Twesta presents... Pocketbooks

Pocketbooks

Pocketbooks are a pop band from London, combining melodic boy/girl harmonies, spiralling guitars and delicate piano lines. Expect a sprinkling of dazzling 60s soul alongside some sparkling indiepop charm!

We first introduced ourselves to the world by appearing on the 2006 compilation ‘The Kids At The Club’ (How Does It Feel To Be Loved?) alongside indiepop favourites such as Voxtrot, I’m From Barcelona and Lucky Soul.

Since then, we’ve played gigs across the country, including headlining the first ever Indietracks event on a 1950s steam railway in Derbyshire in April 2007. This event has now turned into an annual two-day festival each July, which several of the band now help to organise. We’ve also been fortunate enough to play shows with some fantastic bands, including The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart, God Help The Girl, Art Brut, Fanfarlo, The Wedding Present, Darren Hayman and Monica Queen.

In 2008 we even hit the summer festivals, including the Rip It Up festival (Sweden), Offset festival, The Mix festival in London, and, of course, a return to the Indietracks festival.

Our debut single, Cross The Line (Atomic Beat Records, 2007) was described by Simon Armitage as “pure snowshaker pop, and more dressing table than kitchen sink”. It was released on limited edition 7” vinyl (400 copies) and is now sold out. The single was followed by an EP, Waking UP (Make Do And Mend Records, 2008), which Losing Today described as “Spring-ushering tinglesome guitars, softly shy eyed lilting melodies and hopelessly lovelorn boy / girl harmonies.”

Our debut album, Flight Paths, was released on 13 July 2009 on the How Does It Feel To Be Loved? label. This was preceeded by a single, Footsteps, on 15 June. Songs from the album have picked up radio play from Huw Stephens and Kissy Sell Out (BBC Radio 1), Gideon Coe (BBC 6Music) and John Kennedy (Xfm).

Our song Fleeting Moments appears on the Rough Trade Shops Indiepop 09 compilation.

The Gresham Flyers

Formed in 2005, London-based powerpop misfits The Gresham Flyers started life as a septet of friends brought together by the internet. This proves that despite what The Daily Mail says, it does do some good. Since then, the band have been through three different lineups into their current five-piece configuration in order to realise their manifesto; the firm belief that pop music should be FUN, ENTHUSIASTIC, THOUGHTFUL and GENUINE. With four songwriters and three singers, the sound is diverse, but always exciting.

To say that The Gresham Flyers have a wide breadth of influence is an understatement; they may not agree on what bands to call influences (there is not one band that they all agree on liking), but what they create reflects the best part of their record collections. Initially likened to Belle & Sebastian due to lead singer/ songwriter John Waring’s focus on kitchen-sink minutiae and indiepop-based sound (a comparison the band now shun), a closer description would now be somewhere between Pulp’s claustrophobic, synthetic sleaze and The Arcade Fire’s anthemic histrionics, with a dash of Prolapse’s dual vocal approach thrown in for good measure.

Following the release of the Shiftwork 7” in 2006 (“a cracking little single that is sure to announce the band to the wider world” – Rough Trade), and numerous appearances on compilation CDs, the band released debut album Sex With Strangers in July 2008. The album was picked up by Cherryade Records, and has drawn much acclaim as “well crafted indie pop with a bite” and “genuine pop bliss…melding some of the finest indie pop of the last 20 years into their own form”. As a bonus, 2008 also saw the release of a split 10” with fellow Londoners Wintergreen.

Live, the band have picked up a devoted following thanks to their outstanding performances with bands such as Bearsuit, Saturday Looks Good To Me, Lucky Luke, Ladybug Transistor, Persil, MJ Hibbett, The Loves and Kristeen Young. The belief that the current configuration is their best yet is borne out by their improved live performances; Martin, Thom and James provide a fearsome backline, while Sharon and John offer dual vocals leading the fray with wit, charm and enthusiasm, adhering to the manifesto of providing pop music with a smile. While the instrument-changing sets of the previous six-piece lineup have settled down, there are still plenty of opportunities for members to swap roles, each being proficient multi-instrumentalists.

“The Gresham Flyers are named after a type of pushbike, sell immaculately crafted split EPs with bands called The Pale Corners and Wintergreen, and have songs named ‘Factory Records Museum’ and ‘Berry Buck Mills Stipe’…but why be cynical when the performance is such fun, all ungainly spasming tinny guitars and sherbet lemon keyboards. They remind usby turns of a pre-fame Pulp, The Wedding Present, Bis, and Coventry’s Ludicrous Lollipops, a band so obscenely obscure, we feel guilty mentioning them. But what better way to describe these indie archaeologists than with a defunct indie band you’re even less likely to have heard of? And they have Fall-referencing coloured vinyl. Bloody great fun” Nightshift Magazine (Oxford)

Read more: http://www.myspace.com/thegreshamflyers#ixzz0rTzh00Ea

plus… The Screenbeats