Breaking More Waves

Holly Miranda - Ones To Watch 2010 #9

2009-12-09T00:01:00.002Z

Holly Miranda is a New York based singer and musician who has recently signed with XL Recordings, a label who continue to bring a diverse but high quality range of artists to the airwaves. Her debut self released EP Sleep On Fire attracted significant attention, being in places brooding, tense and beautiful although not necessarily perfect. It acted as a perfect teaser for the way forward. Her debut single proper, Forest Green Oh Forest Green was released in November, and Holly is due to release her debut album early in 2010. In the build up to the release of the album Holly has been supporting Breaking More Waves favourites The Antlers and The XX in the United States.

Miranda has been compared with Cat Power, Norah Jones and Feist. She was formerly in a band called The Jealous Girlfriends and for her solo work Dave Sitek of TV On The Radio has been involved with production duties. Her dreamily atmospheric guitar based songs are certainly not the kind of tunes that are going to infiltrate the pop charts, but provide for a smouldering and sleepy listening experience that could potentially provide long term satisfaction.

Mirrors - Ones To Watch 2010 #8

2009-12-08T00:01:00.004Z

The dense ambient pulse-pop of the Mirrors reflects the sounds of early OMD, Kraftwerk and Depeche Mode, continuing the electronic revival that invaded the charts like knotweed in 2009.

However unlike many of this years synth gang, the garden that Mirrors have grown in is matted in darker, woven textures. This makes the Brighton four piece a less obviously commercial proposition but none the less an interesting one. The bands live shows are rapidly becoming a talking point, their measured performances featuring minimalist abstract video projections with the suited band displaying an air of haughty high-brow coolness behind keyboards and electronic drum kit.

Mirrors were formed by two previous members of the indie band Mumm-Ra, but their sound is very different from that previous incarnation. There have already been criticisms that the group are just blatant plagiarists, taking reference points that are all too obvious, but then the same could be said of White Lies this year, who the band remixed A Place Too Hide for. Such criticisms certainly didn’t affect White Lies commercial popularity.

Mirrors have been slowly growing their sombre electronic profile in 2009, having played sets at Latitude Festival, Loop Festival and The Great Escape reviewed here They have also released two singles, the self funded Look At Me and Into The Heart on Moshi Moshi and in November started their own club Un Autre Monde. Early next year they will be out playing some support slots with another one of our ones to watch Delphic.

Fear Of Drowning

MIRRORS | MySpace Video

Stornoway - Ones To Watch 2010 #7

2009-12-07T00:01:00.005Z

Do you remember the first time you fell in love ? The giddying butterflies and excitement of that romantic high ? Today’s choice of a band to watch in 2010 produces that seem feeling. Stornoway bring an adoring nature loving ideal to your ears, that could easily make a number of people swoon and gush with warm affection, in much the same way that this year Mumford and Sons found people ooh-ing, ah-ing and generally salivating at their gorgeous songs.

Stornoway are a five piece pastoral folk pop band from Oxford. We’ve already written about them several times on this blog. The band have released two self funded singles in 2009, Zorbing (reviewed here) and Unfaithful (here) both of which are tender and absorbingly beautiful.

What we can say about Stornoway with absolute certainty is that these two singles are just the tip of the iceberg. Lead singer Brian may look like an intense rabbit in the headlights when he performs, but his band possess bulging suitcases full of the most perfect melodies. When he stops singing Brian possesses the educated intelligence to pull off some of the most bizarre but charming on stage banter. For example, at Wychwood Festival earlier this year he talked to the crowd about how beavers were returning to Scotland. We really can’t imagine your average rock band engaging in such knowledge.

2009 was topped off for Stornoway by being the first band in history to play the Christopher Wren designed Sheldonian Theatre in their home town, normally reserved for recitals of ‘serious’ music and an appearance on Later With Jools on BBC2. 2010 looks set to get even better and the band will be stepping out on tour again in February. At this moment they remain unsigned. Catch them if you can.

Clare Maguire - Ones To Watch 2010 #6

2009-12-06T00:01:00.006Z

Way back in January 2009 we first posted an article about Clare Maguire, an artist that we had seriously considered putting on last years ones to watch list, but eventually decided it was just too early - Maguire having played a handful of shows and only just signed a record deal. You can read the article here . Instead we put Marina and the Diamonds on the 2009 list, which in retrospect was also a little bit early.

Since that article there has been absolute silence from Clare Maguire. Her Twitter has yet to twitter. Her Myspace has no songs on it to listen to. There is no You Tube footage to view. A Google search reveals very little at all about her that we didn’t know in January. To our knowledge she has played just the one show this year - a support slot in Glasgow back in January, but since then absolutely zilch.

There are however a few rumours. We’ve heard that she has been working with uber pop producer Richard X as well as ex-Longpig Crispin Hunt, but at this moment in time this is just idle gossip and certainly does not come with any certainty.

Then in October, two days before we were about to publish an article entitled Whatever Happened to Clare Maguire, Paul Lester from the Guardian jumped up and wrote a piece about her on the Guardian web site, which suggested that although her record label, management and PR company were keeping very tight lipped about her, 2010 would finally see a release from the reclusive lady.

So let us remind ourselves why we fell head over heels for Maguire in the first place. It took us just one listen to the demo’s that we heard at the start of the year to realise that Maguire has a simply staggering voice. It is huge and gutsy, full of powerful Celtic soul, blues and jazz influences that puts her right in line with big singers such as Amy Winehouse and Adele. Not bad for a former shop checkout worker from Birmingham. Throughout the year we have often returned to those demo’s and each time we listen the songs of Burn, Strangest Thing and Butcher Boy we are astonished at how punch in the stomach incredible they are.

If a 2010 release from Clare Maguire arrives and it comes anywhere near the quality of those demos, we predict she could win a lot of fans. She has to be one to watch.

Delphic - Ones To Watch 2010 #5

2009-12-05T00:01:00.016Z

If this year has been the year when synths and electronics finally became fashionable and exciting again, then we see no reason why in 2010 things will change, although there is no doubt that the sounds and ideas will progress, possibly towards a darker edge. Whereas many of the acts who have been heading the electronic resurgence are solo artists, we think it is high time for some more bands to get behind their computers. Delphic are one such band.

Delphic are from Manchester. This comes as no surprise as their sound follows a logical progression from other Manc favourites such as New Order and Happy Mondays, in that their futuristic numbers conjure up images The Hacienda, Factory Records and illegal raves. It’s heavily dance based, but they are not just a faceless dance act. The term is of course indie dance. Although the hazy images of Manchester past may be evoked by Delphic this is a band who are also looking forward rather than simply trying to replicate their favourite influences. Oasis they are not.

Formed out of the remnants of another band named Snowfight In The City, Delphic have already released two singles, the Orbital-esque looping Counterpoint and This Momentary through Kitsune, a song which takes you on a euphoric journey of tribal drums and floating vocals to a state of blissed euphoria. Next up is Doubt released Jan 4th 2010. It sounds a little less New Order and more Friendly Fires in its jittery dance workout with a chorus owes a small debt to the Klaxons

Delphic create music that is full of both club bound hedonism and headphone introversion, which has the potential to deliver some big rave-tastic moments come summer festivals in 2010. It is for this reason we have selected them for our Ones To Watch list. Not because of musical uniqueness or commercial crossover, but because we can imagine Delphic creating a perfect indie dance summer vibe in fields across the UK, although probably not wearing silly festival hats.

Unicorn Kid - Ones To Watch 2010 #4

2009-12-04T00:01:00.002Z

Unicorn Kid is Oli Sabin. At eighteen years old he has only just reached the age where he can legally enter a club that might play his music, which is an insane blend of pumping pulsing eight bit chip tune that brings to the ears delirious fanfares last heard on your Nintendo DS. We first blogged about him in August here. His bleepy arpeggiation is the kind of music that should you be considering jumping off a cliff will either push you over the edge or make you turn round and run wild to the local youth club rave, frothing, babbling and incoherent - but with a massive smile on your face.

The Scottish wonder from Leith has been through a variety of musical phases and arrived at the dance party a couple of years back. He is now a genuine internet phenomenon with over one million hits on his Myspace page. His music sits, or should we say bounces in the fourteen to nineteen year old demographic, his gigs not fuelled by alcohol but sheer natural youthful adrenalin.

Unicorn Kid has talked about manoeuvring his casiomental sound to a more commercial place and there are even rumours of guest vocalists. Jake Shears of the Scissor Sisters is known to be a fan. With an appearance at next years South by South West booked and an album tentatively scheduled for release next autumn, Unicorn Kid is riding on a starship.

To the uneducated ears of an over twenty five year old or a solemn indie rock purist, the sounds of Unicorn Kid will just be considered bad music, but for his growing army of fans his electronic urgency is simply something that makes you happy. Enjoy it whilst it lasts because Oli has already intimated that he doesn’t intend to be doing this for the rest of his life and when the fun is over wants to go to college to study his other passion of art.

We suspect that in 2010 lion hats are going to be one of the must have fashion items. Roar to the Unicorn Kid.

Beth Jeans Houghton - Ones To Watch 2010 #3

2009-12-03T00:01:00.017Z

Beth Jeans Houghton is our next choice of one to watch for 2010 and probably the most likely successor to the princess of alt folk pop crown currently held in the UK by Laura Marling (who will release her second album in 2010) Mind you Houghton recently told the NME “I did an interview once where they asked me if I thought me and Laura Marling had anything in common. I said, ‘No, unless you want to hear about my vagina.’”

So let’s forget about even what sex Houghton is and talk about what makes her special.

Houghton very much has her own vision, musically and visually. She may only be 19 but she is making sounds that could have come from one hundred years ago. Delicate, echoing, folkish chamber pop, the stuff of flotation tanks and strange dreams. In September she released her Hot Toast Volume One EP and has been working with Ben Hillier ( Blur and Doves ) for her debut album. Houghton claims that she was “born in Transylvania to a pack of albino werewolves,” but alas the reality is somewhat more ordinary, having spent her formative years in a terraced house in a Newcastle suburb. However, the exaggerated claims of her birth are part of the humorous package that Houghton brings, with her afro wigs and unique style - she’s the only girl around that is playing folk in hot pants and mini dresses.

Quite where Beth Jeans Houghton will fit in 2010 we’re not exactly sure, but she has the voice and the songs to ensure that she can carve out her own space.

Hurts - Ones To Watch 2010 #2

2009-12-02T00:01:00.016Z

Hurts are the first of two acts on our ones to watch list for 2010 that threaten to bring an ostentatious, stern, eastern European look back into fashion for bands. There was a time before brit pop and grunge when many a group that marched out of art school brought obscure literary references, intense synth darkness and an aloof composure to the stage that has been all but forgotten these days. Certainly visually Hurts are likely contenders to bring it back. They are also the only band on our list who are not afraid to drop a saxophone solo into the middle of one of their songs.

With such a tasteful visual aesthetic that includes perfectly formed haircuts and smart suits - we're thinking young Gary Kemp from Spandau Ballet here - together with a Myspace blog that posts excerpts of Larry Cuba’s 1980’s film Calculated Movements with its animated computer programmed grey white geometric trajectories - what is surprising about Hurts is how accessible, radio friendly and commercial their music sounds. It's modern, (and by modern we mean modern production values with a hint of 1987/88 to it) lush synth pop that more than justifies its existence, whatever the bands image. Rumours abound of songs that hint at Violator era Depeche Mode, or Ultravox when they were good, but for the moment the bands label are keeping many of these songs very much locked away.

Hailing from Manchester Hurts are Theo Hutchcraft and Adam Anderson. They have a past history with the two of them previously having been in the band Daggers. They are currently putting the finishing touches to their album in Sweden and are due to play a handful of special shows in February, including a church and a hidden crumbling old London theatre. We will be watching for them with interest in 2010 to see if the public push them chart bound. We suspect there is a chance. A pretty good chance.

Ellie Goulding - Ones To Watch 2010 #1

2009-12-01T00:01:00.012Z

Ellie Goulding may not be the most surprising choice of our ones to watch for 2010 , but it is exactly for this reason that we are putting her first on the list. From when we originally featured her as an unsigned artist way back in February here she has followed what is now becoming the music industry norm for breaking a new act that wants a little more credibility than a mainstream pop artist. The artist signs up for a debut release on a tiny, hyped up ‘cool’ indie label such as Neon Gold, Moshi Moshi or Kitsune (and this is not a criticism of any of these labels as we are in most cases a fan of all three) usually sometime between September and November. The release is a quirky, less obvious limited edition single, generating significant blog and hip press buzz that translates into some radio play, a small fan base, possible TV appearance (in this case Later With Jools) and positioning on lists such as the BBC Sound Of List - and we'll see if she is on that list in a few days time. Then once the tastemakers have done their job, the artist is pushed out to the mainstream via a major label, the development of the act being seen as more organic, the drip feed slowly saturating the media. It happened this year with Little Boots and La Roux, and next year we suspect it may also occur with Marina and the Diamonds (not featured on this list as she was on last years - see our explanation of criteria blog yesterday and the video for Marina's new single Hollywood) and Ellie Goulding.

Ellie Goulding has followed this model to the letter and we have blogged previously here about being cautious with her and not over hyping, as this could lead to expectations which are not realistic. How many new developing bands or artists are there that swagger along fully formed, complete and absolutely perfect ? Very few, and this is the danger of the hype machine. It can chew up and spit out out fast.

With her quivering girlish vocal, an acoustic guitar, neat lyrical phrasing and stuttering laptop electro beats, Goulding could deliver commercially - but nagging away in the back of our brain is a thought that the songs we have heard probably don’t have enough variety to endear long term. Only time will tell if she is what the public wants.

For these reasons Ellie Goulding has to be one to watch. Will the cool pop indie / blog buzz model work for Ellie or will it be a case of hype over content and a commercial failure ? There is talent there - you only have to listen to the acoustic cover of Robyn's Be Mine she did recently with Erik Hassel to hear what a distinctive sweet voice she has. There's also the songs - Starry Eyed, The Writer and Guns and Horses are all favourites of ours - but is that enough? We will be watching with interest.

Ones To Watch 2010

2009-11-30T00:01:00.023Z

Tomorrow we publish the first of our Ones To Watch for 2010. At the start of October we sat down and drafted an initial list of the music artists that we considered we might identify as likely candidates. In total we wrote down thirty seven names. Some of those thirty seven we have posted about before in detail, others in passing and some not at all. Over the next month we whittled the list down to the final ten that we are about to publish. It was harder than we thought. Right up to yesterday we were still altering the list, deleting blogs and writing new ones. We probably care too much about these things; but we want to get it right.

Let’s define what we mean by ‘get it right.’ We don’t mean that we want to produce a list of ten artists who we believe are all going to be commercially successful. Far from it. In fact this year there seem to be fewer bands out there with big crossover potential on our radar. The criteria for our Ones To Watch list is a list of new bands and artists that we believe possess the ability to do something that is worthy of attention. Hence the title Ones To Watch 2010. In some cases this may mean having commercial success, for others maybe a critically acclaimed album, some fantastic live shows or creating something a little unusual or ground breaking. It may even be that we are just fascinated with the media buzz about the band and want to see if the artist will rise to justify the hype or drift into a backwater. One thing is clear though, from what we have heard of these artists (and in several cases it is a very small number of songs) we like them all.

Although our list features ten artists, this is only because ten is a nice round number. It would have been easiest to publish sixteen Ones To Watch this year. However, some of the artists that we haven’t featured at Breaking More Waves yet, who didn’t quite make our list will almost certainly form the basis of future posts in 2010 and if you have been paying careful attention the last month or so has seen a number of posts about some of those who didn't quite make the list.

So besides the qualitative criteria for choosing artists for the list described above, there were certain other rules that we have applied.

1. The artist(s) must have not yet released an album or mini album. For example, The Drums 7 track EP we consider a mini album and so we discounted them from consideration. It also meant that a band like The Antlers who are to many in the UK a new band, couldn't be included.

2. Solo artists who have had commercial success as part of a band will not be counted. We loosely consider commercial success as a top 40 single or top 50 album. For example ex-Sugababes could not feature. Nor unfortunately could Rose Elinor Dougall as she was a member of The Pipettes who had a minor top 30 hit with single Pull Shapes and an album that charted in the Top 50.

3. Acts that we have featured in past Ones To Watch lists either on this blog or previous incarnations of this blog cannot count. So for example Marina And The Diamonds and Yes Giantess who we featured in last years list and whom are still bubbling under cannot be featured again, much as we would like to.

4. Soap stars or reality TV stars, including X Factor don't count. Sorry Jedward.

5. The artist must be relatively new to the public at large. There's no point predicting that U2's performance at Glastonbury will be one to watch.

So by following those rules and the criteria above, tomorrow we present the first of our ten Ones To Watch 2010. Enjoy and let us know what you think.

But before all of that here is the new single from an artist that would have been on our list, except for the fact she was on last years list here. Here is Marina and the Diamonds with the fabulous Hollywood. We're loving the lyric "Oh my god you look just like Shakira. No no, you're Catherine Zeta. Actually My Name's Marina." Funny. In a way sneaking the video for Hollywood in at the bottom of this post is a little bit like extending our ones to watch list to 11 and breaking our own rules, but hell, this is our blog, we can do what we want. Creating rules for a blog list and even explaining them is a bit absurd anyway, it's hardly as if this list is the BBC Sound Of 2010 list, even if we were involved in the voting process of that particular list. More of that later this month though. For now enjoy Marina and the Diamonds, a star who has been gradually rising all this year.

Samuel and the Dragon - Diamonds On A Boat

2009-10-14T00:01:00.002+01:00

Photograph copyright of Maxwell Anderson.

Every now and then you hear a piece of music that comes to you with no reference points, no baggage, no history, just as a fully formed hymn that makes you stop everything you are doing. Diamonds On A Boat by Samuel and the Dragon is one such piece of music. Formed out of a brooding, haunting late night electronic landscape, a film reel rolling in the background and a plaintive soulful male vocal, it’s a minimally beautiful piece of work. There are hints of Goldfrapp, Portishead and Massive Attack in this highly moody modern sound.

We know virtually nothing of this act except that it consists of the mysterious Samuel, who certainly looks like he has the potential to be a flamboyantly brilliant star and a collaborator called James ( is he the dragon ?) The duo are currently playing a few limited gigs in London including Hoxton Bar and Kitchen on the 25th November and 93 Feet East on the 12th December. Diamonds On A Boat will be released on Moshi Moshi in November.

Diamonds On A Boat from Nicholas Audsley on Vimeo.

The Antlers @ Brighton The Hope

2009-11-29T00:01:00.002Z

It’s Brooklyn’s The Antlers second visit to Brighton in just over three months, this time selling out The Hope some weeks before the gig was due. The reason for the full venue is simple - their album Hospice. With Hospice The Antlers have undoubtedly produced one of the most absorbing and sonically powerful indie rock recordings of the year. It has attained significant critical acclaim and continues to slowly build a profile in the UK, much of it through word of mouth and recommendation.

For this live show The Antlers concentrate on material from that album, the sound raw, evocative and if anything more cataclysmic than the recorded versions. Drenched in reverby guitar work that glides in and out of focus and carried by lead singer Peter Silberman’s haunted scratchy falsetto, the songs from Hospice provide a bleak but strangely euphoric emotional resonance that leads to at least two grown men hugging each other for comfort in the crowd. The Antlers live sound is not just something to listen to, it’s something to feel, to completely and utterly immerse yourself in.

The opening songs of Kettering and Sylvia, probably two of the most powerful pieces on the album, open the set and seem almost throwaway compared to what follows thereafter. Tense stabs of guitar are matched with moments of quiet, sad intimacy to create a superb show that really makes us want to use words such as epic and awesome to describe the three piece; except that these days those words are so often over used that they lose meaning. However this is exactly what The Antlers are like live. Epic, awesome, and worthy of such words. Live, Antlers produce the kind of music that grabs your heart and envelopes you in its howling grief. When Silberman sings “There’s a bear inside your stomach, a cub’s been kicking from within. He’s loud, though without vocal chords, we’ll put an end to him,” on Bear, it’s desperately sorrowful, yet because of the music seems poignantly beautiful.

As the bands set climaxes with expansive layers of guitar noise the audience, who at the start seem particularly reserved will not let them go without an encore. It’s utterly deserved and when Silberman returns with Epilogue and sings “So I lie down against your back, until we’re both back in the hospital. But now it’s not a cancer ward, we’re sleeping in the morgue,” before the song progresses and swells to a dramatic conclusion, it’s impossible not to be drawn in, the same way we slow down to watch a car crash on the motorway - brutal, tragic and yet darkly mesmerising.

We suspect that the next time The Antlers visit Brighton they will have to play a significantly larger venue than The Hope.

Ones To Watch - How Did We Do ?

2009-11-28T00:01:00.006Z

It’s almost December. Which means it’s time for a look back as well as a look forward. Over the next month we’ll be blogging our way through our favourite ten albums of the year as well as listing ten artists that we believe could be ones to watch in 2010.

In a change from 2008 we’re going to start with a look forward. The reason being that last year just as we began publishing our list of Ones To Watch the BBC went and published their Sound of 2009 list earlier than normal. To our surprise six of the artists we had chosen were in the BBC’s long list of fifteen. So this year to avoid any criticism of just copying the BBC list we’re making sure our list appears early. Mind you this year we actually had a tiny influence over the BBC list as we were asked by the BBC to be one of the participating voters in their Sound of 2010 poll. We're not sure how many bloggers get asked to participate, we know of at least one other (a list of those who voted will appear on the BBC website soon) but we guess it's a bit of an honour, effectively being recognised as having some degree of expertise in new music. The three artists we voted for in the BBC poll feature in our own list of ten, but we'll leave you to see if you can guess which three we voted for.

Not that we expect all of our list to be the same as the BBC list, particularly as some artists such as Marina and the Diamonds, who we fully expect to be on the BBC list, don't qualify for our list (read next Mondays blog for our explanation of why).

But before the gate opens, let’s have a quick recap of our Ones To Watch 2009 list and see how they fared.

#1 La Roux

We said “What sets her apart from a multitude of dance floor kids is a pop sensibility that knows how to deliver a half decent tune.”

In For The Kill became a genuine pop phenomenon, slowly climbing from number 11 to number 2 in the singles chart, whilst Bulletproof went one better. The eponymous debut album went to number 2 in the UK, 7 in Ireland and 8 in Canada.

#2 Little Boots

We said “Little Boots is exactly what we want our pop stars to be.”

Little Boots topped the BBC Sound of List but failed to capitalise on its exposure, finally releasing the very average New in Town in May which went top 20. The album Hands entered the charts at number 5 but quickly fell away, only re-entering the lower reaches of the Top 40 when the far superior Remedy was released as a single. The initial quirky charm that we heard on Stuck On Repeat and saw on her bedroom You Tube cover versions seemed somewhat diluted by the end of the year, but if her record company keep going with her we still think there is possible unfulfilled potential.

#3 Passion Pit

We said “They will bring a lot of smiles, and if there is any justice Sleepyhead will be one of the songs of next year in the UK.”

Sleepyhead was never released as a major label single in its own right in the UK, (there is no justice) and although the band didn‘t achieve commercial highs, their debut album Manners received much critical acclaim and charted at number 55. The band grew as a live act during the course of the year, playing bigger shows as the year progressed, plus there were several festival appearances including the main stage at Bestival.

#4 Giantess

We said “It’s very early days for this band but Breaking More Waves reckons their Myspace friend count will soon be on the way up.”

The band renamed themselves Yes Giantess, put out a white vinyl 7" single, supported Little Boots in the U.S and were picked to play on the NME Radar Tour in the UK in October. They’ve recently been recording with a number of big name producers including Pascal Gabriel (Ladyhawke, Dido, Little Boots, Kylie) in France and have had some major label interest. In November one of their number (Karl) announced he was to leave the band, his parting gift a superb downloadable mix tape. Yes Giantess continue into 2010. Their Myspace friend count has indeed risen significantly since we first wrote about the band and they have a bag of big tunes ready to go including that hooky as hell No Reason.

#5 White Lies

We said “Have potential to be a commercial success.”

The bands debut album went to number 1 in the UK and White Lies have played many big gigs and festivals including Glastonbury, T in the Park and Reading and Leeds. Personally for Breaking More Waves our opinion is that the album was too contrived and weakened by schoolboy lyrics.

#6 Skint and Demoralised

We said “No doubt many young lasses will fall for him.”

If they young ladies did fall for Skint and Demoralised they forgot to buy his records. The single Red Lipstick picked up some Radio 1 play but come October the record company had ditched plans to release a further single or the album that was ready to go. Matt Skint got his hair cut and started presenting football reviews on You Tube. In February our review of his poorly attended live show at Brighton Audio commented that it was only when he dropped the music and delivered an anti BNP poem without a microphone that he came into his own and that “Maybe this is where his future lies.”

#7 Alessi’s Ark

We said “Unlikely to find huge commercial pop success, but is certainly an act to be championed.”

As predicted Alessi didn’t find huge commercial pop success, but her album Notes From The Treehouse was an endearing and sweet record. At the time we described the record as having “A sense of music wonder and magic.”

#8 Florence And The Machine

We said “An exciting proposition.”

Florence exceeded our expectations, her album Lungs being a triumph musically and it attained significant commercial success, remaining at number 2 in the album charts for five weeks, held off the top spot only by Michael Jackson. Her live shows became more focussed and as a result got better and better, with her performances at Camp Bestival and Brighton Concorde being two of our favourite gigs of the year.

#9 Mumford and Sons

We said “Will warm you deep inside.”

Mumford and Sons profile grew slowly over the course of the year. They proved that the old fashioned virtues of playing great gigs and having good songs will deliver you a loyal fan base. The band signed to Island Records and the subsequent release of their debut album, Sigh No More, at the start of October, saw the band hit number 11 in the UK charts. Not bad for a folk / bluegrass act. Bellies were warmed.

#10 Marina and the Diamonds

We said “This maverick cat has already ruffled a few feathers with her blogs on Myspace, which she has now removed declaring that she will never open her mouth again.”

Marina has released two critically acclaimed singles on the Neon Gold label and has now signed a major record deal with 679/Warners, releasing Mowgli's Road in November. An album is due for the early part of 2010. She back tracked on her promise of keeping her mouth shut and has a fully functioning, active, entertaining blog.

Now let's move on up.

It's almost time for this years Ones To Watch list. On the 30th November we shall explain our criteria for selection and rules of engagement. Then on the 1st December enjoy our musical advent calender as we reveal who our Ones To Watch are, each act hiding behind a different musical door on the countdown to Christmas. This will the be swiftly followed by our Top Ten albums of the year list and then, well, that's pretty much it till next year except for a few random articles that we have floating around that we haven't yet posted following our 'one blog a day' rule. Go !

Blue Roses - Does Anyone Love Me Now ?

2009-11-27T00:01:00.001Z

After we gushed like someone who had just discovered romance a few days back about the wonderful Blue Roses and their show at Brighton's Prince Albert, Shipley’s finest release a new single on XL Recordings. Does Anyone Love Me Now? is a limited edition 4 track 12” EP which is out around the start of December. The lead song is taken from the debut Blue Roses album and is a simple folkish piece where Laura Groves wraps her nimble fingers around her acoustic guitar and sings of wanting to believe a lovers lies and the disappointment of the relationship. “Two nights in a row I didn’t see the moon hanging in the sky, and I need its cool pale face, to believe in this place and believe your lies,” she sings delicately before adding later “I will just lie in wait, if only to hear the stories, you don’t seem to know how to tell.”

The EP also features a new version of one of Breaking More Waves favourite songs of the year, the hauntingly gorgeous Doubtful Comforts recorded live with the band Grammatics. Whilst the original was untouchably perfect the new version is robust enough and demonstrates the singers vocal off to fine effect. Two further new songs also feature. Anyone Who Knows What Love Is (Will Understand) is a cover version of the Irma Thomas soul classic. It’s a bold move to attempt such a song, with Laura Groves giving it a strange spectral Christmas-like weirdness, a long way from the tracks on her album. The other song First Frost Night loses a little of the minimal beauty of other Blue Roses tunes being more traditional indie created through the addition of proper drums and a hint of Bat For Lashes meets Clannad foggy mysticism.

Here’s a live session version of the lead track from the single.

The Cordelier Club - White Walls

2009-11-26T00:01:00.001Z

We’ve posted several times this year about The Cordelier Club a group who have not yet gained any significant attention, and are unsigned. However the brother and sister led act have been worming away writing some stomping and catchy as hell middle of the road pop songs. Now, middle of the road may sound like a horrendous categorisation to throw at a band, but The Cordelier Club embrace a sound that we suspect shows a refreshing and unusual love for Fleetwood Mac and later day Eurythmics when they left the synths at home and became a bra ripping pop rock band.

The Cordelier Club played this years In The City event in Manchester and following on from their slot at this years Bestival (review here) have just recorded a session for Breaking More Waves favourite Radio 1 DJ Rob Da Bank, which is due to air on the November 28th. The band are also lining up more gigs. But before all that here are The Cordelier Club performing a softer acoustic version of their song White Walls for your listening pleasure, which has recently been added to their Myspace along with cover versions of Bruce Springsteen and Stevie Nicks songs. Check out the strength of Alice’s vocal and the perfect matching of the harmonies.

White Walls

The Cordelier Club | MySpace Music Videos

Mumford and Sons - Winter Winds

2009-11-25T00:01:00.003Z

Picture the scene if you will. A minimalist office building with a line of crookedly hung Pulp gold discs on the wall. It was a glamorous place at the end of the 90’s. Tired looking record label staff sit around their CD and crisp packet littered desks, wondering how long they will remain in a job. They curse with humbug like bitterness the illegal down loaders and the evil Simon Cowell empire that has brought their industry to its knees. It looks like after Christmas a job in McDonalds may be a realistic career option.

“What we need is a Christmas Number 1,” says one bedraggled once hipster indie kid turned label marketing man, his grubby Libertines T shirt soiled with excessive nights out in London town. He swings round on his chair and kicks a pile of CD’s balanced between a discarded cardboard cut out of Duncan from Blue and a pile of unread faded NME’s. They topple and one lands face up. It’s Mumford and Sons Sigh No More album. He bends down to pick it up, readying it to throw frisbee like into the bin. Indie bluegrass folk ain’t his thing.

Then his eyes catch hold of something. Some words forming a title. Winter Winds. A thought crosses his mind. Winter Winds by Mumford and Sons He smiles knowingly. He remembers The Pogues Fairytale Of New York. He remembers Del Amitri. Could this song be his salvation ?

Winter Winds by Mumford and Sons is released on December 7th. The Christmas number one is highly unlikely, unless the band sneak onto X Factor, but in an alternate world not far from our own we could just about imagine it. Here's the video.

Charli XCX - Do It Well

2009-11-24T00:01:00.005Z

We’ve been trying to avoid Charli XCX . Why? Because up until now we’ve found her blowsy breed of Atari electro rioting just a little bit novelty act and lowest common denominator. She has written a song called Neon Fashion and Glowstix. This says it all really. The mockney rapping on Francheskaar made us shudder at the thought of nineties girl power group Shampoo doing grime whilst watching Skins and pressing the airhorn button last used on the Klaxons Atlantis To Interzone. Plus we’ve never really been sure about a young teenage girl who proclaims “Give me unicorns and fairgrounds and cupcakes and jam and dreams and clouds and curls and bubbles and beats and nights and noise and oceans and disaster...please.” It all just seems a little too over excited, like Charli has spent a night pumping herself full of jelly tots with her friends at a sleepover. Which due to her age she may well have done.

So it comes as a bit of a surprise to find that we really like the new song Do It Well by Charli XCX. Do It Well pops a sedative in the girls mouth and calms things down a little, bringing a Lily Allen LDN styled vocal to the dance floor with softly menacing synth sounds and dark aloof beats. Charli has already been compared with everyone from Lady Ga Ga through to Kate Nash and M.I.A so we’re not talking about anything particularly fresh or imaginative here - if we were going to be insulting then derivative would be the word. However with her flamboyant imagery hitting a variety of tastemakers taste buds and having played a number of well received shows this year including supporting Frankmusik, Charli XCX may well be on to something. We will be interested to see what comes next, although we still find it difficult to see anything particularly long term with her. Early days though, early days.

There’s no video for the song at this moment, and her record company seem to be doing a fairly stern job on ensuring that any unauthorised clips are taken down from the interweb, so instead here’s a video where Charli reveals her love of the Spice Girls and, well, not a lot else really. The song is currently up on her Myspace so go there using the link on her name above for a listen.

Charli XCX - Rankin's DESTROY from Youth Music on Vimeo.

Blue Roses @ Brighton Prince Albert

2009-11-23T00:01:00.001Z

There’s a moment during Blue Roses set at the Prince Albert in Brighton when Laura Groves drops her guitar with a noisy clatter. The phrase ‘you could hear a pin drop it was so quiet’ seems to have been taken to a new level. It is the only point in the show that isn’t utterly graceful and perfect in every way. Blue Roses are really quite extraordinary.

Laura Groves may only just be escaping her teenage years but the music she creates has a significantly mature emotional resonance. Laura plays a mix of gentle plucked acoustic guitar, classical piano and electric guitar arrangements, all sparsely layered with accompanying violin and soft pitter-patter drums. Then there’s her vocal - full of a serene childlike beauty that is underlain with something of a deeper and more powerful tone. It’s the stuff of candlelight, churches, romance and quite possibly what heaven would sound like. It caresses and sonically stimulates the ears with the most tender of embraces. As she sits at the piano, her eyes almost shut, Laura seems utterly immersed in the music, the soaring highs of Greatest Thoughts justifying musical comparisons with Kate Bush. Elsewhere her voice floats and rises effortlessly like a younger sister of Harriet Wheeler from The Sundays or Joanna Newsom. Lyrically however Groves is of a different mettle to the aforementioned Bush. The songs of Blue Roses are very much those of a typical young woman singing of emotions, love, loneliness. There is nothing kooky or odd about the music of Blue Roses. Just raw honest beauty.

Every song played is utterly compelling. The heartfelt torch light gentleness of Doubtful Comforts would in any just society be topping end of the year lists. The closing Moments Before Sleep with its ethereal choral folk and looped guitar sound somehow manages to retain the endearing rarity of many other Blue Roses songs whilst sounding big, broader and more wonderful than life itself. If our gushing of Blue Roses in this live review seems just a little too much, we are not apologising. For there is nothing to apologise for. Stunning.

Camp Bestival @ Lulworth Castle

2008-07-21T22:20:00.017+01:00

10,000 people descended on the Lulworth Estate in Dorset this weekend for the first ever Camp Bestival, the smaller 10,000 capacity sister festival to the now established Bestival. Set adjacent to an old castle with sea views, this new festival from Rob Da Bank and crew was pitching itself at a different demographic of audience than many larger festivals. It promised "A big old family campsite with what we reckon will be the best facilities of any festival.” Inspired by the halcyon days of summers past, Bestival looked to the 1950s British Holiday Camp as a starting point, and therefore campers were awoken with a bing bong chime and a cheery “Hi de hi campers” over a tannoy system each morning from the Bestival Bluecoats, who spent the weekend organising silly sports games and other such fun for adults and children alike.

All of this jollity was marred for many however by an organisational mess at the start of the event when the number of cars arriving on site far exceeded what was expected, and the car park quickly became full. Despite the fact that the festival was aimed largely at families, the number of persons per vehicle was counted at only 1.8, and with 3,500 children in attendance it seems that quite a few families brought two cars to site, one with people and one with camping kit. Luckily for my gang we were one of the first on site and experienced no such problems, but once the car park was full traffic queues built up whilst organisers tried to source more land to use as emergency car parking. The campsite also became very packed, with many people bringing massive tents and a new field had to be found as an emergency campsite. Unfortunately for those situated in this campsite it meant a very long walk to the toilet facilities, as organisers were unable to source any more at short notice, with it being a very busy weekend for festivals generally.

It was apparent on Friday that the main entertainment areas were spaciously empty as many people battle the traffic to get in. This meant that great performances by the likes of Florence And The Machine and Imperial Leisure were missed by many. Florence in particular was incredibly entertaining, bounding round the stage like a small drunk child, wrestling with her keyboard player and generally giving it her all with a massive vocal booming from such a frail body.

However, music played only a small part of Camp Bestival, with many of the family based attractions providing hours of entertainment. Fancy dress was a must on Saturday, with many dressing in the theme of Alice In Wonderland. We counted over 30 Alice’s on site, including several male versions of the apron fronted little girl.

The beautiful Kids Garden was set on perfectly manicured lawn by the castle, a colourful explosion of energy and tranquillity that delighted adults and children equally. Highlights included the magical insect circus and museum, dazzling us with juggling beetles, acrobatic flies and magical caterpillars and comedic performers such as Barnaby’s Razor Sharp Bananas who re-enacted a war using jelly babies as soldiers, Smarties as bombs and fizzed up Coke cans as nuclear warheads. Pant wettingly funny. This area also had the feel of a village fete, with maypole dancing, the women’s institute tea tent and farmers market serving up reasonably priced fare. But mixed with this there was also live music, including the fantastic Lucky Elephant whose sumptuous organ lead grooves and distinctive ’European’ vocal provided for the perfect sunny summer chill out that was one of my highlights of the festival.

But if dance lessons, cream tea and cakes, knitting (!), cockney knees ups, poetry, animal zoo, mad hatters tea parties, science lessons or medieval jousting with full on knights in chain mail weren’t your thing there was still a plethora of good music on the main stage. Chuck Berry is the 81 year old living legend who was there at the birth of rock n roll. His set at Camp Bestival may not have had the power or sex appeal that it had all those years ago, but he still managed to pull a gaggle of girls up on stage with him to writhe and cavort in worship. On Saturday the day belonged to The Flaming Lips who provided ticket tape explosions, green lasers and Wayne Coyne emerging from Lulworth Castle in a plastic balloon, rolling through the crowd in it to the main stage before launching into a turbo charged mountain peak version of Race For The Prize. Sunday saw Billy Bragg popping up on stage twice after his main set on the Saturday, first with folk super collective The Imagined Village and then for a match made in LDN heaven as a duet of New England with Kate Nash. Kate raged about how her song Skeleton Song had been used by pro anorexic groups without her consent, and that she believed that success and happiness should not be attained through body shape or size. Amongst all of this Beardyman converted many with his dumbfounding beat boxing and charm and Suzanne Vega provided a warm mellow set as the yolkish sun began to lay to rest for another day.

So after a shaky start, some glorious weather, a happy colourful and vibrant crowd and a barrage of entertainment, the first Camp Bestival was a success, that should it happen again next year and resolve its teething problems, could really be the festival that matches up to the term “Fun for all the family.”

And finally, here is a short video of Peggy Sue and the Pirates from the Festival, shot by Breaking More Waves. Notice how they got into the fancy dress spirit !

2000 Trees Festival @ Cheltenham

2008-07-16T22:52:00.008+01:00

In 2007 the Two Thousand Trees Festival was set up as a reaction against some of the corporate monster festivals, which its organisers thought were poor value for money and more about profit than having a great time in a field. The result is a back to basics festival, with no thrills or spills other than the music itself. The festival features an eclectic line up over two small stages, one of which is outside, the other being an acoustic affair entitled the Leaf Lounge in a small marquee. Throw in a small selection of well priced and reasonable quality food stalls plus a couple of bars that sell amongst other things a 7% cider called Badgers Bottom at 3 pounds a pint, and hey presto you have a festival.

Unfortunately for organisers, bands and punters the festival was hit by heavy showers, which lead to the main stage area and paths through the campsite becoming a bit of a quagmire, although still nothing as horrendous as the mud of Glastonbury. Walking around the site was still pretty easy providing you had a decent pair of wellies, taking only 5 minutes to reach any point on the site, although some others decided on more unusual means of getting around......

As the weekend went on it was also apparent that a few more toilet facilities were needed as queues began to develop. The area around them also became very muddy meaning that it was impossible for the cleaning vehicles to access them to carry out essential emptying. To the festival organisers credit they quickly realised this, and rather than ignoring the problem, hired in additional toilet facilities which were then positioned in an area where vehicle access for emptying would not be an issue.

As for value for money, a 39 pounds ticket gave 2 days of entertainment and in total I managed to catch 25 full sets by the acts performing.

Highlights on Friday included ex Million Dead frontman Frank Turner who played once on each stage during the rainswept weekend. His opening lunchtime acoustic slot was a perfect rousing romantic kiss with just an acoustic guitar and a voice of passion.

James Yuill brought studio boffin knob twiddling laptop technology to a half seated audience in an acoustic tent. It shouldn’t work, but luckily Yuill had an acoustic guitar and some songs as well. New single No Pins Allowed sounds like Radiohead and Hot Chips kid brother (Kid J ?). In a pumped up dance tent it would be a major triumph, but the ambience of the leaf lounge was not quite ready for anything more than gentle head swaying.

Clad in a sparkling gold dress, Leila Moss of the Duke Spirit showed that it is possible to look sexy in a pair of wellington boots and rock with abandonment; even in the mud. Spotting locals from her old school in the audience she strikes poses to the battle hardened wall of sound that her band make and gains quite a few fans in the process.

Eighties Matchbox B Line Disaster headline and although their horror pops rockabilly bass lines and drunken Bad Seeds jiggery pokery may not always make the most accessible of sounds, their sheer contortionist showmanship certainly provides entertainment.

Saturday ups the stakes in terms of musical quality and there are many highlights. Natalie Ross from Guildford may look like the younger sister of Jenny Eclair but her cheeky eccentric acoustic fifties flavoured songs of secret lemonade drinking make one thirst for more.

Chris T-T is a seasoned festival pro and despite being late on stage quickly settles into a set the drags you in with its wit and humour before thumping you with politics. Now that Billy Bragg is driving round Dorset in his four by four (allegedly) we need Chris T-T more than ever.

Hereford may not be known for a rich musical heritage but with their mix of break beat, indie and hip hop, cutting in samples from the Prodigy, Daft Punk and Fatboy Slim the words 'festival crowd pleasers’ have to be reserved for The Anomalies. With their twin powered vocal delivery this gang know how to rev the engines. Asking a crowd to throw things at you so that you can freestyle about what is thrown is always likely to be a risky business, but when a huge blob of mud hits you in the face and you manage to continue to rap about it, respect has to be given.

Imperial Leisure are a frenetic bundle of Cava spurting, scissor kicking, brass bursting charismatic rap rock ska lads who with Landlords Daughter, Man On The Street and Great British Summertime get the field bouncing. Another. Great. Live. Band. Full. Stop.

But bizarrely the champions of 2000 Trees are Art Brut. One could accuse them of being a joke that has gone on for too long, but tonight they leave you with the biggest smile of the weekend. After an awkward start where the bands monitors have to be replaced lead singer Eddie Argos is left to entertain the crowd with some rather dubious juggling skills. Whilst this sounds like an excruciating finale it is tempered by Argos’s charm which is not dissimilar to Jarvis Cocker. Once the music finally cranks up it is surprisingly sharp, clever, witty, aggressive and powerful. With no set list the band even take the unusual step of getting the audience to call out requests, which they actually play.

Art Brut end 2000 Trees with a high that shows that sometimes you don’t have to have lots of sun and big name headliners to enjoy a festival.

The Future Of UK Festivals

2008-07-15T23:04:00.006+01:00

With this summers festival season now well and truly underway, Breaking More Waves asks “What sort of health is the UK Festival market in, and what will the future hold for this market ?”

There is no doubt that smaller capacity, specialist festivals that offer a more relaxed vibe have grown significantly in their numbers over the last few years. Fed up with trawling miles through the squelching sticky mud of Glastonbury, the stifling corporate feel of V, or the chaos and anarchy of Reading, many punters have looked for alternatives. The growth in the live music industry has lead to the birth and development of the Boutique festival. Smaller and intimate, often with a specialist slant to either the music or other attractions, many commentators have said that these festivals are the festivals of the future.

Some of these festivals such as my own personal favourite, Bestival, have grown from strength to strength. Based on the desire to have as much fun as possible in one weekend, Bestival can be described as a cheeky upstart of a festival, with possibly the coolest line up besides the inside of your fridge. It has gone from a poorly attended windswept party which I was lucky enough to attend in the Isle Of Wight back in 2004 to a record sell out 30,000 event this year. It now even has its own 10,000 capacity little sister festival Camp Bestival in the grounds of Lulworth Castle. The interviews here with Bestival head honcho Rob Da Bank gives just a small feel of what Bestival is all about.

Rob Da Bank Interview

Other smaller Festivals are also excelling. Secret Garden Party sells out nearly every year, the 5,000 capacity End Of The Road Festival is winning many plaudits for its laid back vibe and quality of lesser known music, and this year 2,000 Trees Festival sold all 2,000 tickets with very little publicity and no big name headliners.

Yet for all these winners there have been quite a few losers. 2008 has not been kind to every Boutique Festival. Over 20 Festivals have been cancelled, including the well established Blissfields together with the newer Redfest and Wild In The Country. All have been cancelled due to poor ticket sales. There have also been several festivals that have failed to deliver what they promised, most notably a new festival in Kent called Zoo8, which was labelled shambolic by those who attended, with many bands pulling out, woefully inadequate toilet and camping facilities and massive queues even to get in to the festival. One suspects that this one will not return next year.

So the question is, what is the reason for all of these cancellations ? Has the UK festival market reached saturation point ? Are there simply too many festivals out there ? Is the economic slowdown affecting peoples spending power ? Are people being put off by the wet and muddy conditions that so many of last years festivals seemed to suffer from? The answer I guess is probably all of these, but for each festival it’s a different combination.

Whilst some Boutique festivals go from strength to strength, some will fall by the wayside. Over the next few years it is likely that we will see less new festivals enter the market and there will be a stabilisation of existing events. Punters will develop brand affiliation preferring to return to the same festival year after year once they have found one that suits them, until their demographic status changes, through getting older or having children for example.

However one thing that seems to guarantee ticket sales is the musical safety of big name headliners that the public are familiar with. The buying power of the big corporates such as Reading, V and T in the Park can bring in the big guns such as Muse, Metallica and The Killers, and through financial clout persuade these bands to sign exclusivity contracts, not allowing them to play any other festivals in the UK that year. Even Glastonbury this year found it difficult to sell out, and much of this was attributed to the booking of the 3 headliners Kings Of Leon, Jay-Z and The Verve which were not deemed in many circles to be big enough to headline.

It is highly unlikely that in the near future any of the big 4 of Glastonbury, Reading, V and T in the Park will go under. They are too well established and have significant power. But the future for many other smaller festivals remains uncertain. It is for this reason that The Association of Independent Music have announced the launch of the Association of Independent Festivals - a non-profit trade organisation created to represent UK music festivals including Womad, Creamfields, Summer Sundae Weekender, Bestival, Electric Picnic, and Big Chill. Also involved are the organisers of Beautiful Days, Bloom, Glade, The Secret Garden Party, and Field Day.

The festival organisers have joined forces to strengthen their position and to take on their bigger rivals. Their objective is to work together to help make events better for fans, greener and more cost-effective. The association launched with twelve festival organisers on the Board, with a second wave of festivals to be invited as members over the summer.

One of the biggest festivals in the association is Creamfields. Their owner James Barton said, "There is a real opportunity to combine our spending power to deliver exciting business ideas. The smaller festivals are also often overlooked, and it's important we now have a voice to influence decisions being made that impact on our business."

It is hoped that the new trade body will empower the indie festival community with a collective strength, and establish a forum for the exchange of knowledge and ideas. AIF will also enter into dialogue across the music business and government, and will consult on factors affecting the business, such as ticket touts, or organised crime. Plans are also in the works for collective marketing initiatives for its members.

It is my hope that through the work of the AIF and their initiatives that good, quality Boutique Festivals will be given a fairer chance of competing against the big boys, and that the UK Festival scene will continue to flourish.

Now, come with me on a journey as over the next few weeks I get my wellies and sunblock and journey out to report on some of these Festivals....

Breaking More Waves

2008-06-23T21:02:00.001+01:00

“We can draw lessons from the past but we cannot live in it”

-Lyndon B. Johnson (1908 - 1973), December 13, 1963

“The past has a way of repeating itself. The past has a way of repeating itself. The past has a way of repeating itself.”
-Old Granny (Unknown)

Eleven years ago, in the olden days, I published my first fanzine. It was called Breaking Waves and I published it under the name ‘The Boy On The Boat’. The name was partially true as I lived on a house boat, although technically I was about ten years too old to be considered a boy. Depending on how you define boy of course. The fanzine was about my passion for music. It was produced with virtually no thought and in a rush of speed that was immense fun. Several more copies of this tome of wisdom and comedy followed. Two editions even sold out and made me enough profit to buy half a postage stamp. So overjoyed was I with this good fortune, that I created two children of my own, spent many hours obtaining numerous academic and professional qualifications, moved to the south coast and worked hard at building my career.

In this time my passion for music never took a back seat, but writing about it did. When the time allowed for writing again the fanzine was an obsolete dinosaur. The internet had revolutionised our world. Now it was easy for anyone to write, and thousands did. My first attempt at writing about music was on a blog on the social network site known as Myspace. http://www.myspace.com/breakingthewaves

This is my second attempt.

It’s just like the first internet version really, with a few lessons learnt.

This is my manifesto

1. This is my blog, I can write what I like. Freedom of speech rules.

2. I write for one reason only. The fun of doing it.

3. I am happy to be judged on what I write. If judgement is your thing. You can decide. Please feel free to comment on any of my blogs.

4. I reserve the right to contradict myself, and possibly, maybe, occasionally be proven wrong. Or at least let you think that I am. Remember, a good diplomat is someone who can tell you to go to hell in such a way that will make you actually look forward to the trip.

This is my blog. This is me. Breaking more waves.

Enjoy!

Vampire Weekend - Cousins

2009-11-22T00:01:00.002Z

First out of the traps in terms of big releases for 2010 is Vampire Weekend with their album Contra. Following the free giveaway of Horchata the first single proper is Cousins which sees Vampire Weekend buzzing along with an almost cartoonish abandon and possibly more beats per minute than any other song that will be released next year. It fizzles with the kind of fun that will make detractors hate them even more, but should keep fans eager for the album which follows on January 12th. It’s going to be interesting to watch drunk indie kids dance to this two minutes and thirty seconds of zany structured mayhem. We hear rumours of ballads on the forthcoming album, which will be needed just to catch our breath.

Kitsune Maison Compilation 8

2009-11-21T00:01:00.010Z

Do you remember that girl at school? The obscenely cool, outrageously super confident, super attractive one who all the boys fancied? Well at the age of twenty one she was a burnt out single mum, pushing a pram, attending drug dependency clinic once a week. She still got out of her council flat now and then for a night of drunken debauchery with her best friend, but even those nights out felt awkward and forced, her cool factor replaced with a hint of desperation. Sometimes when the lights were shining behind her it was possible to see what made that girl so attractive in the first place, but you had to be standing in the right location.

Rather like that girl, the French electro label Kitsune Maison compilations have always held their place as the super confident, super cool taste forming albums. But with their 8th release there are signs that things have gone a little off track. The label isn’t pushing that pram yet, but there are signs that it could happen. Kitsune’s compilations are focussed on bringing the hipster party to the home stereo, but there are a number of times on this album when the music sounds as if too much time has been spent trying to make it sound hip and not enough on bringing quality in inventiveness to the dance floor.

There are still plenty of hits, but in places the quality control is urinated away, leaving things sounding cheap and shabby. Have Kitsune Maison taken their eye off things a little? Maybe. This is the sound of electro pop getting a little too drunk, sliding up against the wall of the nightclub, flashing its knickers and snogging the first laptop carrying cool kid that passes by.

That’s not to say it’s full of duffers though. Memory Tapes create something fresh and dreamy with Bicycle. It pedals its way with a blissed out groove and adds snatches of New Order / Cure like guitar together with a choir sample over its trippy loopy backing. Maybe it’s more of a home listening track than a club banger, but it’s a languidly beautiful tune. Our only complaint is that it would have been better positioned right at the end of the album. This Momentary by Delphic with its washes of keyboards, soft chanted vocals and crashing warlike drums has a tidal build that grows and grows into a dry ice and strobe induced moment of Hacienda glory. Even if the track sounds more like a remix than a song on its own right it’s still very good. The Drums Let’s Go Surfing has been well documented on this blog previously here and seems a little out of place on an electro dance album, but it remains a fun whistle-a-groove-along pop song. French Horn Rebellion also succeed by whipping out the cheesy synths, camp vocals and keeping a pop sensibility that cheers easily on their lead track Up All Night.

But then there’s the bad. Le Corps Mince De Françoise are just too wacky for their own good. Like a nursery rhyme CSS, they may be fun to listen to once but the second attempt leaves us slamming our head against the wall screaming “No more.” If electro pop is made for the clubs, Le Corps Mince De Françoise were out the back popping far too many pills. Even worse is I Love London by Crystal Fighters. An infuriating mix of percussion and dirty synth bass it’s as if Bonde Do Role were tasked with recording the most annoying sounding hipster track ever. This song is that girl we mentioned just as she got pregnant. So full of confidence, it forgets what it is doing, jumping up and down shouting "Cool kids please love me." It is utterly terrible. Further tracks by Parallels, Jolie Cherie and the Crystal Castles gone even more wrong of Heartsrevolution are all the kind of toss that hipsters will proclaim are the future of music, but we can’t imagine anyone listening to any of these tunes in six weeks let alone six months.

Come on Kitsune Maison. This is not the essential electro collection that we know you can do. Your vision has become blurred. We don’t want you ending up as a sad single mum yet.

Lisa Mitchell @ Portsmouth Cellars

2009-11-20T00:01:00.005Z

In September we questioned if maybe Lisa Mitchell was mysophobic, with her song Neopolitan Dreams featuring on a well known washing product advert and her new single being called Coin Laundry. We may have been somewhat joking, but now we’re thinking this is serious. On arrival at The Cellars in Portsmouth, a makeshift washing line has been strung up in the corner. Luckily it is only to display merchandise for sale and not because Lisa has been on a crazed soap and suds frenzy.

It’s a strange gig for Mitchell. In Australia she may have had a top ten album, but in the UK she is virtually unknown. That said the pub venue is sold out, although there seems to be no particular buzz in the room, the applause being strangely reserved. In fact when Mitchell starts to play a significant number of people appear completely indifferent to the fact she is on stage and continue chatting despite the signs at the bar asking for quiet. In spite of her young age Mitchell appears outwardly unaffected, casting out a set of quirky acoustic pop tunes such as the whimsical Coin Laundry, the gentle intimate confessional Love Letter and a solo acoustic cover version of Dire Straits Romeo and Juliet to draw punters in. Unfortunately her Lenka like soft slightly kooky girlish vocal is not always commanding over the talking punters, who don’t seem to care for the fact that they are in a live music venue. As a result the show lacks substance. If only Lisa wasn’t the polite professional announcing that “Because you’re all so nice, I’m going to play you a love song. It’s just us,” and instead had said “If you’re not going to listen can you please leave,” the show may have been more compelling. By the time she finishes her set the expected applause for an encore only lasts as long as it takes for her to exit the stage. Her return a minute or so later feels rather forced and subdued.

Lisa Mitchell is certainly talented and has some sensitive almost daintily sweet acoustic pop songs, but with an audience who seemed somewhat ambivalent to her presence it probably wasn’t her best day.