Gracie Abrams’ new single ‘Amelie’: 4:20 of calm and melancholy

Ella Nelson on 11 February 2023

Ella Nelson reviews the new single from Gracie Abrams, released 10th February.

Live: Spacey Jane at Brudenell Social Club

Roxanna Zoughi on 20 April 2022

The electric and lively show Spacey Jane delivered at the Brudenell was introduced with a prelude from the band’s supporting act, singer-songwriter Morgan Harper-Jones, who performed with just a guitar and her voice. The 23-year-old dazzled the crowd with a series of slow-paced yet vivacious heartfelt songs showcasing the raw emotion at the heart of her performance. During and in-between each song, her performance was embellished with witty banter which lightened the mood of the otherwise beautifully melancholy subject matter of her songs.

As the supporting act’s show came to a close, it was clear the crowd could wait no longer for the Australian band who would soon find themselves playing to a fully packed venue filled with fans who would had long awaited the band’s UK tour. Fans showed their support and enjoyment throughout the entirety of the show by singing along to every song, and jumping around in unison to every performance. The lighting only added to the electric and lively atmosphere as it switched between vividly shocking hues of blue to neon pinks and purples. The abrupt changes in lighting coincided with the eye-catching and vivacious movements of all members of the band who were stomping around to their music as much as the crowd were.

The indie foursome proved their musicianship and range with a series of tight-knit performances as they treated fans to loud, faster-paced hits to more mellow rhythmic favorites like ‘Booster Seat’. With their second album ‘Here Comes Everybody’ soon to release in June, along with a tour of the States, this Australian foursome promise there’s more to come yet.

Image credit: Bruce Baker

Spyres explode into 2022 with ‘See Through You’ upon signing to LAB Records

Rishi Shah on 15 January 2022

With sixteen stages to choose from at Live at Leeds Festival 2021, and a plethora of emerging talent, only a select hundred or two would’ve found themselves at Leeds Beckett’s makeshift second stage at the relatively early hour of 3pm. Yet, the next half an hour was a rather defining moment for Glasgow alt-rockers Spyres. By the end of their set, they had secured themselves a record deal.

Mark Orr of LAB Records, like the majority of the audience, saw enough to be blown away by the versatility of the four musicians on stage. Spyres’ discography to date has showcased very different sides to the band, with an underlying theme of energy and unstoppable songwriting that has made each chorus even more memorable. Their latest anthem, ‘See Through You’, keeps them firmly on that path, with the catchiest of choruses evoking vivid memories of that Live at Leeds performance back in October.

The vocal chemistry of lead duo Emily Downie and Keira McGuire is one of the band’s most unique assets, with the partnership as fiery as ever in this ‘direct and punchy’ new single, as described by Downie. ‘See Through You’ was crafted in Glasgow’s Castle of Doom Studios with Christopher Marshall; an instant formula for success given the amount of recent Scottish talent under his belt – Gerry Cinnamon and Dead Pony to name a few.

As ever, the drum tone is slick and powerful, with Alex White and bassist Jude Curran providing a masterful rhythm section that delicately complements the track’s changes of pace. The chorus has almost a nostalgic, pop-punk feel to it, especially when Downie and McGuire soar into the highest of harmonies towards the climax of the song. When you consider the duo’s acoustic roots, the effect of Curran and White cannot be understated in lifting their epic sound, which is ready made for the biggest stages.

Spyres have tested these waters, showcasing their live set to the likes of Glasgow’s Barrowlands and TRNSMT Festival. With this new, exciting era at LAB Records, the only way is if each new release continues to be this consistent and captivating. ‘See Through You’ is out now via LAB Records – keep posted for news on Spyres’ upcoming debut EP and a filmed interview with Leeds Student TV which will be released in the coming months.

Ben Howard delivers intimate set to unenthusiastic crowd at Brudenell Social Club

Imogen Harper on 4 January 2022

Going into Ben Howard’s set on the 8^th of December, I had high expectations. I had seen videos of his performances before. The emotion and drama created from his performance of End of the Affair at Jools Holland, the intimate and thoughtfulness he portrayed at his NPR Tiny Desk, were both things I expected to see from the artist. However, I left Ben Howard’s show at Brudenell Social Club with slight disappointment. Sure, the music was good, but the whole atmosphere of the gig was very strange and not something I would want to experience again.

As an album release gig, Howard performed most of the songs off his new album Collections from the Whiteout. The album, released at the end of March 2021, is the fourth studio album for Ben Howard and shows his exploration of a new sound that we haven’t seen from him before. Mixing a Neo-Soul style with elements of Jazz and topping that with lyrics inspired by historical fiction, Howard creates fourteen tracks that are musically intelligent and lyrically peculiar. As previously stated, the gig was meant to be part of the album release tour, but the circumstances of the past couple of years meant that it was postponed… and then postponed again to make room for Howard’s main tour. All this waiting acted to increase excitement and anticipation for the gig, a notion solidified by the long queues and excited babble ensuing before the start of the set.

The set started off strongly with Howard walking on stage to a great reception from the crowd. Without an opening act, the general atmosphere of the crowd was one of excitement and anticipation for Howard. The first song of the performance, Rumble Strip, set a strong start for Howard. As a song only available on the deluxe album, it wasn’t widely known. This left the floor open for Howard to create a beautifully intimate and contemplative atmosphere for the song. The limited textures used gave the vocals a chance to soar with emotion and sensuality.

The set continued with songs such as What a Day and Finders Keepers. The former being the first single of the album. It was here that an air of restlessness settled over some audience members who then began to shout out and heckle Howard, something that was obviously putting him off.

The highlight of the set for me came with the performance of my favourite song, Rookery, the studio version of a previously untitled track Howard played in many shows from his previous tour. This song gave the set an immediate intimacy that had been previously lost to heckling and jibes from the audience.

As the gig went on, the atmosphere grew strange. With an audience who were not listening, and an artist thrown off his game, the event began to fall further into unease. It was clear the atmosphere was taking a toll on Howard who had to stop halfway through one song before he could continue with his set. The saving grace of the set came with the crowd favourites I Forgot Where We Were and Conrad. Both songs taken from his 2014 album I Forgot Where We Were, suggesting the audience restlessness came with a want for Howard to play his older tracks rather than his newer songs.

Although musically the set was phenomenal with intricate guitar parts, beautiful vocals and meaningful lyrics, the event couldn’t escape the strange atmosphere, and this is what left me wanting more.

Enter Shikari rise from strength to strength in masterful Leeds show

Rishi Shah on 13 December 2021

Setting the bar, sustaining it, and regularly raising the roof – Enter Shikari’s longevity speaks volumes for why they should be seen as the model target for the rock and metal scene. With a ferocious undercard of Dinosaur Pile-Up and Nova Twins, they finally brought their expansive Nothing Is True And Everything Is Possible tour to O2 Academy Leeds.

After seeing them in festival tents, record stores and academies during the era of The Spark, I was intrigued to see how Shikari would level up their live show, a challenge that drummer Rob Rolfe told me is always in the back of their minds when I interviewed him back in May (check out the interview here). Keeping the feel of the room ‘as small as possible’ is a task that Shikari always seem to complete with flying colours, even in the context of Leeds’ second largest venue.

Opening with their kicking anthem ‘THE GREAT UNKNOWN’ and a full dose of confetti, they had the whole venue bouncing as frontman Rou Reynolds effortlessly sauntered around the stage, donning purple sunglasses that perfectly accompanied the band’s effervescent lighting rig.

Shikari’s setlist ramped up another level in the second half, with their seamless transitions from ‘Gandhi Mate, Gandhi’ into ‘Mothership’ and then ‘Solidarity’ exhibiting how refined and inch-perfect their live show has become, equilibrated by the raw passion and energy from the band and the crowd. Fan favourite ‘Juggernauts’ made an unusually early appearance in the setlist, alongside the timeless ‘Arguing With Thermometers’ – with Reynolds giving a particular nod to the prevalent climate crisis, a theme that runs throughout the band’s discourse.

As for the new material, Shikari saved singles ‘{ The Dreamer’s Hotel }’ and ‘T.I.N.A.’ until the encore, with the latter manifesting itself into a gargantuan live sound that the studio version teased. The band remained impeccable, whether that be Rolfe’s eclectic time changes in ‘Sorry, You’re Not A Winner’ or guitarist Rory Clewlow’s seamless transitions from monstrous breakdowns into soaring lead melodies.

Enter Shikari will always prove time and time again why they are top of the tree when it comes to live shows, and they will make their rightful return to the main stage at Leeds Festival 2022, supporting the equally magnificent Bring Me The Horizon on a sold out day. Weekend tickets are on sale here.

Arlo Parks Stuns Belgrave with Hypnotic Show

GryphonEditorAdm on 10 September 2021

An intimate review of Arlo Parks’ recent gig at Belgrave.

Miss Americana: Taylor Swift’s Political and Musical Journey

Anushka Searle on 21 February 2020

This eye-opening film begins with Taylor Swift looking through her old diaries and songwriting books, immediately declaring to the audience that this film will expose Swift’s secrets, both personal and musical. Swift reminisces over the quill pens she use to write with and shows her nerdy side with excitement over her “glass quill with an inkjet”. Through all the controversy that we’ve seen Swift go through, the world began to ignore her talent. However, this film begins by bringing us back to Swift’s humble beginnings, of writing songs when she was just 13, a girl with stars in her eyes. The film engages you with home videos from Taylor Swift receiving her first guitar on Christmas morning, to Tim McGraw hitting number 60 on the Billboard charts.

This biographical documentary depicts Swift’s musical journey from country star to pop icon, while also showing the creation of her new mature masterpiece, Lover. What stood out for me specifically was the clear artistry behind Swift and Joel Little’s song producing process. The film not only showed how Lover was created as an apologia for Swift’s lack of political activism but significantly exposed her talent for songwriting and for making hit-worthy music. Swift is not seen writing in a flashy music studio with a big production company. Lover is instead created with just Joel Little beside her, with Taylor Swift wearing joggers and a baggy t-shirt. Indeed, the studios Swift and Little write in (Electric Lady Studios) were designed to be relaxing to encourage artists’ creativity, and most famously that of Jimmy Hendrix. Swift, unlike many big artists, isn’t hiding behind a glass screen singing into giant microphones and letting big producers do the work for her, she is part of the entire creative process. We even get to see how Swift comes up with the music video for ‘Me!’, which won three awards for Best Video (MTV Europe Music Awards), Best Visual Effects (MTV Video Music Awards), and Best Female International Artist Video (MTV Video Music Awards).

Additionally, the release of this film was coupled with the release of Taylor Swift’s single ‘Only The Young’, and much like the film, it expresses Swift’s opinion on the current political climate and her place in it. We see in the film how it was Swift’s court case against David Mueller that produced this fire in her to speak up, not only for herself but also politically. However, it is Taylor Swift’s disappointment over the result of the Tennessee midterm elections, and her want to no longer be silenced by men in her life, that fortified the power song ‘Only The Young’. This song powerfully declares that Swift and any other young individual should never let their voice be silenced, because it is the young that are most affected by this political climate, and therefore only the young can understand the struggle and must be the ones to continue to advocate change. Though the young may have been “outnumbered, this time”, and may be disheartened by a bad election result, or problematic legislation, Swift tells us that this song is “basically saying resist”. Telling us to keep resisting, because social movements are gradual, and change will only come about if the young persist in making their voices heard.

No matter your opinion on Swift this is an astonishing film, that explores how female celebrities are controlled and silenced. It truly shows how passionate Swift is about human rights, and her impassioned need to use her influential voice for social and political reform. Therefore, this film will undoubtedly give anyone newfound respect for Taylor Swift, not only for her artistry but for how unfairly she has been treated over the years.

Header Image Credit: Pitchfork