The beast from the east might be making it feel like deepest midwinter, but it’s actually the first day of March, so it’s time for some more another gig preview post. First up, this weekend AK/DK play their first Brighton gig since their album launch at the end of last year. It’s at Patterns on Saturday night, and support comes from Fruity Water.
Then on Tuesday 6th March Guru and Hake launch their new release at the Green Door Store. The split 10″ contains Medicine Man by Guru and After Space Legacy by Hake and can be bought at the show. Continue reading →
January was a fairly quiet month for new music, so our second post of the year has taken until February. We’re going to start large, with one of the biggest bands from round these parts. Orbital are back with a track called Kinetic 2017, which is a remix of an Orbital side project release from 1992:
It’s about time we had a catch up on the new albums by local bands which are either just out, or just about to come out. The first of these is The Wytches whose new LP All Your Happy Life came out on Heavenly right at the end of September. As a taster, here’s Crest of Death:
Tigercub are out on tour around Europe right now in support of their upcoming album. It’s called Abstract Figures in the Dark, and it comes out on 11th November on Alcopop. If you pre-order it from Resident you’ll get two free tickets to the band’s instore performance on 13th November. Here’s track three from the album, Omen:
The new album from Resonators also came out last Friday (although they played a Brighton launch at the Dome Studio Theatre a couple of weeks back). Their new release is called Imaginary People and is out on Wah Wah 45s. Here’s album opener All The Paths:
Bloom launched their debut album What Is Life with a gig at Latest Music Bar a couple of weekends ago. Formerly the Beautiful Word, the band have grown up, and are displaying a new-found maturity and a love of synths. The band have a new video out on Friday, and are also selling a very limited run if cassettes of the demos for their album (which you can find more info about on their Facebook page). If you’d like to know what to expect from the record, here’s Shout:
So, it’s been a few weeks. Sorry about that. No excuses really, but I never get around to blogging too much when it’s sunny out, even when actually what I’m doing in the evenings is trying to get a baby to sleep. Ho hum. Anyway, music. Continue reading →
2) David Harks latest offering Open Arms has been getting a lot of plays around these parts, keeping the summer alive when the sun deserted us for most of August:
3) We first wrote about Believe in Nothing by The New Union back at the beginning of July, but it didn’t get released until 4th August. The band will be back on the Brighton stage on 16th September supporting Coasts at the Komedia.
4) Hushabye was originally the b-side to Jennifer Left‘s 2012 single Black Dog. This month the album of the same name got released:
5) The Night is the double a-side to to Twin, which is Oslo Park‘s debut single which came out on 25th August:
6) Curxes new single Valkyrie was also out this month, continuing their track record of packing a great tune into a full on aural assault:
7) The Wytches album Annabel Dream Weaver was also one of this months highlights, and it was preceded by the single Burn Out The Bruise
8) We’ve been enjoying the fragile folk of Lutine‘s single Sallow Tree. Noted music have just added up another track from the band’s forthcoming album to their website today.
9) Dark Horses made a return this month with Hail Lucid State, their second album produced by Richard Fearless. Saturn Returns was the single, not to be confused with Goldie’s 1998 album
10) Duly Noted Record’s Black Honey remain just as elusive for the release of their second single Teenager, with no information about the band forthcoming other than a phone number to contact them on…
In all my years of writing the blog, I’m not sure there’s been a week like this. There’s been some local acts who have done extremely well – Rizzle Kicks and Conor Maynard have cornered the teen market, but they’re not so likely to be seen down at the Green Door Store or Sticky Mike’s – but this week should see the first number one album by a Brighton band for many a year. Massive congratulations to Royal Blood.
As our headline suggests, Royal Blood aren’t the only band with an album out this week. Annabel Dream Weaver by The Wytches was released by Heavenly Records, and also garnered an eight out of ten from NME. The band played three sets across London and Brighton on release day on Monday and then played an instore at Resident on Thursday.
If people aren’t making as much noise about the new album from Dark Horses it’s probably down to marketing budgets, although that hasn’t stopped it getting a nine out of ten review from the Von Pip Musical Express. The band’s second album Hail Lucid State has been produced by Death in Vegas’ Richard Fearless (who also produced their debut Black Music) and is also out this week, on Last Gang Records.
The Wytches have announced details of their debut album Annabel Dream Reader. The record is coming out on August 25th on Heavenly Records and features previous singles Gravedweller and Robe for Juda and upcoming single Wire Frame Mattress, whose new video has been directed by legendary photographer Steve Gullick:
February might be the shortest month, but there was no shortage of good music. Here’s our pick of the crop from the last month:
1 – Momotaro / Warm Step
We could have put any track from Momotaro’s Second Side album at number one this month. It’s barely left the stereo since we first heard it
2 – GAPS / I Know It’s You (Foreign Skin remix)
The original version of I Know It’s You made an appearance in our January top ten, but right at the end of the month, Foreign Skin’s remix was post up, which made the track even more lush.
3 – Blood Red Shoes / An Animal
The brand new Blood Red Shoes album is out tomorrow, but if you pre-ordered it you got an early download of An Animal, which is also the single coming out on 7″ alongside the album. If you want a physical copy and tomorrow’s too long to wait I did spot that they already had it on the racks at Resident yesterday.
4 – Yumi & The Weather / Love
Yumi & The Weather gave us their Love as a Valentine’s present. We didn’t get around to posting about it (but we did retweet their link) and since then the link has gone. If you managed to grab the track – all jittery rhythms and slick vocals – then you’ll know why we’re such a fan of this.
UPDATE : Yumi & The Weather have just posted that the track is available as part of a Camels & Lions compilation which you can download for free here.
5 – Electric Soft Parade / One of Those Days
One Of Those Days was one of our favourite tracks on Idiots when it came out last year, so we’re pleased that they’ve put the track out as a single, and that we’ve got an excuse to post it up here
6 – The Wytches / Gravedweller
It’s been a great month for Brighton’s finest psychedelic rock’n’rollers. Not only have they signed to the mighty Heavenly Records, putting them on a roster alongside Toy and Charlie Boyer and the Voyeurs, but they also released their first single with the label, available on their current tour, or as a free download.
7 – Physics House Band / Titan (Ital Tek remix)
This month also saw Physics House Band put out an album of remixes of last month’s Horizons / Rapture Ep. Our pick is Ital Tek’s remix of Titan, which wrestles the original into something altogether more dancefloor friendly.
8 – Fujiya & Miyagi / Tetrahydrofolic Acid
Tetrahydrofolic Acid is the first new track released by the band since 2011’s Ventriloquizzing, and shows them heading in a much more electronic direction. To these ears it sounds like To Rococo Rot on a night out with Underworld.
9 – Milk & Biscuits / Hairstyles
Yes, we wrote about Hairstyles before, but that was when it was released as an mp3 download, and this month it’s the lead track on the first cassette released by newly founded Lick Music, who wanted a distraction from making frozen yoghurt.
10 – Michael A Grammar / The Day I Come Alive
It feels like ages since we first wrote about Michael A Grammar’s Random Vision EP, but it finally came out this month. Lead track The Day I Come Alive sounds like dreamy early period Blur.
Here’s some new music for you all – a few tracks from albums due to land next year, a video from an EP which came out earlier this year and a rather interesting cover…
Black Rooster Black Shag – Run Baby
Run Baby is the lead track from Black Rooster Black Shag’s 3 EP, out this week on EOI productions. Run Baby rocks harder than their debut Amsterdam, and has a very cool video to go with it, filmed around the streets of Brighton. Both singles feature on the band’s upcoming album As Far As My Lead Will Take Me, due in March next year.
Native Roses – Mainline
Mainline is the first track that’s come out from Native Roses forthcoming album Montpelier Blues, out on the first of January. The album will also feature four collaborations with Birdy, who was once a member of the band, but has gone onto bigger things.
Momotaro – Dust
In another first listen from an album due next year, Momotaro have shared Dust with us all. We’re looking forward to seeing Momotaro playing on Friday night at this month’s Source New Music supporting IYES.
Normanton Street – Wednesday Night Champions League
Normanton Street put up a video to their track Wednesday Night Champions League last week, filmed disconcerting close to where I live. Wednesday Night Champions League is taken from their Moves EP from earlier this year, which can be downloaded for free from their soundcloud page.
The Wytches – All That She Wants
The Wytches new single Robe for Juda is out the week. We already wrote about that a few weeks ago though, so instead here’s their cover of Ace of Base’s All That She Wants. Obviously.
Here’s this week’s round up of the new music that has hit our inbox since our last update. There’s new singles from Wytches and Yumi & The Weather, free downloads from Alice Amelia and Prince Vaseline, and a mixtape from Dizraeli and Downlow featuring a new track of theirs.
The Wytches – Robe for Juda
Robe For Juda is the next single from this month’s Source cover stars The Wytches, and is out on the 18th November on Hate Hate Hate records. The Wytches are working hard on tour at the moment supporting Splashh, and as soon as that tour ends they’ll be supporting Metz, playing their hometown on 27th November at the Haunt.
Yumi & The Weather – All We Can
All We Can is the new single from Yumi & The Weather, out a week on monday on XVI records. It’s lush electronic pop with textured beats and subtle harmonies. Lovely stuff. You can hear pre-order the EP and listen to another track over on the XVI records bandcamp page.
Alice Amelia – #1000 Dreams
Alice Amelia is back with another gorgeous piano ballad, available as a free download from Soundcloud. Alice’s next Brighton gig is at Above Audio on 9th November.
Prince Vaseline – Island EP
While we’re waiting for the new Milk & Biscuits album, a couple of the bands members have got together and quietly snuck out an EP. Max and Eleanor’s side project isn’t a million miles away from their other band, but maybe isn’t quite as poppy. Their Island EP is a Name Your Price EP on bandcamp, so take a listen and see what you think.
Disraeli & Downlow – Everyone’s a Winner mixtape
Diszraeli, Brighton conscientious voice of urban poetry, has put out a hip hop mixtape with beats put together regular collaborator Downlow and additional rhymes from Dizraeli. You can download the whole mixtape from Bandcamp, or listen to the new Dizraeli & Downlow track which features in the mix on it’s own on Soundcloud.
Brighton Music Blog 