15th October 2012
\nNavigator Records via Proper Records <\/p>\n
The Guardian ****
\nThe Observer ****
\nMetro ****
\nEvening Standard ****
\nFinancial Times ****<\/p>\n
http:\/\/www.bellowhead.co.uk\/ <\/p>\n
Bigger, bolder, brassier and more brazen than ever, Bellowhead blaze back with their mighty new album, Broadside.<\/p>\n
While all things Bellowhead tend to be an event, Broadside is a positive spectacular, taking some of the wildest, most joyous and iconic songs in the richly colourful canon of the folk song tradition\u2026 and turning them upside down and inside out with the unique sense of drama and theatre, instrumental virtuosity, verve, humour and blind cheek that has seen them spearhead the new folk boom. <\/p>\n
Their third album Hedonism was the highest-selling independently released traditional folk album of all time, yet the new one Broadside (a title that rather cunningly melds an early form of printed song sharing with an appropriate nautical reference to firepower) is surely set to eclipse it with its thrilling arrangements and non-stop party spirit.<\/p>\n
Like Hedonism, Broadside is produced by the great John Leckie, who has previously done wonderful things with the Stone Roses and Radiohead; and he\u2019s now effectively captured all the explosiveness that has established Bellowhead\u2019s undisputed reputation as one of the planet\u2019s most exciting live bands and replicated it in the studio. In this case that studio is Rockfield, where Freddie Mercury once held court. Indeed, at one point the massed vocals even evoke Bohemian Rhapsody and Freddie would surely have identified with the electrifying dynamism and sense of fun conjured up by this very special band.<\/p>\n
A couple of the tracks are based on songs that initially found common currency in the form of those printed broadsides \u2013 the gruesome romp Black Beetle Pies for one and the spooky ballad The Wife Of Usher\u2019s Well – all death, ghosts and \u201cearthly flesh and blood\u201d \u2013 for another.<\/p>\n
Weirdness also abounds with Betsy Baker, a vigorous tale of unrequited love, while some of the most venerated songs of the folk revival \u2013 Northumbrian mining song Byker Hill, the Copper Family classic Thousands Or More, the rocking sea shanty Go My Way and The Old Dun Cow – the knockabout tale of being trapped inside a burning pub \u2013 are revived in startling ways. They may be familiar, but they\u2019ve never sounded like this before. There\u2019s even an irresistibly bonkers take on Lillibulero, a satirical song set to a tune attributed to Henry Purcell, on which the band flex their considerable muscles and gleefully explore their seemingly bottomless box of magic tricks, emerging with storming vocals, blitzing percussion, rampaging strings and mad, bad brass.<\/p>\n
Broadside, their fourth album, writes another extraordinary chapter in the story of Bellowhead, which began in 2004 when a disparate group of characters who initially knew one another from informal pub sessions thought it might be a good wheeze to pool their widely varied backgrounds, influences and talents and form a big band\u2026 just to see what happened. Even they couldn\u2019t have imagined the results as their funny little enterprise -incorporating top-notch jazz, world, folk and classical musicians in a swathe of brass, strings, squeezebox, percussion and anything else that seemed like a good idea at the time – swiftly expanded into a gung-ho 11-piece line-up. Four albums, a glut of awards, sell-out tours and a long trail of thunderous festival appearances down the line, they\u2019ve transported folk music into hitherto unknown territory, introducing a whole new audience to it with them.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe greatest live act in Britain,\u201d says BBC Radio 2\u2019s Simon Mayo. \u201cOne of the best live bands in the UK\u2026or anywhere,\u201d says Jeremy Vine. And the hordes of dancing fans grinning and singing along and treating every gig as a party clearly agree. <\/p>\n
That party gains even more momentum with Broadside for, while some of the songs may appear graphic and brutal, this is above all, an album driven by a lust for life. And that\u2019s a subject close to the heart of Bellowhead.<\/p>\n
The album will be accompanied by the band’s biggest ever UK tour (6th – 24th Nov). The 19 dates include Bellowhead’s first show at Roundhouse, Camden’s world-renowned venue (7th Nov).<\/p>\n
Bellowhead\u2019s Broadside Tour November 2012 <\/p>\n
Tue 6th Nov Wolverhampton, Wulfrun Hall
\nWed 7th Nov London, Roundhouse
\nThur 8th Nov St Albans, Arena
\nFri 9th Nov Norwich, Open
\nSat 10th Nov Cambridge, Corn Exchange
\nSun 11th Nov Southampton, Guildhall
\nMon 12th Nov Cardiff, Coal Exchange
\nTue 13th Nov Brighton, Dome
\nWed 14th Nov Reading, The Hexagon
\nThur 15th Nov Leamington, The Assembly
\nFri 16th Nov York, Barbican
\nSat 17th Nov Bristol, Colston Hall
\nSun 18th Nov Salford, The Lowry
\nMon 19th Nov Gateshead, The Sage
\nTue 20th Nov Inverness, The Ironworks
\nWed 21st Nov Edinburgh, The Queen\u2019s Hall
\nThu 22nd Nov Bradford, St George\u2019s Hall
\nFri 23rd Nov Lincoln, Engine Shed
\nSat 24th Nov Derby, Assembly Rooms <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
15th October 2012 Navigator Records via Proper Records The Guardian **** The Observer **** Metro **** Evening Standard **** Financial Times **** http:\/\/www.bellowhead.co.uk\/ Bigger, bolder, brassier and more brazen than ever, Bellowhead blaze back with their mighty new album, Broadside. While all things Bellowhead tend to be an event, Broadside is a positive spectacular, taking […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":295,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2110","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-press_releases"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.livestagemusic.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2110","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.livestagemusic.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.livestagemusic.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.livestagemusic.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/295"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.livestagemusic.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2110"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.livestagemusic.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2110\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.livestagemusic.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2110"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.livestagemusic.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2110"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.livestagemusic.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2110"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}