Saturday 27 February 2016

Ralph's Top 10 Blogged Band Chart - 27.2.16

OK bands you know the score .....

the more hits your blog gets by the fans ..... 

the higher you go .....

So Tweet it, Facebook it .....

Generally expose yourself .....


                                                 ralphslife.co.uk



Follow Ralph's Life Indie Music Blog on Pinterest.






Now Mr Snuggles and I have been sitting with our heads down counting the hits on each blog to see which band's got what place.



Tracks from the Top Ten Blogged Bands are played every Sunday 5-7pm on Radio KC as part of 
Ralph's Indie Show.







No 1: HIGH/LOW
Autospy cover art

Ralph's given Essex based fuzzy post-grungesters HIGH/LOW a spin previously on his Radio KC Indie Show, so his attention piqued when news of a recently released,12 track, second album hit the kennel.

The self-produced AUTOSPY is their first recording as a full band with new drummer Dave Pankhurst. All previous releases were recorded by Guitarist/Vocals Steve Weston and Bassist Lee Yates. 










Mildred's Dairy have the feel of a grown-up Orange JuiceAztec Camera and Deacon Blue throughout this release with well-crafted, well-written tracks immaculately played and produced. Then there's the relatively tongue-in-cheek nature of the sleeve notes and the band's ambiguously anonymous bio. Possibly self-explanatory when you think more about the album's title which is based on The Helsinki Bus Station Theory









No 3: Véloniños



One of the finest slices of Americana-esque music to hit the kennel's juke box of late is the eponymous album by Véloniños which was released on Monday. 


It's steeped in Rockabilly and Rock 'n' Roll, which is hardly surprising as it's the work of former Shakin' Pyramids duo Davie Duncan and Kenny McLellan, ably assisted by Shug Jamieson and Laurie Cuff (formerly of the infamous Cuban Heels).









Needless to say, it's nice to be on the guest-list for a Cast gig however, Ralph's primary mission was to check out the support act on the evening Tony Steele and The Massacre whose new single was previewed on the blog late last year. let's face it, Cast are hardly going to be struggling for reviews.

Finishing with a bit of a rock 'n' rolla Tony's strong, individual vocalising brought Bound to Collide to life and left me wondering how long it will be before Tony Steele and The Massacre take their rightful place as the headline act on a bigger stage.






No 5: Jess Kemp


Ralph has been a fan of the supremely talented Jess Kemp for a while now having played her tracks on his Radio KC Indie show regularly over the last two years. 



In that time, her star has very much come into its ascendancy, especially with her video of Stars (one of the Videos Of The Week on ralphslife.co.uk last year) which was one of the musical highlights of 2015. All the more blatantly obvious due to the release of her debut EP Camden which is being launched in Manchester's Academy 3 on the 29th of April.






No 6: Mountain Jam



Ralph's featuring Lemon And Lime the latest release by Midlands band Mountain Jam on his Radio KC Indie Show this Sunday. 

It's psychedelic, 'Madchester-esque' guitar driven sound is quietly addictive and sure to be a firm favourite with their fans at gigs, the next of which is in Hinckley on March 25th.





No 7: Stu Rawle




London-based singer/songwriter Stu Rawle releases his Portland Pill EP this week, and it should see him go from strength to strength this year. His self-styled 'electro-acoustic, funky soul is exemplified in one of the strongest tracks from the EP called Lightspeed which is extremely easy on the ear and eminently radio-friendly. Ralph gave it a preview spin on the Radio KC Indie Show two weeks ago.









No 8: Rony Trio




Not surprising that Ralph's been featuring Rony Trio on his Radio KC Indie Show of late, as their eclectic, poppy, folk-based blend of upbeat musical goodness always draws great feedback. Formed around London based Rony Berrebi, ably supported by Oliver Mitchell on Bass and drummer Jim McRae they've acquired an ever-growing band of faithful followers in the London area (and beyond) due to their relentless gigging.







No 9: The Roscoes




Some old school rocking it out is on the way from Liverpool band The Roscoes.

They release a double A-side single on Friday and Skin/The Wall is a full on assault on your aural sensibilities. The two tracks have been produced by Pete Robertson, The Vaccines drummer, and mastered by Russell Cottier of the Grammy award winning Parr Street Studios.








No 10: Scout Killers


There's been a plethora of guitar driven alt/rock in the kennel's inbox these last few weeks, however only some have floated their way to the top of the pile. One, in particular, is Bath-based Scout Killers who are releasing their track Rip Me Apart as a single on March 28th.

The band draws its influence from the likes of Rage Against the MachineQ.O.T.S.APearl Jam and Red Hot Chili Peppers. Their powerful live sets are defined by viscerally expressive vocals, atmospheric and foreboding guitar swells and shadowy rhythmic undertones which shine through when it comes to Scout Killers songwriting.

Friday 26 February 2016

Bad Mood


Formed in the latter part of 2015 Liverpool band Bad Mood have been working hard to release their debut single which was recorded in the city's Crash Studios.

Well, March 26th sees the release; ironically, of May 2nd which is a relatively mean and moody initiation into their work. Doom-laden vocals and menacing guitar make this a deliciously dark listen.

Accompanied by a nicely filmed and suitably tenebrous video; also shot in Crash Studios, it's got shades of Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds (no bad thing) throughout. Ralph is spinning the track on Radio KC on Sunday March 6th.

Bad Mood are premiering the single in Jacaranda, Liverpool this very evening, well worth stepping out for!


Thursday 25 February 2016

Scout Killers


There's been a plethora of guitar driven alt/rock in the kennel's inbox these last few weeks, however only some have floated their way to the top of the pile. One, in particular, is Bath-based Scout Killers who are releasing their track Rip Me Apart as a single on March 28th.

The band draws its influence from the likes of Rage Against the Machine, Q.O.T.S.A, Pearl Jam and Red Hot Chili Peppers. Their powerful live sets are defined by viscerally expressive vocals, atmospheric and foreboding guitar swells and shadowy rhythmic undertones which shine through when it comes to Scout Killers songwriting.




Rip Me Apart has a Them Crooked Vultures feel to it (hardly surprising given Scout Killers influences) as it builds to a dark, anthemic climax. Strong songwriting, strong musicality, what's not to like for connoisseurs of guitar driven alt/rock and it'll make for a real live favourite when Scout Killers are on tour.

Speaking of which...


3rd April - London - The Black Heart
4th April - Guildford - The Star Inn
5th April - Leeds - The Key Club
6th April - York - Fulford Arms
7th April - Newcastle - Head Of Steam
8th April - Bath - The Nest
9th April - Manchester - Aatma








Wednesday 24 February 2016

The Roscoes


Some old school rocking it out is on the way from Liverpool band The Roscoes.

They release a double A-side single on Friday and Skin/The Wall is a full on assault on your aural sensibilities. The two tracks have been produced by Pete Robertson, The Vaccines drummer, and mastered by Russell Cottier of the Grammy award winning Parr Street Studios.

Skin has a sleazy bluesy feel with an immaculate vocal and guitar solos reminiscent of early Free. The Wall is in your face from note one. Pounding drums and punchy vocal backed up by more of that spectacular guitar musicality from The Roscoes.





Not difficult to understand when The Roscoes cite influences ranging from soul legends Sam Cooke, Otis Redding and James Carr to country rock bands such as Creedence Clearwater Revival, Neil Young and Little Feat to rock legends including Jimi Hendrix, Deep Purple and Bruce Springsteen.

The Roscoes are, Edd Barlow - Lead Vocal & Guitar, James Cudworth - Bass & Vocals, Bill Gelling - lead Guitar & Vocals and Brad Malbon on Drums.

You can also look forward to two quality videos for the tracks filmed by Dom Brooks and Matt Lee (Neptune Aerial Works & TableTop). Set your new music alarm clock to 25.2.16 for some proper rock 'n' roll.


Tuesday 23 February 2016

Stu Rawle


London-based singer/songwriter Stu Rawle releases his Portland Pill EP this week, and it should see him go from strength to strength this year. His self-styled 'electro-acoustic, funky soul is exemplified in one of the strongest tracks from the EP called Lightspeed which is extremely easy on the ear and eminently radio-friendly. Ralph gave it a preview spin on the Radio KC Indie Show two weeks ago.

Stu gives a funked up Ed Sheeran-esque vibe to the uplifting In Hindsight whilst the eponymous Portland Pill has a slower reflective groove al la Lewis Watson. It was written after his grandfather; who suffered from Alzheimers, passed away. 







Stu Rawle's one-man-band live shows are dynamic, evolving and intriguing. With an eclectic mix of styles and multiple layers of melodies, beats and vocal and guitar harmonies, his live performances have been described by fans as “unmissable".


His profile in London was picked up by local TV channel, London Live, as well as local radio stations. He has already sparked up a lot of interest around the UK's capital, and this promises to be the year that his music is finally amplified throughout the UK. Experimenting with styles and meandering through influences, Portland Pill is the culmination of this experimentation, resulting in 3 diverse tracks.

Saturday 20 February 2016

Ralph's Top 10 Blogged Band Chart - 20.2.16

OK bands you know the score .....

the more hits your blog gets by the fans ..... 

the higher you go .....

So Tweet it, Facebook it .....

Generally expose yourself .....


                                                 ralphslife.co.uk



Follow Ralph's Life Indie Music Blog on Pinterest.






Now Mr Snuggles and I have been sitting with our heads down counting the hits on each blog to see which band's got what place.



Tracks from the Top Ten Blogged Bands are played every Sunday 5-7pm on Radio KC as part of 
Ralph's Indie Show.











Needless to say, it's nice to be on the guest-list for a Cast gig however, Ralph's primary mission was to check out the support act on the evening Tony Steele and The Massacre whose new single was previewed on the blog late last year. let's face it, Cast are hardly going to be struggling for reviews.

Finishing with a bit of a rock 'n' rolla Tony's strong, individual vocalising brought Bound to Collide to life and left me wondering how long it will be before Tony Steele and The Massacre take their rightful place as the headline act on a bigger stage.






No 2: HIGH/LOW

Autospy cover art
Ralph's given Essex based fuzzy post-grungesters HIGH/LOW a spin previously on his Radio KC Indie Show, so his attention piqued when news of a recently released,12 track, second album hit the kennel.

The self-produced AUTOSPY is their first recording as a full band with new drummer Dave Pankhurst. All previous releases were recorded by Guitarist/Vocals Steve Weston and Bassist Lee Yates. 








No 3: Mountain Jam



Ralph's featuring Lemon And Lime the latest release by Midlands band Mountain Jam on his Radio KC Indie Show this Sunday. 

It's psychedelic, 'Madchester-esque' guitar driven sound is quietly addictive and sure to be a firm favourite with their fans at gigs, the next of which is in Hinckley on March 25th.











Mildred's Dairy have the feel of a grown-up Orange JuiceAztec Camera and Deacon Blue throughout this release with well-crafted, well-written tracks immaculately played and produced. Then there's the relatively tongue-in-cheek nature of the sleeve notes and the band's ambiguously anonymous bio. Possibly self-explanatory when you think more about the album's title which is based on The Helsinki Bus Station Theory






No 5: Rony Trio




Not surprising that Ralph's been featuring Rony Trio on his Radio KC Indie Show of late, as their eclectic, poppy, folk-based blend of upbeat musical goodness always draws great feedback. Formed around London based Rony Berrebi, ably supported by Oliver Mitchell on Bass and drummer Jim McRae they've acquired an ever-growing band of faithful followers in the London area (and beyond) due to their relentless gigging.









No 6: Véloniños




One of the finest slices of Americana-esque music to hit the kennel's juke box of late is the eponymous album by Véloniños which was released on Monday. 


It's steeped in Rockabilly and Rock 'n' Roll, which is hardly surprising as it's the work of former Shakin' Pyramids duo Davie Duncan and Kenny McLellan, ably assisted by Shug Jamieson and Laurie Cuff (formerly of the infamous Cuban Heels).







No 7: Jess Kemp


Ralph has been a fan of the supremely talented Jess Kemp for a while now having played her tracks on his Radio KC Indie show regularly over the last two years. 



In that time, her star has very much come into its ascendancy, especially with her video of Stars (one of the Videos Of The Week on ralphslife.co.uk last year) which was one of the musical highlights of 2015. All the more blatantly obvious due to the release of her debut EP Camden which is being launched in Manchester's Academy 3 on the 29th of April.






No 8: Brownbear


Not so much a group, more a self-styled musical collective, Glasgow's Brownbear led by Matt Hickman have just released Wandering Eyes as a prelude to their much-awaited debut album. Matt, along with Andrew McAllister on lead guitar, Ruairidh MacDougall on bass and Sam Waller on drums are producing melodic, indie pop songs of the highest quality.













It's no secret that Ralph's a fan of guitar music, so it was with great pleasure that a copy of Roots, the debut album by The London Guitarist (aka Phil Anderson) dropped into the kennel.  

It's ten tracks of new material in a proper old school rocking it out stylee accompanied by guitar playing of the highest order.

Phil describes his alter ego The London Guitarist as "blending blues, classic rock and modern expressive guitar, think Royal Blood, Jeff Beck and Cream all mixed up into a solo act".




No 10: Noiiises


When it comes to bands committed to providing an honest musical soundscape with a message, Coventry's Noiiises are heading for the top of the pile.

Their brand of ambient, synth-infused electronica with melodic vocals and meaningful lyrics sets them apart from other more generic bands of that ilk.

Noiiises are composed of Swiss born singer/songwriter Ludovic Merkelbach, Johnny Catt on guitar, Sarah Ransley on bass/synth and Joe Morris on drums/SPD-S and their debut EP View Top To Ocean is set to cause a bit of a stir.