Decisions have been made here at The Recommender. We now have our American writer on board, located in Austin, Texas, she should prove to be well placed at the heart of one of the best US cities for new music. We welcome Olivia with open arms as The Recommender’s reach continues to spread around the world.
FLASHGUNS
Brighton surprises keep peeling out of the woodwork, with the likes of Mirrors blowing us away at the recent Great Escape Festival, and yet here we are with another. Well we say Brighton, but half the band are from London. However, the edges have always been blurred between the two cities over the decades, despite the actual geographical distance. This band do not have many sounds in common with Mirrors mind, so we’re not looking at a new scene or anything. Brighton has always been good for new music, but it’s the high quality of the recent acts that seems to be the finest factor. These guys unashamedly jump from the pages of The Smiths songbook, with their jangly, flicking guitar riffs and coo-ing vocals. It’s all backed by some sweet, chiming sounds and a rattling beat that fires rapid shots over the bow. They’re getting releases through the Blue Flower and Pure Groove labels, including the ‘Matching Parts/Similar Hearts’ EP which is due for release in mid-July. Around that time you can see them live at The Underage Festival, which seems befitting seeing that these guys aren’t even in their twenties yet. Should you plan to see any of their gigs we’d suggest taking along a bunch of daffodils accordingly.
Find them here: Myspace
Hear them here: FLASHGUNS – LOCARNO (ysi)
NEW VILLAGER
This two-piece come from both coasts of the States and it shows. You get the sunny layered West Coast vocals paired with the more edgy, styled East Coast magic. With beats that sound like they’re being played on broken drums and delicate synths alongside warped singing that wafts back and forth, it’s alluring stuff. Mantra’s sung over and over are instantly catchable and beautifully constructed. It’s got a tight production, but sits just the right side of self-indulgent. Who knows how they will repeat this sort of sound when playing live, as we read they didn’t do so well at SXSW, but we always reserve judgements on live performaces until we see them for ourselves quite frankly. Singles are getting released through the Mood Gadget and Two Syllables labels. We list our favourite tune of theirs to date below. We suggest grabbing a cold one, heading out into the garden and kicking back as we think that you’ll enjoy this at your most lazy.
Find them here: Myspace
Hear them here: NEW VILLAGER – RICH DOORS (ysi)
GOLDHAWKS
There’s been plenty of pretenders to Arcade Fire’s throne since the massive success of our favourite Canadian kings. As with any commercially successful bands, there’s bound to be a stream of followers as A&R men get busy chasing down the future dollar-making-machines, but in most cases these bands are, well, just pretending. And as you get to the point where you wanted to write off any more carbon copies, in step Goldhawks with their Springsteen-inspired sounds and Arcade Fire size. If anything it’s too similar, but they’ve certainly captured a lot of the magic. The rattling pace, the loose jamming, the echoing, layered vocals, all sounding like it’s been recorded in a derelict church. It’s all there. Accomplishing such a huge sound is no mean feat, so we take our hats off and recommend them to you today. It may lack the religious experience that comes with Arcade Fire, but it’s early days and this cult has plenty of time to trap you.
Find them here: Myspace
Hear them here: GOLDHAWKS – WHERE IN THE WORLD (ysi)
We are edging ever closer towards our 100th post and should get to it at some point in June, so to celebrate this landmark we may include a nice little surprise for all the loyal Recommender fans. You make this blog worthwhile, so thanks as always.
Mike
