Fear flashes across my face when the often tiresome pair of singer with acoustic guitar walk to the stage. At Insideout in Kingston, I couldn’t have been more scared when the singer introduced himself saying he’s ill and might collapse half way through his set. How I trembled.
Then he played. He sang. The world rejoiced. Well, maybe not the world, but 30 people in a church west of London did. Luke Sital Singh stole the show.
Despite having a bad case of man flu, his voice and lyrics were mesmerising. His melodies and harmonies catchy and clever. His performance wiped the fear from my face. Only to be replaced by a glare reading something like ‘ok, so this guy is good, bloody good’.
Luke Sital Singh is being modest when he compares himself to ‘a lovely bowl of soup’. Then again my favourite dish is a Vietnamese soup called Pho. So maybe he’s not so modest after all. Soup or no soup, he’s certainly not soupy, proven in the demo he kindly agreed to share. Its a fantastic song on tape. Even better live.
I’ve seen Redvers Bailey perform solo at the Half Moon in Putney a few times now, but his new project, the band One could take him to new heights.
If you imagine Jeff Buckley without depression, you might get somewhere near to describing One. You can hear tinges of jazz and funk in their sound, but darker rock creeps in giving the music a grittier edge.
Considering they first performed in December 2007, I’m impressed with their current demos. Listen to these two contrasting tracks showing off One’s musical diversity:
My name is Rylan and I’ve been a homeopath for the past 24 years. Great. But how many songs are there about homeopathy? As far as I can tell, only one. It’s by Bell.
Olga Bell, born in Russia, raised in Alaska and now living in Brooklyn, has vocal and musical qualities that instantly remind you of Björk. Theres even an interesting cover of Its Oh So Queit on Bell’s MySpace.
At first I reacted against what I thought was a blatant rip off of the Ice Queen, but I kept coming back for more. Throwing IDM into the mix did it for me.
So, homeopathy? Bell’s Echinacea is the IDM infused Björkathon, with a great trippy beat, and clapping. Its a bit of a shame Bell didn’t make more use of the cheering at the opening of the track, otherwise its quite the tune:
Esserfuses tuneful trippy electro experimental pop with raw lyrics that rub the underside of your skin. Call it what you like, but lets hope Esser continues to write the best pop in ages.
Alphabeat, just stop now! In fact, I wish you never started. Esser is going to eat your heart out.
Formerly the drummer in the defunct Ladyfuzz, Esser has re-signed to Transgressive Records. Tickets are available to see him on the Transgressive Summer Tour, I’m looking foward to his Cross Kings gig in London. Especially after hearing session tracks from his appearance on BBC Radio 6 over at the The Daily Growl. His upcoming second single, the fantastic Headlock, can be heard at Esser HQ.
Those skin crawling lyrics I mentioned? Well taste this, “I have a habit of getting my foot stuck in my mouth, you are the only person I know who can help me get it out” . Reads about as well as anthrax, but maybe its the cheeky cockney accent that makes it sound like Wordsworth. I love it, but you can make up your own mind…
My family use this substance not only as a moth repellent, but also as a way to ward evil spirits. Its powerful stuff. So is the band with the same name, Camphor.
I’m becoming a sucker for epic popular music, but is there anything wrong with that? The front man of Camphor, Max Avery Lichtenstein, is already known as a film music composer. More recently he decided to step back from his incidental musings, and instead made an album inspired by Wabi Sabi. Thats epic in my book.
Listening to Camphor reminds me of the great Eels, with their American folk influences alongside Lichtenstein’s gravelly vocals. There are also Moriccone style gun slinging lead guitars. Epic orchestration features too.
Camphor’s debut LP, Drawn to Dust, has been receiving plaudits from the likes of Obscure Sound. The record is only available on import to the UK, but you can still buy it for under a fiver. My copy is in the post. Eight days, grrr.
Whilst you wait for yours to arrive, here’s a snippet; look out for the string’s uber harmonies at the end:
Is it weird that a fresh sound can be back to basics rock? Probably not. We’re all getting bored of electroindie. I certainly am. Well a little bit at least.
There are no synths to be seen around Dead Confederate. Just bloody great songs. Dead Confederate recently wowed many at SXSW (South by South West) in Austin, Texas. They opened for R.E.M. They’re going to be huge if they’re not careful.
Sadly, Dead Confederate are apparently best heard live. Sad because they’re not currently scheduled to tour the UK. I have to see this band. Otherwise I’ll end up a member of their confederation.
They’ve just been in the studio to record a debut album, but if you can’t wait, an EP is available on import. I don’t think I can get any more excited by this track from the EP:
Theres nothing like playing an impromptu gig. Especially after only one rehearsal. Last week I was drafted in by Alba Nova to add some cello love.
I heard of Alba Nova as they formed at Durham University (formerly the University of Durham which sounds much better) where I studied, but didn’t get the chance to watch them. In fact, thats a lie. I was just a lazy student bum.
I wish I hadn’t been such a sloth, as I’ve missed out on Alba Nova for the past 5 years. Who’d want to miss a band living in a ‘lost England full of chandeliers, fake fur coats, masquerades and mistresses’? Its nice to bring fantasy into music, without becoming a goth metal band. I respect Alba Nova for not being ashamed of their Englishness, which sadly so many bands from the green and pleasant land try to hide.
Their debut EP, The Beautiful Way to Fall generated quite a lot of industry interest. I’m sure you can hear why from this stunning track they’ve so kindly let me share with you:
The internet has smashed our attention spans to pieces. We spend less time focusing on one band and instead skim from one MySpace page to the next.
I picked up that habit, but still make sure to buy as many albums as Mr Mastercard can afford. They’re the only way for me to get under a band’s skin.
If you have something to say in popular music, you should do so with an album. Once you achieve that, then you’re sorted. And yes, I listened to OK Computer a lot!
Thats why I’m excited by the prospect of an upcoming concept album set during the Californian Gold Rush featuring money, love and murder by We Happy Few. I caught these guys a few months ago at the Half Moon Unplugged in Putney. Their old school Americana vibe has stuck with me ever since.
Its refreshing to find a band take on something so challenging. Especially when its so easy to screw a concept album up. Judging from the opening track, I hope we won’t be disappointed. In fact, We Happy Few were kind enough to give you a sneaky listen:
We Happy Few are playing at The Gallery near Turnham Green Tube this Thursday (29 May). I’ll be there, and you should come too. The new album is due for release in the next few months.
Can a passion for kit cars lead to assembling great music? Well it seemed to work with Leon Jean-Marie. The east Londoner, who’s family originate from St. Lucia is certainly starting to get a lot of attention. Island records plucked up the uber talented multi-instrumentalist and the world now waits in anticipation for his debut album Bent out of Shape to be released on 7 July.
For some reason Island are trying to genreise Leon Jean-Marie as Wonky Pop. He is better than that. Much better. Alphabeat is Wonky Pop, and they are awful.
His first single Scratchproves this man makes no ordinary music. I’m not sure how to define it, maybe Prince meets Skunk Anansie? Decide for yourself.
Bed of Nails, his latest single, produced by Mark Ronson, is completely different to Scratch, but also brilliant. Its more like the Beatles meet Blur. Check out the vid:
At 19, Ben Garrett is creating massive music envy amongst bloggers. The Londoner is making seriously hot music as frYars. His silky voice and Morrissean melodies fit snuggly with catchy and thoughtful electro pop. Although not convinced with the quality of their youtube outing, frYars is pally with Esser, and their sound is quite comparable.
frYars has two EPs; The Ideswas received well and lead to a tour with Goldfrapp. His latest, thePerfidyshould continue to propel frYars to greater recognition still.
I ran into the frYars at The Blue Walrus. The Ides features in their excellent Snazzy No. 10 mix. I’m still looping this fantastic track. Check out the video with the weird lamps:
Everyone seems to love Barcelonan El Guincho, aka Pablo Díaz-Reixa, and his self-released album Alegranza!. If M.I.A. had some sun up her ass she might sound something like El Guincho. I love hearing musicians get their roots, pull them out, and make music with them.
I expect we’ll be hearing a lot of El Guincho this summer. Which is only a good thing.
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Fear flashes across my face when the often tiresome pair of singer with acoustic guitar walk to the stage. At Insideout in Kingston, I couldn’t have been more scared when the singer introduced himself saying he’s ill and might collapse half way through his set. How I trembled.
, has been receiving plaudits from the likes of 
. I don’t think I can get any more excited by this track from the EP:
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