Vol. 81
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Full Pelt Magazine
Tag: Music
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Frank Turner
Corn Exchange, Cambridge
Thursday 10th April 2025
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FRANK TURNER – CAMBRIDGE – LIVE REVIEW
📸 Denis Gorbatov
Cambridge has spent the day soaking up the lovely spring sun, but as the evening breaks it’s time to head into the beautiful Corn Exchange for an evening of song and revelry!
Frank Turner lives by the mantra – always on tour, and he remarks that this evening is his twentieth appearance in Cambridge in as many years! There is a reason that he can live his life on the road and that fans will always come to his shows, and that is the community that he has built.
Showing how attuned he is to the struggles of the industry, a portion of every ticket on this tour is going to the Music Venue Trust. More than that though, he has hand picked a local opening musician for every show!
MINNIE BIRCH
This evening the chosen act is Minnie Birch, who opens her set with a haunting a cappella number which instantly sucks the audience in. This of course is an audience of Turner community members, and they give this unknown opener the opportunity to showcase her clear talents.
Penultimate song, ‘Accident of Birth’ is a standout moment which brings forth thunderous applause from an appreciative audience. These opening slots are indeed a big opportunity for those selected and Birch can be proud that she nailed her chance to shine with aplomb.
AMIGO the devil
Special guest on this tour is Amigo the Devil who steps the noise levels up considerably with his full band bringing his folk-rock-country-metal-punk sonic explosion to life on stage. It doesn’t take long for that welcoming audience to fully embrace the charismatic singer, who holds the venue in the palm of his hand throughout his fantastic set.
Yes, the crowd really does hang off every word of his story-centric songs and particularly enjoy his captivating presentation of ‘I Hope Your Husband Dies’.
You can see that the entire band is having fun and that transcends to the whole venue as the show continues. When they leave the stage, you feel that every single member of the audience would’ve been happy having more Amigo the Devil in their lives and that’s job done for the support act!
FRANK TURNER
Time is really flying this evening and that’s usually a good sign too. It’s not long at all it seems before Frank Turner and The Sleeping Souls hit the stage and break straight into two new tracks, ‘No Thank You for the Music’ and ‘Girl From the Record Shop’ from latest album, ‘Undefeated’. The fans though treat both tracks as if they are old favourites, before letting fully go as the band launch into the rousing ‘1933’.
‘Undefeated’ is Turner’s tenth album and comes at another time of change and reflection for a man who has battled through a lifetime of ups and downs. That fan and friend community that surrounds him however continues to ensure he still emerges undefeated as it were.
That record is the focus of the show, and the tracks selected are some of the highlights of the night including very personal tracks ‘East Finchley’ and ‘Somewhere Inbetween’.
With ten albums to pick from however, the science of setlists for Turner only gets harder. Obvious picks punctuate the set such as ‘Recovery’, ‘Photosynthesis’, ‘If Ever I Stray’ and ‘The Next Storm’. It’s the deeper cuts though that always keep Turner shows unique and special and tonight it’s great to see outings for ‘One Foot Before the Other’ and ‘Tattoos’.
There is of course a second reason why fans keep coming out to these Turner shows and it’s because a good time is as guaranteed as these things can ever be. Over the course of now 3000+ shows, Turner has perfected his craft and tonight he is again an unstoppable force on this stage.
That is perhaps demonstrated best during the final encore ruckus of ‘Polaroid Picture’, ‘Get Better’ and ‘Four Simple Words’. You could even go as far as saying that this feels like the best all-round version of Turner so far, which given his pedigree is certainly saying something!
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Gallus
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OK Go
And The Adjacent Possible
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OK GO – AND THE ADJACENT POSSIBLE – ALBUM REVIEW
OK Go are something of an anomaly in the music world, in that they are probably more famous for their videos than for their music. In a world that’s now consumed by TikTok and shortform videos, maybe that wouldn’t be such an oddity these days, but OK Go did it twenty years ago!
Yes, the original viral sensations are back with what is only their fifth studio album. This represents pretty lean offerings in what has been a 25+ year career, but for the first time in eleven years we have a new album, ‘And the Adjacent Possible’.
You could say that OK Go are very much a quality over quantity type act and this latest album again follows that mantra. Twelve tracks spread over forty-five sumptuous minutes; this is a record that will resonate well with their fanbase.
WATCH THE VIDEO FOR ‘LOVE’
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Easy to digest, these songs pull from across the unique OK Go soundscape and represent therefore a fantastic snapshot into their special musical mix. Alt indie rock with overriding pop pizazz, each track feels like it has its own identify and that only adds to the value of the overall record.
Ben Harper, Shalah Fearing, BEGINNERS featuring pre-release single, ‘A Good, Good Day at Last’ is sublime and fellow focus tracks ‘A Stone Only Rolls Downhill’ and ‘Take Me with You’ also standout. There isn’t a bad track in sight though, on what is a convincing return from the band.
With more fun videos in tow along with this record, the band will again have eyes on them, but again the music will likely to a backseat to the overall package. That’s a shame as the group have proven they have a real knack for this whole music lark!
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Full Pelt Magazine
Vol. 80
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Air Drawn Dagger
A Guide for Apparitions
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AIR DRAWN DAGGER – A GUIDE FOR APPARITIONS – ALBUM REVIEW
At a time when it can be really difficult to be heard, Sheffield’s Air Drawn Dagger have cut through the noise and garnered much early affection. Now they are ready to take fans on a journey in every sense of the word as they release their debut album, ‘A Guide for Apparitions’.
The album is a passage of the mystic, the macabre and the spiritual which will unwittingly cast a spell on you with its chaotic charm and its atmospheric assault on the sonic senses!
This lyrical book of fables and defiant hymns is soundtracked by a genre-busting noise that embraces a range of musical influences which are all conjured up in an electro-rock cauldron.
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Legend has it that vocalist Maisie Manterfield and guitarist Lewis Budden began writing songs in the back of a cake shop… well with drummer Ross Dore completing the trio, they’ve certainly found a delicious recipe for their debut album!
There isn’t a bad track on the collection which starts out strong with recent single ‘Sanctifound’ and weaves it way around the senses until the emphatic Toni Duncan featuring ‘Apparitions’ and ‘Bellyaches’ serve as a memorable conclusion.
A stunning modern rock record served with generous slice of pop punk goodness; this debut album is an enormous opening statement from a band with potential of equal magnitude. Expect this to be just the beginning of what promises to be an epic journey for Air Drawn Dagger!
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Full Pelt Magazine
Vol. 79
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Beans On Toast
Colchester Arts Centre
Thursday 27th March 2025
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BEANS ON TOAST – COLCHESTER – LIVE REVIEW
📸 Denis Gorbatov
It’s a day with a Y in it, so you better believe that Beans On Toast is touring! Tonight, as the sun sets on what’s been a glorious spring day, Colchester’s local music lovers congregate in the beautiful surroundings of the city’s Arts Centre for an opportunity to revel in his tales and song.
EVY FREARSON
Colchester Arts Centre is one of the best independent venues in our beautiful country (with possibly the best toilets – seriously check them out) and it’s only right that tonight we have a local opening act to get the evening rolling.
Evy Frearson is an Essex born singer-songwriter who this evening showcases a haunting alt-folk sound which is rather fitting for this deconsecrated church! Whilst her time on stage is short, she is able to mesmerise those in attendance and undoubtedly leave them wanting more.
Frearson finishes her set with her fantastic new single, ‘Kiss Me In The Winter’ and serves as Exhibit A for the case of always getting down to venues early to support the support act!
WILLIAM CRIGHTON
Exhibit B for that case soon arrives onstage as a longtime friend of our headliner, William Crighton, takes things in a grittier direction with his brand of storytelling folk-rock.
Crighton has welcomed Beans On Toast over to his homeland for a number of shows and tours and now he is clearly enjoying his trek around the UK with Beans. His Aussie charm helps to bring his songs to life and the crowd eat up every word of the likes of ‘2000 Clicks’ and set closer ‘Priest’.
It has to be said that whenever Beans On Toast tours, he always manages to pick interesting and engaging support acts and Colchester has been blessed with two of them.
BEANS ON TOAST
Soon enough, it’s time for that man himself to hit the stage and on both legs of his tour supporting latest album, ‘Wild Goose Chasers’, he has been accompanied on piano by Matt Millership (known to fans as Tensheds or King Killership).
The man known as Beans On Toast, Jay McAllister releases a new album on his birthday each December and in recent years he has mixed up his recording process each year. This latest release was written in collaboration with Millership and it’s great to see the pair bring these songs to the stage together.
Whenever Millership takes on the musical lead tonight, it allows Beans the freedom to roam the stage and deliver his ever-thought-provoking lyrics with even more verve. The likes ‘Faith in the Moon’ and ‘Why?’ segue perfectly amongst fan favourites ‘A Beautiful Place’ and ‘Watching the World Go By’.
Mid-set Beans picks up his trusty guitar and delivers a run of songs solo including some fan requests and local-based tracks given his status as an Essex lad himself. Later Millership returns and we even see a Millership, Crighton and Beans team-up for Randy Travis cover ‘Send My Body’.
We also get a glimpse of where Beans is going with his new material this year with three new tracks making their way into the setlist including the return of his scathing political commentary on tentatively titled ‘Counter Culture’ and ‘Taylor Swift II’!
Beans has long established himself as an underground national treasure and fans that head out into the now considerably cooler March night do so glad that they left the house and supported live music.
Look at the upcoming shows section of his website and it would be fair to wager that it will never be blank. For that, we should all be grateful for the work ethic installed in Beans On Toast because any night spent in the company of ol’ Beano is always going to be glorious time.
So, the moral of this review is simply to do yourself a favour and next time Beans comes to town, do the right thing and pop along!
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The Darkness
Dreams On Toast
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THE DARKNESS – DREAMS ON TOAST – ALBUM REVIEW
“…We haven’t stopped making hit albums, it’s just that nobody buys them anymore…” says a line in the insanely catchy ‘Walking Through Fire’, the ninth track on the latest album from The Darkness.
Yes, the band who shot to stardom before exploding like a SpaceX rocket continue their second leash of life with their eighth studio record – ‘Dreams on Toast’!
Whilst many still remember then for their outlandishly memorable debut album, the fact is that the band have been consistently releasing great new albums for the past decade or so.
“…I can’t help falling in love with Rock n Roll…’ proclaims the same song and that feels like a statement fitting of this album. Often painted as caricatures, the talent of the band is often passed over due to their unashamed exuberance.
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Well, as the squealing ‘Rock and Roll Party Cowboy’ bursts out of the traps, this instantly feels like an album on which the band are embracing that absurdity and turning the thermostat up to full. This does indeed feel like the band falling in love with themselves and embracing what makes them such a thrilling act.
The results are frankly stunning as the quartet produce what is perhaps their best album yet! Whilst nostalgia will always place ‘Permission to Land’ on top of any list ranking their works, the reality is this is a band now who have learnt more than their fair share of lessons and are firing on all cylinders.
Through a range of styles and influences, The Darkness showcase their unique talents through ten superbly crafted tracks that all carry the essence of what makes this band so special. Fans will surely love the Hawkins wit and self-aware humour that adds its charm to this fantastic release.
There is no doubt about it, even after all of this time, The Darkness are indeed still making hit albums!
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Full Pelt Magazine
Vol. 78
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