Bands To Watch: 2007 (Part Three)
So far we've given you 10 bands you'll need to be watching this year. Here are our final two.
So far we've given you 10 bands you'll need to be watching this year, and here are our final two. We hope you love them as much as we do.
Frank Turner
When your band of some years splits, do you take some time to step back, assess the situation and what the next best move is? Or do you hit the ground running? If you're Frank Turner, you choose not only the latter, but to do so in a completely different genre. And despite the rise in popularity of people like Sam Duckworth, 'Folk' is still, to many, a four letter word that conjures the image of a man with an untamed beard and washboard accompaniment singing songs about an old dog. Frank may have facial hair, but this is intelligent, honest musicianship.
Losing none of the wit and originality of his former band (Million Dead) the last fifteen months have seen Frank hitting the ground at full sprint. He has toured the UK relentlessly; he's been to Eastern Europe and venues in Latvia where he has got crowds that don't speak English in an alcohol free bar on stage, dancing around him. He saw in the New Year with a gig in Moscow. Partly thanks to the influence he's had on The Automatic, he played to thousands across the country. In February he released a small E.P. that has had to be re-pressed several times due to underestimating the demand.
In short, he had to effectively start all over again from scratch, and has done far better than many could have expected. This is 'Folk' in its literal sense, for people. The content of his music is that which we can all relate to, whether it's about a girl or about society. It reminds you of waking up with a hangover and no idea where you are, it shares the habit you have of checking your wallet and keys every time you walk past a pack of shifty teenagers.
Influences are from across the board; from Neil Young to Black Flag, he covers Counting Crows, he covers Propaghandi. His debut solo album, 'Sleep Is For The Week', is out in a matter of days (January 15th), and he'll be on tour with a full band (Dive Dive) and will without a doubt be touring relentlessly.
You owe it to yourselves to discover him his year: Original, witty, observant and a genuinely nice bloke, make Frank Turner your favourite artist of 2007. -Phillip May
Gallows
Know who they are yet? If not, then we doubt you've even glanced at a rock magazine or website in the last couple of months. Seemingly out of nowhere... well... Watford, a band has emerged that produce such incendiary, ferocious live shows, that not only are bruises unavoidable in the mosh-pit, but singer Frank Carter himself has torn muscles.
Gallows have already clocked up supports with the likes of Bring Me The Horizon, Send More Paramedics and Bullet For My Valentine. Their album, 'Orchestra of Wolves' was released last year but garnered so much salivating praise that you're likely to hear about (and, if you're lucky enough, see) them blowing headliners twice as successful off the stage all over the country this year.
The praise is deserving. They are bringing Punk back to what it was. Not in the sense of some shambolic retro revival, but to remind people that REAL punk is not safe, big-label approved, clothing megalabel endorsed pop-punk. This is not the accessible, catchy sound of Blink 182, and could not be further from the latest wave of bands like Fall Out Boy. It's closer to Amen and Snot. It sounds like at any moment the whole thing could collapse and descend into a bloody mess. This is the Punk that is dangerous, aggressive and full of fury – not angst and insecurity. That may go against the current trend of music, but then, it wouldn't be punk if it didn't. - Phillip May
Tune in again tomorrow for albums we'll be listening to over the coming year!
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