Tag: music

We Are the In Crowd

~ Phil Lengthorn ~ Leave a comment

The A-Z of New Music reaches the 23rd letter of the alphabet, W, and thanks to @samayres1992……….We Are the In Crowd.

It has taken us 23 days to get some punk but we’ve made it, even if it is American pop punk rock. We Are the In Crowd are from the same mould as Paramore, All Time Low or actually any other group coming out of the States at the moment. In fact, that’s probably the problem, there is just too much of the American rocky-pop-punky stuff around at the moment.The tracks that I’ve heard off their latest album, Best Intentions, are actually quite good, it’s just that I’m not a great fan of the genre, I find at all too similar. Although, I did find this acoustic version of ‘Never Be What You Want’ which is OK……

Overall, I can take them or leave them, which is not probably what you want from a band…..

Today’s blog is brought to you by the letter W….

Veronica Falls

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Despite the stack of marking that is staring at me, I’ve managed to get round to blogging, this shows the power of the A-Z of New Music. Today, thanks to @davidmarples, we have V………Veronica Falls.

There is no guessing what genre we have tonight, it’s full-on indie, no messing around with various amalgamations of sub-genres. There debut self-titled album, Veronica Falls, is crammed pack full of rhythmic indie pop tunes with catchy melodies and cheerful harmonies. Take a listen to, ‘Veronica Falls’, ‘Misery’ and ‘Beachy Head’, they probably sum-up the album. Although, you could argue we’ve heard it all before. I’m not sure if they’ve done enough to win me over. You decide, new single, ‘My Heart Beats’ was released this week….

Veronica Falls, CD borderline….

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

Urbantramper

~ Phil Lengthorn ~ Leave a comment

We reach U in the A-Z of New Music, from New Zealand……Urbantramper.

Not entirely new I know, they’ve been going for a few years, and I’ve heard a few tracks in the past but never actually got round to giving them a proper listen. Well I’ve put that right today, in fact I even visited itunes and purchased the latest album, Rise and Ride Toward. Urbantramper I like. Genre? It could probably be described as folk-pop, it’s a great mix of tunes, you get ballads through to upbeat foot tappers. Favourites on the album: ‘Southern Hemisphere Blues’, ‘My Grand Plan’ and ‘A Warm Glowing Light’ to name just a few. Having listen to the album a couple of times I’ve decided I really like it. It’s simple and refreshing, well worth a listen….”eating broccoli is eating properly”….

Urbantramper, they get an A from me…

Today’s blog is brought to you by the letter U….

Two Wounded Birds

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We reach T and finally have a plethora of new music to choose from, and the winner is…..Two Wounded Birds.

Two Wounded Birds are a four-piece from Margate, playing indie hop-pop and rock’n’roll, very much in the style of the Drums. There are plenty of the Shadows’ pinging guitars and some definite Beach Boys thrown in for good measure. So there we have it, Drums, Shadows and Beach Boys, quite a trio of bands. But don’t let that put you off, their sound is contemporary, a bit Vaccines-esque, only less ‘punky’, a bit Ramones like, only different. Take a listen to ‘All We Wanna Do’ and you’ll understand, call them ‘surf-rock’, or call them ‘retro’, it’s totally up to you, but take a listen, I think you might like.

Two Wounded Birds, get a solid B….

Today’s blog has been brought to you by the letter T……

The Shutes

~ Phil Lengthorn ~ Leave a comment

The A-Z of New Music brings us to S and a band from the Isle of Wight…….The Shutes.

The Shutes play a kind of alternative-surf-style-rock (if there is such a think), clearly heavily influenced by American rock, however, at times, you do get a sense of The Flaming Lips. What they’ve created is an indie rock sound with enough of a psychedelic twist to make them stand-out. Check out ‘The 3 oh 1’ or ‘Noah’s Ark’ which are great tracks, and pretty typical of what you get with The Shutes.

Their forthcoming EP, Echo of Love, released in April, will be well worth a listen.

Overall, a good solid B for The Shutes….

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

Robert Glasper

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We reach R and the A-Z of New Music rolls on in an urban jazz hip-hop styley……..Robert Glasper.

Robert Glasper is a jazz pianist from USA and combines jazz, hip-hop and soul to create, I think, a slightly awkward sound. Listen to ‘All Matter’, from Glasper’s album, Double Booked, and you’ll understand. I’m not a great fan of modern jazz but I wished he’d stick to that, this attempt to mix genres doesn’t work in my book. His latest album, Black Radio, has gone down the road of ‘featuring’ different artists. All this creates is an album that barely holds itself together and feels incredibly disjointed.

Overall, stick to the soul stuff and you might just pass…..

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