This week we headed down to London’s Hoxton Bar & Grill to check out Spectrals. Headed by the enigmatic Louis Jones – who solely writes all the music – we were taken aback by the gloriously melodic lo-fi indie on show. Backed by his band, Jones led a set that included tracks from his forthcoming ‘Spectrals Extended Play’ EP. The music is rooted in the catchy melodies of ’60 and ’70’s soul but sewn together by Louis’ distinct Northern accent. While there may be a crop of bands from the US displaying similar influences - for example Harlem, who took to the stage after Spectrals – it’s refreshing to hear an unmistakably British slant on the sound.
Tracks such as the loveable ‘7th Date’ show Jones to be a hopeless romantic, albeit one with a killer ear for a melody. Live the band are particularly understated, only acknowledging the crowd after one particularly “wacky individual” placed a plastic deer’s head on stage.
‘Spectrals Extended Play’ will be released through Moshi Moshi on October 10th. They will also be supporting the likes of Avi Buffalo, Yuck and Les Savy Fav before playing the Welsh Sŵn Festival in October. For more details head to their MySpace. Read more…
Zola Jesus is the alter ego of 21 year old singer/songwriter Nika Roza Danilova; a classically trained former opera singer who specialises in haunting ethereal pop. Zola’s sound is somewhere midpoint between Florence & The Machine and Fever Ray – who invited the singer to support her forthcoming European Tour.
Her latest track, ‘Night’, opens with eerie synths and hushed vocals before giving way to a hypnotic beat backed by the singers haunting tones. It’s an intriguing track that puts Zola Jesus leagues ahead of most other 80’s obsessed female singer songwriters. For more info and tour dates head to her MySpace.
Night’ is taken from her recent ‘Stridulum II’ EP, currently available from iTunes.
After making their name as the biggest Nu-disco name on the block and producing lush remixes for the likes of Grace Jones, Breakbot, Friendly Fires and Sebastian Tellier; it seemed only logical that Aeroplane would take things up a level for their debut album. However, ‘We Can’t Fly’ certainly isn’t the collection of Balearic infused synth cuts many expected. It’s a far more bold and accomplished record than their previous work hinted at.
One development that clearly influenced the album was Aeroplane scaling down to a one man operation. Aeroplane previously consisted of Stephen Fasano and Vito Deluca, but have now have amicably decided to go their separate ways; with Deluca continuing to release music under the moniker. The classically trained musician has clearly relished the challenge, creating a versatile and ambitious debut album referencing artists as varied as Tina Turner, Pink Floyd, and Giorgio Moroder – who was so taken with the album that he penned backing vocals for a re-recorded version of ‘Superstar’.
While Aeroplane will be DJing all over the world this year, Vito will also be performing the album with an expanded band later in the year. The debut single ‘We Can’t Fly’ is currently available on iTunes, while the album is due for release on September 27th through Wall of Sound.
From London, another band comes jumping on the bandwagon of C86’s dream pop revival. Still Corners’ most recognizable features are Rachel Goswell’s ethereal vocals – influenced as much by sixties girl bands as by the likes of more contemporary singers such as Hope Sandoval or Julée Cruise – next to the band’s hazy sound landscapes that wouldn’t go amiss among fans of My Bloody Valentine or The xx.
On paper, none of it should be particularly distinguishable from the hundreds of other artists currently drinking from the same musical sources; but what makes Still Corners stand out from the crowd is their fine ear for a good tune. Weeks ago their track ‘Endless Summer’ generated waves of enthusiasm in the blogosphere and now the band is promptly following that up with a limited double A-side single ‘Don’t Fall In Love/Wish’, released via The Great Pop Supplement on August 20. A video for ‘Wish’ has also been released – watch above.
You can catch them live this Friday as the band celebrates the launch of the single with a gig next to Je Suis Animal and Hong Kong In The 60’s in London’s venue The Drop. They will also be part of next Tuesday’s triple bill at the always excellent up and coming bands’ night White Heat at Madame Jo Jo’s.
While you may not be familiar with the name I Am Arrows, you will probably recognise their frontman. Andy Burrows was previously the drummer in Razorlight, however, after announcing his departure from the band due to “personal reasons” Burrows quickly moved to form a new band, I Am Arrows. The path from drum stool to frontman is not a well worn one. With the exception of Dave Grohl and (ahem) Phil Collins there aren’t many drummers who have successfully made the leap to the microphone. However, Burrows has proven an exception to the rule. After all, the former sticksman co-wrote a number of Razorlight’s biggest hits – including the UK #1 America.
I Am Arrows have written a clutch of breezy West Coast Americana inspired tracks and will be touring across the UK in September, check their MySpace now for more info. For a preview of their live show, see the above video of the band performing ‘The Us’ at London’s Old Blue Last. Their debut album ‘Sun Comes Up Again’ is released on 16th August and is available to pre order on Amazon.
KanYe West recently posted another new track, ‘See Me Now’ from his forthcoming album on his blog. The song features his favourite video makin’ homie, Beyoncé along with Charlie Wilson. There is an obvious calm in his performance, you can almost feel the smile in his voice. His lyrical humour is spot on, see the line – “If you fall on the concrete, it’s your asphalt.” So true.
Get over to Weezy’s blog before he changes his mind and deletes the link (he has it up for download, for now). And for good measure, the rapper has recently signed up to the micro-blogging phenomena that is Twitter. Follow here for his crucial tweets and no doubt more information on tracks from his new album.
Janelle Monáe has been a well received by global music press elites such as Rolling Stone and is now poised to take on radio with her new single ‘Cold War’; a veritable genre’ bending pop machine. The tune wanders comfortably between pop, electro, rock and back again without ever disorientating the listener. Pitchork TV recently premiered the video above on Friday, and today named the song, best new track – quite an accolade from the notoriously hard to please site.
This one’s for real, a top tune from a fresh and exciting artist. The singer will embark on a clutch of US dates later this year, supporting the likes of Maroon 5, Kings Of Leon and Of Montreal. The track – taken from the album ’The ArchAndroid’ is currently available on iTunes,
The Entrance Band just successfully returned from their second trip to Japan in the last 6 months. They’ve been weathered road warriors for the duration of 2010, spreading their low-end rock’n’roll gospel across the United States. Entrance Band features Guy Blakeslee on guitar and vocals, Derek James on drums and Paz Lenchantin on bass guitar. If you’re a fan of Budgie, James Gang, Blue Cheer and other deep groove rock, than get with it. Best catch Entrance perform live for the true sonic crusher. Move forward with the now scene, and where it is happening. Check out the video for ‘Lookout!’ above and head to iTunes to download the track. Be sure to check out their MySpace and Facebook pages for future dates.
For those not in the know Cerebral Ballzy are the hottest new punk/hardcore act straight outta New York! Fresh from the Warped Tour Stateside the boys from NYC are currently tearing up things on the UK side of the ocean with a string of dates including a couple of London Shows.
The free mixtape named ‘Cerebral Ballzy – The GripTape’ sees the band hook up with Mad Decent’s Mumdance and contains two exclusive remixes of CB’s songs as well as a plethora of other Cerebral Ballzy tracks and hardcore classics from the likes of Bad Brains & Minor Threat.
Tracklist:
01. – Cerebral Ballzy – SK8 All Day (Mumdance Remix)
02. – Jay Reatard – Death Is Forming
03. – Circle Jerks – Wild In The Streets
04. – Cerebral Ballzy – Insufficient Fare
05. – Minor Threat – Seeing Red
06. – Bad Brains – Sailin’ On
07. – Cerebral Ballzy – Don’t Tell Me What To Do
08. – Dead Boys – Sonic Reducer
09. – Black Flag – Nervous Breakdown
10. – Cerebral Ballzy – Anthem (Mumdance Guarachero Remix)
Cerebral Ballzy will play the following UK dates later this month, check their MySpace for details:
4 Aug – Nation Of Shopkeepers – Leeds
6 Aug – Boardmasters Festival – Newquay
7 Aug – Heavy Music Festival – Folkestone
8 Aug – Sexbeat Radfest – London
9 Aug – Hoxton Bar & Grill – London
Victoria & Jacob are purveyors of joyous, dreamy electronic pop . Their latest single, ‘With No Certainty’, has grabbed our attention this week onn the Shazam stereo and evokes the Balearic tinged indie of Delroean and the sonic landscapes of Atlas Sound. Victoria’s hazy vocal enchants from the first listen, backed by slick, layered synth melodies. The track can be streamed below from their Soundcloud page, which also has a number of remixes and other recordings from the pair. The track is also currently available on iTunes.
The duo have already won plaudits from the likes of NME, Artrocker and Time Out and we will certainly be keeping an eye on them. You can catch them live in London on 28thAugust at Proud Galleries, Camden and at a number of Festivals over the summer, for more info head to their MySpace.
