Is it just me who actually liked Ignore the Ignorant ? I'm asking this as a serious question - I can think of nobody else I know who enjoyed that album. They give various reasons for their dislike of it: "It didn't sound like The Cribs!"; "Johnny Marr ruined it!";"It didn't work as an album!" Personally, I think they're wrong on all three counts, but then again, it did feature my absolute favourite song out of all their catalogue ( City of Bugs ) - well, at least it did until now. More on that later, though. [...]
RAC (Remix Artist Collective) have made a name for themselves by doing just perfect remixes of artists from Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros to Lana Del Rey , but today they have moved into original territory with the summer jam of Hollywood . It's a striaght-forward relaxed pop-groove, but just brimming with those addictive little rhythms and hooks that have made RAC famous. And that they've brought in the wonder that is Penguin Prison for the warming vocals only adds to the summer vibe. (hat tip to our [...]
The never-ending arguments about the decline or even death of originality in music are becoming increasingly irrelevant, in my eyes. What is most important is not what a band do, but instead, how they do it, and above all, what they do with it . There are many bands around that Various Cruelties could be lumped in with, and in the wrong hands, their passionate, shamelessly poppy songs would be stripped of all life and enthusiasm, but by deciding to go down the self-titled route for their debut, they've made it more like a declaration [...]
The never-ending arguments about the decline or even death of originality in music are becoming increasingly irrelevant, in my eyes. What is most important is not what a band do, but instead, how they do it, and above all, what they do with it . There are many bands around that Various Cruelties could be lumped in with, and in the wrong hands, their passionate, shamelessly poppy songs would be stripped of all life and enthusiasm, but by deciding to go down the self-titled route for their debut, they've made it more like a declaration [...]
What's that? I believe that's the sound of some Fast Years [ Twitter / Facebook ] news. Oh, and a new song for free download. That's a win, right? If you haven't got your carefree summery pop fix yet today, you can sort that out with plenty of listens to this. Yes, plenty of listens , as one will just not do. Let Me Try is the first song to be unveiled from the Brooklynites' forthcoming EP, Women , which makes a splash over here on June 25th. I'm not sure if that timing could actually be [...]
Normally, saying that an album is never able to fully settle into itself would be a criticism, but in the case of Fog Electric , this is a compliment. It doesn't settle because its creators never really allow it to, creating a set of songs in which each component is refreshingly different to the ones it's surrounded by. I must say that KScope Records have a lot going for them right now. Two weeks ago they released one of my favourite albums of the year in Anathema's Weather Systems , and they've quickly followed it with this: an [...]
The bullshit about guitar music being dead is getting pretty tiring. While it may have ceased to be a mainstream concern (and no wonder; I look back on the days of so-called 'landfill indie' and tremble fitfully), it is still very much alive. In fact, it is in rude health. One just needs to know where to look for it. This is all a very roundabout way of saying that The Big Sleep's [ Twitter / Facebook ] new album is excellent. It would seem that the band themselves are a touch too modest for their own good, however: the [...]
Bad Life are really making a name for themselves putting out some of the best electro and techno sounds around at the moment - they were the people to introduce MAO for starters. And now they are rounding off a pretty damn big year by putting out a compilation of some of their finest output from the likes of ZZT , autoKratz , Attaque , TWR72 , Burns , NT89 , and more. We've got a few of the highlights for your pleasure below, but if this doesn't start [...]
The Brute Chorus ( facebook / twitter ) may have first appeared on my radar a couple of years ago when Chew Lips did a rather perfect remix of Heaven for them, but they have been grinding away at the London scene for even longer . They have taken that time to hone their sound, however, with the result being the foot stomping, heart-grinding of Death Came Walking (video below). It's got the catchy White Stripes-esque groove and rumbling drums, but undertones of despair and aggression. The vocals of front-man James Steel may owe [...]
Live at Leeds ( facebook / twitter ) is set to take over the city on the first weekend of May for its sixth instalment with hundreds of acts playing across some of the city's best venues including The Brudenell Social Club, Nation of Shopkeepers and this year's new addition The Wardrobe. It's one of my favourite day festivals in the UK and, for 2012, has put together a fantastic line-up - from King Charles opening proceedings on Friday at The Cockpit to Male Bonding and Young Magic on closing night. Dog is Dead [...]
Peter Wilson has been under the radar for a few years now, but he's still been keeping rather busy. Since the release of I Never Thought This Day Would Come , the artist also known as Duke Special has been involved in, and released things from, all sorts of projects: there have been two b-sides albums, music composed for plays and films, and inspired by books and even photographs . Yep, Wilson's spent a while doing less-than-conventional things. However, while he hasn't been a 'mainstream' concern for a few years, his new album looks set to change that. [...]
When a band goes out of their way to describe the concept (!) of their debut EP (!!) as 'not pretentious at all', you can assume it probably isn't, but also that they've got serious ambitions. Such is the case with the newest Alcopop! Records signings, a Manchester quartet called Doctrines. The aforementioned debut EP (called ZE and due out in June) is 'inspired by that mad old guy Raymond Kurzweil, transhumanism and postgenderism... It's NOT pretentious at all. In the end it turns out to be a story about the importance of family, friends and love.' They were [...]
Manchester's Doctrines ( bandcamp /soundcloud) have an urgency and attitude that has given them somewhat of a visceral reputation for live performances up North with their punk-styled shouty indie, and choruses with sing-a-long pop sensibilities. On the musical spectrum they sit somewhere between Japandroids and Johnny foreigner, and our fine friends at Alcopop! are releasing their EP in a couple of months - so expect some beautiful packaging as ever. It's a four-part "futuristic tale inspired by that mad old guy Raymond Kurzweil, transhumanism and postgenderism" - and yet more from the perspective of a few [...]
Those frozen Swedish landscapes have a habit of producing some of the best synth-pop around, and The Blind ( facebook / twitter ) are the latest of that heritage to grace us with their delicate, soulful and warming sounds. They've got their debut album, Rivers, coming out this August - with a sound found in the digital back-and-forth between Martin Santti and his cousin Niclas Hallgren. We've got the first couple of songs from their debut today in Safe Tracks with its driving beat, and the softer almost folktronica-twinged A Million Miles. Grab them both for [...]
I've been sitting on this mixtape from Digits ( facebook / twitter ), the London-based but Toronto born producer, for far too long - and I've only got myself to blame because by finally sitting down and listening it in its entirety this week - I am firmly under its spell. We've heard a number of the tracks on here before, but all the way way through there is this subtle pulsating groove underpinning some sophisticated production. Subtlety and sophistication are would be the bywords in fact, with the whole record slowly getting under your skin [...]
I first wrote about Pegase back in 2009 when I fell in love with his dark, brooding demo Tears In The Rain - but he's finally back with his debut EP Without Reasons . This is certainly more upbeat than that demo, but his dramatic and cinematic style remains. The two original songs on the record both demonstrate Raphael Pegase's ability to find intelligence and rich, dreamy electropop soundscapes. And then alongside those tracks you've got a blissed out Giraffage remix, and charming and cutesy remix from Les Filles Et [...]
One of the marks of a genuinely great album is that it still has a massive impact a year after it's been released. It's not quite a year since the mighty Tellison returned with their long-overdue second album The Wages of Fear , but it's getting close to it, and we're happy to report that that album is still doing it for us. They have been writing new songs - we won't have to wait another three years for the third album at this rate! Success! - but have also found the time to spruce up an old one. [...]
Communion Records is still a young label, but it's undoubtedly the most exciting one the UK has to offer at present. The label's latest compilation 'New Faces' continues in their admirable ethos of championing fresh talent, and showcases songs from some of the artists they've launched in the past year including Michael Kiwanuka, Goyte and Ben Howard. The 20-track mixtape is full of highlights. Hotly-tipped upcomer Daughter is well-placed amongst the likes of James Vincent McMorrow and Lucy Rose, while Julia Stone (of Angus and Julia Stone fame), Matt Corby and Boy & Bear [...]
Communion Records is still a young label, but it's undoubtedly one of the most exciting one the UK has to offer at present. The label's latest compilation 'New Faces' continues in their admirable ethos of championing fresh talent, and showcases songs from some of the artists they've launched in the past year including Michael Kiwanuka, Goyte and Ben Howard. The 20-track mixtape is full of highlights. Hotly-tipped upcomer Daughter is well-placed amongst the likes of James Vincent McMorrow and Lucy Rose, while Julia Stone (of Angus and Julia Stone fame), Matt Corby and Boy & Bear demonstrate the [...]
Tiny Leaves is the moniker of multi-instrumentalist Joel Nathaniel Pike, and to quote Torches who pointed me his way - it's "gorgeous". The piano may be where the focus of the songs lie, but the soundscapes built with strings or horns beneath that just add to the intricately crafted cinematic beauty. His debut EP INTHESENARROWSPACES was released yesterday and you pick pick up the fourteen minutes of elegance on his Bandcamp . InTheseNarrowSpaces by TinyLeaves Introducing: Tiny Leaves was [...]
The Blue Walrus
Bison - Quill
Neutral Milk Hotel- Aeroplane Over the Sea
Mr Fogg - Eleven
Crocodiles - Endless Flowers
