Artists in Residence Shows

weave together to create their driving funk, merging 90s alt. sounds with psychedelia and classic rock. Must-listen tracks include the single, Eight, described by the band themselves as “Frankenstein in nature” for its two-songs-in-one sound. The track moves from a gentle, rocking flow into a powerhouse of empowering electric textures, led by Jackson’s expressive and thrill-filled guitar lines. This is a genre-defying EP, solidified in melancholia with the bliss of love and passion at its heart.

Labyrinthine Oceans launch The Deep End on 2nd June, they play Independent in Sunderland on Saturday 3rd June.

www.facebook.com/labyrinthineoceans

MUSIC CHUCK PROPHET & THE MISSION EXPRESS @ THE CLUNY

Words: Tom Astley

Renowned for his 40 year career as a songwriter in Nashville, Chuck Prophet, backed by his own band The Mission Express, will bring his signature sound to The Cluny on Saturday 10th June. And he will have some back catalogue of work to pick from in what promises to be a stellar set list.

Prophet’s songwriting incorporates elements from across the spectrum of Americana. Shades of country and blues, rock ‘n’ roll, Springsteen and Tin Pan Alley, Dylan and Motown can all be heard within his well-crafted sound. All these influences support a lyricism that is equally well-read, dropping names and references that draw a map from sea to shining sea.

Prophet first strapped on a six string with neo-psychedelic desert rock band Green On Red, whose album Gas Food Lodging, which Prophet first contributed to, is an excellently bleak portrait of mid-80s American heartland. His arrival into the band saw a more overt country inflection to their sound, which Chuck has maintained in his myriad musical endeavours. Live, the band perfectly rip through guitar-driven rock, and promise to light up The Cluny’s stage. If there’s tickets left, get one. Get two, and invite someone. They’ll thank you for it.

Chuck Prophet & The Mission Express play The Cluny, Newcastle on Saturday 10th June. www.chuckprophet.com