LIVE: The Big Moon – The Lexington 17.10.19

Joy incarnate: The Big Moon‘s sold out headline show at The Lexington on Thursday night was a playful, polished affair that left us grinning from ear to ear. The four-piece have been busy supporting The Pixies on their UK tour, but found time to debut some of their new material to excited fans for their final gig of 2019.

The band were left beaming after their affectionately dubbed “guinea pigs” responded with cheerful applause to song’s from their sophomore album, Walking Like We Do, which is set for release in January 2020. The tracks are filled with the same buoyant melodies and charming choruses as that of their debut, Love In The 4th Dimension, and are sure to be popular singles upon their official release.

Their set opened with a trio of classic Big Moon tracks: ‘Silent Move Susie’, ‘Sucker’, and ‘Formidable’. Delivered with trademark enthusiasm and superb vocal harmonies, it paved the way for a series of new songs including ‘It’s Easy Then’, followed by older material such as ‘The Road’ and ‘Cupid’ during the latter half of the set. Lead vocalist Juliette broke the fourth wall during crowd favourite ‘Bonfire’, raising the room temperature by more degrees than we cared to count.

Whilst The Big Moon’s music is undeniably infectious, it’s their camaraderie on stage that makes their live shows such a joy to witness. Juliette, Soph, Celia & Fern have an enviable chemistry; they bounce off of each other (sometimes literally) throughout their set, and always appear relaxed and at ease in each other’s company. Their attitude and their music shows that even in the darkest of times, there’s always a space for friends to come together to have fun and let go for a while.

This is proven once again during their performance of recent single ‘Your Light’ at the end of their set. Its luscious chorus and atmospheric keys fill the venue with a shiny sense of optimism, a feeling that’s enhanced by the reflections of the disco ball above the crowd’s heads. The Big Moon proved once again that they are stars in the making, and we’re one of many fans who were blinded by their glorious garage-pop light.

Pre-order your copy of The Big Moon’s new album, Walking Like We Do, here.

Follow the band on Facebook for more updates.

Photo Credit: Pooneh Ghana

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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VIDEO PREMIERE: Scrounge – ‘Badoom’

Savage guitar licks, driving beats and karaoke inspired visuals combine in the new footage for London duo Scrounge‘s latest single ‘Badoom’. Taken from their debut EP Ideal, released today via Fierce Panda, the track showcases the band’s ability to take relatable concepts (such as feeling burned out), and turn them in to punchy, cathartic sounds.

Formed of guitarist & vocalist Lucy, and drummer Luke; Scrounge have been on GIHE’s radar for a while, playing shows for us at The Finsbury Pub and gigging across London with the likes of Italia 90, Great Dad, and Hussy. ‘Badoom’ is the pair’s first video, shot and directed by Amanda Tooke who they’ve been collaborating with artistically since they met at Goldsmiths.

Lucy takes centre stage in the new footage, performing a stellar karaoke routine to ‘Badoom’. As the track escalates, so do the visuals; resulting in multiple manic versions of Lucy shouting the eponymous lyric in furious style. This is reflective of the track’s context, which the band explain further: “’Badoom’ represents the release of the underlying tension caused by the stress and mundanity of everyday life.”

Scrounge’s music is far from mundane, and we’re thrilled to have them play live for us again at Notting Hill Arts Club on 30th November, supporting ESYA (event details here). Watch the video for ‘Badoom’ below, and listen to their new EP Ideal on Spotify here.

Order your Limited Edition cassette of Scrounge’s Ideal EP here.

Follow the band on Facebook for more updates.

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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LISTEN: Two Tribes – ‘Videodrone’

If you’re in need of a dopamine hit without the aid of a digital device, then London four-piece Two Tribes‘ latest single ‘Videodrone’ is the aural adrenaline rush you’re looking for.

Produced by Oli Bayston (Teleman,Honeyblood, Spiritualized, Boxed In), the band blur shoegaze elements, buoyant synth textures and impressive dual vocals to create seven minutes of intoxicating sound, inspired by the likes of Primal Scream, Jagwar Ma and the industrial krautrock tones of W.H. Lung.

Speaking about the track, the band explain: “’Videodrone’ deals with how the idea of a digital identity, over-stimulation from technology and the internet can perpetuate disillusion and desensitisation in the real world. For some of us, the amount of information available can be a difficult thing to process sometimes, we wanted to explore in this song that increasingly blurred line between mind and mechanism. The title takes inspiration from David Cronenberg’s 1983 film Videodrome, which carries similar themes about the cult of technology.”

Two Tribes have been building a cult-like following of their own, having sold out multiple live shows in London to date. They’re set to do the same for the ‘Videodrone’ single launch on 9th November at Shacklewell Arms, and they’ll be supporting GIHE favourites Sink Ya Teeth at The Lexington on 29th November too.

Listen to ‘Videodrone’ below and follow Two Tribes on Facebook for more updates.

Two Tribes 2019 Live Dates
9th November – Shacklewell Arms, London
12th November – Latest Music Bar, Brighton
29th November – The Lexington, London w/ Sink Ya Teeth

Photo Credit: Alexandra Waespi

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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Track Of The Day: Brittany Howard – ‘Stay High’

A defiant acceptance of what must be an all-consuming grief; Brittany Howard – best known as the powerhouse vocalist of Alabama Shakes – has shared her debut solo album Jamie via ATO Records. The album is named after her teenage sister, who passed away when she was young. It’s a fitting tribute to a life that had so much potential, and a wonderful gesture from an artist who has shared her vulnerable, but beautiful story of sisterhood unfairly cut short.

Single ‘Stay High’ is an uplifting track that’s taken from the record, accompanied by a charming music video featuring actor Terry Crews. Howard’s steady vocals and optimistic lyrics are easy on the ear, as gentle percussion and guitar play out in soothing style. Along with the album, Howard has released a manifesto documenting what Jamie means to her, which you can read below. Make sure you scroll to the end of this post to watch the video for ‘Stay High’ too.

Brittany Howard Mission Statement:

I wrote this record as a process of healing.
Every song, I confront something within me or beyond me. Things that are hard or impossible to change, words and music to describe what I’m not good at conveying to those I love, or a name that hurts to be said: Jaime.

I dedicated the title of this record to my sister who passed away as a teenager. She was a musician too. I did this so her name would no longer bring me memories of sadness and as a way to thank her for passing on to me everything she loved: music, art, creativity.

But, the record is not about her. It’s about me.
It’s not as veiled as work I have done before.
I’m pretty candid about myself and who I am and what I believe. Which, is why I needed to do it on my own.

I wrote and arranged a lot of these songs on my laptop using Logic. Shawn Everett helped me make them worthy of listening to and players like Nate Smith, Robert Glasper, Zac Cockrell, Lloyd Buchanan, Lavinia Meijer, Paul Horton, Rob Moose and Larry Goldings provided the musicianship that was needed to share them with you.

Some songs on this record are years old that were just sitting on my laptop, forgotten, waiting to come to life. Some of them I wrote in a tiny green house in Topanga, CA during a heatwave. I was inspired by traveling across the United States. I saw many beautiful things and many heartbreaking things: poverty, loneliness, discouraged people, empty and poor towns. And of course the great swathes of natural, untouched lands. Huge pink mountains, seemingly endless lakes, soaring redwoods and yellow plains that stretch for thousands of acres. There were these long moments of silence in the car when I could sit and reflect. I wondered what it was I wanted for myself next. I suppose all I want is to help others feel a bit better about being. All I can offer are my own stories in hopes of not only being seen and understood, but also to learn to love my own self as if it were an act of resistance.

Resisting that annoying voice that exists in all of our heads that
says we aren’t good enough, talented enough, beautiful enough, thin enough, rich enough or successful enough. The voice that amplifies when we turn on our TVs or scroll on our phones. It’s empowering to me to see someone be unapologetically themselves when they don’t fit within those images. That’s what I want for myself next and that’s why I share with you, “Jaime”.

Order your copy of Brittany Howard’s new album here.

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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