Keith Goldhanger provides his highlights from a month of trawling through Emails and visiting small rooms providing music from acts he’d not crossed paths with before March 2023.
It was mentioned last month (and I really do recommend you give these tunes a spin some time if you haven’t yet had the pleasure) that the number of new releases by new acts is possibly as high as it’s ever been. The downside to this is not only does this make it difficult attempting to listen to as many of these as time allows but finding time to return to some of these tunes a second or third time becomes difficult too.
EMILY BREEZE (top pic) for example came to our attention on these pages in February when we reviewed her fabulous second album and appeared on our favourite radio shows again this month thanks to the very decent Daddy G Vs Robot Club (Massive Attack) remix of Confessions Of An Ageing Party Girl. Once again, one finds himself staggered that none of her music reached the part of the brain that it reached during March that made the music available from this Bristol artist become a daily part of everyday life. This remix raised eyebrows in the house and tempted one of us to dig out the original as well as the fabulous album released recently via Bristol’s’ Sugar Shack Records. This was more than enough to drag one of us out of the house on a cold Sunday night recently to witness a band that doesn’t seem to have one bad song amongst their current set list. Dry Cleaning v Blondie V Pulp V Roy Orbison V….well that’s enough for now. Go and see Emily Breeze, she deserves your attention.
The original version of Confessions of an Ageing Party Girl may be over a couple of years old and the recent remix just about qualifies it for inclusion on this page however even without this remix it would have found itself included here regardless. Not sure how a song released in 2020 will qualify for one of the tunes of the year by the time December arrives but that’s something to worry about then not now (mind you it is on the album).
DIRTY NICE is a new name that came this way during March. The duo’s debut album came out in 2021 (featuring a track in which they collaborated with Wet Leg) and this month two new fabulous tracks were made available that will make your feet tap and body shake in a way it hasn’t since The Strokes first turned up to join the party. Dirty Nice have been busy with their animations and music over on Tik Tok over the past few years as well as providing music for comedy shows and are yet another act that slipped through the net when they came knocking on our door previously.
CHALK from Belfast bring the noise this month with their incendiary raging noise that fans of Big Black or Gilla Band will enjoy playing at ear splitting volume. This band will be appearing in some of the small rooms we love to visit during May (including Brighton’s Great Escape Festival) and the idea of hearing these crashing riffs live is something to look forward to witnessing before the queues start forming and everyone starts complaining that they can’t get in. More of these later in the year one expects.
JO BARTLETT, whose CV includes booking some of the UK’s greatest acts over the years as well as being responsible for The Green Man Festival and own label Through The Looking Glass has released her first solo track titled I Waited a Year to add to her list of wonderful achievements to date. This is the sound of a busy woman with involvements in many activities whose passion in music certainly can be heard through this track. I Waited a Year came about due to a few sleepless nights during last year’s heatwave and a little frustration that a dance track she supplied vocals for still failed to see the light of day. It’s a song written about a song we haven’t heard yet and it’s a great piece of music that alongside I Don’t Want To Hear Anymore Music (written at the same time) captures the feelings of someone letting off steam and embracing some time for her to get something done for herself.
NOAH AND THE LONERS are a new name that happened to be playing a stones throw from where one of us was waiting for a bus one evening during March and after more arguments about not having ID and almost getting to the stage where one nearly had to provide finger prints on the door (in case we happened to be someone who may be deemed a high risk of losing his shit in a room containing 25 people who all looked like the bands parents) we got in, tapped both feet, went straight home, logged back onto the laptop and played this on a loop wondering what this will be like once the band kick out all the over 50’s and invite their teenage mates to dance around the mosh pit.
Now it’s time to start looking forward once again to the summer festivals where one or two names mentioned in this column will undoubtedly turn up and do themselves proud as a warm up for the acts that were mentioned as new names themselves a few years ago. It’s been another good month and it’s turning into another great year again for new music. Especially as it seems as though everyone we know is now participating in making music in one form or another.
The March 2023 playlist lives here
Happy listening.
Words by Keith Goldhanger. More writing by Keith on Louder Than War can be found at his author’s archive. You can also find Keith on Facebook and Twitter (@HIDEOUSWHEELINV).
A Plea From Louder Than War
Louder Than War is run by a small but dedicated independent team, and we rely on the small amount of money we generate to keep the site running smoothly. Any money we do get is not lining the pockets of oligarchs or mad-cap billionaires dictating what our journalists are allowed to think and write, or hungry shareholders. We know times are tough, and we want to continue bringing you news on the most interesting releases, the latest gigs and anything else that tickles our fancy. We are not driven by profit, just pure enthusiasm for a scene that each and every one of us is passionate about.
To us, music and culture are eveything, without them, our very souls shrivel and die. We do not charge artists for the exposure we give them and to many, what we do is absolutely vital. Subscribing to one of our paid tiers takes just a minute, and each sign-up makes a huge impact, helping to keep the flame of independent music burning! Please click the button below to help.
John Robb – Editor in Chief
