Of Arrowe Hill "Domestic Espionage” New Album Launch Gig at Oxymoron Lambeth 1st June 2018 - Review by David Leach

of Arrowe Hill held their new album launch at the Oxymoron Pub in Lambeth. This pub is the antithesis of the characterless chain pubs and the achingly cool minimalist bars that are taking over London. Although situated on Lambeth Walk (Oi!), even the local pearly kings and queens would have to put their shades on to avoid being dazzled by the random riot of colour that greets you when entering. A conspiracy of clocks in what appears to be Salvador Dali’s fireplace seems like a good place to start this review. 

Tonight consists of two sets; a solo half hour acoustic set with a short break, followed by an extended set from the band. First up, the band’s front man and songwriter Adam Easterbrook pulls up a chair in front of a sizeable audience of friends, fans, and pub locals and, without amplification, runs through a set of songs from the past and present of his considerable back catalogue. The melancholic wonder of "Whatever that Means" is starker and darker than its more luxurious recorded version and the lyrics; 'when wonderland is in full retreat...keep it together, whatever that means' gain extra resonance when performed with just voice and acoustic (and in such an Alice in Wonderland setting). This set also features stripped down renditions of new album tracks, including its opener "You’ve Changed" that, on first listen, deals with the paranoia induced reflections on a sudden rise in personal status and "This Girl", which gets a laugh when Adam dedicates it to Theresa May. The idea of playing an acoustic set without amplification really worked, unwittingly forcing the captivated audience to strain a little to listen to the lyrics, greatly enhancing the informal ‘campfire' atmosphere of the set. 

Of Arrowe Hill - photo by David Leach

After a short break, the three-piece line up appear. The band have set up at the rear of the pub and, despite relatively spartan amplification arrangements, provide the audience with a full-blooded rendition of eight songs from the album released this very day and, as I discover later, some tracks from the next album that is already a work in progress. Particular highlights are the melodic "You Wish (It Was This Easy)", a bruised love song suggesting that, despite all life’s challenges, the couple in question can put the world to rights over a bottle of wine (hence the somewhat sardonic song title). "Oh! Serendipity" appears already to be an audience favourite; it’s nagging, catchy melody recalls the golden era of the Beatles and the Kinks but, also very much rooted in ‘the now’ with its narrator wistfully reflecting on winning the lottery; and on what he would do with the winnings (and what he would say to his boss) while reflecting on societies obsession with ‘being someone’. Last year’s single "Keep on Sweet Talking" is a claustrophobic, tense affair that touches on seduction and insomnia, and the encore "She’s Gone off the Rails" a swirling, powerful ‘The Who’ like account of a life in descent and turmoil. 

Of Arrowe Hill - photo by David Leach

On tonight’s evidence, "Domestic Espionage" is a more expansive, hard hitting collection of full-bodied songs than its fine predecessor, "A Conspiracy of Clocks". It’s easy to go overboard about the profound and poetic joys of Adam Easterbrook’s lyrics, but these songs are able to shine in an even brighter light due to the contributions of bass player Jason Hobart, and drummer Ian O’Sullivan, who provide the musical punctuation to Adam's flowing prose. This rhythm section have played together for many years in their previous band The Aardvarks and, as a unit, they appear to naturally 'sing from the same song book'. Their contributions help keep the mood of the songs upbeat with a somewhat psychedelic pop edge. They also provide a great foil for lyrics that mine the darker aspects of life whilst searching for the shards of light that make it all worthwhile! A final word of thanks should go to the Oxymoron proprietors, Bill and Lisa whose rather fine and quirky pub provided the perfect setting for tonight’s proceedings. - David Leach June 2018

Of Arrowe Hill - photo by David Leach

You can order "Domestic Espionage" on 180mg vinyl or the digital version via the Of Arrowe Hill Bandcamp site here. It's also available from Rough Trade or Sister Ray Record stores. For more information on the band, including news and upcoming gigs, please check out their Facebook page here. With thanks to David for the excellent review.

The Everlasting Yeah & Of Arrowe Hill at the Retro Man Blog Night at The Half Moon Putney May 12th

The Everlasting Yeah at The Half Moon Putney photographed by Paul Slattery

The Everlasting Yeah put in a quite stunning performance at The Half Moon Putney that proved they are one of the best live acts around at the moment. Merging all of the best elements of their previous band That Petrol Emotion, The Everlasting Yeah really are the perfect band for all seasons and all moods. There's something for everyone. After all, TPE were as much influenced by the Soul and Funk of Curtis Mayfield, War and Sly & The Family Stone as they were Punk Rock. They took the avant garde sounds of Captain Beefheart, The Velvet Underground and Pere Ubu and mixed them all up with the sweet harmonies of the Beach Boys. But whereas That Petrol Emotion could sometimes sound like a compilation of various genres (as you can hear discussed in our recent Retrosonic Podcast with the band) the best thing about The Everlasting Yeah is that cram all of these diverse influences into one vibrant, exciting and totally fresh sound with it's own clear identity.

Raymond Gorman of The Everlasting Yeah at The Half Moon Putney photographed by Paul Slattery

Ciaran McLaughlin of The Everlasting Yeah at The Half Moon Putney photographed by Paul Slattery

Brendan Kelly of The Everlasting Yeah at The Half Moon Putney photographed by Paul Slattery

Damian O'Neill of The Everlasting Yeah at The Half Moon Putney photographed by Paul Slattery

The chemistry between all four members is apparent when they play live, they look like they enjoy each others company and it certainly pays off in their music. Brendan Kelly's bass throbs with a thunderous intent and his understanding with drummer Ciaran McLaughlin is impressive as they lock into a mighty groove. The Everlasting Yeah have added a dash of Krautrock's motorik beats into the mix too which enables the songs to develop nicely at their own natural pace. In fact there are more ideas crammed into one Everlasting Yeah song than most bands manage in a whole album! Raymond Gorman and Damian O'Neill seem to have some sort of psychic thing going on as their guitars weave in and out of each other like Richard Lloyd and Tom Verlaine at their best. I've always thought that Damian and Raymond were totally underrated as guitarists, they spin out razor sharp shards of spiky and inventive riffs that complement each other perfectly. Like Joey Santiago from the Pixies they take what at first might be familiar melodic lines and twist them to breaking point. You think you know when the pay off is going to come but they surprise you with another unexpected and thought provoking detour. Although Raymond handles most of the lead vocals - ably backed by Ciaran, who takes the spotlight on "Everything Is Beautiful" - there's no front-man as such, TPE's singer Steve Mack having relocated to his hometown Seattle - The Everlasting Yeah are however, a tight-knit gang who present a united front and share some stunning four-part vocals harmonies. 

The Everlasting Yeah at The Half Moon Putney photographed by Paul Slattery

The Everlasting Yeah at The Half Moon Putney photographed by Paul Slattery

The new songs they first played at The Lexington earlier in the year have been tweaked and sharpened up and tonight "Motorbeat City" and in particular a raucous "Dylan '65" both stood out with "hit" stamped all over it them. Here's a sneak preview of "Dylan '65"...

So, the follow-up album looks like it could even give the brilliant debut "Anima Rising" a run for its money judging by the strength of The Everlasting Yeah's new material. Let's hope they get into the studio pretty sharpish as I am already getting impatient to hear these tracks recorded! Opening the night were the brilliant Of Arrowe Hill who also previewed a sizeable chunk of promising new material tonight. New songs such as "You Wish It Was This Easy" closely followed by "Happy Now" prove that it looks like they are going to improve on their last album, which will be no mean feat as "A Conspiracy of Clocks" was an absolute classic. Like The Everlasting Yeah, Of Arrowe Hill can challenge you with their intelligent and thought provoking songs, nothing is predictable or easy to categorize yet both bands never lose sight of the importance of a bloody great tune!

Of Arrowe Hill at The Half Moon Putney photographed by Paul Slattery

Of Arrowe Hill at The Half Moon Putney photographed by Paul Slattery

I'd like to say a huge thank you to both bands, the Half Moon and all who helped in promoting the show and of course all of those that braved a school night and made the effort to come along, it was much appreciated! Don't forget you can check out our Retrosonic Podcast special with The Everlasting Yeah where we chatted to Raymond Gorman, Damian O'Neill and Ciaran McLauglin in the build up to the Half Moon gig. There's a comprehensive look into The Everlasting Yeah's excellent debut album "Anima Rising" and a frank and in-depth journey back through That Petrol Emotion's career and impressive back catalogue. The Podcast is generously sound-tracked with a pick of songs old and new with a couple of surprises thrown in along the way. For more information and up-to-date news on The Everlasting Yeah please check out their official website here. Thanks to Paul Slattery for the photos, you can see more pics from the gig at the Retro Man Blog Facebook page here. Give us a "like" if you want to be kept up to date on future gigs, Podcasts and videos.

The Senior Service, French Boutik & Of Arrowe Hill at The Half Moon Putney January 30th - Update

I'd just like to say thanks to everyone that has helped promote The Senior Service launch party at the Half Moon Putney on January 30th. We've had some great support including being part of the Independent Venue Week campaign. There's a real buzz about the gig as it will see the next chapter in Graham Day's illustrious music career and what with the news about the Billy Childish gigs and the Medway Legends Weekender in San Sebastian, this is a great time to experience some of that Medway magic! But don't just take my word for it, check these great comments out...

"Looking at that line-up of Medway magnificence it doesn’t require me to say much more than they sound exactly how you would hope and expect: bespectacled spy walks into a nightclub as a swingin’ 60s go-go soundtrack is played by musicians with a long streaks of ash hanging from their Players No. 6 as half-drunk jugs of Watney’s Red Barrel sit on their amps. If that doesn’t sell it, nothing will". - Mark Raison, Monkey Picks Blog.

"Citing influences of high calibre - Barry Gray, John Barry, Ennio Morricone and Booker T & The MG’s, you can certainly catch glimpses of them all here. 'Depth Charge' could have been lifted straight from of an episode of UFO or Space 1999, or incidental party music from a late ‘60s Hammer film. Opening with phasing that puts the Electric Prunes to shame; It’s groovy, sexy, psychedelic, distinctly British, unmistakably Day, and perfectly paced for a shimmy around the floor." - Debbie Sheringham, Muso's Guide Web-site.

With many thanks for the much appreciated support goes to Mark and Debbie for the above feaures, Carrie at The Half Moon, Ged Babey and John Robb of Louder Than War, Wayne Lundqvist-Ford at The Ice Cream Man Show on Radio Andra, Alan May at The Glory Boy Radio Show, PJ & Paul at Dirty Water Records and their excellent Gig listings, Artrocker Podcast, Gideon Coe and Mark Radcliffe at BBC Radio 6 Music. Please do take the time to check out the highlighted links if you can, these people deserve your support too, after all they obviously have great taste in music!

The Senior Service debut single "Depth Charge" is now available from Damaged Goods Records on-line store here, or if you prefer the good old fashioned way, you can pick up a copy at the gig. For more information, news, announcements, details of our flyer competition not to mention lots of videos and tracks from all three bands in the build up to the gig, please join in our Facebook Event Page here. Advance tickets for the gig at a bargain £11.00 can be ordered from the Half Moon here.

Joining The Senior Service on the night we are very pleased to have special guests French Boutik and Of Arrowe Hill - Venue doors open at 7:30pm and the live music curfew is 11pm but the bar will be open for dancing and drinking until 1am.

The Senior Service - Debut Single Launch Party and First Live Appearance from Graham Day's Latest Venture at The Half Moon Putney on Saturday January 30th 2016

Retro Man Blog and Damaged Goods Records present the launch party for the debut single by The Senior Service at The Half Moon Putney on Saturday January 30th. The band will be making their first ever live appearance along with very special guests French Boutik and Of Arrowe Hill. Advance Tickets are only £11.00 and are available directly from The Half Moon here or £13.00 on the door. Our last two gigs with Graham Day sold out way in advance so we would recommend booking up quickly to avoid missing out on this exciting new chapter in Graham's musical career.

THE SENIOR SERVICE

 The Senior Service are the latest band to burst forth from the little clutch of towns known collectively as the Medway. However, they are no newcomers (as their name may suggest), for they have been in some of the biggest bands to have come from that area including The Prisoners, The James Taylor Quartet, The Mighty Caesars, Billy Childish & The CTMF, The Masonics, The Buff Medways and The SolarFlares amongst others. The Senior Service line-up consists of Jon Barker on the Hammond organ, Graham Day on the guitar, Darryl Hartley on the bass guitar and Wolf Howard on drums and percussion, close friends throughout they have always been into film themes and instrumental music. Amongst their influences are John Barry, Barry Grey, Booker T and the MG’s, Ennio Morricone and The Small Faces. “We got together to play instrumental covers because I happened to have bought a Hammond organ” says Jon, “but we dropped that idea before we played a note and quickly moved onto our own stuff.”

With a new single "Depth Charge" to be released on Damaged Goods records in January and an album to follow soon after, the recordings have an organic feel to them that only close, like-minded friends can achieve, so it feels like the time is just right for a fresh batch of exciting tunes played on antique instruments by young-minded lovers of Sixties instrumentals!

FRENCH BOUTIK
With touches of classic Motown, Burt Bacharach and Serge Gainsbourg, and of course those great French Sixties Yé-yé records, the Paris based French Boutik blend all of these influences together perfectly with their own up-to-date Modernist Pop twist.

OF ARROWE HILL
Formed in London at the end of the 1990s by Singer Songwriter Adam Easterbrook, Of Arrowe Hill are an English Hauntological rock group with an eclectic musical output spanning psychedelia, acid folk, country blues and lo-fi. In the current line-up Adam is joined by the rhythm section of Ian O’Sullivan and Jason Hobart, both ex-members of The Aardvarks.

You can read an exclusive interview with Graham Day about The Senior Service in our Blog feature here. Don't forget our special edition Retrosonic Podcast with The Forefathers where Graham, Wolf and Allan Crockford talk about their illustrious musical careers from The Prisoners and The Daggermen to their involvement with such Medway luminaries as James Taylor Quartet, Billy Childish and many more.

Advance Tickets for the launch party can be ordered on-line from The Half Moon here. "Depth Charge" can be pre-ordered from Damaged Goods here. Don't forget to check out Damaged Goods store where you will find a great selection of releases from Graham Day and Billy Childish.

Graham Day: Exclusive Interview with The ex-Prisoners, Solarflares & Gaolers Frontman about his latest Project...The Senior Service

In our Retrosonic Podcast special with The Forefathers, Graham Day mentioned that he had always wanted to record an instrumental album. When The Prisoners split Allan Crockford and James Taylor went on to form The James Taylor Quartet, (“a kind of Punked-up Booker T” according to Allan), leaving a rueful Graham to reflect. “I remember being quite jealous at the time, I thought the James Taylor Quartet were brilliant at the start. I love instrumentals; I always wanted to be in an instrumental band so I didn't have to sing”.

In the Podcast Graham also expressed, not only an admiration for the work of well known names such as John Barry and Ennio Morricone, but also for composers like Barry Gray (“Thunderbirds”) and Lalo Schifrin (“Bullit”). In fact The Prisoners even tackled Gray’s “Joe 90” theme tune. Throughout his career, in particular with The Prisoners, The SolarFlares and The Gaolers, Graham had written and recorded many notable instrumentals such as “Sitar Spangled Banner”, “Night of The Nazgul”, “Girl In A Briefcase”, “Lunar Girl” and “Apollo a Go-Go”. Ian from Damaged Goods Records even picked out “South Avenue” from The Gaolers “Soundtrack To The Daily Grind” album as one of his favourite songs in our Damaged Goods Retrosonic Podcast special. 

So, now we have the next chapter in Graham’s musical career and the fulfilment of that long held ambition. The Senior Service.

Jonathan P. Barker - The Hammond Organ & The Piano

Q: Please tell us about the other members of The Senior Service, their musical background and how you got together for this new project.

GD: Jon Barker on Hammond. Jon was in the Daggermen, who used to support the Prisoners a lot in the mid 80s. He played bass in the Buff Medways and in the Gaolers. So, a bass player by trade, and a damned good songwriter, but he’s always fancied playing the Hammond so he bought one and decided to form an instrumental band. Darryl Hartley. Most people won’t have heard much from Darryl but he’s been in several low-key bands over the years. Darryl is a guitarist normally, but has moved to the bass for this outfit. He also brings a fantastic songwriting talent to the mix. Wolf Howard has played drums in the Daggermen, Prime Movers, SolarFlares, The Buff Medways and all of Billy Childish’s bands since then, and is also in the Forefathers. The band is Jon’s fault. He bought the Hammond and wanted a band to fit around it so asked us all to join in. The original idea was just to muck about at Jon’s house but it quickly turned into a monster and has produced some of the best material we’ve ever written between us.

Graham N. Day - The Guitar

Q: You have a new single “Depth Charge” coming out in January on Damaged Good Records and an album to follow, what is the album title and when is it due to be released?

GD: I don’t think we’ve got a title for the album yet! It’s bad enough trying to come up with a band name (which we’ve changed 3 times already) or a song title…. We’ve only got 2 songs left to record then it’ll be in the lap of the production Gods as to when it comes out. I would imagine early Spring.

Q: Are the songs on the album all original or will it feature any cover versions? Are there any particular tunes that you would like to have a go at covering?

GD: All the songs are original (or as original as they can be given the limited amount of notes and combinations thereof that already exist). Let’s say, to our knowledge they are all original. With 3 songwriters in the band there’s no room or desire to record any covers, what’s the point?

Q: Are the original songs all new and written specifically for the Senior Service or are they ideas that you have had kicking around for a while that maybe didn’t fit in with previous line-ups?

GD: I think Darryl’s and Jon’s are new. I’ve got six tracks on the album (if “Depth Charge” gets on it), two of which I wrote a few years ago for an intended Gaolers album, but the others are brand new.

Q: Did your interest in cinematic instrumentals first come from a love of movies or was it from hearing the music as a separate entity?

GD: It’s definitely the music I love as a separate thing. For instance the album “No Strings Attached” by Barry Gray is one of my favourite albums, but I’m not particularly into puppets!!

Darryl R. Hartley - The Bass

Q: Tell us some of your favourite movie scores and composers?

GD: My favourite composers are John Barry and Ennio Morricone, but I’ve always loved the bit in a 60s film where they walk into a club and an anonymous band is playing the most groovy tune ever, like “30-60-90” in “Get Carter”. That’s what I’ve always wanted to do, just be in a faceless band in a party scene. I love “Adagio for Strings” in “Platoon” as well but that kind of genius is a bit ambitious for my limited talents.

Q: Have you ever fancied writing a score to a “real” movie such as The Len Price 3 did recently for “Pubmonkey”? Have any opportunities arisen for this over the years?

GD: No, not really. My thing is more along the lines of catchy theme tunes rather than full on orchestral scores. One day when I’ve got some time on my hands I’d like to have a go at writing more orchestral stuff but I’m really not into samples and synths and don’t have an orchestra to hand so it might be a bit tricky…

Q: You’ve mentioned you were influenced by composers such as Barry Gray who wrote some classic TV themes such as “Joe 90” and “Thunderbirds”. What was it about these that captured your imagination?

GD: I love a lot of 60s theme tunes. There’s something about that catchy hook squeezed into a couple of minutes of sheer pointless pleasure, you can’t beat it. The thing is, singing in a band has a lot of drawbacks. For one you never know if it’s going to work. You can’t just plug it in or hit it like the other instruments. Sometimes, particularly if you’re on tour it gets a bit croaky, or you can’t hear it ‘cos the monitors are shit, or if I get run down or have a cold it might go completely. Also, particularly as you get older it becomes a massive physical effort to sing. Having played drums, bass and guitar in different bands over the years I can say categorically that singing is by far the most exhausting. A couple of times on tour with the Gaolers in packed small clubs, boiling hot with stage lights burning your face off I’ve felt like I was close to having a heart attack. Once I had to come off stage and go outside and lay on the pavement just to get my breath, stop the room spinning and cool off. The other thing is you have to write lyrics, and that’s something I really struggle with. Apart from the last Gaolers album where I hit a streak of funny stories, what the hell are you supposed to sing about? So I’m much happier writing and playing instrumentals; they mean nothing, they can be whatever you want them to be and the most difficult thing to write is the poxy title of the thing.

Wolf D. Howard - The Drums

Q: I must admit to having my own play-list compilation of all your instrumentals and it works really well as an “album” on its own. Was there ever an option to release an official “instrumental only” anthology from your various line-ups?

GD: Yes I’ve wanted to do an instrumental compilation for years. Damaged Goods wanted to do it a few years ago, I put the tracklist together but the problem was most of the Prisoners and SolarFlares tracks are owned by Big-Beat. They were up for licensing them but it was too much money for Damaged Good to be viable. I did consider re-recording them but decided there was no point.

Q: I know you said that there were some songs that didn’t work live with The Forefathers because you didn’t have the organ, so will you be re-visiting any of the back catalogue? What can the audience expect at a Senior Service live show?

GD: Good question. We are a tiny bit concerned that an all instrumental set might be a bit boring for the audience and were considering chucking a few songs into the set live. But we’d rather stick to our guns, be ourselves and stick to instrumentals; the audience will know what to expect and can make their own words up if they want to sing along. We’ll keep the set relatively short...We haven’t really worked out a live set yet, but there are at least 3 tracks on the album that won’t work live. I think there may be a couple of Prisoners instrumentals up for discussion, as well as a few covers, but let’s wait and see...

We are extremely pleased to announce that the next Retro Man Blog Night at The Half Moon in Putney will in fact be the launch party for The Senior Service's debut single "Depth Charge" on Saturday January 30th. This will be in conjunction with Damaged Goods Records and also on the bill will be very special guests French Boutik and Of Arrowe Hill. Please keep a check on The Senior Service official Facebook page, the Damaged Goods Records web-site or, of course here on the Retro Man Blog, and we will announce details of tickets as soon as possible.

Of Arrowe Hill and The Teamsters: A Night Out in Camden

Of Arrowe Hill - Photo copyright Retro Man Blog

A review of the Camden performances of Of Arrowe Hill and The Teamsters at two separate shows in two different venues on the same evening submitted by Blue Oystercard Cult.

Taking the stage at exactly 9.15 Of Arrowe Hill proceeded to play a set consisting of songs from their recent, and jaw droppingly brilliant “ A Conspiracy of Clocks” album,  and not content to rest on their laurels, several  impressive  new and as yet unreleased  songs.  Whenever I see this band play live a couple of things strike me.  The first is obvious. The song writing ability of Adam Easterbrook. Whether they are story songs such as “She’s Leaving? (No she’s Gone)”.  A song that puts me in mind of “Squeeze” at their very best, or whether its the intense lyrical rush of “And That’s What Really Happened Blues”, it feels like there was NO choice in the matter, each song HAD to be written, usually clocking in at around 2 minutes, they are sometimes melancholic, containing detailed, poetic accounting of life’s joys and sorrows, and never too far from a wry aside to ever allow proceedings to get maudlin. The other significant aspect is the three band members; appear to be “singing from the same song sheet”.  There are obvious collective “Mod” influences, whether they be in the clothes or guitars, and as a consequence, some of the songs from their recent aforementioned album are given added power and flesh to the bone live with great success. A new song with its “6.am” references gave me the cold shiver of reality as this was the time I had to get up for work the following morning,  but you know what ,  when Of Arrowe Hill are playing,  (to nick one of their song titles) “Friday Night Applies”. 

I left the Dublin castle with a rough idea of how to get to The Constitution, and after confirming directions with the outside drinkers at a nearby pub (Keeping with the Mod referencing) all of whom could have passed the audition for Phil Daniels part in “Parklife”, I got to the venue. Initially I wasn’t sure if the band had already played or not. But fortunately they were still to go on. (It turns out about 15 minutes after I get there). With vintage records on the turntable and several examples of fine vintage clothing on display in the audience, The Teamsters took to the stage. The first thing I noticed is that they had changed drummers from last time I had seen them play. The drummer tonight was Bruce Brand, who I have heard of, but had never actually seen play before. It proved to be a good thing for the audience as on this evidence he is clearly a great drummer. His playing style is a perfect fit for The Teamsters. So, on with their set, despite them producing a relatively recent and excellent album, they played only a track or two from it. Tonight there were many new songs. 

Now, on some occasions, with some bands, this can put something of a dampener on proceedings, but this certainly was not the case on this occasion. For me, The Teamsters great strength is they  have a real understanding of the ”less is more” approach to the ‘beat’ style of music they play, a sound that many bands have tried to create , but very few pull off with such success. Singer and songwriter Tom Wing appears to have found the “sixties dust” in his guitar and speakers that Lee Mavers from the La’s was once searching for.  Songs that are direct, catchy, with choruses and hooks that draw you in and also have a real intense edge to them. It struck me that their new songs are closer now to the early Kinks sound (even throwing in a Kinks cover for good measure), and on first listen the new songs were immediate and impressive. As their set ended   I was left feeling lucky to have spent an evening watching two great bands who are both clearly, from tonight’s evidence, at the top of their respective games, and continuing to create great new music. And I also felt lucky that the timing of their sets meant I could get to see both bands at two different venues! 

Thank you very much to Blue Oystercard Cult for the great review. You can hear tracks by both bands in previous episodes of our Retrosonic Podcasts, please check out the full archive at Soundcloud here. The Teamsters photograph by Jason Baldock courtesy of Tom Wing. Please visit the websites of each band for news and information Of Arrowe Hill and The Teamsters.

The Fallen Leaves, of Arrowe Hill and The Legendary Coffin Dodgers At The "New" 12 Bar Club, Holloway Road, London

The Fallen Leaves at the 12 Bar Club - Photo by Paul Slattery

This was our first visit to the new 12 Bar Club on Holloway Road and it was quite remarkable to see how quickly Barnet Mark and the staff had got everything sorted since the closing of the original, legendary venue on Denmark Street. It seemed to be a pretty seamless transition with barely a break in the 12 Bar's gig listings and they have certainly got their hands on a great alternative venue. The new place is certainly much larger, in fact there are three floors and a restaurant on the premises, with lots of space and bars upstairs and down, now the old 12 Bar had many great points, but space certainly wasn't one of them! There's a balcony overlooking a decent sized stage and a large pulpit-like DJ booth to one side and with the arched windows and mirrors it does feel like you are gathering for a prayer meeting. The sound is also excellent, something that despite the rather ramshackle appearance, the old place did also take great pride in. All those old familiar 12 Bar decorations, paintings and posters have been moved in and put up already so that, despite still missing the original location, I did feel at home.

Barnet Mark at his new 12 Bar Club - Photo by Retro Man Blog

Tonight, The Fallen Leaves blow a fond farewell kiss to the 12 Bar with a one-off version of their "Minimum R'n'B" club night at the new venue before re-locating to the St. Moritz in Soho. Starting things off were The Legendary Coffin Dodgers, dressed in matching black waistcoats and shades, who warmed things up nicely with a set of catchy and raw Garage Rock tunes - part Hamburg-era Beatles and The Milkshakes with a hint of Mod sensibility thrown in for good measure. The set includes a couple of choice cover versions such as "Heartful of Soul" and "Some Other Guy" and some originals that stick in the head such as "Ferretina" and the boisterous "Mitcham Goons".

The Legendary Coffin Dodgers - Photo by Retro Man Blog

Of Arrowe Hill kick off with "Whatever That Means" from their excellent new release "A Conspiracy of Clocks" which is fast becoming one of our favourite albums of recent years. It's a perfectly plotted collection of concise and literate songs that pack so many melodies and twists and turns into numbers that barely reach the three minute mark. The vinyl release is a work of art too, beautifully packaged and including a CD version, poster and postcards, it really is well worth investing in. The second song "She's Gone Off The Rails" I'm not familiar with, but it highlights singer, song-writer and guitarist Adam Easterbrook's admiration of Guided By Voices with it's strident chords and crashing cymbals, it's really excellent. There's also a touch of Pete Townshend's songwriting and guitar-work in this one and like GBV's front-man Robert Pollard, a self-confessed Who fanatic, Adam has no qualms of putting out songs in whatever raw format he feels fit.

Of Arrowe Hill - Photo by Paul Slattery

Of Arrowe Hill - Photo by Paul Slattery

So, the album has some real Lo-Fi recordings that seem to be captured at the moment of the song's birth nestling alongside full studio produced tracks. Live the tracks are brought to life by the impressive rhythm section of ex-Aardvarks band mates Jason Hobart and Ian O'Sullivan and on "All Roads To Quinn's" they lock into a storming disco beat that makes you wish the band might break the rules and stretch the song into a Prog-like (for OAH that is...) four or five minutes say! There are many highlights in the short set, but it was another unfamiliar song that really hit me, "You Wish (It Was That Easy)" which was a laconic, melodic masterpiece. The influences are varied, from the Beatles to more recent Scouse songsmiths such as Shack to the Californian psychedelic legends Love and the aforementioned Guided By Voices, Of Arrowe Hill are difficult to categorize and are all the better for it. Set closer "Cursing The Seasons" from the Hexadelica album, is another highlight of a thoroughly enjoyable set and then unfortunately it's all over much too soon.

The Fallen Leaves - Photos by Paul Slattery

There's no denying it's a bit of a shame that The Fallen Leaves and the 12 Bar are ending their long and extremely productive relationship, but the lure of their spiritual home of Soho was too strong and the band have decided to  re-locate the "Minimum R'n'B" club nights to another legendary venue steeped in Rock 'n' Roll history, the St. Moritz Club on Wardour Street. I'm sure it won't be the last time the Leaves play the 12 Bar but for now, here tonight, there's a slight bitter-sweet feeling of regret of what happened to the much-loved and missed Denmark Street site mixed in with the positive feeling around the new 12 Bar on Holloway Road. The Fallen Leaves are slowly introducing more new songs into their set as they prepare for the release of their fourth album, and tracks like "Lavender Girl", "Motorcycle Girl", "Prodigal Son" and "Funny World" slot in perfectly alongside those familiar and much-loved classics such as "Trouble" and "Shining". The Leaves never fail to put on a stunning show and tonight is no exception, so let's hope the move to the St. Moritz is a good one and even more people get the chance to see this unique band in action.

The Fallen Leaves - Photos by Paul Slattery

Thanks to Paul Slattery for the Fallen Leaves and Of Arrowe Hill photographs. For more photos of the new 12 Bar and all three bands, then please head on over to the Retro Man Blog Facebook page here, and click "Like" (if you are not already following) for access to the photo album.

Retrosonic Podcast Episode 17: "The 12 Bar Blues"

Steve from Retro Man Blog and Rock Photographer Paul Slattery present a bumper episode packed full of our pick of the best in classic and contemporary Garage Rock, Psych, Punk, Mod, Power Pop, Soul and more! From classics, overlooked oldies and hidden gems to brand new releases, exclusives and unsigned acts. In Episode 17: "The 12 Bar Blues" we have an exclusive unreleased new track from The Fallen Leaves and new releases from The Medway's legendary Garage Rock icons Billy Childish & CTMF and Graham Day & The Forefathers. New Punk sounds from Buzzcocks, The Pukes and a live classic from The Outcasts. If you like your Mod and Psych then you will love The Most, Speakeasy and The Mynd Set. Some French Pop from Serge Gainsbourg & Brigitte Bardot and some modern day Yé-yé from Les Kitschenette's. There's the new single from of Arrowe Hill, some stompin' Soul from Willie Kendrick and Dana Gillespie and 60's nuggets from The Vagrants and The Hardtimes. If that's not enough there's Sunset Drive and The Sound and a tribute to Ian McLagan with a truly classic Small Faces number. Plus the usual waffle, rambling, news and reviews including a special piece on the sad demise of The 12 Bar Club and the scandalous re-development of Denmark Street. The episode is now available to download for free from the Retrosonic Soundcloud site or you can now subscribe for free at the iTunes Store. Please click the highlighted band names in the track-listing below to take you to each featured band's web-site or Facebook page to check out more info and news on upcoming gigs and releases. Enjoy!

Sunset Drive "She Don't Need Anybody"

Billy Childish & CTMF "Zero Emission"

The Sound "Heartland"

The Most "Really Good"

The Outcasts "Magnum Force"

The Outcasts - Photo by Paul Slattery

Buzzcocks "The Way"

Serge Gainsbourg & Brigitte Bardot "Bonnie & Clyde"

Les Kitschenette's "L'ascenseur"

The Hardtimes "They Said No"

Dana Gillespie "You Just Gotta Know My Mind"

The Fallen Leaves "Motorcycle Girl"

The Fallen Leaves - Photo by Paul Slattery

The Mynd Set "The Miracle Maker"

Of Arrowe Hill "And That's What Really Happened Blues"

Willie Kendrick "Change Your Ways"

The pUKES "12XU"

The pUKES - Photo by Paul Slattery

Speakeasy "Before The Night"

Graham Day & The Forefathers "The Good Things"

The Vagrants " I Can't Make a Friend"

Small Faces "Tin Soldier"