Cougar Microbes

If you happen to be in the West Coast of the USA at the end of this month you will be happy to hear that Sunderland’s favourite sons, The Futureheads, are hitting the road.

Starting off in Seattle and heading all the way through to Texas these shows represent the first time in four years that the band has hit your side of the world. Make sure you take advantage of it

TRACKS:

The Futureheads – Struck Dumb

Tel Aviv three-piece Electra are at the forefront of the Israeli indie rock scene.  The sound of The Clash and Buzzcocks seeps obviously through their recordings as does an occasionl hint of The Libertines just for safe measures.

With tracks as catchy as their single ‘Coming To Get You‘ there is no reason why they should change their approach. This is good ol rock n roll and it’s fine by me.

Their recently released full length ‘Heartbreak For Fools‘ is out now on Anova Records

TRACKS:

Electra – Coming To Get You

As part of his G.O.O.D. Fridays series Kanye West just unleashed another banger. ‘So Appalled’ features the skills of RZA, Jay-Z, Pusha T, Swiss Beatz and Cyhi The Prince in what is a tense and somewhat gloomy track.

Better still, it seems MC Hammer wants to make a comeback album purely to retaliate against the Jay-Z verse calling him out

TRACKS:

Kanye West – So Appalled (feat. RZA, Jay-Z, Pusha T, Swizz Beatz & Cyhi the Prynce)

Get the tracks from the G.O.O.D. Fridays series here.

The MashMaticians is the name Messrs DJ Zesty and Gudda Gallin have been going under since 2009. The Princeton students’ output is unequivocally on the pop side of things often taking rap vocals and mashing them with a dance or R&B foundations. When it clicks it works really well.

Their debut album is entitled ‘The MashoChist’. In their own words: “MashoChist is someone who enjoys mash ups, or who derives pleasure from listening to them”.

Nuff said!

TRACKS:

It is pretty clear that Tim Kasher can do very little wrong in my eyes. Regardless of whether he is throwing his all into a live performance or releasing brilliant records I’m always dazzled by the end product.

It is therefore great news to find out that, whilst Cursive take a deserved but hopefully temporary break, the singer will be releasing his first solo album, ‘The Game Of Monogamy‘, at the start of October.

By the sounds of that title this album is going to explore some of the themes seen in his previous output. Indeed, the release of ’Cold Love‘ as a taster track is not a million miles away from the amazing work displayed with his The Good Life project. Lyrically the track deals with boring sex, couples going through the motions and unsurprisingly relationships that have run their course. Textbook Tim Kasher.

‘The Game Of Monogamy’ is released on Saddle Creek on the 5th of October.

TRACKS:

Les Savy Fav have been underground indie-rock darlings for forever. This is as much a consequence of singer Tim Harrington’s eccentric onstage antics as their DIY ethos – all but one of their albums have been released on bassist Syd Butler’s Frenchkiss Records. After a decade and a half, which includes a year-long hiatus, the 5-piece have released a 5th studio album which may just catapult them into the big leagues.

The release, ‘Root For Ruin’, comes complete with the Fugazi-inspired post-hardcore quirks of previous LSF offerings. As a general rule song structures are consciously more straightforward, with the exception of midpoint ‘Poltergeist’, the result being greater accessibility for the uninitiated. There are elements borrowed from more commercially successful artists; guitars reminiscent of the Pixies, backing vocals veering towards Weezer territory and offbeat instrumentation that wouldn’t feel out of place on a Modest Mouse record. Still the band have not relinquished their edginess entirely and there are plenty of moments where you can feel the tension rising.

The high points on this album are… well pretty much everywhere to be honest. On a personal note rocking opener ‘Appetites’ ingeniously borrows from Silver Jews’ ‘Punks In The Beerlight’, a Cougar favourite. Stopping short of mentioning the entire track-list, ‘Dirty Knails’, ‘Sleepless in Silverlake’, ‘Lips n’ Stuff’ and ‘Excess Energies’ also contribute to make this a master class in dynamics, merging pop craftsmanship with ballsy rock ethos.

You’ve got to feel for LSF. They were forced into a hasty digital release of ‘Root For Ruin’ more than a month ahead of schedule after it was leaked via various torrent sites. As a result it may not have quite the impact that it would have enjoyed were it to have exploded onto the market with a co-ordinated release strategy.

It deserves more, seeing as it is arguably the Brooklyn post-hardcore outfit’s best work to date. Here’s hoping the gods smile upon “les bloody fab”.

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Post by back-to-school Kenny

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TRACKS:

Les Savy Fav – Appetites

In Tall Buildings is really “just” a nom de plume for Erik Hall and his songs. The self titled release was recorded in the comfort of his home studio and this coziness is reflected in his effective use of layering. Numerous guitars, pianos and vocals are gently introduced in these songs without distracting from the core melodies.

The care that has gone into recording In Tall Buildings proves that you do not always need a multimillion studio to make an album sound alive. Sometimes all you need is a few broken instruments, vintage equipment and a bunch of people willing to lend a hand to record a “beautiful and challenging record“.

TRACKS:

in Tall Buildings - The Way to a Monster’s Lair

ERROR OPERATOR is the alter ego for a renowned House/Electro DJ & Producer from London who prefers to remain anonymous. So much so that it was hard to find out much information even about his upcoming album ‘Mistakes‘. From the few tracks I have heard I can say his downtempo electronica is masterfully delivered.

Likewise his remixes for the likes of Passion Pit, Does It Offend You, Yeah, UNKLE and Radiohead add a spectral quality to the mixes.

Will be featuring tracks from his album soon.

TRACKS: