Audio Einstein in town

• 3rd May 2004

With the never say die attitude of a boxer on the ropes, Glasswerkers will still be in a state of recovery and gasping for a brief whiff of normality from last Tuesday’s Art Brut onslaught, as they climb those stairs once more on Wednesday night to see four more great Glasswerk bands entertain us.

It has been all systems go here at Glasswerk. Check out the site link and you will find dozens of brand new reviews, both of young unsigned bands (yourselves perhaps), and of great charting acts. Free Wheeler, The Blueskins, Breed 77, Chumbawamba, Joyzipper, Terra, Dogs Die in Hot Cars, The Fades, The Juice, Lender, The Sleepy Jackson, Frankie, the New Shapes, versus, The Omegas, DJ Signify, the Super Furry Animals, Art Brut… and that’s just the last couple of weeks.

In fact, Jack Cook’s assessment of last Tuesday is one of my favourites. A great honest resume of all 4 bands: young Reading boys Stem, the enchanting singer-songwriter Haley Glennie-Smith, devastatingly catchy London rock band The Paperchain Babies and well… Art Brut. You have to read it and the link is right here:
link

Oh yes, last week I had the dubious pleasure of meeting and interviewing crazed American rockers The Icarus Line. It is they, you may remember, who hit the headlines last year by spray-painting The Strokes’ tour bus. Hmm… it will be up soon and will make interesting reading for sure. This week I will be reviewing live Dogs Die in Hot Cars (Tuesday @Carling Academy) and Haven (Thursday @Shep Bush Empire) and if I can get a few words with the boys then so much the better.

Remember, if the review or news profile you are looking for isn’t on the main page, click on the reviews button on the left hand side and you can access the archive of all reviews to date. Such is their regularity right now, reviews only seem to stay on the front screen for a few days before they are shunted off the page to make way for newer, fresher journalism. Also remember that if bands are making national news you will probably find them on the national site, while local bands are accessed on the site for their nearest city – for nearly all you guys that will be the London page.

And so, here is a taster of the bands for Wednesday 5th March. Remember also that we have the likes of XFM band of the week Kandinski, The Ghears, Nic Armstrong and Terra all coming up in the next few weeks, and I am now taking bookings for July and August so contact me if you want to join the Glasswerk party.

Weds May 5th, Upstairs At Highbury Garage; 8.00pm doors

Audio Einstein

What is there to say about the excellent New Alternative UK Rock/Prog-pop band Audio Einstein. Only that if you are not there you will miss one hell of a show.

One of several Glasswerk faves to feature on the “Top 20 UK Unsigned Bands” album, they were invited to play with rawk legends Hawkwind at their own private festival last August, before rolling in to Manchester to send tremors through In The City with their brilliant moozickery and off-stage antics best left unmentioned.

Audioeinstein have finally begun working in earnest on material for the follow-up recording to the excellent debut album ‘A Year in the Life of My Psyche'. More than likely they will be airing some of it tonight.
Check out one of the most innovative band sites for many a day: link

Free Repeater

The story of Free Repeater begins with four young gentlemen with the misfortune of growing up in Essex. In retaliation for such an insult, they decided to take up arms against their captors, using the only weapon they knew would be effective in vanquishing the threat forever – a giant heat ray. After succumbing to the knowledge that none of them had the necessary funds nor aptitude to build their mega-weapon, they went with Plan B – starting a band. Being in a band is great, a bit like being in a gang. Also, girls like you more.

Initial ideas for the band were brainstormed and vetoed in quick succession. Would they be a bunch of crunching noisenik rockheads, the kind of band who have groupies licking illicit substances off of their lithe bodies before switching their amps to 11 and setting fire to the stage while railing against the capitalist menace? Or would they be the eco-friendly, ambassador-to-the-world types who ate crumpets while healing the sick with their soothing melodies, much like Bono, or Bill & Ted?

Days of heated negotiation ended with the decision that the best possible course of action would be to just turn on and play and hope for the best and see what came out. The resulting sound, encouragingly, didn’t make anyone’s ears bleed nor send any dogs fleeing in terror, and Free Repeater was born. Quickly forgetting their initial aspirations for genocide, they decided that what the world really needs now is dancing, sweet dancing. Like the pied piper but without the pipe, they set out on their quest to enchant everyone into partying with them.

Soon enough, gigs were booked, friends were cajoled into helping out however they could, and a small yet perfectly formed set of songs were written. And now, like a coiled spring or a large boulder teetering at the stop of a steep hill, Free Repeater are poised to embark on their mission into the realm of the unknown future.

www.freerepeater.com

AuX

This is the second Glasswerk night for young London band AuX who impressed enough in February to be invited back to Upstairs at the Garage. The last year or so has seen an often changed AuX line-up take to the stage as lead guitar Edd strove for that rarely obtainable perfect formula. It would certainly seem that they are now on the right track, and with a recording/distribution deal with Elefant Gut Records in the bag, they are now churning out great new material with a maturity beyond their years. As their live and songwriting experience grows, Glasswerk expects big things from these lads.

seventimesnothing

Originality is increasingly difficult to find in the current music scene but visceral live act SeventimesNothing are an exception to this rule. People have tried to fit labels such as “post hardcore”, “alternative”, “stoner rock” and a host of other things without them ever sitting comfortably in one pigeonhole.

2003 was an exciting time for the band and has culminated in record company interest including a firm offer from a young independent label. Much of the year was dedicated to improving their live show, and thanks to these efforts, SeventimesNothing has gained a reputation as an excellent live act.

Performances at venues including London's famous Underworld and Metro Club, and slots at such places as the Borderline and Barfly have greatly enhanced this live reputation.

During the last year SeventimesNothing have also appeared on 4 compilations, been filmed as part of a new television programme and selected for BBC Radio 1 “onemusic” wwebsite.

They are currently recording their first mini-album, scheduled for release in June 2004.

“Anathema immediately brings home the talent of this band. Deep, moody explosive guitars laced up into some superb rhythms… This track is unforgiving and brutal, its unpredictability at times only adds to its' shine” – victims of evolution

“…Pounding drum beats, intelligent emotive vocals, strong bass lines and superb guitar riffs that are bound to put a smile on your face with their sheer brilliance” – alt-uk.com

Website :: link