singles
november '04
tim wright - oxygen remixes
novamute release second track from tim's 'thirst' album. basically a set of hard edged acid pumping monsters with remixes by abe duque, tim wright, and vector lover (??). as with the recent miss kittin remixes abe duque mix stands out for me. its old school acid squiggles makes me go all gooey and i suspect though a large pa system this would seriously melt some people synapses. tim's own revisit is more straight laced 4/4 techno based, vector ups the tempo and tension with some dirty electroclash sounds and robotic vocals to intimidate the neighbours cat with.
matt harding : thinking in fours ep
two lone swordsmen - big silver shining motor of sin ep
(formerly known as 'showbiz shotguns')
as part of the build up to the proper live band outing andrew weatherall and keith tenniswood have come up with more of their trademarked dirty electro-rock sounds. obviously, i have been around too long as these tracks sound like an updated version of classic era shriekback (ie jam science). lead track is all old thin synth enhanced beats and sci-fi sounds placed up against a big fat bass synth very little else. then andrew starts to 'sing' - no guest vocalists are welcome, this is not the chemical brothers. his voice is of the throaty, menacing style, the word 'gothic' can be applied as it's processed, non-melodic and quite unpleasant. which is, therefore, a perfect addition to the evil sounding sonic palette. the other track is 'feast' where the shriekback connection really hits .. the bass line is straight out of dave allen's back catalogue and with the monotonic vocals hit, again like barry andrews, its like a massive 1984 time warp. oh, and to complete the package if you cant stand andrews vocals then there are dubbed up instrumental versions .. excellent stuff. the gigs should be rather special if they can produce this level of dark intent in the flesh ..
bebel gilberto - aganju/winter
new single from the the brazilian star is very different to the usual stuff that passes through the speakers of ireallylovemusic's stereo, and following on from the dark grooves of two lone swordsmen this is rather pleasant light airy relief. for the lead track acoustic guitars strum backed up with a nice subtle synthetic groove which i am sure will appeal to all followers of the sunset party scene. the other track 'winter' is an english language track that removes the club friendly backing and uses instead far more traditional instruments, including a very sweet harmonica solo. expect radio 2 saturation.
the scaramanga six - we rode the storm ep
for more detailssss follow the link above... if you dare enter the glorious world that is the scaramanga six
hiding place - cruelkindness
fast-n-crunchy rocking second release from the scottish new noisy upstarts, the band are currently supporting chart toppers the rasmus, this lot could indeed get the audiences bloodrushing. though the b-side cover of blue oyster cults classic 'dont fear the reaper' doesn't thrill me in the same way that both the foetus and apollo440 versions did, as the band remove all inferred heaviness of the track and turn it into an acoustic singalong. strange.
graham coxon - freakin'out/all over me
just in time to remind end of year list compilers that graham released one of the years finest indiepoppunk albums the label release the toptastic track that was originally only on 7" for a proper release. b-side 'all over me' is a far more laid back orchestrated track (from the lp as well) showing the strength in grahams newly rediscovered talent at creating some fine examples of 3 minute pop perfection.
havana guns - she always goes down
international combo meet on the eiffel tower and within hours decide to form a power pop combo with ideas of world domination. how many times have we heard this ?
ah well, combining talents from switzerland, sweden, london and Manchester this four piece band hark back to the early days of blondie, reviving the simple joys of quality pop music played in a studio live with little care for current fashions. front singer susanne has the same laid back lazysexy drawl that debbie harry used to excel at, with the band providing the sharp new wave-esque guitars and old school synths to solid effect. admittedly a little more polish and exposure in the studio will help as this lot could indeed thrill many folks, me included. an excellent debut single though. out in november on the new cigarette music label.