ALBUM: AMONGST THE PIGEONS Music To Brush Your Teeth To (Marowak) As we read this collection was recorded variously on a train in Holland, an EasyJet flight and other wholly unsuitable locations, it’s safe to assume there’s not going to be any brass sections on it. No, ATP’s album, the first release since a 2005 ep that Mary Ann Hobbs and Rob Da Bank were all over, is a bizarre collection of electronica propped up with sampled poetry, ticket collectors and random YouTube audio, with just enough conventional beats to make it work. (NC)
SINGLE: TIM HEALEY & T.A.I. Pocket Rocket / Mash Up Boyz (Giant Pussy) Slamming super-wonky basslines into hip hop and r’n’b hooks have proved a winning formula for Brighton resident, label owner and DJ/producer Tim Healey, who has teamed-up with platinum selling hip hop producer Tai Jason for this double a-side of dancefloor decimation. As if that’s not enough, dub-step heavyweight Tes La Rok supplies the deconstructed reggae remix with enough bass to fill your stockings. (RM)
SINGLE: KIDDA Strong Together (Skint)
Kidda’s Under The Sun is still soundtracking Bacardi adverts and this slice of summery big beat could provide as many smiles at picnics as that track. It rattles along at the rate of a proper pop song, sounding like an old soul record stuck to jolly, 90s dance music with some particularly sugary jam. If you liked the quirkier end of Mylo’s album you’ll love it. Of the remixes Heavy Feet’s staticy 2-step electro take works best. (JK)
ALBUM: THE MEOW MEOWS Songs From The Fridge (KillerSka)
Homegrown ska has a lot to live up to – maybe we were spoilt by too much too young in both senses – and while it’s a buoyant scene down here on the coast a lot of it kind of fails to reach the peaks of the past. The Meow Meows are a gratefully received exception to this. Danny Girl and Hanna’s vocals are just what the bouncing backing needs to set it apart from the oi oi laddism of many of their contemporaries. And what a backing they’ve got at their disposal; an impeccable brass section with heavenly Hammond and a pin-sharp rhythm section. We loved this from start to finish. (NC)
ALBUM: ORBITAL Orbital 20 (Rhino)
Now Brighton-based rave grandads, twenty years ago Orbital were racing around the Greater London ring road that gave them their name, bringing actual music to British techno. Obviously the production is of its time, but what hasn’t changed in the classics here is the layers of melodies and emotion. Belfast still has neck hairs standing to attention, while Lush 3 builds and builds to euphoria. This compilation is a decent place to start for newcomers but new remixes, Hervé’s ghetto echo especially, change the tone. Go and buy the first three albums for the same cost. (JK)
SINGLE: POPE JOAN Cenurions/Volumes (One Inch Badge)
A very good month for One Inch Badge, but an exceptional one for Pope Joan who have crafted the song of their career to date. Centurions is taut indie pop with killer hooks thrown around all over the shop. It’s like a sharper version of Klaxons in places and like a better realised dive into The Whip territory in others. The interplay between the synths and shards of guitar riffs will have it lodged in your head for weeks. Volumes meanwhile isn’t quite as economic, but bleeps along nicely. One of Brighton’s most under-hyped bands.
EP: PSEUDO NIPPON Edamame Freakout (One Inch Badge)
If one were to take a hyperactive Japanese infant and lock him in a recording studio for a year with nothing but Haribo Tangfastic and Lucozade for sustenance, this is the kind of EP he would probably arrive at. Well, it would be if you then sped it up a bit. It’s quite unlike anything that warrants conventional description – its relationship with music as we know it is fleeting at best. But there’s an urgent desire to please about it that’s like a Nikon-wielding tourist bowing at you a thousand times, and we like that. (NC)
SINGLE: THE QEMISTS S.W.A.G. (Ninja Tune)
More full-on rock’n’bass from the noisiest trio in Brighton, this time with Alabama 3’s Devlin Love in tow. It’s the same score really – granny-robbing guitar riffs and glue-sniffing beats, although softened with a little Love. Most interesting is a remix by Enter Shikari, who have pronounced themselves as big fans of The Qemists. Their version is a going to sound like a ravey mess to anyone over twenty, but should spread the Qemistry to the youth. (JK)
ALBUM: SUICIDE SILENCE No Time To Bleed (Century Media)
“There is no time to bleed, when you’re falling to your knees”, lashes out enigmatic SS front man Mitch Lucker on the title track of the latest release from the world’s most hotly tipped underground metal act. Blending styles between the traditional death metal leanings of blast beats, pigs’ squeals and death growls and the beat down, frantic and guttural leanings of metalcore, SS bring a slightly slowed down offering in comparison the 2008’s The Cleansing. A much better, dynamic and infectious offering that will have you scrobbling for more. (AP)
EP: THIRTY POUNDS OF BONE And They Go Down To It In Ships (Woodland Recordings)
The Bones return with a new five-track EP of sea shanties and whaling songs. Drawing on a love of folk music and influences as wide ranging as Shane MacGowan and Will Oldham, the songs here are cloaked in floating, upbeat melodies but with an underlying sadness and nostalgia that’s so prominent in much Irish music. It’s been a while, but it’s nice to have them back. Lovely stuff. (IC)
EP: VARIOUS One Inch Badge Split Series Vol 2 (One Inch Badge)
Another package of unconventional pop from OIB – four bands (SJ Esau, Half-Handed Cloud, Suburban Kids With Biblical Names and Brighton’s own Kopek) across a gatefold 7″ with the ubiquitous 1″ badge for each – this is indie music as it was meant to be. It’s experimental, brave and it’s limited to 450 copies worldwide. Despite the fact that anything here would sit comfortably on the soundbed of a Vodfone advert, none of it ever will. The select few who end up discovering this without the help of any nudge from such crass capitalism will, we suspect, be rather pleased about that. (NC)
ALBUM: VARIOUS Tru Thoughts Covers (Tru Thoughts)
Back in the 70s cover versions were massive – Top Of The Pop albums still litter charity shops as relics – but the 00s take on giving away your songwriting royalties has been much more interesting. Here Brighton’s world-leading future jazz and soul label covers loads of musical ground, mostly miles from the originals. Of note is Alice Russell and Nostalgia 77’s dirty funk take on Seven Nation Army, but we all know that. TM Juke’s Put Your Hands Up For Detroit played by a stripped down Parliament deserves as many props, although Jumbonics’ Last Nite is best skipped. Fun overall. (JK)