MUSIC

A flavour of the new stuff and noisy stuff coming to town this month, with Pulse’s Sammy Jones...

Curtsey to the Queen of Psych Prog

Rosalie Cunningham

Earlier this year she laid bare her second solo album, Two Piece Puzzle and Rosalie Cunningham was set to visit The Black Prince to cut loose tracks from the disc.

‘Her voice is always extraordinary,’ said one scribe, but actually that’s not strictly true – in advance of her Northampton date, she lost her voice and the gig was cancelled. Damn.

Sore throat now kicked to the curb, she will visit the town this month to rectify that cancellation by taking the stage for SBD Promotions.

Rosalie will delve into her past catalogue too, with choice cuts lifted from her time fronting psych-rock mob Purson, and she will include tracks from her self-titled debut solo release.

‘If Kate Bush had a baby with The Beatles it would have been Rosalie Cunningham,’ declared Classic Rock magazine. Which is an on-point description.

The queen of psychedelic prog and her band will be live on Friday, November 11.

London-based Khartoum will be in support. The trio will be opening up their catalogue of sounds which takes influences from contemporaries including Wolf Alice and Sunflower Bean, and enduring aces, Bobby Gillespie’s Primal Scream.

Also on the bill is singer-songwriter Paul M. Cox who is a familiar name with people in these parts, having also fronted the bands Earthmovers, Heartbreaker, Osiris and Motherlode in the past.

The band announced his departure in a FB post, saying: ‘We think it’s time we clear the air a bit. Bryan will not be playing bass any more in Tragic. It’s been a very stressful couple of months and we’ve dreaded making this post... but we think it’s been long enough for us to move on from this.’

The band has already issued the first track from the EP; Backfoot has been available to download for the past couple of months and serves as a nice intro to the rest of the package, so go check that now, and then go grab a gig ticket.

Support on the night will come from JW Paris and Ratrace.

Last up for SBD in November, a night in the company of Andy Crofts, a fella who is well known for his work with Paul Weller and The Moons; he is the bassist with the former and fronts the latter. But his own musicality is in the spotlight just now, with a new single Westway doing great things.

“Music is my truest expression. I have had a lifelong love affair with songwriting and melody. Hearing my inner thoughts slowly come to life is a dream,” Andy said, “My songs are an extension of my personality and my spontaneous thoughts. Apart from music being my release, it has also taken me around the world to the most amazing places.”

His acoustic dates have enjoyed great ticket sales, and he’s wrapping up the nine date tour here in his former hometown, at the Playhouse Theatre on November 27. Support comes from Jess Orestano.

He is playing the haunt the evening prior too, but that’s a long time sold-out.

Andy is also an accomplished photographer and artist – a visit to andycrofts.com is well worth a look. Christmas is coming, so if you need suggestions,we’re rather smitten with Consciousness, Cemetery Sadness and Window Shopping...

The Bluetones Acoustic

Local band Tragic play The Black Prince on November 19

Shows this summer past saw him play dates alongside Venus Fly Trap and as part of the Twinfest billing.

A week later (Nov 18) brings The Bluetones Acoustic to the fore. Frontman Mark Morriss and guitarist Adam Devlin will deliver 90 minutes worth of ‘tones classics – numbers like Slight Return, Marblehead Johnson and Bluetonic are a given.

Can you believe The Bluetones celebrate their three-decade anniversary in 2023?

Makes you feel old, doesn’t it?!

Northampton fellas Tragic have a new selftitled EP to share with you, and to back the release the band will be hitting the live circuit for four shows as part of the Marshall Live Agency roster.

The little whirl of live action ends at The Black Prince on November 19 when they play for the home crowd.

Things will be a little different though – with the notable absence of bassist Bryan.

Andy Crofts

Paul’s acoustic assembly

Northampton’s own Paul M. Cox releases his new album on November 11 – and the very same day, he’ll be supporting Rosalie Cunningham at The Black Prince (see the facing page).

Sunset Over Stillwater has been a labour of love, and the acoustic delivery has taken longer than expected: “The album was originally started in late 2018, so has been four years in the making... Covid didn’t help,” Paul told Pulse Music.

This all-original elpee brings in elements of folk, jazz, blues and Americana, and obviously its creator is happy with the results.

“I am really pleased with the 10 songs that make up the album,” he told us, “I’m also happy to have great guest musicians who helped in adding some fabulous and distinctive sounds to the recordings.

“The album will appeal to anyone who enjoys listening to acoustic based music and likes delving into the meaning behind the lyrics.”

Paul has been colouring up the local scene in a largely solo capacity for the best part of 20 years and more live dates are sure to follow.

To keep up to speed with Paul, keep an eye on paulmcox.com

> Sunset Over Stillwater will be issued through White Elephant Records, and naturally copies will be available at that aforementioned gig – leave the house with a few quid extra in your back pocket to secure your copy.

Show Your Love for Kula Shaker’s return

Before we leave this month, a couple of dates for your diary:

> Following on from the release of their double-album, 1st Congregational Church of Eternal Love (And Free Hugs), Kula Shaker will visit The Roadmender on February 1.

> Reverend & The Makers will play The Roadmender on February 3, with support from The Ramona Flowers. On February 6, Frank Turner & The Sleeping Souls will play the venue, and believe us when we say that tickets for his show won’t wait around at the box office for long. A great musician, and a thoroughly decent fella too; during the pandemic he raised more than £200k for struggling grassroot music venues with his weekly live streams. Lottery Winners and Wilswood Buoys will join the bill and tickets are £32.50 (plus booking fee).

> Tickets at theroadmender.com

Book early for Kula Shaker on February 1 and Reverend & The Makers on February 3 at The Roadmender, Northampton