IC1s

Summer's nearly here and band's are starting to get their new releases out there and IC1s are no different.  June 3rd sees the release of their latest single 'Growing Up, Going Down'.  Ralph's had a sneak peak at the new single and it's a proper rock n rolla.  It's a guitar driven anthem that'll sit well with any Festival crowd and a definite hat tip to their musical influences.

From the first guitar riff it grabs you, shakes you and doesn't put you down until the last note!

Ic1s are Daniel Coburn - Vocals, Jesse James - Guitars, John Campbell - Guitars, Andy Faulkner- Drums and Jacob Osman - Bass and they're all in your face Indie pop at its absolute best.

IC1s debut single ‘Levitate’ saw success as the 2nd most downloaded new entry in the ITunes Alternative Singles Chart in its week of entry, resulting in a chart position of #195 in iTunes Top 200. Follow up single ‘Karma’ featured on Soccer AM and in Q Magazines as 'Track of The Day'. The track peaked at #40 in the alternative charts during in Christmas week with the band donating all profit to UK homelessness charity Shelter.

In 2011 band worked alongside Gary Powell (The Libertines) and his 25 Hour Convenience Store label.  Oasis discoverer, and all-round musical hero-maker Alan Mcgee, The Stone Roses’ Mani, Steve Lamacq and many more can all be credited as fans.  The band have since shared venues and festival stages with indie giants such as The View, The Charlatans, The Cribs, The Rifles and mainstream acts such as Tinie Tempah.

April 2012 saw the band release 'Not Perfect' as part of a compilation entitled ‘Emerging Icons’ curated by Kaiser Chiefs.  In February 2012 the band headlined the final date of ‘HMVs Next Big Thing Festival’ and were invited to play The Olympic & Paralympic Games on the Emerging Icons Festival Stage in the Olympic Park.

If this single gets the airplay it deserves then we should be seeing them hit the Festival circuit next year.

Welcome Pariah

The name of the band may be a bit of an oxymoron but Southampton band Welcome Pariah play music you certainly wont want to cast out.  You can even use an oxymoron to describe their music as as contemporary psychedelic.  

There's an obvious 60's influence and it comes to the fore in their new single 'Neither Here Nor There' released on the 26th April in tandem with a video launch party at The Macbeth in Shoreditch, London.  From the intro its a psychedelic trip with hints of The Beatles if Paul Weller had joined them to write 'Norweigan Wood'.

The debut release marks an exciting time for Southampton based Welcome Pariah who currently have a number of top gigs and established festival slots lined up for the summer months ahead in 2013 and who have also recently been interviewed and featured in none other than The Huffington Post.

Citing their influences as The Verve, The La’s, Paul Weller, Doves, The Stone Roses, The Who and The Beatles to name a few, Welcome Pariah have shared the stage with the likes of Steve Cradock, Chris Helme, Mark Morris and British indie rock outfit The Moons, as well as performed at a number of mainstream festivals.

Welcome Pariah are John Waghorn - vocals/lead guitar, Josh Butcher - vocals/guitar, Daniel Manuel - bass guitar and John Martin - drummer. C

urrently working on new material for upcoming shows they're shortly due to head back into the studio to record more tracks. Those who have seen Welcome Pariah live find it hard to pinpoint their exact sound, so be sure to check them out in the coming months and get hold of their debut track too! Here's a list of their upcoming dates.

Upcoming Gigs

25th April – RMA Tavern, Portsmouth

26th April – This Feeling Club Night, The Macbeth, London

27th April - The Essex Arms, Brentwood

10th May – This Feeling Club Night, Cellar, Southampton

11th May – Pulse Festival, Sunnyfields Farm, Hampshire

17th May- Lennons, Supporting Catfish and the Bottlemen, Southampton

24th May – Coburgs, Ryde, Isle of Wight

25th May – The Tap, Sandown, Isle of Wight

8th June –  The Adam & Eve, Scooterists For Heroes, Birmingham

14/15th June – March Of The Mods Festival, Santa Pod Raceway, Wellingborough

21st June- The Fiddlers Elbow, Cool Britannia, Camden, London

29th June – The Good Ship, Kilburn, London

19/20/21st July – Tonefest, Dorset

26th July -Gabefest 5, Hampshire

2nd August – Frolic Fest, Kent

The Ninth Watch

After a hectic and successful years gigging in 2012, Manchester four piece The Ninth Watch are hibernating in the studio with a view to bringing you a host of new tunes and if they're as strong as the tracks they produced last year, we're in for a real treat.










The Ninth Watch are vocalist/guitarist Stephen Ahern with Mike Fieldhouse also on guitar, Ian Holden on bass and Matt Ryan drums.  


They're quintessentially Manchester in their music styling but they can be subtle, like the thoughtful and melodic 'Brave Bombardier' or in your face in true Manc style as with the classic 'Concrete Boots'.  










Brave Bombardier' has a folk-like feel to it, almost in the vein of Elbow.  It's moody, wistful and lyrically strong.  Soft strings and strong words make it a track that will hold your attention and stay in your head for a long time to come with it's tale of battles past.  












'The Optimist' however is a more anthemic track suited for radio play and festivals alike.  With hints of early Coldplay it's an appealing track with very strong drum and guitar work that builds throughout the track.










The final track to tempt you with is the ballsy 'Concrete Boots' an Indie classic in the making.  It grabs you from the opening line and doesn't let go with it's 'the end of me' chant throughout...a fans favourite...definately!  I'll be plugging this track for the next Online Festival compilation album Indievidual Vol 2.

Watch this space for news of any new releases or gigs with tunes like these the promoters wont be able to resist them) as this is going to be a great year for The Ninth Watch.....