Pinact

I've been sitting on Pinact for a while because I'm a terrible new music blogger. They're a two-piece from Glasgow and they're fucking great. Abrasive yet melodic, they write pop songs with riffs and distortion and fuzz and cymbal crashes and "WOAH"s. Music comparisons are lazy and shit but if you like Paws and Poledo and Rice Milk and Joanna Gruesome and Dolfinz and all those other sweet bands then you'll like them.

They've just streamed new track 'Brew' through Art is Hard as part of the label's postcard club series and also have a lot of ace stuff on bandcamp - including the really good (and totally free) 'Spill Your Guts, Let Out Some Noise' EP.



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FFNORDZZ

Previously working under the name FNORDS for a little bit, FFNORDZZ is a dude from my home town of Plymouth who I've blogged about before but who I've never met and whose real name I don't know. His earlier tracks were experimental pop songs which I really liked so it's cool to see the arrival of a new EP.

Imagine a modern day Frank Zappa writing out and out pop songs and you're not far off. The result is something that could (hopefully fairly) be compared to Gross Magic in that it shares that kind of guitar-led, relatively lo-fi experimental pop sound. Lots of high-pitched guitars, catchy melodies, and even at times that hushed vocal. It's cool.

'Pop Stardom' is the name of the new EP. It's also the opening track and I supposed the 'most immediate' of the five. Listen to it below or download the whole thing on bandcamp. Apparently there should be another EP out this month too so eyes peeled etc.



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Heathers

Blogging for blogging's sake is kind of pointless. I don't write this stuff for the potential 'career' benefit of accidentally stumbling upon a band before they become successful, and I certainly don't do it for the hits - I write about a band for the love of the band. I guess this is just me explaining why the blog hasn't been as active lately as it could have been. That's not to say I'm not finding lots of excellent new music that gets me excited, but I am finding increasingly less time to shout about it. Hello quiet Saturday. Hello excited blog post about Heathers.

I stumbled upon Heathers a few weeks back thanks to a tweet from Cardiff Joanna Gruesome (whose new songs are sounding excellent, by the way) and am very, very thankful to them for that. They're a three-piece from LA and 'Teenage Clothes' is their only song online, but that's okay because it is fucking excellent. Fast-paced, energetic, and catchy sunny indie pop with some really lovely jangly guitar, it's also surprisingly moving and actually really sad thanks to lyrics like "there's no easy way for me to say / there's no easy way for you to stay". Genuine love for this.




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Home Alone

About 18 months back (fuck I'm old) I blogged about garage rock Toronto three-piece Stacey Adams. You probably don't remember. I barely do. Anyway, Thomas Mazurkiewicz of that band recently got in touch about a solo project he was working on. "It's alot different from stacey adams, but im alot happier with the music," he says in the email - and he's not wrong.

The title of the debut EP - 'Teddybears & Weed' - from Home Alone probably tells you a lot about its sound. It's sweet and cutesy while pretty laid-back and a bit trippy. A big step away fromt he scruffy lo-fi rock of Stacey Adams but nonetheless impressive and enjoyable. Obviously I'm not the first person to say this (hiya Crack In The Road and Dots & Dashes), but who cares, give it a listen below or stream the whole EP on bandcamp.





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Menace Beach

Always listen to your editor. DIY boss Stephen Ackroyd sent me Menace Beach ages ago. 26th June 2012. I listened. I liked. I forgot to listen again until a few months ago, and have taken this long to post them on the blog. Yeah, I actually get paid to write about music.

Menace Beach are great. Their lo-fi grungy, poppy, 90s-ish sound combines everything I love about Joey Fourr with everything I love about Gross Magic. That's a pretty fucking great combo. It's mucky but it's catchy as hell. They've recorded with MJ of Hookworms at his Suburban Home Studio in Leeds which is always a great sign (he also plays in the live band) and they're going to be putting out a release on the Too Pure singles club in the future which will no doubt be very good indeed. Before then you can check out their four track EP, which is out now on French indie label Desire Records and also available as a free download (or pay as much as you like) from bandcamp.



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Bananacondas

I like the internet. Bands from hundreds of miles away can send me their music and then I can listen to it and then sometimes I really like it and write words about it and other people who might be hundreds of miles away again might read it and like it and then they might tell their friends to listen to it and stuff. That's pretty cool, right?

Bananacondas are a Lansing, Michigan-based "not-so-typical punk" three-piece who write songs with riffs and licks and melodies and choruses that make me want to be at a house party with them doing silly but fun things. It's self-recorded but not to its detriment - the slightly rough sound suits their apparently pretty care-free take on writing songs. Music is supposed to make you feel something, and this makes me feel happy.

There are two free songs plucked from their bandcamp below, with apparently some more songs coming later this month and an album hoped for later this year. I am excited.


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Dolfinz - Yeah Right

It's almost 18 months since I first stumbled upon and wrote about Stonehaven noise-monsters Dolfinz. Since the days of those early rough recordings, the two-piece have been fairly busy - touring the UK and Europe with Slowcoaches; releasing a 7" with Tuff Wax; featuring on a Song, By Toad 12" split along with the likes of PAWS and Sex Hands; getting played on Radio 1 and 6Music. But it's been a while since we heard much new stuff from them.

So it's good to see that the band have finally unveiled some new(er) material in the form of 'Yeah Right' on Art Is Hard Records' Pizza Club single series. Slightly less lo-fi and maxed out than their earlier recordings but very much still rough and ready, it's arguably my favourite track of theirs so far. Yeah right. I don't feel right.



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Totem Terrors - Unkind

I went to Cardiff for Swn Festival on the weekend. It was fun. I drank lots of beer and watched lots of bands and saw many friends.

Despite being a Cardiff band, Totem Terrors weren't on the line-up for Swn, which is sad because they are good. Their latest song, 'Unkind' is an example of this. Jerky guitars rallies with bass while vocals bounce between male and female, all coming together to sound slightly The Fall-style post-punk/art-rock.



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Black Seas

Black Seas are a London band who have been "playing around south east london for years". They have two songs on their SoundCloud page. They have no hint of a Facebook page. They have a Tumblr with just two posts - one of which is a song posted a fortnight ago, the other of which is a YouTube video 'removed by the user' posted on 1 March. They have a YouTube channel with their two songs on. They seem to have a fondness for aged pictures of naked women and skeletons. And that's pretty much all I know of them.

That's not strictly true. I also know that their songs - which they describe as "emotional and manly", and others might describe as 'doom pop' - are worth a few minutes of your time. 'Black Seas' is all whirring guitar noise, bouncing bass lines, and distant, Torches-like vocals; while earlier track 'Trembling' hears the emotive, baritone vocals brought to the front with jangling guitars gently providing the melodic backdrop. While it's still a little rough around the edges ('Black Seas' doesn't seem to have been mastered yet), it's still very much enjoyable and impressive stuff for a band that not many people seem to know too much about.





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Yucky Slime

Most people won't like this. It's not the best way to start a blog post, but it's true. There's lo-fi, there's noisy, and then there's Yucky Slime bringing it to a whole new level. For those that can handle the fidelity (these demos were recorded in a shed...) and the feedback and the shouting, though, there's lots to love about the London band. For instance: it's fun, it's urgent, it's exciting, it's energetic, it doesn't really give a shit, it'll make you want to jump up and down and spin round round round, and - much like Jay Reatard or Wavves - below the noise you'll find some ace hooks and melodies. Plus, I can rarely resist a sing-along "wooh-ooh-ooh-ooh" (see: 'Battlegasm').

Again, most people won't like this. But then, most music is shite and this isn't, so who cares?







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Entertainment

Judging a band by one song alone is a bit of a risky business. Granted, judging them on two recordings isn't much better, but hearing that second song does give you a better feel as to how they sound, as well as easing any fears of a lack of consistency.

I first heard London's Entertainment when they sent me 'You're Still In Me' a month ago to the day. Apparently only a demo, it's that same kind of distorted, fuzzy pop we've been hearing (and, indeed, I've been blogging) a lot of in the past few years and - for a band who barely seemed old enough to have even decided upon a name - it was certainly a strong introduction with a really nice chorus.

And last night came 'Shine' - more of the same in terms of the noisy, 90s-ish, guitar-led sound but already a step up in quality, it's a really assured sound for a band so young. And I'm always a sucker for the "oohs". Hear both tracks for yourself below.





Edit: fixed SoundCloud embeds.





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Gorgeous Bully - I'm A Little Worried

Plymouth artist Gorgeous Bully has been on a few bloggers' radars for a while now (BF first featured him six months back.), and his easily accessible lo-fi pop sound is certainly pleasing on the ear. But if there was one negative thing you could say about musician Thomas Crang's sound was that it can at times be a little too easy. As good as tracks like 'Quiet House' (taken from the Art Is Hard-released 'The Young Obese' EP) are, his sound can sometimes feel there's something lacking.

You might expect that from a musician writing songs on his own in his bedroom at the rate that he does - but his latest track lifts Crang to a whole new level. 'I'm A Little Worried' - which features on the latest beko release - has that same kind of lo-fi, scruffy sound blanketing his catchy pop melodies, but adds a little more texture and emotion. The results: listen for yourself.



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Splashh - Somethings New

If you haven't heard of London three-piece Splashh yet, that's fine, they are very new. But now's the time to wait no longer - with new effort 'Somethings Here'.

Following on from the Art Is Hard Pizza Club-released 'All I Wanna Do' - the excellent lo-fi introductory track that led to them receiving over 500 likes on Facebook in just over a month - 'Somethings Here' shows they're likely to live up to the hype that's building around them. Energetic, catchy, and bloody well exciting fuzzy garage rock. "Hey, hey hey."



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Slowcoaches - We're So Heavy

Other than a dirty fry up, it seems there's not much better to clear a lingering hangover than a musical slap in the face - generously provided today by Slowcoaches. A stream of the Leeds three-piece's forthcoming EP - due for release on cassette by Tye Die Tapes on March 23 - went online earlier today, and appreciatively received it was too.

Title track 'We're So Heavy' is probably the pick of bunch (though it's tough to pick a favourite), with its gloriously fuzzed up and dragging intro bursting out emphaticly into catchy, punchy punk rock in excellent fashion. You can stream and download the track below, or hear the whole thing on Tye Die Tapes' bandcamp. Catch Slowcoaches live later this month, when they head out on tour with Basement Fever favourites Dolfinz.



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Athletes - Time

Master's degrees are hard work. University has taken over my life. I regularly dream about Article 8 of the Human Rights Act, pixelated images and incorrect shorthand outlines, and I don't spend anywhere near enough time listening to music - so I'll blame that for the lack of activity on here. I am sorry.

Hopefully this new track from Athletes will sweeten the apology somewhat. The work of Denmark-based Mathias, he's been teasing us these last few months with track after track of retro dreampop sounds. New track 'Time' is more in-your-face than his previous work, demonstrating yet another excellent side. Are you planning on moving over to London any time soon, Mathias?



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tenstoreys - Fhree

Surprises aren't always fun. One time, I went to the shop, and I was surprised to find that they had ran out of Butter Puffs. That certainly was not fun. But what is fun when an unsuspecting email from a band/producer/artist/whatever turns out to brighten up your day. The email from tenstoreys was modest and minimal, and the artist's SoundCloud page doesn't tell us much more - but, luckily, the music speaks volumes, reminding me of the weirdo electronic charms of Mozam Beaks.

Fhree by tenstoreys

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Playlounge

Whether a sneaky attempt to make sure their music is listened to, or a genuine note of interest, new bands letting you know which other bands they're friends with does seem to work in some roundabout way. On contacting me for the first time a few weeks back, Playlounge noted that BF had recently covered their friend's band YRRS. How could I not listen? YRRS are ace. And so, as it just so happens, are their good old buddies Playlounge.

The two-piece from London make a loud, melodic racket - sounding a lot deeper than you'd expect from just guitar, drums, and vocals. It's catchy pop fun with plenty of noisy guitar - so all you kids too ashamed to say you listen to pop can still get away with it. Oh, and they even follow Dolfinz on SoundCloud. Maybe I should introduce them to Joanna Gruesome, too.

Playlounge - Orange Friends

Playlounge - Friendshift

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New: The Black Tambourines - 27 - 25 Blues

News of a new EP from Falmouth's The Black Tambourines has been a fairly long time coming, but judging from '27 - 25 Blues' it looks like it may well have been well worth the wait. The band's third EP Chica will get a release on cassette through the ever-excellent Art Is Hard Records on 19th December, they've announced, and along with the cassette you can also get a fancy t-shirt and poster too.

Although still vaguely surfy and lo-fi, much like the four-piece's work to date, '27 - 25 Blues' feels more mature, more thought-through, and more wholesome than much of the (already very good) stuff that they've made before. The guitar lines are the perfect blend of dirty and catchy, and the harmony vocals on the chorus continue to rattle around your head long after the first spin. It's pop music, but not as most people know it - and it's bloody good.

The Black Tambourines - 27 - 25 Blues

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New: Athletes

A few weeks ago we posted about mysterious Danish artist Athletes and their song Raincoats - an excellent track mixing the sounds of The Cure and My Bloody Valentine in an unusually original and exciting way. Thanks to a tip off by Vocododo, we've now stumbled upon two new tracks from them - and they're both stunning. Anyone fond of the Blouse album out a few weeks back, or those with a soft spot for interesting, inspiring, textured pop music, pay attention.

Athletes - Nowhere

Athletes - Fall Apart

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Le Pécheur

The world of music blogging is an odd and fickle one. Should I care that Altered Zones blogged about Le Pécheur before I managed to? No, of course not. If anything I should be happy that a band I like are getting the attention that I feel they deserve. But I do care. I'm sorry. I do.

I suppose what I'm actually annoyed at is my own laziness to not post it sooner. Still, listen to the excellently psychedelic and interest sounds of the London/France artist now and try to forget that Altered Zones got there first, if you can. And buy their album, out through Azbin Records when it comes out next month.

Voodoo by Le Pécheur

Torture by Le Pécheur

Apocalypse by Le Pécheur

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