Revenge Western Artists
Mechanical Mouse Organ
It's Just Love (Get Over It)
Mechanical Mouse Organ are the latest addition to the Revenge Western rosta. Formed from the ashes of HUG and Dead Miles and after several months in fruition they burst on to the live circuit in Oct 2014 with some North East gigs to showcase their distinctive amalgam of classic and alternative rock influences pushed through the blender with a large dose of melody and a healthy injection of raw power, covering bases from the Who to the Wedding Present, Hendrix to the Raconteurs, the Beatles to Dinosaur Jnr. In July 2015 they released their debut album, Get Over It, which NE:MM described as a "Where have you been all my life? record".
Further reading:
Introducing Mechanical Mouse Organ - tunes, dates and mailing list
HUG
Be the first. Move the earth!
Hug were part of a new wave of bands who took Tyneside by storm in 1990. Together with the likes of Puppy Fat, Crane, Deep, Helicopter, Drill, the Songs and many others they whipped up a fervour of local excitement in a city that had latterly been pretty much oblivious to local talent. Soon A&R men were shooting up the A1 looking for the next Madchester. Hug put out their debut e.p., Kaleid, on their own Better Than Life label and in 1991 they signed to Kitchenware records and released 2 further EP’s and an album between 1992 and 1994.
Combining influences as diverse as the Sugarcubes and the Pixies with strong song writing and pop sensibilities, Hug attracted rave press attention; the NME ranked them among their top ten predictions for 1991; Melody Maker described their debut single Kaleid as the most “state of the art sounding single in the pile” and Spiral Scratch made the follow up, Mesmerised, single of the month. Sessions followed for Radio One’s evening session and Mark Radcliffe and they toured frequently supporting the likes of New FADS, Fatima Mansions, Pavement, Martin Stephenson, The Auteurs, Ocean Colour Scene and Echo and the Bunnymen. They split in 1994 but reformed in 2011 to play two sell-out gigs. In 2012 they returned to the studio.
And so begins a new chapter in the story of sound...
Further reading:
Overspill Poets
"Bob Mould crashing into REM on Johnny Cash's iPod"
Overspill Poets released their debut album, Thompson Falls, in Oct 2009 to low-key but positive critical acclaim. Subba-Cultcha described it as "A living, breathing lexicon of catchy, hook-laden lo-fi opulence infused within layers of guitar driven alt-country" and it made a top 5 albums of the year place in the writer’s Poll.
Diskant ventured it is "a Richly-crafted piece that comes from the heart", The Crack "Passionate, heartfelt and with enough grit to give it some real traction" while NME-Europe simply deemed it "one of the best albums of 2009, a worthy addition to any discerning record collection."
Since then, the Poets have unplugged, putting the jangling Rickenbackers aside to explore their rootsier folk and Americana influences. The result is the stripped-down, warm and initimate sound of Acoustic Overspill, a five-track Free download e.p.
Further reading:
Biography - the Overspill Poets (tall) story in words and photos
Thompson Falls - The Overspill Poet's debut album - info and reviews
Acoustic Overspill e.p. - Free download from OverspillPoets.com