Needless to say, DRENGE are on fire at the moment and it’s with great pleasure we welcome the lads back on Feb 19th to kick off their UK tour!
Tour support comes from the mighty TRAAMS
Tickets go on sale this Friday at 9am on the dot and you can pick them up from below.
AYL INTRODUCING # 11
DUTCH UNCLES
From: Marple
Headlining: Friday 15 November @ All Years Leaving Festival
Headlining the first night of AYL Festival we welcome the return of now thisistmrw veterans Dutch Uncles, this being their 4th appearance for us in just over a couple of years they are the perfect slice of intelligent pop to get you moving on a Friday night.
The five piece from Marple, Lancashire have had a fantastic year. The release of third album Out of Touch, In the Wild’, some relentless touring and as many festivals as you can muster Dutch Uncles are one of the hardest working and best live bands around. Let by multi-instrumentalist Duncan Wallis they first burst on to the scene with the infectiously catchy “Face-in”, setting not just the scene musically but visually, DU seem to take utmost pride in their videos and a youtube session through them all is hotly recommended. Topped perhaps this year by second album lead single “Flexxin” which sees Duncan on all cylinders dancing with pure skilful eloquent grace, it’s a live performance must see.
Musically akin to Talking Heads and XTC this is a band we have championed and seen grow in stature the traditional way, through word of mouth, working hard and excellent music. This is going to be big, really really BIG.
Watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?
Words: JP WHITE
DISTOPHIA
From: Birmingham
Playing: Saturday 16 November @ All Years Leaving Festival
“This young quartet have adopted Sonic Youth’s dirty chug combined it with Dinosaur Jr-style guitar and Pavement-esque vocals then blown the whole package sky high. Stunning!” Kerrang in 2003
“Local heroes”, “the band’s favourite band”, “should’ve made it massive”: all quotes that often come up in conversations involving Distophia and their imminent return to play a very special reunion show at this year’s AYL Festival. Having been the leading presence on Birmingham’s underground noise scene in the early noughties with amp-blowingly loud shows, on stage gymnastics that saw venue ceilings collapse, and some of the wittiest cutting stage banter this side of Kings Heath, the band were eagerly snapped up by Necessary Records in 2002 as their first signing. Their debut record ’Soda Lake’ (a mini-album comprising of perfect pop meets swaithes of feedback recorded in under 10 hours) was released in 2003 upon an unsuspecting world, one that sadly was too drunk and too dumb buying into the I’m a bloody lad indie of the recent Necessary Record’s signings Hard-Fi. Whilst pumping every rolled up bank note the label could find back into the arses of their pop chart successes it was Distophia who were left exasberated and frustrated.
Despite national tours and critical acclaim from both press and fans alike Distophia split in 2006 just as their second record was about to see the (official) light of day. But this isn’t a sob story, this is a band that got back up and got on with doing things their way whether it be the sublime Calories, Sunshine Frisbee Lazerbeam or Burning Alms, in some form or other Pete Dixon and co have been a prominent fixture in the city ever since. But then Distophia have always been the “will they won’t they get back together” of Birmingham’s recent musical history, and songs like “Robert Redford”, “Cats of Brazil”, “Children Know The Score” and “Joanne” still blast out of our speakers to this day, so to have them back for AYL festival is obviously a big deal for us!
The “band’s favourite band” returns to celebrate the release of that debut record now a glorious 10 years old. Expect this to be a welcome back party like none other before, you know the score.
SKY LARKIN
From: Leeds
Playing: Saturday 16 November @ All Years Leaving Festival
Having recently released third album “Motto” on Wichita Recordings, Sky Larkin, now 8 years into their career make a welcome return to the thisistmrw stage having in May 2009 headlined a packed-out Victoria …. (and we’ve been dying to get them back since then!)
Much has occurred in the intermittent period, the band have toured the world alongside the likes of Frightened Rabbit, Stereolab and The Cribs, seen a line-up change, lead singer Katie then toured the world with Wild Beasts as their keybaordist/backing singer, and then finally the band re-grouped as a new four piece in Seattle to record one of the most instantly likeable and confident sounding records of 2013. Long overdue their leap to the forefront of British indie their music is sharp, uncluttered and concise, but with depth beneath the melodic glaze, a band definitely worth spending time on, chipping away at the surface and to discover new colours beneath.
The vibrant scratchy-indie-jangle of single-of-the-year contender “Loom” is a sure fire hit for late Saturday night alone when the AYL party is really starting to kick off, we can’t wait and we strongly recommend you be there.
FRANKIE & THE HEARTSTRINGS
From: Sunderland
Playing: Friday 15 November @ All Years Leaving Festival
“In Sunderland everything of worth was born of adversity. This is the terrible truth for the creative freaks in this city”
A story of true Northern grit, determination and passion in a band comes in the form of Frankie & The Heartstrings. When the band approached release of their sophomore album ‘The Days Run Away’ this summer they were faced with fewer and fewer high street record shops in which to sell their work. Undaunted, and in the wake of what seemed to be the end for HMV altogether at the time, they did not rest on their laurels and accept the state of the industry as inevitable in it’s physical demise and instead opened their very own pop up independent record shop in Sunderland city centre. Initially just a 2 week plan to promote the new album the shop remains open to this day such has been its success which has brought the band national press as a result.
4 out of 5 band members work and run the shop which has seen in-store performances from a variety of new bands including Friday headliners Dutch Uncles. The day job aside the band produce up-tempo guitar music designed to make you move. A classic hook-laden indie pop group that has toured with the likes of The Vaccines and Florence & The Machine it’s a pleasure to have them come and play their debut thisistmrw show on day one of the festival.
If you ever wanted to see a truly independent band, then this is your chance.
AYL INTRODUCING # 7
HIS CLANCYNESS
From: Bologna, Italy
Playing: Saturday 16 November @ All Years Leaving Festival
His Clancyness is the brain child of Jonathon Clancy, Canadian born and now settled in Italy. Since 2010 he has been making textured reverb soaked motorik rhythms from a bedroom studio as a solo project mixing the atmospheres of chillwave with fuzzy almost lofi guitars and deadpan vocals.
Having recently signing to FatCat Records, the future is looking bright for this prolific musician, currently touring the socks off official debut record “Vicious” this show will see him backed with a band to bring to life the dreamy post Television meets Velvet Underground tunes. Indeed it is Lou Reed (RIP) who comes to mind throughout, particularly Clancy’s vocal delivery, it’s one of the best records of the year we’ve heard, a must see at All Year’s Leaving, and having recently been gaining national press in the UK the timing is right now to see him.
WIDE EYED
From: Birmingham
Playing: Saturday 16 November @ All Years Leaving Festival
The year 2013 may well be the year rock n’ roll got back into it’s acid again, with bands such as Temples, Toy and Tame Impala enchanting audiences nationwide. The spiralling distortion of Wide Eyed is now lining up in the shadows to wave the psychedelic-wall-of-noise flag for Birmingham having spent the year slowly bubbling to the surface and in doing so generating NME hype thanks primarily to a limited online presence and chaotic live shows.
Having only formed last year, the four piece have developed an effortlessly cool swagger and confidence beyond their age. Tunes such as “Still” and “Bleak” are destined to melt stereo speakers and club PAs up and down the UK in 2014. A must for any fan of My Bloody Valentine, or Sonic Youth at their most brutal, this will be half an hour that will twist your mind and leave you gleefully disorientated ….. Wide Eyed are a strong substance not to be messed with.
BOAT TO ROW
From: West Midlands
Playing: Friday 15 November @ All Years Leaving Festival
The American poet Max Ehrmann wrote “with all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world, be cheerful, strive to be happy”. Some bands have the ability to lift you up and dust you off with the comfort and enchantment that their music can inspire. Boat to Row do exactly that, a beautiful mixture of vocal harmony with a gentle textured folk rock edge that exudes elements of Bon Ivor and Joni Mitchell, they are the soundtrack to a warm summer’s day.
Having formed in 2009 the five sometimes six piece group have developed into one of the most hardworking and most respected bands out there on the gig circuit. Having played a host of festivals this summer, which has seen them garner an almost cult-like status and deliver a rapturously received set at Moseley Folk Festival, their appearance at the inaugural All Years Leaving Festival is sure to be a true Friday highlight not to be missed! It’s our pleasure to have them onboard.
***************************************************************
BEST FRIENDS
From: Sheffield
Playing: Saturday 16 November @ All Years Leaving Festival
AYL INTRODUCING #3
KINS
From: Brighton UK (via Melbourne, Australia)
Playing: Friday 15 November @ All Years Leaving Festival
The pigeon hole, long trusted friend, long may you live and help the record buying public select their next taste of creativity yes? Or maybe not … for there are some bands that it’s just impossible to pigeon hole, and KINS we are happy to say are one of them.
Having originally started out in Australia as the brainchild of instrumentalist/vocalist Thomas Savage, the four piece, now based in Brighton, make (here goes) icy sparse music akin (apologies) to noughties era Radiohead, Bombay Bicycle Club and Foals’ more introspective moments. But then, just when you think you’ve tied them down, they hit you with a sweet busking acoustic number reminiscent of Fionn Regan, add to that vocals not unlike The Antler’s Peter Silberman and you have a vague idea what to expect. There’s a delicate emotional versatility to their output which is impossible to resist and it will be this genre-collapsing style of theirs which makes their set a must for anyone open to floating on a cloud of pure unadulterated discovery.
Listen: