Imagine Mac DeMarco rocking up to to Real Estate‘s band practice and everyone just gets on great. Then you’re part of the way to imagining ‘Off the Ground’ by floaty beach-rockers Labradoor, a tune as laid-back as your favourite recliner, and as summery as having a mini-milk in the park.
Fiction Records signings The Big Moon have announced the release of their debut album, ‘Love in the 4th Dimension’ (due April 7th) and to celebrate they’re streaming live highlight, the by turns vulnerable and imperious ‘Formidable’. Verging on the epic, ‘Formidable’ is the most sincere take so far from the London garage-rockers, baring more resemblance […]
Praise be! The hitherto enigmatic EAT FAST have released their first slice of new music since sparkling debut EP ‘Fenham Dreadlock’, and truth be told ‘Public Display of Affection’ is a bit of a stomper.
‘Drag’ from Slowcoaches is all rush, no hush, as any self-respecting pop-punk influenced track ought to be. Sounding like something from the soundtrack to a 90s teen movie, the beautiful racket induced by bassist/vocalist Heather and guitarist Matt is self described as ‘slack-metal’. Following in the vein of similarly angsty takes from Joanna Gruesome or […]
A couple of weeks ago marked the 20 year anniversary of the release of Weezer‘s sophomore album ‘Pinkerton’, an occasion that was remarked on widely in the indie-music-press, and with good reason. Whilst the album seems to have been personally labelled as an unwanted milestone around the neck of the at-the-time fame-beleaguered frontman Rivers Cuomo, […]
South-East London’s most prominent pedallers of psych-punk-shoegaze Whistlejacket have just dropped their second EP ‘Oh Brother’ and by gosh it’s something for your ears to behold. Slacklining the void between those in the Tame Impala or Tuska school, and the lo-fi stylings of My Bloody Valentine or Yuck, Whistlejacket ooze scuzz’n’fuzz from every pore.
Phwoar! This is a seriously spunky slackery effort from Liverpool indie-queen Zuzu. On hearing ‘Get Off’ for the first time I made a mental note, and a physical note actually come to think of it (in my Poundland refill pad), to add this to my commuting playlist as soon as it became available on my […]
Album craft these days seems to have become an even more complex art. As, ironically, their place in music consumption is becoming less and less certain. Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal et al. have begun to breed a more lean-back playlist culture – why limit yourself to one band’s long form when you can experience multiple […]
‘MIAMI’ by DRONGO is a bit of a head-scratcher when trying to label (and labelling music is what it’s all about!), but my instincts say that it’s a sort of shoegaze / synth-pop crossover. Whatever it is, it’s a lot of fun, and a really impressive debut from the boys from the Isle of Wight. […]
Now, I don’t want to get ahead of myself, but this may just be the best fuzzy-Pavement-b-side-inspired-slacker-rock-pop track written about a troublesome skin-condition ever. Coming from Let’s Kill Janice, a project manned by Joe’s (Groves and Sherrin), ‘Balneum’ is a summery garage-rock anthem in the vein of fellow newcomers Forever Cult or early Black Lips. Which […]
Peering out of my London window at a quiet street basked in the warm dusk light, it feels I’m in exactly the right place to be listening to FLING’s sitar infused sunny-psych single ‘Magical’.
The Big Moon are really, really engaging. On record this is the case, but live it is even more pronounced. For a band that are ostensibly garage-rock, there is an intelligence and proficiency to both the song-writing and performance that many other bands aim for, but end up falling well short. There is always multiple […]
Never before has isolation and loneliness sounded so life affirming than on ‘The Loner’, the new cut from Boston/LA/Hull (putting it on the map!) band SKATERS, taken from the band’s forthcoming EP ‘Rock and Roll Bye’. With an opening guitar jab that sounds ominously like the lead into a Wombats esque indie-pop jaunt, this proves a […]
This an exquisite slice of alt-pop from London based singer-songwriter Carmody. With smooth and emotive Aurora-esque vocals leading from the start, the track slowly builds as the ludicrously on point production spirals around the melodic centre point.
Parkwave are an indie-rock band from Italy releasing their debut album ‘Better Than This’ on American label Friends records (Future Islands, Natural Velvet), and the fantastically titled Italian label, Bizarre Love Triangles. ‘Frames’ is the first single from it, and it contains all of the tropes of indie-rock past delivered in tasteful fashion. Whilst people […]
With all the off-kilter charm of an undiscovered Pavement b-side Milos’s Planes’ ‘Sentiment’ starts messy and refuses to tidy itself up over the course of its skittish 124 seconds. Stop-start rhythms and frantic vocals belie the warm and relaxed tone of the guitars, creating a simultaneously frenetic and relaxed energy at once. This two-pronged approach […]
Sometimes a track is lifted above its average-to-good trajectory towards becoming something more special by a single aspect. In this particular case Sarah Negahdari’s unique and soaring vocals provide an impassioned centre-point to Happy Hollows’ new single ‘Way Home’. A swirly-synthy build-up makes way for a driving alt-rock section, ushered in by the shiver-inducing first […]
In the sleekly dark gig room of the Hoxton Bar and Grill, POP is the order of the night (..alongside lots of pizza, the smell of which wafts through from the restaurant area of the venue). Despite both bands being chiefly made up of quite a traditional line-up, guitar + bass + drums, the overall […]
The debut night of Abbie McCarthy’s monthly Good Karma Club sees The Islington full to capacity with eager devourers of indie guitar music. Which is a fantastic indicator, that there are still plenty who wish to party until the early hours to live music, in a sticky & sweaty pub instead of trying to dance […]
Fuzzy and moody, ‘Paycheck’ is the first cut we can hear from Slingshot Dakota’s forthcoming album ‘Break’. The Pennsylvania two-piece are made up of drummer Tom Patterson and vocalist/keyboardist Carly Commando. The fact that this band uses no guitars is a surprise, owing to the driving textural sounds of the keyboards which provide a great […]