Questions with: Shane Greenhall of Those Damn Crows

‘As far as I can remember there’s always been an incredible scene of Welsh talent’

Bridgend-based rock band Those Damn Crows have been making a solid name for themselves in the music scene for the past few years, with the release of ‘Point Of NoReturn’ (2020) skyrocketing them even further. 2022 was a great year for the ‘Crows’, with their festival appearances at both Download and TeddyRocks and a headline slot at the iconic Chepstow Castle alongside Mason Hill and Florence Black.

This year is somehow gonna be even bigger and better with their brand new album ‘Inhale/ Exhale’ set to be released on February 17th and the UK headline tour on the horizon. This interview was conducted prior to their appearance at Download 2022 and so the quotations reflect that time.

In this interview, vocalist Shane Greenhall discussed the anticipation of playing the mainstage at Download Festival, the power of the Welsh music scene, and how the pandemic altered the way music is written. I posed the question ‘What was your favourite music video to shoot’ in which Shane replied ‘’Sick Of Me’ , we shot ‘Sick Of Me’ in a bomb shelter site which has now been modified to be used for TV and filming projects.

This was the time of the pandemic so it was really strange as we all had to isolate and keep our distance from fellow bandmates and the director of the video, there were no shots where the band was all together, we had to do our parts individually. ‘Sick Of Me’ is one of the lead singles from the 2020 album release ‘Point Of No Return’, the music video was released on YouTube on the 5th of February 2021 where it amassed almost 100k views.

Those Damn Crows can generally be found at an array of different festivals over the spring/ Summer months, Shane goes on to describe the anticipation of playing the mainstage ‘It’s so great to be talking about festivals again, we’ve been on the Download poster for nearly 3 years now as we were supposed to have played it a long time ago, literally months before the pandemic hit so it feels like it’s long overdue. We played the Download pilot which was insane and a huge honour to be one of the first bands to be picked to play to 10,000 people in a festival environment. But to be playing on the main stage this year under Iron F*****g Maiden is literally an incredible feeling.

Surely nothing can stop this from happening now! We’ve waited nearly three years…. we can’t wait!’ They performed a critically well-received slot at the festival. The band has found themselves in a supportive and close community with the Welsh music scene, and they have also done a lot to further this scene ‘There’s an incredible pool of talented Welsh bands at the moment and the rock community has embraced us all, but I must say, as far as I can remember there’s always been an incredible scene of Welsh talent.

Why? It’s probably because the Welsh in particular love to get together and have a sing-song, a couple of beers whether it be watching sports, family BBQs, party with friends, or down to the club to watch live music. There’s always music with us Welsh it’s part of our culture and rock music in particular has an incredibly strong hold on us.

During the first UK lockdown, the band came together over video calls to produce a weekly show for fans, they called it CrowCast. CrowCast has reached over 100 episodes, after almost three years of streaming. Although they never expected it to take off as much as it did, it had the opportunity to blossom into a new community for fans alike ‘CrowCast has steamrolled into something bigger than we ever thought possible, the idea was to keep in touch with our fan base throughout the pandemic, little did we know at the time but it was a place where we could all come together without us all being physically together to chat and express how we are all (not just in the band) feeling and experiencing this complete first for our generation with isolation.

’ The CrowCast has brought on some amazing guests including Lucas Woodland and Ruth Jones, this is what Shane has to say about some of his standout guests ‘Favourite guest for me was probably Ruth Jones as she was just so down to earth and truly lovely, but Danny Bowes from Thunder, Ricky Warwick from BSR- live from LA were fantastic, telling stories of how music touched them and has never let go but genuinely every single guest we’ve had on has been wonderful’.

To end the interview, I asked Shane how he would describe the new album in two words and here was his brilliant response ‘HOLY SH*T. The two words I hope everyone will say when

they hear it’.

The Architects - Cardiff International Arena- 14/11/2022

Earlier this year, Scottish rock legends Biffy Clyro announced a UK arena tour with Architects; the announcement caught fans of both bands' attention.

I knew as soon as the tour was announced that I didn’t want to miss this lineup, with Architects being a favourite of mine. Having just released the mammoth new album ‘The Classic Symptoms of a Broken Spirit’ on the 21st of October a whole new setlist was in the making.

After headlining the Motorpoint in May with Sleep Token and Malevolence, it was time for their swift return. Opening their set to brand new track ‘deep fake’ the night was off to a start and being able to witness this from the second row was truly an almost magical experience.

Not once slowing down the energy, it was then time for ‘tear gas’, a track with a catchy chorus that will get stuck in your head for days. Throughout the whole set, the sound was massive, filling the arena with vocalist Sam Carter’s haunting screams and powerful clean vocals.

Later on, they performed arena rock gold ‘Meteor’ with the arena singing in harmony to ‘I should be moving mountains but I’m like fire in the snow’ solidifying that this song is a staple in any Architects setlist. ‘Dead Butterflies’ was the standout moment for me, with the whole venue swaying and holding their phone torches in the air. As expected ‘Doomsday’ woke the venue up; both casual and super fans were in their element.

Finishing off their set was ‘when we were young’ and ‘Animals’ , both huge tracks that successfully got the crowd’s energy up for Biffy Clyro.

Boston Manor Review - Great Hall 14/10/22

Boston Manor are back and better than ever with their newest release ‘Datura’ which will

serve as part one of two releases. The Blackpool five piece saw themselves shoot even

further into the limelight in 2020 with mammoth ‘GLUE’, it was going to be hard to top an

album like this. Earlier this year they were finally able to tour ‘GLUE’, bringing alongside

them Movements and Jools.

‘Datura’ was released on October 14th 2022, when the band were in the heart of Cardiff

ready to perform an acoustic show and a supporting role for Alexisonfire. I was able to catch

both sets, solidifying for me that Boston Manor are simply one of the best live bands of

modern times. The album opens to title track ‘Datura (Dusk)’ which is a very Boston Manor

way to open the album; the lyrics ‘we’re scared and we’re alone’ haunting their way through

the track. We then move onto my personal favourite from the record ‘Floodlights on the

square’ in which we get a further glimpse into vocalist Henry Cox’s wonderful vocals. The

two powerhouse singles of the album are next with ‘Foxglove’ and ‘Passenger’ with catchy

choruses and hooks that will become staples at live shows. Whilst I found ‘Crocus’ to be my

least favourite on the album it is still a memorable, catchy track. Ending the album is ballad

‘Inertia’, meaning ‘to remain unchanged’, tells the tale of coming back to the same thing each

time, no matter how far he goes ‘Inertia,you are still my home’.

You can catch Boston Manor on their short UK run in December in which they are

performing at the likes of Blackpool, Bournemouth or Leicester and at 2023’s Slam Dunk

Festival.

A Conversation With Lydia From Tribeless

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Lydia McDonald is the vocalist of South Wales alternative quartet Tribeless, who have shared the stage with a plethora of bands including Those Damn Crows, Skindred and Florence Black.

Tribeless released brand new single ‘Solitude’ on April 1st 2022. In this interview we discussed the new track, how the pandemic hit them and how she is feeling about their brand new tour. Beginning on the 16th of April in Bristol, Tribeless will be the supporting act for UK based Led By Lanterns. This tour is a great opportunity to spread their music to a different audience. This is what Lydia had to say about the tour and what date she is the most excited for ‘I am incredibly looking forward to the tour!, the show that I am most looking forward to is the Manchester date as the venue looks absolutely amazing, the crows can see you from all angles as it’s in the middle of the room! it’s called Satan’s hollow, what a sick name too!’.

Tribless will also be performing at the Lincolnshire General Mayhem festival on April 22nd. New single ‘Solitude’ is the catchy new single by the band, Lydia describes what it’s like pushing the boundaries with their music and making something a bit different ‘ we’re still writing very punchy rock type of songs, but this song was purely to show people we have a vulnerable side to us, and a more softer side¡ We’re not always hard hitting all of the time (as much as it is awesome) we also want to show people that there variety in our music !). The new single is being produced by Romesh Dogangoda, who is known for working with Funeral For A Friend, Mötorhead and Holding Absence.

I discussed with her how it was to work with him ‘absolutely amazing, Romesh is so lovely to work with, he’s very motivating and is absolutely great overall, I did love working with him on vocals, he makes them sound amazing. He’s worked with so many successful artists, such as bring me the horizon, so that’s even cooler! The guy knows how to make a song sound INSANE’ The pandemic brought the music industry to its knees, pushing back projects and tours to leading bands to quit. Whilst some bands used the time away to have a break and come back refreshed or used it to write new material.

This is how the pandemic affected Tribeless ‘ when the pandemic hit in March 2020, we had just recently come back from your supporting Those Damn Crows, it was so awesome! We enjoyed every minute of it and started to see an increase with our followers the social media presence was getting better, but then the pandemic hit and we kinda lost momentum over time, things started to dwindle, but we got right back into it at the start of 2021 with new members and a new single ‘Formed By Us,’ which did incredibly well! Lydia describes Tribeless as ‘fearless, thrilling and filled with so much passion!’

Check out new single ‘Solitude’ here!

https://youtu.be/ucnahDfjBQ0

Check out ‘Formed by Here’!

https://youtu.be/R7oiQlEZies

Check out Tribeless’ Facebook here!

https://m.facebook.com/tribelessband/

Live Review - Bleak Soul - 17/3/22 - The Moon Club

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Bleak Soul is the project of multi instrumentalist and ex guitarist of As It Is, Ben Langford-Biss. After departing from the band in 2019, he announced that he would be performing under the alias ‘Bleak Soul’ and releasing single ‘Why Am I Here?’ demonstrating what was to be expected from future releases.

His debut album ‘Existential Meditation’ was released in May 2020 and included tracks ‘Death of A Stranger’ and ‘Exist’, following on from this his second album ‘Shouting With Nothing To Say’ was released in March of 2022.

The ‘Shouting With Nothing To Day’ tour is spread over six UK dates including Cardiff, London and Brighton with support from The Nightmares and Autumnboy.

Kicking off the night was emo rapper Autumnboy who currently has two EPS titled ‘Ghosts of a Broken Record’ and ‘Dead Flowers on The Windowsill’ and creating heart filled tracks such as ‘Nevertheless, I Persist’ and ‘Brighter’. There was clearly a lot of effort put into his performance and I will definitely be catching Autumnboy next time they perform in Cardiff.

Newport based goth rock band The Nightmares took to the stage next to perform a moody and atmospheric set. Referred to by Kerrang! As ‘coffin loads of promise’ the band has previously toured with Salem and James and The Cold Gun. Even with only singles out the band has paved a way for a successful future in the South Wales music scene, the song that stuck out to me was 2019 single ‘Dorothy’.

Then it was time for a stunning performance from Bleak Soul, supporting the release of his new album ( the show was performed with a full band). The stand out track for me was 2021 single ‘Learning to Cope With Living’, I have no doubt that Bleak Soul will be performing at large venues in the future with the potential that his live shows entail.

Bethan Stewart

Funeral For a Friend Cardiff University 1/03/22

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Bridgend based alternative legends Funeral For a Friend take the stage once again after their 2019 reunion shows. The band reached a ‘natural end’ in 2015, playing a handful of shows the next year as a send off to fans.

After reuniting to play three shows in honour of a terminally ill fan the band decided to announce a headline tour for 2021. Due to the uncertain environment surrounding the Coronavirus pandemic the tour was rescheduled for February/ March 2022.

I attended the second night of the Cardiff shows, on the 1st of March after managing to find resale tickets. The tour consists of 12 shows across the United Kingdom with support from Static Dress and Holding Absence. Leeds based metal/ punk band Static Dress opened the evening with an intense and energy filled set. After just releasing new album ‘such.a.shame’ on February 24th they were able to showcase their talent and promote their new release.

The great stage presence of all members was also something to note. Then Cardiff rock band Holding Absence came on playing hits from their two album releases self titled and 2021 release ‘The Greatest Mistake of My Life’. Never failing to impress a crowd they performed some of their biggest tracks such as ‘Afterlife’ and ‘Like A Shadow’ whilst finishing their set with the heartbreaking ballad ‘Wilt’ throughout their roughly 40 minute set. The band paid their thanks to Funeral For A Friend multiple times throughout.

It was then time for the legendary Funeral For A Friend, performing songs that spanned their 20 year long career. Opening to 2005’s ‘All The Rage’ from iconic album ‘Hours’. Pretty much every song they played was a full crowd sing-a-long, for many of the fans in that room it would have been the first time seeing them since before their hiatus. Emotions were running high in unison throughout as tracks such as ‘Juneau’ and ‘Streetcar’. For me personally, it was a really great moment to be able to see the band who inspired all of my favourite artists live.

Bethan Stewart

The next biggest thing: Bleach Lab review Cardiff Clwb Ifor Bach 3/03/22

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Bleach Lab are a South London based dream pop quarter who released their first single ‘Heartache of The Season’  in 2019. In 2021 GigWise named them as part of their ‘Artists To Watch’ Bleach Lab currently have four EPs under their belt with the most recent being titled ‘Nothing Feels Real’, released in 2021, the EP includes ‘Real Thing’ and ‘Talk It Out’. The band recently completed their first UK headline tour which consisted of eight shows across the country. 

  Opening the night was Cardiff based 90’s inspired four piece Big Thing who put on a beautiful performance. Big Thing currently have six singles out on Spotify with their most recent being 2021 release ‘Say When/ Eye To Eye’ that are 100% worth checking out. 

   Shortly after South London based multi instrumentalist HUSSY took to the stage to showcase her talent through releases such as self released ‘HUSSY’ (2021) and Slayer (2019). Her DIY dream pop style genre is showcased throughout the performance in unique ways and had a clear good response from the crowd. 

   Then it was time for Bleach Lab who really are marking themselves up to be the next big thing with catchy hooks and incredible vocals from frontwoman Julia Jacklin. There was so much clear passion put into the performance with sing-a-longs in tracks ‘Real Thing’ and ‘Old Ways’. 

  Bleach Lab return to Clwb Ifor Bach in June alongside Stephen Fretwell and Later Youth and are performing at iconic Steventon event Truck Festival in July. 

Bethan Stewart

Holding Absence Play Cardiff Tonight

Supporting Funeral For A Friend, Holding Absence Play Y Plas Tonight.

Here is a Retro Review of their previous Performance there back on 28/10/21.

Cardiff based post hardcore giants Holding Absence had a promising year in 2021; with the release of second studio album ‘The Greatest Mistake of My Life’ making its way to number 5 in the Kerrang! rock and metal best albums of the year. Earlier in 2021, Holding Absence were found performing at both the government trialled Download Festival and Reading and Leeds festival.

The tour was the direct follow on from the album release and was set to cover 8 shows within the United Kingdom.

Opening the tour at a hometown show in the capital of Wales with support from Australian pop punk band Yours Truly and Buckinghamshire rock band As Everything Unfolds. Kicking the night off with a bang was As Everything Unfolds who were definitely a highlight of the night for me. I had previously heard them but the concert definitely made me a fan. 2021 brought the release of debut studio album ‘Within Each Lies The Other’ they brought a mix of new and fan favourite; capturing the audience for their whole performance. I would recommend this band to fans of Dream State, VENUES and Holding Absence.

Continuing the night was a high energy performance from Yours Truly accompanied by the incredible vocals of frontwoman Mikaila Delago. Touring the release of their 2020 release ‘Self Care’ they are truly a force to be reckoned with. I would recommend this band to fans of Stand Atlantic, Between You and Me and Tonight Alive.

And then it was time for headline act Holding Absence, walking onto the first song of the night appropriately titled ‘Celebration Song’ with the haunting first line ‘I’m alive’ echoing around the room between fans. As the storm hits hard outside they lit up the room with fan favourites and brand new masterpieces crafted by the band.

Frontman Lucas Woodland never fails to impress the crowd with his powerful vocals, creating a plethora of emotions through his poetic lyricism on tracks such as ‘In Circles. The crowd singing back the words to every song showed to me how loved this band really is in the alternative music scene, this was witnessed the most during fan favourite tracks like ‘Afterlife’ and ‘Like A Shadow’. Later in the evening, Woodland brought on his sister to perform their duet in ‘Die Alone’ in which she displayed her amazing talent alongside his.

Closing the night Woodland warned the fans of an emotional goodbye as the iconic intro to ‘Wilt’ begins to linger around the room; by the end of the track, the crowd turned sombre and peaceful as the final lyric of the night ‘maybe I can be free to love you for an enternity’ plays out.

Holding Absence are set to perform with Welsh legends Funeral For a Friend beginning February 28th, before heading to the Valleys for a one off show at the Redhouse Cymru in Merthyr Tydfil and then taking to the States with a tour alongside DaySeeker.

Bethan Stewart