Video of the Day: 'Hallelujah Money (feat. Benjamin Clematine)' by Gorillaz

They're back - and it's about time! Damon Albarn loves a political comment, so what better time to release this scathing attack on capitalism than on the eve of the inauguration of President Donald fucking Trump. Featuring the beautiful vocals of Clemantine as well as some input from Albarn himself, it's a more mature sounding Gorillaz (for all the Spongebob Squarepants featuring video in the background). Let's hope for much more like this from him as 2017 rolls on.

Video of the Day: 'In My Car' by Gold Panda

Taken from his new album 'Good Luck And Do Your Best', this new track sees Gold Panda at his electronic best, making trademark glitches and beats. The video meanwhile, seems to show him spending the day with his Nan, going to a museum in Chelmsford, and then driving down the A130 towards Rayleigh (correct me if I'm wrong here Derwin). They end up in a cemetery which I haven't yet identified, before going to McDonalds for a hot apple pie and a coffee. Ah, the life of an international recording artist eh?

Record Store Day 2015

After four or five years of heading up to Rough Trade in London I decided to keep it local for Record Store Day (that's kind of the point after all) and so I headed to South in Southend.

The queue at South, 7am this morning

The benefits of this decision were immediately apparent when a) I got an extra hour in bed and b) I was 4th in the queue when I arrived. The usual queue banter took place (seems record collectors are pretty much decent folk wherever you go) while we waited for the store to open, which happened at bang on 8 o'clock. Now, South isn't the largest shop in the world, which brings me to my only gripe of the day - once the doors were opened everyone poured in, leading to a bit of a scrum around the albums and making it impossible for me to get to the 7" singles once I'd finished at the 12"s. So maybe next year they could manage the volume of people in the shop a bit more - that's one thing that Rough Trade has managed to get right over the years.

My 2015 Record Store Day haul

Anyway, moan over. Aside for the Johnny Marr 7" that had gone by the time I reached the counter I got pretty much everything that was on my list, with a free book thrown in too. Here's the run down, listed in roughly the order in which I targeted them.

• Run The Jewels - Bust No Moves; clear 12"
• Jon Hopkins - I Remember (Nils Frahm remix); white vinyl 10"
• Hot Chip - Atomic Bomb (John Talabot remix); 12"
• Sinkane / The Charlatans - Emile; yellow vinyl 7"
• Serge Gainsbourg - Serge Gainsbourg et Le Cinema; 
• Foo Fighters - Songs From The Laundry Room; 10"
• Kode9 & The Spaceape - Ghost Town; gold vinyl 7"
• Courtney Barnett - Kim's Caravan; 12"
• Jay Z / Ghostface Killah - U Don't Know / Whip You With A Strap; 7"
• Gram Parsons / The Lemonheads - Brass Buttons; pink vinyl 7"
• Warpaint / Daughter - Feeling Alright / Winter; 12"
• Toy & Jane Weaver - Fell From The Sun 7"
• Free book: Strange Requests and Comic Tales from Record Shops by Graham Jones

Update: On the Monday after Record Store Day I went across to Rough Trade and picked up a couple more things, namely:

• Metronomy - Boy Racers; Ferrari Red 12"
• St Paul & The Broken Bones - Sing A Simple Song; Albama-shaped burgundy vinyl

Live review and pictures: East India Youth at South Record Shop, Southend 9/4/2015

East India Youth 9/4/15

A sunny late afternoon saw a small group of those in the know arrive at the equally small South for a gig to promote the new East India Youth album. After a few slightly awkward moments where Will Doyle was soundchecking and we all sort of pretended that we couldn't see him, he headed to the cafe over the road while we waited for the clock to strike five.

East India Youth live at South Record Shop 9/4/15

At the alloted hour Doyle took to the stage and opened with 'The Juddering', the opening track from 'Culture of Volume'. Without stopping for breath he ploughed through a 35 minute set that mixed a couple of older tracks including 'Looking for Someone' with highlights from the new album like the single 'Turn Away' and also 'End Result'. The tempo increased, as did the bobbing of Will's head, and by the closing pairing of 'Hearts That Never' and 'Hinterland' we were pretty much having a full-on rave. The wooden floor of the shop was vibrating as we bopped away while the traditional seaside smell of chips wafted in from the chippie over the road.

Afterwards there was a chance for people to have a quick chat with Will and get records signed etc. I spoke to him about his support slot for Jon Hopkins at the end of the month which he's really looking forward to - he told me that Hopkins a/v show is pretty spectacular so I can't wait to see it now!

Track of the Day: 'Go Out' by Blur

So in the space of a few hours Blur have announced a new album (The Magic Whip), a gig in Hyde Park on June 20th, and the first new fruits of their labours, 'Go Out'. The first thing to note is that it sounds nothing like Albarn's melancholy and autobiographical solo album from last year 'Everyday Robots'. It's kind of refreshing to hear a dumbed-down Damon on a bog-standard Blur track. Although it's driven by a blinding Coxon guitar line there's nothing particularly special about the track - it's not as good as their one-off releases 'Fools Day' or 'Under The Westway' - there's a daft joy to it which allows us to revel in the fact that they're back together, while at the same time hoping that there's something a bit more substantial on the album.

Remix of the Day: 'Nasty (Zinc Remix)' by The Prodigy

I must admit to being rather nonplussed when I first heard the new Prodigy single. Sure, everyone wants The Prodigy to sound like The Prodigy, but it was just a bit too formulaic and out-of-date for my liking. This new version by Zinc though knocks off some of the old-fashioned edges, but still retains a classic feel. I can definitely see this goind down well in the rowdy clubs. Have a listen below.

Track of the Day: 'Movement I, II & III' by Lapalux

This has been around a month or so now but that's no reason not to give it the space it deserves on here. The three parts of this 7 minute opus will lift your spirits on this damp and grey afternoon, as the aptly-titled 'Movement' washes you ashore in a new land. Like one of those Venusian, Utopian planets on the old Star Trek programmes, populated with nubile females and never-ending banquets, it will transport you to another reality.

As the only British act on Flying Lotus' Brainfeeder label you might think there'd be a lot of pressure on Essex boy Stuart Howard, but if there is he certainly hasn't succumbed to it.

New music: 'David Woodcock' by David Woodcock

"Here lies the end of me, it's all getting dark and hard to see,

Time takes its toll on me, but it couldn't be clearer,

The Evening Echo call it the end of an era"

The début album from Southend's David Woodcock is full of wry observations on life and quiet nods towards his home town. When you come from the same are it almost makes you feel part of an in joke, as you recognise places like The Railway Hotel and Pier Hill. And I've been reading the Evening Echo's local news for local people since I was in short trousers (I've even been in it a few times) so I'm familiar with their hyperbole (and poor spelling).

But you don't have to be an Essex boy or girl to appreciate the warmth of Woodcock's wit. Though it's true that David's music is currently getting a lot of support on BBC 6music from North Essex luminary Steve Lamacq, anyone with even a slight sense of the eccentric or a taste for quirky Englishness will enjoy the cut of his jib. With his voice sounding like Damon Albarn at his most 'mockney' and a talent for shoehorning lyrics into melodies like Ian Dury (especially on 'Same Things') he scampers his way though love and loss. If you'd seen him on a bill singing 'Open Secret' between Squeeze and Madness back in the day he would've fitted right in.

There's a strongly confessional feel to the songwriting here, although they can't all be true. Apart from anything else, one minute he's pleading the fact that just because he's never left the country doesn't mean he's boring (on 'The Adventures of You and Me') and the next he's telling tales of 'Springtime in New York'. But I'm sure a lot of people will identify with his status of being a 'Relatively Single Man' - going nowhere with no back-up plan. By the time you get to album closer 'I Forgot To Miss You (late night at The Railway Hotel) you really do feel like you've spent a night in the pub with him.

So if you fancy a bit of end of the pier revelry, especially if that pier's the longest pleasure pier in the world, then give David Woodcock a try. And maybe buy him a Drambuie next time you see him in The Railway Hotel...

Recommended music: 'Everyday Robots' by Damon Albarn

Could this be the year of the 'mature' album? So far this year Beck's given us the most sophisticated, grown-up and classy album of his career, while Ben Watt has ditched years of dance music, paired up with Bernard Butler, and made a record that any quality singer-songwriter from the 70s would've been proud of. Meanwhile on 'Everyday Robots' Damon Albarn comes up with some of the best songwriting of his life, matching beautiful melodies with confessional lyrics ranging from childhood to frank confessions of his heroin use during Blur's heyday. Essentially a middle-aged meditation on life, this is Damon bearing his soul on who he is and how he's got here.

Written and almost entirely performed by him alone (with mostly just some beat contributions from producer Richard Russell), it owes more to his work with Gorillaz and other projects such as Africa Express and the Bobby Womack album than it does to Blur. There's a lineage to be traced through his history though - having always told stories of other people in his lyrics, he's now turned that lens on himself with amazing honesty. And musically you can draw a line from the brilliant Gorillaz track 'Hong Kong' and the end-of-Blur tracks like 'Fool's Day' and 'Under The Westway', and even things like 'Sunset Coming On' from the Mali Music album.

He's at his most confessional on 'You and Me': "Jab jab / digging out a hole in Westbourne Grove / tin foil and a lighter / the ship across / five days on and two days off" - basically a heroin user's version of the fasting diet. I'm sure that, like me, many people never realised the extent of his drug use, but here it is laid out for all to see.

In the main the music is downbeat, but never sombre or maudlin. There are a couple of lighter moments though. The upbeat 'Mr. Tembo' (about an orphaned elephant) might sound a bit too smiley in isolation, but in the context of the album it serves both as a counterpoint to the more serious tracks and as a way of including his trips to Africa in the story. Meanwhile album closer 'Heavy Seas of Love', featuring surprise guest vocals from Brian Eno, is one of those classic 'Let It Be' type songs, one of those 'things aren't as bad as they seem, I'll help you pick yourself up, you're stronger than you realise' tracks that manages to touch your soul almost without you realising it. And yes, I did just compare Albarn's songwriting to McCartney's.



Despite his constant output I'm not sure Albarn's ever been properly recognised fo rthe quality of his writing, and I wnder if whether subconsciously this is him showing us how he intends to grow old gracefully, putting away the childish things of his youth and taking a gentle stroll into maturity.

Maybe it's because we're a similar age, or because I've always followed his work and enjoyed the way it's developed. Or maybe it's just because this is a damm fine record, but this album moves me in a way that few albums have recently. It's a record that makes you want to sit quietly and take stock of your own life, to be happy with where you are, to spend some time in your own company but then to go out and hug your friends.



Despite the fact that it failed to get to number one (due to Warner's cock-up with failing to press the right amount of vinyl), as the months go by I predict that more and more people will fall under its spell. It's also a dead cert for the Mercury Music Prize this year, so put your money on it now and thank me later.

Track of the Day: 'Heart Is A Far Light' by Wife

Recorded in the wilds of the Essex coast and produced by The Haxan Cloak, the brilliantly moody piece of electronica by James Kelly conjures up images of the rolling sea mists, barren marshes and general isolation that he must have experienced while recording the new album 'What's Between'. The vocals are buried deep within the music, occasionally breaking free to drift through your headspace. It's certainly got me anticipating the full album release, which is set for June 9th in Tri Angle Records.

Recommended music: 'Scratchcards & Wine' by DB Cohen

'Scratchcards & Wine' eh? The world's shortest shopping list, or a couple of things that help to get you through the day? If it's the latter then DB Cohen's album should be added to that list, as it's pretty much guaranteed to put you in a good frame of mind.

Born in South London and raised on a diet of Bob Dylan, The Kinks and Cream, Dan Cohen could well be the South's answer to Alex Turner. Lines like "Snowboy is talking 'bout fun with Steve Hawking, Chomsky is running the bar but he won't serve American boys" (from 'Dinner Party', about the ultimate fantasy party) or "She's betting I'm a gambling man" (from 'The Dealer') show that he's as on top of the lyrics as he is with the music. There's an English feel to the songs that brings to mind Madness or The Kinks, but there's also more than a hint of The Libertines in some of the tracks and the vocal delivery. On the slower tracks you can feel the Dylan influence, as well as 'Exile On Main Street'-era Stones.

After a few listens some of these songs feel like classics that have been with you for years. Dan plays a mean harmonica too which he makes good use of and which adds to the timeless feel of some of the tracks.

The album was produced by Essex legend Snowboy (as namechecked in 'Dinner Party') and features a host of quality musicians including Mark Saunders (bass player with Florence + The Machine), Southend bluesman Steve Hooker, Mike Webster (Baddies) and the horn section from The Specials. Live at Village Green last week he even managed to rope in Adele's backing singers!

DB Cohen on the Main Stage at Village Green festival, Southend 13/7/13

Overall this is a greatly entertaining and enjoyable record which you really should buy (see below for the full album stream and purchase links on Bandcamp). If you fancy catching DB Cohen live there's a show at London landmark The 100 Club on 10th August that will be well worth going to (click here for ticket details).

New podcast - Austerity Audio vol. 6: The Village Green edition

My latest podcast is a special themed edition - I had such a great time at the Village Green festival in Southend last weekend (pictures here) that I though I'd make one that featured acts who performed in some form or another on Saturday. The challenge was to find free tracks from the artists I saw (and a few that I didn't) and I succeeded pretty weel. So as well as the likes of Sweet Billy Pilgrim and DB Cohen you get the Rumour Cubes (who played with Sam Duckworth) and a new tracks that Sam recorded this week with Micall Parknsun.

Left click on the picture to listen to the podcast, or right click to download it. As well as the usual rules that come with this podcast (if you like one of these free tracks then spend a few pence buying something else by that artist) there's an extra call for support this week. Village Green is put on for free each year by the Metal organisation with Southend council, and they want to make sure that it continues to be free in the future. So if you're feeling generous then you can donate £3 to the festival by texting VGFR33 £3 to 70070. Here's the tracklisting:

1. Rumour Cubes - Rain On Titan
2. Sweet Billy Pilgrim - Joyful Reunion
3. James Yorkston - Moving Up Country, Roaring The Gospel
4. Parky & Recreations - Why
5. DB Cohen - Do You Love Me Now Daddy?
6. Youth Club - Nothing
7. Phillious Williams - Oh My Old Love
8. The Lucky Strikes - Gold Ring
9. Wednesday's Child - No Doubt
10. Stuart O'Connor - Designed To Stop

Live - in pictures: Village Green Festival, Southend 13/7/2013

The sun shone brightly on Southend's annual music and culture festival, organised as always by the wonderful Metal organisation. They do a fantastic job with the council putting this on for free every year, and while I mainly go for the music there are a whole host of other activities, local theatre and music groups, and general stuff happening that make it a great day for the community.

First up on the Main Stage and opening the day were Japanese punk-poppers Mika Bomb. They played some energy-packed songs, the best of which was the brilliantly-titled 'Super Sexy Razor Happy Girls'.

Next up on the Main Stage were local boys The Lucky Strikes. These boys clearly deserve to be much more well-known than they are, they're hugely talented and their brand of Thames Delta alt-country sounded perfect in the sunshine.

A stroll round the site brought us to the brilliant Prairie Stage. Thankfully located in the leafy shade under the trees it played host to lots of country-tinged acts, all held together by an energetic compère - a great place to cool down.

Next we headed to the Sundown Stage - it was warm inside but with hay bales and cushions to sit on we couldn't complain! Stuart O'Connor played a brilliant solo set, looping up guitar and percussion sounds to sing over, and putting a lot of effort (and sweat!) into his performance.

We stayed in the Sundown tent to see Jason Steel battle with the sound wafting in from the main stage. He played quite a few snippets of other people's songs in between his own - anyone who plays the theme to the Littlest Hobo is OK by me!

Back to the Main Stage for one of the day's highlights - DB Cohen. Produced by local legend Snowboy this guy deserves to be huge, and is quite possibly Essex's answer to Alex Turner. He's got style, swagger, good lyrics and a great ear for a tune, and he plays a mean harmonica too!

You can probably judge how good he is by the quality of his band - the bass player from Florence + The Machine, the horn section from The Specials, and some proper full-on backing singers who've apparently sung with Adele! If you get a chance to see him live you really should.

Round to the Village School stage next for another soon-to-be-big act, Youth Club. Judging by the drunken dancing and singing along that was taking place they've already got a pretty loyal fan base. They certainly look like they wouldn't be out of place playing in the sun at Glastonbury next year.

Sweet Billy Pilgrim were a revelation to me. I really knew nothing about them apart from their Mercury nomination & somehow imagined they'd be playing twee folk or jazz noodlings. But no, this was really powerful stuff from some very gifted musicians. They were joined at the end by Sam Duckworth & his horn section, and sign of things to come later on...

Next on the Village School stage was Ed Harcourt. With just a lone trumpeter for company, he switched effortlessly between guitar and piano while building a good rapport with the crowd.

Ed finished his set with a trip into the audience and a chance to high-five, hug and generally interact with some particularly fervent (and quite drunk) fans - the sunshine definitely seemed to have brought out the best in everyone!

And so to Sam Duckworth. After pulling out at the last minute due to illness, this was a chance for him to make amends and play in his home town for the first time in 3 years. Joined by the Southend Youth Orchestra and a horn section marshalled by his long-time trumpeter Mikey Glennister it was a show full of passion and joy.

Sam was joined by various members of Sweet Billy Pilgrim during his set, which also featured his dad rocking out with some guitar solos during one of the songs!








The evening finished with a cast of thousands joining forces for a rousing rendition of Rock The Casbah, sending everyone off into the night with a spring in their step. The organisers were asking for voluntary donations this year to help keep the festival going for the future, and as Sam Duckworth rightly pointed out this was well worth the £3 they were asking for. Here's to many more years!

Sam Duckworth, Sweet Billy Pilgrim, The Southend Youth Orchestra & more play Rock The Casbah at Village Green Festival 13/7/2013

Video of the Day: 'My Father in Hong Kong 1961' by Gold Panda

A nice, atmospheric video for one of the calmer and less dance-oriented tracks on Gold Panda's latest album 'Half Of Where You Live'. The album itself has strong themes of travel and worldwide locations, which are brought to the fore in this track.

Track of the Day: 'We Work Nights' by Gold Panda

Hot on the heels of 'Brazil' comes the second track from Derwin's second album 'Half Of Where You Live'. It's closer in style to 'Lucky Shiner' than 'Brazil' was, and manages to keep up Mr. Panda's unerring knack of being able to evoke a whole gap-year's worth of travel in one track.

The album is out on June 10th on Notown Records. Listen to the track below, and I'll see you down the front at Brixton Electric on June 12th!

Track of the Day: 'Fragment Two' by These New Puritans

These New Puritans are another band who've recently joined the list of exciting 'return' albums due out in 2013, along with the likes of Boards of Canada and Daft Punk. It's been three years since the Essex band put out the excellent 'Hidden' and now they'll be releasing 'Field of Reeds' next month.

As a taster for this you can listen to 'Fragment Two', which you can also get as an instant download if you pre-order the album from iTunes. It's a really well produced track - at times there's quite a lot going on while at others the instruments are really allowed space to breathe. If the rest of the record is as good as this then it could well be their masterpiece.

New music: 'Moveoutofmyway' by Lapalux feat. ShadowBox

An exclusive new track, not featured on Lapalux's excellent new 'Nostalchic' album. It's a dreamy, ethereal cut, underscored with some crunchy percussion. Grab it below on one of those 'name your own price' (e.g. free) deals.

New music: 'Guuurl' by Lapalux

Like all the best things in the world (!) Lapalux comes from Essex. Having spread his wings and signed a deal with Flying Lotus' label Brainfeeder, this is the first cut we have from his debut album 'Nostalchic', which is out in March. A heavily treated vocal sings ' I wanna make love to you' over a solid groove with a few glitches thrown in for good measure. Have a listen below.

Live in pictures: V Festival 2012 - Chelmsford (Day 2)

Day 2 of V dawned as hot and sunny as the previous one. Whilst the crowd felt a bit sluggish to start off with (a combination of over-indulgence and sunburn from Saturday), The Stranglers had no such problems, blasting out hits like 'No More Heroes' and the sunshine-appropriate 'Peaches' on the main stage like they were 30 years younger.

The Stranglers, main stage, V Festival 19/8/12

Moving over to the 4Music stage we saw The Rifles, one of a number of 'next big thing' bands who never really took off. They were pretty good, engaging the audience and keeping a sizeable crowd even when what seemed to be a tropical deluge hit the park.

The Rifles (before it rained), 4Music Stage, V Festival 19/8/12

Half an hour later the rain had disappeared and The Feeling had taken its place. Thankfully they only played one new song and mainly restricted themselves to orchestrating crowd singalongs of some of their different tunes (I know a lot of people hate them, but secretly everyone joins in with 'Sewn', don't they?).

The Feeling, V Festival, 19/8/12

By the time Madness came on the temperature was peaking, but that didn't stop the masses in Chelmsford having a good old dance to the likes of 'One Step Beyond', 'Our House' and a pretty good cover of 'I Chase The Devil'. Even the appearance of Olly Murs to sing 'It Must Be Love' with them couldn't take the shine off the party - it felt like the Olympics had never ended.

Madness on the main stage, V Festival, 19/8/12

Talking of parties, someone who must have been to a few fair in his time is the legendary Tom Jones.

While his recent appearance on The Voice must have brought him some new young followers, the man is a legend for one reason, and that's his voice. Showing no signs of deterioration even now he's 72, he put it to good use in a set mixing classics with a few newer songs, including the Jack White produced 'Evil' and his cover of Leonard Cohen's 'Tower of Song' (probably the best Cohen cover since Jeff Buckley did 'Hallelujah').

Tom Jones, V Festival 19/8/12

To rapturous applause and mass singing he closed with 'The Green, Green Grass of Home', 'Delilah', 'It's Not Unusual' and 'Kiss' - how many of today's artists have got a back catalogue as good as that?

Tom Jones = legend, V Festival, 19/8/12

A trip to The Arena stage found more nostalgia, and a much bigger crowd than I expected, for The Human League. Despite playing the obligatory 'new one' (which for me would've been much better replaced by 'The Sound of the Crowd') they got everyone dancing, and the volume of singing to their last 2 songs 'Electric Dreams' and 'Don't You Want Me' pretty much lifted the roof off the tent.

The Human League, V Festival 19/8/12

In contrast Noah and The Whale found themselves faced with a pretty small crowd for their turn on the 4Music stage. While Charlie'd weird mid-Atlantic accent can be a bit grating they've got some good songs for a sunny evening festival slot, especially the Tom Petty-alike 'L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N'.

Noah and The Whale, 4Music stage, V Festival 19/8/12

Back to The Arena stage for a chance to see the 'classic' Happy Mondays line-up, including the unmistakeable Bez. Shaun Ryder was on good form, laughing and joking with Rowetta, and the whole thing felt like a celebration of good times past.

The Happy Mondays, V Festival 19/8/12

We watched The Killers from a distance, and closed our V 2012 experience singing along to 'Mr. Brightside' and 'All These Things That I've Done'.

Tracks of the Day: 'Mountain / Financial District' by Gold Panda

Gold Panda's new single came out yesterday, and above and below you'll find the videos for both tracks. 'Mountain' has a similar feel to the stuff on his debut album, although maybe with a slightly harder edge, while 'Financial District' evolves into something slightly dancier but just as good. It's great to have the Essex boy back from Berlin - let's hope there's a new album on the horizon too...