By Geoffrey Rowlands

You would be hard pressed to find colour photographs of American indie rock quintet The Neighbourhood. Apart from shots by fans during live performances, the single colour publicity picture was specially taken to accompany a British newspaper article last March about the worthiness of support act slots for up and coming bands.

“We couldn’t very well complain about that,” smiled singer, songwriter and frontman Jesse Rutherford. “The newspaper story wasn’t specifically about us but we were the featured act so we got some much needed publicity. The colour photograph didn’t sit too well with us but we could live with it in exchange for exposure to the readership.”

The Neighbourhood’s embracing of black and white imagery is not unique. English alternative indie band The 1975 also follow the monochrome path in terms of their videos and publicity pictures. But The neighbourhood have taken the theme to extreme levels. Since gaining fame from their smash hit single, Sweater Weather, they have now decreed that everything must be in black and white.

“We turned down an appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno because they wouldn’t do it in black and white,” Jesse stated. “They could have announced our segment was in black and white or put a message on screen to assure viewers there was nothing wrong with their televisions but the producers insisted it had to be in colour.

“Our use of black and white is all about marketing. This is something we take very seriously. When we got together, we considered which colours would go with our music and came up with black and white. It reflects how we create and play our songs. We each have our specific role. There are no grey areas within the band.”

Jesse got together with guitarists Jeremy Freedman and Zach Abels, bass player Mikey Margott and drummer Bryan Sammis in August, 2011. Long-time friends from the Newbury Park area of southern California, the boys are all in their early to mid-20s and played in numerous local bands before joining forces.

Their earliest marketing strategy was to remain anonymous. They even adopted the English spelling of neighbourhood to confuse prospective investigators.

“We wanted people to concentrate solely on our music,” Jesse explained. “It’s difficult to categorise our songs. We make rock tracks with hip hop beats and indie influences. We wanted everyone to simply listen to our songs without knowing anything about the people behind them.”

Sweater Weather is the second single from The Neighbourhood’s debut album, I Love You. It was initially released nine months ago spending 11 weeks atop the Billboard Alternative Songs chart. Mainstream recognition has taken rather longer with the song still climbing the upper reaches of the Hot 100.

“We’ve already released Afraid as our latest single,” Jesse remarked. “We’re publicising this song for the alternative audiences and Sweater Weather for the mainstream fans.”

Jesse confidently suggested he was not surprised by the success of Sweater Weather.

“We believed we had something special when the song was recorded. The fact that so many other people also feel the same is just confirmation that we’re not in some crazy black and white world of our own.”

 

IN BRIEF

Muse

 

English anthemic rockers Muse have released a DVD / Blu-ray and live album of the concert they performed at Rome’s Olympic Stadium on July 6, 2013.

A trailer for the DVD, along with a behind-the-scenes video, can be seen at www.youtube.com/muse. Also here are the songs Madness and Starlight taken from Live At Rome Olympic Stadium.

The band’s views on capitalism are expressed theatrically during the concert. At one point, a high-powered investor struts on stage throwing (probably fake) banknotes to the audience before suffering a heart attack amid an explosion of money. Another excerpt sees an oil executive douse herself with petrol before dying of self-inflicted poisoning.

It’s a matter of opinion as to whether these kind of dramatic interludes should be part of a pop concert. Muse are obviously entitled to their beliefs about anything. But they should give thanks for living in a society which allows them to become multi-millionaires. Under a different regime, they would receive exactly the same remuneration for their work as bands who perform to an audience of two men and a dog.

 

Rita Ora

 

Fans of Rita Ora shouldn’t have too long to wait for the release of her second album. The Kosovo-born but London-raised singer and actress says her new LP is almost finished. She also revealed a collaboration with Prince and the hope of recording a final track as a duet with Gwen Stefani.

“It was such an honour just to be in the same studio as Prince,” Rita confessed. “I couldn’t believe how many instruments he can play.

“The duet with Gwen will happen but I’m not sure when. I hope we can get together soon enough to include the song on my new album but, if not, it will be a highlight for my third LP.”

Some songs on Rita’s forthcoming album have been produced by her boyfriend, Calvin Harris. Earlier this year, Calvin had ruled out the possibility of mixing business with pleasure but he has obviously been persuaded to change his mind.

In addition to promoting her album, 2014 will also see Rita return to acting. She has been cast as Christian Grey’s adopted sister Mia in the film version of Fifty Shades of Grey.

 

Femme

 

Anyone familiar with Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich’s band Ultraista will have already heard the voice of British singer Femme. Under her real name of Laura Bettinson, she provided the vocals for all ten songs on Ultraista’s self-titled debut album.

Until joining the band, Laura says making music was little more than a hobby, something she did for fun. But her success with Ultraista has now led to a very serious solo career. Promos for five of her songs, including new double A-side single Heartbeat / Fever Boy, can be accessed from www.youtube.com/user/femmeHQ/videos.

More of Femme’s own music, plus her vocal performances for other artists, can be heard at (no www.) soundcloud.com/thisisfemme. The Blamma! Blamma! remix of “Double Trouble” posted here is available for free download.

 

Danielle Bradbery

 

Danielle Bradbery was just 16 years old when she won the 2013 season of American television’s The Voice. In so doing, Danielle sold more iTunes downloads of songs she performed on the show than any contestant in the entire history of The Voice.

It comes as no surprise that her self-titled debut LP has shot straight to number five on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart. It has also entered the top 20 on the Billboard 200.

Lead single, The Heart of Dixie, has given Danielle, now 17, her biggest hit on the Hot Country Songs chart. It is her 11th track to reach the top 40 following those songs which became hits through downloads alone after she sung them on The Voice.

Many of Danielle’s performances can be found on YouTube. Her official video for The Heart of Dixie is posted at www.youtube.com/watch?v=BylRObFjmaE