Charlie Bath - In-between Happy and Me

'In Between Happy and Me' is Charlie Bath's debut album; written, self produced and released under her own record label Felt Heart Records. Well, you have to hand it to the girl; she is certainly showing determination in abundance. The result is an album that is drenched in so much emotion it practically weeps, heartbreak hangs on every chorus.

Starting off with 'All of me' an upbeat pop track with a powerful chorus that has you singing along on the first listen. Charlie's voice is beautifully matched to the bounding drums and upbeat guitar with an American pop feel. The lyrics describing the insurmountable feeling of being so in love it feels like your body is shutting down. Melancholy lyrics are twisted with emotional guitars.

Next up is 'How Wrong' an atmospheric track with a seductive quality as Charlie Bath's pure voice pours over the melodies. Delicate guitar sways gently in the background, allowing Charlie's voice to be fully captivating. Breathy, angelic tones float along the verses, and during the chorus elevate into a pleading crescendo.

If I hadn't known this was a Leeds artist I would have assumed it was an American release, Charlie even has a slight American twang in her voice. The track where this is most prevalent is 'Daylight.' A country driven track; the catchy chorus blends rocky electric guitars with a country tempo, to blistering results. There is a familiarity to the rifts that means it's instantly accessible and I find myself singing along without really knowing the words.

The duet with Mathew Kilford on 'On your own' provides a welcome new dimension and their voices are very well matched together. Sparse arrangement with just a spattering of acoustic guitar and piano provide the background for a touching duet about love never really attained.

Charlie wanted this album to have 'a big heart' and she has certainly managed that. There is a brutal truth as feelings of confusion, desperation, wanting and hope are eloquently narrated. It is exclusively an album full of introspection which is where the similarity lies with artists such as Joni Mitchell, although the imagery used isn't as creative and verges on the cliche.

Throughout the album, the production is executed to an exceptional standard. The songs are really well crafted, with text book song writing and a high standard of musicianship. Each song taken on its own is emotive, admirably crafted, interesting and introspective. As an album the theme gets slightly repetitive and the familiarity becomes slightly stale. It would elevate the album up a level if there was a little more poetry in the lyrics and creativity in the arrangements. As a debut album it is a really great achievement and considering the amount of work that must have been put in, Charlie Bath will be one to watch out for in the future.

Newton Faulkner at O2 Academy - 5th March 2010

There is a strange atmosphere as I enter the O2 for Newton Faulkner's sold out show, I can't pin point it but something isn't right. The place is packed out; up on the balcony the audience is slightly older than I would have imagined, mostly middle aged men in leather jackets and shaved heads, not that there is anything wrong with that, I just would have expected a few more dreads or trendy haircuts floating around the place.

Support comes in the shape of the very smartly dressed Charlie Winston and I am ashamed that I had absolutely no idea who he was until I googled his name after the gig. I take some solace from finding out that whilst Charlie has made quite a name for himself in Europe over here he is relatively unknown. It's an interesting mix of blues, folk, beat boxing and pop all rolled into an interesting performance. He has lovely natural voice and his tunes are catchy with the audience singing along and bobbing accordingly.

By the time Newton Faulkner comes on stage two women beside me are near hysterical, jumping up and down excitedly. At first I am worried he is going to do a Ray LaMontagne and not say a word to the audience but after a few strums he says hello and gets a great reception from the crowd. With Newton Faulkner it's really all about the finger work and use of the whole guitar, so it's a good job that a screen at the back of the stage shows close ups of his hands. Newton Faulkner's technical ability and creatively is enthralling to watch but so far I am having difficulty distinguishing one song from the next. All having a similar tempo and introspective lyrics tinged with bittersweet observations with an element of hope.

Faulkner explains that he is known for doing unorthodox cover versions in his set, as soon as he says that the audience start shouting out requests for him. He gives a couple of snippets of recent covers, You Spin Me Right Round originally by Dead or Alive, Blackstreets No Diggity before settling on Teardrops by Massive Attack. Faulkner has a searching voice and its interesting and captivating how he interprets and recreates the song.

When it gets to the time of playing his most recent single the crowd are singing along whole heartedly, you have to strain to make out Faulkner's voice as it has an earthy tone to it, which gets slightly lost in the combined efforts of the crowd. For most of his performance the crowd are singing along excitedly. Newton Faulkner's songs are very atmospheric with gloomy bass and wanting lyrics, at one point a women next to me starts crying and hugging her partner.

Constantly throughout his show the audience shout out to him, Newton is extremely quick and witty and jokes along, having a comic style somewhat reminiscent of Eddie Izzard. I find myself warming to him, he seems very humble and humorous. As an acoustic act it can be difficult to keep the audiences attention throughout and inject and element of showmanship. Faulkner manages to keep the audience fully participating throughout his set and at one point someone dressed as an alien comes on stage dancing providing comic relief. The addition of a cassette tape providing baking track was a brilliant touch, if not making me feel a little old and I am a sucker for the X factor style confetti which floated down in a multi coloured rain.

By the end of his set it's full on sing song mode, dividing the audience in half and getting them to sing along. Personally I find this sort of thing hideously embarrassing but I am obviously in the minority at this gig, as everyone else is having a go. The fans here are absolutely enthralled by Faulkner, when a couple of guys at the bar start to get rowdy and loud, unspoken and in unison several people turn around to tell them to be quiet.
Newton Faulkner's gig was perfect for anybody that wants to be an active part of the audience and likes the odd gimmick. His voice is lovely and earthy, suiting his style perfectly and I think at his best when he is really going for it. For me the best part was the eclectic range of covers, I think it can be genius when an artist or band puts a completely different meaning into an established song. Faulkner's version of Bohenmian Rhapsody is not far off and provided a brilliant ending to a great gig.

Liam Frost Interview

Three years after releasing his debut album, 'Show Me How the Spectres Dance' to critical success, Liam Frost has returned with 'We Ain't Got No Money, Honey, But We Got Rain', an album dominated by love songs, released late 2009.

Where are you now?

Sat in my flat, having just taken down my Christmas tree and put it outside for the council to take away...made a mess of the hallway and everything. Poor etiquette on my part.

What has been your best memory of 2009?

I think playing back in Manchester once I'd got the album out was really memorable. After a year of not knowing if the album would come out, to see a big local crowd singing along to all the new songs was really great.

Your first album was beautifully honest, is this album the same?

Of course, the entire thing has been written from experience. Not sure that I could sing the songs and mean it otherwise.

Do you find song writing therapeutic?

Yes I do, for the most part. Especially with those songs from the first album.

In 2007 you went to Greenland with Cape Farewell, how did you find that experience?

That voyage was probably one of the most trying, but ultimately fulfilling experiences that I've had to go through. There were periods (and you'll see this on the videos from the site) that I felt genuinely in danger, and to some extent feared for my life and those of the people around me. Once we got to Greenland all of that eased a little. It was really beautiful, the effect of climate change was very apparent up there, and quite shocking. I found it very inspiring.

You have been performing from a young age, if you could go back and give your young self some advice what would it be?

Focus! I still have to tell myself that numerous times, daily. I'm not the most prolific of songwriters, never have been. Although in some ways I'm quite glad that I'm not one of those people that claim to write 40 songs a week. You can guarantee 90% of those songs will be awful.

You have worked with some great producers (Danton Supple & Victor Van Vugt). Who would you like to work with in the future and why?

I also got to work with some of The Earlies in their studios for some of the second record. They're excellent people to be around, and would gladly record the next album with them. Danton or Victor would be fun as well actually. I really admire people like Ethan Johns, Rob Schnapf, Tom Rothrock and Mike Mogis for the various brilliant albums they've worked on. I could go on for a while with this!

Has the digital revolution in music affected you in any way?

I imagine it has, but I haven't really been aware of it...you just have to try and move along with these things and make it work for you. I've never been averse to filesharing or anything like that, but my fanbase is relatively small and I think that they're largely the kind of people that morally want to pay for things. I really appreciate that.

Your single with Martha Wainwright has had some great reviews, is there anyone else you would like to duet with and why?

I wrote the Martha duet with Ed Harcourt, and he sang some of the lines on the original demo. It'd be fun to do something with him. I love Emmy The Great a lot as well, I'd like to do something musical with her one day.

If you weren't a musician what would you be doing?

God knows, I've never wanted to do anything else. If I don't make a career of this I'm buggered!

Who has been your artist of the century?

Tough one, this century so far? Someone like Nick Cave or PJ Harvey I guess, people who've constantly put out brilliant albums without compromising on what they want to do.

What do you do when you're not playing music?

Listen to other peoples' music. I read a lot. Cook. Is this a dating profile? :)

What has been your best gig so far?

Probably the show I mentioned in the second question, or another local show from the first album at the Academy. That was fun.

Do you think there is any tension in the music industry between being commercially successful and keeping your artistic integrity?

It all depends on what you're looking to achieve. If someone is just looking to get famous as quick as possible, then I guess integrity isn't all that important to those kinds of people. I balance on this fine line, trying to retain my integrity whilst writing accessible pop music. It's a constant struggle! Ha!

What do you hope 2010 brings you?

I just hope that I can continue to do this for a living. I'm not looking to make millions and get famous. That'd be fun, but the important thing is just being able to keep doing this. Like I said, I wouldn't know what else I'd do!