Dallas Don't OMS Feature

“We formed about 3 years ago – Brian and I met through work, and me and Yan used to jam together,” remembers Dallas Don't frontman Niall. “Then we found Jenny on the internet and took her to a practice room out in the sticks on a cold winter night. That’s not what it sounds like...”

That's exactly the kind of smut you should expect from on-the-up freak pop-punks Dallas Don't whose most recent release, the rather excellent Retrace this Place EP, perfectly brings the band's love for well-crafted indie pop songs and post-hardcore noise into harmony, as Niall explains.

“We’re as influenced by Hefner, Seafood and Belle and Sebastian, as we are by Fugazi, Shellac and Fucked Up. I think this means that people are sometimes a bit confused about which side of that divide we fall on, but it keeps it interesting for us, as we like melody as much as we love heavy noise in songs.”

Coming to terms with the two seemingly disparate aesthetics is what brought the band to their current sound.

“Our first demo was very much us figuring out what sort of music we wanted to play. The second one was a bit of step up for us, and we’re still playing songs like “Lesson” and “Phoebe Henderson” from it live, but I think some of the tunes were a bit mismatched. The new EP is more linked thematically through the lyrics and it just has the strongest tunes we’ve written. “The Witches Stone” is the poppiest song we've written yet and although “Solution” and “New Wolf” are among the heaviest we've written, there’s still a strong melodic element to them.”

Beside the band's inherent sense of melody, one of the most striking elements of the band's sound is Niall's strong Scottish accent, something which also feeds into the lyrical themes in the songs.

“Lyrically, the influence is a mix of my own experience, particularly from the time I spent growing up in the North of Scotland, and re-tellings and reimaginings of stories from local history, pop culture and everyday life that help me to explore themes I find interesting, both personally, socially and occasionally politically too.”

But the band is very much tied to it's Oxford roots too; their last EP was recorded by former Xmas Lights man Umair Chaudhry at a session provided by winning Demo of the Month in Nightshift magazine. Oh, and Umair came highly recommended by Dallas Don't's good pals The Cellar Family. Singer and guitarist Jenny also goes on to champion the likes of We Aeronauts, Salvation Bill, X-1, Agness Pike, Von Braun, Listing Ships, Rhosyn, and Spring Offensive as among her favourite local acts, adding: “I think that list alone highlights that there is so much variety out there. Even though there is a definite “Oxford sound” which has been perpetuated by the success of Foals and This Town Needs Guns, Oxford is still a city that is keen to embrace anything new and different.”

[Originally published in Oxfordshire Music Magazine, issue 23, May 2013]

http://www.back2left.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/oms-23.pdf

Kill Murray - Microscopic Feel EP

(Self-released, 2013)

Radiohead meets Animal Collective meets any number of anthemic nineties alternative acts on Kill Murray's latest EP of sturdy electro-pop, Microscopic Feel. Singer Gus Rogers sighs and falsettos like Thom Yorke while the band ploughs through a handful of synth-rock anthems that are tastefully put together, if sometimes a little out of whack on the style-to-substance ratio, the electronic sheen giving an unnecessary air of modernity to what are essentially quite traditional songs. In truth, the best moments occur when Gus' songwriting returns to Dial F territory on songs like "Hotel Zoo," if only because Kill Murray get back to sounding like four musicians playing together in a band rather than a sequencer, strategically programmed. You can't fault the craftsmanship, the performances or the production from a technical standpoint – the drums in particular sound huge – but everything feels a bit too metronomic and clean cut to make me feel much about it, microscopic or otherwise. 

[Originally published, in slightly editorially altered form, in Oxfordshire Music Magazine, issue 23, May 2013]
http://www.back2left.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/oms-23.pdf

Conan / Bongripper - Split 12"

(Holy Roar Records, 2013)

 

If you are reading this then we are fortunate that the recent Bongripper / Conan UK tour hasn’t levelled our fair isles to rubble. As the cover of this co-release indicates (and indeed as both bands’ reputation will have preceded them) Conan and Bongripper are true worshippers of insane degrees of amplification, ever on a path of discovery for perfect tone and crushing noise. Coming off the back of celebrated Roadburn Festival performances and well-respected albums (Bongripper’s Satan Worshipping Doom and Conan’s Monnos) the bands being brought together on vinyl is every monolithic doom fan’s wet dream, and the fact that they decided to tour together to bring the music directly to your beating chest may well be the climax.

 

Anyone who is familiar with either band’s back catalogue ought to know what to expect, and certainly they will not be disappointed with this split. Both bands play the kind of incredibly loud, down-tuned and soul-destroying doom that makes your sphincter wobble and your heart pound twice as hard in your chest. On the one hand, both band’s appeal lies in primal, old fashioned riffs. But both bands are also masters of a sound that they have created, one that is dense, menacing and cinematic.

 

Starting with the hypnotic tribal drumming of Conan‘s Paul O’Neil and the growing drone of Matamp-approved feedback, the lowstrung grumble of the guitars gives way to the dual roar of Jon Davis and Phil Coumbe. “Beheaded” harks back to Horseback Battle Hammer-era Conan when the songs were given more time to plough through their surroundings, the notes more sparse and sparing than almost anything on Monnos but certainly no less punishing or menacing. As always, Conan manage to paint a mental image of destruction, war-torn battlefields and barbarians tearing through villages and revelling in the fire and brimstone of it all. For seventeen minutes, “Beheaded” rolls on – no break in the action, no looking back at the devastation left in its wake. This is doom that creates a heavy atmosphere and hits you at that gut level with no need for frills or tricks – the reward is in the weight of the sound.

 

Bongripper contribute a far more tumultuous offering in ‘Zero Talent’, a track that could have easily sat on Satan Worshipping Doom in terms of sound and the combination of styles that inform the band’s exploratory, progressive take on doom. Stoner riffs slide into depressive passages of monotone doom before blast beats pull you out of your stupor. While Bongripper don’t quite create the same level of all-consuming atmosphere, given the time constraints, ‘Zero Talent’ is nonetheless a mighty sampling of one of the heaviest bands currently making music and a near-perfect introduction to those who may not know the band’s sound. If Conan evoke a horde of barbarians wantonly pillaging, Bongripper are like the blackened visage of Death, grinning slyly from beneath his cloak at the squalor.

 

It’s not often that two bands who have mastered a unique sound of their own come together for a release like this which is what makes it such an absolute treat; one side of monotone, primal caveman doom and another of pitch-black stoner doom. While we wait for new albums from both bands, this is the perfect stop-gap, whetting our appetites for more aural destruction to come. As ever, the real heroes here are the amplifiers who have been given pride of place on the cover, acting as the “fifth member” throughout this mighty impressive release. Here’s an experiment: put this on your turntable and see if it can handle the weight.

[Originally published by the Sleeping Shaman, 02/05/2013]
http://www.thesleepingshaman.com/reviews/album-reviews/c/conan-bongripper-split-12inch-dd-2013/

Listing Ships / Grey Hairs / Abandon / Tiger Mendoza @ The Wheatsheaf, Oxford, 12/04/13

The veritable tastemakers at MusicInOxford HQ (I must say nice things – they’re watching me…) excelled themselves once again with the latest in a sporadic series of gigs celebrating eclectic line-ups of local and out-of-town talent at the old workhorse of the Oxford scene, The Wheatsheaf. Having admired the three local acts from a afar for some time, and having heard great things about Grey Hairs, it promised to be a good night from the start.

Although I was somewhat disappointed to learn that Tiger Mendoza were playing a DJ set as opposed to appearing as a full band (having never seen them before), the result was actually pretty interesting. Frontman Ian, wearing his trademark mask, combined elements of Tiger Mendoza’s own material with huge hip-hop beats and familiar samples from the likes of DJ Shadow, whose eclecticism has clearly had an influence on Ian’s approach to DJing. Being largely unfamiliar with Tiger Mendoza’s own music, it was hard to tell where the line between original and sampled music became blurred, but it was nonetheless a pleasant, stimulating start to the evening.

Featuring two former members of aggro-mentalists Xmas Lights, Abandon‘s music is in stark contrast to the other bands on display tonight, not to mention their own musical past. Instead of punching you in the face, Abandon slowly creep under your skin. Featuring two reverb-drenched guitars, bass and drums-by-way-of-an-iPad, Umair Chaudhry and company launch into a majestic, cold depression of chiming guitars and elegant song structures, delivered with the downtrodden emotion and pace of Jesu; Umair’s sullen voice an instrument in itself. It’s a shame some of the crowd were talking loudly throughout – Abandon are bound to polarise people who’ve come out to dance or rock out – but for those who were taken under their slowcore spell, it was a beautiful set of quiet dignity.

Dignity flies out of the door as soon as Nottingham’s Grey Hairs start up, and they’re like a jolt to the system after being lulled into a sweet coma by Abandon. The band tap into the very core of the mountain of rock’n'roll, to hit that sweet spot where enthusiasm and a little swagger makes technical precision seem pompous and absurd. It’s the kind of subversive rock’n'roll that compels trust fund kids to shuffle to the front to shake their heads wildly, and the rest of us sit back and enjoy the reference points, nodding smugly as the band touch upon Mclusky, Wire and the Fall. An intoxicating hybrid of Iggy & the Stooges-like garage rock and Pissed Jeans-ian mid-life crisis.

After Grey Hairs’ energised set I was beginning to wonder how Listing Ships would shape up in comparison. Thankfully, they were ship-shape (*cough*). But seriously, Listing Ships delivered a truly amazing performance of their nautical-themed post-Krautrock, the various band members gleefully switching between bass, electric guitar and a handful of synthesisers. Having been more than enthusiastic about their recorded output, I was pleased that the anthemic ‘Equus Ager’ and ‘All Aboard The Andrea Doria’ packed an even greater punch live, while songs like ‘The 100 Gun Ship’ proved to make even more sense within the context of their kinetic set. The band even presented their guitarist Jim (who was playing his last gig with the band before beckoning fatherhood) with a Listing Ships emblazoned baby-grow – not a usual staple of a rock show, but a sweet moment at the end of a fantastic evening courtesy of your ol’ pals, MusicInOxford.

[Originally published on MusicInOxford, 01/05/2013]
http://www.musicinoxford.co.uk/2013/05/01/listing-ships-grey-hairs-abandon-tiger-mendoza-the-wheatsheaf-oxford-120413/