ALBUM REVIEW:  SLEEPER – Behind Every Mask (Mush) – Claustrophobic electronica, hissing samples, textures and all through a lo-fi, dark, moody (maybe sinister) experimental hip-hop filter. Clever soundscapes, otherly textures, grainy atmospheres, grimey drums, thick layers of dusty North American musical thought. An instrumental album layered with digital intrigue (and nothing to do with any female fronted Brit Pop band of the 90’s). Less is more, lots of less and more and everything else here, a crafted sound, clever considered constructions... and none of this sounds as if it happened in any kind of accidental press it and see kind of way... this sounds and feels like every note was placed with purpose, every sound carefully considered.... who knows if that is the case, feels like it though, a work of depth – circuit-bending beat driven electronic soothing goodness and well worth your delicate ears. Out now and available in the UK via www.cargorecords.co.uk or www.myspace.com/madawkward

NEWS: F**K BUTTONS ALBUM AND TOUR... Noisy noise-makers F**k Buttons have announced that they will release their second album, 'Tarot Sport', on 12 Oct via ATP. Produced by Andrew Weatherall, the album will spawn its first single, 'Surf Solar', on 14 Sep. They'll also tour in September... Tour dates: 17 Sep: Leeds, Brudenell Social Club, 18 Sep: Sheffield, Corporation, 19 Sep: Oxford, The Cellar, 20 Sep: Manchester, Deaf Institute, 21 Sep: Nottingham, Bodega, 22 Sep: Birmingham, Hare & Hounds, 23 Sep: Newcastle, The Other Room, 24 Sep: Glasgow, Stereo, 25 Sep: Lancaster, The Storey, 26 Sep: Bristol, Colston Hall, 27 Sep: Brighton, Audio, 27 Sep: London, Heaven
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NEWS: MUSIC FOR NON-THINKERS is the latest Punkvert event, it happens at Inn on the Green, 3-5 Thorpe Close, (underneath the Westway) London, W10... Punkvert events are always good, the bands are always a little different... The gig happens on Friday 31st July... This time featuring TOTAL DESCENT, PERHAPS CONTRAPTION, THE DOOMED BIRD OF PROVIDENCE, ANARCHISTWOOD... Here’s what the Punkvert crew say: 
         Total Descent - performance artist Sobriety Twist's new rock and roll band takes to the stage for it's debut show, with Sobriety singing orders from the helm. 
            Perhaps Contraption - An ever-evolving collective gargling a love of the spontaneous & technical, humourous & desperate, soothing & challenging. "seriously hard-boiled, tetrahedron-shaped, bendy pronk" (Organ)
           The Doomed Bird of Providence - Almost like a post-rock (spit!) take on Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds soliciting The Pogues with a little pinch of the Tiger Lillies this is a true soup of string drenched compositions being pierced by jarring Australian vocals sung in a near shanty style about topics such as murder and honour amongst thieves. (Diskant) 
          Anarchistwood - rolling wild and unkempt, the 'wood and Handsum Pete perform (in some shambolic fashion) a variety of their tunes with a medley of Flaming Fire and Rapeman covers at the mercy of drummer Bully Bash joining them for this one off show. light candles for them at your leisure 
        DJs  - Max Quirk - he of the Tuesday night Max's Magic Circles show on wirelessfm.net spinning psychedelic rarities and gaudy baubles to his heart's content.  - PRNWhore - heads spinning, rekkids spinning, pranktastic tunes from Subterfuge Cabaret's resident DJ 
      Four quid on the door, decent pint, lots of visuals, DJ always good, friendly people, beautifully chaotic and always worth checking out, they say it starts at 7, they never start on time.... More from punkvert.tv. 

SINGLE REVIEW:  ROBIN GUTHRIE – Angel Falls (Rocket Girl) – new four track EP ahead of the Carousel album that’s due out on September 1st. Angel Falls is four very mellow slices of delicate tinkling dreamy uplifting slow-moving opulence and those trademark Cocteau Twins floaty things he does - www.robinguthrie.net / www.rocketgirl.co.uk

NEWS: GREEN DAY TAKE ART ON TOUR - The new record may not be up to much, but hery, good to see the band have commissioned a different piece of artwork for each of the tracks on current album 21st Century Breakdown, and even better to see the collection of works will be available for all to see when the band tour America and the thought of art is always ot be encouraged. The exhibition has been curated by stencil artist Logan Hicks who commissioned a different artist for each piece. "I chose artists whom I felt had a similar visual approach to art as Green Day does to its music. Although most of the artists represented are well-established in their careers, they embrace the same emotional rawness with their art, which speaks from the heart and swings with the fist. Their subject matter is struggle and injustice - they shoot from the hip and their art is their weapon".
          Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong added: "We are really excited to be touring with this incredible show. Seeing the pieces that our new album has inspired is very exciting. Many of the artists Logan has chosen show their work on the street, and we feel a strong connection to that type of creative expression. We think the fans coming out to see us on the road will love it".
         Here's a list of who and what...

ALBUM REVIEW:  FALCONGATE – Disappear Here (Lockjaw) – They’re from Hungary and they’re another one of those competent enough indie emo guitar rock bands who could be from Hungary or Brighton or California or pretty much anywhere really. They do their slick thing well enough, no hint of identity or x factor or any kind of desire to push anything, no risk taking, no challenge... You’ve heard all this before, and one of those auto-tuner vocoder things just kicked in so the eject button is about to be hit and just what is the point in another record like this? And look at that bit there with the press release; really not sure how the label can be claiming the flag of punk rock with this one, this musical conformity is probably about as far away from the idea of punk rock as you could possibly get...  here’s a link if you want to investigate and make you own mind up - www.falcongaterock.com

NEWS: NEW ENGLAND - “Hi. Hope you remember us, we've reformed as a 3 piece under the name of Kill The Machine. Our myspace is www.myspace.com/killthemachineuk. We have a gig this Tuesday, 28th of July, at South of the Border on Old Street. Hope you can be there, we were once called New England, we just reformed.... Cheers, Ian Winters” – where’s ‘uxter though, hasn’t done a Sid has he?

ALBUM REVIEW: MANGROVE  - Endless Skies (Transubstans) – Decent enough melodic 70’s stoner flavoured heavy rock from Stockholm... Psychedelic edges, unashamedly retro, Sabbath flavoured, big galloping riffs, ex members of Sideburn...  www.myspace.com/mangrovesweden or www.recordheaven.net
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Organ show with Sean O on RESONANCE 104.4FM, Sunday July 26th 2009, 9.00pm – On your FM dial all over London and worldwide via www.resonancefm.com. 

1/intro: TRANSISTOR SIX – Back Yard Rocketship (Blackbean & Placenta)
2: GABLÉ – Debut (Loaf)
3: ELECTRICITY IN OUR HOMES – Hooves (Parlour)
4: RUDE MECHANICALS – Body Fluids (Ex Gratia)
5: PERHAPS CONTRAPTION – The Old Dispensary (demo)
6: ANARCHISTWOOD – Don’t Bullshit The Artist (Ex-Gratia)
7: LIME HEADED DOG – Bobby Fischer (Volcano Attack)
8: THE ORB – Raven’s Reprise (Malicious Damage)
9: KONG - Gwant (Brew)
10: WILD BEASTS – When I’m Sleepy (Domino)
11: THE THING – Hidegen Fujnaka Szelek (Smalltown Superjazzz)
12: STREET SWEEPER SOCIAL CLUB – The Squeeze (Cooking Vinyl)
13: HYSTERICA – Girls Made Of Heavy Metal (Crong)
14: RUINS – Zajyu (Ipecac)
15: GG ELVIS AND THE TCP BAND –  Suspicious Minds (Mental)
16: NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA / STRAVINSKY – Rite Of Spring (Apex)
17: THE STUPIDS – Drumshop Arsehole (Boss Tuneage)
18: RUINS - Mennevuogth (Ipecac)
19 JON HOPKINS  - Light Through The Veins (Double Six)

Full links, details and everything else here....
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25th JULY 09 - Signposts, signposts, get on the boat, passing and throwing even more paint, montana Gold running low again, and Sharks vs Hawks, sounds more like some emo band than a game of cricket 

ALBUM REVIEW: KONG – They’re a bothersome band this Manchester lot, scratching and poking and prodding away, agitating, buzzing around your head, flying at your face, taught, wired, never letting up....  Debut full album.... bruising, intense, jagged, fractured, bleak, angst-ridden, riffs contradicting reflection... insect rushing... fractured, broken, mended, fractured again... Kong are different, and like we’ve said before, they’re one of the best bands in the UK right now... boundary pushing, tripping up over their own boundaries, taking risks, challenging themselves, challenging us, clever, never ever obvious, still can’t predict where they’re going... one unholy row, metal? Not really, beyond that, falling upstairs, falling up mountains... disjointed... fluid, angular... screaming... crashing...  only got a CDr here, hope there’s intense artwork.... discordant, disturbing, face-pushing... perpetual...punk, post punk, Fugazi car crashes, buzzing... buzzing off it... chainsaw chaos, destructive beauty, head-pecking goodness.... wound up tight... crash, bang, devastatingly unconventional, crafted ferocity, crafted bliss, crafted....  falling off the roof of the world... as intense as any band who have ever been called Kong.... disturbingly good and everything we dared to hope their debut album would be.... abrasive beauty.... we told you all this before didn’t we? -  www.brewrecords.net or www.myspace.com/kongdom
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ALBUM REVIEW: HOW’S MY POP – On The Hop (Barnbox) – Northern indie pop (from Lancaster), they sound like they want to be the next Arctic Monkeys or something, not doing that much for us but hey neither do those Monkeys. Sound like they should be all over XFM and the NME and the sun is out and live and let live and here’s a polite link, next please – www.howsmypop.com

SINGLE REVIEW: THE CAPITOL YEARS – You Can Stay Here (SOE) - Brain set to stun? Or just being eased by some lush breezy North American alt.indie pop? Rather easy on the ear two tracker from Philadelphia’s The Capitol Years, glowing indie pop, gentle pace, melodic harmonies and a fine taste from the forthcoming album Dance Away TheTerror – www.capitolyears.com
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FIELD DAY FESTIVAL DETAILS: With just over a week left to go until the gates of Victoria Park open on August 1st for their third annual outing, the Field Day organisers say they are pleased to announce the full stage-by-stage breakdown of stellar acts playing this year's event.  Plus, there will be a brand new Guardian Tea Room Tent and Do You Come Here Often, a “spankingly” fresh art happening area from Time Out. Here at Organ we say THE THING are the band to make sure you don't miss 
     Eat Your Own Ears Main Stage: Eat Your Own Ears DJ's / Errors / Fennesz / Final Fantasy / First Aid Kit / Gaggle / Jon Hopkins / Mogwai (Only English Summer Festival Show) / Santigold / Skream / The Horrors / The Temper Trap 
      Adventures In The Beetroot Field Stage: Allez Allez / Crispin Dior (AITBF) / Devil Made Me Do It / Four Tet / King Charles / Micachu And The Shapes / Mystery Jets / Plugs / S.C.U.M / Sian Alice Group / Stopmakingme (AITBF) / The Big Pink / The Invisible / Wild Beasts 
        Village Mentality Stage: Fanfarlo / James Yorkston / Juana Molina / Malcolm Middleton / Mumford And Sons / The Thing / Toumani Diabate / Wet Paint / Woodpigeon 
Bugged Out! Stage: Aeroplane DJs / Audion (Live) / Delphic (Live) / Erol Alkan / Fake Blood / JD Twitch (Optimo) / Little Boots (Live) / Wild Geese 
Bloggers Delight Stage: Casper C (AITBF/Bloggers Delight) / Drums Of Death (Live) / Greco-Roman Soundsystem  / No Pain In Pop DJs / Rusko (DJ Set) / Skull Juice (Bloggers Delight) / The Xx / Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs / Work It 
        This year will also see a brand new Guardian Tea Room Tent joining the myriad delights of Field Day. Perfectly positioned to cast your eyes over the ever-amusing goings on in Village Mentality, the Guardian Tea Room Tent will offer a touch of refinement to proceedings with lashings of freshly brewed tea and home-made cakes to help you recharge your batteries whilst perusing the paper. 
           Time Out are joining the fray too with Field Day's inaugural cabaret and art happenings tent hosted in conjunction with Eat You Heart Out and Take Courage Gallery. The 'Do You Come Here Often' tent brings together the cutting edge of live art in London. Look out for the upcoming alternative magicians and surreal alt drag queens, comedic neo-cabaret singers of London's exploding performance art scene, and see them in a unique space. All in all Do You Come Here Often is the centre of the unlikely at Field Day, come with an open mind and you might just sneak the performance highlight of the year. Showtime! 
        Field day happens on Saturday August 1st, at Victoria Park, Tower Hamlets, London, E3. More from www.fielddayfestivals.com
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NEWS: SAD DAY FOR PUPPETS make a flying visit to the UK this weekend for a couple of London shows and an appearance at the Truck Festival. Here are the details: Friday, July 24 - The Windmill, Brixton - Saturday, July 25 - Truck Festival, Hill Farm, Steventon,  Sunday, July 26 - The Dream Machine at The Half Moon, Herne Hill. They will be back for a full UK tour in November and there will be a new release to coincide. In the meantime their debut album 'Unknown Colors' is out now. Find out more from the good people at Sonic Cathedral...www.soniccathedral.co.uk

20 YEARS OF DEFINITIVE SKATEBOARDING is an exhibition that ties in with a big fat glossy coffee style table book of skateboard photos. The exhibition is in the rather spacious Maverik showroom, Redchurch Street over in gallery infested London E2 (That’s Shoreditch to you). A collection of atmospheric photos from American photographer MIKE BLABAC, he’s been documenting significant skateboard events from the last twenty years – Danny Way’s jump over the great wall of China, landmark moments in LA and San Francisco. All tied in with some shoe company and the kind of corporate glossy nonsense and product placement (and some hideous looking orange and black shoe) that you might like to think it shouldn’t be about but there are some rather good photos if skateboarding glossiness is your thing. The Show opened last night and runs until Friday 31st July – www.dcshoes.com/blabac10
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NEWS: TATSUYA YOSHIDA (RUINS - ALONE) will be here in London at Cafe Oto on Saturday and Sunday August 8th and 9th, this is exciting; “Tatsuya Yoshida is one of the most innovative drummer/composer/improvisers in the Japanese avant-garde music scene. Born in 1961 Yoshida began playing professionally in early '80's and formed his own drums and bass duo group Ruins in 1985. Ruins play very unique high energy music that is mixture of contemporary music, hard core and progressive rock. Yoshida has led many other groups including, KOENJIHYAKKEI, RUINS, ZUBIZUVA, AKATEN,  KOREKYOJIN. He has collaborated with JOHN ZORN, FRED FRITH, DEREK BAILEY, KEIJI HAINO, YOSHIHIDE OTOMO, ACID MOTHERS TEMPLE etc...
     Tatsuya Yoshida will also perform one night at the Serpentine Gallery alongside Charles Hayward, an event organized by OTO Projects in association with Cafe Oto on Friday August 7th. Full details can be found here
           LINKS, MUST HAVE THOSE LINKS!: www.cafeoto.co.uk or www.myspace.com/magaibutsu

NEWS: OBERST TO CLOSE HIS BRIGHT EYES - Conor Oberst has decided to retire his Bright Eyes project after one more album, according his hometown's newspaper The Omaha World-Herald. This follows an interview with Rolling Stone last month in which he said: "It does feel like it needs to stop at some point. I'd like to clean it up, lock the door, say goodbye".

ALBUM REVIEW:  THE DANDY WARHOLS – The Dandy Warhols Are Sound (EMI) - We used to be friends, a long time ago.... Bands come, bands go, there’s always a new band... Haven’t really seriously encountered the Dandy Warhols for what seems like ages, last century? We used to be friends, a long time ago... Organ covers when no one knew them, brilliant (half-empty) Camden pub gigs and topless roller-skating margarita incidents before all the hype kicked in, bullying EMI in to releasing that first single when over here they really didn’t seem that interested in the U.S band they had on the label - trying to get them to let us do it seeing as they didn’t want to do it themselves, getting the Brian Jonestown Massacre and all their baggage in return (some thank you that was Dandys!). Oh yes, we used to be friends, a long time ago..  A new album then, kind of lost touch, is this where the band are at now? Less of that gloriously locked on forward moving rather focused North American alt.space rock of the early days, still sounds like no one else but them though, different drugs to slow things down? “Let’s get this one recorded in one toke....” and funk, lots of funk, too much funk? And that forth track, The Last High, sounds rather too much like Bowie’s Ashes to Ashes doesn’t it...? It is that familiar Dandys sound though and it is always good to run in to an old friend you once felt so much for... old friends always make you smile don’t they? Might not be the same as it was but they are still sound enough. Not sure if this is a brave album or not? Is this the sound of a band growing gracefully old and mellow? Or a band trying to challenge themselves and take a few risks? They are still sound aren’t they? Yeah, The Dandy Warhols are still Sound, this is a mellow album, a band at ease, kicking back, doing what they want, under none of the pressure of past times, a relaxed band/. Some bits of it works more than other bits and indie rock bands trying to funk are always a little dubious and meeting old friends you grew apart from is always a little awkward and I think I like this album don’t I? Yes, The Dandy Warhols are still sound... www.thedandywarhols.com
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21st JULY 09 - RESONANCE FROM THE PLINTH.... Resonance104.4fm are pleased to be broadcasting a radio show by Sheffield Live! 93.2FM live from the Fourth Plinth as part of Anthony Gormley’s “One And Other” sculpture in London’s Trafalgar Square. Presented by Sheffield Live’s Alan Fransman, the broadcast aims to create a memorable connection between audiences in London and Sheffield. Alan writes: “I am a big fan of Resonance FM and proud to be part of a collaborative work that involves two fantastic radio stations.” Sangita Basudev, Chief Executive of Sheffield Live! 93.2FM adds: “Community Radio is all about bringing communities together. With Alan’s broadcast from the Fourth Plinth, we will be bringing Sheffield to the heart of the capital – and putting the streets of London on to the Sheffield airwaves.” We say: “Alan’s use of radio ingeniously propels Anthony Gormley’s participatory artwork into the centre of community arts.” Tune in or turn up and hear it happening in the flesh. The broadcast will be on London arts radio station Resonance FM tonight, Tuesday 21 July, 8pm – 9pm... www.resonancefm.com

ALBUM REVIEW: MAGNETIC MORNING – A.M. (Friend or Faux) – A.M is the debut full length from dreamy creamy slowcore swirl-making song-crafting duo Adam Franklin (from Swervedriver) and Sam Fogarino (he on Interpol). A glowing set of gentle sonic washes, soothing textures, very much about the songs though...  Written, via the wonders of e.mail files, cyberspace, tour buses and hotels,  while both of their bands were busy globetrotting with their two bands – “from Hawaii to England, New Zealand to New Jersey...” it says here.. Beautifully soothing songs, uplifting interludes, progressive shifts, just really enjoyably good... www.magneticmorning.com

WHERE ARE THEY NOW? Whatever did happen to SIKTH anyway? Championed lots around here back in their early days before the music industry moved in to mess it up...  tracks on ORG compilations, support slots on Organ bills and such, seems they fell in to Dante’s inferno and split sometime in 2008 never to be heard of again.... until today that is... “Some people may be interested to know that Dan Weller, Sikth guitarist (and his co-writer Ciaran Cahill) recently wrote all the music for a Children’s BBC series on BBC2. The show is still on air: its called 'Transmission Impossible with Ed and Oucho' on Saturday mornings at 10am. They wrote a song called 'bananas' for the show - its a song all about how incredible bananas are. This song could become a released single apparently so... here it is, and here’s the theme tune. 
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NEWS: ANIMAL COLLECTIVE have become the first band ever to have a Grateful Dead sample cleared for use. The freak folk band use a portion of the Dead's song 'Unbroken Chain' in a new track called 'What Would I Want Sky'. Posting on Twitter, Animal Collective's management company, Leg Up Management, confirmed that the deal had gone through, adding that it was cleared because Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh "loved the track".  You can hear the sample in question in use on this live recording of 'What Would I Want Sky':

Seven for a secret never to be told...

ALBUM REVIEW: GARETH SAGER – Slack Slack Music (Creeping Bent) – Founder member of the legendary Pop Group with a new solo album... The Pop Group, Rip Rig & Panic, Head, his most recent project C.C Sager, quite a history here... history isn’t what matters though, respect to it and respect to him, but this about new records and the new now and getting all fired up and we are all prostitutes and so fired up, so fired up...  He may have been guitarist with The Pop Group, these twelve brand new tracks are what we’re concerned with and with a history like his, there’s a lot to live up to.. .He does, this is good... hard to pin down as well, good... good good good.... All is good There’s all kinds of little hints in here, that wonderful Pop Group legacy and all that awkward challenging angular energy and bits of The Fall, New Order, Orange Juice, Wire, The Clash (The Pop Group were right up there with them all back in the day of course). Nothing slack here, all good lean challenging new wave button pushing angle provoking goodness, still as challenging as ever, still as different as ever, nothing safe, no taking it easy, history is now, we are all...  – www.myspace.com/creepingbent  or www.myspace.com/garethsager (or some history - www.myspace.com/thepopgroup

This Monday, that’s today, here and now, sees the start of a new exhibition at I AM JOY...  CRITICLE POLITICLE: '20 PAINTINGS ON THE G20 RIOTS' - BY SAM McGANN
       “This show is a comment on how Sam perceived the police's actions in the G20 protests in May 2009 based on media coverage.  At the show you will be able to view some first hand video and written information about these protests”.  Private View will be held on Monday 20th @ 6 - 9pm and the show runs from 20th to 26th July – The I AM JOY gallery is in Chichester, we’ve covered the gallery on these Organ pages before, there’s an energy at I Am Joy that’s missing with most artistic gallery encounters, an energy, and a standard of work that excites us. See the Organ art pages for previous thoughts and encounters, explore the gallery and everything else via www.iamjoy.co.uk
           Here are links, links to some footage of the G20 events just in case you've not been paying attention...
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SINGLE REVIEW:  UNITED FRUIT – Mistress Reptile, Mistress (She Said) – Rather urgently abrasive five track EP from this immediate Glasgow four piece. Tightly wound jagged guitars and new wave post hardcore angular hardcore noise-rock goodness that bites down hard.. .Reptile Mistress indeed, a demanding sound, a wired sound, all creeping in from different angles and gooseberries jarring with blackberries and lemons and bananas and experimental visceral intensity and we like this lots... all discordant and jagged and nagging at your head to eat your oranges and your Fugazi and your Shellac and your Mclusky and... yes... go grab your united fruit, five a day needed, obey your mistress, strenght of character.. – www.myspace.com/unitedfruitband or www.shesaidrecords.co.uk

ALBUM REVIEW:  THE DUEL – Childish Behavior (FFRUK) – London punks The Duel with their latest album, all very very London... defiantly so... Melodic girl-fronted punk pop defiance and the infectious street-urchin spirit of ’77. Catchy, shouty, riffy, all pistol’d up and o bondage up yours and Blondie and Siouxsie dayglo and torn fishnets and... They’re good at it, not many doing it this way these days.. and they got their sound nailed this time, took themselves up a league or two.... www.myspace.com/theduel

DEMO REVIEW: NIXA – Three track demo from a rather professional sounding London based band. Nixa describe themselves as a ‘modern rock band’, they’re all very slick and yeah, ‘modern’, one of them there emo/indie slick melodic rock bands that really don’t do much for these ears. Let me politely point out that they do their chosen thing impressively well and leave their melodic slickness and modern pop-rock rule obeying with you. If you like slick indie guitar rock and things like Biffy Clyro or Foo Fighters then they do it well enough, they have their  thing together... Here’s a link, off you go and investigate, not exciting us much – www.nixa.co.uk
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18th JULY 09 - ART:GREAT BIRDS OF THE BRITISH ISLES @ OBLONG 

Great Birds of the British Isles is the first ever collaborative show from artists called Milk, Dora, K148 and Amour. The four formed this collective after meeting via underground graffiti circles, painting walls and photographing the evolution of the artform. 
         “Print, paint and photography have brought these four birds together. After finding each other’s passions they are determined to take a step forward and create something totally fresh and unique. Expect to peer into a boudoir of colour texture and design with solo and collaborative pieces spilling from wall to canvas and back again, exploring an intoxicating mix of juiced up logos, great birds, female forms and a spoon full of graffiti... seen through a very different eye. Now sit back and watch them spread there wings and fly!” 

         Oblong is at 69 Southgate Road, London N1 (nearest tube is Angel). The show opens on Friday 10th July and runs until August 9th – more details from www.oblonggallery.com or www.myspace.com/greatbirds
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NEWS: THE ORB are to play a one off, intimate gig on September 10th at Arch 635, Clapham, London SW4. Dr. Alex Paterson and Thomas Fehlmann AKA The Orb “are still going strong after over 20 years, still producing great new material and gigging, The Orb are a living, breathing band. This is not a reunion and not a nostalgia gig”. Tickets are limited to 250 so early booking is strongly advised £10.00 from www.maliciousdamage.biz

LIVE REVIEW: DM STITH / BAT FOR LASHES – Somerset House, London, 16th July - 

Now that was serious rain! And it was all going so well until DM Stith said something about thinking it wasn’t going to rain and then sang a final song of a rather beautiful set that had something to do with rain... then it started to rain... it started to seriously rain, seriously seriously rain, torrential rain, and thunder and lightening and soaked... soaked to our underwear kind of rain...
 

             DM Stith was the reason for being here tonight but Bat For Lashes in the lashing rain and the lashing lightning and lashing everything else was something rather magical. Under the lights with the rain providing the atmosphere and most of us determine to stick it out... From the start of Trophy right through, up there sounding very very Kate Bush in a very positive otherworldly wizards and sirens kind of way... and looking a bit Rick Wakeman in those capes and cat-suits and things as the rain lashed and the thunder crashed and the rich reds and deep purples bathed the Somerset House walls again...  all eyeliner chaos and warm in the cold and wet, soaked to our skins, there is no turning back... all rather magical actually, you had to be there in the rain...

www.batforlashes.com
www.dmstith.com
www.somersethouse.org.uk
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ALBUM REVIEW: DEVIL DRIVER – Pray For Villains (Roadrunner) – Metal, we love it around here... Metal, it really does piss us off around here.. all that glossy corporate milking Download bulshit and the endless line of dumb copycat tattoos and hairspray - an endless parade of product pushing and marketing and image over substance and that bloke out of Static X, him with the silliest comedy hair of all.... But hey, Static X are long gone and Devil Driver have been making up for previous crimes and as modern corporate play-the-game metal goes Devil Driver have been one of the better experiences of recent times... You never know with these glossy Download generation metal bands though, even the good ones let you down in the end, that recent Killswitch Engage album was a big disappointment to put things politely... Pray For Villains piles in with relentless style and a pounding bone-shaking drum-pounding thrashing growl and Devil Driver are not letting up here - this kicks off where The Last Kind Words ended, that opening track is a modern metal sledgehammer to skull declaration of metallic intent and Dez and his crew don’t let up for the whole length of the album... OK so we kind of loose interest after six of so tracks, but hey, as short sharp blasts of short attention span throwaway metal goes, this is another good one from Devil Driver... You never quite know... www.devildriver.com or www.roadrunnerrecords.co.uk
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ALBUM REVIEW: ONEIDA – Rated O (Jagjaguwar/Brah) – What is going on here then? I rather like it, what is going on though? Three copies of this triple album have shown up here in the last week, guess that’s wreckord companies for you. Rated O is something like being trapped in the back room of Club Dog with some Ozrics loving electronics freek (or maybe some mid 90’s squat where there’s not enough generator power for both light and sound and paranoia is playing with your head and is that the cops coming in again?). I guess those who weren’t really tuned in to what was actually going on musically back there when all that cross pollination was going down at free festivals and throughout the underground networks and such, will probably tell you that this is some kind of pushing the boundaries of kraut dub flavoured prog in to the here and now or something... It is a good album, don’t get me wrong, this is a great album, but hey, it don’t half sound like bits of Ullulators or Oroonies or I.Shensound and the rest with those bits of dub and the locked on forward movement and bits of electronic stoner punk-prog Neu and Gong and all powered by some impressive percussion and compressed ideas and... The second installment of their Thank Your Parents triptych of releases and all kind of kosmische and 70’s Kraut rock and that percussion nails it and not so much forward movement or breaking of new ground but the sound of a million illegal free festivals and underground squat jams and looking back while trying to push forward... Heard it all before, yep, the Brooklyn outfit would have sounded right on the ball in the poodle lounge of George Robby somewhere around 1993... Some of it even sounds like Webcore, not quite the magic of Webcore but do take that as high praise... this thing will not blow over, contact and switch the other... like it lots, floating anarchy indeed, sure some of it gets a little lost in the smoke, three discs long? Did it need to be? Wonder what happened to Evil Edna’s Horror Toilet? Really didn’t need three copies to get us to play it on the radio though... anyone one want one of these spare copies? First come, first served... Damn good album, like the ambition, like the guts, love the percussion, might get lost in the dark in the corner for hours, might be a good place... like the Captain’s Table or something... Nice one... if we play it again next time that will be three weeks on the bounce on the radio   www.enemyhogs.com or www.brahrecords.com
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14th JULY 09 - Alpha, beta, gamma, hubbaduba, flying teapots at the ready, here we go for some more floating anarchy....

NEWS: WHIPLASH and Thrash Metal Hot Sauce Line Available and... and we don’t make any of this up and Cruncher is probably going to take up cooking something a little more that noodles and baked beans now and reactivated New Jersey thrash metallers Whiplash have joined forces with From Mild To Wild Hot Sauce Shop to produce and release the first-ever thrash metal hot sauce line. We really don't make this up... 
         The band says: "This moderate hot sauce should appeal to anyone with taste buds. It's been a favorite of ours for a long time and we're thrilled to be providing it under this label." The "three-sauce gift pack" featuring Power And Pain, Last Nail In The Coffin and Swallow The Slaughter is now available for a limited time only - "Get 'em while they're hot!" For more information visit Frommildtowild.com or Rip Cruncher's kitchen. Meanwhile the band's long-awaited (so it says here on this press release) new full-length Unborn Again was scheduled to be release on July 15th via Pulverised Records; the release date has been pushed back until the end of July. 
         Right, enough of these cooking stunts, we’re not going to fall for this kind of clutching at straws to get a news story about a new album up on line out and on the streets, what kind of suckers do you think we are - www.myspace.com/whiplashusa or www.myspace.com/pulverisedrecords. 
       Tomorrow: Warrant's thought on the events of this coming Saturday, national cherry day we'll have you know, free cherry pie down at Borough Market so we're told... 
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     No support band, no real excuse for that, all that time and space and audience and ticket price, just one band and well, there could so easily have been a half hour set from someone like, well, a new band like Chickenhawk or Kong or...  Shouldn’t you big bands and promoters be giving the fresh blood the time and space? You were that flesh blood in need of an audience once upon a time. That little moan out of the way, this is a great place to see a band and the weather is good and The Mars Volta more than most have a right to enter to the sounds of the Mexican Spaghetti Western sounds of Moroconi as the sun starts to go down... 
             So, pretty much every description and gig listing of The Mars Volta mentions the P word, and those of us who take these Prog things seriously debate this fact vigorously - so much bandwidth could be saved if the following question could be answered: just what is frontman Cedric Bixler Zavala drinking on stage? He has a steaming mug of something on a special Mug Table up front, which he replenishes from a rather dark shiny flask.  The sight instantly makes me want to swap my four quid (FOUR QUID!!!!!) weeny bottle of fake cider for a nice cuppa, strong, milk no sugar, ta. Now, I'm sure there are Mars Volta fans in the moshpit in front of me who can tell me exactly what's in the mug, thus resolving all arguments: if it's tea, then they are progging Prog, end of story. 
          My guess is that it's not tea, certainly not orange and the bag left in, but some weirdass peyote desert sage medicine thing. With a few shots of really strong coffee thrown in.  Because The Mars Volta are at heart a psychedelic band, for all their volume and nods towards complexity.  There's a splash of King Crimson and passing combinations of voice and instrument that sounds like Yes, but most of all its Led Zeppelin in a wall of sound, (guitarist Omar Ridriguez-Lopez unashamedly Page to Cedric's Plant) driving along in their most indulgent jamming mood. On record, they're dense and obtuse enough, so I'm expecting more so live.

ALBUM REVIEW:  ENGINEERS – Three Fact Fader (K Scope) – They have a plush new album, been some time in the making, they’re a band to just flow with, bask in, a refined sound, a refined album. Somewhere near the glory days of shoegaze, not far from mellow kraut rock and dreamscapes and inauras and just floating out there with their songs and their textures and subtle structures and simple considered details and should you be in a relaxed mellow mood and feel like gliding and glowing and....  An album to spend time with, unravelling it as it unravels you... www.myspace.com/engineers

Good moring, it didn't rain, more in a while... Mars Volta, Oblong, Engineers... bags of new releases to tell you about when we get a moment, we do things our way and in our own sweet time. Paint to spill first and coffee and none of this matters does it, you just want new music don't you? 

LONDON SOUND SURVEY: “Hi, thought some people here might interested in the London Sound Survey website at www.soundsurvey.org.uk. Does what it says on the tin with recordings of incidental sounds from around London, plus more purposeful sounds courtesy of street market traders, demonstrations, hustlers, buskers, football fans and more. About 230 recordings in all and growing slowly but steadily. Also with recordings organised into sound map format, plus historical references from many different authors on how London sounded back in the day. Have a look and a listen, hope you enjoy it.”
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13th June... Is it going to rain on us today? Mars Volta open air tonight, no rain no rain no rain...

Organ show with Sean O on RESONANCE 104.4FM, Sunday July 12th 2009, 9.00pm – On your FM dial all over London and worldwide via www.resonancefm.com. 

ART, POETRY, BALTIMORE CORNERS, MIDDLE AGES PUNKS and smartarse excuses for playing tracks...

Who got played this week? How do you find our more? Here come the details and links...

1/intro: TRANSISTOR SIX – Back Yard Rocketship (Blackbean & Placenta)
2: PETER HAMMILL – Stumbled (FIE)
3: PRE – Haircutticus (Skin Graft)
4: MARNIE STERN – Don’t Stop Belivin’ (demo) 
5: WIRE – Three Girl Rumba (EMI)
6: JAZZKAMMER – Freemix Norwave – Thurston Moore Remix (Smalltown Superjazzz) 
7: D.M STITH – Issac’s Song (Asthmatic Ktty)
8: THE STUPIDS – Middle Aged Punk (Boss Tuneage)
9: ORIGINAL SILENCE – Argument Left Hanging, Rubber Cement (Smalltown Superjazzz)
10: SLAB – Gutterbusting (Vinyl Ink)
11: D.M.STITH – SPIRIT PARADE (Asthmatic Ktty)
12: MICHAEL J SHEEHY - Fight For Your Right To Fight (Glitterhouse)
13: C.R. AVERY –  The Boxer Who Just Returned From London (Bongo Beat)
14: GREYMACHINE -  Vultures Descend (Hydra Head)
15: MEXICAN INSTITUTE OF SOUND – Sinfonia Agridulce (Cooking Vinyl)
16: WILLIAM BLAKE – London (download)
17: ANTHRAX (UK) – One Last Drop (Happy Release)
18: SHEARWATER – On The Death Of The Waters (Matador)
19: ONEIDA –  The Story Of O (Jagjagiwar/Brah)
20: THE STUPIDS – Drumshop Arsehole (Boss Tuneage)
21: HEIRS – Plague Asphyx (Denovali)

Those all important links details and reasons for the play here
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NEWS: WILLIAM BLAKE: London’s Visionary Anarchist - Philosopher, historian, biographer, travel writer and poet, Peter Marshall recounts the life of one of London’s finest artists, William Blake. Marshall offers a lively and perceptive account of his thought, ranging from his philosophy, his critique of existing society and culture, to his vision of a free world.
           “Come along to find out why Blake can be understood as a forerunner of modern anarchism and social ecology, and discover the light which shines behind his symbolism and mythology. This event celebrates the reprinting of Peter Marshall’s book ‘William Blake: Visionary Anarchist’ published by Freedom Press”. The event is part of Housmans’ ‘London’s Burning’ series (Housmans – radical booksellers since 1945) see www.housmans.com/events.php. Event information: Wednesday 15th July – 7pm to 8.30pm, Housmans Bookshop, 5 Caledonian Rd, King's Cross, London. Free entry - www.housmans.com

NEWS: GEORGE PELECANOS, one of the main writers and producers of TV show The Wire, is to give a talk at London pub The Boogaloo later this month. Pelecanos will appear at the north London venue on July 23, along with The Pogues founder member Spider Stacy, who will play a set with a band under the name Spider Stacy And Friends (does that mean it might tune in to one of those Baltimore detective wake nights with McNulty and Bunk?) See Theboogaloo.co.uk for more information.  There’s only two types of people in the world, those already hooked on TheWire and those yet to be hooked, Omar has us eating nothing Honey Nut here... Old news we know but everything is right, the look, the compelling sound, the space, the pace, the way you can invest time and emotion in every single one of them, the dirt it digs... perfect TV. 

10th JULY '09 - Another day, another bag of reviews and slices of news while we do what we really do (which really isn't this). Do what you will with whatever you find, the links are there for you to use should you wish... 

ALBUM REVIEW: CALLOUS  – Descension (Casket) – Metal, from Kent, could be from anywhere really, this time the band are from Kent... that universal modern metal thing done by a thousand and one bands from all corners of the planet, Callous are from Kent they could easily be from Ohio or California or New South Wales or...  They energetically crunch when they need to, they thrash (in a melodically thrashy way) when they need to, they do their thing in a decent enough way – Machine Head, Megadeth, Soilwork, Killswitch Engage – you know the score, you know the sound.... I guess they do it as well as anyone, decent enough debut seven track, no real x factor or identity or musical personality, and like I’ve said before, no idea why these bands are all just happy to conform to the rules and the blueprints and not challenge themselves or us a little more, decent enough though, maybe they’ll move it on challenge us next time, maybe they’ll grow a collective pair (as someone once said) and make some metal with a little bit of identity, guts and ...  www.myspace.com/callous
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ALBUM REVIEW: HEIRS – Alchera (Denovali) – Dramatically dark instrumental post rock epics of a brooding Swans, Pelican, Mono nature. Maybe a little less over-baring take on the suffocation of Neurosis, the musical claustrophobia... a soothing Godflesh of a band? Can you have a soothing Godflesh? Some of this really is effortlessly soothing... considered, every slow moving sound considered, crafted, warm.... monumental. Hunting, gathering, oppressively good, bleak yet full of hope and a euphoric undercurrent in that restrained low-end darkness. Heirs are from Australia, this is impressive, very impressive.... www.denovali.com or www.heirs.com.au

NEWS: MEW have announced details of their new album, which will be released on 25 Aug via Columbia Records. The album's title is this: No more stories Are told today I'm sorry They washed away No more stories The world is grey I'm tired Let's wash away. Yes, all of that is the title. Currently touring Europe with Nine Inch Nails, Mew will be in the UK next week for a few shows, which look like this: 15 Jul: London, O2 Arena (with Nine Inch Nails), 16 Jul: London, ICA, 17 Jul: Latitude Festival Two of the tracks from 'No More Stories...' are available now on the band's new EP of the same name, which was released last week. You can hear one on the Organ July Spotify playlist over there or here
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DEMO REVIEW:  HAKEN – Full album’s worth of demo quality tracks and a potentially Impressive work in progress from Surrey band Haken. If you appreciate that neo-prog, technical prog-metal side of things and if bands like Dream Theatre do it for you, then Haken are going to be of interest. They’ve been around since 2007 and they’re fast building themselves a healthy reputation... There’s plenty of colour and imagination here, hints of ambitious prog-flavoured rock that has lots of the story telling qualities in there with the melodic prog adventures of the old school – Camel, 70’s Genesis, IQ, early Marillion -  woven with Haken’s modern technical sound. Some of that modern side is maybe a little cold and a little too much technique over substance, this does sound like a demo though – the right production might do the trick? Maybe?  Plenty of tasty mood switching, plenty of light and shade, plenty of proper old school proggyness, clever key changes, colourful composition - unfortunately there’s a lot of cold clinical technical fret-wanking, some rather uninviting look at me ego-cheese and technical showing off when what’s really needed is some feel, some heart and some soul. I don’t know, when you listen to stuff English bands are coming up with next the really exciting provoking progressive bands from other places, bands like Extra Life or Cheer Accident then... um... well...   – www.myspace.com/hakenmusic
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ORGAN PAGE #303... All the stuff we were frothing about yesterday, the day before, last week... THE ART BOOT FAIR, IQ, PETER HAMMILL and a whole whole whole load more...

ORGAN PAGE #302...  oh go have a look, another page of whatever the hell it is we do for some godforsaken reason or other, you don't need a list do you? Just explore it...

ORGAN PAGE #301...  A HAWK AND A HACKSAW, LATCH, RANCID, MOSS, DM STITH, DUNCAN REDMONDS, MARNIE STERN, BLUE LIONS, Aine Scannell's latest artwork, THE SLOW BLADE, Atheism and Feminism with Sue Mayermm THE GREEN RIVER PROJECT, RAVEN'S AINT NO MORE - In the early hours of Friday May 1st the squatted island in the...PINK NARCISSUS, WRAPPED IN PLASTIC, CARLIS STAR, Deerhoof dates, HYPER SNYPER, New TORTOISE track, Poisoned Electrick Head were always ‘eventful’, BARACK OBAMA DILDO? Blue Dildo or Gold Dildo? THE LOW FREQUENCY IN STEREO, HardART? Corn on the cob and King Midas spitting out the teeth of the rich? Ex Gratia Recordings Art Exhibition, ZAG AND THE COLOURED BEADS, AARON KRATEN is a painter, WHILE SHE SLEEPS, AND WHITE STARS, David Douglass, SEVEN INCH GETS RECORD PRICE AT AUCTION, TO THE BONES, RADIO MOSCOW, JON HOPKINS, MUDHONEY dates, SECTION 13, CASTROVALVA, AUSTIN GALLERY AND BENNY’S BAR, ISIS, FLIES ARE SPIES FROM HELL and WILD DOGS IN WINTER are touring together this month, MAYBESHEWILL, SIDDHARTHA, HEAVEN’S BASEMENT, THE SCRATCH ORCHESTRA, END OF THE ROAD - The Camp Bling/Save Priory Park campaigners in Essex have won!, LEXIE MOUNTAIN BOYS, MELLOFEST, NAVVY have a whole load of dates, SAD DAY FOR PUPPETS, Returns to form? New sensuality and new conservatism? Interesting piece on Art Review again today... ANNALOGUE, CAROL ANN DUFFY becomes first female poet laureate...MILES BENJAMIN ANTHONY ROBINSON, The Conservative party have issued a denial after it was suggested that... BLACKGUARD, DINOSAUR Jr post new track, GRIFTER, EXPERIMENTAL DENTAL SCHOOL, FREEDOM FACTION... 

ORGAN PAGE #300...  HEARTBREAK STEREO, Noel’s Tales From The Middle Of Nowhere, GALLOWS, guerrilla knitting, THE SECRET INVASION, acquiredcollective, Skart: 'Poetry will be Written by All', THE OLYMPIC SYMPHONIUM, AUSTIN GALLERY AND BENNY’S BAR, LOUIS LINGG AND THE BOMBS, DEATH OF THE ELEPHANT, ROLO TOMASSI, MASTODON, THE VIPERS, The 17, HEY! TONAL, ATTICA RAGE, JOHN ZORN, COMUS, THE ORANGE MAN THEORY, JON HOPKINS, ASSEMBLAGE by WILLIAM BLANCHARD, YOURSHIRE EVENING PEST, APE SCHOOL, VESSELS, The East End Film Festival, LIAM McKAHEY & THE BODIES, DETACHMENTS, NOAM CHOMSKY on ResonanceFM, STONEPHACE, DEEP CUT, THE SCARAMANGA SIX, DEERHOOF, WIDOW’S MITE, ISLAND LINE, HATESPHERE, ASSAULTER, STORSVEIT NIX NOLTES, MEXICAN INSTITUTE OF SOUND, BISHOP ALLEN, MORNING METEORS, BINEWSKI, JG BALLARD R.I.P, SONIC YOUTH, THE HAPPY LIST, MY BLOODY VALENTINE, MORRISSEY, THE FALL, DAMIEN HIRST, RANDY CAIN...
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