The new Flo Skatepark in Notingham hosted the Element ‘Make It Count’ comp last weekend where upcomers Salar Kooshki and Charlie Birch both impressed enough to take the winnings on the day. Here’s the footage presented by Element’s Ross McGouran.
Author: Zac
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Wax Idols
Wax Idols
‘Sound of a Void’
Slumberland Records
FREE DOWNLOAD
Instantly recalling the darker edge of the 80s but with enough intensity to avoid sounding like an unoriginal pastiche ‘Sound of a Void’ is one of the most instantly engaging tracks from Wax Idols forthcoming full-length ‘Discipline & Desire’ and is now available as a free download. Hugely powerful and undeniably sexual, the track reverberates with a passionate longing, emphasised by singer Hether Fortune’s striking monotone. Taking her cue from icons such as Siouxsie Sioux, if ‘Sound of a Void’ is anything to go by, there’s no reason why Fortune won’t be similarly revered.
An outspoken and intelligent musician, who also happens to be a dominatrix when she’s not playing with Wax Idols, Fortune manages to be the focal point of the band without distracting from the talent of the rest of the group. The fact that she is a former member of bands as disparate as ‘Hunx and His Punks’ and ‘Blasted Canyons’ might make you think that her foray into the murky world of goth-inspired post-punk is merely a fad – one listen to ‘Discipline & Desire’ is enough to convince anyone of Fortune’s conviction and passion for her art. Treading a fine line between complete control and a dangerous sense that something may unravel at any moment, Wax Idols sound is abrasive and severe, yet melodic enough to be completely absorbing and alluring.
‘Discipline & Desire’ is released through Slumberland Records (who have previously put out records from buzzy acts like Veronica Falls, Dum Dum Girls and Girls Names) in the UK on June 3rd. Definitely not one to be missed if you like your post-punk dark but never dreary.
Augustus Groove
Bar room brawls get spookily crafted in Queens of the Stone Age’s animated video for new song “Keep Your Eyes Peeled”. Yet another Brit is behind the amazing work in this new flick, none other than UK artist Boneface (who also designed the album cover) with animation by Liam Brazier.
We have heard the new album Like Clockwork, scheduled for a June rd release and we are stoked on it. Get ready for another killer record from these desert stoners.
Massive Attack’s Robert Del Naja (aka 3D) has a solo art exhibition coming up titled: Fire Sale. The show will take place at the Lazarides art gallery in London exhibiting a career spanning showcase of Robert Del Naja’s artwork from his early 1980′s graffiti on the streets of Bristol to his more recent screen prints from the Heligoland album and everything else in between.
Fire Sale will be a unique retrospective of paintings and designs that have helped define Massive Attack over the past 20 years, covering the pages of sketchbooks to 12 million record sleeves.
Check out his last gallery exhibition that we covered five years ago when his assorted paintings for UNKLE’s War Stories album were put up on display there.
The exhibition runs between 24th May–20th June at the Lazarides Gallery and is free admission. Put it in your dairy.
If you are fan of video editing and nerding out on the internet, then you will probably love this mash up. I never personally thought i would see the Beatles play ‘Smack My Bitch Up’ but someone else had the vision to knock it up. You know the score…
Zared Bassett, Eli Reed, and Nick Trapasso feature in this latest Cons edit skating Boston that has a fishy end.
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Jordan Trahan WESC section
WeActivist Jordan Trahan features skating streets to laid-back sunkissed tunes on his 5Boro rig. Sample this today, it will make you feel warmer than it is.
Tripwires / Towns / Lola Colt
Hoxton Square Bar + Kitchen
London – 2nd May
I don’t usually expect much from an opening act, but as a dark and mysterious six piece materialise before me at Hoxton Square I sense this gang aren’t just ‘some indie band’. Lola Colt opens with a lazy guitar line, sauntering beside a hazy blend of percussion before exploding into a deep, dark groove. Reminiscent of 60’s psychedelia, and capturing a little swirly shoegaze magic too, just as you think this lengthy instrumental is receding, front woman Gun Overbye’s cavernous howl makes the room shake.
After witnessing the bar being raised phenomenally high for an opening act, Towns kick into gear with their up-beat and effect drenched guitar noise. With a definite nod towards the early 90’s Creation Records sound, Towns almost exhaust that blend of angelic vocals and hooky bass lines. Whilst they certainly kick up a tuneful fuss on stage, these lads are still honing their craft, I look forward to what they do next.
Finally, Tripwires take to the stage, easing into their set with watery guitar swells, until they kick into adrenalin fueled ‘Emerald’, with some Cobain-style riffing these guys reveal their heavier edge. The highlight of the set comes in the shape of new single ‘Shimmer’, boasting a baggy groove and ethereal backing vocals that sandwich growling, fuzzed out chords and Rhys Edwards’ sweet placebo-like whine. Tripwires have a knack for a slow builder, and a distinct musical swagger that sets them apart from other acts making this new breed of melodic grunge. Their debut is released 17th June through French Kiss Records; on the back of this, I think it’s going to be a corker.
Dave Palmer
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Weed
Weed
‘Set Me Back’
Couple Skate Records
Despite struggling to decide whether I love or hate the bands’ name, there’s no doubting at all how I feel about ‘Set Me Back’ from Canada’s Weed. A stomping, sludgy yet strangely uplifting noise-pop track, ‘Set Me Back’ is in equal parts hazy and energetic; it’s three minutes managing to sound both restrained and powerful. Huge, fuzzing walls of guitars open the track, before the vocals alternate between an almost chanting monotone and a rasping wail – sounding somewhere between the slack trudge of Pavement and the epic shoegaze of My Bloody Valentine. Though cleaner, the production on ‘Set Me Back’, manages not to lose some of the abrasive edges showcased on their previously released ‘Gun Control’ EP.
‘Set Me Back’ is taken from Weed’s forthcoming debut album Deserve, coming out in July through Seattle’s Couple Skate Records. Here’s hoping the rest of the album hits just as hard.
There currently doesn’t seem to any plans for the band to come over to the UK, but hopefully it won’t be too long before a few dirty East London venues get them on their stages. To save you the hassle of clicking on a whole host of potentially dodgy sites when Googling their band name, find more information about Weed on their blog.
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The Computers
The Computers
‘Love Triangles Hate Squares’
www.thisisthecomputers.com
For a band to successfully ‘re-invent’ themselves is a tricky feat to pull off, but in the case of sharply-dressed Exeter quintet The Computers, ‘Love Triangles Hate Squares’ is less reinvention than evolution – and an impressive evolution at that.
The band have long had a love affair with garage-rock and surf, but on 2010’s ‘This Is The Computers’, these vintage sounds struggled to breathe under the onslaught of raging hardcore punk guitars and vocalist Screaming Al’s, er, screams. It wasn’t a bad record by any means – and made for some blistering live shows – but you couldn’t help but wonder if the band were capable of greater things.
Indeed, they were, and ‘Love Triangles…’ is the proof. Most of the aforementioned raging guitars n’ screams are gone, and in their place you’ll find rocking piano, smooth organ and some seriously soulful vocals. Make no mistake, the likes of ‘Selina Chinese’ and lead single ‘Disco Sucks’ boast enough firepower to get a dead donkey up and dancing, but it is the Motown-esque stomp of ‘Mr Saturday Night’ and the mournful ‘C.R.U.E.L’ will most likely stick in your head for longer.
The Computers of 2013 are all about the songs, and on ‘Love Triangles…’ they deliver them with the kind of swagger and showmanship that has been part of a musical lineage all the way from Elvis to Rocket From The Crypt. Oh, and we promise that if you go see them live, they will utterly SLAY you. Check out ‘Disco Sucks’ on the link below.
Alex Gosman