Artist of the week: Emily and the Woods

I'm not ready to talk about how I had tickets to see this band recently in a teeny tiny venue in Kings Cross. How I spent two hours waiting for them to come on stage, listening to below par support acts outstay their welcome but powering on through waiting for the main act because it would be so worth it to hear this lovely voice in a tiny space. How, when the trio finally came on stage I heard one song before having to admit defeat to illness and go home.  Not bitter, not at all....Still, the one song I did get to hear was magical and Emily Woods and her band fit nicely in to my obsession with the brooding girly genre of music that I do so love. So here she is singing 'Arrows' in a living room. Enjoy...



Find out more: https://soundcloud.com/emilyandthewoods

The Harlots, Two Years On...

The Harlots, debut gig, February 2011

I was flicking through an old diary the other day and discovered that it is very nearly two years to the day since London based band The Harlots played their debut gig at a little pub in Cricklewood, North London. On February 17th 2011 original members Kike and Sherwin played an acoustic set to a privileged few, otherwise known as their mates, in the back of the Crowne Pub.  Most of us had trekked there from the depths of South London and we acted like a bunch of over excited groupies as we wolf whistled the boys through their small set of songs. They did us proud and certainly held their own despite the small audience. However, fast forward two years and I recently found myself standing near the stage at the Mother Bar in Shoreditch, surrounded by people I didn't recognise, dancing along and listening to a polished 4 piece band loudly rock their way through a tight and professional set. Along with a distinct skinny jeans dress style, Kike and Sherwin have found themselves a mysterious heart throb drummer and an easy on the eye talented French bassist to complete the line up and The Harlots have begun to make a real name for themselves on the London music scene. In 2012 they toured Europe, made a music video, filmed a session for Loaded TV, recorded a single, mastered a record at Abbey Road and played over 40 gigs. 2013 looks set to be even bigger with plans for an EP, a gig at the infamous Koko in Camden and maybe even that coveted record deal if they play their cards right. All a far cry from the back of an empty pub in the middle of Cricklewood merely two years ago...

The Harlots, Mother Live February 2013

Back to February 2 2012 and the Mother Bar, or 'The Harlots very own cavern', as band member Kike described it - the boys put on a strong set. They have built up a superb list of songs and new number 'Gimme Love' is definitely a favourite among the female fan base with an element of Coldplay/Keane to it. 'Be Mine', 'The Thief and Me' and new song 'Do I, Do I' are all well written anthemic rock songs reminiscent of early Oasis and the Stone Roses. The band are definitely establishing themselves as a modern rock and roll band and with Radio 1 boss Andy Roberts, recently declaring that guitar music is set for a major comeback they couldn't have chosen a better time to make their mark. The Shoreditch venue is small and intimate and has become a regular haunt of the band since they signed with Feed Your Head management last year. However their brand of guitar driven music needs to be turned up loud and I am very excited to hear them play Koko on 29 March. This will be a gig not to be missed, for sure...!

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The Blog is Back

It's definitely time to start blogging again...

Daughter live at Islington Assembly Halls

Daughter are definitely a band to watch. They have been quietly gathering pace over the past year, touted by Lauren Laverne on 6 Music, supporting Ben Howard on tour and producing two beautiful EPs. The haunting vocals of Elena Tonra (joined by Igor on guitar and Remi on drums although they mix up their instruments quite a bit) lit up the Islington Assembly Halls last night as Daughter played their last live show before hitting the festivals this summer and hopefully recording a full album.

The band discreetly arrived on stage and kicked off with their song 'Run'. From the off it was obvious just how strong Elena's voice was and the venue could not have been more accommodating to her beautiful melodies. It is rare at a gig to hear the audience in stunned silence to the point where you could have heard a pin drop but such was the effect when they played 'Love' and 'Landfill' and particularly when Elena went solo on track 'The Woods'.

There was a mutual understanding in the room that we were lucky to be there and the majority of the gig found the audience gazing up in awe at the sheer talent we were witnessing. Igor was an exceptional guitarist and drove the energy on the stage. The crowd livened up on 'Youth' and I definitely saw some audience particpation when they played 'Candles' .

Even when they showcased a new song and stopped after the first verse because the key was slightly out this didn't matter. After a quick chat and a re-tune Elena set off again like a consummate professional. Pitch perfect, unnerved and so wonderful. There is a Florence Welch type innocence about Elena: shy and a tad nervous when interacting with the crowd it is obvious she can't quite believe her luck that something she likes doing so much (writing beautiful songs and singing them with her bandmates) has gathered a following and there seemed to be a sort of amazement that we were all there to see her. However the nerves subsided when the music played and this is when she seemed most at home - lost in her own little world of hauntingly beautiful songs.

If you like your music folky and mesmerising and you want to listen to something really special then check out Daughter at various festivals this summer and buy the EP's. You won't be disappointed.

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http://www.facebook.com/ohdaughter

New Warpaint Song (sort of)

Warpaint tweeted a video today of band member Emily Kokal singing a new track called Hymn, live at Dilettante. Anyway it's pretty good and very Warpaint esq. Looking forward to a new album this year I hope!

**Debut Music Video by The Harlots for Be Mine**

If you haven't seen this yet then you're missing out. London's finest - The Harlots have released their debut video, filmed at Scar Studios in Camden, for new single "Be Mine" and it's good - REALLY good. Check it out below and catch them at the O2 Academy in Islington on 16th March. See http://www.theharlotsmusic.com/ for more information.

Florence + The Machine live at Alexandra Palace

Last Night was the first of three dates at Ally Pally for Flo, supported by The Horrors, on her first full UK tour since the Cosmic Love Tour in 2010 and what a night it was. I'm not going to lie, I'm a pretty hard core fan so you're unlikely to find much criticism on this blog but that aside it truly was a simply perfect evening.

Florence + The Machine brought latest album Ceremonials to the forefront on an art deco inspired stage. Usual band members were joined by a full string section and a gospel choir. The sound was big. Opening with "Only if for a Night" (my prediction) Florence floated on to the stage, hair elaborately pinned up and wearing a black cat suit covered by a large black cape. A seemingly nervous start didn't last long as she unleashed song after song, playing a good hour and a half's worth of material. She moved seamlessly in to What the Water Gave Me and then ditched the cape for the remainder of the main set. Crowd favourite Dog Days Are Over saw everyone jumping around under Florence's instruction, the live version of Rabbit Heart didn't disappoint and a more classical version of You've got the Love built up into an anthemic arms in the air festival-esq moment that was lacking nothing but some swaying lighters.

Although the new album was the main event, she kindly threw in enough from Lungs to ensure no one was disappointed. With only two albums she already has a pretty hefty repertoire. Her voice was on top form last night, with trademark long high notes held for what seemed an inhuman amount of time and pretty much pitch perfect. New tracks that stood out were Spectrum, All this and Heaven Too and of course Shake it Out. Florence seemed to be in her element twirling around the stage, engaging with her adoring audience and savouring every second of the set.

After the usual "we've finished, oh no we haven't", Florence came back on for a much wanted encore. Donning her cape again and launching in to No Light, No Light followed by final number, Never Let Me Go. A fitting finish on two counts - the new single and exactly the sentiment we all felt as the last note was played. We did not want to let her go. Not at all.






Helpfully some kind fan has made a montage of video clips from last night's gig so here's a taste of what we saw: