Klaxons- Love frequency

Hi,

Klaxons' long anticipated new album "love frequency" came out a few days ago. You can buy it on iTunes for £7.99 or listen on spotify or on soundcloud HERE. This is the 'present' album in their trilogy of past, present and future albums so it was always going to be very difficult to predict how this one was going to turn out, they haven't done an awful job but I'm still a little disappointed with some of the tracks.

Tracklist
1) A new reality
2) There is no other time
3) Show me a miracle
4) Out of the dark
5) Children of the sun
6) Invisible forces
7) Rhythm of life
8) Liquid light
9) The dreamers
10) Atom to atom
11) Love frequency

It's a house style, electro beat, dance album but not the experimental, scuzzy, old-school electronics that we're used to with Klaxons. "Children of the sun" has some nice indie-rock electronic melodies and typical klaxons space age soundscape with a lot of varied verses and interesting harmonies. Some of the tracks aren't even recognizable as klaxons anymore. "There is no other time" is 70s disco music, while it played I imagined cheesey top of the pops dancing with flared jeans and a mullet! I struggled to listen to this song to the end. "The dreamers" however is smooth and lovely with poetic lyrics that are pleasing to listen to and a beautiful intro that really contrasts with the pop club beats of some of the other tracks. Songs like "invisible forces" seem to have lost the klaxons-esque ambiguous meanings and interesting sounds and word structure. The keyboard in this song and others is a nice effect and is the closest to a real instrument that we get to on this album. I'm not a fan of exclusively computer generated music.

I am a little disappointed at the long anticipated release of "Love frequency", but maybe that's partly due to the fact that I had high expectations and have been waiting a long time. It definitely wasn't what I expected but it isn't bad for what it's trying to do. Some of the tracks have gone off the rails and are a bit too pop for my tastes but they haven't done such a bad job at a dance record in its own right. I'm not sure how big klaxons fans will take this album though.  6/10 

The Rumble Strips- Girls and Weather

Hi,

Today's post will be about a band that you probably know some of their songs but may not have heard of before. I'll be introducing you to their album "Girls and Weather". This is definitely my album of the month!

Background Info:
The Rumble Strips were a 5 piece indie-pop/rock, soul English band from Tavistock, Devon. The band took their name from rumble strips, which are small, continuous lines of bumps along the edge of a road. They went their separate ways in 2009. You can buy their album on iTunes HERE for £5.99 and other album "Welcome to the walk alone" HERE for £5.99. You can stream some of their music HERE

This album is a gorgeous blend of indie-pop and rock with soul and jazz managing to worm its way in there too. Their catchy rhythms and wonderful story-telling lyrics paired with the infectious, lyrical melodies make all the tracks so hard to get out of your head. Their music is full of funky brass and jazzy saxophone with exploding electric guitars and fabulous piano bringing it all together. Vocalist, Charlie Waller has an '80s alternative feel about him. He really gets to show off his amazing range and unpredictability in songs like Time and Building a boat. The style is kind of similar to Peace's Harrison Kossier. Great sounding lyrics are spat out by the bucket load and fit so well with the style of music and Waller's powerful, closed throat, grunge-y, scuzzy vocals. The whole of the album sounds so full of life and human that it'll all stick in your head for a long time.

Favourite Track: Clouds HERE

If you listen to girls and boys in love I bet you'll recognise it even if you don't know where from!! Its played in loads of films and TV shows. You can listen to it HERE

Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed and take the time to listen to their music!

Scruff of the Neck Records: Free Mix Tape review

Hi,

Today's post is my review of Scruff of the neck record's first mix tape which is FREE to download HERE

Tracklisting:
1. Out in the cold- Matt Fryers
2. I couldn't fall on you- Mercury field
3. St. Louis- Skinny Roller
4. Afterglow- The Reveurs
5. The Stealer- The High Nines
6. Rabbit Hole- Matt Fryers
7. Bumblebee- Mercury Field
8. Blue Dove- Skinny Roller
9. Hide & Seek- The Reveurs
10. Paupers & Kings- The High Nines

Background Info:
Scruff of the neck records are a Manchester based record company who have signed artists such as The Naughtys and Go Native. You can see more of them and download some of their bands' music HERE

Review:
1. Out in the cold- This is an indie-pop, acoustic track by 22 year old Manchester lad Matt Fryers. His vocals are raspy and sounds like they're struggling to get to the higher pitches. He is quite talented but not very unique. 5/10

2. I couldn't fall on you- Mercury field are a 5 piece rock band who are influenced by Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd among many others. This track is undoubtedly a classic rock and roll song, the first few electric chords are a give away at the first listen. A good track but again nothing too special 6.5/10.

3. St Louis- This indie/indie-rock song is by Skinny Roller who are a 4 piece indie band from Manchester. Mark Nangle's grunge-y, raspy, distressed, low pitched vocals fit perfectly with the electric minor chords, jumpy bass and light drums of this creative track! 8/10

4. Afterglow- This track is indie/indie-rock and by The Reveurs who are a 4 piece indie/rock band. The loud, powerful, full on indie-rock backing seems to drown out Gary Nelson's nasal, wobbly vocals. The vocals are undefined and not very confident even though the backing is just that. 4/10

5. The Stealer- The High Nines are a 5 piece rock and roll/ alternative rock band who have infectious guitar riffs and the alternative, indie-rock vocals of Steve Cornell make this track a great listen which will stay in your head for a long time! 9/10

6. Rabbit Hole- This song is a piano and acoustic guitar ballad sung by Matt fryers, the intro music is beautiful and haunting with long lasting effects. Fryers' vocals cut through the hypnotizing effects suddenly with their raspy pop tones. This beginning would be much better if the vocals worked their way in gently and softly. After this, though, the song becomes a gorgeous melody again. 7/10

7. Bumblebee- Another rock and roll song by Mercury Field, I prefer this one. I feel it has more vocal variation and more diverse music behind Josh Jones' classic rock voice. This is a much more innovative track. 8/10

8. Blue Dove- This Skinny Roller song is a slower and more melodic track than St Louis. The vocals are more varied in pitch, they sound more comfortable in themselves and in the higher pitches than in St Louis. The track isn't as catchy and infectious, but still a really good, original bit of music. 9/10

9. Hide & Seek- Another indie-rock song with much less backing and more vocals, although the vocals still can't seem to match up to the heavy rock backing. There are some nice and inventive interludes within the track though. 6/10

10. Paupers & Kings- Another alternative-rock song by The High Nines. This one is almost as catchy but not quite, although it still has its own merits with the grunge-y, casual vocals and their talented, fast moving twangy electric backing. 8/10


Thanks for reading! Don't forget to download the mix tape HERE and let me know what you think of the tracks!

iTunes Single of the week #12

Hi,

So, it's that time of the week again. This week's free single was "Thinkin Aboutchu" by Dan Croll.

Dan Croll is a 23 year old indie-rock/pop, folktronica, pop-rock artist from Newcastle. He has one album out called Sweet Disarray which came out on March 10th this year.

Review:
So I know you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover but my immediate response when I first saw the title was: this is either going to be an awful, generic electro-pop track or it's an ironic name and a really fun original piece of music. To be honest it's neither of these. This is indie-electro-pop with prominent but simple bass guitar at the beginning leaving space for the vocals to grow, but they really don't. The vocals are very simple and reserved which can be good, but in this case are boring. There are times when you feel the vocals should stretch out and show full potential but just stay on one level throughout. The backing music is quite catchy but nothing very special or unique.

Overall, this track has some good points but it's boring and not a song that you can listen to very often without wanting to rip off your headphones. I think it deserves 3/10!

iTunes Single of the week #11

Hi,

I haven't done one of these for a while but here we go....
This week's was "Rockstar" by A great big world.

A great big world are an indie-pop/ indie rock duo from New York. They have one album out called "is there anybody put there?".

Review:
This indie-pop/rock song is catchy and gets you dancing. The lyrics are great and really well written. The piano is a jazzy and it helps keep a steady tune all the way through which is missing in a lot songs like this. The electric guitar fits nicely with the lyrics and is cleverly put in at the right times to give us the person's dream. The singer is very talented, sounding comfortable with the fast moving tune but not keeping the melody safe. I really love this track with the texture changing rapidly, the vocals adapting to this all the way through and the amazing piano and guitar work. A really great song! Definitely should be downloaded while it still can be!

Overall, I really love this song so 8/10!

The Tuts

Hi,

Just a short post today about "The tuts"! You can listen to them HERE!! More music HERE!

Background Info:

The Tuts are a 3-piece punk, ska and indie band from Hayes, London. They have a song featured on Kate Nash's Christmas EP. 

These girls have a rock sound as well as a slightly poppy. They are extremely talented and unique, although have a similar sound to Kate Nash. Their electric, bass heavy beats are fab and added with the gentle, soothing voices of the girls makes a great and whole band! I'm surprised they're not bigger than they are!!

Eliza and the Bear

Hi,

Today's post will be about "Eliza and the bear". You can listen to them HERE

Background Info:
Eliza and the bear is a 5 piece indie band from South London. They are influenced by: Bombay Bicycle Club, Head & The Heart, We are Augustines and Arcade Fire. They have a few singles out on iTunes.

Eliza and the bear have a gorgeous indie and indie-rock sound. They have gorgeous harmonies and I love their accent when they sing. "It gets cold" is an upbeat indie-rock song similar to some of "Of monsters and men". I love the way they sing with emotion, their harmonies are fully formed and they seem already to be a ready made band with full and whole music that cheers you right up! "Friends" is more of a summery indie-pop song. I love the way that the band sing their music altogether all the way through. These guys are all really talented and deserve a listen!

Top 3 Songs of the week #8

Hi,

Click on the song title to have a listen!

This week I've been loving.....
Milk and Black Spiders by Foals
One Day by Kodaline
Riptide by Vance Joy

Milk and Black Spiders starts with open and echoing beats and then twinkly, tapping, acoustic beats that sound like spider's feet are added. I absolutely love this addition! When the vocalist starts singing it sounds electronic and a bit techno but still unmistakeably indie. I love that the spider footsteps are kept throughout it adds real depth. When they get to first chorus then it all gets heavier and less steppy, more long drawn out notes instead of fast moving ones. Then it moves back for the next verse. I really like this! At the end it starts to sound almost Turkish which is great. I love the way it builds before the last more indie-electro-pop end bit. I love the lyrics that "Foals" use in all their songs.

One Day is an unbelievably gorgeous song by Kodaline. It starts with just an acoustic guitar, small tapping beats and the singer which has a great effect. Piano is then added which brings more melody to the song, then drums are added which makes it feel fuller and more whole. Bass guitar is added which makes the track a whole and all come together. I love the message of the song, the lyrics are so good and just makes you want to sing along! When the electric guitar has some, rock-esque backing it adds a lot to the piece and now it sounds so more emotional and the whole thing builds for the last part. It ends with the chorus sung with only the acoustic guitar which leaves you feeling emotional and full. Just beautiful!

Riptide is an upbeat beachy sounding track. The first chords sound like you're sitting in a beach shack (in a good way). But his crackly, closed jaw, sometimes breathy vocals sound gorgeous and unexpected against everything else. I love that everything stops for a beat before the chorus. At the end the music stops and he is one beat behind singing "wrong", this is a gorgeous effect that makes you think. I love the chorus with only guitar chords and the tambourine, this whole track is so catchy and makes you tap your head and feet! I love the penultimate chorus where everything suddenly goes quiet and is thin texture again. It all suddenly gets loud again which I love! This song is exiting and gorgeous and needs a listen!