A music discovery space.
Tracklisting & Links
1
Creeper
Gloom from the EP Creeper Self Released (June 2014)An undoubted contender for the most interesting current voice in the UK punk rock scene, former Our Time Down Here front-man Will Gould returns as part of Creeper, a five-piece whose debut effort makes full use of their identifiable vocalist’s slurred articulation to help offer up a storming collection of surging rock tracks that are ripe with character as well as melody.
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2
Amanda X
Nothing Wild from the album Amnesia Siltbreeze Records (July 2014)A massive grower, Amanda X’s Amnesia is an understated and highly accomplished collection of vocally irresistible, faultlessly constructed and often low-key rock songs, the trio demonstrating themselves as masterful creators of those little moments you look forward to on each listen, which in time, you come to realise, exist in every single song on this, their debut full-length.
Bandcamp / Facebook
3
Brightside
Circa 2006 from the EP Now and Loud Broken World Media (May 2014)Rhythmically superior and wildly infectious, Now and Loud is a pollyannaish record that can’t help but make you smile with its wide-eyed, unconditioned outlook and delivery. Music for the upbeat losers who embrace their world.
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4
TrunkWeed
Youth Society from the album Days Of Haze Self Released (July 2014)As its retro surf vibes wash effortlessly over you, TrunkWeed’s Days of Haze is pretty much guaranteed to have you dreaming of blue skies, still air and evening sunshine. It may also compel those who are old and obscure enough to go dig out the 1999 Infogrames racing classic, Beetle Crazy Cup (or ' Beetle Buggin’ ', depending on your territory). Then again, maybe that's just me…
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5
Rational Anthem
Lloyd Christmas from the album Emotionally Unavailable Bloated Kat Records (June 2014)Pop-punk without pretence, Emotionally Unavailable sounds unashamedly natural, playing like a quick-fire stream of consciousness that could belong to many a normal person. 'These are my thoughts,' it says, with a shrug of hypothetical shoulders, 'here, have an album's worth of inescapable hooks to catch them with.
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6
The Creeps
Follow My Eyes from the album Eulogies It's Alive Records Records (July 2014)Despite their being in existence for fifteen years, Ontario natives The Creeps latest record, Eulogies, showcases a surprising freshness - which perhaps comes from having a commercially viable sound without any pretentions of seeking such popularity. While demonstrating influences from several other punk bands through the decades, Eulogies, ultimately, sounds like its own thing - ultra melodic and very well honed.
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7
The Brats
London from the EP Scaring The Girls Self Released (July 2014)The style of Swiss rockers The Brats is a difficult one to pin down. At times reminiscent of a slightly excitable Garbage, whilst clearly not afraid of entering garage-rock territory, the most consistent aspect of the quartets debut record is the ominous darkness casting shadows without ever fully enveloping the material. Sometimes serious, other times playful, but always interesting.
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8
Wolves & Wolves & Wolves & Wolves
Facade from the EP Scorched Earth Flesh & Bone Records (June 2014)As sincere as their name is long, Wolves x4’s Scorched Earth is home to an impassioned and unpretentious collection of songs, which, delivered by the appropriately gruff voice of Brian Woodall, grab you by the scruff of the neck and let go only when they’ve finished telling their story.
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9
The Flippants
Blindfold from the EP Ghost Hands Self Released (March 2014)Ghost Hands is a slice of eerie rock and roll, made more sinister by front-woman Ruthy Colmenero, whose effortlessly bewitching voice gives her the impression of a powerful sorceress, orchestrating the running of an ominously efficient castle populated with somnambulists controlled by her own brand of vocal hypnosis.
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10
Pillow Fight
Perfect Letter from the EP Slumber Party Self Released (May 2014)Slumber Party is a record that is very easy to become fond of, its eight quick-fire tracks all wilfully naïve and built around that sad but secretly optimistic outlook of awkward but well-meaning young people the world over.
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11
Good News
I Can't Help You, Sorry from the EP Lame Excuses Self Released (July 2014)Equally as suitable for a geeky dancehall as it is a quiet night in with headphones, Lame Excuses is a record that keeps you on your toes without ever giving the impression that it’s going to leave you behind.
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12
MerylStreep
Anagramas from the EP 2051 Discos de Kirlian (May 2014)Just as was the case on their demo tape, there is a musical rawness to MerylStreep’s work on 2051, which, combined with the evasive harmonies and layered vocals, creates a wonderfully calm, even-tempered and ultimately difficult to classify signature sound.
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13
Long Knives
Bones from Demo Self Released (August 2014)An earnest collection that explores resignation and redemption, vulnerability and strength, the debut release from Long Knives also shows an apparent willingness to tackle challenging subject matter and play with song structure, not to mention showcasing some beautiful vocal moments courtesy of lead-lady, Kristia Moya. The California four-pieces’ future looks well worth monitoring closely.
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14
Southern Radio
Sad Black Banners from the EP The Great Beauty .aorte Records (July 2014)Succumbing to the nostalgic, ambient wiles of Southern Radio’s The Great Beauty lands the listener in a sprawling wasteland, where the isolation leads to an inevitable sadness, but also to an appreciation of the splendour that once existed, and may yet exist again; enough fragments of life remaining to offer a gentle hope for the future.
Bandcamp / VK
15
The Valley Ends
Transoceanic from the EP Falls Self Released (July 2014)Falls is a record that is perhaps best described in visual terms; it’s glistening world existing in a serene setting of vivid colour and natural beauty, where icy blue waterfalls conceal caves filled with immaculate crystals so inviting, that one is rendered powerless to the belief that lying within them is an even more idyllic beyond. Atmospheric and resplendent.
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