9 February 2016

Hello again.

Eagulls - Lemontrees
Leeds band returning with a new track off their forthcoming second album. Plaintive, Smiths-esque vocals adorn darkly punkish guitars.

Ten Benson - Rock Cottage
An oldie from the London swamp-rockers for no real reason. It's off the 2000 album Hiss which is pretty good fun.

Half Japanese - That Is That
A new album, their fifteenth studio LP, Perfect came out at the back end of last month and sees them in typical form. Art punk, they call it, which seems fair enough.

Featured Album
Primal Scream - Movin' On Up
Primal Scream - Shine Like Stars
Primal Scream truly landed with Screamadelica. Their first two LPs were not commercial hits, but the grounding from those all came together on their third. That and it's timing. In 1991, it crossed the gap between indie and acid house. I hate to use the term zeitgeist, but... well it is apt.

Malcolm Middleton - You And I
Lovely stuff from a grossly underrated artist. The new LP is Summer Of '13 and was made with producer Miaoux Miaoux, which might explain the more electronic aspect. Record of the week.

Phobophobes - Advertise Your Life
Grungey, grimy and passed me by initially. This came out last May and it's terrific. They're from Peckham and I'll be making sure I don't miss out in future.

Desert Mountain Tribe - Runway
More London-based rock as a debut album is lined up for release in March.

The Baggios - Adios Baggio
Easily my favourite Brazilian blues-rock outfit. This is a bonus track off the 2013 album Sina and I'm playing it because I like it and for no other reason.

Fuzzy Vox - Distracted
While you expect French acts to be all ethereal and electronic a la Daft Punk, Air, M83 and so on, here are some Parisians playing some good old-fashioned garage rock. No Landing Plan is out on the 26th of this month.

Melt Yourself Down - Dot To Dot
The title track of the new LP from the avant-garde jazz funk combo which came out last month. They do make a glorious racket.

Featured Album
Primal Scream - Come Together
The longest track off Screamadelica, a real late-night come-down track. Beats the track of the same name by The Beatles into a cocked hat.

The Country Dark - Demon In Bambi Lee
To Finland now, and a band clearly influenced by Nick Cave and that whole murder ballad thing. Hypnic Jerk is the name of their third LP which this is the lead track from. Out now. Go get it.

Manuka Honeys - Let It Go
A new single from Brighton band Manuka Honeys - great name, incidentally. You'd be forgiven for thinking it was Kurt Cobain on vocals.

Burnt Palms - Last Time
Classic Californian slacker rock. The LP Back On My Wall came out last week.

Sweet Baboo - Blowing Up My Mind
Stephen Black returns with a new EP. Titled Dennis, it's out on February 26 and features this cover of an old Northern Soul classic. And it comes with a video of chopped together public information films.

Here's that on YouTube:



and Soundcloud:



And we'll see what next week brings up.

15 July 2014

Still propped up on pain-killers, let's do this.

King Creosote - For One Night Only
What a great way to start. I always like a singer who sings in their own accent which Kenny Anderson definitely does. Off his new album From Scotland With Love which is out next Monday.

Martha - 1997, Passing In The Hallway
These are from Durham, which you can also tell from the voice. The album is Courting Strong which came out in May. It's a delight.

Royal Blood - Figure It Out
Terrific. From Brighton, this is off their self-titled debut album which is out in August.

Cover Version Corner
Bob Marley and The Wailers/Stiff Little Fingers - Johnny Was
We try to get two versions that are very different. Great track from Marley's 1976 LP Rastaman Vibration then re-tooled by SLF for their 1979 debut Inflammable Material to reflect the situation in Northern Ireland at the time. It's also at the forefront of when punk started taking in reggae influences more and more.

By The Sea - I See A Crystal Sky
That reminds me of a few things none of which are particularly obvious. Like it lots. The album is Endless Day, Crystal Sun and is out on August 18.

Spinner Fall - By Numbers
Not 100% sure on this one. I think I like it, but it could quite easily disappear like Foals or somesuch. For now, it gets a tentative thumb up. They're from Oxford and that's on an Audioscope compilation of Oxford bands which is raising money for Shelter.

Land Observations - On Leaving The Kingdom For The Well-Tempered Continent
This is interesting. The album is The Grand Tour and comes out on July 28, described by James Brooks who is Land Observations as 'an imaginary travelogue through Western, Central and Southern Europe'. Every track takes up a part of that journey. Top stuff.

Wild Smiles - Never Wanted This
Throwing forward to October now... That's when the Wild Smiles album Always Tomorrow comes out from which this is taken. I think they've just about enough to stand out in a crowded marketplace.

White Lung - In Your Home
In a similar vein, but from Vancouver rather than Hampshire, this is off an album called Deep Fantasy. I think it came out yesterday. Either way, it's available now.

Half Japanese - In It's Pull
What a treat. They're back, after 13 years away. The new album is Overjoyed and comes out on September 2 and this is the first release from that. Great to have them back.

One Degree of Separation
Julian Cope - Robert Mitchum
Phantogram - Bill Murray
Of course the link is Hollywood stars as song titles. First from Skellington, recorded in 2 days in 1989 in sessions after completing My Nation Underground which was so not Julian Cope it was untrue. Second was from the album Voices which we've played a couple of tracks from. It came out in February and is really good.

Whirr - Mumble
Shoegaze and grunge never died. They just jumped in alongside each other in tracks like this. They're from San Francisco, the album is Sway and it's out on September 29. Love it.

Pye Corner Audio - Black Mist
The mysterious Head Technician is back with a new EP, also called Black Mist. It's out on August 18. I could listen to that over and over. Maybe a hint of the Doctor Who theme in there?

Scanner - Backwood
And we close with Robin Rimbaud. Off the album Electronic Garden which came out in March. Typically sublime.

Here's most of that on YouTube:



And another load of it on Soundcloud: