Camden Crawling Commentary and Crap... (Part Deux)

'Music was my refuge. I could crawl into the space between the notes and curl my back to loneliness.' ~Maya Angelou


Here is the much belated second part of my Camden Crawl experience, as I stumbled around on a Sunday through a heady mix of booze and bands...

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Arriving at Camden around half an hour before bands were due to really kick off the evening events, we headed to the VIP bar to drink/starspot/soak up some atmosphere. I have never felt more alt-celebrity in my life. Flanked by Rox, Vivian Girls and Comanechi (trying to blag free drinks), whilst We Are Scientists played a secret, mini, acoustic set above my heads...

I could get used to this...

We headed downstairs to see Male Bonding at Dingwalls, a shabby cesspit of a venue (which is a compliment, trust me) where I had previously seen a young Miss Marling at my previous Crawl in '07.

Male Bonding fire off aggression in precise and compact blasts of music, shattering the hush of a packed room. The grunge punk ethos lies at the heart of the trio of masculine musical combatants onstage and they know how to grab attention and then punch attention in the face. Noise and movement take hold of the band with the likes of 'Nothing Hurts' rousing feelings of bile and lust in equal measure. An impressive debut album awaits on a shelf somewhere for you to go and listen...

Male Bonding's Myspace

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Next up was the wonderfully named Gold Panda at the awesomely cramped conditions of the Barfly. Nothing short of a superb sonic assault ensued upon the jam packed, sweaty room, with a little space for some jerky dancing for the few taken over by the spirit of electro. Concussive vibrations and a shattering of any silence that could occur in the waves of noise that Mr Panda emanated, wearing a sinister panda hat atop his head (I WANT ONE...)

The indian base of 'Quitters Raga' imbues a dreamlike electronic sense, showcasing the talent for mixing and sampling embodied in the constantly shuffling and regenerating rota of tracks in the arsenal of Gold Panda. Great one eyed monsters of light swooped and dove over the audience as the speakers pulsated, sending the audience away dazed, confused but gloriously satisfied.

Gold Panda's Myspace

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A trip to the Roundhouse with new and old friends alike to see Stornoway, an act I had checked out previously and held some small promise for after hearing a few catchy tracks here and there on the interweb. I was expecting calm melody and hum-a-long riffs scattered to-and-fro.

Instead, I got Coldplay meets Mumford & Sons minus any possibly decent hooks and interest. The band looked bored, the crowd looked bored and my interest was solely in the two drinks my best bud had decided to purchase for us. Two PINTS of white wine... [PICTURED...]

The mixture of forgettable music and slowly vanishing wine made up my mind, leading to a swift exit into the Camden night.

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My last band of Camden Crawl came in the form of Veronica Falls at the nifty little Blues Cafe. The foursome trot out an impressive set of lo-fi loveliness in muffled tones and fuzzy murmurs. 'Found Love In A Graveyard' is somehow rollicking in its slow, low key fumbling method and the hopping bop and chant behind 'Starry Eyes' buzzes the Camden Crawl to a beautifully serene finale. Until next time....

Veronica Falls' Myspace

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Some Mid-May Musical Moresomes (more crap basically)...

• The National's new album, 'High Violet', is particularly wonderful, depositing the band as one of the indie rock backbones of Americana...
• A collection of possible revolutionaries in Wu Lyf (or World Unite/Lucifer Youth Foundation), who have released a smatter of distinctly different and wonderful tracks, showcasing noise rock, hip-hop, dreampop amongst other stifling genres titles...
• M83 are fantastic. Now, Team Ghost (led by a former member of M83) are fantastic...
• Sleigh Bells kickscream their way into the hearts of the musical youufff with screeching and wailing and fantasmic upbeat tracks such as 'Tell' Em'...

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

• 'Sea of Cowards' by The Dead Weather [Jack White et al grind and grit their way through a second record]
• 'Here's To Taking It Easy' by Phosphorescent [American folk that shuffles and moseys its way into your mind]
• 'Infinite Arms' by Band of Horses [More beardy Americana, desolate and authentic]

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Byeeeeeeeeeeee...keep your ears open and your mind wiiiide 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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Eggciting Easter Euphoria....

'Music is an outburst of the soul.' ~Frederick Delius

It is the Easter Weekend so happy Easter Sunday Day to one and all, I hope that zombie Jesus and his bunny rabbit sidekicks bought you all of the chocolate eggs that you can cram down your throat until the inevitable sugar crash and rush to the toilet. I have spent a good week consistently drunk, with help from a Student Radio Conference, and Sonar Radio, who lived up to my every chundering expectation...

Onwards, with Easter comes new shit. So new music yeahhh???

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Brooklyn is currently the musical mecca of awesome, hence why I dream of moving there and starting a fuzzy band full of hope, dreams and wine...

Anyway, Fang Island are another Brooklyn band living up to the hype that emanates from the district so brightly in 2010. Existing for a few years, their first self-titled album was released a couple of weeks ago and showcases an energy that can only be described as the power of (in the band's words) "everyone high-fiving everyone."

'Daisy' comes with a delirious drive that instigates dancing without reason whilst 'Treeton' stops and starts infectiously, hopping along in waves of exuberance. Fang Island make positively life-affirming, jump-for-joy alternative pop that clicks together in simple but effective perfection.

Fang Island's Myspace

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Indie supergroups are tricky to manage and even trickier to actually pull off. Gayngs are a collective of musicians, including Justin Vernon, Megafaun and Solid Gold, pulled together by producer Ryan Olson. So far, only one track has appeared online, but its a 6 and a half minute chillout mastercraft.

Using the laidback vocals of Bon Iver as a template and a slow burning mixture of instruments and beats, the gentle ebb and flow of 'The Gaudy Side of Town' seeps its way into your mind, lulling you into a state of serene satisfaction. It is one gigantic fusion of soul, indie, folk, chillwave and electronica that must surely be setting the scene for something mindblowing...

Gayngs' Myspace

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I very rarely blog about hip-hop but when good stuff comes along, I simply MUST! Here it comes in the form of a free mixtape from Das Racist, a rap trio from (guess where!) Brooklyn. The three take the art of hip-hop, scratch a massive tear across it and try to kick things off once more, forging a new sound, rare in modern hip-hop.

From the gaudy humor of 'Combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell' to the summery sampling of 'You Oughta Know' through to the auto-tune behind 'Fake Patios' and the classic hip-hop style of 'Deep Ass Shit'. Simply magnificent from start to finish, throwing new light onto an undervalued genre.

The stumbling raps, the slurring words, the lazy beats and awesome samples all pave the way towards a band who know how to party but also know their music, and know how to combine the two abilities into the awesome trio that is Das Racist.

Download out their mixtape 'Shut Up, Dude' here at Stereogum...

Das Racist's Myspace

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The evolution of emphatic Easter Eggs (more crap basically)...

• Simply delicious indie pop from Leisure, a trio from Massachusets, in the form of two free songs!
• Neo-Soul star Erykah Badu has been charged after stripping for a recent music video and wandering around a busy area butt nekkid in Dallas...oh well, the song, 'Window Seat', is full of awesome so check the song and video out...
• I am currently planning an amazing trip to New York City with my best buddy and every NY referencing song makes me want to go RIGHT NOW...especially when they are as good as this new offering from Rufus Wainwright, titled 'Who Are You, New York?'
• An amazing gig at The Joiners in Southampton on May 19th; Japandroids and Yuck = droning purity and lo-fi loveliness...
• I want to do this for a living...Vivian Girls and Male Bonding cover Lou Reed...

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

• 'Our Inventions' by Lali Puna [inventive, innovative electronic pop]
• 'Yeah, So' by Slow Club [rockabilly jangle indie pop]

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So, go enjoy some chocolate whilst thinking about the crucifixion and subsequent zombie-like revival of Jesus. And listening to this lot of course. Your soul will thank you (and by extension, me) for it all later.

Have a Happy Rest of Easter!
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Music Is Forever

'Music is forever; music should grow and mature with you, following you right on up until you die.' ~Paul Simon

I believe it is simply time for another assortment of music madness before the weekend, enabling you to sit inside while it rains (or suns) and simply listen, rather than having to deal with that whole 'outside' thing...

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Two brothers who used to play with Justin Vernon of Bon Iver form Megafaun, a group that revels in the current wave of lo-fi folk rock that sounds so beautiful in so many settings. A lazy weaving of sounds and vocals make up the laid back but sumptuous sound that Megafaun project, apparent in the likes of meandering 'Lazy Suicide' and the contemplative nature that lies at the heart of 'Kaufman's Ballad'.

They have two fantastic albums out and are touring relentlessly this year around the USA and I have my fingers crossed they will return with a new album and a few dates in the UK sometime soon!

Megafaun's Myspace

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Radiant Dragon is a pretty awesome name. And not a bad musician from all I have heard. It is rare for an electronic musician to catch my ear but his atmospheric indietronica is perfectly pitched using instruments and software to create tracks that must be heard through headphones without distraction, allowing for the immersion that they richly deserve. Somewhat cinematic and completely drenched in a layer of pop that shines through the wandering beats, bleeps and hums that make up the music of Radiant Dragon. Check out the peaceful momentum of 'Frost Satellite' whose pace allows you to drift away for some time, in a state of alternative bliss.

Radiant Dragon's Myspace

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Only one song to listen to but its a gorgeous one. The sweetly named Kisses are a LA duo who have appeared with a song titled 'Bermuda'. The track and sound hints at disco, electronica, chillwave, indie and pop, bouncing along all-too-merrily on a wave of joy. It truly feels full of summer sun and makes me long to find a beach to dance to this song upon. A few DJ sets in London are tentatively set but I urge this group to bring out a few more tracks and get a live show on the road (to my road please...).

Kisses' Myspace

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Anais Mitchell has created a simply brilliant Folk opera titled 'Hadestown' described as "the story of Orpheus and Eurydice set in post-apocalyptic Depression-era America." The record tells the story with different musicians as different characters, including Justin Vernon, Ben Knox Miller and Ani DiFranco. Standout tracks include 'Way Down in Hadestown', 'Wait For Me' and the awesome 'Wedding Song'. Check it out at Myspace before you buy the record!

Hadestown's Myspace
Hadestown Website

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The maturing musical moreology (more crap basically)...

• Haunted Stereo are a lovely set of Southampton folk musicians who have released a bunch of beauteous EPs over the last couple of years and have a double A-Side on the way on Sotones Records, 'On A Pin/Lock The Door', out 17th May (but check out some of their previous work here).
• Summer Camp are an indie pop band with secret identities, appearing on myspace with a handful of simply wonderful tunes such as 'Ghost Train' and little else. A blog full of pretty, old pictures is run by them and they seem to be playing sporadic, secret shows here and there....Listen.....
• Check out 'Night Animal' from the Finnish, indie pop band Burning Hearts...
• I love Ben Gibbard (musically) but I hate Ben Gibbard (due to his current fiance)...here's some of his music, well a cover of someone else's music....
• Music related by the weakest of links, Bill Murray is a GOD! Hanging out with Wu Tang and bartending after SXSW....
• And finally, the biopic that needs to be made...WEIRD: The Story of Weird Al Yankovic

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

• 'I Will Be' by Dum Dum Girls [grrl-gaze awesomeness that howls along]
• 'Go' by Jonsi [pure and unadulterated dreampop from the frontman of Sigur Ros]
• 'Down The Way' by Angus & Julia Stone [folky acoustic pickings accompanied by soft, tender vocals and strings that melt hearts...]

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I shall be updating in time for Day Of Eating Chocolate Eggs and will be venturing to Nottingham before then to attend the Student Radio Award Conference, so wish me luck in meeting Huw Stephens and falling in love with him!!

Ta Ta my lovelies!!
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How To Join A First Rate Yucky Cult....

'I like any reaction I can get with my music.' -Jim Morrison

My body is aching and dying thanks to something called 'exercise' that I decided to partake in yesterday, and my muscles are realising the effects of such actions this beautifully terrible day. Hopefully music, musicians and more music will alleviate my pain somewhat, as well as, maybe, a bit of alcohol and junk food. Allons-y!

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I am going to try and avoid making puns with an excellent band recently discovered via other blogs, First Rate People. An old school soul ethos (with a gorgeous sample of The Stylistics) mixed with alt rock, that feeds a musical hunger I never knew I had. 'Orion' and 'Girls Night' are endlessly listenable popping and bopping modern pop songs that stretch across genres effortlessly, similar to Dirty Projectors. Check out this first rate band (damnit...) RIGHT NOW!

First Rate People's Myspace

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Want an awesome free EP by an awesome new band?

Yes I hear you scream at your monitor?

Well, here you go: head here and listen away... http://cults.bandcamp.com/

Cults are a band without a myspace and with an un-google-able name but gosh darnit, they make some good indie pop. Drenched in the 60s and urging me to go to New York sooner rather than later, their sing-along style on the likes of 'Go Outside' pulls the corner of your mouth into something of a smile whether you want it or not. 'Most Wanted' resembles a lo-fi outtake from a Phil Spector production. Simply lovely...

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A few years ago, in my younger days (ahh), I fell for a band called Cajun Dance Party, a riotous indie party band whose yelping, youth and vigour matched my own....
Now, after splitting up, members of the band are back with a more mature, shoegazey project known as Yuck, emitting a beautiful mixture of fuzz and murmuring. 'Georgia' is slightly 1990s, slightly euphoric and completely compelling. A myspace player full of awesome tracks makes for a day spent repeatedly clicking, so set to it!

Yuck's Myspace

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Continuing the cacophony...

• Joanna Newsom is simply wonderful and any who says otherwise has probably never heard of her. Her new album has been out for a couple of weeks and here she is enunciating amazingly on Jimmy Kimmel in the US. I want to kiss that mouth...
• Yo Gabba Gabba is THE most amazing kids show in existence. Previous guests have included Mark Mothersbaugh and The Shins. Now we have Weezer as giant bugs, Of Montreal helping make upset tummies better and, best of freaking all, Mos Def as a superhero....fuck Postman Pat....
• A lovely bit of psychedelia indie from Neon Indian via his first release since their awesome album 'Psychic Chasms'. Tis called 'Sleep Paralysist' and is not too shabby.
• RIP to Mark Linkous, and whilst I knew little about him and his work before recent events, I have now chastised myself for not listening to Sparklehorse in the past and if you havent', push you to listen to 'Happy Man' as a starting point...
• Sigur Ros' frontman is know working as Jonsi and this epic blast of his ability is worth a few hundred listens atop a mountaintop at least; 'Tornado'.
  

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

• 'Volume Two' by She & Him [gorgeous indie pop from one gorgeous indie popstar and one pretty cool indie folk minister]
• 'The Big To Do' by Drive-By Truckers [Melodic southern rock stylings]
• 'Under Great White Northern Lights' by The White Stripes [live recorded DVD & CD of the iconic modern rock duo]

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Happy Weekend Everybody!!
(oh and say hello to all of your lovely mothers for me!)
Ta Ta!
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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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