Category Archives: SINGLE RELEASE

Daystar – Don’t Need This

Impact date: 12:03:2012

daystarband.com
twitter.com/daystarband

Ed O’Brien (Radiohead) ‘Great Stuff, and very Manchester, too’ , 

 Clint Boon (Inspiral Carpets / XFM) ‘Daystar are a band I’ve been listening to a lot lately’

‘Don’t Need This’, the latest Daystar single, is set for release on February 27th. Captured by legendary Liverpool producer Ronnie Stone, the raking, shimmering guitars, cascading bass-lines, laidback somersaulting drums and the sweet, soaring melodies of front man Simon Monaghan demonstrate unflinching feeling and belief. In his own words; “This song is about the pretension and conformity of the murky underbelly of the Manchester club scene and the social whores who frequent it”. There’s evidence aplenty of the band’s respect and admiration for the work of Syd Barrett from Pink Floyd and perhaps more than a passing nod to the classic harmonies of Brit-pop heroes Mansun and The Charlatans.

Daystar’s rise over recent months has been impressive to say the least. With a sound drawing expertly from contemporary influences whilst effortlessly tapping into the feel-good aspect of sixties mod culture, the band have rapidly developed a reputation as one of the UK’s most exciting up-and-coming indie acts.

Daystar songs charm through the noble art of storytelling whilst creating eclectic soundscapes that conjure fond recollections of classic tunes by The Smiths, The Stone Roses and The La’s, along with song craft reminiscent of legendary groups like R.E.M. This has earned the band many high profile fans, including Radiohead’s Ed O’Brien , Radio 2’s Janice Long (‘They said I’d like this. They were right.’), Terry Christian and BBC London/6 Music’s Gary Crowley (‘I’m absolutely loving this, I can certainly hear the Syd Barrett and Brian Wilson influences’).

To mark the release of ‘Don’t Need This’, Daystar will be playing live shows at:

Manchester’s Dry Bar (18th February)

Manchester, FAC251 (16th March).

London TBC

http://soundcloud.com/ask-me/daystar-dont-need-this

Jack Robert Hardman ‘Famous’

Impact date: 13:02:2012

www.jackroberthardman.co.uk

22-year-old Jack Robert Hardman writes and records his own brand of quirky pop music from his home studio in Ascot, UK. His intention of pushing the boundaries of production each time he records a new track has certainly been realised. You may have heard how, in the summer of 2011, Jack made his track ‘Sorry to George’ available as a free download. It attracted great excitement and interest from the blogosphere, being described as ‘dangerously addictive’ and ‘fantastically appealing’ by Eclectically Challenged ; support from radio came from John Kennedy (Xfm) and the BBC’s Tom Robinson , Huw Stephens and his local BBC Introducing presenter Linda Serck. See Music Week The Tastemakers below.

‘Famous’ is the first official single and is set for release through Pleasant Pursuits / Essential Music and Marketing. An acoustic blend of distinctive vocals and folk guitar melodies, the track’s intelligent juxtaposition of simple musical style with a lyrically complex theme showcases Hardman’s creative sensitivity at its best. The song tells of a youth’s insatiable desire to make something of their life, without any real plan on how to do it. In Hardman’s words “Famous captures the blissful naivety of youth that leads us to believe we can achieve anything.” You can check out the video below.

News:

BBC Introducing Masterclass:

Jack has been invited to the prestigious BBC Introducing Masterclass 2012 on Thursday 19th January at legendary Abbey Road and Maida Vale Recording Studios. In attendance will be; Trent Reznor (Nine Inch Nails), Wretch 32, Magnetic Man, Maverick Sabre, Jamie Cullum, Frank Turner, Brian Higgins (Xenomania), high profile music industry professionals and BBC Radio DJs:  Zane Lowe, Huw Stephens, Steve Lamacq, Tom Robinson, Jo Whiley, Rob Da Bank, Pete Tong, Tim Westwood, Ally McCrae, Daniel P Carter and Jen Long.

Music Week: The Tastemakers 13.01.12

Quotes:

“His sound and writing have grown in range, and daring every time we’ve heard him”
Tom Robinson, BBC 6 Music

“Harks back to happier days like a pleasing meld of Belle & Sebastian and The Postal Service”
Middleboop

“Jack Robert Hardman should come with a warning label: his insanely
catchy pop will stick in your head pretty much forever. He’s a supreme talent with a unique voice and take on life.”
BBC Berkshire Linda Serck

You can also stream “Famous” from our SoundCloud page:

You can also listen to a sampler of Jack’s album from our SoundCloud page too:

City Reign – Numbers for Street Names EP

Impact date: 28/11/11


Picture this: Four twenty-something guys from various parts of the UK meet at a Ryan Adams gig in Manchester and decide to start a band. City Reign were born (did the Ryan Adams fans among you notice the reference to his track ‘City Rain, City Streets’ there)? Next, BBC 6Music’s Steve Lamacq picks up on and plays ‘Making Plans’, noticing the Idlewild influences. He then invites the band on air for an interview and hails them as a band to look out for, along with The Heartbreaks and Driver Drive Faster. Not a bad start for a DIY single.

Another previous single ‘Out In The Cold’ is included on the ‘Numbers For Street Names’ EP, which received a raving recommendation from The Independent (see quote below and the video on www.cityreign.net).

To complete the EP, there are three brand new tracks recorded at Blueprint studios. As singer Chris Bull says, “We’re extremely proud of these 5 songs. It’s a good mix of the punchier pop songs like the singles Making Plans and Out In the Cold, alongside bigger sounding songs like ‘The Line’. It closes nicely with a new song called ‘Anywhere Anyway’ recorded at the 11th hour, that we knew instantly where had to close the record. Although the song is stripped back, the vocal layers give it depth and it shows the attention to detail we put into everything we do.”

‘Numbers For Street Names’ will be released on the bands own label Car Boot Records on CD and digital download. It will be available to pre-order via the band’s brand new website www.cityreign.net from 1st  October.

Track listing

1 Making Plans (GBK6T1000001)

2 Sleep Easy (GBK6T1000004)

3 The Line (GBK6T1000005)

4 Out In The Cold (GBK6T1000002)

5 Anywhere Anyway (GBK6T1000006)

Quotes

“Fans of Yuck and Dinosaur Jr will approve of City Reign’s anthemic, grunge. A million failing garage bands will ask why.”

The Independent

“‘Making Plans’, I do like that.”

                                                                                                                                                                 Steve Lamacq BBC 6 Music

“I’m really digging the wistful lyrics, powerful guitars and pounding drums. It couldn’t be a better slice of English city life if it tried…it all makes for something very atmospheric”

                                                                                                                                                                               There Goes The Fear

Murky guitar atmospherics, emote an almighty passion and power.

  Manchester Evening News

 This independence of mind can be heard in their driving guitar rock sound, unphased by suggestions that the guitar band is destined for the musical scrap heap.

    Music Week

The Manchester-based band’s third single manages to hit all the right notes.

One’s to watch. 9/10

                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Shout4Music

                                                                                                           

Tour Dates

Oct  26th – The Ruby Lounge – Manchester supporting The Birthday Suit (former Idlewild Rod Jones)

Nov 5th – CC Muziekcafe – Amsterdam

Nov 7th – Ram +Shackle – Manchester

Nov 12th – The Bay – Glasgow

Nov 15th – West Street Live – Sheffield

Nov 19th – Bull & Gate  – Camden, London

Nov 26th – Gullivers – Manchester

Dec 3rd – The Live Lounge – Blackburn

 



The Narrows – Able Danger

Impact date: 07/11/11

http://www.thenarrows.bandcamp.com
 http://www.twitter.com/thenarrowsband 

The Narrows’ second single, Able Danger has already garnered rave reviews from the likes of Tom Robinson, who had the guys in for an interview on his BBC 6 Music Introducing show. This was on the back of their T in The Park performance in August (25:08:11) where they completely wowed the audience, as you can see in the video footage below, which outstripped the views of White Lies and Everything Everything‘s performances.

Utilising a laptop and guitars (and no live drummer), the track is pulsing with 80s electro-pop or, ‘dark futuristic electro pop’, as the band describe their music. “It’s a three and a half minute frenzy of loud guitars; synths that sound like broken computers; and snake-like drum-loops that keep threatening to go mad and eat someone! It is about fear, government, panic, terror and secrets. A mix between the electronic side of Radiohead, Kraftwerk and Queens of the Stone Age – a real pop song for right now.”

Radio 1’s Huw Stephens and Zane Lowe both tweeted about The Narrows: Zane saying he liked the video to their last single, ‘Initials MM’. Let’s hope he tweets the same about their new video too!


QUOTES:

 Mike Joyce: (BBC 6 Music/East Village Radio)

“I like the fact they don’t sound like they are from Manchester!”

HIGH VOLTAGE:

“Here, right here, we could have the makings of another Manchester legend. Like Delphic run through a dark ambient wringer, or Johnny Greenwood playing session on a Portishead record comes the Narrows’ debut, and it is fucking ESSENTIAL… Manchester’s best dark alternative band… when it comes to current Manchester bands, The Narrows really are leading the pack”

MANCHESTER MUSIC:

“…consistently, utterly brilliant…they have precisley no contemporaries”

M.E.N /CITYLIFE:

“…one of the most original, provocative and iconoclastic new Manchester bands of 2011.”

MUSIC FROM RAINY SKIES:

“The Narrows’ sound almost transcends era pigeon-holing… the lyrical content is every bit as confrontational as the music… piercing lyrical genius, fantastically commanding… The Narrows will take over the world.”

Daystar – Off Our Heads

Impact date: 03/10/11 (Stone Soup Arts)

daystarband.com

     Manchester‘s Daystar return with the second single from their debut album. ‘Off Our Heads‘ is an unashamedly northern take on the notion of escapism from the realities of unemployment and life in the built up urban environment. The song evokes feelings of nostalgia and stoic melancholy (and that ubiquitous sense of regret over ‘lost love’).

   Influenced in equal measure by the 60s, the legendary Brian Wilson and (the equally legendary) Syd Barrett, the single sees the band demonstrate the versatility of their indie-rock style. An anthem for the insomniac on a hypnotic summer’s night, with an extended psychedelic ending. The Daystar world domination master-plan is stepping up a gear.

Watch the official video for ‘Off Our Heads’ here:

See Daystar Live:

Sun 25th September (Stage Time 7.40) MANCHESTER – Supporting Viva Brother @ Manchester Club Academy

Sat 22nd October (Stage Times TBC) SHEFFIELD – Oxjam Festival (More info soon)

Sat 5th November (Stage Times TBC) MANCHESTER – Moho Live in Northern Quarter (Headlining)

Daystar on TV again! 

ESPN ‘s Talk of the Terrace  invited Daystar to come back in and play ‘Off Our Heads’. They’ll also discuss which football team each member supports. The guys are split between rival Manchester teams; Manchester United and Manchester City. footage below

Listen to Daystar – Off Our Heads (via our Soundcloud)

ROCKSUCKER Interview 

Alex Hulme – There Was a Boy EP

 Release date: 29/8/11 (Cityscape Records)

myspace.com/alexhulmeacoustic

cityscaperecords.co.uk/music/alex-hulme

20 year old Alex Hulme has been been turning heads all across his native North West. He is a student at Paul McCartney’s LIPA in Liverpool and is already poised to release his second EP There Was A Boy, co-produced by Tom Knott (KT Tunstall, I Am Kloot) on  Cityscape Records. Mixing his use of unusual tunings- inspired by the likes of Nick Drake, Fionn Regan and Foy Vance – with realtime multilayered looping of guitars and vocals (which have to be seen to be believed), Alex creates immediate pop songs with catchy melodies and rich folk guitar. His prolific gigging over the past year has seen him support artists such as Avi Buffalo, Emmy The Great and The Travelling Band, as well as being championed by BBC Lancashire’s Introducing show with Sean McGinty.

Alex’s second EP introduces darker subject matter to his acoustic pop song writing. Title track There Was A Boy follows the aftermath of one of his closest friends losing his mother.

Listen to There Was a Boy:

Bones looks into the deep rooted and often uncontrollable desires we can feel for people .

Listen to Bones:

Forests transports the listener to a forest at day break where you can feel the world wake up around you.

Listen to Forests:

Closing track Dare ends the EP with a moving acoustic lament to daring to be more in life.

Listen to Dare:

Blind Atlas – “Iron Wall” documentary

Back in February, Blind Atlas held an “art happening” event upstairs at Odder Bar, Manchester. The idea was that the listeners, both established fans and those new to their work, would respond through art (drawing, mark making, sculpting) to their new single “Iron Wall”. This is the resulting documentary; produced by INTO productions, the film also features rehearsal and interview footage with the band.

Blind Atlas – Iron Wall

Release date: 29/8/2011(Fallen Swine)

myspace.com/BlindAtlas           blindatlas.co.uk

youtube.com/blindatlas

     Hailing from Denver [Colorado USA] and disparate points around the UK, Blind Atlas came together in the bohemian suburbs of south Manchester; Led by singer/guitarist Ross Thompson, the band concoct a new take on American alternative country and classic British Rock ‘n’ Roll. Blind Atlas have notched up headline slots at some of the most iconic venues in the city, as well as supporting the likes of  Blitzen Trapper, The Bees, Buffalo Tom, Liam Frost, Lucy Wainwright Roche, The Deadstring Brothers, The Features, The Acorn and The Travelling Band.

     The Earlies were at the production helm again for their 3 track EP “Iron Wall”. The title track is an epic sounding beast, throbbing with a native American rhythm and building to a soaring crescendo. This is usually the high-impact finale to their live performances:

Listen to Iron Wall by Blind Atlas:

Swapping their electric guitars for acoustic instruments, the laid-back country vibe of “Mary Anne” evokes the likes of Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris. A live favourite, this is another perfect example of the trademark Blind Atlas sound.

Listen to Mary-Anne by Blind Atlas:

“My Proud Mountains”, a cover of the Townes Van Zandt recording of 1969, is a long time favourite of the band. Blind Atlas have beautifully reworked the song, demonstrating their skillfully plaintive vocals and sparse arrangements. Nostalgic, melancholic and impossible to listen to just once.

Listen to My Proud Mountains by Blind Atlas:

Daystar – Slip and Dive

Release Date: 28th February 2011 (Stone Soup)

daystarband.wordpress.com

daystarband.com

facebook.com/daystarmanchester


Produced by Mansun engineer Ronnie Stone, ‘Slip And Dive’ owes much of its style to a Sixties mod influence ( – as do the band themselves, based on evidence of the YouTube video for the single below), wrapped up in a Nineties package, and delivered with present day panache and vibe.  “We like to think of it as our equivalent to The Who’s Can’t Explain, or You Really Got Me by The Kinks. We see it as powerful yet interesting, raw but with a certain quirky quality and a promise of bigger things to come.” explain Daystar. With their first album already in the bag, these hardworking young men bring with them the same ethos I saw all those years ago, with another, now mega-famous, Manchester band (Oasis). Daystar are rapidly garnering massive support, and may well prove to be the forerunners of the next wave to put the Manchester music scene back on the map.

Check out the video for “Slip and Dive” here: