The Mae Shi are one of the best live acts around. Their collosal angular thrash of noise amazed me during their recent tour of these fair shores. So, I thought, why not get them to answer our 20 Questions? We caught up with Brad Breeck, who gave us one of the most considered answers for our “Stoat or Goat” question yet…

1. Describe your sound in 3 words.
Colors, angles, parties.

2. What was the first record you ever bought? And where did you buy it?
Firehose, Flyin’ the Flannel. I bought it because all the cool skaters in town were into Firehose. Then I returned it because I thought the music was evil (seriously). Then I bought it again later because I realized there’s no such thing as evil music. Duh!

3. What’s the best cure for a hangover?
I’ve never had a hangover, but my wife tells me that Sul Lung Tang (korean beef soup) is the best hangover cure. So when and if I ever have a hangover, i’m gonna eat that.

4. What’s on your rider?
Saltines, mountain dew, 4 bottle rockets, and 2 newborn puppies and 1 kitten per band member. Unless there’s an In n Out or Chipotle near buy.

5. How do you get ready for a live show?
Yoga (poses: eager eagle, laughing lion, jumping jackrabit, grateful gopher), pushups (5), jumping jacks (3), pullups (1/2). Then I let Jacob punch me in the face twice, and I eat a dozen baby salamanders.

6. What’s your favourite song to play live?
“The Lamb & The Lion”

7. What’s your guilty pleasure?
I don’t believe in guilty pleasure. All aesthetic experiences exist on the same plane of relevance (Bill will disagree with this). However, eating Gelato makes me slightly embarassed.

8. Who would win in a fight, a stoat or a goat and why?
Clearly the Stoat would win. The Goats main defense apparatus are it’s horn (or horns if it’s a polycerate goat) and it’s hooves. The Stoat is fast and wiley and can easily avoid the goat’s horns and hooves. The Stoat will leap at the goat’s neck and bite. The stoat has a firm jaw that it will not easily release. The stoat is a fierce and relentless fighter, and it is cute. The goat is lazy, dumb and ugly. Of course if you’re talking about the hornless goat, that’s something all together different… but the outcome would probably be the same.

9. Who’s your favourite new band at the moment? Tell us a bit about them.
Abe Vigoda. They are from Los Angeles. If a bunch kids from the Smell started a calypso band they would sound like this… wait, that’s kinda exactly what Abd Vigoda is.

10. Who would play you in a film based upon your life?
Kate Blanchette

11. Dead or alive, what 5 acts would you have play with you at a festival?
Melt Banana, the Sparks, Best Fwends, This Heat, Faust (performing Faust Tapes).

12. If push comes to shove, what is your all-time favourite album?
A Rainbow in Curved Air by Terry Riley, cause you can trip to it really easily without drugs.

13. What’s your most memorable on the road story?
Last summer, on Cape Cod, a drunk 15 year old kid slapped me in the face with all of his might. That was awesome.

14. If your life flashed before your eyes, what would be the highlights?
Running in the park with my wife and my dogs. Doing frontside airs on a skateboard. Eating at In N Out and Chipotle.

15. What’s the best piece of advice someone has ever given you and did you take notice?
Don’t try to finish every idea you have, because most of your ideas aren’t good. Just finish the good ones. Yes, I took notice.

16. If you had to leave a body part to science, what would it be?
They can have it all. I won’t need it when i’m dead.

17. What’s the best book you’ve read and film you’ve seen in the last 6 months?
I’m reading a biography of David Geffen, it’s a really fun one. He is an asshole. Son of Rambow was AMAZING!!

18. What three things could you not live without?
My brain, my cardivascular system, In N Out.

19. Tell us a fact about yourself we probably don’t already know.
I little league I only made contact with the ball once, and it was a foul ball. Baseball is hard.

20. And finally, we’d like you to make us a mix-tape. Pick five tracks with a theme of your choice.
Natasha Beddingfield “Love Like This”, Mandy Moore “Cry”, Hilary Duff “shine”, Cowboy Troy “I play chicken with the train”, Shania Twain “You’re Still The one”.
Theme: Songs to annoy the other guys in the band while traveling.

Links
The Mae Shi [official site] [myspace]

A brand new act on the thriving UK folk scene are female duo Smoke Fairies. Their music stripped back and haunting, wraps itself around you like a thick blanket of smoke whilst their two part harmonies rattle around your head hours after listening. We recently caught up with Katherine and Jessica to find out a little more about their history and musical influences. Turns out, unsuprisingly, they have excellent taste - not only musically but in their choice of beverage. Ladies and gentlemen - say hello to Smoke Fairies.

Hello girls - It’s our round. What are you having?
Katherine - The most expensive single malt whisky at the bar on ice please.
Jessica - That or a Banana Daiquiri

Right, now we’ve got that out of the way…A little about the band. For people out there that have never heard of you. Give us three reasons why they should…
1. Because hopefully, there is nothing else quite like it.
2. Because it will let you escape to some place in your mind that you have never visited before.
3. Because it will leave you feeling something, not sure what exactly - it makes me feel restless.

Can you give us a bit of background history lesson on Smoke Fairies? What’s your guys story?
When we were 11 the school we were at put us in the same class. Everyday we made detailed plans in our exercise books on how we would form a band and travel around. Whilst driving late at night on the country roads of Sussex we became aware that on special nights Smoke Fairies formed out of the mist to confuse and scare drivers. We took our name from them, although we are not certain that is their correct description. When we were old enough we left England and went and lived in New Orleans for a year and then journeyed around until we settled in Vancouver for a while. We are now trying to be sensible and stay in one place for a while to work on music.

Where do your songs come from? What’s your inspiration?
Katherine - A lot are songs are drawn from the experience of travelling around and leaving places behind, or feeling distant and out of place. Some are sea shanties, others are about frustration and being stuck somewhere. A lot of our songs have an air of nostalgia to them and the heartache that comes from looking back and longing.

What was the first gig you ever played and was it a success?
Jessica - We played at fundraising event at school. We got £80 which was a success then, but no one told us we had to play for 3 hours in front of a silent audience of parents. We had to repeat some songs two or three times. That part of it was a  failure.
Katherine - At the end we thought we were getting a standing ovation, but the parents just wanted to leave really fast.

How much artist control do you possess over your music? Are you interested in how the album looks and how you’re marketed?
Katherine - Having complete artistic control is really important to us, of course. As far as marketing goes we just try to be honest and present ourselves and our music in a way that is true to its intensions. We just want people to hear it and be moved, so you probably won’t see us running around in bikinis anytime soon. Our music is moody and atmospheric so we will try to market it in a way that reflects this.

What music are you enjoying right now? Any recommendations for our readers to check out?
Jessica - A band we know called Congregation are definitely worth checking out. They have just released their first album. It makes me want to leave England and get lost in the Deep South again.
Katherine - I have been quite enjoying listening to the Fleet Foxes as well as Midlake. We have recently started sorting through all our old vinyls and re listening to them. Grateful Dead, Crosby Stills and Nash, America, Pure Prairie League, Neil Young and more… they are all classics. Sometimes it’s great to revisit old influences.

Name your Top 6 records.
Tried to be as honest as possible and not go for the standard or safe options…
Crosby Stills Nash and Young – Déjà vu
Ryan Adams – Heartbreaker
Mark Lanegan - Bubble Gum
Tori Amos - Scarlets Walk
Skip James - Hard Time Killing Floor Blues
16 horsepower – Folklore

What’s the worst job you’ve ever had?
Jessica - We once both worked in a burger van cutting onions and serving burgers. The boss wouldn’t let me wear my trainers so for some reason I ended up wearing a pair of Kaf’s dad’s shoes, which were far too big. The power and water supply got cut off, so we had to do all the sums in our head and there was no way to cool our burns.
Katherine - Jessica was called “blonde one” and I was called “other”. We got shouted at all day by a weird old looking woman who turned out to be 16. The only way to move around the van between the burning hot grills was to get on an onion (they were all over he floor) and launch yourself down the isle. There was a line of angry customers stretching to the horizon. It was hell.

Tell us a joke.
Q. If I had one green ball in one hand, and another green ball in another hand, what would I have?
A. The undivided attention of the jolly green giant…

Links
Smoke Fairies [myspace]

By the magical powers of the internet, Jude Clarke recently caught up with Strokes guitarist and one-time junior rollerskating champion (seriously) Albert Hammond Jr, to quiz him on his second solo album ¿Como Te Llama?, the pros and cons of solo work, and his future plans.

To someone who hasn’t listened to it, how would you describe your new album? Would you say it has any specific “themes”?
I would say it’s a different side to me than my first. It’s still a melodic record but I tried to branch out from what I have done. I feel like I have accomplished that and am still accomplishing it working on new material. I think it’s a great record that you can really listen to over and over again and find new things about it. I go through phases where my favourite songs change just from having listened to it. Continue Reading

White Denim’s debut album Workout Holiday (out this week) is a bright, brash and, can I say it, sexy take on angular guitar rock. We caught up with Steve Terebecki (bass) to find out whether they could handle our recently refreshed 20 Questions.

1. Describe your sound in 3 words.
Geeky, clumsy, flourishes.

2. What was the first record you ever bought? And where did you buy it?
The first record I ever bought was Volcano Suns Farced at Wax n Facts in Atlanta, Georgia.

3. What’s the best cure for a hangover?
Potato Bacon and Cheese Breakfast tacos from tamale house with a coffee.

4. What’s on your rider?
Right now it’s just peanut butter, celery, high life and sparks, but that’s mainly because i haven’t gotten a hold of it.

5. How do you get ready for a live show?
I am completely nervous until I plug all my busted gear in and hear that it works..then I calm down. Every sound guy is always like, "CAN YOU GIVE ME A MINUTE" and I’m always like, "CAN YOU GIVE ME A MINUTE?"

6. What’s your favourite song to play live?
Darksided Computer Mouth, Paint Silver Gold, Goldie Locks.

7. What’s your guilty pleasure?
Not going to the bathroom before I go on stage so the whole thing is even more painful and dangerous.

8. Who would win in a fight, a stoat or a goat and why?
A goat because they can gain energy from eating anything.

9. Who’s your favourite new band at the moment? Tell us a bit about them.
As far as stuff that is happening right now, I think I have been listening to more Cass Mccombs than anything else. His EP and his first 2 records are great, his new record is excellent. Most beautiful song construction and pop melodies out right now. As far as ever, I am still listening to Andy Partridges’ Fuzzy Warbles collection, trying to get a grasp.

10. Who would play you in a film based upon your life?
Annie Lennox for the first half of my life, and Ja Rule for the 2nd half.

11. Dead or alive, what 5 acts would you have play with you at a festival?
If I wanted to completely embarrass myself by opening for these groups then: Pink Floyd with Syd Barrett, Soft Machine, a medley of Andy Partridges’ groups, Frank Zappa featuring Captain Beefheart, and the Beatles.

12. If push comes to shove, what is your all-time favourite album?
I will never answer this, there are too many perfect records and if I said one I would be defying another and the music Gods will scorn me. Now, White Music and Skylarking by XTC are probably tied for "most frequently listened to".

13. What’s your most memorable on the road story?
About a week ago, Dave Foley and Kevin MacDonald came to a show in Seattle. Afterwards, James and I drove Dave Foley to an apartment to play Apples to Apples and drink beer.

14. If your life flashed before your eyes, what would be the highlights?
The Peanut Butter Banana and Bacon sandwich that I had at Peanut Butter Company, riding the Superman rollercoaster at six flags, throwing up in a 320 dollar spanish bull ring on a $7 bottle of vodka with my girlfriend in Zacatecas, Mexico.

15. What’s the best piece of advice someone has ever given you and did you take notice?
"Experience is better than college, save your money." I was too scared to take notice. (I never wanted to be a professional)

16. If you had to leave a body part to science, what would it be?
My skin, I’ve heard that I have the most beautiful, magical skin.

17. What’s the best book you’ve read and film you’ve seen in the last 6 months?
The only book I’ve managed to read in the past 6 months is the autobiography of John Shelby Spong so it’s the best by default. I don’t know about movies, but I like movies that make me laugh and Forgetting Sarah Marshall was hilarious.

18. What three things could you not live without?
Food, Air, Kitty Cats.

19. Tell us a fact about yourself we probably don’t already know.
I only have a 4GB iPod nano, wtf!

20. And finally, we’d like you to make us a mix-tape. Pick five tracks with a theme of your choice.
Zeni Geva - Burn Your Flesh Out
Godflesh - Crush Your Soul
Bastro - Flesh Colored House
Orange Juice - Flesh of my Flesh
Aix Em Klemm - The Girl With the Flesh Colored Crayon

Links
White Denim [official site ] [myspace ]

Mothlite release their mesmerising debut album The Flax Of Reverie next week via Southern Records. It’s hard to pin a category on these guys - their music is simply epic. A whirring carousel of sound that occasionally feels like your listening to the end of the world happening before your very ears. Listen to some songs here or even better, buy the album here.

Find out what the London based duo have been watching/reading/listening to lately…

Who’s your favourite new band at the moment? Tell us a bit about them.
New bands of interest are few and far between. Fovea Hex has been working for me lately. That’s Clodagh Simonds’ ambient project with favourable collaborators… including Eno, Carter Burwell, Andrew Mckenzie, etc. Continue Reading

This week sees the release of What You Don’t Know Is Frontier - the new album by California’s finest purveryors of what I like to call Sludgecore (I like inventing genres - sue me). We decided it was time to catch up with Asva for some serious 20 Questions action. Their responses were, as you would imagine - short and to the point with a fair amount of blue language. Look away now kids.

Ooh and don’t forget! Our Southern Records sampler is still available to download which features an exclusive track from the new Asva album. Get it here y’all.

1. Describe your sound in 3 words.
Glass. Ocean. Tranquility.

2. What was the first record you ever bought? And where did you buy it?
7″ by Bachman, Turner, Overdrive. Can’t remember the track. DJ’s Sound City

3. What’s the best cure for a hangover?
Fucking.

4. What’s on your rider?
555 cigarettes and very good scotch.

5. How do you get ready for a live show?
Smoke a fag and sit on my ass bullshitting with people.

6. What’s your favourite song to play live?
Pay To Come- Bad Brains. Or maybe Jet by Wings. But I won’t be doing those this time around.

7. What’s your guilty pleasure?
I don’t feel guilty about any pleasure.

8. Who would win in a fight, a stoat or a goat and why?
Is this some half ass shot at poetry?

9. Who’s your favourite new band at the moment? Tell us a bit about them.
I don’t know any new bands… new to me? I’m enjoying Hidden Cameras quite a bit.

10. Who would play you in a film based upon your life?
River Pheonix in whatever state he currently is.

11. Dead or alive, what 5 acts would you have play with you at a festival?
Sonic Youth. Early Bad Brains pre HR’s whatever. Jimmy Hendrix. The Fall. Radiohead.

12. If push comes to shove, what is your all-time favourite album?
Talk Talk- Laughing Stock

13. What’s your most memorable on the road story?
You’d have to ask the scotch.

14. If your life flashed before your eyes, what would be the highlights?
Getting married, time with my brothers, Montana.

15. What’s the best piece of advice someone has ever given you and did you take notice?
You know how to keep a hard-on? Don’t fuck with it. Similar to ‘if it ain’t broke don’t fix it.’ And yes I took notice.

16. If you had to leave a body part to science, what would it be?
The tiniest scrotum ever.

17. What’s the best book you’ve read and film you’ve seen in the last 6 months?
No Country For Old Men (the movie) and Shadow Country by Peter Matthiessen

18. What three things could you not live without?
Wife. Wine. Music… in that order

19. Tell us a fact about yourself we probably don’t already know.
I like porn.

20. And finally, we’d like you to make us a mix-tape. Pick five tracks with a theme of your choice.
The theme is good songs…
Cortez The Killer- Neil Young
Couldn’t You Wait- Silkworm
Achilles Last Stand- Led Zeppelin
Birthday- The Fall
Boiler Maker- The Jesus Lizard

Links
Asva [myspace] [label]

Momentum is gathering. Our 20 Questions are once again the talk of the land. This week we got the cheaky XX Teens to answer those questions, frontmen Richard Cash and Anthony Silvester giving us the most insightful answer to our Stoat / Goat question yet…

1. Describe your sound in 3 words.
Richard: Modern
Anthony: Pop
Richard: Music Continue Reading

It’s that After Hours time of the week again..This week, it’s the turn of The Owl Service. An intriguing four piece who create a truly strange and beautiful sound, as if beamed in from another era. A track from their forthcoming album A Garland Of Song (release June 13th via Southern) can be downloaded for free from our rather awesome Southern Records Sampler. Grab the whole thing here folks. We caught up with founder of the band, Steve Collins to find out what he’s been reading/watching/listening to lately….

It’s our round, what are you having?
A pint of Adnams Broadside please, with a Jack Daniels chaser.

Who’s your favourite new band at the moment? Tell us a bit about them.
One of my favourite new bands is Rubus - a 3 piece centred around singer Emily Portman (who also plays in The Devil’s Interval with another fine singer named Jim Causley). Basically, they’re dedicated to playing traditional British folk music with great arrangements, all topped off with Portman’s stunning vocals. - What’s been the best album you’ve heard in the last 12 months?My favourite new album from the last 12 months is probably Wolves in the Throne Room’s “Two Hunters”. My favourite old-but-new-to-me album is Sandy Bull “Fantasias For Guitar and Banjo”. It’s the blueprint for the current freak-folk sound - you’d think it was Six Organs of Admittance, but it was recorded in 1964. Just amazing, timeless music. Continue Reading

Dirty electro indie-pop. Where would we be without it? Well, we wouldn’t have The Chap that’s for sure! Their debut album is due out shortly, so what better time to get the band to answer our equally sordid 20 Questions. You’d never guess they were fans of ELO, but then that’s why we’re here!

1. Describe your sound in 3 words.
Fun and Interesting. Phew, easiest one first! Continue Reading

Not only is he the newest member of the magnificent Fleet Foxes, Josh Tillman is also a highly respected solo artist in his own right. Having released three albums over the same number of years, Tillman has just finished his fourth Vacilando Territory Blues which is set for release at some point this year. We caught up with Josh a few days ago to find out what he’s been listening/reading/watching over the past few months.

To find out more about Tillman’s work, check out our TLOBF Loves piece on him from a couple of days ago.

Who’s your favourite new band at the moment? Tell us a bit about them.
An instrumental group from Texas called Balmorhea. It’s pretty classically informed and a great sucker-punch for the Western ear. “River Arms” has been great company on bike rides, etc.

What’s been the best album you’ve heard in the last 12 months?
The Daktaris “Soul Explosion”

What was the last book you read? Would you recommend it?
I just finished “The God Delusion” by Richard Dawkins. Carrying that book around is something of a confrontation sandwich board and I’ve had to diffuse quite a few “witnessing” attempts on airplanes, gettng coffee, etc. I’d recommend it for private enjoyment, or to invest in a Bible book cover. Continue Reading

Bon Iver. Photograph by Sarah Cass.

The reputation of Justin Vernon, aka Bon Iver, precedes him like a particularly florid trumpet fanfare. Never mind the insular indie music press - if you’ve opened a Sunday supplement or flipped past Jools Holland recently, you’ll have seen his emotionally wrenching debut For Emma, Forever Ago hyped almost beyond the limits of logic or sanity. The tale of For Emma’s creation entered modern mythology pretty much immediately: Vernon had spent years chasing success with a number of bands, most lately Wisconsin four-piece DeYarmond Edison (true), endured a difficult breakup (true) and a nervous breakdown (untrue), retreated to a remote log cabin (true) and spent three icy months in total isolation, his only sustenance a few bits of melted snow and a deer he killed with his bare hands (almost true).

It hardly matters now what actually happened and what’s just wild exaggeration. Without even planning to record an album, Vernon emerged into the spring of 2007 with nine tracks of atmospheric, minimal acoustic guitar and octave-spanning vocals, layered into an intensely personal, primal sonic epiphany. (He’s said, beautifully and a little spookily, “I recognise that the record is enigmatic and special in a strange way. I can’t take full credit for it, and I was the only one there.”) He self-released For Emma to instant Pitchfork acclaim, was picked up by Jagjaguar in the US and 4AD in the UK and took this year’s SXSW by storm. Still, he’s a thoughtful, funny, humble soul who is more interested in international politics and music with a conscience. Continue Reading

For this edition of After Hours, we managed to track down NYC based Milena Mepris, one half of Transatlantic duo Pin Me Down. Ultimately a side project for Bloc Party guitarist Russell Lissack, Pin Me Down have been making waves with their current single ‘Cryptic’. Shedding the angular restrains of Bloc Party, Lissack has forged his distinctive guitar parts with infectious 80’s beats and Kim Wilde-esque melodies. Check out their myspace why don’t ya.. ‘Cryptic’ is released on June 2nd via Kitsune.

Who’s your favourite new band at the moment? Tell us a bit about them.
Milena Mepris: I quite like Santogold - she is based near us in Brooklyn and, for a while, we were sharing a drummer with her. Santi’s music is great - a mesh of a ton of genres - everything from electronic and hip hop beats to pure pop to ska guitars. She’s got a great ear for melody, a malleable voice, and a lot of personality. I think she will do really well. Continue Reading

Errors; the missing link between Clinic and Mogwai… well, maybe. They’re signed to Mogwai’s Rock Action records though and release their quite marvellous new album, It’s Not Something But It Is Like Whatever, next Monday. Go out and buy it, you’ll be a better person. Honest. Anyway, we caught up with James Hamilton to find out the answer to the most revealing questions on the internet… Continue Reading

Our infamous 20 Questions have had a bit of break whilst we reformulated them, now with 10% extra stuff… So, who better to kick off the Second Coming than Matthew Smith, guitarist/vocalist for the wonder of modern pop that is Hot Club de Paris who release new single ‘Hey! Housebrick’ on the Monday and new album Live At Dead Lake on 16th June, both through Moshi Moshi. Continue Reading

After recently signing their praises as part of our TLOBF Loves pieces, we managed to get Matt and Dimitri from the band to answer our quick fire questions about what makes them tick… They even gave us some photos to share!

For people out there that have never heard of you. Give us three reasons why they should…
Dimitri: They might like us?? …and Jack has a good new hair cut (I cut it!).
Matt: Surely you should never judge a band by their hair cuts Dimitri!? Continue Reading

So it’s one of THE great debuts by a British band, we’ve established that. But what do The Wave Pictures themselves think of the album? Dave Tattersall (lead singer, guitarist) sat down and wrote at length his thoughts on the classic that is Instant Coffee Baby .

Continue Reading

No, they’re not a Wilco tribute band. The Late Greats are, in fact, a guitar toting 4-piece from the rock n roll capital of the UK: Eastbourne. (That last bit was a joke by the way). Anyway - they’ve impressed us with their hook laden single ‘Futures Gold’ (released June 2nd), so we thought we’d catch up with them to pitch our ‘getting to know you’ questions. Here goes….

For people out there that have never heard of you. Give us three reasons why they should…
First question and its pretty tricky. We’d like to think that its 1- because we’re quite good. 2- because we’re quite good. 3- because we’re quite good. One of the best things that anyone has said about us after a gig is “I actualy quite liked them”. Not expecting anything from nothing but coming out pleasently surprised about the results. I guess you’ve got to come see us play to make your own judgement. We will do our best to tickle your inner souls. Continue Reading

The Acorn have been continually playing on our stereos at TLOBF Towers ever since a Canadian friend of ours lent us some mp3’s towards the end of last year. We’ve been completely bowled over by them in fact. Here’s hoping for them to get a UK deal in 2008. In the meantime, we managed to track down main man Rolf Klausener to pitch our notoriously devilsh 20 Questions to him… Continue Reading

I have an admission to make; until very recently, I’d not heard of The Drift . But, a slot on the Explosions in the Sky curated ATP event this month and finding themselves in my town of Cambridge the same week, it made me investigate their music. And what music it is. Evocative post-rock that features heavy use of brass instruments, giving their music an added dimenson and separating it in a genre that’s starting to sound tired. I caught up with guitarist and keyboardist Danny Grody to find out what’s behind the band. Continue Reading

Lykke Li

The Moshi Moshi record label are celebrating their first ten years in business this year. As part of those celebrations they have just released a rather excellent compilation of releases from their acclaimed Singles Club. Jude Clarke chatted with label co-founder Stephen Bass and found out his views on running a successful label, why he thinks negative reviews of Kate Nash are foolish and rude (oops!), and what acts he particularly rates from the past and present day. Continue Reading