Scroobius Pip - Thou shalt always kill

Hi All,

Another hip hop video. I found this guy after I saw a video on Don't Flop where he calls out Mark Grist.

The backing track can come and go as far as I'm concerned, it does what it needs to, technically it works. Dan le Sac has done more interesting and better stuff. What is most important with this track though are the lyrics.

Great video work too.

Let me know what you think in the comments.




I went on a mad linking spree after this. Through some dubious connections I came across this all girl Punk band from Hastings.




They are called Maid of Ace, and it's nice to see the return of 70's and 80's style punk. We more more of this type of thing! thanks for reading

Meet Dlugokecki

Hi all,

As it was hot and sunny for once, I decided to go and track down Dlugokecki. This is quite hard as at the moment they are doing a UK tour. I did however get hold of someone...

1. Can we have a quick intro? Who are you and what do you do?

Hi! I'm Aidan, I'm the bassist for Dlugokecki though I do also dabble in guitar, keyboards and backing vocals too when required.

2. For those who haven't heard of Dlugokecki, how would you describe your music?

Rocky-poppy! Andy Wild is never going to live that down. He was very pleased with himself when he came up with on on a flight to Texas, now he's starting to hate it...

3. What was the first album you bought?

Travelling Without Moving by Jamiroquai - still one of my favourite albums!

4. Dlugokecki have supported some big bands and artists in the past. If you had the choice, who would you like to gig with next?

Out of anyone ever? How about supporting Paul McCartney at the O2? That would be cool.

5. What was the last thing you bought for band use?

My in ear monitors. Expensive but very much worth it...

6. Which venue would you like to play that you haven't yet?

We've played in all the venues in Southampton including the Guildhall (nice place but awful acoustics). I've also played Royal Festival Hall a few times and The Royal Albert Hall. I used to work at Wembley Arena but have never been on the stage, so probably there...

7. What has been your most stand out experience so far?

The USA trip, particularly the meat in Texas. Amazing.

8. What do you do after a gig?

Try and calm Ben down!

9. You're on tour at the moment, what's the best/worst thing about being on the road?

It's great to meet the far flung Dlugokecki fans that usually only exist on Facebook. To travel 2-300 miles and meet people that know the words to the songs better than I do is amazing. The worst thing? Trying to calm Ben down, even freezing his shoes didn't work!

10. What's next for Dlugokecki? 

Our next gig is North Crawley Village Hall, Newport Pagnell on Saturday 28th July. Tickets are nearly all sold out, I can't wait!

That's 2 days away guys. So get your tickets as quickly as possible and get over there!

Thanks for reading

Citizen Cope - Album Release - One Lovely Day

Hi All,


So there I was sitting in the UK sun when I get an email. This isn't unusual, I get several every day. But this one had a message on it asking if I could review an album.

This is new to me. Reviewing one song is fairly easy, you learn a bit about the band, compare them to some well known bands so someone knows roughly what to expect and whether you like them or not.

Reviewing an album is different. Especially when you are dealing with a guy like Citizen Cope. His new album, which coincides with a tour of America, is a mixed bag of tracks.

To be honest, though, there is nothing exciting in this album. It's all very safe. You can hear nice gentle pop, going through to southern blues and into some form of acoustic dance. This isn't the kind of album you sing along to either. You'll find no anthems here.

Saying that, you could easily imagine some pre-produced Simon Cowell-ites singing this stuff to a different arrangement. The songs themselves are quite good. He's not a bad singer. The album is well produced, but in my opinion it feels a little soulless. I don't believe in his lyrics, and if that's the case it may as well not be him singing them.

Personally, I'd wait until he releases "One Lovely Day" as a single.

Thanks for reading

Hand By Calloused Hand goes International

Hi All,

That's right! You heard it here second, I've gone International. As well as writing about local unsigned bands I have been offered, by the awesome guys at Smokin' Charlie Brown, to partner up and write reviews of new music for them.

Everything I write will be available on both sites, but my main concentration will still be local bands. So look out for me in the crowd tapping my feet, struggling to type notes into my phone while holding a drink, and taking lots of pictures....So these days I don't stand out from anyone else really.

Thanks for reading

Trev - Hand By Calloused Hand

The Cryptics - Lennons Review

Hi all,

I promised myself that I would go and see The Cryptics live. I've been listening to their stuff in the car for about 2 weeks. So last Friday I left, at the last minute, to get to Lennons.

A quick note on this venue. If you are a band, you can do better. There is room for 3 people on that stage, no more. The sound guy is crap and doesn't move from his Troll hole and the stage is more of a recess into the wall.

It is the most uncomfortable place as a punter to be. You spend 10 minutes in between each band staring at the sound guys ass as he repositions the (pointlessly) mic'ed up drum kit, or generally gets in the way of the guitarist or bassist. That and it stinks of piss. And its dead. No, I mean dead. Even though it could hold about 100 people with elbow room.

The Cryptics were on at 9.30 so not exactly early, and I was expecting there to be a bunch of students in there as its on the way into town. I counted about 20 people in there.

I learned something valuable that night. Venue does matter. Did they play well? Yes. Was it a good set? Yes. Was it a good gig? Not really.

I met 2 out of 3 of the guys, and they seem like a great couple of blokes, but I think we all knew it wasn't going to be great.

The only advantage with the venue was that it was reasonably easy to get some pictures.

I will have to see them again to do this properly. Their next gig is at The Brook on the 1st, which is known for buzzing with people who like music and people not stinking of piss. I can promise that it will be a much, much better event.

Armada - New Single

Hi all!

Armada are a band from LA that have been compared to the likes of Spoon,
Wilco and Radiohead. I disagree with this - if I had to compare this track
to anyone it would probably be early Placebo in both style and vocal sound.

Especially in the case of "Badge & Gun" the bands new single.

The simple opening riff drags you into the track, and keeps you there
easily. The vocals - which are driving without being aggressive - are
clean. Cody Page wants you to hear his opinion and leave you knowing
exactly where you stand, without needing to shout at you. It shows a
maturity that you just don't get with some other bands at the moment.

It's worth mentioning the bass line at this point. Personally, I think they
could have brought it forward a bit more, as the bass riffs are definitely
worth playing with an EQ for.

In short, if you're looking for clean wholesome rock go with this. You
won't be disappointed.

Badge & Gun is a single released from Armada's debut Album "Paper Ghosts"
which will be released in August 2012.




You can find them here: http://www.armada-band.com

The Cryptics play The Lennons

Hi All,

Quick update for you.

The Cryptics are playing The Lennons in Southampton this Friday night.

Tickets are £5 (the band want to eat this week) and there may be an opportunity to be photographed with Andy's snakeskin boots.

So get down there to look at his boots, and maybe get a photograph, and maybe even listen to some great tunes.

See you there!