Polly Scattergood - 'Please Don't Touch'

my last thing I can remember about Polly Scattergood was standing in a Fopp's in Nottingham in May 2009, looking at a CD display of Dot to Dot artists and wondering if I should buy her album. I didn't - I bought Grizzly Bear (at Friendly Fires' suggestion - mistake), Late of the Pier (Friendly Fires' suggestion again - definite win), and Elbow's 'The Seldom Seen Kid' instead.

I just started thinking about her again today b/c Lammo interviewed her on a "Where Are They Now?" feature on his show today, and she said she's working on a new album. good stuff.

and good stuff indeed - this is 'Please Don't Touch', which seems rather appropriate given my mental state at the moment.

Two Door Cinema Club - ITN interview bites

poor Sam. you can tell by his hands he's sooo nervous! and directly below that, an acoustic version of 'Undercover Martyn' from the same session. loverly.

this week's Roundtable (27/01)

1. Noah and the Whale - 'L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N' - just classic NATW, you get this wonderful feeling inside listening to them (something you can't say every time about Mumford and Sons). I can't wait to see these guys on the road again.



2. Lupe Fiasco - 'The Show Goes On' - oh no. do we really need a song that has stolen Modest Mouse's 'Float On'? I just hope they get tons of royalties.

3. Morning Parade - 'A&E' - I like the swagger of this. never heard of them, going to have to do some research! err...are the Snow Patrol comparisons valid?

4. Jessica Lea Mayfield - 'Our Hearts Are Wrong' - not terribly exciting.

5. Scritti Politti - 'A Day Late and a Dollar Short' - oh dear. this sounds terrible. I think they're messing with their legacy, in a bad way.

6. Dog is Dead - 'River Jordan' - seems like everyone is trying to jump on the religious bandwagon.

7. Adele's new album '21' - it's ok. it'll grow on me for sure. (I'm just so cynical about girl singers ;)

missed who the winner was b/c my mum was yelling at me about the snow...eh, I'll figure this out later...

AH-OH-AH-AH-OH - Two Door Cinema Club rocks out the 9:30 Club

so my favourite Irish boys Two Door Cinema Club were in town last Thursday night to entertain us. along with them were Tokyo Police Club (Canadians from Ontario) and Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin (Americans from Missouri) but for me, it was all about Two Door.

you see, I've known their music since before xmas 2009. I/TGTF was the first blog to have written about them, that I'm aware of anyway. certainly one of the earliest mentions of 'Tourist History'. I wrote previously about our first meeting in April 2010 here and here. since then they've skyrocketed to fame and it couldn't have happened to a nicer bunch of hard-working guys from a little town in Northern Ireland who dreamed of being massive one day.

well, they've arrived. selling out American venues is a big deal for a band from a town thousands of miles away.

PW review (I compare the whole thing to a three-course dinner, including Two Door as the best curry you've ever eaten in your life)

TGTF review

well, 'What You Know' is thoroughly danceable.

I love 'What You Know' an inordinate amount. it's my favourite track from Two Door Cinema Club's 'Tourist History', because the bass line is relentless and the guitar lines are second to none. the lyrics are great too - so true. "I can tell just what you want / you don't want to be alone, you don't want to be alone / and I can say it's what you know / but you've known it all the time, you've know it all the time..." months before we met in person, I just knew there were something special about these guys.

I just sussed the bass line of the chorus of this song last weekend and am feeling rather victorious, but b/c of so much stuff on top of it, I'm having trouble with the verse. so much so that I kind of begged Kev Baird to help me with it. no response as of yet...

oh bloody hell I LOVE THIS SONG ♥ ♥ ♥ ::sob::

*ahem*

I'm so sorry for the I consider these guys my little brothers. watching them gain the success they deserve from all their hard work they've put in brings tears to my eyes.

Friendly Fires returns

the boys from St. Albans were my favourite band of 2009. and they're ba-ack! 26 May 2011 at 9:30 Club, finally returning to DC after 2 years - about bloody time!

read more here on PopWreckoning

Delphic at London Tabernacle, 26/1/2010

this is probably the most beautifully shot amateur video I've seen of Delphic live, at what appears to be a New to Q session gig. the lighting's perfect. I actually prefer this lighter touch than what was seen at Glasto and Reading/Leeds last summer. Matt Cocksedge looks amazingly cool and collected. wow.



and in answer to one of the commenters, NO, James Cook does not look like Adam Levine. none of them do...???

below is my favourite song off 'Acolyte', 'Submission'. I had a nice chat with James before they played in Boston on 29 September 2010 and he said they were going to play it that night. I was pretty excited. but until now I hadn't seen a video of the song played live. (I was too spellbound to capture it myself at Roskilde or Boston.)

this week's Roundtable (13/01)

with Katie Sutherland (Pearl and the Puppets), Eddie Argos (Art Brut) and comedian Mark Steele

1. Pete and the Pirates - 'Winter 1' - I don't really remember what this band used to sound like, but I defo don't remember them sounding so...'80s? the chugging along is annoying.

2. Asian Dub Foundation - 'A History of Now' - oh. my. god. WHY. (I think in this case these are Indians, not Asians in the American sense...)

3. Band of Horses - 'Dilly' - this is more pop than I remember them being. I like. I like whimsical!

4. Reverend Soundsystem - 'Wife Her Up' - this is just. weird. McClure, stick with what you're best at, please.

5. Mogwai - 'Mexican Grand Prix' - the winner - the synths are up too high. hello. where are the guitars?

6. Fixers - 'Iron Deer Dream' - first off, the vocals are grating. ugh. NEXT.

7. Anna Calvi's debut album - everyone else is going crazy over this. I'm not excited. what's wrong with me?

why haven't I thought of this before? best idea for a tour ever...

according to a chat I had with the exceedingly intelligent and lovely Matt Cocksedge of Delphic, Squib Swain does lighting for both them and Two Door Cinema Club.

so last night when I was driving home and listening to 'I Can Talk', I was thinking...why not have...

the AH-OH-AH-AH-OH / AH-EE-AY-OH-AH-EE-EE-AY-OH tour

the posters alone would be amazing. they could get placement on Sesame Street.

this is completely copyrighted by me, 'natch.



disclaimer: there is no such tour planned, though it's not from lack of interest on my part. I've tried my best to get the ball rolling on this!

Two Door 'You Think You Know...' Babysweet documentary

in case you haven't seen it yet, here is the amazing 'You Think You Know, You Don't Know: A film about Two Door Cinema Club' documentary by the Babysweet folks. I honestly thought it was going to be on DVD format with the expanded edition of 'Tourist History' (I reviewed it both for Popwreckoning and TGTF) but no. they decided to let everyone have a watch of it, which, in hindsight, was pretty cool of them. watch it below.

I AM SO PROUD OF EVERYTHING THEY'VE ACHIEVED!

I AM SO EXCITED TO SEE THEM IN 11 DAYS!

I'M GONNA HUG THEM LIKE THERE'S NO TOMORROW!

ok. I'll calm down now.

This Momentary at Reading, and more

baby, it's cold outside. so why not think of Reading from last summer. this is my bass-playing nemesis. James Cook makes it look so easy! it's the hypnotic bass line that makes 'This Momentary' great. even if I can't suss it. grrrr...lol

interestingly, the BBC accidentally forgot to turn on the country restrictions for Reading that night and I was actually able to watch the whole thing from my computer. I couldn't have been happier :) the energy at the NME/Radio1 tent looked amazing. sometimes I cannot believe I was standing right in front of this band at tiny little DC9 last October.





below are some more vids from some guy who I guess ripped them from telly - 'Clarion Call', 'Doubt', 'Red Lights', 'Halcyon', and 'Counterpoint' . the annoying thing is that banner he's put up at the top. the least he could have done was make it smaller or less blinding. BUT if you haven't seen Delphic live, it's worth the eye strain. I think so anyway. they look nice in suits!

'this performance contains strobe lighting.' uh yeah, YA THINK? haha

first Roundtable of 2011 (06/01)

Frank Turner, Colin Newman from Wire, and Tom Robinson will be joining Steve for Roundtable today

1. REM - 'Discoverer' - not jumping out at me. then again, I thought I'd always hate 'Man Sized Wreath' and ended up loving it. wait for it.

2. Pearl and the Puppets - 'Because I Do' - I thought this was out a long time ago! ::confused:: I love Katie Sutherland's pop sensibility. what is minor hilarity is that she knows this too.

3. Cosmo Jarvis - 'Gay Pirates' - I didn't want to like this song. and then I reviewed it on TGTF and loved it. really jaunty.

4. Bright Eyes - 'Shell Games' - umm. ok. Conor Oberst is like God to some people but he was never for me. ok but not earth shattering.

5. J Mascis - 'Not Enough' - the winner - ugh. I don't like stuff like this when the voice is not melodic at all. American heroics? gag me.

6. Audiobullyz - 'Shotgun' - begins deceptively. hmmm. not as annoying as most of the stuff on the top 40. interesting, shall we say...

7. British Sea Power's new album 'Valhalla Dancehall' including 'Stunde Nell' - ok, I really don't get this. I am getting the feeling that like Radiohead, it's like this big secret that I'm not being let into. it's too bad, b/c I thought with 'Living is So Easy', they were going for a more pop, mainstream sound. but I guess not. thumbs down.

The Script - 'For the First Time'

pop music videos aren't known for much substance. but watch this one of the Script's 'For the First Time' (from their second album, 'Science & Faith') and I challenge you NOT to sob at the end of watching it.

go to it.



I was weeping like a baby.

"I never feel l like I'm mashed enough to watch it" (Rock am Ring 2010 interview)

I know it's not Friday - yet - but it came to my attention that today is a bank holiday in England, so watching this on your day off from work/school is perfectly acceptable.

Delphic and Two Door Cinema Club's lighting man extraordinaire Squib Swain is compared to Squidward of 'Spongebob Squarepants' fame, Rick reveals his former obsession with Melissa Joan Hart as Clarissa in 'Clarissa Explains It All' (seriously, I thought I was on the only one who watched that show religiously, haha), their race with Foals on the Formula 1 racetrack and other topics are explored in this interview at Rock am Ring, conducted interestingly by a Dane (Rock am Ring is in Germany).