Childhood

You know how some stuff you really like but you can’t quite describe why? Yeah. Childhood is this. That may seem like a lazy blogger’s cop-out for writing anything worthwhile and, hey, maybe it is, but who cares if a) you’re reading this, b) the music is good, and c) points are made much better if there are three of them.

Woozy, jangly pop that is gentle enough to not disturb you too much from your mid-afternoon day-dream, but catchy enough to still hold your attention. I suppose that’s why I like it afterall.


Childhood - Blue Velvet


Childhood - Paper Wave

Twisted

As much as I love looping experimental synth-led songs and bands with 15 members and 20 effects pedals, no frills punk still more than does it for me. And not even just the early and original punk of The Ramones and The Clash, I welcome with open arms bands carrying on where they left off.

Apparently an off-shoot of two other Wales-based punk acts - State Run and Facel Vega – Leeds’ Twisted (internet-less as far as I’m aware) are unfortunately no more, but their angry strums, passionate growls, bags of energy, and bursting songs rarely passing the 2 minute mark live on in glorious MP3 form. For me, they kind of merge early Stiff Little Fingers and The Clash with hints of more modern, Lovvers-esque noise – and one track ‘Four’ which sounds a lot to me like The Hold Steady gone punk, but somehow in a good way.

They released stuff through and appeared on a compilation for Art For Blind (who also released a 7” by personal favourite Saturday’s Kids), with stuff available from them still. Other than playing or downloading the songs below, you can download a 7” available for free download from bandcamp, or you can head to reeksofeffortt for more words and a link to a different EP.


Twisted - Two


Twisted - One

Birthdays

When writing blog posts, there are certain bands that - although you enjoy to listen to - you are never really sure if they will be appropriately appreciated by the public or even the wider music community. But then there are other bands that you immediately sense are destined for wide adoration after listening to just a few of their tracks.

Birthdays are one of those bands whose hype is easily understood, and most of the reason the hype is so easily understood in all honesty is the one track Howolding Girls (which you may have heard or read of an earlier version, which was called Procreating Flower Bug). As much of a boring cliché it is, it’s one of those songs that really is gripping from the start – opening with vibrant looping synth sounds and bursting into life with celebratory and chant-like distorted vocals and drumming that switches from dance-y bass-snare to tribal tom rolls. It’s a bit like eating sour flavoured Skittles for the first time; the intense flavour forcing your face to do all sorts of unexplained weird shit.

As far as looping experimental psych pop goes, Boston-based Sam (who makes up one-man-band Birthdays, and is also apparently vegan, which makes him cool even without the great music) aren’t a one song pony. I’m Keeping Some Of Mine For Me is a slow-paced droning take on the Animal Collective sound, yet still excites and brims with brilliance. Part That Grows has a country/folk-y Conor Oberst feel to it yet through an underlying pulsing drum beat and rattle shakes, unusual strums, and some “ooh”-s chucked in for good measure, it manages to not feel out of place alongside his other work.

Pretty darn exciting stuff. Listen and download below, and find more on HypeMachine.


Birthdays - Howolding Girls


Birthdays - Software


Birthdays - I'm Keeping Some Of Mine For Me

Happy Christmas

Happy Christmas music lovers of the world. Here's a little festive tune for you to enjoy - Stiff Little Fingers covering White Christmas live. My Dad thinks it's rubbish, bu I disagree.



Have a good one!

Curly Hair

The height of twee folk's popularity has been and gone, probably to a fair few people's relief - typical boy-girl harmonies, acoustic guitar strums, glockenspiel pings, cutesy lyrics, but too often had little imagination behind them. What can occur when a 'scene' fizzles out, though, is that all the popularity-chasing bands pack up shop and head on to new, now-hip ventures, leaving only those genuine bands from the lesser-popular genre standing.

Curly Hair were never really your typical boring twee folk/folk pop duo, but could have been lumped in with the movement given their male/female harmonies, acoustic guitar, and odd use of glock, (plus the fact that the male vocalist sometimes wore a scout shirt to gigs). The statement that they weren't in it for the popularity can now be said with a little more confidence now, given that plenty of other folk acts have up and chased the surfy/lo-fi thing (Lightspeed Champion's second album, Jay Jay Pistolet in The Vaccines, etc), whereas Brighton's Curly Hair stay true to their name, still plugging away at the music that their love is genuine for.

I don't know that much about Curly Hair. Not even the number of official band members. The photo above suggests five, their MySpace profile picture suggests just the one, when I saw them live it was two, and plenty of other live photos show three. To be perfectly honest, I'd almost forgot of their existence until an email from Toy Soldier Records plopped into my inbox with a new free song, thanks to the recent snow forcing the cancellation of a gig. But I do know that their lo-fi folk-y sounds, the male-female vocals, the occasional high pitched keyboard tones, out-loud metronome, and glock, as well as their pop sensibilities make me very happy.

Download (the lovely) High Fives, Low Fives taken from debut EP (from 2009) Ivy League from The Line Of Best Fit here, or stream and download (the older) Blow The House Down and (the brand new) demo Plentiful Is The Choir below.


Curly Hair - Blow The House Down


Curly Hair - Plentiful Is The Choir (demo)