I write for the unsung heroes I hear!
I’ve been asked to write this column once a month on a single of my choice and with so much writing out there it’s worth thinking why.
I’m doing it for two reasons:
1. Because it gives me a deadline which stops me being lazy
2. It gives me the chance to promote some unsung musical heroes that need to be heard.
Somehow I feel telling you the truth here will help. As for the music, I'll be focusing on one song a month, a newish single of sorts but it could also be retrospective, either way it'll be a track I hope you haven't heard and will surely be of fantastic quality.
For me the most important thing about pushing music is focusing on something you believe in. There is an awful lot of back slapping that goes on in music, some people get credit just because they've got credit somewhere else, as if to say "well people are talking about them so they must be good". Most people have got bad taste. Look at the sort of bands that play huge stadium concerts and the atmosphere created therein, it can be close to nonexistent, what once was a great band with good music has now been filtered out by the modern clunk of life, there’s always lots of people, sure, but not much going on. How many people get involved in reality TV? I don’t know, but I'd imagine they would be able to fill a continent. Again, lots of people but not much going on. The best gigs I've been to have involved a number more suited to a seven a side football match but they've been electric with excitement!
Which leads to this column of mine. My hope is few will have heard of the bands I’ll feature and it’s not going to be to everyone’s taste but the music will be immense, diverse and always involve the underrepresented. This, for me, is where the fun is. And so, on to the first band:
Fists – Stag
The first time I heard this I wanted it again – immediately! The vocals have a unique quality to them – slightly menacing with literal lyrics that draw you into their story, reminiscent of a young Mark E.Smith without the far leftfield gabber. The story seems to be about a family member missing a rather important body part, yes indeed. The drums begin with a military march on flabby skins that lead into neat guitar work akin to Nick Zinner without the pedals, the bass licks and flows while anchoring the track but the real highlight of the track is the buoyant flow brimming with anticipation that leads into an outro few could top, one line of repetition I can’t understand on top of a cracking melody you could listen to for hours. British Indie as it should be: emotive and rough around the edges.
This has to be not only my single of the month but my highlight of the year and it’s all about that sing a long chorus at the summit of the track. This single represents the Nottingham five piece at their stunning best with production duties care of Rory Bratwell (Fair Ohs/ Male Bonding). The single is a double A side with 'Ascending' available as a download and rather more romantically as a limited edition 7" – it's got to be the latter I say. 'Ascending' has been getting the reviews but, for me, of the two tracks, Stag has to be king – a great and unusual Indie cracker.
Out now on Hello Thor (and Fists have promised me they'll be touring the U.K soon too).
Liam runs the small but potentially revolutionary radio station Different Class Radio, he just needs that one idea.
The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance. – Aristotle
