Under the flag of Paperbag Records Austra have succeeding in creating another hauntingly beautiful album with second album, Olympia. With a backdrop of electrical dance notes, layered against multiple vocals from Opera trained Stelmanis, Austra has the listener dreaming of Lykke Li and Dimbleby and Capper, yet dancing like Florence Welch. Each song within...
It’s almost hard to believe that it’s been five years since Slow Club released their debut album Yeah, So. Since then, duo Rebecca Taylor and Charles Watson have steadily moved away from the sometimes twee, nu-folk tones of ‘Beginners’ and ‘Giving Up On Love’ to become a more mature and accomplished band. Their second...
When Jungle first emerged, the outfit’s two central figures J and T were a duo shrouded in mystery. They would often hide among fashionable crowds in photo-shoots and played underground gigs shrouded in darkness. It turned out that Tom McFarland and Joshua Lloyd-Watson were skater friends from Shepherd’s Bush who were once part of...
Alt J are back. Excited? Good, so are we. Released on the 7th July, ‘Left hand free’ is taken from the forthcoming album This Is All Yours, set to be released in September. If their first album is anything to go by (which it is), I would say that Alt J have a knack...
On DZ Deathrays’ first album Bloodstreams – released in 2012 – duo Shane Parsons and Simon Ridley’s main method of assault was through uncontrollable noise, volume and shedloads of vitriol. The tracks emerged from a fuzz and squall that held hidden beneath it a bedrock of spite and bitterness, tracks like ‘Teenage Kickstarts’ and...
Experts in their trade, Goat are no rookies when it comes to creating bizarre tapestries of sounds that somehow form a comprehensible song (or not depending on your taste) and their latest track bursts with tribal influences, combinations of psych rock and hypnotic funk, and a boatload of energy. Their previous album...
Last week, clothing company GAP joined forces with Sofar Sounds (Songs From A Room) to bring London residents a secret gig that took place in Hackney Downs Studios as part of their #Summerloves campaign. The gig, which marked the last in the series of two events put on by Gap and Sofar promised...
Brighton-based duo GAPS fuse electronic and folk music in a way that allows the two genres to co-exist in tandem, creating luscious melodies that are intimate but ghostly, yet never cold. Comprised of old school-friends Rachel and Ed, the pair have been steadily working on new material. Here, the band talk about their percussive background...
With their unique brand of psychedelic drum pop and tropical-tinged, danceable tunes, Beauty Heart have gained a hard-core following of fans dedicated to their exotic rhythms. Their new album, Mixed Blessings, is a kaleidoscopic party record filled with beats and memorable hooks. Here, they talk about Mixed Blessings, comparisons to Animal Collective and Vampire...
This month, London based heavy stoner rock band Throne made history by releasing a video for their single ‘Tharsis Sleeps’ which was animated embroidered tapestries created by Nicos Livesey and animator Tom Bunker who are members of the This Is It collective. The video itself was inspired by band patches and is set in space. Check it...
We ventured to Live at Leeds last week to seek out some new sounds for our ears and boy we were not disappointed! Live at Leeds has been up and running for 8 years now. Every year the Festival spreads to different areas of the cities and this means new venues too. We...
Blood Red Shoes once again graced Manchester with their presence this year, this time accompanied by Slaves and DZ Deathrays. The occasion called for leather jackets, thick black eyeliner and a mosh pit mentality – and my efforts were not in vain. Due to a lack of organisation on my part (nothing to do with...
