- No I bloody well am not, I'm here to listen to some nice folk. Now bugger off you moley git.
Louisville's Cheyenne Marie Mize is nice enough to offer us a free download of her emotive and invariably subtle rendition of her mate's Will "Bonnie Prince" Oldham's track I Called You Back. Slightly late for valentine's day but purely for logistical reasons and I do apologise, however it's still good for a quiet one in with the other half.
This follows up her debut album Before Lately which could be described as a relatively undiscovered gem, with it's hints of americana and songs about endearing love (what else). Cheyenne's voice is also to not be taken lightly. She has a beautiful vocal deliverance kind of like a less raspy Lucinda Williams.
With a name that sounds like a b-grade Dutch Tarantino spin-off, Kill van Kulls wouldn't seem the most obvious rivals to the "big danceable 80's sound" throne that's occupied (ultimately rather disappointingly) by Hurts.
Their new single Fools Wish packs a chorus large enough to park your new Boeing 747-8 intercontinental in and a hook as catchy as anything your neighbour has ever played at 4am and more.
Albeit some of you might already be a tad tired of the revival scene, in which case look away now.
Nevermind you're already too late because here's Wooden Heart. Perhaps the closest the band'll get to making a ballad.
You know how some bands sound like they could bloody well rock your flipping socks off? Well here we have one in the form of San Diego fellas New Mexico.
Now in the ideal "rocking flipping socks off" world, you'd be best off seeing these guys live because judging by the way the album sounds AND words I've read on my computer screen, these guys are somewhat riotous. Not your static shoegaze this is hectic garage pop sure to kick off a frenzy.
They released their debut Have You Met My Friend at the end of last year and you too can listen to it/download it from here:
Italians are generally quite good at playing 0-0 draws in football, making movies and um, painting. However when it comes to modern music, I'm at a loss. I know Eros Ramazotti and Laura Pausini (because my mum likes them, smartarse), and if they truly are modern Italy's greatest offering to music then surely something's not right.
I'm now more enlightened as luckily Bad Panda Records hit up on this here interweb about fellow Italians Dumbo Gets Mad who've just had the digital release for their new album Elephants at the Door soon to be followed by a limited vinyl press.
Elephants at the door is exactly the kind of surf/psychedelia that I'd expect to come from anywhere but Italy.
Hearsay tells me that the single Plumy Tale was a big beach hit on the er, beaches of Italy last summer. After you listen to it's hot groove it's not hard to imagine.
The same kind of vibes continue on Eclectic Prawn but the track's morphed into a kind of 60's sunshine pop number.
Elephants at the door has retro stamped all over it, but also has the songs to live up that slightly overused term. A wicked insight to the mind of a guy who must just love old records and enjoying the summer sun.
In previous posts I've expressed my disappointment at some "more established bands" and their new records. So now I've been keeping more than one eye out for new records by new bands. One in particular is hugely hyped Chapel Club's album Palace which came out about a week ago on Interscope.
Someone might argue that they're just following very neatly in the footsteps of 80's revival acts such as White Lies, Editors, Big Pink etc. but any band that can add a snippet from Dream a Little Dream of Me and use it as their chorus without anyone even seeming to raise an eyebrow will have a special place in my ear canals. I'm talking about new single Surfacing which is also my personal favourite simply because of this little bit of cover-magic.
So with that little introduction from me go forth and explore. Enjoy. Fornicate. Whatever. These guys are going to be/are already going places.
Ok, so I was in Tenerife. You can make all the jokes about it you want, but at the end of the day (unfortunately for you guys) I didn't stay there. So here I am back again, without sunburn, without tan and without money.
I'm also fairly acquainted with cockroaches now. Cockroaches, those Jeff Probsts of the animal kingdom. You always hear stories of how cockroaches can survive nuclear wars and stuff, and will easily outlive the human race. However they were all dying up there in my bedroom. Honestly sometimes going to the toilet at night was like a scene from Starship Troopers.
Besides all these things I had Esben & The Witch's debut album Violet Cries waiting for me in vinyl for when I got back. I've mentioned the band several times but if you're anything like me you can't get enough of the Brighton trio who were nominated in the top 15 for BBC's sounds of 2011. They didn't win the poll, but with a sound that could be described loosely as "marginal" it's hardly surpising that the title went to the slightly more "club 'n' radio friendly" Jessie J.
You'll have a hard time picking a hot single from the album because the whole thing's about creating an atmosphere that's a bit like Zola Jesus washing Andrew Lloyd Webber's white laundry but sticking in one black sock full of suppressed anger and a quiet growing horror that leaves it's dark stain on everything. But you know, in a great kind of way.
Second single Warpath has a new video. I think the guy in it is supposed to be me after the first cockroach encounter
For being such a good boy and pre-ordering Violet Cries I also got a "bonus super exclusive super bonus CD" with previously released, but incredibly hard to get hands on a physical copy, Lucia, at the Precipice. Yay. Also the 65daysofstatic's electrofying remix of Lucia is well worth having a listen to.
Esben & The Witch - Lucia, At The Precipice (65daysofstatic remix)
