Cougar Microbes are marching in like army ants…

Remember we raved about those guys Wolf Am I and Screaming Maldini a few months back? Well record label Alcopop have only gone and unearthed another gem.

The Attika State hail from just down the road and around the corner; Sicily, Malta, Sri Lanka and Wisbech to be specific. ‘Celebration?’ is the first single from their upcoming album ‘Measures’ and by golly gosh does it a pack a power-pop-punch. Rammed full of noodly guitars, driving rhythms and the obligatory anthemic chorus this track suggests these guys know how to write a hum-dinger of rock tune.

If b-side ‘Recycle’ is any indication, I strongly anticipate a hum-dinger of a rock album to follow.

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Post by the bothersome Kenny

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TRACKS:

The Attika State – Celebration?

On the basis of Tokyo Police Club’s debut album ‘Elephant Shell’ they are a strange breed of band. There are elements to their sound, specifically the über-polished elements, which almost turn you off. Almost. But there is simply far too much about this outfit to get excited about. Firstly they are Canadian, and you wish you were Canadian. Secondly the album was released on Saddle Creek. Thirdly, and crucially, they seem to have a fresh, different, brilliant idea for every day of the calendar year.

And so it goes that ‘Favourite Food’, the opening track from new album ‘Champ’, sounds like nothing they have done before, yet provides exactly what you were hoping for. Bastards! The trend simply continues throughout the album. ‘Breakneck Speed’; infectious as hell, ‘Bambi’; creative as hell, ‘Hands Reversed’; melancholic as hell, and ‘Frankenstein’; hell raiser, albeit a slow burning one.

Tokyo Police Club have a knack of writing songs that sit somewhere between indie and straight out pop with a healthy slab of old school punk rock spirit. You can probably deduce from my transcribed salivation that their music is increasingly becoming part of my staple diet. It ought to be part of yours too.

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Post by Kenny the Scientologist innit

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TRACKS:

Tokyo Police Club – Favourite Food

Hailing from Hemel Hempstead, a stones throw from London, The Dufflefolks are not your average peddlers of Casio infused art.

True; the four-piece layer synthesised drum patterns, with laidback melodies and minimalist instrumentation. However they do so with an effortless nod to The Postal Service, LCD Soundsystem, Passion Pit and Fenech-Soler and without a hint of formulaic predictability.

This lot are yet another exciting British prospect to keep a very close eye on. Enjoy.

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Post written by Kenny the Ref hater

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TRACKS:

The Dufflefolks – Thomas Crapper

The Dufflefolks – Homegrown

The time is nigh. The hour of reckoning is upon us… again. Elections 2010 and, as usual, politics is popular for a few weeks. This time perhaps even more so, given it’s on the telly.

Unfortunately we don’t have a British Barack Obama able to blend charisma and policy. We have a grumpy man with a creepy smirk, a posh man with a shiny chin and no upper lip, and a posh man who looks like a posh 12 year-old.

If you’re as confused as most people are about what each party actually stands for then visit www.votematch.org.uk and rock on down to the polling booths tomorrow.

TRACKS:

George Pringle – Fellini For Prime Minister

Burning Airlines – Election-Night Special

Radiohead – Electioneering

A few weeks ago Papa Cougar and I shared an earphone each, and a tube journey home, as he played me Chicago’s Pet Lions. They were, he informed me, well overdue a review at Cougar HQ. Without hesitation I jumped at the opportunity to spout my opinionated take on debut EP ‘Soft Right’.

Let’s start off by addressing the elephant in the room; you’d be unlikely to listen to this release without immediately noticing striking similarities to The Strokes. Firstly, lead singer Karl Østby’s vocals are certainly delivered in a similar vein to Julian Casablancas’, though perhaps they lack some of the panache. This is compounded by guitar sounds borrowed from ‘Room On Fire’ and Moretti-esque, simple but effective, straight rock drum patterns.

However, Pet Lions are not rip-off merchants by any stretch of the imagination. ‘Soft Right’ unveils lyrical prowess and a knack for crafting inventive song structures. There is a strong college element to the whole affair but thankfully it is more Vampire Weekend than Wheatus. When married with confident meandering bass lines and a mature approach to space within music the overall result is a release that is more than worthy of a few spins.

Pet Lions’ ability to hammer out a catchy dynamic pop song suggests they may well graduate to bigger and better futures. If so it is more likely to be in the shape of ‘I Will Track You Down’ than the more immediate ‘Roman History’ which, despite sounding like a billboard contender, veers that little bit too close to Strokes territory.

the ‘Soft Right‘ EP is available by signing up to the band’s mailing list.

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Post by Kenny the pragmatist.

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TRACKS:

Pet Lions – Roman History

Pet Lions – I Will Track You Down

Zane Lowe’s Radio One listeners were last night treated to a live session by Oxford’s angular indie heroes Foals. Over here at Cougar HQ some of us love Foals, others love The Police and some of us hate them both. We managed to agree that this version of ‘The Bed’s Too Big Without You’ is pretty ace. Enjoy

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written by Kenny the manipulator

TRACK:

Foals – The Bed’s Too Big Without You (The Police cover)

Frightened Rabbit came to my attention back in December with a blistering set opening for Modest Mouse at Shepherd’s Bush Empire. I should, perhaps, have had my eye on them much earlier. Nevertheless, they have eased into the public eye after the release of second album ‘The Midnight Organ Fight’ and an impressive performance on BBC2’s The Culture Show last year. March saw the jock’n’rollers release their third album, a milestone which more celebrated acts from The Strokes to Razorlight have struggled with in recent years.

Thankfully ‘The Winter of Mixed Drinks’ serves up pretty much exactly what the doctor ordered; familiar melancholic undertones and plenty of fresh ideas. We’re talking handclaps, vocal intros, shakers, choral arrangements and much, much more. The album moves thematically, from ‘The Midnight Organ Fight’s self deprecating Romeo, to apprehensive adventurer. First single ‘Swim Until You Can’t See Land’ is an ode to [metaphorically] throwing everything at one’s ambition and crucially overcoming the crippling fear of failure. Rousing stuff indeed.

Frightened Rabbit’s releases are always packed with build-ups. However, more often than not the ex-Glasgow School of Art students resist the temptation to break into the anticipated anthem, preferring instead to opt for the unexpected. It is, to a certain extent, what makes them such an exciting act and is a strategy they persist with on this latest offering. The most notable examples are opener ‘Things’, ‘The Loneliness and The Scream’ and ‘Not Miserable’.

What sets ‘The Winter of Mixed Drinks’ apart from previous Frightened Rabbit albums is a sense of heightened focus. There is a more ruthless approach to track selection with only ten full length songs making the final release. Themes are introduced and reintroduced, lending a feeling of completeness perhaps lacking in earlier efforts.

Almost as much a folk group as they are a rock group, Frightened Rabbit are one of the most exciting Scottish exports since Irn-Bru.

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Post written by Kenny the malefic.

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TRACKS:

Frightened Rabbit – Fun Stuff

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