Page 47 - Black Velvet Issue 84

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THE VAL poppier Within Temptation
HEADING FOR THE SUR- with an almost symphonic
FACE air. There’s some great gui-
(THE VAL) tar playing in the likes of
Spanish rock band The ‘Crusaders’, The Val is
Val have produced a solid made up of qualified musi- OH CAPTIVE Black Country band Liberty is a loud and proud, in-yer-
second album in the form cians that’s for sure. ‘Up To TWO MIRRORS Lies are great at what they face, fiery rocker. James
of ‘Heading For The Sur- Where U Are’ has a seduc- (OH CAPTIVE) do. 'Undivided' sets the Toseland has a distinct
face’. The title track opens tive sound to the opening Tim Kelly, Curtis King, tone for the entire EP, vocal style with a strong
with what sounds like water verse while ‘She’s Dumb Tom Hitchins and Chris Hill showcasing vocalist Shaun yowl-like tone. The song it-
falling and we’re flushed And Blind’ would make a are the foursome behind al- Richards’ impressive ability self kicks ass and will kick
into a melodic rock sound- grand European Song ternative rock band Oh to throw out one catchy yours, particularly with its
track which is keyboard Contest entry. Not a bad re- Captive. After spending melody after another. 'Cir- guitar solo. ‘Hearts And
driven and easy listening. lease although toning down three years together, the cles' has an infectious hook Bones’ is a three track EP
The Val brings to mind 80s on the AOR stance would South West England band with a big anthemic feel to which also includes ‘The
bands like Heart, they have be preferable. is coming to an end, but not it and 'Vultures' is intense Closer I Get’ and ‘Reward’,
a soft rock guise although YYY before they release their and potent with crunchy two more arena-sized rock-
‘Roses And Chains’ is a SBV four-track EP. ‘Recover’ guitars and epic drums. It's ers - although the latter is a
kicks off the EP with upbeat polished but it doesn’t cover of a 1981 hit by alter-
verses and lyrics fueled sound too polished, the native pop band, The
with a lot of heart. ‘Mo- rockiness is there and it Teardrop Explodes (written
tion/No Motion’ is most captures the power and by Andy Gill and Julian
memorable for its knockout raw energy of Liberty Lies. Cope). Toseland do it jus-
and sing along-worthy cho- Title track 'Fracture' draws tice - in fact, if you’d never
Lovers’, released in 2009. rus. ‘Live Fast Don’t Last’ you in with anomalous heard of the original, you’d
There’s no talk about their takes a more mellow ap- chords and a fantastic cho- probably think Toseland
most recent albums or proach to the EP. It’s the rus before bringing the EP had written it themselves.
what has happened to the kind of song that you want to a close and leaving you The You can taste the rap-
band since. to flick a lighter on and wanting more. It's clear that ture, excitement and Tose-
That said, this docu- wave your hand back and Liberty Lies have become land stamp in all three
mentary is released on forth to, which is great be- solid musicians over the tracks. They have a hot live
DVD a month or so after cause every band needs at past few years, with every feel to them and all three
the 20 year anniversary of least one song like this. song on 'Fracture' boasting tracks would go down a
Richey Edwards’s (Manics’ The title-track ‘Two Mirrors’ incredible musicianship treat with a rock audience.
lyricist and guitarist) disap- helps close out the EP and and being flawlessly put to- James Toseland is still
pearance. So while he’s it’s definitely the dominant gether. It's safe to say we're more known at the time
fresh in people’s minds, track on the EP. While Oh going to be hearing a lot being for being a motorcy-
this DVD makes prime Captive will be coming to a more from these guys. cle racing champion rather
viewing. The movie begins close, at least they left the YYYY than a rock singer. How-
with their early years – as music world with three Carissa Thorne ever, with these songs, he
NO MANIFESTO early as when Flicker was years of songs and another keeps his adrenaline high,
(NOVEMBER FILMS) in the band and Richey EP to remember them by. TOSELAND the pace speedy and it’s
A few years ago, we hadn’t even joined. The YYYY HEARTS AND BONES only a matter of time before
bought and loved the band – James, Nicky and Hayli Zuccola (ABSOLUTE) he becomes a champion in
movie ‘Fat, Sick & Nearly Sean, are interviewed, you In ‘Hearts And Bones’ the rock world too. He’s a
Dead’. It’s a documentary see them in the recording LIBERTY LIES frontman James Toseland winner already with this EP,
that follows Joe Cross on a studio with Dave Eringa, FRACTURE sings about ‘no compromis- in our eyes, anyway.
juicing journey through and Greg Haver is inter- (LIBERTY LIES) ing’ – and the band defi- YYYYY
America. Interesting then, viewed. You see Nicky’s 'Fracture' is a four track nitely do not compromise SBV
that Joe is the executive back garden and dog, see EP full of adrenaline pump- with their brand of rock
producer of ‘No Manifesto’, Sean partaking in his ing hard rock that proves music. ‘Hearts And Bones’
a new Manic Street hobby of target-shooting
Preachers documentary. and obviously there’s a
The movie is directed by section on Richey. Various
Elizabeth Marcus who was fans are interviewed and
the field producer of ‘Fat, jotted around in amongst Eatin’ Ain’t Cheatin’ - Fentimans Cola
Sick & Nearly Dead’, while live footage and off-stage
Kurt Engfehr who directed footage. The movie lasts
‘Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead’ is just over an hour and a AKA WHAT WE’VE MOSTLY BEEN CONSUMING SINCE THE LAST ISSUE...
the producer/editor of ‘No half, and is a must-buy for
Manifesto’. So in that case any Manics fan. It’s good to We usually tell you what we’ve been eating each issue although this issue we’re
(being vegan), we love ‘No look back on the band’s ca- all about the cola. Put all other drinks down right now. Since discovering Fentimans
Manifesto’ before we’ve reer – their highs and their Curiosity Cola we’ve been hooked. This cola is botanically brewed and a billion times
even watched it! Haha. lows. There’s some footage tastier than those more well known colas you’ll find in regular shops or bars. Fenti-
But no, joking aside (or you’ll have never seen be- mans has an added tang, maybe due to having ginger and herbal extracts included.
are we?), ‘No Manifesto’ is fore, some you may have, It’s super-fizzy and deli-
a very interesting and well- but all worth watching. cious. Fentimans also sell
presented documentary of Overall, it’s a solid repre- other drinks, such as Dan-
Manic Street Preachers. sentation of some of the delion and Burdock, Victo-
There’s only one major most likeable, down to rian Lemonade, Ginger
downside and that is that earth, talented and intelli- Beer and even an alterna-
it’s been a long time com- gent musicians in the tive Cherrytree Cola but the
ing. The film was finished a world. That said, we do Curiosity Cola is our true
number of years ago, after question their love of love. Try it. You can find it
taking over a decade to Wimpy burgers and think on sale in Waitrose and var-
make and has since been Joe Cross needs to intro- ious health stores. We wish
awaiting funding, so the duce them to the world of it was in more stores and in
documentary only covers juicing. How about it, Joe? more pubs and venues as
the history of the band up YYYY you do have to seek it out.
until ‘Journal For Plague SBV
SINGLES / EPS