The Suffolk-raised 20-year-old released his acclaimed debut album ‘+’ in September 2011 and he hasn’t looked back since. The album, which is now triple platinum with over 900,000 sales, debuted at #1 in the official UK charts upon release and reclaimed the #1 title at the turn of the year.

Furthermore, Ed Sheeran has received the most amount of BRIT Awards nominations this year, for ’Best Male’, ‘Best Breakthrough’, ‘Best Single’, and ‘Best Album’ , with the ceremony taking place at London’s O2 Arena on February 21st. In addition to this, Ed received nods from iTunes (‘Best Newcomer 2011’), BT Digital Music Awards (‘Breakthrough Artist of the Year’), BBC Radio 1 Teen Awards (‘Best British Single’) and Q Awards (‘Breakthrough Artist’).

Last year saw the release of the massive UK top 5 singles, ‘The A Team’, ‘You Need Me, I Don’t Need You’ and ‘Lego House’. No doubt the “flame-haired guitar genius” will continue this trend when he releases his new single ‘Drunk’ on February 27th.

Ed Sheeran UK Tour Dates 2012

October

Mon 15
London Hammersmith Apollo
Sat 20
Newport Newport Centre
Sun 21
Bournemouth Windsor HALL
Mon 22
Plymouth Pavilion
Sun 28
Birmingham Ballroom
Wed 31
Nottingham Nottingham Arena

November

Thu 1
Manchester Apollo
Mon 5
Doncaster Doncaster Dome
Wed 7
Hull Hull Arena
Thu 8
Blackpool Empress Ballroom
Sat 10
Newcastle City Hall
Mon 12
Edinburgh Usher Hall
Wed 14
Glasgow Barrowlands

Tickets go on sale Wednesday 25th Jan at 9am.

Death In Vegas play Camden Crawl 2012

Death In Vegas are to headline the opening night of the Camden Crawl 2012

The Camden Crawl offers 300 artists & events in & around Camden Town, London for 1 ticket over 3 days between 12pm – 4am between 4th – 6th May Bank Holiday weekend.

Officially the summer’s opening festival, The Camden Crawl is the UK’s definitive urban multi-venue arts showcase. 1 ticket gives you everything you could want from a cultural event, all in the proximity of Camden’s legendary venues. 300 new, established and emerging bands; the best comedy; exclusive, bespoke and pioneering performing arts; a fully interactive experience and loads more.

The Camden Crawl will introduce the Bank Holiday festival for the first time with an opening night marathon at Camden’s historic KOKO venue on Friday 4th May. As an explosive start to what promises to be the best Crawl ever, psychedelic electronic innovators Death In Vegas (aka Richard Fearless) will top the evenings bill which celebrates this landmark occasion.

“We’re really over the moon to be playing the opening night of this brilliant festival. We’re going to bring our full on sonic and visual assault to Koko, our first time playing this amazing venue and first time playing Camden Crawl.” – Richard Fearless

For more information visit www.thecamdencrawl.com.

Blink-182

Blink-182 have been confirmed to headline an Eden Session on Sunday July 8.

The Californian three-piece come to Eden following the release of their acclaimed sixth studio album Neighborhoods last September, their first record since the band split in 2005.

Blink-182, otherwise known as Mark Hoppus, Tom DeLonge and Travis Barker, are probably best known for 1999’s seminal Enema of the State, which went on to sell 15m copies and spawned perhaps the band’s most well-known singles All the Small Things, What’s My Age Again and Adam’s Song.

Enema of the State was Blink-182’s third studio album, following 1994’s Cheshire Cat and 1996’s Dude Ranch. It preceded 2001’s Take Off Your Pants and Jacket and their self-titled fifth studio album, released in 2003 and heralding a more mature sound for the trio.

The band split in 2005 but reformed in 2009. New album Neighborhoods continues the band’s progression into more mature themes.

Blink-182 has sold more than 27 million albums in total and has won multiple awards, including Best New Act at the 2000 MTV Europe Music Awards and Best Rock Act at the same ceremony in 2001.

Martin Williams, Eden’s Marketing Director, said:

“Blink-182 are a great coup for the Eden Sessions. The band defined the pop-punk sound of the late nineties and early noughties, mixing catchy guitar hooks with lyrics that tackle serious issues in a humorous way. We’re really excited to be part of Blink’s return to the top and can’t wait to hear them perform songs from their long-awaited new album at Eden.”

Blink-182 are the second announcement for the 2012 Eden Sessions. UK soul and hip-hop star Plan B will headline a show on Friday July 6. More acts will be announced soon.

The Eden Sessions enter their eleventh year in 2012, following an acclaimed series of gigs in 2011, featuring Brandon Flowers and Pendulum among others. Previous years have seen performances from acts including Oasis, Kasabian, Mumford & Sons, Florence and the Machine and Muse.

Eden’s Inside Track scheme returns for the 2012 Eden Sessions. Members get a guaranteed pair of tickets to each show, with seven days to decide whether to buy them before they go on general sale. As well as priority booking and the latest Sessions news, Inside Track also gives members the chance to win exclusive Eden Sessions prizes.

Tickets to the Blink-182 Eden Session cost £35 plus booking fee and go on sale to Inside Track members today (Tuesday January 24) and on general sale at 6pm on Tuesday January 31. To book, contact the Eden Box Office on 01726 811972 or visit www.edensessions.com.

But can they play. Third album Helping Hands exceeds even the expectations raised by critical acclaim for their first two albums and they effortlessly, beautifully evoke it, without fanfare. Cello, as a lead instrument is a rarity in indie circles but it just seems right and is beautifully underscored by Viola. A shifting backdrop of understated guitars, bass and keyboards creates mood and variety, whilst the beautiful voice of John Blain Hunt picks out the lyrics.

A more self effacing frontman I struggle to bring to mind. Shyness, painfully observed, for songs which cry out to be played live; on listening to the album again, it does not quite capture the beauty evoked by live performance, carefully orchestrated changes of tempo communicated by soundless counting in or a quiet nod, it all seems meticulously rehearsed. I was captivated but this is plainly not everybody’s cup of tea.

Highlights of the set included “The day our voices broke“- available as a free download at present, and, “I am the butcher”, a skiffle tinged country number , a lush sound created by six string instruments knitted together by deliberate drumming.

An hour or so and it was all over. This was powerful, yet subtle stuff. The sheer craft on display is awe inspiring, wonderful music in an idiosyncratic setting made for a very different live music experience.

Earlier, support was provided by Darren Hayman, playing songs from The Ship’s Piano on a baby grand, accompanied by only spare and plaintive trumpet. Perhaps hampered by my lack of  familiarity with the material this was interesting rather than compelling stuff. but delivered with commitment and wit. A fitting support to what was to come later.

All in all, an evening of intelligent, moving pop.

The Forum was packed for the return of Young Knives to the tiny idiosyncratic venue in this insular, twee Kent Spa town. With a Town Council slightly to the right of Attila The Hun, it is testimony to the enthusiasm of the people who run this place that it exists at all. They have an ear for bands on the way up – The Vaccines played here earlier this year- and punch well above their weight when it comes to attracting more established acts.

A combination of Southeastern trains and lingering too long in The Duke of York meant the first of the  support bands were missed….so apologies to Broken Hands. I was emboldened to linger longer than usual because Young Knives were at the next table, so no worries about missing the start!

Second up,Intraverse played a raucous and energetic set – tight/competent/dull, not my cup of tea but went down well enough….

and, finally, Young Knives:

After what seemed like endless fiddling about with mikes and guitars (especially since Guitarist Henry Dartnell used only a single instrument for the entire gig!) the band shambled on and started playing. The sound was fantastic, so all that fiddling was worth it. Looking around, half the audience seemed to be mouthing the words to every song, as the band quickly got into their stride.

Material from the third and most recent Album Ornaments from the Silver Arcade predominated; their sound has evolved a bit from the relentless, edgy effortlessly catchy pop of Voices of Animals and Men and Superabundance with the addition of a keyboard element, provided live by their enigmatic bassist “House of Lords”

They play with all the attack and verve of a band touring for the first time, and enthusiasm untempered by three albums not having garnered a much deserved breakthrough.

Well chosen older songs “She’s Attracted to” “Turn Tail” and “Terra Firma” were particular highlights of a scorching set, enlivened by enthusiastic dad dancing from the band and a few of the younger punters too – an invitation to take shirts off by Henry Dartnell was heeded by only one member of the audience (This is Royal Tunbridge Wells after all) but undaunted he removed his and performed half the set bare-chested – there was a touching moment at the end where he thanked the shirtless youngster for his support!

Rapturous applause soon tempted the band back for an encore. Kraftwerk’s “The Model” struck a rare bum note for me, but the last song, “Terra Firma” the first single from Superabundance was a blistering finale.

Great band.great gig.

First on tonight were a new band, Fever Dream, who played to around twenty people or so. A three-piece adopting the classic 1-1-1 formation of bass/drums/guitar. While the whole band are probably fans of  the Joy Division/Echo and the Bunnymen post-punk style, I think it’s fair to say that the singer/guitarist has heard the occasional showgaze record,  The simple bass/drum backing allowing him to unleash the full range of on-stage antics. If he could summon up this amount of effort and drive for such a volumetrically-challenged crowd, I wondered what he’d get up to if it was packed.

The overall feel of their sound was one of something vaguely dark and angst-ridden. An impression that was somewhat undermined by an altogether too chipper sounding ‘Thanks!’ as each song drew to a close. I say ‘angst-ridden’ but in all honesty the whole set could have been about shopping for ingredients for the perfect beef bourguignon for all I could tell. Possibly not, though.

Also, a personal gripe here, aimed not solely at Fever Dream. Why do bands say ‘thanks’ immediately the last chord is struck? You don’t know what might be coming your way. We might all start jeering or booing or walking out. At least wait until one person starts to clap before thanking us!

On a more positive note, I did enjoy their last number, which was apparently on the Darren Hayman’s Vostock 5 release recently, or so they informed us. I’ll be trying to track that one down, anyway.

In the gap following Fever Dream, I moved to a spot near to the mixing desk for a good view of the two bands I’d really come to see. Glancing around, as you do, I noticed that the sound guy was watching football on his laptop. On asking what the score was, he told me that it wasn’t England but Italy vs Uruguay. He was deeply unhappy with the fact that Italy were losing 1-0 at home as well. Seeing him later I couldn’t help but notice more than a passing resemblance to a 1968-era Peter Bonetti.

For reasons I still don’t quite understand, I’ve managed to miss every London show by Pocketbooks since first coming across them at the 100 Club two years ago. Their debut CD ‘Flight Paths’ was my favourite of 2009 and has had frequent repeated visits ever since. In fact, I’m so fond of it that I almost didn’t want to hear the follow-up ‘Carousel’ when it came out recently. I’d managed to convince myself that they’d not be able to match the quality of the first one. When curiosity did eventually get the better of me, I was confused. Where were the jangly upbeat songs that littered every step of their debut? What’s with all this melancholic restraint and slow, stripped-down stuff? Convinced I was right to pre-judge it, I returned it to the shelf and moved on.

Giving it another try a few weeks later on, it slowly started to click, initially with ‘Promises, Promises’, which wouldn’t be out of place with their earlier work. Further listens allowed the real beauty, depth and craftsmanship of both the song-writing and the execution to reveal themselves. I was drawn in so tight that it started to hurt. Although definitely preferring Emma’s voice to Andy’s, if there’s a better songwriter around at the moment than Andy Hudson, I’m not aware of them. Take a bow, Andy – you’re a man with rare talent. Suffice to say that ‘Carousel’ is an exceptional album and is now playing more frequently than its predecessor ever managed, which I didn’t think would ever be possible.

So, with that in mind, I was more than slightly looking forward to seeing them live again. ‘Falling leaves’, ‘Not going out’ and ‘Harbour lights’ got things underway in a delightful manner before they added four members of The Little Orchestra to the mix. If you’re familiar with the Lexington, you’ll know that the stage is not the biggest and it now had nine people on it. And four violins need a reasonable amount of space, to reduce the risk of eyes being taken out on the more upbeat numbers.

The expanded line-up then gave us the achingly beautiful ‘Sparklers’ (an absolute gem of a song in a year full of superb releases), the aforementioned ‘Promises, promises’, ‘End of the pier’, ‘Sound of the carnival’ and old fave ‘Fleeting moments’.

While the band did nothing particularly wrong tonight, it never really got into top gear. Perhaps it was the meagre attendance or the more mellow nature of the newer material. Maybe it was down to me building them up too much in my head. Maybe it was because Italy lost 1-0 and the resultant sound was more than a bit muddy – who knows? It just seemed, I don’t know, slightly subdued. Enjoyable? Absolutely, but I was left with the feeling that so much more was, and should been, possible. Ah well, I won’t leave it two years until next time.

A late substitution at the mixing desk resulted in an instant and dramatic improvement in the sound quality when Shrag restarted the fun. The contrast was marked and the songs immediately hit home with a massive impact. As you can probably tell, I love Pocketbooks dearly but tonight Shrag kicked even their shadows right off-stage from the first number, a new one that seemed to be played on one chord throughout.

‘Faux coda’ followed and the band were in full-on rocking mode. Other new songs were aired and all sounded great. Older songs such as ‘Habit creep’ with its killer bass line, ‘Ghosts before breakfast’ and the mighty ‘Rabbit kids’ hit their marks admirably. There’s obviously a great friendship between all the members of the band as they spent as much time chatting among themselves as they did to the audience and it’s apparent that they are really happy doing what they do best.

The number of eagerly awaited new albums for 2012 is growing longer and the new Shrag one is definitely high up on that list.

All this for a mere £7.00. “Top entertainment”, as a Stoke-based vicar once said. And who am I to argue with him?

Again, work prevented arriving any earlier than seeing Tender Trap tying their shoelaces and heading out on to the track. The place was pretty full from the off and they served up slice after slice of great tunes. Dual-guitars and female harmonies are always a good starting point in my book but when you chuck in the know how to produce a decent melody and arrange a song, you end up in a pretty fab place indeed.

Tender Trap (c) Robin Halls

They are, somewhat inevitably I suppose, underpinned by the same drive and thrust as Tallulah Gosh but with different layers over the top. Less heads-down fuzz-thrash and more reflective craftsmanship these days, I feel. A more mature approach you could say. Their last album ‘Dansette, Dansette’ was a good ‘un and provided the basis for half of the set, the remainder presumably coming from their forthcoming one, which they excitedly told us they were starting to record the next day. Yay! Another one to look forward to. 2012 is shaping up to be a good year for albums already.

Darren Hayman and his Secondary Modern were next on and also went down well. The again, when there’s a good sound and you’ve written more good songs than most other people have even heard, why wouldn’t you be well received? Hefner’s ‘Hymn for the postal service’ got us off to a promising start and ‘Essex Arms’ and ‘Pram Town’ were raided for much of the rest of the set. I can only recall them playing one track from the latest CD but, as it’s piano based, perhaps the songs aren’t quite suited for a live performance with the full Secondary Modern backing.

Darren Hayman (c) Robin Halls

Darren was on fine form and is a natural raconteur; the chat between songs being almost as entertaining as the songs themselves (but in a good way, not cos the songs were crap).

The basic three chord arrangements remind me in some ways of Lou Reed’s style. Not so much lyrically though. Instead of tales of transvestites and drug abuse, we get songs about the mundane, ordinary things in life. Things we can all relate to at some level. Unless of course, it’s just me and Darren that don’t live lives like Lou Reed. Just a thought, like.

An excellent performance ended with ‘Good fruit’ with Amelia Fletcher joining in the fun on backing vocals – wonderful!

After fifteen minutes or so of pre-recorded video messages from many different bands, all wishing Sean Price (El Presidente of F-Pop) congratulations, attentions turned to Allo Darlin for the final act of the three day-treat. Whoever chose the bands to play (presumably Sean) chose well and Allo Darlin fulfilled the requirements of ‘festival headliners’ admirably.

Elizabeth from Allo Darlin (c) Robin Halls

I’ve written a few reviews of their live shows before on this site and will keep this one short as I don’t want to repeat myself (and I’m struggling to find new ways to praise them). Suffice to say, they were well up to their usual standard and that second album can’t come soon enough.

Cheers, Sean. I hope you enjoy doing what you do as much as everyone else enjoys what you do.

Here’s to the next fifteen years.

Although the temptation to buy a three-day season ticket was an almost irresistible itch, the need to maintain a modicum of domestic stability restricted attendance to first and last night only. When negotiations to attend were underway and the words ‘well, you can do what you like’ were uttered in a tone that would have Jack Frost reaching to nudge the thermostat up a degree or two, it’s better to admit defeat.

Sadly, the demands of earning the money to enjoy little trips like this meant arriving too late for the evening’s opening act, Malone Alone, and the first few minutes of Bearsuit. Their ‘Phantom Forest‘ album has been one of my highlights this year and their set was, understandably, taken almost entirely from it. The fair-to-middling crowd nodding along in quiet appreciation as Norwich’s finest did their thing. Lisa’s delightful black feather headgear (I’m not sure that ‘hat’ is quite the right term to describe it) and general bouncy behaviour being the visual focus point, as she cheerfully admitted being dressed as a chicken.

Lisa the chicken (c) Robin Halls

Their performance underlined just how strong their recent material is over some of their earlier, less polished, work. I know Lisa’s distinctive vocals are not to everyone’s taste but I’m usually up for a bit of shouty screaming and enjoyed every minute of them. I hope they maintain their current momentum in 2012. They left us with a spirited run through ‘Charger’, which is always a good thing to hear.

Cinema Red and Blue replaced them and manic off-kilter pop was replaced by a huge wall of 60’s swirly organ, jangly guitars and trumpet. Authentic haircuts, tear-shaped guitar, dodgy ‘tache (one to rival that sported by Ian Bearsuit) and a Rickenbacker semi-acoustic were all bang on the retro-beat money. However, the drummer and bassist seem to have defied the party whip , attired in a more muted and contemporary manner. Still, the overall powerful sound was good with ‘Walking to the cemetery’ standing out as a highlight.

Cinema Red & Blue (c) Robin Halls

After a while, several members of the seven-piece ambled off, to be replaced by various parts of Aislers Set to finish off the slot. They showed an alternative approach to a 60’s revival and were my band of the night (I bet they’ll be delighted to hear that). Others obviously agreed, as they were the only band to perform an encore. Great stuff!

The Aislers Set (c) Robin Halls

A quick mention here about the sort of people that tend to go to gigs like this. They are, in my experience, almost all, very well-mannered and polite.  This was brought home to me by someone accidentally knocking my pint over. To put this in to some kind of context, it was pint of pretty tasteless lager of some kind – not something to get particularly worked up about. However, said person immediately apologised profusely and offered to buy me another. Does this sort of thing happened at other gig genres? I suspect not. You’ll no doubt be relieved to hear that I declined her kind offer. Just thought it worth mentioning as it reaffirmed my thoughts that indie-pop kids are more sophisticated bunch that you may come across elsewhere.

Anyway, beerless as I now was, it was time for the Primitives to give us a run for our money and they appeared to the strains of Camper Van Beethoven’s eighties-classic ‘Take the skinheads bowling’. Which was nice.

Primitives (c) Robin Halls

Tracey may well be on the small side of petite but she’s (still) got all the necessary attributes to be a band leader, which she proved convincingly by leading the band as they raced through ‘Dreamwalk baby’, ‘Really stupid’ and my personal fave ‘Spacehead’ before anyone really had time to think ‘they’ve still got it, you know’.

A quick pause for breath and we were off again: ‘Thru the flowers’, ‘Stop killing me’ and ‘Sick of it all’ quickly followed. Although there was a decent-sized crowd in, I did notice that it seemed to be only people in their 40’s who were singing along. That’s probably what happens when you split up for over ten years – you lose touch with the kids.
The Prims always did have the ability to come up with a decent tune. It seems they’ve not lost this talent either, as their Fortuna Pop debut ‘Rattle my cage’ went down a storm with old and young alike, sounding excellent in to the bargain.

Inevitably ‘Crash’ rounded things off and got the biggest reaction of the evening, although personally I’ve always found it one of their less-worthy offerings. All in all, most enjoyable and I look forward to a new album before much longer and it’s great to have them back with us.

Any sign of a Dog Faced Hermans reunion yet?

They are not everybody’s cup of tea – The NME slated current single “Be a doll and take my heart” I am sure that does not bother them or their fans one bit….those here tonight listened attentively to a set which leaned towards their more introverted folk material, in the quieter moments there was an atmosphere of hushed reverence and the songs were received enthusiastically for the most part.

An upbeat highlight was the title song of the recent album Strange Moosic performed as a sing-along with support Sean Flinn and others, as well as “Tell me something I don’t know” from the same record. These songs seem more in keeping with their various Fortuna Pop label mates but they are not typical, most of the material they played tonight having a folkier feel and at times it put me in mind of Sufjan Stevens and Jonathon Richman.

Incidentally, they are notably absent from the 3 day Fortuna Pop celebration of the label’s 15th anniversary at the Scala next month – maybe they don’t quite fit in?

Singer David Ivar’s voice is Marmite; somewhat reedy and high pitched for some but it suits the whimsical folk that predominate tonight rather well. I have heard it described as a scando-parisian yodel(David is Swedish I think)….Overall this is breezy lightweight stuff played with more precision than passion – It makes for an enjoyable rather than exhilarating gig. The warmth between an audience clearly familiar with their songs and a band appreciative of the response was striking.

A good night for Herman Dune and their fans, perhaps less compelling for the casual listener.

Frank Turner

Rounding off an exceptional year that has included headlining festivals, Main Stage sets at Reading and Leeds and a chart bothering album, Frank Turner will release his new single ‘Wessex Boy’ on 28th November through Xtra Mile Recordings. Frank Turner has also confirmed his biggest headline show to date at London’s Wembley Arena for April 2012.

The third single to be lifted from the Top 12 album ‘England Keep My Bones’ it encapsulates the album’s feeling of nostalgia, reminiscing about home towns and re-visiting cosy childhood memories after a long time away. And in some uncanny cosmic timing it provides the perfect soundtrack as the winter nights draw in and attention is turned to going home for Christmas.

It also echoes Frank Turner’s return to these shores after months of touring North America and Europe. He’s back for his huge UK headline tour with his band The Sleeping Souls. Three of the six dates are now completely sold out with the others selling fast.

Frank Turner UK Live dates:

November
22 Bournemouth O2 Academy
23 Newport, Newport Centre
24 Birmingham O2 Academy SOLD OUT
25 Glasgow Barrowlands
26 Manchester O2 Apollo SOLD OUT
27 London HMV Hammersmith Apollo SOLD OUT

As the last remaining tickets get snapped up plans are already underway for a humdinger of a one-off event for April 2012. Frank Turner’s Friday the 13th at Wembley Arena will be an extra special one-day festival-like extravaganza offering fans an incredible line-up of musical gems.

Frank Turner Tickets are on sale from 14th October.

Back to this year though and November will also see the release of Frank’s ‘Second Three Years’ – a collection of live tracks, sessions, cover versions, b-sides and lost songs from the past three years. Out on 21st November it features live recordings of the traditional folk song ‘Barbara Allen’ from Shepherd’s Bush and the show-stopping ‘Father’s Day’ from Union Chapel both in 2009; covers versions of Springsteen, Nirvana, NOFX and Flanders & Swann to name a few as well as session tracks from Radio 1 and the bonus tracks featured on the limited deluxe edition of ‘England Keep My Bones’.

And finally on 10th November Frank Turner will be performing at the inaugural AIM Music Awards in London where he is nominated for Hardest Working Act and Best Live Act.

For more information visit www.frank-turner.com.