Yes, we’re joining in with the fun and games of the best of 2013 –and we’re starting with some of the EPs that have soundtracked our year, in no particular order… Superman Revenge Squad Band – There’s Nothing More Frightening Than the Passing of Time Heartfelt lyrics with self-depreciating humour made this mini-album one to…
Today I’ve been listening to ‘Hospice’ by The Antlers and also watched the mid-season finale of the fourth season of The Walking Dead. What better way to keep up this run of miserabilia than by listening to an album by a band who insisted the audience ‘join them in Hell’ at this year’s 2000 Trees…
When the opening line of an album is ‘Misery soaked you’, you know you’re in for a heartfelt, passionate and sombre listen and so it goes on the debut album ‘Comfort Songs’ from New York-via-Boston-via-LA resident Cloud (known to his parents as Tyler Taormina). Gravelly vocals and sparse instrumentation feature on the first track ‘Cars…
We were always big fans of Jumping Ships here at Spectral Nights, so after that band called it a day, it was with some excitement when it was announced three of the band were to carry on making music in the new four-piece Quiet Lions. Playing only their second ever show in the venue where…
Having first come across Rachel Sermanni on the BBC Introducing Stage at Reading Festival over a year ago, we were blown away by her stunning voice, tender melodies and heartfelt lyrics. Even playing to a baked festival crowd and contending with so much background noise, as well as the overflow from the surrounding stages, it…
Having scattered themselves around the country following the release of their debut album, the five-piece (originally from Leeds) Killing Fields of Ontario have made a welcome return with sophomore effort ‘How the World Ends’. Having played with acclaimed folk-pop bands like Sparrow and the Workshop and Broken Records, the record promises a more sprawling sound…
A four-piece instrumental band from Liverpool, Kusanagi have shared the stage with an impressive roster including Maybeshewill, Tera Melos and Gallops and released their self-titled debut EP back in April. The four tracks featured on the record hint at a band with huge-sounding ideas, and they’re never afraid to experiment or try out new things…
Following on from a phenomenal amount of hype and an appearance in the BBC’s Sound of 2011 poll, Anna Calvi’s self-titled debut album did not disappoint. With its dark atmospherics, her alluring voice and well-received singles in ‘Desire’, ‘Suzanne and I’ and the astounding ‘Blackout’, she ‘became a favourite with the whole ‘alternative’ music spectrum…
Ben Parker, formerly of cult favourites Nosferatu D2, went on to perform as Superman Revenge Squad, an acoustic act with a wry sense of humour, heartfelt lyrics and a great line in self-depreciation. Now, he’s expanded this project into The Superman Revenge Squad Band, which finds his gentle tones and minimal strums backed up by…
The ‘novelty name based on a real person’ trend may, some might say thankfully, be coming to an end, but Cardiff four-piece Radstewart let their music do the talking. Painfully young for old timers like us, the band have recently signed to the mighty Alcopop! Records and despite their fledgling career, they’ve already toured with…
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