Queuing Posts As We Speak

Hey guys! I have posts queuing as we speak. It's been a very busy time, and I'm hoping to be back up and running in the next few weeks. Stay tuned for reviews from recent(ish) albums and gigs!

Much love,

Alicia

The Dunwells - Live at the Oak

When I'd applied for uni, I didn't think there would be a place on campus where there would be bands playing every fortnight for free (yes, free live music!!), especially bands this big! So when I found out about County college bar, The Oak, I was immediately interested as you can imagine.

Uni events have the potential to crash and burn with this kind of thing. Well, I can assure you this one doesn't. This is the second one I've been to, and it was fantastic! The Dunwells were headlining, and there were three other guests - the front man of The Marties, Jack Schofield, Zlew is Dead and The Stetsons Electric.

The Marties is a university based band. Jack Schofield played an acoustic set of some covers mixed with a few of their own songs. My highlight was Dakota. He executed it perfectly! It was a version unlike anything I have ever heard before, and I wish that my stepfather could have heard it, being a life-long Stereophonics fan (and ironically Dakota being his favourite).

Zlew is Dead is a three-piece band with Alexis Collard, from Paris. By what I understand, he is a singer/songwriter who eventually formed a band, and I believe they recently got a new bassist - another uni based band. Anyway, they follow the punk influence without being cheesy, something that appears to be difficult to do these days.

One of my highlights (and my biggest surprise) was The Stetsons Electric. From Wigan, these guys follow the Rock 'n' Roll genre crossed with punk. Not only was their music great, with front man Thomas Hewitt's old-school style vocals, their attitudes were hilarious! With their new 'awful' (not) song, Man, which they abandoned halfway through embarrassed, along with no actual set list and Thomas Hewitt asking everyone to follow his Instagram (gammon_steak, for those intrigued), I had fallen in love instantly! Keep an eye out for these guys!

Now, then came The Dunwells. I'd only listened to a bit of their stuff before, but I really liked what I heard. When they started, I knew this was going to be a big thing. Reminding me of the likes of The War On Drugs crossed with Warpaint at some points, I sat there the entire thing silent, in awe. They played a range of their stuff (I apologise, I don't remember any names), including an encore song Alive. This was apparently brand new, so new in fact that when I tried Youtubing it, it wasn't even there. However, this was the highlight for me, and I was speechless. What a way to end a fantastic night of music!

The set was in the perfect order. Warming into things chilled with an acoustic repertoire, moving to punk, then rock n roll with laughs, then sweet beauty. They couldn't have made this evening better if they'd tried. Well done to everyone involved, and mainly to the bands. Also thank you to The Dunwells for being so generous. They are going to go very far, and I have no doubt that, before long, a lot of people are going to be talking about them.

Mae Reunited

So, Mae are back! They've been on hiatus, and are doing a tenth anniversary tour for the release of their album, The Everglow. They are also hoping to release some new music before the tour. My prayers have been answered!!

I am so jealous of you people in the US - if you can catch them, go! They are beautiful!

Here is one of my favourites from (E)Vening. I hope you guys like it!

The War On Drugs - Lost in the Dream. Praise!

I know this a little bit old news now, but I must sing my praises about this one album, as I can't stop playing it on repeat due to the nostalgic feel.

You must understand, for something to make me feel happily nostalgic is a rare masterpiece. Long story short, a lot of things in the past have made my memories painful. This beauty of an album by The War On Drugs, however, has shifted me. The title track in particular, 'Lost in the Dream', has a strong influence. I can't express how wonderful it was to look back at my life in happiness!

Anyway, The War On Drugs released this album last March. I discovered them later on in Green Man festival, Brecon, in August. Hell, they are a fantastic live band! I did wonder at that point where these guys had been all my life.

The echoey, haunting quality to the riffs, such as in 'Suffering', makes this record a perfect chill-out CD. This is definitely something people should try, no matter what kind of music you're in to! These guys have a distinct enough style to differentiate themselves from the hundreds of bands out there, mainly down to Adam Granduciel's unique vocals.

If you have heard of these guys, I hope you share a similar love for them as I do! For me, it was instant. I have been missing out on a vital part of life! As for you who haven't, check them out. I know I say it a lot, but I really do mean it when I say if there is one band you should listen to, it's these!

Hannah Miller

If there's one thing I've been excited for this year, it's Hannah Miller's new full length record, coming out next month.

You may have heard Promise Land from the haunting video, Drone in Pripyat. For me, her song added to the eeriness in the best possible way. I fell in love instantly and had to buy it!

I'm confident that we can expect great things from her next month. Until then, here's Promise Land if you haven't already heard it. You won't be disappointed!

Avenged Sevenfold Resurrected

When I was looking through my iTunes earlier for something to listen to, I couldn't believe reviewing Avenged Sevenfold's Waking the Fallen: Resurrected had completely slipped my mind! Although moving into uni, getting into my course and 'Fresher's Flu' (it's grim, let me tell you) all took their toll, there is no excuse for my neglect of my favourite band's newest release.

So, what do you get when you spend your money? The full, original Waking the Fallen album, another CD with eleven tracks of previously unreleased material and a DVD with a documentary about Waking the Fallen: Resurrected. (If you, like me, spent that bit extra and went for the limited edition deathbat flag, then you have extra treats!) Worth the money? Oh, yes sir.

The whole idea of a re-release is that you get the original album. In my opinion, Avenged's most successful album has to be Waking the Fallen, so I had no issue with having it twice. The unreleased stuff, however, I didn't quite prepare myself for. It weirdly brought back memories of seeing them last year! That beautiful moment when M. Shadows shouted, "Fuck it, let's play Chapter Four!" was relived when the live tracks followed the demos. Also, needless to say, having 'Unholy Confessions' live on your iPod is something Goddamn special indeed!

Getting past my excitement, the demos and alternative versions of tracks such as 'I Won't See You Tonight' (both parts) and 'Remissions' are a must listen-to for any A7X fan. Admittedly, your love for the original can't die, but you do see the songs from another interesting perspective, and not a bad one at that! It's a really cool way to bring back the band's memories from the original release eleven years ago, and to see how the songs evolved.

The documentary sadly lacks one thing, and that's one thing that will never be replaced; The Rev. There is a vacancy as you watch it, knowing that he should be there talking about his experiences with his fellow band mates. You can feel the sadness as the others talk about him, which really puts a perspective on the significance of their loss. As we have all said many, many times, he will foREVer be in our hearts.

Overall, the eleventh anniversary of Waking the Fallen was celebrated with success! If you are an Avenged fan and you haven't bought this yet, do it. It will be the best investment you make this year.

Green Man Festivities

I can now safely say that I'm not a festival virgin. (Woo hoo!!) I've wanted to go to one for years, and during my ever-changing music sense, I kept changing my mind which one to go to when I could finally afford it. Seeing as my music sense has pretty much solidified to this kind of stuff and with it being relatively local, it seemed perfect to go to Green Man in Brecon.

Let me tell you, best £159 I've ever spent. Absolutely everything about the weekend was perfect, even down to my severe hangover on Saturday! The music, the entertainment, the prices, the food (AND 99 BEERS AND CIDERS), everything was just so, so good!

So, Thursday being arrival day, I didn't expect there to be too much going on about the place. Wrong! Far Out tent held the first headlining act, Waterboys, a Scottish group with a folky theme and an awesome violinist. Considering that was never my kind of thing, I really enjoyed them! If they ever turn up near you, for something different, go check them out! (I will be biased, I play violin!)

Friday saw the opening of the Mountain Stage, where the Green Man Rising competition winners opened the stage, Wildest. They did a fantastic job, it has to be said! I think we can expect some really cool music from them in the near future, so keep your eyes peeled! After them, Highasakite played. We listened to the majority of them from our tent, which I am disappointed about, and caught the remainder of their set when we got back. If you like Warpaint (yes, again) and London Grammar with a hint of Fever Ray, these guys seriously are for you!

Admittedly, the remainder of Friday's music is a little foggy in my memory. I found out I'd got into my first choice uni the day before, so celebrations were in order!! However, I do remember Daughter, who preceded the second headliners, Beirut. Both were fantastic!

I didn't see Saturday until 2pm, so the first band I saw was Mutual Benefit. Very unique style, almost haunting in sound, yet thoroughly enjoyable! The War on Drugs and Mercury Rev were the must-sees that day, and although I was stuck in Green Man Rising for most of The War on Drugs' performance watching Heavy Petting Zoo (a disappointment), I could still hear the atmospheric set playing, which made me envy everyone sat around Mountain Stage! I decided then I couldn't miss Mercury Rev if they were following that, and was so glad I didn't!

My biggest surprise on Saturday was Panda Bear. In all honesty, I had no idea what he was like, what he played, yet I had to see him because he was named after my favourite animal. Well, my Fever Ray void has been filled! I loved his electronic twist! Was not at all what I expected, somewhere between Fever Ray and Owl City!

Sunday was the big day for music. We watched every single act on Mountain Stage to some degree; I adored six out of eight! Neutral Milk Hotel were the final headlining act, and they were the main reason I was there anyway. They didn't disappoint! They're folk twist to grungey rock proved to be brilliant live, and even though it was cold and slightly damp, they were still the best way to close Mountain Stage.

I had two surprises Sunday in Chai Wallahs - one, I never expected I'd find Talisman, a reggae band, so enjoyable, seeing as reggae has never been my thing, and two, Sheelanagig. When my mate told me she'd love to see them, I had no idea who or what they were. I did not expect to be begging her to stay and watch these guys at 1.30am when I had to drive the next morning! The craziest violin and flute double, they made gypsy jazz so appealing, I feel like I've been lost my entire life!

Now, I know I've been vague, but hell if I went into detail about every single band then this post would be longer than a dissertation... However, if there has to be one act who shone out brightest, it has to be First Aid Kit. The Swedish sisters appeared onstage before Neutral Milk Hotel, and I can honestly say that I have never sat in awe of a band that I've never properly listened to until seeing them live like I did with these girls. Their vocals were beautifully harmonized to a point I've never, ever heard in my life, their lyrics were stunning, everything about them was spectacular, and the crowd confirmed this! The harmonizing was actually pitch perfect, and that is a near-impossible task. The chemistry between these two sisters truly is incredible, and I knew from about halfway through their second song they were going to become one of my new favourite bands. They should be so proud of their performance, they made my festival.

So, if anyone ever offers to take you to Green Man, do it! Everything was brilliant; even burning the Green Man on midnight Sunday night/Monday morning was spectacular, so much effort was put in! I was devastated to cut off my wrist band yesterday for work. I am definitely going back next year, even thinking of buying my ticket soon! Thank you Green Man, you have helped me celebrate my uni place and made my year so far, I can't wait to come back next year!