Mountaineer

Up until now the only bands I had heard about from Germany were called 'Die Toten Hosen', which literally means The Dead Trousers, but in everyday conversation it means 'nothing going on' or 'boring'. And another Deutsch band I am familiar with are rockers Rammstein -who are a great way to learn basic German.

Initially when listening to Mountaineer I noticed similarities between them and UK pop acts. The lead singers voice could easily be mistaken for Lancashires' Damon Gough (aka Badly drawn Boy) and the melody of the songs have hints of The Magic Numbers.

Listening to this album conjures up all sort of imagery of the 60s,

the flicks in the hair, the smooth shaped white furniture, the floral print and orange or beige coloured scenery. This is an album compiled of chilled out pop tracks, that some are guilty of lacking in atmosphere.

Among the tracks on the album to take notice of is ' The Real McQueen',which is extreme easy listening. This song is so laid back that it is almost horizontal, the beat and sound are so mellow, but repetitive hooks and interesting lyrics keep your attention. The influence of their sound in this song seems to point towards the American country and western scene.

'Aleena', echoes the trademark sound of our very own Damon Gough, armed with an repetitive catchy chorus, this track would probably be best suitable for single release.

On 'The Real McQueen' album, some of their tracks without vocals could be described as 'musak' and may be more suitable played in a hotel lobby or waiting room. These are all in-keeping with the overall sound of the album, but some tracks may have been best left off of it.

The final song of the album is a repeat of the opening track 'Always Coming Home', but taken down a few paces. Neatly ending the album, and showing there is an order or story that they are trying to convey.

This album is not designed for adrenalin junkies, people who need a therapeutic rock fix or parties. It is as mentioned previously definitely for easy listening, the chilled out sound, will not make you feel strongly about the subject they are singing of but will keep you swaying to it.

Wombats Leeds Met 9th March

Crouching on the stairs,solo, peering through the banister, singing along to the words, lost in translation when they speak but loving every single minute of it.....


In the past these three boys have danced to Joy Division, got lost in the fog, mused about killing a director, been slapped at the disco and relocated to New York. But now they are going to have to cross 'held a karaoke-type gig at Leeds Met University off their Bucket List.

Despite not always reaching the number one or even top five spot, the Wombats, have been hanging around the chars for the last couple of years. The trio has been making extremely infectious music; with clever lyrics, wit and inevitable oo-oo-oohs. These ingredients have always been a recipe for success, and they proved that they were worth their rightful place stuck in our heads, after a great performance in aid of the Teenage Cancer Trust.

With an onslaught of five minute careers these days there is so much reliance of Auto-tune, and because of this commercially successful bands playing live could be unrecognisable. Because of this it was even more refreshig to hear the Wombats perform live. The Liverpudlians were pitch-perfect and sounded identical to their record oupit. The gig itself was like listening to the album but instead of being confined to a car or a house or a bus you were in a union surrounded by hundreds of strangers who appreciated your choice in music.

The Karaoke description is self-explanatory really; rarely is there a gig when more than three-quarters of the crowd know every singly word but in this instance they did. The volume level of the crowd frequently equaled the voice of frontman Matthew Murphy, and through most of the songs he was able to hold the mic to the crowd for the verses as well!

All the hits were played to the frantic crowd; 'Kill the Director', 'Jump into the Fog','Backfire at the Disco', 'Moving to New York and 'Tokyo(Vampires & Wolves)'. Most of the band's 2007 album A Guide to Love, Loss and Desperation were included in the set, and a even a few songs off the new album. Despite the newer songs being relatively unknown, the audience's enthusiasm didn't ebb.

The bassist, Tord Overland-Knudsen, seemed to enjoy the performance even more than the crowd, with a grin stuck in his face although he had slept with a coat hanger in his mouth. The Wombats cleverly left their biggest hit until last, which promoted the crowd to chant 'Joy Division' at them - were they doing covers? The band teased a little more before stomping straight into 'Let's Dance to Joy Division' much to the crowds delight. The warm reception they recieved may make them change their mind about New York and give moving to Yorkshire a try!

All Correct - OK

Welsh band OK, are an indie outfit who's newest song Lego has been described as, " a blast of harmonic sunshine upon a grey music scene". The band have had a series of line up changes since their debut album in 2009. Ahead of the release of their new album they have released Lego as the first song off the album.

OK, have created a gimmicky video to go alongside their new song, Lego, which features puppets playing their instruments and generally rocking out.

Joe Paine the lead singer from the band answered some of my questions, with a particularly interesting analysis of The Thunderbirds, enjoy!

OK, tell me who OK are?

OK are a pop band from Cardiff who like to play music that makes you feel good.

Story behind the single?

I came up with the 'fit together like Lego' thing years ago. I got the tune sang it into a tape recorder so I wouldn't forget it. Then, low and behold years later I dug it up and thought this could make a good little song.

Single out this week how are you feeling ?

It's a weird process making a single. What with practising, recording, playing the track live and hearing it over and over during the making of the video. It kind of gets to the point where you can't really hear it anymore. But, I still catch myself singing the tune to myself sometimes, so I guess it's a good sign.

You seem to have a fondness for Lego, but what were your favourite childhood toys?

Depends what age you're talking. I was MASSIVELY into Turtles. Going further back it was all about Postman Pat and Thomas the Tank!

Indie is a pretty popular genre, how do you think OK stand out ?

We see so many bands that seem miserable or pretentious. Whilst this can sometimes be really cool I think we all share the same feeling that we don't want to be like that. It's great to sing about miserable things, just have fun doing it.

What's the best thing about being musicians ?

The chicks and the dollars... ha ha, no, it's cheesy as fuck but being able to travel around with your best mates having a laugh whilst doing something that you really enjoy is the best.

You have used puppets in your video, which do you prefer Muppets or Thunderbirds?

I was never really into the Muppets, I found it hard to tell the different between them and Sesame Street. I was a BIG fan of the Thunderbirds though. I remember getting to the age where you think back to the Thunderbirds and realise how utterly in-practical it was (slides into the cockpits, taking off through a swimming pool, always having the fly from the same place wherever the disaster is). Seemed like perfect sense at the time.

Light bulb

Today I realised that I write the word ventured A LOT. Need a Thesaurus

Not So Tinie Anymore

This year it was my mission to broaden my musical horizons, and I feel I am well on the way to doing that. Last month I ventured to see man of the moment, Tinie Tempah aka Patrick Okogwu at the O2 Leeds Academy.

After scoring two gongs at this years Brit Awards, for best 'Best British Break Through Act' and 'Best British Single', it's no surprise that the audience crammed in to the O2 Leeds Academy, like Sardines.

The room was literally teaming with energy, Tinie's band shuffled onto stage, and as the man himself bounded in, the levels had gone from excitement to hysteria. Listening to the volume of screaming you were more likely to expect to see teen pop sensation, Justin Bieber up there.

Tinie Tempah aka Patrick Okogwu looked like a pop-star/paparazzi hybrid, wearing a fitted beige mack, shorts and sunglasses. The pint sized award winner jumped about the set, skipping from side to side of the platform ready to work the crowd.

Tinie Tempah and his band worked through his debut album Discovery, and surrounding that, was a well rehearsed and entertaining show. Over half way through the set, he decided to start a DJ-vs-band-athon. Asking the audience to decide who was better at covering tracks such as; Taio Cruz - Dynamite, Far East Movement - Like a G6 and Swedish House Mafia - One (know your name). Though predictably he couldn't idenify a winner, he was trying to ensure that his show could include everyone.

Tinie Tempah had the energy of a three year old,constantly bounding across the stage and spinning round, he was dedicated to make sure that everyone was on their feet and enjoying the gig as much as he was.

The man could command the audience to do what he wanted, he asked them to throw their hands up in the air, a sea of arms could be seen, and as soon as he asked the crowd to make a w, for 'Wonderman ' with their hands thousands of w's appeared in the crowd. Following the performance of 'Wonderman' Tinie gave a shout to his friend Ellie Goulding who features in the song, saying that it was shame she didn't win at the Brits.

The gig itself was full of inspirational words to the crowd, but it was clear that this 22 year old man just wanted to spread gratitude for the support from all his fans. He paused the songs for a minute spoke to the crowd, told them that whatever they wanted to achieve in life they could and used himself as an example, before dragging a fan up on stage.

The band began to play and the chorus of 'Invincible' echoed round the venue and Tinie sang the song to the giggling female fan. In the middle of the song he paused and the fan held up the two Brit awards Tnie had won, provoking yet more screams.

Other performances he got the crowd involved in were; Snap, this was set to a backdrop on a big screen of personal photographs from his childhood up until today. The song had an early 90s rap sound and this just added to the nostalgia of the lyrics. He encouraged everyone to take out their cameras and take a photo of him,that he could add and update to the slideslow. From the balcony all that could be seen were tiny lights off cameras and phones that looked liked thousands of stars in the sky.

The best reception was felt with two songs, 'Pass Out' and 'Frisky'. After taking his first break of the night he came out for an encore of this song. Everyone was on their feet during this point and Tinie pointed the mic to the crowd for the majority of the choruses confident that they would be able to sing the lyrics back to him.

Taking another break, the lights went down the band left the stage and a visual of a heart monitor flashed across the screen to the sound of a heartbeat. You could feel the energy in the crowd, this was the one song everyone had been anticipating and everyone around could sense it. Just before the atmosphere became hyperbolic he ran back onto stage and jumped straight into 'Pass Out'.

Tinie Tempah not only proved that he wasn't all hype but that he might want to consider a name change.