DATE ARCHIVES : December 2019

Worldcub – ‘Here Comes The Moonshadow’

Formerly known as CaStLeS, Worldcub are Welsh psych-pop outfit piloted by brothers Cynyr and Dion Hamer, in addition to new members Carwyn Ginsberg (Hippies V Ghosts / Fauna Twin) on guitar and Dion Wyn Jones (Alffa) on bass.

Under previous guise of CaStLeS, their swirling sonic brew of psychedelic surf rock kraut-rock grooves never disappointed and 2016 debut Fforesteering is magical. To accompany the new handle, Worldcub have released a new single ‘Here Comes The Moonshadow’. With its layers of beautiful vocal harmonies engulfing stomping percussive loops, it is hypnotic and blissful psych.It is underpinned by hazy, reverb-heavy guitars which gradually become more erratic and off-kilter while cosmic flashes and frazzled effects cascade from above as lilting Welsh vocals float above this sonic brew. Beautiful, blissful and utterly bewitching.

Check out ‘Here Comes The Moonshadow’ below, it is out now alongside equally wonderful Welsh language b-side ‘Hel y Hadau’.

Gang Starr – ‘Bad Name’

Back in September, we got the first new track from Gang Starr in 16 years, ‘Family And Loyalty’. A few weeks ago, this was followed a whole new Gang Starr album called One Of The Best Yet. DJ Premier started working on the record in September 2017, and comes almost a decade after Guru’s death in 2010.

While the circumstances of the album’s creation remain a point of contention, it is a little strange but very good to hear the duo back together again – a rather unexpected surprise. The album, while not to the level of say Daily Operation and Hard to Earn (two of my all time favourite records), is a nice tribute to, and reminder of, how great Gang Starr were. IMO there is never a bad time to share anything Gang Starr related, with that in mind, we have latest single ‘Bad Name’. Backed by Premier’s trademark production and iconic scratch choruses, without missing a beat, Guru bemoans the lack or real hip hop talents, as he spits: “Word to God, if Big and ‘Pac were still here/ Some of these weirdos wouldn’t act so cavalier”.

It is undeniably great to hear the two artists together again, check out ‘Bad Name’ below:

PODGE – ‘What Happened’

Beginning life recording in his bedroom at the age of 15, PODGE is the creative tour de force of (now 20 year old) Adam Charo. 

Armed with a synthesizer and a laptop, these sessions gave birth to his self-released debut album The Hero Appears, setting out his predication for the whimsical aesthetics of Japanese pop culture, and all wrapped up in a playful, joyful and colourful confection of catchy electro-pop. The latest record, Eatmore Fruit EP, follows a similar trajectory and is fronted by magical single ‘What Happened’. A big smiley ray of sunshine, ‘What Happened’ is joyous, giddy and uplifting as it playfully flutters along a jaunty beat and and glitchy synth through a beautiful imaginative world filled with colourful ideas and kaleidoscopic sounds, and bound together in hypnotic majesty. It’s an eccentric, off-kilter and Technicolor pop adventure of playfully experimental arrangements and sounds that are gentle whirring together and filled with breezy vibes and sense of joy. A magical, sunshine filled slice of pop perfection.

Tune into ‘What Happened’ below.

Superheart – ‘Heaven’s In Your Head’

UK-based producer Luke Batt aka Superheart has built a rep as a reliable source of comforting and dreamy electronic-pop over the past two years or so, and Batt is at it again.

New single ‘Heaven’s In Your Head’ is yet another delight and serves as a nexus to their lush electronic-pop; of cosmic vibes, dreamy vocals, hopeful lyrics and shimmering synthesis. It is a blissed-out blend of cosmic vibes as lush, layered vocals and dreamy keys usher us through hazy ambient surroundings as it gently builds, drifting along until a warm rapture envelopes you and everything else around you leaving you floating in a dreamlike state. Marked by Batt’s signature flair for elegant, blissful and ethereal production, ‘Heaven’s In Your Head’ is a seductive slice of lush and transfixing electronic-pop; and one that will leave you all the better for making its acquaintance.

Listen to ‘Heaven’s In Your Head’ below:

Cousin Kula – ‘MIMO’

Bristol six-piece Cousin Kula specialise in explorations of dreamy, jazz-influenced psych-tinged pop, and with latest single ‘MIMO’ they do that with aplomb.

MIMO is the final single lifted from second EP STROODLES, follow up to 2017’s OODLES, and it is a smooth, smouldering and seductive slice of proggy psych-pop. Taking in an eclectic blend of music from pop and jazz through to psych and prog, it slinks languidly through a cosmic world of colourful synths, frazzled electronics, bubbling bass and free form rhythms. It is simultaneously laid back and bursting with passion as empowering lyrics flow over this exploration in sound collage. It is an amazing track with layers upon layers of intricately pieced together components revealing more and more with each listen – and by the same virtue, rewarding more with each and every listen. 

Check out ‘MIMO’ below – and the entire EP is here too.

Phileas Fogg – ‘Will Never be Played Again’

Phileas Fogg is the moniker of London-based artist Asi Binyamini, who like his namesake – the protagonist in Jules Verne’s Around the World in Eighty Days – Fogg spirits us away on an imaginative intrepid adventure.

Fogg introduced his decidedly catchy brand of reverb and fuzz-laden psych-rock with single ‘Ready or Not’ in 2018 and he’s back with ‘Will Never Be Played Again’. It is an enthralling psych-rocker, tentatively building from a haunting and unsettling opening atmosphere it gradually grows in slowburning fashion, swelling as his vocals ascend rousingly above the dense competing layers of psych noise to add a topping of the anthemic. ‘Will Never Be Played Again’ serves as a timely reminder of Fogg’s knack for the hypnotic and captivating tunes – as evidenced by its predecessor ‘Ready or Not’.

Listen to ‘Will Never Be Played Again’ below now – (it is actually a reworking of a single of the same name, release earlier this year, as the eagle-eyed among you may have noticed).

Silverbacks – ‘Sirens’

Dublin-based post-punk outfit Silverbacks continue their propensity for brilliance with new single ‘Sirens’ – something we’ve become accustomed to with a steady stream of singles over the past few years.

While we still await their debut album (rumoured to be primed for release next year) any new material from Silverbacks is most welcome indeed and with ‘Sirens’, they are signing off 2019 in some style. Silverbacks have once again teamed up with Girl Band’s Daniel Fox who also produced ‘Dunkirk’, ‘Just In The Band’ and ‘Pink Tide’ and is every bit as brilliant as the other tracks, and is probably their most irresistible single yet. Built around a propulsive bass-line, kinetic rhythms and barrage of razor-edged guitars that all coalesce to one united tight interlocked groove; ‘Sirens’ is phenomenal. It unleashes a relentless energy as it hits the sweet spot between melodic repetition, pent up aggression and danceable infectiousness, like an LCD groove hanging out with the jerky art-rock infection of Futureheads, as Daniel O’Kelly’s vocals reflect as such, fluctuating from focused to distraction. A simply stunning single, and one their best yet – hopefully the debut album is with us sooner rather than later.

Listen to ‘Sirens’ below:

Also, people of Derry, Silverbacks are in town to play the Nerve Centre on December 13.

Kastane – ‘Tangalle’

Kastane is an electronic music project from Irish producer and drummer Alan Walsh, who is back with another elegant, transfixing and alluring slice of electronica in the shape of ‘Tangalle’.

With two EPs to his name – Tunnels EP (2017) and Trang EP (2018) – a third expected in the future and with the latter in mind,’Tangalle’ follows on nicely from bewitching previous single ‘Shimmers’. Like its predecessor, ‘Tangalle’ is elegant, graceful and sophisticated but the glue that binds them is rhythmic precision and percussive power, unsurprising given that he is a card carrying member of drummers union. A bewitching, graceful and melodic electronic excursion, as synths shimmer and electronics glisten to create a warm and lush environment for the rhythmic allure to grow and thrive. Kastane is emerging as a master of his craft, creating bewitching melodic sophisticated electronica that will leave an indelible mark on your soul and you under the spell of it’s tempting allure.

Listen to ‘Tangalle’ below: