Wavves at Hoxton Bar and Kitchen, London

Golden Lady hit London's East End to check out Wavves:

Raucous, loud, sweaty and punky. Wavves are everything you want in a modern day Californian punk rock band.

Friendlier than Fugazi, darker than their musical ancestors, Minor Threat, yet poppier than Jay Reatard, with whom they share former members, they are a fun, clever, scuzzy band who prove throughout the night to be full of healthy contradictions.

A messy start to what continues to feel like a pretty messy show is, nonetheless, engaging and enthralling, largely due to the raw performance of band members and those smart, hooky power punk songs recalling threads of early Nirvana.

Founder and singer of the band, Nathan Williams punches through each track with apparent pride that forgoes any of the nonchalance he assumes between songs. Laughing at his own jokes and complaining about broken strings and bad sound doesn't quite suit the atmosphere, nor the bands reputation. But this doesn't seem to bother the mostly ‘young dude’ crowd who are waiting patiently for the next moment of fuzzed out guitar wattage and noise-inducing disharmony, which preempts nearly every track in the set.

Things are definitely more engaging when the band are playing, pouncing and swallowing up the sonic space with their potent melodies.

Opener King of the Beach remains one of the highlights of the show - a perfect combination of surf, pop-punk and melodic glory. Other tracks Take on the World and Green Eyes are standouts, the latter, with its unaffected lyrics (“My own friends hate me/But I don't give a shit”) and vocal waverings, once again channelling Kurt Cobain. Super Soaker reminds me of Best Coast, or perhaps it’s the other way around, who’s to know?

There are songs in between that tumble into the next without much consideration, my attention wafts in and out, occasionally focusing on a stupendously drunk girl who seems intent on body surfing into a mostly well-behaved crowd. But then the band hit with one of those perfect skuzzed out moments and all is forgiven.

Bruises and all, Wavves are undoubtedly an exciting buzz of a band, reaching for something more than just post teenage tantrums and vague ambition.

Review by Golden Lady. See her own blog here. 

Photo borrowed with a loving kiss from our friends over at Rip It Up.

Disclosure - Control

The Brits amongst you might already be familiar with Disclosure, (aka brothers Guy and Howard Lawrence, aged 17 and 20 respectively). They have been playlisted by Radio 1 (and considering Radio 1 seems to just play the same half-dozen songs over and over, that's an achievement in itself), been raved about by The Guardian, toured the UK and Europe and supported SBTRKT on his UK tour. If you haven't heard of them, you might be wondering what the fuss is about. Well, check out the above clip to find out. The song showcases the talents of rising British singer Ria Ritchie and is taken from their latest EP, The Face, which looks set to compound Disclosure's growing reputation as the UK’s most exciting new producers.

Blending deep house bass lines, Dilla-esque snares and melodic two-step top lines, The Face illustrates a sonic maturity beyond the brothers' years. And despite its uptempo BPM, it’s a sound that Disclosure insist owes as much to ‘90s Hip Hop as it does to Detroit House and UK Garage.
The boys are currently working towards a much-anticipated debut album. Keep up to date with them on Facebook.

Teebs, Nosaj Thing and Eskmo to play live at London's XOYO

You know how we brought you news of that tear-inducingly excellent Gonjasufi gig last month? Well, the dudes at Soundcrash are putting on another awesome show on July 12th. Head along to XOYO to see three first-class beatsmiths live and direct from the USA. After selling out the Village Underground earlier this year, Teebs returns to London. Joining him as co-headliners will be Low End Theory regular Nosaj Thing and Amon Tobin collaborator Eskmo.

Teebs' set on July 12th will no doubt be one to remember. After signing to Flying Lotus’s Brainfeeder label, he released the critically acclaimed Collections 01 plus various collaborations with Daedelus and Prefuse 73 amongst others.

Add to this a rare London show from Nosaj Thing, who returns with his unique blend of psychedelic hip hop. After releasing an incredible body of work himself, Nosaj has remixed Islands by the XX plus the amazing co-production with Kendrick Lamar.

Innovative as ever, Ninja Tune’s Eskmo completes the triple headline line-up, serving up an ever-evolving cross-genre set, featuring live electronics cut to his own live vocals. With a new LP on the way, expect some exclusives as well as classic material.

Needless to say this will be a very special night! For ticket information, head to the Soundcrash website.

Last Dinosaurs - Andy

Remember how we interviewed Last Dinosaurs a while ago? Well, they've gone from strength to strength since then, and some time touring the UK (playing The Great Escape, London, Manchester, Liverpool Sound City, Scotland, Amsterdam and Field Day Festival) has seen them win fans at The Guardian, The Sun and NME. 

Here's their new clip, which draws upon Andy Warhol's art. The animations are hand-crafted, containing an organic jitter that you only get from frame-by-frame work. Each frame was hand-drawn over and separately animated using a graphics tablet.

The band are still in the UK at the moment and will be returning to their homeland in time to play at Splendour In the Grass.

Kate Nash - UNDER-ESTIMATE THE GIRL

Written and recorded in less than 24 hours, Kate Nash is back with a new song. It's a world away from the plinky-plonky piano pop with which she made her name, and follows on from the post-grunge, punky guitar-led foundations (no pun intended) that she laid down on her second album. What are your thoughts on this seemingly Hole inspired inspired shoutfest? We like it, here at Bobbysix.

You can download UNDER-ESTIMATE THE GIRL for a limited time only here and you can see Kate on tour in the UK in the following places:

Sun 17th         Glasgow King Tuts: 14+
Mon 18th        LeedsBrudenell: 14+ with adult, 16+ without
Wed 20th        Liverpool Zanzibar: 18+
Thurs 21st      Manchester Deaf Institute: 14+
Fri 22nd          Nottingham Bodega: 14+
Sun 24th         Birmingham Glee Club: 16+
Mon 25th        Bristol Thekla: 14+
Tues 26th       Oxford Academy 2: 14+
Thurs 28th      Brighton The Haunt: 14+
Fri 29th           Guildford Boileroom: 14+
Sat 30th          Cardiff Ifor Bach: 18+
JULY 2012
Mon 2nd         Limerick Dolans: 18+
Tues 3rd         Dublin Whelan’s: 18+
Wed 4th         Belfast Limelight: 18+

Gonjasufi hits the Village Underground in London on Saturday

When Bobbysix reviewer Jemma found out that Gonjasufi was playing at Village Underground in uber-cool Shoreditch this Saturday night, she got very excited. So excited, in fact, that she is flying all the way from her hometown of Sydney to be there. Ok, so mayyyybe she was due to travel to London this week anyway, but the fact that she is flying for 24 hours then jumping off the plane, laughing in the face of jetlag and pretty much heading straight to the venue shows two things: 1. Bobbysix reviewers are fucking amazing and 2. This is a gig that is definitely worth making the effort for.

Fresh from releasing a new mini-LP, Gonjasufi hits the East End with his band of rapscallion beat-makers to deliver another bewildering dose of psychedelic brilliance aimed squarely at the soul. Sounding like nothing you’ve heard before, Gonjasufi’s idiosyncratic growls - nestled precariously on a bed of astral beats produced by LA’s finest - will come vividly to life on stage accompanied by DJs, keyboards and electronics and capped with Gonajsufi’s transcending presence.

We'll be there on Saturday night and we thoroughly recommend that you are too. For more info and to grab a ticket before they sell out, visit the Soundcrash website. 

Hatcham Social at The Great Escape, Brighton

Dom Erskine was at Brighton's Great Escape Festival for Bobbysix.com. Hatcham Social at the Green Door Store was one of his highlights:

It is an unusual feeling to see a band like this at three in the afternoon, especially on a day so unusually bright and warm, but that is what sums up the experience of The Great Escape. The sun shone in through the window into the normally dark and dungeon-like venue and the set started with a few songs from their 2009 debut, You Dig The Tunnel, I’ll Hide The Soil. They played through them with typical energy and attitude, possibly helped by the early start on a typical Brighton dirty weekend.

The set picked up with renditions of their new material. Taken from the recently released album About Girls, these new songs have a poppy, brighter feeling to them without losing any of the character for which the band are so well liked. Not to take anything away from the older material, but the new tracks sounded a better fit live, probably benefitting from my own sense of excitement at hearing them live for the first time. There was a more classic Rock n Roll sound to some the set. I Look Like a God When You Dance With Me (video above) was reminiscent of Roy Orbison (and a touch of the Pixies). This is a band whose hooks and choruses burrow into your sub-conscious, sticking with you long after your ears stop ringing.

The place was full and the atmosphere was friendly, with smiles on the faces of band and audience, even at the end of the set when, during NY Girl, a fusebox-related mishap left the band momentarily without vocals and bass. Tim Burgess said they have “the coolest drummer in the world.” This is true but the word "drummer" in that sentence could easily be replaced with any other band member.

With the music industry so saturated with "indie” groups and palatable dub step starlets, it is hard for any band to make it - or just make a living - so Hatcham Social deserve admiration for even approaching music as they do. Their newest album being released through a pledge campaign shows a perseverance to make their own music, and do it their way.

I would urge you to check out their new record and go see them live. I did, and it was brilliant.

Review by Dom Erskine. Keep it Bobbysix as they'll be more reaction from The Great Escape in the next few days.

The Cribs - In the Belly of the Brazen Bull

Liana Gow-Killingbeck reviews the latest offering from The Cribs:

I’d been waiting for quite a while to get my paws on some fresh material by the English trio (and brothers), The Cribs. I’m pretty sure I played their previous record, Ignore the Ignorant, a little bit too much in the past because even my CD player got sick of it and decided to spit it out, craving something new. So you can’t really blame my ears for being rather overzealous as I began to listen to the band’s 5th studio album, In the Belly of the Brazen Bull.

With the loss of guitar legend Johnny Marr, this album is perhaps a little less impressive than its precursor, but still extremely head-bop worthy nonetheless - with a brilliant ending to boot - and it radiates an expected garage and lo-fi rock vibe that will undoubtedly be well received by the band’s loyal cluster of indie followers. The opening track Glitters Like Gold is catchy and fun, and will suck listeners in like a tasty chocolate milkshake through one of those radical twisted straws.

To be honest though, my interest started to wane after the first few songs, as I felt like I couldn’t really grasp onto something distinguishable. That’s until I heard Back to the Bolthole, which, with its punky heaviness, is definitely the standout track on the album. Then, immediately juxtaposed with the record's softest song, I Should Have Helped, I found myself responding rather emotionally, but in a good, gloomy sort of way.

To finish, The Cribs fused the final four tracks together to create a suite that left me feeling uplifted and, well, pretty darn satisfied. Though some may consider this closing to be a smidge longwinded, I appreciated the way the songs had been interwoven as I could clearly differentiate the feelings of each of them individually, as well as holistically. I could follow the flow of the music easily; the sharp marching drum beats of Stalagmites, through the harmonic dreaminess of Like a Gift Giver and Butterflies, to the ringing finality of Arena Rock Encore with Full Cast. Oh, delight!

The brothers even apologise for the lengthy time it took them to release this beastly album, as they chant “Sorry that it’s taken years” repeatedly in the last song. Well, apology accepted boys, because I believe In the Belly of the Brazen Bull was totally worth the wait.

Review by Liana Gow-Killingbeck. Have a look at her excellent fashion blog here.

The Jezabels - Rosebud

When we first saw The Jezabels supporting Bridezilla in Bondi about 4 years ago, we thought "Yeah, this band has got some serious potential." Fast-forward to today and that potential has been realised to an incredible degree. 2011 ended with sold out shows across Australia on the back of UK and US tours, while accolades included Album Of The Year at the 2011 Rolling Stone Awards, Best Independent Artist at the AIR Awards and ARIA Nominations.

2012 is shaping up to be another big year for the quartet, with fans voting single Endless Summer in at number 9 in the triple j Hottest 100 and more recently the band have taken out the 7th Annual Australian Music Prize, for their debut LP Prisoner and received a nomination for Apra Song Of The Year for Endless Summer. The Jezabels are currently doing a run of sold out shows in Europe and North America, and will be hitting up festivals all over Europe in the summer. Have a look at the brand new clip for Rosebud and see what all the fuss is about.

Being Buffalo interview

Being Buffalo tell Victoria Gottschalk that you can keep your sex, drugs and rock n roll, they just want some Galaxy chocolate and a cuddle:

"I didn’t get into music through ABBA!” exclaims Matt Child, while his musical ‘other half’ Thom George laughs next to him. “All I’m saying is they were part of my upbringing. Usually, whatever your parents listen to is what you tend to listen to.”

Described as “folk-driven pop, with an organic twist”, Being Buffalo are a two-piece band, based in London, formulated by Thom George and Matt Child. During live shows, Being Buffalo turn into a six-piece but Thom and Matt are the guys that ultimately make the magic. Their album Before We Fall Apart is available on their website (£5 for a digital album; I’d say that’s money well spent) and it’s safe to say that these boys know what they’re doing. Having produced a record that’s versatile, contemporary yet still the type of music mums will enjoy, Being Buffalo have been compared to the likes of Mumford & Sons and Ed Sheeran. “In some ways, we’re similar but then we’re nowhere near them in another way.” Matt states. Although it is obvious to see why these comparisons are made, it’s also fair to say that Being Buffalo are on a different level to the aforementioned musicians. With lyrics full of personal anecdotes that an audience are able to relate to, Being Buffalo play real, honest music that doesn’t just make you want to walk in the rain, but dance in it too.

“A lot of the songs on the album are quite autobiographical. It’s a bit Marmite-y because it could go two ways. It could either find someone who really connects with it, like 'Oh wow, I lost my granddad, I didn’t really know him that well,' or somebody else could be, like 'Why is this guy telling me about his granddad?'” Thom’s talking about Granddad John, and, with refreshingly honest lyrics, I can understand why he’s compared his songs to something you spread on toast. However, while personal lyrics are something Being Buffalo embrace, it’s not just the vulnerability of the songs that make Being Buffalo stand out from the crowd; it’s also their catchy melodies and fres ideas that make me want to shout about them from the rooftops.

It’s not false bravado with these guys: they don’t just play music; they know it too. “My taste is really varied,” says Matt when I quiz them both on what they listen to in their spare time. “I’m into jazz, gospel, American country rock like Lady Antebellum, Rascal Flatts and stuff like that. I’m more into some singer-songwriter stuff but then I’m also into some straight pop too. In my teens I was more about indie music and new bands, but when I got more serious about it, I started looking back before I was born and learning about Stevie Wonder and Carole King and people that have set where music is, and we’re kind of, hopefully, developing that a bit.”

Thom agrees with Matt on this one and believes musical influences are usually who you’re brought up listening to. “My parents were always big music fans. My Mum just used to play James Taylor on repeat, Joni Mitchell, Van Morisson. They helped me get into music. They bought me my first guitar when I was 11.” Between both boys is a shared love and passion for the band; both of them wanting to push Being Buffalo forward. Although they have different ideas as to how to do this, they always seem to meet in the middle. “We spend a lot of time with each other so all decisions are usually completely 50/50.” Matt’s in charge of music and Thom’s in charge of lyrics, although both tend to dabble in each other's responsibilities every so often. “For all my weaknesses that I have as a writer, Matt kind of fills in the gaps.”

“We’ve learnt to compromise because there have been so many times where I’m convinced of an idea in my head and then Thom’s said, 'No, I disagree.' So I learn to go, 'Okay, even though I know I’m right, I’m still going to listen to you,' and then you end up going, 'Maybe I agree with him.' So you learn to work together. There’s nothing on the album that makes me think, 'Oh, I wish I had my own way with that'.”

The album was recorded in Matt’s own ‘music room,’ as the boys call it, and I’m told that a lot of the songs didn’t really turn into something until after they had been recorded. “It was all trial and error, but we’re really happy with it. We spent an awful lot of time on really miniscule details, so there’s a lot of pride in this for us.”

Considering they’re a relatively new band, Being Buffalo have already laid a foundation upon which they’re hoping to expand. Having played venues such as The Bedford and The Cavern, they’ve started to get their name out there and, ideally, a bigger fan-base is what they’re after. “It sounds a bit corny, but every single person who ‘likes’ our Facebook page makes this better. It’s amazing and it means an awful lot to us because what we do is really personal and, in five years time, if we could have more people talking about us, sharing what we’re doing and, more importantly, getting involved with what we’re doing, that’d be great. I want to get to know the people who are behind those ‘likes’. That’s important to me.”

But for now, what are Being Buffalo’s plans? “We need to promote the album, get a few more things out there on the internet about us and ideally get some form of investment that enables us to tour a bit.” However, while they plan to hit the road, a spiral into rock n roll habits is definitely not on the cards. “We are just generally pursuers of old people’s habits” claims Matt, allowing Thom to elaborate. “I suppose the trendy answer would be, 'Oh, we love going out, getting drunk and sleeping with girls,' but no, I just like a nice game of Scrabble with some whiskey. Some Galaxy chocolate and a cuddle would be nice too.”

The lack of wild times assures me that Being Buffalo are definitely around to stay. It’s so uplifting to see a band fuelled only by their music and other musicians around them. “Inspiration for me is a guy called Matt Bellamy, although when you listen to Muse and then Being Buffalo, you’d never guess,” says Matt, while Thom states James Taylor and Mohammed Ali as his main inspirations. “Ali was my dad’s hero and I like the idea of standing up for what you believe in no matter what.”

My afternoon with Being Buffalo confirmed that while it’s obvious that both guys have heaps of ambition fuelled by a mutual passion for their music, they’re also really genuine, and it’s refreshing to talk to people who will admit that they sometimes take phone calls while they’re on the toilet and that their biggest vice is a nice sheepskin-lined slipper.

For more information on Being Buffalo, gig dates and general ramblings, here are the three most important websites you’ll need. They love talking so don’t hesitate to get in touch. http://www.facebook.com/BeingBuffalo 
http://www.twitter.com/BeingBuffalo 
http://www.reverbnation.com/beingbuffalo   

Interview by Victoria Gottschalk

Being Buffalo - Before We Fall Apart

Victoria Gottschalk reviews the debut album from Being Buffalo, who are setting tongues wagging in the UK right now: 

An album by a band named after bovine? Really? Well, okay then. While electronic folk music is probably the best way to describe Being Buffalo, there’s no doubt that the Londoners certainly have their own sound. From the first track, The Weather, to the last song, The Boatman and the Wife, there’s a distinct sound ringing through your ears; it’s not completely original but it’s certainly not manufactured either.

Songs like Defend Our Night and I Don’t Want To Grow Up are easy to imagine being played during a pivotal scene in the latest reality television show (at the moment Caggie and Spencer FINALLY got together in Made in Chelsea, Defend Our Night SHOULD have been playing. I’m certain of it). But then there are songs such as Grandad John that blow the contemporary folk music feel out of the water and make you want to grab a Scotch on the rocks and hang out with your grandparents for the day. I love that one album can make you feel so many different emotions.

The strongest track on the record is probably April, simply because it combines everything Being Buffalo are about. It’s the kind of song that makes you open a bottle of wine and reflect on every relationship you’ve ever had. Not negatively, but more in a “you know what, you’re an idiot but I miss you” kind of way. “It’s not like I’ll ever want you back, but I miss having you around,” is something we all wish we could say to the nice ex's that have graced our life and it’s the type of thing we all want said to us. C’mon guys, admit it, you’re staring at your phones right now, hoping a text pops up with those lyrics included…no? Just me then…

The only slight fault with Before We Fall Apart comes with the tracklisting. There’s a killer of a tune called Hope which is the fifth song. It should come last, because the lyrics sum up the entire album. Nitpicking aside though, Being Buffalo are exactly what the music industry has a space for right now; honest lyrics, catchy tunes and a fucking ace album.

Review by Victoria Gottschalk. You can buy Before We Fall Apart for peanuts here.