Tag: music

Hooded Fang

~ Phil Lengthorn ~ Leave a comment

The A-Z of New Music brings us to the 8th letter of the alphabet, H……..from Canada….Hooded Fang.

Yes, I know, it’s indie-pop again, although with a bit rock and a bit of roll thrown in. In fact you could easily mistake them for a band from the swinging sixties, the tunes off their latest album, Tosta Mista, has some unmistakable Beach Boys and Monkees going on. If you’re looking for a band creating original breakthrough tunes, Hooded Fang would not be your first stop – although you can’t help but tap your foot. A listen to ‘ESP’ may even have you hand jiving. A disappointment with Tosta Mista is the length, 10 tracks, of which 3 are instrumental. Indie fans might want to listen to their debut album, Hooded Fang Album, of which ‘Laughing’ and ‘Highway Steam’ are standout tracks.

Debut album gets a B, Tosta Mista a D. Overall, C/D borderline…..

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

Gabriel Bruce

~ Phil Lengthorn ~ 1 Comment

The A-Z of New Music finds us at G, and the unique sounding voice of…..Gabriel Bruce.

Bruce has the same low, husky growl that have made Leonard Cohen and Nick Cave household names. If you take the time to check him out you’ll realise he is slightly ‘weird’. As well as singing and composing he is a taxidermist and has an interest in the macabre. His first single, the fantastic ‘Sleep Paralysis’ was released as on 7″ vinyl complete with 50-page illustrated book exploring the phenomenon of sleep paralysis. I’d imagine if there is a debut album on the horizon it will be pretty dark and heavy. If you’re looking for a feel good summer tune, Gabriel Bruce is probably not the place to look for it. Personally, I’m quite partial to a bit of Leonard Cohen so I’ll be eagerly awaiting some more tunes.

Gabriel Bruce has done a great cover of Sam Cooke’s ‘Cupid’, that was released in conjunction with Valentine’s Day, listen to it on his tumblr site.

Overall, Gabriel Bruce gets a B+……

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

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……

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…