We’ve got an interesting New Music post for you this week – new tracks from some of our city’s biggest bands as well as some exciting stuff from some of Brighton’s younger home grown talent.
Fujiya & Miyagi‘s last album (excluding solo projects Omega Male and I am Ampersand) was back in 2011. The band are back now with an album due in the spring, the first taster of which is Tetrahydrofolic Acid – much more electronic and a lot less krautrock than before:
Electric Soft Parade have put up a video for another track from last year’s Idiots. One of Those Days comes out to coincide with a Spanish tour that the White brothers kick off tomorrow:
Love Thy Neighbour, home to Abi Wade, Us Baby Bear Bones and A Lily have just signed Hypnotized. Their first release for the label will be Telesto – a five track EP coming out on 24th March. There’s a launch party at the Green Door Store on 10th March, and you can hear the title track from the EP here:
Last, but by no means least, The Hundredth Anniversary announced news of their new five track EP Wreckers this week, which is released on 17th March. Only a hundred copies are being pressed and if you can pre order it from the Odd Box bandcamp page. you get an early download of It Becomes Us from the EP:
Pretty much every interview we post up undergoes a bit of editing of sorts, sometimes to cut out duplication in what’s been said, or maybe to move around the order of the discussion to give things a bit more continuity. Every now and then things get edited out because you think that your interviewee might be throwing in little white lies to see if they’ll get published, and so it was when I spoke to Thomas White of the Electric Soft Parade around the time he put out his solo album Yalla. At the end of the discussion, after we’d both had a few drinks, I asked him what he was up to next – “I’m doing a cover of the whole of Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours” he said with a smile on his face. “I’ll send it to you”. I’ll admit to having been a bit dubious about the idea of someone who has a seemingly constant flow of new ideas covering a whole album and I didn’t hear any more until Idiots got released last year. “Ha!” I thought at the time, “I was right not to include that bit”.
He who laughs last laughs longest though, and on their recent mini-tour a couple of limited edition cds appeared on the merchandise table – As well as Thomas’ version of Rumours, Alex White has made a full album cover of Steely Dan’s Katy Lied. Both albums are very faithful reproductions rather than reinterpretations of the originals, pretty much note for note what was played on the seventies classics, and both are now up on Bandcamp:
Our penultimate choice in our advent calendar is the band who brought out our favourite album of 2013. Back in the spring, Thomas and Alex White released the Electric Soft Parade’s first single in over six years with Brother You Must Walk Your Path Alone, which was followed up by the widely acclaimed album Idiots, which we called as Album of the Year on pretty much first listen. It’s difficult to pick out just one track, because everything on the album is so well crafted – apparently over thirty songs were rejected as not being up the high water mark that the band had set – but it’s breezy Summertime in My Heart that got the most spins, the perfect accompaniment to warm, blue sky days we had this summer.
The brothers Alex and Tom White brought their Electric Soft Parade back to hometown Brighton for the first gig of a short pre-Xmas tour. Playing songs from their latest album ‘Idiots’, a contender for many people’s end-of-year best-of lists for sure, they … Continue reading →
Somehow, we’ve turned two! Two years of gig going, photo taking, demo listening and doing out best to share the music we love coming out of Brighton. Here’s what we loved in October:
1 Eagles For Hands – Lisbon
Eagles for Hands gave out their new EP for free for a short while earlier in the month and the title track, which sounds not dissimilar to 808 State at the height of the powers has been our most played track this month. The free download is over now (you should have grabbed it when we told you about it!) but it’s worth every penny you’ll pay on iTunes.
2 Momotaro – Reverie 3 Gaps – Belong
Giving away a free track in return for signing up to a bands mailing list is the new black. Or something like that. Momotaro and Gaps are two of our favourite discoveries this year and you can get these tracks just for the price of an email address.
4 The Beautiful Word – Eating Me, Eating You
“It’s not rude!” Megan and Emily blush when they introduce this track live. Of course it’s not, but a bit of innuendo doesn’t do anyone any harm. The video for Eating Me, Eating You dropped this month, and the track appears on The Beautiful Word’s album Particles which we’ll be reviewing soon.
5 Electric Soft Parade – The Sun Never Sets Around Here
The Sun Never Sets Around Here in ESP’s new single to go alongside their minitour. The band have just announced a Christmas date at the Unitarian Church on 6th December. Get your tickets quick because it’s going to sell out fast.
6 Prince Vaseline – Sunset
Lovely lovely stuff from a Milke & Biscuits side project
7 Nordic Giants – Neotenie
Neotenie appears on part one of the Nordic Giants Build Seas Dismantle Suns double EP. We’ll be putting up something about part two – the Dismantle Suns half – very soon.
8 Yumi & The Weather – All We Can
The lead track from Yumi & The Weather’s debut EP (and it’s accompanying video) is a much sunnier track than the weather outside at the moment. We’ve had it on repeat to bring a bit of summer back into our lives. The Vondelpark rework that’s also on the EP is quite tasty too.
9 Moulettes – Songbird
Moulettes gig at Applefest (which we missed because we didn’t want caught in the torrential rain in Lewes), and their giveaway of this track reminded up just how much we love Moulettes. From the look of their Facebook / Twitter streams, they’re working on new material right now. Can’t wait!
10 Alice Amelia – #1000 Dreams
We rather liked Alice Amelia’s free download that she gave away earlier this month – sophisticated sparse piano and a lovely vocal. She’s playing down at Above Audio this Wednesday for free as well!
There’s four new releases to tell you about this week, from some new bands, and some more established bands. So without further ado…
The Electric Soft Parade – The Sun Never Sets Around Here
The White brothers next single, put out to support their mini-tour later this month (which sadly doesn’t include a Brighton date at the time of writing) is Idiots opener The Sun Never Sets Around Here. There’s a home made video, and the track has been re-recorded, with a brand new guitar solo and a completely different second half.
The Mojo Fins – Introverts
The Mojo Fins third album is due for release next year. Before then they’re putting out Introverts, which is out on November 10th on Amazon Records
Poles Apart – Atlasless
Atlasless is the debut EP from new Brighton four piece Poles Apart. It features three tracks of atmospheric rock and is up on Bandcamp now as a name-your-price download.
Octopuses – Ghost in the House
Octopuses are lining up for the release their second single Ghost In The House. With a title like that, it could only be released on Halloween, when it’ll be available as a free download from Big Salad Records. Until then you can enjoy the second home made video of today’s round up.
British Sea Power – Monsters of Sunderland
Finally, British Sea Power have put out a video today of Monsters of Sunderland from their album Machineries of Joy, featuring the bears which are staples of their live sets. The video only went up today, so catch it while it’s fresh!
Here are the top tunes that were on the Brighton Music Blog stereo in August. As always, the diversity of the music being made in this city is impressive, from retro garage to chilled electronica and everything inbetween.
1) Spit Shake Sisters – Modern Drugs Make Aliens
Our most listened to track of the last month wasn’t a proper single, and was just put out to bring Spit Shake Sister’s output up to date following a change in personnel. Modern Drugs Make Aliens wasn’t even the lead song on the two track download. But nevertheless we’re big fans of this Hammond led hip swinger.
2) Electric Soft Parade – 1969
1969 is a popular year for songwriters. Serge Gainsbourg, Iggy Pop and, er, Bryan Adams have all taken advantage of writing about a year that recalls a time of free love, which also has a lot of rhymes. I’m sure the innuendo has nothing to do with it’s popularity. Now it’s Electric Soft Parade’s turn, putting out the summery guitar pop of 1969 as a free download from their label’s website.
3) Adolescent – Shy
Shy came out on an electronica compilation called Coast to Coast put out by Irish blog Believe In Sound. Call us biased, but in our opinion the Brighton track with the best thing on it. You can download the whole compilation for free on bandcamp.
4) Bon Iver – Wash (Foreign Skin remix)
Bon Iver’s not from Brighton, I hear you say. Well, no – but Flavia Aliverti, better known as Foreign Skin, is. We were won over by her set at Two Three Four at Green Door Store at the start of the month, and not long after this rather lovely unofficial remix turned up on SoundCloud and Bandcamp (see the links underneath the video on YouTube). Grab it before it disappears
5) The Hundredth Anniversary – Last Drive
The Hundredth Anniversary continue to put out high quality shoegaze, and Last Drive is no exception. Head over to the website they created to go with the track, play with the visuals, and download the track to listen to at your leisure.
6) The Raving Beauties – Oh Lover
At The Helm is a new Brighton based label from the guys behind Brighthelmstone promotions and Wildwood promotions, and the sunny Americana of Oh Lover is their first release
7) Phantom Runners – It Takes Me Away
We only heard this last week, but we loved it on first listen. We heard some very exciting news about who might be producing the Phantom Runners next EP, but we think it might be a secret so all we’ll say is keep your eyes and ears peeled.
8) Samuel Organ – E/\/\ER/\LD
The Physics House Band’s own label Kaleidoscope put out their second release this month, a three track solo EP called Y by Physics House Band member Samuel Organ. It’s not easy listening by any means, but neither is a lot of Aphex Twin’s output, which this track feels like it could be a natural heir to.
9) P For Persia – Uncanny Valley
Uncanny Valley got reviewed by Drowned In Sound, who described it as “a Twin Peaks remix done on an Atari by Fuck Buttons channelling their inner Kid606, before asking a bunch of shouty screamo kids to come in and do some vocals.”. They didn’t mention that it was just one track on a split EP with Speak Galactic, that the EP was called Aegis Arctic Alp, or that it was coming out on purple vinyl, all of which makes it an even more exciting prospect.
10) Flash Bang Band / Screw Come Loose
The second track in our top ten from At The Helm Records, Screw Come Loose, is the single that’s come out to promote the new Flash Bang Band album Bite Your Tongue. The album is out now and features some of their older singles (If You’re Driving and DananananaFreud). The launch party is at the Green Door Store on 15th September, where they’ll be joined by P For Persia and Clowns.
We’ve got more genres than you can shake a stick at for this week’s selection of new music. There’s surf rock, psychedelia, post rock, mind bending electronica, indie and art rock.
Bombay Potatoes is the new single from The Space Agency. It’s surf rock, with an eastern flavour. It’s out on 26th August, and the launch party is at the Horse & Groom on Saturday 31st.
Spit Shake Sisters recently lost their keyboard player, so they’ve put out the last recordings they made with him for free. Overdope and Modern Drugs Make Aliens are on Bandcamp now for download:
Electric Soft Parade have also put a track up for free download. 1969, which isn’t on new album Idiots, features Matt Eaton from Pure Conjecture on backing vocals, and you can get hold of it by signing up to their mailing list
Samuel Organ is better known as one third of Brighton Prog Jazz titans Physics House Band. Not content with knocking our socks off with that, he’s put out a free three track EP called Y:
The Bear is the title track from the new Chris T-T and the Hoodrats album of the same name. The album’s not out until 7th October but if you pre order the album from Xtra Mile Recordings, you get a download of The Bear.
I am L is the stage name of Laura May Brophy. Lion Heart is a track that she’s recently put up on Soundcloud which recalls Brighton’s own Bat For Lashes:
Finally, White Peaks have made their Turbluence EP free for download. Of the two tracks of atmospheric rock we prefer the second, Omnipresence, with it’s big post-rock finish:
On Friday Night The Levellers played a one-off sell out gig at Brighton Dome to celebrate twenty five years as a band. Support came from two other acts who’ve collaborated with The Levellers over the years – Electric Soft Parade, who played a set taken from their new album Idiots, and McDermott’s Two Hours who were originally a band who inspired The Levellers but who the Levellers went on to produce. We took our camera along to capture a permanent record of a timeless night.
The weekend is almost upon us so it’s time for our weekly round up of the best local talent that you can see live this weekend.
We’ve spotted two great gigs on Thursday night – Tiny Dragons are playing at Club Criminal at Latest Music Bar, with support from Fools Knowledge, Dead Whisky and Dress Theque. Round the corner at the Blind Tiger The Resonators headline Dub Organiser.
On Friday there are a crazy number of local bands playing live in Brighton. The biggest show is at the Dome, where the Levellers play Brighton for the first time in ages to celebrate their twenty fifth year as a band. Support comes from Electric Soft Parade. Friday night also has two gigs by Brighton bands at the Blind Tiger. Early doors Standard Lamps and Calico are on the bill, and later on from 10pm The Impellers play their own gig. Meanwhile The Meow Meows are holding a launch party for their album at The Gladstone, and Emberhoney, Mishkin Fitzgerald and Simonne (without her Dark Stars) play at the Komedia. Just a few miles out of town, British Sea Power play at the Gentlemen of the Road Festival in Lewes.
The rest of the weekend we think you should be out enjoying the sun, stopping only at the end of the weekend when Brighton Folk hold their regular night at the Brunswick with Dave Blackwell topping the line up.
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