singles
june
new release on memphis industries. a mad 3 tracks which strech the lo-fi genre in all directions. warping the loungecore revival sounds that were all the rage a couple of years ago with a pounding motown beat these raw instrumentals. opener 'junior kickstart' start off like some white stripes back-to-basics drum/guitar strummathon .. then out of nowhere come a splattering of horns ripped straight from some forgotten 60's tv gameshow. wether they're the real mccoy or a shifty sample i care not. this makes for great fun 3 mins and makes the harmonica the coolest instrument for the next 3 weeks. 'feel good by numbers' again sounds like it was recorded in someones living room on a dirty tape deck . but the rolling boogie piano put jools hollands efforst to shame, the 2 mins of thisw are far too short. final track digs the same type of sounds as opener with its horn led melody line over the top of more piano lovelyness.
i will refrain from using the word groovy.
just.
4 tracks with 2 lifted from their excellent lp. obviously someone agrees with me as they have taken the best 2 tracks off the lp and put them on this single. 'tell vicky' and 'motorbikes' are two of the best power punk pop tracks that put the current mtv sanctioned charlottes/androids et al to obvious shame.
the harmonies are forthright and the sweetly propelled chugga chugga guitars just make you smile irrespective of the weather. luckiy the extra tracks are on a par with these making this little package well worth tracking down (check the label website ..) switch off mtv and blow out those cobwebs with this blast of fun.
future kings of spain - your starlight
second single from this alt.rock trio from ireland.. following on from the blast of 'face i know' this continues in the same style. sharply focussed layered guitars, spiky drums, all gel nicely to make an uptempo racket that is simply devine. the single comes backed with 'kick it' apparently a live favourite that has an urgency and demands your attention for an adrenalin fuled 3 minutes. damn fine stuff. indie rock like it should be done, also included is a more mellow version of a janet jackson track 'lets wait a while' - tis nice .. but nothing too demanding ... still the lp is gonna be a blast ..
janes addiction - just because
never really paid attention to this lot when they did the rounds all those years ago, but now i am open to all sounds this has a groove that just rips. perry farrel is obviously back on fire having done the hippy thing for last few years .. this is very tight and could wake up a lot of alt.guitar fans in america who have been deprived of anything original in last few years. a nice antidote to the new metal that is raging round the airwaves ..
the star spangles - i live for speed
remember 'new wave of new wave' ? remember these animal men ? well they dressed sharp, sang short spiky songs about drugs and lived fast and furious before burning out in the mid 90's. well hello star spangles you remind me of them.a lot. i have read a lot of disparaging remarks about this lot - primarily due to the presence of the strokes in the same city of the band .. well casablancas voice and twee melodies does not move me one bit, but 'i live for speed' does with its ramones facisimile, simple and fast, but its a damn fun racket.