LIVE (Photos): Liverpool Sound City 2018

If you weren’t out on a beach/in a pub garden trying to catch as many rays as possible in the untimely good weather last weekend, you may have been enjoying some of the best new music live at Liverpool Sound City.

Our Jon Mo certainly was, and was able to capture some of our favourites on camera.

The lush, folk-inspired beauty of Irish artist Maria Kelly.

GIHE faves HAWK with their poignant, shimmering creations.

The always wonderful, riotous energy of Queen Zee.

The atmospheric power of Sheffield band Bang Bang Romeo.

The catchy, energy-fuelled rock of GIHE faves Berries.

The jangly indie-pop of Peaness.

Stealing Sheep celebrated the centenary of suffrage with a surreal performance art piece inspired by the movement.

 

Photo Credit: Jon Mo / @jonmophoto

 

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Julie Hawk’s Top Ten Female Artists @ Liverpool Sound City

With Liverpool Sound City coming up this weekend, we spoke to Julie from GIHE favourites HAWK about her top ten picks of female bands and artists to catch at the festival.

HAWK will be playing at Liverpool Sound City on Saturday 5th May at Birdies Bar for The Local.

Read about Julie’s picks here (including some of our own faves!), and have a listen to the playlist in preparation for the weekend!

Average Sex – Ugly Strangers
I can’t think of a better time of year to discover this band. Hazy summer slacker vibes
summing up my lowest-common-denominator feelings with sweet guitar refrains and
refreshingly blunt lyrics.

Peaness – Same Place
Super hooky with really satisfying vocal harmonies throughout. I am dancing in the mirror in
the ’90s all over again.

The Orielles – Sugar Tastes Like Salt
I have been wanting to see this band for ages, mostly because Mari from GIHE always has
such good things to say about them! Sugary guitar sounds cut through dissonant hooks and
dripping attitude. Roll on LSC!

Wye Oak – Civilian
Okay, I know Wye Oak has released plenty of stunning music since ‘Civilian’ but this song
gives me such intense nostalgia for my early days in London trying to find some foothold in
music. I love how it constantly rumbles forward from a place of reflection to one of intense
movement and presence.

Maria Kelly – Small Talk
My friend and label-buddy. This woman’s voice has a special place in my soul.

Amaroun – Made a Fire
This is just wonderfully dreamy, infectious alt-pop. But there’s nothing throw-away about it – the depth and tone of her voice takes her music from catchy to deeply resonant.

Super Organism – Everybody Wants to be Famous
When I first heard this song, I decided immediately that it would probably be the soundtrack
to my summer. That was back in January, so we’re nearly there.

Berries – Faults
I saw these guys last summer at Head for the Hills and was totally floored. Since then, their music has been there for me when I need to not give a fuck. Thanks Berries!

Rews – Shine
This band are an absolute power-house and deserve all the attention they’re getting right
now. I’m told they must be seen live to be believed, so they are top of my LSC bucket list!

Gaffatape Sandy – Beehive
Probably my favourite new discovery from the LSC line-up! Energetic garage punk with
interweaving lead vocals. For nights when pre-drinks turns into a perfectly messy house
party.

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Interview: Berries

Having blown us away many a time with the raw passion of their energy-fuelled live shows (including playing for us at The Finsbury and a special acoustic set for us on Hoxton Radio), London trio Berries are fast becoming the next big thing, and have just released another slice of fantastic alt-rock with new single ‘Faults’.

We caught up with Holly from the band to talk influences, plans and spare trousers!

For those who don’t know, could you tell me who Berries are and what you do?
We are a three piece rock band based in London, consisting of Holly on lead vocals and guitar, Lauren on Bass and Lucie on drums!

And how did you all initially get together and start creating music?
Me (Holly) and Lucie had been jamming for a while and then Lauren moved up to London. We grew up together and she is awesome on guitar, so I approached her about joining us on bass. She was really up for it and we went from there! We share quite a few musical influences and we always wanted to play in a band together, so it was great timing!

Your fantastic new single ‘Faults’ is out now, can you tell us a bit about what it’s about and what inspired you to write it?  
Absolutely, it’s pretty sarcastic… I was inspired to write it after watching The Hours which is an amazing film! The whole idea of being ‘perfect’ and ‘faultless’, and how people always place far too much importance on that when really it makes no difference what so ever!

And how would you say it differs from your previous releases?
It’s definitely slower in tempo and more reflective than our other releases. We tried some reverse guitars and a lot more harmonies, so we just played around with more effects on this track.  

 

You’ve been compared to the likes of The Breeders, but who would you say are you main musical influences?
Good question! As a band, we like to think we are channelling some Sleater Kinney, with a kick of Subways and a splash of Biffy Clyro,

And over the last couple of years, you’ve received lots of praise from the likes of John Kennedy and Tom Robinson, which must have been super exciting! But what challenges have you faced as a new band trying to be heard and gain attention from the industry?
Yeah we absolutely love their support! We have been pretty lucky with opportunities, but as with every band we just put everything we have into our live shows and write music that we are excited about as a band and hope everyone else likes it! It’s such a great scene in London at the moment so we are excited to be part of it, constantly surrounded by amazing bands and musicians!!

You’ve wowed us many times with your energy-fuelled live shows, but are there any particular gigs that stand out as a highlight for you?
Thanks! Well, we absolutely loved playing your night supporting Rews at The Finsbury, and also Camden Rocks Festival which was pretty special, but overall I think it has to be when we sold out The Black Heart in Camden… That was a really amazing night for us as a band!

And having travelled up and down the country for many gigs, do you have any tour survival tips?
Always carry spares of everything!!! In our case, drum kick pedals and trousers! We were playing Head For The Hills Festival last July and Lucie’s kick pedal broke, she continued on without it and we made it to the end of the track but then when she ran to try and find a spare, she flew backwards on her arse and grass stained her trousers and her glasses flew off! This was mid-set with a tent full of people wondering what the hell was going on! It was amazing, we still burst into laughter now about it!

As we’re a new music-focused site, are there any other upcoming bands or artists that you’d recommend we check out?
Definitely check out Nina Fine she is an incredible singer/songwriter, and also we’re getting really into Bloom Twins.

And, finally, what does the rest of 2018 have in store for Berries?
We’re constantly writing new music and recording so definitely some new releases! We head out on a tour with Scruff Of The Neck in March and we will be visiting Brighton, Liverpool, Manchester and  London where we will be playing a headline show at The Camden Assembly and then we have some festival appearances lined up, and we are currently in the middle of planning an Autumn UK Tour, so nice and busy!!

Huge thanks to Berries for answering our questions!

‘Faults’, the new track from Berries, is out now. And you can catch them live next month:

2nd March – Liverpool, Sound
3rd March – Manchester, Aatma
16th March – London, Camden Assembly
23rd March – Brighton, Sticky Mike’s Frog Bar

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Track Of The Day: Berries – ‘Faults’

Having blown us away many a time with the raw passion of their energy-fuelled live shows (including playing for us at The Finsbury and a special acoustic set for us on Hoxton Radio), London trio Berries are fast becoming the next big thing. With acclaim from the likes of John Kennedy and Tom Robinson, and sold out shows at Camden Rocks and Tramlines already under their belts, they’re now back with a glorious new single.

Propelled by the band’s whirring energy, ‘Faults’ oozes smooth riffs and the distinctive, smouldering vocals of Holly Carter. Complete with wonderfully tongue-in-cheek lyrics (“I’m useless at home, but I’m your house wife…”) and rolling beats, it’s another fantastically frenzied, raw slice of perfect alt-rock from the trio.

Of the track, Carter explains:

“We feel this track showcases a different side to us, we have taken our sound in a different direction… ‘Faults’ still has all the energy and breakdowns that we love but with an added eerie, bluesy element in the verses.”

 

‘Faults’, the new track from Berries, is out Friday 9th February. And you can catch them live next month:

2nd March – Liverpool, Sound
3rd March – Manchester, Aatma
16th March – London, Camden Assembly
23rd March – Brighton, Sticky Mike’s Frog Bar

Mari Lane
@marimindles

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