Filed under: Gig Reviews, Music | Tags: artwork, benga, brixton academy, celestica, crystal castles, everything everything, fainting spells, fire, flying into tokyo, footage, i need air, magnetic man, my kz your bf, NME Awards Tour, perfect stranger, performance, photoshop handsome, post break up sex, reckless, review, skream, song, the vaccines, untrust us, video, watch
SME were very kindly invited down to Brixton Academy for the NME Awards Tour on Saturday evening by our friends at Get Involved. The lineup looked pretty impressive; The Vaccines, Everything Everything, Magnetic Man and Crystal Castles all in one evening? It was like Christmas come early!
The Awards Tour began all the way up in Glasgow at the beginning of the month and this, the biggest show of them all, would bring it to a close.
We were sure to arrive early because The Vaccines were up first, and following our interview with Freddie from the band, we couldn’t wait to seeing the band live for the first time.
They certainly didn’t disappoint; their up beat rock n roll sound had the main floor bouncing, especially during their brilliant debut single Post Break-Up Sex and the frantic 1 minute 20 seconds long Wreckin’ Bar, which will forever be a fan favourite. The band also performed their next single ‘If You Wanna’ which is due for release in March.
Their sets remain fairly short, at roughly the half hour mark; but in this short time they bring with them brilliant positive energy and upbeat, feel good tracks which leave you in great spirits. Having now seen them live, it is easy to see why they are tipped to be a band that will play a major part in guitar music’s resurgence in 2011.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL REVIEW
Filed under: Music, SME Meets (Interviews) | Tags: 2011, album, america, arni, award, band, bbc, columbia, concert, crystal castles, everything everything, exclusive, freddie, freddie cowan, gig, hjorvar, interview, justin, live, london, magnetic man, meets, mtv, mumford and sons, music, new, new york, nme, pete, poll, post break up sex, robertson, show, single, sme, sound of 2011, the horrors, the vaccines, tour, vaccines, we are sme, young
If you haven’t heard about The Vaccines, you must reside under a rock. Coming third in the recently announced BBC Sound Of 2011 Poll, with their single ‘Post Break Up Sex’ released this week and a debut album on the way; The Vaccines are the band on everyone’s lips right now. An incredible achievement from a band who only formed officially in June 2010. Their rise to fame has been a rapid one to say the least.
The London based band was initially formed by Justin Young (vocals) and Freddie Cowan (guitar) with a third member who soon left. They were soon joined by Árni Hjörvar (bass) and Pete Robertson (drums) and named themselves The Vaccines in June 2010.
They released their demo “If You Wanna” in the Summer of 2010 and were immediately championed by Zane Lowe, who awarded it his ‘Hottest Record In The World’ on 18 August 2010.
After playing their first gig in Leicester they embarked on their first UK tour. Their popularity continued to rise and they sold out their first London show, having to turn away 200+ people at the door after reaching capacity at The Flowerpot in October 2010. The likes of Alex Kapranos, Marcus Mumford, and members of White Lies and The Maccabees were all in the audience.
The band then released their debut single “Wreckin’ Bar (Ra Ra Ra)” (only one minute and 24 seconds long) on 29 November 2010 which reached number 157 in the UK Singles Chart.
After securing a contract with Columbia Records, they were signed to play on the 2011 NME Awards Tour, joining the likes of Magnetic Man, Crystal Castles and Everything Everything.
The band released their second single “Post Break-Up Sex” this week which was sat at #19 in the mid week chart.
When presented with the opportunity to speak to Freddie Cowan from the band, naturally we jumped at the chance. We couldn’t wait to hear what he had to say about the bands incredible rise from obscurity and everything that has come with their newfound popularity.
Fresh from a week long trip to America where the band caused a massive stir selling out venues in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Toronto, we spoke to a jet lagged Freddie and here’s what he had to say:
CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
Filed under: Music | Tags: download, everything everything, free, koko, live ep, nme, radar tour, schoolin
‘Everything Everything (Jonathan: guitar/vocals, Jeremy: bass, Mike: drums, Alex: guitar) are here to challenge every knee-jerk convention of indie rock and dance on the grave of pointless retrogression with their three-part harmonies, scalding post-punk guitars and floor-filling bass lines.’
They signed to Geffen Records in late 2009 and have been listed in BBC Sound of 2010; the fifteen best rising music stars to look out for this year. They have just completed their debut album with producer David Kosten and the first single ‘Schoolin’’ is due to be released in June, with the album following in August 2010.
SME watched them play the London leg of the NME Radar tour at Koko last night alongside Darwin Deez, Hurts and Active Child. To celebrate this brilliant gig, we’ve got 10 Live Everything, Everything EP albums to give away.
Send us an email to wearesmeblog@googlemail.com and the first lucky 10 will receive a reply with a unique ‘Pin’ which allows you access to download the brilliant EP through the Music Pin website.
On your marks, get set…..SME x
We Are S.M.E 