An Interview with Willie J Healey

Meet Willie J Healey, a new 21 year old solo artist putting his own spin on hazy surf-rock. He's recently been signed and has two EP's out so far, one of which he supposedly recorded in his garage at home.

Photo credit to Itunes

I went down to The Sunflower Lounge last night to watch Willie support Beach Baby in Birmingham and having seen him play live once before, I knew that I was in for a good show. His highly enjoyable and tight performance consisted of all round chilled vibes including the upbeat and high energy 'Dude Like Him', producing a feel-good atmosphere alongside his clear enthusiasm and cheeriness throughout. His easy-going tone continued with the much welcomed and more laid back 'Subterraneans', channelling Mac Demarco and The Beach Boys vibes throughout the room. I would definitely say he's one to watch and I'm expecting big things from him  in the near future.

I caught up with the man himself when he came offstage after his performance to ask him a few questions, have a read below on what he had to say.

First of all well done, I really enjoyed your set. The crowd seemed to like it too, how does it feel having people reacting like that to your shows?

Thank you! It was really fun. But it's nice; it's kinda weird to see people singing a long because I don't really have that much of a fanbase at the moment so it's kind of rare but when people do, it does make me smile.

I noticed that you mentioned on stage that this was your second time in Birmingham, how do you like it here?

Yeah it seems pretty cool. It's nice being able to go to all of these places but I never get to spend much time anywhere though, so all these cities seem the same in a way cos you're just in and out. So I have been to Birmingham but I haven't been to Birmingham, I've only been to The Sunflower Lounge - twice. I like this place though, It's so loud in there, you guys need ear plugs too I think.

I first found out about you after seeing you support The Magic Gang at 100 Club in London. How was that show for you?

It was really cool! It was our first show with them as I didn't really know much about them before but it was really nice. But 100 Club is pretty legendary, isn't it? All of the big dogs have played there so it felt nice to be there. The crowd was really cool too. It's nice to play to younger audiences 'cos they seem to move and dance around a lot more.

How has 2016 been so far for you musically?

Pretty cool so far. I've just been recording a lot and gigging; not too many gigs yet though, but I think we're gonna have a few more tours coming up soon. I signed a deal just before Christmas and that was wicked so I guess it's business time now, well kinda.

Have you come across any obstacles yet?

I'm kinda lucky cos I used to work for my dad and I think the biggest obstacle for people starting out is making money. But no not really, I guess the whole getting signed thing usually results in a lot of outside opinions so that can be an obstacle; like when someone says "Go and write a three minute song instead of a four minute one" but no-ones really said anything to me like that. I guess the only obstacle would be not gigging but that's not really an obstacle, is it? That can be achieved.

I think it's quite rare to see many solo artists these days as a pose to groups of people in bands, do you have any words of wisdom for other aspiring solo artists out there?

I guess to try and write a load of songs; you can't make all of your songs excellent but I just try and  make as many as I can whenever I can and try and record it all. Also try and be in as many projects as you can and I think just enjoy it too, really; cos if you're just aiming for Wembley then you're not gonna enjoy anything so just enjoy it as it comes.

So if you could start a band project alongside your solo stuff, who would you choose to be in it with you?

Well I really like the band I play live with now so this is hard but if it was a super-group then I'd have Willie Nelson upfront with me so there'd be two Willies. On bass I'd have my bassist that I have now - Alex Train cos I'm quite lucky with him, he has the sweetest bass too have you seen it? It's like a tear drop; I think that's been the highlight of the set for most people.

I quite like the music video for Subterraneans, did you set out aiming to approach the meaning of the song with it or was it just a bit random? (click here to watch)

It was all a bit rushed to be honest with you, not to make it sound shitty or anything. I just had to come up with something quite quickly and my industry folks told me that I needed to make one so I just went straight into it. I did it twice actually cos the first one was really really really boring, even more boring than the one I have now. But I thought that I'd at least need to try and have fun with it so I brought the cake into it. It seems like so long ago now though like I'm not really that into it myself anymore but I'm glad you like it, there's some funny moments in there.

My photo of Willie J Healey and his band 

Have you found a common theme so far when writing music?

Not really no, I guess I watch a lot of films so they influence me. I live in a town that's lovely and all but it's a bit dead. So really I just use films and my imagination and just try not to get too cheesy; that's my regular thought like - is this sounding too cheesy? but hopefully they don't.

I read an article about you where you'd written a massive apology letter to your neighbor about the chaos you caused involving his fish, wife's clothes and your limosine. What was that all about? (you can read what I'm talking about here)

Ah yeah, that was all made up. Cos you know how with most bands it's like "This is Willie J Healey from Oxford, he's 21 years old and he's been playing guitar since he was fourteen" So I just tried to do something a little different and more interesting. I just think who really cares about that stuff? When I first find out about a new artist I don't immediately think "I wanna go and read their bio" so yeah I just tried to be different and a bit more light-hearted. I know it's not extremely different but it was fun anyway.

Of course there's been the sad news about Prince, did that effect you in any way? Was he an influence to you?

In all honesty, not really. It's of course a shame though when someone as influential as himself dies and I totally get how good he was so I got it when everyone in the van was sad. But I haven't really had my Prince phase yet. Cos you know how there's a few obvious bands like The Smiths, Prince and a bunch of others who I'm sure at some point I will be into but at the moment I'm not. It was a real shame though like we played a gig on the same day and it felt a bit wrong.

So who would you say was your biggest musical influence?

Probably Neil Young. He's a bit of a 70's rocker but I really like the the way he deals with everything and his mindset. My friends and family are obviously influences too. And films as I said; I love old films and sci-fi ones a bit. Mostly just American films.

And Finally, you said earlier that you'd be doing more shows so is there any chance of you coming back here soon?

We haven't got anything booked yet but it's on the circuit so we'll definitely be back cos I'd like to but I'm just not sure when yet. Hopefully soon.


You can listen to Willie J Healey on Spotify here
Or check his music out on iTunes here

Written by Rosie Mulhern

An Interview with VITAMIN

This post was first released on Little Indie Blogs. Click here to view the original.

Leeds-born and bred indie-pop band VITAMIN have been causing quite a stir recently due to their rising success. Previously on tour with Sundara Karma and Rat Boy, the band are currently on the road with The Magic Gang across the UK, where they'll surely be catching the ears and interest of many more to add to their growing fanbase. No doubt part of their set will contain effervescent new single 'Waterfall'. Released last Friday (April 15), the track was recorded in Leeds and produced by Rich Turvey.

With the VITAMIN sound almost literally bursting with enthusiasm and euphoric guitar pop, it really is a slice of synth heaven - firing constant summery vibes all around; not to mention frontman Jared Laville's unique vocals adding an edge to it all.

I caught up with Jared recently to hit him up with a few questions. Have a read below about what he had to say. 

So, to kick off, Jared, how are all you guys since I saw you last at the Birmingham instore?
Very well, thank you! Had a lot of fun in Birmingham.


Has it been a busy time for you, with touring and recording - and no doubt doing endless interviews like this one!I never stop! We've been working on everything at the moment: artwork, videos, writing, recording - and, of course, interviews. And we start touring again! Theo and Cam have been starting up 'Brother and Sisters' (their club night), although we say it's more of a party - and everyone's invited.

You mentioned artwork there, and I do like the unusual theme of vegetables and sweets in your covers. Where did that come from? For example, with your debut EP 'Giving It Up', the cover features a broccoli covered with hundreds and thousands. That is a bit...well...bizarre, no?! Is there a subtext to it?
I randomly stumbled across Wendy's [Amsterdam-based illustrator, Wendy Van Santen] work on a blog and it immediately caught my eye; it's hard for it not to. I instantly connected with it and to me it felt so relevant to our music in the way of having something so overtly sugary sweet on top, and then something a little more sobering underneath. For those EPs it was the perfect visual for the music. 

For those not having seen VITAMIN before, how would you describe your live show? 
Our gigs are parties. We make our biggest impact live, it's where our songs completely come to life and similarly for myself. I love the stage, I love being on stage and I love connecting with people so directly by singing right there in front of them. I want people to come away feeling they've seen a real performance, I want people to be wowed. 

I am sure they will certainly be wowed! Is performing live a big part of why you do what you do, or do you prefer making music, the writing and recording part of it?
I love it all. For me, they all work in perfect harmony together. If you've been locked up in a studio for months, then all you want to do is be out on the road, and vice versa. I don't think at this point in my life I could do just one, I need that stimulation from the variety; they each have their moments and one complements the other. 

Is there a message you try to get across with your music, or is it more about the sound? Honesty is all I aim for in our music. As long as I and the rest of the boys believe in it, that's all that matters.

You have said that the band originally started just as a means of offsetting boredom. The music scene in and around Leeds has been quite healthy for some time, what or who were the inspirations that got VITAMIN hyped up to do something of their own?We started VITAMIN for the same reason every young girl or boy starts a band: because they love music, they love writing music, playing music - whatever gets you hot. It has simply been my dream to be a musician, be in a band, since I can remember. I've been in a band since I was 10! Then when you start developing and meeting people you realise that the sky is the limit, and that in itself motivates and inspires me. I'm not afraid to admit that I want us to be a big band. 

You haven't been doing too badly so far on working towards that! What is influencing you right now? Are there any certain styles or artists that you look at and think you'd like to try a variation of?
My biggest influences come from my childhood and growing up, and the records my mum would play around the house. A lot of soul records such as The Isley Brothers, Marvin Gaye, Curtis Mayfield, Tracy Chapman... I'm also a huge Björk fan: the level of honesty in her music is so inspiring. I would hate for us to be a 'variation' of something, that seems pointless to me, we will always strive for something new. 

Where do you usually get your song writing inspiration from? Is there a usual process that you follow when writing?
We mix up our process all the time, we write separately, together. In the box, live in the room. Outdoors, indoors. It is so important for us to keep our writing process and surroundings fresh, otherwise how are you supposed create something fresh and vital, if you don't feel that way? 

If, to quote yourselves, 'this isn’t love...then what is that timeless thing called ‘love’?
I'll tell you when I know!

We'll get back to you on that one then! In the meantime, let's go for a few quick ones. Who would you:
a)ask to come and perform a live show with you?
Ladysmith Black Mambazo, no question.

b) like to collaborate with?
Would love to collab with Daft Punk. 

c) have round for a dinner party (dead or alive)?
I bet David Attenborough has impeccable table manners...

d) listen to if you could only listen to one band for the rest of your life?Reckon I'd have to say Michael Jackson on that one.

I gather that you have successfully put on your own club night at the Brudenell in Leeds. Will this be an on-going thing? 
Yeah, as I said earlier, Theo and Cam are taking 'Brothers and Sisters' into the DJ realm starting this month. It was always our vision for 'Brothers and Sisters' to become something more than just a club night, so this is the next stage for it.

VITAMIN have been compared to the likes of Bombay Bicycle Club and The 1975. How do these comparisons rest with you?It's natural for people to compare and I understand why people do it. But I personally would never compare us to either of those bands - I wouldn't compare to us anyone for that matter. I just don't think about that kind of thing, all I think about is, 'Do I like this? Do I believe in this?' And if yes, then it's a win. 

Written by Rosie Mulhern

DIIV Live Review - Birmingham O2 Institute

If there's any new band that's successfully creating a modern take on 90's shoegaze, it's these guys from New York. Following on from the band's debut album - 'Oshin', DIIV gave evidence that they have more to offer with their just as gripping and intense 17 track compilation 'Is The Is Are'; proving that there's more to them than just another reverb infused mix of indie-pop psych.

If there's one thing they're known for - it's their highly distinctive and fluttery chimes of indie-pop guitar riffs that melt into more melancholy tones. However, each track still compresses the ability to have its own individuality, making you feel everything from euphoria to strong senses of angst all of course whilst still feeling as if you're on a rather blissful trip.

The four-piece spilled onto the stage encased in baggy trousers and caps with a contagious look of excitement plastered over their faces. The nerves soon became evident with the constant announcement of the band's name after each song and a reminder of where they're from.

The breathy vocals of front-man Zachary Cole Smith added the underlying sense of distress through the more personal feel of his lyrics complied with the contrasting upbeat rhythms of euphoric 'Dopamine'; which, gives the listener a surge of exactly that - having almost the same effect due to containing the craving to come back for more. This falls far on the other side of the spectrum in comparison with their previous hazy sounding, emotion-charged first album - 'Oshin', however both albums would still not be mistaken for any others as although appearing to have been set in completely different frames of mind, they both sound like DIIV's very own creation and sound.

The band's overwhelming sense of unpredictability was reflected as they made it clear that they didn't quite have a set-list; meaning most small-talk in between songs consisted of Zachary asking the crowd what songs they wanted to hear played next, only adding to the connection between the band and the audience.

Surges of euphoria vibrated throughout the room with the dominant pounding of intense bass riffs from bassist Devin Reuben Perez stabilising the feeling, making himself present amongst the mysterious haze of blue lighting. The intense thump of earthy bass was unmissable within well known older track - 'Doused' - which managed to conjure up just as much energy as the more hopeful and dreamy sounding 'Valentine', where brooding rushes of vitality were flying out thick and fast.

One of the most surprising aspects to the evening was the band's ability to create such unmissable stage presence and a stir amongst the audience, as by first hearing of their songs you wouldn't expect much of a reaction live; however, if you are as doubtful as I was then get yourself down to the front at one of their shows and you'll see what I mean as the crowds energy seemed to create a whole different mood with moshpits-aplenty.

Written by Rosie Mulhern

Breeze + TRASH + Plaza Live Review - O2 Institute Birmingham

This piece originally featured on Little Indie Blogs. Click here to go to the original post.

Breeze, TRASH and Plaza - three young, new bands hitting the indie music scene that you'll soon get used to hearing about. The trio have just completed a UK tour together, finishing in Leeds on Monday. For their Birmingham show tonight, it's a home gig for the headliner, and a bit of a distance for the others.

Kicking the night off was Plaza, a four-piece in their late teens from Hartlepool. A chilled, feel-good indie band with sounds resembling Brum's own Jaws, with a similar tendency and ability to create an energetic, reverb-heavy, upbeat track and the next minute induce your ears with an aura of dreamy blissfulness. 'Fickle' appeared a crowd favourite with a dramatic build-up at the start bursting with shots of summery vibes working up into a hazy pop tune. Latest track 'Totem' with its appealing intro also seems to have won fans prior to tonight.

Confidently making the most of their time on stage, Plaza piled on as much energy as possible in thd short space of their set, with vocalist Bradley Lennard's cap continuously falling off through his vigorous hair swishing and dancing.

The band surprisingly announced that it was their first time in Birmingham midway through their set, which could've gone unnoticed due to these guys successfully managing to make the place feel like their own. The set came to a close with their deceiving track - 'Antumbra' as the beginning would suggest a laid-back tone, however a build-up made itself present bursting into a forceful and unexpected drop with tight drum solos erupting into a break of euphoric infused noise.

Next to take the stage by storm were TRASH, a young emerging quartet from Chesterfield, and one of Little Indie's bands to watch in 2016. Beginning on the mellow note of '81', they soon built up more momentum by changing the pace with '4 Miles'; the fun-fuelled guitar rhythms present within this track and the catchy repetition of "come on", spurred on an already appreciative audience.

Many of their songs possessed the ability to appear optimistic, while hiding a deeper undercurrent to them with the lyrics, such as 'Sad Boys (All I Wanna Do)': the subject matter appearing to be the feelings that come after a break-up, but a fast-paced loop giving it a move-on-your-feet vibe. Likewise, new single  the four-minute 'Workout' which meshes catchy indie pop, fierce guitar and driving bass with a lyric that tells of angsty times and the seeking of a cure through an alcohol daze. 'Hot Coffee' - their most listened to track on Soundcloud with an impressive 14k-plus streams - ended their set quite nicely as even the mention of the title of the track from the band caused a reaction from the crowd.

Bringing the night to an impressive close was Birmingham's own four-piece, Breeze - doing their hometown proud, it has to be said. They chose tonight to open up with a song they had not only never performed live before, but was so new it has only just been completed and was still without a title. A brave move, but one that proved itself with its dreamy, yet infectious nature - something that this band seem to have no lack of.

Their contagious, dream-pop tunes such as 'Luna Love Me Good' delivered nothing but positive vibes to the high spirited and impatient crowd; entailing the kind of empowering chorus that will be bouncing off the walls in your head for days on end. The effortless vocals of frontman Paul Baker added a sense of uniqueness to their sound, especially prominent in their glittery surf-pop track 'Bleach'. The band played on relentlessly through the night, so much so that Baker's guitar strap broke halfway through a song.

Breeze topped off the night their cover of Dardude's 'Sandstorm', which may sound unusual but they totally made it work as they put their own spin on the song making it sound like it could have easily come from their own cannon. The crowd's response seemed to fuel the band's energy and stage presence even more with bassist Jorge encouraging fans to come up on stage and Baker throwing his mic with the stand into the crowd mid-song.

Overall, the whole night left you with twinges of euphoria as if summer had come a few months early. Make sure to catch all these three bands live soon.

               

Written by Rosie Mulhern

Sundara Karma Interview, Birmingham - round two

Sundara Karma, a new, unstoppable Reading based band who have been on a roll this year so far with their success only increasing. Comparisons have been made to the likes of Arcade Fire with their undeniably euphoric tracks, all possessing potential arena sing-a-longs. The four-piece have become a familiar name within the new indie scene and have recently been supporting Wolf Alice, recording their debut album and are due to be supporting Nothing But Thieves soon; all building up for the band's deserved slot on the mainstage this year at Reading Festival.

I previously interviewed the band back in October 2015 where I introduced them to my blog (click here to read) and they were currently undertaking their first ever headline tour. A lot has happened since seeing these guys last so I decided to catch up with them once again last Tuesday at The Rainbow in Birmingham the afternoon before yet another sold out show on their current second headline tour.

So, it's only been less than half a year since the last time I saw you guys and a lot has happened since such as supporting Wolf Alice on their European tour. How was that for you?

It was wicked. We did about six shows with them which was a whole load of fun, I think Amsterdam was a stand out show for us - that was crazy. We learnt a lot with them as we talked a lot about the live set up and the preferred way of doing a show. Also, just from watching them every night as you pick up certain things.  It was just cool to get back into Europe again as it's such a different market and territory over there. It felt weird coming back here from that especially as we were supporting Wolf Alice so of course it's different from doing your own shows. As different as it was it's nice to come back to do your own shows cos everyone's always really up for it and our shows are getting insane at the minute.

Do you have any memorable tour stories that you could share?

We have many I'm just not too sure if any of them are suitable to say...We played in Sheffield and we had a really sort of... crazy night after the show and so for the show the next day we were all just diluted versions of ourselves. Haydn was the absolute worst - I'm certain he was still drunk when we played the show the night after. I didn't actually see any pictures from that night but I remember looking over at Haydn on stage and he just looked terrified.

Can you tell me a bit about your newest release - 'A Young Understanding'?

It seems to be doing really well, people are really responding well to it live which is cool. It's the first track of the album, which we've named 'A Young Understanding'. Hopefully it gives people a little bit more of an insight of what our next releases will be like. It's just a tune really, it's a song for the kids.

I quite like the cover artwork for the song too, where did that come from?

Yeah it's cool isn't it? It's by a guy called Hamish Robertson who's an artist from LA. We're working with him to design some other covers such as our album cover.

And of course the music video was released not so long ago. It's quite unusual, where did the idea for that come from?

It was purely down to the director - Oscar. We all knew we wanted to create a funny and light-hearted video for this one and he just came back with the best idea and it was like yeah, this guy's got it. We were lucky as a lot of the time you get people coming back to you with ideas for the video and they don't quite match up to how you thought it would be, but this one was pretty much spot on.

I saw a video on your Twitter of you guys playing 'A Young Understanding' live in Manchester the other night, it looked pretty crazy!

It was! That was such a huge stand out show. That was a moment for us I think, actually.

When can we expect the album?

After festival season I think. We're kind of thinking September at the minute but there's nothing set in stone.

I have a quickfire round for you now as I know we don't have much time, so...

Festival preparation in three words?

 Lots Of Vodka

Three go-to pick-me-up songs?

Good Vibrations - The Beach Boys, Jamming, Bob Marley and Girls Just Wanna Have Fun - Cyndi Lauper

Three songs that have been on repeat in the van on tour?

Rockstar - Nickelback, I Believe In A Thing Called Love - The Darkness and Butterfly - Crazy Town

Two good things and one bad thing about touring?

It's all good! Free food, free beer and.. there's nothing bad really

Which three people would you invite round for dinner?

Dead or alive? I'd have to say Gandhi, Hitler and Jim Morrison

What would you cook for them?

I can't really cook anything. I mean Gandhi was a vegetarian so um.. (picks up list of catering choices for the night) I'd have to say a nice Moroccan casserole.

Favourite lyric from one of your songs?

It's probably different for all of us but mine (Oscar) is 'He cut his heart out to be cool cos everybody loves a criminal'. That's from a song that isn't out yet, though.

If you all had to get matching tattoos, what would they be?

Well we all already have our sun logo on us somewhere but if we didn't then it would probably be like a massive picture Hayden's face or our tour manager Nick's face.

If you could only play one song repeatedly throughout the entirety of a live show, which one would it be?

Our new song Olympia - definitely. Again, that song isn't out yet but we're playing it tonight and have been playing it across the tour so far. We might just play it ten times over tonight cos of that question.

So, what makes a song stand out to you that makes you want to put it on your set lists?

Money. All the money we'd get for it! No but really I think a feeling, if it feels right then we'll put it on and if it just doesn't feel right then we'll leave it out; I think it's usually pretty easy to tell. We get bored of songs quite quickly as well so the newer it is then the more likely it is that it'll be on there.

What does the next few weeks/ months hold for Sundara Karma?

We're going back into the studio soon to record one more song for the album. We have our next single that's gonna be coming out soon which is also from the album so we're just gonna be rolling them out. We're going to be back on tour with Nothing But Thieves. Also, we're playing Reading festival again this year and we're on mainstage which is just insane; it's so weird even just saying it now. After that the album will be close to coming out so I guess we're just doing a load of preparation for the album now until then.

Myself with the band

Written by Rosie Mulhern

Swim Deep Live Review - The Dome, London

Swim Deep front-man Austin - photo by me

This piece originally featured on Little Indie Blogs. Click here to go to the original post.  

After the dreamy, romantic blissfulness of their first album 'Where The Heaven Are We', Swim Deep surprised us all by taking a completely new direction with the drop of their highly anticipated second work, 'Mothers', late last year. It's always good to see a band that isn't afraid to push their own limits and take risks with confidence in their own unpredictability. I think it's no insult for a band to hear that they're 'hard to categorise'. When I interviewed the band's keys man James Balmont at the time of 'Mothers' release, he told me how he felt it was important "not to be bookmarked alongside one particular artist. As long as people struggle to do that for our sound, then I think it means we must be doing something different and that’s what we want to do really - we just want to be Swim Deep".

Judging by their performance tonight at London's sold out Dome as part of the NME Awards Shows tour, I think they've achieved exactly that.

Sweat front-man: Mike - photo by me 

Warmimg up the night early on were newcomers south-London's Sweat, who successfully fired up the crowd with an enticing set. Their individuality is what struck me most when seeing and hearing their set with their capability of pulling off their unusual indie meets 80s synth-y dance vibe, similar to the likes of Jagwar Ma. Frontman Mike definitely created a cutting edge look for the band, adding to the appeal with his indefinable stage presence as a dramatic entrance was made as he appeared in sunglasses and a white overcoat. It would seem that putting on a show visually and capturing the attention of the crowd, to say the least, was just as important to this band as sounding good.

It was difficult not to be completely engrossed when watching their performance through fear of looking away as you might miss something. Overall, I was left really impressed; they're doing their own thing in the new music scene. After a set which included their just released debut single 'Be Complete' along with 'Tambourine', it ended with the dramatic throwing of the mic stand and tambourine that was casually held next to him throughout the performance, adding to the sheer air of confidence this 'sweaty' outfit exude.

Catholic Action front-man Chris: photo by me

Next to the stage was Glaswegian four-piece Catholic Action. I had heard about this band before due to the praise and hype that other bands within the current indie music scene were giving them - such as tonight's headliners, for example. With a tight and refined performance of their lively tune 'L.U.V', an Adam and The Ants meets 70s glam rock track, it was hair-swishing galore as vocalist Chris McCrory mumbled through a veil of his locks: "I've had it cut since I was here last, but I still can't see a thing."

After growing anticipation, the lights went down and the familiar surge of frantic fans pushing towards the front took over. The stage was polluted with smoke and hazy blue lighting as a guy (who looked as if he could've been in the band) strolled onstage playing the trumpet, to be followed moments later by the Brummie four-piece themselves, making an assured entrance. Regardless of the fact that the band now seem centred around London, they'd clearly stayed true to their roots with frontman Austin Williams promptly throwing a "Y'am alright?" at the crowd; proving -  you can take the B-town scene band member out of B-town but can't take the B-town scene out of the band member.

The sheer enthusiasm from both the band and crowd seemed too much for the size of the venue; the fact that this was their longest set ever with 15 songs played -including ‘Namaste’, ‘One Great Song And I Could Change The World’ and 'Is There Anybody Out There' - from both albums, added an even bigger sense of excitement for the band. It was clear to see their humbleness was still very much intact with Austin slurring out several "thank you's" between songs and insisting: "You don't know how grateful we are, It's nice to see that people are actually having a dance as well."

It was hard to keep a fibre in your body still as the euphoric first few bass notes of old classics 'Honey' and the synth heavy fan favourite 'King City' gave the intimate venue a run for its money, as if a go-ahead for a bigger outburst of energy. I was intrigued to know how the crowds would react to some of their newer material live but knowingly, as this  was the second time seeing them live since their album release, although creating a different feel in comparison to their older songs, they still had just as much of an impact. From hearing older album tracks such as 'She Changes The Weather' and 'Red Lips I Know' you’d be deceived by expecting a rather mellow and laid-back vibe when played live, but the band and crowd completely over-ran expectations as the response from both Swim Deep and the audience couldn’t have been more lively with the ecstatic crowd shouting back the lines from old classics as if it was second nature to them.

As they draw 90 minutes to a regal close on 'Fueiho Boogie' - which indeed everyone was by this time, boogieing - you simply couldn't fault their drive, enthusiasm, and the quality of their songs. With a headline US tour in the offing, you can already see Swim Deep being another proud British export to our American cousins.

Written by Rosie Mulhern 

The Magic Gang - The 100 Club - Live Review

This piece originally featured on Little Indie Blogs. Click here to go to the original post.

At London's legendary 100 Club, the NME Awards Shows 2016 tour continues; on this particular Monday night it was the turn of Brighton foursome The Magic Gang to take centre stage as headliners for the sold-out show.

Kicking the night off to a promising start, Tempesst and Willie J Healey took to the stage in their respective support slots. Tempesst, a duo consisting of two brothers from Australia, created a moody and sleazy vibe to the night with their hazy sound, similar to Tame Impala. Willie J Healey and his band instantly engaged the crowd with his established stage presence and his songs creating a vibe not too dissimilar to that of Jamie T’s.

It was then the turn of the night's big draw. With comparisons made to The Beach Boys due to their dreamy, carefree surf-pop sound style, The Magic Gang naturally ratcheted up fan enthusiasm levels, with more than one member of the audience spending more time on stage with the band than on the floor. The excitement was almost too much for the band at times as they genuinely seemed overwhelmed at the reaction they were receiving, leading to bassist Gus Taylor attempting to convince the crowd to settle down, insisting that he was doing his job as the "typical chilled and calm bassist".  Even the famous faces in amongst the crowd, such as Swim Deep frontman Austin Williams, seemed to relishing the band on stage - demonstrating the kind of kudos and following The Magic Gang have accumulated.

Despite the overwhelming atmosphere there was a sense of unity that the band seemed to create. Frontman Jack Kaye also favourably took the time to give a shout-out to Girls Against, the new movement enforcing the safety for people at gigs against sexual harassment.

Their set list consisted of older tunes and new, unheard material. Normally, hearing the words 'we are now going to play some of our new songs' can fill the crowd with dread and instantly kill the enthusiasm. However, when Jack excitedly, but reservedly, made his announcement, it was a completely different story. It was almost as if those very words were the go-ahead for the crowd to resort to even more wild enthusiasm than they had previously shown, and all the new songs subsequently being well-received.

But nothing could quite compare during the evening to those first notes of the pulsing and distinctive bass riff of crowd favourite ‘No Fun’, the build-up of anticipation amongst the crowd being so strong, you could practically smell it. It was difficult to hear the band over the screaming voices of the audience who belted out their undeniably most recognised song with heartfelt passion.

What was unusual, yet refreshing, was to see that the band's live performances appear to be truly a real team effort. Although frontman Jack is primarily the lead vocalist, all members of this very magical gang were involved at different points in the sharing of mic duties.

Going by their show tonight, if you get the chance to see these guys live, then I would highly recommend you do. 

Written by Rosie Mulhern