New York Tourists

Ralph's been spinning tracks on his Radio KC Indie Show on a regular basis by Blackburn band New York Tourists who are interestingly described as QOTSA meets Foals.


Their debut EP received rave reviews from some of the UK's most respected music media outlets and Chew Me Up, Spit Me Out was selected as one of BBC Intro's top 10 tracks of 2013. Support slots followed, with the band bagging appearances alongside the likes of The Subways, The View, The Sunshine Underground and The Buzzcocks plus a headline slot on the Alt Stage at Blackburn Festival.



 

 2014 saw New York Tourists release their next record, an EP called Dead Man's Leather via London based label Kittiwake Records. Again, noteable support slots followed with the band playing alongside We Are Scientists, The Cribs and Shed 7.

Earlier this year New York Tourists began recording their debut album which was funded by a successful Kickstarter campaign. In June they played their biggest gig to date in front of 12,000 people as the main support to Status Quo.

Well the good news is the kickstarter was successful and the You + Me album will be officially released on April 8th.




The You + Me album is composed of 10 tracks of anthemic Indie rock music which should seem them propelled from the local North West music scene to the headier hights of regular national radio play and the bigger festivals in 2017.

Speaking of anthemic Indie music, the album kicks of with the impressive and addictive Colours before moving into the choppier and more pop-like Fear. Following on Fools gets meaner and moodier, with a gritty vocal overlaid on driving guitar, what's not to like. 




It's Call after that with a dirty bass and sleazy vocal which made it a perfect pick as a single previously. Then Adrenaline kicks in before getting heavier again with Two Heartbeats.  Then it's the eponymous and aggressive You + Me, and it's got to be a live favourite.

On an album of continually strong tracks Lost Love is for me the weakest, but that's me being picky and it's OK as they quickly step it up a gear with the in-your-face A Kick In The Teeth before rounding off with the dreamy and extremely radio-friendly Sirens. 

With this album Blackburn's favourite sons New York Tourists are making themselves heard and certainly not to be missed live. Speaking of which, check out their gig listings below...





New York Tourists Live Dates:

27th March - White Bull Festival, Chorley

2nd April - King Georges Hall, Blackburn

8th April - Jakaranda, Liverpool

15th April - Box, Glasgow

16th April - The Blacksmith Arms,Doncaster

23rd April - Engine Rooms, Skelmersdale

29th April - Blind Tiger, Bolton

29th May- Darwen Live, Darwen Library Theatre

30th May - Darwen Live, The Belgrave

22nd - 24th July - Blackthorn Music Festival

29th July - Kendal Calling Festival

New York Tourists

Ralph's been spinning tracks on his Radio KC Indie Show on a regular basis by Blackburn band New York Tourists who interestingly described as QOTSA meets Foals.

Their debut EP received rave reviews from some of the UK's most respected music media outlets and Chew Me Up, Spit Me Out was selected as one of BBC Intro's top 10 tracks of 2013. Hugely coveted support slots followed, with the band bagging appearances alongside the likes of The Subways, The View, The Sunshine Underground and The Buzzcocks plus a headline slot on the Alt Stage at Blackburn Festival.

 2014 saw New York Tourists release their next record, an EP called Dead Man's Leather via London based label Kittiwake Records. Again, noteable support slots followed with the band playing alongside We Are Scientists, The Cribs and Shed 7.

Earlier this year New York Tourists began recording their debut album which was funded by a successful Kickstarter campaign. In June they played their biggest gig to date in front of 12,000 people as the main support to Status Quo.

Well the good news is the kickstarter was successful and the You + Me album will be officially released on April 8th.

The You + Me album is composed of 10 tracks of varying degrees of anthemic Indie rock music which should seem them propelled from the local North West music scene to the headier hights of regular national radio play and the bigger festivals in 2017.

Speaking of anthemic Indie music, the album kicks of with the impressive and addictive Colours before moving into the choppier and more pop-like Fear. Following on Fools gets meaner and moodier, with a gritty vocal overlaid on driving guitar, what's not to like. 

It's Call after that with a dirty bass and sleazy vocal which made it a perfect pick as a single previously. Then Adrenaline kicks in before getting heavier again with Two Heartbeats.  It's the eponymous and aggressive You + Me after that, and it's got to be a live favourite.

On an album of continually strong tracks Lost Love is for me the weakest, but that's me being picky and it's OK as they quickly step it up a gear with the in-your-face A Kick In The Teeth before rounding off with the dreamy and extremely radio-friendly Sirens. 

With this album Blackburn's favourite sons New York Tourists are making themselves heard and certainly not to be missed live. Speaking of which, check out their gig listings below...


New York Tourists Live Dates:

27th March - White Bull Festival, Chorley

2nd April - King Georges Hall, Blackburn

8th April - Jakaranda, Liverpool

15th April - Box, Glasgow

16th April - The Blacksmith Arms,Doncaster

23rd April - Engine Rooms, Skelmersdale

29th April - Blind Tiger, Bolton

29th May- Darwen Live, Darwen Library Theatre

30th May - Darwen Live, The Belgrave

22nd - 24th July - Blackthorn Music Festival

29th July - Kendal Calling Festival

The Harmonics

Nottingham/Derby based quintet The Harmonics describe themselves as 'An exuberant and energetic band that blend shiny indie-pop sensibilities with a guitar driven rock aesthetic that wont be ignored'.  Brave words indeeed, so Ralph took a look at their debut EP 'Shelley' to see if they live up to expectations prior to them launching their Summer mini-tour.

The Harmonics are George Ramplin - Vocals & Guitars, James Carwright - Guitars & Backing Vocals, Connor Corcoran - Bass & Backing Vocals, Rory Steel - Drums, Percussion & Backing Vocals and Tom Hopcroft - Keys, Synths & Vocals.

 




Given that they've only been together for less than a year they've managed to get a nice tight nouveau Brit-Pop sound together.  The four tracks on the EP are short and to the point.  It kicks off with 'Lazy Daisy' which is a punchy Arctic Monkeys-like guitar driven track with some very nice whoo hoos, perfect for winding the fans up on the Summer Tour.





Next up is 'Everyday Chemistry' and for me the better of the two 'fans favourite' tracks on the EP with a bit of a flashback to The Buzzcocks.  Another crowd pleaser at a live gig.  To show they're not all about bouncy pop tunes, the acoustic track 'We're Not The Same' features some nice musicality and a strong lead vocal from George Ramplin.






Final track 'Save The Last Dance' is another floor-filler.  Back to machine gun guitars but with an almost indie-folk feel to it.  Shades of Kids In Glass Houses 'Young Blood' (no bad thing) and it should be to the forefront of their live set as it could be their anthem for the summer gigs.








Further intrigued I asked The Harmonics a few questions and here's the answers...

Ralph: You've a very tight pop/punk-esque sound for such a young band...where do the influences come from?

The Harmonics: Collectively, we have a massive range of influences. For instance, George is a mad Beatles fan, James loves bands like Stereophonics and The Strokes, Rory is a big Maccabees fan, Tom loves everything catchy and Connor will listen to pretty much anything (he’s even seen One Direction live and doesn't regret it, feel free to judge, we do all the time!).  On the whole though, we merge everything together and just come up with ‘our sound’.  I think if you listen to our EP ‘Shelley’, you can hear loads of different influences coming through!

Ralph: If you could support one band who would it be?

The Harmonics: I’m sure individually this question would be a doddle but collectively it’s really difficult!  Erm, supporting Queen would be awesome?  Proper iconic band, not the new lineup with that American Idol bloke singing, bring back Freddie Mercury and we’ll be there! 



 

Ralph: Do you see this as being 'your year' with the EP launch or is there a master plan?

The Harmonics: Well the EP came out November last year, and although it’s been really well received (played on both UK and US radio as well as being bought in Germany and the US), our sound has grown a lot more recently with the arrival of Tom, our keys player.  We’re definitely going to try and get another EP out this year, but to hear us at our best come see us live!  In short, our master plan is to always try and play new places to new people - which is what we’re trying to do these days! From there, who knows?

Ralph: Three of the tracks are bouncy Indie/Pop but ‘We're Not The Same' is more reflective...will we be seeing more of the deeper side of The Harmonics in an album anytime soon?

The Harmonics: As I said before, we all bring our influences to the table when putting the finishing touches to the tracks, but ‘We’re Not the Same’ is the only one on the EP written by me (James), the other’s were written by vocalist George.  The story behind ‘We’re Not the Same’ is pretty cliché; I’d just split up with a girlfriend and it was the realisation to move on/grow up/(MAN UP!) sort of thing!  It shows to some extent the differences in our writing styles, so if we play a few more of my songs in the future maybe you’ll see even more reflection!!!

Ralph: Your gigs are based in central England...any plans to take the sound further?

The Harmonics: As much as we’d love to, it’s a case of money.  Being on a tight budget we simply can’t go much further afield than we are doing.  We've had a few people asking us to play in Scotland (God bless), and it’d be a dream but with no financial backing other than a few teenager’s back pockets we’re doing as much as we can!  You never know, one of us might win the lottery...

Ralph: You've managed to raise quite a high profile in a short space of time...is it difficult to remain grounded in order to establish a solid fan base?  

The Harmonics: I wouldn't say it’s difficult to remain grounded - in the grand scheme of things we’re still a grain of sand on the music business really.  We’re building the foundations of a solid fanbase at the moment and we couldn't thank each and every person who’s bought our music/merch, been to a gig or even just given us a listen enough: everything counts!  





We’re really into rewarding our fans for supporting us (everyone loves free stuff!), and I think that’s helped more people listen to our music.  For instance, if you book tour tickets from our online merch store you get a free copy of Shelley included!  What you waiting for?!

Ralph: What's better or different about The Harmonics in order to get your heads above the flood of Indie bands at the moment?

The Harmonics: Get back to me when you find someone that doesn't have the chorus of ‘Lazy Daisy’ in their head after they've listened to it!  We’re catchy and always put on an energetic live performance.  We’re not one of those bands (and nowadays there’s plenty about) that cite their only influences as Oasis/The Stone Roses etc. Yeah, we enjoy those bands - but we have diversity and a range of influences which allow our music to be enjoyed by pretty much everyone who gives it a listen or comes to a show!

THE HARMONICS SUMMER TOUR

29th June - Q Fest Leeds - THE COCKPIT

6th July - Nottingham - RESCUE RED ROOMS

15th July - Derby - THE VICTORIA INN

16th July - Birmingham - THE ROADHOUSE

19th July - Manchester - RETRO BAR

Tickets only £4 in advance from 

http://theharmonicsshop.bigcartel.com/product/july-tour-tickets

Each online order includes a FREE DOWNLOAD of debut EP 'Shelley'