Ducktails - Ducktails III: Arcade Dynamics (Woodsist)

With the ever increasing encroachment of technology in all corners of the world, from our everyday lives to the way in which art is influenced, created and released unto the public, a vast part of artistic endeavour either looks forward, attempting to develop a new strand of thought and creation, or harks back, drawing upon outdated ideas and styles in order to sound distinct, different and fresh, especially to a young audience raised in a world of digital formats and instantly accessible media. Nostalgic decade and genre reruns are two-a-penny nowadays, from the new rave nightmare to the day-glo 80s revival, but an actual physical return is rare outside of select circles, such as the world of Ducktails, the original pseudonym of Matthew Mondanile, guitarist of Real Estate. His initial solo offerings consisted of stripped back tape cassette recordings, full of fuzzy indistinction and undefined riffs that crackle their way through the thin line of tape that spins and clogs in a physical sensation that is all-but gone in the world of MP3s and USBs.

Whilst such a musical ideology is initially captivating in its simplicity and archaic allure, the unfortunate deficiency of availability of a cassette player, as well as the hazy hum offered forth, provides an automatic barrier for certain segments of a possible audience. Real Estate are a psychedelic pop band who peddle surf rock melted into an aforementioned haze, and it feel’s as if Ducktails has taken on the aura of his band’s work by blending his blurring murmurs with melodic choruses, surf-led, genial guitar and vocals that sweeten the recipe into a surprisingly saccharine spirit on ‘Ducktails III: Arcade Dynamics’.

The opening piece of the record, ‘In The Swing’, bumbles its way into life thanks to a stuttering percussive start and an endearing riff that shuffles it’s way throughout. This ambling approach evokes an instant warming of the heart, sounding far too understatedly joyous to dismiss with a sarcastic sneer. The music feels like a big hug from an old friend, thanks to the tremulous, tender twang of the tracks and the soft fuzz coating the recordings, recalling long lost summer memories from a longed-for youth. ‘Little Window’ contains a tambourine accompaniment that elevates the atmosphere to a much sunnier climate, almost bouncing it’s way higher and higher with each shake and rattle.

‘Killin The Vibe’ is a masterstroke of a lazy, hazy track, using a tropical guitar line and repetition to its utmost, recalling the best of Best Coast and Panda Bear. And, coincidentally, this is made all the more exquisite by the addition of Panda Bear for an alternative version of the track at the end of the album, adding in a big dollop of upbeat vocalisation to provide the cherry on top of the Ducktails cake. ‘Porch Projector’ leisurely sprawls out into a meandering manipulation of sound, breezing it’s way through a blustery, sleepy tone that brings to mind a world of stoner dreampop. This last hurrah of the album is a reminder of the origins of Ducktails, disconcerting and disjointed yet merging into a ten minute treat that creeps along with a comfy, cosy warmth and an improvisational attitude that demands an admiration that simply can’t be gleaned in the highly-glossed, over-produced, three minute pop hits that litter themselves throughout the chart listings.

Words : Adam Parker

La Sera – La Sera (Hardly Art)

Vivian Girls are one of my favourite bands of late because they are a little heavier, a little darker, a little rockier than the other acts making Spector inspired twee-pop. Which is why, by all intents and purposes, Katy Goodman’s candyfloss and teacups side project La Sera shouldn’t have engaged me as much as it has. It is a dream record, in more ways than one. Her voice is rasping silk, woven in and out of maudlin drums and Beach Boys guitar. It is less Shangri La’s and more Sandy Shaw. A summer afternoon 45” with a picture of a teddy bear on the cover played by a little girl on a pink plastic record player. Get the picture? It’s soft, it’s cute, and it doesn’t apologise.

Comparisons will come thick and fast at this time of femme-pop market saturation. La Sera will remind you lyrically of First Aid Kit, musically of Warpaint, and vocally of Metrics’ Emily Haines or Giant Drag’s Annie Hardy (but 10 years ago before the rock and roll lifestyle gruffed her up). There are also heavy notes of shoegaze artists Cocteau Twins and My Bloody Valentine. Personally I found the ‘all girls together’ sleepover vibe, and light as a feather breathy singing, harked back to Girls Together Outrageously and Tyrannosaurus Rex, respectively. It is probably closest, however, to everyone’s favourite new band, Best Coast. This might sound schizophrenic, but in taking from the past, La Sera documents well the signature sound of 2011.

Picking out the best songs on this album is hard, and here in lies the one fault with La Sera, repetition. You could easily say that messing with a perfect system is needless, and there are shifts in mood here, but they are small to say the least. Single Never Come Around is upbeat playful pop. You’re Going to Cry is archetypal sixties girlgroup with its layered vocal and dreary subject matter. Hold is a psychedelic trance-like euphoria, evoking flower fields, maxi dresses, and mushrooms. Dove Into Love is heartbreaking and romantic, as is much of the album.

After falling in love with Vivian Girls I didn’t think I could feel any more gratitude to them than that I’ve been harnessing since the release of 2009s Everything Goes Wrong, but my love affair with Katy Goodman has been rejuvenated with this shot of girlish flower power romance, and I’m swooning at the thought of spending 2011 holed up in a love-lorn idyll with La Sera.

Words : Maya Boustany

All Tomorrows Parties - Bowlie 2 - Friday Butlins, Minehead 10/12/10

So here it is, officially the first day of Bowlie 2. Whilst approximately 6,000 music lovers were making their journey from various destinations across Europe to Minehead, the Middle Boop team were already lying in our chalets nursing the first of a potential four hangovers this weekend. In the midst of all this we decided to have a little wonder around Butlins, in the hope that Pizza Hut would be open for some brunch. It wasn’t. Nor was any other food outlet for that matter. It was quite flabbergasting how quiet it was, with the only other beings on site seemed to be staff of the leisure park and ATP. Of course it was due to pick up in a matter of hours, so we thought we’d head on a mini journey to the hustle n bustle of the Minehead streets, in search of a cafe/pub/chip shop or anything that would basically serve us a large greasy meal. Instead we settled on the one open pub we could find open at 12pm, which name escapes me. Waiting until they started serving food, a mixed grill for £5.95 I think was a bloody good deal, and you may be thinking there’s something dodgy about that. There probably was.

As bands weren’t due to begin until 4.45 we spent the hours leading up till then drinking and watching the brilliant Shane Meadows documentary film ‘Le Donk & Scor-zay-zee’ on ATP TV. We then decided to head up to the arena to catch the opening act of the weekend Daniel Kitson & Gavin Osborn. In typical atp tradition they showcase acts not from the norm and provided us with a nice, albeit bizarre start to the weekend. Kitson told us spoken word tales reading short stories from what I assumed was his book. He spoke rather elegantly without a duff word in hearing. This accompanied by Osborn serenading us with acoustically sung folky melodies in between. Ideal for an opening act, but perhaps would have been more ideal opening the Saturday or Sunday.

The next act on the centre stage were one of the bands I’d been most looking forward to all weekend, Best Coast. Opening with (I think, I could be wrong I saw a lot of bands this weekend)‘Each and Everyday’, Beth Consentino and co ploughed their way through hits from this year’s outstanding debut LP ‘Crazy For You’. Best Coast, a band I’ve had countless opportunities to see in 2010, however this was the first time I’ve managed to catch them, just in the nick of time before the year is out, and glad about that too!

Next up for me were The Zombies, again on the centre stage. Apparently this band have been going since the 1960’s, which me not knowing that shows how much (or little) I know considering I write about music! I’m rather careless when it comes to ancient pop groups strumming away to old tracks from yesteryear. However, these old boys were a lot of fun, getting the near capacity crowd into a sing-a-long frenzy, myself included. Considering I originally thought I knew nothing about them, I didn’t realise how many songs they play I did actually know.

Despite personally not being a huge fan of the latest Foals album, ‘Total Life Forever’, the Oxford quintet are still one of the most energetic, charismatic live bands out there. Headlining the pavilion stage on the Friday night really shows how far they have come since I saw them play tiny clubs and smaller stages at other music festivals. They still manage to own the crowd but this time on a much larger scale, replacing the quick, sharp, mathy numbers with epic anthems from both albums, where tracks such as ‘Olympic Airwaves’ and ‘Balloons’ failing to look out of place amongst their current stage set up. These boys deserve to be playing in front of massive crowds and it wouldn’t surprise me to find Foals playing main stage sunset slots at UK festivals next year.

Back to the chalet before The Go! Team, who I’ve got to be honest, aren’t usually my cup of tea. Yet somehow, this is the third time I’ve seen these guys live, and every time I leave thinking to myself “actually that was pretty darn good”. On this occasion it was probably the best of the three as this was a more intimate affair (compared to others, being Bestival main stage [2005], and pavilion stage at ATP vs The Fans [2007]). Live, these guys are just so tight and danceable with Ninja again justifying herself as one of the best frontwomen around.

Unfortunately, I missed the first half of Steve Mason. However, I did manage to catch a good 20 minutes of his set. As ever, Mason was on top form, be it on his own, or with his backing band, even treating us to a stunning rendition of The Beta Band track ‘Dr Baker’.

Lastly the 1.30am slot belonged to Swedish female four-piece Those Dancing Days. I’ve got to admit I was feeling slightly sluggish at this hour but that didn’t stop them owning the centre stage, despite such a late slot. Wowing the crowd with new songs as well as tracks from their debut LP ‘In Our Space Hero Suits’, my personal highlights from them had to be their rendition of new single ‘Fuckarias’. However, what really impressed their loyal audience and I, was the cameo from Belle & Sebastian’s Stuart Murdoch. Lead singer Linnea Jönsson would subsequently return the favour the following evening during B&S’ set.

So with the bands over with for one day it was tunes and dancing in Crazy Horse, then bed. Even though for us at the time it felt like more than halfway through the festival this was in fact only the beginning. And if you thought day one was good, it was going to get better.

Words: Freddy Rothman

Photos : Linz Smith and Gordon Reid

Those Dancing Days Interview “Everything is gonna happen for us in 2011."

Home sweet home, Those Dancing Days are back in London. The Swedish quintet are excited about their second album Daydreams And Nightmares and they are bursting with enthusiasm to play the new tracks live to a British audience. But before they take to the stage Middleboop had a nice chat with the girls at the Hoxton’s Strongroom Bar.

Middleboop: Welcome back, how’s London been so far?
Lisa Pyk: Good. We went to see Frankie & The Heartstrings last night and we’re excited to play in London tomorrow. Actually, Frankie Francis will sing a song with us tomorrow (their past London show at The Lexington).
Middleboop: You’re playing in London, you’re even playing ATP. Are these UK gigs a test for the upcoming album?
Cissi Efraimsson: I don’t know. We’ve already played in London so it will be more comfortable now.
Rebecka Rolfart: We’ve practiced a lot and want to show the audience that we’re better than three years ago. We’ve really taken a step forward.
Mimmi Evrell: The only nervous part is that it’s many new songs to play and it’s more difficult than rehearsing them in the studio.

Middleboop: Is the British audience more important for you?
Lisa Pyk: Every audience is important but here you have the most well known music magazines of Europe, so London is very good for promotion.

Middleboop: When I listened to the new single ‘Fuckarias’, I noticed that the drums and bass are harder and Linnea’s voice is more powerful. Is this a general direction for the new album?
Rebecka Rolfart: We play harder because I think we are more confident. We’re also better musicians now.

Middleboop: For me, ‘Fuckarias’ was a message from Those Dancing Days to the audience, that you don’t want to be the 'sweet as apple pie girls' anymore. Is it a sort of fuck(arias) off?
Linnea Jönsson: We never wanted to be those girls. That’s a name the press gave us.
Lisa Pyk: I think there’s more variation on the new album, that's for sure. A lot of songs have a different mood and 'Fuckarias' is the most angry one. There are some warm songs on it as well, it’s more diverse than In Our Space Hero Suits.
Linnea Jönsson: And the name of the album is really good. Daydreams And Nightmares, because it’s both good and bad. We used a lot of our own fantasies in the songs.


Middleboop: On, the previous record you all wrote the songs together. Did you still work as a team on Daydreams and Nightmares?
Rebecka Rolfart: Yes, musically we worked together as a team but we wrote the lyrics individually.
Mimmi Evrell: But on the new record we helped each other more with the lyrics. We analysed the songs and tried to make them the best they can be. That was new, we learned more about the lyrics and knew exactly what we’re playing.

Middleboop: How did you manage to get in contact with producer Patrick Berger (Robyn)?
Rebecka Rolfart: He always came to the café where I worked. So I told him about Those Dancing Days and every time he came by, he asked how it was going. And one day I gave him a demo and he found our music so amazing, he became our producer.
Mimmi Evrell: Actually, he wasn’t the obvious choice. We had some other people in mind but it didn’t work out.
Linnea Jönsson: Patrick really liked our songs and at the same time he wanted us to rehearse the new material a lot more.
Mimmi Evrell: He was super hard but in a good way. It helped us to become better. That’s what we needed.

Middleboop: These days you have a lot of succesful girl bands like Warpaint, Best Coast and Dum Dum Girls. Are you feeling connected to other girl bands in a way? Do they influence you?
Mimmi Evrell: Hey, we began before them!
Linnea Jönsson:We like their music.
Lisa Pyk: Maybe when we see them, we feel connected, but we aren’t that influenced by girl groups, although we adore The Slits.

Middleboop: It’s almost Christmas, Are you planning something special?
Rebecka Rolfart: I’m gonna spend Christmas on the beach in Vietnam with my family!
Lisa Pyk: And the four of us gonna DJ on New Year’s eve in Stockholm.

Middleboop: And what’s the new year gonna bring for Those Dancing Days?
Mimmi Evrell: More singles, the new album and a lot of live dates. We’re playing at an Awards Show for Swedish television and we're gonna tour America in March and May and next summer we’re doing the festivals. Everything is gonna happen for us in 2011!

Words: Kasper-Jan Raeman

Best Coast - Crazy For You (Wichita)

Stark, dark and clad in attitude, Best Coast are a musical tour-de-force of US West Coasters with the sort of style and emotion that makes me long for a non-existent 1950s grunge movement. Consisting of (the beautiful) Bethany Cosentino and (the super-hero like) Bobb Bruno, they sound like the kind of band you could hang around with all day, every day, on sunny, hazy summer shifts of sheer good fortune and good times. The strength lies in the musical emotional one-two punch of goodwill and sun-drenched joy that carries itself over track-to-track, paired with relatively simple yet sweet lyrical structures.

Whilst the lyrical content may be reasonably undemanding in terms of cerebral understanding, they contain something very important that is often missing from the vast glut of songs on love and youth, specifically heart and honesty. Bethany Cosentino oozes sincerity, via lyrics on the likes of ‘The End’ where she purrs ‘Why do we have to make this hard when it doesn’t have to be’, evoking a million heartbreaks the world over in one fell swoop. She later croons “There’s something about the summer” on ‘Summer Mood’ and there truly is when the words drip from the mouth and mind of Cosentino. Everything here is just so potent in its purity.

Somehow, somewhere around the middle of the record, it begins to feel like one big extended jam session between your best friends in some dank yet homely garage, where you sit atop a dusty couch taking hits from the cat shaped bong sitting before you, as the clock melts away and you fall in love with life (I think I might just crave this kind of lifestyle now).

It all sounds like someone has come along and given the Wall of Sound, Phil Spector’s innovative and mindblowing production technique, a kick into the 21st century via weed, Los Angeles and a smidgen more scuzz. The emotive core and heart of much of Spector’s girl group content remains, in the tales of heartbreak, love and lust, albeit with a modern re-telling. ‘Boyfriend’, the wondrous opening track, should have been an uncovered 60s 7” discovered under layers of madness in the locked basement of Spector’s mansion, crafted by some great, lost, droning girl group. The record clocks in at around half an hour with no single song breaking the hallowed three minute barrier, keeping the chilled vibe of surfer pop and carefully contained carelessness in check.

The muffled sonic effect is very much in vogue for the 2010 summer season but Best Coast tops the pile of hazy, lazy pop rock (even stealing the drummer from Vivian Girls, a rival and strong contender for the lo-fi-fuzz crown). The effortless sensation that sweeps through the record like a stoned hurricane soaks up such an atmosphere, it becomes nigh impossible to not enjoy this stuff.

Ever since the Beach Boys, a strange mythology has developed regarding the coastline to the West of the US of A. Beach parties, surfing, pointless days spent lying on golden sands and a laid back attitude impossible anywhere else in the world. This is enclosed within the contents of Crazy For You, even if the stereotype gets a kick up the proverbial backside thanks to weed, guitar fuzz and the modern sexual outlook. At the end of 13 short, sharp, modern pop songs, she certainly does make a bloody good case for a quick and impulsive move to Los Angeles. Give it a listen and I’m off to check one-way airline prices for the golden coast…

Words : Adam Parker

Best Coast sign to Wichita and release debut album

Hazy, indie pop duo Best Coast are a fine addition to an already sterling roster over at Wichita. The Californian duo comprising of Bethany Cosentino and Bobb Bruno will release Crazy For You on 2nd August and will play a show at London's Cargo that night to commemorate the release.


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