Northampton quartet My First Tooth have announced a headline tour for September and along with the news are giving album track Twilight Theatre away as a free download. This has all the hallmarks of modern folk but with its expressive beat and stirring violin its a lot more enigmatic than your usual brand of pop-driven folk music. The vocals, infused with accent, are surprisingly soft and even when they become more impassioned as the song draws on, there's still an incredibly dreamy quality to them. My First Tooth - [...]
If you've ever wondered what someone means when they talk about an artist's voice being smoky, then look no further than Letting Up Despite Great Faults for the ultimate definition. Their latest single Teenage Tide is electro-pop at its best, with hazy vocals and optimistic lyrics, with an underlying sense of nostalgia. It's the type of music that acts as the perfect accompaniment to a lazy afternoon lying in the sun and helps to make long hot summer days that much more enjoyable & relaxing. Letting Up Despite Great [...]
This is another of those cases where I listen to a band's debut single and am left dumbfounded by its quality. The introduction for Two Islands from Liverpudlian quintet Outfit is brooding almost to the point of sounding as though it should be coming through the speakers at Halloween as the soundtrack to countless arrays of badly conceived ghost and vampire costumes. I'm aware that sounds a tad detrimental but it isn't supposed to be, especially when the vocals and intriguing electro-sounds kick in they manage to lift the whole song to a new and more [...]
I have to admit Twilight Singers are new to me but after hearing Blackbird And The Fox I will undoubtedly be listening to more of their music. The song, due for release on August 8th & written during the Station fires in California in 2009, is haunting, sublime and lyrically beautiful. This is indie rock infused with bluesy harmonies that make the whole track supremely affecting. It's not very often I get quite so taken with a song after one listen, but this has impressed me so much that I am quite simply hooked. [...]
On first hearing Birmingham's The Carpels perform, most people are instantly stuck by the variety of different genres and influences that are packed into each track. From indie to dubstep to punk and electronic their music infuses and twists sounds to create a clean but raw sound that is beginning to make waves in the mainstream. The band was fortunate enough to sign to One Beat Records last year, a small Birmingham-based label that's also responsible for bringing The Arcadian Kicks to the wider world. Last month The Carpels played at The Queen of Hoxton in [...]
I think it speaks volumes about a band when you see that the page they like on Facebook is 'Yes Prime Minister', you tend to end up expecting a certain 'British' sound to the music their producing! Luckily Rocketeer 's Leave Me doesn't disappoint! Felix Hagan vocals are as impressive as his beard, and ensure that the rather sinister lyrics are delivered with a ferocity & passion that only the British seem to be capable of. This is addictive Indie/Rock with a truly English backbone, and a song that will hopefully appeal to your tastes as much [...]
Philadelphia's The War On Drugs will release their latest album Slave Ambient on August 16th and ahead of its release they have made new track Come To The City available as a free download. The song, with it's indie/rock vocals intelligently complimented by a fittingly ambient backing track, acts as the perfect prelude to the album, and hopefully gives an accurate idea of the quality to be expected later this month. Come to the City by DOJAGSC
Shooting from out of Leeds with all guns a’blazing, Officers are without questions one of the most underrated bands in the UK right now. Why? Because, after touring with the likes of Placebo and The Cooper Temple Clause (RIP), and exciting audiences all around Europe (including storming sets at renowned festivals including Germany’s Rock Am Ring) they have still only received minimal attention from the mainstream printed press. Despite heavy radio rotation from XFM's Eddy Temple-Morris (thanks to their anthemic new track 'The Competition Winner') on a range of national stations and having claimed the production support of [...]
There seems to be a phenomenal amount of optimistic music around at the moment which is a situation some may find sickly-sweet but personally I am loving. Fitting into this category is the latest release from Nashville duo Clemency . Reach is the second of five songs which will be released over the next few months before being collected on their EP My Heart Is The Eastern Horizon due for release in November. The track is an electro-infused indie offering filled with exhilarating harmonies. Even the video is cute, with the whole thing animated/drawn by [...]
New York quintet, The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart have announced their new track Tomorrow Never Dies . The song is filled with the type of dreamy vocals that have seen bands such as Yuck enjoy popularity recently, all driven by sweeping, uplifting guitar rhythms. A gorgeous track from an incredibly exciting young indie band. The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart - Tomorrow Dies Today by PIAS Entertainment
Back in April the music world lost a legend when Poly Styrene lost her battle with cancer and, fittingly, her first posthumous release also acts as a fitting tribute for last year's lost legend Michael Jackson. Ghoulish is fittingly retro with lyrics that reveal how startingly in touch with Modern Life she was even at 53 years of age. Ironically the video, which features a series of tribute acts auditioning as Jackson and seemingly makes a comment on him being irreplaceable, also serves as a becoming testament to Poly Styrene herself. The single [...]
I have to admit I've developed a weakness for acoustic artists in the past few months but of all those I've featured recently none have the soulfulness of voice possessed by Michael Kiwanuka . His latest single I'm Getting Ready is so relaxing that it makes the perfect antidote for anyone else who, like me, finds themselves in the middle of an increasingly hectic lifestyle. Effortless and classy with a truly classic soul sound this, cheesey as it may sound, will calm you even if it is just for three minutes. The song is [...]
A couple of months ago I featured Feral Love by Wakey!Wakey! after being bowled over by the gorgeous tones of Michael Grubbs' voice. I was rather pleased, then, when I received an email today pointing me in the direction of their cover of Beach House's Zebra . More stripped back than the original it completely draws focus onto the lyrics of the song and the aforementioned purely brilliant vocals of Grubbs. If you're a fan of pitch perfect harmonies and original sounding covers this is definitely one for you.
Don't get me wrong I'm well aware that Vomit doesn't make for the most attractive of names for a song but bear with me here! The track, taken from Girls ' second album Father, Son, Holy Ghost due for release 12th September in the UK, is rather anthemic once it gets going, with guitar riffs that would make many a 70s rock band proud and a slightly haunting repeated hook of 'Looking For Love'. Having listened to the whole song I still cannot work out why exactly it has such a title but the music [...]
Thanks to yet more internet issues yesterday I didn't get chance to post this when it came through yesterday, so it is a tad delayed. Theme Park 's debut single A Mountain We Love/Wax isn't released until August 29th but is well worth sharing with you now, especially the latter. Softer and more affecting than A Mountain We Love , Wax 's indie/electronic chorus will appeal to fans of Friendly Fires while the verses are less sugar-sweet thanks to the deep vocals employed by the lead singer (who I'm afraid I'm unable to name for [...]
One of the most hyped artists of the year Ed Sheeran has released the video for his next single You Need Me, I Don't Need You . The track will be well known to those who have been following Ed for a while but this longer version is accompanied by a video that is as intelligent and heartfelt as his music is. Matthew Morgan cuts an impressive figure as he signs in time with Sheeran's extraordinarily pacey verse while the use of black and white emphasises the simplicity that contributes to the widespread appeal Ed's music is [...]
Testtone3 should be hailed one of Leeds' most exciting and innovative bands of the last decade, coming across like a phat (note, the ph...) mutant crossbreed of Pendulum and Hendrix, the group is made up of Adam Gauton (vocals), Andrew Precious (bass) and Richard Precious on synths and programming alongside the more recent addition of robo-armed drummer Matt Collinge. As stated, the band’s music crosses genres in a way that few other acts in the North of England can confidently boast. Taking the heavier parts of Pendulum and mixing that in with the punk snarl of The [...]
The nominations for this year's Mercury Music Prize, celebrating the best albums the UK has had to offer over the past year have just been announced. As is to be expected it includes a mixture of mainstream, critically acclaimed and slightly obscure artists. The full list consists of: Adele - 21 Anna Calvi - Anna Calvi Elbow - Build A Rocket Boys! Everything Everything - Man Alive Ghostpoet - Peanut Butter Blues [...]
Chorus Of Fools by Sheffield quartet The Crookes is released today and, if you haven't heard it, it's certainly worth a few minutes of your time. Taken from their debut album Chasing After Ghosts this heady track has an incredibly charming retro feel about it; think The Smiths and a classic English sound associated with indie-pop of the 80s. This even extends to the video, shot by the band themselves, with it's framed, dreamy quality complimenting the, at times, melancholic & contemplative lyrics. This is one of those cases where I get the feeling I'm [...]
Anyone who found themselves to be fans of the gritty nature of Glasvegas ' first album may find themselves surprised by their latest single Shine Like Stars , released 18th July. Taken from their top ten second album, EUPHORIC /// HEARTBREAK \\\ , the track is notably a lot more optimistic than the likes of Daddy's Gone ; an aspect which also succeeds in making it sound a lot more anthemic than the music taken from their self-titled debut. However, James Allan's strong & hardy Glaswegian accent remains an overwhelming factor of the song ensuring that [...]
Eclectically Challenged
[Listen] Dawn and Marra- Wicked Little Girl
Kanye West Debuts “New Slaves” On Sides Of Buildings
