Heretic Descendant

Taking cues from The Fall and Bauhaus, London’s Wild Palms are rendering a new strain of aggressive, post-industrial postpunk. Their trademark staunch, mechanical bass and guitar scrape away any superfluous decorations for a suitably dreary, industrialised sound. Wild Palms have been touted as a band to watch by NME, and listening to their debut single, the oddly scripted ‘….Over….Time….’, it’s easy to see why. Released today, the song’s briskly shouted echoey orders coast over rusty pipes of bass and slithery percussion. The basslines do much of the driving in their repertoire, with all instruments binding together in a tightly wound, highly strung epochal message. Lou Hill adopts a stringent, powerful profile as the lead-limbed lead singer, constricting his yelps and howls over Gareth Jones’ tangential bass and Darrel Hawkins’ abrassive guitar, presiding over James Parish’s percolating drums. Elsewhere in their catalogue, ‘Reason Dazzled (Narrenschiff)’ can irk in its early bars but grows tremendous roots as an electrifying and powerful polished rock song. ‘Deep Dive’ is a more emotively pained, poppier take on their catchy riff-led harmonies. Touring Europe at the moment and the UK in December, expect to see a bit more of these folk.

 Wild Palms- ….Over….Time….: MP3

Wild Palms- Deep Dive: MP3

Wild Palms- Myspace

Posted by Sarah Gooding under London, UK
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White Hinterland does Justin Timberlake

This is a very beautiful cover by Portland’s White Hinterland, made rather simple by replacing JT’s electro synths/beats with a single tom drum and the siren-like voice of Casey Dienel. It’s a very mellow cover of one of the biggest pop hits of the twenty-first century and it breathes new life into the song, hopefully giving it a whole new audience. White Hinterland’s version appears on a recent limited edition tour EP titled Fresh From The Garden.

 White Hinterland- My Love: MP3

 White Hinterland- Myspace

The Soft Pack does Phoenix

This song sounds a bit like The Velvet Underground circa 1969, but it’s actually The Soft Pack (formerly The Muslims) covering French indie-pop group Phoenix. The four piece San Diego band sound a bit like The Strokes here too, bringing a swinging rock n roll surfer vibe to the song, that was originally a psychedelic tune and part of the late 2000’s psych pop renaissance.

The Soft Pack- Fences: MP3

 The Soft Pack- Myspace

Port O’Brien does Beyonce

Kanye’s right, Beyonce is one of the biggest stars in modern pop music and many critics agree that her music is polarising and breaks many boundaries within the realm of popular music. But again this cover opens the song to a new audience, because lets be honest, not everyone likes Beyonce. San Francisco’s Port O’Brien are a kind of indie/folk/alt country band and with that comes a new way of presenting this song. That said they’ve kept some of Beyonce’s stylistic techniques, especially in the vocals, where you can hear the same harmonies used that gave the original such an emotional, breathtaking quality. They’ve added some nice droning guitar parts and some sweet pings on an old toy piano to give the song their own unique touch.

Port O’Brien- Halo: MP3

 Port O’Brien- Myspace

Matthew Crawley does Blondie

Some people may know Matthew Crawley as the guy who runs the Mum club night at Auckland venue Cassette #9; others may remember him as the lead singer in both The Cosbys and The Conjurors. He is also a solo musician who has been performing his wee folk songs somewhat infrequently for the past year. Take a listen to his cover of Blondie’s ‘Heart Of Glass’, you might be surprised. He has a wonderful voice that sounds a little bit like Antony Hegarty; embracing a similar passionate singing style, that at times sounds like he’s going to burst into tears. Matthew’s good friend Mira Reil took the lovely photo.

 Matthew Crawley- Heart Of Glass: MP3

 Matthew Crawley- Myspace

Posted by Nick Fulton under New Zealand, U.S.A, UK
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Post-Pumpkin

Wetdog will be touring the UK in early October with The Slits and together they make a fine pair, blending old-style jams with new unpretentious concrete punk. They’re another noisy post-punk band but fuck it, their music rules.

The band formed about four years ago in London and has been turning a few industry heads with their droney, antagonistic, guitar-driven punk. They’ve featured in Artrocker, Drowned In Sound, Uncut and NME all very positively and have played a recent run of festivals in the UK. Their debut album Enterprise Reversal is magnificent, crafting a fine mix of angular guitars, rolling bass lines and chitter-chatter drum rolls. It’s obvious all three members (Billy, Rivka and Sarah) are fans of The Fall, The Slits and The Smiths, but they’ll stab anyone who dares to criticise their originality.

Of the twenty-one songs on their debut album, ‘Zah Und Zaheet’ stands out as an instant favourite. With a dirty repetitive bass line drilling the song deep into the crusty parts of the brain, it’s a two minute-long, skull-crushing classic. There’s even a subtle Slits reference in there too. All the songs on the album were written over a period of three years, but they all join together relatively easy, filling both sides of the Arctic moss-coloured vinyl they were pressed to.

You can get your copy from the Angular Records store, available in 12″ vinyl as well as on CD and as a digital download.

Wetdog- Jane Bowles: MP3

Wetdog- Myspace

Posted by Nick Fulton under London, UK
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Taken By Trees does Guns N’ Roses

Victoria Bergsman just released one of the most beautiful albums of 2009 so it’s no surprise that this cover of Guns N’ Roses’ ‘Sweet Child Of Mine’ is equally as stunning. She released the song last year on 7″ vinyl. Bergsman is no stranger to recording covers, her previous band The Concretes recorded excellent covers of The Rolling Stones’ ‘Miss You’ and Take That’s ‘Back For Good’, but nothing quite compares to this one.

Taken By Trees- Sweet Child Of Mine: MP3

Pet Ghost Project does Pavement

From Brooklyn, New York, Pet Ghost Project has made a tactful take on Pavement’s ‘Box Elder’ and they’ve keep it pretty true to the original, adding just a slight touch of acoustic twee. In Pavement news: the band has announced they are reforming for a show in New York in September, 2010. No other dates or album details have been announced.

 Pet Ghost Project- Box Elder: MP3

Art Brut does The Cure

Earlier this year a whole bunch of musicians/bands, including Metronomy, The Mystery Jets, Dinosaur Jr and The Big Pink contributed covers to an album paying tribute to The Cure. Art Brut was also included, doing a cover of ‘Catch’ which originally appeared on The Cure’s 1987 double album Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me. 

 Art Brut- Catch: MP3

No Age does Bjork

Randy Randall and Dean Spunt took a totally different approach to this song when they recorded it back in 2008. Bjork’s original version of ‘It’s Oh So Quiet’ was backed by a full orchestra, but the LA duo took an axe to that idea, instead smashing it to pieces with their minimal guitar and drums set-up. No Age’s version appeared on a Stereogum compilation paying tribute to the Icelandic queen. The original version was responsible for breaking Bjork into the American pop market, largely thanks to the Spike Jonze-directed video that accompanied it. Strangely the song itself is actually a cover, Bjork renamed Betty Hutton’s ‘Blow A Fuse’ from 1946(?).

 No Age- It’s Oh So Quiet: MP3

Posted by Nick Fulton under Iceland, Sweden, U.S.A, UK
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Gang of Three

Scuzzy 21st century post-punks, these Londoners are destined for fame. Creating a raw, energetic, screeching belch of guitars, oily drum beats and a cloud of dusty bass lines, Not Cool take cues from the likes of Gang of Four, Pavement and Dinosaur Jr. Not since the Arctic Monkeys’ debut record has a British band displayed the charisma and shimmering dissidence needed to charm the ageing ’80s post-punk generation. They’ve self-branded their music as ‘gutter pop’ to appeal to Generation Y, but Generation X is where these guys truly belong.

They only formed in 2008 and are slowly gathering momentum to crash the British indie scene. Their first release, out now, is a limited edition (200 copies) 7″ vinyl containing their debut single ‘Wonderful Beasts’. It’s backed by a double b-side, with the tracks ‘The Bell Curve’ and ‘Um, You Didn’t Do That In Soundcheck’. It is also the first release for Sleep All Day Records.

Not Cool- Um, You Didn’t Do That In Soundcheck: MP3

 Not Cool- Myspace

Posted by Nick Fulton under London, UK
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Giddy Pop Euphoria

La Roux, Ladyhawke, Little Boots, Chew Lips; just a few of the artists that have been compared to young Manchester band May 68, who is about to embark on a tour with other capable acts We Have Band and Glass Candy.

The group comes from the Italians Do It Better mould but blend it up a little with some added instrumentation, making sparkly disco pop with dance punk-style guitars, electro beats, crawling sci-fi synths and catchy dysrhythmic vocals courtesy of front-woman Jude Wainwright. Already, with just a handful of songs, they’re displaying the ability to make them the next UK dance floor phenomenon, crossing into the mainstream pop market with their song ‘Last Mile’ and satisfying peoples’ more eclectic tastes with ‘The New You’, ‘The Duke Is Dead’ and their new song ‘Carla’. But the real test is to see if they can display the diversity to stick around longer than many of their flash in the pan counterparts; perhaps idolising Glass Candy will help them see into the future.

To date, May 68 has put out one limited edition demo, which has now sold out. However they have put the songs up for free download on their website, so limited or not, it depends how you look at it. They have also featured on a couple of compilations; Across The Pennies: Volume 7 alongside The Whip, Ladytron and Cats In Paris, as well as a Pure Groove Compilation alongside Ghostape, My Tiger My Timing and Stricken City, among others.

May 68- Last Mile: MP3

May 68- The Duke Is Dead: MP3

 May 68- Carla: MP3

May 68- Myspace

Posted by Nick Fulton under Manchester, UK
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Speed Freaks and Skin Grafts

They’ve released split 7″s with AIDS Wolf, Comanechi and Crystal Castles, so how could we not love them? PRE has also released two full-length albums, the second of which came out in June this year. They’re a noise making, obnoxiously crazy, hardcore punk machine from the UK who has a reputation for erratic new-wave post punk and playing chaotic live shows across the world (for their very first show in London they locked fans outside and made them watch through the windows).

Led by spastic, bratty Japanese front-woman Akiko ‘Keex’ Matsuura, who jumps around and screams like a creature from the underworld, the band creates a twisted wall of noise that foams at the mouth. Electrified drones meet rocket-fuelled bass riffs, lightning guitars, rumbling drums and ear-piercing screams; a combination of four enthusiastic young dudes and one wildly erratic young woman.

The band is signed to Skin Graft Records, which was originally founded in 1986 as a comic book label. The first record released by the label was in 1991, a split 7″ with Dazzling Killmen and Mother’s Day. Most of the bands on the label have a similar noisy appearance to PRE, making it a very suitable environment for them and their label mates. It has helped PRE team up with a selection of like-minded bands and has led to the flurry of 7″ vinyl releases.

PRE has also released two full-length albums, both via Skin Graft Records. The first, titled Epic Fits came out in late 2007 and can now be purchased in four different formats (limited edition metal box CD, standard CD, digital downloads or gatefold vinyl) from the label’s website. Their second album, Hope Freaks, recorded with Steve Albini in his Chicago studio, was released in June 2009.

PRE- Haircut Tacos: MP3

PRE- Fudging On Our Folks: MP3

PRE- Drool: MP3

 PRE- Myspace

Posted by Nick Fulton under London, UK
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The Dream Academy

London band The Clientele has just given fans a taste of their upcoming album Bonfires On The Heath. The new song, from the band’s fourth album out on October 6th, is a wonderfully lackadaisical dreamy pop number titled ‘Harvest Time’. It was previewed a few days ago via Stereogum. The song is the second track to hit the blogs from Bonfires On The Heath, the first was the slightly more upbeat, jazzy number titled ‘I Wonder Who We Are’.

‘Harvest Time’ displays the band’s softer side, sounding like a sweet summer lullaby sung by a band camped on the beach. The vocal harmonies make the song especially mesmerising; with such flawless timing they could easily go back 40 years to appear on Pet Sounds. It’s very slow and very chilled out, and with the New Zealand summer approaching The Clientele will probably get plenty of play on my stereo.

Bonfires On The Heath comes out on October 6th via Merge Records.

 The Clientele- Harvest Time: MP3

The Clientele- I Wonder Who We Are: MP3

  The Clientele- Myspace

Posted by Nick Fulton under London, UK
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Trapped Animal

The first full-length release in over 25 years from twisted UK punks The Slits signals another bold and utterly weird direction. Trapped Animal will be released on October 20 on Narnack Records, home to Iran and Lee “Scratch” Perry. The first known song from the upcoming album, ‘Ask Ma’, is a fruity electronica-driven creeping anthem. Restrained syncopated beats are in surplus and provide a backing for the sticky intermittent chirp of ringleader Ari Up, with Hollie Cook. Initially puzzling, the ongoing loop of funky bass and clappy rhythm takes hold and grows interesting. Proving that they still hold their fruity roots proud with gay abandon, The Slits were never ones to look back, and it’s exciting looking forward to this. The Slits are playing the Offset Festival in London on September 5 and a few more shows scattered around England in October. Listen to ‘Ask Ma’ on the band’s myspace.

The Slits- Myspace

Posted by Sarah Gooding under UK
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That Was Then, This Is Now

From Sunderland, England, France and The Habsburgs is a Fall worshipping magnet. From their stony drum beats through to their repetitive guitar riffs, bouncy bass lines and dry vocals; they sound like a lost package from 1982 that’s only just reached its destination twenty-seven years later. But there’s no harm done, these guys have their aesthetic working for them and although it’s not entirely original it’s still razor sharp post-punk.

The band has only been around since the beginning of 2009 and has already been approached to release an album. After dramas finding a new drummer and having to turn down gig requests, they’re now on course to get cracking with recording. Watch this space, because I think you’ll be hearing more from France and The Hubsburgs.

 France and The Habsburgs- Jenny Is Connected: MP3

France and The Habsburgs- Hot Topic: MP3

 France and The Habsburgs- Myspace

Posted by Nick Fulton under UK
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