December / January Top Ten

Posted on 02/02/2014 by brightonmusicblog

With December being a quiet month for new music and with us being a bit busy with our end of year round up, we thought it would be an idea to combine the new music we heard December and January for our Top Ten this time around.

1 Fickle Friends / Swim

In the middle of winter, Swim was exactly what we needed to hear to be reminded that it won’t always be cold and grey.

2 IYES / Crazy in Love

Beyonce released a new album, so IYES shared their cover of her most popular tune with us.

3 GAPS / I Know It’s You

GAPS second single I Know It’s You came out in early December but it’s been on heavy rotation since then round these parts, along with its B-side Inside Your Head, getting a bit more interest thanks to the fantastic Foreign Skin remix.

4 Curxes / Avant Guarded

Avant Guarded is another of December’s single releases, which came easy listening YouTube teasers, drums which could be used as sonic weaponry and a video featuring the band wearing budgerigar heads. Obviously.

5 Do You Feel What I Feel Deer / Golden Future

Do You Feel What I Feel Deer quietly split up midway through 2013, then snuck out their gorgeous album Beat Glorious Heart before Christmas when they thought people weren’t looking. By then it was too late to appear in our end of year round up, but it would have done if we’d heard it sooner. It’s difficult to pick out one track, because the whole record is lush, but we’ve put up album closer Golden Future to listen to here.

6 Ital Tek / Golden

By the time we had blogged about Ital Tek’s free Christmas giveaway Golden a few weeks ago it had already reached its download limit. Thankfully for everyone who missed it, it’s been reuploaded, so go and grab it while you can!

7 Calico / Nightowl

Calico put out their first single Night Owl right at the end of November, after we’d put together our November top ten list. We haven’t enjoyed anything this cinematic and funky since David Holmes’ soundtrack stuff.

8 Kins / Opsimplistic

We wrote about Kins single Aimless and went to the launch party at The Hope back in November last year, but what we didn’t spot at the time was that the track – and a brand new B-side Opsimplistic – had been uploaded to Soundcloud. The B-side is just as good as anything on the album and definitely deserves a bit more exposure.

9 Thomas White / Go Your Own Way

Last year Electric Soft Parade’s Thomas White covered the whole of Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours and Alex White covered Steely Dan’s Katy Lied. They’re both very good indeed.

10 Gudjohr / I Built A Home

Some sunny guitar pop to round off our top ten, which we only got hold of last week.

Brighton Music Blog Advent Calendar Day Twenty Five – IYES / ‘Til Infinity

Posted on 25/12/2013 by brightonmusicblog

So, our final box in our Advent Calendar is filled by IYES, who have barely been going a year yet are more than worthy of our top spot. Right from the first moment we heard them, when Lighthouse appeared on Soundcloud, we knew that IYES were something special. Since then there’s been a few more tracks that have appeared from them this year – a more upbeat number called Glow, a Balearic instrumental called Daddy, a cover of Beyonce’s Crazy in Love and their debut single ‘Til Infinity. The production on each of these has been spot on, as has their timing – holding off on playing the new single until it was ready to be released, and not releasing it until the time was right where they could get a good buzz behind it. And what a buzz it got, getting over 2,400 likes on Hype Machine, nearly 150,000 plays on Soundcloud and coverage from all the major music sites – The Line of Best Fit said “You know you’ve found a beauty when melodies rattle around your head after just one listen”, and This is Fake DIY described it as “pristine pop skewed to the point where it’s pushing boundaries”. Look out for IYES in 2014, we think you’ll be hearing a lot more from them.

New Music – IYES, Grasshopper, Hella Better Dancer

Posted on 16/12/2013 by brightonmusicblog

Less than ten days to go before Christmas and there’s still new music popping up for us to share with you.

First up is IYES who have responded to the release this weekend’s surprise release of a new Beyonce album by putting up their cover of Crazy in Love.It starts off threatening to be a slow piano ballad, but then 45 seconds in takes a turn a brings in glitchy drums and slowed down vocals – Much more imaginative that your normal cover:

Hella Better Dancer have a new video up. Sleeptalking originally came out in November (but somehow we missed it at the time), but the video is just up on Youtube this week. The single is available on 7″ or as download via Soundcloud.

Finally Grasshopper have new EP out. You can pick up a copy of the post-punk sounding Circle Time from Resident, or take a listen on Soundcloud.

November Top Ten

Posted on 28/11/2013 by brightonmusicblog

We’re posting up our favourite tracks from November a little earlier than usual because it’s almost time for us to start our Brighton Music Blog Advent Calendar, where from December 1st we’ll be posting up a different band every day that we’ve enjoyed this year, culminating in our musical highlight on Christmas Day (to give you something to read while your parents are watching the Queens speech). Before then though, here’s what we loved this month:

1) IYES – ‘Til Infinity

IYES debut single proper is a corker. From the opening drums and hand claps (How long before live performances string out the intro and get the audience to the claps like Queen’s We Will Rock You?) through to Melis “Mmm-Hmm” at 2.10 it doesn’t put a foot wrong.

2) Black Rooster Black Shag – Run Baby

Run Baby is the kind of catchy, effortless rock’n’roll that’s as cool as ice. The black & white video for the track makes us love it even more

3) Nordic Giants – Dark Clouds Mean War

Dark Clouds Mean War is the closing track from Nordic Giants recent Dismantle Suns EP. It’s brooding and cinematic and packs in more emotion into one track than you’re likely to hear this year

4) The Beautiful Word – Coconut Hair

In a complete change mood, Coconut Hair, from The Beautiful Word’s new release Particles is silly and nonsensical and will put a smile on your face.

5) A Lily – The Sparrow In The Lemon Tree

The Sparrow In the Lemon Tree, taken from A Lily’s new EP Lupa, is a thing of fragile beauty – lush strings and gentle electronica combine for this lovely take on modern folk

6) Kins – Aimless

Kins new single starts off sounding almost jazzy, but soon settles into beautiful abstract guitar pop which feels familiar yet unlike anything you can put your finger on.

7) Plasticine – Dreamers Of The Day

We haven’t heard much from Plasticine since we first crossed paths with them back at Sea Monsters back in January. After nearly a year they’re back on the blog with a fantastic pop single.

8) Faux Flux – Week Long War

Faux Flux follow up this year’s earlier Come Alive release with new single Week Long War, which we like even more. We’ve posted the video here, but you can download the track and it’s b-side for free over on their bandcamp site.

9) bentcousin – Sunglasses In Winter

Bentcousin’s first proper release since their Everbody’s Got One EP is a track quietly tucked away on a compilation album. While it starts off with gentle guitar lines that echo I Think I Like You Girlfriend More Than You from their debut, the subject matter is much more hard hitting. Bentcousin are playing an unplugged gig at Revenge on Sunday afternoon at 4pm for World Aids Day.

10) Jipsy Magic – So Serious

Genre busting Jipsy Magic describe themselves as a disco / funk / pop band. There’s a fair bit of indie in there too as you see in their new single So Serious:

Gallery post – IYES, Luo and Momotaro at Source New Music at the Dome Studio Theatre

Posted on 24/11/2013 by brightonmusicblog

On Friday night we headed down to the Dome Studio Theatre for the Source New Music Night. This month IYES headlined, supported by Luo and Momotaro. We hoped it was going to be a good gig, and it didn’t disappoint. Here’s our pics:

(click on the pics to view large)

Weekend Gig Picks

Posted on 20/11/2013 by brightonmusicblog

There’s always a lot of great music to see in Brighton, which makes it easy to write this weekly feature. This weekend it’s even easier because some of our favourite bands are playing.

On Thursday night Kins headline The Hope playing a hometown show with their tour for their new single Aimless. Support comes from Francis Lung and The Hundredth Anniversary.

Friday Night is this month’s Source New Music featuring this month’s Source cover stars and Brighton Music Blog favourites IYES, who have just released their debut single ‘Til Infinity. Support comes from two other bands that we’re big fans of – Momotaro, and Luo, who will be joined onstage by members of Physics House Band.

There’s a couple of gigs on Saturday which caught our eye – Dizraeli and the Small Gods are playing at The Haunt supported by Le Juki, with an afterparty taking place at the Fortune of War. Meanwhile, The Blind Tiger plays host to King Porter Stomp, alongside The Allergies and Town of Cats.

IYES – ‘Til Infinity

Posted on 06/11/2013 by brightonmusicblog

Since the end of last year, anyone whose asked us about the Brighton music scene has probably had their ear bent by me telling them that the best new band around were IYES. And now, about a year after we were knocked off our feet by the stunning Lighthouse, their debut single ‘Til Infinity has landed.

Sparse and simple for the first minute with just tribal drums, handclaps and Melis’ vocals, the track then explodes into life with a pop chorus that’s simultaneously both breathy and vulnerable, and powerful with its swirling chiming guitars, and clashing cymbals. Midway through the track IYES’ other half Josh gets a vocal turn adding a bit more colour to proceedings, and later there’s a bridge that drops everything to almost nothing, before one last triumphant chorus, and then at just three minutes everything’s over and done with – as all great pop songs should be.

Best of all, they’ve used an apostrophe and one ‘l’, which this pedant secretly very happy.

IYES is on sale now via iTunes on Duly Noted records.

IYES at the Prince Albert / The New Union at the Blind Tiger live gallery

Posted on 10/10/2013 by brightonmusicblog

Last night The New Union supported Let’s Buy Happiness at the Blind Tiger and IYES played their first headline show at the Prince Albert. We were torn – we’re fans of both bands – which should we go to? And then we figured that since The New Union were supporting and IYES were headlining, we should be able to make it to both.

When we first heard about the New Union gig, we read that they would be on at 8.15. On the day, we read on Facebook that it would be 8.30. We turned up at the gig to see set times that said 8.45, but the support act who was on before them didn’t get onstage until 8.50. In the end The New Union started just after 9.30, so we only caught a few of their songs before we headed to the Prince Albert. But those few songs sounded fantastic. Every time the New Union head into the studio, they come out sounding even better, taking everything they’ve learned and improving their live sound with it, and just recently they’ve been recording at Metway Studios with Matthew Twaites (of Electric Soft Parade, Milk & Biscuits, etc).

The normal career path for a new band is first to get support slots with other local bands, then headline your own small gigs, then get supports with bigger touring bands that visit. It’s testament to the strength of IYES demos that they managed to skip the first two stages, with all their gigs so far playing before more established national acts. As sods law would have it, the IYES gig was running late too, but that meant we got to catch Londoners Rivieras from the back of a packed room. When they were done, we took the opportunity to get to the front so we could make up for all of the photos that we didn’t take at the New Union gig. IYES were on top form, showcasing the demos that the crowd was familiar with as well as a brace of new tracks including the first play of their upcoming single Infinity.

Click pics to view large:

Weekend Gig Picks

Posted on 09/10/2013 by brightonmusicblog

Last weekend’s gig pick post was all about quality not quantity, and we promised we’d be back this week bigger than ever. We’re still not scrimping on quality but we’re probably featuring more gigs this week than we ever have done.

We’re going to kick things off with a couple of gigs happening tonight. Normally we treat Thursday as the start of the weekend, but when two of favourite bands are playing we’d be fools not to give them a mention. IYES play their first ever headline show at the Prince Albert, which we’re very excited about. We’ve been huge fans since we first heard Lighthouse at the end of the year, and they haven’t disappointed since. Best of all it’s a free gig! Elsewhere, down at the Blind Tiger, Brighton Music Blog favourites The New Union are supporting Let’s Buy Happiness.

Thursday night is where we normally start our weekend gig round up, and the weekend proper is starting strong with Calico headlining Sticky Mike’s Frog Bar. Support comes from 900 Spaces and Blackwell, and it’s four pounds to get in. Meanwhile, Normanton Street are playing at the Mesmerist.

On Friday some more of our favourite bands are supporting at the same gig. Pawws are supported by the fantastic GAPS and Dog in the Snow (as well as Saint Savanna, who are local and new to us). And it’s a free gig – Green Door Store, you do spoil us. There’s also a free gig at the Blind Tiger, headlined by Transformer, with support from Eagles for Hands, whose new EP we love.

Saturday night’s big gig is the Physics House Party taking place at Sticky Mike’s. As well as the awesome Physics House Band, AK/DK, Alphabets Heaven and Suffer Like G Did are also playing. Over at Fitzherberts, Speak Galactic and Soft Arrows are playing at a night called Ruff Stuff, where Owen from Speak Galactic and some of his old bandmates from Cinemascopes are unveiling a new project called Merlin Tonto.

Rounding off the weekend nicely at Sticky Mike’s, Esben & The Witch play the Brighton leg of their national tour promoting Wash The Sins Not Only The Face. At the Green door store, there’s an event to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Gram Parsons early death in 1973, aged only 26. There’s loads of local bands getting involved – the list includes The Self Help Group, Dollboy, and Amy Hill plus various members of Laish, The Repeat Prescriptions, Super U, The Standard Lamps, Woodland Blue, The Pooh Sticks, Lolly & the City of Flies, Redlands Palomino Company, Englemann Spruce, and Lost Dog. Get there early enough and you’ll also get to see Pete Wiggs from Saint Etienne DJing before the live acts.

Weekend Gig Picks

Posted on 31/07/2013 by brightonmusicblog

In Brighton, the first weekend in August is associated with being Pride – probably the biggest party in the local calendar. We’re not going to include that in our weekend gig picks because of the lack of local acts on the bill, but we have got a whole load of other gigs to tell you about, including a very special couple of days at the Green Door Store.

Tomorrow night IYES and Yumi & The Weather are supporting MT at the Prince Albert. It doesn’t cost anything to get in, but to get hold of a ticket you’ll need to register online.

There’s quite a few gigs on Friday that have caught our eye. AMiTY and Jacko Hooper are playing at Neighbourhood on St James Street, and The Jargonaughts (featuring ex members of Los Albertos) are on at the Gladstone. Over at The Hope multimedia electronica night The Outer Church hold the launch night for their new compilation with live music from Pye Corner Radio, Kember Norton, Embla Quickbeam and Wrong Signals.

Over Saturday and Sunday Green Door Store are holding an event called TwoThreeFour. There are over twenty bands on the bill, mostly from Brighton, including The New Union, Kill Moon, Faux Flux, Spit Shake Sisters, Dog in the Snow, GAPS, Written in Waters, The Hundredth Anniversary, Tyrannosaurus Dead, Ed Prosek, Tigercub, Foreign Skin, Wildcat Strike and Demob Happy. It’s an amazing line up, and it’s free – You’d be a fool to miss it.