You’d have to be living down a very dark hole not to have heard that The Maccabees have a new album out this month. Their third offering, ‘Given to the Wild’ has attracted huge attention in the music press, with mixed reactions.
Some have hailed it a ‘renaissance’ album within which the band has found its artistic groove, while others worry that their marked change in sound might be an attempt to please bigwigs looking to cash in on the fail-safe mass appeal of the likes of predictable crowd pleasers, Coldplay.
Whatever your opinion, there’s no denying the fact that it is a finely crafted and musically accomplished record, with a number of stand-out tracks that keep you listening right to the end, such as Feel to Follow and Pelicans.
We imagine these could sound rather spectacular in a live setting, and we’ve not long to wait to find out as the band will be playing Camden’s Koko tonight, at MTV’s Brand New for 2012 show.
Today sees the release of First Aid Kit’s shiny new offering, ‘The Lion’s Roar’. The precocious pair already have one very charming album under their belts, in the name of 2009’s ‘The Big Black and The Blue’, so we’ve been intrigued to hear how their sound has developed since then.
On first listen, they still do a great line in compelling sisterly harmonies, and the frequently haunting lyrics remain. Yet their overall sound has taken on a greater depth with the support of a new band, and their clear affection for Americana pervades in a host of country styled songs, in particular the ode to their heroes Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris – the video for which was filmed in Joshua Tree on Parson’s birthday. We’re pretty smitten with it.
It sounds like an album that could be the stepping stone to even greater things, so we’re looking forward to seeing them perform live in the Camden borough at Kings College on February 23rd.
We’ve been banging on about the magnificent Lana Del Rey ever since her single Video Games went viral last year, and now, with the imminent release of her new album ‘Born To Die’, her big breakthrough moment is pretty much here.
Leading the pack for a number of impressive new female acts, Del Rey appears to boast the full package, with great tunes, fabulously maudlin lyrics, awesome looks and a millionaire for a father…
She’ll be making her first appearance in Camden at our gig of the week, supporting The Maccabees at Koko on the 24th. And for any fans that might be missing out this time around, she’ll be performing her album at the Jazz Café on March 27th – you can win tickets to the show right here.
At long last, today’s the day! Monday 16th January is the official launch date of Tribes’ hotly anticipated debut album, ‘Baby’.
As Camden’s most recent breakthrough act, you’ll have been hard pushed to avoid these guys over the past year. Spotted at pretty much every festival going and with their own headline UK tour, the band have been peddling their wares in earnest to gain poll position across a plethora of ‘top tips for 2012’ lists.
The album comes packed full of ready-made indie rock anthems designed to appeal to the children of Britpop, with highlights including We Were Children, Sappho and When My Day Comes. Whack these tunes on your personal play-list now to give your Monday morning an immediate boost.
The band are playing a special show on their home turf tonight at Camden Barfly, with tickets reserved for some very lucky competition winners. Don’t forget to drop us a tweet (@thecamdenstore) if you’re in the audience tonight!
Tonight we’re looking to shrug off the January blues, and we’ve found just the boys to help us on our mission. The Craven Braves are one of the latest additions to Gary ‘The Libertines’ Powell’s label 25hr Convenience Store and are blazing a remorseless trail for rock and roll. They’re keeping it in the family this evening with an appearance at Carl Barat’s Jubilee club night at the Camden Barfly.
We’re in need of a good shake-down, and with a debut single like this on the horizon it’s looking like a forgone conclusion that The Craven Braves will deliver the goods:
The band will be back in Camden with the launch of Rough Diamond at The Bowery on February 8th, and will be following that up with a show at Bar Solo on the 17th.
