Burning Condors

The four-headed lovechild of the Sex Pistols and the Strokes: dirty, diabolical and downright brilliant." - Rick Pearson, Evening Standard music critic

To adapt the old footballing cliche; this is a single of two halves. In fact you'd have no problem convincing anyone that two different bands were responsible for these two songs. This is the second single to be taken from 'Round Our Way', the debut album from London quartet Burning Condors which is set for release in the autumn. Such a date would usually indicate that a band is planning on making a splash at the festivals, then capitalising on the new fans they've gained by closely following the live buzz with a hunk of music they can go out and buy. On first impressions, this doesn't seem the correct tactic for Burning Condors.

The first song here, 'Knockout' is a cinematic, bluesy, slow-paced number. You can hardly imagine the crowds going wild for it, despite the twanging guitars and soulful vocals. Then it's followed by 'Riot In The Streets', a song actually written shortly before the London riots. They claim it's a live favourite, we've listened to it and have no reason to disagree. This is high energy, slightly angry indie-punk. It all feels a bit like the post-Libertines scene from a decade ago, but that generation has grown up and there's a new one waiting for visceral guitar music like this. Maybe Burning Condors will be the ones that bring it to them. - The Sound of Confusion

To adapt the old footballing cliche; this is a single of two halves. In fact you'd have no problem convincing anyone that two different bands were responsible for these two songs. This is the second single to be taken from 'Round Our Way', the debut album from London quartet Burning Condors which is set for release in the autumn. Such a date would usually indicate that a band is planning on making a splash at the festivals, then capitalising on the new fans they've gained by closely following the live buzz with a hunk of music they can go out and buy. On first impressions, this doesn't seem the correct tactic for Burning Condors.

The first song here, 'Knockout' is a cinematic, bluesy, slow-paced number. You can hardly imagine the crowds going wild for it, despite the twanging guitars and soulful vocals. Then it's followed by 'Riot In The Streets', a song actually written shortly before the London riots. They claim it's a live favourite, we've listened to it and have no reason to disagree. This is high energy, slightly angry indie-punk. It all feels a bit like the post-Libertines scene from a decade ago, but that generation has grown up and there's a new one waiting for visceral guitar music like this. Maybe Burning Condors will be the ones that bring it to them. - The Sound of Confusion

As stoic ornithologists, we’re against cruelty against all kids of our feathered friends. That said, Burning Condor is a great name. With their debut album ‘Round Our Way’ set to be released in September 2013, we thought we’d get the scoop and tune into the band to see what makes them ignite.

Like a bee-keeper stocking his hive, we buy the buzz. It’s raucous, frenetic, raspy and ragged. While ‘garage rock’ is a term bandied around any group of song-making scruffs nowadays, this band’s (reasonably) unpolished and raw sound feels like your own cranial concert. It’s not to detract from the production, a commendation for seeking a purer sound. It is more than suitable, stripped down, kind of coarse, ostentatious rock and roll remedy for the current bland and tasteless charts.


While it rolls with roots and blues, it is very much a cocktail made primarily with indie/garage rock (our favourite) spiked, shaken and served with blues and folky infusions. It’s a heady mix and pulled off with aplomb. There’s a sense of early Libertines energy and spirit, the Clash camaraderie and Strokes swagger that took an interest in the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion instead of Muddy Waters.

It has the sleazy stories and desolation of Blues but presented in an effervescent and modern package; cheeky, charming and cloaked in double entendre and wit. It is part Bowie, part Barat. That firm but dapper, somewhat dreamy delivery which traps and takes you in. Wonderful guitar harmonies, secondary vocals, drums that keep coming and a saddle-full of attitude, we were expecting to have to peel the plastic from our ears after every listen.

They seem to have everything nailed: The ambiance, attitude and our (collective) applause here at Commercial Free. While still yet to release the album, there’s enough here to sing and shout from the Shard to St. Ives and feel that there will be a place for these boys in the Sun. We hope you continue well into the new year and beyond. Drop us a line next time you’re playing in London, we’d love to come along. - Commercial Free

As stoic ornithologists, we’re against cruelty against all kids of our feathered friends. That said, Burning Condor is a great name. With their debut album ‘Round Our Way’ set to be released in September 2013, we thought we’d get the scoop and tune into the band to see what makes them ignite.

Like a bee-keeper stocking his hive, we buy the buzz. It’s raucous, frenetic, raspy and ragged. While ‘garage rock’ is a term bandied around any group of song-making scruffs nowadays, this band’s (reasonably) unpolished and raw sound feels like your own cranial concert. It’s not to detract from the production, a commendation for seeking a purer sound. It is more than suitable, stripped down, kind of coarse, ostentatious rock and roll remedy for the current bland and tasteless charts.


While it rolls with roots and blues, it is very much a cocktail made primarily with indie/garage rock (our favourite) spiked, shaken and served with blues and folky infusions. It’s a heady mix and pulled off with aplomb. There’s a sense of early Libertines energy and spirit, the Clash camaraderie and Strokes swagger that took an interest in the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion instead of Muddy Waters.

It has the sleazy stories and desolation of Blues but presented in an effervescent and modern package; cheeky, charming and cloaked in double entendre and wit. It is part Bowie, part Barat. That firm but dapper, somewhat dreamy delivery which traps and takes you in. Wonderful guitar harmonies, secondary vocals, drums that keep coming and a saddle-full of attitude, we were expecting to have to peel the plastic from our ears after every listen.

They seem to have everything nailed: The ambiance, attitude and our (collective) applause here at Commercial Free. While still yet to release the album, there’s enough here to sing and shout from the Shard to St. Ives and feel that there will be a place for these boys in the Sun. We hope you continue well into the new year and beyond. Drop us a line next time you’re playing in London, we’d love to come along. - Commercial Free

As stoic ornithologists, we’re against cruelty against all kids of our feathered friends. That said, Burning Condor is a great name. With their debut album ‘Round Our Way’ set to be released in September 2013, we thought we’d get the scoop and tune into the band to see what makes them ignite.

Like a bee-keeper stocking his hive, we buy the buzz. It’s raucous, frenetic, raspy and ragged. While ‘garage rock’ is a term bandied around any group of song-making scruffs nowadays, this band’s (reasonably) unpolished and raw sound feels like your own cranial concert. It’s not to detract from the production, a commendation for seeking a purer sound. It is more than suitable, stripped down, kind of coarse, ostentatious rock and roll remedy for the current bland and tasteless charts.


While it rolls with roots and blues, it is very much a cocktail made primarily with indie/garage rock (our favourite) spiked, shaken and served with blues and folky infusions. It’s a heady mix and pulled off with aplomb. There’s a sense of early Libertines energy and spirit, the Clash camaraderie and Strokes swagger that took an interest in the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion instead of Muddy Waters.

It has the sleazy stories and desolation of Blues but presented in an effervescent and modern package; cheeky, charming and cloaked in double entendre and wit. It is part Bowie, part Barat. That firm but dapper, somewhat dreamy delivery which traps and takes you in. Wonderful guitar harmonies, secondary vocals, drums that keep coming and a saddle-full of attitude, we were expecting to have to peel the plastic from our ears after every listen.

They seem to have everything nailed: The ambiance, attitude and our (collective) applause here at Commercial Free. While still yet to release the album, there’s enough here to sing and shout from the Shard to St. Ives and feel that there will be a place for these boys in the Sun. We hope you continue well into the new year and beyond. Drop us a line next time you’re playing in London, we’d love to come along. - Commercial Free

Blues-punk par excellence from the Burning Condors with their track Honey Trap. (Video of the Day - 19/02/2013) - The Mad Mackerel

The music is pretty bitchin’ and all but I’m not 100% into the vocals. They’re alright, I guess, but don’t really match the ass-kickery of the rest of the song. A little testosterone would go a long way here. Nonetheless, it’s a good song and I hope it’s on the jukebox the next time I get into a bar fight with a biker gang. Swag. - Suck or Swag

Is this blues, rock, punk? Genres can be so misleading. What this is is a grab you by the ears and not let you go track, from the opening drums you know something good is coming, and as the rest of the instruments join in you realise you were right to carry on listening. This sounds dirty, and dirty in a good way. When music conjures images in your mind it is the best feeling, and this has bottles of American brand liquor and cigarettes all over the floor of those images. Look them up on line, one of the best covers of Folsom Prison Blues can be found there. - Fresh on the Net

Is this blues, rock, punk? Genres can be so misleading. What this is is a grab you by the ears and not let you go track, from the opening drums you know something good is coming, and as the rest of the instruments join in you realise you were right to carry on listening. This sounds dirty, and dirty in a good way. When music conjures images in your mind it is the best feeling, and this has bottles of American brand liquor and cigarettes all over the floor of those images. Look them up on line, one of the best covers of Folsom Prison Blues can be found there. - Fresh on the Net

Is this blues, rock, punk? Genres can be so misleading. What this is is a grab you by the ears and not let you go track, from the opening drums you know something good is coming, and as the rest of the instruments join in you realise you were right to carry on listening. This sounds dirty, and dirty in a good way. When music conjures images in your mind it is the best feeling, and this has bottles of American brand liquor and cigarettes all over the floor of those images. Look them up on line, one of the best covers of Folsom Prison Blues can be found there. - Fresh on the Net

I interviewed these English lads a while back and they described themselves as “punkabilly.” The phrasing brings to mind acts like the Cramps and the Meteors of course. It’s a fair description. Popping in their new CD, entitled “Welcome to the Player’s Club” I hear echos of groups like the Adicts and the Clash. But, none of the kinkiness or b-movie imagery of Psychobilly is present. Just plenty of distortion and thundering bass.


However, if I may throw in my own description, I feel like “Indiebilly” would be a more fitting turn of phrase. These guys remind me more of what Blur might have sounded like if they grew up worshiping Carl Perkins instead of the Beatles. There’s also a heavy blues influence that draws to mind acts like the White Stripes. Or even iconic British rockers, the Rolling Stones. None of this works against the band. Their sound is both retro and fresh at the same time. Rockabilly is certainly a very old “dog”, but the best bands can get it to wag it’s “tail.” The Burning Condors get it to get up on it’s hind legs and boogie.

Their songs are short, sweet, and fun. Much of the lyrics involving girls, partying, or sex. The CD is certainly listenable and catchy. In fact I listened to it all the way through, at least three times on my way to work one day. If I have one thing to bitch about, it’s that it is too short. At four songs, by the time I’m really getting into it, it’s all over. A bit of a drag I’ll admit. But I think we’ll be seeing more of these cats, hopefully with a full length. On vinyl if you please. - Pscho.Rockabilly-online

REVIEW - 'HONEY TRAP'

Now picture this, you’ve just come home from a hard day at work, you’re tired, you’re uncomfortable, you just want to run a bath and silently hate everything around you. You step into the bedroom and the lights are dimmed, there are rose petals on the bed, the fireplace is on and its flames are lashing at the air, the basis of creating the perfect sensual atmosphere. You turn around – surprised, confused – to see your partner standing there in barely anything, they move towards you, and the magic happens.


There’s a song playing in the background amongst the noise, it’s got to be Honey Trap by Burning Condors. This track is like an aphrodisiac for your ears, for real. It’s just so sexy. The mix of blues with rock n roll creates something that’s just as much as a sin as the honey trap itself.


The occasional roars of guitars, the pulsating bass lines, the drums’ tempo set just right and the strained vocals makes this the perfect soundtrack for any good night of love making. That’s for sure. I honestly can’t stop listening to this song because it’s just so good, and I can’t wait to play it when the other half’s around. This is just one of FOUR singles Burning Condors plan to release before dropping debut album Round Our Way in September 2013, and well, I just can’t wait to hear more. - Elusive Little Comments

Burning Condors took flight when Tommy Thompson (Vocals) left his roots of Bradford and moved south to the capital to find acting work.

Shortly after arriving in the big smoke he met band mates Matthew Edun (Guitar and Vocals) and the boy Churchy (Bass and Vocals), whose previous band had just imploded after becoming the first unsigned act to hit the UK top 40 with a debut single.

With Tommy influenced by British acts like Joy Division, Bowie and Matthew an old school blues nut, the pair introduced each other to their record collections to create a noise, which led one reviewer to gush ‘Burning Condors have distilled the essence of the blues, added a dash of rockabilly swagger and forced it through a modern art- punk filter to come up with something fresh and new’.

After cutting their teeth on the London gigging scene, they earned a break with a run of support slots for Punk Blues favourites ‘The Legendary Shack Shakers’. After seeing BC strut live, Shack Shakers double bassist and Producer Mark Robertson invited the boys out to his studio in Nashville, Tennessee to cut an album.

However, the album session was put in jeopardy by the bands commitment to laying it all on the line for the live show, when Tommy suffered a collapsed lung on stage a few weeks before the band were due to fly out to Nashville. The incident occurred at legendary live venue 12 Bar Club and immediate surgery was required after the show was over.

Fortunately, Tommy flouted doctor’s orders to remain in the UK as the recording of BC’s debut album entitled ‘Round Our Way’ (slated for release in the latter part of 2013) went ahead at Stainless Sound Studios in Nashville as planned.

It features performances by session legend Dave Roe (double bassist for Johnny Cash’s band Tennessee Three) and Col JD Wilkes (Dirt Daubers) who guests on debut single ‘Honey Trap’, a track which has seen the band receive both US and UK airplay.

As well as devotion to their craft as musicians, the band take a huge involvement in their videos and art work, collaborating with emerging photographers, illustrators and animators from London’s exciting young art scene to create visuals, which add a new dimension to their music.

The exploitation themed video for ‘Honey Trap’ is an example of one such collaboration involving Condors’ guitarist Matthew Edun and fine art photographer Emma Vo, who has previously worked with Patrick Wolf.

Single ‘Polka Dot Girl’ will be released for download on 11th February 2013 and album ‘Round our Way’ is due for release in the latter part of 2013. - Niji Magazine

Literally just got the nod on this and I’ll be buggered if this hasn’t had us wide eyed in admiration. Found stirring from out the bottom of a glass of bourbon at the end of a bar at the last chance saloon, Burning Condors’ debuting platter ’Honey Trap’ rumbles wearily to a skin scratched raw and tempestuous smoked blues soul scalped scowl, a howling and haunted victim of a love no more that’s crippled and cropped with searing harmonica shrieks and a death rattling off centring torch-a-billy boogie all bleached in a despairing detail that ruptures and weeps to a grizzled late night bar hogging table gathering of Gallon Drunk, Flaming Stars and Godfathers types. An album is currently stewing for tentative release early next year. - God is in the TV

REVIEW - 'HONEY TRAP'

Foreboding drums, menacing guitar and eerie harmonica introduce a bitter and beaten late-night bar-room story of a man losing everything to his ‘Honey Trap’. Raw and unapologetic, the blues roars and the heart bleeds on a debut single seeping with drama and stenching of whisky. Impressive old-time Americana from London. - Leeds Debacle

REVIEW - 'HONEY TRAP'

Foreboding drums, menacing guitar and eerie harmonica introduce a bitter and beaten late-night bar-room story of a man losing everything to his ‘Honey Trap’. Raw and unapologetic, the blues roars and the heart bleeds on a debut single seeping with drama and stenching of whisky. Impressive old-time Americana from London. - Leeds Debacle

REVIEW - HONEY TRAP

I’ve recently come to the realisation that I’m turning into my dad. And it’s not just the frustration I feel when failing to complete basic DIY tasks, or the outrage generated by the parking fees in Croydon town centre, it’s my musical tastes too.

You see, I grew up hating the gruff, crackly blues records that he would play around the house when we were kids, scarpering to my bedroom and diving for my headphones to block my ears up with the latest Britpop fad band as he pumped Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters and Sun House through the hi-fi system in the living room.

Come last weekend I found myself thumbing through his record collection and asking to borrow those very same albums that I spent my teens avoiding. So it would seem that London quartet Burning Condors have come around at pretty much exactly the right time. The wailing harmonica,

Vocals that tremble and howl and the lyrical tale of a women who gone done them wrong would suggest that they’ve had a similar traipse through the parental vinyl racks, but don’t be fooled into mistaking this for a simple rehash of the past - Burning Condors have distilled the essence of the blues, added a dash of rockabilly swagger and forced it through a modern artpunk filter to come up with something fresh and new. Imagine Nick Cave sipping whiskey with John Spencer in a Hoxton dive bar and you’ll be somewhere in the right region.

Hell, it was good enough that within the first few spins we invited them to play our Night of Joy gig in Archway, and recommendations don’t come much higher round these parts. - Joyzine

LIVE REVIEW - JOYZINE @ DUSK TILL DAWN, ARCHWAY

Having been soothed by Civil Love’s mellow tones, it up to London’s premier rockabilly rebels Burning Condors to smash the calm and and whip us up into a blues infused maelstrom. Frontman Marcus Thompson is hypnotic: jittering, jerking and howling into his vintage metal microphone as his band rip the throat out of the multitude of rockabilly pretenders currently clogging the east-end’s music scene. If you’ve ever wondered what rock & roll would have sounded like if punk had come first, this is your answer. - Joyzine

LIVE REVIEW - JOYZINE @ DUSK TILL DAWN, ARCHWAY

Having been soothed by Civil Love’s mellow tones, it up to London’s premier rockabilly rebels Burning Condors to smash the calm and and whip us up into a blues infused maelstrom. Frontman Marcus Thompson is hypnotic: jittering, jerking and howling into his vintage metal microphone as his band rip the throat out of the multitude of rockabilly pretenders currently clogging the east-end’s music scene. If you’ve ever wondered what rock & roll would have sounded like if punk had come first, this is your answer. - Joyzine

REVIEW - HONEY TRAP

"’Honey Trap’ is a sleazy, dirty piece of ‘sure-fire hit’ Rock ‘n’ Roll and Americana.” - bonanzablues

Burning Condors. A flaming hot vulture? An ignited plane? What ever the name sake these lads are bloody hot and they’re bang in your face too. You simply can’t ignore their sound.

I’ve enjoyed listening to snippets of their work, in particular ‘Love On The Rocks’ which gets firmly imprinted on your brain for the next day or two.

The Burning Condors are London boys and are anything but the stereotypical band. They’re edgy, unique in their ways. There’s no attempt to copy bands up T’North and there are certainly no apples and pears getting climbed.

The indie trend is such an easy one to fall into for up and coming bands looking to make their name heard. Condors say no to that. They say it fucking loudly too.

The boys already have part of America on side with Producer Mark Robertson inviting them to his Nashville studio to work on their debut album ‘Round Our Way’. I find it all a little fitting considering their sound was compared to what Blur would have sounded like if they grew up listening to Nashville Tennessee’s own Carl Perkins.

The American influences are pretty clear to hear in the Condors sound but Marcus, Rory, Matthew and Chris are blighty boys and their sound will be leaking from the capital for more to hear.

Those who aren’t familiar with these lads need to be and the ones that are will know just why.

Their credibility is outlined by being chosen to support renowned US rock act The Legendary Shack Shakers at their 2010 London show. They’ll be more of these chapters to write in time too, you mark my words.

They are a band to look out for and one you should certainly listen to if you’re looking for something to break the mould. So many bands can get lost in the generic façade of ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll’ but the Burning Condors go as far to almost define it. - Lend Me Your Ear

Next up is Burning Condors, who come to us via the UK. A garage band in every since of the word. Youthful exuberance gives the band a certain charm — reminds me a bit of a rough-around-the-edges Jake Bugg - Popdose

http://popdose.com/tag/burning-condors/ - Popdose.com

Howdy Hillbillies once again we have spanned the globe for killer Twisted music and have struck gold in London, England.

The Burning Condors sound like they are right here from Tennessee and pay homage with a killer version of Folsom Prison Blues.

They have made into full circulation on my ipod and I cannot get enough.

Just goes to show that Country music and Psychobilly can come from anywhere in this small world of ours.

Even from right across the pond. We will be having a full interview with this hillbilly bunch coming soon so check back with us.

Horns

Moe - Twisted Hillbilly

Next to the U.S., the United Kingdom has probably had more impact on rock music than any other country. Recently the Burning Condors stepped up to add to that legacy by unleashing their own brand of “punkabilly” on the world!
You’re based out of the UK, but your sound is very much rooted in American roots rock. Would you say that makes you stand out in the English music scene?


I guess so. I mean there are a lot of clubnights springing up over London playing 50s rockabilly and blues. But the gig scenes yet to catch up. In London nowadays every man and his dog is in a band but it’s all very Electro and Indie and to be honest a lot of it is shit. I mean does the world really need to hear another band doing a bad MGMT rip off…. There are some bands doing the blues and country thing but they tend to be the older guys. Problem is people around our age group hear you talking about the blues and instantly dismiss it as old fashioned. I think they see it as all being some old guy singing about being down by the river, losing his job, his dog died and all those old cliches…stuff which is irrevlevant to them. Plus you can get a bit of snobbery on the rockabilly scene, more from the purists. Like some of these guys don’t realise that the worlds moved on since 1956 or something…yeah we love that music, the fashion and the whole vibe. But we’re four guys in our twenties who’ve grown up in London. We’d be lieing if we were singing songs about hanging around in diners and driving hot rods down the highway you know. It was cool when guys like Cochrane were doing it and we love bands like The Stray Cats. But I grew up in a dodgy area of East London where most of the kids were listening to Garage and grime music. It’s a long way from the Delta you know…. I worked underage behind the bar in a nightclub while I was at school, I was hanging out with a much older crowd who were big on the rave scene so I was always hanging around clubs, going to these weird parties. I got wrapped up in the whole culture. It was a period in my life where I was out drinking a lot, got involved in experimenting with drugs, meeting lots of different characters and I talk about them and those situations in my lyrics. People seem to be relating to that or at least it’s interesting to them. We wanna show people that playing the blues is still relevant, raw and powerful.
You say that your music has a strong “punk” feel to it. What do you mean by that?


The whole punkabilly tag isn’t something that came from us, it’s been from people seeing our show. Yeah we like to give it some on stage. I mean we’re not pretending it’s high art, it’s a rock n roll show, people haven’t come for a night at the opera. But we see ourselves as a country/blues band. There’s just this whole stigma attached to country and blues music like I was saying. When we tell people we play country they start imaging Dolly Parton…then when they listen to us their opinion usually changes. We often get told we’re like the Strokes or Arctic Monkeys doing country. I get that coz we love those bands, those guys have got that punky garage rock sound that we dig . We’ve also spent a lot of time hanging about Camden and we’ve definitely been influenced by that, especially the fashion, the fact people want to stand out and do their own thing. Round my way where I grew up that was frowned upon so I really gravitated towards that. Also we’re different from most Rockabillly and Punkabilly bands in that we use an electric bass rather than an upright. I mean Churchy’s digging in with a pick and it’s distorted, kind of like the guy from the Stranglers. It’s not a nice pure sound. It’s very obnoxious like it’s saying fuck you, you know?

Of course, you also draw a lot from country. What country artists do you enjoy?
From a guitar point of view I started getting into the style of guys like Carl Perkins, Albert Lee, Danny Gatton for rockabilly Setzer and Horton Heat. These guys are proper players. I mean Danny Gatton’s probably the most naturally gifted guitarist I’ve ever heard, the guys just improvising all over the place and just blows it out of the water. We dig the whole chickin pickin thing and shuffle rhythms but we’re not a straight up country band. For us it’s more about taking the elements we like and relate to and doing our own thing.
The biggest influence on us is more the songwriting. I’ve always loved the story telling aspect of country. I think you can judge if a song is really good if you can play it acoustically. A guy like Johnny Cash, he draws you in and takes you on a journey, just his voice and an acoustic guitar, it’s as stripped and raw as it gets. When he’s singing a song you know he’s lived a life and you wanna hear what he’s saying, he doesn’t need to wrap it up in some multi layered autotuned to fuck production. There’s a lot of good modern music out there but too much sounds like it was made to be sold as ringtones…. I mean everyone now says it’s all about th - Psycho-Rockabilly online

Unsigned band Lahayna are set for the Top 20 this weekend after taking to the streets of London to sell their debut single.

The pop rock four piece all have day jobs - but by night have played In the City to shoppers and revellers on an iPod.

They then encourage people to text a number so they can download it for £1.50 at home.

By the end of Tuesday they had sold more than 3,500 downloads and were at 15 in the midweek charts despite no radio airplay.

Manager Paul Cannon, an insurance broker by day said yesterday: "the lads have got there by hard work."

Singer James Ullman works for an internet firm, drummer Rory Littlebury is a civil servant, bassist Chris Church is a surveyor and guitarist Matthew Edun is a concert promoter. - The Sun