Singles
Updated 16th December 2011
ARCHIVE:
Ouch!
SCREW GAS, WE'RE WASHING WITH GIN!
THE CUBICAL "THE GOLDEN RULE" (BANDCAMP @ £1.49)
RELEASED? Out now.
SOUNDS LIKE? Well, it's all
in aid of the rather
wonderfully monikered
charity 'Campaign Against
Living Miserably', so it'd be
uncharitable to suggest that
it comes in all over wrought
and sheepishly ham fisted in
it's attempt to wriggle into
the space reserved for
'Fairytale Of New York', so
we won't suggest that, oh
no, because when it hits it's
stride, and that's around
1.02, oh yes... That's when
the chorus and the strings
drift in and then the violin starts to chop, rather than saw and there's strong words about 'sucking the good out of everything' and the boys of the NYPD choir start taking an interest and I start crying and it's all rather lovely and tough and moving
IS IT ANY GOOD? It's one of the classic Christmas songs, it'll take the world a while to catch on, but you can blaze a trail for less than two quid. Do so.
WHERE IS IT? http://thecubical.bandcamp.com/track/the-golden-rule
THE CUBICAL "THE GOLDEN RULE" (BANDCAMP @ £1.49)
RELEASED? Out now.
SOUNDS LIKE? Well, it's all
in aid of the rather
wonderfully monikered
charity 'Campaign Against
Living Miserably', so it'd be
uncharitable to suggest that
it comes in all over wrought
and sheepishly ham fisted in
it's attempt to wriggle into
the space reserved for
'Fairytale Of New York', so
we won't suggest that, oh
no, because when it hits it's
stride, and that's around
1.02, oh yes... That's when
the chorus and the strings
drift in and then the violin starts to chop, rather than saw and there's strong words about 'sucking the good out of everything' and the boys of the NYPD choir start taking an interest and I start crying and it's all rather lovely and tough and moving
IS IT ANY GOOD? It's one of the classic Christmas songs, it'll take the world a while to catch on, but you can blaze a trail for less than two quid. Do so.
WHERE IS IT? http://thecubical.bandcamp.com/track/the-golden-rule
THE WORD 'YET' IS USED QUITE A LOT
PURPLE CREEK "PRETTY REDHEAD" (SOUNDCLOUD)
RELEASED? Out now.
SOUNDS LIKE? A two piece based in Boston who are 'looking to change the way you think about music' by soundclouding a track from an imminent ep. The track in question, "Pretty Redhead" won't quite change the way you think about music because it's doing lots of things that you've heard before. Namely... ruining a decent piano riff with muffled production, flirting with old Sleeper Lagoon wooze and sharing vocal duties in a democratic, but unhelpful way.
IS IT ANY GOOD? No. Not yet. This track isn't even a demo, yet and yet, it's the only thing that represents Purple Creek to a world that's awash in quirky, individual, but strangely identikit noise.
WHERE IS IT? http://soundcloud.com/purplecreek
PURPLE CREEK "PRETTY REDHEAD" (SOUNDCLOUD)
RELEASED? Out now.
SOUNDS LIKE? A two piece based in Boston who are 'looking to change the way you think about music' by soundclouding a track from an imminent ep. The track in question, "Pretty Redhead" won't quite change the way you think about music because it's doing lots of things that you've heard before. Namely... ruining a decent piano riff with muffled production, flirting with old Sleeper Lagoon wooze and sharing vocal duties in a democratic, but unhelpful way.
IS IT ANY GOOD? No. Not yet. This track isn't even a demo, yet and yet, it's the only thing that represents Purple Creek to a world that's awash in quirky, individual, but strangely identikit noise.
WHERE IS IT? http://soundcloud.com/purplecreek
A CAPITAL IDEA?
FILMS OF COLOUR "SLOW BURN" (FREE DOWNLOAD)
RELEASED? Out now.
SOUNDS LIKE? Over
preening, underwhelming
synth pop. Yes, it's a Bowie
cover, but that's never been
a guarantee of quality and
this version of 'Slow Burn'
has replaced slow with
tedious and the burn with
something damp and limp.
The press release is all over
the enthusiasm that Tony
(producer of the Bowie
original) Visconti has for this new version and this band and I believe them, with the caveat that Mr Visconti is now quite old and probably has as much enthusiasm for milky tea and a nice nap as he does for any gang of well organised synth-chancers.
IS IT ANY GOOD? The immortal phrase 'I preferred their earlier work' toddles to mind and I would recommend that you, Mr Visconti and Films Of Colour listen to the squalling, stop start cute n menace of 'Capital' to get a true idea of what this band can do.
WHERE IS IT? www.filmsofcolour.com
FILMS OF COLOUR "SLOW BURN" (FREE DOWNLOAD)
RELEASED? Out now.
SOUNDS LIKE? Over
preening, underwhelming
synth pop. Yes, it's a Bowie
cover, but that's never been
a guarantee of quality and
this version of 'Slow Burn'
has replaced slow with
tedious and the burn with
something damp and limp.
The press release is all over
the enthusiasm that Tony
(producer of the Bowie
original) Visconti has for this new version and this band and I believe them, with the caveat that Mr Visconti is now quite old and probably has as much enthusiasm for milky tea and a nice nap as he does for any gang of well organised synth-chancers.
IS IT ANY GOOD? The immortal phrase 'I preferred their earlier work' toddles to mind and I would recommend that you, Mr Visconti and Films Of Colour listen to the squalling, stop start cute n menace of 'Capital' to get a true idea of what this band can do.
WHERE IS IT? www.filmsofcolour.com
Like many elderly gentlemen, Mr Visconti
enjoys a dip in
the lido
enjoys a dip in
the lido
PRAYING VERY HARD INDEED
ISOLATED ATOMS "ILLUMINATE" (PPS)
RELEASED? 12th March 2012.
SOUNDS LIKE? The cheap and sleasy, easy riffery that introduces "Gun In My Hand" is something that I will happily listen to all night, the next day and so on, but the production is tinny, lite and annoying, the vocals are all of that and worse, maybe because of the production, who knows? Oh, I do. I know and by the time the second track, "Pray For Me Now" kicks in, everyone with an ear to call their own can tell these people that very passable rock to synth rock balladry is being trashed by appallingly cliched vocals and very poor production.
IS IT ANY GOOD? Could be, they should leave a cup of tea and a biscuit on the mixing desk, you never know when Tony Visconti will pass by.
WHERE IS IT? www.pps-music.co.uk
ISOLATED ATOMS "ILLUMINATE" (PPS)
RELEASED? 12th March 2012.
SOUNDS LIKE? The cheap and sleasy, easy riffery that introduces "Gun In My Hand" is something that I will happily listen to all night, the next day and so on, but the production is tinny, lite and annoying, the vocals are all of that and worse, maybe because of the production, who knows? Oh, I do. I know and by the time the second track, "Pray For Me Now" kicks in, everyone with an ear to call their own can tell these people that very passable rock to synth rock balladry is being trashed by appallingly cliched vocals and very poor production.
IS IT ANY GOOD? Could be, they should leave a cup of tea and a biscuit on the mixing desk, you never know when Tony Visconti will pass by.
WHERE IS IT? www.pps-music.co.uk
A WORLD WHERE YOU CAN JUST PRETEND
STAY OKAY! "TIME TO GROW" EP (i-Amazon-Tunes)
RELEASED? 16th January 2012.
SOUNDS LIKE? It's actually quite offensive because while Stay Okay! can certainly construct and play the hell out of post-punk track, they choose to do so with every edge sanded safely to nothing. Nothing to disturb the 'buzz band', safety first template.
IS IT ANY GOOD? No. I'd rather hear a band struggling technically to express something genuine, than some boy band with amps schlock.
WHERE IS IT? www.facebook.com/stayokay
STAY OKAY! "TIME TO GROW" EP (i-Amazon-Tunes)
RELEASED? 16th January 2012.
SOUNDS LIKE? It's actually quite offensive because while Stay Okay! can certainly construct and play the hell out of post-punk track, they choose to do so with every edge sanded safely to nothing. Nothing to disturb the 'buzz band', safety first template.
IS IT ANY GOOD? No. I'd rather hear a band struggling technically to express something genuine, than some boy band with amps schlock.
WHERE IS IT? www.facebook.com/stayokay
GOOD NEWS FOR TODDLERS
POST WAR GLAMOUR GIRLS "SUBURBAN BARBARIAN" (FREE
DOWNLOAD)
RELEASED? 9th January 2012.
SOUNDS LIKE? I was
wondering when Johnny Cash
would do burlesque while
channeling Nick Cave. The
guitar is a wonderful
combination of brute force and
sly stab, the male, female and
backing vocals dovetail in a
way that has sent Ikea
designers scurrying to Post
War Glamour Girls shows and
the brooding menace is brooding, menacingly. It's all very theatrical, but in a week where Chris Martin was described by a national newspaper as a 'consumate showman', it's nice to have something of this quality to undermine such stupid and lazy thinking. It's also nice to have something of this quality.
IS IT ANY GOOD? Very much so and, at this stage I would urge you to boil down a toddler and sell the glue in order to buy this record, but it's a free download. So get it and set those toddlers free before Fagin does a head count.
WHERE IS IT? www.sturdy-records.co.uk
POST WAR GLAMOUR GIRLS "SUBURBAN BARBARIAN" (FREE
DOWNLOAD)
RELEASED? 9th January 2012.
SOUNDS LIKE? I was
wondering when Johnny Cash
would do burlesque while
channeling Nick Cave. The
guitar is a wonderful
combination of brute force and
sly stab, the male, female and
backing vocals dovetail in a
way that has sent Ikea
designers scurrying to Post
War Glamour Girls shows and
the brooding menace is brooding, menacingly. It's all very theatrical, but in a week where Chris Martin was described by a national newspaper as a 'consumate showman', it's nice to have something of this quality to undermine such stupid and lazy thinking. It's also nice to have something of this quality.
IS IT ANY GOOD? Very much so and, at this stage I would urge you to boil down a toddler and sell the glue in order to buy this record, but it's a free download. So get it and set those toddlers free before Fagin does a head count.
WHERE IS IT? www.sturdy-records.co.uk
I'm dead!
THREW HER IN THE FIRE
SHAKER HEIGHTS "SITTING IN THE FIRE" (FREE
DOWNLOAD)
RELEASED? Out now.
SOUNDS LIKE? Superior
shimmer countered by dead
pan, dead man vocals. The
effect is winsome, regretful and
almost a natural twin sister to
Eno's ode to infidelity, "Baby's
On Fire". There's also
something western, if not
outright country about "Sitting
In The Fire", maybe the stretch,
the yaw that the strings bring,
how would I know? And, and,
and, the flip is cool bit of black n bleak garage vs shoegaze, "Poised As Robots" boasting a slinky synth line that tarts up a chopped guitar line nicely.
IS IT ANY GOOD? Oh yes, we like pop and the blacker and the bleaker the better.
WHERE IS IT? www.shakerheights.co.uk
SHAKER HEIGHTS "SITTING IN THE FIRE" (FREE
DOWNLOAD)
RELEASED? Out now.
SOUNDS LIKE? Superior
shimmer countered by dead
pan, dead man vocals. The
effect is winsome, regretful and
almost a natural twin sister to
Eno's ode to infidelity, "Baby's
On Fire". There's also
something western, if not
outright country about "Sitting
In The Fire", maybe the stretch,
the yaw that the strings bring,
how would I know? And, and,
and, the flip is cool bit of black n bleak garage vs shoegaze, "Poised As Robots" boasting a slinky synth line that tarts up a chopped guitar line nicely.
IS IT ANY GOOD? Oh yes, we like pop and the blacker and the bleaker the better.
WHERE IS IT? www.shakerheights.co.uk
Oh look, they used the crap picture
PUTTING THE GRAND BACK IN THE OPRY
WALTER ROSE Ft LUCINDA
WILLIAMS "DRIVING SOUTH"
(WHITE LABEL)
RELEASED? Out now.
SOUNDS LIKE? A man with a
small beard, a big hat and a little
helper articulating emotional ache
in a raw, but, thanks to Lucinda
Williams, a close, intimate,
morning breath, real people kind of
way. It's an interesting track, the
tear jerking pedal steel being a
support for real emotion, rather
than a generator of schmaltz. The
vocal contribution from Lucinda
Williams is every side of fucking
excellent and Walter Rose has the good taste and the good sense to stand back and let her roam across the song.
IS IT ANY GOOD? It's more than that, 'Driving South' is sublime and has genuinely sent me running after the 'Cast Your Stone' album that it comes from.
WHERE IS IT? www.walterrosemusic.com
WALTER ROSE Ft LUCINDA
WILLIAMS "DRIVING SOUTH"
(WHITE LABEL)
RELEASED? Out now.
SOUNDS LIKE? A man with a
small beard, a big hat and a little
helper articulating emotional ache
in a raw, but, thanks to Lucinda
Williams, a close, intimate,
morning breath, real people kind of
way. It's an interesting track, the
tear jerking pedal steel being a
support for real emotion, rather
than a generator of schmaltz. The
vocal contribution from Lucinda
Williams is every side of fucking
excellent and Walter Rose has the good taste and the good sense to stand back and let her roam across the song.
IS IT ANY GOOD? It's more than that, 'Driving South' is sublime and has genuinely sent me running after the 'Cast Your Stone' album that it comes from.
WHERE IS IT? www.walterrosemusic.com
WAKE ME UP BEFORE YOU GO, GO, GO!!!!!!!
HARLEQUINS ENIGMA "TIME DANCE - LIBERTY MIX " (i-TUNES)
RELEASED? Out now.
SOUNDS LIKE? Late eighties, industrial, goth-disco. It's busy and big and zappy, like Beethoven sulking his way through a synth and I know
that repetetive is the name, name, name of the game, game, game, but even the odd chills, thrills and fills are on a loop.
IS IT ANY GOOD? When you're watching some b-grade rip of "Underworld", there'll be a nightclub scene and if you heard fifteen seconds of 'Time Dance' you'd maybe think, "oh that's a bit of tasty retro", but six minutes plus with no pvc sprayed vampires makes 'Time Dance' a tedious proposition.
WHERE IS IT? www.harlenia.com
HARLEQUINS ENIGMA "TIME DANCE - LIBERTY MIX " (i-TUNES)
RELEASED? Out now.
SOUNDS LIKE? Late eighties, industrial, goth-disco. It's busy and big and zappy, like Beethoven sulking his way through a synth and I know
that repetetive is the name, name, name of the game, game, game, but even the odd chills, thrills and fills are on a loop.
IS IT ANY GOOD? When you're watching some b-grade rip of "Underworld", there'll be a nightclub scene and if you heard fifteen seconds of 'Time Dance' you'd maybe think, "oh that's a bit of tasty retro", but six minutes plus with no pvc sprayed vampires makes 'Time Dance' a tedious proposition.
WHERE IS IT? www.harlenia.com
SMUG REVIEW OF ACE SINGLE
CUB SCOUTS "EVIE" (SELF RELEASE)
RELEASED? Out now.
SOUNDS LIKE? We rather like the idea that 'indie' should be battered shitless by trumpets and the Cub Scouts do, at least, make their keyboards blare in a brassy enough way while undercutting Blondie to make some deliberately and classily understated blank-pop. Selecting and highlighting influences will be boring and unhelpful (Flaming Lips, Split Enz, World Party, Norman Wisdom and Bearsuit) so, there will be none of that.
IS IT ANY GOOD? Red hot, quite sexy too and a thoroughly poptastic thing. Cub Scouts take the all the traditional pop ingredients and then wipe their, presumably, pert arses with the recipe book. Fun, subversion and running videos backwards, it's all good.
WHERE IS IT? www.triplejuneunearthed.com/cubscouts
CUB SCOUTS "EVIE" (SELF RELEASE)
RELEASED? Out now.
SOUNDS LIKE? We rather like the idea that 'indie' should be battered shitless by trumpets and the Cub Scouts do, at least, make their keyboards blare in a brassy enough way while undercutting Blondie to make some deliberately and classily understated blank-pop. Selecting and highlighting influences will be boring and unhelpful (Flaming Lips, Split Enz, World Party, Norman Wisdom and Bearsuit) so, there will be none of that.
IS IT ANY GOOD? Red hot, quite sexy too and a thoroughly poptastic thing. Cub Scouts take the all the traditional pop ingredients and then wipe their, presumably, pert arses with the recipe book. Fun, subversion and running videos backwards, it's all good.
WHERE IS IT? www.triplejuneunearthed.com/cubscouts
Why can't I have a hat?
Be honest, are you listening to the soundtrack, or looking at my arse?