Album: Laish – Laish

7 November 2010

Beginning life as the solo project of the uber-talented Daniel Green, Laish, who are now a quintet, are something else entirely. Their pure, homegrown folk emanates beauty of all kinds, showcasing an elegant and delicate songwriting style as well as get-up-and-dance vocal harmonies and pure musicianship most could only hope to accomplish.

This is genuine folk music; the melodies are gorgeous, and Danny’s gritty, wholesome vocal style sets Laish apart from so many artists trying to capture a folksy magic reserved only for the most talented of musicians. From the opening tips of ‘Song On A Transition’ all the way through to the melodic endings of ‘A Happy Accident’, Laish are brilliant. It’s unsurprisingly that these wondrous musical creatures Laish call songs are so moreish – the five band members lend their talents to everybody from Laura Marling to The Leisure Society to Sons of Noel & Adrian when they’re not self-booking tours, self-releasing albums and playing all over Europe and the UK. Laish’s debut is incredibly accomplished. This is real, beautiful, honest, gracious and just plain wonderful music. 9/10

Laish – In The Morning

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Dustbowl Records Update

By: Lauren

31 October 2010

In: Editorial, News & Leaks

3 comments

Regular readers of The Blue Walrus will be aware that I run an independent record label called Dustbowl Records, and I thought it was about time I gave a little update on all things Dustbowl, as what I’m up to with that links quite nicely with some of the music I’ve been writing about here recently…

This week we hosted The Mariner’s Children and Tristram at The Bicycle Shop in Norwich, and it was amazing. It was a sell out gig and a very sweaty one at that; much fun was had by everyone, except for the droves of people we had to turn away at the door once we reached capacity. If you haven’t already had the pleasure of hearing these two sensational bands, and indeed anything else the lovely Broken Sound Music have up their sleeves, have a gander now. You’ll be thoroughly impressed. Our next show is with the wonderful Pete Roe, also at The Bicycle Shop, and fingers crossed it’ll be another sell out!

Focusing slightly more on my own roster, many will have heard that Adelaide’s Cape quit music back in July, just a couple of months after I put out his first record, and after he and I did much touring around the country. A real shame. Anyway, the remaining copies of his EP ‘Last Sleep In Albion’ are now available for the discounted price of £2.99 through our Dustbowl Records shop – click here to buy a copy. I’ve included a free download from Adelaide’s Cape below to try and tempt you into buying a copy…

Adelaide’s Cape – Curled by thebluewalrus

Finally, I’m mysteriously going to announce that Dustbowl Records has found its latest band to sign. The only hint I’ll give you at this point is that they’ve recently been featured on The Blue Walrus, and that they fit with the vibe and ethos of the label. Feel free to hazard a guess if you’re feeling daring. More on that soon; very excited.

Oooh, and it’d be lovely if you’d “like” Dustbowl Records on Facebook please. We like to be liked. I’ll make you a cake if you like us. What kind of cake? Your choice entirely.

http://www.facebook.com/dustbowlrecords

Bands to watch: Grenouilles

By: Lauren

21 October 2010

In: News & Leaks

2 comments

Norwich appears to be developing a folk scene. Well, depending on what you call folk of course. Under the new reign of “folk” kings Mumford & Sons, it seems appropriate to point out that the ever-expanding genre really does seem to encompass anything with both an acoustic guitar and an even slightly twee vibe these days. So, working on that criteria, my native city appears to be giving birth to some folk-oriented homegrown talent – you might remember Alloy Ark and Takeda from previous posts by both Tim and I, and even The Mariner’s Children (who you might have noticed are a mounting obsession here at The Blue Walrus) have an ever-elusive “via Norfolk” included on their MySpace page location. Even a couple of Cocos Lovers are at university in these parts. I love it. I love it all.

The latest example of an unfathomably good Norwich folk band – and I’m quite comfortable calling them folk in a broader sense than the Mumford criteria – are Grenouilles. That’s French for frogs, in case (like me), you’re uncultured enough to be going for Google Translate right now. I find myself naturally sceptical of Norwich bands and it takes a lot for my ears to prick up for a new one, but this trio make charming, picturesque folk songs that demonstrate skill and zest. You’ll find yourself putting their EP on repeat play and humming the tunes for days. What a clichéd thing to say. I promise it’s true on this occasion though.

Grenouilles are currently pursuing domination of the music world via Future Radio’s Next Big Thing Competition. Previous winners include The Kabeedies, Ed Sheeran and Console Wars, and the lovely Alex Sheppard (who was the artist that brought Tim and I together many moons ago) was a finalist a few years back, as were Alloy Ark last year. Honestly? I really hope Grenouilles win. They’re the best of the bunch (hehehe) by far.

They self-released their debut EP ‘Hawk On The Down’ last year, and physical copies are (unsurprisingly) now sold out. The band have been kind enough to make the tracks available for free download though. I’ve included a SoundCloud link to ‘Bones’ below, and you can download their entire EP for free by clicking here.

Grenouilles – Hawk On The Down EP – 01 Bones by thebluewalrus

FREE DOWNLOAD: Grenouilles – Hawk On The Down EP