Formula 1 2009

It's 1:22am on Friday March 27th and it's 8 minutes from the start of first practice for the 2009 Australian Grand Prix.
New rules, new cars, new stories - I can't fucking wait!!


Leigh

New Groom Album

*I have tried to write this entry twice already, but due to Blogger.com's absurd shitness a third attempt is necessary.


Exponents of folk induced indie-pop, Groom, are to release their second album, titled At the Natural History Museum, on Tight Ship Records next month.
This will be the quintet's follow-up to their rather grand long playing debut, All this Happened More or Less which came out in November 2006 on their own Fairview House label.

Upon hearing the title track, I get the impression that Groom are beginning to leave behind their once folky roots and are drawn towards more psychedelic sound. Not only is the result rather pleasant to the ears, it also showcases a definite strain of development within the group. When the group released their debut EP / mini-album (no one is sure which it is...), Stitch in 2004, it was bursting with electronic twinged folk that gripped me instantly and in a way their following releases have done the same.

Groom will be launching At the Natural History Museum with a gig in Whelan's (upstairs) on April 24th with electronic kitsch-meister, Neosupervital and it will be a dandy 10 Euros in and with that you also get a free copy of the album. The band will also be performing an instore at Tower Records on Thursday April 30th and with that the album will also be available from Road Records and Freebird Records.

Groom MySpace
MP3: Groom "At the Natural History Museum"

Currently watching:
Formula 1 "1990 Brazilian Grand Prix"


Leigh

Sleep Thieves / Line Drawing Circles (IMRO Showcase Tour 2009)

The rather grand Sleep Thieves and Lines Drawing Circles are both performing at the Sugar Club on Leeson St. this Friday evening as part of this year's IMRO Showcase Tour shindig.

The gigs are free in if you e-mail the artists in question, so for guestlist to this show contact Sleep Thieves here and Line Drawing Circles here; however, should one not be down for a guestlist, the show is a wallet ripping 5 Euros in. Both make for excellent live shows, so fun shall be had.

Also playing on Friday are the always excellent Kinetics and 8ball (no idea......) and doors are at 7.30pm with the first band on shortly thereafter. In the meantime, Sleep Thieves can be found here, while Lines Drawing Circles are right here (don't forget LDC debut EP, Thebes, is still available from Road Records). Have fun!!

In slightly related news, Lines Drawing Circles have also announced a new EP - titled So Much for Solitude, it has yet to be given a definite release date, but should be out soon enough (with gigs to follow I'm sure).


Leigh

A Message from Road Records

Earlier on this evening, I got a quick comment from a reader regarding the fate of Road Records and it was only then that it dawned on me that I was meant to post this last Thursday, but completely forgot...
:/
Anyhoo, Dave and Julie posted this nice little tidbit on Thumped.com and On the Record. Good stuff indeed!!

Thank You All ! - From Road Records

A big big thank you to everybody who attended our benefit show on Saturday night in Andrews Lane. It really was an amazing night full of like-minded music fanatics and a real shot in the arm to us here at Road Records regarding the feelings people have towards our store and what we do. It was truly amazing to see so many people come out and support us, added to the general goodwill we have experienced here in the store since we announced our closure. I have to say we have both been utterly blown away by the reaction we have received. To be honest I did know people liked the store

but the outpouring of emotion since January has just been mind blowing, from bands contributing free stock to our cause and also from regular customers just begging us not to give up hope.

We regarded our decision in January as final having spent a long time trying to find a way out of our situation to no avail. Soon after announcing our closure a number of ideas were thrown at us by different people and we started to think that maybe there was a way that we could carry on.
We have set ourselves certain targets and have agreed that if we manage to hit every single one of them then we will carry on with the shop. Last Saturday night was the fulfillment of a major target!

The thank you list for Saturday night could go on for many pages so I will
keep it as simple as possible

- To Vinny from the Jimmy Cake whose idea it was in the first place * We can never repay you.
- The bands * Jimmy Cake, Jape, Adrian Crowley, Large Mound, Dudley Corporation and Si Schroeder [Colm Mac Con Iomaire sustained a rather serious eye injury on -Saturday but we still owe you Colm]
- Thanks also to Dylan and Djonny for their dj skills, we would love to have done it ourselves but that would have required not being able to talk to everyone on the night.
- Andews Lane and their staff for the venue.
- Leagues, Allistar and Foggy Notions for their tireless help.
- Paul Smyth, Tickets.ie, Nialler9 / State Magazine, Pete Brady at Thumped.com and Tower Records
- Every single one of you people who paid in.

We would also like to thank all the bands who contributed their music to us free of charge after we announced our closure, the thank you list would go into the hundreds so please forgive us for just making a collective thank you to you all, you know who you are and you should be very proud of yourselves for what you have done for us.

To everybody who has been in to us since January with words of support, thank you, it really does mean a lot to us to just know how important you feel our store is to the Irish music scene in general.

Thank you all so much.
Julie and Dave

Current listening:
The Aggrovators "Bionic Dub"


Leigh

Ponytail (March 10th)

The last time I was at the Lexington in London was near the end of last year to see the excellent So Cow support someone or other at a launch or something and was instantly impressed - not just by the venue - but the feel of the place too.

First up were London duo, Gentle Friendly. To say that Gentle Friendly are Animal Collective copyists to the extreme would be a bit of a soft touch. Admittedly they seem like very talented chaps, but every sound, idea, trick and process felt as if it were copied and pasted from Here Comes the Indian period AC - sitting down and pressing play might have been more effective. As a plus, they have one of the best drummers I've seen in ages.

Skeleton$, on the other hand were simply phenomenal. With brief touches of DNA, the Pop Group and Talking Heads all mashed together and moulded into a rather unique sound this post-punk/art-rock band got me into a spasm and writhing with joy. They also gurn like no band I've ever seen.
Skeleton$ MySpace

Baltimore art-pop band, Ponytail look surprisingly fresh despite nearing to the end of this UK and European tour (this is their second last date) and it is a freshness that lends itself wonderfully to the performance.
They are noisy and jerky, but also joyous and emphatic; all the time focusing on material from their 2008 album, Ice Cream Spiritual. Every song feels like short stabs of energy permeating via two guitars and drums while singer Molly Siegal moans and yelps throughout the performance - she is the perfect catalyst for the rest of the band.
My only complaint is it was just too much for too long - after two-thirds of their set, I was beginning to get tired, but when you're in a mass feeding off of a mass of energy (and bouncing as a result), that can happen.
Ponytail Myspace

Skeleton$ were easily the best band tonight; but Ponytail were so powerful, it became too much after a while. I did eventually get home; albeit drowned in dry sweat, but by golly that was good fun.

Current listening:
E+S=B "Inhale the Sound"


Leigh

St Patrick's Day...

Enjoy the feast of cultural cyanide. I'm sure there'll be plenty of stories for everyone to forget tomorrow.

Leigh

The World Just Got Worse

Kill it!! Kill it!! Kill it now!! ...and take all these fucking hideous people with you!!




Leigh

Genius or an Elaborate Hoax??

Whichever, it's still fucking class. You decide...



Leigh

Rubicks "Red Rock"

Often I have thought it a strange feeling when every so often, I come across a band and think "excellent..." Admittedly it does not happen on many occasion's, but when it does happen it's a rather nice feeling that makes one want to hug themselves. At the start of 2007, I had this feeling when I first heard London-based electronic duo, Rubicks - a band that instantly reminded me of Goldfrapp and New Order and their most impressive.
It had been only a few months since they released their debut album, In Miniature, but apart from an appearance on a Rough Trade compilation a few years ago, they had barely touched the air outside of the UK. They initially remedied this by playing the Electric Fix in 2007, before supporting Gary Numan on his UK and Ireland tour in 2008.

But now times has moved on somewhat and so have Rubicks. The band have expanded to a three-piece with the inclusion of drummer Anthony Johns; Vanessa Redd and Marc Makarov have progressed to a much more punchier and enthralling noise, which is exemplified by their upcoming "Idiot Time" EP (out April 6th).
Anyhoo, they are currently performing shows in Canada, and shall have some UK dates lined up soon. Anyone fancy bringing them to Ireland though..?


Rubicks "Red Rock"




Leigh

Brawn Grand Prix Racing!!

Confirmed for definite - massively late, sponsorless and rather ugly, but they made it. Introducing Brawn Grand Prix Racing. Driver-wise, Jenson Button and (surprisingly) Rubens Barrichello have been signed up drive for the 2009 season.

Leigh

Kap Bambino "Hey!"

I seriously have a thing for French electro-punk duo Kap Bambino after coming across their second album Zero Life Night Vision in 2006.
The track is called "Hey" was released as a double A-side with "New Breath" and rather than go down the conventional route, the band used a fan made video for the track - and it's fucking class!! I really I had done this.

Anyway, their third album Blacklist is out in May on Because Records and is preceded by the single "Red Sign" later this month. Watch and enjoy.



Current listening:
The Normal "TVOD / Warm Leatherette"


Leigh

Brawn Racing?

News is slowly but surely leaking about the fate of Honda F1. If rumours are to be believed, former Ferrari Technical Director, Ross Brawn, has led the buy-out with help from Bernie Ecclestone (in lieu of a portion of next season's prize money) - a buy out that is thought to have finished Nick Fry's relationship with the team.

Regardless of what many think of Formula 1, it must surely be welcomed that in a time constant company closures and redundancies, this buy-out may save at least 500 of the 700 jobs with the team and with measures in place to bring the cost of participation in the World Championship down, this may even secure the long term future of the team - it is also this economic strategy that has made the 2010 entry for the new USF1 team possible.

However, the car has still been run and as a result Brawn Racing (or whatever they end up being called) face an uphill battle for the rest of the season - which is why holding onto veteran Brazilian driver, Rubens Barrichello, makes perfect sense.
With Bruno Senna waiting in the wings, Barrichello must surely know that this will be his final season in the top flight and many would not be surprised to see him make a move to either the IRL (Indy Racing League) or DTM (German Touring Car Championship) for 2010.

Although the signing of Ayrton Senna's nephew may have brought with it sponsors, immediate income and publicity; Brawn Racing desperately need experience and with mid-season testing banned, the only time the car can be run for development is at Grand Prix weekend's. It would appear that the team will really need Barrichello's in depth knowledge of the machinery to progress through the year and with Button already signed for the next three years, Honda have an apparent strong front for the moment.
No doubt that Senna will make to Formula 1 eventually - just not yet it would seem.

Currently watching:
CART "1998 Grand Prix of Long Beach"