The Pop Group released their first album in 35 years this week. Entitled Citizen Zombie, the new album has so far received warm reviews in The Line of Best Fit, The Guardian, The Scotsman and The Independent.

According to reviewers, the album is ‘a collage of the unexpected’, ‘breaking sonically satisfying new ground’.

In case you missed it last week, you can still stream the album:

In advance of The Pop Group’s performance at Supersonic Festival this year, we also thought we’d draw your attention to an interview between Mark Stewart and Thurston Moore, published on The Quietus last month. Mutual admirers of each other’s work, the interview gives a fascinating insight into the intertwined relationship between punk in the UK and the USA. Read the interview here.

We also came across this great footage of The Pop Group super fan , Nick Cave, describing the life-changing impact that the band’s single, We are all Prostitutes, had on him.

Lest ye forget, Supersonic Festival 2015 initial line up and tickets are available now! See the line up announcement for further details and for the links to buy tickets via our Kickstarter campaign. Keep checking back here for further announcements in the coming weeks and months.

Sleaford Mods played a sold out show at Hare and Hounds last Friday. After an incredible year since their last performance in Birmingham at Capsule’s Bring to Light Festival in 2013, for their Supersonic Presents show Sleafords played to a crowd chanting along to every razor sharp line.

An DJ set from Defunkt Dialekt set the atmosphere for an adrenaline-filled set from Youth Man and the sludgy wallowing of Rainbow Grave. DJ X’s jungle set kept the post-Sleafords lager party going.

A big thank you to all those who attended and who helped make such a memorable night, not least to photographer Steve Kilmister for taking some great shots.

Defunkt Dialekt, credit Steve Kilmister

Youth Man, credit Steve Kilmister

Youth Man, credit Steve Kilmister

Rainbow Grave, credit Steve Kilmister

Rainbow Grave, credit Steve Kilmister

Sleaford Mods, credit Steve Kilmister

Sleaford Mods, credit Steve Kilmister

Sleaford Mods, credit Steve Kilmister

Sleaford Mods, credit Steve Kilmister

Don’t forget that the initial line up is out and tickets are now on sale for Supersonic Festival Limited Edition 2015. Check out the programme at the Supersonic website and buy tickets via our Kickstarter campaign.

Our Kickstarter campaign for Supersonic Festival 2015 reached its goal of raising £20,000 on Sunday, just over a week since it went live. We’re thrilled and would like to say a huge thank you to everybody for pledging and sharing. Your support will help us to bring you the best festival that we possibly can.

Its not quite time for us to don our party hats yet, though. Supersonic Festival is an incredibly expensive event to put on, so all your support would be greatly appreciated. There are still 19 days to go until our Kickstarter campaign ends, so still time to pledge on some fantastic limited edition prizes and to nab your tickets. Please do share with your friends too. www.kickstarter.com/projects/1603728230/supersonic-festival-2015-0

Big thanks again from Team Capsule.

Sleaford Mods play a sold out show at Hare & Hounds this Friday. Doors: 8pm.

The quickening that brought 2014’s acclaimed album ‘Divide and Exit’ shows no sign of waning, with Sleafords having recently released a limited edition 7″ single, I’m Shit at It, available to stream.

They are also set to make a crowd-funded film called Sleaford Mods: Invisible Britain, charting their upcoming tour:

‘Taking its cue from the likes of Patrick Keiller’s extraordinary Robinson Trilogy, the psycho-geography of Iain Sinclair, Mark Steel’s in Town radio programme, and J.G.Ballard’s comment “Feel alive, drive around the M25!”, the documentary will be a combination of raw footage of the band, interviews with the band’s fans, and scenes in and around the green and pleasant lands that have sunk into the quagmire.’

As if this wasn’t enough, Sleaford Mods can still manage to squeeze in a bit of Noel Gallagher irking to boot.

Be sure to arrive in time for supports, Rainbow Grave and Youth Man on Friday too:

The only known pedlars of ‘Low Rent Caveman Hate Music’, Rainbow Grave recently posted 10 Million Tons of Shit, one of their self-described ‘horrid’ songs, online. Those of you who attended our Xmas Cocktail will be fully versed in Rainbow Grave’s sludgy depths, and we’re primed for a second round.

Youth Man always put on a blistering show and join us in a particularly exciting period, having last week released a video for Skin, a song featured on upcoming EP, ‘Hill of Knives’, out in April. Their latest single, Joy, can also be streamed or bought on CD via the band’s BandCamp.

We also have not one but two DJ’s setting the mood: DJ Defunkt Dialekt from the Irrational Media label will join us. Check out his Clockworks EP on BandCamp. Later, DJ X, one half of PCM, will be doing a late night jungle set to round things off.

Sleaford Mods return to Birmingham having played at Supersonic Festival in 2013. Make sure you don’t miss out on this year’s festival! Check the Supersonic website for full details of the line up so far, or go straight to our Kickstarter campaign to buy Earlybird tickets.

Over and out until Friday.

 

Peruse our selection of beautifully designed merchandise in the Capsule Shop, which includes tea towels, prints, totes, t shirts and more, and celebrates projects such as the amazing Home of Metal and, of course, Supersonic Festival.

We’ve given the shop a good tidy up this week – we must be feeling inspired by the whiff of spring in the air. We’re also running a sale on our vinyl collection. You can currently pick up limited edition heavy weight vinyl recordings of live performances by Tweak Bird, Iron Lung and Harvey Milk’s first ever UK performance at Supersonic 2008 for a sale price of £6.

Why not treat yourself? Currently not available in a shopping centre near you!

It feels as if we’ve been waiting an age for this, but the day is nearly upon us for ‘Supersonic Presents Sleaford Mods’.

Sleaford Mods are performing at The Hare and Hound this Friday 13th February. Coincidentally, it’s also the day that we’ll be announcing our first names from the line up for this year’s Supersonic Festival, so we’ll definitely be in a party mood.

Alongside support from Rainbow Grave, we’re pleased to announce that Youth Man are also joining the line up. See below for the band’s biography:

Kaila Whyte plays guitar and sings. Adam Haitof plays bass guitar. Marcus Perks plays drums. Collectively, Youth Man storm through a venue like a bull in a china shop, levelling everything in sight. Youth Man are all about unbridled X-Ray Spex-tinged passion and the high velocity punk energy of legendary Welsh trio Mclusky, mixed with an artistic edge that leans towards The Dead Kennedys’ trippier moments – throwing caution to the wind and smashing your guitar into a thousand sweat-soaked pieces.

To reiterate earlier posts, this event is completely sold out.

Capsule welcomes Harriet Coleman to the team. Having spent several years as a violinist, keyboard player, singer and arranger in indie pop band, Los Campesinos!, Harriet graduated in English Literature at Cardiff University in 2012. In the same year, she completed a production internship at Supersonic Festival. Since then, she has worked for Literature Wales, Hay Festival, Globe at Hay and Cardiff’s From Now On Festival.

Joining Capsule as Programme Assistant, Harriet will support us in the delivery of the 2015 programme. She will focus on marketing and promotion, as well as providing administrative support to the team and taking on the role of artist liaison at Supersonic Festival.

Harriet divides her time between Birmingham and the borders of Mid-Wales, where she helps her partner with his residential recording studio and plays music, chiefly in a band called Them Squirrels. She is also proud co owner of black and tan terrier, Bobby. There’s definitely a bit of sausage dog in his genes too, so he very much approves of her role at Capsule.

Here are a few photos from the incredible show by Ben Frost and Greg Fox and Eastside Projects, Mothwasp performed a beautiful AV set using lofi layerings of transparencies which filled the gallery.
There is a nice review of the show here by Hickeysonic