Rhythm & Booze An online music webzine created by music lovers for music lovers.

6 April, 2012

Nell Bryden/Chris Rea Live @ NIA Birmingham 1/4/12

Filed under: blues,country,folk,Live Reviews,pop — Tags: Chris Rea, live, — willmunn @ 08:03

A couple of years back via good old Radio 2 (and my Dad) I was introduced the rather wonderful sounds of singer-songwriter Nell Bryden, her album at the time, What Does It Take, a delightful collection of rootsy blues, soulful Americana and stripped down folk became a firm favourite here at Rhythm & Booze and catching her live at the Academy 3 reaffirmed my faith in a good honest song and an infectious melody.

Since then I’ve had the pleasure in reviewing a couple of singles by Nell, including her brand new effort, the light, poppy Buildings And Treetops (reviewed on this very site) from her forthcoming new album Shake The Trees, so when the opportunity to catch Nell perform live as support to Chris Rea I jumped at the chance.

Last time I caught Nell she was accompanied my a full backing band, but this time out much to my surprise she trod the boards alone. Nell performed a short set taking in a few older tracks including the brilliant title track of the aforementioned What Does It Take along with a handful of newbies.

Throughout her short tenure on the stage, Nell’s warm soulful vocals and crisp electro-acoustic guitar work drew the crowd in, whilst her friendly stage banter and bubbly energy managed to win over a large portion of the Chris Rea disciples. Highlights came thick and fast throughout her delightful stripped down set with the likes of the country soul belter and death row lament Mercy On Me and fellow new track, Sirens both hitting home hard.

Nell’s intoxicating set has really whetted the appetite for the release of her forthcoming album proving whether with a band or solo, in a small club or massive stage such as the NIA, Nell Bryden is one singer-songwriter never fails to captivate and leave you with a warm fuzzy feeling inside.

Rhythm & Booze Rating 9

www.nellbryden.com

 

And so on to Chris Rea, well what can I say, the guy can really play guitar, his backing band are all strong competent musicians and he has written a couple of stone cold classics (Road To Hell, etc).

So you’d think that Chris Rea infront of his audience would really lift the roof of the NIA wouldn’t you? well actually no, sure he played a few really contagious numbers, he know’s his way around his guitar and the assembled masses lapped up every lick, solo and drum roll, but I have to say I was left a little cold by the performance.

Chris has no interaction with the audience bar a half mumbled thank you, half his set seemed to meander rather than grab you by the lapels and as for the band, they seemed content to happily move throw the motions. To be honest there seemed to be so little emotion or soul in the entire set and hey when you’ve seen one Chris Rea solo you’ve really seen them all. I guess if you like cold, hard musical proficiency, rather than a hook-laden song, Chris can do wrong, but for this viewer I prefer a bit of heart and soul.

Rhythm & Booze Rating 6

www.chrisrea.com

13 September, 2011

Rhythm Festival, Biggleswade, Bedfordshire 26/27/28th August 2011

Filed under: blues,country,folk,indie,Live Reviews,pop,punk,rock,rock n roll — Tags: Hazel O'Connor, imelda may, missing andy, Nick Lowe, rhythm festival, The Bluberry Hellbellies, The Burns Unit. rchie Brown & The Young Bucks, The Metatrons — willmunn @ 16:51

It seems some what apt to reviewing a festival called Rhythm here on the Rhythm & Booze website, obviously there’s the name sharing but not only that  this years festivities featured a number of acts that we’ve featured previously on Rhythm & Booze (whether it was this site, an older version or even the now ancient paper format) including the likes of Imelda May, Hazel O’Connor, Sandi Thom and Missing Andy to name but a few

Rhythm Festival is set in the stunning Mansion House in Old Warden Park, a beautiful location for a small yet wonderfully varied festival, as with most festivals in this day and age Rhythm is something of a family orientated affair complete with a number of performance stages, a fair, stalls, eateries and the essential beer tent. But what sets the festival apart from their many contempories is their obvious love of music, this isn’t one of those festivals that people go to hang out, get drunk and miss the bands, no Rhythm is all about the bands and that’s why they manage to attract some of the biggest names in punk/blues/rock/ska/folk/indie/roots around, can you name another festival this year that featured The Buzzcocks, Nick Lowe and Jack Bruce (of Cream fame) no didn’t think so.

After a long drive from Worcester and dumping the bags at our hotel (yes I know, but I don’t do camping!) we hit the site and headed for the first band we could find, who just happened to be The Metratrons on the introducing stage.

The Metratrons turned out to be a brilliant opener for our weekends festivities, a four-piece female fronted blend of punk, new wave and fuzzy pop who delivered a fun, attitude filled set of infectious three minute belters that helped us all forget our damp feat and wind swept hair with contagious little ditties such as the bubblegum pop of Last To Know. The band’a Stomping rhythms, buzzing guitars, big hooks and hollered vocals went down a treat with the early revellers, setting us up nicely for the rest of the festival.

Next up and very high on my festival’s itinerary the always incredible Hazel O’Connor, with a set lifted from the iconic (now 3o year old) Breaking Glass. I’ve seen Hazel now on a number of occasions in various different formats but her performance at Rhythm with The Subterranens and saxophonist Clare Hirst helping out was perhaps the best I’ve witnessed to date (and I’m a big fan). Hazel and the band delivered a stunning high octane set, taking in the likes of Black Man, Big Brother, the marching Decadent Days and the eternal Will You? with the large assembled crowd hollering away to each and every vocal, with Hazel as ring leader, comandeering the audiences attention with her punchy attitude and deliverance.

8-piece Scottish-Canadian supergroup The Burns Unit (featuring the likes of Emma Pollock, King Creosote, Karine Polwart among their number) followed with a compelling set of multi-faceted indie pop, folk and alternative rock featuring six lead singers, wonderous harmonies, layers of sound and loads of contagious twists drawing you into their maverick , unique yet compelling set.

We spent the rest of the first of the day/evening bouncing around taking in the sights and the sounds of the festival before retiring for an early night (after all that travelling) but we reliably informed that The Buzzcocks brought the house (and the barriers) down with a hits filled set of punky madeness.

Day Two and up for an early start at the main stage with country titans Archie Brown & The Young Bucks.

Archie Brown produced an unexpected early highlight to our second day with a brilliant set of country, blues and rock, ranging from heartfelt crooned laments to a raucous sax assisted set finale. The band had more energy than most bands half their age, whilst Archie, himself was a whirring dervish of a frontman, putting in an energetic and commanding performance that had the assembled masses raptious with appreciation.

Indie upstarts Missing Andy added a new dimension to proceedings with a glorious, punchy set of upbeat indie rock anthems such as Kings For The Weekend, A Call To Arms and the holler along, live classic in the making Made In England. The band’s set had everything you could ask for, it was frantic, had attitude and swagger in abundance, full of  sing-a-long hooks, addictive riffs, and delivered by a group on tip-top form. With performance like this and ready made festival classics it shoudn’t be too long until we see Missing Andy topping the bill.

After the riotous performance of Missing Andy we made a quick dash over to the Le Mesurier Stage to take in some of the greasy cow punk types the Blubbery Hellbellies, a wonderfully ramshackle collective headed by Lurkers main man Arturo Bassick, who wedge their tongues firmly in their cheeks to deliver a fun fuelled set of country punk including such classics as Is It Love Or Food Poisoning and All Wrestling Mama to name just two.

After gorging on some rather delectible pizza and once again wandering the site we paid a quick visit to the secret stage, took in a couple of tracks by Slim Chance, watching half a set of the wonderful bluesy Sandi Thom, which included Sandi blowing a mean harmonica before taking a brief sabbatical back at the hotel to charge the camera and our batteries before the two pronged main event.

Nick Lowe is a living legend, pure and simple, he is one of the finest songwriters of his and anybodies elses generation who has had a massively succesful solo career taking in soul, country, rock and pop, his 40 year musical career has numerous highlights and with the release of brand new album, At My Age, he doesn’t look like slowing down anytime yet. Nick’s set was a stunning display of restrained soulful, folky pop delivered in his aged yet wonderful croon taking in songs from thoughout his career to great applause and appreciation from one of the biggest crowds of the weekend. New songs slipped in effortlessly alongside better known classics, whilst his band laid down an infectious groove throughout and though Nick may not have delivered the most energetic of sets, his understated delivery and incredible songwriting ability shone through, proving that you don’t have to jump about to be a festival highlight. For me just being in the pressence of the mighty Nick Lowe performing live is a highlight in itself.

Saturday (and our festival due to work commitments) finished with the stunning, wonderful highly addictive Imelda May. By now unless you’ve lived on another planet you should have heard Imelda’s terrific blend of blues, soul and rockabilly, she’s lit up the stage across a number of the biggest venues and festivals across the world, whilst seducing he nation with her high profile turn on Later With Jools Holland and if you’re a regular Radio Two listener I’m sure you’ve become very accustomed to Imelda blaring out of your speakers as she’s become something of a main stay for the station in recent times. Both of her albums to date Love Tattoo and Mayhem have become firm favourites here at Rhythm & Booze, with her cool blues, upbeat rockabilly and soulful drawl regularly adorning the R&B hi-fi, but even those regular spins hadn’t prepared me for the Imelda May live experience. Imelda and her band are simply sensational in a live arena, she smoulderings as her her bunch of merry men kick up a shit storm of surf guitars, rock n roll licks and pulsating rhythms. Imelda lifts from both albums, with highlights delivered thick and fast, Johnny Gotta Boom Boom, a sensationally souped up Tainted Love and a glorious Big Bad Handsome Man are just three of a plethora that I could mention. Imelda May was the perfect choice as headliner as she had the audience in the palm of her hand from start to finish, we sang along, danced (well tried to) and lapped up every morsel from the Dublin born goddess with cries of more ringing long into the night.

I’m sure the final day of the festival was every bit as impressive with the likes of Toots & The Maytals, Steve Cropper (with The Animals), The Blockheads and Terry Reid all treading the boards, but like I mentioned earlier we had to head back to Worcester as the day job beckoned,.

I have to say we had an abosolute blast at our first ever (certainly not going to be our last) Rhythm Festival, it didn’t matter that we had a few spots of rain, what we may have lacked in sunshine was more than made up by the quality of music on offer. Rhythm is a fun, friendly festival put on by music lovers for music lovers, roll on next year.

 

Rhythm & Booze Rating 10

3 May, 2011

Webb Sisters-Savages

Filed under: country,folk,pop — Tags: leonard cohen, the webb sisters — willmunn @ 10:29

The Webb Sisters are as the name suggests are two sisters, Charley and Hattie Webb born to a musical family based in the heart of Kent, who to date have released a handful of critically acclaimed albums, had their music featured on a number of TV programs and performed with some of the biggest names in music. In recent times the duo have recently ben seen performing alongside one of their heroes Leonard Cohen, acting as both as a support band and providing backing vocals for the musical great.

Savages sees The Webb Sisters weld together a delightful mixture of folk and pop to create a bewitching album full of pretty harmonies, infectious melodies and evocative vocal hooks. Right from the opening Baroque Thoughts, Charley and Hattie weave a magical spell, their voices blend effortlessly over a backing of plucked acoustic guitar and harp. From there we’re taken on a glorious journey of contagious pop tinged folky numbers and the occasional upbeat rocker. 
The title track is a stunning pop rocker that in a just world would be heard blaring from the radio across the land, it contains a wonderful vocal hook that you can’t help nodding along to, whilst the upbeat instrumentation will have you have grinning from ear to ear. In complete contrast, yet perhaps even more appealing, Dark Skies is all based around a simplistic vocal loop showcasing the duo at their sparse best with their entwined vocals seducing the listener almost akin to the siren call of the mermaid.
Amelie’s Smile is another highlight, as patted percussion combines delightfully with twanging dusty country guitar, subtle strings and those ever present aching harmonies, forming a song that simply oozes with emotion and class.
No review of Savages would be complete without a mention of jaw dropping live version of Leonard Cohen’s If It Be Your Will, that opens with the great man himself providing a spoken word introduction before the Webb Sisters take over with a simply beautiful and serene vocal performance that just has to be heard to be believed. An already gorgeous song enhanced by a spine tingling vocal performance that almost brought this reviewer to his knees.
Savages is a sensational album from start to finish, The Webb Sisters deliver a flawless collection of beautifully performed hook-laden folk anthems full of heartfelt emotion and a passion that’s second to none.
Rhythm & Booze Rating 10

www.thewebbsisters.com

9 March, 2011

Kate Armiger-Confessions Of A Nice Girl

Filed under: country,pop,rock — Tags: kate armiger — willmunn @ 14:54

Kate Armiger is a Houston based 19 year old singer, who has begun to seduce her native America with a combination of good time, hook-laden rock, pop and country.

Kate began singing at the tender age of 14 by winning a singing competition in her hometown in Houston, by 15 Kate was on the road touring her first album seducing audiences everywhere she performed, in the next four years Kate released a further two albums to ever increasing attention across the US.
Kate’s latest album, Confessions Of A Nice Girl has been already released in the US hitting the top twenty Itunes album chart, helping to land Kate a slot on the prestigious Morning Show on CBS. Confessions…..is also the first of Kate’s albums to be released over here in the UK and it wouldn’t be to0 much of a stretch of the imagination to expect the UK debut to match the stateside success.
The 13 track affair, is an addictive combination of upbeat pop rockers and stripped down ballads, if you want comparisons think Kelly Clarkson, Shania Twain, Taylor Swift or Avril Lavigne for starters, sure there’s massively original about Kate’s sound, but the songs are catchier than the common cold and her delivery is equally as contagious. The opening number, Best Song Ever sets the scene well, it’s an upbeat hard hitting pop rocker complete with a massive sing-a-long chorus that could have been taken straight out of Miss Clarkson’s songbook. 
From here on in we’re treated to a masterclass of infectious melodies, hook-laden riffs, hollering vocal refrains and more irresistible choruses than most performers can manage in a lifetime. On the one hand you have upbeat feisty rockers such as the brilliantly addictive Can You Handle It and the ballsy near title track Nice Girl, whereas on the other, you have the heartfelt sensitivity of the piano led Leaving Home, a powerful ballad that builds into an wonderful near orchestral number complete with a powerful and soulful vocal delivered beautifully by a passionate Kate.
Elsewhere you’ve got twanging country guitars, radio stompers and sensitive laments proving that Kate has a real zest for life and an impressive ear for a pretty tune.
If you like strong female pop performers with a real x-factor (not talking about the bullshit show here) then you’re going to love Confessions Of A Nice Girl by Kate Armiger. 
Rhythm & Booze Rating 8

15 February, 2011

McKendree-McKendree Mania Vol. 2

Filed under: country,dance,pop — Tags: mckendree — willmunn @ 13:53

Wow here at Rhythm & Booze we get all manner of strange releases to cover, everything from experimental jazz to comedic anti-folk, black metal and you know the unclassifiable acts that don’t just cross-fertilize genres and break boundaries but create their own little niche sound that stands head and shoulders above anything you may have thought was possible.

McKendree is one of those latter acts, a guy whose press release screams out to be heard let alone the music he’s producing. McKendree used to be a bit of a big shot country music singer in his home state in the US until he suddenly decided after meeting up with producer, Pete “Zombieboy” Brazier to broaden his musical palette, now the duo are creating a strange yet uniquely wonderful mash up of pop, hip-hop, dance, country and world music influences to create a oddly compelling sound that has to be heard to be believed. 
McKendree first really started getting attention with a retooling of Dolly Parton’s Jolene, taken from a male perspective and given a whole new leash of life on his debut album McKendree Mania, now he’s back with his follow up and it’s every bit as strange, contagious and risque. 
The album is a fourteen track affair that includes a couple of skits (adverts for McKendree products), a forty second pop song performed twice, Sand In My Socks, a chanted world music mantra opening number and a liberal re-working of massive pop smash Maniac among other oddities. Elsewhere you have the country flavoured cheeky club number, Country Back, a female fronted future club classic in Hip Hop Hoppin and the dirty bass thumper of Dangerous complete with fat and filthy electric guitar riff.
Mckendree claims to be saviour from dull run of the mill music and you know what he might just be right, like I said at the top of this review, there are those albums that you just can’t describe and McKendree has just released an obscure classic that open-minded eletro-country-pop fans are going to love as much as me, crazy has a new name and that name is McKendree.
Rhythm & Booze Rating 9
www.mckendreemania.com 

« Newer Posts — Older Posts »

Powered by WordPress