Going out in style

The new issue of Vanity Project is the 21st - and, sadly, the last. Yes, after five years of putting together one of the very best free publications around, Skif has decided to fight his way out from beneath that mountain of demos and take a well-deserved break. Thankfully, the 'zine is very much going out with a bang and not a whimper...

In addition to, ahem, my interviews with Los Campesinos! and Gindrinker, plus reviews of The Drones' Gala Mill, Air Formation's Daylight Storms and the Twisted By Design compilation This Town Ain't Big Enough For The 22 Of Us, there's a multitude of goodness...

Interviews: Stuffy / The Fuses, MJ Hibbett & The Validators, Tim Ten Yen

Album reviews: The Fall, Deerhoof, Mika, Kid Congo Powers, Jesse Sykes & The Sweet Hereafter, L Pierre, Patrick Wolf, Piskie Sits, Airport Girl, Manatees, The Boyfriends, Brighter

Single reviews: Jeremy Warmsley, +44, Switches, Ferry Corsten, The Loves, The Hold Steady, The Maccabees, The Kaiser Chiefs

Live reviews: Jarvis Cocker, The Good The Bad And The Queen, Nina Nastasia, Jeffrey Lewis, Mr David Viner, Jamie T

All in all, not a bad way to bow out. You can get your free copy here.

Not content with their appearance in the pages of Vanity Project, Los Campesinos! have been engaged in their first proper nationwide tour. In the crowd for their Nottingham show on Thursday were Mike (who was very impressed, and said as much in the Evening Post) and Lord Bargain (who was rather less so). Then, the following evening The Baron and Kenny were among those who afforded them a tremendous reception in Brum - Kenny in particular sounds to have enjoyed it so much that there are probably still bits of him stuck to the ceiling from when he exploded with excitement.

As previously reported on SWSL, fellow adopted Cardiffians and Vanity Project interviewees Gindrinker were not to be outdone, playing with Gruff Rhys in Spillers last Tuesday. There are photos here, though unfortunately none of guitarist Graf indulging in a spot of crowd-surfing...

Update: Aha, evidence...