Monday, 13 October 2008 |
You kind of have to feel a little bit bad for Foals.
When everyone else was out getting girls, each and every member of the
band was most likely holed up indoors, listening to Gang Of Four's Entertainment!
and doing their philosophy homework. Their tracks are such focused
lessons in tight, mathematical indie rock that’s there’s no doubt in my
mind that they perennially struck out with the ladies. But we mustn’t feel too bad for Foals, after all it lead them to
harness all that angst, awkwardness and romantic dysfunction and stuff
it inside the Antidotes LP, which is still dripping out tantalizing
singles, the latest of which happens to be the standout Olympic
Airways.
While the remixes from minimal royalty
Supermayer and disco revivalist Ewan Pearson are a big draw, we can’t
forget the original Olympic Airways which has got the same scrupulously
constructed rattle and hum you'd expect from UK group, from the
fret-choking guitar work to the nod-'n-jerk chorus. And that soaring
build midway through is like a fringe-swinging cherry on top. It's the
band doing what they do best with an air of total effortlessness. And
it's not getting old anytime soon. - Dave Ruby Howe
Foals MySpace
Watch Olympic Airways directed by Dave Ma
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Tuesday, 02 September 2008 |
Empire of The Sun. Little is known - no bio, no press kits, no explanations. The vital components are Nick Littlemore (Pnau) and Luke Steele (Sleepy Jackson)
and the music is a precise dovetail of the two. The silky strings,
tight-strums and cheeky hi-hats give 'Walking On A Dream' a distinctly
French-house flavor. In stark contrast, the accompanying clip
in all its weird and colorful glory was shot entirely in Shanghai. In
the words of the song, this is the sound of two men at the peak of
their powers 'pushing up the hill, searching for the thrill of it'.
Download the Sam La More remix here - Nick Christie
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Monday, 04 August 2008 |
Alan McGee, the man who gave the world Oasis and The Libertines, has found the latest diamond in the rough. Scottish band Glasvegas is a four-piece that manages to combine all that was good from the
Ronettes-era with all that is bad from modern-day Glasgow to brilliant
effect.
Despite their obvious influences that range from Phil
Spector to Elvis, what they come up with is so remarkably unique that
they sound like The Jesus & Mary Chain getting drunk and having a
go at covering the Grease soundtrack.
They draw you in with
euphoric and unbreakable walls of sound but there is something so
unmistakably bleak – something so unmistakably Scottish – about their
sound that, in 2008, they manage to say a hell of a lot more about the
state of things than sweaty, prepubescent boys with guitars ever could.
Lead
singer James Allan has done for a thick Glasweigan accent what Alex
Turner did for Sheffield and what Mike Skinner did for Mockney. And
singing along in cod-Glaswegian is all part of the Glasvegas
experience, as it is live where they excel. - Rob Facey
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Tuesday, 29 July 2008 |
In the midst of festival season, The Cool Hunter thought it timely to
highlight the world's greatest festivals. Some of them you may have
heard of, others you most certainly haven’t. Regardless, all of them
are essential for the worldly music lover.
Sonar – Barcelona, Spain
It
would seem that going to a music festival doesn’t necessarily mean
duking it out for three days in conditions not fit for human
habitation. Sonar is the festival for the discerning type, swapping
mud-swamped squalor for the beautiful Ramblas village district of
Barcelona.
Exit Festival – Novi Sad, Serbia
Held
in the Serbian city of Novi Sad, Exit began life as a softly-softly
political protest against the Milosevic regime. Now staged within the
grounds of an eighteenth century fortress, Exit has grown into a
massive four-day cauldron of music and mayhem.
Aldrei For Eg Sudur (I Never Went South) – Isafjordur, Iceland
Forget
rockstar egocentrics and drift to the north of Iceland in the fist thaw
of the Easter weekend for a music festival that concentrates on
Icelandic talent. With conditions that scare off the average festival
monkeyman, Aldrei For Eg Sudur is the most communal of music festivals.
Fuji Rock Festival – Naeba Ski Resort, Japan
Set
amongst the lush forest of a summer ski field, Fuji Rock takes the
music festival’s need for a large outdoor area and runs with it,
providing one of the most spectacular and tranquil settings you could
possibly imagine for a major rock festival.
Splendour In The Grass – Byron Bay, Australia
Australia
isn’t as cheap to visit as it used to be, but suck it up to make it to
Splendour In The Grass. Great line-ups are complemented by a relaxed
vibe and the spectacular beach surroundings of Byron Bay. - Matt Shea
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Monday, 21 July 2008 |
Joining together two modern musical madmen like Beck and Danger
Mouse seems almost dangerous, like it could easily descend into a
battle of two outrageous imaginations. Instead, ‘Modern Guilt’
comes off like a sonic peanut butter and jelly sandwich, where the
different elements meld together so simply and naturally that it defies
the incomprehensible bent of their partnership. Beck and his music have
always belonged in the sixties and Danger Mouse’s captures this in a
twisted dream state. You only need to taste 'Modern Guilt' once before
you’re stuck in its kaleidoscopic rapture. - Matt Shea
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Monday, 14 July 2008 |
Hercules And Love Affair,
the musical odyssey of DJ Andy Butler and the likes of Antony Hegarty
from Antony & The Johnsons, are the current stars of the dance
scene. Their sound is so sleek and shiny that it makes you want to don
your rollerskates and glide right back to the 70s.
Only, this is
disco for the modern era. More underground than the pointless retro
homages that clog up club playlists every weekend, there is something
irresistibly dark and alluring hidden between the synths, trumpets and
smooth vocals. Music critics are fawning over the album and the
fashionistas are becoming wise to their ways too (Chanel used ‘You
Belong’ in a Fall/Winter fashion show).
Tracks like ‘Blind’ and
‘Hercules Theme’ are so fresh they leave you aching to strut your
stuff. Only in a really cool John Travolta disco way.
So, as
Hercules And Love Affair finally starts to get the recognition it
deserves, The Cool Hunter pays tribute to the label/production house
DFA Records www.dfarecords.com/ behind what could be the album of 2008
by looking back over their best musical creations.
The Rapture ‘House of Jealous Lovers’
Although
it’s little more than Talking Heads fighting Television over a
synthesizer, this soundtracked a million teenage parties and had
drunken scenesters admiring New Yorkers who had a penchant for jerky
riffs and cowbells, rather than skinny jeans and Converse.
LCD Soundsystem ‘Daft Punk Is Playing At My House’
James
Murphy has a vocal style so unique it needs to be heard to be fully
understood. Imagine a bear with a cold singing in the shower and you’re
halfway there. Here, he simultaneously scares off the neighbours while
inviting in for an impromptu rave.
The Juan Maclean ‘Happy House’
This
dirty track is so sleazy it has ‘4am at some grotty indie disco,
staring at some god awful concoction of a drink you’ve ordered and
wondering whether that person with the angel wings and eyeliner is
actually a man’ written all over it.
Hot Chip ‘Over and Over’
Not
big but certainly clever, this is the sound of pre Nu Rave dance, when
crisp yet clunky beats belonged to the streets rather than the High
Street. By Rob Facey
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Tuesday, 08 July 2008 |
Economics, technology, ice hockey, tennis, personal grooming: the
Swedish list of triumphs is long and extensive. With the new breed of
indie pop artists emerging from the kingdom, the rest of the world has
yet something else to be jealous about. Here are three brilliant
exemplars:
When Lykke Li sings
her voice is so delicate, so ethereal that she sounds as though she’s
transmitting from a submarine stranded on the seafloor. What’s more,
Li brilliantly plays to this amazing strength, matching it to
productions so lean and carefully stripped back that they drive you
straight to the heart of her bristling songcraft.
Lacrosse
West coast-flavoured guitars struck through with bittersweet lyrics
and anchored by a skin tight rhythm section, with their debut ‘The New
Year Will Be For You And Me’ this sextet have written the soundtrack to
the relationship you’ve just ended and are taking a weeklong surf trip
to forget. Sweet, cathartic tunes to sooth your irascible soul.
El Perro Del Mar
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Tuesday, 01 July 2008 |
Unlimited credits are in the offing for whoever brought the majestic Al Green
together with producers Guestlove and James Poyser. Green’s new album,
‘Lay It Down’, is the best cut of soul you’re likely to hear all year.
With guest spots featuring Anthony Hamilton and John Legend this is one
very modern album and an absolutely essential addition to your Al Green
collection.
The other essential Al Green albums?! The Cool Hunter has you covered.
Let’s Stay Together – 1972
No
introduction needed, with a title track that stayed at number one in
the US for nine consecutive weeks. The rest of the album may not have
been chart-worthy, but it’s nevertheless just as strong.
The Belle Album – 1977
Expected
at the time to be his last secular LP, Green produces himself and lets
loose a cracking series of meditations from a man caught between the
religious and the secular.
I’m Still In Love With You - 1972
Released
at Christmas of 1972 this, the most slickly romantic of Green’s albums,
begs to be busted out next to a roaring fireplace with only the most
special of wine and women in accompaniment.
Get’s Next To You – 1971
The template-setter for the early 70s Green albums, this sounds like tightly reigned wanton madness. Absolutely brilliant.
Call Me – 1973
Built
on Willie Mitchell’s fastidious production, this is Green’s artistic
zenith. An absolutely striking masterpiece that totally beguiles the
listener. A masterpiece. By Nick Christie.
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Wednesday, 18 June 2008 |
Brooklyn quartet Yeasayer’s music
is a concoction of indie rock and worldbeat that should probably come
off as stilted and manufactured but the band instead, like a pack of
hip-shooting alchemists, mesh these genres together in experiments that
pay off brilliantly.
Guitars, sitars, mandolins, bongos,
cowbells, and fretless bass are all run through with driving
synthesisers, while ceaselessly harmonising vocals tend to stay deep in
the mixes, adding to the ethereal quality of their music.
Obvious
touchstones David Byrne and Peter Gabriel would be proud to turn out
music as brilliant and thoroughly engaging as this. By Matt Shea.
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Wednesday, 11 June 2008 |
Seattle's Fleet Foxes
are the perfect soundtrack to a cold, rainy afternoon. Like a calm
Brian Wilson filtered through My Morning Jacket and Band of Horses, the
band's lead singer, 21 year old Robin Pecknold is a remarkable musical
talent.
Like a church choir led by your favorite indie band,
the Fleet Foxes sound is a mix of glistening, layered vocal harmonies,
softly plucked guitars and a sense of longing and wonder that only open
skies and vast wilderness can evoke.
It sounds simultaneously now and forty and one hundred years ago.
Free of time, this album, this band, Fleet Foxes, are here to stay. By Nick Christie
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Thursday, 05 June 2008 |
Is it too early for lists? Never, we say. So here they are,
all the songs that have set the bar so high for music in '08.
10 - Foals - 'Balloons'
These Oxford boys "fly
balloons on this fuel called love". So they own my favourite
lyric so far this year. They also sport snaky, crystal
guitar lines and a gurgling brass section - what else can you do but
sit back and lap it up? Encore.
9 - Tokyo Police Club - 'In A Cave'
These young
Ontarions, do it straight up. The drum beat makes my neck snap,
the guitars make me want to jump and the whole thing, in all its raw,
snotty glory makes me feel like I did when I discovered punk for the
first time.
8 - Cut Copy - 'Lights & Music'
Even when they're cruising, Cut Copy churn out fabulously energetic pop gems. Tops.
7 - M83 - 'Graveyard Girl'
Would getting to second base in a cemetary be awkward/blasphemous? This makes it sound so right. And hot.
6 - Snoop Dogg - 'Sensual Seduction'
Snoop
can do anything he likes, basically. He could ditch the blunts and
8-Balls for a harmonica and some overalls and get all country and
western on us and he'd still drop a hot record.
5 - Santogold - 'L.E.S. Artistes'
Perfect pop. Without borders, without barriers. The best song from
hands down the best indie-reggae rock-hop album, ever.
4 - The Presets - 'This Boy's In Love'
Like some forgotten gem from Depeche Mode's bombed out basement, This Boy's In Love
thunders into the list. It's equal parts new romantic fey-pop and pure
dancefloor dynamite. Brilliant.
3 - Vampire Weekend - 'A Punk'
Every time lead
vocalist Ezra Koenig sings that hook: "Look outside, the raincoats
gone" he dangles just one, excruciatingly good 'Say Oh!' off the end of
it. I wish he would have given me a more traditional 'Say Oh, oh,
oh', but the fact he didn't is probably the reason I keep coming back
for more.
2 - The Teenagers - 'Love No (Delorean Remix)'
Week
old pepperoni pizza, Showgirls, broken English and blatant hipster
narcissism. Yes, the Teenagers have it all. And this Delorean
remix somehow manages to make them even better. Superb.
1 - MGMT - 'Kids'
Oh man. The little
rising synth, warbling like a bird to the sound of children
playing. Is there are more uplifting intro to a song anywhere in
the world right now? MGMT make you pump fists in the air, sing at
the top of your voice, dance like a fool and smile until you
hurt. Thank you MGMT.
By Nick Christie and Dave Ruby Howe
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Tuesday, 03 June 2008 |
Breaking up can be hard. Clearly, nobody told the Futureheads this
little fact of life. After the ‘heads and their label 679 went
splitsville, the band haven’t slowed down a bit.
On their new
cut, The Beginning Of The Twist, the Sunderland four-piece come off all
perky and energised without the strings attached feel that sometimes
comes with the label world.
That track has their classic
neo-wave jerky guitar sound, ideal for kids in Converse All Stars to
freak to at their local indie disco, all mixed with a twist of big-time
production from the golden fingertips of Youth (Primal Scream, The
Verve).
Here I was thinking they’d disappeared with Kaiser
Chiefs to planet suck, but the Futureheads are back and they sound
better than ever. By Dave Ruby Howe.
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Wednesday, 21 May 2008 |
While hipsters the world over are salivating for distorted bangers from
the likes of Justice, Teenage Bad Girl and the rest of the rabble,
there’s something far more exciting happening just out of the
spotlight. It’s called Valerie (scene, sound, label and blog). It’s
sunglasses at night, John Hughes, Molly Ringwald, old Sega Megadrive
cartridges, endless summers and high drama romance all rolled into one.
Purveyors of the Valerie sound include founders the Outrunners,
Anoraak, College, Mathelvin and Minitel Rose and more recently
Parallels and Aedyhawke, all brought together through their shared
adoration of retro synths and Miami Vice re-runs. Good thing they all
found each other because they’re hitting all the right marks, from
Maethelvin’s car-chase disco to the teenage anthems of College and
Anoraak’s make out sesh scores. In three years time Valerie might be an
inescapable, designer-tee-spewing, branding monstrosity. Right now, it
just sounds so good. Touch it while it's still pure.
myspace.com/valeriejetaime
myspace.com/theoutrunners
myspace.com/maethelvin
myspace.com/anoraak
myspace.com/minitelrose
myspace.com/collegeoflove
By Dave Ruby Howe
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Tuesday, 13 May 2008 |
Yeo Choong,
from Brisbane, Australia is smart. I say this not because he is the
mastermind behind Yeo and The Fresh Goods, or because he makes music
with mathematical precision.
I say it because he is a 21 year
old Masters student in Audiology and because his debut album 'Trouble
Being Yourself' sounds like a nerdier version of N.E.R.D. Indeed, the
production on his standout track 'Two Sides Of A Door' would make
Pharrell proud.
But Yeo isn't just in the mood for making funk
rock and singing in a slight falsetto. He jumps and jerks between
genres, sometimes in the same song.
The reggae-pop intro of
'Fishin' With Aidan' melds into a salsa infused party jam, all the
while mixing the ska-delivery of Sublime and the 'Thank You' message
from Dido's long-forgotten hit of the same name.
From his sneaky
horns to his hand-claps and Super Mario samples, Yeo recorded, mixed
and produced the entire album. It's catchy, cheeky good fun.
Fresh goods indeed. By Nick Christie
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Monday, 28 April 2008 |
Context is everything.
To record 'For Emma, Forever Ago', Bon
Hiver - aka Justin Vernon - retreated to the remotest corner of
Wisconsin and recorded alone for three cold winter months.
That
sense of loneliness, that dull, confusing ache that swells up when
things just fall apart, it's all captured here in hearty acoustic
strums and softly whispered vocals.
Bon Iver is a play on the
French words for 'good winter'. And that is notable because what could
have been a very bad winter for Vernon was salvaged by the recording of
this extraordinary album.
Sitting on the sonic spectrum
between Iron and Wine and Jose Gonzalez, 'For Emma, Forever Ago' is
nine songs of subtle, layered acoustic guitar and Vernon's healing
falsetto.
It's an album you spin when your lover leaves you. In that context, Bon Iver will make you feel better about being sad.
Context is everything and 'For Emma, Forever Ago' is brilliant. Download 'Skinny Love' here:
myspace.com/boniver
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Tuesday, 22 April 2008 |
Santogold’s 'L.E.S. Artistes' is a whole lot of good. With a spin of
the single and the accompanying faux-gore video, it sounds like it was
pieced together over several late nights at M.I.A.’s loft with help
from with invited guests Tegan & Sara serving drinks, Nick Zinner
controlling the stereo with all those obscure late ‘80s noise bands
you’ve never heard of and revered UK beatsmith Switch twiddling a knob
here and there for effect.
All the while Philly native,
Santogold, bellows above it all with rousing, fists-clenched intensity.
CSS’s Lovefoxx was there too, overseeing the green sausage guts
aesthetic of the clip but she passed out in bathtub before the end.
Sounds pretty damn great, don’t you think? Me too. By Dave Ruby Howe
myspace.com/santogold
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Thursday, 17 April 2008 |
Jamie Lidell
- the IDM nerd turned whiteboyfunksuperfreak - is back. His 2005
jaw-dropper 'Multiply' found fans on dance floors, head phones, cafes,
Grey's Anatomy and in Target commercials.
Berlin based Lidell is
an everyman whose cheery Motown soul is simultaneously uplifting and
cerebral and his sophomore effort 'Jim' is a cracker of an album.
Opener
'Another Day' bursts out of the speakers with bird songs and all the
hope and joy of a summer dawn. It's the kind of track that will have
neighbours knocking down your door to join the party every time you
play it.
Backed by gospel choirs and vaulting keys, Lidell's
croon makes you realise how good Michael Buble could be | |
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