nothing's free in this world... except for this!

music >> free download

after much hype, a few weeks ago i caught the band i dream in colour live in east london. i was impressed with richard judge’s born for the stage vocals guiding us through the imaginatively progressive songs, often beginning with the most timid of introductions catapulting to a mature and ear pleasing musical culmination.

i've teamed up with i dream in colour to offer a free download of recently recorded single ‘if you’ produced by phil tyremen (doves, belle & sebastian) that you can download here:

i dream in colour. if you (mp3)

before the band hit the studio early next year to record their debut album they have taken to the road, relentlessly gigging to sell out venues and attracting a wave of new fans. stand out forthcoming gigs include november 11th hoxton underbelly and november 26th camden barfly. get along, and by that time you’ll have no excuse to not know all the words!

happy xmas mum, have a cd/coaster

music >> album review >> kings of leon >> come around sundown

to establish an unbiased view of kings of leon's new album 'come around sundown’ an open mind, ignoring the tiresome 'old kol / new kol' debate was required. 'only by the night', their fourth album brought a fresh wave of fans completely unaware of these tennessee boys before 'sex on fire', westlife cover 'use somebody' and sexy videos more akin to something beyonce would do. kol lost as many fans as they gained with their last album, but having reminded myself of their brilliance on their third record 'because of the times', i was hoping for great things from 'come around sundown'; either a return to their messy, frenzied bluesy rock, or a completely new direction - with whispers of a 'beachy' sounding album, i had high hopes that the polished stadium rock sound they'd uncomfortably slipped into was a one album blip.

sadly the divide between old and new kol remains, i can confirm they're still playing it safe and keeping their new fans (those playing 'sex on fire' off their phones and our take that-loving older sisters) happy with this over produced, stuck in second gear, middle of the road tosh that neither enlightens nor offends. even after three or four listens i couldn't help thinking the cd would make a nice christmas present for my mum, more suitable for afternoon coffee than brixton academy mosh pits. kol now have a signature commercial sound that is instantly recognisable, yet instantly forgettable. longing for the good times of 'spiral staircase' and 'california waiting' these new songs make clear those days are well and truly behind us.

it's not all bad, there are a couple of okay songs, 'no money' hints at their pre-2007 excellence with some choppy guitars and fuzzy production -(at last, i thought) but sadly the next song "pony up" immediately reminded me of the steering wheel-tapping beats they now embrace. 'beach side' has an interesting intro and bouncy bass, a song that flirts with a new direction, but just as my ears were readying themselves for the song to launch the new 2010 kol sound, it ends abruptly as if for fear of offending their new fans. 'pyro' and 'mary' are other songs that slightly stood out but still sat on the fence, not daring enough to tip toe next door where all the naughty, fun stuff is…

this album was kol's chance to slow the monster they've become but instead they've released a 'the only way is essex' friendly album that just doesn't do anything. the commercial road which they've taken is a very different road to the one we thought we were heading down when we jumped onboard during the blurry moustache and flared denim 'youth and young manhood' beginnings. those happy days are assigned to history, i miss them a lot but it seems kol don't, if they did we wouldn't be subjected to yet another soundtrack to bono's wet dreams.

4/10

relocation, relocation, relocation

life >> style

we've all had a laugh at the 'being a dickhead's cool' video that spread around the internet faster than a hoxton hero can roll their rizla. most of the people i know, myself included can tick off a few of the piss-takes highlighted - the current blog YOU ARE ENJOYING being the perfect example, but having recently returned from a week back in my hometown, i can confidently confirm that the life of these so called dickheads has to be an improvement on what is suffered by those diseased by small-town-syndrome now laughing at these supposed trendies. i agree with a of a lot of the video; take a stroll through east london and you'll see waves of pretentious young 'uns cat-walking their way down brick lane or broadway market, perfecting their look to whatever the leader of their whacky art student gang has decided is acceptably diverse enough from their gran's piss stained wardrobe that week, or which vintage camera (that probably doesn't work) looks coolest slung around their buttons-in collar.

the cloned "wow, i'm so diverse, look at my clothes and moustache, i'm the ultimate artist/musician/writer in hackney" falseness obviously riles a lot, but in their favour, at least these young upstarts aren't stuck in the small, narrow minded town they grew up in, desperate to try new things but constrained because of the fear of abuse or failure to fit in. they've moved to london, one of the most magnificent cities in the world, and yep they're wearing silly clothes, growing ridiculous facial hair, sitting over london fields, blogging about their cool day out looking all hip and happening for their 800+ facebook friends and they'll carry on doing it. finally these kids have found a place that tolerates this behaviour whereas before they would have been branded gay or a c*nt at the very thought of wearing a dead man's cardigan or going out without socks on! now all they have to put up with is funny internet videos. like all social groupings, sort through the crap, the fakeness and pretence and you'll find some lovely people who have lived and breathed what is their natural lifestyle for years. for every fifty sheep, there will be a few genuine shepherds; the effortlessly fashionable, artistic, creative types, but unfortunately their genuinity is lost amongst the hoards of hackney.

i diverge, a lot. so i was back in my hometown, the place i'd spent my conformed life surviving through not being too 'out there' or rebelling against what river island had decided was fashionable that season; back to the reptitiveness of the same conversations, same faces, same pubs, same shops and the same dress sense - you'd think the residents of my hometown would have the fitness levels of an olympian for the amount of tracksuits on parade. feeling out of place, i craved the comforts of london with it's endless supply of cosy pubs, amazing parks full of bbqs and guitars, no boy racers circuiting the town centre scouting for 14 year old girls to fill their mum's ford ka, but mostly for the 'anything goes' mentality. despite their obvious faults, these so called dickheads have a liberal and openess that should be applauded. embracing their new surroundings, there's an agreed and underlying acceptance of non-high street conformative fashion, varied music, ranging hair styles (although a morrissey quiff will help you find your feet) but most importantly an acceptance of any colour, any sex, any religion, any race. these people might not tick everyone's like box, sure they're lost in their little fashion student world (despite being 36 and working in a data entry office), but at least they're friendly and won't even shudder at the recent criticisms, just laugh, admit to nearly everything on there, and carry on doing it to the obvious annoyance of such film makers and shoreditch twat abusers.

as stated, most people i know can be loosely catergorised with these once vulnerable beings, but they're a friendly bunch and not out for trouble or to annoy. the younger crowd are enjoying the escapism of their new home, and older generation are out to retain an ever loosening grip on their youthfulness and have a good time while they cling. so with all that in mind, i proclaim "long live the dickheads, just tone it down a little yeah? i can't use up valuable blog space sticking up for you, i've got to promote my art, fashion, warehouse parties and all the other hip and trendy shit i've got on the go!"

i'm off to london fields to type this up on my macbook pro yah...

colchester, colchester or wolves (but definitely not spurs)

football >> my dad

when my old man talks about football i take note, he knows his stuff. this is the man who left his brother's wedding mid-ceremony to race to molineux to stand on the north bank (in his lilac flared suit) to catch the second half of his beloved wolverhampton wanderers versus everton in september 1971*. such dedication has led to a wealth of football knowledge filling his cigar and whisky stained brain; ask him who was rotherham's manager in 1983 and he'll tell you. test him with who won the world cup in 1972 and he'll immediately inform you there wasn't a world cup that year. so when my dad guided me into the wonderful world of football when i was five years old, he wisely advised me that people should only support a team that abides to these rules:

- the team of where you were born
- the team of where you grew up
- the team your dad supports

that left me with colchester, colchester or wolves. rebelling, i supported arsenal for a season or two - something to do with lee dixon's tanned thighs, a very peculiar time for a young boy. but over time my yoda-like father's wisdom took effect, that and the sorry realisation i'd never get a new nylon kit if i carried on cheering dixon et al. so as easy as kerry katona swaps bodily fluids, i switched my allegiances to the pride of the black country. for over two decades i've followed wolves through thick (steve bull's two million goals in the turner years, winning the 2003 play-offs, thrashing man utd 1-0, winning the 2009 championship, staying in the premier league last season), and thin (near closure, sir jack's millions wasted on crippled has-beens, seeing bolton or west brom repeatedly beat us in the play-off semi finals and relegation from the premier league despite the amazing free signing of steffen iversen in 2004!) and through these highs and lows i've been to a lot of games and taken in many an old rusty ground.

the money spent, the wet and cold tuesday evenings in january, the hours stuck in traffic jams evidence loyalty and have left a hopeful yet grounded football opinion. but it's all worth it in the end. the good times (premier league stability) might finally be returning to molineux, so in this sky sports led age when so few follow my father's model and now seek quick fix glories randomly supporting chelsea, man utd or spurs despite living hundreds of miles away, maybe it's time to take stock and think about who you should really be following. back my dad's methods and you'll find the success tastes sweeter, you might find yourself actually going to a game (who'd have thunk it?!) and your spurs winning the champions league theory won't be laughed out of your local boozer faster than kerry katona spreads her legs...

*my dad informs me it finished 1-1 if you were wondering

out of office

life >> holiday

i am currently out of the office being all cultured and that in italy until monday 16th august.


i shall respond to your query upon my return.



ciao!
jamie

i dream in colour

gig review >> i dream in colour >> london >> 28.07.10

in the midst of the great british festival season it's easy to forget that we, the new-music-chasing public should be out there on these fine summer's evenings discovering bands trying to climb the musical ladder. with festivals showcasing what feels like seven million bands every weekend, we'd be forgiven during these warmer months for failing to get out to the dark and dingy gigs that turn these bands from underdogs to summer festival regulars. wanting to move away from the "festivals have everyone i want to see" mindset, last night i headed to london's brick lane to see 'i dream in colour', a young london outfit playing songs from their recently released ep 'the boiler room' (available on itunes, produced by iain gore - mystery jets, glasvegas, libertines). i'd heard a lot about them through a guitar tech mate of mine (tech is short for technician but i'm not sure what guitar is short for*). this techie geek has worked with some big names like maximo park, the maccabees and morcheeba (he prefers bands beginning with 'm'), so when a few months ago he described richard judge (idic's frontman/guitarist) as the best songwriter he'd ever come across, i was intrigued and keen to catch them live.

i dream in colour are a classic indie band, a lazy summation i know, but they are and it's not a bad thing, with all the usual suspects as influences - the beatles et al. they began with 'ready to go', a strong opener with a moody intro and memorable riff. second up was the one song that i and most of the crowd already knew, 'get along'. it had all the elements of a well crafted indie pop song, evidencing the songwriting prowess i'd heard all about. a couple of tracks came and went in the middle, perhaps not quite up to the high standards on show earlier in the gig, but things picked up again towards the end of the set. 'fourteen' is a great song, well structured, well layered, good chorus and propelled to another level by richard's mature and key changing vocals - think matt bellamy minus the opera rubbish. such strong vocals highlight that this is his band and these are his songs. the last song 'finding the courage' was my favourite. when it got going i was hoping the outro would last for ages, the kind of song that could have had a six minute ego stroking ending (the fact that it didn't again shows there's thought behind the writing), but with an abrupt finish their set was over and it was time to head into the night...

all in all it was good to get back to the midweek grass roots of music with a band i knew little about. during the set i felt slightly disappointed with the rest of the band - happy to just provide the backdrop for richard to shine, but on reflection that's all they needed to do. shine richard does. extremely impressive vocals, catchy songs and the ability to veer nicely between languid and energetic. for i dream in colour to progress and climb that musical ladder where the big shot guitar techs jump onboard, they know what they need; a name change to something beginning with 'm'... so while they consider new band names, i'll try and work out what 'guitar' is short for.

i dream in colour played:

ready to go

get along

if you

alibi

on my mind

fourteen

finding the courage

7.5

*copyright of mat horne & alexander oakley. jokers.

"hi pod, please shut up and go listen to these real beauties"

with the hardest working day of the week now consigned to water cooler history, and only four office days left until field day festival i thought i'd get home, relax and put my weary feet up with some terrible television. i wanted terrible but watchable tv. you know, shit, but still leaves you feeling warm inside (surprise surprise, howard's way, that kind of thing). to my annoyance i've painfully just watched the first 41 seconds of 'snog marry avoid?' and i'm left questioning our existence. but instead of writing a tear and blood stained final message directed at jenny frost, 'pod' and overweight orange girls giving them the satisfaction they crave, i've instead gone through my itunes to make a rather more life embracing note of my favourite five albums of 2010 so far. so for all those looking for something other to do than start gang warfare against glowing perma-tan girls, go listen to the following...

foals, 'total life forever'

raising the bar not just for bands from studious oxford, but for all british bands right now. amazing. 9

favourite song... 'spanish sahara'

arcade fire, 'the suburbs'

not out for a few days yet, but thankfully for us (but not their bank manager) it's leaked and is currently set on repeat on my iphone. quite brilliant. 9

favourite song... 'ready to start'

mystery jets, 'serotonin'

the strongest middle of an album i've heard in a long time, irresistibly catchy. 8

favourite song... 'show me the light'

avi buffalo, 'avi buffalo'

sounds like the album mgmt tried (but failed) to make with their second offering. poppy and summery, lovely stuff. 7

favourite song... 'truth sets in'

yeasayer, 'odd blood'

in places sounds like the perfect pilled up, loved up, but very weird summer party. odd blood, odd sounds and oddly scattered bits of genius. 7

favourite song... 'love me girl'

so there you have it, my top five. a special mention should also go to sleigh bells, ariel pink's haunted graffiti, the coral and two door cinema club who just failed to make the grade, i'm sure they're crying into their supper right now. with that written, i'm off to watch 'lee nelson's well good show'. someone pass me a gun.