I cannot express to you how unbelievably excited I was to hear back in January that The Weakerthans were releasing a live album/concert film. Undeniably one of the best concerts I've ever been to was The Weakerthans with Lowest of the Low and Billy Bragg (unrelenting energy from each and every act), so I can attest, this is sure to be awesome! The CD/DVD will be called Live at the Burton Cummings Theatre and is set to be released March 23 via Anti- Records . It will offer "a jubilant [...]
Ed Sheeran is one of the music industries best kept secrets, why one of the major labels has not put a large advance in his hand and sent him to a studio I have no idea. His music is clever, witty sometimes way beyond his years. Last week he opened a show featuring Iglu & Hartley/New Politics at Norwich Art Centre, the place was half full when Ed started but by the end of his set it was packed. There are many reasons why Ed holds a crowd. [...]
Bloggers these days end up receiving more remixes than original music. I'm pretty sure other bloggers can attest to to this fact, but just in case they're feeling extra private about it I'll ask that you take my word for it. Out of say 100 emails I receive a day, I'd say at least 50 of them are remixes. This isn't necessarily a bad thing. I like a good remix just as much if not more than the average joe. I DJ'd a club night every single Friday for nearly 3 [...]
Do you ever listen to an album and think man this is just so good? For me this was the case with the latest release from Husky rescue. Chatting with Sean, I now remember him turning me onto this band sometime back pre-BIYL days. The promise the band showed on the previous two albums have all come wrapped up in this one and then some. This is an early contender for album of the year! It's beauty personified. Simplistic yet full of layered complexity. All the dreamy wintry sparse soundscapes are still there in abundance but with added accessibility. Somehow [...]
Communion, the London-based musician/fan collective responsible for some of the most talked about club nights in London, Leeds and Brighton, are to spread their wings in early 2010 with the release of a unique compilation featuring a host of previously unrecorded songs and exclusive one-off collaborations. 'Communion: The Compilation' will be released on the 1st March 2010 and features unheard tracks from the likes of Johnny Flynn, Mumford & Sons, Peggy Sue, Alessi's Ark, Jeremy Warmsley, Alan Pownall, Matthew & The Atlas and many more. The Record label/Club [...]
Communion, the London-based musician/fan collective responsible for some of the most talked about club nights in London, Leeds and Brighton, are to spread their wings in early 2010 with the release of a unique compilation featuring a host of previously unrecorded songs and exclusive one-off collaborations. 'Communion: The Compilation' will be released on the 1st March 2010 and features unheard tracks from the likes of Johnny Flynn, Mumford & Sons, Peggy Sue, Alessi's Ark, Jeremy Warmsley, Alan Pownall, Matthew & The Atlas and many more. The Record label/Club [...]
One of the better radio friendly indie guitar bands, Trail release a debut album on February 22nd titled To The Rest Of The World . It's a well produced and accomplished listen! Based on their debut's strength, I ran a Q &A session with lead singer Charlie Afif. 1. How long have the band been together and how did you meet? Alex (lead guitar/keyboards) and I (Charlie - vocals) first met in 2007 and began casually developing ideas in my bedroom studio. Quite soon we [...]
The Portland Arms Cambridge is a compact venue but with surprisingly good acoustics. My congratulations must go to the sound engineer who brought out the best from both bands. First up were The Foxes! Having been an admirer of this band since 2007, I had never actually seen them live before. The nine song set included a mixture of old and new tracks with great three part harmonies and a guitar sound that is honed to perfection. There really is something special about guitars played properly through decent valve [...]
The multi-platinum funk soul brothers, with 4 Top 10 albums to their name, return for the first time in five years with the first classic party album of the decade! Featuring collaborations with Roots Manuva and Paul Kaye. Huey, Fast and Frank have been missing in action for 5 years, caught up in an acrimonious legal battle with their first manager who they fired in 2003. 'Classic Fantastic' bursts out of that gloom like a glorious sunrise shooting infinite rays over a range of shadowy mountains, as spectacularly life-affirming as the last five years have been [...]
I'm head over heels with Ellie Goulding right now, though I hope I'm not being too obvious. Don't want to hand over relationship power too quickly, after all. Ellie is a busy bee these days, what with the release of 'Starry Eyed' as an official single on the 22nd, followed by her debut Lights on March 1st. The excitement around 'Starry Eyed' has of course lead up to a predictable abundance of remixes. The law of averages or Murphy's Law or the Blogospheric Code or some other such thing says most of these remixes will [...]
I talked about missing The Temper Trap train a month or so ago when I finally caught 500 Days of Summer on DVD. I've since had a chance to catch up, and ended up really enjoying their debut Conditions . If you're in a similar position and for whatever reason never looked into these Aussies, here's a very easy way you can without spending a penny! Temper Trap Giveaway 1 US winner will receive : (1)Temper Trap Poster (1)Copy of their debut, Conditions TO WIN : [...]
Most of you will know that I am good friends with Robert J. Manton, erstwhile lead singer of mod legends Purple Hearts. Many of you may not know about The Alley Jaggers, a cracking garage band he is part of. This project has been steadily developing over the last three years or so, growing out of Bob's original idea to write a concept album about growing up in 1970's Romford. Gradually this has developed into a full-blown band project with former members of The Marksmen. Marcus is lead guitar & [...]
Monday night saw me interview New Politics pre gig at Norwich Art Centre. The bane of a journalist's life is a soundcheck, as these things never run on time. However, this was a sound check and a half as I was already warming to these guys and the devil may care attitude. The interview ran something like this ...... Mark : Hi guys welcome to our fine city, can you give us some background on the band? It's a pretty bizarre tale to say [...]
It's been a while since we had a good contest 'round these parts! Time to end the dry spell. For one lucky reader we have: (1) In This Light On This Evening CD (1)Official Editors 2010 tour t-shirt TO WIN : Simply email me with your name and 'Editors Tour Giveaway' in the subject line. One winner will be selected at random this Friday! Good luck! If you don't happen to win (or even if you do) you may want to check out these new North American [...]
I love this! Brooklyn singer/songwriter Alyson Greenfield is "putting her best blog forward" in hopes of getting a slot on the 2010 Lilith Fair line up. "For an emerging feminist singer/songwriter, there is nothing bigger than the return of Lilith Fair. I'm using the blog as a platform to show why I believe I would not only fit in with the line up, but add something to it as well." Alyson posts new content regularly including anecdotes relating to Lilith Fair and free MP3s like: "Glitz and Glamour," a song about her time working as part [...]
I always find it interesting when a band ends up more successful outside their country of origin than in it. This happens a lot in these days of internet globalism we live in, but once upon a time a band might hope for a hit in their home territory with the idea of making it onto the charts in another country not even a glint in their eye. Now you have bands like Ladytron who end much bigger in America than in the UK. From what I've seen, that's the case with Brooklynites Shy Child. I never saw [...]
With all these new introducing posts I am enjoying running at the moment, I ask bands to send me a short biography that I can't find on Myspace. I think that the one from Cal is totally the best so far. There is plenty of substance to his music, lyrically reminding me of a young Billy Bragg. As Cal himself says they are songs of real life. Having checked him out there was not a track that did not take me back to halcyon days of youth. Standout tracks [...]
Glasgow's Blacktzar look set to garner further praise with the release of new single "Fade Into Life". Dropping March 15th on Scooter Records, this features mixes by DJ Mash and Salon Boris. It's a killer track reminding me both of New Order and to some degree for those who like an up-to-date comparison, White Lies. The excellent debut single "Rust" received widespread acclaim as well as plays on BBC Radio 1 and 6Music, plus Sat Bisla's exclusive Passport Approved Radio show that broadcasts across the USA. Having received financing the band will release a single a month via Scooter Records through [...]
You know I get enough new music through my mailbox and inbox, so for me to go chasing a band via Facebook they have to really grab me. Such is the case with The Mighty Low . I stumbled upon them via Alan McGee's Death Disco lineup for this week. You can take your pick from Wilco through Neil Young or even those famous Canadians The Band for comparisons. I think the short biography I ssked the band to put together for me sums them up pretty well: From the flat lake lands of southern [...]
The poster read Iglu & Hartley plus special guests New Politics. Guess no-one told New Politics that support bands are meant to turn up and play quietly! These guy's shook every nook and cranny of this converted church. What really impressed me was by the end of the set they had turned a disinterested crowd into a whooping sea of hands. I would guess no New Politics show is the same, at times I wondered if even they knew what was coming next. We had climbing of amp stacks [...]
The often excellent Odd Blood is a step into new directions for Yeasayer, and vocalist Chris Keating touched upon their process in a recent NY Times profile: [...]More about Yeasayer
This week we have a new numero uno and three tracks making the chart for the first time. [...]More about Hot Chip
I dag dök nya albumet från Massive Attack, Heligoland, upp på Spotify. Min recension: Helt jävla grymt! Splitting The Atom fick vi ju [...]More about Massive Attack
Miike Snow are pretty awesome, had the chance to see them perform when they opened up for Lykke Li and boy did they impress me. [...]More about Vampire Weekend
Phoenix, who delivered one of the best albums of 2009 once once with “Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix“, recently played an acoustic set for the German magazine [...]More about Phoenix
I don’t know about you guys, but for me there’s no better time of the year than late January to sit back, contemplate and assess the [...]More about St. Vincent
check it! beach house headed over to daytrotter to record a few tunes from their massive new album “teen dream,” already being hailed by many [...]More about Beach House
I’ve been listening to a lot of Pavement lately, and the more I do, the more increasingly clear it becomes that Spoon is the Pavement of the 2000s: Indie [...]More about Spoon
i know what youre thinking. “really? another day n night remix? really?” well, this one is way better than any other one youve ever heard, [...]More about Kid Cudi
Gorillaz / Damon Albarn has always held a very special place in my heart. Demon Days was one of my top albums [...]More about Gorillaz
TWO DOOR CINEMA CLUB | UNDERCOVER MARTYN
The Strange Boys - Be Brave
Phonat - "Love Hits The Fan" music video
Die Antwoord - Enter The Ninja (Official)
Strange Powers: Stephin Merritt and the Magnetic Fields - Official Trailer
Yeasayer – Odd Blood (Review)
Hot Chip: One Life Stand
TOUR: The Tallest Man On Earth Announces U.S. Dates
[mp3] Joanna Newsom - "Kingfisher"
New Releases V2.9
