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/

Listing Ships - The Hayling Island Sessions

(Idle Fret/American Steam Company Recordings, 2012)

All the best bands are nautically themed aren't they? Well, apart from Aqua. But think Shipping News, June of 44, Tortoise and Slint and you'll get the idea. Listing Ships have emerged as one of the best new bands in Oxford but their love of the sea has gone to the next level on this latest release with the band choosing to record three new songs in a converted Lifeboat station on the South Coast. Combining field recordings from the recording sessions and their own brand of kraut-leaning post-rock, Listing Ships continue to evoke oceanic textures on the the restless, tumultuous 'Baychimo' and the alternatingly rough and serene 'Alba Adriatica'. Combined with three of their previously released tracks, The Hayling Island Sessions marks the band's first foray onto that most highly-regarded of formats, the 12” vinyl, so it will serve as an excellent introduction to the band or a prized collectors item for existing fans. Either way, it comes highly recommended.

[Originally published in Oxford Music Scene magazine, issue 20]

http://www.oxfordmusicscene.co.uk/images/oms_issue20.pdf

Listing Ships - The 100 Gun Ship

(American Steam Company, 2011)

One of the musical revelations of music in Oxford in 2011 has been the emergence of Listing Ships, a band whose 90s-post-rock-leaning demo ‘Maiden Voyage’ we enthused about earlier in the year. Along with a couple of god-awful nautically-themed puns, we said that record was like “a nineties alternative and post-rock nostalgia trip, combining elements of Siamese Dream-era Smashing Pumpkins and Tortoise to create [anthemic, vast soundscapes]“.

The 100 Gun Ship is Listing Ships’ first EP and the debut release on their own American Steam Company label. Considering that the three songs from their demo appear on this EP in their original forms, there’s no point regurgitating the praise we lumped on them last time (especially when you can just go read the review here). So onto the new. Opening track ‘The 100 Gun Ship’ is the most ferocious thing the band have released so far, beginning with a driving bassline that anchors the layers of guitar and electronics, giving them free reign to expand out and muddy the atmosphere. After such a ferocious start, ‘Melusine Romance’ is, in stark contrast (and for lack of a better term), the ‘loveliest’ thing we’ve yet heard from the band; all fluttering guitars and sudden unexpected bursts of distortion. The song conjures up the various bittersweet emotions associated with the choppy waters of love, which is especially appropriate given the song name, and there is plenty of tension thrown in for good measure. ‘Then Venice Sank’ brings it all back to Krautrock territory (think Neu!) – the dominant influence on this EP.

For my tastes, the New Rose Hotel remix of ‘Equus Ager’ that closes the EP is a little superfluous; perhaps the band felt that it was a worthy or necessary inclusion because The 100 Gun Ship is essentially an expanded version of ‘Maiden Voyage’ – but for all its pleasant atmospherics, the song doesn’t particularly add to the collection besides to create a feeling of being submerged under water. Never mind, it’s a minor gripe on what is an otherwise great EP from a band who are getting better with each release.

[Originally published on MusicInOxford.co.uk, 09/12/11]
http://www.musicinoxford.co.uk/2011/12/09/listing-ships-the-100-gun-ship-american-steam-company/

Listing Ships Feature from OMS Magazine

Listing Ships arrived on our shores unannounced earlier this year, making waves with their nautically themed Tortoise-inspired post-rock stylings and all-star cast of musicians. Or perhaps not. True, the original line-up of the band was made up of former members of such bands as Sunnyvale Noise Sub-Element and Witches but bassist Stuart Fowkes was more bemused than anything else by the attention this gave the band.

“The funniest thing from the beginning was a couple of people calling us a ‘local supergroup’, given that Jim’s never played a gig before this band, Mike’s last band played live about three times, and none of the bands Dave or I have been in have exactly set the world alight. Still, helped us get a few gigs...”

A few high profile gigs too, one should add. As well as doing the rounds in Oxford and London, this summer saw the band play slots at the Truck and Supernormal Festivals. As guitarist Mike Bingham recalls: “I loved every minute of Truck. It was probably our most energetic performance so far and went down really well. Such a shame it was the last Truck. I hope it re-emerges in another guise next year. Supernormal was an odd one, we didn’t all fit on the hay bale stage so we spread out all our synths on the grass in front.”

Stuart continues: “I absolutely love festivals, and playing them is a treat. Festival audiences are great, they’re all full of cider and enthusiasm so it’s a load more fun than a wet Wednesday at a shitty venue in north London.”

But they do concede that it's not always easy to play for an audience who are expecting a band with vocals. “Most music from the last 60 years or so has relied heavily on vocals so people can find it difficult to accept music without them in,” says Mike. “We have to work a lot harder without vocals though as they tend to carry a lot of musical deadweight which you only notice when they’re absent.”

“The criticism of our band I find the most difficult is ‘you need a singer’, which drives me mad,” Stuart admits. “I can understand people feeling that they personally need a vocal hook to get into a piece of music, but to suggest that instrumental music is somehow incomplete or even irrelevant is missing a trick.”

Drummer David Balch elaborates: “Writing instrumental music gives us space for the songs to be their own stories, rather than having direct exposition through lyrics.”

The band are now readying their next release, The 100 Gun Ship EP, which will expand upon the 3 tracks from their demo, Maiden Voyage, adding 3 new songs and a remix along with 2 new videos and a hand-printed sleeve. Mike says that he is “really pleased with [the new songs] and can’t wait for the launch,” while Stuart hopes that the record will be their “defining opening statement before we move on to recording our even newer stuff.” The mini-album will be the maiden release on their own American Steam Company Recordings

Before we parted ways I asked the band about their feelings on the local music scene, considering their part in it and Stuart's roles as a music writer and an organiser of Audioscope. Mike admitted that while he had “not been blown away by a local band for a while” he still tries to “see as many as [he] can.” Stuart was a bit more optimistic:

“There’s not much instrumental guitar stuff around these days as it’s not quite as in fashion. But the scene in Oxford seems to rise and fall in waves and right now it’s definitely at one of its peaks – there’s loads of interesting stuff and great bands doing things across a load of genres, and seemingly a lot of people up for doing more interesting stuff than just regular gigs. So yeah, it’s in a pretty healthy state right now.”

The 100 Gun Ship EP is released on American Steam Company Recordings on 21 November 2011.

[Originally published in Oxford Music Scene magazine, issue 16]

http://www.oxfordmusicscene.co.uk/images/oms_issue16.pdf

Listing Ships - 100 Gun Ship EP

[American Steam Company, 2011]

Listing Ships' demo Maiden Voyage impressed many local critics earlier this year and now we're presented with The 100 Gun Ship EP which is basically an extended version consisting of three new songs and a remix. The opening track is perhaps the band's most immediate song yet, starting with a driving bassline before a beautiful cacophony of synthesisers and bending guitars cloud the air. “Then Venice Sank” is the closest thing to krautrock that a band from our fair city has produced for some time; an urgent, shifty bassline once again providing the perfect anchor for the guitars and synthesisers to wander off in all directions. “Melusine Romance”, as the title may suggest, is the loveliest song the band has released so far and serves to prove that there is plenty of room for tension in romance whilst also demonstrating that the band is becoming masterful at their craft. Another excellent release from a band more than fulfilling their early promise.

[Originally published in Oxford Music Scene magazine, issue 16]

http://www.oxfordmusicscene.co.uk/images/oms_issue16.pdf

Listing Ships - Maiden Voyage

(self-release, 2011)

[NOTE: I’ve actually written reviews of this EP for both OMS and Music In Oxford]

Listing Ships combine elements of many of the great nineties post-rock bands; from the cyclical, jarring grooves of Rodan, the tense, spidery guitar work of Slint, the interlocking rhythms of Shipping News and the expansive, airy elegance of Tortoise. Add to that some anthemic guitar heroics via Siamese Dream-era Smashing Pumpkins and we’re clearly off to a winner. Opening track ‘Equus Ager’ is a glorious, triumphant start to the collection while ‘All Aboard the Andrea Doria’ builds from a Slint-playing-schizoid-jazz opening to an “oh-shit, Slint-are-about-to-sink-the-ship” finale. ‘Skipper’s Daughter’ borrows from the kinetic, rhythmic sonic palette of Tortoise and the whole collection nods to 90s-revialists like Broken Social Scene by way of a series of big indie choruses - choruses without words. Boasting former members of Witches and Sunnyvale, it was clear that Listing Ships would be an interesting band but Maiden Voyage illustrates that they’re on their way to becoming a great one.

[Originally printed in Oxfordshire Music Scene magazine, issue 13, April 2011]

http://www.oxfordmusicscene.co.uk/images/oms_issue13.pdf

Whether Maiden Voyage is a reference to the seminal Herbie Hancock album of the same name or merely a nautical metaphor for their debut release, Listing Ships arrive on our shores in a triumphant blaze of post-rock guitar heroics. This gang of merry sailors includes former members of Sunnyvale Noise Sub-Element and Witches and they return to the local scene in glorious fashion.

If it isn’t already implied by the repeated mentions of ‘post-rock’, this is a strictly instrumental affair and as such Maiden Voyage may divide opinion, but there’s enough going on here to grab the attention of even the most jaded of music fans. Opening track ‘Equus Ager’ is a nineties alternative and post-rock nostalgia trip, combining elements of Siamese Dream-era Smashing Pumpkins and Tortoise to create an anthemic, vast soundscape.

‘All Aboard the Andrea Doria’ starts with a nod to the jarring rhythms of legendary Louisville bands such as Slint and Rodan before easing into the expansive, airy sound of Tortoise and stretching out to the horizon. The song’s tense build up and terrifying, fuzzy outro (which is presumably the part where the Andrea Doria crashes into the SS Stockholm and sinks) suggests a band more indebted to Tweez than Spiderland. ‘Skipper’s Daughter’ successfully manages to evoke the stirring, kinetic motion of fresh water before it crescendos into a tidal wave of rollicking guitar fuzz that finally crests as the song comes to an end and the collection is over.

Listing Ships join the likes of Broken Social Scene and Yuck in having fun reinterpreting (some might say regurgitating) the aesthetics of alternative nineties guitar music and managing to create something interesting. It’s a shame that the ‘supergroup’ iron has already been branded onto these guys’ buttocks because all bands need to earn their place in the limelight but luckily Listing Ships have done that by making a really good first record.

[Originally published on Musicinoxford.co.uk, 12/04/2011]

http://www.musicinoxford.co.uk/2011/04/12/listing-ships-maiden-voyage/