When I broke my duck for attending allotment based gigs back in September when I went to the Coventry Food Union "Song & Soil" event at their base on the Sherbourne Valley Allotments to see Izzie Derry, I was rather pleased to be experiencing what was to me, a unique occasion.

But not for long as I was back yesterday for the next one featuring Donnelly & South with the bonfire playing a more central role.

Their set was later, timed for dusk & if you look at my photos on Facebook you'll see the full range from the last of daylight to night time: I particularly like the colour in the background of the betwixt moment.

What (thankfully) they do not show is the torrential downpour which bisected the set & explains why some photos are in one location & others under cover.

Quite apart from the magic of these sessions with so much else going on (young children were prominent in the vibe until the deluge made their departure prudent), I was looking forward to hearing Lauren & Keith performing their storytelling set. I go and see them as often as possible but I'd not yet caught this side to what they do: though to be fair it's tailored to specific settings including schools. I hadn't seen the guitar Keith uses for gigs with young audiences either: it's quite something as hopefully the photos show.

Thus although they played excerpts from their regular set, such as "My Sister and Laura and Me" and "Tiny Boat" plus a brace of Lauren's most recent fiddle pieces (which we got to hear one and half times since it was during their performance that the rain forced the relocation), we also heard Keith tell a number of his stories (appropriately Hallowe'en orientated) while Lauren played successively an arpeggiated tenor guitar part, her "haunted briefcase" shruti box & fiddle as really effective spooky accompaniments. They got scarier once the children had left and the weather added to the atmosphere.

These are great stories and I hope you get to hear them: though realistically these specific ones probably only get told once a year. I bet the ones they tell at other times are just as good though.

Hats off to them both for being such troupers and carrying on despite getting wet and I'm afraid their instruments did too due to the suddenness and strength of the rain. Their commitment to the excellent cause was commendable & I'm sorry that part of the price was that if you were hoping to catch them tonight at Willow & Tool's Music Parlour at the Harvester in Long Itchington then I'm afraid Lauren has had to take the path of prudence given the effects on her voice. (Incidentally, if you had not heard of the hospitalisation of John McIntosh, aka ‘Tool' then I hope you'll join me in sending best wishes to him & his family).

I'd also like to drop into the review my appreciation of the apple cake (nothing like consuming produce at the place it originates in) and the spookiness of the firework which sounded like a gun shot the moment Keith told a Trump joke.

Donnelly & South have Christmas gigs coming up: look out for the details of these.

The next Food Union Crypt Session is on December 19^th with Stylusboy (tickets via: https://www.coventrycathedral.org.uk/events/the-crypt-sessions-2) and on December 21^st they have their Winter Solstice edition of "Song & Soil".

A very happy fifth birthday to ‘Black Cat': which is in many ways the beginning of the now legendary career of Duke Keats, being the first project he produced & released independently. ("Don't Fall Apart" which featured on ‘Hot Music Live Presents Volume Ten' had its original home on this album).

To celebrate, he's gifting us (not the usual way birthday presents work is it: but it's most generous) ‘Black Cat 2'.

Again it's made up of eight tracks, but whereas many artists marking milestones of albums tend to remaster & remix the original songs and then add in extra demos and the odd one which didn't make the cut, Duke opts for eight we've never heard before: it's actually a brand new album, albeit constructed from 2020 recordings rather than the contemporary ones he's been sharing recently such as ‘Avalon'.

The obvious statement that "what talent he has if he left these off first time round" is so necessary to say that I'll get it out of the way right now. Such is the embarrassment of riches that the song "Black Cat" itself, though I guess the intended as the title track of the original, only appears now. This, in my opinion is a darned shame as it can only have been squeezed out by the merits of the eight which made the cut: it's a great track and ideal for Hallowe'en… a rather disconcerting and spooky meld of a jazz groove with slivers of rock jabbing into it.

The second set is consistent with the feline concept of its predecessor and with its All Saints Eve/Day of the Dead vibe and I suppose both fills out the story & adds shadings to it. The other seven songs are "Once in a Black Moon", "Hattie", "I May Cry For You", "A Spider in the Middle of a Web", "Nice Guys Finish Last (It's Just Like That)", "More Lassis" and "The Sound of Love".

I've mused over the issue of releasing "demoes" several times recently so I won't repeat myself. With ‘Black Cat.2' we have several factors to take into our consideration. The firstly is that however good these songs are (and I'd fervently thank him for not keeping them to himself any longer), he's progressed even further in the intervening half decade. This is not juvenilia but they are also less complex conceptually to begin with and in their relatively stripped back arrangements, there aren't the myriad of little touches that we've since become used to. Clearly he feels that his art has developed and with all the exciting new material to share, going back & working further on them isn't a priority: they are an honest window into his work of the time.

That said, through luck or something else, we can delight (well I did) in strange sounds which are more interesting than had layers of polish been applied: levels of reverb or vocal balances which probably wouldn't have escaped a full production process for example. I think they add character & originality.

In terms of potentially the biggest production deficit, "The Sound of Love" which is a rather agreeable 80's styled instrumental here, could also perhaps be a backing track for a song which didn't in the end receive lyrics. In its present form he should try selling it as incidental television music: it'd work just fine.

As you'd imagine, his use of visual & cinematic stimuli for writing music was in place then & stories are being told, extended & augmented & vivid scenes are being set throughout.

His curiosity as to varying styles is also noticeable: you might discern in "Hattie" not just a flavour of flamenco but maybe a precursor to the acoustic phase he's currently exploring.

I think you'll be a bit shocked that it's taken five years for these excellent songs to come out (some Royal scandals have been quicker) but the feeling of pleasure and justice served will overcome that of surprise.

Knowing Duke, who'd bet against a ‘Black Cat.3' emerging in 2030? There are for all I know, probably ‘Dirty Glamour.2' and ‘Post-Internet.2' to boot. This man is prolific.

I do like sharing with you music which not only inspires my writing but also challenges my communication skills such as they are.

This review scores on two fronts in that respect: the inherent qualities of the song and in the interesting route by which it came to my attention.

Let's start with the latter as the former is consequent upon it.

I certainly have written about vocalist Claire Glasbey in the magazine on several previous occasions. You'll find her under her stage name of Miss Songbird. However I've not managed to review her for seven years: mostly I think due to other arcs in her life heading off into other directions. However given that this act of hers was essentially a covers one (I saw her play with the likes of this magazine's Paul Englefield and with Chris Gibbons), there wasn't a great deal of scope for releases etc. However behind the scenes she has been a strong supporter of what we've done & that's probably not terribly well known.

However I was greatly & pleasantly surprised when she told me some months ago that she was working with the band Ieere on new, original material: which immediately opened the door for articles like this one. Moreover, the album (it's called 'Sad Moon, Sleepy Heads'  and is out next year) is centred around the work & ideas of Goethe. Well that scores full marks on the culture register and frankly I never anticipated writing those words. Even without Claire's involvement, I believe that this is the sort of thing we need to share & promote given the likelihood of mainstream media attention being sadly far from assured.

Begore plunging into telling you about taster single  "Ginkgo Biloba"  (out on World Tree Day on November 21^st), I'd better say a bit about the band: especially since they've been around for over twenty years (a personal record for belatedness in writing about).

Taking their name from the German for "emptiness", the lineup here is Simon Monaghan (lead vocal/electric guitar), Dom Hanway (bass guitar/electric guitar), Jon Fisher (trumpet) and Claire Glasbey on backing vocals (look out for Claire on lead vocals on "Earth Spirit": the next single).

I say "band": they identify as a collective and publish poetry books as well as having put out albums including 'Compassionate Ride' (2005), 'An Alleluia Of Sorts' (2009) and 'Ever Being On Lark Lane' (2011) and singles such as "Ubuntu" (2014), "Yellow Tango Ball" (2023) and "Dolorosa" (2024). Their work generally explores spiritual and social themes: again plenty of rationale for me writing about them.

Recorded at Gighouse Studios with Andie Thomson as sound engineer, "Ginkgo Biloba" did not strike me as any sort of quote from Goethe (and in fact it's the name of the maidenhair tree) but I was wrong: he actually wrote a poem on the subject in 1815 which concerns his muse Marianne von Willemer and leaves from the tree formed tokens of their relationship.

If, like me, your acquaintanceship with Goethe is based around  ‘The Sorrows of Young Werther' then, also like me, "Ginkgo Biloba" can be a very helpful nudge into looking into other aspects of his work & life. And what an excellent inspiration for a song!

So what does it sound like? Well you might speculate reasonably around possibilities which might include nods to Beethoven given the subject or perhaps given the information given above, something in the realms of high art and limited accessibility. But you'd be wrong: musically it's contemporary and very welcoming. To be honest you could fully enjoy the song without engaging with the thought & tribute in the lyrics and equally the penny drops as to why Claire is now part of the picture.

This is a soul record.

Which I guess does connect with the sentiment and you might make a tortuous point that if one of the giants of German Romanticism was to make a record, soul might be the genre of choice.

I suppose the first reference point for me was Blue Rondo à la Turk: they too were a collective and their exploration of funk, jazz, pop & soul in the very early 1980s reminded me a little of what Ieere are doing here with  "Ginkgo Biloba". I don't know how helpful that is but it assisted my thinking. At any rate their experience & taste ensures that they play a potentially complex hybrid with assurance & no little verve.

Lyrically you can tell they write poetry and have no fear of using polysyllabic words nor imaginative phrasings: which they make fit the tune snugly. One would hope that a postulated  time travelling Johann Wolfgang would not only embrace the musical form but appreciate his heartfelt sentiments being expressed in the twenty first century idiom.

A couple of years before Blue Rondo à la Turk materialised, Madness had a slogan "Fuck Art, Let's Dance". If you pardon the vulgarity,  I think "Ginkgo Biloba" proves that the two are not necessarily mutually exclusive.

The release campaign of dogmarket is picking up moment 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.

This is the first review in the magazine of The Magpies and I'm sorry about that: I am not entirely sure why that's the case but it's probably down to the fact that I'm still yet to see them live and because they represent precisely what I've always hoped for in the career of member Ellie Gowers: a context for her musicianship beyond our local area.

In this case we are not just talking a national but an international profile as the band describe themselves as "transatlantic folk".

It's not of course just Ellie in the band: she works with Bella Gaffney (guitarist and banjoist) and Holly Brandon (fiddle) and in reviewing her great EP ‘You, The Passenger', I rather skated over the fact that the songs on that release inspired & written in Canada were in fact done so on tour with The Magpies.

Consequently, while delighted how Ellie is getting the wider recognition I predicted over numerous years, The Magpies as a trio do not have her personal connection to Coventry nor Warwickshire and so do not play round here: upcoming shows are in York, Birmingham & London.

Nevertheless, it was remiss of me to fail to tell you of albums including their debut ‘Tidings' and its follow up ‘Undertow' given the presence in their ranks of one of our most acclaimed & beloved musicians so here I am jumping aboard the wagon on the release of their ‘The One Thing That I Know' EP.

Obviously  the project is one of those fortunate supergroups where their personal & musical chemistry transcends the sum of the considerable parts and all three bring different styles & interests to the communal pot: which range from more European/Celtic/British ones to American ones like bluegrass and Appalachian folk.

Factor in three top notch writers, three top notch singers and instrumentalists of a similar standard & clearly you have a recipe for much success, but the key (and hardly surprising if you know Ellie) is that it is not about just the beauty of the sound they combine to make but what they choose to focus their talents upon: they have a mission to "champion gender equality in the music industry, with a fervent thread of feminism running through their music" which gives the records more value and greater impact than just musicality.

(As an aside which isn't really as profound as the preceding paragraph admittedly, I'm hardly surprised to find Ellie in a band named after one of our feathered friends given so many of her previous solo live & recorded songs.. although she probably would have also been happy if they'd named themselves after a breed of horse: one of which, perhaps not uncoincidentally, appears on the EP artwork).

So what of ‘The One Thing That I Know'? Well it has a quartet of tracks: "Painted Pony", "Ebb and Flow", "Marigold's" (sic) and "All Night". They were augmented by Kate Griffin (vocals, dobro), Fred Claridge (drums, percussion) and Jim Moray (bass, organ, percussion and mandola) with Jim producing & mixing them all (Dan Webster recorded "All Night", Jim the other three).

Well from that start I expected tasteful and compelling playing: I can tick that off as I can exquisite harmonies. You can listen to this & simply enjoy the sound. But that's wasting opportunities to dig deeper and it's also not terribly respectful of the writing.

What they nail down most potently is their catalysing of generally traditional musical forms with contemporary lyrics: this is fresh and urgent with plenty of wit and acerbic humour to delight in: I must say I took it to my heart instantly. Cue a bout of regret at entering The Magpies world so late. If that's what you are doing too, fortunately their canon is easily available on Bandcamp for exploration: including a startling version of Eurhythmics' "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)". Startling more in the sense of not being what I'd expected: the interpretation is frankly superb. I do hope the original artists have heard it.

Returning to the EP, like all folk & roots artists, the band like stories and telling them in ways which engage and I suppose the whole collection ("Marigold's" is an instrumental so says what they want to say in a non verbal manner) is an articulation of life lessons to date learned. Some of these may be familiar from Ellie's work but clearly getting together with Bella & Holly was predicated upon sharing values so it's not surprising to find digs at creeping urbanisation, societal disfunction, loss of communal connection, personal vanities etc plus a sea related song.

It's all terribly beautiful but all the more so because of the sentiments being expressed: you get plenty of humanity and empathy amidst the more critical perspectives.

I'm hooked & although the chances of seeing them live seem a bit remote, at least I can hear them on record and be pleased at how well they are being received by other writers and by the prestige of the places in which they are being asked to play.

I'll go a bit more parochial to finish with (this is a local music magazine after all) and remind you that you can see Ellie play live locally at Kenilworth United Reformed Church on December 5^th at the conclusion of her UK tour (tickets at https://www.bandsintown.com/a/12260707-ellie-gowers though last I heard was that there were only eight left so you'd best hurry).

Following on from ‘Aetherstone'  ("Take Me Here" which features on it is also to be found on ‘Hot Music Live Presents Volume Fifteen') and in advance of a full album scheduled for the end of November, Dane-O has today released a new single called "Spoken Word".

In accordance with what seems to be a growing trend (see for example recent releases by The Caroline Bomb and Reign The Girl Band), he's decided to put it out in what he calls "demo" form and of course that was how he described "Various Land" on  ‘Aetherstone'  too).

As I said in reviews of both of the other cases cited above, I feel that the artistic decisions made are justified and that what the bands feel were spontaneous takes or relatively stripped back arrangements suited the songs in question: other production options were considered and not adopted for good reasons. Consequently I think on these occasions we need to interpret the word "demo" is those senses and not in the traditional one of being part of a work in progress intended for the artist's ears only and which they fully intended to develop further before sharing in public.

I think that presenting material in much the same format that audiences will hear & hopefully have already appreciated is more than just valid: it captures the inherent truth of the songs.

That said, I think it's only fair to also salute fuller versions which can complement the simpler ones & offer chances to explore songs in new ways. In this case, DANE-O has decided to favour these "demo" takes with his other eye on sharing "complete and fulfilled" ones on the album: so in effect you can glimpse not only the end products of his creativity but aspects of his process.

The first thing you'll notice about "Spoken Word" is the artwork depicting blood spatters under guitar strings: I think no further comment on what that's saying is necessary?

The song itself (it is actually sung not spoken) is another haunting & powerful one by the artist with a sense of gloom eliding into one of doom: he really is impressing right from the start of his career with his ability to write memorable & atmospheric songs: there is a sense of space in this one which really helps it brood splendidly in a Ry Cooder style landscape & that rather validates DANE O's decision to go with this approach & my comments above. It sounds complete to my ears but then I'm sure what he has in mind for the final form will be tasteful & tease out some extra aspect.

This obviously talented and enthusiastic musician has certainly hit the ground running in terms of his recording career and I admire the clarity of vision he already has for this.  However just because I've not yet been able to review his live act, doesn't mean that it should be overlooked: I see him cropping up regularly on bills (look out for him playing a HMLP gig at The Tin next year too) across the region.

I'm glad to be able to share with you on this quintessentially autumnal day, news of the new Liam Vincent and the Odd Foxes single: it's called "Summer's Secrets" and comes out on Friday. It's a follow up to last month's very well received "Keep Running" but also it casts its eye forwards towards their new six song EP ‘Breath, Blood and Bone' which should be with us before the turn of the year.

'Ah', the casual reader may think on looking at the title, 'the Odd Foxes have dimmed their fire: this sounds like some sort of romantic track'. Such a person would of course be guilty of poor judgement & lack of faith in this fiery five piece. These people don't tread such roads: they only know the highway to liberation.

Of course it's true to say that they also compel you to listen to their songs by not giving away too many hints as to the content in the titles: fair enough. Otherwise they'd be putting out plenty of songs called "We're Really Furious About This And Want To Bring It Forcibly To Your Attention" or similar.

Not only does the Odd-Foxometer remain stuck at its highest intensity setting with "Summer's Secrets" but they consider it to be "their most ambitious work to date": which considering that they are not only a band who care a great deal but also have tremendous musical skills and experience, is quite a self assessment.

I see what they mean though. The Odd Foxes don't mince their messages: they obviously don't want to run any risk of people misunderstanding them. However this does not translate into one dimensional polemics.

They are articulate writers both lyrically & musically and if one had to focus in on one aspect of their appeal & hence the most effective way they put their ideas across, it's that they draw you into the beating heart of the songs so you become part of a sense of communal experience and frankly they get their audiences dancing. During which they absorb the words.

This articulacy is probably indeed at its apogee (to date) here: there is a basic premise to the song but its developed and enhanced by allusions and detailed expositions. And that's just the words. You might say much the same of the accompaniment.

To start with the premise: yes summer does play a part and no, this isn't an example of them writing a summer song and not being able to release it until October through things not going right: it's definitely designed for now as it's  "steeped in seasonal change" and in addition  "mortality, and the yearning for freedom from modern constraints". All of which are good subjects to write songs about.

But that's just the jumping off point as it also "conjures a journey of escape: from the grim monotony of a factory floor to the blaze of autumnal forests, where human resilience meets nature's permanence".

Quite a lot for just one song, though it does extend to over five minutes in order to achieve all those ends.

The music tends towards the keywords of "blaze", "escape" and "freedom" and thankfully leaves us to picture for ourselves any sense of grim monotony.

The quality of the playing is superb of course but I honestly can't ignore the sense that it's not just about five great players but about their own community: you sense how much they share the values & enjoy playing as a band. Frankly you get this even more live and as I said earlier, these are songs to be danced to & inhabited: therefore you'd probably like to know about the single's launch on the same day as its release at The Crew in Nuneaton.

This is an epic in more than its length, building with grace & dignity to a zenith, moving from a sense of never wanting to go back to a place where everything is balanced and everything is connected. It's going to be dubbed an anthem and I can't see what's wrong with that.

That's the big picture but during those minutes there is plenty of space for a myriad of instrumental and vocal touches & details which enhance the lyrics and each of which pushes the uplift up another notch.

The commitment is such that the artwork is also part of the message: it "captures this tension too - a 1995 photograph of Liam as a teenager, guitar in hand, with static crackling on a TV behind him, a snapshot of past and present colliding". You cannot overlook anything here for it all holds significance.

Liam Vincent and the Odd Foxes self identify as "Folk-Rock with Heart and Conscience" and that's certainly still the case: however I find it interesting that in addition to citing influences from that world, they are now name checking Bob Vylan too. Their sound comes from a particular place but the ideas transcend genre boundaries: and indeed any cultural ones.

All sorts of institutions, organisations and hegemonies will try and persuade you that popular music is ephemeral and "doesn't matter" (I refer you to Orwell but I could equally cite Spotify or the global record industry. Or most radio stations). So why do the same people run in fear from the songs of certain artists? Certainly Bob Vylan, Kneecap, Bruce Springsteen, Taylor Swift and Dolly Mavies have drawn down howls of execration in 2025 from those who have access to nuclear arsenals. Popular music can matter & does matter & Liam Vincent and the Odd Foxes epitomise this purely and powerfully.

If, like me, you are in general accord with their philosophy, then there probably isn't much capacity for conversion. However immersing yourself in "Summer's Secrets" will do two things: it will uplift you and it will remind you that however dark the road seems, you are not alone upon it.

Now play the single a few times, find yourself some autumnal woodland, take a walk in it and observe how more positive your thoughts now are.

Here we are again: another week, another single from Zaruna: "Monkey News" coming out seventeen days after "Indigo": a relative slowing down one might say but certainly not in absolute terms.

To some extent operating in the same territory as Elvis Costello's 2004 "Monkey To Man" in that some aspects (shall we say the upper surface) make wry observations about just how far our species have actually evolved given certain behaviours. On the other hand they've packed other thoughts neatly into the song too, posing questions about religion and free will and the couplet "I never knew that you weren't dead/You never could say what you wanted to say" hints enigmatically at the whole rest of the song being aimed at a single being: suggesting their actions may have given rise to the pondering in the first place.

A sense of enigma and elusive lyrics like this add value to songs & make you want to figure them out: which is just what I like.

Just as the words are thoughtful & reflective, so is the music: a rather gorgeous groove which invites you into the track to consider what Zaruna are saying. If this is the first Zaruna track you have encountered, then I think it will convert you to the cause by itself. From my perspective as a serial reviewer of their music, it's yet another example of the eclectic tastes & talents.

If they are thinking of compiling this great run of singles into an album, the quality & diversity are going to be incredibly impressive: I don't envy them the task of sequencing though…..

As predicted in my review of its release, Concrete Fun House duly launched their debut album 'I Guess It's Time We Got Into This' later that same day at Just Dropped In with support from What About Eric? and the Stoke based Christian Music.

It truly was a launch party: the venue was festooned in balloons & inflatable moths (you don't see those too often do you?) and more balloons & much confetti came into play as the evening progressed.

In theory, seeing a band as often as I've seen What About Eric? this year (three times in the last month alone) is not going to help find new things to say as the sequence progresses. However this band are not getting the acclaim which continues to build through simply being good: they bring novelty to each gig even when only a week or so has elapsed.

This time out, the set had evolved: not only was the forthcoming single played but an even newer song completed earlier the same day. Inevitably the fresh material & shorter (support) slot meant that at least one song I particularly like had to be dropped but as an indicator of a band going somewhere fast, that's powerful.

Here's another. Afterwards, I put it to Libbi that they get better and better each time, to which she simply answered "yes". A perfect articulation of quiet & steely self confidence, the sort which is driving them on the way they are going, unalloyed by the slightest trace of egotism. That's why (well one reason) I rate them so highly.

It's hard to put my finger on what I noticed compared with a couple of weeks ago: I've attributed a number of adjectives to them (all of which I stand by) but maybe there is a developed suppleness to their playing (especially of the songs which have been in their set the longest): they seem so at ease playing, so comfortable in their own skins as a band. Given their chosen genre, that's a really helpful attribute.

Concrete Fun House played the whole of their album (and more) and I'd better cut to the chase immediately and address the issue of my characterising the songs as "sombre" (amongst other epithets). So joyous was the delivery at the launch that this adjective couldn't apply. So what went wrong? Could it be my take on the album was way off? Or do Concrete Fun House possess a duality which permits both descriptions to be true depending on the context. Or are they Schrödinger's band?

One crucial piece of evidence might be the most upbeat of all the songs they played: an encore of what came across as a genuine party piece. Since this so far unrecorded song is actually called "Summer Cholera" and its lyrics are inspired by Dostoevsky: I think that helps prove the point that they can be two apparently different and even possibly contradictory bands simultaneously.

The audience showed them unconditional love throughout: this is a band who over only two years have built a devoted following: I think it's fair to call them an underground phenomenon as a sense of crossover into something the mainstream is hard to detect, but I think they are comfortable with that: it helps protect their integrity which is a major part of their identity & with the passion of their audience is justified.

So it was party mood throughout and regardless of the anger & ferocity of many songs, the cholera references & the seriousness of so many songs. I think people take the dark humour I mentioned in the previous review to heart and celebrate it & in truth the set isn't a single emotional tone: "What Happened to the Caterpillars" for example provides a popular touch of whimsy and to be personal, I  found "Erica 2: Electric Boogaloo" to be a new live favourite: it's unlike any of the other songs in its gentler performance (Joe played it seated) and provides dynamic variety to the sequence. In the interests of balance, "Headlines: Everybody's Dead Dave" seems to have emerged as a potential rival to "Caught Wanking" as the zenith of the furious end of the live repertoire.

And as far as I could see, the moths survived the mayhem to live to see another gig.

At last the debut album, 'I Guess It's Time We Got Into This' by Concrete Fun House is available for us all to fully enjoy.

Featuring nine original tunes, you have already had the opportunity to access copies of the singles "What Happened to the Caterpillars" and "Caught Wanking" plus "141 and 2/3% Chance"  which they kindly permitted us to feature on ‘Hot Music Live Presents Volume Fifteen ‘.

The half dozen you'll therefore only know to date from hearing them live are: "Blood, Sweat and Volunteers",  "Waxing Gibbous", "These Days", "Special Order 937", "Headlines: Everybody's Dead Dave" and "Erica 2: Electric Boogaloo".

I suppose the blindly obvious reflection is that once heard these song titles are so unique that you'll not forget them in a hurry and if you're using a search engine you're unlikely to be fobbed off with any other act using similar band or song names.

That said, however memorable or provocative these titles are, such is the wit & articulacy of the band that they are at best only (often oblique) starting points for grasping the lyrical meaning. (Credit to vocalist Tom and guitarist/keyboard player Joe for the words with music being a whole band creative endeavour).

The unforgettable "Waxing Gibbous" therefore seems to have little to say directly about lunar astronomy and is presumably a metaphoric signifier of a song which is possibly more concerned with issues of identity and behavioural boundaries: just as debut single "Caught Wanking" (please see my original review for greater detail) is I guess about a form of masturbation but more overtly about employment attitudes.

I was a bit intrigued by "These Days" as it's got the least baroque name & tentatively linked it to a Stewart Lee routine in my head. Which goes to show how dangerous speculation can be as a guide and how Concrete Fun House seem to prefer travelling tangentially rather than obviously. It's not about calling out racist attitudes: it's actually a moving and angst ridden voyage of self exploration which flirts with elements of self deprecation if not loathing.

In fact, though seeing the band live, the most obvious first impression (well I can only speak for myself here) is one of anger & outrage (Tom's onstage presence & demeanour I suppose shape this) but delving into the lyrics, quite apart from the diversion into the world of moths & various insects, the majority of songs tend to be aimed at skewering the behaviours of individuals: one could reasonably imagine that personal experiences inform many of these given the precision of the lyrical assaults.

That however is to fail to include a welter of detail which enriches what you hear through cultural references: I doubt I got all that there are. I did get the "Star Trek Deep Space Nine" one in  "Blood, Sweat and Volunteers" and "Special Order 937" derives from "Alien" (though 937 is area code for Kettering, Ohio which might be a Deathsex Bloodbath connection) and Boris Johnson, Jeremy Corbyn The Bataclan, South Park, Shefali (Oza), Jon Snow and Matt Frei  (does Gordon Bennett count?) also cameo. I'm not prepared to make any guesses as to the identities of Dave nor Erica though.

Musically, the band, regardless of the specificity of the focus of a song (ones like "Headlines: Everybody's Dead Dave" offer a more broad target) tend to head at various speeds towards intensity: which again is their defining characteristic live & I would imagine a major part of their attraction to a fanbase which has grown quickly since their debut just under two years ago: it's worth noting too that they didn't stay long confined to the comfort of their home region: they've long since played London and gig in all sorts of places.

The rhythm section of Sarah (bass) and Sarah-Beth (drums: and also the sleeve design) is the smouldering foundation offering the tightest & most profound basis for the various snarls of vocals (all five contribute backing ones) and the guitars etc of Joe & Andrew. Some of the latter indeed are as oblique as the words. A protractor might help given the angles various elements head off in.

I'd not quibble if reviewers bandied the term "uncompromising" around after catching live performances, but  'I Guess It's Time We Got Into This' is in fact a good example of where, however impressed you might be by the live experience, you can dive deeper into a band's songs and derive much more from them: in fact I'd say in my own case, I have been overwhelmed by the impression that Concrete Fun House have given me in concert (thank you) but I understand their tracks much better now. Which is also fine & means I can show greater respect to pieces they clearly worked hard to perfect to their own satisfaction. (This is the moment to namecheck producer Jon  (Moonbear) Webb and Mason Le Long who mastered the album for helping them to attain their vision).

Dynamically, the songs are far from monolithic however little the compromise element might be. Some passages are furious, some songs build inexorably to peaks of majestic power: "Erica 2: Electric Boogaloo" (which I am reasonably sure deals primarily with the proliferation of unreasonable malicious & manipulative content on social media platforms) for example teases you with a beginning which is close to indie pop. Then it draws you in (like online propaganda) and the sense of frustration mounts verbally & musically (though to be fair, the tone does tend to the "more in sorrow than anger" and to be honest, has left quite an affecting impression upon me).

Given the highly distinguished pedigrees of members (including, but not limited to Deathsex Bloodbath, Septic and the Tanks and Duck Thieves), I think most people would anticipate elements of humour or some theatricality. So I considered these on your behalf. Obviously if you look hard for things, you tend to find them or kid yourself that you do, but I think I can evidence ongoing characteristics. Firstly, they are definitely muted in relation to those other bands: although all have tackled serious subjects in their own idiosyncratic ways, Concrete Fun House are outwardly more sombre in their approach and wryness is incorporated deftly & subtly.

A higher proportion of this side of their art is musical: little quirky punctuation marks and moments of release. While the titles of songs have that strangeness, the lyrics (apart possibly from "What Happened to the Caterpillars" which as you know was originally a Year Without A Summer track) are definitely heavier: and one could say much the same for the more serious side of the stage act. In fact there is a good argument to be made that Sarah-Beth's various cover artworks provide the leavening the most.

There definitely is some humour in the lyrics, but much is of the dark variety or the "blink and you'll miss it" duration. This is not a bad thing: these five musicians bring their legacies to the Concrete Fun House table but concocting a pastiche involving their other bands, however inspiring they are, neither provides originality to this one nor shows enough respect to the others. Concrete Fun House is sui generis.

Concrete Fun House launch 'I Guess It's Time We Got Into This' later today at Coventry's Just Dropped In record shop in FarGo with the aid of What About Eric? whom you surely must be aware of and Christian Music who since they are from Stoke, you may not be.

Tickets from: https://www.skiddle.com/whats-on/Coventry/Just-Dropped-In-Records-/Concrete-Fun-House---Album-Launch/41364361

Reasonably hot on the heels of  her ‘Your Body' EP, Phoebe Court has dropped another release under the Barnabas artistic identity. It's called "Lucia's Method".

If that onion has a couple of layers already, then as Lucia seems to be another name for the same person, a third could well be in play.

Given that she says "this isn't really a song" there are potential problems writing about it in a music magazine. Luckily (though perhaps not as respectfully as I'd like to be) I disagree: it sounds like a song to me.

So what does Phoebe consider it to be? "Think of it more as an example of Lovely Lucia's healing method: useful for getting things off the chest, developing self-awareness, and working through your inner joys and pains alike!" And it is that as well.

It's a jolly ukulele song with an extended slide whistle solo: maybe if George Formby dropped the innuendo and took up a career as a therapist he might have written songs vaguely like this, though possibly not with quite the same breezy encouraging silliness quotient. (Actually that mustn't be taken as flippancy in his direction: I am not aware of any British musician nor his wife standing up to Apartheid as directly as George & Beryl Formby did. But I digress).

At any rate the triple aspect Phoebe/Barnabas/Lucia seems to be enjoying herself: the song (or not-song) lasts seven minutes. Not that this is problematic: you get to hear plenty of happiness which is no bad thing. Is it improvised at any point? That's tricky to say.. certainly there is a spirit of spontaneity at play but the messages seem worked out and they are more confidently articulated than pure improvisation would normally manifest. I think it's probably a stream of consciousness in terms of what you hear, but one informed & infused with seriously meant notions in her head before starting.

I think you'll enjoy it though & it ought to lift your mood should that be required.

After the great pleasure I derived from the previous Crypt Sessions organised by Coventry Food Union in the Wyley Chapel under Coventry Cathedral ruins which I reported on, I was massively looking forward to the stunning lineup last night of Reign the Girl Band & Bar Pandora.

The latter anticipation was amplified by Charlie not having played many gigs in 2025 as she worked on her debut album (look out for that) and as you know, I was entranced by the former at Leamington Food & Drink Festival and their recent debut single "She Stayed".

Obviously that performance only really took off for me once their sound was fixed but it was enough to convert me to their cause. Given the intimacy of their style, if you thought they were great on a park bandstand, imagine how magnificent they were in a medieval crypt. To experience them from three to four feet was a privilege. Talk about an immersive experience.

None of the vocalists all evening needed nor employed a microphone & instruments were given the most cursory of amplification. This was a fitting use of the space which must originally have been designed to make the best use of acoustic music.

As suggested in my review of "She Stayed", Sian & Lily invite you to get lost in the enchanting mists of their songs. Which is actually rather pleasant but diverting for a reviewer. Fortunately I was so close to them that I could observe some of their skills from very close quarters.

Anyone watching them will admire the interplay of two voices & two guitars. It's worth thinking that however excellent these are, those four elements include one of the best local vocalists & one of the best guitarists: attributes which I think will be commented on by more & more people as their profile rises. Certainly watching Lily play ("guitaring" as Sian dubbed it and I'll pinch that) was an education: she brought two guitars along with one (strung DADGAD) just for one song (whose lyrics were courtesy of a local poet who was also present) and as someone dubious of tapping techniques in rock contexts, I was bowled over by her acoustic use of the technique on a song called (I think) "Forest". And then as for Sian's voice: you need to hear that for yourselves I can tell you. It's not resistable.

There is however a vital Fifth Element: their taste allows them to incorporate a great deal of space & this contributes as much to the songs' beauty. Vocals & vocal harmonies are added & subtracted all the time. Songs have passages with two guitars, or one or none.

Another reason I especially needed to catch Bar Pandora apart from not having done so for ages was because, inspired by the occasion, Charlie had opted to go acoustic.

I had no idea how this would work: to be the Bar Pandora songs had their electronic instrumentation as an essential part of their being and are based on a cut-up principle. Since I harp on continually about Charlie's artistry and breadth of vision, I really had no grounds for doubt. Conceiving of the apparently non possible is her thing isn't it?

So we got to hear classic Bar  Pandora songs like "Ultramess", "Vice Vice Vice" "Recreate This" & "Dear Man" played on basically an acoustic guitar with Matt Rheeston playing a bare bones "kit" of muffled snare with a suitcase for bass drum.

And all were totally recognisable despite having none of the instrumentation of the recorded versions. So essentially the songs were so strong in their composition that they translated without a hitch.

I used the word "basically" deliberately. Those elements were the framework but Charlie also occasionally reproduced synth lines vocally & perhaps to the greatest delight of the audience, had a tiny piano on which she even more occasionally played the odd note: it provided a very satisfactory synth like "plink" and drew us back to the original like the merest aroma on the breeze.

Like Reign the Girl Band, Bar Pandora's new arrangements utilised space to great effect. Her guitar playing and singing were as staccato as on the studio versions (and retaining the abrupt endings presented with a bit of a dilemma as her customary one legged stance to indicate closure wasn't on from her seated position) and she made tremendous use of the Gestalt law of closure too: inviting our brains to fill in the gaps between what we were hearing and what we were familiar with.

At this point, I need to confess. with the stripped back arrangements, I revisited my engagement with the lyrics (on the recorded versions, the processed vocals blend into the arrangements so perfectly that I possibly didn't discern them as clearly as I might) and concluded that some of my interpretations in my original reviews might not be what I'd now write. I have apologised to Charlie & now you.

It wasn't all old material either: she unveiled two new songs (presumably they'll be on the album), both of which worked really well. The power in concert of one of them even took her by surprise and she now feels it needs henceforth to close the set (though in fairness it was the penultimate one yesterday).

Inspiring as the two sets were, we need next to swing back to why these musicians gave of their talent and the audience their time.

The Crypt Sessions help subsidise Food Union activities (including large free events such as the Harvest Festival) and in their own words "these gigs are very special. When we founded the Food Union in 2014 we didn't envision this, but our whole ethos is based on cultivating new opportunities and connecting people, and music is the best vehicle for that".

I completely agree: just like plants, ideas like the Food Union grow & can put out the most unexpected & vivid blossoms: I think building sustainable communities for those who care & reject the ideologies of division could easily encompass many linked strands: ecological, altruistic, artistic: they are all part of the cool web.

The next Crypt Session is on December 19^th with Stylusboy and there is a Bonfire Special Song and Soil event at Sherbourne Valley allotments on November 1^st with Donnelly and South.

More immediately, Charlie & Lily are hosting a jam/meet-up for local female musicians of all abilities today (Saturday) at Talking Birds: which sounds like a great idea.