Sunday, February 22, 2015

Hits, Cult Classics & Obscurities: 1985

First edition of a new series of posts where we pick a year and choose three songs that belong in one of these three categories: Hits, Cult Classics or Obscurities.

The first category includes bona fide hit singles chosen among the year’s top-sellers in the US or the UK. The second includes songs that may not have found much commercial success when they were released, yet their lasting influence has given them cult status. In the third category there are songs that perhaps you've never heard before but among them there are plenty of hidden gems that deserve your attention.

For the premiere of Hits, Cult Classics and Obscurities we go back 30 years to 1985 and start off with Paul Hardcastle's UK Number One hit "19", an anti-war song released on February 17 inspired by a documentary on the Vietnam war and the electro sounds of Afrika Bambaataa:


The indie scene of 1985 has certainly plenty of cult classics to offer. Let's hear another release from February 1985, "Field Of Glass" by The Triffids, the title track of an excellent EP that the cult Australian band recorded at BBC's Maida Vale studios on November 6, 1984, produced by Mark Radcliffe - not one of their most known songs but undoubtedly one of their most powerful:


Last but no least, have a listen to "Chance", a post-punk roller-coaster ride by Red Lorry Yellow Lorry, released as a single in 1985 but not included in the Leeds band's debut album of the same year "Talk About the Weather":


Monday, February 16, 2015

Found Sound Vol.15

Bringing you the best new sounds we discover in our mailbox...
 
It's been a while since the previous edition of Found Sound but, thanks to an impressive number of quality submissions we have received in the last couple of months, Volume 15 is finally here presenting no less than 10 fine new tracks from a wide array of musical styles, coming from independent artists around the globe. Have a listen below to Passenger Peru, Mylets, Blisses B and Jourdan Myers from the US as well as Babaganouj from Australia, Charlotte&Magon from France, Nanaki from the Isle of Man, Signal/// from Norway, Sillyboy from Greece and Drachenhaus from Germany:

Passenger Peru - The Best Way To Drown


Brooklyn duo Passenger Peru is about to release its sophomore album "Light Places" on Fleeting Youth Records (out February 24th). After listening to its first single "The Best Way To Drown" above, click here to listen and download their cover of Hüsker Dü's "Pink Turns to Blue".

Babaganouj - Can't Stop



Strange band name but very catchy indie pop tune; Australia's Babaganouj take inspiration from bands like The Hummingbirds and The Hoodoo Gurus as well as the classic sound of Creation and Flying Nun Records. "Can't Stop", their latest single, combines boy-girl harmonies, lush melodies and '90s-style indie rock guitars to produce a fine, radio-friendly, pop tune.

Charlotte&Magon - Egg Dance


"Egg Dance" is the title track from the new four-song EP that Parisian duo Charlotte&Magon will release on March 3rd. Expect to hear psychedelic funky sounds that bring to mind the '80s new wave and electro hybrids concocted by bands like Tom Tom Club or Shriekback.

Drachenhaus - The Sunshine


"The Sunshine" is the latest track from Berlin-based post-industrial duo Drachenhaus. Radiohead's forays into electronic music have been an influence here as well as Yoko Ono ( the bridge of the song features a recitation of an event score from her conceptual artist’s book, "Grapefruit").

Nanaki - The Land Surveyor


One of the standout tracks from the album "The Dying Light", the first full-length Nanaki album since 2003. Instrumental, post-rock sounds from the solo project of Postcode guitarist Mikie Daugherty from the Isle of Man. Check out the video here and buy the album on a name-your-price basis here.

Signal/// - An Eternal Recurrence


A taste from the "Echo" EP, coming in March on Handmade Records, by Oslo noisemakers Signal///. The track is produced by Ådne Meisfjord whose credits include Serena-Maneesh and 120 Days. You can check out the video here.

Sillyboy - Stalker



Melodic electropop from Greece; "Stalker" is the title track off Sillyboy's third album, released on Klik Records at the end of 2014.

Mylets - Trembling Hands


"Trembling Hands", a track mixing Nine Inch Nails-influenced industrial rock with punk guitars is the most recent single taken from Mylets forthcoming album "Arizona", expected this April. Mylets is Henry Kohen who recently signed to Sargent House, home to the likes of Russian Circles, And So I Watch You From Afar, Chelsea Wolfe and more.

Blisses B - Well Lit Plan


Blisses B is a psychedelic folk quartet from San Francisco & Oakland. "Well Lit Plan" is one of the best tracks to be found on their third record "Sea Level Astronomy", released last fall with support from their loyal fan base through a Kickstarter Campaign. You can find the album here.

Jourdan Myers - Wanderlust


Finale with the lovely voice of singer-songwriter Jourdan Myers from Minneapolis. "Wanderlust" is taken from her second album "Ruin Me With Love" (also finished with the help of a Kickstarter Campaign) and is accompanied by a video which you can check out here.

Sunday, February 08, 2015

Live: White Fence @ An Club (Athens, February 5, 2015)


Tim Presley has been releasing music as White Fence since 2010 while his past also includes the psychedelic rock band Darker My Love and hardcore punks The Nerve Agents. However, for some of us, one of the most impressive entries in his bio is his participation in The Fall around 2006 and his contribution to the recording of "Reformation Post TLC", album number 26 in Mark E Smith’s band's illustrious career.


Of course, after having the opportunity to see him in action with his main band of the last 5 years, we can stop humming for a minute "Fall Sound" and focus on the catchy psychedelic pop sounds of last year’s "For The Recently Found Innocent", the sixth White Fence LP, as well as the more raw sounding psychedelic garage tunes of previous records like "Cyclops Reap", "Family Perfume" or "White Fence Is Growing Faith".


The band’s 80-minute set at An Club, White Fence’s first ever Athens gig, included tracks from almost all of the releases of their very prolific 5-year run and it was a truly fine introduction into Presley’s music world which is firmly rooted into the sound of the psychedelic '60s. His band currently includes also Cate Le Bon on guitar and backing vocals and it will certainly be very interesting to see what her influence might be on the album they have been recently recording together.



Alien Mustangs from Thessaloniki opened for White Fence and left good impressions with their slow-burning psychedelic rock grooves. You can download their recent EP "River" for free on their bandcamp page here.

Alien Mustangs, live @ An Club (Feb. 5th, 2014)
Check out below White Fence performing "Wolf Gets Red Faced" and "And by Always" from their Athens gig:

White Fence - Wolf Gets Red Faced, live @ An Club


White Fence - And by Always, live @ An Club

White Fence's An Club set list:

Friday, February 06, 2015

Live: The Raveonettes @ Gagarin 205 (Athens, January 30, 2015)


The Raveonettes returned to Athens for the third time to present live their seventh album "Pe'ahi" at a packed Gagarin 205 club. Check out below "Killer in the Streets", one of the tracks that stood out in their 80-minute noisily melodic set. Other highlights included new tracks "Endless Sleeper" and "Kill" (perhaps the best moment of the night) as well as old favorites "Love in a Trashcan", "Attack of the Ghost Riders" and set-closer "Aly, Walk With Me".

The Raveonettes - Killer In The Streets (live in Athens)



Here's the complete set list:

The Raveonettes Setlist Gagarin 205, Athens, Greece 2015

Tuesday, February 03, 2015

New Releases: January 2015

Round-up of the most interesting new albums and singles released in January 2015:

Albums

No Cities To Love
SLEATER-KINNEY - No Cities To Love
VIET CONG - Viet Cong
THE DECEMBERISTS - What A Terrible World, What A Beautiful World
GHOST CULTURE - Ghost Culture
PANDA BEAR - Panda Bear Meets The Grim Reaper
BJÖRK - Vulnicura
BELLE & SEBASTIAN - Girls In Peacetime Want To Dance
MENACE BEACH - Ratworld
CALIFORNIA X - Nights in the Dark
ERASE ERRATA - Lost Weekend
THE DODOS - Individ
THE MANHATTAN LOVE SUICIDES - More Heat! More Panic!
POND - Man it Feels Like Space Again
DISAPPEARS - Irreal
DIAGRAMS - Chromatics
TWERPS - Range Anxiety
HANNI EL KHATIB - Moonlight
ANDREW COMBS - All These Dreams
ALLISON CRUTCHFIELD - Lean In To It
JESSICA PRATT - On Your Own Love Again
NATALIE PRASS - Natalie Prass
LIAM HAYES - Slurrup
THE CHARLATANS - Modern Nature
GAZ COOMBES - Matador
LUPE FIASCO - Tetsuo & Youth
GHOSTFACE KILLAH - 36 Seasons
DOOMTREE - All Hands
DEATH GRIPS - Fashion Week
FUTURE - Beast Mode
PERCUSSIONS - 2011 until 2014
SISKIYOU - Nervous
ZUN ZUN EGUI - Shackles Gift

Singles & EPs

Begin Again
PURITY RING - Begin Again
HTRK - Body Lotion
APHEX TWIN - Computer Controlled Acoustic Instruments pt2 EP
DJANGO DJANGO - First Light
TY SEGALL - Mr Face EP
GIRL ONE AND THE GREASE GUNS / JEN SCHANDE - Split
PETITE NOIR - The King of Anxiety EP
ENGINEERS - A Million Voices
EMMY THE GREAT - S EP
BONNIE PRINCE BILLY - Mindlessness / Blindnessless
DOUG PAISLEY featuring BONNIE PRINCE BILLY - Until I Find You 
INSPIRAL CARPETS featuring JOHN COOPER CLARKE - Let You Down
SLAVES - The Hunter
LOVE BUZZARD - EP
AMEN DUNES - Cowboy Worship EP
YOUNG EJECTA - The Planet EP
FAWN SPOTS - New Sense
FRASER A GORMAN - Book Of Love
HIPPIES VS GHOSTS - Wazo
MARCUS MARR - Brown Sauce
SCHIZO FUN ADDICT VS THE BORDELLOS - Schizo Fun Addict vs The Bordellos EP

Viet Cong - Continental Shelf off "Viet Cong"

Click to listen to our New Releases 01.2015 mix-tape.