Cougar Microbes

In a purely traditional sense when we think of a rock band we tend to imagine  a bunch of bearded guys, and (occasionally) the groupies that come with it. However the last decade has seen the expansion of a different kind of band, the girl/guy duo; sometimes lovers, sometimes friends, or sometimes something incomprehensible.

She Keeps Bees is from Brooklyn. Notwithstanding their name which could make them sound like yet another indie folk band, this duo/couple push in the exact opposite direction. She Keeps Bees is all about rock, blues rock more specifically;  The sounds are deep, harsh and brutal…echoing the likes of The Kills or The White Stripes.

However, compared to those former bands, these guys seems more pure and raw, with less electric guitars, less nerve, and the prominence given to singer Jessica Larrabee‘s deep and enchanting voice lends their music a very intimate atmosphere.

For their second album ‘Nests‘, imagine Cat Power accompanied solely by a guitar and drums, and playing a living room in Alabama. This is what She Keeps Bees sounds like: a group of  ( very talented ) close friends who enjoy what they do and need the minimum sound to create immersing rock.

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Post by Olivia

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My friend Jason has been running this rather ambitious A Song A Day Tumblr site for what is coming up to a very impressive two years.

He originally featured this Fissunix helmed menage a trois featuring Led Zeppelin, James Brown and Aerosmith a few months ago here.  When he played it to me over the weekend I wanted to share it as well.

If you get a chance check out his other interesting projects here.

It sometimes happens that you come to be affectionate a band for no evident reason; they may not have the guitar skills of Jimmy Page, the vocal capacity of Otis Redding or the charisma of James Brown… and they probably won’t be remembered twenty years from now, but you will always appreciate those moments spent in the company of their music.

For me, The Dø is one of those bands. This franco-finnish couple/ duo Olivia Merilahti and Dan Levy has never stopped amazing me since I first discovered them in 2008 with their track ‘On My Shoulders‘.

Seeing them live a few years back at King’s College Student Union was probably one of the biggest musical surprises of my life. Some skeptics may find that they too similar to other folk act in their record collection but I have rarely seen such a magistral performance from a band and was literally blown away by Merilahti‘s charisma.

Their first album ‘A Mouthful‘ has proven to be quite a success in their home countries, France and Finland, but never really managed to conquer the English speaking world. Shame.

New album ‘Both Ways Open Jaws‘ carries on from the same spot, and once again shows the couple’s kaleidoscope of sounds, atmospheres and vocals. From catchy pop ballads such as  ’Too Insistent‘ and ‘ Was It A Dream‘ that would make any Lily Allens of this world jealous, to a M.I.A like haunting vibe on ‘Slippery Slope‘, or more electronic sounds on intro ‘B.W.O.J‘, the Dø have this incredible knack for eclecticism, partly made possible through Olivia‘s astonishing vocal capabilities.

Tune after tune this album is a little beauty full of sincerity, lyricism and a sample of what is best in current scandinavian music.

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Post by Olivia

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Having just featured Björk‘s video for Jóga, whilst pouring accolades on both the Michel Gondry helmed clip and Sasha Raskin remix treatment, it is quite fitting that today is the first day we hear a snippet of her upcoming “app album” ‘Biophilia’.

Four years since the release of ‘Volta‘ and Björk‘ remains as cutting edge as ever. Due out in September, ’Biophilia’ is billed as a collaboration with Apple boasting a whole new level of packaging and marketing.

Perennial collaborator Gondry is at the helm of this multimedia endeavour which will see applications and videos released into the project for fans to get their teeth into. Of course, old school listeners will also be able to get the album in the more traditional mp3 and CD format (and I never thought I’d be referring to the mp3 as a “traditional” format but that is the world we are living in)

Enjoy ‘Crystalline‘ (also streamable on Hype Machine here), the first glimpse of what to expect from ‘Biophilia’, I’m excited.

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Although it has now been covered extensively Bombay Bicycle Club‘s New single ‘Shuffle‘ has only been out for a week or so. Still, it has me returning to play it often.

If you consider the band’s origins and their first releases this track is quite a departure showcasing lucid songwriting and a mature outlook that is deserving of the accolades thrown at them at present.

New album ’A Different Kind Of Fix‘ is due out at the end of August through Island and is followed by an extensive UK tour in October.

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Gold Panda made the previously unreleased track ‘MPB‘ available through his site and I think we can all agree it represents more genius from the bleep-expert. Head over to iamgoldpanda.com to get your hands on it.

It has been a busy period since the release of his debut ‘Lucky Shiner‘ last year but a quick consultation of his recent tweets from Glastonbury will show you he has certainly not lost the humour/sarcasm we liked him for.

Besides Glasto, GP is due to play Roskilde and Latitude this summer before heading out on an extensive US and UK tour come October. Don’t miss out!

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I do feel that a festival wouldn’t be a festival without these three things; A truly great live act, some nominal nudity and someone gravely (and most of the time deservedly) injuring themselves due to a moment of awe inspiring stupidity . We shall return to this nugget of festival wisdom in a bit.

Beach Break Live festival is nestled in a mass expanse of Welsh sand dune and pinewood forest, where thousands of students and idiotically fashionable, sexually charged young things pitch tents on the rolling hills, sleep the day through and get up underneath the stars to go crazy to reasonably priced booze and all night tuneage.

For those bothered enough to get up during the day, the beach was heaving with water sports and the fields busy with games, early chilled live acts and burlesque / pole dancing lessons. I was there for the music, however as a journalist I deemed it my duty to casually but insistently peek in the burlesque tent.

I’d been looking forward to seeing We Are Scientists for a couple of years and wasn’t disappointed to watch them blow away a strong afternoon crowd with hit after hit, with young Andy Burrows mullering the skins behind two of the stongest song writing teams around.

I hadn’t heard of Beardyman before, and naturally pictured an old man slithering to the stage in a cardie and massive beard, shitting us tales of woe. He was actually awesome. A sort of live producer and sampler, he beat boxes to synths, drum machines and other electronic paraphanalia, but not only this, he can sing; and well, morphing us in and out of his own tightly packed anthems and reworked covers such as MGMT‘s ‘Kids‘ and ATB‘s ‘Til I Come‘ (Even cooler than the XX‘s live version.)

The two musical highlights for me were from very different corners of the festival. The first was an eight piece folk band named Robbie Boyd Band, a truly charming and enthralling live act playing three times over the course of the five days in different forms. Front man Robbie Boyd is as talented as he is self-deprecating, hollering timeless The Birds and Everly Brothers-like tunes and pulling even the early hung over audience to their feet to participate his irresistible chorus’s.

Of course, the truly great live act I was banging on about at the start was a band I hadn’t even sniffed before this weekend. White Lies blew me and the already riled up crowd of mentals away. The punishing bass lines were as harsh as the beautifully haunting melodies. I’ll admit, I was probably slightly dazed at the time as some berk elbowed me in the back of the head and probably sent me into a slight state of euphoria but never the less this is one of the strongest headliners one could ask for even a slight concussion.

So I guess the injury sustained was my own, but the truly great live act was of course White Lies and I won’t bore you with the details, but the burlesque tent really was fantastic.

Cougar Microbes attended Beach Break Live 2011 as part of Lucozade‘s Play Festivals campaign. Make sure to check back as we join Lucozade in bringing you more events through the summer.

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Post by T.R. Wicks

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Cold War Kids just released a video for ‘Skip The Charades‘, the second single from their new ‘Mine Is Yours‘ album. The track is probably the most straightforward thing I have heard the Californians perform but definitely has a certain charm to it.

The video, directed by Moh Azima, adopts an equally simplistic approach relying on the music to carry it through. I think it works a treat.

CWK set out on an extensive US and European tour which will see them performing Lollapalooza amongst other summer festivals.

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