Listen/Review: Wampire - Wizard Staff

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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

Artist: Keymono - Agency, Press

Live Bookings: Chris@lostinthemanor.co.ukPress: Chris@lostinthemanor.co.uk, Nick@lostinthemanor.co.uk
keymon
Justifiably massive in their homeland, where they have released two albums, soundtracked two films and won numerous awards, including Best Song, Album of the Year and Best Dance Song, Keymono’s unique fusion of digitalism, fluid percussiveness and pulsing rootsy horns is now set to take the UK by storm. The band’s instrumental arsenal encompasses keys, trumpet, flute, sax, bass and drums to colour the bytes and beats that drive their sound. Citing influences as diverse as Prince, Chaka Khan, Little Dragon, Pink Floyd and Beethoven, theirs is a truly original mash-up of nailed-on floor-fillers that synthesise man and machine into an irresistible tribal groove. Trust us, Keymono’s rapturous high-energy electronica is not a sound you will be able to, or will be willing to, forget.
In 2013 KEYMONO signed a publishing deal with EMC/SONY music and released an album combining their past creations from their first 2 albums.
"A perfect blueprint for anyone who dares to fuse futuristic electronic sounds with strings and brass. The lower bass rumble in the drops is definitely one for the sub. This is pop the way we deserve it." Scott McGerty, Amazing Radio
"Keymono’s performance and energy was absolutely amazing and their adventurous sound will delight anyone with an ear for good dance music" Dylan Statow, The Peoples Music Awards
"This band just get better and better. 'Run Boy' is a beautiful slice of pop magic: slick and crispy and, as always, Daiva kills it on the vocals. A real summer hit" =EVM128= DJ/Producer/Somethinksounds
The Peoples Music Awards (international) Bubble in a trouble best Dance track Online Music Awards (international) Everything best Dance track.
Past Festivals UK: Soundcrash Alldayer, Sheep Music Festival Lithuania: (Be2Gether, KaunasJazz, Vilnius MamaJazz, Karkle, Tamsta Music Festival, Galapagai, Satta festival) Latvia: (Positivus, Pestivals) Estonia: Tallinn Music Week Russia: Don Chento Jazz Festival Georgia: Black Sea International Jazz Festival France: Europavox.

Past Supports Dephazz, Candy Dulfer, Club des Belugas, Gotan Project.
https://www.facebook.com/keymonosound http://www.keymono.org/

Listen: Rökkurró - The Backbone

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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

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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'

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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.
Follow @Nickjmee on Twitter

Review / Listen: AJ Ellis - Bury the Devil

aj After calling time on the Five O’Clock Heroes, AJ Ellis’ first solo album finds him of contemplative singer-songwriter vintage, blessed with a warm baritone and a knack for penning catchy adult-oriented pop. At its best, ‘Bury the Devil’ evokes the work of Lloyd Cole or Roddy Frame, or even a Robyn Hitchcock shorn of the surreal. This polished, uncluttered LP is a good-natured body of work: the cheerful calypso-soul of ‘Stand Up’ and the all-go-to-the-hoppish country skiffle of ‘Dance All Night’, for example, offer an upbeat bed for lyrics that seem to have been written by a man coming to terms with emotional commitment. Ellis unearths the odd ear worm with the likes of the jangly ‘Isambard’, on which he engineers a lovely bridge-chorus combo, and LITM’s favourite, ‘I Belong To You’, perhaps the most complete pop tune here, from its smooth rimshot’n’harmonics opening through a celebratory chorus to the searing guitar solo. Morphing from subdued soul man on ‘Hit the Bottom’ to honky-tonk crooner on the title track, on which he determines to ditch those demons for good, Ellis can be a hard man to pigeonhole. That this New Yorker’s debut was recorded in Yorkshire, mixed in Nashville and mastered in Kentucky may go some way to explaining why there’s no defining influence here, no real sense of place or scene, other than vague Americana, to tag this collection with. But its easy listening feel is of universal appeal and stands or falls on the strength of the tunes, most of which, appropriate to ‘Bury the Devil’’s theme, get better with familiarity.

Bury the Devil is out on 28 July on Ragtime Records.

Follow @Nickjmee on Twitter

Watch: The Ghost Wolves – Baby Fang Thang

The Ghost Wolves The Ghost Wolves are doing it right – simplicity is key. While other garage-rock bands muddle their already lo-fi sound with excessive instrumentation, keys and overdubs, The Ghost Wolves are about at stripped-down as it gets. This two-piece feature tasty blues-rock licks and tight drum tracks, à la ‘Icky Thump’-era White Stripes. The kicker: female lead vocals and guitars from Carley Wolf. We’ve entered Bizarro World, folks.

‘Baby Fang Thang’ features catchy sing-song vocals, along with some tough and fuzzy stomp grooves. Carley rips a short bridge solo, showcasing some serious axe chops in the style of Jack White. Jonathan Wolf channels his inner John Bonham, beating the skins with some distinctly Bonham-esque patterns. This is most prominent during the outro, where the duo delve into a Led Zeppelin-fuelled coda, even featuring some psych-rock influenced vocals. Taken from the band’s debut album, ‘Man, Woman, Beast’, this is a killer track for anyone after simple, hard-hitting rock music.

For fans of: The White Stripes, Hanni El Khatib, Led Zeppelin

‘Man, Woman, Beast’ is out now on Plowboy Records

Words Mike Guerard: Follow Mike_Guerard on Twitter

Watch / Review: Mountainear - Distant Camps

mount ‘Distant Camps’ begins in a simple, slow tempo led by the crisp, clean vocals of Becky Brown against a haunting piano melody. You might be forgiven for thinking this is going to be anything but the sound of the twinkliest dream pop you have ever heard, until, about a minute in, you are whipped into a ‘wait, what…’ feeling as the beat slaps against your eardrums. And as the fires burn, a sense of refreshing enthusiasm is injected into the track, driven by deep, raw African beats and an almost choired set of backing vocals. ‘Distant Camps’ is a heady, hearty, multi-layered, enriching blend of inspiration and an invigorating sound for the ages. All three members of Mountainear are professional percussionists and, suffice to say, their rhythmic subtlety and agility have been captured beautifully on this track.

Distant Camps is out now.

Words by Kai Reddy: Follow @flyinglotus49 on Twitter

Review / Watch: The Moons – Mindwaves

moons Fading in with a psychedelic introduction before kicking off with ‘Society’, an upbeat rock’n’roller with an angular riff, tight harmonies and a Beatles-esque groove, The Moons’ new album, ‘Mindwaves’, littered with brilliant licks and psychedelic lyrics, gets off to a strong start. Standout track, ‘Fever’, best encapsulates the group’s kaleidoscopic Sixties-inspired sound. The album drops in tempo on ‘All In My Mind’ but gets back up to speed with ‘Time’s Not Forever’ and carries on in a similar vein until the climax; nice touches like the use of brass on several of the slower songs keep things fresh throughout.

Vocals wise, Andy Croft’s style is often reminiscent of fellow Midlands band The Enemy, although comparing the two acts musically would be doing a disservice to The Moons, who have an ear for far more exciting and original sounds. Ironically, The Moons will get the chance to eclipse their Coventry-based neighbours when they support them on the Northampton date of their tour, on 27 September.

The video for the four-piece’s most recent single, ‘Body Snatchers’ (listen below), makes it clear why their keen riffs and retro appeal evoke the likes of Miles Kane and Paul Weller, with sharp haircuts and vintage style galore. It’s not surprising that The Moons have received acclaim from the Modfather himself, as they seem set to carry on the modish rock lineage from acts such as Weller and The Kinks on to current high flyers Kasabian, such is their retro take on modern life, particularly evident on songs such as ‘Society’ and ‘All In My Mind’.

Mindwaves is out on 21 July on Schnitzel Records.

Words Adam Pizey: Follow @A_Pizey On Twitter

Watch & Review: Batsch - Celina

BATSCH Though not without its abstract moments, notably the whimsical breakdown, ‘Celina’ is an obvious call as the leading track from Batsch’s skittish new EP, ‘Collar’, being as close to conventional pop as the band care to venture. Atop a slippery, octave-jumping bassline wriggling in a lo-fi web of art-school funk and pale high-life, singer Mason Le Long’s temperate vocal gives the groove its grip. His “Be gentle as you can be” refrain is apt, as there can’t be many aspiring floor-fillers that sound so polite. Quirky, cool and a little detached, ‘Celina’ belongs in the club, but as more of a glassy reflection of proceedings in the glitterball than hip-grinding on the dancefloor itself. Elsewhere on the EP, ’22’ is built around Joe Carvell’s gravelly baseline set just awry of a sparse beat, some shrill synth from Andy Whitehead and Le Long’s musings on love gone stale. It’s enjoyably skeletal, lightweight dub, as if Mad Professor set to work on Haircut 100. That percussive bass leads the way again on the darker ‘Did You Here About Argine’, while ‘Mirrorball’ is so pared-down it even dispenses with the trademark bass before its discordant crescendo. EP closer ‘Can’t Tell’ is perhaps the most demented, as each band member packs plenty to the bar, but in such a frantic and featherlight manner it’s like listening to a marching piece for mice. It’s music that tickles. There’s knowledge to Batsch’s experimental mania on ‘Collar’, delivering some fine passages of sound, if no real knockout tunes. Yet the tracks unfold entirely unpredictably, and for that this Midlands four-piece deserve a big hand. Cue the video…

Collar is out now on Tin Angel

Words Nick Mee: Follow @Nickjmee on Twitter