Triana is an impressive character, if only for the reason that
she has me listening intently to a genre which I wouldn’t normally
give the time of day to. Her dark soul delivery is perfectly set
off here by the accompanying remixes courtesy of Mr Scruff, and
TOKIMONSTA. 7/10 www.andreyatriana.com
SB
CD/EX
– I Need Your Touch (Armellodie)
A blast from the past here as Chris Devotion and the Expectations
dish out unabashed rock n roll from their lofty perch up in Glasgow.
It’s all very testosterone fuelled and scampers along at a pace
so brisk you will likely not notice you have also listened to
the B-side ‘Pinhole Suit’ also. 6/10 www.myspace.com/chrisdevotion
SB
Car
Alarm Quartet – (under) Water Music
(Occasional)
I like to think we are pretty open minded here at Tasty. We may
not be big fans of mambo or Ecuadorian throat singing, but if
a CD comes across our path then we’ll normally give it a fair
listen. And so it is to Car Alarm Quartet.
We are told at the outset that this is a concept record to beat
all concept records. All three tracks are music derived from and
for broadcast in the medium of water. Got that? So with first
track ‘Water (Head) Phones’ we are told that a Waterphone (an
instrument deriving its sounds from water) was deployed and due
to it being submerged and the consequential loss in stereo, the
track is in mono. Clever eh?
Other tracks include a musical interpretation of palindromes
(through palindromic loops, samples etc and electronically coercing
some recordings of the North Sea to act as triggers for some wind
chime type of device. Also, very clever.
So what of the results? Well for all their engineering wizardry,
much of the time these tracks sounds like a pair of wet jeans
flapping on a clothes pole as police car drives past in the distance
with its sirens wailing. I have nothing but admiration for the
thoroughness of the concept but in terms of listening pleasure
it’s more like trying to interpret an A-level physics lesson than
providing anything enjoyable. Truly a record to test the rhetorical
question of ‘what is music?’ 5/10 www.myspace.com/caralarmquartet
SB
Kinema
– My Beautiful Machines (Hot Pockets)
South coast synth lovers Kinema return with a kitschy disco divo
of a track here in ‘My Beautiful Machines’. These aren’t big orchestral
walls of sound by any means – they are little parpy Bontempi style
musings over the airy vocals which leaves the sound being a bit
camp and summery. It’s February and I am freezing – ‘My Beautiful
Machines’ is therefore not really hitting the spot tonight. Odd
really as the band’s excellent pack shot where they are all wearing
garish Christmas jumpers clearly indicates that it is intended
for winter consumption. 5/10 www.kinema.co.uk
SB
Hammer
No More the Fingers vs Voo
– split single (Inhaler)
This split single was spawned back in 2010 courtesy of a mutual
love-in between North Caronlina’s Hammer No More... and Liverpool’s
Voo . It’s an interesting combination as there are clear similarities
and differences between the two acts – doppelgangers would be
very dull.
HNMTF seem to specialise in a brand of light funk rock, almost
verging on muso-lounge/jazz during second track ‘Star Taste’.
By comparison Voo have a much more direct and dynamic approach
and evoke memories of classic British indie. ‘Schnick Schnack
Schnuck’ is a belter of an instrumental – beautiful guitar work
embraced by big choruses which climax furiously. Of the two bands
I would clearly favour to hear more of Liverpool’s Voo, especially
after hearing their Dinosaur Jnr-esque track ‘Pages’ but as a
package I suppose you get the HNMTF tracks as a bit of a bonus
too. 7/10 www.inhalerrecords.co.uk
SB
VVOLVES
– s/t EP (Peski)
Welshmen VVOLVES (that’s a double V if you are asking) have created
a bit of a belter here where they seem to be able to combine nu-rave
energy and shoutiness along with old school analogue live sounds.
‘Birds in Berlin’ is enough to leave you feeling breathless before
you receive a brief breather at the start of ‘Sailing from Youth’
and then back to business, like a quartet of panel beaters attacking
a stash of Rickenbacker guitars.
The vocoder in ‘Wolves’ (that’s a single W if you are asking)
adds an interesting twist and then the main sample in ‘Vogue’
propels you through a dizzying two minutes of misspent Welsh youth.
8/10 www.myspace.com/peskirecords
SB
Peter Kernel – Il Pomeriggio non sis
a mai bene cosa fare (On the Camper)
Hot on the heels of Car Alarm Quartet’s concept record we have
Swiss/Canadian art-punk band Peter Kernel releasing this audio-visual
feast. Except in this case, it’s just an audio feast, possibly
a snack. Literally translated as ‘In the afternoon we never know
what to do’, ‘Il Pommeriggio...’ spends around the opening three
minutes sounding like someone just scratching a rusty stringed
guitar against a brick wall. But then things change and a simple,
taut guitar line is introduced. Despite being convinced I was
going to be bored stupid, I found myself gripped to this for the
full 20 minutes duration. The track itself incorporates many movements
which could easily have been split into separate ‘songs’ but I’m
pretty sure they wouldn’t have made much sense alone. Sure there’s
more lo-fi minimal interludes but there is a string of suspense
running through the whole piece which creates an intrigue between
the more traditionally ‘musical’ parts. Challenging but rewarding.
8/10 www.peterkernel.com
SB
Double
Muscle – Jail EP (Best Enemies)
It only takes me about 7 seconds of listening to the title track
here to work out that I’m going to like Double Muscle a great
deal (I am very fickle and work very inefficiently so instant
impressions are much appreciated). Between their wailing rusty
stringed riffs and howling vocals there’s something steely lurking
beneath the surface of Double Muscle. Not a million miles away
from stoner garage contemporaries like Wonderswan with backing
tracks ‘Bore’ and ‘The Rack’, it’s with ‘Jail’ where they really
impress. 8/10 http://www.myspace.com/doublemuscle
SB
Benjamin
Francis Leftwich – Pictures
EP (Dirty Hit)
Fortunately Leftwich (or should that be Francis Leftwich?) has
a fragility in his voice and a delicate touch in his songwriting
and minimal production that makes listening to this 4 track EP
a lot more than just a trudge through another mediocre singer-songwriter
effort. There’s a reasonable comparison to be made with Jose Gonzales
– interesting guitar arrangements and ethereal vocals abound throughout.
7/10
www.benjaminfrancisleftwich.com
SB
Twin
Atlantic – Edit Me (Red Bull)
Gil Norton’s (Foo Fighters) silky touch smoothes over the edges
of brash Glaswegian rockers Twin Atlantic while they launch into
a full on lung-busting, drum skin bursting assault in edit me.
The guitar overdubs are particularly impressive with a very Pixie-esque
wailing tone over some chuggy guitar chords. Music for grownups
who like to rock. 7/10 www.twinatlantic.com
SB
Mojo
Fury – Colour of the Bear (Graphite)
I’ve had an uneasy listening relationship with Ulstermen Mojo
Fury to date, finding them just a bit to old school rawk for my
tastes. But maybe the frostiness is beginning to thaw here with
‘The Colour of the Bear’ and I can finally hear the McCluskey
comparisons coming through. The acoustic version of ‘The Mann’
is also excellent, worth getting this single for alone. 7/10 www.myspace.com/mojofuryband
SB
Thirteen
Senses – The Loneliest Star (b-sirius)
Perhaps not unexpectedly for a band who catapulted to prominence
in 2003 and had a had a number of inclusions on US TV shows like
Grey’s Anatomy and ER, Thirteen Senses offer up a pretty polished
effort here with ‘The Loneliest Star’. That said, it’s also quite
bloated and to my mind sounds instantly dated and uninteresting.
AT least they’ll have all those royalties to kick back with. 5/10 www.thirteensenses.com
SB
Christian
Kjellvande – Bad Hurtin’ (Tapete)
A transient modern bluesman Mr Kjellvande may be, but this track
offers up very little to pique my interest. It’s a spot of Knopfler,
a smidge of Chris Rea actually – I like Kjellvande’s creamy voice
but the song itself is a bit of a dull dog. 5/10 www.startracks.se
SB
Jimmy
and the Sounds – Heart for Rent
(New Blood)
This is a decent little track here that could elevate Smoggies
Jimmy and the Sounds to th heights of fellow north easterners
Maximo Park. In fact the comparisons are plain to hear with the
possible exception that Jimmy and the Sounds are a little bit
more cheery than the Park. You could also picture ‘Heart for Rent’
as being the result of a crack fuelled duet between Billy Joel
and Bruce Springsteen (and both of those guys did OK for themselves.)
8/10
www.myspace.co/jimmyandthesounds
SB
Steve
Craddock – Last Days of the Old World
(Kundalini)
This is pretty much like a single straight out of the sixties
but with superior recording quality. There’s a trippy psychedelic
quality and an unabridged optimism about it. Damn it, Craddock
has even squeezed the full track under 3 minutes so it sits comfortably
on a 7” vinyl. Trail blazing it is not. Brilliantly done it is.
7/10
www.stevecraddock.com
SB
Stateless
– Assassinations (Ninjatune)
Lovely stuff here from Stateless who deploy a full smorgasbord
of percussion to carry this track along. There are some bassy
drop outs early on before a nice meaty dub harmony kicks in. The
whole track plays out a lot like a round, with constant overlapping
of vocal/bass/percussion to create an ever changing palette of
sounds culminating in a massive finale.
There’s the usual accompanying remixes on offer, but at least
these feature a full blooded deconstruction of the original to
effectively give you two additional new tracks. 8/10
www.myspace.com/statelessonline
SB
RSS
– Wife Her Up/Rude (Wall of Sound)
So used to hearing various misogynistic lyrics accompanying bassy,
bumpy, grindy types of music am I that I was instantly on the
lookout for the offending words in ‘Wife Her Up’. A wholesome
surprise then that the track is all about the writer loving his
lady despite her flaws and wanting to marry her. That’s nice –
I thought that ‘wifing someone up’ was going to be a reference
to something that you could only see through a peephole in an
Amsterdam sidestreet.
Similarly, the press release explains that the sound of RSS is
the combination of music you hear blaring from bedsit windows,
out of cars and mobile phones. God, I bloody hope not – everything
sounds like happy hardcore on a mobile. Happily enough this preconception
is also crushed as RSS go for a more throbbing grimecore approach
with refreshingly sparingly used MC’ing. 7/10
www.thetruerss.com
SB
Dog is Dead - River Jordan
Atmospheric introductions and guitar parts that sound they have
been cheekily stolen from Maccabees ‘Wall of Arms’, this is a
choral call of youthfulness and sheer delight. Gloriously uplifting
harmonies are the key to the heart of the listener as this band
have obviously learnt. Teamed with a sparklingly euphoric instrumental
shimmer, ‘River Jordan’ is given a life of its own as the lyrics
lift from the audio and dance around your heavy head.
Backed already by radio 1’s Huw Stephens and bagging themselves
a live performance on ‘Skins’, with more tunes like this, they
could just be the ‘Next Big Thing’. Move over The Vaccines.
Eloise Quince
Eels
on Heels - Letters EP
The second EP released by this mystical Italian four-piece is
a little gem in the world of rip-it-up-and-start-again electro,
defying the ears and creating sounds of pure wonder. In the vein
of These New Puritans, this could be the calling of a new electronic
revolution.
Hauntingly beautiful, but not without touches of the sinister,
‘Y’ is a fantastic introduction to the sound of the band and the
atmospheric that surrounds their music. ‘N’ on the other hand
is slightly more upbeat track, maybe from the use of bubbly synths,
but it is not without its clashing and crashing as introduced
by a dark guitar and those gorgeously distant vocals. Just as
you think that you are beginning to get to know the song, an obscure
twist of fast paced tribal drumming and squealing instrumental
takes you to a new place of shadowy sound.
Final track ‘G’ sounds like it was played in an abandoned mental
asylum, evocative shimmers of vocal and distortion mask the haze
of roaring fury that appears from nowhere and shakes your psyche
into a misty musical mess. I cannot begin to fathom how good this
is live.
Weird, avant-garde and chaotic all reside in these three letters.
Listen if you dare.
Eloise Quince
The
Brute Chorus – Birdman (Tape)
Few details to accompany this one but suffice to say it is every
bit as memorable and annoying in equal measures as the ‘Surfin
Bird’ featured on Family Guy. It’s basically the same surf-rock
type song as ‘Surfin’ Bird’ and as such I wouldn’t want to listen
to it ever again. 3/10
www.taperec.com
SB
You
Me At Six – Rescue Me (Virgin)
Well this is all very cosey – label mates Chiddy Band (sounds
like some kind of cleaning product) feature heavily on this track
supplying the MCing while YMAS churn out the overwrought piano
led power chords. Good staple fodder for the youth I suppose.
6/10
www.youmeatsix.co.uk
SB
The
Good Suns – Shadow / At Last I’m Bored
I’m sorry to report that these two songs passed by my ears without
making any lasting impression other than that he vocals in the
chorus were terrible – someone murdering the words ‘I’m a shadow’
over and again. That’s not a great recommendation is it? Might
interest those with a sunny pop disposition and high tolerance
level of poor diction. 4/10
www.myspace.com/thegoodsuns
SB
Cornelia
– By the Fire / Now and Hereafter (Camp Mozart)
This is an intriguing mix of Scando folksiness combined with
a Napoleon IIIrd level of inventiveness and warbly synths. ‘By
the Fire’ has a strange song structure that doesn’t really go
anywhere (clearly Cornelia agrees by fading it out at the end)
but does provide a very pleasant background music. ‘Now and Hereafter’
is a much more direct effort, pared back to just some glockenspiel
and sweet vocal harmonies. The TOKiMONSTA remix of ‘By the Fire’
wraps the original up in a far more luxuriant hip hop sounding
backing track which alters it beyond recognition (though not in
a bad way). The result is a much more expansive trip hoppy sound.
7/10
http://www.myspace.com/corneliadahlgren
SB
Funktechnologie
– s/t EP (Occasional Records)
Despite being recorded over the past five years, there’s a progressive
quality to this 5 track EP by Huddersfield’s Funk Technologie.
It also marks a huge departure from the material of Occasional
label mates Car Alarm Quartet. We’re treated to the silky tones
of the trip-hop infused Crab Nebula to whet our appetites before
being challenged further by the clatterbang percussion of synth-funk
‘Across the Tracks’ which brings to mind the style of The Chemical
Brothers’ ‘Brothers Gonna Work it Out’ EP.
Funktechnologie refuse to pigeon hole themselves. There’s a further
departure in ‘Natura Non Contristatur’ which in ambience brings
to mind the likes of Ozric Tentacles though in application it
is a much smoother electronic version. Propellerheads anyone?
Yes? Well look out for ‘Analogue Tony’. Then we finally come round
full circle with a trip hop outro of ‘A Final Afterthought’.
It’s difficult to place as a whole – each track is so different.
It’s clearly an accumulation of influences which is being regurgitated
in a new way by the band. Some people will see these as clashing
too much to make a coherent whole, others will be grateful for
the eclectic mix. 7/10
www.myspace.com/funktechnologie
SB
Clockwork
Radio – The Soul Harmonic
I’ve had this disc kicking around these parts for some time and
as such it’s probably receiving more spins than our average reviewees.
There’s undoubtedly some excellent musicianship on show here –
the guitar work which interjects a some eastern influences and
scales is particularly effective. But overall I get the feeling
that the whole EP is subdued and a little bit claustrophobic.
It comes across as so slick and loungey that it sounds like the
band isn’t really that bothered about it. They list an impressive
range of acts with whom they have shared live bills – The Prodigy,
Skunk Anansie, Bombay Bicycle Club, Blood Red Shoes et al but
the one thing missing from this Ep is the vitality which all of
those aforementioned bands have in spades. Clearly there is something
exciting waiting to surface but on this outing it sounds more
like the Arctic Monkeys on heavy tranquilisers. 5/10
www.clockworkradio.co.uk
SB
Gretanova
– 100th Idiot EP (Corporate Records)
From the Iron city we bring you Gretanova and their apparently
ever metamorphosing band line up. Currently settling on a five
piece, this three track EP also comes adorned with the highest
quality paper ever seen for a press release – bravo!
Musically, the sound is outwardly grungey with lots of overdrive
on the guitars and earnest vocals. The application of this sound
is very crisp and precise and the song writing is very promising
– the tracks featuring nice time changes and maintaining a tautness
that even signed bands often can’t be bothered with. ‘Brilliant
Sun’ is a fine example of this – constantly driving towards an
inevitable finale but twisting and turning on its way.
They are the good points. In the debit column are also a couple
of things. I really don’t like the mix – it sounds as though someone
has just set all the parts at an equal level. All very democratic
but the resulting sound is a bit of a sonic quagmire with individual
parts always struggling to be heard – there really is a strong
case here for bringing a few bits forward forward, especially
the vocals which seem a little weak (though possibly due to the
wall of sound they are being sung through more than any vocal
weakness of the singer). Secondly, the guitar effects often sound
a bit cheap and fuzzy, like they are being put through the cheapest
pedal possible. It gives the whole recording a bit of a DIY, done
in the back bedroom kind of sound.
So fidelity issues aside, there is promise here and it’s much
better to have the songs then refine them than to have the best
recording equipment available but no songs. 6/10 www.gretanova.com
SB
Minnaars
– Ideal and Error (Strata)
Just to confirm my suspicions about their stupidity, Radio 1
claim that ‘Minnaars are the best thing to come out of Leicester
since Kasabian’. Lazy bastards (and arguably factually incorrect)
as Minnaars are definitely superior to Kasabian as are several
other Leicester alumni previously featured here on the pages of
Tasty.
Given that Minnaars were formed by Neil Humphreys of Tired Irie
fame (they were better than Kasabian too) it was pretty likely
that this EP was going to be pretty good. Blessed with one of
those voices which refuses to sound uninteresting whether it is
chanting the cryptic, ‘Love your not obtuse enough’ in ‘Capricorns’
or ‘I’ve been falling into bits it’s been like this since the
blitz’ in ‘Busy Hands’. But then that’s no accident when the sound
of the words employed has its own little rhythmical qualities.
Musically there are loops and drum patterns but there is also
a large live element which is heavily mixed to sound quite synthetic.
The result is a heady urgency and a breathless journey through
twinkling guitar loops and dynamic driving bass and drum lines.
Bloody excellent. 9/10 www.minnaars.com
SB
Frank
Turner – Rock and Roll
It's difficult to hate Frank Turner, in fact I wouldn't recommend
even trying, but sometimes you feel like you should. For those
unfamiliar with what he does (and if you are, why?) he plays that
familiar acousto-punk that's all the rage at the minute and sometimes
his lyrics are a bit naff. These are the only two problems you
will ever have with Frank Turner's songs and there are two perfectly
good responses: firstly, he is the original and best and secondly,
he believes every word he sings.
The Rock and Roll EP is the best introduction to Frank Turner
you could ever ask for. These five tracks encompass everything
he's good at and everything he stands for. First track I Still
Believe is a punk rock call to arms, a gigantic sing-along in
the making. It's got a bit of a naff opening, but the sheer conviction
and belief in rock and roll fixes everything before the chorus.
Second track Pass it along is a lush, pastoral, dusk-tinged slow
burner. Frank Turner's song writing is brilliant and getting better,
he writes songs that swell and manipulate you. The EP closes with
the next round, which starts melancholy and grows into something
hopeful and huge and heartfelt.
Rock and Roll is Frank Turner's most concise manifesto, touching
on his three most important themes: love, mates and rock and roll.
Like every one of his releases and just like watching the Blues
Brothers, this EP reminds you of exactly what makes music so vitally
important. The key point is that Frank Turner does it in a fraction
of the time that a movie can. It’s just five tracks of insanely
well-crafted, punk tinged perfection. 9/10
Daniel Shields
Emmy’s
Unicorn – Singular [Demo]
Emmy’s Unicorn are singer Emmy-Lou Kay and Welsh composer/ producer
Mr Ronz. Having made a name for himself working on many television
and film scores previously, Mr Ronz’s sound falls somewhere between
a cinematic soundscape, hip-hop and electronica. Emmy’s Unicorn
are no different on this front, being very hard to define maybe
Emmy-Lou Kay describes it best when she labels them ‘Dream Pop’.
However you would like to think of it, ‘Singular’ itself has a
dreamscape that is easy to get lost in: Charmingly smooth pads
layered with delicate arpeggiated synth sounds and clean guitars
are contrasted perfectly by a busy rolling drum track. Add to
this the quite haunting ‘Number Station’ breaks and giant vocals
from Emmy-Lou Kay and you have something quite special.
After the success of their two shows at the end of 2010, Emmy’s
Unicorn are planning a host of other live dates in the near future
with the accompaniment of a string quartet which will be something
not to miss. However if you can’t wait until those dates are announced,
they will be releasing a free single soon to whet your appetite;
recorded at their show at The Union Chapel in December, it is
sure to give you a taste of what is no doubt going to be a great
year for the duo. 9/10 http://emmysunicorn.blogspot.com/
James Borland
Amelie’s
Orchestra - EP
Delightful stuff here from Preston 3-piece Amelie’s
Orchestra or combine delicate loops, guitar effects and rich reverb
to layer together mainly instrumental and ethereal tracks together
really impressively despite their bedroom recording techniques.
The way the four tracks on here work together is also clever,
the first three almost passing away before you know yet forming
the perfect preamble before the main course of ‘Stars, Plethora,
I Adore’ which in its near 9 minutes has time to build and phase
in a way its predecessors cannot achieve in their short lives.
8/10 www.myspace.com/ameliesorchestrauk
SB
Malachai
– Let ‘Em Fall (Double Six)
Bristol duo Malachai have created
a really infectious sound here. There’s definitely elements of
fellow Bristolian’s Massive Attack involved but it’s all overlaid
with a harder, warped production. There are some fantastic bassy
warbles and grumbles that sneak through the speakers if you listen
closely enough and it’s all pinned together over a decent melody.
Epic in a cinematic sort of way – surely not long before some
of this is used as soundtrack music to some film or TV show? 8/10
SB
The
Bambinos / The Ran Tan Waltz
– split single (Philophobia)
A Wakefield
double bill here, and no help from Kevin McCloud. The Bambinos
offer a very particularly English style of indie with lots of
fuzzy guitars and wailing vocal tones which give their music a
wistful air. By comparison and contrast, The Ran Tan Waltz also
sound very specifically English but in a much starker, northern
way. There’s glimmers of Joy Division here but these guys are
very much in control of their own sound. It’s a strong pairing
from Philophobia but given a vote I think I’d punt for The Ran
Tan Waltz’s bleakness over The Bambinos optimism. 7/10 www.myspace.com/wearetherantanwaltz www.myspace.com/vivabambinos
SB
Jim
Kroft – Memoirs from the Afterlife
Lavishly packaged in every
respect – both the bits and pieces of card and paper which make
up the physical packaging (what a good idea including the biography
with the CD sleeve instead of an afterthought A4 onesheet) and
also the musical production which although being 60s infused is
most definitely forward thinking. I didn;t quite know what to
make of it after first listen, but after second and third attemts
there’s a small corner of my heart warming to Kroft’s neo-nostalgia
and quaint Parisian coffee shop cabaret sounds. 7/10
www.jimkroft.com
SB
Miles
Kane – Come Closer (Columbia)
The best Miles Kane track I’ve
heard by far, ‘Come Closer’ finally feels like it has a bit of
Kane’s own attitude stamped over it rather than some of the nostalgia
drenched previous outings. That said, the chorus is a bit too
‘wooo’hooo’ for my liking still so there remains room for improvement
before my own and Mr Kane’s tastes become parallel. 7/10
SB
The
Seven Deadly Sins – demo
I think I can see where The Seven Deadly
Sins are coming from – the wailing guitars shout rock and the
clipped vocals spit punk but the opening track ‘Work Me Like a
Dog’ comes across a bit like it was written by someone else and
is being performed by the Seven Deadly Sins somewhat under duress.
IN stark comparison, the alt country tones of ‘Silver & Gold’
is effortless silky, verging on a stonery shoegaze vibe with a
great hook. Then I’m left unsure again by the return to pace of
the final track ‘Seven Deadly Sins’. Promising and a little bit
contrary, what more could you hope for from a young band? 7/10 www.myspace.com/thesevendeadlysins
SB
The
Sounds – Something to Die For (SideOneDummy)
With a seemingly
exhaustive list of live dates it’s no wonder that the Sounds have
little time to write songs of any real substance. ‘Something to
Die For’ sounds like general pop fodder not so cunningly wrapped
up in a few squelchy synths and other radio friendly apparel.
No Doubt-lite. 5/10 www.myspace.com/thesounds
SB
Tim
Kasher – I’m Afraid I’m Gonna Die Here
(Affairs of the Heart)
Coursing
between ska-tinged brass, boom-chacka guitar rhythms and big beat
compositions, Kasher leaves no musical stone unturned here in
his quest to find the perfect combination for a single. At times
it seems like it stutters and falters, at others the mini pauses
and breaks seem to work perfectly – it’s like a weird alchemy
that sometimes turns out a rusty copper instead of a gleaming
gold nugget. But if everything was a gold nugget then the gold
wouldn’t be that precious at all. 7/10
SB
Toy
Horses – And It Was You
Words to make my heart sink – ‘internet
viral success’. What do those three little words really tell us?
I mean, millions of people watch videos of cats pretending to
play pianos. So the only true thing it can presume is some kind
of mass appeal, not necessarily any great concept or skill. And
so it is with Toy Horses. They make nice and gentle winsome indie
music and are championed by the same influential US DJ who spring
boarded the careers of Dido and Coldplay in the US (now there’s
someone to cross off your Christmas card list). My guess is you’ll
get consistently well written and performed songs out of these
boy but they are unlikely to ever inspire anyone with a grain
of originality in their corporate sodden souls. 6/10
SB
Stanley
Odd – Pure Anti Hero Material EP (Circular)
Funky Caledonian
hip hop is quite a niche field but I reckon Stanley Odd might
just have got it sussed. An attention to everyday detail in the
vocals and a sassy female vocal provide a heady combination. Add
to that some fab Spartan bass lines and melodies and you have
a latter day Stereo MCs with an infinitely more energetic version
of Rob B on MC duties. 8/10 www.myspace.com/stanleyodd
SB
Valentina
– Weights (Little Chaos)
There can’t be many EPs which heavily
feature the use of a dulcimer around these days. I had to Google
it and look it up on Wikipedia to even work out what the hell
a dulcimer was. But it turns out this unusual yet jangly stringed
instrument lends a fragile quality to Valentina’s tales of coming
of age in this four track EP. Its refreshingly sparse composition
and production give ‘Weights in Your Shoes’ an immediacy lacking
in more glossily produced efforts. My Favourite track would have
to be the lighter ‘It’s a Line’ with its overtones of Joni Mitchell
in there. Some other tracks have a little less impact on me but
they are all pretty little tunes. 7/10 www.valentinamusic.co.uk
SB
Scumbag
Philosopher - Scumbag Philosopher
(Words on Music)
Born of the
ashes of Fuck Dress, you will not be amazed to hear that Scumbag
Philosopher have a bit of a warped sound. Bits of Victorian English
Gentlemen’s Club and Adam and the Ants thrown in – it’s 90% attitude
and 10% application and this is the way it has to be when you
are giving someone a good slagging off via the medium of music.
7/10 www.scumbagphilosopher.com
SB
Goodluck
Jonathan – This is Our Way Out
(Something Nothing)
The press release for this CD seems to have eluded me in the
morass of papers and CD sleeves which have been tussling for supremacy
on my desk over the past week. However, suffice to say that ‘This
Life’ is little improvement on Melonheadman’s last outing reviewed
on Tasty – it’s kind of a honky tonk salon bar twist on pub rock.
4/10 www.myspace.com/melonheadman
SB
The
Kill Van Kulls – Fools Wish (First
Love)
Somewhere between 80’s
synth pop (think Bryan Ferry on vocals) and a more serious contemporary
tone, ‘Fools Wish’ is a nice atmospheric track full of earnest
intentions and a cinematic production. 7/10 www.soundcloud.com/thekillvankulls
SB
Trophy
Wife – The Quiet Earth / White Horses
(Moshi Moshi)
Following
hot on the heels of the excellent ‘Microlite’, Trophy Wife follow
up with the equally impressive ‘The Quiet Earth’ which showcases
the band’s self proclaimed ‘ambitionless office disco’. It’s a
fitting description of the sound which is at once a little desperate
but also glamorous through its introspective vocals yet atmospheric
layering of words and guitars. ‘White horses’ is no laughing matter
either but it does include quite a bright little guitar line which
sounds a bit like a cow bell. Effortlessly cool and pristine –
music to get hot under the collar about but not requiring you
to break into a sweat. 8/10 www.myspace.com/atrophywife
SB
Simon
Says No! – Solitary Rush
Tasty Says No! To the band name at least – how cumbersome. The
tunage n the other hand is in a different league – mysteriously
blending the droning guitars and reverb of My Bloody Valentine
with a poppier sensibility. Some people are calling it ‘foo-gaze’.
We aren’t, but only because we are disappointed not to have come
up with the term ourselves. 8/10 www.simonsaysno.com
SB
Darren
Hayman & the Secondary Modern
– Winter Makes You Want Me More (Fortuna Pop!)
I first misread this title and found myself nodding
in agreement – winter does make you want more, more food at tea
time, more cups of tea, more pints of beer in the pub – it’s all
due to the weather of course. But then, oops, does winter make
you want me more? This is a nice slacker alt country effort which
reluctantly wades along ably enticed by rusty guitars and ringing
mandolins. There are times when it feels like the whole track
needs speeding up by just a small amount to get where it is inexorably
going, but overall the journey is worth the wait as it is.7/10 www.hefnet.com
SB
Buen
Chico – Happiness is Important (Philophobia)
There’s no hiding
the fact that we are long time fans of the Leeds’spawned three-piece
Buen Chico, not least due to the fact that we here at Tasty found
them thoroughly pleasant folks as well as very able musicians.
Some surprise therefore that they are now writing about trying
to be nice and not being a git as we always assumed it came naturally
to them. No matter, it’s still good yet a more studied and deliberate
song than some of their previous hyperactive tracks. There’s even
a quite self conscious fuzzed up guitar solo which almost perfectly
and apologetically sums up the meaning of the song. 7/10 www.myspace.com/buenchico
SB
Bearsuit
– When Will I Be Queen? (Fortuna Pop!)
I don’t know what has
happened of late but I bloody love Bearsuit at the moment. I’d
like to say it was a mellowing of my own tastes but I think it’s
more the fact that Bearsuit have metamorphosed from worthy provincial
heartthrobs of the twee indie scene into full on dance-punk kittens
capable of stringing together tracks like this which would make
Ladytron and Crystal Castles wince with admiration. And what better
time to talk about becoming Queen than in Royal wedding year?
Top marks for dance funktasticness combining sarcastic social
comment. 9/10 www.bearsuit.co.uk
SB
Isolated
Atoms – Play (Progressive Pure Sounds)
I normally think it is
a bit of a bad sign if I am undecided between thinking something
sounds either very good or very cheesey. Isolated Atoms fall foul
of this general rule of thumb. Musically there is quite an interesting
mix of rusty stringed guitar and industrio-rock type arrangements
and production. Then there is the vocal. A little over-earnest
verging on the melodramatic or even operatic – I find it undermines
the track as whole, no matter how precisely engineered and composed
it is. 6/10 www.isolatedatoms.com
SB
Thousand
Autumns – City of Sun EP
There’s something wrong with this – despite its impressive arrays
of guitar riffs and spatter gun drum patters, ‘In the City of
Sun’ sounds excessively tinny. It’s like listening to the EP through
someone else’s headphones (while they are wearing them). Which
is a great shame because there is some awesome stuff going on
here – lovely little drop outs and about turns of pace. But every
so often a little bit of proper bass pops through making you realise
what you were missing the rest of the time – highly frustrating.
The speakers have been checked and are definitely not to blame.
Good news then that ‘Terrified’ is a much chunkier, meatier sound
from the outset (even though I still think the bass could go up
a notch or two further). Some of the lyrics are a little trite
but you can’t escape the impressiveness of the guitar playing.
6/10 www.myspace.com/thousandautumnsuk
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