DATE ARCHIVES : July 2011

Interpol – ‘The Undoing’ (Moths remix)

So far the Moths (aka Jack Colleran) story reads like something lifted from the pages of a musical version of Roy of The Rovers.

A few months back Moths caused a bit of a storm after releasing a number of tracks on the internet. Then while studying for his Leaving Cert in his hometown of Newbridge, Interpol get in touch to ask him to remix one of their tracks for a remix EP along with Salem, Ikonika and Banjo or Freakout.

The result sees the brooding original transformed into a chilled out ambient beast. It’s another sterling effort from this talented young Newbridge native. Onwards and upwards. Buy it here

 Interpol – ‘The Undoing’ (Moths remix) via MOTHS

Oxegen 2011 – Sunday – Ocean Colour Scene, Manic Street Preachers, Alex Metric and Primal Scream

Sunday was by far the weakest lineup of the weekend but still had a lot to offer. Over at the Heineken Green Spheres tent a sizable crowd was gathering for 90’s indie rock stalwarts Ocean Colour Scene. They have always had a big following in this country and the crowd enjoyed it, clapping and singing along perfusely as they ran through fan favourites like ‘Riverboat Song’ and ‘Profit and Peace’. It just all seemed a little tired and jaded, perhaps old father time is catching up with them.

There was a distinctly ’90s fervor to Sunday’s proceedings with the Manic Street Preachers next over on The Main Stage. This slot summed up everything I hate about the Main Stage at Oxegen. The Manics arrived on stage opening with ‘You Love Us’, ‘Your Love Alone Is Not Enough’, ‘(Its Not War) Just the End of Love’ and ‘Everything Must Go’ before launching into a set full of classics. It was met with indifference from the majority of the crowd who seemed disinterested. For their part The Manics sounded exceptional and would have been much better suited to a later slot somewhere else.

It was a completely different story for Alex Metric who had drawn the largest crowd of the weekend into The Electric Ballroom and this time they were fully in tune with the storm being brewed from behind his turntables. Metric had the audacity to drop his Sabotage Remix, sending the place into a air-punching-frenzy, the highlight of the day.

How many bands can get away with playing a full album, a 20 year album in fact, at a festival? Probably just Primal Scream especially when it’s Screamadelica. The crowds may have been elsewhere but the atmosphere inside the Heinken tent was wonderful, warm and loved up. We were immediately treated to fully fleshed out versions of ‘Higher Than The Sun’ and ‘Moving On Up’ with mesmerizing gospel backing. It was clear Bobby Gillespie was as unworried about the numbers as the crowd was, spending the set strutting and swaggering, a superb frontman.

While it kind of waned a little during the middle finishing off with ‘Come Together’ and ‘Loaded’ almost lifted the roof off the Heineken tent with just enough time for ‘Country Girl’, ‘Jailbird’ and ‘Rocks’. Freed from the constraints of Screamadelica they seemed more comfortable in their rock persona sending people home happy in the cool night air. A joyous climax to a surprisingly amazing weekend.

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Oxegen 2011 – Saturday – Cashier No.9, Kitty, Daisy & Lewis, Miles Kane & Arctic Monkeys

After an impressive but sparse Friday, Saturday had a lot to live up to but spirits were raised as Punchestown basked in glorious sunshine, a rare occurrence in recent years.

Away from the sunshine was Belfast 5-piece Cashier No.9 who were wooing  punters in the Heineken Green Energy tent with their brand of shimmering indie. The set which opened with EP title track ‘Goldstar’ was cheerful and charming and also included ‘Oh Pity’ and latest single ‘Lost at Sea’. A really enjoyable set and there’s little doubt these guys are ones to keep and eye on.

Over on the Main Stage fellow Northerners Two Door Cinema Club drew the biggest crowd of the weekend so far. The Bangor trio’s cheery and energetic indie-pop perfect complementing the mood of the crowd, buoyed by the sun, they lapped up tracks like ‘Something Good Can Work’ and ‘Undercover Martyn’. It was a performance full of energy and confidence as they continue to grow in stature, they seemed perfectly at home with the Main Stage billing. They also announced we can expect an album in early 2012.

London trio Kitty, Daisy & Lewis have already carved out a niche as fine purveyors of genre-hopping retro sounding music. A sound molded from a mixture of R&B, Swing, Country and Western, Rockabilly, Blues and Rock ‘n’ Roll filled the 2FM Hotpress Academy. A wonderfully charming set full of feel good, toe-tapping infectious rhythm.

Next up was Miles Kane, who is probably best known for his role in The Last Shadow Puppets alongside Alex Turner of Arctic Monkeys. This boys got skills, confidence, swagger and supreme stage presence. He swaggered through a set of whirlwind of ’60s psych-soul swathed in twangs and spooky feedback and pulse-raising rock’n’roll riffs, including ‘Inhaler’, ‘Rearrange’, ‘My Fantasy’ and ‘Quicksand’ while the live ‘Kingcrawler’ almost makes the neck hairs stand on end. As the set progressed, for the first time all weekend the symbiotic relationship between artist and crowd was exploited to the full as each goes for it, pushing the other further and further. Kane’s blistering show is Saturday’s high point so far but there is still the small matter of a certain band from Sheffield to come.

For me Saturday’s main attraction was always going to be Arctic Monkeys who somehow I had never seen live. Four great albums in and they have solidified into one of the most formidable bands on the planet, surely they couldn’t let me down? They were in no mood to mess around launching into ferocious performances of ‘Brianstorm’, ‘Still Take You Home’ and ‘This House Is A Circus’. As the rolled through their set much like The Strokes the previous night, it is real drilled home how good they really are.

The new material sounded fantastic even if some of the momentum ebbed away somewhat as the rump of the crowd seemed unfamiliar with tracks like ‘Brick By Brick’, ‘Suck It And See’, ‘She’s Thunderstorms’ and to a lesser extent ‘Library Pictures’.  ‘Don’t Sit Down Because I’ve Moved Your Chair’ in particular was glorious with Turner’s voice sounding fantastic. 

The punters played their part too and when ‘When The Sun Goes Down’ and ‘I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor’ got an airing all hell broke loose throughout the crowd. ‘Teddy Picker’, ‘Florescent Adolescent’ and ‘Crying Lightening’ sounded great too before Miles Kane joined them on stage to close a memorable set with ‘505’. The performance was a glorious success if a little distant at times, the next time they announce their own Irish dates I’m there.

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Oxegen 2011 – Friday – Tame Impala, Shit Robot, The Strokes & Leftfield

 

What a weekend! On paper it was one of the most uninspiring Oxegen lineups for sometime yet it turned out to be a fantastic weekend with some stunning performances, helped in no small way by the sunshine on Saturday and Sunday. On Friday it seemed like a re-run of the usual script, rain and lots of it. Thankfully this wasn’t the case. One of the big talking points was the eerily small crowd on Friday which left many shows deserted making it difficult for bands and punters to build on.

Whatever the case people were there to enjoy themselves. It was hard to know what to expect from House of Pain to be honest. They entertained the crowd buoyed by the appearance of sunshine before inevitably finishing up with ‘Jump Around’, sending punters into a rapturous frenzy of flailing limps and ‘jumping around’.

Next up Aussie psychedelic rockers Tame Impala over at the 2FM Hotpress Academy. No gimmicks just a short but fine set of warm fuzzy psychedelia running through tracks from their stunning debut album, Innerspeaker. They are far more ‘spaced out’ live than on record, memorable renditions of  ‘Solitude Is Bliss’, ‘Desire Be Desire Go’ and ‘Why Won’t You Make Up Your Mind’ in particular. It is a shame they were on so early and would be better suited to a different setting, their own headline show would have the potential to be something really special.

Getting ready for Shit Robot in the Electric Ballroom was a bizarre, it was creepy, ghoulish even, to see the place so deserted. The dance arena is normally jammed not matter what. The real shame was more people should have witnessed Shit Robot’s set, the sound, set and show was amazing. He deserved better.

The piece de resistance for the evening was The Strokes. The new album Angles may have received a mixed reception but it proved they are still relevant musical force today. Testament to this was the growing throng assembling at the Vodafone Stage even as the dark clouds descended. We were repaid quickly as The Strokes, in no mood to mess around, launched headlong into a set full of their biggest hits, along with material from their latest album.

Casablancas struts his stuff in a leather jacket and sunglasses (resembling a young Joey Ramone), then it finally dawns on you how great a band The Strokes are as they launch into hit after hit. ‘New York City Cops’, ‘Someday’, ‘Juicebox’ and ‘Reptilia’ are all stunning and when ‘Last Nite’ kicks in and all hell breaks loose. As they leave the stage it seems as though only minutes have passed since they had begun, which tells its own story. The Strokes return was a massive triumph eclipsing their disastrous show in 2004 and it will take something special to top that.

Amazingly there was more to come, still time to catch Leftfield in Heineken Green Energy tent. Straight from the off it is obvious this was the setting for them (inside, unlike Electric Picnic last year). The bass was simply outrageous, you could feel it rattling and reverberating throughout your whole body. It is no wonder they were once proclaimed ‘loudest live act in the world’. Extraordinary renditions of ‘Afro-Lelt’, ‘Song of Life’ and ‘Storm 3000’ blow the cobwebs off the old Leftism tunes.

Unfortunately that was it, I begrudgingly had to leave before the finish. One day down, Saturday and Sunday had a lot to live up to.

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Azari & III – Manic

Canadian electronic quartet, Azari and III release ‘Manic’ next month, their second single taken from their highly anticipated forthcoming debut album.

Their stock has been rising this year following work for the likes of Booka Shade, Uffie, Robyn, Cut Copy and Friendly Fires, but new single ‘Manic’ should go along way to planting them in the consciousness of music lovers everywhere.

‘Manic’ is an ultra-slick tune incorporating slices of minimal-house with hints of disco and acid house while the oozing vocals will hook you in. This is one of the most seductive tracks of the summer yet, really can’t get enough of it at all.

The single is out on Modular and comes with remixes from DJ Sneak, Tiger & Woods, Finger Prince and Christian Aids.

 Azari & III – Manic

Video: Toddla T – Watch Me Dance ft. Roots Manuva

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As you may already know, ‘Watch Me Dance’ is the title track from Toddla T‘s forthcoming album which is out in August on Ninja Tune.

The track features the vocal prowess of Roots Manuva and is full of dancefloor grooves, funky basslines and electronic strut. Anyway, following unleashing ‘Watch Me Dance‘ on the public a few weeks back, T has just unveiled a brand spanking new video for the single.

Toddla T is probably the most featured artist on this blog, I promise no more until the release of his new album in August.

Download: Steve Mason & Dennis Bovell – Yesterday Dub

Former Beta Band front man Steve Mason has joined forces with respected reggae artist/producer Dennis Bovell for a dub reinterpretation of his stunning debut solo album, Boys Outside, which was released last year.

The album is titled Ghosts Outside and will be available digitally on July 26th and physically from August 2nd. Ahead of the release Steve Mason & Dennis Bovell have kindly decided to give away ‘Yesterday Dub’, as a taste of things to come.

Going by this evidence the record will be a real treat. Mason’s haunting vocals are perfectly suited to a backdrop of stripped back dub beats and triumphant horns.

Stream/download ‘Yesterday Dub’ below and there’s ‘All Come Down’ for those who aren’t familiar with Mason’s wonderful sound.

Download: Steve Mason & Dennis Bovell – Yesterday Dub

 Steve Mason – All Come Down via Double Six

Video: The Horrors – Still Life

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The Horrors release their hotly anticipated third album, Skying on Friday in Ireland (Monday in the UK). The album seems to be streaming everywhere including here (even though I have yet to hear it).

The band have unveiled a psychedelic video for single ‘Still Life’. The video looks pretty much like ‘Stand Still’ sounds, bright, warm and uplifting. I’m still standing by my earlier call that it is reminiscent of Screamadelica era Primal Scream or Death In Vegas in their pomp.

Easily an early contender for one of the year’s more memorable singles.

Introducing: Pris

London quartet Pris are Kat, Agatha, Mary and Sam who produce, in their own words, “hormonal gutter pop post-punk”.

This brand of gutter post-punk is a mish-mash of influences from sugar sweet 60’s girl group, raspy punk and post-punk with a hint of 90’s britpop nostalgia.

Debut single ‘The Better You Look The More You See’ is pretty typical of this zeal. It is catchy and infectious, their sharp-tongued lyrics, both angry and articulate, are delivered with swagger and snarl. B-side ‘Blue-Tack Baby’ isn’t too different, catchy bubblegum pop choruses eliciting memories of days when bedroom walls were layered with posters and cuttings.

They have already received praise from the likes of Eddie Argos (Art Brut) and Nicky Wire (Manic Street Preachers). While still in their infancy it is impossible not to be seduced by their catchy and infectious perfect pop-punk. Most importantly they sound like they are having fun a commodity sadly missing from many bands nowadays.

Pris’ debut single ‘The Better You Look The More You See’ is out now!

Pris – The Better You Look The More You See via somethingfortheweekend

Pris – Blue-Tack Baby via Morrisday

Pris – Breaking Hearts and Giving Up via somethingfortheweekend

Video: Africa Hitech – Out In The Streets

Africa Hitech, the duo of Mark Pritchard and Steve Spacek, released their debut album, 93 Million Miles back in May on Warp Records.

The duo have just released Mark Simpson directed robot-strewn video for lead track ‘Out in the Streets’. It’s an absolute monster of a track, indebted to roots reggae, dubstep, juke, electronica and dancehall.

93 Million Miles is out now.

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Africa Hitech – Out in the Streets via cakeface