Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, cats and dogs, welcome to Monday Music: the one blog a week where Some Of It Was True! doesn’t just focus on London-based music. Ready? Let’s do this:
Tennis – Origins
Loveable South Carolinan duo Tennis are back with a roughed-up sound to forewarn of their new EP. Where before went delicate, daisychain pop ditties now come grunty guitars, backing vocals and a faster pace, evidence that the fact Black Keys’ Patrick Carney is producing. But the key ingredient – Alaina Moore’s milk-pure voice – remains thankfully intact. (c/o Guardian.co.uk)
DRC Music – Hallo ft. Tout Puissant Mukalo, Nelly Liyemge
It’s easy to become a little cynical about Damon Albarn and his various projects – ethnic that, geeky this, abstract XYZ. It’s easy to be rankled by his slightly smarmy face, and his often-louche attitude when interviewed. It’s easy to remember his Britpop crimes. But as much as I fall into those traps, I can’t sidestep the simple fact that I think this – a tune from his latest project promoting Congolese music for Oxfam - is pretty darn good.
Cold Specks – Holland
23-year-old Cold Specks, aka Al Spx, distils smoky speakeasies, social tensions and mortality in a serene, ghostly whisper. She should be from the Deep South but hails, in fact, from Canada. (via SEXBEAT)
Little Racer – Split For The Coast
Newly signed to Young & Lost Club, Little Racer make a jumpy, jangly rock: not quite punk, not quite surf pop, not quite indie, not quite anything. It sounds fresh and exciting.
Ivan Ink ‘N’ Isa – Standing On A Hill
This came out yonks ago, but I’ve only just been alerted to it thanks to my magnificent cousin Georgia. Isa is Isa Summers, aka Florence’s Machine; her work on the buttons, combined with Ivan’s (aka Ollie Briggs) speckled, strained voice, a perky beat and some dramatic screeches adds up to a pleasantly knackered-sounding tap-a-long. Better yet, Georgia tells me there’s new stuff soon-ish on the horizon.
I bloody love this Tennis track. Why is this song so good? I’ll tell you. The song conjures up those indescribable summer feelings. Lying in parks, cold lagers, handing out with friends, it’s summer bottled up. It’s also the perfect antidote to those winter blues. Tennis have opted for a driven sound with the bass and the drums, which When you add Alaina Moore’s vocals and grungy guitars, you have an instant classic. This song has been on heavy rotation on my playlist for a week now and I can’t stop playing it. I’ve been lucky enough to see Tennis live and they happen to be the most likable band in the world. I guess nice bands finish first…right?