Peace - Live

Having been ranked 14th on NME's 50 Best Albums of 2013, nominated for the BBC's Sound of 2013 poll and doing several major headline tours both in the UK and USA, it's needless to say that 2013 seems to have been a pretty good year for Peace. Their debut album In Love, released in April this year, broke in at number 16 on the charts in its first week of release. Don't seem bad for a couple of rookies.

This may be why, on their first night of a double bill at the Shepherd's Bush Empire, the crowd outside are so keyed up and rearing to get in there. In fact, when they do, the lucky few were literally elbowing past each other, sprinting to get to the barriers. They seem to have attracted an unlikely bunch; obviously you've got your indie kids (only to be expected, it is a Peace gig after all) although there is a group of girls standing behind me, wearing nothing but crop tops, leggings and hoodies for warmth, enthusing over the greatness of helmet-haired You Me At Six. Brilliant. But no matter, everyone's equal in the fight for a front row view.

Superfood

This motley crew of fans started piling in very quickly, and even before Superfood, the first support act, came on they were piled at least 10 deep. By the time Peace actually do get on stage, all tiers of seating and all of the stalls were full to the brim with eager, sweaty fans, craning their necks to get a glimpse of the performance on stage.

Superfood acted as a sort of aperitif for the evening. Owing to their limited material, they lasted only half an hour, but it was everything you expect from them: awkward, brilliant, raw. Superfood preceded Drenge, the second support act for the evening. Drenge, two brothers from Derbyshire, were great. If the fervent nodding of Peace drummer Dom Boyce (who gave a cheeky look-in from the side of the stage) was anything to go by, it was going very well. As a band, their self-titled debut CD can't hold a candle to their live performance.

Drenge

As the stage is set for Peace, excitement gradually mounts. Then, the music drops, the lights go down and they swagger on stage with all the confidence their new-found success has given them. The opening number is Waste of Paint, which sets the tone nicely for the songs to come. Peace aren't very engaging as performers, preferring to shut their eyes, stare at their shoes and instruments and generally make as little eye contact with the screaming fans as possible. The between-song chatter is kept to a minimum, although as Harrison Koisser, lead singer and guitarist, attempts to throw a towel out to the crowd, he remarks in the most nonchalant way imaginable "I was born to throw. High." as said towel stops just short of the barrier.

However, all of that doesn't matter. The strength of their material makes up for their slightly self-conscious performance. As they bound through the tunes from the album (notably Follow Baby, Higher Than The Sun, Toxic, Float Forever, Lovesick and Wraith) they manage to stick in a few surprises as well: halfway through Harrison introduces one of their new songs, entitled Money; they end the main set on 10-minute trippy anthem 1998 and even stick in their recent cover of Wham!'s Last Christmas during the encore.

As the last notes of Bloodshake echo through the room, I can't help but think that they are truly a very, very, very good band. Not just good, but really rather brilliant. Well worth the sore feet and throbbing ears.

Check out this alternate review of the gig by my friend Georgia

Swim Deep - Where The Heaven Are We?

Photo courtesy of Allmusic

And so it arrives. The new album from Brummie lads Swim Deep is finally here. Having built up an impressive fan base largely comprised of dreamy females either in the throes of adolescence or in their 20s - I by no means except myself from this crowd - Swim Deep come from humble beginnings; lead singer Austin Williams and guitarist Tom Higgins met stacking shelves in Morrisons'. Perhaps that's why their album is so full of wistful riffs and escapism.

For Swim Deep, it's all about escapism. Their name itself evokes fantastic imagery of beautiful underwater scenes and, to some extent, their music certainly lives up to that. Each and every track contains some hint of wishing for a better life. In Honey, it's "don't just dream in your sleep, it's just lazy". In King City, it's "fuck your romance, I want to pretend that Jenny Lee Lindberg is my girlfriend". In Colour Your Ways, it's "life ain't beige so colour your days and see it in the right light". It's got the catchy tunes, the hazy images and the wistful romance needed to make for the perfect summer album.

Source: Allmusic

Many of the old favourites, like King City, are still just as brilliant in their composition. However, Swim Deep seem like good-time guys, they're all about having fun. On touring with Spector and Two Door Cinema Club, they say it was "just touring with your best friends for 30 days. It was insane" - hence the fantastically dreamy outlook of the album. You do get the feeling, though, that if they'd spent a bit more time on a few of the songs, the album wouldn't just be good, it would be incredible. That's the only criticism I have to make of this album; it's a little frustrating, as there is huge potential for many songs. Soul Trippin', for example, has the beginnings of a brilliant ballad, but if they'd only tweaked little bits here and there, it could have become an amazing one. As a listener, there are points in the album where you wait for the songs to take off and they just don't.

That said, each song has its own merit, whether it's the wonderful lyrics that urge you to make something of yourself (Colour Your Ways, The Sea and Stray come to mind) or the fantastic bass or guitar riff. I adore Swim Deep, and I am incredibly proud of their debut album. I can only hope that they'll continue on this upward trajectory with the next ones.

Rating: 7.5/10

Recommended Tracks:
Soul Trippin'
Make My Sun Shine
Intro

Leopard

Birmingham is on a serious roll this year. Having churned out bands like Peace, Superfood, JAWS and Swim Deep, to mention just a few, they've given birth to Leopard, "a 4 piece post jazz core, acid, baggy Korean, crabmetal, grunge destroyers." I interviewed guitarist Matthew Jenkins, who says of their style, "musically, we have no idea what we sound like, but people seem to like it." Why wouldn't you? To me, they sound like Arctic Monkeys jamming with Foxygen on some far off and exotic beach; their single Breathe gives off a chilled, relaxed vibe, added to by the distant vocals and the easygoing drum beat.



All of the new Birmingham bands seem to be very close and supportive of each other; "we met at one of the above mentioned gigs and that's how we formed Leopard. It's really weird being on the whole "in circle", everyone's so nice about stuff. It's odd, people who may not like your music still appreciate it and appreciate success." There definitely seems to be that sort of familial aspect to the B-Town music scene. All of the bands go to each others gigs, promote each others tracks and party together like there's no tomorrow. Just check Swim Deep's twitter feed and you'll see what I mean.


On the subject of the current music industry, Jenkins becomes very vocal; when I asked him what he thought about the digitisation of the music industry, he says "It's definitely a lot easier to get your music heard by people through Soundcloud and other services. I think it works both ways; both unsigned and signed bands want the same thing and that's just to get your music heard." He maintains that there definitely are real rock icons of the newest musical generation - "not strictly rock, but definitely Dev Hynes, aka Lightning Champion or Blood Orange. There's loads, it's just not obvious to enough people." When I asked him what could be done to fix this, he said "people just need to get outside their box and go to see bands every week." Simple as.

I wanted to know if Leopard felt any responsibility, as a new band, to improve on the musical trends from what the previous generation had achieved, and the reply I received was very pragmatic and considered; "to a certain extent, yes, but generally if you start writing music, it'll have its own features and elements that that make itself unique, even if you get compared to previous bands. Music works in cycles." This shows an observational and measured approach to the way that Leopard approach writing music, as seen in their newest single Quick History. The way that the track builds gradually throughout and the way that the original drum pattern is adapted whilst still maintaining the original feel reflects this notion of music working in cycles; the original motifs are returned to with a tweak here and there, making the track better for it.



As a blogger, it's very interesting to investigate the background to a band - their influences, the way that they view themselves. For Matt, the artist that has the most influence on their sound is "Kevin Parker from Tame Impala. Jake's would probably be Dave Grohl." Candidly, he adds, "no idea about the other two!", and if he could travel back in time to watch one epic gig it would be "Jimmy Hendrix at the Isle of Wight, but there are too many to pick from."

Forget all the musical stuff, this is what really recommends them to me as a band: if they could choose one movie to sum up their sound, it would "probably be the Iron Giant. I'm only saying that because I want to watch it again and because we're a big hunk of metal with attitude and super heroes." Can't say fairer than that.

As all new bands are attempting to do, Leopard are clearly trying to find their footing in the musical world. If they keep on in the same vein, however, they're certain to find success. Their sound is the complete opposite of their diplomatic mannerisms; it's loud, brash an unashamedly awesome.

Rating: 9/10

Recommended tracks:
All of the above, seeing as they're the only ones they've released.

Superfood

Part of the new wave of bands coming out of Birmingham, Superfood have never released an album, and only have one official song released. They are currently touring with Peace, a fellow B-Town band, and are gradually building up a loyal fan base all over the UK. Considering the amount of songs they've released, this has been done purely on the strength of their live shows and word of mouth, which, when you think about it, is pretty damn impressive.

Superfood only have one sound on Soundcloud, and it's their self-titled debut track. The quality of the voice is slightly gritty and unclean, and the shouting in the background gives you the impression it was recorded in someone's spare room - it's by no means a bad thing. All of that compliments the raw quality of the song. The bass in particular, played by the awesome Emily Baker, holds the whole thing together; the rest of the song is built around the ever-present slides and pangs of the bass. But it's not all unwashed and somewhat slightly dazed: the clean kick of the drums and the backing vocals that croon "superfoooood" add the tiny bit of polish needed so they don't sound like they recorded it in the back of a moving tour bus. However, the fact that the majority of it is very much guitar-based allows the song to do Rolling Stones with a bit of Foo Fighters. The one thing that I don't like about the song is the tendency of the lead singer to sound a bit Top of the Pops during the verses, by which I mean a bit boy band-y in the way he pronounces some words - however, that's all gone by the time you get to "YOU'RE ALWAYS HUNGRY!!" Crowd-pleaser if ever there was one.



Superfood sound like the illegitimate lovechild of Alex Turner and Dave Grohl. Which makes me love them. A lot. Jump on the Superfood bandwagon now, before their Facebook likes and Twitter followers get above 5,000! It'll happen soon, trust me. Especially if they keep on going like this.

Rating 8/10

Swim Deep

 "It's like escapism, and really good imagery. When you say "Swim Deep", you imagine good stuff, very picturesque". This is how Austin Williams of Swim Deep described the band's name, in an interview with Freshly Squeezed last year. But really, he could've been describing  the music they make and it would still be just as appropriate. To some degree, every one of their four singles has a sense of freedom and beauty, as though they were written in a daydream to which only Swim Deep are party. Their songs make you long for the days of summer, when you can forget the pressures of everyday life and just relax, behave like a complete twat, whatever. Just because you can.

I feel an urge to smile whenever I hear their latest single She Changes The Weather, a beautiful song about loving a girl to the ends of the earth. Close your eyes and pretend the song's about you, and you'll see what I mean. The low-key lyrics and understated voice allow the sincerity of the lyrics to come across, and the movement from the acoustic introduction to the full-blown ending flows so perfectly that the music carries you with it. It's in the verse, when it's stripped down to the bass, drums and voice that you really appreciate the importance of the piano riff in this song. Speaking as a pianist, I love that it's been given a "starring role", so to speak, in this song; it's not often that a piano is given much importance in an indie rock song, and I applaud them for it.

The Sea is another gorgeously uplifting song - the perfect gig closer, or encore song. It's so wonderfully optimistic and upbeat about life that it makes me want to smile at strangers, or start dancing in the middle of the street. The truth is, Swim Deep don't need to do dark, moody and introspective, because they make you think anyway, with encouraging choruses and fantastic melodies.

They also make it ok to be a little bit scruffy. Take the video for King City. They're wearing jumpers and trousers that are too big for them, they skateboard, and Zachary Robinson has pink hair. What more could you want from a band that validates your own slightly unwashed hair? Just for this, I adore them. Honey makes me love them even more. The cheeky flirting with the Honey, the paint splattered faces (and bass) and the playfulness of the lyrics - my personal favourite is "don't just dream in your sleep, it's just lazy". Wise words indeed - somehow all come together to make life ok. And that's why I love Swim Deep.

Rating: 10/10

Recommended Tracks:
Honey
King City
Orange County

Peace - In Love

This last week has seen the release of Peace's debut album In Love and already they've enjoyed considerable success, taking into account the fact that they're just four lads from good old Blighty. NME lauded them as "Britain's best live band", giving the album a 9/10 and finishing with "this is their time". None of that is misplaced. They do rock anthem in a whole new way. Take Follow Baby, for instance. No guitar-shredding solo, no moments of rock 'n' roll diva behavior, but it manages to combine the rock 'n' roll lifestyle with surprisingly thoughtful lyrics, like "I'm scared to die but maybe a faithless bribe could save me".

The title of the album encompasses everything it's about; first love, awkward crushes, teenage fantasies and lust. The subject of love and all its friends may be a bit overdone by now, but because it's so universal it can never get old - the trick is finding an unexplored niche. That's pretty much what Peace have done. They've taken the gawkiness and obsessiveness of teenage love and turned it into something that seems glamorous and really damn awesome. Float Forever is an example of the "lighter in each hand" kind of song, but the tone is something completely different; it pleads with you to trust them, despite all your faults. I don't know about you lot, but I'm definitely willing to do so. 

The band themselves are also "rock and roll" but with a twist. The line up is Harrison Koisser doing lead vocals and guitar, his brother Sam Koisser on bass, Doug Castle on guitar and Dominic Boyce on drums. Even the way they dress isn't quite right for a rock band (in the Follow Baby video Harrison is wearing a green be-sequined top under a leather jacket with Marilyn Monroe on the back) but it works so well. They're not just a pretty face either, they're clearly highly intelligent and very well spoken, which is something you're lucky to find in people that cool. And there's something slightly odd and disconcerting about their music videos. Bloodshake takes psychedelia as an inspiration and as a consequence is hard to fathom. Wraith sees the boys staring nonplussed straight past a pair of scantily clad women that have the incredible ability to move their bums independently of the rest of their bodies. But again, it all comes together in a beautifully quirky and individual way.

These guys are definitely destined for something big, and if they don't get it by the end of this year, I'll eat my hat.

Rating: 9/10

Recommended tracks:

Toxic (with Lucy Rose on back up!!)

Higher Than The Sun (")

Waste Of Paint