I’d fell a bit behind on my listening, but I’ve been away on holiday, which gave me a chance to catch up. So, in addition to a selection of singles, I’ve got four album picks from across August and beyond. Read the roundup below and click through for the full reviews.
Tunes of the week
86TVs – Worn Out Buildings: A really strong debut single from a new band with plenty of indie pedigree, featuring three former Maccabees and a Noisette. It combines the spacey euphoria of MGMT with the pulsating magic of Florence and The Machine’s Dog Days. One of those rare songs that I had to immediately go back and repeat after first listen.
Das Koolies – Pain Down The Drain: Das Koolies consists of the members of Super Furry Animals, minus frontman Gruff Rhys. This is something like orchestral-electro-psych-glam; and it’s still probably their most conventional single yet. Forget the categorisations, let’s just say it’s a banger.
The Family Rain – It Ain’t Easy Being Mean: The Family Rain have been killing it with their recent run of singles, and this is another to add to the list. Spaghetti Western psych, brought into the 21st century courtesy of smooth rap verses from Dylan Cartlidge.
ERNIE – Hold Yr Horses: Newcastle singer-songwriter with the Sam Fender seal of approval. This brooding rocker sits somewhere between The National and Eels.
The Atom Age – High Class Motherfuckers: Old school rock ‘n’ roll with an injection of punk; an unhinged garage rock banger.
Strange Dream – Mirrors: Hazy, riff-filled psychedelia from this upcoming Manchester two-piece.
Crooked Ties – Don’t Let Reason Intervene: The debut single from this Sheffield band sounds like Mark E. Smith doing an Arctic Monkeys b-side circa 2007-09 (I mean that as a good thing).
Lunarca – Touch Of Gold: Another promising young Sheffield band. On their third single, they combine Sabbath-sized riffs with big chorused Britpop sensibilities.
Albums of the week
Motorbike – Motorbike
A debut which delivers an action-packed and surprisingly versatile blend of gritty garage punk. Full Review
Rockwell Knuckles – RAYTOWN
The commanding rap veteran delivers an enjoyable album, which doesn’t quite live up to it’s full promise. Full Review
BEEF – Beef
I’m not even gonna give this one a separate write up because I think I can summarise it with a few key details. Have a look at the album cover, the band is called BEEF (all caps), and there’s a line that goes “Get on your knees and get drunk off piss”. That pretty much tells you everything you need to know. This is 15 minutes of unrelenting garage punk; a wall of scuzz that under-stays it’s welcome. Recommended.
Jungle – Volcano
A collection of laid back and hook-filled summer jams, but it’s a bit too sweet for its own good. Full Review
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