Okay, so I’m very tired, so I’ll keep this short and sweet. I caught Red Light Company last night at London’s Scala. I caught them last August, when they were good but hadn’t really mastered the art of performing – very insular and, well, no interaction. Last night however was different – more interaction, and a much looser frontman in the shape of Richard Frenneaux who had mastered hecklers, how to look the proper star, and above all how to enjoy himself on stage.

Throwing in the highlights of their first album into the set, along with a new song and an intriguing cover, their 55 minute set whizzed by in an instant at the hot and sweaty Scala.

Their cover version of MIA’s Paper Planes, was, if I’m honest, incredibly bold and not an amazing version, but they seemed to enjoy it, and much of the crowd got behind them for it, which is all that matters I guess.

RLC have definately upped their game on this tour, going from middling indie also-rans to rather good ones to watch.

If you haven’t come across Red Light Company before, you’re missing out. To describe their music as a mixture of Black-Market Music era Placebo, Interpol and Hot Fuss era Killers would be doing them an injustice – they’re more than the sum of their parts, darker and catchier than many bands out there. Have a listen to some free tracks below, and let us know what you think.

These were sent to me by the PR firm dealing with RLC (full disclaimer to try and prevent an over zealous Cease and Desist notice!)

MP3: Red Light Company – Fine Fascination

MP3: Red Light Company – Scheme Eugene

MP3: Red Light Company – With Lights Out

MP3: Red Light Company – Arts And Crafts (School of Seven Bells Remix)

MP3: Red Light Company – Be the One (Ting Tings cover)

After the jump: enjoy some pictures and a video (when I get around to converting it).
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Sometimes here at TGTF we get some music sent to us that is complete rubbish. Most of that stuff never gets a review, fortunately, ending up straight in our bin. So it’s nice when we get something in the post that we’ve been looking forward to for a while, having first introduced Red Light Company last April.

Their new album, Fine Fascination, is out on 2nd March and looks set to be one of my favourites of the year. Since we first featured them the five piece have supported the likes of The Pigeon Detectives, Kaiser Chiefs, Editors and Glasvegas with their huge anthemic songs which just seem to be getting better and better. When we first heard some of the songs, they were good. Now they’ve turned into massive, memorable anthems that live we can only imagine sound amazing.

At times, lead singer Richard Frenneaux’ vocals could sound nasal and untrained when we first heard RLC almost a year ago, however they’ve fine-tuned their sound, with Frenneaux guiding the band through their tales of relationships, addiction and friendship with the skill of a frontman on his umpteenth album. Tracks like “Scheme Eugene” and “With Lights Out” have a genuine feeling of yearning, something that everyone can relate to.

You’ve all probably heard tracks like forthcoming single “Arts and Crafts” (video below) on the likes of Radio 1, with both the daytime shows and evening specialist shows giving the band equal attention – they’re suitably pop to have mainstream success, whilst suitably “different” to get the attention of the likes of Zane Lowe. Fine Fascination manages to take bits from some of my favourite bands (Black Market Music era Placebo mixed with Editors anda hint of Arcade Fire at their more coherent times) to combine into an album that will undoubtably be filling Acadamey sized venues for the end of the year.

There are the noticeable stand-out hands-in-the-air highlights (Scheme Eugene, Arts and Crafts, With Lights OUt, Meccano), and also the more meaningful ones (When Everyone Is Everybody Else, The Alamo), along with the (really good, but still) filler tracks such as New Jersey Television. So, basically something for everyone. Expect much NME drooling this year, and much NME hating next year. You’ve been warned – now go and buy it. It’s amazing.

Below: Three free demo versions of Red Light Company tracks. These aren’t the versions that appear on the album, and were sent to me by the PR firm dealing with RLC (full disclaimer to try and prevent an over zealous Cease and Desist notice!)

MP3: Red Light Company – Fine Fascination
MP3: Red Light Company – Scheme Eugene
MP3: Red Light Company – With Lights Out

Red Light Company: Arts and Crafts

Red Light Company’s Fine Fascination is out on Monday 2nd March, as is the new single, Arts and Crafts.

I meant to pop this up last night, but somehow didn’t quite manage it, so here are some things that are tickling our fancy here at TGTF at the moment.

We were sent two very special MP3s yesterday from Red Light Company (who we introduced here, and are off on tour shortly). Their debut album is out shortly, so expect more coverage as that comes out – they’re really rather great. Download and enjoy, as ever.

MP3: Red Light Company – Arts And Crafts (School of Seven Bells Remix)
MP3: Red Light Company – Be the One (Ting Tings cover)

You may remember that we’ve proclaimed our love for Fabchannel before, the video service which lets viewers catch gigs filmed live. They’ve announced that tomorrow night (Wednesday 21st January) they’ll have of Montreal (pictured top) live on their website – just go here from 6:30pm (GMT) and catch the action as it happens from Amsterdam. Expect colour, chaos and anything else that begins with C when the US experimental popsters take to the stage.

Like a bit of down and dirty indie-rock? The 51/50’s have announced that they have a new single out next Monday (26th January). The rising foursome count The Rolling Stones, Guns N’ Roses, Thin Lizzy and Oasis all amongst their influences, and have an incredibly sing-it-loud style that would keep most Kooks or Pigeon Detectives fans of today happy, along with the older school who love the Stones or Guns and Roses. “Lies” is that great sort of song that everyone will love, so make sure you pop on down to your local independent record store or iTunes come Monday to get hold of a copy to say you were one of the first to discover them.

Finally, you know I love Friendly Fires. I’ve caught them live twice, now they’ve gone and released what must be the last single from their debut album, Skeleton Boy. As with all great songs, there’s a great video… featuring Skeletons. See the great pun they did there? Oh, okay. Watch it below. Apologies about the quality – couldn’t find a better one around.

We first introduced you to Red Light Company last year (when we also caught them live), and now they’ve announced their first full tour of 2009, stopping off at some of the toilet circuit’s best venues.

Tickets are on sale now, priced between £6 and £9.50 each.

Catch the lads at:

Saturday 7th March 2009 -Liverpool Korova (Ticketweb)
Sunday 8th March 2009 – Hull Adelphi (Ticketweb)
Monday 9th March 2009 – Dundee Fat Sams
Tuesday 10th March 2009 – Glasgow Nice and Sleazy
Wednesday 11th March 2009 – Newcastle Cluny (Ticketweb)
Friday 13th March 2009 – Sheffield Leadmill (Ticketweb)
Saturday 14th March 2009 – York Fibbers (Ticketweb)
Sunday 15th March 2009 – Leeds Cockpit (See Tickets)
Monday 16th March 2009 – Nottingham Bodega (See Tickets)
Tuesday 17th March 2009 – Birmingham Academy 3 (Ticketweb, See Tickets)
Wednesday 18th March 2009 – Manchester Roadhouse (See Tickets)
Friday 20th March 2009 – Southampton Joiners (See Tickets, We Got Tickets)
Saturday 21st March 2009 – Cheltenham Frog and Fiddle (See Tickets)
Sunday 22nd March 2009 – Bristol Thekla (See Tickets)
Monday 23rd March 2009 – Cardiff Barfly (Ticketweb)
Tuesday 24th March 2009 – London Borderline (See Tickets)
Wednesday 25th March 2009 – Norwich Arts Centre (See Tickets, We Got Tickets)

Following on from last year’s amazing lineup, the Mencap Little Noise sessions are back again this November to raise more money for the mental disability charity.

The series of gigs at London’s Islington Union Chapel will take place over about 2 weeks, with more dates and artists to be announced

The charity’s ambassador, Jo Whiley, may be on maternity leave from her job at Radio 1, but she’s managed to get an incredible lineup to play. She commented: “Mencap’s Little Noise Sessions are a great opportunity to see big name bands play an acoustic gig in an intimate setting, whilst raising money for a really worthwhile cause.”

Fans wanting to buy tickets need to register on Mencapmusic.org.uk between October 1 and 16. All proceeds from ticket sales go to Mencap.

Saturday 8th November – Glasvegas, Cage the Elephant
Sunday 9th November – Razorlight, Florence and the Machine, Esser
Monday 10th November – Stereophonics, Seasick Steve
Tuesday 11th November – Adele, Angus And Julia Stone
Wednesday 12th November – Biffy Clyro, Friendly Fires, Frank Turner
Thursday 13th November – James Morrison, Katy Perry, Sam Beeton
Friday 14th November – Kasabian, Reverend and the Makers, The Hours, Fight Like Apes
Saturday 15th November – Keane, The Script, Bryn Christopher, Red Light Company
Tuesday 18th November – The Fratellis

You probably remember my (rather big) love for new kids on the block, Red Light Company after we first found them, and then when we caught them live. Well now they’re off on the road again for a fairly dauntingly big new tour throughout October and November.

Tickets are on sale now, priced between £5 and £7 each. Catch the lads at:

Monday 20th October 2008 – Sheffield Shakespeare
Tuesday 21st October 2008 – Liverpool Barfly
Wednesday 22nd October 2008 – Manchester Night & Day
Thursday 23rd October 2008 – Stoke Sugarmill
Saturday 25th October 2008 – London Electric Proms Camden Barfly
Sunday 26th October 2008 – Nottingham Bodega
Monday 27th October 2008 – Edinburgh Cabaret Voltaire
Tuesday 28th October 2008 – Aberdeen Café Drummond
Wednesday 29th October 2008 – Inverness Madhatters
Thursday 30th October 2008 – Glasgow Captains Rest
Saturday 1st November 2008 – Middlesbrough Arena
Monday 3rd November 2008 – Oxford Zodiac
Tuesday 4th November 2008 – Leicester Firebug
Wednesday 5th November 2008 – Bristol Louisiana
Friday 7th November 2008 – Cardiff Barfly
Saturday 8th November 2008 – Plymouth Hub
Sunday 9th November 2008 – Portsmouth Cellars
Tuesday 11th November 2008 – Southampton Joiners
Wednesday 12th November 2008 – Brighton Coalition (Free Show!)
Thursday 13th November 2008 – Guildford Boileroom
Sunday 16th November 2008 – Bedford Esquires
Tuesday 18th November 2008 – Colchester Arts Centre
Wednesday 19th November 2008 – Birmingham Rainbow
Thursday 20th November 2008 – Leeds Cockpit
Friday 21st November 2008 – York Fibbers

So, I’m trying a new thing this week: A “daily roundup” of everything that doesn’t merit a complete post of its own. It won’t be literally every day (I do go out sometimes you know), but will be a collection of new MP3s, Videos, music etc.

It’s scary how quickly this Reading and Leeds festivals have been and (almost) gone. I’ve not really caught much coverage on the BBC of the festivals, but have checked out some of the ace videos and pictures. Particuarly loving the fact that Red Light Company are getting so much coverage from Zane Lowe, following on from my live review and initial introduction. Bloc Party look to have been amazing too – check out their live set available here for 7 days.

MP3: Red Light Company – Fascination
MP3: Red Light Company – Scheme Eugene
MP3: Red Light Company – With Lights Out

This time next week I’ll be in Scotland at Hydro Connect Festival, getting mouth wettingly-excited for the closing nights combination of Sigur Ros and Franz Ferdinand. I’ve spent much of today sorting out some pretty mundane things about the festival, like driving and what sort of coverage we’ll be having. I’ve had a look at the brilliant Winston’s Zen, who was at last weekend’s V Festival and getting a few ideas about how to live-blog the festival, amount of coverage etc. It’s gonna be hard to judge just what’s best until we get there, so don’t be suprised if you get tonnes, or next to nothing coverage wise.

One thing we’ve been having to look at is how to camp – I originally requested camping tickets, but got non-camping tickets, so have been looking at other options for us, from Tangerine Fields‘ bespoke camping options, to the goregous wendy-house style Podpads via the eco-friendly myhab’s – I’d honestly never really considered anything other than a tent, or a hotel for the posho’s.

Traditionally, August is quite a quiet time for the music industry – bands are off playing the festivals, people are on holidays, and generally the live music biz is taking a well-earned break ahead of the onslught of year-end tours. However, this week we’ve had no end of new tour announcements, with The Fratellis, Kaiser Chiefs, The Whip, Laura Marling, Joan as a Policewoman, Slipknot and Martha Wainwright all announcing stints around the UK this winter. I’m not expecting this week to have quite as many new tour announcements, but fingers crossed – this winter’s shaping up to be a great live experience.

“So, erm, this is a song about death!” mumbled Richard Frenneaux, lead singer of Red Light Company when introducing “With lights Out” last night at London’s Camden Barfly. Let’s be honest – as you may be able to tell from that little quote, they’re not a light hearted, fun band like the Hoosiers or We Are Scientists. However, what they lack in fun they more than make up for in depth and darkness, as they showed the packed Barfly.

Earlier in the evening A Silent Film had brought a hint of Keane and awful Dad dancing to the stage for the first support slot. Movie-esque music, layered and gorgeous, but ultimately nothing that Keane, Coldplay and Longview haven’t tried before. However, the one thing that Keane and others haven’t tried was their interesting cover of Underworld’s Born Slippy, which suddenly had a dreamy feel to it… interesting, thought it’d take a few more listens to get us really convinced that they can pull it off.

They were followed by the awful Holy Ghost Revival who seemed to just want to cause trouble with their “seen-it-all-before” 70’s rock rip-offs. Halfway through their set a waterfight broke out between crowd and band, leaving their keyboard temporarily broken and a 5 minute interlude, before they unfortunately resumed their noise. The only good thing was the fact that lead singer Mikko Freeman responded to hecklers: “Yes, we’re gay stoner cowboys! Finally, London gets us!” he remarked. Yes, and we wish you’d just go with the other cowboys.

At this point, our faith in the London music scene was diminishing rapidly, and an early night was on the cards. However, when Red Light Company finally took to the stage at 10pm, we were immediately enthralled. To describe their music as a mixture of Black-Market Music era Placebo, Interpol and Hot Fuss era Killers would be doing them an injustice – they’re more than the sum of their parts, darker and catchier than many bands out there.

Frenneaux appeared distant throughout the set not really interacting at all, seemingly pre-occupied with other things, but managed to fill the stage with his gaunt frame. Surely he’s got to be a shoe-in for Brian Molko’s replacement for confused teenagers across the UK now that Molko has gone all disco-dance on us? Time will tell.

Previous single “Scheme Eugene” was thrown in early in the set, giving Frenneaux and bassist Shawn Day a chance to show off their vocal skills, and a chance for an early rock-out. Current single “Meccano” went down a treat mid-set, having everyone singing along and really going for it, following on from airplay with Jo Whiley and Zane Lowe on Radio 1. Closing out their set, there were no theatrics, just a simple thank you and off they trundled to their next gig.

If they work on connecting with their audience a bit more, then surely mega-fame is just around the corner for Red Light Company.

Photos and stuff to follow.

Fresh from supporting previous “Band to watch” the Kissaway Trail and Editors at various points in the past few months, London’s Red Light Company are currently pounding the touring circuit around the UK, and hopefully will start making pretty massive waves in the UK music scene soon.

The five-piece sounds like the bastard lovechild of early Placebo and Suede bought up to date for the 00’s emo kids. Androgynous, powerful, driven and still full of emotion, Richard Frenneaux’s voice has at times the nasal whine of Brian Molko, at others the fragile-and-close-to-breaking shout of Win Butler.

Backed up by a deafening wall of guitars that you’ll either love or hate, their initial tracks up on their myspace are pretty strong for a debut, and are almost certainly the reason they were signed a couple of months ago to Lavolta Records.

Definately ones to be watching in the coming weeks and months, as they mature their sound and work on (hopefully) an album. Hopefully (from my perspective) they’ll grow to fill the void left by Placebo at the moment in the music industry.

After the jump: their halloween video, and tour dates for later this month and early May.

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