Indie Music Reviews

François and The Atlas Mountains at Rise Music, Bristol - instore session

2012-02-06T06:13:00.000-08:00

Warming up for their sold out show at The Motorcycle Showroom, François and The Atlas Mountains treated the faithful at Rise Music to a stripped-down, early evening performance at the Queen’s Road record shop.

Honoree Bristolian François and his colourful collection of band mates (sporting some charming knitwear) executed a glorious acoustic taster of their bi-lingual indie. They created a cosy atmosphere when the Gallic tones of François invited the audience to sit on the wooden floor and gather around the band; all that was missing was a drop in the lighting and a drop of wine.

With their first album on Domino, E Volo Love freshly released and a string of shows planned, this acoustic set had a warm, homecoming vibe as one-time resident of the city and bandleader François Marry smiled and acknowledged familiar faces in the audience.

In just twenty minutes or so we are all truly treated to sublime live performances of some quite remarkable songs. Piscine, Edge of Town and Les Plus Beaux shimmer with three-fold percussion and sizzling high-end harmonies.

Switching effortlessly between languages adds to the intrigue; the French-sung pieces seem to pack more punch, whether this is because the artists are more comfortable in their mother tongue or that my listening isn't blinkered by following the words.

So good in fact is the dreamy, romanticism of the songs and pitch-perfect delivery, one can’t help but think that Dominos’ first French signings have somehow missed a trick in the making of their latest album. I feel that a little magic has been lost somewhere from when these natural gems, that fall the right side of twee that we heard tonight made it onto the processed, electric studio album. That said the argument is rooted in the excellence of the live performance rather than the shortcomings of the LP.

Underpinned by some African-infused rhythms courtesy of Amaury Ranger, perched on the ledge of the window this brief show, like the album, appears to be ultra casual, yet it is shows musical intricacies and expressive creation in great control and measure.

An array of school percussion is deployed at various stages, reminding the audience that our primary years were perhaps the last we had sat cross-legged on a varnished wooden floor! Though this wasn’t a boring assembly, but more a captivating story time; a magical music lesson with our favourite French teacher…..

Nick

E Volo Love is out now on

Domino Records

Howler - a review of Live in-store performance at Rise, Bristol

2012-01-24T16:19:00.000-08:00

One of Bristol’s independent record shops, Rise played host to Minneapolis band Howler on Monday.

Receiving much critical acclaim (notably number three in the NME top new bands of 2012 list) and with their debut album, America Give Up sitting at number seven in the UK charts it seems Howler’s stock is in the ascendancy.

With the other band members relaxing around the Clifton store, Jordan Gatesmith and Ian Nygaard, both on electric guitar and vocals treated a modest 6pm crowd to a handful of their garage-rock tracks prior to their full-band show at The Louisiana.

The pair then confidently blasted through tracks such as Beach Sluts and Back of Your Neck at the same tempo as the album version, retaining the full band energy without even a hint of things being stripped-back or given in any way a slower, ‘acoustic’ version that we have become accustomed to at such events.

With the clean guitar tones and lack of bass, drums and keyboards these naked renditions sounded far more surf-rock than their album versions. Jordan’s deep vocal paired with the frantic, dueling, fifties guitar-riffing it sounded like it could have been Julian Casablancas should he have grown-up in California and made a band with his surfing buddies.

The friendly banter throughout and a youthful enthusiasm bore well as Gatesmith announced to the gathering “today is my Birthday: the big TWO – O ” to the sober on-lookers.

Howler, well forty-percent of them anyway, tonight added to their growing collection of fans, judging by the rush to the buy their album at the conclusion of the mini-set.

When I told of my appreciation to Nygaard on his performance he seemed humbled; “really? Oh thanks, I’m a little jet-lagged..”.

Jet-lag or not there is no doubt about the potential of this band, whereas they won't get any prizes for originality, they know how to write tunes with a magnetic attitude and fizz.

What is surprising is that the opportunity to meet an act currently with a Top Ten album was taken up by so few. It certainly beat watching The Six O’clock News…..

Nick

America Give Up is out now on Rough Trade and for further band info visit howlerband.com

Difficult Second Album or Triumphant Third? The End of the Sophomore Slump?

2012-01-21T10:35:00.000-08:00

The Maccabees’ Given to the Wild spiked the UK Album Charts last week, debuting at a giddy number 4. This made me realise just how many bands are now ‘nailing’ their third releases.

Artists tend to explode from nowhere with a classic debut album, with songs creamed off of the top of often years of hard song writing. Following it up is often a far greater challenge.

The second album has been viewed as the developmental; a band’s opportunity to transcend their original fan-base, infiltrate the mainstream. Often though, it can kill the hype instantly and be suicidal for any career longevity; the honeymoon is long over.

Remember how the ‘cool’ surrounding The Strokes evaporated in the wake of Room on Fire? Not to mention Peasants, Pigs and Astronauts…

This ‘sophomore slump’ or ‘difficult second album’ can haunt bands at the height of their powers, such as The Enemy who obliterated the entire buzz surrounding them when they chucked-out Music for the People in 2009.

However albums from Metronomy, Wild Beasts, The Horrors and, of course The Maccabees have lead me to believe that there really could be a new trend: the death of difficult second and the amazing third LP!

Metronomy have abandoned the garish electro-pop and monotonal vocals for actual singing and lush, laid back grooves in the Mercury Music Prize nominated The English Riviera.

Wild Beasts crystallised their position one of the nation’s smartest art-funkers with album number two, they now have produced a brooding, throbbing masterpiece in Smother.

The Horrors circa 2007

I believe many wouldn’t think those sulky goths, The Horrors would have been remembered much after their 2007 introduction, but in their third album, Skying they conjure such a euphoric warmth.

..and more recently

The Maccabees now have joined the trend of winning loyal fans with their first offerings, critical acclaim with their second and triumphing with their third.

Perhaps they have all written their Parallel Lines, Screamadelica and OK Computer…..

Nick

House Party Massacre - Interview

2012-01-20T13:39:00.000-08:00

House Party Massacre (aka HPM) have been ploughing punk/ alternative rock as a four-piece from their London base since the tail-end of 2009.

They yield a sound that has obvious origins within late 1990s bands but also draw these metal/ punk/ indie influences from many decades; blending their own sound from this.

Amongst playing and booking shows and writing new material, HPM’s sticksman Seb took the time to have a few words……

Hello Seb, so what is new with HPM?

Hi,we are busy rehearsing for the Emergenza battle of the bands gig; we are in the semi-finals at Dingwalls in Camden. Also we plan on recording a new E.P. to be released in the summer.

Busy then, the best of luck in the competition. Tell me what can fans expect from the new EP?

A more definitive sound. We feel as if we're starting to find our sound more, our first E.P. had different genres that we tried to experiment with and see what we found was better than others. Just a better quality of music all around...

Sounds like you are finding your sound, but what our your influences?

With a certain song we have that we're hoping to have on our new E.P.  John, our lead singer was influenced by The Deftones. 

Blue Youth (on the New Breed) has a Nirvana influence, as is one of our upcoming songs that we've finally finished. 

Another track we have, End of Me wasn't actually directly musically influenced but the Hunter S. Thompson and Kurt Cobain suicides were the main inspiration of that track. 

I've written a song as well that we'll hopefully get done soon; I am aiming for something like System of a Down, especially the track Mind where it has a dark bass riff.

Any further ambitions for 2012 (or beyond)?

We want to just keep doing what we're doing, it's all going well at the moment and we basically just want to finish these songs off to show people our ideas. 

We're also fortunate to be able to go on tour this summer in the UK. We'll be going to Cheshire then onto Manchester and Liverpool. We'll be playing !Bidstock! Festival in Sandbach as well. 

In the future, we just want to get to a point where we're a successful band, playing big venues and making a living doing something we love doing...

In this digital age, where it seems anyone can make a record in their bedroom, it is refreshing to hear of a young band that have established excellent musicianship and song-craft from extensive of gigging and rehearsing.

Only then deciding the time was right to release their début EP, New Breed with two sell-out shows at The Zenith in Islington back in July of 2011.

I am interested to see where the band’s sound will progress from here, but with an outlook and cohesion beyond their years and a genuine love of playing to their fans this could be one party that outgrows its current house…..

New Breed is on iTunes

housepartymassacre.com

Single Review - Seluah - The Other Side of the Gun

2012-01-16T12:26:00.000-08:00

After a six-year hiatus, Seluah, who are four respected touring musicians in Andrew Killmeier, Matt Johnson, Andrew Peace and Edward Grimes have regrouped with a bold, guitar-driven sound.

The Other Side of The Gun clocks in at just three seconds shy of the seven-minute mark and explores various themes in its hefty running time.

Solid and apparently untreated electric-guitar tones meld with live-sounding drums and a vocal that wouldn't be out of place in a more laid back a Nirvana-era moment. Tuneful and thoroughly listenable in its progress, with uncluttered production, The Other Side... delivers a robust and laid back alt-rock track that includes some purposeful vocal harmonies.

Three minutes in and the dirtier guitars join the drums and riffing bass in their building aggression, implying a crescendo or climax of some sort. Unfortunately this doesn't happen as there is a complete pause of a second or two before layered distorted guitars start their surprised assault over the continued tempo. Incorporating clean-delayed guitars also, the remaining two-and-a-half minutes is an interesting section of the song that won't be for everyone but sounds every-bit like the satisfying expressions of some creative musicians who aren't on a particularly tight leash.

Seluah’s The Other Side of the Gun on Karate Body Records is now available worldwide from digital retailers.

Best New Bands 2012 - Ones to Watch

2012-01-13T10:08:00.000-08:00

Half a dozen new artists, tipped for greatness in the new year.......

Zulu Winter

Just released Lets Move Back to Front on Double Denim, with promise of an atmospheric album incorporating elements of Foals, Wild Beasts and The XX in the next first half of the year.

The History of Apple Pie

Causing a stir not just in London, but around the UK and Europe where touring has taken their scuzzy 'melody-over-noise' pop tunes. Initial singles and B-Sides show much promise.

Howler

Rather than play 'name the influences' sit back and enjoy a young, enthusiastic, guitar band that I think the industry is ready for in the new year. Debut America Give Up is out on 16th January.

Tribes

Another new band with a promising debut, Baby, released on 16/01/12. Tribes have that 90s-slacker-vibe but with some less-depressing passages and the odd (Heaven-forbid!) guitar solo.

Lucy Rose

Lucy is stepping out of the shadows, being backing vocalist for Bombay Bicycle Club and judging by the quality of her first three singles, there is little reason to be Red Faced about it (GROAN)!

Thanks

Nick

Single Review - Woman's Hour - Jenni / Human

2012-01-09T10:34:00.000-08:00

Hailing from Kendal, the gateway to the Lake District and now based in London Woman’s Hour, are setting out to make both sparse dense indie-pop songs. This is perfectly illustrated on their Dirty Bingo debut: double A-side single: Jenni / Human, which encompasses influences from various prevalent trends in indie guitar music over the past few years.

Human has a slow-building extended opening half, blending warm synths, guitar harmonics and with a resounding dubstep snare delay. This then unpredictably transforms into a shoegazey, progressively grooving, disco ballad, built around higher-register bass lines and profound vocal wails. The stripped-back music allows for a pleasing minimalism and the use of space to great affect topped with singer Fiona Burgess’s pure voice.

Jenni is a denser track that sounds a bit like The XX, melded with calypso-jangle guitar pop in the vein of Vampire Weekend. It really is a charming piece but the discernible ‘riff’ marking the real start of the song doesn’t register until one-minute and four seconds of twinkling, building introduction have passed.Perhaps these, albeit tuneful and interesting, extended introductory passages should be edited from the single release. Also I would have liked to hear this track with more vocal gusto as the voice flirts with the weaker side of airy.

That said across the singles’ two tracks Woman’s Hour have shown real promise, experimentally producing a couple of hazy and intriguing songs on an overall solid debut.

Nick

New Albums, Old Artists : 2012

2012-01-03T11:28:00.000-08:00

It’s that time again, when the music media focusses our attention the forthcoming releases of the New Year.

Well, looking at the age of some of the artists that promise new material, you could be forgiven for double checking that the date is 2012!

Sir Paul McCartney has a contender for worst album title in history, with reports that his new LP will be called

‘Kisses on the Bottom’……

Rock Bottom - Peter Doherty and Sir Paul

Bruce Springsteen also will put out new material and I

wish Adam Ant success with his comeback release.

It is however, the reformation, new album and tour from

The Beach Boys, to mark their 50^th anniversary that I am most looking forward to in 2012.

Going by this sample of ‘Do It Again’, they are in fine form in the studio (banishing memories of their dubious output in the 1980s/90s) and I sincerely hope that they can still replicate their trademark harmonies on stage.

Fans of harder music can look forward to new material from veterans Aerosmith, Van Halen, Metallica, Slayer and Soundgarden, whereas Motörhead plan a covers album and Guns N’ Roses fans look forward to their new album 25 years after debut 'Appettite for Destruction'.

Steven Tyler after his recent 'fall'

After less-than well received previous long players, 2012 could be career defining for the likes of
Keane, The Killers and MGMT.

MGMT seeking inspiration

True to their word, The Strokes ‘won’t leave it so long’ with a follow-up to last year's Angles in the pipeline already.

Luke warm - Angles (2011) from The Strokes

Garbage are one of the most under-rated bands
of the latter half of the 90s and it is
good to see them back with fresh material.

Finally Bloc Party are ending their hiatus and after much speculation around their future and line-up. Let’s hope they can continue with their excellence and originality………

Back on the Bloc - Bloc Party

The Top Ten Best Songs of 2011

2011-12-31T02:54:00.000-08:00

Mallory

The History of Apple Pie

Melodic, retro, riff-driven noise-pop.
I can’t wait for more from this band in 2012.

Houdini

Foster The People

A real electro-indie gem from the Los Angeles trio.
Bouncy and elevating topped of with a soulful vocal delivery.

Machu Picchu

The Strokes

Perhaps the only offering from Angles that can honestly rub shoulders with the content debut This Is It.
The Strokes at their very, very best.

Youth Knows No Pain

Lykke Li

Perhaps the most upbeat and accessible track from the outstanding album Wounded Rhymes. Reminds me of Santigold, who incidentally promises a new album in the new year.

The Words That Maketh Murder

PJ Harvey

A one of the standout tracks from arguably her greatest album to date, Let England Shake.

Still Life

The Horrors

A real grower. Layered synths, brass and reversed-guitars swelling away gloriously.

Money

The Drums

A song about being broke, that is catchy as hell.

Rolling in the Deep

Adele

Lead single from the mammoth album 21, powerful and with soul; a modern classic.

The Bay

Metronomy

This song had so much going in it, yet it doesn't feel crammed or rushed at all, quite the contrary in its ease.
A hook-laden masterpiece.

Tokyo (Vampires and Wolves)

The Wombats

An epic, synth-heavy, indie-dance stomp-along.

The Best Songs released/ from parent released albums in the year 2011

The Top Ten Best Albums of 2011

2011-12-20T10:53:00.001-08:00

The Wombats –The Wombats Proudly Present: This Modern Glitch

Pop album of the year. Witty, hook-laden and layered in synths; this is good time indie disco at its danceable finest.

The Vaccines –What Did You Expect from The Vaccines?

What Did You Expect…. is an exciting, coherent, rock n’ roll debut and a shining example that guitar music still works.

Wild Beasts - Smother

Smother is smoldering. A steady, intimate collection that is magnificently executed inviting a closer listen to lyrics on sexual tension and rediscovery.

The Antlers - Burst Apart

Burst Apart is uplifting album that displays a great deal of musical ability, wisdom, intelligence and emotional depth.

Adele - 21

21 is simply stunning and genuinely brilliant, even after some major over-exposure to the hit singles. It feels like you've always known it. Adele has left her contemporaries for dust.

The Civil Wars – Barton Hollow

A striking record, packed full of intertwined vocals and sparse, organic instrumentation. Haunting, sultry and mysterious; their voices were made for each other and the songwriting is original and pure.

The Horrors – Skying

An album of sumptuous pop masterpieces; looped beats, beautiful synth layers and effect-drenched guitars. Their best work by far.

Foster The People – Torches

Torches is an authentic ‘feel-good’ electro-indie album. Despite covering darker themes lyrically, the bouncing tunes made it the soundtrack to the summer of 2011.

PJ Harvey – Let England Shake

A rare, timeless sounding collection that works perfectly as an entire album.

The songs are punchy, wise, passionate and often angry; The Mercury Music Prize judges got it right!

Metronomy – The English Riviera

The English Riviera feels like a homecoming, one that's relaxed and at ease, beguiling and sheer delight from start to finish. Gorgeous production. It's got both a Summery sheen and depth.

Metronomy - The Bay on YouTube

Bubbling just under the top ten:

Yuck – Yuck, Bombay Bicycle Club - A Different Kind Of Fix, Battles - Gloss Drop, The Sounds - Something to Die For, The Drums – Portamento, St Vincent - Strange Mercy

The History of Apple Pie - Live 8/12/11 Bristol O2 Academy

2011-12-13T02:49:00.000-08:00

Do not be put off. The History of Apple Pie are far, far superior at writing and performing their scuzzy, noisy, pop-tinged tunes than thinking up a band name.

Opening for New Yorkers The Drums at the O2 Academy in Bristol, the fresh five-piece appear to be relics from a Dinosaur Jr/ Sonic Youth/ My Bloody Valentine low-fidelity dream dating from somewhere just before Nirvana’s ‘Nevermind’ exploded globally.

Dressed in baggy, charity-shop grungery, with a pair of shoegazing guitarists and a downplayed, almost shy stage presence (lead vocalist Stephanie Min only took down the hood of her jumper three quarters the way into the set), The History of Apple Pie look just how they sound.

Laid-back, dirty guitar riffing and down-to-earth, cool bass and drums are noisily melded together in some dazzling, crisp songs. Dreamy vocals, float over this backdrop, but the real magic of the performance comes forth when the harmonization of both female vocalists blend to warmly lift sections of their repertoire, such as recent single release ‘Mallory’.

Elsewhere ‘Science for the Young’ has a retro-rawness of energy, ticking all the identikit-boxes of a recreation of Dinosaur Jrs’ ‘Freak Scene’. Whereas strength in songwriting and arrangement is prevalent throughout the well-received set, melody-over-noise is really the real selling point that the multicultural London quintet wins the audience over with.

In their infancy as a band, they are finding their feet in terms of developing beyond some obvious influences, but with the flurry of excitement in the capital surrounding their initial releases on Roundtable and, with time on their side, expect positive things from The History of Apple Pie over the next year; though it is a little late to change THAT name…….