funfunfun

funfunfun's favourite album of 2009

2010-01-07T14:13:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year everyone. I got a bit bored of lists by the end of 2009 - which is one of the reasons why my list is a bit late - but this year I'm going to do mine a bit differently. I have very crudely erased the artists and album titles from my 15 favourite albums of the year and it is your job to work out what they are.
The first person who gets them all right will win something, a prize of some sorts that I haven't thought of yet but a prize none the less. Ok here goes:

15

14

13
12
11
10

9
8
7

6
5

4
3
2!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 1 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So the point of the game is to work out all the albums and their artists in the fastest time. The winners take how a prize (TBC). You got until next Thursday to get the answers and put them in the comments down below. Then next Thursday, I'll give you the answers, a bit of blurb and a free download for most of the albums/artists.
Enjoy :)

I Talked To Slow Club

2009-12-22T05:29:00.000-08:00

Slow Club released one of funfunfun's favourite albums of 2009, Yeah So (my list will be up before the new year). I spoke to Rebecca from the band ages ago for the second issue of the funfunfun zine and seeing as how I never got round to publishing it, here's the interview in all its glory:

Depending on when I finished this zine, your album Yeah So will either be just about to come out or will already have been released. Are you happy with the final outcome?

Yes, very. It is a good collection of what the band is right now. after a lot of thinking about track listings and what to record/what to get rid of, I think we made the right choice.

Did you go into the studio with a set idea of what the album would sound like?
Not really, we have gone through the whole process a bit in the dark. producing it ourselves was never something we decided on but it just ended up happening. I dont know if that was wise or not. It just felt like the only way to do it at that time, or something, I guess. Maybe.

Why is the album called Yeah So?
I think it just beats anything anyone can say to you. I suppose it is a bit brattish but, we don't mean it like that really. Its called it cos it is OK>>??!!!

The release of the debut album is a big landmark for any band. How has Slow Club changed since you started? What's been your highlight?
We have changed loads. Our brains are in totally different places now and I think thats a good thing. We started out for fun totally, and we've been really greatful for the time we have had to become what we are now and slowly write and record and now release what we wanted to. There have been tonnes of highlights, its hard to pick one (and partly because i cant remember much) but just generally seeing crowds being 3 people and 2 being my parents to being able to play to lots of people that really like the band is just all we ever wanted.

How much have Moshi Moshi helped get you to where you are?
LOADS they are the best. We have been given space to make what we wanted, room to say 'can we do this' and 'we'd rather not do that' etc. They are the greatest most wonderful awesome label the world has ever witnessed OK?

The first time I saw you live was at Lee Rosy's Tea Room in Nottingham on, I think, your first headline tour (which was great btw) What's been your favourite show and why?
Every single show is my favourite show. but I love mum shows, like the Union Chapel, when they are special and mums come.

Do you write about experiences or emotions?
Both, all everything. We have different writing styles that combined can take over the WORLD right?! I get a bit whiney and emotional sometimes, while Charles has the big guns and he brings the beef. but, sometimes I (obvs) bring the beef whilst Charles is being the big girl about stuff. But every single line has a story behind it that we could tell you. That has become a bit of a rule when we write.

I've always wondered about this. How did your odd collection of percussion objects come about?
I had chair lessons from an early age, and just sort of fell into the pot and spoon business. But i got fed up of all this and now i am just consentrating on the art of street DANCE.

You played New York and SXSW earlier this year and are going back over to the States in the summer? What's the reaction been like to Slow Club over there?
We really loved going the the US and can't wait to go back in August. I guess we will see the change when we go as the album will be out etc. I quite fancy moving to LA and roller blading in a bikini everyday, so hopefully we can get famous enough over there to support that lavish lifestyle I am dreaming of.

The festival season is pretty much upon us and it looks like you've got quite a few lined up. Do you enjoy playing festivals? If you organised a festival, who'd headline? (can be dead or alive)
I get grumpy at festivals because I dont like tents or standing up for long. but they are fun to play and its always wicked when people turn up to see you instead of like Basement Jaxx or The Prodigy or whatever. How many stages? over how many days? This is an impossible question. Well, I would say the whole festival has to be sat down and the whole floor carpeted and no shoes or wacky hats allowed. And, I think maybe GaGa followed by DC on the smaller stage and Rod followed by the Carpenters on the main. But I probably don't think this at all. Let me have a think.

After the album is released and festivals are done, what's your plan for the rest of the year?
Sexy music EP, Christmas EP, Sleeping, Crafting new mega band sound, keep up to date with Eastenders and trying to be good.

Slow Club - Christmas TV (live)
Slow Club & Annie Hart - Killing Moon

Slow Club's Christmas EP,Thanks For Nothing, is out now on Moshi Moshi

I Talked To Sky Larkin

2009-12-15T14:54:00.000-08:00

Sky Larkin released one of funfunfun's favourite albums of 2009, The Golden Spike (To find out how much I liked it, check back next week for my end of year list). They also released a cassette ep back in May, headed by, and entitled after, my fav track off the album, Antibodies, and which contained personal b-sides created by each member of the band. Singer/guitarist Katie took some precious time out of the band's hectic schedule to answer some questions posed to her by funfunfun. Her responses were meant to feature in funfunfun zine #2 but it never saw the light of day so here they are:

Why did you decide to release Antibodies ep as a cassette?

We wanted to release it on a format that offered us the opportunity to do some different and exclusive content- side b of the tape doesn't exist digitally!

Did you listen tapes as kids? What was your first/favourite? I had Parklife and played it continuously for weeks on my My First Walkman. Happy times :)

My friend Felicity made me a Nirvana tape when I was 12 which had a pencil crayon cover.

The b-sides really show off different sides of the band. How did the idea for it come about? And how did each of you decide what to use your ten minutes for?

I liked having the opportunity to explain myself and to feel like I was having a direct conversation with the people who listen to our music. Nestor loves bassy rumblings and Doug loves gumtree.

What would be your Gumtree personal advert?

Three headed hermaphrodite seeks ears for intimate relations.

The Golden Spike came out earlier this year. Have you been pleased by the reaction to it?

Definitely! We had no idea how it would go down and it's amazing how and where it has ended up around the world- apparently good old British Airways have it in their inflight entertainment system!

Having got a lot of attention from the first demoes you put online, did you feel pressure at all to live up to the hype with The Golden Spike?

I guess we didn't want to disappoint ourselves so we worked hard to get the album what we wanted it to be before we left for Seattle, what we do is rooted in playing live so that was important to us

You went over to the States to record the album with John Goodmanson. Why did you feel he was the right person for the job? How was your time over there?

He has been at the helm of some great records and is a real gent! Our time in Seattle was intense but fun, flavoured with coffee and trips to the aquarium, experience music project and sci-fi museum.

You're one of the bands that contribute to the Awesome Pals blog. Would you say that the AP bands form a sort of community/scene? And what do you think connects them all?

Quite literally the internet does- I guess our generation of bands can not only connect with fans more directly but also each other. It means scenes don't have to be geographically located and can be more about attitude and ethos. And bumping into each other around the country and having fun.

If you could only listen to one album for the rest of your life, which one would you pick?

Some huge extensive box set I guess, the new Pixies one would suit me just fine.

Sky Larkin - Smarts

New Fang Island

2009-12-08T10:09:00.000-08:00

Fang Island are back. Back with tunes that are as riffing and rocking as ever. Daisy sounds confident and triumphant. It's Thin-Lizzy guitar lines, chanted lyrics and bold key strokes combined to make a soaring and thrilling three minutes and nineteen seconds. Life Coach is a more stacatto affair with pounding chords and thudding drumsticks but the band get all Arcade Fire on us halfway through with group chanting and a climax of epic proportions. My socks were thoroughly rocked.
These tracks are off the band's debut full length Fang Island which is out early next year on Sargent House. The album's artwork pretty much sums up the band's sound and that's why I'm so excited about it, a castle fighting a fairy, who wouln't be excited!!!

Fang Island - Daisy
Fang Island - Life Coach

Four To Forget

2009-12-07T11:59:00.000-08:00

I wrote about White Collar Weapons a while back, before my "disappearance" and I describe their sound as "halfway between Vampire Weekend and Arctic Monkeys." While you can still hear these slight influences in their sound, when I saw them at Betsy Trotwood a week ago, they had got a bit softer. Not in a bad way. More in a subtle harmonies, acoustic-y, lovely way. They've teamed up with another band called Summer Holiday to make a super collection of musicians, like that idiot on that mobile phone advert but much much better, and together they produce tasty sounds (see here)
The song you heard from the link above (if it works) is called Digginest Team and is fantastic. FANTASTIC I say. It was one of my favourite melodies of the year and is just splendid. It is off the band's new ep, Four To Forget, which is out today!!!! The record was recorded before the merger of the two bands so has more of the electric guitar elements of WCW earlier stuff but hints at exciting things to come.
You can get it from here which I think you should. Just buy Digginest Team if you can only afford one track.

White Collar Weapons - Fallen Animals

That's Right

2009-12-07T11:55:00.000-08:00

I'm

Back!!!

Mercury Music Prize 2009

2009-07-15T07:03:00.000-07:00

The last year has been interesting for British music. There has been so many great albums that past under the radar of the public and were seemingly ignored by the media whereas there has been tons of bland, boring and uninspiring releases that have been lauded, praised, hyped and bought by the public, who I sometimes think don't like music at all.

I've been asked by the BBC, as have many music blogs/sites, who I would nominate for this year's Mercury Music Prize. Now, I never really agree with the winner, or the most of the nominees, of the prize and I feel that the majority of British talent isn't highlighted. Let's take last year for example. I can't really see how the judges thought that The Seldom Seen Kid was better than In Rainbows or Untrue. I was and I still am shocked.
Also I find that most of the best British and Irish music released throughout the year are put out by labels that can't afford the £200 registration fee and to send 25 copies of the album to the judges so many of the best albums are undemocratically subbed.

Anyway, I stop my rant. Here's my choice of nominations:

We Were Promised Jetpacks - These Four Walls (FatCat)
I reviewed These Four Walls for the next issue of Drunken Werewolf magazine and I praised it quite highly but since then, I given the album more listens and... its even better. Tense, agitated and epic in places. Best British debut of the year.

We Were Promised Jetpacks - Ships With Holes In Will Sink

Michachu & The Shapes - Jewellery (Rough Trade)
Oddball production and quirky instrumentation but Michachu has create a collection of misfit pop tunes thats experimental and catchy simultaneously.

Michachu & The Shapes - Calculator

Sky Larkin - The Golden Spike (Wichita)
Clever and spacious indie rock from Leeds' finest trio. Full of intelligent lyrics, crunching guitars and ace melodies.

Sky Larkin - Molten

Blue Roses - Blue Roses (XL)
Folk music at it's most devastatingly beautiful. Laura Groves' voice is so pure and untouched and the content is dark, a bit edgy and utterly compelling.

Blue Roses - I Am Leaving

Dananananaykroyd - Hey Everyone! (Best Before)
The most fun you'll have with a record all year. Shout along, flail around your bedroom and play totally awesome air drums with the 6 headed Glaswegian beast of a band.

Dananananaykroyd - Chrome Rainbow

Alessi's Ark - Notes From The Treehouse (EMI UK)
Doing her best Joanna Newsom impression, Alessi's debut album pulls Ms Newsom fantastical lyricism and mixes it with Mike Mogis' production to build a slab of English Americana.

Alessi's Ark - The Horse

Toddla T - Skanky Skanky (1965)
My album of the Summer and maybe, but probably not, the dance choice for this year's Prize. Full of dancehall enthusiasm, jungle energy and some body-bending beats, it will get you through hot days and long, sweaty nights.

Toddla T - Shake It

The Wave Pictures - If You Leave It Alone (Moshi Moshi)
They missed out on nominations last year for the, ultimately better, Instant Coffee Baby, so it's only right that they get shortlisted with the latest effort. Though it's not as good as last year's release, it contains all the elements that made ICB such a bloody good release. One of the most consistent, and best, British bands of the past 10 years.

The Wave Pictures - If You Leave It Alone

Rolo Tomassi - Hysterics (Hassle)
The Mercury Music Prize never give heavy music the recognition that it deserves. The UK's punk/metal/rock scene is as thriving as ever and I think Rolo Tomassi are the most inventive and exciting out of all on offer. Hysterics is a bruising, challenging and aggressive album that blasts and sprawls in every direction possible but maybe it's a bit too uncompromising for the Mercury audience...although I'd love to see them perform live on the night and watch Jools Holland's face as it melts from the awesome mayhem that would ensue.

Rolo Tomassi - Abraxas

To be honest, none of these albums will be nominated. The panel will go for crap like Doves, Franz Ferdinand, The Horrors, Little Boots, La Roux and the public will be none the wiser about all the good music this country produces. Ah well...

MJ

2009-07-07T09:32:00.000-07:00

I've been trying to stay out of the mayhem that has been the media reaction to Michael Jackson's death but it seems like I can't. Too much hyperbole and exaggeration has meant the man's legacy has been slightly distorted. In the next few minutes, on pretty much every TV channel, MJ's memorial will be screened live. Even in death, he couldn't escaped the cameras.
I've only seen two pieces of journalism that I feel do Michael's legacy proud. Firstly there's Smash Hits. The once, fortnightly pop magazine has resurrected itself for a MJ special and its a fascinating read which delves deep into the publication's archives and comes up with MJ's last ever UK interview and an article about Michael's first ever solo tour.
But the most poignent and beautifully written tribute to the star is over at Said The Gramophone. Sean has written a poem that describes Jackson's life and death with humanity, eloquence and wit and I implore you to give it a read.

Michael Jackson - Don't Stop Til You Get Enough (demo)

Blur @ Hyde Park

2009-07-06T03:47:00.000-07:00

I think it was sometime during Foals' set that it dawned on me. I was just about to see Blur. I mean Blur, the band that started my whole obsession with music, the band that create Parklife, the soundtrack to my life aged 10, the band that I've wanted to see live since then. They were going to take to the stage in matter of minutes. I was excited to say the least.

This was the first of two nights at a full capacity Hyde Park and after hours of sitting/standing in the scorching sun, watching uninspiring bands, it was a relief for the 55,000 slightly drunken, eager fans when the sounds of Lot 105 rang across the park.

The band strolled on from stage right, looking so casual you'd swear they do this every night, and went straight into their first single She's So High. The crowd erupted. Every lyric that Damon Albarn sang was resonated right back at him. The four-piece seemed overwhelmed by the reaction and as they began the Parklife one-two of Girls & Boys and Tracy Jacks, the crowd and the band bounced and flailed to every beat.

They ran through song after song, hit after hit, anthem after anthem at top speed, only breaking now and again for gasping intros and slightly awkward banter but each song made me realise how good Blur were/are. Alex James just grooved on his bass like no one else while mounted his monitor, Dave Rowntree's kept an insistent rhythm while adding playful fills, Damon is a mix between Suggs, Ray Davis and Mick Jagger, full of the vigour and energy of a twenty-year-old, especially when armed with a megaphone. But its Graham Coxon, the coolest man alive, that steals the show for me. His chunky, squealing guitar sound soared through the evening air on Beetlebum and This Is A Low. At one point he flung himself through the end and landed on his knees while planning some serious mean guitar. It was one of the most rocknroll things I've ever seen. And although he's always been my favourite member of Blur, after that performance he may just be my favourite musician ever.

The big stage was perfect for Blur. It may not have been obvious when they were released but near every song they played tonight is an anthem. Song 2. Anthem. There's No Other Way. Anthem. Popscene. Anthem. Even the novelty that is Country House sounds like an anthem when 55,000 people are hollering it out. That's what this gig was great for. Arms in the air, head point to the sky and just belting out the words to songs that haven't meant that for years.

It's the slow numbers that work better for this. While Jubilee, Trimm Trabb, Parklife(feat. Phil Daniels) were great, it was Out Of Time; End Of A Century; Tender, who's refrain continues to be sang long after the song had finished, and the utterly incredible closer The Universal that blew the crowd away, everyone with their arms around everyone else. An Everest-sized high.

It wasn't until we were trudging back to the train station that I realised they didn't play Charmless Man, one of my favourite Blur tracks, but that goes to show that they still had albums worth of material that is comparable to it and for two hours in Central London, I was 12 again, Blur had never been away and I didn't have a care in the world. Bliss.

Blur - The Universal (live)
Blur - Song 2 (live)
Blur - This Is A Low (live)

Photos taken from MTV.com and Jellybeanz

Blur Week: More b-sides

2009-07-01T11:07:00.000-07:00

More b-sides for you lovely people. This time round the secondary songs are taken from singles off Blur's eponymous album, Blur (obviously).
All Your Life and A Spell For Money were the b-sides to Beetlebum and they really show off the direction that the band took on Blur. All Your Life begins like a Pavement track with its scuzzy, off-kilter guitar that doesn't sound quite right but totally is. Saying that, the chorus is classic Blur with Damon's lyric all cheeky and bursting with charm. The odd synth notes behind the chorus gives it a crazed-robot kookiness. Spell For Money is a less intense affair with a glitchy, effects-ridden guitar lead and a plucky but subdued beat. For an instrumental, not much happens in it but I like it for it's minimalist nature. It just sort of bounces along, blinkers on the finish line.
Song 2 is a tough track to follow. Its a short, sharp burst of righteous energy and Blur have followed it with a 6 and a half minute rock-out epic. Bustin' + Dronin' does exactly what it says on the CD case. It busts and it drones in a haze of buzzing, fuzzed up guitars and enveloped vocals. It just goes on and on in this buzzy wasp like way. I'm not sure how people reacted to it at the time, being so different from Song 2 or anything Blur, but listening to it now, it sounds amazing.

Blur - All Your Life
Blur - A Spell For Money
Blur - Bustin' + Dronin'

Wow, Just Wow! New Johnny Foreigner Choons!

2009-06-30T09:58:00.000-07:00

Great news folks! Brummie noisemakers Johnny Foreigner have released three new, well almost new, tunes today in anticipation for their forthcoming album Grace And The Bigger Picture, which is out in October.
Everyone should have heard the lightning speed Feels Like Summer already and alot of you will have Camp Kelly Camp, mainly because I posted it on funfunfun about a month ago, But Wow, Just Wow is brand new to me.
It sounds like many other Johnny Foreigner tracks. Lots of yelping vocals,driving rhythms and guitar strings pulverised and pinged all over the fretboard in a gale of crunchiness, but there's something a bit different. The band sound a bit down. There's a melancholy and a loneliness that wasn't apparent on Waited Up Til It Was Light. The trio seemed to have grown since then, wearied by the road maybe, and if they find the right mix between this sadness and their usual frantic euphoria then I can't wait for October to roll around.

Johnny Foreigner - Wow, Just Wow

You can get the two other tracks from the JoFo website

AXTXTXIXTXUXDXE

2009-06-29T15:28:00.000-07:00

If you want some scuzzy, lo-fi, noisy goodness you don't have to search across the pond, that's wasting energy. Some of the scuzziest, lo-fiest and noisiest noise is coming straight out of Nottingham in the form of Lovvers. I posted about them back in 2007 and since then they've been tearing venues up all over the places in support of last year's Think EP, which got great reviews.
Their next offering is OCD Go Go Go Girls, their second full length due out on August 10th and from it is AXTXTXIXTXUXDXE. It's garagey and gooey. All the parts sound as if they're sticking to each other, like rush-hour, train passengers on a muggy day, and nothing can be clearly defined but that works to the track's advantage in my opinion. I'm a lover of Lovvers

Lovvers - AXTXTXIXTXUXDXE
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Also it's Blur week on funfunfun after their epic, emotional and excellent set at Glasto on Sunday night (Weren't they good?) and because I am going to see them on Thursday!!!!!!! So excited. I've love them since I was 9 and this will be the first time I'll have seen them live. So I'm gonna try and post something Blur related everyday.
Don't Bomb When You're The Bomb was recorded and limitedly released in 2002, just after Graham Coxon left the band. It doesn't sound like the same Blur that I grew up with but that's one of my favourite things about the band; they can produce things that sound so different.

Blur - Don't Bomb When You're The Bomb

The Bronx @ ULU

2009-06-23T13:59:00.000-07:00

I forgot how crazy hardcore fans can be.
This was a post ATP show for The Bronx and having already performing under the guise Mariachi El Bronx earlier in the night to a rapturous reception (the review of this will be in funfunfun zine #2, out soon...hopefully), I was worried that the band might be a little bit weary. Oh how my fears were instantly quashed as soon as Matt and the boys took to the stage. I wasn't prepare for the onslaught from the band and the crowd.
Seemingly fuelled by the kineticism of the rowdy audience below them, the band flew straight into They Will Kill Us All (Without Mercy) followed by Shitty Future and the baying masses went feral and I was stuck in the middle. Arms flailed as the pit grew and swelled like a living organism, chewing up people and spitting others out at the opposite side of the venue.
Like the pit, The Bronx feed on this energy and give a performance to match it. Vocalist Matt beat his chest or punch the air with every breakdown and sang/screamed his fucking heart with every member of the audience. The way the band have mixed old-school rock with hardcore elements really creates a fun and lively atmosphere with the guitarists surely loving the high velocity chords as well as the fiddly high lead parts.

I thought the crowd surfing and general pit antics couldn't get any more frequent when they played White Tar and Past Lives but when they kicked into Knifeman, from their most recent release The Bronx (III), I realised I was wrong. Crowd-surfers whizzed past my ears and avid fans bounced off each other metres away from me. I was tempted to join in, to relive my teenage days of unrestraint and bruising but my older self stopped me, mainly due to having an expensive camera over my shoulder.
The band were egging us on. They wanted us to become more unruly. They needed more sustenance to keep this electric set going with all the aggression, passion and vitality they could muster. With stage-divers taking over the stage, each one welcomed enthusiastically by Matt, the band closed the set with the first song they wrote together, Heart Attack American, and as the throbbing audience strained their voices as one to join the band in this farewell, I thought about this being my first hardcore/punk in years and how I should come to more like it as this gig was one of the most exciting, visceral performance I'd seen in ages.
Come back soon The Bronx. I'm waiting.

The Bronx - Heart Attack American

You can view more photos of the gig on my flickr.

Eureka Brown

2009-06-15T10:28:00.000-07:00

Its not often that I stumble across something on Myspace that has such an instant impact on me but when I first opened Eureka Brown's page and the first notes from ¡Digitalia! stampeded from my speakers I knew I'd found something special.
I think it was the drum sound on the title track that did it. It sounds like someone hammering an oil drum and it gives the track a mechanical feel but the rest of the instrumentation is so warm and tropical that the contrast creates a unique tension.
Their album ¡Digitalia! is ten short bursts of fuzzy and beautiful pop which all seep into one another to create a constant stream of psychedelic space-waves that washes over you in twenty short minutes.
Due the duo's love of file-sharing (I think that's what ¡Digitalia! is about) you can download the album for free from their myspace, along with their first album Future Vision Of The Digital Universe.

Eureka Brown - ¡Digitalia!
Eureka Brown - Mystical Crystals

Cheatahs

2009-06-07T15:39:00.000-07:00

Cheatahs are the solo project of Canadian born, London-living, guitar/vocalist in Little Death, Nathan Hewitt. He creates his distorted, spooky and slightly awkward pop songs all on Garageband in his bedroom and they have such a gorgeous edge to them.
Some Powers feels worn, like your favourite hoodie that has holes in the cuffs and you wear only when you want to be really cosy. The sound that Garageband gives Nathan's acoustic guitar is full and scuzzy like a scribble with thick felt-pins. There's something haunting in the vocals. They are very melodic and melancholic and the contrast between that and the fuzz of the instruments lends the track an off-kilter quality.
I can't wait to get his debut 7" out on Young & Lost Club on 30th June

Cheatahs - Some Powers

White Collar Weapons

2009-05-31T10:53:00.000-07:00

Having played around the London circuit for over a year, White Collar Weapons have definitely developed an ear for a good tune. Glad I Am That's Not Me is the sort of track that will have you bouncing joyfully around any room you hear it in with its punchy riff and glorious melody. Singer and songwriter Kieran definitely know his way round a song and from the evidence of the previews on their myspace, White Collar Weapons have a promising sounding ep, Four To Forget, up their sleeves. They produce a sound that is halfway between Vampire Weekend and Arctic Monkeys but the sum of the parts is far greater than the parts themselves.

White Collar Weapons - Glad I Am That's Not Me (live)

funfunfun zine issue #1.5

2009-05-24T13:22:00.001-07:00

Just a quick note to say that funfunfun zine #1.5 is available to download. I started putting it together about a year ago but got a job and lost time and enthusiasm for it. Now, since I'm putting together the next issue which I assure you will see the light of day, I thought I should probably make this issue available.
Contents include an interview with Jetplane Landing, live reviews of Slow Club and Rolo Tomassi, features on Inlets and Ultcult and reviews of Johnny Foreigner and Little Boots. All great acts!

You can download it from here!!!!!!!

Issue #2 will be at the end of June and it looks real good so far.

Jetplane Landing - This Is Not Revolution Rock (acoustic)
Slow Club - Pirates
Rolo Tomassi - Scabs
Inlets - Your Good Arm
Ultcult - Five Bedrooms and Two Lounges
Little Boots - Meddle (acoustic)

Johnny Foreigner @ Flowerpot

2009-05-22T10:36:00.000-07:00

As I'm working on the next issue of the, seemingly annual, funfunfun zine, I don't have much time to scribe a detailed review of Johnny Foreigner's performance at Flowerpot. I'll just say that it was cochlea-crunching loud - my ears weren't the same for a good few days after -, the new tracks sound amazing and I still get mesmerized by Alexei's guitar playing, I couldn't take my eyes of his fretboard. I love the way he pushes his guitar to the limit. Highlights were probably new single Feels Like Summer, Suicide Pact and Salt, Peppa... I'll let photos do the talking now.

Johnny Foreigner - Feels Like Summer
Johnny Foreigner - Camp Kelly Calm

Alessi's Ark @ Rough Trade East

2009-05-20T05:26:00.000-07:00

I was up in London last Thursday, with not much to do and a whole day's travelcard to make use of so I popped over to Rough Trade East, near Brick Lane, to see Alessi's Ark. I hadn't really heard much of her stuff before this but had heard and read a lot of positive things about Alessi, so I was intrigued.
My intrigue turned into delight as Alessi performed 6 or 7 tracks of pure wonderment. Her simple guitar patterns were the perfect canvas for her to paint glorious pictures with a clever turn of phrase and imaginative imagery. This kind of lyrical storytelling reminded me of Joanna Newsom and Alessi also shares vocal similarities with Ms Newsom. Its an uncompromising voice but when the music and content of the songs are so caked in mystique and fantasy, it just works.
The set consists of some tracks from her debut album, Notes From The Treehouse, like the haunting The Horse and the lovely Over The Hill but she also aired some new songs, none I can remember the name of unfortunately, but all were mesmerizing.
When the power cut out mid-set, Alessi just step aside from the broken mic and performed a couple of tracks completely acoustically. It really showed the talent and confidence of this kooky young songwriter. Maybe kooky's not the spot on but Alessi has this cute, hippy thing going on.
She finished with full power and a rapturous applause from the small crowd that had formed and I left, in hope that the rest of my day would be filled with as much adventure and fantasy as one of Alessi's songs.

Alessi's Ark - Magic Weather

You can buy Notes From The Treehouse from Rough Trade and get a free ep

Laura Marling @ Flowerpot

2009-05-15T03:37:00.000-07:00

Well it was actually billed as More Alarming but the venue's listings actually told you it was a secret show and to work it out yourself. Unsurprisingly it seemed that most of North London did as when Laura Marling took to the stage, the small venue was filled to bursting point and as hot as the devil's armpit. Flowerpot is a new drinking, musical establishment in Kentish Town and over May, its first month of business, it has put on a different band every night for FREE. Hoorah!
Ms Marling, and her cellist friend, actually had to clamber over the bar to reach the stage, due to the anchovy-like state of the crowd but the scramble didn't effect the performance as she burst in Ghosts from her debut album Alas I Cannot Swim, straight off. Laura's voice was edged with a slight tremble, maybe a sign of nerves, and the constant feedback from her microphone and the background chatter of the fucking people at the back almost spoilt the first song, but when the whole crowd joined in with singing the chorus, you could see Laura swell in confidence.
She aired three new songs, none of which I can remember the names of, but all of which left me mesmerized. The accompaniment of the cello added a richness to Laura's simple guitar and vocal work which complimented the tracks incredibly well. It bodes well for future releases.
She finished off with Cross Your Fingers/Crawled Out Of The Sea, which prompted an almost pub-like singalong from the cramped, but probably very drunk, masses. Ended on Alas I Cannot Swim, Laura neglected the microphone that had persistantly caused her problems all set and stepped to the front of the stage to conduct the crowd in their singing, even willing us on with her arms. For a song that seems so personal, it worked well as a group singalong and was the highlight of the night.
And that was it. Laura climb back over the bar, the crowd subsided, spilling out into the dark streets of Kentish Town and as I walked back to Camden tube, I realised I just seen something special. Next stop for Laura is the Southbank Centre!!!! Fricking crazy.

Laura Marling - Alas I Cannot Swim (Black Cab Session)

You can view more photos of the gig on my flickr

Mutiny On The Bounty

2009-05-13T07:17:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure what else comes from Luxembourg but Mutiny On The Bounty are by far the best export the country has created in years. The four piece pick up sort of where Meet Me In St Louis left, they've recently signed to Big Scary Monsters to release their debut album Dangermouth, they create frantic, incessant, bruising guitar music and they have a perchance for long, and awesome, song titles. But MOTB are not just MMISL pretenders.
The intense passion and enjoyment you can hear on tracks like 1,2,3,4, I Declare A Thumb War and Cruz Canerlaria is a measure of their commitment to making technical, fierce and crunching music. You can hear any number of influences in their sound from At The Drive-In, This Town Needs Guns, Refused, These Arms Are Snakes. Pretty much any guitar band who really mean what they do.Cruz Canerlaria actually sounds like a beefed up version of Fang Island's Curanga which I blogged about last year.
Their album comes out in June on BSM and they're touring the UK in May and August.

Mutiny On The Bounty - 1,2,3,4, I Declare A Thumb War
Mutiny On The Bounty - Crus Canerlaria

Fanfarlo + Kill It Kid @ Northampton Square Bandstand

2009-05-10T16:22:00.000-07:00

Another great event from the Bandstand Busking team on another glorious Sunday afternoon. Both acts were on top form. Fanfarlo brought the epicness with their Arcade Fire-esque melodies and multi-instrumentation. They played a number of tracks off their new album, Reservoir, like Harold T Wilkins and Comets and by the sounds of it, its going to be excellent.
Kill It Kid, who I'd never heard of before, were a surprise. Their singer had a Anthony Hegarty like, bluesy growl of a voice which sounded very put-on to begin with but by the end of their four songs had the whole crowd hanging on his every note. The music was similarly bluesy and a bit folky with banjos and bongos complimenting expertly played 6-strings and hushed harmonies. They have an single coming out later this month on One Little Indian records, which was produced by John Parish, so will definitely be causing a stir.
Lets let some photos do the talking though:

Fanfarlo

Kill It Kid

Fanfarlo - I Am Pilot
Kill It Kid - Date It The Day

There's more photos of the afternoon on my flickr and I'll let you know when the videos of the bands go up on the Bandstand Busking site

Toddla T

2009-05-06T15:07:00.000-07:00

Following on from my last blog about the demise of one Sheffield based band, I feel I should talk about an up-and-coming artist who's hails from the Steel city. The Circle of Life and all that...
Toddla T first came to my attention at the end of last year with his belter of a tune Manabadman. It's the best jungle track I've heard in years. The insistent beat, the squelchy bass, the incoherent chatting all work together to work me into a frenzy. I couldn't stop listening to it for weeks.
Toddla, real name Tom Bell, is starting to make a big name for himself due to his monthly residence at Fabric nightclub, regular mixes on Radio 1, constant touring and by producing some of the freshest dance music and mixtapes I've heard for yonks. Its dancehall for the digital age. The nicest thing about Toddla T is that he seems like the most down-to-earth in person. Honest, passionate and happy to be where he is.
His debut album 'Skanky Skanky' is out later this year and on it he has collaborated with Roots Manuva, Tinchy Strider, Joe Goddard (from Hot Chip), Benjamin Zephaniah along with his regular MCs Mr Versatile and Serocee. With that line up, I'm struggling to see a weak link (although eyes are on you, Tinchy).

Toddla T - Backchatter (Mica's Version)
Toddla T - Manabadman feat. Serocee

Situationists RIP

2009-05-03T13:52:00.000-07:00

Sad times. My favourite wooping, Sheffield, angular guitar and pointier vocals band have decided to part ways after 3ish years together. Situationists have grown alongside this blog. We highlighted them as Ones To Watch back in 2007 and they were featured in the first, and only, issue of funfunfun zine so their demise is like losing a close friend or a pet. In their short time together, they released some of the nicest-looking vinyl eps, which always cam complete with a cd version, and always sounding excellent. They just had some much energy about their playing.
They played their final London show on Friday, but unfortunately I missed it. Their final final show is in Sheffield sometime in the near future and there is talk of a swansong release of new material. Fingers crossed but to keep you going til then they're giving away a couple of tracks: their superb, rocking version of Daft Punk's Digital Love and a remix of Whiskey & Water by ASPX. I hope they soothe the pain of this loss and I look forward to hear future projects from the band members.

Situationists - Digital Love
Situationists - Whiskey And Water (ASPX remix)

All Situationist cds/vinyls/tees etc. are available from Tough Love Records.

Raven Sings The Blues Presents Vol. 1

2009-04-29T10:20:00.000-07:00

Raven Sings The Blues is one of my favourite blogs. It always presents interesting and weird music thats lo-fi, fuzzy and experimental. And it always highlights bands before they start getting hyped, its a great place to go for the next big thing in scuzzy guitar noise bands. I heard about Blank Dogs sometime last year through them and bands like Wavves and No Age have been featured on it over the last few years.
They have just put together and released their first compilation, RSTB Presents Vol.1 and its brilliant. The tracklist features 11 bands I've never heard of but are all ruddy excellent and the sleeve design is incredible.

Raven Sings The Blues Presents Vol.1

Jealous

2009-04-28T11:18:00.000-07:00

Just a quick one as the football starts in a few minutes.
I don't usually post bands from the noisier side of my musical spectrum on funfunfun but every now and again I hear something that gets me too excited not to mention it on here. I hope it doesn't put people off my blog. Give it a try, you might like it.
Jealous produce the kind of loud, abrasive music that make flowers wilt, computers crash and lesser people shit themselves. It's just no-nonsense, fast, heavy hardcore that we don't create enough of in this country...well we might but not to this quality. The guitars are thrashy as hell, the drumming is rapid-fire and the vocals are barked like a monster. Its goddamn chaoticly brutal and it puts a smile on my face.

Jealous - Ruins

Jealous are on Anchors Aweigh records and also have a 7' out on DXC records too

Slow Club On A Bandstand

2009-04-25T16:10:00.000-07:00

Anyone who's a regular reader of this blog will know of my love for Slow Club. Charles and Rebecca just have an amazing way of writing a tune that is sentimentally and yearning while simultaneously being a blast. So when I found out they were playing on a bandstand in North London a few Sundays back, no one could stop me from going.
I've been meaning to mention Bandstand Busking for a while. Like The Take Away Shows and The Black Cab Sessions, it takes artists/bands and shows them performing in unusual live settings but there's something really romantic about Bandstand Busking. I think I just really like the fact that all the delapidated bandstands around London are being used again, some look like they haven't been touched in decades so it's great that every few Sundays, they once again get a crowd surrounding them and their rotting structures get serenaded by some of the best live, acoustic music around including The Wave Pictures, Emmy The Great, Wild Beasts to name just a few.
The day for Slow Club was bright and sunny, perfect for sitting around Northampton Square park and listening to bright and sunny music. They played their last few singles (Because We're Dead, Christmas TV) and a few new ones that will feature on their debut album, which is coming out in June/July. I won't say anymore, just watch.

To watch the rest of the videos, go to the Bandstand Busking site. They are starting to happen every first Sunday of the month so there is one coming up next weekend. I can't wait.

Slow Club - Christmas TV

Cheers to Emmy _louise for the photo

Roll Bus Roll

2009-04-17T17:34:00.000-07:00

There's two types of Jeffrey Lewis song. There's the ones where he cranks up the distortion on his acoustic guitar and hammers it to an inch of his life while he rants some political or social shit and his brother Jack pounds his bass and some drums get battered and its all manic and a bit neurotic and you need to catch your breathe by the end of it.
Or there's the mellow numbers. Where Jeff strums his acoustic like a loved pet and someone harmonizes with his untrained vocals, smoothing them over making a glorious vocal chord. The lyrics are always about funny or cute observations and the music reflects that by being simple and a little naive.
Roll Bus Roll is one of the latter songs. It's about fall asleep on the bus and Jeff has the ability to make that humble action into such a significant event that it warrants a whole song. But its turns out to be poignant and romantic and like everything Jeff creates, absolutely magical.
Roll Bus Roll is from Jeff's new album I Am Ere and is available on Rough Trade Records.

Jeffrey Lewis & The Juckyard - Roll Bus Roll

Speaking of Rough Trade, its Record Store Day tomorrow (well today) so be sure to come out and celebrate your local record store. I'll be in London all day, buying some records and see some free music in Rough Trade East and Puregroove. You can follow my exploits on Twitter

*Oh yeh I guess you've noticed the ill-fitting adverts I've stuck up on the blog. Just my way of making a little profit off funfunfun. If you want to give a little to me then there's no harm in clicking on the links. Remember I am giving you free music. So just click on a link and we'll both be happy. Thank you very much*

Teeth!!!

2009-04-16T17:11:00.000-07:00

Exploring the sound of a drum kit explosively melding with a computer at the feet of a crazed, shouting lady is not something that most bands would do but it's exactly what London three-piece Teeth!!! squeals and blasts give an industrial, sound like. Consisting of Veronica (vocals), Simon T (electronics) and Simon W (drumzz), the band take fuzzy, garage, noise rock and add some modern-day mayhem. The distorted laptop'sdancey edge to the music, like on Who's Afraid Of Detroit?, but with the simple but insistent percussion and the chaotic mess it falls into at points, the outcome is more like a experimental rock band or a band practice when things take a turn for the weird.
Having recently returned from the States, where they played at LA's The Smell, and with forthcoming releases on Stop Scratching and Moshi Moshi, things are looking good for Teeth!!! Yeah!!!! And they're playing all over the capital at the moment, if you want to catch them live. Which you do!!!

Teeth!!! - If I Ever
Teeth!!! - Who's Afraid Of Detroit?

You can download a couple of free eps from the band's myspace if you so wish.

Left With Pictures - Her Father's Nose

2009-04-15T07:36:00.000-07:00

Left With Pictures are a London-based 4-piece, three of who are classically trained musicians and the other being Ed from The Mules. Their myspace describes their music as 'chamber pop' but their more recent efforts have had more of a folky, skiffle sound to them. As far as comparisons go, I'd say a happier Inlets or Belle & Sebastian on a good day.
Her Father's Nose is the b-side to upcoming single Every Stitch, Every Line that comes out on Organ Grinder Records on 18th May. It's an upbeat and bouncy track about the difficulties and wonders of being in a relationship and with its delicately infectious melody and intricately orchestrated backing, it's a track that will radiate on cloudy days and be a perfect accompaniment to summer afternoons.

Left With Pictures - Her Father's Nose

Also check out the band's Black Cab Session. It's one of the best ones I've seen for a while.

The Zookeepers

2009-04-14T16:17:00.001-07:00

If you like The Unicorns (like me), then you should love this. Beautiful World is a short blurt of indie rap with woodpecker percussion, a arcade-game gun mellowly firing behind it and haunting echoey synths and vocals. The Zookeepers are a quartet, hail from Boston and have a similar sound to a robotic Beck. They've got an album soon called Ballin' Outrageous. If its anything like this then it should be worth a listen.

The Zookeepers - Beautiful World

Get Love Blamma! Blamma! Style.

2009-04-07T09:10:00.000-07:00

Blamma! Blamma! are back after what feels like ages but they've definitely returned with a bang (or maybe a Blamma!) After messing around with Blood Red Shoes, The Teenagers and Maximo Park a few years ago and having released a 12 inch, they've now remixed crazy French pop-rappers Naive New Beaters.
The track Get Love was originally a guitar-led, bassy, pretty standard modern pop tune but in the hands of Blamma!x2 it's a completely different beast. Guitars are replaced with bleeps and blips and a crisp beat adds an extra dimension. The synths sprawl and build time after time and the echoey vocals sound like they're coming from another land. I love how Blamma! Blamma! can turn something so mundane into something inspiring.

Naive New Beaters - Get Love (Blamma! Blamma! Sister Lisa remix)

Hey Everyone

2009-04-02T15:40:00.000-07:00

This unplanned hiatus, due to lack of motivation and the everlasting struggle that is job-searching (if anyone reading this knows of any vacancies anywhere, let me know) has gone one far too long. But I'm back and what better way to return than with a post about the album I've been most looking forward to over the past month or so.
Hey Everyone is the debut album from Glaswegian racket-makers Dananananaykroyd and is being touted as something noisily special. Last year's ep Sissy Hits was a glorious collection of hard riffs, yelped duel vocals and pencil-sharp melodies compiled into exuberant, jubilant punchy tracks and with a number of them as well as some even older ones and some brand new songs making up Hey Everyone, its certain to be even better.
Dananananaykroyd were playing in London tonight but, down to lack of job(money) I couldn't get a ticket, but I have the track Chrome Rainbow for you to whet those appetites and get your ready for the rockingest album to come from these shores this year. I'm excited...

Dananananaykroyd - Chrome Rainbow

Hey Everyone is out on Monday on Best Before Records. Buy it here

First Aid Kit @ Puregroove

2009-03-11T10:19:00.000-07:00

Returning to London for only the second time, sisters Johanna and Klara Soderberg aka First Aid Kit kicked off a handful of shows with a instore performance at Puregroove that feels as natural and grounded as if they lived here. They may only be young but they seem to take everything in their stride as they stood on the small stage in a east London record shop in front of a dozen or so people, who were eager to see if these teenagers were as good as their hype suggested.
I think the captivated silence that overtook the audience was evidence that they were, to be honest it even felt like the noise from the road outside got quieter as the two young ladies played their hearts out and drew us into their world of softly strummed guitars and beautiful harmonies.
The songs they played from their debut EP Drunken Trees seemed effortless. You're Not Coming Home Tonight with its soulful chorus and strummed autoharp, which made a wonderfully traditional sound. Jagadamba, You Might was played with a wry smile as they sang the weird "jagadaga" vocal parts and fan favourite Tangerine. They even played a new track called something like "Sailor Song" which showed that even with their young heads, they are already exploring new musical paths.
Their cover of Fleet Foxes' Tiger Mountain Peasant Song, which was the first time I (and probably many others) noticed these two, was as encapsulating and gorgeous as on that youtube video. They ended on a sweep of keyboards keys which showed that even though they're said to be world-weary at a young age they still have that teenage energy, optimism and fun and I hope they never lose that.

First Aid Kit - You're Not Coming Home Tonight

Buy Drunken Trees ep from Wichita Records

Rachael Dadd - Ant And Bee

2009-03-03T09:51:00.000-08:00

I haven't paid much attention the actions of Ms Rachael Dadd in the last year or so. She's been gallivanting around Japan, signing to a Angel's Egg label out there and generally playing gorgeously lush folk music.
Looking on Hype Machine, I realised that funfunfun is the only blog that is actually talking about Ms Dadd's music which I find a bit mystifying. When you have artists like Laura Marling, Emmy The Great etc receiving critical acclaim, you'd think the music press would be scouring the land, like a hungry vampire in need of blood, for something along the same vein but I don't think Rachael is that fussed about national attention.
Ant And Bee is off her fourth and latest album, After The Ant Fight, which is released through Angel's Egg, and is a soft number that reminds me of a female Johnny Flynn. The plucked banjo, Rachael's gentle vocals and the warm clarinet create a earthy, friendly sound.
2009 is meant to be all about electro-pop and keyboards but for all those who want something that sounds natural and alot more human, put Rachael Dadd on your stereo/ipod/Spotify (delete as appropriate).

Rachael Dadd - Ant And Bee

New Johnny Foreigner

2009-02-24T05:08:00.000-08:00

After releasing one of funfunfun's favourite albums of last year, Johnny Foreigner are back with a couple of new tracks. Apparently the leftovers after writing for their second album, Ghost The Festivals and Ohai, Sentinels carry on from where Waited Up Til It Was Night.
There's Alexei's yelping vocals interplaying with Kelly's sweet singing, there's fuzzed-up, twiddly guitar parts that burst into power chords at the drop of a hat, a sweeping synth moment, all underpinned by Junior's pin-point percussion.
The trio are off to the States soon to record with At The Drive-In and Meet Me In St Louis producer Alex Newport, which they are "super hper +1 excited" about and I can't wait to hear the result.
They're touring all over Europe and the UK in the next few months so you have no excuse not to catch their kinetic, energetic live shows.

Johnny Foreigner - Ghost The Festival
Johnny Foreigner - Ohai, Sentinels

My Favourite Gig

2009-02-16T08:25:00.000-08:00

Weezer @ Brixton Academy (24/3/02)

To continue funfunfun's week of birthday celebrations I'm going to take you back to the spring of 2002 and one of the best gigs of my life.
Weezer became an obsession for me around this time. My best friend Tom and I bought tickets for their Brixton show in October '01 but due to certain events in September that year, the gig was postponed until March the following year. In the time between, the obsession grew. We couldn't stop talking about them, listening to their three albums of perfect pop punk. We even became regulars on the very geeky Weezer boards, making friends with other Weezer fans. It was pure teenage excitement and devotion.
By the time of the gig in March, a meet-up of all the London Weezer-board members was arranged before the gig. Me and Tom arrived at Brixton Academy early, around 1-2 in the afternoon, and met up with other fans, some I still occasionally speak to today. We had even made cakes. Getting there so early meant we were very close to the front of the queue and ended up chatting with everyone around us.
As the doors of Brixton opened, we sprinted to the front of the stage to get on the bar. I'd never been that close at a gig before. The excitement started to build. We had to stand through the support act, Remy Zero if I remember rightly, and we got through that by creating dance moves for each of their songs. And then it was time for The Weez.
From the look of the setlist below, you can see how good a selection of songs they played that night. It was just before the release of the much-underrated Maladroit and the set comprised of a equal pick of songs from their back catalogue. The crowd went ballistic, throwing the hands up in W shapes, as they took to the stage and crunched straight into Dope Nose. I've never heard a crowd sing so loud that it was a struggle to hear Rivers over them.
Rivers was sporting his bristling, full-on beard at the this stage and barely moved from the mic, instead making odd remarks between songs like 'We came to punish your ass' and 'Look out boy, you're gonna get steam-rolled'. Luckily the rest of band were in a more lively mood with Brian pulling some awesome guitar poses right in front of us and new bassist, at the time, Scott leaning so far back while playing that his head nearly touched the floor. We so how ended up make faces at Scott across the stage and him making them back. At the end of the show, he came up to us and gave his pick. It was incredible.
The crowd went crazy at the start of every song, so pleased that they were playing this one or that one. I was shocked that they played Tired Of Sex and Why Bother?, shocked but utterly overwhelmed. But the moment that makes this gig so special for me was at the end of the set. I know Only In Dreams is pretty damn epic on record but man, you have to see it live. As the bridge built to its climax and the roaring guitars kick in again, the entire room went crazy. Listen to the mp3 below and wait for the rampant elation. At that moment, the infamous Weezer =W= got lowered, all lights blazing and flashing. It was incredible and it still makes me tingle when I listen back on it today.
The encore of Happy Together and Buddy Holly, with its brooding opening and feedback fuelled finale, was the perfect end to an amazing gig and looking, and listening, back on it now, it was a day of youthful exuberance and a memory of some amazingly happy times.

Dope Nose
Photograph
My Name Is Jonas
The Good Life
Superstar
Island In The Sun
Surfwax America
Tired Of Sex
Burndt Jamb
Knock-Down Dragout
Undone (The Sweater Song)
Why Bother?
Modern Dukes
Don't Let Go
Say It Ain't So
Hash Pipe
Only in Dreams
-------------------
Happy Together
Buddy Holly

Click here to download a zip of all the mp3s.
Photo not of Brixton show. Mp3s from Weezernation.com(RIP)

My First Album

2009-02-12T16:07:00.000-08:00

For the first of my birthday treats, I thought I'd go right back to where it all started for me: Parklife by Blur, my very first album. I got brought it on cassette as a present for being good by my mum. I don't know why I chose it, I just remember seeing an advert for it on the side of a bus and thinking that the black greyhound was staring at me.
I don't even think I'd heard any of their music before but to a 9-year-old who had only really listened to The Beatles and Chuck Berry, it was an inspiring experience and I was hooked immediately. I listened to it non-stop on a trip to Suffolk on my 'My First Sony Walkman'. I must have gone through it 8 or 9 times in that one car journey and I still wanted to listen to it more.
It's seeped in infectious energy. Every track catches and holds your attention, every one seems to be a different genre, every one has something special about it. Girls And Boys has the excellently easy keyboard part and sing-along-able chorus, End Of A Century is sincere and honest, London Loves with its grubby 80s bass-line. I love the tracks that have punk edge too. Bank Holiday and Jubilee may have been my gateway drug to heavier, fast music, even if they took 5 years to work.
Blur are really all about Albarn and Coxon. Damon's persona and lyrics create the exuberant atmosphere but Graham's guitar-work throughout Parklife is incredible. I don't think I appreciated it at the time but listening to the intro to This Is A Low now gives me chills. In fact, listening to Parklife now, at the rusty age of 23, still gives me the same intense excitement that it did when I was 9.
It was the perfect album for me at the perfect time and my life probably wouldn't have been the same without it.

Blur - This Is A Low (live)
Blur - Bank Holiday (live)
Blur - London Loves (live)

Thanks to no_cultureicons for the mp3s

Happy Birthday funfunfun

2009-02-12T03:40:00.000-08:00

Funfunfun is 3 today! This old girl's celebrating.
Looking back to my first post, it's amazing what funfunfun has turned into. I'm very proud of it.
Over the past three years, I don't feel like I've opened up as much as I should have on this blog so in the next few days I will let you know things about me. Like my favourite gig, or my favourite albums from when I was younger. Just a bit of info so I can connect with you, my readers, a bit more. And remember you're more than welcome to let me know yours in return. Just leave a comment.

Also other exciting news!
I've started a new blog. Its called A Sonic Reaction and its an arts blog but each bit of art is inspired by a piece of music. It should be quite interesting and whatever happens it looks amazing. I'm going to try and update it quite regularly and if you fancy contributing to it, just give me an email. So go and take a look.

Screaming Maldini

2009-02-10T14:35:00.000-08:00

I don't know the ex-Azzuri and AC Milan captain personally but to me, Paolo Maldini never looked a man who would scream. He looks too much of a man. So it must be another Maldini that the new Sheffield band Screaming Maldini are referencing in their name.
Formed from members of a few other bands (Situationists to one of them), Screaming Maldini spent the summer of 08 in a studio on the outskirts of the Steel City "surrounded by nothing but horses and trees."
The result is a sound that embraces as much of today's musical scene as it does as of yonderyears. The Extraordinary begins sounding like a Burt Bacarach loose end with its sweetly blow trumpet and cheery riff. It's a lush, sweeping pop tune that captures numerous genres in perfect detail. I'm impressed with the band's ability to change sound so easily and make it seem so natural, especially the part where they go from heavy guitar riffage to floating horns and choirs seemlessly.
It's ambitious music and it's very very good.

Screaming Maldini - The Extraordinary

Fredrick Stanley Star @ The Wilmington Arms

2009-02-04T15:44:00.000-08:00

Having developed a fair following around Cardiff, Fredrick Stanley Star are now venturing further afield to capture more victims, ...I mean fans, with their entrancing sounds. And London is their next stopping point.
The crowd at The Wilmington Arms are welcomed by seats, tables and fairy cakes which puts everyone in a comfortable and pleasant mood before the over-exciting and, frankly, annoyed compere ruins the atmosphere with nervous jokes but luckily he's gone quickly and FSS take to the stage.
Initially they're silent. Then gently brushed guitar strings are heard and the random, soft beat of a drum skin. The sounds almost seem to come from the air around me and the receptive crowd goes deadly silent. As the noises build and meander, the five-piece start harmonizing notes like a country village choir. It's beautiful. The music swells and bulges as bass notes are plucked and an electric guitar is sweetly picked. The vocals grow and suddenly everyone is shouting. The words aren't really words but their message is electric as is the atmosphere they create. I'm sure their double bass player is using two walkie-talkie to make squealing noises at one point, but the lush music seems to take my mind over and all I can think of now is the sound of leaves rustling and the chirp of a couple of birds.
Their music is very natural. It just seems to flow and the passion that each of the members puts into the performance is stunning, the lead singer's veins seem on the verge of bursting throughout the set. Each song climaxes in a flurry of crashing cymbals, bouncing double basses (literally) and visceral vocals that leave me breathless and euphoric.
Their final track, Devils Home, is even catchy with its chorus refrain of "The devil's home is not the only hell". They even make that line sound euphoric. And after such a tight and impressive set, they end that track on a blur of sprawling guitar noises and wooping, which just makes me like them even more. I love a bit of a messy raucousness.
So if you get a chance to catch Fredrick Stanley Star, DO IT. You won't be disappointed.

Fredrick Stanley Star - 500 Years

Photo by simonayre (not of the Wilmington gig but of their launch party at Clwb Ifor Bach)

The Astoria's Swansong

2009-01-14T07:05:00.000-08:00

Its a sad day.
Tonight is the last, EVER, gig at The Astoria in London before it gets demolished to make way for a cross-town railroad. The venue has played host to nearly every British band that have become massive and to quite a few foreigners too. It was a landmark gig for any band to play the Astoria, a sign that you had made it, as it was the perfect size (around 2000 capacity) for an upcoming band on the brink of success. Where are these bands going to play now?
I haven't actually been to a gig there, or at its smaller sister venue The Meanfiddler (which is also being removed), since 2005 but the sight of its fluorescent red sign and a line of eager fans waiting outside its doors, is one that I will sorely miss.
The first time I set foot in the venue was for what now sounds like a massive line-up: Muse supported by Coldplay! Nowadays two of the biggest bands in the world but in 2000 things weren't that way. Muse had released their debut album Showbiz and played early versions of both Plug In Baby and Newborn. Coldplay hadn't even released Parachutes yet and were causing a buzz with their single Yellow. The performance's were amazing, even with the Astoria's standard bad sound. Matt Bellamy ended up trashing the drum kit and lying in its remains for ages before leaving the stage.
I remember feeling so close to the bands, even though there were probably hundreds of people in between me and them. The floor was dark and sticky and it seemed very easy to get lost in the building's many corridors. I nearly ended up in the venue's gay club by taking the wrong set of stairs on my way out.
Other memorable gigs were Soulwax in 2001, before they became 2 Many DJs, and Thursday in 2003, during my emo rock phase.
The Mean Fiddler, or the LA2 as I remember it, is also going to be missed by myself. With its 360 degree balcony so that you could watch the band from the back of the stage, the step which cause a lot of moshing accidents and its awesome club-night. I remember watching the lead singer of The Bellrays getting into the crowd and taking justice into her own hands after getting bottled. Amazing scenes!
Tonight's final show is called the Demolition Ball and The Automatic, Frank Turner; Get Cape, Wear Cape, Fly; Paul Draper from Mansun and some of ...And You'll Know As By The Trail Of Dead are just a few of the names on the bill. A bit of a shitty send-off to be honest
What's your best memory of the Astoria?

Muse - Showbiz
Soulwax - Much Against Everyone's Advice
Thursday - Cross Out The Eyes

Cheers to Fredrick73 for the fitting photo

funfunfun's Favourite Albums Of 2008 (5-1)

2009-01-06T12:12:00.000-08:00

And the list goes on...

5) Los Campesinos! - Hold On Now, Youngster
Hold On Now, Youngster saw LC! explode with fizzy delight into Britain's indie underground early in 2008. Its bold, loud and unabashed. Gareth's untrained yelps are the first thing that strikes you as he stutters out strings of clever lyrics about girls and bands but Aleks' sweet voice is the perfect accompaniment to smooth it out. The tracks off their first demo still contain the uncontrollable energy as on that release and it seems like the band had enough left over for the rest of the tracks. The guitar riffs are catchy and jubilant and the violin screams on My Year In Lists and even when the music descends into a scratchy mess, the 7-piece are able to pick the pieces apart and recreate something beautiful out of it. LC! developed and expanded their sound to create a darker, and in some ways better record, in We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed later in the year but their debut will be the record that marked them as the band to like in 2008.

Favourite Tracks - Sweet Dreams Sweet Cheeks, Death To Los Campesinos!, This Is How You Spell "Hahaha We Destroyed The Hopes And The Dreams Of A Generation Of Faux Romantics"
Video - My Year In Lists
Download - Don't Tell Me To Do The Math(s)

4) Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago
Much has been made of the story behind For Emma, Forever Ago - Justin Vernon, aka Bon Iver, retreating to a log cabin in the middle of a Wisconsin forest for three months after his band spilt and wrote the album there - but it's this background that is ingrained in the music and makes it magical. The solidarity of Flume, it feels like there is nothing else in the world apart from Vernon's falsetto and his guitar, is beguiling. Even with this solitude, the music has a warmth to it, the acoustic guitar is full and glowing and the beats and added electronic noises fill the atmosphere with a presence that is at once eerie and welcoming. The album's impact on me was immediate. I can't even count how many times it's got me through cold walks home from the pub or how often it's soundtracked me lying on my bed, procrastinating...I mean thinking. And as for the story, well it sure worked well as a publicity tool. Let's see how many log cabin albums we get in 2009.

Favourite Tracks - For Emma, Flume, Re:Stacks
Video - For Emma
Download - Skinny Love

3) Johnny Foreigner - Waited Up Til It Was Light
A riotous, squealing, electrifying, noisy romp of an album. With Waited Up Til It Was Light, Johnny Foreigner have seen how the Yanks make alternative rock and copied it in a very British way. The energy of the album is undeniably infectious. Guitars screech and buzz at lightning pace as Alexei and Kelly yelp over each other like arguing kids but in a good way. Everything about WUTIWL is loud and in yr face. Our Bipolar Friends travels by in a blur of scratchy strings and machine gun percussion and The End And Everything After is an eruption of technically tapping guitars and screams. The band can also do emotion, show in Eyes Wide Terrified and especially DJs Get Doubts with its heart-wrenching string section and soft tempo. But the band are best when they are tearing through the music and the double-billed ending of Yr All Just Jealous/Absolute Balance is the perfect showcase of why Johnny Foreigner are the most exciting band in the country.

Favourite Track - Yr All Just Jealous, Hennings Favourite, The End And Everything Else
Video - Salt, Peppa and Spinderella
Download - Cranes And Cranes And Cranes And Cranes (demo)

2) El Guincho - Alegranza
How surprised was I when, waiting for the folky offerings of Fanfarlo back in Feb at Madame JoJo's, I was whisked away to a South American carnival in a swirl of tropical beats and foreign chanting. That startling performance by El Guincho got almost the whole room dancing and I was happy to find out that the party vibe had translated to CD with all its force. Alegranza is a non-stop flurry of poly-rhythms that have a exponential effect on your body once you start moving to it. Like Person Pitch, funfunfun's favourite album last year, Alegranza is a mix of samples and live vocal but El Gunicho's effort is a more exotic affair, a memory of a long-lost beach party. Listen back to the album as I write this, I can picture lazing by a swimming pool in Southern France, walking along the Seine in Paris and staring out of a train window at the wet but beautiful Welsh countryside. It really did soundtrack my summer and it will probably be there for many more to come.

Favourite Tracks - Antillas, Kalise, Costa Paraiso
Video - Kalise
Download - Palmitos Park

1) Marnie Stern - This Is It And I Am It And You Are It And So Is That And He Is It And She Is It And It Is It And That Is That
Yes the album's title is long and a bit pretentious but there's nothing else about This Is It... that can be described that way. It's a joyous, upbeat, delight of an album that doesn't stop pushing itself throughout it's 40 minute lifespan. Marnie's songwriting on This Is It... is the most fun and unrestrained I've heard all year. The twiddly, technical guitar parts spring to life like a signal jumping a synapses and Zach Hill's frantic drumming adds a rhythm to the feverous excitement that builds throughout the album's 12 tracks. Stern plays with the words too. She lengthens or shortens syllables (the "truuuuuue" in Transformer is a perfect example) and hypnotically chants some passages as if they were mantra. The lyrics draw from many influences: science, philosophy, numbers, the natural world but are always hopefully and optimistic and, I think, this is why I connected with This Is It... since it's release in Autumn. Having to hear about depressions, wars, abuse, Crunches, unemployment everyday on the news casts a gloomy shadow but Marnie and her music seem to lift this, illuminated the good things about my life. Maybe it could be used to sort out the problems that seem to have reached every corner of the globe, Wyld-Stallyns style, but if that doesn't happen, I'll be happy to press play again and forget about my worries for another 40 minutes.
"The future is yours, so fill this part in" - Marnie Stern (Transformer)

Favourite Tracks - Steely, Transformer, The Crippled Jazzer
Video - Transformer
Download - Transformer

It was a very good year in music. Do you agree with my list? What was your favourite album of 2008? Leave a comment and let me know.

funfunfun's Favourite Albums Of 2008 (15-5)

2008-12-29T09:19:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas readers! Hope you had a pleasant and relaxing festive time. I know I did.
But it is now that time again when me and every other person in the world compiles a list of their favourite albums of the year so lets get on with it.
This year's been great for music. There's been so many interesting and original albums released and even those which steal others ideas have been great too. There's only going to be a mp3 attached with the album if there's one freely available, I don't want to get trouble with them record labels. I'm going to skip quickly past the first five on my list, mainly because I've left this quite late and also because it gives me more time to write about the better ones, so here it is:

15) Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes
14) Hercules & Love Affair - Hercules & Love Affair
13) Johnny Flynn - A Larum
12) Neon Neon - Stainless Style
11) Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend

10) TV On The Radio - Dear Science
I'd never really been into TV On The Radio before Dear Science. I enjoyed a couple of tracks but nothing really excited me about them. I think that helped me with Dear Science as for many it was a disappointment but for me, it was eye-opening. The opening kick of Halfway Home with its rumbling undertone and handclap percussion shook me awake, it made me understand the band. Sitek's production is crisp and sharp and contributes so much to TV On The Radio's sound. Its groove-ridden and funky and I love its laconic excitement.

Favourite Tracks - Crying, Golden Age
Video - Dancing Choose
Download - None Available

9) No Age - Nouns
Even though it sounds like they recorded Nouns in a tin shed on a tape recorder, its the lo-fi scuzziness of Dean Spunt's and Randy Randall's first proper full length that most appeals to me. It permeates from every song, from every instrument, from every lyric and creates the atmosphere of a hazy, late-summer evening with your best friends. The hooks and riffs are distorted and fuzzy and while the album lags a bit by the end, Nouns sounds like it was fun to make and it sure is a good listen.

Favourite Tracks - Eraser, Cappo
Video - Teen Creeps (live)
Download - Eraser

8) Mystery Jets - Twenty One
Twenty One was the first album of the year that I really got into. It's singles are some of the best pop songs of the year. Two Doors Down is immensely catchy, odd love song, Young Love is a classic duet with the impressively young and talented Laura Marling and Half In Love With Elizabeth contains one of my favourite lines of the year ("how can you put your trust in a man who always sleeps in his clothes"). The album benefits greatly from Erol Alkan's production which add synths and an 80s feel but the songwriting does really shine through. A great pop record.

Favourite Tracks - Half In Love With Elizabeth, Two Doors Down
Video - Young Love
Download - Half In Love With Elizabeth (Delorean Remix)

7) Pete & The Pirates - Little Death
I received this album free with a one month subscription to the Rough Trade Album club and so didn't give it much of an opportunity to begin with but over months Little Death started to seep into my musical consciousness. Its incredibly, infectious guitar riffs and melodies become grafted to your memory after a while and you'll be humming the intro to Mr Understanding for days. Even their slow songs are catchy. A loveable racket of an album.

Favourite Tracks - Come On Feet, Mr Understanding, Knots
Video - Knots
Download - Mr Understanding (live)

6) The Wave Pictures - Instant Coffee Baby
After years of obscurity and self-releasing CD-Rs, The Wave Pictures finally found a little bit of success this year. Instant Coffee Baby came out on Moshi Moshi in April and has happily settled into my playlist ever since. While the guitar riffs are playful and simple and the solos are frenzied and raw, it's Dave Tattersall's voice and lyrics that really make the band their own. The songs are so detailed, transporting stories about mundane happenings and things into extraordinary tales and sounds. I love it when the whole band join in singing, turning a witty turn of phrase into a chanted mantra of extreme importance, and Strange Fruit For David has the oddest chorus refrain of the year.

Favourite Track - Kiss Me, Just Like A Drummer, Leave The Scene Behind
Video - I Love You Like A Madman
Download - Avocado Baby (demo)

Ben Kweller @ Union Chapel

2008-12-11T17:49:00.000-08:00

Going to church is always an odd experience for me. Not being a very religious person, my trips to religious buildings mainly stem from cubs, school or being dragged to them on family holidays. So it was with an unease that I stepped into Union Chapel to see the BK himself, Ben Kweller.
How unnecessary my trepidation was. Union Chapel was a gorgeous venue, all pillars, ornated stonework and stain glass windows. It was a pleasure to squeeze between the wooden pews to find a comfortable place to see the stage.
Ben kicked off proceedings with a track off his new album, Changing Horses, accompanied only by his acoustic guitar and a rather rotund man playing slide guitar. It was a very countrified affair, in keep with the past couple of albums, and sounded old but electrified. Ben mixed up his set, playing songs off all his albums. Family Tree sat alongside Hospital Bed, Different But The Same next to In Other Words and Ben switched between guitar and piano with ease.
He also played a couple of covers. One was originally by Neil Young and was incredible and the other was by Willy Mason's parents and was even better. The acoustics in the church were amazing. Ben's vocals were so clear and sharp and the slight echoes off the domed ceiling served as backing singers. I have to say a word about Kit, the aforementioned slide guitarist. His guitar lines were the perfect accompaniment to Ben's sentimental melodies and were so good at times, he made Ben forget the lyrics.
The new tracks have a nostalgic feel to them. They take strong influence from Young, Springsteen, Petty to name a few but they fit well into his strong bundle of songs. Gypsy Rose and Sawdust Man are the best examples of the new album on show tonight.
The standard encore comes and while he doesn't give in to the pressure of some hecklers to do Lizzy, he plays a rousing version of Falling before ending on Penny On The Train Track, which sees Ben jumping around the stage, and its hard to see how he's been so overlooked in his career. Tonight's performance is intimate, tight and heart-warming and it's the closest to a religious experience I've had in a while.

Ben Kweller - Sawdust Man
Ben Kweller - Falling

Thanks to Steve for the photos. There's more of them on his flickr

Shoes And Socks Off

2008-12-04T16:50:00.000-08:00

This is just going to be a short one because I'm tired.
Ex-Meet Me In St Louis singer and amazingly bearded man Toby Hayes has gone all acoustic with his solo project Shoes And Socks Off. In between playing bass for Shield Your Eyes, Toby has pick up an acoustic guitar and created a bunch of tracks that share the same kineticism, the same nervous energy, as MMISL's Variations On Swing but covered with a wash of pathos and sentimentality. They are actually really pretty in places. Toby's vocals sounds as strong as ever, the lyrics are oblique and its good to see that he hasn't lost his knack for good song titles.
There's an album called From The Muddy Waters Of Melitzer coming out on December 15th on Big Scary Monsters. So go take your Shoes And Socks Off and get comfortable.

Shoes And Socks Off - I'm A World Class Assassin
Shoes And Socks Off - Vice Magazine Has A Lot To Answer For

p.s. Check out www.refutation.net

Do you feel festive?

2008-12-01T16:41:00.001-08:00

I don't yet. However much companies want me to, its just not happening so far. Christmas starts earlier and earlier each year with shops and stores filling their shelves with festive things in August. There should be a law that states that no one can mention Christmas until the clocks go back. At least then its getting dark early and fills a tiny bit more wintry.
Its all these TV adverts as well. They seem to want to shove xmas down everyone's throats as much as possible. Great, the coca cola ad is on again, it must be nearly time for Santa! I just wish everyone could calm down and treat Christmas as a normal holiday. Have a good time and don't stress too much, its not that big a thing. I'm looking forward to spending with my family and friends and having a jolly good time.
Now as we're in the month of advent, I got sent a track by a Scottish guy called Chris Flew. Its a nostalgic, sentimental number about yuletide fights and lost loves. Its very pretty in a bittersweet kinda way.

Chris Flew - Christmas On Ward #7

Here's my fav Christmas song, which is now on a bloody Argos xmas advert :(
Chuck Berry - Run Rudolph Run

Stars & Sons

2008-11-20T15:42:00.000-08:00

In The Ocean is the debut single by Brighton's Stars And Sons.
Its full of handclaps, catchy melodies, guitar solos and falsetto.
Singer Mike Lord used to be in noisy layabouts 4 Or 5 Magicians.
The band are named after a Broken Social Scene song.
To me, it sounds like one of those cartoon theme tunes of your childhood that you still remember even after years of not humming it. The tune will still be bouncing around your skull even when you're a half-rotting skeleton in a maggot infested coffin. It's that memorable.
Its out now on Alcopop Records! But its a limited release so hurry on a copy.
Here's the video:

Here's a piano version of the song. It sounds like you walk into a lounge bar at the start.

Stars And Sons - In The Ocean (Piano Version)

Tropics

2008-11-15T16:47:00.000-08:00

Featuring ex-members of one of my favourite bands Bullet Union, Tropics get me all hot under the collar. They continue in the same vein as their predecessors. Hot rocking riffage, powerful percussion and snarling vocals are the name of the game and these four guys put their heart and souls into winning.
Their myspace describes them as "70% too loud", which I undeniably agree with after seeing them at Barden's Boudoir a few weeks back. My ears weren't right for a week after. While the John Reis influence is very apparent in thee band's sound, their six-string interplay and ability to write a memorable melody marked them out as something original, not just imitators.
With a spilt 7" with Seattle's experimental noisemakers These Arms Are Snakes just out on We-Be Recordings and I seriously going to keep an eye and ear out for these guys, because from past experiences I know they can produce the goods.

Tropics - Dead Lips

Little Boots

2008-11-06T17:34:00.000-08:00

Little Boots was going to get featured in the long-delayed second issue of the funfunfun zine but seeing as that's been put on hold for the time being I thought I may as well take this opportunity to talk about her.
After the demise of the all-girl synth-pop Dead Disco, lead singer/keyboardist Victoria has gone out on her own. Under the guise Little Boots, Victoria creates bubbling, electro-pop tunes that wouldn't seem out of place in the Top 20.
Recent single Meddle is an infectious and sultry number. With Hot Chip's Joe Goddard on production duties, its got some heavy backing but its Little Boots' contribution thats the most striking. The subtle synth interplay, sexy and snarling vocals and the quality of the songwriting are first class - its reminscent of Annie and Robyn to name a few popstresses who could produce anything as good - and the added dirty percussion give it a edge.
Better still is LB's first offering Stuck On Repeat. Its builds and simmers for a minute and a half. Hypnotic keyboards and swirling bass layer and layer to create a sumptious mix of ecstasy which carries throughout the track's 6 minutes. The vocals again are sultry and passioned. And when the percussion kicks in over halfway through the track turns euphoric.
Now, having only been playing as Little Boots for a short time these may be hyperbolic words to lay on the young lady but they are throughly deserved and it seems others think so too. Already with one single under her belt, Victoria is releasing a ep later this month, entitled Arecibo, but only Stateside and will be performing on Jools Holland tomorrow so you'd better stay in... or just watch it on iplayer next week.

Little Boots - Stuck On Repeat
Little Boots - Meddle (Designer Drugs 80's Coke Remix)

p.s. Check out Little Boots' youtube channel. Lots of great gadgets and covers.
p.p.s. Its my 200th post!

The Old Romantic Killer Band

2008-10-28T04:06:00.000-07:00

I mentioned them a few posts back so I thought it would only be fair to give The Old Romantic Killer Band one of their own.
I interviewed the bluesy, rocking duo earlier this year for Drunken Werewolf magazine (out now, GO GET A COPY) and I was impressed by the visceral, intense performance they unleashed on stage. It was very loud. Guitar, and vocal, strings were pushed to their limits by Harry and Greg battered out an powerful and insistant drumbeat. Combined, they create an emotive and aggressive sound which comes across on record too.
The guys' debut album The Swan With Two Necks comes out in December on Bad Sneakers and they are giving away the first single off it, Lover's Pass, for free for a limited time only. Go here to get it or buy it from November 17th.
As another sneaky peek, here's another track from them

The Old Romantic Killer Band - The Resolve

TORKB are playing The Metro in London this Saturday. I urge you to go, it'll be ace.

The Brighton Port Authority

2008-10-20T16:42:00.000-07:00

The press release talks of long lost tapes and mysteries but The Brighton Port Authority and its members are definitely off our times and some are pretty damn well-known.
The BPA is the new project from Norman Cook, aka Fatboy Slim, and he's collaborated with a rich wealth of musicians from Talking Heads' David Byrne and Iggy Pop to Dizzie Rascal and funfunfun fav Emmy The Great.
The first track released by the Authority is Toe Jam, feat David Byrne and Dizzie and its a upbeat, horn-lead track that has all the immensely enjoyable qualities of Fatboy Slim at his best. Its quirky, extremely danceable and has a sense of silliness about it and then add a Dizzie rap into the mix and its one of the best pop tracks I've heard in the past few months.
The video is really clever too, as always seems to be the case with Mr Cook, with its liberal use of censor bars (see above). Watch it here.

The BPA feat. David Byrne and Dizzie Rascal - Toe Jam

Scabs

2008-10-15T16:15:00.000-07:00

I've been sitting here in bed listening to Scabs on repeat for about half an hour and I still can't work out a word to describe it that would do it justice. Taken from their debut LP, Hysterics, Rolo Tomassi have created a morphing, thrilling, incredibly intense track that doesn't seem to stay still for a second. It almost feels as if the act of listening to the track could change the way it is heard.
Its not an easy listen with fractured guitars and scratched vocals at its forefront and the off-kilter keys and rapido drumming make it frenetic and erratic. The plethora of ideas in the track's four and a half minutes is dizzying and the manner in which they have been realised is terrifying in its accomplishment.
So my excuses for being unable to describe Scabs. Too giddy or too scared.

Rolo Tomassi - Scabs

Hysterics is out now on Hassle Records.
Photo by Justin Evans

Eskimo Twins

2008-10-06T14:00:00.000-07:00

Having been grown, simmered, scraped and rehashed over the past 6 months, it must feel good for Eskimo Twins to finally get some music out. Their first two influences mentioned on their myspace are Slayer followed by Kraftwerk which gives some indication as to the direction of their sound, which is on the darker side of electronic dance music. Sounding at times like Justice, at others like Daft Punk and at the rest like a fist-pumping, brooding, stomping, skewed dance machine, the three tracks on their myspace sound like their spent a large number of hours crafting each sound to perfection.
The best of those on offer is Insidious, which features Harry Johns from bluesy rockers The Old Romantic Killer Band (who I've been meaning to feature on funfunfun for a while). Its agitated beats and grubby bass-line, added to Harry's stuttering, fiery vocals about burning witches, created a atmosphere as tense and dark as all good dance music should be.
Eskimo Twins are starting a DJ residency at a new club/bar in Leeds in a few weeks so be sure to visit their myspace for all the details. And to give you a flavour of what you in for, you can download a free DJ mix there too, or from HERE.

Eskimo Twins - Insidious (feat. Harry Johns)

National Meet Me In St Louis Day

2008-09-24T12:20:00.000-07:00

Two posts in one day. Who'd have thunk it? But this one's nostalgic. It's to celebrate the one year anniversary of the sorely missed Meet Me In St Louis' debut release Variations On Swing. As Kev from Big Scary Monsters proclaims "we're encouraging people to bunk off work, put the album on, crank it up loud and celebrate that date every year!" Well it may be too late to bunk off work but you can surely listen to the monster of an album at full volume and don't worry if you don't have a copy (you should though) because its up on last.fm to stream in full and visit the BSM minisite for all your MMISL needs
In the mean time, here's my review of the album I wrote for Keep Hope Inside earlier this year.

Meet Me In St. Louis – Variations On Swing

Variations On Swing is an album for a close-knit community. Its intricate layers of morphing instruments and its fractured time signatures may put off, or even frighten, some listeners but those that “get it” will join the ranks amongst some of the most passionate and faithful of fans. This album, Meet Me In St. Louis' début and only full length release wouldn't have been possible without that legions of followers, who they won over during the untold number of shows in their unduly short, three year career. Their trusting fans helped finance the production of the album through generous donations and MMISL responded with equal passion and commitment.

The ideas displayed on “Variations...” are big and uncompromising. Standard song structures are completely abandoned as each member pushes their instrument, and themselves, past boundaries and into new creative terrain. Opener “ The Torso Has Been Severed In Mid-Thorax” explodes with feedback and distortion and its instantly clear that the band were determined to deliver on the trust of their loyal supporters. The intent in singer Toby's vocals is demanding. It's as if you were face to face with him as he repeats the line “And ones and zeros”, which you quite possibly could have been if you ever saw them live. That's the thing about “Variations...”; with the help of acclaimed producer Alex Newport, Meet Me In St Louis managed to capture the intensity and kineticism of their live shows on tape and it makes the album truly enthralling to behold.

Drum rhythms skip and stutter constantly on “All We Need Is A Little Energon And A Lot Of Luck” leaving the dual guitar attack to weave their way through the minefield left in its wake. While the rest of the band are battling against each other, its Lewis' bass that keeps the tracks on track. Equally steady and chaotic, it helps you navigate through the twists and turns of tracks like “Right This Way, You Maverick Renegade” and “Eins Zwei Drei Hasselhoff!” and drags the rest of the band, kicking and screaming, to each unpredictable and exhausting climax.

The surprisingly acoustic track “I Beat Up The Bathroom” shows a compelling and beautifully emotive side to the band, with Toby's vocals and the twang of the guitar being backed up by sweeping violin strokes and strange electronic knocks. It's a sign of MMISL's maturity that this slow-down in tempo feels congruous with the other nine tracks. “Variations...” is a more coherent, focused and concise collection of songs than their two previously released Eps, it has the feel of a band teetering on the edge of greatness. Maybe without the sudden departure of vocalist Toby, two months after the album's release in September 07 leading to the band's subsequent demise, this promise would have been fulfilled for the band and their loyal fans. But as it stands Variations On Swing is Meet Me In St Louis' grandiose parting gift to those faithful few who gave more than just time to the band. They “got” it and you can too.

Meet Me In St Louis - Eins Zwei Drei Hasselhoff

Transformer

2008-09-24T10:57:00.000-07:00

Having a cold is no fun, I've been coughing like a fog horn for over a week now.
Luckily in the last week or so I've discovered Marnie Stern. I heard her name bandied around a bit last year, I think Plan B magazine made her album In Advance Of A Broken Arm their fav LP of 2007, but never really caught on to her but now I have, I'm hooked.
Transformer is off her forthcoming release 'This Is It and I Am It and You Are It and So Is That and He Is It and She Is It and It Is It and That Is That' (great name) and is a giddy riot from start to finish. Tapped guitar notes crowded the sound initially, each one almost stumbling over the next to reach your ears. It's Stern's flambouyant guitar style that has gain her the most attention, her lightning quick fingers flit around the fretboard like a fly on fruit, but its the way she applies this technique to create pop songs, noisy ones to be fair, that intrigues me the most.
Her vocals invade the party after drums had added a crazed beat to the track, and the way they interplay with the intricate Jazzmaster sounds creates a sonic reaction thats as energetic and explosive as an A-Bomb. I love the way she sings "it's truuuuuuuuuuuuue".
Although it leaves you dizzy and exhausted, at only two minutes nine seconds long, Transformer is only a short hit of adrenaline and you want more. I guess you could just press repeat and listen again but luckily her new album (I can't be arsed to type the name out again), out on Kill Rock Stars in November, is a unwielding cacophony of innovative, six-string shred, wailed melodies and hasty action. Enough to feed the craving and its good against colds too.

Marnie Stern - Transformer

Oh yes, almost forgot. If you fancy voting for me in this BT digital awards thingy, then just click on the logo below or over in the sidebar. Cheers.

Cats On Fire

2008-09-16T15:17:00.000-07:00

Danish trio, Mimas, are new to the ever growing and ever grandoise Big Scary Monsters roster. Cats On Fire came out on BSM's free summer sampler (which you can download here).
The softly piped trumpet and throbbing bass of the intro gives way to a flittering guitar line and Gert's half spoken/half yelped vocals, the sounds build like the swell of a wave growing in the ocean. The intricacy of the guitar part contrasts with the stripped down rhythm section causing tension and suspense until the wave breaks on the shoreline and cymbals are smash, guitars pounded with power chord brutality and vocals chords are stretched to an inch of their capacity. Its an epic ending to an intriguingly track.
The video is an odd one too, sock gang violence and sock sex. Strange.

Their album 'The Worries' comes out on BSM on October 6th.

Mimas - Cats On Fire

The Dutchess & The Duke

2008-09-11T16:00:00.000-07:00

Due to all the festivals and other matters, I haven't been able to tell you about The Dutchess & The Duke. Hopefully you spied them on other blogs but if not you're in for a treat.
I first heard Reservoir Park from some blog (I can't remember which...) and instantly fell for it. It possesses a quality that harks back to Dylan, The Velvet Underground, 60s pop songs... You get the picture. There's something in the vocals; a grainy clarity, if that makes sense, which I rarely heard in modern music. The production, the melody, the harmonies all contain nostalgic nods to those revered 60s musicians, I wouldn't have been surprised if the band had invented a Wellsian time machine to transport them back to 1965 to record their album She's The Dutchess, He's The Duke as it sounds so much of that time.
I know I'm labouring the point but this track really does feel refreshingly old for new music, in a very good way.
I'll shut up now and let you listen.

The Dutchess & The Duke - Reservoir Park

You can get She's The Dutchess, He's The Duke direct from Hardly Art Records.

Green Man (Saturday)

2008-08-27T16:06:00.000-07:00

Saturday was when the skies opened and from the moment I woke up, it rained continously all day. After the heavy night before, this was not what was needed and so the tent was unoccupied til about 11. After a hearty, free breakfast we went in search of some shelter and some music. The Folkey Dokey tent was the perfect solution to both those needs.

The first band we saw were The Yellow Moon Band and they didn't help the hangover. Their messy blend of intricate, over-long guitar solos and post-rock, epic freak-outs was meandering at best and at worst sounded like a rehersal on a bad day. There were no tunes, or point, to the songs and the soloist kept hitting wrong notes and playing out of time, he stole so much of the time that the rest of the band left feeling a bit redundant. Their saving grace was the last track which sounded like that famous Bhangra song but played on mandolin and with big, crunchy chords injected into it. Not too impressed. (J says "A load of wank", B says "Noise with too many guitar solos")

With the rain having grown stronger and wetter, we decided to stay inside the tent and the next band offered something completely different. North Sea Radio Orchestra were in fact a orchestra, but on a smaller scale. Comprising of guitar, violin, cello, bassoon, clarinet and vocals, the band created etheral, folky waves that were so pleasant you almost wanted to close your eyes and drift off with them. It was lovely for a few tracks but by the end of a couple of songs, I wanted something a bit grittier, something to get my teeth into and this had nothing. (J says "Nice but neither here nor there", B says "Good musicians but no build up")

The rain seemed to have got stronger, I had a great position at the front and I really wanted to see Emmy The Great so it seemed like the FD tent was going to be my home all afternoon. I hadn't seen Emmy live for over two years and so was very interested to see how all the newer tracks, and older ones had mutated and morphed in that time. Initial signs weren't that promising. MIA was playing in a slow, delicate way which rob the song of the buoyancy that keeps it from being depressing and a bit dull but after that opening misfire, the set was spot on. City Song, Gabriel and We Almost Had A Baby were all performed with a wonderful urgency and sense of wit, which was then showcased with each member of the band reading the day's footie scores from Emmy phone. Tracks from Emmy's forthcoming album, First Love were also displayed with the title track being the highlight. Its leading drum beat and beautifully crafted lyrics, based around the word hallejuah, made it poignant and Emmy's voice and delivery just cut right through to the core emotions. The set ended on Absentee, one of my favs, and as the violin, guitar and vocals build towards the climax, it made me realise why I fell for Emmy in the first place, she just writes good tunes. (J says "Enchanting", B says "Bloody, fantastic, perfect")

After venturing into the downpour and quagmire to get some food and watch an edited version of 2001 with an amazing live prog-rock soundtrack, we could decide who to go and see so we ended up watching Lightspeed Champion, who was headlining the Folkey Dokey stage. I struggle with Dev and his band because I like the music but I find Dev to be an annoying individual. It may have to be with him whining and whinging on his website after I wrote a negative review on him last year, so now I just want to find something bad to write about him. Luckily for me, there was a plethora of niggles I had with what I saw. He is a good frontman, i'll give him that, and a great guitarist but all the songs seemed to be incredibly slow, dragging them to being and letting them fall flat on the audience. Even Galaxy Of The Lost, which I really like, lacked the edge and vitality that it usually has. It wasn't good at all, but I was happy to see Dev had got a new drummer, a girl who sang backing vocals, which are the two main things I said last time so it nice to see when my advice being listened to, shame it didn't help. (J says "Jangly", B says "Reckons he's too cool for skool")

We wander over to see Super Furry Animals on the Main Stage, it had stopped raining by this point I'll add, but were too late to get anywhere near the front so stood on the slope for a better view. The techno intro was great but as the band started playing, we realised we weren;t in the best place to be caught up in the atmosphere, it was a bit subdued on the hill. We watched a few songs. Rings Around The World was great and the crowd were probably louder than Gruff Rhys and Golden Retriever was bouncey and fun, it just a shame we weren't in the thick of things bouncing along with everyone else. Instead we went for a dance in the Rumpus Room but as we walked off, I could hear the robotic voice of Juxtaposed With You and wished I'd stayed. Ah well. (J says "Unfamiliar, semi-skimmed", B says "Boring")
We had a nice early(ish) night and hoped for less (meaning no) on Sunday.

North Sea Radio Orchestra - Joy For My Heart
Emmy The Great - First Love (live) *awful quality
Emmy The Great - Short Country Song
Lightspeed Champion - Back To Black
Super Furry Animals - (Drawing) Rings Around The World

See more photos of the weekend on my flickr

Green Man (Friday)

2008-08-22T16:21:00.000-07:00

It feels odd that this is my first festival review on funfunfun. I went to Reading for six consecutive years in my teens but since starting this blog my summer's have been barren. I wouldn't have gone to Green Man if it weren't my brother, Joss. He's been working at festivals for the last two summers and with his position at Green Man he was given a +1, which he generously offered to me. I snapped it up in an instant. For his kindness i thought i'd give him, and his girlfriend Becky, a review spot for eahc band we saw so after every band i write about you'll see "J says" and "B says" and then a few words. To be honest some of them are probably better than anything I could muster.

Firstly I have to mention the site. Glanusk Park, in the middle of the Brecon Beacons, is such a picturesque setting for a music festival. Encircled by green, lush hills, next to valley-cutting river, its perfect scenery for the music on offer, which is of a folky, indie persuasion. I was taken aback when I first laid eyes on the main stage, with its amphi-theatre-like slope around it and the table-like hillock behind it.
Cats In Paris kicked off the festival for me with a noisy, synth-led beauty. Sometimes it sounds haphazard but when it comes together, like on single Foxes, they make exquisitely twisted pop songs. Unfortunately I had to leave them premature to carry on playing to the early birds so that I could meet my bro at the Folkey Dokey stage and watch Cardiff trio, Threatmantics. The band play folk that frequently is attacked by punk invaders, turning violins from purring felines to screeching beasts and guitars into jet engines. Its sloppy at first but as the set progresses it gets better and even moving. (J says "foolhardy, diligent, kickass, smart ass", B says "mediocre to bloody brilliant")

As it was sunny (one of the only times all weekend but I'll get to that...) we decided to go and sit by the Main Stage, unaware of what was waiting for us. As we got comfy on the grass, four oldish Canadian enter stage right and started playing. These were Agnostic Mountain Gospel Choir and they were ruddy brilliant. Playing lightspeed bluegrass numbers and slower country ones, they picked up the mood of the crowd and made it feel like a festival for the first time. The pace of the hoe-down numbers got a good portion of spectators dancing to the beat of this huge bass drum and twangy banjo and frontman Judd got the nicest sound out of his harmonica. It was great to dance and lay-around to. (J says "jangly, speedy, heart-warming, oaky rustic blend", B says "bad fucking ass, go see")
We couldn't move due to the sunshine so stayed at the Main Stage to watch Fight Like Apes. I'd heard good whispers about these lot so I was interested to see what they were like. Their odd, electro punk wasn't bad but after such a rustic band, they felt out of place with the surroundings. Keyboards were squealing and everything was distorted and it did get some little kids rocking out by the side of the stage but it didn't feel right. Even their cover of McClusky's Lightsabre Cocksucking Blues wasn't enough to pull them into positives, they just didn't seem right all round. (J says "Mostly uptempo, predominantly boring", B says "YeahYeahYeah's mixed with the 00's")

The Green Man Cafe was our next port of call for a drink and to see Rod Thomas. His description in the programme talked about disco beats, hand claps, loop pedals and was the reason we ventured to the tiny stage, it was a little bit mis-leading. When I thought disco beats, i was thinking bass-heavy, ground-shaking blast not drum beats from a Casio keyboard but what we saw was a pleasant set from a singer-songwriter just trying to be a bit different. Using the loop-pedal, he self-harmonised and added hand claps and tambourine to the tracks but after a few songs, Rod and his songs got a bit cheesy. The best moment came when he enter the crowd for his final song and sang only accompanied by a ukulele. Maybe that's the way he should go. (J says "Tried hard with occasional okayness", B says "Nice music but since he's Billy-No-Mates")

The evening was filled with even more solo goodness by two singers from bands I really admire. Lou Rhodes, from electro, dancey, odd act Lamb, has an amazing voice and now she's turned her hand to more folksy matters, her voice can be even more instrumental than before. Unfortunately, while her voice is so clear that its seems to cleanse your skin, her tunes aren't up to much and after half an hour I was really after something with a bit of kick to it.(J says "Lovely, boring songs", B says "Beautiful voice but up herself")

Luckily Ben Ottewell was headlining the Green Man Cafe to give us just that. Known for his deep, gravelly voice in the bluesy sextet Gomez, Ben knew how to please his audience and played a set comprising mostly of his band's best songs. Get Miles, Hangover Cup, Here Come the Breeze were all present, drunkenly and probably very loudly accompanied by half the crowd. It was a delight to see him on such a tiny platform and it made me feel quite old to think that Gomez's debut came out ten years ago, its such a solid album. Highlight of the set was Make No Sound, accompanied by a friend on guitar and Ben's voice soared into the Friday night air. (J says "Exactly what I wanted", B says "He touched me to the bone")
After such a rousing end to the evening, the night began triumphantly in the Rumpus Room with much dancing, green moustaches, beer can feet and tidy gestures, but, i guess, you had to be there...

Cats In Paris - Foxes
Threatmantics - Sum Sum
Agnostic Mountain Gospel Choir - Buried Them In Water
Fight Like Apes - Lightsabre Cocksucking Blues
Rod Thomas - Debris
Lou Rhodes - The Rain
Ben Ottewell - Get Miles (live)

To see more of Green Man check out my (quite fuzzy) photos on my flickr

Bitchstealer

2008-08-06T07:23:00.000-07:00

Absentee are back!
I know i'm a bit late on this one but i can't stop listening to Bitchstealer. There's something so infectious about it. It might be the brassy fanfare or the scuzzy, urgent guitar lines or the contrasting interplay between Dan Michaelson's growling baritone and Melinda's cute vocals, i don't know, but whatever it is I'm hooked.
I was really hooked after last year's LP Schmotime but after an initial barrage of plays, it ran its course by the time the new year came around. But with Bitchstealer, and its ep, and a new album coming out shortly, all things are go for Absentee.
Check out Kruger Magazine's Single Club this month for a few free Absentee tracks.

Absentee - Bitchstealer

Rival Schools @ KCLSU

2008-08-04T08:32:00.000-07:00

Sometimes its better to take your time over things. Take this review for instance: nearly 2 months overdue, but perhaps with hindsight I'll be able to portray a more rounded account of the event in question, Rival Schools' first London show in six years. Walter and co, it seems, have definitely benefited from their break.
Reunion shows must be a nervy affair for the band, especially for one with a history of poor live shows, and front man Walter Schreifels seemed on edge as the band began their set with Travel By Telephone, opener of their only album United By Fate, backed by a huge banner of their now infamous logo. The crowd were enthusiastic though and sang every word right back at the band as they stormed through more tracks off their album and eased into the performance. It didn't feel like they'd been away for over half a decade. High Acetate packed a riotous punch and Good Things caused a lot of over-excited pogoing but it was the somber Undercovers On which got the most pleasing reaction. Nearly every attendee singing their hearts out, nostalgically remembering what it was to be fifteen and free again.

But Rival Schools don't just want to be remembered for United By Fate and tonight they revealed three or four new tracks, some taken from the unreleased sophomore effort that got leaked onto the web, that will hopefully feature on a new album (!). Each track showed huge amounts of promise -they've been "practising for 6 years", Schreifel joked - highlighting the band's tight playing, especially Ian Love's swirling guitar lines and Walter's growling vocals, and it will no doubt establish them with new fans and confirm old ones.
The end of the set came with a surprising cover of The Smith's How Soon Is Now, which I failed to recognise at the time without its jangly Johnny Marr guitar and thought was just another new RS track, and then as everyone expected the unique, abrasive blast that is Used For Glue. As the front of the room launched itself into a pit of swarming bodies, Walter peered from the edge of the stage, a satisfied smirk spread across his face, and I think all the attended had the same feeling as him as they stumbled out onto the embankment, wishing it was 2002 again but happy that even though its not, United By Fate can still take them back.

Rival Schools - Undercovers On
Rival Schools - Shared Information

Nowheres Nigh

2008-07-18T17:35:00.000-07:00

New Parts & Labor!
I'm very excited about this. After loving last year's Mapmaker, in particular opening track Fractured Skies, I was highly anticipating and rather anxious about their new output. Could they continue with the intensity and ingenuity of Mapmaker? Well... they may have.
Their new album Receivers comes out in November over here and the first track available off it, Nowheres Nigh, is the most pop-friendly song they released. Mellow vocals and a subtle ringing guitar float out of your speakers and it could be any American alt band, it sounds a bit mundane. Horrified I listened on and breathed a sigh of relief when I hear the glitchy oscillations of synths and the hammer of distorted six-strings, supplied by new recruit (and hottie) Sarah, that typify a P&L recording. There's more vocals than usual, or they're clearer in the mix, and the drums have been push back to a less prominent position which gives the track a less powerful, more accessible feel. They sound like a standard four-piece band in places, but luckily pump the grungey guitars and keys enough by the end of Nowheres Nigh to make it more than standard.
Not the most inspiring initial listen but there's plenty in there to keep me hopeful for the goods come November.

Parts & Labor - Nowheres Nigh

The Bookhouse Boys

2008-07-12T11:12:00.000-07:00

Over the month or so that i've have been absent from this blog I have had music bombard me from all angles and quarters. TV, magazines, gigs, festivals, websites, emails even just walking along the street, all of varying quality and I shall divulge you with some of them in the near future. The first ones I want to bring to your attention is The Bookhouse Boys.
An email plopped into my inbox only a few days back from the London 9-piece and I haven't been able to stop playing their track Dead since. With so many in the band, you'd expect them to make a racket and they certainly do. The intro to Dead is a bombastic, deafening surf riff, like riding on a 50 foot wave made of lava and full of sharks, it breaks into a commanding country verse, sounding a bit like Murder By Death, who they are in fact supporting at The Borderline later this week, before crashing into another big, trumpet-fuelled riff for the chorus. Its abrasive and confrontational but catchy enough to enjoy first time and I bet they put on a great live show.
Already working hard on their debut album, which is set for a August 18th release, theirs is a name I'd drop in casual conversation as sure to be big soon.

The Bookhouse Boys - Dead

Johnny Foreigner + Dananananaykroyd @ Proud Galleries

2008-07-11T07:24:00.000-07:00

The main room of Camden's Proud Galleries was buzzing like a very excited bee as I arrived, slightly late, for the night's proceedings. The crowd, already titterlated by overpriced Kopparberg cider, cheap Camden market food and, from what I heard, a formidable set from Tubelord, seemed anxious to see two of Britain's most exciting indie-rock prospects.

Dananananaykroyd were too many in number and instruments to fit on the venue's tiny stage so they had to over flow a guitarist onto the floor by the side of the stage. It was unneeded, to be honest, as from the first song to last singer Callum scaled the barrier in front of the stage to dance, command and generally run riot in the crowd. The band's self-proclaimed “fight-pop” is fuelled by chirpy, scuzzy guitars and duel drumming that hits you like a boxer's left and right hook and all this boundless energy is funnelled through their hyper frontman, who screams, wails and mutters in his thick Scottish accent. The set is a blur of old favourites like Some Dresses with its full band chanted intro and thudding rhythm and SongOnePuzzle, which finished off their set, with Callum literally running circles round the crowd during the instrumental intro, finally ending up on stage as the song, and mayhem, broke out. One of the drummers had to leave the stage after headbutting his hi-hat and gashing his eyebrow but he return and soldiered on til the end of the set. The new tracks that interspersed the oldies were all off their recently released ep “Sissy Hits” were riotous and very well received by the baying audience. A breathless, non-stop, congenial set.

Following Dananananaykroyd is a challenge but one that Johnny Foreigner were more than willing to take up. With only half the number of members as their tour buddies, and now label mates, you'd be forgiven for thinking they wouldn't be able to match Dan...aykroyd for intensity and dynamicism but you'd be wholeheartedly wrong.
The Brummie trio attacked every song with rigour and purpose and buoyed by a favourable crowd, the band put on a fine display. Playing the majority of their debut album “Waited Up Til It Was Light”, of which most of the audience knew the words, Alexei hammered his guitar with a stunning technicality while yelping out pronounced lyrics into the depths of the microphone. Backing him, Kelly pounded her bass as she stomped and pouted around the stage and Junior's tight, electrifying drumming held everything together. As the set progressed and the band grew in confidence, every song got better and better. The End And Everything After was noisy and jubilant, and was followed by Hennings Favourite which raised the level and temperature of the room as the crowd started moving around. Recent single Eyes Wide Terrified got the biggest crowd sing-along with its poppy, catchy chorus but the band must have been full of assurance as even though their album had just come out, they threw a brand new track – I didn't catch the name - into the set and it was awesome. You could tell by the amount of sweat pouring down Alexei face the effort and passion he was putting into the performance as he rallied vocals across the stage with Kelly on Cranes And Cranes And Cranes. Old favourite Sofacore is torn through, given extra impact by the combined energies of the threesome and the night ended on the double blow of Yr All Just Jealous with its squealing guitars and girl/boy vocals and Absolute Balance which beginnings softly, fragile keys built to an bruising climax and then all fell silent. The crowd left wanting more and JoFo are sure to give but not tonight as they climb off stage absolutely spent.

Dananananaykroyd - Some Dresses
Johnny Foreigner - Sofacore

For more photos of the night, check out my flickr

p.s Sorry for the completely lack of activity on funfunfun recently. I promise to start making more regular contributions from now on.

Welcome To Our TV Show

2008-06-17T15:16:00.000-07:00

Jeremy Warmsley invites you into his house to view his musically minded friends perform mainly acoustic tracks. You've probably already aware of Welcome To Our TV Show as the first show was aired back in January but over the past 4 shows they've had funfunfun favs Mystery Jets, Noah & The Whale, Emmy The Great, Johnny Flynn past through to perform little ditties and I've discovered the likes of FrYars and Emma groves through its wonders.
The newest episode is no excpetion to the talent with Moshi Moshi's finest Hot Club De Paris, The Wave Pictures and Slow Club all filling the tiny flat with themselves and their wonderous tunes.
Take a look for yourself
Part 1: The Wave Pictures + Hot Club De Paris

Part 2: Slow Club

Here's a couple of my favourite sessions from the show so far

Emmy The Great - 24
Jeremy Warmsley (feat. Emmy The Great) - The Boat Show
FrYars - Ides

Safetyword RIP

2008-06-05T08:42:00.001-07:00

Too many good bands these days are meeting early graves and Bristol's Safetyword are the latest victims. Not stating any reasons and, seemingly, completely disappearing from the net - both their myspace and site have been deleted - its quite an abrupt ending for an equally uncompromising band. It was a shock to me as when I interviewed them from Drunken Werewolf magazine back in November they were very enthusiastic about their band and its future.
As a parting gesture the band recorded their last ever recording session, which you can order from them for free. Its odd and uneven but a captivating listen nonetheless.

Safetyword - Foxe's Book Of Martyrs
Safetyword - By Jove!

To get your own copy of the recording, just email your postal address to splawsplawsplaw(AT)hotmail(DOT)com.

Hayman, Watkins, Trout and Lee

2008-05-29T15:16:00.000-07:00

Bluegrass isn't a style of music i'm familar with, i don't think many people are and i don't think many people would be very inclined to explore the genre but when a couple of celebrated musicians group together to create a Bluegrass band then i'm more than happy to give it a go.
The couple in question are Darren Hayman of Hefner and David Tattersall of The Wave Pictures and with a couple of friends have formed Hayman, Watkins, Trout and Lee. Its the sort of band thats put together over a bottle of wine, drunkenly chatting about music when they all discover a mutual liking for Smithsonian sounds and Dr John (see picture). But with these guys being seasoned musicians they've taken their inebriated converations further than most and recorded an album.
The music is subdued, the guitars twang, the mandolin pings and the fiddle sways. Lyrics flow like a stream as mournful stories and wistful tales are held bare, but there's also a whimsical side to them. The Mountain Goats cover Jam-Eater Blues is a fast paced, banjo lead ditty about life's briefness so why not eat jam out of the jar :)
The album is out now on Fortuna POP! and available through Darren's website

Hayman, Watkins, Trout and Lee - Sly And The Family Stone
Hayman, Watkins, Trout and Lee - Jam-Eater Blues

p.s. Its been Keep Hope Inside's 2nd birthday this week. For it he's got guest bloggers to write about their favourite Brtitish albums of the past 2 years. Mine was put up on Tuesday so go have a look and while you're at it read the rest of the blog as Saam does a great job over there.

Fang Island

2008-05-25T03:59:00.000-07:00

"Everyone high-fiving everyone"
That's the description Fang Island give of their music and honestly i shouldn't have to say anymore...but I will.
Mainly instrumental, this Brooklyn 5-piece string together euphoric guitar riffs, pounding basslines and tight-as-hell drumming to create epic, triumphant gatherings of sound. Curanga builts up slowly to an eruption of punk-fuelled, Thin Lizzy-esque, six-string mayhem. Its energy and its unashamed ballsiness is infectious, you just want to jump around and hug around in sight when its on.
I get the sense that Fang Island use their music to bring people together, it has a real unity to it, and in today's insular and insolated society, this union that is much needed. Like other comtemparies such as No Age, Les Savy Fav etc, there is a feel of the band wanting the fans to be as much a part of the music as they are. The fans are more important that the band themselves.
I think this video shows this off quite aptly.

Fang Island - Curanga

JoFo & The Mae Shi. ACCESS DENIED

2008-05-14T10:06:00.000-07:00

I was meant to witness the devastating glory that is The Mae Shi and Johnny Foreigner live at King's College Student Union last night. Unfortunately, due to a mix-up in communications or something, I wasn't on the guestlist as expected and I couldn't fork out the cash to buy a ticket so my girlfriend and I were left to do the walk of shame out of the venue and make our way back home.
It was a mighty shame because The Mae Shi put on an awesomely fun show, as I experienced back in January at Barden's Boudoir. Also Johnny Foreigner's forthcoming debut album is refreshingly glorious, i won't say anymore til i review it, and I've heard they storm it live. I'll just have to see them when they return to the capital with Danananananakroyd later in the month.

Johnny Foreigner - Cranes And Cranes And Cranes And Cranes
Slow Club - Run To Ur Grave

Credit for the photo goes to Amy Brammall. Cheers

Bambi, Get Over It

2008-05-07T15:27:00.000-07:00

Let me tell you a story. Are you sitting comfortably and all that?
I was an amiable child, never prone to tantrums and was always happy to go along with whatever my two older brothers wanted. At the age of three, my brothers and I were taken to the local cinema to see the latest Disney film, Bambi. It was probably my mum's way of distracting 3 young boys for a Saturday afternoon but as with any cinema trip my ma had to fork out for a whole heap of cinema refreshments. Now, someone in my family - i don't want to point fingers - bought a Terry's Chocolate Orange and then let their 3 year old baby brother munch on it for a while. About halfway through the film, I started throwing up everywhere and my brothers, my mum and I had to leave the cinema.
To this day, I still wary of eating a Chocolate Orange and I still haven't seen the rest of Bambi, in fear of another projectile session, and so I have never seen the reknowned scene wittily referenced by this Norwich 6 piece's band-name.

Luckily Bambi, Get Over It and their lo-fi folkabilly sound don't have the same effect on me. In fact, tracks like the rampant Badman, with its quick-fire strumming and confident wails, are a joy to behold. Having only formed in October '07, its surprising that the band sound so tight and together, even on these low production demos, and that each song seems like a finished product means that they won't stay unsigned for too much longer. The promise of future live shows around the UK and beyond is exciting as they defintiely sound like a band to start an all-night hoe-down and I can't wait to be a part of it.

Bambi, Get Over It - Badman
Bambi, Get Over It - Jeanie

Lets Do It, Then

2008-05-03T05:45:00.000-07:00

Lets Do It, Then sounds like the party the robots will throw when they finally overcome humans and take over the world. Industrial hammers pound out an intro while screeching synths built up tension. This is replaced by stuttering bleets and dial-up connection signals that whirl and whip before a broad computerize voice croaks the entitled refrain and the glitchy beat drops. Despite sounding all techy and robotic though, the Blamma! Blamma! boys have infused it with a hint of humanity and it really does sound like an awesome tune to flail your arms about to in the sweaty confines of your local club.

The track comes of Blamma! Blamma!'s first physical release "the.p", a 12" out on Dovecote records. Other tracks on it are Only Friend and "the internet phemonenon" Carry Me Home. Only 500 were released so you best move quick to get a copy. I certainly did.

Also the guys are looking to work with any vocalists/mcs for future releases, so if you think you've got what it takes, drop them a line.

Blamma! Blamma! - Lets Do It Then

You can buy the 12" from Dovecote Records (link)

Fanfarlo + El Guincho + Munch Munch @ White Heat, Madame JoJo's

2008-04-24T14:14:00.000-07:00

Bristol's Munch Munch are the first to take to the stage. I'd been meaning to write about these guys ever since I got hold of their Wedding EP a few months ago. On record, their unconventional take on pop is as shambolic as it is brilliant and tonight's performance was no different. The battling duo of keyboards are chaotic, pulsating notes spilt and echo off each other while vibrant drumbeats ring out and the occasional xylophone sing bright melodies. But when it all comes together, in the pounding synth riff in Wedding, its not crisp enough to make the impact intended. This is the problem all night. The drama and authority of the band is diminished by sloppy delivery and poor sound, only during Endolphins' opening chant do any vocals break through the madness, and it leaves their set a little uninspiring.

The description I gave of El Guincho to my friend and fellow gig-goer beforehand was “He's a man with a drum” and, to be honest, its basically true but the jumble of exotic noises and exuberant beats that Pablo Diaz-Reixa creates with just a floor tom, a tamborine and a sampler are unbelievable and utterly compelling. The cadences and calypso samples are looped into a mesmerising, colourful blanket of throbbing sounds and adding Diaz-Reixa's superb drumming and undecipherable chanting on top of this was too much for the front few rows of the crowd, who begin to move and shake more than I've ever seen a London crowd move. The energy and atmosphere produced by this one-man-band was incredibly impressive. It's his rhythms that do it and, believe me, El Guincho has an amazing feel for a rhythm. They're hypnotic and almost brainwashing in their immediacy and turn anyone who hears them into feverishly dancing zombies. I couldn't tell you which tracks were played off his debut release Alegranza as his half hour set all seep into one glowing, tropical carnival but everyone in Madame JoJo's, well in the front four rows, had a little Mardi Gras of their own.

After El Guincho, Fanfarlo needed to be truly special to even match him but unfortunately their pleasant style of folk pop wasn't up to the job. The flighty intro of Fire Escape began their set with its lush violin part and twinkling keyboards and it climaxes with its soft but melodic trumpet solo. But that was the highlight for me. Every song from there just sounded like the last, moulding into a long, nice but indifferent track. Just as I was leaving, the band brought a saw out to add the eerie wails of a singing saw to the mix but by that time I was a bit bored (sadly) and had to catch the last train home. I'd like to see them again, maybe when I'm less in awe of the support again, but it was the sound of samba drums that rebounded round my head on the way home.

Munch Munch - Endolphins
El Guincho - Costa Paraiso
Fanfarlo - Fire Escape

Check out the rest of my photos from the gig on my flickr

Pork & Beans

2008-04-18T05:00:00.000-07:00

After two days of scrutinizing listens and opinions swinging to and fro, i think i've finally made my mind up on the new Weezer single, Pork & Beans. Its awkwardly good.
Since getting into them in 2000/01, Weezer have been probably the most important band in my musical timeline. Every one of their releases gets me as excited as a little kid on Christmas and, to be honest, I've only really been let down by their last effort Make Believe, which was uninspiring to say the least.
Pork & Beans is a confident comeback for Weezer. Its actually a brave decision for their first single as its not exactly your no. 1 smash with its bouncy verse riff and odd background squarks but its the chorus that makes me giddy with joy. The double crunch that kicks it off leads into a scuzzy, over-driven chord progression that harks back to days of Blue and Rivers' vocal melody is huge and catchy.
I only have a couple of concerns really. Some of the lyrics are a bit crap. If Rivers is trying to be intentionally humourous then I suppose it works but the line about Timbaland makes me cringe a little bit, although saying that some of them are beautifully self-referencing. My other tiny concern is there's no mean guitar solo, something that made old Weezer songs so appealing.
The new self-titled album is out in June and I'm trying hard to keep a level head about this one so not to be disappointed if its flops but Pork & Beans is a small step back in the right direction.

Weezer - Pork & Beans

Pennines

2008-04-15T06:20:00.000-07:00

Named after the low rising mountain region in Northern England, the Norwich four-piece Pennines are starting to get a bit of buzz about them in certain alternative circles. Their sound takes alot from 90s American alt-rock bands, such as American Football and The Dismemberment Plan, but instead of feeling nostalgic and dusty, Pennines' music feels fresh and sharp and forward-thinking.
Their lush, melodic guitars pulse and flow like a blood stream, giving life to every element of the songs. On Open Closed Open, the soft, sonorous vocals fading in and out of the mix, creating heartfelt, human glimpses into the emotional instrumental track.
Whisky Foxtrot Tango? Lima Oscar Lima sounds like it was recorded when the band were asleep, dreaming of their individual parts, with electrodes stuck to their heads and the subsequent electronic signals fed into a computer and delicately compiled into sonic waves.
With all my soft analogies, you may think the band are fluffy but they do have edge as well. Some of the guitar lines are unpredictable and their constantly changing time signatures make sure the audience is kept on their toes.
They're in the process of recording an ep to be released on the ever brilliant Big Scary Monster Records in May and there will be a spilt release with This Town Need Guns just before it, so keep an eye for them. Ones to watch methinks.

Pennines - Open Closed Open
Pennines - Whisky Tango Foxtrot? Lima Oscar Lima

Hot Club De Paris + Slow Club @ Hush, Royal Albert Hall

2008-04-09T06:29:00.000-07:00

The Royal Albert Hall? I hear you enquire. Yes that is what I said. For one bleak February (yes I know) evening, Moshi Moshi records took over the affluent and ornate Elgar Room in the RAH and filled it with the glowing sounds and joyful melodies of two of their brightest stars. The Albert Hall has a rich musical history, from the numerous flag-waving "Last Nights" to the story of my ma dancing in the aisles to Eric Clapton, and this acceptance and welcoming of new talent can only add to the venue's mighty stature.
After being directed upstairs by a number of red-blazered stewards - it felt like being at Butlins - and using the FREE cloakroom - i was mighty impressed - we enter the plush surroundings of the Elgar Room. It was stunning. The raised performing area overlooked the bar and everything was decadent and well...fancy. The lavish surroundings seemed to intimidate the crowd into a murmured hush, it could have been due to the stare of the carving behind the stage, everyone was unsure how to act. Was it a gig or a concert? How much am I allowed to dance at the Albert Hall? All these questions seemed to hanging over us as the bands took the stage but from the first notes, the answers was loud and clear. 1)Gig 2)Alot.

The review of Slow Club's set will appear in funfunfun zine #2, which should be out in about a month. It will also include a live review of Rolo Tomassi, an interview with Jetplane Landing and some reviews and features to be confirmed. I'll let you know more about it in due course.

Hot Club De Paris arrived on stage to a politely rapturous applause from the majority of the crowd. I was in the minority. For some unexplained reason I've never really listen to the Moshi Moshi mainstays, even though I see their name every time I venture onto the Moshi Moshi website and they've had excellent write-ups all over the shop. They just seem to be a band I've passed by so I was looking to be converted tonight. The three Scousers seem almost in awe of the venue and the reception as the first couple of tracks were a bit off but with a bit of amusing onstage banter and a more than receptive audience, they soon found their confidence and their stride. Bassist Paul Rafferty was immense, his fingers leaping from fret to fret almost mindlessly as he slouched over the microphone, singing. Guitarist Matt couldn't stop moving, resonating waves of sunshine guitar riffs as he rocked back and forth and drummer Alasdair controlled it all with an agitated beat, changing time signatures at a whim. Their playful melodies, raw guitar sound and regional accents sounded familiar, due to one-too-many of the same kin but Hot Club seemed to have so much enjoyment onstage that that alone puts them above the rest. Tracks like "Shipwreck" and "Who Am I?" got the front row singing along as the band whizzed through a set of fireball pop tunes. On this performance they deserve to be playing on such a prestigious stage.

Slow Club - Me And You
Hot Club De Paris - Shipwreck

You can find more photos of the gig at my flickr.

Beat Control

2008-04-02T07:27:00.000-07:00

My my, it shows how slack i've been recently that i missed the new Tilly & The Wall track completely. I usually pride myself on being ahead of the game when it comes to Tilly tunes but this one just passed me by.
Beat Control is a simple pop song, its actually the most mainstream-sounding pop song they've created, every element of it is concise and basic, stripped of any excess, but in doing so they've captured the true soul of the song and managed to produce a highly catchy melody and kinetic beat that pinpoints the dance-enducing area of the brain and activate it completely. It still sound very Tilly with their duel female vocal harmonies and their exuding, contagious enthusiasm and happiness but one thing seems to have changed. Maybe to remove the "gimmick" tag it gave them or maybe they saw the success of their more electronic beat based songs ie. You And Me Misbehaving, The Freest Man, but tap dancer Jaime isn't heard anywhere on the track. Its a shame because I always thought she gave the band the edge to make them more-than-your-average band but on this evidence maybe Tilly don't have to rely on her talented toes to keep them above the pack anymore. To be fair Beat Control is even on their new album, O, released later this year, which means all the tracks on the album have to be better than this. Okay now i'm excited...
Tilly And The Wall - Beat Control

And you can watch the video for it here, its a bit camp but good fun. Enjoy.

Dels

2008-03-27T16:57:00.000-07:00

How do they do it?
Moshi Moshi records that is. They just keep putting out incredible records, and most recently they've found Dels. Put out through their singles club, Dels' debut seven-inch, Lazy, is one of the most exciting things i've heard all year. With glitchy beats produced by Joe from Hot Chip, Dels, Kieren Dickins to his friends, rattles off rhymes with an ease, confidence and natural swagger of untapped talent. Lazy features cowbells and hand-claps with Dels nonchalantly reminiscing of mellow days but its b-side Myself Malfunction which really gets me going on.
Starting with Daft Punk-esque robot vocals, subtle drums and Dels add to the mix but its when the drums ramp up, the bass line drops in and the squealing synths invade that it all goes wild. Like the best garage tune So Solid never realised, Joe's production is immense and the track never falters from being incredible. Dels' rapping is intense, about queues, raves and bouncers, he's been there and done it, you can almost feel the scratch of gravel pavement, the glare of bus-stop lights and the sound of passing sirens. Its there, vivid and sharp, on vinyl and if there's more like this to come from Kieren, everyone will want to be there too.

Dels - Myself Malfunction

Get Lazy from Moshi Moshi as soon as you can

Dance Dance Dance

2008-03-13T04:39:00.000-07:00

I think I'm quite late on Lykke Li too but she's so good that i don't really care.
I've have Dance Dance Dance on my itunes for ages but only really gave it attention when my girlfriend played it to me while driving somewhere. Its the sort of gorgeous, soulful indie pop that can only come out of Scandinavia. Lykke's rich but innocent vocals are the driving force, gently taking you by the arm and leading you across a floor made of scatty beats and plunking guitars. The track glides effortlessly, unstrained and beautiful and then out of nowhere a jazzy sax appears, i found it completely surprising, i was taken aback by the sudden sidestep into brassy realms but the change almost makes the song, just taking it far enough away to keep you second guessing but close enough so that its comfortable. I can't wait to get my hands on her album Youth Novels if this and the couple of other tracks i've heard are anything to go by.

Lykke Li - Dance Dance Dance

Flakes

2008-03-04T13:07:00.000-08:00

I'm a bit late on this i guess. With that I mean The Mystery Jets and this flowing and bewitching tune. I missed out on The M. Jets first album, Making Dens, in 2006. It just seemed to past me by like a gentle drizzle if I wearing a water proof onesie and had a golf umbrella. I'm sad it did because after hearing Flakes a couple of times I wanted to be drenched in their dappled, crisp, seeping sound.

The vocal melodies glow and strobe in amongst a rich, fresh blanket of noise; the guitars hum and buzz canorously and the drum beat is sharp and not intrusively snappy. The track softly grows and the "oh-oh-oh-oh-oh" and "break-eh-eh-eh-eh-eh-ek" bits add extra singalongness to the already catchy vocal part.

This track and their latest, and also utterly brilliant, single Young Love, which features the also utterly brilliant Laura Marling, have made me extremely excited about their Erol Alkan produced album "21", which comes out later this month. I shall be purchasing that shiny bit of plastic on the 24th for sure.

The Mystery Jets - Flakes

The Mae Shi + Rolo Tomassi + PRE + Kasms @ Barden's Boudoir.

2008-02-28T07:43:00.000-08:00

Sorry its been so long. I've been busy but i've got alot to tell.
This gig was so long ago now that my recollections are a bit hazy but I'll try my HARDEST to get across what it was like.

Barden's gloomy basement interior mirrored the weather outside and the atmosphere, post-festivities, of the Boudoir's clientele. This darkness was probably the reason for the couple of "Winter Warmer" shows that the East-London venue put on and they really did heat up my January blues.

KASMs began the preceedings with a confident, if what dreary performance. Guitars buzzed and droned with feedback and sporadic notes while miniscule singer Rachael wrapped her red lips around the microphone and let off high-pitched screams as she writhed around on the floor. At times it was a dynamic, energetic set, especially when the guitarist and drummer switched instruments - it seemed to click then - but it also drag a bit and the some of the tracks descended into a dirge but it was promising for such a young band.

I'd seen PRE before, supporting These Arms Are Snakes, and they really can put on a show. This time was no different. Lead singer Akiko was a bundle of frenzied energy, leaping around, across and over the stage so much that i'm amazed she remembered to yelp and shout along to the fast, intense music backing her. The songs were short and immediate, finishing before you've had time to fully comprehend the mayhem taking place before your eyes but that seems to be the point, that there wasn't one. It's not meant to make sense, its just meant to happen. The band invite a guest singer on stage half way through the set, introducing her as Lily Allen. It wasn't but she managed to maximum entertainment by bouncing, dancing and shouting through her couple of tracks. It was a tight, commanding set from a wild and unpredictable band. Who knows what they'll be like next time.

My Rolo Tomassi review is to be featured in funfunfun zine issue #2 so I hope you can wait til then for it. Other content for fff#2 is a Jetplane Landing interview, Slow Club live, some new(-ish) bands and cd reviews.

LA's The Mae Shi take the antics even further. Their set begins with the acapella chanting of the naive refrain "I want almost everything" and their childish, ADH-like excitement maintains a constant level of compulsion to keep your eyes on the stage to see what happened next. They turned the houselights off, changed costumes and entwined their instruments with fairylights, which inevitaby got tangled and pulled down by the end. Their set-list spanned their lifetime, from the short, barked punk tracks of their early career to the almost poppy single Run To Your Grave, off new album HLLLYH, which is so catchy on record but its damn contagious heard live. You can literally hear the band's enthusiasm radiating from their music. The set drew to a close with one of the crowd playing guitar, flashing fairylights strewn across the stage and a bewildered but stupidly grinning funfunfun feeling all warm and fuzzy on the inside. Brilliant.

KASMs - Ode To Millers
PRE - Fudging On Our Folks
Rolo Tomassi - Cirque Du Funk
The Mae Shi - Run To Your Grave

Thanks to Roman David from I Shook The Royal Throne for the photo :)

Short Road

2008-02-05T14:42:00.000-08:00

I don't think i posted about Short Road when it just got released but the story behind it and the rise of Wax Stag is an interesting one. Firstly Wax Stag is the pseudonym for Robert Lee's keyboard-driven, electropop bubble machine. Rob is also in Clark, Friendly Fires and Tack Til but creates danceable, fun bleepy jams on the side.
Short Road was written about three years ago but ended up on Hot Chip's DJ Kicks mix cd last year after Rob had given Alexis from Hot Chip a CD-R of the track years back and they liked it alot.
This exposure has forced the track to be released officially and Rob is in the process of recording a Wax Stag album.
I found a few remixes of the track in my inbox last week and so I thought you should all hear them.

Wax Stag - Short Road (Metal On Metal Remix)
Wax Stag - Short Road (Wax Stag Remix)

Tubelord/Get Closer

2008-01-30T10:10:00.000-08:00

If you're not a fan of Big Scary Monsters Records yet, why not? I've been pushing their stuff on to you for months now and its all been quality. The most recent treat the guys at BSM have offering you wonderful people is a new track from Tubelord, a trio of London noise-makers. Half Man, Half Amazing is abrasive, loud and full of beans. Its many "woos" and "yehs" making extremely catchy. I bet you can't help but join in after a few listens and then go a bit crazy when it all goes mental.

Tubelord - Half Man, Half Amazing

If you like it, you can download more of their stuff from their myspace

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On a a completely separate note, there's a new social network being in constructed. Its called Get Closer and is in association with HMV. Its like other social networking sites but there you can display your music and film collections and make connections between artists, movies, albums, actors, songs etc. while you send messages to friends and disagree with the review about OK Computer. Its under construction as we speak but for all you popular culture fans - i know you are one - there's a beta site so go and check it out. www.getcloserbeta.com

Radiohead @ Rough Trade East...well 93 Feet East

2008-01-19T08:11:00.000-08:00

What a day!
My last 24 hours of freedom before starting a new job changed from a relaxed day in to a frustrated but extremely exciting day in East London in a moment when DrownedInSound announced the gig of a lifetime at midday, Radiohead at Rough Trade East! I started queuing at 2 and managed to get a wristband. The way i felt must have been the way Charlie felt when he found his golden ticket, i was so excited. That was at 6 but it wouldn't be until 10.20, after a venue change due to security reason, a mass rush to the new venue and some more anxious waiting, until me and the 200/250 other ultra-lucky souls were crammed into 93 Feet East and watched Thom, Ed, Jonny, Colin and Phil take to the tiny stage. The reaction of the crowd was electric, probably a release of frustrated energy from the chaotic day and a gasp of relief that the moment had actually arrived.
From the first glitchy beats of 15 Steps, the band oozed a confidence and an enthusiasm that made the track blisteringly good. The fact that they hadn't taken to a stage together since August 2006 didn't show one bit as every part was perfectly in place, the band looked so happy to be there. They played the rest of In Rainbows in full and in order. Bodysnatchers' insistent riff made the already fervent crowd dance and shake even more passionately but it wasn't until Nude that the reality of the situation really struck me. I was watching Radiohead!

Thom Yorke's vocal performance was immense. Nude showcased this in all its stripped down, lounging beauty, especially when he hits that long note at the end of the line "For what your dirty mind is thinking" i was left gasping and the silence was extraordinary. The rest of the main set carried on in this fashion, eye-goggling and mind-blowing, and it really laid out how strong an album In Rainbows is. Another highlight was the recently released Jigsaw Falls Into Place which i perceived as the weakest track on the album but live it really took off, storming its way to the end of the set before everything relaxed with Videotape.
After that i could really want anymore but the band came back on for an encore. Initially just Thom, who performed a solo version of Up On The Ladder, and then joined by the others for a few more. First came You And Whose Army? from Amnesiac to the general elation of the crowd - i'm not a fan of Amnesiac so wasn't that bothered - but following that was The National Anthem and its stomping bassline was enough to send mass of fans at the front, back and sides crazy. Finishing with the dual attack of My Iron Lung and The Bends just finished me off, i was too happy. The eight hours of queuing in the cold, the chaos of the venue change, the queue jumpers and the frustration of not knowing what was going on earlier in the day were all worth it, this was a performance so powerful and euphoric that anyone who was there will remember it forever and one that alot more people will say they saw. I'm just happy i've got a wristband to prove it.

Radiohead - Jigsaw Falling In Place
Radiohead - The National Anthem

To see more photos from the gig, check out my flickr
To watch the gig itself, check out this youtube accoun

The 4Qs

2008-01-13T17:34:00.001-08:00

I'm not sure what to make of this. Is it new Noah And The Whale? Or new Laura Marling? Or just Laura and Charlie mucking around and this was the outcome. Whatever it is, its lovely. Its a minute and a half of gorgeous, warm folk about falling in love with the wrong person. Bittersweet i guess, but its effortless delivery and shoestring production make it charming beyond belief. Lets hope theres more to come from The 4Qs, whoever they are

The 4Qs - Pieces Of A Puzzle

funfunfun's Favourite Albums Of 2007 (5-1)

2007-12-31T07:38:00.000-08:00

Ok here's the top 5, but first here's a quick recap from 15-6

15) Kat Flint - Dirty Birds
14) Matthew Dear - Asa Breed
13) Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
12) Justice - † (Cross)
11) Eugene McGuinness - The Early Learnings Of...
10) Meet Me In St Louis - Variations On Swing
9) LCD Soundsystem - Sound Of Silver
8) Les Savy Fav - Lets Stay Friends
7) Parts & Labor - Mapmaker
6) M.I.A. - Kala

Now down to business.

Napoleon IIIrd - In Debt To
After months sitting in cyper-space, this debut album from Leeds' James Mabbett, aka Napoleon IIIrd, finally got a physical release in October and it was definitely well deserved. Its a grand pop album, taking much inspiration from The Beach Boys, but the music is pushed as far as it possibly could be while still keeping it accessible. Like all the solo acts in this list, Napoleon IIIrd isn't your standard singer-songwriter. He's trying something different, experimenting with everyday sounds and telling lyrical stories about the world around him. In Debt To is unpredictable, inventive but also fun and catchy with some cracking tunes on it.
Favourite Tracks - This Is My Call To Arms, Defibrillator, The Conformist Takes It All, Hit Schmooze For Me
Video - Hit Schmooze For Me
Download - Defibrillator

Jetplane Landing - Backlash Cop
On first listen Backlash Cop surprised me, i guess it surprised anyone who was a JPL fan, it just had a completely different feel to their previous two efforts, 2001's Zero For Conduct and 1003's Once Like A Spark. The sound was still the same, Andrew Ferris' talking/rapping/singing vocals, the shredding guitar riffs and driving rhythm but this time it felt funky. It was only after a month or two of constantly repeated listens that i realised the difference, this is Jetplane Landing's most comfortable record. This is what they been strive to sound like for six years and thats why its sounds so natural and organic. Its basically a concept album, pinpointing a number of hugely influential people in the band's lives, Dizzy Gillespie, Les Savy Fav, Miles Davis, Jimi Hendrix to name just a few. It is funky in places but that seems to fit and there's still enough rock-out riffs for the old fans. The spoken-word number Us And The Ringside Stars would sound out of place on any other album but this is an album of experimentation and vision and its sits perfectly in the fierce, intelligent, 35 minute journey

Favourite Tracks - Dizzy Gillespie For President, Lungs Of Punk, Songs For Sonia Sanchez
Video - No videos sorry :(
Download - Lungs Of Punk

Beirut - The Flying Club Cup
Zach Condon is a genius. I thought i'd get that out of the way before i started. To follow up 2006's amazing debut Gulag Orkestar with such a convincing and determined effort is an incredible feat but to match it and sometimes surpass its quality and emotion is unbelievable. There may not be the stand-out track like Postcards From Italy but as a whole album, The Flying Club Cup is more compelling and complete. Zach's melancholic croon is still at the forefront but the backing this time is of a Gallic tone. The horn part on A Sunday Smile is a swaying memory of a laconic Sunday afternoon and the opening strings on the album highlight Forks And Knives are shrilling and thrilling. Its antique music for the modern age.

Favourite Tracks - Forks And Knives (La Fete), A Sunday Smile, Cliquot
Video - Nantes (Take Away Show)
Download - Forks And Knives (La Fete)

Radiohead - In Rainbows
Enough has already been said about how this album was distributed but i would like to add how exciting it was that everyone got to listen to the album for the first time simultaneously. No leaks, no reviews, just everyone's initial reactions, i thought that was the most exciting thing about the distribution method. Now the music. For me it was Radiohead back at their best. I have really been enticed by any of their releases since Kid A but right from 15 Steps i could tell that this was for me. Thom Yorke's vocals are strong and assured - just listen to Nude- and J. Greenwood's guitar work flitters and flows seamlessly between electronic glitches and his brother's steady but innovative basslines. But its not all The Eraser-like electronics, Bodysnatchers sees the band rocking out, which must have pleased old fans. The album saunters off a bit in the middle but its still visceral and irresistible and in places its un-fucking-believable.

Favourite Tracks - Nude, 15 Steps, Weird Fishes/Arpeggi, Bodysnatchers
Video - Nude (live)
Download - 15 Steps

Panda Bear - Person Pitch
I'm a tiny bit surprised Person Pitch is my favourite album of the year. The music not really the type i'd usually get into this much but from the moment i first heard it back in the early Summer, i haven't been able to stop playing it. It actually soundtracked one of the happiest moments of the year, finishing my degree and my graduation, so that must have put it in good stead. Its hypnotic and mesmeric throughout. The vocals float back and forth, emerging through a mist of sounds before being enveloped again. I read a description in Plan B magazine about it which mention that Person Pitch sounded like it had been recorded underwater and i could agree more. At the end of Comfy In Nautica, it sounds like the groans and creeks in the bowels of a sunken ship. Its an album that needs to be consumed as one as its overall atmosphere is unsurpassed but individual tracks stand out. Take Pills and the epic Bros are wonderfully Beach Boys-esque and remind me of warm summers and fuzzy heads. For tracks comprising wholly of samples and computerisation, its amazing how warm and human it feels. Noah Lennox, aka Panda Bear, recorded the album after just moving to Lisbon from the States and you can hear his alienation and isolation interweaved in the sounds, but its always sounds hopeful and that could be another reason i connected with it so well as i was in the same sort of position. This was just an album that came along exactly when i needed it and that why its my favourite album of 2007.

Favourite Tracks - Comfy In Nautica, Bros, Good Girl/Carrots
Video - Bros
Download - Comfy In Nautica

I hope you enjoy that. What did you think about my choices? Let me know and Have A Great New Year

funfunfun's Favourite Albums Of 2007 (10-6)

2007-12-30T07:03:00.000-08:00

Lets keep this list going

Meet Me In St Louis - Variations On Swing
After hailing them as exciting prospects back in January, funfunfun was pleased to see Meet Me In St Louis flourish in 2007. The sizeable amount of touring and shows they performed had formed their sound in to an exciting, tight sonic ball and they managed to capture that essence in Variations... Produced by Alex Newport, who had also produced At The Drive-In to pick a name from the bunch, its a spiky and challenging listen with ingenuity and surprises awaiting through every ticking second. The biggest surprises for me was the inclusion of the acoustic track I Beat Up The Bathroom, I'm Sorry, which turns out to be a beautiful relief from the persistent blasting of the other tracks and one of the highlights of Variations. The blasting is incredible as well, the intelligent guitar lines weave between each other as the super-fast technical drumming knocks you back. The year ended on a sad note with singer Toby leaving the band to pursue other things but this change could lead to bigger and better things if they find the right replacement. All that said, Variations On Swing is a glaring beacon shining across the Atlantic showing that the UK underground scene is alive and well.

Favourite Tracks - The Torso Was Severed In Mid Thorax, I Beat Up The Bathroom I'm Sorry, All We Need Is A Little Energon And A Lot Of Luck
Video - All We Need Is A Little Energon And A Lot Of Luck
Download - The Torso Was Severed In Mid Thorax

LCD Soundsystem - Sound Of Silver
I must have lost this album over the summer because after my initial excitement when it was released, it seemed to slipped between my fingers and get lost in a big mess of music. When it started getting high rankings in people's top albums of the year i found it again and, boy, i'm glad i did. Tracks such as North American Scum and Time To Get Away are the album's hooks, attaching to you so that you give it time. Thats what it needs. All My Friends and Someone Great are slow-burners that releases that song-writing genius over time, the former one climaxing in a euphoric burst and the latter's use of what sounds like an electric alarm clock. But at times, it all feels a bit overblown, Us Vs Them and the title track are just a bit too long and repetitive for me but when he gets it right, James Murphy really does get it right.

Favourite Tracks - Get Innocuous, All My Friends, Someone Great
Video - All My Friends
Download - Someone Great

Les Savy Fav - Lets Stay Friends
This album, Les Savy Fav's fourth offering, may only be this high in my list due to their incredible performance at The Scala back in October but i think it does deserve it. Lets Stay Friends has pushed Tim Harrington and co. from fervently adored underground artists to NME-covered, radio-played stars but that doesn't make them any less worth bothering about. Lets Stay Friends is an abrasive, experimental punk album that manages to be open and optimistic. The Equestrian is raw and erupting, Patty Lee is groove-ridden and dancey and Raging In the Plague Age is triumphantly raucous. This album and this band are all about having a good time and Lets Stay Friends will always remind me of one of the best, and most fun, live performances i've ever witnessed.

Favourite Tracks - Raging In The Plague Age, Patty Lee
Video - Patty Lee, Brace Yourself
Download - Raging In The Plague Age

Parts & Labor - Mapmaker
Writing this review has allowed me to listen to Mapmaker's first track Fractured Skies over and over again and each time i feel exactly how I did on my first listen: blown away. Its intensity and euphoria just send exciting shivers up my spine and make me beam with joy. Its the most exhilarating piece of music I've heard all year and my favourite track of 2007. That force and originality is maintained for most of Mapmaker, Parts & Labor's second album. Tracks like The Gold We're Digging and Brighter Days are electrifying with bursts of electronic noise and fireball drumming but the pace and quality isn't exhibited in the latter stages. When i first heard Fractured Skies, i recall saying that this is the future sound of alternative music, and I stand by that. This album could well be the benchmark for future bands to aspire to.

Favourite Tracks - Fractured Skies, The Gold We're Digging, Long Way Down
Video - The Gold We're Digging
Download - Fractured Skies

M.I.A. - Kala
No other album this year can boast the amount of air-miles or the size of its carbon-footprint than Ms Arulpragasam cultural collage that is Kala. I hadn't heard anything of M.I.A's before Bird Flu was released last Spring and I guess at first it confused me. I hadn't heard anything like it. It was forceful but made me want to dance and it exploded with some many sounds and so much energy, that it was quite uncompromising. The whole album has this "fuck you" attitude, its not willing to back down or be anything different and its M.I.A's confidence and conviction that makes this album work. Be it Aborigine kids rapping over didgeridoos in Mango Pickle Down River, Bollywood strings in Jimmy or sampling The Pixies in 20 Dollar, its full of an attractive arrogance and passion and chockablock with ideas and genres. Kala contains so many catchy, hooky tracks that almost every song should be in the charts.

Favourite Tracks - Bird Flu, Paper Planes, Jimmy, XR2, Come Around
Video - Bird Flu, Paper Planes
Download - Bird Flu

Come back tomorrow for funfunfun's top 5 albums of the year!!!

funfunfun's Favourite Albums Of 2007 (15-11)

2007-12-29T08:22:00.000-08:00

This year's list has been so much harder to compile than last year's. Its probably because i've listened to double the amount of albums than in '06 and so i've had twice the amount of songs to go through. Its also because the quality of music released since last January has been pretty exceptional. This list has been through so many reshuffles and rejigs in the past few weeks, constantly morphing every time i relisten to the albums i've shortlisted and so finally, here's the start of my 15 favourite albums of the year.

Kat Flint - Dirty Birds
Not officially released until next year, funfunfun got hold of a copy of Dirty Birds by being one of the generous donators, who helped Kat with her Album Rescue Plan and i'm glad i did. From the first seconds, Dirty Birds feels like a labour of love. Its warm and comfortable, glowing from its rich and odd instrumentation and Kat's full and sultry vocals. Scissor snips create rhythms, kazooes add melodies and guitars, piano and trumpets flow to create lush canvases for Kat to paint with her wonderful lyrics and gorgeous voice. For a home-made effort with so much experimentation, the production on Dirty Birds is incredible. Listening to Lazy Bones or Dirty Birds would make you think that tonnes of money was thrown at this recording, its sharp and round and beautiful. It might even make it into next year's list.

Favourite tracks - Go Faster Stripes, Anticlimax, Dirty Birds
Video - Go Faster Stripes (I'm in this!!!!)
Download - Dirty Birds

Matthew Dear - Asa Breed
This album took its time to get to me. Its slow, laid-back, repetitive beats worked their way over the space of a few months into every crevice of the brain. The final take-over moment came as i was walking to the shops in the rain, with my headphones on and Don And Sherri popped up. Its plodding, rhythm match my walking and when the synth entered the frame and kept switching between my left and right ear, scanning my brain on each sweep, i was hooked. Maybe i'd been brain-washed but i couldn't stop listening to Asa Breed for weeks after that. Its moody and dark but with enough bounce and beats to keep it from being depressing.

Favourite Tracks - Fleece On Brain, Don And Sherri, Good To Be Alive
Video - Don And Sherri
Download - Don And Sherri (Hot Chip Version)

Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
Trying to follow up one of the most talked about and celebrated debuts of the new millenia must be quite daunting. All that anticpation and expectation on your shoulders to create another masterpiece must be overwhelming. But it seems like Arcade Fire were more than up to the challenge when they released Neon Bible to the waiting public in March. It may have not been the sonic behemoth that fans and critics were expecting but it was brooding and relentless and brilliant. The organ intro on Intervention, the subtlety of the title track, the fire of Antichrist Television Blues and the unstoppable No Cars Go, all create a foot-stomping, fist-pumping, impassioned second LP and for any other band that would have been enough for most bands. Their festival performances have also been highlights of my year, especially No Cars Go at Glastonbury.

Favourite Tracks - Intervention, Antichrist Television Blues, Keep The Car Running, No Cars Go
Video - No Cars Go (Glastonbury '07), Neon Bible (Take Away Show)
Download - No Cars Go

Justice -† (Cross)
Another album that grew on me as the year went on, although the sounds on † are rather immediate. Starting with that initial, ear-opening WHOOSH, it smacks at your ear drums with a variety of piercing screeches and walloping bass notes. It may have been too much for me the first time i listened to it but after numerous listens, you catch the melodies and the pace of the tracks and although its uncompromising, it allows you room to breathe and think. Also with tracks as catchy as D.A.N.C.E and The Party, its going to filling dancefloors across the world til the end of '08 i'm sure.

Favourite Tracks - D.A.N.C.E, Genesis, DVNO
Video - D.A.N.C.E
Download - Genesis

Eugene McGunness - The Early Learnings Of...
Not technically an album, this mini-album burst out of the new London folk scene, which features such artists as Lightspeed Champion, Noah & The Whale, Emmy The Great and Johnny Flynn & The Sussex Wit. All these artists are firm favourites of funfunfun but Mr McGuinness' release was the one that really caught my attention. Its full of underlying tension, awkwardness and tales of modern living. Its production is great, featuring computer game noises and TV samples and it showcases Eugene's incredible vocal talents and songwriting abilities. If the rest of the scene can produce a debut that is so confident, beautiful and brimming with ideas then I could pretty much take over the world, but in the meantime we'll have The Early Learnings Of... to keep us going.

Favourite Tracks - Monsters Under The Bed, Bold Street, A Girl Whom My Eyes Shine For But My Shoes Run From
Video - Monsters Under The Bed, Bold Street (Black Cab Session)
Download - A Girl Whom My Eyes Shine For But My Shoes Run From

Check back tomorrow, or maybe the day after for albums 10-6

Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas

2007-12-21T10:42:00.000-08:00

First of all, apologies for the lack of posting recently. With producing the zine, job-hunting, Christmas and a whole other bunch of stuff I haven't been able to find time to blog. But fear not, I will be bringing you funfunfun's fifteen favourite albums of the year next week, probably after the xmas festivities are over, which means I have another few days to re-jiggle and re-shuffle the list. Its been a really hard task this year.
Anyway I thought I'd bring you some Christmassy type of tunes for you to enjoy over the Yule. Merry, Merry Christmas and I hope you get everything you wanted!

The Research - For Christmas I Got Pityriasis Rosea
Blamma! Blamma! vs Jay-Z - Merry Xmas Jigga Man, We Got You Something From Boots
Emmy The Great & Lightspeed Champion - Christmas In Prison
The Hot Uncles - The Joy Of Giving
Lightspeed Champion - I Forgot To Wrap Your Present

And remember you can still download my zine from my blog or email me with your name and address and I'll send you a copy for free :)

fff Zine Issue #1

2007-12-11T12:51:00.001-08:00

That's right folks! As i mentioned a couple of weeks back, funfunfun has now gone physical!
You can download it for free by right-clicking and saving the picture above, then print it out and fold it in an special way to create your very own fff #1(check my myspace blog to do this). If you don't fancy doing that and you want me to do all the work, then leave a comment or email me, incuding your name and address and I'll send you a copy for FREE!!!

Issue #1 features:
-Blamma! Blamma! & Situationists
-an interview with Napoleon IIIrd
- an Acoustic Ladyland live review
- Kat Flint & Plans And Apologies reviews

All fitting on one wonderfully collaged and beautifully written A4 side. WOW!!!

Here's some tunes from those featured:
Raw (Blamma! Blamma! Scanner! Mix) - Scanners
Situationists - We Are Weightless
Napoloeon IIIrd - Defibrillator
Acoustic Ladyland - Iggy
Kat Flint - Joesph
Plans And Apologies - Meetoo

Plugs

2007-12-04T05:10:00.000-08:00

The title track off Plugs' debut ep That Number sets the bar very high. With its slow funky groove, steel drum melody and Hot-Chip-esque vocals and electronics, we could already be hearing next year's indie dancefloor anthem. Even though the beat is plodding, its steady and driving and once one part of your body starts to move to it, the rest seem to be drawn into the hypnotic motion the track creates.
The band come from St Albans and feature Morgan Quaintance from Does It Offend You Yeah?, and while i never got into DIOYY?, Plugs offer a more pleasing and exciting sound. They even got Yuksek, who I've never heard of but is apparently quite hyped, to remix the track and he's created an even bigger beast of a dancefloor filler. While keeping the full vocal track he's added a heavy bass, some odd noises and tonnes of energy to enhance the ever-driving presence of the track.

Plugs - That Number
Plugs - That Number (Yuksek Remix)

The ep comes out in February on People In The Sky

Minotaur Explode

2007-11-28T06:45:00.000-08:00

What's in a name?
Having changed their name to Orphans, the band had to return to their former name Minotaur Explode, when they found out that Bono Must Die had beaten them to it and taken the Orphans title. But whatever you called them, Minotaur Explode can't be called boring. Creating the sort of intricate, audio onslaughts that have flung the likes of Meet Me In St Louis from the depths of the alternative underground to the bright lights of music press, this Dorset 5-piece certain seem to have what it takes. Their sound also seems to hark back to the days when Million Dead and thisGIRL were leading lights in the British punk scene.
Their new ep, Our Band Could Ruin Your Life, is an brief look at an exciting and creative young band. First track Stark's Pond kicks off at a rapid pace, driven along by some distorted guitars and a banging snare, it flits and changes in places while never losing its enticing momentum. You Can't Kill Robocop carries on moving forward with an excellent picked guitar line and some intense vocals, making this musical ride even more stimulating. Final track We Wear Invisible Masks, is a more dramatic tune while still featuring the band's jagged guitars and thudding drums, its a great closer to a great ep.

Minotaur Explodes - You Can't Kill Robocop

You can download the rest of their ep from their myspace
Photo by Sam Neill

Safetyword

2007-11-21T14:24:00.000-08:00

After tonight's dismal display by the nation's football team, i need to cheer myself up.
I interviewed Bristol's Safetyword for Drunken Werewolf Magazine, which will appear in the next issue, and having not heard them before, I was thoroughly impressed by the scope and vision of their music. It doesn't actually sound like anything else my ears have had the chance to devour, its uncompromising without being angry, hopeful while being completely uncertain and experimental while maintaining an almost pop-like catchiness...in places.
Lyrically, its just as confusing and obscure. Citing inspirations such as historical oddities and apocrypha for example, the words seem to be a jumble of nouns and verbs, retelling ancient stories that have not be heard for centuries, all sung in laconic tones. These lazy vocals ooze out of the music and glaze over the stabbing guitars and flittering drums, simultaneously softening the attack from the instruments while leave the surface of their sound unsettlingly sticky.
Having self-released their debut album Man's Name Is Legion earlier this year, which you can purchase from their website, this four-piece are sure to boggle your minds.

Safetyword - Foot Oven
Safetyword - Pour Your Features Through The Mirror

To read my interview with the band, head over to DrunkenWerewolf's myspace for all the info on getting a copy of issue #3

fff expanding

2007-11-15T11:00:00.000-08:00

The more open-eyed of you may have noticed that funfunfun has now osmosis-ised itself through the web membrane and into the social universe that is myspace. There's a link to our page over on the side-bar there, or for our lazier readers, right here.
On ourspace, you can read about the superb idea that i had, of expanding fff into the physical domain...yes a funfunfun zine! Weighing in at 8 pages of 4.5 inch by 2.5 inch readability, the fff zine should be available in the next few weeks (i'll keep you update) and will contain interviews, reviews and bands, all endorse by funfunfun and all made by me :)

In other news, Big Scary Monsters, awesome record label and friend of funfunfun, are having a competition. Here's the details:

"It's been a long time since we last ran a competition, so how about we make up for that right now? If you'd like to win copies of the as yet unreleased CDs from House of Brothers and Sam Isaac, plus some posters and other bits and pieces (ie whatever I decide to grab and throw in with the package), simply answer the below question: On this very blog, I recommended a Chicago band described as a cross between Sufjan Stevens and The Polyphonic Spree - who are they? Email your answer to bsmrocks@googlemail.com - Winner drawn at random on 1st Dec."

So go check out the BSM blog, Blog Scary Monsters (amazing blog name), for the answer and hopefully win some awesome music.

The new Scott Pilgrim graphic novel is amazingly awesome and soooo worth the year long wait and i can't wait for the new Mighty Boosh to beginning.

This is a really random post, hopefully funfunfun will be more structured next post. Here's a random tune to continue the randominity.

NWA - Straight Outta Compton

and go to fluxblog to get the song that inspired the name Scott Pilgrim.

Forever On The Edge

2007-11-10T03:04:00.000-08:00

4 Or 5 Magicians debut single Forever On The Edge is out now on Alcopop Records. Its a 3 inch, 4 track selection of concise and beautifully crafted alt-rock songs. There's enough distorted guitar riffs and blistering drum tracks to keep your average rock fan happy but with the addition of wit and realism in Dan's lyrics, the band are lifted above the crowd of tuneless, thoughtless individuals that call themselves the British indie scene at the moment.
Highlight of the cd is track 4, a tongue-in-cheek rendition of the title track in the style of bluesy raconteur Tom Waits. The balls to actually put this on your debut release and the fact that they pull it off so well shows that the band really do have something special, or maybe they just don't mind risking trying something different

4 Or 5 Magicians - Tom Waits' Blues

Scarlett Johansson Is Scared Of Spiders

2007-11-06T16:11:00.000-08:00

In a complete U-turn from the last few post of lovely, warm folkiness, i give you a track of cold, robotic, pumping electro-joy. To be honest I can't stand The Teenagers. I hate lazy sound of their music, the spoken vocals and out of tune singing. I can't stand the simplistic, boring arrangement of their songs and the monotonous drum-machine beat. And the worst part about them is their lyrics. All they seem to talk about is girls and fucking in the most arrogant, misogynistic way. I guess that why they called themselves The Teenagers.
The only reason i'm putting these lot on funfunfun is because the awesome Blamma! Blamma! boys have turned their new single Starlett Johansson, a homage to filmstar Scarlett Johansson, into six minutes of exciting, heart-racing, ear-pounding, suspense-building dance music which far outreaches the depths and subtleties of the original.

Starlett Johansson (Blamma! Blamma! Scared of Spiders mix) - The Teenagers

If you really have to, you can buy the single from here

Michael Rossiter

2007-11-05T16:53:00.000-08:00

Michael Rossiter first caught my attention when i saw him support Slow Club in Nottingham back in June. To near empty room, he demonstrated a determined maturity by producing an expert display of traditional folk and country songs with a current feel and an amazing aptitude on plucked instruments. His fingerwork was incredible, dancing over the strings instinctively, and added to that a great voice and some memorable tunes, it was a really impressive performance.
Since then i've been captivated by the three songs from his website, a triplet of bouncy, twangy stories. I find it odd how Michael hasn't found much attention from outside his hometown of Leeds, where he plays the majority of his gigs, but i guess that with the influx of singer/songerwriters recently, its hard to stand out in the crowd.
Michael's recently put new tracks on his myspace, which i'm happy to say are as good as the old ones, and also that he's started to play in a band...well a duo, Broad & Rossiter's City Waltzers, who create a bluegrass sound that seems miles away from their Yorkshire origins.

Michael Rossiter - Sweet William And Lady Margaret
Michael Rossiter - Love Henry
Broad & Rossiter's City Walters - Stewball

Hold On

2007-11-02T10:59:00.000-07:00

Its been a busy, yet quiet year for Emmy The Great. When singer/songwriters such as Kate Nash, Remi Nicole et al have been getting press coverage and media attention, Emmy has been waiting behind the scenes. She released an impressive ep, the My Bad ep, over the summer but she has been prominent has a backing vocalist for many of London's coolest and most hyped acts. Her next single, Gabriel, comes out this month and she's also taken part in the awesome Kruger magazine's Singles Club.
Hold On is a bouncy, hopeful number containing Emmy's characteristically clever lyrics and a lively guitar line. You can download her other track Paper Trails from the Kruger website

Emmy The Great - Hold On

Les Savy Fav @ The Scala

2007-11-01T10:28:00.001-07:00

Tim Harrington, lead singer of headliner's Les Savy Fav, is an energetic performer.
Marching on stage as the band open with the raw riff of The Equestrian dressed in a top hat, tweed jacket, big boots and a checkered scarf covering his face, he immediately patrols the stage with a arrogant authority. He throws his microphone in the air, pulls angular shapes and passionately rasps his lyrics into the air. He enters the crowd after only a couple of songs and scales the Scala's balcony, where he dangles himself upside down from the railings with the help of two obedient ladies, all eyes on him. I wonder what the rest of band have come to think of these antics as they end up playing to no one, just the back of heads but Harrington is such a imposing presence that its impossible to keep your pupils off him. His stature and looks are not those of your standard rock n roll star but not many frontmen have the same energy, charisma or endearing enthusiasm with which Harrington displays tonight and the crowd attempted to reciprocate those qualities.

Its clear from his playful and passionate demeanour that its all about the fans for Harrington, thats why he's here and he wants to make them as much a part of the evening's events as the band themselves. Like the reluctant individual he pulls from the crowd during The Equestrian and rides like a stallion around the stage or the stage invader he captures during the intro to The Sweat Descends, who he sits on and dry humps for half the song. These people will go home with the largest smiles spread across their faces. Harrington wants every person to go home feeling something about the performance. He acts out lyrics, miming, making sure we understand what he's so impassioned about, making these sung stories even more vivid. When he enters the crowd a second time, kneels on the floor and without asking the surrounding crowd lowers themselves down to his level. It feels like storytime at school, its intense and personal, until everyone jumps up and dances as the drums kick back in. Harrington has so much adoration for the fans that during his mid-set banter, he marries the crowd and the band in a life-long union that i don't think either will ever think of breaking.
After a set of infectious classics, strong new tracks and many antics, the band reappears to encore, Harrington dressed in a nightgown. They burst into Who Rocks the Party and having been on fire all night, Tim and co. continue in flaming fashion. Its too much for some fans, who leap on stage causing a wave of dancing, smiling freaks to follow suit. By the end of the encore, the stage is swarmed and as the last chords ring from the distorted guitar a lone bearded figure stands in front of the stage modestly applauding and as the crowd realise they all turn and applaud Tim back. because even though he's modest, he really was the star tonight.

Les Savy Fav - Patty Lee (Radio 1 Session)
Les Savy Fav - Rage In The Plague Age (Radio 1 Session)
Les Savy Fav - We'll Make A Lover Out Of You (Radio 1 Session)

For more fuzzy or out-of-focus photos, check out my flickr

New Old I Was A Cub Scout

2007-10-24T11:10:00.000-07:00

Back from a weekend, relaxing by the sea, in St Ives and after a raucous night in the company of Les Savy Fav on Monday - review coming shortly - i'm back blogging.
I found this little gem waiting for me in my inbox. An early recording by Nottingham electro rapscallions I Was A Cub Scout, The View, is a 4 minute blissful meander. Never really breaking into full stride, it just saunters along like a daydreamer on a beach and shows signs of early promise that they fulfilled with Pink Squares and Our Smallest Adventure.
I also forgot to post the last track they emailled me. Holiday is more of the same really, with melodic synths, thumping bass and emotive vocals.
The band are in the process of writing and recording their debut album which should hopefully be out next year sometime.

I Was A Cub Scout - The View
I Was A Cub Scout - Holiday