Manila Chapter

Myspace // "Television" [Audio]

My love of former Newcastle stalwarts Kubichek! has only grown since a they disbanded a couple years ago. Three of the four guys went on to form the solid Black Flashes, but nary a peep has been heard from them in quite some time. Recently, former Kubichek! singer Alan McDonald has been playing guitar in Manila Chapter, a band that retains some of the flavor of his former outfit, but also looks into the future with new textures and new sounds. It's early days for them, but you can listen to three choice demos on their Myspace now.

Ever Since The Lake Caught Fire

[Photo Credit: Becky Davis]

Myspace // "Horrorcraft" [Audio] // "A Fire Born in Dallas" [Video]

Newcastle's Ever Since The Lake Caught Fire are the sneaky type. They're not a band that hits you right away, and although it may take a few listens, it's totally worth it. Much like Leeds outfit Wintermute, these guys are heavy on the angular mathisms while keeping a keen eye on tunes as well. For a band who were just out of the gate in May with their debut single, they seem to be pretty far along and no doubt have a brilliant debut album up their sleeves.

Black Flashes

Myspace // "Barricades" (Rough Demo) [mp3]

It's those things that you can't control that anger us the most, even trivial things like bands breaking up. There are those bands out there that should break up and when they do, you're glad that they did. On the other hand, when you become invested in an exciting new band only to have them call it quits before they actually follow through on their promise, these are the times when you are understandably gutted.

In the past year, English indie rock has already "lost" Mother Vulpine, but thankfully they were reborn as Pulled Apart By Horses. Not unexpectedly, Newcastle quartet (and eventually trio) Kubichek! called it quits, leaving an undeniably masterful debut in their wake, a nearly perfect collection of tunes that took the Bloc Party blueprint and made it better.

Recently, while I was nosing about to see what the band was up to, I saw that they had disbanded, but then quickly regrouped as Black Flashes, a band that is promising to to carry the torch of their previous outfit into new and unchartered territory. They've played just a handful of gigs up north, but as evidenced by their three demos, they are a band to get very excited about.