You Me at Six ft Chiddy - Rescue Me
This single sees the Surrey five-piece lose a little of the punk attitude and energy that made their debut album stand out, but shows they definitely have the talent to compose unique pop songs. The unexpected collaboration with Chiddy shows that You Me at Six aren’t one trick ponies, yet this Airplanes-esque track certainly isn’t groundbreaking.
Saturday, 19 February 2011
Friday, 18 February 2011
Roma, January 2011: Part 2
I've uploaded all my photos from Rome now!
Here are a few pictures:
Light trails!
A rather grand building which we stumbled across.
A wall in the Roman Forum.
A flock of starlings.
Here are a few pictures:
Light trails!
A rather grand building which we stumbled across.
A wall in the Roman Forum.
A flock of starlings.
Sunday, 6 February 2011
Belle and Sebastian – I Want the World to Stop
Belle and Sebastian – I Want the World to Stop
The breezily melancholy new single from indie titans Belle and Sebastian is lifted from the band’s eighth studio album. Catchy as ever, the strong vocal line is supported by gentle backing singing. The band maintain their high standards of musicianship with the inclusion of a variety of instruments, pushing the boundaries of pop in their own understated way.
Release date: 28th February 2011
The breezily melancholy new single from indie titans Belle and Sebastian is lifted from the band’s eighth studio album. Catchy as ever, the strong vocal line is supported by gentle backing singing. The band maintain their high standards of musicianship with the inclusion of a variety of instruments, pushing the boundaries of pop in their own understated way.
Release date: 28th February 2011
Sunday, 30 January 2011
Roma, January 2011: Part 1
Bonsoir, all! I recently visited Rome with UOB Photosoc, where we spent four glorious days in the sunnier climes of Italy, traipsing around the capital with too many cameras about our personage (there is a curious law which states that only a maximum of two cameras can be brought into the country, yet this was flouted by various members of our group to no ill outcome).
With a wonderful 3am start - yes, I do mean that in the most sarcastic manner possible - we left a rather chilly Bristol and arrived in Rome in great need of sleep. Unfortunately we were instead treated to an hour's wait as poor Ceilidh's luggage managed to get trapped in the depths of the conveyor belt system. The remainder of the first day was spent sourcing lunch, coffee and dinner, leaving very little time for photo opportunities.
On the second day, we went on a walk around areas including Piazza di Spagna, led by the only non-Photosoc member on the trip, the brilliant Keith - without him, we would doubtless have been utterly lost and you'd only be looking at photographs of the inside of a hostel.
View from the Spanish Steps.
Building patterns.
More here. I will be updating the set over the next couple of weeks, so do check back.
With a wonderful 3am start - yes, I do mean that in the most sarcastic manner possible - we left a rather chilly Bristol and arrived in Rome in great need of sleep. Unfortunately we were instead treated to an hour's wait as poor Ceilidh's luggage managed to get trapped in the depths of the conveyor belt system. The remainder of the first day was spent sourcing lunch, coffee and dinner, leaving very little time for photo opportunities.
On the second day, we went on a walk around areas including Piazza di Spagna, led by the only non-Photosoc member on the trip, the brilliant Keith - without him, we would doubtless have been utterly lost and you'd only be looking at photographs of the inside of a hostel.
View from the Spanish Steps.
Building patterns.
More here. I will be updating the set over the next couple of weeks, so do check back.
Wednesday, 26 January 2011
Architects - The Here and Now
Architects - The Here and Now
A version of this review appeared in Epigram's 24th January issue
Brighton metallers Architects kick off 2011 with an incendiary fourth album, ‘The Here And Now’. The band have pushed boundaries even further than on 2009’s ‘Hollow Crown’, with first single ‘Day In Day Out’ leading the charge. Right from the start, it is clear that vocalist Sam Carter has developed his technique admirably, effortlessly switching between brutal growls and clean vocals. Album highlight ‘BTN’ opens with a relentless guitar intro and features a stunning level of talent from drummer Dan Searle. Guest spots from Comeback Kid’s Andrew Neufeld and The Dillinger Escape Plan vocalist Greg Puciato add an extra kick to two of the heavier tracks.
Carter noted that this was the first time the lyrics were completed before the band went into the studio and this is especially evident from the sincerity of ‘An Open Letter To Myself’. The atmospheric distorted guitar lines of ‘Red Eyes’ are reminiscent of Thrice and the vocals on this song are particularly outstanding.
The heavy metal sensibilities of Architects’ previous albums are still very much a focal point of their music and the abundance of milder moments on this record should only be seen as a step to the band becoming an established name in rock. ‘The Here And Now’ far surpasses anything Architects have done before.
Check them out here.
A version of this review appeared in Epigram's 24th January issue
Brighton metallers Architects kick off 2011 with an incendiary fourth album, ‘The Here And Now’. The band have pushed boundaries even further than on 2009’s ‘Hollow Crown’, with first single ‘Day In Day Out’ leading the charge. Right from the start, it is clear that vocalist Sam Carter has developed his technique admirably, effortlessly switching between brutal growls and clean vocals. Album highlight ‘BTN’ opens with a relentless guitar intro and features a stunning level of talent from drummer Dan Searle. Guest spots from Comeback Kid’s Andrew Neufeld and The Dillinger Escape Plan vocalist Greg Puciato add an extra kick to two of the heavier tracks.
Carter noted that this was the first time the lyrics were completed before the band went into the studio and this is especially evident from the sincerity of ‘An Open Letter To Myself’. The atmospheric distorted guitar lines of ‘Red Eyes’ are reminiscent of Thrice and the vocals on this song are particularly outstanding.
The heavy metal sensibilities of Architects’ previous albums are still very much a focal point of their music and the abundance of milder moments on this record should only be seen as a step to the band becoming an established name in rock. ‘The Here And Now’ far surpasses anything Architects have done before.
Check them out here.
Saturday, 15 January 2011
Albums of 2010
Album of the year review is up on Intuition! (Vampire Weekend's Contra)
I did intend to do a proper write up of 2010, but I think I should probably just leave you with my top 10 artists of last year, as told by last.fm:
1 Brand New - Didn't release anything new last year...stunning band though.
2 Funeral for a Friend - The Young and Defenceless EP was out in September. Their new album should be released this side of 2011, go and pledge for it!
3 Lostprophets - Fourth album The Betrayed was released in 2010 and wasn't bad at all. My personal Lostprophets highlight of the year had to be seeing them live - something I had been waiting for since first hearing Shinobi vs Dragon Ninja back in 2002.
4 Reuben - They broke up ages ago, but I purchased the rarities collection, We Should Have Gone To University, since Banquet Records were out of Glassjaw albums.
5 Saves the Day - No new material released in 2010, but the new album is set for a 2011 release. Very much looking forward to this.
6 Alexisonfire - The Dog's Blood EP was a cracking return to the scene for Alexisonfire, pushing the boundaries of their previous material.
7 Britney Spears - Another Britney Greatest Hits compilation was produced, with a brand new track, 3, released as a single. That was a strange one, not quite up to the standard of Circus. The reason for her appearing high on my list is probably nothing to do with 3, and more to do with repeated listening of this playlist.
8 Senses Fail - Their new album was out towards the end of 2010 and I still haven't heard it. Nevertheless, I had their old material on a lot last year.
9 Thrice - Amazing band, nothing new released in 2010 but I had Deadbolt on repeat. That little piano outro just offsets the chaos wonderfully.
10 Gallows - Nobody knows if there will be any new Gallows material in the near future, but we can keep our fingers crossed. I managed to miss out on seeing this lot at The Peel once again, as poor Steph was unwell and the show had to be postponed...and of course I was back in Bristol by that time!
Clearly my 2010 was a little stuck in the past...
I did intend to do a proper write up of 2010, but I think I should probably just leave you with my top 10 artists of last year, as told by last.fm:
1 Brand New - Didn't release anything new last year...stunning band though.
2 Funeral for a Friend - The Young and Defenceless EP was out in September. Their new album should be released this side of 2011, go and pledge for it!
3 Lostprophets - Fourth album The Betrayed was released in 2010 and wasn't bad at all. My personal Lostprophets highlight of the year had to be seeing them live - something I had been waiting for since first hearing Shinobi vs Dragon Ninja back in 2002.
4 Reuben - They broke up ages ago, but I purchased the rarities collection, We Should Have Gone To University, since Banquet Records were out of Glassjaw albums.
5 Saves the Day - No new material released in 2010, but the new album is set for a 2011 release. Very much looking forward to this.
6 Alexisonfire - The Dog's Blood EP was a cracking return to the scene for Alexisonfire, pushing the boundaries of their previous material.
7 Britney Spears - Another Britney Greatest Hits compilation was produced, with a brand new track, 3, released as a single. That was a strange one, not quite up to the standard of Circus. The reason for her appearing high on my list is probably nothing to do with 3, and more to do with repeated listening of this playlist.
8 Senses Fail - Their new album was out towards the end of 2010 and I still haven't heard it. Nevertheless, I had their old material on a lot last year.
9 Thrice - Amazing band, nothing new released in 2010 but I had Deadbolt on repeat. That little piano outro just offsets the chaos wonderfully.
10 Gallows - Nobody knows if there will be any new Gallows material in the near future, but we can keep our fingers crossed. I managed to miss out on seeing this lot at The Peel once again, as poor Steph was unwell and the show had to be postponed...and of course I was back in Bristol by that time!
Clearly my 2010 was a little stuck in the past...
Thursday, 30 December 2010
Musical Instruments
Took some photos of our piano and my sister's flute:
More on Flickr.
Despite Christmas barely being out of sight, I have actually spent a lot of time attempting to get on with some coursework, since I'm 'losing' a few days next week by spending them in Rome taking more photos with Photosoc. I say 'attempting' as I spent the majority of today fiddling about with that piano in the photos above, arranging a couple of songs by Fightstar and Alexisonfire. Perhaps you may hear something new from me on piano soon...
More on Flickr.
Despite Christmas barely being out of sight, I have actually spent a lot of time attempting to get on with some coursework, since I'm 'losing' a few days next week by spending them in Rome taking more photos with Photosoc. I say 'attempting' as I spent the majority of today fiddling about with that piano in the photos above, arranging a couple of songs by Fightstar and Alexisonfire. Perhaps you may hear something new from me on piano soon...
Saturday, 25 December 2010
Gallows cover
I arranged Abandon Ship by Gallows for piano a while ago, finally made a decent recording of it. Check it out.
Wednesday, 22 December 2010
Westonbirt Arboretum
Back in October, I went on a trip to Westonbirt with UBU Photosoc. Autumn is pretty much the perfect time to visit somewhere that's full of trees! Despite it being a gloomy day, we all managed to capture some great photos. As is typical, the sun decided to appear just before we left, sparking a last minute rush to get some shots of rays of light poking through the maples. As well as wandering around taking photos of leaves, Alex and I ran a couple of SLR basics workshops for members. Here are some photos:
Click here for more!
Click here for more!
Thursday, 9 December 2010
Livesoc Gig Night
Last week, Bristol LiveSoc held a gig in the University of Bristol Students' Union. Here's some photos:
asinglebiteofcherry (this time with a backing band)
Max Parker
Studio Arcade
Scout Killers
More here!
asinglebiteofcherry (this time with a backing band)
Max Parker
Studio Arcade
Scout Killers
More here!
Monday, 29 November 2010
Balloons
For Joe's birthday, Josh had the idea of filling up his room with lots of balloons...and so a packet of 100 balloons was obtained. The valiant efforts of Jamie, Josh and Tom (I had to stop helping because I ran out of breath) were rewarded with a room full of floating orbs, which were transported down the corridor into Joe's room.
Joe surrounded by balloons.
Later, the balloons started randomly bursting in the middle of the night so they were moved into the corridor.
A veritable sea of balloons!
More here.
Joe surrounded by balloons.
Later, the balloons started randomly bursting in the middle of the night so they were moved into the corridor.
A veritable sea of balloons!
More here.
Friday, 26 November 2010
Bristol Student Protest
On Wednesday students from the University of Bristol, the University of the West of England and various 6th forms came together to protest against the rise in tuition fees.
I was at the protest for a couple of hours, so here's some shots. As per usual, more on Flickr.
Protestors making their way up Park Street.
Joe and Josh watching the protest.
A protestor being arrested on Park Street.
I was at the protest for a couple of hours, so here's some shots. As per usual, more on Flickr.
Protestors making their way up Park Street.
Joe and Josh watching the protest.
A protestor being arrested on Park Street.
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