Bright Light Bright Light’s new single, & Lexington date

A New Word To Say is the new single from Bright Light Bright Light, aka Rod Thomas and supporting players.  Produced with Neon Neon’s Boom Bip, it’s a slice of unashamedly sincere electro-pop, full of breathless rhythms, nice vocal hooks and a real reach-for-the-lasers chorus.  Where I find BLBL’s previous numbers occasionally smacking of simplicity, this latest effort is much more artful - epitomised by the nice jangly melody thrown in amid the final skirmishes, and by the layered vocals that accompany it.  In the end, it’s a tune that gives you two distinct options: sing along, or have a shit time.

Bright Light Bright Light is playing The Lexington on Monday 12 April, in what Rod promises SOIWT will be a special show with some cool stage/lighting going on.  Tickets here.  A New Word To Say is taken from forthcoming album Make Me Believe In Hope.  He also does a lot of remixing, mashups and DJing, with more details on this separate MySpace page.  There’s a video below too, although the sound isn’t amazing. 

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MP3: Bright Light Bright Light – A New Word To Say

Monday Music – 29 March 2010

Hope everyone had a lovely weekend – I was in Utrecht, and thoroughly recommend it.  Here’s a great blog to get you started.  Anyway, I digress - here’s my weekly collection of five, not London-related songs that have caught my ear in the past seven days:

Solid Gold – Danger Zone
Minneapolis’ Solid Gold are one of my favourite bands: their melancholic, rocked-up euphoria provides atmosphere and delectable beats in one fine sandwich.  And now they’ve gone and given Kenny Loggins’ Top Gun tearjerker a most unlikely electro-pop makeover.  Where the original was homoerotic and high-pitched, the cover is surprisingly elegant and priddy, while fondly retaining the desperate-sounding melodrama  - think fists clenched in slow-mo, glazed eyes and dodgy denim jackets.

Rusko – Da Cali Anthem
Two fantastic things are combined here thanks to producer Rusko: the ever more popular genre of dubstep, and 2pac’s high-pitched dancefloor classic, California Love.  I feel like this could have had better teasing of those oh-so-familiar lyrics. Nevertheless, as famous lines like “Innn the Ciddddyyyy” get the twostep treatment, so we see a potentially seminal moment, with dubstep threatening to make itself prominently known in the USA at long last.  Are those hoochies I can hear screaming?

Wye Oak – I Hope You Die
Wye Oak are a great depresso band – that is, bands you listen to when upset in order to get more upset because actually you want to be upset.  As the title hints, this latest (from new album My Neighbor / My Creator) ain’t a cheery pop number neither: like the band’s best, it meanders along through soundscapes as moodily pretty as Scottish mountains, with the smoky aura enhanced by a distant saxophone refrain as the song gives way to reverb. Jenn Wasner’s voice remains as impassive and soothing as ever.

The Radio Dept. – David
Like a swirling London mist, this one comes drenched in atmosphere: trance beats like a Streets remix, vocals reminiscent of Ian Brown but with a Swedish accent, and a resigned, regal tone.  The Radio Dept.‘s imagination shines through via the quirky keys and digital add-ons, but it’s the echoey, jaundiced sound that stays with you once the song fades out.  Confident and catchy, the trio are set to make a big splash in 2010.

Small Black – Despicable Dogs
The fairground’s closing: the sun’s setting behind the main tent, it’s pink pools of light catching glinting litter in the trampled grass, an abandoned shoe, still carousels, feathers from a toy bird won hours earlier rippling in the sudden wind, a closed coffee stand where a pretty girl glanced your way, the odd shuffling figure, now-cold hands thrust deep in pockets.  This is the kind of bleak, maudlin scene that new Jagjaguwar signing Small Black conjure up: their songs are brief windows to other, allurring worlds.

MP3 links via the song titles.

Daniel Johnston playing a unique show in London

My friend Adrian alerted me to Daniel Johnston – a maker of deeply personal, staggeringly sincere and gorgeously written auteurish folk/rock songs sung with a haunting voice, Johnston is one of those guys think Scott Walker, Arthur Lee, etc - who’s always cited by later, bigger stars – think Bowie, Kurt Cobain, etc - as their inspiration.  

Basically, he’s great.   I tell you this because Johnston is playing a one-off show, in the company of defiant anti-folkster (ie folkster) and jackanory lyricist Jeffrey Lewis (playing solo), in the ever-atmospheric Troxy theatre in Bethnal Green.  It gets better, too – Johnston will be accompanied by an 11-piece orchestra, for the first time in the career.  The date’s Friday 2 April and tickets, about £20, are here.  This one comes highly recommended.  (Thanks EYOE for alerting me.)

MP3: Daniel Johnston – Some Things Last A Long Time
MP3: Jeffrey Lewis & The Junkyard - Roll Bus, Roll

Kitsune and friends throwing Easter party

Neon Noise, the Kitsuné label and Ponystep have pooled their considerable talents to organise a night at Heaven on Easter Sunday.  The line-up’s pretty heavyweight – Crystal Fighters and Fenech Soler playing, Friendly Fires and Two Door Cinema Club on the decks – as you might expect with the £10 advance / £14.50 door price tag for tickets.  More details via Neon Noise’s Facebook.

Chapel Club

If Chapel Club‘s whimsical rock songs were a boy, they’d be described as burly, handsome, charming… but never pretty.  These are unshaven, silver-tinted and often agonised adventures, ones full of muttering drums and well-constructed guitar sections, and a little gloss.  Unlike The Guardian, I quite like Surfacing, the band’s cover of Dream A Little Dream For Me: Lewis Bowman’s slightly faux voice, which can sound like White Lies’ Harry McVeigh one moment and a very posh Morrissey the next, strangely suits the vintage, bowler-hat lyrics.  What Chapel Club lack though – despite second single O Maybe I’s best, sprawling efforts - is a catchy anthem, something to captivate 6 Music or Xfm listeners.  For that, they might need be a bit prettier.

Decide for yourself, though: Chapel Club are playing Village Underground on Thursday 27 May (tickets).
 
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MP3: Chapel Club – Surfacing

Zillionaire – belated praise

While investigating a current US band of the same name, I stumbled across Zillionaire.  This London act comprised a rolling cast of mainly Kiwis, and enjoyed a brief spurt of popularity and good reviews in the mid-2000s before calling it a day (or at least ceasing live performances) in early 2007.  It seems a shame: their mournful, swooning rock is blissful on the ear, the oral equivalent of watching waves crash into a deserted cove under a watercolour sky.  I particularly like the tremulous vocals and handsome guitar sections.  Listen to these songs in a darkened room late at night, a glass of something strong in hand, and silently toast a lost London band.

MP3: Zillionaire – Burn Alone
You can download Zillionaire’s last album, Comfort in the Machine, from their MySpace page - in its entirety or song by song.

The Good Natured

The Good Natured is Sarah McIntosh, a London-based, Berkshire-hailing gal who makes a lustrous disco sound rather at odds with her coquettish appearance.  Comparisons with Ellie Goulding (god – Ellie’s that established already?) are inevitable such is the mature-voiced, would-be-cool electro-ness here, but in truth The Good Natured’s sound is more grandiose.  The beats are bouncier, too, even if everything feels very, well, considered – pounding pianos and plummy tones, as The Guardian nicely puts it.  I like The Good Natured’s pretty and simplistic lyrics (“there’s silver in your lungs”) but fervently wish she’d more regularly let rip vocally: on the brief occasions she hits a high note, life gets a little giddy.

The Good Natured is playing Proud on Monday 29 March and The Big Chill Bar on Thursday 15 April, but the most exciting show is sandwiched in between.  On Wednesday 7 April she headlines the latest Lake of Stars (the Malawian music festival in October) night at Rich Mix, in Bethnal Green.  Much more on the Facebook page, including ticket links.  See her while you can; it won’t be long before the masses catch up…

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MP3: The Good Natured – Your Body is a Machine

Monday Music – 22 March 2010

And this week’s selection of five are…

Gorillaz – Some Kind of Nature (Feat. Lou Reed)
“Dear SOIWT: Thanks v.much for your recent letter, asking whether my new Gorillaz album would be a stream of clichéd celeb cameos and rather simple-sounding beats.   I’m happy to report that this is not the case: while numerous artists like Snoop Dogg and Barry Gibb do appear doing their ‘thang’, this is a wholly purposeful, imaginative enterprise - check out this duet I did with Lou Reed, and note it’s eclectic combo of zany loops, thigh-slappingly infectious hooks and foreboding strings.  Cool huh?  Over and out - Damon Albarn.”

Marthas & Arthurs - Who Will Marry Me? (Live at the Lammermuirs) 
Do-do-duh-duh.  In a nutshell, that’s what make this song fabulous.  Marthas & Arthurs‘ formula on this thoughtful small-town tale of love and loneliness is as simple as it’s potent: exchange boy-girl lyrics, then let a tinkly mandolin (and an occasional accordion in support) recite a rat-a-tat beat so catchy that you’ll find yourself humming it hours later.  It’s gentle, sprawling, springlike and decidedly idyllic stuff from the folk-inclined, dinner party-playing quartet. 
NB: This song has been kindly provided by M&A exclusively for SOIWT, and will be available for three weeks – until 12 April – only.

Tim And Sam’s Tim And The Sam Band With Tim And Sam – Choices
Despite the “check us out” wankiness of their name, the also-Welsh Tim & Sam… turn out to offer a rather nicely subdued shoegaze.  The shrill vocals start off slightly distant, like beautiful noises caught on the wind, like the pure sound of a foggy morning.  But gradually, in league with guitars and keys, they build and build a giddy pace, to a rousing climax lined with moralistic lyrics.  The feeling is reminiscent of that sensation as a kid when you ran as fast as you absolutely could, and just for a few seconds felt like you were flying… 

Aloe Blacc – I Need A Dollar
The last song to so aptly sum up being broke was Money’s Too Tight To Mention by Simply Red (all together now: “I’m talking about money, money..”  Okay, sorted.)  LA-based Aloe Blacc‘s 80s throwback is similar funky to El Hucknall’s effort, with an real 70s soul vibe to boot - think the neatest-and-tidiest backing singers, and a bouncy brass background.  Aloe’s classical voice is effortlessly catchy, lending sunshine to the old-fashioned, strife-ridden lyrics. 

New Roman Times – Smoke In Your Disguise
My uncle visited this week.  He lives in California and we’d only ever met three times before.  Nevertheless, we have a strange amount of stuff in common, and one shared passion is for long, cross-city walks.  These are especially good on summery days: people and places pass by, smells and sounds intrude, the setting sun shoots orange arrows between buildings and time passes with pleasing sloth. This  soaring number by New Roman Times is the perfect soundtrack for these contented strolls: it has an eyes-closed, arms-out euphoria, and the most singalong of vocals. 

MP3 links via song titles.

London Summer Festivals – a round-up

With details of this summer’s London festivals flooding in thick and fast, it can be hard to keep track.  With that in mind, here’s SOIWT’s pocket guide to the most interesting ones, with the lowdown on what each bash promises.  This will be updated periodically:

Camden Crawl
Date: Saturday 1 – Sunday 2 May, Camden (various venues)
Confirmed line-up:  Pendulum, Calvin Harris, Ms Dynamite, New Young Pony Club, The Drums, Dan Le Sac vs. Scroobius Pip, Speech Debelle, We Are Scientists Lostprophets.  Oh – and Sugababes.  No, really
Cost:  Weekend tickets are £54.90 if booked early, and £61.3o otherwise.  Days are £38.25 whenever you snaffle ‘em (tickets)
Is it gonna be whack or what?  High chance of whackness, dude.  The line-ups much more multifaceted than normal, but there still remains the terminal CC problem: getting into more than two venues all night. 
Go if your favourite Skins character is:  Emily

Stag & Dagger
When/where:  Friday 21 May, Shoreditch (various venues)
Confirmed line-up:  Filthy Dukes, Is Tropical, The Radio Dept, Django Django, Comanechi, Mount Kimbie, Sian Alice Group
Cost:  £15.45 (tickets)
Is it gonna be whack or what?  Though far from fully furnished, the line-up looks a mite weaker this year - but as the bands of most repute are always impossible to see (such are the busy bars), what’s it matter anyway?  The tix remain hideously cheap, and the event always comes with a bonkers friendly atmosphere, verging on the indisciplined…
Go if your favourite Skins character is:  Freddie

Wireless
When/where:  Friday 2 – Sunday 4 July, Hyde Park (no camping)
Confirmed line-up:  LCD Soundsystem, 2manydjs, U.N.K.L.E, Plan B, The Big Pink, Jay-Z, The Temper Trap, P!nk and Lily Allen – her final performance, apparently.  SOIWT has been more gutted.
Cost:  £110 for the weekend, £85 for a two-day combo and £47.50 for a single day (tickets)
Is it gonna be whack or what?  As ifff!  With some seriously heavyweight dancery – U.N.K.L.E’s return is particularly exciting – on the Saturday, and Jay-Z to close things out on Sunday, this should be excellent.  Jay-Z in Hyde-P, brup brup brup…
Go if your favourite Skins character is:  Cook

Lovebox
When/where: Friday 16 – Saturday 18 July, Victoria Park (no camping)
Confirmed line-up:  Grace Jones, Mark Ronson, Bryan Ferry & Roxy Music, Groove Armada, Chromeo, Crookers, Chase & Status, Hurts, Hot Chip, Ellie Goulding, Empire of the Sun, Rox, Joy Orbison and Wild Beasts
Cost:  £99 for the weekend, £80 for two days and £45 for just the one (tickets)
Is it gonna be whack or what?  As previously discussed, Lovebox is suddenly a lot cooler, with some pop and indie edge to its sometimes pedestrian dance headliners.  With a likely Groove Armada and Bryan Ferry duet, this could be ruddy excellent.
Go if your favourite Skins character is:  Panda

The 1-2-3-4 Shoreditch
When/where: Saturday 24 July, Shoreditch Park
Confirmed line-up:  These New Puritans, Vivian Girls, Wavves, We Have Band, Dum Dum Girls, Trailer Trash Tracys, Wild Palms.  Lots of up-and-comers you can pretend to have heard of
Cost: £16.50 at the moment (tickets)
Is it gonna be whack or what?  Always a bit cheap and cheerful this one, but with a stonkingly piffling price tag and some vary decent bands on the bill, what’s to lose?
Go if your favourite Skins character is:  Naomi

Field Day
When/where:  Saturday 31 July, Victoria Park
Confirmed line-up:  Phoenix, Caribou, Memory Tapes, Pantha du Prince, Hudson Mohawke, These New Puritans, The Fall, Andrew Weatherall, No Age
Cost:  £33.33 (tickets)
Is it gonna be whack or what?  Only if it rains yet again.  Otherwise, these days Field Day is well-run and comes with a friendly atmosphere, kicking afterparties and – crucial – and egg-and-spoon racing field.  It’s diverse – with various cultures well represented – and bitesize, and Phoenix’s headline slot should ensure things end with a real bang.
Go if your favourite Skins character is:  Thomas

Offset
When/where:  Saturday 4 – Sunday 5 September, Hainault Forest (camping)
Confirmed line-up:  First wave now announced: including Liquid Liquid, Cluster, Telepathé, These New Puritans, Rolo Tomassi, Bo Ningen, Fiction.
Cost:  £65 for the weekend with camping, £55 without.  Day tickets are £28 (tickets)
Is it gonna be whack or what?  Not a chance, sonny.  This is London’s hippest festival, with legendary punksters and the trendiest, newest young things all being convivial in the unexpectedly pretty Hainault Forest. 
Go if your favourite Skins character is:  Effy

Get Loaded in the Park, the SW4 Weekender and Hard Rock Calling are all also on, but they’re a little too mainstream and mostly Claphamish for SOIWT’s hip-as-shit tastes.  Give them the scorn they deserve, dear readers…  There’s also the Somerset House Series of concerts, but that’s not really a festival now is it?

Foreign Office

Tut tut.  Stupid SOIWT went and listened to London fourpiece Foreign Office‘s shiny, in-your-face pop beats while nursing the most hideous of hangovers and pondering a looming day of chores.  Not clever: hours of Leonard-Cohen, drawn curtains and controlled breathing had to follow.  Hours later, though, the dynamic indie-disco melodies and serious Hot Chip-esque shakeability seem infinitely more bearable, and life becomes a peach melba of possibilities.

Foreign Office are playing Pure Groove on Monday 22 March, at Proud on Friday 26 March and then the St. Moritz Club on Wednesday 31 March.

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