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 Twilight Sad From: Kilsyth, The Perpetually Bonny Scotland Scottish anthemic experimentalists The Twilight Sad bookend their ‘Forget The Night Ahead’ album PR campaign with a brilliant new EP that leads with two brand new songs, and two remixes from friends Mogwai who tackle recent single, ‘The Room’ and Errors, who give album opener ‘Reflection Of The Television’ a distinctive makeover. The latter were returning the favour after Twilight Sad’s Andy MacFarlane mixed their album’s opener ‘Bridge Or Cloud’ down to an economical glitch earlier in the year (you can pick it up from the NME).
Thanks to the generosity of those loveable people at One Little Indian you dear readers can check out the Errors remix of 'Reflection Of The Television' courtesy of the Devil. Go Try
For a band from sun kissed Los Angeles The Active Set sound (and look if the picture on the left is how they typically dress) remarkably British. This may be the influence of lead guitarist Wayne Russell who dropped out of university in rain soaked England to move to the sun of Los Angeles (sensible chap). Or it may be that their influences are predominantly British.
The foursome's subtly poetic, cheery power pop sounds like a less angular Bloc Party sunbathing in the LA sun with a less arty XTC. It's a 180 degree change in direction from the full on Clash mimicking punk of lead singer and bassist Matthew Stolarz previous band The Briggs. The band have their new single 'Let The Games Begin' out now which, if you're reading Lord Coe, would be a great theme tune for the London 2012 Olympic Games. Check it out below or by visiting the Active Set website.
It's time to get active with the Active Set.
Go Try
MP3 - The Active Set - Let The Games Begin This track is published with the permission of the Active Set so please refrain from alleging infringement of copyright
I (tripped and) fell upon Canadian intelli pop band trips and falls by accident when the New Music Collaborative blog joined my Twitter followers. I headed over to see what it was all about and one of the tracks featured was trips and falls brilliant 'And In Real Life He Wears Corduroy Pants' . I was intrigued by the off the wall title and so naturallyhad to take a listen and I was blown away.
The band who are signed to the Scottish label Song, By Toad Records are completely uncategorisable although the band have tried describing their music as :
"Gentle and spooky guitar pop, alternately sadly sweet and disturbingly arrhythmic"
which as self analysis goes is pretty near the mark.
Trips & Falls' new album 'He Was Such A Quiet Boy', released at the end of March is like taking a magical mystery tour with a young kid with ADHD, full of unexpected detours and unpredictable playfulness. With tracks that range from the ballboyesque Prelude To A Shark Attack to the eccentric wonders of the aforementioned And In Real Life He Wears Corduroy Pants it's a journey into a land of wonder and mystery. Accidents will happen but not for trips and falls.
What do you get when you combine Europe's most pretentious filmmaker and America's most infamous (and imaginary) band? Nothing Is Cool, probably the funniest, most accurate and perfectly realised satire on music since Spinal Tap.
Nothing Is Cool is a series of indie rockumentaries about legendary indie band The Moustache Bravado. It takes the piss out of any and all cooler than thou po-faced indie bands that have littered the pages of the NME for the past two decades or so. And about bloody time too I hear you say. What makes it so good is that it is 100% believable.
London/Essex three piece Shakers in the Dark are set to release their debut single ‘Grandeur’ on Tuesday 1st July 2010. If Kasabian were doused in the acid of the Chemical Brothers they'd melt into Shakers In The Dark.
With retro synth lines that stab like a champion fencer, pulsing dance beats and guitar 'Grandeur'is an hypnotic mix of raw indie energy and trance house atmospheric ambience that sounds like Kasabian doused in acid by the Chemical Brothers. It ticks all the boxes for a hit however it's let down by the lyrics which unfortunately fall the wrong side of cliche relegating a track that could have been Premier League to the sideshow of the play offs.
Naked Hearts From: Brooklyn, New York, United States
New York scuzz rockers Naked Hearts (first featured on the Devil's blog in February 2009, Love Stripped Bare since when they seem to have dropped the definitive article) are back with their debut LP, Mass Hysteria. The duo have packed their pistols with a host of perfect scuzzy grunge lite anthems aimed directly at your heart. The album pitches it's tent somewhere between the sound of a slightly soft around the edges Sonic Youth and a rougher, tougher Blake Babies recalling the Breeders at their early 90s best.
Book into the nu grunge hospital for some musical cardiac surgery with the Naked Hearts. Go Try
The discovery of The White Ravens occurred in the research laboratory of Dr. XXXXXX in December of 2003, when the lyrics, vocals, and bass of Amy Bennett were combined with the keyboards and musical compositions of Will Bennett. When mixed, these distinct substances bonded explosively, creating a previously undocumented compound, The White Ravens.
The White Raven compound has been refined in a recording studio environment, resulting in such aural by-products as the 2007 album titled The White Ravens, recorded at Sound Garden Studios, and Gargoyles and Weather Vanes, recorded by Jim Diamond at Ghetto Recorders.
Vast mines of The White Raven compound have been recently found at the 2008 Ypsilani Crossroads Festival, the 2009 Ann Arbor show "Breaking Curfew", the Crazy Wisdom Bookstore and Tea Room, 734 Club and the Neutral Zone.
ITEM PROPERTIES:
Dynamic indie-pop music is observed to emanate from The White Ravens, featuring the pithy, biting lyrics of Amy, and the quirky, yet catchy, musical compositions of Will. Described as "XXXXXX" by a listener, The White Ravens are known to uniquely provide fodder for the intellect, and rhythms for the feet.
Preliminary investigations indicate that The White Raven compound draws from a variety of musical influences, ranging from The Beatles to the Fiery Furnaces, yet manages to create a distinct sonic experience for their listeners.
In a July 2009 experiment, an additional substance, drummer Liberty DeVitto was mixed with The White Ravens. Researchers observed that the rock-solid rhythms of Liberty added depth and bounce to the sound of The White Ravens.
CONTAINMENT PROCEDURE:
A containment procedure for The White Ravens has yet to be determined. The White Raven compound was accidentally leaked into the atmosphere after a freak accident at XXXXXXXX laboratory. Once released, the particle began to rapidly spread through the world's airwaves, winning over 70 awards on garageband.com, and being broadcast on BBC Radio for its musical collaboration with British artist Andy Johnson.
As Professor XXXXXX, head of The White Raven Research Team, said in a recent interview, "Due to the excessively catchy nature of The White Ravens' music, the compound has been seeping though the universe at a breakneck pace. We would make an effort to contain it, but frankly, we think the world could use some better music." The professor was then observed returning to his lab bench, whistling the melody to The White Raven song, Atomic Panda, and rhythmically stirring the smoking contents of a beaker.
Massachusetts purveyors of twee pop The True Jacqueline, named after a Jackie O documentary which told the story of how the only people who really saw the “true” Jacqueline Kennedy were her children, are fun. With charming twee vocals, unexpected time changes, and a solid indie-rock backbone, they take the baton from bands like Superchunk, Built to Spill, Mates of State, and early New Pornographers and run with it like Usain Bolt on Red Bull.
Musically, The True Jacqueline offer indie-rock twists, breakdowns, and unusual arrangements that always remain melodic. Their songs can be both campy and heartfelt, but they write about what they know: real life, pop culture, and historical subjects. “We pull topics from many places,” says Stevralia. “We’re kind of nerds, so academic subjects like science, math, and history--as well as science fiction--tend to crop up often.”Their upcoming release, Nice Bird (out on 22nd June) , features straight up bouncy indie rock reminiscent of late ‘90s Canadian power-pop (Pon Farr), sonic jamming dubs (Citrus Alarm, Mondegreen), and delicious folk-pop (It All Starts With She). They sing about magnets, Barbara Streisand, the 1989 Fred Savage videogame movie The Wizard, and hating your brother enough to want to kill him.
Formed from the ashes of UK math poppers Colour, Tangled Hair tease out the tats with some adult oriented indie pop so precise it's almost geometric.
Tangled Hair deliver sophisticated, grown up pop for sophisticated grown up people, intelligent pop with a warm beauty that recalls Swoon era Prefab Sprout.
If the world were a fair and equitable place then the perfect pop of Tangled Hair would be whistled by postmen and hummed by milkmen. Unfortunately the world ain't perfect, yet.
Go Try
MP3 - Tangled Hair - Just Like That MP3 - Tangled Hair - Trains These tracks are linked direct from the Tangled Hair Last.FM site and are therefore already freely available so please refrain from alleging infringement of copyright
Go Visit
Tangled Hair - Last.FM : Blogsite If you like Tangled Hair then check out their former band Colour...
MP3 - Colour - Conversations This track is linked direct from the Colour Last.FM site and is therefore already freely available so please refrain from alleging infringement of copyright
Those of you who have been following the Devil over the past few weeks may recall a post on Welsh wierdos Under Alien Skies (Close Encounters Of The Aural Kind). Well they're at it again with another strangely hypnotic track. 'Papillion' sounds like listening to The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds through a wall of static during a state of emergency on the moon! Yep it's that odd yet beautiful.
Go Try
MP3 - Under Alien Skies - Papillion This track is published with the permission of Under Alien Skies so please refrain from alleging infringement of copyright
What do I get? No love What do I get? No sleep at night What do I get? Nothin' that's nice What do I get? Nothin' at all at all at all at all at all at all Cos' I don't get you
What Do I Get? are so new they're still shrink wrapped. Their myspace site has only just reached 500 views and they haven't even broken the 100 friends mark yet.
As you might expect from the band name they are slightly, no make that totally, in thrall to the Buzzcocks. On the trio's six track debut EP lead singer Nick even manages to do a more than passable imitation of Pete Shelley's androgynous quirky vocals. As the Buzzcocks are one of the Devil's favourite band's of all time and responsible for the Devil's all time favourite song 'Ever Fallen In Love (With Someone You Shouldn't Have?) it doesn't come as a surprise to know that I'm rather fond of What Do I Get?
Portland's Bruhn have just finished their debut full-length, 'Pull From This End'. The American quintet have released 'Hollywood', a track from the album, as a taster and what a great taster it is too, a slab of Pavementesque slacker pop that sounds like a more laid back Weezer.
Go Try
MP3 - Bruhn - Hollywood This track is published with the permission of Bruhn so please refrain from alleging infringement of copyright Go Visit
Wow, I mean wow, I just didn't see this one coming. Bursting straight outta Austin The White White Lights get straight in your face with a blast, and believe me there's no better word than blast, of pure electro glam punk. They explode from the speakers like a musical Hadron Collider with the confidence of a cowboy with an uzi. Their current, confident six track short player Medium Head Boy, includes the quite simply astonishing 'Space Invaders'. A track that is nothing short of an enema for the mind. It'll infect your blood and wipe your brain clean like it's been attacked by a computer virus till there's nothing left but the White White Lights. They're not just the best new band in Austin they're the best new band on the planet.
Go out and get blinded by the White White Lights, all other music has just been made redundant.
Go Try MP3 - The White White Lights - Space Invaders This track is published with the permission of The Musebox so please refrain from alleging infringement of copyright
Leading contenders for the Devil's annual strangest band name of the year competition Jesus Make The Shotgun Sound are one of the most serious band's on the US music scene. They're the dark heart of the California dream creating unsettling, discordant soundscapes that challenge the listener leaving you with the sort of uneasiness usually reserved for personal epiphany or witness to a violent crime. It's serious stuff that sounds like Radiohead turning the White Album into a rock opera.
Bear Cavalry are an eclectic bunch of indie noodlers from the hitherto rock 'n roll desert of Gosport. According to their Last.FM site they live in Matthew Cooke’s shed, and are made from candyfloss. At least one and possibly two of these statements are false.
There's a real buzz about the jazz fusion foursome which is only going to grow after they caught the eye, and ear, of Radio 6's Tom Robinson. They have a whole picnic basket of fresh, inventive, agile and stylish tracks that deserve pride of place on your iPod. Check out the brilliantly titled 'Will Smith Solves The Rubiks Cube' which contains the best use of trumpets in a song since 'Thank You' by the Pale Fountains.
Arran Arctic From: Portrush, N. Ireland & Edinburgh, Scotland United Kingdom
There is an old norse legend about a wandering folktronica minstrel by the name of Arran Arctic who was discovered by a rusting Icelandic whaling ship, floating alone on an iceberg in the Arctic Circle. Suffering from amnesia, Arctic began a new life upon the vessel writing heart wrenching songs of his search for the answer to his identity and existence.
These songs, these traveller's tale have been drifting out into the world like volcanic ash, a perfect snowstorm of King Creosote's more tender moments, Damien Rice's, introspection and Bon Iver's ethereal production.
Go Try
MP3 - Arran Arctic - Tight Lipped Lover This track is published with the permission of Arran Arctic so please refrain from alleging infringement of copyright
“Memo to bands: locking yourself in a confined space can result in wonderful things like this.” - Sam Duke, RCRD LBL
Washington trio True Womanhood have emerged out of the doldrums of post-Dischord Washington, D.C. with a collection of mature, haunting pop gems that belie the band's youthful exuberance and predisposition towards experimental music. This is a band that believe mere music is for mortals, preferring to operate on a higher plane altogether. This is a band seriously intent on inventing an entirely new sonic palette.
Now's the time to regain your faith in Womanhood. Go Try
MP3 - True Womanhood - The Monk This track is published with the permission of Fanatic Promotion so please refrain from alleging infringement of copyright MP3 - True Womanhood - A Diviner (Demo) MP3 - True Womanhood - Cosmic Ray (Demo) These tracks are linked direct from the True Womanhood Last.FM site and are therefore already freely available so please refrain from alleging infringement of copyright Go Visit
The restless Adam Crisp, former mainstay of Elle Milano, isn't content with being a remixer extraordinaire under the pseudonym ENTREPRENEURS (as featured on Wednesday's blog) he's also one third of London contrarians The Premarital Sect.
On the evidence of the demos on their website The Premarital Sect are provocative, difficult, messy and utterly brilliant. This is a band that don't make music for record companies, have business meetings, or worry about 'the hook' or the image.
They are art terrorists not careerists. Their sound harks back to a period in British music when instruments, ideas and credibility were more important than business plans, accountants and PR managers. You can believe that this is a band that seriously don't give a fuck about what the NME think but do give a fuck about what Mark E Smith thinks and would have given a fuck about what John Peel would have thought. They're spiky, passionate, dark, angry and in your face. Believe me now is the time to try sect before marriage.
Swedish instrumental-post-dreampop architects Slutet (Swedish for closed my good pal babel fish reliably informs me) sculpt dreamlike soundscapes from melting glaciers that aches as much in the ears as in the heart. If you feel the need to know more about Slutet than that then here are some short sharp responses to some well chosen questions...
Where do you live actually?
Gothenburg, Sweden
What is the last thing you ate?
Beer?
Your addiction?
Distorting the beauty
What do you collect?
Broken hearts
One quote?
The spaces between your fingers were created so that another’s could fill them in
MP3 - Slutet - Psykbryt MP3 - Slutet - Vilse These tracks are published with the permission of Bad Panda Records so please refrain from alleging infringement of copyright
Penguin Prison is the brainchild of New York's one-man hit machine Chris Glover who fuses pop, soul, rock ‘n’ roll and disco like a musical genius with a blowtorch. With critics comparing his sound to NYC dirty disco veterans like LCD Soundsystem and Talking Heads it won't be long before the world will be p-p-p-picking up a Penguin. Self confessed punk R'nB artiste ENTREPRENEURS (Adam Crisp ex Elle Milano mainstay) , who has diced and sliced tracks by everyone from Marina and the Diamonds to Clock Opera, MASKS and Radiant Dragon has turned his attention to the Penguin Prison track 'Something I'm Not'. A remix that according to ENTREPRENEURS himself "sounds precisely like a tangled VHS cassette hurtling awkwardly through a meteor storm en route to the Baby Boom Galaxy. And that is the only and exact interpretation." Who am I to argue with that?
As an active remixer Chris Glover is sure to appreciate the London based punk r'nb artiste ENTREPRENEURS as you can courtesy of the Devil.
Living Days is a new romantic pop group (don't groan there's not a Leigh Boweryesque costume to be seen) from Brooklyn, NY. The five love terrorists, who include former members of Matisyahu, CocoRosie, Lee Scratch Perry, and sci fi thrash band AQUI, are a punk disco ball of new wave fury with a sound evocative of long lost John Hughes movies, Tubeway Army demos and Cure b-sides.
The undeniable star of the team is unpredictable and quasi bonkers frontwoman Stephonik Youth, a dizzying blend of Siouxie Sioux, Karen O and Amanda Palmer. They are currently putting the finishing touches to their new album 'Make Out Room' which will be released in the community sometime in the hopefully not too distant future. Go Try
MP3 - Living Days - Go Oblivion This track is published with the permission of the Musebox so please refrain from alleging infringement of copyright
Bikos From: Culver City/Mar Vista, California, United States
With a bass player that I swear looks like John Peel's younger brother and a sound that channels Bloc Party through the medium of Pavement I immediately thought that California alt-rockers bikos had to be named after Bloc Party's 'Biko' . However it appears in this case 1 and 1 most definitely doesn't equal 2. The band are actually chose the name bikos [bi - kohs] because it means “for the reason that” and also maybe because bikos is how a 5 year old from eastern Europe might, theoretically, spell and pronounce "because".
On debut single 'You Want It' bikos sound like Bloc Party letting their hair down and starting to enjoy themselves. It's the sort of song that I could imagine going down a storm at Kele Okereke's birthday. 'You Want It' has forced itself onto the Devil's list of favourite tracks of the year by virtue of it's jittery energy and singer Gabriel Pearlman's twisted, twitchy vocals which sound like the tonsils of David Byrne and Kele Okereke arm wrestling.
bikos because you know you want it and you're worth it.
Go Try
MP3 - bikos - You Want It This track is published with the permission of Bikos so please refrain from alleging infringement of copyright
Cats On Fire From: Åbo/Turku Finland Fetching Finländares Cats on Fire (first featured on the Devil's blog way back in September 2006, Back To The Old House) have a new 20-track album ‘Dealing In Antiques’ out later this month.
I've not yet had the opportunity to cast my ears over the album but if the lead track, a cover of White Town's brilliantly subversive 'Your Woman' and final track 'The Hague', is anything to go by then it's gonna be a stormer. They still tip their caps to the British indie scene of the 1980s and are still suffused with the purest essence of Belle & Sebastian but where earlier efforts sounded like facsimile copies of the originalswith Your Woman' and 'The Hague' it sounds like these cats have found their own voice.
Go Try
MP3 - Cats On Fire - Your Woman This track is published with the permission of Matinee Recordings so please refrain from alleging infringement of copyright
International Waters are a jangly indie-pop outfit from Austin, Texas led by Voxtrot's Mitch Calvert. They're old school indie, like a faded postcard from another era that reminds you of an old friend that you've lost touch with. Well it's time to get reacquainted with their recently completed 10” EP, the Felt like 'It Felt Like', and their two song 7” single available entitled 'Flashes'. With a flair for the perfect pop song that recalls Roddy Frame (Aztec Camera) before he ventured out of his bedroom and the effortless craft of the Pale Fountains it won't be long before International Waters turn into global stars. Don't forget you heard it here first.
Go Try
MP3 - International Waters - Olympia MP3 - International Waters - Flashes These tracks are linked direct from the International Waters website and are therefore already freely available so please refrain from alleging infringement of copyright Go Visit
Their music is as no nonsense as their back story. The sound of bare bone guitars, drums & vocals burnt onto 2" 24 track analogue tape. Although they don’t repudiate the modern world, they have a myspace site and their tracks are available in the ubiquitous digital formats, their sound is the kind of music that can only be produced by those pulsating valve driven machines which defined the sound of seminal underground rock records. It’s the sound of black, white & everything in between, a mixture of saturated analogue distortion and slap-back echo tape machines.
Check the Ransom Dance songs a listen, you might come out of it more appealing to the opposite sex with your newfound interest in an obscure indie rock band so little people have heard about till now.
Get some Australian in you.
Go Try
MP3 - The Ransom Dance - Candelabra Richochet This track is published with the permission of The Ransom Dance so please refrain from alleging infringement of copyright
It's election day in the UK and the nation nervously anticipates which party will be in power from tomorrow. Well that's what the politicians and the media would like to believe. But the majority of the British public have regarded the whole election campaign with at best a shrug of indifference. As a wise old head once said 'it doesn't matter who you vote for the government still gets in!' and to paraphrase a well worn anarchist slogan 'if the answer is Cameron, Clegg or Brown it must have been a pretty stupid question!'. After four weeks, which feels like four years, of petty political point scoring the nation is about to decide and what better way to commemorate this momentous day in the life of the nation (I know sarcasm is the lowest form of wit) that with a post on General Election Engines!
General Election Engines From: Chicago, Illinois, United States It's long been claimed by us Brits that Americans don't get irony but General Election Engines prove that wrong. With a title like 'Days of Rage' you'd probably expect a high octane spittle flecked diatribe instead you get laid back acoustic slacker rock. Alanis Morissette are you taking notes?
The Chicago based lo-fi garage rock duo/trio (it's not clear due to the presence of part time members) concoct perfect packaged little pop gems that sound like demos of Pavement covering long lost Mountain Goats b-sides and rarely outstay their welcome. One track, Jump Up Fall Down (see video below) from their debut album 'No More Blue Star' lasts for less an 50 seconds and most come well within the two anda half minute mark.
They could also possibly be one of the least hyped bands in history with barely a mention in the blogosphere. In fact one blog Pop Zeus! has even claimed to be the only blog on earth who has ever had the pleasure of discussing their music. Well better make that two. At this rate General Election Engines are likely to be the biggest band on the planet by the year 2525!
Shark Batter label-mates Sarahjane Swan and Roger Simian (The Stark Palace, Dawn Of The Replicants) have joined forces to release an EP. They've not chosen a name for this venture but can I suggest the Bird & the Monkey (Swan/Simian geddit?). I've checked and there doesn't appear to be any bands with this name so Sarahjane/Roger it's yours for the taking.
The duo have just finished editing the video for their collaboration 'Daisy James On The Pincushion',the lead track of their EP. Hinting at teenage loss it sounds like a fuzzy lo-fi brew of PJ Harvey and Jayne Casey (Pink Military Stand Alone)
The track is accompanied by an imaginative and inventive dark-fi psychedelic video filmed lakeside in the Scottish Borders with Sarahjane painted blue as an extra-terrestrial pagan Barbarella.
If there were any justice in the world Sarahjane Swan would bestride the global music charts like a blue painted Avataresque colossus and Lady Gaga would be selling the Big Issue.
The Twilight Sad
