Celebrity Playlist: Maybeshewill

At this moment, the emotionally pummelling DIY arthouse post-hardcore electronically foundated post-rock powerhouse collective Maybeshewill are finishing off work on their third album, due some time in late spring/early summer and featuring guest spots for members of Her Name Is Calla. Before then they release a new single on 7th March, titled Critical Distance and sounding and looking like this:

Maybeshewill - Critical Distance from Robot Needs Home on Vimeo.

Before even that they start a European tour tomorrow, the UK leg of which is listed under the Playlist. And before any of the above, in fact logically in the recent past, we held guitarist John Helps down and got some preferred songs out of him.


Jeniferever - The World Is Hollow And I Have Touched The Sky
This song pretty much defines the phrase 'unbearably pretty', the whole EP is great, but the first two tracks in particular are astonishing.

Youthmovies - If You'd Seen A Battlefield
We've been recording the drums for our new record in the same studio Youthmovies recorded this album. Their earlier EPs are so unusual that they kinda blew my mind when I first heard them - really influenced the way I thought about music. The album is much more accessible, but still pretty unusual.

Portishead - Glory Box
Dummy is one of the first albums that's still lodged in my consciousness that I remember listening to on loop as a teenager - it was tough to choose anything off it as a stand out track, but this is as good as any.

Adebisi Shank - International Dreambeat
This is a firm van favourite at the moment - It's just a ridiculous amount of fun.

Blakfish - Jeremy Kyle Is A Marked Man
Of all the songs by all the noisy British post-hardcore bands over the past five years or so, this one is far and away the best - just an incredible idea from start to finish, brilliant melodies and an insatiable sense of urgency.

Reuben - Stuck In My Throat
Me and Jim (Maybeshewill's drummer) totally bonded over Reuben, and I think they've been a big influence on a lot of the bands, certainly from around Leicester, that we sort of align ourselves with. They had tonnes of personality which was perhaps a bit distracting on later albums, but Racecar Is Racecar Backwards is perfect from start to finish.

Mew - Am I Wry? No
Everything Mew have released sounds absolutely incredible, and the only time I've managed to see them they were almost unbelievable. This is perhaps a cop out choice of track, but it is undeniably brilliant.

Jetplane Landing - There Is No Real Courage Unless There Is Real Danger
These guys were a big influence on me musically and from a DIY perspective - Andrew Ferris runs his own label (Smalltown America) which has released some of our favourite bands, but that aside this is an incredible song from a great album.

You Slut! - Mybloodyjesusexploreronfire
I don't think there's been an instrumental band that's bettered this song. Four minutes of magic.

Peter Wyeth - Spring
I promised myself I wouldn't pick anything from Leicester for this, but this, and pretty much everything Pete touches to be honest, is brilliant.



Those dates:
24/2 Southampton Joiners
25/2 Cardiff Buffalo Bar
26/2 Nottingham Rock City
27/2 Manchester Moho Live
28/2 Sheffield O2 Academy
1/3 Glasgow Stereo
2/3 Newcastle O2 Academy
3/3 Camden Barfly