The Research are a band, a band a band a band a band a band a band a BAND. This may sound like it’s a pretty obvious statement. Unless they’re one of those solo projects that have a name like a band then it pretty much goes without saying. But that’s not really my point. My point is that there is just something so hopelessly band-*like* about The Research, like they could just be generic image #1 when you *think of a band*, they just sound like… a band. A band of people playing songs. Continue Reading

“Even if we’re scenesters, its not the scene you’re thinking…”

Is there any more unlikely band in the world than Los Campesinos right now? I mean in terms of career trajectory if nothing else. ‘You Me Dancing’ thrust them via the DrownedInSound message boards from normal-people-just-messing-around obscurity to potential indie-pop superstardom. At the start of this year and the release of Hold On Now Youngster I saw them playing with Johnny Foreigner to an emo-band-I’ve-never-heard-of challenging horde of excited underage kids who seemed to mostly just go crazy for ‘You Throw Parties, We Throw Knives’. Continue Reading

We love the Vivian Girls. Tom Whyman, always one to get enthusastic about great music, suggested that EVERYONE should own a copy of their self-titled debut, and who are we to argue? So, what better time with their UK tour occuring RIGHT NOW, to catch up with the girls and find out a bit about what makes ‘em tick.

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Mimmi from Those Dancing Days is the lucky recepient of our 20 Questions this week - their most recent album In Our Space Hero Suits sent our man Simon Tyers into rapturous throws of delight with their quirky indie-pop. Now can they attack this feature in the same wonderous way… only time will tell…

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Broken Record Prayers opens with ‘Jack Nance Hair’, a languid soul-infused slice of janglepop given all sorts of edge by being topped and tailed by a spoken monologue which eventually declares “beware our bitten mouths and fingernails… we have torn ideals. Comet Gain has torn ideals”. It’s a statement of intent for the longstanding Comet Gain, essentially transplanted mods hoping to inspire other semi-revivalists, whose leader David Charlie Feck makes much of his Kevin Rowland-esque search for the new indiepop vision, a belief in music and hope in the face of the indifference of love and dreams, and if that means losing all the members bar the singer, as happened in 1997 (tellingly, this compilation of “A&B sides, new songs, session tracks and stray dogs” starts a year later), or becoming as famous for the shambolic nature of most gigs, something which reached an apogee at Indietracks festival in July when only the bass player turned up, then so be it. Continue Reading

Melbourne’s The Lucksmiths are the foremost of a number of Australian bands (see also: Darren Hanlon, The Cat’s Miaow, the Mabels) keeping alive the flame lit by the Go-Betweens of the style Robert Forster and Grant McLennan labelled “that striped sunlight sound” - wistful melodies, lyrically strong with a tinge of doomed romanticism. So much an institution of the scene that they’ve put out two rarities collections, one a double set, their ninth studio album sees no reason to change its core ways of understated, deeply likeable old school indie, more polished than the shamblers, no concessions given to allow Zane Lowe airplay. That longtime home of the perfect pop non-hits Fortuna Pop! are putting the album out in Britain is no surprise. Continue Reading

The Submarines are Bostonian power-pop duo Blake Hazard (the great-great granddaughter of F. Scott Fitzgerald trivia fans) and John Dragonetti. The course of their true love did not run smooth, but it did generate their debut album Declare a New State two years ago. They had split but kept up a professional relationship as the band, only to find the act of recording the songs they had written separately fuelled by the breakup brought them back together. Those kids from Fame Academy were right: music conquers all! Make-up, marriage, and relocation to LA later, their follow up is obviously less emotionally cathartic, but not to be dismissed as frothy ear candy. It’s an almost completely enjoyable romp through perfectly measured left-field synth-psych-poppy arrangements mixing mild electronica beats, sunny boy-girl harmonies (more heavy on the girl), brazen tambourine, and fizzing indie guitar in an intricate winning collage. In fact, minus those big-toothed vocals and the odd bit of xylophone, its crafted sound may not be too much of a stretch chart-wards from the likes of The Notwist, Mates Of State, or even Tilly And The Wall. Continue Reading

Perfect indie pop with a hint of sadness. That’s how I’d describe Sea Wolf’s particular furrow. We caught up with Alex Church Brown, the main man, to find out what he’s all about. Their debut album was released back in August, but they’ve got a bright and shiney new single coming out this week!

1. Describe your sound in 3 words.
Watery canis lupus?

2. What was the first record you ever bought? And where did you buy it?
It was a hip hop compilation called ‘Rap!’.  I was 9 years old and I bought it at the local drug store.

3. What’s the best cure for a hangover?
Horchata.  A sweet drink often made with rice, sugar, and cinnamon. Use it to wash down a couple of advils.

4. What’s on your rider?
Jameson Irish Whiskey and biore strips.

5. How do you get ready for a live show?
I do 1000 pushups.

6. What’s your favourite song to play live?
Winter windows.

7. What’s your guilty pleasure?
Poutine.

8. Who would win in a fight, a stoat or a goat and why?
Definitely a goat. The stoat would just get trampled.

9. Who’s your favourite new band at the moment? Tell us a bit about them.
Fleet Foxes. They sound like something my parents would have listened to in the 70’s.

10. Who would play you in a film based upon your life?
River Phoenix.  If he wasn’t dead.

11. Dead or alive, what 5 acts would you have play with you at a festival?
I’d go with the obvious. The ones I’ve never seen, and will never get to see.  The Beatles.  Johnny Cash. David Bowie in his Ziggy days.  Bob Dylan with The Band.  Joy Division.

12. If push comes to shove, what is your all-time favourite album?
Ocean Song: Whale Voices.

13. What’s your most memorable on the road story?
Taking the ‘Ghost Tour’ in an old theater in Buffalo, NY (once a bootleggers hangout & brothel) and being scared out of our minds.

14. If your life flashed before your eyes, what would be the highlights?
Every cat i ever owned.

15. What’s the best piece of advice someone has ever given you and did you take notice?
Stay in the moment.  I’m not very good at that, but I try sometimes.

16. If you had to leave a body part to science, what would it be?
My brain.

17. What’s the best book you’ve read and film you’ve seen in the last 6 months?
Best book: The Places Inbetween, by Rory Stewart. Best film: Pineapple Express.

18. What three things could you not live without?
Food. Water. Shelter.

19. Tell us a fact about yourself we probably don’t already know.
I can’t do more than one thing at a time.

20. And finally, we’d like you to make us a mix-tape. Pick five tracks with a theme of your choice.
1. The Rose Captain - Sea Wolf
2. The Captain - Leonard Cohen
3. Sing! Captain - Handsome Furs
4. Captain - Ween
5. The Captain & Me - The Doobie Brothers

Sea Wolf on Myspace

I was thwarted in my initial attempts to listen to Fujiya & Miyagi’s (F&M) Lightbulbs. Their previous album, 2006’s Transparent Things, was something of a sleeper hit with me and also, initially at least, avoided my cunning aural attempts. That was an album that fused a whole host of influences into something funky and completely out of tune with what else was coming out of their home town of Brighton. But anyway, back to Lightbulbs. It seems as though in this age of internet leaks and the like, labels are starting to make it difficult for reviewers to actually LISTEN to the music. Put the promo into your computer to rip it for your mp3 player of choice and it crashes. Nice. Stick it in my car to listen to, the stereo goes a bit funny and tells me I’m listening to a CD-ROM. Double nice. So, finally, I’ve had to set time to listen to it on my stereo at home. And now, after a number of afternoons and evenings with a variety of refreshments, I can write something about it…
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Fujiya & Miyagi released their comeback single ‘Knickerbocker’ on 25th August, which was followed by their third album Lightbulbs this very Monday on Full Time Hobby. The band head out on a full UK tour from 18th September.  So, with all this activity, what better time to catch up with the main man David Best to see what they make of our inqusitive 20 Questions…
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Ok, so Nelson might be one of the worse names around for a band, but these guys are giving it a shot. Their edgy debut, Revolving Doors, came out this week and it’s brooding Joy Division / Interpol sound has impressed my ears at least. We caught up with the Parisians for our equally compelling questions…

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Hummingbird, Go! is a vibrant entertaining hotchpotch that leaves me slightly baffled as to how to go about reviewing and/or categorising it. Some kind of shape shifting cross between a D.I.Y. Feist, a lone female Ting Ting, and the rounded pipes of Doris Day. Yes, Doris Day. With a healthy measure of Scandinavian folk-pop sensibility thrown in. Based on a quick perusal of four year old previous outing Shine, I was expecting, without much anticipation, another rather innocuous collection of female soft-rock à la Cheryl Crow. It could hardly be more different and indeed for some time I hesitated to believe that my Googling wasn’t delivering up two completely different people in its result list. Continue Reading

When Frank Sinatra gave advice to Nancy about embarking on a singing career, he said the one thing she shouldn’t do was to stay in the same genre: the comparisons would always be negative. Well, Liam Finn never seems to have got the same advice from his Dad - Crowded House’s Neil Finn. A blindfolded listener might often struggle to differentiate between the two, but that’s no bad thing of course. Despite understandably sounding uncannily like his father (and Uncle Tim on double tracked harmonies) he has managed to escape a case of Julian Lennon syndrome. Liam Finn has produced a debut album that stands alone without being overshadowed, if alongside rather than diverging away from the template of the family collection. No mean achievement. Continue Reading

"Ble mae Mr. Jones? Mae Mr. Jones yn yr cwpwrdd". Having left the land of song just before S4C really took off and the subsequent urban resurgence of the Welsh language, that’s about as far as my Welsh goes. With my school books in an attic somewhere, I’ll resist the temptation to do this review in Welsh then, but will just throw out the facts that our Welsh teacher spent his weekends vandalising English only road signs and had us chanting the names of the days of the week to the chorus of Gary Glitter’s ‘Come On, Come On’ while slamming the desk lids up and down (try it - it scans). I’ve a feeling that the track had a different name, but I don’t really want to Google ‘Gary Glitter’ for confirmation, if you know what I mean. So, all in all I’m positively predisposed to, if not particularly conversant with, this Welsh-only second album release from Hywel ‘Howl’ Griff and his band. And at least I can pronounce the track names. As for the rest of you: since when did anyone have a clue what Michael Stipe was on about during the first few REM albums anyway? Griff’s three bandmates will know how you feel - they’re not Welsh either. Continue Reading

This debut release from Aussie siblings Angus and Julia Stone barely rises above strummed acoustic guitars and stripped down drums, but after a few listens it’s clutch of gentle melodies have nestled their way inside my head as a summery delight come a few months early. Let’s hope the actual weather follows suit soon.

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Recipe for a refreshing autumn smoothie: take the syrupy tones of a Madeleine Peyroux, a dash of Enya for misty depth, some Kate Bush for exotic undertones, and zest of Laurie Anderson for weird bite. Blend until not quite smooth enough to pacify. It’s called a St. Vincent, and should keep you perky for at least a few months. The inventor of this mouth-watering concoction is Chicago multi-instrumentalist Annie Clark, who you might have heard with the Polyphonic Spree or seen playing guitar with them or Sufjan Stevens on tour.

The first time I heard single, and first track, Now, Now I was hooked on its forceful individuality, snap, crackle, pop guitar tones, and refusal to buckle down and settle into a regular tune. But, initial half-hearted forays into the album left me unmoved and inclined to regard it as some sort of dippy novelty effort that did not come off as an extended whole. However, a couple of listens later and I’m smitten. It soothes without being snoozy and offers a Pandora’s Box of busy musical sprites swirling over foundations of eclectic beats, silky orchestration, and soft creamy vocals that deliver words that can be sentimental or sarcastic. There’s everyone from Pinky and Perky to the Sleeping Beauty Disney choir on backing vocals, and everything from Within You Without You eastern strings, spiralling sprints across grand Steinway keys and raw electronic blips, to playground chants, gutsy guitar and thumping pedal drum. Jesus Saves, I Spend, and Your Lips Are Red, second and third up, are just as strong. Changes of tempo and shifts of style occur within almost every song as if each is made of self-empowered play dough, containing the energy to spontaneously transform itself so as to be unrecognisable by the next time you visit. Finally, What Me Worry is smoky Fabulous Baker Boys jazz entirely untouched by the weirdness, and closes with “I’m out of here”. Perhaps, but this oasis of uniformity serves only to give the brain a respite before hitting the play button once more.

There are some caveats. It might be loved by many and loathed by others - there will be no middle ground. Strange thing is, I have a suspicion that some of these songs are slight, and would not stand over exposure without the complex surround-sound. Yet somehow Clark conjures up durability with a magician’s cloak of aural dexterity and deception. Quite what they’ll sound like live is another question. It may be intense and mesmerising, or a thin shadow of the rich feast here. You can find out in November when St. Vincent tours opening for The National (solo rather than with a band I believe). I was thinking of being there anyway, but now there’ll be two reasons for attending.
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Links
St. Vincent [official site] [myspace] [buy it]