English singer-songwriter Jonathan Spottiswoode has a lot on his plate durign the next months. He will be playing solo, as part of duo, as part of trio and with His Enemies, the superb NY sextet. The latter have been chomping at the bit for more than a year and are ready to deliver their smart pop meets vaudeville again.
Spottiswoode & His Enemies will celebrate their 25th anniversary with a special show @ Rockwood Stage 2 in New York on December 9th. Some Christmas shehanigans may be part of the proceedings.
Live dates:HCTF review of Lost In The City.
Singer-songwriter Spottiswoode has a couple of solo shows lined up, as well as two gigs with his band Spottiswoode & His Enemies. Be prepared for a bit of jazz, some vaudeville, and ace lyrics.
Singer-songwriter Spottiswoode has a gig in Frederiksberg @ Metronomen on November 8. He will be sharing the stage with Matti Muller, Jonny Gee, Joe Bickerstaff and Neil Moonsauce. He has announced that he will play "two cathartic and uplifting sets".
» Spottiswoode & His Enemies on Facebook
HCTF review of English Dream.
How about a musical guide on how to cope in New York City? The Big Apple inspired lots of artists to do so, but the city is harsh mistress and many failed to pull it off. Spottiswoode & His Enemies however pass with flying colours with their new album Lost In The City, an amalgam of vaudeville, blues, rock and jazz plus lead singer's Jonathan Spottiswoode witty way with words. He is a sardonic poet, whose English heritage makes him a perennial outsider in the city that never sleeps.
Like Randy Newman and Ray Davies he is sharp observer, who can cram the contents of a short story within the confines of a song. The little people can become heroes of sorts (Goodbye Jim McBride, Batman & Robin). Autobiographical songs are used as reality checks. Hoboken is just Hoboken, not some mythical and better place on the other side of the Hudson River. And he takes the full blame for relationship going on the rocks in It's On Me and Now Didn't I? Loneliness and getting drink are captured in The Walk Of Shame: "It's 6 o'clock // The night was so delicious // But now a puddle is a mirror for Narcissus".
English/American septet Spottiswoode & His Enemies have made a video for Hoboken, the opening track from their forthcoming album Lost In The City. As he looks out on the Hudson river it dawns on him that the other side is "just Hoboken" instead of a dreamed up heaven, a reality check that got him out of bout of self-pity. He directed the video himself, with stylish black-and-white cinematography by Ehud Lazin.
NYC based English singer-songwriter Spottiswoode has a gig in Frederiksberg @ Metronomen on November 8. He will be sharing the bill with Flemming Borby.
Spottiswoode & His Enemies will release their new album Lost In The City in November 27.
English/American septet Spottiswoode & His Enemies will release their new album Lost In The City in November. Lead singer Spottiswoode will perform a couple of solo shows before joining the band for the two release parties in November and December. Expect a blend of of pop and vaudeville with A+ lyrics.
Live dates:
English/American septet Spottiswoode & His Enemies have launched crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter to cover the costs of recording their new album Lost In The City. They are aiming to raise £ 15,000 ($21,000). Singer Jonathan Spottiswoode explains:
LOST IN THE CITY is our most ambitious song cycle to date. An emotional sucker punch. Tales of love and death in the Big Apple. Celebrating two decades together as a band, the music reflects the raw energy and sophistication of the city we’ve called home; a giddy brew of balladry, jazz, rock, blues, minimalism, you name it. It’s poignant for me since I’ve recently moved back to London where I’m raising my baby daughter. Some of the songs almost sound like a farewell.
NYC based English singer-songwriter Spottiswoode has a gig in Hildesheim on March 25th. He will be sharing the stage with Matti Müller. The show is part of the Honky Tonk Festival.
ON May 11th Spottiswoode & His Enemies will perform a hometown show @ Rockwood 2 in New York.
NYC based story tellers Spottiswoode & His Enemies are back on the road with their carefully crafted songs.
Live dates:NYC based story tellers Spottiswoode & His Enemies are sharing the band version of the English Dream album video (HD on Vimeo):
This version features the band in all but one of the videos. If the results vary in quality it's because twelve of them were shot in one day! All against the projected backdrop of British Council archive footage. Another insane Enemies undertaking.Live dates:
Many thanks to the remarkable crew who spent a very long Saturday with us at St. John's Lutheran Church in Greenwich Village. Particular credit to Brian Dilg, our tireless Director of Photography, and to Kim Matela who wrangled together a wonderful assortment of period costumes for the entire band. Alas, Candace couldn't make the shoot since she was barely able to walk at the time on account of her busted knee - now replaced and healed!
We've shared some of these separately already. This is clearly overload. A journey from the Second World War to the Fifties, back to the First World War then on to the Seventies with the band dressed up as steampunks, beatniks, glam groovers and respectable middle-aged English gentlemen. Not for the faint of heart.
HCTF review of English Dream.
Spottiswoode & His Enemies have picked up an Independent Music Award nomination for Best Adult Contemporary Album of 2014 for their latest album English Dream. They are sharing a video (HD on Vimeo) of the full album:
Edited by Clare Elliott from British Council Film Archive footage, it's a mesmerizing complement to the fourteen songs. Perfect if you have a projector, a flatscreen TV or if you simply like to lounge in front of your laptop. Even better after a cup of hallucenogenic chamomile tea. All we ask is that you try to play the audio through decent speakers or headphones. As you will see, this version does NOT feature images of myself or the band, only the archive footage. My personal preference. I'll share the band version next month.Live dates:
HCTF review of English Dream.
Watch the video for Till My Dying Day by Spottiswoode & His Enemies, a opening track from their latest album English Dream.
Live dates:HCTF review of English Dream.
Watch the video for Golden Apple by Spottiswoode & His Enemies, a track from their latest album English Dream. The video was shot at St. John's Lutheran Church in Greenwich Village with British Council Archive footage rolling in the background.
Live dates:HCTF review of English Dream.
Watch the video for Genius Flower by Spottiswoode & His Enemies, a track from their latest album English Dream. The video was made by Jonathan Spottiswoode and Clare Elliott.
Spottiswoode will be in Germany in September for a bunch of solo shows. The full band will hit the road in the States in the Fall.
HCTF review of English Dream.
Watch the video for Dreamer Boy by Spottiswoode & His Enemies, a track from their latest album English Dream. They perform before a big screen showing '70s English TV commercials, serving as a visual memory of lead singer's Jonathan Spottiswoode.
Live dates:HCTF review of English Dream.
Spottiswoode & His Enemies have made a video for No Time For Love, a track from their new album English Dream (April 15th on Old Soul Records). The Anglo-American septet kick off their USA East Coast tour in Philadelphia.
Live dates:HCTF review of English Dream.
Anglo-American septet Spottiswoode & His Enemies forego joyful sounding songs on their new album English Dream. It's a concept album about good old England, home of front man Jonathan Spottiswoode who coined the term Anglicana to describe the mood for this project. Recorded in Brooklyn at The Bunker and New Warsaw Studio the bands follows in his footsteps as he visits a football match (Chelsea-Arsenal) in the sad love song Till My Dying Day, and nicks fruit in Golden Apple: "Only one. Don't the shake the branch / You could make an avalanche".
Spottiswoode & His Enemies always have been a band who put the melody first. They are not above the occasional singalong either and they got that covered in Clear Your Mind and the lead single No Time for Love with all band members stepping up to the mike. The Enemies hold back most of the time - they can play really soft for a septet. Their own multi-instrumentalist Riley McMahon acted as producer and with the help of engineer John Davis all instruments were carefully placed, miked and recorded. It sounds great, even when played through crap laptop speaker, but better pop it into a kick-ass audio set-up to be able to pick out all the nuances.
Spottiswoode & His Enemies will celebrate the release of their new album with a show at Joe's Pub, NY. The first dates for their English Dream tour have been confirmed.
Live dates:HCTF review of Wild Goosechase Expedition.
