The Actions

The Actions announce their forthcoming Single Let’s Talk released 14th September via igiveyougive.com

All the income raised will go entirely to MSF (Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctor Without Borders), Save The Children and Greenpeace.

I've got mine and you can Download and Donate here: igiveuougive

Let's Talk is a slow beat trip-hop-esque alt-rock number whose energy increases beat after beat. A hypnotising start relentlessly builds up to an overwhelming final vortex full of gusts of distorted guitars and over-saturated screaming vocals.

Silty’s presence predominates from the very beginning of the track thanks to an eerie delayed-bass cadence, backbone of the entire song, and to her penetrating vocals, this time putting aside her ‘signature’ melodic nuances for a more ‘direct-talk’ performance.

The alienating mood pouring out of incisively crafted lyrics together with stylised guitars’ ambience create an existential imagery where everything feels estranged and all the links between inner world and outer reality seem damaged or broken.

Entirely produced by The Actions and mastered by the legendary Tim Young (Massive Attack, Björk, Placebo), Let's Talk is a unique production which; stylistically, is like a ‘suspension bridge’ between what the band’s sound has been and what it will be in the future.

TheActions are Silty (vocals and bass guitar) and Mo Stellato (guitars/keys). Heavily influenced by Trip Hop, Dark Wave and Psychedelia, the band began writing and producing their own music trying to create a fusion between the three, the resulting sound is a product of years of experimentation and collaboration with different artists.

Dedicated live performers, they’ve seen themselves sharing the bill with globally recognised artists such as R.E.M., Green Day and Garbage.

To date they picked up support from the likes of  BBC 6 Music’s  Tom Robinson, BBC London’s Gary Crowley, Radio X’s John Kennedy, Amazing Radio’s Simon Raymonde and Mark Ryan, plus a number of independent and collage radio stations in Europe, USA and Canada.

Needless to say, Ralph  gave Let's Talk a pre-release spin last Sunday on the Radio KC Indie Show.

Let's Talk is released via on 14th September announcing a string of shows that will kick off the following day with The Actions’ headline set at WorcesterMusic Festival.

Next gigs:

15 Sep 2017 - Worcester Music Festival @ The Firefly, Worcester

07 Oct 2017 - Mau Mau Bar, London

01 Nov 2017 - The Monarch, London

16 Nov 2017 - Nambucca, London

More shows to be announced...

Ralph's Top 10 Blogged Band Chart - 8.11.14

OK bands you know the score .....

the more hits your blog gets by the fans ..... 

the higher you go .....

So Tweet it, Facebook it .....

Generally and expose yourself .....

Now Mr Snuggles and I Have Been sitting with our heads down counting the hits on each blog to see who's got bands which place.  

The Top Ten Blogged Band Chart is played every Sunday 5-7pm on Radio KC as part of Ralph's Indie Show.

No 1...The Inkhearts


North West band The Inkhearts are due to release two tracks - Temper Temper and Uptight - by digital download on November 17th of this very year.

The Inkhearts formed in 2010 when the members, then young teenagers, were introduced to each other at a music tuition initiative at The Engine Rooms, Skelmersdale.

No 2...William Stead





There's a plethora of male singer/songwriters at the moment and; as Ed Sheeran recently proved with his dire performance on X Factor, not necessarily all of a standard, but with the release of his Indigo Bird EP, Bradford's William Stead is heading towards the top of the pile. 






No 3...Barstow Bats

Ralph's had a soft spot for Dumfries band Barstow Bats for a while now and has given some of their past tracks a spin on the Radio KC Indie Show, so it's good to hear they've just released a new single. It's called 'Partners In Crime' and it's a slight change in direction with its more poppy, zingy, guitar driven Indie sound in a slightly View-esque stylee which should help them make greater inroads with the mainstream radio stations.

No 4...Allusondrugs





'I Should Have Gone to Uni'  sees hotly tipped grunge rockers Allusondrugs articulating the anxieties and pressures of young adulthood as only they can. The band, whose touring schedule alone surely puts them in the running for the title off the hardest working musicians in the UK, recorded and mixed this track as well as producing, filming and editing the video themselves, in a two day break between gigs!

No 5...Alex Highton

Never let it be said that Ralph doesn't have a softer side - and the Alex Highton follow-up album to the highly acclaimed Woodditton Wives Club appeals to just that. The Liverpool born singer songwriter has just released Nobody Knows Anything and it's an introverted collection of diverse musical gems.

No 6...Stanley Odd


It's not often you get to use dystopian, Scottish and Hip-Hop in the same sentence, however, the third album by Scottish Hip-Hop collective Stanley Odd has some extremely incisive and introspective views on the increasingly dystopian society in which we currently exist. 

A Thing Brand New is shades of  Fear and Loathing in Airdrie rather than Las Vegas as Dave Hook's writing examines not only himself but the 'Scottish Dream'.







No 7...No Hot Ashes




If you're looking to get the funk out, you could do worse than grab yourself the No Hot Ashes debut single Goose which was released 22nd October with its choppy Haircut 100 stylee guitar and North West vocalising. It's a punchy, catchy release from this young Manchester band and produced by multi award winner Gavin Monaghan.








No 8...Roadidendren

Ralph's been spinning some tracks by London (and Luton) singer/rapper Roadidendren of late on his Radio KC Indie Show as her fresh, funky, funny yet ferocious style never fails to please and favours no small amount of favourable feedback (yes, I know that's a lot of f's) from the listeners.

Her upcoming album, The Empress's New Clothes focuses on and picks apart the trivialisation of many parts of the music industry by its stars and insiders. 

No 9...Feral Five

Ralph  's been up to His ears Gunk in this week! No not the stuff for cleaning car engines ... 'Gunk' is a portmanteau of Geek Punk and it was Celebrated in style on the 5th-7th September at the    Music Tech Fest   in London ... and   Ralph  's chums   Feral Five   Were at the forefront with a live performance prior to the launch to celebrate the official release of   3D Print Me   single on 12 "Vinyl on September 17th in the   East London Design Store  .







No 10...The Actions




Normally Ralph only blogs unsigned UK Indie, but now and again some mainstream goodness drops in the kennel that peaks his interest and when 'Indefensible', the new EP by London based Alt/Rockers The Actions arrived it was time for some rule bending (Their first album 'Real' was licensed to Nikita Music, a Brazilian record label and released in Latin America).

Ralph's Top 10 Blogged Band Chart - 12.7.14

Visit Ralph's profile on Pinterest.

Ralph's Pinterest
                                                

                                                    OK bands you know the score.....

the more hits your blog gets by the fans..... 

the higher you go.....

So Tweet it, Facebook it.....

and generally expose yourself.....

Now Mr Snuggles and me have been sitting with our heads down counting the hits on each bands blog to see who's got which place.  

So here it is.....

The Top Ten Blogged Band Chart .....

No 1.....The Bordellos

The Bordellos are the kind of quirky, lower than lo-fi band that John Peel would have featured and their current offerings, like the sultry 'Between Forget and Neglect' (think Morrissey on Prozac) leading in to the subtly funky 'Elastic Band Man' would probably have seen them playlisted on a regular basis.

No 2..... Wullae Wright

Ralph's previously blogged Wullae Wright and it's proved to be the most well read of any over the last couple of years. Needless to say it was good news when Wullae Wright got in touch to say he was releasing 'Superhero' as a single. The story of the song is no less poignant than Wullae Wright's plaintive vocal which, overlaid on subtle acoustic guitar with an orchestral background is just as heart wrenching as the single's message. 

No 3.....Snippet

Snippet aka Johnno Casson is the quintessential English musician.  Prolific, diverse, entertaining, clever, wistful and whimsical (no more so on his previously released mini-album 'DIY' and the track 'Let's Talk About Us' on which he comments on his winkle (and he isn't introducing us to his pet mollusc Bria

No 4....Wullae Wright

Wullae Wright is capturing the same raw intensity of vocals that an early Robert Plant did.  Not only that his almost psychadelic guitar on the track also has the same haunting tones found on early Zep tracks.  An old rock soul in a young body.

No 5.....Cormac O'Caoimh

It's second time round for Ralph having a listen to Irish singer/songwriter Cormac O'Caoimh. A year ago he'd released his second solo album since leaving The Citadels called 'A New Season For Love' and this time round it's 'The Moon Looses It's Memory' and he's bringing us 14 tracks of love and regret, hopes and dreams, cars and girls, (OK, OK,  I've run out of descriptive song titles). Speaking of 'Love and Regret' and 'Cars and Girls I'm getting hints of...

No 6..... Millie Manders 

Having met the effervescent Millie Manders at the Ralph's Life All Day Charity gig in Proud Camden it seemed like the release of 'Little Big Mouth' was as good a time as any to ask a few questions and see how and why her music matches her outgoing personality.

No 7.....The Holy Orders 

It's almost exactly a year since Ralph first checked out Hull band The Holy Orders and the good news is that The Holy Orders announce the release of their brand new single, the 3 minute feel good 3 minute summer pop song: The New Asbestos on August 4th.  Well, it's a cynical, pessimistic, feel good summer pop song but anyone who is already familiar with last year’s debut album For the Ears of Dogs to Come from Ralph's blog, will expect nothing less.

No 8....The Actions

Normally Ralph only blogs unsigned UK Indie, but now and again some mainstream goodness drops in the kennel that peaks his interest and when 'Indefensible', the new EP by London based Alt/Rockers The Actions arrived it was time for some rule bending (Their first album 'Real' was licensed to Nikita Music, a Brazilian record label and released in Latin America).

No 9... The Backhanders

It's always nice when a hard copy of someones latest release drops through the letterbox, as is the case when; courtesy of the enigmatic Mr Peeps, the niftily designed CD just out by The Backhanders in the style 

No 10.....Book Group

It's been a hectic time in the kennel for new tunes and it was with great interest that news of the new EP by Book Group (due for release may 17th) appeared in the inbox. Ralph took a look last year when they released the 

Ralph's Top 10 Blogged Band Chart - 31.5.14

Visit Ralph's profile on Pinterest.

Ralph's Pinterest
                                                

                                                    OK bands you know the score.....

the more hits your blog gets by the fans..... 

the higher you go.....

So Tweet it, Facebook it.....

and generally expose yourself.....

Now Mr Snuggles and me have been sitting with our heads down counting the hits on each bands blog to see who's got which place.  

So here it is.....

The Top Ten Blogged Band Chart .....

No 1..... Thumpers 

Ralph normally concentrates on unsigned UK Indie however when he heard London Alt Pop Duo Thumpers (Marcus Pepperell on vocal, guitar, keyboards and John Hamson Jr. on vocal, bass, drums) are going to be playing just round the corner from the kennel at Central Library, St Helens in May it was time to take a look and a listen. They announced the release of their debut album 'Galore' on Sub Pop records and it's been receiving no small amount of critical acclaim and heavy airplay (yes Ralph's given them a spin on Radio KC) including on Radio 1's Huw Stephens show.

No 2.....Book Group

It's been a hectic time in the kennel for new tunes and it was with great interest that news of the new EP by Book Group (due for release may 17th) appeared in the inbox. Ralph took a look last year when they released the 

No 3... The Backhanders

It's always nice when a hard copy of someones latest release drops through the letterbox, as is the case when; courtesy of the enigmatic Mr Peeps, the niftily designed CD just out by The Backhanders in the style of a vinyl 7" single arrived and its look fits in with the two tracks contained within.

No 4....The Actions

Normally Ralph only blogs unsigned UK Indie, but now and again some mainstream goodness drops in the kennel that peaks his interest and when 'Indefensible', the new EP by London based Alt/Rockers The Actions arrived it was time for some rule bending (Their first album 'Real' was licensed to Nikita Music, a Brazilian record label and released in Latin America).

No 5..... United Fruit





The four piece Alt Rockers United Fruit, who formed in 2009 describe their style as - 'fusing noisy, fast-paced, discordant, post-punk with catchy melodies and crunching riffs'.

No 6.....Cormac O'Caoimh


It's second time round for Ralph having a listen to Irish singer/songwriter Cormac O'Caoimh. A year ago he'd released his second solo album since leaving The Citadels called 'A New Season For Love' and this time round it's 'The Moon Looses It's Memory' and he's bringing us 14 tracks of love and regret, hopes and dreams, cars and girls, (OK, OK,  I've run out of descriptive song titles).

No 7.....KynchinLay

The new KynchinLay EP (launch night May 9th) has just dropped into the kennel, giving Ralph the chance to have a listen in advance. The Liverpool trio have been working hard to provide a bigger sound and with this excellently produced EP ('Dogfathers' and 'Leave Me Alone' were mixed at Motor Museum)

No 8.....The Phantoms 

The Phantoms are Colin Simpson on Vocals and Rhythm Guitar, Colin McKillop on Lead Guitar, Peter Stewart on Bass and Backing Vocals with Brad Young on Drums. They began with local gigs in their home town of Broxburn, and have since branched out into Edinburgh and Glasgow, landing gigs at venues such as Cab Vol, The Electric Circus, The Liquid Rooms, Maggie Mays, Sneaky Petes and Pivo Pivo, getting them noticed on the way by Jim Gellatly et al

No 9....Wullae Wright

Wullae Wright is capturing the same raw intensity of vocals that an early Robert Plant did.  Not only that his almost psychadelic guitar on the track also has the same haunting tones found on early Zep tracks.  An old rock soul in a young body.

No 10.....The Darlingtons

Now it's no secret that Ralph's a fan of Sheffield band The Darlingtons so it's with no small amount of glee that I heard they've just released their second single as an autonomous unit and it's another gem. 'Rotations' bursts into guitar driven loveliness as they bring us more of their well conceived, lyrically strong, Indie music.