Well, not quite all Leeds – we’ve snuck in one for Settle – Gentlemen of Few – just because we want to!
Sam Lee: at The Old Woollen on 24 March
SAM LEE’s – NEW ALBUM ‘songdreaming’ is OUT on 15TH MARCH 2024, VIA COOKING VINYL.
PRE-ORDER HERE
LISTEN TO “MEETING IS A PLEASANT PLACE” HERE.
“Meeting is a Pleasant Place” is a perfect, and expansive, introduction to Sam’s fourth studio album, marrying his well-documented ability to transform and translate traditional songs into a modern context with the album’s core desire to continue to widen and diversify his musical approach.
Partly sourced from an old Devon gypsy folk song, the track features the first recorded work from Trans Voices, a London based trans choir, who bring a gospel tinge to a song framed around Sam’s sonorous voice and a delicate building melody. As with all the tracks on ‘songdreaming’, the single was produced by Bernard Butler, continuing his work with Sam from the previous album release ‘Old Wow’.
As with much of Sam’s work, the track is steeped in the vitality of the natural world as he explains:
“To see it we must first sing it. The song calls in a new idea of companionship for the journeys we make and imagines what stewardship for the land could be today, inherently petitioning for a permissive ‘open for all’ state in how we understand our place in nature. ‘Meeting’ is an anthem for a future that holds a nature-centrici ideology at its heart. It asks what equality could feel like within the custodianship of our common stories both ancient and modern, and what guardianship of a nature-enriched and nature-centred England, Britain and the World could be.”
“Meeting is a Pleasant Place” will be available on all streaming and download services from January 29th.
The single will be followed by the release of the album, ‘songdreaming’, on 15th March 2024.
Tickets are now on sale, visit www.samleesong.co.uk for details and booking.
Caity Baser at 02 Academy on 26 March
Caity Baser is having a busy time – her 14-track mixtape ‘Still Learning’ is out on 12 March. For her biggest ever tour, which begins in Leeds on 26 March, she’s ensuring prices are capped, in line with her pledge to keep her shows affordable. On top of this, Caity’s single ‘I Love Making Bad Boys Cry’ is out via EMI Records/Chosen Music.
Combined, the tour’s eleven venues will see Caity perform to over 40,000 people – such is the draw of her unique live performances.Of the Still Learning tour, Caity says:“Being on stage is my absolute favourite place to be, ever. My shows have been crazy – within a year I’ve gone from playing my first show to 150 people, to huge sold out shows ,massive festival main stages, everyone shouting back all the lyrics to me…which is still crazy to think about! But it’s only made me want to go bigger and better for this tour. So expect a totally new show with some surprises and also the usual chaos ofc. CAN’T WAIT TO SEE U ALL THERE!!“
Maintaining her pledge to her fans during the cost of living crisis, Caity has ensured tickets for the forthcoming Still Learning tour have also been made available at a capped, reduced price. This is a matter which is very important to her, motivated by her memories of often not being able to afford tickets to gigs when she was growing up. Of her capped tour ticket prices and mixtape, Caity says:“As I hope people know by now, I like to make everything I do as accessible as possible to everyone, and I wouldn’t want someone to not come to one of my shows because of money or whatever – especially with everything that’s going on in the world at the moment. We’re all in this together and without all of my fans none of this would be happening. You got me here, so you should be there at my shows! So.. I asked my team to keep the ticket and mixtape prices as low as possible for my fans (they call themselves the Slaysers). And I’ve also put the mixtape at a fiver for my Slaysers – they’re super limited and i hope u love them as much as i do!“
You can read Leeds Living’s previous review here.
Tickets here.
Benjamin Francis Leftwich at The Brudenell on 4 April
You can read our preview for Benjamin Francis Leftwich here.
Buy tickets here.
C J Pandit at The Cardigan Arms on 11 April
The Cardigan Arms is the venue for multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and producer C J Pandit’s first headline show in Leeds, in support of his debut record ‘One Lost English Boy’. Support from Cyrano.
You can buy your tickets here.
Gentlemen of Few at Settle Victoria Hall on 12 April
Indie/pop rock band Gentlemen of Few will perform at Settle’s Victoria Hall on 12 April. Yes, Settle’s a fair way off Leeds, but we allow ourselves some exceptions from time to time.
The band has been performing with their signature raw passion and intense energy for dedicated fans across the UK for the past twelve years. The Royal Albert Hall, the O2 Academy 2’s in Islington, Birmingham, Oxford and Sheffield, the Leas Cliff Hall, Folkestone and The Forum, Tunbridge Wells are just a few of the venues Gentlemen of Few have played. Festivals have included the Tiree Music Festival, Secret Garden Party, Boomtown Fair and Greenbelt.
Gentlemen of Few play an eclectic blend of indie/pop rock, fusing skilful vocal harmonies from their folk genre beginnings with 80’s guitar and synth sounds to create pop-rock songs that are truly unique. This translates to a live performance of raw passion and intense energy “hardly to be believed” – Chris Evans, TFI Friday.
Band members Elliott Norris, Reece Forward, Ollie and Fin Roe, Jarrod Piner and Oscar Lloyd cite their influences – ELO, Flyte, The Vaccines and Arctic Monkeys.
“Fusing………….. youthful English vigour, impeccable harmonies and song craft way beyond their years. Mighty impressive.” Smugglers Records
“Incredible live sound” – BBC Radio Kent
You can buy your tickets here.
Pet Needs at Boom Leeds on 17 April
Founded with humble bedroom-band beginnings by brothers Johnny (vocals) and George (guitar) Marriott and later joined by Jack (drums) and Ryan (bass), PET NEEDS’ career has been sky-rocketing ever since the release of their acclaimed debut ‘Fractured Party Music’ in 2021. From getting signed to SOLD OUT shows, rave reviews to rabid fans, and embarking on extensive global tours with the likes of Frank Turner, The Hives, The Lottery Winners, Skinny Lister; demand for these four lads from Essex has been on a trajectory with the stratosphere.
As such, their third studio release in as many years, ‘Intermittent Fast Living’ is inspired by this relentless, breathless, stop-start lifestyle the band have found themselves living in recent times. Finding themselves jolting between a life in the fast lane and “the security and stillness” of being with those they love, their latest work captures all the chaos and curiosities that come with their dichotomous current lifestyle.
As Johnny says:
“In the last 2 years we have been catapulted from steady jobs and playing in our small town local bars to world tours at a million miles an hour. The life we’d grown accustomed to is constantly thrown behind us until it disappears into the distance in our rear view mirror. We thunder forward, show by show, adventure by adventure, until [normal life] returns as a speck on the horizon like an oasis in the desert. Then suddenly we’re home again. I sit content on the sofa with a beer, my wife and our new little puppy wondering what the hell just happened for the last three months.”
Like that unexpected snapshot for sale at the end of a theme-park ride, ‘ Intermittent Fast Living’ is a vivid portrait of a band riding high on the rollercoaster that is the rock’n’roll life, and stopping for just a split-second to capture the moment. A rush of adrenaline and a tornado of emotion, the album was recorded in just two weeks at Vada Studios with producer and sound engineer George Perks (Enter Shikari, You Me At Six, Mogwai, Skindred).
Tickets for all shows are on sale now: https://petneedsband.com/live-dates.
Hollow Coves at The Brudenell on 17 April SOLD OUT
“Hollow Coves seems to tap into something timeless.” Clash
Australian indie/folk duo Hollow Coves released new single ‘Photographs’ which heralded their now released eagerly awaited new album: ‘Nothing To Lose’. On the closing lines of “Photographs”, the ascendant Brisbane duo offer something of a mission statement for their next chapter and the new album: “She loved taking photographs / I love the way she never let the moment pass…” STREAM “PHOTOGRAPHS” ON ALL SERVICES HERE
An ode to preserving, cherishing, and appreciating amidst the oversaturation and ephemera of the digital age, Hollow Coves explain of the song’s genesis:
“We ended up having a conversation in the studio about how photographs used to be something special that people would keep in a photo album. However, now that we can take photos with our phones, it seems like photos will most likely just get lost amongst the sea of photos. Matt (Carins) brought up that his mum has kept a photo album for him and his siblings since they were born. We all thought that was pretty special and kind of a lost art in this day and age. So we decided to write a song about her and the lost art of the photograph.”
It was in the pages of this childhood photo book that Hollow Coves’ Matt Carins and Ryan Henderson found the initial ideas for their first new album in five years. Looking to overcome the anxiety and burnout that accompany the relentless pace of the modern world, ‘Nothing To Lose’ takes its inspiration from re-learning to appreciate our day-to-day: early morning surf trips on Australia’s Gold Coast, getting lost in the expansive national parks of the American West, the slow-and-steady craftsmanship of film or vinyl or woodworking. The resultant album is one that touches on all aspects of our path through life, from silver linings and feelings of moving on (“Milk & Honey”, “Letting Go”), to the importance of family (“Photographs”) and following your dreams (“On The Way”, “Let’s Go”), or just having that faith to be yourself (“Harder To Fake It”, “Nothing To Lose”).
Teaming-up with many collaborators from their close-knit, beach-town musical community, ‘Nothing To Lose’ serves as a striking reminder of the often-underestimated powers of gratitude, perspective and simplicity as we navigate the modern world. Produced by fellow Aussie songwriter and ARIA-winning producer Matt Corby at his Rainbow Valley Studio with the assistance of Alex Henrikkson, Chris Collins – plus Matt Carins’ wife Molly and brother Ryan – the band’s second album finds Hollow Coves honing their sunshine gilded melodies and poignant lyricism to create ten buoyant, and often beautiful, new songs.
Jane Weaver at The Brudenell on 18 April
Jane’s new album, Love in Constant Spectacle, is out on 5 April via Fire Records. The album is her first since 2021’s unanimously lauded ‘Flock’ and sees her take measured steps towards a vivid, dreamlike record, that offers resolve in the face of life’s inevitability. The foundations of Weaver’s sound are still evident – lush motorik drums, pulsating bass, custom modded synths and exotic fuzz pedals but the stream is awash with scrabble piece poetry and Letraset lullabies leading to lush escapism, the free abandon that you’d associate with free jazz and the avant-garde. But, as determined and visionary as Weaver might be, Love In Constant Spectacle wasn’t executed without assistance. Here we find a long mooted unison with Jane’s first ever producer, John Parish (PJ Harvey, Aldous Harding), who has shared Weaver’s process in the surrounds of Rockfield Studios and Geoff Barrow’s Invada studio.
Originating from an arpeggiated loop, album opener ‘Perfect Storm’ conjures little scenes, vignettes of someone frantic, who can foresee something unfortunate on the horizon. Floating into consciousness with a subliminal and meandering groove, there’s a captivating ambience as we ascend on our journey.
Initially a gentle country-inspired song, ‘Univers’ transformed into a Heavy Mellow piece under John Parish’s direction, offering a bittersweet take that wasn’t originally intended. The upfront vocal is honest and foreboding, but with resolve and promise. Reflecting on the themes within the song, Weaver explains “Sometimes things go consistently wrong and it seems like there’s no middle ground, but then there’s moments of joy where everything is ultra bright. Living with anticipatory grief for a number of years is hard to articulate, thinking about mortality becomes a constant and some days it’s bigger than you can deal with, but the resolve of this track is hopeful and bright”.
While touching on darker themes, there is still warmth and spirit throughout the record. ‘Romantic Worlds’ is an elaborate love song where exuberant synths explore brief encounters and our perceptions of modern romance.
Title track ‘Love In Constant Spectacle’.sees our protagonist connecting with nature and her surroundings “searching for joy, wanting to love and feel loved, then uncovering it in unusual places and in the smallest, hidden things in life”.
Taking clues from our surroundings, chasing symbolism and fate, ‘Family Of The Sun’ closes on a poignant note, drawing inspiration from French Kommune music and the works of protest singer Catherine Ribeiro. Returning to cinema for inspiration, Weaver explains “The song references a film where the lead character doesn’t know what she wants from life, so she’s looking for cues, relying on fate and astrological intervention, chasing symbolism in everything. I think it’s relatable when you’re unhappy and lost and searching for clues from your surroundings, to try and predict your destiny. At the end of the film, fate does intervene and is resolved by a natural phenomenon, suggesting that her whole life was leading up to this incredible moment”.
Love In Constant Spectacle is otherworldly. It is both intimate yet distant, a surrealist interpretation of the foundations that make us human – the stories and landscapes it paints are habitats of their own. A voyage into undisclosed pastures, it’s a heartfelt manifesto from an artist who continues to evolve boundlessly with each chapter in her career.
“Genuinely different and exhilarating” ★★★★ The Guardian
“An artist at the top of her game” NP
“A mix of oscillating grooves, new-wave synths and a subatomic pulse, Weaver has created her finest set to date.” ★★★★ MOJO
“Superlative, hook-stuffed avant-pop” ★★★★1/2 Uncut
Ticket link here: https://janeweavermusic.com/tour
Joe Goddard at Headrow House on 20 April
Joe Goddard‘s brand new single “New World (Flow)”, is a rhapsodic house track with a powerhouse vocal performance by the Bronx-born, Milan-based singer-songwriter and visual artist Fiorious.
Talking about “New World (Flow)”, Goddard says: “When I wrote the chords for this song, I was aiming for something with the power of a hymn. Without discussing this concept, Fiorious added words that have a kind of atheistic spiritual quality that I always love in house music.”
Fiorious adds: “I connected to the track instantly and loved how it moved from an interior moment in the verse to an explosive climax in the chorus. The lyrics took their cue from that feeling, the idea of getting out of your own way and surrendering, and so it became this meditation on fearlessness. From there, I started arranging my vocals as a huge choir of me, and it all came together very quickly.”
Watch the video for “New World (Flow)” featuring Fiorious here.
Stream “New World (Flow) featuring Fiorious here.
Tickets can be bought here.
The K’s at 02 Academy on 20 April
One of the UK’s fastest rising bands – THE K’S – have kicked off 2024 with a bang. Ahead of their highly anticipated debut album ‘I Wonder If The World Knows’, out 22 March, the four-piece reveal their new single “No Place Like Home”, written by band members Jamie Boyle and Ryan Breslin and recorded, mixed and produced by Gareth Nuttall (The Lottery Winners, Frank Turner, Dirty Blonde).
Speaking of the fast-paced, energetic track, the band explain its deep-rooted and personal story:
“”No Place Like Home” is a story of the weekly occurrence of anxiety and panic attacks every Sunday. Starting with an initial feeling of confusion as to why your body feels like it’s fighting to survive, closely followed by the panic that sets in as you retrace your steps through the night before. The dreaded “beer fear” and financial hardship that makes you promise you’ll never do it again – only to do the exact same the weekend after. The song constantly battles to try and find balance between the temporary tranquillity that comes with being intoxicated and the harsh reality of the longer term effects it has on both physical and mental health.”
Accompanying the release is the official video, directed by Geoff Owens. The video features a teenager putting on a cassette of the band, dancing around the streets and using the music as a form of escapism, interspersed with scenes of the band performing the track. Speaking of the video’s concept, guitarist Ryan Breslin:
“We wanted to try capturing the energy of the track live as well as through the reaction of people listening to it and the young lad bouncing round his town to his favourite tune has done this perfectly.”
STREAM “NO PLACE LIKE HOME” HERE || WATCH THE VIDEO HERE“
REMAINING TICKETS ON SALE NOW HERE
John Robb at The Old Woollen on 28 April
Discussing everything from his recently released book ‘The Art Of Darkness – The History of Goth’ to his experience being the first person to interview Nirvana, his coining of the term ‘Britpop’ and his adventures on the post-punk frontline, the ‘Do You Believe In The Power Of Rock N Roll’ tour will be a celebration of his life in music.
The 22-date tour begins on 22 March and will take him to venues across the nation, concluding on 9th May.
JOHN ROBB – ‘DO YOU BELIEVE IN THE POWER OF ROCK N ROLL’ UK TOUR 2024 Tickets available here.
.
Tom Walker at 02 Academy on 29 April
After a stunning appearance on Later…With Jools Holland in December, Tom Walker released the emotionally raw video for his new single ‘Freaking Out’. The single is the second to be taken from his highly-anticipated new album I Am, which comes out May 31st.
Tom: “’I Am’ is a culmination of me trying to figure out who I am for the last four years.This record is a snapshot of what’s been going on in my life, and what’s been happening around me – what’s made me happy or sad, ecstatic or miserable.”
After writing (and binning) a plethora of new tracks, an exhausted Tom subsequently headed out to Los Angeles to write with the McDonough brothers, Toby Gadd, Ryan Daly & Castle, whose credits between them include Beyonce, Joji, Khalid, Mimi Webb and John Legend. The trip reignited the excitement and love of trying brand new things. The results speak for themselves. As well as ‘Freaking Out’ and ‘Burn’, there’s ‘Head Underwater’, a soulful rhythmic pop anthem with a soaring vocal that, again, sounds like a whole new Walker. For ‘Holy Ghost’, think: Hozier produced by Labrinth – hymnal, electronic soul, and finally, a mention for ‘Lifeline’. No one outside Tom’s inner-circle will be hearing this towering ballad until next year – the emotions behind it are too raw. It’s a searingly emotional tribute to a friend who died by suicide.
Looking ahead, as Tom succinctly puts it; “I will die for these songs. It’s the first time in a long time I’ve felt like that. You’ve got to ignore what everyone else wants from you, and you’ve got to back yourself.”
And with that, welcome to the exciting, limitless next phase of Tom Walker, a man who knows where he’s headed: to arena-scale songs with molecular-level heart.
You can buy tickets here.
Newton Faulkner at The Old Woollen on 30 April
The ‘Feels Like Home Tour 2’ will see the Reigate singer-songwriter taking in shows all across England.
With tickets on sale here, the full list of dates can be found as follows:
Newton Faulkner is continually adjusting to a music landscape dominated by flux. He’s moved from the phenomenal success of his debut album ‘Hand Built By Robots’ to the surging triumph of ‘Write It On Your Skin’; from ‘Studio Zoo’ – which was the first album ever to be live-streamed online while being recorded, and was also recorded and released in just five weeks – to the sumptuous ‘Human Love’ plus multiple other records over his incredible 15 year career so far.
He’s now taking this moment to record his next collection of songs. This time a little more production-heavy, but still full of powerful vocals and his signature guitar sound weaved through the mix. Newton in the past has often found himself in his home studio working away solo, but not for this next record or in fact this tour. The next phase for Newton is full of collaboration which you can feel in the music to come. Seeing these songs come to life on stage is going to be nothing short of joyous.
“The easiest way to avoid wrong notes is to never open your mouth and sing. What a mistake that would be.”
Pete Seeger
Main image: Caity Baser by Maddie Armstrong for Leeds Living.
