Music Blog

All the music-related posts gathered together in one place.

Heidi Widdop leaves Stolen Earth

Posted on July 17, 2013 by Tim Hall

Announced on the Stolen Earth Facebook group this morning.

Sometimes you have to embrace change, take risks, have faith in yourself and other people. After much thought, I have decided to leave Stolen Earth, I’m following my instinct and my heart. I am eternally grateful to everyone who has supported the band, you have been wonderful.

After the excellent debut “A Far Cry From Home“, and a big build-up for their much-anticipated follow-up, including the superb new track “Searchlight“, this came as a bit of a shock. No news (as yet) of future plans from either Heidi or the rest of the band, but all I will say is “Watch this space”.

Photo by Mark McNeil

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Lu Cozma – Lockdown

Posted on July 16, 2013 by Tim Hall

I first encountered the singer-songwriter Lu Cozma supporting Fish on his short May tour of the UK, playing as duo with Steve Askew on acoustic guitar plus programmed rhythms, and the pair made a very strong impact, such that were invited back to support Fish again later in the year

Their new EP “Lockdown” follows on from the 2008 album “Red”, and like that album features Lu Cozma on vocals, and the talented multi-instrumentalist Steve Askew on everything else.

With just four songs with a total running time of a little over sixteen minutes, it’s a varied record, each song having a quite distinct feel. It begins with the heavily rhythmic title track. “Snow White Room” is an dreamy ballad, a seductive vocal and rippling guitar making a tapestry of sound, which for me is standout on the record. “White Noise” with it’s bass riff is closer to a conventional rock number, complete with a short guitar solo. The EP ends with “Breathing Under Water”, a slow-burning ballad with a nod towards prog-folk territory.

Lu Cozma makes a strong impression as a vocalist. I’m reminded a little of Heather Findlay, especially on “Snow White Room”. Steve Askew’s guitar playing is also impressive, and his atmospherics and textures with heavy use of effects reminds me a little of Marillion’s Steve Rothery, which makes him a great foil for the vocalist.

This is a record that’s not easy to classify. It’s not a full-band recording, but neither is it completely stripped-down and minimalist. The dominant instrumental sounds are acoustic guitar and programmed rhythms, but there’s a lot else in the mix. There’s a “less is more” feel about the whole thing, instrumentation that add richness without swamping the vocal. Despite elements of folk, rock and electronica, it can’t be really be pigeonholed by genre.

The EP is available on iTunes, and can also be ordered on CD from the Lu Cozma website.

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Touchstone “Oceans Of Time” pre-order

Posted on July 16, 2013 by Tim Hall

UK five-piece rock band TOUCHSTONE are excited to reveal they have signed an exclusive deal with Hear No Evil Recordings/Cherry Red Records for their much-anticipated 4th studio album ‘Oceans Of Time’, which is due to be released on 7th October 2013.

The release of the new album will be supported by a 6-date UK tour in October, where they will be joined by co-headliners Von Hertzen Brothers from Finland.

The band comment: “TOUCHSTONE are delighted to have signed to Hear No Evil Recordings for the release of our new album, Oceans Of Time. We are very much looking forward to working alongside Hugh Gilmour, the label manager, and to being a part of the bigger Cherry Red Records stable.”

‘Oceans Of Time’ features 11 tracks recorded and produced at Outhouse Studios by renowned producer John Mitchell (You Me At Six, Lower Than Atlantis, Funeral For A Friend), and is the successor to Touchstone’s previous  albums: The City Sleeps (2011), Wintercoast (2009) and Discordant Dreams (2007).

On this eagerly awaited new album, the band continue their “Wintercoast” story with the dynamic, moving epic title track ‘Oceans Of Time’; the sequel to the title tracks of Wintercoast and The City Sleeps. Another familiar theme comes from ‘Shadow’s End’, the final part of the Shadow trilogy, which started with the track ‘Shadow’, from Discordant Dreams.  Fans will enjoy a more guitar-orientated sound from Oceans Of Time than previous albums due to the nature of the writing process.

All the music is written by Touchstone, with lyrics by lead vocalist Kim “Elkie” Seviour, and keys man Robert Cottingham, whilst guitarist Adam Hodgson again designed the cover artwork.

Label manager Hugh Gilmour comments on the signing: “Touchstone are very much a fresh and exciting addition to the Hear No Evil roster, with a modern album that strikes a perfect balance between classic, melodic prog and more streamlined, contemporary hard rock.”

Oceans Of Time is released October 7 through Hear No Evil/Cherry Red Records.

Pre-order the album here:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00DZKQTKW

OCEANS OF TIME Track listing:

  1. Flux
  2. Contact
  3. Tabula Rasa
  4. Fragments
  5. Spirit Of The Age
  6. Suffer The Little Children
  7. Shadow’s End
  8. Solace 2013
  9. Through The Night
  10. Thunder & Cricket
  11. Oceans Of Time

UK Tour Dates (with Von Hertzen Brothers)

Oct 18 King Tut’s, Glasgow
Oct 19 The Duchess, York
Oct 20 The Globe, Cardiff
Oct 25 The Garage, London
Oct 26 Eric’s Live, Liverpool
Oct 27 The Robin , Bilston

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Roskilde vs. Glastonbury

Posted on July 1, 2013 by Tim Hall

The Glastonbury festival is one of those things that divides opinion amongst music fans. On one side there are those that complain that the bill is always far too corporate and indie-centric. On the other side there are those who dismiss the complainers as genre snobs, merely sneering at the mainstream from the sidelines.

The BBC have a lot to answer for. Their coverage always seems to contain far too much of the intensely annoying Jo Whiley fawning over the latest overrated three-chord wonder and far too little of the eclectic variety taking place across the many small stages. But it’s impossible to ignore the fact that rock and metal are very conspicuous by the absence from the festival.

So the bill of the Roskilde Festival in Denmark makes an interesting comparison with that of Glastonbury. There are many of the same names, but you’ll also see names like Iron Maiden, Mastodon, Slipknot and Judas Priest alongside the likes of Oasis and The Arctic Monkeys. It’s all but impossible to imagine any of the former making an appearance on the Glastonbury bill.

Does this reflect something fundamentally different about the music scene on the Continent?  Are rock and metal seen as a part of the musical mainstream in a way they are not in Britain?  Or does the British musical establishment of which Glastonbury is an important part just hate rock and metal?

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I know music is subjective and all that, but if you really think that Beady Eye or Mumford and Sons represent the very best that contemporary music has to offer, then you really do need to get out more.

Posted on July 1, 2013 by Tim Hall | 3 Comments

Panic Room & Morpheus Rising, The Flowerpot

Posted on June 30, 2013 by Tim Hall

After a one-off gig in Milton Keynes back in April, Panic Room came to The Flowerpot in Derby for the first date of their short UK tour.

Morpheus Rising at The Flowerpot in Derby

Openers Morpheus Rising had supported Panic Room on last November, and they’re back again for this tour. They have a changed lineup for these gigs, with Touchstone’s Henry Rogers joining the band on drums, and this weekend, Andy Gooby standing in for Andy Smith, who was off in Holland with Mostly Autumn. Despite the musical chairs, they are getting better and better as a live band with their modern take on classic twin lead guitar hard rock.

They’re now working on a second album, and the set contained quite a bit of brand-new material alongside favourites from their first disk “Let the Sleeper Awake”. Their signature guitar harmonies between Pete Harwood and Damien James Sweeting are as good as ever, with some very impressive soloing from Damien in particular. The new material came over very strongly, possibly slightly more riff-orientated than before, and whets the appetite for the forthcoming album.

Anne-Marie Helder plays the silver wand at The Flowerpot

Panic Room themselves have an altered lineup from last year, with Pete Harwood doing double duty in both bands. Playing only his third gig with the band, he’s fitted in very well. With Morpheus Rising he doesn’t play many solos, leaving them to Damien Sweeting with his flashier shred-metal style. But Pete Harwood’s playing suits Panic Room’s music perfectly. He’s got the same less-is-more understated style as the departed Paul Davies, which is precisely the sort of guitarist Panic Room’s music needs. There are many bands made up from a couple of key members plus supporting cast, but Panic Room have always been an ensemble where the whole is far more than the sum of the parts.

It’s almost impossible to pick out highlights from Panic Room’s set, such is the strength of their material. The set naturally drew heavily from their latest album “Skin” with selected highlights from the first two albums. The songs range from the out-and-out hard rock of “Apocalypstick” and “Hiding The World” to the emotional intensity of “Skin” and “The Fall”. The jazz-flavoured “Chameleon” saw Anne-Marie Helder’s ‘Silver Wand’ making an appearance, and they’re still playing their inventive reworking of ELP’s “Bitches Crystal”. Anne-Marie was on superb form as always, demonstrating just why she’s an award-winning vocalist. But then so was everyone else.

With The Flowerpot not far short of full, one wonders how much longer it will be possible to see this band playing small and intimate venues like this. The tour continues with shows in London, Norwich, Bilston and Manchester before Panic Room head into the studio to work on their fourth album.

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Crimson Sky & Red Jasper, The Fleece, Bristol

Posted on June 30, 2013 by Tim Hall

Crimson Sky at The Fleece and Firkin, Bristol

Red Sky at Night was the second of two double bills featuring the Bristol-based bands Crimson Sky and Red Jasper, a home town gig at the Fleece and Firkin in the centre of Bristol.

Opening act was Neodeals, who are Also Eden’s Rich Harding and Simon Rogers playing as a acoustic duo. Their half-hour set consisted of Also Eden material drawn from “Think of the Children” including the magnificent title track, and from the forthcoming “[Redacted]“. The songs came across remarkably well in acoustic form, with two interlocking guitars making a remarkably rich sound. As well as a strong vocalist, it’s often the guitar playing that makes the difference between a memorable acoustic act and a forgettable one, and Neodeals were memorable for all the right reasons.

Crimson Sky put in another enthusiastic and energetic performance with their mix of classic rock, prog and a touch of 80s new-wave. With a shorter than usual set they drew heavily from the EP “Dawn” with a few favourites from their 2009 album “Misunderstood”. This was the first gig with Adrian Ogden occupying the drum-stool on a permanent basis, and he acquitted himself superbly. This is likely to be Crimson Sky’s last live appearance for a while, as they concentrate on writing and arranging new material, and will be very interesting to see what they come up with.

Red Jasper at The Fleece and Firkin, Bristol

When I last saw Red Jasper many years ago they had a folk-rock feel, reminiscent of Jethro Tull. Now, with a much changed lineup with former drummer David Clifford now fronting the band, there was little of the folk flavour in evidence, with the six-piece band taking on a more of a 80s pop-prog flavour. It may be my lack of familiarity with their material, but they didn’t make quite as strong an impression as the other two bands, with a lot of the songs sounding rather similar. But they still had their moments, played with a lot of energy, and there was some great guitar work from founder member Robin Harrison.

This sort of gig, with a bill of two electric bands plus an acoustic opener represents an increasing common format in the progressive rock world. While some fans prefer to see their heroes play longer sets as sole headliners, double or triple bills attract bigger crowds, and expose the bands to each others’ audiences, which can only be a good thing. I last saw Red Jasper many years ago at a very poorly attended show in Windsor, where the support band outnumbered the paying punters. Twenty years later, while by no means full, The Fleece did attract a decent-enough crowd for a Thursday night.

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A powerful and very honest piece on Twitter, depression and METAL from Metal Hammer, Prog and Guardian writer Dom Lawson. Does contain some swears, but that’s Dom’s inimitable style.

Posted on June 26, 2013 by Tim Hall | 4 Comments

Mermaid Kiss become Zero She Flies

Posted on June 24, 2013 by Tim Hall

With new singer Maria Milewska, Mermaid Kiss have evolved to become Zero She Flies. As they say on their website:

As many of you will be aware, Jamie’s recently been writing and recording a new album with vocalist Maria Milewska. Originally we’d intended to release this as a Mermaid Kiss album, however as the recording has progressed we realised that what we actually have is a completely new band. Whilst it clearly has elements of the Mermaid Kiss sound, notably Wendy’s woodwind, the new members have each brought their own ideas and influences to the music. Jamie and Maria are therefore excited to announce the new band, called: Zero She Flies.

The Mermaid Kiss Website has also been completely revamped, with a full history of the Mermaid Kiss story as well as updates on the new band,

(Photo by Chris Walkden)

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Red Sky At Night

Posted on June 23, 2013 by Tim Hall

Recently re-formed Folk-proggers Red Jasper and the always excellent Crimson Sky play a co-headliner at The Fleece and Firkin at Bristol this coming Thursday, June 27th.  Opening act will be Neo Deals, who are Also Eden’s Rich Harding and Simon Rogers playing as an acoustic duo.

The whole thing promises to be a progtastic evening. The show will also be Crimson Sky’s first gig with their new drummer, Adrian Ogden.

Full details from The Fleece‘s website.

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