Fizz

Ali Waite May 5, 2015

Their arsenal of tunes is as enviable as anybody’s at the moment, with a longevity that is unquestionable. Their debut LP is the most anticipated for a long time and I can’t wait for the impact it will make.

Watch/Review: Lost Dawn – Song For Robert

Nick Mee April 19, 2015

Musicians from England’s south-western extremities have always had to shout a little louder for attention. Due to scant musical infrastructure, geographical remoteness from and cultural bias towards the media heartlands of London and the north, many a promising young band has withered away beyond the final leg of the M5.

Listen/Review: Slug – Greasy Mind

Nick Mee April 16, 2015

The brainchild of Field Music bassman Ian Black, with the aid of some hands-on engineering skills from his Sunderland bandmates, Slug’s debut album has just hit the shops courtesy of Memphis Industries. This excerpt, ‘Greasy Mind’, is a clean-lined slab of off-kilter anglo-funk

Watch/Review: Mbongwana Star – Malukayi (feat Konono No1)

Nick Mee April 8, 2015

This may be the first time Lost in the Manor has prospected for fresh sounds in the Democratic Republic of Congo, but if Mbongwana Star’s opening salvo, ‘Malukayi (feat Konono No 1)’, is a marker then it won’t be the last. As fresh a segment of audio as is likely to be unearthed, this six-minute single is essentially a progressive charge of irresistible dancehall Afro-funk, yet it has a surreal, claustrophobic air imbued by a growling bassline that, for all its giant heft, just seems to hang there, as well as an other-worldly metallic melody courtesy of Konono No 1, perhaps played out on salvaged steel.

Watch/Review: Jacco Gardner – Find Yourself

Nick Mee March 26, 2015

Exploratory producer and multi-instrumentalist Jacco Gardner throws the psychedelic smorgasbord at this melodic release that, for all its oil-projector embellishments, never forgets it is a pop song.

Listen/Review: Winter – The Biggest Truth

Matthew Doyle March 24, 2015

Unlike some of their folk contemporaries, Winter don't hook you with jangling banjos (who doesn't love banjos?) or generic lyrics about Lion Men (or something) on 'The Biggest Truth'. Instead, they pull you in with sincere lyrics about past mistakes, supported by Noah & the Whale-esque acoustics and the ranging vocal tones of Simon and Garfunkel – the duality of which creates a heartfelt and folky tune.

Live review: Nubiyan Twist at Brixton Jamm 14/3/15

Charlie Hannah March 23, 2015

It was a privilege to watch this 12-piece dub/afrobeat/hip-hop group play at the Brixton Jamm. Before the night, I had only heard their recent single – ‘Work House’, which is a badass, well-produced, modern neo-soul classic, reviewed previously on Lost In The Manor.

Live review: Retrospective For Love at Brixton Jamm 14/3/15

Charlie Hannah March 18, 2015

I’ve seen Retrospective For Love perform many times. Every show so far has triggered a dual emotional response. Initially I’ve been hit by a surge of joy that original, clever and soulful music is still being made today. But somewhere on my journey home I get a sour taste in my mouth, due to the fact that, to my mind, they haven’t been getting anything like the attention they deserve. I have high hopes for RFL, whose influences range from J Dilla to Chet Baker, and I won’t be content until they’re headlining Glastonbury and beyond.

Listen/Review: Happyness – A Whole New Shape

Holly Warren March 4, 2015

South London slacker-rock trio Happyness released a freaking gem of an album last year, ‘Weird Little Birthday’, and the deluxe version is due for release this month. It features a new track ‘A Whole New Shape’, a lazy lo-fi tune with bouncy guitars and slimy vocals.

Watch/Review: NRVS LVRS – City Lights

Matthew Doyle March 4, 2015

Like the city lights that NRVS LVRS’ Wendy Brents sings about, this song is pretty freaky. Not in a Frankenstein way, but in more of a cool super-freak kinda way. This is no Rick James funk, though, and is actually Frankenstein in its setup, laying everything out, then mashing it together to create a beautiful monster of a track. Eerie 80s-style organs back the track from start to finish, but rousing drumbeats, flooding finger snaps and handclaps carry the song away from the morose.

Watch/Review: Nubiyan Twist – Work House

Nick Mee March 2, 2015

Leeds/London ensemble Nubiyan Twist comprise a dozen members, and while that might be a nightmare when it comes to cramming into the Ford Orion to get to the gig, each player seems so attuned to the other on ‘Work House’ that there’s no treading on toes, at least in a musical sense, as individual indulgence is tempered for the good of the neo-soul whole.

Live review: Simian Ghost & Strong Asian Mothers – The Finsbury 23/2/15

Nick Mee February 27, 2015

There were more loops and backing tracks to follow from another four-piece, Sweden’s Simian Ghost but, along with more considered facial hair and added diffidence, the balance was weighted firmly in favour of the analogue, the tech touches an enhancement to twee indie-guitar pop, given clout by the strength of its melodic inspiration.

Listen/Review: MARINE – EP1

Charlie Hannah February 25, 2015

MARINE’s debut EP is a work that seamlessly juxtaposes intimate and epic soundscapes. This four-piece, comprising Ruby Jack, Cara Sebastian, Kaja Magsam and Beth Dariti, have been touring independently in Germany and England, packed into a small car with their CDs to sell. This determination and focus is felt in this release.

Watch/Review: Victor & The Rain Dog – Anchor & Hope

Charlie Hannah February 24, 2015

The mesmerising video for ‘Anchor & Hope’ is the latest triumph for Victor & The Rain Dog. Directed by Jamie Jones, it is a perfect collaboration between two creative forces. French-born singer Victor Marichal leads The Rain Dog on this minor-key, sea shanty/junkyard stomp, the style of which seems like a homage to Victor’s hero, Tom Waits, and sounds like a special nod to the pirate songs of his 1985 ‘Rain Dogs’ album – songs such as ‘Singapore’ and ‘Cemetery Polka’.

Watch/Review: Horse Party – Out Of Sight

Ali Waite February 23, 2015

If Jason Loewenstein from Sebadoh picked up PJ Harvey in his beaten-up Dodge van on a first date, you might expect the soundtrack to be something along the lines of the new Horse Party single ‘Out Of Sight’ – visceral, emphatic and stimulating just about every sense an alt-rock fan would desire.

Listen/Review: Jet Setter – Forget About It

Nick Mee February 17, 2015

Such is the melodic efficiency of the initial two minutes of Jet Setter’s ‘Forget About It’ that the band can afford to close the tune with an outro loose enough to turn Whiplash’s Terence Fletcher an unholy shade of borscht. Prior to this passage, the Dublin four-piece convey such a pleasing grasp of fretboard sweet-spots and warm overdrive settings, as well as a knack for effortlessly pretty vocal harmonies, that even Fletcher would be inclined cut the band some slack for their subsequent slack.

Listen/Review: C Duncan – Say

Matthew Doyle February 9, 2015

You know what? This song makes you feel like you're flying over a city and that’s nice. That’s the feel it seems C Duncan, full name Christopher, is going for, especially as his single is illustrated with an aerial shot of his hometown, Glasgow.

Watch/Review: The Unthanks – Flutter

Nick Mee February 4, 2015

OK, so we’re hardly laying claim to an exclusive here, you’ll have heard the soothing strains of The Unthanks’ ‘Flutter’ if you’ve been locked on 6Music these past few weeks, but given that the band’s new album ‘Mount The Air’ is out next week, and by virtue of the tune being the most beautiful thing to have landed on Lost In The Manor’s virtual doormat of late, we see no reason to refrain from sharing it further.

Live review: Decoy Jet at Proud, Camden, 23/1/15

Holly Warren February 1, 2015

If you’re a frequent weekend warrior at London’s music venues and indie club nights, you’ll most probably run into Decoy Jet. The four-piece from Enfield seem to be playing hipster hangouts across the capital every weekend, and as a result look more at home treading (and shredding) the stage than they do off it.

Watch/Review: The Garden – Surprise

Nick Mee January 28, 2015

It would be opportune to dismiss teenage Cali-twins The Garden as mere chic-cheeked fashion fodder – they’ve already paced the catwalk for YSL – if they weren’t coming up with such intensely diverting tunes. The bass’n’drums duo’s latest piece of skeletal garage-rock, ‘Surprise’, is all done and dusted in less time than it takes the relatively orally hygienic to brush their teeth of a morning.