The Singles… Kirstie McCrum on Belleruche, Holy Ghost!, The Lines and THe Magic Numbers

Feeling like summer’s on its way out? Don’t despair yet, the radio’s keeping the dream alive for a month or so longer with lovelies like the new single from Belleruche. Clockwatching is a finger-picking slice of female-fronted tunesmithery from the Brighton three-piece. With a distinctly Roisin Murphy vocal, singer Kathrin DeBoer smooches her way through some delicious sophisti-pop. ‘I’m back in the backseat’, she smoulders, and a nation swoons. Overall lacking in genuine heft, Clockwatching is nevertheless a pleasant distraction from the turning of the leaves and as a forerunner to October’s album release 270 Stories, it’s a pretty promising one. … Continue Reading

The Weekly Froth, with !!! in the lead…

!!! - most certain sure

Our weekly look into the blogosphere where we talk about six tracks we found out about in the previous Wednesday-to-Wednesday seven-day period.

Track of the week: ‘The Most Certain Sure’ by !!!

I’m up and down with !!!, some of their songs I really like, some of their songs I’m not particularly interested in. This one does start out in a lovely manner. Love the rhythm section, the drums are just wicked and I can’t keep myself from bobbing along. Just the whole thing seems very rhythmic, designed to make your body move a bit. The vocals aren’t belting it out but they kind of keep restrained, which suits the song pretty well. At one point they kind of go back to basics and just have the rhythm section with some instruments playing over it, after which they kick it back into gear again. This is really something you can go down to on the dance floor, though it does have a bit more of a raw edge than a lot of songs with this dance floor vibe. Hadn’t expected it to be this good to be honest, kudos to the band. … Continue Reading

The Weekly Froth: Larse, Ducktails, Passion Pit AND MORE

Larse - I Got A Feeling

Track of the week: ‘I Got a Feeling’ by Larse

Larse has got a feeling, and he is sharing it with everyone. New German artist, and with this track he really puts himself on the map. At least, for me, because I’m digging this massively. Pretty good house as far as I’m concerned, delightfully catchy, good rhythm (that’s what house is about, innit?) nice female vocals suitable for this sort of house track: so yeah, it ticks quite some boxes for me. Unfortunately I could only find a three minute preview to share, but the original has a running time which is double that, so if this seems to start abrupt and cuts off with a lousy fade-out, that’s probably the reason. Definitely try and hunt this one down. I love the Chicago house vibe that is running through this track’s veins. … Continue Reading

The Bewitched Hands On Top Of Our Heads – Hard To Cry EP

The Bewitched Hands On Top Of Our Heads

A rather peculiar record has recently come to my attention. It is the debut EP of the quirkily titled French outfit The Bewitched Hands On Top Of Our Heads. Following on from a strong showing at this year’s SXSW festival, they have recently been garnering plenty of press attention – including the American blogs Spinner and Nylon. … Continue Reading

The Weekly Froth – yum yum, it’s Teengirl Fantasy

Teengirl Fantasy

Track of the week: ‘Cheaters’ by Teengirl Fantasy

Oh my, I didn’t really know how lovely they were until I listened to this song! They kind of had passed me by up until this point, but I put them on the list for songs for this column, et voila. Just absolutely lovely. These vocals seemingly are old-fashioned disco vocals, but they seem to be a bit lower in the mix so the music isn’t overpowered by them. As if it is caught in a web of slight distortion or something. I love those synths, that danceable beat, and I do believe I hear a cowbell. So many ingredients that I love in songs, and they all come together here. I also like how they sometimes seem to crank it up a notch as the song goes on, which gives the song the occasional oomph to last the six plus minutes running time. Looking forward to the album already, though I think I’ve read that most of it is going to be instrumental. Which is too bad, because I really like those vocals here. But oh well, I’m sure it’ll turn out ace anyway. … Continue Reading

The Weekly Froth: we <3 Active Child…

Active Child

Our weekly look into the blogosphere where we talk about six tracks we found out about in the previous Wednesday-to-Wednesday seven-day period.

Track of the week: ‘When Your Love is Safe’ by Active Child (Classixxx remix)

That’s one nice voice Active Child has got there. And the good thing about this Classixxx remix is that the voice comes out perhaps even better than on the original, as he gives it something extra on occasion. And that works pretty well as far as I’m concerned. Classixxx saw the qualities of this song and basically put a bit of eyeliner on that to accentuate the eyes, so the best comes out even better while the rest sensibly stays in the background a bit more. I also love the understated instrumental additions by Classixxx, which makes it a sort of italo like 80s synth track, which is always good in my book. Just a smart remix of this track, not overhauling it like a buffoon, but instead just some changes in the right places without overshadowing the strengths of Active Child. And I will take such an approach over anything that just puts a heavy beat on it and tries to change it by just making it bigger and bolder. … Continue Reading

The Weekly Froth – new Cut Copy! Sound of the week!

Cut Copy

Our weekly look into the blogosphere where we talk about six tracks we found out about in the previous Wednesday-to-Wednesday seven-day period.

Track of the week: ‘Where I’m Going’ by Cut Copy

Hell. Yeah. First time I saw these guys live was just after their second album in a club in Brooklyn (a gig put on tape by Pitchfork and a venue which I believe since then has shut down). These guys, they can make you dance. Had to miss them just a few days ago, which I’m still bummed out about, but it was too expensive to get there, and in my hometown Dum Dum Girls were playing. Can’t have it all I suppose. Hope they come back soon though, because this is stellar. Naw, strike that, this is just immensely fun! Handclaps, but more camp than their earlier work it seems to me, and this is just a party from the get go. I mean, can anyone not dance to this? Surely. This has dance floor written all over it. They go a bit dreamy in the middle, and then they go back to the dancing again. And those “yeah, yeah, yeah” bits are a sure invite for everyone to pump their fists in the air and sing along. Perhaps the lads have been a bit cheeky and took some elements which are shoe-ins for a certain reaction. But to then execute it so finely, only a few can do that. … Continue Reading

Singles of the week!

Dirty Projectors - Stillness Is The Move

Dirty Projectors, “Stillness Is the Move”

It’s a sign of the times (mid-July, I mean, not 2010) that the hippest names around are on their third single of the year, making it fairly redundant to review them. Kode 9… These New Puritans… and so on. Dirty Projectors combine melismatic warbling, sparse but tonally rich instrumentation, gibberish lyrics that make the criticism levelled at Vampire Weekend seem rabid (Dave Longstreth’s words may sound like an Ivy Leaguer’s marginalia, but it’s still just marginalia). All things forgiven, this was the best R&B single of 2009, and it’s good enough to be the best of 2010. … Continue Reading

The Weekly Froth: what’s hot on the blogs?

Dave Sitek

Our weekly look into the blogosphere where we talk about six tracks we found out about in the previous Wednesday-to-Wednesday seven-day period.

Track of the week: ‘If You Return’ by Maximum Tiger feat. Little Dragon

Now this, this I am looking forward to. Maximum Balloon, aka Dave Sitek, is going to blow everyone out of the water with this album, that’s a guarantee! Well, not really, I’m not the man of bold predictions, but that first track ‘Tiger’ was wicked. Not to mention that fabulous clip with the balloons and the Chinese tiger and the fact that at the beginning all the balloons are red with only a dash of yellow (Chinese flag, anyone?). Oh yeah, this track, it is not as catchy or rock as ‘Tiger’. In terms of pace it is a bit slower, but it is definitely engaging. Again, this is the right voice for it. That is always the danger of an album with so many guest vocalists, you can pick the wrong ones, but Little Dragon definitely fits the bill here. Love the continuous guitar sound in the back ground as well. It’s been a long while since I’ve anticipated an album to the extent I do this one. … Continue Reading

Singles of the Week: mostly on Panda Bear’s greatness…

Panda Bear

As you read this, Spain will still be celebrating their World Cup victory; Paul Gasgoine will be solemnly dismantiling his fishing rod; Paul the Octopus will be eating from a solitaty feeding bowl and you will be wondering why this sentence insists on being so fucking long when I could be spending words discussing one of the most hotly anticipated releases of the year… … Continue Reading