The taciturn reputation of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club has often had journalists thinking in terms of ‘blood’ and ‘stone’, but Stuart Clark finds Peter Hayes in downright garrulous form on the subjects of their new album, Johnny Cash, mermaids and Arnie.
A universe removed from the campfire boilerplate of 2005’s Howl, Baby 81 sees Black Rebel Motorcycle Club (reunited with drummer Nick Jaggo) rediscovering their sub-Mary Chain fuzzbox growl.
The damaged licks and feedback-fattened melodies of LA’s Black Rebel Motorcycle Club have always suggested a karaoke riff on your favourite avant-pop outsiders.
Tagged as the next big thing to emerge from Ireland, Mainline have been gathering much acclaim from the likes of Q magazine and London’s XFM. Listening to their debut single, it’s easy to justify the hype. With a big dirty guitar riff pushing it on, ‘Black Honey’ wouldn’t sound out of place on a Black Rebel Motorcycle Club or Jesus and Mary Chain album. It sounds like nothing that has come out of an Irish band in years.
The Thrills will be joining the likes of Morrissey, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Flaming Lips and Sonic Youth and many, many more for the Lollapalooza festivities
The singer is actually much more assured onstage than the last time I saw The Killers, at the Olympia in 2004, when his inhibitions seemed to be holding him back.
The border counties may not exactly be a hotbed of indie rock but that hasn’t stopped Monaghan hopefuls The Flaws from producing one of the year’s most mesmerising debuts.
Summer time, and the record stores are going to be full to bursting with some cracking albums across all genres. John Walshe examines the hottest album releases set to hit the shelves
The use of rock music for soundtracking and advertising purposes has opened up important new avenues for artists eager to get their music out to a mass audience.
They are chums with The Dandy Warhols and have been compared to Brian Jonestown Massacre. But Australia’s The Morning After Girls have patented a sound entirely their own.
Stop press: Witnness have just confirmed some of the leading lights of this year's festival. Mercury Rev, Badly Drawn Boy and Chemical Brothers sound good for starters? Read on
The girls and the boys say that No Doubt - as well as Ian Brown and Green Day - are the latest additions to the bill for Witnness '02. And we've got a hunch that Primal Scream, Badly Drawn Boy, the Chemical Brothers, A and Gomez (just to name a few) shall also be getting a look in. Read on
Who was it that said that beauty is a double-edged sword? True, it could be all too easy to denounce Mainline as six pretty boys, looking for all the world like a band of spruced-up Fonzies. Luckily their sound tells a different and much more substantial story.
Liverpool's musical exports have included The Beatles, Echo and the Bunnymen, the Teardrop Explodes, Pete Burns, the KLF, the Lightning Seeds, Frankie Goes to Hollywood and many more. Mercury nominees The Coral are the latest scallywags to capture the attention of the music press who have picked up on their blend of classic rock influences and irreverent energy
Out of the ashes of a fairly unassuming Dublin outfit called Listo, Humanzi have arisen, phoenix-style, to become our new Great White Hope and the frontrunner of a new music scene.
The missing link (ouch) between the Velvet Underground and Phil Spector, The Jesus & Mary Chain were one of the most influential and critically lauded bands of the 1980s. 20 years after Psychocandy though, Jim Reid found himself mired in serious alcohol addiction problems. Now domiciled in Devon, he looks back through the lens of newfound – but still precarious – sobriety.
With their self-titled debut album The Black Rebel Motorcycle Club have been causing an unexpected sensation by harking back to the dark distorted attitude-laden style of British bands such as The Jesus & Mary Chain, The Verve and Ride.
The Charlatans' kitchen-sink included arrangements which can be slightly overwhelming on record proving to be dynamite live, a surprisingly sonically coherent mass of big, bold, super-charged soul.
Spiritualised, The Redneck Manifesto, Redsettaz and Telepopmusic are merely a few of the latest additions to the delightfully overstuffed Witnness '02 bill
A fitting tribute to the late John Peel, showcasing an impressive collection of diverse bands, all of whom featured on the legendary broadcaster’s show at some stage – a testament to the Radio 1 DJ’s tireless promotion of new music.
Where hip and hype go together, that's where you'll find The Hives who are buzzing to tell Stuart Clark all about Kylie, curling, punk rock, nice forests and bad Norwegian jokes
A fresh generation of bands is tearing up the rule book and redefining what it means to be Irish. To celebrate this new wave of talent, we catch up with the best of them.
Like their incendiary live performances, the pace is nothing short of relentless over the course of the 43 minutes or so it takes Humanzi to slash and scorch their way through this 11-track debut.
An overnight success story that was years in the making, The Strokes have been dismissed as flagrant hype and lauded as the saviours of rock 'n' roll. Eamon Sweeney, a journalist who has spent more time in their company than most, gets the fullest account yet of the rise and rise of New York's band of brothers. "Whatever happens, we'll be there together," they tell him. "we won’t let each other fall."
I cannot tell you how appalled I am by the explicit sexual content in Michael Winterbottom’s latest. There’s but one lousy cum shot, Ms. Stilley’s breasts look steamrolled flat and our central couples’ idea of kinking things up involves knee high boots and blindfolds. I mean, yawn. This might pass for filth among incredibly sheltered fifteen year olds, but really, this is coy first date stuff.
The college circuit has always been a lucrative one for touring acts, and a fine opportunity for students to check out the best in show, at a reasonable price.
