Archive for August, 2009
Monday, August 31st, 2009
The Fruit Bats- The Ruminant Band
The Fruit Bats- The Ruminant Band
7/10
Between The Fruit Bats’ last album Spelled In Bones (2005) and the band’s new album The Ruminant Band, songwriter Eric Johnson spent time playing with his friends in Vetiver and The Shins. Time has been worthy for The Fruit Bats, they now have five members and for the first time […]
No Comments » - Posted in Album, Reviews by Nick Fulton
Monday, August 31st, 2009
Go Away Birds
I Ask About You Now and Then
The star of Belle and Sebastian front-man Stuart Murdoch’s recent God Help The Girl project was a little known Scottish singer named Catherine Ireton. Good news then; along with Michael John McCarthy, Ireton sings in her own band named Go Away Birds. In a similar style to Belle and […]
No Comments » - Posted in Scotland by Nick Fulton
Sunday, August 30th, 2009
Live at the Smell
One Week Only
For just one week only, American indie music website Pitchfork is showing a 34 part documentary called Live at the Smell. The documentary features a series of live performances from the legendary L.A venue, cut up and streamed in 34 individual parts. It includes performances by The Mae Shi, No Age, Abe Vigoda, […]
2 Comments » - Posted in Los Angeles by Nick Fulton
Friday, August 28th, 2009
Butt Simpson
Thanks Apu
Butt Simpson is ferociously noisy, obnoxiously grating, grinding noise made by Ryan (Megaheroes, sometime drummer for Golden Axe), and Sam (Dyke Dyke Dyke) from Wellington. The couple make mad super noise that constantly peaks, resulting in muffled, blasting shots of continuous disortion, interrupted only by the faintest vocal howls and screams, and eternally changing, […]
8 Comments » - Posted in New Zealand, Wellington by Sarah Gooding
Friday, August 28th, 2009
Grass Widow
Cave Girls
I don’t think we can deny that California punk is hot in our speakers right now; Mika Miko, The Widow Babies and Dum Dum Girls are among the bands we’ve been majorly digging recently. Grass Widow is another band from the area that stands out. Hailing from San Francisco, the trio of Hannah Lew […]
No Comments » - Posted in San Francisco, U.S.A by Nick Fulton
Thursday, August 27th, 2009
Featured Reviews
Dylan Storey- Out Of The Soup
8/10
“… Dabbling in lyrical philosophy, songs like ‘Sartre’s Hell’ see the poet produce a mature outlook with his impeccably constructed songs. The players bring session-quality grandeur to the table, with bass and drums particularly flourishing and backing vocals adding a wispy prettiness to the strong and fearless songs…” - Sarah
Dylan […]
No Comments » - Posted in Featured Reviews by Nick Fulton
Thursday, August 27th, 2009
Frayden- Ghost Crash
Frayden- Ghost Crash
7/10
Say the name Frayden around Auckland and you’ll probably get a bit of a mixed response; I saw them play live last year and wasn’t particularly impressed. However Ghost Crash has me wondering what’s wrong. Full of harmonious punk anthems, the band’s debut album is a semi-brutal assault that has far more enthusiasm […]
No Comments » - Posted in Album, Reviews by Nick Fulton
Thursday, August 27th, 2009
The XX
The XX- XX
8/10
Minimalist guitar parts, earthly rhythmic beats and sterile vocals all create a unfamiliar mix of Tricky-style trip-hop, The Cure’s Gothic post-punk and The Chills’ indie fantasy pop. The Manchester group has burst the British indie bubble, refusing to be held hostage to the stadium chant and has served a well-timed fusion of musical […]
No Comments » - Posted in Album, Reviews by Nick Fulton
Wednesday, August 26th, 2009
Math The Band- Don’t Worry
Math The Band- Don’t Worry
8/10
Don’t Worry is hyperactive, intense electronic pop for speed freaks that threatens to send its listeners into intensive care for the sheer speed of its songs. Frequent chant-alongs, crescendos and spiralling madness are met with recurrent gong sounds at the end of each track, explained by the artists as their “signature”, […]
No Comments » - Posted in Album, Reviews by Sarah Gooding
Wednesday, August 26th, 2009
Dylan Storey- Out Of The Soup
Dylan Storey- Out Of The Soup
8/10
Masterfully produced, worldly folk by Aucklander and Reb Fountain’s Bandit is self-released with input from luminaries including Fountain, Caitlin Smith, Clem White and Gareth Scott. The balladeer indulges his non-conformist views through abstract folk, psychedelic country and alternative blues rock. Dabbling in lyrical philosophy, songs like ‘Sartre’s Hell’ see the […]
