#forge press

Local band Black Gold of the Sun get a great reception from the crowd and the drummer from Stealing Sheep gives them heaps of praise.Their diverse mix of instruments, dynamic use of percussion and their lively, energetic presence on stage makes them a very worthy support act. This psych-folk sound is calling back to another era and is reminiscent of soulful Americana.

Stealing Sheep take to the stage, which is decorated with fairy lights and colourful tassels and they begin with a loud ruckus of percussion contrasted with delicate vocals.

The way they harmonise together is stunning. They perform the opening track of their debut album, ‘The Garden’, with such energy that sounds as haunting and brooding as it does on the record.

Halfway through, their set becomes more upbeat and intense, single ‘Genevieve’ being a highlight with lead vocalist Becky banging her tambourine ferociously, the rainbow streamers attached to it flowing everywhere.

The otherworldly charm of ‘Circles’ sounds sublime, the girls’ vocals becoming even stronger and the crowd looks on, entranced.

Their dreamy psych-pop is unlike anything else around at the moment, but it’s their three part harmonies and exquisite voices that make the biggest impression. They announce that it is their first ever show in Sheffield before they start to play ‘Noah’s Days’, the beautifully eerie track from their The Mountain Dogs EP, featuring melodica and soft, sweet vocals.

‘Into The Diamond Sun’ takes you on a mesmerising journey with its different parts and enigmatic percussion; the last part, which is sped up is when the band really come alive.

‘Shut Eye’ with its distinctive guitar riff and chorus like a tribal chant really shows Stealing Sheep at their best.

They finish with ‘Your Saddest Song’ which ends their show perfectly – the rich guitar chords and fuzzy keyboards are immaculate and the drums are understated in comparison to the rest of the set.

Stealing Sheep’s laid-back, fun stage presence and their angelic voices make them a must see live act.

Words: Lianne Williams

Having a family member on Tumblr all of a sudden is enough to motivate me to start updating this thing again after a three-month silence. Since there's so much to get through, I'm going to be lazy and just start from 2012 (there's already nearly a dozen reviews!) - however, there's just one more from last year that I want to put up. Originally written for Forge Press, and also readable here, it's my review of Los Campesinos!'s newest album. One of my favourites of last year, and they've also just released the video for 'Songs About Your Girlfriend', one of my favourite tracks from the record.

Hello Sadness isn’t the title you’d expect to accompany the most accessible Los Campesinos! album yet – but lyrically, it’s spot on. Detailing lead singer Gareth’s most recent break-up, the album chronicles his feelings of grief so comprehensively that you may feel like you’ve just been dumped too.

Of course, they’re still the same upbeat indie pop group who penned that one song on the Budweiser advert. ‘Songs About Your Girlfriend’ is a highlight of the album, catchy and fast-paced, favouring tongue-in-cheek lyrics directed to an ex’s new boyfriend.

Songs that have already been paraded around the internet, opener ‘By Your Hand’ and the title-track, are solid parts of Hello Sadnessbut it’s relieving to hear that they’re by no means false advertising.

Whilst there are admittedly low points midway in the album during ‘Every Defeat A Divorce (Three Lions)’ and ‘Hate For The Island’, they are growers, drilling into your head after a few listens.

Lyrically Los Campesinos! have stuck to their tried and tested formula of hyperrealism twinned with obtuse metaphors. Descriptions of stretch marks and “the sound of your pissing through the thin walls” permeate closer ‘Light Leaves, Dark Sees Pt. 2’ shortly after the slow-burning ‘To Tundra’ declares, “Take her body to tundra / Just take me with you as well”.

Standout track ‘Baby I Got The Death Rattle’ marries death and sex so perfectly with the line “Not headstone / But headboard / S’where I wanna be mourned”. It starts slow and builds itself up on a sensuous soundscape of backing strings and a strong percussion, proving that the band work best when everyone has a part to play. Kim’s vocals are arguably underused throughout Hello Sadness, but here they fit well.

Mid-November now, and as the Forge Press print deadline loomed near, everything was going swimmingly, and we were all set to send our paper to the printers.

But life editing a student newspaper isn't that easy.

Just as we were putting the finishing touches to the news pages, a colleague rushed in to tell us that the university library, otherwise known as the Information Commons, or I.C., has been evacuated and closed.

This is a building that never closes, not even on Christmas Day.

The newsroom was thrown into chaos as we tried to establish what had happened and what we could print in the paper at such a late stage.

Luckily, we managed to establish the most important facts through a combination of reputable and not-so-reputable sources, and Twitter helped us find a fantastic picture to print.

RIP Ponytail :( Really great album. Read it here as well.

As both opening track and the lead single of Do What You Want All The Time, a lot was resting on ‘Easy Peasy’. There was never anything to worry about though, as Molly Siegel’s excitable vocals match the frenetic energy of the music with shouts “We’re running out of time” over and over.

‘Flabbermouse’ continues the tone of the album, and ‘Honey Touches’, despite its delicate name, is a bombastic perfect piece of organised chaos. ‘AwayWay’, if played live, would be an instant crowd-pleaser with shouts of “I know I know / You know you know” barely making it from behind out the accompanying feel-good wash  of squealing guitars and a cowbell.

If sophomore album Ice Cream Spiritual got good reviews three years ago, then Do What You Want All The Time can only be described as the creation of a band at the top of their game. At just over half an hour long, and with only seven tracks, it’s a tighter, more densely packed affair, tjan their previous effort, and so much the better for it.

Closer ‘Music Tunes’ starts off with a simple plucking of  guitar strings, but the looped sound keeps increasing in speed until it sounds like a helicopter taking off. Fortunately though, it fades and it replaced with a beautifully layered soundscape, leaving a lasting impression of how brilliant art-rock can actually be.

As if I gave this album a 7. I love The Crookes, so I would like to rescind my earlier verdict and up it to 8 or 9/10. Definitely one of my albums of the year. Also readable on Forgetoday.com, as usual.

Chasing After Ghosts, the debut album from much-hyped band The Crookes, is a fabulous slice of traditional indie rock laden with poetic skills.

Lead single and opening track ‘Godless Girl’ is a beautiful, atmosphere-laden, ditty, setting up the album as a sweet homage to old ways, romance and youth. In contrast, ‘Chorus of Fools’ is more upbeat, a bit like The Libertines but less of a drug-addled joke, with dashes of something Smiths-like which permeate the whole album.

But what about the poetry, you ask? ‘The Crookes Laundry Murder, 1922’ (based on a real murder, history fans) is a slow, Eighties-inspired track that showcases Daniel Hopewell’s lyrical prowess when it comes to storytelling. It’s not quite up there with Turner’s efforts on last year’s Humbug, but gratuitous Arctic Monkeys comparisons aside, it’s a damn good effort for a first album, as George Waite croons “Leave the flowers at the gates. / If the rain fades your name, leave to fate. / Wake me for the mourning.”

‘I Remember Moonlight’ is one of the most romantic songs on the album, an ambitious recollection of a girl who got away: “Love, I remember moonlight / like the pale white of your skin beneath those coloured tights.” Clearly, though they may be known as musical poets, they aren’t abandoning mentions of real life any time soon either.

In an album flooded with youthfulness and heartbreak, ‘Carnabetian Charms’ fits in as the antithesis of the lads in The Crookes. With lines like “His glasses thick frames provide elegant ways to be seen / Stole style from the backs of trendy London magazines” it’s almost an attack on other bands of similar sound – but should also be taken as a warning for The Crookes themselves, that they not change as they get more and more praise.

Heavy closer ‘City of Lights’ is practically anthemic, whilst remaining romantic and true to The Crookes’ style. Though not Sheffield-born, we would be wise to adopt these ex-English students as our own, as they head on to bigger and better things.