Late last year, Emily Barker & The Red Clay Halo rolled into Salford to perform at St. Phillips Church. Ahead of the fantastic gig, I caught up with Emily to do a quick session. The Aussie songstress welcomed my request of 'The Blackwood' - my favourite track from, her latest album, 'Dear River' - and didn't do it by halves either.
The semi-a capella track sounded fantastic inside the lofty old church and I can't think of a better way to start of a whole new year of sessions than with this one. So, without further adieu, here's Emily Barker performing 'The Blackwood' exclusively for Loitering With Intent.
First things first, when you record a last minute session in the bathroom of a bar in Leeds it isn't always going to go smoothly. This is what's happened here. Whilst it might not be our best looking session to date, we couldn't not share Mikey Erg's performance of, Ergs classic, 'Everything Falls Apart (And More)'.
Already a part of a whole host of different bands and even more memes and Tumblr accounts, we'd be doing a diservice if Mikey didn't show up on The Ruckus too. So, i'll tell you what, if you'll forgive us for the quality, we'll promise more regular sessions and maybe a do-over when we bump into Mikey again.
I know Ben has already treated us to a session already this week, but seeing as Crowns' new, double A-side, single was released on Monday it felt apt to throw their Loitering With Intent Session up too. Filmed the morning after a show in Manchester, the guys were nice enough to drop by and hang out with me, my camera and Archimedes to play some folk punk in the middle of the city.
Wearing their influences on their sleeve, Crowns have already caught the attention of many out there on tours with Sharks and The Dropkick Murphys. Both 'My London' and a newly recorded version of 'Full Swing' are set to appear on the band's second album, due out next year.
"Dude, it's Mat - can you bring a drill?"
It had been five months since I had last seen The Front Bottoms, Brian, Matt, Tom & Ciaran. In that time, they've dropped Talon Of The Hawk - their second full length LP on Bar/None, and toured pretty much non-stop. And it shows - their live show is insanely energetic, just as it always was. But it's tighter, more professional. Brian even does stretches before going on stage these days. The tour family is the same, swelling to include newcomer and full time excellent human being Allison Weiss as support for this run, but some things stay the same. The first time I catch them is a London show. No barrier, a ton of press. Matt busts out an acoustic number for a meeting he didn't know he had, and then the band play a show to a crowd that at times pushes their way on to the stage and through the instruments. Brian dedicates "Father" to his dad at the side of the stage. The audience seem puzzled (have you heard that song? awkward!. It of course is not his dad) And by the end of the night, everyone is drenched in sweat and beer.
Mat has killed a cymbal. Hence the drill (it stops a crack spreading top tip for all you aspiring punx). And so it was that the next night we were backstage, in a club that looked suspiciously like it might be a strip club on any other day (there was a pole. And the overpowering scent of cocoa body butter) where Matt was casually doing DIY on his instruments. Jon Tolley, owner of Banquet Records, who is responsible for putting Talon out in the UK got talking to me, and he hit the nail on the head. "It doesn't matter if it's Indy, or dance, or punk. It's honest, and it's original. And that's why the audiences keep getting bigger". He's a smart man, that Jon Tolley.The Front Bottoms start another US tour next week (once they get back from Canada - they haven't been resting or anything) and are back in the UK in February/March supporting Presidents of the USA. Get out there and see them. Just don't believe a word Brian says from stage.
-Ben Morse, photographer, videographer, number one Front Bottoms fan
It's an Allison Weiss keg party, everyone! Stood amongst the barrels of beer at The Brudenell Social Club in Leeds, the singer songwriter treated us to her song 'Making It Up' before a show with The Front Bottoms last month.
'Making It Up' is the lead track on Weiss' debut album 'Say What You Mean', which came out earlier this year on No Sleep Records.
Digging through and catalogging old footage is a bit of a chore, but when you come across something you haven't used it's exciting and embarassing in equal measure. So, for the next couple of weeks, we'll be hosting those seemingly lost sessions. This week's comes from Ducking Punches.
The alter-ego of Dan Allen, Ducking Punches is an integral part of the UK punk scene. If he's not putting on shows in Norwich or lending his illustrative skills to your favourite new band, you might find him teching (and maybe even playing) guitar for Frank Turner. We recorded this with Dan almost a year ago and I can't find any other version of it. Therefore, I have dubbed it 'Untitled' until I'm corrected.
Regardless, it's great and you should check it out below.
This video was shot by Andrew Greenland and edited by Anthony Barlow. If you like what you heard, please visit Ducking Punches' Bandcamp page.
Pity Me anaracho acoustic duo, ONSIND mark the triumphant return of Loitering With Intent by performing the track 'BA77' in front of our camera. I've wanted to get Nathan and Dan in session for a while and its just never worked out, but we recorded this session a while ago - when they were supporting Great Cynics in Manchester - but have held off posting it until now. Sorry about that.
I first heard these guys a few years ago and became immediately enamoured with their debut album. Since then I've seen them live countless times and they never fail to put on a great show. 'BA77' is one of my favourites from their latest album, 'Anaesthesiology' and the politically charged song deals with the subject of imigration laws with a focus on the tragic death of Jimmy Mubenga, who was unlawfully killed whilst being deported from the UK in 2010.
You can hear more from Onsind and purchase their albums here. To find out more about the Jimmy Mubenga inquest, click here. This session was shot by Andrew Greenland of Greenland Photography and edited by Under The Bridge.
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