Me My Head, Calories, Dananananaykroyd

So for my first gig in a while i popped over to Oxford's Bullingdon Arms to catch Me My Head, Calories and Dananananaykroyd.

Having enjoyed the music of The Moths! i was looking forward to checking out Me My Head, a band that has many of the aforementioned Moths personnel. The formula has been fairly untouched with the Me My Head maybe being a little harder with the guitars and less over the top with the syths live. In my opinion they sound far better for these small changes. Tracks Damage Is Done, Night Is On Fire and Tumbling Down are my picks from the bunch, if you get the chance have a listen, or even better catch them live!

Calories were another band that i'd heard a few tracks from and wanted to check out, unfortunately live it doesn't work for me. The three piece possed little in the way of presence, had poor vocals and some terrible sounding bass. Seemed to unable to re-produce any of the promise they showed in recordings. Shame.

So it was down to Dananananaykroyd to save the night and luckily enough for me they managed to do just that! The band play with a great intensity and have the chat between between tracks to keep everyone smiling. The first time i've seen the band live so i assume the mini-disco, playing in the crowd and talking to individual audience members are all part of the deal, but it was entertaining none the less. The tracks were played really well, especially The Greater Than Symbol and Black Wax i love the bands slightly off tilt style, playing something fairly timid and dare i say poppy one moment then crashing about screamo style the next. Good stuff!

oh blog...

Been quite busy working so no blogging for a while, but i have been reading the new issue of Bearded which has a front cover drawn by Jeffrey Lewis. Off to see Dananananan(anana?)kroyd, Me My Head and Calories tonight so expect bloggings soon.

Whats that? A shameless promotion opportunity...

Tuuunes...

Been listening to a few bands just recently, some new some not so but i like these tracks and would urge all to have a wee listen.

Bombay Bicycle Club's new track Always Like This has been on the i-pod pretty much all this week. The progression from tracks like Pedestal, Boy I Used To Be and How Are You is quite something. Showing a whole new side to the bands sound the track is maturer and certainly more polished but still as catchy and enjoyable as everything that has come before it. Great vocals, some great bass and imaginative chorus, i have the feeling that Bombay are really close to being the total package (and obviously i'm not the only one!) Can see this becoming a track of the summer!

Two Door Cinema Club have track Hands Off My Cash Monty on their website as a free download. A nice little track this, a little bit of repition on the chorus goes a long way but in all fairness as a pop-guitar bit of fun its quite good really. Vocals are really sharp and the guitars sound great, i would certainly be on the look out for more on the back of this.

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Your Twenties Caught Wheel is a funky, and to be honest slightly bewildering little track by this London based outfit. With a guitar/keyboard intro and verses it sounds like it's coming out of a 1990's GameBoy! Add some bizarre duel vocals into the mix and it makes for a pretty compelling if slightly head scratching sound. Through the verse its a little more sensible but when the 'caught wheeeeeel' vocals of the chorus kick back in you can't really help but fall in love with the bands charm and this track.

Guildean Gang - Dennis Bergkamp

How great is Guildean Gangs recent release Dennis Bergkamp? Haunted guitars and distant lo-fi vocals are an interesting contrast to the bold crashing chorus the track posseses. Quite what it all has to do with Dennis Bergkamp i don't know...regardless it's great to hear something that is just a little bit different at the moment, so have a listen (from the Youtube news of this week it may not be there much longer!) and maybe check out their upcoming tour, i hope to be!

Maximo Park - Free MP3 on their site...

Get yourself over to the Maximo Park website and download new track Wraithlike, taken from the upcoming album Quicken The Heart. A punchy little track with typically brilliant guitars and as always Paul Smiths voice is superb. Looking forward to the albums May release and the gig i'll be attending in London that very month.

Silent Disco @ Club KKBB

Where would a (my?) blog be without the unashamed promotion of ones own events...so come to Club KKBB in MK on 10th April for our Silent Disco! It's over at the SNO!bar in Xscape and should be a huge spot of fun! Tickets will go on sale pretty soon and its certainly worth ordering one as recent gigs like The Rakes and The Holloways have sold out! We'll be playing different tracks and genres (Indie/Alt/Electro) on different channels so there should be a little something for everyone! Keeping checking the website for all the latest news, we have some guest DJ stuff lined up which should be pretty exciting!

The Nacional

I've enjoyed the few tracks i heard by The Nacional in the last week or so. They have a really cool urgent sound, somewhere between Good Shoes and Idiot Savant i guess and some charming Northern Vocals to go with all the crashing guitar and drums. Have a listen to Telephone and Yorkshire, the former in particular is an impressive listen.

Emmy The Great - First Love

Being a fan of Jeffrey Lewis, Lightspeed Champion and the like i was looking forward to hearing Emmy The Great's album First Love. If ever there was an example of 'less is more' its in this record. Its grounded, very modest style emphasises the fantastic melodic vocals and quirky but often endearing songwriting skills that Emmy possesses.

If any track brings all of Emmys aforementioned traits together it is First Love. Its vulnerable, intelligent and ultimately optimistic nature is complimented brilliantly by some great string arrangements and vocals.

Although it may be a bit too laconic for some it holds it own against the likes of Let's Go Sailing, Laura Marling and any other lazy female singer comparisons you could care to make...Also check out MIA, We Almost Had A Baby and Dylan.

The Answering Machine - Cliffer

The Answering Machine have released some pretty good singles, so latest offering Cliffer had to scrap it against indie pop nuggets like Oklahoma, Lightbulbs and Silent Hotels if it wanted the bands 'Best Single' accolade. And after more then a few listens i've come to the conclusion that it could be prising said accolade from the dead fingers of the bands previous efforts as you read this.

Not only is Cliffer a progression musically from earlier singles it is also the first time the band have showed an ambition to write something bigger, dare i say something epic! The track crashes along at a ferousicous tempo especially through the chorus and the guitars and 'ah ah' backing vocals sound as if they've been ripped straight from Johnny Foreigner's debut last year.

It seems The Answering Machine are making their intentions clear and with an album out later this year i for one will be waiting less than patiently.

New Art Brut album on the way...

Canny wait like! One of my favourite bands, i don't think i will ever get tired of Modern Art. Emily Kane is very cool too....Are you ready Art Brut?

Art Brut - Emily Kane
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Favours For Sailors - Furious Sons

Favours For Sailors debut mini album Furious Sons is out on Tough Love Records at the moment. A catchy, tight and very accomplished little release that i have barely stopped listening to this week. Think Making Dens era Mystery Jets with just a little more pop rock.

Check out I Dreamt That I Dreamt You Loved Me In Your Dreams, The Nihilist Prays and the brilliant Erode My Empire. You get the feeling the album was made with alot of love and a few smiles on faces too.

Just the ticket during these cold March days and nights.