Still only in their early 20′s Londoner‘s Bombay Bicycle Club released their third album in as many years in 2011. Just as the novelty factor of the foursome being fresh out of school was starting to wear off they produced an album that begs to be described as mature.
Those expecting more acoustic forays in the style of ‘Flaws‘ might be disappointed as ‘A Different Kind Of Fix‘ signals yet another evolution for the band. This time round they showcase a slick layered sound that sits them comfortably at the table with other British cutesy indie stalwarts such as Los Campesinos with the ambition of Editors.
It really feels like they were less concerned with wearing their influences on their sleeves as obviously as in the past. Instead, with the help of producer Ben H. Allen, they recorded an album that nods to American Indie but crucially sounds like Bombay Bicycle Club.
It might have a flaw or two but it sounds like it comes from a genuine place.
Following her impressive debut ‘19‘ expectations were mighty high for Adele‘s comeback. Few could have imagined that the similarly numerically titled ‘21‘, propelled by the incredible single ‘Rolling In The Deep‘, would bring the young singer/songwriter to such dizzying heights.
Still, it would be wrong to attribute the Londoner‘s success solely to this lead single as there are plenty of fantastic moments on display ad demonstrated by the countless Adele tributes that exist on Soundcloud and Youtube.
Cougar writer Emily said “This is the album I’m not ashamed to admit I borrowed from my mum. Although Adele i always in danger of being overplayed, I still am not quite sick of her; for me it is her song writing that stands her apart from all the other ladies with pipes“.
Our boy Cole added ” I love Adele. I love her because she is more engaging with her voice and a piano than Rihanna and Lady Gaga are with million dollar stage productions. Her voice is heartbreaking and ‘21‘ has some of the most sincere young love tracks ever recorded. “Someone Like You”, “Rolling in the Deep”, and “Turning Tables” are all good enough to single-handedly carry a hit record. Whatever heartache (or genius songwriting partners) led to these beautiful songs was well worth it. I will still be listening to this album in 20 years.
Last month I was asked for some tracks to play for the BBC‘s Now Playing @6Music program. I went about picking all the Cougar favorites from the past year and as such Alana Stewart was a perfect fit.
The singer-songwriter, originally from the West Coast but now residing in NYC, wowed me during her live London performances and her album ‘Birth And The Atomic Bomb‘ has deservedly recieved multiple plays. I had always felt the track ‘Boy Next Door‘ was one of it’s strongest moments which is why it was a natural selection for radioplay.
Having already interviewed and reviewed her I’m excited to be able to premier the fantastic new video for the track directed by Brooklyn director Alice Millar with help from artist Heidi Howard. The duo built and hand crafted the entire concept from scratch bringing in a frosty element (the video was shot on a freezing day where Alana‘s limbs were turning blue) perfectly reflecting the protagonists lust for a man who is out of reach both literally and figuratively.
She goes on to explain that the video “plays with the idea that when we are lust-struck, we are manipulated by our object of desire. When it’s mutual, we can manipulate them just as much as they can manipulate us. So I appear to be “real” in the video, and he appears to be the puppet- but nevertheless he is manipulating my thoughts, moves and desires“.
Alana Stewart is an artist we will be keenly following and definitely one for you all to watch in 2012.
“I know loads of you noticed that I dropped the shaker half-way through that song,” announces Jack Goldstein, the unassuming front man of Oxford band Fixers. After a brief apology and deliberation the group reach a mutual decision. “Let’s play it again.”
Most people inside Hoxton Bar & Grill were too busy bopping to notice the slight hitch. They are not complaining though, as the five-piece launch back into an immaculate rendition of ‘Crystals’, a sparse but pulsating slice of pop. This, merged with sweet harmonies, is their signature sound.
The unorthodox decision to replay the same song, to get it just right, is a reflection of Fixers’ craftsmanship and attention to detail, the result of which has seen these boys come far, very quickly. The BBC, NME magazine and the Guardian are all over these guys and it is easy to see why. They layer chiming guitars over electro samples and build up to epic choruses – without straying into Snow Patrol territory.
Every song is greeted with approval from the eclectic mixture of observers, which ranges from hipsters in their twenties to old timers with – evidently – cultured tastes. The set is paced brilliantly with a blend of up-beat grooves and lower key atmospheric moments that keep everybody engaged throughout.
Taken from their upcoming EP ‘Imperial Goddess of Mercy’ the lyrics “I’m in love with a tropical world” on ‘Trans Love’ just about sum up the mood inside the venue. There is definitely an element of sunshine to Fixers’ music.
It seems harsh to pick out individuals in what is so obviously an all round talented outfit, but drummer Michael Thompson is worthy of a special mention. He barely drops a beat all evening and injects an incredible amount of energy, the evidence of which glistens on his forehead as the evening progresses.
After an hour of top tunes, the band closes with new single ‘Majesties Ranch’. This dynamic tune, driven at times by dirty guitar and at times by three-piece harmonies, sounds like something the Beach Boys may have dreamt up if they were touring Africa in the 80s.
As the set draws to a close Fixers thank the crowd politely and wish us all a very pleasant evening. We like Fixers.
Cougar Microbes has teamed up with Southern Comfort to offer one lucky reader the chance to take three mates to the Southern Comfort Juke Joint party on the 17th November at Islington’s Metal Works.
On the dance floor you’ll rub shoulders with live brass band musicians as they jam along to beats by DJs Blonde Ambition, The Dixon Brothers, Domin8or and John Hendicott.More importantly headlining the one-off night will be Hot Chip’s very own Joe Goddard.
To enter simply answer the following question in the comment section below:
What is your favourite Western Movie quote?
The competition is open to UK residents who are over 18 and our winner will be selected at random on tuesday 15th.
These tickets are like gold dust, but if you don’t win, don’t cry, check out facebook.com/SouthernComfortUK for details on the next Juke Joint. Good luck!
We caught up with Alcopop! Records all conquering Jumping Ships to discuss cakes, Bar wiring, late night jams on mobile phones and questionable music purchases. Here is what they had to say:
CM: What time did you wake up today? Was it out of choice or necessity?
JS: 10 o’clock Glasgow time! Necessity – Had a 6 hour drive to the Northern coast of Scotland ahead of us playing in Thurso (look it up on the map.. its 10miles south of John O’Groats)
CM: Describe Jumping Ships to the uninitiated?
JS: Alt-Pop-Rock! Loud and in your face – Get your chops round this!
CM: How have you been killing time on the road, hobbies?
JS: Eating cakes, singing sing songs, watching films, lots of twitter banter and some sight seeing when we get chance – visiting local castles/folies/forts!
CM: What have been your favourite venues to play? Any Venues you hated?
JS: Borderline in London is great, nice high stage, but still pretty intimate. Coalition in Brighton is great. The Milo in Leeds wasn’t really built for the Alcopop! breed of bands – too small, hot and loud. I think they need to rewire the electrics – sort your plugs out!
CM: Is there a song you are simply sick of playing? Do you think that will ever happen?
JS: We’ve toured the first EP around quite a lot, so there are some tunes that start to drag a bit. We’ve played “The Whole Truth” a lot, so it’s nice to give them a rest every now and again, that way you can kind of rekindle your passion for them. Fingers crossed we won’t hate all of our current set at the end of this tour!!! ha
CM: What is the songwriting process like for you guys? Are you able to write on the road or do you do this in your off time?
JS: Mike generally takes the lead in the songwriting process, he brings initial ideas to the table and then him and Kai start working structures and parts together to get the bare bones of a track. Then it’s on to acoustic recordings, they’ll knock a rough recording up and send it to Rich and Al, who will give their input and write parts etc before we get into the rehearsal room.
Then it’s jam time and most of the rest of the work is done in a rehearsal room full band. Lyrics are mostly done over the course of the songs writing process. We try and record things at as many stages as possible, to see how it would translate live and on record. Lots of levels of quality control.
CM: Favourite Jumping Ships track and why?
JS: I’m going to go with ‘Talisman‘ on this one. It’s the one track on the EP that I can’t really put my finger on in terms of how we wrote it/structured it/where the parts actually came from. All of the other tunes I can remember having heard quite solid bases for the tracks before we got it in the rehearsal room, whereas with ‘Talisman‘ I think it was a bit more of an organic writing process – lots of jamming sections out and working with a bit more freedom structurally. Plus it’s lots of fun to play live! We have a winner!
CM: If you could record any cover what would it be?
JS: I think if we were going to record a cover it would have to be completely different to the original. Do our own spin on it and kind of pretty much rewrite the tune. So this might be interesting!
CM: Do your songs go through many revisions via demo recordings?
JS: As we mentioned before, we try and record songs at as many stages as possible. Initial ideas are usually late night jams on mobile phones – then on to more structured acoustic records – recordings from rehearsal rooms – then it’s always nice to hear the track back from a live show before you do a pre production demo recording, prior to the real deal. So yeah lotsss of recording!
CM: What came first, the lyrics or the melody?
JS: As a rule of thumb it’s melody, but sometimes there are lines or little lyrical excerpts that will be noted down as a basis for a song. But it’s all about the melody!
CM: What are your views on auto tune?
JS: Auto tune can be cool if it’s used right. There are loads of artists who use it to good effect and when you know what you’re doing it can sound great. What we don’t like though is when people try to use it to mask a shoddy voice, both live and in the studio. Cher’s been repping the auto tune far too hard haha
CM: Any other band/bands from your local scene we really should know about?
JS: There are some great bands that we’ve gigged around with recently – Spring Offensive from Oxford and Hold Your Horse Is from Camberly are both wicked bands and great lads. Also bands from our label – Lightguides and Delta Alaska are both going on to big things. You probably know about these guys already, but if you don’t – Shame on you!
CM: Most flattering thing you’ve read about yourselves?
JS: There was a note left on our mailing list after playing the main stage at Redfest. A girl had gone to put her email address down and had proceeded to write a full page love letter to the band, pleading for us to contact her. It’s nice when fans love what you’re doing.
CM: What was the first record/tape/cd you ever bought?
JS: Kai – Tape – Prince, CD – Michael Jackson
Mike – Boyz II Men (Outhere Brothers – Party Album on cassette – too cool for school)
Al – Limp Bizkit (Significant Other) + Rage Against The Machine
Rich – Smurfs Go Pop
CM: What was the last song that got stuck in your head?
JS: Lightguides – the last song in their set – still don’t know it’s name, but it’s been rattling around my head every night of this tour. Cracking tune!
CM: What was the last show you paid and queued up for?
JS: Kai – Underoath @ Brixton Academy
Mike – Pulled apart by Horses @ Brighton Jam
Alex – Everything Everything @ Brighton Concorde 2
Rich – Jimmy Eat World @ HMV Forum
CM: If you had to bring on artist back from the dead in exchange for sending a living artist down ,which artists would it be and why?
JS: Amazing question!
Pete Doherty is going down, because he’s not going to be up for long anyway the way he’s going. Think Mick Hucknell can join him as well – We’d swap them for… Drum roll please… John Martyn and Steve Ray Vaughan.
Jumping Ships have just released the ‘Standard Bearer‘ EP on Alcopop! Reocrds
Howling Bells just released their new album ‘The Loudest Engine‘ earlier this month on Cooking Vinyl preceded by first single ‘Into The Sky‘.
The London-based Aussie-formed band recorded in Las Vegas with production duties handled by Mark Stoermer of The Killers. The result is an album soaked in 70s sounds and seemingly influenced by the Nevada state’s expansive desert and it’s most infamous city.
The video for ‘Into The Sky‘ takes this psychedelic message that seeps through these recordings one step further with front woman Juanita Stein looking particularly comfortable in these Austin Powers-esque visuals.
As we headed towards the O2 arena for Smirnoff Sensation 2011 there was a evident buzz on the tube to the venue with everyone already making friends and getting hyped up. Once we arrived we were escorted to the press area but we could admire the insanely long cue of people dressed in white ready to go crazy tonight.
We enjoyed a complimentary drink from our vantage point in the highest tier of the o2 and were shown where we could get the best view which at 9:30 looking down was admittedly still pretty empty. As the venue visibly filled up including the deluxe area -a white castle amongst the stands- we could see the long queues we had spotted earlier gradually trickling in.
As we begun mixing with the crowd one hour lateral and there was a lot of anticipation in the air. It was great to see that Sensation had brought it’s trademark scenery to London. We were able to admire a ginormous jellyfish hanging from ceiling, vast underwater scenery and a spaceship like 360-rotating DJ platform with bubble-like lights sticking out strategically positioned at the centre of the venue.
Nothing was missing from this night that fans wouldn’t recognise from either a previous event or the youtube videos. Close to the launch hour, although not completely full yet, we were ready for the count down which hit us with a repetitive boom. There were fireworks, fountain works, crazy lasers scanning the crowd and the deep echoing recognisable voice of Sensation.
Mr White kickstarted the night injecting the place, which was really filling up now, with dancing fuel. He offered a good electronic beat, deep house with powerful beats. As we moved deeper into the dance floor, we observed (and appreciated) all the kinky and fun costumes. Swans , angels, aliens, carnival, masks, t shirts with puns e.g ’ this is a white t-shirt’, white sunglasses, wigs and all sorts were on display.
Powering on from Mr White‘s performance came Eric E who offered more electric beats to keep the mood going. To be honest the biggest attraction of this set were the huge glowing colourful balls that were tossed around to stimulate the crowd. We tried to get in the mix but it proved really tough to reach up with everyone else.
Joris Vroon & Nic Fanciulliwere on next. Their set tick-tocked its way on to the dance floor quirky electronic sounds. First offering the strong beat from Alex Kenji’s ‘Something About You‘ before carrying with classics from Junior Jack, Daft Punk and Groove Armada, as well as more quirky minimal techno from Plastikman. These guys did not disappoint offering one of the best sets of the night in a lot of peoples’ opinion.
The Smirnoff Mix entailed a mashup of well known tracks like the never failing Benny Benassi ‘Satisfaction‘ mixed with unexpected oldies like Depeche Mode‘s ‘Personal Jesus‘. This was a fun set to that entertained and surprised us. By this point I think everyone in the entire arena was wearing a Smirnoff ring. With its LED light you could see all the grooving hands shimmer looking really cool from the distance
Fedde Legrande opened his set with Madonna music. This electrifying start was magnified by fireworks and Cirque de Soleil style dancers coming down from the ceiling- for me this was the best moment, you actually had to stop and just watch. Again, a great set was delivered on the same level as Nic Fanciulli earlier. You could tell that everyone was ecstatic at this point screaming, wolf whistling and yelling with excitement.
Martin Solveig turned up with his trade mark sweat band around his head hitting with his latest tune ‘Hello‘ right at the beginning of the set. All in all, even if was the DJ we were most looking forward to seeing , he was a bit disappointing as rather commercial on the night. he pleased the crowd with some floor fillers that have rocked our us since our teenage years but we might have found it a bit outdated.
No worries though because Sander Van Door managed to lift the spirits much higher after Solveig set. He too dropped some classics like Zombie Nation with ‘Old School‘ but the beats were a bit more lively. Spectacular fireworks appeared again for the ending followed by a deafening round of applause from the whole arena. Of course there was an encore last smashing tune, and no one dared to leave till it was actually all over and the lights came up
What can I say, Smirnoff Sensation 2011 was truly sensational and I didn’t want it to end. The good news is the mc ended things by saying ‘see you next year’. I think I speak for everyone in saying: I can’t wait!
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Still only in their early 20′s Londoner‘s Bombay Bicycle Club released their third album in as many years in 2011. Just as the novelty factor of the foursome being fresh out of school was starting to wear off they produced an album that begs to be described as mature.
