Music Matters
Luna Kiss
I love it when you keep hearing the name of the same band around town; that buzz is infectious. And so it goes on – Luna Kiss, anyone? When you hear this band it all becomes clear. They describe their music as alternative rock, I describe it as stunning. I loved their 2011 LP Echoes Of Sound, but things have moved on. If you favour carefully placed power chords, clean-cut vocals, and crisp crystal-clear production, then Luna Kiss could be your next favourite band. Lovers of ‘real’ music will get Luna Kiss and their latest album Following Shadows.
They certainly know how to build a song, for track after track the delights keep coming. The band already have a great body of work (as well as Echoes of Sound, they have released EPs Conjure And Sin in 2014 and Gravity in 2016), but Following Shadows defines this mighty outfit big time. Check it out sooner than later. Luna Kiss are back in Coventry on Oct 27 supporting The Courtneys at The Kasbah.
Just For The Record
Rugby’s very own vinyl shop is moving. From August 14, it can be found in Churchside Arcade, Little Church Street. Owner Sally Wolanski has put so much into this business, currently above Hunt’s Bookshop, and it’s great to see it get its very own solo premises.
I asked Sally, why the move? “Accessibility will be far better in Churchside Arcade as some of our customers really struggled with the stairs,” she said. “I am very proud of the fact that we have been trading for almost two years now and moving into our own premises is a huge step forward.”
Free drinks and nibbles are on offer on the re-opening day, and a £5 gift voucher will be given out with any purchase made on the day (one voucher per customer). The new opening hours are Tuesday-Saturday, 10am-4pm. The shop has proved such a huge hit that it will be now open on Fridays due to popular demand. I love crate digging (as the noble art of looking through racks of records is called), and the thrill is compounded when you get someone like Sally who cares about her customers and knows her stock inside out. Vinyl is on the way back thanks to precious places like Just For The Record.
Madchat
Madness were not a Coventry band, but by virtue of their ska and 2-tone credentials, they are celebrated at the city’s music museum. Their followers on the Madchat social media forum (the online Madness community) broke away this year from the band’s spiritual home in Dublin Castle in Camden, and hosted their annual fundraiser in Coventry. The bands Skaletrics and The Bed & Breakfastmen and soloist Rebecca Brain provided the nutty backdrop of music that filled the 2-Tone Village, as stalls sold some amazing Madness merchandise and revellers enjoyed the summer weather and broke out into spontaneous Madness ‘nutty trains’. It was an amazing day with amazing people that raised an incredible £1,197 for the Music Museum.
Pete Chambers BEM
