I had the pleasure of seeing The Robbie Boyd Band play at Beach Break Festival last year, and their upbeat and energetic folk pop really made the trip worthwhile. Boyd’s ear for a melody, chipper demeanour and wide range of energetic stringed instrumentation and vocal arrangement was charmingly captivating.
The new single ‘I Won’t Let You Go’ has embodied everything that The Robbie Boyd do best: Delivering irresistible vocal melodies to twinkling ukulele and mandolin style guitars, shuffling snares and flawless harmonies. They really do have a knack for writing perfectly concise pop songs that sound as timeless as if they could have been written a hundred years ago in front of campfire.
This is adjoined to a video of the same sweet nature with a female love interest that you really would step over your own mother to get near.
Katzenjammer’s reputation of a raucous bohemian folk band has spread like wildfire.
With the album ‘A Kiss Before You Go’ on the way in May, the song ‘I Will Dance (When I Walk Away)’ finding its way into every nook and cranny of the industry, this very stylish and upbeat girl group may very well find themselves at the top of their game just around the corner.
The new single ‘Rock-Paper-Scissors’ is as catchy as it is raw energy, coupled with a video that only emphasizes these traits further. It has the melodies and reflectiveness of a poetic folk ballad with a certain sass and punk edge that lends itself fantastically to these bold, organic pop songs.
‘Rock-Paper-Scissors’ has the rowdiness of Gogol Bordello with the introspection of Joni Mitchell, if she had kicked the stool away and gave it some.
Anne Marit, Marianne, Solveig and Turid turn banjo, mandolin, fiddle, bass, and drums into something captivatingly pop, gypsy and free spirited.
David J Roch is an undertaker. He has the voice of a banshee and the sounds of a great John Carpenter movie.
‘Dew‘ was the first single from Skin & Bones as well as the first song I heard from him; it’s reverb is as haunting as the harsh wails from Rochs throat, boiling nails full of regret.
“She Don’t know what I’ve seen“, he dreads.
Despite the grim nature of the lyrics, it’s actually pretty sexy. It has groove and a swing, jazz club quality about it. I can picture a Tom Wait‘s-like figure sillhoetted in a dirty jazz club smoking a cigarette, accompanied by an upright bass player and a fella knocking a floor tom.
It’s open space lyrics style is slightly Bowie, it’s dark, beautifully mournfulness is slightly Danzig, it’s sexier than Bowie and more grim than Danzig.
‘Skin & Bones‘ is relentless, but beautifully so. This will make for an engrossing album I’m sure.
One of my thingies is not to read up on bands before I listen to them. I think it makes for better listening when you don’t know anything about them and your head is clear of pigeon holing and stereotypes to enjoy the music.
When I sat down and listened to the neat 4 track debut EP from Gunning For Tamar, what I got was a tight and visceral helping of angular rock, where the vocals are thoughtful yet punk and the jagged edges of bass and tapped guitar all add up to something I could go mental too in a club and later on enjoy figuring out what it’s all about.
‘Time Trophies‘ EP, released on Alcopop! covers more ground in four songs than most rock bands do in a full length LP.
‘Chocolate Hooves‘ slaps you round the face and then caresses it, winding up like a spring and ejecting walls of addictive complicated melodies.
The old pub piano led ‘Astronaut-Abort‘ twinkles below and mournful yet busy exterior and climaxes as well as any epic guitar led crescendo I’ve heard.
The jewel in this EP comes last though, when the boys let their creativity shine with the electronic sounds of a remix of ‘Time Trophies‘, buzzing and clicking, enphasizing the whirring vocal melodies and as with every song on this handful of beauties, is as tight a as a bum and as well deserving of the success I’m sure is awaiting them.
It was an eye opening moment when Radiohead released ‘In Rainbows‘ and gave their fans the choice of at what price to purchase it at. The moral implications of this were far greater than one might think in this disposable era.
Jonathan Dagan aka J. Viewz decided his latest project would be as modern and intelligent as the music of that he produces. In the early stages of this mini masterpiece, fans would pay for an album in advance and release a song a month, sent digitally, before culminating the album and producing a twenty six page booklet with beautifully thoughtful artwork. This would leave fans with a full package, yet by giving them small chunks of a whole, leaves fans desperate for the next song and in turn, a sense of longing for the finished piece.
Musically it is a very exprerimental yet expressive album, lying somewhere between Neon Indian, Passion Pit and Zero 7, up beat electro pop backdrop sometimes submerging beneath a watery haze of chillout lounge, and minimalist soul.
‘Meantime‘ is a great example of these two themes melting together, with Japanese house synths and soft vocals rolling like two colours of smoke above a solid lanscape of straight beats.
As time goes on, genres will get harder and harder to define and redefine, and J. Viewz is no exception. The trip-hop meets go-go dance funk of ‘This City Means No Love‘ and the Peter Bjorn and John meets late eighties LA hip-hop of ‘Salty Air‘ both don’t feel out of place, and even compliment each other. They are as unpredictable as the times of music ahead.
‘Building A Home‘ is a beautiful slab of creative layers, energetic and bold, yet thoughtful and stark. What follows it is in my opinion the strongest song on the album and keeps these themes alive. ‘Far Too Close‘ is as pop as it is creative.
While straying far from each other, each track on ‘Rivers And Homes‘ is undeniably J.Viewz.
Chairlift seem to do what most electro pop bands cannot, and that’s edit themselves. The critically acclaimed ‘Does You Inspire You‘ along with its heavily promoted single ‘Bruises‘ was subtle in it’s use of synthesizers and reverberated sound.
The Latest album ‘Something‘ is comprised of much lusher and moving arrangements with a backdrop of retro midi synths and themes of uncertainty and human greed. The eighties reverberation only reinforces the darker shades from this era from the unshakable motivational moods of the times, to the corporate greed and oppression.
This album is in no way claustrophobic though, it is exceptionally wide and poignant, evidence of a band at the top of their game and brimming with confidence. The warmth of this this record is what shines through and I’m sure Ghandi would’ve have something irritatingly wise to say here.
Singles ‘Sidewalk Safari’ and ‘Met Before’ are fantastic examples of this production along with the modern chic indie pop, lying somewhere between Cocteau Twins ethereal ripples and Blonde Redhead‘s stylish cooing. ‘I Belong In Your Arms’ is bold and concise and, much like the whole album, is unbelievably catchy.
The addictive bass lines from ‘Amanaemonesia’ and ‘Wrong Opinion’ should back the single pillars from this album perfectly, offering not only a record that would suit a cult 1980’s B-Movie, but also a dose of dream pop to shake your arse to wildly.
Made the Cougar Microbes Top Albums of 2011 list here
2. M83- Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming
Made the Cougar Microbes Top Albums of 2011 list here
3. The Strokes – Angeles
On their latest album, The Strokes never promised to be anything other than themselves. Although rarely wandering from their earnest and melodic rock and roll, ‘Angles‘ is another visceral slice of slick indie.
4. Lykke li – Wounded Rhymes
Made the Cougar Microbes Top Albums of 2011 list here
5. Gil Scott-Heron & Jamie xx – We’re New Here
Made the Cougar Microbes Top Albums of 2011 list here
6.Tieranniesaur - Tieranniesaur!
Tieranniesaur have the perfect mix of dirty dance riffs and pop melodies, ‘rockblocker‘ off their debut album was the perfect summer drunken night, and one of the coolest songs of the year.
7. Beastie Boys – Hot Sauce Committee Part II
Made the Cougar Microbes Top Albums of 2011 list here
8. Alexander – Alexander
Made the Cougar Microbes Top Albums of 2011 list here
9. The Whip – Wired Together
The Whip really nailed their sound on wired together. It saunters with unshakable confidence, delivering atmospheric and avante garde synth pop whilst never getting above it’s station.
10. White Lies – Rituals
Even without the atmospheric density and grit that covers ‘Ritual‘s outer punk rock layers, it is an album of solid songwriting. Its fog only creates a more complex and moving second album.
A double album in this day and age is perhaps a tad over ambitious but if anyone could have pulled it off it had to be monsieur Anthony Gonzalez of M83 fame.
For his sixth album outing Gonzalez succeeding in making an album that would satisfy his loyal internet following as well as imprinting itself on the minds of causal listener. The result is a flurry of vaguely related genres delivered with majestic quality.
Our boy Thom said that “the sound of M83 can both rush me back to my eighties upbringing whilst harmoniously keeping my spirits high for the whole of the music industry. ‘Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming‘ was as epic as the title suggests. ‘Midnight City‘ was my favorite single of the year“.
Olivia then concluded sweetly saying she “could go on and on about this album but I’ll make it short : it simply is my favourite for this year and probably one of the most breathtaking album I have ever listened to. Anthony Gonzalez at his best!’
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