Sharks – Arcane Effigies Single Review

Sharks put out their album ‘The Joys Of Living 2008-2010’ last year but in March 2012 they will release their proper debut album ‘No Gods’. I’ve been looking forward to this album for quite a while so when I heard they’d put out a new single ‘Arcane Effigies’ I got right on it.

The song doesn’t have quite the raw punky edge of earlier Sharks songs like ‘Trains’ but it seems they’ve continued to develop their more melodic side which they began to show last year. I’ve found ‘Arcane Effigies’ to be very reminiscent of early Ordinary Boys, which is undoubtedly a good thing! They’ve rolled out a catchy chorus which seems to take its influence from ska/reggae judging by the use of the name Rudi. It looks like a great single to promote ‘No Gods’ with.

You can watch the video here:


And download the song for free here (thanks to Rolling Stone):

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/exclusive-download-sharks-anthemic-arcane-effigies-20120125 

M&R Rating: 9/10

RockNess 2012 Line Up Announced

At midnight last night Scotland’s second biggest music festival (as far as I’m aware) RockNess announced its lineup, then confirmed in a poster this morning at 9am. For anyone who hasn’t seen the line up but has been considering going to the festival here it is:

Personally it doesn’t strike me as a great line up, but it would appear they’ve focused on getting in the dance acts so far. It’ll be interesting to see how it develops when they start announcing some guitar bands but as it stands I’d have no plans to visit RockNess this year.

Although I’m sure both Biffy Clyro and Mumford & Sons will be great they’re not exactly breathtaking headliners: Biffy have been everywhere the last few years and Mumford only have only album. (Should be noted that other headliner Deadmaus5 played T In The Park 2011 too). Other than those two only Noah & The Whale really stand out for me but they too were at T In The Park, Reading & Leeds and other festivals last year. Also, Ed Sheeran in a slot that high seems pretty poor to me and has drawn a lot of criticism on the RockNess forums.

Looks like a bit of a let down from RockNess so far but if you’re a dance fan you’ll be loving Deadmau5, Justice and a lot of the other, I’d imagine anyway.

Finally, I’d note that this probably rules all of these acts out of playing T In The Park this summer.

Various Cruelties Live @ King Tuts Review

I wrote a review of this gig for Its All Indie, you should check out that site – I’d recommend it! I was a fan well before I thought of writing for it. You can find my article here:

http://www.itsallindie.com/2012/01/gig-review-various-cruelties-king-tuts.html

Meanwhile, I thought I’d post the review here too because a couple of people have asked me to. But if you do read it here at least give Its All Indie a look too.

Here it is:

You can often feel a real of anticipation amongst a crowd at the gig of a rising band like Various Cruelties but it’s clear to see the bands themselves are excited to be back in Glasgow playing the legendary King Tuts Wah Wah Hut with singer Liam O’Donnell telling the crowd how much they’ve been looking forward to this particular show.

But before they take to the stage local indie band Huevo And The Giant play a chirpy half hour set. It’s clear they’ve roped in a lot of their friends to watch but the neutrals among the crowd are soon won over by their blend of cheery tunes with ‘Wings (We Are The Kids)’ being a particular highlight. I’ll be sure to check them out again.

But as enjoyable as they were, Various Cruelties are a level up. They don’t waste any time getting started, kicking off with the up-tempo ‘Neon Truth’ getting the crowd moving right away. If this wasn’t enough new single ‘Great Unknown’ is up next as the band get into their stride. Across their forty five minute set they entice us in with their soul-tinted indie. With Etta James having passed away yesterday, the band dedicate ‘She Is The One’ to the former soul legend. They seem to have upped their game musically from their earlier releases with tracks such as ‘Don’t Want To Waste Your Time’ sounding bigger than its ever sounded before with a beefed up beat behind it. Playing twelve songs, it would appear they may have premièred their whole album, and if so it looks like it’s going to be a great début album!

With chanting for bassist Beanie throughout the show, the band take their leave after new song ‘Beautiful Delirium’ winds its way into their fans’ ears. They’re only off of the stage for a matter of seconds though before storming back on to finish with their biggest hit ‘Chemicals’, drawing a huge sing-along and sending fans and band alike home happy.

Setlist:

Top 12 New Bands For 2012

Here it is, the Mumblings and Ramblings 12 to watch in 2012, in alphabetical order:

All The Young

Find them at: http://www.alltheyoung.co.uk/
Listen to: Welcome Home

Dry The River

Find them at: http://www.drytheriver.net/
Listen to: New Ceremony

FIDLAR

Find them at: http://fidlar.bandcamp.com/
Listen to: Wake Bake Skate

The Heartbreaks

Find them at: http://www.myspace.com/heartbreaksband
Listen to: I Didn’t Think It Would Hurt To Think Of You

Howler

Find them at: http://www.howlerband.com/
Listen to: Told You Once

Likely Lads

Find them at: http://nottoofussed.com/
Listen to: Far Too Late

Sissy & The Blisters

Find them at: http://www.sissyandtheblisters.com/
Listen to: Let Her Go

Spector

Find them at: http://spector.co.uk/
Listen to: What You Wanted

Three Blind Wolves

Find them at: http://www.threeblindwolves.com/
Listen to: Echo On The Night Train

Tribes

Find them at: http://tribesband.com/
Listen to: When My Day Comes

The Van Doos

Find them at: http://www.myspace.com/thevandoos/music
Listen to: Tenterhooks

Various Cruelties

Find them at: http://www.variouscruelties.com/
Listen to: Great Unknown

Top 12 New Bands For 2012 Live!

You can find out the Mumblings And Ramblings top 12 new bands for the new year live today at 5pm Wednesday 18th January on http://www.strathclydefusion.com

I will talking through the bands and playing some music from them all. There’ll be some songs from bands you’ll already know too, so join the fun!

And remember to like our new Facebook page at: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mumblings-And-Ramblings/277243639003775