Bring it on!

Isn’t it nice to be able to start the New Year with some good news?
A few scant exceptions apart, 2003 proved to be a less than fertile time for local LPs. But with at least three great new albums all set for release before the spring, this year looks set to be an all together more productive time. You can read all about the fine records conjured up by Iain Archer and The Amazing Pilots elsewhere in H.P – but this is as good a place as any to mention Flux And Form, the long-time-a-comin’ debut album from Tracer AMC. Alex and Jonny have been a visible and creative presence within the local scene for quite a few years now and this provides an excellent summation of everything the duo is about. You’ll hear more about it in an upcoming Hit The North, but do some homework in the meantime: buy a copy through We Love Records.
Cast your mind back a few years to a time when the music papers tried to convince us that the future lay in EMO – a ‘movement’ founded on the callow moods of twenty-something blokes with conjunctivitis, curvature of the spine and way too many Washington punk fanzines hidden under the mattress. Are you shivering yet? If, like me, you’re of the opinion that, apart from Mark Eitzeal and James Brown, the only person justified in shedding tears on-stage is Har Mar Superstar’s socks and y-front’s roadie, then you’ll be glad that this particular fad never managed to crawl free from the dingy little shed it was spawned in. You’ll also most likely be deeply suspicious of Portadown’s Element. Which is entirely their own fault: they are young, male, loud and possessed with a conviction that their collective lot is an unhappy one. But please don’t let this put you off. Because Element also give the impression of being a band well capable of launching from their original moorings. Therapy? producer Chris Sheldon has, on upcoming single ‘Wake From This’, been helping them develop sea legs and the results are very promising indeed. Train a telescope on the boys – things could get interesting.
Another band worth watching are Fighting With Wire. Their’s has been a tough trail thus far but the Derry noise-mongers have followed it with a fair degree of dignity and class. 2004 will hopefully allow them to concentrate on their music and provide them with ample opportunities to impress.
Meanwhile, that Howl lot’s campaign for world domination continues on apace with the news that, no longer content with running clubs and promoting shows, the frothy foursome are now planning to release a single on their own label. They’ll be taking care of ‘Torgas Valley Blue’/’Me And My Buddies Would Vote 4 U’, the new, niftily-titled, double A-side from Torgas Valley Reds. As cover art is provided by HP’s very own Amberlea Trainor, obviously it can’t fail.
The Embers have a lovely new EP doing the rounds at the minute that might also appeal. Seldom Seen is all over the place stylistically (hardly surprising when you consider that its defiant indieness was engineered by band-dad and country crooner Crawford Bell) but in an utterly charming, sun-kissed way. If they keep at it they could turn out brilliant. Hopefully there’s much more to come from them in the next 12 months.
Likewise Desert Hearts. No longer on Tugboat, increasingly unhinged live (which is saying something considering how Charlie’s previous guitars could be justified in pressing habitual battery charges), the big question concerning how their second act will pan out remains unanswered. Is there an extra time equaliser on the cards? Listen to new song ‘Ocean’ and get back to me.
And while you’re at it listen to ‘The Reichstag Is On Fire’ and ‘Rubbish’ – fine examples of The Vichy Government’s new material – in which our heroes ensure they will never be allowed access, never mind be allowed to release a record, in the United States. Nice one. Keep up the attitude.