DATE ARCHIVES : October 2014

(Video) By The Sea – ‘You’re The Only One’

by the sea 2014

Wirral five-piece By The Sea return with ‘You’re The Only One’, the second single from their latest album Endless Days, Crystal Sky.

Released back in August, we found By The Sea sounding bigger and fuller than ever before, as they expanded and refined their wistful yet driven psych-pop undulations. It is a magnificent collection of melodic guitar pop songs, of which none are a finer example than ‘You’re The Only One’. Illuminated by drifting, dreamlike atmospherics, understated shimmering synth work, jangling guitars and bubbly bass, this scintillating piece of dreamy indie-pop is punctuated by world-weary vocals, imbued with an aching sense of melancholy, creating a great sense of both depth and warmth, a combination which characterises their LP. A simply gorgeous track, one of many from an equally magnificent album.

You can check out the video for ‘You’re The Only One’ below (it’s a rather lovely homage to the Merseyside coast).

Also, coinciding with the release of is news that they’ll play their biggest show yet, on November 29th at Liverpool’s historic Epstein Theatre (details/tickets here).

Springtime Carnivore – ‘Name On A Matchbook’

Springtime Carnivore, the creation of LA musician Greta Morgan, will release her self-titled debut album next month. Produced by Richard Swift (Foxygen, The Black Keys, The Shins) it is penned in for release on November 4th.

First out of the traps we had the dazzling ‘Sun Went Black’, a buzzing, giddy burst of psychedelic tinged indie-pop, and now we have her second single from the forthcoming record, ‘Name On A Matchbook’, a dreamy, feel-good tune, that’s as breezy as it is infectious. It’s slightly fuzzy but ebullient pop with a soft psychedelic undercurrent that crackles, glows and swells amid off-kilter grooves, plucky piano and her beautiful smooth vocals, well they are just that, beautiful and smooth. It is yet another wonderful, slick and sauve pop gem from Morgan, whose forthcoming debut LP increasingly looks like it will be a rather exciting proposition.

Stream the brand new track from her forthcoming album below, also one for the diaries, Springtime Carnivore plays Vancouver’s Biltmore Cabaret on November 17th.

Review: Hard Working Class Heroes 2014

hwch14

Obviously unable to attend Hard Working Class Heroes this year, having relocated to Vancouver. In my absence there was a more than capable replacement in Johnny Feeney, who was there to sample the sights and sounds (along with the wind and rain) of HWCH 14, now in it’s very respectable 12th year. Thanks to Johnny as always for his time and insight, with that I leave you in his ever capable hands. 

Now in its 12th year, Hard Working Class Heroes shows no signs of slowing down and is deservedly recognised as a top-rate music festival showcasing a mixture of the best established and emerging bands plying their trade in the country today. Spread out over seven separate venues in and around Temple Bar in Dublin, there is certainly a wide variety of quality music on offer.

Weather conditions on Friday night were miserable. Constant, torrential rain and a cold evening meant getting from venue to venue was treacherous, leaving Meeting House Square feeling under attended as the crowds aimed for the warmth of indoors. Dublin five-piece Cfit played a rousing set on the Meeting House Square stage early on Friday evening. They carve out long, epic, grandiose indie-rock with further layers of violin and electronics added on top. Vocalist Noël Duplaa has a deep tone similar to Paul Banks of Interpol but the music surrounding him is a much more uplifting affair. Their closing song tonight, Plausible Deniability, is staggeringly beautiful and euphoric live.

Next up in Meeting House Square are VANN MUSIC – a band well established on the festival scene now having performed at the likes of Electric Picnic, Castlepalooza and Forbidden Fruit. The Dublin synth-rockers perform with a confident swagger and have highly danceable tunes, while front man Aaron Smyth is a magnetic presence on stage as he busts out serious dance moves. These feel like a band destined for bigger things.

Cork shoegaze/post-rockers Elastic Sleep deliver a blistering set in the Mercantile. Bruising, chaotic rock surrounds the minute Muireann Levis whose dreamy, otherworldly vocals are in stark contrast with what’s going on around her. Dreamy and captivating, these were the standout act of Friday night despite having some technical difficulties meaning they had to cut their set short.

Later on Friday in Bad Bob’s, Dott were a very interesting new discovery for me. The Dublin four-piece play dreamy garage-pop which reminded me somewhat of Veronica Falls. Bad Bob’s didn’t feel like the best venue to be seeing live music as there were restricted views and a layout not designed for this kind of event. This became even more apparent as a bigger crowd filtered in for Ghost Estates, the last act to perform on Friday across the seven venues. The four-piece Dublin indie-rockers delivered an accomplished set as usual and tried, with some success, to get some of the crowd out towards the back to fill out the front. Not at all the band’s fault, the issue with the venue made this feel more muted than it might have been.

London-based, Galway band HAWK were the first band I caught on Saturday evening in the Button Factory. The four-piece are a very interesting mixture. On one hand you have a pretty standard alternative-rock set up playing loud, pounding rock while on the other hand front woman Julie Hawk is a more eccentric, mysterious character with her acoustic guitar and haunting vocals.

Cloud Castle Lake were up next in the Button Factory. Playing with the lights way down, the Dublin trio play understated electronic rock. It all feels a bit low key and I can see lead singer Daniel McAuley’s falsetto vocals being tough going for people. With just a single EP to their name to date this may be a band still trying to find their feet.

A delay in the schedule meant Carried by Waves came on half an hour late on to the Workman’s Club stage as Metlybrains? were due to be on. This came as a lucky break to catch these guys playing a lovely brand of breezy, tuneful electro-pop, reminding me in parts of a stripped down Hot Chip. Lovely stuff and a band worth exploring further.

The aptly named Meltybrains? have been on my radar for a while as news of their explosive live shows piqued my interest but I’d never managed to catch them live. Thankfully I wasn’t disappointed with their pulsating live show – what I envisage And So I Watch You From Afar might sound like if they made electronica. Frantic, pounding beats with the band going wild on stage. Trademark freaky Meltybrains? masks are thrown into the crowd for revellers to cover their faces and join them in wild abandon. So exhilarating, so exciting. The perfect finish to a very enjoyable weekend.

Objekt – ‘Ganzfeld’

1377481_582825378442990_830330179_n

Last month Berlin-based producer Objekt released ‘Ganzfeld’ as part of a split release with Dopplereffekt through Leisure System.

Objekt has been afforded a rep for an economical output, following a philosophy of quality over quantity and making it count by the sheer quality of his studiously crafted electronic tracks. Not only is ‘Ganzfeld’ testament to this afforementioned reputation, it is hands down, one of the most compelling tracks all year. There is a rather beautiful yet eerily sinister aura that consumes ‘Ganzfeld’, dominated initially by restrained percussion and a hollowed out, murky spaciousness. It does however, afford room for space, space that’s filled with glimmering atmospherics, moments of glitched confusion, occasional synth chimes and spacey background sounds, accompanied with breakneck hi-hat snare combos which builds to an ultimately cracking crescendo. The versatility and detail afforded to the sound over close to 6 mins is simply astounding. ‘Ganzfeld’ is masterfully executed and prepped to prompt euphoria or eerie chills of fear, depending on the state of mind perhaps.

‘Ganzfeld’ is out now, along with ‘Delta Wave’ from Dopplereffekt via Leisure System. Listen below and you can buy it from all the usual haunts – more info here.

Junior Bill & The Scallies – ‘It All Goes Downhill From Here’

Junior Bill & The Scallies

It was about this time last year that Cardiff four-piece Junior Bill & The Scallies introduced themselves to us, with their breathtakingly excellent ska-tinged pop.

Junior Bill (aka Rob Nichols) and his cohorts are back with a brand new EP, It All Goes Downhill From Here, and the good news is, they’ve picked up where they left off last time out. Their eclectic blend of Punky Reggae, Soul and Rock ‘n’ Roll is delivered with an irrepressible exuberance, so much so that even the streetwise, socially aware and gritty realism of the lyrical content is tempered with a sunny carnival of energy. ‘Defieto’ in particular plays that old-school ska and reggae dynamic off with perfection, whereby they manage to make politically-charged content go down easier with a spoonful of the steady rhythms and sunny guitars. The likes of ‘Five a day’, ‘Blood Stained Collars’ and the title track use much the same trick, while veering toward a [The] Specials kind of vibe of ska meets punk in a rather British way. Whether it’s depicting tales of cuts and closures in the community or a lack of opportunities facing a generation, the stark content is disguised amid the jaunty keys, upbeat rhythms and generally jovial tunes. Nichols’ prowess for interpreting and digesting what he sees around him in Cardiff and beyond is second to none, and It All Goes Downhill From Here witnesses a further honing of his craft for tale telling. It All Goes Downhill From Here is another superb ska-tinged collection of pop meets punk, in a peculiarly Cardiffian style. Young they may be but Junior Bill & The Scallies are starting to really carve out a rather special discography.

You can check out a few choice cuts below or pop on over here to stream it in full. You know it makes sense.

 

 

R.Seiliog – ‘Velcro For Vortex’

R.Seiliog - ‘Velcro For Vortex’

R. Seiliog AKA Robin Edwards is set to release a brand new album In Hz on December 1st and will follow 2012’s Shuffles EP and 2013’s sublime mini-album, Doppler.

The Welsh electronic experimenter extraordinaire has offered a first glimpse into his forthcoming new LP in the shape of  ‘Velcro For Vortex’. As has become his forte, ‘Velcro For Vortex’ is an immersive and hypnotic genre-bender, majestically blurring the lines between exhilarating electro and propulsive Krautrock. Swishing all manner of electronics, loops, faintly audible sounds, drone surges and ambient techno, combining to submerge everything by the halfway mark and bursting through as something altogether glistening and supremely psychedelic. R.Seiliog is clearly at the very top of his game, that has been apparent for quite sometime now,  ‘Velcro For Vortex’ and album In Hz, will only enhance a growing realisation that he is one of the the most enticing, intriguing and dynamic producers around.

You can run your ears over  ‘Velcro For Vortex’ below and In Hz is out on December 1st through Turnstile.

Sake – ‘Stay With Me’

Earlier in the year, May possibly, we were introduced to ‘Almost Never’, the stunning debut song from Sake, the new project from North Walian singer Chloe Leavers. It was simply sublime.

Now she has returned with another utterly bewitching three and a half minutes in ‘Stay With Me’. Although it is imbued with gloomy atmospherics, gentle icy guitar strum, subtle downbeat electronics and generally quite sullen aura, their is a powerful and resounding feeling of resolute wilfulness to persevere onward, against whatever odds faced with. Once again Sake has produced something so beautiful and captivating, and then there is her voice. Well, it’s just stunningly beautiful, enchanting and emotive. Hushed or soaring, she never over does it, yet is always commanding and always in control. There really are too few superlatives in the world to adequately do her vocal prowess justice.

You can check out ‘Stay With Me’ in all it’s glory below – hopefully there’s plenty more in the way of in the not to distant future.

The Charlatans – ‘Talking In Tones’

The Charlatans Talking in Tones 2014

Last week The Charlatans unveiled a new single ‘Talking In Tones’, a first glimpse into their forthcoming, as-yet-untitled 12th album.

It is also the band’s first new material following the passing of drummer Jon Brookes last year, and will honour the late musician. Out through Quietus Phonographic Corporation as a limited edition 7″, ‘Talking In Tones’ sows together a subtle baggy rhythm, jangling guitars with Burgess’s recognizable vocals, some sublime and distinctive Charlatans organ sounds, acting as camouflage for a rather claustrophobic, haunting and mournful air (which is hardly surprising given the circumstance). This gently stirring track is the most vital The Charlatans have sounded for quite some time (bringing to mind a sort of hybrid of The Charlatans’ very own ‘Then’ and Ian Brown’s ‘Corpses In Their Mouth’). Yeah, they’ve hardly been in sparkling form over the past decade but their previous LP, Who We Touch was a solid step in the right direction. On the evidence of ‘Talking In Tones’, we could be in store for a treat when they decide to release album number twelve.

You make your own judgement on ‘Talking In Tones’ below, and the video, which stars Nico Mirallegro as a young Tim Burgess, was directed by Nik Colk Void of Factory Floor.