Monday 12 May 2008 sees the release of Anyone who had a heart, the debut vinyl outing for the outstanding Minotaurs. The 12" heavyweight vinyl EP is available now from our shop, and can also be purchased as a download.

Minotaurs were never likely to be pigeonholed as just another guitar band. Bursting out of South Shields, the seaside town more famed for Saturday night scuffles than finely crafted mini-epics, they bring a mix of immaculate vocals, beautifully arranged songs and heartbreaking narratives that give an entirely new twist to the art form making them one of the most exciting bands around today. Fragile and delicate, yet completely compelling, they hail not only the return of the anthem but the return of hope. While their joyous live shows have been rightly acclaimed as a breath of fresh air for melodic folk-pop this EP lifts them head and shoulders above their peers, showing them at their self-consciously stunning best. Lead track 'Anyone Who Had A Heart' is bursting with understated emotion and is a stunning representation of the warmth and charm that makes Minotaurs so enchanting to both the listener and the audience. Forster's voice swings between arrogance and insecurity, innocence and insouciance while the music spirals unfathomably and the effect is truly breathtaking. Minotaurs have already overtaken their contemporaries in both creativity and song writing. Wowing packed 'sing along' audiences they have been loved and admired solely in the North East for too long, it's time to let the rest of the country in on the secret.


TRACK LISTING:

A1 - Anyone Who Had A Heart
A2 - Good Care
B1 - Keepsakes
B2 - Dictaphone Song


LAUNCH PARTY:

	CBC004: Minotaurs EP Launch
	6pm, free entry
	Monday 12 May 2008
	RPM Music, Highbridge, Newcastle

ARTWORK:

Rob Ryan


PRESS:

Minotaurs are everything that you'd want from an indie band. Their sweet, succulent melodies are about to take your heart and hold it hostage of their own and then they'll probably use it to make another achingly perfect indie-delicate pop mesh.

Where Captain and Magic Numbers have failed is where Minotaurs succeed - unafraid of power in songs, 'Anyone Who Had A Heart' with its graceful guitars combine with vocals and drums with passion, not just cuteness. With so many copy cat sounds and false indie fancies, Minotaurs are sure to fill that ever growing hole where earnest indie should be. 4/5.
--High Voltage

Minotaurs sound like The Arcade Fire if they came from a Northern English nowhere town - South Shields in this case. Uplifting Big pop tunes with a Flaming Lips sense of melody and gorgeous boy-girl harmonies, this is classic indie-pop with the sound of a summer turning cold. On the radar.
--Music Dash

Twinkly melodious pop ne'er shone brighter than the Minotaurs - apparently a not-so-well-hidden star from up north. They hail from the Geordie coastal town of South Shields, which they describe as "more famed for Saturday night scuffles than finely-crafted mini epics".

This isn't completely true though. Notably, Franz Ferdinand singer Alex Kapranos is also from there, but the Minotaurs have all to play for in terms of firmly establishing South Shields as a haven for musos. Their new EP, Anyone Who Had a Heart, out in May, is a beautiful reflection on love, or maybe just pulling! "You know I'd give my heart away, to anyone who had a heart, or even someone who'd understand, tonight." Haven't we all been there?
--Camden New Journal

Minotaurs are making me pine for the north, for the days when we used to head out to the dirty backrooms of pubs, to community centres and working men's clubs, in search of something, anything to set our young hearts on fire. Back then we were still in awe of the peculiar power of music to completely rearrange the air you're breathing. We rejoiced in the fact that music was an ephemeral thing, not an object to own, in the same way we loved each car journey, driving too fast with the windows down, the way we kissed people for the hell of it, the way we danced until we were breathless because we knew a song wouldn't last forever.

"You know I'd give my heart away," Minotaurs are singing, "To anyone who had a heart/ Or even someone who'd understand/ In the world tonight." I'm looking at the audience scattered across the floor of the Dublin Castle this evening, heads bobbing, knees jouncing, I'm watching that pocket of air between us and the band, where all the molecules are thrown into glorious disarray, and somewhere in my chest I feel the surge of Springsteen singing: "Tonight I wanna feel the beat of the crowd/ And when I tell you that I love you/ I wanna have to shout it out loud/ Shout it out loud."
--The Guardian

Anyone Who Had A Heart is the debut EP from the South Shields based 6-piece, Minotaurs. Available on 12" vinyl and download, this is solid collection of four potentially massive pop songs. Jangling guitars, starry-eyed textures and equally beautiful melodies and harmonies paint incredibly romantic landscapes. If you're looking for a cross-reference then you might say they resemble a less depressing version of The Smiths.

Judging by the standards of this EP it becomes pretty clear that this is a band that is far more talented then the majority of indie-pop outfits currently littering the charts. 4/5.
--Leeds Music Scene

Newcastle label Cabin Boy Cooperative release their second split single on Monday 6 November 2006. Pressed on limited edition white vinyl, CBC002 features the glorious, uplifting, West Coast-esque power pop of Blackflower, and Moira Stewart's unique Rave Binchey brand of quirky twee Euro-disco.

Blackflower are a dynamic power pop combo who believe that the melody is king. Songs full of joyous guitar hooks, bubbling bass lines and soaring, soulful vocals. An unusual blend of lilting Americana coupled with classic British psych-pop sensibilities; think On The Beach-era Neil Young minimalism meets Teenage Fanclub. Their originality doesn't lie in their sound, but in their songs, and their inspiration comes from open minds and bruised hearts.

Moira Stewart formed late last year after inventing hair, the black colour used on bin bags, the feeling of resentment and the opposite of stamps. Very simplistic, upbeat, fun, shambolic electro/guitar pop is the order of the day here; think Hot Chip if they listened to The Orchids and The Field Mice instead of New Order.

LAUNCH PARTY REVIEW:

I'll always give my unconditional backing to new ventures which aim to help the local music industry, so I'm hardly going to be anything other than fully supportive of Cabin Boy Cooperative, a new Newcastle-based label. Tonight, they celebrate their first release, a split 7" single featuring a song each by A Woman Of No Importance and Shin Jin Rui.

It's the second time I've seen Shin Jin Rui, and I admit, I was less than impressed the first time, especially given the glowing reports I'd heard. Tonight, they start with a new song, which isn't a good move. It sounds under practised and far from being fully formed, and doesn't give me confidence that they'll overturn my initial assessment.

At times, they sound almost Pavement-esque and that's where it works the best. The vocals are poor for most of the set, but that's no criticism - a large number of the bands I love have less than vocally blessed singers. Sometimes, the guitars sound like they're out of tune with each other, the guitarist sounds like he's playing in one key and the bassist sounds like he's playing a totally different one. All in all, they're very hit and miss - good for 50% of the time, and very iffy for the other 50%. That said, I can see their appeal, but they don't really hit my buttons.

AWoNI, on the other hand, hit all my buttons, along with some I didn't know I had. They don't have strings tonight, but that can't detract from the fact that most of their set is made up of pop masterpieces. During Your House you could have heard a pin drop, and new song This Morning is simply amazing. Add that to the fact that front man Marc is really growing into his role and you've got a simply great performance. John Egdell even joins them to play a tiny piano during the single, Your Insecurities Ring Out In His Name. The only downside for me is the non-appearance of Logic And Touch in the set, but I'll let them off for that.

On the whole, it's an excellent start for Cabin Boy, and bodes very well for the future of the label.
-- Thomas Bagnall, NARC.