Words by John Freeman
It’s promising for Brooklyn’s The Drums that as they stand on the verge of big things, they’re beginning to divide opinion. They may have been white-hot tips for 2010 and are currently recruiting fans by the legion, but one wag recently described them as ‘Wham! covering Joy Division’. AU talks to guitarist Jacob Graham about his disdain for the ‘indier-than-thou’ attitude, the band’s drinking sessions with Florence Welch and a weird Jonathan Ross experience.
After several soaring singles pushed them onto the critical radar, The Drums – four, floppy-fringed, skinny-jeaned, clean-shaven boys – release their eponymous debut this month. It’s a riot of shimmering guitars, driving bass and singer …
Posted on: July 19, 2010
Words by Steven Rainey
Standing on stage at Glastonbury, playing their anthem ‘The ‘59 Sound’ to the rapturous multitudes, must have been incredible for The Gaslight Anthem, but to be doing it with Bruce Springsteen at your side would be one of those truly unforgettable moments that will stay with you for the rest of your life. Already travelling at full steam ahead by this point, this moment propelled the band to a wider audience, bringing their ‘no-frills’ guitar attack straight to the heart of fans all over the UK and Ireland.
Fusing that classic sound of the streets to the incendiary burn of punk rock at its best, …
Posted on: June 30, 2010
Benni and Gib of Logikparty
Words and photos by Nay McArdle
Rewind to last summer: a bunch of musicians hung out to jam together, got on like a house on fire and immediately began to meld into a band. Six months on, they played their first gig and six months on from that they were invited …
more »Words by Neill Dougan
Illustration by Mark Reihill
Diego Maradona’s career was already in the doldrums when he received a surprise call-up to the Argentina squad for the 1994 World Cup. Barely a week into the tournament and he’d been sent home in utter disgrace. But do you think he was …
more »Chris Heaney is a man much inclined to restlessness. As front man of Belfast’s Escape Act, the creative ants in his musical pants have led Chris and the band on to sonic pastures new with their imminent second album, the deceptively simply-titled Balance.
It’s an album with chiming guitars all over it; an album of expansive anthems, joyous sing-a-longs …
more »Words by Neill Dougan
DJ, producer, soundtrack maestro, solo recording artist and genuine Norn Iron hero David Holmes is back with a brand new best of. The Dogs Are Parading compiles 16 of his finest tracks, plus a bonus disc of rarities and winning remixes from the likes of Kevin Shields, Andrew Weatherall, Mogwai and more. Needless to say, it’s pretty …