Shoegazer's Friday Finds

Homeware

Above: This is such a good idea for a DIY project - perk up flowery old plates, tea pots and sugar bowls with some brightly coloured ceramic paint! Or, if you want that professional touch, you can buy some super sweet pieces from Ninainvorm.

Above: Are you a girl? Do you love your jewellery? (of course you do!) Do you also love pretty tea cups and saucers?? Well why not combine your loves and use mismatched tea sets as draw organisers! How decadent! I've had this image sitting in my "to blog" folder for so long that I've forgotten where it's from. Whoops! (please let me know if it's yours)

Jewellery

Above: Old cufflinks have been given new life as unusual, quirkily stylish rings by Early Jewelry.

Above: This colourful leather and gold 'chest armour' from ChrisRann (jewellery by Rannie Balias) would look great over a simple tee.

Above: Darling it's better down where it's wetter, take it from me ... so why not stick a sea urchin on your finger and swear your alligance to the sea? Pay Turkish etsy user Star of the East a visit for more delicious sea treasures.

Art:

Above: Sandra Suy creates fashion illustration like this one. Pick up a print from Etsy or view her portfolio on her website.

Above: Skin-art now... how about getting a dot to dot tattoo! Such a cute idea! (Pic: bluebird vintage)

Music:

This week's new music pick is Teen Inc, a duo from LA producing music heavilly influenced by 80s music and described as sounding like "Tears For Fears doing whisper karaoke with Was (Not Was)". You can hear two tracks for free on the band's website or purchase the single Fountains from iTunes.

Shoegazer's Friday Finds

Time for some another batch of Friday Finds - this week spanning music, homeware, jewellery and more!

Homeware:

Above: I'm a sucker for anything cherry blossom related so this tea set from Plumo makes me weak at the knees!

Above: Also from Plumo, I dare you to resist these cute little owl candle holders! (OvO) Hoot hoot!

Above: New in at Cox&Cox are these sweet little wall hooks with white sparrows perched on them! WANT!

Jewellery:

Above: Handmade porcelain bird necklaces from Mememe.

Above: Perfect for the girl who loves her camera, these silver studs are from An Original Jewelry

Art:

Above: If you are loved up, why not commision ellothere to create some unique custom sillhouette portraits for you are your significant other. Etsy's ellothere also produce some really cool invitations such as these (below), perfect for the music-loving couple about to get married . . .

Above: Ellothere's Record Sleeve wedding invitations. Definately being added to my secret "we're not getting married but if we were..." list. Haha.

Music:

Now a music pick for you in the form of Summer Camp. Having recently signed to Moshi Moshi records, the band -Jeremy Warmsley of Trangressive and Elizabeth Sankey of Platform Magazine - have released this video (see below) featuring footage from a 1969 film entitled Last Summer to accompany their debut single "Ghost Town" - a song I can't get enough of! It's been described as "woozy tearoom music" but screams lazy summer evenings to me. Have a listen:   

Summer Camp - Ghost Train

Shoegazer Music: The Maccabees, live

The Maccabees

Brixton Academy - 3.10.2009

For those of you who don't know much about The Maccabees, a band who last Saturday played their biggest and most triumphant London show to date, allow me to fill you in. Based in Brighton but originating from South London, the five-piece consists of Orlando Weeks (vocals/guitar), Hugo White (guitar), Felix White (backing vocals and guitar, brother of Hugo), Rupert Jarvis (bass) and Sam Doyle (drums). After releasing their debut album Colour It In in 2007, the band gathered a loyal following of fans and received moderate critical acclaim thanks to songs that ranged from gentle and melodic (Toothpaste Kisses, Precious Time) to upbeat and infectious (Latchmere, X-Ray).

2009's follow-up, Wall of Arms marked serious progression for the band, and where Colour It In could have been unfairly overlooked amidst the barrage of indie releases, the band's second offering reallt made music lovers sit up and take note. Featuring the brilliantly dark and brooding No Kind Words and Love You Better, this is an album that steps forward from those of the band's contemporaries and embraces the dark side. With Arcade Fire's producer Markus Davis in tow, the band have developed their signature sound immensely and have delivered sophisticated songs for almost all moods. And, just as significantly, they've produced an album that men like - an album that speaks to the boys in the crowd in a year that's been dominated by female-based music.

And so to the gig itself - For the first time in a long while, we couldn't help ourselves but venture right into the heart of the throbbing crowd at the gig. We jumped, danced and sang along to song after song that the band performed with relish. Groups of guys threw their arms around each other's shoulders and cheered and grinned, their faces telling that, as far as they were concerned there and then, no other song defined their friendship; no other other band spoke to them quite like this. Of course, this could just be the hysteria of the moment, but it was wholly refreshing to see a crowd so engaged with the band and so willing to enjoy themselves. Many a girlfriend's face expressed the look of "I didn't know you liked them this much."

But don't get me wrong, this wasn't a crowd divided. Just as many girls and women were enjoying the music and dancing and singing their hearts out. This was a gig that pulled the audience in and gave them a sense of collective euphoria.

When the crowd drowned out frontman Orlando Weeks' amplified vocals on old favourite Precious Time, the band appeared visibly moved, hugging each other in deisbelief at their triumph. Felix White declared Brixton Academy to be "the best venue in the world," and as the final shords of Love You Better rand out, Weeks was clearly overwhelmed by the reception of the crowd and left the stage in humble tears. "I think you've given us the best night of our lives," he confessed. I'm sure they gave many of the 4,000 strong crowd one of the best nights of theirs too.

words&photo: Claire B of Shoegazer

Jack Penate - Gig and Album

Jack Penate – iTunes Festival 2009, The Roundhouse

Gig Experience: 3.7.09 Roundhouse, Camden. iTunes Festival
Album review: Everything is New

Jack’s back in London after a busy start to the year which has seen him release Everything Is New, the follow up to his 2007 debut album Matinee. There’s no sign of “difficult second album” blues here, with pretty much every song worthy of being released as catchy, infectious and heartfelt stand-alone Singles. In the run up to the release of the album we had Let’s all Die, Tonight’s Today, Be the One and others enticing us in to Planet Penate. Now, with the album’s arrival we’re treated to brilliant songs such as Everything is New, Give Yourself Away and Pull My Heart Away. The album is worth every penny with not a filler track in sight. Development is the word of the day here, with Jack Penate proving the catchy rhythms of Matinee weren’t just a lucky fluke. His song writing has developed with numbers such as Pull My Heart Away and Body Down being bluesy in a perfectly Penate way.

And so to the live show, part of this year’s iTunes Festival where fans apply for tickets via Facebook/iTunes and are awarded them for free. Taking place at Camden’s Roundhouse on a warm and hazy sunny evening, Jack was supported at the gig by the Golden Silvers (last seen by Shoegazer supporting Florence & the Machine in Brighton). Their song True No.9 Blues (True Romance) is catchy and well worth checking out.

Prior to taking the stage, our man Jack could be spied relaxing on the roof terrace in the evening sun as excited fans mingled with those who had applied out of curiosity, and those who had simply applied for a great night out for the price of a tube ticket.

As Jack took to the stage, the crowd greeted him with rapturous applause as he confessed at how he hadn’t played his hometown of London for a while but that it was good to be back. Bursting through a set which included old favourites such as Torn on the Platform, Spit at Stars and Run for your Life, Jack was joined on stage by Kid Harpoon half way through the set to perform Give Yourself Away (“AYA YA-YA YA YA YA YA YAAAAA YAAAAAAA,” sorry, couldn’t contain it.) It says something for the quality of the new material that it by far outshone the old favourites, couple this with the infectious energy of his odd-ball dance moves and you're left with a really great gig supporting a fantastic album.

(Images: ClaireB of Shoegazer)

Check out video footage of Jack Penate with special guest Kid Harpoon performing Give Yourself Away, thanks to ShoegazerVideo:

X-Posted at Shoegazer Music

Florence & the Machine - Lungs

I love Lungs! Not the bodily organs... although I suppose I love them too since without them I’d be having a little trouble breathing right now. But more specifically, I love the album Lungs by Florence and the Machine (out today) which I managed to get my early-bird hands on over the weekend.

Having seen her live in Brighton a month ago, I was expecting some of the non-single songs to be slightly familiar, but as I listened through the album, everything from the gig came flooding back – the power, the passion and the drama... even the lyrics. It was if I'd known these songs for years. It’s truly an album that will sweep you away with the rabbit-raising, coffin-building, eye-cutting-out fairies if you let it. I find this refreshing in a musical landscape currently so overcrowded with bland electro-pop-mIndie. La Roux? La Poo. LittleBoots? GoldfrappBoots (srsly, did anyone see her on Jonathan Ross?!). Lady Gaga? Don’t even get me started.

Top tracks for my money, aside from the singles Kiss with a Fist; Dog Days Are Over; and Rabbit Heart (Raise it Up), are Girl with One Eye (perfect, dark and dangerous song for a girl who’s been crossed by another), Cosmic Love, Howl and My Boy Builds Coffins.... and I’m Not Calling You a Liar... and...oh, and all of them! Definitely worth having a listen to when you get time.
I can’t wait to see Florence live again in a couple of weeks at Lovebox. Check out Shoegazer Fashion where Poppy talks about Florence’s Topshop-designed Glastonbury outfits.

Florence and the Machine - Brighton

Florence and the Machine - Brighton - Concorde 2 - 2.6.09

In a venue tucked under the Brighton promenade lays a stage littered with flowers and empty bird cages. Faded bunting stretches out above the audience and tangles in amongst the gothic wrought iron arches and pillars. As the sun fades outside, its last throws of light illuminate the stained glass alcoves, throwing an eerie light across the room.

Florence and her band take to the stage in a swirl of fog and launch into a set list that includes most of the tracks from her forthcoming debut album Lungs (out July 6th). “I’ve just been singing about coffins... now I’m going to sing about cutting someone’s eye out,” giggles Florence after paying homage to the gothic splendour of the venue as she leaps from My Boy Builds Coffins in to Girl With One Eye.

It’s testament to Florence that the crowd remains transfixed despite not yet being familiar with over half of the songs. Each track is performed with powerful vocals and a dramatic stage presence which sets Florence apart from many of her contemporaries. Her enjoyment of performing each song to the maximum both in terms of vocals and movement is refreshing.

Where many bands perform their most well-known songs with tour-weary reluctance, Florence rips hers up with all the excitement of a child tearing wrapping paper off a particularly large present, and seems delighted that the gathered crowd are enjoying her work. Recent release Dog Days Are Over, new single Rabbit Heart (out June 21st) and her cover of club classic You’ve Got The Love generate a rousing response from the audience, as does a screaming rendition of Kiss With A Fist.

Maybe it’s because I’m at a gig in Brighton instead of London for the first time in ages, but there is a distinct lack of pretention to proceedings tonight which gives the gig a feel of those from the early 2000s - before the big “indie” boom. On the whole, the audience are wearing what they want rather than what they feel they should. Couple this with Florence’s disarmingly friendly banter with the crowd and it becomes crystal clear why this gig was one of the best I’ve been to in a long time.

Florence has come a very long way since I first saw her (with Dev Hynes as ‘the Machine’) at a free festival back in 2007, and I would thoroughly recommend you seek her out this summer. Do yourself a favour though, and approach her as an artist in her own right, not as one of “2009’s top tips” or as a member of the infuriating “new females” clan (female is not a genre).

Keep an eye on Shoegazer Fashion for Poppy's review of the night (and Florence's outfit!)

Review in brief:
Venue: Refreshingly un-corporate! Good size for an intimate gig. Bad toilets.
Gig expereince as a whole: A perfect end to Florence’s tour and a perfect way to introduce us to her debut album. Uplifting, dramatic and unpretentious.

Song love

....:* Mirrorball *:....

I plant the kind of kiss
That wouldn't wake a baby
On the self same face
That wouldn't let me sleep
And the street is singing with my feet
And dawn gives me a shadow I know to be taller
All down to you, dear
Everything has changed

My sorry name
Has made it to graffiti
I was looking for
Someone to complete me
Not anymore, dear
Everything has changed

You make the moon a mirrorball
The streets an empty stage
The city's sirens, violins
Everything has changed

So lift off love
All down to you, dear
And lift off love
All down to you, dear

And we took the town to town last night
We kissed like we invented it
And now I know what every step is for
To lead me to your door
Know that while you sleep
Everything has changed

You make the moon a mirrorball
The streets an empty stage
The city's sirens, violins
Everything has changed

Music!

I'm currently loving "Some People Have Real Problems" by Sia - if anyone watches Jools Holland, she was on the other week, check out the video here.
And the official video which proves she certainly isn't vain!

I'm also liking Those Dancing Days' album "In Our Space Hero Suits" espeically the tracks Space Hero Suits, Run Run and Those Dancing Days.