The Nanateas / The Only Alternatives / Skinny Pigs @ The Underground, Hanley

Review by Liam Kelly

Photo by Simon Bamford

Tonight’s opening band were the local trio, The Nanateas. A band that clearly aren’t too keen on following the indie rock and roll genre that is evident with most upcoming bands at the moment, The Nanateas played an acoustic indie pop sound throughout their set, and their unique sound surprised the crowd. A group heavily influenced by bands such as The Beatles and The Pixies gave a tight sounding performance, and in particular lead singer Andy showed a melodic and tuneful vocal performance. Dan on Bass and Ang on drums backed Andy and the songs that stood out best during this act were opening track ‘Street Lamp life’ and ‘Enthusiastic Dave.’ Upon first listening the bands style seems simple but as their set went on their performance became one of infection and exuberance. The crowd seemed to be enjoying the memorable melodies of The Nanateas and they kicked of the night in style. A band I will certainly be looking out for in the future.

The second support band for Skinny Pigs were young 5 piece, 'The Only Alternatives.' What this band lacks in age and experience they certainly make up for in stage presence and confidence. The band kicked straight into their set with the catchy and upbeat track which unfortunately I didn’t catch the name of. Lead singer Cam Conway found his vocals in the next track ‘Have you seen it?’ and he belted out a powerful vocal performance of which we’d expect from band a lot older than him. The audience seemed to be particularly impressed with the bands versatility too pull of a cheeky cover of Arctic Monkeys ‘Still Take you Home.’ Charles Steele’s fast and furious drumming set the platform for the band and add to this the neat guitar riffs of Jordan and Paddy and the powerful bass playing of Jack and you sense that these lads could go onto big things. Songs such as ‘Keep the Heat’ and ‘Robot’ reminded me of the sound of early Arctic Monkeys and its clear to see they are heavily influenced by bands such as The Enemy and The Stone Roses. With a few fine tunings and more chances to play live, the future could hold big things for The Only Alternatives and I will be one of many following this band all the way.

Tonight’s headliners were the ever increasingly popular Skinny Pigs. Unfortunately tonight’s gig had not been very well advertised and after some confusion with dates, their usual large crowd was not present. This had no affect on their performance though and as ever, they put on a memorable show. Frontman Craig Paterson has a rock and roll attitude that puts Liam Gallagher to shame and the lad’s appearance suits the Indie Rock genre like no other bands. The track ‘I’ve got a fever’ has the potential to be one day released as a single and showed the bands qualities all around from the powerful vocals of Craig, the frantic drumming of Wez, the authoritive bass playing of Ben Nixon to the tight sounding guitar riffs of Lee and Sam. Skinny Pigs have a gritty sound that stands out from other bands in Stoke at the moment and was best shown in crowd favourite ‘It’s all about the Rock and Roll.’ The band continued their fast tempo in tracks ‘You never listen’ and ‘Wait for nothing’ and Craig was superbly supported by the backing vocals on Lee and Sam. The band weren’t at all effected by the crowd size and ‘drink it up’ saw the audience screaming back the chorus. Ending the night with ‘Wish you were here,’ the band ended the night in style with a excellent instrumental solo for the final few minutes and left the stage to rapturous applause and chants of ‘Skinny Pigs na na na.’

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The Nanateas

The Only Alternatives

Skinny Pigs

Ghost Trains, Ghost Trains and Rollercoasters

Review by Danny Hill

It seemed Halloween came about a week too early as I was handed an album to review following a chance meeting during a cold and dark night commuting from Manchester this week; a band known quite ominously as Ghost Trains.

Ghost Trains are vocalists and acoustic noodlers Tim Ellis and Elijah Wolfenheart, and according to their MySpace page the band - then minus guitarist Wolfenheart - were set to call it a day last year, but now they’re back with a new line-up and new material. The result is thus: two new songs, Where Lovers Die and Breathe Again, and more on the way, all recorded in Tim’s studio, Bad Apple, in Hanley.

Last year Ghost Trains recorded a 9 track album entitled Ghost Trains and Rollercoasters, which is one of the albums I have here. Considering their new direction of late the old material might seem somewhat redundant for a review, so excuse the epigrammatic.

The album opens with a few sinister arpeggios before bursting into fierce rhythm and Ellis’s macabre lyrics, which sets the tone for the entire record.

Listening to a folk record can be a dreary business when done wrong, its horizontally inclined acoustic ambience is not exactly a recipe for those looking for a pre-clubbing pick-me-up. However, what defines this album is its hybrid tendencies to infiltrate folk’s close-cousin genres of pop and soft-rock. Close your eyes, sit back and let the music do the rest. Whereas Terrible Man and Time doesn’t quite hit the stoned-majesty of the album’s opener Ease Your Mind, by the time Mocking Bird arrives at track 5 the album comes into its own, and probably my favourite off the collection. Shooting Star, opening with synths and heavy basslines, makes it even better.

Ellis’s vocals offer a distinctive range, coursing easily from soft to almost stadium-rock proportions. His wailing recalls Paul Draper to mind, and that can only be a good thing. In fact, with their lilting melodies and atmospherics, its macabre-dwelling lyrics and ambience, if you can imagine what Mansun’s Attack of the Grey Lantern would sound like if stripped down to its bare acoustic bones, therein lies the essence of Ghost Trains. If there's one thing about Mansun that made them great, though, it was their little idiosyncrasies, their ability to laugh at themselves and their subject matter. Maybe, just maybe, Ghost Trains take themselves a little too seriously?

Silent Whisper lowers the tone, however, dreary and slightly pretentious, and probably the worst track on the album. Lying Awake is only slightly better, but the album’s saving grace comes in the last track, Cool End To Summer; simplistically endearing, a subtle creature that will sonically creep its way into your consciousness.

At a hair over 35 minutes Ghost Trains and Rollercoasters is short and sweet, but not entirely filling. A small selection of party snacks for a cluster of friends perhaps. But all good things have to start somewhere, right? And this brings me back to Ghost Train’s recently recorded songs.

The new guy, Elijah Wolfenheart, is a concept all his own: not a bad songsmith himself, at all, and armed with picking skills to make Nick Drake blush. When two talents like these get together it can go other one or two ways. Luckily for Ghost Trains the musical marriage has worked out beautifully. Where Lovers Die, easily the pair’s best track, combine their skills exceptionally, from the melodious Simon and Garfunkel duelling to the harmonious singing. Ellis’s voice sounds even better for it, too. Breathe Again somehow demonstrates the same qualities but, quite cleverly, doesn’t fall into the same trap as sounding grudgingly similar to its predecessor, as a lot of the songs on the album do.

Both songs are available to listen to from their website and their MySpace pages. The duo, along with the band, are currently adding new tracks to their impressive couple. The album will be entitled When I Was Still Alive. If you fancy something a little different, a little calming, then I thoroughly recommend you pay them a visit.

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Ghost Trians

Amateur Assassins: Pioneer Abnormalities

Article by Robbie Dennison


Once upon a time in Stoke, there was a nice thing called the Music Room. Of a Saturday you could get the bus up to Stockton Brook and spend a day drinking tea and browsing the most eclectic and exciting small record shop you're likely to find this side of reality. The Music Room also put on regular nights at the Talbot Hotel in Stoke town, which were the sort of thing that you wouldn't think could happen in "this sort of place".

Yet they did, with a range of bands including anti-folk heroes like Kimya Dawson, US alternative figureheads Of Montreal and downright great local acts too. It was at the Music Room that I first noticed the emergence of the guitar-driven, mazey-jazzy-spazzout sound as purveyed by Amateur Assassins. Maybe I was behind the times and all the kids with better shoes had been playing this sort of things for years, but I found it all pretty intriguing.

Around that time, and since then, places like Manchester and Nottingham seem to have become something of a stronghold for this sort of music. I've always thought the danger associated with it, and what sets apart good examples from bad, is the ability to vary the textures and feel of tracks (varying tempos certainly aren't a problem).

This album from Amateur Assassins manages that, with the first track Morphine Pupilus initially reminiscent of industrial electronica. We are soon lead back into more familiar clean, jazz picking and anaphylactic vocal stylings on tracks such as Cyanide Sweet Shenanigans and Signed, Served and Sealed but crucially this is tempered by the moody instrumentalism of Dinosaur and others.

In fact, this pattern is varied regularly across the whole album. It's good to see, as being a bit of a secret pop nancy I've not always got along well with bands that stick solely to the balls-out-of-the-bath hardcore jazzout. So here it's nice to report that the more ambient tracks, or intervals or whatever you'd like to call them, make the whole a much more palatable and crucially memorable piece. It feels organic and as if the tracks were intended to sit well next to each other - a rare feat in these dark days of albums featuring five singles and seven tracks of bloated b-side filler acting as the wood shavings in this particularly bad sausage metaphore.

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Amateur Assassins

Full Moon Rising

Article by Matt Taylor

The Full Moon, in Newcastle, is due to welcome back customers to the venue on Friday, October 30, when an entertainment-packed opening weekend will begin.

The pub was a favourite spot for music fans and was on the circuit of bars associated with the indie crowd and has been much-missed for its late-night antics.

But licensee, Matt Taylor, is vowing to bring the pub back to its former glory, as well as capitalising on previous strengths, a year almost to the day since it mysteriously closed last year.

Matt has reinstalled a stage, and is hoping to turn the Full Moon into one of the city’s leading live music venues, as well as offering discerning customers cask ales and ciders, plus several draught continental lagers.

On Friday, the opening night will feature two leading local bands performing original material, plus acoustic guitarist Gareth Powell doing his quirky versions of popular indie and classic tunes. After the music played by a resident DJ will go on until 2am with indie and rock music into the early hours. Doors will be open from seven o’clock and the bands are on from nine, with a two pound charge for entry.

To continue with the party, the next day, October 31, will feature a Halloween party, with magician Ben Cardall doing ‘spooky’ close-up magic, a tarot reader, acoustic music from Haley Strangelove, indie/rock tunes from the DJ, all in a location done up in a style befitting a horror film set. It is free entry until 11pm and two pounds thereafter.

Matt hopes that the opening weekend will be the start of great times to come. He said:
“I was a loyal regular of the Full Moon for a good while until it closed down. I was absolutely gutted when I went out in Newcastle this time last year, dressed up in a Halloween get-up, and when we got to the Moon, it was shut.

“We are going to start off with live music on two nights: Chilled Out Wednesdays with a regular list of amazing local acoustic musicians, and Fridays featuring a range of diverse originals bands followed by DJ SweetJayne who used to be on the decks before the pub closed last year. Then on Saturdays we will have two alternating resident DJs with a slightly different feel than on a Friday.
“Eventually I also want to bring back the old open mike acoustic nights. I remember going to them years ago and they were some of the best of their kind.

“I know the Moon has been sorely missed, so I hope we will make a lot of people happy by doing what we’re doing. And if anyone has any ideas of how we can do things better, our ears are wide open to suggestions.”

The Full Moon opens on Friday, October 30, and entry on the night will cost £2. To keep up with what is on the agenda for coming weeks at the venue, join the Facebook group “We’re Bringing Back the Full Moon".