As a small token of respect for Poly, we would like to print today`s statement from her Publicity company and repost our Generation Indigo mini review from Early March. You will be sadly missed Poly. Poly Styrene was a punk amongst punks. A ground breaking presence that left an unrepeatable mark on the musical landscape, she made history the moment she uttered, "Some people think little girls should be seen and not heard but I think oh bondage up yours!" The influence of Poly and X-ray Spex has been felt far and wide [...]
Until I work out that little damn code to redirect visitors to the new address. A manual link will take you to mojophenia`s new home. Please update your bookmarks and site feeds with http://mojophenia.com/ See you on the other side.
Hey, what can I say. Nearly two weeks down the line and the new look mojophenia is still confined to the deepest depths of Wordpress. A week, tops i`d say until we`re looking fresh and dandy like a botoxed virgin. In the meantime, A video taster from Connett`s second long player who were recently snapped up by the very cool 208 Records
Sam Friend - Part of the Show There`s a huge selection of reviews and music submissions waiting for deserved attention, in fact at a quick glance i`ve got promotional emails dated as far back as two months. Partly time management and occasional Blogger issues have forced a long overdue move to a brighter, rosier place on the Internet - It`s a bit like moving to a smarter looking neighbourhood with freshly cut lawns, parallel pavements and cable TV. Same name, different look, i`m hopeful the transition will be relatively seamless and I can get [...]
"Formed in San Francisco in 2009 by Wooden Shijps guitarist Ripley Johnson and his partner, Sanae Yamada, Moon Duo's first two critically acclaimed EPs, Killing Time (2009) and Escape (2010), fused the futuristic pylon hum and transistor reverb of Suicide or Silver Apples with the heat-haze fuzz of American rock 'n' roll to create tracks of blistering, 12-cylinder space rock. Now their debut album Mazes, recorded in San Francisco and mixed in Berlin during 2010 as the band prepared to move to the mountains of Colorado, explores a far broader, lighter, sound". The 28th [...]
Photo Credit Sofia Stolpe "What can we say you about that feeling? The feeling when you wake up and realize that this might all just be a part of that dream you had. You're neither asleep, nor awake, you're somewhere in between. The only thing you can be sure of is that you exist, or can you"? The joy of hearing Twiggy Frostbite on late night radio last year was something quite special, the single release `Heroes` was truly captivating, it`s disappointing that the haunting [...]
"The Boom Bang is comprised of a group of young friends from suburban Oklahoma City that play loud, fun music. Creating a combination of garage, surf and punk music not unlike Ty Segall, Jeff The Brotherhood or Thee Oh Sees, the foursome of James Smith (Vocals), Tommy McKenzie (Guitar), Weston Lorance (Bass), and Charles Whetstone (Drums) has been playing together for two years. In that time, the band has managed to work their way onto festival performances at South By Southwest, DFest, the Norman Music Festival, and the Neon Reverb Music Festival. With one national release under their belt through [...]
"Sometimes They Come Back, The Perfect Guardaroba's second album, is an explosive mix of rock'n'roll and punk. It's the result of the bands musical and personal experiences inside the Italian Indie world. The record focuses on social relations, at all levels, in this modern society that tends to make all relations temporary and unstable. All these inputs are processed to create a sharp and ironic flavour thanks to the bands capability to playdown". It seems quite plausible that The Perfect Guardaroba have recorded `Sometimes They come back` as a spontaneous live [...]
Generation Indigo resists being a nostalgic Punk by-product and has happily not succumbed to total Pop degeneracy. Assessing Poly`s marvellous monotone vocals is pure pleasure - This is a lady who summarised an entire youth movement and helped revolutionise Seventies counter culture ahead of changing musical styles. The twelve track release pokes around Pop standards with clever dub arrangements and non-commercial dance beats, the production gives a perfect vessel for her fascinating, yet non-cynical look on life. Obviously still caring, anti-war and very much socially aware, this fresh and exciting long player finds Poly Styrene hitting exactly the right balance [...]
"Empty Space Orchestra certainly knows how to fill a room. The Bend, OR quintet of impeccable musicians crafts a symphonic, melodic sound that seamlessly weaves together elements of space rock, prog-metal, noir jazz, post-rock and afro-punk all in one massive blast of energy". -And I finally realised, I listen to far too much music - Fantastic. Learn More And Buy Free Downloads
"Combining the unassuming guitar pop of the 50's and 60's with some of the fuzzier, kookier rock of the 90's and pre-apocalypse, Australian independent band The Honey Pies create music which is at once nostalgic and revelatory: Pre-post-rock, if you will". Marching through `The Honey Pies` new release is best described as riding your own playful Rock`N`Roll roller coaster, minus that uninspiring deep down queasy feeling of course. Try pairing The Coral with The Arctic Monkeys or The Drums with Eddie Cochran, that`s a huge bag of musical comparisons, maybe a little optimistic regarding [...]
"While most Radiohead fans were still soaking in the band's new album, Los Angeles' glamorous indie-pop group Robotanists reinterpreted, recorded and released their own version of The King of Limbs in its entirety, just 24 hours after its release". For Robotanists `The King Of Limbs` cover is of course a notable side project and melodic self indulgence - I would guess that the LA outfit also having their new and third album release `Plans In Progress` available is not merely an artist coincidence but a mischievous and clever honey trap. Indeed the system [...]
"Replete with jangly guitars and an instantly memorable harmony this single is the slickest slice of Indie Pop to grace your stereos this spring. Original, up-tempo and with eighties influences ranging from Orange Juice and The Style Council to The Pale Fountains, The Brights have been hailed for not sounding like every other indie band out there". Retro influences fuelled by no-nonsense Pop ideas, The Essex four-piece appear fresh and ready for a debut album assault, whilst previous gig reviews have used the terms fast paced and magnificently tight when choosing their typed words of praise [...]
StumbleUpon does bring up some occasional interesting pleasures. Three boxes ticked in fiery quick succession - Classic Rock, great gig flyer and a cute female bass player (obviously applying a political correctness certificate to that last statement). The Entrance Band, although a household name throughout California and surrounding states, UK success remains surprisingly sparse. As the above flyer indicates there`s a five date stint during March at ` The Satellite ` in Los Angeles and the video for `Lookout` below indicates how bloody good they are.
Richard`s debut `Beautiful Car Wreck`was stacked full of emotional observations and tricky little guitar twists - Overall a fine acoustic effort, polished with frequent echoes of periodic musical inspiration. Jump forward to `Eighty Two And A Half Chances`, the second long player release from the UK singer/songwriter and we`re treated with similar charm and success. Richard Lee has been sensible enough to retain those endearing qualities from `Beautiful Car Wreck` while magnificently expanding a fuller band sound - Many artists have been left with arms flaying having faced increased production techniques and in-depth melodies. I have a copy of [...]
Forlorn and socially rough around the edges, The Girobabies seem to have rattled our ears for ages. Armed with post-New Wave angst and energy not seen since the early Punk Rock pioneers, these guys are still self promoted through social networking and gig goers word of mouth - A new long player has been promised for sometime this year. `Social Not Working` is deeply submersed in Intelligent Punk exploration and working class lyrical observations, while The Girobabies are not going to be everyone's drug of choice, I`m pretty sure they`d be happy with that idea though. Grab the six track [...]
Photo Credit Silvia Bergomi "It is a peculiar one-man project (with a little help from his girlfriend who sings on some tracks) born in the heat of this past Italian summer. He was influenced from many different artists such as Bibio, Gonjasufi, Flying Lotus, the Radio Dept, the United States of America, Ash Ra Tempel and Captain Beefheart. He experimented with old-fashioned stuff like analog synthesizers and tape machines. His uplifting inspiration led him to psychelicious noises and [...]
Thom Yorke and co still managing to produce media carnage with release dates and cryptic on-line messages. The official release date for Radiohead`s new album `The King Of Limbs` was tomorrow (Sat 19th), well as world Internet commotion informs us, it`s ermmmm now or to be exact, around an hour ago - Well to be honest, all a bit cloak and dagger for me. Video for Lotus Flower above, fans will adore it and non-believers will take some persuading. That`s Radiohead all over really, great tune though.
Squeeze will mark the 30th anniversary of their seminal album East Side Story in true South East London style. Since reuniting in 2007, Squeeze have undertaken four major sold out tours of the US and UK and have become firm festival favourites, with hits like Up The Junction, Tempted and Cool For Cats. Long-time friends and collaborators, The Feeling, will be special guests on the night, alongside a few other surprise appearances. Full line-up below for the annual week long Teenage Cancer Trust event listed below, the [...]
"A superb collection of acoustic banter, post-minimal production with mature observations. Akron Family, Grizzly Bear and The Dodos are first thought cross references". Maintaining a clear focus through the barrage of popular music that we accumulate on a weekly basis is a challenge. I try and mix things up, maybe show a lighter side of our grouped musical tastes and occasionally we say wtf ! Uncles play a clever lyrical game, they'd list musical influences i`ve probably never heard and talk of places i`m surely never been to. Music and accents are global links, Uncles are [...]
MOJOPHENIA
Monday Music – 28 May 2012
Bison - Quill
