They Called Him Zone

It's nearly a year since Ralph played the lead track Miami from the eponymous debut EP by Bradford's dark and mysterious electro-pop outfit They Called Him Zone on his Radio KC Indie Show.


OK, OK, they're not that mysterious as I can tell you the band are - Mik Davies on Vocals, Drone and Production, Steve Maloney on Vocals, Guitar and Production plus John Bradford on Keys and percussion when playing live.

The good news is that They Called Him Zone have a mini album on the way (Out on February 20th) and as an introduction are releasing tracks Waste You and Devil Dying by way of a taster.

What can the world expect from their latest offering I hear you ask? 

Well, they describe Crow Swan Wolf as...

"haunting, atmospheric, sexy, driving, psychedelic, gothic, dark-wave/ new-wave mayhem which casts shadows and blows tobacco smoke across an amber lit dystopian skyline".

"Somewhere between a blood-thirsty vampire driving a convertible in Miami and a Berlin cabaret bar. Darker than a graveyard at midnight. Mashed up guitars, synths, electro beats and infectious melodies".



The tracks are available from their Bandcamp page on a 'pay-as-you-like' basis and are an excellent lead into the synth infused, bass-heavy world of They Called Him Zone. Just Fall blends a bouncy electro-pop soundscape with gloomy vocal to great effect and Devil Dying is just as enticing with a mean and moody percussive backbone drawing together a slightly lighter, very radio-friendly 'Euro-Pop' track.

Hawk

One band currently soaring right now are HAWK (see what I did there) who are currently based in Berlin with a view to boosting their profile whilst returning regularly to the UK for live performances.

The self-styled Alt Noir, Anglo Irish combo release their new single Mirror Maze on November 4th which precedes the She Knows EP due for a March 2017 arrival via Veta Records.

Ralph's already giving the single a pre-release spin on his Radio KC Indie Show on October 23rd and there'll be more from HAWK on the show soon.

The Mirror Maze single sees Julie Hawk's Elysian vocals take a darker edge in this lyrically moody and musically rhythmical release in a This Mortal Coil stylee.

HAWK are not afraid to carry bold messages within their poetic lyrics. Singer Julie explained her stance on, Mirror Maze: “It’s about being torn and suppressed by conflicting expectations that society places on us, mainly from a female perspective." 

Julie goes on to say, "Certain behaviour is seen as feminine from one perspective and weak from another, and others a seen as strong but too masculine. 

It’s about facing these issues in everyday situations, even amongst people who you consider close.” Past releases Once Told and Glass addressed Ireland’s laws on and abortion and contraception and same sex marriage."

HAWK are: Julie Hawk (vocals), Matthew Harris (guitar), Chris Handsley (bass) and Sam Campbell (drums).

They play one of Ralph's favourite London venues, The Sebright Arms on November 11th.

The Grumbling Gargoyle

Welcome to Ralph's cultural corner.  I bring you mutterings and musings from the Gutter of The Grumbling Gargoyle aka Lynn Gerrard.  Lynn's been hoarding a wealth of written material which she's only now decided to bring to you via the marvel that is Soundcloud, using the spoken word to bring her writing to life.

Her new EP 'Life In The Gutter' is a selection of seven short poems which can be funny, introspective, haunting and dark.  Take a walk with Lynn on The Dark Side if you dare.  Ralph likes to call her the female John Cooper Clarke.



Ralph's favourite is 'Generation Text' - a funny, although somehow chilling commentary on the social media generation on which we all seem to rely so much nowadays. 






Another, seemingly politically incorrect, aggressive and yet accurate take on modern life is 'The Kid'.  From the first line of 'Stick another pie in the fat kid' your PC hackles are up, but by the end you're heart goes out for the loss of the child and you can only wonder where we're going wrong as a generation.






Lynn's writing style can be as funny as it is often gruesome, as heartfelt as it can be seemingly malign.  She shows her softer side here though with 'Removal'.

  


With the short sharp and very funny 'Best Friend' she definitely shows her rapier like wit.  You can find a selection of Lynn's work both written and spoken on her website The Grumbling Gargoyle.   

Hopefully the next step for Lynn will be live performance and maybe Ralph will be bringing you her debut live performance video soon!