I'm gonna keep reviewing these releases as they come out, not because I think anyone values my opinion, but because I don't want them to disappear into the ether, especially not this one.
When Rob first started the Long Haired Music label, I went to the lengths of calling Rob in the street and putting him on the phone to Jace saying 'These are the guys you NEED to record'. Months later, the record came out, literally days after the band broke up. Pretty bad timing, but it was a brilliant swan song.
If you don't know the band get them up on iTunes preview now. You need to hear this.
The E.P. opens up with the rock solid drums groove of 'You Said'. Straight in with massive guitar riff and a chorus of three part harmonies. Classic MH, though it isn't really until the second track however that you really see what the band are about.
'Home' is quite simply brilliant. Lyrically, tonally, emotionally, this is the record that justifies the whole existence of the band. Even if we're not going to see one of those spectacular live shows again, at least we can play this track and remember everything that the band was about. The song grows, evolves and develops taking us through about seven different themes and sections and embodies the hopelessness and disparity of a collapsing band. Perhaps.
Straight from that into fast guitar licks and razor sharp lyrics for 'Fall on the Floor'. It goes back to the tasty outlaw appeal of their previous release, but with the production quality to make it very crank-able. I'm glad this song's on the release because it heralds back to a point where the band were more motivated and less nihilistic. Or maybe that's just my psyche re-writing history.
'So Far' feels like Home's little sister. Fear of age and lack of destination seem to run through both songs. The lyrics speak for themselves - witty, intelligent, cutting. The first rate musicianship is a theme running through the record.
The final track, 'Spanish Eyes', tonally is incredibly strong. It returns back to the ballsy outlandish stick-it-to-the-man-ism that gives the band their appeal. I think it will disappoint some fans to hear the band slowed down and deflated slightly in this respect for the deeper, but far stronger numbers on this release, but they're brought back up with this finale. Lovely touches like the three part 'Fucking Around' harmony, and the 'trap of nickels and dimes' which is something I can relate to a hell of a lot.
The only thing that makes this E.P. massively disappointing is that it ends so soon. I know the band has more songs, and their first E.P. had equally brilliant tunes on it,.and allegedly you can mix the two up to make a great album.
I think a lot of people seriously mourn the loss of this band. Jesus, I do. I'm told by Jace that they're working on a new project that sounds too different to be Midnight High, and I hope this to be true. Still, I feel like they killed something beautiful. It was like witnessing a meltdown when they bailed on their tour commitments and became impossible to contact.
Maybe MH have grown up. Maybe being the outlaws that said 'fuck you' to everyone just got tiring and alienating. I get the impression that maybe they said 'fuck you' to the people trying to help them. I think though in the world we live in we need someone to carry the flag of 'fuck you' and say the things we don't have the balls to say. To find the roads to explain the emptiness we feel with our five figure salaries and loving partners (lol - like I have a five figure salary!), to go out and get high and drink and screw and travel on our behalf, so that we know that in this flat-pack Ikea safety-goggled world there's still some adventure to be had. Well, these guys have done their turn. If you want the party to go on, you're going to have to get up off your computer, find guitar, some whiskey & a dealer and start fucking your own shit up. Take up the mantle, we'll be waiting.
'I'm a free spirit, you're never gonna trap me'
Midnight High
2010 - 2013
Friday, 22 March 2013
Thursday, 21 March 2013
What's going on? Absolutely Everything.
It's hard to know what to show you tbh, as so much is happening - where do we start?
Lincoln is buzzing with music. Long Haired Music had a lavish launch party - thrown by me! video footage is on youtube, type in long haired music launch. Today I tracked a record with Helen Francis, so she'll have some more vids up soon, all on the xclamation music channel so keep watching there! I love how dedicated and determined Lincoln's musicians are, they make my work worth doing.
The Breakfast Club are going from strength to strength - our third album is tracked and awaiting mixing. It sounds amazing. We keep gigging all over, getting re-bookings (to my amazement!) and it seems like everyone wants a piece of us.
The other day in Northampton two complete strangers started writing our set-list for us - with our songs! They turned out to be incredibly sound and 'Strawberries' is now their song. due to an on-stage whim of Brow. It felt strange but good that people we don't know are getting into our music and coming to see us :-)
As for my solo stuff that epic E.P. is going to be coming out VERY soon. I'm writing more and more and an album is also in the pipeline. A while ago I promised more video - check this out!
That's from my album launch last January. Finally done.
If you'd like more from the BC, check out this clip of us rehearsing our new album :-)
More info to come I promise! no more blogging gaps for me :-) I'm getting some some new equipment in april that will make me sound better and let me record live concerts! I literally can't wait...
cya soon you lovely people!
Friday, 8 March 2013
Lizzy Sawyer - E.P. Review
OK, never posted a review before, but I'm listening in the middle of the night and this is something you HAVE TO HEAR!
Lizzy Sawyer's E.P. is probably the most beautiful record I've heard in the last year. These songs really are incredible - the writing is impassioned and honest. These are live performances and they really breath, right down to the tape hiss barely audible in the background this record is seriously perfect. I'm just gutted there's only four of these songs - I demand more! :-)
Recorded on a 1964 Scully tape machine, completely live as a one day project, I lent Lizzy my one roll of tape, which meant we could only capture four of her beautiful songs, a fifth narrowly escaping the final release. Rob Harrison has made the Long Haired Music project worthwhile with this record alone.
Anyway, buy it, love it. Plug in your headphones and listen on your own. Lizzy will creep inside you and rattle your demons x
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/
Lizzy Sawyer's E.P. is probably the most beautiful record I've heard in the last year. These songs really are incredible - the writing is impassioned and honest. These are live performances and they really breath, right down to the tape hiss barely audible in the background this record is seriously perfect. I'm just gutted there's only four of these songs - I demand more! :-)
Recorded on a 1964 Scully tape machine, completely live as a one day project, I lent Lizzy my one roll of tape, which meant we could only capture four of her beautiful songs, a fifth narrowly escaping the final release. Rob Harrison has made the Long Haired Music project worthwhile with this record alone.
Anyway, buy it, love it. Plug in your headphones and listen on your own. Lizzy will creep inside you and rattle your demons x
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/
Thursday, 15 November 2012
My Head Hurts... But I Have Goodies!
Been up all night reading about the economics of the music industry. Still can't sleep.
Is this really what it takes to be heard? It would seem so.
About to pop my album in the post to NME - we'll see what comes of it!
You've got to see this. Seriously, this is what its all about! My youtube quality has just gone up tenfold, check this stuff:
And there's more to come!
But I really need sleep. Night Night. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Is this really what it takes to be heard? It would seem so.
About to pop my album in the post to NME - we'll see what comes of it!
You've got to see this. Seriously, this is what its all about! My youtube quality has just gone up tenfold, check this stuff:
But I really need sleep. Night Night. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Wednesday, 11 July 2012
Very Rambling Post
Oh my days... I haven't done a blog post in... well.... forever!
And so much is happened! Crap!
So dear readers, what has happened to me in the interim time of my amazingly slow-rolling blog posts? Hold onto your hats while I tell all!
***INSERT: I'm playing at the olympics! more on that further down...***
Well, right now I'm blogging from my brother Rob's new studio Long Haired Muisc where we're mixing my new songs from tape. Well, he's mixing. My job is to tell him I want more bass so he can tell me I cant have it :-)
I hope you noted the phrase 'FROM TAPE' - yes readers, the next Sam Harrison album is being recorded on 1" 8 track tape, the same format the Beatles made Abbey Road on, that the Stones made Brown Sugar on, that Led Zeppelin did all their good stuff on. Don't believe me? Look, see, revel in the awesomeness!
What else has happened since March? Well, my mate, maestro, fellow breakfast club member Ciaran Grant directed this bang tidy video to go with my old demo of the L Word - It also stars the amazing Lincoln musician Helen Francis, who made everybody cry by not being happy through the medium of acting :-) if you know Helen, you know she is made out of cheer and unhappy Helen is a sure sign of impending apocalypse or something. You also get a generous look at my ass, you dirty people!
Oh yeh, Breakfast Club are only completely playing at the Olympics. Yeh, in all seriousness, out of thousands of applicants, they picked the Breakfast Club! We're playing about eight different sets to entertain the olympicky people. We're playing all over atm tbh, doing quite well on the gig front.
Some amazing things have happened in my sex life too - its a such a shame that I can't publicly share them on the internet.
What, you want to hear?
Well... maybe I could...
NO! and that's that you pervy readers - honestly, is sex all you think about?
Well, your reading my blog, which means you've probably bought my record so probably yeh. Its OK, you'll hear all about it on the next album ;-)
What else can I share with you? I suppose that I've written such a mountain of songs I can't get 'em all down. The next album will be a right hum-dinger. You'll see. I've lost all track of where I'm going with this, so I'm gonna leave it and write another post when I remember what I've forgotten.
Keep it real, homies. garages. lawns.
x
And so much is happened! Crap!
So dear readers, what has happened to me in the interim time of my amazingly slow-rolling blog posts? Hold onto your hats while I tell all!
***INSERT: I'm playing at the olympics! more on that further down...***
Well, right now I'm blogging from my brother Rob's new studio Long Haired Muisc where we're mixing my new songs from tape. Well, he's mixing. My job is to tell him I want more bass so he can tell me I cant have it :-)
I hope you noted the phrase 'FROM TAPE' - yes readers, the next Sam Harrison album is being recorded on 1" 8 track tape, the same format the Beatles made Abbey Road on, that the Stones made Brown Sugar on, that Led Zeppelin did all their good stuff on. Don't believe me? Look, see, revel in the awesomeness!
What else has happened since March? Well, my mate, maestro, fellow breakfast club member Ciaran Grant directed this bang tidy video to go with my old demo of the L Word - It also stars the amazing Lincoln musician Helen Francis, who made everybody cry by not being happy through the medium of acting :-) if you know Helen, you know she is made out of cheer and unhappy Helen is a sure sign of impending apocalypse or something. You also get a generous look at my ass, you dirty people!
Some amazing things have happened in my sex life too - its a such a shame that I can't publicly share them on the internet.
What, you want to hear?
Well... maybe I could...
NO! and that's that you pervy readers - honestly, is sex all you think about?
Well, your reading my blog, which means you've probably bought my record so probably yeh. Its OK, you'll hear all about it on the next album ;-)
What else can I share with you? I suppose that I've written such a mountain of songs I can't get 'em all down. The next album will be a right hum-dinger. You'll see. I've lost all track of where I'm going with this, so I'm gonna leave it and write another post when I remember what I've forgotten.
Keep it real, homies. garages. lawns.
x
Wednesday, 28 March 2012
Twenty Two, Morocco, London & Reflection...
So the albums out, what happened next?
Firstly, check out Sam Coombes killer article in the Linc!
http://thelinc.co.uk/2012/03/sam-harrison-a-young-man-who-has-come-a-long-way/
Well, we've sold a whole bunch of copies, and I've played gigs all over the country, including finally, LONDON! Yeh, I played a three song set at the Camden Head and went down a storm. The standards are high in the capital but not so high I couldn't compete, which has given me all kinds of confidence.
I also turned 22 - I got the best birthday present ever! my wonderful girlfriend Liz had my album pressed on vinyl, achieving one of my lifetime ambitions. It was cut and pressed in the U.S. and to pay for it all my friends chipped in. If you want to see the shock on my face when I found out, check out the youtube link below!
While having a bit of an age crisis when I realized I really wasn't a kid anymore, I decided to write a list of all the things I'd accomplished while being 21 - here's the list:
Firstly, check out Sam Coombes killer article in the Linc!
http://thelinc.co.uk/2012/03/sam-harrison-a-young-man-who-has-come-a-long-way/
Well, we've sold a whole bunch of copies, and I've played gigs all over the country, including finally, LONDON! Yeh, I played a three song set at the Camden Head and went down a storm. The standards are high in the capital but not so high I couldn't compete, which has given me all kinds of confidence.
I also turned 22 - I got the best birthday present ever! my wonderful girlfriend Liz had my album pressed on vinyl, achieving one of my lifetime ambitions. It was cut and pressed in the U.S. and to pay for it all my friends chipped in. If you want to see the shock on my face when I found out, check out the youtube link below!
While having a bit of an age crisis when I realized I really wasn't a kid anymore, I decided to write a list of all the things I'd accomplished while being 21 - here's the list:
- Played at the Edinburgh Festival
- Payed in London
- Played in a stadium
- Released an album professionally
- Had said album pressed on vinyl
- Got an agent
- Raised £120 for Medicins Sans Frontieres (doctors without borders - my favorite charity)
- Began to drive
- Moved into my own place
- Sold my first record on iTunes
- Took my piano pupil through Grade 1 Piano (he passed!)
- Produced an album for Ian Brough (nearly two!)
- Reached 10,000 youtube hits
- Had my first proper album launch
- Played in Nottingham/Derby/Northampton etc.
- Drove to Edinburgh & London
- Played in a sweet shop
- Made my first (three) music videos
- Marched in London against the tuition fees rise and the public sector cuts. I'm especially proud of doing this because its what I believe in and I want to be able to tell my kids I fought for their rights to education and welfare.
The next awesome thing I did was going to Morocco. I stayed with my mum in the hotel Tikida Gardens in Marrakech, a real once in a lifetime trip. I can't begin to explain how amazing this was, and I'm not gonna try. I'm making a holiday video and I'll post it when its done, but I'd ramble forever if I tried to explain everything I saw. It's always been an ambition of mine to see Africa, and I will go back, I know that for sure.
Oh, P.S. - check out this awesome radio show from the Unhinged team - it's their first show and its really good. I'm playing live at the end of it, the first recording of the song 'Bodies'! Also featuring the very awesomely Ciaran Grant.
Big thanks to Rachael Carter for having us on the show!
cya soon,
Sam :-D
Monday, 30 January 2012
'Yes Hard Feelings' album launch in pictures & film!
What an awesome night we had on the 22nd of Jan 2012. Over 300 people (we don't have an exact figure) made this possibly the best night of my life so far - and partying is kind of what I do. It was exactly how I've always wanted to perform music, and the first time we've got it right. It felt amazing. HQ videos are on the way.
If you haven't had a chance to get the album yet, then it's available on iTunes for £5.40 a copy, or from me for £5.00 on CD (no idea why itunes can't do it for a fiver...). Most other digital media outlets also stock it, if iTunes isn't your cup of corporate tea.
The Below Pictures are by Joshua Andrew Potter, apart from the last one, which is by Roxy Hughes:
If you haven't had a chance to get the album yet, then it's available on iTunes for £5.40 a copy, or from me for £5.00 on CD (no idea why itunes can't do it for a fiver...). Most other digital media outlets also stock it, if iTunes isn't your cup of corporate tea.
The Below Pictures are by Joshua Andrew Potter, apart from the last one, which is by Roxy Hughes:
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