We cut through the hype and give the one thing lacking in so many places these days: an honest opinion. We're not going to put something down for the sake of it either. For an honest outlook on music (and other subjects), you're in the right place!
If the ‘indie’ in the title is making you think of the watered down likes of The Kooks or even of Arctic Monkeys and other modern rockers, then you’re getting the wrong end of the stick, for the band here hark back to the early days of indie as practiced by pastie faced youths in hand me down clothes in their bedrooms throughout the early 80s.
From London upstarts Veronica Falls and their mix of saccharine sweet backing vocals and a jagged, insistent guitar on ‘Beachy Head’ to the USA and the rather wonderful Girls who bring hints of classic 80’s alternative pop that comes all the way from San Francisco. Slightly better known perhaps are Los Campesinos! They may be a pretty well known touring outfit, but although they’re a little more polished the Welsh popsters fit in nicely alongside all these young upstarts. Lastly, we have to mention the fierce, aggressively paced, but still sweet and rather lovely ‘David Cassidy’ by Betty and the Werewolves.
All in all this is a great mix of lo-fi, simple tunes that are ‘indie’ in the traditional sense of the word, reminding us that it used to be a badge that bands wore with pride, rather than a shorthand way of saying ‘band that wants to be Oasis’, and thank god we have groups like these to remind us!
Micachu has taken time off from firing out singles and relentless touring in the US and UK to work with up and coming producer/XL recordings artist Kwes to put out a new mixtape. You can listen to Kwesachu right here!
Following a rapturously-received and sold-out live performance to the film Man Of Aran at London’s BFI, British Sea Power are making a track from their Man Of Aran soundtrack available as a free download. British Sea Power’s all-new score to the 1934 film will be available on DVD/CD from 18 May. The track Come Wander With Me is now available as a free download: http://britishseapower.co.uk/audio/comewanderwithme.mp3
The band will reprise their Man Of Aran performance at The Big Chill Festival on 6th August. The band’s summer touring now looks like this:
Fri 15 May – Brighton Sallis Benny Theatre (Great Escape festival)
Sat 16 May – Brighton Digital (Great Escape festival)
Sun 21 June – High Rocks, Tunbridge Wells, Kent
Sat 27 June – Glastonbury Festival, Avalon Stage
Sun 05 July – Hop Farm Festival, Paddock Wood, Kent
Fri 17 July – Colchester Arts Centre
Sat 18 July – Two Thousand Trees Festival, Cheltenham
Sat 25 July – Indie Guitar Festival, Ascott Under Wychwood, Oxfordshire
Thu 6 Aug – Big Chill festival, Herefordshire (Man of Aran performance)
Fri 7 Aug – Morecambe Library, Morecambe
Sat 8 Aug – Belladrum festival, near Inverness
Sun 16 Aug – Open Air Theatre, Regent’s Park, London
Fri 21 Aug – Green Man Festival, Crickhowell, South Wales
Sat 22 Aug – V Festival, Stafford (Union Stage)
Sun 23 Aug 2009 – V Festival, Chelmsford (Union Stage)
BSP have also remixed a track for the Manic Street Preachers. The track is Me And Stephen Hawking, from the Manics’ forthcoming album, Journal For Plague Lovers. BSP, of course, hope Mr Hawking continues to recover from his recent health scare.
