Fear of Men was born when Jess (vocals & guitar) had been writing and home recording ambient songs as soundtracks to short films when Daniel (guitar) attended an exhibition of her work. The two began swapping mixtapes and started a project based on a shared love of melody and an eclectic mix of artists such as Eric’s Trip, Grouper, Daniel Johnston, Pixies and The Chills. Joining Jess and Daniel in the group are Alex on bass and Mike on drums and saw.
To date, the London & Brighton four-piece have released a series of singles (which will all be collected on a compilation, ‘Early Fragments’, due out early next year) and have already played shows with the likes of The Antlers, Vivian Girls, Iceage and Best Coast.
Van She are an Australian four-piece, formed in 2005 in the Sydney suburb of Bankstown, who bridge the musical gap between boldly adventurous shoegaze and danceable glint disco. Each member of the band — Michael Di Francesco (synths), Tomek Archer (drums), Nick Routledge (vocals/guitar), and Matt Van Schie (bass) — had responded to an ad in Sydney’s Drum Media magazine and arrived at an audition for a vocalist for a doom metal band with influences such as Sepultura, Entombed, Black Skull — and Phil Collins. The whole thing was a total hoax; however, they all became fast friends and scrambled up Van Schie’s last name for the creation of Van She. A deal with Modular Recordings was inked after just one gig and shows with the Presets, Wolf & Cub, Annie, and Yeah Yeah Yeahs soon followed in 2006. The group’s first album, ‘V’, was released in 2008. After this they focused on remixes for artists like Ladyhawke and Empire of the Sun, while releasing a version of Blue Öyster Cult’s “Don’t Fear the Reaper” in 2009. After what seemed like forever, they returned with a new single, “Idea of Happiness,” earlier this year and finally a full album with the same name was released in July.
Named after a Beat Happening song, This Many Boyfriends are an indie pop band from Leeds, who bonded over a shared love of playing pop music.
Compared to Orange Juice, The Cribs, Hefner and The Smiths, the band is also influenced by the likes of PJ Harvey, The Slits, Spearmint, Jonathan Richman, Otis Redding and Joy Division. Richard (lead vocals) likes Paul Simon so much, he wrote a song about him.
With live shows that have a reputation for being transcendental experiences, and music blogs providing commentary on each emerging track, G R E A T W A V E S had announced their arrival on the scene well in advance of a physical debut single.
Their sound has been described as “like falling in love”, and it’s true that with every listen the beauty of each track is emphasised. The idiosyncrasies that at first appear insignificant develop into truly endearing features. The guitar picks being one such example, delivered with loose causality and other worldly tone.
With their aptly named debut single ‘The Shore’, G R E A T W A V E S will be making that of their namesake very soon. Don’t miss this totally free show.
