Another Form of Relief

I’ve missed far too much music in the past year to make a proper best of list, so instead, here’s a list of 22 songs that I’ve loved from 2009. Listed in alphabetical order, not preference. Even though all of them are bloody good.

4 or 5 Magicians – Preaching to the Converted
So 2009 didn’t turn out to be the year that 4 or 5 Magicians finally “made it”. They did manage to put out their first proper album though, and despite a few missteps, it’s an excellent start. Dan Ormsby’s great talent as a songwriter shine through throughout, perfectly chronicling both a struggling band and the state of the country side by side.
Obama is your new Che Guevara / Scouting for Girls are your new Nirvana / You’ve written ‘Free Tibet’ on the back of your hand / But you figure Tibet is a part of Iran
Youtube

Allo Darlin’ – Henry Rollins Don’t Dance
Pretty much the song of the year for me, although The Polaroid Song put in another strong effort for Allo Darlin’ Seemingly going from strength to strength at the moment, I’m half expecting them to be everywhere this year.
But in my head you’re Patrick Swayze / You drag me from the corner and call me ‘baby’ / But baby you don’t even wanna see Dirty Dancing
Youtube

The Answering Machine – Another City, Another Sorry
The album as a whole never quite lived up to the promise, but The Answering Machine did manage to deliver some superb individual songs. Kind of what the Arctic Monkeys might be sounding like now if they hadn’t turned to shit.
I’m sort of lacking certainty / Situations tease the drunk out of me
mp3

Art Brut – Demons Out!
Three albums in and Art Brut seem to be stuck in a holding pattern. No real advancement in terms of songs or abilities. A set of decent songs that are a hell of a lot better when performed live due to the natural charisma of Eddie Argos. I suspect Art Brut are about as a popular as they are ever going to be at this point. Which is why we can expect plenty more songs like Demons Out! in the future.
How am I supposed to sleep at night when no one likes the music we write / Record buying public, we hate them / This is Art Brut vs. Satan
Youtube

Camera Obscura – French Navy
2009 seemed to be the year that Camera Obscura finally came into their own, to the extent that after 13 years, the band were finally able to give up their day jobs. Each album has seen the band grow considerably, with more complex and elaborate arrangements making their way in. It might have taken a while, but they certainly aren’t the “female Belle & Sebastian” any longer.
Spent a week in a dusty library / Waiting for some words to jump at me
Youtube

Cats on Fire – Horoscope
The album was a little patchy, but Horoscope is an excellent little song. Mattias Björkas’s voice is the standout attraction here. He may sound like a Euro-Morrissey, but it’s incredibly easy to drift away in his voice.
I don’t believe in happy ever after / A pyramid scheme, I keep telling you
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Dananananaykroyd – Pink Sabbath
A band that creates such a ruckus that they require a whole new genre has to be created for them (fight pop). Dananananaykroyd’s album was an assault on the ears from start to finish, but in a good way. If such a thing is possible.
Buy it, run it, kick it, fuck it, yeah
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Emmy the Great – First Love
It took her the best part of five years, but Emmy the Great’s debut album just about lived up the high expectations. Boldly leaving off a number of “old favourites” in favour of a more structured collection, the album is a grower, but worth investing the time in.
You said I have a room / At the top of the stairs / I have a room with a view
Youtube

Fight Like Apes – Something Global
Possibly the most exciting band that I came across this year, I can’t think of album that has anywhere near as much play on my car stereo. And boy does it sound superb when bombing along at speed. Wonderfully unhinged.
So give me my hook / I know it might sound lame / Do you like my new look? / Waistcoats are so today
Youtube

Go Away Birds – The Year of Letting You Down
The first of two songs on this list to feature Catherine Ireton, who quickly became one of my favourite voices. A small start for someone who deserves to be huge.
I met with a little success in my work / You wouldn’t call it taking off / But you wouldn’t call it starving
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God Help the Girl – God Help the Girl
..and here’s the second. For some reason that’s baffling to me, the Gold Help the Girl album didn’t seem to get the acclaim I expected it to. The fact it’s not showing up on many end of year lists is deeply confusing to me, but I suppose you can’t win them all. The song choice here is pretty arbitrary, as it could have just as easily been I’ll Have To Dance With Cassie, Musician Please Take Heed or a handful more.
The dawn will touch me in a way a boy could never touch / Their promise never meant so much to me
Youtube

Johnny Foreigner – Choose Yr Side and Shut Up!
An excellent song from what was an ultimately disappointing second album. Don’t get me wrong, I do like it and all, but it doesn’t even come close to Waited Up Til It Was Light. This album opener hints at the bigger things in store though. Short and to the point, it has anthem written all over it.
So we scattered pretty / Arcs across the city / Turned pockets of doubt / Into blankets of hope
Youtube

Let’s Wrestle – We Are The Men You’ll Grow To Love Soon
A slightly disjointed debut album from Let’s Wrestle still brought us a bunch of excellent little songs, if nothing incredibly exciting. Still, a band very much of their time. Few others can so perfectly articulate life in modern Britain.
We’re going down the job centre / And soon we’ll come out with a job
Youtube

Loney, Dear – Airport Surroundings
Typically late to the party with stuff like this, I never got into Loney, Dear (is there a comma or not?) much when the critically loved Loney, Noir came out. I absolutely love Airport Surroundings though. You’d think that would inspire me to check out the rest of the album, but I still haven’t got around to it. One day.
The last pain got away when I gave up myself / I bought a ticket to hell when I met up with you
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Los Campesinos! – The Sea Is A Good Place To Think Of The Future
Utterly, utterly perfect. The album is quite good too. So I’m told.
I ask her to speak French and then I need her to translate / I get the feeling she makes the meaning more significant
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Pocketbooks – Footsteps
The debut album from Pocketbooks delivered on all of the promise of the past few years. One indie pop gem after another, it makes me very excited for the future. From their adoration soaked performance at Indietracks to high profile support slot of God Help the Girl, bigger things are almost certainly in their future.
From the supermarket aisles to the dance floors of provincial towns / I’d occupy my vacant hours just waiting for something
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Projekt A-ko – Molten Hearts
It always great when you discover a great band that is still rocking as if it’s 1994, and that’s exactly what Projekt A-ko do. Distortion, lazy vocals and even the odd “woo”. More like this in 2010 please.
I’ve got no fashion sense / I haven’t got any sense / I’ll never make any sense
Lastfm

Stagecoach – Break
Another band unashamedly influenced by the 90s US indie rock scene, Stagecoach bring the sound of Seattle to Brighton. Break is three minutes of song perfection, from a band we’ll be hearing a lot more of in the near future.
It’s not like her to cross the line / But she crossed it before and she’s gonna cross it one more time / Shit breaks / I kick in her face
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Superman Revenge Squad – Super Sad Morgan
Pretty much any song from the supremely talented Ben Parker could have made it onto the list. I actually debated placing a Nosferatu D2 song on here, but it seemed to be pushing things a little. His songs are a masterclass in the writing of lyrics. Quite why a label hasn’t snapped him up is completely beyond me.
If someone mentions Woolworths again I think I’m gonna combust / We stole all of the Pic ‘n’ Mix from out her hearts
Lastfm

Tigers That Talked – Black Heart Blue Eyes
One of the most beautiful songs of the year from a band I really need to listen to more of. Black Heart Blue Eyes has such a wonderfully theatrical sound to it, topped off with some perfectly snappy wordplay.
Bigotry’s obligatory around here / There’s nothing for me to defend / Just got to go
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Voxtrot – Berlin, Without Return…
Everything that the debut album should have been but never managed. Ramesh Srivastava’s vocal is as pitch perfect as ever, once again with a song worthy of his talents.
Do you spend your whole life trying to get back home? / Where do you go?
Youtube

The Young Republic – The Wolf
Now a fully formed band, The Young Republic may not be the same band they were a few years ago, but they know exactly what they want to be. Shifting from orchestral indie pop to Americana isn’t the easiest leap, but they’ve pulled it off with style. Incredibly self assured.
It hasn’t been this bad since my grandpa was a kid / He made it through, he never told us what he did
Youtube

One day Los Campesinos! are going to break my heart. It’s actually amazing that they haven’t already given my usual somewhat brief flings with bands. Generally it’s album before it all goes to hell, sometimes not even that long. Los Campesinos! have been the band I have most consistently enjoyed since starting this blog thing. A lot of bands have come close to the excitement they manage to generate in me (Johnny Foreigner*, 4 or 5 Magicians, Sky Larkin), but no one quite pips them. Three and a bit years on from first covering them, I’m writing about songs from their third album with just the same admiration as back then.

There was some concern when The Sea Is A Good Place To Think Of The Future appeared that we’d moved past the upbeat, manic incarnation of the band. Shades of a more restrained, thoughtful version of the band were previously hinted at on the last album, so it wouldn’t have been too surprising. There Are Listed Buildings puts those fears to rest. While not as loose as the original You! Me! Dancing! days, it still feels like something that would have been right at home last time around. This is the sound of a band on the very cusp of legendary indie status. It’s just going to take one perfect record to tip them over the top.

The third, currently untitled, album from Los Campesinos! is due to be released early next year. Presumably on Wichita.

* The same Johnny Foreigner that have an upcoming album called Grace and the Bigger Picture on Best Before Records. That everyone else seems to have received a promo for except me. I mean, it’s not a big deal. I certainly don’t expect promo material. Ever. Even if it’s the album I’m most excited about this year. Not like Another Form of Relief was the very first music blog to cover them god knows how long ago. Oh no. Not that I’m bitter or anything.**

** Seriously, I’m not. All in jest. Just really want to hear the damn thing.

S’alright I suppose. I like the black and white bits.

Grace and the Bigger Picture will be released on October 26 (possibly the best record release day of the year) on Best Before.

This past weekend brought the second festival of 2009 for Another Form of Relief. It was a local festival, but one that I never intended on going to given it’s ludicrous £125 ticket cost. Seemingly others thought the same, given ticket sales struggled to such a degree that they were giving £250 of tickets away with £10 items via a clothing store. So, one Kangaroo Poo beach towel later and I had guestlist access to two days of live music. Not too shabby.

Arriving on site at around noon, the car parking was fairly well organised and it wasn’t a long walk (in festival terms) to the box office entrance. Where, of course, we weren’t on the guest list where we should have been. Joining a second queue of people all in the same boat, it took a bit of hassle with customer services, but eventually we got our wristbands and got in.

To be presented with one of the most deserted festival sites known to man.

After exploring the site for a bit and getting our bearings, we headed over to the main stage and caught a bit of Howling Bells. They are a band that I’ve been vaguely aware of but never heard much of it, and I’m happy to say that relationship is perfectly intact after their set. They were fine I suppose, but nothing grabbed me to a degree that I had to rush home and find some of their songs.

Next up were Noah and the Whale, a band I rather like, if not entirely. I love 5 Years Time and a few others, and thankfully they played all of the ones I knew. They weren’t exactly what I expected, the sound of four of them live without the voice of Laura Marling was a little bit odd. Not too bad, but 5 Years Time certainly lost some of it’s shine. The newer songs they played were fine, if not as immediate. I suspect they will be growers though.

After that it was a quick dash over to the stupidly small Third Stage, which had some of the best bands of the weekend. We arrived to find Let’s Wrestle about halfway through their set. They sounded good, replicating their recorded sound incredibly well. The only downside was that they ran out of songs 20 minutes before their set was due to end. It was salvaged my audience participation, an extra long jam session and a boisterous rendition of their signature “let’s fucking wrestle!” that certain members of the audience seemed to take to heart.

The mighty Johnny Foreigner followed them and provided the highlight of the weekend. Their set was littered with new songs, and new renditions of old favourites. The band flirted with some new arrangements too, including one song where Kelly took to the drums and Junior picked up a bass and a couple more songs that made use of a fourth member. Alexei seemed to be having a good time throughout, correcting the MC when taking the stage with “we’re actually Editors” and calling a Twang cover of Bran Van 3000’s Drinking in LA “the worst fucking thing I’ve ever heard” when they were playing the same festival.

Back to the main stage afterwards for Ash, a band where I know the singles and that’s about it. Which is fine given that is mostly what they stuck with, just littering in the odd new song while constantly assuring us they would get back to the hits. All of the usual suspects made it into the set: Burn, Baby Burn and Shining Light, with the superb Girl From Mars providing the first almighty audience sing along of the day.

Off to the Third Stage once again for The Joy Formidable, who to my surprise had completely packed out the tent. I must have missed the point between Reading last year and now where they became massive, but it certainly felt like they had made it. It was a loud, messy set that went over incredibly well and if they aren’t playing headline slots by the end of the year I’ll be amazed.

That was where day one ended for us. The festival itself went on for a few more hours, with The Fratellis and The Pigeon Detectives being the highest acts on the main stage. But given they are shit, why bother staying?

We returned for day two and had a much longer walk from a much further car park. Which was at the very least good exercise.

Ladyhawke is someone I only know via one song that I’ve heard in someone’s car over and over again. I wasn’t expecting anything more than generic dance nonsense, so I was pleasantly surprised by her set. She seemed rather awkward on stage (apparently she has Asperger’s) and was plagued by technical difficulties throughout, but her performance was rather good. Not spectacular by any means, but an enjoyable way to spend 40 minutes.

The Super Furry Animals were up next, a band I’ve never been much of a fan of short of one or two songs. Neither of which they actually played. They were rather fun though, bringing their own “Woah!” and “Applause” audience cue cards. We actually left about halfway through their set to get to the Third Stage, so maybe they did play the songs I like after all.

I’ve read so many things about Dananananaykroyd’s “legendary” live performances, but nothing quite prepared me for what I walked into. Arriving in the tent, the band were just having the audience perform the Wall of Cuddles. They followed this by storming through a song with such ferocity that they immediately blew out an amp. While this was being fixed, the band killed time by telling jokes (“What has eight legs and is harmless to kids?” “The Jackson Four”) and playing a television theme tune quiz. We got through Eastenders, Hollyoaks (“that show sucks balls”) and another before everything was good to go again. The band launched into their second wind even more manically than the first, security trying to drag Callum back on stage from crowdsurfing while singing repeatedly. It was an insane, but utterly fitting show for the band, and I hope to see them playing outside of a festival environment in the future.

If it’s possible to go to sleep while standing in a crowd of people enjoying themselves at a festival, I could have managed it during Doves. Nothing particularly wrong with them at all, just all very uninteresting.

Speaking of uninteresting, Editors were on next. The crowd seemed to enjoy them, so maybe it was just me, but they bored me to tears on the most part. I just spent the time watching the lead singer flail around like a lunatic for seemingly no apparent reason. Never have I so randomly and intently hated a man as much as that guy. Thankfully we left about halfway through and I didn’t have to suffer any more of his twattery.

The last band of the weekend for me were the rather pleasant Rumble Strips. I missed most of their set, but I enjoyed what I saw. The band seemed to be very much on form, even managing to get the brass instruments sounding good in a live setting, which isn’t always an easy feat. I felt kind of bad that I only caught about three of their songs after the event.

And that was it.

Some random observations:
- The security guards were fine at times, dickish at others.
- The bar had nice, cheaply priced drinks.
- The food stalls had crappy, expensive food.
- The toilets (in the bar at least) were excellent by festival standards.
- The Grilled Chicken & Bacon Salad in the Brookers Oast next door to the site is lovely.
- The ridiculously long walk to get in and out of the site (and thus to the pub) was a bit of a git.
- For a festival that prides itself on “no VIP areas” so “everyone has the same experience”, it seems odd to have a VIP bar.

Pretty damn good for the price of a towel though.

Photos from Day Two can be found here.

Interesting first day at the Hop Farm Festival down here in Kent. Even with the massive ticket giveaways it has obviously still struggled to fill out the 20,000 capacity. Which is kind of a shame, firstly because it’d be nice to see a local festival succeed, and secondly because it’s actually quite decent. Despite suffering from some odd lineup ordering (The View higher than Ash, really?), it’s a fairly professional, well laid festival.

Highlights today:
- Johnny Foreigner who included a whole bunch of a new material in their drunken set, a new band member on a few songs, saw Kelly and Junior swap positions and more.
- Let’s Wrestle played to a small, but certainly rowdy audience.
- The Joy Formidable seem to have become ten times more popular than when we saw them at Reading last year too, which was a pleasant surprise.
- Ash, who I haven’t heard anything from in the best part of ten years, were really bloody good.

Photos below. You can click through to Flickr for the full size versions. Tomorrow’s lineup includes British Sea Power, The Rumble Strips, Super Furry Animals, Editors and the mighty Dananananaykroyd.

Feels Like Summer is the latest single by Johnny Foreigner, that I already covered here, so I’m not going to repeat myself. As a video, it doesn’t quite live up to the brilliance of the Salt, Peppa and Spinderella one last year, but on the upside, this one probably won’t give you seizures. All in all, it’s a pleasant enough taster for the band’s upcoming second album, which will be called Grace and the Bigger Picture according to Johnny Foreigner authority Clicky Clicky.

Feels Like Summer was supposed to be released on June 22, but it seems to have fallen off the ends of the earth.

As part as our ongoing attempts to cover what little exists of a Kent music scene, it seemed only prudent to put together a brief guide to the major music festivals taking place in the county over the next couple of months. A few years ago such a thing would have been impossible due to a lack of said events, but now new festivals seem to be popping up each year. Obviously not all of them work (like Electric Gardens) and some will probably have their organisers lynched if they ever come back (Zoo8) but it’s good to see a varied selection appearing.

When June 4-6
Where Hope Farm, Ashford
How much £55 weekend / £35 daily

Lineup (AFOR endorsements in bold)
Supergrass, The Holloways, Emmy the Great, Ben’s Brother, Red Light Company, Alessi’s Ark, Cut La Roc, Hoxton Whores, Thomas Tantrum, The Answering Machine, Karima Francis, The Young Knives, Tubelord, Marina and the Diamonds, Alex Cornish, Oh, Atoms, Royal Treatment Plant, Bender, The Rosie Taylor Project, William, 4 or 5 Magicians, motion picture soundtrack, Video Nasties, Bobby Long, The Domino State, The Ryes, Micky Slim, Silvery, Hungry Ghosts, Los Salvadores, Minnaars, Lucy and the Caterpillar, Kids Love Lies, Barefoot Confessor, Right Turn Left, Tin Soldiers, Far From The Dance, Seven Story Down, Ten Bears, Tom Williams & The Boat, The Suggestions, Elephants, The Dirty Disco, Junkstar, Brandon Block, Mr Basista, Monday Street, Romanov, Polka Party, HANDSHAKE, Greg McDonald, The Quirk Burglars, The SheBeats, Alma Mahler, Floors & Walls, Eddy Temple-Morris, Rob Cockerton, Adam Bloom, Haunted Stereo, Small Fry, Joe Mac, The Streetlight Conspiracy, The Little Philistines, Illegitimate Sons of the King, AEF, Shadow Aspect, Vagner Love, Peter Andrews, Twisted DJs, Rhys morgan, Krissy and the Jackdaws, The Hidden Revolution, Bruised Beauties, Groove Monkey, Cocos Lovers, Everybody Be cool, Waterhorse, Lotte Mullan, Lucy Holliday, Circle of Rage, Kouncilhouse, Amoriste, Sean Mooney, Steve Day, Spooka, Jamie Abbott, Robbie Styles, Nic Bennett, Hal Cruttenden, Jamie Ley, Nathan Caton, Outa City Committee, Lester Clayton, Jeff Barker, Kev Harris, Lizzy Spit, Jarmean?, Pete Jonas, Delta Connection, danny reject, Matt Rudge, Adam Crow, Sally-Anne Hayward, Christian Reilly and 3 Parts DJ

In 2007, Sellindge was populated by bands you’ve never heard of. Last year, they managed to nab Idlewild to headline more bands you’ve never heard of. This year, there are a few solid bands at the top of the bill, a handful of decent ones underneath, and of course, a whole slew that you’ve never heard of. Still, for the money you can’t really go wrong.

When July 5-6
Where The Hop Farm, Paddock Wood
How much £125 weekend / £65 daily

Lineup (AFOR endorsements in bold)
The Fratellis, Editors, Doves, Echo & The Bunnymen, Ash, The Pigeon Detectives, The View, Mystery Jets, Super Furry Animals, Paul Weller, Ladyhawke, 65daysofstatic, British Sea Power, The Rifles, Alex Gopher, Noah and the Whale, Bell X1, Cage the Elephant, The Twang, The Twilight Sad, Howling Bells, Florence and The Machine, Johnny Foreigner, Eight Legs, Dananananaykroyd, Jape, Fight Like Apes, Etienne De Crecy, That Petrol Emotion, Let’s Wrestle, Dr. Lektroluv, D.I.M, The Chapman Family, Burn The Negative, The Good the Bad, R.S.A.G, and 2Manydj’s

The Hop Farm Festival has jumped from being a one-day event last year to a two day festival this year. It’s gimmick is that it has no sponsorship (yay!) and no VIP areas (boo!). Of course, such things come at a price, which results in the excessive £125 cost for the weekend. Which is a shame as I actually quite like the lineup. The main stage doesn’t do much for me, but the creatively named “third stage” with the likes of Johnny Foreigner, Let’s Wrestle and Dananananaykroyd looks like the place to be.

When July 10-12
Where Merton Farm, Canterbury
How much £85 weekend / £35 daily

Lineup (AFOR endorsements in bold)
Dub Pistols, Bent, DJ Food, The Horrors, Nostalgia 77, Cage the Elephant, Edwyn Collins, The James Taylor Quartet, Horse Feathers, DJ Format, A Hawk and a Hacksaw, Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip, The Aliens, Krafty Kuts, Jeremy Warmsley, Lights, DJ Food & DK, Zomby, Wild Beasts, The King Blues, Chris Murray, Kid Harpoon, Mr Scruff, Ipso Facto, Solid Steel, Golden Silvers, Portico Quartet, Jonquil, Son Of Dave, Chris Difford, It Hugs Back, The Temper Trap, Jay Jay Pistolet, Flamboyant Bella, The Invisible, Sargasso Trio, Trost, 6 Day Riot, DK, Mumford & Sons, James Taylor Quartet, Baddies, Chris T-T, Toddla T, Greg Wilson, Pete Molinari, Casiokids, The XX, Drums Of Death, Cha Cha, The Pan I Am, The Congregation, Peggy sue, Congregation, Greco Roman, Rae, S.C.U.M, Joe Gideon & The Shark, Josh Weller, Skeleton, cherbourg, Wave Pictures, Tom Allalone, Elephants, Black Market Karma, Psychotic Reaction, Onlookers, Ghost of a thousand, Tom Williams and The Boat, Monday Street, The Simonsound, Syd Arthur, Hobo Jones & the Junkyard Dogs, Wheeler Street, The Goodtimes, Moon Music Orchestra, Zombie Met Girl, The 18 Carat Love Affair, Amber Room, J*Star, Zoo for you, The Lovedays, Cocos Lovers, The Startover, The Wild Wolves, Trevor Moss, Trevor Moss & Hannah-Lou, Samondi, Mr Lovebucket, Mc Serocee, MC Honeybrown, djbunjy, Ukulele Gangstas, The Chihuahuas, The Mind Without Maths, The Steve Hillage Band, calico street riots, Greco Roman Soundsystem w/ Ross Allen, Raf Daddy & Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs, VJ LSDave, Comfy Porn DJs, Hannah Lou and Boxing Octopus

Lounge on the Farm is the almost the little festival that could. Growing from strength to strength over since the first in 2006, the event now boasts over 100 acts including a decent mix between minor recognisable bands and a ton of local talent. Operated by the same team that run the delightful Farmhouse in Canterbury, they really do seem to be doing everything they can to foster a local scene.

I wasn’t planning on writing about Johnny Foreigner today. I was going to write about Sky Larkin’s Canterbury gig on Friday night, but that’ll have to wait for another day. This is what happens when a new Johnny Foreigner track drops in front of me.

For those keeping up with the band, Feels Like Summer has already been streaming on Myspace for a few days now. The song is the lead single from the band’s upcoming album and sounds about what you’d probably expect really. The Johnny Foreigner playbook hasn’t changed between albums, which is no bad thing when you’ve sounded this fully formed right from the start. If anything, this is even more immediate than their previous work, it’s blistering pace resulting in the whole thing being over in under two minutes.

Feels Like Summer may not bring anything new, which I’d likely be complaining about with a lot of bands. With Johnny Foreigner though, I just want another album that’s even half as good as last year’s Waited Up Til It Was Light. This makes it sound like we’re on the right track.

Feels Like Summer, a new version of Camp Kelly Calm and a new track entitled Wow, Just Wow will be available as free downloads from the Johnny Foreigner website on June 22. Album two will presumably follow not all that long after.

Talk about your unwieldy band names. Getting the right amount of anananana is bad enough, but then there’s the double header of Aykroyd not being the simplest name to spell either. The funny thing is that the music fits the name. If you’d asked me beforehand what I’d think a band called Dananananaykroyd would sound like, I’d go with loud and fast. And that’s exactly what we have.

The thing that takes one aback about Glasgow’s Dananananaykroyd is just how loud and fast it is. The vocals jump straight in, not sung, but fucking shouted. A dual assault of two drummers quickly follows. None of this is an opening gambit, nor is it limited to the song. This is the sound of desperate for you to hear them. This is the sound of a band that makes even labelmates Johnny Foreigner sound relaxed.

The risk with music like this is whether or not it can work in a full album setting. It’s easy to run dry when you use up this much fuel in just three minutes. A bunch of singles and an EP show they are on the right track. We’ll find out in a month if their ability matches their ambition, but they certainly seem willing to try.

Hey Everyone! will be released on April 8 by Best Before. The band is also participating in new WTFblog Awesome Pals, alongside Los Campesinos!, Sky Larkin, Johnny Foreigner, Favours for Sailors and a bunch of others. In other words, the entire good end of the British music scene.

Oh Johnny Foreigner, the only band to put out a record last year that I enjoyed more than either of the Los Campesinos! records. Quite an impressive feat given there is only three of them when the other lot have seven. Even more impressive given their album, Waited Up Til It Was Late was largely made up of older, re-recorded songs. Nearly two and a half years down the line though, they still sound as fresh as they ever did.

Of course, it’s still lovely to hear some new material, so it was a nice surprise last week when the band threw up a zip file on their Myspace page containing two new songs: Ghost the Festivals and Ohai, Sentinels. The first has been around for a while now, both in live sets and a couple of videos out there in Youtubeland, but it’s nice to have proper recordings. The production may be a little rough around the edges, but I’d expect nothing less.

Ghost the Festivals manages to sum up my own experiences at Reading last year, but I imagine the language is pretty universal. From escaping the site before the riots on the final night to the endless sea of tents to hanging out in the VIP area with free drinks. Although I must have been doing something wrong as my drinks certainly weren’t free. £2.50 for a tiny glass of Coke? Jesus.

There isn’t anything particularly new in these songs. When you hit the perfect formula with your first album, I suppose it makes sense to keep it up. Which is fine with me. So long as the next record is even half as good as the first, it’ll still probably be the best thing released this year.

Johnny Foreigner Is Aces (containing both Ghost the Festivals and Ohai, Sentinels) is available to download from the band’s Myspace page for the next ten days or so. Both songs are also on an exclusive tour EP that the band will be touting during their European tour with the mighty Sky Larkin.