Pop Junkie Q&A With The Hidden Masters

A few days ago I wrote that I had returned to Scott-mode, my ‘normal’ state; that of being incapable of listening to anything other than the works of Scott Walker and The Walker Brother. About three weeks ago I got stuck on one song for around four or five days. It was a song by a band who were new to me, discovered via the wonderful Shindig compilation that I reviewed here.

For a while I only got as far as track 11  because I was listening whilst cooking dinner or tea. When I finally got around to playing the rest (for the review), track 14 blew my head off and I probably played it about 60 times over the next few days.

The song was called Into The Night Sky, a stunning piece of modern psych-rock from Scotland’s Hidden Masters. Take a listen ~ the song is currently up on their myspace. The trio are formed by drummer Johnny Wolfe, guitarist Dave Dixon and bassist Alpha Mitchell. All three also sing.

I knew nothing about the trio, read a little about them on their Myspace and found they’d recently changed formation having been a five-piece. Alpha was kind enough to answer some further questions.

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Is Mayer Hawthorne the New Sound of Young America?

So Daria writes me an email from her home in Oakland, California and sends me a link that doesn’t work with a comment that she’d be interested in what I made of this guy called Mayer Hawthorne. Now, I don’t like saying so-and-so isn’t really my cuppa unless I’ve heard them. Okay, so maybe I don’t give ‘em much longer than 3 or 4 seconds, perhaps a verse if I’m feeling generous, but at least my opinion will be informed.

So, I figured this Hawthorne cat is bound to have a myspace and he has. He sure doesn’t look like no pop star, which is a plus point in my book. I resolve to give him at least a verse before I press the top right-hand X on his site forever.

Oh, another plus point before I heard a note was that he’d put “Soul” where people normally put “indie/metal/r’nb/garage/hip hop/punk etc”. I just got some sort of sixth sense that this cat meant real soul, like it used to be in the good ol’ days. Still didn’t mean he knew how to make real soul music, but his intentions were good.

Well, listen for yourself. Maybe So Maybe No is his new single and the youtube film is below (nice film too). If you read his profile page on his record label, Stones Throw’s site (never heard of them but they’re run by some dude with the great name of Peanut Butter Wolf), you’ll know exactly as much about him as I do. Don’t you think he’s on to something good? A little bit of Philly, a little bit of Motown, not too much of modern garbage, nice horns, great snare sound and a pretty good voice. Apparently he does the lot; sings, plays, produces. His new album is out tomorrow and it’s called A Strange Arrangement.

I’m digging his sound very much, and if you’re in the States in the next three weeks he’s on tour. Maybe he’s coming to your town?

Like Pop, Psych, Folk, Powerpop or Prog? Get Yourself the New Shindig with Cover-Mount CD

My good chums at Shindig! have had a little wash and brush up, emerging with a new look and a cover-mount CD that’s a bloody marvel.

The CD features a diverse selection of contemporary sounds, but hangs together perfectly. Yes, contemporary, this is the Sound of 2009! Sure, you’ve got a lot of young folk who’ve listened to The Byrds, Syd, The Hollies, Pentangle and Badfinger and watched The Wicker Man countless times, but all have crafted something entirely fresh from these timeless influences.

It not only features Pop Junkie faves The Soundcarriers, The Campbell Stokes Sunshine Recorder, The Junipers, Circulus and Jim Jones Revue but introduces my ears to the delights of The Beep Seals, Antique Doll, The See See, The Hidden Masters, Duncan Maitland, Dollboy & Anne Garner, The Higher State and The Magnificent Brotherhood.

I had the immense good fortune and pleasure to witness Dorset’s finest, aka Gothic Chicken, play live back in May. They’re here, but rather than an ace take from their never-ending catalogue of 60s pop gems (they also did an astonishingly wonderful rendition of Focus’ Sylvia) they present a dazzling original Pitta Bread Man. Dig the wildest drum rolls heard since Mr Moon checked into the Pearly Gates Motel.

I see where Blood Ceremony’s early Sabbath-esque brand of heavy rock is coming from, though it is not really my bag. Only Diagonal’s Cannon Misfire is a miss for me. A bit too far along the prog/free jazz scale for my taste.

I can’t overstate just how good this compilation is. They’ve set the bar way too high for a Volume 2 (or have they?). I strongly suggest you check it out. It’ll set you back all of £4.25 (or take up a subscription - 6 issues a year). It’s the one with Jools Driscoll on the cover with in-depth features on Wimple Winch (surely you know the awesome Save My Soul?), Circulus, ? & The Mysterians, Kim Fowley and Driscoll & Auger’s Trinity.

New Single From The Junipers

It’s been some time since we gave mention to one of favourite new bands, The Junipers, but a new single gives the perfect opportunity to do so.

So The Feeling Looms/Out of my Pocket was released yesterday (17th August). Both from the very good Cut Your Key album, the former track is not my favourite, I must say, but the latter is one of their best, a lovely pop song with that early 70s Badfinger flavour that they do pretty well. Their previous single, the magnificent (and in that same early 70s vein) Gordie can’t Swim is available for one week only as a FREE download from here in an apparently alternative mix to the album’s version.

As far as I can make out, this is a ‘proper’ single, but you can never tell these days. Available from all good record stores, I imagine. That’s if any still exist.

The band’s diary isn’t particularly full, but two Scottish and one London date (ICA on 30th supporting Spearmint) are scheduled for September and a track will be on the next Shindig!’s first cover-mount CD due at the end of the month.

You Meet Some Nice Folk Round These Parts ~ Circulus & Trimdon Grange Reviewed

As here previewed a week ago,  I last night got my first encounter with Michael Tyack’s Circulus. I am happy to report that it was an utterly pleasurable experience.

As I have previously written, The Lexington is a great small venue with a capacity of maybe 200. It was perhaps three-quarters full by the time Circulus took the stage, or climbed aboard their spaceship (”There are no emergency exits!”), though significantly less full, alas, for Trimdon Grange’s set. This London-based quartet attracted my attention a short while ago on account of being named after the 1882 North-East pit disaster commemorated by the folk song The Trimdon Grange Explosion, although this was my first opportunity to see them. You may have read my eulogy to Alan Price’s fantastic 1969 orchestral pop version. The TG’s languidly paced take is more akin to the traditional version.

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Pop Junkie Q&A With The Domino State

Firefly, the new single from The Domino State, is an old fashioned, moody indie guitar anthem of epic proportions – the kind of song that deserves to be heard in huge arenas all over the world. PopJunkie spoke to the band about, err, geo-politics, the Cold War, electronic circuitry and why they won’t be the next Motley Crue.

Q: I’m digging the new single Firefly – it’s a huge, epic rock song. What’s it about? Is it a tale of hope, but also one of emotional upheaval? Why the Firefly imagery?

A: It is a tale of hope, but also about emotional upheaval. Maybe with a bit of paranoia thrown in for good measure. We like the idea that the listener can interpret the song in that way - I am sure everyone has a story or two that causes conflicting positive and negative emotions. The imagery seems appropriate.

Q: Where does the band name come from?

A: There are five of us and none of us are backward in coming forward with opinions, so we didn’t have a name all of us could agree on for ages. No-one can exactly remember where The Domino State came from - it sort of appeared out of the ether and stuck, as - miracle of miracles - all of us liked it. We Googled it afterwards and found out that, apart from the geo-political meaning of a small satellite country used as a pawn in the Cold War, it’s also something to do with electronic circuitry. The macro and the micro in one!

Q: Is the single representative of your debut album?

A: It does represent things to come with the album, but at the same time there will be some diversity. Obviously, some songs sound more like singles than others, and we hope the album holds a few surprises. That’s not to say that every other track on the album is doom metal, though - only a couple of them.

Q: You’ve been playing festivals, including Glastonbury. How were they? Did you see any fireflies?

A: The festivals have been fantastic. At Glasto we didn’t see any fireflies, despite the legal highs. All we saw was a dragon and an evil wizard!

Q: What bands are you guys into?

A:We all listen to a lot of quite varied stuff, and we often don’t agree on things, but some examples of bands we all like are Ride, My Bloody Valentine, The Cure and Arcade Fire.

Q: You opened for Coldplay at 02 – how was it playing an arena this early on in your career? Your sound suits big venues, doesn’t it? Do you aspire to be the next Coldplay or U2?

A: It was both nerve-wracking and incredibly exciting at the same time. One of the best things about it was a couple of comments after we’d played. A member of Coldplay said we sounded “massive” and our sound engineer told us we totally pulled it off and looked natural up there. It’s a big place, and too much to take in really, but as a taste of what’s possible, it presents a pretty good target to aim for. I don’t know about being the next U2 or Coldplay, but we got a bit carried away with the after-show hospitality, and the next morning was a clear lesson that we certainly haven’t got the stamina to be the next Motley Crue.

Q: Can any of you play dominoes? And when was the last time you were in a state?

A: We can play dominoes, but prefer travel scrabble on the tour bus. We were in a state at Glastonbury after we played - watching Nick Cave and drinking cider.

PopJunkie sessions - Skinny Lister live in the garden

Sean catches up with Daniel and Lorna from our fave new melodic popsters Skinny Lister. They then give us a ukelele-powered preview of The Kite Song.

More from their MySpace site and a load more about them on PopJunkie in the next couple of days

Elvis’ Backing Singers Record with Pete Molinari

The great Pete Molinari is playing a session on Marc Riley’s 6 Music show this evening (Thursday 2nd July) and I just thought I’d let you know. It’ll be available for the next week on Listen Again. In case you’ve not heard Pete before, he’s put out two albums on Damaged Goods, in his distinctive and wonderful style. A style rooted in his home town of Chatham, Kent, where he immersed himself in the records of Billie Holiday, Leadbelly and John Coltrane, but one that has evolved to encompass an authentic Americana sound blending folk, Delta Blues and country. Pete spent two years in his early twenties in New York honing his playing and songwriting.

Possessed of the sharpest clothes and handsomest quiff on the current scene his 2006 debut Walking off the Map,recorded by fellow Chathamite Billy Childish created a near-immediate stir. The follow-up, A Virtual Landslide, recorded at Toerag and produced by Liam Watson, broke him to a wider audience and was rated 18th best of 2008 by Mojo.

His current plans are hazy, simply because he is so busy, but they included a third album and a move to Nashville, where he is putting together a touring band. Lucky America.

Prior to his move, Damaged Goods are releasing an EP on 10″ (my favourite format) and CD. This was recorded in Nashville with A Team session men and Elvis’ backing singers, the legendary Jordanaires. Nice work fella.

You’d better catch him while you can. Aside from tonight’s session, he’s playing the following July festivals; Lounge on the Farm, Canterbury 12th, Truck 26th and Cambridge Folk on 30th.

Here’s his second single and A Virtual Landslide opener, It Came out of the Wilderness.

The Screaming Lights ~ Classic Mersey Beat 1981 Style

Having introduced to Pop Junkie The Screaming Lights back in April, I now bring further news of the Liverpool quartet. Apart from being the centre of the universe in 1963-64, Liverpool was very much where it was at in 1981 with your Teardrop Explodes, Bunnymen, Pale Fountains, Yachts and the like. Of course, it was also at Glasgow (Postcard), Birmingham (Rumrunner), London, Sheffield and Manchester in ‘81, the last decent year for music until Britpop, though we didn’t at the time realise it.

It is in the steps of those classic Liverpudlian bands that the Screaming Lights tread and they do have that ‘81 post-punk/indie sound off pat. They play three headliners over the next week, all £5.

3rd – Liverpool, Everyman
4th – Glasgow, King Tuts
7th – Leeds, Cockpit

The new single Volts is released on July 27th and this is supported by a London date at Koko on August 7th and perfomances at the V Festival later in the month. Their debut album will follow in the autumn.

Photo credit: Kate Swerdlow

The Brute Chorus Look Set To Splash It All Over

Back in the Seventies, when “the great smell of Brut” was first unleashed, they employed the likes of ‘Enry Cooper, Kevin Keegan and even Muhammed Ali to flog the scent to the nation’s geezers. Well, there’s a London-based quartet called The Brute Chorus, nothing at all to do with aftershave, who are creating enough of a splash without the endorsement of any sports personality.

This week sees the release of their fourth single, the live favourite All the Pilgrims. Recorded live at the Roundhouse in London by Mercury Award winning producers Choque Hosein (Black Star Liner) and Victor Van Vugt (Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Gogol Bordello, PJ Harvey and Sons & Daughters) it gives a first whiff of the debut album due later in the year.

The band’s punk-spiced rockabilly and singer James Steel’s songwriting, leaning heavily on religious imagery, is earning them a strong following. A previous single, She Was Always Cool, was an NME Single of the Week last December. They also made Radio 1’s Steve Lamacq’s pick of 2008.

You might be able to catch The Brute Chorus at one of the following short series of dates:

6th June (DJ SET) Queen of Hoxton, London

7th June Middlesborough Festival, Middlesborough

13th June (DJ SET) Indo, London

8th July Hoxton Bar & Kitchen, London

16th July, Instore at Rough Trade, London

18th July 2000 Trees Festival, Cheltenham

26th July Secret Garden Party, Nr Huntingdon

20th August The Swan, Ipswich

29th August 93 Feet East, London

Photo credit: Sophia Schorr-Kon

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