At 2:50, “Berlin” is short – but it’s long enough to realise that RY X has got far more than his voice and an acoustic guitar. It’s a set up that doesn’t promise too much, but within the crumbling fragility of “Berlin” and its echoing backing vocals, a really dark and affecting song emerges. It’s a sparse introduction, save for the undulating emotion of RY X’s voice, at times defeated, at others defiant, but it’s that constant transition between serenity and catharsis that makes “Berlin” something really special.
The man himself is a bit of an enigma – originally from Australia, he’s spent a bit of time in L.A., and is now making his way over to London to support Sweet Baboo on 4th July, and you’ll find videos of him on Youtube under both the name RY X, Ry and even the less shadowy moniker of Ry Cuming.
He previously released “Howling”, which was produced by Frank Wiedermann, one half of Berlin house duo Âme, who then remixed the song. Speaking of which, check these out…
"Berlin" is being released by brand new Stockholm based label Dumont Dumont in August.
Melbourne based jangle pop merchants Twerps today release the carefree and accidentally flawless “Work It Out/He’s In Stock” single on Underwater Peoples. Like many people, we seem to have been completely blissfully unaware of the release of their debut album last year, so thank god they didn’t take it to heart and kept absent-mindedly slipping together passages of woozy slacker pop. The lazily strummed chords of “He’s In Stock” have all the flippance and sweltering brilliance of Real Estate, so it didn’t surprise us to find out that Twerps have recently been supporting them on tour. Carelessness aside, they’ve also got all that obvious pop appeal that sounds like it comes easier than breathing, and as a result these languid tunes transport you to somewhere where all the worries of modern life just don’t exist.
Last year Aussie duo Manor gave us the urgent, heart-wrought indie pop of ‘Rhodesia’. I liked it so much that I instantly became suspicious that they were covertly attempting to trick me, and tried my best to ignore it. Now they have released the equally sumptious cut, ‘Afghan Hound’, and I’m proud to report that they have sufficiently proved that they cannot be a trick; they’re bona-fide talents in the very appealing hazy-indie-played-by-duos mould. Think Beach House, but with songs that sound slightly different. And if that doesn’t sound exciting, get a load of this; ‘Afghan Hound’ was mixed in Brooklyn by the bloke who has fiddled with Animal Collective and Dirty Projectors! That’s right, Manor are officially cool. But occasionally it is good to let the music get in the way of that, and in Manor’s case, the duo of ‘Rhodesia’ and ‘Afghan Hound’ are sounding like two of the most fully-formed and instantly loveable introductions to a new band for many a month.
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