Saturday, 17 May 2014

Ralph's Top 10 Blogged Band Chart - 17.5.14

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.....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 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..... 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 4..... 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 5... The Backhanders




Embedded image permalink

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 6....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 7.....The Darlingtons


THE DARLINGTONS - Rotations
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.

















A lot can happen in 18 months and that's certainly the case with Burnley band Ring Ring Rouge who Ralph first checked out back in October of 2012 when they released their debut single 'Today'. April of 2014 sees the release of Ring Ring Rouge’s debut album ‘Head Full of Fog’ which was recorded in London with Michael Page and was released on April 28th supported by a tour of the North West and Yorkshire.








No 9.....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 10.....Fatherson



Third of the Scottish bands featured this week (Tijuana Bibles on Monday and Laykiller Caterpillar on Tuesday - do pay attention) is the increasingly impressive Fatherson. With the long awaited, much vaunted album about to be released (7th April) they're embarking on a UK album release tour and only this morning have released a video for one of the new tracks - 'I Like Not Knowing'. The good news for me is I've had a listen to the album on the QT and I can assure you the hype is not without merit - the bad news for you is, the wait 'til April 7th!














Monday, 12 May 2014

United Fruit




When the vet advised Ralph he should check out United Fruit I thought he was advising that he needed to get his five-a-day, but no - he was recommending a Glasgow band with a new album in the making and a track being streamed from it this very day. 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'. 





Their first album 'Fault Lines' hit the ground running, gained no end of critical acclaim seeing them perform live sessions on Radio 1, BBC Radio Scotland, toured the UK and Europe over 5 times and played festivals such as T In The Park, Wickerman, Brew At The Bog and Stag And Dagger. United Fruit have also supported bands such as the late lamented Dananananaykroyd, Twin Atlantic, And So I Watch You From Afar, Die! Die! Die!, one of Ralph's favourites The Twilight Sad and Maps And Atlases.



How Long (Change You Into Something Better) by United Fruit




The taster track from the album is 'How Long (Change You Into Something Better)' which is in a lighter vein than their usual frenetic, more aggressive style and it's sure to garner them wider acclaim. It's catchy, current and the change of pace intrigued Ralph so much he made it Record Of The Week on this Sunday's Indie Show on Radio KC and asked United Fruit bassist Marco Panagopoulos a few pointed questions...not all related to the track...









Ralph: I'm a fan of your more 'punky' style - and whilst I understand the want for a bigger listenership, is the 'injected pop whack' a change of direction/spread throughout the album or just a blip?

Marco: The rest of the new record is a lot different from 'How Long(Change You Into Something Better)'.  It is much faster paced and punky but we have a couple of tracks where we wanted to experiment and try something we hadn’t really done before.  The entire record is much more direct and melodic than 'Fault Lines' but still has the same unhinged energy.







Ralph: Given the current trend for EP's over Albums what's your preference?

Marco: I always prefer full albums.  I takes a lot more time and effort to record and compile a great album than it does an EP so when the end product sounds amazing it is a lot more impressive.










Ralph: Scotch Pie or Deep Fried Pizza?

Marco: Deep Fried Pizza.







Image of Fault Lines

Ralph: You've a faithful following in Scotland and toured the UK & Europe previously- setting your sights on world domination?


Marco: We would love nothing more than to tour all round the world.  We will keep going as far as we can on the road and hopefully we’ll get there some day!






Image of Double Dip TeeRalph: More upcoming gigs/festival dates now the UK tour is over? 

Marco: We have a few such as goNorth on the 4th of June and Carefully Planned down in Manchester on the 18th of October as well as another couple that I can’t mention just yet.  We’ll be supporting Flood Of Red in Stereo, Glasgow on the 28th of May and also playing with Tall Ships in Bowlers Bar as part of the Eastend Social.


Image of Blood Hands Tee

Ralph: Given your reputation as one of the best live acts on the Scottish Indie scene do you find working in the studio on an album a constraint? 

Marco: Not at all.  We enjoy recording.  Sometimes getting the songs out of your head and recorded makes you notice things you didn’t before and you can actually improve your performance from it!







Ralph: Red Cola or Irn Bru?

Marco: Irn Bru








Many thanks to thelineofbestfit.com
from whom I have 'borrowed' this photo.
Ralph: You've played a number of festivals how do they compare/do you prefer them to the smaller more intimate gigs in the likes of Electric Circus or Stereo?

Marco: Festivals are amazing fun.  We love the atmosphere and it never hurts to play in front of hundreds and hundreds of people but sometimes you can’t beat the feeling of being in a tiny sweaty room, surrounded by the crowd, giving it all you’ve got. Some of our favourite gigs have been the small ones.





So there you have it, the answer to the eternal musical question...deep fried pizza and Irn Bru every time...me, I'm off to have a listen to 'Fault Lines' and book my place for the 18th October in Manchester at Carefully Planned...






Saturday, 10 May 2014

Ralph's Top 10 Blogged Band Chart - 10.5.14

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.....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) they've ach






No 3.....The Darlingtons


THE DARLINGTONS - Rotations
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.









No 4.....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 5.....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 excellent debut EP Homeward 







No 6....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 7... The Backhanders




Embedded image permalink

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 8.....Fatherson



Third of the Scottish bands featured this week (Tijuana Bibles on Monday and Laykiller Caterpillar on Tuesday - do pay attention) is the increasingly impressive Fatherson. With the long awaited, much vaunted album about to be released (7th April) they're embarking on a UK album release tour and only this morning have released a video for one of the new tracks - 'I Like Not Knowing'. The good news for me is I've had a listen to the album on the QT and I can assure you the hype is not without merit - the bad news for you is, the wait 'til April 7th!











A lot can happen in 18 months and that's certainly the case with Burnley band Ring Ring Rouge who Ralph first checked out back in October of 2012 when they released their debut single 'Today'. April of 2014 sees the release of Ring Ring Rouge’s debut album ‘Head Full of Fog’ which was recorded in London with Michael Page and was released on April 28th supported by a tour of the North West and Yorkshire.








No 10.....Hector Bizerk



It's just over a year since Ralph did a fascinating Q & A with Louie of Hector Bizerk and a lot's happened in the interim including Audrey being nominated in Hit Like A Girl, winning Best Hip Hop in the Scottish Alternative Music Awards and jetting off to debut in New York!