Watch: Biffy Clyro, Bubbles

Biffy Clyro's latest release is undoubtedly one of the highlights of 'Only Revolutions' with its (excuse the pun) bubbling verses and rousing sing-a-long chorus. However, the major draw for many is the inclusion of a solo by Josh Homme of QOTSA. It's a sign of how far Biffy Clyro have come, as well as the strength of their music philosophy, that they have been able to attract such a name.

“Someone like Josh, it’s like he’s a musical lifer,” says vocalist/guitarist Simon Neil. “We are as well, and I think when you meet people you can see in their eyes whether they really mean it or not. It’s kind of weird being friends with someone who’s a hero like Josh, but I see in him what I see in myself and he sees in us what he saw in himself, that kind of hunger and willingness and doing it for the right reasons. It’s really easy to connect with people because of that.”

The single is due for release on April 26th ahead of their UK tour. You can find the dates for the tour and the video for the single below.

April

29th – Perth, Concert Hall.
30th – Sheffield, O2 Academy.

May

1st – Blackpool, Empress Ballroom.
3rd – Leicester, De Montfort Hall.
4th – Portsmouth, Guildhall.
5th – Bristol, Colston Hall.
6th – London, Hammersmith Apollo.

Introducing: Alan Pownall

Alan Pownall is apparently one of the year's most hypable artists according to the people at Hypem.com. If, however, you find yourself staring at the name blankly, like I did, then here's the skinny... Pownall first picked up a guitar in 2004 when he was still at art school and, two years later, with only a handful of songs to his name he was personally invited to tour with Adele. After a disastrous outing, which knocked his confidence, he picked himself back up, determined to improve his songwriting and guitar playing and soon found himself playing gigs with numerous rising stars including Florence and the Machine, Jack Penate, Laura Marling and Noah and the Whale. His music is very easy going and simplistic in style, which isn't a criticism (much of The Beatles' catalogue could be classed as simplistic), and allows for more scope for his voice to dominate the record. Check out the video for 'Take Me' at the bottom of the page to get more of an idea.A

Now with work on his debut album pretty much wrapped up he's set to hit the road throughout February in order to take his music across the UK. You can catch him at the following venues:

7 Feb - Louisiana, Bristol
8 Feb - Camden Barfly, London
10 Feb - Hoxton Bar and Kitchen, London
11 Feb - Lee Rosy’s Tea, Nottingham
12 Feb - Liquid Ship, Glasgow
13 Feb - Nexus Art Café, Manchester
14 Feb - Adelphi, Leeds
16 Feb - Glee Club, Birmingham

http://www.myspace.com/alanpownall

Screaming Lights Hit The Road

Having released their debut album in October this Liverpudlian quartet have announced a mini tour through the first half of November. Playing a select few venues across the north-west their live shows have been described as 'superb' and, despite looking like they should still be playing with tambourines and triangles in primary school, they certainly know how to pack a punch. Channeling the sombre spirit of other Liverpudlian bands like Echo and The Bunnymen they look set to enjoy a degree of success in the near future. You can catch them in the following venues...

OCTOBER
25th Blackburn - 41 King Street

NOVEMBER
2nd Liverpool - Alma de Cuba
3rd Bristol - Louisiana
4th Reading - Oakford Social
5th Birmingham - Flapper
11th Edinburgh - Electric Circus
12th Stoke - Sugarmill

And, just so you know what to expect, here's them performing former single GMN at Reading. I'm too good to you people.