News: ALLUSONDRUGS announce August headline tour

Ever since I saw them supporting Enter Shikari at Portsmouth Pyramids last year, I’ve been following the progress of Yorkshire band ALLUSONDRUGS pretty closely.  Their music has a unique grungey-shoegaze sound which has seen them receive coverage from Kerrang!, Rock Sound and Radio 1.  You can watch one of their more popular music videos for the track I Should Have Gone To Uni here:

However, it appears that the band will no longer be performing under the name ALLUSONDRUGS.  A band spokesperson explained:

The Allusinlove Organisation hereby wish it to be known that these engagements shall be the full and final musical undertakings of the entity known as Allusondrugs. Please await further communications on this situation in the coming weeks for details of future works.

Does this mean the band will be changing their sound, as well as their name?  Well it seems likely that ALLUSONDRUGS will be testing a number of new tracks on their August headline tour, which head in a more focused direction away from their more low-fi origins.  It will be interesting to find out how these tracks are received by their audience.

Here are their tour dates, supported by the London alternative/indie band Massmatiks (except for dates marked with an *).

• 3/8 – Black Heart, London
• 4/8 – Boileroom, Guildford
• 5/8 – Lady Luck, Canterbury
• 6/8 – Humber Street Sesh, Hull*
• 7/8 – Joiners, Southampton
• 8/8 – Underground, Plymouth
• 9/8 – Cobblestones, Bridgewater
• 10/8 – Firebug, Leicester
• 11/8 – Sticky Mikes, Brighton*

Are you heading out to see ALLUSONDRUGS on their tour?  What do you think of their music?  Tell me what you think on Facebook or Twitter, or in the comments below.

News: ALLUSONDRUGS to release new EP and We Are The Ocean support tour

Good evening altrocklifers! Today my inbox was graced with the news that everyone’s favourite psycho/pop/grunge band ALLUSONDRUGS are due to release a new EP.

On October 23rd, Am I Weird? will be available to purchase on limited edition CD and via digital download from a select number of UK record stores, and can be preordered now on the band’s website.

ALLUSONDRUGS have released DIY music videos for a number of singles over the past few months, as well as a 7″ single last month.  Am I Weird? is the band’s effort to compile all of their latest tracks into one convenient package.

An even more limited edition pre-order bundle version of the EP comes with a bonus DIY hand-painted-sleeve CD featuring four different versions of ‘Sunset Yellow’. ALLUSONDRUGS’ previous hand-painted releases are now all long gone and much-sought-after.

You may remember that in August, I reported that the band were heading out on a co-headline tour with fellow Yorkshire lads Brawlers. That tour ended yesterday, but ALLUSONDRUGS aren’t putting up their feet for long, as they’re back on the road in support of We Are The Ocean next month.

They’re also playing a ‘Save The Children’ charity event on November 4th in Liverpool, followed by an (almost) hometown headline show in Leeds on November 27th.

Here are the tour dates – if the tour swings by a town near you, make sure you don’t miss out!

• 4/11 – Liverpool East Village Arts Club (Save The Children show)
• 9/11- Birmingham Asylum
• 10/11 – Cardiff The Globe
• 11/11 – Bristol The Fleece
• 12/11 – Norwich Waterfront Studio
• 13/11 – Leeds University
• 15/11 – Glasgow King Tuts
• 16/11 – Newcastle O2 Academy 2
• 17/11 – Manchester Sound Control
• 18/11 – Nottingham Rescue Rooms
• 20/11 – London O2 Islington Academy 2
• 27/11 – Leeds The Library (headline hometown show)

Are you planning on seeing We Are The Ocean and ALLUSONDRUGS on tour? Let me know on Facebook or Twitter.

Currently listening to: Lies (Chvrches cover) – Muse

News: ALLUSONDRUGS announce co-headline tour with Brawlers

In February of this year I saw ALLUSONDRUGS support Enter Shikari on tour at the Portsmouth Pyramids – I wasn’t too impressed by their live performance, as you can read here, but when I got home I listened to some of their music and I was pleasantly surprised.  ALLUSONDRUGS are a really exciting new British band, and it makes me happy to see them co-headlining with another exciting new British band, Brawlers.

I reviewed Brawlers’ debut album Romantic Errors Of Our Youth a while back through Scene Better Days, and I really, really enjoyed it.  I haven’t had the opportunity to see them live yet, which makes me sad because their tour doesn’t come very close to me.  The closest date is in Plymouth, which unfortunately is a bit of a trek!

Take a look at the tour dates below to see if this not-to-be-missed tour is heading your way this October.

• 4/10 – Norwich Owl Sanctuary
• 5/10 – Leicester Scholar Bar
• 6/10 – Hull Fruit
• 8/10 – High Wycombe Bucks SU
• 9/10 – Plymouth The Junction
• 10/10 – Middlesborough Twisterella Fest (just ALLUSONDRUGS)
  – Swansea The Scene (just Brawlers)
• 12/10 – Birmingham Rainbow Courtyard
• 13/10 – Chester Live Rooms
• 14/10 – Sheffield Bungalows & Bears

Commenting on the news, ALLUSONDRUGS said: “We’re looking forward to having a load of stuff on the go after a summer leisurely rolling around the festivals. It’s going to be so good to be out around the country with fellow Yorkshire boys Brawlers too!”

Are you planning on seeing ALLUSONDRUGS and Brawlers live this October? Have you seen them live before, and what did you think of their performance?  Let me know on Facebook or Twitter.

Currently listening to: True Friends – Bring Me The Horizon

Review: Enter Shikari, Portsmouth Pyramids

My year of gigs started with a bang last night, thanks to Enter Shikari’s excellent Portsmouth Pyramids show.  Three diverse but talented support acts got the crowd excited for the main act.

Unfortunately I was unable to snap any pictures, but here’s my verdict on The Mindsweep Tour’s opening night.

The first support were Glaswegian four-piece Fatherson, and I enjoyed their performance a lot.  The vocals from lead singer Ross Leighton were on point throughout the entire set.  Their style reminded me a lot of Lonely The Brave, which is definitely not a bad comparison to make.  Check out the video for I Like Not Knowing, a track from their setlist last night:

Next up were allusondrugs, and whilst I’m not a massive fan of their style of music, I still enjoyed their performance.  All five band members were dripping with enthusiasm (and sweat), and frontman Jason Moules had plenty of attitude.  Blaming the crowd for the day’s rain may not have been a great move, though.  Check out the video for their track Nervous, one of the better songs from their setlist.

The final support act were Kent five-piece Feed The Rhino, and this is when the night started to get messy.  The pit opened up during this set, thanks to the band’s flawless performance.  I’d never heard any music by these guys before last night, but I’ll definitely be following them from now on.  Here’s the video for their track Deny And Offend to give you an idea of what their set was like.

Finally, Enter Shikari took to the stage.  They started the night with a mash-up of pop and dance remixes giving the audience a countdown until the start of the show.  I’ve never seen a crowd more excited with 10 minutes still to go until the main act appeared.  

They opened with The Appeal And The Mindsweep I, which I wasn’t particularly surprised about, but Shikari definitely have better openers.

Their setlist was fantastic for fans of their latest two albums, The Mindsweep and A Flash Flood Of Colour.  Old school fans may have been disappointed, as the only older songs on the setlist were Destabilise, Radiate, Juggernauts, Mothership and Slipshod.  I was also pretty gutted that I had to leave early to catch my train home and ended up missing Sssnakepit, one of my favourite Shikari tracks.

Their stripped-back version of Dear Future Historians, which included Rou playing an upright piano on stage, was a really beautiful part of the night.  I won’t forget it any time soon.

Although there were a couple of technical hitches, I think Enter Shikari smashed last night’s gig.  If the rest of their UK tour dates go as well as last night, they’re on to a winner.

Currently listening to: Chop Suey! – System Of A Down