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

TGTF Spotify Playlist: January 2018

We’re officially a full month into the new year, and January has turned out to be quite a busy one at TGTF. Our first Spotify playlist of 2018 features a strong sampling of new music to start the year off right, but also to whet our appetites for near-future releases looming on the horizon.

Among January’s most exciting releases are new tracks from London alt-rock band Editors and Spanish garage rock girl group Hinds, both of whom are TGTF alums. Our new album reviews this month included hot-off-the-press LPs from Swedish sister duo First Aid Kit, Irish non-sibling duo The Lost Brothers, and a pair of Scottish acts, Django Django and The Spook School. Looking ahead to March, we’ve begun our features of SXSW 2018 showcasing artists with Bands to Watch spotlights on “blue-eyed soul” duo Febueder, Manchester indie pop band Pale Waves, and two very different singer/songwriters, C. Macleod and Sam Fender.

If you’re looking for an easy way to keep up with new releases in 2018, do yourself a favour and follow our monthly Spotify playlists. Just open Spotify, type “spotify:user:tgtftunes” (no quotes) into the search bar, and click the Follow button. To keep up with all our latest features, connect with TGTF on social media via Facebook and Twitter.

(SXSW 2018 flavoured!) Live Gig Video: Sam Fender shares performance video of single ‘Millennial’

In less than 2 months, Geordie singer/songwriter Sam Fender will be touching down in Austin for his first SXSW. Haven’t heard of him yet? We have you covered: read Carrie’s SXSW 2018 flavoured Bands to Watch feature that introduces the young talent. Just last week, he unveiled the promo video for his single ‘Millennial’, essentially a live gig video starring Fender and and his band bashing out the song and loads of close-up shots of their instruments and Fender’s blue eyes and lips.

Like ‘Play God’ before it, ‘Millennial’ is a brash, high-octane track showing off the power and the conviction of Fender and his band when they perform. Check out the live performance video below. They’ll certainly be a hot ticket in Austin. As previously announced, Fender will be on tour in the UK in February and March before he comes over to us across the pond. The North East artist will also be performing at the first-ever This is Tomorrow Festival in his hometown of Newcastle on the 25th of May.

Live Gig Video: Lisa Hannigan and Luke Sital-Singh duet on ‘Prayer for the Dying’ for 7 Layers Sessions

If someone were to ask me to name my “dream duet” vocal combination, singer/songwriters Lisa Hannigan and Luke Sital-Singh would surely be high on my list individually, but I’m not sure it would occur to me pair their voices together. Fortunately for all of us avid listeners, someone else did think of it, and the kind curators at 7 Layers have made the dream a reality. In the live video below, Hannigan and Sital-Singh harmonise on a stripped back acoustic guitar arrangement of Hannigan’s ‘Prayer for the Dying’, which appeared on her exquisite 2016 album ‘At Swim’. Read our review of the LP through here.

Filmed for 7 Layers Sessions by Johnny Marchetta, the spare, intimate quality of the imagery in this video reflects the deeply introspective beauty of the song’s sustained vocal melodies. But the true highlight of the performance is the way Hannigan and Sital-Singh blend their voices to stunning technical perfection in the simple yet emotionally evocative chorus. Sital-Singh’s new EP ‘Just a Song Before I Go’ is available now via Raygun Records. You can read TGTF’s past coverage of Luke Sital-Singh right back here. Our extensive previous coverage of Lisa Hannigan is collected through here.

(SXSW 2018 flavoured!) Video of the Moment #2770: Will Varley

As a preview for his forthcoming LP, Kent singer/songwriter Will Varley has released a self-designed promo video for his new single ‘Seven Days’. The track will appear on Varley’s album ‘Spirit of Minnie’, which is due for release on the 9th of February via Xtra Mile Recordings.

In addition to the new video, Varley has also shared a list of UK headline dates for the end of January and the first part of February. The nine-date tour will culminate with a show at Shepherd’s Bush Empire in London to celebrate the official release of ‘Spirit of Minnie’. Tickets for the following shows are available now. Varley has also recently been announced as a showcasing artist for SXSW 2018 in Austin this March. You can read TGTF’s collected past coverage of Will Varley back through here.

Tuesday 30th January 2018 – Birmingham Institute 3
Wednesday 31st January 2018 – Nottingham Rescue Rooms
Thursday 1st February 2018 – Leeds Brudenell Social Club
Friday 2nd February 2018 – Edinburgh La Belle Angele
Saturday 3rd February 2018 – Manchester Club Academy
Tuesday 6th February 2018 – Southampton 1865
Wednesday 7th February 2018 – Cardiff Globe
Thursday 8th February 2018 – Bristol Trinity Centre
Friday 9th February 2018 – London Shepherd’s Bush Empire

Live Gig Video: Julien Baker plays ‘Turn Out the Lights’ on Stephen Colbert

Julien Baker released a new album in 2017, ‘Turn Out the Lights’. It was the follow-up to 2015’s ‘Sprained Ankle’, which proved to be Baker’s critical breakthrough. Both albums are available now from Matador Records. Since then, she’s been selling out venues in America, the UK and Ireland. No shrinking violet, she’s definitely one to watch among the young American singer/songwriters active today.

Last week, she reached another important milestone: making her American late night tv debut on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, performing the title track alone with his guitar and with incredible aplomb, I might add. Watch her spellbinding performance of the title track of her 2017 LP below. In terms of her next live appearances, she’ll be the main support for Scots Belle and Sebastian on their UK tour in March; those dates are posted here on Facebook. For more of our coverage here on TGTF on Julien Baker, use this link.

David Ramirez / January 2018 UK Tour

American alt-country singer/songwriter David Ramirez has announced a nine-date UK tour for the early part of next year, to coincide with the UK release of his excellent fourth studio album ‘We’re Not Going Anywhere’. We at TGTF reviewed the album back in September when it was released in North America; if you missed it, you can read the review right back here. Don’t miss Ramirez’ stunning live video performance of album track ‘Eliza Jane’, playing just below the tour date listing.

Tickets for the following shows are available now. Ramirez will follow his UK live dates with shows in Scandinavia and the Netherlands. You can find a complete listing of his upcoming tour dates on his official Facebook. TGTF’s past coverage of David Ramirez, including several live reviews, is collected back here.

Friday 12th January 2018 – London Old St. Pancras Church
Saturday 13th January 2018 – Brighton Open Studios
Sunday 14th January 2018 – Sheffield Greystones
Monday 15th January 2018 – Bristol Louisiana
Tuesday 16th January 2018 – Nottingham Bodega
Wednesday 17th January 2018 – Leicester Duffy’s
Thursday 18th January 2018 – Manchester Castle
Friday 19th January 2018 – Glasgow Broadcast
Sunday 21st January 2018 – Newcastle Cluny 2