The Aliens & Jeremy Warmsley @ The Barfly

Another late gig review, but hopefully this one’ll be worth it, as there are live audios below. As I previously hinted, I went to the last Xfm Xposure Live gig at the Barfly with Neil music like dirt. It was a good gig. It didn’t start out too well though, with a kind of what-was-that-all-about set from someone called Oxen of the Sun. However things got better when Jeremy Warmsley took to the stage.

It was only just over a week since I last saw JW at the End of the Road festival. This time he was sans band, doing a solo acoustic slot. The good thing about this was that stripped of the band’s extra bits, the songs still stand up well. His short set, although very good, was a bit too short really. Crafty dog – leaving us wanting more like that. Well, thankfully his album is out today and I’ve just got it. Oh, and since the last time I saw him he also had a haircut. If there was an indie Heat magazine, that may have made it in.



I was looking forward to The Aliens even more. I was officially one of the biggest Beta Band fans around (I was at the gig with my vintage Patty Patty Sound t-shirt). I was gutted when they split up. So what is almost a re-incarnation of the Beta Band is bound to be appealing. At the core of the Aliens are former Beta Band-ers Robin Jones (who plays drums)and John Maclean (on keyboards and synths), as well as Gordon Anderson, aka Lone Pigeon, aka brother of King Creosote, and founder member of the Beta Band before dropping out in the early days. He's on vocals and guitar.

And guess what? The sound like the Beta Band. At least a bit. It's funny, because on their debut EP Alienoid Starmonica, they managed to be both more experimental than the average BB song (Hey Leanne features a country song and church organ in the middle of electronic glitchery) and more poppy (Robotman with it's four word lyric and joyous Beta Band meets Primal Scream choruses).

Live, the first few songs surprise again - it's all psychadelic rock, with added fun and silly spacey clothes. Then there's the mighty Robotman, stretched out, slowed down and with massive grooves. And of course, new single Happy, which maxes out the pop factor even more. The final number (called Rocks, I think) sees the return of Robotman, mixed up with half-covers of Higher Than the Sun and Helter Skelter. It's basically an extended jam, but an immensely enjoyable one. With Anderson going mad on the mic and throwing himself round the tiny stage. The performance is a bit rough round the edges, but that's OK. The songs are good enough and there's plenty to show that The Aliens will be a great live band. Maybe even as good as the Beta Band. And I for one would be very happy with that.

The gig was broadcast on Xfm later the same evening. I managed to record some tracks which are below. There are a few wierd digital glitches in some tracks, but hopefully not enough to spoil your listening pleasure.

Jeremy Warmsley

Download: Jeremy Warmsley - Dirty Blue Jeans (live)
Download: Jeremy Warmsley - I Believe in the Way You Move (live)
Download: Jeremy Warmsley - I Knew That Her Face Was a Lie (live)
Download: Jeremy Warmsley - I Promise (live)

Buy The Art of Fiction

The Aliens

Download: The Aliens - Setting Sun (live)
Download: The Aliens - Only Waiting (live)
Download: The Aliens - Robotman (live)
Download: The Aliens - Happy (live)
Download: The Aliens - Rocks (live)

Buy Alienoid Starmonica EP

I've got a few photos of the gig on my Flickr photostream. So has music like dirt.