Named after the debut single by Teenage Fanclub.
This blog is all about being a music lover in Glasgow; reviews, interviews, memories, old faves, new discoveries (past and present), playlists and more. Thanks for visiting - I hope you discover something amazing you have never heard before, or that you rediscover an old favourite.
Regular features/playlists; Never Ending Mixtape / Cover Version of the Month/ Trust Me.
Insta - @everythingflowsglasgow
My Never Ending Mixtape smashes through the 1,500 song mark with ease. My Spotify playlist is up to 1,515 songs, coming in at 100 hours and 52 minutes of music.
Thanks if you have taken the time to dive in for a listen. I hope you have discovered or rediscovered something you love. And special thanks if you are one of the 142 people who follow the playlist.
The latest additions include;
Just out - new songs from Phoebe Bridgers, Neil Young, The Orielles, Kestrel, Fiona Apple,
Recent discoveries - Some gems from Moloko after I tuned into a #timstwitterlisteningparty; I have totally fallen for Phoebe Bridgers and her projects with Better Oblivion Community Centre and boygenius; Bernard Sumner singing with 808 State
Rediscoveries - Les Fleurs is just perfection, what a song! Jumbo by Underworld after watching their Glastonbury set. And what about Bowie opening his 2000 set with Wild Is The Wind, his voice soaring with ease?!
Search for Everything Flows Never Ending Mixtape on Spotify or click below. Read on for a full list of the latest additions.
My Weakness Is You - Edwin Starr
I'll Never Fall In Love Again - Bobby Freeman
In My Hour Of Darkness - Gram Parsons
Charley's Girl - Lou Reed
Did I Say - Teenage Fanclub
Blackmail - Candi Staton
Les Fleurs - Minnie Riperton
Grey and Blue - Kestrels with J Mascis
Forever More - Moloko
The Only Ones - Moloko
How Can I Tell You - Yusuf / Cat Stevens
We Don't Smoke It No More - Neil Young
For Her - Fiona Apple
Didn't Know What I Was In For - Better Oblivion Community Centre
Walking On A Strong - Matt Berninger and Phoebe Bridgers
Scott Street - Phoebe Bridgers
Spanish Heart - 808 State with Bernard Sumner
Bobbi's Second World (Confidence Man Remix) - The Orielles
Me and My Dog - boygenius
Kyoto - Phoebe Bridgers
Disillusion - Badly Drawn Boy
Pissing In The Wind - Badly Drawn Boy Jumbo - Underworld
Nylon Strung - Underworld
8 Ball - Underworld
Halycon and On and On - Orbital
Star Guitar - Chemical Brothers
Chime - Orbital
Garden Song - Phoebe Bridgers
Little Trouble - Better Oblivion Community Centre
Way Down Now - World Party
Think! - The Jasmine Minks
Wild Is The Wind - David Bowie
Absolute Beginners - David Bowie
Ah the Barrowland roar, I don't hear it as often as I once did as corporate venues like the Academy and the ABC have infiltrated the Glasgow gig scene. The ABC isn't a bad venue....but the Academy is a soulless, shi**hole of a venue on the southern side of Glasgow that I only venture to when absolutely necessary. The fact that I haven't bought a ticket for The Charlatans, one of my all-time fave bands, in December speaks volumes. I hate the Academy, any band that books it over the Barrowland has a soulless or greedy booking agent.....or one that has never experienced the best venue in the world. Mix that with the best crowd and you have something unique.
Of course bands need to make money, but I think of the bands that have broken through over the last decade or so that haven't experienced the Barrowland Ballroom.... it is their loss.
On to Tuesday 15th August 2017, an incredible 13-years since The Flaming Lips had last played our fair city. Oh how they made up for lost time.
Opening with Race For The Prize in a blaze of technicolour glory, confetti cannons, lights and smoke, they poured their heart and soul into song and performance and they were matched by the crowd.
Yoshimi was next, singer Wayne Coyne stretched for the high notes, willed on by the Barras crowd who were behind him from the off. This 56-year old was riding a unicorn round the legendary ballroom by the third song in, his lysergic pop and vision for a show was being lapped up, audience and band were one.
There is nothing like a Barrowland roar. Any band lucky enough to experience it will never forget it, there were several tonight and The Flaming Lips were quick to acknowledge it, stating that this would go down as a legendary show.
There were plenty of reasons for the Glasgow crowd to be responding in voice; Coyne is a frontman who wears his heart on his sleeve and songs from the seminal Soft Bulletin and Yoshimi albums have melted hearts worldwide. Throw in acidic pop like the Yeah Yeah Yeah Song and new song How? amongst others with a light and stage show like no other then you had something truly remarkable and special taking place on a Tuesday night in Glasgow. This was no show, it was a happening, a celebration; punk, pop, acid....these freaks were out to party.
Their cover of Bowie's Space Oddity was one of many highlights with Coyne encased in an inflatable bubble for the start of the song before climbing out over the audience to a small stage in the middle. It was memorable and euphoric. The crowd were already on Coyne's side, now they were ready to go to war.
A Spoonful Weighs A Ton was nothing less than mesmerising but the encore was something else. A piano rendition of personal fave Waitin' For A Superman was heart wrenching but the closer of Do You Realize? brought tears to many eyes as people hugged friends and punched the air in life affirming delight.
What a special f**ked up band. You don't get 'em like that these days.
When is the last time you danced? I mean really danced? Like when you go for it, do the whole big handclaps, hands in the air, singing all the lyrics type dance?
For some people it will have been last Saturday night in the Tim Peaks Diner at Electric Fields when my friend Phil Redfearn played an incredible 70-minute set under the guise of the Everything Flows DJ'S.
The set started with a nice little bit of Bowie before taking in a wildly eclectic mix of disco, funk, punk, rock n roll and soul. It was pretty much 70-minutes of euphoric vocal led upbeat music.
The highlight for me was Atomic by Blondie. The place went absolutely crazy. Then there was the brave choice of Relight My Fire....no not Take That, but a sensational 8-minute Dimitri From Paris reworking of the Dan Hartman and Loretta Holloway version - it sounded incredible. With people starting to head out to see the headliners, the set ended with Primal Scream.
See below for the songs played and a link to the entire mix.
Everything Flows DJ's are available for hire - pubs, clubs, gigs, parties, weddings....
Memory Of A Free Festival (outro) -David Bowie Backstabber - The O'Jays Everybody Dance - Chic I Wanna Be Your Love (live) - Prince Boogie Oogie Oogie - A Taste Of Honey Getting Away With It (re-edit) - Electronic Love Will Tear Us Apart (Drop Out Orchestra mix) - Joy Division Rock The Casbah (re-edit) - The Clash September - Earth, Wind and Fire Dance To The Music - Sly and The Family Stone Get Off Of My Cloud - The Rolling Stones Atomic (12-inch) - Blondie Relight My Fire (Dimitri from Paris remix) - Dan Hartman featuring Loretta Holloway Ain't No Mountain High Enough (re-edit) - Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell Movin' On Up (extended intro re-edit) - Primal Scream
Sonny Marvello celebrate their 10th anniversary as a band with a show at Stereo on Thursday 26th May.
Here are 10 amazing memories I have of the band as a fan, manager and friend;
1. Seeing them for the first time
Back in November 2008 I went to the aftershow party of Glasgow versus Cancer at Sloans in Glasgow City Centre. I was rather drunk and stumbled into one of the upstairs rooms where a number of bands were scheduled to play. Kassidy (who went on to be signed) were on and I was reminded of Mr Big!
I stumbled into another room where Will Sergeant from Echo and the Bunnymen was playing some cool sounds and then back to the live room to see who was on next.
The performance I witnessed may well be my favourite ever from an unsigned act in Glasgow. The five piece smashed it out the park. They had a gaggle of loyal friends and fans down the front but more importantly they got others who had never heard of them, never mind hearing their music, dancing.
They had a song that sounded a little like Girls and Boys by Blur, echoes of The Beatles and Bowie, they were sensational. They looked the part, dressed in vintage blazers and the singer had a red top hat on.
I asked the bassist between songs who the band were called but I couldn’t make it out. I think I asked him at least 3 more times including once on the stairs afterwards.
The next day I woke with a stinking hangover (although not as bad as the one my friend Wigs had when he woke up on my sofa) and I couldn’t remember the bands name, or find any trace of them in the listings for the aftershow online.
Finally I tracked them down...the band were called Sonny Marvello. And I wanted to manage them. I sent them a message on MySpace to talk about how I was blown away.
2. Meeting Stephen Farrell for the first time.....and then the rest of the band
In April 2009 I met with singer and songwriter Stephen Farrell in the 13th Note and we shared several pints of Stella to discuss music and the bands history. The band were prolific, they’d self funded a trip to New York City for a week and had an incredible time, winning best unsigned act at a prestigious festival. They’d played the popular Burlesque night Club Noir and smashed it out the park, they’d set up their own Sssshhhh club night - kidnapping people and taking them to secret locations in a bus, they’d gone close to being signed but like so many had been f**ked over by people promising them the earth and failing to deliver.
They wanted to release music. (check their BANDCAMP page as they have put up loads of old demos)
Within a couple of hours I had scribbled together a plan and we were a team.
After winning Stephen over we then arranged further beers with Mick Caldwell (guitar), Craig Douglas (bass), Mike Walker (keys and synths) and Michael Bryans (drums). We met at Bar Soba in Mitchell Lane and got quite pissed (again) before heading back to Sloans where i had invites to a showcase by a band called Sugar Crisis that producer John McLaughlin had somehow got signed!
They were terrible but I was keen to network. When I told the band where I was off to it was like a red flag to a bull. I found out that John had messed them around a little.
The band came along and waltzed into the venue. Stephen found John and called him something unprintable in this blog. As much as I respect what John has achieved in the music industry, I thought this was great - PUNK ROCK!
3. The Oxfam Basement photo shoot
First things first, I wanted to get some band promo shots done that highlighted their style and image. I knew Andrew who managed (and still does) Oxfam Music and Byres Road and I had been down into their basement and being the geeky kind of music guy I am, I thought ‘this would be great for a photo shoot’.
My friend Dave took some great shots of the band checking records and goofing around. It was my first experience of the Sonny Marvello gang mentality. They were in a different zone, bouncing off each other, ripping the piss, generally just being sound guys.
I love the photo’s. The band just looked and sounded great, I had really fallen for them.
4. The Stereo shows
The band wanted to get some money together to record with Brian O’Neill at Cava Studios in Glasgow - not cheap! I asked them how many people they could realistically get to a Glasgow show. They said 200 no bother so I went out and booked Stereo for a show in early July.
They packed the place out and we easily cleared £500 after rewarding the support acts with some good money.
We rebooked Stereo for September and all of a sudden the band had more than £1,000 in their account to head into Cava. I think it was at the second show that a fellow Castlemilk band called The Cinnamons (led by Gerry Cinnamon) supported. The atmosphere was incredible, everyone was totally up for it, it was a celebration of music and art from Castlemilk.
The area of the city has a rough reputation. Through Sonny Marvello I have met some amazing people, all based around Castlemilk Youth Complex - an amazing facility that offers kids in the area an opportunity into the arts.
Sonny Marvello were super tight; Stephen patrolled the stage, hit all the notes and gave it 100%, Mick Caldwell was the best guitarist I had (and have) ever seen on the unsigned band circuit, Craig Douglas held it all together with funky bass and amazing harmonies, Michael Bryans created beautiful beats and Mike Walker played keys and synths to lift things even higher,
5. Easy Boys/We’re All Cruel 7-inch single
A fan of the band ran a blog called Bluesbunny and wanted to start a label. He liked the recordings from Cava and so pressed up some delicious 7-inch singles on gatefold vinyl.
The feeling I had of getting the test pressing and then the final copies was incredible. Easy Boys was the song I thought sounded like Blur. It was total euphoric pop.
We’re All Cruel was epic (and the band went on to make it even better) later in life for their Sparks to Fire album.
6. The Pull Me Up EP
The next release was the Pull Me Up EP. The review above captures it pretty perfectly. Then there was time for another photo shoot with Dave, this time in a field on the outskirts of my hometown of Carluke. It was another great day with the band....being a band and we had a great time.
7. Charlie Sheen
Stephen is writing songs and coming up with ideas all the time. In an ideal world he would be a songwriter based in New York or London.
Around the time of Charlie Sheen’s meltdown with drugs and orgies I sent Stephen a text and set him the challenge of writing a song called Charlie Sheen - You’re Living My Dream
Stephen responded the next day and published a film of him, Craig and Mick singing it acoustically into an inflatable crayon!
The lyrics were clever and playful, I particularly like;
I saw you once in my hometown, scoring some Charlie
8. The 100 club - Fire Went Out and the Ruby Tuesday’s Vintage Store secret show
I was keen to keep momentum going and came up with the idea of a fanclub to raise funds. For £10, people would get a mini acoustic album (on a CD that looked like vinyl), a badge and access to a secret gig. Early crowdfunding!
So another £1,000 was raised.
The mini-acoustic album was recorded in just one day and features my favourite Sonny Marvello song, the absolutely stunning Fire Went Out. The closing section still sends shivers down my spine. I think it shows just how close they are as a band and friends and how supremely talented they are.
The secret show mentioned as part of the 100 club was to be held at a vintage clothes store above a tea room in Bath Street following a talk and performance at the Apple Store surrounding the use of Apple products at Rocket Science studios and for filming the above Fire Went Out video.
Everyone invited followed me up Buchanan Street and along Bath Street to the ‘secret’ location. It was hilarious. Federico (who owned the now closed store) was the perfect host. We got in loads of booze and the band played an acoustic set. Kevin Harper, friend and fan of the band, also ended up playing an impromptu set from the roof outside the shop!
Good, good times with good, good people.
9. The Loch Lomond Festival
The band were keen to keep things going and I was also keen to make sure the band were a little different. Rather incredibly (considering their songs and ability) they were overlooked for festivals in favour of bands deemed a little cooler.
Being the creative and determined guy that I am, I thought ‘I’ll organise our own festival’, so I did!
My original idea of booking a campsite was cancelled as I worried about the weather and the logistics involved. Instead Craig and I drove up to a youth hostel on the banks of Loch Lomond to meet the manager and agreed to book out the whole hostel for a Saturday night in October for a festival.
Tickets were £40. For that you got a roof over your head, Sonny Marvello, Model Jet Pilot, Kevin Harper and entertainment by rising magician Ryan Davidson. Oh and i DJ’d long into the night.
What a day and night it was! Check in was at 2pm and drinks were flowing shortly after. Someone took a dip in the loch at midnight, there was the mystery of the dump in the sink (don’t ask!), Sonny Marvello somehow blagged a laser light show and smoke machine, Kevin Harper was sensational and we had a great laugh talking music and film, Model Jet Pilot rocked and everyone had an amazing time.
10. Rocket Science and the Sparks To Fire album
All the momentum and all the fun we had was incredible. It really was a great time. After all the fun there was a different kind of momentum as the band got down to the serious business of recording an album at Rocket Science studios with Ross Hamilton and Michael Bannister.
It took a while! But the results were incredible.
Time moved on and I suggested (foolishly looking back) that perhaps a change in band name would be good for the band. So the band name changed to Flash Talk for the Sparks to Fire album.
The album is incredible! It really is; check it here - now newly (and rightly) available as Sonny Marvello.
Going into Rocket Science Studios to hear the songs being played back was a different kind of excitement and fun. They were f**king good. Tiny Little Sparks was played on Radio 1 only days after being completed.
Check the videos for Miracle and Run to the Horizon below. I/We should have done more with them.
Life kind of caught up with the dream of being a band - quite a lot of crazy stuff happened around that time. I still hope that this album will be picked up in some shape or form one day. Ripe for TV, film and advertising.
Making friends
My best memory though is of making friends. I had some great nights out; Stephen and Hayley’s wedding, Beatles guitar band, the Buff Club, various bars and venues, the Complex for Craig’s 30th and I still play 7-a-sides most weeks with Craig and Walker. All of the band (and I) have experienced and shared highs and devastating lows in our time as friends. That’s life I guess...and it is a little easier to get by with a little help from your friends.
Sonny Marvello may have a new album out next year. Stephen has also recorded some solo stuff under the guise of...Stephen Solo and I’ll be blogging about that in the very near future.
It’s been great looking back at some of the achievements, the music and thinking about what could have been, what should have been.
The band play Stereo on Thursday 26th May.
Be great to see you there.
The band are also looking to the future and should have a new album out next year. The first side was recorded over 3-days at a rented house in the countryside, the second side is being recorded at present.
Beck does Bowie, boy does Beck do Bowie. Beck does Bowie with a 157 piece orchestra. Beck conducts them throughout, spinning on stage with his acoustic guitar, a finger wag here, a gesture with his arms there.
Listen with your headphones on when you get to the video below.
The start is incredible as Beck wanders around conducting the orchestra and generating noises that switch from your left ear to your right (microphones were suspended above). This goes on for an intoxicating 3-minutes before Beck and practically everyone burst into life with the classic Sound and Vision riff.
Beck's Dad conducts the orchestra which contained 2 choirs, xylophones, Chinese percussion, vintage electronic equipment, marching band drummers, samba players, heavy metal guitarists and loads, loads more.
There is brilliant bit where everything stops leaving Beck strumming his acoustic guitar backed only by handclaps and the choir. It then builds up to a collage of noise before Beck returns the song to something that wouldn't sound out of place on his Morning Phase album. Beck then takes things on a funky cinematic trip for the duration of the song during which he really stamps his mark on the song, it absolutely soars, it is brilliant to watch and to listen.
Waiting, for the gift of sound and vision
It is 9-minutes of magic, made possible by the Lincoln Car Company who told Beck he could do something with no limitations or restrictions.
Beck shows that like Bowie, he has the gift of sound and vision. Astounding.
What a night! The cheer that reverberated around the 02 Academy in Glasgow last night when Nile Rodgers and Chic finally paused between songs, following their classic Le Freak, was among the loudest I have ever heard in 22-years of gig going in Glasgow. And it didn't stop, it went on again, again and again. Nile smiled and looked genuinely amazed. The cheer came back again and Nile asked his keyboard player to take a picture of the crowd.
@murrayeaston My ears are still ringing from the ROAR of the crowd! True Fact!
11h11 hours ago
The Academy was a complete sell-out and Nile strolled on to the stage alone to chat to to the crowd and introduce the video for Chic's new single I'll Be There, an up temp disco beauty that plays on the old Sister Sledge classic Got To Love Somebody.
Nile then returned with his exceptional band and got everyone straight into the groove with an amazing opening trio of Everybody Dance, Dance Dance Dance (Yowsah Yowsah Yowsah) and I Want Your Love!
The crowd responded by dancing, clapping, waving their hands in the air and generally having the best Monday night ever. It didn't let up!
Nile announced he would be playing songs he had written and produced over the years and kicked off with a Diana Ross double - the blissful I'm Coming Out and the exquisite Upside Down. This was disco heaven, Nile patrolling the stage playing and feeling his guitar; letting us hear and see some of the best disco funk riffs of all time.
A medley containing the likes of He's The Greatest Dancer (one of my highlights of the night), We Are Family, Madonna's Like A Virgin, Lost In Music and Duran Duran's Notorious had the crowd in raptures.
This was a musical lesson; short verse, huge choruses hammered home again and again, raising it up, taking out the beat and bringing it all back in again. All the time underpinned by Rodgers unique guitar playing.
The two female singers were brilliant and Nile took time to thank them and all of his band.
Thinking Of You is one of my all-time favourites and it was a real hands in the air moment while the cover of Carly Simon's Why was superb.
I'll Be There is the new single and Nile told us about how he was diagnosed with cancer 5-years ago and how he decided he wanted to let the doctors do what they do and he would do what he does - make music. I'll Be There was a highlight, as was the delicious Get Lucky, Nile's single with Daft Punk that gave him a whole new audience.
The set was all one big highlight but the closing quartet of My Forbidden Lover, an outstanding romp through Bowie's Let's Dance, the aforementioned Le Freak and the closer Good Times really raised the roof, with Rodgers inviting people on stage to dance.
This was a special night with Rodgers blown away by the audience response - this was a Monday night; he should try a Saturday night at the Barrowlands!
I bought some cracking new albums in January - but one in particular really stood out. Matador by Gaz Coombes. I never expected to be buying an album from Gaz Coombes in 2015 but I was blown away when I heard lead single 20/20 on 6 Music. The album features inventive Radiohead/Massive Attack style riffs, songs that swoop and soar, huge choruses, stunning production, arrangements and vocals. The cover and the song The Girl Who Fell To Earth tip more than a nod to Bowie.
I wasn't the only one to fall for Matador. My good friend Craig from the band Flash Talk was also on to it and he asked if he could write a guest blog on it. So here it is...
Guest blog by Craig Douglas
The fucking 90's!!
A time of endless possibility.
A time before smart phones.
A time when you had to wear shirts ten times too big for you because they didn't make cool clothes for teenagers.
A time when the NME seemed to bring news of a new music revolution weekly.
A time for hero's: Blur, Oasis, Nirvana, Radiohead
A time for pure shite: Northen Uproar, Kula Shaker and fucking Menswear!
And a time for Supergrass. Supergrass where right up my street. They where young, free they kept their teeth nice and clean and they produced some truly great pop singles over a period of 17 years:
Alright , Moving, Pumping on your Stereo, Richard III.. all classics and there is a lot more where that came from...Just like Queen or the Who though, their greatest hits collection is far superior to any of the albums they have produced.
When they split in 2010 I thought we'd sadly seen the last of one of Britain's most naturally talented frontmen and after hearing his first solo album Here comes the Bombs in 2012 which was decent at best (White Noise was a highlight), I was of the opinion that we wouldn't ever hear a great album from Gaz Coombes.
With Matador, his second solo album, Gaz Coombes has (I'm a big enough boy to admit this) proved me wrong. Opening track Buffalo switches from sparse piano led verse to a menacing chorus filled with yearning lyrics, ethereal backing vocals and thunderous drums. A compelling start which leads into one of the albums (and the artist's) highlights, 20/20 is an epic piece of songwriting with a truly soulful vocal and a melody that Brian Wilson's dad would give him a slap for.. a total journey of a record with the perfect mix of light and shade.
The English Ruse repetitive riff and rhythm is irresistible with sci-fi lyrics, a middle section out of nowhere filled with angelic voices and a guitar solo that sounds as if it's being played by a Martian in a K-HOLE! It's the audio equivalent of inter dimensional travel.
Next up is The Girl Who Fell To Earth... What a title! How has no one come up with that before?! My first reaction was "You bastard" but it's hard to stay mad at him once you hear this song.
First you cry and then you laugh, you're like a circle cut in half
A truly beautiful three and a half minute pop song that Ray Davies or McCartney would have been proud of.
Track 5 in my opinion should always be a belter, it's a hallowed position on any album and Mr Coombes clearly agrees. Detroit has a scuzzy swagger to it, a sort of lackadaisical menace that is intoxicating. There is a moment at the end of this track after a brief respite of the beat where Gary says "OK" and the beat kicks back in....For some reason this really floats my fucking boat and I find myself pressing repeat to listen to this wee magic moment over and over again.
As you may have gleaned.. I love this album with a passion which has been reserved for 'Arcade Fire' of late. You could put the first 5 songs on this album up against the first 5 songs of all the LP's in Q fucking magazines(monthly) 100 GREATEST ALBUMS OF ALL TIME, they would stand proudly next to the best of them and tower above the majority.
The rest of the album is just as strong but I'm not going to sit here and describe the whole fucking thing to you.. I will say that the penultimate track To the Wire is seismic and the closing lyric of the title track shows a man who has faced adversity and has maintained a pleasant fuck you attitude.
I'll take all the pain and the scars of war,
cause I've faced the beast and fight like a matador
With Matador it becomes apparent that Gaz Coombes is not only a great songwriter that should be cherished far beyond that Troll like,garbage pail kid Ed Sheeran but also a tremendous singer whose voice is the main instrument throughout this wonderful Album.
In my books Gaz can take his seat along side Damon Albarn and Thom Yorke as the only artistically relevant survivors of the last great musically creative period in rock and roll history. A time when men wore Wallabees. A time before internet porn. A time....
On Saturday night Lynn and I ventured into Faktory in Byres Road to see the relaunch of Flash Talk, one of the most promising new bands on the Scottish music scene.
The band had issued some teasers in early 2013, posting a couple of DIY videos that ripped scenes from classic films to tie in with their widescreen cinematic sounds. They then disappeared as quickly as they arrived, bunkering down to record an album so they were ready to fly when they launch for real in 2014.
The 5-piece opened with the incredible 'Synthesise', which, as the title might suggest, is full of huge synths and also the best guitar riffs I've heard in a while. The band are impeccably tight, yet loose with it.
'Synthesise, when I'm feeling down you sympathise'
The song breaks down beautifully at the end and there are some 3-piece harmonies for the section. 'Woah-oh, every time you touch me' section.
'Automatic' follows and takes influences from Bowie through to Kraftwerk. There is another killer breakdown towards the end.
'Automatic when I needed you, automatic when I needed you…..'
'Miracle' slows things down, all moody synths, allowing the singers stunning vocals to take centre stage. The 3-piece harmonies lift the song along with huge synths for the chorus.
The 5-piece (vocals, guitar, bass, synths and drums) play other songs that they don't introduce. One contains a section 'everybody light a fuse' and is pure brilliance. There are glances of recognition among the people in the room that they you don't come across a band like this very often.
'Land Of The Lost Cause' sears and soars. Singer Stephen Farrell has a voice that you don't get to experience very often - capable of delicate whispers, strong enough to take songs and melodies to exceptional levels.
Hooks, soaring choruses, stunning breakdowns and exceptional musicianship -keep an eye out for Flash Talk in 2014.
So this is more of a diary than a blog or review, seeing as I manage Sonny Marvello. And what a pleasure that is.
This was the slightly late launch of the bands debut single on Mteropolicana Records due to problems with mastering, pressing, delivery and the drummer going to Japan for 6-weeks.
All of that was forgotten last night when Sonny Marvello took to the stage for their first gig of 2010.
But before that, lets begin at the start of the night. Ross Hamilton AKA Rosco played a short solo set to warm up the crowd before The Cinnamons brought their American college-rock/pop influenced sounds to Stereo. Despite technical problems during their first song this was the best I have seen them. Lead singer Gerry made full use of the large stage, shimmying around to the beats and riffs produced by the rest of the band. Highlights included the single Dead Mans Shoes, Armed Robbery and a glorious Analog Man.
A soundtrack consisting of Wings, Bowie, Motown and Blur brought Sonny Marvello on to the stage before a packed and eagerly awaiting crowd. The band launched straight into debut single Easy Boys with singer Stephen Farrell working his charm on the crowd and giving it his all. The band then played new song Made of Magic for the first time. It's a poppy track that embeds itself in your head on first listen with the closing section being particularly memorable; 'M A G I C what you're made of, is magic'.
Don't Want To Be Held and Whispering Song were old favourites, with the latter drawing a particularly good crowd response before the band played another new song entitled Tiny Little Sparks. Mick Caldwell's guitar was beautiful, this is a song that Chris Martin would be proud of.
The double-a-side We're All Cruel showcased the bands songwriting ability and it sounded big enough for Hampden, never mind Stereo.
Pull Me Up is guitar pop heaven and the crowd were dancing and singing along to one of Sonny's poppiest moments. My Lover kept the crowd dancing and singing, with the band throwing in a little bit of the Bee Gee's Jive Talking for good measure.
There was no way the crowd were going to let them off without an encore and the and dutifully returned to play the excellent Love Ain't Sweet. Another stadium anthem in the making.
This was an excellent night for Sonny Marvello. The money raised will go straight into recordings as the band look to record and release regularly throughout 2010.
