New Music: Blaenavon - I Will Be The World (Video)

Gosh was it really 4 years since I first wrote about Blaenavon on Breaking More Waves? It was.

Here’s what I’ve learnt about the band in that time:

1. Their lead singer dances on stage like he needs a wee and is holding it in. Maybe he is. If so he should really learn to go before the gig. Mind you I once saw Duke Special play a show at Southampton Joiners, where he stopped halfway through so he could go to the loo. It put a whole new meaning on the idea of a ‘toilet venue’. Mind you, not as much as when I saw Thomas Truax play there, when he performed inside a women’s lavatory (or wash room as my lovely American friends would call it). Yes, I know this is getting a bit off the point, but if you just want to know what the music sounds like you can just press play can’t you? (Discuss: Traditional ‘reviews’ in music writing are dead.)

2. The process of playing more and more shows has made Blaenavon a better and better band.

3. They’re probably not going to be picked up by any trendy high street stores such as Urban Outfitters for a new season fashion campaign – despite their resolutely indie appeal which you would think UO would like – unlike the last band and label mates that I posted about (Let’s Eat Grandma) who are currently propping up some of the stores' promotional work.

4. They're not afraid of a big old noisily screaming guitar orgasm work-out, as you will see during the video for I Will Be The World, the first track from their forthcoming debut album. Take a listen below. Words like powerful and quirky probably apply.

5. The dog in the picture doesn't play anything in the group. I've yet to confirm if it is part of Blaenavon's songwriting team.

Blaenavon - I Will Be The World (Video)

A Holiday Postcard From Breaking More Waves

Dear Breaking More Waves Blog Reader,

This is an internet postcard because we’re on our summer holiday as of today. First of all we’re at Lulworth, Dorset, UK for the fun and family friendly festival frolics of Camp Bestival (in fact we've been there since yesterday evening), then we're flying north to spend 6 days in Helsinki, Finland which will include the incredible Flow Festival before we return to the UK for just a few hours. Then we fly off for a week and a half away removed from all music in southern Spain. We hope to get back from Spain in time for the second day of the Victorious Festival in our home city of Portsmouth which we previewed yesterday.

There will be very little content on the blog over the next few weeks, although keep an eye out for reviews of all three musical events that form part of our holiday journey.

Normal near daily new music blog posts will recommence properly towards the end of August, probably around the 28th.

In the meantime why not follow us on our twitter as we’ll still be occasionally tweeting from there and also take a listen to this new track by indie pups Blaenavon, who yesterday revealed their new song Prague, forthcoming from the Koso EP via Transgressive soon. With guitars that noodle around a bit before attempting to shred your ears forcefully it's good stuff.

Back soon (ish)

Breaking More Waves

Blaenavon - Prague

Blaenavon - Into The Night

Spotting potential in a band is a mug's game. But we still like to play. For every new group in their early stages posted on Breaking More Waves that go on to create great art in the future (and possibly gain some sort of critical or commercial success from it) there are many more who end up failing to live up to our expectations. But it doesn’t stop us trying to spot that seed that may grow upwards at an early stage and support it. For many new artists just knowing that someone out there thinks what you’re doing is good is enough to motivate them further.

We heard a whiff of musical promise from whippersnappers Blaenavon  around this time last year, particularly in their 7 minute opus Swans (sadly now deleted from Soundcloud). Since then they've played Breaking More Waves hometown of Portsmouth a couple of times including the independent Southseafest as well some London shows and are now preparing to release their debut single Into The Night. It comes backed by Denim Patches, one of the songs that we originally featured on that first blog post through Transgressive label's (Foals, Theme Park) imprint paradYse on the 11th March.

Into The Night might initially sound like indie by numbers but as it progresses you’ll realise that Blaenavon are striving for something more here. There's skyscraping sonic ambition present, their youth (none of them are yet old enough to buy a drink at a bar) not holding them back. If The Maccabees and Wild Beasts feature in your record collection then why not put Blaenavon down as your next must buy?

Blaenavon - Into The Night

Blaenavon - Denim Patches (Video) + Gods

Having premiered on Crack In The Road yesterday, recent new waves on this blog Blaenavon have revealed their debut video for the song Denim Patches. They have also uploaded another new track to their Soundcloud.

Denim Patches is an introverted piece, where despondent vocals repeat over and over “take this moment to think what might have been.” The simple but highly effective film featuring waves crashing against the rocks present a strong visual identity for the end of something. Take a meditative moment in your day to take in both the song and the visuals.

The newly uploaded song is called Gods. It’s another melancholic waltz that finally erupts in a distorted white light of guitars towards the end. It may only be a demo but like the majority of Blaenavon’s other material there’s something particularly impressive about its gravitas. Gods can be downloaded for free from their Soundcloud together with the rest of their work.

Blaenavon - New Waves

Blaenavon are an entertaining lot. From their playful WU LYF referencing posts on Facebook where they state “B L A E N A V O N. WORLD HERITAGE UTD” to announcing London gigs in German, this so-called Brighton group seem to be having a bit of fun. We say so-called because Blaenavon are actually closer to Breaking More Waves HQ in Portsmouth than ‘the cooler city down the road.’ Their real home appears to be the sleepy Hampshire environs of Liphook and Liss, two places where golf courses and Jane Austen’s house are more in keeping with the vibe than sleazy rock ‘n’ roll oblivion. “Brighton for the brothers; Liphook for the lovers,” the band state showing a self-deprecating sense of humour.

Of course today location location location is less and less important. This is the internet and everything’s global.

So wherever you are in the world take a listen to Blaenavon. It’s early days for this very young band who have a bunch of demos up online for your listening indulgence. Swans is probably their stand out track at the moment, an impressively thought-out 7 minute rustic folk rock pilgrimage where guitars interlock with the Wild Beast’s school of falsetto. Denim Patches continues the world-weary organic pastoral feel of their music and fully justifies that old cliché of ‘mature beyond their years’, whereas another track Foes demonstrates a more indie picking nature that has a vague kinship to early Maccabees output. It’s the gentler subdued tracks that we prefer to the more generic indie tracks, but take a listen and see what you think.

Further tracks from Blaenavon can be downloaded for free from here. 

Blaenavon - Swans

Blaenavon - Denim Patches



Blaenavon - Foes