LIVE: Hilary Woods – St Pancras Old Church, London 11.06.18

Bitter sweet and deeply affecting, Irish multi-instrumentalist Hilary Woods‘ performance at St. Pancras Old Church provided a startling insight into her darkly ethereal debut album Colt, released via Sacred Bones on 8th June.

Stood behind her keyboard, Woods performed solo for most of her set with only projected visuals and a violinist to accompany her on a handful of tracks. Her achingly pure voice floated gently across the heads of her congregation, who sat listening in attentive, respectful silence.

Woods’ solo work is far removed from the alternative 90s sounds she helped to create as a member of JJ72. She’s clearly invested a painstaking amount of time and energy in assembling her new album, and the two EPs – Night (2014) and Heartbox (2016) – that preceded it. Perhaps that’s why she was so nervous performing, something she didn’t admit until the penultimate track, but she had no legitimate grounds to be on edge. Her recent singles ‘Inhaler’, ‘Prodigal Dog’ and ‘Black Rainbow’ were all mesmerising, even in their stripped back states.

Footage from her recent videos played out across the back wall of the Church, as Woods performed beautiful renditions of ‘Take Him In’, ‘Kith’ and ‘Limbs’, the latter standing out due to Woods’ clear, measured vocal delivery. Switching between keys and guitar with eas, Woods’ performance style was quiet and introspective, but its impact was one of powerful, all encompassing melancholy.

Whilst Colt is an album about grief, loss and abandonment, we left St Pancras Old Church awash with raw and unexpected emotion, feeling like we’d gained rather than lost something from Woods’ performance.

Photo Credit: Joshua Wright

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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Get In Her Ears Live @ The Finsbury w/ The Menstrual Cramps, 08.06.18

Following a host of super amazing bands playing for us recently – including LIINES, Witch Fever, The Magnettes, H.Grimace, Ghum and Dream Nails  – we were back at The Finsbury on Friday for another jam-packed night of the best new music.

Kicking off the night, Bad Sidekick kindly stepped in to fill the shoes of Salvation Jayne who sadly had to pull out. But what a way to start the night: the trio absolutely blow us away. As charismatic front-woman Cooper Rose oozes her seething, Northern twang over immense, thrashing beats and raging riffs, I’m reminded of early Arctic Monkeys with a unique, gritty edge. New favourite band alert!

Next up Brixton’s Coltana bring their visceral energy to the stage, delivering their riotous punk-rock anthems. Propelled by frenzied, whirring hooks and the magnetic charm of Cat’s impassioned spoken word vocals, it’s a set filled with wit and infectious energy as the band treat us to their wonderfully ferocious offerings.

Penultimate band of the night, Weekend Recovery, draw in a loyal army of fans with their contagious energy and endearing warmth. Racing with uplifting hooks and the angst-driven power of front-woman Lori’s vocals, each track is an instantly catchy, perfect slice of punk-pop at its finest.

I’ve been waiting a long time to see headliners The Menstrual Cramps. and – on finally having the honour – they don’t disappoint. From the topical, tongue-in-cheek wit of tracks such as ‘Hashtag Sad Penis’ and the empowering, feel-good vibes of ‘Make Girls Feel Good’, to the immense, politically-charged force of ‘Frack Off’ and ‘Cull The Tories’, their fantastic, fist-clenching force never ceases. As Emilia leads the band with her uncensored, genuine, seething passion, The Menstrual Cramps give a welcome voice to the anger we’re all feeling about the way society’s headed. An intense outpouring of emotion, The Menstrual Cramps’ set combines activism with musical prowess, reminding us all why we need bands like this now more than ever.

Huge thanks to the four AMAZING bands who played for us on Friday. And catch us next month at The Finsbury on 13th July, when we’ll be joined by The Empty Page, MeMe Detroit, Jemma Freeman and The Cosmic Something and Jetstream Pony!

Words: Mari Lane / @marimindles
Photos: Em Burfitt / @fenderqueer

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Track Of The Day: Noga Erez – ‘Bad Habits’

Tel Aviv renegade Noga Erez has 2018’s shortcomings in her interrogative spotlight in the video for brand new track ‘Bad Habits’. It’s a snarling tirade of anger spoken through gritted teeth, and it marks an exciting change in style since her 2017 debut album Off The Radar, released via City Slang.

“‘Bad Habits’ is written from a place where one feels they’ve lost all direction and meaning”, Erez explains. “2018, so far, feels to me like living in a place that continues to go down a sloppy road that leads to the loss of any core values that we have grown up with.” Erez exhibits an intense defiance in both her lyrics and her music. “I’m no-one / but who the fuck are you? / Huh?” she repeats, as the beats of her partner and co-writer Ori Rousso mutate into a gritty, truth-seeking anthem – culminating in Erez’s vicious “Fuck you!” at the close of the song.

Noga Erez is set to play an extensive amount of European Festivals this summer, so we recommend following her on Facebook to keep updated on dates and tickets.

Listen to ‘Bad Habits’ below.

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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Introducing Interview: Nausica

Since forming in 2013, Nausica have continued to work from their home countries of both Germany and the Netherlands, writing and producing their own material.

Skilled in creating ethereal, mesmerising soundscapes, Nausica have just released their new single ‘Black & White’. We caught up with them to find out more…

Hi Nausica, welcome to Get In Her Ears! Can you tell us a bit about the band?
We’re a Dutch-German band, located in both Holland and Berlin and we’re working towards our first full length album, first releasing some singles like this one, ‘Black & White’.

How did you initially get together and start creating music?
We met in Holland. Actually our guitarist and our lead singer were the first ones to make music together, later our drummer Jannis Knüpfer joined, and then bass player Pim Walter. So, basically we started in 2013.

Your new single ‘Black & White’ is out now – can you tell us what it’s all about? Are there any themes running throughout the single?
The title Black & White is based on the lyrics “It’s black & white, boy, the air we breathe” and describes symbolically two different mindsets in form of an ongoing flashback. Conscious choices made with clear memories in contradiction to the typical grey area, where everything you feel and do seems blurry. The chorus could be described as the deep powerful and colourful outpouring of emotions, almost losing the feeling for reality.

You’ve been compared to the likes of Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Warpaint, but who would you say are your main musical influences?
We listen to a lot of different stuff, but some all time favorites are Future Islands, Warpaint, Foals, PJ Harvey, Talking Heads and Michael Jackson.

How is your local music scene? Do you go to see lots of live music?
We are spread over two countries, though we met in Arnhem (Holland), so I think our local scene has always been Europe. We’re not bound to one place. So, of course we see and meet a lot of other bands, but mostly we are going to concerts where we already know someone. I think it’s a very normal habit for musicians.

And what can fans expect from your live shows?
People mostly describe it as very energetic and expressive. I’d add that we have fantastic songs!

As we’re a new music focused site, are there any new/upcoming bands or artists you’d recommend we check out?
Two bands that we’re big fans of, who also happen to be friends of ours, are Parfum Brutal from Berlin, and Ode to the Quiet, from Holland.

And how do you feel the music industry is for new bands at the moment – would you say it’s difficult to get noticed?
Hmmm. Actually it’s changing so fast all the time, especially in the social media world, which has got extremely important over the years to reach your audience. I would say that’s the most difficult thing for us to understand – how it works to get noticed.

Finally, what does the rest of 2018 have in store for Nausica?
We will release 1-2 new music videos/singles and plans are going towards a full length album, but that depends on a lot of factors, for instance – if we will release it DIY or with a label. We’re still playing some shows in Holland this summer, and hopefully more around Europe soon!

‘Black & White’, the new single from Nausica, is out now.

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