Some Christmas Presents

It’s Christmas Eve! I’m sat on the sofa by the fire waiting for some relatives to come round so we can start drinking and playing board games. There’s been a serious lack of board games so far this Christmas, and I won’t let it continue!!

Anyway, to put off wrapping presents a little bit further, I’ll assemble these digital audio presents for y’all…

Rather good music site The 405 has lots of free festive content up at the moment, but in the spirit of discovering new music, the part that most appealed to me was their free Ones to Watch 2011 album. Its 18 tracks feature songs from such rockin people as Jonquil, Group Love, Tall Ships, and lots more, 15 more actually. Check it out HERE.

Liverpool’s psychedelic blues monsters The Cubical have blessed us with a free new festive ditty showing their softer side, not dissimilar to tracks like Would Be Lovers and All Is Well from debut album ‘Come Sing These Crippled Tunes’. The Golden Rule is available for free now from their Bandcamp page HERE.

Domino Records have been terribly nice and given us a free Compilation of some of the standout tracks from their artists this year. Get your 14 tracks of Domino goodness, including music from Archie Bronson Outfit, Fourtet & Villagers, from the widget below.

Lovely folky blog For Folks Sake have also put out a Christmas compilation album. This one features Xmas covers from a host of their favourite folk artists including Laura Hocking, Emmy The Great & our pal Sam Airey. The album is for sale from their Bandcamp page HERE on a pay-what-you-can basis raising money for the Integrated Cancer Centre at King’s College London.

Sheffield loonies The Heebie Jeebies have just released a new EP, ‘All Our Friends Are Hardcore’ is available for free if you sign up to their mailing list on their music glue page HERE.

Leeds Pop Noir outfit Insect Guide have released a new EP with netlabel Ear Drums Pop. ‘5 O’Clock Recordings is available for free HERE. And check out the video for Grey Sky:

Leeds Music Scene have put together a whole host of Christmas presents on their Audio Advent Calendar HERE. Notable freebies include tracks from Just Handshakes (We’re British) on the 5th, Loose Talk Costs Lives on the 6th, Gary Stewart on the 11th, Buen Chico on the 19th and a splendid Christmas mixtape from Juffage on the 14th.

Music & photo ‘intraview’ blog A Negative Narrative is currently closed for business over the holidays while they redesign the site. We can expect the relaunch in a few weeks, but in the meantime they’ve zipped up a collection of some of the best tracks they’ve hosted this year. Get it from their homepage HERE.

Transgressive Records have teamed up with Turnstile to release a free ‘Bento’ mix EP featuring Pulled Apart By Horses & Johnny Flynn which you can get by putting your email address into the widget below.

We//Are//Animal, taking time out from causing trouble at muso parties, have given us some treats of new material showing some new sounds and hinting towards what the next record might be like. There’s a decent sized EP’s worth of material available to stream from their soundcloud page HERE, and we also have an exclusive free download of new track ‘Ah Ha Oh Haoha’ for you HERE. The band have got plenty of shows lined up for next year, make sure to go check them out live if you’ve not already, no doubt we’ll be bringing them back to Leeds soon.

…and there you have it! Lots of festive freebies to listen to over the holidays. Have a very Merry Christmas everyone!

And have a Happy New Year too, if any of you have anywhere near as much fun as this freaky party looks, let us know!

End of 2010

So we’ve come to the end of another year, and I thought it would be right to sign off by taking a look back at all the fun we’ve had and the music we’ve enjoyed. 2010 has seen Dead Young proudly release our second 10” compilation record: the Dead Young Club Volume 2 featuring The Cubical, Gringo Star, Paul Thomas Saunders & We//Are//Animal. We also went on a short tour to celebrate the release back in May travelling to Bangor, Leeds, Brighton and Liverpool having lots of fun on the way.

In Leeds we put on shows for tons of great acts such as The ABC Club, Blue Roses, Gregory & The Hawk, Insect Guide, Let’s Buy Happiness, The Lucid Dream, Lupen Crook, Mirrors, Moody Gowns, TeenagersInTokyo, Thomas Truax, The Victorian English Gentlemens Club, Young Rebel Set, Zoey Van Goey & many more. From October onwards we were especially busy, promoting at least a gig a week at Oporto, ontop of The Gaslight Club acoustic nights every Monday.

2010 has been a brilliant year for music all round, with so many great new bands coming through and great records being released. Best Coast supplied the soundtrack to the summer with their California sunshine filled guitar pop. Sleigh Bells grabbed our attention by making music louder than anyone else.

Locally we’ve also done well with two great debut albums coming from Leeds bands Dinosaur Pile-Up & Pulled Apart By Horses. These two have clearly had a significant impact across the country as Niall Doherty, editor of The Fly, noted that 'Leeds is singlehandedly saving British Rock music' in reviewing the DPU record. I also took much pleasure listening to the latest efforts from Archie Bronson Outfit, The Black Angels, Black Mountain, Foals, MGMT & Weezer.

It was also a strong year for electronic music, with brilliant releases by Caribou, LCD Soundsystem & many more. Check out Club Mariachi’s review of the year on the Neon Cactus blog HERE.

… but here are my favourite albums of 2010:

Surfer Blood – Astro Coast

Released waay back in January, Astro Coast is the debut album from the five Floridians known as Surfer Blood. The record is full to the brim with catchy guitar riffs and hooks, from which hang the vocals doused in reverb, with lyrical themes of loneliness and confusion. Mixing the African melody & rhythm used by Vampire Weekend, and the powerchord rock of Weezer, Surfer Blood play a fun fusion of American alternative guitar music, and do it well.

Videos for ‘Floating Vibes’ and ‘Swim’ can be seen on previous posts HERE and HERE.

Tame Impala - Innserspeaker

This great record was described quite accurately by one reviewer as having the sound of a 21^st Century Sgt. Pepper’s. Whilst not as eclectic for some it was dismissed as 60s throwback psych rock. But for me Innerspeaker’s hazy slacker feel, and fantastic production enhance Tame Impala’s joyus songwriting to create a brilliant psychedelic rock record. It was self-produced, and mixing duties were handed to Dave Fridmann, who also worked on The Flaming Lips phenomenal record from 2009 Embryonic, to bring some sonic modernity to a record otherwise inspired by the past. A modern approach was also taken to their imagery and media as their latest video for ‘Expectation’ shows. Directed by Clemens Habicht in a forest just outside of Paris on a day off during Tame Impala's European tour, the video shows the band spending a day in the autumn wild with a 360 degree camera and a few flares for company.

Additionally the video for 'Solitude Is Bliss' can be see on a previous post HERE.

Warpaint – The Fool

This is four women from Los Angeles making ‘experimental art rock’. To be honest it doesn’t seem particularly experimental, but while I found The XX a bit boring, Warpaint create a sexier, more interesting, psych-rock influenced version of their style of delicate guitar music which has become popular this year. The ethereal female vocals also remind me of School of Seven Bells, who’s debut I enjoyed hugely in 2009, but Warpaint are a straight up guitar band so I’m sure it sounds just as great live with no over-reliance on electronics that I thought hindered SoSB’s live show. Hugely regret missing them live this year, must catch them in 2011. One thing they could do better with though is their videos, I was going to put one up here but they’re all a bit boring!

We//Are//Animal – Idolise

If you’re reading this you’ll probably be aware Dead Young is no stranger to the //Animals. We’ve featured their track ‘1268’ on our Dead Young Club 10” series which came out earlier this year, and put on shows for them several times. I heard early demos after getting a Myspace friend request before Owain had even recruited his band. Between that and fully releasing their album in November their sound hasn’t changed much. Recording to a broken Boss 8-track machine infused their sound with a raw punkish energy, and the lo-fi production goes without saying. All finished by April (less than 5 months into their existence), Idolise may be the sound of a band in their youth, but the tenacity & creativity it captures is truly exhilarating. Their progression can be heard in their prolific output, new tracks are regularly made available online, and a free EP will soon be posted up here.

Check out videos for ‘1268’ and ‘Black Magic’ on previous posts HERE and HERE.

...and you can listen to these four albums as a Spotify playlist HERE.

Happy listening!

What are your favourite records of the year?

DIRTY SHAME - The new single from The Cubical

A year after the global success of their critically acclaimed debut album ‘Come Sing These Crippled Tunes’, The Cubical are back with new single ‘Dirty Shame’; the first to be taken from their new album which will hit the shops next year. Sounding like a cross between Roxy Music and Exile on Main Street era Stones, ‘Dirty Shame’ continues where the band left off with their unique and twisted take on psychedelic garage blues only this time adding a full horn section for extra measure. From the duelling guitar intro to the horn section climax, singer Dan Wilson's trademark blues growl and bizarre lyrical imagery sit proudly on top of a sound that only The Cubical can make: a thunderous swamp blues groove of twanging guitars, frenetic bass and pounding drums. After 3 and a half minutes of 'Dirty Shame', The Cubical will leave you gasping for breath and eagerly awaiting more from their forthcoming second album. The video (a homage to Italian singer / songwriter Adriano Celentano's 1972 gibberish single Prisencolinensinainciusol) isn't bad either.

Here’s a reminder of what people have said about The Cubical from around the world:

'If you like your rock'n'roll primal and pounding, and your vocals gritty and growly, then meet Liverpool's answer to the Magic Band.' – The Guardian

"Ever wondered what might happen if Tom Waits and The Rolling Stones got together for an old fashioned jam and Nick Cave stopped by to bum a cigarette? This is one of the most vital records of the year, The Cubical may just be your new favourite band. 4.5 /5" Sydney Morning Herald -Australia

"Compared to other Liverpool bands, The Cubical stand out for a mile as the demented, disheveled, brilliant band they are." THE FLY MAG

"If you don't like The Cubical, you are stupid. Easy." Music News - Norway

"Guitars clang and the bass and drums shuffle just right enough to raise the ghost of Willie Dixon, track down Captain Beefheart circa Safe As Milk and have a chat wtih The La's. And the singers raspy vocal might just shatter your lightbulbs' - Mojo

“Mind-warpin’ mutated blues. Don’t let it pass you by.” - Shindig

'The key difference between The Cubical and the other thousand odd Beefheart / Waits acolytes, is that they actually pull off this primal, experimental form of rock 'n' roll with considerable poise' - Drowned in Sound

"The rumble of Great White Lie is enough to make a listener fear divine retribution, hide the children and close the curtains." - Spin magazine - USA

"The Cubical are simply a sensational band.” - Popular 1 Magazine – Spain

“There are no casual fans of The Cubical, only ardent believers.” Malibu Magazine – USA

‘Dirty Shame’ & B-side ‘Saints Above My Bed’ will be available to download from iTunes, Spotify and all the usual places from Monday 29^th November 2010.

DOWNLOAD FROM iTUNES

The Cubical will be headlining an extra special Christmas show with the Indo Silver Club on Saturday 4th December at The Kazimier in Liverpool, Facebook event HERE.

We Love Wales

Well, where shall I start... I've been meaning to write about our love of Welsh music again for some time but exciting things kept cropping up that I wanted to include in this post so it's taken a while. Lets start with the most imminent event...

We're super excited to welcome The Keys to Oporto this Tuesday from Cardiff. This Psych/Rock band have some serious pedigree, partly under their previous guise as 'Murry The Hump', including numerous sessions with the late great John Peel. Coupled with some superb local supports in the form of The Sultones & Spirit of John, this will be a fantastic night. More info on the bands & the night on the Facebook Event. We'll also have spare prints of Tom Newells awesome poster for sale on the merch stand at the back for super cheap prices! Don't miss out.

Check out this stream of 'Strange Garden' from The Keys' Maida Vale session with Mark Lemarr for his Radio 2 show:

Here's the video for the title track of The Keys' new album 'Fire Inside'.

Next up on the agenda is SWN festival!

Curated by Radio 1 DJ Huw Stevens' SWN festival is back in Cardiff this week from Thursday 21st - Saturday 23rd October, with well over a hundred acts performing throughout the city. Dead Young will be in attendance to watch some of the most talented Welsh artists together with some select new bands from around the country, and we'll also be DJing on the Saturday night keeping the party rolling! Here's some of the Welsh acts we're especially looking forward to:

Yucatan & We//Are//Animal who have both featured on our Dead Young Club 10" records. The Keys & Colorama who are both booked in to play with us at Oporto soon. The Victorian English Gentlemens Club who have played for us in the past, plus other great Welsh acts we're into such as Gruff Rhys/Neon Neon collaborator Cate Le Bon, ace surf band Y Niwl and Masters In France & Race Horses who's videos we've previously featured on the blog.

Plus there's loads of other bands travelling to SWN from around the country including our Leeds friends Ellen & The Escapades, previous guests at Oporto Young Rebel Set (visiting again 24th November) as well as loads of other great bands like Chad Valley, Dutch Uncles, O Children, Tom Williams and The Boat, The Vaccines & many more. Can't wait!!

Lastly, as previously mentioned, Colorama will soon be visiting us from Cardiff, bringing their Psychedelic Folk/Pop to Oporto in Leeds on Tuesday 30th November. We'll get more information to you nearer the time, but for now I'll leave you with their video for 'Candy Street' from the forthcoming album 'Box'.

Gig Listings

(Click for larger image)

With so many shows coming up between now and Christmas we've put together a nice informative listings poster/flyer for y'all. Included are all the gigs at Oporto (every Tuesday night) plus some of the special Gaslight Club nights with travelling guests. The Gaslight Club continues to run every Monday at Oporto with a brilliant selection of local artists hosted by Gary Stewart. Also included are the co-promoted shows with Communion and Good Folk, as mentioned in the previous post.

For more information on all the shows please join our Facebook Group from which you will be invited to the events, but not spammed with loads of messages we promise! I can also direct you to event pages for the following upcoming shows:

Tuesday 12th October - Insect Guide Album Launch w/ Laboratory Noise & Dead Sea Colour

Tuesday 19th October - The Keys w/ The Sultones & The Spirit of John

Tuesday 26th October - Communion presents: Mariners Children, Tristram, Joseph & David, and Johnny Powell

Also keep your eyes peeled for the Gaslight Club Christmas Special, more info coming soon!

Communion & Good Folk

It gives us great pleasure to put on so many free gigs at Oporto, we're now up to at least one a week (not including The Gaslight Club - every Monday), and we wouldn't have been able to get there without the help of some good friends of ours...

"Good Folk is a Leeds-based collective of friends into music and arts, promoting gigs and soon to be releasing records. We love fuzzy indie-pop, alt-folk and everything twee in between." NOT just folk music (question at your peril).

Good Folk have put on several great shows with us before, and the next one is this very Tuesday 5th October with Emily Barker & The Red Clay Halo, Charlie Bath & Tom Brookes. Read more about these great acts on the Facebook Event.

Additionally, Good Folk are bringing some excellent acts to our Gaslight Club on Monday nights. On Monday 8th November, Ah Holly Fam'ly will visit us from Portand, Oregon bringing their beautiful folk music for what's sure to be a lovely evening.

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"Communion was born in the summer of 2006 at Notting Hill Arts Club. Founded by Ben Lovett (Mumford and Sons), Kevin Jones (Cherbourg) and producer Ian Grimble, it grew into a community of musicians, industry and fans alike, and provided a platform for the newest bands on London’s circuit. The night has seen the likes of Noah and the Whale, Laura Marling, Mumford and Sons, JJ Pistolet and Peggy Sue grace the stage and has become closely associated with the nu-folk movement in the capital. As well as this, it helped spawn the careers of artists such as Esser, The Holloways and Example, in keeping with the eclectic ethos that Communion has come to stand for.

In 2009 after regular sell out nights, Communion was asked to be on the committee for the Camden Crawl and launched a sister night in Brighton, first at the Hanbury Ballrooms and then at The Albert. There are now also club nights at Mr Wolfs in Bristol, Whelan’s in Dublin, in Sydney, Australia and now Oporto in Leeds. Communion Records was founded in September of 2009 and aims to continue the club night’s all encompassing philosophy and championing of new talent."

Communion got off to a bang last Thursday when they welcomed Cattle & Cane, Killing Fields of Ontario & Matt Corby to Oporto for a packed out show and a mega good time! This will no doubt repeat later this month on Tuesday 26th October with performances from Mariners Children, Tristram, Joseph & David, and Johnny Powell. Keep an eye on Communion's Facebook Group for details.

Communion shows will continue on the fourth Tuesday of every month, except December of course when we'll all be playing with presents and eating leftover turkey...

I probably need not remind you that all of the events above are free, but I have anyway. Enjoy!