The Magic Gang - No Fun

Doesn't it seem as though The Magic Gang have been around for ages? The exciting young four-piece exploded into the crowded Brighton scene, covering onlookers with a warm exuberance that quickly spread throughout the land. There was only one thing missing from the UK's most hotly tipped new band - songs. With just two rough songs on an empty looking SoundCloud, including indie floor filler 'She Won't Ghost', the band have kept us waiting and waiting for new material.

As drowsy heads rose on yet another crisp Monday morning, soberly mapping out plans for the forthcoming week, a buzzing elation ignited within fuzzy brains. Laptops across the UK lit up with the news of a first proper single from The Magic Gang. The song in question, 'No Fun', will be released via Telharmonium Records on April 16 and its a cracker!

A rumbling bass brings in inquisitive guitar echos before heaving feedback makes way for flying riffs. As the chaotic smoke of strums clears, frontman Jack Kaye's Weezer inspired vocals take a trip on the constant wave of bass thunder. As a whirring chorus commences it's almost impossible to not imagine yourself in a sweat drenched mosh roaring along.

The long wait for 'No Fun' was indeed.. no fun, however it's eventual arrival brings with it more than enough joy and excitement to make up for it. On the evidence of this first single this will by no means be the last time we eagerly await fantastic new music from this thrilling Brighton band.

Mourn - Mourn

Madrid's Hinds (formerly Deers) took 2014 by storm touring their playful summer tunes and bringing the fiesta wherever they went. Travel east to Spain's second city and you'll find group of young Catalonians. Barcelona's Mourn, from a distance seem to have popped up over night, releasing their self-titled debut LP on February 16 on Captured Tracks.

Opener 'Your Brain Is Made of Candy' paces out of the blocks before trotting along echoed guitar strums and leaping into a drum lead gallop. A sudden finish to what has become a raucous opener sounds almost as if some ludicrous person has pulled the plug on the four teenagers. They quickly set things straight by jumping into the suitable named 'Dark Issues'. Thundering drums and ragged guitar riffs create a shroud of post-punk smog which leaks slowly into your jubilant ears.

'You Don't Know Me' and 'Marshall' offer up a mesmerising few minutes of heavy head-banging guitars at the album's midpoint. 'Squirrel' then meanders towards a more indie sound with a busily bumbling bass solo which plunges into a pool of slashed guitar chords.

 Youthful anger opens 'Jack' as singer Jazz Rodríguez Bueno calls out "you think you're awesome, I say you're boring, you called me a baby, I just said fuck you!". This fury continues until the albums bitter end in the form of the band's first ever song, 'Boys Are Cunts'. Scratching guitars accompany vocals reminiscent of Savages' front women Jenny Beth. Soft coos then morph into agonising screams of punk rock euphoria as the album explosively arrives at an abrupt finish.

On the surface Mourn's music is far from the dreamy indie rock of Hinds. However, as front women Bueno and Carla Pérez Vas chant "Your brain is made of candy" a fierce wave of youth power crashes against the glistening beaches of Barcelona. Despite their sound differences, Spain's two brightest new bands are leading the latest wave of exciting young European musicians and the future is looking sunny!

Best Friends

Four years ago the Gods of music, no doubt on a drunken night out in heaven's answer to Sheffield, sent down to earth four young men. Since that fateful day these four demigods have been blending into Sheffield side streets, slowly learning our ways and above all making some bloody good music. Now the group, who call themselves Best Friends, are ready to take over.

As the cold of January set in, who came out of hibernation to save our freezing ears? Why it was Best Friends of course! A deep orange sun rose over frosty carpets of dew bringing with it the news that the band had signed to Fatcat Records. 

Some say birds could be heard singing a new song that morning. The song in questions was quickly recognised as 'Shred Til You're Dead', a wholehearted indie banger released along side the morning's exciting news. On the first single to be released on their new label guitars are most definitely shredded and combined with a phenomenally catchy chorus, it is without a doubt a winner.

This recent flurry of activity is by no means the first we've heard of Best Friends, although its been a while. In 2013 the awesome 'Happy Anniversary/Nosebleeds' 7" was released on Art Is Hard records. The Single showcased the band's undeniable talent for writing infectiously catchy garage rock.

 Past videos show us there is more to this band than great music. Whether they are dressing up in drag in the 'Happy Anniversary' video or writing songs about a zombie apocalypse in the form of the epic eight minute long 'Hawaii 666', there is always something madly amusing going on when Best Friends are around. 

This playful attitude to making music, combined with a reputation for a raucous live show and songs as strong as 'Shred Til You're Dead' make Best Friends one of the most exciting young bands around right now. Who knows, 2015 might be the year they begin their climb back up to the musical paradise from whence they came.

An Interview With... The Black Tambourines

It's impossible to deny that the South West is home to some great bands, none greater than The Black Tambourines. Their blistering garage rock sound has made the four piece the poster-boys of Falmouth's thriving music scene. It's crazy to think that their self titled debut album was released as long ago as 2013 as one of Art Is Hard Records first LP releases. I spoke to the band about the fantastic west country scene of which they are an integral part.

Who makes up The Black Tambourines? How did you meet and what made you want to start the band?

The Black Tambourines are a small group of musicians from cornwall. we met at truro college and took it from there. 

Do you think being in the South west has influenced you as a band?

I think the southwest doesn't influence us at all which makes it easier to do your own thing. Being around barely any bands at the start of our career made it easy to do exactly what we wanted to. 

Are there any bands from the South west who you are particularly into at the moment?

We love the Red Cords and Lost Dawn. They're our main bros, but theres a few more sweet bands emerging, like the Golden Dregs, Holiday Ghosts. Were pretty much in all of these bands tho. Spankees. Spankees.

Why do you think Falmouth has suddenly become one of the UK's best places for music?

Is that what people think? Thats really awesome. I'm not sure, theres a lot of good bands here, and a lot of Arty students around to appreciate them. Among locals. 

Do you think outside of Bristol there is a lack of really good venues to attract bands to the area?

Anywhere can be a venue, and people need to realise this and start putting on more shows in random places. 

Could you sum up the South west's music scene in one sentence?

A big family of Rock.

Girlpool - Girlpool EP

It wasn't long after LA duo Girlpool released their debut EP on Bandcamp that they where snapped up by Witchita Records. It is clear when you listen to the EP why the label (that has given us great music from the likes of The Cribs and Fidlar over the years) were so interested in the Californians.

Opener 'Blah Blah Blah' envelops you with it's alluring  bassline which is soon joined by a pacing guitar. The track jumps into life as it reaches its punchy chorus with an explosion of guitar strums. The first half of 'Paint Me Colors' consists of gentle guitar and basslines which weave together to form a sound almost reminiscent of the more chilled out parts Happyness' awesome debut album Weird Little Birthday. However Girlpool pack a little more punk punch, the second half of the track obliterates the song's slowly built groundwork as the pair echo each others vocals over a rowdy set of guitars.

'Plants And Worms' is definitely a grower, if you'll pardon the pun. Harmonised vocals hover gently over the beautifully simple sounding guitars giving the song a freshness that is becoming one of the band's main appeals. The EP's final track 'American Beauty' is dominated by guitar chords out of which a rumbling bass occasionally peeps it's charming head. "I'm feelin' fine" the pair call out before the track fades into the distance, if this debut EP is anything to go by, 2015 is going to be far more than fine for LA's Girlpool.

Album of the Year: #2 Happyness - Weird Little Birthday

Rewind to the August 2nd 2014, a bright summer's day. As I dodge guy-ropes, soft sound-waves drift into my ears. I eventually reach the small main field of Knee Deep Festival to find a group who's name I've heard banded about here and there but whom I had not properly listened to yet - Happyness. For the next 25 minutes I would be transported out of the small Cornish field and into a musical paradise.

That day the South London trio won me over not only with their beautiful indie sound but with their chilled out but hilarious persona. "This is another song about pregnancy and mother care" was murmured as the band jumped into their album's title track "Weird Little Birthday Girl". On this track frontmen Benji Compston and Jonny Allan's two guitars calmly skip along hand in hand before being joined by delicate Eels style vocals.

The band's humour can be found all over the album, from it's sleeve which claims that Benji plays (amongst other instruments) "air synths" to the lyrics such as "I see people come in twos/Just like breasts do" taken from album opener "Baby Jesus (Jelly Boy)". The opener is one of the album's wonderfully chilled out songs along with tracks like "Regan's Lost Weekend (Porno Queen)". These tracks are what first lured me in as I sat on the sun drenched Knee Deep grass. Despite their slightly melancholy sound, the trio still made it work in a blissful summer festival environment.

However, the album is definitely not all calm, "Refrigerate her" is a moment of fuzzy indie rock goodness. Ash Coper's steadily beating bass drum pounds away at the part of your brain that makes your head rock backwards and forwards until it bursts into life. "Anything I do Is All Right" summons up the spirit of 90's indie rock gods Pavement as a wobbling guitar screeches and squeals.

2014 has given us more than our fair share of great debut albums from Eagulls and King of Cats (both of whom appeared in my top five albums of the year list) to the likes of Superfood and Fear of Men. Weird Little Birthday takes the prize of my favourite debut album of 2014 and I feel lucky to have been at Knee Deep on the 2nd of August to experience it's beauty first hand.

Happyness have released an epic new version of "Baby Jesus (Jelly Boy)" as part of Art Is Hard Records 'Pizza Club' which you can check out here.

Yesterday was an exciting day...

Yesterday was an exciting day for lovers of live music as the line up for the 20th annual NME Awards Tour. Topping the bill are Palma Violets who's raucous live show never fails to live up to it's reputation. The band will hopefully being playing some new material along side tracks from their debut album '180' such as 'Best of Friends' and 'Rattlesnake Highway'. Joining them will be a band best described by Georgie Rodgers on 6 Music as "the rabble-rousing fans of nakedness and danger" Fat White Family. Glasgow rockers The Amazing Snakeheads and Kent punks Slaves make up the line up which will no doubt bring both joy and havoc to the eleven cities it visits.

Dates of the 'NME Awards Tour With Austin Texas' are as follows:

February 
Sheffield, Leadmill (19)

Leeds, O2 Academy (20)
Newcastle, O2 Academy (21)
Glasgow, O2 ABC (22)
Nottingham, Rock City (24)
Manchester, Ritz (26)
Oxford, O2 Academy (27)
Birmingham, Institute (28)

March
Bristol, O2 Academy (2)
Portsmouth, Pyramids (3)
London, Forum (4)

Rodents - Do Nothing

"A gnawing mammal of an order that includes rats, mice, squirrels, hamsters, porcupines, and their relatives". Google's definition is far from flattering and its true, rodents are often unwelcome visitors. However there is a new breed of rodent on the loose and they are more than welcome.

Rodents's bouncing bass line on the track 'Do Nothing' gives the song a character that is easy to warm to. The repeated chorus of "I wanna do nothing" only adds to the composition's friendly and likeable appeal. Robert Eyres, formerly of Areca Grove, is the mastermind behind the band’s slacker rock sound on the track, which was released as part of Art is Hard Record's 'Pizza Club' in March this year. Luckily this means the track is free to download along with tones of other fantastic new music on the label's website.

Caves - Leaving

Bristol's Caves know how to do punk. 2013's 'Betterment' LP was packed full of blistering guitars and energetic vocals and it’s follow up 'Leaving' is no different. With eight high intensity songs, none of which break the three-minute mark, the album is a burst of excitement that does not disappoint. 

Title track 'Leaving' is one and a half minutes of pure bliss on which the band's sound is reminiscent of Weezer's debut 'The Blue Album'. Meanwhile on penultimate track 'Dull' the group flutter between loud and quiet with the confidence of early Pixies.

Possibly the best thing about 'Leaving' is final track 'Sadder' which slowly builds into one of the records highlights before plunging into a pit of feedback that can't help but leave us wanting more.

Welcome To My Blog!

As an introduction to the blog I thought I would share a few music related videos that I like so here they are:

Birdskulls are a four piece based in Brighton, Bournmouth and Exeter. 'Rolling tounge was released by Exeter's 'Art is Hard Records' in December 2013 and since then they have gone from strength to strength. I deal for fans of Nirvana and Dinosaur JR, you can check them out on Facebook, Soundcloud and Twitter.

Mac Demarco is a 24 year old canadian singer songwriter creating beautifully jangly indie pop. Since his first release, Rock and Roll Night Club, Demarco has gone on to release two albums, 2 and Salad Days. Directed by Jon Leone, this 'Macumentary' follows mac and his band as they tour China and introduces us to the place the magic happens,  Jizz Jazz Studios!