There’s nothing lacklustre about BAND OF SKULLS; Emma boasts a 20,000 vinyl collection which by [...]]]> [ Honest and unruffled, BAND OF SKULLS dialogue it out with simply ONE of the masses. Hit play...It's time to make new Friends. Check out the video interview: BAND OF SKULLS ON VIDEO ]

There’s nothing lacklustre about BAND OF SKULLS; Emma boasts a 20,000 vinyl collection which by design gains her immediate rockstar quality; Russell escapes death; Matt plays tennis with John McEnroe. Or could they all just be nonchalantly lying? The most brill thing about the triumvirate three is that their career is about to skyrocket, and they barely have had time to lift off with their debut album Baby Darling Doll Face Honey. Russell Marsden [vocals, guitar], Emma Richardson [vocals, bass], and Matt Hayward [drums] from Southampton England are going to be a veritable recognized rock band overnight, partly because they share a slash of the New Moon film soundtrack. And there lies the rub for the blokes, but if you can see past the tousle of Rob Pattinson’s head, then you would catch that Thom Yorke, Bon Iver, Muse, The Killers, Grizzly Bear and Death Cab are on that very same soundtrack, a cast of leviathan proportions.

South West England’s Bobby Long describes his guitar-laced warbles as “drops of rain on a bull fighters back like punches breaking through a Windy Gail.”  And though he might have taken his first actual stride into the limelight by being the cohort of famed Rob Pattinson and co-penning Let Me Sign on the Twi-crack soundtrack, [...]]]>

South West England’s Bobby Long describes his guitar-laced warbles as “drops of rain on a bull fighters back like punches breaking through a Windy Gail.”  And though he might have taken his first actual stride into the limelight by being the cohort of famed Rob Pattinson and co-penning Let Me Sign on the Twi-crack soundtrack, he stands on his own two feet, licking the wounds of a young man aged in story-telling years with the breath of whiskey-laced prose.  A raspy whirlwind borrowing from old folk tradition, Long’s forlorn twang invokes yesterdays, yesteryear, regrets and ambivalent longings.

Full name, age and nickname.
Bobby Long, 49, Bobby

(I’m going to go out on a limb here, and say that Bobby isn’t really 49.)

What time is it as you fill this out and where are you?
Bobby: I’m in Memphis eating a biscuit and I can smell perfume. I don’t know the brand.

Your music sounds like…
B: Sounds and words.

What’s your upcoming EP title and tentative release date?
B: That’s tricky perhaps next summer.

And your music influences?
B: Dylan, Joni Mitchell, The Band, Leonard Cohen, Elliott Smith.

Favorite read, and if you could, what question would you ask the author?
B: Alexander Dumas, The Count of Monte Cristo. I would ask him what Paris was like when he was living there.

Name a hidden gem.
B: Memphis, Tennessee.

Something you hate or loathe…
B: I hate interviews, but I like this one.

Tragic hero(es)?
B: Me.  I’m a tragic hero, and also The James Brothers, Frank and Jesse.

If you could tour with any music act, who would it be?
B: I would love to tour with Leonard Cohen even if I just held his bag.

You moved to London a few years ago. What’s it like?
B: It’s a great, great city and it takes time to find your space but when you do it’s wonderful.

What fascinates you?
B: The making of jam.

Describe yourself as a person using three words.
B: Ready. Steady. Go.

Tell me something most people don’t know about you.
B: I don’t know myself sometimes and when it gets to Sunday the cloudiness starts all over again.

What makes you weak in the knees?
B: Someone being weak in the knees.

Long has taken to the open road, sitting on the porches of America with his guitar this November and December. Albeit, Bobby has yet to churn an album to comfort us through a stormy night; there’s something about the calm after the drops of rain, something hushed and clean.  And so, in the stillness, perhaps all we can do is wait.

www.myspace.com/musicbobbylong
www.bobby-long.co.uk/the-artist/

Album Review /// NEW MOON Soundtrack

You’ve got to hand it to them. Whoever “they” may be…The Twilight Saga: New Moon Soundtrack was released precursor, to countdown to the titled film’s big debut in November. And only if you’ve been living under a rock the past year, a massive one, would you not [...]]]> Desolate and Brewing.

Album Review /// NEW MOON Soundtrack

You’ve got to hand it to them. Whoever “they” may be…The Twilight Saga: New Moon Soundtrack was released precursor, to countdown to the titled film’s big debut in November. And only if you’ve been living under a rock the past year, a massive one, would you not know that New Moon is the second instalment to the Twilight saga by Stephenie Meyer. And the soundtrack isn’t your typical candy tang Sweetart packaged for the girlie girls of this world. It opens up a whole realm of sullen treats for the brooding, the introvert, the bashful and the philosopher. With Thom Yorke from Radiohead, the Editors, Bon Iver, Grizzly Bear and OK Go on board – it’s no wonder that it appeals to indie heads and Twi fans alike. Call it education for the masses or a hodgepodge of all that is right with music these days in a heavy compilation packaged in sixteen strong offerings. The Killers tame it down in A White Demon Love Song, Death Cab for Cutie talk about endings in Meet Me at the Equinox, and Muse remixes it up with I Belong to You, just to name a few known heavy hitters. It’s a rampant contagious beat with Friends by Band of Skulls, an echoing frenzy with Bon Iver and St. Vincent, childlike monotony and a world of Possibility with Lykke Li, and could-it-be a swinging almost happy tune with The Violet Hour by Sea Wolf. I’d like to do nothing more than tear it apart track by track, listing all the yummy efforts that went into this portentous concoction, but alas I’d be Shooting quite literally for…the Moon. The Editors sum up the album best with the song No Sound but the Wind. (Note: To all the guys out there, thank God you can just buy the tracks from ITunes without ever having to carry the CD case…Because who are you kidding?! Even if you secretly liked the book saga, you wouldn’t be caught dead with that in hand.) Rest assured the album is one for the heartbroken and a marvel for those who prefer to sit in the shade; an eponymous record for the searching soul.