ALBUM REVIEW: Beach Beach - The Sea (La Castanya)

Written for Middle Boop Mag: http://www.middleboopmag.com/music/beach-beach/beach-beach-sea-la-castanya

The garage and punk scene in Spain is notably strong and has churned out some really interesting stuff over the past few years. However, with the annual Primavera festival, (now in its fourteenth extremely successful year) now is a great time to be a Spanish indie band. The festival focuses predominantly on independent home-grown bands, providing a vehicle for emerging talent.

Crystal Fighters, (also hailing from Spain) encapsulate an overwhelming joyous sensation into their music that is instantly palpable, Beach Beach have gone in with similar elation on first album The Sea. Take their double-worded name as a reiteration of just how sunny and carefree these guys sound, something that has sadly lacked in British indie music for quite some time now.

Opener ‘Friendly’ is a one minute blast of sunshine (and does sound ever so slightly like the Friends theme tune, only slightly though), setting the tone for the rest of the 12-track album. ‘Just Like Before’ is playful, light-hearted stoner beach pop. It’s charming and childlike, and is everything that our once joyous British indie scene used to be, before things got stale and cynical. ‘Glaring Sweat’ is a bouncy, surfer rock anthem, kind of like Tame Impala, but instead of LSD acting as their main stimulant, a hazy, marijuana enhanced sleepiness can be heard.

The Sea is pretty much the same formula repeated on every track, without a smidgen of a change in sentiment. It’s easy listening from beginning to end, but not in the disparaging sense of the phrase, it just really is very pleasant to listen to, and would sound amazing under the spring sunshine at this year’s Primavera.

ALBUM REVIEW: Moon Duo - Shadow of the Sun (Sacred Bones Records)

Written for Middle Boop Mag: http://www.middleboopmag.com/music/albums/moon-duo-shadow-sun-sacred-bones-records

Moon Duo is the side-project of guitarist Ripley Johnson from the band Wooden Shjips, he is joined by former school teacher Sanae Yamada on vocals and keyboard, both from Portland, Shadow of the Sun being their third LP.

The record is instantaneous, with just the right blend of psychedelic, bleeding guitar work and anolog electronics. Just as the album artwork depicts, it is a journey into their minds through compelling artistry, with many a nod to the past.

Their droning yet poignant vocal style and feverish beats are disarming - with acute sensation delivered in a tangible and infectious mode, especially on tracks ‘Free the Skull’ and ‘Zero’. ‘In a Cloud’ is psych rock precision - honeyed riffs set aside the playful hues of an intertwined male and female vocal, with the gentle background thud of the reverb.

However dream-like and accidental Shadow of the Sun may appear, their knowledge of music is clearly decipherable, each strung out-riff completely stylised and on purpose.

The nine tracks are a weird spell that keeps the listener enchanted, completely engaged and hypnotised without breaking focus. There is nothing sentimental about Moon Duo - their sound is without all of that peace and love narrative which can often come into play in this particular strain of rock, often diluting its wonderful trippy power. Interesting, spacey yet completely controlled, Shadow of the Sun is an instant pleaser.

INTERVIEW: Jagwar Ma

Written for Gigwise: http://www.gigwise.com/news/91827/jagwar-ma-glastonbury-is-so-sexy-though-man

Jagwar Ma have spoken of their excitement at appearing at Glastonbury 2014, after receiving rave reviews for their appearance in 2013 - and also giving their backing to the controversial booking of Metallica to headling the Saturday night on Worthy Farm.

In an interview with Gigwise at their recent LumiaLive gig in Bristol, the band claim that the festival already holds a special place for the band, after their first ever performance at the event in 2013. The Australian band also praise the iconic Pyramid Stage, the mud and the spiritual 'energy' of Worthy Farm.

"Yeah Glastonbury is sick," says Jono Ma. "It’s going to be the second year in a row and it was pretty meaningful the first time we did it, so we’ve got a sentimental attachment to that festival."

"We’re very much a bands band, and we always give it everything we’ve got," adds bandmate Gabriel Winderfield. "Glasto’ is so sexy though man, it’s got a pyramid, it’s got mud, it’s got boots, it’s got fucking Metallica. It’s just sick."

"It’s that stone circle, I think what’s really great about it is just the overall energy," agrees Ma. "It’s electric. There’s no coincidence that Stonehenge is right around the corner, it’s a central focus of energy that people have been tapping into for centuries, and we’re just continuing that tradition."

INTERVIEW: The Growlers

Written for Middle Boop Mag: http://www.middleboopmag.com/music/interviews/growlers-interview

Middle Boop Mag managed to catch up with LA-centric hippies The Growlers recently whilst on their US tour - their new album Chinese Fountain was released September 29th here in the UK.

We discussed their recent tour with Fat White Family, our competitive drinking culture and their amazingly brilliant Beach Goth festival – held annually in LA...

MBM: How was your UK tour? Was it as ‘mad’ touring with Fat White Family as we'd all imagine it to be?

GROWLERS: No, it was pg-13 (Urban Dictionary’s definition – ‘A movie rating for films they add a few "oh, shits" to so it will appeal to pre-adolescents’). Nothing crazy. They’re just killing boredom being cheeky. Drinking wine and having a good time.

MBM: How do UK crowds differ from that of your native Golden State?

GROWLERS: As soon as we get there (the UK), we feel at home. Freely speaking English and chuggin’ pints –it’s pure Island Vibes. I love the after show crawls through the streets with the fans we meet that turn into dancing and black outs. The UK crowds are pretty much the same as ours - less Mexicans, less surfers, but competitive drinkers and dancers.

MBM: I've heard about your amazing Beach Goth festival which is now in its third year. Can you explain how the idea came about and how you managed to turn that idea into a reality?

GROWLERS: This is what we did when we started. The band all lived together in my warehouse and I’d throw under age raves, with loads of bands and an open bar. Eventually, the venues started shutting us down with cop calls and we'd have to graduate to the road. Tour Beach Goth is a chance to be involved again with making the show a weird and fun experience - more so then a bar is ever able to do. 30 bands, 20 giant art pieces and beach goth island with sand and dub carnival rides - games like ‘laser-tag’ and spray painted donkeys and everyone in costume. Yew (Urban Dictionary definition: an excited state of mind).

MBM: How do you choose the other bands that you have playing there? Are you quite selective in the process?

GROWLERS: We’re a little out of the loop with bands. We made a giant list that’s all money and politics that we stay out of. I get some of my picks and leave the rest to the promoter. He is more open minded then I am.

MBM: Are there any current UK bands that you're rating at the moment?

GROWLERS: The Wytches!!!!!!

MBM: And finally - do you feel that your geographical setting (LA) enhances the general making and recording process of the album?

GROWLERS: We're inspired by everywhere we go and feel like there’s hundreds of places we need to be. However, I am grateful for coming from Southern California – I see and feel it in everything we do

The Growlers are playing a selection of UK dates in November including:  

November 12th: Leeds Belgrave Music Hall

November 13th: Village Underground, London

November 14th: Temple The Institute, Birmingham

November 16th: The Roundhouse, Manchester 

LIVE REVIEW: Darlia @ Thekla, Bristol 26/09/14

Written for Middle Boop Mag: http://www.middleboopmag.com/music/live/live-review-darlia-thekla-bristol-260914

Blackpool trio Darlia have been touted “The most exciting new guitar band in the UK” by various, high-profile media platforms. Trouble is, these grandiose statements are thrown around so loosely these days that they don’t carry nearly enough clout as they should. That said, Darlia are a very important band right now, their gig at Thekla provided an insight into why, and to the steady momentum that Darlia have built up nationwide.

Front man Nathan Day’s dead bleached hair could be spotted under his black fedora, his heavily charcoaled eyes oozing confidence and almost derisory nonchalance toward the on looking crowd - who in stark contrast were a sweaty mangled mass of anticipation, hysteria and post-teen angst.

It really is quite hard to find a new band to believe in, to invest in and to obsess over – a lot of us are left feeling quite un-stimulated by today’s guitar music. It seems that new bands are completely transient - as the underlying ‘money making’ aim from their labels seems to stifle and dilute, making sure that they don’t lean too far into a particular sound, as to not alienate anyone who might come under the ‘alternative music market’ umbrella that they're trying to engage. Darlia has somehow managed to cling onto a strong sense of identity, with their dark lyrics and 90’s grunge bravado.

What Darlia upheld throughout the gig was an unmistakable confidence in what they were doing. Storming through their string of absolute blinding tracks including ‘Dear Diary’, ‘Candyman’ and ‘Queen of Hearts’, drummer Jack Bentham was topless and gleaming with sweat, Day strutted around the stage with an air of pure arrogance whilst guitarist Dave Williams seemed almost turned on by the sound of his own guitar. It was dirty. It was conceited. It was absolutely perfect.

ALBUM REVIEW: The Growlers - Chinese Fountain (Everloving Records)

Originally published at Middle Boop Mag: http://www.middleboopmag.com/music/albums/growlers-chinese-fountain-everloving-records

The Growlers, now on their fourth album Chinese Fountain, have claimed this to be their ‘most polished’ release to date. They’re kind of like these grungy LA hipsters that constantly release a stream of sick music, host their own festival in LA each year, and just generally jam over at Venice Beach.

Their sound very much falls into the subgenre of ‘Beach Goth’ (which coincidentally is what their festival is called) – known for its country, surf, pop and rock strains. Their best attribute is vocalist Brooke Neilsen’s amazingly brilliant gravelly and unmistakable voice.

‘Black Memories’, is a nice little moment, sounding a little like the ‘funk’ (for lack of a better word) of the early Police records. ‘Dull Boy’ is another one worth a listen, with its bouncy, walking down the freeway vibes, ‘Good Advice’ follows in a similar fashion.

Their previous standout tracks like ‘One Million Lovers’, ‘Humdrum Blues’ and ‘Hiding Under Covers’ are actually all on a different level from all of the tracks on Chinese Fountain. The album does pick up near the middle though, but nothing quite beats those previous gems. The lyrics remain wise and insightful, telling real stories of their human endeavours with love, their own minds and the world in general.

That said, The Growlers are in short, everything that a band should be. Their music is flawlessly rough around the edges, incredibly melodic yet filled with hooks and spirit. There was quite literally no need to slather it in lack polish - a psychedelic infused slice of raw Americana that needn't have been tampered with.

ALBUM REVIEW: PAWWS - Sugar EP (Best Fit Recordings)

Originally published at Middle Boop Mag: http://www.middleboopmag.com/music/albums/pawws-sugar-ep-best-fit-recordings

PAWWS, formally Lucy Taylor describes her music as, “upsetting disco”. Which to many probably sounds rather morose, but to fans of this sort of thing which there most certainly are (think Chvrches, or, in many respects Robyn) it does sound despondently appealing.

 

Who doesn’t love a new-wave vocal over a sugary, 80’s synth-pop background? This is what Lucy does so marvellously on new EP, Sugar. Signed to Best Fit Recordings and classically trained in both flute and piano, Lucy has been a session musician for both Bloc Party’s Kele Okereke and MGMT, which is pretty sweet exposure, giving her the platform and the hands on experience and drive to decide to create her own music.

 

Sugar is made up of four tracks – starting with the title track. ‘Sugar’ sounds almost like Kylie Minouge, a throwback to the 80’s for sure, with simple, glittering synth keys and her angelic, almost childlike voice.

 

‘Outside’  is again 80’s-centric, refined disco which is emotionally powerful.  “Will I ever get love, don’t know if I’ll ever have it in my heart, I feel like it has all run out”, she coos, Lucy has previously mentioned that she had found the writing process of the EP, “extremely cathartic on a personal level.”

 

‘Give Your Love’ is pop at its best, sleek and stylish all the while remaining poppy and fun. The EP ends with ‘Just Be Kind’, which was purposefully the last track, in line with the ending of a relationship.

 

What Lucy has come up with on this EP is just consistently great music. The strength of her first single alone, ‘Time To Say Goodbye/Slow Love’ from last year grabbed the attention of and got her signed with Three Six Zero, who are affiliated with Roc Nation, with this in tow, Sugar will hopefully create the same catastrophic waves. 

ALBUM REVIEW: James Yorkston - The Cellardyke Recording And Wassailing Society (Domino Records)

Originally published at Middle Boop Mag: http://www.middleboopmag.com/music/music-news/james-yorkston-cellardyke-recording-and-wassailing-society-domino-records

This release marks James Yorkston’s sixth full-length LP of original material, his last release was 2012’s I Was A Cat From A Book. With collaborations aplenty, nothing much has changed on first listen – the record seems to naturally follow suit in that dreamy, soothing way that we have grown to love.

Yorkston has consistently been able to create a very specific mood through his ability to storytell with the world that he draws the listener into - images of a gloomy, insignificant Scottish town dance around your subconscious, and the feeling of being trapped within the obsolete.  

 His relationship with his children is also touched upon, along with the everyday heartbreak of just being a human being, toiling with the push and pull of responsibility, whilst desperately still trying to hold onto the notion- only if for a second – of being free.

An appearance from Hot Chip’s Alexis Taylor on the production side is a wonderful interjection of something a little different to the record.  ‘Guy Fawkes Signature’ is a spoken word piece – with the gentle tones of fellow Scott KT Tunstall, Taylor’s Hot Chip-esq steel drums pirouetting in the background.  Other appearances include The Pictish Trail, Emma Smith and a little more from Tunstall.

CRAWS is 16 tracks long, a perfect treat for those music fans who enjoy to wallow and slowly digest in an album, returning again and again, whilst more and more of the essence of the record becomes clearer. It’s an incredibly comforting yet sombre creation, and is worth your full attention.  

LIVE REVIEW: Jagwar Ma @ Old Crown Courts, Bristol 12/06/14

Originally published at Gigwise: http://www.gigwise.com/reviews/91787/jagwar-ma-@-old-crown-court-bristol-12062014

Last night, Jagwar Ma played an old crown court in the backstreets of Bristol – and as you can imagine, it was unbelievably awesome. The gig was part of the Lumia Live Sessions, their concept – to showcase emerging artists in the most unusual of settings. Before this show, the sessions have hosted Ella Eyre in a fairground museum in Devon, and Years and Years in a disused tube station in London.

The abandoned courthouse still has its original courtrooms, holding cells, jury boxes and grizzly ageing decor. It made for an incredibly eerie setting, but highly complimented Jagwar Ma’s grungy, almost anarchic presence. A rave in a courtroom, made up of competition winners, who collectively seemed to be their most diehard of fans.

The band were situated in front of the judge’s bench, with fans surrounding them all the way round the courtroom. The room was darkly lit and the acoustics provided by the incredibly tall rustic ceilings were amazingly brilliant.

Jagwar Ma, made up of front man Gabriel Winterfield, guitarist Juno Ma and bassist Jack Freeman played with everything they’d got, opening with ‘What Love’, a ravey little number to get the crowds juices flowing. Gabriel bought his typical ragged, Stones Roses frontman attitude, wearing classic Adidas and leopard print socks.

They played all of their best-known tracks including ‘Uncertainty’, ‘Man I Need’, ‘Exercise’, ‘Let Her Go’, ‘Come Save Me’, and ‘Four’. It was incredible, made up of hit after hit, making for a neat little set, performed with passion, soul and irresistible beats. The volume was incredibly loud and the energy from both the band and energised fans was electric.

Finishing with ‘The Throw’ – their breakout single - the crowd completely lost it. There was one guy in particular, who was almost in tears at the pure elation at how good the whole thing was. Jagwar Ma had obviously clocked him, and noticing how passionate he was, signed his vinyl and gave him one of their plectrums. From a live show, there was nothing left to give. It was perfection, and pretty much iconic.

Photo credit: Rebecca Cleal 

LIVE REVIEW: Angel Olsen @ The Lantern, Colston Hall, Bristol 10/06/14

Originally published at Middle Boop Mag: http://www.middleboopmag.com/music/live/live-angel-olsen-lantern-colston-hall-bristol-100614

Angel Olsen is a folk singer from St. Louis, Missouri. She and her band are currently touring her second studio album, Burn Your Fire For No Witness. It’s been two years since her critically acclaimed debut, Half Way Home, and there has been a slight switch up in style.

Her debut was a collection of wispy acoustic numbers that very much harked back to the 1940’s. Her new record has switched from acoustic to electric, gathering a greater deal of momentum and propelling the singer up even higher than before.

Burn Your Fire For No Witness on record, is completely commanding. It is almost hypnotizing, as the pain and passion bleeds through the speakers. But live, at Bristol’s Colston Hall, well it was a particularly special show, the audience entranced and completely silent, in awe of this amazing artist.

This Bristol date was the last stop on her seven-stop UK tour. Angel, throughout her performance, had her fans in the palm of her hand, singing straight into the crowd with a devout, almost unblinking stare. It was utterly mesmerising.

Between tracks, she would crack jokes, simply to lighten the mood, and they were actually really quite funny. Closing with ‘Sweet Dreams’, Angel and her band thanked the crowd profusely, and as they left the stage there was a common consensus that everyone wanted just a little bit more of the remarkable Angel Olsen. 

Photo credit: Rebecca Cleal