“Tender is the night,” Damon Albarn sang once and certainly everything that Tender has released so far seems like a perfect night time jam. Now signed to Partisan (The Wytches, Dilly Dally, Sylvan Esso, John Grant etc) the London two piece (who unless I’m horribly mistaken, and I’m 99.9% certain I’m not, are also members of the band New Desert Blues) return with Outside, a sultry breathy tune that’s not afraid to lob one of those ‘I’m going to close my eyes and pull a few orgasm faces as I play it’ guitar solos in at the end. Eric Clapton eat your heart out. It’s the musical equivalent of a pair of black silky undergarments. How about a label for their sound? If I had to have a go I’d maybe go for psychedelic r&b. Or even better, let’s just label it dead good. Footnote: Tip for bands – don’t just have 1 promo shot of yourselves like Tender do, otherwise I have to go searching Facebook to ‘borrow’ another one. Thanks. If desperate, just jump in the bath and take a pic of yourself there. It’s what everyone else is doing. (Apologies to any newcomers re: the bath joke – you have some catching up to do. Start by clicking here.) Tender - Outside
From the pulsing synth ambience of Cliff Martinez’s superb soundtrack to the divisive (but in my opinion coldly mesmerising and hugely stylish) film The Neon Demon, to the creepy anolog synth score to Netflix’s hugely entertaining series Stranger Things by Austin four piece Survive, it seems that right now atmospheric electronica is having something of a renaissance. Next up, but bringing the sound into a pop context is Breaking More Waves long term favourite Indiana who has returned to the fold with new cut Caroline. “I was picking tracks for album two and there were just too many to choose from, so instead of just throwing this one away I’ve made a video for it… something for you to get your teeth into whilst I continue to work on the second record,” Indiana posted on her Facebook yesterday. Caroline adds a radio friendly accessibility to the robotic cinematic synth sound as Indiana sings of Caroline, a girl who gives away her dignity: “Caroline, they only want your body for the night. Caroline, don’t let them take you for a ride.” The accompanying video, which includes some erotic and voyeuristic red light shots, might be full of suggestive sexual imagery but there’s a tear stained sadness to it all. The closing shot of Indiana being held down against the car, staring in pain directly at the camera as a man gets what he wants is particularly uncomfortable to watch – you have been warned. Final thought: If this hasn’t made the cut for the second album, then the quality of whatever else Indiana is producing must be very high indeed. It's also nice to see a modern electronic pop artist do something different from the now all too regular 'r n b flavoured electronica' which is danger of becoming this decades version of landfill indie. A very welcome return. Indiana - Caroline (Video)
Yesterday on the blog I mentioned disco, in connection with the new single from Scottish five piece White, because at least two blogs that posted the song had described it as such. Yet to a large extent its ‘disconess’ didn’t resonate with me as sounding anything like it. So today here’s my version of disco; it’s the new single from Sophie Ellis-Bextor. Some of you may remember that Sophie has a special place in the heart of Breaking More Waves; her last album Wanderlust made my 2014 end of year list. It surprised me with its ambition, its beauty and its originality: “The finest work of her career – an accomplished and mature record that takes in Eastern European folk, fairytale and mid-life crisis reference points and wraps them up into a captivating and enchanting listen.” Of course not all of Sophie’s fans were pleased with Wanderlust, deviating as it did so far from what you’d normally expect from her. Now for 2016 she’s back and debut single Come With Us is likely to bring those displaced fans back on board. It is as I’ve already suggested, very disco. It's grooves and licks have been on loud a lot at Breaking More Waves HQ over the last few days and there's been a lot of shimmying in the bedroom. In a similar manner to something like Daft Punk’s Get Lucky (the song of the decade so far?), the cut has been created using live musicians rather than just computer software and samples, giving it a more natural feeling, something which many electronic reproductions fail to do with the genre. Come With Us is taken from Sophie’s next album, Familia, due September 2nd. In a statement released with the promo package for the single we’re promised an album that sees Sophie “move away from Eastern Europe to the warmer, sunnier climate of South America where she’s swapped vodka for tequila.” It sounds intoxicating. Come join the cult of Sophie and dance with her. Sophie Ellis-Bextor - Come With Us (Video)
The last month or so has seen very little music (Ok none at all) on Breaking More Waves that you’d describe as gritty. But that all changes today with a new song from Glasgow’s White and an unrepentant dirty groove of a new track called I Liked You Better When You Needed Me. If you want music that sounds like it’s been dragged from the gutter and into the darkest, seediest, nightclub for the rough and cool kids then this is it. This is a spiked cocktail of trashed romance; the louder, brasher brother to Aisha by Death In Vegas. I’ve seen some other blogs describe it as disco; well if it is it’s certainly not mining the path of Chic, The Bee Gees or Studio 54 etc, and there’s certainly no glitter or sequins to be had. However, what it does bear in similarity to disco is the sound of a band playing their hearts out (something which a lot of rock types miss – there was a lot of passion in disco). Turn this one up loud and feel those drums being hit hard, that repeated guitar riff motoring around your brain and the song leaping out of your speakers to grab your guts. Just make sure you don’t soil your pants when listening. Oh and did I mention that it’s another musician in the bath promo shot? Come on, I couldn’t post this without mentioning that could I? Hopefully if you’re a regular you’ll understand. The band play a variety of festivals this month as well as a residency at the Lexington in London. White - I Liked You Better When You Needed Me
