Brownbear

What is Home? is the debut album from Brownbear. Combining strong melodies and indie riffs that have come to be expected from the band with an added lyrical maturity, the album covers love, loss and life whilst questioning what exactly home is. The album is preceded by an addictive and accomplished single release by the band in the shape of Truth Without Consequence which is accompanied by an equally accomplished and stylish video.

Brownbear are a four-piece indie-rock outfit led by singer/songwriter Matt Hickman.

The group released their debut single Dead or Alive in May 2014 which subsequently gained them national radio exposure and high profile gigs which included supporting The Libertines at their comeback show at the iconic Barrowland’s Balllroom in Glasgow.

Brownbear then went on to join The Libertines again at their BST Summertime show at Hyde Park before playing at a number of festivals including T in The Park & Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival. An acoustic version of Dead or Alive recorded in the BBC Treehouse became the most viewed clip online for T in the Park 2014 ahead of the likes of Arctic Monkeys & Biffy Clyro. 

The bands first London headline show was a sell out and received a positive 7/10 review from the NME. Brownbear then embarked on a European tour before starting work on their debut album. Early in 2016 they supported The View on the Scottish dates of their UK tour before returning to the studio to finish recording the album, produced by Joe McAlinden. 



With What Is Home? now complete and set to be released Brownbear are gearing up for getting back out playing live this year starting with the album launch show at Stereo in Glasgow on Friday 20th April and that's one not to be missed!

April 20th – Stereo, Glasgow (Album Show) 
May 3rd – Clarks, Dundee 
May 4th – Mr C’s, Thurso 
May 5th – Bakers, Kilmarnock 
May 11th – The Drouthy Cobbler, Elgin 
May 12th – Gig in the Goil Festival 
May 13th – Sneaky Pete’s, Edinburgh 
May 26th – Ayr Town Hall w/ Tom Clarke 
June 23rd – Upside Doon Festival, Ayrshire 
June 30th – Kelburn Garden Party 
July 27th – Kendall Calling

The Tates

Water is the brand new single by Welsh indie pop 5-piece The Tates and it's been eagerly awaited after the success of their debut release Electric Girl which we played on Ralph's Radio KC Indie Show. It was also supported by Huw Stephens, BBC Intro, Radio 1, playlisted on Amazing Radio and A-listed by BBC Radio Wales.

Ralph will be playing Water on the Radio KC Indie Show next Sunday (26.11.17) so remember to tune in from 5-7pm GMT.

Energised by their summer tour in support of Electric Girl plus feeling confident and inspired they returned to the studio in Cardiff to work with producer Steffan Pringle (Estrons, Himalays and Future Of The Left).

They emerged with a sense of purpose with a song that will redefine The Tates as the torch-bearers of a new sound, a sound that ranges from The Libertines’ poetic raw energy to the death disco of early New Order and the fuzzed dayglow pop melodies of MGMT. Lyrically Water asks a poetic question exploring themes of nature over nurture, as Tom the guitarist explains... 

“Are the flaws that we share with our parents who we are, or have we learnt from them? Are we free to be the people we want to be or are we trapped by our genetic makeup and our immediate environment and society?” 

It's testament to them that with unwavering belief in the pop song they are in full control of their chosen genre, making the pop song theirs. The Tates build from the ground up on their ascendancy to the stars.

Lucie Barât

Multi-talented artist Lucie Barât is set to release her new single Take Me Away on 24th November via Alya Records.

Being the sister of Carl Barât , of The Libertines fame, music is firmly embedded in Lucie’s blood.

Having always performed in bands, combining a love of writing and performing, Lucie has recorded with legendary David Bowie producer, Mark Plati and more recently with The Au Revoirs.

She has also appeared in both film, television, and worked in theatre production - having always been one for exploring creative outlets.

Ralph's been a little bit in love with Lucie Barât after playing her debut single Be Uprising on the Radio KC Indie Show last week (the new single will be on the show for a pre-relase spin soon) to some excellent online feedback, so we've slipped the video in for that below. You're welcome...

If you'd like to catch Lucie live then she has a couple of dates coming up...

Firstly on October 19th in Tunbridge Wells Forum followed by, November 2nd in Sticky Mike's Frog Bar, Brighton with another Ralph's Life favourite Brix Smith.

The edgier Lucie Barât sophomore single, Take Me Away, is about being stuck in a cycle of excess and wanting to reconnect to that innocent child with big dreams.

Yearning to gain back some purity, optimism and to be saved from a soul-eating cycle of hedonism and oblivion.

Speaking of the track, Lucie said...

“For me, it's about milestones in life. Stopping to take stock, looking backwards and seeing if you ended up where you thought you would be - looking forward and honestly asking yourself if you want to shift gears and make changes to your life.”

Purest

Yielding more swagger than a Kevin Shields customized Jazzmaster, the intense sounds of Sheffield guitar bandits Purest have come knocking firmly at the door of mainstream radio with new single Waiting For to be released later this month.

The Sheffield 4-piece’ debut made such an overwhelming first impression on Gary Powell of The Libertines that he, along with label partner Wayne Clarke, signed them to their label 25 Hour Convenience Store Records for their second full release. 

Formed in Sheffield on early 2016 Purest are, James Rollings, Danny Davidson, Richard Bithrey and Ashley Platts so if you have a hankering for noise with an edge Sheffield’s Purest have you covered.

Following their debut release, Always which we played previously and raved about on Ralph's Radio KC Indie Show, their new single, Waiting For is a tidal wave of post punk whirring and thrumming shoegaze noise.  Of the track, singer James commented, "Waiting For is an honest view of being young and naive; a heavily angst driven feeling of uncertainty, relying on someone else to fix problems only you can."

The Purest mission has been to “create contemporary noise pop hooks and melodies”.  With ‘Waiting For’ we have a track that blends Loveless production intensity with current radio friendly sensibilities. 

Bright Young People

Full of more swagger than a mid-90's Gallagher brother, the intense sounds of North wales guitar bandits Bright Young People have come knocking firmly at the door with their new single Suppress Happiness, which was recorded and produced by former Vibrators guitarist Pat Collier.


It's aggressively laid back intro belies the louche nature of the ensuing guitar driven track. It's in your face vocal marks out its live and loud pedigree, whilst ensuring its radio-friendliness. If this is your first introduction to their presumptuous sound, it'll have you clamouring for more.

Bright Young People made such an impression on Gary Powell of The Libertines after seeing them at a near-riotous performance in London's Shacklewell Arms last year, he immediately signed them to his 25 Hour Convenience Store label.





Further evidence of their burgeoning popularity with rock royalty ensued with Ian McCulloch of Echo & The Bunnymen fame playing on and producing their debut single Liberties. Not only that, Iggy Pop, Duff McKagan and Glen Matlock have been heard singing the young Rhyl band's praises.

Airplay support has come from such luminaries as Radio 1's Huw Stephens (it's like going on The Voice when you're Welsh and Tom Jones turning for you) BBC Radio 6 stalwart Steve Lamacq and inimitable Radio X vinyl slinger John Kennedy.

Needless to say Ralph will be giving Suppress Happiness a preview spin on the Radio KC Indie Show on Sunday 19th February and you can catch Bright Young People live in Manchester's Night & Day Cafe the previous evening (Feb 18th), Liverpool's ionic Zanzibar on February 24th and London venue The Monarch on March 16th.

Brownbear

With thanks to Murray McMillan Photography

Not so much a group, more a self-styled musical collective, Glasgow's Brownbear led by Matt Hickman have just released Wandering Eyes as a prelude to their much-awaited debut album. Matt, along with Andrew McAllister on lead guitar, Ruairidh MacDougall on bass and Sam Waller on drums are producing melodic, indie pop songs of the highest quality.

Wandering Eyes (accompanied by a nicely retro video) harks back to the heady days of Roddy Frame's Aztec Camera or Peter Coyle's Lotus Eaters when they were producing the perfect pop songs and Brownbear have picked up that baton and are running well ahead of the pack with it.







Brownbear released their debut single Dead or Alive in May 2014 which subsequently gained them national radio exposure and high profile gigs which included supporting The Libertines at their comeback show at the iconic Barrowland Balllroom in Glasgow.

They joined The Libertines again at their BST Summertime show at Hyde Park before playing at a number of festivals including T in The Park & Belladrum. An acoustic version of Dead or Alive recorded in the BBC Treehouse became the most viewed clip online for T in the Park 2014 ahead of the likes of Arctic Monkeys & Biffy Clyro.




The band's first London headline show was a sell-out and received a positive 7/10 review from the NME. Brownbear then embarked on a European tour before starting work on their debut album.

Earlier this year they supported The View on the Scottish dates of their UK tour. The band then returned to the studio to finish recording the album, produced by ex Superstar Joe McAlinden.

Wandering Eyes will be released digitally on 22nd January and Ralph's playing it on Radio KC soon.

Upcoming Live Dates:

Sat 6th Feb:      Bakers Nightclub, Kilmarnock

Wed 17th Feb:  The Treehouse, Ayr (Matt Hickman)

Fri 19th Feb:     The Vikingar, Largs

Sat 20th Feb:    Sneaky Pete's, Edinburgh

Sat 27th:           The Hug & Pint, Glasgow (Matt Hickman)

The Phantoms

The Phantoms, who played a storming set at the Ralph's Life CD launch party in Edinburgh on April 30th have been on the kennel's radar since late last year and have impressed ever since.

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.




Revolution by The Phantoms





The Phantoms recently released their new single 'Revolution' to no small amount of critical acclaim at a launch night in Sneaky Pete's in Edinburgh and it's the perfect example of how they've built up a stronger, fuller sound. With that in mind Ralph posed them some of his usual incisive questions prior to their upcoming gig in King Tut's on the 9th of August...

Ralph: Obvious question first, where do your influences lie?

The Phantoms: Kasabian, The Libertines, Arctic Monkeys

Ralph: How did the band get together?

The Phantoms: Met through school, the band got together through the breaking up of a previous band, but we all met through school.

Ralph: Over the last year the tracks you've released have developed a bigger more 'grown up' sound...where does the inspiration/development come from?

The Phantoms: Not really sure, every time we release something we think it has to be better than the last, sound, bigger. A lot of our inspiration comes from listening to our own stuff. With everything we release we have to be convinced its 
better than the last thing we did. 

Ralph: Given you've been noticed and plugged by Jim Gellatly any approaches/plans for playing some of the festivals this year?

The Phantoms: Not as of yet, maybe next year, maybe a bit early for us.

Ralph: Studio or live?

The Phantoms: Couldn't possibly choose. Studio is great because it means we get to release something new, but playing live is great, we love the energy.

Ralph: The new single 'Revolution' has been picking up airplay, any hints as to what's next?

The Phantoms: 'Revolution' was a massive success for us, radio play from everywhere like Forth One, Amazing Radio etc, we made The Scottish Sun to promote it as well. We've got a couple of gigs lined up at the end of the month, but we'll probably start working our next release after that.

Ralph: Bacon Roll or Gregg's Steak Bake (you can't have both)?

The Phantoms: Bacon Roll

Ralph: Who would you most like to share a bill with and where?

The Phantoms: Kasabian are playing a hometown show is Leicester in the summer, that would be incredible.  

Ralph: Album or EP?

The Phantoms: Album 

Ralph: Finally, any plans for venturing further South in the near future?

The Phantoms: We did a tour last year and played quite a few dates down south. We're not really sure about this year but we'll wait and see.

Last Minute Glory

With so many new bands trying to make a name for themselves in Edinburgh just now Last Minute Glory are sticking their heads above the rest with their debut EP 'Take Time'.  It's a light and airy Scots poptastic a la View, so to show they're ready to make a name for themselves they set up an EP launch party in Cabaret Voltaire and Ralph's man in Scotland Malcolm Parry was there to catch the show.



On first listening they've put together three indie-pop anthems which have all the hallmarks of being destined for airplay.  Malcolm had first listen to the EP and here's his take on the shiny bright young things - Michael Byrne,  Chris Karpacz, Lee Brown and Daniel Shearer - that are Last Minute Glory.







With the lead track 'Take Time' we get bass notes intro and chiming guitar riffs, all tight indie-pop, sounding to me like The View's 'Grace'.  Their lead singer has a broad Scottish instilled vocal delivery.  The short sharp to the point catchy chorus - 'Take time, your not in love' -  slowing things down and sounding almost Paulo Nutini but in a good way.  At just over 3 minutes this will be destined for radio play.  A good start.







'Strange To See Your Face' has short bursts of Arctic Monkeys - 'Brianstorm' style intro and The Libertines trade off vocals, still quite a strong chorus and nifty little guitar solo. The lads bring it down to shout 'Go home, Go home' before picking it back up into the almost punky like chorus. 

'I'm Going My Own Way' has very infectious guitar melodies, a harder edge in the vocal, not so poppy in the chorus.  More guitar driven, especially the last section of the song where we are treated to a full on rock guitar solo to fade.  My favorite tune out of the three and A promising first EP from these Edinburgh lads. One to watch.

Last Minute Glory Live Cabaret Voltaire, Edinburgh, 10/04/13

First Support - Younger

Glaswegian 4-piece. Nice mellow vibe, lead man looking uncannily like The Libertines- Carl Barat, a shame he doesn't have a voice to match.  The other musicians are talented, maybe  the front man needs to hone his vocal skills, reminded me of Hope of the States lead man who wasn’t great live as well.  Sorry guys.  Having said that, the young audience seemed to enjoy, so what do I know!

Second support - The Rahs

East Lothian 4-Piece.  A good feeling for these lad's, having already released an EP last year and an album in the pipeline. First tune of their set I hear a bit of Stone Roses/Kasabian and with lead man's Liam Gallagher style vocal delivery reminded me of Oasis - 'Hindu Times'.  A touch Psychedelic.  Nice start.

Into the set we get scuzzy guitars, more latter day Oasis sounding anthems and Arctic Monkeys riffs.  Lead man asking the audience - “Everybody happy tonight?” - the crowd roar back.  A very busy turnout and all look very happy indeed.  Next tune I feel a bit of 'garage' rock and a Brian Molko in the vocal style.  Things pick up for the last track, a Rage against the Machine rampage tune without the angry vocals but the grungy guitar's.  A nice finish.

Headliners - Last Minute Glory 

Last Minute Glory are band  everyone is here to see as it's their 'Take Time' EP launch night.  The crowd moved forward to the soundtrack of The Chemical Brothers 'Block Rocking Beats' so this reviewer takes stage left to get a better view and vibe.  They fire into the third tune off the EP, a track called 'I'm Going My Own Way'.  Like a rhino stampede the band surging into driving indie, the crowd now pressed up against the barrier, those who can still breath attempt a mosh. 

We begin with The Libertines-esque vibe and end the song with a rock solo crescendo.  Excellent start, the young audience agree.  I'm feeling a huge buzz for the boys.  Chris Karpacz on leave from The Dons plays Lead guitar, bassist Lee Brown looking remarkably like The Horrors 'Faris Badwan' also on loan from The Merrylees. Lead man Micheal Byrne, leather jacket clad reminding me of Supergrass lead man Gaz Coombes.  Strangely I felt the same vibe that night as I did catching a young Supergrass at T in The Park in 1995.

We hear - “Let's go” - shouted at us from the front man and cans of Red Stripe fly all over the place, in the air and on the floor, like a Jamaican Riot.  They sing 'You Left (I Changed)' all punchy indie pop and nifty tight riffs.

Track three on tonight’s set we get 'She Never Knew'  and the young singer starts a crowd chant to the backing of Arctic Monkeys/Supergrass type riffs.

During 'Shine On You' the band hold off with a short hesitation so the crowd (obviously fans) can sing the line's back to them.  The Dons drummer Luke Paxton who's stood next to me tells me the band wrote this when they were 15.  The drum beat from wee man Daniel Shearer (who's loving every minute of the gig) kicks back in to rapturous applause from the mainly teenager audience and it's an obvious crowd favorite.

Time for another tune from their EP - 'Strange To See You' - with it's Arctic Monkey's 'Teddy Picker' short sharp outbursts, catchy melodies and chorus “Go Home” - not yet, were not ready!  In between tracks we get “L.M.G” football chants all in unison from the kids, and maybe a few adults (me included).

'Fape' moves along nicely, ends and they leave the stage.  The crowd wants more, a flag of the band is released behind the Drum kit.  Their heroes return all ready to give this 'motley crue' the title tune off the E.P 'Take Time'.  They fire in, the surging begins and The Rahs lead man rushes past me and stage dives into the unsuspecting crowd while the band sing an infectious pop tune.  All stop-start chorus and catchy vocals. They leave the crowd all fired up and wanting more.  A tight little group, hopefully with their increasing fan-base and proving their worth live, a good year ahead for them.  Next - an album?