It can make you sound like a bit of a crank, but there’s a certain type of pride to be found in discovering a band early doors, before fame, fortune and/or acclaim follows (though rarely the three these days, let’s face it). It’s a real trip seeing a band go on to bigger and better things after you’ve initially caught them in their infancy, playing some basement venue to a few in the know punters (or in the case of our first time seeing CRACK CLOUD, the equivalent of a shack on the side of a busy road in Leeds behind a petrol station).
Last week saw the Manchester debut of Mock Media, a Canadian supergroup of sorts, originally formed out of a small farming town in British Columbia, surrounded by the wonders of the earth – beautiful big lakes, tall trees and magical mountain ranges. Its four members have gained notoriety elsewhere, playing in the likes of N0V3L, CRACK CLOUD, Pottery and Painted Fruits, and we’d like to think we’ve caught at least three of these outfits during some of their early UK shows, in various sweatboxes throughout the North.
At SOUP (formerly Soup Kitchen) on Friday night, the room might not have been full, but history hints that the crowds will follow, after a wee bit of graft and discovery. We’d like to think that it’s inevitable people will soon start to take notice with these names involved. Bringing together some of our favourite players from each individual outfit, we didn’t want to miss the chance to get a glimpse of muscley CRACK CLOUD guitarist Garnet Aronyk Muhammad, nails N0V3L drummer Bennett Smith and wild-eyed Pottery vocalist Austin Boylan. It made sense that local promoters Grey Lantern were involved, forever with their fingers on the pulse.
On arrival, vocalist Boylan implored the crowd to come nearer to the stage. “Come, come, come come my lady“. Bursting into life on energising post-punk opener ‘Father Of That Crime‘, it was hard to take your eyes off drummer Smith, not least because he was the sharpest looking cat in the room in his shirt, tie and shades, giving it jazz drummer realness – like a groovy Agent Smith. A belter of a player, he remained stone-faced whilst his arms did the talking, whacking away but in complete control, without much of a shift in expression.
Having spun their quite brilliant new record ‘Mock Media II‘ a time or two prior to catching them in the flesh, I’d assumed it was the vocal chops of Boylan throughout, but was pleasantly surprised to hear everyone but Smith take it in turns up front (when they weren’t all stood tall, chanting in unison in a military fashion). On The Clash style ‘Louis Won’t Break‘, Muhammad took the Strummer-esque lead, joined by the others on backing, whilst on a funky wee number, Boylan dropped the guitar to bounce about on the spot, animated one minute, then arms held behind his back as he shouted into the microphone. The three guitarists would take up bass duties at the drop of a hat, each bringing an individual style to the role (Evan Aasen‘s playing a particular highlight, as he frantically jammed his neck, lost in the groove).
“We came from Canada two days ago.” Announced Aasen, Boylan quick as a flash adding. “Never going back…” Unexpectedly, non-musical highlights throughout the night came via the interjections of the drummer’s Dad down the front. “Vernon rocks!” He shouted out early on – testing the waters of crowd interaction, later asking for “more water bottle crunching” in jest at Boylan, which was received well on and off stage. The band informed us that Glasgow was a lot more jumping the night before, Smith’s dad loudly announcing “Fuck the Scottish” in response to much laughter.
Off the back of the Glasgow comment, the crowd warmed right up and there was quite a bit of dancing down the front, the build up of enthusiasm throughout the evening matching that of the band (though I get the impression they’d give it the same amount of welly with just the drummer’s Dad in the crowd, the quartet letting it all hang out on the night). Having been convinced to stay on stage past the final song, they announced they were trying out a new one, ripping into an unexpected, ‘Louie Louie‘ style rendition of ‘Super Freak‘, putting an energising full stop on the evening.
“Liverpool cancelled – fuck Liverpool.” Announced Aasen as they finally made their way off stage – or at least attempted to, as papa Smith climbed up to be with the band immediately after the final note, taking a photo with the lads. With a big Canadian smile on his face, he shouted into the lens “…Smells like sweat up here.“
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Sorry, where did the last 5 months go? As we steamroll through the year at breakneck speed, your ever faithful friends at Birthday Cake For Breakfast are here to bang on about music – some new, some old – all worth your attention. Giddy up!
A brief two minute clip on Twitter of The B-52’s playing ‘Private Idaho‘ live made way for a month of once a day listening to their debut album and its follow up. Such a quirky jam that’s filled a B-52’s shaped hole in my heart.
Proper engaging stuff from Chicago outfit FACS, from their latest record ‘Present Tense‘ (which you can own on mouth-watering ‘cheeto smoke‘ vinyl) – vocalist Brian Case keeping you hanging on his every word throughout the rumble and shimmering four minutes. Case recently answered a host of inane questions for us, featuring a particularly good story about Jarvis Cocker.
Having lived within a Crack Cloud bubble leading up to and following the release of their debut album, it was refreshing to return to the record nearly a year on and still hear the rising tension of ‘Somethings Gotta Give‘ again as if it were fresh. Subdued for the most part, it really does amp up the anxiety as the track builds and builds.
Swit swoo, the harmonies on this are a delight from the brothers Brewis. From their latest album, the brilliant ‘Flat White Moon‘, ‘Do Me A Favour‘ has a bit of a Tom Petty vibe which we’re all about, with the second offering from the record being possibly the best across its twelve tracks.
The song Viagra Boys wish they’d written for their recent second album, Pottery drummer Paul Jacobs lets his freak flag fly on this quirky cut from his latest record. A stream of consciousness type vocal guides you through this cool little number.
From their highly anticipated debut album, the Squid boys have come up with the goods and ‘Peel St.’ is a proper frantic head-wobbler of delightful proportions. First run through on this I was walking in the pissing rain and it seemed to suit the atmosphere of the record perfectly. Another time I was spinning the record in the living room and heard “What’s this horrible music?” asked from the other room…
Well isn’t this just a whopper of a sun-soaked delight (clues in the title, lad)! Aussie lot Hiatus Kaiyote are box fresh to me, but have been knocking about for a while and have been nominated for TWO Grammy’s, so they’ve clearly got the goods. ‘Get Sun‘ is a proper vibe and one we’ve been relishing in.
A trailer for the new Sparks documentary kick-started repeated listens to this record and its follow up ‘Propaganda‘, and what a joy it’s been. Love the glam stomp and insatiable chorus of ‘Amateur Hour‘. Proper big one.
As nice as i’m sure it is to be a Fugazi die-hard, it’s even sweeter to have an entire catalogue of undiscovered music lying in ones wake. ‘Smallpox Champion‘ came on randomly the other evening and gripped me from the go. Proper noisy head bopper. It also made me realise how many bands I like that sound exactly like this… Makes you think!
Title track from the forthcoming Max Bloom record here, the follow up to last year’s rather lovely ‘Perfume‘. ‘Pedestrian‘ starts off wonderfully with just piano and guitar, soon elevated to heart-swelling highs when the drums and brass come in. Top stuff as ever from the former Yuck frontman.
Max recently talked us through second single ‘Palindromes‘, which you can read about here.
Tell you what I love about the opener from the new Teenage Fanclub record – it’s unexpectedly long and gets better the longer it lasts. We’re used to really long songs, like (remember that 16 minute Hey Colossus number?) – but on ‘Home‘, after it’s been a delightful breeze for the first few minutes, the guitars cut in and just let rip throughout the next 5 minutes as it drifts in and out of Steely Dan territory. Proper.
Similar to last month’s Listening Post, I keep finding myself falling into Aussie music binges. Another delight from a recent trip comes from this absolute scorcher from the debut Boomgates LP, which perfectly creates butterflies in the old stomach. ‘Oooooooh give it to me‘ Fucking come on! Mastered by Mikey Young, obviously.
Watching telly the other day and couldn’t quite place the raging tune playing over the top of a scene. Turns out it was our old friends Gustaf, discovered at the start of the year – but that seems like a year ago, mates. Cucumber cool NYC lot doing the sort of dance-y post-punk that we buzz off.
The Chicago lads are back and what a joy it is to have a new EP on the horizon. Second single ‘Tugboat‘ brings all the raging, thumping glory of previous album ‘The Incessant‘, flying along at speed and making one think we’re not too far away from chucking ourselves around a sweaty basement show.
Captivating new single from Canadian collective N0V3L, taken from their recently released debut album ‘NON-FICTION‘. A proper personal cut, when we first heard this get a live outing, it was too much for vocalist Jon Varley who had to restart it after a moment getting himself together. Heavy stuff.
Off the back of releasing a new album last year (one which we suggested is an “ear splitting onslaught“), God Damn have evolved into a four-piece for the release of this absolute throat-shredding riff-y monster!
Choice little post-punk number from Brighton four-piece Egyptian Blue, taken from their 2019 four-track EP ‘Collateral Damage‘. Ripper central that gets right under your skin.
Quite the ‘magnificent gesture’ of Cate Le Bon to let Group Listening re-work some of her material (ey up!) This delightful number from the pairing of Sweet Baboo and Paul Jones treads fresh ground for the hypnotising cut from her wonderful (Mercury Prize nominated, don’t forget) record ‘Reward‘.
Phwooar, this has got a bit of a timeless classic, heart-swelling vibe to it – the latest from Atlanta based outfit Mattiel, out now via HeavenlyRecordings.
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In the brain-overload video for Crack Cloud’s ‘Crackin Up‘, amongst the gun-shot suicides and beach side effigies, there’s a shot of a snake-eyed tattooed bod in a dimly lit room staring at a host of computer screens. Before the release of their debut album ‘Pain Olympics‘, a video surfaced on their Instagram of a slack-tied, cigarette smoking bloke surrounded by screens, he too in a dimly lit room, watching a progress bar fill up as he uploaded what one assumes was said record.
The seemingly ever-growing ‘multimedia collective‘ are an outfit of many, many vibes (a single video of theirs generally packs in more ideas than most band’s have throughout a career), with one recurring theme being a hermit sat in front of computer screens, looking at who knows what. It rings true though, given everything to do with Crack Cloud up to a point feels like you’re unearthing something secret, looking over your shoulder to see if anyone’s caught you watching what looks like a snuff film (in reality, with this being the internet, there are pockets of fans from all over and sure enough, their debut album was critically acclaimed).
That excitement of discovery unsurprisingly extends to those that move amongst the Crack Cloud circle and on the discovery of N0V3L in late 2018, our fingers couldn’t type about them fast enough (though we did manage it). The moodier arm of the collective (featuring Crack Cloud personnel Jon Varley and Bryce Cloghesy), their sound is less yelped vocals and quirky, more post-punk and new-wave nostalgia.
2019 saw the release of their self-titled debut, a mini-LP of sorts and a record we were, quite frankly, very taken with. The record captured a self-sustaining creative operation – N0V3L worked out of a rental home in Victoria, British Columbia, producing their own music, videos, and clothing. Two years on and they’re on the eve of releasing ‘NON-FICTION‘, their debut album proper, written by Varley between 2017 and 2020 and recorded on a Tascam-388 in the very same home, since torn down – another casualty of the alleged unforgiving housing market in Vancouver.
Bleak so it is, but a house being torn down, spreading the community across the western province of British Columbia, is just part of the makeup of the collective. Mental illness and the fallout of an opioid overdose crisis is a deep part of the network, British Columbia recently marking a somber anniversary in mid-April of five years since a public health emergency was declared after 200 people died of opioid overdoses. Varley himself was victim to an opiate addiction while working in Vancouver’s downtown Eastside.
A number of years back I was fortunate enough to catch both Crack Cloud and N0V3L share a small stage in Leeds at a packed out Hyde Park Book Club. Mid-way through the set, Varley was notably shaken and had to stop in the middle of a new song, his voice cracking as he broke the silence in the room to announce how personal it was to him. Maybe memories have blurred the lines on this one, but hearing it in full on record it has sleeper hit written all over it – but it’s also evident that all power seems zapped out of the vocalist as he sings on ‘FALLING IN LINE‘ of numbing the mind.
The power-zapped vocal of Varley shifts throughout the record, captivating at every turn as it moves from pained one minute (‘UNTOUCHABLE‘) to automaton-like (‘APATH‘) to almost rapping, the singer straining to get everything out of his mouth (‘VIOLENT & PARANOID‘).
Whilst initial live outings of ‘NON-FICTION‘ hinted that we’d have a record that shifted from the more danceable, skittish post-punk of their debut and leaned into their moodier, downbeat side, there’s still a lot of the new record that moves at a clip and propels the tracks forward, the likes of ‘STRANGER‘, ‘PUSHERS‘ and ‘EN MASSE‘ destined for moving feet and shuffling shoulders in dimly lit basements.
Opener ‘UNTOUCHABLE‘ sparks things off immediately with rapid-fire drumming and stabbing, jangly guitar as the listener is transported to a German post-punk show or even New Order in their earlier days. Frantic and dance-y, it very much sets the tone. This is, for me, where N0V3L excel – danceable, energetic and moody post-punk, with drums firing fast and bass lines stealing the show.
Back to that live show in Leeds (as well as a support slot for WAND in Manchester later in 2019) and one of the highlights came from the rhythm section, the topless drummer moving about like a wind-up toy, hammering the kit, whilst the bassist hovered closely, doing his thing, the pair holding everything down and adding so much to each and every track. The bass is particularly notable throughout the record, a vital cog and very fitting of an era gone by.
On ‘Pain Olympics‘, Crack Cloud bookended its eight tracks with a definite open and close, each quite theatrical in approach and grandeur. On ‘NON-FICTION‘, N0V3L aren’t so much for the theatrics, but it feels very much like an opening statement and a closing of this chapter at its end, with the New Order comparison returning on ‘NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE‘ and its quite beautiful close to the record as Cloghesy‘s sax rings out and everything fades.
Born out of turmoil and sadness, ‘NON-FICTION‘ captures a time and a place in the life of Varley and N0V3L and whilst it’s pained, the results of their debut are something special and worthy of being documented.
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Ah April. Ain’t it sweet? As dependable as the sun showing up more and more during the day coinciding with me wanting a beer outdoors, we’re back – first of the month, on the dot – with a NEW playlist to tuck into. You know the drill – 20 tunes, old and new.
Rock ‘ard NYC hardcore from Show Me The Body, snipped from their brand new EP of the same name. Yes it’s hard not to chuckle a bit at the opening lyrical gambit, but that’s HC innit? Proper ripper to kick off proceedings.
More delectable indie pop delights from Michelle Zauner, a.k.a. Japanese Breakfast. March 2021 came through with the goods with the announcement of her third album ‘Jubilee‘, the first studio release since 2017’s ‘Soft Sounds From Another Planet‘. Chorus on this one is MASSIVE – A top bit of kit.
The Fall – Theme From Sparta F.C. (Country On The Click)
As cliched as they come, can’t get enough of these fuckers at the minute! Having just finished Dave Simpson’s searching book ‘The Fallen‘ and having likely finished Steve Hanley’s ‘The Big Midweek‘ by the time this goes to print, I’m finding myself sticking this lot on quite a lot just lately. ‘Theme From Sparta F.C.‘ is a big current favourite – love the terrace chanting and thump-thump-thump that goes along with it. Rock hard.
Absolutely hypnotic stuff from NYC based artist Deradoorian. From a record described briefly as “a waypoint on a spiritual journey of acceptance“, it’s very much a trip. Got a bit of a Neu! vibe to it. Completely new to us, but it turns out they’re a former core member of Dirty Projectors and known for prior collaborations with Flying Lotus, so you’re in safe hands, Chuck!
Thank you to Unschooling for coming along and filling an Omni-esque hole in our lives whilst the Atlanta trio decide what to do next. From a new EP out in April, the four piece out of Rouen, France have excelled here in producing poppy, danceable post-punk with smiles in mind!
“Fuck off back to Fox Land, these streets are fucking full.” We were lucky enough to have ‘As Days Get Dark‘ a few months before release and it was this track that I continuously returned to, listening intently to vocalist Aidan Moffat as the story unfolds. Love how it all gets a bit Tekken 2 in the instrumental.
Whilst relatively new to us, Cassandra Jenkins has some notable work under her belt – previously providing guest vocals on Kevin Morby and Muzz records, as well as rehearsing as part of Purple Mountains with the late David Berman. ‘Hard Drive‘ is a beautiful piece, incredibly captivating with its spoken word taking you on a journey. Very Prefab Sprout ‘I Trawl the Megahertz‘ – get on that if you’re unfamiliar (and have 22 minutes to spare…)
Seemingly five minutes on from the release of their last record, Everything Everything return revitalised and unleash this gigantic single. Named after SUPERNORMAL stimuli – “highly exaggerated triggers that create a stronger reaction in us than evolution ever intended. Our animal brains can’t help but reach for the bigger, brighter, tastier, sexier, bloodier, more intense experiences.” ‘You’re GOD DAMN RIGHT!’ Go on lads!
Loud enough to knock you off your stool, the Part Chimp phenomenon rears its not-dead head again with a new record on the way via tastemakers Wrong Speed Records! A true ripper, it’s a proper face-melter and calls for the return of sweaty basement shows sharpish!
Off the back of previous single ‘Modern Yuppies‘, Home Counties continue to embrace their wonky oddball side and offer up a DEVO-esquestance here via the rather fun ‘White Shirt / Clean Shirt‘. Yes please once again to the end-of-level-boss-battle breakdown towards its end.
From an album that remains on heavy rotation, ‘March Day‘ was an early favourite when we first heard ‘Drunk Tank Pink‘ and every time we hear it we still get that brand new feel in our ears. Mega infectious post-punk from the Southern lot.
If you’re in the UK, you’ve likely noticed it’s not freezing cold outside. Sure enough, whilst it was still chilly when we discovered Holiday Ghosts, their sun-soaked, 60’s vibes powered us through the end of winter and plonked us bang into spring (with our shades firmly on). I’ve been hammering this and prior single ‘Mr. Herandi‘ ever since!
Carrying on this ‘I’m in my 30’s‘ routine, I was doing the washing up when I first heard the new Field Music album and whilst putting a cup on the drying rack, I was completely struck by the brilliant ‘Not When You’re In Love‘. Love the vocals on this one from Peter Brewis, knocking it out of the park – “D’you know what I mean?“
I very recently came out the back of an Aussie punk binge with visions of getting smashed at live shows – struck with the realisation that we’re still a while away from crowd-surfing (though on that ‘I’m in my 30’s’ trope, the end might’ve already been in sight…) The brilliantly named Eddy Current Suppression Ring have been on the old radar for a while now and we can’t get enough of this repetitive hypnosis on offer.
From Portland, Oregon outfit Lithics’ second album ‘Mating Surfaces‘, ‘Excuse Generator‘ is a proper super-charged, razor-sharp post-punk delight to get you worked up. Quirky as you like.
Mega Pixies vibes via Bachelor, the new project bringing together Melina Duterte (Jay Som) and Ellen Kempner (Palehound). Just prior to the pandemic, the pair hooked up to put together their debut album, with first offering ‘Stay in the Car‘ very much tickling our fancy.
It was great to see everyone pick up on Crack Cloud over the past year, so fingers crossed there’s a similar rush of support for the debut album from N0V3L – an outfit we’ve been banging on about since their first few tunes went online a few years back. ‘Group Disease‘ carries on their taut, throwback dealings in new wave and post punk and has us intrigued for what’s across the other ten tracks on the record.
Following on sharpish from the release of the Total Wkts debut album, John Newton a.k.a. drummer John from duo JOHN, returns with another set under the Total Wkts guise. As crunchy and raw as an onion from the fridge, ‘Odermatt‘ offers up the very BOOMing sound we’ve come to love from Newton’s day job.
The conclusion of our Aussie punk binge, Alien Nosejob are very much just the ticket for knock out, speed-freak punk that comes out of the gate at 100mph. Very much something to sink your teeth into.
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Ever since finding out about Crack Cloud, it’s been hard to shut up about them. Drawn in by the visuals from their striking video for ‘UNCANNY VALLEY!‘, my head was spinning after the monumental two halves presented – dark and unnerving beginnings leading to an energised, skittish post-punk conclusion. Their visuals scream snuff film and It felt like i’d unearthed a forgotten video nasty or something that should be hidden in the dark depths of the internet (incidentally, my partner describes their output as “nightmare music” and my constant playing of this, ‘Swish Swash‘ and ‘Image Craft‘ didn’t help…)
An album followed – their first two releases sandwiched together – and was greedily lapped up by those in the know and others quick to catch up. Following the reveal of ‘The Next Fix’ just over a year ago, the first part in the (at the time) mysterious PAIN OLYMPICS series, I found myself combing their Instagram for clues or anything to indicate something new was on the horizon. Members of the collective branched off into other territories in the meantime – a number of its bods appearing in nostalgic post-punk outfit N0V3L, whilst multi-instrumentalist Bryce Cloghesy put out material under his solo moniker Military Genius last year.
Cut to July 2020 and here we are – ‘PAIN OLYMPICS‘ is announced fully, “Based on True Shit“. True shit indeed, when initially all you could find on the band were three music videos, bandcamp links and a few lines of text (originally dubbed “a multimedia collective, comprising members from different cities”) the tale has since evolved to tell a bigger story – one of rehabilitation and addiction, much more than music, the collective providing asylum for the disenfranchised and using a sense of community to turn adversity into hope amidst an out of control opiate crisis plaguing Canada. Similarly, the music found on the album has evolved from what devotees might expect, but ultimately it treads the path of light and dark and on their official debut proper, Crack Cloud lean heavily into this notion, with challenging, uneasy passages mingling with glimmers of light that can be found throughout.
Bookended by ‘Post Truth (Birth of A Nation)‘ and ‘Angel Dust (Eternal Peace)‘, the album begins and ends cinematic in scope, with soaring instrumentation ramping up the theatrics, treading a fine line between angelic and horrific. With the ear picking up the hustle and bustle of the street, complete with dog barks and police sirens, at times it comes across like a theatrical production or at least a musical moment like you might find towards the end of HBO drama Oz. You could easily see the entire cast of Crack Cloud bursting through the gates at Emerald City, chanting the chorus that ends ‘Post Truth…’. When both shift from centre, it brings to mind a Cornelius jam, hypnotic with heavenly female vocals and sparkling instrumentation, sitting on top of a rumbling sense of unease that permeates both tracks, each camp fighting for the attention of the listener.
Between the goalposts the album is constantly shifting gear, with early singles ‘The Next Fix‘ and ‘Ouster Stew‘ (and a reworked version of ‘Bastard Basket‘) revealing much, but not a whole lot. ‘Ouster Stew‘ – single of the year contender – is a post-punk dance-a-thon similar to the material you can find on the debut N0V3L release, whilst ‘The Next Fix’ is real down the barrel stuff, vocalist and drummer Zach Choy energetically spitting stream of consciousness vocals before the track builds to euphoria and he’s backed by a choir, complete with bursts of brass elevating it beyond comprehension of what might be expected of Crack Cloud. Similarly, ‘Favour Your Fortune‘ flits between vocal types, even sounding like an energised Beastie Boys for the briefest of moments, calling to mind the collective vocal and military stomp from ‘Empty Cell‘.
On ‘Somethings Gotta Give‘ the tension teeters into bubbling over, Choy almost gasping for air as guitars screech to the extreme and it reaches its heightened culmination. Latest single ‘Tunnel Vision’ pushes this feeling of dread even further, fully sinking its teeth in as they hammer the unrelenting track out at length. Sounding absolutely urgent, the clashing vocals ramp up the anxiousness and the raw, painful cries out toward the end are so impactful.
In true Crack Cloud fashion, ‘PAIN OLYMPICS‘ is unexpected, cool as fuck and scrambled our brains. Eight songs feels short – especially given the anticipation behind the record – but as a stand alone piece, it’s so engrossing that one finds it hard not to play this again and again.
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There’s something about CRACK CLOUDthat just had us hooked from the off (pardon the bad choice of words…) We’ve watched them in dimly lit basements, DIY spaces in the middle of nowhere and had COVID-19 not kicked off, we would’ve been off to see them in Berlin with Oh Sees this summer. It was at Hyde Park Book Club in Leeds where we caught them last, hearing new single ‘OUSTER STEW‘ for the first time and describing it as sounding like “a warped Human League“.
A collective that use music as a rehabilitation for past indulgences and addictions, when information was scarce on them, all we knew was that they’re “a multimedia collective”, with visuals and concepts just as intriguing and engaging as the music they put out (songs which have a knack for getting you to put them back on immediately after they’ve finished).
‘OUSTER STEW‘ is as infectious as it is wonky, held together expertly but giving off the impression that any one of its many members could trip over themselves at any moment. As with previous releases, it comes with a mini-film that flits between a video nasty, terrorist hostage film and straight to VHS shite like ‘Cyborg‘, which was a total vibe for those in the know.
Off the back of their incredible ‘debut’ (their first two EPs spliced together), Crack Cloud look toward a full length properly this July with the release of ‘PAIN OLYMPICS’, which you can pre-order here or grab a special edition of via Dinked! Who knows, by then we might be living in the sort of ‘Mad Max’ wasteland seen in their latest offering below.
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2019 eh? You’d laugh if you weren’t too busy crying… Bloody good year for music though.
With it being the end of the year, we’ve joined the long list of your other favourite websites to compile the best songs released this year. 50 songs sounds like a lot to work with until you have to compile said list.
Here’s the second of two parts featuring a list of the 50 best songs released this year – part one here. Continued in alphabetical order mind you, as things are complicated enough as it is don’t you think?
Long awaited new material from one Toby Hayes (ex-Meet Me in St. Louis/Eugene Quell). ‘Humans‘ reminds me a bit of early Beck in a way (though he’s not spouting gibberish about microwaves and such) and is a super cool slice of where Toby is at in 2019 Brighton.
It was hard to choose a track from the latest Cate Le Bon effort, given the wealth of worthy contenders. We were head over heels for first single ‘Daylight Matters‘ on release – such warmth in the instrumentation and as per, a real shift put in by Le Bon to make hearts swell.
The Beta Band kinda passed me by (save for that scene in ‘High Fidelity‘), but I’ve had this single on at least once a fortnight since I first heard it on the radio mid-year. Ex-Beta Band vocalist Steve Mason knows how to pen a tune, eh? Chorus on this one is sublime.
I don’t know exactly how it happened, but the past 10+ years have had a Metronomy shaped hole in them for me. How did I miss out on the likes of ‘Nights Out‘ and ‘The English Riviera‘?! What exactly was I playing at? This all changed following the release of their latest effort ‘Metronomy Forever’, particularly the delectable ‘Salted Caramel Ice Cream‘. A pop gem, love the catchiness of it.
With an opening that sounds like a dog toy gripped between the jaws of a canine, ‘The Daily Heavy‘ is the first track from the exceptionally titled new Oh Sees album ‘Face Stabber‘ and one which sets the record up more than nicely. Each player firing on all cylinders, the rhythm is hypnotising as the vocals of JPD swirl around your head almost in a murmur. A driving psych journey that hardly lets up across its 7+ minutes.
We had the pleasure of interviewing Oh Sees lifer John Dwyer earlier this year – read that here!
We’ve been bang into OMNI for a few years now and have greedily lapped up everything they’ve offered thus far. Their Sub Pop debut ‘Networker‘ took a few listens at first, but it’s definitely a grower. Lead single ‘Sincerely Yours’ once again shows off the guitar chops of Frankie Broyles, with lovely little Television-esque flourishes, whilst bassist Philip Frobos’ smooth vocals are just the ticket.
The less quirky branch of the “multimedia collective“ Crack Cloud crew, N0V3L lean more toward moody 80’s sounding post-punk and ‘To Whom It May Concern‘ is a real sharp bit of kit. From a fantastic debut LP.
The sort of act that gets David Lynch hot under the collar i’m sure, Orville Peck has been on the old radar for a while but it wasn’t until a few months back that I got fully tucked into debut album ‘Pony‘. Now he’s on everyone’s radar and more power to him! The only country sounding artist on the list you’ll be surprised to hear, ‘Dead of Night‘ deals in romance on the dusty trail as two mean hombres travel through the Nevada desert.
Opener from the debut Pizzagirl LP, ‘Ball’s Gonna Keep On Rollin‘ is similar to label-mate Guest Singer’s debut in that we’re treated to a lot of moody 80’s tinged synth-pop with an Alex Cameron feel. Bright lights, big city vibes, it’s the sort of track that might’ve been your favourite on one of those ‘Now That’s What I Call Music‘ comps way back when…
I first heard this during a bit of downtime whilst we were on our jollies in Italy. When we landed in Manchester the following week, I caught them up the road at The Castle Hotel and it was one of the best shows of the year. The Quintet based in Canada put out a belting EP earlier in the year and ‘The Craft‘ is one of the best from it – spot on, energetic post-punk.
There was a 24 hour period when I first heard this song where I played it again and again and again. Absolutely obsessed. A song about being infatuated with your mobile telephone device. The album is a cracker too.
POZI talked to us about what inspired the LP not long after release – read all about it here.
Jangly, energised post-punk out of Brighton that calls to mind much missed Manc outfit DUDS – Public Body caught our attention back in August and we’re keeping a keen ear out for whatever they’ve got planned next.
A wonderfully warm yet heartbreaking number from the late David Berman. The uplifting instrumentation is backed by words of such sorrow, made even sadder by his death not longer after the album’s release. Love the vocal delivery on “It’s not the icy bike chain rain of Portland, Oregon“.
BODEGA picked the Purple Mountains album as a 2019 highlight – more on that here.
The raucous opener from Ty Segall’s latest LP, he hopped behind the kit for this and a number of songs from the album, with his drumset heard via the left speaker and the kit of Charles Moothart heard on the right side. Great B-Movie horror video too.
‘Flipside‘ was one of our top tracks last year and cut to 2019, we’ve got ‘Discourse‘ in the top ranks too – a passionate delivery from Williamson against some of Fearn’s best beats on the record. Honourable mention to the joyous ‘Big Burt’.
We had the pleasure of interviewing Jason of Sleaford Mods earlier this year – Check that out here.
Non-stop party power from that band dressed head to toe in shrubbery. ‘Tailpipe‘ captures the sound of Snapped Ankles perfectly – maximum speed, hypnotising rhythms that make the listener feel like they’re off their nut. Nearly impossible to not find yourself shouting ‘SUCK-A-SUCK-A-SUCK-A-SUCK-A-TAILPIPE‘ by the end of it.
Big year for Squid, eh? We’ve had the pleasure of catching them a few times this year and their live set-up gets better and better. ‘Houseplants‘ kicked it off for us in the first half of the year, a total rager – the unhinged, yelped vocal of Ollie Judge hard not to love. A proper good band to get on board with in 2019.
“Baby i’m feeling fucking worthless…” One of our favourite Leeds bands knocking about at the minute. It’s a bit horrible, like – our review of their new EP suggested they’re “a kind of demented synth-rock“.
More holiday adventures – I took our lass to Bordeaux where Uranium Club just happened to be playing (convenient). I picked up a copy of this record at the show when it was box fresh and still in the stages of getting proper artwork etc. More fast-paced garage-rock-esque fun from The Minneapolis Uranium Club, it revvvs along at pace with that trademark sarcastic vocal style.
THANK picked ‘The Cosmo Cleaners‘ as a 2019 highlight – more on that here.
Featuring one of the most killer riffs in the USA Nails catalogue, ‘Smile‘ is a rock-hard rager and deals in the mundanity of everyday life in ear-piercing fashion. The album might be one of their best (a big ask!)
Super cool EP opener from Glaswegian outfit Vital Idles – The slightly strange yelps from vocalist Jessica Higgins captivate as the bass line gets right under your skin.
A record that kept my attention a lot this summer, ‘Walkie Talkie‘ is a proper driving corker from Californian shape-shifters WAND. A real joyful racket.
More sleazeball antics from Warmduscher, ‘Midnight Dipper‘ is a real funky piece of kit from their latest LP. Sounds like you’ve heard it before but then again, not quite – Vocalist Clams Baker sounds exactly like the sort of person you don’t want to meet in the pub.
Dr. Alan Goldfarb (on behalf of the band) talked us through their musical inspirations as part of our What’s On Michael Portillo’s iPod feature – Check out his picks here.
A personal favourite of mine in 2019, WOOZE came to our attention late last year through their initial singles. ‘I’ll Have What She’s Having‘ is absolutely joyous – hyperbole description wise, we hit the nail on the head back then: “Incredibly invigorating bursts of art-pop, they both manage to sound washing-line-fresh whilst sounding as if they were produced and released about forty years ago.”
WOOZE answered a host of daft questions for us as part of our a/s/l feature – Get your chops round that here!
Working Men’s Club have come on a bit since their initial single (sold out over and over) haven’t they? They’ve shifted gears somewhat since their debut and players have come and gone, but ‘Bad Blood‘ was a total gem of a debut – an exciting bit of energised post-punk that sounds as sun-soaked as the single art looks. Calling to mind the likes of Gang Of Four and Orange Juice, hearing this it’s no surprise that they’ve been building a big fan base at a rapid pace.
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For those sorts who don’t read, you can listen to all of the above (and everything from PART ONE) in our handy Spotify playlist here!
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Full disclosure – The last time we saw WAND, we were craving the room-destroying levels of noise that had first made us take notice of the Californian outfit. Our first outing to see them in a live capacity saw us get just that, the band appearing at Leeds’ Brudenell Social Club in the same form as their heavily watched KEXP session from a few years back. Last year however, what we got instead was a lot less head-spinning riffs and more hushed moments, the band more intent on extended bouts of immersion.
Not realising it at the time, this was WAND transitioning somewhat and further pushing the softer elements of their current sound, as evidenced in the lighter shades on display on their stunning new album ‘Laughing Matter‘. Having played this latest release to death, we couldn’t help but be swayed back to catch them in a live setting.
Band on the Wall was the location on Thursday night, a Manchester venue we rarely visit but have a lot of time for. After what felt like forever sound checking on stage, the five-piece started on a really dreamy intro, similar in vibe to the instrumental interludes found throughout ‘Laughing Matter‘. As is his wont, guitarist Cory Hanson produced a bow to scrape up and down his strings. ‘Wonder‘ properly bursts into being after the fuzzed-out crescendo of their intro. All eyes are on drummer Evan Burrows at its conclusion as he slams it home, whilst Hanson’s guitar squeals away.
On ‘xoxo‘, the vocals of keys player Sofia Arreguin – who sounds wonderful across the record – crept in quietly alongside Hanson’s, before the volume is raised, granting a blown kiss from Arreguin out toward the sound desk. Later on during album opener ‘Scarecrow‘, the little bell on top of her station comes into play for added tinkling across the songs hypnotising splendour.
‘Walkie Talkie‘ – best off the record in our book – comes thumping and frantic, the bow returning for a scratchy addition to the howling guitar. Burrows is all smiles as he puts a shift into its close, showcasing some proper powerhouse drumming. Both he and Arreguin are highlights throughout the evening, though guitarist Robert Cody and bass player Lee Landey are no slouches in their respective departments.
We’re told by Cory that WAND love playing Manchester as everyone is “fucking wonderful“. Next he’s telling tale of a song they wrote “in the desert in Texas“, which ends up being their loudest/longest of the evening. ‘Lucky’s Sight‘ is a full-strength knee trembler, causing the room to shake from floor to ceiling and fillings to rattle inside skulls. Bassist Landey has his back to the crowd, fiddling with some sort of synth contraption in the dark as they work their way into a ‘Highway Star’ middle stretch of driving raucousness. Corey even whips out a harmonica during the tumbling down the stairs ending as everyone tweaks out. It’s here where they lose it somewhat, and the wigging out gets a bit tiresome after a stretch.
“They’re saying we’re done…” Sofia shrugs to the rest of the band.
“We’re definitely not finished with the show yet…” A peeved looking Corey replies with a raised finger, leading the others to sail past the curfew on the dreamy haze of ‘Growing Up Boys‘ from 2014’s ‘Ganglion Reef‘, punctuated in parts by loud and crunchy additions.
“…We would love to play longer for you.” Announces Corey prior to their swan song ‘Rio Grande‘ and in a perfect world, one imagines they would – though one also imagines they would still run past their curfew then as well, as Hanson can’t seem to help himself with the guitar hero theatrics. Still, all we want from WAND is wall-shaking rippers and when they do blast them out, the band are wonderful to watch. Imagine what they could accomplish without a strict curfew…
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It’s hard sometimes to not sound like a tosser when discussing which band of the moment you’re off to see live. Just this month I’ve told blank faces at work that I’m off to see Viagra Boys, Squid, Crack Cloud and N0V3L (“…but they spell it with numbers instead of letters…”) – All of which sound like they’d frequent the pages of Sugar Ape. But what’s in a name?
Crack Cloud and N0V3L recently had a mid-week show in Leeds at hipster hot-spot Hyde Park Book Club, a genuinely lovely venue that I wish was a bit closer to home. With the likes of Kagoule and The Futureheads knocking about the room (amongst a plethora of local Leeds bands), the heat began to rise as it filled up, the stage time getting pushed further back.
N0V3L finally arrived, a mood for certain – all wearing serious expressions, gothic(ish) in their personalised band hoodies and shirts (all of which is unavailable at the merch, sadly). Odd noises filtered through from stage as the crowd quietens, leading into the striking ‘Natural’, with no breath given as they cracked on straight into ‘Sign On The Line’, both real sharp arse-shakers, the bassist pulling stink-faces and rightly so. The pulsating noise returned, a mainstay throughout their set in between songs, like waves crashing at one point, like the intro to a video nasty at others. Before their third – a new one – everyone on stage looked super serious as a spare guitar was requested, before another bass-heavy slice of the past is dished up.
It soon became apparent that some inner turmoil was unfolding before us and at one stage, vocalist Jon Varley pushed the microphone stand away, whipped his guitar off and ran a hand through his hair, signalling for the band to wrap it up. The room quietened and he broke the silence, announcing how personal the song is to him and how topical, his voice cracking up a bit as he suggested they’d need to start it again. An understandably brave thing to do, the crowd quite rightly greeted the request with claps of approval, more than willing to hear it again.
On the restart, towards its end, Jon wore a pained expression as he stabbed at his guitar strings – something which earlier, out of context, had looked really cool in the moment, now carrying the weight of the song’s message. He just about managed to announce the name of the band before the next one, seemingly choked up.
The rhythm section are the main highlights throughout, locked in with each other on every song, hypnotised in their own world. On closer ‘Division’, they rumble along, opening it up and creating some wonderfully captivating moments. In contrast, on ‘Take You For’, the shades wearing saxophonist goes all Bill Pullman in Lost Highway, sax shrieking and howling amidst all the dancing. Not quite as hypnotic…
Jon and a few other N0V3L bods were back on stage after the break for their shift in Crack Cloud, Jon in his fishnet sleeves and dog collar, the shades wearing sax man joining him and hammering away at a drum machine on what sounded like a new one for the opener. If the others were feeling out their goth phase in the opening band, they went all in for their stint in Crack Cloud – but it’s more of an 80’s teen film goth – the eyeliner amongst the group looking a bit too much like a Panda on the keys player.
It’s hard to put into words how captivating and exciting Crack Cloud are, but one incredibly Northern lad behind me managed a few. “Fucked it…” He muttered during some minor niggles and thankfully, he’s well off the mark. ‘Bastard Basket’ and ‘Time Unsubsidised’ proper break the crowd into it, dancing feet from the off, the latter’s jerkiness and off-beat quirks culminating in the many on stage chanting the outro in military fashion.
Androgynous drummer Zach Choy is incredibly eye-catching, seemingly always shirtless but wearing an almost blank expression when he’s not shouting out or singing in an oddball style. Personal favourites (and seemingly crowd favourites) ‘Graph of Desire’ and ‘More Of What’ are joyous, the former a ripper of a speed-run whilst Choy’s drums fire like a fucking machine gun on the latter. I’m not sure what came next, but it was incredible – like a warped Human League with barked vocals, the tallest man in the room Mohammed Sharar yelling all manner of things with a wide eyed stare.
‘Empty Cell’ was preceded by someone in the crowd commenting how hard it is to sing and drum at the same time, something Choy does without breaking much of a sweat. They really work best in these repetitive, kraut-y lock-ins where the whole band is in tune with one another – ‘Image Craft’ and ‘Drab Measure’ following, the latter built up with rapid solo drums before everyone else comes in, generating the biggest wave of approval from the congregation. Equally, ‘Swish Swash’ roared into being and the crowd became manic, all of us unaware that by the time it’s done the Canadian “mixed-media collective” would be tools down, soon to be out of there, onto the next night and another stunned audience. The show sold out relatively quickly, but don’t fret – they’ll be back in September.
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As the world turns and burns, we take a bit of solace at the state of things via being able to wear shorts outside… There’s also the fact that our favourites Viagra Boys, Crack Cloud and N0V3L are making their way up Norf for the month of May, taking the sting off things somewhat…
There’s loads of places you should find yourself this month throughout Manchester and the Norf, but here’s our top five picks. You trust us, right?
Celebrating their big ‘Quindeccenial’ this year, the folk atSounds From The Other City have been championing the underground scene for the past 15 years, previously bringing the likes of Birthday Cake For Breakfast favourites DUDS, Anna Burch, Snapped Ankles and Vital Idles (as well as big names like Sampha and Alt-J) to various venues throughout Salford.
With its last five years selling out, this year they promise “special touches fans won’t find anywhere else”, including art direction from all five art directors of the past five years. This Sunday, we suggest seeking out the likes of Working Men’s Club, See Thru Hands and Manchester’s best boy band (with a woman), Grotbags!
Not content being one of our favourite discoveries over the past 18 months, a number of creatives involved in Crack Cloud splintered off into the dreamboats that make up N0V3L.
On one hand you’ve got the unfathomably brilliant Crack Cloud, making all manner of shit-eating-grin inducing post-punk that verges into oddball territories, with N0V3L a bit more danceable, adding a new-wave flavour to proceedings. No Manchester show, so it’s a trip up to Liverpool or Leeds to get your fill!
As part of a biggie UK/EU tour throughout May, Canadian outfit Potteryare highly likely to make you sweat if you manage to squeeze into this one. Have you been to The Castle? No room to breathe…
We’re up the road to Glasgow when our favourites OH SEES are in the UK, but it’s fine – we’ll be watching them whilst we’re there! Before that though, you lucky Northerners will have chance to catch the greatest band in the world (almost certainly) in Manchester’s best venue (quite possibly).
JPD and co. have been in the studio this year working on album no. 24492, so expect a barrage of face-melting new ones to mingle with the current crop, packed into 90+ minutes!
Whilst they will be up this way for Dot To Dot Festival a few days afterwards, we’ll be tootling up the road to catch Viagra Boys in Liverpool for a sweat-fest. What else might you be able to expect?
“Last week when we played in France, some old lady took her tits out and I started sucking on them.” That’s what enigmatic, tatted up vocalist Sebastian Murphy told us when we interviewed them last year. Will it be as raucous in Liverpool? Here’s hoping!
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One of the main things that first grabbed us about Vancouver based “multimedia collective” Crack Cloud was their hypnotising videos, particularly the latter half of the incredible ‘UNCANNY VALLEY!’ and the aerobics class dance-a-thon that brings it to a head-spinning close.
Having had a few of its members side-step to form N0V3L, the new project leans more towards that new-wave, danceable post-punk and – to be frank – it’s had us going a bit crackers ever since we discovered them….
N0V3L have now made their musical film debut with the captivating ‘To Whom It May Concern’, taken from their self-titled debut out in February (available for pre-order here). But before that they head over here from next week for a run of EU dates (full list here)!
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Christmas is over then. The chocolate is (hopefully) all gone, the booze is kicked for the driest of January’s and the trousers that you wore in December no longer fit for some reason. Still dark though, eh?
Though it’s very easily done, try and avoid slumming it around the house and beat the slow move into the new year by getting on this – our unmissable shows in Manchester and throughout the North this January. Be worth it. Promise.
Now then – here’s a band to help you shake off the cobwebs and say goodbye to the January blues. With a name sounding very much like street toughs from ‘The Warriors’, Bethlehem Casuals are a seven piece gang of Manchester musicians hopping about genres but mixing it all together for a frenzied dance-a-thon. Free in as well, eh?
Part of ‘Free Vibes’ – A night put on by Band on the Wall and curated by Amazing Radio’s Shell Zenner. Support from locals Tonica and Drew Selby!
Back for seconds, Cate Le Bon follows up a brilliantly unhinged DRINKSouting at Leeds Brudenell Social Club last November by returning to the club for a show next week. This time around she’s on her tod however, playing a solo piano set as part of ‘Brudenell Piano Sessions’.
One of only two Northern dates on this short run, earlier in the week she will be at the beloved Trades Club in Hebden Bridge. One of our favourite artists without question, we’ll come out for Cate whatever the weather.
Support from Group Listening, another branch of the Stephen Black (a.k.a. Sweet Baboo) musical family tree, performing gorgeous instrumentals – As recently featured in our‘Top 50 of 2K18… End of Year’!
Side-stepping away from the manic mind-melts put on as part of The Moonlandingz, Adrian Flanagan + Dean Honer (a.k.a. Eccentronic Research Council) have teamed up with Leonore Wheatley (Whyte Horses) this term to put out their mega-infectious robot-dance self-titled debut as International Teachers of Pop.
Before they get out across the UK, they’re pitching up for a show at The Trades Club in Hebden Bridge for a right knees-up – The very same place we had our first hit of The Moonlandingz!
A show we’ve been looking forward to since the tail end of last year, Canadian post-punk outfit N0V3Lplay their Mancunian debut at YES a.k.a. hipster hog heaven. Just prior to the release of their debut EP in February, expect this to be all the fun of the fair.
“A night of sound, song and animation set against the dramatic backdrop of IWM North”, this specialist event sees Field Music attempt to “explore the energy, hope and fragility brought about by the end of the First World War”.
Featuring a live performance of an all-new 18 song set on the aftermath and repercussions of the First World War, the very premise is enough to get us going!
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