Sounds of an Eccentric

Photo by Alethea Shephard Sounds of an Eccentric is three years old! When I spontaneously wrote a review of a Little Comets gig three years ago, I never thought anyone (apart from my mam) would read it,   and to see how the blog has grown over the past few years is incredible and really humbling. I want to thank everyone who has supported me and my writing. Every band, artist, photographer, promoter, writer, or live music fan - you let me indulge in my two greatest passions in life and for that I am so grateful. In particular I'd like to thank Cath Wilcox (my darling Mama Soul and Number One fan), Jack and Carly Bowden, Shaan Sira, Ben Marcano-Olivier and all the Tranqua Lite Boys,  Russel Poad, Karl Hodge, Martina Topic, Richy Southern, Phil Mitchell, Mick Dolman, Chantel Littlewood, Arianne Jessop, Nathan Robinson, Alethea Shephard, Adam Gallagher, Cal Ruddy and all the team at Spotlight UK and Indie Central Music. You're all fabulous and have giv...

This week's Spotify playlist additions come from Glass Peaks, The Blinders, Dream Estate, The Old Pink House and Twilight Driving . Give them a listen and keep your eyes peeled for upcoming reviews and articles.  FOLLOW SOUNDS OF AN ECCENTRIC FACEBOOK TWITTER INSTAGRAM

Newcastle rapper J Smirk has been nominated for the 'Best of British Best Unsigned Male' award at the Unsigned Music Awards. Despite only emerging on the scene a year ago, J Smirk has gone from strength to strength, building an explosive set list, accumulating radio plays and supporting  DJ Yella and   N.W.A on their 'Straight Outta Compton' tour at the O2 Academy. J Smirk said: "It's an honour to be nominated, one of the hard things about being independent is gaining that recognition we all need to push on, so it's incredible to see the credit we all deserve." The U.M.A's launched in 2012 and they strive to showcase the Best of British Talent. Past winner  Molly Smitten-Dowes  went on to represent GB at the Eurovision song contest in 2014. J Smirk has also been entered into the 'Critics Choice Award', which will be judged by You Me at Six guitarist Max Helyer, BBC Introducing radio presenter Dave Gilyeat and Louise ...

Photograph by: Ant Adams Kent based indie group Glass Peaks return with their latest single: 'Hold me Closer'. Since forming in 2016, the group have been causing a stir up and down the country, collecting countless radio plays, exploding onto the festival scene and their last single 'I'm Okay ' earned them a spot on the 'Viral Top 50' and Spotify's 'Indie List'. The track opens with an alluring guitar riff, heightened by a blanket of echoing synth, before welcoming suave vocals, engulfing the listener into an indie-pop daydream. Engaging harmonies are woven throughout the song, providing it with a gorgeous depth and full bodied, yet catchy sound. This is complimented by the well controlled vocals, which highlight how much detail has gone into the harmonies. The vocals and guitar riffs are a perfectly balanced see-saw of rhythms, bass lines and apparent technical flair, which gives the song a complexity that many catchy indie tracks ...

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 ...

I caught up with Seb Clarke, a singer-songwriter and synth player in indie-rock group Arcadia, discussing everything from vintage gaming to Jimi Hendrix to desert islands. Summarise your sound with one word. Hmm, one word? I guess the one word would have to be 'me'. I guess my sound isn’t that distinctive, like; it’d be difficult to put into a genre. Can I have a sentence? Bringing the old into the new. I’m  young and I suppose you could say I’m bringing together a lot of influences from older bands into the music I create. Which artists and/or experiences have fuelled you love of music? I think the biggest artist to fuel my love for music would definitely have to be Jimi Hendrix. He was my very first love, from a very young age, and I would love to say I share his passion for music and for playing. Hendrix heavily influences my guitar-playing style; from the way I play chords to the way I play solos and the scales and techniques that I use. I take influence f...

Indie gigs have changed. Gone are the days when you danced or bopped along to the likes of Swim Deep  or Peace , indie kids want to mosh. Hence the birth of Cult Lust,  a ferocious fusion of fuzzy guitar and relentless percussion,that creates a heavy lo-fi sound. It's called skuz-pop - don't worry, I had to do google it too! Just imagine a band who's primary concern is making loud, gritty, grungy tunes. Despite only forming a few weeks ago, the band have already produced a two track demo; promoted via their active and bountiful social networking platforms. Both tracks are fairly lengthy (approx 10 mins combined), meaning the group are already a third of the way to having a live set under their belt. It's a really candid and raw recording, giving you insight into their practice sessions. This is best represented by the second track 'headf*ck' being opened by their front man saying "anyway, here's wonderwall" before exploding asking his fellow ...

Blogging isn't all about getting freebies or having an armada of Instagram followers. It can be hard work. So here's my top tips for new Bloggers. 1)  Read other blogs You wouldn't write a book  or a poem or a recipe without ever reading one before, so why would blogging be any different. Read popular blogs (like Zoella's or Helen Anderson's) and search for smaller bloggers near you that you can later work together with if you decide that blogging is something you'd like to pursue. Blogging is a community and there's so many fantastic bloggers out there that can really help you on your blogging journey. 2)Choose the right platform Have a go at writing on a couple different sites before you go in 'all guns blazing'. Make sure you like the layout and you are confident with using it. My personal two favourites are 'Blogger' and 'Wordpress'. Blogger is slightly easier to use (so if you're  new to blogging maybe start with...

Contrary to the name, local group Deep.Sleep have revatalised their indie-rock meets surf-rock sound with their latest single 'Slow Down'. The band usually opt for an organic no-frills sound, relying on quirky (but very charming) lyrics and and infectious guitar licks. However the addition of an upbeat, pop-esque synth sound has broadened their set, making it more dynamic without straying too far from their original sound. The track opens with a vivacious synth and punchy percussion before welcoming Frend's gritty vocals and a reserved, yet catchy layer of guitar. Despite going in down a more synth-pop route than their usual style, the band have kept their witty lyric style that give Deep.Sleep  their endearing 'lads next door' vibe. The lines: 'is it the light or am I too blind to see, you can't watch the world if you watch it through a screen' really resonate, evoking an engaging ambiance, before being hit by the bold and oh so catchy chorus. ...

'Eighteen' is the latest  track from 'the best unsigned band'; The SSS . With high expectations to live up to, this punchy track has definitely preserved their reputation for dynamic indie-rock. A fusion of vigorous drums and gritty guitar opens the song, before being reinforced with a hearty bass line and peppy riffs , cementing a strong dance beat. The track is characterised by the Northern wit of the lyrics, similar in nature to those of fellow native Sheffield lad, Miles Kane. I can envisage phrases like 'She's barely legal' and 'tick tock you're running out of time' printed on the t-shirts of teenage fans. As well as being incredibly catchy, the lyrics are thought-provoking and will resonated with vast audiences. This is evidenced through poignant lines like: 'She picked apart your awful stare, now she's trying to repair your heart, your mind, everything'. ' Eighteen' is without a doubt one of the strongest songs i...

Kicking off Friday night was the bizarre yet brilliant Velvoir. Their front woman; Verity Jasmine Bee; introduced their set as an 'experience'. This was clear from the word go due to her femme fatale attitude and flamboyant feather boa. Her gravelly vocals conveyed immense aggression, heightened by her sexual dance moves, creating this mesmerising utter filth. You were left feeling confused about gender, music, life and everything in between. This effect was heightened by their powerhouse guitar riffs and ebullient bass lines. They're like a Warhol brainchild, but with apparent technical flair to enrich their artistic image. This group could easily become Newcastle's next hot niche band. Following the mind-blowing Velvoir , was Hakweye Roadshow. Despite their very vocal front-man fashioning an awful  tasselled waistcoat and exposing his bare chest (FYI - it wasn't a good look last century either), the group produced a rich bluesy sound. They kept their set fresh ...

Kicking off Thursday night at the O2 (2) was the larger than life pop diva Cortney Dixon - a woman armed with big hair and an even bigger voice.  Her music channels the iconic sound of 80's pop, whilst drawing parallels with the likes of Marina and the Diamonds , Paloma Faith and Florence Welch. The strongest part of her set was her original song 'Freddie'. Dixon captivated the audience with her enchanting vocals, creating a blissful ambience. This was intensified by the profound sentiment and apparent emotion that fuelled the ballad. It's obvious that this woman is incredibly talented and knows how to belt out a tune. However I feel as though she'd really come into her element if she fronted a band. She has the charisma, style and technical flair to bring something really special to a rock group. Next up was Tom Conway , a band fronted by (no prizes for guessing) -  Tom Conway. Despite the disappointing name, these lads produce a great sound. The only way I can t...

Starting the night off was vocalist Catherine Dalzell, who performed   'Botanic Journey' by Agustin Fernadez . Her surreal voice quickly captivated the room, showcasing her impressive control and range through the various songs within the musical theatre piece. Catherine possesses a beautiful voice and was an undeniably impressive start to the night. Following the ethereal tone of Miss Dalzell was 'Duet, for Piano and Violin' , composed and performed by Caroline Bordignon and a violinist who I didn't catch the name of. The native Canadian student composed the piece during her year's study in Newcastle in her third year of her undergraduate degree, majoring in music and fine art. Both the piano and violin part were executed very well, with some stunning harmonies between the two parts. My only criticism of it is that it was somewhat brief. The piece was truly beauteous and I would have loved to hear more from Caroline. The third performance of the night was And...

Meet Tom, Andrew, Phil and Brad - a.k.a.: local rock group Motion. The lads and I took advantage of the sunny weather and caught up - discussing everything from Ben Howard to B.B.King to Justin Timberlake. Describe your music with one word. T: Shit, that's pretty genuine. Next question. One word? Ummm, music. Where does the name Motion come from? A: We did think of lots and lots of things. P:  We thought about our music and wrote down words that came to mind on a bit of paper that we passed about. Then came a process of elimination and we got down to a few words and just saw which ones sounded nice enough until we got Motion. Who are your musical heroes and influences? F: Flea, Michael Balzary, the bassist in the Red Hot Chili Peppers. A: John Brush, yeah yeah I got in there quick! Go on then. P: Ben Howard, Simon Neil, the late B.B.King. A: Pfff, not the current B.B. King Phil? Or the previous B.B. King? B: Lads we can't be making a fucking jok...

I caught up with local R'n'B group SoShe - A.K.A.: Jamie, Dayna  and Alex before their gig with HeartRock Live at Newcastle's Dog and Parrot. Describe your music with one word. A: Pop D: After-party - does that count as one? Well it's a phrase anyway! J: Chilled. Where does the name SoShe come from? J: We wanted something that was two words but sounded like one and something that kinda sounded Japanese. Like Japanese sounding and just a little different. And also a word that you would say in a sentence -  so like "SoShe said this". Who are your musical heroes and influences? D: Beyoncé, The Weekend. I think all of our music is based off that really. J: Yeah all those sorts of music definitely influence us but original old music that got me into music was people like Nirvana, The Police and The Lemonheads. Stuff like that. We also really like dance music, like electronic, Black Eyed Peas - that sorta stuff. A: I like a lot of...