Blog: Mad Mackerel's Blog

The Big Sun hail from just up the road from us in Oxford, and while we always like to support our local music scene (which to be fair is pretty damn good), sometimes quality control can be an issue... Thankfully it is certainly not the case here as their new single, the intriguingly titled Pants! is as quirky and as engaging a slice of sweet indie pop as you could ever wish to hear. But then when you consider that angelically voiced lead singer Berry is backed by none other than former members of Oxford's indie [...]

Work Drugs are back with a first taste from their forthcoming album Mavericks. West Coast Slide is another example of their smoothly confident, upbeat indie pop that hums and fizzes with energy and an ultra catchy chorus. Download it below. Follow @madmackerel

Believe it or not, Mad Mackerel has been around for more than five years now. During that time we’ve posted more than 4,000 times, and offered more than 5,000 songs for your listening pleasure. And more than three quarters of a million people have paid MM a visit during our lifetime on Google’s (godawful) blogspot and since April 2010 on WordPress. We asked some of the regular MM contributors to give us their top twenty songs since MM first went live and we’re also going to give you one big mega-listing shortly, first up was  Dr Roddy , [...]

• Blood Bank mp3 » 7p0mfxcuf1icuclqhyep.mp3
• I Cut Like A Buffalo mp3 » jy6hbv8oyb6i0omt5wr5.mp3
• I Won’t Be Found (Daytrotter Sessi... » aotiohi866j61l38151y.mp3
• To Ohio mp3 » cj7r8op2m5.mp3

With a name like No Desert Blues you would be forgiven for thinking that the band would hail from the wide open landscapes of Texas, or could be found playing some run down roadshack in the depths of the midwest somewhere. Wrong - they hail from leafy, rural Hampshire in dear old Blighty, but it doesn't make the impact of the chiming, robust Americana of forthcoming single Adam any less impressive. There is nothing weak or feeble about these boys. No sir, their sound is awash with the brooding cinematic landscapes and [...]

Start the week with some excellent music videos from  Cayucas, San Cisco ( covering Daft Punk), Generationals, and King Khan & The Shrines. . . . Follow @madmackerel

New Critical Heights signings Honeyslide are set to release the follow up to their sold-out debut cassette the Honeyslide EP with a double A side 103 featuring two lead tracks Drippin and Deep Architecture , plus two further tracks, Untitled #240 and Sugar Routine  (which we posted back in January). Swathed in reverb, bathed in noise and drowned in dreamy vocals, Honeyslide blend the experimental with the melodic to provide thrillingly provocative sounds. It is out on June 25th. Order it [...]

Here is our round-up of our favourite downloads from May's posts together with a few newbies that, together, make a mix of twenty tracks that is as eclectic as it is perfect! Enjoy. High Coast - Talvatis Sweetly picked Americana. . Landmarks - Cuscutta Lovely, unhurried, slice of woozy, psych-pop in the grand traditions of  Spiritualized  or  Mercury Rev. . Black Manila - Père Lachaise Addictive blend [...]

Here is another track from Tallahassee's album of lush Americana Old Ways . I Try is slightly spooky, and guitars chime in this ode to learning everything the hard way. Stay tuned for the last third, where syncopated percussion and wicked guitar give way to a flangey freak-out. Follow @madmackerel

The Felice Brothers & Willy Mason | Shepherd's Bush Empire, London | 30 May 2013 Afterwards, as I drove the motorway miles home from the capital, the Twitter feeds awash with "best gig ever" messages, I was thinking that, in many ways, The Felice Brothers remind me of The Clash . Ian and Jimmy Felice, a rustic Strummer and Jones feeding from each other and the crowd's energy, while ex travelling dice player Christmas Clapton sternly stalks the stage around them, bass slung low, a rustic Paul Simenon. The [...]

Mark Charles Heidinger of macabre folksters  Vandaveer recently participated in our 5:1 Interview series, which in turn came on the back of the recent release of their brilliant album of reinterpreted and re-imagined murder ballads, Oh, Willie, Please... The band have made a second track from it available for free download - so here is the perfectly told, tragic tale of the murder of  Omie Wise. He kissed her and hugged her and he turned her around Then he pushed her in [...]

Drenched in feedback and white noise masquerading as guitar, claims that  New Forgetting from Happy Families is one of the loudest debut singles for some considerable time is not one we're about to dispute. While it is true to say it is a wall of sound unashamedly built on the legacy of classic influences like T he Velvet Underground, Suicide, Joy Division, Spacemen 3, The Jesus And Mary Chain and My Bloody Valentine,  this is no mere copycat shoegaze cut - underneath the squalls and shreds of noise there is a buried, but [...]

Enjoy some cool videos from Sun Angle with their animated horror homage for track Raspberry , surf-pysch-pop from The Wytches , and new films from Neils Children and  Emily Wells . . . . Follow @madmackerel

We introduced you to the raw, lo-fi garage goodness of Kent's Hunting  Ulysses  back in September last year with the release of their hugely promising  Feral Youth EP . We're pleased to report that they are back with a new EP, Jurassic Pop , containing five more tracks inspired by the primal forces of sleazy, grimy rock'n'roll, and once again available on a pay-what-you-want deal from their Bandcamp page . This is the EP's lead track Delicious Ice . . [...]

Yesterday the hippie loving, Britpop loving, reverb loving, space-rocking  Secret Colours officially released their excellent sophomore album Peach . Here is a another taster from it, the slow burning Freak that gradually builds and builds before exploding thrillingly into a full-on psych blowout. In fact, this track is so damn groovy it can be seen in its spare time wearing a kaleidoscopic kaftan and thumbing a lift back to 1967. Buy it here . See our previous Secret Colours post here . Follow @madmackerel

Charlottesville pop-punk  Left And Right have just released a new EP simply called 93. This track, Virginia Settlement is an excellent example of their talents, mixing an excellent ear for melody with a high energy punk swagger to create something a million miles from the usual generic power-punk fodder we are normally fed. Grab the EP from Bandcamp here . . Follow @madmackerel

Regular readers of this blog will know we are big admirers of the wilfully uncommercial Audio Antihero label, home to some MM faves like Benjamin Shaw and Jack Hayter . The label is putting out a charity compilation to benefit the work of charity Rape Crisis in England, Wales and Scotland. Despite the clearly serious and important end purpose, the compilation, titled  Regal vs Steamboat,  is very much meant to be enjoyed and even has a silly pro-wrestling theme. It contains a massive 31 tracks from a whole host of excellent bands and we've streamed [...]

Hailing from San Francisco, There's Talk are a folk infused trio who are just releasing debut single The Salt , from their much anticipated debut EP, Tiny Strands. The EP is rich with eclectic subtleties and dark harmonies reminiscent of folk influence Sufjan Stevens and laced with the textual confessions of Youth Lagoon , and is set for release in late summer. Let the band’s sultry echoing tones, haunting piano melodies and smoky vocals draw you in - listen below. Follow @madmackerel

The new album from Georgia's Horse , aka Texan songwriter Teresa Maidonado, is called Weather Codes and is released next week. It is perfectly described by Fire Records as " a study in heartbreak and loneliness set amidst the backdrop of the vast landscapes of American Southwest ." Descriptors such as haunting, enchanting and, indeed, heartbreaking occur often, but for Georgia's Horse they are particularly apt. Her debut release The Mammoth Sessions was a triumph of eerie, gothic tinged, dark country and the follow up manages to raise [...]

Enjoy videos from Brazos and their track  Charm , from Arborea with Pale Horse Phantasm  filmed on location at Acadia National Park in Maine, from The Night Jars who use edits of episodes of the old Defenders of the Earth cartoons for their 60s garage inspired Drones , and from Lars Bygden, a truly brilliant animation for his dark and sorrowful track The Hole - not to be missed. . [...]

We posted the Crooked Hands video for the fragile Under  back at the turn of the year and now we have (appropriately) a stream of their new track,  The Stream . It is a more robust release this time, orchestral indie rock with a rather epic, grandiose feel. Have a listen. Follow @madmackerel