Astronauts - In My Direction - ★★★★★★☆☆☆☆
Mellow but perky folksy psychedelia is always welcome after a heavy night and songwriter Dan Carney's nom-de-plume doesn't disappoint with this one. In My Direction is extracted from the former Dark Captain frontman's 2014 debut album Hollow Ponds and follows a similar path fraught with taut rhythms and softly-softly harmonies. Rather pleasing.
Lilac Time - No Sad Songs - ★★★★★★★★★☆
Even more pleasing is the return of one of Britain's most under-rated and oft-dismissed craftsmen, one Stephen Duffy. Forever toiling with unrequited love-song and minor-key masterpieces, his muse has clearly returned on this taster from his band's upcoming album of the same name (cheekily described as 'a hasty follow-up to 2007's Runout Groove'). Short and sweet, No Sad Songs is a weepie all the same in the traditions of Black Velvet, She Still Loves You and Fortunes, heralding another (hopefully) productive period for The Lilac Time. Smashing. Single of the Week 1.
Boards Of Canada - Olson (Midland Remix) - ★★★★★★★★★☆
Blimey - three tracks in and the standard remains high with this drop-dead fabulous mid-tempo rump-tickler. Culled from the Scottish duo's first album, the original is a short jingle from the wilderness that does so much in just a couple of minutes. Spread out over six and half minutes however, doused with a simple 4/4 beat and that trademark blurry hook-line given some reverb and the whole thing turns into a sunrise anthem. Delish.
The Elwins - So Down Low - ★★★★★★☆☆☆☆
Back to Earth with a bump we go with Canada's So Down Low. By that i mean we're in indie-band territory, normally an area I shy away from these days. But blow me with a jet-engine, The Elwins have come charging out of the blocks with this one. More urgent than previous single Sittin' Pretty, So Down Low heralds phase two of the band's existence with a new album poised for a March release and the promise of UK shows. Likeable.
Dizzee Rascal - Pagans EP - ★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆
It couldn't last could it? Here's Dizzee, proffering his grimey-pop Dirtee Stank bangers for all to see and hear - it's gonna be cheesy, right? Y'know, 12 months since that risible tit Williams rode on the man's tails? Actually, this shits on Holiday, Goin' Crazy et al by some considerable margin. Potty-mouthed, earthy, well-hung in the beats department, intense and oozing with as much subtlety as a bulldozer in a ballet, Rascal's turned from boy to man (again) in one fell swoop. Improved.
Gospel - EMPR - ★★★★★★★★★☆
- https://soundcloud.com/gospel-band/empr
Several months after the resplendent Disasters Running Wild burst open all over your ears comes the duo's eagerly-anticipated follow-up - and what a follow-up! Retaining the shimmering atmospherics of its predecessor but ramping up the pop chops just a little, EMPR showcases Beth Anderton-Allen's ice-cutting vocals and Willsher's attention to detail when it comes to the arranging. As with their debut, the song starts quietly before evolving into something quite stunning and concluding in an ear-catching crescendo. They should be proud. Single Of The Week 2
Pusher - 10,000 Hours - ★★★★★★★☆☆☆
After a handful of powerful singles and an album, Pusher opt to appease those with a short attention span by collating five differing songs onto one tidy EP. The opener Everything Inbetween continues their foray into muscular gothic post-punk a la The Cult or The Danse Society (minus the eyeliner), before giving way to four further facets of the Pusher sound. On My Own is a percussive tour-de-force that is perhaps the EP's most mainstream song, while The Road is altogether slower, moodier, jazzier even, that manages to out-Mark Lanegan Mark Lanegan himself. Rain scurries by with headlights ablaze before the gorgeous weepy climax Goodbye Earth, Hello Universe steers into view. This track may well become Pusher's signature song of 2015 - it is a little bit special, an epic for all seasons and one to close live sets with.
The Grand Gestures - Into The Darkness We Go EP - ★★★★★★★★★☆
Oh boy. This song appeared on the recent third album from The Grand Gestures and is superior to all before it. Written by chief Gesture Jan Burnett and sung by Idlewild/The Hazey Janes' Andrew Mitchell, Into The Darkness We Go is a sorrowful madrigal that gently unravels in minor-key with a simple piano refrain and funereal drum to keep it company. And then that voice begins to own your ears and man-blubbing begins. No, really. But all in a good way. Also included is a blissed-out reworking and a rather better mix of previous single The World Will Break Your Heart (trilled by Danny Wilson's Gary Clark, no less). Single Of The Week 3.
Texas - Start a Family - ★★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆
I've always adored Sharleen Spiteri's cosy vocals but as soon as the band fire up their magnolia soft-rock, I'm already fast-forwarding. As reminded by the band's latest album, Texas have been doing this for twenty-five years and aside from the admittedly storming Halo and some of their '90s period, I'm neither a lover or a hater towards their output. Start a Family could be any album-track from any era, to be honest, it's just there.
Penelope Antena - Feel It Coming, You Keep, Come Home To Me - ★★★★★★★★☆☆ - https://soundcloud.com/penelopeantena
Here's a name to keep an eye out for. Previously the creator of an acoustic-pop album I'd Rather Be Naked issued on Crepuscule a couple of years ago, Ms Antena is continuing the family interest (like mum Isabelle) with some creative electronica and a string of curious tracks on her Soundcloud page. Collabs with like-minded peeps they may be but, all the same, I can hear some rewarding music here. There's Sunday-morning post-sex nu-soul with Mindfield at the helm (Come Home To Me), a bleary-eyed electronic come-down given a head-spinning mix by Nikitch (Feel It Coming) and a breathy piece of spatial 4/4 minimal house called You Keep.
N.E.R.D. - Squeeze Me - ★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
Crikey bollocks. Remember Spongebob Squarepants? The kids cartoon characters from the '90s and '00s? Award-winning and all that? He's even had a mushroom named after him. There's a film coming out. Looks like it's time to resurrect an ailing hip-hop outfits career right now! Oh, Drake's busy is he? Pharell's still high on being Happy. What about Chuck D? He said what? We can't have that language on Squeeze Me. I know, let's give it to NERD. Thus you already know how utterly bewildering this heap of silliness is going to sound. Yep, that bad.
The Go! Team - The Scene Between - ★★★★★★☆☆☆☆
It has to be said that Go Team's last album, Rolling Blackouts issued in 2011, was rather wonderful. Retro cheerleader soul wrapped up in candy-floss, brimming with tunes and destined to be a million-seller. Sadly, back in the real world, no-one cared much. They probably won't care much for this either, partly because it's similar and partly because The Scene Between is way too sugary sweet and short. Which is a shame. The chorus is a corker but the rest doesn't gel for me with its big crashing drums and stuttered uh-ohs.
Liquorice River - Russell - ★★★★★★★☆☆☆
Norf Landan's equivalent of Franz Ferdinand (that's a compliment) return with swing-your-pants indie-disco on Russell, an expansive four and a half minutes that incorporates a tragic tale with a neat guitar riff and solo, (a SOLO, yes really they still exist) that recalls '80s paisley-rockers The Church and loads of hi-hat action. It's the band's best moments for sure, maybe a bit long for 'radio' but well worth replaying, as is the closing dubby Eternally Nocturnal, a paean to insomnia that also features another nifty Alex Avery guitar-riff Ross Liddle's lungs trying to vault out of his chest. The other tracks are knockabout garage-rock that haven't quite got 'hit' written all over them but are nonetheless a step up from anything on the preceding Pulse EP.
Gaz Coombes - 20/20 - ★★★★★★★☆☆☆
After the demise of celebrated Brit-poppers Supergrass and their various incarnations and offshoots, figurehead Gaz Coombes continues to forge his solo career with a change of tack for his latest single. 20/20 is quite unlike anything Coombes has done before, not least because it isn't your typical student-rock - this is plaintive electronic pop in the vein of Thom Yorke circa mid'90s, if anything. Pulsating to begin with, before taking on a gospel vibe for the middle bit and finally lifting off with some glitchy drums and sad-face synths, 20/20 isn't classic single material but is a compelling piece of work nonetheless. He's underestimated, is Coombes. This is rather fine.
Mellow but perky folksy psychedelia is always welcome after a heavy night and songwriter Dan Carney's nom-de-plume doesn't disappoint with this one. In My Direction is extracted from the former Dark Captain frontman's 2014 debut album Hollow Ponds and follows a similar path fraught with taut rhythms and softly-softly harmonies. Rather pleasing.
Lilac Time - No Sad Songs - ★★★★★★★★★☆
Even more pleasing is the return of one of Britain's most under-rated and oft-dismissed craftsmen, one Stephen Duffy. Forever toiling with unrequited love-song and minor-key masterpieces, his muse has clearly returned on this taster from his band's upcoming album of the same name (cheekily described as 'a hasty follow-up to 2007's Runout Groove'). Short and sweet, No Sad Songs is a weepie all the same in the traditions of Black Velvet, She Still Loves You and Fortunes, heralding another (hopefully) productive period for The Lilac Time. Smashing. Single of the Week 1.
Boards Of Canada - Olson (Midland Remix) - ★★★★★★★★★☆
Blimey - three tracks in and the standard remains high with this drop-dead fabulous mid-tempo rump-tickler. Culled from the Scottish duo's first album, the original is a short jingle from the wilderness that does so much in just a couple of minutes. Spread out over six and half minutes however, doused with a simple 4/4 beat and that trademark blurry hook-line given some reverb and the whole thing turns into a sunrise anthem. Delish.
The Elwins - So Down Low - ★★★★★★☆☆☆☆
Back to Earth with a bump we go with Canada's So Down Low. By that i mean we're in indie-band territory, normally an area I shy away from these days. But blow me with a jet-engine, The Elwins have come charging out of the blocks with this one. More urgent than previous single Sittin' Pretty, So Down Low heralds phase two of the band's existence with a new album poised for a March release and the promise of UK shows. Likeable.
Dizzee Rascal - Pagans EP - ★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆
It couldn't last could it? Here's Dizzee, proffering his grimey-pop Dirtee Stank bangers for all to see and hear - it's gonna be cheesy, right? Y'know, 12 months since that risible tit Williams rode on the man's tails? Actually, this shits on Holiday, Goin' Crazy et al by some considerable margin. Potty-mouthed, earthy, well-hung in the beats department, intense and oozing with as much subtlety as a bulldozer in a ballet, Rascal's turned from boy to man (again) in one fell swoop. Improved.
Gospel - EMPR - ★★★★★★★★★☆
- https://soundcloud.com/gospel-band/empr
Several months after the resplendent Disasters Running Wild burst open all over your ears comes the duo's eagerly-anticipated follow-up - and what a follow-up! Retaining the shimmering atmospherics of its predecessor but ramping up the pop chops just a little, EMPR showcases Beth Anderton-Allen's ice-cutting vocals and Willsher's attention to detail when it comes to the arranging. As with their debut, the song starts quietly before evolving into something quite stunning and concluding in an ear-catching crescendo. They should be proud. Single Of The Week 2
Pusher - 10,000 Hours - ★★★★★★★☆☆☆
After a handful of powerful singles and an album, Pusher opt to appease those with a short attention span by collating five differing songs onto one tidy EP. The opener Everything Inbetween continues their foray into muscular gothic post-punk a la The Cult or The Danse Society (minus the eyeliner), before giving way to four further facets of the Pusher sound. On My Own is a percussive tour-de-force that is perhaps the EP's most mainstream song, while The Road is altogether slower, moodier, jazzier even, that manages to out-Mark Lanegan Mark Lanegan himself. Rain scurries by with headlights ablaze before the gorgeous weepy climax Goodbye Earth, Hello Universe steers into view. This track may well become Pusher's signature song of 2015 - it is a little bit special, an epic for all seasons and one to close live sets with.
The Grand Gestures - Into The Darkness We Go EP - ★★★★★★★★★☆
Oh boy. This song appeared on the recent third album from The Grand Gestures and is superior to all before it. Written by chief Gesture Jan Burnett and sung by Idlewild/The Hazey Janes' Andrew Mitchell, Into The Darkness We Go is a sorrowful madrigal that gently unravels in minor-key with a simple piano refrain and funereal drum to keep it company. And then that voice begins to own your ears and man-blubbing begins. No, really. But all in a good way. Also included is a blissed-out reworking and a rather better mix of previous single The World Will Break Your Heart (trilled by Danny Wilson's Gary Clark, no less). Single Of The Week 3.
Texas - Start a Family - ★★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆
I've always adored Sharleen Spiteri's cosy vocals but as soon as the band fire up their magnolia soft-rock, I'm already fast-forwarding. As reminded by the band's latest album, Texas have been doing this for twenty-five years and aside from the admittedly storming Halo and some of their '90s period, I'm neither a lover or a hater towards their output. Start a Family could be any album-track from any era, to be honest, it's just there.
Penelope Antena - Feel It Coming, You Keep, Come Home To Me - ★★★★★★★★☆☆ - https://soundcloud.com/penelopeantena
Here's a name to keep an eye out for. Previously the creator of an acoustic-pop album I'd Rather Be Naked issued on Crepuscule a couple of years ago, Ms Antena is continuing the family interest (like mum Isabelle) with some creative electronica and a string of curious tracks on her Soundcloud page. Collabs with like-minded peeps they may be but, all the same, I can hear some rewarding music here. There's Sunday-morning post-sex nu-soul with Mindfield at the helm (Come Home To Me), a bleary-eyed electronic come-down given a head-spinning mix by Nikitch (Feel It Coming) and a breathy piece of spatial 4/4 minimal house called You Keep.
N.E.R.D. - Squeeze Me - ★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
Crikey bollocks. Remember Spongebob Squarepants? The kids cartoon characters from the '90s and '00s? Award-winning and all that? He's even had a mushroom named after him. There's a film coming out. Looks like it's time to resurrect an ailing hip-hop outfits career right now! Oh, Drake's busy is he? Pharell's still high on being Happy. What about Chuck D? He said what? We can't have that language on Squeeze Me. I know, let's give it to NERD. Thus you already know how utterly bewildering this heap of silliness is going to sound. Yep, that bad.
The Go! Team - The Scene Between - ★★★★★★☆☆☆☆
It has to be said that Go Team's last album, Rolling Blackouts issued in 2011, was rather wonderful. Retro cheerleader soul wrapped up in candy-floss, brimming with tunes and destined to be a million-seller. Sadly, back in the real world, no-one cared much. They probably won't care much for this either, partly because it's similar and partly because The Scene Between is way too sugary sweet and short. Which is a shame. The chorus is a corker but the rest doesn't gel for me with its big crashing drums and stuttered uh-ohs.
Liquorice River - Russell - ★★★★★★★☆☆☆
Norf Landan's equivalent of Franz Ferdinand (that's a compliment) return with swing-your-pants indie-disco on Russell, an expansive four and a half minutes that incorporates a tragic tale with a neat guitar riff and solo, (a SOLO, yes really they still exist) that recalls '80s paisley-rockers The Church and loads of hi-hat action. It's the band's best moments for sure, maybe a bit long for 'radio' but well worth replaying, as is the closing dubby Eternally Nocturnal, a paean to insomnia that also features another nifty Alex Avery guitar-riff Ross Liddle's lungs trying to vault out of his chest. The other tracks are knockabout garage-rock that haven't quite got 'hit' written all over them but are nonetheless a step up from anything on the preceding Pulse EP.
Gaz Coombes - 20/20 - ★★★★★★★☆☆☆
After the demise of celebrated Brit-poppers Supergrass and their various incarnations and offshoots, figurehead Gaz Coombes continues to forge his solo career with a change of tack for his latest single. 20/20 is quite unlike anything Coombes has done before, not least because it isn't your typical student-rock - this is plaintive electronic pop in the vein of Thom Yorke circa mid'90s, if anything. Pulsating to begin with, before taking on a gospel vibe for the middle bit and finally lifting off with some glitchy drums and sad-face synths, 20/20 isn't classic single material but is a compelling piece of work nonetheless. He's underestimated, is Coombes. This is rather fine.