God Damn Review The Singles

Rocking forth from the Black Country with no little rollicking riffage, God Damn is Thom Edward (guitar/vocals) and Ash Weaver (drums). They’re about to follow their One Little Indian-released ‘Shoe Prints In The Dust’ single with another track, ‘Horus’, out through the same label on October 27^th. Check it out below…

‘Horus’ precedes the release of God Damn’s debut album, set for the spring of 2015. Before then, be sure to catch the pair live – dates follow their take on this week’s new singles.

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Bondax – ‘All I See’

Thom: “Meaningless shite, just the kinda crap to keep the brain-dumb populous occupied. I like some dance music and am big into my electronic music but this is just dross.”
Ash: “It brings to mind a yellow Fiat Punto.”
Thom: “Yeah, you nailed it there. I’m no longer angry.”

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Stromae – ‘Papaoutai’

Ash: “I’d imagine this being played at birthday parties across the universe, and I’d like to see the dance moves in the video recreated in the same fashion as the ‘Macarena’.”
Thom: “The French language always sounds so good in these pop songs. I can pick out the following words: ‘mom’, ‘find’, ‘friend’, ‘father’, ‘talk’, ‘why’, ‘good’ and ‘play’. The lyricist is obviously a family guy. We’re both off to find out what the namesake chorus means.”

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Trwbador – ‘Side By Side’

Thom: “Love the artwork, this chord change is pretty cool. More like my sort of electro, a little more creative here. Pleasant listening, not the most inspiring thing ever. Slight bed-wetter vibes though.”
Ash: “For the more mellow electro ear. Not offensive, easy listening. Would like to see something happen though, slightly repetitive in places.”
Thom: “Electro ear… like a hearing aid?”

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Iggy Azalea feat. Rita Ora – ‘Black Widow’

Ash: “This one will be popular. Whatever Rita Ora touches is a hit at the minute. Not really my bag, it’s another chip off the standard R&B block, not pushing any boundaries. I imagine the music channels going crazy over this one.”
Thom: “Yeah, quite an enthralling storyline for the video: some people would like some butties, and the person who is making the butties has a dream that one of the people who would like the butty is trying to kill the other person who would also like the butty. They go to great measures to kill said person by getting customised leather suits and training with an old man. In the end, the bloke gets bitten by a little spider, and they decide that's enough punishment for him. Also, by the looks of things, they couldn’t have done all this without the use of their HP tablet. Oh yeah, and there’s a song over the top, some plinky-plonky shiznit.”

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Morrissey – ‘Kiss Me A Lot’

Thom: “I can go to town on me old Mozza, but I’ll let our Ashley speak first.”
Ash: “It seems as though everyone likes to give Morrissey a big snog, who wouldn’t I suppose. I neither love nor hate this one, a good pop song.”
Thom: “Not one of Stevie’s best songs, but it’s one of his and that’s all that matters. If anyone else was to sing something so narcissistic and self absorbed without any sense of irony it’d be unforgivably shit. The theme of sexual and intimate insecurity is common in Morrissey’s work and this is a fine example; either that or he’s massively taking the piss, which is also a regularity in his craft. I’ve always wanted to work with Morrissey as I’ve enjoyed working with people who are on the Autistic spectrum; beautifully fascinating people. Steven seeks the approval of nobody and everyone. I’m a massive fan of all of his work, this new album is particularly disjointed and not the usual easy listen for many of his fans I’m sure, however pertinent issues are raised with more blatancy than ever. This song is an easy listen and offers some relent on the album, both musically and lyrically.”

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The Kooks – ‘Forgive & Forget’

Ash: “Having been a teenager when the first Kooks album came out, I can’t help but have some really good memories surrounding it. After that, they seemed to go off the boil for a while and it was all a bit of an anti-climax. ‘Forgive & Forget’ is a new direction for them. I wasn’t too sure on their last single, but this is a lot better: it has a catchy chorus and big percussion, with some brilliant production work to back it up. Solid pop song.”
Thom: Yep, definite teenage guilty pleasure here for me, a good pop song. I like the bass player’s amp and everyone seems to have a smile on their face, which is nice. The singer was at one of our London gigs once, which obviously inspired him to write this song.”

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Words: God Damn
Photo: Andy Hughes

Related: Next Wave: God Damn
More Singles Round Ups

God Damn online. See them live as follows:

September
14^th – Adelphi, Hull
15^th – Duchess, York
17^th – Barfly, London
24^th – Nation of Shopkeepers, Leeds
25^th – Bungalow and Bears, Sheffield
27^th – Club 85, Hitchin
28^th – Underground Festival, Gloucestershire

October
1^st – Total Refreshment Centre, London
2^nd – Gulliver’s, Manchester
3^rd – Cookie Jar, Leicester
4^th – Cabaret Voltaire, Edinburgh
8^th – Bodega, Nottingham
9^th – Arts Centre, Norwich
10^th – Sugarmill, Stoke
24^th – Hare and Hounds, Birmingham
25^th – Simple Things Festival, Bristol

November
29^th – Hereford, Jailhouse

December
1^st – Rescue Rooms, Nottingham
2^nd – Deaf Institute, Manchester
4^th – Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff
5^th – Sound Circus, Bournemouth
6^th – Institute Temple, Birmingham
8^th – Waterfront Studio, Norwich
9^th – Dingwalls, London

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