Music to drink tea by
MP3s
Dananananaykroyd – E Numbers
01 year 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.
Art Brut – Unprofessional Wrestling
01 year 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.
The Jonbarr Hinge
01 year ago
in MP3s
I don’t usually have a great deal of interest in side projects of bands or artists that I love. I’m usually disappointed by them, most likely through unfairly comparing them to the original act. So these days I tend to just avoid most as it seems to be an infinitely safer option. That said, there are certain people that I will follow into whatever project they choose to throw their weight behind. Ben Parker is one of those people.
Long time readers of the blog should already be familiar with Parker (and if not, I may as well just walk away right now) through both his Superman Revenge Squad project and the sadly defunct Nosferatu D2 band. Both of those are absolute favourites of mine by this point, so I’m inclined to put my trust into whatever he gets up to. His new band is a three-piece, which mixes things up from the one-man SRS and the two-man ND2. One can only assume that years from now he’ll be leading his own New Pornographers-esque supergroup.
The Jonbarr Hinge are still finding their feet, and this does come across in their recordings. They are messy and a bit all over the place, with the sound being rather murky at times. Parker’s vocals are closer to that of his former band, and you won’t be even slightly surprised to learn that these aren’t the happiest of songs. My first point of comparison, if not musically, are the original Johnny Foreigner that drew me to them years ago. The sound isn’t quite there, but the potential certainly comes shining through, and with a little more time, The Jonbarr Hinge will be very exciting indeed.
Hold Your Horse Is – Forgive and Forget
0Fuck twee, let’s rock. Obviously I’m only kidding, but the mood of the moment requires things that are heavy, fast, and very, very loud. So it’s great to get some new material from Hold Your Horse Is, a band name that I still can’t decide is good or bad eighteen months on from first hearing them. Forgive and Forget is, whisper it, a little cleaner than some of their previous work, and possibly even a little more mainstream, but it’s no less enjoyable for it.
Bonus points for the video too, which features cameos from seemingly every band or artist from southern England in it, from Stagecoach to Frank Turner.
The band will soon to be getting to work on their first proper album. Their previous release, the Rammin’ It Home EP is out now on Big Scary Monsters. The band finish a tour of the UK today, proving just how timely I am in putting these pieces together.
Jack Hayter – Sucky Tart
01 year ago
in MP3s
Well this is an odd one. Jack Hayter was in the past a member of the legendary Hefner, meaning you might be expecting something at least somewhat in that vain from his solo work. But Hefner this certainly isn’t. Sucky Tart is, at it’s heart, a brooding folk record, made unique by it’s theatrical flourishes. It’s an odd combination, and one that doesn’t necessarily work on every song, but when it does, it’s spectacular. I Stole the Cutty Sark is wonderful, with an increasingly odd around of noises punctuating Jack’s terribly world-weary voice perfectly.
Sucky Tart is out now on the simply marvellous Audio Antihero. You can get the CD for £3.99 or mp3s for a really quite silly £1.79 from Bandcamp. You can stream the whole thing below.
Chalk and Numbers – He Knew
01 year ago
in MP3s
There’s a very fine line between throwing back to an older style and just purely mimicking it, and it’s one that causes me to struggle with a lot of 50s or 60s “inspired” pop. I can appreciate bands like Lucky Soul, but only in reasonably small quantities as I find the novelty wears off pretty quickly. So I have absolutely no idea what my long-term feelings toward Chalk and Numbers will turn out to be. At the moment though, He Knew is a perfect little slice of nostalgia pop.
He Knew is taken from the EP of the same name, which you can download absolutely free from Bandcamp.
Bear Pilot – Do You Know Where Your Heart Is?
0I can’t really tell you very much about Bear Pilot beyond the fact that they are Swedish. Hell, I don’t even know if they are a ‘they’ or just one guy, and their website and Myspace aren’t proving too helpful when it comes to clues. It doesn’t really matter though, as this is lovely regardless. A nice little electronic vibe to it, while still remaining incredibly gentle. I also adore the video too. Exactly why don’t we have drive-in bingo in this country?
You can download a whole bunch of Bear Pilot songs, all of which are great, for free from their website.
Darren Hayman – January Songs
0Darren Hayman (who I’m legally obliged to point out was the front man of Hefner) is writing, recording, and releasing a new song every day throughout January. Each day, you’re able to track exactly what he is up to through the process, with his notes, video diaries and all sorts of extras being made available throughout. At the end of the day, each song is released for free for a limited time, before being offered as a paid download later on.
It’s a fascinating project, if only for the way it provides a nice little insight into Hayman’s process, and his continuing exploration at new ways of putting music out. Over the course of the month, he’s being joined by a number of collaborators, including Gordon from Ballboy, The Hillfields, Monster Bobby, and Jack Hayter, who I’m legally obliged to point out has a nice little EP coming out soon on Audio Antihero.
The song below (and above for that matter) is the song from day ten of the project, and features Elizabeth Morris, whom all of you should know from Allo Darlin’. It contains a lot of bad words. Yay!
MP3 Darren Hayman feat. Elizabeth Morris – I Know I Fucked Up
Death From Above 1979 – Dead Womb
21 year ago
in MP3s
Yes, this is from 2002, and no, I couldn’t really care less. It’s my blog and I’ll post whatever the hell I like, thank you very much. Death From Above 1979 never did very much for me. At least in album form, I find it all a bit of a struggle. Loud and fast is one thing. Being assaulted in such a way for half an hour is pushing it. In short bursts though, little tops things like Romantic Rights, or the chronically misplaced You’re Lovely (But You’ve Got Lots Of Problems). Somehow today I ended up on their website and discovered Dead Womb, a song I hadn’t heard before. If you’re familiar with the band, you know what to expect. If you’re not, prepare for a bit of a shock.
Dead Womb is taken from the Heads Up! EP, which was released via Ache Records. The band broke up in 2006.
