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Right, I know I mentioned them in my last post, but if you've been reading this for a while, you'll know that I said "My People" by The Presets sounded like music for the apocalypse. Well this remix by 2 Many DJs (who are also Soulwax, confusingly) of the already quite-frightening "Hey Boy, Hey Girl"* builds in to a a crescendo that sounds like the nuclear missile that'll kick-start said Apocalypse. Just so you know.
Chemical Brothers - Hey Boy, Hey Girl (2 Many DJs Remix)
*I found this on I Predict A Riot - cheers guys for scaring the bejeezus out of me.
True to my word to my friend Matt, and the fact I should really pay some attention to my own roots, I'm gonna approach some lovely Australian music today. Matt had some suggestions: Gyroscope, Potbelleez, The Living End, The Presets and Faker. Now I can't approach them all, mainly because I'm supposed to be working at the moment, and I frankly don't know enough about some of them to make informed opinions, but consider them all recommendations from Matt.
The Living End's new single "White Noise" is a breezy shot of pop-rock, with some nice melodic vocals put over the top. There are elements of Wolfmother riffage, a nice call and response chorus and the whole thing is well put together. I can't get hold of the track at the moment, but it's on their Myspace, as well as the riff-heavy "How Do We Know".
I can't review Gyroscope's album, but I can review their first single from it, mainly because it was everywhere when Cat and I were travelling in Oz earlier this year. "Snakeskin" starts with an almost early-Muse intro, building into a blistering, throaty chorus that could carry the song by itself. Yet again, I'm a bit rubbish, so I can't provide you with a download, but here's their Myspace.
I've already expressed my love for The Presets particular brand of electric apocalypse rock, and they've released a new single "Talk Like That". Opening with a typically ostentatious organ, and then introducing the marvellously deep, Editors-on-a-football-terrace vocals that dominate the song. And I actually have this song!
The Presets - Talk Like That
And here's a couple of lovely, Australian (or Australian themed) tracks to appease you all:
The Cat Empire - Hello
The Shins - Australia
This will only matter to a few people I imagine, but where oh where have two of my favourite bands of the past few years disappeared to? Good Shoes and The Maccabees both appeared at around the same time, both making very different, but both incredible indie music, different to the rest of the post-Libs pack, both released stunning debut albums, and neither has surfaced again for quite some time.
It makes me sad. Just like Crimewatch, anyone with knowledge of these bands' whereabouts, please contact me.
The Maccabees - Lego
Good Shoes - In The City
If you know me, you know I just love forcing my musical opinions on other people. Thus, this fine medium I'm using now to do just that. Well, thanks to my student radio deeming me worthy, I now get to force my opinions down the throats of those on my campus as well! I'm officially a radio presenter, along with my lovely Cat (girlfriend, not pet). Imagine that, two fronts on which to fill people's heads with beautiful music! *swoons like the self-aggrandising bastard he is*
Radiohead - Sit Down. Stand Up. (Snakes & Ladders.)
The Libertines - Radio America
Jet - Radio Song (I don't care what you say, I liked the first album. So there.)
Patrick Wolf's looking distinctly rocky these days ain't he? I'm really hoping (as much as I liked the last album) that he returns to his darker roots. Songs like "Paris", "Tristan", and "The Libertine" are so incredible, anything like those again would be really quite wonderful thanks, Pat :)
Patrick Wolf - Tristan
So here I am again, what sunken treasures or murky evils can I dredge from my sea of tunes?*
The Raconteurs - Consolers of the Lonely
The title track from Jack White and Brendan Benson's mighty rock 'n' roll side project's second album sums them up wonderfully. Odd changes of tempo and style, blues influences, guitar wizardry, dual lead vocals and some seriously catchy elements make up one of the best tracks from the LP (it even has a lone bass part that sounds like "No One Knows" by QOTSA). I just can't get enough of these guys, they were amazing at Reading, both albums have been top quality, and they give me all that I want from proper rock. Keep it coming.
Razorlight - Up All Night
Razorlight - the fallen heroes of Noughties indie, and another title track. I can remember exactly just how much I loved "Rip It Up" for the first time, and just how much I liked this album after I bought it based on that single (which is always a risk, but when it pays off it's wonderful). This track isn't as immediately engaging as some of their other early songs, but it shows why they were exciting at the time - slow burning, drawled vocals that lead to a very Bloc Party-esque strike of screeching guitar and a big finish with a slow, winding comedown. why did they have to do anything else after this?
The Offspring - Original Prankster
Wow, this is delving even deeper into my young musical tastes. I know how many people hate them, and I know they're vacuous, artless nu-punk, but I still can't escape the fact that I get all nostalgic when I hear Dexter Holland's ever so slightly too-high vocals and nearly-screams. This song is the perfect example of their brand of music - brash, stupid and fun.
*That was a very laboured analogy, and for that I apologise.
Now just to preface this post, I had no part in finding this band, but whilst reading the wonderful 100b blog recently, they featured the one and only track from new London five-piece La Shark. and, just like them, I know next to nothing about them (I'm not even sure the picture is of them, but it's from their Myspace page). Their song Bones is really worth posting about again. The quality of the recording is questionable, but the overlapping vocals and squeals of "I don't know what to do!" always beguile me as soon as I hear them. They seem to possess some of that rare endearing weirdness of The Coral at their best, and with the instrumentation seeming to act as a perfect frame for the vocals, I'm sure it'll stay in rotation on my iPod for quite some time.
La Shark - Bones
We all make mistakes. A time-old adage I'm sure you'll agree but one that always seems to hold true. My mistake (this time) was for not listening to The spinto Band a bit more. I've had their song "Mountains" for two or so years, and it's actually been one of my most played songs, so why is it that I never listened to any of their other songs?
It's not even like "Oh Mandy" is a hard to find track, in the world of underground indie-pop it's a fairly well-established tune. And it's from their 6th bloody album! What's wrong with me? Luckily, I'm starting to make up for that now with obsessive listening. After a nice little '50s B-Movie keyboard effect, Nick Krill's sliding falsetto winds its way all over the insanely upbeat and high register melodies that worm their way into your ears until the joyful repetition of the chorus tugs the edges of your lips upward.
And let's not forget that they have a new album out, Moonwink. I haven't heard all of it yet, but it promises to be a similarly joyous affair if "Pumpkins and Paisley" is anything to go by. So don't make my mistake, if you haven't heard these little beauties yet, do it, they'll brighten your day and your mood, or your download back. Probably.
The Spinto Band - Oh Mandy
The Spinto Band - Mountains
The Spinto Band - Pumpkins & Paisley
