There are loads of ways to reinvent a band, but surely the easiest is to just change the name. It worked for the Kaiser Chiefs. It may well work for Ex Lion Tamers who obviously thought a new name would suit them better, so called themselves Wild Palms. Good move. ...
Drivetime. The time to leave work, get into the car and turn on the radio. There a DJ will keep you lightly entertained with smooth MOR tunes and some inane chat all the way home. I like to think there's another reality where people will slide in a Mat Riviere ...
So it's official. The rumours were true. The BBC wants to kill 6 Music. No surprise after last Friday's leaked story, but it's been interesting to actually see the report that recommends the closure, and infuriating to see Mark Thomson trying to justify it on TV today. The problem with ...
Not Squares seem like regular kinda guys. The sort of guys you might expect to find in a regular Belfast pub. They don't look like posers. They're the sort of guys who'll just pop their hoods up and get on with business. Which is just fine, because then you can ...
It seems like another age now, but back in early January I spent a very pleasant half hour one lunchtime at Pure Groove watching Tristram play a sparkling lunchtime set. My memory is a little clouded, but through the sleepless haze I can remember the place being unusually full for ...
Hello. I'm back from my self-imposed exile from blogging. My paternity leave ended this week, so now my life has become a whole lot easier, hence my return to here. It's been a funny old three weeks, but I'll not bore you with all the baby stuff. Suffice to say ...
Given my total absence from this blog over the past three weeks, I don't suppose it'll be any surprise to hear that I didn't have time to contribute to this month's MAP either. So for the second month in a row, my England contribution comes ghostwritten by MAP organiser Jason ...
I had heard good things about Caitlin Rose before, but my first live encounter was still startling. Sandwiched between two Local stalwarts at their Christmas bash in December, her voice stood out starkly - pure, clear and strong, singing her fine songs and a few choice covers, all with a ...
I've not been very busy on here recently. Some of you may even have wondered where I've been. The picture above may provide some clues. I had so much stuff to post last week, but it never happened. But I make no apologies for further absence, I'm happy with the ...
Romance Is Boring by Los Campesinos! from Los Campesinos! on Vimeo. There's something about Los Campesinos! that doesn't quite agree with me. I mean, I loved You! Me! Dancing! as much as the next literate lovelorn indie fan, but the three albums that followed have left me a little cold. That ...
The excellent Young and Lost Club records have long been a fertile breeding ground for great new music, and occasionally the stars of tomorrow. In the past they've put out the first records by Noah and the Whale, Johnny Flynn and Fear of Flying (who as you know became White ...
He's back! Awesome bearded one-man band and king of the offbeat tweets, Stairs to Korea returns with another single on the all conquering Brainlove records. All of Your Friends was the highlight of the set when I saw him recently, and is another in the gradual drip-feed of fine pieces ...
It's too late to talk about the BBC's Sound of 2010 now, but I can talk about the artists who I nominated, since none of them were popular enough to make the list. The longest shot of all three votes was Liz Green, the publicity-shy, Manchester-based singer songwriter has only ...
I'm not in this month's MAP, though the eagle-eyed among you may want to query that. "Look", you say, "a little Daily Growl entry for England, just like usual". But no my friends, no. Because of all the hospital shenanigans at the start of the month, I never got round ...
The last time I came across Zombie Zombie, they were soundtracking my late-night drive to dystopia. I'm pleased to bump into them again, this time bringing their excellent Krauty electronics to bear down upon a song by their fellow-countrymen Yeti Lane, and inject their space pop with the heebie jeebies. mp3: ...
There have been the odd occasions where I've passed up opportunities to see musical legends and then regretted it when they passed away. Similarly, there are many times when I could have gone to see Jay Reatard, but didn't. But then, when someone is only 29, you always expect there ...
I'm easing myself back into proper blogging with this pleasing little oddity, an Alan Pownall remix by cool kids Monarchy. Like the Pet Shop Boys, it manages to stay on the right side of cheese, and it's goodness is largely due to the quality of the original song. It won't ...
Right, this 2009 stuff has to stop here. There's a whole lot of reasons (well one big one) why this list is so late, but no need to go into that, and now I just want to get it over with. So no double-checking to see if it really is ...
Hello again and Happy New Year. Hope you're enjoying the nice cold weather. Before I begin in earnest, I've got some unfinished business. A combination of apathy then some unexpected stuff happening last week meant that I never got round to posting my top tracks of 2009. So at the ...
Everything's been running late this season. Right up to yesterday. I was all set to do my usual Christmas Eve post, and the pre-Christmas preparations were going well. Until the knife slipped. And Growl Junior got a fever. Things have strugged to keep up since, and only now the house ...