We could start talking about Casablanca by describing how they are all really young, or that they are full of promise, but we shan't for two reasons. Firstly, as a 'young blog' ourselves it would take hypocrisy to a whole new level to continue this trend and belittle their work. Secondly, they aren't nearly as young as people keep saying. We get it, it's novel, again to draw from our own experience, it can certainly work to your advantage, but it can also become an encompassing part of your own, or your band's character. And as corny as it sounds, [...]
Cave Painting are a Brighton band. What’s more, they’re one of the most promising acts out of our fair seaside town in some while. They’re really, really good - and it’s about time we shared them with you guys. Incredibly, without our knowing it, we’ve tried to share them with you before, back when they were under a different guise. As all mention of it has been scrubbed from the annals of Cave Painting's rather mysterious history we assume what we are about to scribble down isn’t meant to be spread too far, but it’s with relish that [...]
To cling onto that end of the summer festival feeling, a few weeks ago at 'In The Woods' we met Stealing Sheep. These pagan songstresses were headlining the second stage and are pitted for huge things, also, they are really bloody nice. Their sound mused perfectly with the setting of the woodland fest, the girls thought the atmosphere was “beautiful, creative and thought out, like a lovely little garden party”. So a further well done to 'In The Woods' from us. If you have never come across these guys before, think a seriously cool [...]
Dog Is Dead are great. We have been following them for a couple of years now, and had the chance to meet them at In The Woods this year. Turns out they not only make quality music but they're also good guys, always a top combination. We first featured them when we heard Glockenspiel Song in August 2010 and were hooked immediately . Since then we've somehow conspired to miss most of their Brighton dates, but did manage to catch them at Sticky Mikes last November. It's been great to see them rise to prominence in the [...]
So as you may know, today is the first day of Bestival! A day upon which thousands of costume wearing, music loving boys and girls descend upon the Isle Of Wight for a 4 day carnival. We were lucky enough to be able to go this year, and so to make you guys jealous, and highlight some great music. From the class and legacy of Stevie Wonder through the rude brash and brilliant Azealia Banks to the tactful, subtle and immensely talented Daughter, there's really someone here for everyone. We actually shared our five artists we'd like to [...]
There are so many festivals around these days; the attitude seems to be if you haven't queued an extortionate amount of time for a warm beer or passed out in the arms of a security guard then your summer wasn't worth living. Fear not, there is another way. I realised this on arrival at In The Woods under a canopy of leaves strung up romantically with lights. It was beautiful and there wasn't any mud... Homegrown over the last seven years from a party hosted by Laurel Collective and based in a secret location in Kent, this festival baby [...]
As some of you may know, The Cast Of Cheers - Ireland’s balls-to-the-wall answer to the Foals - have released their just released their ‘debut’ signed outing Family . As some of you may also know, either from these pages back in 2010 or elsewhere, Family is really more of a second album, with the first being their DIY effort Chariot . It was an intriguing if rough round the edges amalgam of their favoured math rock and all out aggression. And people loved it. With over 150,000 downloads, Chariot was in [...]
You may, or just as easily may not have, realised that it's been some while since HMCMB has been at full strength. Writer's have been dipping in and out over the summer but the lure of summer's drinking (sans good weather) and a needed break has kept us perpetually at half mast for what was seeming more and more like a permanent decline. Suffice to say that hopefully that's now changed. It would be easy and probably satisfyingly cathartic to bore you with the motives and reasons for the lull, but perhaps it would be better at this [...]
To continue the summer festival frivolities HMCMB went international earlier this August to ‘Reggae Sun Ska’ in Pauillac, France. Fair to say it’s something a little different to what we normally cover and I had my doubts about a festival dedicated entirely to just one genre of music, but it turned out to be something pretty special and a highlight of the summer so far. A short train ride from Bordeaux and a scattered trail of tents lead me straight into the Sunday evening of the three day reggae spectacular. The normal festival buzz in the air was [...]
We've featured these guys before. You may not remember, as they weren't The 1975 at the time. They were either B I G S L E E P or T H E S L O W D O W N, we lose track. They've had a number of problems with naming rights; apparently a load of spaces aren't sufficient to get around copyright. Thankfully this talented Mancunian quartet have settled on a name, one that's rather easier to type then their previous incarnations. Although, they do still stick to the caps locked spacing on Facebook. I'd love to know why? [...]
There are times when you just need a bit of Hoodie in your life. As far as feel good, free music goes, he's still leading the way. We may be a little biased, having charted his rise since the early days of You Are Not A Robot. For now though we are happy to continue backing him, even if we haven't yet fully digested his latest offering. Said offering is Hey Now. The first thing to note is the change in producer. RJF and Hoodie have been an inseparable duo since the off, but production on this piece is handled [...]
Hey, After a long long break I'm back with something fresh from the man behind the tribal mask - SBTRKT. This new one, Gloss , is kind of a continuation of his style from his debut self titled album. Deep and abstract it makes for good bedroom listening, not one you'd here out I suppose but nonetheless it's warm and is really what we'd expect from him. The only thing I have against it is... Will we here something different? Peace out, Pete
For many people in the world, Pulborough is a place many have never heard of - A place where the shops shut at 4pm, and the streets are dead by 6. But for me; it’s my local station which I commute to work from every day. So as you can imagine, it was definitely to my delight when I saw a press release come through the office for new music festival NOVA - with the local station to the site being the desolate dead end I mentioned above. Set on the Bignor Hill estate (again, a place you [...]
Last week's promise of a return from our writing hiatus is beginning to look like a bit of a false dawn. I shan't bother with any excuses on this occasion. I think everyone's bored of them by this point; you, me, bands, PRs. Let's just get to the music. The music in question comes courtesy of Matt Norris & The Moon and their Every Kingdom EP . This post has been a long time coming really, given the May release of the EP. However, like everything else in the country at the moment, it has suffered delay thanks to [...]
Good news; we're back. Well, by we I mean I. Tom's off on a jaunt around Europe, Pete's disappeared up North, and Ruby is somewhere or another with a different dial tone. So, I'm afraid it's just me holding fort at HMCMB for the meantime. It's been a long hiatus, for the dull academic reasons previously discussed . To make up for our absence we thought we'd share another set of sessions with you. These are possibly the best looking yet. We met Echotape just outside Brighton station. We jumped in their van (ignoring all prior caution about strangers and vans). [...]
First off; everything you heard about The Isle of Wight Festival 2012 on the news was probably exaggerated. I know you were told that it was a mud bath, and that people were being taken from the Main Stage to The Big Top in canoes, but it really wasn’t that bad. There was even a point when I was watching the news from a pub (on site) and them describing the festival almost as apocalyptic – when the reason I was inside was because I had a sunburnt nose. Anyway, enough of that bollocks let’s talk about the music. [...]
Isle Of Wight Festival is the first real weekend festival of the year (in my eyes anyway) it throws you in at the deep end, but boy is it worth it. Their line ups bring the best of rock, but recently have also bought in the best of pop as well. This year they’ve got everyone from rock-icons Bruce Springsteen and Pearl Jam headlining the main stage to pop princesses Kelis and party boys Example and Professor Green scattered elsewhere. Hey Man Check My Band have asked me to do a guest post for them covering the festival [...]
We first featured Lucy Rose back in January. At the time we said "Lucy Rose lulls us with light and nostalgic musings to wash away the January blues". It turns out those musings are even better in the sun-tinged days of May. Lucy is currently on a headline tour, ahead of her debut album release. It has been a while coming now. She recently returned from North America, where she had been touring in support of Bombay Bicycle Club. The very same band for whom she sung backing vocals on the second album, "Flaws". Her album may well [...]
A Spectre is haunting HMCMB - the spectre of Summer exams. As this Cold War tinged intro might suggest, we have exams coming up. As of late the resultant academic commitments have been detrimental to our ability to deliver quality content to you guys. Some of our more attentive readers have probably noticed that our posting regularity has dropped considerably. Unfortunately with the pressures really beginning to amp up, we have decided that it is for the best to take some time off blogging, to focus on the considerably less exciting realms of history, science and english. Look at it [...]
I'm entirely convinced by Chic Gamine. Not a great start to a post is it? It's true though, there's something about them that has me hooked, but then, I also can't help but have moments of objectivity in which I listen and can't see how I did like them so much. And then I hear them once more, and I change my mind once again. It's a cycle and type of indecision that's actually a startling rarity for myself. As you might notice, our posting has diminished somewhat recently, and even before then it has always been focused on showcasing [...]
Hey Man, Check My Band.
![Prince Fatty & Hollie Cook - And The Beat Goes On [Official Video]](http://cdn.elbo.ws/youtube/wI7xDslCJ6I_130.jpg)
![Rudimental - "Feel The Love" ft. John Newman [Official Video]](http://cdn.elbo.ws/youtube/oABEGc8Dus0_130.jpg)
The Postal Service – “A Tattered Line of String”
Frau – Tarian Sari (stream)
Watch Empire of the Sun perform “Alive” on Kimmel
