This is
Hey! For Horses, a track by The Rest off their new album Seesaw. It is
currently the first of an ongoing project comprised by the American band to
create a music video for ALL ten songs on the album, and well, Hey! For Horses
features puppets doing some pornography and some murderous horses, what’s not
to like?
Featuring
superb production, great reverb’d vocals, a catchy guitar riff and a constant
drumbeat, Hey! For Horses provides a few minutes worth of great summery
goodness. It starts off with a roaring intro and doesn’t run out of steam by
the end; it just keeps providing the loud, incredibly accessible sounds. It’s
great.
Fortunately
I am into puppet porn so this is like a dream come true for me. I can’t wait to
see how the nine other videos turn out, and I shall certainly be taking a
listen to The Rest’s album Seesaw after hearing Hey! For Horses.
Bitching
Cassettes is back after lying around all defunct and quiet for a while, and
after being reborn via now-parent label Philophobia Music it is releasing a
split cassingle (great word) featuring two of PM’s flagship artists, Runaround
Kids and The Spills.
Runaround
Kids offers Into The Light, an explosive track featuring some dirty bass,
jangly guitar riffs and some poorly captured yet pummelling drums, all encased
by some very pained and shouty vocals. It’s a surprisingly catchy track
considering what’s involved, and I know that many fans/critics will be excited
to hear more from these guys, as they have been gaining heaps of praise from
all over the land lately.
The
Spills offers Atomic Arabian Facebuster, a track pretty similar to Into The
Light but certainly wins the badass title award. Starting off with some cleaner
sounding bass, The Spills seem to concentrate more on creating some melodies
than their cassingle partners. An almost national anthem-like guitar tune rips
through the rhythm section before sinking itself back into the swing of things,
creating a very mellow yet extremely catchy instrumentation. The group vocals
certainly help boost up the booming image the instruments created, and well it
hits harder than an Atomic Arabian Facebuster I guess.
Two great
songs that will certainly help Bitching Cassettes’ revival be a loud, strong
one for sure. This split will be available from the 15th of October,
and well, buy it.
Essex quartet The Ends return with Coke Can, the second single
to be released by these chaps this year. It follows on from the hard hitting,
riff ripping Hellraiser, and continues the ear drum bursting trend…this time
with a bit of organ involved.
Starting
off with an organ/vocal intro, the band show off their new instrument proudly,
and without meaning to add more to this rather innuendo-heavy sentence, it’s
quite a nice surprise. These guys are usually responsible for providing balls
out rock tracks using the standard formula, so the inclusion of organ could’ve
been hit or miss on paper. Fortunately it works well with the guitar and adds
another element of depth to the sound, possibly expanding into some organ-only
diddys? I don’t know.
Coke Can
is once again another solid hit from The Ends, and the B-side of their cover of
Karma Chameleon makes me proud to say that I live in the same county as them.
These guys have been consistently releasing great music since the brilliant
Talk Of The South EP last year, and I cannot wait to hear more.
Coke Can
will be available to the masses Sunday at 6pm. Until then, take a look at their
discography here.
After the
release of the beautiful Dharma Beats, Mumblebee drops …spaced. He has moved on
from incorporating some of Mother Nature’s sounds into his electronica, and is
looking to take over the entirety of space. A hefty task I think we can admit,
but once again, Mumblebee wins again.
…spaced
is certainly an “out there” listen, with a huge flavour of psychedelic packed
in, there’s swirls and swirls of electronic sounds revolving amongst eachother,
as if the listener is a sole astronaut rotating into nothingness. There are a
lot of good tracks here, each of them taking on their own personality, and
well, it’s also a pretty good description of space too, in that it can
downright trippy and unexpected at times.
Mumblebee
describes …spaced as “kind of a concept
album. The tracks remind me of a boss fight in a video game that took place in
space. Not that that was how it started out, but with these things you never
can tell. The music is dramatic and dense, at times overly saturated and on the
border of washed out. We spin endlessly through time and space; won't you spin
with me for a little bit? Get ...spaced with me.” Which is spot on (it should be, he made the
thing after all!) and well, you just have to check it out yourself now. Enjoy. Also, isn't the cover pretty?
Lillian
Todd Jones is a 23 year old fire dancer (awesome) from Dartmoor,
and she has recently announced that she is working on a bunch of debut songs
with famed songwriter Gordon Mills Jr. This is the haunting video for one of
them, Butter Soul.
Beginning
with a lone guitar and gloomy vocal, Butter Soul introduces yet one of it’s
many atmospheres, changing around the tone and volume as much as its
instruments. A lot of variety is embedded within three minutes, all of which
bleeds effortlessly into eachother and all encapsulated by Lillian Todd Jones’
low-toned vocals.
Butter
Soul eventually blooms into a glorious track, as crashing drums prepares the
listener for the unexpected yet very welcomed finale of roaring guitars and
noise. While it only lasted a few seconds, it certainly helped make this track
one hell of a memorable listen.
The video
is pretty creepy, as Lillian is stuck in her nightmare. It’s very odd, very
creative and very much has a Suckerpunch feel to it, and well, it’s certainly
interesting, and definitely fits Butter Soul perfectly. She just needed to sort
her hair out though.
Submotion
Orchestra is an English seven piece, and this is their sophomore album
Fragments. The band mix together bass, rhythm and soul to create subtle, yet
vibrant instrumentations boosted in quality by superb production. It’s the same
soundtrack I could imagine being used on Mad Men, as it bares the same chilled
atmosphere with a strong air of sophistication.
Fragments
features many moments of pure brilliance here, from the second Intro begins, it’s
clear that Submotion Orchestra is in control and certainly knows what it’s
about to do to the listener. From the keyboard riff all the way to the
explosion of noise, the band managed to retain their cool attitude and easily
drive the track into what is an absolutely wonderful listen.
They
bring so many instruments into their sound without turning it convoluted,
instead making it just the perfect balance of elements and structure. The
subtle sounds are not boring either, bringing a kind of mysterious side to the
band, and certainly creating a very relaxed atmosphere fuelled by brilliant
instrumentations. The bass is used perfectly here, making a notable presence
but kept in the background so as to not muddy up the rest of the instruments,
so fortunately we’re not dealing with any Skrillex-styled dubstep here.
Submotion
Orchestra has got a great record on their hands with Fragments. It has a lot of
fantastic dance moments on it, but what I like most about them is that it’s not
the typical dance songs you’d hear in nightclubs or mainstream radio, it
doesn’t sound like anything else, so you’ll know that these tracks could only
come from the brilliant chemistry of Submotion Orchestra. A great record.
Dull
Spark is the second single soon to be released from the third critically
acclaimed album Something For The Weakened by Meursault. The band’s new record
blew me away with its amazing attention to detail and terribly emotional
sounds, it really is one of the most sombre and beautiful records of the year.
A little
more upbeat side of Meursault comes out in Dull Spark, with a pounding drum
beat and a poppier piano riff featured heavily. It has a very uplifting feel to
it, with the happier instrumentation and the lyrics repeatedly saying that
everything’s going to be fine, but fans of Meursault and those who have
listened to Something For The Weakened will know that this optimism isn’t going
to last a lifetime. The vocals in particular emit an amazing amount of passion
and emotion that it’s really difficult to sympathise with Meursault.
The
b-side A Mother’s Arms is the exact opposite, with a quieter instrumentation
lead by gorgeous strings and the most pessimistic of lyrics creating a track
that could depress anyone. The pained vocals just make it so hard to not feel
the sadness that radiates through the voice and instruments. It’s yet again
another heartstring tugger from Meursault, and I need to stop listening to it
before it makes me cry.
Mean Sun
is the sophomore album by former duo turned band Brasstronaut. It follows on
from the release of critically acclaimed debut Mt.
Chimera, a record that put Brasstronaut on the map as “ones to look out for”
and earned them a string of awards including a SOCAN Echo Prize for Canadian
Song Of The Year, as well as chart-topping singles on The Hype Machine.
Brasstronaut
bring a mix of jazz, indie, pop, and a tad of shoegaze together to create a
dreamy sound that’s full of blissful melodies and interesting loops, that
overall omits a gorgeous soundscape complete with fantastic tracks. Superb
production allows every instrument to be heard clearly, and thus allows the
instrumentation to flow in an effortlessly manner. Mean Sun flows through in
such a controlled and seamless way that it becomes extremely difficult to stop
it halfway through.
There are
an abundance of great tracks here. Francisco is a very catchy number that’s
sure to get the listener bobbing along, whereas the single Mean Sun starts off
a little slower, the breathy vocals lightly grazing the airwaves. It soon turns
into a great indie track, one that could definitely reach favourable play on
the radio.
My
favourite track would be Falklands; it has a
very deep rhythm that never fails to get me into it. The slow build up reminds
me of Radiohead, especially with the almost-alone vocals, and the little
shimmers of sound in the background turn this into a utopian atmosphere that
sounds really good. The increase in volume and instruments create a Cure-like
attitude, a kind of reserved outburst, but my god, when it finally breaks out
of its shell, Falklands produces an absolutely
wonderful sound. The tempo is increased and the horns make an appearance, and
ahhhhhrghrhgr, it’s just amazing. (Yep, all I could say at this point is
ahhhhhrghrghr.)
Mean Sun
is definitely going to become one of my favourite records of the year. It has a
lot of variation and utilises each element perfectly. Brasstronaut have done a
great job, and well, these guys are certainly going to be ones to look out for
now.
Waves Of
Fury is a brashy, balls to the wall band from Somerset, and this is their debut album,
Thirst. They have already made a good impression with me with their single
Businessman’s Guide To Witchcraft, a track that combined the dirtiest rock with
some pretty gnarly horns, and managed to make ‘em sound good. Really good.
With the
grittiness of The Stooges and the atmosphere of Jesus & Mary Chain, Waves
Of Fury pull off some nasty garage rock, often filtered through what must be an
extremely old amplifier. The music is distorted, the vocals are blown up, and
yet the band have contained it just enough to actually be quite catchy. Let’s
not forget they add horns to their music too, and not in the “oh here’s some
horns tacked on the end of this” way but in the “we have horns, hear our horns.
Now.” way and it’s great.
The first
half of Thirst is full of high octane, straight forward rock songs, often going
along at the speed of light. Infact the tracks go by so fast, the listener ends
up buried deep in this atmosphere of distorted bliss before they realise
they’re already four or five songs in. The second half takes things a little
slower, and it actually bares a nice contrast with the former half. The tracks
are allowed a little more time to express its sound, and it definitely helps
break up the album a little too.
Thirst is
a great album, full of great songs and riffs. Waves Of Fury have got themselves
a very good starting record, with the first half providing the chaos and fury
that you will never see again, while the second half takes you out to dinner
and gets to know you a little bit. I’m glad these guys have gained a heap of
praise with Thirst as they deserve it, and I cannot wait to hear what’s next in
store for Waves Of Fury.
Elephant
is the first single dropped from Tame Impala’s sophomore album Lonerism. Its
badass name comes along with an equally badass sound, much like any other song
with ‘elephant’ in the title, such as Elephants by Them Crooked Vultures.
Tame
Impala certainly deliver on creating a track with as much force as an Elephant.
The thick one note guitar riff combined with pounding drums creates an
undeniably addictive intro, and the later addiction of futuristic sounds and synth
adds in more depth and layers to the track, creating even more brilliant riffs.
The constantly changing tempo keeps it sounding fresh, and also,
DAT DRUM
SOLO
Is
fantastic too. It sounds like a mix of psychedelic Beatles with a little dash
of raw T-Rex, it’s wonderful.
Easily
one of the best songs of the year. It brings together so much material that it
becomes as colourful as it's cover. Lonerism is out now on Modular
Records, and wow, Elephant is SO GOOD.
Atoms For
Peace is an experimental side project from Radiohead maestro Thom Yorke. The
band had actually formed as the backing band for Thom’s tour of his Eraser
material way back in 2006, and features Flea on bass duties. Default is the
very first piece of music to be made under the Atoms For Peace moniker, and
well, it’s everything King Of Limbs could’ve been.
The
attention to detail in Default is astonishing, and the beats are very rhythmic
and infectious. The jagged drum beat contrasts really well with the added
percussion and of course, Thom Yorke’s vocals, as always, are fantastic.
Sticking to the upper register of his voice, Thom pulls out some emotion to
this mechanical, broken track, somehow making it sound pretty human.
The
production is great and as expected the atmosphere in Default is filled with
sounds and beats, with a little air left for Thom’s vocals. Kings Of Limbs
suffered from not having enough put into it’s material, whereas Default succeeds
with this.
Default
tends to stick to the same beat throughout which becomes a little monotonous
however the introduction of synths and dual vocals in the chorus certainly
makes up for it. It’s a great first track to release, and I am definitely
curious to hear more from Atoms For Peace.
Hello
everybody, I have some great news! Elusive Little Comments will make a little
feature in tomorrow’s edition of Music Week! I was asked to give a brief 50
word explanation on the debut self titled album by experimental electronic duo
Sonnymoon, which is fortunate because I really enjoyed it.
So make
sure you’re on the look out for my ugly mug and more importantly the words and
the big red ELUSIVE LITTLE COMMENTS within the Tastemaker’s section. I joined
four other people from different blogs/websites, and well, this is a pretty big
deal for ELC.
I would
like to thank Music Week for accepting my words and picture; I did provide a
different picture (I think I look like a bit of a douche in the picture they
used, maybe because I put my bloody hand up to my mouth.) but nevermind! I’m
just excited to have been given this opportunity. So yeah! Look out for that, I'm gonna print the page out and stick it all over my bedroom walls and the fridge of course.
Well
first of all, it feels odd to have text with no picture to brighten it up, so
have a picture from an album by my favourite band in the entire world. ANYWAY,
as well as being featured on the next edition of Music Week, Elusive Little
Comments finally has a pretty good looking FACEBOOK PAGE too!
Being
close to 80,000 hits and not having a dedicated Facebook page is crazy. So I’ve
made a couple of lovely pictures and even a cover photo to jazz up the page, as
the previous look was horrid. I used an old banner as the cover photo and it
didn’t even fit in properly, and the profile picture didn’t even have the name
on it! Mental.
So from
now I am DEFINITELY PROMISING to keep up with posting links to every review
that gets posted on here, and maybe even include a little bit of music I’m
digging lately. Right now I’m really into The Hives, and of course the new
Dinosaur Jr. album.
Dinosaur
Jr. are now three albums into their unlikely reformation back in 2005, and with
the poppier side of J Mascis and co tearing out fantastic albums such as Beyond
and Farm, tenth album I Bet On Sky looks set to complete what will become a
phenomenal trio of post-break up Dinosaur Jr.
I Bet On
Sky is certainly a more collaborative effort than previous releases, with a
slightly more poppier sound that seems to have stemmed from J’s gradually more
relaxed attitude and Lou Barlow’s Sebadoh output. The record is not as heavy as
last album Farm, but definitely doesn’t let up on good riffs and face-melting
guitar solos.
Opening
track Don’t Pretend You Didn’t Know contains a cleaner intro version of You’re Living All Over Me’s Little Fury
Things, not exactly reintroducing the fans to the trademark distortion, but we
do get reacquainted with a familiar J Mascis drawl instead. Once again J
delivers on somehow getting the most emotion out of his vocals and guitar work,
while still churning out a chugging instrumentation that’s pretty darn catchy
too.
Watch The
Corners is a brilliant single that showcases every single element that makes
Dinosaur Jr. one of the greatest bands to exist. J’s guitar playing and solos
are great, Lou and Murph (as always) are great, and the track manages to meet
single regulations without completely stripping it of any Dinosaur Jr.
character.
Almost
Fare is a perfect track for the summer. The laid back riff complete with
acoustic guitars creates a really chilled atmosphere that doesn’t get rushed or
cut off; it’s allowed to just breeze along naturally. And even more naturally,
we get treated to yet another great J Mascis guitar solo. Awesome.
Lou’s
contributions come in the form of Rude and Recognition, two songs that display
a lot of Sebadoh influence to I Bet On Sky, and they are both great. Lou has
recently put out a great EP with Sebadoh, so it makes sense for him to bring
out a few of these sounds for Dinosaur Jr. Once again Lou offers the most
sincere of lyrics (including one of my favourites “Look what I’ve
done, didn’t make the best of that one / I arrived feeling sure and ended up
all insecure” on Recognition) alongside some
rocking instrumentation, there’s even some bass in there too, which has been
quietened down on the last two records.
The sound
is not as big as it was on Farm, though the band does add in a few keyboards to
the mix to help vary the tracks a little. If I had to compare it to any other
Dino record it would be Without A Sound and Green Mind. The sound on these
records were relatively big though quiet when compared to You’re Living All
Over Me and Bug, there’s something a little sunnier with I Bet On Sky,
everything seems more relaxed and a-okay in the Dinosaur Jr. camp, and that’s
great.
Once
again Dinosaur Jr. has delivered with another superb album, and again they
prove that bands who were big in the early years can still bring out some of
their best work seven albums later (I Know It Oh So Well, See It On Your Side)
and while I would’ve loved to have heard how Without A Sound/Green Mind/Where
You Been would’ve sounded with Lou and Murph, it is lovely that J is revisiting
that musical path with the right people by his side. Listen to the album in it's entirety here.
Janice
Graham Band is a three piece outfit from Manchester,
and this is the new single, Assassiner. It follows on from the release of
mini-album It’s Not Me, which showcased the band’s mix of indie, garage rock, reggae
and dub and gained them quite a lot of adoration from radio stations as a
result.
Assassiner
is certainly an interesting listen, as an awkwardly infectious drum beat drives
the song along at a decent pace while some guitar makes some noise and generally
keeps itself to itself. Horns ring out everytime they feel the need to change
things up, and the brutal lyrics behind the vocals definitely prevents the
listener from feeling comfortable. And yet despite all of these elements,
Assassiner is catchy, it is accessible in a way, and well, that could only be
achieved through sheer talent.
Janice
Graham Band has done a great job at creating a catchy track in Assassiner. I
cannot wait to hear more from these guys, as I’m sure the other tracks will be
just as good. Listen to Assassiner below.
NEEDTOBREATHE
are a four-piece blues/soul rock band from South Carolina, and this is their fourth
album, The Reckoning. They have been rising up in the ranks in their homeland
of America
these last few years, with previous album The Outsiders hitting the Top 20 of
the Billboard Charts in 2009. They have also been musical guests on many of America’s
biggest chat shows, and even critics are enjoying them too.
The
Reckoning is a very solid rock album, complete with many uplifting lyrics and
instrumentations. NEEDTOBREATHE is comprised of four members, all of which are
Christian, and yet you wouldn’t think that upon first impressions of their
music, infact one of the best lines ever said regarding them is “They are either the most rocking Christian
band out there or the most Christian rock band. It’s hard to tell which.” NEEDTOBREATHE
don’t cram their songs with lines about religion and their belief, which is a
welcome change for people who aren’t necessarily religious, the band instead
create music that’s uplifting, perfect for religious and non-religious people.
It’s
impossible to not feel lifted after listening to this album. It has a magical
quality to tug at your heartstrings and tell them that everything’s going to be
okay. This optimistic atmosphere combined with anthemic stadium-filling
instrumentations makes The Reckoning NEEDTOBREATHE’s ticket to superstardom.
ToLiesel
is a band formed in 2007 through a mutual love of Death Cab For Cutie and Band
Of Horses, and this is the debut single The Light. The superb production
captures what is truly a beautiful sound, a nice mix of pop and indie, with a
hint of country in there too.
The Light
is extremely catchy, with a great drum beat and a finger picked guitar riff
akin to Beach House. The dreaminess which envelopes the track gives it a
certain hazy feeling, creating a relaxed atmosphere and an easy-going listen. It’s
really good.
ToLiesel
has done a wonderful job at introducing themselves as artists with The Light. It’s
a catchy number that could be heard on the radio, but still has a sense of
character that we will hopefully start to get used to once they put out more
material. I cannot wait to hear more from these guys.
Bloc
Party returns after a self imposed hiatus, numerous band arguments, firings and
rehirings and well, a couple years of not setting the world on fire that fans
and critics expected them to after their debut album Silent Alarm. The negative
reviews for A Weekend In The City and Intimacy were mostly down to the band’s
attempt to change to a more alternative dance sound, rather than their well
loved balls to the wall rock sound fans loved so much.
However
the band’s fourth album, Four, sees the band begrudgingly accept that they
should be making more rock songs and well, there are plenty of fantastic rock
songs to choose from. The guitar riffs on So He Begins To Lie, 3 X 3, Kettling,
Coliseum and We Are Not Good People are fantastic, and a brilliant way to
reintroduce the fans to the much-missed rock sound.
There are
a few dance numbers too, which makes Four a varied and interesting album, and
also keeps both sets of fans satisfied. Octopus and V.A.L.I.S are two great
dance songs that could become mainstays on the radio for a while. Bloc Party
have done a great job at creating great dance and rock songs on Four.
Four is
definitely Bloc Party’s return to form, as while Intimacy and A Weekend In The
City weren’t terrible, they didn’t really bring together the explosive sound
Bloc Party brought on their debut. There are lots of great songs to choose from
here, and they will certainly be played throughout the rest of the year.
Eleven
albums in and an existence spanning thirty years, Swans returns with brand new
album The Seer. Swans is known for bringing volume and heaviness into their
sound, and bringing the vomit out of poor fans who willingly attend live shows.
The Seer is the second album to be released following the band’s fourteen year
hiatus, and well, it’s certainly going to mess with your head.
The Seer
is two hours long, is a double CD and features three tracks that span over the
fifteen minute mark. Listeners might just get a headache alone from reading how
long some of these tracks are, but they can remedy that by getting warped into
the witchcraft-like chant that encompasses the whole of opening track Lunacy. If
you’re not a fan of repetition, you might want to turn away now.
The thick
atmosphere of Lunacy formed by a relentless chant of “Lunacy! Lunacy!” and the
dirty production behind the background noise of chains and other medieval
equipment strikes fear into the listener’s ears as Swans introduces itself in
the most unfriendly manner possible.
Mother Of
The World follows and drags along with the same two guitar notes over and over
again, contorting the listener’s mind into visions of a torture chamber, forced
to listen to these notes until they cannot bear anymore. The track is ten
minutes long and decides not to change up at all, just the same guitar notes
while some drums play around in the background. We’re treated to some muffled
vocals too, just to help ease the terror of course, and finally gifted an end
to the guitar at the five minute mark, given some almost pop-like
instrumentation instead.
And yet
there’s something that wants me to carry on listening, as if The Seer has
become some kind of sick test to see who can claw their way to the end of it. It’s
chilling, haunting and downright terrifying, and yet the sounds it makes keeps
me hooked onto it.
Disc two
starts off on a much more pleasant high, as Swans rewards the listener with
Song For A Warrior, a track name that could very easily refer to the listener
after sitting through the entirety of disc 1. The track is lovely, and features
Karen O on vocals, and everything about it is just a utopia compared to the
previous seven tracks. A great surprise for listeners.
Infact
disc two seems to ease off a little bit for the listener, hiding some of the
scary elements and torturous instrumentation and concentrating more on
producing some catchy melodies instead. This is a welcome change of pace as it
really helps distinguish the difference between the two CDs and provide a good
answer as to why Swans chose to make The Seer a double album.
The Seer
is certainly one hell of a listening experience, and one that everybody should
try out for sure. It has it’s moments of pure insanity, yet manages to come
across as somewhat catchy. Swans have created a beast with this record, but my
god, isn’t it great?
Patric
Lindvall is a singer-songwriter from Sweden, and he has recently
recorded some songs at a friend’s studio, WY Studio. I don’t think this is an
album per say, but whatever it is; it’s certainly a wonderful collection of
passionate acoustic songs.
The songs
are wonderfully crafted and captured with superb production. Lindvall’s guitar
playing is great and his voice is fantastic, definitely grips you with every
word he sings. As well as the acoustic guitar, Lindvall also introduces drums,
harmonica and violin into the mix, increasing the amount of variety and
churning out some creative instrumentations too.
This is a
wonderful collection of tracks from Patric Lindvall, I highly recommend you to
download this as it will make your day. Stream it below.
The State
Of Music
collection is back once again with volume number four! The ongoing project from
the folks at Choose My Music Records returns with ten solid tracks, featuring
artists from every single state of America.
Once
again this compilation of music features some very strong artists, including Poison
Control Centre, Old Earz and Family Wagon. These three particular artists
providing State Of Music Vol 4 with some hard rocking, great tunes which really
highlight how good this project is.
The State
Of Music Vol 4 focuses more on bringing the indie/acoustic genres to the masses
this time, with the majority of the artists featured using acoustic instruments
to provide a chilled out atmosphere to counter against the electric, rocking
that got the album off to a pumped start.
The State
Of Music is
definitely becoming one of the best collections around, and you would be a fool
if you didn’t check out the previous three volumes. You can purchase it from
the Choose My Music website, or on their Bandcamp page, as well as iTunes,
Amazon and Spotify.
I know
I’ve already brought this song to your attention, but words can not describe
how excited I am to finally hear some new material from Dinosaur Jr. I Bet On
Sky is going to be the alt-rock’s tenth studio album, and even if we don’t
count the band’s discography and tendency to produce very solid albums, it’s
going to be a fantastic album.
One of
the greatest rock trio’s in history have not produced anything since 2009’s
Farm, and well, Watch The Corners is the first track to help sweeten up every
Dinosaur Jr. fan who is surely dehydrated and thirsty for more Dino. The
vintage J Mascis vocal drawl and gritty, rugged guitar tone make a welcome
return, as well as the always stellar rhythm section that is Lou Barlow and
Murph.
We get
some pretty catchy chugging intros, lyrics that don’t sound as generic as some
of the material on Farm, brilliant production, and of course, the patented J
Mascis guitar solo, guaranteed to melt your face off. It’s a brilliant listen
and one that will get anyone who’s heard it amped up for I Bet On Sky.
The
single also comes with B-side Now The Fall, a track that sounds like something
from the Farm-era B-sides. The slower tempo, the synchronised guitar and vocal
melody, and the slight wonderment from fans if this is really supposed to sound
like it does. Well fortunately it should do, and the track quickly picks up
some optimism and chugs along in a much happier tone for the rest of its
journey.
I Bet On
Sky is released on the 18th September via Jagjaguwar. Check out the
Watch The Corners single below, purchase it here, and pre-order the album here,
or here if you wish to get some extra stuff with it too.
Over two
months ago I recommended Meet Me In Spanish City, the debut album from Newcastle’s The
Longsands. You might also remember that I absolutely loved the album from the
very first time I listened to it. It was full of anthemic tracks bursting with
explosive guitar riffs and vocal hooks that made it impossible to truly forget,
and it was magical.
Well on
the 3rd of September The Longsands will be releasing Worlds Collide
as a second single, and they certainly couldn’t have made a better choice. The
track (as to be expected) features a catchy guitar riff, and infectious vocals
which can get anyone to sing along to. In a time where guitar music seems to
have taken a backseat to electronic/dance music, The Longsands have stepped up
to produce a song that can be played on the radio over and over without
becoming stale or disinteresting, as Worlds Collide could easily become a hit
for these guys.
If you
haven’t checked out The Longsands, then you should. From the Shut Your Mouthsingle to the album to Worlds Collide, everything they make is bliss, and while
the discography is currently small, it is certainly exceptional and at this
rate, I can’t see them making any mistakes in the near future.
