Revision, Revision, Revision

I’m writing this after a disaster of an English exam. Anyway I’ve decided that the feature on Wakefield is going to be a continuous one so from now on there’s going to be a mix of bands from all over the place. I would say that updates have been slow because I’ve been knee-deep in revision but in all honesty I haven’t done much. Just before I get stuck into today’s new band I’ve just got to say I’m currently listening to the new Coldplay album, I’m not their biggest fan but I’m really enjoying it especially Lost!, Violet Hill and Viva La Vida.

Today I’m focusing on The Spills. They’re a Wakefield band and it’d be true to say that I’ve been doing exactly what their MySpace address states. You can see the local influence on the band, The Cribs being a primary example but beneath that there’s even deeper punk feel, possibly even a Nirvana-ry grunge element to the band.

If I had to recommend you one song of theirs to listen to it would be ‘Ghost of the Day’. It’s a mysterious epic. Guitars quietly jingle in the intro then after a minute of calm the roof comes tumbling down. Distortion turned up to the point it won’t turn anymore. The Spills have just announced they’re here and that they won’t be going anywhere soon.

They’re releasing a split EP with Piskie Sit’s which includes Reactions and Ghost of the Day I believe, named ‘Dogs Are Faithful, Cats Are Clever’. You can pick it up on Saturday and Escobar and the launch night where they’ll be playing, as will the amazing Dinosaur Pile-Up. Should be a cracker.

MySpace: www.myspace.com/bumthespills

Get hold of: Ghost of the Day, Poor Health, Safety in Numbers

Napoleon IIIrd

Napoleons been around for a while but is relatively unknown outside of Yorkshire. On the odd occasion I used to go and watch Wakefield FC get battered I always used to see his blue camper van parked near the ground with some species of Bonzi tree on the dashboard.

Last October he released ‘In Debt To’ his debut album. I’ll be honest at first I wasn’t too keen on it but I didn’t give it much of a chance. But recently I’ve really got into it. It was pretty much by chance that I started listening to it; I stumbled in at 4am, banged on a shuffle on the old MP3 player and the brilliance of ‘Anti-Patria’ converted me instantly. The effects of being under the influence, eh?

If I had to define Napoleon IIIrd’s genre I probably wouldn’t be able to. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’d invented some of his own instruments for this album, there is mish-mash of some extremely strange sounds. Some of the songs sound like he’s cut up a bunch of tape reels and pasted them together and added vocals over the top, strangely enough they all fit together perfectly. His sound isn’t even slightly similar to anything in the mainstream at the minute. Don’t let that put you off though.

MySpace: www.myspace.com/boney3

Get hold of: The Conformist Takes It All, Anti-Patria, Hit Schmooze For Me