4.52am Issue: 051 14th September 2017 The ANDREAS S JENSEN Issue

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Welcome
Welcome to Issue 051
This week the times are a changin’ as
4.52am finally gets a web site of its own at
www.452am.co.uk after squatting over at
Guitar Quarterly for the last year.
You can visit us HERE from now on.
There isn’t a lot to see as of yet, although
a rolling set of front covers is making it
look pretty cool – not least next week’s
cover star, Mike Scott of The Waterboys -
but over the coming weeks we will be
adding all of the main content from the
previous magazines, as well as a few new
things to make life interesting.
As for this week’s magazine, we have a
grand interview with Andreas S Jensen, a
look at Lee Ranaldo’s fantastic new album,
get all Secret Squirrel over something that
seems to have been accidently leaked by
Eastwood Guitars (they won’t confirm at
time of print, and all that) and then there
is the music.
Until next week…have a fine one
All at 4.52am
Visit us at www.452am.co.uk

We are pleased to announce that 4.52am is no longer homeless and sleeping on
the sofa over at Guitar Quarterly, and that you can now get your weekly dose of
Vitamin452 at our new home at www.452am.co.uk.
Every week you will still be able to read our mix of the coolest new music and
unusual and boutique guitar bobbins, along with a few new wrinkles just to
keep us all on our toes.
Visit us now HERE

Contents
ANDREAS S JENSEN
LEE RANALDO
A NEW EASTWOOD SIDEJACK SERIES?
SPARTAN JET-PLEX ‘UNCOMFORTABLE QUARTERS’
LEARN TO PLAY… PAUL WELLER ‘YOU DO SOMETHING TO ME’
JUPITER IN VELVET ‘I’M SO READY’
LEE MURRAY ‘RUST’
PETER118 ‘WASTING’
LA CONTESSA PRESENTS
- THE CASUALS
- SUZI QUATRO
- ROACHFORD
- TOPLOADER
- MARK RONSON
- THE KILLERS

FEATURES

ANDREAS S JENSEN
Disturbed
We have mentioned Andreas S Jenson a
few times over the last few months, but
it wasn’t until we heard a copy of his new
album, ‘Disturbed’ that we realised just
what a special songwriter the chap is.
Mixing far too many cool influences and
then twisting them into something unique
that can only be his, Andreas has
recorded an album that is as cutting edge
as it is timeless, beautifully produced as
it is raw. Andreas is of course no new boy,
working for years producing and writing
an impressive array of chart hits, but this
is the real ‘juice’, he is doing his own
thing and it doesn’t get any better than
that for both the artist and the listener.
There is a reason that the songwriters are
remembered long after the simple singers
are back on the Z list, after all.
So to summarise, Andreas has it all going
on and is a mass of cool contradictions,
we just had to ask him a few questions.
'Disturbed' is about to be released,
how does it feel to finally have one
out there that is totally 'yours' after
spending so long writing/producing
for other people?
“It's really satisfying to do my own songs.
That’s what I always wanted to do I
suppose. Writing for others and
producing is great too, but I distance
myself ever so slightly so it doesn’t
always get that personal, whereas if I
sing a song I wrote for myself it just
makes me feel fulfilled in a completely
different way. But I also feel a bit more
fragile when doing my own thing,
cause it’s so much a part of myself, so
if the radio doesn’t play my song I start
wondering why and if there’s
something wrong with me? Which is
obviously ridiculous. It’s important not
to take it too personal. It’s after all just
music..... And luckily the radios ARE
playing my songs. Over 100 stations
played Trust Is My Anchor, and Only
Die Once looks to be going even better.
Going back to the 'Disconnected'
E.P, that was quite a leap from the
type of songs you had been
producing elsewhere, was that a
deliberate choice, to find your own
sound/style?
“In the beginning it wasn’t really a
choice but more about what came out
when I started letting go, and started
writing without a brief or a goal. It's not
like it's completely different, as I have
always also done it that way, it's just
that either you deliberately listen to
what’s on the charts - or you don’t….
some of the best stuff - on the charts
too - are written that way i.e. without
listening to what everyone else is doing
at the moment. And I just
stopped....and I liked what came out....
I kind of went on a time travel back to
the style of music I wrote before I
started writing for other artists. Like
when people split up with a longtime

partner they often go back and continue
exactly where they were before the
relationship started... even if that was 15
years ago.”
I almost get the feeling that you
have this day-job / artist split,
where you really get to express
yourself on your solo work. Would
you prefer to leave the production
work behind, or do you feel the
need to do both?
“I actually already left commercial
production work a few years back. I lost
interest cause I did it intensively for a
long time, and then the labels stopped
wanting to pay for productions in
advance and expected producers to
work for free, while they (the labels)
then could sit and pick what they liked
or disliked. I had a studio to pay for, was
more a songwriter than a producer and
didn’t like chasing up gigs all the time.
But the main reason was, I think, that I
had had enough of working on my own.
-Now I actually love producing again
...when I do it. “
Going back to the beginning, when
did you know that you wanted to be
a musician?
“I played around with the thought before
I could actually play. From when I was
7-8 years old I liked listening to music
and I thought musicians looked and
dressed cool and all that... Then when I
was 11-12 years old I got a new friend
at school who had a drum kit. We were
writing songs cause we figured we
needed songs in order to start a band. I
still couldn’t play though....”
How did you go about it?
“My new mate auditioned for a band but
didn’t get the "job".... Meanwhile I did the
paper rounds for half a year (!!!)
...delivering free newspapers through
peoples’ mail boxes to save up for an
electric guitar. Half a year feels like a
VERY long time for a 12 year old ! My
drummer mate then introduced me to the
guitar player from the band he had
auditioned for, so he could help me buy a
guitar. I ended up playing guitar in their
band. Being the 2nd rhythm guitarist with
two dudes that are a year or two older
was no fun, so when the bass player left
I took his place. We were madly enough
signed to a record label by this time (!)
and I was only 13 years old. The bass
player left a month or two before the
recordings where meant to start (we
couldn’t delay it cause our voices was
cracking...haha). So I had a month and a
half to learn to play the bass. - The album
is pretty good by the way. It’s a cult
classic in Denmark now and we sing in
Danish.”
Who were your early influences, and
can you see them in your early
work? If so, how about now?
“Our manager "indoctrinated" us with Lou
Reed, Iggy and the Stooges, MC5, The
Beatles etc. Old rock n roll really. I can
hear Lou Reed here and there I think, and
the Beatles of course. But I've also
listened a lot to Soundgarden, Beck, Eels,

Thin Lizzy, Prince, The Zombies and
even Burt Bacharach…. I can hear it all
in my songs yeah. Not sure if others can
though....”
How did you learn to write a song?
“I just analysed them and how they did
it. Like; "There's got to be a chorus and
a verse”. In my first song part of the
hook was an echo delay going "yeah,
yeah, yeah".... I didn’t know it was called
a delay or an echo though.... I had it all
in my head. My second song had a major
7 in it (!) though I never played that one
for the band as it was a ballad and we
played rock.”
Can you describe your sound?
“Singersongwriter pop/rock with Grunge
elements dressed up with indie guitars
and live drums. I like big dreamy guitars
and a tight groove, but I also like
elaborate chords and dynamic.”
When did you start gigging - what
was your first gig like?
“I have played gigs with bands since I
was 12, and have played in any
constellation possible: duos, three piece,
four pieces, five piece, six pieces and
solo gigs too, but presenting my own
stuff was quite nerve wrecking
actually.... Austin kind of gave me the
confidence cause everyone I met there
was a singer-songwriter. Then I did a
few open mics in London and that
relaxed me...”
Tell us about the big gigs you’ve
played and how did you enjoy them?
“Playing big gigs is great! Especially if the
sound on stage is good. It can take a little
time figuring out what you need in your
monitor to feel comfortable, cause you
often can’t really hear the drums
acoustically so you need a good shot of
that, and you hear the subs under the
stage booming away slightly delayed and
the delayed sound of the PA slapping
back at you from the wall behind the
crowd (or from the hills behind the crowd,
if its outdoors).That can all be very
confusing.
I've played a lot of big stages and I love
it, but it’s also really nice playing small
clubs where you don’t depend so much
on the monitors .... “
What was the first thing you
recorded?
“The first we did, back when I was 13
years old, was "straight to tape" really, no
over dubs. It's good cause you sound like
the band you are - not the band you think
you are, and not like the band that your
producer, manager or A’n’R man wants
you to sound like.”
Is there anything you wish you'd
known then?
“Yeh, I thought back then, that when you
mix a track you kind of pulled in each end
of the individual instrument tracks so
they sat tighter together..... This is
actually what you can do now in a studio,
fix things and get them tighter. But not

ack then....-and I was obsessed with
playing tight, cause our A’n’R man had
told me the bass and kick drum had to
sit tight for it to sound professional. But
the producer was on a schedule and
needed to finish the album, and wasn’t
going to spend all day letting me correct
my bass parts, so he said: "We'll fix it in
the mix...".
Like in that disco song: "That's a
problem I can fix. I can do it in the mix".
But when I listen to the album today it
sounds fine.....”
How does that compare to how you
recorded the new album?
“Oh, I obsessed insanely over my new
album ‘Disturbed.’ To the point where I
had to send mixes to certain people for
feedback, who I knew had good ears,
but who also didn’t give a f**k if
everything isn’t perfect. Funny thing is, I
love listening to imperfect music myself.
It’s just when I record everything myself,
and there’s no time schedule, I
sometimes get carried away a bit. But I
suppose most producers are like that.
However. The next stuff I do I want to
do with another producer...”
Can you talk us through the album
tracks?
“OK, here we go,:
1. Only die once
was co-written in Austin, Texas with
Austinite Nicholas Ginbey. The lyrics are
that classic American dream about being
someone’s “hero” and “saviour”.
However, as the song evolves, it becomes
ambiguously unclear who's saving
who......
Nic Ginbey came round to the House Of
Songs where I was staying. He walks
through the door and has the whole idea
in his head. “It goes like this.....”.
I totally loved the concept, verse and
chorus idea but thought it lyrically needed
to go a bit darker. I wanted the fragile
side of the storyteller to come through
more with lines like “Give it a good run,
(but) don’t let go, Keep it all aligned”, and
“Today I tried to live..” etc. I also wanted
more elaborate chords. Anyway, we
worked at it and all went well. I did the
basic tracks to programmed drums, then
Nicolai Bjerre recorded and played the
live drums in his place at the Tileyard
Studios near Kings Cross, in London and
I took it home, sang on it, recorded more
tracks, obsessed over it.... and then my
good friend Sam Richie from Sam And
The Womp came in and played the
trumpets. - I think it's inspired by
Radioheads song Creep.
2. Trust is my anchor
is about being on the verge of a big
move, a giant step, or leap into the
unknown, reflecting on all the doubting
and delaying involved, and the efforts to
stay strong. A song of hope, fear and
trust..... I did the main guitars and cue

vocals at home, and then I recorded Jack
Cowens (who plays drums in the Dub
Pistol and Bondax etc) at The Cowshed
Studio in my street. It's such a vibey
studio, like being in Kingston, Jamaica in
the 70's. But we are probably going to
lose it, as the whole area is now being
regenerated and all the hipsters are
moving in, and want spaces like that for
their luxury flats and craft beer bars....
3. Take My Heart And Go
is a song about how it feels going to your
ex-girlfriend's party, and you're standing
there in the door saying goodbye to her
and her boyfriend comes out and puts
his arm around her, in a somehow
possessive way.....and even though you
were the one that finished with her you
still feel hurt and betrayed..... Musically
it's like a country song written by The
Zombies and Crowded House. I wrote it
with Nano Whitman at The House Of
Songs, and it was a magic experience. I
had the hook line, chords and melody
and Nano just managed to write (my!)
story without us even talking about it. I
think we wrote a shit song first....and
then I pulled out the hook and melody
for Take My Heart just before he left,
and he went straight home and wrote
the first two verses. -Magic! Later we
finished it off together. Garo
Nahoulakian played the fills and the slide
guitar. He's one of the really cool
guitarists in London. Plays with Nadine
Shah and that dude from Supergrass....
I love the strings too, makes me cry. I did
the basic arrangement, Ben Trigg added
to it and played cello, and Antonia
Pagulatos corrected my scores and
played violin and viola.
4. Another way of leaving
Was written with Joe Killington, my
writing partner in The Funktuary, the
lyrics are about a stranded relationship
where silence rules, a breakup is
inevitable, and a feeling of betrayal is in
the air. The music is like Pink Floyd meets
Burt Bacharach....
5. Unchanged
is written with Austin-based singer
songwriter Jeremy Nail. On my last night
night in Austin I went out and saw my
friend and co-writer Dustin Welch doing a
song swap night. Jeremy was one of the
other singer songwriters there. I just
loved his voice, songs, style and guitar
playing and asked him if he fancied
writing a song the following day. Then me
and Dustin went out and got absolutely
smashed, and I woke up after only a
couple of hours sleep -nerves on the
outside of my skin- thinking: WHY did I
arrange a co-write today.... Anyway,
Jeremy shows up and we just vibed and
vibed till we'd written the song. I kept
thinking it should sound like “Velvet
Underground meets Phil Spector and
then they play some shoe gazer rock”.

Mark Ford played cello on it and I first
recorded him doing squeaky John Cale
type sounds. Then he came up with
playing 8th's like you would do if you
were pumping the two bottom strings on
a guitar through a Marshall. I thought it
was cheesy, but I soon realised it was
pure genius, and it became THE sound.
-The lyrics are about the fear of making
the change you crave, while you at the
same time don't want to rock the boat.
There's a lot of Texas imagery in the
lyrics I think. Jeremy had no idea what I
was writing about but he still managed
to write that final verse which ties it all
together.
6. And She's There
“she's there right in front of you -but
with someone else and you never had
the nerve....2
There was once this girl that I nearly got
with, but I kept doubting if it was ok, as
I was best mate with her brother.
Anyway. One day I'm playing in a bar
and she walks in with some dude......wtf
!! Peter Larsen plays the genius guitar
that sounds like a mix of Satisfaction and
the band Garbage. Nik Bjerre's behind
the kit, Sam Richie is back on the
trumpet, and Mista Trick threw some
noise and sweeps at it.....
7. Looking Back For Something New
- a revisit to the past. Waking up with
someone very familiar by your side, and
wondering if you are doing the right
thing..... Oh, the lyrics say it all..... the
music is Jeff Buckley meets The Beatles.
8. Run
-about being truly honest, not just
expecting other people to be....
Written with Joe Killing (who I wrote
Armand Van Helden’s song My My My
with), and Nicole Jenkinson. We were all
three writing commercial pop at the time,
but thought “f***k it lets just write
something we really feel....”. Joe
Killington came up with the main idea and
wrote the main chords on guitar (even
though he can’t play guitar....or couldn’t
at least at the time). I fleshed out the
chords, made sense of the words Joe had
put down, and then wrote the rest of the
lyrics with Nicole. It's like a mix of Sade
and Pink Floyd’s song Animals.
9. Dangerzone
Dangerzone's lyrics describe the feeling
of being alone amongst a group of
friends. The pressures, the competition
the drinks and drugs. It's a song about
inner city angst with a chopped-up guitar
riff and a uplifting hooky chorus, with a
funny chord change.
Dangerzone mixes psychedelic pop with
80's new wave and early nineties grunge,

and draws inspiration from artists like:
The Cure, Elbow, The Horrors, Teardrop
Explodes and Nirvana.....It's a song
about escapism, loneliness and despair -
and about being too drunk to party.
It's about me moving to London, feeling
lonely, and drinking too much.
Jesper Lind who has played with a lot of
the big Danish artists and who now plays
with Jack Savorretti plays the amazing
drum track !!! I did all the remaining
parts in my studio in Ladbroke Grove.
10. I Carry My Cross
Seriously or tongue in cheek (….) the
album closes with a Leonard
Cohen/Bertolt Brecht mashup cabaret
waltz complete with tuba, tremolo guitar
and bar piano. The lyrics of I Carry My
Cross reflects on self pity and the burden
of guilt, longing and loss.-a clear nod to
Leonard Cohen, Johnny Cash and 1930's
cabaret.
I wrote it on a tour bus performing with
an Abba Tribute in Sweden. The weather
was really bad, the snow was about
three feet high outside, and I was
reflecting on my life...... The horns, piano
and accordion was played by Kullen
Fuchs and recorded at the House Of
Songs. The Danish band The Liberty
Balance was also staying there and there
was a full out party going on in the same
room as we were recording, and I had to
get them to shut up before each take. -
Hilarious....
For me it’s: Bertolt Brecht, Ennio
Morricone, Leonard Cohen and Johnny
Cash.”
Andreas S Jensen is an incredible talent
and has taken years of varied experience
and melded it all into an incredible album.
You can order his album HERE
Find out more,
Web Site YouTube Facebook Twitter

We are pleased to announce that 4.52am is no longer homeless and sleeping on
the sofa over at Guitar Quarterly, and that you can now get your weekly dose of
Vitamin452 at our new home at www.452am.co.uk.
Every week you will still be able to read our mix of the coolest new music and
unusual and boutique guitar bobbins, along with a few new wrinkles just to
keep us all on our toes.
Visit us now HERE

LEE RANALDO
Electric Trim
Some albums just make you smile, which
is a twee little view on life I can’t help but
remember every time I listen to Lee
Ranaldo’s new collection, ‘Electric Trim.’
And I say collection deliberately, as this is
very much a walk through a gallery of an
album, with each track being worthy of
your attention, your concentration and
demanding limitless access to your time.
From the top this isn’t a Sonic Youth
album, and if you haven’t listened to Mr
Ranaldo’s solo work you are perhaps
labouring under the most singular of
misconceptions. Lee, I feel I can call him
Lee after all these years of listening, has
very much taken his own path when it
comes to his solo work and ‘Electric Trim’
showcases a softer side than some of its
predecessors, with a classic sound and a
masterclass in songwriting.
The nine-track album marks a return to
the Mute family for Ranaldo, who says:
“I’m so excited about this record, it
represents new developments and
directions for me and I can’t wait to hit
the road and play this music live. I’m also
so pleased to partner with Mute for this
release – it’s like a homecoming of sorts
as Sonic Youth’s early records were
released on Blast First / Mute. To me
Mute has always been a true artist’s
label, concentrating first and foremost
on the music. I can’t wait for everyone
to hear this music.”
Opening track, ‘Moroccan Mountains’
for instance, could be the work of ‘Lifes
Rich Pageant’ era Michael Stipe with its
ability to show the fact that a perfect
pop song can contain so much more
than boy meets somebody else’s girl
whilst creating an atmosphere that
somehow feels familiar whilst still being
totally mysterious.
Vocally, Ranaldo shows again that his
voice is strong and surprisingly
adaptable, something that second
track ‘Uncle Skelton’ shows well with an
almost David Byrne or Robbie
Robertson approach against the
backdrop of some fantastic guitar led
music that (whisper it) Mark Knopfler
would love to have written, before
morphing into Ranaldo’s very own
‘Heroin.’
And so it goes, each track delivering
something thought provoking and new
whilst somehow mining the best of
Rock music’s history.

The song ‘New Thing’ for instance is
something particularly special, which
could have seen Ranaldo joining Galaxie
500 and playing the bars around the
time of ‘This is Music’, which given that
Naomi Yang directed the video for the
track is somehow telling.
Talking about the track and video, Lee
Ranaldo "I’ve described New Thing as
‘my song about the internet’ - about our
thousands of ‘friends’ and the obsession
with accumulating ‘likes’. When Naomi
and I began discussing ideas for the
video we knew we wanted to reference
that subject matter but didn’t want to do
so in any heavy-handed way. I told her
I’d like to be a character of some sort
rather than ‘guy singing w guitar’ and
she found ‘Buster,’ as we dubbed the
JVC 3100R “Television/Radio Pyramid
Capsule Unit” on eBay. You wouldn’t
believe what a cool old useless piece of
outdated technology like that sells for
these days!”
Naomi Yang goes on to explain, “We
didn’t have to do anything more than hit
the streets of New York to find the
familiar scenario of everyone out and
about glued to their screens. And so Lee,
although he was carrying around a
cumbersome vintage screen, was not so
out of place. Some people noticed him,
many did not at all. The idea of a “New
Thing” has another association for me.
Lee and I actually first met all the way
back in 1989 when I was in Galaxie 500
and he was in Sonic Youth – and I wanted
to capture the personal nature and
energy of his new projects while giving a
nod to the past. In the video you can
catch a glimpse of Lee’s paintings in his
studio, of the Sonic Youth tape
archive…and you can dive deep into the
hypnotic sounds of his ‘New Thing’.”
The acoustic version of ‘Thrown Over The
Wall’ is another example of the quality of
the songwriting on display,
Ranaldo explains, “This is a song for the
resistance: We use a telescope to
measure great distances, a micrometer or
microscope to explore minutia. The scale
is vast, from infinite to infinitesimal; we
humans but a momentary blip on the
cosmic timeline. Last of your kind?
RESIST / Eyes Ahead / Inclusion not
Exclusion / RESIST.”

There is a heavy feeling of collaboration
throughout the album, with Ranaldo
working closely with New York Jonathan
Lethem (Motherless Brooklyn / The
Fortress of Solitude) for lyrics on six of
the songs and the American artist,
Richard Prince, who previously painted
the sleeve for Sonic Youth’s 2004 album
Sonic Nurse, created the artwork for the
album.
Of course any Ranaldo album wouldn’t
be complete without it becoming a multimedia
affair, and there is a feature
length documentary, ‘Hello Hello Hello :
Lee Ranaldo : Electric Trim’ due to be
released which follows the year long
making of the album. There is a preview
you can watch HERE. The film was made
by Fred Riedel and Jerry Fried will be
touring select film festivals in Europe and
the US in 2017. Confirmed festivals
include the New Jersey Film Festival on
album release day, 15 September,
Fonomo Music and Film Festival in
Poland and Gig Harbor Film Festival in
Seattle in October and London Doc ‘n
Roll festival in November.
To celebrate the launch of the album,
Lee is appearing at Rough Trade East on
Monday the 2 nd of October between 7pm
and Midnight.
He will be performing songs from
‘Electric Trim’ and there will be a signing.
You can book HERE
If you can’t make it to the Signing, you
can order a copy of this quite perfect
album, HERE.
ROUGH TRADEE EAST:
Lee Ranaldo: live + album signing
Monday, 2nd October 2017
From 7:00pm to 12:00am
6.30pm Doors // 7.00pm On-stage //
7.45pm Signing // 9.00pm close.
Find out more,
Web Site Facebook Twitter Instagram
Sonic Youth Mute Records

EASTWOOD GUITARS
A New Sidejack?
OK, I did say that I was getting a little on
the obsessed side of the street when it
came to Eastwood Guitars, and as I write
this it looks as though the remaining
members of my family that are talking to
me rather than about me are planning an
intervention. Which is a little harsh, but
there you go. Families, eh?
Needless to say I didn’t exactly help my
cause when they found out that I had
been, err, ‘accidentally exploring’
Eastwood’s own Flickr feed, and
happened across what I can only describe
as a hitherto unknown example of their
wares.
And OK, I know this is all getting a bit
Snowdon, but these days it is good to
share and anyway, I’ve always wanted to
see what the inside of some South
American Despot’s London Embassy
looked like. One of life’s bucket list thrills,
I fear.
But getting to the point, feast your eyes
on something new from Eastwood that
I’m not even sure they know about just
yet, as I can only imagine that there is a
cease and shut-up letter on its merry way
to Chez 452 as I type and the pretty
pictures won’t be there to see for long.
The guitar is clearly based upon the
classic Mosrite side jack, but the detail
is absolutely spot on. Don’t get me
wrong, the Limited Edition SideJack
DLX Eastwood already sell is gorgeous,
but the one I’ve found has a few more
of those little details nailed down, such
as the proper metal knobs and the neck
plate is the correct bean shape. But see
for yourself – the current model is red
below, the rest of the pictures are from
the Eastwood ‘vaults’.

SPARTAN JET-PLEX
Uncomfortable Quarters
It only seems a matter of weeks ago that
we had a proper chat with the brilliant
Nancy Kells of Spartan Jet-Plex, which is
probably because it is, but at the time she
promised that she had another solo – SJP
– album in the offing for the Autumn as
well as one that would be released with
Brian Piccolo under the name Noxon Light
University, which we looked at last week.
Originally planned for October, Nancy
decided to release her latest Spartan Jet-
Plex album, ‘Uncomfortable Quarters,’ to
coincide with the anniversary of her
Mother’s passing on the 13 th of
September.
Nancy describes the album as her first
concept album, and I’m hoping we will
get her to talk us through it in the coming
weeks, but I have to say that listening to
it over the last couple of weeks, I truly
believe that it is one of the strongest
pieces of work I have heard from her to
date.
Opening with the mesmeric ‘We
Believe’ with its floating backdrop of
bird song, the album rises and falls in
waves as you work your way through
the tracks, like a chain of cannabis
rebirths, each movement of music –
and I choose the word carefully –
seemingly taking you somewhere new
and revealing. I talked about Lee
Ranaldo’s album being like a gallery full
of painting where each song deserves
its own consideration and time, and
that artistic sensibility – rare though it
is – is something Nancy shares with Lee
and very few others. There is a pain in
among the beautiful – gossamer of
Nancy’s music and you can’t help but
feel that there are genuine emotions
driving the consistent production of
such high calibre music, suchg
important art.
You can checkout the album at
Bandcamp Here, and you really, really
should. It is magical.

LEARN TO PLAY
Paul Weller’s ‘You Do Something To Me’
There is nothing more important to have
in your guitarist’s GigBag than the ability
to strum a simple love song on any
passing guitar. We looked at ‘Everybody
Hurts’ which perhaps isn’t going to
destroy your average bodice or H&M shirt
(I am soooo very equal opportunity), so I
thought that this week we should follow
one of La Contessa’s suggestions and
look at a Paul Weller song.
Now she is a girl from the same neck
of the woods as the chap hisself, so I’m
guessing that she knows what she is
talking about and in truth apart from
the epic guitar solo it is something even
somebody of limited talent such as,
well, me, can get to grips with.
So for those of you hanging around the
bars of posh hotels, wondering how to
fill the hours, here is one to get your
tassels spinning. Enjoy.

JUPITER IN VELVET
I’m So Ready
We had a proper chat with Jupiter In
Velvet a while back, and I couldn’t let the
opportunity to get him back in the
magazine pass, so here he is again.
His new single, ‘I’m So Ready’ is proper
Rock, mixing the classic sound of Richie
Blackmore with a very modern
songwriting talent.
This is music that any guitarist will love,
but the appeal is so much wider than that
as there is still very much a role for balls
out rock ‘n’ roll and as everybody knows,
guitar solos + monster vocals are a win
any day of the week around here.
You can find out more,
Website Twitter Facebook
Soundcloud Youtube

LEE MURRAY
Rust
This is probably a good point to mention
that I am a complete music snob. I grew
up with NME, Melody Maker and Sounds
as my gospels, revered John Peel, Janice
Long and Annie Nightingale as the three
wise ‘uns, could quote Morrissey and Ian
McCullough at thirty paces and generally
thought pop was shite. And poodle rock,
and many other things.
I’d love to say that I have grown-up, that
I can appreciate the odd boy band, that I
loved Girls Aloud for their minds, but I’d
be lying and that is something I don’t
want to do.
So reading that Lee Murray of Let Loose
fame had released a single, I was a little
underwhelmed. OK, he was the drummer
which is probably as cool as it gets (in my
snobby eyes) but I mean, Let Loose,
proper boyband, their best single 26
weeks in the charts. I mean, I’m going to
hate it, right?
But I’m nothing if not vaguely
professional, so I gave it a listen and I
realise you know what is coming next, I
know that you are way ahead of me but
that I have to say it anyway.
I listened to ‘Rust’ the new single from
Lee Murray, and I proper loved it. I mean,
not a bit, not a little sort of post-modern
love of Dancing Queen in the Student
Union circa 1988, no. I proper loved it, as
Mr Murray can write a cool song, has
some serious guitarist chops and
frankly sings pretty darn well too.
In fact my only question really is WTF
was he doing on the drums? He should
have been doing Peel sessions and
playing pubs where nobody watches
and getting showered in Snakebite ‘n’
Black with the rest of us instead of
wasting his time with all those girls
screaming at him.
Though now I come to think about it…
So I owe Mr Murray an apology, he is
as cool as funk in mine eyes and
hopefully he will forgive me and we can
have a chat before the single comes
out next month.
Speaking of which, Lee describes the
single thus,
"Rust is about getting sucked into a
toxic relationship which is exciting at
first..you're attracted to the danger and
free spirit only to find it becomes
destructive".
And I for one won’t be doubting him.
RUST, is available to pre-order HERE
and to download from October 6th
2017.
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And no, I won’t be including Let Loose.

PETER118
Wasting
I have to say I love something short and
punky, and at 1 and a half minutes-ish,
‘Wasting’ by Stoke’s finest, Peter118 is an
absolute joy, not least because I’m not
sure I could have survived anything more
as without developing a youth-speak
habit, it really is brutal.
The song itself is featured on the band’s
new ‘In Stereo’ E.P, which they have
shared with American band, No Lost
Cause after playing a show with them last
year.
The band have a few dates coming
soon (venues TBC) and you can find
out more at the links below.
Manchester - 21st Oct
Stoke-on-Trent - 23rd Oct
Bristol - 26th Oct
Swindon - 27th Oct
Clitheroe, Lancs - 4th Nov
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LA CONTESSA PRESENTS…
Six of the Best
Blimey, another week gone and I still
can’t get last week’s songs out of my
head (although I’m a little worried that
Kylie & Jason’s ‘Especially For You’ has
managed to get past my mental
barricades today for some reason.)
However, I have La Contessa on my side
so my mental health has hope after all,
as this week’s selection again mines her
memory for a proper tune and sees us
picking some cool tracks from the ‘60s
through to the currentest of times.
I think we can safely say that there is
something for everybody this week.
Well, apart from Brian maybe.
Sorry Brian.
1960s:
The Casuals ‘Jesamine’
1970s:
Suzi Quatro ‘If You Can’t Give Me Love’
1980s:
Roachford ‘Cuddly Toy’
1990s:
Toploader ‘Achilles Heel’
2000s:
Mark Ronson et al ‘Stop Me’
2010s:
The Killers ‘The Man’