#3: Yamon Yamon

Artist of the Day #3:

Yamon Yamon

A math rock sensibility feels very much part of an outdated fashion, from a mid 2000's scene that flourished and faded as quickly. The likes of Foals have gone on to develop their sound into something with longer, less noodly abstractions, garnering acclaim and new fans in the process. But, and it's a big but, in music (as in all art) consider no form, genre or style dead. A fresh approach, process or even just a slice of something damn good can bring back whatever you assumed lost.

Which brings me to Yamon Yamon, a Swedish band who peddle a relaxed math rock, resembling a stoner parallel of Minus the Bear. They tread the line between pop and post rock, managing to evoke the memory of a handful of bands from your adolescence whilst maintaining a distance up and away from those teenage addictions. The smoothly nonchalant pace feels like a mature act honing their musical talent after years of practice, evident in the subtle overdrive, fingertapping percussion and sparky guitar riffs, jabbing and poking in when suddenly required.


Vocally, lead singer Jon Lennblad possesses an aural quality that sedates and subdues in equal fashion, effortless underneath the delicious array of chords and hooks. 'Alonso' opens the new album This Wilderlessness and lays bare the sheer expression, understated emotional punch and drifting peacefulness that make Yamon Yamon utterly listenable at any point of the day. Album highlights include the ridiculously rhythmic 'Fast Walker' and the impeccably restrained 'No Depression'.

Check out the new album This Wilderlessness HERE and, if you like what you hear (and why shouldn't you!) it is only five English pounds.

Yamon Yamon

The Colours of the Farm...

'Music is a safe kind of high.' ~Jimi Hendrix

As my pal Jimi agrees, here are some new narcotics for your earholes...

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The tale of how Grouplove came to meet has been splattered in the blog coverage they have spurned so far and who am I to rob you of that knowledge! The band met in Crete as part of an arts residency, though they come from LA, London and New York.

In one of those beautiful moments of connection, the group have span out a fantastic EP full of Arcade Fire-esque momentum. Each track bounds along in an epic fashion, prompting sing-a-longs and hand waving in a crowd on a wonderful festival evening. 'Colours' brings a ranting, chanting lyrical assembly with 'It's the colours you have, no need to be sad, they really ain't that bad." Sumptuous and fulfilling, I defy you to listen to the likes of 'Naked Kids' without a stupid grin on your face.

Grouplove's Myspace

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Fractal Farm manufacture rhythmic indie rock that snaps and twists its way along. From Wilmington, North Carolina, the threesome are working on a debut DIY ep and looking at tours across the US (but sadly not these British shores yet).

Perfect for summer, the soft angles of their music jut their way into your ribs and you can feel the energy of the band, bold and brash in the recordings. 'Walking' and 'Bone Ideas' blend psychadelia with math rock and indie pop, pushing the neat categorical types to compare them to a whole heap of bands, from Foals to Radiohead to The Shins. But comparisons be damned as these guys forge their own brand and I hope they make it to British shores sometime soon so I can see it all up close and personal.

Fractal Farm's Myspace

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Just One More Hit (or five)

• Sam Buck Rosen is a soulful electronic whiz who has a record out you should find and listen to, which is titled 'Dominant Mind' and is full of wonderment and distortion.
• I have rediscovered possibly one of the greatest albums of all time, in Tom Waits' 'Closing Time'...simply breathtaking from start to finish.
• New Arcade Fire - wondrous as bloody always!
• Janelle Monae has a new album out titled 'The ArchAndroid', a sci-fi, R&B tale of love and identity (I think I love her a little bit)
• Wavves surfing back our way with 'King Of The Beach'; and 'Cool Jumper' as a teaser of what's to come from the noisy talented buggers.
  

Albums out over the next week or so that you should buy include;

• 'LP4' by Ratatat [Perfectly produced sampling and mixing masterpiece with beats that send your body trembling]
• 'Been Listening' by Johnny Flynn [Troubador pretty nu-folk with a buoyancy and certain sweetness]
• 'Memoirs' by Rox [modern soul from Londoner songstress with feeling and sass]

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So! Until next time true believers!!

Ears peeled and eyes open!

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Camden Crawling Commentary and Crap....

'What should such fellows as I do, crawling between earth and heaven.' ~William Shakespeare

This update is a two parter y'all! And I promise never to use y'all ever again (unless I feel it necessary)! I journeyed to the Camden Crawl based in, hey look at that, Camden last weekend thanks to a PR based best friend and acquired some media passes, so I could do some justice to the glut of gigs and array of artists performing over the weekend at a host of venues, big and small, across Camden. I will begin, in a way that makes some sense, with the bands witnessed on Saturday!

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Thanks to our superb socialising skills, we managed to befriend a VIP who passes onto us some tickets for the Roundhouse, which is a ticketed event even with the Camden Crawl wristbands. So, we thought why not begin our wonderfully eclectic weekend with a trip to see the Sugababes!

But it was not the Sugababes. A late entrance bought onstage three women who act more as a tribute band, trotting out wonderful pop songs that they had little to no part in creating. They can sing and they don't look half bad in their outfits, but i'd prefer the original 'One Touch' line up in front of me. So we make a swift exit....

'Overload' video (still the best slice of Sugababes...)

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I have always had an affinity for the 1960s school of pop rock, circa The Byrds, The Zombies et al. Psych pop group Race Horses bring back the memories of flowery shirts and flouncing rhythms in a wondrous form, performing at the Jazz Cafe.

The Kinks style 'Cake' and the delightful falsetto that rings through 'Pony', with the frontman Meilyr Jones squealing 'I want to be your poooony', are so joyous, it is hard not to bop a limb somewhere along the way. I want someone to give them their own TV show and see them become the new Monkees. Dedicating songs to the merchant navy, screeching through a vocoder and strumming up some cosmic bleeps, there is nothing Race Horses won't delve into, and it all comes together rather remarkably at the finale of every track.

'Goodbye Falkenburg', their debut album as Race Horses is out and I will be making a purchase asap.

Race Horses' Myspace

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Remaining at the Jazz Cafe, a venue that bleeds unadulterated bliss and cool, for Best Coast, we took some balcony based seats to gain an overview of the venue, stage and band.

The stark, dark Best Coast are all attitude and they mostly pull it off. West coast dusk settles over the Jazz Cafe as they pile their way through the low key, lo-fi 'Make You Mine' and a wonderfully dreary cover of 'That's The Way Boys Are'. They stumble along with a high effort laziness and sleaze, reminding me of a 1950s grunge movement that never happened.

The grumbling voice of Bethany Cosentino sidles alongside the rumbling music to craft a sound that will, fingers crossed, produce an amazing upcoming album release. And for some reason, perhaps encouraged by the 50s emotion sweeping throughout the band, I can smell a burger bar, cooking up delicious west coast quarter pounders...I had to make do with McDonalds...

Best Coast's Myspace

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We stayed put for a few ditties from the duo Slow Club, hearing good things and being suitable impressed by the simple but effective harmonies concocted within the softly spoken indie pop jangles. A drunken audience ruined some of the atmosphere of the quiet Slow Club, who deserved more hush. Oh and Charles wore an awesome Steve Zissou hat...

We moved on to catch Teenage Fanclub, deciding to catch Slow Club at their own gig soon, which promises a jawdropping line up of new bands in Veronica Falls, Spectrals and Summer Camp.

Slow Club's Myspace

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Teenage Fanclub are a band with something of a historical alt rock following, so I feel somehow ashamed to admit I knew little of their work before investigating them prior to the Crawl. Working on their ninth album, they headlined at the Koko, although it wasn't quite what I expected.

I listened to a few songs before heading to the capital city and fell into a mini-lust with their original EP 'Everything Flows'. However, I suppose 19 years can change a band and the group onstage didn't show the oomph I was looking forward to after hearing the 1991 ep. Moments of emphatic exuberance burst forth from the tremendous Koko stage but it was all a little dull at times, despite the packed house. I feel some of the sound lost its way through the crowds and framework of the building and the laidback attitude didn't quite notch itself up to exciting music.

We trudged back to catch a last train in the rainfall that beset Camden on the Saturday eve, soggy and shattered from the crawling (and drinking) we undertook...

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Some non-Camden based Musical Moresomes (more crap basically)...

• New School of Seven Bells, new Wolf Parade and new Best Coast...
  
• Two bands from Austin, TX, have come together to release a brilliantly warped 7" in 'Dream Over' by Pure Ecstasy and 'Your World Is Night' by Sleep Over.
• Crystal Castles' new album =screechtastic and bleepasmic...
• LCD Soundsystem's new (and last) album = a mish mash of wonder and goodbyes...
• Covers can be a tricky business but Pomplamoose do every single one perfectly, pitching an indie pop ethos behind a wide range of genres (oh and singer Nataly Dawn is heavenly...) Check out 'September' and then everything else they have done....

Albums out over the next week or so that you should buy include;

• 'Total Life Forever' by Foals [math rock gone all literary and rogue (and better)]
  
• ''Nothing Hurts' by Male Bonding [party metal fuzzing along with a growl]
• 'Together' by The New Pornographers [Canadian supergroup powerpop indie]
• 'The Latin' by Holy Fuck [Meandering electronica experiments...]

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Thats about all we have time for boys and girls but tune in next time (sometime next week) for the second part of my Camden Crawling Crap special!!!!!

Peace out homeboys (and girls)
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Sunshine and Sunglasses and Summery Sounds....

'Music and rhythm find their way into the secret places of the soul.' ~Plato

After many broken nights, minds and bottles, I return with vengeance and all that overblown melodrama that is necessary when it comes to fantasmic, spectacular new music....

It appears Mr Blue Sky is somewhat here as sunshine streams towards us on its magical beams, bringing happiness and skin cancer, not necessarily in that order, so I have attempted to shoehorn some summery style and sounds into this post...

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Sunglasses have the most superhappyappropriate name possible for a summery band and their music offers a parallel and matching listen, also extending into a summery treat of a video, full of colourful visuals that could drive a stoner to ecstasy.

Samuel Cooper and Brady Keehn are two art school kids who have collaborated as Sunglasses to release the spontaneous and superb 'Whiplash', a track that literally vibes itself along on thumping percussion and keys. Cooper, also a filmmaker, created a trippy music video to accompany the track. Check it out, put on your sunglasses and literally freak out....

'Whiplash' music video...

Sunglasses' Myspace

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A little bit of lovely lo-fi seems to be the recurring sound of summer this year, as band after band throw in some barely audible vocals amidst a collection of assorted instruments that plod softly and sweetly along, with an occasional blast of noise or fuzz to drown out the sounds of sunshine.

So here is another one I like!!

They are called Secret Cities and sing songs about Brian Wilson and boyfriends, whilst whistling and shaking their way through a plethora of instruments. Jolly melancholy are the buzz words on tracks such as the 80's jaunt of 'Pink Graffiti pt.1' and the laid back 'Boyfriends'. Their debut album is out in June and I eagerly await the release...

Secret Cities' Myspace

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They have smug faces and hipster hair but the music that Sisters churn out is wondrously uplifting. Two guys (from bloody Brooklyn) simply making happy American indie that may sound oh so familiar but still sounds oh so superb when drifting through sunshine on your own private cloud...or even just sunbathing in a concrete garden with a smelly old BBQ burning away...

'Glue' and 'The Curse' grate away in the garage indie rock sound that reverbs and echoes around your room and head, whilst whining but comforting vocals slide alongside. Just give it a blast and turn it up if you can...

Sisters' Myspace

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The summation of summery sunbeams (more crap basically)...

• Debut from Darwin Deez = Delectable (hear it all here)
• LCD Soundsystem + Spike Jonze + Rapey Panda Bears = THIS!
• New Foals single, aka 'This Orient', also awesome...
• 'Immer Etwas' is a frolic of danger and electronica from Nice Face, as well as a darn good new record listenable HERE...
• YellowFever make merry noise full of Moldy Peaches meets grrrrr...
• Surfer Blood covering Beach Boys makes sun shine...
• The Tallest Man On Earth must have tall and wonderful vocal chords and talent...

Albums out over the next week or so that you should buy include;

• 'Swim' by Caribou [otherworldly uptempo dance-chill]
• 'Transcontinental Hustle' by Gogol Bordello [Gypsy Punk Rock...nuff said]
• 'My Best Friend Is You' by Kate Nash [jumpy alt-pop with screeches and bums]
• 'All Days Are Nights: Songs For Lulu' by Rufus Wainwright [simply gorgeous pop]

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Fingers and legs and arms and minds crossed for a continuation of Summery sunshine and sunny music that springs the souls and slaps the stars...or something like that...

BYEEEE.........
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Stolen Sound...

'Music is enough for a lifetime but a lifetime is not enough for music' ~Sergei Rachmaninov

This week I have been mostly gaining a gamut of music via friends and their hard drives, taking my musical knowledge, breadth and width, and stretching it that teensy bit further. A mixture of soundtracks, modern folk and hip-hop has been tipped into the musical trough I feed from and in doing so, my musical joy busts open another button...

Enough with the terribly shitty description and onto some amazing music!

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The number of fuzzy girl groups is slowly growing and so far, so good, if the likes of Dum Dum Girls are anything to go by. The four LA ladies that make up the group have the shadowy west coast sound that feeds on slurring guitars and lo-fi production methods, culminating in deliciously replayable tracks such as 'Jail La La', a blast of noise and melody.

Coated in black and oozing miserabilia, the groups debut album 'I Will Be' is released on 29th March and I, for one, am highly anticipating the takeover by reverberating girl groups.

Dum Dum Girls' Myspace

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Air Waves is made up of a singer songwriter called Nicole and whichever friends she can get to play around her, and who wouldn't jump at the chance to work with such sweet and enveloping music. The current release sums her sound up in the title; 'Sweetness'. A slight fuzz sits alongside a solid beat and awesome songwriting skills, complemented by the soft and harmonious drone of Nicole's voice. Check out 'Keys' and 'Kingdom' whilst your ears are open.

Air Waves' Myspace

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A musician recently splattered across many many blogs, all with praising and loving words besides, is Toro Y Moi, a young songwriter and producer, and I thought I might as well jump on the bandwagon. His music is pure groove laced with summer and sunshine, topped off with a lo-fi buzz and haunting melodies that chase oneanother through every track. Definitely someone to get excited about even though it has pushed me into LONGING for summer days, sunshine and a relaxing collapse on the beach accompanied by tracks such as 'You Hid' and 'Blessa' (with a good batch of rum nearby....)

Check out his debut album 'Causers Of This' and anticipate
anything new that he comes out with...

Toro Y Moi's Myspace

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A bit of extra oomph...

• Maths rock act Foals are back with a new release this year and a song has appeared on the web titled 'Spanish Sahara'. A real slow burner that seems to show a progressing band...
• The insanely beautiful Zooey Deschanel and the talented M.Ward are back together as She & Him, ready to release their second album titled 'Volume 2' . A sumptuous track entitled 'Thieves' is out and charming the pants off everyone yet again.
• A few months late but thanks to Laura J Smith (check out her movie blog here), I have found Local Natives and the beautiful 'Gorilla Manor', a strikingly cheerful delight!
• Saw this guy from Leeds supporting Girls (who were immense), and not too shabby (though he is not Scouse as a friend mistakenly asserted over and over...). The act is hauntingly titled Spectrals ...

Albums out over the next week or so that you probably peek at;

• 'Sisterworld' by Liars [paranoid loner post punk with a heart of awesome]
• 'The Brutalist Bricks' by Ted Leo & the Pharmacists [intricate, intelligent punky rock]
• 'The Winter of Mixed Drinks' by Frightened Rabbit [Scottish trembling indie folk]
• 'Plastic Beach' by Gorillaz [cartoons & cameos = awesomely soaring modern pop]

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I am off to steal more music (in the sort of legal way of course)
Go listen and love and learn and let me know...
byeeeeeeeeeeee....eeeeeeee...
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