There Goes the Fear, a UK/US Music Web site | Live UK gigs, news, and events

Sound of Guns / March and April 2012 UK/Irish Tour

Sound of Guns have announced their biggest tour to date, touring many venues in the UK and Ireland in support of their upcoming album ‘Angles and Enemies’ which is due to be released on the 5th of March. Tickets are on sale now.

Tuesday 6th March 2012 – Newcastle Academy 2
Wednesday 7th March 2012 – Glasgow King Tuts
Thursday 8th March 2012 – Inverness Ironworks
Friday 9th March 2012 – Aberdeen Tunnels
Saturday 10th March 2012 – Dundee Doghouse
Tuesday 13th March 2012 – Manchester Roadhouse
Wednesday 14th March 2012 – Dublin Academy 2
Thursday 15th March 2012 – Belfast University (Radar)
Friday 16th March 2012 – Sheffield Leadmill
Saturday 17th March 2012 – Leeds Cockpit
Monday 19th March 2012 – Nottingham Bodega
Tuesday 20th March 2012 – Cardiff Moon
Wednesday 21st March 2012 – Birmingham Hare and Hounds
Friday 23rd March – Brighton Hydrant
Saturday 24th March 2012 – Southampton Unit
Saturday 21st April 2012 – Liverpool O2 Academy

Various Cruelties / April 2012 UK Tour

Various Cruelties are doing a UK tour as a follow up to their recent single release back in January this year, ‘Great Unknown’ (reviewed here). The tour dates are below. Tickets for the shows are priced at £8 (£10 in London) and are available now.

Tuesday 17th April 2012 – Portsmouth Wedgewood Rooms
Wednesday 18th April 2012- Nottingham Bodega
Thursday 19th April 2012 – London ULU
Friday 20th April 2012 – Leeds Cockpit
Sunday 22nd April 2012 – Newcastle Cluny
Monday 23rd April 2012 – Glasgow ABC 2
Wednesday 25th April 2012 – Manchester Ruby Lounge
Thursday 26th April 2012 – Bristol Thekla

Video of the Moment #652: Goldfrapp

Goldfrapp’s new video for track ‘Yellow Halo’ is a beautiful collage of some vintage-looking footage. The range is so wide it spans from tour diaries to nature interactions. The soothing-sounding track goes really well with the equally tranquil clips. Prepare yourself for a journey with Goldfrapp.

‘Yellow Halo’ will feature on the band’s new release ‘The Singles’, out on the 6th of February on Mute/Parlophone.

Video of the Moment #634: S.C.U.M

Following the band’s dark and mysterious style, S.C.U.M’s new video for track ‘Faith Unfolds’ features members of the band playing their own instrument under different coloured lighting in a pitch black background. As the song’s name would suggest, the track explores ‘faith’. The play of colours contrasts a beam of mellow, yellow light which seems symbolic of this ‘faith’. Watch the video directed by Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard below.

The single for ‘Faith Unfolds’ will be released on 2 January 2012 on Mute.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUqzseei22Y[/youtube]

Quickfire Questions #23: Declan Cullen of Coastal Cities

Coastal Cities just played their first show in France, at Parisian venue La Fleche d’Or, Saturday night. They’ve also released two new songs, ‘The Ocean’ and ‘Relief’. ‘The Ocean’ just makes me feel mournful about the great summer that has just passed! It brings back a lot of great memories too. You can grab ‘Relief’ for free from the band’s Facebook page. But before you do that, have a read on frontman Declan Cullen’s answers to the TGTF Quickfire Questions. In particular, you might be interested to find out which TGTF favourite has meant a lot to him…

1. What song is your earliest musical memory?
RUN-DMC ‘It’s Like That’ (and That’s the Way It Is). I used to break dance to it in my living room. In my underwear. I was 6.

2. What was your favourite song as a child?
Probably Spaced (featuring Cerys Matthews of Catatonia) – ‘The Ballad of Tom Jones’, my parents used to play it a lot. They’re like a more risque’ 90’s band. Very good.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=of-ABC-0KM8[/youtube]

3. What song makes you laugh?
Songs don’t usually make me laugh but a song that does it every time would have to be ‘Funky Town’ by Lipps Inc.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6pg18bJt-A[/youtube]

4. What song makes you cry?
A song that has made me cry for memories sake would probably be Los Campesinos! – ‘Death to Los Campesinos!’. It is probably so upbeat that it’s just utterly hopeless, but there are plenty others.

5. What song reminds you of the first time you fell in love? (It’s up to you if you want this to be sweet, naughty, etc.)
‘Forever and Ever Amen’ by the Drums. It’s just so bittersweet and naive in an ironic way. Definitely reminds me of a few things.

6. What song makes you think of being upset / angry? (Example: maybe you heard it when you were angry with someone and it’s still with you, and/or something that calms you down when you’re upset, etc.)
Good question! Definitely ‘The Future’ by the Drums (again). That song says to me quite a few things about my relations with certain people.

7. Which song (any song written in the last century) do you wish you’d written yourself?
A song that I love and that I wished I had written myself would have to be ‘Disorder’ by Joy Division. It’s so edgy and thought-provoking but sadly would only work with someone like Ian Curtis.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzfXdU82Hhk[/youtube]

8. Who is your favourite writer? (This can be a songwriter or ANY kind of writer.)
My favourite songwriter (as in on his own) would probably be Connan Mockasin. He writes some of the most beautiful and forward thinking music yet it holds a sort of playfulness too, like you can still play it at parties.

9. If you hadn’t become a singer/musician/songwriter/etc., what job do you think you’d be doing right now?
Probably nothing. I literally don’t know. That question actually worries me. Maybe something with history.

10. If God said you were allowed to bring only one album with you to Heaven, which would it be and why?
Probably ‘Antidotes’ by Foals. That was the first album I truly engaged with as a whole and it’s one of my all time favourites.

Bands to Watch #225: Ghost Eyes

I’ll be completely frank – I’ve never been a huge fan of hip-hop. I don’t know why, just can’t get myself into it. Despite so, the act that I’m going to introduce to you have quite a heavy hip-hop-influenced sound.

A trio from London, Ghost Eyes released their debut single not long ago, called ‘Phantom Mountain’. Interestingly, the band have included vocals from an African children choir and also sampled blues guitar. It also has a very obscure video, featuring three dancers in a dark room. The video gives a somewhat eerie feeling, which does echo the song to some extent.

Prefer something more hip-hop? Then ‘Elephant’ is for you. The powerful beats that opened the track clearly make a statement. Not only the beats hint you about the hip-hop influence, but you’ll also find some rap towards the end of the song. Again, I’m not a huge fan of rap, but Ghost Eyes changed my perspective on the genre.

Finally, here comes a freebie goodie. ‘They Left’ was the first song I heard by Ghost Eyes. I was deeply intrigued by the topic of the song: family members leaving home. Although the song’s supposed to be tragic, it is still undoubtedly catchy. I found myself singing along to it during their set at Underage Festival. You can download this track for free here.

Ghost Eyes’ debut single ‘Phantom Mountain’ is now available digitally and also physically, in the form of a 7” vinyl. Do go and buy the vinyl cause you’ll find yourself a little surprise in it!