THE GREAT MALARKEY - BADLY STUFFED ANIMALS

Here come Hackney’s irrepressible folk-punks The Great Malarkey, bringing you their unbreakable kitchen-sink fusion of riot-torn r’n’b, urban skank and swaggering street ska and anything else that takes your fancy. Just so long as it makes your feet move. In-your-face street-corner speechifier Alex Ware and her marauding septet hit you not once but ten times with their tailormade floorfillers in little more than half an hour, scarcely allowing a moment’s breathing space, other than for the occasional moment of bottom-of-the-glass reflection. Their ethos? Get in, get out and leave a heaving mass of happy, drooling, knackered revellers!

Drawing influence from such culturally diverse and mob-handed ensembles as the Pogues, Mano Negra and Fanfare Ciocarlia, with a twist of Tom Waits for good measure, joining Alex in the band are drummer Joni Belaruski, Jason Nash on accordion, Alex Newton on trumpet and Owen Evans with his banjo and guitar. A fiddle was always going to be necessary, and Aidan Banks was only too happy to oblige. The last to join the ranks was Jake Appleby: a man of few words, but he plays the bass like it owes him money.

From an early barnstorming start supporting Toots & The Maytals at just their third gig, the Malarkey-mobile has taken them from guerilla gigs around the capital, up and down the length and breadth of the land and overseas too, from dive-bars to festivals, both habitats seemingly their natural home. Already this year they’ve played Boomtown, Bestival and Bearded Theory. A pound to a penny, Badly Stuffed Animals will find many admirers, allowing the band to winter in sundry smoky dens of iniquity, ready to take to the open air once more in Spring.

Badly Stuffed Animals is out on Clearcut Records on Monday 5 November. They launch the album on Saturday 3 November at Passing Clouds, Dalston, London. Come one, come all! 

Wise words….

'Their front woman stole the show from every other front man or woman who performed that weekend' efestivals.com

'I challenge you to keep still while listening to this band' purerawk.com

‘Ten refusals to stop enjoying life… An album worth its weight in gold.’ Louderthanwar.com

http://thegreatmalarkey.com/

https://www.facebook.com/thegreatmalarkey

ASH GRAY & THE GIRLS - BORN IN THE SUMMER

It will be up to fans to figure out if Ash Gray was truly, as he sings on the jangling title track of his latest CD (out in the UK on 19 November), Born In The Summer of Love, but there’s no doubt that the New York based singer/songwriter is drawing from the sweet and glorious rock and folk sounds of the late 60s as he continues to take the possibilities of pop harmonies and vocal arrangements to exciting new realms.

Truly living up to the title of his 2010 debut EP This Could Be A Wild Night . Gray’s group Ash Gray And The Girls has survived several intense line-up changes and now features the powerhouse harmony vocalists Nina Murphy and Sarah Wise. The group’s eclectic 11-song full-length debut Born In The Summer boasts tracks that feature these two singers balanced by others recorded when the former line-up was in place. Their recent four-date stint at South By Southwest, and Texas Rock Fest during the 2012 event, brought Gray full circle. Not only did he live in Austin for years before moving to NYC, but also the first incarnation of Ash Gray and the Girls showcased at South by Southwest 2009. 

Despite the personnel shifts, the essence of Gray’s concept has been consistent—and continues to be a crowd pleaser at his many acoustic shows around New York (including the weekly open mic he hosts at The Local 269 in the Lower East Side of Manhattan) and his monthly full band gigs at hotspots like Pete’s Candy Store and Bowery Electric. With their vibrant stage presence and emphasis on vocals and harmony, Ash Gray and The Girls bring back the days of the big backing vocals with a modern twist. Somewhere between The Mamas and The Papas, The Stones and White Stripes, the group features punchy, high spirited two and three minute songs driven by a simple mix of percussion, acoustic guitar and vocals. 

Born in the US to British parents, Gray first began to make inroads into the UK music scene when he visited from Austin, Texas and assembled the Anglo-American ‘punk-grass’ band, the High-Class Family Butchers. Achieving notoriety (and some airplay) with their back-porch covers of pop classics and guerrilla-gigging, the Butchers have continued over the years with a flexible line-up including members of Menlo Park, The Ralfe Band and folk poster-boy Seth Lakeman’s band. For a time they even included Harper ‘Son of Paul’ Simon, oddly enough.

Relocating to New York, a few years ago with short-lived 90s hard rock throwback band Cycle Sluts From Hell, Gray began shifting gears after realizing that his female guitarist KG was a great harmony singer who blended perfectly with his backing vocalist Helen. He launched Ash Gray and the Girls in late 2008 as an acoustic trio, with him on vocals and acoustic guitar and these two singers. To make the sound bigger and increase his ability to experiment with more elaborate harmony and grooves, Gray added Mary and Abbi, who along with Helen were “The Girls” for several years.

http://ashgrayandthegirls.com/

THE RETURN OF LOWLANDS

Italy’s number one roots rock band Lowlands return with their most rocking album yet in the form of Beyond, out on 10 December on Stovepony/Gypsy Child Records distributed by Cargo. Produced by ex-Soul Asylum keyboard player Joey Huffman the band explores and explodes the boundaries of what they had previously achieved releasing what is their most eclectic record. Ten brand new tracks, from punk rock to acoustic ballads, which capture the exuberance and variety of their live shows. Rock’n’folk.

The album was recorded over 6 days in Northern Italy, featuring Lowlands’ regular guests Mike “Slo Mo” Brenner (Marah, Magnolia Electric Co.) and harp virtuoso Richard Hunter as well as one of Italy’s best and most experienced rhythm sections, bassist Antonio ‘Rigo’ Righetti and drummer Robby Pellati.

Formed in 2008 in Pavia outside Milan by British-born singer-songwriter Edward Abbiati, Lowlands quickly established themselves in mainland Europe with their debut album The Last Call, and have made a number of friends on the international scene leading to a co-write with Tim Rogers of Australia’s You Am I, a duet with the lovely Amanda Shires (Jason Isbell, Rod Picott, Justin Townes Earle, Matthew Ryan) and guest appearances from ex Soul Asylum Joey Huffman, US fiddler Amanda Shires and ex-Green On Red organist Chris Cacavas, who also mixed their 2010 album, Gypsy Child, which was widely praised in Europe and the US and picked up substantial airplay in the UK.

Having toured heavily throughout late 2010 and half of 2011, on return to their hometown the band splintered, with a nucleus of Abbiati, guitarist Roberto Diana and keyboard player and accordionist Francesco Bonfiglio eventually recruiting Righetti and Pellati – who have literally played every bar and every stadium in the country – to record the third album Beyond (released Oct 4^th 2012).

The new album follows hot on the heels of Better World Coming, a tribute to Woody Guthrie recorded in downtime from the Beyond sessions and widely praised across Europe as one of the best roots releases of 2012.

“A stunning, lo-fi and heartfelt reappraisal of the great man’s songs…sweet and harsh in equal measure, this is clearly an album born in and built for hard times.”  ***** R2 Magazine

“Stunning…”  **** Maverick Magazine

“This band could have a very bright future” 9/10 Americana-UK.com

“Just like Leone took the western and made it grittier, Lowlands have taken Americana and dusted it up and made it more believable. A fantastic album” **** BRFM (Wales)

STOP PRESS! Lowlands UK Tour. 

Thurs 8 Nov                   Kama Lounge, Newport

Fri 9 Nov                       Brickmakers, Norwich

Sat 10 Nov                    The Railway Hotel, Southend-on-Sea

Sun 11 Nov                    The Windmill, Brixton, London

www.lowlandsband.com

CHIARA GIACOBBE - WALKING IN LONDON

Italian violinist and songwriter Chiara Giacobbe visits London for four dates at the end of this month in support of her debut solo release, Ready To Go on Rigo Records.

Recorded during the Spring at ML Studios near her hometown of Alessandria in northern Italy’s Piedmont region, the EP features the talents of noted musicians, guitarist Gege Picollo and double-bassist Mariana Nocito. The six songs on Ready To Go mark a bold shift away from the roots rock of the band Lowlands, with whom she recorded two albums, and are set to establish Chiara as an exciting and original new talent.

A graduate of the prestigious Conservatorio Vivaldi in Alessandria, Chiara has quickly become the go-to musician for a diverse array of bands and artists looking for another dimension: from country to classical, jazz to folk, hip-hop to blues and rock’n’roll, she’s done them all. In her short but intense career, she has played throughout Europe, sharing stages and recording studios with Anglo-American talent such as Chris Cacavas, Amanda Shires, Rod Picott, Will T Massey, Trent Miller and Dan Raza, as well as established internationally-known Italian acts such as Paolo Bonfanti, Gnola Blues Band and Sugar Ray Dogs.

As on Ready To Go, Chiara will be performing in an acoustic duo format with guitarist Marco Pagani. You can catch her at….

Wed 29 Aug                The Betsey Trotwood, 56 Farringdon Rd, London EC1R 3BL

                                    (with Simon Onions)

Thurs 30 Aug              The Railway Tavern, 2 St Jude St, London N16 8JT

                                    (with Robert James Selby)

Fri 31 Aug                    The Birkbeck Tavern, 45 Langthorne Rd, London E11 4HL

                                    (with Robert James Selby)

Sat 1 Sept                   Biddle Bros Bar, 88 Lower Clapton Rd, London E5 0QR

                                    (with Trent Miller)

Do let me know if you’d like to come along to any of the dates….

“A bright new solo career beckons for this talented young lass.” R2 magazine

www.elettrichiara.com

MARK MULHOLLAND & CRAIG WARD - WAITING FOR THE STORM

Mark Mulholland and Craig Ward's music represents their own take on the British folk tradition of Graham, Jansch, Renbourn et al. Friends since their teens, when both were playing in bands in Glasgow and Edinburgh in the late '80s, the two have been travelling and playing music since, crossing paths at various points along the way. Craig produced Mark's band Two Dollar Bash's third album Lost River, and accompanied the band on a 5 week North American tour in 2007. Around this time, the pair started talking of recording an album together, drawing from their mutual influences of the likes of Pentangle and Nick Drake. In the course of 2010 and 2011, they met up for a series of recording sessions in Berlin, Antwerp and Rotterdam, and the resulting album Waiting for the Storm, will be released in September 2012 by the Berlin label Cannery Row Records and the London-based Jezus Factory Records, accompanied by a tour of the UK, Ireland and France. The line-up is completed with the addition of Belgian double-bass player Hannes d'Hoine, and the trio completed a successful tour of Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and the Czech Republic in February and March 2012.

Mark Mulholland's musical peregrinations have taken him through most of Europe and North America to Port-au-Prince, Haiti, where he is now based. He has released 2 solo albums, The Devil on the Stairs (2008) and The Cactus and the Dragon (2011), and is also a member of Two Dollar Bash, who recently released their 4^th album, New Adventures. Mark is a former member of Impure Thoughts, and The Oul' Bogwarriors, and has recorded with a wide variety of artists including Nikki Sudden and Captain Sensible. He is currently also working on various musical projects in Haiti, including collaborations with the world-renowned poet, dramatist, painter and actor Frankétienne, who also makes a guest appearance on Waiting for the Storm.

Craig Ward moved from Scotland to Antwerp after an invitation from Stef Kamil Carlens (dEUS, Zita Swoon) to holiday there. It was a long holiday. Craig joined Kiss My Jazz and found himself in the hub of a fervent music scene to the extent that Rudy Trouvé suggested him as his replacement in dEUS (In A Bar Under The Sea and The Ideal Crash era albums and tours). After leaving dEUS in 2004 Craig formed the acclaimed band The Love Substitutes with Mauro Pawlowski and Rudy Trouve, releasing two albums, Meet The Love Substitutes While The House Is On Fire (2005) and More Songs About Hangovers And Sailors (2007). In 2008 the 3 released a split solo album as Pawlowski, Trouvé and Ward. Craig is also a member of True Bypass with Chantal Acda (Sleeping Dog, Isbells) whom released an acclaimed album in 2010 via Jezus Factory Records; he also fronts the noise jazz band A Clean Kitchen Is A Happy Kitchen who released their self titled vinyl in 2011 and a split EP earlier this year with Silent Front. His production credits include The Frames' For The Birds alongside Steve Albini. Craig has recently moved back to his native Glasgow.

Hannes d'Hoine studied double bass at the Conservatory of Antwerp, and plays in various formations including Die Anarchistische Abendunterhaltung, Roy Aernouts band and Blackie and the Oohoos.

www.markmulholland.net

BOB COLLUM - THE UNGRATEFUL DEPRESSION

Oklahoma-born and now Essex-based, songwriter Bob Collum introduces his latest release, a five track EP showcasing his own brand of Anglicised Americana and powerpop; a healthy dose of pedal-steel and of course Bob’s own Midwestern twang make the case for the West side of the pond, while his adroit and insightful lyricism, inspired by his heroes Lowe, Costello and Davies, makes the case for the East.

The Ungrateful Depression, recorded by legendary producer and former Vibrator Pat Collier, find Bob and his band – Allan Kelly (pedal-steel); Gareth Davies (bass); Paul Quarry (drums) – shaping up nicely alongside guests such as Martin Belmont, ex-Soft Boy Morris Windsor and Country Dirt star, Marianne Hyatt.

In the decade and more since Bob arrived in the UK, he’s come up with a series of memorable albums: the solo releases More Tragic Songs Of Life and Low Rent Romeo, plus two with his band The Welfare Mothers: The Boy Most Likely To and Set The Stupid Free, and latterly the Twisted Lines & Mixed Up Rhythms and The New Old Thing EPs. He’s also shared stages with an equally memorable cast list of the great and the good of American music, including Dave Alvin, Marshall Crenshaw, Greg Trooper, Alejandro Escovedo, Robert Earle Keen, Robbie Fulks and many more.

Bob and the band are constantly touring the UK but he’s happy to make himself available between shows for interviews!

Praise for The New Old Thing…

“Collum… like Nick Lowe is able to express a wry riposte and an aching heart within the same breath.” **** R2 magazine

“Possibly his finest yet… He continues to refine his songwriting with some quite stunning musical arrangements.”  Maverick magazine

http://www.bobcollum.com/

LOWLANDS & FRIENDS PLAY WOODY

Italy’s number one roots-rock band LOWLANDS return with Better World Coming, a stunning collection of songs in tribute to the legendary Woody Guthrie in celebration of the 100^th Anniversary of the great man’s birth. Gathering together a whole host of friends from the Italian roots and Americana scene, the thirteen songs were recorded in a variety of locations – studios, kitchens, farmyards! – during downtime from sessions for Beyond, the band’s third album proper, the follow-up to last year’s critically acclaimed Gypsy Child album. The result is a work of pure, raw quality, evoking the climate of hard times in which these songs of the soil, the breadline and the factory floor originally came into being.

Among friends who chipped in to help are members of such noted bands as Green Like July, Macadam, News For Lulu, Jimmy Ragazzon and Marco Rovino from Italian Americana stalwarts Mandolin Brothers and blues guitar legend Maurizio ‘Gnola’ Glielmo.

Formed in 2008 in Pavia outside Milan by British-born singer-songwriter Edward Abbiati, LOWLANDS quickly established themselves in mainland Europe with their debut album The Last Call, and have made a number of friends on the international scene. Those lending a hand on Gypsy Child include Tim Rogers of Australia’s You Am I, in-demand Atlanta session man Joey Huffman, and ex-Green On Red organist Chris Cacavas, who also mixed the album. Gypsy Child was widely praised in Europe and the US and picked up substantial airplay in the UK.

Having toured heavily throughout late 2010 and half of 2011, on return to their hometown the band splintered, with a nucleus of Abbiati, guitarist Roberto Diana and keyboard player and accordionist Francesco Bonfiglio eventually recruiting session players to record the third album Beyond, due for release later this year.

Praise for The Last Call and Gypsy Child…

A thrilling and confident live act, an admirable work ethic should see them reaping significant rewards before too long.  **** R2

This band could have a very bright future…. 9/10  Americana UK

Stunning….  ****  Maverick

Minor masterpieces in small-town atmospherics…..  Net Rhythms

Drawing on the sublime aspects of Nebraska-era Springsteen and the country-dabblings of Green On Red…. It’s a cracker!  Miles Of Music

www.lowlandsband.com