With Fuzz Club returning this Thursday, here’s a quick review of the musical delights in stall for you if you choose to spend your hard-earned student loan visiting the best live/club night in Sheffield.

Situationists

This Sheffield foursome are pretty standard indie fare to be honest. Twangy stop-start guitars? Yes. Catchy backing vocals complete with random oh-oh’s, woah-oh’s and ba-ba’s? Yes. Heavily accented singer? Yes. Uninspired? Probably. Still, the melodies are OK and they could easily be the next Milburn.

Future of the Left

If I were to review this band purely based on their name I’d say they are an ‘edgy’, ‘political’ yet utterly pretentious Cardiff three-piece. After listening to them, I’d say they are an utterly brilliant, politically charged (though in an un-Bono-like way), unpretentious Cardiff three-piece. Highlights of what should be a stunning set include ‘Small Bones, Small Bodies’, a savage, unrepentant punk-rock assault and ‘Suddenly It’s A Folk Song’, which can count among the few modern political diatribes that ISN’T about the Iraq War!

By Matt Wood

By Craig Purshouse

However don’t get too excited, this says more about the average American’s music taste than the quality of Bassoosa’s cover. Bassboosa manage to butcher Isaak’s haunting love song. With one foul swoop they rip out its heart, replacing the domineering bass that carries the delicate song like a pacemaker with cutting acoustic guitar and a frankly annoying synthesiser. But they don’t stop there, their snare filled drums and whiney vocals dismantle its soul leaving 4 minutes and 22 seconds of hollow pop nonsense.

However this is only the start of problems on Bassboosa’s self titled debut. But first, time for a bit of background. Band members Jasmine Badir and Tim Clarke met whilst working in a London record store a few years ago and began writing and recording songs together; the recording, including that of the album, was done in Tim’s parents’ attic.

The album is scheduled for release on January 3rd through Champion Records. And they have indeed released some Champion records, (…apologies, that is poor) launching the careers of Oakenfold, Dido and the all conquering Faithless. However don’t expect this outfit to be filling stadiums 10 years after their debut as the latter have.

The album starts off well enough with ‘Cry’, it’s the kind of song that would accompany the montage at the start of student’s favourite Hollyoaks. Its acoustic poppy nature would complement images of student actors looking miserable over their Corn Flakes perfectly. Things however deteriorate from here on in. ‘Wish I Didn’t’ sounds like a late 1999 era Spice Girls album track, its lack of purpose and direction leaves it stranded somewhere in its 4.20 like a small hedgerow animal caught in headlights. Tracks, ‘Give It Up’ and ‘Lost’ are evidence of more of this uninspiring tosh that litters the album.

However glimpses of hope do appear in track four, ‘Succumb’, an acoustic jingle and electro back bone chase each other round its powerful chorus to pleasing effect. Indeed, watch out for this song accompanying images of a gas guzzling machines gliding round open roads in a car advert soon. However it’s ‘Dry Clay’ that stands head and shoulders above anything else on the album, the stripped down acoustic guitar and slightly disturbing vocals lead it to be a largely unsettling listen, reminiscent almost of Radiohead.

Finally what should also be mentioned is the quite resplendent cover and album art. The unconventional look and quite beautiful material ensures you can’t help but want to discover what is inside. However this isn’t enough to save this largely disappointing debut from Bassboosa and further goes to promoting the saying, ‘never judge something by its cover.’

By Ben James

Of course, we hate to leave our devoted readers out in the mild, wet weather during the yuletide period so we’re giving you all the chance to vote for your favourite Christmas classic. Simply reply at the bottom to cast your vote and we’ll add them up at the end of the semester (possibly throwing in a few of our opinions as well) to bring you the ultimate Christmas countdown in which an X Factor winner will DEFINITELY NOT be number 1!

So whether you prefer the genre defining mastery of Shakin Stevens’ ‘Merry Christmas Everyone’ or the lyrical genius of South Park’s ‘Mr Hankey the Christmas Poo’, get voting!

By Matt Wood

After a surreal spell in which Yorke released what was essentially a solo album whilst the band continued to tour and test new material without any pressure to launch an assault on the charts they finally re-emerged without the seemingly mandatory media onslaught that most stadium-sized bands require these days. Instead of being about a brand new direction for the band’s sound or Thom Yorke’s new hairstyle, all the hype is instead about how they are selling their new album online rather than on CD with fans being able to pay as much or as little as they like for it. A marketing ploy perhaps? Not when you listen to the ten tracks that make up ‘In Rainbows’ and discover what this album is really about.

In their time off Radiohead appear to have rejected the quirkiest spasms of electronica that made some of their Kid A-era music so difficult to listen to (Yorke may have been getting it properly out of his system in the heavily digitized ‘Eraser’). Instead, they have returned at least in part to what made them such a great band in the first place. Yorke was clearly listening to ‘The Bends’ when he wrote ‘Bodysnatchers’, a superb burst of ‘Just’ via ‘Creep’ guitar rock. Elsewhere ‘All I Need’ is ‘Karma Police’ with a thrilling ethereal twist of ‘Ideoteque’ and ‘House of Cards’ marries ‘High And Dry’ with the whole of ‘Kid A’ in seamless fashion.

In ‘In Rainbows’, Radiohead find a third way between the melancholic guitars that defined their music in the early years and the bizarre technological experimentation they became obsessed with from ‘OK Computer’ onwards. The music shifts from strummed acoustic guitars one minute to haunting stabs of echoing synth the next, especially on ’15 Step’ and ‘Jigsaw Falling Into Place’. All this amounts to a truly eclectic and compelling listening experience. Thom Yorke’s intriguing lyrical adventures wrap around swirling pianos, whirring guitars, tribal drums and electronic soundscapes creating something that transcends the barriers set up for it by those who wish to box and label music into genres and scenes.

Radiohead quite obviously do not want to be part of the music establishment and here they have plucked the best from what came before and honed it into an integrated whole that stands on its own apart from the charts and mainstream radio. This album is one of the few today in which moments of astounding lyrical or instrumental majesty can be found that contribute to an overall experience of sheer wonder. Be it the piano refrain in ‘All I Need’ or the reverberating guitar at the end of ‘Reckoner’, there is a memorable moment in there for everyone in this outstanding return for the most important band around at the moment.

By Matt Wood

Shefbase’s Amie Trewin went along to have a chat to former Ash member Charlotte Hatherly while on her current tour promoting her new solo album “The Deep Blue”.

Also check out her gig review of Charlotte’s performance at Plug earlier this month in our Gig’s section.

So you’re about half way through your tour now…

Yeah, so we’re beginning to get into our stride; we’ve learnt the cover by now and started playing it right which is always a good sign!

How was Sheffield for you then?

It was really great, a really nice demonstrative crowd who were up for it. Sometimes acoustically I think people get a bit intimidated and no one wants to stand out by being too loud…so even though they’re into it we’re on stage thinking, “oh f*** everyone hates it!” But tonight they were brilliant!

Cliché question, but are you fed up with so many people still calling you ‘the girl from Ash’?

Um, I guess so. I can’t really get away from it as Ash was almost 10 years of my life. In a way it’s nice, and I’m really proud to have been part of it… but at the same time I’d like to think one day I’ll get away from the ‘Ash’ surname!

Did you find it hard touring and playing with all boys for so long?

I think you become quite sexless. You become one of the lads and you forget that you’re actually a girl! That’s the greatest thing about being solo. I can just enjoy the fact that I’m not a girl anymore, but a 28-year old woman doing my own thing. Playing with girls now is so great and such a novelty! I’ve known Charley, who’s getting semi-naked over there (guitarist Charley, who is indeed semi-naked, turns round and waves) since I was 15. It’s also pretty hard to find really good female guitarists, and I’ve managed to do that too.

So there’s no backstage bitchiness!??

(They laugh) We haven’t been on tour long enough for it to get like that! Haha no I don’t think it would though…

(Charley: If someone’s in a mood we take the piss but in a friendly way; we know the boundaries!)

…and after touring for over ten years I know the road can turn you into a complete c***, but it’s not your fault! I’m much more forgiving than I used to be!

You definitely had a good connection with them onstage…

Yeah, it’s great to be able to play with people I really like. Whereas with Ash I was chosen, now I can just do what I want! Its great fun and I think acoustically you can have more personality, which also makes the audience more chilled. With a full band on stage there’s not much room for banter or chats, you just want to get on with it. With Ash people saw me as a ‘rock chick’, and my persona as being quite ice-cold…I didn’t smile that much on stage so got perceived as a ‘cold rock bitch’! I love how acoustically people can see a different side to you, it’s more intimate and you can be much more relaxed and honest…a bit more approachable I think.

Do you think it’s harder for alternative female artists to succeed within a music scene which is still very male-dominated?

I think in the pop-world it’s fantastic because there’s a lot of big female characters like Lily Allen, Amy Winehouse and KT Tunstall who are really cool, even though I’m not particularly into their music. In the indie-world, which I guess is the one I’m in, there’s Bat For Lashes, Feist and Emily Hanes from Metric who are cool…but there’s no one who I really listen to or relate to. I feel very much outside any sort of indie scene.

Honestly, I think the music industry is intrinsically sexist. I’ve never really wanted to say that because I don’t want to sound a victim or like I’m complaining, but it is. And I think it’s a shame like with Beth Ditto, who’s actually really cool and has been about for years…the only things written about her seem to be that either she’s fat or a lesbian. It really frustrates me.

What inspired you when writing your second album “The Deep Blue”?

I wrote it just after leaving Ash when I had so much to say because my whole life had just changed. That’s why it’s much more honest. With “Grey Will Fade” (her first solo album) I was only 18, so it was just pop-punk sort of nonsense that didn’t really mean much! So much has happened this last year; having my own record label, touring, breaking up from a very long term relationship, so many adventures…some good, some bad. But I constantly had things to write songs about!

So finally, what’s next for Charlotte Hatherley?

I will be mainly writing for the next album which will be out next year. Hopefully we’ll do a Christmas gig and we’re going to Europe next month to do lots of touring. I want to be playing great venues like this and I want it to be sold out…I guess I’m not quite there yet but I’m definitely trying!

By Amie Trewin