Taking on the World
Rosey R*E*P*E*A*T talks some end of year shite
Glory Glory demo (myspace.com/Glorygloryband1)
As refreshing as a thaw after weeks of snow-enforced cabin fever, Glory
Glory are a band to brush away any post Christmas blues. Hidden within
the unprepossessing grooves of this home made 2 track CD are some of
the finest girl-boy shouty sweary punk tunes you'll hear this side of
. well ummm actually Glory Glory seem to be friends with lots
of other Norwich bands doing a similarly exciting Riot Grrl for 2010
thing, all with exuberance, joy and beauty as well as some insane individuality.
Who'd have thought 2 people could make such a joyful, catchy, refreshing
racket Glory Glory are a band I hope will feature more in R*E*P*E*A*T
in recent months. I don't know what it is they're putting in the mustard
in Norwich, but I want some on my veggie sausages!
Greg McDonald : A Little Strange (myspace.com/gregmcdonalduk)
Don't let Music Week's comparisons with 'Joe Strummer fronting Elbow'
put you off, this is glamorous, yearning, melodic, stadium-fucking street
folk which will jerk on your heart strings and have you in tears of
longing and regret before its 4 minutes are up. After the revolution,
Greg McDonald will be poet laureate and his songs will be blasted out
lovingly every night at dusk to remind the revolutionary masses of their
shared humanity, for you only do the things you do to hide the
things you are
[but] it's alright to feel a little strange
you can be a little strange
be you, be true, don't let them tame
you. I'd fight for that manifesto every time.
Bokaata EP (myspace.com/bokaata)
Judging by the lyrics of 'Love Lost', I guess Bokaata must have grown
up listening to Greg McDonald more tales of teenage yearning
and defeat and loss than you could wave a wilting chrysanthemum at.
Other influences I also approve of The Manics (spiky awkard Holy
Bible verses seducing us into huge melody soaked choruses) , the surging,
wonky electronica of The Automatic and the frantic guitars of Placebo
all glued together by a taut vocal intensity. However, despite all this
arresting electric guts-grabbing power, my favourite track has to be
the acoustic lament 'Refugee'. A very impressive, professional sounding
debut from this Cambridge based 3 piece; now the question is whether
they have the energy, imagination and bottle to take on the mediocre
tastemongers and fading scenesters to get their music the audience it
requires.
Noisy Fanzine #9 - 4th Birthday Issue (£1 from noisyzine.co.uk
)
Another blast of enthusiasm rammed up the backside of the complacent
and easily pleased, Nosiy Zine seeks to cover all things indie, pop,
punk, rock, alternative and more in the Essex area, and what's more,
even after four years, they complete this apparently thankless task
with energy, intelligence and good humour. Highlights of this issue
include an interview with Trash Monroe in the studio, a piece on Fashoda
Crisis, a mention of the rather wonderful Fever Fever and a very polite
review of Elliot Minor playing a local school. And there's miles and
miles more stuff Essex; if you want to get or go to a gig in the county,
or if you want to get involved with the scene, I guess Noisy would be
the place to start. Of course I have reservations about any organ whose
raison d'etre is 'supporting the local scene' - bands and PRs who think
that this applies to R*E*P*E*A*T often get a rude shock - but my curmudgeonly
misgivings are made up for by the obvious enthusiasm of the writers,
the pleasure of holding a real paper zine in my hands and of course
the free 15 track CD given away with this issue, highlights of which
are probably the political punk of R*E*P*E*A*T faves F451, Fashoda Crisis'
abrasive 'Moremonkeythanmanman' and 'Fucksticks' by the unfortunately
ubiquitous Kunt and the Gang. Here's to the next 4 years, Noisy Zinesters!
It's always a such a subversive joy to hold a real,
photocopied, DIY fanzine in my hand - even after all these years - and
it is a tribute to the creative power of grassroots music that such
publications keep springing up. Despite being constantly offered a mindnumbing
diet of blowdried brain dead celeb culture, ordinary people are always
able to produce something much more intelligent, imaginative and just
better...
And surely if we can topple the X Factor, we can
take on the world?
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