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We at Given to Sound are really excited about a new Manchester band called Daystar. There. That’s the first sentence done. It was a tricky one, because the Manchester thing brings with it the baggage of Madchester and ghosts of bands that swaggered into many a music buyer’s heart and strolled off having made a phenomenal impact. It may lead many to read Manchester band and switch off, preferring to cling to the memories instead.
Daystar are a five piece Manchester band with influences such as The Buzzcocks, The Smiths, The Stone Roses, Joy Division, The La’s, The Kinks and The Sex Pistols. It’s easy to get protective over that and think that you’ve heard it all before. One recently defunct Manchester band with brothers in it told us over and over that the same bands influenced them. Then you’ve got, The Stone Roses; a Manchester band that made self-imploding cool well before Noel and Liam, they also had a similar list of influences.
It’s okay to have those influences, those bands made good music. It’s not the influence, it’s what you do with it that counts – and Daystar do something good.
Approaching Home
Home is where the start is for Elbow, on Leaders of the Free World.
When you’ve written about wanting to get somewhere and you’ve written about what you feel like when you’ve got there, you’ve got to find your way home. Elbow do this with a stomp and a wink with Leaders of the Free World (2005). Whereas they certainly needed grace under pressure to complete Cast of Thousands, the band had learnt that the right approach this time was to capture ideas as and when they happened on the road, whenever and wherever inspiration hit them.
Thank you to everyone who has visited Given To Sound, especially if you have done so in the last few hours because you have helped set the highest reader / visitor numbers since 2007. The previous best figure has been more than doubled tripled as of end of day , making 4th March 2011 a kick-ass day and me one very happy person.
There’s new stuff up I’m incredibly proud of but most of the attention is because of the Christian Kane stuff so HUGE thanks to Kaniacs (and I’ve seen the stats to prove it).
I’ve sat and written words that get nowhere, it’s only right to point out when some words get everywhere. It’s a pleasure to write about Chris and I know there will be more to say, somewhere down the road.
In the meantime, there’s more music to hear and more words to write. Working hard on new articles that are going to be here very soon.
Peace, Love and Soul – Simon xxx
The wait was nearly over; “I can do it, I can do it, I can actually ring up the radio station and request a song off it!”
That was the message emailed to me by an aquaintence in December. Christian Kane’s major label debut (second first album, if you like) had release dates and it was all official. There was a very big feeling of “At last” in the air.
At last, the album everyone’s wanted has arrived.
At last, when you type in Christian Kane’s name in Amazon there’s an album alongside the television stuff (and not Live Fast Die Never – Angel Soundtrack)
AT LAST wider circles of people will be able to hear what Kaniacs have been saying for years. It’s not important when you walked into the house; it’s that you found your way there.
