The Saturday Surf #3

It seems highly appropriate that the picture you see above was taken in Brighton, for right now that’s where we are soaking up the vast expanse of new music on offer at the Great Escape Festival 2011. A review (of sorts) will follow early next week.

Until we return, let’s dip our toes into a just a small handful of tracks that kissed our ears in the days between last Saturday and when we left for Brighton, but didn’t quite make it onto a full post on Breaking More Waves – and this time we unravel some new sexy synthtopia and computer love-making.

Earlier this week we introduced a new prince and princess of dark electronic music – the magnificent Curxes. Since we featured their music they’ve uploaded two new songs online. Here’s one of them. Creatures pays particular homage to Depeche Mode with its sinister synths and clanking industrial rhythms, but the vocals are strident female ones rather than the mournful baritone of Dave Gahan. It will be self-released on tenth June along with another song Jaws which you can hear on the bands Soundcloud.

Creatures by CURXES

Moving on from a prince and princess to the queen herself, Queen of Hearts is a Breaking More Waves favourite and this bootleg/rework of Daft Punk's End Of The Line from the Tron soundtrack not only cements and power floats our love for her but has us falling on our knees in front of her, begging for more like a fanboy.

Queen of Hearts v Daft Punk - The End Of Nothing by Queen Of Hearts

Our final track is a remix from mystery electronic pop mischiefs Just A Number 05272011. The internet continues to be full of speculation as to who / where / what the band are and holds its collective breath to see if anything of significance happens on the 27 May. Until then however they’ve sneaked out this remix of He Didn’t Want A Lovesong which just adds to the anticipation.

He Didn't Want A Lovesong (sff vms Remix) by Just a number 05272011

Alphabet Backwards - New Waves

Joyous technicolour indie pop is one of the tags that Oxford five piece Alphabet Backwards use to pigeonhole their sound. We wouldn’t disagree. We guarantee that just a single listen to the one-hundred-mile-an-hour vocals and bee like squiggles of keyboard flourishes on their song Elton John will have you grinning like Colin Firth at the BAFTA’s. Po faced indie miserabilists begone because Alphabet Backwards are fun.

Yet fun doesn’t mean empty. Music snobs often carry perceptions that something happy sounding is somehow of less worth; that the only way to find the greatest music is to delve into deeper darker basements of complex arrangements, weirdness and leftfield strangeness. Such snobs will probably hold the belief that true art can only come from torment, from wretched gutter living and from squalid despair. Breaking More Waves says bollocks to such beliefs.

Great art comes from great talent and those who work at their craft get results. There can be just as much worth in a vibrantly perky sounding piece of d-i-y indie pop as something heavily nihilist.

Of course we’re not proclaiming Alphabet Backwards to be making anything near great art, but just because their songs are jolly, don’t close your ears off. Accept that a band who lists their interests as knitting, aeroplanes, ducks, records, acting, squash, pictures, fashion, summer, disco, bears, Annie, eighties, and eating sweets can make delightful indie pop songs that are as colourful as dancing rainbows.

Elton John by alphabet backwards

The History Of Apple Pie - New Waves

The History Of Apple Pie do old school indie pop. The definition may vary but today we’re talking about the sweet noise of fuzzy guitars, laid back melodies and relatively lo-fi production. Dare we call it nu-gaze? Better not, it might have been done before. Their ideology starts at cassette tape compilations (via Cool In A Crisis label, run by the people who put on clubs such as Baby Honey and Twee As F**k) and ends up with the band dog legging their way onto the most recent NME Tour. Not bad for a group whose Myspace page is only nine months old.

With the reverby jangle of the likes of The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart and Yuck finding some degree of success over the last few years there’s no reason why The History Of Apple Pie couldn’t do exactly the same if they have the ambition. Of course ambition is something that arguably this sort of music doesn’t have, but maybe that’s exactly why you might like them as well. Not everyone wants to headline Glastonbury, but a slot at their perfect fit festival – Indietracks – will do them fine.

Tug by The History Of Apple Pie

Curxes - New Waves

The word curses immediately evokes sinister images of evil doom and foul-mouthed despair, but the X in the middle of this Brighton based male-female electronic duo’s name adds the symbolism of a kiss. Maybe it signifies something more affectionate and possibly sexual? If it does then Curxes have chosen their name perfectly. For their music has a touch of synthy nu-goth heaviness together with a lighter seductive embrace. Curxes sound is a mixture of the darkness of post-Vince Clarke Depeche Mode, the industrial ice-cool of Propaganda, vocals reminiscent of a smoother Siouxsie Sioux all carpeted with fluidly uplifting pulses. Their blend of pop-noir takes you to the more intriguing and exciting corners of the disco where mysterious illicit couples writhe together. It’s a place you really should visit.

Of course the name could be nothing more than a simple attempt to ensure that Curxes are easy to google (they are), unlike the band they have risen phoenix-like from. In a previous incarnation Curxes, who are Roberta and Macaulay respectively, were in a four piece called Holdfast who supported the likes of White Lies, Chew Lips, These New Puritans and The Joy Formidable before disbanding.

For now there are just two songs. One of these - The Constructor - is streaming below. The other – Spires - can be found on the bands Soundcloud. Curxes have yet to play live but as their website says “Coming soon.” We will be keeping a careful eye out.

The Constructor by CURXES