Listen/Review: Wampire - Wizard Staff
Listening to Wampire's latest offering, 'Wizard Staff', it becomes clear why the band titled their upcoming sophomore album 'Bazaar'. This chilled-out 70's soft-rock inspired track is a jumble of assorted sounds and styles. Carried by a solid but lazy drum beat, it strays from the path at will, its Mayer-esque guitar riff unexpectedly accented with blues licks and fleeting saxophone flourishes. The combination of Eric Phipps and Rocky Tinder's vocals bring an air of psychedelia as they drift blearily through the song, and just as the listener begins to get comfortable, that sax floods through and commandeers the bridge, sounding as if it's crying out into the night from high on a lonely rooftop. 'Wizard Staff' won't become Wampire's go-to encore hit, it's not going to incite a frenzy. It's the song playing in the background when you're sat in an empty bar in Shoreditch on a Tuesday night, waiting for it to get busy, yet it never does. We can't say it's exactly what you'd expect from a song called 'Wizard Staff', but we think that's probably a good thing...
'Bazaar' is out on October 7 on Polyvinyl.
Words by Holly Warren - Read more of Holly's work here
Listen: Rökkurró - The Backbone
In a year when the sombre balladeer pining across forgettable laptop-lite has become the default delivery for the unimaginative, we should applaud the return of Rökkurró, whose new single, ‘The Backbone’, a paean to their Reykjavik home, is a triumph of slow and moody electronica-edged introspection, thanks to its orchestral approach. Sure, the chord progression holds no shocks, but listen to that compatible lope of kick-drum and snare, those gorgeous fretless bass runs, that misty synth enveloping slivers of piano, the track’s measured wax and wane, and, of course, the voluptuous vocal of Hildur Kristín Stefánsdóttir (we’re guessing ‘Hildy' to friends). Kate Bush-like in its outlandish scope and inevitably Bjorkish in stress, her voice forms the emotional vanguard to this Icelandic tearjerker, a lesson in how to wallow opulently.
The Backbone is out now.
Words by Nick Mee: Follow @Nickjmee on Twitter
Review: Happyness – Anything I Do Is All Right
Hailing from South London, but sounding like they’ve been locked up in J Mascis' basement for the past year, living on a strict diet of fish heads and fuzz pedals, alt-rock three-piece Happyness are the slackers’ and sofa-surfers’ new favourite band.
‘Anything I Do Is All Right’ is the first single from their debut album ‘Weird Little Birthday’. Powered by a riff that wouldn’t sound out of place on Graham Coxon’s ‘Happiness in Magazines’, this track is their most disorderly and frenzied offering. Like a Tasmanian devil causing chaos in a field full of Daisies of the Galaxy, picked by E from Eels, the single has instant intensity and mass appeal. Don’t expect the rest of ‘Weird Little Birthday’ to resemble ‘Anything I Do is All Right’, though, as most tracks lean towards a more minimal, elegant sound, which brings cohesion to an albu, bathed in an opulent, lo-fi vocal effect. Standout track has to be 'Pumpkin Noir', which could be the soundtrack to most Ouija-board enthusiasts’ evenings.
Everything Happyness have released so far bleeds 90s Sub-Pop. From the scribbled handwriting on their artwork to the video for ‘Great Minds Think Alike, All Brains Taste The Same’ (which could be something out of Garth from Wayne’s World’s VHS collection), the band have a clear direction of where they are going from an artistic and recording viewpoint. They know how to trigger their fan base’s pressure points by giving them well-constructed college-rock pleasers. With appearances on the BBC Introducing stages at Reading and Leeds later this month as well as Bestival in September, it’ll be Happyness’ turn to soundtrack your t-shirt tan and lukewarm can of Carling this summer.
‘Anything I Do is All Right’ EP is out on Noisey on 1 September
Words by Ali Waite: Follow @Alister_88 on Twitter
Listen: Prawn - 'Glass, Irony'
Such is the vigorous collision of crunching guttural bass, pummelling drums and distant distorted guitar riffage that the initial 50 seconds of Prawn’s ‘Glass, Irony’ could comfortably be extended into a zippy alt-metal instrumental, dispensing with such conventions as lyrical angst. In fact, it’s almost a downer when singer Tony Clark introduces his emo-esque New Jersey drawl. But hang in there, listener, as that uplifting opening sequence returns to underpin the chorus, and is only enhanced by Clark’s “Let’s Keep Swimming” line, before the track goes rollicking off in unforeseen directions towards fade-out, even finding room for a blast of trumpet among the controlled clout and overdrive. One senses, despite the occasional ugly Durstish belch, that these boys relish in scratching at the frontiers of streamlined stateside punk, and ‘Glass, Irony’ certainly preps the palate for Prawn’s second album, ‘Kingfisher’, washing up on this side of the pond next week.
Kingfisher is out on 12 August on Topshelf Records.
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Watch: Traams - Selma
One of the summer’s hotly anticipated releases is Traams’ new EP, ‘Cissa’. After an abrasive tour across Europe with indie heroes Wire, Traams made their mark on SxSW and gathered a global fan base thanks to a mix of art-rock that would make Stephen Malkmus’ hairdresser happy for eternity. One of the flagship acts on Brighton-based FatCat records, the band are a true reflection of the restlessness that defines growing up in a small town – never satisfied or content, just trying to drive past the Little Chef on the A27 outside of their Chichester home, never to return.
‘Selma’, the first offering from ‘Cissa', is a succinct, hook-laden 2.20 track featuring the signature askew, off-kilter guitar work that will make the trio’s fans salivate. Having previously worked with producers Rory Attwell (Yuck, Male Bonding) & MJ of Hookworms, the group are currently at the cutting-edge of angular alternative music. Expect this EP to be full of short, instant and contagious songs that will complement the soundtrack to your summer. Check them out live at their EP launch at Bleach (Brighton's hottest sweatbox) on July 12th or at Beacons festival in August.
Cissa is out on July 14 on FatCat Records.
Follow @Alister_88 on Twitter
Watch: Wunder Wunder - Coastline
The days when the pop-cultural output of Australia could be charted in 25-minute segments of preposterous teatime soap have long been dunked into the billabong by such inventive and untethered rock acts as Courtney Barnett, Tame Impala and Jagwar Ma. The latest technicolour troubadours to bubble up from down under are Wunder Wunder, whose debut album, ‘Everything Infinite’, arrives on these shores on 14 July. Their taster single, ‘Coastline’, is a shot of sonic serotonin if ever there was, a psychedelic summertime high founded on a burst of shimmering guitar accessorised with oscillating synths. The beat is classic soul, the lyrics are submerged among the many reverbed layers, and the vibe lies closer to the West Coast than Highway 101 itself, but ‘Coastline’ is a feelgood composite that marks this Melbourne outfit as worthy contributors to the fertile Aussie canon. Even Mrs Mangel would be getting her groove on.
Everything Infinite is out on Dovecote on 14 July.
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Watch: The Kemistry - Losing It
Londoner's The Kemistry are back in again in fine form with 2 videos for their latest track called 'Losing it'
‘Losing It’, a tale of an unidentified supernatural saviour, is a self-made double audio video release. The video produced by Typeone and The Kemistry is a visual exploration on the inner workings of the ID, featuring some perspective warping visual effects and a pretty serious projection mapped afro. B side, the Bare Beats Alt Dub mix, features an animation only revisit to the original Loosing It video and is possibly even more mesmerizing.
Watch: Terminal Gods - Cold Life
The first time I witnessed the divine intervention of Terminal Gods was at The Bull & Gate a couple of years ago, supporting LA rockers Queen Kwong. Looking like a crack commando team from the Eighties who were on the run after raiding Depeche Mode’s wardrobe, the band have since toured Europe, set up their own promotions company and even released their own comic book. Evidence that they’re now more active and productive than ever, new single ‘Cold Life’ is released on July 14th on Heavy Leather Records, a label established by the band themselves. Available on cassette, the track exudes a wraithlike, ethereal sound that would satisfy fans of The Cult or even the Stooges, with a bar-stool singalong chorus and scuzzy, driven guitars that enhance what the four-piece do best: abrasive singles with pop sensibilities. Determined to take their sound to the masses, Terminal Gods will be going hell for leather, touring the UK to promote the single in July. This group's hands on, DIY attitude deserves respect. Catch them at:
17/07 - Bannerman’s Cowgate (w/ Dressmaker) EDINBURGH 18/07 - Wharf Chambers (w/ Dressmaker) LEEDS 19/07 - The Giffard Arms (w/ Dressmaker) WOLVERHAMPTON 25/07 - Buffalo Bar (w/ Dressmaker) LONDON
Cold Life is out on 14 July Heavy Leather Records
Follow @Alister_88 on Twitter
Listen: Sykes - Gold Dust
The current, vaguely postmodern cultural landscape relies pretty heavily on a large degree of detachment: musicians obsessively hiding behind self-aware irony and indifference for fear of seeming too invested in their own emotions. Apparently no one bothered to inform Sykes of this fact because the London-based trio’s new single, ‘Gold Dust’, is a delightfully un-ironic and relentlessly catchy piece of pop music. Upbeat guitar work and soft, layered synths interweave beautifully, and there’s a special place in my heart for anyone with the balls to, un-ironically, use a handclap snare so enthusiastically. This all underpins soft female vocals, which sing of that particular, invincible feeling of being in love, bringing the song to a quietly anthemic finish. It’s a tune that, by rights, should be twee and saccharine to the point of being sickening. But Sykes are so willing to embrace their own pop sensibilities, and ‘Gold Dust’ is so invested in it’s own total sincerity, that it’s near impossible not to love.
Gold Dust is released on 14 July
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Watch: Acollective - Happiest of All Memorial Days
Arcollective share their debut animated video which is a masterpiece. To read on how the band have come to be check out their story below. Arcollective will play London on July 14th @ Birthdays and July 20th @ Brixton Windmill.
Acollective grew up making music together. In their teenage years, the story started in the way that many others do – with kids making a racket in their parents’ basement. It was an open forum to vent frustration. With no real intention of ever being a full time band, in truth only ever really aspiring to exist as a community of musicians, Acollective’s formative years were spent playing not in gig venues (who books a band that doesn’t have any songs?) but springing up at their own guerilla shows on the streets on their hometown, Tel-Aviv. Crowds started forming, more and more gatherings took place and, with a hook-up in the UK, the band’s first ever real tour was put together. In the confines of a London flat, the songs that would later become their debut album (2011’s ‘Onwards’) were penned and fine-tuned. After an unfortunate deportation saga, the band returned to Israel renewed, and full of purpose, ready to commit all they had learned to tape.
Onwards was released in 2011, produced by Chris Shaw, and cemented them as a band to believe in back in Israel – no small task, particularly for an indie band singing in English. Sold out tours around the country beckoned and it wasn’t long before they were playing international shows and festivals, at the likes of Glastonbury, YNOT, and SXSW.
Acollective will readily admit that the transition from basement dwelling art project to international performers, was
a little chaotic. They were their own label, their own management, press and booking agency, and it took time for the dust to settle, and for them to find their feet in making Onwards’ follow-up. Their experiences across the world had exposed them to plethora of differing cultures that they felt all needed documenting in some form.
So, surrounded by “a million different beeping things” the troupe locked themselves away in an old shoe factory and recorded what is now called Pangaea. In spite of all of the album’s intricacies, a priority for the band was to maintain the essence of their environment so everything was recorded live. The mere mention of influences is enough to spark bloody violence within the band. Ask them who they listen to and they’ll tell you Sufjan Stevens, Beck, Paul Simon and Radiohead. Delve a little deeper and you’ll learn about their love of everything from Dixie Jazz, Japanese Pop and old-school hip-hop to modern-Arab-kitsch. Perhaps unsurprisingly, this has meant that Pangaea has become, at its core, quite an unstable album – in keeping with the band’s own unstable creative process. But let it not be said that it isn’t cohesive. As the band’s leader, Idan Rabinovici cryptically offers; “You must keep dancing even if the ground around you is shaking, safe in the belief that things must break apart and shatter in order to reconnect again.” Going on to talk about the album’s lead single ‘OTM’, he says; “It’s a celebration of being left behind, of being insulated from the outside world but deeply affected at the same time - in a state of perpetual limbo. Nothing is more dangerous than staying put, and nothing is more heartbreaking than running away.”
It’s a statement like that, that sets the tone of the album. Pangaea is worldly and wonky, caustic and cohesive, mellow and marauding in equal measure. Acollective could be one of 2014’s most interesting propositions.
Watch: Rah Rah – 20s
Employing the Blue Peter approach to the pop video, artful indie sextet Rah Rah’s promo for ‘20s’ utilises nothing more than a range of kitsch mail-order ornaments and garish 1970s wallpaper. But tracks that deliver choruses as gloriously contagious as this one don’t need elaborate enhancements. Hailing from Canada’s landlocked Saskatchewan, about as remote a region as can be found on a chartered map, the band have a new album, ‘The Poet’s Dead’, that is instrumentally inventive and pop-hook polished enough to require them to get used to far greater population densities at venues well beyond their native prairies. Single ‘20s’, in particular, has an eerie call-and-reponse vocal crisscrossing the verse, snaring the listener’s attention before exploding into life on that chorus, as multilayered harmonies declare over accelerating guitars: ‘I’ll spend my 20s on rock’n’roll/I’ll spend my 30s feeling old’. As for the charity shop video, well, it was always going to end in tears…
The Poet’s Dead is out now on Hidden Pony.
Follow @nickjmee on Twitter
Introducing: Yumi Zouma
Like a breath of fresh air this little number caught my ear and I couldn't resist the share. Yumi Zouma from New Zealand is definitely one to be watching for 2014. Check out Yumi Zouma - Sålka Gets Her Hopes Up on Cascine
Listen & Events: Bishops Album Launch & Stream The New Album
Here is your chance to get a ticket for the official Album Launch of The Bishops at the Sebright Arms for Oct 23rd. We at Lost in The Manor have been working with The Bishops for a few years now and we are so excited for the show. The supports are excellent also and will be The Lazlo Device and The Shallows Tickets are £5 in advance which you can purchase here
If you fancy checking out the facebook event you can see it here
Stream the new album 'All Things Lost' by The Bishops in full
JUNE 2013 - REVIEW PODCAST feat. Dear Pariah
A chance to listen to us and our special guest Dear Pariah reviewing some great new music for our June Podcast. July's edition coming very soon...
June - Lost in the Manor // Music Review Podcast by Lost In The Manor // Podcast on Mixcloud
Zervas & Pepper - Jerome
Childhood - Solemn Skies
Landshapes - Limbo
Zoe Konez - Haley Don't Say Goodbye
Dear Pariah - Interview & Session - Brother
The Veils - Deep Dark Woods
Symphonic Pictures - Backwoods
The Harlequin Dynamite Marching Band - Jonah
To Submit Track for the next podcast email to chris@musicborn.com
Review: Animal Noise + Felix Hagan & The Family - The Finsbury 28/6/13
Time was when the Glastonbury Festival was at the heart of the British counterculture, and time was when The Rolling Stones at least pretended to be. So on a weekend when the two came together for a televised event that was about as insurrectionary as the Jubilee flotilla, it was good to find that rock’n’roll can still be at its edgiest and most electrifying at the roots.
Particularly when the sounds are emanating from a group as lithe as Animal Noise, an Essex trio whose explosive rifforama powered a breathless opening segment of a Finsbury set built on furious chops and brutal beats somewhat comparable to Queens of the Stone Age - and this bunch (blond, basin-haired singer-guitarist; stoner-rock rhythm section) had the musical nous to pull it off. As the set progressed, so did Animal Noise’s flexibility, their influences diversifying as the giant of a bassist strummed, slapped and flicked at his fretboard, while the guitarist switched from chorused finger-picking to uptempo off-beat skank, linking with the tattoo-torsoed sticksman for the kind of intuitive musical interplay that sometimes only stripped-down three-pieces seem able to convey. But among all the stomping grooves and pulsing head-shakers, do the band have the hooks, the pop sensibility to pull out truly enduring tunes? The euphoric ‘Bag Of Bones’ certainly suggested they do. Crafted on to a rhythm so fresh it was verging on hardcore highlife, it was a jaw-dropping finale.
So how do you follow a band like that? Well, how about a tongue-in-cheek, theatrical Rocky Horror-tinged show from a two-tiered septet whose near-anonymous instrumentalists supply the slick foundation for a self-deprecating, classically voiced bandleader to croon operatic innuendo-laden vignettes while assisted by a pair of glamorous gothic sirens who perform melodramatic choreography and instigate audience participation that culminates in jumping into the crowd to initiate a wild, climactic dance-off? Phew. That was how Felix Hagan & The Family chose to do it, anyway. And if their performance art-cum-music-hall-revue-cum-Eric-Idleish-surrealism seemed a little incongruous on the Finsbury stage at times, it was no less entertaining for it. Just the sort of thing you could imagine going down a storm in a marquee at an innovative festival, perhaps. Eat that, Glasto.
Follow Nick Mee on Twitter: @nickjmee
Introducing: Bird
Singer songwriter Adele Emmas and guitarist Sian Williams met in late 2000 and, over their mutual love for artists such as Leonard Cohen, Kate Bush and The Cocteau Twins a decision was made to found the band Bird. The quartet is completed with drummer Alexis Samta and Mike Bennet at the keyboards.
The band signed with Jack to Phono Records and launched their first EP ‘Shadows’ in 2012. Their second, ‘Ophelia’, was released in February and they're working on their first full length album.
Bird have gained a strong and solid fan-base as well as praise from eminent voices of the music industry. Winning ingredients of their project are Adele's hypnotic voice, dreamlike lyrics and melodies that will capture your heart with their fusion of tribal, folk and classic beat.
Their songs manage to create an atmosphere like a Grimm's tale. You think you're reading an innocent and innocuous bedtime story but a moment later you're shifted in a thick and dark wood. You excitedly feel lost and attracted by the danger hidden in the dark.
Review: Coco & The Butterfields Live - The Finsbury - 23/6/2013
"CoCo And The Butterfields will amaze you with their innovative "Fip Fok"
More often than not music genres cross path and when it happens new genres come to life. Yesterday I was at one of these junctions when, for the first time, I assisted at the CoCo And The Butterfields performance, live at The Finsbury Pub.
The band - made up by five elements but joined on stage by a trombone and a trumpets specially for the occasion – manage to converge several sounds and influences. They all brought their personal experiences (which span country, folk, hip hop, r&b) and gave life to a distinctive sound.
The band opened with a cover of Whitney Houston's 'I will always love you' sung by Dulcima's low and seductive voice; she was gradually joined by the rest of the instruments and when the song got to its zenith, it broke into a fast-pace folk ballad that had the unfortunate side effect of suffocating the female and male vocals.
'Astronaut' was a gentle and delicate love song that kicked in the second half, spiced up with a hint of jazz. 'Scarecrow' came next; the song opened with a raspy violin before bursting into a fast country ballad. The band also presented their latest single 'Warriors' a choral song that resounded epic with trombone and trumpets joining the performance, before closing with a cover of Florida's 'Low' revisited in a reggae key.
On the stage, the band was possessed by the rhythm of the music, dancing and thumping against the floor - the excited crowd couldn't help but clap along.
There is a rough quality about the sound of CoCo And The Butterfields; it's not easy to merge so many different styles, but this band seems to know how to make it work. There are few edges to refine and adjust, but it'll be interesting to watch more closely the evolution of this unique project.
Review: Johnny Parry Chamber Orchestra Live - The Finsbury 9/6/2013
"Johnny Parry nails the perfect symphony, a must see band of 2013"
When Johnny Parry Chamber Orchestra got up on the stage of The Finsbury, they were crammed on a relatively small space. It was eight of them possessing keyboards, violins and double bass to name a few. As Johnny Parry said; it was only the stripped version of the Orchestra that usually counts 30 elements.
The band opened with 'Sweet Nothings' from their second album Song without a purpose; Parry's clear and warm voice led off, accompanied by the astounding voice of the soprano. From there they were slowly joined by all the instruments on hand, being introduced one at a time. When they retracted, the song ended up with a light touch on the keyboard.
'God loves me' hit the crowd like a punch, unlike the other songs that started slow and then built up, this one started at full voice. There was a nice contrast between Parry's deep voice, and the soprano warbling in the back.
Throughout the whole performance there was a strict link between the song played and the images being projected on the screen behind the band. When the orchestra played 'Rebuild It Piece By Piece', images taken from comic books worked as captions relevant to the song and, inside the balloons, it was possible to read the lyrics. Parry's mesmerizing voice was the main character of the performance, with the instruments building around him and originating a sense of grandeur.
Johnny Parry Chamber Orchestra closed with another tune from Song without a purpose; 'Love Song'. As the title suggested it was indeed a song about love but not in a traditional way. The grandeur of the music left place to lyrics that were an ode to life and love. Love for the countryside, for home, for personal ghosts, demons, love for God. In the end the song reached its zenith and I couldn't help feeling I was watching live - for the first time - the execution of a symphony.
Watch: Local Natives - You & I + October Tour Dates
The Local Natives first record - 'Gorilla Manor' - was such a strong debut, it concerned me how the band would set about making a follow-up. I kept thinking to myself; how on earth can you beat this record! Truth be told, with my first listen to new album 'Hummingbird', I wasn't sure what to think. Although, as the sound waves started to penetrate, it didn't take long before Local Natives started to work their magic on me. Their brave statement with their new sound shone through as expected.
You can catch Local Natives at tons of UK festivals this year along with a host of headline shows. After seeing them as Field Day's secret guests, I cannot recommend buying a ticket as fast as possible or making sure you are in the best position possible if you're at one of the lucky festivals.
June Fri 28 - Glastonbury - Festival
July 15 - Nottingham - Rescue Rooms 16 - Brighton - Concorde 2 20 - Longitude - Festival 21 - Latitude - Festival
August 17 - Beacons - Festival 18 - Green Man - Festival
October 15 - Cambridge - Junction 16 - Norwich - Waterfront 17 - London - Brixton Academy 20 - Newcastle - Sage 2 21 - Glasgow - Arches 22 - Belfast - Limelight 24 - Dublin - Olympia 25 - Sheffield - Leadmill 26 - Manchester - Ritz 27 - Bristol - Academy 29 - Southampton - University
Check out Local Natives outstanding new video 'You & I'