Musical Mathematics

October 2012 Front Cover#

Welcome,

To the October issue of Musical Mathematics, a magazine that strives to keep up to date with the best of the best in break-through and experimental music.

This month’s issue is crammed full of awesome music and reviews to check out, including articles about Tall Ships’ new album, piracy within the music industry, Castrovalva’s softmore record, Great Pagans, three tracks to inspire you, Fresh Meat with newcomers Sexwolf, Bear Makes Ninja’s new EP, a retrospective of Faraquet’s break-through ‘The View from this Tower’ and even a look back at the career of the late great Algernon Cadwallader. What’s there not to like?

Regards,

MM

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Illustrations by Dean Smithers - www.sincedayone.eu @deansmithers

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Musical Mathematics is a dedicated team full of like-minded people who all share a common affection and deadly affliction for great music. We have now grown into a massive group of twenty plus members who all bring their own ideas and abilities to the table. We aim, strive and hope to be a stable and persistent part of the Leeds alternative music scene as well as the wider global community for the many years to come, buddy.

Editor – Andy Crowder andy@musicalmathematics.co.uk

Art Director – Luke O’Brienluke@musicalmathematics.co.uk

Contributors - Edd Colbert, Jack Dooley, Pete Wise, James Fox, Jay M. Johar, Dave Saunders, Will Richards, Chris Rickett, Nick Sadler, Mike McGrath-Bryan, Lauren Dyson, Tom James, Fin Murphy, Greg Pritchard & Thom Rogers

Proofreaders - Andy Crowder & Holly Killip-Ross

www.musicalmathematics.co.uk

FOREWORD

THE CREW

R.I.P. ALGERNON CADWALLADER 2005-2012

FRESH MEAT - INTRODUCING…

SEXWOLF

Well it would seem that these days the internet is a buzz with the demise of various celebrities that nine times out of ten turn out to be a hoax, but I for one don’t really care for that nonsense, unless it was someone important like Bill Murray. Sadly the same can’t be said when concerning bands as of late and its not like anyone sugar coats it for you like when your dog died when you were younger and it went to that same farm that your goldfish and rabbit conveniently went to the year before. As much as it pains me to say it, Algernon Cadwallader are the latest band to be reaching the end; excuse me whilst I go and silently cry into my pillow.

Over the past seven years Algernon Cadwallader have been a strong part of the driving force behind the 90’s emo revival, bringing us that Kinsella sound that we all know and love without actually having a member of the family in the band whilst combining it with their own strong unique take on such a style.

2008 saw the release of their debut E.P. ‘Listen To’ which showcases how sloppiness and intricacy can battle together to create the sound that we as a listener have come to expect from bands like Algernon Cadwallader. ‘Listen To’ echo’s in the foot steps of Cap n’ Jazz combining chaotic overlapping guitar lines with raw emotive vocal lines.

2011 brought the band across the pond where I had the pleasure of the experience of seeing them live, meeting them and then drinking with the band after the show which resulted in a weight lifting contest, me waking up with pen all over my face and a hangover of epic proportions. Along with the UK tour came the release of ‘Parrot Flies’ and the signing to UK based DIY Label and MM favorite Big Scary Monsters.

‘Parrot Flies’ in comparison to ‘Listen To’ has a much dirtier/grittier sound but is still filled with hooks from start to finish and rather than exploding in your face from the start they wait patiently to be discovered. The guitar lines have a notable amount of clarity upon ‘Parrot Flies’ with each part running alongside in harmony with the occasional weaving for dominance of the song. It’s possible to say that Algernon enters a new territory with this album sort of like ‘American Footballs’ hyper more obnoxious cousin.

All in all I won’t lie; I’m saddened by the departing of yet another great band, but every cloud has a sliver lining and we can only eagerly await what may arise from the ashes of Algernon Cadwallader.

Listen To Algernon Cadwallader @ www.algernoncadwallader.bandcamp.comBuy Algernon Cadwallader @ www.bsmrocks.com/shop

Words by Jack Dooley

Ladies and gentlemen, and especially ladies … Are you ready to party like you’ve never partied before? Don’t worry if you’re not, because Sexwolf is here to seduce you with their groove-laden, boozy hardcore via sexy southern rock. And hey, with tasty jams like ‘Captain Bastard Face’ or ‘Ovary Punch’, who’s complaining?

Fronted by the incomparable Chrome Daddy, Sexwolf formed in 2010 and quickly established themselves as Tamworth/Birmingham’s answer to Every Time I Die. Since then, they have been busy breaking heads and shocking the hell out of an often uptight and overly-serious music scene. Along with touring buddies like Tussk and The Catharsis, Sexwolf have been riding a tidal wave of booze and assorted bodily fluids around the country in a righteous attempt to bring back that good old rock’n’roll swagger with a modern twist.

If you miss the days of rock stars being rock stars and you hear Sexwolf are coming to your town, ask yourself this: where do you want to be when these four maniac party animals bring the awesome? Oh, and their guitarist is called Mighty Joe Hung. Don’t be shy, ask him why.

Check out Sexwolf @ facebook.com/sexwolfmusic

Words by Nick Sadler

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BATS, FANGS & PARTICLE ACCELERATORS

Since the release of the band’s extremely well received debut album ‘Red In Tooth & Claw’ back in 2009, Dublin based BATS are now on the verge of freeing their highly anticipated softmore album titled ‘The Sleep of Reason’. And although it’s been almost three years since we were first introduced to the progressive and sporadic intenseness of the methodised five-piece, their past endeavours have never been more potent and relevant as they are today. So with that in mind, we recently caught up with the band to discuss ‘Red In Tooth & Claw’, the processes undertaken within it and their overall progression…

MM: Hi guys! Firstly I would like to say welcome to Musical Mathematics, we are long time fans and we are very proud to be talking to you. We wanted to talk to you today about your monster of an album ‘Red in Tooth & Claw’. On this album you have managed to blend some hugely heavy sounds with upbeat rhythms e.g. ‘Shadow Fucking’. Do you write songs as a band or as individuals and if so where do you start? What is the process you undertake from start to finish? 

BATS: We write songs together as a band. Usually we’ll just start from scratch and see what comes out, or someone will have a riff or a hook and we’ll go from there. Once the music is written, I take that away and write the vocals and lyrics. It’s a pretty democratic process. There can be heads butted but I think it teases out the good stuff. I think dictatorial front men are often the primary reason for a band to be shit.

MM: I have never heard lyrics like the ones that run through this album, could you talk me through your inspiration and source for these lyrics? Are you all scientists or comic book fans, it’s got to be one?

BATS: Well we are all interested in science, and of course we all read comic books. But for me when it comes to lyrics I am 100% influenced by science and nature. The mission statement of  BATS  is to promote

science and combat superstition and pseudoscience, which I feel is very important in today’s terrifying mix of power and ignorance. The megaheads I would be most influenced by would be- Carl Sagan, Christopher Hitchens, Lawrence Krauss, Richard Dawkins, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Richard Feynman, Sam Harris and Brian Cox to name but a few.

MM: Is the album intended to be stand alone tracks or as I interpreted it is it meant to be heard in its entirety, for example Higgs Boson Particle (one of the best openers for an album EVER) seems to connect with Gamma Ray Burst so well. If so how do you cope with playing live, does it restrict you and have you done this on the new album?

BATS: Yeah I’ve always been a defender of the notion that an album should be heard in it’s entirety whenever possible. It’s something we’ve lost in the mp3 generation. I’d imagine some kids don’t even know what an album is. I’ve always liked albums that flow together and weave around a specific theme or concept. It’s something I’ve tried to achieve with BATS lyrically. I think the new album succeeds in this regard more-so than ‘RIT&C’.

MM: What are your favourite songs off Red in Tooth & Claw, and why?

BATS: My favourite is probably The Cruel Sea. I think it achieves the highest level of synergy between imagery, concept and tone. On the surface it’s about BATS being flung back in time to a primordial ocean, somewhere between the cretaceous and the Triassic. The subtext however is a comment on climate change and carbon burning.

MM: What have you taken from this album? As a band you are constantly progressing and growing?

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BATS: Well we learned a lot about the recording process and about tempos and structure. I think it equipped us in many ways to make a superior album this time around and I think we’ve achieved that with this album. There are a lot of things we could have done better but that’s what album 2 is for!

MM: Of course being in a band is tough work, how do you sustain it? Is it a full time venture or do you all have ‘normal’ jobs, and if so what are they and do they ever feed into your music in any way?

BATS: Yes we all have full-time jobs. Sadly the market for science infused progressive post-hardcore is quite small! We all work in media. Animators, video editors, graphic designers. The skills we use in our jobs of course feed into BATS. We’re pretty self-sufficient; we produce all our own artwork, video work etc.

MM: I have to ask where did the album artwork come from, despite being fucking awesome, what is it all about? 

BATS: Craig Potterton (guitar) designed it. It’s about nature and reproduction. The severed head of the buck representing death and the sperm emanating from his antlers representing procreation. The two essential elements of evolution by means of natural selection.

MM: At one point you gave away this album away for free via your bandcamp, you must have put a lot of blood, sweat and tears into this album, so I can imagine it was a tough decision to make, but it was a good one in my opinion. So what are your opinions on music downloading, and that whole debate, is it wrong or can it do good used in the right way?

BATS: It wasn’t a tough decision at all. It had been out for ages at that point and sure you could have gotten it for free anytime before that the way things are now.

It’s a difficult issue. I mean, on the one hand content needs to be worth something. It takes money to make an album, money and an awful lot of hard work. It’s only fair the artists should be able to make some of that money back. On the other hand if our music wasn’t readily available online probably hardly anyone would have heard our music. So I’d rather people heard it for free than not at all. It just sucks for smaller bands because it means you’re not really going to make money ever unless you get to a certain level of popularity and you can make money from large tours and usage rights. AT THE SAME TIME THOUGH... it can be good because it means us niche bands are making music purely to make music and not in some attempt to get famous and rich.

MM : Does Ireland offer you a good healthy music culture, what are the ups and downs for a band in Ireland? 

BATS: I think the culture in Ireland has really improved in the last 5- 10 years. So many amazing bands have cropped up, with lots of labels and collectives supporting them. Digital technology has a lot to do with it I think. Upsides = craic! Downsides = Ireland

MM: Lastly what bands are you listening to, and do you take any influence from them?

BATS: At the moment I’m pretty much listening to nothing but Extra Life, but we takes influences from everything we listen to and love. Sure that’s what everyone does. You try to emulate your heroes but you can’t so it comes out as sounding like something else and hopefully that will be good. The bands that achieve sounding like another band are usually the shit ones.

Thanks for your time.

Download ‘Red In Tooth & Claw’ @ bats.bandcamp.com

Questions by Luke O’Brien

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“Can you afford this?”

The thought echoed forth from the distant, sensible corner of my brain. I paused for a moment—but the voice of reason had already faded. Eyes back to the glowing computer screen. Plugging and clicking away, I spewed my bank account details across the Internet.

“Confirm reservation?”Confirm. “Purchase Now?”Click.“Really?”Double-click. Plane ticket, ferry ticket, bus ticket: check.

Considering the state of my personal finances, a three-day trip from Italy to the UK and back again isn’t necessarily a wise undertaking. But in this case, I had no choice. I had finagled a golden ticket of Willy Wonka magnitude: the musical lineup of a post/math rock lifetime—Enemies, This Town Needs Guns, and the iconic Toe were playing a show together in London. As my checking account pulled a final swan dive, I stepped on a ferry in Elba, Italy for a 72-hour journey that would be worth every penny.

The HOU Project, a promotional team specifically dedicated to fostering a Japanese-UK post rock exchange, scheduled the show as an “all-dayer” with an eight-band lineup, Toe playing last. In the early afternoon of a London Sunday, I arrived soaked in the day’s drizzle, frozen half to death and feeling pretty

sour—yet as I approached the security-addled doors of XOYO, I had a feeling that what I needed to cheer me up lay just over the threshold.

The London Underground is one of the simplest forms of public transportation I’ve ever taken. Naturally, I mess it up every time. Unfortunately in the case of getting to XOYO, I had missed the first act, Theo, a one-man instrumental act that features Sam Knight looping clever guitar licks and banging out punchy drum beats overtop. From what I heard about the performance, I’m bummed to have missed Theo. Check his music at loopsofdeath.bandcamp.com.

Late, I descended hastily into the dark basement of XOYO. My eyes adjusted just in time to catch Alright the Captain take command of the stage, putting forth a dark, rambling odyssey of industrial-grade math rock. Sounding a bit like a Les Claypool/Don Caballero jam session, Alright the Captain gave a mesmerizing performance that locked me in and got us all stoked for the rest of the day of standing in a glorified wine cellar.

Next on was Tangled Hair, a trio fronted by ex-Colour frontman Alan Welsh. Tangled Hair maintained a highly good-natured attitude despite some technical difficulties. When Welsh’s amp gave out in the middle of ‘Daylight #2,’ drummer James Trood didn’t miss a beat, urging us all to “make spooky noises” to fill what would have otherwise been an awkward silence. After finishing the song, bassist Alex Lloyd facetiously muttered,

THAT TIME TOE CAME TO LONDON

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“Well, I thought we played that rather seamlessly.” Comic relief held strong throughout the day, and was highly appreciated by all in the cramped audience.

Welsh picked up on a special part of the day when he noticed, in great approval of the situation, “This is like a math rock kids’ party…it’s kinda cool.” He was dead-on. It was hugely refreshing to be surrounded by a group of people who were all at XOYO for the same reason. The mad struggle for tickets in the month’s run-up to the show was evidence that those lucky enough to be there that day had planned it far in advance. We were all equally excited for the lineup, a feeling that grew more palpable as the bands progressed.

Talons followed next in the onslaught of talent. Fronted by two clean-cut violinists, Talons looked unsuspecting as they sauntered onstage. But when they unleashed their wall of sound, all preconceived notions faded; these guys rocked. Slipping back and forth between heartfelt violin melodies and hardcore guitar riffing, Talons are a must-see act. The buildup continued, and I was introduced to Brontide. A new friend standing nearby warned me to prepare myself. When Brontide hit, it was almost too late: I reached up and grabbed my face just in time to keep it from being torn off. Impressive looping, a tight interplay of complex bass and guitar finger work, and sinfully good technical drumming marked their set. Brontide: where have you been all my life?

Next up was Ireland’s finest. As Enemies took the stage, the room buzzed with anticipation. “Just wait, these guys are amazing,” I heard someone say to their friend. I smiled, envious at the thought of someone getting to hear Enemies for the first time.

It’s never fun to watch a band struggle with equipment. Fortunately, despite playing borrowed instruments that night, Enemies still managed pinpoint accuracy, nailing ‘Fierce Pit Bosses’ and ‘Robert Reid’ with agility. The breakdown of ‘Nag Champa’ stirred up a sea of banging heads, and smiles cracked all around when the skipping intro of ‘Indian Summer’ kicked in. Enemies thanked the crowd, the crowd thanked Enemies, and the great push to get closer to the stage began. As This Town Needs Guns hauled their gear out, the room filled even more. We were now surely pushing capacity, but waves of cheer swept over us nonetheless. The basement was suddenly filled with 9-year-olds on Christmas morning. It was a giddy time for all in attendance.

Four clicks to kick off, and TTNG exploded into ‘Chinchilla.’ Henry Tremain’s vocals, barely audible over everyone singing along, were pure and true, and by now have become an excellent staple of the band’s live sound (having replaced Stu Smith last year). The band boasted a new self-built set of speakers that looked

like a Steve Jobs – Lego collaboration. ‘Cat Fantastic,’ TTNG’s newest taster release off their upcoming album (expected in early 2013), came next, epitomizing their new creative direction and bringing Henry into full ownership of his role as frontman. Then came the tapping blitzkrieg of ‘Adventure, Stamina And Anger’, followed by ‘Left Aligned,’ another new song showcasing Henry’s vocal range.

After an awesome new, untitled song, Henry begged to be done, hoping to cut TTNG’s set short to leave time for the main event. The anticipation for Toe was immense by this point. Henry practically pleaded to let Toe onstage, but the audience had none of it. Defeated, but looking amused, TTNG charged into their encore, ‘26 Is Dancier Than 4.’ My hair stood on end as they wrapped up their short yet perfect set; this is a band at the top of their game, and I felt inspired to have seen them in action. TTNG broke down their equipment and cleared the stage. The pressure to move forward was heavy; everyone wanted to get a better angle. Like me, the whole room had spent the last month ogling Toe’s performances on YouTube, and we knew this would be an event worth pushing up for.

The crew carried equipment on. They carried it off. The soundman tapped microphones. Guitars were strummed to no avail, and the confusion onstage grew into frustration. Twenty minutes passed. Then forty. After an hour of a sound check that didn’t seem to be going anywhere, the audience was still there, waiting patiently as ever in a situation that might have caused anger in other scenarios. Spirits remained high, even as those on and offstage grew increasingly uncomfortable. Chants of “toe, toe, toe…” broke out around the venue; a section of the audience hummed the Mario theme as a sort of Jeopardy-style waiting tune.

The largest cheer of the night came when the flustered technician strummed the problem guitar and a chord rang through the speakers, finally audible. Within seconds, Toe was onstage, looking slightly apologetic. But as the first staccato notes of ‘Run For Word’ washed over the crowd, the wait was forgiven, a stupid grin planting itself on every face in the room. Toe didn’t hesitate to bring it all. With such a huge catalogue of mind-blowing music, it’s easy to create a winning set list. But Toe’s performance felt deeper than a collection of songs; it was really a conversation. The four musicians played with and for each other, speaking a language we could only watch in awe. ‘Tremelo + delay’; ‘Mukougishi

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ga miru yume’; ‘I Dance Alone’: the songs came one by one, but the flood of the art being created onstage was a piece to behold as a whole.

The most incredible aspect of Toe’s live performance is the control the band has over their instruments and, by extension, their songs. Even if you’ve heard the recordings a million times, each crescendo and drop will come as a surprise, because toe truly craft their set to their environment, playing to their feelings in the moment. At times, I even felt I was watching complete improvisation—toe’s live presence has that kind of organic quality.

The highlights kept coming. ‘Esoteric’ was the rawest energy I’ve ever seen in a live band. Ever. Thrashing into the sound, the musicians’ bodies became part of the music; it’s cliché, but there’s no other way to put it. Guitarist Mino Takaaki roared to the ceiling, his counterpart Yamazaki Hirokazu collapsed to the floor. As the audience went wild at the sampled vocal intro of ‘After Image,’ it became obvious that the crowd’s energy was in direct response to the band’s.

It was especially enjoyable to watch the opening bands watching Toe. There had been so many comments throughout the night from all of them, saying how much it means to have Toe in Europe and what an indescribably huge influence they are. Henry Tremain, having been so persistent about ending TTNG’s set early, looked on the edge of tears during the tender acoustic guitar solo of ‘Long Tomorrow.’

…

At XOYO that night, I felt like I was bearing witness to an historical event—a musical milestone that all in attendance will remember for a long, long time. Some of the bands were new to me; some were very familiar. But I’ll never forget the time I saw the lineup of a lifetime, that time Toe came to London.

Words by Dominic Green

Storming the current and ever-fickle gates of the music industry in style and brilliance now comes the highly celebrated and much talked about Falmouth born Tall Ships. With their successful journey through debut EPs and key support slots to critical acclaim and musical notoriety, the well known three piece might well be one of the most promising acts the alternative sect has seen for a long time. And amid a packed summer festival season, the imminent release of their debut album can only solidify their transition from underground infamy to mainstream success, but then again, the longer left untouched, the better.

Ten tracks of attentive, and considerately layered genre-less composition is what waits for the listener in Tall Ships’ first full length record, Everything Touching; a bright and often humble record that sees a more refined and considered take on an already thought-out and defined sound.

Being the most complete and planned release to date, the album starts off with the bands most direct and straight to the point openers, leaning to the more instant sounds heard in their Chemistry EP. The power and outright riff based ‘T=0’ has a brilliant transitional nature, bridging EP to album perfectly through only a few turns of verse, immediately bringing the listener up to speed as an apt musical prologue. ‘Best Ever’ continues in this manner only heightening the excitement within the album’s early beginnings, boasting an organic up-beat tempo filled with looped guitar runs, piano strums and overpowering bass drives. Already somewhat noticeable, the production style and overall feel of the album suits Tall Ship’s sound, agreeably blending the band’s early low-fi beginnings in their self-titled EP with the more compressed and

ALBUM REVIEW - TALL SHIPS -

‘EVERYTHING TOUCHING’

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modern aspects heard in Chemistry. Songs like ‘Oscar’ not only bring dominating drums to the forefront but also allow the more natural vocal and acoustic guitar parts to have their own home within the mix. Not an easy feat by any means, as many of the band’s songs have an extremely layered content; often starting small with the bare-bones of the instruments and finishing crushingly strong, full to the point of bursting with endless vocal harmonies, numerous guitar loops, keyboard turns, drums, bass and more. So credit has to be given to producer Jamie Field for getting the very best out of the band.

As the album continues, one thing that will be obvious to anyone that’s heard Tall Ships before is the inclusion of the re-imagining of two of their most popular songs, ‘Ode To Ancestors’ and ‘Books’. This is always a hard one to pull off as re-recording any of your material will always separate your die-hard fans, relative newcomers and audiophiles alike, but in this case it seems to have been worthwhile, establishing the band’s newfound professionalism and overall music outlook. Moving away from the more electronic and fixed, voice altering nature of their previous versions, ‘Ode to Ancestors’ & ‘Books’ both have a much more natural and free-flowing side to them. With ‘Ode to Ancestors’ bringing a much gentler and sadly somewhat trudging introduction and ‘Books’ forsaking synth based melodies for vocal lines & piano chords, the addition of large group vocals solidifying the track’s epic chorus as the album nears the end.

As expected in any new album, the inclusion of fresh songs is a given, but in Everything Touching, Tall Ships have managed not only to bring forth unheard songs, but they have also succeeded in progression and deviation from the norm. Tracks like ‘Phosphorescence’ and the ever-jaunty ‘Gallop’ are to be taken straight on as new born classics after just a few sittings, as the trio demonstrate their amazing ability to create astonishing and immensely impenetrable soundscapes and four-minute living entities. The dreamy and captivating ‘Idolatry’ is also noteworthy as a vivid middle section to the album as the band submits a slower, pop-fueled slow dance, pumping the brakes before the album’s building conclusion towards their nine-minute opus ‘Murmurations’; a fitting closing that captures the essence of Everything Touching in one single collaborative blow.

Everything Touches; the debut album from Tall Ships, is a musical showcase that has been expected for some time. And although the pressure to live up to the expectations of home-grown fans, industry types and themselves forwarding their own career, it seems that nothing has come between the simple fact that Tall Ships like making music and people like listening to it. Everything Touches is a groundbreaking release that showcases a brand of musicianship and songwriting that hasn’t been seen before, but will be seen for many years to come.

Buy Everything Touches right now @ tallshipsband.bigcartel.com

Or alternatively via Big Scary Monsters @ bsmrocks.com/shop

For more news and info on Tall Ships keep in the loop @ facebook.com/wearetallships

Words by Andy Crowder

Dreary, cold and dark. Whether you like it or not, winter is coming. But the cold build-up to Christmas needn’t be a dull and lifeless journey, here are three tracks to get you off your feet and back into the game…

Japandroids – ‘The House That Heaven Built’

An all round powerhouse of a track, combing power chords with energetic drumbeats and the ever crowd pleasing “oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh”. I find it hard to believe how anyone couldn’t achieve something listening to this.

Explosions in the Sky – ‘So Long Lonesome’

Quite possibly one of the most inspirational bands for me personally as a musician but this track in particular solely for the piano, it’s generally just a great piece of music and the accompaniment of everything else just enhances it.

Sigur Ros – ‘Hoppipolla’

Films use it, TV shows use it, even advertising companies use it and now I’m using it. A song that I’ve heard countless times when anything ‘inspirational’ has taken place on a screen in front of me.

Words by Jack Dooley

3 TRACKS TO… INSPIRE YOU

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Here’s a story: a mediocre musician drops out of college and never having been before, moves to New York City. He goes to meet musicians; he dreams of performing. He jumps around from apartment to apartment, couchsurfing through a crappy neighborhood. He has a guitar, no money, and a small repertoire of easy cover songs. No one cares.

He decides New York is “a city where you could be frozen to death in the midst of a busy street and no one would notice.”

That was 1961. A lot has changed in the past half century, but one thing that remains true today is Bob Dylan’s impression of New York as a newcomer—it can seem like no one notices you, especially as a musician trying to hustle your art. So why do they keep coming? How does New York maintain its intangible magnetism, drawing hoards of artists to pursue a “dream” made real by so few?

Because, well…it’s New York. You can perform 100 times for the same small, familiar crowd in the same cramped Brooklyn bar, but the pull of the “scene” will bring you back for show 101. Luke, an electronic musician based in Brooklyn (under the moniker LUKEINTERNET), says playing repeatedly for the same group of people can get “tiring.” It’s easy to get trapped in that cycle, and not the best way to grow your fan base or gain recognition. “But I guess that’s just part of it,” he tells me. That’s New York. For many of those who come, that is the dream.

Getting your finger on the pulse of a NY music scene is tricky. There are tons of scenes constantly evolving that blur into one another. But one thing is certain: local music has always had a profound effect on defining neighborhoods and what’s “hip” in New York and, subsequently, in the world. That’s not going away. If anything, music and the people who perform it have more of a defining role than ever. Even Little Skips, the local coffee shop on Willoughby Ave in Bushwick, has its own record label now (Skips Records).

As anywhere, scenes and neighborhoods change. Bushwick is the new Williamsburg is the new Lower East Side. As gentrification pushes rent up and young musicians further to the fringes of the city, the artistic centers go with them. This constant reshaping of New York’s alternative music scene is what allows for the steady redefinition of the city itself; it’s what keeps

people coming. It’s the dynamism of it all that attracts the creative minds and sustains New York’s allure.

I’m moving to New York in a month. As a visitor over the years, I’ve been privy to the music scene as an outsider. I’ve heard a lot about the burgeoning DIY communities in Brooklyn and Queens, the growing popularity of the indie singer-songwriter thing, and unceasing waves of avant-garde experimentation. In short, I’ve learned that there’s a constant wealth of new music to be explored. This is why I’m going. Bringing Musical Mathematics to New York is exciting; starting next month, we’ll get caught up firsthand in the fray of great bands and artists defining today’s alternative locales.

Bob Dylan was right. New York can be overwhelming, and it can leave you feeling forgotten, overlooked. But the frantic buzz of constant change—of what’s hip, who’s hot, where’s in—is the raw energy that New Yorkers live for, whether they’ve been here a day, a year, or a decade. This is about the only characteristic of New York that’s static. I’m sure Bob would agree.

For a dose of Brooklyn’s latest electronic sounds, check out LUKEINTERNET’s new sample-based album Headphones, available @ lukeinternet.bandcamp.com

Words by Dominic Green

MM - NYC

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Tall Ships have come far since the release of their debut EP. By the time you read this, you’ve probably enjoyed listening to their debut album, Everything Touching. Some of you may have seen them perform live at Leeds or Reading. In what seems like such a short amount of time and still manages to feel like forever, they’ve risen to become one of the best bands, both live and on record, in Britain.

Their debut EP sold out its first run before it was even officially released during their 2010 tour with Tubelord. It’s no wonder as they enchanted new fans with their enthusiastically idiosyncratic live performances. The EP itself is a great collection of distinctive tracks that are as playful as they are well-crafted.

‘Books’ is the perfect introduction to Tall Ships. It starts off slow, with the synth progressing at a steady pace before it kicks into fifth gear. This is a common theme amongst Tall Ships songs. The musicianship is impressive and there’s no denying that a large part of you wants to dance, sway and nod your head. ‘Words Are Pegs Upon Which We Hang Ideas’ uses samples of dialogue to get across the idea of words meaning different things. ‘Beanie and Dodger’, named after two dogs, is a whirlwind and a half.

My favourite song off the EP, ‘Vessels’, lends itself amazingly well to sing-a-longs, and as such has become the go-to gig closer for these Falmouth-originated, Brighton-based heroes. The lyrics speak of a doomed vessel, and it’s a poignant yet inspiring send-off. Death becomes birth. The artificial has become the natural.

While their second EP, There Is Nothing But Chemistry Here, showcased a breathtaking maturity in their approach to songwriting, their self-titled debut introduced them to the underground music world in emphatic fashion.

Listen to how Tall Ships started @ bsmrocks.bandcamp.com

Check out their Facebook @ www.facebook.com/wearetallships

Words by Jay M. Johar

Well for me, this is where it all began. Having an almost non existent knowledge of math rock and the general alternative scene, I found myself scrawling through website after website looking for good math rock bands that I should give a try. Being fairly new to the genre as a whole, there were many online suggestions that didn’t really land for me, mainly due to the lack of exposure I’d had. One recommendation that was consistently present from site to site and most certainly did land was Faraquet. Using the power of the internet, within minutes the album was on my ipod ready for me to listen to on the then long, daunting walk to work. That quickly became the best walk to work I’ve ever had.

Apart from an incredibly brief sample of Tubelord, ‘The View From This Tower’ was the first math rock album that I’d listened to, with my musical taste at the time comprising of mostly mainstream rock and indie with a few random influences floating around. Everything was new to me and it was all fucking mind blowing. The often subtle, melodic guitar parts that managed to be incredibly complex, the bass that backs up every note perfectly and the drums that appear to make changing from time signatures seamlessly look like childsplay. By the end of my first listen, ‘The View From This Tower’ had significantly changed how I saw rock music.

Released on Dischord Records in February 2000, ‘The View From This Tower’ is an album that delivers an abundance of technical precision as well as demonstrating the clear influences present from their D.C. roots such as fellow Dischord Records favourites Fugazi, Jawbox and Nation of Ulysses. Even with their strong affiliation with the D.C. alternative scene, Faraquet were never a band to conform. With the experimental nature of ‘The View From This Tower’, the way in which varying musical features all combine and intertwine beautifully to make this album seem almost effortless, demonstrating just how brilliant Faraquet ply their trade.

As you may well know, Faraquet came to an unfortunate early demise after only one LP, but what they have left behind is an album that, although not necessarily the most groundbreaking, crazy as all hell album, will challenge fellow musicians to strive for something new, something exciting and to smash straight through the front doors of conventional song writing. Oh and it also has some lovely use of horns.

Words by Tom James

RETROSPECTIVE - TALL SHIPS EPRETROSPECTIVE: FARAQUET -

THE VIEW FROM THIS TOWER

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‘We’re teenage silhouettes/We’re all strung out on sunsets/Then we’re gone. Yeah, we’re long gone’ goes the refrain of the opener on Great Pagans’ new self-titled EP, perfectly summing up the tone of the whole record. The Brighton 4-piece capture the tenuous sense of occasion that youth endows the most transient of moments; that all-encompassing fear that comes with new experiences, only to evaporate by the time the next party begins.

The opening track embodies this sentiment perfectly in form as well as lyrical content, beginning all broody, pulsing bass, twinkling guitars and sighed vocals before gathering pace and building to buzzing, riotous indie-pop guitars, and eventually settling back into a reprise of the former. It’s like being alone with one’s thoughts on a long summer’s day, when suddenly your friends rush you off to an awesome house party – which you wake up from only to remember something regretful from the night before. If I were making my own super style-over-substance teen drama, this would undoubtedly make my soundtrack.

The lyrical theme is continued by ‘Not Been Myself Lately’, with its equally succinct refrain ‘Not been myself lately/ Just not sure who’s replaced me’, again crafting a portrait of the distantly familiar shape-shifting teenage mind. However, this time it’s played out over a thoroughbred guitar pop ditty – all funky bass and jangling guitars. ‘Living in Sin’ and ‘We Dance Alone’ bring in new wave influences, both capturing a summer evening vibe with their warm grooves and prominent synth parts interspersed with indie-disco choruses.

The record is anchored in its centre by ‘Slow Crash’, a dreamy number that just errs on the right side of schmaltzy, despite their use of easy listening brass. Thankfully, the band manage to pull us in with psychedelic swirling movements rather than simply taking us from A to B with a straight-up ballad. It will be interesting to see if Great Pagans can continue to remember how it feels to be young or whether they’ll grow old and cynical. As long as they avoid developing false sentiments, they will surely be ones to watch.

Buy ‘Great Pagans’ @ antighostmoonray.com

Check out Great Pagans @ greatpagans.bandcamp.com

Words by Kyle Rice

The Phantom is not normally a music venue, and it shows. Instead of a stage, openers (and best-dressed band of the day) Practical Lovers are playing from a gazebo behind a low wall. I’m surprised that they haven’t crumbled to dust in the sunlight. Their moody Joy Division-meets-Sisters of Mercy goth rock gets the party off to a melancholy start that belies the gorgeous weather.

The practical limitations of the venue became more apparent as Atlantis took to the spotlight; the five-piece barely fit on the stage. They provide us with a game, slightly nostalgic, set of post-hardcore tunes, reminiscent of Silverstein or Hawthorne Heights.

Next up is Cable35, who serve up a grungey yet melodic punk rock treat. Lead singer Jeffrey switches between smooth clean singing and a raspy Schwarzenbach-esque shout. The audience is visibly feeling it, with people assuming positions around the gazebo/stage and swaying to the band’s grooves.

To conclude the festivities, Baby Godzilla take to the stage/gazebo, and all hell breaks loose. I knew this band’s reputation as an explosive live act, but nothing could have prepared me for the madness that engulfed us. The band started strong, howling their way through ‘At The Oche’ and plunging into the audience, and only proceeded to build from there. Twin vocalists/guitarists Matt and Jonny rush the audience, stand on tables, scream into the faces of the audience, and never once stop moving. Paul and Tom, bassist and drummer respectively, remain within the confines of the gazebo/stage, but are still more animated than anyone else. The songs aren’t bad either. Monumental slabs of twisting, good-time hardcore, a la Every Time I Die via We Were Skeletons. The demented sea-shanty closing ‘Power Boat Disaster’ is especially good. Yo ho, yo ho indeed.

For more on Baby Godzilla check them out @ facebook.com/Baby.Godzilla.Bastard

Words by Nick Sadler

EP REVIEW - GREAT PAGANS - ‘GREAT PAGANS’

LIVE REVIEW - BABY GODZILLA (+ CABLE35,

ATLANTIS, PRACTICAL LOVERS) @ THE

PHANTOM, LOUGHBOROUGH

26TH AUGUST 2012

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With their new album  You’re  Not In Hell, You’re In Purgatory My Friend, Hyde Park’s noise-rock scallywags in residence, Castrovalva have come of age. That’s not to say they’ve lost the twinkle in their eyes, the comedy and the bombast of previous outings. They’ve just found a wealth of real substance to back it up. Acting as a neat analogy for this change within the band, opening track ‘Best Friends Go To Purgatory’ sees the jocular, eccentric delivery of frontman Leemun Smith woven into a captivatingly eerie sonic landscape, complete with a bassline which could easily sound-track a car chase through a haunted house, were such a thing conceivable - Inimitable style with weighty substance.

It’s a combination which ‘valva have always threatened to pull off. In their early days as an instrumental two-piece the band crafted some monolithic,  Health-aping chunks of noise-rock, and vocalist Smith is quite blatantly a unique talent of the highest perversity. These tantalising ingredients haven’t always operated with total synergy, and whilst garnering a sort of cult status, some of the band’s earlier work as a three-piece veered dangerously close to being full-blown (admittedly great) comedy rock – evidence of this phase can still be found on the new album in the form of the dubstep-tinged and slightly dated-sounding ‘Donut’. Rightly, comedy still has a role to play in the band – phrases like ‘Don’t be a pussy!’ feature prominently in the album’s lyrical canon, whilst sarcy accents and squeals abound throughout, but through offsetting their charming zaniness with nods to deeper, more soulful themes and stronger instrumental passages, Castrovalva have struck on a formula for greatness.

Never is this more clear than on the preposterously enjoyable ‘I Am The Golden Widow’, which flits between bouncy, syncopated scat vocals, vicious

hardcore sections and a chorus that positively begs to be howled passionately by all who hear it. ‘In Our Prime’ is similarly excellent, with a grimy vocal that’ll delight fans of  Castrovalva  classic ‘Pump Pump’, and an intoxicating dubby section complete with exotic basslines and bestial roars. Elsewhere, ‘The Blood of an Englishman (fe fi fo fum)’ delights with poppy vocals and sublime instrumental harmonies, ‘She Tastes Like Medicine’ plays around with fantastical arpeggios, and ‘The Cavalry’ thumps along like some kind of muscular, mutated descendent of new-rave. It’s varied fare with the only real constant at play proving to be the consistently high quality of the songs on offer. Be sure to listen to closing track ‘A Vulture’s Eyes’ which grows from a chilled-out synth buzz to a euphoric clash between Smith’s jazzy caterwauling and a hulking wall of drums and bass. File next to  Blood Brothers  and  Lightning Bolt.

Buy ‘You’re Not In Hell, You’re In Purgatory My Friend’ @ brewrecords.bigcartel.com

Keep up to date with Castrovalva @ facebook.com/castrovalvamusic

Words by Pete Wise

ALBUM REVIEW - CASTROVALVA – ‘YOU’RE NOT IN HELL, YOU’RE IN PURGATORY MY FRIEND’

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You walk into a famous DVD shop in Brunei. On the walls are hundreds of clear plastic DVD sleeves with poorly-printed dvd artwork slipped in. Some of the price tags are crudely marked with highlighter pens, intending to show that it is a ‘clear copy’ instead of a rough, bootleg cinema one. They’re all priced between $2-8, the equivalent of between GBP 1-4. You see boxsets of famous TV shows, some of which haven’t even aired on your cable TV. The prices vary according to the number of discs in the boxset, but they’re still relatively cheap. You grab a copy of Avengers off the shelf, and ask the cashier, “clear kah ini DVD?” The cashier assures you that it’s the newest, clearest copy you can get, and offers to test it with their DVD player. You’re satisfied with the quality, and bring it home for a measly price of $2.

For those unfamiliar with how rampant piracy is in Brunei (which means most of you), no, that scene did not happen in an underground, hidden shop that requires you to navigate through a labyrinth of crack addicts and smokey alleyways. You can find that DVD shop in one of the biggest shopping areas in Brunei. You can find it in plain sight, with no attempts to hide it.

Or at least you used to be able to. After the government actually realised that, you know, we actually do have laws against piracy, the crackdown started. First, the warnings. All shops were warned to stop stocking pirated media by a certain deadline, and anyone who ignored the deadline would be swiftly dealt with. Many

shops actually did comply. They started having clear-out sales, with DVDs as cheap as $0.50 each and people flocking to grab all the seasons of House for the same amount of money you could buy a lunch for two with.

But the shop I earlier described stood strong. The shop, informally known as Komunis for possibly racist reasons, sold pirated DVDs for three whole days after the deadline. It seemed like it was going to be the same as it has been before; empty threats from government officials who just weeks before were browsing for their saturday night film in the same shop. But eventually Komunis was forced to shut down. The future of piracy seemed bleak.

“But then,” I hear you say, “why not just download from the internet?” Oh my naive friend, I come from a country where complaining about the slow internet speeds is a national pastime. “Then maybe just buy legally like every other country?” you retort, with a grudging voice. Again, your naivety betrays you, my dear buddy. I come from a country where people feel so entitled to free/cheap entertainment that people explicitly and without irony ask bands where they can download their songs for free. Does that make it right? Definitely not. Is it a justification? Not at all.

I was glad when the government actually started to enforce the piracy laws. It was getting sickening when so-called music fans proudly claim that they have 10,000 songs on their iTunes, and that none of them were paid for. These are people who for the most part don’t contribute anything back to the artists they claim to love. While they can hardly be faulted for not going to gigs (nobody comes to play in Brunei), they scoff at the idea of even paying just $0.99 for a song they love. They don’t buy records, and they don’t buy merch.

This mentality has even contaminated the local scene. Brunei bands generally play for free, because it’s common knowledge that most people just don’t want to pay to see bands. Recording albums is extremely risky financially for the same reasons. And then these same people go on to wonder why Brunei bands seem to never achieve any major success.

I laugh when people describe the piracy in the UK as ‘rampant’. Boy, you have no idea. UK is saintly compared to Brunei when it comes down to it. I know how bad people can be with piracy, and this is why I am extremely reluctant to even acknowledge the advantages that piracy brings. I completely understand

EXIT THROUGH THE PIRATE SHOP

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that piracy can bring an obscure band a new audience. I understand that many people often ‘balance’ their music-pirating with going to gigs and buying merch. And in a lot of ways, moderate ‘piracy’ works in the UK.

In Brunei, piracy hurts. There is a sense of resignation that any creative production, be it film, music, or anything else, would not make any money because people would rather pirate than pay. In fact, the only reason people even pay for pirated DVDs and CDs is that the internet is often too slow for the impatient. So there are two options: make your productions as cheap as possible but sacrifice some quality, or go for quality with an expensive production and prepare to count your losses.

The bottom line is that unless there is a sweeping change in the mentalities of the majority of the Brunei population, the music scene will never have the financial backing to prosper. And I’m happy to say such mindset changes are slowly becoming evident in the newer generation. They are beginning to appreciate the arts more and acknowledging the value of the things they enjoy, be it artistically or monetarily.

If you know the right people, you can still find underground pirate shops selling CDs and DVDs in Brunei, but increasingly people are shying away from it. Ever since the iTunes store has officially launched in Brunei a few months ago, and people are discovering Bandcamp and Spotify, music lovers in Brunei are also slowly becoming music consumers. Let’s hope that the government doesn’t forget to enforce their own piracy laws again.

Words by Jay Johar

‘For fans of Reuben, Tubelord and Colour’ – all the words necessary to make me throw both arms up in the air and exclaim “Did we just become best friends?!”. But with great related artists comes great expectation. Luckily Bear Makes Ninja leapfrogged mine, and did so with a sprightly vivacity I must add.

Meaty and loud when it needs to be whilst also having the ability to effortlessly strip down and let the guitar tease the drums into a kiss chase, this Lincolnshire

three-piece have all the ingredients for a tasty math-pop soup and even sport the musical rarity that is the female drummer. So why not grab a spoon?

Opening track ‘Beef Sweets’ is the instrumental interpretation of a boy determinedly winding a Jack-In-The-Box until a moody guitar riff thrashes out at his hand, while ‘Humanzee’ drives different melodies to furiously meet at a busy junction.

A wonderful outcast on the EP, ‘A Welcome Break’ sounds more likewise to a Johnny Foreigner guest track, but who cares when the jingles would get even the little town in Footloose’s toes tapping. ‘Curfew’ then puts a courtly hand out to waltz through fauvism until you’re swamped in abstract shapes and colour until you find your way back via ‘Keep Wandering’.

But the real pick of the bunch, the ‘Strawberry Cream’ of the Quality Street you could say, lies in ‘The Duke And The Rogue’. Innocent noodly hooks quickly become devilishly catchy and sketch out the scene of the story before the Rogue takes over in the second half and recklessly scribbles its own dystopian scene. Then, just when excitement reaches terminal velocity, in comes the hysterical squealed refrain of “kitty, kitty, kitty, kitty” before the track levels up, evolves and then roars into new-leased life.

This is a master class in music efficiency in that nothing is expendable or irrelevant, each section is scorchingly delightful in its own right and extremely volatile; the bar for song-writing here is set so high that even Godzilla could limbo it.

Keep up to date with Bear Makes Ninja @ facebook.com/bearmakesninja

You can listen to the whole discography here @ soundcloud.com/bearmakesninja

Words by Chris Rickett.

EP REVIEW - BEAR MAKES NINJA -

‘SHOUTING AT BRIDGES’

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