Electronic music, by virtue of its very provenance, is never going to be especially warm and human. For Ladytron, this issue both defines their menacing, industrial sound and made their recent live show at Shepherd’s Bush Empire an oddly remote and lifeless experience.
Oh Brooklyn. Not content with giving us Vampire Weekend, MGMT and Yeasayer. A whole set of new bands are set to steal the hearts of music lovers once again. Chairlift? Genre-hopping, psychedelic brilliance. Check them out at Madame Jo Jo’s Nov 25th.
Sorry to sound repetitive but Telepathe are from Brooklyn too and their Shoegaze, grime death disco beats are the future. They play Catch on Nov 24th.
Not from Brooklyn but the other hub of creativity over the pond, LA. Born from The Smell scene, their scatter-punk bullets will leave a little wet patch in your panties and heart as heavy as a ten-ton truck. Catch them at
The Dome, Tufnell Park Dec 2nd.
Ox.Eagle.Lion.Man – Thy Will Be Done
Theatrical, biblical, essential. Frederick Blood-Royale and his disciples are making melodramatic music like it’s the end of the world as we know it. Hey, perhaps it is.
One listen and you’ll be dancing on the ceiling. A stunt performed on a regular basis by these bonkers East London head cases. Playing Astoria 2 Dec 6th.
Punching kids in the face aside, Jay Reatard’s brand of surf-punk will shatter your brain like tiny shards of quavers. Presumably from the packet Reatard stole from your sobbing brother. He’s ace and so are his live shows. Catch him at The Old Blue Last Nov 24th.
First up is the Giles Borg directed '1234', a heart-warming witty film that captures the independent spirit of starting a band.
who shares his passion for old records and Echo And The Bunnymen, played during the film by The Rascals. Throwing himself into The Pack, a gang of Football hooligans Elvis finds it hard to distance himself from, Carty absorbs himself in boozy train journeys, violence and endears himself to The Packs general, John Godden (Stephan Graham). Set to the backdrop of the Wirral, a town suffocated by the iron grip of the Thatcher reign, Awaydays is an intelligent and superior document of Hooliganism, something that other films in recent times have tried and failed to portrayal. The film is as frantic and compelling as its soundtrack, a series of Post-Punk classics that accompany a deep and brutal story perfectly.
ques in recording that had never been seen before, produced a succession of hit singles and became the biggest producer in Britain during the late 50’s and early 60’s. Moran captures the essence of the story perfectly as well as doing justice to the hits such as ‘Just Like Eddie’, ‘Johnny, Remember me’, ‘Have I The Right’ and ‘Telstar’. Below is the Soundtrack to Telstar:
Matt Cooper on Vimeo.
Apparently made for those who have tried to woo someone with a mixtape, Nick and Norah’s Infinite playlist borders on the sweetly/sickly taste in the same way Juno did. Starring Michael Cera (Juno) as Nick and Kat Dennings as Norah, the film see’s the two of them thrown together in the course of a New York evening. Nick, a ‘straight edged’ bass player in gay indie band ‘The Jerkoffs’ is struggling to get over his ex, that is, until he meets Norah, a complicated music obsessive, at a gig and their relationship grows in the course of the evening as they search for a secret gig of their favourite band. Directed by Peter Sollett, Nick and Norah’s playlist is AMERICAN there’s no doubting that but with a soundtrack comprising of the likes of Vampire Weekend, Band Of Horses and Modest Mouse to name a few its well worth gander.
Past Ones To Watch shows have seen the likes of The Kooks, Editors, The Wombats and more recently Foals emerge from Camden’s sweaty-armpit that is Barfly to play under the bright lights of Brixton academy. A transition that comes mere-months after treading the beer-stained stages for LOTW shows. A fact that in no way went un-noticed by an excitable crowd packed in tight to see openers A Grave With No Name. How much of the excitement was down to the band and not the seasonal weather peppering the streets above is hard to tell but the Mt Jade Three piece certainly made a case for themselves.
Revelling in reverb, AGWNN’s shoe-gaze dirge filled the atmospheric air with every slight strum of bass. A bass which vibrated deep within the heart of every transfixed punter and added to the glow of red light that soaked the venue in a warmth. Stand out track, ‘And We Parted Ways At Mt Jude’ captured the essence of AGWNN perfectly. A searing wall of white noise only punctured by the beauty of entwined lost melodies.
Backed by a group of friends armed with instruments very rarely seen on your average indie tour, the band wasted no time in endearing themselves to the expectant crowd. ‘Don’t Weigh Me Down’ a we say you say call to arms briefly stirs the tune appreciation glands within but it’s not until ‘Get Out and Go’ is unleashed that we see any real visual signs of excitement I.E feet moving in different directions and hands up in the air like they just don’t care. Check your bad self’s.
Broadcast 2000 really are a band to behold. They command attention with every passing second of their woozy Anti-Folk frivolities. Glistening with pitch perfect production and sprinkled with the ting and tangs of the Xylophone ‘Run’ closes a spell-binding set in the best way possible.
And so, with two scintillating performances in the bag Rogues are left with the unenviable task of closing tonight’s proceedings and boy they do it with panache and swagger. They have, in ‘Not So Pretty’ and ‘Carnival’ two cracking pop tunes that showcase their New Order –esque 80’s invention and hooks plucked from the deepest darkest depths of Julian Casablanca’s soul. It’s new-wave as we know it and undeniably love it.
Much can be said for the emergence of 80’s inspired bands this year. Mystery Jets, Ladyhawke, Friendly Fires, Late Of The Pier and Calvin Harris ...err ok not Harris but you get the picture. It’s been a stella year for donning shoulder padded blazers and spunking out hits from synths of desires. So much so every Dom, Rick and Barry’s jumped on the Ford Capri bandwagon with the belief they’ve got the key and the secret to actually being any better than the next band on the production line.
So how refreshing it is then that Rogues, four beautifully crafted chaps from Aberystwyth, emerge from the wintery fag-end of 2008 and stake a claim for the most exciting prospect of 2009.
Photo's courtesy of www.louiseroberts.co.uk
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