Cougar Microbes are marching in like army ants…

I find it difficult to be impartial about a group who have named themselves after the best left-back football has ever known. Screaming Maldini clearly know world class when they see it parading around a football pitch in a red and black striped shirt. However, do they have the expertise to compare with the majesty of their namesake in a parallel musical universe? It’s certainly a big ask.

Alcopop, landlords to Wolf Am I and My First Tooth, are the label to have taken the leap of faith in the Sheffield six-piece. On the evidence of five-track EP ‘And The Kookaburra’ the leap is anything but a blind one.

From the get-go the words that spring to mind are ‘angular’, ‘melodic’, ‘orchestration’ and most certainly ‘pop’. Screaming Maldini are experimental with song structures, as you would want your emerging artists to be, without disappearing up their own buttock valleys. They weave rock breakdowns into pop songs as effortlessly as they drop atmospheric horn sections and light percussion over their boy/girl harmonies.

Often with EPs it is difficult to know how many ideas an artist has left in the bank and hence how they would transfer their energy to a full length. Screaming Maldini show enough variety within each track, from opener ‘Secret Sounds’ to closer ‘Miniatures’, to reassure the doubter that they could make the transition with the greatest of ease.

These folks are definitely worthy of that oldest of clichés used pretty much whenever referring to emerging artists; ‘ones to watch out for’. Having said that, I’d still rather have good old Paolo over to dinner.

‘And The Kookaburra‘ is out now on Alcopop Records

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Post by Kenny the World Cup medal winner.

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TRACKS:

Screaming Maldini – The Extraordinary

Northampton’s premiere purveyors of indie-folk My First Tooth returned with a consolidated lineup and the release 4-track EP ‘Margaret Yen‘ last month.

Singer-songwriter Ross Witt was officially joined by violinist Sophie Galpin meaning that the guitar and violin interplay seen on the ‘My First Tooth And the Rubies’ EP has gained further prominence.

With a full length debut expected later this year these tracks are a good indication of the direction the band is moving in. Check out the special “quiet” rendition of ‘Margaret Yen’ dedicated especially to Cougar Microbes (and the blog readers too I assume).

The ‘Margaret Yen’ EP is available now on Alcopop Records.

TRACKS:

My First Tooth – Silent Spring

Emulating Jimmy Eat World, who self-funded their album ‘Bleed American’ in 2001 before licensing the release to DreamWorks records, Wolf Am I wrote and recorded debut LP ‘Lead The Way’ earlier this year then promptly set about finding a label to promote it. That label was Alcopop! Records, who boast an impressive back catalogue including a 2006 release by Cougar favourites Encyclopedia, waiting in the wings.

The resulting album is both confident and proficient and flows from groove heavy verses to anthemic choruses. First single ‘Glasgow 7‘ comes complete with big harmonies, chorus-heavy nicely toned guitar, dirty power chords and driving bass conjuring up similarities to big acts like Thursday and Taking Back Sunday. The Berkshire boys can hold their own in this company.

Unfortunately, resulting from the influx of Drive-thru Records bands in the early to mid noughtees, it remains to be seen whether there is still a UK market for uber-polished-American-infused-emo-college-rock. Only time will tell.

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Guest post by Kenny the aggravator

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TRACK:

Wolf Am I – Lex Talionis

I love instances where people are investing their time and effort into independent music, often with little or no reward, so when Alcopop Records sent me 2 of their latest releases a few weeks back I was happy to give them a spin. Add that to the fact that Alcopop is sister label to the fantastic BSM (whose bands The Tupolev Ghost and Copy Haho were recently covered on Cougar Microbes) and you can understand why I was keen to dive deeper.

First up are scouse-core band goFASTER>> whose 5 track EP, ‘A Modern Education’, is a welcome reminder that the summer is round the corner. Imagine the melodies and immediacy of The Maccabees and the cheeky lyrics of early Blur combined. However, you’d be making a mistake to tar them immediately with the “Brit pop revivalist” brush as there are times when gF veer into the territory usually occupied by the likes of Bloc Party and Idlewild. This EP showcases the band as a prospect to look out for, now is the time to combine all these separate references and turn them into the goFASTER>> trademark sound.

Fusing different influences is something Northampton’s My First Tooth do with extreme proficiency hinting at Beirut orchestrations and Bright Eyes melancholy whilst maintaining a distinctly British identity. The resulting EP ‘My First Tooth And The Rubies‘ offers spacious song structures, haunting melodies and a habit for minor key laments. Equal importance is given to strummed guitars and gentle violins (with the occasional guest appearance from trumpets, xylophones and harmonicas) to provide the melodic backing leaving the vocals out in the open to provide The impetus for the tracks. A little trick that works wonders and provides the highlights here.

‘My First Tooth And The Rubies‘ is the complete antithesis to ‘A Modern Education’ in both style and approach, but is in no way less impressive. I’m surprised more people haven’t heard of these bands but hopefully these EPs will change all that.

MP3′s:

goFASTER>> – A Modern Education

My First Tooth – Honesty Honesty

Buy these release now directly from Alcopop Records