With little fanfare -- at least here in America -- Kent, England-based It Hugs Back has been steadily building a formidable catalog of records and singles over the last several years. Its latest long-player, Recommended Record , is a lush, engaging and often aurally stunning marvel that gives the foursome a strong claim on a place in the vanguard of contemporary psych-pop. The set is roughly split into motorik groovers ("Sometimes") and gentle strummers that cushion persistently breathy vocals ("Teenage Drone"), although there are exciting moments that don't fit neatly into either pile, such as the blaring [...]
Chona Kasinger Next week is a pretty big week for new album releases, particularly if you're favourably inclined towards records coming out of the UK, which means that this week is a pretty big week for advance album streams. And while it's not the one that everyone will tell you you should be paying attention to, Still Corners' second record Strange Pleasures is one you shouldn't overlook - particularly if you assumed you knew what they were all about from their 2011 debut Creatures Of [...]
Jem Goulding Since their first single was released in June 2012, London post-punk foursome Savages have steadily become one of the most-talked about new bands in the UK on the backs of their ferocious live performances, the experience of which they sought to capture on the live I Am Here EP released last Fall. Now, as they come off a series of much-talked about shows at SXSW and prepare to make a similar impression with a couple of shows at Canadian Musicfest, they've announced details of their debut album. Entitled [...]
>> Hot on the proverbial heels of releasing the best holiday EP of 2012 , Kent, England-based noise pop superlatives It Hugs Back have disclosed it will release its third long-player in March 2013. The forthcoming set is titled Recommended Record , it touts 10 tunes clocking in at 35 minutes, and it was recorded in the summer and fall of 2012. A bracing and brief teaser track from Recommended Record , "Go Magic!," is available to download for free right now -- right click and save as on this link while it [...]
Richmond, Virginia-based shoegaze quartet The Snowy Owls popped onto our radar about a year ago via the compelling digital single "Yr Eyes." The tune has proven to set the template for what has followed, as the dark, hazy promise of its JAMC-inflected fuzz and echo feels fully realized on the foursome's excellent new EP, Within Yr Reach . The act self-released the 30-minute set earlier this week and feted it with a release show in its hometown Friday night. Its eight songs double down on the band's '80s alternative rock and darkwave influences, presenting an [...]
ithugsback.co.uk Though I only gave it a very passing mention when it came out, I was really quite fond of British quartet It Hugs Back's 2009 debut Inside Your Guitar ; after all, I described their aesthetic of narcoleptic vocals, humming organs, and understated guitar heroics as a charming blend of American Analog Set and Yo La Tengo - how could I not like its fuzzy, mid-fi charms? But I lost track of them between then and now, though not without reason: first, they found their way off [...]
>>Late last week Alexei Berrow surprised fans with a new EP from his project Yr Friends , the solo vehicle he commissioned last year. The new collection from the Johnny Foreigner guitarist and singer is titled Yr Friends Have Already Left and it contains five relatively placid and beautiful ballads. According to an email from Mr. Berrow, the music was inspired by the prospect of soundtracking an indie TV series, "a post-apocalyptic drama that uses real decayed buildings and urban wastelands for sets." In the interim between contacting the show's creators and learning that they [...]
>> Kent, England-based indie rock phenoms It Hugs Back have returned to action and are poised to issue a sophomore set. The title and release date have not yet been disclosed, but in an email to the dreamy quartet's mailing list It Hugs Back announced a two-week tour and said its live set would not only include material from the planned sophomore release, but also a couple songs currently slated for a third, we-presume-yet-to-be-recorded full-length. Formed in 2006, It Hugs Back has previously issued the debut full-length Inside Your Guitar -- featuring the undeniable [...]
It Hugs Back - Work Day It’s no secret on a-life that I’ve got a thing going for these guys. It Hugs Back - are Dimitri, Paul, Matthew & Jack. Their beautiful blend of punk-pop could be best likened to Jimmy Eat World doing a dream-sequence serenade in an alt rom-com. Does that work? Download here . “ Try to concentrate on the things we like, and fill our minds with the better things in our lives”
BRIMSTONE HOWL Big Deal. What’s He Done Lately? [Alive] "Suicide Blues" (download): THE BROTHERS MOVEMENT The Brothers Movement [Rocket Girl] "Blind" (download): CHEVAL SOMBRE Cheval Sombre [Double Feature] "Little Bit Of Heaven" (download): EAST HUNDRED Passenger [self-released] "Slow Burning Crimes" (download): IT HUGS BACK Inside Your Guitar [4AD] "Now + Again" (download): LAMINATED CAT Umbrella Weather [Garden [...]
Photo/illustration by David Greenwald Share All due apologies to Animal Collective, Mandy Moore really brought it in the singles department this year. My top 51 pretty young white people playing guitar and singing earnestly after the jump. (Note: Miley Cyrus' "Party in the USA" not included.) Download All Songs : ZIP 1. Karen O and the Kids - "Worried Shoes" (Daniel Johnston cover): mp3 A beautifully written song finally gets the performance [...]
I really need to stop leaving these to the last possible minute of the day, particularly when I'm busy through the day. And by busy through the day, I mean playing XBox. Still, too late to complain about it now. Enjoy this delightful cover of The Flaming Lips' Christmas At The Zoo by local favourites It Hugs Back , then head on over to their site where you can also get your hands on another Christmas treat. MP3 It Hugs Back - Christmas At The Zoo [...]
In the end, we think this was truly a great year for music. We would argue that this was the year of the new band, with 75% of our top 20 consisting of debut albums. As we started going through this list, we recognized that we'd interviewed many of the bands listed. As you know, based on our refusal to accept advertising, we've been adamant in our refusal to be influenced by labels, promoters, etc.. Frankly, when we heard some of these albums, we were on the phone trying to track the bands down for an [...]
Frank Yang Who: Said The Whale What: Vancouver quintet sing about what they know - Vancouver, the sea and heartbreak - and their intersections and allegories, rendered in big happy pop styles on their new record Islands Disappear . They're currently on a cross-Canada tour which stops at the El Mocambo on October 28. Video: Said The Whale - "Camilo (The Magician)" MySpace: Said The Whale [...]
Sometimes it's nice to listen to something nice. It Hugs Back are one of those bands you can feel warm and fuzzy about. Although they're from Kent, yes Kent, you'd think they were from some all American place like Alabama or something as their twee style americana music drifts through your ears. If you like bands like Pheonix and Thunder Power then I reckon you'll like these. It hugs back released 'Inside Your Guitar' back in April. I've heard a few tracks and they're all rather good. They're playing Bestival this weekend too. It Hugs Back [...]
I actually made this for a chill girl - but I like it so much I've decided to share it with you. Tracklist:- 1. One Tooth Henderson - Lucie Goes Up! (1:20) 2. Woolfy - Odyssey (4:17) 3. Neon Indian - Deadbeat Summer (4:02) 4. Wilco - You Never Know (4:21) 5. Javelin - Trick Bikes (0:10) 6. Javelin - Susie Cues (1:54) 7. Javelin - Play A Slow Jam (0:19) 8. Bibio - Lovers' Carvings (3:54) [...]
Get in your car and head for the interstate. Pick up your friends and go somewhere. Strum furiously at the conditioned air. Dive bomb on the imaginary tremolo arm with reckless abandon. Stop for coffee at a time-loop, ghostly shell of a gas station. Get back in your car. [mp3] It Hugs Back - Unaware
When I was first approached by BBC Music to put together a list of albums I think should be nominated for the Mercury Music Prize, I was initially hesitant. First of all because I don't much care for awards, and if I'm honest, have never paid attention to the Mercury Prize. Secondly, because I hardly ever listen to complete albums these days. I want to be an elitist snob and pretend that I do, but most of my music is absorbed via an iPod on shuffle. Throwing around the year's music in my [...]
Πρωί Κυριακής, ΚΤΕΛ για το Ναύπλιο. Ένα ήσυχο πρωινό, με το λεωφορείο να διασχίζει αθόρυβα το αγουροξυπνημένο Υπόλοιπο Αττικής όπου κάποτε, όχι πολύ μακριά στο παρελθόν, ένα οικόπεδο αποτελούσε όνειρο ζωής του μέσου Έλληνα, πριν πάρει τη θέση του η Porsche Cayenne. Χωνόμαστε στο τούνελ, και μέσα στο πορτοκαλί ημίφως οι It Hugs Back στέλνουν τους απαλούς ήχους τους να με αγκαλιάσουν* γλυκά. Μέτρο το μέτρο, χιλιόμετρο το χιλιόμετρο, το Ναύπλιο έρχεται πιο κοντά, το περιεχόμενό του επίσης, και η μουσική μοιάζει καθησυχαστική, αισιοδοξη. Νιώθω μια σιγουριά - τη σιγουριά που νιώθει κανείς όταν ξέρει ότι πλησιάζει η πιο όμορφη [...]
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Spicy Tempeh and Broccoli Rabe Protein Punched by City Light, Magic Man and Smallpools
HAERTS: “All The Days”
