Anti Folking hell it's good.

I'm not sure whether it was the whole falling under the spell of Peggy Sue but of late the musical genre that is Anti-folk has well and truly lodged itself deep into my Grey matter and barring a drill to the head Saw 3 style it aint-a-comin-out.

Our love-in was confirmed on Wednesday night in deepest darkest Bethnal Green where Laura Marling,with her swelling heart and mercury shortlisted album in tow , produced the gig of the year to a awe-inspired audience, Anit-folk it has to be said, stepped it up a notch.

With the likes of Marling, Noah and The Whale, Peggy Sue, Jeramey Warmsley, Mumford and Sons and Johnny Flynn all making big moves in the 'game' this year, it wont be long until Anti-folk's taking over your life and you'll find yourself in the New Forest with an acoustic guitar making up songs about superhero's, crazy burgers and lovers crawling out of the sea.

These are some gems you need to get you ear ol's round:

Peggy Sue-Superman
Johnny Flynn-All The Dogs Are Lying Down
Moldy Peaches-Downloading Porn With Davo
Mumford and Sons-Awake My Soul
Noah and The Whale-Give A Little Love
Laura Marling-My Manic and I

All this talk of Anti-folk does make me feel like I'm cheating on Post-Punk so I found this clip on You Tube of Jeffrey Lewis documenting the life and times of The Fall.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tP_Dk81f9fg&feature=related

Laura Marling bewitches in Bethnal Green

I should probably start this with a disclaimer: I love Laura Marling. I think she's incredibly talented, has a beautiful voice, and if it wasn't for the obvious biological incompatibility I'd want to have her babies. OK, maybe that's a step to far, but you get the idea.

So when I heard that she was playing a secret Bestival warm-up gig in Bethnal Green I leapt on my bike, set my compass to east and peddled as fast as my little legs would carry me. Thankfully said speed was hasty enough and I was able to join the queue growing outside the Star of Bethnal Green in plenty of time to get into the tiny gig.

This is a solo show in every sense of the word - just Laura Marling and her guitar - and as intimate as you can ever hope to get with such a rapidly ascending star. The hit album, the Glastonbury performance and the Mercury Prize nomination mean it's unlikely she'll be playing many venues of this size any time soon.

A couple of hours and a few beers later I spotted Laura Marling wending her way from the back of the pub through the crowd and onto the stage. The crowd falls into a hushed silence as she strikes the first few chords of 'Ghosts', the inconsiderate bottle clinking of the barman the the only distraction. As a self-confessed fan of small gigs, Marling seems to be quite comfortable in this minuscule venue and totally unperturbed by her isolation on stage, effortlessly holding her fans rapt as she picks her way through B-side 'Blackberry Stone'.


Marling's evocative voice is as clear and sharp as glass as she enunciates perfectly every word of her plaintive poetry, which, combined with her melancholic melodies, envelops the room and spirits us away to a dark and soulful land of trees, rivers and heartbreak.

Single 'Cross Your Fingers' sounds somewhat twee and contrived on record, but in this stripped down setting the folksy charm of the melody shines through. As the song segues into 'Crawled Out of the Sea' a few voices rise out of the crowd and in seconds everyone is singing along like we're at a twilight campfire - real goosebumps stuff. Marling rounds the gig off with the 'Alas I Cannot Swim' ditty that closes the album of the same name and, having thanked her fans, disappears off stage in defiance of calls for an encore.

This up close and personal evening with Marling was as short and sweet as Laura herself, but the atmosphere was magic and the undeniable talent of this tiny 18 year old was all that was needed to generate it.

LOTP tour warehouses, no, where-houses

Late of the Pier have just announced that they're touring warehouses around the UK in October to promote their new album, Fantasy Black Channel. Guess they got a taste for industrial spaces after their gig in a car park in Old St last June.

It gets better - they're bringing their electro friends with them - Simian Mobile Disco in Manchester, Erol Alkan in Leeds and Birmingham, and Digitalism in Bristol.

But hang on a second, where's the London date? You mean we have to pay to see Kaiser Chiefs if we want to see LOTP this autumn? Or go to the Grim North? You have to be joking.

OK, so APPARENTLY they played London (Somerset House) as recently as 11th August, but I wasn't there, was I?! Better buy a train ticket to Bristol :(

And while your at it...

you should probably check out White Lies. Theatrical, morbid, epic and better than The Killers, White Lies aren't for those of you with an acquired taste but they're pretty much gonna be everyone's cup of tea and WILL be the biggest band in the world sooner rather than later, whether you like it or not. So enjoy them now before you feel guilty and tell everyone you never liked them in the first place.

You should probably marvel at this while your at it.

Dont be idiots...

and take Helen's advice. If you think your a lover of new music then get the fuck over to The Hype Machine and download Crystal Castle's remix of White Lies 'Death'.

It's monumental and it needs to be heard right now. So go you diabolical person and be saved by the some proper Hipster magik. Dont fight it.