It may be Christmas (well, that festering period between Christmas
and New Year by the time we get onto this) but bring on the rock.
With the ‘Mindhammer’ EP, Hawk Eyes pick up where they left off
with debut album ‘Modern Bodies’ and add some new twists into
the sound too.
The ear-crunching riffs and melodies which leave most other rock
bands standing are still there in abundance, probably none more
so than in the title track. But there’s also a gratifyingly dirty,
scratchy sound at times to this EP which cuts brilliantly against
the slick slabs of power chord. But the biggest shift occurs in
the last two tracks. First up ‘Eleven Years’ sees Hawk Eyes record
probably their lightest, most melodic sounding track yet, a potential
crossover moment. And we finish with the six and half minute opus
that is ‘Hidden Hound’ – clearly Hawk Eyes have been listening
to their Alice in Chains back catalogues and picking up a few
dropped tunings and a nice vocal harmony sound in the Staley-Cantrell
ilk.
If there was even any doubt before, this EP will decimate it
and confirm Hawk Eyes as one of the brighest lights in modern
British rock music. 9/10 www.facebook.com/hawkeyesmusic
SB
Bear Cavalry – Maple Trails EP (Hot
Wax)
Let us start with EP closer ‘Dragon’s Milk Part II’. If ever
there were an example of a band being far too smart for their
own good then this is it. Multi-instrumental and genre hopping
like a cat on hot tin roller skates, this turns into a bit of
a Frankenstein’s monster of a song. Which is a shame because at
various other points through the EP there are little chinks of
brilliance – mathy inserts to ‘Roman Summer’, vocal breakdowns
in ‘Custom Hands’ and doleful sax in ‘Will Smith Solves the Rubik’s
Cube’. With a touch more quality control (or simply keeping a
tighter grip on their impressive bag of musical tricks) Bear Cavalry
could be great. 7/10
SB
Little Roy – Lithium (Ark Recordings)
Ah, that’s quirky – a Jamaican pensioner covers Nirvana’s ‘Lithium’
in a reggae style. Quirky, yes. Visionary, as some critics have
suggested? I think not. 5/10 www.battleforseattle.com
SB
The Doomed Bird of Providence
– The Bell of the Jardines / The Death Flurry (Front and Follow)
Just the curious titles demand further investigation. ‘The Bell
of the Jardines’ is suitably funereal pomp being as it depicts
the story of a man and wife who died of leprosy before they could
establish their new port of Somerset by using their bells to attract
ships sailing down the coast. The fascination with early colonial
times continues with the slow burner that is ‘The Death Flurry’.
In fact the Doomed Birds of Providence could have as much of a
fascination with the early colonisation of Australia as iLiketrains
have with the Beeching report.7/10 www.doomedbird.com
SB
Rise
to Remain – This Day is Mine (EMI)
Definitely not as good as Hawk Eyes but not bad. ‘This Day is
Mine’ is probably what vital, aspiring young metal bands sound
like once they get signed and sucked up by the corporate machine
– deadeningly slick production which sucks a bit of the life out
of an otherwise spirited effort. 6/10 www.risetoremain.com
SB
Kenna
– Chains (Cheap Thrills)
After what I thought was going to be moribund cowbell intro a
veritable burbling melody breaks out and underpins this thumping
track from Ethiopian born and US raised Kenna. Yes, it’s music
designed for dancing in a club but it’s rich and interesting enough
to listen to at home too. 8/10
SB
The
2 Bears – Work (Southern Fried)
Nope – I’m not getting this at all. Although it sounds broadly
like a hyped up version of Laid Back’s ‘Bakerman’ it’s lurching
all over the shop a bit too much for my stale old ears to keep
up with. 5/10 www.the2bears.co.uk
SB
The
Milk – B-Roads
Weird, before even opening the press release I was going to write
that this sounds a bit like the Fun Lovin’ Criminals. Next thing
you know – I’m reading that Huey Morgan thinks the Milk is the
hottest thing since, well, the Fun Lovin’ Criminals. So you get
a pretty good idea of the sound – laid back, soulful but with
a little twist of urban break beat. 6/10 www.thisisthemilk.com
SB
Bowski
– Poppies EP (Blood)
What is this? It’s not really dance music is it – you could only
dance to it if you were a malfunctioning jittery robot. It’s definitely
not ambient or chill out music – it would give you a guaranteed
bad trip. Nope – it’s apparently an introspective shoulder shuffling
version of house music. All glitch. Fizz and pop – ‘Poppies’ sounds
like someone have your head inserted into a metal vat while someone
makes popcorn in it. Comparably, ‘White Russian’ is a much more
comfortable listen with just a gentle keyboard refrain to punctuate
the airy loops. ‘Balloon Brain’s is just way too thumpy for me
to warm to. But despite the odd headache, the EP is an odd listen
but a good one. 7/10
SB
This
is Freedom – Welcome Home (TIF)
There’s something unerringly perfect about this EP. And that
makes me weary of it very quickly. Every song is well written,
well performed, mixed perfectly etc so why do I feel so unfulfilled
after listening to the whole thing? Dunno – put it down to just
one of those things I guess. 6/10 www.facebook.com/thisisfreedommusic
SB
Monument Valley – Tongues EP (Tritone/PIAS)
It may not have escaped your attention that a few of the reviews
this month are actually way late and in fact, this one by Monument
Valley is later than most, the EP was released in November 2011.
Part of the delay is normally caused by not having much to say
about a CD straight away which makes review writing pretty hard.
The absurb upside of this scenario is that I’ll listen to the
article in question far more times than one which creates an instant
impression. And even though I didn’t think anything of this when
I first heard the EP, I now come back to it and think it is actually
rather wonderful. What initially passed as dull and innocuous
now turns out to be delicately understated and this is all part
of Monument Valley’s Ned Younger’s creation. Simple but delicate
compositions and a slightly claustrophobic feel to the vocal mix
provide a great intimacy lost when a cast of thousands is involved
in recording an album. A very pleasant New Year surprise. 8/10
SB
Dark
Captain – Right Way Round (LoAF)
Great tack here from East London’s
Dark Captain. Kind of whispy folk meets summer shoe-gaze meets
Madchester indie, it’s all bristling with the dirty sounds that
accompany multiple strumming and percussionings. Skip the Balearic
style Enjoyed Remix and proceed directly to the instrumental track
4, ‘Jealous Enemies (West Avenue Version)’ – another shimmering
beauty all clipped guitars and airy cinematic soundscapes. 8/10
SB
Concrete
Disco – We Make
Hard-edged electro pop all the way here, akin
to The Whip with a less euphoric line in choruses. Like a robotic
chant in a Korg factory. 7/10 www.concretedisco.com
SB
Alphabet
Backwards – British Explorer EP
(Highline)
It must be hard to
be very rock and roll in a band when one of your bandmates is
also your sibling. I mean, every time you snort some coke off
a groupie’s stomach you don’t want your little sister going running
off to tell your mum do you? Maybe that’s the reason Alphabet
Backwards are so wet – they have a brother and sister among their
number. A bit twee perhaps but admittedly very pretty – the sickly
sweet boy-girls vocals about meeting your ex-girlfriend in the
street certainly bounce off one another. ‘Tonight’ decides to
strangely veer off towards sounding like a 70’s regional news
programme theme tune. 5/10 www.alphabetbackwards.net
SB
Rams
Pocket Radio – Dogs Run in Packs
EP
Throw away any preconceptions
of Keane-alike piano led bands and open your ears to Rams Pocket
Radio, the musical vehicle of songwriter and multi-instrumentalist
Peter McCauley from Northern Ireland. His percussive stabby technique
adds a drive and urgency to these tracks rather than smothering
them in schmaltzy nostalgia. There’re nice bits of sampling and
drum patterns thrown in, a drone ballad and a humongous epic closing
track to boot – a fuller, more complete EP would be hard to find.
8/10
SB
Francis
Neve – Dance Around the Fire EP (FRR)
Written about his summer
in London (hopefully the fire Neve was dancing around was not
the Reeves furniture store in Croydon) there is a distinctly summery,
twinkly vibe to this track. But the vocoder heavy B-side ‘I Lie’
adds an icy experimentalism that I’ve not heard from Neve before
and it is this track which piques my interest more. 7/10 www.francisneve.co.uk
SB
Red
Sky July – How to Get Your Love
Once you hear past the lilting folk-country skiffles and female
vocal harmonies, the most interesting thing about this release
is that one of the singers is called Charity Hair. Quite remarkable.
5/10 www.redskyjuly.com
SB
Action
Man – Action Traxx EP (Cheap Thrills)
What started off being a mildly irritating life support machine
noise all becomes apparent in the song title ‘Life Cycle’ as the
track builds in a classic techno style. Action Man (AKA Cheap
Thrills label supremo Hervé) follows up with the housier
‘Your Prayers Won’t Save You Now’ which mixes aspects of Orbital,
808 State, Arabic chanting in one big fizzling lump of dance.
7/10
SB
Kris
Menace & Adam Shaw – Starchild
EP (Compuphonic)
Presumably not the same Adam Shaw that used to present the Working
Lunch with Adrian Chiles and who now does the business news on
Radio 4’s Today Programme. ‘Starchild’ is a pleasingly complex
electronic track vaguely in the Balearic vogue, though admittedly
at the hard end of the spectrum. Great mixes of pounding bass
and more expansive synths give drive and latitude. B-side ‘Maschine’
is harder to love – it’s a heavier, bastardised robotic stomp
that drops in and out for 6 minutes before petering out like a
damp new year Chinese lantern crash landing in next door’s conifers.
7/10 www.kris-menace.com
SB
Jess
Hall Band – Play Shy (Hi-tone)
You don’t get many bands named after their singer anymore do
you? Maybe people think it is a bit self centred. But Jess Hall
Band’s pretty, clappy, light pop music sounds far too mild mannered
to imagine them ever having any internal power struggles – theirs
is a world of fluffy kittens, cups of tea and holding hands. And
we all need a bit of that in our lives don’t we? 7/10 www.facebook.com/jesshallband
SB
Hookworms
– Hookworms EP (Faux Discx/Gringo)
Another one of those digital
releases which has slipped between the floorboards, Hookworms
self titled EP has been lurking on the Tasty hard drive for now
for some time. Good fortune indeed though as these 4 tracks of
stonery, psychedelic shoegaze all raise a bit of appreciation
when they randomly appear on any playlist. There’re elements of
Spaceman 3, stripped down Spiritualized, even a lit bit of The
Doors sent swirling our way through what sounds largely like a
well organised jam session, especially during final track ‘Resolution’
which ebbs and flows before everyone seems to come to an agreement
to finally end. 8/10 www.parasiticnematode.blogspot.com
SB
Post
War Glamour Girls – Suburban
Barbarian (Sturdy)
More Leeds-based
new year revelry here, this time from Sturdy Records stable. Initially
melancholic swing, ‘Suburban Barbarian’ builds loftily into a
harrowing rant, courtesy of some great guitar effects and increasingly
rasping vocals. Just plain good. 8/10 www.postwarglamourgirls.bandcamp.com
SB
The
Glass – Washed Up (Plant Music)
A disappointingly dated indie
dance track here which clearly inspired the requirement for 5
remixes to try and spice things up. I’m not sure even the remixes
achieved it. 5/10
SB
Mama’s
Gun feat. Beverley Knight
– Only One (Candelion)
Some cruise ship somewhere has lost its cabaret band. ‘Only One’
is so faux soul that it makes me cringe and could the band look
any more smug and pleased with themselves in the video? 4/10 www.mamasgun.com
SB
Deco
Child – Pray (Ninja Tune)
Deco Child (aka Alex Lloyd) has a lightness
of touch which elevates the lead track ‘Pray’ above the mundane
trip hop and ‘Nocturne’ way above a doleful ballad. Gentle keys
and the slowly oscillating synths in the back of the mix both
combine beautifully with Ben Dodgson’s vocal track. Three further
re-workings add a breadth and depth of experience to this pristine
little release. 8/10 www.ninjatune.net
SB
Union
Starr – I Know About Art (Woodenhouse)
There’s a distinctly English
sound to ‘I Know About Art’, perhaps as it sit eh distillation
of 10 years of working together for Roger Wells and Jason Applin.
At times joyfully shambolic, at others sticking tightly to the
mode du jour, ‘I Know About Art’ hits all the right spots. 7/10 www.woodenhouse.me.uk
SB
Kai Fish - Homerton Baby
If the bluesy romp that is ‘Homerton Baby’ could be personified,
it would be a James Dean character; tight jeans and leather jacket,
lurking in the darkest corner of a sullied bar Soho, cigarette
hanging from the mouth nonchalantly. But somehow you are unbelievably
attracted to it and can’t help but take up his dashing offer to
dance to the pounding drum beat and fun, bouncing guitar line.
Sexy and husky, this is a sure fire winner.
Eloise Quince
Blood
Orange - Champagne Coast
Sleek, soft and danceable: always a winner for Dev Hynes and
he has done it again with this wishful, longing romp that soars
and glides like an albatross over the coast. A short riff sandwiched
in the centre of the song gives a little spark to this little
treat.
Eloise Quince
Kick
To Kill - 'Black Kisses'
Glacial artrock based around a resonating synth riff, an epic
soundscape of kaliedoscopic electro-punk. www.flowersinthedustbin.org
JG
Make
Do And Mend - 'Part And Parcel EP'
Sometime skatepunks go partially acoustic and the results are
are a sharply played reappraisal of their full on electric sound
that emphasises tuneage over power. Emo folk rock that's both
refreshingly direct and performed with considerable skill. www.pinkmist.co.uk
JG
Ravens
In Paris - The Hideaway (This Feeling)
Knocking it out of their instruments like they haven't got strings
or something, a blast of Garagepunk energy that'll scorch your
ceiling. And it's free. http://bit.ly/ruZ6gx
JG
Late
Night Fiction - 'Exits, Pursued
By A Bear'
Late Night Fiction will need to put a bit more into their verging-on-slowcrore
guitar indulgences if they don't want that nasty old bear to catch
them. Great video though. www.greymanrecords.com
JG
Stay
Okay! – Time to Grow EP
Dubliners Stay Okay! Manage that tricky
feat of making their pop-rock that little bit more edgy than some
of their chart bothering contemporaries. The tremulously voiced
Timmy Chadwick adds a superb range to the vocals and the guitars
are crisp and direct. One minor quibble would be each track is
quite sonically similar but it is a minor gripe. 7/10 www.facebook.com/stayokay
SB
Anja McCloskey – A Kiss (Sotones)
McCluskey’s trademark accordion is used as a rough saw-tooth
introduction to this pretty little track by the Southampton based
chanteuse. It quickly develops into a rollicking shanty, very
suitable for someone based in such a nautical city. 7/10 www.anjamccluskey.co.uk
SB
The
Ghosts – Enough Time (Pocket)
There’s something about the drum
machine beat and falsetto which makes me expect this to turn into
a Flight of the Conchords track. It doesn’t though, preferring
to remain as a whispy piece of Balearic infused electro pop. 7/10 http://www.facebook.com/wearetheghosts
SB
Kleine
Schweine – Breakfast in Albania/
Ceau?escu Let The Dogs Out
Anyone
who knows anything about International Trust and the fact that
Kleine Schweine includes some ex-members of International Trust
will not be surprised to hear that these tracks are the kind of
garage gutter punk that was last seen doing a massive a conga
around the HiFi venue in Leeds as part of the Tea Time Shuffle.
Dirty buggers. 7/10 http://kleineschweine.bandcamp.com/
SB
Vranorod
– Secret Teller
Despite only being sent a YouTube link to review
this from, we have made a noteworthy exception for this is the
first track we have ever been sent from Serbia. And despite any
early concerns that this might be a cheesey euro version of post
rock/shoe-gaze, ‘Secret Teller’ actually turns out to be a nice
track with a vulnerable female vocal and dynamic guitar work.
7/10
SB
Frank
Turner - Wessex Boy
There are some songs by Frank Turner that make me desperate to
be in motion. I want to have my head against the inside of a window,
in a vehicle which is moving fast across country. I want it to
take me to a town I've not been to and I want to play some songs
to people I won't see again for 3,4,6 months.
Wessex Boy, even though it is about going home, is one of them.
I love Frank Turner. I hope that I listen to my heart and very
soon hit the road.
The song tells a tale of going home, of everything that will
forever keep you fond of the place you happened to be born in.
It serves as further proof that memory can be stored in buildings,
in parkland, on the top of pavements. It is equally effective
as a reminder that almost everyone could do with getting away
from where they are. Especially if that is where they were born.
Christopher Carney
Allo
Darlin' - Capricornia
If you’ve never heard Allo Darlin’ before, they are a Britain-based
band which began as a vehicle for Aussie Elizabeth Morris, whose
vocals are a little bit Rilo Kiley and a little bit Angus &
Julia Stone. I first heard of them when a friend put ‘Henry Rollins
Don’t Dance’ on a mix CD. If you haven’t heard that song, run,
don’t walk, and find it. It’s like Helen Love for the year 2012.
It’s funny and fun, and so is this new single, called Capricornia.
I googled it: it’s a name given to the areas in Queensland where
the Topic of Capricorn lies, which explain the chorus about finding
someone under Capricornia skies.
Musically this single is very Belle & Sebastian, with a lot
going on but all of it extremely well done. There’s not a note
out of place, and the layers add a lot of welcome depth. This
is added to by the backing vocals, which are Morris herself echoing
her vocal line, which make the single sound a bit like the Pipettes
(that’s a compliment). This is twee jangle pop at its best, completely
glorious and fun to dance to. I can see this being a perfect summer
song, happy and bouncy and reeking of sunshine.
Allo Darlin’ are one to watch, I think, because they’re edgier
than most female-fronted bands around at the moment. I can’t wait
to see them live next month!
Rebecca McCormick
Of
Montreal – ‘Dour Percentage’
The first single from the American
band’s new album ‘Paralytic Stalks’ is a big jumble of ELO style
harmonies, woodwinds, horns and tortured lyrics which seem to
hint at the inner turmoil of songwriter and frontman Kevin Barnes.
Of Montreal are somewhat reminiscent of Sufjan Stevens or Dirty
Projectors in the way they try to make complex music that is melodic
enough to work in a mainstream context. However, while Barnes
is clearly a talent and the track’s many melodic twists and turns
are expertly handled, ‘Dour Percentage’ sounds a little too arch
and complex to really have the emotional impact of a great pop
song. 6/10
Matt Brown
The Twilight Sad – Another Bed
Nowadays, if you haven’t re-created yourself by album number
three, you might as well be signing up to stack shelves at Morrisons.
That’s why The Twilight Sad’s new single, ‘Another Bed’ – which
displaces the diesel-thick noise folk they have been known for
in the past for chilling, industrial gothica - is a smart move.
It rolls along like a corrugated conveyor belt, the bass throbbing
mechanically in straight 16’s, saturated with morose vintage synths
and hopelessly bleak ambience. It’s like what New Order would
be jamming today if Ian Curtis came back from the grave. They’re
so adept at doom-peddling it’s actually hard to imagine that they
recorded in a studio, not outside in a fucking thunderstorm. They’ve
got some convincing emotional baggage, and know how to create
atmosphere (sounds like they have as much fun with their bounty
of effects boxes as any shoegaze pedal-boffin), but for fuck’s
sake, someone give them a hug or something.
Lawrie Donohoe
Underclass
– Beat Your Fist
Their Facebook page may big them up as the next genre-smashing
big thing, but in their latest release, ‘Beat Your Fist’, I can’t
hear the faintest hint of most of the genres Underclass claim
to have welded together. To me this is symptomatic of a patronising
trend I have noticed a lot of recently – a band sing a pentatonic
scale and suddenly they play ‘blues’; they use a wacky sounding
synth and suddenly they’re ‘psychedelic’. Ok, rant over.
Contrary to what I may have insinuated, I don’t actually dislike
this record. The middle 8 may sound a little like an alt rock
nursery rhyme but the throaty brute force of that riff isn’t fucking
around – it’s like something Black Rebel Motorcycle Club would
play if someone hosed them out of bed at six in the morning. There’s
an anthemic quality to the chorus, but it lacks the memorability
needed to be a true rock anthem – next week I’ll have probably
forgotten it.
Lawrie Donohoe
Reset!
– Don’t Let the System Control You (Cheap Thrills)
It doesn’t
matter who you have done remixes for or who owns your record label,
if you do tracks like this that keep you hanging in a mid-90’s
house limbo for 2 minutes before anything of interest happens
then you are going to struggle to keep anyone’s attention. There’s
a brief respite of interesting bleepiness but otherwise pretty
cardboard. 5/10
SB
Frank
Eddie – (Let Me Be) The One You Call
On (Impotent Fury)
The pseudonym
of Lemon Jelly’s Fred Deakin, Frank Eddie merge a whole cosmos
of styles into this song to leave you feeling a little bit disorientated.
Lo-fi electro and glitch through madchester through soul, r’n’b
and even a brief Josh Wink style techno-ish interlude. I suppose
if you don’t really know what you like then this is perfect. 6/10
SB
Essáy
ft Rhian Sheehan – Morning
Mountain (Glyph)
You’d have thought
this was an Irish duet from the name but it’s actually a German-New
Zealand combination from producers Simon Schilling and Rhian Sheehan.
Sonically it’s airy electronic, a little bit Balearic chill out.
There’s nothing stand-out about it but both ‘Morning Mountain’
and ‘A Cold Day’ are pleasantly soporific. 7/10 www.soundcloud.com/essayessay
SB
Holy
State – Dial M for Monolith (Brew)
A glorious rusty-stringed
racket here from Brew’s latest rosterettes Holy State. It’s kind
of DIY surf punk sounding but manages melt some stonery vibes
over the rough edges courtesy of some string bending goodness.
8/10 www.holystate.bandcamp.com
SB
RepoMen
– Priceless EP (Phantom Power)
If there were a prize for variety
then RepoMen would walk away with it. From lead track ‘Do It’
with its uniquely annoying yet catchy guitar riff, through ‘Good
Time’s similarities to Black Francis or the cheese synth overtures
and moody keys of ‘Div III North’ – RepoMen veer all over the
place. 6/10 www.facebook.com/repomenband
SB
Charlotte
Gainsbourg – Anna (Because)
Ah, the delectable Ms Gainsbourg
returns with this effortlessly chic little guitar track which
sees her apparently expend very little energy in performing it
yet achieving maximum suave gallic impact. Tres bien. 7/10 www.charlottegainsbourg.com
SB
Feeder
– Borders (Big Teeth)
Blimey, Feeder are still on the go. And
if your pattern book for success ain’t broke then don’t try and
fix. ‘Borders’ features all the classic Feeder motifs – the simple
chords, the euphoric choruses and the mildly annoying yet unforgettable
vocal harmonies. Paydirt. 7/10
SB
Youngman
– Who Knows (Digital Soundboy)
Those of you who favour music
featuring chipmonk vocalists will instantly gravitate towards/this
one. Begins to sound a little bit like a defective car alarm after
about 30 seconds repeating but thankfully ceases completely thereafter
to be replaced with an autotuned ‘human’ voice. Sad times. 4/10
SB
Rags
and Ribbons – Even Matter
Combining the sounds of Arcade Fire,
Sigur Ros and Mumford and Sons would probably be have been unpredictable
but on this exquisitely written and produced track, Rags and Ribbons
pull off the trick with aplomb. 7/10 Download
the track for free here
SB
Public
Service Broadcast – ROYGBIV
(Test Card Recordings)
Mixing samples
from TV and film with programs, beats and live instruments is
nothing new and I’m not sure the likes of DJ Food and even Pop
Will Eat Itself don’t do it better – they just seem to be able
incorporate the samples within the tracks unlike ‘ROYGBIV’ where
the samples are very much apparent and superimposed. That said,
it’s still a pleasing reminisce down the corridors of the Pathé
archives with a diverse instrumentation to suit. 6/10 www.publicservicebroadcasting.net
SB
Manna
feat. Mark Lanegan – Wishing
Well
What an awesome track from
relative newcomer Manna and gnarly veteran Mark Lanegan. Part
gentle Nordic folk and part thundering North American guitars
and Lanegan inspired doom grunge. The two voices conspire brilliantly.
8/10 http://mannamariam.com/
SB
The
Indicators – Simon D
The Indicators frontman Simon Dinwiddy does
seem to have a thing about working in a chip shop. It’s mentioned
on his press release, it’s all over The Indicators website and
he even sings about it. Oh, and his Dad is a bin man. Quite the
working class hero then. ‘Simon D’ features Dinwiddy squawking
in a moderately to severely annoying mockney voice to an admittedly
jaunty little tune with some good lyrics. And then he goes home
for his chips. 6/10 http://www.the-indicators.com/
SB
Hoodlums
– Dark Horses (Blow the Whistle)
Although demonstrably commercially
orientated, ‘Dark Horses’ manages to maintain its composure and
with crisp production stamps and whoops its way towards quite
a pleasing crescendo. 7/10 http://hoodlumsband.com/HOODLUMS-DARK-HORSES.html
SB
Flies
Are Spies From Hell – Nerves
Still Beating (Field)
Flies are
Spies From Hell seem to manage to mould together a number of different
influences yet still emerge sounding very much like a band still
in charge of its own destiny. Airy post rock a la Detwije? Step
up title track ‘Nerves Still Beating’. Brooding, swelling opuses
(opii?) – try the Mogwai-esque Axe to the Root with its insistent
and threatening bass line. Three remixes also – ‘The Great Deadener
(Gunning for Tamar Remix) is all glitch and stop start beats akin
to 65 DOS while the Karhide remix of King Sly by label honcho
Tim Waterfield sounds every bit like a very good Nine Inch Nails
track given a thorough working over by Timo Maas. Diverse and
greatly appealing. 8/10 www.fliesarespiesfromhell.co.uk
SB
Cut
Yourself in Half – Say Goodbye
to the World / Psycho Human Being Disaster (New Heavy Sounds)
Quite a mouthful in the title line
but Cut Yourself in Half are a lot more direct in their music,
churning out a heavy, prog-laden sound that evokes, snakebite,
long hair and sweaty moshpits. 7/10 www.facebook.com/newheavysounds
