Low down? Dan Sartain wisely chose Liam Watson’s Toerag studio to record his new LP - Dan Sartain Lives. Dan’s rumbling, voo doo shaking rockabilly suits Toerag’s special line in reverb heavy retrorama, resulting in his best LP to date.
Male Bonding pic by Steve Gullick
Low down? Male Bonding find the perfect home in Sub Pop records and release a blinding debut album. It sucks up all the best 80s hardcore influences - extracting those genius parts of Minutemen and Husker Du that make the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end - and blending them with their own punk sensibilities and occasional shoe gaze /psyche tendencies.
Not content with sitting on their laurels after we awarded them our number 1 record of 2009 for Ballin Outrageous, the Zookeepers have returned to the studio and biffed out another LP. Holy shit. I guess when you’re on a roll…
I must admit, part of me wanted to find something to dislike with their new LP - Good Looking Out. If I wrote another glowing review, perhaps people would start thinking I worked for the band, or was related to them, or fancied the drummer.
But I have to tell you guys the truth, and the truth is they’ve come up with another winner.
Nice Nice are currently giving away downloads of their new EP, before its physical release on 26 November.
It’s a fantastic single. The A-side ‘One Hit’ sounds like a kind of amped up electro psych Black Sabbath- all crunchy guitars, Ozzy style harmonies and sound explosions. When it really kicks off, it’s the aural equivalent of someone chucking a lit cigar into a fireworks factory.
B-side ‘Ark drum’ is a more sedate affair, with a mellow tribal feel. Sounds like Sting is in there somewhere playing the panpipes.
Fresh Legs are an art pop band from Portsmouth who by all accounts set alight the Red Bull stage at this year’s Bestival with their twisty riffs and gold spandex. They’ve just released a new EP - Julian - and it’s a delight.
If you’re looking for the right record for your Halloween Party this weekend, you should look no further than Pure Evil.
10 perfect hillbilly garage rock classics, infused with eerie David Lynchian atmosphere and scary vibes. It’s a record that makes you want to dance, clap your hands, shake your hips and check under your bed for dwarves who talk backwards.
Pic by Jeff McMullin
If Wilco had been jamming Husker Du with Bob Mould instead of No Age at the recent ATP show, it would probably have sounded a lot like We Are Bound.
¡Cañaceros! is a brilliant DIY pop punk record from Bonus Eventus, due out at the end of November on Dinosaurs in Vietnam. Packed with joy de vivre - it’s the kind of album that makes you happy to be alive. It’s also the kind of album that makes you want to pour some absyinthe on your cornflakes and start the party early, so booze soaked are the lyrics. They fit the tunes perfectly though, telling one long story of drunkeness, partying and fun times. That might give the impression that the words are pretty dumb - they’re not at all. There’s some wry wit chucked in, and the band have one eye on the consequences of their excesses. Thankfully, they’re too young to worry about that now and don’t ruin things with melancholy twists and hangovers.
We Show Up on RadaR, just on the left apparently
Here’s another gem from Hello Thor Records, who had the fantastic sense earlier this year to release a 7inch by excellent Velvet Underground / Langhorne Slim crossover band Fists.
We Show up on RadaR is an altogether gentler beast, but just as compelling. On new single ‘Mountain Top’, Speak and Spell vocals give way to a casiotone psychey sunshine pop nugget. Like the Lovely Eggs, it’s just the right side of twee - managing to incorporate the sound made by those shimmery bell things and the lyrics ‘we’re riding our bikes’ without making you feel like you’ve overdosed on spangles.
Close to Home is the best British roots record I’ve heard in a long long time. It’s a glorious recreation of the classic ragged country blues and bluegrass sounds from across the water but at the same time, it’s firmly British. Sam’s from Yorkshire, he’s proud of it and he’s steeped this record in the county that he loves.
We’ve chosen to do a gallery of our favourite Russian writers. Some people might say ‘that sounds a bit pretentious’ but why should it be?
We’re not pretending; these guys are no different to us...
Photos from a recent FOE gig - a friend of our friends Hold Your Horse Is - she’s gonna be big!!! Read the gig review after the jump.
Shots of North Carolina’s folk-rocking Avett Brothers’ stop in Glasgow - 22.08.11
Read the review of the gig here.
Take a look at the acts and art on offer at this year’s Latitude Festival in Suffolk. Included are the likes of Fight Like Apes, Lykke Li, Sea of Bees and Seasick Steve. Photos from our own...
Good time with Bad Guys. Photos from the May 29th gig at the Old Blue Last. Read the review by the Bad Guy himself, Stuart London after the jump.
Artrocker.com exclusive: for fans of White Lies and Crocodiles we’ve got some fresh pictures from their UK show at the Shepherd’s Bush Empire earlier this month, courtesy of Alessandro...
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