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07 February 2010
22 August 2010
15 August 2010
08 August 2010
01 August 2010
25 July 2010
18 July 2010
11 July 2010
04 July 2010
27 June 2010
20 June 2010
13 June 2010
06 June 2010
30 May 2010
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09 May 2010
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07 February 2010
Golly gosh, what a week of surprises it has been. A professional sportsman is cheating on his wife, Tony Blair has been redefining our notion of the truth and a British tennis player failed to win a major trophy. Can you take any more excitement? You can?, well let us press on...
Glenn Meling - All You Can Do
This couldn't be more U2 if Bono was on lead vocals. Not a bad thing - emulating arguably the world's biggest band, but instantly relegates Glenn Meling to a position where he has a lot to do to prove himself. This is stadium rock with a slightly rough edge and has a huge amount of potential. (CP)
Marvin B Naylor - Little Speck of Blue
Anglo-Candian, Marvin B Naylor's Little Speck of Blue is a stripped down affair - just guitar and vocals. Despite the instrumental simplicity and folk leanings, the track offers a huge amound of depth that veers from one influence to another and refuses to be pigeon-holed. (CP)
far: Pony
This cover of the Ginuwineclassic has proven to be a massive MySpace phenomenon for the newly reconvened far and it’s being made available over here in a limited run of 500 picture discs (with MP3 link of course) as a primer for the forthcoming fifth album entitled At Night We Live. It’s not the most instructive introduction to the band for any newcomers but it certainly puts a boot up the arse of the original with some meaty slabs of guitar yet still grooves like a muthafucker. (SB)
Peter Gabriel – The Book Of Love
As a primer for Gabriel’s upcoming album of cover versions, Scratch My Back, this orchestral backed take on The Magnetic Fields original is light, fluffy and a pleasant enough way to spend three minutes. It is to be hoped, however, that when the album arrives it provides more substantial fare than on display here. (GB)
Corinne Bailey Rae: I’d Do It all Again
The return of Corinne Bailey Rae, after a desperately tragic couple of years, understandably finds her in a subdued, reflective mood, resulting in a track as warm and soulful as anything by Dionne Warwick. Quite how she managed to get Tony Blair to do her viral marketing for her God only knows.(SB)
The Bambinos: In Bed With…
A spiky six track taster of Wakefield popsters The Bambinos who are on a mission to promote the joys of tea, friendship and good times. That’s a manifesto I’m ready to sign up to and thankfully they deliver the goods C86 style, slipping neatly into a furrow ploughed by Buzzcocks, The Only Ones and Wedding Present. The north of England still stands as a last outpost of British post-punk pop culture and long may it last. Seek out a copy, grab yourself a brew and maybe a pack of Rich Tea fingers and enjoy your time In Bed With the Bambinos, just don’t get any crumbs in the valence. (SB)
Swanton Bombs: Viktoria
The Swanton Bombs are a live phenomenon and it was always going to be hard to capture the sweaty dynamic power of the two piece on tape. This is a valiant effort and proves my hypothesis that it is impossible to sing about ‘Viktoria’ without slipping into a bit of a Ray Davies accent. This is resolutely lo-fi, you don’t have much option with just drums and a guitar, and probably isn’t too far removed from the early power and fuzz of the nascent Kinks as they discovered the sonic joys of fucking up their amplifier speakers. Worth a listen and make sure you catch them next time they are in town. (SB)
Mirrorkicks - Anything
Vaguely spiky, instantly forgettable indie rock. Mirrorkicks are one of those bands that sound like they should be on page 24 of the NME. For one week only, of course.(JD)
Dabeull - Freaky Show EP
This lively vocoder heavy EP is funkier than the day that Prince’s favourite trousers got mixed up with CP-30’s washing at the laundrette. It blasts out suave and sexy waves of rainbow electro underground in all directions across four tracks of club-friendly tunes. If you want to see my ridiculous robotic dancing – put this on. (AM)
There could be only one single of the week however and it has to be:
Marina & The Diamonds: Hollywood
‘Hollywood’ is the lead single from The Family Jewels and is a delicious slice of pure unadulterated pop music which, in itself, is a cause for celebration. Like Kim Wilde before her Marina is ‘obsessed with the mess that’s America’ and this joyful explosion, critically ripe for some dancefloor friendly remix action, should plant her firmly on the map. She claims she doesn’t aim to be a pop star – she’s going to be disappointed if she keeps this up. (SB)
Glenn Meling - All You Can Do
This couldn't be more U2 if Bono was on lead vocals. Not a bad thing - emulating arguably the world's biggest band, but instantly relegates Glenn Meling to a position where he has a lot to do to prove himself. This is stadium rock with a slightly rough edge and has a huge amount of potential. (CP)
Marvin B Naylor - Little Speck of Blue
Anglo-Candian, Marvin B Naylor's Little Speck of Blue is a stripped down affair - just guitar and vocals. Despite the instrumental simplicity and folk leanings, the track offers a huge amound of depth that veers from one influence to another and refuses to be pigeon-holed. (CP)
far: Pony
This cover of the Ginuwineclassic has proven to be a massive MySpace phenomenon for the newly reconvened far and it’s being made available over here in a limited run of 500 picture discs (with MP3 link of course) as a primer for the forthcoming fifth album entitled At Night We Live. It’s not the most instructive introduction to the band for any newcomers but it certainly puts a boot up the arse of the original with some meaty slabs of guitar yet still grooves like a muthafucker. (SB)
Peter Gabriel – The Book Of Love
As a primer for Gabriel’s upcoming album of cover versions, Scratch My Back, this orchestral backed take on The Magnetic Fields original is light, fluffy and a pleasant enough way to spend three minutes. It is to be hoped, however, that when the album arrives it provides more substantial fare than on display here. (GB)
Corinne Bailey Rae: I’d Do It all Again
The return of Corinne Bailey Rae, after a desperately tragic couple of years, understandably finds her in a subdued, reflective mood, resulting in a track as warm and soulful as anything by Dionne Warwick. Quite how she managed to get Tony Blair to do her viral marketing for her God only knows.(SB)
The Bambinos: In Bed With…
A spiky six track taster of Wakefield popsters The Bambinos who are on a mission to promote the joys of tea, friendship and good times. That’s a manifesto I’m ready to sign up to and thankfully they deliver the goods C86 style, slipping neatly into a furrow ploughed by Buzzcocks, The Only Ones and Wedding Present. The north of England still stands as a last outpost of British post-punk pop culture and long may it last. Seek out a copy, grab yourself a brew and maybe a pack of Rich Tea fingers and enjoy your time In Bed With the Bambinos, just don’t get any crumbs in the valence. (SB)
Swanton Bombs: Viktoria
The Swanton Bombs are a live phenomenon and it was always going to be hard to capture the sweaty dynamic power of the two piece on tape. This is a valiant effort and proves my hypothesis that it is impossible to sing about ‘Viktoria’ without slipping into a bit of a Ray Davies accent. This is resolutely lo-fi, you don’t have much option with just drums and a guitar, and probably isn’t too far removed from the early power and fuzz of the nascent Kinks as they discovered the sonic joys of fucking up their amplifier speakers. Worth a listen and make sure you catch them next time they are in town. (SB)
Mirrorkicks - Anything
Vaguely spiky, instantly forgettable indie rock. Mirrorkicks are one of those bands that sound like they should be on page 24 of the NME. For one week only, of course.(JD)
Dabeull - Freaky Show EP
This lively vocoder heavy EP is funkier than the day that Prince’s favourite trousers got mixed up with CP-30’s washing at the laundrette. It blasts out suave and sexy waves of rainbow electro underground in all directions across four tracks of club-friendly tunes. If you want to see my ridiculous robotic dancing – put this on. (AM)
There could be only one single of the week however and it has to be:
Marina & The Diamonds: Hollywood
‘Hollywood’ is the lead single from The Family Jewels and is a delicious slice of pure unadulterated pop music which, in itself, is a cause for celebration. Like Kim Wilde before her Marina is ‘obsessed with the mess that’s America’ and this joyful explosion, critically ripe for some dancefloor friendly remix action, should plant her firmly on the map. She claims she doesn’t aim to be a pop star – she’s going to be disappointed if she keeps this up. (SB)
