“Phosphorescent’s Matthew Houck leaves all his stereotypical luminary comparisons behind with his most exploratory album to date...” Phosphorescent | Muchacho After physically exhausting himself on his ironically named 2010 album Here’s To Taking It Easy 's tour, Phosphorescent’s Matthew Houck toyed with the idea of this being his last Phosphorescent album. However, after ‘checking out of life’ for a while in the solitary Mexico desert, Houck began to shape the tender, heartfelt sounds of Muchacho . Muchacho opens with a synth fluttering instrumental. ‘Sun, arise!’ soaks the listener with a mystical yet [...]
"If we disregard the dresses, the fake blood, and the irritating affectations, there are still a great talent with the capability and potential to create momentously essential music..." Deerhunter | Monomania According to Bradford Cox, self-proclaimed monomaniacal front-man of Deerhunter (I use ‘man’ in the gentlest possible terms, as he regularly adopts an interesting dress combination during his live reincarnations), the band’s latest installment in their schizophrenic oeuvre, Monomania, is “avant garde (?) but only in context not form (original intent of avant garde (1912-59) / before logic: FOG MACHINE / LEATHER / NEON”. I’ll let [...]
With their previous single, 'Chocolate', eating up the radio and scoring the band their first UK top 20, we were delighted to help premiere their new single, 'The City ', a few weeks ago. In support of it, the group stopped by Phil Taggart's BBC Radio 1 show this week for a live session, which included this cover of Chris Malinchak's sun-drenched 'So Good To Me'. The new arrangement, which sees singer Matt Healy make a rare appeearance on piano, strips back and slows down the original, transforming it into an ice-cold monochrome masterpiece. [...]
It was only a month ago that Daughter visited Zane Lowe's BBC Radio 1 show and unveiled their beautiful, haunting mash up of Bon Iver's 'Perth' and Hot Chip's 'Ready For The Floor'. Well this week they returned to Radio 1 for another live session, and this time tackled Daft Punk's phenomenally hooky 'Get Lucky', which premiered last week and features Nile Rogers and Pharrell Williams. Again, they transform the original into a slow-burning torch song, complete with airy, echo-drenched guitars wafting through the background and Elena Tonra's distinctive vocal sitting front and centre. [...]
"It is some of the album’s less obvious moments however that shine brightest, and offer a tantalising glimpse of what Dog Is Dead could well blossom into..." Dog Is Dead | KOKO 25.04.13 “Every time we come to London we play to twice as many people as last time” , lead singer Robert Milton tells a jubilant KOKO. For a group of guitar-wielding, straight-down-the-line indie lads – in times that we’re told are increasingly difficult for guitar-wielding, straight-down-the-line indie lads – this is encouraging news. But this is no overnight success story. The Nottingham [...]
As we all know, The National are soon to release Trouble Will Find Me , their much-anticipated sixth album. Until recently all was quiet, until within the space of just a few days, a number new songs surfaced via both official releases and live radio sessions. We've already heard 'Demons', 'Heaven Faced', 'Graceless' and 'Don't Swallow The Cap' . And now come two more. Stopping in to play two new songs for Jimmy Fallon, the bespectacled Matt Berninger and co. unleashed the booming, harmonica-assisted 'Sea of Love' as well as the slower, more thoughtful [...]
A fortnight ago The Boxer Rebellion posted the first snippet of their new album, Promises , in the form of the achingly wonderful, slow-burning 'Diamonds' - one of our favourite tracks of the year so far. Well, now we have more. Featuring shimmering guitars and Nathan Nicholson's soaring falsetto this is arena-sized stuff without the cliche. 'Keep Moving' is a trip and - much like 'Diamonds' before it - will leave you in something of a state by the time it's built up to its climax in the closing 90 seconds. So that's [...]
Last month Savages unveiled, 'She Will ', the lead single from their upcoming debut album Silence Yourself and a dark, sulking gem of a song. This morning Mary Anne Hobbs played the world's first outing of it's follow up, 'No Face', on her BBC 6 Music show. It's faster, more urgent and more visceral than it's predecessor, adopting a thrilling punky edge, with some more mesmerising, scattergun vocals courtesy of Jehnny Beth. One thing's for sure, this Savages record is shaping up to be one of the grandest of 2013.
“We’ve been compared to The Weeknd and Mutemath, but a ‘dubstep Coldplay’ was the worst…” Those were the words of Seasfire lead singer Josh Thorn when we last caught up with the Bristol four-piece before the launch of their last EP in December. Since then we've not heard much, with the band knuckling down with writing and recording. Their latest single, 'Oh..Lucifer', premiered yesterday over on the 405, and its an extremely interesting listen. An apocolyptic, fuzzy guitar line opens things up before we hear Thorn's least treated vocal to date and a monster, [...]
It's just a few weeks now until Noah and the Whale unveil album number four, Heart of Nowhere . We've already heart the pulsating, driving 'There Will Come A Time', which seemed to follow on from 20112s Last Night On Earth 's Tom Petty-esque top-down aesthetic. Recorded live to tape towards the end of last year, Fink has said that this came with compromises: "When you record live you exchange a sort of technical perfection for more emotion and energy," says lead singer Charlie Fink. "Allowing the flaws and the [...]
You only have to search for The 1975 on our site to see how much we've covered them in the past, and if you haven't guessed by now, we're massive fans of these guys. Back in November last year we gave the Manchester four piece their first ever face to face interview , and have since spoken to them twice more, both in the midst of their inaugural sellout uk tour , and on the release of third single 'The City'. We premiered the latter last month, as frontman Matt Healy described the track to us [...]
You only have to search for The 1975 on our site to see how much we've covered them in the past, and if you haven't guessed by now, we're massive fans of these guys. Back in November last year we gave the Manchester four piece their first ever face to face interview , and have since spoken to them twice more, both in the midst of their inaugural sellout uk tour , and on the release of third single 'The City'. We premiered the latter last month, as frontman Matt Healy described the track to us [...]
If there's any band that can usher in the summer whilst we're still sat inside wearing jumpers, it's Crystal Fighters. Not too long ago we posted about 'Wave' , the joyous single from their forthcoming album 'Cave Rave', which managed to encapsulate our favourite season with a euphoric chorus, taking their visceral electronica to new heights. As if that wasn't enough to make you want to leave the UK for sunnier shores, the London collective dropped another delightful single yesterday, with a psychedelic video to boot. The crisp catchy guitars and blissful melodies of 'You & [...]
Baz Luhrmann's 'The Great Gatsby' looks set to become one of the biggest films of the summer, due in no small part to its soundtrack which has been curated by Jay Z, and features Beyoncé, Jack White, Andre 3000, Florence, and to a lesser extent will.i.am. Much like M832s recent explosion onto the big screen, the combination of Lana Del Rey and cinema has always felt somewhat inevitable, which is what makes her appearance on the score one of the most anticipated aspects of this blockbuster (sorry Leonardo). Last week we were treated to the first [...]
"It’s exhilarating to see Pheonix, five albums in and at the peak of their powers, getting better with each release..." Phoenix | Shepherd's Bush Empire 22.04.13 “This is our first show in England since... a very long time” says Phoenix’s floppy-haired lead singer Thomas Mars. Three years in fact. When the French quartet were last in London to launch an album, 2009’s Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix , they did so at the Hoxton Bar and Kitchen infront of 300 people. That tonight’s show – which comes on the release day of album number [...]
"I Love You is The Neighbourhood’s most emotionally exposed material to date, though its overpowering sentiment seems somewhat overplayed on their first full length release..." The Neighbourhood | I Love You Heartbreak is a terrible thing, yet one cant help but ponder where certain artists would be without it. Would Bon Iver’s seminal debut have been as resonant if ‘Emma’ hadn’t compelled Justin Vernon to migrate to the Wisconsin woods to live in isolation in 2007? Would Bob Dylan’s ‘Blood On The Tracks’ be seen as his best work if he hadn’t separated from his wife [...]
In the last few weeks Daft Punk have undeniably brought back the art of the pre-release, creating a bubble of hype and unpredictability around their forthcoming fourth studio album (a somewhat refreshing feat in a world plagued by leaks and streams). For now the world is basing their assumptions on how the much anticipated 'Random Access Memories' will sound on hearsay and the occasional statement from the robots' many collaborators. This informative drought has left us clinging to any fragments of material we could get our hands on, whether it's poorly made five minute loops from the 15 [...]
Laura Marling drops album number four, Once I Was An Eagle , in May. We've already heard the rootin-tootin, finger picked 'Where Can I Go?' and now comes a second snippet, 'Master Hunter'. The chorus is almost singalong by Marling's twisting standards, with Ethan Johns' dry production making this a desert storm of a country shuffle. Speaking of recording with Johns again, Marling said: “It’s just me and [producer Ethan Johns] this time. I gave him the songs and he pretty much ran with it. I’m very lucky to have him.” [...]
We all got love for Beyonce right? RIGHT! Well, Drake has too apparently, and to prove it he's unleashed new track, 'Girls Love Beyonce', onto the web with the help of James Fauntleroy, with whom he sings the chorus of Desinty's Child's 'Say My Name' in this number. The track itself is what we've come to know and love Drake for: a spacey slow-jam wrapped around an uneasy beat and reflective vocals. Perfect after dark vibes. Best of all, the thing is available to download too.
Across last year's debut album, The Arrogant , Danish four-piece The Rumour Said Fire showcase an unyielding ability to mash the remote folkyness of Fleet Foxes and the wide-eyed wonderment of The Shins. It's follow-up, Dead Ends , is scheduled for release in the UK in June and it's lead single, 'The Oracle', has hit the net recently. An uptempo indie-pop stomper, it sees them once again carve killer, winding melodies over jangly guitars and urgent drums. Conceived by singer and songwriter Jesper Lidang, whose upbringing in smalltown Denmark adds to the sense of [...]
When The Gramophone Rings
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Emily Reo - Happy Birthday
