[video] WU LYF // Wicked Games and We Bros

Tag Archive: England

[video] WU LYF // Wicked Games and We Bros

Written on December 5, 2011 by Will in Live, Music, Video

I caught the WU LYF fever earlier this year. And if you have read any of my earlier posts, you will know that my Australian friend Alex (who maintains a fantastic blog at: http://neo-noir.tumblr.com/) recommended the Manchester, England, quartet to me. When I first heard some of the early demos, I was completely floored. It felt like I had just been punched in the gut. WU LYF, led by the inimitable growling snarl of Ellery Roberts, really moved me on an emotionally basic level.

I knew I had to experience these guys live. Almost instantly, I bought tickets to see them in July at Manhattan’s Mercury Lounge. I was beyond excited to see them at one of their first American dates. But at the last minute, travel plans fell through and I was heartbroken. I was even more heartbroken when a friend who was at the sold-out show told me how fantastic it was. Luckily, WU LYF announced a full-fledged North American tour shortly thereafter. I would finally get to experience them live.

With that, I present my WU LYF experience. This is a video I shot at their concert last month at Toronto’s Horseshoe Tavern. The video is both shaky and grainy, because the entire room was bouncing around and yelling with Roberts. He literally moved the entire audience. So you will have to forgive the grainy quality of the video. Regardless, I think it really demonstrates the live power of WU LYF. [editor's note: Will is correct, this is awesome]

This is a video of the group’s encore, featuring an awesome rendition of Chris Isaak’s classic “Wicked Games” and then WU LYF’s own “We Bros.”

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[mp3/video] Introducing // Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs

Written on November 2, 2011 by Will in Music

At a recent concert featuring Denver’s Gauntlet Hair and Portland/New Zealand’s Unknown Mortal Orchestra, I was left wondering the following things:

1. What’s in a band name?

2. Where did all the band names go?

3. What’s the worst band out there?

4. Is there power in a bad band name?

When considering Gauntlet Hair and UMO, it’s hard to say which band name is worse. Both of them are splendidly awful and awesome all at once. But then I was introduced to Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs and I knew I had reached the pinnacle of band name awfulness. A friend of mine offered up the following synopsis of Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs: “Quite a silly name but the music is great!” Hard to argue with that infallible logic. The music is indeed quite catchy and danceable.

Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs is the work of Oxford, England’s Orlando Higginbottom, a man who is known for his distinct sound and unique live stage presence. TEEDinosaurs offers up glitchy, synth-heavy, 80′s-inspired, electro-pop goodness.With three EPs to his name and a number of remixes done for other artists, there is no shortage of work from Mr. Higginbottom. (On a completely unrelated note: How awesome is the name “Orlando Higginbottom”?)

“Now you’ve got me messed up. Please believe me,” Higginbottom sings on “Trouble,” one of his strongest songs to date. As a recommendation from my Australian friend (the only who also introduced me to WU LYF and Zoo Kid), I gave TEEDinosaurs a shot. Once I was able to get past the terrible project name, I discovered catchy electro-pop. Conceived and delivered by one man, Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs is well worth your time.

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Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs // ~~Trouble~~ [mp3]

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[stream] New from Polarsets // Morning

Written on August 8, 2011 by Andy in Music

This past weekend was kind of a big one for this little blog. Friday marked the physical release of our single with Joywave, and we celebrated it at the Bug Jar with the band. In fact, I think they have a bunch of our stickers because I forgot to get them back. In addition to that, I was on the radio last night for the show Rochester Sessions on WITR – the station of local college RIT. We talked about the single, my view of what it means to be independent, how the blog started, etc. It was an interesting experience, and one that I’m grateful to have been given. Maybe they’ll even let me come back some time.

This has actually very little to do with Polarsets’ new single – other than the fact that the single is being put out by Neon Gold Records. If you’re unaware of Neon Gold’s story, the proprietor of the label used to run a music blog that was one of the first that I came across, and one that I genuinely enjoyed – Good Weather For Airstrikes. And then, just about three years ago, GWFA was closed and Neon Gold was born in its place. Their first release was Passion Pit’s ‘Sleepyhead’ – and they haven’t looked back. Their work – whether in blog form and label form – has always been a good model for us, and so some thanks is owed to them for their paving the way for us to try our hand at both as well. We can only hope to be as successful as they have been.

That said, Polarsets are fast becoming a can’t miss proposition – although some may say they already are. Everything I’ve heard from the Newcastle band is shimmering pop genius, perfect for the rest of this summer, and all the rest of your summers. The A-side here is called ‘Morning’ and it’s brimming with the endless possibilities that its title suggests. You can stream it below, and head over to Neon Gold to pick it up on wax.

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Morning by Polarsets

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[mp3] Introducing // Good Dangers

Written on July 29, 2011 by Andy in Music

Last week we talked about the track from Atlas Genius, and mentioned briefly that it had been sent our way from the people at Cosine Records. If you didn’t take the time to look into what Cosine offers, let me catch you up. Strictly digital, Cosine puts together split singles – one song from two bands that is intended to be a double A-side release. They have two to this point, and I’d write posts about all four of the bands that they’ve featured already.

Today though, I’m just going to talk about Good Dangers, who were part of their first release, and their track “So Unkind.” As I look into them further, it turns out that the track that Cosine put out is the only one the London band has available to add to you collection. There are a couple additional ones on their YouTube channel, but “So Unkind” is the only official song at this point.

The band employs a jangly, upbeat style that’s reminiscent of The Cure without the morose, maudlin aura that follows Robert Smith around. Their take on new wave and/or post-punk isn’t a revelation, but they’re good at it. And that’s more than enough to keep me waiting for more.

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Good Dangers // So Unkind [mp3]

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[stream] Laura Marling // Sophia

Written on July 29, 2011 by Rhys in Music

In my view, every day that doesn’t involve the release of a new Laura Marling song is a day wasted. The 21 year-old British folk singer has rocketed to success since her 2008 debut Alas I Cannot Swim, and cemented herself firmly at the centre of the current British folk revival. Critically and musically, she has left all her contemporaries in the dust.

So, with the world at your feet and 2 Mercury nominated albums under your belt, what do you do? As a Marling obsessive, a part of me has been worried recently that her forthcoming third album – A Creature I Don’t Know, due out mid-September – would be overly influenced by the love-it-or-hate-it blustery anthemics of Mumford & Sons (especially as her and Marcus Mumford are currently engaging in what is no doubt a highly rustic, beardy love affair)

However, our Laura has remained as brilliant as ever on new track “Sophia.” It’s recognisably Marling-esque in the first part – spry finger picking, understated vocals, subtly evocative lyricism. But gradually, as the layers seep in, it becomes a foot-stomping, country number, with melodies that sound just a wee bit Spanish. It’s a different sound from what we’ve heard before – but not a drastic departure. The transition seems similar to that which she underwent between Alas I Cannot Swim and I Speak Because I Can.

Lyrically (and Laura is definitely one of the best lyricists around today), she paints a sketchy picture of regret over what may be a one night stand. It looks as if the album might very well have a lot to say about sex – a possibility gleaned from the album cover, song titles and now this track. Whatever it’s about, I am sure it will be as near perfection as ever.

Stream the track below.

Laura Marling – Sophia

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