ALBUM: KIT ASHTON Reveal Or Steal (myspace.com/kitashton)
A singer songwriter whose ranks expand for live shows, Kit self-describes as a ‘semi-glam proud pop fan’ He certainly has a canny ear for a pleasing refrain that’s unafraid to venture into comic darkness (‘I Killed My Twin’ for example) and isn’t shy about tinges of folk pushing to the surface. But the glam claim rang very true with us, especially faced with the We Could Be Bowie tribute night he put on last month – lots of this has a Ziggy Stardust/Hunky Dory vibe about it that chimes in very pleasantly with us. (NC)
ALBUM: ALPHABETS HEAVEN Jay’s Odyssey (Peppermill)
Experimental beats and loops are the dish of the day in Alphabets Heaven, served with a psychedelic soufflé infused with funky flavours and a soulful sonic sauce. An atmospheric soundscape underpinned by synths and drum machines, the album actually creates a narrative which admittedly requires some prior explanation – it’s inspired by a blue jay who goes to space to find a new garden or something. But overall it’s a very decent offering, a tricksy and novel alternative for lovers of beats and hip hop. (NC)
EP: BIRDEATSBABY Bigger Teeth (myspace.com/birdeatsbaby)
Self-confessed avoiders of musical trends that come in and out with the tides, the ‘Birds instead take a decidedly theatrical route, with lush string orchestration forming the painted scenery backdrop to the narrative performance pieces that make up this EP. Production by 80s Matchbox’s Mark R Norris lends the set an inherent darkness – eerily effective as it deliciously taints the initially apparent sweetness of the songs. We haven’t seen them live but we can imagine the gigs being a blast. (NC)
SINGLE: BURNS & FRED FALKE YSLM (You Stopped Loving Me) (Deconstruction)
Burns has been threatening to bust through into the mainstream for a while now, and this collaborative effort with in-vogue French soft-synth wizard Fred Falke could just be his ticket to commercial ubiquity. An almost Eric Prydz kick-hi-hat pattern and the disco-tastic repetition of the Luther Vandross vocal refrain screams party anthem and begs for a video with leggy blondes in leotards, (not that the Pug-tastic actual video is a bad thing!) Remixes by Linus Loves, Treasure Fingers, Rynecoligist and Burns himself match the original’s pop potential with some credible floor-filling. It’s a hit. (NC)
DEMO: THE CREAKING CHAIR (myspace.com/thecreakingchair)
It might have been down to the Mulligan & O’Hare skits on old Reeves & Mortimer shows, but reading ‘folk’ in a band ‘s description always used to make us think of the hey nonny nonny Fairisle jumper, real ale scene. Nowadays, thankfully, the term has reinvented itself into something altogether more credible, and The Creaking Chair are more than decent exponents of this redefined genre. Pastoral acoustics with thoughtful vocals are peppered with the occasional jaunty moment for just the right amount of light and shade. It’s an accomplished effort all round, with plenty of promise. (NC)
EP: THE ELEVEN 37S Here Comes The Storm (myspace.com/theeleven37s)
We’re assuming that one of the band’s number is a printer/designer, as the amount of matt UV high GSM printed card inserts that came with this CD would have bankrupted Bon Jovi. But at the end of the day it’s about the tunes on the CD, and these firmly inhabit the funk rock side of town. It’s well played, produced and recorded, and the band are clearly ambitious devotees of the Chilli Peppers – if we’re being picky the technical ability can cast a slightly clinical shadow over the soul of the songs, but overall it’s a good collection. (NC)
ALBUM: FROM PLAN TO PROGRESS Ink Stains & Incidents (Fond Of Life)
The skatepunk and melodic hardcore scene seems to have tailed off a little over the last few years – we can’t remember the last example we received. Perhaps the bands have gone into some kind of evolutionary gestation if this one is anything to go by. FPTP’s second album represents a newfound maturity, egged on by the addition of a second guitarist, which sees them focusing on energetic technical intricacy while showing a definite development in chorus development and overall pulling power. Frantic and frenetic. (NC)
SINGLE: THE GAA GAA’S Voltaire (The Playground)
A band for whom the study and judicious appropriation of 80s goth music’s finest moments does them immense credit – plenty get ticks on the genre’s nuance checklist but few are able to carry it off with such contemporary style. The Gaa Gaas have been on SOURCE’s radar since very early ragged-yet-infectious demos, and this progression in sound and style is both encouraging for the band’s potential and our own ability to spot ’em early. An electro remix by Punk Soundcheck backs up the original version, also very decent indeed. (NC)
MINI LP: LOSTAURA The Hiding Place (The Animal Farm)
Swathes of reverb-heavy guitars march shoulder to shoulder with lilting piano and pounding backbeats on this powerful and dynamic six-tracker. Epic-sounding songs are given space to breathe in an expansive production that manages to straddle an underling alt.rock darkness and an undeniable commercial tendency. Band CVs littered with instrumental Grade 8s come as no surprise – the performances have a virtuosity about them that never comes over as show-offy, just a band poised for greatness. (NC)
EP: LYREBIRDS Blondehead (Chess Club)
Lyrebirds’ Blondehead EP is, admirably, their third release on the über-selective Chess Club imprint, but the first not to be produced by Stephen Street, the band instead opting to bring the tracks together at their own pace. Weirdly, the resultant sound has been wound back from the ultra-wisescreen indie stadium-gloom of their previous 2 singles, and has instead moved into (slightly) janglier territory – what you might expect a collaboration between The Jesus and Mary Chain and Interpol to sound like. This added melodic infusion pitches their upward trajectory still further. (MB)
DEMO: ALFONSO MALDINI (myspace.com/alfonzomaldini)
The idea of ‘retro’ has always been an awkward one. A band like Alfonso Maldini will no doubt be tagged with a prefix like ’60s throwback’. Sure all the tropes are there, both lyrically and sonically – one song is about a taxman taking all Charlie’s dough, and leaving him in his stately home, for example. The fact that the reverb-heavy, top-register vocals, Farfisa organ and acoustic, pastoral whimsy harks back to a bygone era shouldn’t stand in the way of what are most excellent Brit-beat ditties. (MB)
ZINE: KATE MCMORRINE Grin (www.katemcmorrine.com)
When one of this new-to-Brighton screenprinter’s friends complained that all her Lump books were bleak she made him this micro-book consisting only of drawings of people smiling. But behind the beaming lies some very dark tales: the boy who knows he’ll be bullied forever, the dancer who knows she’ll never be picked, the ornamental dog that won’t run with the wolves. Though only ten A6 pages long, Grin is a beautiful artefact whose art matches the story – beautiful but warped and rather arresting. (JK)
SINGLE: MIRRORS Hide & Seek (Skint)
It’s amazing news that Mirrors are supporting their spiritual fathers OMD on a European tour right now – slightly disappointing that they’re not doing the UK, as we’d have loved to have seen them at the Dome. ‘Hide & Seek’ puts the pop into synth pop, a jaunty but melancholic number that holds back the dancier production they’ve been favouring lately. ‘Toe The Line’ is brand new, coming on like proto-house music until the melodramatic vocal arrives and things go electro-power ballad. Pure class. (JK)
EP: MUNICH Where Are You Now (myspace.com/thisismunich)
With a name suggesting, to this throwback at least, an early 80s Bunnymen-tinged tower of sound, Munich certainly don’t mislead. With arenas-in-waiting swirls of guitar, swathed in levels of reverb that would make The Edge say “that’s a lot of reverb there, lads’, the songs pack an immense emotional punch. Even ballad ‘Where Are You Now’ racks up the atmospherics, but elsewhere it’s the bait of the plugs’n’pedals work along various fret boards that reels the listener in, matching a colossal size of sound with memorable hooks – what more could you ask for? (NC)
ALBUM: VILLAREAL Lit By Sparks (Numbskull HQ)
While the full-scale release of the album isn’t until April 2011, 50 early adopter punters can get their hands on this at The Albert on December 10th when the band play a launch show. And we kind of advise you do – the album is definitely one to get hold of at your earliest convenience. It’s very accomplished guitar indie pop that possibly recalls some of Badly Drawn Boy’s better moments, bits of Teenage Fanclub and a general soaring, shimmering set of song gems. Often we play albums to review then put them aside – not this one, it’s a keeper. (NC)
ALBUM: VARIOUS White Mink Black Cotton (Freshly Squeezed)
Cannily carving themselves a niche as purveyors of zeitgeist-y retro sounds, local label Freshly Squeezed return with a second instalment of contemporary nu-swing, plus a glut of its antecedents. Spread over 2 CDs, the unimpeachably brilliant likes of the Andrews Sisters and Tommy Dorsey nuzzle the rather more love-it-or-loath-it modern variants, complete with ‘electro’-beats, a la the Correspondents.
WORDS BY MATT BARKER, NICK COQUET, JAMES KENDALL