Have listened to this for approximately 10 minutes at time of writing so apologies if these words are a bit weak, but I like this too much not to share it straight away. Exciting, vibrant pop music from Toronto's Art Imperial, with equally brilliant (and brilliantly blatant) nods to Best Coast and surfy influences. This will be on Pitchfork in a few weeks if it isn't already. I am excited, happy and looking forward to listening again. Grab stuff below or a full EP at bandcamp.
You can never really go wrong with a Daniel Johnston cover, as backed up by Cardiff's Yajé with their version of 'True Love Will Find You In The End' on their upcoming cassette. It's not their only trick, though - the release is five tracks of impressive guitar-drum noisy lo-fi jams deeming Yajé well worth to keep an eye on, and the tape well worth a few quid. You can grab it when they support Islet at Undertone in Cardiff if you're there. Oh, and it's pronounced "ya-hey" in-case you were wondering.
Stream the whole cassette at Soundcloud or listen to some below.
It's increasingly difficult to make truly original music, as more and more potential artistic avenues are explored by different bands and movements as years pass. A band stumbling upon an entirely unique sound would obviously be welcome, but when bands such as Bewilder come along with excellent nods to and twists of sounds from the past they are equally as welcomed.
Merging math-y guitar tap-and-slide guitar lines with a post-rock chilled out vibe, and sucking all the potential pretense out of both the sometimes-pretentious genres along the way, the Southampton band stumbled upon a sound that is actually somewhat their own on their 6-track This Isn't Life, It's Just Stuff EP release through excellent south-west label Art Is Hard. Topped off with calming vocal work, deft drum patterns and the odd bit of electronic and glockenspiel toe-dipping, this is a release truly to be enjoyed - especially given that it is housed in beautiful looking hand-made envelopes and accompanied by a band-made zine.
"Sometimes it's afreedom to forget about songs lyrics & structures and just do noises" say Brighton's Luckyhorse on their bandcamp page, and I think that's about all you need to know.
It doesn't break any boundaries, but it's fun, enjoyable and something a little different. The kinda music that should soundtrack either some cutesey indie film, or the next Toy Story. I'll be interested to see where this goes. Oh, and going by images alone, I have a feeling this is linked to our good and worldly friend World Map. Could be wrong though.
Ignore the frankly rubbish name, ignore the slightly below par performance at Great Escape, and simply pay attention to the noisy, fuzzy pop recording of Tug by new London band The History Of Apple Pie. The NME love them and it wouldn't surprise me if they turn a little bit rubbish, but this one track makes all the negatives seem pretty insignificant.
