On Remembrance Sunday the well known male a cappela trio, Coope, Boyes and Simpson paid respect to the war, the dead, and the survivors of the first world war with their critically acclaimed spoken word and sung presentation In Flanders Field.

The trio of Barry Coope, Jim Boyes and Lester Simpson packs a lot into the performance, using well known songs, poems, newspaper articles, and items from the satirical soldier’s newspaper the Ypres Times. The attentive and large audience are taken on a journey that looks at the plight of the soldiers, the full horror of war, the pathos of loved ones left behind, but also includes time for more light-hearted stories, such as the watering down of beer, the famous 1914 Christmas Eve truce where peace broke out over a game of football, and the sense of comradeship that was born out of these times.

The harmony singing is highly accomplished, being both musical and rhythmic, with sad songs such as ‘Shuffling Jack’ having a sad narrative, but one of the most upbeat musical performances of the night, whilst ‘Do You Want Us To Lose the War?’ had an almost music hall spirit to it. Many songs are performed throughout the evening, mixing well with the poetry of Siegfried Sassoon, GK Chesterton and Rupert Brooke.

‘Lloyd George’s Beer’ is a comedic song that looked at the ways that the government looked at to save money, whilst ‘Little Man You’ve Had a Busy Day’ looks at the day to day life to be endured in the trenches. ‘When This Blasted War Is Over’ is an intensely tuneful mediation on war, whilst the concert closer ‘The Rhyme of No Man’s Land’ looks at the loss of life and the pathos on both sides of the war. This is an evening that both remembers and celebrates the lives and times of a whole generation who’s lives were completely changed by World War I, and having it on Remembrance Sunday adds a poignancy to the evening all the more.

Brought to us tonight under the auspices of the Franklin Rock 'N' Roll Club Muck And The Mires kick off their UK tour in support of new album Dial M For Muck. Ranging through power-pop to garage they were exactly what was required on a night that had dropped to a proper November temperature - fast, raucous and energetic.

With none of the organ that graces their studio work what remained lost none of its power as they raced through an hour and two encores + a nod to Edinburgh's premier Ramones tribute act Carbona Not Glue (the benefits of playing somewhere uncommercial where the show's an integral part of the club and not an extra income stream). 

Jessie Best has probably never celebrated her birthday in a better place & Muck's harmonica playing brought that extra dollop of atmosphere and authenticity that you'd expect from a band ten years young and seven proper albums in.

Recent 45 'Double White Line', 'Hypnotic', covers of 'Open Up Your Door' and 'Lies' - the full plethora of musical possibilities from their own back catalogue and the original era they espouse so well brought dancers to the floor and well deserved applause at every opportunity. A band on great creative and performing form you need to do yourself the favour of catching them live if the option presents itself.

Support tonight was supposed to come from both the legendary Thanes and Handsome Al & The Beauticians. Unfortunately Edinburgh's greatest garage act were laid low by illness so it was up to Handsome Al & his 'girls' to warm the crowd up. Which they pretty much managed to do, despite breaking two strings in the space of their first two songs & having to resort to a variant of stand-up comedy to fill some time (the Mother joke was admittedly funny). Covers by the likes of The Cramps, The Velvet Underground and many others were raced through & hampered only by an over-use of vocal effects.

A good night all in then & worth heading down to on November 21 if you want to see the Len Price Trio. Where else, for one thing, are you going to hear Fortune & Maltese played on the decks?      

Dial M For Muck will be out on Dirty Water Records on December 1 and available from amazon & iTunes.

Photo Credit: Lee Hammond

Atmosphere can make or break a gig. There are shows when it's palpable; anticipation and emotion entwining in to something almost tangible. Then there are shows like tonight, shows in which a disparate crowd form a mass of uncertainty, irrespective of universally high expectations. There are those here for whom going to gigs is a regular occurrence, there are those for whom the small-by-comparison Academy is a far cry from their past experiences of commercial arena shows and then there are those for whom this is quite clearly their first taste of live music. All are here in equal numbers and through no fault of their own make for an uneasy and somewhat timid audience.

Of course, all this is viewed from the Academy's balcony, and so any atmosphere there was may have been lost on its journey upwards. Having never managed to land tickets that have allowed us the pleasure of being up here however, it made little sense to turn them down, and what we may have lost in atmospherics was certainly made up for in both sight and sound. Each gorgeous synth loop and saccharine vocal hook is delivered and executed perfectly, the only sound issues appear when Chvrches heavier elements ('Science/Visions' for example) see the bass crackle above all else, though this rarely detracts from a band who are, quite clearly, in razor sharp form.

There's very little on-stage patter from Lauren Mayberry and co, and as such the band plough from track to track with a steadfast determination and incredible precision. Only when we're informed that the “tambourine section”of the show has come to an end do you get the first taste of Mayberry's dry wit. “You're humouring me” she adds with a wry smile.

The first of two new tracks this evening is the recently revealed 'Get Away'. A welcome inclusion, the track gets a solid reception despite its relative recentness, and marks an improvement in the atmosphere, especially when followed up two songs later with 'Recover' the most well received track thus far.

A review of any Chvrches gig wouldn't be complete without a mention of the fit-inducing light show that accompanies their performances. Lasers and smoke machines make a hallucinatory experience for the digital age; this isn't a kaleidoscopic mushroom fancy however, more a sensory staccato assault with the figure of Mayberry ever silhouetted against the neon pinks and blues.

Closing out the main set with the inevitable 'The Mother We Share' sees the atmosphere once again ramp up, though it's still not befitting of the band's effort, nor execution. Last time we saw Chvrches it was impossible to escape this song, but not having it rammed down our throats almost hourly by national radio has allowed it to once again grow on us, and there's definitely a reason why it's the band's biggest single. An expected three track encore sees yet another new song in the form of 'Dead Air' sandwiched between album closer 'You Caught the Light' and fan-favourite 'By the Throat' which ends the proceedings in a suitably emphatic manner.

Minor bass quibbles aside, you couldn't ask for a more perfect set from a band who really have little more than a solitary album in their repertoire. Note perfect, genuinely funny on the occasions they talk, and with an ability to write huge sounding pop songs with blistering choruses and sugary synths that, one would have thought, would make it impossible not to dance. Unfortunately however tonight is marred by a lack of atmosphere, something absolutely out of Chvrches' hands. We can only hope that, come March and the new album, the inevitable supporting tour will see a much more engaged Manchester crowd that lives up to the exemplary sets the band perform.  

Jamie T is finally back with a new album Carry on the Grudge and it’s been worth the long wait. If anything just to have him back on the road with his explosive live show. Tonight, said live show rolls into Newcastle. Bringing with him band of the moment Slaves, who are here to tear the roof of any and every venue they can.

Slaves take to the stage first in rather visceral style. Yet another powerful duo a cheap comparison could be Royal Blood, however, we’re quick to note that Slaves are a lot more than that, they posses something which Royal Blood lack. Slaves have Isaac who has buckets of style charisma and one hell of a voice, Slaves set is mind blowing.

This is our first time in the company of the band; their hardcore punk is a real breath of fresh air. If nothing else, it blows the cobwebs away with its ear-splitting volume and tonight the guys are i particularly high spirits. They have a brilliant knack for writing great songs too ‘Girl Fight’ being a particular favourite. Arguably though the stand out track of the night has to be ‘Where’s Your Car Debbie’ which is preceded by an awesome tale of how the song was conceived.

Moving from the completely sublime and brilliant Slaves to Jamie T could have gone either way, there’s a real air of anticipation chants of Jamie! Jamie! Increase as the crowd become ever restless. As the anticipation reaches its height, the lights go down and on to the stage emerge his band, before he bursts out of the blocks and into the firing line of this heaving crowd.

He seems fired up and ready for a rowdy Monday night, we’re a little hesitant however, as its been so long. Any pre-conceptions are quickly dispelled as ‘Limits Lie’ rings out, Jamie is in fine form bouncing all over the stage. With a plethora of tracks from his back catalogue on show this evening, a personal favourite, ‘Salvador’, sounds as fresh as ever.

He delivers it with such a snarl there’s a purposeful ferocity in his delivery, it’s the opener to a few of Jamie’s older tracks. All of which possess something slightly different to his current output, the fire in Panic Prevention is now being channelled in a slightly different way. ‘So Lonely was the Ballad’ - another of these tracks – harbours grit and a fire. Though that’s not to say the newer tracks don’t have this.

‘The Prophet’ is a guitar-laden ballad which retains Jamie’s inimitable style whilst putting a different spin on it. He’s a multi-talented genius; he throws himself around the stage as the crowd replicate this. Bodies pour over the barriers as the opening chords to ‘Sheila’ ring out, and just this morning we were reading a review stating that he wasn’t playing his biggest hit on tour.

However, this evening ‘Sheila’ is back in force, to say the crowd went wild would be a humongous understatement. We’re truly in awe of this man's brilliance, and the track still sounds as good as the first time we heard it some seven or eight years ago. Its safe to say that Jamie’s work has not aged at all.

He saves his latest catchy number until the very end, as current monster hit ‘Zombie’ rings out throughout the venue. It’s a typical Jamie T single there is a huge hook and a chorus that will not leave our heads for days on end. As we leave we cannot help but hum Zombie all the way home, still totally enthralled by what we’d experienced.