Wednesday 28 May 2014

Midweek Mixtape #7



Eerie atmospherics soon give way to jangly guitars in Ferry Light Switch, the opening track off the Bristolian 5-piece Daggers and Waves' Wayward Lines EP. This uplifting sun-kissed drifter, held together by delicate guitars and woozy vocals, absolutely flies by in five minutes of Kurt Vile-esque bliss.

Continuing those warm weather vibes, as we desperately try to remember what sunny weather is like here in the South West, are father and son duo Tree Dwellers, who are presumably hanging around somewhere on the same beach frequented by Daggers and Waves. This one's a bit of an oddball really: a bass riff here, stabs of strings there, sampled vocals hooks and funky guitar licks all thrown into the melting pot for an infectious slice of funk-hop that comes from the same page as the likes of Gramatik or J Dilla.

I think these chilled-out tracks must be sending you to sleep though. SO WAKE UP! HERE'S A SING-SONG! Lois The Band's 'Be True To Yourself' is massive, epic, anthemic, glorious etc et al that recalls the best moments of Britpop and all of those early noughties sing-a-long groups. Live, this would be a beer-drenched classic.

Now for something all the way from L.A. Singer songwriter Emma Ruth Rundle makes incredibly atmospheric, heart-wrenching guitar music sprinkled with pop sensibilities. It can be pretty dark and pretty powerful stuff - but beware Rundle's ability to draw you into her world with those catchy melodies before you find yourself totally engrossed in the arresting soundscapes that she creates. 'Arms I Know So Well' is a nice entry point into her stunning debut album Some Heavy Ocean, which you can listen to here.

Sheffield duo Slow Club's latest offering veers away from their earlier folk-pop offerings, strings and brass giving the slow-burning 'Suffering You, Suffering Me' a real Motown edge that pushes the group into their poppiest territory yet - not that you should be worried, 'cause those two have absolutely nailed it once again.

Tuesday 20 May 2014

Midweek Mixtape #6



After first thrusting themselves into view with the release of their no nonsense self-titled debut album earlier this year, the stock of Leeds punk rockers Eagulls has continued to rise with two recent scintillating performances on Letterman and Jools Holland. Their confrontational punk rock isn't displayed any better than in 'Possessed', as cascading, fuzzed out riffs collide with pounding drums and aggressive, shouty vocals to create an enticingly-toxic melting pot of noise.

Anton Newcombe may be a divisive figure at the best of times, but it is hard to argue with the peaks of The Brian Jonestown Massacre's long and occasionally-frustrating discography. When he's on form, such as in 1996's Take It From The Man!, there are surely few songwriters more talented than the enigmatic Newcombe. 'Memory Camp', the stand-out track from latest album Revelation, sees the band returning to scale those huge mid-90s peaks once again.

Mac DeMarco is another hugely talented songwriter making a welcome return: this time with the critically-lauded Salad Days, backed by the hugely enjoyable 'Passing Out Pieces'. A careful evolution rather than revolution from his earlier sound, don't let his 'oddball' persona mislead you into thinking his music is equally slack and carefree: 'Passing Out Pieces' is delicately put together with a sheen and confidence that mirrors DeMarco's flourishing skills as a songwriter.

Leamington Spa two-piece Coves are a group of counterpoints and contrasts: a boy and girl, guitar and drum duo who mesh crashing blues numbers with dreamy electronic sounds to create beguiling songs more reminiscent of the L.A. sun than the undoubted delights of urban Warwickshire. 'Beatings' sums up this intriguing aesthetic as it soars with the repeated line My heart stops beating for you before slipping into a psychedelic crack-out in its stunning finale: distorted guitars, crashing drums and bleeps and glitches battling for precedence at the heart of this psych-rock behemoth.

Monday 12 May 2014

Album of the Week #23

Artist: Teleman
Album: Breakfast
Year: 2014
Label: Moshi Moshi

Rising from the remnants of late noughties indie pop outfit Pete and the Pirates, it could have been tempting for Teleman to rest on their laurels and on the reputation of their former incarnation. But with the swooning, electro-tinged 60s melodies of debut album Breakfast they have already managed to carve out a sound that is both familiar yet totally their own. Despite just one change in the lineup, drummer Hiro Amamiya joining the former pirates Tom Sanders, Jonny Sanders and Pete Cattermoul to form the band, the shift in sound from guitar-heavy indie to boasting a more blissful and melodic electronic edge has been sharp yet apparently effortless.

Whilst Pete and the Pirates boomed with a restless energy beneath their catchy guitar pop, Teleman have taken on a droid-like appearance and their music appears almost robotic in patches. However, that's not to say the group have ditched personality in favour of a more sleek and assured sound. 'Steam Train Girl', for instance, shares characteristics of both. It is precise, exact and confident in its delivery, yet its motoring melodies and instrumental climax make it the life force and beating heart of Breakfast. Imagine Kraftwerk with guitars and you're halfway to understanding it.

Elsewhere, the Velvet-esque ambient balladry of '23 Floors Up' and 'Cristina' display the group's personal touch and canny knack of finding that addictive melody that served them so well as Pete and the Pirates. And though guitars still feature on Breakfast, it is the keyboard and synths that feature more prominently, and as the album progresses, they come to define Teleman's sound. Perhaps the trio needed a clean slate to edge the six-stringer into the background, but it has worked a treat. A range of ideas are explored on Breakfast and it has all the hallmarks of a group exploring yet still finding their feet and their own sound.

If the amalgamation of guitars and synths is the one thread running right through the record, that notion is perhaps summed up most pertinently in album closer 'Travel Song.' Quite literally a song of two halves, the first is a pleasant enough stomp with nods to new wave and Motorik via Pirates-esque indie. Yet the band move head-on into Motorik territory after a brief lull in sound, harsh guitars and robotic vocals clashing and colliding as Sanders' fitting vocal hook of I'm not in control, I'm not in control soars and soars and soars in mantra-esque fashion. It is a thrilling end to a thrilling record, and the sound of swirling synths guiding the song to its abrupt climax is emblematic of an album that successfully blends the old and the new to create one of the most exciting efforts of 2014.

'Breakfast' is released on 26th May by Moshi Moshi Records. Until then, you can hear some of the tracks from the album on Teleman's Soundcloud page.

Wednesday 7 May 2014

Midweek Mixtape #5



In the latest installment of the Midweek Mixtape we've got some real big-hitters making their mark in 2014. The Horrors are back, finally, after the critical and commercial success of their stunning 2011 album Skying. New album Luminous is a careful step forward, but one that is undoubtedly just that: forward. 'Change Your Mind' is the standout track of the album from a band with an increasingly impressive discography, and one whom you suspect are slowly moving towards producing something quite extraordinary.

Damon Albarn's long-awaited debut solo album is, in some way, exactly what you might expect from him. Generally consisting of his trademark soulful, honest yet hard-hitting ballads, Everyday Robots also exhibits his more experimental side that he is so heavily associated with. But on this occasion, it's the Bobby Womack-esque 'The Selfish Giant' which stands out, boasting a beautiful melody coupled with backing vocals from none other than Bat for Lashes.

Wolf Alice. WOLF ALICE. One of those bands that I've been fully aware of for offensively long, without ever actually dipping into their releases and seeing what all the fuss was about. Well, now I have, and you should too. Immediately. 'Blush', from the eponymously-titled 2013 EP, is absolute magic, with Ellie Rowsell's vocals sparkling and shining before soaring into a stunning finale.

This is the track that Jack White recorded, pressed and released in just FOUR HOURS for this year's Record Store Day - making it a world record. The song itself is fittingly fast and furious, as White's typically bluesy guitar licks are poked and prodded by his yelping vocals, with the song barely catching its breath before a mega guitar solo is already hitting you hard and then retreating into a fuzzed-out, violin-indebted outro that instantly takes on a mind of its own. Yep, it's a bit of a mad one, this.

Finally, a cut from EMA's critically-lauded LP The Future's Void, which was released earlier this year. 'So Blonde''s stomping drum beat is quickly accompanied by vocals that shift from airy and whispy to snarling and menacing in one fell swoop. Let me tell you about this boy I know, EMA sings, barely able to conceal her disdain in the paired backing vocals. A proto-grunge rocker that's a real highlight on a superb album.

Sunday 4 May 2014

Album of the Week #22

Artist: Sylvan Esso
Album: Sylvan Esso
Year: 2014
Label: Partisan Records

Musical side projects are famously hit and miss. For every Gorillaz, for instance, there's a SuperHeavy. With so many influences, styles and egos going into the melting pot it can be hard to distil it all into a cohesive listen. But North Carolina duo Sylvan Esso, made up of Mountain Man's Amelia Meath and Megafaun's Nick Sanborn, have come together to produce a debut album that, for the most part, is a sparkling effort.

That's not to say the record is perfection. When I first heard album opener 'Hey Mami' earlier this year, I must admit that it didn't quite do it for me. Meath's sleazy vocals seem like they were born out of a all-night jazz club; you can almost smell the rum and coke in them. Yet the track combines this with harsh, heavy electronic beats from Sanborn to create a tuneful but ultimately confused, jumbled sound.

'Hey Mami' stalls and splutters its way forward, but after the duo soon start moving through the gears. 'Wolf' is the first sign of what they're capable of: the sparse production of Sanborn this time complementing the vocals of Meath. But things really get going with the mid-album double-whammy of 'H.S.K.T.' and 'Coffee.' The former steps up the tempo a notch as Meath is guided along by the deftly-arranged synths and sounds of Sanborn as he expertly controls the anticipation throughout the song, hinting and hinting before eventually heading down a glorious drop in the finale. It's made for the 4am dancefloor.

If 'H.S.K.T.' was enough to floor you, then 'Coffee' gently eases you up again, more swirling synths and blissed-out vocals in perfect tandem. Meath's vocal refrain of Get up/Get down is beckoning you into their world, fast-forwarding a few hours from the highs of the previous song and transporting you to the 6am sunrise, where that horrible realisation that the night's over hits you like a train. Here though, you get a sense of that atmosphere without the hangover and massive hole in your wallet. It's like a mini-concept album.

By now, their forward momentum is unrelenting. 'Uncantena' and 'Play It Right' offer a similar counterpoint to each other, with the latter meshing those heavier sounds and lighter vocals so much more successfully than early on in the album. In  many ways, you can hear the two artists coming to terms with each other and growing together as you listen to Sylvan Esso, which is a journey you're invited to. And when the two are in tandem, it's irresistible.

Sylvan Esso is released on June 2nd. Click here to listen to a few tracks from the album...



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Thursday 1 May 2014

Midweek Mixtape #4




Daisy Victoria - Heart Full of Beef

When this song landed in my inbox, accompanied with a long-winded and (quite frankly) lovely message, I have to admit that I wasn't expecting the record to quite sound as it does. Yet in Heart Full of Beef, Daisy Victoria evokes immediate comparisons with Anna Calvi, her powerful voice and harsh guitars making it a thrilling listen - and showing that you should never come to any early preconceptions about an artist. A dark, powerful and intense record.

Little Dove - Into The Ground

It's difficult to avoid thinking of The White Stripes when you first hear Little Dove. Yet Jack and Meg's influence was such that almost any two-piece blues rock band is bound to do the same. That shouldn't take anything away from Into The Ground, a stomping blues assault packing a mega riff and an incessant, pounding drum beat. Don't write this LA duo off as White Stripes imitators - their self-titled debut album does more than enough to suggest they're a fearsome proposition in their own right.

Yellow Ostrich - Neon Fists

The folk rock stylings of Neon Fist starts off innocently enough, but as the tempo and noise is gradually ramped up and up it becomes a more captivating listen with each passing second. In the end, the steady acoustic guitar lick is the calm epicentre of the hurricane that slowly starts to encircle it, distorted guitars and increasingly strained, almost desperate vocals pleading for the song to reach its thrilling climax.

Wye Oak - Glory

Though Wye Oak's lead singer Jenn Wasner was said to have suffered severe writer's block in the run-up to latest album Shriek, you would never have guessed it after listening to this majestic slice of electro dream pop. Her ghostly vocals take Glory by the scruff of the neck, and even as the glitchy electronic solo is taking shape, you're always hoping it will eventually find its way back to her stunning vocal hook. Which, thankfully, it does.

Oliver Wilde - Night In Time Lapse


Bristol-based bedroom musician Oliver Wilde is beginning to make waves with his brand of 'downer pop, glitch tinsel, dad rock and sit down classics' (his words, not mine). In B-Side (B-SIDE!!) Night In Time Lapse, his blissful vocals are barely audible above the dreamy guitars and cracked-out electronic sounds, yet it all comes together perfectly to form, well, top quality downer pop, I suppose. This writing lark is easy sometimes...



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