Cougar Microbes

As reported by our friends over at Fried My Little Brain (as well as pretty much everyone else with an internet connection) Daft Punk dropped a couple of teasers on us both on SNL as well as during their Coachella set.

the robotic French duo are revealing just enough to keep us all on edge without actually showing their cards yet. Still, interest in ‘Random Access Memories‘ continues to reach new heights as guest spots by the likes of Pharrell, Julian Casablancas, Nile Rodgers, Panda Bear and Giorgio Moroder (!!!) have been revealed.

‘Random Access Memories‘ is out in May… we want it now!

TRACKS:

It’s always hard for me to review the Strokes because I’m conscious of being far from objective when it comes to them and that, to counteract my innate subjectivity, I tend to become far too critical. I openly admit to putting them on a pedestal that is so high that even Kanye West‘s ego wouldn’t reach.

The higher the pedestal, the steeper the climb, and with ‘Comedown Machine‘ it feels like The Strokes have failed to achieve previous peaks. To be honest it might even have been acclaimed if it was the work of some new indie band. However, therein lies the problem; The Strokes aren’t just some indie the band, they are… The Strokes; the best thing that happened to NYC garage rock since The Velvet Underground, and most importantly they are the guys behind that revolutionary masterpiece called ‘Is This It‘.

The Strokes are part of a group of bands and artists that have changed the face of music with their debut album, but never managed to attain that level subsequently. ‘Room on Fire‘, their second album was definitely great but not as meticulous, ‘First Impressions of Earth‘ completely divided their fans ( personally, I loved it) and even though ‘Angles‘ was rather innovative, the chaotic relationship between members during the recording process seemed to impact on the overall consistency of the album.

My first reaction when I listened to ‘Comedown Machine‘ was to think ‘where on earth has Julian‘s voice gone? ‘ and ‘Why the Falsetto ? He sounds like the Bee Gees‘. Of course I have nothing against falsettos, but when Julian Casablancas gives up his unique baritone to sing like Tom Yorke‘s little sister…I cannot help but think of this as wrong. It’s just plain wrong. Furthermore it’s not only the tone of his voice that irritates me ( particularly on ‘Tap Out‘, ‘One Way Trigger‘, and ‘50 50‘), but also the fact that he just sounds half asleep and is sometimes barely understandable.

My second reaction was to think that with this album, The Strokes seem to have sadly completely abandoned that special trademark beat, led by Fabrizio Moretti‘s drums that made them so instantly recognizable, and oh so rock ‘n’ roll.

‘Comedown Machine‘ is obviously heavily influenced by 80s sounds, with a lot of synths and electronic beats, and in that way is overall very similar to ‘Angles‘ and Casablancas‘ solo album ‘Phrazes For The Young‘. With this album they make it clear that their sound has significantly changed since they went from a dictatorship to a democracy after ‘First Impressions Of Earth’, and that they’ve moved away from their nervous style towards a much cleaner and funkier one.

I guess anyone who doesn’t know The Strokes well enough would tend to enjoy this new aspect to their music. I don’t. I like the dark, twisted and nervous Strokes. I like The Strokes that make me jump around every time I hear ‘Last Nite‘, lose my breath on ‘Take It Or Leave It‘, and break my voice on ‘Reptilia‘ or ‘Juicebox‘. Most importantly I miss the The Strokes that were everything but funky.

That said, there is this another side to this album which I quite enjoy as it feels like they are trying to go back to basics ( afterall bassist Nikolai Fraiture did say that it was their aim with this album), and it’s quite nice to have songs such as ‘Partners in Crime‘, ‘All the Time‘ or ‘Happy Ending‘ ( by far my favourite song of the album) that have a much ‘Strokes-y‘ feel to them. I was quite taken aback by how ‘Call it Fate, Call it Karma‘ sounds like Fabrizio Moretti‘s side project called Little Joy.

One thing that you can give The Strokes credit for is trying different styles of music and looking for possible evolutions to their own sound. Also it does sound like they finally had fun creating this album. So if there is one band that never sounds the same it’s them, and yes, a lot of people would see this as great.

Personally, I consider this constant vacillation as the identity crisis of a band that was abruptly chosen as the saviours of indie rock, and are now constantly trying to play the part.

—–
Post by @OliviaScopes / Olivia
—–

TRACKS:

I cannot even begin to explain how much I love The Knife and worship the captivating Karin Dreijer. Everything from their their complicated relationship with the media and music industry to their unconventional music makes them stand out from the rest of the world. In a Lynchian style, they are oh so weird but oh so splendid.

Back in December, after a very long hiatus they announced a forthcoming fourth studio album entitled ‘Shaking the Habitual‘ (a strikingly appropriate name for this album), which is set to be released on the 8th April and tour dates in Europe to follow. On the 28th January they released the album’s lead single ‘Full of Fire‘ and it is an astonishing piece of art.

The song in itself is absolutely epic, but the video that accompanies it takes it to a whole new level. ‘Full of Fire‘ is also the perfect and logical continuation to their previous album ‘Silent Shout‘. They might have parted ways for a couple of years, but it seems that the Dreijers succeed in picking up exactly where they left off. ‘Full of Fire‘ embodies everything I love about the Knife; a fierce and aggressive beat, a unique take on dance music, Dreijer’s chilling shrill tones, and an extremely strange, disturbing 10 minute long video directed by filmmaker and visual artist Marit Östberg.

Here’s what Östberg wrote about the short movie on The Knife‘s website:

“The film ‘Full of Fire’ started to grow as an embryo in the song´s lines ‘Who looks after my story’. Who takes care of our stories when the big history, written by straight rich white men, erase the complexity of human´s lives, desires and conditions? The film ‘Full of Fire’ consists of a network of fates, fears, cravings, longings, losses, and promises. Fates that at first sight seem isolated from each other, but if we pay attention, we can see that everything essentially moves into each other. Our lives are intertwined and our eyes on each other, our sounds and smells, mean something. Our actions create reality, we create each other. We are never faceless, not even in the most grey anonymous streets of the city. We will never stop being responsible, being extensions, of one another. We will never stop longing for each other, and for something else.”

—–

Post by Olivia

—–

TRACKS:

Suffolk born songstress Hannah Scott kicked things off last week with her debut single ‘Still Static’. Soon to be followed by an EP of the same name, it is an acoustic pop number brimming with thoughtful reflections on a failed romance with another woman.

Quickly snapping up the attention of musical mainstays such as the Guardian, MOJO and 6Music, Scott lends the melodious undulations of her first release a soothing, clear voice – at times reminiscent of Dido before she crumbled from overexposure.

Whilst perhaps erring on the side of caution, ‘Still Static’ remains very easy on the ear – and reveals itself to be something of a grower, its beautiful simplicity cutting through a sense of familiarity.

Having recently supported Ed Sheeran and Seth Lakeman, Hannah Scott will be accompanying the single and EP release with a gig at London’s 12 bar on Feb 27 – until then you can watch her in action here:

‘Still Static’ single and EP released on Feb 18 and 25 respectively.

TRACKS:

For a band infamous for the unpredictability of the sound their constantly changing tastes will convene on, or even the songs that would be included in their album, it was with great certainty that, regardless of these vital details, the album would be of incredible quality and would yet again redefine the boundaries of their ever expanding collection.

Having already been introduced to “Inhaler”, with its powerful riffs, and raw voice-box-shredding vocals, many prepared for a heavier direction for Foals to take, yet everyone’s hypotheses were evaded when the unashamed pop of “My Number” became their next single. Its fluttering guitars and bongos proved infectiously catchy and it was one of the most welcomed songs in the set when they played in November, inducing a carnival atmosphere in a crowd.

Crucially these singles have managed to infiltrate the mainstream radio stations and allowed Foals to appeal to a broader audience. The singles have kindled and interest, but now ‘Holy Fire’ must ignite fans past, present and future with the burning spirit of the album.

“Prelude” acts as a whitewash, entertaining the possibilities of a repeat of ‘Antidotes’ yet ultimately moving beyond such safe ground onto grittier guitar work which severs the potential to compare the two, creating distance from preconceptions and leaving Foals with a blank canvas from which to embark on their own personal holy campaign. The two early singles follow in quick succession settling nerves whilst summoning a thirst for more new material.

“Bad Habit” begins with a dark Muse-y bass synth line then flourishes into an uplifting ballad full of heavy subject matter and emotional angst before a refreshing staccato solo rides in to elevate the song to a strong statement of Foals’s new direction.

For brief moments, ‘Holy Fire’ has the angular, immediacy of ‘Antidotes’ but they are rarely sustained, often passing as soon as you were getting up to dance, and in other moments there is as cinematic a feel to it as ‘Total Life Forever’, yet it is when the band embrace a brand new area such as in “Late Night” when they seem at their freshest and most exciting. It begins as a slow burner with a piano chord sequence just begging to be built upon and thanks in part to the guitar work giving more licks than an excited puppy dog, it does indeed tower into an excellent bluesy groove whilst the lyrics ‘Stay With Me’ heighten the anticipation for an epic Yannis solo to close the track.

As a whole the album has a very organic feel to it and this may be down to the fact that the band made a conscious decision to bring plants and shrubs into the recording studio so that they could grow and mature just as the album did.

“Providence” fades into your ears with the lyrics “I know I cannot be true, I’m an animal just like you Oh I bleed just a little bit too I bleed just like you”, what follows then forms into overwhelming wild animal of noise tangled in too many ideas causing it to appear to be bleeding to death. However four succinct beats from drummer Jack Bevan simultaneously resuscitates and tames the animal into a ferocious dancing coherence of all the ideas, creating carnage when they played this live late last year. Many of the lyrics in ‘Holy Fire’ have imagery of blood and whether consciously or subconsciously, this creates a strong message that this work has come straight from the beating hearts of Foals now and onto their metaphorical sleeves.

The primordial percussive backbone in “Stepson” nods towards the works of Alan Lomax, most notably his field recordings, whilst the aching voice of Yannis bemoans the fate of having to “Fall into the blue”. In the final track, lightly touched piano keys ripple through a pool of ambience reflecting the moon, bringing both a tranquillity and acceptance to the end but also an exquisite, delicate closure to an excellent third album.

In a strange way ‘Holy Fire’ was exactly what we all expected: to be left overwhelmed and confused, desperately trying to process what just happened. It is too early to rationalise, but just as ‘Total Life Forever’ took a while to adjust to, so ‘Holy Fire’ will require time to understand. But when it does click, the epiphany will make us all realise what a clever little band the continually morphing Foals are, and how engrossed we can be with their incredible feats of escapology from any box anyone tries to fit them into.

—–

Post by Sam

—–

TRACKS:

Bat For Lashes decamped to the idyllic Italian countryside to write and record her third album in an attempt to rid herself of a classic bout of writer’s block.

She got that monkey off her back- no reference to the Mapplethorpe style cover- succeeding in giving us a the most heartfelt record of her short career. Tracks like “Laura“, “Marilyn” and “Lilies” are the pick of the bunch.

Intense and totally naked emotionally… just like on the beautiful cover. – Mario

TRACKS:

For over ten years, album after album, Hot Chip have been carving out their unmistakable niche sound. The London outfit seem comfortable in their own skin free from the pressure of having to conform to the latest trends, instead they have produced a synth filled master stroke that nods to their 80s influences without ever sounding contrived. In a world where electro-pop is possibly at it’s peak popularity wise ‘In Our Heads‘ sounds utterly relevant without chasing trends.

Nicole included it to his top 10 explaining that “Striking a balance between meticulous and unrestrained, slightly absurd, yet totally serious. These guys do it right. Often dance-able and unpredictable, you can get lost in these tracks, which makes for a good time”.

Thom added “the music that comes from those boys heads has possibly the widest ranging influences in modern music and to no greater effect than on ‘In Our Heads’. It’s energetic, incredibly emotional and great all round.”

TRACKS:

Having released two albums in 2012 it’s quite easy to add “prolific” to the list of reasons to be jealous of Andrew Bird. ‘Break It Yourself‘ remains an undoubted highlight reproducing all the elements you associate with his past work- naturally violins and whistling- but can be considered stripped back by the standards set by the talented multi-instrumentalist.

Emily said  ”I gave this album a full run down in May, but the short version is that ‘Break it Yourself‘ is a folky alternative masterpiece. The songwriting is near flawless, and Bird is disgustingly talented in general”.

TRACKS: