Wednesday 25 November 2009

Reef - Come Back Brighter

Reef pic 2009

2010 heralds the return of the unstoppable force of nature that is REEF. Dominic, Gary, Jack and Kenwyn are delighted to announce that they will be heading out on the road again in April. The West Country’s favourite sons came together again a couple of weeks ago and such was the energy and positivity between them that a reunion and tour was quickly decided upon. The wheels put in motion, a nationwide tour has been booked and rehearsals booked in.

REEF formed in 1993, signing to Sony imprint S2 Records the following year. Their debut 1995 album REPLENISH achieved Gold status and saw the band play shows with the Rolling Stones, Paul Weller and Soundgarden.

The follow up to Replenish, 1997’s GLOW stormed the UK Charts at Number 1 and included the single ‘Place Your Hands’. In 1999 the band released RIDES (George Drakoulias) and in the same year the band saw off the likes of Oasis and Pulp to win the Music Industry’s Soccer Six competition. Rides was followed by the poppier sounding GETAWAY produced by Al Clay (Pixies, Stereophonics) in 2000 which was most notable for the single ‘Set The Record Straight’. Always a favourite at shows and Festivals alike, the band made many high profile appearances during this period, including Glastonbury and Reading festivals.

TOGETHER – THE BEST OF REEF was released by S2 in 2003. It was around then that he band decided to take an extended break from Reef. They have been working on several projects in the interim including Dominic playing with Mick Jones (The Clash) and Tony James (Gen X) in Carbon/Silicon and Gary and Jack forming THEM IS ME and releasing their debut album in 2008.


THE DATES WILL BE RELEASED EXCLUSIVELY TO FANS FIRST ON 26th NOVEMBER VIA THE BAND'S WEB SITE WITH TICKETS AVAILABLE ON 1st DECEMBER 2009

www.reefband.com
www.myspace.com/reefmusicuk

For further details contact: Charlie (National), Anthea (Regional) or Griff (Online) 020 7792 9400 firstname@presscounsel.com

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Regards - Brand New Debut Single - 'After Many A Summer'

On 7th December 2009 Liverpool-based 4-piece Regards release their debut single ‘After Many A Summer’ on limited and personalised 7” vinyl and download through Tuniversal Records.

Regards pic - balloons

This fiery and fiercely independent band of friends from Stafford in the north west of England, moved to Liverpool when they were barely out of their teens and promptly immersed themselves in the city’s vibrant underground music scene. Growing up with a passion for independent music the band have chosen to create their own record label to express their creativity and further the growing trend of young bands preferring the ‘DIY’ method of retaining control over their art.

‘After Many A Summer’ is the first release by the band and their own Tuniversal Records on a strictly limited and numbered 7” vinyl, each coming with a personalised photo & hand designed artwork.

Regards - vinyl sleeve

Self-produced and self-released this melodic, hard-edged rhythmic debut offering is the perfect insight into the bands individual sound which has seen them earn rave reviews in their home region. With bigger releases planned for 2010 expect to be caught up in the hype overflowing from the North West.

The band will venture out in December playing at….

December
03 - Derby, The Royal
04 - Birmingham, The Rainbow
07 - Stafford, The Lord Nelson - 'After Many A Summer' LAUNCH PARTY
08 - Brighton, Club NME @ Jam
09 - Cambridge, Portland Arms
10 – Manchester Academy
16 - Liverpool, Korova
18 - Stoke, Sugarmill

More dates still to be announced.


www.myspace.com/regards

For further info contact: anthea@presscounsel.com 020-7792-9400

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Tuesday 17 November 2009

Chris T-T - New Album / New Tour!

LOVE IS NOT RESCUE
New Album – New Tour!

Increasingly influential cult singer Chris T-T returns in spring 2010 with the release of his new album Love Is Not Rescue.

2010 press pic

Released on 15 March 2010 through Xtra Mile Recordings, Love Is Not Rescue is T-T’s 7th studio album since 1999 and his second release for Xtra Mile. It was recorded in four days, primarily in rural Norfolk with Magoo’s Owen Turner (Bearsuit, Kaito) plus a session in Los Angeles with Gus Seyffert (Sia, Norah Jones, Flight Of The Conchords).

‘Love Is Not Rescue’ shows a change of direction from 2008’s rockier, heavier ‘Capital’ (“turbo-charged/grandiose/hummable fire” Q), the final part to his acclaimed London Trilogy. With this album, Chris focuses more on personal themes – love and the complexities of relationships – stripping back his sound and laying bare private lyrics over delicate melodies to create courageous, honest songs from the heart. It is a return to Chris's original visceral yearnings of love and loss; “British pop’s street-poet laureate and unsung genius” (The Sunday Times) has produced a beautifully introspective and pensive album.

The stunning album opener ‘Nintendo’ will precede the release on 8 March as a download only single.

Playing piano, electric and acoustic guitar (although not all at the same time) his UK tour of intimate gigs will highlight Chris’s wide and varied talent that has created a diverse career spanning seven studio albums. The dates are:

MARCH

6 Winchester, The Tower £6
7 Portsmouth, Eastney Cellars £6
9 Bristol, The Croft £5
10 Cardiff, Clwb Ifor Bach £6
11 Oxford, Jericho Tavern £6
12 Cambridge, Portland Arms £5
13 Norwich, The Marquee £6
14 Nottingham, Bodega £6
15 Birmingham, Academy 3 £6
17 Hull, The Adelphi £5
19 Teesdale, Club Cotherstone £5
20 Edinburgh, Sneaky Pete’s £6
21 Glasgow, The 13th Note £6
24 London, Slaughtered Lamb £7
25 Tunbridge Wells, The Forum £7
26 Canterbury, The Farmhouse £6
27 Brighton, Freebutt £6
Doors at 7pm

“We should cherish such poets of 21st century urbanity.” Plan B Magazine
“Chris stakes his claim to be the 21st-century Ray Davies” The Sunday Times
“If he was standing for London Mayor, I'd vote for him...” Steve Lamacq, Radio 2

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Wednesday 11 November 2009

The Irrepressibles - Debut Full Length Album 'Mirror Mirror'

THE IRREPRESSIBLES
"an enchantingly theatrical pop extravaganza" Robert Sandal, Sunday Times
“The Irrepressibles are one of Britain's best-kept secrets…” Simon Price, Independent On Sunday

DEBUT FULL LENGTH ALBUM ‘MIRROR MIRROR’

The Irrepressibles - Mirror Mirror sleeve

On 11th January 2010 the "flamboyant", "fantastical" & "unfathomable" Irrepressibles are set to release their stunning debut album ‘MIRROR MIRROR’ on Major Record Label through V2 /Cooperative.

Led by composer and artist Jamie McDermott, The Irrepressibles are a 10-piece 'performance orchestra' that, through the power of their instruments, can transport and transfix, break moulds and collide worlds.

Fusing European orchestration with pop melodies and soaring cathartic vocals, ‘Mirror Mirror’ is a theatrical, playful, and emotionally passionate album. From the dramatic opener ‘My Friend Jo’ to the galloping rhythms of ‘Anvil’; from the yearning echoes of ‘Forget The Past’ through to the intensely intimate ‘In This Shirt’, ‘Mirror Mirror’ is a beautifully constructed sonic exploration depicting Jamie McDermott's confessional stories of love, anger, lust and loss with a journey through The Irrepressibles’ mystical and theatrical world. Full track listing is as follows:

1. My Friend Jo
2. I’ll Maybe Let You
3. In Your Eyes
4. Anvil
5. Forget The Past
6. Knife Song
7. My Witness
8. Nuclear Skies
9. Splish! Splash! Sploo!
10. The Tide
11. Transition Instrumental
12. In The Shirt

Whilst The Irrepressibles’ sound has been compared to early David Bowie, Kate Bush, Anthony & The Johnsons and even Bonzo Dog Do Dah Band, ‘Mirror Mirror’ is quite unlike anything heard before. McDermott's androgynous vocal range soars above intricate polyphonic arrangements, accompanying the glamour of a sonic world of Exotica-meets-Baroque-meets-Scott Walker-style orchestral pop arrangements. As the album unfolds there is so much to discover, enchanting musical offerings that hold surprises at every turn.

‘Mirror Mirror’ follows the release of a seven track CD/DVD package ‘From the Circus to the Sea’ released in January 2009 to critical acclaim. Providing the score to the film ‘The Forgotten Circus’, ‘From the Circus to the Sea’ was produced in collaboration with ‘backwards motion’ filmmaker and winner of the IMZ best choreography on screen award, Shelly Love.

In the last seven years, The Irrepressibles have fundamentally carved a new frontier in pop performance. Using conceptual sets, and teams of artists in film, dance, avant-garde costume and make-up, the collective bring these songs to life through create extraordinary live spectacles. They have created their inimitable displays all over Europe, from the Hackney Empire and the Roundhouse in London, to a Roman ampitheatre in Barcelona, a 17th Century villa in Sicily and infamous La Cigale in Paris. Recently they presented one of their most iconic spectacles The Human Music Box, performing within the confines of a rotating opened box. Premiered at the V&A as part of the Baroque Baroque exhibition in the Raphael Cartoon Gallery, they then transferred the show to Latitude Festival in July for three breath-taking sets performed floating on the festival’s lake to thousands of spectators, and are set to tour the show through 2010/2011.

With further incredible shows to be announced for later in the year, The Irrepressibles may be one of Britain’s best-kept secrets, but they won’t be for long!


For more info please contact Charlie@presscounsel.com or Anthea@presscounsel.com 020 7792 9400

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Thursday 5 November 2009

Beans On Toast - 50 Track Debut Album

50 Track Debut Album On 30th November 2009 underground hero Beans On Toast will release his debut album ‘Standing On A Chair’ – a 50 track double album incorporating all his songs to date – through Xtra Mile Recordings.

logo

The gravel-voiced singer/songwriter from Braintree has been busy penning songs on his child-sized guitar for the past couple of years. His Bragg-esque odes take in themes of sex (‘Junkfood Sex’), drugs (‘M.D.M.Amazing’), sex whilst on drugs (‘Eggs Benadict’) and wry social, political commentary that is both poignant and funny (‘Fuck The Smoking Ban’, ‘London At War’). Occasionally he has made them available online. Occasionally he has stood on a chair and sung them out in pubs and clubs up and down the country. Finally, now, he’s collected them all together and presented them in an old-skool double disc album.

Produced by Ben Lovett from Mumford & Sons and featuring an array of guest vocalists, ‘Standing On A Chair’ is the perfect antidote to the glossy, cheesy, manufactured Christmas dross that is currently clogging up the charts. An anti-Christmas, Christmas album best enjoyed post-pub with good friends, cheap booze and in high spirits.
He will be celebrating the release of the album with a free gig and launch party on Sunday 29th November at London’s coolest venue, The Flowerpot.

A charismatic figure on the music scene Beans On Toast is a regular feature at Glastonbury Festival – playing the last four years. He has also performed at Secret Garden Party, been a part of Billy Bragg’s Jail Guitar Doors (an organisation that provides instruments to anyone using music as part of prisoner rehabilitation) and is Musical Director at Strummerville – the inspirational foundation dedicated to nurturing new music. However, Beans On Toast doesn’t take himself too seriously, and neither should you. Having just played to around 16,000 people whilst supporting friend Frank Turner on his huge UK sold out tour, he will be heading out, with his guitar and wooden chair to play his own shows in January 2010. Further details to come.
www.myspace.com/sexdrugspolitics /www.strummerville.comhttp://www.xtramilerecordings.com/

For further info contact: Dani/Charlie firstname@presscounsel.com 020-7792-9400

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Wednesday 4 November 2009

The Xcerts - End a Triumphant Year with their Final Tour of 2009 and commence work on Sophomore album!

“Ludicrously Punchy” – Steve Lamacq
'...classic piece of air-punching melancholia' - Observer

2009 has been quite a year for THE XCERTS. It all kicked off with the release of their amazingly anthemic single ‘Crisis In The Slow Lane’ which The Observer called a ‘classic piece of air-punching melancholia’. This was swiftly followed with the release of the band’s eagerly awaited Dave Eringa (Ash, 3 Colours Red, Idlewild…) produced debut album ‘In The Cold Wild We Smile’ which got glowing reviews across the board (Kerrang! 4/5, Rock Sound 8/10, Big Cheese 5/5). For the launch of the record the band took to the waters of Loch Ness and performed a very special show on a boat!

xcertsedit1

The band were invited to play at British Anthems in Tokyo and were flown out to the music industry showcase by the British Embassy to perform live and represent their country. In June the band released the single ‘Just Go Home’ and embarked on tours with Feeder and My Vitriol.

The Xcerts played a whole host of festivals over the summer including Wickerman, Truck and Boardmasters, winning over new fans with every show. To coincide with this the band released a very special live album ‘Live At King Tuts’ exclusively through iTunes which was recorded at the band’s sold out launch show for ‘Crisis In The Slow Lane’.

Last month the band released their third single ‘Nightschool’ and toured with their childhood heroes Idlewild, friends This City and musical stalwarts Funeral for a Friend, despite bassist Jordan Smith being forced to do the tour with a broken wrist! Never content with wresting on their laurels The Xcerts will be hitting the road for one final time before the end of the year. Dates below:

November
12 The Registry, Portsmouth
17 The Freebutt, Brighton
18 Barfly, London
19 New Slang @ McClusky’s, Kingston
December
3 The Ruby Lounge, Manchester
4 Lexington, London
5 Firefly, Worcester
10 Harley’s, Bathgate
11 Devitos, Arbroath
12 Twa Tams, Perth
13 The Cell, Kilmarnock
15 Electric Circus, Edinburgh
19 Doghouse, Dundee
20 King Tuts, Glasgow
21 Ironworks, Inverness
22 The Tunnels, Aberdeen

As well as all of this The Xcerts have found time to work on material that will form their as yet untitled second record. You can expect to hear the first of the band’s new material in early 2010.


The Xcerts debut album ‘In The Cold Wind We Smile’ is out now on Xtra Mile Recordings! Here’s what the press had to say:
“Charged with youthful hope and exuberance, every riff and anthemic chorus points to a bright future for these talented lads." - Kerrang! 4/5
“...this debut is inch-perfect, merging heartstring-tugging delicacy with buoyant distortion... If you're searching for pop with balls but no bullshit, look no further.” - Rock Sound 8/10
"'In The Cold Wind We Smile' is a triumphant, life-affirming classic" - Big Cheese 5/5

For more information please contact griff@presscounsel.com (National/Online) or anthea@presscounsel.com (Regional) – 020 7792 9400

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Monday 2 November 2009

Straight Lines - Sign to XMR, release single and tour with KIGH, Automatic and Motorhead!

Sign to Xtra Mile Recordings, Release Debut Single ‘Versus The Allegiance’ and Tour with Kids In Glass Houses, The Automatic and Motorhead!

Straight Lines

Straight Lines was initially conceived by lead vocalist and guitarist Tom Jenkins and drummer Dane Campbell after the demise of their previous band. The Welsh duo set about collating ideas and writing new material that would later form the basis for the band’s debut album. With no money to go to any other studio or producer to record the album they turned to Dane’s brother (and guitarist with local heroes Dopamine) Todd Campbell to play bass and help them produce and record their debut album in his studio situated in the garage of his house. With the help of their friends in other bands they managed to gather enough equipment together to start work on recording. Two weeks into recording the band would then be completed by Tom’s old college friend James Pugh on guitar.

Straight Lines - Versus The Allegiance - Front

Fast forward a few months and Straight Lines are ready to release the first fruits of their labour; ‘Versus The Allegiance’. The hard-hitting single is the first to be lifted from the band’s flawless debut album ‘Persistence In This Game’ which will be released through Xtra Mile Recordings (Frank Turner, The Xcerts, Reuben…) in early 2010. ‘Versus The Allegiance’ will be released through iTunes and all major DSPs on 7th December.

Tracklisting:
1. ‘Versus The Allegiance’
2. ‘When In Doubt’ (Demo)
3. ‘All My Friends Have Joined The Army’ (Acoustic)
4. ‘Visions’ (Acoustic)

Despite the band’s short existence, Straight Lines ability to pen infectious rhythmic anthems has not gone unnoticed and they have already secured forthcoming support slots with Kids In Glass Houses, Young Guns, Attack! Attack!, The Automatic and Motorhead! The band will be selling a limited edition CD version on ‘Versus The Allegiance’ at the following shows:

November
3rd Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff with Young Guns
4th Nag’s Head, High Wycombe
5th Fat Lils, Witney
6th Le Pub, Newport
7th Orange Box, Yeovil with Kids In Glass Houses
8th Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth with Kids In Glass Houses
9th Roadmender, Northampton with Kids In Glass Houses
10th 53 Degrees, Preston with Kids In Glass Houses
11th Chinnery’s, Southend with The Automatic
12th New Slang, Kingston with The Automatic
13th Newport Centre, Wales with Motorhead
14th Central Station, Wrexham, Wales with Motorhead
15th Swindon Oasis, Swindon with Motorhead
18th Sigma, Swansea
20th The RAFA Club, Aberystwyth
24th Escobar, Leeds
25th Independent, Sunderland with The Automatic
26th The Brickyard, Carlisle with The Automatic
27th The Grosvenor, Brixton
28th Hammersmith Apollo, London with Motorhead
December
5th Hobos, Bridgend
22nd Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff


For more information please contact griff@presscounsel.com (National/Online) or anthea@presscounsel.com (Regional) – 020 7792 9400

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New Rhodes - New single and Camden Crawl Compilation Album

Release New Charity Single ‘Quando Quando Quando’ on 30th November and Appear Alongside Graham Coxon and The King Blues on Camden Crawl Compilation Album

- James Williams (vocals/guitar) – Joe Gascoigne (guitar) –
- Jack Ashdown (bass/backing vocals) – Tim Desmond (drums/backing vocals) -

newrhodes1

New Rhodes are set to release their new single, a quirky, retro cover of the Englebert Humperdink classic ‘Quando Quando Quando’ through Salty Cat Records. The track is taken from a compilation album ‘Camden Heroes’ put together by London’s pioneering two day festival the Camden Crawl. Due for release later this month the album features performances from Graham Coxon, Beans On Toast, Emmy The Great, The King Blues and Madness among others with proceeds going to the War Child charity.

New Rhodes will perform at a special Camden Crawl launch gig on 4th November at brand new Camden Town venue, The Blues Kitchen. The fundraising event will include live performances from a variety of Camden rooted artists and surprise special guests. In addition New Rhodes play London’s 333 Mother Bar on 11th November.

The Blues Kitchen
111-113 Camden High Street
London NW1 7JN
020 7354 9993
Doors: 6:00pm – 1:00am
Entry: £8.00 charity donation on the door

Tracklisting ‘Quando Quando Quando’:
1. Quando Quando Quando
2. The Bells Of St John
3. Someone Else

New Rhodes critically acclaimed second album ‘Everybody Loves A Scene’ was released earlier this year and is available now on Salty Cat Records.


‘It’s at once deep and quite serious but also punchy, crooked indie that falls somewhere between The Smiths, Kaiser Chiefs and Editors, making you want to bounce around like a loon.’ – 4/5 The Sun
‘…stand-up-for-indie blast of pure joy’! - The Sunday Times Culture – Hottest Downloads
‘So beware: the bug of infectious melody is gonna get you.’ – Drowned In Sound

For more information contact Dan Griffiths (griff@presscounsel.com) on 0207 792 9400

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