Charlie Ashcroft's Recent Postings

...during the 'slow' bit at the end of the new Enter Shikari single,
Rou's vocals sound rather like what you'd expect Mark Ronson to sound
like, if he ever dared to sing.

With Ronson having recently denied rumours that he's set to do some
vocals on his next album, the outro to 'Juggernauts' (particularly
the "idea of community" line) may be the closest we get to hearing such
imagined melodies. Click here for the video:

http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid340430035?bctid=21302950001

Enter Shikari's new album 'Common Dreads' is due for UK release on 15th
June. What a weekend!

The weather in Brighton rarely played ball, the whiskey flowed in unhealthy abundance and the eventual 170-mile drive home was tough on spirit and stamina.

But the festival was awesome. Learnt to forget the stress of bands' stage times clashing and ignore the sideways rain between venues and just enjoy it immensely.

Keep an eye on Daily Music Guide in the next couple of days for some big-ass Great Escape festival coverage, including gig reviews, band interviews and audio snippets. It was with great sadness that I learnt of Sheffield band Situationists' decision to split up at the end of last month, having released two superb EPs through Tough Love Records last year.



The band play a final gig next Thursday (14th May) at the Harley in Sheffield, which promises to be a highly enjoyable evening to bring down the curtain on the band's sadly curtailed career.

Check out their wonderful four-track debut 'This City Holds Us All' for a taster of what they're about, or go to the Tough Love Records website for details of how to download their awesome cover of Daft Punk's 2001 hit, 'Digital Love' for free.

Blimey it's been a fair old while since my last entry...

Just a couple of wee recommendations while I'm here dipping my toe:

The new Golden Silvers album, 'True Romance' is bloody brilliant.



The phrase 'effortlessly catchy' gets banded about tons these days, but this lot have come up with ten modern pop belters, the majority of them ripe and ready for the disco and destined for wider adulation. They've come a long way since their early Glastonbury appearance, and this record is another gem in the XL Recordings ranks.

The latest offering from Chiswick's ever-trusty Blue Flowers Records has also taken myPod by storm in the past couple of weeks or so. The song in question is Goldhawks' track 'Where In The World'.



If you're not hooked by the time the pounding piano/bass drum intro has elapsed I'll be mightily surprised. An indie rock anthem rich in depth, melody and emotion. Love it. In the aftermath of the Brit Awards, it always amazes me how many times you read something along the lines of "Last night's ceremony passed without a great deal of incident or controversy". What are people expecting these days, in an age where the annual bash appears to be more neutered and restrained than ever before? Goodness knows what kind of uproar would have ensued had someone stepped on Mat Horne's blue suede shoes.

In fairness to him and James Corden though, they coped with their
presenting duties pretty well alongside Kylie Minogue, whose multiple
outfit changes will probably end up grabbing as many headlines as the victorious musicians.

As for last night's winners, the reality that they are all, with the
exception of Iron Maiden and Katy Perry, signed up to subsidiary labels of Universal Music, will do little to quash the views of those who
believe the ceremony has degenerated into a bit of a one-sided love-in.

From a commercial point-of-view, Duffy has certainly been successful in the past 12 months, but did she deserve three gongs? To outsiders looking in, it will appear strange that the likes of Coldplay and Adele went home empty-handed.

Maybe Lily Allen was speaking sense back in 2007, after being overlooked in four Brits categories, when she alluded to the possibility of music industry politics beginning to interfere with the distribution of the awards.

Even though the labels which Duffy, Elbow, Girls Aloud, Kings of Leon and Kanye West call home in this country all differ by name (A&M, Fiction, Fascination, Columbia, Island/Def Jam), they all fall under the Universal umbrella.

Needless to say, the corporation boasts an impressive, ever-expanding array of talent in its ranks (recent signings of Florence & The Machine and Passion Pit do testament to this). Inevitably though, other major labels will cry foul should the Universal domination be seen to continue, while the independents may lose interest in events like the Brit Awards all together.

People will undoubtedly argue the case for Universal's extensive roster and the quality of their artists, but the lack of an 'even spread' last night may again spark fears that the Brits are in danger of being little more than a slap-up dinner and pats-on-backs session for the label's bigwigs.