The Cribs at the Juice Bar

After dazzling Melbourne, the UK’s biggest cult band The Cribs are all set to electrify Auckland and Wellington with their relentless riffs this weekend. Since releasing their fourth album Ignore the Ignorant late last year the band has already blitzkrieged the live performance scene all the way from the US to Australia.

The 4-piece band – formed by twins Gary and Ryan Jarman and their younger brother Ross Jarman – is known for their deeply engaging lyrics intertwined with catchy indie-isque tunes. The newest member, former Smiths’ guitarist Johnny Marr, has done little to prevent their unpredictable act from becoming even more volatile.

The intimate gig venues make the Cribs a compelling show for all Brit rock fans.

And whether or not Marr wields his recently recovered guitar is still a mystery.

This gig preview first appeared here: Yahoo!Xtra Music

Gig review coming soon

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Update (Feb 30): Aah. I’m. So. Lazy. Just know that it was awesome and if it wasn’t for my date that night, I so totally would have scored an interview with Johnny Marr. He was awesome and menacing at the same time. The Cribs are sooo good live!

Out my comfort zone with Sola Rosa

Spanning many musical bridges is what core member of Sola Rosa Andrew Spraggon has been doing since his last offering three and a half years ago.

And it would be fair to say that in transforming from a one-man-and-a-laptop band to a powerful live act, he has come a long way. The bunch of accolades he has won during this journey only cements this rather extraordinary accomplishment.

His latest album Get It Together is reassuring proof of Spraggon’s musical genius, as he beautifully combines dub and soul with other genres to weave a foggy web of 11 tracks.

Get It Together is in true essence the crystallisation of his understanding of music from around the world, combined with a desire to experiment with new musical styles.

The album sees staple band members, Will Scott on the drums, Ben White on the guitar and Matt Short on bass, blending their talents with musical aptitudes of Scratch 22, Spikey Tee, Serocee and Iva Lamkum, who lends voice to the second track and pretty much the highlight of the album, Turn Around.

The opening track Ace of Space is exactly what its title suggests – a soundscape for various musical instruments to come out and play tricks on the listeners, as the resulting melody takes them though a mysterious aural journey.

My favourite though is the curiously-titled Bond is Back. As I push play I wonder if it will bring lush images of Daniel Craig to my mind and it does indeed. My imagination goes for a cinematic holiday as I start getting martini withdrawals.

Del Ray hangs on to the quintessential Sola Rosa sound. Though I dread going out and walking back home along the rain-washed streets, the tropical, sun-soaked melody seems to seep in, making me feel all warm and nice.

And even as I step out of my comfort zone and review dub for the first time, I am finding the spoilt indie-kid in me asking for more.

This review first appeared here in May 2009.

Have I mentioned I love the XX?

I love the XX. It’s no secret that I’ve been in awe of the XX for a while. No surprise then that I was gutted beyond gutted when I missed their Auckland gig early his month.  Surely if there’s any band that can compensate for whatever Florence Welch can come up with, it has to be the XX. The way they do it, it’s quite impressive really.

Afterall every now and again everyone needs a little break from the overbearing smugness and frankly, tedium, of Florence’s extreme note-producing abilities. Also I don’t see why breaking into an epileptic fit every 16 seconds is absolutely necessary. Why does she do it?

Granted You’ve Got the Love is an awesome tune on its own but somehow the understated, disinterested elegance of the XX just makes it that much more brilliant. Another song by them that I quite like is Islands. I’m going to be a little bold and even say that it might probably be the most subtle romantic song ever. Ever.

However, the one song I just can’t stop listening to at the moment is: