Xiu Xiu/The Luminaire/26.02.10

Although The Luminaire is probably too small to meet the demands for tonight’s show, which sold out months in advance, its aesthetics reflect the ethos of both the band and tonight’s promoter, Upset The Rhythm, they’re both here for your entertainment but they take what they do very seriously. This is epitomized in the sign saying ‘Please be quiet. If you talk during the bands we will tell you to shut up.’ Anyone who thinks this is a little harsh should probably not bother with Xiu Xiu. Both on record and on stage this band are an intense experience where every tiny sound that makes up their songs is worthy of your attention. A perfect example of this tonight is during one song when the backing beat is so loud that not only can you feel it in your chest but it delicately shakes the various symbols stood around Jamie Stewart and Angela Seo which, deliberate or not, just sounds incredible.

While up to now I might be making this pair sound too serious for their own good and its worth noting that this wondrously avant guard project does have its ‘hits’ and several of the songs tonight do get some dancing out of the crowd and even though the debut of the title track from their new album Dear God, I Hate Myself it sounded like it had the potential to be once it becomes better known.

Xiu Xiu have the respect of peers and critics alike and while they can sell out a room this size while barely lifting a finger they will never be one of those bands that really ‘breaks through’ and its probably them who least of all want that. The venues will get slightly bigger but it will always be an enlightened minority who find it fascinating to watch this seemingly shy and unassuming pair smash their fist into keyboards while palying music through a DS.

You can and should buy their new record Dear God, I Hate Myself now. Also, here is their website which is kept up to date with their various musings. Below is a song that will be up for a week for your sampling pleasure.

Xiu Xiu-Boy Soprano

Also, to the girl behind me who had clearly taken about twenty seven pills and smelt worse than my housemate who doesn’t wash it was nice that you insisted on apologising to me every single time you barged into me but if it is absolutely necessary to be that fucked could you just go to Fabric or some other soulless pit next time?

Owen Pallett, Lightspeed Champion/ Union Chapel/ 25.01.10

Tonight is a big night for Domino. As well as These New Puritans giving their new album it’s first live outing while backed by an orchestra somewhere in Shepherd’s Bush, two of their solo artists who are releasing sophomore and debut albums for the label this year are here at Union Chapel. Lightspeed Champion and Owen Pallett are two who, while being worlds apart, somehow still manage to stay in the same postcode in terms of style. Unlike Owen, Devonte Hynes is still playing behind his Lightspeed Champion moniker, and considering what a huge departure this style is from his previous project Test Icicles where he assumed the character of Dev Metal suggests that there are many other musical faces to the performer. That’s not to say that he doesn’t throw himself into the character he’s playing tonight as his aesthetics compliment how his music sounds and is performed. From his performance, which was announced just hours before the show, he’d have you believe that his status as an indie hipster is just a creation of some far off press department as his charm comes across as a pleasing accidental bi-product of his performance. In between songs he is polite, slightly shy and completely without any air of pretension. His performances are heartfelt and sincere with the keyboard sounding particularly powerful throughout the chapel.

When Dev finishes he is met with a hug from Owen which seems to also be a very public and very enthusiastic embrace of the headliner’s new relationship with Domino and himself as a performer no longer playing through Final Fantasy but stamping his own name firmly on his solo work. As usual he sets up his own equipment on stage, walks off and returns to a rapturous applause from the sold out venue. Perhaps less unusual is the fact he’s joined by another musician who adds everything from guitar to the occasional whistle giving the songs a full and more complete sound. Especially those from the new record ‘Heartland’ (which Owen assures us is not a concept album) which is much more ambitious in going beyond his signature looped violin, which is by no means less impressive when used this evening showing his innate skill and precision timing. The two musicians have a good humored rapport with each other and Pallett seems very at home speaking to the audience, even managing to come back from a mistake turning it into a funny little anecdote, the mark of a good performer. By the end of the night it seem very fitting that the last venue he did a solo show as Final Fantasy is where he plays his first as Owen Pallett, the former filled with mysterious light shows while tonight seems more open and simple like the man himself. Final Fantasy is dead, long live Owen Pallett.

Lightspeed Champion-Myspace

Lightspeed Champion-No Surprise (live on BBC 6 Music)

Owen Pallett-Myspace

Owen Pallett-No Cars Go (Arcade Fire Cover)

Final Fantasy-Learn To Keep Your Mouth Shut, Owen Pallet

Another late one here, which I’d like to point out is through no fault of out very prompt guest writer but because I ate so much over the festive period my lap was too round to balance a laptop on. Dom Gourlay, who pens for sites like drownedinsound and contactmusic has been a great help and inspiration to the cock team over our few short years and we’re very pleased to finally be displaying some of his work. So without further ado I’d like to present his top ten records of the decade.

Lists. Dontcha just love ‘em? Come December its that time of year where everyone starts putting together their “Best Ofs”, “Worst Ofs”, “Should Ofs”…you know the drill. Except this time its slightly different as we’re less than a month away from reaching the end of another decade. Indeed its frightening to think that Millennium eve when every pub up and down the land charged extortionate entry prices for a pint of warm lager was ten years ago.

Its also been a fantastic decade for music; too good to be true in many cases. When the good people of Its Not For The Cock… asked me to write a piece on my ten favourite albums of the decade that will forever be known as “the noughties” my initial reaction was “piece of piss”. Then of course the hard work begins, such as trying to cull the final contenders down from an initial shortlist of 150 for starters. “Where are King Adora?” a lonesome voice asks. Apologies are in the post. It may also surprise some that many of this decade’s biggest sellers such as Radiohead, Muse, Oasis, The White Stripes, The Strokes and The Libertines have no place here either. In fact, with the exception of Matt Bellamy and co.’s ‘Origin Of Symmetry’, none of the aforementioned artists even made that top-heavy shortlist, so without further ado, let’s kick off that Top 10 in reverse order, starting with….

10. THE COOPER TEMPLE CLAUSE – See This Through And Leave (Morning Records, 2002). Although initially noticed because of their outrageous mullets haircuts and tight-fitting clothes (this was 2002 don’t forget), their growing reputation was already in overdrive courtesy of several low-key seven-inch releases and a blistering live show that saw them blow the likes of Embrace, My Vitriol and (yes folks, BELIEVE) Muse sky high during six heady months prior to the release of ‘See This Through And Leave’, their debut album. An eclectic mix of noise-rock, pop, beats and abstract electronica, it even spawned the odd hit single or two in ‘Film Maker’ and ‘Who Needs Enemies?’. Sadly, it would also represent the pinnacle of their career as the over-produced follow-up ‘Kick Up The Fire And Let The Flames Break Loose’ failed to ignite their status to the level of many of the peers they’d effortlessly usurped in those early days.

9. BLOC PARTY – Silent Alarm (Wichita, 2005). It’s strange what a difference five years can make. Turn the clock back to December 2004 and this London four-piece were the most eagerly awaited show about to hit town. ‘Silent Alarm”s preceding singles ‘She’s Hearing Voices’, ‘Banquet’ and ‘Helicopter’ only told a small part of the story. The rest was to be unveiled just a few months later in the shape of this Paul Epworth-produced masterpiece that while obviously taking inspiration from many past orators such as Gang Of Four and Wire, also sounded like the freshest, most inspiring slice of post-punk fuelled rock unleashed in years. That it influenced a host of copycats was no fault of its creators; that they subsequently fell into the trap of believing their own hype and released increasingly substandard records ever since sadly is…

8. THE TWILIGHT SAD – Fourteen Autumns And Fifteen Winters (Fat Cat, 2007). Who would have thought that a little village on the outskirts of Glasgow would be the birthplace and inspiration for one of the most dynamic and devastatingly impacted records of the decade? Kilsyth-based four-piece The Twilight Sad were something of an unknown quantity outside their hometown, until a demo of theirs found its way onto Channel 4 Teletext’s ‘Planet Sound’ some two years prior to ‘Fourteen Autumns And Fifteen Winters’ release. Even then, with most of the country’s labels’ fixations split between finding a successor to The Libertines or their post-punk angular take on Bloc Party, The Twilight Sad found themselves largely ignored except for ambitious south coast indie Fat Cat. Although only comprising nine songs in total of which two are mere interludes, ‘Fourteen Autumns…’ sheer intensity sets it apart from anything released under the post-rock/folk banner either before or after, James Graham’s unsettling brogue still sounding as menacing today on the likes of ‘Cold Days From The Birdhouse’ and ‘And She Would Darken The Memory’ as it did back then.

7. AT THE DRIVE-IN – Relationship Of Command (Grand Royal, 2000). For many, the Leeds Festival of 2000 will be remembered as the year Daphne & Celeste found themselves engulfed in a halo of piss and vitriol while Oasis appeared to be in meltdown having just released arguably their worst record to date and seemingly fallen apart onstage during their headline slot. To me, however, that year was my first experience of a term that called itself “emo”; my first encounter with a genuine cross-pollination of all things punk, metal and acerbic college rock. The hyperactive performance from one Cedric Bixler still goes down in legend, but their own hiatus culminating in eventual disintegration ensured their legendary status was created, and ‘Relationship Of Command’, their third and final album, was as fine a parting shot of an epitaph any band could need.

6. PORTISHEAD – Third (Island, 2008). Who says reunions and reformations should be kept away from the recording studio? The Bristol-based trio of Beth Gibbons, Geoff Barrow and Adrian Utley may not have written or worked together in eleven years but no one would have noticed as ‘Third’, their (obviously) third studio album outdid both of its predecessors in the most accomplished of fashions. Whereas other notable artists from a similar era (hello The Verve) failed miserably in trying to continue from where they’d last left off, Portishead simply set about achieving what they’d always done best, mapping out the future via a plethora of musical creations that sounded like no others on earth. Take the album’s lead single ‘Machine Gun’ for example. Its almost complete reliance on abrasive, repetitive percussion beats assisted by nothing more than Gibbons’ strained, harrowing vocal stands out as one of the decade’s most defining musical moments. Roll on 2019 for the follow-up I guess…

5. WILD BEASTS – Two Dancers (Domino, 2009). It would be wrong to suggest standards have deteriorated over the course of the decade, and ‘Two Dancers’ by Kendal-cum-Leeds quartet is a perfect example. Recorded over a three-week period at the beginning of the year, ‘Two Dancers’ combined a perfect blend of eccentric, ambiguous and ultimately inventive pop music that not only reinforced pop music as a credible option once more, but also surely acts as a standard bearer well into the next decade.

4. A PLACE TO BURY STRANGERS – A Place To Bury Strangers (Killer Pimp, 2007). The term “noise rock” often found itself mis-interpreted by those more akin to associate it with pretentious and unlistenable symphonies mostly constructed up the anal passages of their creators. However, this self-produced beauty was coming from a different stratosphere entirely. A Place To Bury Strangers’ main driving force Oliver Ackermann had spent most of the previous decade as one-quarter of ubiquitous shoegazers Skywave, but having recently developed his own successful effects pedal sideline ‘Death By Audio’, it was time to engage some of those products amidst his other main passion, making music. What makes this record so unbelievably authentic is that it was initially little more than a collection of demos recorded over a three-year period dispatched around several labels in the hope of a reaction. That Killer Pimp immediately offered to put the songs out as the band’s debut album speaks volumes, a facet Ackermann and his band know all about. Quite possibly the most astounding shoegaze-tinged record since ‘Loveless’. Yes, that good.

3. ARCTIC MONKEYS – Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not (Domino, 2006). The legacy of the Arctic Monkeys exploits on Libertines forums and MySpace will be talked about for many a year. The fact many promoters had them booked to play – yours truly included – and then duly cancel on the back of an unexpected wave of unprecedented success also leaves a less charming taste lingering in the mouth, yet at the same time, who in their right minds could begrudge them the plaudits deservedly received for ‘Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not’, their initial record-breaking foray into album territory. Mixing Alex Turner’s tales of everyday Sheffield life and its assorted characters with a simple but effective musical backdrop that spawned a million tenth-rate imitators nationwide, the Arctic Monkeys place in rock’n'roll’s historical archives was signed, sealed and delivered in one glorious, forty-one minutes encompassing instant.

2. THE ARCADE FIRE – Funeral (Rough Trade, 2005). “Blame Canada!” sang the cast of Southpark at the tail end of the previous decade, no doubt in jest, but one can imagine to the disdain of those North Americans lambasted by Trey Parker and Marc Shamain. One can imagine Win Butler and Regine Chassagne, the husband and wife centrepiece behind The Arcade Fire spitting fury at their television set in anger. The band itself may have only been formed in the early stages of the noughties but already the potential was evident by way of their first eponymous EP, released a year before ‘Funeral’. That their groundbreaking debut album would actually be inspired by several tragedies occurring in the everyday lives of its band members was even more remarkable, particularly as the general musical vibe was of a decidedly upbeat nature. Since the release of ‘Funeral’, many lesser artists have tried and failed to replicate its untouchable demeanour and unwavering spirit. As for the band themselves, ‘Funeral”s 2007 follow-up ‘Neon Bible’ was almost as inspiring in its own way, and having spent almost the entire period since on the road, a third album is pencilled in for 2010. Will it encapsulate this? I’d like to think so but very much doubt it.

1. INTERPOL – Turn On The Bright Lights (Matador, 2002). Released on the 19th August 2002 – a week before my birthday – my girlfriend bought me the best surprise present of the decade; a ticket to go and see Interpol support The Tyde at Nottingham’s Social. Having driven her mad about this band from New York whose EP had landed on my doorstep a few weeks earlier, it was the proverbial next step to go and see them in the flesh if the opportunity ever arose. Thirty minutes later, I’d purchased pretty much the entire merchandise stand, ‘Turn On The Bright Lights’, their inaugural long player included, and ever since rarely a day has gone by without its eleven pieces of elegant beauty featuring at some point. A rarity among records from any generation in that it doesn’t contain one single bad track, from the assured perfection of ‘Untitled’ and the way each instrument effortlessly enters the fray to the pulsating climax of ‘Leif Erikson’, ‘Turn On The Bright Lights’ isn’t just the best record these ears have become accustomed to this past decade, its undoubtedly one of the greatest collections ever made.

Through the magic of internet and science here’s this list as a nice spotify playlist missing a track from Arcade Fire’s Funeral which you should have heard anyway. But if you haven’t, please have a go on Haiti (Live).

]]> http://www.itsnotforthecock.co.uk/2010/01/05/its-not-for-the-cock-its-for-albums-of-the-decade-9/feed/ 0 http://www.itsnotforthecock.co.uk/2009/12/18/its-not-for-the-cock-its-for-albums-of-the-decade-no-5/ http://www.itsnotforthecock.co.uk/2009/12/18/its-not-for-the-cock-its-for-albums-of-the-decade-no-5/#comments Fri, 18 Dec 2009 15:43:56 +0000 Lauren http://www.itsnotforthecock.co.uk/?p=1286

I’m not exactly sure of the name of the job our fifth guest writer Simon Morley does at labels Full Time Hobby and Hassle but what he does is to find original and exciting new music and sell it to you people. Basically his job is to love music and without his fine work you wouldn’t be able to go into a shop and buy records by the likes of Tubelord, School Of Seven Bells and White Denim. I’d of been pretty disappointed if none of our guest writers decided to write about Kid A by Radiohead so a huge thanks to Simon for stepping up.

Imagine trying to follow OK Computer. This is the tricky position Radiohead found themselves in by 1998. According to Wikipedia the theme of OK Computer was something to do with a disconnection to the modern world. An accelerated society fueled by advanced capitalism, all that sort of stuff So you’d assume the attention the band had been attracting since ‘Creep’ wouldn’t have helped the band’s already bleak outlook. The mainstream anticipation for the follow up record was huge and most likely reason the band went down the route they did. Rather than build on the sound they’d gradually developed over 3 albums, they deconstructed everything. They started from scratch, adopting a much more electronic and experimental sound palette, sampling lots of their own and other people’s sounds. To me it sounds like a band making an album for themselves, not their record label, not their fans. It’s a big FUCK YOU in the face of commercial music. It says ‘yeah we can write big radio hits, but we don’t want to… we want to do this.’ The fact that Kid A featured no singles or videos suggests it might be a whacked-out-experimental-mind-melting-mess without any songs but it wasn’t. It features some of their best, my favorites being ‘Everything In It’s Right Place’, ‘The National Anthem’ and ‘Idioteteque’.

Also, the artwork is good too innit.

A big thanks to Simon for that. Please check out his work for Hassle and Full Time Hobby.

Atlas Sound/Cargo/15.11.09

It used to be well known that the success of a show involving Bradford Cox depended entirely on the musician’s fragile mood. However from the word go  tonight seems to almost pinpoint the moment he fully transitions from tortured artist to wholesome entertainer. The show opens with ‘Quick Canal’ his beautifully ambient duet with Stereolab’s Laetitia Sadier and the pair swap laughing glances as they are joined on stage with an eight year old ‘interpretive dancer with a future’ . Once his comrades leave the stage Bradford is left to his own devices, in this case a guitar, a drum kit and a few pedals and begins what is a wonderfully stripped down intimate affair. A fact the singer himself acknowledges saying if the sold out audience was halved it would be almost like a show with friends in his living room. It seems from this point the planning is left up to the audience as he just talks to the audience, warning us of impending diarrhea due to lack of sleep, and ends up taking requests. These include one for Pavement which he attempts in homage to ATP who are putting on tonight’s gig. There are points during the show that he apologises for the lack of a live band but that would have made the line between tonight and seeing his better known project Deerhunter, which almost the entire audience profess to having done, too blurry. These basic performances allow the folkier side of Bradford’s music to shine through and that is what separates this project from his other work.

Atlas Sound w/ Laetitia Sadier-Quick Canal

Although this is the blog’s fourth edition of Spotted Dick this is my first contribution to a feature which has unarguably taken the music world by storm since it’s conception and put a previously little known music application firmly on the map. Recently blogging has been part of my life that has been severely neglected and I’m sorry to say, dear readers, there’s no narcotics addictions or short lived love affairs for me to blame this on. In fact I have little to no excuse for leaving the fate of INFTC almost entirely on the very capable and far more consistent shoulders of Mr. Gavin Williams who I sincerely thank for taking the role of a pushy mother and not letting a day go by without leaving a nagging post on my facebook wall.

Apologies aside it’s time to let you know the music and news that’s been tickling me this week in playlist form. The world of pop has had a pretty turbulent one this week with stars facing actual real problems like being punched in the face by avid fans and dying but rest assured my sympathy does not stretch far enough to listen to their shit music and, therefore, it doesn’t appear on the playlist. Dying at 33 is pretty lame though so included is a picture of Stephen Gately to give you the opportunity to take a moment to remember him in his curtain haired and puppy eyed glory days. Once you’re done with that look and listen to what’s been happening in real music this week.

Pavement-Cut Your Hair It’s not often in music that being predictable an pay off but when you work with the selection of bands ATP works with that predictability becomes reassuring like a old arm chair that you know will never let your comfort needs down. So when last week Pavement announced, after years of hinting, that 2010 was definitely definitely the year they would reform and come to the UK it was a matter of minutes before forums everywhere began speculating the possibility of them taking part in an ATP event. And low and behold the band are curating the second weekend of the May festivals but with Matt Groening curating the first weekend that comfy chair now has a rival and with limited arse to go around there’s a difficult choice to be made.

Tubelord-Night Of The Pencils It’s been well over a year now since we first started blogging about the Tubelord boys so it’s amazing to see them finally moulding their angular teen angst sound into their debut album ‘Our First American Friends’. The recording may be a bit clean for my tastes but it’s still a great record with a unique pop punk sound. Be sure to get your hands on a physical copy of this one as they’ve gone all Willy Wonka on us leaving 10 golden tickets in the albums with the recipients getting free entry to a Tubelord show of their choosing. YAY!

Johnny Foreigner-Sofacore Another INFTC favorite, only a year after their debut album, this birmingham based trio are ready to hit us with another full length release which suggests, as they’ve been almost constantly touring, this band has barely had time to breath in the last twelve months. With the release and an instore at rough trade coming up in two weeks I would have left it until then to sing my inevitable praises of both their live show and the record if it wasn’t for their appeal for a microphone stolen at a recent show in Leeds. Any news on the microphone, which has sentimental value, should be sent to johnnyforeigner@hotmail.com.

Pixies-Where Is My Mind Last week saw Pixies take up a four day residence at Brixton Academy when the tickets got released back in June I pulled my usual stunt when a big band I love comes to play and decided the tickets were too expensive and when I realised my idiocy all four dates were, of course, sold out. Some friends of mine who had the intelligence to buy tickets at the time were stung by the postal strike and spent four days battling with touts and eventually managed to get tickets for the only night the band added ‘Where Is My Mind’ to the Doolittle set list. This song is for the rest of the world who weren’t there.

Kraftwerk-Computer Love Few bands can get away with remastering and re-releasing their entire back catalogue in one week but with electro weirdo pioneers Kraftwerk that notion is far from an issue. Especially when they pulled off a headline slot at Bestival with what appeared to be the greatest of ease. The fact that a certain English music website decided to go ahead and review every single one of these re-release has meant I’ve been going back to Kraftwerk more and more this week and hopefully this will encourage you to do the same.

Yo La Tengo-Sugarcube This is the second of three ATP inspired songs which I realise is a little lame but they’ve just been pushing all the right musical buttons of late so I’m in no way ashamed to continue. The Nightmare Before Christmas line-up has had me looking into some bands I didn’t know as well before and surprisingly it’s not professional bellends Primal Scream who have caught my ears the most (sorry Kevin). The album which features this track ‘I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One’ is an absolute treasure and I fully encourage you to check it out.

Fever Ray-If I Had A Heart (Fuck Buttons Remix) This is one of two remixes on Spotify unfairly representing the entirety of Fuck Buttons work. This representation is false and by no means shows the genius of the noise duo whose second album ‘Tarot Sport’ was released on ATP this week. However, I couldn’t let this record go unmentioned as it has already firmly earned a place in my albums of the year so you’ll have to stick with a remix which will hopefully push you to find and listen to more of their music if you haven’t done so already.

Animal Collective-In The Flowers New EP out by the end of the year. Why not refresh your ears with their ever growing brilliance? Nice.

Spotted Dick

Maps, M83/London Koko/7.07.09

I was a late comer to the M83, beyond even the realms of fashionably late. In fact, I was only beginning to discover the brilliance of songs like ‘Moonchild’, due to it’s chance appearance on a mix cd gift, when the general music geek population of the internet was questioning the brilliance of their most recent offering ‘Saturdays=Youth’. A record inspired by the soundtracks of 80s teen dramas which featured highly in many top album lists at 2008s tail end. It is due to that fact and 6 months of wrong time, wrong place with regards to his scattered UK touring this year that tonight is my first witnessing of the M83 live experience. For a lesser known reason, it is also my first time in Koko as a venue and it might as well be my last as there are very few acts that go with its classic theatre meets disco chic decor as well as tonight’s.

 

Before the highly anticipated union of me, Koko and M83 can take place there is the matter of the evenings support act and lablemates, Maps, to be dealt with. I understand that Mr. Maps (aka James Chapman) is often joined by four other musicians when playing live but this evening he is joined by just a second pair of hands manning the keyboards and some rather laughable red fairy lights. Although the songs from 2007′s Mercury nominated album ‘We Can Create’ sound OK they are performed with the enthusiasm of a pair of disgruntled teenagers doing it as part of some youth scheme they’ve been stuck on for stealing one too many curly wurlies from their local shop. There is also the addition of new material that will presumably feature on new album ‘Turning The Mind’ which is currently scheduled for a September release. All I have to say about this is imagine Kevin and Perry going large with a shoegaze twist; comedy gold, musical vomit. 

 

Despite earlier disappointments anticipation is still riding pretty high and, despite what in my opinion was pretty poor promotion, Koko is now almost full. We’ve positioned ourselves on the second balcony a prime spot for the view, the sound and a good lean when your back starts to go. The latter definitely coming in handy tonight with the generous set we are treated too by Anthony Gonzalez and co. Starting with what one of my companions described as a twenty minute key-board cock tease performed by Gonzalez in complete darkness before we hear any actual songs. The first track we get with full band in tow is ‘Graveyard Girl’ which is one of the tracks from the new album where Gonzalez took his firmest steps down the path of pop at this makes is a perfect opener. Like the rest of the set it is performed like a battle between him and the female performer opposite him, which I can only assume is Morgan KIbby who largely contributed to the production and arrangement of Saturdays=Youth. 

 

The set drew largely from the most recent album and 2005′s triumph Before The Dawn Heals Us with both ‘Don’t Save Us From The Flames’ and ‘Teen Angst’ being impressive parts of the show. Although, saying that, it’s difficult to distinguish any songs as particular highlights as much of the improvisation during and between songs meant the performance as a whole was a fresh experience for even the most obsessed M83 fans, and from the view we had of little pockets of the crowd dancing with what looked like euphoric ecstasy you can be assured fans of that intensity exist. The encore especially saw a renewed burst of dancing and enthusiasm in the crowd which ended in persistent, but unanswered, chants for a second encore. Always a mark of a great show. 

Kap Bambino Album Launch, Cargo, 16.06.09

Kap Bambino are an electronic French duo who’ve been releasing and touring independently since 2002 up until recently signing with Because records, sharing a rosta with the likes of Klaxons, Late Of The Pier and Justice. Its with this collaboration that the pair have released new album Blacklist which is seeing them finally making the waves they are capable of. Tonight’s UK album launch a Cargo is only proof of this.

The venue’s main room is nearly at capacity and there’s a decent group down the front getting their dance on and already singing along to some of the tracks.

Frontwoman Caroline Martial’s raw and wreckless energy is infectious and its difficult to resist the urge to throw your body any which way in the crowd to the music. The pair are what one could imagine if Crystal Castle’s went Europop. It’s catchier, yet more unpredictable and painfully good looking. It’s a extremely well put together formula and Orion Bouvier’s electronic beats mixed with almost metal hooks just adds to the bands appeal and intrigue.

On the live side of things the Caroline is the indisputable star of the show. Bouncing of the sides of the stage and into the audience like an over hyped ball of electro fury she’s a passionate and attention grabbing performer.

Myspace

Kap Bambino-Zero Life

Kap Bambino-Dead Lasers (War Orchestra Remix)

The Big Pink-Velvet (4AD)

One of the latest signings to wonder label 4AD, Velvet, is The Big Pink’s first release for the people that last year brought us the likes of Deerhunter and TV on the Radio. Its a slow shoegazey build up to a HEALTH-esque noisy climax which is nothing short of huge. However, just when you think you’re ready to file this away into your obscure collection clear, emotional yearning vocals kick in and a late 80s early 90s Manchester influence is added to the mix and the track immediately grabs you. One of the strangest things about this seemingly bizarre combination of influences is how well they work together. A My Bloody Valentine meets Stone Roses sound finished off nicely for today’s audience. Velvet has the droning dirty feel of bands like Crystal Castles and Liars but the clear unaltered vocals give the heartfelt lyrics an instant emotional feel and make the track more accessible than the distorted screams of their peers.

Myspace

Enjoy the Gang Gang Dance Remix!

The Big Pink-Velvet(Gang Gang Dance Remix)

Whitest Boy Alive – Rules

‘Rules’ is, Berlin based four piece, Whitest Boy Alive’s second album since their debut ‘Dreams’ was released in 2006. This record sees their Royksopp-esque laid back electro develop into a much more individual style. The expansion of their repertoire of sounds, which include an inticing range of synth sounds along with intricately delicate drum beats all kept together by subtle garage influenced bass line shows they’ve taken a more ambitious approach. Where ‘Dreams’ was stripped down ‘Rules’ is brilliantly indulgent and shows the band to have made a progression rather than sticking to what was a definite winning formula. What does remain the same is the vocals of Erland Oye (who also lends his talents to Kings of Convenience). He still adds a tint of his Norwegian accent to create a smoothness which is fast becoming a trade mark of these euro hipsters.

The album sees its high points in it’s more upbeat tracks such as ’1517′ and ‘Intentions’ as this is where their developed style is most apparent, especially in the case of ’1517′ where the melodies effortlessly carry a mix of sounds and beats to create something both poppy and complex. When the band explore a slower pace it’s easy to switch off or mindlessly drift into the next track as there’s much less going on at what can be quite a monotonous pace. For example, ‘Rollercoaster Ride’ is anything but the trilling experience it suggests. Over all however, ‘Rules’ is a success for Whitest Boy Alive and with a fuller sound the album definitely hints at an interesting and more active live performance and has steered them away from the ‘difficult second album’ label.

Website

Myspace

]]> http://www.itsnotforthecock.co.uk/2009/03/27/its-not-for-the-cock-its-for-the-skinny-white-boy/feed/ 1