DATE ARCHIVES : September 2012

Introducing: Melody’s Echo Chamber

Melody’s Echo Chamber is the solo project of Parisian artist Melody Prochet, formerly of The Narcoleptic Dancers who, has teamed up with Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker. That connection, it must be said, is fairly obvious when you hear the songs.

Melody pushes her flair for dreamy pop and lush harmonies into more experimental, spaced-out zones of hazy psych-pop. Sun-drenched syrupy sweet melodies and meandering guitars combine to create fuzzy, joy-filled songs which in turn veer off into a hazy  psychedelic swirl. Numbers like ‘Crystallized’, ‘I Follow You’ & ‘Endless Shore’ wash over you with ease, evoking something of a dream-like state.

All in all this is simply marvelous stuff and waiting till the self-titled debut is released on November 5th will be a tough job.

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Lethal Dialect – ‘Sun Soaked’

Dublin rapper Lethal Dialect has been a busy man, releasing his debut album last year, following it up with the superb Part II earlier this year, with Magnum Opus set to conclude the trilogy next year.

‘Sun Soaked’, the first track from his forthcoming album, is a slightly breezier production to what we’ve heard from LD to date. He still sounds authoritative yet humble, these are honest reflections from a truthful and important voice in Irish music. There is absolutely zero bullshit bravado on show here, a rare commodity in music nowadays. The release of Magnum Opus can’t come quick enough.

You can stream ‘Sun Soaked or watch the video below. Also, I interviewed Lethal Dialect for the latest issue of LookLeft Magazine, you can pick it up from Eason’s stores Island wide.

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(Video) Tame Impala – Elephant

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Not long now till Tame Impala release their new album Lonerism and things are hotting up nicely with lead single ‘Elephant’.

‘Elephant’ has been with us since late July but with the release date only around the corner, they’ve released a truly psychedelic video to partner the single. It’s a rocking psychedelic juggernaut, bursting with electrifying guitar licks and riffs, combining a glitz of smoothly cosmic vocals with a haze of The Beatles, ’70s psychedelic and glam rock influences.

Tame Impala are easily one of the best guitar bands to emerge in recent years and the new album Lonerism is released on October 5th.

Introducing: The Violet Roadkills

The Violet Roadkills are the Dublin based 4-piece of Gerry Horan, Graham Gilligan, Stevie Kavanagh and Mick Power, who produced one of the stand out performances at this year’s Castlepalooza.

Taking their cue from the likes of Death In Vegas and Holy Fuck they have a preference for a loud, intense and powerful mix of heavy riffs and driving synths, channeled into a haze of Electronica and Krautrock. Their influences from My Bloody Valentine, Royksopp, Steroelab to Godspeed You Black Emperor run riot throughout their music. These guys don’t mess about, they’re tight and do what they do very, very well. Check out the choice cuts below and you’ll get the picture.

You can download their debut release Tetramer for free over on Bandcamp

(Video) The Shh – ‘So Over’

Boy/girl duo The Shh staked their claim for this summer’s soundtrack with debut EP, The Burning Love, a snapshot of sweetly effervescent indie-pop songs.

Taken from the aforementioned EP, ‘So Over’ is as hard-edged as it gets from Alison Galea & Ian Schranz. It is a fuzzed up affair revolving around a grungy riff but with a sweet centre. It, like the rest of their songs, is compelling, effortlessly cool and listenable. 

The Shh’s Burning Love EP was released back in and you can stream it in full here.

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Introducing: Trwbador

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Wales, among other things, consistently throws up some of the most curious music around and Trwbador are as aberrant as anything to emerge from the land of song. 

From the confines of a studio in the attic their flat in West Wales, Angharad Van Rijswijk and Owain Gwilym produce serenely beautiful, otherworldly folk music. The duo’s experimental blend of subtle electronic beats, acoustic guitar and wonderful female vocals, is both weird and wonderful. There is a tenderness to the music, twinkling and flickering simultaneously, it is simplistic and minimal yet absorbing music to get lost in.

Trwbador are readying the release of their debut album (featuring Euros Childs, Cornershop & Laura j Martin) but until then here’s a few choice tracks to tickle the eardrums. 

The Joy Formidable – ‘Cholla’

Welsh Indie-rockers The Joy Formidable re-introduced themselves a few weeks back, after a tour and recording induced absence with ‘Wolf’s Law‘, a relatively somber, piano-led arrangement.

With the unveiling of ‘Wolf’s Law’ it was pondered whether the rampaging guitar heroics were to take a back seat, but ‘Cholla’ sees a return to the swirling guitar riffs that made their 2010 debut The Big Roar such a marvelous record. It is an electrifying track with recognizably big guitars and drums combining with Ritzy Bryan’s immense vocals to create an emphatic sound. It’s quite heavy on guitars even for them. The whole ‘Indie-rock’ thing has it’s many pitfalls but as usual The Joy Formidable provide  a masterclass in how it’s done. This is how indie-rock is supposed to sound!

Their new album Wolf’s Law is out in January of next year.

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Album of the Week: Nathan Conway & The River Valley Band – Sonny Boy

Sometimes we can all be a little guilty of preoccupying ourselves with seeking the next big innovation in music. Yet, by and large, most things in music tend to be borrowed from the past, and baring that in mind, we are left with music that’s either good or bad – surely that’s all that really matters at the end of day.

Nathan Conway & The River Valley Band certainly borrow from the past to create a timeless soulful country sound. Having teamed up with The River Valley Band after releasing Run on Diesel with The Bottlestoppers in 2011, Conway & Co. have found their niche. The tone is soulful country, set to overarching themes of demise and redemption, draped in Conway’s intuitive storytelling which paints vivid pictures with his words.

Mostly you feel that Conway and band are really working together, from the swinging, uptempo ‘Where’s the Love in My Heart’ and ‘It’ll All Come Back On Me, Someday’ to the less blustery, slower numbers ‘Song from the Engine of the Model T’ and ‘Lord I Got it Bad’ or ‘Freckles’. They have a rapport with one another; brass, percussion strings and Conway’s deep bellowed croon, all work in perfect tandem.

Sonny Boy requires a degree of patience, understanding and repeated listens to be fully appreciated. It is a beautiful, timeless and assured album. You can tell from the get go that the musicians know exactly what they’re doing. There might not be anything else like this around at the moment which only adds further measure to what they have achieved here.

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Dark Horses – ‘Alone’

Brighton’s Dark Horses have been in the studio with Richard Fearless of Death in Vegas working on their debut album, Black Music. 

The album’s lead single is ‘Alone’ is a slice of brooding, bass-driven indie with some rather dark overtones, which sounds both intimate and complex – sometimes at the same time. ‘Alone’ and ‘Boxing Day’ serve as a taste of what’s to come from their debut album, which is brilliant by the way, but more on that later.

‘Alone’ will be released on October 22nd, with their debut album Black Music following on October 29th.

Introducing: Alexis Davis

Don’t let the singular name fool you, Alexis Davis is a hip hop quartet comprised of three producers and one MC, from the US & UK. The trio of Mecca:83, Spinnerty, and Simon S. look after beats, production and scratching while Replife takes care of rhymes and lyricism’s. 

Alexis Davis’ style has been labeled as ‘future music’, while it is forward-thinking it embraces hip hop’s origins, paying respect to the past. Their debut EP 3 displayed a fondness for a classic ’90s hip hop style filled with a smooth jazzy feel. The latest single ‘Look’ takes things up a notch, to a slightly more aggressive level with scratches, cuts and samples, yet retaining the head-nodding, bouncy beats, slick wordplay and smooth feel good hip hop vibe. 

This is extremely impressive stuff. You can download ‘Look’ for free below and check out ‘The Lift’ and ‘3’, taken from their debut EP.