The Great Escape 2018 saw a huge collection of unsigned musicians from around the world come together and celebrate all that is fresh, new, and up and coming on the global music scene. We managed to catch breakout UK band ABQ at Brighton’s The Mesmerist and their energetic and animated set.

The boys won the crowd over with their first song, a gusty and impassioned rendition of “Something Original”, a song whose interesting rhythmic qualities ensured that the song lived up to the sentiment of the title. “Edge of The Earth” and “Days We Leave Behind” came next and were both songs that showcased the band’s ability to write artful and relatable lyrics.

Next up was “Waiting for Us” and “Neon”, and it was here that the band showed their prowess not just as musicians but as performers as well. They commanded the stage and their stage presence meant that all eyes were on them – it was impossible to look away.

Then it was time for the band to play their final song, their highly-rated debut single “Takes So Long”, a robust and dynamic track about letting go and starting again. With its full on musicality and unbelievably catchy melody, the song exuded feelings of rebellion and revolution. It was high energy, and captivating, and just the perfect song to finish their set.

Having spent the majority of May gigging at various venues across the UK, ABQ are now gearing up for the release of new music, and the potential for more live performances in the not too distant future…

The Riot Squad get invites to all sorts of venues in London and various other parts of the country, so we thought it was only fair to ask occasional contributor Ian Stratford to give us a rundown of some our favourite places to listen to music and photograph performers. Here’s what he came up with (in no particular order:

The Union Chapel, Islington – There is absolutely nothing to criticise about this venue. It’s a working church that’s staffed by volunteers that seem to have been selected purely on the basis of their friendly attitude. The acoustics are absolutely superb and the stage is a very beautiful setting. Allan loves giving the Nikons a little outing there and generally gets a bit of a result. Go there and have a look; you’ll love it.

Green Note, Camden – There’s something very lovely about the award-winning Green Note. It’s not the biggest venue, but the Riot Squad has seen some great nights there watching some really high-quality performers from the UK and further afield. The sound is always absolutely perfect and artists love to play there. Oh, did I mention the great selection of vegetarian food, lovely staff and real beers as well.

Paper Dress Vintage – We liked this venue when it was in Shoreditch, but the move to Hackney was inspired. The venue is now above the main retail area and the atmosphere at the gigs the Riot Squad have seen there has always been cracking. We saw Amanda Rheaume there at the Americana Music Association UK showcase this year and had a great night. And don’t forget there are another two venues within five minutes walking distances from PDV, MOTH and Oslo, and they’re both worthwhile as well.

2 Northdown – Bit of an unconventional one this. It’s more of a comedy venue but it’s been hijacked by Ray Jones of Talentbanq for his Acoustic Sex nights. The setting is unfussy with straight white lights on the stage, but the sound is always spot on and the talent on stage is exceptional. It’s also a great place to meet people from the music industry. It’s become one of Allan’s favourite nights out.

Rich Mix, Shoreditch – It’s a mix of a cinema, an Indian diner and a gig venue. We’ve tried two out of the three on Riot Squad nights out. The food in the diner is gorgeous and the atmosphere in the venue is electric. Each time we’ve been there the audience has been incredibly receptive and the performers have played great sets.

Want to know what a love song sounds like in C21 London – it sounds a lot like this actually. Sam Way and Henry Dell have got together to turn a nice little acoustic song into a Radio 1-friendly and dancefloor-embracing hook-filled anthem. “Pretty Liability” is all about the ‘bad girl’, the transgressive party girl that we should keep at arm’s length but has a magnetic pull on us. The bass pumps, the percussion skitters and the synths wash and there’s the obligatory breakdown at about the two-thirds mark. It’s when the chorus kicks in that you realise how catchy this tune is – you just can’t help singing along with it. And there’s a neat animated video to go with that you can see below.

“Pretty Liability” is out now and here’s the video:

This combined effort from singer Kirsty Mac, multi-instrumentalists Paul Ayre and Tony Draper, known collectively as Alive in Theory, has a lot going for it. There’s some great playing, the vocal performances are pretty powerful and the songs are mostly pretty strong, so where do we start? At the very beginning, it’s a very good place apparently. Actually the opening song “Alive in Theory” isn’t a bad summary of the album; it’s full of drama, it has a wide dynamic range and a sense of menace. The intro has a feel of “Radio Gaga” and, strangely enough, there’s a little guitar fill which is pure early seventies Brian May. The vocals across the album hint at a Gothic Kate Bush, with maybe a little hint of Kim Carnes in there as well (the eighties drums and brooding synths of “Lightning” have a strong feel of “Bette Davis Eyes”). Now that wasn’t too bad for you was it? But it’s not the whole story because there are a few reservations.

Musically, “Unconditional”, isn’t bad but it demonstrates a few of the album’s downsides. The lyric has a feel of a rhyming exercise that doesn’t convey too much meaning, the vocal is a bit melodramatic and it follows a format that’s repeated through the album of a gradual layer-by-layer build-up of songs. It’s not that any of these things make it a bad album, more that without them, it could have been a better album. Glad we got that out of the way.

On the upside, the driving power of “Bethany” and the combination of distorted guitars and synth sequences works well and would fit in well in a vampire TV series while using an apocalypse as metaphor for a broken relationship in “We Are All Alone” is fairly effective. The album’s closer “The Other Side” stays just the right side of the bombastic line with channel-hopping synths, pumping bass, some Doors-style piano and a final dramatic held vocal note. If you like a bit of drama, musically and lyrically, you’re in the right place.

“Abandon” is released on Friday March 3 on Ultraviolet Records (ULTRA001-2017).

How about something nice and mellow to ease everyone into a new week? I think you may have come to the wrong place, because what we’ve got here is the latest single from The Soap Girls and the song’s title tells you almost everything you need to know. The Soap Girls are sisters Mille and Mie from Cape Town and they’re punchy, savvy and full of attitude. “Bad Bitch” is a raucous mix of stripped-down punk and rock with big drums, a simple riff and the message that no-one messes with The Soap Girls.

But it’s not just about making a glorious noise, The Soap Girls know all about marketing their songs. The whole package is aimed at young men, and that’s not a criticism; Mille and Mie understand that you need to sell more than just the songs in the twenty-first century and they’ve created an image that suggests availability with an element of transgression that’s just about spot-on for their plan for world domination. The video has strong Gothic elements (using a colour palette of black, white and red) and cuts rapidly between costume changes mixed with lots of blood and darkness, but the cartoon violence and self-parody suggest that maybe they’re not taking it too seriously. Why not have a look for yourself:

 

They’re touring the UK and Europe at the moment, so why not go along and see what all the fuss is about.

It’s a sunny Friday afternoon and it’s about time for a quick single review. Kakkmaddafakka are from Bergen in Norway and the single “Young You” is a taster for their debut album “KMF”, due to be released on June 1^st. The interesting mix of slowed-down Italo house piano, an ethereal, fragile indie vocal and a bubbling bassline evokes the era of the first dance/indie crossovers when bands like Primal Scream and The Soup Dragons first jumped on to the Ibiza remix bandwagon. This is one of the songs that’s going to sound great at festivals in the sunshine (not Glastonbury then); who knows, maybe it’s the beginning of the third summer of love. And, yes, we do get the EMF reference.

Here’s the video for the single:

It would be a little bit too easy to dismiss Giulia’s musical career as a vanity project but give this single an open-minded listen and you’ll probably change your mind. You’ll realise that she has an interesting voice with just enough of a raw edge to make it stand out against the background of the identically-schooled pop voices that you hear every time you turn on the radio. The combination of her songwriting and voice has managed to snag her a deal with M:89 records to release an album later this year and the single “Road Trip” this month.

The song is a rock-pop hybrid bouncing along on a wave of tribal drums, acoustic guitars and a Celtic-sounding keyboard hook which gets all the way to the chorus before the pulsing bass pushes it firmly into contemporary radio territory. It works as a pop tune, and it’s an intriguing taster for the album “Raze Me to the Ground” which is scheduled for late May release.

Don’t take our word for it. Have a look and listen for yourself:

 

OK, just to give a bit of a heads up, if Noel Gallagher had been influenced by the New Wave of British Heavy Metal (™) instead of The Beatles this is probably what Oasis would have sounded like. You know from the kick-off that Righteous Reprobates aren’t doing subtlety here; “My Psychosis” storms in with a noisy Les Paul riff and Charlie Kenny’s pounding floor tom and kick drum while the lead guitar gently feeds back before crashing in alongside Jack Collier’s bass and Rob White’s vocals. It’s melodic, it’s fast, a little bit noir and the band seem to have thrown everything they can into four minutes to grab your attention, including a sixteen-bar solo from Jack Griffiths which runs through most of the range of rock solo techniques, including the obligatory fret-tapping and whammy bar abuse.

Go on, just crank it all the way up, jump about and wind up the neighbours; that’s the kind of song it is.

“My Psychosis” is out on December 7^th. Meanwhile, here’s the video:

 

Once you get beyond all of the ‘man of mystery’ smoke and mirrors surrounding Jupiter in Velvet, the single “The World Didn’t Start with U” is actually pretty good. It’s a bit of a glam stomper that opens with programmed drums, a big, distorted guitar riff and a fairly simple guitar melody before leading in to a vocal with elements of Bowie, Bolan and maybe even Brett Anderson in the raucous chorus. It’s big and bold, and not too subtle, the hooks are effective and the voice has that suggestion of camp and androgyny that worked so well for the glamsters in the seventies (and nineties). The video combines a bit of mime performance with a suitably enigmatic storyline built around the viewer becoming part of the story. But here, have a look for yourself:

“The World Didn’t Start with U” is out on October 16^th.

Just un-bloody-believable! What an absolutely glorious racket Nova Twins make – thunderous basslines (a little nod to “Seven Nation Army” but with balls), raucous guitar and proper drums and a totally in-yer-face rap. Maybe the title, “Bassline Bitch” should be a bit of a giveaway, but this is a raw, visceral fusion of rap and rock; you can love it or hate it, but you won’t be able to ignore it, not even if you wear your health and safety approved ear plugs.

Nova Twins are Amy Love (vocals and guitar) and Georgia South (bass and backing vocals) and I can guarantee that once you see and hear them, you won’t be forgetting them any time soon. According to the press release, their genre‘s urban punk, but that’s not even getting close to describing this aural onslaught; it’s big and distorted and nasty, but there’s a naggingly catchy melody in there as well.

“Bassline Bitch” will be the first release from Rob Hallett’s new RoboMagic company, and Nova Twins will be playing some London dates to support the single over the next few weeks, including:

Friday August 21                     The Finsbury

Friday August 28                     Club NME, Koko, Camden

Tuesday September 01          The Old Blue Last, Shoreditch

And just to make your Friday, here’s the home-made video for the single: