The Fantastic Four

Superhumanoids
From: Los Angeles, California, United States

Superhumanoids are a Los Angeles four piece, set up as an electronic experiment to explore pop through a spaced-out, kaleidoscopic lens.

They sound like a fruit smoothie made from The Strokes, Orange Juice, Prefab Sprout and The Chills. Which has to be one of the coolest, poppiest fruit smoothy this side of Ben & Jerries (although not too sure about the sprouts!)

The band's debut EP, Urgency, was recorded and produced by the band themselves and is available for download from the band's website (details below).

The fantastic four are here to save the world.

Go Try

MP3 - Superhumanoids - Dangerous Stangers
MP3 - Superhumanoids - Persona
These tracks are all linked direct from the Superhumanoids Last.FM site and are therefore already freely available so please don't claim breach of copyright.

Go Visit

Superhumanoids - Myspace : Website : Last.FM

Go View

Superhumanoids
Cranial Contest

Not So Savage Garden

Garden On A Trampoline
From: Chicago / Elgin, Illinois, United States

What on earth possessed singer/songwriter James Eric to land himself with the frankly inexplicable Garden On A Trampoline as a name? I was half expecting one of those joke bands that littered the lower reaches of the charts in the UK back in the early 80s. What I wasn't expecting was the heartbreaking acoustic beauty of the not so savage Garden on A Trampoline.

He's a prolific interpreter of the songs of other artists. His version of Lady GaGa's Bad Romance has to be heard to be believed. Stripped of the euro disco electro fripperies, the overblown GaGa theatrics and sub Madonna tics and twitches Garden On A Trampoline reveals the songs true yearning, it's true passion, it's true aching brilliance. But it's not just his cover versions he writes great songs himself which drip with a rare energy and passion. He's also not afraid to let his hair down and stick his tongue firmly in his cheek as demonstrated by his Elvis pastiche 'She Doesn't Laugh At My Jokes'

It's time to get out into the garden.

Go Try

MP3 - Garden On A Trampoline - Bad Romance (Lady GaGa cover)
MP3 - Garden On A Trampoline - She Doesn't Laugh At My Jokes
MP3 - Garden On A Trampoline - Wish I Wasn't Shy
These tracks are all linked direct from the Garden On A Trampoline Last.FM site and are therefore already freely available so please don't claim breach of copyright.

Go Visit

Garden On A Trampoline - Myspace : Website : Last.FM

Go View

Garden On A Trampoline
The Facebook Song

Ventilation Shaft

Der Ventilator
From: Barcelona, Spain

Pretty girls, pretty boys have you ever heard your mommy shout 'Noise annoys'? Spanish shoegazing noiseniks Der Ventilator probably have. In fact it's probably their mothers who have been doing all the shouting just to be heard over the racket.

Supernova, with it's warped, twisted vocal, incomprehensible lyrics and ear bleeding tidal wave of noise, sounds like the entire back catalogue of Ride scrunched up into a ball and thrown at your headphones. It's enough to give you tinnitus. 'The Nights Before' sounds like a music box being sawn in two and ends with a screech of pain. 'Smash Your Head On The Ground' starts off sounding like a Game Boy being fed into a mincer before morphing into The Jesus & Mary Chain with any pretense at melody sucked out. It's not for the faint hearted.

Pretty girls, pretty boys if noise is your thing and your eardrums can withstand a pounding then check out Der Ventilator.

Go Try

MP3 - Der Ventilator - Smash Your Head On The Ground
MP3 - Der Ventilator - The Nights Before
These tracks are linked direct from the Der Ventilator Last.FM site and are therefore already freely available so please refrain from alleging infringement of copyright.

Go Visit

Der Ventilator - Myspace : Website : Last.FM

Go View

Der Ventilator
Smash Your Head On The Ground

Sarcasm Is The Highest Form Of Wit

The Sarcastic Dharma Society
From: Portland, Oregon, United States

I love the name The Sarcastic Dharma Society. Possibly because, despite popular belief, sarcasm is the highest form of wit; or maybe it's because it sounds like one of the only society's that would have me as a member. So I was doubly joyed to discover that the band behind the brilliant name have a fine line in simply adorable indie-folk and inspired cover versions.

It's time you joined the Sarcastic Dharma Society just leave your heart at the door or it may well get broken.

Go Try

MP3 - The Sarcastic Dharma Society - Shit On My Heart (Meyercord Cover)
MP3 - The Sarcastic Dharma Society - While Sitting By The Window
These tracks are all linked direct from the Sarcastic Dharma Society Last.FM site and are therefore already freely available so please don't claim breach of copyright.

Go Visit

The Sarcastic Dharma Society - Myspace : Last.FM

Go View

The Sarcastic Dharma Society
I Get Along Very Well Without You (Hoagy Carmichael)

Pet Sounds

The Violet Pets
From: Tooting Broadway, London
United Kingdom

The Violet Pets are another of those bands for which the Devil has a penchant that may no longer be in existence. Their myspace site doesn't appear to have been touched for a couple of years and the photos on their Last.FM site all seem to date from around 2007.

The band are/were true to the original traditions of indie from back in the good old days of the Desperate Bicycles, Alternative TV and The Buzzcocks. Producing and distributing their records themselves in limited editions of 100. Usually for free.

If they have ceased to be then they leave behind a veritable treasure trove of amateurish, shambling indie-pop jangle that sounds like The Pastels rubbing The Vaselines all over themselves in a mod club.

Their one claim to fame is an, hopefully, apocryphal tale about them sending a CD in a jiffybag to Xfm's John Kennedy only to receive the same jiffybag back a few weeks later with the CD replaced by some actual poo! Obviously John Kennedy or one of his lackies isn't a great fan of shambling indie-pop more fool them!

Go Try

MP3 - The Violet Pets - No! No! I Can't Say No
MP3 - The Violet Pets - A Little Lost and Found
MP3 - The Violet Pets - Just Shy
These tracks are all linked direct from the Violet Pets Last.FM site and are therefore already freely available so please don't claim breach of copyright.

Go Visit

The Violet Pets - Myspace : Last.FM

For those of you who hanker for the days when music wasn't just another career choice for celebrity seeking non entities check out the brilliant Desperate Bicycles at Derekerdman.com.

If you like this you'll love The Violet Pets...

MP3 - The Vaselines - I Hate The 80s
MP3 - The Vaselines - Son of a Gun
These tracks are all linked direct from the SubPop Records website and are therefore already freely available so please don't claim breach of copyright.

Jenny Is A Friend Of Mine

Jenny Is A Boy
From: Bloomington, Indiana, United States

The oddly named Jenny is a Boy began in 2005 as the solo acoustic project of Adam Coppess of Bloomington folkies The Proclamation. As Jenny Is A Boy he majors in folk-punk odes that tip their cap in the direction of The Mountain Goats.

Go Try

MP3 - Jenny Is A Boy - I Can't Fucking Sleep
MP3 - Jenny Is A Boy - 2012
These tracks are linked direct from the Jenny Is A Boy Last.FM site and are therefore already freely available so please refrain from alleging infringement of copyright.

Go Visit

Jenny Is A Boy - Myspace : Last.FM

If you like Jenny Is A Boy then check out Adam's other band The Proclamation...

MP3 - The Proclamation - I'm Glad I Got A 'D' In Basic Spanish
MP3 - The Proclamation - I'm The Asshole Pt. 1
These tracks are linked direct from the Proclamation Last.FM site and are therefore already freely available so please refrain from alleging infringement of copyright.

Turning Tables

table.table

From: Antarctica

I know very little about table.table other than that they were formed in mid 2009, they are a duo and they claim to be from Antartica. Maybe it's the cold in Antartica freezing their instruments but they're not the most prolific of bands having produced two tracks in their 12 months of existence.

One of these two tracks, 'Control', is an odd little avant garde gem with detached vocals incanting over monotonous angular guitars and biscuit tin drumming. It's weird yet strangely captivating and an outsider for a spot in the Devil's top ten tracks of the year.

Go Try

MP3 - table.table - Control
MP3 - table.table - Post-modernism
These tracks are linked direct from the table.table Last.FM and is therefore already freely available so please refrain from alleging infringement of copyright.

Go Visit

table.table - Myspace : Last.FM

Light Is The New Black

New Black Light Machine
From: London, United Kingdom

Here come London's New Black Light Machine to save the world from the Take That reunion and bury landfill indie for ever.

Throwing angular nu wave shapes and jittery fidgety post punk moves the unbelievably cool looking quintet are heaven sent to rejuvenate a music scene that's been looking a little frayed around the edges.

The tracks on their myspace site sound like an application form for fame. Disguise sounds like The Fall on fast forward, while the live rehearsal of Light Burns Black show a band not afraid to punk it up old school with lead singer Russell McNally (possibly the least rock 'n roll name this side of Engelbert Humperdinck) yelping like his dicks on fire. But it's on 'Between Silence & Silence' that they truly hit paydirt. With it's disembodied vocals and stabbing 80s synth it sounds like The Killers morphing into These New Puritans.

New Black Light Machine are here to save the world and prove for once and for all that light truly is the new black.


Go Try

MP3 - New Black Light Machine - Light Burns Black
This track is linked direct from the New Black Light Machine Last.FM site and is therefore already freely available so please refrain from alleging infringement of copyright.

Go Visit

New Black Light Machine - Myspace : Last.FM

Go View

New Black Light Machine

Joy Division

Joy-Rides
From: United Kingdom

I stumbled upon Joy-Rides while wandering aimlessly around Last.FM looking for music that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up.

They've been wandering the mean streets of dear ol' blighty for nigh on five years putting the mental in experimental and forcing their noisy post punk clatter into the heads of anyone who gets in their way.

The Devil's favourite track the awe inspiring Bishop Of Southwark sounds like The Fall having a nervous breakdown and would be a shoe-in for the top ten of John Peel's festive fifty if it was still running.

Within the last couple of weeks Joy-Rides have changed their name to The Cadillacs (a name they share with a Harlem doo wop group of the 1950s). I don't know whether this is merely a change of band name or whether there has been any change in personnel or sound because there is no information on the Cadillacs myspace site at all. I for one hope that it's nothing more than a change of name and that the Cadillacs continue churn out inventive, interesting and intriguing songs like Bishop of Southwark.

Go Try

MP3 - Joy-Rides - Bishop Of Southwark
This track is linked direct from theJoy Rides Last.FM site and is therefore already freely available so please refrain from alleging infringement of copyright.

Go Visit

Joy-Rides - Myspace : Website : Last.FM
The Cadillacs - Myspace

Folk Singing

Tinyfolk
From: Oak Park, Illinois, United States

Tinyfolk is Russ Woods from Oak Park, Illinois plus significant others such as Meghan Lamb of iron like nylon and/or Jim Laczkowski of Garden On A Trampoline (soon to be the subject of a feature on the Devil's blog). The band started out life as A Pilgrimage to Save This Human Race before obviously deciding that this sounded more like a charity than a band and opting for the much cooler Tinyfolk.

Tinyfolk’s songs are fi with the dial turned down exceptionally lo. Songs in their raw form, unadorned by studio fripperies or any of that pro tools nonsense. These are real songs captured in their raw state. Songs that are unfortunately so rare that there should be nationwide appeals for their safety and protection.

There's such a refreshing honesty and naivety about Tinyfolk, a charm, a sweetness that makes you want to take them home for tea and hug them until they pop. If only all music was like this the world would be a better place.

Go Try

MP3 - Tiny Folk - I Can See Everything From Here
MP3 - Tiny Folk - Owls
Mp3 - Tiny Folk - Do You Know You Are Very Strong?
These tracks are linked direct from the Tinyfolk Last.FM site so please refrain from alleging infringement of copyright.

Go Visit

Tiny Folk - Myspace : Last.FM

Go View
Tiny Folk Always Something There To Remind Me

The Men From Demontré

Demontré
From: London, United Kingdom

Demontré, which, if I recall from my secondary school French lessons, literally translates as 'to demonstrate' are a gang of London based, dark clothed doom mongers. They dish out huge dollops of brooding, anthemic alt-rock with a dark, edgy punkish vibe and delightfully off key vocals that'll make the hairs on the back of your neck stand to attention.

They sound like Killing Joke having a conference call with Theatre Of Hate, Liars and PIL. They have a track called Brandenburg which, in my more creative moments, I imagine is a homage to Theatre of Hates's Kirk Brandon.

To the men from Demontré we say yes.

Go Try

MP3 - Demontré - Broken Halo
MP3 - Demontré - I Abhor
This track is linked direct from the Demontré Last.FM site and is therefore already freely available so please refrain from alleging infringement of copyright.

Go Visit

Demontré - Myspace : Last.FM

Go View

Demontré
Brandenburg

New Kids On The B-Lock

B-Lock and the Girl
From: United Kingdom

North East tri0 B-Lock & The Girl are a freshly minted trio with a set of old school Peelesque tunes thrown in from left field. They've only been on myspace since April, have had less than 1,000 profile views and I can only find one previous mention on the blogosphere. They couldn't be more fresh if they'd just been picked from the indie pod.

The three songs on their myspace site are short, sharp, wiry, angular missives crammed with more ideas than a boffin on an LSD trip. On 'Tired Of The Sick Hype' they sound like they've injected themselves with the purest essence of the Vichy Government while 'Dogs Have Paws' is all right angles and Wire infused art pop. Final track 'Unos Muchachos' sounds like at least three different songs and still comes in at under two minutes.

If John Peel were alive he'd be all over B-Lock & The Girl like a rash.

Go Try

MP3 - B-Lock and the Girl - Dogs Have Paws
MP3 - B-Lock and the Girl - Tired of the Sick Hype
These tracks are published with the permission of B-Lock and the Girl so please refrain from alleging infringement of copyright.
Go Visit

B-Lock and the Girl - Myspace

Ono Band

Ono Palindromes
From: Exeter, Southwest,United Kingdom

Ono Palindromes are back and they've noised it up a bit since I last encountered them way back in March last year (Ono no no no). At that stage they were still finding their way from their previous incarnation as Young Sensations. Their latest release The Kool Aid Acid Test EP, is certainly a noisier affair than their last EP. The art rock pretensions have been sidelined for a full on grungy rock out.

From the opening punchy, seductive riffing of Silicone to the delirious, feral yelps of Loose this is a young band throwing off their typically British inhibitions and exploding like a sonic Molotov cocktail. The best track on the EP is the wild, brutal 'James Dean', the bastard child of an unholy union between The Hives and Nirvana.

Last time I featured Ono Palindromes I said they were about to kick the indie door of fame in well with The Kool Aid Acid Test EP they're about to blow the bloody doors off!

Go Try

MP3 - Ono Palindromes - James Dean
This track is published with the permission of BrightLights PR so please don't claim breach of copyright.

Go Visit

Ono Palindromes - Myspace : Last.FM

Go View

Ono Palindromes Glue

Captain Caveman

Cave Babies
From : United States

These days every artist needs and angle and if that angle has a green connection then they're two steps closer to the big time.

Step forward the overly hirsute Josh “Hoshwa” Redman aka Cave Babies who's angle is that every song title contains the word green. Now that's what you call killing two birds with one stone (just to be clear no animals were harmed in the writing of this post).

In keeping with the left of centre green theme the Cave Babies sound is weirdy beardy hippy folk that couldn't be further from the mainstream if it got a non refundable one way ticket to the land of far far away.

Go Try

MP3 - Cave Babies - Al Green
MP3 - Cave Babies - Soylent Green
MP3 - Cave Babies - It's Not Easy Being Green
These tracks are all linked direct from the Cave Babies Last.FM site and are therefore already freely available so please don't claim breach of copyright.

Go Visit

Cave Babies - Myspace : Last.FM

Stirring It Up

Another week another The Bird & The Monkey video. This week it's a strictly x certificate affair with SarahJane letting her hidden vamp loose on 'Stirring It Up'. With cheekbones like geometry, eyes like sin and boots made for much more than walking SarahJane smoulders and burns like a sex goddess on heat on a track that is pure viagra for the ears.

Go Visit

The Bird & The Monkey - Myspace : Website
Sarahjane Swan - Myspace : Last.FM
Stark Palace - Myspace : Last.FM
Shark Batter - Myspace : Website

Go View

The Bird & The Monkey
Stirring It Up

Meeble Wobbles But They Don't Fall Down

Mr Meeble

Mr Meeble is a genuine contender for naff name of the year. A name that makes the trio sound like the strange man at the end of your road who talks gibberish and smells of bacon. Which is a pity because the sound is quite beautiful. Twitchy, skittish ambient electronica that sounds like Coldplay trying their hand at trip hop.

Unlike the strange man at the end of your street Mr Meeble create aural masterpieces that massage the senses floating, bobbing and weaving like an unattached buoy on a becalmed sea and don't smell of bacon.

Go Try

MP3 - Mr Meeble - The Gift
This track is published with the express permission of Mr Meeble and Meek Managements so please refrain from alleging infringement of copyright.

Go Visit

Mr Meeble - Myspace : Website : Last.FM

Go View

Mr Meeble
Until I Grasp The Second

Bus Stop

Busses
From: Philadelphia, United States

Drawing from the deep, deep wells of classic psychedelia, AOR, prog, new wave and jazz, Philly trio Busses are eccentrics in a world of conformists. While hints of Television, Animal Collective, Built To Spill and even The Eagles may pop into your head, Busses invites you onboard for a ride to somewhere new, somewhere different, somewhere rarely explored.

Check out 'Stationary' which has already smoothed it's way onto the list of contender for the Devil's top 10 tracks of the year.

Go Try

MP3 - Busses - Stationary
This track is published with the permission of TeamClermont so please refrain from alleging infringement of copyright.

Go Visit

Busses - Myspace : Website : Last.FM


Go View

Busses
Shangrila

Mystery Jets

Murder Mystery
From: New York, United States

New York quartet Murder Mystery started out as a lo-fi indie band in thrall to The Velvet Underground, they're named after a VU track, Pavement and Sleater Kinney. Following the viral success of the retro electro twee cross over 'Lover Astronaut' they've gone through a conversion to rival that of St Paul. With the enthusiasm of the recent convert they're producing shiny, summery electro pop like it's going out of fashion.

The latest results of their efforts are light and easy on the ear. 'Change My Mind' sounds like the early jaunty, fresh faced incarnation of Depeche Mode covering the Cure. On I Am If You Are they sound like they've picked Stereolab's pocket and sold the proceeds to the Cardigans.

Murder Mystery's new songs may not have the charm and substance of their earlier stuff but they're bright and breezy and a perfect companion for a hot summers day.

Go Try

MP3 - Murder Mystery - I Am If You Are
MP3 - Murder Mystery - Change My Mind
These tracks are published with the permission of Murder Mystery so please refrain from alleging infringement of copyright.

Go Visit

Murder Mystery - Myspace : Website : Last.FM


Go View

Murder Mystery
Love Astronaut

Spanish Practices

Castanets
From: Rip City, United States

I'm embarrassed to say that, despite having been an interested bystander in the U.S. freak folk scene centred around Devendra Banhart I'd never really picked up on experimental one-man band Castanets.

Composed of Raymond Raposa and any number of session musicians he could persuade to join him for his albums and performances, Castanets was a prominent member of the U.S. freak folk scene of the early noughties. However Raposa has refused to be bound by such restrictive labels and has since created a back catalogue that fuses the avant garde with the traditional, the modern with the historical.

Castanets is the sound of the Velvet Underground making music from the entrails of Animal Collective and cuttings from Devendra Banhart's beard and I'm rapidly catching up with his back catalogue. I suggest those of you who have not yet succumbed to the delights of Castanets do so too.

Go Try

MP3 - Castanets - This Is The Early Game
MP3 - Castanets - Sway
MP3 - Castanets - As You Do
These tracks are linked direct from the Castanets Last.FM site and are therefore already freely available so please refrain from alleging infringement of copyright.

MP3 - Castanets - Worn From The Fight (With Fireworks)
This track is linked direct from the Asthmatic Kitty website and is therefore already freely available so please refrain from alleging infringement of copyright.

Go Visit

Castanets - Myspace : Last.FM

Go View

Castanets
My Heart

Branded by the Devil

The Bird & The Monkey

From: Scotland

Like God The Devil moves in mysterious ways. Back in May (The Bird & The Monkey) I featured the collaboration between SharkBatter stablemates Sarahjane Swan and Roger Simian (ex Dawn of the Replicants) and suggested they may want to consider naming their joint venture The Bird & The Monkey. Well Roger and Sarahjane liked the thought of being branded by the Devil so much that they've taken up the suggestion and they now revel in the name The Bird & The Monkey. Under their new Devil appointed name the dynamic duo have their first single the poptastic 'If Loves A Cure' out on 26th July and an EP, The Ossie Dean EP, of left field snap crackle and pop in the can for release sometime later this year.

If Loves A Cure is like the result of throwing everything ever released on 4AD records into a mincer. It's the sound of lovers breaking up, lovers making up, lovers hurting, lovers kissing. The Ossie Dean EP to be released later this year includes Daisy James On The Pincushion, a track regular followers of the Devil will already be familiar with and a great new track Chalkmark Cindy, which sounds like Enya with asthma being chased by a police car. It's breathy and sensual like someone released the backing vocals of Je T'aime into the community.

Go Try

MP3 - The Bird & The Monkey - If Loves A Cure
This track is published with the permission of Shark Batter Records so please refrain from alleging infringement of copyright

Go Visit

The Bird & The Monkey - Website
Sarahjane Swan - Myspace : Last.FM
Stark Palace - Myspace : Last.FM
Shark Batter - Myspace : Website

Go View

The Bird & The Monkey
Chalkmark Cindy



and as a special treat here's a little something from Roger Simian's old band the mysteriously less famous than they should be Dawn Of The Replicants...

MP3 - Dawn Of The Replicants - Science Fiction Freak (Demo)
This track linked direct from the Dawn of the Replicants website and is therefore already freely available so please refrain from alleging infringement of copyright

Oh Yes You Are!

I'm Not A Band
From: Berlin, Germany

It sounds like one of those philosophical puzzles. When is a band not a band when it's I’m not a Band who are a band and not well not really a band. Main non band member, classical musician Stephan J is joined by other non band member Kassandra P to create a sound that melds classical, electronic beeps, industrial noise with the cutest vocals you'll find this side of a Care Bears picnic. It sounds like Mozart joining Daft Punk to cover early Kraftwerk and couldn't be more European if it decided to wear lederhosen and a beret and ditch it's currency to join the Euro.

Check out their cover of Joy Division's 'She's Lost Control' which manages to be both reverential and revolutionary in it's treatment. They've managed to make it sound fresh and new yet like the original. A difficult trick to pull off.

They may not be a band but they're definitely my favourite non band around at the moment.

Go Try

MP3 - I'm Not A Band - She's Lost Control (Joy Division Cover)
This track is published with the permission of I'm Not A Band's Management Company Auf die Plätze so please refrain from alleging infringement of copyright.

Go Visit

I'm Not A Band - Myspace : Last.FM : Website

Go View

I'm Not A Band
I'm Not A Band

Football Crazy

It's the World Cup final today and, according to FIFA at least, over the past month the world has gone football crazy. However the reality has been a little dull and the 2010 World Cup finals have never really taken off. Hopefully today's final between Holland and Spain will lift the spirits with an exhibition of exciting football that'll live long in the memory.

The Devil hopes that it's third time lucky for the Dutch with the winning goal coming from the boot of Dirk Kuyt. The futures bright the futures orange!

To celebrate the final today's post has a football theme, well sort of.


Pog
From: Brighton, United Kingdom

Pog is a minimalistic twee punk band from Brighton formed in 2000 by Paul Stapleton from the disgustingly yet humorously named Anal Beard. They sound like a laid back, English comic version Scottish indie meisters Ballboy or a lo-fi Belle & Sebastian (yes it is possible folks) who don't take themselves too seriously.

Check out their World Cup party pooping song 'Because It's Football'. It's frivolous, it's frothy and it cuts through all the crap and the hype surrounding the beautiful game. It's just over three minutes long and it'll leave you with a smile on your face which is more than the England team managed to achieve in 360 torturous minutes of World Cup action.

Repeat after me 'it's just a fucking game'.

Go Try

MP3 -Pog - Because It's Football
This track is linked direct from the Pog Last.FM site and is therefore already freely available so please refrain from alleging infringement of copyright

Go Visit

Pog - Myspace : Website : Last.FM

Go View

Pog
It's The End Of The World As We Know It (REM Cover)



For those who have not yet sampled the delights of ballboy check these out...

MP3 - Ballboy - Sex Is Boring
MP3 - Ballboy - Olympic Cyclist
These tracks are linked direct from the Ballboy website and are therefore already freely available so please refrain from alleging infringement of copyright

Floating By

I Have Been Floated
From: Philadelphia, New Jersey, New York, United States

I Have Been Floated, presumably named after the Olivia Tremor Control song of the same name, is an amorphous, shapeshifting band who are called Eye Have Been on their myspace site and claim to have had at least 10 other names. They could easily be called something else today. Their music is also a little amorphous ranging from the hypnotic, scratchy 'Teleport Into My 13 Year Old Body' to the lo-fi, acoustic indie delights of 'You Are A House' and 'Yall Suck'.

They've got a new album out called 'Syncopated Peach' but be quick and catch them now because who knows where or what they'll be tomorrow.

Go Try

MP3 - I Have Been Floated - Teleport Into My 13 Year Old Body
MP3 - I Have Been Floated - You Are A House
MP3 - I Have Been Floated - Yall Suck
These tracks are linked direct from the I Have Been Floated Last.FM site and are therefore already freely available so please refrain from alleging infringement of copyright.

Go Visit

I Have Been Floated - Myspace : Last.FM

Fox Hunt

Foxes In Fiction

From: Toronto, Canada

Foxes aren't flavour of the month in the UK after some unfortunate incidents with urban foxes attacking babies. The music of Foxes In Fiction, the musical vehicle for the hyper talented Warren Hildebrand, is more likely to lull the young of the human species to sleep than to give them nightmare. Warren has released an album of lo-fi fuzzed up ambiance called ‘Swung From The Branches’, which has a calm almost spiritual beauty. It's like listening to Boards Of Canada through cheap mass produced earphones. There's no need to hunt these foxes though because Warren has made the Foxes In Fiction album available free from his blogsite.

Go Try

MP3 - Foxes In Fiction - Flashing Lights Have Ended Now
MP3 - Foxes In Fiction - 15 Ativan (Song For Erica)
These tracks are published with the permission of Moodgadget and are therefore already freely available so please refrain from alleging infringement of copyright.

Go Visit

Foxes In Fiction - Myspace : Website : Last.FM

Go View

Foxes In Fiction
Snow Angels

Young Knives

Bloody Knives
From: Austin, Texas, United States

The final instalment in the Devil's short series of bands from the Killredrocket Records 'Decadence' compilation. Today's feature band are Bloody Knives, a two piece electropunk duo from Killredrocket Records homebase of Austin who pound your ears with a mix of droning 8 bit industrial, shoegaze and raw grunge. It's kinda like Soundgarden bumping into My Bloody Valentine in a steel factory.

Go Try

MP3 - Bloody Knives - Hands Around My Neck
MP3 - Bloody Knives - Buried
MP3 - Bloody Knives - Nothing Will Fix
These tracks are linked direct from the Bloody Knives Last.FM site and are therefore already freely available so please refrain from alleging infringement of copyright.

Go Visit

Bloody Knives - Myspace : Last.FM

Go View

Bloody Knives
Nothing Will Fix

Star Turn

Between The Cities Are Stars
From: Between Cities, California, United States

Between The Cities Are Stars are the second in the Devil's short series of bands from the Killredrocket Records Decadence compilation. The Californian trio flood your brain with sweeping washes of noise and melodies that fuse the best of shoegaze, bliss rock and early punk along the lines of the Jesus & Mary Chain, Ceremony and My Bloody Valentine.

Go Try

MP3 - Between The Cities Are Stars - Paddy
This track is linked direct from the Between The Cities Are Stars Last.FM site and is therefore already freely available so please refrain from alleging infringement of copyright.

Go Visit

Between The Cities Are Stars - Myspace : Last.FM
Killredrocketrecords - Myspace : Website : Bandcamp

Suicide Is Painless

Austin's finest indie label Killredrocket Records have just released Decadence a globe trotting album featuring five noisy bands from all over the world that'll shake you out of this boring, mundane existence into a more surreal and dangerous place. A place where living on the edge is the new staying in. As you might expect the Devil is quite partial to the odd bit of decadence every now and therefore over the next few nights the Devil will feature bands from the album.

If you like what you hear then you can download the whole album for free from the Killedredrocket Records Bandcamp site for the perfect soundtrack for the next time you are doing something that you know you probably shouldn't.

First up are UK's self proclaimed 'death surf' band Suicide Party

Suicide Party

From: The South, United Kingdom

With a name like Suicide Party and a frontman who calls himself Screamin Joey Outlaw you can hazard a guess that they aren't going to be appearing on the Royal Variety Show anytime soon.

The five reprobrates who make up Suicide Party stir up a maelstrom of psycho goth garage surf punk that sounds like a distant echo from the Batcave (a nightclub in London, considered to be the birthplace of the English goth subculture). It's snarling, dark, raw and raucous an unheard soundtrack to a macabre b-movie starring the Birthday Party, The Cramps, The Horrors and an inverse Beach Boys.

They're coming up so you better get the party started.

Go Try

MP3 - Suicide Party - Girls In Black
MP3 - Suicide Party - Ultra Violence (KVB Remix)
MP3 - Suicide Party - Paranoid
These tracks are linked direct from the Suicide Party Last.FM site and are therefore already freely available so please refrain from alleging infringement of copyright.

Go Visit

Suicide Party - Myspace : Website : Last.FM
Killredrocketrecords - Myspace : Website : Bandcamp

Go View
Suicide Party Gimme Plague (Live)

Funeral March

Funeral Club

From: Bakersfield / Los Angeles, United States

Regular readers of the Devil's blog will already know all about the wonders of Funeral Club. Well they've got an album out, 'The Year Of The Bloody Sevens' and, as you would expect, I love it. The album is a bridge between Jenny and Joseph Andreotti's old and new bands. A mix of ex Grizzly Owls tracks like 'Save My Soul Conquistador' and 'I'm A Shootist' and a host of new Funeral Club tracks. As such it's not a huge leap from the Grizzly Owls, it's more like the logical next step on the journey.

As you would expect from what's gone before the new album has Joseph twanging away like a lo-fi Morricone while Jenny warbles away like the wayward step sister of Kate Bush and Liz Fraser embellished with the occasional burst of Dylanesque harmonica.

The album gets off to the perfect start with 'The Arrival Of The First Woman' a track that I've already waxed lyrical about and is still on Devil's list of tracks of the year. It still sounds like the Cowboy Junkies being mugged in a dark alley by Nick Cave and it's more menacing than a hoodie with a handgun. 'The Ballad Of Frank' and Dirty Little Billy is more of the same, traditional American folk music seen through a 21st century gothic filter. The one track that really breaks the Funeral Club mould is the langourous, penultimate track 'What Has He Done' where Jenny slips neatly into the shoes of Julee Cruise and Joseph spins a backing track out of the purest silk.

The Year Of The Bloody Sevens is retro yet perfectly on trend, it's Americana taking a walk on the dark side. Funeral Club are on the march.

Go Try

For those of you who have missed the Devil's frequent eulogies on the brilliance of The Grizzly Owls and Funeral Club take a listen to the track that first got the Devil all excited...

MP3 - The Grizzly Owls - What's A Girl To Do
Published with permission of Fanatic Promotion so please refrain from alleging infringement of copyright.

Go Visit

Funeral Club - Myspace : Website : Last.FM

Go View

Funeral Club
What Has He Done