Photographs by Ama Chana

Why?’s stock has certainly grown over the last few months. Barely six months ago they were almost unknown to all but the most on-the-ball hipsters and established Anticon fans but the word-of-mouth success of third LP Alopecia has seen their fanbase expand enough to sell out the thousand-capacity London Scala. And for the most part, the indie hip-hoppers deserve the acclaim afforded to them- their engaging mix of breezy indie-rock melodies and dark, often rapped lyrics are done full justice by a unit of immensely talented musicians despite the occasional minor misstep.

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Wintermute

A Badge of Friendship is back at The Lexington, proudly joined by The Line of Best Fit and offering an alternative Saturday night out. Unfortunately the place is slow to fill out but the half north London, half south London Elks offer a mixture of warm post-rock harmonies and gritty Biffy Clyro-esque guitar riffs. Songs such as ‘Sorry For The Inconvenience’ are packed full of energy and angst, this time specifically addressed at the National Express for traveling difficulties! Their performance culminates in an off stage venture as they break out a megaphone for the finale before Leeds’ Wintermute takes over. With a set that is audaciously full of stop-start rhythms, infectious pop melodies and half shouted lyrics their sound is akin to the Foals jagged, angular musical formula. Their explosive energy fills out the floor and has the crowd dancing along during their short set, which is not complete without the obligatory indie “bah-bah-bah-dahs” in their final song. Continue Reading

Welcome to our brand new monthly feature: ART OF NOISE. It’s a simple concept. We ask bands we love to make us a mixtape and tell us exactly why they picked each track. Thus, you get some free kick ass music AND find out more about some of your favourite artists taste. Everyone literally, is a winner.

Kicking things off this week are the self proclaimed ‘Noise Band From Bletchley’; Action Beat. Freshly signed to Southern Records imprint Truth Cult Records, these guys seriously know how to make a big, loud fucking racket. And we love them. To describe what they sound like is a fairly difficult task so I’ll just refer to their myspace page: “Raping de-tuned guitars. Abusing old drum kits. Molesting golden Basses. Dean Gaffney.” Nice.

Heres Don McLean from the band to guide you through his twelve choices. Download link is at the bottom of the post… Remember to look out next month for a mixtape from FatCat Records’ newest signing..The magnificent Gregory & The Hawk. Enjoy. Continue Reading

Is there a ‘Xiu Xiu scene’? You know, Xiu Xiu, Parenthetical Girls, The Dead Science… all distinct, yeh, but all still on some level cut from the same basic template- mewling feminised vocals, sense of high drama and trauma, atonal, often counter-intuitive arrangements… you know what I mean. But in the same way that Parenthetical Girls have a sumptuous, sickly, almost *poppy* allure that Xiu Xiu probably won’t ever have, so The Dead Science are the totally killer rock band that Xiu Xiu can never hope to be (and, in this case, I suspect they might even *want* to be, or at least that’s what they seemed to aspire to live). Continue Reading

Photograph by Sonny Malhotra

This week saw the eagerly awaited release of Mothite’s debut The Flax of Reverie. Having only played two live shows so far them have already amassed a solid following. To find out where they have come from and where they plan on going to next I caught up with Daniel O’Sullivan and Antti Uusimaki, the creative duo behind Mothlite’s epic sound.

So it has been just over two months since we last caught up with you guys, what have you been getting up to since?
Daniel: Well we’ve been busying laying down demos for the new Mothlite stuff. We have a lot of new material, it is way more poppy, but not in an obvious way. I have always played in weird, avant-garde bands and have only recently discovered good pop music. I’ve always had a soft spot for it but I’ve always just been hiding away in this bleak universe of dissonance. Continue Reading

John McEntire of The Mountain Goats once said of Bellafea’s lead singer and guitar player; “You don’t see a stage presence like Heather McEntire’s more than a few times in your life, she’s unbelievable”. Quite a statement, coming from the great man himself. A perfect candidate then for our revealing 20 Questions.. Bellafea’s sonically intense new album Calvacade is out now on the fabulous Southern Records. You can download the album track ‘Depart (I Never Knew You)’ from our recent Southern Records compilation here. Continue Reading

A strange one this. Dianogah have spent 12 years doing mostly instrumental material headed by a two bass attack, throwing in some quality novelty song titles in along the way. “Indie Rock Spock Ears”, Check.Err… “A Bear Explains the Right and Wrong Ways to Put on a Shirt, Shoes, Pants and a Cap”. Check. Having not released anything since Millions of Brazilians way back in 2002, you could have been forgiven for thinking that they had ceased to be. It seems that after a rethink the band are back, this time with singing, a distortion pedal and a bunch of friends along for the ride. Continue Reading

We’ve already told you how much we love Hawnay Troof’s new album, so we thought it was about time we got the brains behind it Vice Cooler to answer out After Hours questions. Judging on his answers he could possibly be my new best friend or something. He loves Weeds, cookies and fried foods. Plus he hates sports. It’s like we were seperated at birth or something.

His album, Islands of Ayle is out now on Southern Records. Continue Reading

Clocking in a just over 30 minutes, no one can accuse Bellafea of being flabby with their first long player. This North Carolina outfit have been in the noisy guitar business since the start of the decade, releasing their Family Tree EP in 2005 before retreating to their home state to craft their debut. A lot of exertion for a half hour of music; which sadly doesn’t actually seem to represent a whole lot of effort. The songs on Cavalcade occasionally exhibit flashes of quality, but on the whole the din smothers mud all over the good ideas, making you wish they’d held back a bit on the noise. Continue Reading

The press release I got with this album describes one Vice Cooler, aka Hawnay Troof (well I guess when your real name is already *that* ridiculous…) as a “left-field prodigy” and an “outsider artist”. But I’d describe him as a really ludicrously fucking fun musician.

Islands of Ayle is young Hawnay’s third album but I must admit the first I’ve heard of him, my kneejerk reaction to this record therefore being something along the lines of: “where have you been all my life?” What I basically look for, about 80% of the time in music, this guy delivers in big backbreakingly heavy bundles of fun. Because I don’t want crystalline soundscapes or acoustic mumblings or even the smallest scraps of ‘accomplishment’. I want what might perhaps perfectly be described as “completely fucked-up pop music” (thanks press release). Well, maybe such a large proportion of all the best music wasn’t always *quite* there, but now you just have to look at your Cats In Parises, your Gay Against Yous, your Animal Collectives, your Death Sets, your Dan Deacons, your (RIP) Cutting Pink With Knives- your Hawnay Troofs. Who’s ready for weird fun? Continue Reading

Photographs by Sonny Malhotra

A buzz reverberates around the room. Tucked away in an old underground railway alcove, hidden from the blinding lights and pounding bass lines of Ministry, an unlikely looking bunch take to the stage. For a band that has been performing live for just over a month now, Mothlite have attracted quite a crowd this evening.

There is something quintessentially English about front man Daniel O’ Sullivan tonight, perhaps it is because he is dressed in a suit reminiscent of that flat cap and Whippet that he seems to love so. But actually, when I think about it there is something quintessentially English about Mothlite: English like Lewis Carroll or Pink Floyd. Continue Reading

Southern Records are responsible for recently re-homing the discordant, ear-rendering lunacy of Racebannon, prompting the band to bring to the table a new album after a four-year gap. Championed by the underground movement that demands it’s rock be non-generic, febrile and unpredictable, the quartet from Bloomington, Indiana are here to dip you in their aural bath. You choose - acid or blood?

From the opening off-key guitar chimes, scattergun snare and fearsome feedback of ‘Translucent Lifeforce’ it is instantly apparent that the band haven’t been whiling away those four years in comfort. Edgy, haphazard and grimy, Racebannon bring us panic in sonic form. ‘Sister Fucker’ is all about the killer riff, a huge heaving beast of vibrating reverb over which Mike Williams’ vocal scorches a blaze of throttled fury. Continue Reading

After reading some guff about the industrial revolution and children on their website, I was expecting The Flax Of Reverie to be, well, a load of guff. And the fact that they’ve put the tracklisting on the CD and not on the sleeve also made me not want to like it. Annoyingly though, it’s actually quite good.

It will certainly not be to everyone’s taste, and requires a fair bit of concentration to fully appreciate it, but it’s some clever stuff.

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To coincide with Monday’s rather wonderful (and free) 12 track June playlist Laundromat we are thrilled to be able to offer you, dear reader, something a little more of the alternative and experimental nature. The fine folks at Southern Records have allowed us to make a compilation of some of their current acts to offer out completely free. Featuring 7 genre-spanning tracks from the likes of Chrome Hoof, The Owl Service, Bellafea, Racebannon and Asva the mix gives a wonderful insight into the wonderful and innovative London based label. Hopefully you’ll find something you love inside.

TLOBF’s Southern Records Summer Treats

1. Chrome Hoof - Pronoid
2. Racebannon - Sister Fucker
3. Bellafea - Depart (I Never Knew You)
4. Dianogah - A Breaks B
5. Mothlite - The One In Water
6. The Owl Service - A Child Ballad no.49 (or The Rolling of The Stones)
7. Asva - A Trap For Judges

[DOWNLOAD ALL TRACKS] - right-click and choose save-as

Hungry for more TLOBF Playlists? Delve deep into our archive HERE. And remember, everything is 100% free and legal. Continue Reading