LiveWire Music Awards 2020
SONG OF THE YEAR
So, with the main award out of the way, we look to our song of the year. Once again, there are so so many contenders for this, from major bands and less well known / new acts that have really impressed us. The magnificent ‘Model Village’ from IDLES was a real highlight of 2020, setting a vision of a racist, self-centred ego driven modern society into the framework of a model village. Brilliant… quirky and excellent at the same time. We also had the brilliant track ‘Grounds’ also from their 2020 release ‘Ultra Mono’. From less well known artists we had the excellent blues / rock track ‘Save Me’ from The Delta Bombers, ‘Chemistry’ from Swedish synth pop artists The Ghosts of Helag. Then more locally we had ‘Devil’ a very personal insight into abusive relationships from Derby’s own Muddibrooke. Finally, there was the post-apocalyptical track ‘Wastelands’ from Australian punks Destrends. A surprisingly refreshing experience.
But finally we broke it down to a top three. In third place is the outstanding ‘Oh Such a Spring’ from the second album ‘A Heros Death’ from Fontaine D.C. Set against some of the more energetic tracks on the album, ‘Oh Such a Spring’ delivers a moment of pause and reflection….. A wonderful and dark piece, a tale of a coastal town on hard times, and dreaming of better days. The lyrics are beautifully crafted delivering a real sense of depression, loss and despair “The clouds cleared up, The sun hit the sky, I watched all the folks go to work, Just to die. And I wished I could go back to spring again” The guitar is crisp and bright in tone and matches the vocals beautifully, with subtle bass and drums adding depth. Stunning, from start to finish.
In second place we have ‘Discipline’ by IST IST from their debut album ‘Architecture’. This album takes second place in our album of the year, and for good reason. It is packed from start to finish with exceptional tracks, but the highlight for me has to be ‘Discipline’. The track has a fast tempo with a very 80’s synth opening, before the most wonderful dirty, hypnotic bassline kicks in. The bass in this one is exceptional: phat, loud and gritty and really gives the track it’s depth and atmosphere. The lyrics are simple but so effective “What’s good for the mind, is good for the body, what you need is some discipline”. The synth work on this track took me back and was brilliantly executed. It’s deep, dark and gritty and has an incredible power to it, conjuring up visions of 1984 with it’s industrial, almost robotic feel.
But, finally on to our #1 song of the year ? Well the honour goers to Nottingham’s own Sleaford Mods featuring Billy Nomates and their single ‘Mork n Mindy’. Sleaford Mods are a band that split opinion. With their language and earthy graphic lyrics you either love em or hate em. In reality though, they just sing about real life for so many people, as they see it from their point of view. There’s no pretention, no lar-de-dar fake gloss here, and ‘Mork n Mindy’ is perhaps their best offering yet.
Frontman Jason Williamson describes it as: “Mork n Mindy is the sound of the central heating and the dying smells of Sunday dinner in a house on an estate in 1982. Concrete, dinted garages, nicotine. Where beauty mainly exists in small cracks on the shell of your imagination" It’s basically about his childhood and how colourless it tended to be. Jason goes on to say “ I wanted to try and bring that across in a song. But at the same time, I loved it, but at the same time, I hated it. I wanted to try to bring all of that across. And I think we really nailed it with that song. I’m really proud of that song.
Beat-master Andrew Fearn pulls off yet another effortlessly addictive soundscape while vocalist Jason Williamson provides another lyrically free-flowing performance. It’s a format we’re grown familiar with and yet with each new track released, you can hear the progression…… nothing seems to stand still, or grow old or tired, with each new track they develop and grown.
The track also introduced us to the amazing talent that is Billy Nomates, who guests with an exceptional vocal performance. Sleaford Mods admit that her input really transformed the track, and it certainly does.
Gritty, dark and wonderful, an exceptional track and a great first taste for what awaits on their new album ‘Spare Ribs’ due out on 15 February 2021, and available to order here: https://www.sleafordmods.com/
LIVE PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR
2020 was a year of potential, cut short by the global pandemic. No aspect of the industry was affected as badly as the live performance scene. Not just for musicians, for promotors, road crews, and venue operators. Many businesses have gone under, and many lost their livelihoods. The situation is not easing any time soon, and our heart felt wishes go to all affected.
In the short three months we were able to see bands live, we saw some absolute crackers in 2020, and we can’t wait for an incredible set of shows in the latter part of 2021. Highlights have included stoner rock legends Clutch (Rock City), the SKA/punk giants The Interrupters (Rock City) with their high energy show, and not forgetting the legends of the thrash metal scene Exodus & Deathangel performing an intimate co-headline gig at The Rescue Rooms. Not to mention an incredible slice of 80’s nostalgia as The Sisters of Mercy delivered an incredible performance at Rock City to their adoring fans.
For for new bands, we saw the outstanding Wheel, supported by the equally impressive The New Death Cult at Beta @ Rock City. Check out their debut album ‘Moving Backwards’ which is simply stunning but came out in 2019 (so didn’t feature in our awards). Wheel’s second album ‘Resident Human’ is out 23 March 2021 and can be pre-ordered here: https://wheel.lnk.to/residenthuman We can’t wait to hear it.
But our performance of the year goes to The Murder Capital, who we saw at The Rescue Rooms in Nottingham on 17/02/2020. Following the release of their 2019 debut album ‘When I Have Fears’ the Dublin based post punks took to the road to promote the album. IDLES have blown the post punk doors right off their hinges and brought the genre to popular attention, and cleared the way for a raft of new, exceptional bands to follow, such as Fontaines D.C., and The Murder Capital to follow.
The Murder Capital are visually compelling . Smartly dressed but with an edge, a rawness backed by strobe lighting flashing menacingly as they deliver their material exceptionally well. Singer James McGovern’s has an almost Morrissey / dare I say it…. Jim Morrison feel to his swagger and styling.
Their music, although described as post punk, is more akin to something like a band like Interpol than the raw rage of a band like IDLES to whom they are often compared. However their songs span similar themes to Idles - loneliness, heartbreak, revenge and grief; the recession, a lack of mental healthcare and mounting suicide rates, but on stage, it’s delivered with a beautiful emotive expression and feeling. Another similarity to IDLES it the use of guitar effects to create a wonderous soundscape, and it is delivered live just as brilliantly as their Bristolian counterparts.
They also deliver stirring tension particularly well, especially with ‘Slowdance I’ and ‘Slowdance II’ mid way through the show. Another highlight was the exceptional ‘Don’t Cling to Life’.
For all the power and energy on stage, for the stage diving and bravado, there was also the gentleness as well, asking the crowd to join them in expressing their vulnerability and holding someone close, even the stranger next to you. An incredible show and I came away with a feeling, a sense that this is a band you really need to not just listen to, but also feel. Never more evident than the delivery of ‘On Twisted Ground’, which is a song to experience, not just listen to.
A very close second were Wheel, who return to the UK in early 2022 to support the Apocolyptica / Epica tour. That is surely a night not to miss (check out the dates here: http://wheelband.net/)
If you see one band live in 2021 ? Make sure it’s The Murder Capital.
ONE TO WATCH IN 2021
We’ve seen some amazing new artists in 2020, with the likes of Hayley Ross and A.A. Williams, but with our final award, we look forward to 2021, and we are excited and looking forward to seeing Billy Nomates (aka Tor Maries) develop to the next level. Coming to our attention with her exception performance on the Sleaford Mods single ‘Mork n Mindy’ and our subsequent discovery of her debut album released in August 2020.
Indeed the Sleaford Mods frontman Jason Williamson also appears on the bitterly sweet Billy Nomates track ‘Supermarket Sweep’. Aside from the obvious kinship that they share musically, the two artists also have roots in the East Midlands (Maries is originally from Melton Mowbray in Leicestershire).
Tor Maries has been on the music scene for a number of years and for the first seven or eight years following her move down to Bristol she was in various alternative folk bands. Following the breakdown of these projects and finding herself a solo artist, she eventually relocated to Bournemouth. However the move has given Maries the control over her musical direction and helped her develop her creative side.
Her first single as Billy Nomates ‘No’ sums up the artist and her new found freedom perfectly. It was a word she learnt to use only recently and has found it liberating “From the minute I started saying ‘no’ to stuff, doors started opening. It sounds really negative, but to me it was a really positive find. ‘No, I don’t want to do that’: there’s a power to it. If you learn to say ‘no’, it gets somebody’s attention. In a world of yes men, I’ll be a no woman, thanks.”
Her style is minimalistic and raw. The lyrics are delivered in a spoken/sung style and in a sometimes snarling tone that cuts through the sparse musical arrangements to create an atmosphere and styling unique from anything else.
Already developing an enviable live show reputation, we look forward to a great year ahead for one of the most promising artists around. Refreshing, raw, powerful and unique….. A real talent and one definitely to watch in 2021 !
Find out more about Billy Nomates on her website here: https://www.iambillynomates.com/
