Music to drink tea by
Posts tagged Antarctica Takes It!
Top 24 Songs of 2010
1The song list this year has a lot of crossover with the records list from yesterday. I suppose that is to be expected to a certain degree, but I get it’s a little repetitive for me to be banging on about the same bands over and over again. Still, that’s the nature of these lists, and I’m not going to throw in other things for the sake of it.
1. Los Campesinos! – A Heat Rash in the Shape of the Show Me State, or, Letters from Me to Charlotte
Los Campesinos! manage to win the double, taking both best record and song of the year. If I’m perfectly honest, the song choice is pretty arbitrary. Letters from Me to Charlotte just about stands out in front to me, but it could have just as easily been The Sea Is A Good Place To Think Of The Future or In Medias Res. Or about half of the album to be honest.
2. Superman Revenge Squad – Fairweather Friends
Another one where I spent a fair bit of time trying to decide exactly which song from the record to go with, before settling on Fairweather Friends. It’s probably best represents the EP, as well as the Superman Revenge Squad project as a whole. The usual topics are on the agenda here: death, looking back on past relationships and irritating people at gigs. All topped off with some beautiful strings.
MP3 Superman Revenge Squad – Fairweather Friends
3. Standard Fare – Dancing
Dancing is probably the most personal song on the Standard Fare album, yet it still sums up the band perfectly. You’ve got heart on sleeve verses about breakups and getting back together interspersed with rapid sections about how dancing will make everything okay. If any band could sum up the state of the current indiepop scene, it’s this.
4. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – Say No to Love
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart just bring good feelings. I was slower to warm to them than most, but in the past year, I’ve fallen for them completely. Say No to Love is a lovely little bridge between the first and second albums, and while it doesn’t mess with the formula too much, it’s just too wonderful for me to complain about that. Quite possibly my favourite current band for videos too.
MP3 The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – Say No to Love
5. Antarctica Takes It! – Try Try Try
This song pretty much hit me out of nowhere in the summer when I saw Antarctica Takes It! live twice in a couple of days. I was only familiar with their first album at that point, so Try Try Try was quite a surprise as there’s nothing like it on there. The vocals on it might not be as strong as some of their others, but the lyrics and the way it’s constructed more than make up for that.
6. Shrag – Rabbit Kids
I love pretty much everything on Life! Death! Prizes! so you get Rabbit Kids pretty much entirely because I love the video so much.
7. Johnny Foreigner – Harriet, by Proxy
It’d be easy to dismiss Johnny Foreigner at this point. Two albums in and they haven’t achieved the success they rightly deserve, but hopefully a shift to the plucky Alcopop! will give them a new boost. The brilliantly titled new EP You Thought You Saw A Shooting Star But Yr Eyes Were Blurred With Tears And That Lighthouse Can Be Pretty Deceiving With The Sky So Clear And Sea So Calm shows the band exploring newer territory too. Harriet, by Proxy is the most obviously JoFo song on there, and reminds us exactly why we were so excited about the band in 2007.
8. Allo Darlin’ – Dreaming
Allo Darlin’ could do no wrong this year, and Dreaming was the pinnacle of their work. The song features the guest vocals of Monster Bobby that gives this a rather Heavenly-ish vibe, which is no bad thing. The video was shot during London Popfest last year and is just lovely. Wandering around London late at night has never looked so enjoyable.
9. Kid Canaveral – Smash Hits
Quite possibly the oldest song to be included here, but I only discovered it this year, and it was on Kid Canaveral’s debut album this year, so I’m going with it. A brilliantly snobbish tale of the horrors of dating a girl whose “music taste’s shite” that’s just great fun.
10. The Singing Adams – I Need Your Mind
I came late to The Broken Family Band party, so I’m jumping in early with Singing Adams, the new band of BFB front man Steven Adams. If you’re already familiar with his former band, you know what to expect here. The alt-country leanings may have been toned down considerably, but there’s more than enough of the same catchy pop sensibilities and witty lyrics to go around. As a debut single, I Need Your Mind is remarkably self-assured and firmly cements the band as one to go to big things this year.
11. Betty and the Werewolves – Euston Station
12. Belle & Sebastian – I Want the World to Stop
One of the few bright lights from a horrendously disappointing album.
13. Acid House Kings – Are We Lovers or Are We Friends?
Playful enough to be a nice easy listen, while also resonating a little more for those who have been in such a situation. Exactly what any good pop record should be doing then.
MP3 Acid House Kings – Are We Lovers or Are We Friends?
14. This Many Boyfriends – I Don’t Like You (‘Cos You Don’t Like The Pastels)
This Many Boyfriends continue the long indiepop tradition of entirely songs based around references to other bands. Not just the Pastels either. Springsteen, The Go-Betweens and if I’m not mishearing, The Cribs all manage to get themselves mentioned in the song. There’s not much more to it beyond these references, but it still has a rather endearing charm to it. It sounds rough and ready, which is about the only style you can go with when your spending three minutes comparing music tastes with a loved one.
MP3 This Many Boyfriends – I Don’t Like You (‘Cos You Don’t Like The Pastels)
15. The Felt Tips – Boyfriend Devoted
16. Stagecoach – Not Even Giles Would Say We’ll Be OK
Not Even Giles Would Say We’ll Be OK (which the nerd in me really hopes is a Buffy reference) may be their finest release yet, striking the perfect balance between 90s US indie rock throwback and their own sound. If any band has a chance of making it big in 2011, it’s Stagecoach.
17. The Just Joans – Stuart’s Got a Dirty Book
A glorious tale that manages to combine two somewhat conflicting topics: religion and masturbation. It’s hard to imagine many bands that could get away with lyrics like “struggling with the word of god / a hand on my bible, a hand on my knob”, putting The Just Joans into a rather unique position.
MP3 The Just Joans – Stuart’s Got a Dirty Book
18. World Atlas – The Winter Stories
19. The National – Afraid of Everyone
20. Tigercats – Whitechapel Boys
21. Soda Fountain Rag – Are Philosophers Lonely?
Short and to the point, Are Philosophers Lonely? addresses exactly what the title suggests. Are philosophers destined to be by themselves? Moving between wryly comic images (philosophers eating tv dinners) and something rather more melancholy (“even their sweethearts don’t know what they’re talking about”).
MP3 Soda Fountain Rag – Are Philosophers Lonely?
22. Love Ends Disaster! – There’s Room In My Tardis For Two
City of Glass, the debut album by Love Ends Disaster! was a favourite of the year, and while there’s some stunning songs on it, it’s this one that stands out. Conventional wisdom would suggest I was swayed by a Doctor Who reference, but there’s more to it than that. That might have got my attention in the first place, but it’s just a really good song regardless. There’s the kind of melancholy vibe that always works for me, but it also has the “this should really be a hit anthem” quality to it too. Throw in some actual TARDIS sounds as well and you’re on to a winner.
MP3 Love Ends Disaster! – There’s Room In My Tardis For Two (live)
23. Roadside Poppies – I’ve Just Been Told That a Woman Fancies Me
I’ve Just Been Told That a Woman Fancies Me is literally what it sounds like, a joyous celebration of the fact that a woman seems to like our narrator, despite the fact he knows absolutely nothing about her. Why let pesky details like that get in the way? That we end up with lines like “I can’t wait to tell my girlfriend” makes it all the more perfect.
MP3 Roadside Poppies – I’ve Just Been Told That A Woman Fancies Me
24. The Grave Architects – The Bike Song
The Grave Architects really don’t sound like anything I’d expect a band (presumably) named after a Pavement song to sound like. The first part of the song might just get away with it. A little on the quaint side perhaps, but what do you expect for a song that starts “the first love of my life was not a girl, it was my very first bike”? It tells a fun little story of learning how to ride a bike and falling in love with cycling. Then about a minute in, it turns into, of all things, a rap epic. Yes, rap. And somehow it gets away with it. Nothing I can say here is going to do justice to a terribly white man with his fluorescent shirt and cycle helmet rapping about evil motorists cutting him up. Of course, that’s not it. It then decides to just rock out a bit, proclaiming, with full earnestness “I love my bike!” over and over. It’s all utterly stupid, but every time I watch the video above I find myself grinning from ear to ear. I think my favourite part of it is actually watching the people biking in the background and their reaction to the singer’s antics. Brilliant stuff.
Review: Indietracks 2010 – Sunday
11 year ago
Friday and Saturday can be found here.
SUNDAY
Stumbling out of the Travelodge at dawn (around 10:30), it was decided that Sunday would be the day that things were really mixed up. By which I mean we went to Sainsburys for breakfast instead of Tesco. It cost a little more, and the service was a little bit slower, but it was rather more tasty, so that’s a good result I think.
Shambling onto the site just before the first bands on, it was time for another superb new discovery. Be Like Pablo are a Scottish band that were apparently playing their first gig in England, and they couldn’t seem happier about it. I went into them with a sense of trepidation given the song they included on the Indietracks CD featured rapping. Which may be the one genre that still absolutely doesn’t fit in with Indietracks. Fears were quickly dismissed though as the band turned out to be rather more poppy than expected, and by the time they reached the aforementioned song, I was even willing to go with it. As was everyone in the shed it seems. If there was one band I kept hearing about again and again that people seemed to love, it was Be Like Pablo. Hopefully big things, and more gigs in the south, await them in the next year.
It was over to the main stage next where MJ Hibbett & the Validators were playing in the self-titled “Legends slot”. Now rather shamefully, this was my first Validators gig (though I have seen Dinosaur Planet!), and it was awesome just how much the whole crowd was into them. The band run through what was essentially a greatest hits set (along with a few from the new record of course) including Hey Hey 16k, My Boss Was In An Indie Band Once and the highlight of the set, Do The Indie Kid, which actually featured almost the whole audience following the steps. Hibbett also found time to conduct a “social media experiment” mid-set, so if you were wondering why everyone at Indietracks suddenly tweeted “Happiness” on the Sunday afternoon, that would be why.
There appeared to be a crowd in the merch tent afterwards, and venturing in, it was a delight to discover Antarctica Takes It! performing a acoustic set in the corner. There wasn’t really anything new here compared to their set yesterday, but it was nice to hear that their songs work just as well in such a stripped down fashion.
The Specific Heats were apparently the hit of the festival in 2009, playing a stunning set to a packed out church, and this year they were back, but in the shed where a huge number had turned out to see them. If I’m honest, they didn’t do very much for me. Nothing really wrong with them, and I can see that their garage rock kind of sounds would work well on record, but I left the shed feeling pretty cold toward them unfortunately. Kind of hard to not respect a band that plays in capes though.
There was a gap in the schedule at this point, which meant it was time to explore the surrounding railway and it’s museum, something I missed entirely last year. While dusty, the museum provided a welcome relaxing and quiet break from the festivities. There’s even a lovely little narrow gauge railway that will run you out into the countryside and back again too!
Back to the shed for Internet Forever, a band that I still can’t be certain if they are taking the piss or not. Utterly shambolic and ramshackle, the band power through a set that barely clocks in at 25 minutes, and manage to find time to get a Dire Straits cover into that. It’s all over the place, and a complete mess, but it’s horribly entertaining. You’ve got to admire their drumming skills at least.
Standard Fare are band that have risen quickly through the indiepop ranks over the past year. They were well received at London Popfest in February, and even managed to nab themselves a decent slot at Latitude the weekend previous to Indietracks. As a band, they always seem rather nervous on stage, and still somewhat shocked that people have turned up to see them, but it only adds to their charm. The band bound through the songs from their debut album, even throwing in some new ones along the way that get an equally welcome reception. By the time they bring out Brad from One Happy Island to add a little trumpet to one of their new songs, the audience are eating out of their hand, and a future Indietracks headline slot is surely inevitable.
Shrag are an odd band. I first heard them a year ago and couldn’t really stand them. Then at London Popfest I actually quite enjoyed their set, and since then I’ve gone on to get both of their albums. Their recorded output doesn’t manage to live up to the show that they put on live though, or rather, how much front woman Helen really throws herself into the performance. The songs from the new album turn out to be the unexpected highlights though, with current Heavenly-esque single Tights in August and The Habit Creep sure to be amongst this year’s indiepop anthems.
After that there was just time for a little Slow Club before it was time for my Indietracks to come to an end. Sadly work commitments meant having to leave before the headliners The Pains of Being Pure at Heart took to the stage. This was very unfortunate at the time, but the band played a secret gig last night (as George Washington’s Penis no less) that I was able to get to, so all is right in the world once more. Huzzah!
Indietracks still remains my favourite festival on the musical calender. I’ve mostly written about the bands in these posts, but there’s so much more that makes it what it is. Primarily how friendly just about every single person you meet is. Bands wander the site and mingle with everyone else (leading to lovely chats with MJ Hibbett, Eddie Argos and at least one Smitten, amongst others), and even the volunteers who work on the railway. You’d think they would be entirely baffled, if not slightly put out, at this descending on them every year, but every single one of them seemed lovely. I even managed to have an excellent conversation with an older man who quite happily told me about how he usually restores the train but is perfectly happy to be here directing cars and picking up our rubbish this weekend. In amongst stories of hotels at Heathrow Airport.
Of course, discussions about just who should play next year are already in full swing, but honestly, it doesn’t really matter. If the Indietracks team came up with a list of 50 bands I’d never heard of before, I’d still go, perfectly trusting in their abilities to select ideal bands and put on a perfect weekend.
Review: Indietracks 2010 – Friday/Saturday
11 year ago
I love Indietracks.
In preparation for writing this, I’ve been concerned that anything I say is just going to be horribly gushing. I’ve gone over the weekend again and again looking for negatives to include in this. I didn’t come up with very much. This is a festival that can seemingly do no wrong to me, and what’s written below will reflect that.
With that said, let’s jump aboard the train toward the Midland Railway Centre in Derbyshire for a look back at this year’s Indietracks.
FRIDAY
I skipped out on the Friday opening of the festival last year, a decision I immediately regretted upon getting there, so this year I went for the full experience. Granted this meant a lovely drive up on the M1 on a Friday afternoon which took a mere five hours. Friday is more of a preview of the weekend rather than a proper day of it’s own. Only the main stage is open, with only three bands playing, but it’s enough to let everyone get settled in for the weekend ahead.
By the time I got in to the site, Veronica Falls were already about halfway through their set, meaning I missed out on a debacle that apparently saw their soundcheck being confused for their actual performance. Now I quite like Veronica Falls (or rather I like Found Love in a Graveyard), but the rest was pretty much lost on me, so most of the time was taken getting reacquainted with the site itself, and admiring the two hot air balloons that decided to pass over the site at the same time.
Next up were Allo Darlin’, a band I have spent the last year or so raving about, and have managed to see a record five times in the past six months. I was a little concerned about seeing them as I couldn’t really get into their set at the Luminaire on the previous Wednesday, but any worries were quickly dispelled by just how much they threw themselves into it, and how much the crowd reciprocated. One of the best things about Indietracks is how happy almost every band seems to be to be playing there, and nothing summed that up more than the massive grin Bill Botting had on his face throughout their set. All of the usual favourites were busted out, from The Polaroid Song (which had some added Walk Like An Egyptian) to Henry Rollins Don’t Dance to Dreaming, which saw Max from The Smittens ably taking over the male vocal duties from Monster Bobby. By the time the enthralling Tallulah was brought out (a brave move in a festival environment), it felt as if they could easily be headlining the festival as a whole. Yet we’re only two bands in.
The Friday headliners come in the form of Eddie Argos’ side project Everybody Was In The French Resistance… Now!. Art Brut were a mildly controversial choice as a headliner last year, but Argos’ enthusiasm for the festival and it’s music along with a superb performance seemed to win everyone over. This year he had to convince people to go with a band that spends it’s time “responding” to other people’s pop songs, including many that no one has ever heard of it. It’s a tall order for sure, and it’s one of the reason I’ve yet to be won over by the record itself. Somewhat inevitably though, Argos takes to the stage with such excitement that it’s hard not to be pulled in by him. While it seems at times that the stories between the songs are more fun than the songs themselves (the lead in to Billie’s Genes, a response to a certain Michael Jackson classic, was a particular highlight), you end up going along with it completely. It’s clear that Argos feels at home at Indietracks (he cites sadness at having to miss MJ Hibbett and Shrag on the other days) even if his music isn’t necessarily the same. By the time the band finish up with Formed a Sideproject (“we’ll make Israel-Palestine worse”), it’s almost inevitable that he’ll be back again next year in some form.
SATURDAY
After a quick Tesco breakfast, I was back on the site bright and early which enabled me to raid the merch tent, where I ended up walking out with 6 Fortuna Pop! CDs for a mere £20, and then got an extra one for cheekily asking if I got a free gift for being the first buyer of the day. Can’t believe that worked, but it goes to show just how lovely indiepoppers are.
The first band of the day were The Hillfields in the train shed. I wasn’t familiar with them beforehand and went along partly because they were the only band on that early and partly because the drummer sent me a cheeky tweet asking me to. I’m quite glad that I did though, as while they weren’t the most spectacular band I saw all weekend they were rather enjoyable. I was particularly impressed by their bowling shirt style uniforms too.
Over to the main stage for Red Shoe Diaries, who turned out to be first great surprise of the weekend. Indietracks was the first I’d ever heard of them, and their slightly awkward banter between the songs revealed that they were perhaps the most local band of the festival, with the lead singer having grown up “just down the road”. Their songs were fun and poppy too, ideal for the bright Saturday afternoon that the day was developing into.
After a quick gander at The Felt Tips (also enjoyable), it was back to the main stage to see This Many Boyfriends, one of the bands I was most excited about seeing. Their Getting a Life With… EP has been one of the best releases of the last few months. While the start seemed a little shaky, by the time they reached their hit I Don’t Like You (‘Cos You Don’t Like The Pastels), any doubt had been removed. Their pure joy and enthusiasm to be playing (including a rambling anecdote about how they have Ballboy to thank) made them all the more enjoyable.
There wasn’t much on after that for a while so it was time for a cursory wander of the site. That was until I could hear La La Love You playing on the main stage. Now I had no idea who they were, only that they sounded utterly insane even from a distance. Songs were being powered through at seemingly the wrong speed, so it seemed prudent to check them out. Little could have prepared me for the sight of five Spaniards in bright pink satin jackets playing like there was no tomorrow. Now, I say five, but what I actually mean is four, and a fifth member who didn’t appear to be playing any kind of plugged in instrument, just running around on stage pretending to play things and having the time of his life. This reached a head with him leaping into the audience to dance with a girl the band decided to dedicate a song to in very broken English. The whole exercise was batshit insane but quite possibly the highlight of the festival.
Antarctica Takes It! are an American band who managed to tear up The Luminaire on Wednesday night, managing to win over an entire crowd of people who had likely never heard of them beforehand. Their power to do this had me looking forward to them even more, and they didn’t disappoint. It only takes one great performance to completely win you over with a band, and that Antarctica Takes It! managed two in the course of a few days had me quickly shifting from somewhat appreciating them to them becoming a band I’ve had on repeat ever since I got back. Those only familiar with their recorded output might have been surprised by just how much they managed to rock, to the point where they managed to make their keyboard collapse during a song.
I’ve never been able to get into The Just Joans beyond one or two songs, and the little bit of their set that I managed to catch didn’t do much to change that opinion. Thankfully it was time for The Smittens next though, even if they decided to play a Just Joans song as part of their set. Oh well. Not that The Smittens can do wrong at Indietracks. The band are playing for their third year in a row, and rightfully so. If any band sums up the festival more, I have yet to discover them. Pure fun from start to finish, and as a band they certainly get the uniqueness of the festival too. Everywhere you looked all weekend, you’d see a Smitten singing along to another band or having a chat with someone.
Continuing our run of bands from the US were Boy Genius, a band I’ve quite enjoyed on record but have read mixed things about live. I only caught part of their set, but what I did see was pretty good, even if the acoustics of the shed worked against them (as they do everyone really). Far from being dull performers, they seemed to be enjoying themselves while playing, and the crowd seemed to be convinced.
Back to the main stage for Ballboy, who were the headliners in the eyes of myself and probably a number of others playing. I simply love Ballboy. Utterly, utterly miserable songs that manage to sound wonderfully upbeat when played live. A lot of this is aided by the charisma of Gordon McIntyre, who always has a fun story to insert in between the songs. The biggest laugh of the set came after he decided to dedicate the next song to a guy in the crowd celebrating his 60th birthday before realising that the next song was actually I Don’t Have Time To Stand Here With You Fighting About The Size Of My Dick. Later in the set, Elizabeth from Allo Darlin’ was brought out to perform the monologue on A Europewide Search For Love. It sounded a bit strange at the time, and didn’t seem to really work, but the more I watch it back on Youtube now, the more I like it. Which is exactly the cycle I had with the original song itself too.
After that, it was time for the actual headliners, The Primitives. Who are a band I know absolutely nothing about beyond vaguely knowing their top five single Crash. So they fell a bit flat with me unfortunately.
Not that this was it for me on the Saturday though. Still time to make an ass out of myself yet. Toward the end of The Primitives, we decide to visit the campsite disco being operated by Pic ‘n’ Mixx. So we ventured down the lane to the campsite and stumble around the campsite looking for said disco. Eventually a security guard rolls up on his buggy thing and I’m thinking we’re about to be kicked out given we’re not campers. Instead, I chance asking where the campsite disco is, and not only does he tell us, he offers us, even though “I’m not allowed to do this”, a ride on his buggy down to it. We’ve taken the piss this far, so why not go the whole way. Onto the buggy we jump, leading to perhaps the funniest exchange of the weekend:
Security guard spots my press badge.
“So, you’re press then, are you?”
“Err, yes..”
“That’s one of your lot unpacking his tent there.”
Because you know, everyone with a press badge is sent up from the same place and we all know each other. I feel a bit mean though as the guy was incredibly helpful, particularly given we’d effectively trespassed into his campsite. Which leads to the real kicker. We arrive all set for the Pic ‘n’ Mixx disco around 10:30pm. And then discover that it started at midnight. So we wander back to the festival site, hang out at the discos there a bit, and then wander back to the campsite and get in past the crack security team (“Have you pitched your tent yet mate?” “Yes..”) where we hang around for a bit before retiring back to the hotel.
SUNDAY
Will not be included here.. This has taken me far longer to write than I originally intended and I’m already running over 2000 words, so I’m going to split this up. Friday and Saturday here, and Sunday with any various anecdotes will follow tomorrow.
Edit: Sunday review here!
Indietracks 2010 in photos
01 year ago
Once again, Indietracks was an absolute delight. The proper review (you know, the one with words and stuff) will follow tomorrow, but here are the fruits of my photographic labour:
New: Antarctica Takes It! – Constellations
01 year ago
in MP3s
Good lord, has it really been three and a half years since I last mentioned Antarctica Takes It! on here? Apparently so, and looking back on that, it’s rather more cringeworthy than I expected. That was just around the time I was first dabbling in what I then, perhaps wrongly, labelled “tweepop”. The same post did also feature Cats on Fire though, so I must have been doing something right at least.
Antarctica Takes It! are a six-piece from California who make lovely little pop songs. Their first album, 2006′s The Penguin League, was full of them, despite the rather low production values of the record as a whole. What’s interesting about the ATI! story here though is how the band got their second record off of the ground. The band used Kickstarter to raise enough money to record, press and make available copies of the album. Fans donated whatever they felt like, and contributing certain amounts resulted in various rewards. It’s a fascinating concept, and one I can see lots of bands trying out in the future. I recently contributed to a project this way (a Tullycraft tribute album) and there is something very rewarding about it.
Constellations is the title song off of Antarctica Takes It!’s second album. While it certainly retains the pop sensibilities of the first record, it’s clear that the band has grown in the past four years. Arrangements are more intricate and while at the start it seems a rather restrained affair, the song eventually cuts loose in the second half and the manic energy that popped up on the first record appears once again.
MP3 Antarctica Takes It! – Constellations
Constellations will be released in the UK on August 2. However, you can get hold of a copy right now direct from Antarctica Takes It!’s UK label, the mighty How Does It Feel To Be Loved?. HDIF is the only record label I know where I have liked every single release they have put out. Seriously. So go buy it from them. To help you make up your mind, you can stream the whole thing below.
Tweepop overload!
15 years ago
in MP3s
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
—
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.
