Cougar Microbes

Lions At Your Door are a band I have been meaning to write about for a while now. The Sydney gang’s ‘self titled‘ EP was frequently spun at Cougar HQ, coming across like the bastard child of Blondie and early Pretty Girls Make Graves. Forgoing the typical band lineup by adding a full time violinst augmented their already loud ruckus of jangly guitars, spooky organs and high-hat heavy drumming. Undoubtedly the bands true ace up their collective sleeve is singer Marihuzkha booming voice which dominates proceedings daring you not to pay attention.

Despite the bands indie leanings they remain catchy as fuck so I am not at all surprised to see this sextet’s music translate into other arenas, which is exactly what is happening courtesy of Gash Digital. The British label is set to release a remix album of the bands signature tune ‘LAYD‘ drafting in DJs from all corners of the world. The new mixes show Lions At Your Door in a new light spreading their appeal to new audiences.

Check out these storming tunes and THAT voice.

MP3′s:

Lions At Your Door – C-C-C-Crossfire

Lions At Your Door – LAYD (Mailer Daemon Mix)

For the two people in the world who haven’t seen it this is a bloody brilliant 2006 music video by OK Go for their single ‘Here it Goes Again’. The Holy Wikipedia tells of the 17 takes required to capture these three minutes of Trish Tsie choreographed genius. The video is an ever-so-slightly higher budget sequel to the arguably even more brilliant ‘A Million Ways’ video. Both showcase indie-pop gems mimed by bald OK Go bassist Tim Nordwind and not hairy-headed OK Go singer Damian Kulash. Both videos are static single shots. Both videos are magic.

Fast forward a couple of years to school summer holidays 2008 and I’m sitting down to watch the brilliant Wall-E at the cinema surrounded by a bunch of offloaded spoiled brats. I’ve never been one to sit comfortably through the stream of pre-feature garbage they throw at you in cinemas. Regardless, this particular cinema experience is more uncomfortable than you would expect, and it has nothing to do with the little shoeless kid whose feet smell like Billingsgate Fish Market. Some bloody bastard has filmed, as an advert, four people dancing around on treadmills to a catchy indie-pop song (‘Living on the Ceiling’ by Blancmange) and whacked a glass of orange piss-dyeing liquid into the mix. There’s even the bald protagonist for comic value. Berocca it claims makes you feel like “you, but on a good day”. Not today then. Not after witnessing daylight robbery! Well, projector light robbery at the very least. How blatant is this?

I assume, unless people are blind or senile, that this must be one of the most written about topics on the net. It has taken me a good few months to post about it as I didn’t have a blog at the time. However, I wanted to go on record and blog with my two pennies worth.

Uhum… JWT advertising agency; you shameless, uninspired, ethic-less sacks of steaming devil-turd. The fact that a “professional advertising agency” would identically reproduce an artist’s concept insofar as to use the exact same choreography while trying to pass it off as their own work is insulting enough. The fact this “professional advertising agency” would feel they could raise production value through use of montage technique points to artistic ignorance, lack of appreciation, or at best laziness. The fact that this “professional advertising agency” would use said concept to promote a pharmaceutical firm such as Bayer simply adds insult to injury.

Why, oh why is this travesty still being broadcasted onto my telly? Blog over.

-When I first saw the incriminating evidence I was incensed and made a mental note to write about this travesty myself but Kenny illustrates his indignation so well that  I thought I should share it in his words. Here is his original post on the KUTF blog.

I’ve read somewhere that there is a court case pending. Apparently one of the first intellectual property cases involving theft of dance moves.

MP3′s:

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

The first time I saw Hundred Reasons was years and years ago in a small venue in for one of their early London shows. Most of the crowd were disinterested at first, not giving the band too much time or respect, with the exception of a group of hard core fans at the front who knew every word by heart and cherished every riff. By the end of the show the every last person had been won over and the room became one big ball of sweat and energy.

I was naturally delighted for With the Surrey lads when they signed for Columbia and bought their debut album along with many of my friends, doing my little part to propel Ideas ‘Above Our Station‘ to number 6 in the UK charts. For a while we all believed the illusion that a hard working British band could play the major label game and succeed simply on the basis of a passionate following and a kick ass live set.

The next time I saw them was just a few months after the album release at Brixton Academy. In comparison to the previous show this venue was humongous, Hundred Reasons had arrived. To be completely honest I did not have the greatest time at that show.  I was convinced half of this crowd were only in attendance to see “the next big thing”. Looking back I appreciate that this was an elitist view but, in contrast with the genuine excitement I had seen a few months before, this bunch seemed mechanical in their devotion. Yes they knew all the songs but more in the way you memorise a mathematics equation; out of need, not necessity.

The massive stage seemed to hinder the bands performance and disrupt the bond they formed with their following. They almost seemed lethargic and rarely interacting with each other (or the crowd) in what I remember as a distinctly cagey performance. Coming back to a huge show in London after having “made it” was probably a stressful scenario and, despite a few highlights, I felt the band didn’t fully deliver. At the time I didn’t know it but this would be the last time I would see them for a while…

Fast Forward to early 09 and on a whim I bought tickets for Hundred Reasons live at the Islington Academy. In a fit of nostalgia I wanted to see what the band could produce a few years after their meteoric rise to major label success and subsequent publicised drop once the “emo” cash cow had been bled dry. Cougar Microbes called me up a few days before the show asking if I wanted to review it, my reply:

“you bastard I have already bought tickets!“

The crowd is a mix of the old guard, who probably witnessed HR‘s’ first coming, and a new generation of kids who seem to have learnt each and every word by heart. The cynic in me has disappeared and I’m delighted Hundred Reasons are serenading a new generation who were probably too young when the band initially hit the headlines. Remaining “relevant” is tough and HR could have been washed away in a boat with the many other early 00s emo upstarts. Instead they have regenerated their audience and breathed new life into their career.

Tonight I am convinced this is the perfect scenario for Hundred Reasons. Take away the unrealistic expectations from their shoulders and what you get is a band playing their hearts out without a worry in the world, going out of their way to draw a connection with each and every person attending and crucially turning on the magic factor. The band dip into all 4 of their releases in a relentless attack that hits you wave after wave, anthem after anthem.

Inevitably, the highlights for me are hair raising performances of ‘Silver’ and ‘If I Could’ which see every person in the crowd (I’m convinced the bar staff were chanting too) join the band in a mass sing along which comes close to being a religious experience. As I step out of the venue their is evident excitement in the air and a few people can’t take the grins off their faces. This 5-headed monster is here to stay and judging by the crowd tonight have a guaranteed fan base for years to come.

Hundred Reasons new album ‘Quick The Word, Sharp The Action‘ is out now.

MP3′s:
Hundred Reasons – Silver

Hundred Reasons – If I Could

Buy it on Amazon

Since its launch last summer Cougar Microbes are marching in like army ants… has been growing in new and exciting directions.  advice from friends, readers and anyone willing to share an opinion has been taken on board when planning the first site upgrade. Thanks to them (and far more sleepless nights than I had bargained for) Cougar is now a self sufficient beast.

“The unknown future rolls toward us. I face it, for the first time, with a sense of hope. Because if a machine, a Terminator, can learn the value of human life, maybe we can too” - Sarah Connor

When I started this site I had no idea who, if anyone, would be reading and how they would react. There have now been 7 guest writers covering a range of artists and genres and more scheduled for the near future. This natural evolution means the blog has now outgrown its initial home at WordPress. I’m glad to be unveiling a new look website that will allow Cougar Microbes to grow in scale and reach out beyond its initial ambition.

The aim remains to feature an array of tracks (both past and present) with the goal of promoting amazing releases and raise the artists profile and I hope to deliver with deliver an entertaining, informative and passionate music blog . So update your browsers to COUGARMICROBES.com and subscribe to the new RSS FEED.

Thank you for your support and thank you for reading so far,

Boaz.

MP3′s:

James Brown – Papa’s Got A Brand New Bag

The Postal Service – Brand New Colony

What the hell is The Tupolev Ghost? I hear you ask…beats me, but if you were to ask who the hell are The Tupolev Ghost (TTG)?…well that’s where I can assist!

TTG are a Post-Hardcore band from Cambridge (Yes, British Talent!), drawing many influences from bands which rank highly within my CD collection so of course I instantly relate to their sound. That’s not to say they are predictable or some kind of copycat band, their uniqueness is prevalent throughout their self titled EP.

Vocals in any band are vital and what I like about this gang’s vocals is that they are not afraid to sound English. Far too many bands pollute the airways with generic American vocals despite hailing from these shores; I have nothing against American vocals, I just prefer they come from American bands. The excellently delivered speak/sing/shout blueprint of TTG forms a tight and natural bond with the music.

Straight from the imaginatively titled intro ‘Untitled‘ into ‘Zeroes and Noughts” you can tell this band means business with their stampeding rhythm section and intricately layered guitars akin to early At the Drive-In and in some instances Minus the Bear. In my opinion ‘Diagrams‘ is the standout track, rhythmically cutting yet hypnotic all the same drawing you in with its staccato riffs and melodic breakdowns. You can’t help but walk away singing the line “…put pen to paper, spell it out for me…” and when you walk away with a line in your head you know you’ve succumbed to a cool vocal hook.

The next track on this mini-album is the truly epic “Giant Fucking Haystacks”, colossal by name – colossal by nature. It marauds through Fugazi-esque riffs with early At the Drive-In style arpeggios for company and melody; I cannot wait to hear this live! The band then show a darker side on ‘The Night‘ where again a Fugazi influence is evident on this angular slice of post-hardcore bliss. The middle 8 breakdown is simple, effective and sublime all at once as the track crescendos and picks up momentum before exiting to the soundtrack of an arpeggio duel and a brief riff-tastic flourish.

The final instalment ‘Our Great Destroyer‘ reminds me of the intelligent UK post-hardcore that The Copperpot Journals used spoil us with not so long ago, this can only be deemed a compliment.

The Tupolev Ghost are notorious for turning the volume up as high as they can for their shows and destroying all in their path, upon listening to this I say…BRING IT ON!!…yes even you Mr Haystacks!!!

MP3:

The Tupolev Ghost- Diagrams

‘The Tupolev Ghost‘ self-titled EP is out now on Big Scary Monsters

Buy it now on Amazon

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This is the first guest post on Cougar Microbes by the legendary Surge and hopefully there will be alot more coming from him in the coming months.

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Following in the footsteps of The Libertines, Klaxons and the almighty Blur here come South East London’s latest exciting protégées, Kick Up The Fire. The Deptford quartet has not looked back since adding new guitarist Alan and changing name from Raid on the Arcade early this year.

This Friday (3rd of April) sees them showcase their ‘groove-based melodic rock’ in support of a Dirty Pretty Things DJ set at Lewisham’s famous Dirty South venue. This track is a taste of why a lot of people are getting excited about Kick Up The Fire at the moment. Get on your dancing shoes!

MP3:

Kick Up The Fire – I Heart Disco Beats