Vivimus

[nuncvivimusacm]

‘Pray For The Wicked’ Album Review - “Sarcastically Relatable”

‘Pray for the Wicked’ is the sixth studio album released by the American pop rock band Panic! At The Disco. Frontman, and only remaining original band member, Brendon Urie has been on a running music streak, releasing 3 full studio albums over the past 3 years. The latest of these being very contrasting to the previous.

‘Pray for the Wicked’ was released in June of this year. Channelling the messy and perhaps erratic personality of Brendon Urie, the album leaves a trail of confusion and fascination.

Opening with the previously released singles ‘(F**k a) Silver Lining’ and ‘Say Amen (Saturday Night)’, the album immediately bursts into the room with an almost sarcastically relatable insight into the life of a young adult, discussing alcohol and angst ridden disapproval in an utterly distinctive way from his previous releases.

The general vibe of superiority and a touch of cheesy-ness continues through-out most of the album. With lyrics such as “In the garden of evil, I’m gonna be the greatest” in the song ‘Hey Look Man, I Made It’, Urie makes no attempt in hiding his pride and perhaps cockiness for how far his music has come.

The bold woodwind solo’s and almost violently high vocal range are characteristics Urie has show plentiful in his previous albums but mixed with the new pop melodies and theatrical feel, it creates a completely unique album that holds a musical sound that arguably, would have never been expected from the pop-rock band.

[nuncvivimusacm]

Bethia and a “Pop Princesses CD”

(Photo Credit- Eloise Ward)

“A Pop Princesses CD” - where it all began for the R&B style, Soul Pop artist, Bethia. Dancing around her living room as just a child, matured into strutting on stage, full of sexy, powerful passion. 

Bethia began her music career at the age of just 11, writing simple piano songs in her spare time. Finding the lyrical process “so exciting’, it allowed her “write down how [she] was feeling and translate it into something creative” whilst doing her favourite thing- singing. 

she found huge inspiration from many artist but was particularly impressed with the artist ‘Tori Kelly’, finding it “so amazing” the way she could captivate an audience with just a guitar and a vocal performance. This childhood infatuation turned into a direct inspiration to create personal and relatable lyrics, expressing that she wants people to “feel as though they can link them to a particular time in their life”.

With emotional lyrics such as “tears run down my dress, but I can’t take it off ‘cause you said you like this one best” from her single ‘Nothing’ (a personal favourite of mine), I think it’s safe to say Bethia’s heart flinching lyrics achieved what they set out to do. 

The punchy and powerful artist offers a huge feminine confidence boost through both her lyrics and performance, as can be felt through her latest release of “Still Waters” in August. 

The dynamic of the ACM artist, Bethia and her backing band has changed quite dramatically over the past year or so. Beginning her performing career as just a vocalist with a guitarist and cajon player, she has transformed into a full backing band with guitar; bass; drums; keyboard and backing vocals. 

Being able to see the transformation of both the music and stage atmosphere has been such a pleasure, agreed by Bethia - “The band have been such an incredible part of my artistic journey”. 

The combination of an incredibly talented lyricist and song-writer with the inventive licks and fills of the band, have “really [brought Bethia’s] songs to life in a live setting” and allowed for a whole new and complimentary style to come to Bethia. The band not only offer song-writing support but I would personally say they have given Bethia the shot of confidence she deserves. 

There’s lots of exciting movement from Bethia to look forward to in the next few months, including two new singles expecting to be released in December and January. 

New material is being worked on that is “quite different” from the previous released, involving a heavier production and veering more towards an electronic R&B stye, with Bethia stating “my sound will be changing quite a lot however I think it is an exciting change and something that will benefit my journey as an artist”. 

Follow Bethia on Facebook and Instagram for all updates, and whatever is next to come, know it’s going to be great!

[nuncvivimusacm]

Should We Fear for the Future of Small Music Venues?

There has been a lot of scary talk regarding small music venues, since the release of the first UK Live Music Census in 2017. The increasing business rates and noise restrictions from property developments are leaving a third of Britain’s small music venues struggling to stay afloat. 

With 29% of small venues experiencing problems from property developments surrounding the venue, the future of music could be looking to change. One historical venue that has experienced this problem first hand is The Star Inn, reportedly Guildford’s longest running music venue.

The Star Inn, home to the premier gig of the popular punk band The Stranglers, has recently been hit with a noise complaint notice from Guildford Borough Council. This is following the development of a block of flats, looking directly over the pub’s courtyard. 

After entertaining the Guildford locals for more than 400 years, the 16th Century pub could be a facing a music ban which, according to The Star Inn’s manager,  Georgina Baker, could “kill” the venue. 

As stated by The Star Inn’s owner, Shepherd Neame, “at least 40% of the pub’s turnover is attributable to its function as a live music venue”, leaving a very understandable panic amongst the venue staff and consumers. 

The pub currently holds a very agreeable live music license that allows the playing of live music until midnight, Sunday to Wednesday, until 1am on Thursdays and 2am of Fridays and Saturdays . 

The venue has received an overwhelming amount of support after being faced with the noise warning. With both The Stranglers and singer-songwriter Frank Turner, who played the venue as vocalist in the band Million Dead, sending out tweets to make their fans aware of the situation, the petition for #saveourstar has reached an amazing 31,000 signatures. 

And the support doesn’t end at musicians and local fans, several politicians also showed their support through twitter. Matt Furniss, Deputy Leader and Leader for Infrastructure and Governance for Guildford Borough Council recently tweeted to show his support for the venue, stating “We need to protect live music venues in Guildford & stop people who use noise regulations to shut down music & social interests”. Following this, Guildford Council Leader, Paul Spooner repeatedly tweeted his care for the venue, declaring “I still fully support @StarBackroom...Leader has no ability to change the law although in this case I truly wish I could”. 

Paul Spooner’s continuous support to prevent The Star Inn from obtaining any further noise restrictions has received some negative attention from Guildford Borough Council as he is now under investigation for having a “biased” opinion on the situation. Despite this, he has reassured the public that he will continue to support the venue in it’s fight. 

The Star Inn continues to fight against the noise complaints through social media; their petition and live music events such as Save Our Star, that occurred November 28th, 2018.

Sign their petition to show your support!

[nuncvivimusacm]

The Harry Miller Band Acoustic Set @ The Star Inn (Guildford) 10.10.18

(Photo Credit: @ingeniousdesignuk)

Harry Miller; a talented young artist who never fails to surprise me. After seeing The Harry Miller Band perform many times over the past 2 years, having the opportunity to experience a raw and intimate acoustic set from the main man himself was very exciting and completely surpassed my expectations. 

Not only did Harry treat us to a passionate acoustic guitar rendition of several of his songs from his EP Wood For The Trees, but he was also joined on stage by the incredible Christie, or better known as artist Bruch.

Christies’ surprising addition of electric cello, as well as vocal harmonies, was the perfect accompaniment to the soulful, melodic music. The depth of Harrys voice along with the beautifully played cello, created a performance with such union that you could almost believe it was all played on one instrument. 

And as if that wasn’t enough, Harry also surprised his audience with a sneak peek into two new songs. 

Performing an acoustic version of his new track ‘Fragments’, a beautiful song with lyrics that pull deeply at the heart, to be released November 2nd. He also allowed us an exclusive insight into a new born track which he only completed the lyrics to “on the train here”. Despite the freshness of the track, it was played with such gift and perfection, you would believe it had been performed hundreds of times. 

Look out for The Harry Miller Bands new release ‘Fragments’ on November 2nd and head to Pig and Fiddle in Bath on November 8th for the single release party.