The VPME Big Deal Big Deal release their new single, ‘ Dream Machines ’, on 22 July and are about to commence a tour in support of their forthcoming album, June Gloom , which is out on 3rd June . And Big Deal really are just that, even more so since embracing a new sonic dynamic, which is shogegazy, ethereal, beatific and let's be honest rather epic. ' Dream Machines ' follows on from ' Teradactol and 'In Your [...]
The VPME Mount Fabric Heuristic Fits, the new single from Mount Fabric is released on 15th April via Crystalline Record. Apparently it's "a song about the failings of the human brain as it tries to comprehend the meaning of life, the universe and everything." It's the first release from the band in 2013, and kicks off a series of singles throughout the year exploring science, religion and consciousness. Good job it's not exploring the "empathy of George Osborne" as one suspects this would be a very short series indeed and be liberally [...]
The VPME Jess Roberts & The Silver Rays Jess Roberts is one of those rare singers whose blues soaked smoke stained honey cracked voice sounds as if it comes from the depths of her soul. She gives the impression that she and her band, The Silver Rays were brought up beside the Cahulawassee River and spent their days singing the blues, drinking moonshine and occasionally challenging ‘city boys’ to duals via the medium of the banjo. Yet here is a remix of their song "Money (I like You Better) " that [...]
The VPME Jess Roberts & The Silver Rays Jess Roberts is one of those rare singers whose blues soaked smoke stained honey cracked voice sounds as if it comes from the depths of her soul. She gives the impression that she and her band, The Silver Rays were brought up beside the Cahulawassee River and spent their days singing the blues, drinking moonshine and occasionally challenging ‘city boys’ to duals via the medium of the banjo. Yet here is a remix of their song "Money (I like You Better) " that [...]
The VPME F.U.R.S This is the début single from F.U.R.S (released March 25th 2013 on Loose Lips Records) and is a prime example of how write bright and breezy psyche-pop without reinventing the wheel. We know of a few bands who tried to reinvent said wheel and d'ya know what? They were shite. Sometimes boundary pushing and so called innovation is overrated and F.U.R.S. do what they do with great skill and an easy charm, it's also called 'Striptease' So what's not to like ? [...]
The VPME Elephant. Elephant's never forget and electro duo Amelia Rivas and Christian Pinchbeck aka Elephant return and prove they haven't forgotten how to write gorgeous sweeping pop tunes. Back in 2011 we interviewed them and described them as sounding like "a softer more emotionally connected Dubstar, a more carnal St Etienne " producing "music that is full of languid, sensual beauty and haunting elegance." We'd stand by that description and their latest offering 'Skyscraper' assimilates dreamy fifties Doo-wop refrains with a modern synth sound. [...]
The VPME We Three and the Death Rattle. The rather wonderfully appellated We Three and the Death Rattle unleash a new single and download on March 4th. It's a double A-side entitled ‘Split Lips’ & ‘Inpatients.’ Both tunes are prime cuts of visceral punked up battery acid splattered neo garage grunge. 'Split Lips' has the attitude and sass of L7 whilst 'Inpatients' sees WTATDR spewing out dirty garage punk whilst finding ' god on the bathroom floor.' Ace. The Unkindness Of Ravens. [...]
The VPME Black Rebel Motorcycle Club BRMC recently announced their sixth studio album, entitled Specter At The Feast , which is set for release on March 19th. We played the first from the album "Let The Day Begin" on our Strangeways Radio show this week but if you missed it fear not the song is streaming below and is also available as a free download on the band's site ( BlackRebelMotorcycleClub.com ). Is it any good? It's by Black Rebel Motorcycle club, OF COURSE it is. [...]
The VPME Dark Horses - New Single Dark Horses, to those with blinkers on, may seem a wilfully enigmatic bunch of theatrical art school poseurs but to others they are a dark gleaming musical jewel dripping with a wanton visceral sexuality and a wide-screen cinematic sense of the theatrical.... As their debut album 'Black Music' was one of our favourite albums of last year, it's not difficult to see which side of the fence we sit on. Previously we'd described them as inhabiting a world of their own construct in which the aural and [...]
The VPME AAG [All American Girl] - 'Dark Was The Night' I meant to post this a while back and then got totally out of synch what with Christmas and an almost fatal case of the man flu. Please note, for the avoidance of any confusion this band is called "AAG [All American Girl]" not just "All American Girl," because they are a band and not simply lead singer Melissa Clarke who may be an all-American girl but isn't just All American Girl, got that? No ? Good! Their album [...]
The VPME Our final Songs to Learn and Sing feature ahead of our End of Year awards Emmy The Great And Tim Wheeler Last year Tim and Emma released This is Christmas” written when they were both snowed in during the festive season the previous year, and demonstrated that it is possible to produce a credible Christmas album and have great fun doing so. Replete with shimmering melodies, sleigh bells, strings and reindeers called Jesus they perfectly captured the spirit of the season by [...]
The VPME We interrupt our "Tips or 20133 coverage to bring you news of three rather excellent new tunes! You Walk Through Walls 'Say Goodbye' is just one of a quintet of outstanding tunes from by You Walk Through Walls' forthcoming début EP. If driving chiming walls of guitar, yearning sweeping melodies reminiscent of early Ride are your thing, then You Walk Through Walks will certainly tick all your musical boxes. Full of subtle desolate beauty and understated drama, the "Destroyed [...]
The VPME Ok, so we're nearing the years end and scurrying around cyberspace to see which bands, tunes, and albums we may have missed during a pretty darn impressive year for new music! However, how on God's green earth Austin based all female synth wizards Feathers almost slipped under our radar is a complete mystery! Rest assured there will be a bloodbath at VPME towers and no stone will be left unturned in an attempt to address the sort of managerial failings that make Newsnight look like a well-oiled machine [...]
The VPME The Mouth of Ghosts Mouth of Ghosts previous songs such as 'Patient' and 'World's End' weren't exactly what you'd call chipper, upbeat mirth fretted tunes, and where almost bordering on the Goth at times. Their latest offering 'When The Sun Sets' is still dripping with dark tenebrous drama but on this occasion it's Alla Seydalieva's impressive, haunting vocal that provide illumination in the darkness. It's due for release on Red Dragon Records 29th October 2012 and is really rather good. Jennifer Left [...]
The VPME Friday Freebie 1 - Dark Horses Drink is a terrible thing, we actually caught this band performing on the BBC Introducing stage at Glastonbury a few years back, thought they were amazing and promptly forgot their name, or where we were camped and finally our own name. Recently we've reacquainted ourselves with them, and our sober self is in complete agreement with our drunken self, Dark Horses are quite simply life enhancingly fantastic. They've previously toured with Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and Kasabian, and their début album, the much [...]
The VPME The Joy Formidable The Joy Formidable recently put the wonderful 'Wolf's Law' on line as a free download, but ‘ Cholla’ , is the first official single off their new album which will be released on 14 th October, followed by the album in January 2013. The song is apparently inspired by the cholla cactus that grows in Joshua Tree National Park and not the "famous" painting horse of the same name. Sadly this fact significantly reduces the odds of the band ever [...]
The VPME Tiger Love Tiger Love return with another electro dance monster of a single that is everything MGMT could have been had they not decided to smoke weapons grade weed. We first featured them on the VPME with the incredibly infectious 'Gio, Gio' in which they sagely advised " sleep with people you want to, fuck the people you hate." That was followed up with 'Pussy Cocaine ' a song which may or may not be about a drug addled cat [...]
The VPME Friday Freebie H.Hawkline. "Black Domino Box ' is from H.Hawkline's new EP which was co-produced Gruff Rhys (Super Furry Animals) and you can certainly hear his influence. It's a rousing acoustic number and showcases the talent that has seen some call Mr Hawkline the Welsh Bob Dylan Thomas. **************************** ******* Extradition Order Next we have Warrington's Extradition Order, who on this track at least, sound rather like the bastard love child of Mark [...]
The VPME Picture By Richard Manning We've all watched horror movies and shouted at the hero - " don't go down to the basement you chisel jawed imbecilic fool, that's the last fucking place you wanna go, have you got a death wish man!!" For as we all know it's a trope of the horror genre that very, very bad things happen in environs of " the creepy basement." Hell, even the Ramones sang " Hey daddy-o / I [...]
The VPME This weeks Songs To Learn and Sing, features an eclectic mix of new tunes featuring new bands, the Friday Freebie and the return of Scandinavia's finest .. Money . Blaggers and bloggers, tipsters and hipsters are all starting to put their money on Money , another fine band from Manchester, who with just a few singles under their belt, are already starting to make tsunami sized waves. They recently recorded an appropriately amazing session for Amazing Radio which included the following [...]
The VPME
PREVIEW: Hyperbits – Karekare (Original Mix)
The Cosmonauts :: Shaker
Deadmau5 Returns With Techno Track "Monophobia" After Being Absent For Months
Listen to the Japanese Song that Grimes is Obsessed With
