I mentioned Agent Blå ‘s excellent Strand single at the end of last year. Now the flip side of that 7″ has appeared digitally for the first time and it’s another fine slab of driving indie pop complete with guitars that buzz around the vocals with unabashed abandon. It’s very very good! Buy the 7″ from here. Facebook Continue reading Agent Blå – Frustrerad
The Lemons have collated all their songs into one lovely album. Each one of the 28 songs here, ranging from 30 odd seconds to just over two minutes, will leave you with a smile on your face. If, like me, you like 1960’s inspired garage/surf songs about jelly beans, daft conversations, elephants and friends then you are in the right place. It’s available to pre-order from Burger Records in vinyl and cassette formats. Alternatively get it digitally from the band. Facebook Continue reading The Lemons – Hello, We’re The Lemons
Tired Eyes features two tracks neither of which bears that name although the words appear in opener freedom 1313 which is a fine slab of slow, building alternative rock complete with some sublime vocals. The flip side sees a pretty damn good effort of covering New Order’s Age of Consent that stays true to the original but also manages sound distinctive again thanks to the vocals. There is enough here for me to pay a visit to their previous work. Tired Eyes is available as a 7″ from Asian Man Records or digitally on a pay what you want basis … Continue reading Cayetana – Tired Eyes
Superior, luscious indiepop from The Golden Eaves who feature members of The Fairways and The Pines. It’s is packed with delightful melodies and appealing vocals not too dissimilar to what the likes of The Felt Tips produce. Lovely stuff. It’s out on limited edition vinyl (200 copies) via Kleine Untergrund Schallplatten or buy digitally from the band. Facebook Continue reading The Golden Eaves – No Other
We are only a few weeks into 2016 and already we have a contender for a track of the year. Taking their cue from the likes of 4AD and Creation Records Austin’s Safe Places tear it up with Wild Ride. It certainly isn’t called that for nothing as it’s twisted guitar and distorted synths collide with pounding drums which are ably supported by vocals that are woven in and out throughout. If they carry on producing stuff like this they may well give Pinkshinyultrablast a run for their money. Tremendous. Available on a pay what you want basis from bandcamp. … Continue reading Safe Places – Wild Ride
Excellent DIY punk noise from London’s Sauna Youth. It’s taken from last years excellent Distractions long player. The band start their Euro Tour in a few days time and return to launch the single at London’s Forge on 13th February. An early Valentines day treat if there ever was one! The Bridge is out now on 7″ vinyl via Upset The Rhythm. It’s also available digitally on a pay what you want basis. Facebook Continue reading Sauna Youth – The Bridge
There is a lot of old tosh on bandcamp at the moment especially under “shoegaze” new releases category, which for the most part, is pretty dull, uninteresting and unoriginal. That said this effort from My Dark House with the excellently named HELL O is far and away the best thing I have heard on Bandcamp this week. Their mix of shoegaze and beats reminds me a lot of early Curve. Again not the most original noise out there but at least there are signs that they could make some interesting music in months to come. Continue reading My Dark House – HELL O
Montmurat is the lead track from Parson’s new EP entitled Montauban which is out early next month on Objet Disque. Like some of his other work, both solo and with his old band The Sunny Street, it reminds me of a Brotherhood era New Order (lazy pigeon holing I know). I cannot really past judgement until I hear the EP in full but in the meantime Montmurat is a lovely, dreamy pop song to ease yourself into a dreary 2016 and I for one cannot to wait to whet my appetite further. Montauban is out on February 1st. Pre-Order it here. … Continue reading Rémi Parson – Montmurat
A fine gothic inspired post punk EP from Austin’s This Cold Night to start 2016 with. It’s dark, gloomy and painful both musically and lyrically none more so than on stand out tracks Black Cathedral and Death Knell which come complete with bleak vocals backed by minimal synths. If the likes of Bauhaus, Red Lorry Yellow Lorry and Joy Division bring joy to your heart then rest assured This Cold Night will too. Available on cassette from Sination or digitally from the artist. Homepage Facebook Continue reading This Cold Night – While I Disappear
2015 was the year I listened to the shoegaze and post punk revivalists in earnest. Club AC30 and Manic Depression Records both deserve a mention alongside the usual cohorts of Dufflecoat Records and Oddbox Records who delivered their signature brand of indiepop, diy and noise pop. I also started listening to full albums again with efforts from The Chills, Beirut and Robert Forster being high on the recommended list. I am still catching up with my backlog though and being heavily played these past few weeks are the likes of Appendixes and Tomiji. So without further ado here is my … Continue reading Records I Like Top 10 2015
Records I Like 