Not too much is known about Plant Plants, in fact even trying to google their name proves to be a laborious task but what we do know is this: They create absolutely amazing music!
That sort of glitchy, minimal techno that people like Gold Panda and Pantha Du Prince have been famed for recently except much darker than Panda and more raw than Pantha.
The three tracks on their myspace (All demo's) offer us a mere taste into the mostly unknown world of Plant Plants. 'Hands That Sleep' proves the real highlight, with soflty echoed vocals, thundering loops and jangly guitar lines.
This is Katie Stelmanis’ first visit to the UK with Austra and only her second ever UK show, the first being at the Windmill in Brixton only the previous night. Tonight Katie and her band, including the Lightman sisters (of Tasseomancy) on backing vocals take to the stage in a packed out Old Blue Last.
As the band sink into opener ‘Darken Her Horse’, layers of sparkling star like synths build up and Katie’s voice begins to immediately demand attention as the crowd hush and start concentrating on the stage. Before too long a steady beat is pounding and the song builds into a soaring, chorus before the tune fades back into the sparks that began it.
Following this is ‘Lose it’, arguably one of the catchiest songs of the year. Surely deserving of a single release at some point, the descending, vivacious vocals in the chorus deserves full concentration on the first listen. As the song continues the majesty of Katie’s song writing becomes clear as layers of vocal lines weave over each other, ending with three different lines on the final chorus all creating sonic revelry.
The layering of these vocals is the real power in Austra’s cannon, live there are three singers, with Katie taking centre stage and one of the Lightman sisters on either side. The twins provide an alluring back drop for Katie centre stage as they dance identically on either side the visuals become immeasurably haunting for almost the entire set. Inevitably Austra get to their incredible debut single ‘The Beat And The Pulse’ builds out of rumbling bass into a marching juggernaut of a tune, sending the crowd into a frenzy as Katie’s incredible vocals blast out of the PA.
The PA is the only gripe of the night in fact, as the band already sound too large for the Old Blue Last’s relatively meager speakers. The band go on to Heaven supporting Hercules & Love Affair the next night, I can only hope they soar into headlining these kind of shows themselves, they definitely deserve it
Moon Duo have announced the first details of their official debut full length album which is called 'Mazes' and will be released on April 18th on the Souterrain Transmissions label. This follows on from last years brilliant 'Escape EP'.
And to wet your appetite for this release, we're giving you the title track to listen below!
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.
One Steven Paul Jobs, everyone’s favourite Bond villain-a-like and all-inventing creator of things-we-didn’t-know-we-even-needed, is at least partly responsible for a good many changes in the way we as a society think. Some such changes are undoubtedly good things; for example, bestowing upon graphic designers the ability to do their work (because everyone knows that, despite the fact there are plenty of PCs out there the technical equal of your average MacBook, designers just can’t work on anything with a smug little ‘Start’ button staring out at them from the bottom-left). Some are unquestionably bad – no one, bar perhaps Alan Partridge, can make one more want to throw out a lovely new roll-neck in a fit of fashion-related self-doubting. And some are more of a mixed bag.
The iPod revolutionised the music world, and it’s clear we’re ostensibly the better off for it. But the portable music revolution, as in history’s other great leaps forward (the French; Industrial; number 9), was also responsible for a number of innocent casualties, with one glaring great sea of metaphorical aristocrats’ heads towering like a gory colossus above the rest – the long-playing album.
In this terrifying new century of instant individual song downloads, on-demand films and butter that’s somehow spreadable straight from the fridge, the poor, clapped-out old LP as a statement of artistic intent is in its death throes. Finding ourselves in a situation strangely reminiscent of the early 1960s, the single – or, rather, now, any track cherry-picked from an album or best of – again reigns supreme.
Which is why it’s so ridiculously refreshing when you do eventually hear an album like Seefeel’s Seefeel, crafted in the tradition of those mythical post-Sgt. Pepper days of yore when albums were created to be listened to from start-to-finish, and savoured like a real ale twat does his pint of freshly-poured Stagnant Puddle. There will be no singles lifted from Seefeel, because there are no singles to lift; it’s an unashamed 52-minute journey meant be digested as one cohesive whole. It’s just a crying shame that, musically, it isn’t a bit more listenable. For a group who haven’t released an album in some fifteen years (excepting last year’s comeback EP Faults), Seefeel feels like surprisingly familiar territory. Continuing from almost exactly where the robotic shoegazers and Warp protégées originally called it quits in the mid-‘90s, Seefeel serves up more of the same trademark ambient minimalism and otherworldly, slowly-evolving soundscapes that first brought them to the prominence during that historic grey area that lie between the dance explosion of the late ‘80s and the impending ascendance of Britpop a few years later.
And yet, on first listen, it’s still a remarkably and unexpectedly disconcerting experience. Seefeel’s claustrophobic layers of hypnotic, looped guitars, droning synths and fat, dub-styled bass, processed and squeezed into distorted dissociation, combine to create a sonic collage that sounds unnervingly alien, and frequently non-human. Drums are sparse, boxy and unpredictable, and singer Sarah Peacock’s off-kilter, treated vocals wander in and out at random, as they do resembling uncannily the sound emanating from the turntable of an evangelical panicker looking for Satanic messages in a copy of Led Zeppelin II played backwards.
But it’s this lack of any human quality or warmth that proves to be the record’s undoing. Whereas the druggy weirdness of previous Seefeel outings – especially critics’ favourite and magnum opus Quique – sounded empathetic and inviting in a post-rave, giss’-a-hug kind of way, Seefeel is cold, metallic and distant; more K than E. In a way, it’s the aural equivalent of a relatively realistic blow-up doll; you can appreciate it superficially and aesthetically – love it even – but it doesn’t really matter. Because it’s dead inside, and it doesn’t and can’t love you back. You get the picture.
But, of course, none of that’s really very important. Is it a good album? Is it bad? Would I recommend it to a friend? Yes. Maybe. Probably. Who cares? Seefeel is a cohesive album as a piece of art, dammit, and it’s glorious! God save the LP! Viva la (counter-) revolución!
I must admit this post-rock quintet hailing from Leeds have never surfaced on my musical radar before. Helioscope is the second full length release from the lads since forming in 2005, the first incarnation being White Fields And Open Devices back in 2007.
Helioscope is mainly an instrumental affair, with certain elements not sounding too unfamiliar to fellow post-rock progressive peers such as Glasgow’s Remember Remember with their progressive looping time signatures, or Texas’ Explosions In The Sky with their epic, swirling guitar riddled crescendos. All the post-rock trademarks you’d come to expect are here with most tracks building up and escalating into layer upon layer of feedback infused guitars, droning in the background with persistently crashing drums like a wall of sound coming tumbling down on you, (see opening track “Monoform”).
The record is relatively heavy – but not so much in a Mogwai way; more along the lines of some sort of metal band you might have listened to growing up whilst still discovering your musical preference. One of my criticisms would be the over use of power chords, normally in the climatic stages of a song, such as “Art/Choke” or “The Trap”. The addition of this sound doesn’t do justice to the prelude we’ve been sitting through and ultimately builds up towards a disappointing end, like the musical equivalent to Lost.
When the sparsely used vocals do come into play, they sound incredibly polished and add a refreshing counter balance to the music. “Recur” for example displays some vocal talent and shows the boys can clearly hold a note and harmonise together, like The Beach Boys met 65daysofstatic for a jam. A collaboration with solo artist Stuart Warwick on “Meatman, Piano Turner, Prostitute” adds some welcome variety to the album, offering some delicate, haunting vocals to accompany the atmospheric synths and intricate drumming.
I’ve had to revisit the album a couple of times in order to form a bond with it, and I’m pleased to say I’ve been able to see through the obvious influences and appreciate the album for what it is – a well crafted, post-rock record which occasionally reaches epic heights. Whilst it doesn’t bring anything particularly new to the table, it adds another positive notch in the bedpost of the genre.
Last night, half Jewish half Canadian self-proclaimed “musical genius” Chilly Gonzales played the incredibly intimate Borderline on Tottenham Court Road in aid of HMV’s Next Big Thing.
Posters upon entering stated “Chilly Gonzales, the musical genius gracing the stage tonight, would appreciate it if all attendees could keep quiet throughout his performance”. I’d always heard Chilly was quite the prankster, so I took this with a pinch of salt and assumed he wouldn’t get all diva-esque on us…
By the time Chilly Gonzales had graced the stage in his usual performance attire (that would be a dressing gown incase you’re wondering), the crowd were ready for a slice of the electro piano funk brilliance that was released last year in the form of Ivory Tower (one of my personal top 5 albums of 2010). The majority of the show was a solo performance from Chilly, with a combination of tracks from the new record, a couple of old ones and some medley jams in-between.
Chilly gave a tongue in cheek step-by-step guide as to how he created the Apple advertising campaign favorite “Never Stop” – yet joked despite appearing on the technology giants advertisement campaign, how he has failed to blow up. This followed with Chilly getting an iPad out and actually performing the song on it there and then. How’s that for an endorsement? This wasn’t without a technical glitch which led to the poor sound man getting an onstage grilling from a frustrated Chilly who broke into “Take Me To Broadway” to kill some time.
The evening would not be complete without the ever charming Chilly telling anecdotes in-between songs. One tale told how fellow Janadian rapper Drake took “The Tourist” from “Solo Pianist” and proceeded to use it on a free mixtape which circulated the internet. Despite the entire song being used with nothing more than the sound of a champagne bottle being opened at the end of it, he never got any credit. He went on to say he actually met Drake due to his father living in the same block of apartments which led to him getting “musically raped again” when he ended up performing the track in person for Drake.
Prior to the encore (which was a song about Nazi’s with Chilly playing a pair of bongos) the show ended with Chilly getting some onstage support from a drummer and three young ladies on backing vocals for the performance of newly released single, “You Can Dance”, which cemented why Chilly was performing there in the first place. As the man himself put it:
“I’m a man of the times… living in the Barbara Streisand era”.
Chilly Gonzales will be performing at KOKO on May 5th.
The Lion and the Wolf, from Southampton, is giving away a free self-titled 5 track EP to download exclusively on his blog. Details available on this link.
My biggest live music regret was missing these guys at Reading Festival 2005 due to "clashing" with an artist I thought i'd have less chance of seeing again. How wrong was I... or so I thought.
After appearing on this years Coachella Festival line-up, this is the official conformation we've been dying to hear from the band. Sebastian wrote this on their blog. Now come and play some UK shows please! With love.
Without a doubt, Ariel Pink's 'Before Today' album was one of the key highlights of last year and due to its success, we welcome the crazy four piece back onto our shores next year with their biggest UK show yet.
Or the case of this live performance on Later With Jools Holland, I think 2006(?)
One of my favourite Later performances with REM performing this stunning vocal/piano version of 'Nightswimming' from their Automatic For the People LP.
Just take a moment, watch this, shed a tear. Do what you gotta do.
Jack and Meg White have announced today that they, as a recording and performing artist are to split. The announcement was made on thier label Third Man Records' website.
Gruff Rhys has been constantly been on the forefront of creating flawless music. Go back to 1996 when I could hear my dad playing a recorded cassette of Fuzzy Logic, the Super Furry Animals have always been there abouts throughout my music listening youth to this present day. And when his Neon Neon collaboration with hip-hop producer Boom Bip came out of the blue three years ago, it proved that Rhys can make anything sound great. However, out of his musical projects, his solo work has often only been sparsely pounded through my ears. Still of course much appreciated but out of everything he’s done I would be honest to say is the least of his work I’ve divulged in.
Here we have Hotel Shampoo, his third solo record to date and the follow up to 2007’s 'Candylion'. First and foremost, what’s great about this new record before I’d even listened to it was the title’s reference to Gruff’s habit of collecting shampoo bottles and other complimentary items from hotels while touring. As demonstrated in this brilliant short film. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZLUS7rnzFQ
Onto the LP itself, produced by long time friend and collaborator Andy Votel, the record begins with the exquisite lead single ‘Shark Ridden Waters’. Which those of you who ever listen to BBC 6music over the past couple of months will know exactly what this track is about. For those of you who don’t listen to much radio, basically it’s a beautifully orchestrated piece of sample-led style pop that ultimately sets the tone of what is to come.
In what is a much sombre feel to the album, Hotel Shampoo showcases a variety of instruments from woodwind, brass and strings as opposed to electronic bleeps and beats that are demonstrated in much of Rhys’ other work, with the exception of perhaps ‘Christopher Columbus’ and ‘Rubble Rubble’. In tracks such as ‘Vitamin K’, ‘Take a Sentence’ and the wonderfully alliterated ‘If We Were Words (We Would Rhyme)’ there is very much the feel and influence of Burt Bacharach style love songs. The bossa nova swing of ‘Space Dust #2’ is a gorgeous duet of easy listening pleasure featuring El Perro Del Mar’s Sarah Assbring, while ‘Patterns of Power’ reminisces us of what Gruff is used to in the Super Furries.
For me though the standout on Hotel Shampoo is the feel good and upbeat ‘Sensations in the Dark’, breaking away from the mid-tempo ballads of which stands out like a sore thumb because of this and is very much worthy of its future single material. All in all Gruff Rhys has come up trumps yet again, where he goes back to basics yet displaying an overwhelming sense of musical creativity. Hotel Shampoo is an easy listening record that is by no means middle of the road, with thirteen compositions of sheer talent and modesty that wouldn’t feel out of place fifty years ago, neither do they today. All hail Sir Gruff!
Amplifier's third studio album ‘The Octopus’ hath arrived for your audible pleasures; Some 2 years in the making the magical moment has come to submerge your ears in an epic auditory journey combating fallen empires, time continuum & dark matter.
In true prog rock style the Mancunian triplet have hit us with a double album checking in at a respectable running time of over 2 hours. Enter stage left into a new dimension of Space Rock, for this record has many tentacles to boast as the journey of the Cephalopod begins…
Opening track ‘The Runner’ has an ambient Dark Side of the Moon-esque' feel to it and a smorgasbord of effect laden sounds. An electric piano rears its previously un-used keys on a few tracks, apparent on ‘Minion’s song,’ harmonising gently with Sel’s multifarious vocals.
‘The Wave’ is a stonking tune, with remnants of an alternative industrial influenced riff..
As we all sing 'Another Dimension, another dimension' - hail to the space cadets!
The video is something to get a bit trippy to in HD. Check it here.
‘Interstellar’ is a story travelling faster than light and ‘Planet of Insects’ is reminiscent of their Eponymous first albums vibe. ‘Trading Dark matter on the stock exchange’s’ jangling guitar intro rapidly reverberates allowing the rhythm to breath life into the bass groove.
Followed by a progressively crafted composition in ‘The Emperor’
‘Interstellar’ is a story travelling faster than light, time travelling to the ‘Fall of the Empire’ - Atmospheric, engaging, the heart’s beating double quick now!
‘Oscar night Embryo’ is a reflective acoustic track, complimenting the fine dynamics of the antecedent soul alleviating tones!!
Every Amplifier fan will be getting a large helping of what this band do best on their new chef d'oeuvre, with a well produced original sound and a revelation into the prospects of galaxies far from here, new instruments, bolder sonorousness and an all round superb effort in album numero III. Go forth now and experience ‘The Octopus’ (‘’,)
Boasting a heavily inspired, near ADD sound, which ranges from tuneful garage rock to Bollywood-sampled pop; The Go Team are a pleasant oddity. Originally conceived by guitarist Ian Parton, one can only imagine the transformation the music took once the rest of the band was finally recruited. Led by the charismatic, bubbly presence known as Ninja, The Go Team are a force to be reckoned with on record and an even bigger hazard when it comes to the stage; their highly visual, highly entertaining onstage antics resemble primary school gymnastics rather than rock star posturing. Shoegaze this ain’t.
Third album, Rolling Blackouts, is more of the same, in the best way possible. The band boast such a loose sound that there is a lot of room to explore musically, without having to abandon their roots altogether. Such playful titles as T.O.R.N.A.D.O, Bust-out Brigade and Lazy Poltergeist fit into the bands canon with ease; they are playing in their comfort zone and they are playing very nicely. Often sliding into Japanese bubblegum pop, via epic film-like scores, the constant inspiration and optimism The Go Team encourage is both refreshing and effective. Album highlight, Read to Go Steady, is characteristically melodic, catchy and emotive. These songs are life lessons; simple, but wise.
Last record, Proof of Youth, featured a collaboration with hip hop legendChuck D and this time round, The Go Team attach themselves with another great slate of artists; Satomi Matsuzaki[Deerhoof], Bethany Cosentino [Best Coast] and French female artist Soko [apparently nothing to do with Southern Comfort]. Working with such diverse, exciting musicians is all part of the bands delicious flavour; adding vibrancy to an already vivacious album.
Norwegian 4-piece Harrys Gym (that is not a grammatical error, well it is but not in Norway and they are sticking with their native apostrophe rules) release their second album, What Was Ours Can't Be Yours, at a time when the world’s so bloody messed up even the birds and fish are chucking in the towel and giving life the finger. This is perfect for Harrys Gym because there’s a constant atmospheric chill around WWOCBY that should make everyone from graduates in the dole queue to your Dad moaning about the price of fuel feel an affinity with the Nordic indie sulkers.
Front woman Anne Lise Frøkedal sounds A LOT like Bat For Lashes’ Natasha Khan. Back in 2005 she would have shone through as an angel-voiced ethereal songstress. Now, she is projecting her fragile honey tones into a market packed to busting with pretty girls singing in a soft folksy drone. It’s not bad, it’s just boring.
Other band members Erlend Ringseth (keyboard), Bjarne Stensli (drums), and Ole Myrvold (bass) are a little more interesting in their style. The songs on WWOCBY vary in genre. Beat-driven first track Old Man, cries out for re-mixing from the likes of Skream or Gold Panda. There is much to be enjoyed in the goth-folk of Mountains and Siouxsie Sioux-esque, Next Time. The Visitor uses tribal drumbeats reminiscent of Kate Bush’s The Dreaming, but with Toothpaste HG veer into middle of the road easy listening reminiscent of the band nobody
wants to be compared to, Keane.
If you can dismiss the filler, parts of this release are captivating. But dips into Nineties electronic-indie (think Everything But The Girl, or Snake River Conspiracy) and dull soft rock tracks, reveal HG’s dated maturity. There is a current prevalence of indie bands clutching at both a teenage sound and aesthetic, Harrys Gym are not doing this. This doesn’t make them bad, it just highlights their slightly dated sound. Like one grey hair on a mane of lush black. They’re the sort of thing you could put on whilst your Mum was over in the faith there would be no swearing and she might even say, “Oh this is nice, reminds me of Clannad/Enya/Annie Lennox.” (Delete as applicable). I thought I was bored of tracks about the beach, teenage boyfriends and riding bikes in the summer, but apparently I’m not ready for music this age appropriate just yet. Too many days spent listening to Wavves, Vivian Girls, and BYOP have turned my ears age discriminating bastards.
Gruff Rhys will mark the release of his forthcoming new album, Hotel Shampoo, by taking over an entire hotel.
The special launch event takes place on 13th February at The Gresham Hotel, Blackpool. Guests lucky enough to secure reservations will receive: a ticket for a concert in the ballroom, featuring Gruff Rhys, Y Niwl and DJ H Hawkline; bedroom for the night of 13th February; breakfast on the morning of 14th February; and a signed CD copy of Hotel Shampoo.
Reservations can be made immediately via www.gruffrhys.com and the following packages are available whilst stocks last: - 8 x single room packages at £62.50 each - 10 x double room packages at £125.00 each (£62.50 per person) - 11 x twin room packages at £125.00 each (£62.50 per person)
Gruff Rhys’s Hotel Shampoo album is released on 14th February.
An genius idea that only Sir Gruff could come up with.
Vivian Girls have announced details of their third album titled 'Share The Joy' which is due to come out on April 11th. It'll be their first record on new label Polyvinyl.
In honour of this news, the Brooklyn trio are giving away a brand new track 'I Heard You Say' for free!
And of course, these are the all important UK dates with the wonderful Deerhunter;
25-Mar IRE Dublin The Button Factory 26-Mar UK Belfast The Stiff Kitten 28-Mar UK Glasgow Oran Mor 29-Mar UK Leeds The Irish Centre 30-Mar UK Manchester Sound Control 31-Mar UK London Shepherds Bush Empire
Last year was the first time Middle Boop had ever run a 'Top Tips' article and I'm pretty happy to say we must be doing something right as the choices we made mostly went on to have a very successful year. For instance, First Aid Kit went from playing tiny pubs to melting the hearts of a large amount of people in pretty sizeable venues, Pantha Du Prince played pretty much every credible festival going and his debut album ended up on many end of year lists and Esben And The Witch signed to Matador, supported everyone from Foals to The XX and have just released one of the most hotly anticipated débuts this year.
So what does 2011 hold in store in the realm of alternative music? Well judging from our humble list below I hope you'll agree that the following list of bands are about to start causing a stir in certain scenes and even though none of these bands will exactly be tipped to play Wembley in the next year or so, they will be emphasizing just how amazing the alternative music scene is at the moment....Pray silence please for Middle Boop's 2011 Top Tips!
Anna Calvi
We get more musicality coming into the album with the track “Desire”. Furthermore, Calvi really opens up her voice and displays the vocal power and range that she possesses that fully justifies her nomination for the BBC’s ‘Sound of 2011’ poll. It also enthrals me further that Anna is a home-grown British talent. She sounds like what we have been crying out for; a female vocalist that has that ‘edge’ about her. This is something that I don’t think we have seen since the days of Blondie or Suzi Quatro. – Barclay Quarton
Braids
Signed to influential Canadian indie label Flemish Eye, which has produced the likes of Women and Chad Van Gaalen over the last few years, Braids music is soaked in echoey beeps and glitches. With strange time signatures and heartwarming vocals, hopefully we’ll see Braids playing this side of the pond sometime this year as they will go down so well over here at the moment. Braids
Chad Valley
Being the charmingly astute music lovers that you are, you may have already heard of Hugo Manuel, the man behind Chad Valley singing in his other band Jonquil who have started to gain a great little following. If you have, good for you, chances are you'll enjoy Chad Valley, if not...Well, chances are you're going to enjoy it regardless as this sickeningly catchy retro synth driven pop is just what you need to get over the dark nights and freezing weather. – Gordon Reid
Grouplove
Big anthemic choruses, instantly lovable vocals and feelgood songs galore. Grouplove already sound like they’ve mastered the art of writing a decent pop tune. Their single colours is out now and chances are you will have heard it and loved it. – Gordon Reid
Iceage The music sits somewhere between DC hardcore and British punk but filtered via weirdness. The songs are all velocity but skewed and prone to shoot off at unexpected angles. – Al English
James Friley, AKA Idiot Glee creates beautifully multi layered vocal harmonies using seemingly minimalistic instrumentation to create their haunting 50’s influenced pop. Début single ‘All Packed Up’ will have fans of Grizzly Bear going nuts and B-Side ‘Don’t Drink the Water’ just resonates greatness. I really hope we hear a lot more. – Gordon Reid
In case you’ve been living in some form of cave / rock dwelling / panic room and haven’t heard the recent hype around James Blake, allow me to fill you in. He attended the prestigious Latymer School in London whilst recording compositions in his bedroom. After a successful launch of debut 12” ‘Air And Lack Thereof’, along with a cover of LeslieFeist’s ‘Limit To Your Love’, national radio coverage and a whole lot of blogging ensured that this was the beginning of a blossoming career for the young musician.
The music itself is a combination of minimalist, down tempo, electronic compositions fused with Blake’s delicate and often soulful voice. Frequent use of an auto tuner on Blake’s voice may cause a divided opinion amongst listeners but with a feature on just about every ones to watch list this year, we found it hard to resist putting him in ours as well. – Neil Phillips
MNDR
We could sense that a buzz was building around this New York City electrosynth-pop duo from witnessing Amanda Warner undergo an eccentric and spell bounding performance at London’s Lexington last August. Having already toured and collaborated with Mark Ronson on his latest album we’re expecting MNDR to send waves crashing further, on a worldwide scale. – Freddy Rothman
Ringo Deathstarr
Any band with a name like Ringo Deathstarr is always going to grab my attention, and with music that sounds like My Bloody Valentine if Kevin Shields actually had a sense of humour, this Austin trio have certainly whet my appetite with their fuzzed up, noisy pop.
Their début album 'Colour Trip' will be out in February. We can't wait. - Adam Parker
Seams
Bedroom producer James Welch aka Seams has been recording countless EP’s, singles and remixes over the past year or so. His most recent available offering, ‘The Tourist EP’ shows you why we’ve not just got another Four Tet or Gold Panda on their hands. As much as we love those guys too, Seams will draw on atmospheric post-electronica that will just whisk you away to another world. A debut LP is expected before the end of the year. – Freddy Rothman
Trophy Wife
Oxford three piece, Trophy Wife. Both singles Microlite and The Quiet Earth show the signs of a band with true potential. The songs are softly built up around dancey drum beats and crisp delayed, jangly guitar lines with delicate vocals sounding very much like they’ve taken influence from their Oxford counterparts Foals, who they toured with last year.Trophy Wife are writing an EP due early next year so hopefully they will take this time to build upon the sound they are already creating and evolve it further. – Freddy Rothman
Veronica Falls
The London based 2 boy-2 girl quartet make blissful, pounding Dream-Pop music and have had tongues wagging all across the capital. Although they have been touring extensively since 2009 and have released 2 of the best singles of 2010 in ‘Beachy Head’ and ‘Found Love in a Graveyard’, we can expect more shows and hopefully their debut album in 2011 which we simply cannot wait for. - Freddy Rothman
Yuck
Less “Yuck!” and more like “Fuck!”. A solid debut from a young band with a lot of potential and a great future ahead of them. 2011 will be a good year for Yuck. – Neil Phillips
Swedish darlings Jeniferever are to release their third album, titled 'Silesia' through Monotreme Records on April 11th. For a sneak preview of Silesia check out the wonderful 'Waifs & Strays' here;
In addition. The fourpiece will be touring the record in the UK on these dates:
Monday 11th April, The Lexington, London Wednesday 13th April, Captain's Rest, Glasgow Thursday 14th April, Brudenell, Leeds Friday 15th April, York, Fibbers Saturday 16th April, Buffalo Bar, Cardiff Sunday 17th April, Fleece, Bristol Tuesday 19th April, Brighton, Green Door Store
Incase you’ve been living in some form of cave / rock dwelling / panic room and haven’t heard the recent hype around James Blake, allow me to fill you in. He attended the prestigious Latymer School in London whilst recording compositions in his bedroom. After a successful launch of debut 12” ‘Air And Lack Thereof’, along with a cover of LeslieFeist’s‘Limit To Your Love’, national radio coverage and a whole lot of blogging ensured that this was the beginning of a blossoming career for the young musician.
The music itself is a combination of minimalist, down tempo, electronic compositions fused with Blake’s delicate and often soulful voice. Frequent use of an auto tuner on Blake’s voice may cause a divided opinion amongst listeners. Personally, I think it works at times and at times it doesn’t. There’s a sadness and a longing in his voice which, when digitalized, particularly on ‘I Never Learnt To Share’, makes me wonder about what the love child of Bon Iver and Daft Punk might sound like.
When Blake isn’t hiding behind an auto tuner, he does have a decent voice. Combined with a shimmering bassline like on ‘Limit To Your Love’, he adds a sensitive quality to an already well delivered song, whilst reinventing it and adding his own emotional touch. ‘Give Me My Month’ uses the depth of Blake’s voice and verges on sounding like Tracey Chapman. Again, a fusion of styles I wouldn’t have expected to find myself enjoying, yet I feel drawn to listen to again.
I think sparse would be an appropriate word to sum up this venture. Tracks such as ‘Lindesfarne 1’ feature no music as such, just Blake with his auto tuner and the occasional ping in the background. Experimental, or just plain mental? Acting as a prelude to ‘Lindesfarne II’, it begins to make a little more sense once a beat is introduced and a few extra layers creep out at us. From the humble ‘Wilhelms Scream’ to the fragile ‘Why Don’t You Call Me’, to the closing acapella led ‘Measurements’, Blake maintains the minimalist, glitch fuelled semi-dub step approach consistently throughout the album whilst managing to create a different emotional response with each track.
This album definitely won’t be to everyone’s liking. What with all the recent hype, anyone would be hard pressed to live up to the relentless expectations of the average avid music fan. It is, however, an honest and bold introduction into what will hopefully evolve into a fuller, more developed sound from the young and talented James Blake. Definitely one to watch.
2011 will be a good year for Yuck. Having built up a reputation for themselves online through their website and the blogging community over 2010, they’ve released their first full length, self titled album on Mercury Records.
I was introduced to Yuck when I saw them open for Built To Spill and Dinosaur Jr at the Shepherds Bush Empire in the summer of 2010. I have to admit - I wasn’t particularly blown away at the time, however I did wander into the last track of their set - the seven minute drone-a-thon ‘Rubber’ (which in hindsight is a contender for my favourite song on the album).
Having had a chance to go home and hear the singles released that year, I was keen to hear the full record in its entirety. Now the time has come. From the first front-to-back listen, I was impressed. The album possesses a healthy mixture of songs; nonchalantly wandering from the lo-fi, solo driven opener ‘Get Away’ to the casual, acoustic chilled out nature of ‘Suicide Policeman’, before climaxing on the aforementioned drone heavy ‘Rubber’. And it works.
The band’s line up see’s former Cajun Dance Party vocalist Daniel Blumberg taking up vocal duties once more, with the aid of his younger sister adding some occasionally needed depth on backing vocals. The brother / sister duo works best on stand out single release ‘Georgia’, a certified golden lo-fi pop nugget. With guitar work that feels as if the silver fox that is J Mascis himself may have written, it’s difficult not to draw comparisons. Who wouldn’t want to be compared to the grunge guru after all?
As stated earlier, the album does differ in tempo throughout. Most notably directly after ‘Georgia’ we are presented with ‘Suck’, possibly the slowest and most ballad-esque of all tracks on the album. It’s on tracks like this we fall into helplessly romantic territory (“I was burning with desire / You can never put out my love for you”). It’s never too much to stomach though as the romanticism is always in an aloof cloud of slacker haziness, distracting enough not to be accused of being overly sentimental (see follow up track ‘Stutter’ or ‘Shook Down’).
Immediate comparisons that come to mind would have to include a roster of US slacker alternative rock from the past decade, including Pavement, Dinosaur Jr and The Lemonheads. The album is both charming and relaxing in its laid back approach, occasionally slapping us in the face with some chord shredding and heavy distortion that balances out from all the mellow shoe gazing.
Less “Yuck!” and more like “Fuck!”. A solid debut from a young band with a lot of potential and a great future ahead of them.
When this album was sent to me by Middle boop HQ with the pretence that it was their album of the year so far, I knew that Anna Calvi et al. must pack quite a punch. However, as a critic, I will always have my cynical head strapped onto my shoulders and thusly approached this album with the same circumspection as I do with all albums. However, I must say that I have come to same conclusion as my peers; this album is pretty damn good indeed.
The self titled debut album commences with an incredibly atmospheric track in the form of “Rider To The Sea”. Beautiful in it’s simplicity, the single guitar sound pregnant with reverb heralds in what is to be a very moving album.
The first track segues faultlessly into “No More Words” where we are introduced to Anna’s creamy, rich and soothing vocals. Even after only a couple of syllables have been sung, I am imagining this to track is being performed in an artistic Hollywood film with Calvi waltzing around her audience in a divine dress tempting any red blooded male who crosses her path.
We get more musicality coming into the album with the track “Desire”. Furthermore, Calvi really opens up her voice and displays the vocal power and range that she possesses that fully justifies her nomination for the BBC’s ‘Sound of 2011’ poll. It also enthrals me further that Anna is a home-grown British talent. She sounds like what we have been crying out for; a female vocalist that has that ‘edge’ about her. This is something that I don’t think we have seen since the days of Blondie or Suzi Quatro.
“Suzanne and I” is a very haunting number and only serves to build up that hard demeanour that we are being treated to. Anna Calvi is backed by a steady rhythm which gives her the ideal platform to unleash her vocals in a fashion that would even rival the great Kate Bush to name a few.
We go back to the beginning of the album with ‘First We Kiss’ where Calvi shows us once again that she can be soft and sultry as well as being able to seamlessly transition into her gripping alter-ego.
There is something about the song; “The Devil” that I just love. It is like the song is stepping out of the album and into the rain to contemplate life whilst holding a takeaway cup of coffee. Surreal similes aside, this is one of my favourite tracks from the album.
We are further tormented and haunted by Calvi’s rockier side with the song “Blackout”. It is very much a standout live track that will surely get you singing along at one of her shows; she is touring at the moment by the way people (hint, hint).
“I’ll be Your Man” is a rather quirky number. I would describe it as a dirty blues song that clashes with a classic reggae beat. Not that it is in any way detrimental to the overall sound. It just proves that there are many strings to Miss Calvi’s bow and in “Morning Light” we are further treated to her vocals being thrust in the spotlight once more whilst the music cradles the vocals as competently as they have been doing all album long.
The album concludes with the “Love Won’t Be Leaving”. This track feels like the culmination of the ideas, styles and musicality that Anna Calvi has performed in the previous songs and these all meet in this track. I have got to say that I am more than impressed. If you though that music was stalling with creativity recently I urge you to procure this album and prove yourself wrong.
Everyone likes bags, right? Well if you like bags and Domino Records you'll be pleased to know they are to unveil a new range of limited edition Baggus.
The environmentally friendly Baggu is effectively a bag based on the iconic plastic grocery bag which aims to reduce people's usage of disposable bags by being lightweight and easy to keep on hand for any errands that may arise throughout the day. And obviously, they’re perfect for carrying your vinyl in too.
Naturally it helps that they also happen to be rather good looking, which can be credited to none other than photographer and artist, Jason Evans, the man responsible for designing beautiful album covers for the likes of Four Tet and Clinic.
A modern take on the classic Domino record bag of old, the Baggu is priced at £9 and available in the following colours:
Electric Poppy with blue print Indigo with pale blue print Peacock with yellow print Smoke with yellow print Black with white print
One of Middle Boop's ones to watch for this year, Ringo Deathstarr have announced some tourdates to go in conjunction with the release of their début album 'Colour Trip' on 14th February 2011.
The Publishers Club will be teaming up with the Inkygoodness Live Draw tour to put on a live screen-printing and networking event for illustrators and artists in the Manchester area.
The Middle Boop blog is devoted to promoting the best new music, design and illustration around.
Over the last year we have gained a huge cult following online and the team has now grown to regular contributors including:
Gordon Reid,
Freddy Rothman,
Joseph Head,
Rory Gibb,
Finn Scott Delany,
Rob Hakimian,
Adam Parker,
If you would like to write for us or feel there is something we need to know about, contact
freddy@middleboop.com
Not too much is known about Plant Plants, in fact even trying to google their name proves to be a laborious task but what we do know is this: They create absolutely amazing music! 
