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Cover Versions at Exeter Phoenix

A quick shout out to a new exhibition that recently launched at Exeter Phoenix. Running until September 4, Cover Versions is curated by Graham and Anthony Dolphin and promises an exploration of ‘notions of the original and its copies, echoes and mutations in art, film and music’. The possibilities are wide indeed – and for this observer at least, ideas of ownership and authenticity spring to mind when considering the phenomenon. In a previous life, I recorded a podcast discussing musical cover versions and what constitutes a good one, while Aphex Twin’s 26 Remixes for Cash album is recalled as well as that artist’s tendency to sometimes provide an entirely different track at all when commissioned to repurpose a song. Anyhow, I digress. The show has previously run at the Abject Gallery in Sunderland while it features a range of artists including Steve Keene, known for his work with Pavement and Silver Jews and Everest Pipkin, whose ‘Lacework’ project deploys artificial neural ne
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Single review: Lande Hekt/Romantic

Although now based in Bristol, it seems a fitting place to start this website with a review of a track from Lande Hekt , the vocalist in perhaps the most notable band to emerge from Exeter in recent year, Muncie Girls . Hekt has forged a promising solo career indeed since the release of Gigantic Disappointment at the back end of 2019. The chosen title for that 7-track affair long player probably seemed an understatement once events of 2020 and 2021 unfolded, so it may have been with grim earnestness that Hekt’s official debut long-player broke cover under the moniker Going to Hell . That said, the album was as much an exploration of the artist’s personal battle in coming out as gay as it was of the wider political and social meltdown we were all facing. Either way, it was a screamingly good record, with opening track Whiskey really laying down a marker. Released on Pennsylvania’s – the US version, not Exeter’s – Get Better Records , Hekt spoke eloquently about the background to t
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Mere Pseud Magazine Editor

Moving to Exeter in July 2022, I’ve taken inspiration from Ronan Munro’s classic chronicle of Oxford music, Nightshift , a print publication that dates back to the 1990s. It’s a paper I have written for many times but, as I am no longer a resident of the city, I have decided to start something for the new place I’m calling home. As a newcomer to the area, I am approaching Exeter with a blank palate but with the suspicion that there is going to be much to enjoy musically. The focus will be on all types of popular music and I intend to cover releases – both online and physical – as well as gigs, notwithstanding the difficult post (we hope) Covid musical landscape.
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Location: Exeter, UK
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