So one of the many new albums that I've been making my way through this month has been from the lovely Lianne La Havas. On first listen it felt like an album that I was returning to after a long while - soulful, reminiscent and classic. Although right now I haven't latched onto it in the same way I did her last, this record has so many layers to it - I know it'll take some time to fully appreciate it. Anyway, before this becomes an album review...

LIANNE LA HAVAS - Midnight

It feels like forever that I've been waiting for new material from Lianne, so when I heard this single (in fact the opening track on the record) last month I was ecstatic. Going by that you can guess how I felt when she dropped the video for the single a few hours ago...

LIANNE LA HAVAS - UNSTOPPABLE

I've only recently gotten into Pulled Apart By Horses this year but I was lucky enough to catch them late last month on tour.

The first band opening up for them was Birmingham locals - Them Wolves. My first impression of them was that they were sloppy, loud and out of control. At first I was not into it at all but when I finally got a hold of myself I realised that they were just real, old school punk rock. Fast paced, noisy and out of control! I feel like these days we are far too focused on music sounding perfect and every note being "the right fit" or "in tune", that we forget that music is just supposed to evoke a reaction in us - physical or emotional. As pretty or as "pitch perfect" as songs might sound these days, they can't always make us something. Sound levels could have been a lot better but overall these guys played a solid set. The lead singer is kind of what I would imagine Yannis Philippakis to sound like if he picked up a bass and started a punk rock band.

Up next was Menace Beach (what a name!). Their set wasn't quite as awesome as their name. To be honest they didn't really do much to keep me interested or surprise me. They were just, fine... Maybe even verging on vanilla. There was nothing really bad about the set but then nothing spectacular either. I don't think I'd pay money to see them headline any time soon but I did however quite like their songs "Fortune Teller" and "Drop Outs".

And finally, Pulled Apart By Horses. They opened up with my current favourite of theirs "Hot Squash" and the left half of the crowd immediately lost it. Something just seemed to come over that part of the crowd and it didn't quite reach the right side. PABH were electric though. Great energy from the get go. Their bassist too though - amazing!! As the show went on energy levels didn't dip, left side stayed crazy, right stayed mellow. It was one of the strangest crowd set ups I'd ever been in but it felt alright. However, because of this split, Tom mostly paid attention to the buzzing crowd members on the left and I don't think he even walked over to the right side of the room during the set. The set list was awesome though. They played pretty much every big tune from recent album Blood and also hits from their older two albums Pulled Apart By Horses and Tough Love. These guys played the set like if they weren't doing music they couldn't be doing anything else. Even in that tiny venue you could tell how much these live shows meant to them, and that's what made the vibe of the night so great.

Overall Rating - 7/10


Here are some pictures from the night...