We are emerging from our summer hibernation and planning some gigs. Colchester and Southend are nearly confirmed - we also hope to take in Ipswich and some other places. If you are a promoter and would be interested in having us play your town / city / forest contact us via staff@colchesterartscentre.com

We have new tracks in the works which will hopefully form the backbone of a new album being put together in the new year. Interested labels should get in touch as above.

We also have hopes of a proper tour in 2010 with someone really big. The less talk about that the better for now, should the Beatglider hex of doom descend on us once more...

In the meantime you'll find us propping up the bar or DJing 20 second snippets of obscure vinyls at any of the CULTURE AS A DARE events in olde Southend Towne.

May your Autumn be bountiful.

The Beatglider.

We're doing an acoustic session for Shane Quentin's excellent show THE GARDEN OF EARTHLY DELIGHTS on CRMK at 10pm on Friday 5th December. Tune in if you're in the Milton Keynes area - or you might be able to hear it over the web - check out www.gardenofearthlydelights.com

We ARE supporting the WEDDING PRESENT at Colchester Arts Centre on Tuesday 2nd December. We thank David Gedge and Ed Stringfellow for being kind enough to sort this for us. Tickets are £13 and are available from www.colchesterartscentre.com We are on first - at about ten past eight! Doors open at 8pm.

We are in the Southend Echo this evening so grab a copy of that for an exclusive interview and an impressive photo of the new lineup.

More live gigs soon, plus T Shirts and probably a single.

We are two songs into the next album.

A review from 17 SECONDS

Beatglider - 'Witches' (Enraptured)

Shoegazing -let's not shy away from that word here -is known in the US of A as dreampop. And that makes sense when you listen to a record like the third album from Beatglider. Not only does their name evoke My Bloody Valentine, but the sounds -and I mean this as a compliment - definitely owe much to those seminal albums Isn't Anything and Loveless.

Another influence on this wee gem of an album is Fotheringay, the fabulously flawed band fronted by Sandy Denny after she left Fairport Convention and before she embarked on a solo career. There's an influence of Pagan imagery here too, though I'm going to have to put my hand up and admit that that's something I'm far from an authority on. It's a very English sounding record and beautifully dreamy.

Will it change the perceptions of those who are not heavily into dreampop/shoegazing? Sadly, probably not - but that's their loss. For those of us who like to focus on their music and almost live in their soundtracks, this is a record for the likes of us. It's a record that seems to live in another place in time, rather than being retro, existing in its' own little world, and all the better for it.

http://www17seconds.blogspot.com

 

From Leeds Guide:

Beatglider – Witches (Enraptured)

A magical, psychedelic and ever-so-slightly haunting take on folk-rock, in which misty atmospherics submerge glorious melodies, making them all the more joyous when they break out of the swirling fogs. TG

Never let it be said that we'd avoid presenting you the full spectrum of views on our material.

With that in mind, here's a pleasant write-up by a Matthew Hell of NEW NOISE www.new-noise.net Matthew is a feisty little tiger and certified level 5 bed-wetter:

BEATGLIDER: WITCHES..:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

Don't punish yourself, avoid this.

"Fighting hard to make shit the way they want to make it. Salute the Beatglider for they are rubbish."

There's much to be said for bands and musicians that don't always do what they are told. Why should that be? Well, because we don't generally like to see bands that would bend over backwards, or in some cases (and NN definitely does not mean to suggest any particular bands, in particular not Boyzone (who look so natural as 30+ year old men dancing like pricks in their comeback cash-run) bend over forwards and spread 'em. We? Yeah, the general 'we' of interpretive faculty and discernment.

Well, back to the somewhat laboured point, Beatglider have a history of refusing to play by the indie-rock manufacturers handbook. That is to say, their debut album 'Dreaming Of Roads' is all but unavailable because the Beatglider boys refused to do what they were told. And that might have been it. Picture them as bitter old men occasionally dragging out their copy of the unreleased album and crying a dry tear.

But not to be for these lads. No sir, they found someone willing to put up with difficult young men trying to do something that they do their way - "we're a bit random and far odder than I can articulate", keyboardist Adam Radmall barely articulates.

So, what have we got here then? Well, for a band that stuggles to conform to record company expectations, it seems a bit odd that there doesn't seem to be much that a sale-watching A&R man might need ironing. Basically, it's lazy, boring and uninspired indie rubbish.

We kick off with over seven minutes of 'Rattlesnake', a tune that shifts between typically apathetic vocal breaks and typically rising guitar crescendos to become a track that shouldn't even be three minutes long - and maybe that's where the record company got pissed. Almost every other track on 'Witches' is over five minutes in length. Inside the dreariness and pale emotional vacuity of any one of these tracks, that's an age that will leave you praying for the apocalypse.

Take another one – 'Dark Dark Woods' - which actually starts with what sounds like some lovely wavering musical saws but is all too quickly mired in the irritatingly depressive vocals against, oh my god, another salvo of crescendo-headed guitars.

And the title track, 'Witches' - a mammoth eight minutes 45 seconds - offers nothing in the way of a break from this music-by-numbers approach that characterises the whole approach, and in general, the whole indie genre. And these guys are supposed to be at the edge of the scene, making waves.

Actually, it's the short tracks that stand out amongst the grey, basically anything under two minutes on 'Witches' is worth listening to and the rest is overblown offal. 'Layers Of Bark' offers a beautiful whimsical lullaby and the instrumental sleepers a deep and twanging taste of what might have been. Don't punish yourself, avoid this.

Thanks to E-Zine BAD ROBOT for this review:

BEATGLIDER: Witches
Enraptured Records

Its been a long time since the debut album by the Southend based outit. They formed in 1996 and they apparently are slacker pop legends. It is a strange sound which takes in Shoegaze,haunting folk and alt indie pop.

They are not a band afraid of a risk and its an album full of paganism and an eclectic mix of infulences meet to create a weird and wonderful album.An album to track down and savour as its revels in creating a collection which challenges the listener.

Ian Todd
www.badrobot.co.uk

 

Another album review - this one from The Organ:

BEATGLIDER – Witches (Enraptured)

Still slanted and enchanted and they really don't sound like a band from Southend-On-Sea do they? Beatglider must be the most un Southend band in the world, sound like they should be from Portland or Seattle or some strange Scottish island where they all wait for the solstice sunrise wearing nothing but homemade horse-heads. Thankfully Jon Hannon is also from Southend and he has the happy knack of letting bands breath, he and his studio have been responsible for a lot of the good things that come from the Essex seaside town over the last decade and for this he must be thanked. Last we heard of Beatglider, they were caught up in a music industry nightmare and one of the major affiliated "clueless boutique labels", good to see they made out alive, creatively intact and indeed sounding better than ever. Witches is an easy going album, a refined gentle rewarding sound and an album that takes a little time to reveal itself. An album for fans of simple flowing intelligent alternatives like Pavement or Elliot Smith. English though and alive with little details and spiritual textures and the feel (and gentle fire) of Albion. Yes, Witches is an album alive with spirit – especially with the impressive eight and half minute track title track – alive with field colour and sunrises and, without being twee or clichéd, alive with pagan warmth. Beatglider are slightly weird, rather wonderful, they're eclectically rewarding and delightfully different - actually the title track is something very special indeed once you've lost yourself in it, as is the solace of the following/closing track Nature's Arms. Witches is a glowing album, this is sitting in a field watching clouds, watching sunlight on your arm, watching everything unfold. We could mention delicate Godspeed You Black Emperor flavours, never obvious though, post rock before it became just another pigeonhole, we could talk about space and slowly uncoiling dreaminess, of slowdives and the effortless coherent delight of it all, the mysterious ritual and slowly uncoiling simple beauty. Beatglider's finest moments and a highly recommended album.

 

Here's the first review of Witches, courtesy of Playlouder.com...

BEATGLIDER: WITCHES (Enraptured)

Somewhere in deepest Southend-on-Sea, birthplace of The Horrors and Junkboy, lurk Beatglider. They've been around for over 10 years, though chances are you haven't heard of them. Part of this time was spent languishing in musical limbo after being snapped up by West-coast hipsters Lakota records, producing an album, and seeing it slide into unreleased obscurity. Freed from these industry wranglings, they're back with Witches.

It begins with the statement of intent that is The Rattlesnake, the band switching effortlessly from lush dream-pop to reflectively sparse lo-fi and back again. After that, the arresting Where Time Stands Still strangely sounds a bit like Don't Panic by Coldplay, but minus the hubris and bombast that even then was growing in the band, and plus a wry observance that never seems to get flustered.

Elsewhere, Dark Dark Woods sees singer/guitarist Lee Hall doing his best Stephen Malkmus, but this is a folky Pavement lost somewhere, somewhere in a field in Hampshire, alright? Witches is 8.45 minutes of building fuzzy freak out, much like a skinny indie-band joining a druid camp and deciding to bust out a set in the middle of a midnight ritual, getting momentarily lost in the chaos of an hallucinatory trance state, then giving in to the encroaching Dionysian euphoria for a glorious organ led sing along.

As informed by the eclectic indie rock sound of early 90s America as they are the more nebulous swirlings of the shoegaze scene, Beatglider manage the neat trick of referencing a load of bands you (I) like but in a way that ultimately sounds like nothing but them and their quintessential Englishness.

The album is dense, involving, and only really revealed itself to me on the fourth or so listen on an evening train journey, the whimsical pastoral mood on offer fitting perfectly with the transient and darkening landscape outside. Its like a map of a place that no longer exists, some deserted petrol station ridden part of England built over the same land that was once home to markets and temples, stones and sacrifices.

US alt-rock and 70s-style Wicker Man paganism do sound unlikely bedfellows, but slip between worlds with Beatglider and you may find it a beguiling combination.

 

Unfortunately we're no longer supporting Camera Obscura as they've booted us off the bill to make way for their tour support. That's all we've been told. Nice!

Also, the gig at the Ship has been postponed as Ad is going on a golfing holiday.

There are rumours of other live dates coming up - hope to have news here soon.

Sorry to anyone who was hoping to see us play with Woodpigeon on Sunday. Lee was struck down by a mystery virus and couldn't even stand up let alone play, so we had to pull out. Matt, Paul and Adam did a fine job filling in with some PLANTMAN material which seems to have gone down very well.

We'll be back at Colchester Arts Centre in acoustic format, supporting CAMERA OBSCURA on Wednesday 15th October, minus Stafford who will be decadently sipping rum and cokes in the Caribbean.

Our new album WITCHES will finally see a release on Enraptured Records on MONDAY 6TH OCTOBER. This is really happening, we promise.

To celebrate we'll be doing a hometown (sort of) show at THE SHIP in Leigh On Sea - info on the gig list.

We also play Ipswich for the first time at the new WHATEVER night in the Blue Room at McGintys, along with Woodbridge's excellent (((OH DEAR and THURSDAY'S RADIATION.

We're doing an acoustic set supporting the rather wonderful CAMERA OBSCURA (due to Stafford fucking up his holiday time) at Colchester Arts Centre - a venue where you can also see us play supporting WOODPIGEON in September. All dates and info in the Shows list.

Oh - and our "proper" website has finally been updated - pop over to www.beatglider.co.uk and be informed on all the latest developments.