This week's music news

The hardcore-mathrockers Dillinger Escape Plan will be releasing their 4th album Option Paralysis on March 23, 2010 which coincides with their 10 year relationship with Relapse Records.

The band has been through all sorts of ups and downs since 1999. Bassist Adam Doll was paralysed from a car crash during the 1st album, vocalist Dimitri Minakakis left the band after the 2nd album, guitarist Benoit couldn't play anymore due to nerve damage in his hand, and if all that wasn't enough, guitarist Weinman briefly left the band and Chris Penine left the band for Coheed and Cambria and so Dillinger Escape Plan had no drummer just before the 3rd album release.

But despite all this Faith No More's Mike Patton asked them to come on tour with his project Mr Bungle and was the vocalist for the band for Irony Is A Dead scene EP.

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There will be another Alkaline Trio album before Matt Skiba can release his solo record. Their 7th album will be released through their own label, Heart and Skull, with Epitaph Records and should be out in February, 2010

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Trash Talk are famous for their 30 second hardcore whirlwinds and their album Eyes and Nines is currently being mixed for a 2010 release. Fans of the band include Alexisonfire and they are about to go on tour with British punk-rockers, Gallows.

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New York City's Interpol are going back to their roots for the 4th album. The album, due out early 2010, is expected to sound more like their 2002 released debut, Turn On The Bright Lights.

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Arctic Monkeys may be currently on their UK arena tour but apparently they're already thinking about the next album. Drummer Matt Helders told BBC 6 music that the band are talking about the 4th album. They plan to take time off after the tour to work on the new material

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Progressive Metal band Mastodon have announced tour dates for 2010.

February
16 Wolverhampton Wulfrun Hall
17 Bristol, Academy
19 Glasgow, Barrowland
20 Manchester, Academy
21 Newcastle, Academy
23 Nottingham, Rock City
24 London, Roundhouse

Their 4th album, Crack The Skye, came out in March this year and on November 4th the band released their 2nd EP, Oblivion, which is only available in digital formats.

The Slits interview

The Slits began their musical adventures at the pinnacle time of punk,supporting Buzzcocks and The Clash in 1977. Their debut Cut was released in 1979 with reggae rhythms and a sense of independent mishief that evolved in an experiemental sound. The band broke up in 1982 and made their comeback with a new lineup in 2005. On 6th November 2009, The Slits released their first full length album in 25 years.



Kristi- Can you just introduce yourself? Hi, I’m Ari and I sing sometimes when I can
Hi I’m Anna and I play the drums, or I attempt to
Hello I’m Holly and I sing and pretend to play the keyboard
My name is Michelle and I play guitar, I actually play it.
My name is Tessa and I play the bass as well as I can

Kristi- How has the touring been going so far then?
Anna-Good
Holly-Good
Ari-Wicked
Tessa-Really good
Anna- Thanks to the snazzy tour bus that we are in right now

Kristi- Now I know you’ve been together as the current Slits line up for a few years now, but why did you want to get The Slits back on to the road?

Tessa- because we had unfinished business and we just wanna keep going til we drop dead basically

Kristi- where did you all meet?
Holly- I dunno I have no idea
Ari- its complicated
Tessa- its a long story
Anna- It was cosmic, innit
Tessa- it was meant to be
Holly- it was in the sky

Kristi- What shows have you got planned for the next few months?
Tessa- we might be supporting The Cribs in the next couple of months
Holly- Maybe. It’s not hugely official, I dunno.

Kristi- So it’s the first album release in 25 years, it’s been a long time, so what can we expect from this album?
Ari- same thing you expected for the last album, same thing.
Tessa- it’s got a lot of variety on it, there’s no particular style. I call it schizophrenic.
Ari- I wouldn’t say it was schizophrenic at all.
Tessa- well you don’t understand my description of it, because what I’m saying is it has a lot of different characters. Each song is completely different, it’s not like one style of music you couldn’t classify the album as any one style of music. It’s diverse.
Anna- It’s eclectic

Kristi- off the top of your head what music do you all listen to?
Anna- right now I’m listening to Neil Young
Tessa- I’m listening to Ari’s dancehall CDs from Jamaica cuz they’re new and exciting

Kristi- Do you think people still class you as punk band?
Ari- I don’t think we’ve ever been classed as a punk band. Only in ’77, but by the time we had the Cut album people didn’t relate to us as punk at all. Do we have to have a label? Because people insist on a label I keep saying punk, reggae, punk reggae, punky-reggae but really it’s Slits isn’t it. That’s what Tessa is trying to say, it’s a totally Slits sound I think.
Tessa- but it obviously has it’s punk elements as that’s our roots of where we came from, well one of our roots.

Kristi- what do you miss the most about the 70s when you were in a band at that time?
Ari- it’s a bit like asking what do you miss about ex boyfriend. I try not to miss anything cuz if you live for missing then you won’t move on and you won’t be excited about anything in life anymore but having said that you miss age.
Tessa- having more energy, that’s what I miss but I’m working on my energy.

Kristi- So Ari, as you go to Jamaica a lot do you get a lot of music inspiration from there?
Ari- I’m more bombarded than influenced. That’s why I try to not listen to any music at all because I’m constantly bombarded.

Kristi- you probably get asked this quite a lot, but is your Mum still married to John Lydon?
Ari- I dunno why people ask these things because it’s none of my business

Kristi- Didn’t Joe Strummer teach you to play guitar?
Ari- I can’t play, it’s just that he showed me some chords, my first chords. Joe Strummer was one of the people that was in my peers, my colleagues, but like a brother right. It’s just that he was hanging around a lot and the time and then had his guitar on him all the time so he didn’t talk much he was really quiet, so he just always played and showed me some chords.

Kristi- can you talk about some of the people that used to come in and out of your home?
Ari- Well Nora my mother she was really the manager for The Slits at the beginning. She helped a lot with Palmolive’s drums and equipment and helped getting gigs and helping a lot like that cuz she was already in promotion and I grew up in music and with musicians and so just every musician was there, every musician you could think of was hanging around us.
Nora came in at that time because we were already in the music.

Kristi- Have you found success difficult being females?
Tessa- what success? (laughs) We’ve never had any success, that’s why we’re back.

Kristi- well don’t you think women are finding it easier to get recognition now, than they did in the 70s?

Tessa- Our support group is very good, Wet Dog there’s a lot of potential in them.
Ari- there’s a lot of girl groups that are live, in America specifically there’s a lot of great girl groups, but they don’t get any recognition.
Anna- The novelty of a girl band overshadows it and that sucks
Tessa- And people are more ready to criticise your playing when you’re a girl, even if you can play perfectly well.

Kristi- In the early days you said you liked to shock people, can the same be said or has this changed?
Ari- We shock people, we never try to. We just do. It’s just the reality, it’s not even fun really.

Kristi- What’s a typical Slits gig like then?
Anna- there’s always a chance element that I think makes it quite special, I don’t think we just play a set list. We really feed off the crowd, like I said there’s always a bit of a random element that will always be different but there’s certainly a lot of interesting interaction.
Tessa- There’s always a lot of humour, sauciness, seriousness, unpredictability. Its’ not like a slick over produced show each gig is different, totally different.

Kristi- What means the most to you in this band? Good record sales, people coming to your gig or people just hearing you. What makes the most to you?
Tessa- as many people hearing our music all over the world.
Holly- it is always nice when people are at our gigs too.
Tessa- sometimes they’re not very well promoted.
Anna- but I think one of the greatest things about playing a show is just people who are really in awe, you know just really excited, that makes it worthwhile. I wouldn’t care if a huge building was sold out and everyone was just not really into it. It’s better when you find a few people who are really really happy.
Tessa- Like in Cardiff this couple were just so excited and the guy just couldn’t stop talking and saying he felt so uplifted. That’s what music should be, feeling so happy like it will last for days. That’s the best reaction, that’s what you want, you want to make people feel happy and feel good.
Ari- I don’t like it when there’s people who really want to come to a show and can’t because they can’t afford it. There was one show with a group of young girls outside who really wanted to come to the gig so I let them in for free, because I knew they really wanted to come and couldn’t.

Kristi- so when you’ve come off stage how do you know it’s been a good gig?
Tessa- people coming up and talking to us, or you just get the feeling when you’re on stage
Anna- nobody has a concussion.

Kristi- Do you get many people coming up to you saying you have inspired them at all?
Ari- It’s really nice when girls come up to you and say: “We started a group because of you guys.” People are happy to use us as an influence to create their own creativity, that’s the most fulfilling thing when you hear something like that.

Kristi- Which bands have been the best to tour with?
Tessa- Wetdog, demonstrations...

Kristi- where is your biggest fan base at the minute?
Tessa- America at the moment
Anna- but Australia was a hige response and japan huge
Tessa- can’t really say one
Anna- maybe not Europe
Tessa- we haven’t really played Europe that’s why.

Kristi- Are you planning to release another album after this?
Tessa- I think we should start thinking about the next one pretty soon.
Anna- Well we have a 10 album deal
Everyone laughs
Tessa- I think we should just keep constantly writing and be ready for the next one.

Kristi- what do you think to people downloading your music?
Tessa- it’s good and bad.
Anna- I am personally kinda fed up with people saying the music industry is doing bad because we can get everything for free because I think it is the most amazing promotion tool. The music applications, how you can put music on your phone and Ipod, I really think it’s totally good for the industry.
Ari- then we should have used it for this tour more. I heard there was nothing around. The dates are only on our myspace but they should be all over the place with more blogging.

Kristi- what are your favourite songs on the album?
Tessa- its constantly changing.
Anna- Well I loved Trapped Animal.
Holly- yeah me too
Anna- and it happens to be the title of the album.
Ari- I like songs that can get to the modern people. Holly and Anna think more open minded but I’m talking regular modern people, like in Jamaica Pay rent is being played more cuz it has a club feel.

Kristi- Do you want younger people to be listening to this album then?
Ari- yeah!
Tessa- our audience is a mixture of ages when we play live, it’s a total mixture which is great.

The Skints Interview

The Skints are a reggae-punk band from East London who are currently on their first headline tour to promote their debut album Live.Breate.Build.Believe. It was released on November 9th through Sonic Boom Six's record label Rebel Alliance Recordings and brings in a diverse mix of ska, reggae punk with politically inspired honest lyrics.

Jamie: Hi my name’s Jamie, I’m from The Skints and I play drums and I sing.
Josh: I’m Josh I play guitar and sing.
John: I’m john, I play bass.
Josh: And that’s Marcia and she plays the organ, the flute and she sings and she plays the melodica.


Did you have to give up anything to be in the band at all?
Josh- A couple of us were gunna go to Uni or whatever and obviously work is very hard when you’re in a band so work doesn’t really happen so yeah obviously you give up having a regular income at home and stuff but its kinda like the best job in the world you don’t make money out of

Do you feel like you’re getting a bit more recognition and respect now?
Josh- I think sort of through the really hard work and touring we’ve done this year I think it’s really sort of paid off. I’d definitely like to think there’s more people aware of our band and you know the fact that this is our first headline tour and having people coming out is really cool for us.

In a way do you not think it’s about time people are getting to know you cuz you gigged in London for ages for free so in a way do you think it’s about time?

Josh- Well I mean you know there’s so many bands in the world let alone this country that are sort of trying to do their thing so to be seen amongst that as a band that people will actually bother to part with their nights out, part with their money and to be a part of is something really cool and obviously it’s still very humbling to have people who wanna buy our record and come to a shows and things like that

And your album has just come out, so how does it feel for that to finally be out for everyone?
John- Brilliant
It’s an amazing feeling to finally have something that you can access now and just going down to a shop
Josh- You know all of us love music and we all have an extensive music collection and like I’ve always from when I was really young id go and buy a new punk record and feel like this is wicked and to actually be able to hold your album and listen to it, well I don’t really listen to my own album (laughs) but you know to have an album amongst us is a very very cool feeling

How was it making the album then cuz it didn’t take you very long did it?

John- No it took us about 5 days we did it at Pete Miles studio in Devon
Josh- We did like 5 days of recording it and went back and did a day cuz we had a month where we were on tours and stuff and so we sat on it and listened back and we went and did a day mixing which was really cool but yeah you know we sort of we were quite ready it’s not like we had to do any creating or anything we had the album ready to go and we sort of worked out fingers to the bone for 5 days straight and we were really happy for that to come out

Is there any story behind the title at all?

Josh- Live breathe build believe it’s a lyric on one of the songs called 'ya know' and it pretty much means like you said earlier that this band has pretty much given up everything to do this you know we built this thing and we believe in it and every single day it’s like you know you go and tour and you’re just your band in your van and it pretty much encompasses your life but in a very positive way.

And you bought it out with sonic boom six’s record label, how did that come about?
Josh- We did like a few support shows with sonic boom six and we sorta got like quite matey with them and they sort of got us onto a couple of shows and it was around February when the random hand album came out with rebel alliance we played the release gig with them up in Leeds and barney was like ‘oh you know are you lot looking to do an album this year?’ and we said yeah definitely and he said okay can we put it out and I thought like ‘what do you mean put it out?’ it was the most crazy thing cuz sonic boom six are like UK punk wise you know and pretty much are running it when we were first starting out so for like a while later for them to ask us to be on their label!




What do you think to illegal downloading? Being a fairly small band does it affect you?

Josh- It’s like a wheel it’s never gunna stop rolling like the argument of the download thing I think for a band like us people that buy our album a) you’ve got everything there you’ve got like the artwork and the CD and everything and you got the CD but at the same time we like people to think that they are really helping us out cuz they are they’re helping us eat, put fuel in our van and to get to the next show, pretty much but as far as downloading goes I aint gunna lie I’ve downloaded albums before and I’ve bought albums before I would rather if someone downloads our album and gives it to their mates and a load of people come down to see us off the strength of that, I think that’s better than just like one person buying it and never coming out so there’s up and downs you know I personally think if people can afford it like buy our album that’s amazing but you know you don’t necessarily gotta have money to have music that you wanna listen to

Now I’m just gunna read out some lyrics from your album and I just want you to talk about them: I can count on both hands the bands that I think are worth a damn’ what made you write that?

Josh- Its probably more than both hands to be honest I was having a bit of an angry day when I wrote that song just like I think British music I think it’s definitely still in recession but for a while the UK punk scene you know it might be a bit of a controversial statement but it kinda died on its arse as far as quality goes, for me anyway and it just got to a point, there was obviously like 2-3 bands that were really cool and we were supposed to be playing shows in the scene and wasn’t really feeling a lot of the bands, don’t get me wrong there are some brilliant bands, more than both hands can count, it’s more of a metaphor but yeah just sort of like losing faith in something that you are musically a part of is a bit depressing.


So it’s your first headline tour as well, how is that as opposed to just being a support band, how’s it going?

Josh- I think you know, first night it was absolutely terrifying I mean obviously we’ve done quite a few headline gigs but not nearly as many as we’ve done supports, but as the headline tour you sort of forget, it sort of becomes more it’s more like one channelled, it sounds kinda selfish but it becomes a bit more about you, like when you’re a support band you’re effectively tagging the other band, which is really cool cuz like we’ve toured with bands like The Slackers, and The Aggrolites and Sonic Boom Six and we’ve been doing that for years and they just know their trade so well and we’ve been lucky enough to be able to learn things from that so doing a headline tour it’s a) a fear of like oh my god are people actually gunna come out and b) it’s like a fear of oh my god we’ve gotta like play for an hour and are supposed to be the best band at the end of the night and whatever so its kinda like exciting but scary at the same time as well.

Do you feel a bit under pressure at all?

Josh- Not so much pressure, I think like when we first got told that we were going to be doing a headline tour with the album, like 6/7 months ago, I personally didn’t think we were ready but I think you know we’ve worked really hard this year

Due to some of your lyrics do you think it’s fair for people to call you a political band?

Josh- I'd never call us a political band. I mean everything technically if you wanna get all anal about it is political but I wouldn’t say we were a political band you know all our lyrics are a personal thoughts and feelings and if that’s taken as politics then fair enough but it’s not intentional like right were gunna go out and smash the system, even though lyrically one of might be saying that, I mean it’s not really like we’re here to blow up parliament or anything. I wouldn’t call us a political band but we are very politically minded
Marcia- So it will come out in the music a little bit
So off the top of your head what bands are you all listening to at the minute?
Josh- To be brutally honest I haven’t been listening to too much stuff of this genre I’ve been listening to quite a bit of grime and dub step recently, but I’m really looking forward to the new jimmy the squirrel album which I’m sure most Nottingham people are aware of their abilities and I’m really looking forward to hearing some new mouthwash and new clay pigeon as well

And just to finish off have you got anything to say to your fans that have been supporting you at all?

Josh- Thank you very much fans that have been supporting us at all(laughs) we really appreciate people coming to our shows and buying our record so let’s just keep partying like its 1999!

Introducing...I Only Date Models

Nottingham band claim they will be kings of the festival circuit within five years.

Sammy Ault, Michael Meadows, Timmy Bollons and Thomas Ford met at Nottingham Trent University where they realised they could write serious music together.

I Only Date Models filled up the Bodega Social Club in the summer and say they would give up 'their dignity and self respect to get signed'.

Music influences
Drummer Tom Ford, says: "We enjoy anything from old school hip-hop to metal and even a bit of Phil Collins.

"Although we do not consciously attempt to emulate anyone else, our influences must have some bearing on our sound."

The band say they've been listening to minimal progressive French disco recently but if they had to choose one CD to rescue from a fire, it would be a Now That’s What I Call Music! compilation.

They do support the Nottingham music scene but say the local promoters could do a better job. Tom says:

"Nottingham has the potential to host some really good nights.

"However, a lot of big bands bring their own tour support and promoters are rather blasé about getting local bands on the bill. That has an adverse effect on the local scene."


I Only Date Models ideal night out

If they can't find a good local gig to go to, their ideal night out in Nottingham would consist of going to the Bodega Social Club, Coco Tang, the Stealth V Rescued club night and McDonalds.

Tom says that their best song is One Day (I Will Light Up Your Sky) but wishes the band could write catchy songs that last a lifetime like Happy Birthday and the Friends theme tune.

I Only Date Models will soon be in the studio to record two new tracks and are playing Nottingham’s Jack Wills Fresher tour in October 2009.

You can catch artists like I Only Date Models on The Beat. The Beat is BBC Radio Nottingham's official Introducing show.
You can listen to The Beat every Saturday night from 6.00pm until 10.00pm (103.8, 95.5fm, 1584am and DAB digital radio). If you miss it you can listen again on the BBC's iplayer

Does anyone care about Glassjaw being back?

This year we’ve gone all nostalgic and reunion crazy with all sorts of bands getting back together, from Pavement, Rage Against The Machine, Faith No More, Spandau Ballet and of course Take That. And for some reason our love for these bands somehow quadruples the second time round after merely existing with their extensive discography. But what about bands that were not so big the first time round?

Glassjaw are one of them and they’re back! At, um, Wembley Stadium. Not a bad start for a band that have been hiding away. The melodic experimental rockers will support Brand New but will them embark on a few headline dates themselves after.

So why should anyone care that they’re back? Well they might have only had 2 albums but the effect they had on music still lives. New York post-hardcore band Glassjaw were once deemed legends for the influence they had on underground music with just 2 albums. The riotous and intensity they delivered at gigs was also an eye-opener and they managed to get a cult fan base without having to over expose themselves. Now after a hiatus they’re back.

Some might say Glassjaw’s debut album Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Silence was one of the best albums of their generation when it was released in 2000.
Its powerful aggressiveness mixed with melody was a unique mix that Roadrunner records should have been proud to have on their roster, but actually they caused the band to hate the label. The band didn’t agree with how Roadrunner ran their business, and wanted to play way more gigs than they were allowed, so they left the label that they felt only cared about Slipknot.


Bassist Manuel Carrero was also kicked out of the band (who is now back with the new line up) and so a few changes took place. Soon the melodic experimental rockers began work on the follow up Worship And Tribute with Warner Bros.

It was a more mature and complex album than the debut bringing in all sorts of influences from Bad brains to Anthrax to The Cure. Key songs on Worship And Tribute were ‘cosmopolitan blood loss’ and ‘ape dos mil’ which showed just why they influenced bands like Finch and The Passion Pit.

The gigs started to come through thick and fast too, extensively touring the world until they decided on a hiatus in 2004, which gave front man Palumbo time to work on another project, Head Automatica.

Before this though, all the remaining members of Glassjaw were kicked out the band. Not exactly the most settled of bands! Palumbo soon engaged his interest of hip-hop and brit pop with the new project and out came songs like Beating Heart Baby. Most people assumed Glassjaw had split up and became Finch fans instead.

Over the years the band did things in dribs and drabs. A support act for Deftones, A B-side EP release and a few festival slots but nothing us UK fans could get majorly excited about.

Now, out of nowhere, they’re supporting Brand New, with a few headline gigs as well, so what does this mean for Glassjaw’s future? Is this just another one-off appearance until the next one in 5 years, or will there be a new album?
Well Glassjaw fans, it looks like the latter. Palumbo confirmed back in July that there would be an EP and album some time next year that would be the most aggressive Glassjaw have been to date. But do we really have room for Glassjaw in 2010?

We all need some aggressive passion with melodic/emotional experimentation in our lives, but if you don’t like it, at least try and spot the Mike Patton influences.

Biffy Clyro- Only Revolutions

Scottish rockers Biffy Clyro have managed to transform themselves from a cult band that sang dark melodic songs in 2002 with their debut Blackened Sky, to the mainstream UK rock gods who are at the pinnacle of their influential guitar career.

Having experimented with ridiculous lyrics and complex riffs and time signatures over the years, the success really started to come in 2007 after signing to 14th floor.
Radio play has accumulated more fans for Biffy and the release of Only Revolutions shows off their skill to remain true to the cult fans, as well as refreshingly bringing in a new direction.

You could say the band has been quite clever in music marketing as the album is already full of hits. ‘That Golden Rule’ and ‘Mountain’ are on it (both got in the top 10 of the UK charts) and the most recent ‘The Captain’, which got in the top 20.
Not bad for a band that sings about “hairy eyes being an obstruction” and “feathers flying if you shoot a bullet full of bubble gum”. Yes their lyrics are ridiculous, but this is what gives this band its quirks and there’s plenty more of them on Only Revolutions.

On ‘Born on a horse’ Simon Neil tells us “I pronounce it 'aluminium,' cos there's an I next to the U and M," and, "I've never had a lover who's my sister or my brother before” which quite simply doesn’t make sense but you’d be wrong if you thought all your attention will go on the lyrics.

Only revolutions has a sonic attack of strings and is the most tight and polished Biffy Clyro album to date. The orchestral charm on most of the tracks adds real depth to the melodic rock pop and anthemic songs that show the evolution of the band.

Tracks like ‘Bubbles’ and ‘cloud of stink’ are reminiscent of the original Biffy sound while ‘God and Satan’ and ‘Know your quarry’ are the emotional mellow tracks that show they do have a serious side with the most honest and heartfelt lyrics on the album.

It’s already been compared to Jimmy Eat World and Muse but regardless of comparisons Only Revolutions lives up to expectations and ticks all boxes. Hit filled, radio friendly, quirky, original, emotional and anthemic.




Biffy Clyro- That Golden Rule