Tom Meighan, Fever Dreams, Wedding Present, Jah Wobble, Blossoms, The Libertines, Berries, Nick Hodgson, Crows and Test Bed Leeds 90s Baby With Heather Small, N-Trance, Livin Joy and Phats & Small
Tom Meighan at 02 Academy on 2 October CANCELLED
Tom Meighan’s new album ‘Roadrunner’, will be released on 13th September on Blue Rocket Records. Tom shared new single ‘White Lies’. He’s touring the UK this autumn. You can buy tickets here.
Last year Tom Meighan released his first solo album The Reckoning. It charted at #17, after hitting the official midweek chart at #2 (behind Ed Sheeran). Tom and his 5-piece band spent 2023 relentlessly touring the UK before packing out arenas on tour with Noel Gallagher.
Tom Meighan signed his first record deal with Kasabian at the age of 21. He sold over four million albums, celebrated 5 consecutive number one albums and was awarded, amongst many others, a BRIT Award, 7 NME Awards, 5 Q Magazine Awards, a Mojo award and a Music Week Award. He headlined Glastonbury, V Festival and Reading and Leeds twice, along with most other major European music festivals.
Joining Tom in his band are keyboardist/guitarist Bnann Infadel, bassist Ele Lucas, lead guitarist Chris Haddon, guitarist Brodie Maguire and drummer Gareth Young.
Real Estate at Stylus on 4 October
“Daniel…conveys an expert melancholy, its ups always just on the brink of an elegant down.” MOJO 4*
“A welcome return to form.” Record Collector 4*
“Real Estate have emerged as a band renewed, the palpable unity in these performances amplifying their sense of purpose. A Springtime joy.” Clash
“The songs are carefree but still complex, offering the best version yet of the refined summery jangle Real Estate has specialized in since they came out of New Jersey in the early 2010s.” Rolling Stone
“it’s the cleanest and leanest album they’ve ever made.” Pitchfork
“The word to describe Real Estate’s newest offering is “timeless”.” Dork 4*
“Daniel is a strong contender for Real Estate’s best work yet.” Far Out Magazine
“Everything about “Water Underground” is gorgeous, from the wistful slide work, the chiming arpeggios and the washes of warm acoustic to the earworm vocal hook.” Guitar World
Fever Dreams at The Fox & Newt on 4 October
Leeds and York based Indie outfit Fever Dreams (also main image) digitally released their debut single, So Naïve, in July. This indie pop anthem, delivered from a first-person perspective, lyrically delves into the internal conflict that occurs when constantly returning to a toxic relationship, until a moment of clarity and realisation that the current situation needs to be left behind. This is all wrapped up in a huge mix with bright synth hooks, warm guitars, pounding drums and bouncing bass lines with a warm and heartfelt vocal delivery.
“It’s one of those songs that just cling on to you, and you’ll be humming it all day. It’s really well put together with undertones of Blossoms and Arctic Monkeys. If this is their debut single, then what lies ahead is very exciting. Ones to watch.” Double Denim Live
Formed in 2023, Fever Dreams are one of the hottest prospects on the Yorkshire music scene. Off the back of their debut performance at an open mic night they were booked for additional shows at respected venues such as the Brudenell Social Club as well as securing slots with This Feeling and Double Denim.
Their inspiration is drawn from a wide range of artists, from the likes of Radiohead, Arctic Monkeys and Wolf Alice to The La’s, The Smiths and The Verve. This range of muses has allowed them to develop their own sound, a fusion of heartfelt melodic pop songs with colourful psychedelic overtones to classic guitar driven indie anthems giving something for everyone to enjoy.
“Fever Dreams came and played as part of our open mic at The Pack Horse recently and we booked them straight away for a full set. They were really that good and their first gig to boot! They play indie rock and pop, with an amazing talent for writing songs which you’ll be right on board with from the off. Keep an eye on their progress because these guys have a bright future.” Cloth Cat
Fever Dreams – another date – at Leeds Oporto on 8 December: Double Denim All Dayer.
The Wedding Present at 02 Academy on 5 October
The boy Gedge has written some of the best love songs of the ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll’ era. You may dispute this but I’m right and you’re wrong!” – JOHN PEEL
THE WEDDING PRESENT will be playing a series of concert dates at the end of 2024 to commemorate the 35th anniversary of the release of their classic major-label debut long-player, ‘Bizarro’.
The shows will see the David Gedge-led indie legends performing a 90-minute set that will include the 1989 album in full – together with other classics from their extensive repertoire.
Of the upcoming tour David Gedge says:
“‘Bizarro’ was our second album and you can hear on it how much we had learned from the experience of recording our debut, ‘George Best’. You only have to listen to something like ‘Bewitched’ to notice that there’s much more in the way of texture and depth on ‘Bizarro’. We’d just improved as songwriters and arrangers, basically. It’s no less frenetic a record, though!”
Released on RCA Records back in 1989, ‘Bizarro’ was The Wedding Present’s second proper studio album and first on a major label. An album that replaced the frenetic jangle of their earlier years with a newfound darkness and power, the record found vocalist David Gedge taking his idiosyncratic songs laced with heartbreak, despair and sarcasm to a whole new level.
Arguably the fullest realisation of The Wedding Present sound to that point, the album features the unstoppable lead single “Kennedy” (which would become the band’s first UK Top 40 hit in 1989), plus their anthemic calling card “Brassneck”, which would chart at No.24 in the UK Singles Chart when released the following year.
A steely, diverse album from a band beginning to hit their creative stride, highlights elsewhere on the record include the sparse “What Have I Said Now?”, the grinding slow-jam “Bewitched”, and the epic closer “Take Me!”.
Toying with extremes of tempo and mood, ‘Bizarro’ is hailed as a vibrant hybrid of astringency and quintessential pop euphoria, and it remains a seminal chapter in The Wedding Present story.
Tickets.
Crows at The Brudenell on 5 October
New album ‘Reason Enough’ out now.
Praise for Reason Enough:
“The music is captivating and I defy anyone to not, after first listen, immediately press play again on ‘Reason Enough’.”CLASH 9/10
“Their monochrome world is bleakly beautiful.”Classic Rock 7/10
“It’s the tightest and broadest they’ve sounded, with punk sensibilities wrapping themselves around ‘Reason Enough”s arena-ready post-punk propulsion.” DORK ★★★★
“The most melodic, hook-filled and engaging record of their career.”LOUDER ★★★★
“Reason Enough is Crows’ most cohesive and fully realised work to date.”The Line Of Best Fit 8/10
“the latest album emphatically displays why they’ve been underground favourites for so long and their broad pull.”Far Out ★★★★
“Crows are back and this is their finest work to date.”Northern Exposure 5/5
Crows tickets on sale now.
Jah Wobble at The Brudenell on 18 October
Revered Public Image Ltd bassist JAH WOBBLE makes his long awaited return to the post-punk sound he helped create with his new album, A BRIEF HISTORY OF NOW, released via US label Cleopatra Records on digital, CD and vinyl on 11 August, and shares the first single and video.
After an astounding 45-year career in music that began as the bassist for John Lydon’s post-Sex Pistols band Public Image Ltd – earning immense and lasting praise for his trailblazing musicianship through his solo career and collaborations with the likes of Holger Czukay from Can, The Edge from U2 and, later, with Brian Eno, Chris Connelly from Ministry and Geordie Walker from Killing Joke – one would think that Jah Wobble would have said all he has to say. Turns out, he was just getting started.
Wobble has announced a new solo album, A Brief History Of Now, that finds the eclectic troubadour returning to the post-punk genre that he had a key role in developing, both in his tenure with PiL and later. Co-written, produced and performed with another post-punk hero Jon Klein of Siouxsie & The Banshees, the album packs a powerful punch both musically and lyrically as the two veterans deliver an energetic and innovative collection of musical treatises.
For proof, check out the album’s first single, LAST EXIT, a pulsating, psychedelic-tinged track that interweaves Wobble’s distinctive bass with a syncopated spoken-word vocal and Klein’s razor-sharp guitar. Wobble uses the song to provoke and process current events that continually threaten to suffocate us before we escape. The accompanying video, made with Vicente Cordero from Industrialism Films, vividly brings the song to life and offers a captivating catharsis for the post-post-postmodern age.
Watch the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2_3uk9Ey8o
Tickets available from www.songkick.com
Blossoms at 02 Academy on 18 October
The Stockport band will be embarking on an extensive 20-date run of October and November shows in London, Birmingham, Liverpool, Leeds, Glasgow and beyond. Red Rum Club will support in Leeds.
For more information on the band’s live performances, visit their website.
Speaking about the upcoming tour, Blossoms say:
“We’ve been waiting to announce this tour for a while! This album was recorded live so we can’t wait to play the new tunes and all your favourites at these great venues in a couple of months. Gary might even be at some (depending on venue stage heights)! X”
The Libertines at 02 Academy on 22 October
“They’re still able to channel an almost Dickensian parallel universe of lowlife, crime and violence into something poetic and romantic.” THE GUARDIAN
The last gang in town The Libertines, who released their hotly anticipated new album All Quiet On The Eastern Esplanade in March, are touring the UK and Ireland and taking in two shows at The Roundhouse in London, culminating at Manchester’s Albert Hall on 7th November.
The Libertines’ once-seen-never-forgotten live shows are here to save humanity from holograms, virtual reality and AI auto-tuned bullshit, so switch off your pocket-held marketing machine and come and experience raw analogue euphoria at the hands of these delirious musical chaos-mongers.
The Libertines have so far lifted three genius singles from their fabulous new album All Quiet On The Eastern Esplanade: Run, Run, Run VIDEO, Night Of The Hunter VIDEO and Shiver VIDEO
The Libertines are Peter Doherty – vocals/guitar, Carl Barât – vocals/guitar, John Hassall – bass guitar and Gary Powell– drums.
The band have released three albums: Up The Bracket (2002); The Libertines (2004); and Anthems For Doomed Youth (2015).
KEEP UP WITH THE LIBERTINES: X / Instagram / Facebook / Threads / YouTube / TikTok
Berries at Hyde Park Book Club on 25 October
BERRIES are a jagged rock trio made up of Holly Carter, Lauren Cooper and Lexi Clark.
Winding off-kilter garage rock melodies around uplifting messages about what it takes to overcome mental health battles, the band released their debut album in 2022, ‘How We Function’, to glowing reviews. Gaining praise from the likes of Record Collector, The List and The Crack, the album was awarded four out of five stars by Louder Than War who dubbed it “a really well put together debut album that rocks hard and gets its message across succinctly, with a bristling beat and an intelligence that it takes some bands a few albums to achieve”.
The band also delivered an exhilarating Radio X Session on John Kennedy’s show. Setting fervent expectations for its follow-up, BERRIES have returned to the Xtra Mile Recordings label for the release of their eponymous second album, ‘BERRIES’, which will arrive on 18 October 2024.
90s Baby at Leeds Test Bed on 26 October, with Heather Small, N-Trance, Livin Joy and Phats & Small
Nick Hodgson at The Brudenell on 27 October
Nick Hodgson’s new band Everyone Says Hi are pleased to announce details of their debut, self-titled album. It is released on 4th October via Chrysalis Records. Pre-order here
To coincide with the announcement, a new single is shared. Listen to Only One here / watch the video here
The ex-Kaiser Chiefs’ songwriter/drummer unveiled Everyone Says Hi earlier in the Spring with debut single, Brain Freeze, which was quickly followed by a first live performance at Brighton’s Great Escape and a pair of sell-out headline dates in Hodgson’s hometown of Leeds and London.
A second track, the electric torchlit ballad (and album opener), Somebody Somewhere, has also been shared. Everyone Says Hi sees Nick adopt the role of lead singer/guitarist/frontman, and brings together musicians Pete Denton on bass, Glenn Moule on drums, keyboard player Ben Gordon (ex-members of The Kooks, The Howling Bells, and Liverpool’s The Dead 60s respectively), alongside Leeds based guitarist Tom Dawson.
The band’s name is lifted from a David Bowie song of the same title. What you hear across its 10 tracks is high-calibre, beautifully sculpted songcraft performed by high-calibre, experienced players. Not so much showing ‘promise’ here, but instantly delivering bonafide ‘big songs’ that belie the band’s status as relative newcomers. The record was produced by Nick at London’s Snap Studios and at his home studio.
“Everyone Says Hi” is the fruits of a multi-platinum musician deciding to draw a line and start afresh. Back to the same bedroom floor where the first tentative notes were played, holding the same guitar that was played way back when, back to forming a band with trusted friends, and back to booking the sticky basement stages where teeth were first cut. But whilst you can metaphorically wipe the slate clean on most things, you cannot unlearn what you already know. If emotionally-driven, arena-ready songs come almost second-nature, you’d be foolish to ignore the gift you’ve been given.
On the siren-call of Only One, Nick explains, “This was the first new song that came out of me for the album. Whenever I’ve written albums, they start with one song and when it happens I know that whether I like it or not, an album is happening. Only One is another love song essentially, but when I write a love song they’re not very romantic but more matter of fact. In this case I’m saying, I love it when you phone me up in the middle of the night, something that’s pretty inconvenient but because it’s a certain person, you love it.”
Nick has long been a songwriter in high demand. Since leaving his teenage band back in 2012, he has co-written for the likes of Dua Lipa, You Me At Six, Duran Duran, George Ezra, and Holly Humberstone, and collaborated on tracks alongside Mark Ronson, Kygo, and Shirley Bassey. Having racked up over 5 million cumulative album sales globally, Nick now focuses on a new challenge. You wouldn’t bet against him.
A first headline tour in support of the record runs across six dates in October, including a headline show at Oslo in London and Brudenell Social Club in Leeds. Tickets https://esh.lnk.to/UKTixPR
Freya Beer at Headrow House on 29 October
“Freya Beer is the future pop diva, the 21st-century post-punk torch singer you will all fall in love with.” Louder Than War
FREYA BEER is back with the electrifying new track “False Hope”. STREAM HERE
With Jekyll and Hyde-like arrangements, that veer from Beabadoobee-esque bubblegum/pop to blistering Garbage-style grunge/rock in the thump of a heartbeat; the single arrives as a thrilling curve-ball from London’s rising Gothic-pop chanteuse.
With a subject matter as deceiving as its devious melodies, Freya says:
““False Hope” is about coming across individuals who promise the world to you but fail to present. It’s a song about picking yourself up after you come across ‘flaky’ characters.”
Making 2024 her own, Freya supported punk poet Dr John Cooper-Clarke on his spoken word tour around the UK, with Beer receiving the unique opportunity to perform her own poetry at the iconic London Palladium. More recently she appeared in the fashion magazine, Hunger, and was photographed by the iconic Rankin.
In October/November Freya and her band will be back on the road for a mega 22 live date tour around the UK.
Tickets on sale here:
https://www.freyabeer.com/livedate
Main image: Leeds & York’s Fever Dreams at The Brudenell.
