de-minimis: May 2015

30 May 2015

frazey ford - 'done'

Beth Orton, on her Facebook page, highlighted this singer and this video. Both are quite brilliant. I'm going to make it my mission today, to find out lots more from this superb singer.

kognitif - 'soul food'

Oh my! The French trip-hop artists back with a new album and what an album it is. Superb stuff as ever from one of my favourite artists and someone who is criminally under-rated.

29 May 2015

jeff buckley - 'if you see her, say hello'

18 years ago today he took that ill-fated swim across the Mississippi river.

28 May 2015

Signed to the Rough Trade label at a precociously young age, this Northern Irish singer-songwriter has delivered a very mature collection of songs as her debut album. There's a darkness to it underneath a quiet, almost trippy ambience that pervades throughout. It's the same feeling that you might get after listening to someone like The XX. She has toured with Chvrches and this doesn't surprise me with where she has placed herself musically. There's comparisons with Laura Marling from some quarters but I don't buy that. She's her own woman with her own style.

27 May 2015

the style council - 'walls come tumbling down'

This one's for you Sepp Blatter, you corrupt, conniving bastard.

novella - 'follow'

There does seem to be a plethora of psychedelic rock bands around at the moment. That's not to say that it's derivative, just an observation on the current trend. Here's a London band that fit the bill and play some rather superior tunes. Well worth a listen.

samba touré - 'farikoyo'

Oh, just beautiful guitar blues from the Malian singer.

courtney barnett - 'small poppies'

This is one of the lesser-known songs from her stunning debut album but the quality is sky-high and the lyrics as sharp and invective as any she's written.

bop english - 'fake dog'

Oh my, such lush, rich guitar-playing on this track. It positively oozes, it's that smooth and funky.

other lives - 'fair weather'

They were better known as more of a folky band but their latest album 'Rituals' sees them taking a slightly darker edge.

squarepusher - 'baltang ort'

I'm not the biggest fan of industrial electronic music but when it's Squarepusher you've got to make the exception.

circuit des yeux - 'ride blind'

If you are missing the likes of operatic power rock that Fever Ray and PlanningToRock excel at then your prayers may well have been answered in Vancouver's Circuit Des Yeux. This is from the new album 'In Plain Speech'.

holly miranda - 'mark my words'

I'm disappointed to see that the usual record shops haven't heralded the new Holly Miranda album released earlier this month. She continues to grow as both a singer and a songwriter and she's got a little bit more of an edge to her lyrics that makes the omission from the likes of Resident and Rough Trade all the more inexplicable. It's their loss, she's great!

the cribs - 'pink snow'

Superb stuff from the Jarman brothers ably assisted by Johnny Marr.

sweet billy pilgrim - 'we just did what happened and nobody came'

I'm not sure what genre this tune would come under. It's from the new album by Mercury Prize nominated Sweet Billy Pilgrim. In parts it reminds me of Pink Floyd, in other parts Radiohead and yet in others it's far more jazzy than both aforementioned bands and when the jazz comes through there's definite sounds from the likes of Talk Talk or Dexy's Midnight Runners.

brandon* - 'fantastic voyage'

I'm a real sucker for lounge music played well and this is an extremely well produced tune that combines 60s lounge with some great breaks and beats.

26 May 2015

simon and garfunkel - 'homeward bound'

There's always time for a classic.

baio - 'brainwash yyrr face'

This is the first release from the solo album by Chris Baio, the guitarist from Vampire Weekend. It's certainly a different direction from his day job!

owiny sigoma band - 'changaa attack'

I'm so glad to read that the band are due to release a new album this year. For those who haven't heard of them, they're a cross-over band with musicians from London and singers from Kenya and combines traditional African music with bang up-to-date techniques and genres to give it a fresh new sound and a wider audience. More power to their elbow!

justin townes earle - 'round the bend'

Great alt.country but when you're named after Townes Van Zandt and your dad is Steve Earle what did you expect?

thee oh sees - 'sticky hulks'

With a new album out, it's time once again for Thee Oh Sees to rule the airwaves with their own brand of psychedelic rock. This one is a bit more synth-driven but there's some quite delicious guitar riffs in there for the purists. What a tune!

little wings - 'by now'

I can't wait for the new album due for release next month from Little Wings aka Kyle Field. He occupies that guitar-folk space also reserved for the likes of Bill Callahan and Bon Iver. Just beautiful.

charlie cocksedge - 'be'

Better known as guitarist in Mancunian band MONEY he's released some instrumental material as a solo enterprise. Many thanks to the excellent GoldFlakePaint music website for bringing this to my attention (you can read more here) and I wholeheartedly agree with the comparisons with Nils Frahm and Jonny Greenwood. The music just lifts you into a state of karmic bliss.

summer camp - 'keep up'

Falling somewhere between The Pipettes and The Ting Tings in both their respective first albums, this track from their new release 'Bad Love' is a genuine treat. Bubblegum pop never sounded so good and its great that there's British bands still making this kind of music.

girlpool - 'cherry picking'

I wondered at first if this was Frankie Cosmos, it has that same essential lo-fi feel to it, just acoustic guitars and voices to guide it but boy, what a guide. It's visceral, angry, yet restrained in equal measure. Great new music from the LA duo. If you're a fan of the likes of Courtney Barnett or First Aid Kit then you need to get with Girlpool.

grasscut - 'fallswater'

Brighton band Grasscut's new album 'Everyone Was A Bird' is out this month and if you like melodic electronica with a folky edge to it then this will be right up your street. It's quite brilliant.

25 May 2015

dr. m.o.m. - 'as long as she is alive'

I don't know too much about this artist other than from his Bandcamp page and that tells me he's from Saratov in Russia and he plays some mean trip-hop. Check this out.

24 May 2015

spencer parker - 'rights for men (house of ties remix)'

Ooh! A very deep down and sexy remix. Anyone for techno?

the leisure society - 'wide eyes at villains'

Continuing the relaxed Sunday theme with this beauty of a tune from the new Leisure Society album.

eska - 'gatekeeper'

This song is quite special and very in keeping with that Sunday morning vibe. Variously described as one of 'London's best kept secrets', Zimbabwe-born, London-raised Eska won't be keeping that secret very long with a very powerful tune such as this, the titel track from her new album.

22 May 2015

bang gang - 'silent bite (radio edit)'

Icelandic singer/songwriter Bardi Johansson (aka Bang Gang) has teamed up with Helen Marnie, the lead singer with Ladytron, for this guitar-driven track that's certainly got plenty of bite to it.

lightning in a twilight hour - 'the passerby'

Better known as Bobby Wratten from the Field Mice, he's got a new album out and it's as good as anything he's done before.

liam hayes - 'fokus'

Taken from his 2015 album 'Slurrup'.

blur - 'go out'

I wasn't particularly taken with this track when I first heard it but it's growing on me a lot, the more time I give it. It doesn't really go anywhere as a tune, just seems to be stuck in 3rd gear and I think this doesn't help but perhaps that's its subtlety.

jacco gardner - 'grey lanes'

This instrumental tune has a lovely cinematic quality to it, I'm imagining some sort of French film with lots of sitting near cafe windows, smoking whilst looking out of windows and then a cut to a montage.

Yes, I need to get out more.

thousand - 'the dark'

I love this tune.

21 May 2015

jamie xx - 'gosh'

I'm so glad this track is an absolute belter and no mistake because the release very recently of 'I Know There's Gonna Be (Good Times)' put me in a deep funk because it was so bloody awful. It gave me a bad feeling about the rest of the album so I went out of my way to find a stream of the first track 'Gosh' from the new album and hope that it wasn't a bad 'un. Thankfully, as you can listen for yourself, it's more than okay. Normal service resumed and all is well with the world!

the acorn - 'influence'

They're a completely new band to me but came across them randomly in a review of their new album and after a little hunting down on Soundcloud, I've got to say that I'm mightily impressed. They've got a very clean but meaty sound to them with a lot of warmth and soul too.

shaun ryder - 'close the dam'

A brand new solo track from the main man released under his initials 'SWR' and it's a quite brilliant tune. No surprises that it's about drugs but it's also damned good, more Happy Mondays than Black Grape in my opinion, it's got that lazy, mid-party feel to it rather than the Black Grape-style in your face tune.

20 May 2015

shamir - 'on the regular'

Fantastic tune from a name that you'll undoubtedly here lots more of over the next year, for sure. It's great to hear an American - and one from Las Vegas no less, break free from EDM and it's big drops and superstar DJs to make music that you can dance to, even if as in my case it's around the living room.

regal degal - 'delicious'

There's something delightfully poppy in this track that harks back to the 80s but not that it has that 80s retro sound to the instrumentation - it's more how unashamedly lifting and exultant the tune is especially as it builds around the chorus. It reminds me in a big way of Stephen Tin Tin Duffy. It's from their new album 'Not Now' which is out err... right now!

shilpa ray - 'burning bride'

Here's a new name for me - Ms Shilpa Ray. Her new album 'Last Year's Savage' was released very recently amidst great critical acclaim none more so than Nick Cave who sings her praises profusely. I'm impressed with this track from it. Her style is a dark almost Gothic, almost operatic way that lends itself so way to some great story-telling. No wonder Nick Cave likes it.

crazy p - 'cruel mistress'

London dance trio, Crazy P's new album 'Walk, Dance, Talk, Sing' is fantastic. Fresh, funky, funny and irresistably catchy.

19 May 2015

mbongwana star - 'shégué'

They hail from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and this is their debut album, out yesterday. It's very atmospheric and sounds like they've chucked the kitchen sink at it. There's no denying their African roots which are played loudly and proudly but there's also a fair bit of bleeps, whistles and breaks that lift it from anything that you might have heard previously. Great stuff!

ibeyi - 'river'

I blogged about these Cuban twins a few months ago and since then I'd put the album out of my mind much to my shame, it's a damned good album. Thoroughly recommended.

two gallants - 'fools like us'

And an album that gets better with every listen. It is rather good.

daniel knox - 'incident at white hen'

The internet's been down so I've been catching up with some of the new 2015 albums. Now we're back online I can share the love! Here's the first track.

18 May 2015

portico - 'brittle (feat. joe newman)

I don't know too much about this London band but they released their 5th album 'Living Fields' last month and it's impressed me from the first listen. They specialise in a sort of baroque/orchestral pop with lots of atmospherics and folk that could easily lead them down a Sigur Ros route.

twin peaks - 'mind frame'

I do like it when a band gives their fans something back. Chicago band 'Twin Peaks' released a free album of the demos for their debut LP 'Wild Onion' recently for their fans. It's called 'Mind Frames' and the quality, considering they are demos, is pretty good. Here's one of the standout tracks from the 2014 album.

bernard + edith - 'young woman'

They've built an enviable reputation in their native Manchester for intelligent, understated electronica and finally they've got an album to show for it too 'Jem' which was released earlier this year. Surprisingly, it's slipped a bit under the radar and I hope that the critics and movers and shakers do pick up interest because they deserve a far wider audience.

my morning jacket - 'hillside song'

This features as the bonus track on their latest album and a lovely, mellow acoustic number it is too.

prefuse 73 - 'applauded assumptions'

I've had a soft spot for experimental hip-hop ever since I heard the likes of edIT and the Glitch Mob, so when the 3 new Prefuse 73 releases (2 EPs and a full album) for 2015 were first mooted I was very excited indeed. It's got everything for me, a beautiful symmetry to the music, it's minimalist, clean and crisp but with so much hidden under the surface that keeps me going back for more.

16 May 2015

nick cave and the bad seeds - 'the ship song'

He may have gone off the boil in a big way but this still remains one of the greatest tunes ever written. It brings me to tears every time I hear it.

14 May 2015

autopilot - 'battles'

Here's a band that has had my attention now for some time. An old-fashioned guitar driven band with catchy tunes and a fantastic sound.

mini mansions - 'freakout!'

I do like their latest album, their best yet in my opinion.

bo ningen - 'slider'

The Japanese/London quartet are quite brilliantly mad. I don't think anyone out there is making the kind of music they play.

13 May 2015

bleib modern - 'lights on me'

I don't know an awful lot about this German band, I came across them randomly on Bandcamp but I'm rather taken with their Mission/Bauhaus-esque approach. They describe themselves as post-rock punk/psychedelic but I will stick with the Goth references on the basis of this. I suppose it doesn't really matter as long as the music is good, which it certainly is.

jane weaver - 'you are dissolved'

Ah, perfect 3 minute pop.

of montreal - 'a sentence of sorts in kongsvinger'

I love the disco sub-text to this tune. It woke me up on my daily commute, that's for sure.

12 May 2015

tyondai braxton - 'amlochley'

The Battles singer has released his latest solo effort in the last few days, definitely one for the muso I think. It's borderline experimental electronica but there's definitely a great tune underneath the bleeps, whistle and clicks. It's quite infectious, in fact.

barbarossa - 'imager'

The very wonderful James Mathe aka Barbarossa is back with a brand new album that just oozes class. It's got his trademark singing where he really hits the high notes with gusto, there's the uplifting melancholy but where before the electronica had a lo-fi and retro feel to it, he's replaced it with something meatier. I think the change works very well. Here's the lead track from the album.

groove armada - 'little black book'

There's a new album in the offing and here's the first track from it. Fantastic!

slug - 'shake your loose teeth'

This Geordie band is definitely one to look out for in the future. They appear to have hit the scene fully-formed and with a great guitar-driven sound.

blanck mass - 'loam'

Blanck Mass is the alter ego of Benjamin J Power of F*ck Buttons fame. It's from a very intriguing new album that has gained a lot of critical acclaim with the critics describing it variously as brutal, beautiful, demonic. It kind of reminds me of the deconstruction techniques employed in the Witch House genre or that video DJ from Berlin who supports The Fall. It's certainly compelling but I agree with the person who described it as beautiful too.

crocodiles - 'crybaby demon'

This band have changed a lot from their very first album. I remember listening to it and thinking that it was good - a chaotic punk/rock sound but not particularly stand-out. The new album 'Boys', however is on a different planet. It's tighter musically, they sound far more at ease, it sounds fuller and it's much more fun. I like it a lot.

09 May 2015

the eels - 'that look you give that guy'

My all-time favourite Eels song.

a grave with no name - orion'

This quite gentle tune could easily be a Sparklehorse number. I feel the urge to dig out more from their new album. Love this tune.

talk talk - 'ascension day'

Such a great tune, in fact the whole album just soars.

leonard cohen - 'field commander cohen'

You've got to love a bit of Laughing Len.

07 May 2015

rose windows - 'come get us again'

This is rather good.

sleaford mods - 'no-one's bothered'

Here's the first track available to listen to from the upcoming Sleaford Mods album 'Key Markets'.

amber run - 'pilot'

A real get up and go record from Nottingham band Amber Run. Definitely a grower.

lord huron - 'frozen pines'

And another new track that I'm going to sneak onto my blog whilst I have a quick cup of tea. I've blogged about them quite recently but this track is just so good that I'm going to share it with you anyway.

froth - 'sleep alone'

Here's an intriguing tune from LA band Froth taken from their new album 'Bleak' which is available on Bandcamp.

06 May 2015

aztec camera - 'somewhere in my heart'

In my humble opinion this is the perfect pop record.

errol brown 1948-2015

Very sad to hear that Hot Chocolate lead singer, Errol Brown, has died today. "You Win Again" remains my all-time favourite Hot Chocolate song, What a tune.

death cab for cutie - 'little wanderer'

They aren't the most fashionable of bands but they have endured and keep making solid album after album, the latest being 'Kintsugi'. I wasn't particularly taken with it when I first heard it but after a few more listens I think I'm beginning to get it at last. I particularly like this track from it as I travelled into London this morning on the train.

05 May 2015

the cribs - 'simple story'

Last one from me tonight and it's a great track from the Wakefield trio.

landshapes - 'ader'

London band, Landshapes play a very odd but very pleasing type of rock. Their new album is out there and out in the shops. Get 'em while they're hot!

ai kuwabara trio project - 'into the future or the past?'

Here's a young Jazz trio from Japan that are new to me. I'm sure the author, Haruki Murakami is a fan!

leapling - 'slip slidin' away'

I wouldn't describe this as dream-pop but it certainly has dream-like qualities and is undoubtedly pop. Perfect for easing myself back into the week.

the chemical brothers - 'go'

What a superb video. Simple but effective and nods to New Order's 'True Faith' video.

clark - 'hours'

I think you'll like this rather beautiful electronica.

gaz coombes - 'the girl who fell to earth'

Another album that gets better with every listen.

soko - 'i come in peace'

I love how Soko manages effortlessly to re-capture that 80s electronic sound without sounding cheesy or dated.

django django - 'pause repeat'

They released 'First Light' back in January as the first track from the new album and with a tune so strong it was going to be interesting to see if they could maintain that quality throughout the entire album. I've only heard the first 6 tracks so far but the answer seems to be a resounding 'yes'. This particular tune reminds me a lot of Grumbling Fur's track from last year 'All The Rays' and that's got to be a good thing.

04 May 2015

lana del ray - 'wicked game'

The Chris Isaak original can't be beaten but I do think that Lana Del Ray does this tune justice.

emika - 'my heart bleeds melody'

My very first post on this blog nearly 5 years ago was an Emika track so I have a huge soft spot for her. I'm delighted to hear that she's got a new album out now and this track from it is an absolute belter. Love it and hope I'm blogging about her music in another 5 years.

03 May 2015

ceremony - 'your life in france'

I did wonder whether the band name would be a clue as to their influences and sure enough, there's a massive Joy Division sound to their new album. Wiki tells me they are punk/post-punk but I'm struggling to hear any punk in any of the tunes. Ah well, no matter. It's a great tune.

02 May 2015

sóley - 'ævintýr'

I can't tell you how pleased I am that Icelandic singer, Sóley has a new album 'Ask The Deep'. I've heard an advance copy and it's just so beautiful. Really, really beautiful.

01 May 2015

stealing sheep - 'deadlock'

Their new album is just so good. Definitely one of the stand-out albums of the year so far.