1. The Maccabees 'Given to the Wild' Bigger, stronger, slower: boys become men and one of the best bands around. 2. Spector 'Enjoy It While It Lasts' 2012 called; it wants indie back. 3. Mumford & Sons 'Babel' More of the same but it's too inspiring to care. [...]
James Minchin The almost-last minute free show from Welsh so-much-power-trio The Joy Formidable show at The Mod Club next Monday night, November 26, announced earlier this week was unequivocally good news, but there were some questions on just how one would go about getting tickets seeing as how it was being sponsored by Virgin Mobile and CFNY 102.1 The Edge. Would you have to change cellphone providers? Subject yourself to the Dean Blundell show? Maybe, but also no. You could just keep doing what you're doing right now - reading [...]
Where does love come from? It's a strange concept, this love. It's something that can't be controlled or turned off, it's something that happens for reasons you might not unterstand and at moments you might not want it to or with someone you never expected it. It might last forever or just disappear, it can [...]
Performing their biggest headline slot tonight at Shepherds Bush Empire are Dry the River who've managed to turn the historic venue into an after hours lock in. Their set list was made up of tracks from their debut album Shallow Bed including standouts such as 'New Ceremony' and 'Bible Belt' although the gig itself was short by normal standards (barely an hour long including encore). The songs were performed professionally although a little too rehearsed for my taste, almost to the point of auto-pilot (hey at this point we'll both jump off the [...]
It's been a pretty good year for Dry The River. We first stumbled across them about a year ago when we heard Weights And Measures EP. We were immediately struck by it's scope and intensity. From mellow introspection to epic choruses, it was an impressive piece. It was followed by the even more accomplished Shallow Bed LP. Released it April, it remains one of my favourite albums of the year to date. The only thing that was missing, was a chance to see the live. A chance that finally arose last Tuesday. Dry The River were playing at The Junction, Cambridge. They [...]
"Focussing on upcoming British talent, there are no big money names and it's all the better for it..." Gathering Festival, Oxford If the cancellations and ticket sale struggles of some of the major festivals in recent years is in no small part down to too similar (and familiar) line ups, rising ticket prices and biblical weather, the rise of the popular mini-festival has to also be thought of as a key perpetrator. Oxford’s Gathering is perhaps the newest of these, taking the tried and tested inner-city festival format and applying it to a cluster [...]
We get a lot of swag sent to us here at Best Fit HQ, so much so that it just about makes the hours slogging away editing a three page feature or scouring our news feeds at stupid o'clock all worthwhile. So we thought we'd share the wealth with you, like all good stations of power should; offering readers the chance to get your lucky mits on some awesome prizes in a neat little bundle every seven days. In this week's giveaway, we have the latest albums from the wonderful Jessie Ware , [...]
Nina Mouritzen As a confirmed musical Scandiphile - I don't know if that's a real world but I like it regardless - I like to think each nordic country has a particular strength and style to them: Swedes excel at mating melody to melancholy, the best Icelandic music is evocative of the mystery and otherworldliness of the environment from which it springs, and Norway has given us black metal and a-ha. But Denmark... for a long while, they gave us Aqua. And also Mew and The Raveonettes, sure, but only recently have I began to detect a particular [...]
The alternative take of 'Shallow Bed' will come out in December following the band's tour of the UK throughout October and November. The London five-piece also head out on a UK tour throughout October and November - including an appearance at Swn Festival in Cardiff and Oxford's Gathering Festival - with fans at those shows given a free album cover for the release. Live dates with tickets still remaining are: OCTOBER 16 Cambridge, Junction 19 Cardiff, Swn Festival (DJ set) 20 [...]
Happy Saturday: ► The Eagle Rock Music Festival , with Imperial Teen, the Henry Clay People, La Sera, Peanut Butter Wolf and a performance of "Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde," goes off along Colorado Boulevard many more. See updated schedule . ► Filter magazine's Culture Collide with Of Montreal, Icona Pop, Niki and the Dove and many more at the Echo, Echoplex, Taix, the Church and Origami Vinyl. Schedule at the end of this post . ► The Black Keys and Tegan & Sara [...]
Bloc Party at KEXP on Sept. 28, 2012 photo by Dave Lichterman What a whirlwind of special programming this week has been! I’m still humming classic songs from last night’s 1972 flashback edition of “The Roadhouse” (damn you, Greg Vandy, for getting “Stuck In The Middle With You” wedged in my noggin!), and I’ve been closely monitoring our countdown of the top albums of the past 40 years . But don’t think for a minute that special Fall Fundraising Drive programming preempts our commitment to bringing you all the other KEXP features you love. [...]
The xx return to Seattle on Saturday / photo by Dave Lichterman After a busy week of Decibel Festival, we are back with a whole new selection of shows for you to enjoy. Monday night, we start with Firewater and Bad Things at Crocodile, and also Stephen Marley, Spragga Benz, and Jo Mersa at Showbox at the Market. Tuesday night, Dirty Three is at Neumos, and Mono and Chris Brokaw are at Crocodile. Wednesday has some great choices, Aimee Mann at Neptune Theatre, [...]
I will admit that when any band gets heavily hyped, I am often simultaneously hopeful and skeptical. Hopeful that it will be as good as everyone says it is, but always a bit doubtful as to whether they can live up to the hype. In the case of London folk rockers Dry The River, I can attest that these guys do have the goods live. Of course, I knew that already, having caught the band at this past summer's Roskilde festival in Denmark. Before that, what I had heard of their recorded output sounded good, yet hadn't strongly piqued my interest. [...]
Visit Indie Shuffle to download. Sounds like: Patrick Watson, Radiohead, Dry the River Song: Other Lives - Take Us Alive [download here ] What's so good? [...]
Frank Yang I think there's two ways to look at the frequency with which Patrick Wolf tours North America. One one hand, you could say he's not here nearly enough considering how much time he spends on the road and how devoted his fanbase is - his last visit was over three years ago , in support of The Bachelor . On the other, we're probably lucky that he comes through as much as he does, considering how... fluid his label (and tour support) situation tends to be from record [...]
A warm imaginary fireplace and the virtual e-mail presence of one of my favorite new bands of 2012 was enough for me to engage in a first ever conversation with a band. The band of course, is Dry the River , a band that wikipedia claimed was from East London, but as we will soon discover, was probably not the case. We talked about many things - abortion, gay rights, nazi propaganda, the grainy nude pictures of Kate Middleton and of course, stem cell research. However, that was all off the record, so instead, we will provide you the [...]
On October 20th some of the most exciting UK acts descend on Oxford for the inaugural Gathering Festival, headlined by Dry The River and with a bill including Lucy Rose, Bastille, Liars, Spector, Clock Opera, Fossil Collective, The Staves & Karima Francis. To celebrate, we've launched our very own Gathering Festival Spotify playlist, jammed packed with the best tracks from all of the above and much more. Similarly to Dot To Dot, Gathering Festival is a city-wide festival with six different venues opening its doors to over 30 acts. SUBSCRIBE TO OUR [...]
Quick Picks: 5 Tasty Jams You MUST Hear Post War Years- Glass House TOY- Colours Running Out Little Night Terrors- Young Lion Dry the River- No Rest Blood Red Shoes- In Time to Voices
It's Mercury Prize time once more; and with the Frankel of the UK alternative music scene, PJ Harvey's fanciful quicksilver a non-runner this year, a collective (if not purely metaphorical) sigh of relief is emitted by the chasing pack. That's not to say we're in any way implying there's a system of quasi-impartiality or shadowy politics at work; merely that when certain names are touted - more often than not - their inclusion is met with divided opinion. But that's what it's all about, surely? Opinion. So for the second year (and soon to become [...]
Mercury Prize 2012 By Mitchell Stirling After taking a three month delay on the normal timeline for a rebrand, as well as a move to Channel Four, The Mercury Prize has shifted the nomination reveal date to when the winner’s ceremony has usually has been held in previous years. It also conveniently sidesteps The Olympic and Paralympic Games. Between now and the end of October some of the nominees will be performing their album in full in a series of one off gigs before, on 1 st [...]
Shout and Twist
Chromewaves
once more with feeling
The 405
Hey Man, Check My Band.
When The Gramophone Rings
The Line Of Best Fit
It's All Indie
Buzz Bands
KEXP Blog
The Panic Manual
indie shuffle
A Music Blog, Yea?
Muso's Guide
Arctic Monkeys - Do I Wanna Know? (Official Video)
Inside "Magna Carta Holy Grail" with JAY Z + Samsung
Local Natives - You & I (Official Video)
CHVRCHES - Gun
AlunaGeorge - You Know You Like It
LISTEN: Sam Tiba ‘Saddest Show In Town’ EP
Johnny Depp aged 16
