April 2010
46 posts
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[MFM BLOGROLL PART DEUX: APRIL 2010 UPDATE.]
Here are some places we like. Some, we like a lot, and others we think really are a lot better than us.
It’s Getting Boring By The Sea (Visit) MBV Music (Visit) Gorilla Vs. Bear (Visit) Transparent (Visit) The Mixtape (Visit) Pinglewood (Visit) Stereogum (Visit) Fucking Dance (Visit) All, Everyone, United (Visit) Sweeping The Nation (Visit) Audio 2k10 (Visit) No Pain...
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Broken Social Scene: Forgiveness Rock Record
Words: Gareth O’Malley
Someone tell us what the hell the album title means, please. We’d love to know, as we don’t have the foggiest what ‘forgiveness rock’ is. Broken Social Scene are inventive, sure, but to say they’ve created an an entirely new genre would be a bit much, right?
However, we can forgive them for this (the pun wasn’t intentional -...
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Entrepreneurs: Revenge Platter
Words: Gareth O’Malley
Former Elle Milano-er Adam Crisp is back, and this time with his own material. Having already done a few remixes, this supremely talented man has given us the first taste of his debut EP, ‘Uv Been Robbed (Joking, But Not)’. The release of said EP was distant (Autumn), but it has now thankfully been bumped up to June. I for one absolutely cannot wait to...
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Kele: Tenderoni
Words: Gareth O’Malley
First of all, when judging Kele Okereke’s new material, do yourself a favour and forget about Bloc Party. The band are set to remain on hiatus until at least the end of this year, and while one side-project is a pale imitiation of their sound (the underwhelming Pin Me Down), at the other end of the scale we have something that’s about as far away from...
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Clock Opera: A Piece of String
Words: Gareth O’Malley
Before they were one, but now they are four. Guy Connelly (he of The Corrections and The Fallout Trust) has had something new on the go for a while, but now his new project is starting to take shape. Clock Opera now also comprises Dan Armstrong, Andy West and Che Albrighton - in a live setting at least.
It’s unknown whether this line-up will be incorporated...
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WatchVideo for one side of Django Django’s most recent single, which we wrote some words about last month.
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Operator Please: The 'Gloves' Are Off
Words: Gareth O’Malley
I really enjoyed Australian quintet Operator Please’s 2007 debut, ‘Yes Yes Vindictive’ a great slice of no-frills indie-pop that showed that the group had bags of potential. Now, said potential has been fully realised: the band’s forthcoming second album, ‘Gloves’ is a massive step up, one that sees them embracing electro-pop....
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Quick Fix: Sir Yes Sir - Reigning Over Silence
Words: Gareth O’Malley
This one’s been a while in the making, yes indeed it has. Sir Yes Sir have been around since 2005. ‘What the hell, why are they only getting their record out now?!’, you ask. All we know is that it’s finally here (kind of - it actually sees the light of day on May 24th). Is it worth the wait? Well… that depends on what you’re...
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His Clancyness: Summer Majestic
Words: Gareth O’Malley
Jonathan Clancy’s done it again. The man hasn’t put a foot wrong throughout his career to date, and in fact I’d be more than ready to call ‘Hissometer’ one of the best EPs of the last year - it’s stood the test of time that well.
Anyone who hasn’t yet been bowled over by the luscious dream-pop he creates would do well to...
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Quick Fix: The Golden Filter - Voluspa
Words: Gareth O’Malley
There is something strangely compelling about the debut full-length from this New York-based duo that I just can’t put my finger on. ‘Volupsa’ sounds off-putting due to the way it’s produced, its glamourous disco stylings seemingly sucked dry of any emotion due to its extra-polished sound.
Yet paradoxically there are times when it sounds...
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Audiovisual: The xx - Islands
[via]
Highlight from UK trio’s 2009 debut and potential mercury winner. Choreography takes on new subtleties.
The xx play this year’s Bestival in the Isle Of Wight come September. MFM can announce that we’ll be covering this festival with extensive day-by-day coverage.
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Little Death: Just Say Maybe
Words: Gareth O’Malley
A very welcome return indeed from these Londoners. Once a trio but now a quartet, Little Death are back with their first material since their self-titled mini-album in 2008.
‘Just Say Maybe’ is the lead single from the band’s as-yet-untitled debut album proper, due out late this year, and it seems that they’ve definitely stepped up a notch....
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65daysofstatic: We Were Exploding Anyway
Words: Gareth O’Malley
There is a lot to be said for bands stepping out of the spotlight and taking a long hard look at what they’ve done in their careers thus far - particularly after an album that was radically different to anything they’d done before.
65daysofstatic have finally returned, but this is after a lengthy period of absence. Having released their magnum opus...
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Frame The City: We Were Wolves / Whisper In Winter
Words: Emmy Droege Those of you who are currently yearning for the Bloc Party of old, and yes, that includes ‘A Weekend In the City’ flock, check out electronic-pop group, Frame The City. What you’ll hear going on in a song like ‘We Were Wolves’, for example, are electric loops harmonize with a similar vocal delivery to that of Kele Okereke, gently going from whisper...
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Arranged Marriage: Dearly Beloved
Words: Emmy Droege
So I was more than a little skeptical about a father and son band cranking out an official album. In fact, my preconceived notion was an old geezer trying to build some musical bond with his pre-pubescent son. Keep in mind, however, that this was all before I listened to Arranged Marriage, an abovementioned group who hail from Livonia, Michigan. And no, I don’t know...
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Pin Me Down - S/T
Words: Gareth O’Malley
Very, very interesting Bloc Party-related things have been happening over the last few months. With the quartet officially on hiatus, the band (well, three of them) have embarked on various solo ventures: Kele Okereke’s solo debut is due in June and Gordon Moakes has Young Legionnaire going on with former I Was A Cub Scout drumming powerhouse William Bowerman...
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Beach House: Zebra (+ The Arrangement)
Words: Gareth O’Malley
Stop what you’re doing and download this thing. Right now. It’s completely free, and amazing to boot. ‘Zebra’, the opening track from Beach House’s ‘Teen Dream’, is being released as a special Record Store Day single this Saturday (April 17th), and has been made available as a free download in the run up to its release.
The...
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Lookbook: Over And Over
Words: Emmy Droege
Who said electronic music is dead? Okay, so maybe no one did. But for those non-believers who stereotype this ‘80s genre rebirth as just an overabundance of throbbing rhythms and sped up synthesizers, check out ‘Over and Over’ by Minneapolis-based duo Lookbook and then please think again. What we have here is something utterly appealing, a song that kicks...
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The Shimmer: Crash
Words: Gareth O’Malley
Back in February, Jamie got stuck into a demo by then brother-sister act The Shimmer. She has since left the band, but he, David R Hanks, now flying solo. has made an honest-to-goodness, fully mixed and mastered track available for free download.
While ‘No Surprise At All’ merely came across as a little intimidating due to the sparse combination of the...
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Struck: All I Wanted / Owe You One
Words: Gareth O’Malley
Here’s something from my neck of the woods. Castlebar trio Struck have had a bit of a revolving-door band member policy over the last couple of years (i.e. they’ve gone through more line-up changes than you can shake a stick at), but the current roster of Sean Walsh (guitar/lead vocals), Dylan Chambers (bass/backing vocals) and Ger Duffy (drums/backing...
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Alcoholic Faith Mission: Let This Be The Last...
Words: Gareth O’Malley
Denmark’s music scene has been on form for the last couple of years now, turning out such luminaries as Mew and Carpark North, and here are some more great Danes that should deserve being mentioned in the same breath. Say hello to Alcoholic Faith Mission.
The Copenhagen quintet have now reached their third album. While the combination of the band name and...
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Songdog: A Life Eroding
Words: Gareth O’Malley
They say that life is tough so you better get used to it fast. Songdog, and their frontman Lyndon Morgans in particular, seem to know this all too well. The alt-folk trio have been around for the better part of a decade, and are now on their fifth album.
If you haven’t figured it out by now (i.e. if the album title itself wasn’t a giveaway), ‘A...
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DMEB#2?
thistumblrisbetterthanyourlife:
Its fucking looking that way tumblr. not good.
(i like this because only LC! fans - ie people i dont know - will understand this)
I like this too. Thought. You. Should. Know.
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Temposhark: Threads
Words: Gareth O’Malley
What do you do when you have a go at entering into an already over-populated genre? Well, it boils down to one of three things: you think outside the box and try to distinguish yourself; you play it safe and remain in thrall to your influences; or you cop out entirely and go for What You Think The People Will Like.
Electro-pop is now reaching such a saturation...
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HOW GOOD IS THIS?!?!?
Words: Gareth O’Malley
I have literally only just found out what Sheffield/Lincoln quartet Rotary Ten have been up to - and find myself about two months behind everyone else.
This one slipped right past me, but the band released a second album in early February. It’s called ‘Cover Me In Leaves’, and it’s the follow-up to their rather smashing 2008 debut...
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Midas Fall: Eleven, Return and Revert
Words: Gareth O’Malley
The life of a music blogger is never dull. I’m constantly getting sent new things to listen to, and while something mediocre crops up every now and then, just as frequently something comes along that reminds why I got into reviewing in the first place, like this absolute gem of a debut album from Midas Fall.
To start with, they are Scottish, or more precisely...
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mpfree: The Lodger - The Back of My Mind
Words: Gareth O’Malley
The Lodger’s rather excellent third album, ‘Flashbacks’, is released to the world on April 26th, so more of you can bask in its summery indie-pop like I’ve continued to do since I wrote about it a few weeks back. It’s an album that demands repeated listens.
The lead single, ‘Have A Little Faith In People’ was released...
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One Wolf - One Wolf II: Secret of the Wolf
Words: Emmy Droege
So I’ve been listening to One Wolf’s latest album for the past week. By now I would have thought some earth-shattering statement would have poured from my fingertips. No such luck. That’s not to say ‘One Wolf II: Secret of the Wolf’ is a terrible album that sputters into a god-forsaken abyss. Though it’s not exactly strutting on brilliance, either. It’s...
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First Look: teenagersintokyo - Sacrifice
credit to Fiona Garden for the press shot
Words: Gareth O’Malley
Revelling in doom and gloom is nothing new, especially not if you’re in a band. However, minimalist miserablists teenagersintokyo, a quintet hailing from Sydney, are doing their best to make a name for themselves with their brand of moody electro-pop.
Things are finally starting to get going for the band. Their debut...
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Maps and Atlases: Solid Ground
Words: Gareth O’Malley
Halle-fucking-lujah. This one has been a long time coming, but we can finally say that those four exceptionally-talented guys up there, Chicago’s Maps and Atlases have an album in the can. Its name is ‘Perch Patchwork’, and it’s out through Barsuk Records (who can count Death Cab for Cutie among their roster) on June 29th.
‘Solid...
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We Have (Words About This) Band
Words: Gareth O’Malley
Okay, so I’ll admit this isn’t exactly a spontaneous decision, but The Recommender got in touch with us last Friday, telling us of a rather awesome idea they had. They were looking to get bloggers to promote the excellent London electro trio We Have Band. Now, their debut is a record that’s not to be sniffed at, I’ll say that much, so...
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UK Music Releases: April 2010
April 5th
We Have Band - WHB [Audiovisuals: Divisive] Jónsi - Go [Audiovisuals: Go Do] Doves - The Places Between: The Best Of Doves [Audiovisuals: Andalucia] Rufus Wainwright - All Days Are Nights: Songs For Lulu She & Him - Volume Two [Audiovisuals: In The Sun] Red Sparowes - The Fear Is Excruciating, But Therein Lies The Answer Peggy Sue - Fossils and Other Phantoms Alessi’s Ark...
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Alessi's Ark: Soul Proprietor EP
Words: Gareth O’Malley
It’s not often that we say a record’s artwork is the most interesting thing about it, but it can’t be helped when discussing Alessi’s Ark’s new EP. Not to say, of course, that the music itself isn’t worthy of note, but, well, just look at that!
It’s rather arresting, and perhaps it will inspire people to give ‘Soul...
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March, In Reviews
9.4 - Frightened Rabbit - The Winter Of Mixed Drinks 9.3 - General Fiasco - Buildings 9.0 - Gorillaz - Plastic Beach 8.7 - Blood Red Shoes - Fire Like This 8.7 - Laura Marling - I Speak Because I Can 8.7 - Liars - Sisterworld 8.6 - We Were Promised Jetpacks - The Last Place You’ll Look EP 8.4 - The Kissaway Trail - Sleep Mountain 8.3 - Kids In Glass Houses - Dirt 7.8 - The High Wire - The...
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Music Fan's Mic Exclusive: Wikio Top UK Music...
Wikio (this bunch) have put together a list of top U.K. and Irish music blogs. It doesn’t launch ‘til Monday, but we’ve been given an exclusive first look at the ranking. It can be seen that we are 4th. WTF?! We certainly weren’t expecting this, and it comes as a great surprise. Quite a few great sites in the list there, so we’re basically honoured. This’ll be...
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Stars and Sons: Good Morning Mother
Words: Gareth O’Malley
It couldn’t just be us that feel as though piano-pop as a genre is unfairly maligned because of a few, shall we say, poor bands. Some people feel as though the entire thing should be tarred with the same brush, as a result of the existence of bands like The Fray - safe and predictable, therefore terrible in the eyes of many. You may call them opinionated,...
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Acid Washed: S/T
Words: Gareth O’Malley
Two things I have to admit, to start: One, electronic music seems to have been neglected here at MFM (steps will be taken to remedy this); and two, such a varied genre (collected under aformentioned umbrella term) is finally starting to reveal itself to me. I’ve always thought of it as lacking in melody or good hooks, oddly enough - but all that’s in the...