A New Band A Day!

TRANSMIT BLISS: Come Back

Joe Sparrow — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 09:47:39 +0000

Time for the quarter-year check-in: are you still listening to m b v?

After all the fuss surrounding its shock ‘n’ bore release, when the surprise of My Bloody Valentine finally releasing a new album seemed to trick a lot of people into a state of frenzy without much thought towards the, you know, actual content of the LP.

It was as if a certain breed of music fan suddenly mutated into the One Directioners of Shoegaze.

But not a ton of people are chatting about m b v now; not in the same way they still talking about the shock Daft Punk comeback, or the shock David Bowie comeback.

m b v is still not a bad album, but its massive online buzz is starting to look exactly that: a load of buzz that suddenly appeared and then suddenly disappeared.

Now, as then, my complaint is that m b v is just not revolutionary, and certainly not worth a 20-year wait. There are tons of artists out there now pushing the boundaries via a 20-hour laptop-fiddling session, as opposed to a 20 year ponder-athon.

Transmit Bliss may not ever make an LP as good as Loveless, but then few will. However, as an example of the kind of boundary-probing that is now routine, they are de rigueur.

Who knows what Xela Zaid twelve means. It’s not important. The sounds contained within aren’t really important either, although they are quite arresting and lovely and warm all at once.

The important part is that he is an artist freed of old boundaries, producing what they want exactly how they want to and getting it out to the world. Alan McGee didn’t need to bankrupt himself to get this made. No-one did. These are sounds that will connect with a few in a unique way, and that’s what is important.

MORE: soundcloud.com/transmitbliss

DEXTER STRANGEWAYS – Monikers

Joe Sparrow — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 17:23:08 +0000

Even though Manchester’s Strangeways prison has long been named the significantly less poetic HM Prison Manchester, it is still known widely and colloquially by its former, creepier name.

It has snagged the attention of musicians before, of course, and in some respects is such a powerful, engrossing name that it steamrollers all around it.

Few people will focus on the first part of Dexter Strangeways’ name, for instance, even though Dexter is one of the most satisfying and unusual English names, but such is the power of words.

Still. All this chit-chat about band names, again. What of the songs, durrrr?

Stop Haunting Me is such a gloriously gloomy and deluxe song that any physical copies sold will be packaged in black paisley-embossed velvet. This song, remarkably is billed as a B-side (if they even exist any more) which seems like a terrible shame on one hand, and incredible fitting on the other.

Because this song is all about exclusion and desolation, and is incredibly beautiful because of it. Much braver and befitting to be slipped out as a B-side than showcasing as the song deserves. It builds beautifully into an incredible Gothic climax (note – not Goth). Excellent.

MORE: facebook.com/dexterstrangeways

THE SEMPER TEENS: A Point Of Reference

Joe Sparrow — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 17:12:58 +0000

One of the fascinating and enjoyable parts of watching 2013 unfold is the wait as it becomes clearer that 2013 is not, as promised by every lazy outlet in January, the Year Guitar Music Came Back, but the year guitar music kept sort-of-threatening-to-become-mainstream-pop-music-but-didn’t-quite-get-around-to-it?

For those who desperately need to sate their guitar fix, confusion awaits: you could go and see the Rolling Stones strut their stuff in an enormodome, or you might grab a handful of smaller gigs from eager up-and-comers. Which most accurately describes guitar music today? Both? Neither?

Hell, if you’re going to be fibbed to about the realistic state of Guitar Music, you may as well hedge your bets: go and watch the old-timers so you have a pouty point of reference and then go and watch a bunch of scuzzy so-and-so’s like The Semper Teens jump around for a bit.

The Semper Teens have risen from the ashes of a band whose name I forget.

Of course, the old band will never be important again: its the lessons learnt that now count. And boy, The Semper Teens have nailed the whole verse-chorus-verse-chorus-chorus-CHORUS thing in frenetic fashion: Somebody is daft ‘n’ direct as a scuzzy guitar pop song gets.

Each ingredient is just so: the bassline bounces with – yes – a groove, the lyrics are as complex and empty as they need to be, the guitars crunch snappily in the exact manner you prefer whether you realise it or not.

No, they’re not offering anything other than a dumb good time done right, and they should be rewarded for exactly this. Nice job.

MORE: thesemperteens.tumblr.com

OCTAPUSH: Assume Nothing

Joe Sparrow — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 10:05:26 +0000

Octapush are one of those bands that I just assumed I had already written about.

The fact that I haven’t suggests a number of things: that they are simply and effortlessly excellent (they are); and that I really ought to get on top of things (I really should).

So, anyway – Octapush have made a terrific song in Françoise Hardy. As in; it demands an instant replay once it’s over.

What struck me about this song, and a bunch of other stuff by these Liboan brothers, is the complex-simplicity of their music. Most dance/bass/whatever-step music ground out by two-bit electronic musicians is much of a muchness, with near-identical shape, form and timbre. Theirs is not.

The days when making multi-layered and complex dance music could be seen as a highly skilled and envied trait are over: these facets are the norm now. So the fact that Octapush make music that is multi-layered but seemingly non-complex, and carefully-tweaked but non-generic is a minor triumph.

Françoise Hardy drips with simple, delicious sounds. They have taken what works and stripped everything else away. Clever.

It also features a gorgeously right vocal from Official Friend Of ANBAD, Alex from Youthless, and he appears in the actually marvellous video, here.

MORE: facebook.com/OctaPush

BOARDWALK – Drift and Steam and Billow

Joe Sparrow — Thu, 06 Jun 2013 14:58:15 +0000

A minor case of musical miscatagorisation today, with Boardwalk pegged as “shoegaze”, and yet are about as closely connected to Slowdive et al as they are to, I dunno, Mazzy Star, another wistful band who were lumped in with the Shoegaze lot.

Still, this is a lesson in ignoring labels and listening anyway, as Boardwalk make gloriously luxuriant and golden songs.

If you need a visual, imagine a machine churning warm, glossy caramel whilst you’re listening to I’m To Blame, and you’ll be in exactly the right mental spot for what follows.

Gosh, this is a lovely song in every way. Some songs are built to drift and steam and billow, and this is one of them, and then some.

I’m To Blame is so hugely dreamy that time itself becomes of little consequence, and I found myself willing the song to continue, even when well into the meat of the fourth minute.

When the horribly sudden ending came, I was left gasping for breath. But it couldn’t end any other way. Terrific.

MORE: https://soundcloud.com/boardwalkla

FEBUEDER – Anti-Careerist Rock

Joe Sparrow — Tue, 04 Jun 2013 15:41:41 +0000

I suppose being in a band is harder now than at any time previously, assuming you want to pursue any path slightly different to what has gone before you.

Are the rash of same-old-same-old bands that punctuate our musical lives at the moment a product of narrowing opportunities for innovation, or simply the careerist approach of nice middle-class boys wanting to be pop stars?

I dunno. Anyway, my point is that Febueder are at the very least trying to find something new from the morass.

Frankly, they’re succeeding too - Alligator chops odd sounds, stops and starts and sprinkles curious loops of noise throughout. They allow the song to build and drop, and give and take, with impunity: Febueder are trusting their instincts and this approach is paying off wonderfully.

In an era of instant feedback, it must be tempting to constantly tweak songs to appeal to as many listeners as possible. You can imagine how easy it must be to accidentally stumble into the middle of the road and get lost in the grey.

It’s hard to imagine Alligator emerging from this process. If you go with your gut, you’re very likely to fail – but if it works, your victory will be sweeter, greater, loftier. And this is what Febueder have done. Great.

MORE: facebook.com/Febueder

THE WARP/THE WEFT: The Month Of May

Joe Sparrow — Thu, 30 May 2013 16:52:40 +0000

My, oh my.

When was the last time you heard a voice quite like this? Spouting lyrics like these? Over such beautifully confusing sounds like these?

Honestly, the last time I could remember my curiosity was prickled in this way was when I heard Seward, about this time last year. And then I remembered I said the same thing about Sturle Dagsland about three weeks ago.

Maybe it’s the month of May. Maybe I’m wrong.

Maybe The Warp/The Weft are brilliant. Who can say?

Chances are, The Warp/The Weft are, in fact just brilliant – Storm & Wake is a simply – and I use this word inadvisedly – impressive song. Because it is, in every way; a terrifically coiling song that allows plenty of breathing space (a rarity today) and pushes a tremulously delicious voice to the fore.

Mentions of dorsal fins fly by as the oddly brief lyric scuttles past half as fast as you’d expect. The ending becomes an extended coda that you will to roll on and on. I’m not sure why you’re still reading this now. Just listen.

MORE: thewarptheweft.com

TEEN FLIRT – High Street

Joe Sparrow — Wed, 29 May 2013 09:23:26 +0000

Whilst ANBAD tries to be as international in its outlook as possible, it’s often hard to reach beyond the noise of the UK scene.

This is especially true when there are just so many guitar bands all fighting for attention, and all peddling their near-identical Indie-lite Career-Rock.

And dance music is, on the whole, just as un-daring: there’s so much gentle, MOR, safe dance music in my inbox, it sounds like the changing rooms of a high street clothes shop.

The real thrills within new variants on a dance music theme are almost always found in the rough and ready nature that accompanies rapid innovation: you may not like the bonkers bounce of Jackin House, but you can’t ignore the charms of the cut-paste-and-forget ethos of something like Snapbacks and Tattoos.

Which brings us to Mexico, and why that, even though Teen Flirt‘s brand of soft-thumpin’, House-nickin’, chill-techno is not wholly new, its smash-and-grab outlook is refreshing.

The majority of bedroom-produced house cuts like this are too contrived and too clean to be truly enjoyable, but Teen Flirt skirts around this with a beady eye and a magpie touch, which cuts through the all-pervasive softness.

The song is like a reversed, slowed-down video of a jigsaw being thrown into the air, discombobulating; the overall image dipping in and out of clarity. Nice and easy does it.

MORE: soundcloud.com/teenflirt

Honey Wild: Solo

Joe Sparrow — Wed, 22 May 2013 13:07:57 +0000

One of the many interesting experiences that emerges when listening to the new Daft Punk album is the inner turmoil that takes place: a fight between the part of your brain which recoils in revulsion at the 70′s/80′s soft-rock stylings employed, and the part that just wants to get on and enjoy the great songs.

This dichotomy is the genius of the album – and the enjoyment doesn’t immediately reveal itself because if this. It’s also more enjoyable as a result.

I experienced something fairly similar with Honey Wild – which, I suppose, is wholly to their credit.

I have to confess I was not 100% convinced by Honey Wild until the world’s wonkiest guitar solo just after the one-minute mark, at which point it all makes sense. It’s a moment of minor genius; a guitar solo that falls apart as it is played, a guitar line that even ’89-era Happy Mondays would have rejected for being too baggy.

As such, the song immediately elevates itself from good guitar pop to good guitar pop with added curiosities. And all of a sudden Honey Wild are a band to watch. Funny how these things work out.

MORE: wearehoneywild.com

Pagan Moon: Resplendent

Joe Sparrow — Mon, 20 May 2013 16:48:59 +0000

ANBAD, as you know, is committed to bringing you the newest music… from six months ago.

This happens a lot – or rather, every time I have a clear out of my spam folder and find nuggets lurking in there – and this time it was Pagan Moon who had apparently written something innocuous that my over-zealous filters had thrust deep into Spammageddon.

Still, this exercise of sifting through pill-mail and scam-mail is almost always worth it, and Pagan Moon prove to be full of intrigue and teeter on the precipice of absurdity – yet survive through sheer sincerity and forcefulness.

What I like most about this song, aside from the deeply portentous and gappy sound, is the moment when the singer stage-whispers “SNAKE DANCE!” and I buy it as a proposition, wholesale.

Some songs can do all the supposedly wrong things and emerge unscathed and resplendent. Your Swan is one of these songs.

MORE: paganmoon.bandcamp.com