La Fleur Fatale featuring Ebbot Lundberg: New single "Beautiful Stranger" released August 16th

Swedish band La Fleur Fatale release a new single “Beautiful Stranger” featuring guest vocals by Ebbot Lundberg from The Soundtrack of Our Lives on August 16th. The single will be released on Killer Cobra Records digitally worldwide but also as a limited edition 7” vinyl of just 250 copies with “Beautiful Stranger” on one side and “How Long Is Too Long” on the other. The new single will be exclusively available for download before the release with the help from leading UK based music magazine Classic Rock, where they will offer it for free to their newsletter subscribers. The 7" vinyl can be pre-ordered through Sound Pollution Records. Here's a little teaser video clip... 

The B-side “How Long Is Too Long” was written by Duncan Faure (Rabbit, Bay City Rollers) who the band met while shooting their documentary road trip "The Second Wave", which was shot in California last year. In Spring 2012 La Fleur Fatale embarked on an intense two week journey to and through California, when they played with legendary Psych musicians and met people who were part of making the 60's into what it later became, such as James Lowe (Electric Prunes), Patrick Campbell-Lyons (the original Nirvana), Mark Weitz (Strawberry Alarm Clock), Sal Valentino (Beau Brummels) and Karl Belknap (The Seeds). Throughout the movie they try to connect the past with the present, both musically and politically and ask what is the difference between then and now?
 

 

Since the release of their debut album in 2007, La Fleur Fatale have gone on to release another album and two digital EP’s, played live on national Swedish TV on Nyhetsmorgon on TV4 and the Swedish press have proclaimed that they are "The best kept musical secret we have got." They have also had their music in a major TV channel launch in Sweden (TV4 Sport) and reached over 200 million people in a variety of syncs (Discovery, Six Flags, American Airlines etc.) and toured the UK, US, Germany, The Netherlands, Sweden and Norway. The band have done a handful of shows with Ebbot Lundberg, one of which was recorded and aired on Sweden’s biggest station P3 in 2011. 

Here's the trailer to the "The Second Wave" movie...check it out...

You can find out more about the band and the movie at La Fleur Fatale official web-site.

Introducing: The Big Nothing

Tokyo based American Ex-Pats, The Big Nothing, have just released their debut self-titled album on their own label and it's well worth getting hold of. The band are Rob Gray, Jim Stellato, Scott VanDusen and Kurt Schussler and the album was recorded and mixed by The Big Nothing in Tokyo over 2012-2013. Drums and bass were recorded by Jyuna Yamamoto at his studio in Tokyo with Cover Concept and Art from Andrew Keith Murray and Layout by Rob Gray. The eight songs are diverse and packed full of great melodic twists and turns. My picks from the album are the opening number "Love Love Love" which has that laconic drawl that reminds me of Dinosaur Jr or Buffalo Tom with a great guitar break that cuts right through the track. The band share lead vocals and this gives the album a diverse sound, as do the impressively intertwining guitars that weave through the perfectly constructed songs. "New World" is an uptempo rocker that has a great crunching guitar intro. "No Wonder" is underpinned by some neat piano, kind of like The Hold Steady, with some majestic backing vocals that elevate the chorus to one of those stick-in-your-head-for-days ear-worms that burrows it's way into your mind, you won't forget it in a hurry, it's an excellent song. "Nobody Else" is a slow burner that suddenly erupts into a crazed guitar riff and haunting chorus that conjures up Nirvana or Sonic Youth. "Trainsong" is a nice summery slice of Power Pop and pretty much sums up the overall feel-good factor of The Big Nothing.

Here's a great video filmed in Tokyo for the track "Used To"...

You can buy the album from the Big Nothing's Bandcamp page and keep up to date on gigs and news by "liking" their official Facebook page.

Charlie Harper & Captain Sensible "Too Much Reality" E.P.

Time & Matter Records will release a brand new E.P. from legendary Punk Rockers - Charlie Harper from the U.K. Subs and The Damned's Captain Sensible - called "Too Much Reality" tomorrow, July 29th. The E.P. features seventeen minutes of mind-bending Space Rock and Psychedelic guitars, with four excellent new songs written by Charlie, "Too Much Reality", "Space Virgins", "Human Traffic" and "Kamera".

Recorded at Dean Van Jones' Oscillate Recordings on the South Downs and Charlie and The Captain explore the musical influences of their youth from The Pink Fairies to Syd Barrett era Pink Floyd via Hawkwind and beyond. The E.P. is released on CD single and 7" vinyl, with a suitably psychedelic splatter pattern and limited to 250 hand numbered copies.

You can buy "Too Much Reality" from Time and Matter, and when you're there don't forget to have a browse around their excellent web-site. Originally set up as an impressively comprehensive U.K. Subs resource it has expanded to include Time & Matter Recordings set up as a 'not for profit company' in February 2010, putting out previously un-released or no longer available U.K. Subs material with all the proceeds going to charity. These charitable causes are personally chosen by legendary Subs front man Charlie Harper, and have included individuals, the people directly affected by the Japanese Tsunami & Earthquake in March 2011 and at present the RNLI. Upwards of £5,000 has been raised so far...In May 2012 they launched a subsidiary label called Time & Matter Records to deal with commercial ventures, the first of which was the Urban Dogs' fabulous acoustic album ‘Bonefield’, released in August 2012 and already featured in the Blog here.

Thanks to Rob Cook and Mark Chadderton from Time and Matter.

Retrosonic Podcast Episode 9: "I'm Going Crazy, Need a Shot of You"

Our brand new bumper edition Retrosonic Podcast Episode 9 is out now and available to listen to or download for free at our Soundcloud site. In this Episode, Steve from Retro Man Blog, Adam from The Jetsonics and Rock Photographer Paul Slattery play an eclectic mix of obscurities and hidden gems, brand new tracks and overlooked classics from the worlds of Punk Rock, Psych, Soul, Power Pop, New Wave and Garage Rock. There's also the usual cocktail of waffle, news and reports on our various music related exploits old and new...

In Episode 9 we kick off with a thundering Garage Rock number from The WitchDoktors and follow this with a track from The Travellers - the Britanny based Swedish and Italian duo - with a suitably retro track from their latest single. Paul and Adam pick two obscure Scottish Punk tracks from The Valves and PVC2, who feature a certain Midge Ure in his post-Slik, pre-Rich Kids and Ultravox Punk phase. There's a brand new track from Californian star-gazers Vela Eyes and an unreleased demo of raw and primal R'n'B from The Killer B's featuring ex-Screaming Blue Messiahs Chris Thompson.

Adam trawls his Soul collection for a foot stomping track from The Performers and there's a track from the latest album by Kid Congo & The Pink Monkey Birds. Two Power Pop classics from ex-Boys bassist Duncan Reid and Plummet Airlines are followed by a rare Psych number from Rupert's People. Adam gives us the latest run down on The Jetsonics and we hear an unreleased track from their forthcoming E.P.  Paul talks about his time spent with The Flamin' Groovies at their recent London shows and what is what like meeting up with the band after over 30 years. Then we discuss the Retro Man Blog gig for Thee Spivs new album launch party at The Half Moon and the various luminaries who were in the crowd that night. Finally there's news about our next Retro Man Blog night at The Half Moon on October 25th with The Len Price 3. We hope you enjoy the Podcast...!

Duncan Reid & The Big Heads live at The 12 Bar Club July 20th

Duncan Reid live at the 12 Bar Club - Photo by Paul Slattery

So, it was back up to the 12 Bar Club again which is fast becoming our favourite venue and hang-out in London, this time to see a solo show by Duncan Reid, the bassist from The Boys. Duncan is promoting his excellent new album “Little Big Head”, which effortlessly continues on from The Boys impressive legacy of timeless melodic song-writing, packed full of harmonies and memorable choruses. It really is one of those perfect albums – from the sequencing of the songs, the depth and strength of the song-writing, the overall sound and punch of the production and the great cover art photography by David Apps, who has already featured on the Blog and Retrosonic Podcast in his own right. The whole package is faultless and I was looking forward to hearing the songs live.

The Feathers with added Spizz - Photo by Paul Slattery

Support on the night came from The Feathers, who feature Danie on guitar and vocals, decked out with spiky red hair and a union jack tailcoat jacket, looking like an extra from Derek Jarman’s “Jubilee”. Dazzle is on drums and multi-coloured haired Molly, none other than Spizz’s daughter on bass and vocals, and they kicked up a great Glam-Punk racket. It was fun and raw and featured a stage invasion for a sing-along “When Was the Last Time You Had Sex” and then an appearance from Molly's proud dad Spizz, who joined the band for a rendition of Spizzenergi's classic “Amnesia". The Feathers are a really enjoyable band and well worth checking out.  

Duncan and Anna - Photo by Paul Slattery

Duncan Reid took to the tiny 12 Bar stage, and slammed into the great “Montevideo” from the new album, it’s clear from the start that Duncan has lost none of his trademark energy as he leaps around the stage, slinging his bass around, he looks remarkably youthful. It is then into “TCP”, The Boys tribute to the Ramones and the trusty remedy to acne. “She’s a Handful” is taken from the “Mattless Boys” album that Duncan did with Honest John Plain. They called it that as a joke because all The Boys played on it apart from Matt Dangerfield. Two more excellent songs from the new “Little Big Head” album follow “Aren’t Women Wonderful” and “Thinking”, which with its rumbling slow bass build up and clever word-play is one of the night’s highlights. The band then give a sprightly work-out to The Undertones “Teenage Kicks”, with guitarist Alex Gold taking over on lead vocals and the song fits in perfectly with the night’s set-list. “Too Late” the piano led ballad follows and then Alex is back on lead vocals to sing one of his own songs “Oh Roisin”, released under the band name Darling Boy, it’s a nice gesture by Duncan and the song is warmly received. “I’m fed up with telling everyone that Alex is not my son” Duncan quips, and there is no denying there is a resemblance, not only in appearance, but in the quality song-writing stakes too. 

Alex and Duncan - Photo by Paul Slattery

I think Duncan has assembled a great band around him, and there is undoubted chemistry amongst them all, but in particular with Alex as they trade riffs and synchronised guitar-hero leaps and poses, it’s very entertaining. I knew that Alex performed as a singer-songwriter in his own right and also continues the fine work laid down by the now sadly defunct Word Magazine by promoting “Word In Your Ear” gigs and events for ex-Magazine subscribers, along with the magazine’s founders David Hepworth and Mark Ellen. I asked Duncan about the rest of the band and he explained, “Tom, the drummer is a young school friend of Alex and they grew up together in Redditch. Guitarist Anna, I met in Germany, she was in a band with Vom Richie from Die Toten Hosen called Wet Dog. Tom is allergic to vegetables, Alex is a vegetarian and Anna doesn't do milk or nuts. Promoters all over Europe are pulling their hair out when asked to feed us..!” They are a multi-talented bunch – Anna is also an excellent guitarist, a supercool presence to Duncan’s left, who takes over on bass when Duncan plays the keyboards and then Alex also covers on keyboards – in fact, Tom’s the only one who doesn’t swap instruments throughout the gig! It’s great to see a solo artist performing, not just with a backing band, but as a band, if you get my drift, and this becomes apparent on the great track “Kelly’s Gone Insane”, which tonight surpasses the already pretty-damn-near-perfect recorded version. Alex takes over lead vocals again for a rabble-rousing sing-along of arguably, The Boys finest moment, “Brickfield Nights” before we have a bit of a breather with “All Fall Down”. 

Alex, Duncan, Anna and Tom - Photo by Paul Slattery

Another great rocker from the new album, “77” follows, and then there is a trio of classic Boys numbers to end the set, “I Don’t Care”, “Box Number” and a fantastic “First Time”, which sparks off mass outbreaks of air-guitar and singing from the crowd….great stuff! Of course, following such an excellent performance there are calls for an encore and we are treated to “Gotta Call Simone” from the new album, which you can also hear on our new Retrosonic Podcast, The Boys’ “Terminal Love” which morphs into “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” and it's list of Rock 'n' Roll casualties. Then to cap it all, a rowdy finale of The Yobs comedy Punk classic “The Worm Song” and “Sick On You” which was a Boys track originally performed way back when they were The Hollywood Brats. What an excellent show, packed full of so many memorable songs and a superb energetic performance from Duncan Reid and his band, The Big Heads – the buzz around the 12 Bar and the smiles on the crowd’s faces afterwards were certainly testament to that. 

Duncan Reid at the 12 Bar Club - Photo by Paul Slattery

With thanks to Paul Slattery for the great photos - you can see more photos by heading over to the Retro Man Blog Facebook page and hitting "Like", for access to the Photo Album. For more info, news and updates please check out Duncan Reid's official web-site, Alex Gold's Darling Boy web-site and The Feathers Facebook page. You can hear a track from Duncan Reid's excellent new album "Little Big Head" in our brand new Episode 8 of Retrosonic Podcast below:

Dirt Royal: "That Isn't Me" / "North Street"...New Single and Tour Dates

Dirt Royal have just released their brand new new single "That Isn't Me"/"North Street" and it's the first of two singles to be released this month. Recorded at Gatehouse studios by Andy Rowland, the double singles plus two B-sides will be available on CD and online. The band will head off on tour starting July 31st and taking in dates at Brighton, Chichester, Portsmouth, Sheffield, Leeds, Wakefield, Cawley, Bristol, Oxford and then ending up back in their home-town of Brighton again. Dirt Royal are a great young band, and well worth catching live, you can see a review, video and photographs from their 12 Bar show supporting TV Smith on the Blog here.

Dirt Royal at The 12 Bar - Photo by Steve Worrall

For more info on how to order the single, check out the Dirt Royal Facebook page.

Jonny Cola & The A-Grades to headline "Naked & Wired: Bowie & Beyond" at The Archway Tavern August 03rd

Heidi Heelz (currently of The Priscillas and The Retro Bar, formerly of Dice Club, Proxy Music, GlamRacket, The Guillotines), Joe Pop (Wild Thing) and DJ Sonic Medusa (The Lexington, Suffragette City) bring you a riotous party night, NAKED & WIRED. Celebrating not only all things Bowie but also the great man's legacy and influence. NAKED & WIRED unites glam, punk, disco, trash, performance art and gender-bending fabulousness all under one roof!  With live music from:
glam-punk darlings JONNY COLA & THE A-GRADES and the splendid CHARLES HOWL, plus Bowie-themed drag cabaret from TRINDY ET SES CHIENNES DES DIAMANDES! Also, BARBARA ANDROID will be beaming down to Earth specially...and there will be plenty of other exciting secret surprise guest appearances too. Add to that the chance to win free shots and set it all against the exotically kitsch Tiki Club and you've got yourself a winning formula for a night to remember!

Club name: NAKED & WIRED: Bowie And Beyond...

Date: Saturday 3rd August 2013

Opening times: 9pm - 4am

Venue: The Tiki Club @ The Archway Tavern

Acts: Jonny Cola & The A-Grades + Charles Howl + Trindy + Heidi Heelz + Joe Pop + Sonic Medusa + Barbara Android

Entry: £5/£4 advance from We Got Tickets