The Devil is dedicated to unearthing unknown, unheard, unseen, unheralded, unfamiliar or down right unbelievable bands old or new that have not yet hit the radars of the British public. If you are a new band or artist and would like to be considered for inclusion then please contact me via email, twitter, myspace or facebook.
The Paper Scissors Genre: Rock / Indie / Alternative From: Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
"You hear me scream you hear me howl" what a way to announce your entrance on the Devil's blog. Sydney's The Paper Scissors new single 'Howl' swaggers with theirrepressible arrogance of a banker on bonus day. The band's first single ‘Yamanote Line’ was heralded by The Sydney Morning Herald without a hint of hyperbole (ok maybe just the odd hint) as “The Greatest song ever written. Truly” and 'Howl' is even better. Yes it's even better than the Greatest song ever written, that's how good it is.
But the Paper Scissors are no two hit wonders they've got a billycan full of stunning songs to tantalise your earlobes. Check out the other tracks on their myspace site where you'll find the aforementioned 'Yamanote Line', the fantastic freak funk of the woodwork squeaking Talking Heads meets Was Not Was'We Don't Walk' (see video below) and the jittery cool 'Soldiers' which somehow manages to sound like Hot Hot Heat melting wax over The Cold War Kids. Just give the remix of 'Howl' a miss because it's a prime example of how to ruin a great track. A word to the wise stop trying to polish a diamond, don't meddle with perfection.
The Paper Scissors, Australia's greatest export since Kylie.
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MP3 - The Paper Scissors - Howl If anyone from the IFPI is reading this track is published with the permission of Heapsaflash.com.au so please refrain from alleging infringement of copyright. Go Visit The Paper Scissors - Myspace // Website
Tiny Tigers Genre: Indie / Punk / New Wave From: London, United Kingdom They're at it again. After a brief period of uncharacteristic quiet Filthy Little Angels are back with a clutch of bands so good if they were a John Peel programme they'd probably be one of the greatest Peel shows of all time.
Over the next four weeks the label will be releasing four EPs of mind melting indie with the first being tonights featured band on the Devil's blog, Tiny Tigers.
Happier in a tea room than a Camden pub, Tiny Tigers formed in August 2008 over cupcakes, gin and a love of music. The all female London three piece recently worked with producer Paul Tipler to bring together a collection of kitchen demos and studio sessions resulting in the bands very first DIY EP 'Time for Tea'. Best described as a passionate clinch between The Long Blondes and Elastica while Altered Images look jealously on.
'Time For Tea' is available via iTunes from today, the band have also created a limited edition collection of hand made CDs. The EP will also be available for FREE for one month from Filthy Little Angels.
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MP3 - Tiny Tigers - Repetition MP3 - Tiny Tigers - Stop Talking If anyone from the IFPI is reading this track is published with the permission of Filthy Little Angels so please refrain from alleging infringement of copyright.
Remodel Genre: Indie / Alternative / New Wave From: London-based, Salopia-bred, London, United Kingdom
London nu wavers Remodel look great. In their suits and skinny ties they look like a jumble sale Jam or Franz Ferdinand at Oxfam. One day all bands will look like Remodel, and if they don't the bloody well should.
The band's sound is as sharp as the lapels on their suits and will appeal to fans of classic Brit pop.
On the band's new single 'La belle dame sans merci', released earlier this month on Sad Gnome Records, lead singer Leigh Swinn's sonorous crooning sounds like he's had a larynx transplant with Gene's Martin Rossiter as the donor, while behind him the band cook up a traditional English mixed grill of , The Who and The Jam. The b-side (isn't this really redundant in these digital days?) 'Us and Them' and 'Cognoscenti' , the track provided for download below, are altogether spikier, like refugees from the Roxy in 1978 shacking up with the The Kaiser Chiefs.
They're remodel and they're sounding good.
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MP3 - Remodel - Cognescenti If anyone from the IFPI is reading this track is published with the permission of Remodel so please refrain from alleging infringement of copyright.
Is it just me or is this years Glastonbury line up one of the most dispiriting line ups at a festival ever? Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young, Tony Christie, Status Quo, Tom Jones, Crosby Still and Nash, Bjorn Again and Spinal Tap (that joke isn't funny anymore) sound more like residents at a retirement home for ageing rockers. Even bands that the Devil loves such as Madness and the Specials are little more than interesting archaeological exhibits.
This is not even Dad rock this is Grandad rock, pension rock, fossil rock. Next year you'll probably need a degree in paleontology to even be on the shortlist for a ticket! It looks like Michael Eavis's fantasy line up which may be great for him but he's in his 70s for christ sake and this is 2009!
Admittedly on the other stages you can still get to see exciting, cutting edge and YOUNG bands but why aren't some of these bands headlining? Why not set up a small stage where the kids can leave their dads to wallow in nostalgia and have their mid life crisis in the company of fellow oldies? Nostalgia has it's place in the music industry but when it becomes the industry it's doomed.
Maybe this years Glastonbury line up will stir something in the youth of Britain to create a new movement that washes away fossil rock but don't bank on it.
Without a revolution next year's Glastonbury headliners could look something like this... Friday - Pyramid Stage Headliner
Don't miss his first ever appearance at a UK festival it's The Boss of the classics himself...
If this distopian vision of the future of Glastonbury fills you with fear then get angry, rise up, kick over the jams, frighten the oldies and
For those of you who aren't yet angry enough tell the Eavis's (you can contact them through this site http://www.glastonburyfestivals.co.uk/contact-us/ )that this should be history and then form your own band...
Marmoset Genre: Other / Other From: Oaken Bucket, Indiana, Chad
Marmoset remember a time when bands used to bang out songs shorter than Ronnie Corbett's inside leg measurement, songs that said what they needed to and then fucked off before they became boring, songs that were more infectious than a bucket full of the swine flu virus that didn't outlive their welcome. That's why the songs on their myspace site average under two and a half minutes with two of them clocking in at sub 2 minutes.
The band have found a new home with the aptly named Joyful Noise, who began re-issuing their catalog (their previous recordings were released via Secretly Canadian) on vinyl in 2007. On new album 'Tea Tornado' Marmoset are at their most energetic and revelatory, with a stripped-down, punchy sound. Fans of everything from The Velvet Underground to The Breeders will appreciate the lazy swagger, relaxed melody, and profound simplicity of Marmoset's scuffling take on the cooler side of British psychedelic pop.
Go Try MP3 - Marmoset - Run Away Teri MP3 - Marmoset - Peach Cobbler If anyone from the IFPI is reading these tracks are published with the permission of Team Clermont so please refrain from alleging infringement of copyright. MP3 - Marmoset - Record in Red MP3 - Marmoset - Florist Fired If anyone from the IFPI is reading these tracks are linked direct from the Joyful Noise Recording website and are therefore already freely available so please refrain from alleging infringement of copyright. MP3 - Marmoset - Missing Man If anyone from the IFPI is reading this track is linked direct from the Secretly Canadian website and are therefore already freely available so please refrain from alleging infringement of copyright. Go Visit
Picture courtesy of Toby Amies Benbo Folk / Pop From United Kingdom
Previously addled by stints in The Black Tulips (first featured on the Devil's blog way back in November 2006, The Black Tulips) and The Gays, indie melody machine Benbo’s long-suffering brain was melted further by someone introducing him to the decidedly uninhibited art of David Shrigley. “I started spewing out drawings into my lyrics notebook – stickmen, sexy owls, trampolining peanuts, a whole heap of deformed naked people. Like Ming the Merciless penetrated my brain with his fat needle and turned off my censorship switch.”
Freed up, he wrote an album’s worth of songs in his head, went into the studio, recorded the Black Hole EP, and gave it to director Jake Scott. “I shot him a disc. The same day, he emailed over this genius story he’d made up for ‘Black Hole’ about me getting kidnapped by scientists.”
While he may not have been kidnapped the EP sounds like he crept into Jim Noir's recording studio by cover of darkness and stripped all Noir's songs bare, threw them in his bag and skipped out before the Mancunian singer-songwriter woke up.
The lead track on the EP 'Black Holes' , available for download below, is so catchy it should come with a government health warning to wash your ears before you listen to it. It's so good if I didn't know better I'd have thought it was an outtake from Lennon's 'Mind Games' album. The other tracks on the EP don't quite match up to the splendour of 'Black Holes' but, given how good the lead track is, that's no disgrace.
The EP is scheduled for release on PinPrick Records on 13th July and comes highly recommended from the Devil's blog.
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MP3 - Benbo - Black Hole If anyone from the IFPI is reading this track is published with the permission of Benbo and Sound and Vision PR so please refrain from alleging infringement of copyright.
While you're at it check out this track from one of Benbo's former bands The Black Tulips...
MP3 - The Black Tulips - Raining On Prom Night If anyone from the IFPI is reading this track is linked direct from the Black Tulips website and is therefore already freely available so please refrain from alleging infringement of copyright.
Le Bus Genre: Electronica / Electro / Techno From: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Being born in Scotland, and emigrating to Windsor, Canada has certain advantages if you are an electronic musician.
First, Windsor has the unique feature of being situated just two minutes by car across a river from Detroit, Michigan, the city where one of electronic music's most important movements began. The sounds of seminal techno music broadcast from Detroit radio stations were easily received by the radio of Paul Edwards, singer/producer of Le Bus.
Meanwhile, Paul's cousin back in Scotland was sending him a steady stream of mixtapes via airmail of the UK underground music scene.
Le Bus will be releasing their new EP the 8 track 'Fission Friction Frequency' via Spiral Recordings on 9th July. Simultaneously futuristic and retro the synths, blips and beats of 'Fission Friction Frequency' take you back to the metronomic old school electronica of Kraftwerk and The Normal with an infusion of the trance/dance of Underworld and Orbital.
So it's all aboard Le Bus for a journey into a wondrous land whose boundaries are that of imagination. That's a signpost up ahead: your next stop: 'Fission Friction Frequency'!
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MP3 - Le Bus - Atom Love MP3 - Le Bus - Human Electro If anyone from the IFPI is reading this link is published with the permission of The Musebox so please refrain from alleging infringement of copyright.
Here are 7 'fun' (depending on your definition of the word fun!) facts about the Honey Brothers 'Demonstration' EP which was released from captivity last week.
1. 'Demonstration', a four-song EP now available on iTunes and Amazon MP3, is The Honey Brothers' fourth independent release. It is also the shortest, packing vast quantities of Honey goodness into each sweet byte.
2. The band met at ukulele fantasy camp in 2001, then took to the streets of New York City, serenading street people and pretzel vendors with their whimsical new-wave folk tunes.
3. The name on H. Huckleberry Honey's passport is Ari Gold. This is his real name; he should not be confused with any fictional characters of the same name. He learned to play the ukulele so he could describe his music as Hawaiian-Appalachian glam rock, and because it was easier to carry than a drum kit.
4. The Honey Brothers have been compared to the Silver Jews, the Beach Boys, the White Stripes, Beck, Serge Gainsbourg and Ween, which would make for quite a festival lineup. This summer, they'll be playing alongside Andrew Bird, My Bloody Valentine, Neko Case, Beastie Boys, Todd Snider and many others at the Wanderlust, All Points West, Osheaga and Bumbershoot festivals, which will have to do.
5. Drummer Honey DuContra is actually actor Adrian Grenier's (best known for his lead role on the HBOEntourage, as Vincent Chase.) real name. Fearing that anti-Honey prejudice might harm his other career, he changed it, but has now taken a stand for Honey pride.
6. Dr. J Carl Honey, also known as DS Posner, is the band's psychiatrist and is responsible for the worst band T-shirt ever, based on a original series, Venn diagram depiction of French psychiatrist Jacques Lacan's theory of mind.
7. Dory Honey was raised as Andrew Vladeck by parents obsessed with doo-wop and Motown in a house with three vintage jukeboxes. In protest, he learned to play the banjo.
And if those 7 'fun' facts are not enough to have you heading to iTunes then here's a track for you to try before you buy.
Go Try MP3 - The Honey Brothers - Demonstration If anyone from the IFPI is reading this track is published with the permission of Shorefire so please refrain from alleging infringement of copyright. MP3 - The Honey Brothers - Drunkards Lament If anyone from the IFPI is reading this track is linked direct from The Honey Brothers myspace site and is therefore already freely available so please refrain from alleging infringement of copyright.
On 22 June 2009, The Vichy Government released their new single 'The Man Delusion' (backed with 'Flytipping'), available as digital download/CD, courtesy of Angular Recording Corporation/Repeat Records.
'The Man Delusion' sees Jamie Manners and Andrew Chilton at their best; it is a riposte to the recent proliferation of Fashion Atheists who want a big shiny medal for substituting Christ with Charles Darwin, and it sounds like a musical soup created from ingredients including the Stranglers and the Fall. It's courageously cultish, wilfully obscure and unlike anything else you've ever or will ever hear.
'Flytipping' is a lighthearted look at one of the favourite pastimes for residents of the London Borough of Hackney, propelled by a monstrous riff that will live long in the memory of everyone who hear it.
The Vichy Government are based in London and Cambridge. They are the authors of three albums (Carrion Camping, Whores In Taxis, White Elephant) and one compilation (Vanity Publishing). They have supported the Schmissor Sisters and some other famous people, yadda yadda yadda.
Go Try MP3 - The Vichy Government - The Man Delusion If anyone from the IFPI is reading this link is published with the permission of The Vichy Government so please refrain from alleging infringement of copyright.
Not content with bringing more Moving Targets to the world the latest podcast also includes more great music including the full-throttle rock of Heels Catch Fire, the Streets goes indie storytelling skills of Trip, the catchy emo-pop of Lost Without Lacie and the electro goodness of Panic Point.
Throw in an interview with avant-garde rockers Post War Years recorded at The Great Escape festival in Brighton ahead of the release of their debut album and you have another route map to a cooler world.
Go Try MP3 - Low Slung Podcast - Episode 13 If anyone from the IFPI is reading this link is published with the permission of Charlie Ashcroft so please refrain from alleging infringement of copyright.
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Charlie Ashcrofts Low Slung Podcast - Myspace // Facebook If you like these you'll love the new Low Slung Podcast...
Great Northern Genre: Rock / Rock / Rock From: California, United States
Solon Bixler the guitarist and male vocalist with California's Great Northern and former guitarist with 30 Seconds To Mars (who had a couple of tracks posted on the Devil's blog back in May 2007, Boycott Mars), and Earlimart(first featured on the Devil's blog back in April 2007, Earlimart), took some time out from their UK tour to share his thoughts on everything from their influences to their first records, from the strangest place they've played to advice on beating the credit crunch.
The Devil - Where did you get your name and what other names did you consider before deciding it had to be Great Northern?
Solon Bixler - It was always going to be great northern .... We got inspired by david lynch's creation of twin peaks. It's the name of the hotel where all the characters stay.
The Devil - The Devil described 'Houses' as an alliance between Madonna and the White Stripes. How accurate do you think this is and who are the band's biggest influences?
Solon Bixler - Wow! We haven't heard that before...But it's good company to be in. Our influences range from Depeche Mode to Led Zeppelin to PJ Harvey to the Beatles.....to Radiohead. Our childhoods are also a major influence...You know, the stuff you go through as a kid that inspires you. The Devil - What makes Great Northern stand out from the millions of other bands in the world? What makes you unique?
Solon Bixler - Hmmmmm Maybe a fan should answer that question! They could probably say it better..
The Devil - What was the first record the Great Northern band members ever bought?
Solon Bixler
Cindy lauper... She's so unusual Beastie boys... License to ill Joy division.... Substance Depeche mode.... Black celebration
The Devil - What's the strangest place you've ever played and would you go back there?
Solon Bixler - Hmmmm.. We played at a bbq place in the middle of nowhere in missouri. We pulled up and thought we must be in the wrong place cause the venue looked like a barn.....we were in the right place but it was sooooo wrong!
The Devil - Other than Great Northern who are the most exciting bands on the US music scene at the moment?
Solon Bixler - We are obsessed with the kills right now. Seeing them live really sealed the deal. And of course the silversun pickups.....good friends of ours and one of the best bands out there.
The Devil - If you weren't in Great Northern what would you be doing? Solon Bixler - Sleeping!....or a chef
The Devil - What are the band doing to beat the credit crunch? Any tips on saving money for the Devil's readers?
Solon Bixler - We just try to conserve wherever we can.....And try to stretch those $10 buyouts and drink tickets.....Stretching the dollar is our plan
The Devil - If you were interviewing yourself what would be your killer question and how would you answer it? Solon Bixler - What is music? Would be the question. And the answer would be.... A dream......A headache.....A gift
The Devil - Anything else you'd like to say the the Devil's readers?
Solon Bixler - Hello there devil's readers...YOU RULE!!!!
To commemorate the interview with Solon here are a couple of tracks from one of their favourite bands...
MP3 - The Kills - Passion Is Accurate MP3 - The Kills - Love Is A Deserter If anyone from the IFPI is reading these tracks are linked direct from the Kills website and are therefore already freely available so please refrain from alleging infringement of copyright.
Danish-bred noiseniks The Raveonettes are ratcheting up the access they’ve given fans to the recording of their as-yet-untitled new LP, due in October on Vice Records. Earlier this month, the band kicked off a giving spree with a swarm of demos on their Twitter account, while simultaneously launching a micro-site to serve as a one stop shop for all things related to the new album, including a duo of live video chats with fans in between studio sessions. What’s more, Sune Rose Wagner picked his final chat to spill the beans about an upcoming addition to the microsite – a series of live streaming “Look Ins” to the studio, during which fans will be able to watch (and listen to!) Wagner and bandmate Sharin Foo hard at work on their fourth long-player.
The sessions will emanate from Denmark in two-hour blocks. The first will take place today, Monday, June 22nd, from Noon to 2pm EST, and will be streaming on the band’s microsite and on Wired.com, where a mini-interview with Wagner and Foo will await fans. The second and third live “Look Ins” will take place on Wednesday, June 24th and Friday, June 26th at the same time. Fans who’ve yet to sign up for access to the microsite can do so at the address below.
Go Here To Watch The Raveonettes Live In The Studio:
Session Times: Monday, June 22nd, Noon to 2pm EST Wednesday, June 24th, Noon to 2pm EST Friday, June 26th, Noon to 2pm EST
In other news, guitarist/vocalist Sune Rose Wagner recently chatted with AOL Spinner about releasing the demos -- "We're giving the fans a chance to catch up with what we're up to instead of keeping everything secret," he says. "It's always inspiring to watch documentaries and such, and this is sort of like a documentation of our recording process." And, for those who missed the chats, they’ve been archived in full at the microsite.
Oh yea of little faith who thought the cassingle was dead, who thought it had been consigned to the dusty pages of the history books . Well you were wrong, like a Romero zombie from 'Dawn of the Dead', it's back from the grave. Resurrected by California indie poppers Grand Lake for their new single 'Sandusky Sunset' on 500 Records the San Franciscan artist run record label. Ok they've only produced 100 copies of the cassingle but it's a start!
Grand Lake Genre: Indie From: Oakland, California United States Named after the legendary Grand Lake Theatre in Oakland, California, Grand Lake is the music of Caleb Nichols (Vocals, Bass), Jameson Swanagon (Guitar), Erika Pipkin (Vocals, Keys) and Ryan Parks (Drums). A unique blend of disparate influences including the Breeders, Ella Fitzgerald (sorry guys just can't hear that influence!), Mark Ribot, and Talking Heads, Grand Lake produces a clean, minimal indie-pop sound, embraced by fans of bands like the Wrens, Arcade Fire, and Death Cab For Cutie.
Since forming in November 2008, Grand Lake has recorded and released a debut ep ('Nevermint'), produced two artful and well-received music videos, and played numerous shows in the Bay Area supporting touring bands like Starfucker and Musee Mequanique, as well as local favorites like Man/Miracle, the Dashing Suns and Maus Haus.Hot on the heels 'Nevermint , the new Grand Lake single is due this coming Tuesday June 23 2009, available digitally and on a limited run of 100 cassettes via the band's MySpace page and at select Bay Area retailers.
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MP3 - Grand Lake - Sandusky Sunset If anyone from the IFPI is reading this track is published with the permission of 500 Records so please refrain from alleging infringement of copyright.
MP3 - The Wrens - Grey Complexion MP3 - The Wrens - This Machine If anyone from the IFPI is reading this track is linked direct from the Wrens website and is therefore already freely available so please refrain from alleging infringement of copyright.
Ahmed Gallab (Sinkane) is not just a drummer for the indie elite (Caribou, of Montreal, Born Ruffians) but he's also a mastermind behind the psychedelic music of his solo project.
His third, self-titled release is part one of a two album series starting where last year's 'Color Voice' left off. A stream-of-consciousness, purposefully rough around the edges record. More cohesive and structured than 'Color Voice', filled with African blues guitar, kraut rock rhythms, free jazz horns, and a Spacemen 3-esque ambience. Sinkane is a swami, psychedelic journey full of drones, repetition, and bombastic percussion.
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MP3 - Sinkane - White Light If anyone from the IFPI is reading this track is published with the permission of Afternoon Records so please refrain from alleging infringement of copyright.
The forthcoming 5-track self-released CD marks the beginning of a sparkling new phase in the multi-faceted existence of London's Lupen Crook & The Murderbirds. Presented in a limited-edition canvas sleeve designed and hand-painted by Lupen Crook himself, The Lost Belongings EP embodies the revitalised DIY spirit of a band now free of contractual obligations. Shunning both the musical mainstream and the frequently shallow ephemera of trend-driven ‘scenes’, this is a group of artists hungry to get back to their creative roots.
Lupen stands at the head of this crooked family as artist, writer and songsmith. An "über-folk pixie of death here to corrupt your mind and change your life' who ‘rests on the proverbial knife’s edge’ (artrocker.com, 2007), he’s supported by the incomparable Murderbirds: Tom Langridge, Bob Langridge and Craig Harff. Collectively, they’ve been described as 'eccentric', 'uncompromising' and 'Britain’s best-kept secret'. Their sound has grown stronger and surer as a result of their creative selfempowerment – alive with animalistic rage, suffused with emotive human spirit. Quite simply, it is enormous.
Lead track 'Lest We Connect The Crooked Family' is a rousing, door-opening, mission-defining statement of intent taken from the forthcoming album (as yet untitled, due in September 2009). The lo-fi aesthetics of 'Little Treasure' and 'Scare Crows' belie their emotional resonance. In 'Scare Crows', Lupen’s habitual paranoia transforms into a devil-may-care fighting spirit as he urges the weak-willed to kick back and attack. The same 'live and let go' ethos pervades 'Little Treasure', which covers more personal themes of love and loss.
'Vices Manifest O' is tale of regret without remorse: a rip-roaring, high-speed chase with a dead-drop stop and beautifully desperate finale, hitting you with the full force of a satanic orchestra witnessing an inexplicable apocalypse. Closing track 'Impossible Loss Brigade' riffs with a skewed, ambivalent joy on the disappearance of something you thought was impossible to lose and the bizarre invention of a secret emergency service that promises to fix the problem... but at what price? Nothing is ever straightforward in a crooked world.
This EP signals the beginning of an exciting period for Lupen Crook and The Murderbirds: a band now comfortably un-at-ease with its place in this world, caring little for the commercial consequences of its actions, more interested in communicating its unfettered vision to like-minded souls via a multiplicity of channels: music, artwork, jewellery, clothing and a regularly updated blog documenting the madness, badness and thrilling danger of taking charge of one’s own destiny in the face of an ever-increasing social conservatism.
As a re-introduction to one of Britain’s most fascinating and wayward bands, 'The Lost Belongings EP' provides an appetite-whetting insight into the sheer scale of what lies ahead. With a genre-defying approach to style and sound, lyrics that work their way deep into the subconscious and a healthy obsession with music as art form rather than disposable wallpaper for the lives of the vacuous and vapid, Lupen Crook & The Murderbirds’ ongoing output reasserts the substance, range and authenticity of their fierce non-conformism.
The Lost Belongings will be released via the band’s Beast Reality imprint on 4 July 2009.
Go Try
MP3 - Lupen Crook & The Murderbirds - Kick Up The Leaves If anyone from the IFPI is reading this track is published with the permission of Lupen Crook so please refrain from alleging infringement of copyright. Go Visit
Golau Glau Genre: Indie / Electronica / Folk From: Leeds, England/ Criccieth, Wales, United Kingdom "Golau" means "light", "Glau" means "quickly". Two of the bands favourite words which go together well , and sum their sound up. Particularly the light.
It's uplifting, light and airy, melodic pop music. Minimalistic Celtic folk updated for a new generation. If I didn't know better I'd have said that Alison Statton was involved.
But don't let the delicate, graceful sound lull you into thinking that the band lack substance. With subjects including the British nuclear tests at Malden and Christmas Islands in the late 1950s ('Operation Grapple') and the suicide of a family at Beachy Head earlier this month ('Soft Silver Young') Golau Glau push you into places where you experience your own raw reactions rather than be manipulated by what you think you are supposed to feel or hear.
This is about as far away from the run of the mill boy meets girl girl rejects boy bilge that masquerades as popular music in the 21st century and is all the better for it.
Giggle Party Genre: Electro Pop From: Somewhere Giggle Party (first featured on the Devil's blog at Easter, Easter Everywhere Again) have just posted the video for 'Jason Bought A Hatchet' their single off 'The Holes In Your Face Are Pleasing' on youtube. It's a bright, witty and ever so gruesome cartoon with appearances from a drumming Darth Vader, a guitar playing Mother Theresa, Jack Nicholson in The Shining, Abrham Lincoln with a ghetto blaster, a break dancing robot, a cross dressing dog and of course Adolf Hitler.
The MARCHES Genre: Indie / Club From: Los Angeles, CA, California, United States While no fewer than a dozen musicians are enlisted on the MARCHES debut '4am Is The New Midnight', the band is decidedly the brainchild of Richard Conti. Like a megalomaniac magpie Conti wanders around the musical landscape voraciously snaffling up influences and stuffing his songs.
Classical piano, ghetto beats, Motown rhythms, indie vocals, pure pop, horns and hip hop all find their way onto the album and I'm sure that I heard the sound of a kitchen sink being thrown in for good measure. Like a representative of a musical FEMA Conti somehow manages to clear a path through the chaos to create a sound that somehow manages to pull off the trick of being simultaneously retro and modern.
Little Boots Genre: Pop / Italian pop / Disco House From: Blackpool // London, United Kingdom
Given the hype and publicity surrounding Little Boots I'm damn sure that a post on the Devil's blog is going to have as much impact on her profile as a raindrop hitting a battleship.
It's probably stretching the Devil's mission to bring unknown, unheard, unseen, unheralded, unfamiliar or downright unbelievable bands to the attention of the world but I can't get 'New In Town' out of my head. She's breathing life into a pop scene that has been on life support for a few years and single handedly making the charts worth checking out again.
If anyone was tailor made for Top of the Pops it's Little Boots. The bring back TOTP campaign starts here
These boots are made for walking and that's what they're gonna do, one of these days these boots are gonna walk all over you.
Go Try
MP3 - Little Boots - Meddle (Ebola Mix) If anyone from the IFPI is reading this track is published with the permission of IAMSOUND Records so please refrain from alleging infringement of copyright.
Sarahjane Swan Genre: Indie / Alternative / Pop From: Scotland, United Kingdom
Todays track for download is 'Ghost', the second single from the Scottish sculptress, occasional alternative model and creator of left-field electronic Gothic-Pop ditties, Sarahjane Swan.
The song comes equipped with a spooky back story involving a resident poltergeist at the house that has been home for both SarahJane and the brothers from Shark Batter Records (and ex Dawn Of The Replicants members) Mike Sorensen Small and rogerSIMIAN (not his real name, you'll be shocked to discover).
SJS's ode to her spectral lodger is the most recently written of her songs, composed without guitar: just voice, a beatbox and plenty of spooky reverb. The Shark Batter posse loved the demo so much they thought Ghost should be the next single. And so here it is.
This new version features musical shenanigans from the Shark Batter brothers the drumming of Grant Pringle (also ex Dawn Of The Replicants) and a bit of additional vocal derring do from Brendan McAndrew (Mike's co-conspirator in the Stone Ghost Collective).
Go Try
MP3 - SarahJane Swan - Ghost If anyone from the IFPI is reading this track is published with the permission of Shark Batter Records so please refrain from alleging infringement of copyright.
and to finish off here is a track from the Shark Batter Brothers band Dawn of the Replicants...
MP3 - Dawn of the Replicants - Pterodactyl If anyone from the IFPI is reading this track is linked direct from Dawn of the Replicants website and is therefore freely available so please refrain from alleging infringement of copyright.
Lord Cut-Glass Genre: Indie From: Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom
Sometimes bashful, occasionally imbued with curmudgeonly bluster, and yet always lifted by humorous life learned truisms, Lord Cut-Glass (former Delgado Alun Woodward) strikes a dashing figure of musically inventive bravado. Galloping percussion, waltzes and marches, promenades of male and female harmony, delicate and serene creations punctuated by casual profanity and shot through with brazenly hilarious words-to-the-wise.
Woodward’s solo project has grown incrementally over the 4 years since The Delgados disbanded. In between “non rock n roll” spots of gardening on his allotment, doses of scarlet fever and work on Chemikal Underground releases – including those of Aidan Moffat and The Phantom Band – the moniker ‘Lord Cut-Glass’ has made fleeting appearances on Chemikal’s own 'Ballads Of The Book' project and the compilation 'Worried Noodles'.
The Lord's self titled debut album is unmistakably Scottish. If the album was to appear on the BBC's 'Who Do You Think You Are' it'd trace it's lineage right back to the 'Sound of Young Scotland' via The Vaselines, The Delgados (obviously), Belle & Sebastian and Arab Strap. With its beguiling application of eclectic, anachronistic styles it's the product of a febrile mind… “At the start of recording I got scarlet fever and stayed in bed for ages, reading my girlfriends books.” Explains Woodward of Lord Cut-Glass’ creation, “I read Under Milk Wood in a feverish state and decided I would call myself after one of the characters”.
“If Lord Cut-Glass was a political leader he’d be more dictator than democrat: more Charlemagne than Chirac” explains Woodward to which I'd add more Stalin than Gorbachev, more Pinochet than Allende or even more Brown than Blair.
Go Try
MP3 - Lord Cut-Glass - Even Jesus Couldn't Love You If anyone from the IFPI is reading this track is published with permission from Team Clermont so please refrain from alleging infringement of copyright. Go Visit
If you haven't stumbled across the excellent Scottish label Chemikal Underground and their roster of eclectically brilliant artists then go check them out at their myspace site or website.
As a special treat here's a couple of MP3s from one of the other great bands on the Chemikal Underground label which I'm sure you'll love...
MP3 - Mt Wilson Repeater - Pencils / Pens If anyone from the IFPI is reading this track is linked direct from the Chemikal Underground label and is therefore already freely available so please refrain from alleging infringement of copyright. MP3 - Mt Wilson Repeater - All Night Every Day If anyone from the IFPI is reading this track is linked direct from Eastern Fiction and is therefore already freely available so please refrain from alleging infringement of copyright. Go Visit
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