This latest offering from the young Scotch trio is an accompaniment
to this year's Scatterbrain album, from which Slackerpop is one
of the singles. The single itself is devastatingly catchy, and
is presented here on this EP with four reworkings of other Xcerts
tracks.
First things first, the title track – Slackerpop. A high-octane
start, pacey, in your face, distorted erratic vocals occasionally
broken up my a melodic bridge line. It then momentarily drops
into a gentle pre-chorus before returning to blow your mind with
the chorus itself. I caught these guys as Manchester Orchestra
support for two nights of the tour and it was this track that
threatened my sanity for the weeks following. There's a drawn
out “woo” (hard to replicate melody via words) which is infectious.
The song returns back to the thrash-pop verses; which you could
easily try and relate to Biffy Clyro but, well that's a little
obvious and nationality put aside I'm not sure how truly accurate
it is. If it is, it's simply similar to the vibe of some of their
older material. A bit more gutsy, you know. Regardless, that is
one dangerous chorus they've got there.
And then, onto the reworkings. Extra treats for existing fans
and, if you aren't already familiar with the band then a quite
delightful insight into what they're all about. These alternate
versions are slightly gentler and down-tempo in comparison to
the originals, with Gum, He Sinks He Sleeps and Young off of the
Scatterbrain album, and I See Things Differently from the début
album In The Cold Wind We Smile. Personally, I think these new
versions are as good, if not better than the originals. Gentle
ever-so-Scottish vocals creep over deep plodding guitars and simple
rhythmic sections, Twilight Sad-esque, each and every song featuring
extremely strong choruses – there is no doubting the catchy hooks
scattered throughout this EP. All in all, an exceptional collection
of tracks, arguably some of their strongest to date with the title
track Slackerpop leading the assault.
Thom Curtis
Overweight
– Chapter 11
Proving there is more to come out of Belgium than dEUS and waffles,
Overweight enter
the scene as a kind of power pop-ska crossover band that effervesces
a boisterous joie de vivre. Whilst liking their upbeat sound,
it’s not until the final track ‘No More’ until they break out
of the tried and tested brass plus guitars formula. 7/10 www.myspace.com/overweightmusic
SB
Jack
Beats – End of Love
What a curious beast this is – kind of deranged cheesey euro-house,
a bit light technoey and a bit Frankie Goes to Hollywood. And
all the better for it – just the way to bounce out the December
blues. 7/10
SB
Ice Choir – Two Rings
20 years after it landed on our planet, synthpop is still being
sneered at from behind guitars and analog mixing desks in many
corners of the music world. And true, there's something questionable
about a totally simulated orchestration of sounds spewing out
romantic goo - its about as convincing as the serenades of a starry-eyed
robot. However you can't accuse the music of not having character
- the fact that it's simulated doesn't prevent this, it’s actually
the reason it has character in the first place.
"Two Rings", the debut single from Ice Choir, sees leading
synth-tweaker Kurt Feldman jump ship from his shoegazing past
to embrace synthpop head-on. Despite having his feet firmly planted
in the legacy of bands like Talk Talk and Tears For Fears (as
well as a healthy dollop of New Order), this release's sugary,
saturated production is much more technically evolved than that
of its forefathers (although it does shamelessly incorporate most
of the clichés - for the example the novelty snare reverb
tail). Feldman's voice is smooth and unchallenging - almost like
another synth line. But then synthpop fifty years after the advent
of the synth isn't meant to be challenging, it's just a T shirt.
Lawrie Donohoe
Sport
of Kings - Logic House EP
Logic House EP is an annoyingly pleasant yacht-rock EP from Brooklyn’s
Sport of Kings. It opens with ‘Free Jazz’, a smooth number with
lashings of relaxed brass of a xylophone-type-thing. Lounge jazz
minus the lead piano, if you will. It’s a fast grower though;
especially when you watch the video too. The vocal is warm, the
pace is steady, and the melody is memorable. The vibes continue
into ‘1964’, ‘Preface’ and ‘Some Histories’, although the first
two tracks are by far the strongest. Whilst the latter don’t offend
in any way, the first two have some dangerous hooks to get you
caught up in. I’m still a little bit annoyed that I like this,
it’s not my usual cuppa char but hats off to them, I sing this
to myself in the street. The EP ends with a radio edit of ‘Free
Jazz’ which is extremely useful as it cuts off the unnecessary
intro. 7/10
Thom Curtis
Noel
Gallagher’s High Flying Birds
– AKA...What A Life! (UNKLE rework)
Although the less odious of the Gallagher brothers, it is still
a Gallagher nonetheless. That said, UNKLE’s mix of ‘AKA...’ makes
the originator almost irrelevant – this is a thumping, swirling
beast of a track that is impossible to dismiss. Think early Chemicals
tracks or a toughened up Fatboy Slim. 8/10
SB
Films
of Colour – Slow Burn
Rogues. Turns out this is nothing more
than a cover version of Bowie’s ‘Slow Burn’ from his exceptionally
underrate ‘Heathen’ album. That said, Films of Colour have given
it a turbocharged makeover (although the choruses find themselves
coalescing into a bit of a big swirling mass). Positive signs
for Films of Colour then, and we hope they become more popular
so that we can hear more of the fantastically named singer Andy
Clutterbuck. 7/10
www.filmsofcolour.com
SB
When
Words Fail – Eyes on Everything EP
Great chunky guitar lines
and not completely indecipherable vocals elevate When Words Fail
above a lot of the dirge that gets passed of as British melodic
rock (i.e. it’s both more melodic and more rock then the norm.)
They also sound like they have a bionic drummer which is always
fun. 7/10
SB
The
Collectable Few – Model Behaviour
Very much bassline dominated,
‘Model Behaviour’ draws a nice line in Rapture-esque guitar pop
before lurching less successfully to the more shouty version expounded
by the likes of The Pigeon Detectives and The Futureheads.7/10
SB
Little
Comets – Worry (Dirty Hit)
‘Geordie Mavericks’ apparently. They’ve
certainly got an idiosyncratic sound in ‘Worry’ – Caribbean reggae
lilt and slightly skronky guitar lines make for an interesting
trip. 7/10
SB
Hook
and the Twin – We’re So Light (Feraltone)
Nice synthy vibes here
from Hook and the Twin – kind of 80’s Heaven 17 meets less fog-horny
version of Florence and the Machine. 8/10
SB
Phantom
Limb – The Pines
Kicks off like a nice summery shoegaze affair
with a strong vocal then drifts into a soul-country track complete
with banjo before sounding like Rod Stewart. Which is a surprise
because I would have sworn the singer was male and not a lady
called Yolanda. 6/10 www.phantomlimbmusic.com
SB
Cass
McCombs – Robin Egg Blue (Domino)
Did every lonely troubadour start out happy? I think that may
be where the melancholy comes from. The memory of those times
when things weren't “Also sad.”
This is one song. I like it because it references St. Jude and
he's my hero. Other than that it sounds like general American
Folk-Rock. Not generic. General.
Christopher Carney
Wild
Beasts – Reach A Bit Further (on Domino)
I reviewed the Wild Beasts album. I thought it was lovely. This
is one of the songs that should be a single. It is, so they know
what's going on. After some time away, that singing style and
the music have fared well. The song even sounds familiar. I really
shouldn't be listening to songs about yearning though. All Wild
Beasts songs feel like there is yearning involved, sometimes.
The lyric for the chorus is fantastic too. An obvious choice
as a single for no bad reason.
