Local favourites // Babeshadow

Having bagged a lugubrious tour support slot with the increasingly omnipresent Florence and gigging alongside fellow London success stories Golden Silvers and The Maccabees, Babeshadow are pretty successfully crafting a first class career for themselves.

Having formed mere months ago this marks progress indeed and, while early demos Sea Serpent and Darling are pleasantly lilting three minute vignettes of city loving, the 60s song-writing and hooks promise plenty. One hopes the Babes choose the more scenic, challenging route to success for longevity's sake but, for now at least, there's enough to love to make the days seem brighter and the summer seem closer. Plus, they'll be appearing alongside the incredible Summer Camp on April 8th at London's Lexington. Reason enough to raise the Babeshadow alarm in No Action's view.

Darwin Deez // Radar Detector

Darwin Deez of NYC is pretty much the curly-hariest man in pop since Devendra and, wielding the pop nous of Phoenix and the effortlessly cool vocals of a certain Swiss schooled Casablancas, promises to make 2010 full of perky playfulness.

Alongside the fantastic and probably superior Constellations, Radar Detector is a prime cut from Deez's indie-pop self-titled debut out on April 12th. While the official video is indisputably excellent, the version below echos the impossibly likeable quality of the music completely. No Action salutes the 4th graders and teachers of P.S. 217.

Darwin will be live at London's Pure Groove for the album launch on the 12th. See you there.

Harlem // Hippies

Things that make No Action purr, of late, include this from Austin's Harlem. Following the thrash n' roll path trod most recently by the likes of The Soft Pack and Black Lips, Harlem take bedroom garage to new depths of simplicity. No bad thing that, as Friendly Ghost is by a stretch the most heart thumpingly exhilirating thing I've heard this year.

After infinitessimal listens it still hasn't got old and makes each day a little bit better. New album Hippies is out on Matador on April 6th, containing the equally superb Gay Human Bones and Spray Paint. With the band touring the US until mid-May a cross-Atlantic summer jaunt must surely be on the cards.

Local favourites // La Shark

From this week forth No Action will be highlighting the fine work of some of London's primest cuts, in a series sensibly titled 'Local favourites'.

First up, New Cross's La Shark. Harnessing Beefheart's experimental spirit and a distinctly London DIY-punk ethic, the product is deliciously offbeat synth-pop with prog leanings. Perhaps a cross-breed of XX Teens' darkly surreal delivery and Micachu and The Shapes' genre defiance. Bones and recent single A Weapon could well see them propelled into brighter limelights, while 1958 is currently free to download from their site. Catch it while it's hot.

Japandroids // No Singles

No Action has quite a thing for twosomes. Something in the base brutality that seemingly only a couple can generate has resulted in healthy obsessions with The White Stripes, The Black Keys, Tiny Masters of Today, Death From Above 1979 (RIP) among many, many others.

Latest and, perhaps, greatest of these is Japandroids, whose Post Nothing LP of 2009 is a gem. The grooves of the aforementioned DFA 1979 are melded with the surging guitar soundscapes of Sonic Youth, creating a devastatingly beautiful noise-blitz on The Boys are Leaving Town and the stunning Wet Hair.

Before all this, though, came a couple of EPs; 2007's All Lies and 08's Lullaby Death Jams, kindly re-issued to us Brits as album No Singles come May. While the tracks are no match for Post Nothing, Darkness on the Edge of Gastown hints at a heavy metal Whirlwind Heat, while Coma Complacency proffers fist punching cries over a brooding base. Much to enjoy, but what's more interesting is where Japandroids are going than where they've been.

They'll be plying their trade at Islington's The Garage on 20th May after February's sold out ICA show and wowing the SXSW-ers this month.

jj // Let Go

A band that could prove the 'find' of SXSW (despite preparing to release their second album, jj no.3), reclusive duo jj's video for Let Go proves there is literally no smoke without fire. Or dogs. Or indeed blood.

If you're yet to have this band in your life, allow in their cross of Vampire Weekend's afro beats with The xx's sombre atmospherics and hushed vocals. Label Yours Sincerely seems to have the knack for sourcing top new talent, with labelmates Memory Tapes producing one of the albums of 2009. Sadly, SXSW's gain is my poor East London existence's loss, so join me in this feast for the eyes until the band come to British shores.

Thanks a-plenty to Abeano for drawing attention to this.

jj "Let Go" from aufgemischt! on Vimeo.

The Drums // Best Friend

The Drums, the world's next big thing and, according to the never knowingly meiotic sphere of the NME, "New York's official coolest new band", have just issued the video for new single Best Friend on Moshi Moshi.

In line with Let's Go Surfing it's pretty simple stuff, but captures the captivating moves of Jonathan Pierce perfectly. The entry through the window? Not sure. The 50's film credit outro? Delightfully and ridiculously adding a sense of drama where really none exists.

We Have Band // Divisive

Having worked their mesmerising effect with paint on Metronomy's On The Motorway, France's Jul&Mat have turned to similarly London based electro/glitch-poppers We Have Band for their next directorial outing. If you can tear your eyes from video and concentrate on the track, Divisive is perhaps the band's finest track to date, adopting previous single Honeytrap's insistent baseline and power-chorus while adding a shroud of synths reminiscent of DFA's roster. It's compelling stuff and makes the brow sweat ever more for their forthcoming debut LP WHP, out April 5th.

See them in their all their fleshy beauty at London's Kings College on April 8th before they flit off to Europe.

We Have Band - Divisive - by JUL & MAT from JUL & MAT on Vimeo.

The Maccabees feat. Edwyn Collins

Something great, courtesy of the NME tour's final bow of 2010, took place at Brixton Academy. Following a hype-fulfilling, tambourine fuelled performance from NYC's The Drums, a feedback drenched set from The Big Pink and a coming of age performance from a visibly gleeful Bombay Bicycle Club, The Maccabees tore through a frenetic hour of new wave hit after hit after hit.

Orlando Weeks' voice and on stage presence has progressed beyond comprehension since the band's early days and, having picked up a guitar himself, the band's sound is noticeably more physical on Young Lions than their debut's spiky punk shudder of X-Ray. It's the combination of the two that keeps the kids dancing, with full time ring-leader and part-time guitarist Felix White leading the Brixton faithful through a soaring Precious Time before the misanthropic noir drama of No Kind Words highlights the flaws in most of this year's 'Best ofs' in their Maccabees related oversights.

While the encore was inevitably going to feature Wall of Arms highlight Love You Better (which it did, along with the equally inevitable yet no less exhilarating or joyous re-appearance of the other bands), no-one could have predicted Mr Weeks' introduction of new-wave icon and one of the most distinctive voices in British music Edwyn Collins. A thrilling Rip It Up was the cover of choice, with Collins taking centre stage and proving that while his body may be letting him down his charisma and vocals remain as sharp as ever they were. Collaborations are one of the many things The Maccabees do right, but this one was more right than most.

While the much, and often rightly, maligned NME may be in something of a decline, the bands on tonight's bill are definitely on their way to even greater triumphs.



Edwyn in his youthful pomp.

Vampire Weekend // Giving up the Gun

Premiered on Channel 4 last night (so often the domain of mediocre Madonna and Oasis efforts), Vampire Weekend's video to promote new single Giving up the Gun maintains their burgeoning reputation for videos as unique and entrancing as their songs.

Directed by Emmett Malloy who recently worked on The White Stripes' Under Great White Northern Lights, the video not only features the unlikely menage a trois of Joe Jonas, RZA and Jake Gyllenhal, but sees them battling a fearsome red-head in some sort of heavenly future tennis. A delight.

Late of the Pier // Best in the Class

While many bands take time off in between albums to consider their options, court tabloid attention, perhaps indulge their other artistic leanings, or even move to America or India in search of musical nirvana, Late of the Pier seem to have done none of the above. 2007's self-released Zarcorp demos and the following year's album offered a refreshingly original tangent to their indie-electro peers and, somewhat re-assuringly, new double A side Best in the Class shows no signs of anything so passe as 'moving on'. It has been a live staple for some time of course, but has only now achieved official single status. No doubt coming to a Skins soundtrack near you soon, the single and accompanying video show the foursome at their unrestrained, unrepentant best.

Have a look see here.

Lightspeed Champion - Marlene EP

Here's a review of Lightspeed Champion's Marlene EP for the marvelous The Fugitive Motel.

Lightspeed Champion // Marlene EP
Domino Records // 25th Jan 2010

A restless soul is Devonte. Since Test Icicles' noisily parabolic rise and fall there’s been many a change of musical heart and direction. The brief dalliances with Chicago’s art-scuzz geniuses Whirlwind Heat; the Harold & Maude/Cat Stevens tribute act persona circa 2009; the recent demos from the Blood Orange alter alter ego; writing credits for Diana Vickers (no, really). But it’s Lightspeed Champion that’s stuck, despite the documented troubles of following up the majestic debut Falling off the Lavender Bridge.

Marlene is the fruit of those labours. The wry, melancholic lyrics and delivery that lent …Lavender Bridge its charm remain, along with the expansive yet sombre strings. What is immediately present and sets this single apart from anything Hynes has offered before is a perky indie-pop bounce, reminiscent of the commercially friendly moves made by Mystery Jets’ Two Doors Down or Patrick Wolf. In fact, it’s as if it can’t quite make up its mind what it wants to be. The jangly guitars and “Stop being cool, uh-oh, uh-oh, uh-oh” laments switch intermittently with haunting violins and esoteric, “I’m waiting ‘til the sun has gone down, I’m waiting for a strand of your golden locks to sew my stomach shut” fables, but the seams between the two are all too visible. Where the first record oozed eccentric and restless inspiration, Marlene seems to court convention without fully being convinced by it. There’s no doubting the joy in its playfulness, and Hynes’ voice is as crisp and pleading as ever, but from a man seemingly so full of ideas (as the classical instrumental Concerto .2 “So Long! So Long!” and French language Gainsbourg cover on the B-sides confirms) it leaves one somewhat unfulfilled.

Tracks:
1. Marlene
2. Marlene (Radio edit)
3. Concerto .2 "So Long! So Long!"
4. 69 Annee Erotique
5. He's The Great Imposter
6. Tete Morte