June 2010
38 posts
5 tags
Initial Thoughts: Bombay Bicycle Club - Flaws
Words: Gareth O’Malley Bombay Bicycle Club doing an acoustic album? What the folk?! Well, actually, there isn’t any folk involved - so said the band themselves. Classification issues notwithstanding, the quartet’s new record is a marked departure from the spiky, sprightly indie-pop that was all over last year’s début album, ‘I Had The Blues But I Shook Them...
Jun 30th
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UK Music Releases: Week of 28th June 2010
ALBUMS/// The Roots - How I Got Over [Amazon] Scissor Sisters - Night Work [Amazon] Sound of Guns - What Came From Fire [Amazon] The Flaming Lips / Stardeath And White Dwarfs with Henry Rollins and Peaches - Doing Dark Side Of The Moon The Morning Benders - Big Echo The Mission - Dum Dum Bullet Dreamboats and Petticoats - Summer Holidays —- SINGLES///  The National - Anyone’s...
Jun 29th
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Editorial: Stella Artois + Mystery Jets / Vacheval
Words: Gareth O’Malley These recent Stella Artois ads have been nothing if not inventive, and this latest one is particularly inspired - in fact, so much so that I would say it tops that Marina and the Diamonds one that we featured (viewable below), and that’s high praise coming from me. Put it this way: How can something featuring Mystery Jets playing tiny instruments not be...
Jun 29th
6 tags
David's Lyre: Heartbeat
Words: Gareth O’Malley I have absolutely no idea what that picture could symbolise, but it’s rather brilliant as press shots go. It’s also more than a little intriguing, just like the man it appears to represent. Said man goes only by the moniker of David’s Lyre. Sigh. Again with the secrecy. Whoever he is, he prefers to let his music do the talking, and going on the...
Jun 29th
6 tags
Message to Bears: Mountains
Words: Gareth O’Malley It’s always something of an experience listening to a song that sounds so fragile it seems it could fall apart at any moment. Soundscapes like this don’t come along all that often, so deserve to be treasured when they do. The new song from Message to Bears (aka Oxford’s Jerome Alexander) falls into this esteemed category. ‘Mountains’...
Jun 27th
6 tags
Live: Codes/Neon Hearts/Machine Gun Baby, Academy,...
Words: Gareth O’Malley I’ll start by saying this: Dublin on a Saturday afternoon really is not the best place to be if you want to get to a gig on time. Traffic issues of this very sort are what delayed me in getting into the Academy for this particular one. It seems to be Codes’ last ‘proper’ one (bar a few festival appearances) for a while. It’s definitely...
Jun 26th
3 tags
Pernice Brothers: Goodbye, Killer
Words: Gareth O’Malley Every once in a while, an album comes along and effortlessly wins you over. Joe and Bob Pernice (the ‘Pernice Brothers’ themselves) are two men who could very well turn this sort of thing into an art form: they’re rather good at it, even though they’re still without all that much recognition. Their sixth album ‘Goodbye, Killer’...
Jun 25th
5 tags
Johnny Flynn: Been Listening
Words: Gareth O’Malley Any music lover’s most likely said these exact words at some stage in their lives: “Why isn’t [band/artist] more well-known? They really should be!” Fans of Johnny Flynn and the Sussex Wit (to give his band some recognition) would seem to have more right to complain than others. Over the last two-and-a-bit years, the London nu-folk...
Jun 24th
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Maps and Atlases: Perch Patchwork
Words: Gareth O’Malley It was always fairly certain that Maps and Atlases’ long-awaited full-length debut would be an interesting proposition, but in fact, the most surprising thing about ‘Perch Patchwork’ is how straightforward it seems. Yes, I said straightforward; there’s a word that hasn’t exactly suited the Chicago-based math-rock group up until now,...
Jun 23rd
5 tags
Insect Guide: Wasted
Words: Emmy Droege So it’s time to delve back into a band who instantly displayed an enormous amount of potential. They go by the name Insect Guide, and although their upcoming LP release, ‘Dark Days & Nights’, has been pushed back some time this summer, to August 9th, don’t fret.   This Leeds band have a new single out, proving to be an amazing track that soars...
Jun 20th
4 tags
Wolf Parade: Expo 86
Words: Gareth O’Malley Wolf Parade wanted to call their second album ‘Kissing the Beehive’. It would have been an infinitely better choice than ‘At Mount Zoomer’ - if only it hadn’t already been taken. Cue the possibility of a Big Scary Lawsuit. The Canadian group didn’t want any Legal Stuff to deal with, so they changed the name, instead opting to...
Jun 20th
2 tags
UK Music Releases: Week of June 21st 2010
ALBUMS/// Kele - The Boxer [Amazon] Pulled Apart By Horses - S/T [Amazon] Stars - The Five Ghosts [Amazon] Eminem - Recovery James Yuill - Movement In A Storm Delays - Star Tiger, Star Ariel Lissie - Catching A Tiger Example - Won’t Go Quietly Sleigh Bells - Treats — SINGLES/// Ash - Spheres Feeder - Call Out The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart - Say No To Love Scissor Sisters -...
Jun 19th
5 tags
Pulled Apart By Horses: S/T
Words: Gareth O’Malley If a band is an intense live experience, it’s usually difficult to capture such intensity on record. If a band’s live show is so mental that injuries are par for the course, then it’s something akin to capturing lightning in a bottle. In other words, in can’t be done. Or so you would think. These noisy Leodensians, Pulled Apart By Horses,...
Jun 18th
6 tags
Kele: The Boxer
words: Gareth O’Malley // originally scribed for This Is Fake DIY Kele Okereke’s always looked like a man who seems to know what he’s doing all, or most of, the time - even if others might not see it that way. Really though, the triple whammy he delivered over the last couple of months was nothing short of baffling. First came the certified club banger that was...
Jun 17th
6 tags
Tennis: Marathon
words: Martyn Young It may be just something in the air but in the world of lo-fi indie pop sweet music making couples are in vogue. While the UK has Summer Camp fronted by Jeremy Warmsley and his partner Elizabeth Sankey, over in Denver, Colorado the US have husband and wife duo Tennis. Tennis comprise Patrick Riley and Alaina Moore and make similar lilting, swoonsome indie pop. The lo-fi...
Jun 17th
3 tags
Ratatat: LP4
words: Jamie Milton // originally scribed for MusicOMH released with: XL  To subject yourself to the sound of Ratatat is brave on a whole new level. They’re an unstable, unnerving duo, priding themselves to provocation and experimentation. Make no mistake: they ward off more listeners than they lure in. Witness Ratatat live and you see the band in their full costume: plumes of smoke...
Jun 17th
4 tags
WatchWatch
AUDIOVISUALS: Gil Scott-Heron - I’m New Here Acclaimed veteran does Bill Callahan acoustically in a serene, dimly-lit setting.  Courtesy of XL and found on Pitchfork. 
Jun 15th
3 tags
The Chemical Brothers: Further
Words: David Molloy Over the past 18 years, The Chemical Brothers have gone from two long haired electronic fans DJ’ing in tiny venues, to the forefront of the ‘Big Beat’ trend of the late 90s, to arguably the biggest electronic act in the UK. Where acts such as The Prodigy or Underworld have seen their popularity slip a bit since the start of the last decade, Ed Simons and...
Jun 14th
2 tags
Music Releases: Week of June 14th, 2010
ALBUMS/// We Are Scientists - Barbara   //amazon// The Gaslight Anthem - American Slang //amazon// Robyn - Body Talk, Pt 1 //amazon// Pernice Brothers - Goodbye, Killer Ed Harcourt - Lustre Mountain Man - Made The Harbor Crowded House - Intriguer Devo - Something For Everybody Uffie - Sex Dreams And Denim Jeans —- SINGLES/// Kele - Tenderoni Pulled Apart By Horses - Back To The Fuck...
Jun 13th
7 tags
Kele Okereke In Curveball-Throwing Shocker!
Words: Gareth O’Malley We should have seen this coming, really: this is Kele Okereke after all. The man who decided to release ‘Mercury’, and begin splitting the Bloc Party fanbase - right down the middle it seems. ‘One More Chance’ didn’t go down all that well either, to say the least. We were unsure about it on initial listens when it received its premiere...
Jun 13th
7 tags
Editorial: 50 Years of Doc Martens - Buraka Som...
…and now for something a little bit different. The concept for this particular ad was rather intriguing: Doc Martens asked 10 artists to record their versions of songs regarded as ‘cult classics’, songs that ‘represent the spirit of the people who’ve worn DMs over the last fifty years’. Sounds good on paper, but the question is, do they manage to pull it off?...
Jun 11th
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Editorial: Stella Artois 'Less Glass, More Class'...
This is something a bit special, we think. Stella Artois ads have been consistently good, but this one takes the cake - not least because it has Marina and the Diamonds soundtracking it. By now, you should know we’re big fans of ‘The Family Jewels’, so it was particularly nice to hear one of its standouts, ‘I Am Not A Robot’ featured here. The premise for the ad...
Jun 11th
6 tags
Lovers Electric: Whenever
Words: Gareth O’Malley The couple that makes music together, stays together. Or at least we can hope that this is true, because this particular relationship is producing some good stuff. Lovers Electric consists of two people, and a husband-and-wife duo at that: Eden and David. The Australians have been plugging away, making music to considerable acclaim in their native country, but if I...
Jun 11th
3 tags
We Are Scientists: Barbara
Words: Gareth O’Malley // originally scribed for This Is Fake DIY Where do We Are Scientists find themselves now? Well, they’ve done their ‘mission statement’ record: ‘With Love and Squalor’. They’ve also done their ‘studio’ record: the unashamedly ‘big’ sounding ‘Brain Thrust Mastery’. So what now? Are they shooting...
Jun 9th
2 tags
Music Releases: Week of June 7th, 2010
ALBUMS/// The Drums - S/T The Chemical Brothers - Further Hammock - Chasing After Shadows… Living With The Ghosts fun. - Aim and Ignite The New Loud - Measures Melt My Luminaries - Order From The Chaos Blitzen Trapper - Destroyer of the Void Delorean - Subiza Here We Go Magic - Pigeons Enemies - We’ve Been Talking [Friday 11th] Rarely Seen Above Ground - Be It Right Or Wrong...
Jun 9th
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Jun 8th
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Beach Fossils: S/T
words: Jamie Milton For the last year, if not longer, escapism has been the beefy subject matter taking up space in the majority of alternative music’s releases. Most notably for the euphoric bedroom-dance-pioneer Memory Tapes, it worked wonders on ‘Stay Magic’; word of mouth helped spread thousands towards the charming sense of triumph bursting from all sides. Amongst Girls,...
Jun 6th
5 tags
Acid Washed: Acid Washed (Jungle Fiction Remix)
Words: Gareth O’Malley Extremely dodgy-looking logo aside, Icelandic electro act Jungle Fiction are hitting all the right notes as of late. In fact, you could almost say that they’re set to erupt in their own way. Yes, that was an Eyjafjallajokull pun. So sue me. Pairing up with Acid Washed (whose eponymous debut album was well received here a few months back) would seem like a...
Jun 4th
5 tags
mpfrees: Meursault
Words: Gareth O’Malley. My god. Scotland is turning out so many good bands that I’m struggling to keep up. Yet another has been brought to my attention recently. Those four are ‘epic low-fi’ act Meursault - and yes, I know what I just said is a contradiction in itself, but I can think of no other way to describe them. Think Arcade Fire on a shoestring budget but with the...
Jun 3rd
5 tags
Welcome Back: The Pains of Being Pure At Heart
This is pretty decent: The Pains of Being Pure of Heart are back, and they’ve decided to premiere the first new material since last year’s ‘Higher Than The Stars’ EP. It’s the single we mentioned a few weeks back, ‘Say No To Love’, along with a new b-side called ‘Lost Saint’. I’m hoping the second album is on the way sooner rather than...
Jun 3rd
2 tags
May, In Reviews
9.6 - Frame The City - We Were Wolves EP 9.3 - Foals - Total Life Forever 9.2 - The National - High Violet 9.2 - Villagers - Becoming A Jackal 9.1 - Broken Social Scene - Forgiveness Rock Record 8.3 - Tristan Clopet - Purple EP 8.2 - Bronto Skylift - The White Crow 8.2 - Exit Calm - S/T [8.2 - Tokyo Police Club - Champ] 8.1 - Born Ruffians - Say It 8.0 - Dan Sartain - Dan Sartain Lives 8.0 -...
Jun 3rd
4 tags
My Luminaries: Order From The Chaos
Words: Gareth O’Malley They say that good things come to those who wait - and my, have we been waiting for this one for a while. My Luminaries have definitely taken their time getting their album out there. The London-based band, a quintet consisting of James Ewers, Leila MacFie, Mark Ferguson, Mike Murray and Sam Stopford, formed in 2004. Release of material has been sporadic at best,...
Jun 2nd
3 tags
Wikio Music Blog Rankings: June 2010
Massive leaps and relatively large drops (*cough*) abound this month. Music Musings and Miscellany jumped an eye-popping 29 points, with the rather excellent Fabric of Folly just behind it. Highest new entry was Leeds Hip Hop Scene, and the largest drop was, er, us… 01. Musicrooms.net (=) 02. 20jazzfunkgreats (+2) 03. BBC - Introducing blog (-1) 04. Music Musings and Miscellany (+29) 05....
Jun 2nd
5 tags
Elephants: Strong Arms
Words: Gareth O’Malley Sometimes the simplest of songs can have a much greater effect than you’d expect. Just ask Elephants, a Kent-based quartet who have just released their first proper single on Alcopop! Records (whose roster is getting better and better, might I add). There’s nothing flashy or innovative about what the band do, but then again there doesn’t need to...
Jun 2nd
6 tags
Jun 1st
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The New Loud: Measures Melt
Words: Gareth O’Malley It’s not often that a band not knowing what kind of music they want to create is a good thing. There’s a fine line between diversity and indecisiveness after all. Milwaukee’s The New Loud have only a general idea of what kind of band they want to be; nothing in particular. It works quite well for them, however. The group are placed perfectly...
Jun 1st
5 tags
Words With: Conor O'Brien/Villagers
Interviewer: Gareth O’Malley With his stunning debut ‘Becoming A Jackal’ occupying dizzying heights in the Irish charts, I managed to rattle off a few questions with Mr. Conor J. O’Brien about such things as tours, the Jools Holland appearances a couple of weeks back, and a very special upcoming gig… MFM: How have you found the reception of the album? It’s...
Jun 1st
5 tags
Hammock: Chasing After Shadows... Living With The...
Words: Gareth O’Malley It’s often said that quality is better than quantity, and this is especially true with albums. Too many albums have been dragged down by pointless filler, so it’s much more enjoyable when a band set out to make a complete work. For Hammock, consistency has always been the name of the game. Formed in 2004, the Nashville, TN-based duo is comprised of Marc...
Jun 1st