Much as I tend to repeat myself that one of the motivating factors in my reviewing, compiling & promoting local music has been the significant boom  in startlingly original & engaging creativity in recent years, it is possibly essential to note that the pace, rather than slowing down (my great fear), has over the last eighteen months or so actually sped up with several bands emerging & and making immediate and profound impacts: you know whom I mean as I have mentioned them all in the months we've lately gone through.

Without doubt one of the most potent & searing of these has been HomeBread and few, if any, readers of this will be unaware of the reputation as a live band they already hold.

The next traditional rite of passage is to release recordings & while adherence to tradition can't be high on their agenda, it does tend to help spread the word quickly.

HomeBread, as I've previously written, have many outstanding qualities and one of them has been not to jump the gun on studio work but to wait until all the elements were aligned: not least finding a producer in complete empathy with their philosophies.

You also need to factor in other aspects of band experience which would usually put a group into at least temporary stasis: studying, transitioning into employment, relocation of their base and above all going through an extended period of lineup fluctuations. Again, in "normal" circumstances I'd probably be talking about incompatibilities, fallings out & unforeseen circumstances but HomeBread are not run of the mill and probably wouldn't like to be called normal. What seems to have happened is that they are fortunate enough to possess friends not only with the musical skill & panache to fit into the HomeBread family on a temporary basis until long term solutions were found (or available) but also share the rare values. So much so that whatever gig by the band astounded you (and me), almost certainly hasn't featured the lineup which they regard as definitive let alone the one to take into that studio.

Fortunately for us, pending that glorious day, the songs from their 'Live in Room 2' session which took place last summer have now been released on Bandcamp, mixed and mastered by Harry Houlton of Room 2.

These are "Smoke Rings", "Cowboys" and "Michael Ceratonin".

As you'll have inferred from the above, the lineup involved was one of those transitional ones: not in fact the one you'll have caught at the Priory Visitor Centre for Underbelly in October nor the one you'll catch at their next outing. Not that it matters greatly because as I say, even temporary band members demonstrate the same commitment to the cause. (It's worth pointing out too that another strand of the HomeBread DNA is one of enigma: they don't publicise their names and in fact I totally unknowingly corresponded with one member on a different subject without realising they were in the band. It was quite funny when the connection was made).

What was significant for me was my wondering how such a dynamic & puissant group could perform adequately within the confines of a small room (the essential format of Room 2). They are after all both loud and visually powerful live with a great deal of movement as their music inhabits & possesses them.

Well, I covered this to some extent last year, but coming now to the audio, I'm inclined to suggest that not only were they not fazed by the constraints but arguably the compression of environment has concentrated their songs into even stronger formats.

"Smoke Rings" is possibly their most effective song live: they use it as culmination of the steady increase of intensity as a set closer. I can well see it as a debut single somewhere down the line. Equally "Cowboys" is a very popular live stand out. The final track however not only possesses a pun I'd not picked up on in concert (I am not sure I had heard the title until "Room 2") but has a pleasingly strange vibe and lyrics which fill in yet more aspects of HomeBread's  Weltanschauung for those of us intrigued by it.

In fact, the recordings do tend to illuminate details which my ears at least miss live: in such exciting circumstances, one tends to both focus on overall effects of songs and the standout solos and moments of glory. Plus of course there is much visual distraction. Here you get to hear each part and realise just how good the individuals are musically.

You can of course recreate the HomeBread live experience by cranking it up & jumping around: the production does an excellent job of communicating what we've all been drawn to the band through.

These  "angsty little weirdos making emo-adjacent mess" (their words) have now got an excellent calling card with which to broadcast their strange & compelling music. If I'm being honest, I wonder if this is not also a really useful template for when they do go for more formal recording? Their appeal is definitely in what they do live & it's built 100% of their ever growing audience to date. I fear over-production can only neuter their inherent strengths & the closer they can get to a live take, the truer it will be. And this is a damned authentic record.

In the meantime, I'm delighted to report that they are playing on January 22nd at one of our nation's most legendary and prestigious venues, London's Hope and Anchor

Hot on the heels of Grail Guard winning the "last ‘Hot Music Live' review of 2025"  race, Drunk Bat Rescue Team have swooped in & seized "first one of 2026". Well done.

Now many of the tracks featured on ‘Hot Music Live Presents' compilations are reasonable bets to be the sort of music on which there could be a broad consensus of not just its quality & honesty but its appeal. Others, which are regularly included not least because more mainstream platforms are less likely to, are more esoteric and it's understandable may connect on a different scale: and download/streaming figures tend to reflect this.

Including the Team's debut "Loaded Weapon 1: Part 2" on ‘Hot Music Live Presents Volume Fifteen' definitely fell into the latter category yet I was delighted on the response & especially the comments: it was in some ways the break out track from that album.

I think the scale of the success rather took the Team members by surprise. Intended as an experimental project alongside the higher profile Stegosaurus Sex Party (although it is worth noting that they are evolving the sound of that band currently), they were essentially happy to have made the track & any outside interest was something of a bonus.

Now Mik Mac and Muzziness (aka Sick Dick Warlock & Clean Cut Butch) have the follow up out & perhaps it won't surprise us that it's not exploiting the success of "Loaded Weapon 1: Part 2": in fact "That's The Hook" is significantly different.

This time out we get much more traditional instrumentation (it opens with an acoustic guitar!) though in fairness it shares its predecessor's insane catchiness, bouncing along on a bassline which picks you up at its entry & carries you along. The clue may well be in the title here.

If last time out they were paying homage to action movies & the memorable lines of two of the stars of the genre, this time the focus has shifted elsewhere. Precisely where is something you probably want to have a stab at identifying yourselves as it remains, even after multiple plays, as elusive & enigmatic as the band. There is a certain amount of urban angst going on (the song itself could be used in a soundtrack to an edgy movie) and there appear to be food references. Many of them not very nice to contemplate. It could be a satire on conventional bourgeois norms and gullibility. Among other things.

It seems to be sample free this time (which I confess is probably a euphemism for me not spotting any) and played, as I said, on identifiable instruments rather than the electro approach of their debut: in fact the quality of the playing and the power of the hook might in different circumstances increase the probability of radio play. The sinister vibe wouldn't necessarily count against this but the lyrics probably mean that we'd be talking about the most open minded of alternative stations. We live in hope.

To sum up, it's precisely the sort of left field release which gets the ‘Hot Music Live' year off to a grand start and one which appeals to me & I think will to those tasteful enough to have switched into their earlier song.

We're still (just) in 2025  and my reviewing duties are not yet over. I managed to tell you about a brace of new YNES singles after I thought  the release year was done & now  Grail Guard have launched their own bid for the final single with "People Just Like You" (recorded at Abatis Studios and mastered by The Old Cider Press). It's not a bad way to say goodbye to the year with a trio of releases by such candid & uncompromising artists.

A taster for their forthcoming debut album 'Still No Future'(due out on March 6^th  via TNS Records) if we were at our ‘Hot Music Live Presents' fundraiser for The Tin earlier this month then you could hardly have missed their live performance which was a highlight of their set.

Anthemic yes, powerful yes but the true quality of the song and why it appealed to everyone that night is its integrity and message.

Grail Guard are a truly polemic band and what they believe in defines who they are. Fiercely opposed to prejudice & bigotry, "People Just Like You" however is not a broad attack on these evils but a stiletto aimed specifically at the hypocrisy & lack of ethics of those espousing division who should, from their own backgrounds & experiences, be most opposed to them.

The delivery style might be mistaken for ranting but make no mistake, this is an articulate group. Their own words, not just in the lyrics of the song are so clear & well chosen that it would be lacking in respect not to quote them directly: " Seems strange how many politicians are happy to blame immigrants for the problems in society, without recognising the they are children of immigrants who have fled war, famine and disease. Easy to dream up harsh policies when you've continually dehumanised the very people who look like and sound like your own parents.

Feels like politicians should be there to serve the people, to have our interests front and centre rather than their own self-serving priorities of wealth and status.

When the likes of Suella Braverman urge us to look elsewhere, to see "them" as the enemy and the cause of our misery, it's a deliberate distraction.

It's not people like them who are the problem Suella, it's 'People Just Like You'"

 Many people feel that rather making progress in terms of embracing diversity and fostering inclusion, many societies are frantically dismantling those gains of recent decades. Now more than ever we need artists to front out the philosophies of community & tolerance, to put into words the feelings which the rest of us are not quite as good as. Glib slogans aimed at the already converted don't affect change, but well considered & forensic arguments like "People Just Like You" have the dialectic persuasive potential to change minds. Delivered in the no hold barred style (they self identify as "brutal") just amplifies their commitment and passion of their beliefs.

Looking back again to December 12^th, the Tin was awash with a frenzied mix of genders, ages, ethnicities and every other identity signifier: interacting with as much fervour as Grail Guard: they got it & they endorsed in with vigour.

In the wise words of Sick Dick Warlock of Stegosaurus Sex Party: "If you gonna get excited about anything in 2026 this is probably a good start!" Let's hope he's right & that a catalyst for effective action has been activated.

Look out too for the music video which can be found at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJof-6kjxu0

I really walked into it with my review of yesterday. When you applaud someone like YNES for her capacity to surprise, you can't complain if she then deploys it again: pretty much immediately with her second single in two days: "'TIS THE SEASON" in this case. And kudos to her for flipping my comment on how she scorned the upper case with "drink about it (merry Christmas baby)"  by using nothing but that form in her latest title. Oh well.. it's a learning experience for me.

Apparently the experience of putting yesterday's single out drove her to complete and polish & release another song she had ready so by the sounds of it, she is on something of a roll psychologically as well as musically.

If the first single was intensely personal in inspiration, then this one is pure classic YNES: as she says herself, it "….feels a lot less introspective and a lot more me…" .

It's actually as replete with the sort of top notch YNES wit & observation as the belly of an affluent Christmas celebrant after the traditional lunch. Line after line sparkles with trenchant and accurate debunking of the myths & assumptions which go hand in hand with the complacency of the normative.

At this point I intended to quote a few examples but it was hard to pick one or two out and giving you the entire lyric is something I've never done: quite apart from the length, that would spoil the surprises & pleasures you'll get from your own unwrapping experience.

I'll give you the opening therefore and after that it's over to you:

"Maybe the meaning of Christmas

is posting a picture on Facebook

with a wife that you hate

and a dinner you ate

and didn't help prepare or clean up"

After this the quality of barbs doesn't slacken but taking aim at subjects like credit card debt does link in with the concerns so often raised in her songs and those she's working on in "Fair Play", the ‘zine I mentioned yesterday.

The music is to some extent the perky synth-led sort of arrangement of its predecessor but this time there seems also to be a crunchy guitar part in their too, chewing away on the matter in hand.

Well she's back and on top form: if there is more of this quality and relevance to come then we're in for something special. I wonder if there'll be another one tomorrow. YNES isn't saying.

Well I had assumed (a dangerous trick) that Sunday's gig (the 2025 Izzie Derry Christmas Show at the Priory Visitor Centre with added Banoffee) would be my final one of 2025 on which to report and I hadn't any awareness of upcoming releases in what's left of the year either.

Then up pops YNES with "drink about it (merry christmas baby)" (yes she's embracing the culture war assault on the upper case which I've noted repeatedly in 2025).

Should I have been surprised: well that's a vital strand in her DNA isn't it? Equally part of the YNES genome is her penchant for diving into the sort of subject matter which the mainstream swerves & which makes mainstream media & listeners downright uncomfortable. So it's good she is on the case I feel.

There may be an YNES song in her catalogue which can't be filed under "intensely personal" but I can't off hand think of one. This certainly can be regarded that way.

Of course the actual & creative lives of YNES cannot be untangled nor do I see why they should: it makes for emotionally true material & it's why she is so respected. It can't be easy living the life which inspires her work & as someone who wears her heart so boldly on her sleeve & is frank about her struggles, I hope catharsis applies.

If you're a fan (why would you not be?) you've presumably followed both her external geographical (transatlantic) odyssey and her corresponding internal one over the past few years.

Apart from a live & acoustic version of her ‘Born Loser' EP from the year before last, this is her first release in the three years since the studio format came out.

The intervening years have (in part at least) been spent addressing her drinking (which seems a sustained success) and unsurprisingly, "drink about it" concerns this achievement. Self identifying now as "alt-punk, ex-drunk", YNES  "wrote this one for my younger self and all my homies who find the holidays to be a time of tension and sometimes trauma?"

At her most confessional & raw, YNES tends to go for incredibly bleak & skeletal songs based around her guitar playing. Surprisingly, perhaps, she goes against this here with, what for her is a comparatively lush arrangement based around layers of synth & vocals which are rather soothing in tone though supporting lyrics which address the negative part alcohol plays in Christmases: so a good tension there.

Four years ago she put out a Christmas single: "It's Christmas (I Miss Ya)" which to be fair also deployed a relatively jolly backing too. However this definitely dated from her drinking years and it's interesting to note the journey she's been on between the two songs: "drink about it" certainly addresses bigger picture issues.

After a creative hiatus, YNES seems to be back writing & recording again ("drink about it" is wholly her writing, performing & producing) which is very much something I've been hoping for. So I look forwards to many more surprises in the months ahead, though to balance that, YNES is also in a crusading mode: targeting the music industry & streaming and championing working class creatives: check out her own "Fair Play" magazine (available like this single via Bandcamp). Consequently, since I'm sure this takes up a fair amount of her time, I imagine finding moments for music needs a sense of balance.

Christmas time probably deserves extra special live musical experiences and as the last gig of 2025 in my diary after a year of, as I review it in my head, many many superb shows, the 2025 Izzie Derry Christmas Show provided a completely appropriate way to mark this moment.

Having migrated with the host of her 2024 Christmas Show, the LTB Showrooms team to their new home in the Priory Visitor Centre, the venue was perfect: both visually as a setting & acoustically.

With support from the equally exquisite Banoffee, the quality of music performed & the performances themselves were at the zenith of what you could have seen anywhere in the area this magazine covers at anytime in 2025.

My regard for both acts is pretty obvious from my many articles & this was in fact my sixth Izzie gig of the year & my third Banoffee one.

With lesser artists, this might mean seeing essentially the same set multiple times which at the very least would limit what I could write about. But neither fits this category: I expected surprises & duly received them.

It was an evening of soaring singing & top notch playing with no whiff of cliché nor derivation  in words nor music created by two acts committed to wholly original & personally authentic songs. No-one writes songs like Izzie Derry nor Banoffee & no one sounds like them either.

Banoffee (who shot off to a second gig after this one: shows the level of demand for them) have been one of the bands people have been talking about all year. Nevertheless they were a revelation to those attending primarily to see Izzie & who hadn't caught them until yesterday. Consequently I found myself involved in multiple conversations afterwards on  the subject of how amazed people found them & passed on their contact to a member of one of Coventry's most renowned bands who decided on the spot that she wanted to work with them.

To return to my original theme however, though I really enjoyed the previous gigs I'd seen (as my articles reflect) and they'd been blessed with excellent sound engineering, the nature of this venue nurtured the Banoffee sound even better: you need to hear them in intimate spaces to maximise their impact and if you have a front row seat as I was fortunate enough to, the whole experience is immersive.

In addition, they performed a song I'd not yet heard (only its second time in their set) called "Salt the Earth": the latest in their seemingly unstoppable sequence  of stunningly original material: it alone will stop you in your tracks and this is a band with "Mirror to Mirror" and "Bonfires" already released, "The Ripening" scheduled for January 16^th and then "The Halfway Point" ready to go after that: each of which any artist could consider a creative high & yet are merely the first few of what will hopefully be very many songs. Just what heights they'll reach with them is tantalising: and that is one of the factors in the response they drew yesterday. The one format I've not caught Ella & Cia playing in yet is their trio with a drummer but they charmed the audience yesterday with their powerful dynamic of apparent simplicity which reveals profound complexities.

Of my previous Izzie gigs this year, most were actually outside (except for her Crypt Session for Coventry Food Union) so a similar point can be made about the enhanced impact her performance made in the space: though credit also to the sound engineer for the evening which was Izzie herself.

The Izzie Derry Band lineup for this occasion (all the other times I've seen her in 2025 were purely solo apart from Ross joining her on cajon for some numbers on the HMV Empire balcony) comprised Ian Todd on guitar & Ross Edward on cajon. A unique configuration & one which really worked nicely with percussion underpinning all bar two numbers & Ian adding an astonishing range of embellishments from the rock style totally suited to "Shake" to delicate slide to interpolations of such originality that you could see Izzie grin at some: exactly what you'd expect from him I guess.

These songs in their way were revelations: unveiling further aspects beyond those revealed in solo form or in the original band arrangements with different musicians playing different instruments.

The jaw droppers as far as I was concerned however were her as yet unrecorded material: performed here solo. I'd seen Izzie experimenting with a looper earlier this year and now having mastered some of the possibilities, she gave us "Down in the Dirt" with just her guitar and "Oh Mama" which eschewed even that: a sort of a cappella chorus of various Izzies.

The former might be her best song to date: yes: I witnessed another upward gear change from this so talented artist and I do hope that this one gets recorded soon as it will be a landmark single.

I had the revelation when hearing her solo rendition of "When Will It End" at her "Song & Soil" performance at Sherbourne Valley Allotments for the Food Union again, that at heart it was actually a blues. Well if that's a blues, then "Oh Mama" is even further out on the same spectrum: a raw & passionate and frankly startling song which really utilises aspects of her voice which hitherto have been deployed sparingly in as peaks in her more emotive songs. For those of you who've followed her since her days of being considered a folk singer, while this is of roots nature too, it's a paradigm shift.

I accosted her afterwards about these (sorry Izzie) and begged her to record them as stripped back as she'd just delivered them: which would, as it happens, appear to be her intention anyway.

I'm delighted to note that however marvellous the end of 2025 may have proved for live local original music, momentum into 2026 is desirable and that both these ultra talented artists will be gracing ‘Hot Music Live Presents' fundraisers for and at The Tin in the New Year.

You can catch Izzie with Sophie Hadlum, Croissant & Brass Hip Flask on February 20^th

(tickets via: https://www.universe.com/events/hot-music-live-presents-izzy-derry-sophie-hadlum-croissant-brass-hip-tickets-67FKZM)

Banoffee will be joining Rosetta Fire, The Illusion & DANE-O on March 20^th: tickets at: https://www.universe.com/events/hot-music-live-rosetta-fire-banoffee-the-illusion-dane-o-tickets-GMTBLH

As noted last time, dogmarket's release schedule remains at a high level of activity and indeed we now have a new single  "Give Up the Ghost" to enjoy. (Look out for "Images of Survival" and then an album in the New Year too).

The first comment (let's get the obvious out of the way) that every listener will spot is the inherent ghostliness of the vocals, enhanced by the arrangement.

Once again, there is an element of reasonable density in the production which exacerbates the overall limited accessibility of the lyrics.. however as I explore Thom's music through what they share, I fully recognise this as an important characteristic. I don't know their preferences in art, but it might be towards Impressionism given the musical approach.

With tracks like these where the overall effect is the intended point of impact, it's a bit disrespectful to try & break what's going on into component pieces: the layering and juxtaposition are obviously major creative decisions and deconstruction would be to try to undo their work.

It's a haunting piece of "SADGAYELECTRONICA": don't expect anything dissonant: if anything it's a bit classical with a sort of harpsichord sound in there from time to time amid various other keyboard sounds (and I think an acoustic guitar?) and above all multiple voices.

The tone is compassionate to my ears and if mournful, also regretful: certainly nothing to do with fear or any conventional supernatural tropes.  For a moment I pondered too any possible connection to Howard Devoto's classic 1976 line "I'll give up that ghost before it gives up me" but I suspect that there isn't one.

I don't know how dogmarket fans interact with their music.. you probably can't dance to it (though it maybe that you can & I lack both the necessary skills & imagination). It's all rather evocative, each in its own way, but those ways are so different that immersing yourself in dogmarket music by playing the tracks in sequence is likely to provide you with some abrupt shifts in tone every few minutes: not terribly conducive to mindfulness. On the other hand, it seems rather lacking in due respect to play them as soundtrack to any other activity you may be engaged in…. I look forward to solving this conundrum.

The release campaign of dogmarket is picking up momentum as they've just stepped up to a dual simultaneous single release with "Interlude 1" and "Turner Michael's Hunting Rifle" appearing side by side, though given that Thom also describes them as "Un-alike in Dignity", probably not necessarily hand-in-hand.

It's been about a month since "baby blue" so hopefully you've managed to process that one to the fullest extent possible and they obviously feel confident that their fan base can double their engagement resources.

I haven't yet mentioned that dogmarket self describe as "SADGAYELECTRONICA" which might help finding an entry point to the music, though in fairness "Interlude 1" is characterised by a (processed) guitar sound as much as by chips and wires: at haunting atmospheric piece which indeed lives up to its title: it feels like it has a home in some wider context: a film soundtrack would probably be grateful to welcome it aboard.

"Turner Michael's Hunting Rifle" fits the mission statement more closely: it's a denser and more obviously generated but ironically, it's also got quite a jaunty pop feel with a friendly keyboard hook prominent amidst the layers of sound. Since "Interlude 1" has a stately dignity to it, I suppose it's possible that defining the obvious contrast between the pair in terms of "dignity" may refer to this catchiness, but I'd certainly not class it as lacking in the quality. In fact (after I'd played it a few times), Thom revealed that the sound inspiration was They Might Be Giants: which neatly accounts for why I was attracted to it.

As for the subject matter (or perhaps target?) I found (it's not part of social media I'd normally wander through) a Michael Turner who posts stuff encouraging youngsters to become snipers. Lovely. I hope it's about him rather than a distant relative of mine who didn't fetish firearms.

Discussing the duo with Thom after writing most of the above, their insights clarified that the distinction was more about personal perspective: one tending towards personal vulnerability and opening up emotionally, the other "more upbeat and less prima facie depressing": perhaps offering contrast to some of their other work? At any rate, if one chooses to pair releases, then a juxtaposition of sensitivities of such contrast is an effective one: were dogmarket a more commercially orientated project than I suspect is the case, it's a good shop window for creative range also.

I'm not too sure if mere words (at least any I can find) could possibly due justice to last evening's ‘Hot Music Live Presents' fundraiser at & for The Tin but here goes with hopefully some choice highlights.

The nineth and final of this series for 2025, it was thankfully the first since our July event not to also require the audience to brave a storm to get there: which probably helped explain the numbers of enthusiasts who contributed to the special atmosphere: it really did epitomise the unique vibe you find there: more of which in a moment.

In addition to the particularly eclectic line-up of The Rascals, The Sunbathers, RobinPlaysChords & Grail Guard, in a first for our events, the musical interludes between sets consisted of an exclusive first public airing of the ‘Extended Playtime' EP by Septic and the Tanks: specifically Sarah, Lucy & Jim as Sophie & Robin are currently many thousands of miles away.

You'll know how excited I am about the various bands emerging from the ‘Live On Stage' collaboration between The Tin & Coventry Music though given the philosophy of building self expression that the project holds dear, it would be wrong to categorise them in any way: each has a strong, if not fierce, independence and great character: none more so than The Rascals (who played their earliest gigs as ‘Electric Blue'): the youngest band we've featured, one who were playing their second gig of the week at the venue and one whom you may have spotted as demonstrating their talents to Ed Sheeran in the footage of his visit.

Nevertheless, this was their debut gig playing before a generally adult audience rather than their age group peers & in addition, their keyboard player was unfortunately ill & missed the event. For most bands, this would understandably have required dropping out, but like the other ‘Live On Stage' bands they are fearless (that term was bandied about greatly last night) and resilient. You honestly could not have detected either factor in their perfect & captivating set of their own dream-pop originals.

You simply could not wish for a better start to a gig when the first band attract so much attention & applause: the majority of the audience had naturally not seen them before. It was great to see members of The Rascals interacting with much older musicians from other bands (RobinPlaysChords noted that none of them was even born when he first came to The Tin) and swapping insights. The confidence level was sky high. I am wary about building over high expectations but I really believe this band has the potential to go a long way.

Next up were The Sunbathers: a band popular at The Tin yet who initially felt that with an audience probably orientated towards the hard core punk headliners, they themselves might be "wild cards". Well possibly they were but that didn't impact on the reception they received for their gentle and acoustic songs of relationships, wistful experiences and beaches: in fact I would wonder if last night witnessed the greatest difference in decibels between any two of the bands on one of our bills? As a coda, I noted that once she'd delivered such a set, Julie was right in the middle of the mosh-pit for Grail Guard. Another indicator of the nature of the night.

I'm a big fan of the band & would agree with them that they don't play enough (they are addressing the issue though for 2026 and I noted them in conference with Coventry's number one promoter later on). Despite their lack of 2025 gigs & in the context of having seen them before, I would still suggest that this was their finest performance that I'd seen: maybe the audience reaction helped a bit? They also kindly included "Freiston Shore" (their song which appears on ‘Hot Music Live Presents Volume Six') and "The Man Who Loved Christmas" both relative set rarities.

Now I come to a difficult moment as finding the right vocabulary to do justice to RobinPlaysChords is not easy. Another defiantly individualistic musician, clearly what you get comes from his own powerful and idiosyncratic imagination, delivered via a considerable array of skills. Any areas of inspiration and influence from others is hard to detect directly.

It must help (it certainly helped the gig's dynamics) when you possess Robin's onstage charisma and his capacity to present such a dramatic show without artifice and solely by himself with a guitar.

Beyond that, categorising what he actually does becomes problematic: which I imagine is what he wants. You get instrumentals and songs with vocals. He does use a looper, but never to the same degree, making light use of it on one track & going all symphonic on another. He's clearly a greater player, but what he plays varies from simpler rhythmic parts to full on soloing, with all sorts of brief switches: a couple of bars of heavy rock here can be followed by something more ambient. I liked the occasional reverb heavy passages in a Chris Isaak style as I did others which reminded me of the strange tunings and riffs of the early Velvet Underground. But each song had plenty of moments for people of different sensibilities to savour. I would however note that two people there, both of whom play guitar in other bands, mentioned to me how much they were looking forwards to Robin's set.

Like all the artists who played, I recommend RobinPlaysChords as a "must see" live act quite apart from anything he or they might record. If I can't explain the attraction, perhaps all the more reason for you to check him out yourselves.

The energy level in the audience had been high all night (and credit again to the open mindedness of those there who embraced & encouraged bands they'd never seen before in an almost bewildering sequence of styles) yet somehow an extra gear was found for the Grail Guard set.

As noted, there was a mosh zone (and Riaz delivered the vocals for one song from the midst of it) of some considerable good natured vehemence & this reflected the full on set.

The band take no prisoners & pretty much all of their material is aimed at the worst excrescences of our society. Quite apart from the explicit lyrics (which were much easier to make out than most hard core bands), we were repeatedly reminded of their abhorrence of a range of prejudices: which was fine by me & fine by everyone else there. In days during which intolerance & prejudice seems at an all time high & is being encouraged by the powerful, it's good to hear such uncompromising defiance and I feel that people there (certainly I speak for myself) were uplifted by the sense that we were not alone in our feelings.

If this all sounds reactive and maybe negative in tone, then it must also be said that the spirit of the set was extremely good natured and the bond between band & audience highly positive. Possibly many of most exuberant audience members had come to see Grail Guard but I can vouch for the fact that they were matched in their response by others who'd come to see other bands and those who'd never seen them before.

There was a real communal buzz all night: possibly peaking by the end & I am sure that this encapsulates what The Tin  means to so many: including obviously those who gave of their talents last night. It also validates the desire to support it with such events.

Our first gig of 2026 will be on February 20^th with Izzie Derry, Sophie Hadlum, Croissant and  Brass Hip Flask: tickets are available via: https://www.universe.com/events/hot-music-live-presents-izzy-derry-sophie-hadlum-croissant-brass-hip-tickets-67FKZM

It will be our first all-seated event & so there will be a more limited number of tickets available: my advice is to secure yours nice & early.

See you there. Have a great festive season in the meantime.

All Septic and the Tanks fans will be aware that they recorded some tracks at The Moonbase in November 2024 before Robin departed for Down Under and during the consequent break from gigging, we have reviewed the singles "Sympathy for the Cat" and "Your Face Is Everywhere" from those sessions.

Now Sophie is heading in a similar direction and so their next gig will await the return of both of them. In the meantime, their new EP ‘Extended Playtime' is available on Bandcamp from 12^th December & other platforms from the following day.

I'm delighted to say that the remaining three UK located members of the band (Sarah, Lucy & Jim) will be present at the ‘Hot Music Live Presents' fundraiser at The Tin on December 12^th to play the EP exclusively to the audience between sets by Grail Guard, RobinPlaysChords, The Sunbathers and The Rascals. (Tickets via: https://www.ticketweb.uk/event/hot-music-live-presents-grail-the-tin-at-the-coal-tickets/13893164)

So of the seven songs (what value!) on the EP you'll know those two singles already. You may think you know two more as the tracks "Continental Breakfast" and "Cheeseboard Monologue" which appeared on their eponymous debut album last year, are on there too.

However these are radically remixed versions & excellent examples of the originality you can get where a track has potential for reinterpretation & someone has the ability to tease it out.

I always felt that given the style of their rhythm section of Sarah & Sophie, the band had avenues of the dubwise style to explore. The team at Sofa So Good (check out their own original track "Psychic Flashes" on ‘Hot Music Live Presets Volume Fifteen') have worked their magic on "Continental Breakfast" and produced a stunning epic which complements the original yet is almost a brand new track. This gem has got to be up there with The Slits' similar excursions: although Sarah debuted it at a Cov Sauce last year, this magnificence needs to be played frequently on all dance floors: I'm anticipating a great effect on the 12^th. Credit too to  Chris Fairless who mixed and mastered it.

"Cheeseboard Monologue" however is a Petrol Bastard remix (if the name seems famiiar, please scroll back through our Stegosaurus Sex Party reviews) and so comes at the song from a technopunk angle: Ben & Jon creating a completely different effect from the above yet just as ear opening and vibrant. That one band can produce work capable of such differing remixing is pretty commendable.

The three other original tracks are "Dig You", "Gutter's Calling" and "Playtime" and here we are closer to the classic Septic live sound: what you'll hear when the Fantastic Five reunite on a stage near you.

As is well known by now, the band largely invented themselves during lockdown: so much so that by the time they unveiled, their prowess progress had been pretty staggering: as numerous previous reviews have indicated. These newer songs therefore reflect further developments: ones honed by many more hours playing together, exploring what their skills could unlock & I would imagine the tidal wave of positive feedback which they received once they'd got going but which of course had yet to be made available to them while they were creating the first batch of songs.

Consequently individual players tend to have more obviously prominent roles in the arrangements: increased confidence has encouraged them to occasionally step out of the supportive embrace of collective ensemble playing to take turns in the spotlight: one prime example being Lucy's banjo which is much more to the fore now & forms the spine of songs like "Gutter's Calling" and ushers in "Playtime" rather than just adding embellishments.

These are thoughtful, well constructed & performed songs: the only element which may have diminished being the surreal & near demented battiness which culminated in "Sky Snakes": but since topping that is probably impossible, best to turn in other directions I imagine.

The same applies to the vocals too: Robin, having set the benchmark with the earlier songs, now dials down the unmitigated deluge of their onslaught which so characterised the trademark sound of the debut and reveals a wider range of techniques and affective approaches: most nootably on "Playtime" which might possibly represent the Septic and the Tanks' paradigm shift so startlingly different is it to other songs: if there is to be a "Phase 2" of their career along these lines than this might be a good choice to be a single to launch it.

Obviously which Tanks are available at any given time dictates all future activiyt & I'm not placing bets on what comes up beyond their stated desire to play when possible, but on this evidence, the band, which excited me & so many others when it first revealed itself now dangles many more intriguing potentialities before us: listening to ‘Extended Playtime' the prospects of a second album exploring the sort of options they do here is very exciting. On the other hand, as the EP title reminds us, they started the band to have fun and they seem to be still doing that and presumably would stop if that no longer applied. May they carry on enjoying themselves & causing us our own enjoyment for a long time.

 Checking the records, I see that The Folly Brothers put their debut album ‘Bridge 101' out  in 2016: considering (lockdown excepted) they've been totally active in the intervening years, it's perhaps a little surprising that the new single "Belly Full of Whiskey" has taken until now to emerge.

The members have plenty of family & professional distractions & commitments of course (many are the children born in the interim) and I've also had various discussions regarding their concern to get any recording just right.

However I think a key idea to consider is the nature of their undoubted popularity. I think the balance is overwhelmingly tilted in favour of their live work (hopefully new releases will adjust this) and that's of such a level that I'm sure they are very happy.

You can't record too well if you are on the road so much either & I've been following their progress in 2025 when the hard work & dynamism they hurl into playing has resulted in a

long term connection with ‘Summer in Nashville' promotions (they also play outside the one season I should add) and hence a string of high profile concerts in terms of both venues and festivals and of their prominence on the bills. I'd also note that they seem one of the few acts on this series to favour their own compositions.

This no doubt is doing wonders for their profile & career but I am sure that if they want to consolidate their clearly grown audience while remaining true to their own integrity as songwriters as well as performers, original material is most helpful.

"Belly Full of Whiskey" probably speaks to both aspects given that it's original & the subject matter is prime Folly Brother territory.

I don't want to get too bogged down in the process of deciding whether their performance on the recording is a progression from nine years ago as I really liked the album. However nine years of playing many times must rub off & the feedback from thousands must drive each forward in gusto as well as technique.

There have been a few "fourth brothers" alongside Jonny, Mark & Wes over those years and this song features prominent mandolin from one of them: Alfie Amadeus.

What impressed me was the sound they've gone for. Slotting into a Nashville styled scene might persuade people to go for the more polished & contemporary sound which reflects some of the artists who are the inspirations for the tribute acts on the circuit.

"Belly Full of Whiskey" might hail from Tennessee too, but definitely up in the hills & not from the bright lights of the big city. This is the roots music where The Folly Brothers' hearts lie and the point most of their original fanbase entered their world. I'm going to salute them for that & as it's my review…..

Unfortunately I've not caught up with the band for some time so I must join you in speculating as to how much of a one off this single might be or whether it's the first of several releases.

You can catch The Folly Brothers on 19^th December for a special Christmas gig at Leamington's Irish Club: tickets were available via: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-folly-brothers-ho-ho-hoedown-the-irish-club-leamington-spa-cv32-5ah-tickets-1855989136469 but as they seem to have sold out, you could email their management at: management@follybrothers.com to join the waiting list for returns.

This time of the year tends to generate "special" events & last evening at Kenilworth's United Reformed Church was no exception. In fact it epitomised the phenomenon.

I could justify my statement simply by stating that the headliner was Ellie Gowers but there is so much else that you can sit back & I'll list it for you.

I have repeatedly prophesised great popularity for Ellie & thankfully it's all coming to pass. Consequently as I foresaw, we don't see as much of her locally as we once did as she tours (by herself and with The Magpies) nationally & internationally.

Yesterday marked the final stop on a national solo tour & my heart was in my mouth until I arrived as the Glasgow leg had to be postponed due to apprehension over her voice: fortunately the rest worked. One might wonder if she prioritised her home crowd (and she said she knew 90% of the packed auditorium personally) over the music fans of Glasgow. In fact I did put that to her.

And there is much in what she does which reveals her continued involvement in our local grassroots scene. This gig was put together with long term collaborator Victoria of Kenilworth's Tree House Bookshop (look out for the programme of gigs they've put together in coming months). The real ear opener for me was support act Cat Mead. Ellie had made it clear that she wanted her partner for the gig to be a young locally based musician who could benefit from the showcase & in Cat she certainly found a real talent: I'll be looking forward to catching her live again & to reviewing the material she tells me that she is recording.

Leamington based (though from Australia), Cat is one of those musicians who ticks my boxes. A strong, original songwriter whose influences don't show heavily in her work: I couldn't spot any obvious ones. She sings of subjects of interest & maturity, shunning cliches and tropes. Most people would either avoid writing songs about their late Grandfather or risk falling into the big trap marked "mawkish". It is to Cat's credit that her song was narrative, fresh & moving without going near such a pitfall.

Her playing is delightfully unaffected with character & accessibility in addition to her obvious abilities. Much as I enjoyed her set, I was chuffed when Dan Sealey, so much more experienced & knowledgeable than me in such matters, praised her in response to a photo I posted. Not that I saw him there unfortunately but it was packed out with a waiting list for ticket returns.

How Ellie can keep her local radar so acutely tuned as to find Cat while roaming so far & wide is incredible. I look for truth in a musician (as I say probably too frequently here) and Cat has plenty of both in what she writes & how she performs it.

Ellie does feel that as much as she loves her home crowd, she does feel a little extra pressure. That must be true because she is a truthful person, but all I can say is that pressure can prompt that extra special level in the best artists.

I'm not sure how much she'll appreciate my starting with this, but from my earliest reviews I noted how in the great intensity of her performances, she tended to stomp her feet and dance around. This aspect had been dialled back in some of the recent gigs I'd seen but she was back at it (in her old trademark Doc Martens) in very fine form: I suggest the most dynamic I've ever seen with even some new moves she went instinctively into in the ecstasy of the playing. Not perhaps a comment on her musicianship, but to me key indicators not just of the profundity of the passion of her performance but on this occasion of feeling at home.

And in terms of her musicianship: her singing and guitar playing just get better & better yet she still serves the song entirely: I'm sure she could show off if she wanted but her integrity stops that.

She also pretty much improvised the setlist after a planned start: which again suggests a certain state of mind. Consequently we were treated to a surprising percentage of brand new songs: and guess what: they must be amongst her best ever. I'd also state how different they were to any you've heard from her before (a point I put to her afterwards and which she endorsed). But then that's Ellie isn't it? I honestly don't think any of her EPs or albums has sounded much like its predecessor.

She is a constantly progressing artist & to see her playing on the same bill as her great influence Richard Thompson which she has done twice this year and to see her scheduled for some really big events in 2026 alongside major folk legends (on the poster for the Indoor Festival of Folk at Cecil Sharp House, her name is the same size as that of Maddy Prior etc) shows that so many people are catching onto what we've known for quite a while.

With her huge repertoire (the new songs edged out so many favourites and she played several from 'You, The Passenger' which has just come out in extended & indeed vinyl form), covers have pretty much disappeared from her set. However the final moment was her (unplanned) a cappella version of "In The Bleak Midwinter" (which I have, I'm pleased to say heard her do years ago: presumably around this time of year) which defies my ability to adequately describe, delivered as it was in beautiful church with the space for her voice to soar up into.

Beforehand, I'd chatted to Cat about the space & its acoustics and how I was going to find it hard to avoid expressing how good a fit it was to the artist & her talents: well of course it's impossible to not say so. A sublime ending. But that was fitting considering all that had gone before.

The next stop for Ellie is a well earned break. I'm so looking forward to what's going to be a stunning new album.