Northshore are a five piece band from Teesside in the beautiful North East of England whom now with the addition of Bassist Andrew Thomson have some new music for us, which is the first release since their EP ‘For What It’s Worth’ was released in 2019 and now their latest single, ‘Fairweather’, marks the movement of them to make them a band to be on the lookout for once the lockdown of Covid-19 finally breaks and they can get some more shows under their belt, following on from their stellar support slot for Roam earlier this year.
On the single, it’s absolutely a step up from their musical styling of their 2019 EP but they’re sounding a lot heavier than they have done in the past and injected an extra dose of a more Emo sound into the guitars than most are doing these days. In addition, lyrically the theme of anxiety is all too hard hitting to say its close to everyone in society at the moment. It’s an anthem for which we need in the scene right now and this mixed with the production, we see Northshore climbing the rankings of the underrated bands in the country and I honestly can’t wait to hear more in the future.
Pop Punk for the North East. It’s been a while since I’ve seen some energy at a show in Middlesbrough but with it being Independent Venue Week, it seems as if this is the perfect show with their emerging talent.
Up first where Motherland. This was a first for myself as I wanted their personality to come across in their performance, sometimes the best way to discover a band for the first time and I was right. Straight from the start, they just knocked it out of the park and went absolutely crazy to the point of which I thought that it was a performance I wouldn’t forget anytime soon. What’s more is that after on the train journey home, I had a little listen to Motherland and honestly what I hard didn’t translate over and I think this is their live persona in the way that they put themselves forward and allowed themselves to be lost. They were more alternative in the music but old fashioned energetic rock and alternative in their live performances.
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Northshore next. I’ve watched and photographed them for a little while now but I will say this. They have really buckled down and refined their sound to be giving off better live performances than where they were a year ago. It was roughly a year ago that their EP, ‘For What It’s Worth’ was released and the traces of their performances have been embedded there but now moving on, they’re ready to be doing better and if it’s any indication, if they can produce this feeling at their shows all the time, then they won’t have a problem getting out to more people in the scene.
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Superlove was scheduled as the main support for this show, however, the band had to pull out due to illness.
This show was just full of energy from the start and it’s thanks to the support bands, Motherland and Northshore that the only wish I had was that there was more momentum which could’ve produced some stage dives. There wasn’t a need for any pits as the fast of Roam’s setlist tracks proved to be a huge hit, especially coming from their older debut record tracks.
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One thing about Roam I’ve always admired is how authentic they are. I remember an interview I had with Alex Adam around two years ago that they changed their sound in how they were able to get the tracks to sound and looking across to their latest record, ‘Smile Wide’ to their live performances now, that is one thing they seem to have attempted to tune which they seem to nearly be able to have all set. But it’s their determination and the range they give with the performances that make them the band they are.
Looking back on this show though, I do think the sound quality could’ve been improved slightly because some the vocals from Alex Costello were a little muffled to the point of asking if people could actually understand him at times. It wasn’t until hand grenade came on that Alex Adam’s were just that tiny bit better and a lot cleaner in my opinion.
The North East. Full of industry, Football and music. It’s no secret that this region of the country is dependant on its influx of musicians and of late, the Think Tank, O2 Academy are the most common venues for fans of the Rock and Pop Punk communities. Some are slow starters but these days here, everyone comes down early to get the full experience of the shows.
The first band of the evening are Heartsink but there’s a twist to their set. It’s all acoustic and it’s their frontman Zac Roughton playing solo. His performance is a charming rendition of the tracks which have made the Yorkshire band what it is but acoustically, there’s just something more which makes it as charming and basic as it can be. I don’t mean to make it as if it’s a bad thing, it’s a wonderful thing and just opens the gig to so much namely, that everyone else on the night has to step up.
Wrthless do just that on their sets. They do help elevate the atmosphere to an extent but one that does get people excited for what’s to come later on the night. Not to say that it wasn’t the best performance that was given but it’s a brightly polished view of what the Scottish Pop-Punkers can do and from here they help showcase that Scotland has a lot to offer than the usual Pop-Rock which is exported from the isles.
Northern Horizon, on the other hand, are just beaming with confidence and for good reason as well. They deliver through their set, a performance that’s entertaining for everyone, especially with their news that they will be disbanding soon. It’s one that’s a shame because they have the makings of a great band. They have chemistry with each other, infectious music and a crowd who just want to see more. Nevertheless, they don’t let that fact impact the performance in any way as they storm through their set, even getting the crowd involved at certain times when they invite two members who know their track as well. Their performance is one that people won’t forget too soon, that’s for sure.
Northshore have had numerous setbacks in recent years. I think they said it’s taken them about four years to get their debut EP, ‘For What It’s Worth’ made because of numerous setbacks and a few lineup changes. But now, it’s out there upon the world and the band couldn’t be happier and for fans on the night, they had the same feeling as well. For tracks such as ‘Be Heard’ and ‘For What It’s Worth’, (the title track of the EP) they prove to be real crowd pleasers where you can feel just how long they’ve been waiting to play live. What’s more, is how well the tracks were received as a few tracks have been released as singles to tease everyone for the full product, smaller bands don’t usually get the reception they deserve when playing a release show. In this case, it couldn’t be anything but as they show just how much of a force they are to be reckoned with. What’s for sure is you’ll be hearing a lot more from Northshore in 2019 as they continue to make this their year.
Northern Pop-Punk New Comers Northshore are gearing up for a fantastic start to 2019 as they prepare for the release of their EP, ‘For What It’s Worth.
It’s set to be released on February 15th 2019 but they have a surprise for those who are a little impatient until then. It’s their second track from the EP, ‘For What It’s Worth’ which also features vocalist Christina Rotondo.
Hello everybody! Welcome to another entry in the Music Video top ten list. If you’re new to the posts then this is how it goes down. Every week, I find ten of the best music video releases out there and put them into a convenient list for everyone to enjoy. Let’s get started!
First band up in the list is Dance Gavin Dance! The band released their eighth record, ‘Artificial Selection’ last week and now have released a new entry in their ‘Robot With Human Hair’ series with a new addition in the form of, ‘Son Of Robot’
Teesside’s own Northshore are making a name for themselves on the up and coming markets. “For What It’s Worth” is the first single and title track from their upcoming EP, which is due for release February 15th.
Now, just before a UK will commence with the people in Ghost Bath, Danish band MOL have a new release with the title track of their debut record, ‘Jord’.
Another video to go with touring. Ahead of their first headline tour of the UK, Melbourne (Yes, another Aussie band) based Pagan have a very colourful track for the aptly named, ‘Imitate Me’. It’s off their full-length record, ‘Black Wash’ which was released earlier this year.
Back to Britain now, we’re going for InMe for the next choice of video. They have their seventh record, ‘Jumpstart Hope’ ready to unleash upon the world and they have a preview for you in ‘For Something To Happen’.
Onwards from a sold out co-headline London show at Thousand Island, Metalcore up and comers TheCityIsOurs have dropped a new video for a fantastic single, ‘Casket’.
London based group Calva Louise have been making a few announcements as of late. From their upcoming record to tour dates, there had to be a new music video. ‘I Heard A Cry” is complete with an energetic street chase and matches the liveliness of the track itself.
Now we get to Ohio for emo vets Hawthorne Heights. They’re busy at the moment supporting Silverstein on their ‘When Broken Is Easily Fixed’ 15th Anniversary tour but they have a new video out for ‘Crimson Sand’.
Memphis May Fire have a new record out very very soon and the Post-Hardcore/ Metalcore favourites have shared a brand new single out in celebration. ‘The Old Me: sees vocalist Matty Mullins covering up his wrongdoings when he tries to bury a body when the unexpected happens.
Lastly, we’re going for Yorkshire based band Heartsink. They’re doing pretty well for themselves at the moment and they have a fantastic new track in the form of “Same Old Lies” which was produced by the fantastic Sleepless Productions. Let’s take a look
And that’s it for another round of music videos for a week. Be sure to check out my other posts for music news, photo galleries of recent shows and interviews with musicians. I’ll see you next week everyone.
Firstly, before we begin I have to say, I’ve been waiting to hear some new music from these Teesside lads for a while now and let me say they certainly do not disappoint. I had the chance to interview them at Pop Punk Pile Up a few months ago but due to circumstances out of their control, it meant that they couldn’t perform. I was absolutely gutted about that but it just goes to show, all good things come to those who wait.
Now, this single just signifies more is yet to come for these lads and this single alone could mean big things for them. It’s just Pop-Punk perfection at its best and I’ve seen many bands go on and do some great things all because of one track. I don’t see any reason why this couldn’t happen to Northshore because it reminds me of the most enjoyable breakdowns from With Confidence or WSTR and those are just the recent tracks they emulate. For myself though, the main component which makes it stand out is of course, Ben Vickers and Dan Shepherd’s vocals. They help take the track to new heights and what helps keep their momentum together but as well, it separates them from the herd and truly makes them ones to watch on the British scene.
Northshore’s sophomore EP, “For What It’s Worth”, is out February 15th.
Check out the music video for “For What It’s Worth” below.
Sadly this next band couldn’t play Pop Punk Pile Up due to unforeseen circumstances but that never stopped them from coming down to support the cause of music! Hailing from Teesside, Middlesbrough this next band is called Northshore and I spoke to them on what’s going on in their band at the moment.
Jack: Hey guys, Your latest track dropped just before the start of the year what’s the story behind that one?
Dan: Father was something we wrote for our first EP and we wrote it two days after we came out and we thought it was better than anything on our EP and we just sat on it for so long and recorded and re-recorded and re-recorded it.
Kyle: It finally got to a point where we were happy with it and happy to release it which took a while.
Dan: We got a bigger and better response off that single track than we did for the whole first EP. It was more the direction we wanted to go than what we were doing. Our first EP, we were more like heavily pop punk and it was the first time a lot of us wrote together, it was the first time a few of us had been in a band together and with that second one, we were like yeah that’s the direction we wanted to go into and sound like more, a more mature sound than what we came out with.
Jack: It all worked out for the better and representing Teesside. Where about’s in the area?
Kyle: In the Middlesbrough area, just outside, Redcar but we’re all based about ten minutes from the Middlesbrough city centre for all of us.
Jack: And what’s the scene like?
Kyle: There used to be an incredible scene up there. There’s TS1. There’s a scene for indie bands and the thrashy heavy bands but for pop-punk, there’s just no scene at the moment really.
Dan: When we were coming up, there was a hardcore scene, like there was a show every single week for a sellout, Decimated, Demoralizer, Malevolence headlined at one point. Demoralizer headlined at a cellar for a bar. We opened that show weirdly enough and there was a roof above us which was okay but it was just raining on all of our amps and we were just like there are so many wires everywhere and we thought we wouldn’t make it to the end of the set.
Kyle: We had Make A Scene every year and that was a music festival once a year and there was Bury Tomorrow, Funeral For A Friend, Mallory Knox, Don Broco headlined the last one and now there’s nothing, not for our scene.
Dan: It’s a case of if we could put on a show for where we are in Middlesbrough and attract 20 people or drive down to Newcastle and pull in 100 but given the choice, I think we’d go for Newcastle. We haven’t played Middlesbrough yet but if a show gets booked we’ll put there.
Jack: Well you never know, Empire always puts on gigs.
Kyle: I think if we were going to put on a show there, Empire would be the place we’d want to play.
Jack: And Pop Punk Pile Up today, I understand you guys had to pull out of playing, how come you had to?
Kyle: There were a few complications with members and stuff so it was just out of our control at this point but we’ve been trying to help promote it as much as we can because it’s helping keep the scene alive. It needs more promotion and more people going to shows like this one. This is what keeps the scene alive and helps people listen to more smaller bands.
Dan: It’s essential if you’re in a pop-punk bands in the UK you’re here this weekend, we have mates that were on the first and second days that we didn’t manage to see but it’s nice that Adam is trying to create a scene for this and concentrate on bands that wouldn’t necessarily get to play or tour together on the same lineup so it’s cool.
Jack: And if you’re not in a band here, you at least know someone on the lineup.
Kyle: Absolutely, we know a few people that have played, we have mates in Catch Fire, Home Wrecked that have played. We’re mates with all sorts of people here and heartsink and better than never today.
Jack: It’s like a game of bingo isn’t it?
Dan: Pretty much, it’s who you’re mates with as well.
Kyle: Pop punk bingo.
Jack: And after you’ve finished here, what the plan for Northshore?
Dan: Record, record, record, tour tour tour.
Kyle: Record the EP, that’s almost done and just hammer the way through that.
Dan: It was meant to be done by the beginning of the year but there have been a few setbacks that have been out of our control that we couldn’t fix really.
Kyle: Luckily we’re in a position where our singer Ben has his own gear and is a great mixer and engineer so we’re lucky in the fact that we don’t have to wait around and pay a lot of money and wait in studios, we can keep going until we’re happy with the end product.
Jack: And apart from the band what else do you guys do?
Kyle: Work
Dan: Work, to get money to keep doing the band stuff.
Jack: What is it you guys do? Retail?
Kyle: Delivery driver
Dan: Mine used to be. I’m a web developer.
Jack: that’s something you don’t usually come across.
Dan: In between when I used to work in retail I used to do designs and that for bands which is how we’ve become friends with a lot of people but at the moment I work for big companies who pay a lot of money to use the system.
Kyle: A corporate slave, that’s what you are.
Jack: Well, at the end of the day, everyone is a slave to the grind.
Dan: Exactly, I just make websites look pretty.
Kyle: But that’s the thing, we just work as much as we can so we can pay for more gear, to get to shows, it goes back into the band.
Jack: As long as you don’t crash the van on the way.
Dan: That’s the dream
Jack: And my last question is if could sum up the band in three words what would they be?
Kyle: Do you wanna take this one? I no words good.
Dan: Not pop punk. Nah I don’t know. Happy pop rock
Kyle: The thing is we’re not trying to identify as pop punk but we also not identify as Pop-Punk so we’re…
Jack: Alternative?
Dan: Yeah… old You Me At Six, its more than three words but old You Me At Six
Kyle: No the six is a number, old You Me @6. That’s three words and a number, it’ll do.
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