Hooli hit the road...

Gosport trio Hooli get their show on the road next month, taking their mellifluous blend of indie-blues to four venues across the south. The three-piece have got good word of mouth on the live outings, scoring a good review of their Winchestival set from the excellent Mix It All Up blog. You can catch Hooli at the following venues in September..

Latest Music Bar, Brighton - 10th September CANCELLED
The Jolly Sailor, Portsmouth - 11th September
BBC Introducing LIVE @ The Purple Turtle, Reading - 12th September
Madding Crowd, Bournemouth - 13th September

 ..and be sure to check out their latest release, Cider Sue, via the Spotify embed:

The End of The Revolution

The announcement that Pure Reason Revolution were calling it a day popped up in my Facebook feed earlier; the Reading alternative prog rockers have cited 'changing circumstances' but whatever the real reason it's a damn shame. I first stumbled across the band several years ago, supporting Mew at The Wedgewood Rooms if memory serves, and with their intoxicating blend of harmonies and melodic (and, yes, progressive) rock they soon became a band that my gigging buddies and I obsessively followed.

We bought the CDs, coveted the badges, used the bookmarks given away at the merchandising desk and waited with bated breath for news of a new release. Time passed only for debut album The Dark Third to be re-released in a slightly different form. Of course, we bought that too. Our fanboy ardour waned as the months went by; after a disappointing gig at The Joiners, beset with technical issues, one of our number decided that was enough. Our fickle fandom could only take so much.

However, being the kind of sad music obsessive that I am, I couldn't give them up completely. I scoured the internet for updates, there were rumours of the new album, but I wouldn't believe it until I had a copy in my grubby mitts. So it was, some months later, that I again found myself at The Joiners. The rumours were true; a pile of shiny new CDs, all in shiny cardboard sleeves, teased me from the merchandise desk.

Second album, Amor Vincit Omnia, dispensed with the lush strings from the debut, replacing them with dollops of synthesizer. The harmonies and repeated themes remained but, despite a couple of excellent signature tunes (Deus Ex Machina and Victorious Cupid), it wasn't as wholly satisfying a listen as their debut. Where the album succeeded though was in showing a band confident enough to experiment with their sound.

Not letting the dust settle PRR continued their push into electronic territories, perfecting their efforts on third long player Hammer and Anvil. Co-written and produced by Tom Bellamy (ex-Cooper Temple Clause) the album is a heavy, pounding, synth happy delight; throat-grabbing opener Fight Fire is a song that seems designed to accompany things blowing up.

Shortly after Hammer and Anvil's release I saw the band for what now looks to be the last time, at last year's SouthseaFest; having drawn the opening slot on the Wedge stage the band found themselves playing to a mostly empty room. No matter, they cranked the dials up to 11 and played a charged set sampling their new long player. This was a band ready to seize the day, or so I thought at the time; I really do have a kiss of death about these things. 

But before they bid the crowds adieu, pack up their instruments and go their separate ways, the band will be playing a final six shows. The 'farewell tour' takes in Nottingham, Bristol, Norwich, Holmfirth, Glasgow and London (but sadly no 'one last time' at The Joiners, which is a shame) with debut The Dark Third being played in its entirety each night. A good way to say goodbye, if there is such a thing. 

So long PRR, and thanks.

Pure Reason Revolution - Victorious Cupid

Reading's Pure Reason Revolution have released a new tune, Victorious Cupid, for free download via their MySpace.

The song will only be available for a limited period and, whilst perhaps sounding like a potted version of The Dark Third, is a good sign that the band is back on track after recent problems.

If you caught the band on their recent tour you may have picked up a CD sleeve which can be used to house this 'single' should you choose to burn the song to a CDR.

Furthermore a new fan-forum has sprung up, replacing the defunct official one on the band's label-led website. You can now join fellow fans in The Realm of The Divine. Which is nice.

The Gigwatcher 20/02/2006

Willkommen, Bienvenue and Welcome to a fun-packed installment of The Gigwatcher. I've returned from my travels (to the northern lands and all points west, from snow to sheep in a matter of days) to find that, in my absence, a whole pile of gigs were waiting in the backpages of the NME:

Panic! At The Disco @ The Wedgewood Rooms, Southsea - 23/03/2006
Imogen Heap @ Komedia, Brighton - 05/04/2006
Jenny Lewis @ Hanbury Ballroom, Brighton - 16/04/2006
Shack (plus Jim Noir) @ The Concorde, Brighton - 06/05/2006
Computerman; @ Lennon's, Southampton - 13/05/2006
The Zutons @ The Guildhall, Southampton - 23/05/2006
Billy Bragg (plus Seth Lakeman) @ The City Hall, Salisbury - 01/06/2006
Red Hot Chilli Peppers @ Madjeski Stadium, Reading - 03/07/2006
The Ordinary Boys @ The Guildhall, Portsmouth - 11/10/2006

All these gigs will, when I'm not busy stuffing CDs into iTunes, join the others in the Son of Music Club's Events Calendar. I've already added in a whole swathe of upcoming gigs covering what's on the Portsmouth Guildhall, The Joiners, The Brook and The Wedgewood Rooms (plus a couple of other places) over the next few months. Once registered on the forum you have full run of the Events Calendar to discover the goodies thereon.

As for the forum, not much has been happening lately, though there's now an IOW Festival thread. Well.. I think that's that for now.. there may well be another Gigwatcher coming your way this Wednesday, dependent on what the NME has to say for itself.