The Recommender

THE GOOD NATURED

We are often posturing about who the next big things are going to be.  Is it wrong that just the other day someone was stating a new artist as “…the next Little Boots“, when Victoria’s debut album only came out in 2009!  It’s appreciated that blog’s often catch onto these things many months before the wider commercial success comes, so we were aware of Little Boots a long time ago, but there is still this relentless hot pursuit. Will the men’s 100 metres always get faster?  Guess it will won’t it?!  Us critics perpetuate this ‘race for success’ as we want coverage of that success, so any artist is doing exceptionally well to have any lasting power these days, no matter how good you are.  Anyway, we digress.  Here’s an artist that is, wait for it, the next Bat For Lashes!  Well, Natasha Kahn’s been here for ages hasn’t she, so it’s alright to locate a new one by now isn’t it?  This is effectively a female solo artist, real name Sarah McIntosh, who plays a kind of Kate Nash-styled leftfield piano-led pop, however The Good Natured’s sound is far more awash with majestic beauty.  Obviously nobody can quite replicate Bat For Lashes, but we promise we won’t be the only ones to draw these comparisons.  Sarah has an equally mesmerising skill for penning a confident song, packed with whirling melodies and strong choruses.  She kindly emailed us the below mp3, so let us know your thoughts.  She may still be in her teens, (she’s only just  started at Westminster Uni), but with her age, her ability, and the odd useful comparison on her side, she has a successful future ahead.  We will even be confident enough to state that her success might just be enough to stop us looking for the next version of The Good Natured in 6 months time.   (MB)

Find her here:       Myspace

Hear her here:       THE GOOD NATURED – YOUR BODY IS A MACHINE ysi

LOST KNIVES

When does a collection of similar bands, from one city, at the same time, become a new scene?  Often these movements involve a batch of new bands, from one particular geographical location.  Over the decades we’ve known of many such scenes, from Liverpool in the 60s, to Birmingham in the 70s, Manchester in the late 80s and early 90s, and Seattle had one that took over the globe through that same period.  Our business at The Recommender is to oversee the world’s various music scenes and spot those bands that are hopefully reaching out above the steep walls.  On this note we have recently been turned on to Lost Knives, who hail from Manchester, and we are wondering if we have had the priviledge of seeing a new music scene at its seedling stages.  On the back of all the current hype surrounding Hurts and Egyptian Hip Hop, who have both recently arrived from the same Manchester venues, we wonder if we are observing something bigger?  However, three bands don’t make a scene and they barely share a unique sound, so perhaps we are wide of the mark here.  One thing for sure is Lost Knives are worth some excitement.  Rolling drums, lyrics about loss and fear, an immense shuddering guitar, it’s all there.  It’s climactic indie rock at it’s best, washing over you, only to eventually pull you under.  It’s passionate music, played on the edge of life, where things get scary and exhilarating in equal measure.  This four piece don’t need a wider Manchester scene to make it, they have plenty enough on their own thank you very much.     (MB)

Find them here:       Myspace

Hear them here:       LOST KNIVES – COLD MORNING ysi

OH NO ONO

If MGMT and Flaming Lips are as psychedelic as your ipod gets then this Danish five piece are possibly one eye rolling experience too far.  Although they are new to us at The Recommender, they’ve released an EP and a couple of albums since 2005.   They came to our attention via the Friendly Fire record label and a fantastic, imaginative video for their tune, Swim, directed beautifully by Adam Hashemi (attached below).  Scandinavia has been pushing the envelope in indie and pop music in recent years, with wonderful acts such as Casiokids, Datarock (both Norway) and more recently Le Corps Mince De Francoise (Finland), amongst others.  Are they perhaps more free from the industry’s constraints than the USA and the UK?  Perhaps they’re are simply willing to be more experimental?  It is this freedom and creativity that is a breeding ground for the kind of amazing songs Oh No Ono produce.  It is also the same thing that makes it all a little hit and miss on occasion too.  This is not music for absolutely everyone, but it’s not simply for an LSD guzzling hippy either.  The Psychedelic moments are only touches and beyond them there are some outstanding, intricate melodies hidden inside each brave tune.  Vocals harmonies that almost seem like a The Beach Boys on occasion and echoing chimes that seemingly circle somewhere inside your inner ear.  At it’s most climactic and beautiful it reminds us of Sigur Ros.  At it’s most dreamy and magical, and it really is often dreamy and magical, it seems like a fantastical, quirky film score.  However, there is also a lot of pleasant pop, a tin full of beats and the odd electronic bassline on tracks such as Helplessly Young and Thanks No Thanks.  Can you please let us know your thoughts on such a boat-pushing selection of tracks such as these?    (MB)

Find them here:        Myspace

Hear them here:        OH NO ONO – INTERNET WARRIOR ysi