The Great Escape Adds Over 100 Bands

The Great Escape, a festival that champions new music in Brighton, today announced over 100 more bands to their huge line up.

With Oh Wonder, Songhoy Blues and Stormzy headlining, TGE have added the likes of former Tribes frontman Johnny Lloyd, Milk Teeth and Barns Courtney.

TGE Organiser Kevin Moore said "I really do feel we've got something special for every type of music fan no matter what you're in to. The addition of our Young Adult wristbands has opened the festival to new attendees and fans".

Today, TGE added:
808INK / AMY YON / ARY / BARBARELLA’S BANG BANG / BARNS COURTNEY / BAYONNE / BEASTS / BISHOP / BLAENAVON / BLICK BASSY / CAKES DA KILLA/ CARNIVAL YOUTH / CASH + DAVID / CHIARA HUNTER / CITY CALM / DAVE / DOWN / COLEMAN HELL / CONDOR AVENUE / CORTES / CUPIDS / DANIELLE LEWIS / DESERT MOUNTAIN TRIBE / DOOMSQUAD / EYRE LLEW / FRANKO FRAIZE / FRONTEERS / GANG OF YOUTHS / GILLIGAN MOSS / GINA KUSHKA / GLASS / HARDWICKE CIRCUS / HIDDEN CHARMS / HMS MORRIS / HOLY OYSTERS / HOWLING OWL / HYPHEN HYPHEN / IDLES / ISLAND / IZZY BIZU / JELANI BLACKMAN / JOHNNY LLOYD / JORDAN ALLEN / JULIA JACKLIN / KELLY LEE OWENS / KIM CHURCHILL / KIWI / KOJEY RADICAL / KUDU BLUE / LEATHERETTE / LEYYA / LISS / LOVE SSEGA / LOYAL / LOYLE CARNER / LYZA / MAHALIA / MAN OF MOON / MARGO PRICE / MASAYOSHI FUJITA / MAX GRAEF + GLENN ASTRO / MILK AND BONE / MILK TEETH / MMOTHS / MOSTACK / NIMMO / OLIVER COATES / PLEASURE BEACH / PROSE / RED AXES / REJJIE SNOW / REUEL ELIJAH / REVILO / REWS / ROUGHION / ROZI PLAIN / RYSY / SCIENCE FICTION ARMY / SEA BED / SEAZOO / SEGO / SERAMIC / SG LEWIS / SHIFT WORK / SISKA / SWAY CLARKE / TEMPESST / THE ANCHORESS / THE HEARING / THE LOUNGE KITTENS / THE MANOR / THE RAMONA FLOWERS / THE SISTERHOOD / THOMAS COHEN / THROWING SHADE / TIBET / TOM WALKER / TOOTHLESS / VALLIS ALPS / VIEW / VLADIMIR / VULGARIANS / VYNCE / WARHAUS / WHITE / WITHOUT LETTERS / WOLFFE / ZAK ABEL

For the full line up please visit: greatescapefestival.com/line-up
And for tickets please visit: www.seatwave.com/the-great-escape-tickets

Gig Guide April 2016

Here at The Real Thing we know that live music makes the world go round. Therefore every month we will bring you some gigs that we think you should definitely fork out for. Here are our picks for April 2016.

The Coral @ Concorde 2 Brighton
Tuesday 5th April
Contact Venue For Tickets

Noel Gallagher once said that The Coral were the greatest band to come out of Liverpool. High praise indeed. The Coral returned with a brand new album in March this year to critical acclaim and are out on the road promoting this release. Indie dancefloor classics like 'In The Morning' and 'Dreaming Of You' will no doubt appear in the set and will leave you dancing all night.

Eliza and The Bear @ Islington Assembly Hall

Thursday 7th April
Tickets £13.50 - www.seetickets.com/event/eliza-and-the-bear

Indie rock outfit Eliza and The Bear will play a homecoming show at the Islington Assembly Hall. As a live entity, the band are energetic and seamless. Their style of breezy indie-rock is always going to be a crowd pleaser, but it's the ease at which the band flow from song to song which impresses us.

The Big Moon @ The Joiners Southampton
Tuesday 12th April
Tickets £6 - www.seetickets.com/event/the-big-moon

One of the most talked about bands of 2016 in a tiny sweaty venue. What more could you want? The Joiners is steeped in history, and bands will ALWAYS want to play there. The Big Moon will be hoping the history of the venue will set them on their way.

Jah Wobble @ The Talking Heads Southampton
Thursday 21st April
Tickets £15 - www.wegottickets.com

Post-punk pioneer Jah Wobble will play an intimate set in the heart of Southampton on the 21st of April. With a wealthy back catalogue and having been in one of the most influential bands of the 20th century (PiL), this is one not to be missed.

VANT @ The Dome Tufnell Park London

Wednesday 20th April
Tickets £8 - www.seetickets.com/event/vant

VANT are another one of those bands on everybody's lips. They broke on to the indie scene last year and have since gone from strength to strength. This year they released their single 'Fly-By Alien' which firmly asserted their position on the underground scene. But with great songs and an ever growing fanbase, VANT won't be part of that underground scene for much longer. 

The Fall @ The Garage London
Monday 25th April - Thursday 28th April

Tickets £25 - www.allgigs.co.uk/The_Fall

One of THE most important bands of the 20th century - who are still making music to this day - are The Fall who hail from Manchester. Mark E Smith and Co, were part of the first punk movement that shook the north of England in the late 70s. They aren't conventional punk as you know it. They were/are incredibly anti-fashion and created really dark, pounding music. As they progressed, their style changed and they became more of a commercial outfit. With over 30 albums and goodness knows how many singles, Mark E Smith is one of England's most enigmatic musicians. This one will be be worth forking out for/

High Tyde @ The Haunt Brighton

Friday 29th April
Tickets £6 - www.seetickets.com/event/high-tyde

Having previously championed High Tyde, we know exactly what the Brighton-based indie outfit are all about. The combine super indie pop melodies with aggressive (at times) guitar bursts. There is a lot to be excited about if you're already a fan of High Tyde because with clear parallels to The 1975 the band should aim high.

Introducing - High Tyde

Introducing - High Tyde

As a city, Brighton has pretty much everything. Sun (at times) sea, a cracking pier, tonnes of clubs and venues, and most importantly a bustling, vibrant music scene. The scene has seen everything from indie to pop and dance to rock. Hugely successful bands have also emerged such as: The Kooks, The Levellers and The Go! Team. Now there is a band who are kick-starting the indie spinning wheel of the city. The band are called High Tyde and their EP entitled 'Safe' is out on April the 8th. 

"My god this sounds so much like The Kooks" I hear myself shouting whilst listening to 'Do What You Want To' from the bands first EP 'Glow'. Sounding like The Kooks isn't terribly fashionable these days as that particular sound is slowly being lost to the record books. Having said that, High Tyde aren't just a Kooks tribute band, sure the sound is pure indie-pop but it sounds really fresh. 'Feeling The Vibes' is a stand-out song because of the insanely tight rhythm section. The drums sound incredibly relaxed and vibrant. And accompanied with the bass creates a platform for that jagged strumming style of guitar that we are hearing more and more of. 

Current single 'Dark Love' (which isn't part of 'Glow') is a great snippet of what the groups new EP will sound like. One thing's for sure it's definitely heavier and packs a punch. That rhythm section is still present but the overriding sound is created by the distorted guitars. The heaviness isn't off-putting in any way, it adds great depth to the groups sound which will make them a force when playing live. 

'Safe' EP out on April the 8th 
Facebook - www.facebook.com/wearehightyde
Twitter - @wearehightyde
Soundcloud - soundcloud.com/wearehightyde

Catch High Tyde live in April (see dates below)

The Wytches - Wasteybois

The Wytches unveil new song entitled 'Wasteybois' from their new EP 'Thunder Lizard's Reprieve' which arrives in late August.

The Brighton-based surf doom rock trio are preparing to release their new EP which is entitled 'Thunder Lizard's Reprieve' and they have released their new single 'Wasteybois' which can be downloaded for free.

The track is a three minute tirade of heavily distorted guitars, rapid drum beats and deafening howls from front-man Kristian Bell. The opening to the track is wild and chaotic and then suddenly slows down only for a split-second as straight away the drums kick in and the guitars explode into a heavy, whirlwind sound. This pattern repeats likes a never ending helter skelter and the music becomes even more frantic just before the climax with the guitar sound we can easily distinguish as The Wytches.

The track is a fantastic show of strength and power that the band have, its as if a switch has been flicked, and suddenly they take off like a rocket.

Thunder Lizard's Reprieve Tracklist:
1. Wasteybois
2. Gettin' Lucky
3. DADFAC#
4. If Not For Money

Download the track for free HERE.

Peace Live at The Haunt

Peace Live at The Haunt

Peace walk on to the stage bathed in a sea of flashing lights and the audience packed in to the sweat pit that is the Haunt in Brighton applaud furiously as they catch a glimpse of their indie heroes. Peace are here to indulge them with their clever mix of indie songs tainted with pop influences.

After the explosion of their debut album In Love back in 2013, Peace released their second, heavily Britpop influenced album Happy People. They thrive on groove laden, reverb infected indie pop that relates to their hometown of Birmingham. Other bands from that particular scene have faded away, but Peace have managed to maintain their reputation and have become one of the most talked about bands in recent years.

Set opener ‘Higher than the Sun’ has all the classic Peace elements. Douglas Castle’s Echo drenched guitar and front-man Harry Koisser’s subtle voice singing a happy and optimistic chorus. All the members of Peace command the stage extremely well. Their confidence in their music has grown hugely since they first started out which is shown when we are treated to the first flavour of Happy People. Peace dive straight in to ‘Money’ the first song they put out from the new album. It’s full of texture and colour more specifically royal blue and yellow as shown on the album, and upon hearing it live there is a sense of a band who know they are at the top of their game. Koisser struts around the stage with arrogance and swagger whilst the other members are intricate and on point musically. ‘Lost on Me’ a big hitter off the new album goes down a treat. The song got the audience singing along in unison despite the fact it might have been the first time many of them had heard the song live.

The classics from the first album also make an appearance in the set. ‘Lovesick’ transports everyone back to 2013 when Peace first reached our ears. This gets the whole venue jumping as does ‘I’m a Girl’ with its huge chorus and catchy lyrics. As the set ends with the funky Happy People closer ‘World Pleasure’ Peace have left a lasting impression. It was a gig which was floorless and proves once again that Peace are just one step away from breaking into the mainstream. 

JAWS live at the Haunt in Brighton

JAWS live at the Haunt in Brighton

JAWS are a melodic sounding four piece who hail from Birmingham who's debut album "Be Slowly" was released on the 15th of September and they began their UK tour on the same day beginning at The Haunt in Brighton. 

There were two support bands, the first being Bristol based garage rock outfit "Milk Teeth" who actually deserved a bigger crowd than what they got, but the members of the audience who did stick around got a thirty minute blast of heavy energetic sounds reminiscent to that of The Wytches and Wolf Alice. The second support band were "Fickle Friends" from Brighton and they were almost the polar opposite to "Milk Teeth" their songs were full of cheerful upbeat sounds similar to The 1975, It sounded like they had worked hard on getting the drum beat and bass line very compact and it made for a good sounding set. 

JAWS were greeted with roaring applause and then launched in to their set opening with the brilliant "Be Slowly" which is full of guitar melodies which sound like a match made in heaven. The guitars were extremely intricate and melodic throughout the set which is credit to the band because it gives them a very unique sound and a power to make you feel like you are on another planet similar to that of fellow Birmingham based indie band Swim Deep. As well as this ability, they have the power to make an audience take note and start jumping around and during the superb track "Filth" the audience began to jump around and some even got on to the stage and began crowd-surfing! As the set progressed, the impressive thing about JAWS was the quality of the music. The bass and drums were extremely tight and the guitars were superb, lots of echo and reverb mixed with convoluted parts. JAWS ended with "Stay In" and "Gold" both of which got the biggest reaction from the crowd and the whole room began dancing! Another good thing about the gig was the fact that the band themselves looked like they really enjoyed what they were doing which you don't always see, they all moved around and danced and smiled a lot too which is refreshing to see. 

Overall JAWS were extremely enjoyable, lots of calming melodies coupled with intricate guitar sounds which gives them something unique which could set them apart from other indie bands of this generation. If you're a fan of Swim Deep then I recommend that you have a listen to JAWS. 

Royal Blood: Debut Album Review

Royal Blood: Album Review

At the very beginning of 2014 XFM first broke the news about a duo from Brighton who favour bone shaking riffs and massive impact than fancy intricate guitar solo's. That duo are Royal Blood and in August 2014 they released their highly anticipated self titled debut album. 

The duo are made up of Mike Kerr (Bass and Vocals) and Ben Thatcher (Drums) and formed in 2012 after Kerr worked in Australia. They met for the first time when they were 15 and played in bands influenced byt the likes of Queens of the Stone Age and Muse but Mike wanted to travel and it was over in Oz that he developed the unique sound he generates from a bass guitar. The bass is played through effect pedals and a guitar amplifier as well as a bass one which accompanied with Ben's piercing drums gives Royal Blood their sound which sets them apart from other duo's. Back in 2013 when Arctic Monkeys headlined Glastonbury festival, drummer Matt Helders wore a Royal Blood t-shirt on stage and since then their popularity has soared, especially after the pulsating "Out of the Black" appeared on the Radio 1 daytime playlist and all this has led them to supporting the Arctic Monkeys and Pixies as well as playing at festivals up and down the UK, most notably at Glastonbury, T in the Park and Reading & Leeds where they played in front of 10,000 people! A slightly different scene to a year ago when they played in front of three people who sat down during the whole performance. The band released four singles before the album itself, which notably included "Come On Over" and "Little Monster" both of these songs put Royal Blood at the forefront of a new wave of heavy, guitar based bands which  include Drenge, Eagulls and The Wytches. 

The album itself begins with the aforementioned "Out of the Black" which is four minutes and two seconds of heavy dark and moody riffs designed to make you take notice as Royal Blood begin their assault. It also seems that their might some angst in Kerr's lyrics, "I've got a gun for a mouth and a bullet with your name on it" which only add to the angry sound of the duo. "Come on Over" and "Figure it Out" are based on more ferocious riffs which may sound straight forward but they are devastatingly effective, they give Royal Blood a sound of a band who have been around. "Come on Over" contains some religious angst "I went ti church and stopped believing" and "There's no god and I don't really care" are personal remarks from Kerr as he was brought up in a strictly religious household which adds another element to the album. "You can be so cruel" has a very unique melody which set it apart from the other songs on the album, the riff is still dark and dingy but it shows that there can be variations on the genre. "Blood Hands" has the impact of a boxer pummelling a punch bag it may start off slow but once the song explodes with savage force it will leave your bones shaking. "Loose Change", "Careless" and the superb "Little Monster" are prime examples of a band who know exactly what they are all about couple that with "Ten Tonne Skeleton" and the brutal closer "Better Strangers" and it makes for a incredibly powerful album which will leave your ears ringing but you will want more. Royal Blood are here to tell you that loud is good and guitar music is not dying out!

8/10
Best tracks in my opinion: Blood Hands, Figure it Out.
The album is available to purchase now!

Franz Ferdinand Live at the Brighton Dome

Franz Ferdinand Live at the Brighton Dome

Franz Ferdinand's first album came out ten years ago and since then they have gained a dedicated fanbase and developed musically, they are on tour to promote their fifth album entitled Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Actions, support for the show at Brighton came from Leeds based band Eagulls.

Franz Ferdinand have a very unique sound, with the off beat drums and intricate guitar parts their sound can easily be distinguished, and from the moment they burst on to the stage you can tell they have become pro's at what they do. They began with the explosive "Bullet" which set the tone for an hour and half of non stop disco influenced indie.

As well as playing eight tracks from their latest album, Franz Ferdinand also played a lot of tracks from previous albums which was fantastic, and by listening to the older songs you can see how they have progressed musically, and how they have taken on different influences, Nick (guitars, keyboards) uses a synthesizer prominently in the last two albums and that has enabled Franz Ferdinand to develop their sound which is far away from the sound of their debut album which shows us signs of a band who can alter their style and still churn out hits consistently. 

The overall look of the blistering one hour 30 minute set from the Glaswegian rockers was similar to that of their music, the band wore coordinated black and white mirror effect outfits which matched the sound of the music, couple that with the strutting around and stamping of feet which we all know Franz Ferdinand for the set flew by with the band playing hit after hit.

The way that each member of the band has their own unique presence on stage is very unique, not many bands similar to the stature of Franz Ferdinand have this feature, Alex (Guitar, Vocals) will constantly move about and stare straight at the audience which signals to me that he absolutely loves what he and his band do, Nick will acknowledge the crowd but his style of guitar playing is extremely unique and that's what gives the band the disco/funk influences in their music. Bob (bass) seems to be in his own little world, but without the clever and effective bass lines together with the ever present almost disco beat drums from Paul Franz Ferdinand would not stand out amongst other bands of the era.

A fantastic gig from a band who have been around for over a decade and still produce great songs and high class albums, I highly recommend you see them!