Type and hit ENTER

Commonly used tags...

Brighton Festival Brighton Fringe Brighton Pride British Sea Power Cinecity Lewes Psychedelic Festival Locally Sourced Lost & Found Love Supreme Festival Mutations Festival Nick Cave Poets Vs MCs Politics Rag'n'Bone Man Record Store Day Save Our Venues Six Of The Best Source Virgins Streets Of Brighton Street Source Tattoos The Great Escape Tru Thoughts Unsung Heroes
  • Home
  • News
  • Previews
  • Reviews
  • Features
  • Food
  • Tickets
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Advertise
  • Home
  • News
  • Previews
  • Reviews
  • Features
  • Food
  • Tickets
  • Contact
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Advertise
Reviews

Critic: Demo Reviews September 2008

Mar 11, 2009
-
Posted by SOURCE Writers

Shoestrung

DEMO: ILLNESS (www.myspace.com/illnessband)
There’s something absolutely brilliant about Illness. There’s something brilliant about a band who sends you a CDR covered in marker pen with scribbled out logos, a letter written in green felt tip capitals and a demo that sounds like it was recorded on a broken cassette recorder in the corner of some pizza box-strewn room. Just guitar and drums, you might think they were halfway through auditioning for the rest of the band and just thought “ah, fuck it.” In fact, we hope this was the case. They’re looking for support slots and while they wouldn’t take up much room on the stage, they make a hell of a noise. Love it. (NC)

DEMO: NULLIFIER (www.myspace.com/nullifiermotherfucker)
If Tangerine Dream were sped up, dragged through a puddle and fed through a Commodore 64 they might end up sounding a bit like this. My Device’s Todd and Jim of Tumbledown Estate have gone intergalactic, donned silver space suits (spiritually, if not physically) and teamed up to bring us Nullifier’s glorious melodies and stomping electronic rhythms which render sitting still impossible; throw in a whistling solo and this year’s catchiest choruses and we’ve got an indie-space-disco riot on our hands. (LB)

DEMO: THE SHOESTRUNG (http://www.myspace.com/theshoestrung)
“We’re too young too have a biog,” says The Shoestrung’s MySpace admirably. And having caught them playing rock’n’roll song in the street for change and fun, we’d say that was right. But there are already good songs and a loose bluesy take on the 50s sound that’s coming through at the moment. Bleed Steam For Blood builds to a sloppy crescendo, and there are plenty of layers of harmonica, cymbals and guitars across the other four tracks. We hear that they’re off to London soon, so catch them before their pavements turn gold. (JK)

DEMO: TROUSSEAUX (www.myspace.com/trousseaux)
A dramatic Anglo-French audio alliance, Trousseaux make a cerebral and sinister sound experience that tends towards a rather unnerving listen. It’s a swathe of synthesizers cut across eerie Kubrickian piano and fuzzed out guitars, while singer Virginie threatens ever so sweetly over the top in trans-channel tongues. This doesn’t sound like the kind of band you can talk through at the bar, they simply demands a hundred percent of your attention. They’ve apparently done a couple of Brighton gigs recently, only we hadn’t heard of them then. Next time. (NC)

DEMO: IAIN WOODS (www.myspace.com.iainwoods)
Wee Iain Woods (he’s only 21, bless him) calls his brand of dirty pop ‘groul’; a compound of grimey soul; but such a tiny word absolutely fails to sum up the far-reaching ambition of his debut release, The Stanislavky EP. At times this is a darker, dubbier Hercules and Love Affair complete with richly fragile Antony Hegarty-style vocals; at other moments the record channels early blues and gospel, particularly evident in standout track Gospel (Fuck the Phelps). Woods’ grand aspirations are impressive, more so because he surpasses them on more than one occasion – it will be interesting to see how this translates on stage. (LB)

Mar 11, 2009
Email
SOURCE Writers
Sometimes an article is a bit of a team effort, and those are tagged SOURCE Writers. If you’d like to be part of that team, hit the Contact link at the top and get your work on this website.
← PREVIOUS POST
Emiliana Torrini Interview
NEXT POST →
Critic: Music Reviews September 2008
Mailing List

Recent Posts
  • Richard Hawley Review
    Oct 5, 2025

    As Coles Corner turns 20, Richard Hawley dazzled and delighted an up-for-it Worthing crowd with a 2 hour-plus set.

  • Brighton Psych Fest 2025 Review
    Sep 26, 2025

    The second Brighton Psych Fest was a beauty as we got down with Getdown Services as the evening sunlight glowed through the Concorde Stained Glass.

  • David Devant & His Spirit Wife, Friday 12th December
    Sep 23, 2025

    One of Brighton's greatest live bands returns for a pre-Xmas homecoming party.

  • Nick Cave To Play Exclusive Brighton Show Next Summer
    Sep 15, 2025

    Nick Cave returns to Brighton next Summer for an exclusive show with The Bad Seeds in Preston Park.

  • Death Comes to Pemberley Review
    Sep 3, 2025

    Set six years after the marriage of Elizabeth to Mr Darcy, a murder on their estate takes this story into thriller territory.

  • The Lightning Thief Review
    Sep 1, 2025

    A high octane modern musical coming of age adventure about demi-god teens, complete with committed performances, stunning voices, and brilliantly inventive staging.

  • Betty Boo, Sunday 23rd November
    Sep 1, 2025

    The legendary Betty Boo is going on her first ever solo UK tour and you can catch her at The Green Door Store in November.

  • Mutations Festival 2025 Line Up Announcement
    Aug 28, 2025

    FORM are treating us to a Bonfire Weekend full of warm goodness, bangers and fireworks!

Website developed in Brighton by Infobo
Copyright © Brighton Source 2009-2023
Critic: Demo Reviews September 2008 - Brighton Source