Broken Sound Music

We haven’t blogged about Rachael Dadd for ages have we? Definitely not. Here’s a gorgeous new song ‘The Wind And The Mountain’, filmed by Bradley Steenkamp at her recent Union Chapel show. Such an incredible voice…

- Chris

I am INSANELY excited that Forest Fire are getting ready to return to the UK for some amazing shows with another favourite band of mine, Phosphorescent. Forest Fire haven’t been back here since Rough Trade put their phenomenal debut album Survival in their “Top 10 Best Albums of the Year”, these shows are going to be something very special indeed. Our European brothers & sisters needn’t feel left out, they’re heading your way too! Full dates are on our events page, European shows begin on 19th May, and they’ll be in the UK from 2nd-5th June, finishing in Amsterdam on 6th June. Below is a little reminder of some of the praise that was given to that glorious album (which incidentally you can buy right here along with a free re-worked EP)…

…and there’s an awesome new video for Fortune Teller. Amazing.

- Chris

The Mariner’s Children are without a doubt one of the best things to have ever happened ever. I’d dread to think how many times we’ve caught them live now, and they just keep getting better. We’ve watched them grow from a lineup of just 3 (which I might add was still INCREDIBLE) to an epic collective of seven awesome players all doing their bit to create something undeniably unique and genuinely heartfelt. Ben’s voice still absolutely kills me every time, and his lyrics are nothing short of phenomenal (“Your breath pirouettes through the cold and the wet, rising up like a ghost in the morning”).

So, they’re currently involved in The Green Poll to open up The Green Man Festival. This would be nothing short of ‘the balls’. They need votes to do it though, so get clicking here. You can re-vote every 24 hours, and your vote could win you a weekend ticket to the festival, and my eternal love. Spread the word.

- Chris

Last Tuesday saw a trip to Camden’s Black Heart to catch Nashville’s newest export, Caitlin Rose. At only 22 she’s doing some truly incredible things. Her debut EP ‘Dead Flowers’ came out not-so-long-ago through Names Records (who can do literally no wrong – see also Alela Diane, She Keeps Bees… and everything else they’ve put out). It’s a gorgeous EP, a really great mix of vintage sounds and some occasionally more modern subject matter. AND it’s got a biog on the back of the vinyl. Why doesn’t anyone do that anymore? Love it. Anyway, the show was stunning, and all the more so because she was joined by her bassist Jordan Caress (playing guitar for this show). Her voice is so well matched next to Caitlin, perfect. You really can’t fault Caitlin’s voice or songwriting – I’m admittedly not a huge fan of most of that Nashville country sound (cue beatdown), but she totally makes it her own. Miss Rose also swears quite a lot between songs, was on both beer and wine during her set, and seems to be quite a vocal fan of smoking. Collectively this makes her pretty much ‘the most awesome girl in the world’ in my book. Here’s one of my favourite songs of the night, Docket…

- Chris

Sunday night was spent at a For Folks Sake-curated Allotment at The Slaughtered Lamb, and it was completely brilliant. A really strong lineup including Dear Winesburg, who I was catching for the first time. They completely silenced the room with their percussive shanty-esque folky goodness. Mad props go to Emma Kraemer for her ever-amazing violin work, always something special to hear her play. Three massive cheers too for For Folks Sake, two incredible people doing really incredible things. Here’s Dark Water pt 3&4 courtesy of Tuckshop Radio…

- Chris

The long awaited reappearance of the sun has heralded the return of something equally brilliant – Bandstand Busking. Such a great idea, a group of amazing folk making the most of our fair city’s tragically abandoned bandstands by putting on afternoons of free music with an excellent lineup every single time. As if that weren’t enough, everything gets filmed and streamed right here for the world to enjoy. Amazing. Last Sunday was the first Bandstand Busking of the year, which included Liz Green who’s long been a favourite of mine. Alas I didn’t get a chance to catch her, but it prompted me to have a little search for a nice example of why she is quite so completely amazing. So here it is, complete with a bit of an unplanned David Thomas Broughton-esque ending. Check out www.bandstandbusking.com for all the latest busk announcements, there’s no finer way to spend a sunny afternoon.

- Chris

Ok, granted Rachael Dadd is appearing a lot in our blog at the minute. I can live with that though, what with her being so totally awesome. Here’s a rather gorgeous new song – Elephants Swimming – from her gig at The Witches Hat a couple of weeks back. Love. She’s playing this Wednesday (along with Mary Hampton) at The Tamesis Dock near Vauxhall. If you haven’t been before, it’s an old barge moored on The Thames. Perfect. Tickets are available here. It’s the first of God Don’t Like It/Moonshine Jamboree’s summer residence at The Tamesis Dock, with plenty more amazing shows in the pipeline- including Liz Green I see, hurrah.

- Chris

I’ve just been revisiting a band that I first caught at Shhh Festival back in January – Felix. They totally stole the show with their sparse, melancholic awesomeness. Really hoping that there will be another chance to catch them live again soon.

- Chris

Admittedly our blog has been a little overlooked of late. This is, of course, due to us directing all our time, love, and attention to the latest addition to our family, the lovely Rachael Dadd. And we wouldn’t have it any other way. So, it’s probably about time that we put some life back into this beast. There have been a fair few brilliant things of late which come to mind (and even more equally amazing things which I will no doubt fail to remember). Let’s start with this AMAZING hand painted video for Rachael Dadd’s Table. It’s from Rachael’s new mini-album Moth In The Motor, which of course you can/should buy right here. The limited edition 10″ vinyl includes a digital version of the mini-album, with bonus track and a high quality version of this video. Every sleeve is diferent and handmade. The video was created by the incredibly talented hands of Rachael’s sister, Betsy Dadd, who will be getting further props in the post that follows…

- Chris

Continuing the Betsy Dadd appreciation theme, Peggy Sue released their latest single ‘Watchman’ on Monday. This is taken from their eagerly awaited, totally-effing-brilliant debut album Fossils and Other Phantoms, which is out through the amazing souls at Wichita Recordings on April 5th. It’s literally perfect. As is the video which Betsy has made for Watchman. Amazing song, amazing video. Amazing.

- Chris