More album news, this time from Michael A Grammar whose debut album hits the shops on 29th September. The self titled album features all of the tracks from their now-out-of-print EPs as well as four new tracks, including Don’t Wake Me, which comes as an early download if you pre-order the album on iTunes:
Fore more info head over to the Melodic website, who are putting the album out, where you can also pre-order the album for a few pounds less than iTunes.
Tyrannosaurus Dead have announced news of their debut album, hot on the heels of their split single last month with Joanna Gruesome. Flying Ant Day gets a release on Odd Box Records on in November and was produced by Rory Attwell from Test Icicles. The first single from the album, Local Bullies, got it’s premier over on Stereogum yesterday, but you can hear it here now:
The album can be pre-ordered in various CD/LP/T-shirt combos via Odd Box’s bandcamp page now and you can catch Tyrannosaurus Dead live this Saturday as part of the Green Door Store’s 234 weekender.
In a recent interview with The Argus, Jennifer Left said that she was rubbish at self promotion; and so it is that you might not have realised that she released her debut album this week. Hushabye was funded via a pledgemusic campaign which reached it’s goal in only six days when it launched back in January. Seven months later, the album is out and is available for those who missed out on the pedge campaign to buy over on bandcamp.
Next month The Levellers release a new greatest hits album. It’s not their first – that was One Way of Life which came out back in 1998 and charted their first ten years in the music business. Their new best of (simply entitled Greatest Hits) features many old favourites and also includes some new versions of some of their songs re-recorded with Imelda May, Bellowhead and Frank Turner as well as new single Hope Street – The original came out back in 1995, but this time around they’ve roped in Billy Bragg on lead vocals. Hope Street is out now, and Greatest Hits is out on 29th September. A deluxe version of the album which comes with two cds, a dvd and a 7” of Hope Street can be pre-ordered here.
How is it August already? July seemed to shoot by, probably because so much of it was spent outside soaking up the sun. Here’s our pick of the top tunes we heard last month:
1 Bentcousin – Dizzy
It seems like forever since we wrote about Dizzy, Bentcousin’s ode to summer in Brighton, and it was a while ago – back in the middle of June. But it came out on 7″ on 1st July, so gets the honour of taking top spot in our July round up.
2 Eagles for Hands – Glass Heart
Conversely, Glass Heart was one of the most recent things we wrote about. There’s also now an alternate version on Spotify too.
3 Caveman Genius – Hand Drawn Paradise
The new Caveman Genius EP isn’t out yet (despite what we might have written when we first mentioned it), but if it’s all as good as Hand Drawn Paradise, then we’re prepared to wait.
4 Oslo Parks – Twin
Oslo Parks are one of a number of new electronic pop bands who have sprung up in Brighton, part of a trend that you won’t find us complaining about.
5 Fragile Creatures – Sunshine
Another sun related song in our top ten – the fantastic weather in July obviously affected us. Fragile Creatures’ new EP is due soon, and there’s word that we might get to hear another track from it before the release date.
6 Demob Happy – Suffer You
Demob Happy are a bit more melodic than usual in their latest offering Suffer You which appeared on Soundcloud last month. The band also announced details of their first headline UK tour, which concludes in Brighton on October 16th at Bleach.
7 Soph Nathan – Our Girl
Soph Nathan’s ethereal shoegazey dream pop has been getting lots of plays at Brighton Music Blog HQ
8 Steve Elston – Dear Em
Dear Em is the title track from Steve Elsom’s new EP / mini-album of lovely acoustic folk pop. It was hard to pick one track to put in our top ten since the whole EP is quite blissful.
9 Lion Bark – Come into my Arms
Come Into My Arms has been getting plays on BBC 6Music and XFM, so we’re happy to include it in our top ten
10 Thomas White – Lose That Girl
Most of what we hear about via the blog is original music, but when Tom White covered the whole of Saint Etienne’s Good Humor we paid attention, as should you.
Last night we caught the Brighton Date of The Beautiful Word’s current UK tour, before they head off to Leeds, Liverpool, Dundee, Edinburgh and Norwich. The band played plenty of new material “because we can get away with it here” as well as a good selection from last November’s album Particles. Support came from Cate Ferris, in fine voice as always, who’s currently preparing for the launch of her next EP in September. Here’s our pics from the night. As always, click to view large:
Fresh from spending most of this year touring with Pains of being Pure at Heart, Fear of Men today announced their first headline tour of the UK. It doesn’t kick off until September because the band already have their summer filled up with festival dates, and the first night of the tour is a hometown gig at The Hope – which I’m sure the band could sell out many times over, so get in early buying a ticket. The full list of tour dates is:
25th September – The Hope, Brighton
26th September – Epic Studios, Norwich
27th September – Brudenell Games Room, Leeds
28th September – The Castle, Manchester
30th September – The Bull’s Head, Birmingham
1st October – Start the Bus, Bristol
2nd October – Concrete, London
Royal Blood have announced details of their debut album and put out a video for the single that precedes it. The eponymously titled Royal Blood is out on 25th August, a week after Figure it Out is released on 7″ and download. You can watch the video for Figure it Out below. Pre-ordering the album through iTunes gives you an instant download of Figure it Out. If you’re after something a bit more physical it’s also coming out on vinyl, with the first 500 copies sold through Rough Trade being pressed on white vinyl.
About half an hour ago we sat down to pen a new music blog post, which will be coming soon, but before we get to that something popped up that distracted us from the matter at hand.
Back in January we posted news of two covers albums by the White brothers, and news has just reached us of the latest instalments in their ongoing covers project. Alex White is working on another Steely Dan, while Thomas has posted up his take on Saint Etienne’s Good Humor. As with their previous covers albums, it’s pretty much a note for note re-recording of the original, but where Saint Etienne decamped to Malmo in Sweden for a summer and roped in the Cardigans producer to produce the album using old 60s analogue equipment, Thomas has recorded his version at home on Garageband in the space of a week. You can download it for free over on bandcamp now:
Slightly delayed since we’ve been on holiday, here’s out top ten tunes from June:
1 Fear of Men – Descent
Descent is the second single taken from Fear of Men’s fantastic debut album Loom. The band have spent the past few months supporting Pains of Being Pure at Heart across the US and Europe. The tour’s now over, so hopefully they’re taking a well earned rest before playing a few festival dates over the summer, including Green Door Store’s 234 festival taking place over the August Bank Holiday Weekend.
2 Anushka – Mansions
Mansions is taken from Anushka’s brand new album Broken Circuit, out now on Gilles Peterson’s Brownswood Recordings label. It’s good, but play it loud and it’s even better.
3 Jacko Hooper – Egg Shells
Because we’ve been away we missed the launch party for Jacko Hooper’s new For You EP, which took place last week at the Green Door Store. The EP is out now on One Inch Badge’s record label.
4 Palm Springs – Seal My Fate
Seal My Fate is one of those slow burners which has got under our skin a little bit more every time we’ve played it. It’s out now on 7″ on Random Acts of Vinyl
5 Alex Banks – All You Can Do
The whole of Alex Banks’ new album Illuminate but we’ve decided to put the Gazelle Twin collaboration All You Can Do into our top ten.
6 Moulettes – So It Goes
To promote their new album Constellations, Moulettes put out a double A-side single, with Lady Vengeance backed with So It Goes which we’ve featured.
7 Bunty – We Are Here
We Are Here is the new single from the ever-creative Bunty, launched at last month’s Spectrum night at the Dome Studio Theatre.
8 Black Honey – Sleep Forever
Black Honey are the latest band to have a single put out by Duly Noted Records, which have put out previous releases by IYES and Fickle Friends. In a change of style for the label, Sleep Forever’s backing isn’t electronica but lush reverb drenched guitars.
9 The Mojo Fins – Longwave Reach
Longwave Reach is the latest single from The Mojo Fins brand new album Circa, which has been getting plenty of plays at Brighton Music Blog towers.
10 Faux Flux – You Know
Fuax Flux came out with another new track in June, the summery You Know.
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