Art - Suzanne Partridge

This is my favourite artist. I first came across her when she was painting in the gatefold sleeves of 200 Hey Colossus albums for Riot Season Records. She did them in a matter of months, and was posting them as she went along. They were staggeringly wonderful, and I actually had a slide show of them running on my PC for ages as a vast improvement on TV. A bit of research threw up that she is a fine artist. Anyway I shan't prattle on, there's just too much to explain so I will post some examples of what she does. The paintings are generally really big by the way, and photos cannot do them justice-

Those two are quite recent. Then we get some 'greatest hits' (well, in my head they are) 

(this one has an open wound from which a sacred heart has been torn)

and then just some detail from some earlier work- 

and here is a self portrait that I adore. It's not so much how she looks but it is very much how she feels... 

and she feels everything.

For exhibitions, commissions, sleeves (she's got a thing for designing LP sleeves!) artofbeingignored@gmail.com

Henry Blacker - Crab House (Riot Season Records 2014)

First track from one of the best albums of next year!

Henry Blacker - Hungry Dogs Will Eat Dirty Puddings

Stuff 2013, here's one of the best albums of 2014. Finally England provides a credible power trio response to ZZ Top and Josh Homme-ness activity! One of the (many) things I like about Hey Colossus is their unrepentant Rockist streak, and boy is that made manifest on this offshoot. Fans of 70's heavy boogie will love it, but it'll also appeal to folk that dig Clint Foetus, Rapeman, Pixies, Kyuss, Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats, and the new Belligerants in the Midlands and North. But Henry Blacker hail from Somerset! They take their name from

"Modern Colossus" Hey?

It's available for pre-order on vinyl and cassette from Riot Season Records (released 21 January 2014), and the cassette is strangely appropriate because these 8 musings on aging, power, and failure are driving music. This is the cassette that the maniac in the monster truck is playing as he tries to mow you down in a 70's drive-in movie. It's the cassette Kowalski is playing to keep his drug and fatigue-addled mind alive as he heads for the Vanishing Point. Now I am aware that one member of this band does a heck of a lot of driving...

Anyway here's a taster. The album starts with a riff that would sit quite happily on the Grand Funk; Blues for the Red Sun; or Deguello albums but within seconds the Henry Blacker English Power-Boogie identity is patented. Some of the vocs treatments are classic Billy Gibbons (the Manic Mechanic sprang to mind). The passage that commences at 1:45 is the absolute SHIT!

Will be out in US on Learning Curve Records. 

Hey Colossus - Oktave Dokkter

English Noise-Rock behemoths. Anyone who has seen them lately knows that they just go for the kill live - at any and all frequencies!

'Cuckoo Live Life Like Cuckoo' on Mie Music.

They're good on periphs as well 

Unmissable Gig

 

British Noise-Rock majesty - they have completely crushed reality and time during the two recent concerts I've witnessed.