White Rabbits - Heavy Metal

Continuing this week, and replacing our weekly singles round-up, our contributors will voice their opinion on a song twice every week. It’s a simple as that! If you want to tell us what you think of the song, feel free to leave a comment below.

Track: ‘Heavy Metal’ by White Rabbits

Average grade: 5.3

Stephanie: Known for their complicated percussion and gutsy lyrical attitude, White Rabbits have produced a track more cool, calm and collective and a complete contrast to its title. Stephen Patterson’s breathy high pitched vocals layer over a gentle repetitive piano and a dominant bass line. But it’s the infrequent chugging bursts of guitar that give the song that hint of White Rabbits attitude and reminds you of who you’re listening to. 8/10

Thomas: ‘Heavy Metal’ is all about the ultra high tension bassline that bounces through the song from start to finish.  The result is enjoyably threatening, but definitely rock and definitely not heavy or metal. 6/10

Richard: Not heard anything from these guys since ‘Percussion Gun’.  ‘Heavy Metal’ is a languid song which is distracted by irregular thrashing, and distant biscuit tin bashing. I can appreciate where White Rabbits are aiming, finding a footing in that erratic post-post-punk sound, topped up with an earnest vocal melody. Trouble is, the song has no charm. It’s cold, ‘Heavy Metal’ fits the atmosphere that comes when you’re stuck in  the lift with a work colleague and awkwardly stammer out an optimistic “Hello” only to get nothing back in return. Not even a nod or a smile. 4/10

Antonio: Keeping the groove locked down with a repetitive riff and funky bassline, White Rabbits create a cool, slick track reminiscent of !!! or The Rapture. Not really my bag to be honest, but a decent dance track nonetheless. 6/10

Rob: What originally starts as a fairly funky keys-fest with some nice jarring stabs of guitar soon turns into a repetitive slice of monotony. Bonus points awarded for the strutting ’70s cop show bass line just after two minutes in, bonus points withdrawn when boredom sets in seconds later. 3/10

Paul: A nicely put-together piece of laptop rock. Gentle funk bass and soft, pained vocals are paired with reversed piano stabs, reverbed clatters and guitar squall. This is pretty smooth. 7/10

Stef: That glitchy start, not my thing. I do like the laidback funk, but it seems a bit whack-the-mole, with the general funk sound being the mole and all kinds of sounds trying to pierce through it. And it does get a bit dad-rockish at some points. 3/10

The Men - Open Your Heart

Starting this week, and replacing our weekly singles round-up, every week, two times a week, our contributors will voice their opinion on a song. It’s a simple as that! If you want to tell us what you think of the song, feel free to leave a comment below.

Track: ‘Open Your Heart’ by The Men

Rosie: It’s a poor man’s version of The Buzzcocks’s ‘Ever Fallen In Love’ – except that that’s a bit of an insult to The Buzzcocks. Maybe I’m getting older, but it just seems like a wall of noise coming out of the speakers at me. Sloppy drumming, awful singing…not impressed. 4/10

Ilse: The Men are an awesome band if you enjoy the raw sound of the Replacements, Fugazi and Buzzcocks. Fortunately, this description applies to me and this new track makes me realize what an idiot I am, as I could’ve heard them play this superb track live in Amsterdam last week. Instead, I was being humped by drugged up Spaniards at some random techno gig in Barcelona…. 8/10

Anna: Let’s be honest – the emperor has no clothes. The singer can’t sing. Not being able to sing doesn’t always get in the way of it all but this time it certainly does. This is like hearing someone do a loose cover of Ever Fallen In Love in the shower. 2/10

Stuart: Fine Young Cannibals did a fine if not so young cover of Buzzcocks’s ‘Ever Fallen in Love (With Someone You Shouldn’t've’ and at least had the manners to title it so and presumably pay the punkers their deserved royalties. Seemingly, The Men simply can’t be arsed. Tough love, perhaps? In any case, to present this as original material is criminality of the highest order and demands inclusion as a secret mission in the next Grand Theft Auto video game. The Men simply shouldn’t've bothered. 1/10  

David: Sounds like The Buzzcocks. Urgent pace. American indie rock vocals. Some jangliness. Vague lovelorn lyrics. Strong enough hooks but really has no more of a place in 2012 than Northern Uproar do. Unless I’m getting old. People will still be releasing music like this in 2112 however. Huw Stephens will like it, he’s an indie sycophant. 4/10

Linda: I believe a lot of people were doing exactly this about 40 years ago. Back then, it was something that needed to happen. Now, it feels a bit redundant. It did get stuck in my head though, but that might be related to the drill outside my window sounding remarkably similar. 5/10

Craig: This is the sound of all of those bands who played at shows you attended when you were in high school: four power chords relentlessly repeated under a straining singer.  Verse, chorus, bridge.  The song sounds live enough to invoke memories of the tiny, perhaps tin sided rock venue you frequented as an adolescent, but is as unoriginal as it is nostalgic. 4/10

Paul: Driving and passionate, this is a glorious throwback to late-70s punk which sounds like it’s being played by four outcast teens on crappy gear to an apathetic working men’s club crowd. Not gonna win any prizes for originality though. 6/10

James: Instantly thrown into a Buzzcocks like state of teenage angst (pretty sure I won’t be the only one). Reassuring to know that not everyone is subscribing to the mainstream pop mold but it takes a few listens to appreciate and is a bit too uncanny of their influences. 7/10

Stef: So many outlets touting this, so many outlets going wow wow wow. And I’m left thinking, but isn’t this just any old punk song? Just not sure what the fuss is about to be honest. 3/10

Average grade: 4.4/10

by Steve McGillivray

December is traditionally the time of year when bands and artists unleash their horrific Christmas records upon a public that seems only too willing to lap them up. The last time someone did a good Christmas song was when Bruce Springsteen released ‘Santa Clause is Coming to Town’. It’s true. It was brilliant. You can bet that you won’t hear a Christmas song as good as that this year. Anyway, I digress. This weeks singles didn’t really contain any Christmas songs, unless you count a reference to a Snowman. Without further ado…..

The Lovely Eggs
‘Allergies’

A good stop/start opening with some great guitar and drums before a fuller band sound takes over. Vocally it’s very good, with the female lead sounding a bit at odds with the music, creating a nice contrast. It might not be new or fresh but it’s done very well and the tempo grabs you early and doesn’t let go as it whisks you along on a thrilling ride.

The Lovely Eggs – Allergies by Too Pure Singles Club

Superchunk

‘Learned to Surf’

There’s some more big guitars and thumping drums at the start of this track. The vocal, however, is a little but annoying. Overall I found this song to be very irksome. It’s the kind of US indie rock that the beautiful people in The OC or 90210 would be seen dancing to, thinking themselves edgy, when it fact it’s just excruciatingly average and a tad annoying.

We Were Promised Jetpacks
‘Human Error’

Just for a change, there’s some big drums and choppy guitar riffs on this song. They differ from the watered down American version of the previous song by having a bit of punch and a crispness to them that lacked on the Superchunk track. The tempo is high throughout and the vocal never intrudes on the music, letting it fly along at pace. It leaves you feeling a bit bewildered and while it’s a good song, it’s by no means one of the band’s best.

Guided by Voices
‘Doughnut for a Snowman’

I’m really not sure what to make of this one at all. GBV are a decent band, but the “Snowman” in the title has the warning bells sounding already. The fact that there appears to be what sound like pan pipes doesn’t help either, but the song quickly settles into a fairly sedate, guitar led song with some really nice melodies. It’s not enough to raise it above anything other than average unfortunately and I was a little disappointed as I’d expected more from GBV.

The War on Drugs
‘Come to the City’

The final selection from this weeks releases is probably one of the best. A nice wall of sound, with all kinds of little flourishes from the synths, is backed by a steady drum beat that gradually gains in volume. There’s a good vocal part over the top of it all and throughout the tempo is kept pretty steady. There are lots of nice touches in the music on this track, keeping it interesting and engaging for it’s duration and overall I really liked this.

by Stephanie Stevens-Wade

After last week’s ‘girls’ theme I can safely say that this week is a pic’n’mix week, from British indie groups to Australian solo artists, wannabe pop stars to has-been rockers. The last week in November is the last window before the Christmas covers and re-releases take over the charts and airwaves, so enjoy this carefully picked selection before another TV advert persuades you to download ‘All I Want For Christmas’ again. (I may have thrown one festive single in for good measure as the week ends in December after all and I just couldn’t help myself!)

Girls
‘Lawrence’

With a drum line simple enough for Meg White to follow, winding synths, haunting melodies and a sombre guitar solo, it sounds like a droning instrumental from The Horrors until at 2m50s gentle pipes are being blown in the background and it feels like you’re in some sort of summer hoedown. It only makes you want to play it all over again to see how they made it possible for two sounds to piece so perfectly together. This new, unheard single was“written and recorded as a gift to Lawrence Hayward”, frontman for the cultband Felt, Denim and Go-Kart Mozart. It’s also being released on limited edition, heart-shaped red vinyl as well as digitally. Nice!

Gotye
‘Easy Way Out’

Melbourne’s multi-instrumentalist and producer Gotye releases ‘Easy Way Out’ this week, the follow up from ‘Somebody That I Used To Know’ (if you haven’t heard it yet, go and join the other 18million YouTube viewers who fell in love instantly). In contrast to his previous single, his mesmerising vocals and explosive guitars are crammed into a short two-minute song. And I’m not entirely sure if it’s down to the animated video but my comparisons are oddly gearing towards Queens of the Stone Age and Gorillaz.

Brett Anderson
‘Crash About To Happen’

The ex Suede front man released his fourth solo album Black Rainbows this year with his second single Crash About to Happen taking more of a commercial route than his previous solo material but still feels lodged in the midst of the 90s. Featuring footage from his Koko show, the video features Anderson performing live all sweaty with his tambourine in hand. How can you possibly resist…?

Frankie & the Heartstrings
‘Everybody Looks Better (in the Right Light)’

After releasing their debut album Hunger in February this single is the first taste of some brand spanking new material from the five-piece. It’s short and sweet. A melodic sing-a-long song, with an infectious jovial guitar line. It’s a simple energetic crowd pleaser invitating predictions of the title being chanted through gig venues across the country whilst supporting The Vaccines.

The Wombats
’1996′

If you were to rewind back to any year in your life what would it be? For me, 1996 isn’t a strong choice. I was six, the animals I read about in nursery rhymes were being cloned and Take That split up. However The Wombats have spewed out another synth-tastic indie pop single about yearning for the nostalgia of the past and not being one of the cool kids. Poor Murph. Trademark synths, big choruses and group chanting towards the end is like any other Wombats single but it’s the quirky lyricism that gives it the thumbs up.

X Factor Finalists 2011
‘Wishing On A Star’

‘Why’, you ask. ‘WHY?’ It’s for a good cause and I would much prefer this to go for Christmas number one than one of the finalistsmangling Damian Rice’s Cannonball. Clearly this years X Factor finalists didn’t offer enough for the Rose Royce cover so two more acts from previous years, JLS and One Direction were thrown in to help with the hefty chorus at the end.

by Lucy Dearlove

I’d picked four of the six singles for this column when I realised there was a distinct theme going on: GIRLS. So I figured I might as well run with it, and here are some fabulous ladies singing for the second last week in November. There’s some gorgeous stuff out this week, but I have to admit I haven’t listened to any of these as many times as I’ve listened to 212 by Azealia Banks. You’re welcome.

Seapony
‘Sailing’

It’s louche and sleepy in a way that isn’t summery, but perfect for bringing to hazy cold Autumn days. The vocals in this are soft and almost monotone, which holds back the dancing repetitive guitar melody and glockenspiel from being too saccharine. Dreamy.

Big Deal
‘Distant Neighbourhood’

OK, there’s a boy on this too, but he does just seem to be ‘for harmonies’ so I reckon it can still work for my theme. We’re also keeping it autumnal, guitars are fuzzy and even the video is full of hazy light, stray leaves and bare branches. The intro sounds a little like classic Ash, which in my opinion is never a bad thing. It’s quite a heartbreaking song, and while it’s wise to take ‘the hype’ with a pinch of salt, there’s something quite special going on with Big Deal I think.

The Duke Spirit
‘Don’t Wait’

I’ve never quite ‘got’ it with the Duke Spirit. I always thought their songs were OK, but much of their USP seemed to hinge around having a pretty, husky voiced blonde girl with her legs out at the front. This always seemed a fairly flimsy premise to me, and anyway, Metric have pretty much got that covered as well as having great songs so I was never terribly interested. This is a really nice track though, sultry and scuzzy with a real catchy hook. I’ve also just remembered reading an interview with Leila Moss where she said that if she wasn’t a musician, the only thing she’d want to do would be driving a London cab, which also struck me as pretty cool.

Woo Woos
‘Fizzy Lettuce’

There’s some great proper pop music around at the moment. Pop music for the discerning ear (read: it’s OK to admit you like.) If you discount the utterly ridiculous lyrics, (which to give them their dues, they do sing like they really mean. Whatever they do mean.) It basically takes the best things about good early 00s girl bands: close harmonies, smoky vocals, massive choruses, and marries them with some super cool modern production – there’s glitchy air horn type noises, sparse instrumentation, and a confidence in using silence to punctuate the music. And it’s on Moshi Moshi, so no-one can give you stick for liking commercial pop music. Win!

EMA
‘Angelo’

EMA is one of those artists who I enjoy immensely at the moment of listening, but who somehow slips my mind entirely until I’m reminded of her by an external source. I think Past Life Martyred Saints is a really good album, but I wouldn’t ever think to listen to it independently. This is more of the same, I suppose, good but not life changing. It’s actually the A side to this track, ‘Marked’ being released but I prefer this – the turn from Oakland rapper Mz’Gorjis is pretty awesome.

Angelo by souterraintransmissions

Egyptrixx feat Ohbijou
‘Old Black’

I guess this track is the sore thumb of the lot – here the female vocals are courtesy of a ‘feat’ from Canadian indie popsters Ohbijou, on a track by fellow Torontonian producer Egyptrixx. Instead of being a feature in their own right, the vocals form part of the instrumentation itself, which along with Egyptrixx’s characteristic Wall of Sound-esque reverb and distortion, makes for a pretty interesting listen.

Egyptrixx – Old Black (Forthcoming) by This Is Music

by Richard Wink

Another week, another clutch of singles desperately clamouring for our attention like eager little puppies. So without further ado, let’s see what this Monday morning has to offer, shall we?

WU LYF
‘We Bros’

Only last week I was speaking to a work colleague, whilst in the midst of a bout of mild procrastination about how the mystery was all but gone in music. We know too much about the bands and artists we love, thanks to endless twittering, and promotional campaigns that carpet bomb us with a useless information overload. Thankfully bands like Wu Lyf exist, that allow us to focus on the music. ‘We Bros’ prances into my ear canals, presenting the bands clever way of sticking a thousand and one ideas into a pot and somehow producing something thrilling that begins on a post-rock planet, before crawling back down to earth, landing into a deserted playground as joyous sound graffiti paints neon patterns using borrowed melodies.

The Saturdays
‘My Heart Takes Over’

It would be pretty harsh of me to compare The Saturdays to dogs, but I’m going to anyway. The persistent girl group remind me of a quirkily named Greyhound that you see in the form book that catches your eye, because despite its record of never winning a race, the dog has been pretty consistent. Just before the race, when the dogs are parading around the track it stands out, looking the part, taking a solid dump trackside, behaving feisty in the traps. By race time, after taking the lead around the first bend, it falls away, finishing just outside the top three. ‘My Heart Takes Over’ is a tame attempt; the song starts with that classical interlude, present in so many of pops heartfelt recent moments, for example One Direction’s ‘Gotta Be You’ that is also released this week. The song’s chorus is impassioned, if a little strained. It’s utterly drab, though, there are no tears forming in the corner of my eye, or a lump in my throat, which really is the acid test of a good ballad.

Ed Sheeran
‘Lego House’

After the storming success of his first two singles, Sheeran releases ‘Lego House’, a tepid effort which provides neither the impressive song craft of ‘The A Team’ nor the spirited bravado of ‘You Need Me’. This is the moment where Sheeran makes a play for the middle of the road, reaching stadium heights with Damien Rice. This song represented the point where ‘+’ as an album revealed Sheeran to be a precocious talent whose strengths were unnecessarily buried in the sheen of over production.

Trash Talk
‘Awake’

Hardcore punk tends to fade to black rather quickly. Most of us have dallied with Black Flag, Minor Threat, Bad Brains etc., had our craniums capsized in the kafuffle, and then moved on. Now, a new batch of heads is going to get messed with, thanks to Trash Talk, a band who has recently toured with another of the newest hardcore wave Cerebral Balzy. ‘Awake’ is nothing new. But it is infectious, petulant, cartoonishly angry and a fun song to run around in circles swinging your arms to.

Dirty Beaches
‘Lone Runner’

This recreates the eerie paranoia of walking down an alleyway at two o’clock in the morning in the tumbling rain; you can hear footsteps behind you, closing the distance. You dare not turn around and see what’s approaching, however a quick glimpse to your left reveals a shadow looming. ‘Lone Runner’ is atmospheric and disorientating; a thoroughly uncomfortable listen that ends with you throwing your iPod in the fireplace whilst repeated pointing and hysterically shouting in a Mexican accent “El Diablo! El Diablo!” as the malevolently smiling face of Steve Jobs forms in the flames.

The Pipettes
‘Boo Shuffle’

Ending on a happier note, The Pipettes have dedicated ‘Boo Shuffle’ to their producer Martin Rushent who worked with them on their 2010 release Earth vs. The Pipettes. Rushent produced some classic albums including The Human League’s Dare, and will be sadly missed. ‘Boo Shuffle’ is glorious retro escapism, reminding me of old episodes of Heartbeat, where young women from the sixties would gaily dance around in community halls wearing polka dot dresses.

by Steve McGillivray

It’s a mixed bag on this week’s singles roundup. Not in terms of quality, however, more in terms of genre. We’ve got instrumental hip-hop, a special guest appearance, some indie rock, a dash of reggae and a comeback that I am pretty excited about. And there’s not even a mention of Stone Roses (d’oh!). It’s all here in another episode of Muso’s Guide’s Singles Club!

The Japanese Popstars ft. Robert Smith
‘Take Forever’

This opens with a really nice beat and tempo. The drumbeat is reminiscent of New Order almost. There’s a heap of electronic tricks employed here, one nice bass sound running throughout the track is especially good. Having Robert Smith do his vocal does it no harm. Instantly recognisable and very cool, it works wonders on this track and it’s not the first dance track to employ a guest vocalist (Leftfield with Iggy Pop, Death in Vegas and Paul Weller and many more). It’s a decent track on it’s own, made even better thanks to Smith.

The Kills
‘Baby Says’

Straight up indie rock this time, from The Kills. It opens with a killer guitar riff and great drum beat. Vocally it’s just great. Alison Mosshart has a fantastic voice, and Jamie Hince’s compliments it brilliantly here. It’s a steady rhythm and great beat. There are some nice touches on the guitar giving the song a lot of depth and during instrumental passages it’s drenched in reverb and feedback, but cleans up on verses. Great stuff.

The Royals
‘Facts of Life’

‘Facts of Life’ is a song you can kick back and chill out to. It’s laid back reggae and easy on the ear. The bass wanders along doing it’s own thing, while in the background there’s what sounds like a Hammond organ. It’s a scientific fact that it’s impossible to dislike a Hammond and this holds true here. It’s a slow and steady and never veers far from it’s path, but it’s decent all the same.

J Rocc
‘Stay Fresh’

Hip-hop can be pretty divisive I’ve found. Lots of people don’t like it without ever having heard any proper hip-hop. J Rocc is essentially a DJ, constructing fantastic instrumental hip-hop heavily influenced by jazz music. To see him live is breathtaking and this pretty short track is a good insight into what he’s about. There’s no bragging about his gun, or how many “honeyz” he has. It’s just great compositions, cleverly constructed with really catchy beats, that deserve a wider audience.

Linden
‘Brown Bird Singing’

Linden is an interesting release for several reasons. Number one – it’s out on AED Records. Owned by Edwyn Collins (and others). Number two – it was recorded at the aforementioned Mr Collins’ studio and produced by him. Number three – Linden is in fact Joe McAlinden, former frontman of Creation Records band, Superstar. He’s been away running a restaurant for a while. (He also arranged all the strings on Teenage Fanclub’s Bandwagonesque). If none of that is enough to pique your interest, then have a listen to it. It’s uplifting, joyous and just bloody good. McAlinden’s vocals are simply stunning. The guitars are very catchy and the song has a good tempo. In short, it’s really great. Welcome back Joe.

by Michael Waters

A relatively upbeat selection of singles for you this week, the change of the seasons considered. As the October torrent of gigs crashes down on us in the UK, it’s easy to neglect the weekly tide of single releases lapping away. Here is a fairly arbitrary clutch of new titles; some will go unnoticed with good reason, others are tricks not to be missed.

Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds
‘AKA… What A Life!’

Fortunately distinct in sound from the ghosts of Noel’s past, the song brandishes piano chords reminiscent ‘90s dance music, in a wider arrangement that brings to mind commercial disco. This places it in a similar soundworld to Coldplay and Keane, post- their respective third records, so you can really judge your enjoyment of this by your enjoyment of those. Overblown strings confirm its suitability as a single, but on the whole it’s middle of the road and uninspired, lyrically as well as instrumentally. Also, the title is lame and doesn’t really make sense.

Patterns
‘Induction’

An accessible single from a Manchester band who have gigged hard for a couple of years now. A poppy pace and chord progression are adorned with a reverb and mix style that clearly echo (heh) shoegaze, but with a lusher, less claustrophobic feel than said tag usually carries. The fast-hat drum beat brings to mind ‘00s mainstream indie (Bloc Party, Editors et al) and in this context sounds comparable to a trending neo-post-punk sound.

Justice
‘Audio, Video, Disco’

Indulgently cheesy, in a way that only dance music from the mainland can be, mixing LCD Soundsystem’s party-time beat style with older school rock influences evident in the rhythmic piano (The Who?). The thumping opening builds and builds tension in a very camp manner over a period prog-rock progression before the robotic synth-vocals upgrade it to an uplifting dancefloor odyssey.

We Were Promised Jetpacks
‘Medicine’

Though textbook indie-rock on the face of it, the song has an instantly infectious chorus with huge-sounding instrumentation, the last of which has some wonderful vocal harmonies, bright synths and reverbed guitars padding it out. The Edinburgh accent has enough character to redeem the slightly weaker lyrics, and if the single is anything to go by, that difficult second album will have been pulled off pretty well.

O’Messy Life
‘Escape Velocity’

Enter sharp clean guitar chords, well-produced drums, and tired, affecting vocal shouts that sit nicely somewhere between John Darnielle and Brian Molko. A little Americanised for a Sunderland-based band, but charming and catchy enough (particularly the contagious chorus ‘woohs’) for this to not really matter. A successful power pop song, huzzah.

The Wanted
‘Lightning’

 Sounds like the goddamn Party Posse. The video contains a gratuitous level of polished sleaze considering the music seems to have been composed by a five-year-old. It’s very unpleasant viewing, some misc. shots of BMXing and toilet papering thrown in amongst smug twats letching on women. Hysterical, semi-clothed nymphos straight off the set of a misogynistic Lynx ad. Lightning never strikes twice. I’m never going to listen to this song twice.

Stephen Malkmum & The Jicks

What can be said about the new video for Steve Malkmus & The Jicks’ already infamous Senator single? You just need to watch it…. here.

Follow the page to see more!

Urusen One Day In June

Urusen are a fresh and original five-piece, recently highlighted as ‘British breakthrough talent’ (Music Week) and ‘one to watch’ (Metro newspaper).

Their roots are firmly bedded in the longstanding musical partnership of cousins Peter Beatty and Ben Please, from Somerset. After producing a debut album as a duo, the band grew into a five-piece whilst creating their latest album ‘One Day In June’. It began with home-made roots in one of the world’s tiniest (and more curious) studios in the cousins’ childhood home town of Bath and ended in Peter Gabriel’s legendary Real World Studios.

Urusen Double A-Side Single Release by urusen

During the project, many musician friends squeezed into the tiny studio and as the recordings developed, so too did the band – they are now joined by Nick Ullmann (cello/percussion), Jay Darwish (bass/piano) and Kieran Houston (drums). Real World Studios were impressed enough to help with the final mixes and then top mastering engineer Jon Astley (The Who, The Rolling Stones) also offered his support.

Urusen

With the cousins on guitars and vocals, accompanied by cello, bass and drums, the five also share duties on piano, charango, percussion, harmonium and any other instruments close to hand. Shifting from the delicate to the epic Urusen echo across acoustic folk influences, such as John Martyn and Crosby, Stills and Nash, to the bluesy tinge of Gomez and Tim Buckley, as well as rockier influences, like Radiohead and U2. The feel is predominantly acoustic but the arrangement is always eclectic and occasionally unleashed. Ben and Pete’s distinct harmonising vocals and the song lyrics have also been compared to such leftfield stars as Badly Drawn Boy, Stephen Malkmus and Belle and Sebastian.

While Urusen’s new album has been receiving high praise, so to have their live performances where they have developed a loyal, and increasing, following. And you can see them at their upcoming gigs:

London Fri 18th November – The End Festival @ The Kings Head, Crouch End. 8.30pm
London Sat 26th November – London Remix Festival @ Rich Mix, Brick Lane. 3pm