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Gigwise Vs Oxford: More Than Just Spires

Gigwise Vs Oxford: More Than Just Spires

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Oxford’s not exactly known as the bustling city with the great music scene. You might know it because of its famous spires or the prestigious university; you may even know it, in the words of Alexei from Johnny Foreigner, as “the city full of rich c***s”. Well, we’re here to prove you wrong with a feature that will shine a much needed light on a city overshadowed by its intellectual superiority for too long.

Let’s start with ‘mathletic’ superstars Foals; who boast a mammoth volume of column inches these days. Gigwise’s very own David Moore, called them “highly educated boys making music that is as much about pulling as the Pigeon Detectives know about splitting the atom.” Find our full review here. Thank God for that! This band are a very big deal right now, selling out the local beer sponsored venue faster than the Klaxons (this is fact). Their debut album ‘Antidote’ is out right, about… now.

Youthmovies

Following hot on their topped for greatness heels is Youthmovies. Last year we were lucky enough to catch them in London (Not even in Oxford!) and we called them “the maestros of musically talented youth… elitist on merit alone; musical librarians for the jilted generation.” They released the album ‘Good Nature’ last month. Find our review here.

This Town Needs Guns

For those of you cowering under the covers you may not have noticed the inescapably great, This Town Needs Guns making a melodic racket across the city. Stu from the band says that their new stuff “sounds like Herbie Hancock conducting Make Believe whilst My Disco gives tips on rhythm and Mike Kinsella weeps wistful melodies into a microphone”. We said that they “boast fairytale magical melodies swirling in front of emotionally awakened eyes”. Find our review here. They are currently in the studio releasing an album scheduled for release later this year.

Jonquil

In their own words, Jonquil are “six well kept boys who play lots of instruments at the same time, in time with each other. (They) like parties and music that sounds like parties”. Gigwise’s Jon Fletcher said their “Acoustic folk melds easily with studio manipulated electronic noise without a hint of self conscious experimentation.” Find our review here. Jonquil are currently on a national tour until June.

 
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  • Who actually cares about this?

    ~ by Bob 3/28/2008

    Reply to this comment

    • me

      ~ by me 3/28/2008

  • What do you mean Oxford’s not known for it’s music scene? What about RIDE and RADIOHEAD?

    ~ by Berenice 3/28/2008

    Reply to this comment

    • just cuz bands are from oxford dont mean its gotta music scene

      ~ by Peta 3/28/2008

  • Oxford may not be known for it’s music scene, but back in the day we had RIDE and RADIOHEAD from the oxford area.

    ~ by berenice 3/28/2008

    Reply to this comment

  • And Supergrass..where’s the research!

    ~ by Jon 3/28/2008

    Reply to this comment

    • Thanks for the comments. I wrote this article based on the fact that there are some really exiciting (new) artists coming out of Oxford at the moment, which are very much part of this ’Oxford scene’. These bands play around the city, and are representative of the kind of music that is coming out of Oxford at the moment. Obviously, if you go back through the archive you can find bands like Supergrass, Radiohead and Ride (amongst many many others) but this article is positioned is a

      ~ by Luisa Mateus 3/28/2008

  • (that was meant to be) this article is positioned as a comment on new music. And a new (ish) ’scene’. I don’t think it has always been recognised that there is a music scene in Oxford. And I certainly do not think that bands such as Radiohead are necessarily representative (especially these days) of a band who are thriving in the locality (even though their earliest gigs were played at the Jericho Tavern). I’m of course, focusing on the scene now, not circa 1994, Which is

    ~ by Luisa Mateus 3/28/2008

    Reply to this comment

  • I think some people have misunderstood the article completely, its not supposed to be about the historical music scene in Oxford, it is all about the bands emerging from there now.

    ~ by subversive 3/28/2008

    Reply to this comment

  • But you could pick eight bands from any city - that’s not enough to justify a scene!

    ~ by James 3/28/2008

    Reply to this comment

  • How many do you want? 1 band on its own is nothing, 2 is coincidence, more than that justifies a ’scene’ doesnt it? Especially if they are linked by a common demoninator such as where they’re from and how that influences their music...

    ~ by me 3/28/2008

    Reply to this comment

  • Why don’t you nay-sayers just listen to the bands and shut up rather than questioning the principles of the article?

    ~ by Dedweight 4/5/2008

    Reply to this comment

  • Oxford is key

    ~ by Devon 4/9/2008

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  • The reason these eight bands are listed is because they are all in some sort of way connected, which surely constitutes some kind of scene?

    ~ by Tom 4/26/2008

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