Gorillaz have posted an advent calendar online.
The animated band are giving away free digital presents on the official site. The band said: “Greetings! Gorillaz’s little elves have been busy preparing a daily feast of Gorillaz gift ephemera for your jolly enjoyment.”
With printable masks, a game and a soundcheck from a live show given away already, who knows what is to come!
Dagger Paths
No Pain in Pop
While Forest Sword’s ‘Dagger Paths’ might seem like old news now given its February release on US imprint Olde English Spelling Bee, only now has it been made available in the UK. This CD package released through No Pain in Pop not only features all six tracks from the initial vinyl release, but also both tracks from the Rattling Cage 7”, as well as remixes and rarities. Basically, if you like what you’ve heard so far from this talented new artist; this is your essential collection to the beguiling sounds of Forest Swords.
For the unacquainted, Forest Swords is the one man project of Matt Barnes from Wirral, UK. Although perhaps inspired by the evolution of dubstep in the last few years, his otherworldly music has a sound of its own that is equally influenced by post-punk and psych-rock. Barnes twists and combines all these varying styles of music until they are unrecognisable, bringing them into his own truly idiosyncratic vision.
One of Barnes’ best qualities is his great spatial awareness, avoiding the clutter of modern electronic productions in favour of exploring the potent grooves and melodies within Dagger Path’s many layers. Opening track ‘Mirarches’, for example, focuses on a meandering guitar part which leads the listener through the song’s various sonic delights. Whether it be the bursts of reverb laden guitar that drift in and out of the track, or the haunting female backing vocal that lurks in the background, there’s always plenty going on yet the music never feels congested.
With such a dynamic and unusual songwriting craft, it’s difficult to pinpoint who are the contemporaries of Forest Swords. While Dagger Paths has the darkness of artists like Balam Acab and Salem, its approach is more organic, perhaps inspired by the rugged landscapes of Wirral itself. Either way, it’s a fascinating and hypnotic record that grows with every listen, hinting at a bright future ahead for Forest Swords.
Sleekly Lion
For those of you who still love to feast on 80’s Hardcore Punk be ready to find a new favourite website. Punk fan and writer Steven Blush has posted hundreds of hardcore tracks up for stream and download unfortunately or fortunately depending on what way you look at the scene.
Go through over 900 tracks from many bands including Adrenalin OD, COC, Naked Raygun, Bad Religion, Free Beer, Black Flag and far too more more to mention here. Stream them, reminisce and then buy the full albums to support the musicians who made them. Go to http://www.americanhardcorebook.com/punk24/ for the full picture.
The National
O2 Academy, Brixton
30.11.10
Words and photography: Caitlin Mogridge
Only The National could have a sell out tour, and fill the Brixton Academy three nights in a row and still remain relatively unknown. This band is like America’s secret export which people are only just discovering, but they already have three incredible albums behind them. I jumped at the chance to see them while they’re here, particularly after hearing the write-ups they got over the summer. It’s fair to say I was a little bit excited about this one.
They began with an incredible ethereal opening, then straight into Anyone’s Ghost. Anyone who knows this band will know the power they have live, and eerie looped visuals made it an incredible show to watch. Mistaken for Strangers got everyone singing adoringly, but I couldn’t take my eyes off the drummer who absolutely made this song live. He made it look effortless.
The set mainly jumped in between Boxer and High Violet but it all fitted perfectly, and ended up sounding like an extended greatest hits. You couldn’t fault a single track. A personal highlight of mine was Green Gloves, which had been powerfully enhanced with a piano and a brass section. I don’t think this song would have worked live without the added punch, but there was an obvious consideration for what would suit the venue and the crowd, and it paid off.
I was expecting quiet appreciation from the crowd but towards the end they couldn’t be contained. In the pit people were in a trance, packed in tight but still moving, and responding to every joke or intro. At the back, it seemed to be a couple affair and generally an older demographic, but that’s cool. We’d be proud if our parents had such good taste.
I couldn’t believe how fast the last hour went, but they came back on with an explosive version of Terrible Love before concluding with something none of us were expecting. The lights went off, the mics went off. The applause died down and they began an acoustic version of Vandalyle Crybaby. Everyone sang along, and anyone who shouted or spoiled the mood was told where to go by everyone around them. Suddenly the show became a group event which everyone was part of. It was the most incredible moment, and the best possible ending to their show.
I urge you to go and see them live if you can, I know I’d do it all over again if I could.
Raver
Digital Soundboy
Shy FX is a legend, pure and simple. Having driven the D&B and Jungle scenes for years, he still remains as important and fresh as he ever was and with this new single, out on December 6th, he’s dropped another golden banger. Enlisting the vocal talents of Kano, Donae’o and Roses Gabor, the chorus line of “When I was a yout I used to blow my horn like a raver” immediately grabs you by the scruff of the neck and demands you shock out as the drums spins all around.
With four remixes on the release, there really is something for everyone. MJ Cole comes in with a hugely fuzzy bassline, Benny Page‘s “dancefloor remix” serves up a serious slab of instant D&B and Shy himself provides a “Guinness Punch remix” which concentrates on bringing some vibed out dub to the plate, showing the producer’s versatility with consummate ease.
The stand-out remix on the release however comes from Breakage, who has had one hell of a year with his Foundation album. His “Pattern Moschino remix” combines reverbed vocal hooks with an old school jungle beat which is a perfect example of everything a high-energy dancefloor banger should be.
Shy and his label have rubber-stamped another biggun. Get on it and check out the video to the original below and see how many cameos you can spot!
Abjekt.
Space Traitor – Vol. 1
Civil Music
Starkey is always difficult to define with his innovative mix of grime, dubstep, hip hop and everything inbetween and with his new EP, Space Traitor – Vol. 1, he doesn’t make it any easier. Not that this is a bad thing, as opening track Robot Hands slams its way into the ether with his trademark heavy duty bass interspersed with moments of calm before the storm.
Playing With Fire sees no let-up with a crashing drum introducing the track, laying the foundations for the crescendo of sound that follows, combining skittering hi-hats and empowering synths. The almost Hitchcockian film-score like strings of Holodeck again bleed into a bassline that demands full attention before showing his ability to switch styles with the much more relaxed Paradise with Anneka, who appeared on his album Ear Drums And Black Holes of this year.
Starkey’s production ends with the almost Joker-esque Lenses before unleashing a torrent of remixes from the likes of Ital Tek, Rudi Zygadlo [with a brilliantly understated remix of Paradise] and Egyptrixx amongst others. Fans of Starkey will lap this up and certainly there are tracks on here that would have lifted his album to higher levels. As ever, he is fresh and worth space on anyone’s iPod.
Abjekt.
Space Traitor Vol 1 (preview) by starkey
Bright Eyes have announced the details of their new album.
Conor Oberst has revealed the album will be called The People’s Key and will be released on February 14th. The record was recorded in Omaha and the tracklisting is below. The band will also be playing Royal Albert Hall on June 23rd next year.
‘Firewall’
‘Shell Games’
‘Jejune Stars’
‘Approximate Sunlight’
‘Haile Selassie’
‘A Machine Spiritual (In The People’s Key)’
‘Triple Spiral’
‘Beginner’s Mind’
‘Ladder Song’
‘One For You, One For Me’
Jamie XX will be remixing the latest Gil Scott-Heron album.
I’m New Here’s reworking will be released on February 21st on CD, vinyl, a vinyl box set and as a download. The tracklisting is below and you can sample the vibes with the video for the remix of NY Is Killing Me below.
‘I’m New Here’
‘Home’
‘I’ve Been Me (Interlude)’
‘Running’
‘My Cloud’
‘Certain Things (Interlude)’
‘The Crutch’
‘Ur Soul and Mine’
‘Parents (Interlude)’
‘Piano Player’
‘NY Is Killing Me’
‘Jazz (Interlude)’
‘I’ll Take Care Of U’
Les Savy Fav have announced details of a new UK tour.
The band will hit these shores in February and March and will also release new single Dirty Knails. The dates are:
February
22nd – London, Heaven
23rd – Cardiff, The Globe
24th – Manchester, MOHO
25th – Birmingham, Sound Bar
26th – Liverpool, The Kazimier
27th – Sheffield, Corporation.
March
1st – Aberdeen, The Tunnels
2nd – Newcastle, Cluny
Les Savy Fav
London Electric Ballroom
22.11.10
Photo: Chico Hooke
Well, better late than never. Les Savy Fav have been visiting our shores for at least a decade, but it is only tonight – after previously missing out for various reasons – that I will finally clap eyes on the gloriously unhinged NYC art-rockers. Their shows – and in particular, the actions of vocalist Tim Harrington – are fast becoming the stuff of legend, but as far as LSF are concerned, it’s best to expect the unexpected.
I thought The Bronx were a crazy bunch, but they have nothing on these guys. There aren’t many bands around whose singer would start their set by dressing in pyjamas and pretending to doze off on a table placed in the centre of the stage. Said table gives way just as Harrington’s bandmates arrive, and all hell breaks loose in the crowd as they rip into ‘Excess Energies’, the band’s abrasive sound providing a suitably visceral soundtrack for the madness that unfolds.
Whatever Harrington is on, I want some. During the rare moments that he’s actually onstage, he’s busy tearing nipple holes in his t-shirt, climbing around the lighting rig like some kind of punk rock gorilla, or even piggybacking his band’s guitarists onto upturned monitors whilst simultaneously bellowing his way through ‘The Sweat Descends’. Most of the time, he’s romping around the venue with a wide-eyed sense of adventure, engaging in all manner of random anecdotes and chats with the audience, who rightfully greet him as one of their own.
You’d think that all these antics would somewhat distract from the music, but the band’s ‘Root For Ruin’ album is arguably one of this year’s finest, and the likes of ‘Appetites’ and the understated ‘Sleepless In Silverlake’ sound superb tonight. Ultimately, Les Savy Fav’s main strengths lie in their songs, their fan-friendly approach, and their ability to put on a fantastic show that without resorting to any clichéd pyro/explosions nonsense. Check them out whilst you can – this is genius of the most demented kind.
Alex Gosman