Bands splitting everywhere :o(

Announcing the splitting of your band so close to April Fool's day is going to lead to at least minor confusion but both Action Plan and Ladyfuzz seem to have disbanded in the last few days sadly. Both have in fact been mentioned here in the past, when I caught them at the Great Escape festival - I described Action Plan as "very impressive" [link] and of Ladyfuzz, "God knows what Liz Neumayr was wearing but her infectious grin and a particularly rousing Bouncy Ball do the job" [link].

Action Plan have been around since late 2003, managing two singles (debut single 'Stendhal' was particularly great) and support dates with Razorlight, Juliette & The Licks and even Jet. A pulsating mix of melodies, intensity and a wee bit of shoegaze, they had plenty of critical success. However, despite the diverse support dates with the aforementioned big acts, it never quite worked out for Action Plan commercially. They quote Tony Hancock on their MySpace - "things just went wrong too many times". What makes me feel more sad about their demise is that they were nice enough to send out demos back in the early days, which hardly anyone seems to do anymore. I shall cherish that cd. When I find it again.

Action Plan - Beauty Scars (apologies for the poor quality!)

Buy 'Stendhal'/'Beauty Scars' for only 79p each at indiestore [link]

Ladyfuzz were less about intensity and more about fun. A quirky three piece who formed though an NME advert in 2004, they put out their one and only album on the famed Transgressive Records label and their final EP ('Kerfuffle', also the title of the album) was produced by the much respected Gareth Parton. Self confessed "experimental-pop", they recorded toys falling down stairs for use on their album and live, they played without a bassist. Instead, guitarist Ben sang the basslines while playing the guitar at the same time! Last single 'Kerfuffle' was Flaming Lips-esque but they largely trod a more frenzied path ('Oh Marie', 'Bouncy Ball'). A slightly bizarre band who deserved to at least emulate the moderate success of their equally eccentric mates, Mystery Jets.


Photo credit - Joe Dilworth

Ladyfuzz - Oh Marie (Example & Rusher Remix)
Ladyfuzz - My Summer Of Fun

Buy the 'Kerfuffle' album from HMV [link]
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Ignoring all that sad news, my podcast is proving to be reasonably popular which is mega cool. Many thanks in particular if you've subscribed, I intend to do another podcast soonish! If you haven't listened/downloaded it, here it is [link].

In other news, a couple of blogs have been very nice to me and would recommend you check them out. Firstly, is 100b [link] who described my blog as "absolutely wonderful" and put me in the esteemed company of Music For Robots and You Ain't No Picasso. And then there's a new blog called Fucking Dance [link], which cited my blog and the ridiculously good Good Weather For Airstrikes as inspiration for its creation. Thanks guys, you're lovely!

Jamila, who runs Fucking Dance also has a clubnight in Manchester coming up for her Bizarre Prostitution fanzine, featuring Neon Plastix, Modernaire, Dirty Hands and the awesome Sir Yes Sir [link for more details]. Speaking of clubnights, my friend Craig also has one coming up, this time in London on April 10th. The Downbeats headline, with Toy Guns, Grandeur Rat and New Homes in support [link for more details].