Thomas Leer - Private Plane - ★★★★★★★★½
For the latest in a long line of luxury releases, US imprint Dark Entries has abandoned its usual industrial-electro safe-house and targeted then-fledgling indie-pop labels Cherry Red and Oblique for a pair of welcome reissues. Expanded from 7" to 12", Thomas Leer's edgy Private Plane / International single still sounds like it was created using various pieces of hardware from B&Q and a box of DIY Computer spares. The extras prove to be just as varietal - King Of Sham continues the gritty synth panorama of the a side while Saving Grace is actually an instrumental reading of his gorgeous landmark single All About You (which deserves a reissue in its own right, frankly), originally issued on its b-side. Nice newspaper insert included.
Joe Crow - Compulsion - ★★★★★★★★★
And so to the second 12" EP from Dark Entries and it's a beauty. One of those rare things, a truly wholesome synth-pop creation that might have been a hit in any other life, good enough for Depeche Mode's Martin Gore to cover for his own Counterfeit EP and contemporary in an age when the precise beat is the thing. As well as Compulsion in all its glory, you get the original weirdy b-side Absent Friends and a plethora of 1981 demos on the flip of this expanded 12", all of which are rather compelling in their own way. Head straight to We Wouldn't Look Back for what might have been if Crow had continued with his Robert Wyatt-esque folktronica. Comes with insert.
Young Knives - Something Awful - ★★★★★★
Previously issued as a limited RSD 2015 10" vinyl exclusive, the new EP from the arty leftfielders hits servers during May as an experiment, rather than a stab at the charts. Lead-off song Something Awful is something compelling that builds upon a seemingly moody intro into one of Young Knives best songs in ages. "You tell me that I'm changing/I can feel that I'm changing into something awful.." ain't the stuff of party anthems for sure, but it's inspiration from YK singer Henry Dartnall's grandpa's Alzheimer's is a pointer to where the lyrics originate from. Something Sweet is an insistent piano and drum-driven squall that covers loss of trust while Something Tragic and Something Cheap explore menacing atonal territory with a little more intent.
Michael Head and the Red Elastic Band - Velvets In The Dark - ★★★★★★★★★
Shack and Pale Fountains frontman Mick Head is still knocking out pretty sun-soaked melodies for kicks and what a little gem Velvets In The Dark is. Issued on a 7" (with download), VITD is the very best of Head rolled into one languid acoustic three minute song that includes the trademark Head rhythm, the punctuated trumpeting associated with ex-Paley Andy Diagram and woozy guitar picking throughout. It's criminal that Head remains relatively unsung after thirty years of great music, so why not make up for it and invest in this little number.
A.J.Holmes and the Hackney Empire - Martyn's Elephant Charm / Ghost Daddy - ★★★★★★★
OK it's comparison time. If The Blue Aeroplanes, The Wave Pictures and The Four Brothers mean anything to you then award yourself a point. If you can imagine all three bands ingesting fierce amounts of liquor and heading off to perform in unison on a float at the Notting Hill Carnival, then award yourself fifty points and a long tall drink. A bonkers nonsensical lyric tops off this Afrique-influenced slice of cheery indie-pop that can't fail to have you wiggling your bits within a few seconds in the company of its very existence. The other song Ghost Daddy is a little more laid back and grown up but no less likeable. Rather morish.
Junkboy - Release The Sunshine - ★★★★★★★
There's nothing like a good dose of the English seaside to bring out the songwriter in you and Sussex's answer to Gallagher and Lyle have certainly done that. Having eschewed Californian sunshine for the British climate, one wonders if they've done the right thing. Judging by Release The Sunshine they certainly have. A little bit psychedelic, a lot of pop and both heads in the clouds, Junkboy start the song off in muted fashion before allowing the hook and chorus to shine through. Aside from the vocals being way too quiet, the Hanscombs have hit the rain-spattered nail on the head with a convincing swing of pop's sun-drenched hammer.
Jingo - A.D.D. - ★★★★★★
"Your love is my suicide..." isn't a lyric encouraging you to embrace London-based quartet Jingo's latest foray into the state of mind but there's something about A.D.D. that adds up. Frequent references to medication, drugs, suicides, funerals suggests things are not right in the world - and as for doctors on this occasion, well clearly the medication isn't working. Big vocals, tribal drumming a la The National or Warpaint and a forlorn hookline for the dispossessed points the way towards a door marked 'promising'.
The Wealden - Rushes - ★★★★★★★
Tim Dickinson and Justin Quinn are surely destined for something more than just entertaining a few dozen down at the local hop as Rushes serves to prove. Four songs of varying quality, key opener Lifeline sets the scene by reminding me of Foals in full throttle with added riffing and multi-layered vocals a la Everything Everything. Boyband is similar territory with one foot in the funk and another in indie-disco, while My Sign recalls David Bowie's Let's Dance period. Dickinson can clearly sing, Quinn can obviously play as the hymnal Blue and Gold ably demonstrates. Big things beckon, I can feel it in my bones.
Adian Coker feat Raheem Bakare - Gospel - ★★★★★★★
After two consistent self-issued albums issued during the past few years, garnering little more than cursory appreciative nods from those in the know, Coker brings his harmonic rap back for another pitch at a wider audience. Employing honey-tonsiled Bakare has paid dividends for the chorus but its Coker's spit that glues the whole thing together. Perhaps not as 'hip' or 'wordy' as Roots Manuva or Sway and the like, Coker's USP is his production work on this first new song since 2013's Young World. The beats are still rooted in Noughties hip-hop a la Quality-era Talib Kweli but the sound is bigger. And, as its creator rightfully states, better.
For the latest in a long line of luxury releases, US imprint Dark Entries has abandoned its usual industrial-electro safe-house and targeted then-fledgling indie-pop labels Cherry Red and Oblique for a pair of welcome reissues. Expanded from 7" to 12", Thomas Leer's edgy Private Plane / International single still sounds like it was created using various pieces of hardware from B&Q and a box of DIY Computer spares. The extras prove to be just as varietal - King Of Sham continues the gritty synth panorama of the a side while Saving Grace is actually an instrumental reading of his gorgeous landmark single All About You (which deserves a reissue in its own right, frankly), originally issued on its b-side. Nice newspaper insert included.
Joe Crow - Compulsion - ★★★★★★★★★
And so to the second 12" EP from Dark Entries and it's a beauty. One of those rare things, a truly wholesome synth-pop creation that might have been a hit in any other life, good enough for Depeche Mode's Martin Gore to cover for his own Counterfeit EP and contemporary in an age when the precise beat is the thing. As well as Compulsion in all its glory, you get the original weirdy b-side Absent Friends and a plethora of 1981 demos on the flip of this expanded 12", all of which are rather compelling in their own way. Head straight to We Wouldn't Look Back for what might have been if Crow had continued with his Robert Wyatt-esque folktronica. Comes with insert.
Young Knives - Something Awful - ★★★★★★
Previously issued as a limited RSD 2015 10" vinyl exclusive, the new EP from the arty leftfielders hits servers during May as an experiment, rather than a stab at the charts. Lead-off song Something Awful is something compelling that builds upon a seemingly moody intro into one of Young Knives best songs in ages. "You tell me that I'm changing/I can feel that I'm changing into something awful.." ain't the stuff of party anthems for sure, but it's inspiration from YK singer Henry Dartnall's grandpa's Alzheimer's is a pointer to where the lyrics originate from. Something Sweet is an insistent piano and drum-driven squall that covers loss of trust while Something Tragic and Something Cheap explore menacing atonal territory with a little more intent.
Michael Head and the Red Elastic Band - Velvets In The Dark - ★★★★★★★★★
Shack and Pale Fountains frontman Mick Head is still knocking out pretty sun-soaked melodies for kicks and what a little gem Velvets In The Dark is. Issued on a 7" (with download), VITD is the very best of Head rolled into one languid acoustic three minute song that includes the trademark Head rhythm, the punctuated trumpeting associated with ex-Paley Andy Diagram and woozy guitar picking throughout. It's criminal that Head remains relatively unsung after thirty years of great music, so why not make up for it and invest in this little number.
A.J.Holmes and the Hackney Empire - Martyn's Elephant Charm / Ghost Daddy - ★★★★★★★
OK it's comparison time. If The Blue Aeroplanes, The Wave Pictures and The Four Brothers mean anything to you then award yourself a point. If you can imagine all three bands ingesting fierce amounts of liquor and heading off to perform in unison on a float at the Notting Hill Carnival, then award yourself fifty points and a long tall drink. A bonkers nonsensical lyric tops off this Afrique-influenced slice of cheery indie-pop that can't fail to have you wiggling your bits within a few seconds in the company of its very existence. The other song Ghost Daddy is a little more laid back and grown up but no less likeable. Rather morish.
Junkboy - Release The Sunshine - ★★★★★★★
There's nothing like a good dose of the English seaside to bring out the songwriter in you and Sussex's answer to Gallagher and Lyle have certainly done that. Having eschewed Californian sunshine for the British climate, one wonders if they've done the right thing. Judging by Release The Sunshine they certainly have. A little bit psychedelic, a lot of pop and both heads in the clouds, Junkboy start the song off in muted fashion before allowing the hook and chorus to shine through. Aside from the vocals being way too quiet, the Hanscombs have hit the rain-spattered nail on the head with a convincing swing of pop's sun-drenched hammer.
Jingo - A.D.D. - ★★★★★★
"Your love is my suicide..." isn't a lyric encouraging you to embrace London-based quartet Jingo's latest foray into the state of mind but there's something about A.D.D. that adds up. Frequent references to medication, drugs, suicides, funerals suggests things are not right in the world - and as for doctors on this occasion, well clearly the medication isn't working. Big vocals, tribal drumming a la The National or Warpaint and a forlorn hookline for the dispossessed points the way towards a door marked 'promising'.
The Wealden - Rushes - ★★★★★★★
Tim Dickinson and Justin Quinn are surely destined for something more than just entertaining a few dozen down at the local hop as Rushes serves to prove. Four songs of varying quality, key opener Lifeline sets the scene by reminding me of Foals in full throttle with added riffing and multi-layered vocals a la Everything Everything. Boyband is similar territory with one foot in the funk and another in indie-disco, while My Sign recalls David Bowie's Let's Dance period. Dickinson can clearly sing, Quinn can obviously play as the hymnal Blue and Gold ably demonstrates. Big things beckon, I can feel it in my bones.
Adian Coker feat Raheem Bakare - Gospel - ★★★★★★★
After two consistent self-issued albums issued during the past few years, garnering little more than cursory appreciative nods from those in the know, Coker brings his harmonic rap back for another pitch at a wider audience. Employing honey-tonsiled Bakare has paid dividends for the chorus but its Coker's spit that glues the whole thing together. Perhaps not as 'hip' or 'wordy' as Roots Manuva or Sway and the like, Coker's USP is his production work on this first new song since 2013's Young World. The beats are still rooted in Noughties hip-hop a la Quality-era Talib Kweli but the sound is bigger. And, as its creator rightfully states, better.