After such an strong debut with debut Noyelle Beat I was always a little worried that a second album would be ruined by the label wanting it to sound a little more polished and commercially acceptable. Thankfully from the minute ‘Look Of Lust’ started my fears were laid to rest; sticking to the old adage ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’, Standard Fare still sound like awkward teenagers, Emma’s occasionally overwrought vocals still stray off-key (no autotune here!) and the jangly guitars remain intact. The result is another direct hit for Standard Fare with the 12 track ‘Out of Sight, Out of Town’. Apparently named after their first choice for a band name, the album confidently delivers more of the same gorgeous C86 janglyness (‘Suitcase’, ‘Kicking Puddles’) and slow burning ballads (‘Darth Vader’ a song about a need for space in a relationship). Standard Fare and are at their best when they’re in call and response mode and it’s for that reason alone that ‘Dead Future’ is the real stand out track. Well, that and the brilliant ‘ba ba bada bite my tongue‘ line.
Last time round Standard Fare’s songs concentrated on love and relationships, on ‘Out Of Sight Out Of Town’ the songs revolve around no-strings sex, most notably on ‘Call Me Up’ (‘I’ll tell you know that this will never mean anything’) – I’m already looking forward to album number three where band sing about teenage pregnancies on the Jeremy Kyle Show!
Coming in at 36 minutes, ‘Out Of Sight Out Of Town’ feels a little short, but then quality is always better than quantity, and this is bursting with quality. 9/10
Three years in the making, the highly anticipated debut from Django Django finally saw the light of day this week, and it’s quite a revelation. Usually bedroom recordings are, by definition, lo-fi efforts record by lonely geeks and frequently follow a long and torturous folk road, but with its high production values and total lack of acoustic instruments, this self-titled album couldn’t be further from that if it tried. Describing their sound is something that many people (including the band themselves) have failed and I don’t expect I’ll get any closer. However, I will say that vocally there’s a touch of the Beach Boys (frequently the band all sing in unison) and the synths and guitars generally take a back seat in favour of the drums and occasional handclaps.
The result is splendid psychedelic pop that even I, with my two left feet, could manage to dance to. Lyrically they’re quite smart too, the songs littered with clever little couplets ‘you gave it all you/what you’ve got is not a lot’ and ‘take one for the team/you’re a cog in the machine’ – ‘Default’. If there was any criticism it would be that some of the sound effects are a little superfluous but after three years working out of a bedroom the band probably went a little stir crazy so we’ll forgive them for that.
The band might have taken three years to record ‘Django Django’, but you can hear the love and attention that has gone into each and every one of the 13 tracks and the result is a near perfect album. 9/10
Something different today as we bring Oh Minnows’ take on the Jesus & Mary Chain classic ‘Just Like Honey’. The track features on a compilation album called ‘Just Like Honey’ which features 11 interpretations of the song from artists including Seapony, Kidcity and We Are Enfant Terrible.
The album was put together by the people behind www.justlikehoney.co.uk, an indie blog dedicated to getting bands to do covers of the song. There are many versions available in downloadable podcasts from the blog, but this particular compilation has been created to raise money for Breast Cancer Care (www.breastcancercare.org.uk) and can be bought in digital format from http://justlikehoney.bandcamp.com/album/just-like-honey. 100% of the money will go to Breast Cancer Care.
Tracklisting:
1. Laki Mera
2. Oh Minnows
3. Keep Shelly in Athens
4. We Are Enfant Terrible
5. Kidcity
6. The Spruce Campbells
7. Glisk
8. Wanda and Wonder
9. Shark?
10. Pursesnatchers
11. Seapony
Full Time Hobby’s latest signings Hooded Fang & Pinkunoizu are to release a split 7″ single together.
On the one side, Hooded Fang’s Clap is a garage rock riot with surf guitars, ‘verbed-out vocals and danceable ‘60s drum breaks. “It’s a song about one of those single life encounters – just drunken memories really,” say the four piece Polaris-nominated band, who hail from Toronto, Canada. Hooded Fang’s brilliant debut album is titled Tosta Mista; it sounds like the whole of the Nuggets box set condensed into 23 minutes and it’s set for a 12 March release.
On the other side of the vinyl, Pinkunoizu’s Parabolic Delusions is an unpredictable, involved but nonetheless ear-friendly listen that establishes deep, immersive grooves. “This here must be the most poppy piece of music we have ever done,” say the experimental Copenhagenand Berlin-based band, who release their debut album, Free Time!, on 26 March.
A couple of days ago we heard this track from Canadian alt. country band The Deep Dark Woods and fell in love with it so much we had to share it with you. It really is that simple!
Today’s video is the official promo for ‘Starlight, Starlight’ by Exlovers. The track is the first to be lifted from their debut album ‘Moth’, released by Young & Lost Club in May 2012. Enjoy the vid!
Today’s mp3 comes from relative newcomers French Wives. Since their inception in 2008, the band have been working intensively to build a strong fan base in Scotland, and now, after a steady rise, and a trio of single releases, the band is ready to release their debut album ‘Dream of the Inbetween’ on 7th May 2012. For those who can’t wait we have a stream of new track ‘Younger’ here…
The band also head out on tour during February and March, stopping at the following places:
Tuesday 28th February – Sneaky Pete’s, Edinburgh
Thursday 1st March – Hootenannys, Inverness
Sunday 4th March – Harrisons Bar, Sheffield
Monday 5th March – Brixton Windmill, London
Tuesday 6th March – Dry Bar, Manchester
Thursday 8th March – Milo, Leeds
Friday 9th March – Stereo, Glasgow
Today’s video comes courtesy of Denver’s indie pop husband and wife team Tennis. The band release ‘Young & Old’, the follow up to their excellent debut ‘Cape Dory’ next month, and we have a live version of the first single ‘Origins’ for you right here….
‘Origins’ is a double A-side release accompanied by another new track ‘Deep In The Woods’.The Digital single is available now from iTunes and the clever folk at ATP have thought of a lovely way of releasing the single in the UK. On February 27th, as the Deep in the Woods video is based on the Shirley Jackson book “We Have Always Lived in the Castle”, the Physical single will be a rubber stamped page of an old library copy of the 1st edition (Viking Press, 1962), including a code for digital download of both tracks. This single will be limited to 214 copies (the number pages in the book) and each one will be uniquely adorned by our chicken-scratch/occasionally illegible signatures! Pre-order yours from http://atpfestival.bigcartel.com/artist/tennis
For today’s video we go to my home town of Medway for the brilliant, moody promo for the new single by Theatre Royal. Due for release at the end of February, ‘Katherine’s Sleeping’ (b/w ‘Seymour Evil’ by Kids Unique) is the first in a monthly series of split 7″ singles to be released by Medway label The Preservation Society as part of a singles club.
The records will only be available on 7″ vinyl, and earlybirds will be able to pick up a copy over the last weekend of each month when the the bands involved head out on a whistlestop tour taking in Rochester, Margate, Islington and Folkestone.
Today’s mp3 comes from Brighton based indie pop five piece Shrag. The band, who go out on tour next month, release their much anticipated new album ‘Canines’ in May, but in the meantime you can get a little taster of what’s to come in the shape of ‘Chasing Consummations’.
Tour dates:
Thurs 23rd Feb – Sticky Mike’s Frog Bar, Brighton
Fri 24th Feb – London Popfest
Sat 25th Feb – Undertone, Cardiff
Sun 26th Feb – The Continental, Preston
Mon 27th Feb – The Riverside, Sheffield
Tues 28th Feb – Stereo, York
Weds 29th Feb – Captain’s Rest, Glasgow
Thurs 1st March – Mello Mello, Liverpool
Fri 2nd March – The Chameleon, Nottingham
Sat 3rd March – The Victoria (Dalston), London
After such an strong debut with debut Noyelle Beat I was always a little worried that a second album would be ruined by the label wanting it to sound a little more polished and commercially acceptable. Thankfully from the minute ‘Look Of Lust’ started my fears were laid to rest; sticking to the old adage ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’, Standard Fare still sound like awkward teenagers, Emma’s occasionally overwrought vocals still stray off-key (no autotune here!) and the jangly guitars remain intact. The result is another direct hit for Standard Fare with the 12 track ‘Out of Sight, Out of Town’. Apparently named after their first choice for a band name, the album confidently delivers more of the same gorgeous C86 janglyness (‘Suitcase’, ‘Kicking Puddles’) and slow burning ballads (‘Darth Vader’ a song about a need for space in a relationship). Standard Fare and are at their best when they’re in call and response mode and it’s for that reason alone that ‘Dead Future’ is the real stand out track. Well, that and the brilliant ‘ba ba bada bite my tongue‘ line.
