Directed by the spectacularly named Ace Norton, the new video for Caged Animals'Piles of $$$ sees Vincent Cacchione and bandmate/partner Magali Charron go through various stages of happiness, unhappiness, masochism, and more unhappiness, playfully juxtaposed by Caged Animals' auto-tuned croon and synth-led R&B.
Check out the video below, while Norton's other 3 minute flicks for Lucky Numbers label mates Friends and Darwin Deez are also a must see. Piles of $$$ is taken from Caged Animals' new 'Eat Their Own' LP, which you can also listen to below.
Boy Friend is the new project from Sleep ∞ Over’s Sarah Brown and Christa Palazzolo, and their trade is reverb-laden, spectral electronics of the Memoryhouse ilk. Egyptian Wrinkle's ambient groove is the title track from their forthcoming debut out on 6 February 2012 through Hell, Yes! Records.
CYMBALS produced one of our records of the year in 'Unlearn' and, as if to remind us of that fact as we build towards the inevitable wrap-up list making months, have sprung this minimal new-wave gem on us.
Intense Kids is taken from an as yet untitled new EP being readied for the new year, and was recorded aboard Lighthouse 95, scene of Mazes' highly successful efforts earlier this year.
There's one thing I'm sure of having watched the dream-like, Natalia Stuyk-directed video for Echo Lake's latest track Buried at Sea, and that's that David Attenborough and his BBC buddies should get in touch immediately and ensure Echo Lake soundtrack all future Planet related programming.
Taken from the ambient-pop band's new 'Young Silence EP', the track is stunningly fluid and subtly uplifting, while the accompanying images are a thing of wistful beauty.
Just stumbled upon this Stockholm duo and, having come out of the trance induced by their debut record I'm Absent, You're Faraway, felt compelled to post. Palpitation have the wintry whispered vocals akin to fellow Swedes jj, however their sound is perhaps more traditionally along the Scandinavian indie pop lines, at times sparse and at others edging towards the epic, lovelorn melancholy of Wild Beasts.
How this record, released in June on Luxury, remained under my radar until now is beyond me; perhaps it's an easier fit with these cold November nights than the cold summer ones.
Wow! Eugene's back and has raided the cosmetic cabinet, got himself down to Bond Street and returned with a suave new rockabilly-cum-advertising executive styling. What with the mesmerising modern dance accompaniment and the fact this track is making a pretty successful late bid for my top 10 tracks of the year, the video for Lion makes for a real good time.
The Maccabees gear up for the release of their third album, Given To The Wild, next year in pretty much the same way they left us. Pelican has all the usual Maccabees hit-making features (earnest harmonies, repeated lyrics, surging new wave riffs and cloud bursting choruses), while building in some African rhythms and spectral production occasionally hinted at on Wall of Arms.
While it doesn't quite thrill me in the way No Kind Words did, the unfettered enthusiasm that spills from everything the band do is enough. See what you think below.
Great name for an album that isn’t it? Whether it’s self referential relating to the well known phrase or saying ‘bad pennies always come back’ or ‘there’s two sides to every coin’, whether it’s satirical commentary on our current economic strife, or whether it’s a nod to Steve Albini and Big Black’s fiery Chicago punk track of the same name all adds a curiosity to the record, a trait all record names should have as far as we’re concerned. Knowing Louis Jones’ aka Spectrals’ previous output and propensity for melding sonic ingredients, all three are likely to have figured somewhere down the line.
As for the content, fewer questions are asked. Since the early and wholly justified buzz of 2009’s Leave Me Be and 2010’s ‘Extended Play’, backed up by multiple split 7”s, extensive touring and support slots, the influences of 60s pop, soul and doo wop, plus the occasional garage smack, have been worn firmly on the sleeve. A trait often criticised, but one which if done well and with ingenuity is to be admired. The high points on the record take these touchstones and buff them into something beautiful. Lead single Get a Grip’s driving pop provides a plucky undertone to Jones’ lovelorn, meanderings as he confides “I find it hard to get my head out of the right side of the bed”, while the jangling lilt of Jones’ guitar on Doing Time has a timelessness that may sound simple but is missed so often by others attempting a similar feat.
Unfortunately, there are aspects of this debut that drift without making much impact, which is perhaps where the delving into multiple musical pots makes for an inevitably mixed whole. Where Spectrals’ live shows and Jones’ charisma conjure a fuzzy warmth and throwback atmosphere, at times the record is a tad mundane and predictable, making its low ebbs such as Many Happy Returns pass almost unnoticed compared to the earlier teenage crush and garage blast high of Big Baby. Confetti has the lyrical intricacy and pop playfulness of Alex Turner or Paul Weller over classic 60s beat pop, however its peak is followed by the easy listening snooze of Luck Is There to be Pushed, which is reminiscent of Simply Red and is rendered impotent alongside the far superior tracks Jones is clearly capable of. Two sides to the coin indeed, but on one there’s plenty to admire.
Welcome to No Action.
Based in Bow, East London, writing about stuff that sounds good.
No Action has also written for High Voltage and The Fugitive Motel.
