Sounds of an Eccentric

'Righteous Liar' is the debut album of Hull based blues artist Rivers Johansson. For those of you who aren't familiar with him, just imagine what the love child of Johnny Depp and Ian Siegal would look and sound like. The album opens with the title track: ''Righteous Liar'. After a solemn voice recites Revelation 13, a bold, staccato guitar riff emerges, before welcoming Johannson's gritty, suave vocals. The second track on the album; 'The Escapist'; is my personal favourite. The song is fuelled by a clean yet oh so catchy blues riff and gradually crescendos into a rich full sound.  The harmonies and variations in pitch gives the track a sating depth and mirrors the clever yet unconvoluted nature of the lyrics. The line: 'I tried to placate the rain, no escape for me'; is particularly engaging and resonates beautifully. 'Hangman' is one of the more upbeat tracks on the album, driven by a gritty slide ring melody. The fina...

"GROOVING CYNICISM AND SOPHISTICATED FILTH" It has been just under a year since I last saw Velvoir . I've always thought that they are fantastic local band,  but the amount they've improved in a year is just awe-worthy. They have gone from being amazing performers with songs that had great moments, to phenomenal performers with superb songs. Their sound is fuelled by ebullient bass, intricate guitar and a ferociously enigmatic and gorgeously vulgar front woman, whose presence will leave you stunned and questioning gender, sexuality, normality and everything in between. Their music is incredibly intelligent, unapologetically authentic, beautifully bizarre and undoubtedly one of the best bands in the North East. 10/10

                  For those readers not familiar with you and your music, tell us a little bit about yourselves and your music? We’re four mates who all went to school together, and after a bit of jamming out we decided to start a band. We’ve been properly going at it since the start of this year, and we can’t get enough of gigging. Our music is quite raw, with a lot of crunchy tones, and we love to make songs that will make people in the crowd will look at their mates and pull that 'dirty tune face', or just get people really moving. ­ - Luke   Which artists have influenced you the most? Both individually and as a band?  When it comes to artists that influence us as a band, there's a little bit of cross over, but really not too  much. There's bands like Franz Ferdinand and The Strokes that we all take a great deal of influence  from but we all have a load of bands that we love...

'Same Days/Nights' is the debut single by solo electronic artist  Crimewave. The track is fuelled by an relentlessly ebullient beat, embellished with a rich blanket of synth and suave lilting vocals, creating an engaging and upbeat vibe. This style of music isn't exactly my cup of tea, however I can appreciate the work and the technical skill behind it. I played it at a social gathering a few days ago and it went down really well in a party (and slightly intoxicated) setting - it is a really great song to dance along to. SUPPORT CRIMEWAVE FACEBOOK TWITTER SOUNDCLOUD

For those readers who aren't familiar with you and your music, tell us a little about yourselves and your sound?   We’re four boys from Hartlepool, North East United Kingdom. I believe that our sound is of quite a wide range, having a large amount of various influences that are completely different to one another. We normally get compared to early F oals .. Which artists have influenced both your music and your personal tastes? There is so many influences! We all share a similar taste in music obviously, but we do take influences from so many different kinds of music and arts. Growing up we were into the math rock scene, but as we got older we started to appreciate all types of music, which don’t have a direct influence on the sound, but to us influence how we write, if you get me.  A few artists off the top of my head are bands like; Queen, The Smiths, Colour, Foals, Joy Division, The Strokes, Moby … But then again, you will listen to our music an...

Signs of Home  has teamed up with 'War Child', a small charity that believes that no child should endure the cruel reality of war. Both the track and the cause have already achieved so much; transforming the lives of thousands of children across the globe; but they need your help in order to continue their ineffably important work. The song is incredibly powerful, delivering a harrowing message through poetic lyrics, beautiful melodies and an enchanting guitar riff. The tracks lyrics are so emotive and humbling, producing an evocative ambiance, ideal for making people realise the severity of some children's fate. CLICK HERE TO DONATE On Friday 4th November there will be a fundraiser gig at O'Rileys in Hull, featuring music from  Bud Sugar, Elwhaeko, Jackson D, Loop Cycle, Marx, Urban Rain  and  Signs of Home.  Entry donation is a £3 and there will be stalls, a compilation CD for sale and a sponsored head shave on the day.   FACEBOOK EVENT

Kicking the night off was alt-rock trio Blesh, filling Tyne Bar with their grunge meets Mac DeMarco sound. The group enlivened the crowd with their upbeat tunes and witty banter. Unfortunately, one of front man Reece Monaghan's guitar strings snapped mid set, causing him to run around the venue to find a guitar he could borrow. However the group carried on, welcoming local legend Cameron Cutts to the stage for a freestyle rap cameo. Even with their technical difficulties, it's apparent that Blesh  are very talented musicians with a great stage presence and will undoubtedly do well in the local music scene. The main support of the night was indie rock five-piece Hazels. I've seen this group play many times and they have improved each time, delivering a more slick and polished performance. Their sound is catchy and loud enough to create a great atmosphere without compromising on interesting melodies and engaging choruses. The two tracks that really stood out was ...

Last night I had the pleasure of attending 'A Dog With No Legs' ' debut event, featuring Blesh, Hazels  and Leeds based rockers Fighting Caravans.  Fronted by a man whose mustache would make every 70's porn star green with envy, Fighting Caravans filled Tyne Bar with their explosive, dynamic tunes. Their sound was fuelled by beefy bass, ebullient percussion, gritty guitar and suave, lilting vocals. The beautifully bizarre manner of their front man was so engaging and entertaining that the whole room was encompassed in their performance. Their latest single, 'Blue Heart Hotel is available to buy from: https://fightingcaravans.bandcamp.com/album/blue-heart-motel SUPPORT FIGHTING CARAVANS FACEBOOK

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For those readers who aren't familiar with you and  your sound, tell us a little about yourself and your music? We’re Cult Lust! We’re a scuzzy garage trio from  Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, we like to think we’re loud as fuck but probably not to the point where it becomes obnoxious, which is sort of a disappointment. We use a collaboration of horrible old fuzz pedals tied to ropey old vintage guitars, topped off with clean technical riffs and a heavy driving percussion force to produce a louder than life sound. Which artists have inspired both your music and your personal tastes? Owen – I started listening to Led Zeppelin when I was seven and I started playing drums because John Bonham’s drums sounded so good to me and I just wanted to be like him instantly. I grew my hair and got my first drum kit at 7 and it’s led me to where I am today. I’ve picked up a lot from other drummers because I’m self taught so there’s probably a bit of jazz influence in my drumming too . ...

'Sally Anne' is the latest track by Hull based indie rock band: Vague. The group take inspiration from the likes of Arctic Monkeys  and The Libertines , and this track follows their style of moody anti-love songs. The track opens with delicate percussion and sweet melodic guitar, before welcoming front man Sam Trueman's suave lilting vocals, creating a chilled ambiance. The crescendos into the chorus feature some really engaging  guitar solos and ebullient persucssion, giving the song a rich depth. The lyrics are a cross between Alex Turner and Cindy Lauper, meaning unfortunately the odd line is a tad cringey. It's like they're trying to be edgy but falling a little short. However the group are very young, so it's likely that their songwriting will mature as they do. LISTEN FOR YOURSELF SUPPORT VAGUE FACEBOOK INSTAGRAM SOUNDCLOUD

PHOTO BY HANA MARIE PHOTOGRAPHY For those readers who aren't familiar with you and your music, tell us a little about yourself and your sound. We are Mouses – a lo-fi punk rock duo from Billingham. We play noisy distorted garage pop songs about religion and vampires and stuff. Which artists have influenced your personal tastes and as a band? Between us our favourite bands are The White Stripes and Green Day, so I think in some way we’re a twisted hybrid of the two, with a lot of influence from fuzzy bands such as Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr., Wavves, Times New Viking, Neutral Milk Hotel. And Weezer – we love Weezer. So you recently filmed a dramatic music video for your track 'Hollywood'. What was that experience like and what was the inspiration behind the song and the video? It was a somewhat rushed but really fun experience haha. We had less than a week to put it all together and trying to make something quick and easy soon turned into trying our lu...

For those readers not familiar with you and your music, tell us a little about yourself and your sound. What inspired you to start performing? I grew up in Northallerton, North Yorkshire and I guess my first inspiration in music was joining a local church choir my grandpa was in when I was about 7. It's there I learned to sing, read music and generally get a feel for music. I started writing songs at university with my sound being pretty chilled and folky, on the melancholy side of the spectrum. I've been likened as a mix between Nick Drake and Thom Yorke. Who are your musical influences for both your music and personal taste? Some of my influences are Nick Drake, John Martyn, Jeff Buckley, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Mark Kozelek, Punch Brothers, Tom Waits, The Band to name but a few. I tend to lean towards music which I find musically interesting, stuff which raises the eyebrows a bit. If you could only listen to three albums for the rest of your life, ...