One slightly unexpected perk about having to
review this track via the YouTube video is the view into the minds
of some of Blood Red Shoes fans. There is a long dialogue between
the band and a commenter about sound levels and DR ranges. Jesus,
with fans like that god knows what people who don’t like the band
think. Anyway, I think this sounds bloody lovely from the Brighton
duo and lovely Laura-Mary Carter’s breathy vocals work perfectly
with Steve Ansell’s words, the dirty guitars and machine gun drumming.
Cock-on in my opinion. 8/10 www.bloodredshoes.com
SB
Skarlett
Riot – Villain
Honestly, it’s not just my heavy bias towards
Lincolnshire based bands that makes me think that despite their
dodgy name, Skarlett Riot are actually pretty good. The guitars
on ‘Party Hard’ are excellent and despite a few early flurries
where I thought the eponymous Skarlett was going to ruin it with
some slightly awry vocals, things soon get licked into shape.
In fact young Skarlett begins to steal the show by looking like
a little impish pixie but sounding like a dirty harlot. Think
a lady fronted G ‘n’ R and you won’t be far off. 7/10 www.facebook.com/skarlettriotuk
SB
The
Cry Baby – Antibodies (Heavily Armed
Toddlers)
I’m struggling
to get over the infantile style of the vocals from Anna Waldmann
on this without binning the whole track. It sounds like it should
work with its dark trip-hoppy loops and keys but the whereas some
might find Waldmann’s voice evocative, I just found it a bit grating.
6/10 www.thecrybaby.co.uk
SB
Something
Illustrated – The Space In
Between Us (Si)
More Edinburghers,
this time in the form of five-piece Something Illustrated. Opening
track ‘Shipping Forecast’ is exactly that – an opening sample
of the shipping forecast – bravo. There are times when it sounds
like the drums were recorded completely separately from the rest
of the track as they skitter about at will, but the track is saved
by the slightly darker scratchy guitars which come in during the
3rd verse.Other offerings include touches of prog rock and sometimes
gentler ballads. It’s a little bit rough around the edges but
definitely a decent starting point. 6/10 www.facebook.com/somethingillustrated
SB
The
OK Social Club – The Shape of Things
to Come (Platform)
Charming
early summer stuff here from Edinburgh’s The Ok Social Club who
seem to combine the sounds of We Were Promised Jetpacks with The
Boo Radleys. 7/10 www.facebook.com/theoksocialclubofficial
SB
The
Colour Movement – Future Man (Gods
in the Records)
Could there
be anything more heinous than the idea of a machine which does
the song writing for you? Apparently this song is the result of
a collaboration with some such machine and might explain its deathly
lack of warmth and humanity. Not the future of music. 4/10 www.thecolourmovement.com
SB
The
Milk – Broke Up the Family (Sony)
I didn’t find listening to
this on CD quite as irksome as I did when I first previewed it
on Soundcloud – not sure why but not a feather in the cap for
Soundcloud I suppose. The Milk are a multi-faceted rock n rock
beast fused with Motown and soul. Not that palatable to everyone
but OK in small doses. 6/10
SB
Amongst
Carrion – We That Should Not Be
What a bleak cover – some kind
of 6 eyed werewolf covered in bees charging down a post apocalyptic
city street. Soundwise it’s the same old noisy metal gnarly shouty
stuff. 5/10 www.facebook.com/amongstcarrion
SB
The
Slow Readers Club – Feet on Fire
Interesting – sounds a little
bit like a less well rounded version of the Infadels. Catchy but
a little bit clunky. Cool Lego video though. 6/10 www.theslowreadersclub.co.uk
SB
The
Magnetic Fields – Quick
This is a song with synth-bass that doesn't make me want to go
back in time and prevent synth-bass.
It's glorious. It is an effort to refrain from dissolving into
cheap clichés. This is a song which is so good it is hard
to write about it.
Go and listen to it. Go now. This review is short because by
now you should have found a way to listen to Quick. Go! Go! Go!
You could be using your time a little better. Be sure to come
back and read more of the things I have written though.
Christopher Carney
Niki
and the Dove - Tomorrow
Sequentially styled and edgy electropop that's already received
a few enthusiastic nods from more influential critics, although
it's leaving me slightly less than thrilled for some intangible
reason. Perhaps this is down to Niki's breathless urchin vocal
which recalls Lykke Li, whom I was never very keen on. It's alright
as Radio 1 approved Swedish technobop goes but there's nothing
to make 'Tomorrow' stand out from any of the two dozen similar
tracks Annie Mac will play in the next month or so.
JG
Argonaut
- Touch Electric
Grinding garage bluespunk that has one of the truly greatest
lyrics of the year so far : 'when we love it makes me sick ...'
seriously, no-one's written anything that profoundly romantic
since about 1978, and none of Argonauts (all female) members were
probably even born then. Also has an inventive sort of industrial
mid section where many other bands put their guitar solos. Ones
to watch, Argonauts are.
JG
Mutado
Pintado - King of the Worker Bees
EP
Transplanted New Yorker Matthew Hardwidge is bored at work and
doesn't much like getting the tube across London, so he's written
this laid back ragga inflected spoken word piece with which to
express his alienation and contempt for the economic system which
forced him to give up his Manhattan art scene lifestyle for an
actual job in a restaurant in Clerkenwell. This would succeed
if it either 1) was a bit more 'experimental' or 2) had a properly
sung vocal but I'm afraid that I'm lacking in sympathy with Matthew
and his cake problem.
JG
Lower Dens - Propagation
Swaying, atmospheric post-rock inflected ballad from this US
four or five piece (the press pic is a bit confusing) whose measured,
minimal sound contains its own vast landscape of effects driven
guitar and dreampop pyrotechnics, a band you are assuredly going
to hear more from as 2012 progresses. http://www.lowerdens.com
JG
The Ready Stance - Wrecking Ball
Full on countryfied guitar tune that can trace its lineage right
back to Big Star and Green On Red, plus the Lemonheads or somesuch,
a familiar sound but The Ready Stance are making more than just
the right noises here and 'Wrecking Ball' has the reverberating
authenticity all the best of those mid west guitar bands share.
www.readystance.com
JG
What
the Night Brings – Bound By Apathy
No prizes for subtlety here
from the heart of the Home Counties but an impressive array of
blistering guitar effects and some fearsome drumming may get you
crapping your pants in excitement. Obvious comparisons to Pantera
do not flatter to deceive. 7/10 www.facebook.com/whatthenightbrings
SB
Slugabed
– Sex (Ninjatune)
From the sublime to the ridiculous (or in fact,
the other way round after listening to the mighty What the Night
Brings). Slugabed’s ‘Sex’ drips suave electro sophistication with
a side serving of funk thrown in. 7/10 www.ninjatune.net
SB
Junior
Electronics – Zero Distress
Junior Electronics is the solo work
of Joe Watson of Stereolab fame and at first listen ‘Zero Distress’
sounds just a bit clunky and awkward. But you get the impression
after listening to the dead pan vocals as well that this is entirely
the point – it’s not meant to flow, it’s supposed to be a bit
gawkish. 6/10
SB
D1
– Devotion EP (Cheap Thrills)
So this is basically an ‘original’
track heavily featuring samples from the classic ‘Devotion’? Not
sure I’m down enough with the kids for any of this EP, no matter
how bassy or jungly or anything else it is. 5/10
SB
Nyteowl
– Love of Mine (Love Interest)
Squelchy synthy loveliness in
an eighties style here from Minnapolis producer Nyteowl who combines
a bit of retro cheese with a self assured swaggering modern cool.
7/10 www.soundcloud.com/nyteowl
SB
Skinny
Lister – Plough & Orion / If the
Gaff Don’t Let Us Down (Sunday Best)
I very much like the prettiness of girl/boy vocals and
the simple melodies of ‘Plough & Orion’ which shows Skinny
Lister can be effective without being showy. By comparison I quite
dislike the bawdy shanty-esque ‘If the Gaff Don’t Let Us Down’
– what a contrary bugger. 6/10 www.skinnylister.com
SB
The
Ghosts – Ghost (Pocket)
Like a neatly trimmed beard, ‘Ghost’
provides a simple embellishment to an otherwise unremarkable number
of features. Fizzly synth lines, simple guitar hook and a decently
memorable melody pull all the aspects of this together in one
neat package. 7/10 www.cannonballpr.com/the-ghosts
Clearly conceived
to have the massed outdoor hordes gently bobbing around at the
back yet throwing themselves over unfeasibly high fences at the
front, ‘Consequence of Youth’ is an obvious indie pop festival
pleaser which in recorded format just leaves me feeling it’s a
little bit lacking in substance. ‘Burn the Map’ follows a similar,
if slightly more considered pattern though there is a greater
dynamic range at least. Either way, if you get them both there’s
a free Matlow’s Swizzle stick in it for you (I kid you not) so
get down to local internet music cum confectioner pronto. 6/10
www.soulcircus.co.uk
SB
Stanley
– Join Hands (Stanley HQ)
‘Join Hands’ is the lead track from
Aberdeen-based Stanley’s debut album ‘Animals with Amazing Diguises’
and if it is a taste of what is to come then we are in for a bit
of a treat. It’s impossible to pinpoint any one influence but
there are plenty of sonic tools and cunning musical directions
all being deployed at once here. It’s a rollocking, gothic stomp
imbued with Stephen Podelsny’s rich vocals which cruise majestically
from deep and calm to manically falsetto. 8/10 www.stanleytheband.com
SB
Alex
Butler – Come Out of Your House
Jerky English guitar pop which
shares that same lyrical cleverness and provincial vocal deployed
by the Arctic Monkeys (though admittedly Butler is from a bit
further north in Newcastle). It’s always going to be popular so
why resist? 7/10 www.alexbutlermusic.com
SB
Shields
– All I Know (Euphonios)
There’s something lovingly familiar
about this track but I can’t quite put my finger on it. Either
way, it’s clearly been lovingly crafted and positively bubbles
through its lifespan like a brightly blooming musical flower.
Or something. 8/10 www.behindshields.com
SB
The
Helmholtz Resonators – Scars
(Trashmouth)
This reminds me a little
bit of an electronic version of Sheffield’s Champion Kickboxer.
It’s kind of doleful yet deceptively euphoric with an overriding
sense of melody. Simple and sweeping, it’s a song for long outdoor
summer evenings. 7/10 http://www.helmholtzresonators.com
SB
Jenny
Gillespie – Belita EP (Narooma)
I was hoping for something a
little more interesting than this after hearing the start of the
opening track ‘Creature of Our Own Make’. It featured a nifty
combination of glitch effects and generally shambolic instrumentation
which brought to mind the likes of Jose Gonzalez and Adem. But
as the EP progresses, ‘Belita’ leans more towards a traditional,
and slightly less interesting, traditional folk sound (though
‘Cheating Gong’ features a pretty lovely muted finger picked guitar
sound intro). 6/10 www.jennygillespie.com
SB
These
Monsters – Live Some (Role Model Corporate)
I saw These Monsters
play live a few weeks back and got a right shock. I seemed to
recall them being a bit of a complex post rocky type outfit complete
with a brass section. Either a) I was completely wrong (very likely)
or b) they have completely changed into a rawk beast. Well, they
are part way there. ‘Live Some’ sounds a little bit like Hawk
Eyes lite – just a bit less chunky and layered but with just a
few more ‘musical’ inflections – These Monsters know their jazz
chord progressions. But all said, ‘Live Some’ will still scare
the neighbours. 7/10 www.thesemonsters.com
SB
Bleech
– Mondays (Billie)
There’s slightly more going on here than the
simplicity of the chorus would have you believe. It’s instantly
catchy but veers away from the obvious in several places which
is a nice little touch. 7/10 www.facebook.com/bleechofficial
SB
Films
of Colour – Running / Creature of
Habit
Films of Colour sound
like a band perfectly honed for a summer of festival appearances
where their anthemic tracks like ‘Running’ will prosper (just
ask Snow Patrol). I like it quite a lot but feel I’d have preferred
it in a bit more of a stripped down version. ‘Creature of Habit’,
despite sounding a bit like Coldplay, I find myself warming to
more and more. 7/10 www.filmsofcolour.com
SB
Runaround
Kids – You’d Feel the Same (Philophobia)
Holy christ – someone
has slipped at the mastering desk and pushed all the levels up
to an ear splitting maximum. Regardless of what you might think
of this slightly anarchic surfy garage rock, you’d struggle hearing
past the incredibly condensed sound here. 6/10 www.runaroundkids.com
SB
Fuxa
– Our Lips Are Sealed/Crystal Blue (Rocket Girl)
Anyone out there
know of the original version by the Go-Gos? Nope, we neither.
But quick Google did not have me quickly signing up for the Go-Gos
back catalogue. Fortunately, Fuxa’s version featuring Sarah Peacock
(Seefeel) on vocals is a million miles away. Ethereal and gently
haunting, it’s a little gem. 7/10
SB
I
Like Trains – Mnemosyne (I Like Records)
Not only have they dropped
the little ‘i’s and big other letters (which is a great relief
to my somewhat scrambled typing skills) but with ‘Mnemosyne’ I
Like Trains appear to have reinvented themselves musically too.
Always at the moodier end of the musical spectrum, ‘Mnemosyne’
sees a much mathier approach than I’ve heard from the band before.
Gone is the choral brass, replaced by neatly clipped guitars (to
match the band’s new neatly clipped beards and quiffs judging
by the press shot). So how does all this marry up with Dave Martin’s
characteristically sombre vocals? I bloody love it. 9/10 www.iliketrains.co.uk
SB
Fossil
Collective - 'Let It Go EP' (Dirty Hit)
Tuneful alt-folk with a rhythmic edge and no swirling production
effects to draw attention away from what's a quite good song.
Also accompanied by an animated video which took several months
to produce, Fossil Collective are definitely aiming towards something
and sound like the actual opposite of fossilised. Their Soundcloud
page only contains the EP title track, so I can only assume that
the rest of the EP is as pleasantly listenable as 'Let It Go'.
JG
Japandroids - 'The House That Heaven Built' (Polyvinyl)
Stomping emo-tinged powerpunk that I'd get a bit more from if
I wasn't so blatantly reminded of the very similar (and big favourites
of mine from all of 6 years or so back) Japanther, who did this
sort of thing with a touch more invention and scuzzed up originality,
to a point where I'm suspecting an actual connection in the production
department, that or legal action pending somewhere. http://japandroids.com
JG
The
Pond - 'Circle Round A Tree' (One Little Indian)
You already know if you are going to like this. Folk musician
Kathryn Williams and two friends go a bit 'psychedelic' in much
the same way that Donovan did, plus club remixes. Everyone at
Radio 6 already likes it, thereby rendering my own opinion entirely
superfluous.
