Southampton's legendary Joiners will host a Brighton band double-header in April, welcoming art-pop-rock ensemble LibraLibra and electro-punk noise merchants CLT DRP to its compact and bijou stage.
Having encountered LibraLibra at Dials last year I can guarantee that they're a live act you have to catch; raucous beats, arresting hooks and lead singer Beth Cannon's frankly jaw-dropping vocals, a stylised performance that lingers long in the memory. Recent release Skin and Bone is a prime example of the aural onslaught that awaits the discerning gig-goer (the AK/DK remix is pretty damn good too).
CLT DRP, three disparate travellers whose paths crossed on the South Coast, are a live unknown to me but on the strength of the tracks available online they bode well to deliver a raw set packed with pumping drums, feed-backed guitars, industrial beats and angry vocals.
Oh yes, this gig promises to be very much my bag of doughnuts; if it tickles your fancy then mark Wednesday 3rd April on your calendar. Tickets are available via the venue, priced at £5, with additional acts set to be added to the bill presently.
Despite my current curmudgeonly take on the Festive season I am, most definitely, a lover of that particular genre, the Christmas single. I also, it must be said, am rather partial to a cover version. Both these peccadilloes are, for some, tantamount to favouring both the Toffee Penny and the Peanut Cracknel in a musical box of Quality Street but that's just how it is.
Good for me then that this landed in my mailbox this morning; Brighton's drum & synth duo AK/DK have covered the classic John & Yoko tune, Happy Xmas (War Is Over), spinning a dystopian take on the 1971 original. This version, which I can picture Marvin The Paranoid Android humming to himself as it positions another spaceship in Milliways' parking bay, serves as a fitting riposte to the Internet-splitting Miley Cyrus & Mark Ronson cover (the busy production of which flavours it more as a power ballad).
Obviously both of these versions have their merits, with the Miley & Mark cover also featuring the involvement of Sean Ono Lennon, but I feel I have to go with AK/DK's effort out of the two; it has a level of electronic quirk that appeals to me. If you're partial to a cover at Christmas, and want to hear a different version again of this classic tune, then I highly recommend giving the Boy George & Antony Hegarty cut a listen.
