Múm
Rather peculiar sounds from Iceland, Múm have ventured towards another path of experimentation after losing one of its members Kristín Anna Valtýsdóttir (she also appears as one of the twins in Belle And Sebastian's 2000 album art for Fold Your Hands Child, You Walk Like A Peasant). The title of the new piece in three years by Múm, is: Go Go Smear the Poison Ivy, and bizarre but beautiful as their music goes, they smoothly and strikingly integrate orchestral and electronic sounds together in the sense of audacious clatter of noise and childish lullabies. Sounding sometimes like the soundtrack to a video game, it draws the elements of fantasy. Just by noticing the image of the band above, concludes their wide use of instruments, big or small, reflects their music in extending the possibilities and endless venture of music and sound. This album is moving and beguiling in many ways of provoking surrealistic escapades through its experimental and electronic endeavor.
Múm Dancing Behind My Eyelids
Labels: Sandra
Labels: Grace
Labels: James
Labels: Sandra
Labels: James
Labels: Sandra
Labels: James
Metronomy
When I first encountered the word 'Metronomy' I came up with many absurd and awkwardly devious connotations – the Citroën robot car breakdancing ad (or at least I think it was Citroën), robots actually doing the robot dance, the sound of a clock and a scene from a Spiderman cartoon. But they don’t actually mean or having relation to Metronomy. Metronomy is the brainchild of Joseph Mount. In between the dissolution of bands he played drums for, Mount started to create electrical arrangements and soon after, Oscar Cash and Gabriel Stebbing were integrated into Metronomy after being his back up band, The Food Groups, for a while. Metronomy fits into a little niche of music – an amazing cacophony of bleeps, highly addictive bass lines and oddly danceable beats. From time to time, there are subtle hooks which make it even more awesome. I see some of Goldfrapp’s aesthetic thrown in there somewhere, as well. Metronomy are currently rocking the UK with the likes of Bloc Party, CSS and Justice. They are definitely a band to look out for in the forthcoming years. It also makes me wants to dance like either a robot, or someone who has consumed too much sugar. I mean, wouldn’t you like to see someone dance like that? I would.
Metronomy You Could Easily Have Me
Metronomy Trick or Treatz
Metronomy 1 String Strung
Catcall
I have been waiting for months to make a post about Catcall, but, and this is true, there were no press photos of her going around that could accompany what I'm about to write. That's all changed now as this morning I happened to make another frequent visit to her Myspace page to check out when exactly I could see her live and was gob-smacked by the new flirtatious, but very cool photos taken by none-other Cybele Malinowski. Moving on from all the excitement of new press photos, it's Catcall's music that really grabs people's attention. Her style is in similar likes of fellow Australian hip-hoper Macromantics, but casted in a very frantic way of popular Sri-Lankan M.I.A.. Catcall beats come from specialist Sleater Brockman, who on the side helps out Gameboy/Gamegirl as well. Get familiar with Catcall because she will be touring non-stop for the next few months supporting the likes of Buck 65, The Gossip, Crystal Castles and one of my favorites, Dan Deacon. Catcall's debut EP should arrive early next year.
Catcall August
Catcall Drama And Games
Sky Larkin
Sky Larkin from Leeds, UK have been slowly emerging into the spotlight for their playful attraction and delightful but unrefined temperament. Having recently played a list of live shows alongside You Say Party! We Say Die! and Los Campesinos!, they're picking up the pace and making their way...to your ears, that is. You could throw in the mixture of comparative influences like Sleater-Kinney and Rilo Kiley along with a bunch colourful balloons, kite flying, tree climbing, cat scratching youths on a dreary British sky and you pretty much sum up what is of this three piece band. They have so far only released two singles this year: One of Two and their latest, Molten, released last month in the UK. So really this is just the start of what's to come in future.
Sky Larkin Summit
Sky Larkin Sommersault Notes
Devendra Banhart
I think I have come to a conclusion that Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon is possibly Devendra Banhart's best release to date. It's musically and lyrically eye opening and it shows a huge growth maturely to the way Devendra looks at life. The ever continuous of genre experimenting is always a highlight when listening to a Devendra record and Smokey... is no exception. There's an extremely contagious somba piece (Samba Vexillographica), a flirtatious reggae gem (The Other Woman), reoccurring spanish beats (mainly Carmencita), and an absolute semi prop-rock masterpiece (Seahorse). As well as his infatuation with indulging into other genre's, there's always the acoustic folk familiarity still in existence. Devendra's vocals as a whole are ever evolving and it seems with each release he puts a new spin to what he is capable of reaching and the whaling and emotion behind his voice this time around is captivating and infectious. I think it's safe to say that without Devendra Banhart's existence, their would not be this revolutionary freak folk extravaganza and we'd be stuck with the painfully slow evolving indie rock.
Devendra Banhart Seahorse
Devendra Banhart So Long Old Bean
Devendra Banhart Saved
Pants Yell!
One of the things that make my day is a sweet new record, very much so like Pants Yell!'s fourth and latest album, Alison Statton. It cries out young love turning cold but nevertheless introduces the band to a new uplifting and confident craft work of trumpets and saxophones along with their established luxuriant melancholy appeal. It's entirely charming, enjoyable and subtle indie pop with a few kicks. For me, its the lyrics that provoke some intrigue when I first heard Pants Yell! a few years back, it brought a little grin, giddy with glee. Alison Statton, is no more than bringing that feeling back into life of chasing and popping fly away bubbles. Don't miss it, it drops shelves December 4. I'm also happy to announce that the folks at Popfrenzy label have just signed the band and will release the album in Australia and New Zealand early February in 2008.
Pants Yell! Magenta And Green
Pants Yell! Alison Statton
Pants Yell! Shoreham Kent
Liars
You have to hand it too these guys, they really know how to mess with their fans minds. Since the release of their debut album we have seen the band evolve from being a funk punk masterpiece, to freak-folk missionaries, to story tellers (their last album Drum's Not Dead was based on two made-up mythological characters named Mt Heart Attack and Drum), to now becoming this frantic white noise avant garde irresistible band. With every release, they lose fans but also gain a whole new audience. I jumped on board with these guys pretty much immediately after hearing their aforementioned album, Drum's Not Dead, and with their newly released self-titled album there was much anticipation. With the band's fourth album their not afraid of letting their influences show throughout their songs. Lead single, Plaster Casts Of Everything, is just a reworked Stooges Raw Power era song that sounds like it was produced by a man with no hands. It seems with every release lead vocalist, Andrew Angus, is losing his voice more and more, but still managing to get this quiet falsetto that makes you quiver. Stand-out track has to be the garage-shuffle meets Klaxon's Nu Rave sounding Houseclouds, it's something that everyone can lap up and it's something completely them, but sounds familiar. The most enjoyable and pleasing thing about this record is that, although it was released just after a year of Drum's Not Dead, it doesn't sound hurried or just something they've pulled out from their backsides. I don't know what the world of music would be like without this band's existence.
Liars Plaster Casts Of Everything
Liars Houseclouds
Liars Freak Out
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