singles
feburary '06
the pipettes - your kisses are wasted on me
second properly available single (no more of that only available at gigs/mailorder gubbins thank you) via those lovely folks at memphis industries which if there is a true and just chart system will see the harmonised girl trio head straight for the top of the hit parade. sweet twee innocence emotions of old, are chucked out of the window from a great height and , to let in the biggest phil spector-esque production with big handclap stomp beat, up tempo go! team drums, twang guitars, and the most most wonderfully addictive girl pop cheekiness that is full of nudge nudge wink wink knowingness, thus making this exactly the type of record that i wanted the band to release, having caught their superb live show last year. a smile is guaranteed.
field music - you're not supposed to
without pausing for breath, newcastles finest follow up their well received debut with a new track that maintains their love for quirky pop, but somehow makes all the elements gel far better than anything off the album. simple piano chords, easy on the ear melodies and an old school pop song that is fresh, warm and bloody good.
absentee - something to bang
well i never. i didn't expect this ! absentee have twisted and turned a few times in their short(ish) history, but to get such an up beat, fuzzy guitars, horn filled pop masterpiece in the pile is really a lovely surprise, making me hope that the full lengther, 'schmotime', that must be on its way, is filled with nuggets like this. the gruff, smoke damaged, lived in vocals by the bands main man, dan michaelson, are a major factor in this individuality. ok, on the flip side, 'you try sober', (examining the joys of a relationship surviving without a pleasures of the demon drink), he may vere towards a more roughed up chris rea, but when the songs are as sharp and hook ridden as these 2 examples are then i aint complaining.
as oliver once said : "please sir, can i have some more please."
spank rock - rick rubin
full review : here
the like - june gloom
the girls release their second single prior to the album, 'are you thinking what i'm thinking' that's due out in a few weeks time. again the song has an easily digested melody and hook, and the style is pure american alt.rock from the 90's, just like 4ad excelled at, the simplistic bass line opening that gets the blood rushing prior to the onslaught of restrained shoegazer styled guitar noise during the radio friendly chorus.
in fact, if you recall the band tribe and liked them, then you're gonna love this lot.
good stuff.
cherubs - paper cut moon
this is very impressive sounding big and chunky indie rock noise that has a certain drama and manner that at times recalls the glory days of classic suede (tis all about the vocals of course). guitars soar, lifting the lead track away from the solid bass-n-drums to raise the song into higher levels of enjoyment. extra tracks on the cd single, 'the world outside' has the same type of level of bass propelled urgency that you could just feel emanate from the grooves of all those post-punk funk records of late, but somehow cherubs seem to add to the narrow inward looking genre. the cinematic widescreen heartfelt ambition is sound tracked on the final 'for luck to land on my shoulders', bringing the ep to a rather intense dramatic conclusion.
this versus all these libertines/monkeys type of bands. oh please.
hardkandy - advice
featuring terry callier.
not sure how to describe this. mellow, acoustic guitars strum away, lost loves, delicate beats, a spoken/sung lyric declares all things love based are given space amongst strings making for something rather special in the process. ok, in the wrong mood this may sound a little too mushy, but in the context of the bands forthcoming album this track is totally gorgeous.
remixes from manasseh, nu:tone and black grass reveal that below the mellow grooves is a song which can be twisted to fit all kinds of differing grooves, ones all dubbed up and perfect (manasseh), one goes all acid jazz funk (hardkandy rereub), and a little bit of drum-n-bass by nu:tone means all bases are covered. whereas black grass just expand the production for a huge 3d sounding tripped out version.
if you like this, you're going to love the album thats all i can say.
the freelance hellraiser - want you know/pound for pound
several years after making his name as a bootlegger/mashup creator, mr freelance at last gets around to releasing his debut single (on sony records !). obviously the recent twin freaks project raised his profile to a rather nice bank manager pleasing level. the 2 tracks on offer are wildly different. 'want you to knnow' is a lovely laid back, big budget moby-vs fat boy slim affair with its lifted samples (all legal dontchaknow), vocal loops and sunrise friendly melodies, whereas the flipped track is a more urgent electro-post dance affair proving that while freelance has sucked up to the major record labels, he still has a keen eye on what is going on in the murky underground. noisy big bass loops and in-yer-face electroclash styled attitude. bring on the album.
little man tate - the agent/just cant take it
more young lads from sheffield with guitars decide to head for the top of the pop studio. having received a 4 track demo a few months back i was not prepare for the hard hitting old school new wave pub rock a-side that jumps out at you with this release. 'the agent' is up and at'em riffs and doesn't let up for its all too brief 3 minutes. nerve shredding hooks fly at you from all angles, tis almost too much to take, thus i state that this is a fantastic record. fantastic. but, will it hit the #1 spot like their very famous mates, not sure. but tis the loss of the nations millions if it doesn't as this is the best slice of guitar pop that you probably haven't heard. the b-side aint quite as special. but hey, who cares - just play the a-side again. drop over to their myspace spot to see what you think
the modern - industry
second single proper from this 80's retro pop band. while i wasn't too impressed about their debut, this one packs a lot more punch. massive belinda carlise guitars and vocals crash into the opening minimal pulses to make this a classic mtv monster. catchy pop music that could easily cross over into full on mainstream action. who ever said electroclash never caught on. personally, this is exactly the type of pop music i was brought up on and it never did me any harm now did it. oh, and stephen 'pet shop boys' hague has touched it up for the radio edit. not that it was necessary, but his version has a little more polish for radio 2.
clap your hands say yeah - in this home on ice
ok ok i know. i slated this bands debut single on some other page round these parts. amazingly though, i kept going back to the album to the point of obbsession. the vocals doesn't work, but they do. go figure. so, here's another slice of joyful upbeat indie rock with the guitars doing their layered controlled noise, and the trade marked nerd rock vocals that fly in the face of conventional wisdom.
and it works. suspect that by december i will be dropping the album into my top 10.
must learn to keep me gob shut if i dont like a record in future
orson - no tomorrow
already having featured on a recent cover of a times culture extra seems to indicate that there a few people expecting mighty things from this bunch of americans. i aint professing anything spectacular having only heard one track, but that's not too say that there is a lot of fun to be had here. mashing up scissor sisters vibe, big fm-sanctions 80's pop rock music (no electro minimalism here), radio friendly catchiness, stadium sized chorus's. their future is looking bright. bet they wear shades in the dark.
the boy least likely to - be gentle with me
having reviewed the album a year ago i never expected the world to fall at the feet of such lovely pop music. no gameplan, no marketing tricks, no myspace promotion, no strategy other than great songs played with all manner of interesting instruments ("is that a banjo?"), so when channel 5, bbc radio 2, and even james blunt all started to help push the boys songs further along i rejoiced and felt pleased. sometimes the right people get the right results. this track is easily one of the best on offer on the album, so hopefully the result will be a massive hit single.
lenny kravitz - breathe
a combined marketing force that is kravitz and absolut makes for a heady mixture. still the music is not your usual kravitz kind of retro guitar funk. the sound is a lot more processed, machine driven forms the foundation, and there's hardly any evidence that lenny used to pretend to be jimi hendrix. in fact if this didn't have lennys name all over the place, i would never have guessed. a modern pounding electro-funk groove that could instill many people to drink more vodka.
the mind boggles.
the track is a downloadable thing i think ..
damn arms - please, pass me my anti-robotics/i think therefore i swam
full review : here
laura veirs - secret someones
you may have noticed a complete lack of female singer songwriters getting space on this website. that's because i rarely find any of it worthy of my time and attention. however, recently i received an email that pointed me to a lovely little online media player/album sampler. casting my cynicism aside i clicked, and within a few moments i realised that this was indeed rather special. lots of connection of course with suzanne vega, but laura and her backing band the tortured souls have a real way with their instrumentation, melodies and subtle twists such as the discretely indie rock styled distorted guitars, the beautifully layered vocals, and the fantastic electric piano melody line. the real fact for my unusual love however, is that this song is just great. simple, direct, and instantly catchy, this is everything you could ever want on a cold winters days to warm up the inner soul.
laura is touring in feb, people edinburgh, liverpool, bedford, bristol, leicester, and birmingham check the usual places for more details.
orson - not tomorrow
dilated peoples - back again
first single from forthcoming album, '20/20',(feb 20th) by the old school crew who know the rules of the game having released 4 solid albums. lots of funky scratched up loops, nice and easy radio friendly vibes, and hooks a-plenty. perfect for when the sun shines. ooops.
at the lake - these days
dont know much about this, other than the band have a certain classic old fashioned indie sound and obviously care not about fitting in with certain demands for dancefloor grooves. guitars chime and soar, atmospherics are rich and rather splendid, leading this particular listener to recall the glory days of the house of love, and a whole chunk of creations back catalogue.
oskar - rerun ep
the whip - frustration
with a few seconds of the 'normal' version of this track, there is such a stylistic throwback to another band it's virtually impossible to shift the connection from the grey cells throughout the 5 minutes. pummelling low hung bass line, old fashioned 80's synths adding drama, and guitars being hammered to within an inch of their lives. oh yes, the classic era of new order is back. none of that modern studio shine, but all of their lo-fi electro-rock excellence when new order really knew how to hook an audience into their world. even the vocals follow a similar groove to bernard summers, though with a slight element of the psychedelic furs - it really is that close to the original source. however, does this make the track a bland copyist to be ashamed of ? nah - does it hell : its great !
then, reading the press release, i find out that 'the whip' is actually comprised of some of the ex-members of nylon pylon ! another band who blended rock music with some fine dance styled grooves (especially on the trevor jackson remixes), so its with some obvious delight that bruce and danny have found another outlet for their passion, fingers crossed this time an album is released. the flip is a superb tension filled, guitar heavy remix by performance. another band who know a fair bit about the love for 80's electro that's currently ripping up the dancefloors.
link
coco electrik - sex shooter
released on valentines day, this lost prince track (hidden away on the unloved apollonia 6 album), has all the elements that the hipsters are currently lapping up. minimal old school electro synths, slapped bass lines, minimal but funky wah wah guitars (especially noticeable on the extra track, 'superfine') and of course the ever-so-saucy vocal, all wrapped up with an air of supreme cool and hand clapped rhythms, making this a sure fire winner. for you fact fiends, coco electrik is actually the pseudo for anne booty, an australian who has teamed up with matt 'did he ever get those records back' skylab for her live band - appearing at londons' cargo early feb. anne and producer paul harrison from royal appointment, have managed to create a wonderfully fresh hybrid of time warped pop music, that both works as part of the 80's revival, as well as forging new avenues of musical discoveries for herself. the fact that her first single was a split release with tom vek should indicate the direction in which she is going, after all, a little funked up pop music never hurt anyone now did it.
more please
graham coxon - standing on my own again
first single from the soon to be released album, 'love travels at illegal speeds', continues in the same vein as the excellent previous album that spawned several great singles that proved that graham can indeed stand on his own two feet, well ok, maybe he needs the usual help from his sidekick stephen street. as the song is the welcome blast of age defying indiepunkpop that graham has proven is all his own. there is something about a bloke in his mid 30s still loves making music like he's a pumped up adrenalin fuelled spotty teenage that fills me with immense joy.
soo good, and sooo worth your pocket money.
morning runner - burning benches
new single from the 'wilderness is paradise now' album that's on its way in early march will help the lads obvious desire to swell their fanbase, for the festival season. pianos are pounded and built up to the usual crowd pleasing crescendo, emotions are raw, and the fury is full on. still there is something about the keane vs waterboys sound that doesn't quite sit right, but still there is something that many people are going to love about this band. just not me.