Nothing like kicking off 2014 with a bunch of new music. There’s tonnes of it circling out there already so this new monthly will be stuffed with tracks that are found in our ears the most. The 10 tracks we have hand-picked below fall into the good old indie/rock genre, encompassing psych, shoegaze, garage, sludge, ….call it whatever you want, this is what is playing in here from our staff writers. Press play, listen, buy and destroy and then send us yours.
BTW, this image was ripped off the web. If you are in it and want to sue us, up yours.
THE BLACK TAMBOURINES: ‘Ghost At A Party’
Like a box of Christmas chocolates that are still resting on your lounge tabletop, we kick this off with a tune that actually came out in late 2013 but was too good not to reblog. Prepared yourself for a dose of laid back, cool-as-fuck, garage-psych from Cornwall’s The Black Tambourines who are one of the most underrated British bands of last year. Search out their self-titled album for 11 tracks that you will be hooked on for months. – Zac
MENACE BEACH: ‘Where I Come From’
Some call this lot a Leeds supergroup due to members of Pulled Apart by Horses, Hookworms and Sky Larkin. This track lifted from their Lowtalker EP swirls inside your brain like a double dipped ohm on a fairground ride. Beautiful sounds. – Zac
VERTICAL SCRATCHERS – ‘These Plains’
Vertical Scratchers is the latest musical adventure from former Brainiac and Enon man John Schmersal. Teaming up with ex-Triclops/Anywhere member Christian Beaulieu, Schmersal is back with yet more quirky skewed pop genius. ‘These Plains’ is crammed full of melodies that embed themselves into your skull and point blank refuse to leave. Their debut album ‘Daughter Of Everything’ is released through Merge Records on the 3rd of March. If this track is anything to go by, the album is going to be on heavy rotation in our heads this year! – James Sherry
POLEDO – ‘King Of Cool’
‘King Of Cool’ is the latest from lo-fi scuzz band Poledo – taken from a collaborative 12” from the very awesome Art Is Hard and Reeks of Effort labels. The tracks strength lies in its simplicity. It’s a carefree slice of fuzzy pop from a band who clearly don’t over think or over complicate when they know they’re onto a good thing. – Joe Parry
GIRL BAND – ‘Lawman’
Unsettling razor-sharp experimentalism has never sounded as groovy as ‘Lawman’ from Dublin’s Girl Band. If Sonic Youth and The Locust had a schizophrenic baby, chances are they’d make sounds similar to this. – Joe Parry
SLIPPERTAILS – ‘Hip New Jerk’
This sludgy rock duo has provided the soundtrack to my life for the past fortnight. I use the term sludge loosely, mind. Slippertails’ debut album There’s A Disturbing Trend holds elements of cross-legged campfire folk, as well as the essential crash, bang, wallop. But their first single from the record, ‘Hip New Jerk’ sucks you in straight from the off. This is guaranteed to get your head banging. – Dave Palmer
DAY RAVIES – ‘Cocoon’
Day Ravies churn out the most agreeable dream pop ditties. They’ve got a great debut album full of them available to stream from their bandcamp, which is also host to one of the coolest sleeve designs of last year. ‘Cocoon’ is one of the more abrasive tracks from Tussle. There’s a Sonic Youth swagger in there that steers this tune away from the twee and back towards the shadows. – Dave Palmer
CHEATAHS – ‘Get Tight’
This bands music has stained the ceiling in our office. We’re all hooked. Nearly everything they’ve put out has had heavy rotation in here. Their Wichita debut is set to land February 10th and is sure to be a winner. Keep your eyes on the site for an interview with the band coming very soon. – Dave Palmer
THE MEN – ‘Pearly Gates’
Prepare for a pedal to the metal soul explosion from The Men’s latest offering taken from their forthcoming new album ‘Tomorrow’s Hits’, which lands on 3rd March. This band are like Ween, they can morph into whatever music genre that takes their fancy. Once again, the metamorphosis doesn’t disappoint as this crew go from campfire marshmallow dippers into Iggy Pop’s collection of fired up MC5 singles. Rip roaring radness on 11. – Zac
BLACK LIPS – ‘Boys in the Wood’
Those barfly motherfuckers the Black Lips have returned with yet another dope new album titled ‘Underneath the Rainbow’ scheduled for release this March. This first offering titled ‘Boys in the Wood’ is a drunken sing-along with no fooling around. The album is killer with no filler and comes free with an abundance of dirty garage filled swagger. Get hyped. – Zac