Hot Hooves "Nutritious Cascades" New Album Out Now!

Hot Hooves have just released their third album entitled "Nutritious Cascades" on Big Red Sky Records and it's another superb collection of taut, edgy and melodic Punk Rock. Big Red Sky might be familiar from our recent review of Les Clochards, in fact that band's guitarist Peter Momtchiloff might also be familiar as Hot Hooves are another one of his projects. Only two tracks of "Nutritious Cascades" scale the three minute peak, in fact the album kicks off with the one and half minute blast of "Trudgery, Skullduggery, Thievery & Thuggery" which carries an air of menace reminiscent of early "Black & White" era Stranglers. Then a nagging guitar riff leads into the excellent "Limp Home Mode" with it's cynical "one for the money, two for the money, three for the money..." refrain. Next up is my personal favourite "Move Over" which features another bit of inventive buzzing guitar work and boasts a wonderfully addictive chorus. I compared the band once to the Swedish band Division of Laura Lee as they both specialise in intense bursts of slightly unsettling and claustrophobic music with riffs and melodies jutting out to catch you unaware. I guess the closest comparison I can make would be to the later period Wire and there are even shades of Pixies on "Attitude Adjuster" which has that classic drop-out dynamic where the bass and drums carry the verses, it's a great song. "I Thought You Were Dead" has an American grunge feel and the heavier better produced side of Guided By Voices, then the crunching "Hey Man, Rude Spoiler" brings us back home and even drops in a couple of neat little Clash references. "Boss Fussin'" is another one of my favourites with a great chorus and backing vocals which leads into the album closer "Well Played On The Dumb Front". This track throws me as it starts off with a rich baritone over a piano that actually could have been on Les Clochards' album, but it soon fades out into the heavy guitars and a verse that reminds me of "Lost In The Supermarket", it's a great way to close a really superb album.

Hot Hooves at The Buffalo Bar by Paul Slattery

You can read our previous feature on the band's "Fake Modern Art" album along with some exclusive live photos of the band at the Buffalo Bar by Paul Slattery here. "Nutritious Cascades" can be streamed at the band's Soundcloud site here. Here's a taster, the brilliant track "Boss Fussin'".

Dirt Royal "Girl In The Shop/Busy Man" New Double A-Side Single Out Soon...

Brighton based Mod/Punk three-piece Dirt Royal will soon be releasing a brand new Double A-Side Single called "Girl In The Shop/Busy Man" on Sickboy Records. This young band cite The Jam and The Clash amongst their influences and remind me of the Mod Revival bands of the late Seventies/early Eighties with their melodic and powerful songs. Here's the video to "Girl In The Shop" which was filmed by Chris Ellis and features Charlie Stanton as the girl in the shop!

The band have two gigs in Brighton coming up, firstly supporting The Spitfires at the Proud Galleries on March 14th and then with The Stone Foundation at the Price Albert on June 06th. Keep an eye on their official web-site for details on how to order the single...

You can check out our review, photos and a video of "Bobbys Without a Cause" from the first time we saw Dirt Royal play live at the 12 Bar Club in London last year here.

Les Clochards - New Album "Any Fool Can Wear Their Heart on Their Sleeve" Out Now!

Les Clochards, the Oxford based band, have just released their second album entitled "Any Fool Can Wear Their Heart On Their Sleeve" on Big Red Records. On first listen, the bands pleasant acoustic based accordian-led Indie-Pop songs seem quite similar, but after a few listens you start to discover there are subtle and effective shifts throughout the album's tracks that flit effortlessly across continents and musical reference points. One minute I imagined myself sitting in a nice sunny English Pub garden sipping a pint of real ale being entertained by Morris men dancing to The Blue Aeroplanes and then I am whizzed off to a table outside a bustling Parisian cafe to be surrounded by gleeful buskers doing covers of Go-Betweens songs...! The band are based around Karen Cleave's inventive accordian and she also provides lead vocals on the sublime "Oh, But I Would" and "On My Ass" but it's the world weary baritone of Ian Nixon that takes centre stage, particularly on the album's stand-out track "(I Still Hope To) Convince You (Some Day)". On guitar we have the very busy Peter Momtchiloff, who I saw last year performing with both Would-Be-Goods and Talulah Gosh (click the links for photos of Peter in action...) and he also provides some rather more raucous guitar-work for the excellent Hot Hooves. Back to Les Clochards and there's more diversity as "Guilty As Charged" reminds me of Roy Orbison singing Sam Cooke's "Chain Gang" over some exquisite Johnny Marr acoustic guitar chords. Elsewhere there are quick trips to Memphis for some touches of Elvis crooning and then it's back home to the wry Englishness of The Monochrome Set...It's an extremely satisfying album that draws to a close with real warmth on "Salut Clochard", and you can order it at the band's on-line store here.

Here's the closing track to the album "Salut Clochard"...

The Len Price 3 Return to The Railway Hotel Southend-on-Sea April 26th with Bif Bam Pow! & DJs Piley & Mondo

Retro Man Blog and Podrophenia join forces once again for another top night of entertainment at The Railway Hotel, Southend-on-Sea on Saturday April 26th. The Len Price 3 make their long-awaited return to promote their brand new album "Nobody Knows". Support comes from the lively Canvey Island based RnB Pub Rockin' Bif Bam Pow! and after the live music, DJ's Piley & Mondo will be spinning an eclectic selection of top tunes to keep everyone dancing until the early hours...

The Len Price 3 at The Railway Hotel, Southend-on-Sea by Paul Slattery

For a report on our previous gig with The Len Price 3 at The Railway Hotel, which went down a storm, please check out the Blog archive feature here. The gig also got a great review in The Word Magazine which we featured here. Check out the Podrophenia Podcast archive here. Anyway, it's always a great night at The Railway, so hope to see you there. Live music will start from around 8pm until 11pm with kicking out time at 1am. Tickets are just a bargain £3.00 on the door.

Podrophenia DJ's Piley & Mondo entertain the crowd at The Railway

The Railway Hotel is at Clifftown Road, Southend-on-Sea SS1 1AJ just opposite Southend Central.

Graham Day & The Forefathers at The 100 Club London February 08th

The Forefathers, Graham Day, Wolf Howard & Allan Crockford by Paul Slattery

It took until February 08th to get out to my first gig of 2014, and what a gig it was...Graham Day & The Forefathers were back in London, this time at the legendary 100 Club. It wasn't so long after their last London show at the Bethnal Green Working Men's Club, Retro Man Blog's gig of 2013, but you know how the saying goes...you live in hope for years for a Graham Day gig and then "blam!" two come along in quick succession...! It turned out to be another very special night, setting down a marker for the year of live music ahead and if any band can top this I will be pretty damn impressed. So, a packed out 100 Club was treated to another faultless choice of classics from all periods of Graham Day's career, kicking off with "Hurricane" and then straight into a crunching version of "You Want Blood", there was no let up. The set-list was similar to the Bethnal Green show with a few exceptions, in came the soulful "Thinking of You", and a storming version of The Solarflares' "Open Your Eyes", and they finally got round to playing The Gaolers' "Begging You" which was sadly sacrificed due to time restraints at Bethnal Green.

Graham Day by Paul Slattery

The band struggled against a poor sound system in the beginning which caused a few issues with timing and a couple of false starts, however the crowd rallied around and gradually the band hit their stride and slammed out gem after gem. At a lot of gigs there is generally a bit of a lull in proceedings at some point in the show, maybe a badly conceived set-list or the section where a band throws in some new material and it's time to head to the bar. It could be the acoustic spot or the meandering extended jam that suck the life out of your favourite song. Worse still, it could be the embarrassing "hey, everybody at the back clap along" audience participation bit, I bloody hate that. But no chance with The Forefathers as they seem hell bent on a mission to dispense with all that nonsense and deliver "the perfect gig", to strip it all back so the songs shine through in a supercharged performance with a set list crammed full of fan's favourites played in the manner they deserve. There's a constant cheer of gleeful recognition after pretty much every song starts up, as the crowd realize they are getting just what they want. Things get nice and rowdy down the front as the encores crank up the energy even more, a wonderful version of "Deceiving Eye" and the inevitable "Melanie" leave the crowd happy and completely satisfied and hoping that the next show comes around again very soon. Anyway, that's enough chat let's allow the music to do the talking, here's "Better In Black" followed by a selection of exclusive Paul Slattery photos.

Check out the Retro Man Blog YouTube Channel for a bonus video of "Sucking Out My Insides".

All Photos Copyright Paul Slattery 2014

The Forefathers, Graham Day, Wolf Howard & Allan Crockford by Paul Slattery

Thanks to Paul Slattery and Allan Crockford. You can read a report on the Bethnal Green gig, including more of Paul's great photos, on the Blog here. Lots more videos of both Forefathers gigs, and other great bands, can be found at the Retro Man Blog YouTube channel here. We also play a lot of Graham Day music and other Medway favourites such as Galileo 7, The Len Price 3 and more in various episodes of our Retrosonic Podcast, have a search through our archive here. In Part 2 of our latest Episode 12 "But If It Thrills Me Then That's Alright..." we waxed lyrical about The Forefathers' Bethnal Green gig like star-struck teenagers and play our pick of the show (there's a clue in the Episode title...). Listen in below...

The Past Tense + The Loop New Split 7" E.P. on Coloured Vinyl

The Past Tense and The Loop have got together to release a cracking new limited edition split 4 track E.P. on different coloured vinyl. The E.P. is available for sale from The Past Tense Store here or at any of both band's upcoming gigs. You can hear two tracks from The E.P. "Remember The Days" from The Past Tense and "Coming Up Slowly" from The Loop, in Episode 11 of Retrosonic Podcast.

The Len Price 3 "Swing Like a Monkey" Promo Video & Exclusive On-Set Photos

Screen-shot of "Swing Like a Monkey" video

Finally....today is the official release date of "Nobody Knows", the fourth and very long-awaited album by The Len Price 3 and it's available from all good record stores, if they have any taste, and the usual outlets such as Amazon and iTunes. You will also be able to pick up copies at the band's upcoming gigs so please keep a check on the band's official Facebook page for all the latest news and information. The album's been getting some excellent reviews from some varied publications such as The Sunday Times, Shindig magazine, Record Collector and even the Daily Mirror! Today the band have also released a brand new video "Swing Like a Monkey", which features footage from the upcoming movie "Pub Monkey". This follows hot on the heels of the video for "My Grandad Jim", another album track, which was announced exclusively on the Retro Man Blog here. Anyway, here's Jamie O'Hara's brand new video to "Swing Like a Monkey"...

"Pub Monkey" features some tracks and incidental music from The Len Price 3 and we will be sure to bring you news on the release date, and where you can see it, as soon as it is announced. You can also "Like" the official "Pub Monkey" Facebook page to keep up to date. Retro Man Blog was present at the shooting of the "Swing Like a Monkey" video, which took place during the last hours of "Pub Monkey" filming. Once all the work was done, the band played an impromptu live set to entertain the film crew and stars of the movie during the wrap party...

 

 

All Photos copyright Retro Man Blog 2014. With thanks to Jamie O'Hara.