Hipper than bands who are trying way to hard to be hip, noisy indie garage rockers (or whatever you want to call them) TRAAMS are a band worth locking your radar on.

For some reason, the folks over at Fat Cat Records, TRAAMS label, only sent over one song, ‘Mexico’ to listen to when introducing us to TRAAM. It’s a good song. I like it. But over on YouTube I found some of their live songs which solidified for me the fact that with TRAAMS, we are looking at a great band. One song in particular that grabbed me is a video of two songs, one called ‘Teeth’ and the other one ‘Klaus’ being played live in Brighton in a loud, unrelenting, sweaty, yet surprisingly laid back way, as if they were gazing at their shoes (Pavement is listed as a mutual ‘love’ among the band members).

I mean, I guess that’s what a record label does. They want people to listen to the newest, hippest thing the band does. And ‘Mexico’ is a free download and presumably the first single off of their debut ‘Ladders EP’ on the aforementioned Fat Cat Records. But this is a band I hadn’t heard of before, so it’s all new to me. So it was nice to see that ‘Mexico’, though a great song, is not the only one they have on offer as I was mistakenly led to believe….by me. Why on earth would I think a band only has one song? I’m losing it in my old age. Of course they would have more songs! Geez, Chris, get it together!

TRAAMS got it together in the summer of 2011. The three boys in the band are Stu, Adam and Leigh. They are from Chichester in West Sussex. And, as the Fat Cat folks say, they play a “noisy, joyous krautrock squall”. Okay, that works for me. But there are some elements of punk, garage and indie rock goodness all thrown in here as well.

I’m enjoying these guys. They got a hipster feel to them that seems to just come naturally, as opposed to trying to act like hipsters. I guess what I mean is that they come across as genuine. They come across as three guys who just started making music in a small town and it all started to click. And click it did, because they sound tight, grounded and developed. There is definitely a lo-fi production quality, which is perfect because it absolutely suits what they are doing. If they even tried slick production, I fear it would suck the life out of them. Keep it raw! Keep it real!

Over on their Soundcloud page there is a song called ‘Peggy’ which I absolutely love. Again, very raw and rough….and perfectly so. There is almost a Misfits chugging sound at times (I hope I’m not the only one who hears that), with a bit of Beach Boys “Ooooos” and brilliant fuzzed out, Dinosaur Jr.-esque guitar solo thrown in. Oh, ya, and then they have their “studio” version of ‘Klaus’ on that page as well. That one I love too. A bit of surfy guitar is even tossed in there for good measure. The vocals often match up with the notes to make a roller coaster, flight of the bumblebees sound, particularly on ‘Mexico’.

Oh, let’s just face it, I love these guys. Half the time you can’t understand a single word they are singing, which is perfectly okay. They just have it all going for them. Simply put, TRAAM is a great, great band. They are noisy and raw, but in a chilled, non-hyper way. They just close their eyes, chug along and play fine, fine music. Good on them! This is another nice find. Thanks, Fat Cat Records for letting us know about them. I appreciate it!

Check out TRAAMS on Facebook, Souncloud, tumblr and twitter.

Words by Chris Hearn. More writing by Chris on Louder Than War can be found here.

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The first two album are two classics here at LTW towers so we are looking forward to the new one!

The post The Transplants new album on June 25th. Rancid’s Tim Armstrong’s great side project ride again appeared first on Louder Than War.

North Wales artist Sweet Baboo recently visited Bristol & played a couple of in-stores  in two of the city’s most loved independent shops.

Below you’ll find videos of two songs – one from either shop. Despite having a really bad sore throat he put on two great shows, as you’ll see when you scroll down and press “play”. 

Back at the start of April the man known to his friends as Stephen Black – & to the rest of us as “Sweet Baboo” – released his latest album, Ships.

It’s a proper shimmering delight of an indiepop album, understated and packed with emotion & tunes & it’s been repped hard by the likes of 6Music though not, until now, by us. Our bad, needless to say, but we’re hoping to make up for that now.

Despite ostensibly being a slight offering, once Ships works it’s way under your skin you’ll realise it for the near perfect collection of songs that it is, ones which you’ll neither be able to nor won’t want to, get out of your heads. Sweet Baboo has been around a while now, getting on for a decade in fact, so it’s great to finally see Stephen getting the credit he deserves.

Stephen’s been touring the album like a thing possessed & has several more dates lined up (see below) but the weekend before last he came to visit Bristol to play a couple of open door in-store shows, one in our local video rental shop, 20th Century Flicks, a truly independent old school rental shop which was celebrating it’s 30th birthday on the same day Sweet Baboo was in the city & is (probably) “the oldest oldest video shop in the world” , and another in one of the city’s independent record shops, Rise Music, a shop who’re probably the very model of what a record shop needs to do to be successful in this age of the internet & both moral & immoral downloading. They run a great online shop too so if you believe in supporting proper bricks & mortar style record shops you should buy all your physical music them right?

The videos were shot by one James Hankins who not only works in Rise but is also a member of the band Olo Worms whose album  Yard Is Open we reviewed last year. James also has a very active & entertaining twitter feed.

First up we have for you ‘If I Died…’, recorded at 20th Century Flicks, & secondly we have ‘Bounce’ recorded at Rise.

Sweet Baboo’s website can be found here. He’s also on Facebook & Twitter.

Those dates we mentioned:

JUNE

01 – Railway Institute and Club – Bangor
02 – Looking Glass Cafe – Bristol
03- St Pancreas Old Church – London
04 – Toast – Falmouth
05 – The New Inn – Tywardreth
06 – The Taphouse – St. Agnus
07 – B Side Bunters – Truro
08 – Studio Bar – Penzance
09 – Studio Lounge – Totnes
22 – Old Town Festival – Carmarthen

He’s also playing a few festivals. Go HERE to find details of all his upcoming shows.

All words Guy Manchester. More writing by Guy on Louder Than War can be found at his authors archive here. Guy tweets as @guid0man & uses Tumblr.

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This weekend, for those of you not in sunny Spain, there’s the delights of the triple city-wide (Nottingham | Bristol | Manchester) Dot To Dot Festival to keep you busy. Liam Core previews the event & suggests some “must sees”.

Is it just me or is the year going way too quick? My Year 13 students (or upper sixth, if you’re old school) will have left by the time you read this. As they go on study leave, it can mean only one thing…. Yes… It’s time for Dot to Dot festival again!

Dot to Dot originated in 2005 in Nottingham. Over the years it claims to have helped launch the careers of Mumford and Sons, Frank Turner, Ellie Goulding and Ed Sheeran. But we shouldn’t hold that against them.

Now taking place over three cities- Manchester, Bristol and Nottingham, the festival grows more successful by the year. No surprise, in an economic climate where the festival going crowd allegedly skews to the older crowd, £20 for over 12 hours of live music is remarkably good value.

The full lineup, including stagetimes, can be found HERE, and tickets are still available for £22 including booking fee, so if you’ve got nothing planned for the long weekend, then what better way to pass the time  than by seeing some of the best up and coming bands around? Personally, I’ll be in attendance in Manchester and Nottingham, and here’s a few recommendations of bands I’ll looking to check out.

NOTE: All Manchester gigs take place on Friday 24th May, through the early hours. Bristol gigs Saturday 25th May and Nottingham 26th May.

PINS

Anyone who was fortunate enough to catch PINS supporting British Sea Power last month will know of the leaps and bounds this exceptional band have made over the last year.

With a look taken straight from a Manchester bus stop in 1982 and a sound of some very angry Dum Dum Girls, great things surely await this Manchester foursome. A late night slot in a good-sized venue in their home town is the least this group deserve.

Catch PINS at -  Manchester Sound Control Loft 1am (Friday 24 May);  Bristol Thekla Top Deck 6.30pm (25 May); Nottingham Rescue Rooms Subculture Stage 2.30pm (26 May).

Findlay

With a sound not entirely dissimilar to The Black Keys, and dare I say it, Pink, you might think this was the sound of California rather than a Manc in exile in London.

Rock vibes, and brilliantly soaring vocals and commanding stage presence mean that Findlay is most definitely one for the future.

Catch Findlay at - Manchester Zoo 10.15pm (24 May); Bristol 9.30pm (25 May); Nottingham Red Room 11pm (26 May).

Wave Machines

After a stunning sets at Liverpool Sound City and Live at Leeds earlier in the month, Wave Machines return for another multi-venue festival.

Combining experimental sounds with some poppy electronics, Wave Machines have a very distinct sound which is slowly making them a cult band around the country. Certainly a change of pace from the rock and folk artists which dominate the line up!

Catch Wave Machines at – Manchester Attic 11.30pm (24 May);  Bristol Academy 2 7pm (25 May); Nottingham Rock City Basement 9.45pm.

Hawk-Eyes

And if you need some good old fashioned loud punk music then I suggest you need look no further than Hawk-Eyes.

There’s no messing around, and no gimmicks with Hawk-Eyes, unless you count the singer Paul bringing his mic stand into the crowd. This is rock music at it most pure. Unashamedly loud, Hawk-Eyes are always a fun band who always secure a great reaction from the crowd.

Catch Hawk-Eyes at  - Manchester Attic 8.30pm (24 May);  Bristol Thekla Top Deck 7.30pm (25 May); Nottingham Red Room 5pm (26 May).

Teleman

London three-piece Teleman is the remnants of old indie favourites Pete and the Pirates. Featured as one of the Guardian’s Bands of the Day back in January, first single “Cristina” promises big things.

Tuneful, intelligent indie pop with synths not a million miles from OMD. In Your Fur suggests something a little more eccentric, but what has been released so far suggest that this is band who could be set for great things.

Catch Teleman at - Manchester Gorilla 10pm (24 May); Bristol The Fleece 10.30pm (25 May); Nottingham The Bodega 11pm (26 May).

London Grammar

After a delightful set at Liverpool Sound City, London Grammar are another band who return to the multi-venue festival circuit.

Inviting lazy but not entirely unwarranted comparisons to The XX, a sound of minimalistic tones building up to more poppy and dance orientated climaxed, wonderfully executed by the trio Hannah, Daniel and Dot, London Grammar unquestionably have the potential to be a huge band.

Catch London Grammar at - Manchester Gorilla 11pm (24 May); Bristol Academy 1 6.15pm; Nottingham The Bodega 8pm (26 May).

Feathers

Australian synth act Feathers have one of the more chaotic schedules of the weekend.

As well as doing all three Dot to Dot festivals, they are also managing to get time into to play Field Day in London.

Another band who made it onto the Guardian’s Band of the Day, Feathers have taken the sounds of synth pop greats Pet Shop Boys (Soft in particular sounds like Chris Lowe might even be playing on it, such is the similarity) and combined them a multi-layered female vocals. The effect is really quite stunning, and what promises to be an excellent live show is not to be missed.

Catch them at - Manchester Sound Control Club 9.15pm (24 May); Bristol Thekla Top Deck 11.45pm (25 May); Nottingham Stealth Live Room 10.30pm (26 May).

Bo Ningen

And who doesn’t like Japanese Acid Punk? In future years, Bo Ningen will probably be sadly tagged as a ‘festival band.’ One who get good crowds at festivals but never really receive the commercial or critical acclaim they deserve.

Already renowned for their chaotic live shows where crowd participation seems to be a requirement, Bo Ningen are a band not to be missed, especially in venues of this size. And you never know, you might be able to brush up on your Japanese as well.

Catch them at - Manchester Zoo 12.15am (24 May); Bristol Thekla 11pm (25 May); Nottingham Rescue Rooms Subculture Stage 11.30pm (26 May).

Each city also has acts which are local to that city as well. If you fancy a late one in Manchester, the stunning Mount Fabric close the Sound Control Loft at 2am, earlier in the day local singer-songwriter Little Sparrow plays a little earlier at 6pm in the Thirsty Scholar. In Bristol, I’m told that Gumm will be representing the local scene. Sadly, my Nottingham correspondent hasn’t got back to me but I’m sure the city will come good.

The Dot To Dot festival website is here. They can also be found on Facebook & have Twitter accounts for Nottm, Manc & Brizzle.

All words by Liam Core. More work by Liam on Louder Than  War can be found here.

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The band put together by Steve Albini with bassist Bob Weston and drummer Todd Trainor have been recording and they should be releasing it this year.

There have been several new songs played live at recent festivals and gigs which sound great, but little clue as to what is exactly on the album apart from a song called Dude, Incredible.

The post Shellac to release album this year appeared first on Louder Than War.

The campaign to build a statue for the late and great Frank Sidebottom is nearing completion.

A public fund for the statue is looking for the last donations before proceeding. More details on how you can pay from the Frank Sidebottom website.

The website sent a statement this morning:

“Hello fantasy fans,

We have now done a new bit of a website for you so things are ace

The fantastic idea to get a statue of frank sidebottom in timperley is almost ready, we still need to raise a bit more but we can do it

The whole project is a bazzing £20,000 and every penny has been raised by the fantastic fund raising events donations and selling stuff and not a penny has been taken from any grants or from the council

We now need to hit the final hurdle and get in the last bit and the brilliant ebay shop has some final items that you can now get

If you need to get more information you can contact us.”

Frank Sidebottom website.

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The Hull-born musician was a long-time member of Uriah Heep, but was probably best known for his work as one of David Bowie’s ‘Spiders From Mars’. His stylistic jazz-rock virtuoso skills  were a key element of the sound which shaped Ziggy Stardust, and helped to catapult Bowie to superstardom.

He also played with Wishbone Ash, Cybernauts, and – alongside Mick Ronson who also died from cancer two decades ago – in Hull’s The Rats.

The post Legendary Bass Player Trevor Bolder RIP appeared first on Louder Than War.

Burn got it’s UK premiere when it was screened in London as part of the Labour Film Festival. A socio-political documentary on the fire service of Detroit it poses a stark warning to the UK as the possibility of a privatised fire service is posed.

From the UK to Australia, Turkey to USA, the 1st of May was the kick off for 2013′s Global Labour Film Festival with films about work and workers being screened across the world with Burn getting it’s UK premiere in London.

Burn is the story of a year in the life of the Detroit Fire Department and its fire fighters. Producer/directors Tom Putnam and Brenna Sanchez spent a year embedded with  Engine Company 50 on the East Side of Detroit, the city famous for car producers General Motors, Tamla Motown records and punk rock originators MC5 and The Stooges.

The glory days of Motown and GM seem long passed. Any fans of TV series The Wire will be familiar with the concept of ‘vacants’, streets of empty boarded up properties which blight Baltimore.

In Detroit our heroes, for that is how they are unequivocally portrayed in the film, fight a constant battle against building fires, many of which are caused by arson. For a city of just 700,000 people there are 31 structure fires per day compared to LA, a city of 4,000,000 (almost six times the population) which reports just 11 structure fires a day.

The charismatic and seemingly always jovial fire crews of Detroit would have their work cut out even if they had new equipment and all the fire stations were open. But in 60 years the city’s population has halved, not only destroying the tax base to properly fund the department but also leaving 80,000 properties empty and waiting to be torched. ‘It’s like Katrina without the hurricane”‘ remarks one fire fighter.

The firemen (they all seem to be men) seem to enjoy the risks and the camaraderie and there is a lot of bravado here. It’s like they are going to war with each burning building. They break into the buildings and fight the fires from the inside and we get to see it all through HD cameras mounted on the helmets of the self proclaimed ‘Badest guys in Michigan’.

You have to hand it to them, they are gutsy and just a bit rock n roll, which a fantastic soundtrack reinforces with aplomb. The opening scene of the movie sees Iggy and The Stooges ‘Gimme Danger’ kick in as the crew arrives at a raging house fire and there are more aural treats from John Lee Hooker, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion and Funkadelic to accompany the flames. You can really see the heat of the fires too even if you can’t feel it.

The fire crews are proud of what they do and proud of a city that has seemingly been left for dead. None more so than veteran Dave Parnell who drives the fire truck, operates the hose and is just months away from retirement. He’s just one of the charismatic characters that make Burn so engaging.

“If you live in the community in which you work you have an opportunity to see things differently. You have an opportunity to try and make change,” he says.

An everyday philosopher the other firemen mock some of his pronouncements but have a deep respect for him. Just months from retirement Dave is one of the symbols of devoted service,  having given his whole life to protecting people, juxtaposed with a lack of investment that almost seems vindictive.

Brendan “Doogie” Milewski, one of the junior members of the crew provides the other touching story of the piece. With his career cut short and life changed forever by a near fatal building collapse, we see how he and his colleagues adjust.

Tension comes when new commissioner Don Austin is recruited. Returning to his hometown after 30 years in Los Angeles he is seen as an outsider and doesn’t exactly succeed in his early attempts to ingratiate himself with the fire crews – forgetting which city he’s in when making a speech at a remembrance service.

He seems to genuinely care about improving things for the department although the fire fighters may not like him or his methods. He’s a figurehead for the cruel austerity which leaves fire engines leaking oil, and puts lives at risk but is also the one person charged with using limited resources as wisely as possible. He certainly challenges the brave and sometimes reckless way the crews  go about their work and gives us another perspective on both these methods, the sever funding cuts and how these intersect.

The screening of the film itself also saw some of these debates thrashed out by an audience packed with London fire fighters, the head of the Fire Brigades Union and senior management from the Fire Service. A lively debate ensued about what’s happening to the fire service in the UK with London under threat from cuts along with much of the UK.  Cleveland in the North East is looking at the possibility of mutualisation, the first step to a privatised fire service that would by definition put profits ahead of safety.

So, as well as being a socio-political document on a once thriving US city, for UK viewers Burn is a stark warning of where we could head if we aren’t vigilant and outspoken about protecting our fire service against cuts and degradation.

For more info on Burn visit the website. For updates on London Labour Film Festival visit its website.

All words by Willow Colios. You can read more from Willow on LTW here or follow him on Twitter.

The post Burn – One Year on the Frontlines of the Battle to Save Detroit – film review appeared first on Louder Than War.

The Deaf Institute in Manchester is my new favourite venue.

Situated on Grosvenor Street just off Oxford Road in the heart of the university complex the building was officially opened in 1878. From the outside, it’s an almost gothic looking building which contains a chapel arranged in an amphitheatre form.

Inside, it has clearly lost none of its character and is separated into three floors, the highest of which is the venue for performances.

The small audience is here to see Princess Chelsea, on our shores from New Zealand as support act on the UK tour of Mercury Prize Winners Alt-J, and, seizing the opportunity to conduct her own five date mini tour.

First on stage though is Miles Loveless (aka Pikachunes), also from New Zealand. He was to play a part in later proceedings, but, first gave his own performance.

In front of surely one of the biggest glitterballs in existence, his lone figure punching the air and wriggling around like a lizard in a tin to his very unique brand of alternative synth pop. Playing most of his eponymously-titled debut album, and probably too young to know he sounds like a cross between They Might Be Giants and Pet Shop Boys, he is confident and performs well-crafted songs in a very entertaining manner.

Tracks like Nervous and Just A Boy are infectious and well-received. After a handful of songs, he trots off stage for a well-earned cigarette break.

Part of the audience for Pikachunes is none other than Princess Chelsea herself. Stood with boyfriend and fellow band member, Jonathan Bree of The Brunettes, she clearly enjoys the performance and chats to members of the audience before disappearing backstage to prepare for her own set.

Re-appearing with band members which include the aforementioned Messrs Bree and Loveless (drums and guitar respectively, though to swap places after two tracks!) and a wine glass filled with either a nice Shiraz or the Manchester delicacy of Hot Vimto, she introduces herself as Chelsea “or, my stage name, Princess Chelsea”.

She obviously enjoys playing live, smiling and laughing with the audience and band alike whilst trying to overcome feeling a little under the weather. She immediately gets into her stride with tracks from last years excellent ‘Lil’ Golden Book’ album.

The fairytale/merry-go-round/music box feel of the album is beefed up somewhat and tracks like the end of the world lament, Frack take on new life.

Ice Reign is preceded by the humorous recorded sound of rain and the sound quality is spot-on. Chelsea stands behinds keyboard and laptop and wears a triangle around her neck which she occasionally plays. She even attempts a slurp of ‘that’ wine glass but fails miserably, dripping down the side of her face.

The YouTube mega-hit, The Cigarette Song, a duet with Jonathan is marvellous, and, every four-year-olds favourite, Monkey Eats Bananas, is faultless.

There are new tracks too, the new single We’re So Lost which is described as “a very sad song”, and, the catchy No Church On Sunday, both of which should hopefully be on the next album provisionally entitled The Great Cybernetic Depression, scheduled for release early 2014.

If you have the chance, go along and catch the Princess at one of her remaining dates. You won’t regret it, and, one day you’ll be able to brag that you were ‘there’.

Read more about Pikachunes here and follow him on Twitter here.

More on Princess Chelsea can be found here and she’s on Twitter here.

All words by Paul Scott-Bates. More of Paul’s writing on Louder Than War can be found here. Paul’s website is Heaven Is A Place On Pendle. Paul has been working hard to save Radio Lancashire’s On The Wire, easily one of the best radio shows on the BBC. Follow him on twitter as @saveonthewire for all On The Wire news or follow his personal twitter, @hiapop.

The post Princess Chelsea: The Deaf Institute, Manchester – live review appeared first on Louder Than War.

7.5/10

Following on from her December EP, Laurel Halo releases four more tracks. Louder Than War’s Paul Scott-Bates gives us his thoughts.

On the face of it this is quite a stark change of style from the last Laurel Halo EP release, ‘Sunlight ON The Faded’ which was a very accessible and catchy number. The ‘Behind The Green Door’ (great title, by the way) is slightly more experimental and less immediate.

Opener, Throw, has a piano riff constant throughout the track, a house track but without the percussion. Occasionally, slipping up a key, on first listen it can sound out of tune and almost improvised, in fact, all the tracks on this EP could have the same comment made.

Listening to them as standalone tracks could be difficult, but, when played in sequence the tracks work and begin to achieve some cohesion. It’s a grower, and, you if you have any musical intelligence then you’ll give this three or four listens before making up your mind.

Uhffo is quite a different affair with a pumping drumbeat from the off and obligatory random sounds, whilst Noyfb gives a far more urban dance feel spinning off at tangents and introducing new effects constantly.

The highlight of the EP is closer, Sexmission, starting with a looped soundbite before turning into a more conventional dance sound. A more involved track but breaking off time and time again to display more experimentation.

The stripped back ambient feel is interesting. Just enough to keep you with it, but, sufficient space to be able to recognise different sounds and scales.

It’s also ambitious enough to be given well-rewarded praise. Laurel is never one to stand still and whilst we have artists like her continuing to push the boundaries, our appreciation of an often dying UK dancefloor scene can be given a timely injection. A grower.

The Laurel Halo website is here. You can follow her on Twitter here and do Facebook things here.

All words by Paul Scott-Bates. More of Paul’s writing on Louder Than War can be found here. Paul’s website is Heaven Is A Place On Pendle. Paul has been working hard to save Radio Lancashire’s On The Wire, easily one of the best radio shows on the BBC. Follow him on twitter as @saveonthewire for all On The Wire news or follow his personal twitter, @hiapop.

The post Laurel Halo: Behind The Green Door – EP review appeared first on Louder Than War.