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Archangel <archangel>

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	Is It Safe?	261 dagen geleden
	Hello Everyone.. Without doubt the last couple of weeks have been the most exciting for Archangel. I can assure you that treats are coming your way. A double 'A' side single with videos for each by pretty much the hottest young British director, a tour to come and frankly the most fun I've had in ages.. Today I was filming part of one of the videos, which involved being strapped to a dentist's chair with post-it notes coming out of my mouth all in stop frame animation. Going to the dentist is bad enough but having one's mouth wedged open for several hours whilst someone points a huge camera at you and someone else stuffs your face full of animated pieces of paper borders on, at least at the time I felt, a reasonably long spell at the 'Scrubs. This very same director for the other video, just two weeks ago (during all that snow and ice), attached an enourmous bodyrig with a huge camera to my torso and got me to lip sync without snapping my spine. Don't get me wrong because I am not complaining. Yesterday I saw some rushes of both videos and was truly astonished by the footage. The guy is a genius. Anyway, very soon, we'll be putting up the new videos and announcing some dates. I am thrilled by some of the comments that have been left here recently. Thank you for listening and taking the time. I hope that you enjoy what we're preparing for you for the next few months... N.xxx
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	To Boldly Go.. (where only one other band has gone but ignore that)	359 dagen geleden
	Ok so erratic though I have been about this blog, at least I am consistent... Last month I took the plunge and went to Guatemala off the back of one of the most bonkers and beautiful treatments for a video you're ever likely to read and filmed the promo for the song How To Lose Your Best Friend (the title track of my long player). The experience was indescribable. Enough said. The video will be hitting your screens, TV and Computer alike with any luck, in the next couple of weeks and I hope you enjoy it (nearly) as much as I did going there to make it... You may have heard the song on the radio a bit and on the telly as a goal scoring underscore just yesterday.. Amazing what you can achieve with two hands and a piano and anyone that's prepared to listen. So thank you, I hope to see you at a show soon, watch out for an inconsistent bloke in a video made in one of the most glorious countries on the planet and lots of luv, Nick. x
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	Rock Sellout Review	359 dagen geleden
	Thanks to Sean @ Rock Sellout for this! "Archangel, a.k.a. Nick Webber, has been in my CD pile for some time now. The only reason I haven't written about him is that it's so good I couldn't stop listening long enough to say something smart about him. I still don't have anything smart to say, but I do have something honest to say - this is pretty great. The first few times I listened to 'How To Lose Your Best Friend', I couldn't help but feel it was like hearing Chris Corner (IAMX) fronting the Foo Fighters (the track's melody is eerily reminiscent of 'Everlong'). That might not seem too harmonious on paper, but in application it works really well. Of course, that's just the one track. He has 5 others streaming on his Myspace page, all of which you should definitely check out. Nick may very well be the next Tom Vek - a one-man force of nature that's so good at what he does you'd never know that there weren't 20 more hands behind the mixing board. Here's to hoping he won't disappear like Tom and that we get a lot more like this!" http://rocksellout.com/2008/11/27/ar...
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	Click Music 4 out 5 Review!	359 dagen geleden
	Thanks to all at www.ClickMusic.com and Chris Cope for this!!!! "If you're ever feeling a bit apathetic and a bit down because you're lacking creativity, then you'd be best advised not to listen to this record because it would probably only make it worse. Archangel is the offspring of Nick Webber, who devised and performed this entire debut album, and consuming this beast will probably make the best of us feel slightly useless and insignificant. Saying that, the ingenuity of this possible magnum opus-to-be deserves to be celebrated, and will be a great source of inspiration for all the power hungry solo musicians looking to take over the world. Curiously entitled 'How To Lose Your Best Friend', this collection of 11 songs opens with the title track, whose main riff bears a near lawsuit-inducing resemblance to the Foo Fighters anthem 'Everlong'. Punchy stuff, the music sounds organic and alive, shivering with vitality, whilst 'Nervous Energy' benefits from some angular vibes a la We Are Scientists. Most biographies of Archangel point towards classic pop influences, and with 'Odysseus' there are hints of that Bowie guy, with some nostalgic synth and backing vocals floating all over the place. Elsewhere on the album, the spunky 'Not The Man You Think I Am' and the serene 'The Bruise' impress, showing that Webber has versatility as well as impressive chops on nearly every instrument imaginable. It would be intriguing to see this live; Webber probably wishes that he could octopus around every instrument on stage and play the songs himself, but touring members will likely be used and this might detract from this album's charm – an individualistic one which happily resonates throughout this impressive album. Just don't think about his musical fertility too much, or you might get a bit jealous." Read the review here; http://www.clickmusic.com/articles/9...
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	MusicOMH 4 out 5 Review!	359 dagen geleden
	Thanks to all at www.MusicOMH.com and Michael Cragg for this!! "Much has been made of the fact that Archangel aren't a band, but the nom de plume of multi-instrumentalist Nick Webber. Over the course of these eleven songs Webber sings, plays drums, guitar, bass, piano and keyboards and probably made the tea as well. Luckily, his desire to retain control is more Prince then Lenny Kravitz when it comes to the quality stakes, with How To Lose Your Best Friend containing a handful of quality songs. The album opens with the title track, and the listener is immediately knocked off guard as what sounds like the opening riff of the Foo Fighters' Everlong being played on a keyboard starts to emanate from the speakers. It's disconcerting, not least because it's such an odd calling card for an album that barely features a guitar played in anger. It's also too recent an influence, with the album luxuriating in the pomp of late '70s and early '80s pop (complete with a version of Steely Dan's Do It Again). Once you've shaken that off though, the song's hypnotic melody starts to work it's magic as the tension of the first couple of minutes is finally released in a flurry of piano and lyrical frustration ("I want what I have not"). Elsewhere, album highlight Odysseus recalls Let's Dance-era David Bowie, all two-note keyboard riffs and playful time signatures. There's also a great bit around the two minute mark when everything falls away to leave a simple keyboard riff that is cheekily reminiscent of the Eurhythmics' Sweet Dreams, before everything falls back into place. Not every song looks that far back, with Hallelujah's slightly delayed nod to the punk funk phenomenon of about three years ago. Crucially, Webber ditches trying to be The Rapture after the first minute and the song settles into being a proper pop stomper with a gigantic chorus. Lyrically, the album deals with the end of a relationship, the 'best friend' of the title being the likely influence. Not The Man You Think I Am records a couple going their separate ways, the repetition of the title working as both an apology and a defiant statement, whilst titles such as Giving Up The Ghost and The Bruise speak for themselves. It's credit to Webber's ear for a good melody that the album never sags under the weight of all this sadness, the album zipping by in just over 35 minutes. One minor quibble is that Webber's voice can become slightly monotone on repeated listens, his delivery as flat as the music is dramatic. But it's not enough to tarnish a sterling debut that brims with potential. Who needs band mates when you can do it all yourself? Touring might be a bit tricky though." See the review here; http://www.musicomh.com/albums/archa...
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	All Gigs Review!	359 dagen geleden
	thanks to www.allgigs.co.uk and Emma Quinlan for this!! "At first glance, Archangel sound like a fully functioning band, complete with singer, guitarist, bass guitarist and drummer. Wrong. In fact, this fully functioning 'band' is actually one man's compulsive determination and unbelievable talent. Nick Webber is the musical mastermind behind and within this track who not only sung and produced the record but played the guitar, drums, piano, electric keyboard, synth - bass and percussion too. Like a kid in a sweet shop, he had his hand in everything and the images of Webber impersonating roadrunner are not to be laughed at but commended, for this is a truly brilliant single. 'How To Lose Your Best Friend' is defiantly a track you can imagine listening to in a grimy bar with its dirty dance floors and idiotic indie kids dancing to songs that are 'cool' but they don't know why. Yet this is actually cool. The fusion of electronic energy and murky beats are all cemented together by Webber's lyrics and screechy vocals. Its alternative indie meets electro, in other words not the same monotonous drivel that many 'indie' bands like The Kooks and Razorlight keep churning out year after year. Webber has made an edgy and mysterious track that does not tell you how or why he lost his best friend but makes you want a whole new one in the form of the man responsible for such an creative and innovative song. Nick Webber may only be one man, but he certainly has more imagination and passion than Johnny Borrell and Luke Pritchard have put together."
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	Subba Cultcha Album Review	359 dagen geleden
	Thanks to Subba Cultcha again for this! "One-man-band, Archangel, takes us on a retro trip back to the 80s. From Mystery Jets to Mark Ronson, if there's one thing that's going through more than a slight resurgence at the moment it's the 80s. Step into your local Topshop, turn on the radio or enter within a 5 mile vicinity of Hoxton and I'll bet your neon legwarmers that the first thing you hear will be synths. So when the first bars of distorted keyboard effects kick in on album opener and title track, 'How to Lose Your Best Friend', there's more than a slight feeling of 'here we go again' to be had. Wrong. Because whilst a whole host of other bands are semi- ripping off the decade, Archangel is so committed to the cause you feel like the album may have come inbuilt with a tardis to take you back 25 years. That's a positive thing by the way. Archangel, aka Nick Webber, apparently locked himself away for 18 months in a little house in Wiltshire with nowt but his collection of 70s and 80s records for company whilst making this album, and in a strange way it shows; apart from the obvious influences that have been brought to it, there's a kind of frantic energy that runs through the whole thing. Pounding drum tracks and multi-layerd electro blips abound, somehow managing to create a very internal, almost insular experience at odds with the upbeat, dance sensibilities of the tracks themselves. At its best points, How To Lose Your Best Friend is a stomping disco beast in the vein of Friendly Fires or Roxy Music- 'Drive' and recent single 'Physical Energy' are two prime examples- but at times, and admittedly they are thankfully few in number, Archangel manages to lose the required edge that keeps him from descending into happy-clappy Feeling-esque pop ('Loud and Clear', 'Not The Man You Think I Am'). However, a stonking cover of Steely Dan's 'Do It Again' and even a sample of Maxine Nightingale's 'Right Back Where We Started From' are more than enough to redeem his granny-pop sins. In general, 'How To Lose Your Best Friend', is a solid debut and one that should be applauded for managing to both be completely on the fashion money yet still set itself apart from the countless others doing the same. Maybe next time he'd benefit from having an objective eye join him down in his Wiltshire bunker, but for now Archangel should be pretty pleased with this first release. "I want what I have not"? Well, we want what you have. Mostly." http://www.subba-cultcha.com/article...
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	Last.Fm Review!	359 dagen geleden
	Thanks to Dr Eno on Last.fm for this album review!!! http://www.last.fm/user/DoctorEno/jo... "I just got my hands on Archangel's new CD and what an exciting piece of plastic it is. It's the musical equivalent of fireworks – loud and sparkly. What is more it's a fantastic mix of loads of my fav musical elements. It tips its hat to classic David Bowie, there a hint of the The Police in there, more than a splodge of early 80s Eurythmics, some high-80s pop, some dirty post-punk funk and just a little bit of soul. The title track it hypnotic, ecstatic, emotive and generally a thing of wonder. Not only is the singer and the instrumentalists at the top of their game but there is a real attention to the sonic detail – did that sound a bit pretentious? What I mean is they've really nailed their sound. Physical Energy really deserves the title. Energetic? Certainly! Danceable? Highly. Do it Again is a Steely Dan cover. I'm no fan of the original, but that really isn't a problem because Archangel have stamped their authority all over it. Loud and Clear could have been the final song in a John Hughes film, I can just imagine Molly Ringwald getting her man to this tune. Its got a nicely 80s teen pop sound. Drive showcases the slap-happy bassist. It's got the depth and metallic edge of the Cure's finest basses but with the percussive slap of a Prince tune. Best bit of the album? That difficult. How to lose you best friend, Physical Energy and I'm not the man you think I am are strong contenders. But as far as I can see, and I've been known to see for miles, its Hallelujah that really takes the cake. Hallelujah's something special, the jewel in the crown of the album. Its experimental, hooky, really you should listen to it. Archangel are one of a number of recent band and solo artists to fuse some cool experimental ideas with some highly danceable hooky pop. In spite of the fact that they sound a bit like this and a bit like that they really do have a great new sound of their own. It's a great album, lets hope it gets the attention it deserves. "
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	Subba Cultcha Single Of The Month	359 dagen geleden
	Thanks to everyone at Subba Cultcha for this!! A SUBBA-CULTCHA.COM SINGLE OF THE MONTH ARCHANGEL – HOW TO LOSE YOUR BEST FRIEND "Starting off Like the Foo Fighter's Everlong played on a beaten up organ before exploding into a psyche-Beach Boys-ian indie stomp, electrifying from start to finish with a sadness at the heart of it, definitely one's to watch!"
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	Nothing But Green Lights Blog	359 dagen geleden
	Thanks to Mike at Nothing But Green Lights for this! "Pumping indie-funk probably wouldn't work without this one man at the helm, playing all the instruments, controlling the direction, perfecting every piece, riding solo and powering through. Archangel demonstrates that as Tom Vek did (and with similar funk, dance sensibilities) a one man attack is a smart attack. The album is good good great, hear more at myspace."
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