Art Brut (with Baseball and Brown Automatic) The Factory Theatre, Sydney, Australia Sunday December 16th, 2007 It isn’t without a little trepidation that I wander through the bohemian Sydney suburb of Newtown to a plush, carpeted Factory Theatre on a soggy Sunday evening – my reasoning being that I’ve got no way of knowing how [...]
Music: Reviews
Beth Rowley – Violets
Beth Rowley – Violets (Universal/Blue Thumb) 3.9/6.0 December 3rd, 2007 The first thing I notice about Beth Rowley is her femme-fatale looks. The second thing is her powerful voice. This debut EP from the Peruvian-born singer is a little jazz, a little soul and a little blues, and it contains a couple of gems which [...]
Music: Reviews
The Official Secrets Act – Snakes and Ladders
The Official Secrets Act – Snakes and Ladders (self-released) 3.2 / 6.0 December 10th, 2007 London-based art-rock fourpiece The Official Secrets Act tick all the right boxes for any indie fan. The stop-start timing of their debut single Snakes and Ladders turns into consistent guitar chugging, providing an upbeat musical milieu for Thomas Charge Burke’s [...]
Live Reviews
Positive Tension
Bloc Party The Cockpit, Leeds Monday, December 10th 2007 So here we are, now. The Cockpit – a deep down and dirty corrugated iron catacomb, on a Monday in the city of Leeds. In another room, an anonymous support act are on stage. What are they called? And who cares? A few select fans have [...]
Music: Reviews
Watch the video to “Go Faster Stripes” by Kat Flint
Motel Manc Office scribe Meg adored Go Faster Stripes by Kat Flint last month, and this be the video to the same. It’s Kat’s debut single proper (she released an EP entitled The Secret Boys Club last year, and is the first release taken from her album Dirty Birds, due for release on the Albino [...]
Music: Reviews
Watch “Death To Los Campesinos!” by…you guessed it…
Long-term Motel favourites Los “Numbers 3 and 41″ Campesinos! are finally preparing to unleash their debut album Hold On Now, Youngster on an unsuspecting public in February 2008. With such long-winded track titles as Broken Heartbeats Sound Like Breakbeats and This Is How You Spell. “HAHAHA, We Destroyed The Hopes And Dreams Of A Generation [...]
Fugitive Motel Review Of The Year
Kate’s Top 50: Numbers 10-1
10. Sky Larkin – One Of Two (Dance To The Radio) Sky Larkin unleashed this debut single upon us at the top of the year and, quite frankly, it’s glor-i-ous. Opening with a thunderous crunch of guitar, Katie Harkin’s sweet yet powerful vocals have got the whole of the Motel, male or female, wishing they [...]
Live Reviews
Manic On The Streets Of Manchester
Manic Street Preachers Manchester Central (formerly G-Mex), Manchester Wednesday December 5th, 2007 So it’s ‘cool’ to like the Manics again. Nicky Wire is even in the NME’s Cool List this year, despite his dyed red hair. What is the world coming to? But for those who paid attention, this great ‘comeback’ is empty rhetoric, as [...]
Fugitive Motel Review Of The Year
Kate’s Top 50: Part 4 – Numbers 20-11
20. Cherry Ghost – People Help The People (Heavenly Records) A tender piano-led ballad, albeit one with balls, which finally displays Simon Aldred’s potential to the wider world. It isn’t a song that sets out to change the world, but it does just that by sending shivers down your spine from the moment Aldred breathes [...]
Fugitive Motel Review Of The Year
Kate’s Top 50: Part 3 – Numbers 30-21
30. The Beep Seals – Tell Your Friends/I Used To Work At The Zoo (Kings & Creatures) The long-awaited debut from The Beep Seals, Tell Your Friends is a lush introductory number reminiscent of equal parts The Beach Boys and Super Furries. The accompanying I Used To Work At The Zoo captivates you with its [...]