Single Review By Andrew Barclay

Before I get to the review, here’s a little bio provided by the group to give you a background of this excellent band.

“We are The Madding Crowd; weary purveyors of songs of love, hate, happiness, chaos, rebellion, glamour, intelligence, wit, imagination, bile, passion, despair, rejection and sheer humanity. Hailing from Manchester, formed in April 2010, we are comprised of Singer and Guitarist Ben Corry, Lead Guitarist Dominic Corry, Bass Guitarist Claud Corry and Drummer Sav Patel. Our music contains elements of Glam, Punk, Rockabilly and Prog among other influences, and we have often been told that we possess a sound that is hard to describe and pigeonhole.”

Today Cool Manchester review the bands most recent single ‘’Gods Greatest Flaw’’.

The single begins with a deluge of fuzzy bass and frantic drumming before the vocals take us from a Stooges like intro into something more akin to the pastoral psychedelic moments from Pink Floyds ‘’Atom Heart Mother’’ and ‘’Meddle’’ albums, which comes as a pleasant surprise. The single weaves its way through dynamic changes and somehow remains catchy, a strong single and one that’s wetted my appetite for the bands forth-coming EP.

B Side ‘’Sylvia Burned’’ is a slow haunting acoustic track with soaring vocals and an almost Brett Anderson type lyric and delivery. Of the countless Mancunian groups around right now The Madding Crowd are certainly one of the best and I really hope they gain a mainstream audience.

 The Madding Crowd have received radio airplay and made live appearances on North Manchester FM, Sine FM, All FM, Salford City Radio, Mersey Radio, Roundsound Radio among others. They have also been played by Stuart Maconie on BBC 6Music and quite rightly too.  Highly Recommended.

The Madding Crowd online links

Facebook  https://www.facebook.com/Vivalamaddingcrowd/?fref=ts

Sound Cloud https://soundcloud.com/vivalamaddingcrowd

The Statler Project

Mechanical Intervention album review

By Andrew Barclay

I first saw the Statler Project live back in 2009 at The Star And Garter.

They were like the cosmic collision child of Happy Mondays, Joy Division and Primal Scream.

They are back with a new album, fronted by Bob Spiers The Statler Project really are a fresh sounding band and its my pleasure to relate to you the brilliance to be found on ‘Mechanical Intervention’

‘Industrial Temptation’ marches off into a slick and sleazy disco funk, Spiers vocals are a barrage of rhyme and intent until he sings “all things will disappear” and it’s here echoes of Primal Scream can really be heard. A fine song to start the album off with.

‘Escape The Mundane’ is clever tight funk-dubbed up and sprayed with keys and guitar to heighten the impact. The vocals lead strongly and the chorus pay off if I have to compare, reminded me of Depeche Mode mixed with some Fad Gadget. Repeated listens make this an ear worm you’ll be singing to yourself all day long.

‘Sasquatch’ shows the band have a sense of humour, something seriously lacking in some artists. Its disco beats and strange synths add up to a tidy little ditty about, well… bigfoot of course!

‘Buzz Buzz [prelude]’ fades into what is a brilliant sounding funky jam with edges of modern jazz in there, my only complaint is that this wasn’t 8 minutes longer

‘Contrast’ is aptly named, the bass and kick drum start this intense dark number off.

Bobs spoken verse reminded me of Robert Kings vocal delivery on one of the Scars more well known tracks. The whole track is musically veering into prog rock territory put always pulls back into that brilliant dark sound that’s now all their own.

‘Head Down’ is bellowing synth disco with ace bass descending lines that get you moving upon hearing them. The vocals, fast and clear again, burst into an infectious chorus ‘’they say you have to keep your head down”. Love it.

‘Superiority Complex’ is a crashing disco animal with a duel vocal that really pins Spiers voice upfront. A lovely guitar riff comes in around 2.36. The whole song works and the pay off is thrashing guitars being brought down into a strange psychedelic guitar/synth chanting end.

‘Ma Buzzer’. Sample ‘well I have a sort of suggestion’ … over a dubby funky bass.

It moves into a free form sounding jam of funk, dub funk and soul. More sampled voices.

A nice little instrumental break.

‘Buzz Buzz 1 & 2’ well my patience was rewarded. The song prelude from earlier comes back and its disco bouncing funk reminds me of the more funk fuelled moments from the stones in the 70s.

It ends the album on a high upbeat note and I highly recommend you check it out now.

After going through difficult times and several changes in the band lineup, the latest offering from Gabrielles Wish “Hypnagogic” shows a return to form from the band. Extremely well written lyrics and complex melodies make “Hypnagogic” one of the best albums by Gabrielles Wish to date. The album will appeal to both new and old fans alike, it has darker strong guitar led-tracks (reminiscent of some of the tracks from “Portal”, released in 2003), which will appeal to the hard-core Gabrielles Wish fans, and it has more accessible upbeat tracks for new fans. 

THE NOISE OF ENGLAND, the opening track, is very much in my opinion “The Noise of Manchester.” An excellent dark instrumental with heavy guitars, akin to The Fall, Joy Divison and James (during their experimental “Wah Wah” period). 10/10

DIGITAL STALKER is classic Gabrielles Wish. If you are good at what you do, why deviate from it? Strong guitar from Steven Bunn, great vocals from Rob Corless (reminiscent of Mark E Smith from the Fall), with Eastern undertones. “Freedom is just a word” 10/10

INDISPOSABLE HAPPINESS is a poppier sounding track but with lyrics that are definitely not pop, and more challenging, with a lot of religious connotations. Robert Corless sings “God loves a fool, Christ knows I’m a fool” witty lyrics comparable to those of Frank Zappa. 8/10

 CELEBRITY PIGSTY is a very dark avant-garde track, similar to the work of Peter Christopherson (from Coil, Psychic TV and Throbbing Gristle), with a dig at the status of untalented reality-show celebrities being at the forefront of media in today’s society . 8/10

WANDERING THE STREETS. After the dark offering of “Celebrity Pigsty” comes “Wandering The Streets.” This is a great pop tune, with great vocals from Robert Corless, and excellent heavy drums. No wonder this track was released as a single! 10/10

WAR UPON YOURSELF, starts with an Eastern-feel to it (akin to The Cure’s “Snakepit”) and never strays from it, but also maintains a Gabrielles Wish sound to the track, thus making it their own. A truly original track. “Right on the money.” 9/10

DESTINY IS APPARENT. This track is a mish-mash of traditional Gabrielles Wish melodies with glam rock. Love the saxophone on this! 9/10

SEVEN FOLD. This track is very similar to The Fall. The drumming 2:20 min into this track is excellent, as is the bass guitar throughout the track. 8/10

HIT THE ROAD. The music in this track reminds me very much of The Cure during their “Pornography” period, but again Gabrielles Wish add their own stamp on the track and make it their own. The vocals on this track are almost Floydesque! 8/10

STAND TOGETHER. The most accessible track on the album. An excellent pop track, well deserving of it’s single release. Great complex guitar melodies, great vocals, and a really well produced track....LOVE IT!!! 10/10

ROUND AND ROUND (SQUARING THE CIRCLE). This track reminds me of Gabrielles Wish’s albums “Reformer” and “Circa”. I like the retro 80s/90s synth-feel to this song. 8/10

WASTED. Superb bass guitar on this track from Darren Moran. This is one of the weaker tracks on the album, however, it is still a good one! 7/10

ALPHABET FIVE ONE TWELVE. An epic track, with slightly gothic undertones, and romantic lyrics from Robert Corless. “Always be there for you, she is my true love, look in your heart now.” 9/10

 QUADRA is an excellent track, and an fitting finale to the album. Gorgeous melodies, superb use of the flute, which further enhances the track. Both stunning and beautiful, and nice female backing vocals too! 10/10

I thoroughly recommend checking out this album, if you haven’t done so already, and purchase a copy to keep supporting our talented local bands. Long live Gabrielles Wish, may they continue for many years to come!

Ewan Saum INDUSTRY BIO.

Ewan Saum has spent nearly 10 years in the music industry, as both a band manager and a gig promoter; having raised money for cancer charities inc. “Gig 4 Life” and “Versus Cancer”, and helped out with music festivals. 

Ewan started out as a Music Supervisor in the Film Industry, due to his knowledge of the current music scene, and of bands across the world. He has won 3 awards, from the radio station “Radio Gets Wild,” for “Best Soundtrack,” and was nominated for the award of “Best Soundtrack” at the prestigious East End Film Festival in 2014.

By Ian Jackson

Eromeda Records 2015

Looking way back into my distant past I recall arriving in Manchester at the train station in 1989 all the way from …Watford.

It’s not that there’s anything wrong with Watford, I love the place I grew up there but it was and perhaps never shall be the ‘hip’ center of ‘cool’ that Manchester was then and still is today.

Back then one Mr Tony Wilson had met me and took me for a tour around the city and talked (and he COULD talk) for hours about socialism and the cities industrial past and of course, his much beloved night club and record label.

I had a hint of De Ja Vu when I arrived at Piccadilly train station this time around.

Andrew James Barclay to give him his full name set up Eromeda Records over 5 years ago with his sister and brother. Andrew was giving me a grand tour of the ‘Northern Quarter’ area of Manchester, seemingly very proud of his city.

And funnily enough, he’s a socialist idealist, just like Tony was.

I’m not comparing the two men in anyway side from one glaring and very obvious thing, the eye for talent and the joy of seeing talented men and women thrive. Ryan’s story with Eromeda started nearly 4 years ago.

David Barclay had been sifting through unsigned singer-songwriter acts for weeks.

He’d become depressed by what he was hearing. A rash of very promising artists

but nobody with ‘star quality’.

Upon hearing Ryan’s ‘Outside This Town EP’ Andy and David decided that Ryan was such a star and signed up him with a view to developing a raw talent into something polished and ready to blow music fans heads off.

All involved have succeeded.

‘Moving Far Too Fast’ is the perfect pop song.

Its melodies are spritely and slight but hang together like a wonderful frame for Ryan to hang his lyrics over.

Its perhaps the simplicity of Ryan’s work that saw this single peak at 28 in the iTunes Singer Songwriter Charts (two notches above Ed Sheeran).

The lyrics are simple. They tell simple stories. The melodies are simple. They lodge into the listeners mind like some form of musical ear worm and refuse to leave until you get your next fix of the song.

A great debut A side and one I’m sure he’s very proud of.

The B Side is a Piano version of his earlier crowd favourite ‘Outside This Town’.

It’s not the greatest recorded music I’ve ever heard I’ll be honest.

Although for a B Side its an interesting curiosity but the main treat here is the

single itself and what a single it is.

Maybe you can tell by now that I enjoyed Ryan’s work?

I’m also seeing a wide cross section of possible fans. I’m 53 in November.

My daughter is 19 herself soon and she loves Ryan’s single as much as I do.

Hopefully my next trip up to Manchester will be to meet and interview Ryan.

Until then I’ll keep this song on spin cycle, I implore you to do the same.

For about 3 years now young drummer Kevin Clark appears to have worked his way up the ladder of the Mancunian Music Scene and so far so good.

Described as perhaps one of the best young drummers around

and having worked with one or two legends we though a chat was a little overdue…

Q – Hello Kevin can you tell us a little bit about how you first became a drummer?

A – It was all accidental! I've always loved music and instruments from a very early age and looking back at my old school reports I used to have a penchant for percussion and anything rhythmical. I was bought one of those little 4 pieceArgoskits when I was about 3/4 and loved to play along to Paul Weller, Stone Roses and Spin Doctors. Skip forward to year 9 of school and I was just a kid who happened to hang around with the school band. Their drummer at the time couldn't actually play and I thought "I'm sure I can do that". The lads in the band asked me to jump on and have a go and I was hooked ever since.

Q – What bands excited you as you were growing up and developing your playing style?

A - I was hugely inspired by the 90s Manchester scene with bands like Stone Roses, Oasis, Happy Mondays but I have to say I had quite an eclectic taste even as a kid. Listening to stuff from Kula Shaker to Mike Oldfield, Michael Jackson, Nirvana, The Jam, Sex Pistols, The Charlatans even Slipknot for those insane drum fills! I was never more happy than when I was sifting through my parents (and grandparents) record collections as a kid and discovering odd stuff like Emerson, Lake & Palmer and EMF.

Q – What was your first band called and what are your memories of that period in your life?

A – First band was called 'Slythe' and I have the fondest memories of them! We were likeManchester's answer to Nirvana but with more spots and a fear of needles. We played for an hour every day before school and spent every lunch time in the practice room just jamming songs. I credit my discipline to this era.

Q – So from what we gather you’ve worked with The Chemeleonsvox, Gabrielle’s Wish, Dub Sex and Gareth Icke. If all THAT weren’t enough you have a new band called 'To Kill A Circus.' Tell us a little about each band and why you worked/working with them?

A – Well funnily enough 'To Kill A Circus' are the same guys who I started this journey with 10 years ago. After we finished school we all went our separate ways but still played individually. Then last September we all basically said "Why aren't we still making music together?". That's all it took for us to get back in a room and I'm proud to say the spark we once had is still well and truly alive and actually stronger than ever! We now have an albums worth of material written and are just about to release our debut EP along with some dates across theUK.

The reason for me playing for bands such as The Chameleons, Gabrielle's Wish & Dub Sex is because they are all well respected Manchester bands who have built a legacy and for me to be asked to come and be a part of each of them was little short of an honour.

Playing for Gareth Icke was also a pleasure and gave me a chance to really dig in to the pop/rock vibe and just keep things pinned down rhythmically whilst also putting on a good show.

Q – Any heroes in terms of drummers you look up to and admire?

A – Yeah, loads! haha I suppose my first 'hero' would be Steve White of Paul Weller/The Who/Oasis. I saw him play inOldhamin 2004 and I'd never seen such a talented musician in person before! Couple this with the fact that he played on some of the soundtracks to my childhood and you'll see why this was such a big event for me.

I was lucky enough some years later to have a private lesson with him and we jammed for 2 hours above a shop inStockport. Not often you get to jam with one of your idols like that.

Other influences I'd like to mention are Dave Grohl, Tre Cool, Dave Elitch, Buddy Rich, Jojo Mayer, Mike Johnston, John Theodore, Benny Greb and the INSANE Tony Royster Jr. Also id like to give Bo Walsh a mention he’s someone I look up to aLOT.

His work with Gabrielles Wish and Peter Hook was sheer class.

Q – And finally, what advise would you give to young musicians starting out in what is certainly at times a difficult industry?

A – My advice is first of all enjoy what you do and make sure you're in this for the right reasons! If you're thinking "Yeah I'll just be a musician and make loads of money" then it's time to go back home and think about getting into the banking industry.

Music is not just a way to get rich or famous, music is something that lives within you, that flows through your veins and occupies your brain 24/7. You have to live for music and truly love what you do whether it's playing in a Russian Polka band in the corner of a pub to 3 people and a dog or playing stadiums around the world as part of a huge band. If you don't love to just play and be immersed within the music then this isn't for you.

Lastly, just keep going and say yes to opportunities! You never know what lies around the corner in this game!

 Q - Thanks for you time Kevin pleasure speaking with you, any links you want to include for people to check you out?

 A - Yeah of course! Bare with me though as I've been a busy boy recently.

My new band 'To Kill A Circus:

https://www.facebook.com/tkacmusic

http://blinddogpromotions.wordpress.com/2014/07/26/to-kill-a-circus-secret-debut/

Dub Sex: 

http://www.soundcontrolmanchester.co.uk/events/dub-sex/

Gabrielle's Wish:

http://www.gabrielleswish.net/

Gareth Icke:

http://garethicke.com/media/

And lastly, just a band that I want people to check out! They're incredible and I will be working with them on a co-headliner show later this year.

Middleman:

http://middlemanband.co.uk/Welcome%21/Home.html

Kevin Clark Kit List –

Drums:

Tama Superstar Hyperdrive 6 piece (Birch) in Sugar White Tama SLP G-Maple 13x7 Snare Tama Superstar 14x5.5 Snares x2 (Sugar White & Midnight Blue)

Cymbals:

Zildjian; 22" K Dark Ride 18" K Custom Crash 18" A Custom Medium Crash 18" Stagg Medium Brilliant Crash (turned upside down and used as china) 13" A Custom Mastersounds hi-hats 8" A Custom Splash

Skins: Either Coated Controlled Sound or Controlled Sound X on all snares with clear Diplomats as resonants. Clear Emperors for Toms with Clear Ambassador resonants. Powerstroke 4 on batter side of kick with Ebony resonant.

Hardware:

All stands Tama Roadpro Drum stool - Tama Ergo Rider 1st Chair Tama Powerglide twin bass drum pedal

Tech:

Roland SPD-SX Sampler 2 X Roland BT-1 Trigger Pads Ultimate Ears 11 Pro Custom In-Ear Monitors

Sticks:

Vic Firth American Classic Extreme 5B wood tip