LIVE REVIEW: Angel Olsen @ The Lantern, Colston Hall, Bristol 10/06/14

Originally published at Middle Boop Mag: http://www.middleboopmag.com/music/live/live-angel-olsen-lantern-colston-hall-bristol-100614

Angel Olsen is a folk singer from St. Louis, Missouri. She and her band are currently touring her second studio album, Burn Your Fire For No Witness. It’s been two years since her critically acclaimed debut, Half Way Home, and there has been a slight switch up in style.

Her debut was a collection of wispy acoustic numbers that very much harked back to the 1940’s. Her new record has switched from acoustic to electric, gathering a greater deal of momentum and propelling the singer up even higher than before.

Burn Your Fire For No Witness on record, is completely commanding. It is almost hypnotizing, as the pain and passion bleeds through the speakers. But live, at Bristol’s Colston Hall, well it was a particularly special show, the audience entranced and completely silent, in awe of this amazing artist.

This Bristol date was the last stop on her seven-stop UK tour. Angel, throughout her performance, had her fans in the palm of her hand, singing straight into the crowd with a devout, almost unblinking stare. It was utterly mesmerising.

Between tracks, she would crack jokes, simply to lighten the mood, and they were actually really quite funny. Closing with ‘Sweet Dreams’, Angel and her band thanked the crowd profusely, and as they left the stage there was a common consensus that everyone wanted just a little bit more of the remarkable Angel Olsen. 

Photo credit: Rebecca Cleal 

ALBUM REVIEW: Darwin Deez - Songs For Imaginative People (Lucky Number)

Originally published at Gigwise: http://www.gigwise.com/reviews/79487/darwin-deez---songs-for-imaginative-people-lucky-number

Darwin Deez is the brainchild of frontman Darwin Smith. First emerging on the cult scene in 2010 with their critically acclaimed self-titled debut album, now three years on and with a shift in line-up, Smith and co. are back with Songs For Imaginative People.

The record is self-produced by Smith; a bold move, there would have been an abundance of producers at his disposable. The album does subsequently sound a little bit messy, like an almost scrapbook effect off beats and riffs.

Darwin Deez’s overall charm would fall on deaf ears to those who aren’t overly sentimental. It’s unapologetically twee, romantic (at times) whilst being rather child like in its simplistic nature.

Smith’s back-story only adds to his allure, once a psychology student in his native New York who gave it all up to pursue a music career. He found the science of human emotion and the way it can be broken down far too clinical and depressing. A response that has been carried across both albums.

‘(800) HUMAN’ is a strong and characterised opener. Lead single ‘Free (The Editorial Me)’ is brilliantly slapdash, refusing to stick to a conventional song structure, much like the rest of the album.

Smith is however, treading a very fine line. It’s exceptionally unappealing when an artist tries to be overly ‘kooky’. Much like when somebody describes themselves as ‘quirky’, it can often appear trite and forced. Fortunately, Smith is very much a creative and imaginative person, and so (for lack of a better word) his ‘kookiness’ is backed up.

The record has a pure sentiment, unthreatening and honest. For fans of the first album, you will not be disappointed. If anything, Songs For Imaginative People is a buffed up, sunny and colourful progression from their debut.

ALBUM REVIEW The Maccabees - 'Given to the Wild' (Sonar Magazine)

Published at: http://sonarmagazine.co.uk/2012/01/review-the-maccabees-given-to-the-wild-2/

After reading a mixture of reviews, some scathing (The Observer) and some raving (NME), I was apprehensive to how this record would sound. The Brighton/London based indie rock band have taken a bold new direction with their third album, working with producer Tim Goldsworthy and creating a darker, moodier resonance than their previous efforts.

Their transition is similar to how Foals evolved with their second album, and has touches of U2’s The Joshua Tree. It’s a more expansive sound, Feel to Follow is like nothing I have ever heard from them before; Glimmer is an instant favourite, one of those songs you play over and over.  Pelican is a nostalgic song about growing old, it’s punchy and happy. Went Away is jaunty and uplifting, with sparkling guitar riffs. Go has some beautiful female vocals and an unusual beat behind it.

They are an example of what an indie band should be. There’s such a stigma attached to that word, because the genre has been tarnished with so much drivel. The Maccabees reinforce authentic indie music.

I was blown away at the first listen of this exquisite album, and certainly wasn’t expecting to love it quite this much. Looking back at Latchmere and About Your Dress, which are Britpop classics, their song writing skills have shone brighter than ever on this record.  They have skilfully matured with their fans, whilst being careful to keep that twee unthreatening innocence that made them such a stand out band in the first place.