There's something odd about Today's New Band, Play People, that has proven difficult to quite pin down. They sound so surprisingly polished and confident for a virtually unknown band that I wondered initially if I'd missed a class in the Rock 'n' Pop 101 course that I took all those years ago, and they had just passed me by.

Their songs shine and glisten. Oh What A Life is weary and reflective, yet chimes and rings lushly throughout. Just Don't is punctuated with a Morse-code stab, and is a perfect example of how a good chord change can loosen the most knotted muscles in your neck as your brain is distracted by the sheer luxury of sound.

Something about Play People's songs remind me of The Boo Radleys' less frantic moments, which is high praise, I suppose. Delicate, coy and lovely, their songs are packed with naive charm. They're a bit like a quick glimpse inside a shy teenage boy's head, except without being bombarded with thousands of guiltily memorised images of Page 3 Lovely "Keeley, 22, from Bromley".

Even without her considerable charms (note to self - must stop using dreadful Sun-style puns right away) to tempt you, Play People are an understated example of lovely songcraft - as un-rock 'n' roll as that sounds - and as such should be heard by more people, so check out their tunes here!

P.S. - Happy 18th Birthday to ANBAD's now not-so-little sister Phoebe!

Labels: chiming, chord change SKILLZ, Jaunty

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It seems that we're taking a virtual road trip around Northern Europe this week on A New Band A Day. A road trip, that is, without the casual sex, drunken debauchery and gradually itchier genitalia of a real one. Yesterday, we had Poland's wonderfully er, beepy, MISTER BEEP, and prior to that it was the turn of Sweden's brilliantly-chorussed Envelopes. So, taking a swift detour to Norway seems a perfectly reasonable turn of events, assuming you can afford to pay the exorbitant beer prices.

And, to continue a tortuous theoretical-journey-theme, joining us in Oslo is Today's New Band, Hiawata! They're a part Teenage Fanclub, part Belle and Sebastian, and all-super. Listen to their Song, Animal, and bask in the lovely ringing guitars and harmonised choruses. Then, when you're done swooning in delight, cower in fear as they threaten to "make you forget everything that you said, cos I'll love you like an animal", which is disturbingly close in intent to W.A.S.P.'s ludicrous hit, Animal (Fuck Like A Beast).

Their other songs follow a similarly endearing jangly-guitar template, which is a good thing. It's funny when music from outside a country's 'scene' creeps in, insidiously - there's a hint of the tabloid-loving skinny-jeaned brigade's sound in some songs - but it always gets distilled through another country's musical sensibilities, and in Hiawata!'s case, it works like a charm. Have a butcher's at their summery sounds here!

Labels: Jaunty, ROAD TRIP, sex

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Sometimes, it's easy to dismiss bands for just sounding like...a band. You know - twangly guitars, drums and nice harmonies. Since the majority of bands are tyring to sound like they've just stepped out of the DeLorean from 1981, it's easy to forget that not everyone wants to sound like Wire. Nothing's wrong with that in itself, but there's some sort of pure pleasure to be had from shunning your peers and going back to jangly basics.

Hence: Today's New Band, Buen Chico. That kind-of means 'good guy' in Spanish - not that it's particularly important - but we like the idea of providing Edutainment here at A New Band A Day. Buen Chico are Good Indie, in that they aren't twee, but are a bit cute; they have a basic sonic template, but without being derivative. Giving Your Gifts is a great example of this - a simple, breezy singalong that would get any indie disco dancing around its ironically nostalgic handbag.

Gold From Lead, if anything, is even more jaunty, and veers into the 'lovely' territory during the chorus, the point where wistful and happy meet, twirling around each other like sugar-demented kids at a wedding. Hooray! Listen to them here, right now!

**PS - Apologies for the lateness of yesterday's post - technical issues. Stupid internets.**

Labels: chorus-mageddon, Indie, Jaunty

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A New Band A Day is a fairly broad church with regards to our personal philosophy on what we like bands to sound like, but if we were to nail our colours to one mast, the 'made-in-our-bedroom' sound would probably be it. While some bands pride themselves on sounding slicker than a seagull the day after Exxon-Valdez decided to pop a rivet, others shun 'production values' and just get on with making great songs. Rough-and-ready bands sound like they could be playing on your sofa next to you, and usually are all the better for it.

So, with that in mind, here's Today's New Band, Magpied, a band who relish the challenges put to them by Bontempi Keyboards and £69.99 guitar & amp deals from Argos. And meet those challenges they did, by cobbling together a bunch of songs which leap uncontrollably between "slightly bonkers" and "deliriously happy". Downloadable-for-free song SCRAPS nightstatcher REMIXXX is a lost 1970's kid's TV show theme tune, tinkling, bouncing and vaguely promising edu-tainment; whilst It Hibernated sounds like one of the instrumental tracks off David Bowie's Low played as a demo function on a child's keyboard, crunchy drums and all. There's also a super cover of Los Campesinos' You Me Dancing, as if you needed another reason to listen.

Magpied are small, in gestation and from Norwich. All of these are good things. They say they are 'wanting gigs', and frankly they deserve them. A duo this crazily delightful deserve a wider audience. Go nuts, and get your ears around their ace tunes here.

Labels: Jaunty, lo-fi, toy instruments

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Some bands' music are suited for particular situations. Planning on driving a very long journey across a featureless desert? Ry Cooder's theme from Paris Texas. Drinking Whisky straight from the bottle with your buddies, playing pool and leering at women whilst wearing double denim? Back In Black by ACDC. Making your weekly wander down to the Job Centre? Back in the DHSS by Half-Man, Half-Biscuit, obviously.

So next time you're heading, carefree, through town at sunset to meet some good friends at your favourite bar, listen to Mala Strana Strut by Today's New Band, The Homophones. It's the sound of some friends who've been playing songs together over a beer for ages, effortlessly slipping into playing another chorus just for the sheer fun of it. It's jaunty, laid-back and enticing - "I don't care if I never get back home" they sing, and who would when it sounds like they're having a blast right where they are?

Listen to it here at their MySpace page and also point your ears towards their other songs, Wanderlust - a bizarrely 60's feeling, tinny jangler of a song - and then Pictures Of You, both of which are more melancholy, yet still retain an uplifting twang.

A campfire in the wilderness, a sunset, some beers with The Homophones? Now there's a good night right there.

*No Images today - thanks for nothing, Blogger*

Labels: Jaunty, slightly mournful, twang

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