Fuzz You!
Concert review Marques Toliver, Amstelkerk, Amsterdam May 16th 2012. The last truly great song recorded by Swindon’s cult heroes XTC is called River of Orchids, opening track to the orchestral album Apple Venus pt. 1. The uniqueness of this grand eco-anthem of a song lies in the tensive build up of layer after layer of… [Continue Reading]
Concert and album review of Alabama Shakes. Albama Shakes live at the Bitterzoet, Amsterdam. Concert review by Manou Chen. If I’m honest, listening to Alabama Shakes’ debut album Boys & Girls initially gave me the impression that the hype machine had been running over hours. Boys & Girls stands-out through its authenticity and its candor,… [Continue Reading]
Album and concertreview Breton at Paradiso, April 19th 2012 - Breton are four cutting-edge sound (and video) designers with a Britpop attitude that could easily have made them into an insufferable symbiosis of Blur and James Blake. Fortunately, Breton do not utilize their Cockney wit by prancing about like a bunch of smart alecs, trying to… [Continue Reading]
Concertreview Manic Street Preachers, Paradiso Amsterdam April 19th 2012 – It was a year ago when The Manic Street Preachers played their provocative early single You Love Us toward the end of their Amsterdam gig and the entire Melkweg agreed that they had once more deserved our love. Last Wednesday when they played the same… [Continue Reading]
Dublin’s quartet The Cast of Cheers have chosen their band name well. Their bouncy mix of math-pop and new wave is cause for jubilations. Catchy like Two Door Cinema Club, spiky like Foals and edgy like Dutch Uncles, the band, who released their debut album Chariot in 2010 as an online freebee, sound very twenty-tens…. [Continue Reading]
Album and concert review Lonely Drifter Karen, Paradiso, Amsterdam 18th of March 2012 – Lonely Drifter Karen are grist to the mill of the pro-Europe campaigners. Singer Tanja Frinta was born in Vienna, moved to Sweden, formed the band in Barcelona with the Majorcan keyboard player Marc Meliá and an Italian drummer. Recently the band… [Continue Reading]
I pity artists who feel they have to pretend that age doesn’t affect them. I’m talking about the Madonnas, Mick Jaggers and K3’s of this world. At the other end of the spectrum is a man who wrote his first song about turning middle-age when he was 26 (Hey Rusty) and hasn’t stopped since. If… [Continue Reading]
Concert and album review School of Seven Bells at Bitterzoet, Amsterdam March 11th 2012. Everything about School of Seven Bells wants to stress the obvious fact that its members have a wider understanding of the universe than most people. The Cleopatra haircut and make up, the excessive jewelry, the Om tattoo, the staring absently into… [Continue Reading]
It might have been a bit optimistic to book St. Vincent in the Max (capacity of 1.500). Sure, Mary me (2007) Actor (2009) and Strange Mercy (2011) have been released to much critical acclaim and have earned Annie Clarck a steadily growing international fan base. Still, baroque-indie is a niche market and within the genre… [Continue Reading]
Concert review of Yukon Blonde live at the Paradiso, Amsterdam on ‘Sunday’ February 19th 2012. So what is the worst time slot for a band to play….? Yes, you are right…Sunday night at 22:00 is a killer slot. Seeing that most people are in bed, Sunday nights at the Paradiso are usually quiet with only… [Continue Reading]