Paulo
Nutini's Scream (Funk My Life Up)
(Jan’14) puts me in mind of Happy Mondays with a slathering of James Brown. It
makes hips shake and vaginas ache does this piece of fucking beauty.
It's a bit
funky, a bit northern soul, and a bit indie. Most importantly it's heaps of fun
and makes you want to go to church.
“You
wanna sing Hallelujah”
Paulo is
Scottish and been taking it down since 2005. Scream is off his third rake over the coals Caustic Love (April’14).
Van Morrison, Ray
Charles and old Motown have all provided grist for Paulo’s soul. He’s been
compared to Rod Stewart and Al Green. By gits.
Just need,
need, neeed more? Then give Iron Sky or
Bus Talk a crack.
The Happy Mondays
or New Order?
Happy
Mondays, deffo, and their cover Step On (1990).
Another track to get you on the good foot.
Parade of
Lights are an indie dance band aiming for a rebel without a pause moment in Burn (Sept’14). With incendiary lyrics
like “Common let’s
ride, we’ll take on the world tonight” it’s clear ‘the man’ everywhere is
shiteing it, bracing for worldwide social revolution.
But just
like Twisted Sister’s We’re Not Gonna
Take It if you’re up for some bedroom rebellion, up for the ride, it can be
all good anthemic fun. A rock drum beat and some indie guitar keep this song
grounded while the synths and vocals send it soaring.
Parade of
Lights describe themselves as an electronic rock band and bound out of The City
of Angels. They’ve been lighting up the place since 2012. Burn is the fourth
track beaming off their second E.P. Golden(March’14).
The band
have been compared in favourable light to Imagine Dragons, MGMT and M83. The
band have expressed a like of My Bloody Valentine, Failure and Depeche Mode.
Didn't need
turned on to more? You're gonna miss out on Golden and We’re The Kids in a flash.
Slippery seconds go to
AWOLNATION THISKIDSNOTALRIGHT (2013) because it's a fat cock song.
If Circa
Waves' Get Away
(Dec’13) was a one hit wonder… no fucks given. Not even wristy’s. You could die
happy after making a song like this. The riff in the intro minds a fella of the
Sex Pistols Anarchy
In The UK and that's never a bad thing. While the band bring the
fury the singer is letting slip a heartfelt, proper, love song.
There’s pop,
rock, punk, garage and indie in this song so nobodies been left out.
Comparisons are moot, analysis pointless. It’s the dog’s bollocks, guitar rock
at its best. As she said last night,“It
doesn’t come better than this!”
Circa Waves
are banged up in Liverpool and have been ducking and diving since 2013. Get Away flew the coop as
a stand-alone single and they have one EP, Young
Chasers (June’14) to their credit.
Circa Waves would
blag a copy of John Lennon, The Replacements, The Strokes and The Damned.
The
juxtaposition of The Griswolds’ ‘let’s all join the parade’ carnival music and
the lyrics… “She
used to suck the fun out of me”, “Now you’re fucking crazy” and “…you better leave that prick alone” is
what makes this song so special.
Beware
The Dog
(May’14) isa
potpourri of led by the choir vocals and some noodley guitar lines and keys.
The vocals are the big thing here and they’ll take you to a higher place.
Although ironically the song is about losing a friend to drug addiction! Get it
in you, you wuse.
The
Griswolds come sloping out Sydney, Australia. They have been on the foil since
2012. They’ve sucked up the one big player Be
Impressive(Aug’14) of which Beware
The Dog is the stand out track. The
Griswolds give homage to Faith No More, Nirvana, Kanye, Vampire Weekend, MGMT,
Of Montreal and The Beach Boy and on and on ad infinitum. Can’t
get enough of that sunshine and bounce indie pop? Then steal a march on the
oppo and get some of Down and
Out, Mississippi
and Heart Of A Lion.
Need another hit? Still chasing? No wuckin forries
fellah. Have a ride on the Brissy band Violent Soho and Covered In Chrome (2013)
because the tune is one the Grissies mentioned loving and they are right to.
It's pissing blood the next morning good.
Young Rising
Sons High (Feb’14) is positively
gleeeful. Yeah that’s right, with an extra E. No surprises given the name.
Christ it starts with a chirpy whistle of the hook. An earnestly sang verse to
set up the jump and bounce, all together now, chorus. The whole song feels like
a rise.
If you’ve
had enough of uplifting, chippy, indie pop songs with “heys”, handclaps and big drum, don’t go near this one. But
if you want to find yourself smiling, brim-full of love for the world, without
chemical assistance, perish the thought, the eagle lands at the one minute mark.
“Just
let it go,enjoy the ri-ii-de”
Young Rising
Sons come bouncing out of Red Bank, New Jersey. They have been elevating the
masses since 2010. High is off their first self-titled EP (July’14).The band
have only dropped two E.P.’s so far. Young Rising
Sons have gone on jaunts with The Griswolds, Kongos, The 1975 and Weezer inflto
name but a few.
Young Rising Sons get their indefatigable lust for life from the likes of
The Temptations, The Boss, The Beatles, Green Day, Tom Petty and Rancid.
Heart fit for bursting? Switch on and feel
the love with King of the World, Red and Gold and Turnin’.
For the comedown Dashboard Confessional and Hands Down (2003) a song about the best
date of his life.
CRUISR have
been touring with The 1975 and it’s not hard to see why. They are reading from
a similar script without any danger of CRUISR out shining the other.
All Over (Aug’14)
prances along without a care in the world in the verses but has more dash in
the choruses. Positively noisy in the choruses in fact. It’s new indie pop rock
standard but being as how it’s their first bite of the apple they throw crisp
punches.
CRUISR are
from Philadelphia and began creating happy vibes in 2012. All Over springs
off their second E.P. of the same name (Sept’14).
What tunes keep the
guys so upbeat? I don’t fucking know. I’m thinking they might not hate some of
what The 1975, Young Rising Suns, Cage The Elephant or Walk The Moon have to
offer but that’s pure speculation me old mucker.
Looking to
keep cruising? Try these bubbles of joy Kidnap Me or Go For
It.
Silly seconds goes to Len and Steal My Sunshine (1999)
just cos listening to CRUISR’s big bubbly joy put me in mind of it…
Cloud Nothings I’m Not Part Of Me(April’14) is a nut cracking punk tune. A bit like the Orwells or The Strokes. Fuck those silver spooned punters have a lot to answer for. Or choose your old timey punk band it will do. Just nut punchingly honest punk rock. Back to the roots stuff. None of your sickly sweet pop punk here, this is drunk with your mates in a dank basement rehearsal space, drinking beer and doing whizz and you’ve run out of smokes and the corner shop is at least two kilometres away and it’s snowing outside.
About the
song? Not the point chappy. It motors along. Farts in the bed honest lyrics, a
snappy delivery, packed full of awesome. End of story.
“I’m
learning how to be here and nowhere else”
Cloud
Nothings have been hard moshing since 2009 and pogo out of Cleveland, Ohio. I’m Not Part Of Me is the
first gob smacker off their fourth mouthful Here
And Nowhere Else (April’14). Cloud
Nothings have expressed an affinity for Black Sabbath, Nina Hagen, Thin Lizzy
and lots of other obscure shit too.
Lacing up
your boots? Then unleash the force with Didn’t
You, Fall In
and Now Hear In.
The lo-fi approach reminded me of an old hometown
favourite The Clean from Dunedin, New Zealand. The most influential Flying Nun
band and foundation of The Dunedin Sound, they started playing together in 1978
and are still at it today. This fucking rare ska rock gem is Thumbs Off (1981), track
two off Boodle Boodle Boodle and it still
sounds as fresh as a daisy. Legends and national treasures. Nice blokes too.
“She said son you’ll have to go, you know it’s just too much to keep ya
The day was wet as he walked down the road,
You know his head was full of sorrow,
Little did he know that he’d never see his own home again”
RAC (Remix
Artist Collective) has mixed some melancholy beats that suck you into this song
only to cast you adrift.
Alex Ebert
is the singer from Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes and he seems to have
channelled his inner Bryan Ferry on this one. So RAC's Tear You Down Ft Alex
Ebert (March’14) is a mesmerising, super chill, electronic song with enough
momentum to elevate it above the sum of its parts. Like the best magic trick.
RAC is Andre
Allen Anjos. He first appeared in Portugal but is now showing in Portland, USA.
Since 2007 he’s been sprinkling the fairy dust on a variety of indie bands
tracks including: Tokyo Police Club, Kings of Leon, Foster the People, Two Door
Cinema Club, Bloc Party and so on. Tear You Down is off his first march to world
domination Strangers (April’14). It’s his own caper with all different guest
vocalists, not remixes. Andre played
in metal, punk and indie rock bands. He credits a Japanese artist Cornelius for
the providing the inspiration to make remixes that focus on broadening the
appeal of a song not just so fuck heads can dance to Indie. He likes sparse,
moody and beautiful tunes. You want to
know more, I know you do, I can read your mind. So the really wizard tracks are
Let Go, Hollywood and Cheap Sunglasses. Sure, you’re welcome.
The second act must of course be Edward Sharpe and the
Magnetic Zeroes Home (2009) the bloody original, no funny business
going on here.
Bahamas is
blues, roots, folk, soul or something like that. But on Stronger Than That (July’14) there is an all-in indie chorus and
piano like on Lean On Me. So actually
it’s like quite like an indie track. Stronger Than That is a laid back
chilling track that minds me of Ben Harper. The chorus is where it’s at and
there’s some pretty tight guitar playing too.
Bahamas is
Afie Jurvanen a great guitar player and songwriter from Toronto, Canada. He’s
been lamenting his lot since least 2009.
Stronger Than Thatis
the second plaint from the long player Bahamas
Is Afie (Aug’14). Afie has mad admiration for Willie Nelson, Van Morrison
and Neil Young. Fucking weirdo.
Well if you dig lo-fi
whinging and great song writing then ya could do worse than give All The Time and Lost In Light a fair shake of the stick.
Tickety-boo. Now for the follow-up let’s go with some Ben
Harper and Steal My Kisses (1999).
OK Go I Won’t Let You Down (Oct’14) is funky
like an alleyway sleeping hobos cheesy foreskin. Jackson 5I Want You Back type funky. Or white funky
really like Maroon 5 This
Love. A quick intro and straight into the chorus and Turkey
necks are contagious.
Any which
ways it’s got a spritely rhythm and lashings of synths and pianer too. Tip top
track all said, give it a crack and you'll be as happy as a pig in shit, this
is world class. And the video, even by OK Go's high standards, is pretty
fucking good.
“And
she's got no tricks to try,
And
she don't seem that much to mind”
That groove
is the second single off the Chicago bands fourth round of sweetness Hungry
Ghosts (Oct’14). These cats have been trucking since 1998.
Shit you need to know: OK Go’s
latest album dug the vibes of 80’s pop like Prince, New Order and INXS. Some critics
find their albums a bit eclectic and hit or miss. Still
swingin? Then get on down to The
Writings On TheWall, This
Too Shall Pass or Here
It Goes Again.
And talking about swinging here’s Michael Hutchence and INXS with Need You Tonight (1987).
Wild Party
sound like the Strokes without the pretentiousness. More fun, more bounce, more
hip. Chasin’ Honey (Sept’14) has the
instant gratification of Last Nite
but with light bouncy verses, skippin along on a keyboard hop, that land in a
guitar assisted jaunty power-pop chorus. Call the
doctor this tune is as infectious as chlamydia's dick.
Wild Party
have been disturbing the neighbours since 2009. They went to school together. Chasin’ Honey is off their only
wallshaker Phantom Pop (Oct’14). They
come hell-raising out of San Antonio, Texas , where steers have horns and cows
live in fear. The Strokes,
Death Cab For Cutie, Phoenix, The Killers and Two Door Cinema are all on the
Wild Party door list. Want to keep
going till the sun comes up? Spin some When I Get Older, Outright or Connect The
Dots.
The after party. Let’s keep this shit simple. The Strokes Last Nite (2001) fits the bill.
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