Girl Power !

Driving synth and merry-go-round type noises do place this all female-group slightly in the realms of The Horrors. The lead vocals are haunting and pitch perfect whilst guitars and keyboards and drums cavort around. "Smoke and Mirrors" is eerie and ethereal with music which dips and dives over 60s-esque synth and carnival noises. Disturbing; but in a good way.

"Harmonise" has a darker Long Blondes style feel to it with a strong voice soaring over the slightly discordant music and "Balderdash" is made up of crescendos and flickering guitars; it's pure melodic noise. No mean feat... And to top it off it's all a bit "Phantom of the Opera" (a good thing of course), a bit baroque and very pop-noir. Ghostly noises and Gothic tendencies in a monochrome set!

On the other side of the coin is the technicolor brilliance of The Duloks. Their music has the same synth-y bits but in an uplifting way. They don brightly coloured tracksuits and songs like "Gonna Follow Your Star Trail" are twee-pop-goodness. Their songs aren't prog rock length and although it is a pity ace songs like "Boom Boom" end quickly they say what they need to say and get out. Mainly what they're saying is "If you're an instigator / Or a secret masturbater..." and other such nuggets of comedy. It's "Bad Vegetarian" though which places them in the 'legends' box- hilarious and slightly strange. Not taking themselves too seriously is a most endearing quality!

Jade xx
Harmonise - Ipso Facto

Balderdash- Ipso Facto

Smoke and Mirrors- Ipso Facto

---

Gonna Follow Your Star Trail - The Duloks

Boom Boom - The Duloks

Bad Vegetarian - The Duloks

Cheeky Cheeky and the Nosebleeds

Cheeky Cheeky and the Nosebleeds- The new innovators. Yeah there are people doing amazing revivals of folk which is charming without fault but I was starting to get worried guitar based Indie was going to be forever vapid and generic. THANK GOD then for CC&N with their amazing name and nasal vocals. Their refreshing take on music seems almost like a second-cousin-twice-removed to Los Camp!.

"Slow Kids" is lyrically strange but in a quirky way ("I am the girl with no lips / But I can keep a hula going around my hips"); the angular guitars build up the listener and the chorus is a spiky and catchy damn thing. "Before We Sleep" is a more indie-dance floor-friendly number with a good beat and shouty voices and singalong choruses guaranteed to make you move you feet. The lyrics aren't as elusive as "Slow Kids" but it defiantly isn't paint by numbers indie which bands like The Enemy seem to favour.

Their best song though is "Fascinating" which has a 'The Royal We' feel to the guitars and more thrillingly strange lyrics and squeaky vocals. It should annoy, it should grate a little on nerves but it doesn't- it is purely good stuff even with guitar solos thrown in for good measure!

They're supporting Joe Lean and the Jing Jang Jong (big buzz band) so fingers crossed they'll be well recieved...

Jade xx

Cheeky Cheeky & The Nosebleeds - Before We Sleep

Cheeky Cheeky & the Nosebleeds - Slow Kids

Bits'n'Bobs

Rambling On: Firstly Bishop Allen (because they've just come up in Ipods delightful shuffle!). Ever since Hannah & I discovered a member of this band was in Mutual Appreciation we knew we'd be hooked- and prior to that hearing "You Ain't No Picasso" meant lovelovelove! With strained vocals, tinkly guitars and witty refrains it is on first listen ever-so-slightly annoying, but give it time because it transpires this song is one you can't live without! Refreshing every time you listen with guitar slicks and licks subtle enough to sound new with every listen. And there is out of tune, accapella-esque bits towards the end! Excellent...

Also I better say it now so I can look back on this and hopefully feel rather smug. Foals are going to become big aren't they?- annoyingly so. Like when The Wombats became transcendent with many social cliques and slightly mainstream and made us feel no longer niche but part of the masses.

If the mainstream can accept the math-rock, twee and sublime noises of Foals and truly appreciate them though well done I guess. Razorshite have dominated "indie" far too long- let some true musicians in I say...

And! speaking of new fads; thankfully the abomination that was 'neu/new/nu-rave" has gone. The last vestiges of day-glo are now in the January Topshop sales and the re-hash of the 90's Hacienda scene will only be brought up again when Klaxons attempt a second album (and lets face it we all danced along to "Atlantis to Interzone" with gutso) but now its time for a mellower sound to surge. Acoustic guitars, whimpering voices & pretty choruses in the form of Noah & the Whale, Emmy the Great, Lightspeed Champion, Laura Marling, Kid Harpoon, Johnny Flynn and the Sussex Wit, Tom Williams and Florence & The Machine are here at least for a while. Oh & that London scene like frYars, BBC & CDP! So the pretty singer/songwriters are around for a while- a lovelier sight than glow sticks. Nights (in London, poo!) like Young and Lost and Twee as Fuck look appealing and not to mention NEW MYSTERY JETS MATERIAL TO LOOK FORWARD TOO AS WELL AS AN ADAM GREEN TOUR.

Phew. Let 2008 commence!

Jade xx

bishop allen - you aint no picasso (zshare)

noah & the whale- 2 bodies, 1 heart(zshare)

noah & the whale- mary

foals- matheletics (savefile)

Josh Weller

To be perfectly honest, acoustic is a genre I normally detest however I have been recently converted due to the joys of Josh Weller. He is a quirky wonder with a strangely complementary style of both haunting and charming. Myspace has shown only a glimpse of his individuality, found both in his music and style. His innovative style of combining sumptuous and endearing lyrics with a powerful guitar back up may not be original but certainly remains divine. With lyrics such as “Darling sometimes a hate you” it’s hard not to be impressed by this Morrissey-esque irony that his tracks are steeped with. His influences are clearly seen in songs such as “I’m a Christian” heavily reeking of the 20’s blues mastered by Bo Diddley and Robert Johnson. Josh Weller is an artist who due to his inane eccentricity has allowed him the freedom of no genre shackles and is certainly a talent who deserves a break in 2008

Also whilst I’m here I wish the 3 people who read this a very Merry Christmas haha
Hannah
xxx

frYars

frYars. Sort of like Patrick Wolf. Sort of like Bowie. Sort of like all those other on-the-fringes-of-genre folk. Yet like Wolf there is a depth and some lyrical meaning coupled with a talent and penchant for weird instruments and distorted voice.
The collection of songs on his Myspace are addictive with their poppy, tinkling piano and pop-rock synth. Linked, unsuprisingly, with Bombay Bicycle Club and Cajun Dance Party frYars sophisticated take on music is both uplifting and depressing to a point. Marrying darker and more macabre lyrical content with danceable and pop/electro/alternative (according to good ol'Myspace) music this is endearing stuff
indeed.
All in all it is wistful indie at its finest with an unidentifiable something which lets it almost escape genre and with lyrics and poignant musical arrangements. Magical!
(open in new window!)
frYars- Madeline
frYars - happY
Jade xx

Get Dancey x4!

1. Mixing many a “woo-hoo”, hand claps and shouty shouty vocals And What Will Be Left of Them are refreshingly upbeat! They nod to the 60s and have punkish tendencies binding it all together with male/female duel vocals.
They’re songs are familiar from the first listen. “Come with me” wraps the listener up in its recognisable guitars and synth infused chorus whilst “Hi-fi” takes a mellower take on the peppy, up-beat sound. It is “Four Years to be an Artist” though which is distinctively (and instinctively?) good with its charming lyrics and relentless beat.
And What Will Be Left of Them?- 4 Years
And What Will Be Left of Them?- Hi Fi

2. Friendly Fires manage to marry what can only be described as ‘funky’ beats with repetitive lyrics and smooth as you like vocals. A dance act for once not riding on the tail-coats of 90’s rave nostalgia and hopefully not a glow stick in sight. They should remain a credible band for at least 2008! Although it can make you wary when you see a dance infused track remixed Nightmoves remix of “On Board” handles it well adding enough to make it interesting but taking nothing away. And if you don’t end up waving your hands in the air (yes, like you just don’t care) to “Paris” then shame on you!
Friendly Fires (Nightmoves Remix)- On Board
Friendly Fires- Paris

3. I can’t get enough of Crystal Castles at the moment. After dispelling them to the back of my mind for most of this year I had it down as annoying noise that was neither compelling or hard to do. Oh how times change; after seeing them live and also taking the time to listen to gems like “Alice Practice” and “Crimewave” my opinion has changed quite the bit. Jumping from subtle electronic tinges of beeps and bleeps blended over the stylised vocals to the thrash thrash thrash and high pitched yelps they create un-genrefiable dance/ thrash/ hard-core/ rave/ indie/music. End of.
Crystal Castles- Alic Practice

Crystal Castles- Crimewave

4. Finally The Je Ne Sais Quoi have more than a hint of the 1980s in their track "Chameleon. Distinctly danceable beats laden over with harmonising vocals and glittering synth makes their songs a more mellow take on dancing. With multi-faceted songs in which insturments skim and slide over once another like "Chamelon" their harmonise, Swedish twang and smooth execution of the song makes them charming.

The Je Ne Sais Quoi- Chameleon

Jade xx

teenagersintokyo

Teenagersintokyo are actually in their twenties and from Australia. "Twentysomethingsinsydney" doesn't have the same ring to it though; luckily their songs are divine.

Blending simplistic electro and brooding bass notes they create electrifying dance music. "Robocat" evokes a sense of a lighter Bonde Do Role but still with an edge of dark. With Karen O-esque vocals and various screeches and whimpers towards the end the beat carries it through. Sultry and with blinding synth "End It Tonight" is reminiscent of Theoretical Girls darker take on electro; forget NYPC and CSS's candy coated version of new rave- this tenser version of danceable songs combine good nights with the morning after and more.

What with one bloke amidst four females teenagersintokyo sort of escape genre; neither girl group or boy and with the ability to write great lyrics but no concept of grammer (if their name is anything to go by). Either way they are quite addictive and its only a pity they live in Austrailia & I can't see them live yet.

Jade xx

End it Tonight- teenagersintokyo

Robocat - teenagersintokyo

Theories and Shambles...

Quick post really! Today I got Theoretical Girls new single "The Hypocrite". It is suffice to say quite brilliant; a singer/songwriter doing away with the warbles and whingeing and instead revelling in disenchantment and ethereal vocals. After being aware of TG for quite a while now it is lovely to see her brand of simplistic and dark compositions gaining a reputation. And she has the best hair.

Also went to see Babyshambles last night. Although it was in the far from filled MEN they still managed to make an intimate atmosphere. It was something of a novelty that they came on at the right time, Pete only fell over once and at one point Babyshambles (metaphorically)disappeared only to be replaced with a jazz-esque persona as they whisked through "There She Goes" and Pete preformed "Lost Art of Murder" acoustically; who knew Peter Doherty to be capable of not mumbling lyrics and playing complex guitar. Charming as ever and playing more than their quota of songs it is a return to form for them. Thank God!

Jade xx

Red Mist- Theoretical Girl

There She Goes- Babyshambles

Summery Bands for the Winter

Littered with summery nuances and pretty choruses Brontosaurus Chorus evidently take inspiration from bands like Belle and Sebastian, Elastica and (although musically they aren’t as macabre or deep) Joy Division. These are the type of people you’d invite to a party, get drunk and force to play an assortment of instruments just to make you smile. Like a more innocent and less lyrically evolved Los Camp! songs such as “Now We’re Making Out” evoke warm nights and warm wine glistening on a sideboard whilst “David Bowie” is an utter hit (even if purely for writing a song about the legend that is). The female based vocals soar and dive over trumpets and violins and guitars and drums and cellos in a thoroughly heart-warming way! Formed in the summer of 2006 it is down to the listener to wonder how much of that time is captured in the balmy musings of songs like “Summer Skies” and the fab “Distortion Pop”.

Brontosaurus Chorus Myspace (YOU CAN DOWNLOAD “David Bowie” AND “Love is the Path” HERE!).
Bront C- Distortion Pop

Bront C- Now We're Making Out

A band which evokes a darker and slightly more sinister side to light-hearted indie-pop is The Royal We. Leaving hand-claps and “woo-hoos” like debris throughout their songs they are the epitome of strange and wonderful. “Baby take my arms/ Baby take my legs/ But please don’t take my baby ‘cos our love is all the rage/ All Right!” is just one example of the lyrics which surround this band. The accompanying video to “All the Rage” is equally disturbing with body parts (fake obviously) being scoffed down and a disembodied head singing prettily into the camera. Actual genius. “I Hate Rock and Roll” actually has rock’n’roll nodded too in the guitar arrangement at times (deliberate or not I’m not sure) whilst “Back and Forth Forever” takes a more laid back approach with duel vocals and gentle strums. Sadly they’ve already apparently called it a day but their Myspace has songs and videos to see and admire.

Jade xx