London
Comic: Monsters of Rock by Sally-Anne Hickman
Some time ago I proudly announced to Jim that I was also going to write a bit about comics and graphic novels. Since then I have done absolutely nothing on either. With the approaching promise of a family holiday, however, I took a trip to London’s two greatest comics stores to see what was on …
New Music: CatBearTree – Let’s Share Hearts
CatBearTree are a south-London threepiece made up of Zoe Konez (guitar), Claudia Mansaray (bass) and Sarah Smith (drums) who released their debut EP on Friday 2nd August, launching it through a multi-act bill at the Finsbury in Manor House, North London, up near my neck of the woods. They’ve been together since 2011, practising and perfecting …
Video: Backseat Mafia meets Cult of Luna
Last night, despite the heatwave engulfing London, I positioned myself in the hottest room in my house, closed all the windows and doors to shut out extraneous noise, and talked to Cult of Luna singer and guitarist Johannes Persson. The Swedish metal band released their sixth album in January and have been on and off …
Interview: Tift Merritt
“I’m gonna be Molotov !” (none of the images contained in this article were shot in my house…) It’s just as well that Tift Merritt came round for dinner. Worrying about the cooking stopped me being so nervous about talking to her. How did this come about ? Well, it’s a tale of jetlag, Oliver’s …
Live: Secret Cinema presents Laura Marling – Cardinal Pole Lower School, Hackney, London
ON A WEEKEND in which some of her fellow folk revivalists were busy dividing opinion at Worthy Farm, Laura Marling was finishing a run of unique, ‘immersive’ nights in a world far removed from the easy, egalitarian vibes of Glastonbury. Marling, now LA-resident, is ploughing a furrow very much independent of the likes of the …
Tift Merritt and Simone Dinnerstein: Live at the Purcell Room, Southbank Centre
Tonight I’m at the Purcell Room in London to see Tift Merritt and Simone Dinnerstein playing their 2013 album “Night” (plus some additional tracks that we were lucky enough to hear). I don’t know that there’s a duff arts venue in the whole of the Southbank Centre. The BFI quickly became the only place I …
Track: Rotty – Introducing Rotty E.P.
Citizens. It’s times like these we have to be vigilant. If you happen to be in the vicinity of a nightclub, soundsystem, or even radio, never mind on the internet, you might get offered something. Like all these things its a short term fix for a long term problem, to make all those worries go …
Just Lions – Monsters
When I left work on Friday evening I was booze-bound, off to meet my Best Man and friends from home via a quick trip to the Tattershall Castle to drink onboard ship in the sunshine. The opening bars of this song are the ones that I wish I had been hearing as I began my …
Kodaline – Love Like This: Single Review
You can’t fault the timing of Kodaline’s record company. RCA presumably have a bank of eggheads working in a basement somewhere under their New York Headquarters running complex predictive algorithms to check the likely content of the British summer. They could have just asked someone. The streets of London are full to the fucking brim …
Listen: Sam Pinkerton – Calling You Out
Late evening sun on Portland stone against a background of only sky blue. Who knew this would ever come to London again ? But it did, and seeing that sight always makes my heart lift and wish to be outdoors drinking in the fresh air, a cold beer and laughing in arms-touching proximity to friends. …