steampunk band The Men That Will Not Be Blamed For Nothing, alongside cult comedian Andrew O’Neill. The band have released 2 albums of punk-fuelled modern Musical Hall metal,
played across the UK & US including Glastonbury, Latitude, the Edinburgh Fringe and Bestival, and have a growing and dedicated fanbase which includes writers Alan Moore and Neil Gaiman, and comic Phil Jupitus.
You can watch Marc Burrows performing The Ten Best Songs Of All Time for free at Maggie’s Front Room, The Three Sisters, 139 Cowgate, Venue 272 from 1st August until 23rd August 2014.
The Helmholtz Resonators release single ‘Sunshine/Shadow’!
"...simplistic yet evidently obscenely catchy lyrics. There’s more than a hearty dash of Beta Band thrown in to the mix..."
- The Vinyl District
The Helmholtz Resonators, a renegade group of psychedelic time travelling audio scientists who have been playing and writing music together since the turn of the century, have released their latest single Sunshine/Shadow via
Watch the video for Sunshine via The Helmholtz Resonators YouTube channel.
You can also watch the video for Shadow via the band's YouTube channel.
Sunshine/Shadow captures both sides of the band’s personality, making perfect sense as a double A side single. ‘Sunshine’ is a bright slice of electronic feel-good electronica with upbeat lyrics, while ‘Shadow’ is a sinister tale of beady eyed shadow people, omnipresent and always listening. You can stream it on the ABoF SoundCloud page.
Around the same time Carlton Breezy had an old hyper-fuzz pedal he never liked the sound of when used with his guitar, so he discarded the guitar and found the fuzz perfect with an old 1970s precision bass. Chladni Plates was thrilled; he had wanted to form a “hatstand of psychedelia” for some time.
Heavily inspired by the ethos behind concept albums, the band have created a repertoire of songs that are as eccentric as their image, touching on influences as diverse as The Residents and The Kinks to LCD Soundsystem and Hieronymous Bosch and picking up support from the likes of XFM’s Eddy Temple Morris, BBC 6Music’s Marc Riley, Frank Skinner’s Absolute Radio Show, Timeout and The Independent.
Sunshine/Shadow is released via Genepool Records. Order the limited edition orange vinyl via the band's official website or download the single via iTunes.
Scary People announce single ‘Guided By The Blind’!
"...a short and sweet slice of alt-rock goodness."
- Artrocker Magazine
Scary People announce the release of their single, Guided By The Blind, out on July 28th 2014 via RedRoom Recordings.
Stream Guided By The Blind via the Scary People SoundCloud page.
Guided By The Blind follows hot on the heels of recent release, the band’s sophomore EP Chicago!, and continues exactly where the band left off - dirty, abrasive, yet beautifully crafted, alternative rock. Scary People have continued to expand on their already distinctive sound, with each new release peeling away another layer of creativity, exposing more and more nuances of undoubted talent and inventiveness. Guided By The Blind showcases the band’s broodier side as crooning vocals combine with snappy, technical drumming and guitar melodies that pop, punch and pull at your eardrums.
This past year has seen a sharp rise for Scary People - from relative obscurity to ‘one’s to watch’. Their music sweats with a pulsating alt-rock energy, which is allied and tempered by hooks and melodies - capturing a sound that manages to transcend genres. This has led to the band, over the span of just two EP’s, picking up support from the likes of BBC Introducing, STV, The Scottish Sun, The Daily Record, Artrocker Magazine and The Skinny.
To support the release Scary People will be playing an array of shows, most notably the T-Break Stage at T In the Park and Wickerman Festival, as well as a number of Scottish dates with support coming from Avast!.
Check out the full list of shows below:
13th July - T In The Park - T Break Stage
26th July - Wickerman - GoNorth Tent
30th July - Sneaky Pete's - Edinburgh
31st July - Tunnels - Aberdeen
1st August - Broadcast - Glasgow
2nd August - Non Zero's - Dundee
Guided By The Blind is due for release on July 28th 2014 via RedRoom Recordings.
Introducing… Alburn!
Alburn announce the release of their sophomore EP, Mouthful of Glass, out on 25th August 2014 via Spilt Lies Records.
Mouthful of Glass follows on from the 2012 release of their debut EP Engines, and sees a genuine growth and positive progression in the songwriting ability and performance of the band.
You can stream and download EP track The Nurses Can't Help me via the ABoF SoundCloud page or via the embed below.
Watch the video for the track via the Alburn YouTube channel.
Exhibiting post-rock elements, as well as an emo-infused sound not dissimilar to classic underground American bands such as The Appleseed Cast, Thursday, Jets To Brazil and Texas Is The Reason, Alburn have produced a sound that evokes memories of the mid-to-late 90’s Washington DC movement. Opening track ‘The Nurses Can’t Help Me’ sweeps and sways - heavy, laden stop start guitar melodies angrily spit as an interchange of vocals belt out from the speakers and grab you by the throat. ‘Golden’ showcases the band’s ability to execute the quiet / loud dynamic as well as time changes galore and screaming vocals which are all unified by flawless harmonies. While title track, ‘Mouthful of Glass’, conjures memories of their influences - bands who have been represented by iconic labels such as Deep Elm Records, De Soto and Crank!.
Comprising Pete Duthie (guitar, vocals), Gee MacPhee (guitar, vocals), Chris Hunter (bass) and Danny Kelly (drums), initially Alburn was a name Pete and Gee used to release songs under in 2007. However, Danny was approached to play drums in 2012 and, on recommending his friend and bass player Chris to the rest of the band, Alburn were born. Mouthful of Glass is the result of months of writing together - the first time the band have written collectively in their current guise - and the writing process has seen the band create a slightly more visceral sound than on their previous release.
Mouthful of Glass was recorded with Neil Kennedy (Last Witness, Burn The Fleet) at The Ranch and mastered by Alan Douches (Mastodon, Converge). To support the release Alburn will be playing shows throughout the UK as well as playing a launch show with We Came From Wolves at King Tut’s Rock n Roll Damnation Festival.
Mouthful of Glass is due for release on 25th August 2014 via Spilt Lies Records.
FUCK ART, LET’S DANCE! release video ‘Sense’!
“...melodies so crisp they ought to come foil-wrapped.” - NME
“...rapier-sharp indie-pop...” - The Line of Best Fit
In an explosion of neon, FUCK ART, LET’S DANCE! have released the 80s infused video for their latest single Sense, complete with synchronised dancers. The video premiered on Gigwise and you can watch it now via the Audiolith YouTube channel.
You can also watch the sacrilicious video for 'We're Manicals!' via the Audiolith YouTube channel as well as the stripped down, day in the life style video for 'Hemisphere'.
The band's debut album, Atlas, has already picked up support from the likes of NME and The Line Of Best Fit, both giving the album the thumbs up.
If you want an extra taste of their sound, you can stream and download free album track "HOME" on Audiolith's SoundCloud page and watch the video on YouTube.
The band’s name - FUCK ART, LET’S DANCE! - speaks for itself. Whilst listening to Atlas you can imagine club kids from Dalston, London to Williamsburg, New York dancing carefree in the darkest, coolest corners of some of the best underground clubs, music pulsing, the band’s name emblazoned onto loose fitted vests, graffitied luminously across brick walls - FUCK ART, LET’S DANCE! have the capacity to start a movement.
FUCK ART, LET'S DANCE! also gave away two free downloads from their compilation We're Manicals! (Remixes), available now on iTunes, giving fans the opportunity to download and stream Deo & Zman's and Ostbahnof (FR)'s
interpretation of FUCK ART, LET'S DANCE!'s speaker shaking track 'We're Manicals!'.
With Atlas, this addictive four-piece will make you dance, sweat and smile - they embody both the fun and introspective elements of youth and have translated them into thirteen perfect tracks.
Sense is available now via Audiolith. You can buy it on iTunes.
The single is taken from their debut album ATLAS, also available on iTunes.