New EP “The Seizure” released 8 Nov ’19
Bandcamp / Amazon / Apple Music / Spotify
This EP marks a new departure: if you can make out the text on the back cover, you’ll see there’s an actual band involved. We recorded three tracks from our current set, pretty much live in the studio – barring vocals and a few guitar overdubs – then the final track’s a collaboration with Mik Hanscomb (Junkboy) in a lighter vein.
For more detail, I can’t really do better than the RingMaster Reviews interview I did recently, which covers everything…
Or there’s a review on Plugged in Brighton – “The familiar is twisted and distorted. Music comes from the shadows. Sonic exploration in every sense. Recommended.”
A good end to an interesting year!
(Except it’s not over yet – there’s a live session on Resonance FM to come, among other things…)
x
“The Seizure” – 1st review & interview
A first look at The Seizure from The Ring Master Review: “one of the most unique and honest artists around” – wow, I’ll take it!
The band gets singled out too, which is cool – “The bass of Stephen Parker again proves a dark invitation to get hooked up on; it’s tempting as brooding as it is catchy against the rhythmic swing of drummer Barney Guy”…
And here’s the conclusion: “In our experience every outing with Matt Finucane has proven an absorbing and rousing adventure in some rich level of degree but The Seizure might just be his finest proposition yet; in fact no question, it is.”
…The write-up goes into more detail about each track, but I think it’s safe to say it went over well, which is always a good feeling. Check it out, see if it tingles yr fancy.
EDITED TO ADD:
There’s also an interview: embracing the discord, here – which goes into more detail about the band, what’s behind the EP, and what happens next. As I say, you have to meet me halfway… but it’s always good when someone takes the time to listen and engage; and for what it’s worth, this is the clearest account yet.
the band: new photos
-
- Stephen
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- Barney
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- ensemble
7 Aug ’19, The Prince Albert (Brighton) – CCZH Photography
Thought it was about time for some action shots of the band, to go with the recent overhaul of the site… This new collective focus is reflected in the next EP, which was recorded pretty much live in the studio earlier this year; it’s not just a one-man operation anymore. Anyway, there’s more to follow, audio & visual.
new EP due 8 Nov ’19
pre-order on Bandcamp here
This is the first set of tracks I’ve recorded with the band – at Church Road Studio here in Brighton, earlier this year – loud and (pretty much) live. There’s also an acoustic song featuring Mik Hanscomb on 12-string guitar: you get the whole spectrum in this EP’s 20min run-time.
It’s available in all the usual online places from 8th Nov, but you can hear a preview of the longest, strangest track on the player above.
interview / LP review / August gig news
“We all choose our suffering. There is ugly suffering and there is beautiful suffering. You, I think, are somewhere in between”
That’s a quote from an interview I did with The Sound Lab, here. (One of the more… interesting audience responses I’ve had in a while, that was.)
There’s also a review of Vanishing Island in print and online in Devolution Magazine – a good one, check it out here.
…Another full-throat shout-out for the August gig:
GREENNESS (full band) onstage 10pm
“Hypnotic electro acoustic tunes creating a relaxed atmosphere with a whiff of Massive Attack / The Sugarcubes” – Breaking Glass Magazine
https://www.facebook.com/pg/greennessmusic/
https://www.greennessmusic.com/
MATT FINUCANE + band onstage 9.15
“The troubadour of disharmony, back to confront, provoke, and captivate in his unique way” – The Ring Master Review
https://www.facebook.com/Matt.x.Finucane/
https://mattfinucane.net/
LUCY FELIZ onstage 8.30
“A unique brand of melancholy folk that’s unforgettable in its intensity” – Line Of Best Fit
https://www.facebook.com/lucyfelizmusic/
https://www.losfeliz.co.uk/
Wed 7 Aug, The Prince Albert
£4 OTD
DOORS 8pm
MUSIC from 8.30 sharp
…After that, I’ve got stuff booked up till December, solo & electric band (and one acoustic duo gig). More on that to follow.
LP track by track & interview
Thanks to GBHBL, who not only interviewed me following the LP release, but published some track-by-track notes that I wrote about it.
Interview link here. “I ended up in Brighton, like so many drug burn-outs and rejects from the capital, and got my act together. The music, hopefully, takes care of itself.”
Track by track here. “I once had an idea for a live show at the Brighton Fringe Festival but couldn’t work out how to do it without somebody getting killed … This turned into a song… which is one of the most upbeat things I’ve written“.
local kudos!
Thanks very much for kind words on the Vanishing Island album, from Brighton Source: “a prolific songwriter with an array of excellent self-produced independent releases. He’s influenced by the darker side of indie rock, but puts his own stamp on things […] strong and well-structured, with a memorable and distinctive sound”.
& also Plugged in Brighton:
…Not bad, not bad at all.
[EDIT: PiB now has a website – links added, but check it out here]
New album “Vanishing Island” released 3 May ’19
Bandcamp (includes bonus material) / Amazon / Apple Music / Spotify
Yes, that title’s a dig at Brexit, but there are no overt protest songs this time round: these are complex emotions, for complex times… The kind of feelings that don’t even have names – but you know them when they hit home.
I’m very happy with this one, and hope it’s as enjoyable a listening experience as it was to make.
Perilous Seat vid exclusive
The video of Perilous Seat can be seen exclusively via Pure Grain Audio, here. It’s a DIY epic of indifferent miming, lurid colours and general dislocation – every penny’s up there on the screen. Hope you enjoy… If not, you can claim back the 3min 47sec of yr life from me at a gig, with this handy token:
Album: more reviews
Vanishing Island seems to be doing good. Got a tremendous write-up from The Ringmaster Review – “his finest incitement yet… has something extra which truly set it apart… delicious pop cacophony”. O yes.
House of Prog went easy on me this time, citing “a somewhat odd and eerie production, with a touch of kraut to the psychedelia”… Thanks, I’ll take it.
Further, Full Circle calls it “ten adventurous songs with inventive arrangements […] Very enjoyable and well made album throughout by an individual and fascinating artist.”
Anyway, pretty soon you’ll be able to decide for yourself – album’s out 3rd May.
LP/single: 1st reviews
Stencil issue 54
Stencil Magazine reviews Vanishing Island here (p. 153) …”for those looking for something that’s outside of the box and scratches many levels of atmosphere”. Ambivalent but interested – my favourite kind of review, quite often (as it implies a genuine effort to engage).
Plugged in Brighton gave the single, Perilous Seat, its first write-up in their 13th issue: “pop through a prism […] It’s almost a waltz, not quite a sea shanty but certainly quality, adult pop”. Wonder what they’ll make of the album? (That’s by far the most accessible, song-shaped track on there, as you’d expect. Even scored some airplay on Kerrang Radio.) We’ll find out…
Otherwise, doing another free improv Safehouse gig as part of the Wildcard Quartet, on 24 April at The Verdict. Comfort zone? I have none.
More band gigs coming up too – news on them as & when.
EDIT: Another review came in just after this post, from Whisperin & Hollerin. It’s very generous indeed – “tidy hooks and imaginatively-crafted moments of atmosphere and even pangs of emotional depth“, among other things. Always cool when someone sees what I was aiming at. Read it here.
gig / studio session / new single: pix
So the gig went well…
…and three days later, we went into the studio to record as a band – which also went very well (more on that later)…
…but meanwhile, there’s a new single coming out next month:
Due 8 March, accompanied by a video (one of my no-budget, lo-fi specials) – link to follow.
…
gather round, for I must cry my wares
…Yes.
I fucking hate January (and February, but that’s another story). Only remedy’s work – been rehearsing with the band for an upcoming gig and some recording next month, and finalising my next release… due out early May, probably.
Meanwhile, the Disquiet EP’s bagged some more good ink: a very nice one in French from Music In Belgium, and two from Whisperin’ and Hollerin’ (extract above) and Sonic Shocks.
More news on the gig and other doings – it occurs to me there’s not a lot of stuff online with the band, which we’ll have to do something about – as and when, as ever.
Overdrive interview &c &c…
Hope & Ruin gig went well – although enough’s happened since that it now feels like a vague, fond childhood memory – and the band gets ever more awesome: from early next year we’re doing more gigs, with new material to play.
I’ve got another meaty interview in Irish rock zine Overdrive – read here. Also, German indie radio’s NBT put Disquiet at 55 on their 410-album Best Of 2018, which as plaudits go is pretty heady: some of the names I beat are big and legendary (of course it’s not a contest… is it?… but a gong’s always welcome).
Anyway, big plans for 2019, including a new solo album and our first recordings as a group – starting February, probably. Here we are in that happy era of five weeks ago:
l-r: MF, Barney Guy, Stephen Bad Mother-Folker
xx
video interview & EP review, Oct ’18
Here’s a stranger to daylight, staring back at a camera and talking to Mass Movement about his 10 favourite LPs. I now understand why vloggers do that thing of having loads of apparently pointless fast cuts even if it’s just them talking (to edit out all the times they blew their lines or dried up. Try giving a semi-improvised speech for a quarter hour without deviation, hesitation, repetition or several annoying facial tics… even the most glibly confident would struggle. Still, interesting to try – although I don’t think I could make a “career” out of it). These aren’t the definitive 10 – more the ones that seemed significant that day – but I hope this small addition to the huge reef of pop cult lists is entertaining, anyway. And it’s nice to be asked.
From abundance to rarity – here’s a review of Disquiet from Issue 8 of Plugged In Brighton:
…Reproduced here because it’s bootleg as fuck – a paper zine with minimal web presence, and if you don’t live in Brighton you’re unlikely to see a copy. Both ends of the magnet!
[EDIT: as of July ’19, PiB now has a website – check here]
Back soon with gig news…
3(!) interviews & 1 EP review, Oct ’18
So the new EP’s bagged me several more interviews, following on from Big Issue North and AltCorner… with, if I say it myself, very little repetition and zero rambling.
There’s also a review, courtesy The RingMaster: “a mix of challenge and seduction but most of all a fascination leaning towards needing more”… Hey, I’ll take it.
Here are the links:
Sonic Shocks interview “my feet were floating a couple of inches above the floor and everything was blue round the edges”
Whisperin and Hollerin interview “I got a lot of abuse growing up in England with an Irish surname, so it feels good to parade it now”
Riff Media interview “I’d be seduced by power […] my hands coated with blood and my soul shrunken to a burnt piece of popcorn, then end my days in front of a firing squad”
…There’s stuff about songwriting, inspirations and the dodgy reality of being an independent artist in 2018. Also, the EP’s being streamed by Puregrain Audio, here. So yeah, you can listen and/or read as the mood takes you – with more to come yet.
new EP “Disquiet” released 19 Oct ’18
Bandcamp (includes bonus material) / Amazon /Apple Music / Spotify / Resonate
Here’s the follow-up to Ugly Scene (released earlier this year).
Where that one was… well, ugly… this is the mirror opposite. It’s mellow, but be warned: the tracks get freakier as it progresses. Again, the clue’s in the title. Enjoy x
Big Issue North interview, Oct ’18
“this little honesty nugget could poison my future…”
The link above takes you to a lengthy interview I did with Big Issue North recently (then had to keep quiet about for a while). It was a buzz, and hopefully makes a good read – covering such things as:
What informs your music and songwriting?
What’s on your rider?
and
What’s your worst lyric?
…among others. A lot of words, so I’ll just leave it there for you to take a look.
AltCorner interview: Stories Behind The Songs, Aug ’18
This is the first press for forthcoming EP Disquiet – an interview talking about songwriting for AltCorner. It’s a fine, almost invisible line between saying something interesting and giving the whole game away… but maybe I walked it here. Have a look, see what you reckon.
gig review, Real Music Club (July ’18)
Because reviews of my live performances are few and far between, here’s something from the Real Music Club‘s July Newsletter that’s worth quoting in full:
Fri 22 Jun, Real Music Club @ The Brunswick (Brighton) – w/ Nick Pynn & The Boy In The Cupboard
With thanks to David Page and Joe Bridge.
(Actually, there was one other recent gig review – of the electric band, by Plugged In Brighton, here.)
gig review, Plugged In Brighton 4 (June)
The 11 June Hope & Ruin gig, written up in issue 4 of Plugged In Brighton. Grab a copy round town, unless distance and/or the forces of entropy prevent you (you’ll just have to move to Brighton). Anyway, it was a very nice night, good to see the other acts getting due credit. While we’re here… Can I direct you once more to the zine’s latest Mixcloud, which features an old track of mine? Here it is.
next gig / Monolith Cocktail & Plugged In Brighton / next gig
photo by Lewis McKale
The Hope & Ruin gig was superb – as were Pink Narcissus, Peter Cat and Lewis McKale. A wonderful night, and thanks to everyone involved.
Two more upcoming local gigs:
Wed 20 Jun, The Prince Albert – electric band (Octopuses single launch) – wegottickets
Fri 22 Jun, The Brunswick – solo acoustic (Real Music Club)
What can I say – I’m a greedy bitch. To soak up the folly, the gigs will be poles apart in sound, feel and setlist (very different venues too). For the first, there’ll be electricity, bass and drums; the second, I’ll be alone up there… After that, it’s oblivion for a little while.
Meanwhile, a track from the new EP’s featured on Monolith Cocktail’s Quarterly Playlist Revue, alongside Dr Octagon, Grimm Grimm and Crayola Lectern, to name a few – it’s an immersive, intelligently-structured listening experience; switch that phone off and strap in for a journey by tracklist.
An oldie, Lilith, features on the third edition of Plugged In Brighton’s Mixcloud in a rockier setting; Young Francis, Big Slammu et al bring the scuzz.
The two programmes are very reflective of the two nights – one’s adrenaline noise, the other’s a head trip. Explore!
Metal likeness, 25mm
Badges… badges everywhere
A strange feeling, putting yr image into a 25mm metal circle. How do bands cope with their gormless faces plastered all over T-shirts and other… “merch”? Come to a gig and take these damn things away.
…But there are several more to come, including a third go with Safehouse in the Wildcard Quartet, end of June. Details here, as they become available. Anyway, ask me for a badge and you can have one.
