You’ve probably already guessed by now but we, at TLOBF love new music. A lot. That familiar feeling of sheer joy when you stumble across a brilliant new band? The tingles in your stomach, the need to tell everyone who’ll listen about them? That’s what drives us and is the very reason that this site exists. Which is why, we’re thrilled to be hosting this exclusive FREE mix by the fine, fine people at Something In Construction records. They know a thing about new music too, you know. The nineteen tracks contained on ‘Building With Strings’ all present something new, fresh and very exciting. Allow SiC head honcho David Laurie to take your hand and guide you through the mix.
Established in 2005, Something In Construction has released all kinds of music from the UK, US, Sweden and Australia. Folk to disco, rock to hip hop. Depends what moves us on the day, we don’t have a plan, we don’t have a type. We know what we are doing and we are goddamn proud of all our bands.
We like surprises. Mainly we like pop music. LCD Soundsystem, Duran Duran, Operator Please, Black Angels, Subtle, Husker Du, Emmy The Great. They’re all pop music to us.
We like surprises and we like songs. We like things that are beautiful and strange. We might like you. To be fair to you, if you are reading this here, then we will probably have something to talk about. Write to us, buy us a beer, tell us something. We like hearing from people. People are fun. Mental but fun. We also really like Chinese food. Don’t you? We like to just order lots of starters. Really though. You hungry?
Something In Construction & Friends present.. Building With Strings
[FREE DOWNLOAD] - right-click and choose save-as
1. Plushgun - Just Impolite
A young man from NYC, an A&R hot potato in the US, with a song about trying to be like Johnny Cash. Sounds like Pet Shop Boys and Pulp and is nudging 500,000 plays on myspace. He just opened for Moby at SXSW. Still kinda secret, though. Yours and mine.
2. Christian Silva - Great To Begin
This young man has his debut album released on 14.04.08, is picking up play on Radio2 and Xfm, touring shortly with White Rabbits & soundtracking various US TV shows. This is his forthcoming single. Good, isn’t it. “Pop magnificence” The Guardian. “A Masterpiece” TLOBF.
3. Akira The Don - I Am Not Dead (Yeah)
The first fruits from his session for album#2 with Stephen “Pet Shop Boys/New Order” Hague, Akira The Don is also currently making videos, producing Lethal Bizzle, remixing Gonzales, joining Neon Neon, and selling his mixtapes by the ton and running his massively popular blog. Bizzee, innee?
4. A Million Billion - Wait….Animate
A side project from The Silent League, and focussed on Mr Ryan Smith, who is very much a clever Brooklyn fella. This tune is an aberration, a freak. Reminds us of Prince’s Parade, Japanese food, and kids TV.
5. Sambassadeur - Final Say
It took us about 20 seconds to fall in love with this. Swedes they are, somewhat unsurprisingly. Like Stereolab and New Order? Us too. On Creeping Bent here, on loan to us for this. Take a punt, the album is AMAZING.
6. Boats - Scenic Gorges
Ah yes, Canada. I think it was Stereogum that alerted me to this. We have played it every day for months now. It clears the cobwebs, buys you a cup of coffee, with a cheeky shot in it, when you are hungover and then drills deep into your skull, and not just in the way you are thinking. Kind of still surprises us too.
7. The Gay Blades - O Shot
Now these two are rock stars. Serious. I believe this is rock music. It rocks. These men have not written a bad song yet, nor one that bears any relationship to another either. Just wait. I’d love to tell you what comes next but it would genuinely kill the element of surprise. Better it kills you. Viva NYC.
8. Alvin Band - Tijuana
Ah yes. Well, what can we say here? Not really heard anything quite like this before. It is fun. It is unexpected. It sounds a tiny bit like the Beach Boys and Butthole Surfers. A bit like being high in China.
9. Twin Thousands - Like You A Lot
Mr Ryan Smith again, in the company of sundry Cursives, Bright Eyes’. Twin Thousands rule. They are not Swedish but they sound it. This sounds a bit like ABBA doing The Smiths. Pop music. Pop. Music. Forever.
10. Emmy The Great - Gabriel
Emmy is great. You know that. In this song, Emmy imagines being a 19th Century daughter being married into money but being sore in love with someone else. We have all pondered how this must feel, of course. Sensibly, Emmy has turned it into a brilliant song. Heartbreak is timeless.
11. The Leisure Society - Come To Your Senses
This is a side project of Mr Christian Silva, with Mr Nick Hemming. Is it folk music? Is it Simon and Garfunkely? Elliot Smithy? A bit, I s’pose. It’s a great gently uplifting song.
12. Sons Of Noel and Adrian - This Wreck Is Not A Boat
There are tons of these guys. They are students of texture. It is everything. Well, it isn’t. But it makes a sexy canvas for this song. English for sure but it nods at Bonnie Prince Billy and Nick Cave. Nice whistling too. Is it a ghost story from the point of view of the ghost? No idea. Sounds like it.
13. Loney, Dear - Take It Back
You know these people. Something very special, aren’t they? A beautiful song from the album, Sologne. Emil and co are about to release a brand new album for EMI. Uplifting. I think that is the word for this one too. Sad too. Defiant? Maybe.
14. The Silent League - Let It Roll
Majestic. Almost every review of the album Of Stars & Other Somebodies used that word. Absolutely every review singled this song out. You want to know why? Because it is majestic, fool. If you don’t love it, then we have nothing further to talk about, you and I. Rich like an Old Master.
15. Young Husband - French Grammar
Euan is Young Husband, plays guitar for Emmy, makes songs like this on his own. I don’t know what type of music this is. It is very pretty, hypnotic, narcotic, definitely more Syd than Sid. No idea what it is about. It sounds drunk and weightless and, well, unstoppable.
16. The Depreciation Guild - A Room, A Canvas
This I know. It is noise too. Controlled and lazy, perpetually falling. And with enough spare time on its hands to sigh out a casually simple, very classic pop song. As you turn it up louder and louder, you notice the swathes of noise less and less. Weird, right?
17. Other Passengers - Credits
I love this band. Their album We Are All is a lost classic now, I suppose. Cruel. Spacemen 3, Bauhaus, Kid A, Sonic Youth, RZA. I mean, who wouldn’t? This is epic. As I understand it. Collapses eventually, resigned. Beautifully. Not before taking your heart out.
18. TSL vs 69CORP - Catbird (Upsetter Dub)
This is an old one. 69CORP took The Silent League’s beautiful dream, The Catbird Seat, apart and made a Lee Perry style dub. Then scattered bits of the song back on top randomly. Not an obvious move. We like it though.
19. Damn Arms - Cormorant (Midnight Juggernauts remix)
Australian crazy boys. Like the Blood Brothers trying to be Duran Duran. Nutcases and maniacs. Pretty damn rude too. This sees one of their efforts magicked into disco trousers. Big ones.
[FREE DOWNLOAD] - right-click and choose save-as
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April 4th, 2008 at 9:59 am
yay for sons of noel and adrian
April 4th, 2008 at 11:06 am
Sons of Noel and Adrian - what a fantastic new band.
April 4th, 2008 at 12:01 pm
Damn Arms are bloody brilliant, seen em live, brilliant there too
April 15th, 2008 at 9:14 am
Wow - I went to see Christian Silva play last night at The Old Blue Last and he blew the roof off the place. He sings very powerfully and plays piano with an AMAZING drummer then introduced various other musicians on stage as he went. The whole thing was incredible, we all decided we would have happily paid twenty pounds to see something like that. He did ballads, dance tracks, mixed his own voice live, sampled his piano, danced, gyrated, then came into the middle of the room with his guitar and sang to us all. AMAZING performer. Unique - I’m actually still buzzing. I actually think the song on here is not his best (great to begin) - sounds a little bit confusing - but the stuff he did last night was inspired. Sons of Noel & Adrian opened for him and they were very very good, beautiful in fact. Sarah x
April 15th, 2008 at 12:35 pm
yes indeed that was an amazing night
in fact
we must do it again some time soon
April 16th, 2008 at 6:31 am
great mix…
April 25th, 2008 at 4:42 pm
I saw Christian Silva play at Amanda Palmer’s show at Bush Hall last summer. Eeeeeverybody loved him (despite nobody knowing who he was and never having heard any of his stuff before.) Greatness indeed. I haven’t had a chance to see him play since then, but I’d very much like to. And I’d love to buy a physical copy of his shiny new album.. if I knew where/how I could do so.. and if someone would kindly lend me the money. I’d pay you back next Wednesday, promise! Anyway. Yes. Darling fellow. I luff him (with two f’s.)
April 28th, 2008 at 2:40 pm
you can get one from http://www.somethinginconstruction.com, from iTunes, and from Fopp, or from me at misterlaurie@gmail.com, also from Rough Trade
and
he is on tour this week
manc tonight
london tomorrow
see http://www.myspace.com/christiansilva for details
May 2nd, 2008 at 1:08 pm
a very kind review of the compilation can be found here:
http://www.music-news.com/ShowReview.asp?H=Something-in-Construction/The-Line-of-Best-Fit-Building-with-Strings-album-review&nReviewID=3236&nType=1&
May 2nd, 2008 at 5:50 pm
it IS nice
But I think
although I am not sure
but I think
there is a superfluous e in the first paragraph
I am ASSUMING he means “bowls”