To finish off our favourites of the year, here are numbers thirty to sixteen of the albums we have most enjoyed in 2012. Don’t forget to check back for our 100 Favourite Tunes and the MM contributor’s best of lists too. 30 Joe Pug – The Great Despiser a 29 David Cronenberg’s Wife – Don’t Wait To Be Hunted To Hide a 28 Band Of … Continue reading Mad Mackerel’s Favourite Albums of 2012 Part 1: 30-16
Today we countdown songs 40-21 in the Mad Mackerel Favourite 100 tunes of the year. You can check out the previous days entries here: 100-81, 80-61, 60-41. 40 ALABAMA SHAKES – HOLD ON Almost a head-banger done country style, love the underlying guitar rhythm. (SB) a 39 LOWER DENS – BRAINS When I picked this song out in June I said it was like a … Continue reading 2012 MAD MACKEREL’S 100 FAVOURITE SONGS PART 4: 40-21
Mrs Mackerel reviews Beth Jeans Houghton and the Hooves of Destiny, at Kings College London Students’ Union, Wednesday 26th September 2012 As a fish somewhat known for her tardiness with deadlines, this has proved to be no exception. It was a Wednesday night at KCL forum, with Jenny Wren and I masquerading as not quite the oldest swingers in town, but we were bringing up … Continue reading Live Review: Beth Jeans Houghton & The Hooves Of Destiny
So then, half way through the year already. Time to take stock and see what the first six months have delivered up in terms of new tunes and bands. We asked some of the regular MM contributors to pick three songs that have particularly struck a chord (sorry) with them in the first part of 2012. Kyle Adem – Brother Follow Unlike Brains by Lower Dens … Continue reading Mad Mackerel’s Best of the Year (so far)
No Direction Home Festival  ||  Welbeck Abbey, Nottinghamshire  ||  8-10 June 2012 The omens were not good for the inaugural No Direction Home music festival, setting out in heavy rain that only got heavier as the traffic got slower the further north I went. However, despite the slate grey skies and constant brake lights of the M1, a journey of over 5 hours was rewarded … Continue reading No Direction Home Festival: A Review
Videos seem to accumulate in our in-box faster than we have a hope of watching them. However, having sat and watched and watched and watched and then watched some more, this then is our selection of the best we’ve seen. Wet Nuns are a band we like a lot singing songs as they do about women, death and beer. This is the video for Heavens … Continue reading Huge Video Round Up…MM Has Square Eyes!
Fish on a Friday – there’s a novelty for me. Just a small dose of lightly grilled mackerel this week… So it is away I go to Wembley for a weekend of undoubtedly strenuous exercise by day (aerobics), followed by two evenings of hard drinking (take your pick really, but alcoholic I suspect). I expect that one will have an unduly detrimental effect on the … Continue reading Mrs Mackerel’s TFI Friday (9th March)
We’ve been trawling through a whole mass of videos recently and here are some of our favourites assembled for your viewing and listening pleasure. First up is Crybaby’s video for excellent debut I Cherish The Heartbreak More Than The Love That I Lost, shot in the gloomy surrounds of Bristol hospital and is a noirish loveletter to the exquisite pain of a broken heart. a … Continue reading Mega Video Round Up
Those who read our End of the Road Festival review will know that Beth Jeans Houghton & The Hooves Of Destiny was a highlight of the weekend. Now, following on from previous singles Dodecahedron and the beautiful Liliputt, Sweet Tooth Bird is the latest track to be taken from their debut album Yours Truly, Cellophane Nose, which is released on 6th Feb next year. Watch the video. … Continue reading MM Shorts 60: New Beth Jeans Houghton Video
Beth Jeans Houghton and her band The Hooves of Destiny was one of those very pleasant surprises you get at the End of the Road Festival with a wonderful set of quirky folk and pop that was backed up by excellent songwriting. This is the video for her forthcoming single Lilliput. a Continue reading MM Shorts 6: Beth Jeans Houghton Video
The Mad Mackerel 