Venue: The Limelight Complex

Date: 9th November 2012

This year's 2nd annual Belfast Music Week doesn't seem to have had the same buzz around it as last year. Perhaps because it didn't have a worldwide event, like the MTV Music Video Awards, to coincide with it as it did last year. Nevertheless, it's great to have a week set aside every year to shine the spotlight on some of the brightest prospects that 'our wee province' has to offer.

The central event to the week is the Belfast Music Week Showcase. The recently redeveloped Limelight Complex has opened all three of its venues to play host to twelve of Northern Ireland's most promising upcoming artists. The purpose of the night is to allow them to play to the 20 or so international music executives who have descended upon Belfast for the purposes of snapping them up. I couldn't recognise any of them during the evening, although that's largely because they all declined to wear a 10 gallon hat with "MUSIC PROFESSIONAL" emblazoned on it. I did see Radio Ulster DJ Stuart Baillie in attendance, but then again, as the old saying goes, "If you are at a gig in Belfast and Stuart Baillie isn't there, then you're not at a gig in Belfast."

Each of the artists has been given 20 minutes to perform, so each performance is rather frantic and crammed solely with each artist's most notable songs. Here are some brief thoughts on all the artists playing:

Katharine Phillipa - given that her style is strictly minimal, in that the space in between music is just as important as the music itself, an unappreciative audience can be quite detrimental to her performance (or as one person on Twitter put it, the crowd needs to STFU). Nonetheless, she puts in a decent performance. Notably, she has brought in a new minimal mash-up, combining "Ho Hey" by The Lumineers with "Some Nights" by fun..

Pretty Child Backfire - Some rather decent shifty-pop from the group.

David C Clements - My initial thoughts about seeing David C. Clements was that this is the sound of an incredibly polite apocalypse, as brought about by Bruce Springsteen (although on Twitter, I appear to have gotten his band mixed up with More Than Conquerors). A lot more engaging live than on record.

Tom McShane - Mr McShane is something of a throwback to the traditional songwriter, given that his live setup consists of a cellist, double bass player and trumpeter in addition to guitar/vocals. Didn't know much about him prior to seeing him, but any artist that writes songs with epic trumpet lines is a keeper in my book.

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Wonder Villains - tonight, the band have established themselves as the best, most fun act on the local scene. A few new songs were played this evening, included "Blonde", a song that just screams 'future single'.

More Than Conquerors - rather decent.

VerseChorusVerse - I hadn't seen ex-ASIWYFA Tony Wright, aka VerseChorusVerse before this evening, but he sure does know how to make a great first impression, playing the first song of his set whilst balanced on the railing of Katy Daly's bar. He's one step above the average Belfast acoustic singer/songwriter, that's for sure.

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Lafaro - I wasn't too keen on Lafaro's riff-heavy rock. Thankfully for them, everyone else in attendance disagree, with the band pulling in the biggest crowd of the night. "Tupenny Nudger" is pretty great though.

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Runaway Go - Perhaps the best performance I've seen the band given to date. The short set is a great reminder that they've got some really great songs in their arsenal, like "Electric" and recent single "Jump Start".

Ryan Vail - all his equipment worked. There was a flute.

A Plastic Rose - win the award for best quip of the night. "This has been the fastest 20 minutes of my life. Although my girlfriend would disagree". It's a reliably strong set from them, with "Boy Racer" and their traditional closer "Kids Don't Behave Like This", being the highlights.

Rams' Pocket Radio - it's great to see Shauna Tohill back on bass for Rams' this evening. The performance is rather good.

It's great to have an evening sampling some of the best emerging artists coming out of this region. There were some flaws with the setup of the evening though. As none of the performances overlapped, there was a mad rush to get to the next venue whenever one artist finished. Also, with one artist playing at a time, the venue that they're playing in could become quite cramped, especially in the relatively small Katy Daly's.

Still, it was a great event, and I'm hoping that some of the music people in attendance like what they've heard and help to push our best and brightest into the stratosphere.

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As summer approaches quicker than Eric Pickles at an all-you-can-eat curry house,, The Metaphorical Boat is going to guide you through some of the festivals on offer in Northern Ireland in 2012, from the big, the small, to the not so big and the not so small. The first part can be found here. This second installment features Glasgowbury, Sunflowerfest and Stendhal Festival of Art.
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What is it?
Seen as the jewel in the metaphorical crown of Northern Ireland's festival season, the "Small But Massive" festival's aim is to "nurture young creative talent while providing a platform for the Irish music scene," a vision that has seen it pick up a plethora of awards.


Where is it?
Draperstown, in County (London)Derry. And definitely not in Glasgow, as I had originally thought when I first discovered the festival.

When is it?
Saturday 21st July 2012.

How Much Is It?
Between £30-£40


Who's headlining?
The festival will be headlined by alt-rock legends, Therapy?, on the back of their "Brief Crack of Light" album, which has seen the band gain their best reviews for quite a while. Expect absolute mayhem when their big hits like "Screamager" and "Nowhere" start up.

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Who else is playing?
As if having a set from The Wonder Villains isn't exciting enough, there's sets from some of the most wonderful acts in the province. Robert Smith collaborators The Japanese Popstars should bring their electric live show to town, while there are also sets from Lafaro, RunawayGO, Sons of Caliber, Amidships, VerseChorusVerse & Our Krypton Son, amongst other names.


Website?
Clickety Click-Click.
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What is it?
One of the quirkier festivals on offer, Sunflowerfest will have therapy areas, a debating room and a boutique crafts village in addition to several stages of music. They get props for calling their main stage the Finn McCool stage, even if it brings back traumatic memories of my P5 school play.


Where is it?
Tubby's Farm, Hillsborough. Just 10 miles from Belfast Centre.

When is it?
Friday 17th-Sunday 19th August 2012.

How Much Is It?
£49 for the weekend.

Who's headlining?
Top billing is shared by six bands. 90s dance pioneers Dreadzone, performance poet/rapper Scroobius Pip, Brassroots, Irish funk-rockers Republic of Loose, double winners of the Choice Music Prize Jape, and our very own Duke Special.

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Who else is playing?
A host of names from across UK & Ireland. Blog picks include The Wonder Villains (of course), Lanterns on the Lake, Elspeth, Parachutes Over Paris, A Plastic Rose, Katie & the Carnival and Katharine Philippa.

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Website?
Al Gore invented hyperlinks. Fact.
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What is it?
According to its curators, the festival exist to "inspire the discovery of performing and visual arts, showcasing local, national and international artists, with a reputation for innovation and exceptional hospitality."


Where is it?
Ballymunny Cottage Farm, Limavady, Co. (London)Derry.

When is it?
Friday 17th & Saturday 18th August 2012.

How Much Is It?
£25 for the weekend. £20 for Saturday only. £10 for just Friday.


Who's headlining?
Henry McCullough, famous for playing with Paul McCartney in Wings.

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Who else is playing?
Many names from the county are on the bill, as well as several from further afield. Artists worth mentioning include Best Boy Grip, Silhouette, Furlo, Axis of, Exit Pursued by Bear (there's not enough post-rock bands named after Shakespearean stage directions), Intermission (featuring ex-members of Karma 45) and Master & Dog. There is also a Limavady band called General Biscuit playing, although I know nothing of them, apart from the fact that I absolutely adore their name.


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Website?
Click. Click. Click to the click.
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So that's three more festivals taking place in NI this summer. Are you going to grace any of them with your presence this year? What do you think of the lineups? Are you as confused as I am as to why there's a question mark in Therapy?? Let me know in the comments section below.

Leeds based funpop band This Many Boyfriends are gearing up to release their next single. "(I Should Be A) Communist", which has been produced by Ryan Jarman of The Cribs, is a re-recording of a song first featured on their "Getting a Life With... E.P", and shows the band as charming, spiky and endearing as ever. The music video for the song has also been released, which an hilarious exercise in hipster-bating. Lovely stuff as usual from the gang.

(I Should Be A) Communist by This Many Boyfriends will be released on May 21st on a groovy red 7".


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In almost every review I have read of "Baby" by Tribes, the same album comparison keeps cropping up again and again: this album is the 21st Century version of "Coming Up" by Suede (the only exception I've seen is the Pitchfork review, which bizarrely compares it to "Dog Man Star"). I am going to go right ahead and say it now: this album is nothing like "Coming Up." In my humble opinion, Suede's "Coming Up" is the greatest album ever released, so to compare any album to it is a futile experience indeed.

That being said, "Baby" is a decent debut album from the London boys. "We Were Children" sounds like it could easily be a Manic Street Preachers b-side (which is by no means an insult), and "Corner of an English Field" sounds like it's been tailor made for festival season.

Released: January 2012

Highlights: We Were Children, Corner of an English Field

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And here's the single version, which is out to download now:


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The Wonder Villains will be launching "Ferrari" in The Speakeasy Bar in The Queen's University Student's Union from 9PM this evening (Thursday 23rd), supported by Pretty Child Backfire & Purile Honey. Admission is free.

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Things have been going rather swimmingly recently for Peter McCauley & company in the Rams' Pocket Radio camp. They were playlisted on BBC Radio 1 (although oddly enough it wasn't with their current single at the time, "Dogs Run in Packs"), they supported Snow Patrol during one of their sell-out performances in Belfast's Odyssey Arena, and have a tour of the United Kingdom scheduled for February which already has several sold-out dates. Now they are gearing up to release their latest single, "1+2", which combines all the elements that make them so attractive in the first place - massive piano hooks, anthemic production and the empassioned vocals of Peter McCauley. With a bit of luck, this will hopefully be the song that pushes them over the hill into the mainstream consciousness.

"1+2" will be released on March 19th.

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Within hours of Emperors Club making my list of bands to watch out for in 2012, the Iowa quintet released a new song that justifies my support for them.

"Sham Sham", which is available to download for free, continues the band's penchant for mixing American rock with British influences. A more laidback affair, the song mixes soulful Americana with influences from Arctic Monkeys' and soaring harmony vocals that Teenage Fanclub would kill for. Although the song doesn't have the immediacy, nor punch that "Our Time" had, it is a good song that opens the door to a varying sound for Emperors Club.

[埋込みオブジェクト:https://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F31160334] Sham Sham by Emperors Club

The only American based group on the list, Iowa based quintet Emperors Club form the missing link between American alt-rock and Britpop, with the band citing both The Charlatans and Big Star as influences on their sound. Their debut E.P, October's "The Castle", is a fantastic introduction to the band, from the spiky title track, through to the Stroke 9 meets McAlmont & Butler grooves of "Our Time", through to the David Gray-esque "Brooklyn" showing a band with a classic sound, updated to the 10s.

With a full length album planned in the next year, the next 12 months should see the rise to power of Emperors Club.


[埋込みオブジェクト:https://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Fplaylists%2F1078968&color=ff7e00&show_artwork=true&show_comments=true&show_playcount=true]The Castle by Emperors Club





Based on their latest E.P, "Imperial Godess of Mercy", Oxford based quintet Fixers could be best decribed as psychedelic indie rock with shades of Animal Collective. However, the group are not afraid to embrace pop, as evidenced from their siren sampling single "Swimmhaus Johannesburg" (a song that surprisingly made the daytime playlist on BBC Radio 1).

The start of 2012 will see the group supporting Kaiser Chiefs on tour, before re-releasing "Iron Deer Dream" in February, followed by an album release around April.


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Since rock music fell largely out of favour with the general public around 2008, every end-of year tip list has featured at least one artist that promises to bring rock hurtling back into the mainstream. The Drums were on many pundits lists in 2010, whilst the hopes of 2011 were very much put on the shoulders of The Vaccines. Could 2012 be the year of Camden fourpiece Tribes? Having released three strong singles in 2011, the most recent of which being "When My Day Comes", the band have built up a reputation for their youthful, Britpop inspired tunes and raucious live performances.

A timely re-release of the single that made me fall in love with the group in the first place, "We Were Children", is being released ahead of their debut album "Baby", released on January 16th. Their guitarist Dan's taboid friendly relationship with Scarlett Johannson should keep them firmly in the public eye over the next 12 months.

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Leeds based "funpop" band This Many Boyfriends came to my attention during the summer through their fantastic "Young Lovers Go Pop!" single. However, they have been together for many years, releasing an E.P in 2010, featuring such charming songs such as "I Can Be a Communist" and "I Don't Like You (Cos You Don't Like the Pastels)".

With a single on Angular Records under their belt, the band are shaping up for 2012 to be their biggest year yet, with a new single scheduled for February (complete with a silly fanzine drawn by the band), gigs with Allo Darlin', and the possibility of an album before the end of the year. Let's hope that the fun continues with This Many Boyfriends.

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When a band plays on Later...With Jools Holland before they've even released an album, they are surely destined for great things (or have a brilliant PR/management team, although the two are not always mutually exclusive). This bodes well for London (via Leeds) based Various Cruelties, whose appearence on the flagship show has seen a boost in their popularity, even making the Radio 1 playlist this week with "Great Unknown".

It could be possible to compare their chances to those of The Vaccines last year, who had only been together for a few months before being signed in a flurry of hype and also playing on the aformentioned BBC2 show before releasing a single. The band even supported The Vaccines in their earliest days together. However, that is where the comparisons end, for whilst The Vaccines trade in angular indie rock, Various Cruelties offer a more soulful approach to their music, with Motown influences abound.

Their debut album will be released on April 2nd.

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And those are The Metaphorical Boat's tips for 2012. Do you agree with the suggestions, or are there any other artists that you feel should be making a mark in the next year? Be sure to leave a comment to let me know.

After spending the past 2 weeks looking back at the best releases of 2011, it is time for The Metaphorical Boat to look ahead to the bands that hopefully will be making waves in 2012.

The 10 acts that feature in the countdown are ones that have not yet released an album that I hope will make a mark in 2012. The first part will look at artists from Northern Ireland that I have high hopes for in the next 12 months, whilst part 2 will look at bands from the rest of the world.



With their stadium-folk sound, Antrim sextet Amidships are a band of epic proportions. With a 7 track E.P under their belt ("Friendly Fire"), and an increasingly devoted live following, 2012 could see the group break into the consciousness of the UK music scene.


[埋込みオブジェクト:https://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F25450072] Oceans & Layers by Amidships



Lisburn based piano-rock artist Peter McCauley, aka Rams' Pocket Radio, is an artist that has been on my radar for some time, ever since I heard the demo of "Dogs Run In Packs" back in 2009.

2011 has been his best year yet, with the support of 6music's Tom Robinson leading him to playing a storming Glastonbury set over the summer. The momentum has increased with the recent DRIP EP, showcasing the extent of the artist's power-piano style. With a new E.P planned for the new year, hopefully we'll be hearing a lot more of Rams' Pocket Radio in the new year.

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Belfast based 5-piece Sons of Caliber ply their trade with their own brand of folk, full of guy/girl harmonies and poetic, heart-on-sleeve lyrics. In the past year they've developed as an intriguing live prospect, and tracks such as "My Way of Thinking" and "Falling For You" have shown their knack for writing memorable, pastoral tunes. With an E.P due in the new year, we should be hearing more from the band in the near future.
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Belfast based heavy rock band Window Seats have been releasing singles for a few years now. But in the past few months their profile has increased after the release of their "Frozen Bones E.P", as well as the IMTV award nominated video for "Local Superhero." With tunes such as "Juliette's Letter" in their arsenal, the next 12 months should be an exciting time for the trio.

Their entire back catalogue is available to download for free from their Bandcamp page.

[埋込みオブジェクト:https://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F27169253] Window Seats - Juliette's Letter by Window Seats



[埋込みオブジェクト:https://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F28871626] Ferrari by The Wonder Villains