Spiral Stairs
Moving sideways from Preston School of Industry and in advance of the much hyped reformation of the mighty Pavement, Scott Kannberg has created his first solo album under his stage monicker of Spiral Stairs. What else he’s been working on for the last five years I’ve no idea, but the time spent on this mixed bag of 11 songs has generally been well used although I found my attention wandering at around the halfway point.
The Skygreen Leopards
Album number four from the Californian quartet The Skygreen Leopards visits little ground the band and their inclusive folky sound haven’t already happily trodden numerous times previously. But there is a touch more polish to the production and a soupcon extra Sixties homage (though they’re no Beechwood Sparks).
Chiptune Alliance Tour 2009
Described to me by one of my Danish couchsurfers as “They are making alternative music made on GameBoys – it’s very awesome!”, this sounded like a fun way to fill the early hours of a Saturday night; particularly since I’d not been to the venue since its name change and refurbishment into a very smart establishment indeed.
Bite Harder
Right from the off this disc, which originally came out in 2007, certainly bites and it’s debatable whether the record label want it reviewed at all as the review file has no artist names associated with the tunes and they’re simply arranged in alphabetical order. Maybe, though, the contents will inspire me to hunt down the relevant details …
Chickenhawk
Fresh from supporting labelmates Kong, Leeds’ rising stars Chickenhawk hit us up with three tracks fit to loosen your waistbands and and make your eardrums buzz.
UUVVWWZ
Coincidentally this arrived for review on the very day I was reading another scribe’s thoughts on the increase in double ‘V’ bands. After Wavves and Lovvers here then are Lincoln, Nebraska’s answer to that most unpronouncable of Superman villains, Mr. Mxyzptlk. They handily have a guide to pronunciation on their MySpace page so you should be able to avoid hair-tearing worry at getting it wrong.
Theoretical Girl - Divided
Referencing Glenn Branca’s Seventies NY No Wave outfit in name only, London-based Amy Turnnidge, after a string of EPs stretching back to 2006 (including at least one re-issue), releases her debut full-length offering on Memphis Industries.
Kirsty MacColl springs to mind on listening to the first few of the dozen songs on Theoretical Girl’s album; there’s a vocal similarity and a shared pop sensibility wrapped in engagingly dark undertones on many of the tracks, particularly the electro ‘Dancehall Deceit’. ‘I Should Have Loved You More’ is though the one that, for me, nails the comparison most squarely – the sweetly English Rose vocals over rather Renaissance-sounding strings and a thoroughly progressive drum riff are just lovely. … Continue Reading
Phantom - Great Pretender
Rather an unfortunate choice of title for this debut from the gothabilly trio I reckon but the song itself is pretty good – sultry chanteuse vocals and suitably twangy guitar from Elsie Martins, solid bassing from her brother (or husband, not clear) Jonny and eerie organ from third wheel Lyndsay Evans.
B-side ‘Voodoo Romantic’ is a bit grander in scale and more gothy than rockabilly but once more gives a clear idea of where the band a re headed and what their strengths are. In no way are they the new Cramps but there’s a niche for them given the current spotlight on all things burlesque and loosely related.
Cymbals Eat Guitars
New York indie quartet Cymbals Eat Guitars, that a lot of noise seems to be being made about, here release a pointlessly shortened version of the title track, a second song that is unfortunately un-named on my review copy and the full six minute version of the title track all reeks a bit too much of major label grabbiness to me but anyway, what about the tunes?
The Big Pink - A Brief History Of Love
For a duo, The Big Pink manage to make quite a racket at times on their 11-track debut. But for all the noisy bits, there are sure some wonderfully sweet poppy moments alongside to even things up.
Approaching this from the a position of total ignorance, ‘Crystal Visions’ grabs my interest immediately; the delicate opening motif gives way to fuzz obtained wholesale from the JAMC. The Brian Jonestown Massacre, Interpol and recent arrivals Crocodiles all come to mind in this song and throughout the album. At no point do they ever sound like The Band, so their choice of name is an enduring mystery to me.
‘Too Young To Love’ is a swirly psychedelic melange of driving guitars and mesmeric vocals over a heavily pounding drumline – a good tune to get lost inside when clubbing I’d wager. And then there’s ‘Dominos’, a dancey number with an anthemic chorus that Ian Brown’d be proud of. … Continue Reading
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