LIVE music photography

In many respects Albert Hammond Jnr. has a lot going for him. Despite being only 28 he is considered by many of his peers as an elder statesman of the Indie music scene and although his band, The Strokes, have been dormant for the past few years, they are still considered by many as one of the most influential bands of the decade.

In less than 18 months Albert Hammond has released two solo albums, “Yours to Keep” and “Como Te Llama?” both of which have received critical if not a huge amount of commercial success. Unlike Pete Doherty his engagement to English supermodel Agyness Deyn has not caused a huge amount of fuss and Hammond has been free to focus on his musical career without a much media attention.

I first saw Albert Hammond Jnr perform last year at ULU and thought he put on a great performance. Watching him then you could be mistaken for thinking that he and not Julian Casablancas was the front man of The Strokes. Hammond is a new breed of songwriter who rather than suffering for his art in damp bedsits has been lavished with a life of luxury and privilege from an early age. The son of a successful songwriter, Albert Hammond, and Argentinean model mother, Hammond Jnr has enjoyed the high life from an early age however he has always been hugely ambitious which comes across in his two solo releases.

The gig tonight at the Scala was absolutely packed although I was surprised that in the past 12 months his fan base has not significantly increased, I would have expected that by now he would be selling out The Astoria. That said the performance showed that he can cut it as a solo artist and may never need to make another record with his former band mates again.

Written by John Rahim

Listening to Brett Anderson tonight it’s difficult to imagine him as one of the pioneers of the early 90’s Brit pop movement. Whilst his self titled debut solo album last year received lukewarm reviews with many publications finding it self indulgent and deeply introspective, I personally thought it was one of the most interesting records released in 2007. His follow up album, “Wilderness”,which is released on his own label, is even a more space than his debut. The album is entirely acoustic with only a piano and cello for accompaniment. Although his new direction may surprise some fans the songs are excellent and remind me of Suede’s “Dog Man Star” phase in my opinion their most interesting period. Stand out songs on his new album include “Chinese Whispers” and “A different Place”, however all of the songs are very strong.

The concert tonight was extremely enjoyable and despite the new musical direction Anderson enjoys a loyal fan base who support him in any of his musical endeavors.

Written by John Rahim

So in the same week of seeing Glasvegas, Glasgow’s hottest band, I also saw Hue and Cry, pin up soul boys of the mid-eighties performing a showcase of their latest album “Open Soul” at Gibson Guitar’s studio in Central London. I first saw Hue & Cry in 1987 and at the time their Glaswegian contemporaries included Texas, Wet Wet Wet, Deacon Blue, The Wake, Jesus & Mary Chain, Del Amitri and Lloyd Cole & the Commotions.  It’s often overlooked however Glasgow was a hotbed of talent in the mid eighties and produced some excellent bands who were capable of going Platinum in the first week of an album release. The Kane brothers of Hue and Cry were always considered as one of the better bands to emerge from the Glasgow music scene and musically their were poles apart from their contemporaries.

In the early years the band enjoyed considerable success with the first two albums, “Seduced & abandoned” and “Remote” which generated over 5 hit singles including “Labour of Love, Looking for Linda and Ordinary Angel” all of which enjoyed considerable chart success.

The albums released towards the end of the 90’s had less commercial success however their latest CD “Open Soul” sees them back on form. Their showcase performace at Gibson’s studios was well attended and despite the lack of hair Pat Kane has still a fine soul voice which would put Michael Buble to shame. I hope that this album enjoys the success that it deserves. If you are interested in find out more visit their site at www.hueandcry.co.uk

Written by John Rahim

The rise of this Glasgow quintet has been nothings short of meteoric. I saw for the first time earlier in the year at Koko and at the time the time the band were amidst a bidding frenzy amongst most of the major labels. Fueled by Alan McGee’s comments that they were they were the best band ever to come out of Scotland many of the major’s talent scouts and the journos were all jostling to claim a piece of the action. Eventually they signed to the Sony imprint Columbia which has had a bit of a renaissance recently with bands such as MGMT, The Ting Tings and Black Kids all of whom have done great things for the label in 2008. Columbia were evidently not wrong with in their decision to sign them as their self titled debut album entered the charts last week at number two beaten  by Metallica who arguably who have one of the strongest fan base of any contemporary rock act.

So back to Glasvegas are they any good or is it just hype? Well the fact that the second week of sales was sufficient to keep them in the top 10 indicates that they are selling more than just to the dire hard fans. Musically I personally find them pretty uninspiring and whilst “Geraldine” and “Daddy’s Gone” are great singles the rest of the album leaves me cold. Live they pretty much stick their musical roots, Jesus and Mary Chain and Velvet Underground are the fairly obvious comparisons. In fact that they stick so closely to the JMC formula that their drummer even stands up and only plays a snare and tom tom drum. I thought this was historical when I saw it 15 years ago however the downside is a monotonous rhythm section which at best is unvaried and at worst highly derivative.  I am sure that there will be many people who disagree with me however I can’t see how this band will be able to develop into a long term act. If you have not bought their album however are tempted by what you hear would suggest checking out any of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club who in my opinion are far superior in every way.

Written by John Rahim

Considering the top 10 hits that GCH have had over the past year I was surprised to see them in such as small and intimate venue however, their show was absolutely packed with hoardes of screaming fans who evidently had been there hours to get the best positions at the front of the stage. Front man Travis McCoy put on an excellent show and whipped the crowd up into a frenzy delighting the first four rows of teenage girls.

Live the band are quite similar to NERD combining commercial rap weaved into familiar funk and rock tracks with of course the ubiquitous 80’s MOR samples which gel together what otherwise would be fairly dirivitive songs. GCH who are signed to Fall Out Boy’s Pete Wentz’s Decaydance Label have become a hotbed of talent unearthing some of the more interesting rock and rap acts to emmerge from the mid-West. Their new album “The Quilt” which is their forth features artists as diverse as Busta Rhymes, Estelle and 80’s pop rocker Daryl Hall. The band are currently on a 30 date tour which takes them across the UK, Europe and the US.

Written by John Rahim