Nu Rave Brain Wave

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Last night I had the ultimate fulfillment of a dream that’s basically been alive since South By. After ruminating on my bad first impression of The Jim Jones Revue flying with me from LHR to Dallas, I decided to give them a chance and see what their strange throwback attire was all about. And it was probably the best choice I’ve made in so long. I immediately fell in love with their fiery down-home, old-school rock and roll that they play with every fucking thing they have. I was hoping their live show would burn my house down just as they promised.

How can I put this? I was not let down in the slightest. They played the Downstairs Komedia, which I’d never been to before, and let me just say – why is this not the replacement for the Freebutt? It’s big enough, but feels super small and has this cute little background which you can see above. Anyway, I love it. But The Jim Jones Revue stormed that fucking cute stage and burned it down. From the opening notes of ‘Hey Hey Hey Hey’ (my first and favorite JJR song) they played with more fire and conviction than I’ve maybe ever seen – like, people (me, too) write about the urgency bands show but holy shitballs these dudes had more of it than I’ve ever seen. I know their brand is their modern-throwback-mix, but there was something so like, old school saloon about the whole thing. Here are all these 40+ dudes in cowboy boots and waistcoats just fucking PLAYING and sweating it out.

Now, I really need to discuss Jim Jones himself. The dude is a frontman. Like, that’s obvious, but he is one of the most charasmatic indivduals to have taken the stage that I’ve seen in an incredibly long time. It’s hard to explain the level that he owned the crowd, they were in the palm of his hand from the second he walked on stage. And his voice. That freaking voice! It’s ridiculous and completely on par with how it is on the record which is a mean feat. I just can’t get past how incredible it is.

They played a lot from their newly released 3rd disc, Burning Your House Down, which went over wonderfully – the newer songs have Jim hitting a much lower, more sinister place vocally all while sounding bigger and more supremely confident. They did play some from Jim Jones Revue and Here To Save Your Soul, which all went down quite excellently. It’s mildly hard to describe just how sweaty and balls the ferver that they stirred up in the Komedia, but they definitely burned the house down. See this band immediately. It’s an order.

9/10

Setlist
Hey Hey Hey Hey
Dishonest John
Rock ‘N Roll Psychosis
Another Daze
Fog Horn
High Horse
Shoot First
Burning Your House Down
Cement Mixer
Who’s Got Mine?
Killin’ Spree
Righteous Wrong
512
Big Hunk O’ Love
Princess & The Frog

mp3 | The Jim Jones Revue - Hey Hey Hey Hey

So for longtime NRBW readers (so like, hi, five of my friends) this is going to be practically a duplicate post, but I really feel compelled to share this. When I was in NYC, I bought a blues compilation called ‘Blues Masters Vol. 15: Slide Guitar’ which is actually really fucking awesome, but somehow it’s not living up to the one that I will now proceed to rant about for a few lines. I have no recollection of downloading this from anywhere, and I don’t really know where I would’ve got it from in the first place, so it’s actually a complete mystery. I think it’s kind of the digital equivalent of picking up something you know nothing about at Amoeba and giving it a listen – and for the first time (in my experience) – it turns out to be the greatest thing ever.

Although it doesn’t span as many artists (Mojo Watson got three songs, Tommy Moore and Lafayette Thomas two, and a few random ones) as many other compilations do – the quality of each artist, and each song they picked for that matter totally makes up for it. I’ll talk a little about Mojo Watson because he’s the shining star of this whole thing. ‘I Know You Don’t Want Me’ is …. fucking brilliant. It’s one of the best jivey dance blues song’s I’ve ever heard – it’s so straight forward initially, and completely layered after a few listens, but the piano is so damn catchy it’s impossible to not listen more than once. I won’t even begin to describe the myriad of ways that the lyrics apply to my life, for your sanity. But this song is just completely ridiculous and it just brings back these ultra-lame memories of 2008 where I was inadvertently doing a lot of cleaning, just jamming out to Mojo Watson.

While that’s my personal favorite, the rest are each standouts in their own rights: ‘Cummins Prison’, Calvin Leavy’s only on the album, is just too fucking groovy to be about the jailyard; Masked Marvel’s ‘Screamin’ and Hollerin’ makes me want to do the very fucking same, and I’m pretty much obsessed with the piano and bass on Earl Hooker’s ‘Do The Chicken’. Basically this is probably the greatest blues compilation that my ears have ever heard and I think it’s a shame that I have never come across it anywhere or anyone who has ever heard OF it, let alone listened to it – so it’s pretty much time to change that. Download the full album below, or some of my favs after that.

album | Various Artists – My Guitar Wants To Kill Your Mama
mp3 | Mojo Watson - You Know You Don\'t Want Me
mp3 | Calvin Leavy - Cummins Prison

Photo Courtesy of | Laurie Scavo

Ed note: I am extremely aware that I say nothing of value in this other than that you NEED to listen to the Growlers, and most of it is assumed that you’ve listened to all these songs already, so my apologies in advance.

All hail the Growlers, y’all! Okay, well, that was probably the most unprofessional start to a serious review ever (bar the time I referenced 00s legends, Smashmouth) but that’s the frame of mind you need to be in before listening to the Growlers Hot Topics EP. This is their first release since the December 09 release of ‘Are You In Or Out?’ which pretty much was the best tracks off of all 8 volumes of the Couples EP. I’ll get the bone I have to pick with Hot Tropics out now, so I can let the fawning begin, but this, like ‘AYIOO’, is comprised of mostly familiar songs – songs that are so fucking good, but old songs nonetheless. I have been joking for a while that it’s one thing to rely on your old songs and just tour them to death (not the case with the Gs, though) but when you have like 70 amazing songs to go off of, I’m not exactly complaining.

More to the point, Hot Tropics’ October release date couldn’t be more perfect because the new recordings of old favorites have a really kind of sinister vibe to them – I’m not going to go as far to say Halloweenie, but it has a very Ghost Edit ethos to them. Opener ‘Graveyard’s Full’ was new to my ears (it’s on one of the 2 EPs of Couples I don’t have) is sort of a gypsy punk, rhythmic jig in classic Growler fashion with deeply dark lyrics. ‘Nosebleed Sun’ is something of an anomaly for a G’s song, but it’s got a really strong deserted-town-in-the-Wild-West vibe to it and it’s new treatment makes it more exciting then it ever has been.

The big 3 songs on this album that I couldn’t, literally, couldn’t wait to hear were: ‘Sea Lion Goth Blues’, ‘Camino Muerto’ and ‘Underneath Our Palms’ which in this head, are some of the three powerhouses they have. ‘Sea Lion Goth Blues’ is one of my favorite songs of all time probably, and this treatment (similar to the one they gave it for their Daytrotter Session) is so much better indicative of how incredible it is live. It’s as fun, floaty and fresh (Assonance, for the win!) as it is deeply a dark song, and lyrically, I think it’s among the G’s best. ‘Underneath Our Palms’ is probably one of my favorite (gag me) love songs of all time. It’s probably the one song that (live) builds up the cult of personality that I regularly contribute to. But this version is a lot clearer and twangier. It’s such a beautiful song. ‘Camino Muerto’ gets the most exaggerated improvement, the keyboard is much more exaggerated and the inclusion of the ‘ooooooo’ in the beginning amp up the sinisterocity (yeah, I did that) as much as you can, for a song that’s already about death. The re-recording does it a lot more justice than the original, which probably says a lot as the original is fucking awesome.

I think what most needs to be said about ‘Hot Tropics’ is that The Growlers managed to re-record songs that have been circulating for a while and have had the living shit toured out of them recently and managed to make them all sound amazing. It’s a mark of excellency that they can subtly re-do songs that keep the interested of even a seasoned veteran such as myself. I am continually impressed by everything that this band does in any way shape or form, and frankly, if you even read this blog and haven’t given them a try live or on record – just give up on life.

10/10

They are touring the fuck out of the rest of this year (as ever) so go see them. Do yourself the favor.

5 Oct 2010 20:00 Empty Bottle Chicago, Illinois
6 Oct 2010 20:00 Bakery Loft Detroit, MI
7 Oct 2010 20:00 Sneaky Dee’s Toronto, ON, CANADA
8 Oct 2010 20:00 Bug Jar Rochester, New York
10 Oct 2010 20:30 Beachland Ballroom Cleveland, Ohio
11 Oct 2010 20:00 Garfield Artworks pittsburgh, PA
12 Oct 2010 20:00 North Star Bar Philadelphia, PA
13 Oct 2010 20:00 Knitting Factory Brooklyn, NY
14 Oct 2010 20:00 Ashbury Lanes Ashbury Park, NJ
15 Oct 2010 19:00 The Surf Lodge w/ Tomorrow’s Tulips Montauk, NY
16 Oct 2010 20:00 Plaza Bowl Richmond, VA
17 Oct 2010 20:00 Snug Harbor Charlotte, NC
19 Oct 2010 20:00 CALEDONIA LOUNGE athens, ga
20 Oct 2010 20:00 Engine Room Tallahassee, FL
21 Oct 2010 20:00 Back Booth Orlando, FL
22 Oct 2010 20:00 Crowbar Tampa/Ybor City, Florida
23 Oct 2010 20:00 Jack Rabbits Jacksonville, FL
26 Oct 2010 20:00 THE EARL ATLANTA, GA
27 Oct 2010 20:00 CIRCLE BAR NEW ORLEANS, LA
28 Oct 2010 20:00 CONTINENTAL HOUSTON, TX
29 Oct 2010 20:00 DOUBLE WIDE DALLAS, TX
30 Oct 2010 20:00 Mohawk Place Austin, TX

mp3 | The Growlers - Badlands (Daytrotter Session)

Photo Courtesy of | Chris Becker Jr

So last week, I went to New York for a few days out of mainly spite for this English weather that I completely forgot about, but also out of decadence withdrawals. However, this show at Santos Party house last Tuesday was also a big draw. Hi, do you see the lineup? It’s fucking amazing. It’s been a while since the show and I was pretty hammered (who does $7 for whiskey shot/beer?) so this is probably going to be (like everything else I do) the most unprofessional review ever.

Fergus & Geronimo was the only band on the bill I hadn’t seen before and I want to like them very much due to the fact that they hail from Denton, TX. I obviously didn’t know that they underwent some lineup changes (two added members, if I’m correct) and moved to Brooklyn. I wasn’t sure if it was just because they were the openers and hardly anyone was there, or if they had an off day — but the set was pretty meh. ‘Girls With English Accents’ was one of my favorite songs of the summer and is such a total sweet jam — it ended up being the best song of the set, and the total highlight for me but the rest didn’t work.

Happy Birthday are one of my favorite bands of the year. I think it’s because King Tuff is the epitome of cool and two of the best songs of 2010 are on that record. Live, Happy Birthday are give and take. In big venues, where nobody is super fucking excited to see them (see: Galaxy Room Backyard at SXSW, this night @ Santos Party House) they’re just medium. I think they’re one of the best live bands in a small, sweaty bar made to fit no more than 50 (see: Tin Can Ale House, San Diego). Unfortunately this was not one of the times. King Tuff is probably one of the most enjoyable performers that I’ve seen in quite some time — he just is a hot mess of awesome. ‘Girls FM’ is a lot less enjoyable when one person is pogoing around, ‘Perverted Girl’ is just flat out one of my favorite songs of the year and set-closer ‘Subliminal Message’ always leaves things on a better note than when they started. Looking forward to seeing them next month in London.

Sex Beet are probably the best band in the UK right now. This was their first ever show in America, but from the looks of it, things will probably go well. The whole crowd went into grateful punk spasms during their obviously not-long-enough-set. Super highlights include the two incredibly titled ‘I’m In Love With You (So Shut The Fuck Up)’ and ‘Nice Hair/Nice Titties’ which are as raucus and dirty as you can imagine. Best part of the set was for sure my favorite song, ‘Stay’ which if you haven’t heard already — get as soon as possible. Good things are coming to this band if not in the UK, then for sure in the US.

The Oh Sees. Ah. What do I even say about the Oh Sees? Both times I’ve seen them play have had the strangest sense of time – like, it feels like they play forever (in the best way imagineable) yet by the time they’re done you always end up wanting more. John Dwyer is a crazy motherfucker. They ended up playing to an extremely packed, sweaty crowd who just went pretty much wild for them. Apologies for the worst couple reviews ever, I got pretty drunk. Basically, this show was completely worth the 7 hour flight it took to get me there.

mp3 | Fergus & Geronimo - Girls With English Accents
mp3 | Happy Birthday - 2 Shy
mp3 | Sex Beet - Stay
mp3 | The Oh Sees - Tidal Wave

Photo Courtesy of | Matthew Nedbalsky

Um, so thanks to a good buddy of mine, Clara, I got to see Pavement last Thursday at the Summer Stage in Central Park as a part of those gigs they announced 1+ year ago. And let me just say. It was fucking amazing!!!! That’s all. More on my NYC concert adventures later.

mp3 | Pavement - Shady Layne (LIVE EUROPATURNÉN MCMXCVII)

View More Photos | My Flickr

I don’t know how popular anything from Nashville is in the UK, let alone Brighton. I don’t even know if they could locate Nashville on a map – or more importantly, if even I could. But geography failures aside, what I do know is that Brighton can spot Nashville’s latest and best musical export from a mile away. Caitlin Rose came down to Brighton and played to a very warmed up, sold out crowd at The Latest Music Bar in Kemptown, Brighton.

She and her adorable band came onstage to a pretty warm welcome from a crowd clearly happy to be out of the rain. Small comment on Latest Music Bar — it’s one of the cutest venues in Brighton that doesn’t get used for enough great shows sadly, perhaps it can take the place of the fallen Freebutt? But the diminituive Rose and her band — electric guitar, slide guitar and bass — took the stage and made their presence known.

Rose is such a Nashville firecracker — and by that I mean, she’s a small girl but her personality is so large, her stage banter so hilarious (or should I say — pro?), and her vocals so booming, she hardly even needed the microphone. The gig started out slowly, not in terms of urgency or excellence, but with the slower songs off her excellent debut ‘Own Side Now’ — the beautiful ‘Learning to Ride’ (which she confirmed was NOT about Porn) fell into a Brian Ritchie cover which smoothly went into the cautiously assertive standout ‘Own Side Now’.

Then the mood changed and Rose and her band launched into the ‘party’ ones. Starting with ‘New York’ which makes me laugh aloud like many of her other songs, hearing her croon “I got lost on the lower East Side / because I pissed off my tour-guide” just cracked me up. Then it was all smooth transition into ‘Spare Me’ and then the incredibly gorgeous and invariably heartbreaking ‘For the Rabbits’.

If there was anything that seeing Rose live taught me — it’s that the girl has some fucking pipes on her. Not only is her voice as clear as daybreak but she has got some force live — she nearly knocked my socks off for having the audacity to stand as near to the stage as possible. ‘Shanghai Cigarettes’ one of the catchiest songs off her debut was a treat, although a little slower than on record. Rose’s band was so perfectly complimentary to her oversized talent — her slide guitar player in particular was incredible, the twang added so much of a refreshing country air to her bright songs that already have that influence. Instead of being overkill, it wound up sounding so fresh and taut.

Rose did a couple of covers over the course of the evening (‘I don’t write enough songs, basically’ she said) but missing was my favorite cover of hers — the Rolling Stones’ ‘Dead Flowers’ which was the name of her EP. However, she did play some earlier material which made my night as her EP is incredible and laid-back with a razor sharp wit that paved the way for her excellent LP. ‘Docket’ is one of my favorite Rose songs — it’s such a free-spirited vibe with maybe the best line written, “I got a fresh pack, I got a red Bic / The surgeon general can suck on my dick / woah oh oh”. Brilliant. Towards the end of the night, after a heartbreaking rendition of ‘Sinful Wishing Well’, Rose launched into the uber-crowd-sing-a-long of the year ‘Answer in One of These Bottles’ which united the whole crowd and confirmed that this gig was not only special but possibly one of the best of the year. Following that was the unexpected and similarly hilarious ‘Shotgun Wedding’.

As confirmed by tonight, Caitlin Rose is one of the most exciting ‘newcombers’ on the map right now. Her fresh take on country music, her DIY aesthetic, her down-to-earth-Southern-belle ehtos, and her wonderfully large persona — she’s just such a welcome addition to music. And oh… her voice. It’s just so damn good. See her live. Immediately.

Setlist:
Learning To Ride
Brian Ritchie Cover
Own Side Now
New York
Spare Me
For The Rabbits
Shanghai Cigarettes
Cover (I’m Alright?)
Docket
Cover
Sinful Wishing Well
Answer in One of these Bottles
Shotgun Wedding

mp3 | Caitlin Rose - Docket

If being in a great band was a series of boxes one needed to tick, Crocodiles would be doing more than riding the success of their moderately received debut, Summer of Hate. With vaguely apt comparisons to Jesus and Mary Chain, Spaceman 3 and The Velvet Underground, uber-producer James Ford at the helm, and Ray Bans permanently affixed to singer Brandon Welchez’s face – one might believe that the latter half of 2010 would be Crocodiles’ time to shine. Having moved from a duo to a five piece, a fuller, more brash, less punk sound emerges from their recording sessions in Joshua Tree, CA. An unfortunate indulgent hush overwhelms their second effort, Sleep Forever.

The first three tracks skate along, into one another without much notice from the listener – which, with Sleep Forever only eight tracks is a major portion of the album. ‘Mirrors’ tests patience with its minute-long dripping-with-reverb opening, before launching into a mildly intriguing wall of guitars. However, it’s the beginning of an album-long list of badly placed clichés: “There’s something in the way you crucify me / that makes me smile”. Trimmed down to three-minutes, the track might have held a little more sway. ‘Stoned to Death’ also begins with a wildly infectious, mildly filthy melody but is held back by mid-and-late song indulgent fuzzy freak-outs and more lyrical banalities: “…In the garden of your head / the flowers brittle, brown and dead”. Unfortunately, on ‘Hollow Hollow Eyes’ the simple, catchy keyboard line is negated by the overwhelming Sleeping-Beauty-esque lyrics lamenting the “poison apple”.

‘Girl in Black’ is the biggest disappointment on the record. The indulgence that is fairly obvious in most of the album overwhelms what could have been the standout track. How infuriating it is to realise that Crocodiles have songs that would do very well, trimmed of their five-plus-minute-fat and condensed into less-than-three-minute reverb and keyboard lead hazes. This lightly soaring, evocative ode stretches on for far too long.

Following ‘Sleep Forever’, the title track, the album picks up speed somewhat, moving with a machine-like urgency, which is a welcome change. The woozy melody and the underused synth come together wonderfully, as Welchez croons “I will love you until the sky above you shatters over you”. “Hearts of Love” has a surprisingly tender vocal harmony overlaid with simple twinkling keys, shimmering in the background – it is the first track that expresses an attitude less snotty than the ones that Crocodiles have supposedly left behind. The song wears its influences on its chest but the bright chorus and the Smiths-y riff shine.

There is the potential for something more than a mildly decent album in Sleep Forever. It’s the arrogant self-indulgence that really holds the album back from being what it could be. Sleep Forever won’t actually put you to sleep, but it won’t stir anything else up, either.

5/10

Originally for Drowned in Sound

In case you haven’t picked up the hotly-anticipated-mostly-by-me new Klaxons album Surfing the Void, let me give you a little preview. The long-awaited followup to 2006′s Myths of the Near Future may lack the spastic freakouts (see: Four Hoursemen of 2012) we came to expect from Klaxons, but they’ve really honed in on their great talent to craft a sweeping, euphoric other-wordly chorus (see: Twin Flames). I don’t want to say this album is more mature, because, I mean, their album cover is a cat in a spacesuit. It’s sort of like musical adderall, intensely focused but at light speed.

mp3 | Klaxons – Echoes
mp3 | Klaxons – Twin Flames
mp3 | Klaxons – The Same Space

also: T-minus 1 month-ish until Klaxons headline Filter’s Culture Collide festival, which is taking place all over Echo Park and downtown. Hollllly shit SO STOKED!!!!

It’s been a while since we at NRBW have seen a show that has a band playing in an actual seated theatre. The last time was the great Strange Boys who played at the Ricardo Montalbahn Theatre in Hollywood where they played in front of an on-going game of Dodgeball and there were two fans in non-Dodgeball gear… yours truly. That was great, and this was great too. We had the pleasure of seeing our favorites, Sweaters, at the Downtown Independent Theatre who played with Fool’s Gold side-project (though, I’m sure they wouldn’t like to be known that way) Big Search. The show was a part of the week-long premier of the film The Scenesters, which although I missed, I heard was great.

Now, I’ve talked a lot about Sweaters live, and even more recently in a pretty serious manner. And that is because, since they’ve finalized their new line-up, they are STELLAR. They have always been good, and have always put a smile on my face, and had wonderful songs — but this time was different. Immediately, both Mia and myself were bouncing in ourseats and toe-tapping along, grinning wildly and whispering to each other “I love that song!”.

Sweaters definitely create an environment, at a show, of joy and fun and wonder — like I’ve always said, you’re guaranteed to leave with a smile on your face. But I would never want their ethos to get in the way of their music. Because, let’s face it, they’ve got some tunes. Tunes strong enough that I’d say they have at least four that could carry their weight if, say, they couldn’t write better ones — which obviously isn’t the case with them. ‘Mothering’ (I think it’s called) is stellar, amusing, clever, the list goes on. Jordan Benik’s signature loud, well, croon is probably the highlight of the show — the dude has a crazy on-stage persona that is both amusing and completely strange and of course, just works. ‘Fruit on the Vine’ is soaring, hook-laden (as most of their stuff is) and completely lodged in my brain forevermore. The new songs they showcased, including one featuring Jordan Harkins on voice, were as bouncy and rambunctious as their classics, but I could hear a different sense of melody and rhythm that was much more layered — you know something’s good when you and your friend are bouncing to two different rhythms yet both are in time and enjoying the fuck out of it.

When October comes, and their debut album comes out — I fully expect to hear the thundering pop songs, undeniable hooks, booming vocals and the same energy that brings such joy to their live sets. In the past, I’ve compared Sweaters to a box of puppies: boisterous, loud, wriggling and completely worth the trouble, and I 100% still feel that way. That said, I think they’re really on a collision course with something bigger than being just a local band I can see every week for a guaranteed good time. I think they have the stage presence, the persistence and ultimately, the songs to back up the good times — and isn’t that really what it’s all about?

mp3 |  Sweaters - Ballad of Billie Jean

Photo Courtesy of | Tyler Trykowski

Okay, so it’s been pretty well documented that Happy Birthday are my favorite band of the moment. And if you’ve been reading this blog for long enough, you know that I have a special penchant for traveling to see bands (non-Los Angeles cities in CA, Texas, New York and London are my favorite destinations) and this time I chose to see the miraculously wonderful Happy Birthday in San Diego at the Tin Can Ale House, which actually is a really adorable little place with darling decor with a fantastic beer selection (except the Guinness in cans, bad choice!) and best of all, a tiny ass stage. So after the great Residual Echoes, who by the way are NOT working with Lil’ Wayne no matter what you hear, slayed (again!) Ruth, Adam and King Tuff himself took to the stage.

What I love about their self-titled debut album is the way the songs sound so polished — the soaring synth on ‘Subliminal Message’ (contender for song of the year), the addictive strings on ‘I Want To Stay (I Run Away), the tender, heightened backing vocals on, well, every song indicate such a movement away from the King Tuff album Thomas made not all that long ago. Don’t get me wrong, there’s still so much about Happy Birthday that continues on in the tradition Thomas started with King Tuff (and Witch and Feathers before that) that is ingrained in his music, and seems to be stemming from his entire persona. But live, Happy Birthday is a completely different animal…

In the perfect setting, a tiny sweaty bar, Happy Birthday brought the house down. They played to a small group full of people who really wanted to hear them. ‘I Want To Stay (I Run Away)’ is as catchy and excellent live, without the strings, as it is on the record. ‘Eyes Music’ has some of best hooks on the album, and it’s perfect execution really endeared it to me. It’s all in the little things: King Tuff’s sassy expressions, glittering shoes, his sky high vocal range (although, his howling caterwaul is still around, thank god!); Ruth’s perpetually confused look while keeping the other two completely grounded; and Allen’s general presence. ‘Pink Strawberry Shake’ took on a much more sexual nature live with King Tuff’s whimsical expressions.

The three best songs of their set (and their album! and the summer!) all fought with each other to be the highlight of the gig. ‘Perverted Girl’ wasn’t my favorite song until I heard it live and since then, I’ve been obsessed. The hook hits you straight away, and massively, then trades between sugary sweet vocals (he hits the notes every time, I swear, and I love it!) and snarling — it’s just perfection. ‘Girls FM’ is probably a perpetual crowd pleaser, another song with an immediate hook, and this time turned into a fun little mosh pit — and at least a third of the crowd was singing along. Set closer, ‘Subliminal Message’ may well be the greatest song of the summer, relies so heavily on the arcing synth on the album — but live, it still works just as well – another immediate hook and harmony between the music and the lyrics, just utter catchy perfection. I also did the most rubbish dancing to this one, which of course was surely amusing to the people near to me…

But with the addition of King Tuff classic ‘Connection’, this tiny show at the fantastic Tin Can Ale House was one of the best of the summer. They even came on and did an encore, or rather, played another song having not left the stage — which they didn’t do at Spaceland! Basically, Happy Birthday is whatsuppers this summer and if you didn’t catch them on this tour, try to come see them in the UK! I will be at multiple dates.

mp3 | Happy Birthday - Subliminal Message