Blog: Exitfare

CMJ 2k8 Preview: The Voom Blooms

Oct 22, 2008, 12:20pm Exitfare

Myspace // "Anna" [mp3] One of the few highlights of this year's disappointing CMJ line-up is The Voom Blooms . The Loughborough four piece has been an Exitfare favorite for a few years now , due to their penchant for mixing blistering energy, angular riffs, and wonderfully catchy choruses together into brilliant three minute songs. Championed by Steve Lamacq, NME, and Rolling Stone, it boggles my mind [...]

• The Voom Blooms - Anna

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Artist:	The Voom Blooms
Title:	Anna
Link Text:	"Anna"
File Name:	Anna.mp3
Bitrate:	128 kbps
Year:	2006

Psirens

Oct 21, 2008, 1:32am Exitfare

Last FM // "The Trust Network" [Audio] I am off to CMJ today, so I'll have plenty of show reviews, pics, and goodies to post throughout the week. Before I go I want to leave you with a tune from Psirens, a five-piece that featured future members of Elle Milano and had a sound not that all unlike them. The band formed around Adam and James while they were in college in Yately, Hampshire, but when they went to university in Leicester, they [...]

• Psirens - The Trust Network

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Artist:	Psirens
Title:	The Trust Network
Link Text:	"The Trust Network"
File Name:	The Trust Network.mp3
Bitrate:	128 kbps

Maths Class "Nerves"

Oct 17, 2008, 1:03am Exitfare

Myspace // "Nerves" [Audio] // Now This Will Take Two Hands EP [Buy] There are three bands that have risen to the top of Brighton in the past couple of years. We've already talked a lot about Elle Milano and Blood Red Shoes, but we've neglected Maths Class, whose great Now This Will Take Two Hands EP came out this past July. The angular math rock five piece, consisting of Tim Sketchley, Piers Cowburn, Andy [...]

• Maths Class - Nerves

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Artist:	Maths Class
Title:	Nerves
Link Text:	"Nerves"
File Name:	Maths_Class-Nerves.mp3
Bitrate:	128 kbps

Sky Larkin "Fossil, I"

Oct 16, 2008, 2:12am Exitfare

Myspace // "Antibodies" [Audio] Those of you in the States, Sky Larkin will be doing two dates in NY next week during CMJ -- one official showcase and one party. Check their Myspace for more details. This is the band's first single on Wichita Records , out on October 20th. Looks like the video was shot somewhere in New York.

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Hatcham Social

Oct 14, 2008, 12:20am Exitfare

[Photo Credit: Nicola Pea] Myspace // "How Soon Was Then" [mp3] // "So So Happy Making" [Video] // Crystal World [Buy] New Cross group Hatcham Social formed in '06 when David Javu met brothers Tobias and Finnigan Kidd, the latter of which left the Klaxons to focus on the new group. The band is influenced by '80s stalwarts like Orange Juice, [...]

• Hatcham Social - How Soon Was Then

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Artist:	Hatcham Social
Title:	How Soon Was Then
Link Text:	"How Soon Was Then"
File Name:	How Soon Was Then.mp3
Bitrate:	96 kbps

Operahouse: New EP

Oct 13, 2008, 1:17am Exitfare

[Photo Credit: Ami Barwell] Mypsace // "100 Years" [Audio] // "Diane" [Video] // Change in Nature EP [Buy] Novermber 10th will see the physical release of Change in Nature (it's on iTunes now), the debut EP from London group Operahouse . With a sound at times reminiscent of the Maccabees or Look See Proof, the EP contains the tracks [...]

• Operahouse - 100 Years

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Artist:	Operahouse
Title:	100 Years
Link Text:	"100 Years"
File Name:	01 100 Years.mp3
Bitrate:	128 kbps

Futurism vs. Passeism

Oct 10, 2008, 1:27am Exitfare

Myspace // "Motion Answer" [mp3] There are those youths who smash windows and rob tourists who call themselves rebels, but it seems that the real rule breakers have their noses buried in books and trade in the art of intellectualism. Much like These New Puritans, London's Futurism vs. Passeism are an other side of the Atlantic no wave outfit that owes as much to the music of today as they to do to early '80s NYC. While they are not quite Sonic Youth, [...]

• Futurism vs. Passeism - Motion Answer.mp3

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Artist:	Futurism vs. Passeism
Link Text:	"Motion Answer"
File Name:	Motion Answer.mp3
Bitrate:	96 kbps

Foals "Olympic Airways"

Oct 9, 2008, 9:04pm Exitfare

Myspace // "Olympic Airways" [mp3] // "Olympic Airways" [Buy] This is the latest single from Foals, which features two brand new tracks as B-sides, "Glaciers" and 'Unthink This." While this is good and all, I think it's high time for some new music.

• Foals - Olympic Airways

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Artist:	Foals
Title:	Olympic Airways
Link Text:	"Olympic Airways"
File Name:	1-04 Olympic Airways.mp3
Year:	2008

Wintermute: New EP

Oct 8, 2008, 12:23pm Exitfare

Myspace // "Spanish Girls" [mp3] Two months ago, the brilliant Leeds-based On the Bone Records released the debut EP from locals Wintermute, a band that has become the premier math-pop band in Northern England. Much like contemporaries such as Foals and Dartz!, the band has capitalized on the promise of early singles with a memorable first release, albeit in Wintermute's case we're only getting an EP. Fun with Wizard Stencils may be quite a tease at only six tracks, but the [...]

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Mystery Jets "Half in Love with Elizabeth"

Oct 7, 2008, 12:13am Exitfare

Myspace // "Half in Live with Elizabeth" [mp3] (Electric version) Here's the latest single from the Mystery Jets, taken from the band's sophomore album Twenty One . It's one of this year's very best albums.

• Mystery Jets - Half In Love With Elizabeth (Electric Version)

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Artist:	Mystery Jets
Title:	Half In Love With Elizabeth (Electric Version)
Link Text:	"Half in Live with Elizabeth"
File Name:	02 Half In Love With Elizabeth (Electric Version).mp3
Bitrate:	128 kbps

Simon Says No!

Oct 6, 2008, 10:13pm Exitfare

[Photo Credit: Julie Damkjær] Myspace // "Para Cirkus" [mp3] While at the Great Escape in Brighton earlier this year, I picked up an EP from Bergen, Norway group Simon Says No!, and I had this to say: "If a band does not try to emulate their heroes, then something is very wrong. Rock n' roll should be about danger and passion and musicians are supposed to incite a desire to rebel and break [...]

• Simon says No! - Para Cirkus!

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Artist:	Simon says No!
Title:	Para Cirkus!
Link Text:	"Para Cirkus"
File Name:	02 Para Cirkus!.mp3
Bitrate:	128 kbps

Exitfare Videography: The Cardigans

Oct 3, 2008, 1:49am Exitfare

Myspace // "Hanging Around" [mp3] When I did Exitfare's first videography last November, it was another feature I intended to do regularly, and the second band I wanted to focus on were The Cardigans, but it was another thing that slipped through the cracks. Eleven months later, I am finally getting around to it, and rather than giving a full run down of their history, for the most part, I want to let their videos speak for themselves. [...]

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Samtidigt som

Oct 2, 2008, 12:54am Exitfare

[Photo Credit: Niklas Hjelm] Myspace // "Constant in Motion" [mp3] I just spent an hour tracking down info about Samtidigt som on the internet, but I am basically in the same spot as I was when I started. I need to brush up on my Swedish. What I do know is this: the band is from Gothenburg (Göteborg), a city that is Sweden's capital of indie rock, birthing other great such as Broder Daniel/Hakan Hellstrom, [...]

• Samtidigt Som - Constant in motion

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Artist:	Samtidigt Som
Title:	Constant in motion
Link Text:	"Constant in Motion"
File Name:	Constant in motion.mp3
Bitrate:	128 kbps
Year:	2008

Mañana "Make A Tiger"

Oct 1, 2008, 12:34am Exitfare

Myspace // "Make A Tiger" [mp3] I can name Swiss indie bands on one hand, and Basel five-piece Mañana are by far the best, cobbling together influences like Coldplay, Doves, and at times, Sigur Ros for a driving, moody rock assault. The band formed was 2003 by Manuel Bürkli and Jan Krattiger as an acoustic duo, but quickly expanded to their current format. Later that year they eventually supported I Am Kloot, Keane, Mew, and A-ha. The band released their [...]

• Manana - Make a Tiger

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Artist:	Manana
Title:	Make a Tiger
Link Text:	"Make A Tiger"
File Name:	03 Make a Tiger.mp3
Bitrate:	128 kbps

Kotki Dwa

Sep 30, 2008, 12:38am Exitfare

Myspace // "Pad" [mp3] // "Robin's Clogs" [Video] Sorry about no post yesterday -- I had a busy weekend coupled with an incredibly busy at work, so it didn't even occur to me that I had forgotten to get something together. Kotki Dwa is a Leeds/Bristol/Milton Keynes trio I have been meaning to write about for quite some time. The name of the band comes from a Polish lullaby, and while [...]

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Shrag

Sep 26, 2008, 12:36am Exitfare

Myspace // "Hopelessly Wasted" [mp3] // "Talk to the Left" [Video] Brighton is slowly gaining on Leeds as the best place for new music in England. The band takes the early '90s DIY punk thing and updates it for the future. They might be all too familiar to some, but it's the unique personality of the band that makes them stand out. If you've ever wondered what Bis would sound like if they were all riot-grrl [...]

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Exitfare Favorites: The Liberties "Up the Bracket"

Sep 25, 2008, 12:59am Exitfare

Editor's Note: Back in January, I had intended this to be a regular series, but after I did a post on The Verve's Urban Hymns, I let this column go. I've tried a number of new things on the site over the years, but one reason I really want this one to stick is so I do not lose focus on the great albums from the past. The focus of Exitfare has always been on the new and cutting-edge music, and increasingly so on unsigned groups, but there will always be a place here for the classics. [...]

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Such Identicals

Sep 24, 2008, 12:53pm Exitfare

Myspace // "Council Estate" [mp3] London's Such Identicals are a young band, more than likely forming some this year. They just recorded their demos in July and they have three songs posted on their Myspace, tunes that fall somewhere between the Libertines and the Violent Femmes. Besides that I really have nothing to say about them. They need more Myspace friends (they only have 23!) and could use a nice bio as well.

• Such Identicals - Council Estate

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Artist:	Such Identicals
Title:	Council Estate
Link Text:	"Council Estate"
File Name:	Council Estate.mp3
Bitrate:	128 kbps

Man Like Me

Sep 23, 2008, 11:51am Exitfare

Myspace // "Carny" [mp3] Man Like Me are a weird electro/hip hop trio from Camden that sound like a cross between Justice and Jamie T. Though it's not usually my style of music, I can't get their new single "Carny" out of their head. I can't tell if it's one of the better party songs of the year or awful crap, but either way, it's a super infectious and fun track and that's good enough for me.

• Man Like Me - Carny

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Artist:	Man Like Me
Title:	Carny
Link Text:	"Carny"
File Name:	Carny.mp3
Bitrate:	128 kbps
Year:	2008

Rotary Ten "Time Is Not A Line And I Am Not A Rock"

Sep 22, 2008, 2:23pm Exitfare

Myspace // "Idols of Our Own Design" [mp3] Early in '07 we covered Rotary Ten , a Sheffield outfit with a few singles, a hope, and some dreams. This past June, Xtra Mile Recordings dropped the band's debut album These Are Our Hands , but like the bad blogger that I am, I neglected to mention it. Here we are in the end of September and I am just getting around [...]

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