Mazzy Star

Mazzy Star - Hope Sandoval & David Roback - first got together to play some tunes back in 1989. It's been fifteen years though since any new material surfaced, so the release of 'Lay myself down' in October last year and the promise of a new album sometime after summer 2012 is a good thing. Tour dates are slowly being confirmed and it looks very much as though there are some UK ones.

Cellophane Suckers

Cellophane Suckers hail from Germany and have been around since 1993. They're currently on a mini-tour around Dresden and Berlin and that's about all I know. That and the fact that their 2008 album 'Bonjour Mon Capitaine' promises to remain on my Walkman for quite a while - it's that good. Here's a taster for you - 'Be myself again'. Album's available for download at www.emusic.com 





Plan B

Ok, I've waited long enough. This is the best Christmas song in recent history. No contest. Recorded in December 2010 for Radio One's LiveLounge, you'll not find this available for download MP3-wise - but you can always 'favourite' the vid on Youtube like me. Enjoy!

We were promised jetpacks

I have a weakness for a good band name - so 'We were promised jetpacks' is up there in my top five. It's therefore almost a bonus that their music is rather good as well! Medicine is from their new album 'In the pit of the stomach' released on 3rd October. However, you'll do well to check out their first offering as well - 2009's 'These four walls'. The final track - An almighty thud - is superb.

Yes - Brighton Dome, 15/11/11

For what may well be the last major gig for me this year, it had to be Yes at the Dome in Brighton. Leg 9 of a 29-date European tour to help promote the band's first album in ten years 'Fly from here' found the current line-up of Chris Squire (bass), Steve Howe (guitar), Alan White (drums), Geoff Downes (keyboards) and Benoit David (vocals) in top form. This was never going to be a gig with a long set-list though and although we actually lost count, I think it was close to my pre-gig estimate of 9! Musicianship was faultless and Benoit David's vocals, although never aspiring to Jon Anderson's dizzy heights, nevertheless never failed to please. Having a opportunity like this is a rare treat - and probably one we're unlikey to see the likes of much again. Yes are (with no contest) a supergroup in the purest sense of the word. And there really aren't very many of those left!

My Morning Jacket - Bexhill 8-11-11

Despite a decidedly meagre turnout at Bexhill's De La Warr Pavilion, particularly in the light of the several sold out gigs we've been lucky enough to get tickets for of late, My Morning Jacket played as though they were in front of a stadium crowd. This is the third time we'd seen them but tonight knocked the proverbial spots off of anything we've seen and heard before. The set was seamless, numbers blending into each other with a liberal use of feedback and other engineered noises. And the guitar-techs worked overtime taking Jim James and Carl Broemel through a succession of Gibsons and Gretschs no doubt funded in part by the bands' 100+ live performances this year alone and in part to the success of their latest album 'Circuital'. My Morning Jacket surpassed themselves. A truly memorable gig made even more special by the admirable support of 'The Head and the Heart'. If you can get hold of their self-titled album, you'll not be disappointed.

Camille - Hackney Empire, London - 3.11.11

It's always a bit of an adventure going to a Camille gig - you never know quite what to expect! And it was certainly an adventure at London's Hackney Empire last night for her only UK appearance (apart from Later with Jools) of 2012. Ilo Veyou (as you'll have gathered from my earlier posting) is completely what one has come to expect from Ms Dalmais - utterly bonkers but uniquely charming and beautiful at the same time. So it was a rare treat for the sold out audience to get a pitch-perfect live performance of the whole album from start to finish. Camille's vocal range is nothing short of astonishing - particularly evident in the wonderful 'Ilo Veyou' and the final track 'Tout Dit' (and not an auto-tuner or tape-loop in sight). That would have made for a gig it itself were it not for its brevity (even live, Ilo Veyou only filled an hour). So, with the briefest of interludes we were also treated to a selection of greatest hits. Come back soon Camille. We'll be there!