Here’s the mixtape for April! 20 songs old and new that we’re loving at The Music Box.
Tag: 2016
Nothing But Thieves – Live Review [O2 Forum, 31/03/2016].
There was an electric atmosphere in the O2 Forum, Kentish Town yesterday evening as over 2000 fans packed into the venue to catch a glimpse of one of the UK’s current best alternative-rock bands. Since their formation in 2012, Nothing But Thieves have quickly grown in popularity, largely propelled by frequent radio airplay. The Southend-on-Sea band went on to score a UK top 10 album in October 2015* and have since been touring both in their own right and as a support act to various established bands.
Last night, the band were supported by the energetic if somewhat clamorous Black Foxxes and the great Sundara Karma. Both were fitting for the event and warmed up the audience effectively before Nothing But Thieves’ arrival at 9:30pm. ‘Itch‘ was the perfect opener with its urgent guitar riffs and its tension-building verses. ‘Painkiller‘ followed suit, the frantic percussion and driving bass lines pulsating throughout the venue and raising energy levels from the audience.
The setlist was spot on (aside from the absence of stunning ballad ‘Lover, Please Stay’) with a perfect balance of powerful rock anthems and the band’s more haunting ballads. The likes of ‘Hostage’, ‘Excuse Me’ and ‘Honey Whiskey’ translated brilliantly live and conveyed an infectious energy whilst the ballads formed magical moments of the show. The gorgeous ‘Graveyard Whistling‘, haunting ‘Tempt You‘ and eerie ‘If I Get High‘ all rippled emotively throughout the venue and were worthy of goosebumps as frontman Conor Mason captivated the audience with his intoxicating vocals.
The band performed as a unit; tight and in-sync whilst Mason’s vocals were other-worldly and at times eerily reminiscent of Jeff Buckley. His vocals are sturdy and perfectly executed, whether through the murmured lower register or his ethereal, soaring falsettos. He is in possession of one of the most remarkable and powerful male vocals in the world and it is truly phenomenal to experience them live.
The evening was solely about the music, emphasised by the lack of theatrics in the show; the band were aided only by a backdrop of their eponymous début album and atmospheric lighting. Still, this was enough for the audience who were on-side throughout the entire evening. The atmosphere in the venue was electric, prompting Mason to comment on the energy in the present multiple times throughout the show. He appeared rather overwhelmed by the vast sea of faces in the venue but channelled this into a buoyant energy and was an instantly likeable front-man. At one point he responded to a emerging chant for him to remove his t-shirt with “No I’m not taking my top off, my Nan’s on the balcony!” prior to instructing the crowd to cheer for her.
The evening concluded in an enthralling encore comprised of three of the band’s best tracks; ‘If I Get High‘, ‘Trip Switch‘ and ‘Ban All The Music’. It was a brilliant finale to a fantastic evening and proved that Nothing But Thieves are the alt-rock band of now.
All photos taken from the band’s official Twitter account.
*Read our review of Nothing But Thieves’ début album here
Setlist:
- Itch
- Painkiller
- Hostage
- Hanging
- Graveyard Whistling
- Excuse Me
- Honey Whiskey
- Where Is My Mind (Pixies cover)
- Drawing Pins
- Tempt You
- Wake Up Call
ENCORE - If I Get High
- Trip Switch
- Ban all the Music
Catch Nothing But Thieves on tour now:
Music Monday – Volume Ninety One
1) The 1975 – She’s American
Funky indie-rock ballad which mirrors work by INXS & Duran. Slamming percussion, frantic guitar riffs and skippy synthesiser sounds provide the song’s instrumentation as Matt Healy sings of cultural differences between him and his American girlfriend. It’s brilliantly catchy and very witty lyrically.
2) The 1975 – This Must Be My Dream
Perhaps the best song on The 1975’s new album. The band demonstrate their impeccable synchronicity through layering gospel melodies, silky vocals, slamming percussion, driving bass lines and snarling guitar riffs. It’s a throwback to the new-jack-swing era in the late eighties and early nineties bought to popularity through producers Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis and Teddy Riley through musicians such as Bobby Brown, Janet Jackson and Michael Jackson.
3) The 1975 – Paris
Beautiful and mellow electropop ballad which imitates Yazoo’s ‘Only You’ to a point just before being eligible for a lawsuit. Sparse guitars, dizzy synthesisers and a gorgeous honeyed ‘again and again’ refrain makes this another of the album’s strongest tracks.
4) The 1975 – I like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it
A proficient, cleverly-created instrumental which punctuates the album beautifully. Pretty and melodic piano particles flutter over driving electronica whilst Healy’s lusciously layered vocals beg his lover not to leave. The track is lengthy at six minutes but is split into two parts, evolving into an uplifting and exquisitely beautiful house track.
5) The 1975 – Loving Someone
Giggling synthesisers and hiphop beats form the backdrop as Matt Healy half-raps his best lyrics to date; a cultural observation on the impact pop culture and celebrity have on youth.
6) Gallant & Jhene Aiko – Skipping Stones
Chilled-out neosoul track which carries a retro vibe. Gallant’s incredible vocals flutter into a rich falsetto over brass instruments, driving bass lines and twinkling keyboards.
7) Joe & Jake – You’re Not Alone
Uplifting and euphoric pop-rock track which is this year’s UK Eurovision entry. Whilst criticised by many for its generic formula and chord structure, it’s a powerful and beautiful track.
8) Laurel – Life Worth Living
Moody alternative-pop track which avoids over-production, instead focussing on using organic, pure instruments.
9) Zayn – Like I Would
Catchy alt-R&B track featuring elastic synthesisers, synthetic percussion and a brilliantly sing-song chorus.
10) The Last Shadow Puppets – Everything You’ve Come to Expect
Quirky and brilliantly written track which utilised genres such as baroque pop, psychedelic pop and experimental rock.
The Brit Awards 2016 – Playlist
*Updated to fix the broken link! 21/02/2016*
To celebrate this year’s Brit Awards Ceremony (due to be held at the O2 Arena, London on 24th February 2016), here’s our playlist of some of the nominated acts’ best works. We’ll review the ceremony after it has taken place so watch this space!
https://open.spotify.com/user/marc500/playlist/1Wo94cfhl2T067D1w9MKwU
Happy New Year!
Happy New Year to you all!
We’re currently undergoing some changes but will continue running as usual.
Stick with us for all the best in music throughout 2016.
The Music Box.
Christmas Crackers – Day 31
Happy New Year!
This is the final entry of Christmas Crackers. We hope you’ve enjoyed following this throughout December 🙂
1) Dina Carroll – The Perfect Year
2) Sugababes – New Year
3) Rod Stewart – Auld Lang Syne
Check back everyday this month for more festive hits!
Changes to The Music Box in 2016
Hello all!
I set The Music Box up in 2013 after numerous other failed attempts at blogging. This year, we became solely a music blog with all other posts exported to an additional personal blog.
2015 has seen The Music Box go from strength to strength. We have received hundreds of likes and shares and our review of Markus Feehily’s ‘Fire’ album was tweeted by the man himself . We are hoping for this success to continue throughout 2016 and wanted to share some of our new developments with you for the next year.
Music Monday
To date, Music Monday has involved a selection of ten songs, both old and new that we have been enjoying immensely in the past week. They are usually accompanied by a short excerpt on why we love them here at the Music Box.
From 2016 onwards, this will be changed to ten new or current songs which we consider to be the hottest records in the world.
*NEW!* Feel Good Friday
Every Friday, we will be adding five tracks to our Feel Good Friday Spotify Playlist. There will be opportunities for suggestions too.
*NEW!* Artist Feature
Artist Features will be pieces dedicated to an artist. Generally to promote little-known or up and coming acts, these are to raise the profile of genuinely talented artists.
Themed Playlists
These will continue as usual.
Album Reviews and Live Gig Reviews
These will continue as usual.
Thank you so much for all of the follows, likes and shares of our posts and for the support this year. Please continue to share our posts and blog to help us out!
We don’t earn any money from this and do it purely for our love of music.
Thanks for every read, like, follow & share.
Love.
the-music-box.co.uk 