Gigs not to miss in January

Mwsog + Mowbird + Breichiau Hir @ Buffalo - 15th January - 7pm - £4
Great night of Welsh bands at Buffalo on the 15th as prog folk band Mwsog headline with the excellent Mowbird and Breichiau Hir in support.
 
Goodtime Boys + Evariste Galois + Drains @ Clwb Ifor Bach - 28th January - 7.30pm - free

The noise comes to Clwb on the 28th when the Goodtime Boys headline a night of local awesome noise rock. With Evariste Galois and Drains also playing this is sure to be a great night of noise.

Vvolves + Land of Bingo + Plyci @ Buffalo Bar - 29th January - 7pm

Vvolves host their EP launch at Buffalo on the 29th with support from awesome Peski Records bands Land of Bingo and Plyci. Make sure your there for an awesome night

Earth play Cardiff next year

Looks like the guys over at Swn have pulled of yet another coup with the anouncement that drone legends Earth will be coming to Cardiff for the first time next year. On April 11th, Earth will play Millenium Music Hall.

For over 20 years Dylan Carlson and co. have been releasing the finest drone metal around, recent albums "The Bees Made Honey in the Lion's Skull" and "A Bureaucratic Desire For Extra-Capsular Extraction" have been of the highest quality and their 1st ever show in Wales is sure to be epic

Tickets are priced at £12 and can be purchased from the following link: http://www.wegottickets.com/event/103075

Make sure your there as this is surely the definition of a show not to be missed

EP Release - Spider Kitten - To Let The Winter In

 Spider Kitten - To Let The Winter In


Spider Kitten have released a Christmas EP, now surely those words are enough to warrant a listen.

Spider Kitten have been churning out awesome release after awesome release for many years now and its safe to say they never disappoint, so what can we expect from these guys in terms of a Christmas release? Well one thing you can say about "To Let The Winter In" is that it contains plenty of darkness, and I for one, like it dark .

First track "Christmas Day" is a 7 minute slow burning taste of despair, with the droneyness of the piano and the darkness of the lyrics, especially with a chorus of 'It's Christmas Day and everyone has died' this track definetly sets the tone for the rest of the EP.

Second track, "Moaning the Blues" does just that, slow droney bluesness oozes throughout this track and gives you that slightly disturbing christmas feeling that we all love so much.

Third track "I know you wont be home for christmas" plays very much within the same boundaries of the other tracks with the dark and bluesy Caveesque lyrics of loss and desperation wrapping themselves around you. 

This ep combines all the darkest and lonliest bits of christmas and bundles them together in a 3 track marvel of festive drone that even Nick Cave would be proud of. Top notch release from the boys and one that will definetly be coming out of my speakers on Christmas Day.

 Make sure you give it a listen

Check it out at: http://spiderkitten.bandcamp.com/album/to-let-the-winter-in

Christmas Party's this month

Christmas Party's aplenty this month, so check out the following peeps:

Hobos Christmas Party - December 11th

Cowboy and the Corpse @ Hobos  - 7.30pm
(check out http://www.myspace.com/events/view/7589618 for more details)

Shape Records Christmas Party - December 13th 

Islet + Sweet Baboo + H Hawkline + Failed Nasa Experiment @ Clwb Ifor Bach - 7pm - £7


(check out http://shaperecords.co.uk/functions.htm for more details)

Barely Regal Christmas Party - December 17th

Kutosis + Samoans + Cut Ribbons + Effort @ Cwlb Ifor Bach - 7.30pm £4

(check out http://barelyregalrecords.com for more details)

Globe Chistmas Party - December 18th

Wonderbrass + One String Loose + Love ParryIII + Cakehole Presley @ The Globe  - 7.30pm

(check out http://www.theglobecardiff.com for more details)

KCC Records Christmas Party - December 18th

Clay Statues + Gung Ho + Wasted + Bee to the Itch + Zinc Bukowski @ The Rickards Inn - 7pm
(check out http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/event.php?eid=149322108448479 for more details)

Green Rooms Christmas Metal Party - December 18th

Epic Fail + This is Suffering + Evilive + Without Your Reflection + Districts @ The Green Rooms - 5pm
(check out http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/event.php?eid=149322108448479 for more details)

Kids in Glass Houses Christmas Party - December 23rd

Boom In The Diamond Industry + Save Your Breath + Town + Blitz Kids @ Clwb Ifor Bach - 8pm - £6
(check out http://www.clwb.net/eng/listings/event1649/a-kids-in-glass-houses-christmas-party.html for more details)

Album Review - Klaus Kinski - Skelington Horse

Album Review

Klaus Kinski - Skelington Horse

 New album by Klaus Kinski just released and my god its a treat. A ten track album of energy,chaos and most importantly imagination right from the start, Skelington Horse comes at you with ferocious noise and destruction and every track on the album makes you feel like the walls are about to cave in, just absolute noise rock chaos of the finest form.

The vocals shout and gnarl at you making you feel almost terrified and uncomfortable but with the noise accompanying it sounds like the greatest thing you've ever heard, and with touches of jazz scatterd throughout the creativity and experimentation shown is amazing.

With stand out tracks "Caeser", "Happiness,Happiness" and "Skellington Horse" Kluas Kinski have in my opinion released an album as good as anything released this year. Top notch from start to finish and I urge everybody to check it out.

You will not be dissapointed

http://www.myspace.com/klausruddykinski/music

Gig's not to miss this Month

Here's our list of gigs not to miss this month. Also since the two gigs we wanted to recommend for our New One to Check Out suggestion were on the same day we have recommended them both.


Here we go peeps:

Midasuno @ Millenium Music Hall - December 4th

On December 4th, Midasuno will play they're last ever show at the Millenium Music Hall, in what is sure to be one hell of a gig. Playing with the original line up and many special guests promised throughout the night, this is sure to be very very special. Make sure your there peeps

Tickets are £7 and can be purchased here: http://millenniummusichall.fatsoma.com/event.php?eid=35719


You Say Party + Love Parry III + Vvolves + Yoho @ Buffalo Bar - December 6th

Originally You Say Party,We Say Die,the canadian dance rockers were meant to play Cardiff earlier in the year before the untimely death of their drummer Devon Clifford. Now they are back with a new name and new line-up and they are sure to put on one hell of a show. With awesome support from Love Parry III,Vvolves and Yoho.

Check them out at:
http://www.myspace.com/yousaypartywesaydie
http://www.myspace.com/loveparryiii
http://www.myspace.com/vvolves
http://www.myspace.com/yohotheband


Future of the Left @ Clwb Ifor Bach - December 9th

Falkous and co. bring the awesome twee noise rock to Clwb Ifor Bach. Perfect way to end a year. Make sure your there as these guys are always great. With support from Science Bastard
Tickets are £8.


Islet @ Clwb Ifor Bach - December 13th - Shape Records Christmas Party

Shape Records Christmas Party with the superb Islet headlining. Shape Records have been releasing some great alternative music for a few years now, and on December 13, Islet will be joined by Sweet Baboo, H Hawkline and Failed Nasa Experiment for what is sure to be a top night.

Check out the support acts:
http://shaperecords.co.uk/
http://www.myspace.com/sweetbabootheband
http://www.myspace.com/hhawkline
http://www.myspace.com/failednasaexperiment


Among Brothers + Hail! the Planes + Lucky Delucci @ Clwb Ifor Bach - December 17th - Barely Regal Christmas Party

Another Record Label Christmas Party, this time from Barely Regal. With Among Brothers, Hail! the Planes and Lucky Delucci all playing,this is sure to be a great night of folk goodness. Make sure your there.

Check them out:
http://barelyregalrecords.com/
http://www.myspace.com/amongbrothers
http://www.myspace.com/hailtheplanes
http://www.myspace.com/luckydelucci

Two to check out
The Heavy Quartet @ Dempseys - December 10th

This Cardiff jazz group has been banging out the tunes since 1983, with influences ranging from Ornette Coleman to Yes, these guys mix jazz with blues,rock and everything inbetween. With 13 releases to date these guys have to be checked out live.

Check them out at:
http://www.myspace.com/heavyquartet


Henrys Funeral Shoes + Clay Statues + Aulos @ Undertone - December 10th

Now if Jazz is not your thing then head on over to Undertone for a night of eclecticness. From the blues rock headliners Henrys Funeral Shoes to the noise bass explosion of Clay Statues with the experimental crazyness of Aulos thrown in for good measure. Three top bands, two welsh. One hell of a show

Check them out at:
http://www.myspace.com/henrysfuneralshoe
http://www.myspace.com/claystatues
http://www.myspace.com/aulosbitches

For full listings check out our gig listings on the side.

Hit or Miss - Give Up or Give In/See You Next Tuesday

Newport pop punk band Hit or Miss are releasing a new ep soon so we thought we would go over some of their older stuff.

The tracks being reviewed are 'Give Up or Give In' and 'See You Next Tuesday'. Both are deifnitely an offering for the emo/pop punk crowd of Wales, and I am certianly not one of this crowd. First track 'Give Up or Give In' starts with the customary bouncy guitars of pop punk legend, floating through with melody and happiness, now to a noise loving idiot such as myself this kind of music makes me want to vomit but for the teeny pop punkers who spend their time drooling over Hayley Williams or wishing they were Jared Leto this will be right up their street.

Second track "See you next tuesday" starts slower than the first track and has a lot more depth to it,definetly the better of the two

Both tracks play by the pop punk rulebook of bouncy guitars, stop start rhytyhms, catchy choruses etc, as close to pop music that anything with a guitar should be allowed to get.

If you like Blink 182, Simple Plan and all those other punk pop melody makers then this will be right up your street. Way too much poppyness for my liking but I am definetly not this bands intended audience, and while I personally don't like it I can imagine there will be alot of young people throughout the land who will. So if your aged between 14 and 18 and like Paramore then check these guys out.

http://www.myspace.com/hitormiss01

Live Review - DD/MM/YYYY - Undertone 09/11/2010

Live music review time, Cardiff's newest live music venue Undertone held a night of chaos and confusion last night as Canadian math rokers dd/mm/yyyy played to start off they're uk tour, With support from Bellies and Stacking Chairs, a rather eclectic bunch if I ever did see one.

Starting the night was one man sample king Stacking Chairs, now its fair to say that you won't see many gigs like this again, Stacking Chairs is basically a nerdy looking fella playing around with tape samples and loops while sitting on the floor drinking champagne, seeing him live is quite a surreal experience.
            Some very clever and original stuff going on here, my only problem with this kind of performance is it treads a very thin line between genius and boring and I'm not really sure this kind of thing works live, this does not take away from the fact that what Stacking Chairs is doing is incredibly clever and original and on record would probably sound amazing, it's just that in the live enviroment it dosent really do it for me.

But check him out as he is definetly doing some interesting stuff.

Next up were the new creation of Bellies, compiled of members from Jela and Drunk Grannys. Now I must say that after listening to they're myspace before the gig I was very much looking forward to seeing these girls live. They play an awesome style of lo-fi art pop rock very similar of other great bands Pens,Wet Dog and La La Vasquez, only last night something seemed to go wrong, it was a mistake ridden set that only lasted about 4 tracks before the girls decided to give up.

This was definetly not a great performance but in the parts they did get right they impressed and I would definetly check them out live again. I do urge you all to have a look at their myspace though as last night does not in anyway do them credit. Shame about the performance but still a very interesting band.

Check them out at http://www.myspace.com/hungrybellies

Up next were the headliners and the reason most of the people in the room where here, the amazing toronto based math punk rockers dd/mm/yyyy, now these guys play the kind of high tempo noise that'll get your ass jigging away in no time. Live they are more electronic than I realised, with keyboards and a lot of effects being added to the set. A little mid set chaos from them also as their bass pedal breaks and the lead singer banters with the crowd for a few minutes but very soon all is good again and they are back to doing what they do best.

Playing songs from their new album Black Square as well as some older stuff they deliver an awesome set from start to finish, ending with the amazing Digital Haircut.

This bunch of canadian misfits have done a very good job on they're first trip to wales and its safe to say it wont be a trip they'll easily forget

Check it http://www.myspace.com/ddmmyyyy

A sometimes bizarre and interesting night of live music

Single Release - Hail! The Planes - "Brother/I'm Sinking"

Single Review

Hail! The Planes - Brother/I'm Sinking

Cardiff's Hail! The Planes have just released their new double single Brother/I'm Sinking. A beautiful mixture of post rock and folk from start to finish, "Brother" starts with the minimilism of the violins, this creates a very intimate setting with the gentle strumming of the acoustic guitar accompanying the violin before moving into folk rock territory. The pace of the song varies as the violins slow things down beautifully. The vocals accompany this nicely without becoming too overpowering. 

A very nice folk rock track with moments of amazing intimacy.

2nd track "I'm sinking" starts similar to "Brother" but this time with the guitar starting gently before being accompanied by the violin. Together these go amazingly well yet again and the minimilistic intimacy they create is astonishing. This track moves along slowly before the great drumbeat kicks in to add power and urgency.

I'm sinking is a 6 minute instrumental mixture of heart and energy that you will struggle to find elsewhere. Hail! The Planes seem to have a fantastic blend of delicate folk and post rock with that progressive feel thrown in for good measure.

A very good release from the Cardiff band and I urge everyone to check them out
at: http://www.myspace.com/hailtheplanes.

Definetly a band i'm going to keep my eye on.

EP Review - Clay Statues - Yay,Volcano! V.2

EP Review

Yay Volcano! V.2 is the newest release from Aberdare / Cardiff noise makers Clay Statues, who back in August where touring with punk legends The Damned. Concocted from their EP, Yay, Valcano, which had sold out and their 2nd EP, the band decided to merge the two to make an 8 track LP. Having had the pleasure of seeing these guys live, we can say that its when live that they are best received.

The mixture of Drum & Bass really sounds amazing and raw as hell, with beefy distortion throughout. And not to mention that, these guys are loud, and not a certain type of loud as when your mother screams at you to turn the music off in your bedroom, these two young gentlemen are ear drum bursting loud.

Yay, Volcano V.2, has a mixture of bass heavy hard rocking punk screamy tracks to the more melodic sounding tracks, with both sounding hot. The hard rocking tracks that stand out are "Arguement for Michael Graves", "Clothed Female, Naked Male" and "Home", these tracks are Clay Statues at their very best, and you can imagine standing there at one of their shows, listening to these tracks with total face melt.

To the melodic side, these tracks consist of "I Was The Guns Of Navarone" and "What's Orange and Looks Good On Hippies? Fire!!" these are more towards pop punk tracks.

With the mixture of hard hitting rocking bass and drums tracks with the melodic tracks, this 8 track LP really works.

I seem to forget that there are just two members in Clay Statues just for the simple fact that they are so loud, but as mentioned previously you gotta check these guys out at a live show, coming to a town near you very soon.

Rake

EP Review - Mowbird - Excellent,OK

Mowbird - Excellent, OK

Excellent,OK is the debut ep by Wrexham's garage/surf rockers Mowbird. This band definetley have the DIY method of doing things and this ep is a shining example of that. From start to finish Excellent,OK is immersed in layers of lo-fi charms that add texture to each track, very similar to awesome lo-fi rockers Lovvers and The Crocodiles with hints of garage rock legend Jay Reatard.

From start to finish this is an ep of lo-fi surfer rock fun that I personally could listen to allday.

Stand out track "Dinosaur Costume" starts slow before the distorted guitars roar away. Closing track "Holy Moly Me Oh My" has the charms of sixties surf rock but with added lo-fi garage fuzziness.
      Its safe to say this band have found their niche and I for one will definetly be checking them out in the future.

If your a fan of Lovvers, The Crocodiles and Jay Reatard then you are sure to love these guys.

Top stuff

Visit: http://www.myspace.com/roydestroyuk to get yourself a free download of the ep

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Album Review - Howl Griff - The Hum

Album Review


Howl Griff - Hum

Aberwyswyth's very own Howl Griff has released an album of guitar pop goodness so engorged in 60's sunshine it'll make you feel like you've gone back in time. Reminiscent of Super Furry Animals, The Beatles and The Beach Boys,if this album dosent get you feeling good then I dont know what will.

Opening tracks "Bluebirds" and "Crash and Burn" storm into the album before slowing down for "Devotion" with lyrics as gentle as "I feel your pain and laughter still, the cracks are falling deep, devotion" which shows this band have real heart and can slow things down as efficiently as they can speed things up.

Tracks such as "Giving it the always", "Unselfish", "Hideaway" and "Dark Energy" also show that things are not all sunshine pop as they slow the pace of the faster and more upbeat tracks of "Back to Normality", "Uduhudu" and the amazingly dancey and almost surfer pop charms of "Jeans Therapy".

All in all from start to finish this album is a lesson in guitar pop by one this countries finest. If you like Super Furry Animals and 60's guitar pop then you'll like these guys. So check this album out.

Single Review - Jets to Zurich

Single Review

Jets to Zurich - Crimson Tide

We remember these Aberdare rockers from their debut album "Atmospheric Sound Cycles" which we reviewed early this year. Now they're back with new single "Crimson Tide".


The tracks starts with almost a bouncing guitar riff, then after a few bars we welcome the firm beating drums which add balance, added to that are Hawkins vocals which on this track are good and the lyrics have meaning "The sound of silence, is breaking us down" is for me a particular highlight. Reminiscent of Idlewild at the height of their career.

During the song, the same guitar rhythm plays and gets slightly repetitive but it doesn't take away from the track one bit in its entirety. The chorus kicks in with a more fuzzy style distortion which really works well, more in time with post grunge bands like Bush.

All in all, this track is missing the key elements from their first album but is still a fine track of melodic grunge.

We here at Release Thee Bats are looking forward to hearing the next release by these guys, as we're sure there's plenty more in the locker from Jets To Zurich.
Rake