Idiot Son - (With Morton Valence, The Volunteered and Simon Bromide), Water Rats, London, 29/1/2022
by Admin
published: 23 / 12 / 2021

Pennyblackmusic will be presenting our first Bands’ Night in two years at The Water Rats in London on Saturday 29th January 2022. Tickets for this cost £8 in advance and £10 on the door and are available here: https://www.wegottickets.com/event/526134. IDIOT SON Idiot Son remain something of a hidden secret. Based around frontman Andy Thompson, the band formed in the late 90s, but only released their first single, 'Sunflowers', in 2000. It would take another four years before they would release their debut album, 'Lummox', on their own Poppycock label, featuring shimmering, solitary acoustic guitar and cello alongside conventional drums and bass, all winding around Thompson's wry observations of the capital city and its stories. They returned after a recording absence of ten years with their second album, the similarly sublime ‘Stibbington’, in 2016. Tracks such as ‘Hold the Engines’, ‘Like a Lot of Men Do’ and ‘HeadSwimming’ build on Thompson’s melancholic themes of love, heartache and urban living. This will be Idiot Son’s first live appearance since they performed at our 20th Anniversary at the same venue in 2018.. https://www.facebook.com/idiotsonuk/ MORTON VALENCE Morton Valence is a South London-formed, self-described ‘urban country’ outfit centred around the talents of Robert ‘Hacker’ Jessett (vocals, guitar) and the Northern Ireland-born Anne Gilpin (vocals, keyboards). They have recorded seven albums, including most recently the pro-European covers album ‘Europa’ which featured the duo singing in seven different languages; the spaghetti western-influenced ‘Black Angel Drifter’, and the intimate and acoustic ‘Bob and Veronica Rides Again’. Rob now lives in Spain but they are now working on an as-yet-untitled eighth album, which after years for these fiercely independent artists on their own label, the charmingly-titled Bastard Recordings, is being released on the recently resurrect and seminal country label Cow Pie Ltd and is being produced by pedal steel legend BJ Cole. Always a popular live draw, Morton Valence have played the Pennyblackmusic Bands Night twice before. This will be their first show since they played dates in support of the Long Ryders in 2019. http://www.mortonvalence.com/ THE VOLUNTEERED The Volunteered is the project of London-based indie musician and ex-Partisan Waves frontman Mark Rowland. Originally conceived as a solo project, it has now expanded to include a keyboardist and flautist, a bassist and a drummer. The Volunteered’s music ranges from skewed pop to sinister Americana to anti-folk, and they have released two EPs to date, ‘We Don’t Listen’ and ‘We Fall Apart’. ‘We Fall Apart’ is now being expanded into a ten track album with the addition of four new songs and will be released a vinyl only release on London-based indie label Scratchy Records early next year. Our Bands Night will be the launch gig for the new version of ‘We Fall Apart’. http;//www.facebook.com/thevolunteeredmusic SIMON BROMIDE Scratchy Records boss Simon Bromide has enthralled London audiences for many years with his much acclaimed noise rock trio Bromide. Now he has ejected himself from his own band for his seventh album and first under his own name, ‘Follow the Moon’, to create an alt. Americana homage laced with the bittersweetness of Love and Nick Drake. ‘Follow the Moon’ will be released in October, and Simon will be playing songs from it along with a few old classics. http://www.theinternetatemysoul.co.uk Pennyblackmusic Live at The Water Rats, 328 Grays Inn Road, Kings Cross, London, WC1X. 8BZ Saturday 29th January 2022. Doors 7.30 p.m. First band on 7.45 p.m. Tickets £8 in advance and £10 on door from https://www.wegottickets.com/event/526134 . www.pennyblackmusic.co.uk
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intro
We preview the next Pennyblackmusic Bands Night which will take place with Idiot Son, Morton Valence, The Volunteered and Simon Bromide at The Water Rats in London on the 29th January 2022.
interviews |
Interview (2014) |
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Andy Thompson, the front man with London-based indie outfit Idiot Son, talks about his band's return after an extended hiatus and 'Stibbington', their first album in ten years |
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Slaughtered Lamb, London, 6/4/2009 |
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At the Slaughtered Lamb in London, Ben Howarth enjoys intimate local group Idiot Son's first gig since a Pennyblackmusic Bands Night two years ago, but wishes that they would play together a little more often |
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