All posts tagged blues

Coasst – I Guess U Lied

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Just when you are beginning to think the Manchester talent pool is close to filling up, another name emerges and blows everyone out of the water. With a sound reminiscent of King Krule… and perhaps even GREAT WAVES at their most melancholy, Shea Hickling aka Coasst is about to announce himself as a serious contender.

I Guess U Lied is driven by a haunting, singular sound.. his world weary voice radiating above a lonesome electric guitar and some sparse drum beats… before breaking out into something more funked up. Clearly still experimenting and by no means representative of his future, it’s hard not to get excited by this understated and dreamwoven noise.

Coasst plays Night & Day this Thursday evening. Doors 8pm. Might be a good idea to go…

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https://coates.bandcamp.com/

Phill Young

Willis Earl Beal – For A Friend

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The passing of time often goes by unnoticed; days become nights, weeks become years… we see the changes happening all around us and yet we try to convince ourselves we’re not really changing too. Before you know it, you find yourself looking at a face you don’t really recognise. Today is my Birthday, and I am looking into the mirror. My immediate reaction is one of repulsion, closely followed by fascination… love and finally, relief… because I’m still here, trying to be the best person I can be.

Willis Earl Beal is trying too. An artist who speaks with an unparalleled honesty, his music touches me on a very personal level. It’s hard not to relate to a man that has seemingly lived his life searching, creating… adapting. Beal’s story so far is almost mythological.. raised in Chicago, he joined the army and was discharged, worked a succession of low-paid jobs… even spending some time homeless. He left self-illustrated flyers around town in the hope of finding a girlfriend. He auditioned for the X Factor (dropping out at boot-camp) before being signed by XL imprint Hot Charity… releasing two albums, Acousmatic Sorcery and Nobody Knows to critical acclaim. The fame that followed seemed to have a negative effect and acknowledging this, Beal retreated back into his art (and loneliness) to write his latest work; the self-produced and released Experiments In Time. This 21 track collection of lo-fi recordings breathes new life into Beal’s soulful voice, which at times echoes the warm tones of Nat King Cole. A tender vulnerability is found throughout the album, and as such makes it emphatically and heart-breakingly relatable.

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Experiments In Time: The Golden Hour is available now: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/willisearlbeal3

https://www.facebook.com/willisearlbeal

Phill Young

Walk – Walk

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Walk is the exciting new sequencer blues project of Manchester’s Rik Warren and David Schlechtriemen. On stage they’re captivating, a seated Warren spews out rootsy, whisky soaked vibes, uniquely flicking his fingers across a fuzz toned guitar – Schlechtriemen is a whirlwind, all wild hair flailing, sticks thumping, triggering electronic beats and noises in his wake. Howlin’ Wolf it ain’t. Imagine a scuzz injected Seasick Steve with a sequencer and a few more strings on his guitar and you get the idea.

Walk, the title track from their moreish debut EP, succeeds in sounding simultaneously nostalgic and forward facing. It combines the rich heritage and elements of the blues style with a contemporary, Beck-esque, beat driven potency. What more do you want?

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https://www.facebook.com/sequencerblues

Paul Baird