Famous Villains, The Darlingtons and DJ Howla @ The Live Room, Taunton

At 7pm I strolled through the doorway of The Live Room expecting something downright bloody spectacular. I slapped down my fiver, procured a pint of cider and sat down to observe the wildlife flutter in and socialise. The bar staff were tense but visibly exited. A few photographers were doing the little dance they do, trying to get a feel for the right angles and best shots. The chemical smell of fresh paint filled the air. Everything was ready. The Live Room's opening night was underway.

Back before The Live Room, before The Perfect 5th, before the smoking ban, was Mambas Cafe and I can recall (with difficulty) a few nights of drunken bliss, sweaty moshing and loud music. Once an ideal stop for bands on their way up and down the South West, the building had a firm tradition for live music. When it closed down in 2010 it became just another empty facade on the high street, soon to be forgotten. It seemed for a while like that was it and I don't think I was alone in my relief when, two months ago, I heard it was going to be reopened by new ownership. The old layout, a bar and lounge area upstairs and a standing room in front of the stage downstairs, had been retained. The refit was swift and the design kept simple leaving more focus to the lighting and sound, the centre point of the venue. Now all that's left is the overwhelming task of reinstating its original reputation. No pressure.

Famous Villains had the honour of kicking off the night with a suitably energetic set. Travelling from Doncaster and looking a bit like Mumford and Son's rougish siblings, their upbeat Folk Rock songs, ringing chords and whiskey sodden sing-a-longs went down pretty well. After a while, they were "interrupted" as they jokingly declared, or rather swept aside by the almighty, messianic figure of Brian May as part of the promotion for the venue's opening. It's the sort of thing that Joe Strummer would have lent his support to years ago. Still, Brian will do. Cheers Brian.

For me, the real highlight of the evening was The Darlingtons, a local four piece who belted out a tight mix of sparkling guitar melodies reminiscent of The Foals coupled with the kind of melancholy you'd hear in The Editors, only with a lot more angst. At first glance, they have 'indie' oozing from every crack but their performance definitely outweighs their image. With towering distortion and warm textures, offset skilfully by some gentler moments, it was solid stuff and although their grand sound may deserve a slightly bigger venue, it would be great to have them back at some point.

After a short set of brilliant solo beatboxing from Dom Beatbox, we witnessed the return of a local DJ and legend Howla. His oldschool blend of familiar tunes with some nasty dubstep has definitely fermented well up in Bristol. Having been at the decks for years now (probably since birth) the guy knows how to throw a late night party. I left The Live Room seething with punters, doubtful that the opening night could have gone any better.

It's all too often that we recognise the value of something only when we lose it. Last year or two saw a cultural nose dive in the South West and the general public mood came down along with it. Time and time again I hear the phrase "there's nothing to do in Taunton" and I'd certainly count myself as one of the guilty. But I've come to realise that this attitude is unproductive and defeatist. We can't just sit around and expect to have it all sorted out for us. It's important for us to take charge of our local scene, now more than ever. If there aren't any decent bands around then stop complaining and start your own. We have to work hard for the things we love. Even Cheryl knows this.

Based on the variety of the line-up, The Live Room's management appear open to all styles and genres. Even its name steers clear of any particular implication and this open and diverse approach should be kept at the heart of the venue. It would be great to eventually see stand-up comedy, a poetry slam or even some kind of weird theatre production but for now, live music will do just fine. The real danger is that down the road, a lack of interest or a change of direction could turn it into just another generic club playing Radio 1's playlist on repeat for airbrushed posers all night. Like every small, sleepy town across this ailing country, Taunton needs a real venue that differs from the rest of the clubs, where the town's musicians, artists, fashionistas, poets, comedians, general eccentrics, freaks and weirdos can mix together, swap ideas, give each other support and perform their art. The Live Room will need our help to keep it this way.

So, I'll see you there.

(© Copyright 2013 Brendan Morgan)

Thought Forms - Ghost Mountain (Invada Records)

In a time when culture is collapsing, threatening the future of the arts all across The Isles, Bristol exists as a gravitational centre for any contemporary music project in the surrounding area. It seems that almost every upcoming band is ditching the rusted circuit in their local town and heading towards the bright lights and expansive gig venues. And why not? It might just be the only place left in The South West with a fortified music scene. I've been living in Taunton, Somerset for the last year and I can tell you there's nothing going on, much more than The Three B's: bingo, bars and brawling. There's a shortage of live venues to play at and very little interest or investment. Due to the present situation and particularly this kind of travesty, I feel like, down here, it might as well be some wild west ghost town with tumble weeds blowing.

So what's going on in Bristol? Yes, please tell us. We're dying for entertainment. Well, thanks to the wonders of promotion I recently discovered something. Building a reputation from their raw, powerful gigs, Thought Forms are a truly impressive kind of rock group, growing in all the right ways. Despite only three members, their sound is big, versitile and very engaging. Their second album, Ghost Mountain, retains the sonic variation of their gigs and I'll warn you now, it's not a jolly ride. Some deeply primal current runs through the record, a sort of black magic.

Ten years ago I would have thrown in the term Post Rock to describe their style but these days the phrase is peculiar, even obsolete. And the whole Doom Metal thing seems so long ago. However, you may still hear influences from Godspeed You! Black Emperor, OM and Mogwai in there. Tracks such as 'Ghost Mountain You and Me' and 'Only Hollow' (posted above), harmonious guitar riffs and melodies also recall the American Alternative scene. Their jam-based sets build up walls of distortion around the listener using a wide range of the electric guitar's experimental repertoire.

I'll admit that sometimes the droning, mystical atmospheres may turn a tad soporific but these kind of tracks never feel out of place within the whole structure. Their music is black, mournful, grand and they follow a great tradition for down-right crippling gloom. Even Portishead, the old Bristolian masters of bleakness have given their blessing. Yet a sense of tearful promise rising from the ashes was what really caught me about Thought Forms. When the record draws to a close, you can visualise those looming high rises being toppled over leaving a cloud of dust from which to begin again.

Thought Forms' Ghost Mountain is released tomorrow, 25th of Febuary on Invada Recordings.

(© Copyright 2013 Brendan Morgan)

The Mars Volta get lost in space and Dog Bite digs its teeth in...

Like a phenomenal dying galaxy, the legendary Prog Rock band The Mars Volta have imploded. Announced a few days ago by the lead singer Cedric Bixler-Zavala, he blamed his long-time musical partner, the band's lead guitarist Omar Rodriquez-Lopez, for loosing interest in the project. Their collapse came as no real surprise. The last few albums were starting to show the cracks in their set and it's been grinding downwards ever since. Their gigs lost their edge as did their creative direction but if you were to cast your mind back to their early days, you might remember why so much fuss was made about them in the first place.
Once in a while, there's music that comes along and changes you forever. The moment I first heard De-Loused in The Comatorium, their first full album released back in 2003, and when I took a bus to see them at The Brixton Academy a year later, it was all unforgettable. Never had I heard music like it; so insane, so alive, wasted, twisted, frightening, energetic, frantic. These guys were on a serious fucking trip, full of contrast that spelt danger for the faint of heart. Sometimes it would drift into ambient, atmospheric and groove driven planes, other times it was like been jerked out of a coma with an injection of Adrenalin.

It would be a crime not to give credit to their synth/keyboardist Isaiah Ikey Owens for his fundamental additions to the elaborate textures and their original drummer Jon Theadore who provided some of the most electrifying drumming I'd ever seen. For me, his departure from the band in 2006 signalled the beginning of their demise. Overall, The Mars Volta's epic mixture of wild guitar solos, visionary lyrics and complex Latin rhythms was so masterful and completely unique, it'll be a heavy task for any upcoming band to fill their shoes. Take a bow guys. Thanks the ride.

A powerful combination of the death of one of my all time favourite bands and a new musical discovery broke a lengthy holiday I was taking away from Slugs Hate Music. As one musical beast passes away, so another rises. Ahh, the circle of life... but enough bullshit, lets get on with it.
Cruising the wave of chill of Washed Out's touring success, keyboardist Phil Jones has been drawing up his own plans on the side. Pulling together a group and calling themselves Dog Bite, their particular Dream Pop style, a sort of scuzzy DIY Cocteau Twins, may come as nothing massively new but there's just something inescapably more-ish about those shimmering guitar riffs, echoing vocals and hazy synths sliced in two by a few punchy beats.
Right from the whoosh of the first few seconds and the proud emergence of their characteristic jangly guitar, 'Forever, Until' drops you into a bright, sun-kissed world. A few tracks later, 'Prettiest Pills' displays a grungy, more street level view as well as the band's more upbeat side. The excellent 'Native America' breaths new life into the second half and from then on it all seems to grow ever upwards towards the sun. The last few tracks complete the album with a underlying touch of sadness, as though the light burning so strongly through the record fades into the dark. This final glimmer is 'My Mary' and it recalls those slow, two chord riffs and low register vocals that Jesus And The Mary Chain do so well.
Velvet Changes contains eleven beautiful songs, all with the right ingredients to take its creators forwards. There's no reason that they can't stand aside other popular bands from the local Washington DC scene (Cloud Nothings to name one). It's a startling record, definitely worth a listen at the least, even though I know we're all "so busy" doing "really important" shit.

Velvet Changes is released on Carpark Records, 5th of February.

(© Copyright 2013 Brendan Morgan)