Another Form of Relief

A year ago I couldn’t have even told you what tweepop was. Sure, I had gotten into Belle & Sebastian in a big way by that point, but I didn’t know anything about the genre itself, or even that such a genre existed in the first place. Over the past year, I’ve ventured further and further into it, and find myself constantly discovering new and wonderful bands. I primed myself with Pitchfork’s concise ‘Twee as Fuck‘ feature and then basically just downloaded whatever Matt over at Skatterbrain posted on his blog. There’s no real point to this story, I just think that’s kind of cool.

Over the past couple of weeks I’ve found a bunch of new tweepop bands that I’m liking in a big way. I’m going to write about three of them in one post as I’m backlogged with fantastic music to write about and this simplifies things somewhat.

The aim of Sweden’s Bedroom Eyes is “to make pop songs that are short and simple compounds of bright melodies and heartfelt matters”. Essentially the one man band of Jonas Jonsson, the songs are full of the kind of breezy playing that makes bands like Human Television such a joy. Upbeat music, downbeat lyrics and probably the first band to successfully namecheck Ricky Gervais. You can download all of 2006’s ‘Embrace In Stereo’ EP from their website.

MP3 Bedroom Eyes - Dancing Under Influence (expired)
MP3 Bedroom Eyes - Motorcycle Daydream (expired)

Bedroom Eyes: Website || Myspace

It seems that everyone else has already written about Antarctica Takes It! Always one to be late to the party, I’d just like to reiterate how good these guys are. A four piece from California that is the outlet for songwriter Dylan’s slightly random but always engaging songs. There’s a little of everything in these songs: harmonies, time shifts, and the glockenspiel. You can never have enough glockenspiel in your songs. It’s all very lo-fi, but that’s just part of it’s charm. Both of the songs below are taken from last year’s ‘The Penguin League’ album. The band is currently recording a follow up.

MP3 Antarctica Takes It! - Antarctica (expired)
MP3 Antarctica Takes It! - I’m No Lover (expired)

Antarctica Takes It!: Myspace

Cats on Fire may well be the first band from Finland that I’ve ever posted on this blog. Who would have thought that tweepop would be quite such an international thing? Cats on Fire have been around for over five years, all of which is documented on the wonderfully (and sometimes brutally) honest autobiography on their website. These are surprisingly elaborate little songs with a vocalist that manages to sound eerily similiar to Morrissey at times.

MP3 Cats on Fire - My Friend in a Comfortable Chair (expired)
MP3 Cats on Fire - Higher Grounds (expired)

Cats on Fire: Website || Myspace

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The support acts are coming together for Los Campesinos! & Sky Larkin’s “Losky Campelarkinos” tour. Nottingham and Birmingham get the fantastic Johnny Foreigner, Manchester gets Sparky Deathcap and the date I’ll be at in London gets Nosferatu D2. I hadn’t heard of them before, but after listening to them a little, I think they will fit the bill perfectly.

I often say that I’m going to write more about the “local” scene here in Kent, but I never seem to get around to it. This is because I find most of the bands here wholly uninspiring. Every now and again though I come across one that is doing something different that gets me excited. With that in mind, I now present to you a band from the Sevenoaks/Tunbridge Wells area called Andrej and Tim. You may think that their name is a little dull, but I’ll allow the guys in the band to field that one:

Our band is called Andrej and Tim, because we consist of a drummer named Andrej and a pianist named Tim. It’s hard to find a band name that doesn’t expose yourself to ridicule. “The Boobies”, “Four Functions” and “Intellectual Plethora” all failed to make the grade. Inspired by a time we had dined out together Andrej suggested the name “The Cooks”, which we briefly entertained, only to realise some second rate indie group was masquerading under something very similar.

Now that’s settled, let me tell you about their music. This is simple, upbeat piano pop. I’m a big fan of the piano and don’t think it gets used enough in indie circles. It’s kind of unfortunate that those who do use it tend to be eternal blandsters like Keane and Coldplay. Anyway, Andrej and Tim bring back the piano in the way that it was used for groups like Ben Folds Five, while making the whole exercise even simpler. While that band had three members which included a bass, Andrej and Tim strip things down to just a piano and drums. Which may not sound all that thrilling but it’s amazing what they are able to do with it.

Both of the songs below are demos, but they show a new band with a lot of talent. These are catchy, literate songs that like to play around with time signatures, meaning you never really know where the songs are going to head next. ‘Iraq’ is the kind of politically aware yet entertaining song that seems to be sadly missing in music discourse these days while ‘Jontan’ is the kind of wonderous upbeat pop number that has a shade of Ben Folds Five at their peak. I know that’s twice I’ve come back to BFF, but it really is a testament to how good these guys are that it’s the obvious comparison.

MP3 Andrej and Tim - Jontan (expired)
MP3 Andrej and Tim - Iraq (expired)

Andrej and Tim: Myspace

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So I had a good clean up of my Myspace friends list the other day. I removed all of the people who had seemingly been hijacked by spambots and all of the shitty bands that had made their way onto there. This means I’m back down to a ‘mere’ 250 friends now. Which may make me sound hugely popular, although at least 90% of those are bands. Still, without the spam and crappy bands messaging me about their crappy gigs, I don’t have a great deal to read on there now. If you’re in a band or just like my little blog in general, feel free to add me. I am fully aware that this may be the saddest paragraph that I have ever posted on this blog.

In more exciting news, the wonderful Indelicates will be playing The Command House in Chatham on Friday 26 January. Not only is this is great because it means a fantastic band is coming to this crudpit, it’s also the day before my birthday. Hurrah!

The Official God FAQ also just might be the most helpful webpage on the internet.

I’ve used “Hurrah!” twice in the past week. Should I be worried?

I’ve been listening to some new material by Malcolm Middleton this evening, which made me remember just how awesome he is. Dare I say that I actually enjoy a lot of his solo work more than Arab Strap? I really like Arab Strap and all, but some of the songs there are a little too dirge like for my tastes. Middleton on the other hand manages to bring a catchy melody to his vicious self-loathing.

I recently found this acoustic set from French radio station Planet Claire. Those guys couldn’t build a website to save their lives, but they know how to get some fantastic guests in their studio it would seem. This set was recorded in June 2005, so there’s no new material here, with all five songs being taken from ‘Into The Woods’, the album he’d just released at the time.

I really like just how stripped down these songs sound, as it helps them quite a bit. I love ‘Into The Woods’, but it does feel a little overproduced at times. Reducing these songs to just Middleton and his guitar returns the songs to the more appropriate feel of a miserable man singing his heart out in private. And no one does misery like Middleton.

MP3 Malcolm Middleton - Break My Heart (acoustic) (expired)
MP3 Malcolm Middleton - Devastation (acoustic) (expired)
MP3 Malcolm Middleton - Autumn (acoustic) (expired)
MP3 Malcolm Middleton - Monday Night Nothing (acoustic) (expired)
MP3 Malcolm Middleton - A New Heart (acoustic) (expired)

Malcolm Middleton’s new album, ‘A Brighter Beat’, will be released on February 27 by Full Time Hobby. You can currently listen to two songs from it on his Myspace page.

Malcolm Middleton: Myspace

There’s something oddly familiar about The Svengalis. Before I’d even listened to them, I was pretty certain that they had been around a while and were that the NME had been raving about them. I’m not entirely sure how I came to either of these conclusions. It all meant I felt rather stupid when I discovered they had only started gigging back in September, and despite getting some love from Steve Lamacq the press hasn’t paid a great deal of attention to them.

You aren’t going to hear anything here that you can’t really get from a number of other British bands of this decade. This is the same formula that The Arctic Monkeys, The Rakes and The Libertines all use. The Svengalis do it so well that this doesn’t matter though. The song are catchy, the music knows when to rock and when to be gentle, and their lyrics are full of fun little quirks that make them just as entertaining as those previous bands.

‘Runaway’ is the song getting the most attention, but ‘Soda and Cigarettes’ is probably their most accessible song, so it may be best to start there. The band are gigging around London fairly regularly now, so it’s just a matter of time before that inevitable NME cover.

MP3 The Svengalis - Soda and Cigarettes (expired)
MP3 The Svengalis - Runaway (expired)
MP3 The Svengalis - Best Days (expired)
MP3 The Svengalis - Loveletters For Delinquents (expired)

The Svengalis: Myspace

I didn’t pay very much attention to Third Eye Blind’s debut single, ‘Semi-Charmed Life’, when it first came out back in 1997. I remember it getting some radio airplay over here and thinking it was jolly enough, but I actually listened to. A few years ago I got hold of the band’s first album, and started listening to it again. Suddenly everything hit and I realised what I was listening to: the song that was probably the most graphic radio hit ever recorded at the time of it’s release.

This says a lot about how different genres can get away with different things. When a rapper spends four minutes talking frankly about the finer points of drug use as well as references to a bunch of other things, including oral sex, odds are that they will be edited. It’s also unlikely that the song itself would become a hit either though. Third Eye Blind on the other hand managed to get away with an entirely unedited radio version of the song and not even a warning label on the CD case.

Most of this is probably down to how happy the whole song sounds. Without paying any attention to the words, you’ll just think the song is a fun song that’s perfect for any summer soundtrack. It’s full of rapid delivery, elaborate guitars and even some “doo-wops”. Odds are the average radio listener didn’t even know what they were really listening to in the first place.

The main thing though is that it’s a damn fine, catchy song. I can’t really say the same about much else in their catalogue save a few songs, but for this one song, Third Eye Blind managed to come up with something very special.

MP3 Third Eye Blind - Semi-Charmed Life (expired)

The Superfantastics are a two-piece from Nova Scotia. That’s in Canada you know. You probably do, but I didn’t until thirty seconds ago, so I’m sharing that with anyone else out there who may not know. Anyway, they play in the rather White Stripes like setup of Matthew doing the vocals and guitar while Stephanie handles drums and the occasional vocals. Unlike The White Stripes though, they aren’t shit. Hurrah!

These are solid, upbeat pop songs that are over far too quickly. ‘What Will You Do Now?’ (original title ‘Theodore Tugboat, What Will You Do Now?’) is their first single, from late last year. It’s pretty minimalist to start, as a band with two members often would be, but then seems to kick into high gear for the last third. All of which gives the whole exercise a far richer feel. I have no idea if these guys are getting much ‘buzz’ within their local scene, but I could only find one other blog that had written about them. Which is a shame, as these songs really do deserve some attention.

MP3 The Superfantastics - What Will You Do Now?
MP3 The Superfantastics - Tapestry

The Superfantastics: Website || Myspace

This isn’t the post that I intended to start the new year with. My original plan was to write up this small New Years mix thing of about five songs which would contain the stream of consciousness from five different characters, each reflecting the dispositions of the songs to the event. So we’d have the optimist with Semisonic’s ‘This Will Be My Year’, the pessimist with Hello Saferide’s ‘2006′, the guy who is indifferent with Death Cab’s ‘The New Year’ and so on. Which I thought was a pretty cool idea, but it’s already the third and my hosting isn’t letting me put up the files, so maybe next year or something. I then was going to do this weeks Way Back Whensday post, but the hosting thing is stopping me putting up the song for that too, which makes things rather awkward. Hopefully that’ll follow in a few hours or something though.