#10: Grouplove

New Narcotic of the Day #10:

Grouplove

Sometimes a shockingly good introductory track can lead to a whole world of devastation and disappointment when the music you suddenly love reveals itself as a short loved, one-hit-wonder of your world, as the artist in question managed to use up all available wisdom and talent by channelling it into that one track you fell in love with. Grouplove unleashed a track called 'Colours' onto the net last year and I 100%, abso-fucking-lutely fell in love with it. Jabbing indie vocal jerks and steady but steadfast pulsating percussion, coupled with a shout-along chorus made it a surefire mainstay for my summer of 2010 (blogged about wayyy back in May). The worry came when I decided to see what else they had to offer....

Grouplove are an all-American group (even though one member is from London and they met in Crete...) who exude an upbeat Arcade Fire vibe, full of vigour and good vibrations. They are based, nonetheless, in LA, and you can feel the warmth of the West Coast sunshine through their tone and tenor. A slight sense of the 90s indie revival is in the air when listening to the likes of 'Naked Kids' with the vocals almost sneering their way through the song, aided by some rapid strumming and Smashing Pumpkins bass runs and spoken word verses. 'Gold Coast' is an irrepressible moan wrapped in indie ethos, accompanied by a clatter of drums and comfortably whining vocals, whilst 'Don't Say Oh Well' echoes a US parallel version of Los Campesinos!

The group veer away from the recurrent current sound of the West Coast, swerving away from lo-fi grumbling, edging away (ever so slowly and slightly) from surf rock and stumbling, giggling the whole way, in the opposite direction of noise rock. Grouplove are five content individuals, singing about joy and smiles amidst a Californian sunset and are all the better for this display of sheer exultation. I feel that if Grouplove aim for summer release, the mixture of festivals, sunshine (fingers crossed) and general gaiety in the air will push them into the stratosphere, kept afloat atop chanting crowds, sunny dispositions and face-achingly grinning music lovers.

Grouplove's Myspace

Ho-Ho-Holidays Are Coming: Los Campesinos!

On the 13th of December,
New Narcotics gives to you...
Los Campesinos!

Deck the halls with boughs of blah blah, as it is that time of year again and a smattering of alternative holiday songs begin to arrive down the musical chimney. Upbeat indie popstars Los Campesinos! have created a merry kind of melancholy with 'Kindle A Flame In Her Heart', free online and due to be released on a 7" with the band's own fanzine, Heat Rash.

Kindle A Flame In Her Heart by Los Campesinos!

What Would I Want? Music?

'Music is the poetry of the air.' ~Sviatoslav Richter

We near that event that some call Valentines Day but, for reasons too depressing to head into, I shall call Fuck You, Let's Listen To Some New Music Day. Not quite as catchy but it's a national holiday in progress. So, let's give you an agenda of new music for that lazy Sunday...

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Way back when I was still a student (last year), I hosted a specialist show on student radio (now known as Sonar Radio) all about brand spanking new music and the older influential artists that inspired the current trends, and had the pleasure of falling over many awesome artists, one of which I had the pleasure of seeing in Winchester not long ago.


Alessi's Ark is a solo folkstress with a style of music that can only be defined as Gorgeous, with a big ol' capital G. She has supported the likes of Mumford & Sons and Laura Marling, complementing their folk tales of woe and twee with her inventive and sweet songs such as 'The Horse' and 'Constellations'. The majority of my friends were deeply depressed that they missed the chance to purchase a copy of her album, wrapped in a hand-knitted bag, and I was deeply depressed that she didn't spot me from the stage and whisk me into a folk heaven involving her singing to me every night....

Alessi's Ark's Myspace

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She was supporting a huge group of folk troubadours from Brighton whose combined musical output swept the stage and the crowd into a folk frenzy (aka quiet, content and intelligent contemplation). Sons of Noel & Adrian use whistling and a whole host of musical instruments to craft intricate folk pop that tugs at the heart (and head) strings.

Sons of Noel & Adrian's Myspace

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Yet another group from Brighton AND another musical artist who I played on my specialist show last year, Esben and the Witch are making waves in the music-sphere at the moment, popping up on various Festival announcements. Very much a group rooted in literature and storytelling, tracks such as 'Marching Song' project an eery foreboding captivating when trapped within a four minute ditty. Echoes of Bjork and Portishead resonate through the sound of the group whilst allowing an individuality thanks to the emotion that embeds deep within their music.

Esben and the Witch's Myspace

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A few quickies to make sure you don't run low on New Music to munch on...

Male Bonding popped in to play for Huw Stephen's last night, whose show remains the last bastion of decency on Radio 1, showcasing their grunge-gaze rock that I love so much... Check out their Myspazz

Los Campesinos have a new album out NOW, so give this a listen and then go spend your pennies on it...Romance Is Boring...

These guys are pretty good; well I have listened to 'The Chemical Song' a few times over. They are called Citadels.

Gil Scott-Heron, the freaking legend that he is, has an amazing new album out called 'I'm New Here'. Hear the whole thing here on le Guardian and then go get it so you can listen to it FOREVER....

Finally, I have never been a big Peter Gabriel fan but this may change with an album covering David Bowie, Radiohead, Regina Spektor and Bon Iver...The Guardian, lovely people that they are, let you hear it here...

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So, go forth, listen and keep loving (except on Valentines Day, that is now for NOTHING but listening to new music, no lovey dovey crap there...)

Buh bye!
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The Loss of Soul and Punk

'Were it not for music, we might in these days say, the Beautiful is dead.' ~Benjamin Disraeli

A somewhat somber New Narcotics this week in remembrance of two great artists who died yesterday. Two very different musicians but both fondly remembered as innovative, brilliant voices that projected a unique stamp upon their respective genres.



Teddy Pendergrass first found fame with Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, starting as a drummer until his voice leapt to the front of the stage and the band invited him to act as lead singer. A mega hit in the shape of 'If You Don't Know Me By Now' from their debut album has since been covered a hundred times over but the afro-tastic favour of the original is unmatched in my opinion. A personal favourite from the bands catalogue is the groovy but sweet 'The Love I Lost' that chugs along on a disco riff but bellows forth a lovelorn story.

Teddy set out on a solo career in 1977, stretching his soul even further on classic ballads such as 'Turn Off The Light' and 'Close The Door' that oozed sexuality. More hit singles followed from upbeat, disco-tinged tracks like 'The More I Get, The More I Want' and the oft-covered and sampled 'Love TKO'.

The standout track of his career for me is the lovelorn 'The Whole Town's Laughing At Me' that sums up a harsh loss of love that culminates in the utter despair and paranoia that resides within the soulful stylings and voice that pleads and ponders.

A car accident in 1982 almost put an end to his career after he was paralysed from the waist down but after physical therapy he returned to music and recorded a duet with an unknown singer, now famous, Whitney Houston, called 'Hold Me'. He continued to perform live up until being diagnosed with colon cancer, the disease that would eventually take his life on January 13th 2010 at 59 years old.

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Born Jimmy Lee Lindsey Jr in 1981, Jay Reatard began recording at age 15 and formed a band called the Reatards. He released a couple of EPs with a punk rock ethos that used distortion, lo-fi garage riffs and heavy drums to craft hard kicking tracks such as 'Your So Lewd' .

He also worked with The Lost Sounds and The Final Solutions, showing an impressive songwriting output, but, arguably, his best work came as a solo artist with 'Blood Visions' in 2006. An album full of aggression and quirk that bops, bounces and growls through tracks such as short, sharp opener 'Blood Visions' and the yelpy 'Nightmares'.


A relentless musician, composer and artist, he set up his own record label under the moniker Shattered Records, toured worldwide, collaborated with a number of musicians and bands and released a stream of EPs and records, such as this excellently angry B-Side 'An Ugly Death'.

His second album appeared mellower than previous output though retained the individual sense that Reatard injects into everything he touches. 'Watch Me Fall' is an album full of standout tracks that compliment and contradict oneanother. 'It Ain't Gonna Save Me' is catchy but filled with bile, whilst 'Man of Steel' seems as if it was assembled from a mish-mash of songs and riffs that somehow slot together perfectly.

Jay was an icon in the alternative punk world and his brashness, output and general demeanor towards the industry and music will let him live on in musical memory long after his death at the ridiculously tragic age of 29, under circumstances yet to be established.

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Finally, a quick couple of new artists to keep you a little upbeat after all this gloom and doom!


From LA come Fool's Gold, a group whose afropop manages to sound somewhat like indie via the hipsters at the heart of the group (and probably thanks to the success of Vampire Weekend, those rascals). Their debut albums is available, titled 'IAMSOUND', and sounds just as joyous as that title does rolling out of your mouth. Tracks on repeat inside my head as I imagine some sunshine over an African plain (anything but ICE!) are 'Surprise Hotel' and 'Nadine'

Fool's Gold Myspace

From the Sunshine State, keeping up the warm and fuzzy feeling, are Surfer Blood, a lo-fi indie mess whose music is just pure jangle and jingle, against a backdrop of sun and summer. 'Swim (To Reach to the End)' is infinitely listenable as the garage guitars flash and melt away periodically, and 'Floating Vibes' does exactly what it says on the tin (I want to lie on a raft with this track buzzing in my ears...). Their debut album 'Astro Coast' is out on the 19th...so get on it...

Surfer Blood's Myspace

Albums out next week include...
'Romance Is Boring' by Los Campesinos
'Teen Dream' by Beach House
'Transference' by Spoon
'Campfire Songs' [Re-release] by Animal Collective

That is all for this week, keep on keeping on despite such sad losses to the world of music. Just remember them through a constant, loud blasting of their records and the legacy they leave behind!

Buh Bye!
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