Swarm Over Death

I am bothering again.

Groezrock 2012

                         
                                       Groezrock 2012

'GROEZROCK, by tradition the festival opener in Belgium, offers the best punkrock, hardcore, rock, emorock, scream(emo), ska, or simply exceptional music of today and tomorrow. GROEZROCK has become one of the largest punkrocking festivals in Europe'

Beginning a few years back with a mere 400 visitors, Groezrock has exploded into a 32,000 strong gathering for all things punk 9mainly) . Whereas other punk festivals do exist, Groezrock has stolen the limelight for the one to be attending this year.

With the return of REFUSED, the presence of RANCID, the coming of THRICE an awesome 2 day event will be one to remember. Full line up can be found HERE ,tickets are still available. Located in Meerhout (Belgium), it is of relative ease for the avid English fan to attend via automobile  (and since Amsterdam is just down the road it would be rude not to visit post-festival..).

For a taster of last years Groezrock, do check this vidya from Epitaph records:

See you there?

Brontide

                                              Brontide

3 Piece - Bass/Drums/Guitar/0 Vocals
Genre - Instrumental

Label - Holy Roar Records

History - Sans Souci Released 2011/Currently working on 'Coloured Tounges' which is due to be released Feb 2012.

I personally have seen them twice, once in the humble venue 'The Peel'  in which they supported Gallows and in which many were awestruck. Not many were aware of who they were initially and with slight conversation throughout, the end was far different, mainly due to the incredible presence of the drummer ( who,rumour has it, was the session drummer for La Roux (defo needs confirmation)). Also I saw them headline 'The Borderline' up in London, also a special show, since I think it was until then,their biggest. Always a pleasure to watch and they attract a varied audience, not quite a moshy type band but their are always some, check them out.

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They have performed their whole album 'Sans Souci' back to back for this awesome video :

Brontide - Sans Souci (Illuminé) from BeatCast on Vimeo.

They have an upcoming tour in which they are travelling the UK to impress many a waiting ear:

1 3 . 0 2 . 1 2  -  S T E R E O  /  G L A S G O W  -  T I C K E T S
1 5 . 0 2 . 1 2  -  T H E  B R U D E N E L L  /  L E E D S  -  T I C K E T S
1 6 . 0 2 . 1 2  -  T H E  C R O F T  /  B R I S T O L  -  T I C K E T S
1 7 . 0 2 . 1 2  -  T H E  L E X I N G T O N  /  L O N D O N  -  T I C K E T
1 8 . 0 2 . 1 2  -  D R U I D S  A R M S  /  B R I G H T O N  -  F R E E 


Nice.

And as always,to end with something different, to celebrate their return, I give you Refused:

Apollo's Arrows

                               Apollo's Arrows

A unique 3 piece from Southampton (where many decent bands seem to be uprising from these days,something in the water..) have been playing together since 2009. They regard themselves as 'Retro Surf Math', which I really don't know what means but I do know they have my seal of approval.

My recent knack for spotting decent bands is always being confirmed as I venture to the slums of venues armed with a buddy or two (PABH/Turbowolf/Brontide/Kerouac) is further confirmed by these guys. I put alot of faith in them, they have catchyness aswell as integrity and slightly importantly; a decent ability to play the instruments they wield.

View this video, one of my favourite of their songs. They are definately worth a few moments of your time:

And if that swayed your opinion at all, I beg for no personal gain, but your enlightenment, that you help kick start this notion and get your lazy self down to one of these gigs and have a night out:

Also Polio are pretty decent aswell, not a bad word to say about them. I listen to Oliver Cromwell quite regularly. But this post is about AA.

And on a completely different note, to demonstrate the wide range of music that I am drawn to, check out this James Blake song, eerie to say the least and is a reminder that piano is a timeless instrument:

Kerouac

Kerouac - They deserve a minute of your time.

Despite the one time when I did see them ;a brawl occurred briefly between a friend and the lead vocals of this band, I still have the decency to admit that there is at least a thread of potential in this. It feels like a new genre/style is brewing in an underground movement called #UKSWELL. Unfortunately bands like BASTIONS remain the skid marks of such a potential swing of music. But none the less, Kerouac are often seen alongside Pariso who i whole heartedly promote, despite the un-neccesarily short tracks and combined albums/EPs . They are producing new unique stock and have a small, but strong following.

KEROUAC Maida Vale Studios from toby Thomas on Vimeo.

Pete Doherty Out Of Prison

Music Legend Pete Doherty is out of prison after just 6 WEEKS of a 6 MONTH prison sentence.

This has delighted fans, enabling them to witness him perform at the various festivals/gigs he had previously agreed to attend. Rumours have it that he is to still perform at the Reading Festival this year. Also news has spread that new performances have been announced in the UK this year, links to buy tickets are :

http://www.seetickets.com/Tour/PETER-DOHERTY

He was sentanced to 6 months prison initially due to possession of Cocaine, a Class A drug, with other potential cases dangling over his head ( the death of a film maker, annd a robbery of a guitar from a music shop in Germany), Pete has had a rocky year. With the incredible success of the Libertines performance at Reading Festival last year, it seemed he had grown out of the troublesome days. Some people just attract trouble.  Also i heard the other day that the women who is the father of Pete Doherty's son is the mother of a child from Liam Gallagher, wikipedia just confirmed that one for me ;).

Red Hot Chili Peppers - New Album Announced

The Red Hot Chili Peppers have announced their new album title:            'I'm With You'

Release Date: August 29th 2011
First Single : 'The Adventures Of Raindance Maggie', which is out on July 19th 2011.


This will be the first release in 5 years since the double album 'Stadium Arcadium', this album will be  produced by Rick Rubin.This album will not include John Frusciante, but instead consists of Josh Klinghoffer (ex guitarist of Warpaint). Read more



In other news i have discovered an artist named Michael Kiwanuka, a singer/songwriter from North London. I think he has great vocals bringing around a style of music which does not get played much in general, from my experience. It is relaxing and inspiring, check it :