The Grace Note Blog

  Dead Freights - 'Batman' Dead Freights released their new video for 'Batman' today, this follows on from their recent announcements of signing a multi-album deal with 25 Hour and that they are the main support slot for The Libertines UK tour next month! Formed in Southampton in 2015, Charlie, Louis, Robert and Dan write punky, angsty tracks laced with dark humour and social commentary. On listening to their reincarnation of the original superhero theme there is a witty but angry message forged from the experience of a night out in Southampton. "One night on my way home from the pub I got chased by a guy with a baseball bat, he was off his head and told me he was Batman.... it occurred to me that Batman is just another billionaire that can live above the law, use violence cause he's got that moral authority that comes with power"   The self-produced video sees frontman Charlie James being chased through the back alleys of their hometown into a car park wh...

  Lauren Hibberd - 'Charlie's Car' Single Review Lauran Hibberd has signed to Virgin Music and shared her amazing new track 'Charlie's Car'. Fresh from a summer of festival appearances and headline dates, the Isle Of Wight musician follows up the anthem-packed EP 'Goober' with this latest upbeat release.  As always, Lauran has a loveable, satirical way of telling a story in her music in a way that makes you smile and empathise when you listen. The self-deprecating acceptance of the situation and the fact that you know it's part of the attraction!  Lauran explained the meaning behind the lyrics; "I think everyone has a 'Charlie' in their life. It's ironic that this totally unreasonable behaviour is something I find myself thirsty for. WHAT'S WRONG WITH ME? This track is definitely just a down spiralling array of unhealthy events that I find myself (as always) coating in infamous comedy." Lauran worked with producer Suzy Shinn...

  Hands Off Gretel - Still Angry Tour Before COVID, Hands Off Gretel (Lauren, Becky, Sean and Sam) were celebrating the 'Angry' EP with a UK tour. They had played a handful of shows before it got cancelled along with everything else, but last week the 'Still Angry' tour finally arrived at The Portland Arms in Cambridge.  Their set was energetic and fabulous, packed with songs from their last EP 'Angry' and their previous album 'I Want The World'. They have the natural ability to engage and entertain the crowd from start to finish - from telling off the crowd for clapping at the wrong time, to getting us all to chant for "Ron!" they worked to make their fans feel part of the experience.  Lauren Tate is an amazingly charismatic frontwoman and interacted between songs - encouraging people to speak to her dad at the merch table, and unbelievably she told us a story from the previous night's gig where she literally had to slap someone in the fac...

  Yur Mum - 'Tropical Fuzz' Yur Mum are Brazilian rock duo Anelise (bass and vocals) and Fabio (drums), now based in London. They released their latest single 'Tropical Fuzz' today, and I was lucky enough to see it performed live last week! Their sound is energetic and punky, crossing over to grunge and rock, I think it would appeal to fans of Skating Polly and L7. They are signed to M&O Music with plans to release an album and as well as the new single today they have a self made music video for your viewing pleasure.

Tom Lumley and The Brave Liaison - 'Everything's Affected' Album Review Following a sell out album launch show at The Grace in London on Thursday, Cambridgeshire band Tom Lumley and The Brave Liaison (Jake Day, Billy Stewart and Jonny Thompson) released their debut album 'Everything's Affected' on 22nd October.  It has 12 tracks, including the previously released singles 'Crawling', 'Fake Friends' and 'Haunted'.  The album represents the bands work over the past 4 years and perhaps more importantly it is packed full of bloody brilliant tracks! The band have been described as hard-working and they obviously are, I know this from watching their social media and the effort they put into their posts, their promotion of their singles, their gigs - this is a band that are invested in what they do and who make their music with passion - and you can hear that in this album.  This is an album of predominantly high energy rock songs, with some refl...

  Salem - Join The Church Tour Following on from the success of their recent two EPs, Salem set out on their 19 date 'Join the Church' tour around the UK, stopping at Norwich on Tuesday 19th October to play at The Waterfront. Frontman Will Gould and guitarist Matthew Reynolds were joined by Ranny Ransom on bass and Jack Wrench on drums for a jaw-dropping, fast paced and spectacular night.  They started the set strongly with the opening song from their debut EP; 'Fall Out Of Love' and Will instantly had the crowd singing along to the first lines. Following this dramatic start, came the super punky 'DRACULADS' enhanced by Will wearing the T-shirt. (I of course nabbed one of these from the merch stand!) Every single line was delivered perfectly, full of emotion and confidence - I think this song was the highlight of the performance for me, and Will's signature spin and point move will be forever in my dance repertoire! After a beautifully theatrical performance...

James and The Cold Gun Live Review "We're so happy to be back! Our backs aren't though!" James Joseph of James and The Cold Gun told me before their gig yesterday at The Waterfront, Norwich supporting Salem. South Wales band, James Biss and James Joseph (formerly of Holding Absence) were one of the strongest support bands I've ever seen - I enjoyed every minute of their set. Everyone on stage was entertaining to watch, it was hard to keep up with what was going on! They delivered an incredibly energetic and powerful set full of punky bangers that were made to be played loud and live - engaging the crowd during and in between songs with their confident and unique personalities, and building up the energy throughout their set with lots of jumping around - no wonder James said his back hurt!  They are currently halfway through their 19 date 'Join the Church' tour with Salem, they head up north next for shows including Leeds and Huddersfield before coming back...

  'Halfcut' - The Rivers Single Review Welsh indie-rock band, The Rivers released 'Halfcut' on 1st October. The track has a clever, catchy melody and the lyrics are delivered with the perfect level of emotion for the subject of the song. It is easy to listen to from the start and strikes a balance with just the right level of guitars, bass and drums to complement the vocals and give us an emotional banger of a tune. It is definitely one you can have on repeat! Frontman Dan said the song was about the arguments people in relationships have when they're drunk, "nothing really makes sense, nothing's ever getting sorted and it just makes the whole situation worse." The expressive chorus draws you in to the frustration felt and the need to be anywhere else but in this argument - "someone please get me out of here, cos you're halfcut already". Forced by the pandemic to take a break from releasing music, (their last EP was released in September ...