1. Marbles 2. Somewhere In Range 3. Seaslide 4. Climb Climb 5. Bang! On The Seafront 6. Broken Toy 7. When It Went Dark 8. Divorce Song 9. Outlines 10. Run And Hide
Hailing from pretty much the four corners of the British Isles, but based as a group in Manchester, Its A Buffalo's debut album 'Don't Be Scared' is a thoroughly entertaining listen.
Ten tracks of pseudo-folk, cum rockabilly akin to the likes of The Coral or Clap Your Hands Say Yeah hustle and bustle along for just over 30 minutes and have certainly put a spring in my step on the way to work this week.
The opening tracks 'Marbles' and 'Somewhere In Range' set the tone for what's to come. This constant happy-go-lucky tempo with the infectious guitars persists throughout the album, albeit with a couple of tracks thrown in to slow things down a little - 'Bang! On The Seafront' and the poignant 'Divorce Song'. The catchy 'Outlines' gets your feet tapping once more before time is called.
In a week where veteran rockers U2 have captured all the attention with a No. 1 album and the announcement of a world stadium tour, 'Don't Be Scared' has proven to be a more than worthwhile alternative.
A tenth chart topping album and stadium tour versus a debut album and support slot with friends The Courteeners. I know whose side I'm on.
Hello everybody. Here is the news..... Top Stories This week must be "International Promote Your New Release Week" or something similar, as every second news bit seems to be dedicated to a new album. Here's an example of just a few of them; Maximo Park will offer a free download of their new track 'Wrathlike' from the forthcoming album 'Quicken The Heart' on their webpage; Kasabian have named their third album 'West Rider Pauper Lunatic Asylum', which will be out in June; in the middle of the Blur reunion, Graham Coxon has announced the release of his new experimental album 'The Spinning Top', due out on May 15; Super Furry Animals will broadcast a live version of their new album 'Dark Nights/Light Years' their myspace page on Mar 16 coinciding with its digital release). Better start saving my cents!
The rest of the news appears to belong to veteran Irish rockers U2. On the back of claiming the tenth chart topping album of their career with 'No Line On The Horizon', the band have announced the first details of their forthcoming world stadium tour. The tour will kick off on June 30 at Barcelona's Nou Camp stadium, then continuing through Europe – including four UK dates and a Dublin show – before heading to north America.
Audiences will suuround the group on a specially designed stage and will also be able to enjoy support bands such as Glasvegas, Elbow, Kaiser Chiefs, Snow Patrol and Black eyed Peas.
As if that wasn't enough, they have also had a street in New York City named in their honour to celebrate the release of their brand new album. 53rd Street is now U2 Way. Shame the album is only average (more of that later).
Still in the States, Morrissey has had an eventful start to the US leg of his world tour. After cancelling the first few dates due to illness, he was reportedly interrogated by US immigration officials in Atlanta. You can read all about it on his myspace page blog, but he appears to be ready to take on the world if, in his words, "the world can take it".
Myspace Magic Myspace has been unreal this week and I'm having serious trouble keeping up to date with things. Friend requests galore and stacks of really cool music mean the list of pending interviews is getting longer and longer. Its A Buffalo are the latest band to be featured, coinciding with the release of their debut album 'Don't Be Scared', which is currently on the iphone awaiting a formal review. I'll get the rest done as soon as I can, so please be patient.
Elsewhere, Liverpool's The Rackets have announced free downloads of their tracks on their myspace page. Don't be a fool and take them up on the offer, 'The Usual Suspects' is my personal recommendation.
Reviews I foolishly got my hands on the new U2 release last week and will explain my foolishness in due course. Fortunately, I also got Its A Buffalo's 'Don't Be Scared', a review of which will appear shortly. I can see I'm going to be void of time to review everything I'd like to, so I might have to re-organise things a little. Let's see what I come up with - so much to listen to and only one pair of ears!
Festival Fever Manic here too, with most of the big festivals finalising line ups. The V festival announced headline slots for Oasis and The Killers. Tickets went on sale on March 6, the Chemlsford show sold out in two hoursand their ar eonly a handful of ticket left for Staffordshire! Myspace Magic bands The Little Hydes and Metropolitans are taking part in the Road To V competition, so please click on the following link to see how you can help them. You can also find link to the official website on the sidebar and keep abreast of developments of this and other top festivals there.
And finally..... Couldn't sign off without a special mention to local Murcian boys Second who offered a fabulous gig last Saturday night. The quality was outstanding in all aspects and confirms them as one of the top bands in Spain right now. Check out the youtube video below, where Jose Angel and co. invite fans on to the stage to take part in the final track - what a shame I was so far back! Enjoy.
The latest band to be featured in Myspace Magic have actually taken me by surprise and not just due to their musical excellence.
Having recently got in touch with Its A Buffalo on myspace and being suitably impressed by their sound, I was able to interview this quartet from Manchester and was ready to go with an article to coincide with the release of their debut album 'Don't Be Scared' on March 16.
However, the cheeky sods brought the release date forward by two weeks and caught me with my pants down, so to speak.
Still, better late than never, here's what Ben, Steve, James and Nigel had to say:
NME-E: Who are you and how did you come about? Buff: We are a four piece from Withington in Manchester. All best mates who met at college and uni.
NME-E: What are your releases to date? Buff: Our album 'Don't Be Scared' is out on March 16th 2009 on Akoustik Anarkhy recordings. Previous to this we have released a couple of ltd 500 7". Marbles and 'Somewhere in Range'.
Fooled you! It's already out and pumping on my stereo. U2 have been put on the backburner (that album isn't much anyway - but that's another story). Review is on the way!
NME-E: If you could choose a band to support you, who would it be? Buff: Throughout the last year we have been supporting our good pals from Manchester, The Courteeners. If we could support anyone, probably Nirvana or Neil Young. They actually supported The Courteeners this weekend in Liverpool. Nirvana might be a bit more difficult to organize though! NME-E: What was your favourite album of 2008? Buff:We are all listening to the new Bon Iver album at the moment. Brilliant. That or 'Mens Needs, Women's Needs' by The Cribs.
Both quality albums and quite different in style, which is always a good sign. NME-E: What are your objectives/prospects for next 12 months? Buff: Album release, playing loads of gigs, selling loads of records and having a fucking good time.
Well, stage one is completed with the release, I have bought one of the shit loads they'd like to sell, just leaves them to have a good time - I'm sure they're more than capable of that!
Many thanks go to the Its A Buffalo lads. Please visit their myspace page and check out their sounds - it's well worth it.
"The man's site is well worth adding to your 'Favourites' menu - if you want to keep up with music goings on, read impartial and honest album reviews and stay abreast of the cream of the Myspace crop, then get on it. You might be the next Myspace Magic band if you're half good :)" (Loveday Fools)
"Online Review Site - Excellent Liverpool Content." (Liverpool Bands Friends)
"Nick is very nice and we loved his article. So thanks to Nick and give it a read." (The Scholars)
1. Marbles
