17 SECONDS

Edinburgh-based act The Occasional Flickers released their second album Home Is A Four-Letter Word back in November, but it’s only been, umm, today, that they’ve crossed my radar.

I say Edinburgh-based, as their facebook page describes them as being a pop band that began in Athens, Greece, but is now based in Edinburgh, Scotland (which is quite fitting, as Edinburgh is often described as the ‘Athens of the North’). Lead by Giorgos Bouras, the band are something of a collective, including Bart Owl of eagleowl, and indeed his bandmate Malcolm Benzie contributes to the album, too.

If this band remind me of any other act - and I mean this as a compliment - it’s probably Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci. Like that lamented act, this is a gorgeous pastoral album…and evokes a spirit far away from the harsh, dark Scottish winter that we’re currently enduring. That, of course, shouldn’t detract from the fact that the band are having an album launch this coming Friday (January 6) at the Third Door in Edinburgh, with support from the Second Hand Marching Band.

I wish I’d heard this album before now. Don’t make any excuses - just listen to it, realise how bloody great it is, and then go and buy it.

That’s an order.

First Aid Kit -’The Lion’s Roar.’ (Wichita)

First Aid Kit are the sisters Klara and and Johanna Söderberg, who first came to prominence when they were only in their teens. This is their second album, the follow-up to 2010’s The Big Black & the Blue.

Though they hail from the southern suburbs of Stockholm, the sisters know their Americana roots. To this end, the album was produced by Mike Mogis of Bright Eyes, and the album’s final track ‘King Of The World’ was co-written by none other than Connor Oberst.

Despite what you might take from the above, there’s none of the excessive Bright Eyes droning on, nor is this country sung in the style of Abba. This album isn’t pioneering, but right from the opening title track, this is a delightfully warm album, that has had several plays already round these parts. And if the chorus of Emmylou doesn’t melt your heart ‘I’ll be your Emmylou and I’ll be your June/And you’ll be my Gram and your Johnny too’ well, you either have no heart and/or know absolutely nothing about country music. But they do also name-check Stockholm in the song, so they do have a sense about where they have came from, geographically as well as musically.

Fancy something different from run of the mill music? Why not give First Aid Kit a listen?

***1/2

The Lion’s Roar is released by Wichita on January 23.

First Aid Kit - The Lion’s Roar by Wichita Recordings

A few weeks ago, disgusted at what much of the BBC Sound of 2012 was promising, I and several other blogs were approached by Andy Von Pip of the Von Pip Musical Express and asked to put forward our own nominations for the alternative sound of 2012.

Now only one of my five nominated acts got through - but democracy has achieved far worse things than that so here they are:

1. Friends

Straight outta Brooklyn, Friends released two singles last year, ‘Friend Crush’ and ‘I’m His Girl.’ Now they may have chosen a name that is going to make Googling them very hard, but I think the two singles so far are great. Check out ‘I’m His Girl’:

Friends - I’m His Girl by LuckyNumberMusic

2. Theme Park hail from London. So far they have released two singles ‘A Mountain We Love’/'Wax’ and ‘Ghosts’/'Milk’.

Ghosts by Theme Park

3. Beth Jeans Houghton was someone I was aware of for much of last year - but when I finally heard her I was very pleasantly stunned by what I heard. Having released a number of singles over the last few years, her debut album Yours Truly, Cellophane Nose (yes, you did read that right) is out on February 6.

Beth Jeans Houghton - Dodecahedron by Mute UK

4. French Wives I have long championed on this blog. They have released four singles so far - of which ‘Numbers’ is the latest and according to their website is the first track to be taken from their album Dream of the In Between. They have been working with producer Tony Doogan, in summer 2011 at Castle of Doom studios in Glasgow, and it is released in March 2012.

Numbers by French Wives

5. Daughter, led by Elena Tonra, released two EPs in 2011. Again, I have to put my hand up and say this was a name I reognised (I just get so much stuff sent to my inbox I have to gamble and it doens’t always pay off), but I’m glad I have listened now.

Remember folks, you can stream these artists above and go and buy their music. And it would be good to know what you think.

The Blog Sound of 2012 was masterminded by Andy Von Pip (as I said above - were you paying attention?), and as well as yours truly, the following blogs were involved:

Breaking More Waves
My Band Is Better Than Your Band
God Is In the TV
Sweeping The Nation
The Recommender
Faded Glamour
Drunken Werewolf
Flying With Anna
Not Many Experts
Under-classed Idle Ideas
Sonic Masala
Mudkiss
The Ring Master
Both Bars On
Music From A Green Window
Dots and Dashes
The Daily Growl
And Everyone’s A DJ
Kowalskiy
Just Music I Like
Cruel Rhythm
The Blue Walrus
Music Fans Mic
Eaten By Monsters
Seven Sevens
Unpeeled
Nu Rave Brain Wave
Peenko
Music Liberation, and last but not least…
Song, By Toad

Howler -’America Give Up’ (Rough Trade)

..and here they come, the latest hotly tipped great white indie guitar hopes, straight outta Minneapolis.

The general concensus amongst those many of those who profess to like their indie is that indie is ‘in crisis.’ Much of this depends on what you define as ‘indie.’ Personally speaking, I think it’s quite encouraging that the best-selling album of 2011, Adele’s 21, was released on XL (the indie label who have also given us the likes of The Prodigy, Friendly Fires, The Horrors and M.I.A.), and that the critics’ choice of 2011, PJ Harvey’s Let England Shake, was very much a recordborn of the indie scene. If anything, what has been suffering is straight-ahead chart indie - largely because a lot of it really wasn’t very good.

So: the questions to be asked of Howler (signed to long-running, even in its second incarnation, indie Rough Trade) is are they any good? Can they turn the fortunes of indie around? They first appeared on most people’s radar last summer with the release of their five-track EP, This One’s Different, which certainly generated a lot of praise in both printed and online media. The two outstanding track from that release (the title track and ‘Told You Once’) reappear here.

If you are looking for innovative indie, then you probably are not going to find it here. However, if you are looking for an upbeat album to beat away those post-Christmas blues, then this debut LP hits the spot. Whilst much of it is in the vein of both The Strokes (who are labelmates) and The Vaccines (who they toured with just before Christmas), there are signs of where the band may be developing their sound from here. ‘Too Much Blood’ is slower and dreamier than much of what else is on offer here, giving you an idea of what The Ramones might have sounded like if they’d decided to sound like the Velvet Underground. There’s also a hint of surf guitar on ‘Back Of Your Neck’ and ‘Free Drunk’ suggests they may just be discovering the likes of My Bloody Valentine and the Mary Chain.

It’s too early to tell whether Howler are going to change the fortunes of indie around. However, this is a fun album, which doesn’t mess around (eleven songs in just under thirty-two minutes) and is worth hearing.

***1/2

America Give Up is released on January 16 on Rough Trade.

PJ Harvey - my artist of the year

…farewell to 2011.

On a personal level, I know that a lot of people have had a tough year. Given that 2009 pretty much brought me to my knees, I sympathise. My highlight of the year has been the birth of my first (and QED so far only) child in March, though inevitably things have been soundtracked pretty continually.

So, if you want a track to soundtrack your night tonight, may I recommend this?

Azealia Banks -’212.’ mp3

And for tomorrow morning, the title track from a new album out in 2012 that’s been getting a lot of play around 17 Seconds Towers:

First Aid Kit - The Lion’s Roar by Wichita Recordings

Have a good one. 17 Seconds will be back next year with more music (new and old) and much more besides…

Hailing from Liverpool, Laura J. Martin is a flute-playing, mandolin tottin, loops backed singer with some excellent ideas on display for all to hear. She lists artists as diverse as Wu-Tang Clan, Lalo Schifrin and David Bowie as influences. Her haunting style suggests that the inevitable comparisons to artists like Joanna Newsom, Kate Bush and Bjork are to be deserved, rather than derided for being too ‘obvious.’

She released her first single ‘Doki Doki’ back in 2008, and a number of singles have followed since then, including ‘The Hanging Tree’ ‘Spy’ and ‘Kiss By Good Night’ (sic). 2012 will see the release of her debut album The Hangman Tree, released on January 23 through Static Caravan. Check out these tracks for now…

Laura J. Martin ‘Doki Doki’

Laura J. Martin ‘The Hanging Tree’

…and yes, those capital letters are intentional.

This popped into my inbox a little while ago. FEVR PITCH are an LA-based electro/dubstep group consisting of Marty Rod (singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist), British dance producer Mark Okah (who also directed the video below) and Dubstep, drumpstep DJ/producer/remixer extraordinaire Kill Paris (possibly not his real name).

Their rather awesome EP The Flash EP, was released in October - and thus alas, is too late for consideration in my end of year lists for 2011.

Not that that should stop you checking this out, because it’s really rather fine. All four tracks stand alone in their own right, and make for a proper EP (as opposed to some ‘great, good song now let’s cobble some crap to go alongside it’ approach). In as encouraging way as possible, I think if you enjoy MGMT and Animal Collective and music in that vein, I think this EP will appeal to you. I’m loving this - and hoping to hear more from the band sometime very, very soon.

Stream the EP below. If you like it - go and buy it!

The Flash EP by FEVRPITCH

This is the video for the lead track on the EP, called ‘Running Away.’ More than just a little bit cool, I think you’ll agree.

A few weeks before Christmas, I received an email from her PR company to say that Sinead O’Connor was releasing a new album How About I Be Me (And You Be You?) on February 20.

Now, that was certainly good news to me. I first came across Sinead O’Connor…no, not with that song but back in 1988 when she appeared on The Roxy and Top Of the Pops performing a song called ‘Mandinka’. This was followed by a mesmerising track called I Want Your hands On Me and then a certain Prince cover brought her massive success.

Quite why a woman with a shaved head seemed so controversial I don’t know. She was forthright in her opinions - and that shocked many. Rather like with Madonna, people seemed to forget it was her msuic that bought her to attention in the first place. More fool them.

The tracklisting for her new album - her ninth -is as follows:

1. “4th And Vine”
2. “Reason With Me”
3. “Old Lady”
4. “Take Off Your Shoes”
5. “Back Where You Belong”
6. “The Wolf Is Getting Married”
7. “Queen Of Denmark”
8. “Very Far From Home”
9. “I Had A Baby”
10. “V.I.P.”

Apparently it does NOT include the song ‘How About I Be Me?’ but you can buy that track off downlaod services now - nice reggae feel to it, worth checking out and buying.

You can stream two tracks here:

2 new songs by sineadoconnor

She will be playing five dates in 2012:

9th March, Brighton St Georges Church

10th March, London Queen Elizabeth Hall

12th March, Bristol St. Georges Hall

14th March, Glasgow Oran Mor

15th March, Manchester Manchester Cathedral

Hello everyone.

Hope you all had a great Christmas (or whatever festival you choose to celebrate, or indeed none). It was all good fun around 17 Seconds Towers yesterday; with a whole heep of books (not all music related either), DVDs, and music gratefully received by yours truly. And it was son 17 Seconds’ first Christmas, which I think he enjoyed greatly. The cold he gave me was not particularly well received - but the lie-in until 9AM yesterday most definitely was.

This is not part of the Christmas mp3 fest - but this track by The Last Battle was part of their online single last year ‘Nature’s Glorious Rage’ and it’s rather fine.

Stream and then go and buy…

Merry Christmas folks!

Have a good one, enjoy these - I will be taking down the links to all the Christmas songs once Boxing Day has been and gone.

See you soon,

Ed x

The Hives & Cyndi Lauper -’A Christmas Duel.’ mp3

Basement 5 -’Last White Christmas.’ mp3

Daniel Johnston -’Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree.’ mp3

Half Man Half Biscuit -’It’s Cliched To Be Cynical At Christmas.’ mp3

Elastica -’All For Gloria (Peel session).’ mp3

Mew -’She Came Home For Christmas.’ mp3

Aereogramme -’Asthma Came Home For Christmas.’ mp3

Death Cab For Cutie -’Christmas (Baby Please Come Home).’ mp3

Walkmen -’While I Shovel The Snow.’ mp3

Dandy Warhols -’Little Drummer Boy.’ mp3

Links taken down - it’s now after Christmas!