Fragile Creatures
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Fragile Creatures

Brighton, England, United Kingdom | Established. Jan 01, 2012 | INDIE

Brighton, England, United Kingdom | INDIE
Established on Jan, 2012
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"New Brighton Music #29"

Fragile Creatures have a new single out next month. It’s taken from their debut album Fragile Creatures and Other Wild Things and is called Ready to Go: - Brighton Music Blog


"Great British Bands: Brighton’s Fragile Creatures Are On A Mission"

Fragile Creatures describe themselves as a “rock band from Brighton on a mission to restore Britain’s reputation for original guitar music”.

Now, although that statement is a self-confessed exaggeration there is an element of truth to it. Fragile Creatures are, for one thing, original. Their mix of intricate melodies alongside witty and intelligent lyrics set them apart from the landfill of guitar music we have seen in the past.

Having just released their debut album And Other Wild Things Fragile Creatures are now looking to the future. Their tracks seem to be an interesting mix of strong, layered guitars and lyrics that will genuinely be stuck in your head – it’s no surprise the single Stowaways is performing so well streaming-wise.

Fragile Creatures are preparing to play a few shows with Everywhere over the next few weeks, including kicking off the run with a show in Brighton’s Bleach. With the hometown show fast approaching, I had a quick chat with the front-man of Fragile Creatures Adam about the state of British Guitar music, the upcoming shows and Jarvis Cocker.

Hey, how are you guys doing today?
Pretty good, although sad to see Wales knocked out of the Euros just now!

That was a shame, but it was always going to happen! So you’re playing in Brighton on Friday, how are you feeling about it?
Very much looking forward to it, we’ve not played a show since May 20th, when we played two Alternative Escape shows in one day! It’s close to our guitarist Tom’s birthday, so we will be in celebratory mood!

I spoke to Max from Everywhere a few weeks ago and he said they were planning on playing new music, What can people expect from your set on Friday?
We’re actually playing three more dates with Everywhere later in the month, in Sheffield, Leeds and then London, so we’re really looking forward to catching them live for the first time. Our set will be a bit different for this show, as we’re playing to the home crowd we’re itching to try out some new material ourselves. We’ve been hard at work on the second album and, depending how well things go in rehearsal tomorrow, we could be playing three or four new tracks of our own.

You guys are obviously from Brighton, what makes it a special place for music?
I guess Brighton just has a really eclectic and creative atmosphere… many of my friends are musicians, artists, creatives in some field or other, it’s a bit of a party town on the surface but scratch the surface and you’ll see lots of people are working tirelessly to realise their dreams – it’s inspiring to be around.

It’s a vibrant and weird city, does Brighton as a place ever manage to influence your music?
I guess it inevitably does – I’ve been here most of my life, but I wouldn’t say I’ve ever written a song specifically about Brighton. I alluded to the party scene in the last question and I think there are quite a few songs on our debut album concerned with ending up on the wrong side of that – drowning sorrows or just drowning! Brighton was an easy place to mis-spend your youth!

You describe yourselves as being on a “mission to restore British guitar music” – where do you think guitar music went wrong?
Ha-ha – I think that’s probably a bit of a rash, hyperbolic statement in retrospect! I don’t think guitar music went wrong per se, it’s just that there seemed to be less and less of it in the mainstream. There had become a real emphasis on electronics and, also, I think a tendency towards style over content in song-writing. Genre, synthetics, atmospherics, and so on becoming more important than penning a good memorable tune. I think it was a good mission statement for the first album as we were trying to get back to basics: guitars, bass, drums, keyboards, songs… but also trying not to be boring, or restricted within that remit.

I do agree that bands aren’t as prominent now as maybe ten years ago, it seems to be more solo acts such as, I dunno, James Bay, Hozier or someone like George Ezra. What’s your plan to change that?
I don’t know if I’m so obsessed with trying to capture the mainstream flag any more, I don’t think anyone who is overly obsessed with that sort of success can maintain it – if they even get it. Look at a band like Radiohead: Thom Yorke was genuinely expecting that no one would get their latest album and it went astronomical, once again! I just want to make the sort of music that I will enjoy playing, would love to listen to and hopefully can communicate some honest thoughts about the world that might speak to people.

Your debut album, And Other Wild Things was released in March, how did that feel?
It was amazing to get that album out there. It has been a labour of love and it had seen its fair share of trials and tribulations. It was a difficult birth. I’m really glad it exists now, in the real world for people to discover and enjoy – I am very proud of it, but like many people who play this game I am already restless for the next chapter!

What’s next?
We have a new single coming out on August 19th, taken from the album. ‘Ready To Go’ has been a live favourite for some time and it opens the album. We’re currently working on a video full of Rocky-style montages – it’s going to be fun! …And Other Wild Things came out in March on vinyl and digital, but the label – Brightonsfinest- are talking about making it available on CD later in the year, with some extra songs from our now discontinued debut EP. We are planning some more UK dates around the country in the Autumn and then I have my sights set on Europe… we’ve got to get out there before the madness of leaving the EU starts to get implemented! Then there’s album number two of course! We’ve been writing it for a while but recently I’ve written a couple of key tracks that feel like game changers. I think the whole picture of the album is starting to shape up – it will be a bit darker, a bit harder I think! Who knows though, I think we’ve got a pool of about thirty songs to chose from! Hopefully we will be demoing soon and then looking for a producer to work with early next year.

Busy then! Who else are you listening too right now, are there any other Brighton bands to listen out for?
I’ve been listening to Canadian song-writer Andy Shauf almost non-stop since seeing him in Primavera Festival in Barcelona, he’s a phenomenal writer and his album The Bearer Of Bad News is really moving. Radiohead’s A Moon Shaped Pool is a new favourite too, as well as Laura Mvula’s The Dreaming Room which is slightly outside what I normally get in to but her compositions are really clever!

As for local bands I play guitar for another Brighton group called The Fiction Aisle and I’ve been listening a lot to our second album Fuchsia Days, which just came out. Thomas White, the song-writer, recorded this one mostly on his own, so I’ve been listening to learn it, but also have found it’s a really fantastic body of work, I think it’s almost sold out, but it’s on Spotify. Other local bands worth checking out? The Magic Gang, The Island Club, Fierce Friend, Moulettes… there’s lots of good music around at the moment, and a good slice of it is local!

Lastly, for people who might not have heard of you yet, can you describe your music in one sentence?
I think there’s a strong Jarvis Cocker influence personally! Ha! Some people think I look like Jarvis actually – but I only ever bought one Pulp album! Erm… one sentence? I hate these things how about…
Stupid songs for serious people.

You can listen to Fragile Creatures on the normal streaming services – or go see them at Bleach with Everywhere on the 8th. - BJournal


"Interview: Fragile Creatures"

Hi guys, welcome to VENTS! How have you been?

We’ve been very well thanks, it has been an exciting start to the year, finally releasing our debut album and things seem to just keep on getting better and better!

Can you talk to us more about your latest single “Stowaways”?

‘Stowaways’ was written quite early on in the life of Fragile Creatures, it was one of a batch of about six songs that I wrote after we’d formed the band, so one of the first songs written specifically for the project. When I put it together on just the guitar I thought it was a really weird song – there a slightly odd bar count in the verses, the chorus chords shift around themselves in a way I thought was unexpected and the song is all about fleeing our doomed planet with some (hopefully) friendly aliens. Once James, Aaron, Tom and Adam W had worked out their bits we realised it wasn’t weird at all but a spectacularly catchy number, and we haven’t looked back since!

Did any event in particular inspired you to write this song?

I (Adam) think several mundane things combined together one lazy day. My girlfriend at the time complained in the morning that I never seemed to write any love songs, I watched my housemate Ru playing some amazing gypsy jazz rhythm guitar and stole a couple of chords and caught the tail end of a 50s Sci-Fi film called ‘When Worlds Collide’ on day time TV. The song fell together pretty quickly with those ingredients.

How was the film experience?

Filming the music video for ‘Stowaways’? It was interesting, I often had these crazy narrative ideas for videos that we were told we would never be able to pull off. At the time we made ‘Stowaways’ Fragile Creatures were in limbo, waiting for our album to be mixed, and there was no one to tell me not to, so I wrote a script for the video and, with about £50 to spend on props and my mate Jon roped in to film and edit we just went for it. I think the band thought I was mental and it was a waste of time, and certainly when we first finished it we didn’t think much of it. Luckily when we were approached by Brightonsfnest to release the album, Frank saw the merit in it and got us to spend a little bit more time perfecting the button moon bits! I’m actually really pleased with how it turned out now, so we’re planning on making another one, hopefully with a slightly bigger budget!

The single comes off your new album …And Other Wild Things – what’s the story behind the title?

We all hate naming things when there’s no obvious title – one of the reasons why the band is named after the song ‘Fragile Creatures’ so naming the album was a bit of a chore. We were looking a lot at Wes Anderson, particularly Fantastic Mr Fox, when we were putting together the look of the album, so we wanted a title that sounded like a children’s book. For a while I was stuck on the idea of calling it something like ‘The Misadventures Of Magnus Caput’, because Magnus Caput is Latin for ‘big head’ which is a reference to the “our heads are too large” line from Fragile Creatures. We were worried this might be a little too esoteric and eventually settled on …And Other Wild Things as we felt it hinted at the band not being as Fragile as the band name might suggest. This is also echoed in the album artwork, if you look closely at our reflections in the water you’ll see there are wild beasts peering back at you.

How was the recording and writing process?

I’m not sure there was a distinct writing process, it’s our first album so it is made up of songs old and new. I write songs all the time and Aaron and I try to get together regularly to write too for a slightly different flavour. The songs for this album just gravitated together, they’re the tracks the band sounded best on – with the exception of ‘Grace’. I really wanted to end the album on that melancholy note, so ‘Grace’ ended up being more of a studio construction built around a solo guitar and vocal performance. The recording process was a little protracted, ‘Into The Night’ and ‘Almost Home’ were recorded at Brighton Electric studios, but sadly our publisher at the time, David Vatchnadze, died on the last day of the sessions. It was a while before we were able to get back into the studio and then there were more delays. The actual recording time was swift, roughly 17 studio days, with songs being built upon live performances with as few overdubs as we could manage. The process was more spread out more than we would have liked, but it just makes me excited for the next album, I’m hoping we can record it quickly and soon!

What was it like to work with Stuart Bruce and how did that relationship develop?

It was great to work with someone who has so much experience and knowledge, Stuart was a close personal friend of David’s so he was brought in partly as a favour to him. Stuart and I would have long late night conversation about the material and song craft in general. He pointed out some great artists to me who I hadn’t really explored before, like 10CC who we reminded him of. He also knows exactly how to grill a salmon fillet!

How much did he get to influence the album?

Stuart had some excellent arrangement suggestions, which really helps the songs to flow within themselves. He had some great little snips on ‘Ready To Go’ and came up with some brilliant ideas for ‘You Don’t Get It’ which really helped that song to grow. Stuart knew from the beginning that he didn’t want to get too fussy on this album, with production ideas. At first I think we were a little disappointed he wasn’t going to bring in all the cheap tricks of the 80s, like huge gated snares and ridiculous vocal reverbs. He thought that a debut album, from a band like ours, should be an idealised version of what the band actually sounds like live., so people who come and see us after hearing the record get exactly what they’d expect. I think he’s done a great job in this respect – there’s nothing too show offy about the production, it all just sounds… er… right!

How are you seeking to reinvent guitar music with this album?

I’m not! I think there can be a bit too much reinvention for reinventions sake in the music industry. I think we’ve had a lot of bands who present music which is all surface, all sheen, but no depth, no meaning. I think as well people like to present recycling as reinvention – which is just plain lazy. When I started writing for Fragile Creatures, once we’d named the band and pinned down the line up, I was really interested in great song-writers, classic song-writers. I’m not saying I am one of them, but I certainly aspire to work in that sort of way, led by melody, songs that mean something and don’t follow a prescribed formula.

What role does Brit-pop plays in your music?

I was a teenager when Britpop came around – it was the music form that made me get into popular music. It was fantastic growing up in a time when what seemed to be the central genre of the mainstream was all about people playing instruments and writing songs. I’ve never been particularly into Electronic music, I think people are doing some interesting stuff now, there’s a lot more cross-over but in the 90s I saw the two tribes as being quite partisan and proudly stuck my flag in the Britpop camp. Looking back it all seems very contrived – many of the bands didn’t really sit well together, they were all lumped into one genre by journalists who saw the illusory scene as a way of selling magazines to teenagers. I could be more cynical about it but it was very inspiring to me – hit me at the right time and is probably one of the reasons why my own musical muse is so eclectic.

Where did you find the inspiration for the songs and lyrics on the album?

Well every song is different, so they all have different inspirations. A lot of it comes from personal experiences, but I have this habit of cloaking my own emotions in other peoples stories, which come from what I’ve been reading or watching or sometimes the depths of my subconscious. Some are very specific, like ‘Poison Apple’ which is about WWII code breaker Alan Turing, who ended up committing suicide after being chemically castrated for being homosexual (which was illegal in 50s Britain). Others are more fantastical, like ‘Body In The Boot’ which is about a mythomaniac – someone who tells compulsive lies to the point he becomes convinced by them.

Any plans to hit the road?

We’re hoping to get some more radio play for ‘Stowaways’, that should help people discover us further up the country. We are putting together some UK dates around the country in July, definitely Brighton, London and Manchester with possible forays into Leeds and Oxford. We’d love to just drop everything and go on a massive tour but we need to build awareness of the band first – unless we get lucky and get asked to tour with someone more established. I’m sure it’ll come though, I’m predicting a full on UK tour by the Winter!

What else is happening next in Fragile Creatures’ world?

We’ve pretty much written the second album! We’re fine-tuning the songs in rehearsals at the moment, and trying a few out at shows, ‘Monster’ has been going down very well! I think this second album is going to be a bit harder – people love songs like ‘You Don’t Get It’ and ‘Ready To Go’ live so we’ve sort of naturally leaned towards more powerful, up-beat material. We’re not so fragile any more! - Vents


"Get To Know Fragile Creatures ( @FragileCreature), A Seriously Talented Brighton, UK Rock Band With Retro Melodic And Guitar Vibes With Debut Full Album “And Other Wild Things ” Out On March 18th !"

Bloody Hell ! What exactly do they put in the water in UK because another over the top way talented band from Brighton , UK has just followed me recently on social media called Fragile Creatures .Fragile Creatures are a rock band from Brighton on a mission to restore Britain’s reputation for original guitar music, combining the very best of classic American and British pop and rock into beautifully crafted songs that will move you to the dance-floor and stick in your head. They are about to release their debut album ...And Other Wild Things, the first release from new label Brightonsfinest Presents due March 18th 2016. You can have the first listen up on the label website or on the band’s soundcloud !

http://fragilecreatures.co.uk/firstlisten


‘Stowaways’, the lead track from the album, has already gained over 150,000 plays on Soundcloud, was recently picked as BBC Introducing South’s ‘Track Of The Day’ and has been played on Tom Robinson’s 6Music show. The band’s home-made video for the song, a Sci-Fi spoof involving UFOs and an alien autopsy, is already getting lots of positive attention on YouTube. The band was recently hand-picked to support Britpop legends Space when their UK tour visits Brighton.
Fragile Creatures recently did an early album launch party with a headline show at Brighton’s prestigious Dome Studio Theatre in February and have plans to tour the record with their impressive live show early in the year and hit the UK Summer Festival circuit – certainly ones to watch in 2016.

The debut album“And Other Wild Things” is due out in just over a week and you can stream the entire album up on soundcloud or the label website. I just keep finding one great track after another . I am not even sure I can pick my favorite tracks so I will highlight just a few of them.

The first one that I came upon was “Leave It Alone ” after that banger above “Stowaway” . Go take a listen and enjoy the great hooks and guitar throughout the song Leave It Alone ” here :


Catching my interest is “The Chemicals” that brings in a bit of retro attitude that is insanely catchy here and makes my feet start tapping away :


Then another song that brings that fast paced rock and retro at the same time is “Into The Night” . Fragile Creatures really knows how to mix a variety of styles into each track which layers each song in quality that get stuck in your head with loads of guitar pop . You can also see a video of “Into The Night “ at the top of my post for the recent album launch party :


You can just listen to the entire debut album by Brighton “Fragile Creatures ” out soon here or I will lose control and just wax and wane about the whole album below “And Other Wild Things” . Don’t forget to get this new album as I can tell from listening that the album is full of way diverse tracks that are layered in loads of hooks and melody and a healthy amount of guitar ! They have already caught the attention of well-known dj Tom Robinson at BBC Radio 6 Music show . You can also connect much more with Fragile Creatures on social media and go catch them on the UK tour circuit this summer of 2016 ! For now I shall just have to enjoy this band from across the pond in USA ! Go pre-order the album here for the album will be out on March 18th :

http://www.resident-music.com/productdetails&path=18177&product_id=39024 - musicnutontheloose


"Album Review: Fragile Creatures …And Other Wild Things"

Brighton-based rock band Fragile Creatures claim that they’re “on a mission to restore Britain’s reputation for original guitar music” which I am all for. A blend of rock and pop their debut album ‘…And Other Wild Things’ has been receiving some deserved attention from the likes of BBC Introducing and Radio 6 Music.

The album cover looks like one of those 70s covers you can’t quite believe got given the go ahead and therefore misrepresents the songs within. ‘Ready To Go’ introduces their sound with a good amount of vigour; intricate guitar work and nice harmony aplenty. But just when we think they’ve settled into an established rhythm they experiment with other styles. ‘The Chemicals’ shows off some reggae tendencies before launching into a country blues-style chorus reminiscent of the theme for US TV Series ‘True Blood’.

Even though the fundamental sound of the band stays consistent throughout, they are able to change a couple of ingredients in a way that keeps us interested.

The album is generally upbeat and Fragile Creatures sound like one of those bands you would be delighted to stumble across at a festival at 4 in the afternoon while waiting for the headliner. The combination of classic rock ensemble and arrangement with lyrics such as those on ‘Into The Night’ will attract different demographics. This is a band for rockers of the past and present.

You are never quite sure what vibe each song is going to give you as you continue to listen. The subtle and polished harmony of ‘Stowaways’ is just as engaging as the stimulating and eerie tones of ‘Still Don’t Get It’. Even though the fundamental sound of the band stays consistent throughout, they are able to change a couple of ingredients in a way that keeps us interested.

As a debut to support their mission statement this album works really well. It will be interesting to see how much they stick to these roots or diversify in future.

By Will Hunt

Noteworthy Details

Great harmonies
Some fantastic guitar work
Consistent sound/Diverse song structures

Rating

7/10 - Will2Listen


"Live Review: Space - The Haunt (Fragile Creatures support)"

Anyway, first up were Fragile Creatures, veterans of the Brighton scene, and very comfortable on stage tonight. A perfect warm up to Space, their songs also cover a range of styles, and one reggae-inspired number ‘The Chemicals’, has a Liverpudlian groove I could imagine Tommy himself cooking up. Most of the songs are from their new album ...And Other Wild Things. They are sounding bright and infectious tonight, and are accompanied by rock star wrigglings and writhings onstage from front man Adam Kidd. New song ‘Monster’ was particularly strong, seeing Kidd push his upper range a little harder. Perhaps their next album will be less fragile creatures and more fraggle ROCK! - Brightonsfinest.com


"Album Review: Fragile Creatures …And Other Wild Things"

Fragile Creatures seem fully evolved and adaptable to any dangerous environment on their debut LP, …And Other Wild Things, which is versatile and slick, and often bares its fangs.

The Brighton band released their album on 17th March on local Brighton label Brightonsfinest after a headline show in February at The Dome no less. For such a recently formed band they sound well practised and tight, to the point of even becoming one of those rare beasts: a commercially viable proper guitar band. The first couple of tracks on the record are top radio fodder; polished up guitar made all gleamy thanks to top notch production with a small measure of synthesisers just for good luck.

But it’s track three, The Chemicals that starts hinting to me that these lads are not just one of those indie bands. They come in on some cheeky ska-influenced chords, with a spooky keyboard movement that is mirrored by dextrous lead guitar work. This is top stuff; a band not afraid to widen their repertoire, to wink at other crowds aside from the muso alt-rock crowd. This tune also sees a departure from the vocal style Adam Kidd has delivered thus far; he’s pushing his coy lullaby tones into more abrasive territory to great effect.

What A Mess We’re In comes fourthly and this feels like a return to more familiar territory for the band; a four to the floor beat that is accented brilliantly in the chorus refrain of “Can’t/You/See…What a mess we’re in.” It’s so tidy that I wouldn’t be surprised if they got calls from musical theatre producers begging for similarly bombastic stage numbers.

The band put their fingers to their lips for track six Stowaways. It’s interestingly subdued, the intro edging into the creepy, nocturnal kinda places. The guitar work here is impressive; the transition from chilling to beautiful is seamless and it’s down to the slight accenting of the guitar line that this lift happens. And here also is where we get the first raw guitar solo of the album; precious few notes are hit, but as we have learnt from Noel Gallagher’s soloing style in the nineties, less is most definitely more.

I hope I’m communicating here how you really get a feeling of variety from this LP; like I’m sure if you were to be invited to dinner with Fragile Creatures they’d be having tapas – “So we can try a little bit of everything, ya know?” A particular flavour that I’m enjoying is Into The Night, which begins innocuously enough; it’s a boppy number featuring keyboard stuff that isn’t all that far from Calvin Harris in the musical spectrum. Sound naff? Well it’s not because the Creatures (yeah I’m calling them that now) sling in some of that bitey guitar stuff that I’m coming to realise is their trademark, so as to just mucky the dance-floor a fraction. And anything that gets indie kids dancing has my seal of approval.

Now, timely enough, comes You Don’t Get It, which definitely points to a love of them recently reformed indie darls, The Coral. A jeery, mischievous lick leads us into a track led by low frequency bounce from the bassman, that is rounded off by a top-end-tickling chorus that sees Adam accompanied in his vocal duties. This is a celebratory track, one of those straight up rock ‘n’ roll ones that twists and spins till you don’t know where you are; he goes a bit Brett Anderson on us here, affecting the femme style while declaring “I gave my heart and soul, For love of rock ‘n’ roll” over a spectacular middle eight before we’re treated once more to the tang of that riff.

After the detour down the dark alleyway that Body In The Boot suggests – all low key keyboard and bottom-of-the-spine guitar work – the band go pop again with a straight up bar-room romp in the way of One Bit At A Time. This one has a bang-on walking bassline that anchors down the vocal harmonies and wandering accents of guitar. It’s so late-night it makes me wanna stop writing this and neck a whisky; I would not be shocked at all if I heard it soundtracking one of those adverts for cider on TV.

The last track, of course, has to be a ballad; if there’s anything these guys know it’s how to do the rock/pop crossover thing, and you know there’s always got to be a slow one for the couples. There’s only the husky tones of the singer and a guitar, with a little organ for effect and I’m so there. Picture this; the night is biting and black, and the door has just snapped shut on your coat tail much to your chagrin, but your frown is melted down as you take in the scene of a pub, a coal fire twinkling in the amber reflections of pint glasses. That’s where I am now, in my head, so…

C’mon kids, get them while they’re hot; copies of …And Other Wild Things are available now. Online via the band’s Soundcloud, or even –gasp- in physical, proper black plastic edition that you can really touch. The digital album features two bonus tracks that I haven’t mentioned here because, well, it’s nice to have surprises innit?

By Adam Morrison - The Verse


"Live Review: The Priscillas - The Albert (Fragile Creatures support)"

Next up were Fragile Creatures, who admitted they were a tad more fragile than usual and admitted they too were suffering from a bit of Bank Holiday excess. Though you would hardly tell as they launched straight into a few of their rockier numbers. Announcing that even though their début album had just come out they already had a second albums worth of songs ready to go, so they treated us to a few. Kicking off with 'Monster' which is a great Californian sounding power pop tune and 'The Meaning Of Life' which still sounds a bit raw but has huge potential. Rounding the evening off with the best of their current stuff like 'Stowaways', 'Chemicals' and rather aptly 'Mess We're in'. They certainly raised the energy level in the venue and nicely warmed up the crowd for The Priscillas. - Brightonsfinest.com


"Album Review: Fragile Creatures …And Other Wild Things"

Fragile Creatures, judging by their recent string of live shows and accelerated attention on music streaming platforms, are up to something. The Brighton-based indie-pop quintet have a lot to bring to the table, they possess the knack of writing songs that seem to break their specific genre conventions all the while maintaining the stylised musings of modern bands that not only make the tracks totally listenable, but also, rather interesting.

If the last point seems vague, I’ll deliberate. After traipsing through their song lists I have come across some real highlights. ‘The Chemicals’ is a song that has instrumental depth and hooks, hooks everywhere. The rhythm of the track is really left of the field, the upstrokes of the guitars are reminiscent of old ska tunes but can be superimposed onto the likes of the mid-nouhgties indie-pop giants like Razorlight or The Coral. Despite the rhythms that flash back ten years, the instrumentation of the tracks provide us with elements of pop-rock that are totally original and contemporary, for example; there appears to be a rotary organ sound that acts as a mainstay for the band’s entire catalogue of songs and it really adds something for the listener to be surprised by (especially on songs like ‘Ready To Go’ where the organ syncopates to the rhythm of the guitar stabs).

Having had a nosey on the band’s SoundCloud, I was incredibly surprised to see that their ‘teaser’ track, ‘Stowaways’, for their upcoming album (being released mid-March) has over 150,000 listens, accompanied by a hoard of comments that pertain to getting up and dancing in one’s bedroom. So, it’s fair to say that Fragile Creatures are pushing their listeners’ buttons. And why not? They have some excellent production on their tracks as well as having inoffensive qualities that make their sound incredibly marketable, which is probably why they have the wonderful opportunity of supporting the old Britpop band, Space at The Haunt in April.

Having listened to, and liked, almost all of their songs (where accessible), I only have one issue. The lyrics, in my opinion, need some work. At points they can be vague and sometimes they create stories that don’t appear to go anywhere, on one of their strongest songs, ‘Stowaways’, there are some throwaway references to political despondence that at first seem pretty edgy, but upon a second listen you wonder where it is heading. But then again, Fragile Creatures have created their own successes and garnered a wide audience of listeners and if the lyrics are a part of that success they may not need to be changed at all.

Overall, I’d say that Fragile Creatures are going places. Their music isn’t really to my taste but I have a lot of appreciation for their songs; musically sound (with odd habits that make the band memorable) and pretty much flawless production. They are definitely worth a listen, even if it’s just to say that you ‘remember Fragile Creatures before they were on Radio 1’.
Words by Harvey Dent - Give It Back Magazine


"Fragile Creatures Live Review (Feb 19th 2016)"

The smartly dressed Brighton five-piece, Fragile Creatures, take to the stage of the Brighton Dome Studio Theatre with the confidence of a longstanding outfit. In fact they are soon to release their debut album ‘Fragile Creatures…And Other Wild Things’ and we get to witness their launch show for the record.

A breathy roar into the microphone and a deep voiced “good evening” from the frontman kicks the performance off and we are soon dancing to the heavy drum and off-beat guitar rhythm of their first song ‘Into The Night’.

Reminiscent of American and British guitar rock and pop from the 60s and 70s, they have carefully crafted catchy songs that get everyone dancing and singing their melodies. From the poppy ‘oohs’ of ‘You Don’t Get It’ to the country sound of ‘Ready to Go’ where they actively encouraged line-dancing – the front row happily obliged – these melodic pop rockers are ones to watch.

With a sound similar to Squeeze, 10cc and Prefab Sprout, they are knocking out classic rock and guitar pop, song after song. ‘Stowaways’ is the standout track of the evening with its toe-tapping melodic chorus, ‘ahh ahh ohhs’ and a lead guitar solo melting us from high up the fretboard. It’s easy to see how this song has already gained 150,000 plays on SoundCloud and been picked as BBC Introducing South’s ‘Track Of The Day’.

The band’s jokey nature really comes across between songs, particularly when the frontman links to their next song and namesake saying: “This song’s called Fragile Creatures, so we better play it well otherwise we’ll look like dicks”. They played it well.

Showing yet more humour, towards the end of the show the frontman promotes the band’s place on a compilation album to be released on Record Store Day, saying: “We’re sandwiched between Bat For Lashes and Gaz Coombes. It’s like a dream come true. Dream sandwich”.

As the final song approaches the frontman signs off saying, “we are Fragile Creatures”. But they certainly don’t mean in terms of their wellbeing as they are warm, confident entertainers with catchy songs to boot. Leaving the stage they run back on to throw their debut LP record into the crowd chanting “more, more”.

Not rewarded with an encore despite desperate shouts from an impressed crowd, we will all have to wait until Fragile Creatures return at the Haunt on Saturday 16th April.

Support on the main stage came from Fierce Friend and Prince Vaseline.

Brighton Dome Studio Theatre, Friday 19th February 2016
Words by Catriona Smith
Photos by Jon Southcoasting - Brighton Source


"On The Radar #106 Fragile Creatures"

On The Radar #106 Fragile Creatures

NEXT month Fragile Creatures... And Other Wild Things will be the debut release from new city label Brightonsfinest.

Hotly tipped Brighton band Fragile Creatures have already earned more than 150,000 plays on their Soundcloud page and featured on Tom Robinson’s BBC 6Music Introducing show.

Tonight they are headlining Spectrum, Brighton Dome and record shop Resident’s regular new music showcase.

Below vocalist and guitarist Adam Kidd introduces the band.


We’re from Brighton via Chiswick, Portsmouth and Hull. I met Aaron Neville (keyboards) and Tom Alty (lead guitar) at Cardinal Newman school in Hove. I started writing songs at about 15 when I was in a band with Tom called Rift. He was 13 at the time of our first gigs and his Les Paul was taller than him! Several years and various bands later Aaron and I started writing together and doing acoustic sets around Brighton. We felt we were onto something and that's when we started to play with Tom again and recruited first James Crump (drums) and then, the final piece of the puzzle, Mr Adam Whittles (bass).

We are musical magpies, taking whatever we fancy and throwing it into the mix. My tastes are very eclectic, and it wouldn't form a useful blueprint for the describing the Fragile Creatures sound if I were to start listing bands I listen to. My formative years were in the 1990s, so a lot of what people were calling Britpop at the time influenced me - but those bands all owe a huge debt to the great song-writers and innovators of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.

We have self-released an EP and a couple of singles. They've been discontinued now because we started to work with new local label Brightonsfinest Presents who are putting out our debut album ...And Other Wild Things on March 18th, on vinyl, CD and digital download. Resident Music are currently taking pre-orders on the vinyl.

We'll be supporting the album release with lots of shows; we're planning a UK tour and some festival appearances. I'm really excited about all this stuff of course, but at the same time I'm most excited about the new material we've been writing. I can't wait to get recording, I think the second album is going to be insane!


Our second live show as Fragile Creatures was opening up at one of the Dome’s Spectrum nights, where they shine a light on up and coming local talent. It's very cool to come back a couple of years later promoting our debut album and topping the bill.

Fragile Creatures headline Spectrum at Brighton Dome Studio Theatre, in New Road, on Friday, February 19, doors 7.30pm, tickets £5. Also on the bill are Fierce Friend, Prince Vaseline, The Willing Gales and Aaron King.

Adam will play an acoustic set as part of the Sussex Refugee Solidarity Music Quiz and Charity Auction at Synergy Centre, in West Street, Brighton, on Thursday, March 24 from 7pm supporting Alison Moyet. Tickets cost £10 from sussexrefugeesolidarity.uk

And the band are supporting Liverpool Britpop legends Space on Saturday, April 16, at The Haunt, in Pool Valley, Brighton. Tickets cost £15 from 01273 606312.

Find out more:

facebook.com/fragilecreatures

soundcloud.com/fragilecreatures

twitter.com/fragilecreature

www.youtube.com/BrightonsfinestUK - The Argus


"Locally Sourced, Feb 2016"

Fragile Creatures
‘…And Other Wild things’ (Brightonsfinest Presents)

With their heads up in space but their feet firmly on Brighton soil, Fragile Creatures have gained a reputation for combining beautifully crafted and catchy indie rock with engaging pop melodies, and rightly so. They’re playing a headline show at Brighton Dome on Friday 19th February to coincide with their album release. Get yourself down there! - Brighton Source


"Album Review: Fragile Creatures ...And Other Wild Things"

Fragile Creatures - …And Other Wild Things

A rock band from the heart of Brighton, Fragile Creatures have long since declared their intent to restore Britain’s reputation as a leading source of original guitar music. Their debut album ‘…And Other Wild Things’ is the first confident step towards this aim, funneling the best elements of British and American pop-rock to create a bristling series of tracks.

Surfacing from the forgotten sounds of 70’s nostalgia and 90’s Brit-pop, Fragile Creatures is a clash of modern compositions and age old genres. An abundance of guitar driven pop songs hide beneath the jovial album cover, and while it’s essentially a pop album, ‘…And Other Wild Things’ shines with a dynamic indie rock edge that makes it all the more enchanting.

Ultimately uplifting with massive chords, intricate guitar work, and vibrant harmonies, ‘Stowaways’ and ‘Fragile Creatures’ (their own title track) cement themselves as hallmark of the band’s sound, flowing on with a jaunty, off-kilter sound that is impossible to ignore. Not content with tackling a single genre however, the album offers deft spike of ska and reggae rhythms though ‘Ready To Go’ and ‘The Chemicals’, while also skirting round the edges of country sounds in ‘One Bit At A Time’.

Without a doubt Fragile Creatures have managed to forge a strong showing of what modern, British guitar rock can achieve, and their debut is certainly not short of thrills or intrigue. Sharp, elaborate, and intoxicating, ‘…And Other Wild Things’ is a promising statement of intent from a powerful new five-piece.

Rating: 8 out of 10
Anthem: Stowaways - Anthem Review


"Brighton Bands to Watch Out For in 2016"

Fragile Creatures: One of my favourite bands at the moment, I’ve had them playing on repeat all week, Fragile Creatures are going places further than the streets of Brighton and Hove. The five-piece are described as “a rock band from Brighton on a mission to restore Britain’s reputation for original guitar music”. Their first album will be released in March this year, the first release from the new local label BrightonsFinest Presents. The lead track from the album, ‘Stowaways’ was recently picked as BBC Introducing South’s ‘Track Of The Day’. Their songs are catchy with clever lyrics, sounding Beatles-esque at times, but also has the remnants of the Britpop days past blended together to create some great music. You can stream their debut album here. - bjournal


"Fragile Creatures Interview"

Fragile Creatures – eine Band aus dem Süden Englands auf dem Weg in die Herzen der Welt. Mit sanftem Indie-Rock und tiefgehenden Texten haben die vier Jungs noch Großes vor.

Music News: Wer hatte die Idee für den Namen „Fragile Creatures“ – was hat er für eine Bedeutung?
Fragile Creatures: Die Band wurde nach einem Song, den ich geschrieben habe, benannt und der wird auf unserem Debüt-Album mit drauf sein. Er wurde uns von unserem alten Verleger als Bandname vorgeschlagen. Anfangs fanden wir ihn schrecklich, aber wir kamen zu dem Entschluss, ihn zu behalten. Menschen sind fragile Wesen, weil, wie ich in dem Song erwähne, unsere Köpfe viel zu groß sind. Wenn wir geboren werden, können wir nicht für uns selbst sorgen – wir entwickeln uns nur außerhalb der Gebärmutter weiter. Diese formende Zeitspanne ist sehr wichtig und eindeutig menschlich. Letztendlich bezieht sich der Name auf uns als Menschen, mit allen Schwächen und Makel, die man erwarten könnte.

Music News: Seid ihr alle Freunde oder wie habt ihr euch kennengelernt?
Fragile Creatures: Tom, Aaron und ich waren auf derselben Schule. James begegnete ich auf einer Dinnerparty, unsere Freundinnen sind beide Comedians und Adam fanden wir auf einer Internetplattform. Es war wirklich sehr schwer für uns einen geeigneten Bassisten zu finden – er war das letzte fehlende Puzzleteil. Wir haben uns, ehrlich gesagt, nicht wie eine richtige Band gefühlt, bis wir ihn fanden.

Music News: Wie fing alles an?
Fragile Creatures: Hmmm… es kommt darauf an, wann alles anfing. Tom und ich spielten zusammen seitdem er 13 und ich 15 waren, aber wir arbeiteten sechs Jahre lang nicht zusammen. Aaron und ich waren in einer harten politischen Rockband, „Kiyomori“, aber das passte nicht so recht zu ihm. So ermutigte er mich, meine sanfteren Songs bei einem „Open Mic Abend“ zu spielen. Dies führte mich langsam dazu, eine namenlose Band entstehen zu lassen, aus der sich Fragile Creatures bildete; nachdem ich von einem Typen, der einige Aufnahmen von uns gehört hatte, einen Vertrag angeboten bekommen hab‘.

Music News: Eure Debütsingle „Dear Michael“ war sehr erfolgreich, habt ihr euch das je vorstellen können?
Fragile Creatures: Es scheint so lange her zu sein! Wir hatten so manche Dinge, die uns seitdem gebremst haben. Der Erfolg von „Dear Michael“ war etwas frustrierend, da es uns unglaubliche Türen öffnete. Türen, durch die wir noch nicht zu gehen bereit waren. Vielleicht war es doch eine gute Sache, denn ich bin mir nicht sicher, ob „Dear Michael“ den Sound unserer Band gut repräsentierte.

Music News: Ihr habt damals den Preis für das beste Musikvideo bei den Brighton Music Awards 2013 gewonnen. Weckt es in euch das Bedürfnis nach mehr?
Fragile Creatures: Ehrlich gesagt, jage ich keinen Preisen hinterher – es war schön etwas Anerkennung zu bekommen und das schenkte dem Song ein bisschen mehr Beachtung, aber das ist nicht der Grund warum wir Musik machen.

Music News: Eure Songinhalte sind sehr tiefgehend und regen die Hörer zum Denken an. Woher habt ihr eure Inspiration?
Fragile Creatures: Mich inspirieren viele verschiedene Dinge – ich schreibe meine Songs improvisiert und überarbeite sie so lange, bis sie für mich einen Sinn ergeben. Alles, was also in meinem Unterbewusstsein schlummert, schafft es hinein. Ich denke mal, genau wie die meisten Songwriter schreibe ich viel über mein eigenes Leben, aber oftmals wird es unter anderen Ideen verschleiert, an denen ich zur selben Zeit arbeite. Auf dem Album sind Songs über Reality-TV-Shows, Drogen und Alkohol, einer verhängnisvollen Frau, Alan Turing, Außerirdischen, Mythomanie (der Neigung zum Lügen), Demenz und vieles mehr – das ist nur ein kleiner Vorgeschmack.

Music News: Wie heißt das neue Album, wann wird es erscheinen und wo wird es erhältlich sein?
Fragile Creatures: Unser Album heißt „…And Other Wild Things“ und wird am 5. Februar 2016 erscheinen. Wir werden Anfang 2016 noch mehr touren. Unseren Verkauf übernimmt Demon Music Group, ein großes Record Label in Großbritannien, also wird das Album wohl bei allen regulären Portalen online erhältlich sein. Sobald das Album fertig ist, nehmen wir auch Vorabbestellungen über Amazon an. Es wird nicht nur auf CD, sondern auch auf Vinyl gepresst.

Music News: Was bedeutet den Fragile Creatures Musik?
Fragile Creatures: Musik ist meine Berufung! Ich bin heute genauso ein Fan von Musik wie damals als Teenager. Auf gewisse Art und Weise wünsche ich mir, ich würde sie nicht so sehr lieben, weil ich wohl besser ohne Musik dran wäre, aber ich kann nicht anders.

Music News: Wenn ihr als Band drei Wünsche hättet, welche wären das?
Fragile Creatures: Dass unser Album so erfolgreich wird, dass wir uns dem nächsten widmen können. Dass wir nächstes Jahr eine Europatour machen können und dass wir nächstes Jahr im UK Festival Circuit mitspielen.

Music News: Was kann eure Fangemeinde in Zukunft von euch erwarten und wo seht ihr euch selbst?
Fragile Creatures: Wie erwähnt war es etwas schwierig, dieses Album zu releasen. Es ist schon so lange fertig, dass wir schon fast das nächste Album fertig geschrieben haben. Ich hoffe, dass wir das zweite Album nächstes Jahr auch veröffentlichen können, als einen guten Übergang zum ersten. Ich mag wirklich einiges von dem, was wir in den neuen Songs miteinbringen. Die Band hört sich echt gut an. Erwartet den klassischen Fragile Creatures Sound. Ich liebe die Keyboard Variationen und längeren Bridge Passagen. Wir haben große Pläne, unsere Musik auf die nächste Ebene zu bringen und ein größeres Publikum anzusprechen. Wenn alles nach Plan läuft, sind wir nächstes Jahr überall. - Music-News.At (Austria/Germany - in German)


"Album Review: Fragile Creatures ...And Other Wild Things"

We are all Fragile Creatures. This could be the rallying call for a band that has been flirting on the edges of the Brighton scene for a while now. But thanks to the word-of-mouth and social media explosion of their Stowaways song, these fragile creatures look set to take it further with …And Other Wild Things, a debut album that showcases their love of eclectic, melodic and sophisticated pop and rock, story-telling lyrics, and tight harmonies.

There is something undeniably old school about the band; their sound often evokes in spirit the golden pop era of the late 60s through to the early 80s when acts like The Beatles, 10cc, Supertramp and Squeeze took pop music to the highest skill levels, given the restraint of the song format (ie, usually no more than four minutes). With these bands, superb musicianship was a given (rather than an idle muso boast), along with an ability to craft melody-rich songs that usually spoke of the human experience in narrative terms, sometimes wry and funny, sometimes poignant and heavy-hearted, but rarely dealing with opaque poetry ramblings that has been a derisory feature of much modern 'indie' music. They also draw a little on the new wave spirit of The Clash, The Specials and The Jam, as well as noughties retro acts such as The Feeling.

Fragile Creatures songwriters Adam Kidd and Aaron Neville have corralled their respective loves and influences in fashioning something familiar, and yet fresh and original. Largely recorded in Bath, with a couple of tracks done at Brighton Electric Studios ...And Other Wild Things is a pop album, first and foremost, but with an indie rock edge, that features themes of human stupidity and inaction, but also many tales of triumphs against the odds. It speaks of the resilient human spirit, but with an emphasis on our fragility and escapist tendencies; us and them, me and the world. Tracks such as the terrific 'Leave it Alone', a song that incorporates uplifting organ keys, big chords, great guitar work, close harmonies and driving drums: "If your heart isn't in it, man, maybe you should go. I don't know what the future holds any more, but I can't leave it alone". And then there's 'Stowaways', another hugely infectious slice of timeless pop, the voices soaring and passionate as Kidd and Neville sing of wishing to get away from a degrading and corrupt planet. "Everybody's talking about the end of the world, just like it's yesterday’s news, and there's nothing we can do about it at all, so we run away." Similarly, the upbeat 70s vibes of 'Into The Night' is about wanting to get away from it all. It’s nostalgic, a little bit old school, but unabashedly so, where melody, song craft and heartfelt passion easily trump any possible suspicions of parody or retro chic. Beneath the often jaunty pop, there often lurks a more troubled mind. Indeed, like all truly great pop music has.

Ska and reggae rhythms figure here and there also, for instance on the theatrical album opener, 'Ready To Go', and the slower, dub-inflected 'The Chemicals', a song about courtship, the mishaps, and the mixed feelings that it entails… those darn chemicals! And on the frantic and dark ska-carnivalesque-glam of 'You Don’t Get It', the band again hit their stride: “I gave my heart and soul for the love of rock'n'roll, I thought that you should know,” sings Kidd, appropriately aided by some blistering guitar work.

Elsewhere, they deal in more earnest soft-rock fare, such as the insanely catchy 'Mess We’re In', complete with some pleasurable 'Whoa-oh’s', before segueing into the equally MOR terrain of 'Poison Apple', which is replicated on the more noirish 'Body In The Boot'. Again the lyrical sentiments are delivered in a playful manner and in deceptively wry tones, gently cloaked in metaphor "living in a fantasy, trapped in a dream", with added harmonies reminiscent of Tilbrook and Difford. Album closers, the bouncy country-rock tones of 'One Bit Of A Time', and the stripped back sad acoustica of 'Grace' show what a fantastically varied band Fragile Creatures are, almost invariably succeeding in whatever takes their fancy.

Now that we are finally beginning to see the end of the nauseatingly optimistic Big Society lyricism of Mumford & Sons et al, and with the world continuing to teeter precariously on the precipice of environmental, social and economic disaster, it would be no surprise at all to see a band like this lead the charge to a greater understanding of ourselves, fragile creatures one and all, albeit delivering their music wrapped up in the warming textures and tones of harmless rock'n'roll, in all it’s multifarious glories.
Julie Andrews - Brightonsfinest.com


"First Listen: Fragile Creatures ...And Other Wild Things/Spotlight Interview"

Band names can sometimes mean nothing, or come across as very silly. Or be so all-embracing that they too lose all meaning. Everything Everything? TV On The Radio? Vampire Weekend, anyone? Then you get something like Fragile Creatures which is a neat encapsulation of humans. Well, as neat as you can get within the limitations of a bands name. But it nearly didn't happen for this Brighton -based five piece: "There was a guy called Dave, who was investing in us and he said you should call yourselves Fragile Creatures, right from the off," remembers Adam Kidd, lead singer and guitarist. "We all said 'no'," Adam laughs at the memory of it, "Then a couple of months later I said halfway through a rehearsal: 'Guys! Got a great idea for the band name! Why don't we call ourselves Fragile Creatures?!"

Indeed, such is the human way with appropriation and rights... But, whoever deserves the credit, there is no denying it is a great name for a band, surely that all but the most egotistical of us can relate to. We are all fragile creatures after all... They even have a song called Fragile Creatures. "Human beings are fragile creatures, and that is the subject of the song. I was reading the New Scientist, and maybe using that as a shield, against the emotional stuff in the lyrics underneath," says Adam. “There was this article, which says when crocodiles come out of the egg, they are ready to kill, they scurry off on their own. But being human beings, our heads are too big for the birth canal, so you need to have a family unit to look after the child when it comes out. The head isn't fully hardened; there are lots of physiological reasons... We are pretty pathetic without each other, and that is true of the band, we make up for each other's weaknesses."

Aaron Neville, Adam’s main song-writing partner, keys player and angelic harmoniser, has a different take... “It's also an analogy for a hangover,” he says.... “They take one look at us, and say we understand now...” Along with Adam and Aaron, there's guitarist Tom Alty, drummer James Crump and bassist Adam Whittles. “Tom is one of a kind," says Adam “Brighton and born and bred, which is a rarity in itself. I met him on the school bus; we've been in bands since he was 13 and I was 15. He’s a virtuoso, learning to play from blues magazines from the age of ten".

James Crump was in a band called Blue Sky Research, and toured with people like Ian Brown. “After auditioning about 100 drummers, the god-send that is James walked in through the door,” says Aaron. “It was finding a bass player that was our problem,” says Adam, “we did have a guy called Ousman, but he was really only filling in. I met him because I was playing guitar for a Gambian-Western fusion group called Xam Xam. Ousman was their MD, we had to beg him to play with our new band. Unfortunately, he passed away recently."

Before that though they did find their permanent bassist in Adam Whittles and for the last three years the band have been a settled unit, writing a tonne of material and honing their stagecraft, in readiness for the release of their début album ...And Other Wild Things. It’s a beautifully crafted work, that recalls the very best of classic American and British pop and rock. Indeed, they are on a mission to restore Britain’s reputation for original pop, their catchy melodies, tight harmonies, clever arrangements and story-telling lyrics encapsulated by the gorgeous song 'Stowaways', a tune that has already garnered over 120,000 Soundcloud plays, thanks to it’s infectious sing-a-long qualities and the lyrical sentiments, depicting the possibility of getting away from a fragile, corrupt world....


“I was big into the Beatles when I first started to learn the guitar,” says Adam. “Yellow Submarine and the Italia '90 World Cup collection from The Three Tenors! Those were the only tapes I had for a long time. Then it was Blur, Manic Street Preachers, The Clash, The Jam, Radiohead. I really like bands like The Clash who did whatever they fancied, but in the style of The Clash. It always sounds like them, but diverse.”

“I was a choir boy when I was kid,” says Aaron, trying not to giggle. "I've been on Songs of Praise a couple of times. Those high notes you hear on the album, that will be me with my balls in a vice. I love 60s records, Motown, and I’m big fan of The Beach Boys. I love building harmonies, that's my game.”

"Originally, Aaron and I were in another band, a political, progressive, and mental band,” laughs Adam. “Aaron was not digging it at all.” “I couldn't handle it," says Aaron.” I didn't have my picket in my hand, I was not digging...”

“I was writing songs that the band couldn't or wouldn't play because there wasn't a political narrative to it, so Aaron encouraged me to do some acoustic singer-songwriter stuff, which became a duo and 'Fragile Creatures', the song, was one of the linchpins of that period that led us to working together.

Their first release was the double A-Sided 'She Makes Me Nervous/Dear Michael', the latter track being the recipient for Best Video at the Brighton Music Awards in 2013. This was followed up by the Fragile Creatures EP last year.”The band has developed more of a rock edge over time,” says Adam, “but we are quite diverse in our interests. I am a bit more of an indie schmindie kind of kid, I would say Aaron is more into 80s pop and Motown. We let those things smash up against each other.”

“Sometimes Adam will write a song, and I'll go ‘I like that, let’s tweak it to my liking. Or I'll have a verse idea, and he'll have a chorus idea and we’ll smash them together," says Aaron. “Sometimes I'll come out with a track fully formed,” says Adam. I might ad lib my vocals, and then find out what my subconscious was saying in that ad lib, and train it back into something that makes sense... Working with Aaron helps, because he can go, 'that's a rubbish line, don't say that'. I'm better at handling someone saying what I've done is rubbish, than me telling someone else what they have done is rubbish!"

Largely recorded in Bath, with a couple of tracks done at Brighton Electric Studios ...And Other Wild Things is a pop album, first and foremost, but with an indie rock edge. Hints of classic 70s and 80s pop permeate throughout, and classic bands such as Squeeze, The Clash and The Beatles can be discerned, while more contemporary acts such as Grizzly Bear and Vampire Weekend are in the mix too.

“Realistically, there could have been three or four albums in terms of the amount of material we had written, but we've ended up with a really strong selection that works well together,” says Adam. "I can see some themes running through the album, themes like things that trap you and triumphing against the adversities of your shortcomings. There is a kind of narrative which starts off positively, then fades... like someone's life, the songs towards the end tell the darker, sadder stories of someone’s life. A lot of my favourite albums end on a melancholy note.” So, you don't like happy endings? ”No, I don't trust them! Maybe the next album will finish with shitting gold!” he laughs.

“The title of the album", which should read Fragile Creatures ...And Other Wild Things, "refers to the fact that under this fragility we all have our dark sides, passions and appetites. Drinking, doing other things... things you wouldn't tell you mum about..."

Album to be released March 18th 2016 on Brightonsfinest Presents

Check out our review of ...And Other Wild Things here.
Read our live review of Fragile Creatures here.

Website: fragilecreatures.co.uk
Facebook: facebook.com/fragilecreatures
Twitter: twitter.com/fragilecreature - Brightonsfinest.com


"Live Review: SLUG - The Hope & Ruin (Fragile Creatures support)"

There is little wonder why BrightonsFinest Presents are so excited by the pending release of Fragile Creatures debut album. Having only heard their one song on Soundcloud previously, it was quickly understandable what the hype was all about – their catchy tracks with lovely pop melodies absorbed the crowd from the immediate outset. Starting with a cracking song full of pleasing harmonies called ‘Into The Night’, the band continued to show off their rocky edge with the sonically satisfying guitar solos in ‘Mess We’re In’.

Throughout the show, front-man Adam Kidd’s relaxed and jokey stage presence when matched with the bands tight performance (excluding an overwhelming mystery brown note on one of the songs) made for an engaging fun show. Typically there is always at least one song that seems to fall short in a set but Fragile Creatures infectious tunes continued to stay strong, finishing with what was my favourite track of the night ‘Ready To Go’. Judging by the audience’s reaction, I’m sure a sizeable proportion will be heading to their next show. - Brightonsfinest.com


"Live Review: Fragile Creatures - Komedia Sept '14"

Fragile Creatures – The Komedia Studio -15th September 2014
Billed as a more stripped down version of their regular stage show, Fragile Creatures took to the stage at the Komedia Studio with a little apprehension about how they would come across, particularly with new and not-so-new songs having a slightly different emphasis. However any fears they may have had were soon dispelled by an eagerly enthusiastic audience. The strength and depth of their songs, together with their overall performance, which was of the highest calibre, made for an extremely engaging and bloody good night out.

Beginning with ‘Almost Home’ (a rarely aired song not normally in the set), the band eased their way into a commanding and near faultless performance, with Adam Kidd showing his tremendous talents as lead singer and major song writer. This was certainly a different Fragile Creatures than I had seen almost 12 months previously, now gelled with a cohesion and self assurance I had not seen before with excellent performances from all the band members.

The first half of the set was verging on brilliant, with songs such as Fragile Creatures, Sunshine, End of the World and Stowaways (all featured on their new EP which has just been released and reviewed by Brightonsfinest.com). It ended with a more pop and harder version of their first single ‘Dear Michael’ which, with better support from radio and the music press, should have been a massive hit.

The second half of their set consolidated the brilliance of the first half with ‘She Makes Me Nervous’, ‘Grace’, ‘One Bit At A Time’ and ‘Poison Apple’, all excellent songs and now performed by the band in full flow, oozing with confidence and ability. The performance ended to rapturous applause with the 50’s rocking, ska-like ‘Ready to Go’ which completed a slightly less demonstrative stage performance in preference to allowing the songs to work their magic and take centre stage,

Fragile Creatures are undoubtedly a force to be reckoned with and songs such as ‘Fragile Creatures’, ‘Stowaways’ and ‘Dear Michael’ convince me it will not be long before they are equally familiar with a worldwide audience. Fragile Creatures deliver contemporary British pop music at its very best and while the songs may evoke influences such as Blur and Radiohead, they also clearly define a band that has the talent capable of making their own mark. I for one am looking forward to their debut album early next year and in the meantime I am sure Fragile Creatures will continue to go from strength to strength.
The Captain - Brightonsfinest.com


"EP Review: Fragile Creatures EP"

Well this has been a long time coming and well worth the wait. It has been a long time since Fragile Creatures released their first and only single 'Dear Michael' but they have been busy since then. With plenty of gigs under their belt, a stable lineup, a few trips to the studio and a lot of rehearsing they have really developed their sound. This EP is collection of songs that have been kicking around for a while and released to fill the gap till their first full album which should be available next year.

The first track is so good they named the band after it! Fragile Creatures is the perfect opener with an instantly catchy beat while the lyrics take you on a journey of discovery. Hinting at both the birth of a new baby and getting to grips with the world around you. Along with the subtle undertones of saying goodbye and trying to get to grips with the human relationships around you. A bitter sweet song, like so many of their tunes...

Next up is one of my favourite tracks Sunshine. Again straight into the jangly guitar rhythm and solid drum beat with a sneaky little drop before the vocals kick in. I'm sure some of you will relate to this. Leaving the night club or party half cut to see the sun poking it's head above the horizon and being captivated by it's beauty. Before it dawns on you that it's time to crawl into bed as the rest of the world is just waking up. The various melodies dance around each other like an alcohol fuelled brain drifting from one emotion to another nicely backing up the lyrics.

Stowaways is another track which taps into one of those 'common to everyone' subjects. Frustrations at the world and that 'stop the planet I want to get off' feeling this time. A dreamy song about disillusionment, how all governments seem to screw the public for their own ends and toying with the thought of jumping on the first spaceship to leave the planet. Not caring where you end up, just getting as far away from your current situation as possible.

The final track End of the World for Two wraps the EP up with a twisted tale. A post-apocalyptic song about surviving a holocaust along with someone you love, ironically who does not love you back. With the blind belief that now it's just the two of you, without the distractions of the modern world, you can win them over.... If given enough time...

Fragile Creatures EP is like a journey through life from birth, adolescence, adulthood through to settling down with one person. All accompanied by their well timed mix of catchy rhythm guitar, dreamy guitar solos, great keyboard hooks and an intelligent rhythm section. It will leave you wanting more but the good news is there is much more to come...

Jonski Mason - Brightonsfinest.com


"EP Review: Fragile Creatures - Fragile Creatures"

Something a little lighter this time! Fragile Creatures hail from Brighton and craft straight-ahead indie-pop tunes with more than a little Beatles-flavoured spice. Their latest effort – this eponymous EP – is tightly packed with solid ideas, quirky musicianship, and plenty of emotional variety. Great for those moments when life’s pressures become too much and all you need is a decent pick-me-up. - The Musical Melting Pot


"The Best Of Absolute Radio Airplay 2012: Fragile Creatures"

In an epic two-part clash of the Absolute Radio titans, we gave every single airplay-winning Emerging Icons artist of 2012 the chance to be heard by thousands across the country one more time.

There were almost thirty amazing acts in the running- but we wanted you to choose who should get that coveted exposure from another one of our slots on The Sunday Night Music Club. By following your favourite acts, you were able to decide who were the cream of the crop… the very best of the best- and who doesn’t want a fancypants title like that?

Coming out on top were Gentlemen Duke in an impressive third time of getting their tunes on the airwaves. The following week we heard second-placed Fragile Creatures with their blinding track,‘She Makes Me Nervous’. Obviously to hear it on the air one more time… but vocalist Adam Kidd was even more excitable, as you will soon see from this interview we had with him this week.

As well as discussing their national infamy, we also wanted to know their plans for this new year and whether their resolutions are still intact…






Well Adam, Fragile Creatures are officially one of the BEST Emerging Icons of 2012- the fans have spoken. How does it feel to know that people wanted to hear your stuff on radio for a second time?
It's bloody marvellous! It's the first time we've been the BEST of something so we're chuffed to bits!


It’s quite a way to see off a year… but apart from finding yourselves on the Emerging Icons Absolute Radio slot, what were the three biggest highlights of 2012?
James and I were at a party the other day and everyone had to give their highlights of the year - I said the first time we went to France to record, which was an amazing experience. He said releasing our first single – which was also brilliant. I guess the third highlight would have to be finding Adam Whittles to play bass for us and complete the line-up - that's enabled us to start playing more live shows and things have gotten better and better since then!


Come the end of the year, winning track ‘She Makes Me Nervous’ had racked up over 5000 plays. If you had to listen to any one track 5000 times, which would it be and why? Choose wisely… (else insanity beckons)
Good question - I like that! A tough one too... do I choose a song I'm really into at the moment (to show off how hip I am) or one I've loved for years (to show my roots)? Or do I choose our next single to slam a plug in! I should probably choose one that won't drive me nuts or cheat and pick a medley! I'll pick ‘Lost In The Supermarket’ by The Clash.


Are you believers of the whole ‘new year new start’ philosophy? If so, what were you happy to leave behind?
I had a really good year in 2012... no regrets. I do often try to do a Dry January (no booze) for a number of reasons, but I gave up giving up things as a new year’s resolution several years ago and I've stuck with it. We have unfinished business from 2012 so I don't really need a fresh start - I want to continue with and finish what we started!


Just over a week in, are all of your resolutions still intact…?
No, I've massively failed not to drink. Went to Weymouth for a couple of days and drinking was obligatory. I’m back on the wagon now though, just about. I comfort myself with the knowledge I didn't have an overly excessive Christmas period and red wine is full of antioxidants!


Last time we spoke to you, you were in the middle of France as part of a recording trip. Have you got any more fancy travels, and indeed recording sessions planned for this year?
There are some murmurs in Fragile Creatures camp about some Spring sessions... and indeed they are in a different geographical location. I've yet to flesh out the details with the band so that's all you're getting!


We also spoke about your mission to rescue the reputation of British pop music. How’s that coming along and what’s the action plan for 2013?
2012 was a great start for the band - we completed our line-up and released a first single. We've recorded a whole bunch of stuff and developed as a live band in gigantic leaps and bounds. At the start of 2013 I feel we're really ready to begin that mission! The plan for the start of the year is gigs, gigs, gigs - we also plan to release a couple of singles which we hope will get us a lot more radio play and general exposure. We need to reach a lot more people before we can rescue that reputation!


Have there been any newcomers to the pop scene who have pleasantly surprised you and restored your faith even a little…?
My favourite albums of 2012 were Mystery Jets 'Radlands', Grizzly Bear's 'Shields' and Band of Horses 'Mirage Rock'. All of these bands are a few albums into their careers... maybe I was too busy making music to hear about great new bands! I thought Alt-J were the most overrated act of the year, closely followed by Mumford and Sons. Alabama Shakes, Tame Impala and the new Foals stuff that I heard pricked up my ears, but I'm yet to buy their albums. I still feel like there's an awful lot of style over content out there but I am desperate to be proven wrong!


You’ve got your first gig of the year in Hoxton this week- how has London served you Brightonian scamps as you make your name on the circuit?
We've played a couple of shows in London last year, they were a lot of fun but I feel like we can do a lot better this year. I already feel a lot more electricity in the air around our Hoxton show on Friday! I feel the love affair with our nation’s capital has barely begun!


Have you got any plans to go further afield with shows this year? If so, where are you hoping to visit most and why?
We've not made concrete plans (apart from a trip to Horsham in March!) but we're very keen to play anywhere can get to! I'd love to play some UK festivals this year and it would be great to take the band on a little European jaunt, we've had some fantastic interest from France in particular but also Belgium, Sweden, Germany and Spain... weirdly we seem to have a lot of fans over in Mexico but that seems a long way away right now!


What do you hope to realistically hope to achieve by the end of this year?
I'd love to build up enough of a following to put out an album and tour the UK.


And if we took ‘realistically’ out of the equation…?
Number one album, world tour, headline Glastonbury. Quit my job!

We wanted to know what Adam thought of some of our other artists who got played to the nation in 2012. They are all belters of course. After all, this was the best of the best…

gentlemen duke

Gentlemen Duke- Bad Man
I really like Gentlemen Duke - nice countrified jaunty stuff, gets your foot stomping! They remind me of Brighton's own Sweet Sweet Lies in some aspects... perhaps a bit more upbeat.





hot fiction

Hot Fiction- If I Had A Girl
We played a show with Hot Fiction at The Hope (Brighton) for Oxjam back in October. I'm slightly envious of their transportability - being a two-piece... great vocals though, reminiscent of some of the blues greats. Good vibe too.




battle of you

Battle Of You- Rebecca
Well this is a lot of fun isn't it! Rebecca is very cool - I would dance
with her in a club but I might be too shy to take her home.



You can hear plenty more from Fragile Creatures by having a look at their profile over here. While you’re listening to their stuff you can even add it to your personal playlist if you like… - Emerging Icons (9/1/2013)


"Gig Review: Fragile Creatures and Thomas White, The Prince Alber, Brighton. 17/12/12"

Back in May, Thomas White played a low key set for the Great Escape Festival at a venue called Shipwrights Yard, a hidden courtyard off Middle Street overlooked by Lout and Republic of Music’s offices. One of his backing vocalists for this gig was a certain Mr Adam Kidd, who had recently formed a band which had still yet to have recorded any music, or settled on a final line up. Fast forward seven months, and the tables have been turned, with Thomas White giving Adam’s band Fragile Creatures a leg up by playing a support slot.
Thomas White

Thomas White

Thomas White has spent his last gig of the year playing a fresh set of songs. He’s spent much of the past twelve months playing shows drawn from this year’s album Yalla, but now he’s looking forward. Armed with nothing but his guitar and his voice, White played a short set of covers, taking in a rare Beach Boys track and a stripped down version of Wonderful World, and rounded things off with the Twelve Days of Christmas and Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer.
Fragile Creatures

Fragile Creatures

Fragile Creatures didn’t play any Christmas Songs, but they did alter the titles of their tracks to give them a festive edge. Over the course of 2012 Adam Kidd has been honing his accomplished guitar pop, and last night showed a fine performance of some very polished songs. It was Adam’s backing vocals with Thomas White that first caught our attention and it was the harmonies that really shone last night and made their songs – none too shabby in the first place – really stand out. I look forward to hearing more of what Fragile Creatures have got to offer in 2013. - Brighton Music Blog (18/12/2012)


"Single Review: Dear Michael / She Makes Me Nervous by Georgie White"

Up-and-coming indie 5-piece from Brighton, Fragile Creatures, released their debut single on the 11th June 2012: the double A-side entitled She Makes Me Nervous/Dear Michael, and what a way to break into the UK alternative music scene. The band has successfully reminded the UK of the beauty of original guitar pop music that Britain is famous for at the same time as revealing the uniqueness that they bring to such a broad genre of music.

She Makes Me Nervous begins slowly and calmly with choral voices providing some basic notes in amongst a series of soft acoustic riffs, hinting at a laid-back song. However, once the lead vocal (provided by Adam Kidd) kicks in, the mood of the song immediately takes a turn. The band’s dynamics increase as the sounds of the quirky guitars and striking keyboard are layered to create a striking sound worthy of supporting the strong lead vocals. When the time comes for the chorus, the sound returns to that of the start, restoring the original mood and conjuring memories of sunny beach holidays and relaxing summers. Now is the time that both the power and control of the lead vocal is shown off. With a short, contrasting instrumental after the chorus, yet again the mood is transferred back to the quirkiness of the first verse and remains like this until the end of the song. The band has effectively flaunted their versatility throughout this song with the chopping and changing of different styles at the same time as delivering a flawless presentation of both vocals and traditional guitar music.

The second track on the double A-side, ‘Dear Michael’, begins in a similar, calm fashion to She Makes Me Nervous. However, the difference is that this song keeps the same style throughout. With numerous exciting guitar riffs in varying keys and a layering of lead and backing vocals, this song is a reminder of relaxing, indie guitar music traditional to Britain. The strength of the guitars is what makes this song stand out against the fast-paced previous song, but both songs complement each other greatly, making this an incredibly successful first single.

Since the release of this double A-side, the band has been working in Normandy with producer Andy Lyden to produce more recordings. A follow-up EP is expected very soon and it is highly likely that a debut album will be released shortly after the new year has begun. - Sound and Motion Magazine (18/10/2012)


"Absolute Radio Airplay Winners: Fragile Creatures"

Far, far away amid the cultured climes of France, Brighton band Fragile Creatures had voyagé (travelled) many a rue (road) to settle in a comfortable hôtel (erm… hotel) on Sunday night.

They were embarking on a continental recording trip like the glamorous jet-setters they are, but it was only now that they were about to receive the news they were dying to hear. That evening, they discovered that they had been selected for national airplay on Absolute Radio’s Sunday Night Music Club thanks to Emerging Icons. Sacrebleu !

From the vast breadth of acts on the site, only five made our weekly shortlist to be in the running for that exclusive Emerging Icons-shaped airtime. However, it was to be Fragile Creatures who triumphed on this occasion as the infectious power of their lovingly crafted guitar-fuelled pop proved too good to resist. Thousands of people tuned in that evening as the sound of 'She Makes Me Nervous' came to their attention for the very first time.

Hitting the national airwaves is obviously a big deal for any band, so we wanted to know how such an achievement felt for these guys. We sent a few questions flying across the English Channel to the band's vocalist/guitarist Adam Kidd and the chap with the keyboards, Aaron Neville. They were probably sipping on a fine red and eating escargot whilst adjusting their berets at the time. Well that's what we pictured in our head anyway...



How does it feel to be chosen from thousands of rather splendid bands to enjoy an opportunity like this?
Adam Kidd: Fantastic! Totally took us by surprise actually.
Aaron Neville: It's great that you guys are there to help new acts breakthrough.

What has been the one biggest challenge you've had to face as an emerging artist and how could a site like Emerging Icons help bands like yourselves?
AK: We thought it was tough finding the right players for the band or making good recordings, but actually the toughest part is finding your audience and getting your music heard. The Emerging Icons site is providing some great opportunities and bands really need that at the moment. I've seen a lot of bands who could've been massive if they'd been able to get the exposure.

What is the defining feature of the Fragile Creatures experience?
AN: Great tunes and good times!

How does living in a place like Brighton help nurture the sparkle and energy that goes into your tunes?
AK: We've been surrounded by amazing bands, many of those have become good friends of ours like Electric Soft Parade, Mynie Moe, Shona Foster, Restlesslist... too many to name. So there's a lot of great stuff to be influenced by and people are always playing me something new.
AN: The fresh sea air helps too!

You're looking to restore Britain's reputation for original guitar pop music... who do you think ruined it for us?
AN: I blame Simon Cowell! Young kids are force fed this auto-tuned rubbish on the radio and everyone wants to be a pop star… and I don't mean good pop like Michael Jackson or Prince.
AK: Also I wouldn't like to name names, but I find many of the British guitar bands who make it to the top these days are pretty boring to listen to. You've got some great sounding records that seem to lack actual songs. I find lately I've been drawn more and more to American groups like The
Strokes, Grizzly Bear or Fleet Foxes. There are always exceptions to the rule of course- I think the Mystery Jets are fantastic. Field Music are a great act to get a Mercury nomination, and I'll always love Radiohead- although I wasn't blown away by ‘The King of Limbs’.

'Pop' has been a genre that can fall victim to snobbery. How do you think the genre has come on since the days of Smash Hits?
AK: There are plenty of good reasons why pop has a bad reputation, but now and again people come out with brilliant songs that no one feels ashamed to love - that's what pop should be and that's what we aspire to make.

What inspires your sense of groove?
AN: We just go with our instincts. All we need is a good backbeat and the rest takes care of itself.
AK: We'd ask our drummer James but he's not here! Music you can dance to -whatever genre that may be.

Fragile Creatures by name, fragile creatures by nature...? What are your biggest weaknesses?
AK: I'm addicted to sushi and Guinness- preferably not at the same time.
AN: I have a fear of snakes... and geese. Geese are like snakes with bodies.
AK: Aaron discovered his fear of geese when we were on our way to shoot the ‘Dear Michael’ video. We saw a gaggle of geese waddling along with their young in tow along the canal near Camden and Aaron ended up frozen to the spot... luckily a passing Cockney guided him through or we'd have never made it to the shoot!

We know 'She Makes You Nervous'... what's the one most baffling thing about the female species you're yet to unriddle?
AK: A woman is a mystery, wrapped in an enigma, lost in a puzzle... seriously I can't answer this one, whatever I say someone will take it the wrong way. I love women!

The genre has also found itself considered synonymous with 'cheese'. What would be served up on the Fragile Creatures cheese board if you invited us round for din dins?
AK: Neufchatel.
AN: Port Salut.
AK: ...and a Babybel for Tom.

As always, it’s time for our Absolute Radio Champs to have a listen to their fellow shortlisters and give them some feedback. What did they think of those other tunes?


Ic1s 'Whack Jack'

AK: It's a bit of a rough recording but it's got spirit.
AN: Great energy.

Dead Social Club 'Sunlight'

AK: I liked the guitars on the intro, it reminded me of The Cure.

Opinaut 'Daybreak'

AK: Good production, reminds me of Lostprophets.
AN: The heavy synths remind me of Justice.

No Room For Giants 'She Is Werewolf'

AK: I think she's got a cracking voice but I'd love to hear someone like Mark Ronson producing them, or the guy who did the first Noisettes record.
AN: I can see the appeal in this, but agree with Adam.



For everything you need to know about Fragile Creatures, make your way over to their Emerging Icons profile. You may also want to check out some gigs they've got coming up too... click here for more info. - Emerging Icons (26/9/2012)


"Spotlight: This Week's 10 Most Notable Artists by Mairane Leon"

9. Fragile Creatures - “She Makes Me Nervous”/Fragile Creatures

Fragile Creatures know we can’t be brave despite the summer freedom and flings. Their track “She Makes Me Nervous” is both comedic and catchy, which is why audiences have always been so charmed by their sound. This playful track is for the awkward summer lovers and those just looking for a nice outdoor jam sess. I find their undiluted rhythmic instability intriguing. The fast pace offers listeners the thumping, frantic skip of a nervous heart and makes it all the more irresistible. - Music Under Fire (1/9/2012)


"Single Review: Dear Michael / She Makes Me Nervous by SH"

Single: Fragile Creatures
Dear Michael / She Makes Me Nervous (DNV Music)
A couple of melodically rich guitar tunes make up this double A-side from Brighton quartet Fragile Creatures. ‘Dear Michael’ is the pick of the pair, with its gentle layers of soft organ, piano and vocal harmonies, although the lyrics paint a more disturbing picture of abuse and death. ‘She Makes Me Nervous’ starts off with a promising wash of bright country colours, but quickly speeds up into a rather less fragile, straightforward jolly jam of a knees-up. Some good stuff in here though. (SH) - Brighton Source - Critic (July 2012)


"Track of The Day: Fragile Creatures 'Dear Michael'"

If you’ve ever watched Human Traffic (if you haven’t, do, it’s great), you might be familiar with the appropriated phrase “what goes up must come down. And down. And down”. This is essentially where the Killing Moon gang are at – apart from camera/soundguy extraordinaire Dan Bridge is concerned, as rather conveniently he doesn’t drink – following a full 72 bender in Brighton (see previous blog post for an insight into just how silly we got). We saw the sun rise three days in a row. Our body clock has been reset to Tokyo time and subsequently we’re having more trouble getting some shut eye before midnight than we ever have before. We’re in limbo. Thankfully, the calming acoustic-vocal combination of Brighton locals and aptly-named-for-the-state-we’re-in-today Fragile Creatures seems to be helping, at least in subsiding the hippy-shakes we’ve now attracted for the first time since finishing university. These boys were themselves performing at Great Escape, as evidenced by the above photo taken at the delegate-bit at The Dome where they seem to have either attracted a rapturous audience comprised of balding men in glasses and some children – which as we recall really wasn’t that different from any other venue audience, so that’s alright. We didn’t see them ourselves – we like to think we were working, but the chances are that’s simply not true – but given current Track Of The Day Dear Michael‘s steady undertones of the likes of The Kills, Badly Drawn Boy, Aqualung and a bit o’ Band Of Horses, we’re regretful that we didn’t. We intend to make up for this by heading out and picking up a copy of this single when it receives a release proper on 11th June – which is going to be doubly great, as that’s when we’re dropping the Bluebell single on you, ya kids and ya wife. - Killing Moon (14/05/2012)


"Single Review: Dear Michael / She Makes Me Nervous by James Golunski"

Fragile Creatures are a new, alternative band originating from Brighton. The band consists of Adam Kidd (vocals), Aaron Neville (vocals, keyboard), Tom Alty (lead guitar, backing vocals) and James Crump (drums), in addition to live bassist Ousman Beyai.

The group cite their influences as bands such as The Beatles, The Clash and Radiohead, and are in the process of recording their debut album with Andy Lyden, who has worked with The Cure and U2. In the meantime, the band have released a double A-side EP, including the songs Dear Michael and She Makes Me Nervous, which is the first release for both the band and the independent record label to which they are signed. Dear Michael is a peaceful song with a captivating, relaxing intro featuring guitars and drums. It doesn’t take long before the vocals kick in, and the soft nature of these compliment the mellow atmosphere of the recording.

The second song, She Makes Me Nervous, provides a contrast to the former by raising the tempo. The unusual melodies make the recording quirky and interesting, ensuring the EP is a praise-worthy debut release.

The EP is now available on iTunes. Be sure to keep an eye out for the band as they prepare to release their debut album in the future. - Vulture Hound (June 2012)


"Single Review: Dear Michael / She Makes Me Nervous by Aaron Payne"

Dear Michael / She Makes Me Nervous
Fragile Creatures are 'on a mission to restore Britain's reputation for original guitar pop music.'


With new single Dear Michael they certainly won't do it any harm. It's reasonably bold to use the word 'pop' without irony in your mission statement, but it makes sense for the Brighton-based band whose sound leans towards the old-school. This is pop in the Beatles, rather than the Rihanna, sense. I was sent in their direction by a blog called 'Killing Moon' and I'm glad, because they've got some nice tunes.

Listen here: Dear Michael / She Makes Me Nervous

The first association that springs to my mind on listening to Dear Michael is with Elliott Smith. The song shares the late-night melancholy of Smith tracks like Between the Bars. There's a surprising amount of depth behind what at first seems like a quite a light sound, too; you can almost hear hints of Radiohead swimming around, somewhere far back in the mix, although there's no obvious prog-rock sensibility on show.

The lyrics seem to be discussing death, abuse and misery: "They left you alone at night/Handcuffed to the bed"; "You took all you could take/And the bottom of a lake/Is where they found your head". Words like this, allied to a vocal that treads in ambiguous territory between the calm and the dispassionate, provide a dark undercurrent to an otherwise quietly sweet song.

The second track on this double A-side opens in similar musical territory, but just before you reach the sad conclusion that this band might be another one-trick pony, She Makes Me Nervous turns into a Fratellis-like romp about a girl who, well, makes the singer nervous. It's a lot of fun, playing around with a French sort of sound in the breaks, and features a cracking guitar solo. Of the two singles, I'd say I prefer the first: Dear Michael's a real late-night song, and that just suits me at the moment.

Fragile Creatures sound as well placed to slot into the mainstream as any - a healthy alternative to the Guetta-fetish that RADIO 1 MUST GET BORED WITH SOON! PLEASE! They're a band well worth keeping an eye on.


@aaronpayne

Like this? You might also like Between the Bars by Elliot Smith http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qu5ZT8WrCg
- Written Down Music (14/5/2012)


"Brighton Noise Gig Guide - Gig Preview: Carmen Jose"

Fragile Creatures are much more than just another indie shmindie Brighton band. This five piece are a bona fide example of a band who understand the fundamentals of what 'good and proper' British music is all about. Showcasing tight harmonies, unique riffs and catchy melodies Fragile Creatures move seamlessly between genres with the credibility of genuinely talented and informed musicians. With a little nudge in the direction of early nineties Brit Pop, you can sense their appreciation for bands like Blur and Radiohead as inspiration to their song writing.

Having an ability to experiment with various arrangements whilst performing with refreshing enthusiasm is what makes Fragile Creatures stand out in a line-up. Brighton is notably full of enough pouty hipster wannabees so it’s nice to see a band who actually enjoy themselves and have a real talent for their craft on and off stage.

With their double A-Side of Dear Michael/She Makes Me Nervous released digitally in June, the band is currently working with producer Andy Lyden (U2, The Cure) in Normandy, France, with plans to release their next EP early next year.

Catch the boys play at The Crown & Anchor on Friday 9th November in Eastbourne for 'Children in Need', or on our very own home turf for 'Brighton Rocks' at Sticky Mike's Frog Bar on Friday 7th December.

For more info on the band and for up and coming gigs visit their website: http://facebook.com/fragilecreaturesuk - Brighton Unsigned Magazine (Nov/Dec Issue 2012)


"Fragile Creatures ...And Other Wild Things"

Band names can sometimes mean nothing, or come across as very silly. Or be so all-embracing that they too lose all meaning. Everything Everything? TV On The Radio? Vampire Weekend, anyone? Then you get something like Fragile Creatures which is a neat encapsulation of humans. Well, as neat as you can get within the limitations of a bands name. But it nearly didn't happen for this Brighton -based five piece: "There was a guy called Dave, who was investing in us and he said you should call yourselves Fragile Creatures, right from the off," remembers Adam Kidd, lead singer and guitarist. "We all said 'no'," Adam laughs at the memory of it, "Then a couple of months later I said halfway through a rehearsal: 'Guys! Got a great idea for the band name! Why don't we call ourselves Fragile Creatures?!"

Indeed, such is the human way with appropriation and rights... But, whoever deserves the credit, there is no denying it is a great name for a band, surely that all but the most egotistical of us can relate to. We are all fragile creatures after all... They even have a song called Fragile Creatures. "Human beings are fragile creatures, and that is the subject of the song. I was reading the New Scientist, and maybe using that as a shield, against the emotional stuff in the lyrics underneath," says Adam. “There was this article, which says when crocodiles come out of the egg, they are ready to kill, they scurry off on their own. But being human beings, our heads are too big for the birth canal, so you need to have a family unit to look after the child when it comes out. The head isn't fully hardened; there are lots of physiological reasons... We are pretty pathetic without each other, and that is true of the band, we make up for each other's weaknesses."

Aaron Neville, Adam’s main song-writing partner, keys player and angelic harmoniser, has a different take... “It's also an analogy for a hangover,” he says.... “They take one look at us, and say we understand now...” Along with Adam and Aaron, there's guitarist Tom Alty, drummer James Crump and bassist Adam Whittles. “Tom is one of a kind," says Adam “Brighton and born and bred, which is a rarity in itself. I met him on the school bus; we've been in bands since he was 13 and I was 15. He’s a virtuoso, learning to play from blues magazines from the age of ten".

James Crump was in a band called Blue Sky Research, and toured with people like Ian Brown. “After auditioning about 100 drummers, the god-send that is James walked in through the door,” says Aaron. “It was finding a bass player that was our problem,” says Adam, “we did have a guy called Ousman, but he was really only filling in. I met him because I was playing guitar for a Gambian-Western fusion group called Xam Xam. Ousman was their MD, we had to beg him to play with our new band. Unfortunately, he passed away recently."

Before that though they did find their permanent bassist in Adam Whittles and for the last three years the band have been a settled unit, writing a tonne of material and honing their stagecraft, in readiness for the release of their début album ...And Other Wild Things. It’s a beautifully crafted work, that recalls the very best of classic American and British pop and rock. Indeed, they are on a mission to restore Britain’s reputation for original pop, their catchy melodies, tight harmonies, clever arrangements and story-telling lyrics encapsulated by the gorgeous song 'Stowaways', a tune that has already garnered over 120,000 Soundcloud plays, thanks to it’s infectious sing-a-long qualities and the lyrical sentiments, depicting the possibility of getting away from a fragile, corrupt world....



“I was big into the Beatles when I first started to learn the guitar,” says Adam. “Yellow Submarine and the Italia '90 World Cup collection from The Three Tenors! Those were the only tapes I had for a long time. Then it was Blur, Manic Street Preachers, The Clash, The Jam, Radiohead. I really like bands like The Clash who did whatever they fancied, but in the style of The Clash. It always sounds like them, but diverse.”

“I was a choir boy when I was kid,” says Aaron, trying not to giggle. "I've been on Songs of Praise a couple of times. Those high notes you hear on the album, that will be me with my balls in a vice. I love 60s records, Motown, and I’m big fan of The Beach Boys. I love building harmonies, that's my game.”

"Originally, Aaron and I were in another band, a political, progressive, and mental band,” laughs Adam. “Aaron was not digging it at all.” “I couldn't handle it," says Aaron.” I didn't have my picket in my hand, I was not digging...”

“I was writing songs that the band couldn't or wouldn't play because there wasn't a political narrative to it, so Aaron encouraged me to do some acoustic singer-songwriter stuff, which became a duo and 'Fragile Creatures', the song, was one of the linchpins of that period that led us to working together.

Their first release was the double A-Sided 'She Makes Me Nervous/Dear Michael', the latter track being the recipient for Best Video at the Brighton Music Awards in 2013. This was followed up by the Fragile Creatures EP last year.”The band has developed more of a rock edge over time,” says Adam, “but we are quite diverse in our interests. I am a bit more of an indie schmindie kind of kid, I would say Aaron is more into 80s pop and Motown. We let those things smash up against each other.”

“Sometimes Adam will write a song, and I'll go ‘I like that, let’s tweak it to my liking. Or I'll have a verse idea, and he'll have a chorus idea and we’ll smash them together," says Aaron. “Sometimes I'll come out with a track fully formed,” says Adam. I might ad lib my vocals, and then find out what my subconscious was saying in that ad lib, and train it back into something that makes sense... Working with Aaron helps, because he can go, 'that's a rubbish line, don't say that'. I'm better at handling someone saying what I've done is rubbish, than me telling someone else what they have done is rubbish!"

Largely recorded in Bath, with a couple of tracks done at Brighton Electric Studios ...And Other Wild Things is a pop album, first and foremost, but with an indie rock edge. Hints of classic 70s and 80s pop permeate throughout, and classic bands such as Squeeze, The Clash and The Beatles can be discerned, while more contemporary acts such as Grizzly Bear and Vampire Weekend are in the mix too.

“Realistically, there could have been three or four albums in terms of the amount of material we had written, but we've ended up with a really strong selection that works well together,” says Adam. "I can see some themes running through the album, themes like things that trap you and triumphing against the adversities of your shortcomings. There is a kind of narrative which starts off positively, then fades... like someone's life, the songs towards the end tell the darker, sadder stories of someone’s life. A lot of my favourite albums end on a melancholy note.” So, you don't like happy endings? ”No, I don't trust them! Maybe the next album will finish with shitting gold!” he laughs.

“The title of the album", which should read Fragile Creatures ...And Other Wild Things, "refers to the fact that under this fragility we all have our dark sides, passions and appetites. Drinking, doing other things... things you wouldn't tell you mum about..."

Album to be released March 18th 2016 on Brightonsfinest Presents

Check out our review of ...And Other Wild Things here.
Read our live review of Fragile Creatures here.

Website: fragilecreatures.co.uk
Facebook: facebook.com/fragilecreatures
Twitter: twitter.com/fragilecreature - Brightonsfinest.com


"Fragile Creatures, Fierce Friend and Prince Vaseline at the Dome"

Brighton Dome’s Spectrum nights put on a monthly collection of new music and are always good value and pretty interesting. Last night we had five bands for five pounds at the Dome Studio Theatre.

Kicking off proceedings were the excellent indie tunesmiths Prince Vaseline, playing mostly new songs with their usual dynamic sparkling energy. The lighting by the innerstrings crew was spectacular too.

Whilst the next band were setting up, we got to enjoy a quieter acoustic set from Captain Lovelace downstairs in the front bar. We were quite charmed by Beattie Wood’s witty gentle songs.

Back upstairs for the pop sounds of Fierce Friend, whose name belies a familiar late-70s singer-songwriter vibe from man-around-town Alan Grice and a band that features some fine players from an array of well-known local acts. There’s quality songwriting and playing here, and we look forward to the album that’s apparently in the making.

Downstairs in the bar, the Wailing Gales were spinning some energetic folk-rock tales. A band of six and occasionally seven players, including violin, saxophone and ukelele they played an enjoyable set with gusto.

Finally, upstairs again for the 70s yacht rock pop of headliners Fragile Creatures. They have an album due for imminent release, and lead-singer Adam Kidd was even able to brandish a physical copy. Opening track ‘Stowaways’ has already been played on BBC Radio 6 and garnered a lot of Soundcloud listens.

Words and photographs by Jon Southcoasting - Brighton Music Blog


Discography

Ready To Go - single - digital - August 19th 2016
Stowaways - single - digital - May 20th 2016
Fragile Creatures ....And Other Wild Things - Album - digital/vinyl - March 18th 2016
Fragile Creatures - EP - digital - August 31st 2014/discontinued
Dear Michael - single - digital - June 2012/discontinued
She Makes Me Nervous - single - digital - June 2012/discontinued

Photos

Bio

Fragile Creatures seem fully evolved and adaptable to any dangerous environment on their début LP, ...And Other Wild Things, which is versatile and slick and often bares its fangs.” THE VERSE

Introducing Fragile Creatures with their new single 'Ready To Go' taken from their début album ...And Other Wild Things available on vinyl and digital download now via Brightonsfinest Presents, the recently launched label from Brightonsfinest.com (the online music publication).

The mighty Fragile Creatures are one of those rare beasts: a commercially viable proper guitar band. Their debut album ...And Other Wild Things takes you on a musical and lyrical journey, documenting post-millenial life in the UK. Covering themes as diverse as life, death, drugs, sex, dementia, armageddon and Alan Turing whilst delivering their music wrapped up in the warming textures and tones of harmless rock'n'roll, in all it’s multifarious glories. In a time when the call for the reinvention of guitar music is a daily occurrence, it is refreshing to hear a band who, whilst standing on the shoulders of their heroes, are forging ahead, dreaming of the future and creating beautifully crafted songs that will lodge themselves in your head and move you to the dance-floor.

'Ready To Go' is an up-beat foot-stomper, with hints of ska and rock-a-billy, dealing with the frustrations of the creative process: two-steps forward, two-steps back, chasing a constantly shifting horizon. The band are currently working on a music video to coincide with the August release, that will reference classic training montages from films like Rocky and School Of Rock. They plan to build on the success of lead single 'Stowaways', accompanied by a DIY UFO video, the track gained tens of thousands of plays on Soundcloud and was picked up by Tom Robinson's 6Music Mixtape and the local BBC Introducing Show in Brighton.

Main-man Adam Kidd's musical journey began when, in his own words “Brit-Pop came along, a genre that seems so contrived in retrospect, but it certainly awoke the musical muse in me”. Tired of playing in bands he described as “complexity for complexity's sake” Adam returned to his roots and began re-listening to the albums that inspired him as a teenager; Blur's Modern Life Is Rubbish, The Bends and OK Computer by Radiohead, Elliott Smith's Figure 8 and XO, as well as Elvis Costello's My Aim Is True and The Beatles Abbey Road. ...And Other Wild Things was recorded in Brighton and Bath and produced by Stuart Bruce (Band Aid, Duran Duran, Kate Bush, Stevie Wonder, Bob Marley, Art Garfunkel, Yes, Van Morrison). Of working with Stuart Adam says, “we would have long late night phone calls talking about musical direction and influence – he drew comparison to the writing of groups like 10CC – which led to me listening to them a lot during album rehearsals”.

Fragile Creatures have developed a reputation locally for being an incendiary live band, and plan to spend the rest of the year taking that show further afield. They have a series of gigs lined up throughout July supporting Swedish Alternative Pop quartet Everywhere. They supported Brit-Pop legends Space earlier in the Spring and appeared at Brightonsfinest's popular Alternative Escape showcase as part of 2016's Great Escape Festival. In April their song 'Fragile Creatures' was included in Brightonsfinest's sell-out Record Store Day compilation, along-side acts like Royal Blood, Gaz Coombes, Bat For Lashes and British Sea Power. The band will have an opportunity to play at key cities around the UK in the Autumn as part of a tour to support Brightonsfinest second compilation, which 'Ready To Go' will appear on. The band are also planning some dates of their own to follow this up, in support of a planned deluxe CD release of the album, including songs from their discontinued debut EP.

Band Members