TOUR NEWS: Story Books (March 2014)

Source: Story Books' mail-out

The magnificent Story Books, who I saw earlier this year supporting King Charles are going on their first headline tour in March. If any of the shows are close to you I very much recommend getting along to one, they're really cheap and this band are excellent live. If that isn't enough for you they'll be playing new material as the tour coincides with the release of their new EP From Post To Post, and the band have uploaded a track from the EP onto their Soundcloud which you can listen to here (it's great, and if you want to listen to more I recommend All Those Arrows from their EP Too Much A Hunter which is one of my favourite musical purchases of the year.)

EP and tour info here.

WATCH: Jack Savoretti 'Written In Scars' for Mahogany

Here is a brilliant new Jack Savoretti track Written In Scars performed acoustically for The Mahogany Sessions.

WATCH: Arctic Monkeys - 'One For The Road'

tractors, girls, fireworks - just a normal music video, right?

Check out the video for the latest Arctic Monkeys single One For The Road taken off of their fifth consecutive number 1 album, AM. The track is one of my favourites from the album alongside Snap Out Of It and the wonderful R U Mine?. The band are currently on a UK tour and a few of my friends have gone to London to see them tonight.. not jealous, nope, not at all.

LISTEN: Sam Beeton - 'The Yearling's Song'

Listen to Sam Beeton's latest track The Yearling's Song - played on BBC's The Beat recently. The track is the latest release of Sam's unique Record Club, a subscription service through which fans get Sam's latest songs (on a physical CD) as and when they are written, recorded and produced. You can find out more about the Record Club here.

LISTEN: Franz Ferdinand - 'Right Action'

Loving this, Franz Ferdinand performing Right Action on Later... with Jools Holland. I wasn't aware of their new record (Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action) until I saw it in HMV and I wasn't sure whether to buy it, and worried that I might be disappointed because I really loved their older stuff when I was growing up. Fear not, however, the new record (which I've since bought on vinyl) is fantastic, one of my favourite new albums of this year in fact.

The tracks are catchy and showcase quite a range, a few start pretty slowly but the album retains the band's fun sound which you can't help but want to dance to. Alone, a lot of the tracks stand out as having single material. What's more, it's clearly a Franz Ferdinand record, you can hear clear elements of their older records in this one, which is great as it was the only worry I had about the album! The above video is one of the best tracks of the album, alongside my personal favourites Stand On The Horizon, Evil Eye and Bullet.

LISTEN: The Hoosiers - 'Somewhere In The Distance'

The Hoosiers (who you'll probably remember them from tracks including Goodbye Mr A, Worried About Ray and Cops & Robbers) have released a new track, Somewhere In The Distance. They've just announced details of their third studio album, The News From Nowhere, which you can pre-order now!

The record is almost finished, and is set to be released on the 3rd March 2014. It'll be released then for download and on CD, but you can currently pre-order (and you'll receive the album earlier than everyone else) through The Hoosiers own website. To fund things such as promoting the record, the band are running their own Kickstarter/PledgeMusic type project. You can pre-order an array of different bundles, with different things such as a t shirt, mug, vinyl, or your very own The Hoosiers gig. Part of the money you spend will be helping the record so it's win win really!

There is a lot more information on the contents of the different bundles and their prices on the band's website here, but for now, take a listen to the new track and share it with others if you like it.

WATCH: Big Fin - 'More Than Love'

This guy, Big Fin, is honestly one of the best musicians I've started listening to this year. He's currently Dry The River's guitar tech and supported them when I saw them at an intimate show in June, and his set was probably one of the best sets I've listened to. No gimmicks, just him and his guitar. The songs have a great sound both recorded and live - especially if you're into artists such as Dry The River - and the set was just so lovely because everybody was really quiet and respectful, no talking, which is quite rare at gigs, and especially during support slots.

Overall a really great set and I've since bought his Tether EP (which you can listen to/buy here) and absolutely love it. (Well, I can think of worse ways of spending £4 - absolute bargain!)

WATCH: Story Books - 'Peregrine'

Story Books performing Peregrine for Les Accords Dehors at this years Leefest, a really stripped back and stunning performance. This band are so great live... and if you don't believe me then you're in for a treat as they've just been announced as support for Fossil Collective's October tour!

WATCH: The Vaccines - 'Melody Calling'

I've been meaning to listen to this track since it has been online and eventually did last night as it was played on XFM. Lovely track and a funny video that sees Arni get relationship advice from the rest of the band...

WATCH: King Charles - 'St. Peter's Gate'

Here's the wonderful King Charles performing his track St. Peter's Gate for Off Guard Gigs at Latitude 2013.