Beware! The Leopard

Bands to Watch: Foreign Office, Nebraska, Dexy

This weekend was one of musical adventure, as Neonfoxtongue and I decided to take in a couple of gigs.  Friday night was a trek to the other side of the world, known as Lewisham, to witness a rare occurrence, a performance by Nebraska. 

Dexy and his Handsome Homeless outfit opened the show with some rousing rock and roll.  Dexy plays a blend of alt-country and rock with panache.  His silk smooth vocals and instrumentations are reminscent of Badly Drawn Boy.  Dexy does need to work a bit on connecting with his audience, as he comes across as a little bit shy behind the mic, which can be detrimental to chances of success.  However, when placed in the context  of the "handsome homeless" his gregarious bunch of friends that backed him on Friday night, Dexy was able to bring the crowd round and get them bopping to some great tunes.

In London, it used to be said that Nebraska had a lot going for them; decent following, EP released by Rough Trade, then they kind of dropped of the radar.  Well on Friday night they came back in a big way.  Putting on a fantastic set at the Fox and Firkin in Lewisham, Michael and co. ripped up the stage with some super tight new songs that are going to have labels across the country begging them for a chance to sign them.  Originally I felt there was an element of Finger 11 in their music, but upon reflection, I think that they are much closer to bands like System of  Down, very melodic hard rock.  Michael cretaes some awesome imagery with his lyrics, and his soulful voice is perfectly backed by Ben, Stax and Jarrod.  Expect to hear more from these guys in the near future.

Sunday evening, we decided to trek over to Islington to take a listen to Foreign Office.  Their Myspace demo doesn't do them justice.  With tinges of Joy Division, the Killers, and just a general melange of indie-new wave stylings, they brought the house down at the Old Queen's Head.  I have no idea what the name of the lead singer is, but there's definitely and Ian Curtis vibe from him (hope it doesn't result in the same fate).  Don't cha think?

Apparently this was only their third show ever, and for such a young band, they were really tight.  If they can stick together and keep putting on shows like this, you can expect big things from them in the coming year.

Bands to Watch: The Paper South

So what do the members of The American Analog Set do when they're not writing folksy laid back music to read by (a la Set Free)?  They form a band with members of Winslow, call it The Paper South, and write atmospheric post-rock.  To be honest, when I first heard the EP Caught Leaving the Scene of the Accident, I was impressed, but I had no clue what I was listening to.  There are elements of Longwave, Low, Mogwai, and others, but the melodies are more complex, the sound more lush; but I never would have thought that this came out of the the same minds that brought us Set Free. 

Upon Further listening however, I can ascertain elements that are similar to The American Analog Set,  the vocals, sitting nicely in the background, acting the part of instrument and storyteller without wanting to steal the limelight.  The Paper South create music to be listened to at high volume, particularly good when wearing headphones, as the intricate melodies of the various instruments collide like waves upon the shore of the listeners brain.

The other great thing about this band is that they are giving their music away.  Download the six song EP at their homepage

Bands to Watch - Andrew Bird

Apparently there's a whole crapload of people already on the Andrew Bird train, which pulled out of the station sometime around 1996.  Heck, the guy has been on Letterman and somehow I've never heard of him, but I've probably never heard of your mother, and it is entirely possible that she's been on Letterman too, because I don't own a TV.

Anyways, I know I'm a latecomer but Andrew Bird is sublime.  I thought Owen Pallet had the looper nailed down (and he is extremely good, extremely), but Bird's live performances that I've seen on Youtube hold me mesmerized and I'm not even in the room with him.  I don't own any of his albums, but the next time I have a few quid to spare, I'm heading straight to Rough Trade and picking one up.  I don't know how to describe his music, existential-violin-rock meets beat poets and twitchy asylum inmates is probably the best description I can give.  Bird melds all sorts of influences into his music, I can't even really pull them apart, but it's definitely worth checking out.  My particular favorites are Nervous Tick of Motion to the Left, and Imitosis. 

Ok, forget this.  I can't come up with anything that describes this properly, so here Andrew is in all his glory.  All the instruments are played live, he uses a looper. 

 

Bands to Watch: Dirty on Purpose

Dirty on Purpose

What can you really say about a band that does an awesome shoegaze/dance cover of Send me an Angel (originally by Real Life)?  That they are catchy and awesome, that's what. 

This Brooklyn based foursome (what's with all these good Brooklyn bands lately?), meld all sorts of styles from New Wave to Shoegaze in the blink of an eye, all set to catchy dance beats that would easily become dancefloor anthems if I was a top DJ. They also have some hilarious videos on youtube.  But really, these are just some good grooves to tap your toe to while making dinner, or to pop in the car cassette deck on a long road trip. 

They are currently touring North America with The Wedding Present, check them out when you can.

Bands to Watch: Black Kids

There's one appliance in my flat that I absolutely hate, the hoover.  Now why would I aim all my hatred and loathing for things mechanical at some small motor with a hose attached?  Because it doesn't suck.  Literally.  I'm not sure if this country simply doesn't believe in motorized brushes to get the dirt out of the carpet, or if they have no clue as to how to make a small motor that actually has the power to suck a grain of sand 3 feet, but it makes my job as chief hoover operator, absolutely horrendous.  I spend my time down on my knees scraping at the carpet with the brush, trying to get every last morsel of dropped cookie, every  little dust bunny dropping, only to come away with a carpet that looks like it hasn't seen a hoover in years.  Now you're probably asking yourself, what the hell does this have to do with music?  or with bands?  The answer is that I've found something else that doesn't suck.  In fact, something that really really doesn't suck.  Black Kids.

Now despite their controversial name, Black Kids are a pure pop outfit.  This is the music of people who listened to loads of 80s pop music.  They wear their influences on their sleeve, the Cure, Duran Duran, Simple Minds, they're all here, and all rolled into one jumping mass of flailing limbs and pure pop enjoyment.  There is nothing sinister about their lyrics, nothing revolutionary about their music, but what they do, they do it well, and like my generation waxes nostalgic about all those great pop albums of bygone years, I guarantee that today's youngsters will do the same for Black Kids in twenty years.  Their major label debut, Partie Traumatic, is one gooey piece of bubblegum pop.  Go chew on it, and you will forget all the trouble that hoover gave you earlier in the day, I promise.

Black Kids 

Bands to Watch: The Great Sojourn/Jon Brombley

Great Sojourn

Jon Brombley and I met when I started working at the Sound Control on Oxford St.  At first glance, he looks like a typical London indie musician.  Shaggy hair, black plastic specs, and undoubtedly into playing loud noise on a grungy old telecaster copy.  Well, I was completely wrong.  Despite appearances, Jon is one hell of a songwriter.  His outfit, "the Great Sojourn", has produced one self-titled EP, with three great tracks on it.  Although I must admit some of the religious references make the athiest in me cringe, I cannot deny that Jon's skills as a songwriter are worthy of attention.  Particularly great is the track "Chasing Sunsets" with Jon's emotion-laden voice rising above his mellow acoustic guitar.  The instrumental arrangments are sublime on all three tracks, and I'm going to have to ask him how he did it if I hope to turn into a proper songwriter. 

I managed to catch Jon's solo show at a fantastic venue, The Old Queen's Head in Islington, and although the audience had been tuning out the horrible acts that preceded him, Jon managed to capture their attention and bring them around with his quirky self-deprecating banter, his soulful voice, and his guitar playing.  It was particularly amusing when he started using the looper to layer guitar phrases and I think some of the audience thought there was some black magic going on. 

All in all, The Great Sojourn produces very easy to listen to music, but with heart.  Go check him out.

Eclipsed

Camera Obscura  - myspace

I think that Glasgow must be the best place to see eclipses.  One can almost imagine them as viewed from the top of Mackintosh's tower, or from the gates of the School of Art.  Now, if you can, imagine if you looked at the eclipse whilst drinking some of Scotland's finest whiskey.  For me at least, the eclipse would become a kind of mellow, relaxing and really cool experience. 

So what's all this talk about eclipses?  The reason I bring it up, is because Glasgow sextet Camera Obscura have been on my mind since a friend replied to a post with a suggestion to listen to them; and if you recall your elementary school days you might have looked at eclipses through a pinhole camera, otherwise known as a Camera Obscura (see, I was paying attention Miss Chin!). 

I imagine that watching an eclipse while listening to one of Camera Obscura's three excellent albums Biggest Bluest Hi-Fi, Underachievers Please Try Harder, or Let's Get Out of This Country, would be the same as if I'd had a dram of great whiskey.  First, the soft sounds of a clean guitar would wash over you, quickly followed by what sounds suspiciously like a Hammond through a leslie speaker.  Add a slapdash of drums and you're ready for the vocals, and Tracey-Anne Campbell does know how to sing.  There's almost a 50's quality to the melodies she creates, it is this je ne sais quoi that differentiates Camera Obscura from the hundreds of other female fronted indie-pop bands on the market.  Where they could have become a facsimile of other indie acts, they chose instead to bring something new to the scene.  Although retro in sound, the combination of 50s pop with 2000's indie rhythms is intriguing to the ear and relaxing at the same time.

They are currently touring all over Europe and will be in London in the middle of July, depending on my financial situation, I just might have to check them out.  You should too.  Now where'd that whiskey go?

Band to listen to, not to watch -- MGMT

So a couple of Wednesdays ago, Michelle and I went to see MGMT at London's fabled venue the Astoria on Charing Cross Road.  The disappointment started before we got into the building when a security guard informed the lineup that despite the 7:30 door opening, the headliners wouldn't be on until after 10pm due to the Champions League final that night.  I think I was more annoyed that I couldn't watch the game because the nearby pubs were packed, then the late start time, but I've just never been in a situation where a band delays its performance due to a sporting event.

The opening bands were largely forgettable, although Florence and the Machine brought an interesting sound and aesthetic to the performance, I'll to take a closer listen to their stuff to form a proper judgment about them. 

The headliners however were a major disappointment.  Probably the most disappointing gig I have ever seen.  Now to be honest, I had hyped them up in my head a lot because their debut album (Oracular Spectacular) is a masterpiece of all styles of rock and pop.  Unfortunately they couldn't pull it off on stage.  MGMT is comprised of a Brooklyn duo, and that is what I was expecting live (kind of like I Was a Cub Scout), instead, what I got was a stage full of session musicians.  Now initially I didn't think this would be a problem, especially when the lead singer stepped on stage in full 70s attire complete with hippy dress/shirt, headband, and indian war paint.  I thought I was in for a kick ass rock show.  What I received was a limp performance that attempted to reproduce the album to a T.  Granted while singles "Electric Feel" and "Time to Pretend" injected some life to their corpse of a set, MGMT suffered from the same problem that Iron and Wine did a week previous in that session musicians just don't bring the presence required for a large live show, especially when the non-session musicians (i.e. singer and keyboardist) don't have enough stage presence and charisma to carry the show without help.  I'm slightly ashamed to admit that we didn't stay for the finale or the encore, but it would have been just too much to bear. 

So while I will continue to rave about the attributes of MGMT's album, I would not recommend them for a live show until they've got their act together, especially not at 2000+ seat venues.

Iron and winter

So last Friday M and I hiked the 5 minutes from our house to hit up the forum to see Iron and Wine.  Now we're both fans, although not huge fans, and were expecting a good show.  What I wasn't expecting, was for Bon Iver (pronounced Bonne Hiver - for the fracophones) to be the opener.  And what a support act they were.

But first the bad news.  Iron and Wine were not worth the money.  The albums are full of catchy Americana with a soulful voice, great lyrics, and some nice down home guitar playing.  However what makes for a great album can make for a very poor show if there isn't any charisma involved.  Iron and Wine is essentially a sessions band.  The lead singer, whose name escapes me now, writes all the music and then hires session musicians to accompany him on the road.  When done properly, a la Ben Lee, Eric Clapton, or numerous other 'solo' acts, it's great; but it requires that the 'solo' musician has charisma to carry the show.  Iron and Wine seriously lacked this charisma, which meant the show was the equivalent of putting on an album in a room with 2000 other people in it.  Not exactly the best performance. 

Thankfully though Bon Iver stole the show as the support act.  Along with Final Fantasy, which I saw at the same venue, this is one of the most beautiful performances I have ever seen.  Three men, sitting, making music that almost made me weep.  The harmonies, the shy remarks, the haunting falsetto, and the awesome guitar work, it really was truly incredible.  I know that I've already pointed them out as a band to watch, but please please please go grab the album.  It is so worth it.  And if you can see them in person, I promise you won't be disappointed.  You will feel that you are sitting on a porch in the middle of a Wisconsin forest with some of your best friends playing music that is just utter bliss. 

Now where did I put my coonskin cap?

Gotcha! Got Ye?

Gotye -  myspace

Question - What happens when a Dutchman grows up in Australia?

Answer - he mispells a childhood nickname and turns it into pop splendour.

It has been a little over 24 hours since I was introduced to Gotye, but I keep coming back to his myspace and youtube links just to check out these really awesome grooves.  There's an element of Peter Gabriel and even a little Dead Can Dance in his creations, but lurking in the background like Uluru at dusk is this unbelievably large rhythm which can only be described as utterly Australian.  Fans of Xavier Rudd will know what I mean.  Even though there isn't a didgeridoo anywhere on his publicly available material, the tracks live and breathe Australia. 

Coupled with the incredible music though is an incredible visual experience.  I'm not sure if it is something that he comes up with by himself, but the videos that have been made to accompany his tracks are mesmerizing.  Whether it is hand puppets, ink blotches in water, or weird Tim Burton meets Pink Floyd style animations,  your eyes and ears will be glued to the screen in front of you. 

Let it not be said that buying a 17" screen laptop was a waste!   

Go check him out.