Monday 22 March 2021

NEW #18 - Opus Kink

 

There are a couple of people in my musical circle who now and then come out with statements that make me want to spontaneously vomit all over their pretentiousness: “Oh yeah, I’m really into Wild West psych jazz punk,” being a good example. Bleurgh.

But then I took a listen and I had to take it back; not the vomit though, I’m not taking that back, that’s gross. Because Opus Kink, a bunch of reprobates from Brighton make music that could quite easily be described as Wild West psych jazz punk and it’s bloody marvellous. 

There’s so much going on here. New single Wild Bill sounds like Joe Strummer thrashing around with joyful abandon in a moshpit with The Pogues and The Coral. They’re the sort of band that I imagine discovering late at night in a little tent at some slightly scruffy mangled-mind festival after a few rums and wondering the next morning if they really were as good as they seemed last night. (The answer is yes, they probably were.)

The blurb I was sent with the release for Wild Bill suggests influences of The Lounge Lizards, The Blockheads, Fela Kuti, Tom Waits and Leonard Cohen. I’m not sure if Leonard Cohen was ever this much fun, but there you go.

After a single release in 2019 (Faster Than The Radio / Mosquito), this new one finds the six piece tearing things up on Nice Swan Records, who are putting out some great stuff at the moment - Breaking More Waves home town favourites Hallan are also working with them. To add some extra bonus musical excellence points the song was recorded in the legendary Rockfield Studios with Tim Burgess from The Charlatans.

Keep everything for crossed for Covid-19 to f*ck off and do one soon, then get out and dance to this band in a field in the UK somewhere soon.Wild West psych jazz punk here we come. You'd better believe it.

Opus Kink - Wild Bill


Wednesday 10 March 2021

NEW #17 - VLURE

 

When I pressed play earlier today on the debut single by Glasgow’s VLURE, Spotify told me that the group had a grand total of 0 monthly listeners. Let’s hope that this changes quickly because these Glasgow based industrial post-punks sound bone-shakingly magnificent. Remorselessly intense but yet gloriously uplifting, VLURE channel a sound that could easily inspire faith and devotion; and yes at this point I’m going to have to reference Depeche Mode because there are some very big, very 80’s synth washes going on here amongst the shouty-punkiness and throbbing bass energy.

Not only do VLURE sound viscerally exciting but they look the part as well. Their look is very monochrome; all black leather and cut off tees and this aesthetic cuts through to their introductory performance video which could have easily been shot by Anton Corbjin given its style. Capturing the band at Axiom Art in Glasgow it gives an exciting glimpse into what this band are about; moody stares, a pent up like a tiger in a cage lead singer and a sense of something fully formed. 

You may be reminded a little of the Murder Capital (who VLURE have already supported in their home city to glowing reviews) as their performance possesses the same sort of potency. Did I say they were magnificent? Well that needs repeating.

Their debut single is called Shattered Faith. It's out via Permanent Creeps. It’s a lose-yourself-in-the-dry-ice-and-strobes industrial goth-punk machine gun fist pumper. F*cking amazing.

VLURE - Shattered Faith



Vlure - Desire (From Axiom Art)

Friday 5 March 2021

NEW #16 - Mette

 

Remember Lemon by N.E.R.D and Rihanna? If you’ve seen the video then you’ll already be familiar with today’s new artist Mette Towley – she’s the dancer who gets her hair shaved off. 

It’s dance that Mette has suggested is her first love in the past – she’s posted as such on her Instagram. However, she seems to be making a very good job of being a singer as well. In fact if you’ve seen her being featured on any other music website over the last few days you’ll see that she seems to have changed her mind, now saying that music is her first love. 

Her debut track Petrified, which is out this week, is a hooky dance floor friendly pop song. More than that it grooves with class.

OK, there are hundreds of hooky dance floor friendly pop songs but this stands out because of its immaculate production and a simple but sophisticated video in which Mette horrifies the health and safety police by riding backwards on a chunky 3-wheeler with no helmet before serving up some sharp shooting dance moves. She also has clearly mastered the ability to hard stare at the camera man.

It’s her first track, so it could all go downhill from here, but based on this Mette might just be your new favourite 'she's got it all' pop star in the making.

You can find Petrified on this week's Breaking More Waves New Music Weekly playlist by clicking here.

Mette - Petrified