DATE ARCHIVES : June 2013

Sweet Baboo – ‘C’Mon Let’s Mosh!’

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Following on from the release of his brilliant album Ships, Sweet Baboo is to release his next single ‘C’Mon Let’s Mosh!’. 

The album is an absolute joy, filled with some of the most perfectly crafted indie-pop you’re likely to hear all year. Nowhere is this more perfectly demonstrated that on the gorgeous ‘C’mon Let’s Mosh!’. Touted as a concept album about the sea, and yes, there are plenty of sea related moments but the songs are mainly concerned with love and relationships, usually with a bittersweet edge. ‘C’mon Let’s Mosh!’ is no different, it’s an upbeat ode to love with that aforementioned bittersweet edge. The North Wales native is an idiosyncratic artist with an ear for a sparkling melody and a gift for an evocative lyrical turn. 

There are plenty of other highlights throughout Ships, an album guaranteed to bring sunshine into the dullest of days. ‘If I Died…..’ opens the album perfectly and features one of the best lyrics – “Daniel Johnston has written hundreds of great tunes, and I’ve got six, so I guess there’s some catching up to do” – and a delightful melody and irresistible swirls of brass. That’s followed the startlingly perky ‘The Morse Code For Love’ and ‘Let’s Go Swimming Wild’, shrouded in a woozy veil of melancholy before bursting into life with a brass-filled chorus that won’t leave your head anytime soon. Although it may not be enough to plant Sweet Baboo into the public consciousness just yet, it might not be to far far off. Ships is a wry take on lost love and heartbreak, sliding from darkly funny to piercingly tender, this is one of the most perfectly crafted indie-pop records for a long time.

‘C’Mon Let’s Mosh!’ will be released on July 29th and Ships is out now, both through Moshi Moshi. Check ‘C’Mon Let’s Mosh!’ & some other choice cuts below.

Pinkunoizu – ‘Second Amendment’

Pinkunoizu released their debut album Free Time! last year, a mixture of blissful, beautiful psychedelic sounds and pop-punk melodies. 

The Danish four-piece are back with a new EP, Second Amendment. It is a wholly more experimental half hour of assorted drones, instrumental freakouts and weird noises, with a focus on creating atmosphere. Recorded over the course of one day, the EP falls somewhere between the studio and a live performance, such is the seemingly unfettered organic exploration of sound. Although the EP comes highly recommend in it’s entirety, the two high points are ‘Moped’ and ‘Tin Can Alley’. Both are capable of sucking in even the most unwilling of ears. The melody on ‘Moped’ lulls you in with a repetitive loop and washed out drums, before raining down a swirling vortex of hypnotic, pulsating sound. ‘Tin Can Alley’ meanwhile, unleashes a swirling barrage of off-kilter psych-surf rock riffing

Having only discovered the first record recently, which is also worth your time, I couldn’t believe my luck when lo and behold this little treat popped up. ‘Moped’ & ‘Tin Can Alley’ are below for you listening pleasure and is out now through Full Time Hobby.

Introducing: Koloto


Koloto is the pseudonym of Canterbury based electronic producer Maria Sullivan (also bassist with math rock outfit Delta Sleep). She has been releasing tracks under her newly assumed alias since January this year, and there are some mightily impressive tracks in the bunch.

Koloto has a preference for home made, hand crafted sounds, which are intricately interwoven to create a unique, complex and often hard to define sound. Her latest release, ‘Antares’ is profoundly magnificent as a swell of chiming xylophone melodies are joined with bouts of frenetic glitched out beats. This is the juxtaposition of calm tranquility and chaos. ‘Sinope’ is an equally enchanting piece of playful beat work, a masterful ear for sound manipulation and glitch. This is very promising stuff from an artist whose free flowing imagination is matched in equal measure by her talent.

Koloto will release her debut EP in late summer and will be hitting the gig trail in the coming months too. Until then, get stuck into the tunes on offer below.

The Big Sun – ‘Pants!’

thebigsun2013Following on from the release of their Sticklebacker EP, Oxford group The Big Sun, fronted by angelically voiced singer Berry and backed by members of Ride & Candyskins, have released their latest single.

The song, entitled ‘Pants!’ is a sparkling slice of sweet indie pop – it is as an adorable tune as you’re likely to hear. It subtly drifts along through a sugar-coated kind of melancholy and offset by bouncy and chipper chorus, and her voice, well, that’s just stunning. I’ve been keeping tabs on The Big Sun for a while now; from their early demos, Sticklebacker EP and now ‘Pants!’, and they haven’t dropped the ball yet. Apparently former Creation boss Alan McGee has taken an interest in the band, if true, things might be beginning to fall into place but only time will tell.

‘Pants!’ is available to download for free below and if you fancy leafing through some of their other tunes, you can do so here.

Introducing: Brothers

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Brothers are four piece band from Wales, consisting of two sets of brothers, hence the name. They only got the band together back in January, forged through their love of 60s rock and roll, psychedelia, harmonies and melodies, and they seem to be causing a bit of fuss in their hometown of Cardiff.

Whatever the level of fuss is, it isn’t without merit. Their psychedelic tinged rock ‘n roll jams are a field day of sounds, crammed with esoteric treasures. This post has actually been in the works for months, since first hearing ‘Tiger’, a 1.47 minute barrage of punchy, rhythmic and energetic rock ‘n roll. As a solitary track, clocking in at under two minutes wasn’t really enough to go on however, so this post was held off with the promise of further tracks. It was a promise with which Brothers duly delivered, and oh my, how they delivered – with the rich, beautifully warm and blissfully romantic ‘Stepping Stone’ and rock ‘n roll freak out, ‘My Attention’. Brothers have brought all their influences to bare, a la The Beatles, Django Django, Tame Impala & Simon and Garfunkel, among others. This fused with their own personality, they have created a rather unique sound that’s wonderfully raw and lo-fi, and everything seems to have a gloss of slight fuzz.

With the band all in their teens (the drummer is only 14!) the future appears to be bright for Brothers. Check out the tunes below and cop a load of what they’re all about.