I've been wrestling with charges of being a "music snob" lately, so here's one last retrospective list. This one's built to show that while there's not often much evidence of it on this site, I do actually have something of a soft spot for pop junk. In my darkest hours I do find myself turning to the likes of Dire Straits and Crowded House and The Eagles, and this year has added a few more tracks to what I euphemistically call my 'guilty pleasures' playlist. 5. The Boxer [...]
Words: Saam Das I'd love to say that this isn't a goodbye. But sadly, it is. Last month, Mammal Club called it a day . Simply put, they weren't enjoying themselves enough to continue. Their parting gift is a song called 'Origami', embodying their giddy experimental pop style that will be missed. I never managed to see the band live but I was confident that a time would come when I'd succeed in my quest. [...]
Mammal Club have released the video for 'Painting', their atmospheric single they released back in May. (Read my review here. ) In the promo, singer Wilson Astley is spinning round in place while various other images and colours are overlaid on top of him. Pretty cool-looking video to match a cool song. Watch it below. Click here to view the embedded video.
On paper, my Friday had the most challenging schedule for the entire weekend, with 2 panel sessions (and a performance in between, all the way down on the seafront – eep!), and lots of and lots of band clashes. It had the potential to be the most frustrating day of all, but to be honest, it actually worked out fine, thanks to my planning and some accidental run-ins with some TGTF favourites. First, I’ll explain what happened in the afternoon… After getting shut out of a morning session because “it’s full up” (I’d been to sessions [...]
Words: Saam Das We've been bigging up Mammal Club since October 2010 , and this week they released a new single, 'Painting'. It's perhaps the most pop record they've created yet it still carries the distinctive experimental elements of previous releases. In short, it's a banger. A man down from the quartet that I originally wrote about, a fearsome foursome that produced the terrific 'Au' EP , Mammal Club nonetheless show little [...]
Newcastle trio Mammal Club are releasing a new single next month, called 'Painting'. I look upon most synth/guitar rock pairings with some suspicion: ever since MGMT hit the big time with 'Kids'. it seemed like every new fledgling band I saw gig in Washington had a synthesiser in their live arsenal, not necessarily used to maximum effect. Seriously. I've gotten to the point where as soon as I see a Nord or Korg onstage for an opening band I think, oh god, not again, really? Thankfully, Mammal [...]
It's my birthday today, and I'm going to have to dream up a whole new excuse to explain away my age. Though, as Einstein would tell you, having recently completed a trans-Atlantic flight, I am, in effect, slightly younger than I would have been if I'd stayed in the UK. This may be a hard concept to fully grasp, so Blur's Alex James demonstrates the molten fluidity of time in the only way he knows. MIXTAPE: FIRST! Le Parody is at pains to explain that [...]
Newcastle band Mammal Club have been on the lips of many professional friends of mine, but I haven't really gotten a good chance to listen to them. Until now. The band - now a trio - have released a video for new song 'Toward You with Lust'. Its sultry piano line is the furthest you could get from Coldplay and it's so unpretentious, the sweeping lushness makes me compare them to Trophy Wife , just harder. Listen and watch below. Click here [...]
Songs are pretty amazing things. It's magical that such a small thing can be so powerful. In the blink of an eye a song can make you smile, dance, cry, think, laugh, etc. These are the ones that did all those things for me the second half of 2011. ♫ = Click to play & right-click to download 25. ♫ The Lisps - Try / A late addition in the year but after it became a family anthem during the holidays it solidified it's greatness. A paerfect song to kick [...]
This new recording & video from Mammal Club is a more laidback number than earlier tracks from the band. The song entitled 'Toward You With Lust' starts with that characteristic keyboard whilst the repetition of the reverbed lyrics makes the whole thing seem a little surreal, especially with the vintage video of a school sports day. Founded by ex members of Yourcodenameis:milo and The Eyejab, Mammal Club is a three piece alternative rock band from Newcastle. The band's debut, The Au EP, was released on the 2nd of May last year. Check [...]
Words: Saam Das We first talked about Northerners Mammal Club in October 2010 , followed by our excitement over their 'Au' EP last April. 'Otter' still stands out as one of my favourite tracks of 2011. Anyway, they've returned with a wonderfully ethereal slice of experimental pop, which you can listen to below. 'Toward You With Lust' is actually a track that's been floating along for well over a year now, with the [...]
The little bird in the artwork above may be a nod to the smaller nature of the EP but don't think for a second that these mini-albums aren't serious beasts. This is some Hitchcockian Birds business with ferocious and passionate music being delivered by some of the most exciting bands breaking out right now. It was certainly an exciting year for the often under-appreciated EP format. In the increasingly saturated music world I really enjoy a well crafted EP that leaves me reaching for the repeat button instead of checking to see how [...]
We're not entirely sure if a bonafide music scene can actually exist in a city anymore. Since that damn Internet thingy got invented it seems that everyone's " into a bit of everything ", so tribes don't properly exist in large numbers like they used to in decades gone by, and scenes -where lots of bands share a sound, a fashion or a culture - don't generally gather much momentum in the modern era. These days, what we seem to have in their place is simply a bunch of bands, from all ends of the spectrum and a multitude of genres, that [...]
With the untimely demise of Ignition Festival meaning that Newcastle's wait for a national recognised music festival continues, you'd be forgiven for thinking that there is simply not the market for live gigs in the North East. However, having lived in Newcastle for the best part of nineteen years, I can confirm that this is certainly not the case, and September's Month Of Fridays is destined to reiterate my beliefs. Founded by a group of like minded, music loving companions, including radio presenters, musicians and event promoters, Month of Fridays is a realistic yet innovative event, set to [...]
![[EP] Mammal Club – THE AU EP (w/ “Otter” & “Hang”)](http://cdn.elbo.ws/posts/3570847_lg.jpg)
well i don't think we're ever gonna know ♫ Mammal Club - Otter Keep your eye on Mammal Club. Seriously. If these guys aren't huge by new years then there is no justice in the world. I wish I could say they were my find but it was Brighton's The Recommender that tipped me off to these guys from Newcastle who are currently reigning over my iTunes with an iron fist of an EP. "Otter" kicks off the 4 tracks and stops me in my tracks every time I hear [...]
During my freshman year of high school, I played tuba in the marching band. And believe it or not, it was a pretty cool experience. Granted, I quit the instrument and the band after that year, but during the span of my introduction to high school, I marched around on a field in uniform and [...]
Jeg elsker musik, der overrasker mig og får mig til at spidse ører. Musik der tør gå andre veje end de konventionelle. Derfor er jeg ret begejstret for engelske Mammal Club , der ikke er bange for at foretage overraskende musikalske skift i deres sange. Hvis man hørte de enkelte instrumenter alene, ville bandets musik i store dele ikke give meget mening, men summen af dem skaber en kompleks sammensat symbiose. Det er eksperimenterende pop med en kompleksitet på højde med såkaldt math rock . Det er dejligt forfriskende som lytter ikke at være i [...]
Everything Everything are a band that's known to be something of an acquired taste, but our palate devoured them as if they'd been prepared by a Michelin -starred chef. Some dismissed their sound as over-complicated or too random, but we bloody loved it, finding them incredibly inventive and original, whilst still providing hooks and singles in abundance. Well, Mammal Club are being touted as a more palatable Everything Everything, so we're poised and salivating all over our keyboard. We'd heard Mammal Club's debut EP, AU , upon it's release on the Everybodys Stalking [...]
What we have here, then, is two things in one: firstly, it is the next in our series of acoustic unplugged sessions by some of the top musical talent around; secondly, it is a warning against ever setting up and recording an acoustic session next to a railway line and a building site on a windy day. Nonetheless, and despite the wind gods interfering, London-based pop rock band Wolf Gang were kind enough to sit down and deliver a fantastic acoustic variation on their next single, The King and All of His Men . Check it out below. [...]
Regardless of the innumerable inner city pseudo-festivals that've continually cropped up over recent history, the Shoreditch-based Stag & Dagger indubitably has something quite special about it, primarily due to its bookers' ability to foresee musical trends and tendencies with unnerving accuracy. Last time we meandered on over Eastwards way back when (or 2009) we caught the likes of the damn good (The xx, The Twilight Sad, Evan Dando), the damn dodgy (Jack Peñate, The Temper Trap) and damn dubstep (Rusko) . With a comparatively streamlined line up , this year's bash looks equally essential and although [...]
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Noteworthy (Stream): Kanye West – Black Skinhead (SNL Performance)
Watch Fred Armisen’s SNL farewell with Carrie Brownstein, Kim Gordon, J Mascis, Aimee Mann
Kanye West Performs “Black Skinhead” & “New Slaves” On ‘SNL’ Season Finale: Watch
Watch Kanye West on Saturday Night Live, performing “Black Skinhead” and “New Slaves”
