The Revolution Will Not be Televised

A rather topical rant in the form of another charming folk ditty by emerging talent Grace Petrie.

Grace has been a firm favourite of mine ever since I stumbled across her set one sunny day at Glastonbury's Leftfield stage last year and she's yet to disappoint. Both genuinely thought provoking and refreshing, it's difficult to ignore this young woman's talent. Full of tales of love ire and the odd political diatribe, Petrie's new album Tell Me a Story is a fine testament to just how great the folk scene is at the moment. Every song packs as much punch as the last and one cannot help but hang on every word. If you like gutsy, real folk without an ounce of conceit, then look no further.

Tell Me a Story is out now

So it's day one of the Post Glasto comedown and suffice to say I'm knackered. Miles of walking, partying in the shady depths of Shangri-La until the wee hours and seeing a whole host of acts from the likes of Snoop Dogg, Biffy Clyro and motherfucking Muse make for one long but completely awesome weekend.

In the coming days I shall be reminiscing about the musical feast that was my Glastonbury and sharing some of my favourite acts of the weekend, in an attempt to keep the spirit alive for that little bit longer.

First up is burgeoning acoustic star Grace Petrie. Miss Petrie was a staple feature of the Leftfield stage this year, having been chosen by curator Billy Bragg to take part in his muso-political lineup that also featured the likes of Beans on Toast and Frank Turner, as well as the main man Bragg himself. I managed to catch 2 of her mini sets and each time found myself glued to my seat.

What I particularly enjoyed is that there doesn't seem to be anything false about Grace. No Mockney accents, cliché lyrics or ridiculous haircuts: just good, honest folk. You can't say fairer than that really.

I love this, hope that the Glastonbury effect works its magic on her. It would be a crying shame if she faded away after such a triumph.

http://www.myspace.com/gracepetrie

Finally my Glasto dream lineup is shaping up quite nicely!

Rockin' banjo band Mumford and Sons have been confirmed by my favourite farmer Michael Eavis that they are to play The Park stage at this year's Glastonbury Festival.

I am quite literally as giddy as a schoolgirl to hear that these guys will be gracing my spiritual home with an appearance. Ever since the release of their debut I've fallen head over heels for Mumford and co. Infact, it's hard to think of anything NOT to like about them. Innovative, hearty music that just screams DANCE, without being drenched in vocoder or troweled in Mockney accent (Daisy Dares You, anyone?) To be honest, I'd even go as far as saying they are one of the finest bands to emerge from the last 5/10 years.. I can almost envisage it now: as the sun begins to set atop the glorious Park stage, a few thousand people all standing in this fairylit wonderland, swaying to the breathtaking 'you are not alone in this' refrain during Tinshel, completely content and at one with the world. Right before Little Lion Man starts playing and everyone goes apeshit.

Bring it on.



I know I'm a bit behind the times with this, but I've been very lazy lately with updating. Expect more frequent posting.. when I can be bothered.

Out For Blood

Blood Red Shoes are back- yay!

Blood Red Shoes "Colours Fade." from phil tidy on Vimeo.

This is so much heavier than their older stuff, I love how much of a growl there is to the guitars. At seven minutes long it's almost more of a call to battle than anything else. I love how the vocals are simultaneously intense yet sleek, reminds me a bit of The Subways in terms of harmonies and overall style (where have they been lately??), a trait that's missing from a lot of music out there at the minute. However, after a few listens of their new album it does come across that there's something missing; that little component that can make all the difference between a record that's mediocre and one that's awesome. I'm not too sure what that thing is though, maybe it's just a case of depth.

There's a few songs on the LP that are irrestibly charming in a sulky teenager kind of way (and by that I'm not talking about the vacuous mess that is Avril Lavigne and others of that ilk), perfect for stomping around to. I imagine these guys would be brilliant live as well, they're doing Glasto this year so I'm definitely putting them on the list of bands that I'd like to see but never will get around to seeing (Coming soon to a Spotify near you..).

I think there's still a lot of growth to be seen from Blood Red Shoes, but to be honest, at the moment this isn't that pressing an issue. They may have a long way to go before reaching the recognition they deserve, but they're certainly not one to pass by in the meantime.

Fire Like This is out now, you can download it from Amazon or iTunes. If you're still curious then check out their back catalogue on Spotify.

Happy listening!

Pulp For Glasto?

Will they?

Won't they?

I don't think I've ever heard as many people talking about 90s Britpop band Pulp as there have been in the past couple of weeks. Depending on which publication you read, Jarvis and co. may be likely to grace the stage of Worthy Farm once more at next year's festival, their first performance in over 6 years. The People have claimed that Cocker confirmed that Pulp were to reform and are interested in playing Glastonbury next year: "Glastonbury means an awful lot to me, I would love to play there again.” When asked if there were any plans in the pipeline to see Pulp potentially repeat Blur's success at playing a comeback gig at Glasto, he said; “We’ve talked about it, there we go, there’ll be a band reunion.”

However, in separate reports on both teletext page Planet Sound and in an interview with the front man himself on BBC 6 Music today, it seems that this is not the case. Cocker has dismissed these rumours, stating that he had never said that Pulp were going to reform in the first place, only that he was "interested in playing at the 40th anniversary."

So I guess we'll just have to wait and see. I think it would be great to see Pulp do Glastonbury, I was too young to see them perform live back in their heyday, so it would be a great chance for them to remind us all who the real diamonds in the Britpop crown truly were, as well as potentially widening their fanbase to those not yet in the know of this great indie band.

My biggest regret about Glastonbury this year was that I missed out on the chance to see a newly reformed Blur headline the Pyramid, if Pulp do play next year- I shan't make the same mistake again.

In the meantime, here's one of my favourite Pulp tracks, recorded live at Glastonbury circa 1995, enjoy.