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Pictures from some recent gigs we've hosted:

29 March 2013 - Brixton, London

Viv Albertine, VuVuVultures, Left Leg, Mickey Gloss, Big Wave, No Cars, Arthur Gunn, Simon Love (Pictures)

8 March 2013 - Lexington, London

R.Ring, Golden Grrrls, Slushy Guts and Equinox (Pictures)

On Our iPod

Parquet Courts - Light Up Gold (album)

Hard Skin - Why Do Birds Suddenly Appear (album)

Black Angels - Indigo Meadow (album)

Thee Oh Sees - Floating Coffin (album)

R Ring - Fallout and Fire 7”

Royal Headache - self-titled (album)

The Mariner’s Children - Sycamore EP

Can’s Ege Bamyasi played by Stephen Malkmus and Friends(album)

The Fall - Sir William Wray 7"

Lord Huron - Lonesome Dreams (album)

Kid Congo and the Pink Monkey Birds - Conjure Man 7”

Lightning Bolt - Oblivion Hunter

Robyn Hitchcock - There Goes The Ice (2x 12")

Latest Forum Posts

Album Review

Darren Hayman and the Long Parliament
The Violence Fortuna Pop! Records

Article written by Ged M - Nov 3, 2012

The themes of Darren Hayman’s Essex trilogy have been Harlow and the Hinterland and now it’s the turn of History. The background to The Violence is the story of the 300 women hanged for witchcraft in Eastern England between 1644 and 1646, some at the hands of Matthew Hopkins, Witchfinder General. It’s an ambitious and brilliantly arranged work, using a much broader musical palette than usual and incorporating accordion, strings and woodwind, as well as the ubiquitous ukulele, plus some clever sampling; the creaking gallows sound that opens ‘Elizabeth Clarke’ gives this small, sad tale an extra shiver.

It’s Hayman’s take on folk music and its sombre tones reflect the stories he tells. Although he’s done his research, including his versions of two Royalist songs from the 1640s, this isn’t a history lesson. Despite walk-on roles for Charles I’s Queen and the Witchfinder General, there’s no sense of big themes resonating across the centuries or of a country rent asunder. It’s a very personal perception of a very specific horror, which is experienced at an individual level.

If you want that history go to Diane Purkiss or Tristram Hunt. If you want history-inspired lyrics laced with, admittedly, darker-than-usual melodies, Hayman’s your man. ‘How Long Have You Been Frightened For’ has his customary catchiness while the wibbling electronic oscillations of ‘Rebecca West’ are extremely addictive and I can imagine people singing along to the chorus of ‘Henrietta Maria’. At the end of a long record (73 minutes, 20 tracks) I’m left feeling unenlightened about the era (it fails the Horrible Histories test) but with a good sense of the musical achievement this record represents.

Links:
http://www.hefnet.com/
http://www.fortunapop.com/artist_details.php?id=37
http://www.myspace.com/darrenhayman