Music to drink tea by
Archive for March, 2011
Audio Antihero presents: Bob Hope Would
010 months ago
in Music
Spectacular is about the only word to describe this. Audio Antihero, possibly the greatest one-man label in the world, have put together a compilation. Comprising of 34 songs made up of the rare and random tracks from a range of artists, including Another Form of Relief favourites Nosferatu D2, Darren Hayman, Stagecoach and a hell of a lot more. There’s a lot of great music here, and a whole bunch of stuff that’s new to me that I’m still digging my way through.
On top of that, there’s not one, but two kickers to all of this. First off, the whole thing will only cost you £3.99 (or more if you choose to be generous). Secondly, all proceeds will be going to various Japan related charities. You can’t say fairer than that.
Bob Hope Would is available right now via Bandcamp. You can listen to the entire thing below, but really, if you do that and still don’t donate anything, you are a TERRIBLE HUMAN BEING.
Standard Fare – Suitcase
010 months ago
in Videos
Standard Fare are one of those bands that seem to blur the lines of indiepop greatly. They certainly aren’t a band I would slot in alongside most of the genre in terms of music. If anything, I’d position them much closer to rather more mainstream indie rock bands, full of big melodies and a propensity to rock the fuck out. Sure, there’s an argument to made for the emotional vulnerability in the words to bring us back toward indiepop, but that doesn’t seem like enough in itself. Of course, none of this matters at all. They’ve become a staple in the indiepop scene, in part because they are so damn good at what they do. And if they need to claw some twee points back somewhere, the video above should certainly help do the trick.
Suitcase is out now on Melodic. Of course, it’s vinyl only, but at least the download, video and badge set is only £2.50. Not bad at all.
Let’s Whisper – California Girls
010 months ago
in MP3s
Let’s Whisper is made up of Colin Clary and Dana Kaplan, who most of you will know from their regular band The Smittens. That band is one of the enduring bastions of the indiepop scene, but Let’s Whisper shouldn’t be written off as a mere side project.
Indeed, Clary and Kaplan have been making music in the guise of Let’s Whisper for the best part of ten years now, even if this is their first proper full-length album. The formula isn’t all that different from more established band though. Gentle pop songs are what they know, and that is what they bring us here. It’s perhaps not as utterly sweet as Smittens records can come across as, and whether or not that’s a bad thing is something I’ll leave up to you. Certainly works for me though.
The Shortest Days will be released in early April via WeePOP! Records.
Acid House Kings – Would You Say Stop?
0Would You Say Stop? is the second song to be pushed from the upcoming Acid House Kings album Music Sounds Better With You, and despite my initial reservations, it’s completely lovely. My first impression of it was that it was perhaps a but too sickly sweet, but that feeling quickly went away as I was taken in by just how catchy it is. So when putting together a video for a song like this, what do you come up with that still suits the song? For the Acid House Kings, that answer is easy. And may or may not involve them dressing up as penguins.
Music Sounds Better With You, the first new Acid House Kings record in six years, is released this coming Tuesday (March 22) via Labrador Records.
Dananananaykroyd – E Numbers
010 months ago
in MP3s
It’s a new Dananananaykroyd song. What do you expect?
There Is A Way will be released on June 13 via the band’s own label, the wonderfully named Pizza College.
Great British Hopes: Laura Hocking & The Long Goodbye
010 months ago
It’s hard to believe, but it’s nearly three and a half years since we first discovered Laura Hocking, who was then going under the guise of Laura Sings Liver. So to say that this debut release from her is long-awaited is something of an understatement. It’s been clear from day one that Hocking is a unique songwriting talent, even if the production values on those original recordings couldn’t quite keep up with her. All of that is rectified on this four song release though, which also introduces us to her full-band arrangement that has been steadily growing over the years, which now includes it’s own small string section.
All of this is just support for the main asset here: Hocking’s lyrics and delivery of them. It’s nice to see the 2007 original Strongmen & Acrobats get an outing on the release. The song, the story of her autistic brother, has always been one of her best works, and the fleshed out arrangement here suits it perfectly. Some of the songs are more whimsical, others more serious, but the consistent factor is how fleshed out each of the stories and characters are.
The EP is an assured release from an artist that is just now coming into her own. My only hope is that we won’t be waiting about three and a half years to talk about her debut album.
Laura Hocking & The Long Goodbye’s debut EP will be released at the end of the month. You can pre-order it in various formats (including, amazingly these days, a CD! How quaint!) via Bandcamp. Best of all, 20% of all profits from the CD version will go to the National Autistic Society.
Art Brut – Unprofessional Wrestling
010 months ago
in MP3s
Art Brut are one of those few bands that have never really let me down, even though the wisdom of Ben Parker suggests they will eventually. There’s certainly been missteps along the way, most notably on the second album, but even then I tended to enjoy all of the songs individually, even if the record didn’t really play well together. Art Brut vs Satan was a very solid all-round album, and so I’m thrilled by the prospect of a set of new songs.
Unprofessional Wrestling turns sex into an elaborate pro-wrestling analogy, which as someone who used to be a big fan of the “sport” is a hell of a lot of fun. It’s as rough and ready as any previous Brut song, and it’s hard not to grin when Argos is belting out lines like “I can’t wait to see what you’ll do as your finishing move!”. Plus it’s also another fine entry into the sub-genre of wrestling related songs alongside stuff like Fight Like Apes, Los Campesinos! and the ubiquitous Let’s Wrestle.
Brilliant! Tragic! will be released on May 23 via Cooking Vinyl. You can sign up for various pre-order packages, including things like karaoke with Eddie Argos, a gig in your living room, or rather more mundane things like a signed CD via PledgeMusic.
MJ Hibbett – I’m Saying Yes
0I tend to avoid posting overt political content on this blog at this point. Partly because it seems like the inappropriate place, and partly because Twitter is the infinitely more fun place to do, particularly as we’ve now reached this odd point where being a Lib Dem puts me firmly to the right of pretty much everyone else I follow. But when I stumble across a song singing the praises of the Alternative Vote from an artist I really like, how can I resist posting?
It would appear that Mr. Hibbett, much like myself, is firmly in the Yes to AV camp, and amusingly he seems to sum up his thoughts on it in a way that uncannily match mine. No, it’s not a perfect system by any means, but it’s slightly better than the current one, and the odds of us getting another chance to change it in the near future seem rather small. So I’ll personally be voting “yes” in the referendum as it’s a first step of a far larger reforms that are required.
I’m Saying Yes was recorded as part of February Album Writing Month, a project where artists write and record a whole records worth of songs in the course of 28 days. As such, the recording values aren’t really the strongest, but when you’re getting 14 brand new songs over the course of the month, that seems like the a rather unfair complaint.
Wonderful Wednesday is available to pre-order now, for one week only. It’ll only cost you £5, and you’ll get a free badge chucked in for your efforts, and believe me, Hibbett is a man who produces quality badges. You can order directly from the MJ Hibbett website. You can also preview the whole thing right here.
