Lincoln

Meet Albany, A four piece Indie band based in Lincoln.

22nd Aug 2021 — Leave a comment
Podcast
Albany

Although it’s good to live in the present, the recent present has not been so desriable so you’d be forgiven for regressing into the past in order to see a more hopeful future. This comfort of familairtiy is one of the reasons why Matt Duke, guitarist and lead Vocalist for Albany, describes their sound as a modern take on nostalgia, proving that sometimes previous events allow us to evolve into new phases of ourselves, or in this case music.

Their new single ‘Need No Longer’ is a powerful anthem exploring human resilience in the face of the past year. The supporting music video explores themes of captivity, battles with uncertantiy and the fragility of personal freedom.

Rebecca Gale, student of the University of Lincoln, is the talented performer featured in the above music video. Her movements capture the emotions expressed in the song, the gradual demise into anger and desperation for liberation after the intial welcoming of something novel, dutifully staying indoors, baking bread and diligently sticking to our hour of exercise. Matt shared with me, on my podcast, that she moved from being an angel to the devil, defying restrcitions and breaking free causing damage in her wake.

Albany is a four piece Indie band from Lincoln, made up of Dan Sharrat the drummer, Billy Richards the guitarist, Chris Fletcher the bassist and Matt Duke. They have played alongside Scouting for Girls, The Velvet Hands and Marsicans. Featured on BBC introducing Lincolnshire and their song Found you out featured on This Morning with Holly and Phil.

They’ve also performed at the Engine Shed,Camden rocks and and the Holbeach music and beer festival.

Dan and Matt feature on my podcast where we discussed the difficulties of maintaining a band, the joys of performing live and intriguing hidden talents, click here to find out more.

If you’d like to support the production of this blog click here

Meet Pylons, an indie band formed in Lincoln

16th Aug 2021 — Leave a comment
The Pylons

We’ve all felt the clutches of an existential crisis at times in our lives, the world constantly moving whilst we are frantically trying to free ourselves from inertia. The Pylons challenge the abject cynicism of the new millennia through experimental sounds, moving ballads and comic yet poignant music videos.

Initially formed in the friendship’s founded at the Will Farr school, in their hometown of Lincoln, the band are now made up of Joe on the keyboard and trumpet, Alex the lead guitarist, Joey on drums, Jacob the bassist, Barny the live sound engineer and co songwriter and finally Crosby the singer and rhythm guitarist who shared what it’s like being in an up and coming indie band with me.

After releasing their debut single ‘creatures’ in 2018 their success took them to performing at a few small live gigs which eventually lead them to gain exposure from BBC radio one and RADIO 6 which secured them a place performing at both Ynot and then Glastonbury. Their latest work continues to evolve, exploring different sounds and expressing all the emotions that make us human.

Crosby shared with me what was most rewarding as a band; ‘A band is a creative outlet to release frustration, anger, sadness, joy. It is an expression of what it means to be human. It’s the playing live that is the most rewarding facet of a band, if you could only bottle the adrenaline and serotonin that comes with it to save it for a rainy day’.

With their sound being experimental it is difficult to pigeonhole the group to a specific genre. With different life stories and eclectic music taste the music they produce is experimental, but can loosely be defined as indie rock with splashes of pop that sometimes ventures into grunge and electronic rhythm’s. Their music is an act of defiance not conforming to status quo and challenging their listeners to do the same.

Their exuberant latest single ‘The Chase’, captures the capricious nature of life and the perspectives we have. It is about finding solace in the uncertainty of life. That living in itself is an art form, embracing the abyss and understanding why Sisyphus finds joy in the monotony of his boulder push. It truly captures the notion of feeling behind and constantly exerting yourself to catch up and it’s all captured in a tongue and cheek music video which you should check out now.

Their ability to switch from thought provoking ballads to amplified grunge infused anthems in the space of a few tracks yet maintaining a distinctive cohesiveness that makes them instantly recognisable just demonstrates the abundance of talent this band has which comes as no surprise as the band owns over 25 instruments including a didgeridoo, a small violin and a mandolin.

Initially based in Lincoln the band fledged to London more recently which has tested their friendship and the dynamic of the band only to pull them closer together, it’s probably down to their marinara recipe which they claim is the best in North West London.

If you’d like to support the production of this blog click here

Meet Carry The Crown A Rock band taking Lincolnshire by storm

11th Aug 2021 — Leave a comment

For those of you on the go, and those of you that have been missing it, my podcast has returned listen to it here

Carry the Crown

Guitarist Rupert Tyrer and drummer James Butcher shared stories with me about unlimited beer, hidden talents and the difficulty of starting a band when two members don’t speak for 6 months- they’re the best of friends now though.

It’s this aggressive passion that fuels the band’s success and incites an audience to head bang, throw themselves at each other and on the floor. It’s this energy that felt impossible to attain for so long that now it’s finally back we are all quite stunned, allowng the music to melt over us so we too can feel it’s liquid form and wash away the year and a half on not being able to.

In my opinion their song ‘Faster’ is one of my favourites but it seems the release of ‘Karma’ was a defining moment for the band and you can hear why on my podcast.

https://open.spotify.com/track/12YcakBEOkzi55OaUpDkm4?si=8d5332affa924f08
Karma by Carry the Crown

Recently playing at The Scene in Lincoln, alongside The Velvet Queens, James explained to me that he felt ‘mesmerised’. After a gig that electric it’s ‘difficult to talk’. As a member of the moshers I too was stunned at how surreal it was too once again feel the pull of the crowd.

Which you can all feel too at their upcoming live shows, the first being on August the 26th with Shanghai Blue’s at The Victoria in London, tickets available here, and then another on Saturday the 18th September with SkinDred , more information here, and if that wasn’t enough for you there’s another Friday 24th September at the Lincoln Imp in Scunthorpe ,tickets available here. More things are in the works but you’ll have to head to my podcast to hear about that.

By Dean Addison

Carry The Crown is really a band for it’s crowds, consistently involving them at live shows, talking to them afterward and making music we can all resonate with. Shared anger, shared passion their performances are a guaranteed collective, cathartic experience.