Azealia Banks // 1991 / Van Vogue

Since 212, Azealia Bank's pre-album output has been a bit mixed in our view, but these new Machinedrum produced tracks from her 1991 EP are evidence of what she's really capable of, melding 90s dance and hip-hop beats with her slick, aggressively alluring vocal.

 

 

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Field Day 2012 playlist

Despite the inevitable rain, toilet queues and frustrating clashes, Field Day 2012 promises to be the best yet. Besides, you wouldn't get clash-fury if the line-up wasn't as top draw as it is this year. Although choosing between Grimes, Chairlift and Metronomy among others at about 7 is going to be mind-meltingly impossible. Perhaps this Field Day timeline playlist below will help you make that call.



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Traams // Traams

Traams first came to our attention a few months back when supporting Brown Brogues at Shacklewell Arms and, given that they are now the subject of a post in their own right, shows what an impression they made.

Grungey garage with a lithe groove and art-punk, spite-filled vocals is Traams' thing, as evidenced on their Bratwell produced and released, self titled EP from January. Flowers and Demons have a hint of The Cribs' whiskey fueled, line skirting punk-pop immediacy, Grin has a Santana-esque blues swing, while closer Klaus is a menacing, cholstrophobic, creeping blast of post-punk.

Expect a lot more from the London trio in coming months, and if you want a real good time, catch them at the Old Queen's Head on 14th June.
 
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Peace // L'il Echo

Brummie foursome Peace have just signed to Columbia and have just completed a sadistically monstrous 'Supertour', which saw them support both Mystery Jets and Manic Street Preachers as well as squeezing in some headlining dates of their own. They also took out a gratuitous billboard ad (above) to celebrate their newly penned deal and announce themselves in 6 foot lettering to the second city commuters.

In what's been a busy week for the band, they've also just posted up L'il Echo, the B-side to their recent single Follow Baby and a track which combines the pop harmonies and lithe baselines of their recent tour mates, as well as the epic, fractured grandeur of Wu Lyf.
 
 
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Novella // He's My Morning

With the release of their new self-titled EP on Italian Beach Babes but 4 days away, Novella have released this little video from the second track on the record He's My Morning.

The track is typical of the girls' shimmering, lovelorn pop, darkly measured until the 2 minute mark, at which point it takes off in a Sonic Youth blitz of rolling drums and scuzzy guitar. A cut above anything they've done previously, and with many bands offering a similar sound, a further step towards the top of the pile. Tracklisting for the EP and video are below.

1. Eat Yourself
2. He’s My Morning
3. Don’t Believe Ayn Rand
4. Strange Things
5. You’re Not That Cool

 

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Milk Music // Out Of My World

Sometimes, all you really need is a monstrous, tinnitus inducing riff. I give you Milk Music's Out Of My World.

 

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Julio Bashmore // Au Seve

Matthew Walker (AKA Julio Bashmore) currently has a lot of fingers in a lot of pies. The Bristol based DJ has been freshening up Radio 1, helping turn Jessie Ware's tracks into filthy dance grooves and has recently launched his own label Broadwalk Records.  

Au Seve is the first track from his new record due on the label in the summer; bright, bounding house which by the end leaves us aching for a smooth segue into the next track. Sadly it doesn't come, so you'll just have to hit repeat.
  Latest tracks by juliobashmoremusic

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I Ching // It's Me

London foursome I Ching were garlanded with the honour of having their debut single It's Me / Drive be the first pressed on TLOBF's record label Best Fit Recordings. A couple of fine sounding tracks they are too, arching pop with the ear-worm insistency of Here We Go Magic and, in It's Me, a cymbal-driven track with warm synth interludes that would fit comfortably between New Order and Wild Beasts. Sample their wares below.
 



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Jessie Ware // 110%

Who's having the best time right now? Jessie Ware's who, making a mockery of the April hailstones with some Jackie O sunglasses and a spring/summer wardrobe in the video for the uptempo yet equally lucious track 110%, featuring Julio Bashmore. Have a watch below.

 

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Breton // Corsica Studios, London

Breton
Corsica Studios, London
Wednesday March 28, 2012

There's no place like home. In the world of Spielberg, Disney, Dorothy, Last of the Summer Wine and KFC adverts, we know this to be gospel. Something of the same heartwarming self-assurance affects Breton at Corsica Studios, having in their own words gotten used to playing venues "where nobody knows us" - lending a celebratory air to the evening's entertainment that lacked only a 'Welcome Home Boys' banner and some bunting.

Breton have been steadily collecting column inches over the past 12 months or so for the collaborative audio-visual approach to their craft, one grounded in dark synths and monstrous, post-rock riffs. To date, though, these column inches have largely been in the domain of the bedroom blogger or record floor pamphlet. This packed-out show and the release of their debut LP 'Other People's Problems', however, are the stuff of the nationals.

The brooding intensity of Breton's music tonight could have come across as impenetrable. Edward The Confessor, a stuttering, combative assault, is set to a backdrop montage of urban decline, Roman Rappak's accusatory poetry delivered while stalking the stage. The rest of the band's backing incantations make for an oppressive live experience. Isolating, then, you'd think, if it weren't for the playful mid-song banter and grounding in gaffer tape bass repairs which reflect a genuine exuberance in their performance tonight.



From here, the set really kicks on. In Electrician, Breton have found a powerfully addictive Vek-like hook to accompany the heavy beats, which gets the shoulder-to-shoulder crowd collectively swaying, if not quite dancing. Jostle verges on the type of looped Eurodance you may have heard through Faliraki club toilet doors as you're puking up the last of your Reef, but it soon evolves into a sort of tropical hardcore, with Rappak bent double in his earnest delivery, bringing to mind the ever exuberant Ed MacFarlane in doing so.

The show closes out with a rapid rendition of the rave-rock Episodes, Breton's Hummer, a track which similarly failed to make the debut album cut but makes for a limb-flailingly dangerous live injection. Like Foals, Breton's reputation for cultured craft combined with a frenetic live experience will undoubtedly see them spring from South London - and mean they shouldn't have too many problems playing where nobody knows them in the future.

words: Andy Porter

Breton's debut album Other People's Problems is out now on Fat Cat Records.

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Brown Brogues // Shacklewell Arms

Brown Brogues
Shacklewell Arms, London
Thursday March 1, 2012

I've always had a close affinity with drum / guitar duos. From The White Stripes to Death From Above 1979, from The Kills to Japandroids, there's something pleasingly primal about the simple beatmaker, melody maker combination that slaps you about while making you dance.

So it is with Brown Brogues at Hackney's Shacklewell Arms tonight. Gaffer taped to the nines, Ben Mather perches behind his stripped-down and worse for wear drum kit in a T-shirt that takes longer to read than the band's setlist (for more on that, see here), while Mark Vernon, dressed in black, battered guitar strung up under his chin and a devilish eye peering beneath his fringe, looks in the mood.

As the audience swells inside the blue-and-green-lit underwater cavern of the Shacklewell's back room, the punk groove of 'Wildman' kicks the crowd's hips into gear. Then, 'I Just Don't Know's tale of domestic dispute amid crushing drums sees Ben call for more tape.

Listening to the duo's two-minute blasts of psych garage is akin to feeling the angst striken buzz of early White Stripes tracks like 'Lafayette Blues' or 'Hand Springs', as thumping drums provide the platform for scuzzy lo-fi guitar. There's a charm and lightness in their mid-song discussions though, with Ben's giggle at a missed intro and Mark's howled shouts of "thank you" temporarily alleviating the set's brooding garage.

The dual yelps and lyrical playfulness of early single 'Don't Touch My Hair', followed by the pulsating blues of 'Treet U Beta' close out a fast and frenetic night's work in front of an appreciative crowd, and as the band head out to SXSW, more shows like this will see Alex Turner's favourite band™ their stock rise even further.

words: Andy Porter

Brown Brogues' new single 'Anyone But You' is out now on Italian Beach Babes. The band perform at SXSW later this month.

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Local favourites // Vadoinmessico

Five piece Vadoinmessico only just qualify as 'local' favourites, solely thanks to drummer Joe. The remainder are made up of Italians Giorgio and Alessandro, Salvador (from Mexico) and banjo playing Austrian Stefan, combining to make luscious, tropical folk-pop. The Vampire Weekend-esque Pepita Queen of the Animals and In Spain showcase elegantly quirky vocals reminiscent of Devendra Banhart, while the nostalgic rolling folk and slide guitars of Teeo are our personal picks, but there's much to admire in all the band's enigmatic output thus far.

Preparing to release their debut record 'Archaelogy of the Future' on 5th March on PIAS, Vadoinmessico will be following up with a show at the Lexington with Drugstore on 6th April.


 

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