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EARS GOOD & MOUTH BAD
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:: Butler Williams
:: Lisa-Marie Glover :: Alex Kirby :: Daniel Rossall ::
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08 April 2008 / The Met / Bury (mcr)
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By JA
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Another night down in Automatic for some wining and dining (the latter being a little bit of an expensive gamble) and of course for those with an unforgiving musical palate, it is of course The Winelight Club.
No as-it happens updates this time though as Automatics Wi-Fi was broken and even my clichéd advice to ‘turn it (the modem) off and on again’ was largely ignored by the luddites in charge.
This weeks carefully curated selection comes mainly from the north and begins with Lancashire’s very own DANIEL ROSSALL. To begin with his jazzy off the wall guitar chords and brisk uplifting vocal sound quite rich if not a little bit too flambouyant. Yet, as if to silence doubting Thomas’s like me, he wheels out “Translucent”, a mellow, haunting and accomplished piece of song writing and singing. His tracks on MySpace over-egg matters a little, but live and with just his acoustic Rossall is a very sound proposition.
Having driven all the way from Whitby and contemplating the drive back, ALEX KIRBY asks “How’s your dinner?..”. There’s silence, but in my head I’m screaming that it’s not very good at all – an icebreaker from the very witty and quite charming Mr Kirby. He’s armed with the sound of a Steinbeck flophouse country folk soundtrack, grounded with rock and roll roots. At times there’s this solid Western theme, but Kirby can veer into themed visions of the 60’s, as well as summon up the very best in bar room tunes. When he’s at his mellowest he’s maybe at his most striking and powerful too. Something of a treasure here.
LISA MARIE GLOVER is from Manchester and comes equipped with her brow beaten, spacious brand of folk. When she’s on song, her crystal vocals swoop like ghosts and on reflection it’s ironic that most of her material is quite haunting but a little long winded. “This song is about arseholes…” proclaims Glover before feverishly explaining that it’s about bad people rather than a part of the anatomy. A young woman with sparkle and some much appreciated grit, the songs themselves need trimming and reshuffling a bit for me.
BUTLER WILLIAMS have been reviewed in this organ beforehand and despite an indifferent (perhaps unfair) reaction to their demo some time ago, the live equation is nothing less than a revelation. As previously reported by MM’s very own Meg V, this duo do look a little unlikely but their sound is that found at the cutting edge of modern Mancunian acoustica. “Got no job but I got leads..” goes one line almost like a calling card, as Chris Butler and Noel Williams demonstrate that they are purveyors of great vocals and some damn impressive guitar work too. Witty, beautiful and adventurous are terms that you’d expect to find on a dating website, but Butler Williams are literally wearing the T-Shirt. Well not literally, but they do wheel out a mini glockenspiel on “Only A Few” and of course the now famously reported Theremin. There’s a song about getting a good kicking at a Withington Kebab shop but it's sound tracked by a remarkable timbre and cocktail of sounds that conjure up more flavours than a fine red wine; the soundtrack to Tales From The Riverback 2008; Damien Rice on Hathersage Road; Badly Drawn Boy in Tescos; The Smiths if they had been sponsored by Takemine. Just make one up – it doesn’t matter really, as with all good music, the tunes do the talking with “You’re My Star” being just one good example. Ones to watch - and I’ll certainly be doing that again.
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Resources:
The Winelight Club
Daniel Rossall
Alex Kirby
Lisa Marie Glover
Butler Williams
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Eight Legs..
Plasticines..
Marble Valley..
Husky Rescue..
The Irrepressibles..
Vampire Weekend..
Ian Dury..
You MeAtSix..
First Aid Kit..
Yeti Lane..
Lets Go To War..
Biffy Clyro..
Thomas Dybdahl..
Simian Mobile Disco..
Charlotte Gainsbourg..
Is Tropical..
Sub Focus..
Maps..
Standard Fare..
The Hush Now..
LoneLady..
Anna Kashfi..
The Chameleons..
Gary Fulton..
StateDancer..
Airship..
Jo Rose..
Delphic..
Hurts..
Delphic..
Codeine Velvet Club..
Twizzle..
The Hush Now..
Daniel Land And The Modern Painters..
Dead Confederate..
Anthony Harris..
The Loungs..
Ex Wives..
Heads We Dance..
The Bambinos..
Lost Prophets..
Kid Harpoon..
Slow Club..
Basement Jaxx..
Quartershade..
The Duke & The King..
Straight Lines..
Spectrum 7..
Dan Lyth..
Beans On Toast..
Thea Gilmore..
Bicycle Thieves..
Run Toto Run..
Roy Smiles..
Danny Mahon..
Hayabusa..
The Mekkits..
Lazy Two..
Lifeless..
The Marder..
Amateur Assassins..
Husky Rescue..
Asobi Seksu..
Arrows Of Love..
Blue Roses..
The Twees..
French For Cartridge..
The Drums..
Hammer No More the Fingers..
New Education..
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SET THE CONTROLS......
PIGEONS FLY OFF ROUND THE COUNTRY...
YET MORE NEW DATES ANNOUNCED...
FRIDAY "FRIENDS OF MANCHESTER" ACADEMY 3 GIG POSTPONED...
TWISTED WHEEL GET THEIR FAC RIGHT...
MANCHESTER ICONS BACK ON...
IN CONVERSATION...
MODERN ENGLISH IS HERE...
SET YOUR ALARM CLOCK NOW......
DINGO RETRO...
FRIENDS OF MANCHESTER - WHAT, WHERE, WHEN...
BACK TO THE TOP...
HOT VOLTAGE...
A DIFFERENT STYLE OF PAINTER...
MANCHESTER'S NEWEST POP STARS ON THE ROAD AGAIN...
FRIENDS OF MANCHESTER UPDATE - LAST CHANCE FOR TENNER TICKETS...
MANCHESTER'S QUEER NOISE ...
STANDING IN THE WAY OF CONTROL ...
WINTER / SPRING JAZZ AT BAND ON THE WALL...
ARFICEDEN TAKE ON JANUARY...
WOTGODFORGOT SPRING OFFENSIVE...
WOTGODFORGOT SPRING OFFENSIVE - SECOND WAVE...
POP ART...
2010 STARTS HERE...
THIS SHOULD SCARE THE ORANGE PEOPLE...
J C CLARKE HASN'T BEEN KNIGHTED - HE SHOULD BE, BUT FOR NOW HERE'S SOME TOUR INFO...
TWISTED WHEEL TAKE ON 2010 WITH TOUR AND ALBUM...
LOADS MORE FRIENDS!...
EDITORIAL: WHY I DID WHAT THEY TOLD ME...
FAUST COME FAUST SERVED (sorry...)...
CHRISTMAS CRACKERS...
A DAY OUT WITH FRIENDS...
AIR CAV CHRISTMAS GIG: WIN TICKETS!...
DELPHIC WELCOME THE NEW DECADE...
MM RECOMMENDS: A GREAT CHRISTMAS PRESENT FOR ANY MANCUNIAN MUSIC FAN...
EVERYTHING EVERYTHING SIGN ON THE DOTTED.....
OCEANSIZE - * MANCHESTER GIG CANCELLED* - ...
RUBY LOUNGE DECEMBER: JOSH, FRAZER AND A NYE HOUSE PARTY!...
BLOWOUT'S AUTUMN OF CONTENT...
MUSEUM SEEKS JOY DIVISION ARTEFACTS...
MANCHESTER URBAN ARTISTS BUILD A MUSICAL FUTURE ...
RADAR RELEASE...
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