4.52am Issue: 023 2nd March 2017

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Welcome
Welcome to Issue 023
Another week, another donut and this time
we have the incredible Methyl Ethel as our
cover stars to celebrate what we think is
going to prove to be one of the most
critically important and generally
wonderfilled albums of 2017. Don’t take
our word for it though, give it a try for
yourself, this is really special stuff, and to
be totally honest exactly what we have
always loved from their UK label, 4AD.
Speaking of which, we decided to pay
homage to one of the UK’s most important
labels over the last (feeling old) 30-odd
years, so check out some special moments
from the past and next week we will be
looking at a selection of their more recent
artists.
What else? Well, finally we introduce
Design Retro Works’ Amplifier, a guitar
made for Buddy Guy, Stone Deaf FX
announce the release of their new Tremolo
and then…the music.
Have a fine week..
All at 4.52am

Contents
Methyl Ethel
Stone Deaf Effects
Buddy Guy
Design Retro Works
4AD: Legendary, Not Heritage
Cocteau Twins
This Mortal Coil
Throwing Muses
Pixies
Dead Can Dance
Pale Saints
Breeders
Susie Blue
Sóley
Laucan
Mansun

METHYL ETHEL
Everything is Forgotten
One of the most exciting bands we have
come across in recent times hails from
Australia and is released by the legendary
4AD in the UK, and is in truth a vehicle
for the uber talented Jake Webb,
recording and touring under the name of
Methyl Ethel.
The new album ‘Everything is Forgotten’
is released in the UK on Friday 3 rd of
March, and has spent the last week or
two on continuous rotation (OK, it was a
download) here in the 4.52am Shelter,
being one of the most interesting,
beautiful and thought provoking albums
we have heard in years.
In a way that it is so spectacularly good
is disappointing, as you really don’t want
to peak early and pick your ‘Goal of the
Season’ after the first game, but I can’t
imagine how good another album will
have to be to nip in front of Mr Webb’s
platter in our Album of the Year list come
December.
But I get ahead of myself, and taking a
step or two back, we all know that back
in the early ‘90s, Shoegaze was killed,
almost at birth, initially by Grunge and
then quickly after by ‘Baggie’ and Britpop.
Now I loved the whole Shoegaze,
Dreampop thing - there is a part of me
forever buried in a field in Slough – and
people like Ride, Slowdive, the Cocteau
Twins and My Bloody Valentine are a
big part of why I wanted to play a
guitar in the first place, but as a musical
‘movement’ if such a thing is
imaginable in these fragmented times,
it never seemed to have the
opportunity to flower, and to (vaguely)
quote Julian Cope, in a lot of ways we
‘kept the afterbirth and threw the kid
away.’
All of which left me with a feeling of
what might have been, unrequited
something-or-other, and generally it
bothered me far too much over the
subsequent 30ish years.
Getting back to the point then, I have
loved the fact that the whole shoegaze
movement has come back – OK like
everything else it is fragmented and
ceaselessly morphing into sub-genres,
but that is cool, and when I hear Methyl
Ethel’s previous album ‘Oh Inhuman
Spectacle’ I have to say it gave me a
lot of hope. Not least because Webb
had gone far beyond the recently wellused
template, and already taken the

whole genre into a new, fresh and for
this chap, exciting direction. Since then
of course, the question has been where
does he go next, a problem so many
Shoegaze types of band never had to
face, with the concern being that he
would simply churn out Part II.
Saying that, of course that was never
likely and whilst I talk about Shoegaze,
Webb has always been so much more
than that. Lyrically and vocally there is a
lot going on and his approach to song
structure is far more developed, refined
than that of the ‘pioneers’.
All of which brings us to the release of
‘Everything is Forgotten’ where Webb
showed his intent early on, co-opting
James Ford, producer of work from both
the Artic Monkeys and Foals, to bring
another, more electronic influence to the
backdrop that Webb’s vocals and lyrics
demand. You don’t need me to tell you
that this is a brave step for any artist,
but it is one that perfectly answers the
‘what next’ question, and I say brave
because it hands over some of the
control that you always felt was vitally
important to Webb particularly, and with
it opens the door to so many
opportunities for discord. However, Ford
is clever and whilst he brings a range of
electronic sounds and beats ranging
from the womb-warmed ambient to the
frozen mechanism of Kraftwerk he never
over powers. In fact the synths are
beautiful in their own right and as a
counterpoint to Webb’s poetry they
couldn’t provide a better platform. It
works and it is stunning, it is as simple as
that.
Talking about the album, the songs,
Webb is as ever reluctant to get into the
detail,
“To make this music, you put all your
influences into this giant collage, and
when it’s done, you think, what is this
monster you’ve created? That’s why I try
for things to be as interpretative as
possible, it lets me off the hook.
Ideally, I want the music to speak for
itself, rather to present myself,” he
explains. “When I was making music
alone, before I had the band, it was
genderless and without a paper trail of
information about my past.”
And you do get the feeling that Webb
would very much like to be home alone,
working on whatever comes next.
However, there are tours to be done and
the album to be promoted, so a band has
been put together to tour the material,
fellow Aussies Thom Stewart (bass),
Chris Wright (drums) and Hamish Rahn
on keys and guitar will be with Webb for
a six date UK tour.
Indeed it is the songwriting that is
particularly special to Webb, though you
feel that music was very much a way for
him to escape from the confines of a
small town, like so many artists before
him, inspired by the music he heard in his
Father’s car,

“doo-wop, the Beatles, the Everly
Brothers, Del Shannon, the Beach
Boys, Harry Nilsson,” he lists his
favourites. “All my knowledge of
songwriting is the old way. But I play
with the form, to try and push the
boundaries.”
In fact Webb is a workaholic, working a
full day – 8am starts, just like the Rolling
Stones (probably), which means that the
next album is already 75% complete, and
entirely his own work. Perth, was never
going to hold him you feel,
“it’s so easy to get pigeonholed as a
‘Perth artist.’ I wanted to break out… it’s
that small-town thing.”
And breaking out is definitely something
he is good at, as proven by ‘Everything is
Forgotten’ which whilst it has beautiful
elements of the Shoegaze sound of the
previous album, has taken massive steps
to define a new area only he inhabits.
“Everything Is Forgotten sounds that way
for the sake of the song, I don’t want
to make the sound fit the band,” says
Webb. “For me, the studio is the best
instrument to be able to play.
I like to think we’re just the cover band
for the artist that makes the album.”
It isn’t all about control for Webb though,
the name of the album came from a
mistake,
“Someone misquoted the saying,
‘come back, all is forgiven.’ It just felt
right for the record. One aspect was my
manic oscillating between two states -
when it’s good, it’s good, and when it’s
bad, you know it will be good again, so
things balance out – it doesn’t matter
either way. It’s also the idea that
everything I say is deeply important,
but it doesn’t matter either, because it
will be forgotten!”
I seriously doubt that.
You can buy ‘Everything is Forgotten’
HERE
UK TOUR DATES
March 1: LONDON, Oslo
March 2: LEEDS, Brudenell
March 3: GLASGOW, King Tuts
March 4: MANCHESTER, Deaf Institute
March 5: NOTTINGHAM, Bodega
March 7: BRIGHTON, Green Door Store
WEBLINKS
methylethel.com
twitter.com/methylethel
instagram.com/methylethel
facebook.com/methylethel

STONE DEAF FX
Tremotron
Was it only last week that I was raving
about the Frantone Vibutron? I fear so,
yet it is still very much the benchmark for
me as to how good a Tremolo really can
sound. Naturally then, before the e-ink
had e-dried (this could get old quick) I
saw that Stone Deaf FX, who the regular
reader will know I am slightly in love with,
have released their own take on the
Tremolo pedal. I am conflicted, it has to
be said.
Naturally, as with all of Stone Deaf’s
pedals it seems, they have taken the
opposite approach to Frantone and rather
than aiming to create a pedal that does
one thing stupendously well, instead they
aim to create one that does everything
possible, stupendously well.
As I say, I am conflicted in excelsis.
On the face of it, the Tremotron would
seem to be quite simple with controls for
Depth, Wave Shape and Rate. However,
as usual the twists on the theme come
quickly and the first of these that it is
basically two trems for the price of one,
allowing you to use it in-effect as two
channels, each with its own independent
settings and change them on the fly.
However, what really grabs me is that
as with the Fig Fumb and PDF-2 we’ve
lusted after looked-at before, the
Tremotron can be used along with
Stone Deaf’s Expression Pedal which
can be set to alter the settings for any
of the Depth, Wave Shape or Rate
settings. On a trem pedal that is going
to give all manner of shoegaze heaven
(OK, much more too, but I’m in my own
wee bubble here) and expands the
scope dramatically. Definitely
something special.
It doesn’t end there either with the
pedal allowing for four preset settings
to be available on the pedal. This gets
increasingly impressive when you
realise that these can be selected from
128 presets via MIDI.
Incredibly, that isn’t the end of the
options available, including such
niceties as the two channels will
automatically sync, wave tempos can
be matched to delays/drums via a tap
tempo and so much more. They really
do think of everything.
All of which gives me a problem.
Go check out the Stone Deaf
Tremotron HERE, so help me God.

BUDDY GUY
Fender Signature Stratocaster
If ever a chap was going to get me to
cross the street and bat for the other side
– and by that I mean play a Strat instead
of a Jazzmaster – I have to say that
Buddy Guy with his beautiful polka dotted
Strat could well be the architect of my
heart’s change, because apart from the
Robbie Robertson one we looked at
recently, this is just about as perfect as
any Strat gets.
From the top I’m chuffed that it is sub-
£1K on the street, and it only gets better
with the inclusion of a 9.5” radius along
with 21 medium jumbo frets – I said last
week that they feel bigger to me, but
again it could be too many hours on the
Jazzmaster – and a one-piece maple neck
that is beautifully finished, as per. I love
the Fender soft ‘V’ and wish they would
use it more often on their main lines as it
is a perfect compromise, for me.
The neck is finished with a thin urethane
– which oddly feels like nitro – and the
body gets a polyester coat for its polka
dots and looks beautiful. Far more in your
face in the reality than in the photos.
I love that it has a vintage tremolo
despite not being a big user of the things,
but they just sound more Stratty, it is as
simple as that. You don’t even need to
block them off if they are set-up
properly (I know, who knew?) As for
the pickups, these are very much blues
heaven and I really do think that
Fender have improved their pickups a
lot in recent years. The spec sheet
doesn’t denote these as anything
special, but they perfectly nail the
Buddy Guy tone and are equally at
home for everything from Hank to
Hendrix.
In summary, a great Strat whoever’s
name is on the headstock, and if polka
dots aren’t to your taste, well other
models are available.
Find out more HERE

DESIGN RETRO WORKS
Avia Amplifier
We’ve looked at quite a few of Design
Retro Works pedals over the months of
4.52am and I was intrigued to see what
direction Dave Willetts would take when
it came to his first amp under the DRW
brand. It has often struck me (and it is
something I seem to ask every amplifier
builder/designer when I get to interview
them) that there is a whole world of
difference and attention to detail required
when designing an amplifier when
compared to a pedal. Nobody gets fried
by a 9V battery after all, and you can’t as
easily get by with trial and error – or at
least that is how it seems to me – as let’s
face it, amps are bloody dangerous things
if you don’t know what you are doing.
It was interesting to see how Dave (and
the two other pedal builders who are
moving into amplifiers that I’ve come
across) approached the change, and
whilst I probably am over egging any
concern, it was no real surprise to see
that Dave’s approach has been to have
safety as being central to everything.
Getting to the point though, I did wonder
whether DRW would take the pragmatic
– in terms of easier sales – that a lot of
amp builders take and go for the clone
route, whether that is Tweedy or
‘British’, or whether they would be
taking the Thornton route and bravely
re-designing from the ground-up and
coming up with something new.
It is a tricky balancing act between
finding your own niche and selling
enough to survive, and to be fair,
anything other than a Tweed Champ
first time out is probably brave in itself.
All of which makes it all the more
impressive when I got to chat with
Dave for Guitar Quarterly about what
drove him to develop the Avia, and
whilst it does pay homage to a little
known classic, a British, handmade
amplifier from Ted Wallace that whilst
you won’t have heard of it, chaps like
Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Dave Davis,
Jimmy Page, Peter Green, John
Entwistle, Dave Gilmore all used them,
as Dave says, ‘before mass production
took over’ and you will no doubt have
heard them on plenty of records.
The Avia then, takes the Wallace
design and rebuilds it from the groundup
using the very best of modern
techniques and materials. Obviously
handmade, the Avia is designed to be

able to be clean and can be used with all
stringed instruments – as the demos
show, it sounds beautiful with an acoustic
as well as an electric guitar, and it is
aiming to amplify a lot more than guitars.
As for the amplifier itself, I’ll let Dave
explain:
“it features an ultra-linear output stage
for those clean tones, LF gain control,
Range switch (this sets the bass roll off
frequency if required), Middle, HF Gain
control and a Master Volume. The output
stage valves are 2 x 5881 or 6L6GC giving
it a rating of around 45 (loud) Watts. It is
constructed on two turret boards and
wired point to point, we do take great
pride in our work and want our products
to still be reliable and sounding great 20+
years from now! the case is cut from birch
plywood, stained and oiled by hand and
finished with galvanised steel sheets to
the front and rear allowing the internal
LED's to shine through (These can be
turned off, if not to your taste).
All of the case components including
the front and rear decal panels are
produced locally by hand and then
assembled ourselves.”
As Dave says, this is very much an
honest and modern tribute to one of
the first British Amplifier Makers, about
whom very little is known but who’s
influence is undoubted.
The Avia is built to order, so find out
more HERE. The current build time is
approx.. 4 weeks.

4AD
Legendary, Not Heritage
The legend of 4AD has already been told
in epic detail by Martin Aston in his
painstakingly researched, exhausting and
exhaustive book ‘Facing The other Way:
The Story of 4AD’ , which traces the
incredibly aimless yet madcap and
brilliant path taken by Ivo Watts-Russell
and Peter Ken, from its creation to
release a Bauhaus 7” single in 1980, to its
unravelling and ultimate sale to the
Beggars Group by the end of the ‘90s.
4AD have such a rich heritage of music
that it is easy to fall into the trap of
assuming that they are still defined by the
Cocteau Twins, Dead Can Dance, His
Name Is Alive and of course This Mortal
Coil, and whilst for every critically
acclaimed gem like the Pale Saints’ ‘The
Comforts of Madness’ there seemed to be
an oddity like the Number One single
from MARRS, ‘Pump Up The Volume.’
Nothing if not predictably unpredictable.
Not that it is unusual for a record label
to have a backlist – it is their lifeblood
and pension, but 4AD always seemed
more than a mere label, and so the
ghost of the past could easily cast a
long shadow over the present that
prevented anything other than its
mining. There leads the path to
creative death, but luckily this simply
isn’t the case and whilst we love 4AD’s
history, if anything their present mix of
old artists revitalised and the best of
the new music currently being recorded
means that 4AD are better placed now,
with bands such as Daughter and
Methyl Ethel, Scott Walker and Pixies to
define whatever we’ll call the
fragmented music of this decade, this
generation’s cool.
All of which seemed as good a reason
as any to have a quick look at a few
4AD classics…whilst next week we’ll
look at their more recent history

COCTEAU TWINS
Heaven or Las Vegas
For many people, the definitive sound of
4AD was created by Robin Guthrie’s
guitars, the criminally underrated bass
playing of Simon Raymonde and the
other worldly vocalisation of Liz Fraser,
and whilst in many ways the Cocteau
Twins put the label on a lot of people’s
maps, it was a fine example of a label
growing a band and allowing them to
flourish over a number of years.
That they were dropped immediately
after the release of their commercially
most successful album by Ivo Watts-
Russell despite the album being his
personal favourite, sums up a lot about
4AD at that time and in a lot of ways
almost seems fitting.
The truth of the matter was that from
their creation in Scotland and being
named after a Johnny & The Self-
Abusers’ (later Simple Minds) song, the
path from the spiky and raw ‘Garlands’ all
the way through the cold fear of
‘Victorialand’, the lush beauty of
‘Treasure’ until the almost poppy (by their
standards if nobody else’s) explosion of
light that was ‘Heaven or Las Vegas’ the
Cocteau Twins were always in a place
that was always fraught, often traumatic
and rarely predictable.
Guthrie’s genius needed conflict, whilst
Fraser had her own path to walk that
like Kate Bush sees her scattering
pearls before us when the moment is
right. It is Raymonde that, quietly, has
perhaps carved the longer-lasting
legacy post-Twins, running and
producing bands for his label Bella
Union with the calmness and authority
that you feel kept the Cocteau Twins
stable enough to evolve, for long
enough to see the creation of what
surely must go down as their
masterwork. For him at least, you
always feel it was about presenting
Fraser without ego, recognising what
was magical and acting appropriately.
I can’t imagine 4AD without the
Cocteau Twins, and I’m sure they
would disagree, but I can’t imagine
that the Cocteau Twins could have
travelled the path they eventually did
without 4AD.
It simply wouldn’t have worked the
same way if they had done their
growing-up elsewhere.

THIS MORTAL COIL
A Siren Calls
This Mortal Coil was a concept wrapped
up as a project and a series of albums
without a real direction or force. It was
the brain child and love affair of Ivo
Watts-Russell and brought together his
friends and a variety of artists from the
label to work on covers or new,
experimental songs that perhaps were
outside of the scope of their own work
(thought often not.)
Of course the most famous, and perfect,
product of the three albums, was the Liz
Fraser and Robin Guthrie collaboration
which saw them turn their attention to an
almost forgotten folk song by Tim
Buckley, ‘Song For The Siren’, which as
simple as it was, defined an other-worldly
space for Fraser and 4AD itself to call
their own.
For me, it was the second album
‘Filigree & Shadow’ that captured me at
the time, and the cover of Tom Rapp’s
‘The Jeweller’ with Dominic Appleton of
Breathless typifying the whole series
with an aching beauty that
nevertheless opened your eyes.
The three albums were by their nature
varied and by the time the third album,
‘Blood’ was complete it was definitely
the time to stop, but This Mortal Coil
managed to produce a collection of
work that simply hasn’t been touched
by anybody since, and is definitely a
must-have.

THROWING MUSES
Counting Backwards
OK, I don’t mind admitting that there are
times when despite speedily approaching
my fiftieth year on this planet of ours, I
am a little bit in love with Kristin Hersh.
There I said it.
More worryingly, no doubt for her, is that
the rest of the time I am a lot of a bit in
love with her.
No concerns on the stalker front, it is a
music thing and to be fair, it goes back
many years now ever since I saw the
Throwing Muses and Pixies on their first
(I think) UK tour in some strange glitter
and tinselificated club in Birmingham
sometime in the late ‘80s.
In fact, I know exactly when it was, two
days after my 20 th birthday, it kind of
stuck in my head for some reason.
So basically, for coming on thirty years I
have been a fan of both bands, have
followed what all of the members have
done, had my heart broken to ‘Hunkpapa’
put it back together with ‘The Real
Ramona’ and rocked my children to
sleep to the sound of Kristin’s ‘Strings’
E.P which to my mind is still the
greatest single record 4AD have ever
produced, and perhaps even the
greatest E.P ever with a flourish of a
full-stop to make the point perfectly.
And as I am meant to be thinking of
4AD, the Pixies and the Muses were for
me the next step on from the Bauhaus,
Cocteau Twins dreampop style of the
early days, when in many ways the
label created a split in their psyche and
did a lot in the UK if not beyond to
publicise what we would now call
alt.pop among other things.
I try to keep up, but struggle
somewhat, it makes me Dizzy, in my
head, it is as simple as that.
For all things Kristin, Muses and 50
Foot Wave, visit HERE (I’ll be the one
around back, diving in the bins)

PIXIES
Hang On To Your Ego
I mentioned above that my first taste of
the Pixies was seeing them alongside the
Throwing Muses, and how that has had
an impact upon my life like, perhaps, no
other gig.
The Pixies were totally different to the
Muses, having Black Francis/Frank Black
up front with his banshee scream, whilst
the genius that we later found out with
her time with the Breeders that is Kim
Deal was perhaps unfairly overshadowed.
Of course we can’t talk genius without
mentioning Joey Santiago who is without
a doubt one of the finest guitarists of any
generation.
With ‘Doolittle’ and ‘Surfer Rosa’ the
band set a level that very few
indie/alternative bands have got
anywhere near since, and if Frank
Black’s solo albums have had moments
of genius, the freedom Deal has
enjoyed to express herself with the
Breeders has been truly magical to
watch.
An awesome band that had so much
more going for it than it seemed and
yet set a template for so much that
came later without anybody really
noticing.

DEAD CAN DANCE
Musica Eternal
Whilst not gaining the sales of some of
the other bands and artists, Dead Can
Dance have in many ways always being
the perfect 4AD band.
Formed in Australia with a core of Lisa
Gerrard and Brendan Perry, they brought
their eclectic and other-consciousnessladen
mixture of rhythm and sounds to
London and soon after to 4AD where
despite the odd hiatus, they continue to
have a home.
In many ways they are almost a perfect
photofit of a 4AD band, artistically open
to both the found and the contrived, and
have a painterly eye for composition,
often bringing seemingly diverse and
unlikely influences to their music and
then seamlessly creating something
altogether unexpected and beatific
without it ever being obvious to us lesser
mortals quite how they have managed it.
Their eponymous debut album and
their fourth, ‘The Serpent’s Egg’ have
to be considered the ‘must haves’, but
in a lot of ways their 2012 Comeback
Special, ‘Anastasis’ shows how much
they have grown artistically, and
without the glow of sepia dripping
recollections, even one that is always
happy to nip down memory-lane such
as I would have to admit to owning,
that it probably edges the best of the
original recordings.
Given my love of all things Cocteau
Twins (not to mention a certain Ms.
Hersh) if you were only ever going to
listen to a single 4AD album, I would
have to say ‘Dead Can Dance’ is the
one to choose, it has the album cover
next to ‘Definitive’ in some book or
other.
Find out more HERE

PALE SAINTS
A Sea of Sound
I’m not sure that they were as underrated
at the time as people seem to think now
– I remember a packed nightclub in
Birmingham on one of their tours, and
I’m pretty sure they weren’t there to see
Real People who were supporting them –
but it is fair to say that the Pale Saints
haven’t gotten the kudos their three
beautifully constructed albums for 4AD
deserved.
Consigned into the shoegaze/dreampop
category, they were so much more than
that with a harder edge at times (think
the Cure or Bauhaus) and wiped the floor
with a lot of the two-dimensional bands
that were the second wave of that
particular trip. In a lot of ways they were
closer live to a Ride or Chapterhouse than
the Cocteau Twins, but probably suffered
by close proximity to their label mates
for no other reason than they never
had a Liz Fraser. But then nobody else
did either.
For me ‘Comforts of Madness’ is the
definitive recording, which in a lot of
ways predated what shoegaze became
even if they latterly got lumped in with
it, and you really do have to discover
‘Sea of Sound’ if you haven’t had the
pleasure before. Genuinely beyond
comparison.
To summarise, an awesome band that
should perhaps get a lot more credit
than they do even now, and have the
unlucky title of ‘Best kept secret’ as far
as the history of 4AD goes.
As fresh today as they ever were.
Find out more HERE

BREEDERS
Iris
If Black Francis was the screaming,
gurning face and voice of the Pixies, Kim
Deal was the soul, the depth and twist
that made them special, even if it took a
while for us all to realise that.
In fact with the Breeders starting as
something of a sideshow along with the
pre-Belly Tanya Donelly of the Throwing
Muses and even the release of the frankly
incredible ‘Pod’ managing to go under the
radar sales-wise, at least critically it was
recognised for what it was.
Kurt Cobain famously described it as,
"The main reason I like [the Breeders] is
for their songs, for the way they structure
them, which is totally unique, very
atmospheric. I wish Kim was allowed to
write more songs for the Pixies, because
'Gigantic' is the best Pixies song, and Kim
wrote it." Later adding that ‘Pod’ was
one of the key albums that Nirvana’s
sound.
It was the second album ‘Last Splash’
that saw the Breeders finally gain the
recognition and sales Deal’s
songwriting deserved, with a place on
the Lollapalooza tours taking the
Breeders far further than the Pixies
ever managed.
An awesome songwriter Deal, and on
Pod Donelly were a beautiful
partnership, creating edgy, direct yet
cool pop music that stand out now on
every level.
If you haven’t heard the Breeders, start
with ‘Pod’ and then see the progression
with ‘Last Splash’ and enjoy one of
America’s finest songwriters at the top
of her game.
Find out more HERE

SUSIE BLUE
Dreaming in Ruinous Blue
The rather wonderful Susie Blue, one of
our tips for goodly greatness in 2017 and
beyond, are still teasing me with minitours
that pass nowhere near my door.
However there is big news ahead – more
on that at a later date – but for now I’m
left trying to work out whether I can get
a Ryan Air flight to Derry or Dublin, or
worse brave the Smoke and visit them in
Camden or Clapham in a few days time.
If you missed our chat with them a
while back, shame on you, but you can
find out more HERE and you quite
seriously have to check them out if you
are anywhere near them in the near
future. Seriously file them under ‘Real
Deal’. Here endeth the lesson.
Here be them there dates…

Sóley
Never Cry Moon
bought a grand piano, sat down and
started playing, singing and writing.”
Working with her friend and long-time
collaborator Albert Finnbogason, the
album is a real step into the sun after
the introversion of her previous
releases, gentle and filled with hope.
Plans are underway for a UK tour –
details to follow, as the saying goes.
You can find out more HERE
Heralding her third album, ‘Endless
Summer’ which is due in May, Iceland’s
rather awesome Sóley lets us into her
world with the release of the first single,
‘Never Cry Moon’.
Talking about the album she explains her
approach,
“The idea for the album came pretty
randomly one night in beginning of
January 2016 when I woke up in the
middle of the night and wrote a note to
myself: ‘Write about hope and spring’. So
I painted my studio in yellow and purple,

LAUCAN
Up Tomorrow E.P
One of the most exciting new British
singer/songwriter types we’ve heard in
recent times is Laurence Galpin who is
out there under the moniker Laucan, and
who simply put has one of the most
beautifully expressive acid tinged folk-ish
voices out there.
Hailing from Lewes and basically turning
his back on the high pressure music
scene, Laucan has done it his own way,
taking his time to create his own sound,
in his own way. Thankfully the
introversion wasn’t ultimately crippling,
as now we are all kinds of made-up to
hear his debut E.P, ‘Up Tomorrow’ which
is released on the 10 th of March, and the
first single from it ‘DLMA’ which hopefully
you can hear here now.
As he explains,
“Eventually,” he says, “I decided that
either I release them or I just give up
writing music.”
And you can’t say fairer than that.
This really is a quite stunning debut
and should you wish to pre-order it
(there is a hint there) you can HERE
Find out more on Facebook or Twitter

MANSUN
Wide Open Spaces
I’d decided that this week we would have
Mansun to close this issue of 4.52am for
a couple of reasons.
Firstly, my better half suggested it, which
is always a good thing, and secondly
because they were really rather excellent
and in a better world would have filled the
gap that Coldplay subsequently took for
their organic selves. It is one of those
perplexing life things that it becomes
hard to remember just how big they were
– they were certainly the ones-most-likely
ahead of Radiohead, and musically they
had an edge whilst still making something
musical. I never thought about it at the
time, but there was definitely a Bowie
meets ‘The Hurting’ era Tears For Fears
thing going on, which was all kinds of
brilliant.
As for ‘Wide open Spaces’, well for me it
was the definitive Mansun song, so it had
to be that.
This of course is where things get a little
surreal and spooky, as looking around her
ladyship soon noticed that Paul Draper
had announced a tour and tickets were
available from tomorrow.
All of which kind of kills my ‘classic band
– whatever happened to them’ thing, but
such is life, and after another listen to
‘Attack of the Grey Lantern’ it is a truly
awesome bit of news.
Find out more HERE