Video: Ash – Girl from Mars
Ash‘s release this Friday of ‘Teenage Wildlife: 25 years of Ash’ (previewed by me here) is being celebrated by an HD video release of their classic single ‘Girl From Mars’. Surely one of the best and purest hard rock/pop singles of the nineties: Utterly ridiculously good even after 25 years. You can get the album …
Track: The Lazy Eyes – Cheesy Love Song
Everything old may well be new again – there is a degree of amusement that a fair percentage of popular contemporary music is very similar to stuff that has come before. But sometimes music is like Shakespeare: it’s not the about the story itself but the way it’s being told. Coming from Sydney, the debut …
Track: King No-One: Not Willing to Sacrifice My Life
Hailing from York, King No-One is part of the iconic Scruff of the Neck team which is an instant indication of quality. And their new song ‘Not Willing to Sacrifice My Life’ is an extraordinarily mature and well executed indie stomper filled with poise and swagger. A recurring insistent backing chorus, a thumping rhythm section …
Track: Cloning – All Rise
‘All Rise’ is the very exciting and extremely fresh sound from Western Australia’s Cloning. Ostensibly classic indie rock with a touch of shoegaze, there is a whiff of trip hop percussive stuttering among the chiming guitars and synths. A crisp and layered production with a pounding, pulse-quickening chorus and the expressive, emotive vocals of singer/guitarist …
Track: En Attendant Ana – In/Out
French popsters En Attendant Ana have released an absolutely loveable low-fi romp of a single ‘In/Out’: an effervescent joy infused with a sense of wonder and innocence yet imbued with a degree of melancholia. The video – a rough hewn Super-8 delight filmed in Belgian, delightfully captures the carefree sense of the song: Of the …
EP: Margot – Margotzeko
The debut EP from South London’s Margot is a breathtaking, mesmerising and epic release. There is a sound of The Smiths and Gene updated for the new era – modern themes with a precious genetic code of guitar-driven indie pop. The first track, the single ‘Man Love’, sets the tone: jangling, crisp, reverb-soaked guitars that …
Track: Julia Bardo – I Wanna Feel Love
Shifting somewhere between Blondie, Gloria Gaynor and PJ Harvey is no mean feat, but the new single from Mancunian Julia Bardo manages to span genres in a seamless and thoroughly enjoyable manner. Bardo was born in Italy but moved to Manchester. Name-checked as an influence too is the legendary Lucio Battisti. Her Italian roots come …
News: China Crisis Announce First Ever Tour to Australia/New Zealand
Legendary Liverpudlians, China Crisis, have just revealed news of their first ever tour down under with gigs in Australia and New Zealand scheduled for August. While part of the new wave, new romantic explosion in the eighties, China Crisis were unique due to their concentration on music and lyrics as opposed to image, producing a …
Track: Tan Cologne – Alien
Tan Cologne hugely impressed with their dream pop release ‘Cave Vaults on the Moon in New Mexico’ – a song that seemed to capture all the mystery and magic of their home in New Mexico. They have released a new single – ‘Alien’ – which perfectly captures the mysterious allure of this band with its …
Track: Even As We Speak – Blue Suburban Skies plus Tour News
Even As We Speak are a Sydney band that formed in the mid-eighties and, after gaining a following in the Australian indie scene, eventually gained the attention of the legendary John Peel on BBC Radio 1 and airplay for their single ‘Goes So Slow’. This resulted in their signing by the iconic UK Sarah Records …