Tag Archives: New Music

CROCODILES-Boys.

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There are some bands that repeat themselves with every record they make. Their blandness is what some may be drawn to and keeps them “loyal” but there are some bands who not only exceed any expectations one may have of them, but they also manage to come out with something hugely different to what they’ve done before. There are a few bands I love that fall into this category, and they’re ones that I’ll continue to write about because it’s just bloody wonderful to hear what they’re going to do next.

12th May is the release date for my pals new record. Crocodiles are finally releasing their fifth record Boys. Everything I am going to write about this record is just my biased opinion, and if I were you I’d just buy the record and sack off anything I may say because it’ll just be an enthusiastic ramble. But if you’re into that kind of thing, let’s be friends and go into this together.

I did want to do this as a track-by-track review but I don’t really like doing them because it’s so structured, and I don’t like any form of organisation.

For me, the record sounds like it has stemmed from the roots of depravity in the back streets of New York in the 70s when Punk was slowly but surely getting some attention. In all the right places, Crocodiles have picked up on the smuttiness and wit in the likes of Transformer and Sally Can’t Dance. They’ve also got something Iggy Pop-esque flowing around Kool TV. Last year when they played Hackney Wonderland, I remember them performing some new tracks and Foolin’ Around was one that really stood out. The bassline is slick as the one on Groove Is In The Heart. This record is sordid and brilliant. If this record was a place, it would be a camp dive bar in the underbelly of Mexico city. It makes the uneasy feel alright in their skin. Crybaby Demon sounds like something that The Stone Roses could have easily put out. It’s got something really special about it that just cements the idea that Crocodiles are probably the best around.

There’s a song that I need to do a special mention on. Blue is probably the best song that they’ve done to date. Every record they’ve put out has one song on it that towers a little over the rest. It’s just over 3 and a half minutes long, but it feels like a lengthy and satisfying daydream. It’s the perfect song to drift away to as the sun sets, you just gaze into nothing in particular and Brandon’s hazy voice sends you on this gorgeous trip. Charlie enhances the dream with the whirling guitar sounds that flow in and out of your ears. It is my personal favourite from Boys, and easily in my top 3 songs by Crocodiles. I would happily write a massive essay on the song, and when you listen to it next month you’ll see exactly why. A gorgeous song that you just have to keep going back to. You zone out properly to this one.

Although the record was done in Mexico, it feels like something from Iggy, Bowie and Lou’s take on Berlin. It’s got that something about it that just feels really familiar and comforting, but then there are songs that just feel like something you’ve never experienced before. There are many bands that are doing weird and wonderful things, but Crocodiles take it some place else. More than anything, I wish these guys were credited more for their lyrics. Their lyrics are bouts of depraved prose and thoughts to expand the mind.

Boys consists of songs you would hear in an underground drag bar in the depths of New York, Mexico, London…anywhere and everywhere. They are songs to lure in a lover at 2am when everyone is being spilled out into the street or to just throw your limbs about to (go nuts to Foolin’ Around, Hard and Do The Void.)

Writing about a band like Crocodiles is easy because they make every release as interesting as the last. Each record feels like hearing them for the first time. The first time I heard their music was back in 2009. I moved back home after being dumped, wandered into HMV and saw the cover of Summer Of Hate staring at me. I didn’t know anything about them, but I picked it up along with Love Comes Close by Cold Cave. I turned one of the worst feelings possible into something I could handle. I found two bands who have since become the world to me. The thing about Crocodiles that I love the most is that they make me feel like I am anywhere but where I am. I don’t feel like I’m in 2015; I feel like I’m in the 70s watching Punk win over hearts and guiding those who are fed up. Crocs are a mix of all the stuff I love and things I’ve never heard before. They bring all these insane sounds together and make something that is worth treasuring.

I’ll say it’s their best record until number 6 comes out, you know how it is. If you’ve yet to experience the world of Crocs, then let Boys be the one that seduces you, let it be the one that you cheat on other bands with. And in time, it will go from being your bit on the side to the love of your life.

Crocodiles start their US tour in 3 days time, and will be coming over to Europe in June. Personally, I’m massively excited to see them in Manchester as part of the Manchester Psych Fest along with July (this is fucking HUGE.) I’ve always wanted to see them in Manchester, and with July also?! Oh man who needs Christmas!

Boys is out via Zoo Music on the 12th May and is produced by the incredible Martin Thulin. And yes, it is my record of the year.

CHICK QUEST- Vs Galore

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“Wear those clothes, break your back, give me looks.
Bite your tongue, buy new face, all better now.
Bin ich Frau? Bin ich Tier? Bin ich Biest?”

Labelled as “Spaghetti Western Rock & Roll” Chick Quest are one of the most exciting and brilliantly different bands to be making glorious noise in Austria. This Vienna based band are every part punk as they are “Spaghetti Western.” Imagine the Ramones playing in the background of one of Leone’s films, that’s pretty much Chick Quest.

Their debut record, Vs Galore is released on the 20th April, and it contains several noisy numbers. Some with vocals, some are just instrumental. The lyrics are from a female point of view but there isn’t a standard theme to the record. Don’t worry about the songs having a female point of view, they’re not done in a modern day feminist way which is bloody good because they are an annoying bunch. But that’s for a different setting altogether isn’t it.

The songs on Vs Galore really do feel like drunken brawls in a Spaghetti Western film, even instrumental tracks such as Sounds Like Bruce feels like two guys falling out of a saloon bar in a heap, rolling about trying to grab their gun before the other. Vs Galore at times sounds like a proper 60s undiscovered Garage rock classic. Everything about their debut record (and it’s hard to accept that this is their debut) sounds like something a band of *insert a certain amount of years that make a band established I guess* would make. It doesn’t feel like a debut, and I suppose it is because the record sounds like a band who know EXACTLY how they want to sound. No songs feel out of place or disorganised. This is the kind of record a band 5 years+ into their career would be making. What’s exciting about bands who make music like this is that they amaze you with every release, and I feel like that is going to happen with Chick Quest. I’ve found this in bands like The Kills, Crocodiles, The Horrors, Dum Dum Girls….I could go on, but I won’t. My point is, although it is a debut, don’t be fooled by it. There’s a secure sound here and with their future releases I have every faith you’ll feel like you’re listening to something different each time. I’ve gone round the houses with that one, but you know what I mean.

Vs Galore is a hyperactive record that just exploits the passion that the band have for making music. With an urgency, they need to be heard.

For me, my favourite track off the record has to be Fashion Fascist. I love Ryan’s vocals on this one, there’s something about it that towers over the rest of the record. I think the song perfectly sums up how narcissistic most people have become with their ridiculous pouting and taking photos of themselves constantly. If you’re having such a great time, why are you spending it taking photos of your face? It’s just getting stupid now, and people are becoming more and more dumb. Their zombie like stares as they look at their phones, oblivious to everything around them. Nobody can hold a conversation any more can they. Fuckers.

Anyway, that was a little rant but I shan’t apologise for it.

Vs Galore has immediately made Chick Quest one of the bands I am in urgent need of seeing live. I think, and this is just going by the record, that they are a band that HAVE to be seen live in order to really get their sound. They have this Gogol Bordello feel to their sound, meaning they sound like excited kids who are bouncing around after having too much lemonade. It’s absolutely brilliant and it needs to be played so loud.

Out on the 20th April (21st if you’re in America), Vs Galore is a mighty fine record that must be purchased and played pleasantly loud. It’s a record to dance to (probably better on your own so nobody can ruin your moves) and to constantly have on repeat. It was produced by the band’s singer, Ryan and is quite frankly just a taste of what is to come from this exciting new band.

KINGSLEY CHAPMAN AND THE MURDER- Poison Tongues.

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If a song scares you shitless, then you’ve probably found something you’ll cling onto for years to come. Whether you’re a proper “goff” or you lob your limbs about to Dead Boys and all in between, you will find a handful of songs that fill you with fear and the utmost pleasure when you subject your ears to them.

I wrote about Kingsley’s new band about a month ago. I banged on about how Olympians was one of the best unconventional love songs I’ve ever heard. I don’t want nauseating love songs that go on about how someone’s tummy is filled with butterflies when they see them. I want the brutality and the annoyance, because that’s pure, real and raw. And I fucking hate butterflies.

Poison Tongues is Kingsley Chapman And The Murder haunting your dreams and documenting your night out. Poison Tongues is based on an incident that Kingsley saw in Middlesbrough town centre. Blood, sweat and guts were flying everywhere. A bloody mess that is portrayed brutally and beautiful in Poison Tongues. The build-up in this captivating witness account is glorious. It is proper atmospheric, it feels like a bunch of mad school kids being unleashed in a school music room, and creating something that shocks them in a good way. Poison Tongues is a masterpiece. It is a grand (I mean big) and theatrical song that HAS to be played loud. I’ve got it on dead loud and it just sounds that much better when you feel like that walls are shaking.

http://soundcloud.com/kingsleychapman/poison-tongues

Kingsley’s vocals portray the bitterness and rage so perfectly. He’s got the storytelling qualities of Lou Reed and the darkness of Nick Cave. From a personal point of view, Kingsley just brings everything I love about music together and creates these huge songs. As a friend, I am so proud of him. As a fan, I’m in awe of how bloody fantastic he is. Poison Tongues is massively sinister and if you want to creep yourself out, play it around 11pm and you’ll probably think there’s a Crimewatch segment in this song waiting to happen.

You can picture blokes being bundled out in a bloody mess out of a rough establishment, and as they spill out into the street you fear your own safety. You want to hurry off home but the way Kingsley tells this tale makes you want to stay and watch the outcome. Voyeuristic but bloody brilliant. You feel as if Kingsley’s is sat at the end of your bed at bedtime telling you this tale as you drift off to sleep. It’ll catch up with you in your dreams, leaving you in the morning turning to the first person you see, “You won’t believe what happened last night….”

For me I want a song to make me feel like I’m experiencing everything that’s being said- Poison Tongues is easily one of those songs. It is terrifying, honest and brutal. It’s got the bitterness of Stagger Lee. If only Kingsley yelled “motherfucker” at some point in the song, that would top it all off.

This four and a half-minute tale is an accurate portrayal of what happens in most clubs most weekends, so I guess if you want to see it with your own eyes go loiter around an Oceana at 3am and pull up a chair.

If you’re lucky enough to live in the North, you can catch Kingsley Chapman And The Murder on the following dates:

1st May – The Georgian Theatre, Stockton-on-Tees
16th May – Westgarth Social Club, Middlesbrough w/ Frankie & The Heartstrings

BAD WEED.

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I know nothing about music from Austria, but there’s a band called Bad Weed (careful when looking them up) from Vienna who could possibly be one of Austria’s finest bands around.

Their jangly unconventional songs are perfect for lazing about to. They make the kind of music that makes you want to sit outside doing nothing, staring at nothing, saying nothing. A load of nothing. They’ve got that lazy (I mean it in the best way possible) sound in their music that is found in the likes of Wavves. They don’t make you want to do a thing. As I listen to them, I’m dreading having to go to work tomorrow (travelling to South London is shite but thankfully I have 4 days left of doing so…HALLELUJAH!) They just make you want to sit around and waste your days in ways that make you happy, not being bothered and not being a burden.

They’ve got a proper garage rock/punk thing going on that I really love. Their sound is like a punk band coming for your blood and wallet. They’re after your ears and will spit out your hearts. Their sound is fast, noisy and brilliant. They’re obnoxious and snotty in all the right places. They’re a cross between The Damned and Dead Boys. Can’t Stand is probably my favourite because it really does have something about Dead Boys in it.

Bad Weed are the band you eat pizza and guzzle beer to. You have a real good time listening to these guys. They sound like a typical New York punk band, but they’re not. They’ve studied the greats and made something of their own. If you’re dreading work tomorrow then listen to these guys on your way there, whilst at work and the journey home. They’ll make everything less painful. Then you can go home and do a load of nothing.

With the mundane affairs of modern life, it is sometimes hard to find a band that really speaks to you and can drag you out of any rut you may end up in. Sometimes we need a kind of band that realises how shitty it all can be, sometimes we need a band to come along and declare that they don’t care. We can relate to that, I can relate to that. What’s the point in caring about shit that doesn’t matter anyway?! Listen to Bad Weed and it’ll sort itself out.

Their short and punchy songs pounce into your lugholes and stay there. They’ve got everything you would want from a punk band. They make you feel like you’re stomping outside CBGBs waiting for something to happen. Pacing up and down in your battered boots/shoes/Converse/whatever waiting for something to happen, for a familiar face to emerge.

Play their music as loud as possible and let them infect you.

You can listen to their sounds, and buy them here: https://badweed.bandcamp.com/

JUDY, YOU’RE NOT YOURSELF TONIGHT.

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With it becoming a little warmer, I thought it would be best if I seek out some bands that don’t give off a warm feeling in their music. I thought I’d find a band that are suitable for foggy and stormy weather. The kind of weather that Jack The Ripper probably enjoyed.

Aside from having a pretty damn good band name Judy, You’re Not Yourself Tonight are yet again, another band that back fuel my love for duos. This gruesome twosome (they look pretty clean actually) have only two songs on their bandcamp page. That’s enough for me to go on, but obviously I want more.

JYNYT come from Berlin. A city I have yet to visit, but I am 100% sure that when I visit I won’t want to leave and will probably throw a really good tantrum in order to stay there. The Ramones museum will be like a religious trip for me, and I’ll probably beg the staff to give me a job there. That would more than likely be one of the best jobs in the world for me. Talking about the Ramones all day and staring at Joey’s clothes. Bliss.

JYNYT are loud and wonderful. These two things are destined to go together. Loud music is one of the best, I just love noise. Not a fan of loud people though. Silence from people is nice. They make proper noise, the kind you want to hear in creepy basement bars in an unfamiliar place. I know nothing about the band, but I know that their music is pretty special. They’ve got this way of sounding huge with only two of them being in the band. They release that dormant beast inside of you with their eerie sounds.

By obsessively listening to JYNYT for the past half hour or so, I’ve reached some kind of conclusion that they are a band that really come to life when you see them live. You can imagine La La beating the shit out of the drums and Ant Car flailing the guitar around with sweat falling from everyone around them and onto whoever. Their rowdy sound is ideal for cramped venues that smell of spilt beer and decades of bodily fluids.

I have no idea what they’re up to (I don’t know anything about them, and for the most part that makes it easier to write about them) but I know this, they are an exciting band to listen to and really, two songs just isn’t enough.

You can buy/stream their music on their bandcamp page: http://jynyt.bandcamp.com/

CANDY DARLING- Going Straight

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I remember when I first heard The Birthday Party; I wasn’t immediately taken in by Nick Cave’s vocals. It was Rowland S Howard’s guitar that lured me in. He could make it sound abusive and sad. At once and separately. His solo records do exactly the same. How does this link in with Candy Darling? Easily. Singer, Emily Breeze reminds me so much of Jonnine Standish who sang with Rowland on the haunting (I Know) A Girl Called Jonny.

Going Straight is a to the point and hugely fragile song. The drums make the song sound dark and create a massively tense build up throughout this song. Emily’s voice is so pure and delicate, yet powerful in all the right places. She has the strength in her voice that is found in the likes of Shirley Manson to Patti Smith. She can be as tough as you like but isn’t afraid to be vulnerable with her words. For me, that’s what makes a band/singer easy to relate to. You pick up on the pain and hope in this song, it comes through so clearly and beautifully in Emily’s voice. It’s a cross between a 4am chant with your best friend as you stumble home and falling apart on your own at unholy o’clock when nobody it around. Going Straight will break your heart and will probably make you take an overdue look at yourself. Maybe you’ll hate what you see, but there’s something about this song that pulls you back in. As you’re teetering on the edge, something about this song just slaps you in the face and you’re as alright as you can be. Have your tomorrow to start again.

Candy Darling released the wonderfully trashy Money last July, and now they’re about to show you a different side with their latest single, Going Straight. This song has the power to really mean a lot to whoever hears it. It can be their crutch, and goodness knows we all need one from time to time.

You can stream the single here, along with the b-side Waves:

http://soundcloud.com/candydarling1/going-straight

Going Straight is to Candy Darling as to what Heroin was to the Velvet Underground. Listen to the tracks back to back, and you’ll get what I mean. Their sound can be brutal but on Going Straight they show a side that is slightly tame but with ferociousness to Emily’s voice. Basically, I adore this band.

When you cling onto nothingness, you start to feel as if you’re nothing and have nothing at all left. Then songs like this come around and you don’t feel like scum. You feel alright with the bad, and you’ll take the good whenever it comes back around. Thank goodness for Candy Darling.

COKE WEED.

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Personally, I love music that makes you feel like you are anywhere but where you are. Daily life can be a drag, a real chore. Doing the same things ever day, having the same dull and lifeless conversations constantly. Why do we put ourselves through such mundane monstrosities. You can change it. Change your job (never stay somewhere that makes you miserable), change your friends, move out, move on etc. All that stuff. Find a soundtrack. Make yourself a playlist and go. When you do this, I urge you to put one band in particular on this list.

Coke Weed are a band I had intended to write about some time ago, but my memory isn’t too great. I’ll make up for lost time.

Coke Weed have this gorgeous relaxed feel to their sound- think along the lines of Beach House, Wye Oak. They really take you to some place magical.  Back To Soft was one of 2013’s most underrated records. It was overlooked and that’s borderline criminal. I was recently sent their demo version of their new record, and although it is a rough copy it is nothing short of perfect. They’ll hear things I don’t that need tweaking, but I’m no musician so maybe the obvious needs doing to the record. I have no idea, but I do know that it is a sublime record and it sounds nothing like previous releases. It’s got a real Roxy Music feel to it. Less dreamy, more dancing. There’s a strong disco feel to Dead Man Walking. So far, that’s my favourite. Their new record takes you on a journey through the ages whilst still sounding now, it takes guts to do that and Coke Weed do it so well.

There are many influences floating through the new record, ones that maybe skipped their previous records but they’ve dug up for their new one. It feels right on this record. Back To Soft was the daydream and their new record is the reality. As a massive fan of this band, I believe their new record explores and enhances the reasons as to why I really do love this band. Everything from the hazy guitars to Nina’s soothing vocals to the gentle crashing of the drums. You take in every single detail of all the songs and treasure them.

For me, I regard Coke Weed as highly as bands like the Raveonettes. The Raveonettes have a lot of sentimental value tied to them. Maybe I’ll cling or maybe I’ll let go, but with Coke Weed I just want to listen and be transported somewhere without a care in the world. It’s a magical experience that’s a pleasure to be part of.

With summer approaching slowly, it is vital you find something to be your soundtrack. Coke Weed are a band to laze about to. Do nothing and let your mind go. I’m fairly sure that when you see these guys live you just shut your eyes for the duration and allow yourself to drift away with the music and into the unknown.

Coke Weed’s music is moments of joy, explosions of happiness in the midst of dreaming. They are an absolute pleasure to listen to and to get lost in, like the eyes of your lover. I would happily write a huge essay on my love this band, but I’m saving it for my review of the record.

As they approach the release of their fourth record, I can only hope it places these guys where they belong- in your hearts and in your record collection.

KÜKEN

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Coming from the mean (or probably not so) streets of Hamburg, Küken are one of the most exciting bands around who manage to smack a proper punk sound with a garage rock influence. Their songs are brilliantly loud even if they are too short. We can’t have everything. Short songs (I mean lasting no longer than 2 minutes) aren’t a bad thing. If you can get your point across quickly and cause limbs to flail in that amount of time, then why not? Bands like the Ramones to my loves Girl Tears have managed and do manage to do it, and they do it well. I can take dreamy gems lasting over 5 minutes with punchy loud 1:30 songs. It all works.

I can’t give you any background on Küken, I know nothing about them but I know this- they are on Austria’s finest label, Bachelor Records. Bachelor Records is responsible for some of the loudest bands around. The kind of bands that you want blaring out of your speakers to either wake you up or to annoy someone. Be obnoxious, but use someone else’s voice. Simple. Let’s all move to Germany, start a punk band and get Bachelor Records to sign us!

Küken remind me of The Damned. Their current record (self titled) reminds me so much of The Damned’s debut record. That record, like Küken is fast and full of songs that will leave you sore from throwing your body about in a ridiculous fashion. Sometimes you just hear a band, and you instantly know you’ve found something you’re going to treasure for years and years. They make me want to go through Bachelor Records releases and write about them all. I most likely will. There are bands that  I remember hearing certain bands for the first time and immediately wanting to find more of the same, Küken leave me feeling that way. I want everything to be as rambunctious and as loud as this. Some people fawn over acoustic guitars (no thanks) but I want noise. Proper noise like this. The kind that leaves a glorious ringing in your ears, and all you hear is the residue of the songs throughout the day. In painful silence and in loud places, you are still hearing their songs in your head.

Küken are a band I’ve GOT to see play live, but I have no idea if or when they’ll be over. There are many venues that would be ideal for them. Dark, sweaty venues that would bring these magnificent punk songs to life.

Songs like Black Rose,Suicide Train and Fight Back are the kind of songs you walk around listening to whilst feeling absolutely nothing but by the end you feel something brewing inside of you that no other band has managed to bring out of you. You don’t know what it is, but the best things sometimes come from inner frustrations.

I know nothing about the band, but I know that they are one of the most exciting bands around sometimes, that’s all you need to know. Who cares about anything else. Their music speaks for itself.

Play it as loud as you possibly can, throw your limbs about and buy everything on Bachelor Records.

You can listen to and buy Küken’s music here:

https://kueken.bandcamp.com/album/s-t

SAY LOU LOU-Luicd Dreaming

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I feel as if I’ve been waiting decades to finally write about Say Lou Lou’s debut record. I’ve been a fan from when they were called Saint Lou Lou and I probably annoyed everyone to high heaven by banging on about their song Maybe You. I had no idea what their sound would turn into from hearing Maybe You and Julian. They have this wonderful way of being a pop band but with non conventional means. They are dark, atmospheric, open and easy to relate to. I’ve spent my time listening to Lucid Dreaming by making notes, I’ve never really done this before but they evoke so much it was hard to keep track. It’s a record you instantly fall in love with, and I’m happy that the world can finally hear what Elektra and Miranda have been creating, in full.

The record starts with Everything We Touch, the perfect way to starter.  That song is a gentle dance tune that makes you feel good. Lucid Dreaming is a heartbreaker of a record, it is for those who have hurt, who will hurt (either get hurt or cause it) and are hurt. It’s painful but there are moments that are full of hope, love and free of pain. You cling to it all, in the hopes of it one day being your safety net.

Glitter feels like it should be a single, and to hear it live will be a truly magical part of the set. It’s got a camp 80s feel to it, sometimes I don’t want that but Say Lou Lou have made this glamorous and fabulous song that takes all the best elements of pop music, and make it their own. Can we start an online petition to make this a single? It’s got proper attitude to it, and would come alive at night-time in sordid night clubs as you make your way home on a damp and lonely Saturday night. Where Glitter sounds like an 80s pop tune, Games For Girls sounds like a 90s pop gem. It doesn’t sound like the others, it doesn’t have that dark feel to it but it fits so perfectly on the record.

When Julian appears it is like putting on your favourite item of clothing. It is safe and familiar, and I think for anyone just getting into the band this may be the song they latch onto. I still do and I’ve been a fan for some time. In some ways I’m glad Maybe You isn’t on here because I wouldn’t be able to let that song go and love the rest. But at the same time, I really miss the song. It should be on there, but that’s because I’ve got way too much sentimental value attached to it. And maybe I should learn to let it go. I’m learning.

Angels (Above Me) is one I’ll probably keep coming back to when it feels like something is missing from general life. It is the most “human” song on the record. I wish I could explain what I mean, but I really can’t. All I know is there is something really fragile about that song, Miranda and Elektra aren’t afraid to expose all those ugly yet passionate feelings we have. They do it in a way that makes you feel less ashamed and able to pull through whatever it may be. For me it is one of the most atmospheric songs on the record and their vocals truly shine on this song.

Peppermint and Beloved are THE most heartbreaking songs on the record, and they make you wish it never happens to you. Of course it will, you cannot escape that. Beloved posses one of the most honest lines I’ve heard, “Love is a facade for hate.” It just stays with you, it’ll haunt you and you’ll question yourself should you fall in love, or lust even. Peppermint is a break-up song that makes you wish the bad will pass. It’s that first stage of a break-up where you try to process it, and you will. Eventually. And when you do, you’ll find another song on Lucid Dreaming to connect with which I’ll mention shortly.

Hard For A Man is possibly my favourite. The whole record makes me thing of a time I’ve done well so far with ignoring/forgetting, and I can remember it all now with none of it touching me thankfully ha. Hard For A Man is so easy to relate to, and I don’t mean from the singer’s perspective. For me, I can relate to the person they are singing about. That kind of trouble stays with you but you can hide it so it doesn’t rub off on anyone else. We cling to the bad because we never expect good things to happen or last, but they do. They really really do, and it’s best thing when you stop being awkward about it. It is such a vulnerable song, and it encourages you to let go, to stop holding onto whatever it is that’s making you a monster or whatever is scaring you. I love the line, “I’ll be as gentle as I can.” It’s a real unconventional love song, and they are the best kind.

Wilder Than The Wind is the one song that takes you to a time of year rather than a place or moment. It makes you feel as if you’re in the depths of winter. Cold and alone, and this song is your safety net. It fits in perfectly and easily with the underlying romantic tone of the record. It gives you the guts to escape all that’s making you miserable- whether it be a city, a job, a person, a situation. It just gives you that kick you need.

Nothing But A Heartbeat is the aftermath of Peppermint. It’s that realisation that you’ll be alright and you don’t need much, if anything to get by. You can have nothing left of your former self but you’ll rebuild what another destroyed with no problem at all. If you want to escape that “Why me?!” feeling, head straight for Nothing But A Heartbeat and you’ll be fine.

The record ends with Skylights. I’m fairly sure they played this when I saw them at Concrete in 2013 I think?! It’s the perfect song to end this gorgeous record on. The drums are big on this. So bold and loud, the song fills you with hope and the urge to just carry on. Because with all the fuck-ups we cause and fall into, you just have to. Some part of you that died comes back to life, and this is what Skylights does. It just has to be in their live set, and should be what they end on.

As Say Lou Lou are a band I’ve loved from the start, I am so so proud of the song they have created and so proud of what they’ve done on their debut. Lucid Dreaming feels like the soundtrack to a black and white foreign film. Foreign films have way more class and elegance about them, and in some parts Lucid Dreaming feels like the broken woman falling for the troubled man who is unattainable, and she realises this when he doesn’t walk her home after they go for dinner. No weekends away, just brief moments that aren’t long enough but are still meaningful.

Lucid Dreaming is the best pop record you’ll hear this year, and what makes it stand out is that it goes against that overproduced and too sweet pop you hear on the radio right now. They grab and squash the idea of what mainstream pop should sound like. Lucid Dreaming is dark, tormented, romantic and hopeful. The best people are and the best records are too.

Say Lou Lou are playing Heaven (London) on 8th April and Lucid Dreaming is out next Monday.

 

JAMIE XX & ROMY- Loud Places.

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“I go to loud places

To search for someone

To be quiet with.”

 

Some songs just need to be written about. They need to be played constantly. Loud enough so someone asks what you’re listening to. You play it to them, so they can hear it more clearly. You share a moment with this person, and you both agree that this song is the best thing you’ve heard in a long time. You both come from different tastes in music. One of you probably likes death metal, the other is a fan of Bach. Stick with the extremes and find common ground in this astounding song.

Jamie xx is a fantastic producer, everybody knows that. How is a solo record going to cut it? Will it sound familiar? Will it work? What’s going to happen?

THIS is what happens. If this doesn’t make you happy to the point of tears, or want to hug the shit (not actual shit) out of someone then you should probably either stop being an uptight fool or get yours ears checked. Or both. Possibly.

It is by far the best song you’ll hear all year (I could change my mind, but I’ll just keep adding to my list.) It is euphoric gem that you have you play constantly. There is something about it that, even though the lyrics could be seen as quite sad- it is quite frankly a gorgeous song. Nobody else but Romy could sing this song. Nobody else could make a song as stunning and dreamy as Jamie and Romy. It’s everything you want from a song. It’s got that tense build up that drives you nuts as you feel it approaching. Everything about this song screams “summer.” It’s the perfect song to listen to as you gaze at a sunset on some sunny beach or in the depths of East London as the sun peaks through high-rise flats, the light bounces off the windows and you squint but are still looking longingly and lovingly at the one you love.

Loud Places oozes devotion and uncertainty. Most things are built on this, you can adapt to it or let it ruin you, but that’s all on you. For now, please please spend the rest of your day playing this song religiously. I don’t care where it takes you, but just let it take you there. And stay there for a while. Drown everything and everyone out. Just for a little while (or until it’s home time.)