SINGLES CORNER! 30/11/2009

FOREIGN BEGGARS – Seven Figure Swagger
Dented

With grime vocals bolted unceremoniously to beats that I can only assume were designed to blow holes in your sub-woofer, this is a classic British slice of rap/hip-hop with a refreshing electronic edge. If this isn’t already blowing away dance floors on underground club nights then there’s something seriously wrong with the world, and if this is your kind of tune then go ask for it!

TWIN ATLANTIC – What Is Light? Where Is Laughter?
Red Bull Records

Twin Atlantic are, quite possibly, one f our discoveries of the year here at Call Upon The Author, their Biffy Clyro meets 30 Seconds To Mars sound is fresh and engaging and this is another example of how well they know their way around a song. Seriously, if you haven’t heard this band yet then you’re missing out, so get googling now!

BLACK SOUL STRANGERS – Lies
Squeek Records

This Irish quartet have taken up residence in London to try and bring their indie tunes to the masses. They aren’t bad either, though this is certainly not groundbreaking stuff. In fact, if I’m honest this is almost a throwback to the latter days of the Britpop era with it’s singalong chorus, good fun then, in a throwaway fashion.

RUFFNECK ‘09 FT. NAVIGATOR – Ctrl Z v Freestylers
Never Say Die

Furious electro punk anarchy is the recipe of the day here. If you pogo’d round the dance floor to early Prodigy you’ll be right at home here. Having been the subject of a master class in Computer Music on how to remix (and of course, featured in a video here at Call Upon The Author), give this a spin and we defy you not to be dancing around the room!

BAD FOR LAZARUS – Old Rats On A New Ship
Shit Chic

Like the grubby rocker stood in a crowd of pristine skinny jean clad indie kids, Bad For Lazarus doesn’t quite fit. Somehow that makes this single all the more endearing. The screeching vocal and stomping beat, all drenched in distortion, hark back to the grunge era. Do yourself a favour if you get this disc and check out the B side too. ‘Kemptown Animals’ comes on like a prowling animal being sound tracked by The Fratellis, and it’s a gorgeous mix!

VIDEODROME – 21/11/2009

It’s time, once again for us to peruse the best and brightest videos that have popped up in our inbox over the past week or two. Lets start with Ctrl Z giving us a remixing masterclass as they show how they went about adding their own spin to a Freestylers classic. If you have any interest in creating your own tunes with computer programs, this is well worth a watch!
Next, we’ll change tack and lets check out the viedo for Mumford & Sons new video. Winter Winds is a cracking track and the clip isn’t too bad either!
If you’ve kept an eye on our news updates you’ll have read about the soundtrack for the forthcoming Flip skateboard movie. So, we thought it’s be good to have a peek behind the scenes to watch the likes of Lemmy and Snoop Dogg working on their tracks!
Let’s take a minute to mellow out again now. We reviewed Richard Walters’ new single a couple of weeks back, so we thought you might like to check out the promo clip for it too. So, here’s the video for Weather Song.
So, to the last video for this instalment. Irish indie-rockers Black Soul Strangers are beginning to make waves throughout the music press, so we thought it’d be a good idea to give you a heads up on them. Here’s a video interview for you to check out!

Baron Interview

Baron.Ft.Lemmy & Dave Lombardo – Stand By Me | MySpace Video