Since releasing their self titled EP in 2008, the London based alternative pop/rock band Shush have spent much of their time performing on various UK tours, but most recently they have been busy in the studio recording for their debut album.

Soundtrack of My Life is the name of the album and it is due for release on November 1st. The lead track from the album Do What I Want was released last week and can be heard on the Shush MySpace if you haven’t already had the pleasure.

The heavy guitar sound of the band belies the melodic content of their songs, veering more towards power pop than rock at times, as Metal Hammer said in their review, “Shush sound like Pig Iron with The Donnas at the mic.”

Singer Melina says of the new album Soundtrack of My Life;

“We’re very excited to be releasing this album having worked on it ardently for the last year. This presents our new sound to the people, defining what is Shush, and we can’t for the world hear it.”

Shea Seger

Born in Fort Worth Texas in 1979, Shea Seger learnt about music at an early age from listening to her parents enormous record collection that encompassed everything from classical, Motown, disco, country, pop and rock and everything in between.

Having won a scholarship to study theatre, with dreams of becoming a playwright and actress Shea met Felix Todd who had come along to one of her shows. Todd asked her to travel to London with him to try her hand at songwriting and she leapt at the chance to leave the USA.

Having arrived in London, despite the venture with Todd not working out, Shea had already decided to stay in England, knowing more than anything that she wanted to live in the UK capital.

In 2000 having written some songs Shea was signed to RCA Records with whom she made her first album, The May Street Project. Over the next couple of years she would support the likes of James, David Gray, Sheryl Crow, John Mayer, Pat Benatar and Emmylou Harris, but without the necessary radio airplay Shea Seger’s career was not moving on.

Unsure of what she wanted out of life Shea asked to be dropped from RCA and the label duly obliged. She later fell in love and gave birth to her daughter Luna. A trip to the USA to show off the baby followed and while there a routine back operation on her father went horribly wrong and the planned six month trip turned into years.

During those years Shea would continue to write, but the songs were never intended to be recorded, never even played to close friends. But towards the end of her stay in America she decided to put her fears aside and enter the studio.

The collection of eleven songs on the self titled album, chart those ‘lost’ years from angry and broken to eventually finding strength and hope.

As a chronicle of those years the tracks are recorded in the order that they were originally written with the delicate Wishing Trees opening the album. Pipers Dreams and Last Few Standing ramp up the tempo along with Shea’s gutsy performance.

It is almost as though the pain of these songs is as real today as when they were written, Seger’s performance throughout is nothing short of being brilliantly outrageous, honest and personal and that is precisely what makes this such a special collection 0f songs.

This is one of those classic albums that crosses divides and refuses to be bound by musical genres, the lyrics are deeply personal and yet the listener will undoubtedly be empathetic, the instrumentation is often stark but beautifully captures each mood swing to perfection.

This is an album full of raw emotion from ballad to rip snorting rock, Seger’s vocals remain true throughout from the wispy Lucinda Williams style of Wishing Trees to the bourbon and smoke fuelled quality of Last Few Standing.

A certain contender for album of the year, Shea Seger’s self titled album is available now from all digital and conventional music stores.

For more information visit the Shea Seger MySpace.

Dinosaur Pile Up (DUP) - Mona Lisa

Dinosaur Pile Up are Matt Bigland (vox/guitar), Harry Johns (vox/guitar) and Mike Shiels (drums), between the three of them they create a brilliant thrashy noise and they are about to release their debut single and album on an unsuspecting public.

The single Mona Lisa is released on September 27th, followed by the highly anticipated album Growing Pains a week later.

Mona Lisa will be available as a 7″ or digitally and will be backed by B side Headspinner in either format, through indie label Friend Vs Records.

The single is about having no money, no time and living on instant noodles with no heating, explains singer Matt Brigland who goes on to say that sitting in his room surrounded by crap made him think that ‘This is kind of like trying to paint my own Mona Lisa.’

Dinosaur Pile Up – Mona Lisa

The album, Growing Pains is released on October 4th, produced alongside long time collaborator James Kenosha and Dinosaur Pile Up will hit the road on a month long UK headline tour on October 6th following a couple of warm up shows in September.

The full Dinosaur Pile Up UK dates are;

SEPTEMBER
18  Norwich   Arts Centre  (warm up show)
25  Skipton   Culture Shock Festival   (warm up)

OCTOBER  (headline tour w/support from Turbowolf)
6            Stoke                Sugarmill
7            Wrexham              Central Station
8            Liverpool            Masque
10          Birmingham           Hare & Hounds
11           Exeter               Timepiece
12           Bristol              Cooler
13           Brighton             Coalition
14           Southampton          Joiners
16           Sheffield            Plug
17           Nottingham           Bodega
18           Cambridge            Haymakers
19           London               KCLSU
21           Manchester           Ruby Lounge
22           Crewe                The Box
24           Edinburgh            Cabaret Voltaire
25           Glasgow              Nice N Sleazy
26           York                 Stereo
27           Leeds                Cockpit

For further information visit the Dinosaur Pile Up website.

In 1987 he formed The Johann Strauss Orchestra along with his own production company.  The Johann Strauss Orchestra began performing with just 12 members but now performs extravagant live shows with between 40 and 50 musicians.

André Rieu has performed throughout Europe, in North America, and Japan and won many music awards including two World Music Awards.  At his own recording studio in his home town of Maastricht he now records a wide range of classical music along with popular and folk music.  He is also known for recording film soundtracks.

In September André Rieu & The Johann Strauss Orchestra will be performing five live concerts as part of a UK Tour.

Wednesday 22 September
The O2 Arena, London

Thursday 23 September
LG Arena, Birmingham

Monday 27 September
Odyssey, Belfast

Wednesday 29 September
MEN Arena, Manchester

Thursday 30 September
Metro Radio Arena, Newcastle upon Tyne

André Rieu & The Johann Strauss Orchestra Tickets

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Incredible as it may sound all you will need to pay is the postage while stocks remain available of the following albums:

Just Surrender – Phoenix
The Morning Of – The Way I Fell In
Portia Conn – I Don’t Care
Lost On Campus – Tell Them I Had A Wonderful Life
Not Advised – After The Fight
Lost On Landing – Sweet Talk
MiMi Soya – I Can’t Stand Pop Bands

As one of the most successful independent labels of its kind out there right now, with 15,000 sales this year alone, LAB has built up a solid following of admirers in its short history, and this is their way of giving something back to their fans.

LAB Records CEO Mark Orr said;
“This is a huge time for the label as we come towards the end of our most successful year to date and prepare for a more mainstream sound in 2011. Every label gives away digital samplers but we thought – for one day only – it would be a unique and memorable stand to make all of our CD’s absolutely free. It’s our little way of saying ‘thank-you’ to everyone who has supported LAB over the past 3 years.”

The event takes place on September 3rd, for one day only. Head over to Lab Records for further information on this very special and unique offer.

fran barker - Seerauber Jenny

Seerauber Jenny is the creation of Fran Barker who set about making a record in the leaky conservatory at home, armed with a four track tape machine, musical instruments and a head full of ideas.

With the fuzzy influences of Sonic Youth and My Bloody Valentine amongst others, Barker set out to make her own music, the resulting raw creations drawing the interest of Neil Claxton, formerly of Mint Royale and Seerauber Jenny was born.

Seerauber Jenny release their debut single through the Fandango label on September 27th, the double A side single will feature the tracks Push It Away and Waste Of Time.

The animated video to support Push It Away can be seen below:

Seerauber Jenny – Push It Away

Seerauber Jenny are already getting rave reviews for their compelling and enthralling live shows and have already been invited to perform at the BBC Introducing event at Band On The Wall in Manchester in October.

The band are playing at the following venues in September and  October, with London dates to be announced:

September 16^th – Brighton –  Juice FM Acoustic gig – The Windmill

September 17^th –  Manchester – Kraak Gallery

October 8th – Brighton – Brighton Live

October 13th – Manchester – Band on the Wall (BBC Introducing event @ In The City)

The debut single ‘Push It Away’ / ‘Waste Of Time’ will be released though Label Fandango on September 27 2010, available on Limited edition 7” & digital download.

For more information visit the Seerauber Jenny My Space page.

little fish - baffled & beat

Little Fish are a duo from the UK, featuring self taught guitarist and singer JuJu Sophie and Nez Greenaway on drums, the pair have just witnessed perhaps the craziest year of their life, culminating in the release of their debut album Baffled & Beat.

Legendary singer/songwriter Linda Perry was that impressed with the band’s demos that she flew over to the UK to see them perform, in a pub in Oxford. Perry signed Little Fish on the spot and took them to LA to produce their first album.

It was Perry who set new goals for the band, in particular in the song writing department where she pushed JuJu to new and unexpected heights by constantly pressuring her for new material.

Little Fish earned their stripes on a string of support dates, sharing stages and venues with the likes of Placebo, Them Crooked Vultures, Hole, Juliette Lewis and most recently Blondie.

The end result of an intense year or so is the album Baffled & Beat, a real gem of an album repaying the faith that Perry and others had shown in Little Fish from the start.

As much material as possible on the album was recorded live in the studio , capturing Little Fish’s amazing energy and enormous sound almost to perfection.

Little Fish seem predominantly a garage rock/ post punk band, but there is so much more to them and while JuJu plays the aggressive, articulate and loud front woman to perfection, her softer side on tracks like Sorry State, with the brilliant line ‘Why does misery like company’, Lucks Run Out and the title track prove that the girl really does have an incredible voice.

In fact it is the underlying melodies that set this album in a category of its own, given the chance Baffled & Beat has all the credentials to reach a mainstream audience while remaining true to the cult status that Little Fish currently enjoy.

The first single from Baffled & Beat is not the obvious choice for me, Whiplash gives a reasonable taste of what Little Fish are about, but there are other tracks that are more radio friendly, in my view. None the less the single Whiplash will be released on September 6th.

Little Fish will headline the BBC stage at the Reading/Leeds Festival this coming weekend and at the following venues in September:

8 Sep      Proud Galleries                    Camden Town

18 Sep    Southsea Festival                 The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth

26 Sep    Underground Festiival        Gloucester

22 Oct    SWN Festival                         Cardiff

22 Oct    SWN Festival                         Cardiff

For more information visit the Little Fish MySpace page.

dead confederate - sugar

To celebrate the release of their latest album Sugar, the psychedelic rockers Dead Confederate are offering a free download of the lead single Giving It All Away on their official website for a limited time. Sugar is released in the UK on September 6th.

Giving It All Away is probably the most instant and commercial of the tracks on Sugar and the obvious single from the album. It also features the guitar playing of Dinosaur Jr’s J Mascis, which is no bad thing.

Dead Confederate have learned a thing or two by supporting the likes of Dinosaur Jr and Meat Puppets on tour and their appreciation of the pioneering 80’s/90’s masters can be heard throughout this latest offering.

While retaining the psychedelic nature of their previous efforts, Sugar finds Dead Confederate tidying up their production with tighter songs, without abandoning the driving guitar work and unbridled emotion that has so far set them apart from others.

Controlled fuzzy guitars and trippy distorted vocals feature throughout this album, the intentionally warped vocals adding to the warm feeling, but the production by John Agnello also weighs in with a dark alt-grunge flavour adding overall depth and bringing to mind Smashing Pumpkins at their best.

The tone is set from the excellent first track In The Dark and the album simply draws the listener in from there on, growing in presence as it goes . Sugar is an almost perfect collection of experimental alternative and psychedelic rock music and if you enjoy Giving It All away, check out the album at Dead Confederate My Space.

Dead Confederate – Giving It All Away

For more information or to download the track Giving It All Away, visit the Dead Confederate website.

Scatterbrain is produced by Mike Sapone , the first UK act to be overseen by the American, early recording began earlier this year at his New York home.

While the new album promises an angrier young band than heard on their excellent debut album In The Cold We Smile, the band have lost none of their pop sensibilities and catchy melodies on Scatterbrain.

The Xcerts were encouraged to experiment more on the new album by producer Sapone, who turned out to be like a fourth member of the band. Murray MacLeod says “There’s parts that would never have happened, had we not worked with Mike.”

Murray MacLeod went on to defend the change of direction sound wise on Scatterbrain, saying: “If we didn’t sound different, I’d be worried. The first album was – as for most new bands – something of a ‘greatest hits’ from the band’s early years, when they were still finding their feet. This time, the album was almost entirely written in a six-week break between tours and as a result paints a much more vibrant picture; a single body of work that makes sense; a proper album that it would seem blasphemous to shuffle.”

Talking about the influences on the new album, MacLeod said; “There are certain records that we’re all really into that have a similar sound – a balance of raw emotion and good production. ‘In Utero’ by Nirvana, ‘Pinkerton’ by Weezer, ‘Either/Or’ by Elliot Smith, ‘The Devil And God Are Raging Inside Me’ by Brand New, ‘Nebraska’ by Bruce Springsteen and ‘For Emma Forever Ago’ by Bon Iver. That’s pretty much exactly how we wanted this record to sound.

This is an album lover’s album for the fans of the band. It’s not about a particular track or single and should be listened too as an entire body of work with an open mind. We hope everyone falls in love with it like we have.”

xcerts video young (belane)

The Xcerts will release the single Young (Belane) one week ahead of the album on September 27th. The video to accompany the single was recently filmed in the remote Welsh countryside and directed by Joseph Rodrigues Marsh.

The band managed to call upon friend and actor Jamie Campbell Bower to perform in the video. The actor is best know for his role of Caius in ‘The Twilight Saga: New Moon’ and has recently completed the filming of ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows’ Part I and II. His filmography also features films directed by Tim Burton and Guy Ritchie and he is rumoured to be cast as King Arthur in a 10-part American TV series called ‘Camelot’ alongside Tamsin Egerton as his queen Guinevere.

In the video for Young (Belane) Bower is cast as a creepy-obsessed fan that kidnaps the band and drags their unconscious bodies back to a secluded barn to add to his ultimate shrine of memorabilia. When not force feeding them Macaroni Cheese or cutting off trinkets of their hair Bower’s character gets distracted and while he’s dancing to one of the The Xcerts’ early releases the band make for an escape! But will they be successful?

Well if you can wait, the video will be unveiled at 5pm August 25th, exclusively on The Xcerts website.

In support of the release of Scatterbrain The Xcerts will be hitting the road in support of Futures before headlining their own national tour. Dates below:

SEPTEMBER
18th Southsea festival, Portsmouth
21st Joiners, Southampton w/Futures
22nd Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff w/Futures
23nd Borderline, London w/Futures
25th Roadhouse, Manchester w/Futures
26th Underground Festival, Gloucester w/Futures
27th King Tuts, Glasgow w/Futures
28th Cockpit, Leeds w/Futures
29th Academy 2, Newcastle w/Futures

The Gaslight Anthem 2010 UK dates

New Jersey based punk rock band The Gaslight Anthem have announced a European tour which will kick off a couple of months after their scheduled appearance on the festival stages of Reading and Leeds.

The Gaslight Anthem have been catapulted into the mainstream spotlight on the back of their third album release American Slang, reaching top twenty album status in the UK and USA and pretty much everywhere else that matters.

American Slang sees the band finding their own voice, the lyrics are perhaps more personal and introspective but singer Fallon’s raw throated vocals are stronger than ever, behind the bands driving dynamic force.

The Gaslight Anthem have continued to build on the success of 2009, which was a monumental year for the band, touring the world in support of their much acclaimed album The ‘59 Sound and performing at all of the major festivals around the globe.

The Gaslight Anthem full UK and Eire dates;

October:
21st        UK    London, Hammersmith Apollo
22nd      UK    Southampton, Guildhall
23rd       UK    Bristol, Academy
24th       UK    Wolverhampton, Civic
November:
16th        UK    Nottingham, Rock City
17th        UK    Leeds, O2 Academy
18th         UK    Newcastle, O2 Academy
19th         UK    Edinburgh, Picture House
20th        UK    Manchester Apollo
21st         IRL    Dublin, Olympia
22nd       N.IRL    Belfast, Mandela Hall

For further information visit the The Gaslight Anthem MySpace page.