Fixers

~ Phil Lengthorn ~ 2 Comments

The A-Z of New Music brings us to the letter ‘F’ and the psychedelic indie pop sound of……Fixers.

Not quite sure how I’ve managed to avoid Fixers over the past year, apparently  they have been getting a lot of air play as well as supporting Kaiser Chefs on tour. I’m undecided about them. Listening to their early EPs they use a lot of synthesisers and have some weird harmonies going on, ‘Swimmhaus Johannesburg’ a perfect example. Although a listen to tracks from their latest album would suggest a move away from this and towards a more indie-rock feel. A standout track for me would have to be ‘Iron Deer Dream’, title track from their forthcoming album, released 11th March.

So if you fancy a bit of psyche-indie-pop-rock…..

Fixers, C/D borderline….

Today’s blog was brought to you by the letter F…..

Elliphant

~ Phil Lengthorn ~ 1 Comment

The A-Z of New Music brings us to the letter ‘E’. It was probably only a matter of time until we ran head long into the biggest pile of crap you could imagine, and here they are…..Elliphant.

The idea of this blog was to listen to ‘new music’. Whether it be folk, R&B, rock, acoustic, or any other of the hundreds of styles of music out there, I wanted to listen to stuff I’ve never heard before. Hence, the uninspiring ‘dance’ sound of Elliphant.

One listen to their debut single, ‘In the Jungle’, should be just about enough to make you want to rip your ears off and insert them in a blender. The track has plenty of negative points: the endless thud, thud, thud; the ridiculous use of dodgy percussion beats; the even more ridiculous lyrics, something about “basics”; I could probably go on and on and on (but I won’t).

Elliphant are from Sweden, and this exactly where they need to go back too and never return.

Elliphant, ungraded….

Today’s blog was brought to you by the letter E……

Duotone

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The A-Z of New Music brings us to the letter ‘D’, and at last, a move away from the twee indiepop as we enter the murky depths of folk. Today I present the mature, intellectual, acoustic sound of…..Duotone.

Work Harder & One Day You’ll Find Her, Duotone’s debut album, was my first stop, thanks to @ladymarples. I was instantly impressed with the album, a collection of 8 tracks (a tad short I know) featuring various stringed instruments (Barney Morse-Brown is the cellist for The Imagined Village) and inventive and intelligent lyrics – although some would say melancholic. On first play it reminded me a bit of Damien Rice ‘stuff’ – but more musical – the instruments, at times, overwhelm the lyrics (not sure if that is a good or bad thing). Favourite tracks off the album: ‘Golden Hair Saved My Life’,  ‘House of Keremma’ and ‘You Don’t Need Church’. The album is definitely a ‘grower’ – I think there’s a lot going on – definitely worth an extended visit. Perfect for the summer: sit in the garden, put the album on, open a bottle of wine and relax….

A new album, Ropes, is due for release towards the end of the March.

Duotone, overall grade B….well worth a listen…..

Just to reflect on the start of this month’s project…..four letters…four new good discoveries…..lovely jubbly!

Today’s blog was brought to you by the letter D….

Colour Me Wednesday

~ Phil Lengthorn ~ 4 Comments

We get to C and still seem to be stuck in the whole indie/pop vibe. Tomorrow, I promise, something a bit different. But for today’s band, a mix of indiepop, punk and ska…….Colour Me Wednesday.

Colour Me Wednesday are a London based 4-piece band who I have had trouble pigeonholing. ‘Purge Your Inner Tory’ is a great little indiepop tune that you can’t help tapping your feet to. ‘Carefree’ has a clear ska influence and ‘Unicorn in Uniform’ is again, a bit more indie, with bigger guitars and drums, or you can have a more tranquil sound with ‘Lost on the Highstreet’. Personal favourites for me: ‘Holiday From Your Life’ and ‘Purge Your Inner Tory‘. Overall, a great little band, should make for a good evening’s entertainment if you get the chance to see them live.

Colour Me Wednesday overall grade a B – like it!

Today’s blog was brought to you by the letter C….

Boy Mandeville

~ Phil Lengthorn ~ 1 Comment

The band grabbing the ‘B’ in the A-Z of New Music, thanks to @nembow, is Boy Mandeville…..

A miserable rainy day outside has not stopped Boy Mandeville from transporting me into the summer. A great indie-pop outfit that creates a truly summer sound thanks, in part, to fantastic calypso sounds, take a listen to ‘Steel Horse’ and you’ll either be on a beach in the Caribbean or at the Notting Hill carnival (without the knives of course). Their last single, released last summer, ‘Gorilla’ is definitely worth a listen, as is ‘Killing the Work’. But my favourite, given that I’ve only been listening to them for the morning, would have to be ‘Christina’, an example of a slightly more ‘indie’ Boy Mandeville. So if you fancy listening to some afro-beat and wonky pop then Boy Mandeville should be your first stop….

Boy Mandeville overall grade a B – for me a bit too much calypso….

Today’s blog has been brought to you by the letter B…

Allo Darlin’

~ Phil Lengthorn ~ 2 Comments

March’s project, with @davidmarples in mind, gets off to an indie pop feel – although I also like the idea they have been described as ‘twee poppers’….may I present……..Allo Darlin’….

A great start to March’s project!

Allo Darlin’ are a great little band, their self-titled album Allo Darlin’ (which I downloaded after listening to a few tracks on myspace) is packed full of fun little melodies, using ukuleles and tambourines, in a Noah and the Whale styley. ‘The Polaroid Song’ would have to be my favourite, closely followed by ‘Woody Allen’ and ‘My Heart is a Drummer’. Although some older ‘stuff’ is well worth a listen, ‘Henry Rollins Don’t Dance’ is a catchy little number.

I’ve now added them to my must see gig list. Take a look….

Allo Darlin’ overall grade A* – top of the class!

Today’s blog has been brought to you by the letter A……